curious wonder

so it rained a bit today

2007-03-30T23:39:00.000-05:00

will it never end?!?!?

2007-03-12T23:49:00.001-05:00

OK, some may know that I declared jihad against church marquees several years ago. I think they should all be dynamited, chopped down, run over, or otherwise destroyed. Even with that philosophy, I have been quiet in more recent days about the continued scourge of stupid things that churches put out front for the world to see. (Side note: We passed one the other day that my 8 year old daughter

how to dehumanize a population in one easy step

2006-12-26T15:37:00.000-06:00

Instead of calling them people, follow CNN's lead from this headline about a fuel line explosion that may have killed as many as a thousand people. Hundreds of fuel scavengers die in blastNot people, humans, residents, Nigerians, etc. "Fuel scavengers". Obviously unworthy of notice or mourning.

the parable of the silky

2006-12-26T11:10:00.000-06:00

Once there was a boy. Since the day he was born he had treasured a 1 x 1 square of blue silk cloth he called his silky. He loved his silky. It traveled with him everywhere he went. There was no sleeping without it. It had been torn and repaired. It was stained from years of meals and playing and who knows what else. It was truly a beautiful, cherished part of the boy's life. Then one day when

do they know it's Christmas time yet?

2006-12-21T14:03:00.000-06:00

In 1984 Britain's biggest names in music came together as "Band Aid" (I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time) to perform the song "Do They Know It's Christmas Time?". The song was intended to raise awareness and money for famine in Ethiopia. And it did. Between Band Aid and USA for Africa (circa 1985), a ton of food and money went to those starving in Africa. So I heard the song

music geek humor

2006-12-20T12:57:00.000-06:00

This is a stand up bit about how not fun it is to play Pachabel's Canon in D on the cello that moves into a rant about how all music contains the same chords. It starts slow if you aren't a music geek, but the last couple of minutes are worth it. Enjoy.God bless youtube. J

I feel a need to apologize

2006-10-29T10:33:00.000-06:00

I guess I can't speak for everyone in Oklahoma. In fact I probably speak for a pretty small number. In any case, I would like to apologize to the nation and probably the world for our senator Dr. Tom Crossword Coburn. Sen. Dr. Tom (or Dr. Sen. Tom) has taken the praise he received for standing against the "Bridge to Nowhere" Bill ( a stand which I also applaud by the way) and parlayed it into a

Top 5

2006-09-02T12:44:00.000-05:00

In honor of (finally) watching High Fidelity last night...Top Five Movies with John Cusack (no particular order)1. Better Off Dead - "Gee, I'm real sorry your mom blew up, Ricky."2. Identity - Despite the presence of Ray Liotta3. Con-Air - Is it ridiculous that Nicholas Cage plays a tough guy? Yes. Does it matter? Not when you have John Malcovich and Steve Bucemi.4. High Fidelty - "Hey, I'm not

it simply never ends

2006-08-21T10:20:00.000-05:00

From CNN.com Sunday school teacher dumped for being femaleIf this pastor wants to interpret the Bible like this, whatever. But could he at least have the decency to tell the woman face to face? (a letter was sent from the church clerk - a woman by the way) Or maybe he could have brought this up two years ago when he started at his church. I wonder if the men she has been a part of teaching for 54

one year ago today

2006-08-07T22:32:00.000-05:00

The day started in Beijing, we flew to Nanchang (after doing our best OJ impression through the Beijing Airport - running, not killing people), made our way to our hotel and within a couple of hours had Rebekah in our arms. A year later I am still at a loss for words about that day and that moment when the little girl we had dreamed of and prayed for and moved heaven and earth to get our arms

holiday road

2006-06-09T16:37:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow morning we load up the family truckster and head west for Colorado. Should be an entertaining 12 hours in the car. Just a few things I can promise youwon't hear me say. . ."Eat road grit liver lips""Hey, hey, easy kids. Everybody in the car. Boat leaves in two minutes... or perhaps you don't want to see the second largest ball of twine on the face of the earth, which is only four short

should christians celebrate death?

