Our baby is here!

Baby Ladd- the first month

Hiwassee Union Church- random flickr photo

Hiwassee Union Church
Originally uploaded by P Henson.

So today is officially flickr day. This is from the same shooter that took the Enterprise Fire Dept picture I posted a few weeks ago. Reliance, TN is not too far away, I may have to go check this one out one day....

world trade center at night- random flickr photo

world trade center at night
Originally uploaded by JB Photo.

I have many photo's of the WTC from my 2 trips to New York in 1997 and 1998, and there are thousands on flickr and the internet tubes. But this one caught my eye.

Emerging churches closely examined

As I begin to study more about the emerging church, I find for every source of pro-emerging information I find, the more criticism I find. From what I read and see, there are many traditional evangelicals who seem to think that emerging churches are the new gnosticism and it will destroy Christianity as we know it.

The problem I see so far is that many critics are focusing on a small pocket of writers/speakers (Brian McLaren the main target) and stereotyping all emerging movements with them.

There are several different ideas on how big the emerging movement is and how many people are truly involved. While there are already some organizations like Emergent Village in existence, and some established emerging churches (like the Vintage Faith Church) exist. But if Barna is right and tens of millions are involved in emerging fellowships in the USA alone, then to criticize the whole movement based on a few opinions, well.....that's not exactly what I call scholarship. This totally leaves out that point that there are many people who probably are emerging but not even calling themselves that. Terms like organic, simple, and cell churches are in the mix too.

However, some help is in sight. Dan Kimball at Vintage Faith posted a small review about a book called "Inside the Organic Church: Learning From 12 Emerging Congregations" by Bob Whitesel, a professor at Indiana Wesleyan University. The most interesting thing about the book is that it is entirely based on the author's actually going to emerging churches, attending the services, and talking to people in the church. I'll let Dan's review tell the rest.

I'm still working on this whole topic and still eating information about post-church movements; I'm not even to the digesting part yet. More on this later, including my reading list!

Baby Watch Part Deux

Still nothing. Our daughter is teh funny. She even had the doctors fooled. So now we are settling in for the long haul, the original due date. We'll see what happens at that point. I am not getting my hopes up at all until the doctor says she can see the head. Okay, maybe I'll get my hopes up a wee bit before that. The good news is that so far the baby is in great shape and things look good.

Baby Watch update

Well, no baby yet.
Jennifer is starting to have bouts of close contractions, but nothing sustained for an hour, which is the threshold for heading to the hospital. She had about 5-6 contractions about 5 minutes apart around 8, then they stopped for about an hour. The baby then started to hiccup for about 10 minutes. We just had 3-4 contractions in a row about 5-6 minutes apart, so we're crossing our fingers......

Mars at Sunrise

Thanks to Wil Wheaton for pointing this out.....makes you really glad the Internet is around. Nasa keeps an image gallery that is an incredible collection of photos from years of research.

That's a catchy jingle...

I've been doing a TON of reading this last week, and a couple of thoughts are bouncing around:

1. Unity or uniformity? Which one is more true to the way the evangelical community operates? Does uniformity get construed as unity? The latter is definitely easier to achieve...

2. We have many leaders who serve.. what we need are servants who lead. It's one thing to claim to be a servant of the people but later invoke that if they cross you you will fall out from under their "covering" (more on that later).

3. Compliance instead of commitment.

I'm still digesting these, so you'll see more on them later.....once I get off the cough medicine that's keeping me functional. Please pray I get over this before my wife goes into labor.

Missional Church Test

I found this on JR Woodward's blog, Dream Awakener. The quote is from a missional theologian named Lesslie Newbigin:

"How can this strange story of God made flesh, of a crucified Savior, of resurrection and new creation become credible for those whose entire mental training has conditioned them to believe that the real world is the world which can be satisfactorily explained and managed without the hypothesis of God? I know of only one clue to the answering of that question, only one real hermeneutic of the gospel: a congregation which believes it." - Lesslie Newbigin

Oriental art

Chinese/Japanese art
Originally uploaded by leestudent.

