Question of the day

As I returned home from work today I was met at the door by my kids, as is the nightly custom. They typically ask for "huggies and kisses" and I tell them they have to wait their turn, that Mom is always first. I then proceed into the house to unload my keys and stuff and find my wife for a kiss or two. Then it's the kids turn. They love to jump up and have me catch them mid-air. Each year this gets a little more difficult... either they are getting bigger or I am getting old, or both.

Tonight was different. As Brianna held the door, as she likes to do, Alex asked the question of the day: "Dad, can I punch you as hard as I can to show you how strong I am?" What? No request for huggies and kisses? No pleading to be the first to tattle on the other, or rant of the days happenings? Instead a request to demonstrate a feat of strength... at my expense.

After the customary huggies and kisses I let Alex show me how strong he is. I succumbed to his five year old charm, and maybe a little dose of my own pride. PUNCH! Yep, I'm still tough... didn't hurt a bit. Although the day is coming where that may be a big mistake. He's five now but soon he'll be fifteen and that little tap of a five year old's knuckle on my *ahem* six pack will be a angst ridden teenagers fist of death pummeling my *cough* rock hard abs.

Funny that Brianna has never asked to prove her strength to me. She is however, close to being able to do the splits. Which she proved tonight after the punch.

To Write Love On Her Arms

Out there are people doing good. These people get it. They aren't worried about stereo types. They aren't afraid to get their hands dirty. They take God's word at heart and go. I pray to be like this.

To Write Love On Her Arms is a Jesus thing. This is an example of where God is unstoppable. Where His love works. Where it's more than just talk, it's about His love.

Please watch this video.



For More:

Beta-time

I am a sucker for trying new things. Today is no exception. Blogger offers a beta... I bite. I don't know if this will effect any links but I'll find out soon enough. For now I will be a beta tester and see what this blog thing can do.

You may see some random changes to the look of the blog in the next few weeks, or you may not.

The content will remain as random and unexplained as before. I have no blog style or constant content... it is what it is.

Thanks for visiting.

Add to the Beauty

We come with beautiful secrets
We come with purposes written on our hearts, written on our souls
We come to every new morning
With possibilities only we can hold, that only we can hold

Redemption comes in strange place, small spaces
Calling out the best of who we are

And I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to shine with the light
That's burning up inside

It comes in small inspirations
It brings redemption to life and work
To our lives and our work

It comes in loving community
It comes in helping a soul find it's worth

Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces
Calling out the best of who we are

And I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to shine with the light
That's burning up inside

This is grace, an invitation to be beautiful
This is grace, an invitation

Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces
Calling out our best

And I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to shine with the light
That's burning up inside

~ Sara Groves - Add to the Beauty

Sometimes I hear lyrics in songs that relate to what I have been studying or give new light to the scriptures. They sometimes help me see things from another persons experiences or perspectives.

The past couple of weeks I have been reading in the book of Romans. Currently I am at Chapter 12. This section of Romans is always a challenge for me. Paul tells us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices and to not conform to the pattern of this world. Easier said than done. We are pattern followers. He also talks about God's will. God's will... always a big mystery. What is it? How do I find it? What does it hold for my life? Read the verse. Please.

Getting to the point about the song... This song helps me see this verse in a new light. God's will is mysterious. Yes. It is. However God's plan for us is to do what is holy and pleasing. In other words - adding to the beauty - His beauty.

Paul tells us of our gifts and how to put them to use as part of God's body. This is our light - our gift - our place in the world. Let it shine. Use it. Allow it to benefit others. Give God the glory for it.

And to love. Love, not like the world loves, but love sincere. Love that can only come of God. Offer grace, offer community, offer peace, offer yourselves to others. Love so that others will see God in you.

I sum up this verse as - Add to God's beauty.

Family Reunion

This past weekend was our family reunion on my mom's side. It was a good time. The last time most of us were together was for my Grandma's funeral two years ago. This was a much more joyous gathering.

Look at all the smiling faces.