2006-06-09T15:57:00.000-05:00

I tried to post this last night, but blogger was busy sucking so....Unless you have been in a cave the last couple of days, you know that the US dropped two 500lb bombs on a house where Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and several aides and other people were having a meeting. al-Zarqawi was killed along with everyone else present. al-Zarqawi was an evil man. He was responsible for untold deaths of civilians

video goodness

2006-06-09T15:47:00.000-05:00

As a fan of both U2 and Samuel L. Jackson, I had to post this. It's a pretty decent impression of Bono singing "Someone Tell Sam Jackson He's My Bro". Great stuff. btw - if you don't care for profanity, you might be warned - Sam Jackson's kind of famous for it.Enjoy.j

14

2006-06-06T23:00:00.000-05:00

Fourteen years ago K and I said "I do" and started this wild ride of marriage. Since this date last year we have been around the world and back, we've become parents (again), my life has changed directions (again), and we continue to learn and grow and change and become.We laugh more now than we did 14 years ago. I like to think it is because we are finding life to be more and more of a joy as

other randomness

2006-06-03T11:06:00.000-05:00

article from new york magazine about the "killing off" of the generation gap or how 30/40-somethings are living and acting like 20-somethings.then of course al mohler weighs in and calls us all immature because we don't wear suits like good grown up republicans, errmm I mean "christians" should.ht to ysmarkointeresting article on creating intentional community by Dave Pollardht to Jordon

an ode to 24 - season 5

2006-06-03T10:54:00.000-05:00

While stolling through the blogiverse this morning I came across this epic poem written by the actor who plays President Logan on 24. It is season 5 in iambic pentameter. Spoilers galore - so if you don't want to know, don't click. But if you are the kind of soul that slows down for car accidents - click here and enjoy. j

suffering in the burbs?

2006-06-01T22:38:00.000-05:00

In reading through Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship, I encountered a passage that deals with the necessity of suffering for the disciple who wants to identify with Jesus. Bonhoeffer saysJust as Christ is Christ only in virtue of his suffering and rejection, so the disciple is a disciple only in so far as he shares his Lord's sufering and rejection and crucifixion. (p. 87)There is no need in

just a thought

2006-05-25T16:33:00.000-05:00

As I was driving through Edmond today and saw no less than 5 church marquees announcing some "Code" related gathering, I had to wonder. . . What would the world be like if the Church had taken all of the time, energy, money, and focus given to the DaVinci Code over the last three years and applied it to dealing with the Bible? j

frederick beuchner interview video

2006-05-14T23:44:00.000-05:00

This is a great interview with one of my favorite authors. Curteosy of PBS Religion and Ethics Newsweekly.Watch the video hereor read the interview here.One favorite quoteABERNETHY: (the interviewer) I asked Buechner what advice he gives young people seeking a career.Rev. BUECHNER: The vocation for you is the one in which your deep gladness and the world's deep need meet -- something that not

tragic, sad, true, funny video

2006-05-14T23:39:00.000-05:00

King of the Hill goes church shopping.This is why we're in trouble if we ever move.watch here

speaking of bed nets

2006-05-06T08:04:00.000-05:00

Great column by Rick Reilly in last week's Sports Illustrated.

must see video

2006-05-05T22:56:00.000-05:00

I think I have told the story here about the little girl from the orphanage in Fenyi who was coming to America to have surgery to correct a severe facial abnormality. Gong Lu has been for for about amonth and today she made an appearance on the Today show.The thing that struck all of us about this little girl was her beautiful smile (which you can see in the picture to the left)and spirit in

how to save lives in Africa for $1 a year

2006-04-30T13:10:00.000-05:00

From Jeffery Sachs in the NY TimesAMERICANS have a perfect retort to Osama Bin Laden's call for expanding the terrorism war to Sudan. We should respond by showing our abiding concern for the plight of Africans by helping to save millions of children who are at risk of death from disease. In honoring the sanctity of the lives of the least among us we have the best chance to defeat the ideologies

suffer the little children

2006-04-28T10:15:00.000-05:00

Since the day I stood in the orphanage in Fenyi and felt overwhelmed with the sense of the presence of Jesus in such a difficult place, I have felt this growing awareness of the plight of children around the world. Over the last couple of weeks, I have found myself in tears over and over again about what is happening to kids in this jacked up world. Some links.invisible children - a documentary

it's about time

2006-04-26T00:28:00.000-05:00

the cure for information overload

a day in the life

2006-04-19T22:57:00.000-05:00

Looking back at today, I understand why I am 1) very tired2) contemplating the possibility of schizophreniastrap in and enjoy...7:30 - Dad guy wakes up and helps get kids ready and off to school8:30 - Jacob's Well finiancial secretary guy pays some bills for the church8:45 - Web Design guy catches up on some emails and types up invoices9:15 - Student Guy leaves for the library but makes some

I said I wasn't going to get into this

2006-04-12T08:39:00.000-05:00

I decided a few weeks ago that I wasn't going to get into the inevitable Easter marketing barrage that occurs every year and floods our mailbox with flyers for special events (egg hunts, sunrise services, musical presentations, movie showings), special sermon series (because the only reason people haven't gone to church yet is they haven't heard you compare Jesus to Jack Bauer - more on that in a

is this heaven?