Using the Stumbleupon plugin for firefox led me to this picture. It had no references or source info, so thanks to whomever created it. From the old look to the color scheme to the details, I think it's really beautiful. I just wanted to put it out there for others to enjoy.

Henri Nouwen drives me FROM distraction

I was perusing my Google reader (yes Jason, I am addicted), and read a blog post over at Next Reformation discussing the need to watch for the distractions of life drowning out the voice of God. The post ends with a quote from Henri Nouwen that I want to share:

“In a society in which entertainment and distraction are such important preoccupations, ministers are also tempted to join the ranks of those who consider it their primary task to keep other people busy. It is easy to perceive the young and the elderly as people who need to be kept off the streets or on the streets. And ministers frequently find themselves in fierce competition with people and institutions who offer something more exciting to do than they do.

“But our task is the opposite of distraction. Our task is to help people concentrate on the real but often hidden event of God’s active presence in their lives. Hence, the question that must guide all organizing activity in a parish is not how to keep people busy; but how to keep them from being so busy that they can no longer hear the voice of God who speaks in silence.

“Calling people together, therefore, means calling them away from the fragmenting and distracting wordiness of the dark world to that silence in which they can discover themselves, each other, and God. Thus organizing can be seen as the creation of a space where communion becomes possible and community can develop.” Nouwen,”Way of the Heart”

Enterprise Fire Department- random flickr photo

Enterprise Fire Department
Originally uploaded by P Henson.

This reminds me of the row of fire trucks that used to be along Harrison Pike in Cleveland, TN. I especially like the fact that despite of all the decay on the truck, you can still see the name.

Pastors on the tightrope

I went to college and earned a Pastoral Ministry degree. I knew enough from growing up in church and hearing snippets of gossip that a pastor can go from hero to pariah faster than you can blink. Always aware that being a pastor in a traditional church setting would be hard, I knew that it would be a tough life. I eventually decided that I would rather serve on an associate level, freed from the responsibility and the stress of being the man on top.

I want to present this article by Jim Rutz about the infamous Ted Haggard scandal. Jim's not really going to get into the specifics about what happened, but he is going to raise some hard questions about the pastoral position in American churches. This is exactly why I never wanted to be a "senior" pastor. Here are some snippets:

"Yet Ted was and is a saint, just like the rest of us who have genuinely been born again by the grace of God. Trouble is, we all have dirty habits. Ted was more like the reforming alcoholic who really wants to quit the bottle, except that he didn't have a close group of fellow alkies around to support him.

Ted probably has a personal prayer support team. But it's almost impossible for pastors to share their innermost problems, even with a select core of parishioner friends. The word about the pastor's weaknesses will eventually get out, and then he will be out of a job. It's lonely on that pedestal, and very slippery."

"We can blame Ted for not seeking help. But there is a much greater blame in this case, and it must be aimed at the pastor-centered church system that does not and cannot provide ongoing help and correction."

Ouch.
What really stinks is that the reason the help and correction is not there is because pastors often operate under a zero-tolerance policy, while those in the pews can make the same mistakes and as long as they make their weeping trek to the altar during revival week, they get off with little punishment. For pastors, correction is often a U-Haul and tarnished record. I've even heard of pastors who went out of state to get another church, and members of the church that fired him tracked him down and called his new church members and gossiped about the man, claiming they were operating "in love."

The dilemma for me is that I don't see how this can change within the traditional paradigm, because I don't think the traditional church is willing to give up the pastor pedestal as Rutz aptly calls it, so the problem spirals into a chicken or egg coming first argument. You need a new system to protect pastors and help them, but you have to eliminate the lofty perch they are forced to live on. Which one comes first?

The Day of the Ninja

December 5th is the Day of the Ninja. Will you do your part and honor ninjas everywhere?
My main ninja source is Ask a Ninja; think Dear Abby if she were a highly skilled assassin.

