important things to say

it has come to my attention that on occasion i may not have anything important to say. maybe it is because my mind is numb. maybe it is because my body is tired. maybe it is because i've had eggs for dinner two nights in a row. or maybe i do have important things to say - but i choose not to say them. but i guess if i can share with you about my life and the music i listen to, tv shows i view and eggs i eat then maybe i can spew forth important stuff once in a while.

i think the important stuff is all relative anyway. like yesturday, i suffered through the first hour of the movie The Big Kahuna (starring Danny DiVito, Kevin Spacey and this Peter Facinelli guy)... i was bored... feeling like my time had been wasted... then the final 30 minutes happened. here was a movie about 3 guys - trying to sell industrial lubricants (otherwise known as Grease) at a trade convention who spend most of their time in a hotel suite talking. i mean the entire movie takes place in one room. boring, right? yeah... except then it hit me... these men were talking... TALKING? yeah, talking. not about eggs but it could have been. at various points of dialogue, the topic of religion came up. so check this, newbie Bob (Peter Facinelli), during the meet and greet with executives, spends his time talking to this one guy about dogs... dogs, i said. it turns out that this executive who loves dogs is the big wig that Larry & Phil (Spacey & DiVito) were trying to make a sale with. So it is up to Bob to meet up with this guy later - with hopes of making the sale. Bob goes meets and talks to said guy not about industiral lubricant, not about dogs, even. he talks to him about Jesus.

now here's the real dicotomy. Bob returns. Larry gets upset that he didn't make the sale - Bob stands by his own convictions, though. Admirable as it may be, Larry points out that a sale was made - but the sale wasn't grease, it was Jesus. Was Bob being genuine. probably. Did he see that what he did was quite possibly a sales pitch? no. Was it a sales pitch? well that is the question that has me in a quandry.

before i go any further - let me point out this: the fact that i am discussing this (even if only with myself) is good. Discussions are important. communication is key.

so here's my question: how genuine am i if and when i talk about Jesus to others - say others who i may not have a relationship with? is it just a sales pitch? at the end of the movie, after Bob & Larry (not the Veggie Tales guys) have finished a heated discussion in ugliness, Phil (DiVito) pulls Bob aside and talks to him... he said something profound... "If you truly want to get to know someone... ask him about his kids. Ask him about his life.... his goals... his dreams..."

Maybe that aspect is a forgotten aspect of the faith these days. Do we care about the ones we attempt to reach out to? i mean do we truly care? are we willing to take the time to get to know them? i am a big proponant of what i'd call RELATIONAL EVANGELISM. Bringing others to Christ through relationship with them. Through that relationship they can then see rigth into the heart of who i am... my genuineness (or lack there of) laid out bare in front of them... if they see me - truly see me - then they will see Christ...

but the question still lingers inside of me: is there an inapropriate way to bring Jesus to others? if it is just a means to an end? i don't know... i am still searching...

i guess important things are there to be said... each of us has something important to say... somethimes it takes communication about eggs or football or life in general to get them to come out into the freedom of space that inhabits our eyes and ears and hearts and minds.

---

thoughts shared while listening to:
The Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole

---



more on MEANS TO AN END. (essays and what not...)

Why the "Means to the end" is more important than the end?

Does The End Justify The Means?

a great day: Saturday.

Saturday is the NFL draft. for some reason, for me the NFL draft is one of the three most anticipated sporting events that i look forward to yearly.

1. The Super Bowl
2. NCAA Basketball tournament
3. NFL Draft

I don't know why i look forward to it with such glee. i have had Apr. 29th marked on my calendar for a while now. The first round generally takes over 4 hours... yet i sit there and watch every minute of it.

Call me crazy... call me a fan... just don't call me during the draft... i'll be busy...

bump

Charlie X was beginning to freak me out... those eyes - it's as if he was always starring at me.


FYI:

i am left handed. many famous people were also left handed.

i really have nothing else to say right now.





goodbye Charlie X.

Charlie X

last nite, while flippantly flipping channels i stumbled across an ond Star Trek episode feature one Charlie X. now, i, myself, am no Star Trek buff or "Trekkie" - but i remember vividly Charlie X.

you see 14 years ago, during my freshman year at Asbury College, my roommate and i, bored one evening, huddled around my 9 inch black and white television to watch an episode of Star Trek... one of my roommate Steve's favorite shows.

it was the infamous Charlie X episode... i have never forgotten Charlie X.

why am i telling you this? i don't know? why does anybody share anything on a blog...