2006-04-03T13:17:00.000-05:00

Close, it's my living room on opening day. Sitting in the big chair, Cubs already up 1-0, wifi so I can "work" while watching the game. I'll be here until October (and into it?) if you need me.2-0 Cubs now.j

randomness

2006-03-26T11:47:00.000-06:00

I can't decide if I like posts that point to other things "out there" or hate them. However I feel about them, here we go. I have been catching up on my blog reading. Enjoy.Atheist sells his soul on ebay this is a story worth following. Atheist guy offers a chance to covert him on ebay. Guy from off the map . org wins the auction and instead of working to convert him offers him the chance to

speaking of music

2006-03-11T00:04:00.000-06:00

OK, one last music-related post for now. In questing for music, I stumbled across Pandora. What is Pandora you ask? It's your own personal online radio station geared to play the music you like and introduce you to new music that is like what you already know you like.For instance, I am listening to my "Howie Day" radio station that plays other artists in the same vein. It's free, but a

results of the cry for new music

2006-03-09T11:10:00.000-06:00

In the last couple of weeks I have listened and asked around about a ton of music. I've heard some great stuff and some stuff that I'm amazed anyone has ever purchased. Part of the beauty of music is the variety of both producers and consumers. Like David Spade once said - Michael Bolton sold 30 million albums, but I don't know anyone who will admit to owning one.So what have I come up with? Some

worth a watch

2006-03-03T08:36:00.000-06:00

Did you see Tony Campolo on The Colbert Report the other night? I can't say that I agree with everything that Campolo says (although I probably agree with 98% of it), but I have to like him. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with his "red letter Christians" tag. Not that I don't think the red letters (a reference to most Bibles where the words of Jesus are printed in red) are vital, but it seems

i need new music

2006-02-20T13:20:00.000-06:00

I don't know if anyone is out there, but if you are I need music recommendations. Some of you know me and have some idea of what I like, but I'm willing to try anything. I am in need of newness.j

happy belated birthday to us

2006-02-19T21:01:00.000-06:00

Wow, it's been a long week. One week ago tonight we gathered to celebrate the end of year four and the beginning of year five for our community. Jacob's Well is emerging from our toddlerhood and becoming a big kid. It was an incredibly encouraging night as old friends came to celebrate with us and memories and prayers and dreams and visions and hopes were shared. I don't really know what to say

bono at the national prayer breakfast

2006-02-18T17:17:00.000-06:00

If you haven't heard or read Bono's comments to those assembled at the prayer breakfast in DC, you can read them here. And if you are a follower of Jesus, you should read them. You don't have to agree with all of it, that's not the point. Just read, and listen to what the Spirit might be saying to the Church and to you about people in need.One quoteGod is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes

memories of the well (part 4) aka i'm a moron

2006-02-11T21:01:00.000-06:00

I just found this draft that I never posted. Here's the final installment of the memories thread.Where to even begin thinking about our Sunday night gatherings over the years? It seems like almost every night has something that sticks out as important to the growth and direction of our community. All I can hope for in this space are some highlights. So here goes... Our very first gathering at

memories of the well (part 3)