My emerging journey

My friends (see the Blogs of our Lives on the right) and I have formed a house church, or simple church if you prefer. This is a radical departure from church as I know it, and a 180 degree flip from most of my ministerial training.

So I am starting an in-depth search of what church is becoming in what is called the "emerging" or "Emergent Church" movements. Some of the big names that have weighed in are people like Brian McLaren (his book A Generous Orthodoxy has generated alot of buzz), George Barna, and others.

I have caught myself wanting to constantly link over to several blogs that I am finding to be very helpful in my search, but I don't want to get redundant in the link posting. So I have a link list to the right called the "faith/emergent conversation", listing several blogs I am regularly reading. They are all worth checking out, but I especially would like to mention Jason Clark's blog, it has been very informative and clear.

More on this as it develops....

C.S. Lewis on Evolution

Once again coming from Jason Clark's blog, I found an interesting quote from C.S. Lewis about his views on evolution and creation, and I have to say it made my wheels turn.....

“For long centuries God perfected the animal form which was to become the vehicle of humanity and the image of Himself. He gave it hands whose thumb could be applied to each of the fingers, and jaws and teeth and throat capable of articulating, and a brain sufficiently complex to execute all the material motions whereby rational thought is incarnated. The creature may have existed for ages in this state before it became man: it may even have been clever enough to make things which a modern archaeologist would accept as proof of its humanity. But it was only an animal because all its physical and psychical processes were directed to purely material and natural ends. Then, in the fullness of time, God caused to descend upon this organism, both on its psychology and physiology, a new kind of consciousness which could say “I” and “me,” which could look upon itself as an object, which knew God, which could make judgments of truth, beauty, and goodness, and which was so far above time that it could perceive time flowing past. This new consciousness ruled and illuminated the whole organism. . .

Purple Politics

Check out this great article about God and politics in the US of A:
Vanguard Church: America: Gods Providential Blessing or a Humanist Political Experiment?

I have never been really into politics; but I was raised staunchly Republican and for many years never questioned it. Come to think, I don't know if I ever knew otherwise or ever actually had a converstaion with . I recall hearing the Dukakis "potatoe" joke over and over, and was interested in Rush Limbaugh for a time (Rush is very good at what he does, but I don't consider him to be operating in the best interests of the citizenry). I remember voting for Bob Dole, even though the only reason I chose him is because he had not committed adultery, and I had never considered if he was Presidential material. (Sidenote:I have voted in every Presidential election, and have in the last 8 years voted in the midterms as well.)

But in all my church-attending years, it was drummed in that America was THE nation of God for the end-times. A local Pentecostal minister actually goes into great detail, comparing the line of Hebrew kings to our line of Presidents! I blindly followed these teachings, and as I reflect I think it was more because of the way it was sold (charisma, delivery, and quotes by Famous Dead Americans, or the F.D.A) than it's legitimacy as Biblical fact.

I'm going to stop short of getting into the theology of this, specifically Kingdom Now and Dominion Theology. I will say that I am starting to understand that the disillusionment that I have felt toward the political arena is not because the wrong people are in office, but because our government is not a representative of the Kingdom of God. Evangelicals like to think it is, but I am not fooled. I do believe God has blessed this country and I believe God has used this nation mightily, but do we have special status over all other nations? I think not.

Back to work....

Conformity

Since all my friends are doing it, so will I. PEER PRESSURE!

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio. What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

What is the Emerging Church?

Vanguard Church: What is the Emerging Church?

I struggled with linking a particular post from this site, because every post that I have seen so far is very well done. This is a great place to look at some of the theology of "emerging church", a term I am still trying to understand myself. There are also a ton of posts about social action, politics, and more. My friend Jason is correct in that I have become Google Reader crazy, it's this site that has really been clicked on the most.

T.M.I.

