Budget Dining

It's the last day of the month, which means it's budget dining day! Usually this means breakfast for dinner, and tonight was no different.

A staple at our breakfast for dinner table growing up was biscuits with peanut butter and syrup. Now, the best mixture requires crunchy peanut butter, something I rarely eat, so we made do with creamy. I haven't had it in a while, but it certainly brings back memories.

Erika never grew up with this stuff, so I was wondering if anyone else had. I know there's probably some other people out there with some good "poor food" recipes. Let me know your favorites!

Don't Stop

Momentum in all aspects of my life is converging to this point in the not-too-distant future. Over the course of the next month or so, I'll be starting Bible studies (maybe a couple), having a baby (not me, but you get the drift), planning loads of community events, figuring out how to get to Africa, and maybe even help another church get off the ground.

Erika and I were talking about all of this in light of the new baby, and both agreed that life doesn't stop just because you have kids. We have the opportunity to do some great things, world-changing things, and I want Kylie and Kathryn to know that you have to make the most of the opportunities that come along. Sometimes, you only get one shot. I'm thankful to have a family that moves along the rhythm of life together, that finds the resonance of God in this world and chases him.

Saturday is for Singing

Jars of Clay's "Love Song for a Savior" was one of the first "Christian" songs I heard when I got into church. It's a simple song about simple faith, and I think it's very appropriate for what my faith was like when I started my relationship with God.

The church I started out in was your typical East Texas Baptist church in most ways. Hymns, pews, choirs, little old ladies. But I went every Sunday, even if that meant driving myself (underage at the time). I fell in love with the people there, and fell in love with Jesus there. I think in that order. My brother and I were welcomed there, even though we didn't know squat about the Bible or anything else. People loved us, and you could tell they loved us because they loved Christ.

In part, my philosophy about what it means to be a follower of Christ started there. Love God, love people. Simple faith. It's interesting how little it really takes for someone to find God. Belonging. Encouragement. Trust. Simple, but powerful. I can't imagine how different my life would be without it.

Africa Approaches

Things continue to move forward in our Sister City program with Chililabombwe, Zambia. Actually, it looks like I'll be going to Africa around the end of January. In what I can only credit to God's providence, there's a strong chance that I'll get to go for about 25% of the cost I thought. We'll probably take more than 10 people too, rather than 3 or 4. There's even a good chance that one of the local hospitals will donate the vaccinations, since they are not covered by insurance.

I'll have to start some of the shots now, and continue with them for six months. It's kinda scary, thinking about getting weakened third-world diseases injected into your body. But when you hear about how much need exists, and how we as a community have the power to help make a difference, it's hard thinking about things like that.

I had dinner earlier this week with some people who have a passion about the environment, and their background and passion can be used as well. The only thing I lack now is someone willing to write grants for some funding.

In the meantime, we're looking at trying to do something to help with the malaria problem over there. Kylie's been talking about how we're going to fight Malaria, as if she's an evil queen from a fairy tale. Her and the mosquito hoards she uses as her minions. It makes me feel like a superhero, so I just play along.

Quantum History

I don't know why, but I seem to be running across a lot of articles on quantum theory lately. Check out this article from Newsweek, which is probably the easiest to understand of the bunch. Some scientists are coming to the conclusion that "something that happens now is affected by something that happens in the future."

?!?

Right now this is only speculation, and speculation on a subatomic level at that. I'm not interested in the science as much as I am in it's philosophical implications. Is it possible that, instead of allowing our past to shape us into who we are, we should allow our future? Is that what God has been calling us to do all along?

Names of God

From a conversation earlier today.

Kylie: Why did God tell Moses "I AM THAT I AM"? (This is from The Prince of Egypt, which she watches often.)

Me: Well, God has lots of different names, and that is one of them.

Kylie: What else is his names?

Me: Sometimes people called him Yahweh.

Kylie: Yahweh? No way!

That's my girl, making jokes. She's learning from the best.

Becoming Hope

I read this piece from the L.A. Times tonight, and it made me sad. What really struck me was the final paragraph:

Clearly, I saw now that belief in God, no matter how grounded, requires at some point a leap of faith. Either you have the gift of faith or you don't. It's not a choice. It can't be willed into existence. And there's no faking it if you're honest about the state of your soul.