2006-02-08T22:00:00.000-06:00

O the Friday nights. Punk, rock, pop, ska, acoustic, classics, good, bad, ugly, young, old, solo artists, eight member ensembles, no-shows and shows we wish hadn't. Live music at The Well was a lot of things, but it was seldom boring (not never, but seldom). There's no way to list all of the memories, but some highlights . . . The very first show with Matt and Tyler The guy who rolled in

life

2006-02-08T14:25:00.000-06:00

Right now I am. . . A (stumbling) pursuer of Jesus Kenda's husband Caleb's dad Hannah's dad Nathan's dad Rebekah's dad a son a son-in-law a brother (x2)a brother-in-law (x6) an uncle (x8) a part of the Jacob's Well communitypastor of the Jacob's Well community administrator and financial secretary of the Jacob's Well community a full-time student at OU owner, designer,

impossible

2006-02-07T22:28:00.000-06:00

Six months ago today we ran through the Beijing airport to catch a flight to Nanchang. We got to our hotel and were told to go up to our rooms and unpack and be back in a conference room by 4:30. Our daughter would be there. For about 10 minutes we flew around our room making sure everything was as perfect as it could be. Then we sat for the next 45 minutes watching time stand still. By 4:30 four

looking around

2006-02-07T16:00:00.000-06:00

In the summer of 2001 I was on a mission trip with a group of students in Colorado. We spent one of our evening hiking around a little lake in the mountains. I had a fully blown ACL that was waiting to be repaired forcing wearing a brace from thigh to mid-calf and causing me to be very careful about where I stepped. So careful that about half way through the hike I realized that all I was doing

memories of the well, part 2

2006-02-05T09:28:00.000-06:00

The past four years have been a blur of faces coming in and out of The Well for Open Mics, art events, other live music events, and sometimes just to be there for a while. There is no way I can name all of the friends we've made along the way, but here are some that stick out in my mind.Pat the tornado guy - our very first "friend".Rick - Need I say more?Rebel - dittoPaulThe guy that came in one

randomness

2006-02-04T22:45:00.000-06:00

Ok, let me get this straight...In response to a cartoon that shows their prophet to be crazy-looking and violent, Muslim protesters act crazy and violent by burning the embassies of the countries who's free speech laws won't allow them to keep the cartoons from running. Link to CNN story.In other news - the ironic headline of the week goes to the OU Daily.State lawmakers brainstormYet another

memories of the well (part 1)

2006-02-01T19:44:00.000-06:00

As we run up to our 4th birthday and get ready to end our days at The Well, I have been thinking a lot about the last four years. Over the next couple of weeks I'm going to fire off some memories about our journey so far. If you are a part of our community or have had any connnection with us, please add your stories in the comments sections, I'd love to hear them.Since we have spent so much time

xin nein kuai le!

2006-01-29T23:31:00.000-06:00

I may be the last to say it, but may I add my voice to the 1.4 billion people in China and millions more around the world who celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Dog according to the Chinese calendar. We celebrated Chinese New Year for the first time last year and the kids love it. We don't have the stamina to go for 15 days, but we do what we can.Happy (other) New Year to all.j

quick quiz on parental responsibility

2006-01-20T23:50:00.000-06:00

Pardon me while I vent. Pencils ready?1. Your child bites another child in the child care area of your gym. Do you...a. Claim little Genghis would never do such a thing and go the denial / the other kid probably brought it on themselves route?b. Take the little piranha and find the parents of the 17 month old little girl with two new sets of bite marks on her shoulder and apologize to them?c.

greetings international friends

2006-01-17T18:16:00.000-06:00

For no good reason (probably vanity) I was checking my statcounter logs yesterday and noticed a good deal of traffic from outside of the US. Which is cool. I even had my first vistor from Iceland which is amazing because for whatever reason I am obsessed with Iceland. That's not to say that I think those of you who have come from England, Mexico, El Salvandor, Hong Kong, Austria, Australia,

day in the life of a 35 year old sociology student

2006-01-17T15:30:00.000-06:00

Anecdotes and observations of the dayWhy would the Army come to campus on the first day of class to recruit? Doesn't it make more sense to come in May when some have lost hope?Desks are smaller than they used to be.My first prof has a clearly standing joke about how he has been teaching at OU since 1977 - before anyone in the class was born (rim shot). As he was delivering the line, he caught my

anybody got a spare trapper keeper?