Check out a cool survey on what denominations line up with your beliefs. If you're not affiliated or not sure if the denomination you are a part of agrees with your beliefs, this will provide some unscientific insight. It's a great survey but their HTML code is horrible and I am too lazy to fix it, so I'm just going to list my top 6:

1. Seventh-Day Adventist
2. Assemblies of God
3. Mennonite Brethren
4. Free Will Baptist
5. Methodist/Wesleyan Church
6. Orthodox Quakerism
   

An interesting mix, if I do say so myself. It hammers home to me that no denomination has all the answers, and if you are close-minded enough to think that a denomination is invalid because they don't line up with you 100%. For example, I was shocked to see the 7th day as my no.1. I have never held that Saturday or Sunday is the required day to attend church, and I definitely do not agree with the teachings of their founder; but apparently we do have some common ground. Or it could be the unscientific nature of the poll: one question was about the day of worship, and I chose the option that I didn't believe Sunday was the only day; I think that question heavily favored in scoring for 7th day adventist. I took it 3 times and got the same result, even with a little variation in how I answered.

I then found a Christian Tradition poll from the same site, and got a slightly different result:

1. Baptist (Reformed/Calvinistic)
   
2. Pentecostal/Charismatic/Assemblies of God
3. Methodist/Wesleyan/Nazarene
4. Anabaptist (Quaker/Mennonite)
5. Baptist (Non-Calvinistic/Fundamentalist)
6. Lutheran

See? I really think that one question changed the whole thing. This poll had no question about the day of worship and in this one, 7th day slips from 1 to 7. Hmm. The second is more in line with my background and thought process, although I didn't know there was such a thing as Calvinistic Baptists.

Now I know why I avoid polls most of the time.....

I'm on technorati now

Technorati Profile

I'm too tired to write, so here

Scientific Data

Tell them what they've won, Johnny

So we are in the process of buying a house. It's a major hassle, getting all the quotes and applications and forms filled out, but it's moving faster than I expected. We found a great mortgage and I'm almost done with the insurance stuff. My dad came over today and we did a walkthrough of the exterior, looking at improvements and little touch-ups that we can do ourselves.

I'll talk more about it later, I'm going to bed.

Rain

Some things are very consistent. I usually like consistency; I grew up in the same house from age 2 to 21. I drove nothing but Fords from age 15 to 26. I have lived in the same 50 mile radius since birth. But I am beginning to hate certain consistencies, things that inexorably march on, not show signs of slowing (the rowers keep on rowing). The consistency of my questions, the confines of money, the fact that you can't spend less than $600 a month on a house unless it's either falling apart OR it's on wheels. Not that we're buying a house, but we window shop from time to time and it's depressing, kind of like never-ending rain. The nagging question of career.

I tried to think these things through last night, but I decided to iron instead. I am trying to improve my slightly wrinkly appearance at work, so I ironed all my pants and 4-5 shirts in an hour and a half of ironing frenzy. I got lost in the mindlessless of it, and it was surprisingly relaxing. I wished I had a better view though.....

Best scifi ever- beware spoilers!

Battlestar Galactica is the best show on TV ever. There, I said it. Check out this clip, being referred to as "The Adama Manuever". Cool stuff.

The Fall

My wife is so beautiful at 31 weeks!There was a dog sitting on top of a fire hydrant, and everyone was glued, even Esther.

10-16-2006

Square pegs and round holes

I love me some Arial font. Just thought I'd let you know.

I have always prided myself in the fact that I have never quite fit in whatever denominational circle I have been around. I was raised Baptist (Charles Stanley ROCKS!), then went to a UMC church with high school friends, then went all COG--crazy and went to Lee and even joined Campus Choir. Then I went into the nondenominational/charismatic route for a year, went to a Bapticostal church, went back to the nondem/charismatic route, and now am part of a house church.

So for the last 7 years I have been the outsider, able to experience the Pentecostal arm of Christianity but never completely immersed in it. It led to some interesting conversations, I can tell you. I have believed that in some ways I was never supposed to be completely Baptist, or completely Pentecostal. I needed to be a hybrid, so no one could pigeon-hole me into one category and I could have standing with these 2 groups of believers that sometimes have some real issues with each other.

