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wow...
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Jun. 28th, 2007 @ 07:52 am
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life is getting nutty...
karen is going to grad school in august. i am excited for her but man it is going to be rough for the next 18 months. she will be gone every thurs-sat.
passed my green belt test in jiu-jitsu on sat.
tonight i am testing for a purple belt in karate and also a purple in tae kwan do. the karate test i am confident that i will do okay. the tae kwan do is a little iffy.Current Music: Demon Hunter |
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I started Karate and Jujitsu training.
I am getting my ass kicked and loving it.
I am tired as hell though...Current Mood:  quixotic Current Music: Pantera - Cowboys From Hell |
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what if The Word of God is not a book but a person?
what if Truth is not words or knowledge but a person?
what if The Person created, knows, died for and loves you and i? |
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I am sitting in a hotel room in Chicago missing my family. |
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I have been working on a project called "One Flew Over The Church" some friends, Truxton Meadows & Larry Phillips. We are about ready to go live with our maddness.
http://www.OneFlewOverTheChurch.com/ |
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This was posted on a forum. This dude is wise.
"...The book of Ruth shows me this. i may never do any thing in my life anyone would take notice of. only those closest to me or whom my path crosses would be appercitive of. though if Heaven recognizes it and Heaven records it, then what matters most? simplicity ,obscurity, lack of acknowledgment or recognition does NOT signify mediocre. most of the greatest people you will ever know will be known by realtivly few. most of the greatest men and women of God you will ever encounter will do what they do with virtuly no fan fare they will get little splash for all that they do. one does not need a title before your name or crown on your head to be a recipent of the Holy Spirit...."
Dec. 23rd, 2005 @ 07:47 am
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| » Lost In Translation |
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Yesterday was strange. I have been to many church services and sat through many messages. Yesterday, I honestly had no idea what the guy was talking about. He spoke about Jesus as a youth. I have read the gospels and there is very little information regarding Jesus up until he turns 30. The speaker was pulling stuff out that seemed like he was reaching a bit. It was weird, granted I was "enjoying" a bit of hangover from the night before.
Each week I feel increasingly disconnected from this church. When the first pastor left, several families, that we were close to, eventually left as well. There were eight people on the leadership team when I was on it. Four of them have left. I was determined to hang in there and see this thing through. Perhaps they knew something I didn't. I used to think that I was doing the noble thing by sticking around and continuing to give of my time and resources. I could have been wrong. We cannot leave now. My daughter is part of a youth group that she loves and it would break her heart. I won't put her through that. Besides, I doubt things are any different anywhere else. I would just find the same stuff somewhere else because the problem is most likely of my own making.
One thing I really enjoyed was Tom Hemby played some of his instrumental stuff. I was really digging it. Then the children's pastor had to pull me aside in the midst of one his songs to inform me that my son was traumatizing other children by declaring that there was no Santa Clause.
If she could have waited until after the service, I would have gladly taken each child aside and told them that my son was wrong and that there is a Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and a Boogie Man who will doll out a harsh punishment to my son for his disbelief.
Dec. 19th, 2005 @ 09:01 am
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| » Another day |
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Got a rejection email from Don Miller's publisher. They are putting together a quarterly for unpublished authors. My submission was not "the format" they were looking for.
My reply to their email...
fuck off
I am gearing up to write another story for next quarter.
Dec. 13th, 2005 @ 01:14 pm
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| » U2 |
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I went to see U2 this past weekend. The last time I saw them I was in college and it was their Zoo TV tour.
The open act Institute was tolerable at best. The lead singer, Gavin Rossdale, used to be in a band called Bush. He is married to Gwen Stefani. Probably the most entertaining moment was when he was singing an old Bush song which included the lyrics “there is no sex in your violence.” He kept screaming this and then shortened it to “No Sex.” He belted this out over and over. A guy behind me said “does say much for Gwen now does it”. Their weren’t bad musically. In fact that had a pretty nice edge. They sounded more like Helmet who the guitarist and bassist used to play for than Bush. I think the lyrics are goofy. The slow ballad “Save the Robots” was laughable.
U2 opened with “City of Blinding Lights.” Karen, due to the generosity of a friend of ours, got to go into the circle and she was right up against the stage. When the lights went down, Bono was standing right next to her. She will not recover from this anytime soon.
The lighting and affects were stripped down from the Zoo TV days. There were strings of lights that were dropped at various parts of the show that had some pretty cool LCD style graphics.
Zoo TV was all about over-blown production and while the spectacle was fun to watch the music got lost in all the gadgetry.