2006-01-17T07:33:00.000-06:00

For the first time since January of 1996 I say the words, "Today is my first day of school". Hmmmmm. A report from the front later I'm sure.

the world shrunk a little more

2006-01-15T23:54:00.000-06:00

Tonight - after watching the first two hours of 24 of course - I sat down to check my email and found that we had two comments on Rebekah's blog from a family in The Netherlands that adopted a little girl from the orhpanage in Fenyi who is a week older than Rebekah. How crazy is that? Two little girls who may have shared a room and who certainly shared a playroom whisked off to cities 4800 miles

the end of poverty

2006-01-10T23:19:00.000-06:00

I just finished Jeffrey Sachs' book The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. There is so much to talk about that I can't even imagine where to start. 1 b(B!)illion people living on less than $1 a day. People dying for lack of a $3 injection. Lack of sanitation, electricity, even adequate roads to get to a market to sell or buy. The Western world is flipping out over a handful of

adventures in fatherhood - the good, the bad, and the ugly

2006-01-07T22:44:00.000-06:00

Ah what days Saturdays turn out to be.The Good (insert whistles here) - basketball with Caleb. We goofed around in the driveway this morning and then he had his first game this afternoon. It is so fun watching someone do something they love so much. (btw - 14pts, 5 steals, and a handful of rebounds)The Bad (still whistling?) - Caleb calls me from a birthday party where he has just won a game for

interesting randomness

2006-01-06T23:53:00.000-06:00

Dead Tree Newspapers in a Wired World - Great Commentary on the Needless Waste Caused by Print NewsCNN video on ways to deal with life's annoyances (as if I needed any more ideas) - look for making the Moost of itOn living with just enough (ht to becky @ grrlmeetsworld)What Starbuck's doesn't want you to know - You can get a better, stronger, cheaper cappuccino for less, all you have to do is ask

stuff changing

2006-01-06T23:32:00.000-06:00

I'm messing around with the template and information and other stuff over the next few days, so look around to see what's new. My top ten (+1) book sof 2005 are now listed (more on those later). Back to work...j

the most American prayer I have ever heard

2006-01-06T22:53:00.000-06:00

Caleb and I went to watch the Hornets play tonight (thanks again for the seats, Dad). During the pre-game they had an invocation from a local pastor (who shall - along with his church - remain nameless). After asking God to bless the NBA and especially the Hornets (homer), he ended his prayer with these words.And God, we know that your Word says you desire abundance and success for us, so let

looking back on 2005

2006-01-03T23:35:00.000-06:00

Ah, time to wax nostalgic. Just what you were waiting for, right? In thinking about the past year, a lot of things stick out. Like...turning 35 (dang, 35?)Jacob's Well turning 3 years oldmy 8 days in the hospital (wheeeeeeee)the decision to go back to school (because two degrees are never enough)lots of changes and growth in business stuff that's too boring to get intothe end of the line for my

hanging out in KC

2006-01-03T00:10:00.000-06:00

Happy 2006! More on that later. K and I got to spend a couple of days after Christmas goofing off in Kansas City. If you've followed the exploits (?) of curiouswonder for very long (and if you haven't, why not?) you know that KC has become our favorite place to get away. The City of Fountains (that's what they tell us anyway) came through again. Some highlights.Used Book Store Crawling: My ever

the long silence...

2005-12-20T00:02:00.000-06:00

The GRE goes down tomorrow at 4pm. By 8, I'll have my life back. Things will get louder then. For now, I must get to bed to get the recommended "good night's sleep".j

great moments in fatherhood

2005-12-10T10:25:00.000-06:00

The boys and I watched some Mythbusters this morning and one of the myths involved an elevator dropping in free fall nine floors with a dummy inside. Needless to say, the dummy ("Buster") was annihilated in the fall.We turn off the show, I leave the room for a minute and come back to see the boys holding Mrs. Potatohead off the couch, ready for a drop. Not satisfied with the resulting carnage,

to celebrate the season i give you. . .

2005-12-05T18:55:00.000-06:00

... the cavalcade of bad nativities.My personal favorite?Rubber Duckie Baby Jesusht to Becky over at grrrl meets worldEnjoyj

seeing Jesus everywhere

2005-12-03T14:38:00.000-06:00

No, not like that.In looking at one story of a man who has found the image of Jesus in the dirt on the tailgate of his truck (of course it's in Texas), I started wondering what other places Jesus has popped up recently. So in the spirit (Spirit?) of Truck-Dirt Jesus I bring you...Apartment Window Jesus (Fort Worth, Texas)Fish Bone Jesus (Luther, OK) Shower Mold Jesus (Pittsburg, PA) Dental X-Ray

things you need to experience to believe

2005-12-01T15:53:00.000-06:00

Just a couple of spots to waste a few minutes and be amazed.First this video -- it's from the pastor of Victory Christian Center in Tulsa and shows him being punched by a man during the altar call of their service. Most of the video is his response (which by the way is pretty impressive).ht to the leadership blog for the linkIf punching pastors isn't your thing (and here's hoping it isn't), check

if you are the praying type

2005-11-28T11:53:00.000-06:00

Or really even if you aren't.There was an earthquake yesterday in China's Jianxi province (where Rebekah is from). 15 people were killed, and thousands are either homeless or living in questionable housing. Neither of the cities we visited (Nanchang and Fenyi - Rebekah's city) were mentioned in the article, but we feel an attachment to that place now and even feel like we have a friend or two

why buy nothing?