How could someone who started off so strong for God find themselves in that conclusion? Why does faith seem so fragile sometimes?

I think that "faith" isn't really the issue, it's hope. Hope is what is so easily broken. Hope is the thing that cynics lack, that the desperate are desperate for, the very thing we hold out for. It's often our last line of defense against a world that is broken and bruised, often leaving us black and blue in the process.

I'm developing a sermon thought, still in its very early stages at this point, along these lines: supposing Christ's mission in this world centered around hope. As his followers, shouldn't that be ours as well? And if so, what are we doing to create and develop hope in others? I think we normally see hope as some abstract, wait-and-see kind of thing. Yet, the hope that Christ showed never stuttered, never became passive, but moved.

What if we, as followers, became hope? Hope pointing the way to our source of hope, Christ. Promises delivered by the promised deliverer. Seems to me that there would be few reasons to lose it to begin with.

Saturday is for Singing

This is one of Kylie's favorites. I like the debut album by The Fray, also titled "How to Save a Life". "She Is" is a cool song, although it's not been released as a single yet.

Busy day, busy week. Probably will be for a while.

100 Somethings

So, it's my 100th post, and I wanted to do something with a list of 100 (harder to do than I thought). Here's my list of 100 favorite movies of my lifetime (ordered by release date).

1. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
2. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1980) - actually, all of the Indiana Jones movies.
3. E.T. (1982)
4. Poltergeist (1982)
5. The Secret of NIMH (1982)
6. Ghostbusters (1984)
7. Gremlins (1984)
8. Back to the Future (1985) - all of these too.
9. The Goonies (1985)
10. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
11. An American Tail (1986)
12. The Untouchables (1987)
13. The Princess Bride (1987)
14. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)
15. Big (1988)
16. Die Hard (1988)
17. Beetlejuice (1988)
18. Field of Dreams (1989)
19. Uncle Buck (1989)
20. Home Alone (1990)
21. Flatliners (1990)
22. Goodfellas (1990)
23. Misery (1990)
24. Total Recall (1990)
25. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
26. City Slickers (1991)
27. Dead Again (1991)
28. Hudson Hawk (1991)
29. What About Bob? (1991)
30. A Few Good Men (1992)
31. Army of Darkness (1992)
32. Leap of Faith (1992)
33. My Cousin Vinny (1992)
34. Jurassic Park (1993)
35. The Fugitive (1993)
36. Schindler's List (1993)
37. Tombstone (1993)
38. The Lion King (1994)
39. Forrest Gump (1994)
40. True Lies (1994)
41. Dumb and Dumber (1994)
42. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
43. Goldeneye (1995)
44. Apollo 13 (1995)
45. Braveheart (1995)
46. Les Miserables (1995)
47. Tommy Boy (1995)
48. The Usual Suspects (1995)
49. Independence Day (1996)
50. The Rock (1996)
51. The Frighteners (1996)
52. Men in Black (1997)
53. The Fifth Element (1997)
54. L.A. Confidential (1997)
55. Cop Land (1997)
56. The Edge (1997)
57. Gattaca (1997)
58. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
59. The Big Lebowski (1998)
60. The Prince of Egypt (1998)
61. The Truman Show (1998)
62. The Matrix (1999)
63. Cast Away (2000)
64. Memento (2000)
65. Unbreakable (2000)
66. The Lord of the Rings (2001)
67. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
68. Training Day (2001)
69. Donnie Darko (2001)
70. Spider-Man (2002)
71. Signs (2002)
72. Minority Report (2002)
73. 28 Days Later (2002)
74. About a Boy (2002)
75. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
76. X-Men 2 (2003)
77. Big Fish (2003)
78. Elf (2003)
79. Old School (2003)
80. School of Rock (2003)
81. The Incredibles (2004)
82. Crash (2004)
83. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
84. Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
85. Layer Cake (2004)
86. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
87. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
88. Primer (2004)
89. Saved! (2004)
90. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
91. Batman Begins (2005)
92. Cinderella Man (2005)
93. Munich (2005)
94. Casino Royale (2006)
95. United 93 (2006)
96. The Departed (2006)
97. The Prestige (2006)
98. Borat (2006)
99. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
100. Children of Men (2006)

Stranger Than Fiction

Last night, after a gourmet dinner and creme brulee, Erika and I watched "Stranger Than Fiction" with Will Farrell. I thought it was an excellent film. It's not your typical, over-the-top Will Farrell movie, although it is rather eccentric.