TEN: things to do with the 24 hour stomach flu

10. misplace one's lunch
9. not read
8. lay uncomfortable in a bed
7. sip Ginger Ale, not Sprite
6. get caught up on TV shows missed via the magic of the DVR
5. bake brownies
4. watch Wayne's World on HBO... wonder what made it so magical 14 years ago...
3. pretend you're alive
2. attempt to descipher what each stomach growl really means
1. saltines anyone?

thank you. you've been great. goodnight cleveland.


enjoy MERRIAM-WEBSTER

The Village

while reading the book PRACTITIONERS: Voices from within the Emerging Church this weekend, I was spurred on to view M. Night Shaymalan's The Village. On Easter night, we watched it. I know that a lot of people did not like the movie, I, for one, was not one of them. I enjoyed it. It is not a supsence movie, nor would I say a 'thriller' either. as someone from IMDB said regarding the film: "Brilliantly nuanced, subtle, smart, and expertly played..."




my reaction after viewing THE VILLAGE
What comes to mind?
What or where is my village?
To me, the Village is SAFETY, INNOCENCE, THE WAY THINGS USED TO BE, with HIDDEN SECRETS not forgotten, but ignored.
The Village is avoiding reality. avoiding a "sinful world", thus avoiding the chances to be salt & light.
The Village is taking the easy way out - for the sake of genuine thought that life is supposed to be lived that way.
in the village those with eyes cower in fear and those who have not fear not. The blind see and do and dream and colorize that which is gray.

"how the blind risk, how the blind see love,
how they live beyond fear, and reach
out their hands to succumb to trust..."*

those of us with eyes - are we not seeing? do we not trust?
we stay confined to our village of safety at what gain? at what cost?
We think and feel we are genuinely doing what is right.
no harm in that. but are we missing a kaleidoscope of opportunity?

in Mark 8:22-26 Jesus heals a blind man...

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?"
He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around."
Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, "Don't go into the village"

Jesus took the man outside of the village. Why?
He asekd "do you see anything?" ANYTHING? a blind man - his sight now restored - what does he see? PEOPLE!
then there is us... the ones with sight.. what do we see? are our eyes and minds numb to that which is around us? PEOPLE! we walk in shopping malls and on sidewalks and we look away or down at the ground. We do not see anything. because seeing makes us uncomfortable.

Jesus took the blind man outside of the sounds and smells of his village... his familiarity... his saftey (even in his blindness). maybe the heartbeat of God and the love of God can only truly be seen when we are outside of our safety zone... a zone that is all too familiar. all to comfortable. so comfortable that our eyes do not see anything at all.

The blind take risks because they have nothing to lose... they are already blind... what will we do? the blind have true faith... and know what it means to trust.
God, may there be a lesson in this for us... for me... for everyone.


*Greg Russinger from the book Practitioners

a day is like a thousand pictures

april 10th, 2006. photography. finding images. being creative.

Thinking Back

ELBOW - scattered black & whites

Been climbing trees I've skinned my knees
My hands are black the sun is going down
She scruffs my hair in the kitchen steam
She's listening to the dream I weaved today
Crosswords through the bathroom door
While someone sings the theme-tune to the news
And my sister buzzes through the room leaving perfume in the air
And that's what triggered this.
I come back here from time to time
I shelter here some days.

A high-back chair. He sits and stares
A thousand yards and whistles
Marching-band (Boom-ching)
Kneeling by and speaking up
He reaches out and I take a
Massive hand. Disjointed tales
That flit between short trousers
And a full dress uniform
And he talks of people ten years
Gone like I've known them all my life
Like scattered black 'n' whites….

1966

i wasn't born yet in 1966. i imagine life was simple then. i imagine it was much the same as today only without portable phones and iPods.

i imagine that teenagers rebeled. they probably chewed lots of gum.

i imagine that there were nerds and dorks and lots of people probably wore glasses with thick black rims. what a wonder contacts are to the world of today.

there were probably a lot more convertable cars. i don't know why, but it seems like a lot of old cars were convertables.

i imagine gasoline was cheap. and Coke came in a bottle. life was probably a lot cooler becuase life was retro before it knew it was retro.

