teamwork

thanks to chad and josh for this little nugget.

watch out for the nuzzle...

the brits are just funny sometimes...not in a real american way, but a smarter, wittier way. those crazy brits. found this video through this blogger.

i am amused by this because...?

perseverance...

today was a good day in the petty realm of the consumer...at least in the world of this petty consumer. i decided to make the jump into the world of geekdom, bypass the cool factor of the iphone and go straight to a new smart phone called the palm centro. the decision was easy because of the cost of the iphone, the process of getting said phone was a bit of a struggle.

what started off as a simple question of whether or not i could afford to upgrade the ghetto phone i currently have, turned quickly into a quest to conquer the corporate world through convincing our fine friends at sprint to give me a phone. while i wasn't successful at the getting a phone for free thing, after speaking with 7 different sprint representatives i managed to weasel a little bargain. it is amazing what a little "those iphones sure do look nice," will get you when presented to the right people at sprint. i finally got to talk to what they called a "retention representative." i think these are the last lines of defense...sort of a "ok, you win...we'll stop trying to rip you off and actually treat you like a quality customer." in the end i think i did in fact win.

this is how i ended up... the palm centro was regularly $400...i convinced them to give me $125 over what my upgrade credit already was...now i pay only $99. in the process i convinced them to give my wife a new phone too. by give i mean "give" my wife a $250 phone for free. perhaps gloating would be inappropriate at this moment but being that this was a magical moment I can't resist.

i win.

slacking...

so there's some updating that needs to happen here one of these days...light bar is done, 3rd Sunday/black hole was a good time, get to see a launch up close on tuesday, my phone is officially dead, one year older, my wife has got some crazy funkiness going on in her lungs, got some really great high school guys that love getting destroyed at ping pong...life is busy and good and crazy and blessed and at the moment....very tiring.

this week we'll do some updates...

more "remedy"

Here we are
Here we are
The broken and used
Mistreated, abused
Here we are

Here You are
Here You are
The beautiful one
Who came like a Son
Here You are

So we lift up our voices
We open our hands
To cling to the love
That we can’t comprehend

Oh, lift up your voices
And lift up your heads
To sing of the love
That has freed us from sin

He is the one
Who has saved us
He is the one
Who embraced us
He is the one who has come
And is coming again
He’s the remedy

what you want from church

so i came across a post on a blog i read on a regular basis that made me think of you...our 3rd students. if there are in fact any of you that aren't named rebekah and/or sarah that are actually reading this, consider the following and be encouraged to think for a moment...

taken from the Christian Post about what teens are looking to get from church...interesting stuff, accurate/inaccurate...? relevant for sure.

What teens expect most when it comes to churches is to worship or make a connection with God, a new Barna study showed.

Other important things they look for in a church include spending time with close friends (34 percent); getting encouraged or inspired (34 percent); and volunteering to help others (30 percent). Expectations teens prioritized as less important were learning about prayer (26 percent); listening to religious teaching (26 percent); participating in discussions regarding religion and faith (23 percent); being mentored or coached in spiritual development (21 percent); discovering the traditions of their faith (20 percent); participating in a study class about faith (19 percent); and studying the Bible (18 percent).

Most teens also prefer a church that teaches how their faith should influence everyday decisions and lifestyle rather than one that teaches the traditions and background of their faith (39 percent vs. 16 percent, respectively). At the same time, 45 percent said they would not care for either type of church.

btw...rebekah and sarah amaze me with their blog reading skills

bb

"remedy" is finally here

so it's been a few days since i last posted. basically i have been hanging out with the 3rd crowd, doing some midweek stuff, watched the gators really stink it up, went to a jv football game, spent tons of time with the little human we call ayla, and spent copious (great word btw) amounts of time listening, processing, feeling and being consumed by the new David Crowder Band release "remedy".

i pre-ordered directly from the band thinking i was ahead of the game and would get it on the release day or maybe even a day early. tuesday came along, i woke up and the first thing on my mind was that this was the day. the expectancy was palpable...i checked the office mail, not really remembering where i had it sent. no crowder at the office. i left work a little early just to check at home...took ayla out of the truck, dropped her directly in her crib (aka - the escape proof baby holder) walked to the mailbox hoping for some merriment to brighten my day only to have my hopes dashed at the sight of a box full of junk mail and no crowder goodness.

so jump past the long walk back up the driveway, the crushing disappointment...move past wednesday...and thursday. i checked in on the crowder site and myspace and xanga hoping there was some explanation to bring peace to my crumbling trust of the DCB, but no such luck. thursday night i even found myself in this space where i had not only a lack of interest in remedy, but an actual disgust and negative feeling about the whole thing. all the wind was gone...blasphemy!

along comes friday...i woke up and don't recall wondering if it would arrive. it is at this point that i have just realized as i write this that i must now let you down...it seemed as though this little journey through my sad obsession with the crazy haired man's new album might end up in a climactic and triumphant telling of the arrival of said album...the reality of the story is that i walked into the office, checked my mail and said "hey, the crowder cd's here..." i do have to admit that there was enough initial excitement that i actually danced a little jig right there in the office (not really that amusing to anyone present) and then I walked upstairs and began to listen and consume remedy, soon to be joined by my very ill friend dubs, who while helping me create a marble masterpiece proceeded to projectile sneeze, contaminating my arm with her infirmity. lovely.

anti-climactic...yes. an excuse to write a post on the b-log...barely. a good story...hardly. but remedy is here, the DCB has delivered (albeit a little late) and once again they have not disappointed nor forsaken their fans and fellow worshipers. the point...? go buy remedy, support the DCB, be moved and be the remedy...

Where there is pain
Let us bring grace
Where there is suffering
Bring serenity
For those afraid
Let us be brave
Where there is misery
Let us bring them relief
And surely we can change
Surely we can change
Oh surely we can change
Something

Oh, the world’s about to change
The whole world’s about to change

surely we can change, remedy - DCB