His character, Harold Crick, wakes one morning to find that his life is being narrated by an unknown - but prescient - writer. He fairly certain he isn't going crazy, and begins a journey outside the realm of his fairly mundane existence.

The movie deals with themes of free will, destiny, and fate; the search for meaning; and the nature of significance. Don't think it's simply dramatic. The movie is full of comedic moments, but they are light touches of irony.

I spend a lot of time trying to make sense of things. Why this, why that? What if this? It's often an exercise of faith, especially when there's no discernible answer. Sometimes it's hard looking at the truth staring back at us, strange as it may seem.

My Wife

Today is my anniversary. I don't write a lot about my wife on here, because everyone I know likes her more than they do me. And for good reason.

Not many people know this, but she is absolutely brilliant intellectually. It's one of the things that attracted me to her. She has the capacity to learn and create that is utterly beautiful. She's very quiet and soft-spoken about it, which is also great.

Everyone, however, knows how understanding and kind she is. Just this week, she left town to take care of her sister and their newborn baby. Erika's eight months pregnant, and is normally exhausted from taking care of Kylie, but she didn't even think twice about it. She's a servant at heart, and does so joyfully.

She's the best wife a guy could ask for. When she's gone, I'm a mess. She's a wonderful mother to our daughter, has more patience than most people I know, and has this really cool ability to lead people from behind the scenes.

I could go on and on. Anything I do in celebration today feels insufficient.

Blessed

There a few guys that I've met with as much integrity as Jerry Burnaman. He is a missions director, and essentially my boss. And he is one of those guys that I will credit for making my ministry possible. He continually goes to bat for guys like me, church planters that want to make a difference in people's lives. He has invested his time and money in developing me, providing all the resources we need to be successful.

I'd take a bullet for him. I'd step in front of a moving bus for him. He's just one of those guys that has committed his life to others like me, that I wouldn't think twice about it.

He called today, just to find out how things are going. He asked how Erika's doing. And then he mentioned that they would take care of our deductible for the new baby. There are few times where I'm taken aback, where I'm rendered speechless. I just mumbled thank you. I don't get too emotional either, but I felt like crying.

God has been blessing us through many people lately. I thank God for people like Jerry.

Glimpse of the Future

Do you ever have those moments where, for a moment, you get a glimpse of the future? I guess it's like the opposite of deja vu. Last night, Kylie and I were playing together (me singing, she dancing), and I had this view of her in five years, playing with her sister, just being girls.

This past week was one of those milestone weeks in the life of our church, where you see things come together. I got a little glimpse of where we're headed. It's cool when God just underscores what he's doing in the lives of those around you. It's hard to describe unless you experience it, but undeniable nonetheless.


On a totally unrelated side note, Kylie's exposure to Guitar Hero 2 has now taught her some of the lyrics to "Carry On Wayward Son", as well as the lead guitar notes (she just goes "bam bam bam bam"). It's pretty cute.

Saturday is for Singing

Jack Johnson's "Talk of the Town" is good glimpse of the entire soundtrack from Curious George. It's a thoughtful, relaxed, singable album that's great to dance to with your kids. This is one of my favorites from the album, so Kylie has learned to love it too. She calls it "Taco the Town".

This is what I consider to be great weekend music when there's nothing to do (intentionally). Hope yours is that way.

More on Chililabombwe

Things continue to move forward with our relationship with Chililabombwe, Zambia. More and more people are getting behind the movement. I hope to make a visit soon. We are looking into the different inoculations that are needed, as well as some way to raise the funds to get there (I'll probably have to pay my own way, although it's not final).

I spoke with someone the other day who recently moved to Hutto that used to plan trips to Africa for missionary organizations. She knows all of the protocol, and has some good connections. I love it when a plan comes together!

I received some details and photos from Kebby, my contact in Zambia. I'll try to post some of them later. Keep this in your prayers, it has the chance to really make an impact over there and over here!

The First Thing We Need

The first thing we need when our church starts meeting regularly is a dance team. It should look something like this.