WICR, 88.7, the school radio station of the University of Indianapolis probably played Elvis and the Beatles & Simon & Garfunkel & Bob Dylan. or maybe they played Jazz like they do today.

life was filled with adventure, i am sure. drag racing or toga parties or performing science experiments that would change history were probably the norm.

hamburgers no doubt tasted better. i mean they were new. pizza was probably better too. mom and pop diners ruled while chain restaraunts were relatively new. milkshakes were most definately served with the big metal tin next to the glass.

life was better because hind sight is 20/20. and even though i wasn't there i wish i was. for no other reason than to be around, living in a different culture - to experience what it was like to hear the sounds of rock and roll first. to eat and smell a hamburger on the grill first. to ride with the top down on my way to school, with my pants pegged and my hair greased back.


o.k. so i may be mixing decades but it doesn't matter. i wasn;t there so what do i know?

life was simpler - but if i were there i am sure i would believe it to be complex and cumbersome.

1966. a year. 4 score in the past. maybe truth was more defined then. maybe glasses were better because they were thicker. maybe radio was better because it was AM. and maybe life in Texas was better because AM radio sounds better in Texas.

1966. years removed from JFK's assasination... years away from MLK's. life happened before their eyes... everything was new. what would i give to live in a lifetime like that.

01.02.03.04.05.06

last nite @ exactly 2 minutes and 3 seconds after 1am on april 5th, of '06 i was watching Conan O'Brien.

what were you doing when the clock struck 01:02:03 on 04.05.06?

this afternoon at 1:02:03pm - i plan on eating lunch while watching Stump the Schwab on ESPN Classic.

a SONG and a THOUGHT that changed the world [the 8 minutes and 43 second devotional]

I challenge you today to listen to the song below and read the links posted. it'll be 8 minutes you wont regret...

song of the day:
EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY - Six Days at the Bottom of the Ocean [LISTEN]

listen to the song while reading the following:
[ARRESTED]
[QUESTIONED]
[CONCLUSIONS]
[SENTENCING]


thoughts?



enjoy SACRIFICE.

THE TEN: revalations

10. the iPod is the greatest invention known to man. o.k. it's not the greatest, but it sure is obsessive. the only downfall to iPod is that mine isn't big enough. i have the 20 gig U2 iPod Special Edition but 20 gigs is not enough room for all of the music i want to put on it.
9. the DVR is the second greatest invention, thus far.
8. nothing can bring more joy to a dad that the smile of his children.
7. i almost constantly have music playing while i work.
6. Google, Wikipedia and Merriam-Webster are the web-sites i use most for doing research. Blingo is another cool search engine that supposedly awards prizes to searchers. oh, i almost forgot - IMDB is great for searching to find out who played who in any given movie or tv show.
5. Alternative worship in the local church is a must for the 21st century. The church needs to be shaken up a bit - revitalized... refreshed... energized... and enlightened to alternative means of worshipping God and alternative measures of bringing people closer to God through worship.
4. Napoleon Dynamite is not the greatest or funniest movie ever - but every time i see that it's on HBO - i can't help but watch.
3. if i had more time in a day i would probably like to spend it reading a book. i don't read many books, but i have set that as a goal for this year. if i had more time then i would have no excuse. by the way - i am 3/4ths of the way through Friday Night Lights.
2. my wife is hot. i think she gets more beautiful with each passing day. i am continually amazed at how lucky i am to have her. i mean my wife is hot and that is awesome!
1. there is nothing better than seeing another person begin anew a relationship with Jesus. last night - at our church revival services this 75 year old man came up and accepted Christ into his heart. it was so cool to see this elderly gentleman take that step of faith. it's never too late. Jesus remains the bridge for man from death to life. all one has to do is this:

• A. Admit that you are a sinner in need of God.

  B. Believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again for your sins.

  C. Confess Jesus Christ as Lord of your life.

yeah - it might be a little cheesy that i got all Jesus-y on my blog - but you know what - it needs to be said.



word. Jesus is way cool.

innocence mission

The Innocence Mission.
music that is nothing short of a beautiful. melodic. peaceful. work of art.

listen to the Lakes of Canada
listen to Today

even the images of their album covers are stirring.

Karen Peris' vocals bring out a childlike innocence... a childlike simplicity that is gift to be given.