Saturday we met at my folks house in Dayton. They have a large yard that backs up to the Yamhill river so there was plenty of room to spread out. There was the standard reunion to-do's... food, games, conversation, more conversation, some hijinx and the like. All in all everyone was well behaved and had a great time.

Sunday we me at Champoeg Park (pronouned shampoo-ee) for a picnic. That was also a good time. My Uncle reserved a great spot to hang out for the day. The same event insued. Great time.

Fortunately for us the weather was agreeable. In Oregon you never know. It stayed in the 80's without a cloud in the sky.

I am sad for those who dread spending time with their family. I for one love it and love my family. We aren't the best in staying in touch, however, when we get together it sometimes feels like old friends getting together again. For that I am proud and thank God for the love.

Starving Jesus

Think the Church can do more for the Kingdom? Want to be challenged? Then check this out.

If not, and you think the Church is doing what it can, then don't read about this project.

The Old Days

Tonight is my 20 year high school reunion and I'm not going.

There is no specific reason except that it was 20 years ago which is more than half my life and I really don't care too much. I don't keep in touch with anybody from then and really don't miss it. I've moved on and couldn't even name too many of the people I went to school with anyway.

There are no great memories or bad memories to dredge up. It was what it was... High School. Three years of preparation for life? I don't think so. Three years to build life long friendships? I wasn't for me. To me it was three years of school. Three years of work. Three years of being a kid for the last time. Three years, 20 years ago.

Are there people I'd like to see? Sure. If I really want to see them I'll find them. The internet is a great place for that. Until then, I'll focus on the future and find out what that has in store for me.

To all you Tigard Tigers of 1986 have a great evening, enjoy yourselves, and for goodness sake drive safely.

Question of the day

"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" Luke 6:46

Myspace porn

The following is a bulletin I posted on my myspace account:

Please please believe me that I did not post that!!!I have no clue how my id got
linked to that.

I am very sorry that my name got linked to that. Thanks Brandon
for pointing it out... I had no clue.

That is a major, MAJOR, peeve of mine with
myspace. On top of events like that, the advertising is embarrassing. The only
reason I even entertain having a myspace page is to keep in contact with you
guys.

My deepest apologies for something I was truly unaware of. Very sad.

Please know that I do not visit porn sites or sites of that subject matter. And in
order to remain above reproach I have installed X3Watch software on my computer
that sends sites that I visit to my wife and a good trusted friend. I strongly
encourage all of you, male and female, to do the same. The software is free and
easy to install. I am more than willing to be your accountability person on
this.

If you do have a problem with porn please feel free to contact me at
anytime to talk about it. Or if you are uncomfortable with talking with me
please visit www.x3church.com. You need accountability. Porn is a dangerous
slippery slope. The Enemy is on the move in the internet world.

God bless you all for your understanding.

It is sad that I even had to post that. I felt as if it was necessary to do it in light of some of the issues that plague our society today. Porn is a sneaky monster that is infiltrating all aspects of our world.

I never looked at the link that was posted under my name so I can't say for sure what the content was. I will trust my friend Brandon that it wasn't good. I was able to delete the post and a few others for some ringtones and jeans that were also posted under my name. If abuse like that continues I will cancel the myspace account at the risk of loosing touch with some of the students that I have worked with over the years. That makes me sad.

I am still reeling from the possible appearance of impropriety which makes this hard to write and may come across as jumbled thoughts. For this I am sorry. It speaks to how serious I take this.

Please email or comment your thoughts. I'd love to hear them.

Run!!! Hide!!!

Our old friend Amway has a new name! Quixtar. (links left out intentionally)

A young man that works in our company's shop came into my office to ask my advice on a personal matter today. After he closed the door he proceeded to tell me his story.

He has a friend that has approached him with a business deal that can make him $9,000 in the first 90 days. Sound familiar? To those of you that have been approached by an Amway believer you will understand. He proceeded to tell me about all of the successful people he has met at some of the introductory meetings. There are people in nice suits, driving Escalades, living in nice houses, and one particular gentleman who was retired at the age of 23. Wow! 23 and retired! Bull$#!t! excuse my french.