(Sorry, I couldn't resist. Erika's gone and I'm left to my own devices.)

Couldn't Resist

After talking to my brother this afternoon, I couldn't resist putting more of these up here. I think that a lot of my sense of humor came from Looney Tunes, mostly the sarcasm and one-liners. There's plenty here from Daffy and Porky.



And my grandpa has as many unusual sayings as Foghorn Leghorn.



The basic gist of all of these are that someone is being unreasonably mean to the other person. Growing up, I did my share of antagonizing my brothers, just for the humor. I even do it to Kylie. It's fun.

My Praxy Ran Over Your Doxy

I think balance is one of the key ingredients to a vibrant life in Christ. It seems there's a natural dichotomy in the teachings of Christ: flesh and Spirit, dark and light, wheat and tares, sheep and goats. Those are easy. I think James' faith and action is what's hard. You see, one hand we need to have orthodoxy - right beliefs. But, we also need orthopraxy - right actions.

The modern church relies heavily on orthodoxy, but I have found has little use for orthopraxy. In an attempt to make disciples, we standardized a process, leaving no room for individual expression or experience. You are taught by someone more learned than you, you soak it in, quote it back, and a titled "mature". The action side of things was relegated to being an usher or passing out bulletins.

Don't get me wrong, I think having some sort of process allows people to understand what growth and development looks like. Unfortunately, it doesn't look the same for everyone. So, how do we develop a process without the process?

Well, Jesus often had times of teaching, followed by an opportunity to live it out. Afterwards, he would ask the disciples questions, help them break it down and gain some true understanding. I looked a lot like my college chemistry class. We learned about titration, knew the formulas, then had to do it. Then we learned it was a lot harder than what we first thought. (By the way, I got an A in the theory side of things, and a D on the labs).

This idea of coaching, of taking personal experiences as a teaching opportunity, of self-discovery and understanding, of intentional discipleship, is the realm I've grown the most in. And I'm hoping to develop something that will help others in this too. A little bit of doxy, a little bit of praxy, and a whole lot of growth. On paper it looks great. Now I'm working to take it off the page and become something meaningful.

Batch

Erika and Kylie are gone the rest of this week. Erika's sister is having a baby, so Erika's there to make her meals and help her transition. Such a great wife!

Thankfully, she arranged for me to be fed by some good friends in our church. Tonight was meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and pound cake! Friday will be something good too, I'm sure of it. Tomorrow I'm on my own, but I know my way around a kitchen so I should be fine.

I hate it when the family's not here though. It's too quiet. I never thought I would complain about it, but there you go.

Can I just take a moment to say how blessed I am? To be truly happy with where you are is a rare thing, I've found. But I've got a great family, great friends, and some great hopes for the future, and I couldn't be more content and filled than I am. Life just seems limitless at this point, and that's a great feeling to have. I'll occasionally get these moments of "holy crap, what if this falls apart?" but they quickly recede. There's a freedom found in letting go of all of that, just free-falling.

Oh! Mighty Warrior of Great Fighting Stock

I found out this week that the world's greatest cartoon is turning 50 this week. It's a pretty interesting backstory.

I used to watch Looney Tunes nonstop. I'll occasionally catch it on Boomerang with Kylie in the afternoons. It's amazing that it still makes me laugh! This was one of my favorites of the bunch. If you can find your favorite on YouTube, leave a link in the comments. I'd love to catch some of them again (I may post some more...).

The Searses in Springfield

If you know me at all, you know I'm a fan of The Simpsons (not the recent stuff so much, but the first 7-8 seasons were golden). The Simpsons Movie is coming out this month, and marketing has really picked up steam. I spent the morning making avatars for my family (Kylie picked out our apparel and her hair).

Also, about a dozen 7-11s across the country have become Kwik-E-Marts, complete with Buzz Cola and Krusty-Os. Check out the pictures, even Frostilicus is there.

Saturday is for Singing

Switchfoot's "The Shadow Proves the Sunshine" will always have a special place in my heart. I used this song to make a video about my church's trip to the New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina. It was one of the most fulfilling and memorable experiences of my life. It was also one of the most stressed out, difficult, tiring weeks of my life too, but I think that's why it was fulfilling.