Vertigo was about the music. During the 90’s, I thought Bono had pretty much ruined his voice and resorted to false setto and effects to cover for it. He really sounded great. He blew everyone away when he sang “Miss Sarajevo” and did the opera part that was originally recorded by Pavorotti. He nailed it.
The highlight for me was “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own.” He talked about his father and how he would tell him “Take those Fucking Sunglasses Off.” He took his shades off and tossed them to the back of the stage and said “This is for you.” The story of he and his dad’s stormy relationship really came through. The pain in his voice and the tears on his face made this an intimate moment. The next night, he went right into the song without the introduction.
The Edge changed up his style on some of the songs. He used less effects and played more blues style riffs. It gave a different feel to some of their classic songs.
Another striking difference between these shows and the Zoo TV tours was the politics have changed. Numerous times during Zoo George Bush Senior was the butt of the joke and there was a harsh edge to message.
Even the drummer admitted that he was uncomfortable with the band campaigning for Bill Clinton when they didn’t live in this country.
While they sang their anti-war songs, "Love and Peace or Else", "Bullet the Blue Sky" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday", rather than bashing America, Bono seemed sincere in his anger towards people killing each other and wanting the wars to end. I got the impression that he knew that wars are necessary but he hates them. Who can't relate to that? I hate to see young people's lives cut short. I did media for a banquet to honor marine parents who had lost their children in battle. I want the war to end. I don't want these banquets to be endless. I hope peace is won and the war is resolved.
The band played with passion and they really seem to enjoy what they were doing. Bono forgot to come in at the right part of a song and the guitarist chuckled and it was funny. They, no doubt, still love what they do.
Both shows were different and good in their own ways.
Nov. 23rd, 2005 @ 07:31 pm
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| » Stupid thought |
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I wonder if it would be possible to go a whole day without being in a conversation. An mp3 player might be useful in this endevor. I would miss talking to my wife and kids. Possible I could shorten this to from the time I walk out the front door in the morning and return at night.
There is this desire to be introverted lately.
I successfully avoided the firm Thanksgiving party. My botched application was the topic of few conversations and this leaves me feeling not so rockstaresque.
Nov. 22nd, 2005 @ 06:45 pm
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| » Be afraid, very afraid... |
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I met my son Kolin in the dark hall way in the early morning. He said, "I thought you were someone else. I thought I was going to half to get my sword."
He has a real sword that his granddad bought him and he was about to use it.
Nov. 16th, 2005 @ 07:36 am
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| » Blew it pretty bad |
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I had one of the worst days career wise that I can remember. I screwed this program up and it waisted a lot of people's time. In a law firm time really is money and I cost them quit a bit due to being stupid and making an ignorant mistake. Better have a great day today or I will be looking for work tomorrow.
Nov. 15th, 2005 @ 06:58 am
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| » Aint Gonna Work On Maggie's Farm No Mo |
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Yesterday was interesting. Last week, I was asked to step down from leading Missions and Outreach so as to allow some else to take it over. We had a meeting to make the switch and she is going to do a wonderful job with it. She is very organized and has ideas that she is eager to implement. She also has a budget, which is something that should help make this a success. I was asked to be a part of the team she is putting together. I think I will probably "exit stage left" on this one.
I went to 848 alone. Karen slept in. She had a rough morning so we ended up sitting in the very back of the church. It was kind of funny. The only way we could see the stage was by seeing it on the tv. It was funny because the pastor had this "angelic glow" about him due to the contrast. He spoke about Gideon. He should have went with Moses and the glowing face.
We went to Sears to find parts for the dishwasher from hell. It leaves a lake in our kitchen every time we use it. I have been fighting with the damn thing for about two months now. I have taken it apart many times and even resorted to using duct tape to keep the bastard at bay. I hope Karen doesn't stumble on this. She would be less than impressed with my use of "Kentucky Chrome" on one of her appliances. If you can't use duct tape to stop a leak than what the hell is it for? It is not visible YET. I was thinking about wrapping the whole door in it. Steel finish is very popular in kitchen appliences and duct tape sort of looks like steal from 100 yards away.
I wondered over to the television section. I have never been one who cares much about stuff. Our furniture is crap. I kind of like it because it is disposable. If we get tired of something, we can toss it and if we kept it for a year or so, we got our $50 worth out of it. I need some sort of motivation to make my career my focus. My technical skills have been rather neglected while chasing dreams. It is probably time to start taking my job seriously. While looking at the gargantuan high definition televisions, I got the thought that if I work hard and learn a ton I could make a whole lot more money and be able to afford one of these beasts.