“The hauntingly beautiful voice of Karen Peris is as spectacular as ever.”

TAKE TIME TO LISTEN.

of randomness and basketball et all [b]pt. deux[/b]

who was George Mason and why should i care? the author of the Bill of Rights? sure. but more importanly, Patriot George Mason is the name of the University that made it to the Final Four by defeating powerhouse Connecticut on Sunday afternoon. you may not think much of such a victory for the Patriots of GMU - but I assure you that this collosal victory is the greatest upset in the history of the NCAA basketball tournament: the best colligiate sporting event and second best overall sporting event in the world (sorry, the Super Bowl reigns supreme.) You can't help but root for the underdog all throughout this event. screw your brackets (i'm tied for last place, by the way - my wife is in first). brackets don't compare to the pure joy of watching a mid-major defeat a dominant team from a dominant conference. as you can see, my final four predictions were not exactly correct... it's probably the first time ever that i didn't predict at least one final four team - but ask me if i care. the answer is no.

in other news: my friend Brian finally got hitched this past weekend. it was good to be there for him and his new wife Heather... also good to see friends Allan, Fritz & Shawn and their wives.

i've been hard at work editing a video called 40 HOURS.

Jen and i have been watching this new show on HBO called Big Love - about a polygimous mormon and his three wives. why we watch? i don't know - but it is compelling and his 2nd wife Nicki - played by Chloë Sevigny is a very difficult character to like. i really find myself not only detesting the character but the actress also. sorry Chloë. nothing personal.


i ate a lot of pizza this weekend.


i have nothing else to share at this time.

you've been great. Enjoy The Innocence Mission.

THE TEN: little known facts

inspired by Robert

10. their have been three different versions of Sprite Remix. Tropical, Berry Clear & Aruba Jam. all three have since been discontinued with no explanation.

9. The Super Bowl got it's name when the daughter of Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt was playing with a 'super ball' - thus inspring the name. the first 'Super Bowl' to use Super Bowl in it's title was Super Bowl III.

8. Brian Wilson was obsessed with creating the 'new sound' and viewed The Beach Boys 'Pet Sounds' as a response to the Beatles 'Rubber Soul'. the never released Beach Boys album 'Smile' was the new sound. the project was shelved by Wilson after the trouble 'selling' Smile to bandmates and their record label and after The Beatles released Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band - realizing that the Beatles has trumped his ideas.

7. Coca Cola was originally green.

6. Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history.
Spades - King David, Clubs - Alexander the Great,
Hearts - Charlemagne, and Diamonds - Julius Caesar.

5. If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs
in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front
leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in
battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

4. Johnny Cash wrote the song Walk the Line to his first wife - as a means of saying he would be true to her while on the road. Ironnically - the movie Walk the Line is largely about Cash and June Carter's deep connection leading up to their marriage.

3. Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.

2. Jack Bauer is immortal.

1. In Scotland, a new game was invented. It was entitled Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden.... and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.



bonus: It is impossible to lick your elbow. go ahead and try!


enjoy more little known facts.

THE TEN: questions

10. should i wear a tie to the wedding on saturday? (it's not my wedding, by the way)
9. what's for lunch?
8. Can a mouse get inside one's vehicle through the engine or air conditioning or what not?
7. is it possible to be addicted to a television show? say, Seinfeld, perhaps?
6. Is Ryan Seacrest a dork or what?
5. do libraries take themselves to seriously?
4. why do we park on a drive way and drive on a parkway?
3. deal or no deal?
2. is the letter 'W' the only letter that if spelled out wouldn't start with the very letter for which it is?
1. are 21st century Americans capable of talking about anything save the price of gas?

you've been great.

enjoy SMILE.

FANTASTIC DISTRACTION UPDATE.

a new day is upon us.


i updated my blog. you likey?

tell me.




by the way: in case you wondered... how i got the name for this here blog...


i borrowed it from an
old Dime Store Prophets album title.





...

THE TEN: spring observations

I want to start a column that I hope will appear regularly on my blog... It'll be a series of TOP TEN lists and what not... I like lists and I want to share them with you. Oh yeah... These lists may be very random and often times pointless.