I don't think many of us consider that the shadows of our life can actually prove to us that sunshine exists. Sometimes it seems like God isn't anywhere to be found, but we've just stopped noticing him. Anytime I hear this song (or this album really, it was on my iPod for most of the trip), I'm reminded of how commitment and sacrifice for him can bring hope to others.

You can download the video I made of the trip here.

Patience is a Virture that Takes Too Long

Right now I'm in between two tensions that I can't seem to shake. One on hand, I absolutely love where we are as a church. It seems like people get it, there's genuine community, people willing to serve and make sacrifices. On the other hand, I wish there were more people around. We've made some great relationships, but I'm not seeing the throngs of people coming on board that I want to see.

I want to try to diagnose a problem, but I'm not even sure there is a problem. Actually, I'm fairly confident there's not one. And yet the tension remains. Good tension - a desire to see people changed and willing to change others? Or bad tension - a numbers game played by my lack of faith? Don't really know.

I'm not even certain this tension will ever go away. And I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Some days it's what makes me get out of bed, and other days it begs me to stay there.

My wife is two months away from having another little girl. I want her here now, but know if she were to come, she wouldn't be healthy. I just need to get out of my head.

One of the Coolest Trailers Ever

UPDATE: OK, the trailer keeps getting pulled. Just search YouTube or Google Video for "Cloverfield", the codename for the movie. You should find something.

OK, so this trailer is so cool, people are apparently busting out their cell phones to get it. It's J.J. Abrams new film, coming out early next year. The whole movie will be filmed like this. For the YouTube generation, I think it's pitch perfect.

If you saw Transformers, you saw this. If you didn't see Transformers, sneak into a theater early to catch a peek.

More Than Meets the Eye

Chris called me yesterday and invited me to go see Transformers. It's one of those movies that is more spectacle than substance, but that's OK every once in a while. I usually like movies for the small parts - nuanced direction, character development. There's none of that here. This movie is BIG - cast, set pieces, stuff getting blow'd up. So it's worth seeing in a theater for the experience.

Unfortunately, there's very little "awe" moments. Remember in Jurassic Park, when they first encounter the brachiosaurs? Or the T-Rex in the rain? Or Neo's bullet-time in the Matrix? Transformers is so big, there's too much to see. You almost want to slow it down to see what's going on (and the slow-mo battle with Ironhide is the best shot of the film).

Last night was a good start to the holiday. Kylie's coming home today, I'm hanging out with friends tonight, and not doing anything else. Happy 4th!

Here for Something

I just read an interesting article (warning, it's a little on the lengthy - and scientific - side). It's an interview with a physicist concerning the nature of the universe, or perhaps, multiverse. There's much too much for me to go into here, but I'm intrigued by his thoughts.

The way he sees it, the universe - along with the laws that dictate its structure - has purpose and meaning, and can clue us in on the personal search for meaning and purpose. He, in the interest of scientific inquiry, must remove God from the understanding; however, I find that some of his conclusions are part of the never-ending quest(ion) for God.

I don't really care about how you think the universe began. I'm not sure it matters as much as people like to think it does. What matters (to me, at least) is that we are here for something. Unfortunately, some Christians feel compelled to limit the questions that are asked. But, I've found that the search is part of the destination itself. All the choices and possibilities of our lives, each singularity, has now moved us to where we are. One could argue this to an almost subatomic level, should they so desire. And Christ is able to ebb and flow with us, following the current of our lives as he pursues us. And once he captures his heart's desire? We move in relationship to him, pursuing those we love, connected to One That Loved Us First.

In Him we live and move and have our being.

Travel

In the past 10 days or so, I've been running all over the state. First, it was a trip to Mt. Pleasant for a baby shower (less than two months left!), where we also dropped off Kylie for two weeks. She should be home tomorrow, I miss her dearly. The highlight of that weekend was my winning of three Monopoly games in a row (while being a poor winner no less).

We drive back home, I go to work, then leave the next morning for training in Houston for four days. Lots of good stuff, the team got to experience Basic Training, and I'll be throwing some thoughts up here about coaching this week (hopefully).

Yesterday, I drove into Austin to help assess a new church planter, then took off for San Antonio to meet some new friends.

Needless to say, I'm worn out and exhausted. My mind is full of a lot of things that can make what we're doing even better. Hopefully I'll get a chance to share everything soon, before I crash.