2005-11-27T10:03:00.000-06:00

If you haven't seen this video yet, check out the battle between an irate shopper and Wal*Mart security.The beautiful part to me is this screen capture from the video. Off to the right you can see a sign that says "Only at Wal*Mart".Exactly.j

it's that time of year again

2005-11-22T23:29:00.000-06:00

On Friday, just say no to mass consumption. Unless of course it's leftovers.

more from Ehrenreich

2005-11-21T10:44:00.000-06:00

Just one more from Nickel and Dimed and I'll move on to other things.Wherever you look, there is no alternative to the megascale coporate order, from which every form of local creativity and initiative will be abolished by distant home offices. Even the woods and the meadows hae been stripped of disorderly life forms and forced into a uniform made of concrete. What you see - highways, parking

thoughts from nickel and dimed

2005-11-16T09:04:00.000-06:00

if I'm back, that means there will be quotes from books. Just a couple from a non-"christian" source. Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. It's her story on trying to live and work in "low-wage" America.First, a comment on her work in a restaurant.The worst, for some reason, are the visible Christians - like the ten person table, all jolly and sanctified after

the quote of the year

2005-11-15T22:41:00.000-06:00

K and I took Rebekah to our favorite Chinese restaurant for lunch today. Our daughter who doesn't know the English or Chinese word for shy was doing her usual routine of entertaining the wait staff and the people seated around us. Next to us was a woman in her late 50's / early 60s who talked to Rebekah and to us several times during the meal. As we were getting things together to leave, the

pat, shut the $*%! up

2005-11-10T23:46:00.000-06:00

How can you claim to follow Jesus and make this statement?"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover [Pennsylvania]. If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city. And don't wonder why He hasn't helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I'm not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if

happy trails to me

2005-09-22T23:11:00.000-05:00

Every day I sit down and think through the things I need / want to accomplish in a day. Every day sitting down to blog makes the list. I have a list of 20 things that I'd love to rant / post / think / talk about. Then the day ends, nothing is posted, and I feel guilty about it. So I've decided to take it off the list for a while. We are going through a stretch in life where most non-essential

happiness is...

2005-09-15T11:43:00.000-05:00

...wi-fi in your house. Coming to you live from the living room. Time to test out how far the signal goes. j

wednesday morning randomness

2005-09-14T08:51:00.000-05:00

New Napoleon Dynamite sightings. He and Pedro are doing ads for the Utah State Fair, go to Napoleon's Sweet Ads on the left. All I say is "do you see any flippin' sasquatches around here?"ysmarko points us to a church with attendance-based salaries for staff members. Healthy, no?I finally saw What the Bleep do We Know? last night. Wow. Great film, really well done. There's some amazing stuff and

dang it, i said please. . .

2005-09-13T15:43:00.000-05:00

"Out of this tragedy, the focus of America is going to be on these [hurricane] victims, and inflamed rhetoric in the United States Senate is just not going to play well now. This is a time of healing and compassion and reaching out to people....Judge Roberts can, maybe, you know, be thankful that a tragedy has brought him some good." -- Pat RobertsonNeeds no comment from me...hurry up on that

better late than never

2005-09-11T23:07:00.000-05:00

I always throw out happy birthday to the family as they roll around. I haven't had the chance yet, so I'll say it a couple of days late. To my partner in crime and fellow world traveler and the most amazing wife and mom on the planet - Happy Birthday! See, this one wasn't so bad, was it?For the record -- there was much celebrating on the actual day. Ted's. Need I say more? (probably if you aren't

no time to post today

2005-09-07T09:46:00.000-05:00

I'm off to Kansas City for this. Wagons North. J

live blog from inside new orleans

2005-09-02T14:24:00.000-05:00

Via Andrew JonesThis is a blog from some guys holed up in a high rise in New Orleans. It is complete with running updates / commentary, amazing photographs, and a live cam feed watching the streets around their building. Unrealj

and the winner is. . .