THE TEN: spring observations
10. Spring in Ohio circa 2006 looks just like winter in Ohio circa 2006.
9. It hasn't stopped snowing, nor has it started... Most of our snow came in the Fall.
8. It's spring. Can we stop talking about Iraq yet?
7. I'm in last place in my NCAA tournament pool. My wife is in first.
6. I should probably set some goals for the spring.
5. goal #1: no more visits to StatCare or the ER or the doctors office until November for me and my family. In the past three months the following has happened:

• StatCare visits: 3 (Micah & Addison - ear infection/congestion; jen - tonsillitis; Tim: allergies)
• Doctors visits: 4 (Micah had another ear infection, Addison had bronchitis [2 visits], Tim got treated for allergies)
• ER visits: 1 (Addison had to get an x-ray of her chest - they thought it was pneumonia)

4. Rekindling my hobbies is a must this spring. I really need to edit more video with my new Sony Vegas Video Platinum Edition video editing software. We have almost 40 hours of video that has been shot of our family and the kids since DEC. of 2001. I need to edit together some of it ASAP!
3. It's time to get in shape. I need to start going on walks, doing push ups and/or sit ups.
2. Relaxation and spring should go hand in hand.
1. Spring is a sign of new life. New life is a blessing. It's time that I start to cherish my life and all that God has blessed me with. Having fun is not an option, it is a must.

you've been great. Enjoy Veer.

of randomness and basketball et all

1. "lately i've had the strangest feeling." that Melissa McGhee has no right to sing Stevie Wonder... adios American Idol contestant #12... yeah, i watch Idol. so do you. don't hide it. it's an addiction... like nicotine... and we all wish we could filter out Paula & Ryan but we are stuck on the hard stuff... so i (we) embrace it all. Idol will consume our hearts and minds until the end of May.


2. last night Martha Stewart was on Conan... she was teaching him to cook traditional Irish foods for St. Patrick's Day. now, my wife is watching Martha's daytime show. Martha is showing her how to cookl french fries. now she wants THIS. i do love french fries. possibly my favorite food. homemade french fries. they are yummy.

3. a friend once told me that her mom told her that one should enjoy a tasty hamburger at least once a week. i like that rule. nothing goes better with a burger than some tasty fries. much like Pit from Pulp Fiction "I do enjoy a tasty burger."

PULP FICTION = THE GREATEST DIOLOGUE OF ANY MOVIE EVER... THUS FAR. take time to enjoy the goodness.

Sam L. Jackson: Hamburgers! The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast.

4. love and basketball. that was a movie that i didn't see and probably will never see, but i do have much love for basketball come march. the Madness begins today at 12:10pm. the next three weeks, my life will be consumed by basketball and by editing this video called 40 HOURS that i am making with my youth... so who do you have in your brackets?

my FINAL 4: Duke. Kansas. Boston College. UConn.

it's tough this year, though... the entire tournament is wide open. this will make it fun to watch.

5. eMusic is wonderful. i found some good stuff on there - like some old Violet Burning and The Appleseed Cast as well as The Lassie Foundation. Tuesday night, I finally spent my $25 iTunes gift card that i had gotten for christmas. i ended up buying...










i'm not sure why i bougth this album. good stuff... not the greatest but there are some really good, 5 star songs on it.

the othe album i bought...










The American Analog Set...

i really like these guys... it's like mellow gold. it's rich and pure.
On their sixth full-length, SET FREE, Texas band American Analog Set doesn't deviate much from their usual shimmering, understated indie pop. But that is not to say that the album isn't full of aural delights. Simple song structures are offset by breezy, clicking rhythms and floating, ethereal guitar lines, while singer Andrew Kenny croons in an intimate whisper. Droning fuzz tones, cool vibraphone, and the production touches of studio hand Chris Michaels make this a familiar yet totally satisfying outing for the AAS.

6. my mom got an iPod. what is up with that. now she is cooler than me except that her ancient computer has less gigs than her 30 gig iPod. i am jeleous of my mom.

7. enjoy Odessa, Texas. i am. my goal of reading one book in 2006 is halfway completed.




8. post script: I HATE MICE. saw one in the garage... how long until he makes it into our home?



i now i have typos... so what./... it's not as though i claim to be a rocket scientist. although i am sure that there are some rocket scientists who don't spell well. so chew on that my peeps.


OUT.

christ and donuts / pope gets iPod

the Pope got an iPod and Christ died for our donuts.

DONUTS
IPODS
JESUS

what more can a man want?