Happy Anniversary

Yesterday was the 4th anniversary of my first date with muffin and it's incredible how the time has flown. It seems like only yesterday that I was picking her up and unable to believe that divine providence had hooked me up with this gorgeous redhead. Well I know I love her more today than I did then and it seems to grow everyday. I LOVE YOU MUFFIN!!!

Song Lyric Sunday

"I see the doorway to a thousand churches."

Random Stuph 08/21

Congrats to jewlsntexas for getting the song lyric right.

Ok, I was watching the Gospel Music Channel today and they were doing this Hot List thing where they counted down the top 12 christian rock groups that are no longer together. And I was fine and ok with the countdown until they got to the #2 video which was Sweet Jesus by All Star United. Lisa Kimmey introduced it and said it was the band where Ian Eskelin "got his start." Well somebody didn't do their research, because 1. All Star United just released an album this year and 2. Ian was with Code of Ethics, Zero and few other bands before he formed All Star United. And any list of christian bands that are no longer together that doesn't include The Prayer Chain and Burlap to Cashmere is lacking, to say the least.

Pictures! I have posted pictures from Purple Door and of the pups on my Picasa Web.

So Purple Door was awesome and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. There was a point where Pete looked at me and says 'feels like home' and we both chuckled because we have done more festivals, concerts, road trips together than we can remember and it was nice to be able to reminisce and also to share some of that with my wife and the rest of our group.

Faves definitely had to be Disciple, Leeland and Relient K. I was a bit disappointed with the sets by Anberlin and Spoken but it had more to do with the really bad sound mix that both bands got rather than them having bad performances. I was also disappointed to find out that One Truth will be shutting down in early 2008. And they claim it's for no other reason than "it's time." They seem to be good folks and to have their hearts in the right place and I pray the best for them. I was also blown away by the art work of Eric Paul Timm and the folks at nooneunderground. It's thought provoking art that will bring you to a place of worship if you let it. It was also nice to see the different band members out mingling with the crowd. We even saw Aaron from mewithoutYou with a circle of festival goers around and he was just sharing Jesus with them, which is what it should always be about.

Just Don't Want Coffee

I had an interesting, short discussion this evening regarding Starbucks and some of the things they printed on their cups because of the 'The Way I See It' Campaign from earlier this year. The discussion was short because I'm going on about 10 hours sleep since 7 am Friday morning and wasn't able to think clearly enough to engage in any type of real discourse. When I got home I did a bit of research on the internet and here's what I found out and what I think. The campaign involved taking selections submitted by some of Starbucks customers and printing them on the cups used for customer drinks. Well apparently at least two of these involved statements that were anti-God and the call to boycott Starbucks went up. This article goes into more detail and is worth a read. I can honestly see why what's printed on the cups troubled some folks. But did we really want to throw up our hands and say that's it and give up what was an awesome opportunity to discuss and share the truth we know. Honestly, I go to Starbucks because I like the coffee, I'm not going there for a sermon or spiritual growth. If you don't like what's printed on your cup politely explain to the barista why and ask for another cup. One last thing, a lot of the "let's boycott" folks overlooked, didn't know, failed to notice or flat out ignored that at least two of the cups included statements that were pro-God, one of which was written by Dr. Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life.

Song Lyric Sunday

Purple Door got me to thinking about some of my favorite song lyrics and I thought it would be kinda cool to post a line or two from some of my favorite songs every Sunday. I know, I know, that would actually involve me having to post at least once a week. We will just see how it works out. Here's the lyric, leave me a comment if you know the artist and song title.

'But the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair.'

Random Stuph 08/17

Went to the coffee shop yesterday and the barista wrote "Cafe Olay" on my cup instead of Cafe Au Lait. No worries though, it tasted great and my tongue doesn't have any more wrinkles LOL.

We're off with the youth to Purple Door this weekend, which I'm really looking forward to. My boy Pete and I have done Purple Door several times going back to the very first one in the mid 90's and it's always a great time. It's a Christian festival but it definitely has a more eclectic and alternative bent to it. It's definitely a chance to see that the body of Christ doesn't always look like the people you go to church with every Sunday.

Aslan and Lilybet are here and they have made themselves right at home. Aslan is all boy and he loves to play. He's also seems to think everything in the house is a chew toy. Lilybet is definitely a cuddler, she loves to play but is just as happy snuggled up with one of us.

Muffin started her own blog http://eccentricramblingz.blogspot.com. Check it out if you have a minute.

Build It Anyway...

So the mission trip was a really awesome, humbling experience. For years I had questioned why my church seemed to do some much for missions around the country and the world and didn't do more locally. I mean the needs there couldn't be that much greater than the needs here right? Well going to McDowell County last week was an incredibly eye opening experience. The need there is far greater than anything you can really put into words. I worked on houses that, quite honestly, if they were in my home town or county would have been condemned and bull dozed long ago. On the drive into the area I was amazed at the number of what appeared to abandoned houses. After working on three houses I'm fairly sure that a lot of them weren't abandoned and we're actually homes to some people. We were able to work on three homes and I questioned if it was actually worth it? Because even with the work we did, the houses might not be habitable in a year or two. So why bother? Then when my pastor did the slide show for our church this morning, the song he chose was Martina McBride's Anyway. And it hit me that anything we do in faith and out of service to our Lord is not in vain. Not that the week was a bummer at all, I actually had one of the best weeks of my life and got to spend time with 21 of the greatest people in the world. There are pictures here if you're interested. If you would like more information on the McDowell Mission you can click on the words and find out more and how you can help if you feel so led.


Anyway Lyrics