2005-09-01T23:55:00.000-05:00

The award for the most ridiculously over-the-top inflammatory statement crafted for the sole purpose of being excerpted into reviews and articles in order to get people to read your book goes to....Roy F. Fox in Harvesting Minds : How TV Commercials Control Kids. It goes a little something like this. In talking about Channel One, the "news and information" channel pumped into schools that also

seen driving through town today

2005-09-01T10:32:00.000-05:00

This bumper sticker...This is not the first time God has spoken through a BUSHI would like to note that God also spoke through Balaam's steed. Apparently my cynicism was waiting for me in the car. j

spinning

2005-08-31T23:28:00.000-05:00

Out on my front porch tonight this spider is building the Taj Mahal. It easily covers 35-40 square feet. It goes from roof to roof across the entry way and stretches almost to the ground. You could catch a bear in this thing. This spider is rolling back and forth across it with no real idea of how impressive the night's work is to those of us who admired it tonight.Why is he doing it? Why expend

tomorrow

2005-08-30T23:13:00.000-05:00

I'm going to get back in the habit of posting. Thoughts on our trek to China. Thoughts from the China book list. Thoughts on turning 35Thoughts.Until then.j

walmart -- bastion of philanthropy

2005-08-30T21:56:00.000-05:00

OK let me get this straight.WalMart is going to donate one million dollars each to the salvation army and red cross for hurricane relief. Or about fifty cents per victim. Or all of their earnings for one five minute stretch. At the same time they are going to "accept customer donations" at all of their stores. So they are going to donate a million dollars and then allow people to come in, spend

why i'm not a good parent

2005-08-26T19:08:00.000-05:00

I haven't bought Rebekah one of these.Although I must say, it wins the award for best-named baby thing of the year.My favorite part of the explanation/guilt trip --The damage to a falling toddler's hands and knees can be an acceptable form of pain for learning but a head injury can be traumatic for both infant and parent. wowj

dear pat robertson

2005-08-26T09:14:00.000-05:00

On behalf of every person on earth who is trying to follow Jesus and engage their world with the love and life and story of God, would you please shut up? I and others are sick of having to answer for your insanity. You have said we deserved 9/11, you have called "activist" judges "worse than terrorists", you have claimed God spoke to you about the "landslide" victory of 'W' (guess God has a

the fog of reentry

2005-08-23T10:40:00.000-05:00

You know this scene from the Matrix? Where Neo takes the pill and is released. That's how I feel right now. Not like I've received some revelation that will shatter my image of reality, but more like I'm covered in goo and gasping for air. The last few days have been a blur of catching up on bills, emails, business stuff, and life punctuated by screams of pain and/or fear at three in the morning

happy birthday hannah!

2005-08-18T23:03:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe you are seven years old! In my mind you are still the little girl riding on my shoulders in Colorado in that picture by my desk. Even with that picture in my mind, when I watch you, I can see the amazing person you are and are becoming. From princess to tomboy and back again so fast it makes my head spin.I'm so proud of how creative you are and how giving you are and how much you

too many things to keep up with

2005-08-04T17:59:00.000-05:00

Between rebekah's blog and posting our pictures on Flickr, there's not much time to psot anything here. At least for now.I'll try to put some thoughts here after we get to Nanchang and get Rebekah, but for now follow the journey on the other spaces.j

and away we go

2005-08-01T22:07:00.000-05:00

Ten hours from now we'll be in the air on our way to Minneapolis and Tokyo and Beijing. The next 36 hours will be a blur of airports, planes, airline food, skipped days, and moving closer. I'm hoping to at least be able to fire off a note from each of our stops (the blog doesn't get out much, so it's very excited).For today, everything was packed up so early in the day we took off for a last "

speaking of old friends

2005-08-01T00:30:00.000-05:00

I got to have breakfast with John from Kansas City Saturday. It is so good to spend time with people with whom you have history. In this midst of talking about all kinds of things, we moved through a conversation about when we took part in leading worship together for different things at chbc. Some of those nights it didn't matter if there was another soul in the room (some of those nights there