But things can get a little lonely when you won't join a crowd. The questions now come: who do I get licensed with? If I was to pastor, who for? Anybody? A denomination? Independent? None are better/worse than the other, but now no one really wants you unless you swear loyalty to their way of thinking. I have been told this in a classroom; one professor stated that if you didn't believe in the denomination's doctrines 100%, you had no business being a minister in that denomination. I won't enter into that debate, but needless to say it has stuck with me ever since, and I feared the hundred or so students in the room that may become future church leaders that will take that and demand the same kind of absolute loyalty from their flocks. I digress....

I am currently looking at independent options, like the NEA and others to get licensure. I don't care for the piece of paper, I just want the legal standing to work in hospitals, marry people, etc.

The certainity of the career path I had:
1. Get a "calling"
2. Go to college
3. Get ordained
4. Get a church job

It's no longer viable, not because it's a bad path but because steps 3 and 4 don't fit with my theology right now, and I don't know if they ever will again.

So it then leads to the next discussion: what do I do for money? A pastoral degree isn't going to net alot of cash in the secular world; not that I ever wanted a lot of cash, but I do want to take care of my growing family and avoid debt. I don't want to go to school again, I have enough school loans for that.

Is your head spinning yet?

We're back...really

I'm back....really. I am actually working on several entries right now, but my drive for par excellance (whatever that means) has me making them all nice and pretty before I publish them.
Meanwhile, check out the nifty drop down menus to the right and gaze at their beauty! Then, when you come down from the bliss of it all, click on the different Blogs of Our Lives.

There will be alot of discussion of house churches and the traditional church, so I'm going to start with an article about heresy in house churches first that Mr. VO found.

The Return

Since the PTB has blocked myspace, and I'm honestly a little tired of it, we are returning with all NEW episodes; in fact, they may not even be called episodes anymore! We might call them happy pills or other ripoffs of pop culture. There is no date set, but trust us, we're coming back.

Muppets!

Enjoy some Muppet silliness!

LITTLE LADD is HERE!

It is now official, Jennifer and I are pregnant. Or she's pregnant and I'm just here. I digress...
We're 3-4 weeks along, the baby will be due around the end of the year, maybe a Christmas/New Year baby.

More news later...

Technical difficulties

We've been having this error on our systems here at INCG and the local authorities won't let us back in the studio until they fix it. Sorry for the delay, visit BNCG for further updates.

It's a hard blog life

So I haven't been on here since teh 22nd. What can I say? Work has been crazy and it's hard managing 2 blogs. I get alot more hits on there, but I love my blogger page, and I won't totally give up.

This is again mostly a picture blog, but if my sponsor can get away with it, so can I. These are from my trip to Pigeon Forge with Jennifer.


Isn't she beautiful?


This is a Primitive Baptist church from the 1820's.



These were taken at Cade's Cove at the Smokey Mountain National Forest. I could spend days up there, talk about peaceful. I think I may go up there often this summer to get away.

More later.

Highlights from Nashville, photos only

Here's a pic from my trip to Nashville with my friends Gabe and Steinberg:
The 3 of us have not been together in almost 2 years, so it was a long overdue visit. Check BNCG for more details.

In unrelated news, go sign this apology letter to cows for sinfully enjoying their beefy goodness. No, this is NOT a Chick-fil-A ad, but it was obviously inspired by it:
Sorry, cows!

Will Wheaton posted a great link for a website called Vectorpark that has 2 brain-twisting games that use similar graphics to what the folks at Pixar use for all their movies. You might like it, and you will proabably get addicted to it.

Alibob is banned

Alibob is banned from INCG for the duration of the NCAA Tournament because we here just found out he is a stinky Duke fan.

Finally! my quote is justified!