I asked him what his gut told him about these people and I was excited to hear his answer. He said that they all seemed fake, that there was something that they weren't telling him. I told him that he was probably right in his observation. Something that seems too good to be true is probably just that... too good to be true.

After talking about the realities of business and how the multi-level marketing programs work he began to ask some great questions and make some good observations. Please know that I was fair and not once did I tell him not to join. I did put some of my historical slant on some of the discussion and let him know about some of my past experiences with people from this type of organization. He walked away with a little more skepticism and a host of good questions to ask at the next meeting. I encouraged him that if he does sign up for it not to sign a contract and not to exceed his comfort level with the required monthly dues. He said these were about $90 per month. I also encouraged him to go with his gut, which so far was telling him that something wasn't right.

I was glad he came to talk to me. I was also proud that he thought to seek my advice. Throughout the day we had smaller conversations about it and at the end of the day I feel as though I may have steered him away from going down the MLM path. Phew!

Roz R.I.P.

Goodbye Roz. We'll miss your bitter and angry hilarity.

Your prostitute resume bit was way too funny. Nice work. Your problems are our laughs.

Why did you go? Why did America vote you off the show? I'll tell you. You are funny. Your comedy isn't the problem. You are even funnier than Michelle Balan. It isn't even a black thing or a fat thing. The problem is your delivery. You've got to take a breath sometime and let the comedy sink in. The fast paced, non-stop, high energy yelling is too much too fast. People need a moment for the chuckles to subside from one bit to the next. Watch Ron White or Steven Wright, they are the masters of the appropriate pause.

Hit the road running. Hopefully it will be kind to you. Good luck.

Sunday Bloody Sunday Redux

Superman! That's me.

So I took the quiz... here are the results... no surprise... although I fancy myself a gadget man so Batman might be a little more fitting. And I am married to Elektra, my sexy assasin ninja... so sweet.

You Are Superman

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. And pretty cute too. No wonder you're the most popular superhero ever!

What Superhero Are You?

Somebody Turn on the AC

Man it is hot! I'm melting faster than a 50 year old lady at a Clay Aiken concert.

I am not a big fan of the heat. I live in Oregon for a reason. One reason is it's beauty, the other is the weather. I know it gets hot once in a while but come on. We had three three digit days in a row. Yuck! We've got parts of town without power because the transformers are overheating and exploding. Serious... that's hot.

By the way, not for self promotion, but Friday was my birthday (38 if you must know - and a birthday secret for all you Oregonians... Dutch Bros. has free coffee all day for you on your special day). I tell you this because in my history of being an Oregonian my birthday is always the hottest day of the year. So far this year it holds true. 108 red hot degrees. "How hot?" "Red hot." "Too hot." ~ nice, huh, Kev. Saturday I don't care what the temperature was because I was at my folks house and they have AC. My brother lives next door to my parents and he has a pool. Real nice. So the temperature on Saturday was of no consequence. Sunday was 105°. Sucks.

This week is supposed to be in the 90's. Blah. And if you live in Arizona, Illinois, or some hellish place like that don't tell me about the heat... I've never seen a house or a car out there without AC. And you choose to live there. Which is still a mystery to me.

I pray for mercy. God, please crank up the air. 72° is perfect. Thanks.

Pandora's Box

Do you love music? Of any kind? Well then check out this site.

Pandora is an internet music site that will create for you your own personal radio station based upon the artists or songs you like. The best part is... it's free. There is an option to pay which will eliminate forth coming commercials. And the pay option is relatively cheap at $36 for a year subscription.

Pandora is brought to us by the Music Genome Project (MGP). This is an extensive and on going music analysis project that has been going on for about six years. They have developed the music gene which takes into account more than popularity and record sales. It takes the music itself and gives it a type of musical genome based upon the genes that make it up. From there site - "Taken together these genes capture the unique and magical musical identity of a song - everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony." They have taken what they have learned and created the listening console Pandora.