oh wow

2005-07-31T16:20:00.000-05:00

I had a visit to the reading blog this afternoon from someone who came from isbushanitchrist.blogspot.com. He's not kidding. I know lots of folks think Bush is evil, this guy thinks we should be searching his head for 666. (remember the omen movies?)A quick quote from a questionairre he was asked to fill out.1. Before I start: Do you really believe that George W. Bush is the Antichrist?(

of old friends and good nights

2005-07-30T23:45:00.000-05:00

Tonight my ever-patient wife and kids took the night off from packing for China and went with me to a reunion of friends from a group I was a part of my senior year of high school. Seventeen years ago for those of you keeping score. Over the years I had seen most of these folks at one place or another, but we hadn't been together like this since school ended. It was a lot of fun and a lot of

ah, you can't beat fun at the old ball park

2005-07-28T22:50:00.000-05:00

That's what Harry used to say, and he's right. In our quest for normalcy for our kids in the midst of the insanity of heading to the "far east" (so far east, we go west) we decided to head out the "The Brick" and catch our local boys playing the Iowa Cubs (pure coincidence I assure you). We called a friend who hooked us up with tickets (one row behind home plate - thanks Nancy) and off the five

a bit peeved

2005-07-28T11:12:00.000-05:00

Just a couple of things quickly to vent. 1. If you have a blog that is more than 12 months old and all that is on it is a post called "test" or "this is my very first blog post", go ahead and sacrifice the 2 minutes it will take to login in to blogger (or whoever) and click the "delete this blog" button.2. If you call and choose not to leave a voice mail. a) Do not call repeatedly at 30 second

so tired

2005-07-27T23:57:00.000-05:00

So much for writing some this week before we take off. I want to talk about minor league baseball and our trip the see the redhawks and about church as corporation and my early desires to find myself in one. But now, all I want is sleep. Visions of

i just discovered

2005-07-22T23:09:00.000-05:00

Blogger's spell check thinks "blog" is a misspelled word. hmmmmmj

my 3 year old pace car

2005-07-22T22:19:00.000-05:00

It seems like since we came back from Lost Valley, life is moving at thousands of miles an hour around us. Today things seemed to move especially fast. I was on the highway doing 70 in a 60 in the slow lane and getting passed and having people try to put their cars in the hatch of mine. I got pushed out of the way in line today to get an allergy shot (no small feat if you've seen me. Apparently

couple of additions

2005-07-20T10:16:00.000-05:00

I wanted to point out a couple of new links to the right under "stuff I do". 1. Finally a link to our journey to Rebekah blog.2. I have started a blog to keep quotes and comment on stuff I'm reading. Not much there yet, but I will be catching up on some older reads and updating books as I finish them. Enjoy if you so choose. j

back

2005-07-18T15:05:00.000-05:00

Back and saddle sore from CO. I should be posting pretty regularly from now until we take off for China. Just not right now. Well, kind of. Anyway.Good to be home. (not that it was bad to be gone)j

catching up

2005-07-09T09:45:00.000-05:00

It's been a quiet couple of weeks with getting ready for vacation and starting to finalize plans for our jaunt to China for Rebekah. I'm catching up on my blog reading this morning and I thought I'd share some highlights (and lowlights)in leiu of actually saying anything original myself. Away we go.An Ode to the Worship Tambourine from Mark OestreicherMore Changes at Sesame Street via Jordon

a hand i want to shake

2005-06-30T10:43:00.000-05:00

This is beauty. In a strong display of group dementia, the Supreme Court ruled this week that private entities can take property from private citizens if they can prove that will be of economic benefit to the community. In other words, if WalMart wants to build where you happen to live, all they have to do is prove their store will bring in more money than you pay in property taxes and you are

real life conversations

2005-06-24T11:04:00.000-05:00

From the public library circulation desk. . .Me: How are you this morning.Shrewish librarian lady: Sir, the express self-checkouts are available.Me: I know, I'd just rather interact with a real person.SLL: Sir, I don't have time for that. (goes back to reading the morning paper)Usually those kinds of things make me mad. Today, just sad. Technology is supposed to make life better, but in

speaking of flags. . .

2005-06-22T16:30:00.000-05:00

OK so today the House decided it would make put itself in a position to more narrowly define the "free" in free speech.House approves flag-burning amendmentAt least the "debate" was entertaining.From the right"Ask the men and women who stood on top of the [World] Trade Center," said Rep. Randy [Duke] Cunningham, R-California. "Ask them and they will tell you: pass this amendment."Irresponsible