Four things sponsored by Nathan

Well, I've been tagged by our sponsor. For the record I have NEVER done these, that should tell you how much we here at INCG love our sponsors!

Four jobs I've had:
Living History Presenter at Chickamauga Battlefield
Sales Associate/Supervisor at Staples
Account Rep at UnumProvident
Tech Support at Check Into Cash


Four movies I could watch over and over:
The original Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
The Last Samurai
The Count of Monte Cristo
LOTR Trilogy
*There are about 50 more that I could watch to the point of insanity, trust me.

Four TV shows I love to watch:
Battlestar Galactica
CSI
Scrubs
There is no 4th, but Jennifer likes Emeril

Four vacation spots:
London, England
Orlando, FL
New York, NY
Pigeon Forge, TN

Four favorite dishes:
Chicken
Beef
Seafood
Pizza

Four sites I visit daily:
Nathan's blog
Wil Wheaton's blog
BNCG
The Drudge Report

Four places I'd rather be:
Home
A private beach
On a mountaintop
Isreal

Four others I'd like to tag:
Steinberg
Jennifer
No 3rd....hmm
Neil- you are officially on the clock.

Quick hit of the day:
Go to cowabduction.com and see what's happening to our bovine friends. Make sure you watch the video as well.

I officially do not like myspace

Talk about buggy! The interface to edit your page is just sooo unintuitive, it's just awful. You can't really edit the entire HTML like Blogger; you have to post HTML into the seperate cateogries of the page. Problem is, it WILL goof up everything else. I'll probably learn more about it later, but man is it ever irritating!

Rant over.

More quick hits and things to remember

Hit # 1:Nothing beats leaving the house and going ANYWHERE just to sit and talk to your honey without any distractions. Last night, it was Subway at 11pm with no one there.

Hit #2: I am never going to Disney World again after reading this blog written by former Pixar and Disney employees who were involved in the creative process and are showing us just how bad Disney is messed up. I'm headed to Universal from now on.

Hit #3: We just moved into new offices at my job. We have these awesome cubicles except for the fact they have 2 windows where the world can watch you pick your nose when you forget there is a window where you and your boogers can be seen. Privacy has no value anymore. At least I have a nice chair now.

Hit #4: The house of Alibob is now 14 days silent. Either the great Alibob is taking a vow of silence, or he's being lazy. Warning to Alibob: our ad space here on INCG is very precious.

Hit #5: Some friends from my Campus Choir days have their own music posted over on myspace. If you head over to BNCG you can click on "Gabriel" and "Jeremi Richardson" on my friend list and hear some great music!

Since my number of hits is greater than the number of people who see this page regularly, my budget says 5 is it. Sorry.

Quick hits

I'm going to be out of town for a few days on some business.....I'm gonna go back in time and win the lottery! I'll split the winnings with this guy!


In other news, I got a free sweet tea today for no reason whatsover. That was sweet (HA!).

In further news, I finally emailed a good friend that I have been neglecting, and he wrote back, and I feel really good because I miss him.

In the top story, my sponsor wrote one of the most profound things I have heard in awhile. INCG declares it as required reading for all males who visit the site. I always have a link to his site, but here's a dedicated link to the entry. Sage wisdom here, people-- this stuff is GOLD! I am serious.

Finally, our spinoff show on myspace is slowly coming together. Check here for the sneak peek.

I'm not going to be like Neil...

...and post once every 12 days. The last week has been insane! I have been very busy and not had a chance to post as much as I like. I have to confess, we here at INCG have spent some time in negotiations with another studio (Myspace) about a spinoff show, called BNCG (Brian's not Curious George). We love our show here on Blogger, but this business is all about growth, and we have fans over there we want to get! More details later.....

Yes, it is

A psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

The stories never end if you don't want them to

First, I have to satisfy the lawsuit that Saul in Legal got: We really like Technicolor and were'nt making fun of it. We think Technicolor is the best thing since black & white. Now please don't sue us.