Type in U2 and you won't just get Coldplay, Tonic or Train you'll get bands like Murray Attaway and Weather. Who are they? I have no clue but according to the MGP they have musical genes that are similar to U2. Oh yeah some of the other bands that showed up on my U2 station were Billy Idol, Judas Priest, and Black Sabbath. Really... who would have thunk it.

Check it out. Test it. Put in some random names. It is very cool.

Here's a shout out to my little bro Kev for leading me to this site.

What's In A Name

I ran across this post and it made me laugh out loud.

Website namers beware... it appears that the doctor is watching.

Thanks Doc.

Brad Thor

During our vacation I read a couple of books. The first was 4th of July by James Patterson. A good read. I've enjoyed Patterson's books since I first read Along Came A Spider over 10 years ago.

The second book I read, and the reason for this post, was Blowback by Brad Thor. An excellent read. I am a huge fan of Vince Flynn and his character Mitch Rapp and Brad Thor is right up that alley. His main character is Scot Harvath, a former Navy SEAL who is now working as a counterterrorism specialist. This is not his first book so there are some references to past exploits that I didn't know about. The good thing about that is... I get to go back and read those.
I randomly picked this book up at Fred Meyer on the special sale table right before we left. I am so glad that I did.

The one thing I wonder about is the name Brad Thor. Is it real? And when you see his photo on the back cover you really have to wonder if it's a Remington Steele thing. This guy looks straight off the cover of GQ. Brad Thor sounds like a character from a book, you know, like Dirk Pitt. Maybe the publisher messed up and its a Brad Thor book written by Scot Harvath. That makes more sense.

If you like books about lone hero's saving the day then this is one for you.

Vacation Glory

For five days we camped at Jedediah Smith State Park in Northern California. What an awesome place. My family had camped there a number of times when I was a kid. If my memory serves me well the place has not changed at all in the last 20+ years. This place is truly heaven on earth. When I think of the "new earth" promised to us this is what I think of.















The river is reported to be the last free flowing river in the state. The clarity of the water is a testament to that. We spent our days relaxing at the river either swimming, looking for critters, skipping rocks, or jumping off of them. My wife noted "the river looks further across than it looks". This statement must have come from her shear delirium from the beauty of it all.















We did a small hike through the Redwoods. What magnificent trees... they are the size of buildings. There is one a little south that you can drive your car through. That is a big tree.















At night we relaxed around the campfire making s'mores, reading, and playing games. One night Alex was found head first fast asleep in his sleeping bag. I don't know how he did it, I would have woke up in a suffocating panic.















There was only two things I would have changed about the trip. First, I would have like the showers to have worked. Due to funding issues they were out of order. That stank, but not as bad as wee did by the fifth day. The second thing was the fire pit. The rim was nearly three feet off the ground. What is up with that. I know your first thought is fire prevention but there were lower ones in adjoining camp sites. With the fire this high off the ground, as my sister-in-law would say, "you need a bar stool just to keep your legs warm."

VACATION!!!

Tomorrow am we leave bright and early for the California Redwoods. We will be camping at Jedediah Smith State Park with my brother and his family for five days. We are very excited. I am particularly excited because this is a spot we visited a couple times when I was young. My hope is that it is as awesome as I remember it to be.

Next week I'll post on this trip with a few comments and photos. Photos will definitely speak louder than words on this one.

The Ringer

Sometimes I jump to conclusions too soon. As was the case with the movie "The Ringer" starring Johnny Knoxville of Jackass fame and produces by the Farrelly brothers. When this movie came out I was shocked to think that Hollywood would allow a movie to be made that poked fun at mental retardation or the Special Olympics. I was wrong.

At the advice of our friend Missy, my wife and I sat down last night and watched this movie. It is funny and endearing. Kudo's to Mr. Knoxville and the Farrelly bros. on this one. By no means was it a great movie or a blockbuster, but it was good, worth the rent.

I am not going to write a lengthy review, for one I never do, but I am going to say it is a decent movie to rent. And if you rent it be sure to watch the featurettes on the making of the movie and the Special Olympics. It looks like the cast had a great time making the movie.

Guess how many fingers I have...