I could just imagined plopping a $2 television in the middle of my living room. It will go well with the Sam’s Club couch and the Goodwill chair. I would have to have it delivered. There would be something sort of nutty about transporting a tv across town that is worth twice what the vehicle is worth.
Karen deserve better than what she has been given. Maybe if I put a little effort into furthering my career, she could have some better furniture and things. She has given up a lot while I have been chasing dreams that keep falling apart.
Nov. 14th, 2005 @ 04:50 am
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| » Not so sure |
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About 4 years ago, I read Wild At Heart by John Eldredge. Since then, I have read all of his books and have been quite touched by his message. I think that he and his ministry have made a huge impact on many people and he has accomplished some great things. This is a very boiled down version of his teachings but he basically teaches that God renews the hearts of his believers and makes them new and good therefore the desires that come from the heart are God's way speaking to us.
I have tried to understand Eldredge's writings and apply them to my own life. This has led to much frustration and disapointment. I am not going to say that he is off base because I know for a fact that his writings have touched people and helped them grow in their relationship with God. One person, who was part of a Wild At Heart group, it completly turned his life around.
I just think that it is not for me. Perhaps, I am just not getting it or missing some of his finer points but no matter the reason, it just is not working out.
I guess it is sort of like art or music, one person can see or hear something and it has a huge impact and yet to someone else it means little or nothing.
It has been an intresting path to travel on and a different way of exploring my faith but for me, it has ended.
Nov. 12th, 2005 @ 10:02 pm
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| » disappointed |
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Following the marriage retreat, I put together a proposal for a marriage ministry. The church leaders liked the proposal but dediced not to fund the ministry. They want me to do it for free. This has been less than successful the many times that I have attemted it. I cannot hellp be feel disapointed.
My son's school called and said my son's mohawk was not in line with their dress code. Just a few miles away, at the high school, one of the students shot another and killed him. I really think my first grade son's hair needs a little less focus.
Nov. 11th, 2005 @ 03:26 pm
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| » Searching For God Knows What |
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I really liked Don Miller's book "Blue Like Jazz" so I have started reading "Searching For God Knows What." A couple chapters into it, it strikes me as "BLJ 2." BLJ was an autobiographical look at faith and how the author became disenchanted and his journey back. "Searching" picks up with the theme that being a follower of Christ cannot be achieved through a "Faith System" or formula.
I thoughts this was cool: "...one of the things that you notice about Jesus in the Gospels, that He is always going around saying, 'You have heard it said such and such, but I tell you some other thing'. If you happen to be a person who thought they knew everything about God, Jesus would have been completly annoying."
Nov. 5th, 2005 @ 06:15 am
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| » A Really Great Day |
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I got to baptize my son Kolin.
Nov. 4th, 2005 @ 06:15 pm
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| » Pink Lipstick |
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While dropping off my daughter at junior high, I kissed her goodbye. Something was different. She was wearing lipstick.
Nov. 4th, 2005 @ 07:59 am
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| » Marriage Retreat |
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We had an mazing time at the marriage retreat. After the retreat, we had about a 7 hour drive to pickup the kids and got to spend some time responding to what we learned.
It was really fascinating to learn how things that happen in our past can come back and put us into a pit that is hard to get out of. Karen and I discovered that we had some of the same "pain pockets" and that certain events can send us both into these pits at the same time. We also learned about how parts of who we were can come back and need to be heard.
Oct. 26th, 2005 @ 09:50 am
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| » (No Subject) |
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When I was very young, I had an older sister who called me by my initials, J.D.. Somehow that got morphed into Jody. My family and everyone I knew called me by that name. I was back in the old neighborhood not too long ago and ran into my former next door nieghbor. He called me by that name. That was what I was called so everyone assumed that was my real name.
Jody was a shy little guy. He played by himself for the most part. He went to a private school in another town so he did not know any of the other kids. With seven older siblings, it was easy to be lost in the daily shuffle. Occasionally, he would get in trouble just to let the adults know he was still around. Mostly, he spent his childhood hiding because it was the path of least resistance.
Jody has to die in order for me to be the man God has called me to be. My wife did not marry Jody, she married Joel. My kids do not need a playmate. They need a father. Besides, Jody plays by himself and is not good company anyhow. My church and employer need Joel not Jody. The battle call is for warriors.
I have to let him go in order to be the man God created me to be. It is too easy to revert to being that shy kid.
Sep. 3rd, 2005 @ 05:53 am
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