I took a nice hike at 2 am because Jennifer let her battery run down. I drove my car over to the Humanities building (also known as the Gargantuan Building of Greatness, or GBOG), jumped her car, drove it home, then WALKED back to get my car. Yes, it was cold, in fact I am still cold 12 hours later. How far did I trudge across the fruited plain of Lee U to get to the car?

About 1/4 of a mile.

I went with about 10 people from my church to Birmingham, AL Sunday to a worship service led by Jason Upton. I have a link to his website here, because I think he a person every one should stop and hear. He is a true poet-- a poet that has the ability to truly capture the heart AND mind of the Father in word and song. I'll be randomly sharing some of the things the Lord spoke to me directly and through Jason over the next few days. If you are anywhere near a town he is singing at, you NEED to go.

I'm going to eat lunch now. Jennifer and I went to Pizza Hut for our Valentine dinner last night, and we have leftovers! I know Pizza Hut doesn't sound glamarous, but let me tell you the sparks can fly when you go eat some......p
(Awkard pause)
(More awkward pause)
I'm sorry. I can't finish that, it would be a terribly cheesey rhyme. Doh!
(Mumbling amongst writers)
No guys, it's NOT funny.
(More mumbling and heated discussion)
Yes, I know it's funny in The Princess Bride. But it's not funny here. No, it's not.

The reboot update

This post in beautiful Technicolor!

So I did dismantle my computer, and am now completely dependent on Lee University's zippy 3.4Ghz P4 machine that Jennifer uses. It needs more RAM, which is something I think I am going to fix this weekend, if I can find some DDR2 locally that's not a ripoff. My video card went to my sponsor, who is now flying in friendlier, high-frame rate skies. I took my 200GB hard drive, put it in an external enclosure, and have it as storage for my mp3s and photos, as Jennifer's computer is top-line except for the teeny 40GB hard drive (Sidebar: it blows my mind that 40GB is now small). The rest of my computer is going to be donated to my church, since our media machine (Powerpoint, et al) is only an Athlon 700 and mine is an Athlon XP 2Ghz.

This officially ends the most boring post I have ever made. Pictures will follow later today to make up for it.

Mr. Potato Head should run for Congress

Things I like (in no order):
1. Ipod
2. Mr. Potato Head.
3. Tetris on the NES.
5. Rolling pennies into .50 rolls (it feels very empowering)
8. Organic macaroni with hot dogs.
9. Music, except country. (HA!)
10. Monty Python
11. Battlestar Galactica
13. Starbucks (my budget HATES it though)
14. Baseball (see the clock).
16. Jennifer's many varietes of tea.
18. I'm trying to make a list as long as this picture. Why?
20. I like symmetry.

I want this shirt

This comes from a website called jinx.com, and one of their reasons to exist is clothing for geeks (not that I would know anything about being a geek). If I have to tell you what "ni" is, and why this knight is saying it, don't worry about it, because we can't help you at this point-- it's too late.

We got a quesion yesterday (we ALWAYS answer our viewer's questions here at INCG) about a possible movie. While you may have seen posters at your local cinema for an upcoming Curious George movie, I need to tell you that we here at INCG are unfortunately not involved. I can't discuss details, but let's just say there weren't enough dead presidents offered to us. In fact, I am only providing the link to show that we're not completely bitter over the matter. I digress.....

Silence is golden

The last few days has seen an inordinate amount of crisis, excitement, hope, joy, anger, fear, love, laughter, and friendship to the likes I have rarely seen in one single week. There has been enough emotional shifting to resemble something like a hurricane. Let me be clear: there is nothing wrong, it's just a massive amount of experiences and encounters to ponder and ultimately face. This is mostly good-- it actually makes me feel quite alive. Tired, but alive.

It may be my jobs. I have never had a bad job-- they have all been good to me and I to them. But they are what I call "cog" jobs; I am just a cog in the great machine and there are 5000 more of me, so I'm not vital. It's not that I don't make a difference, what I am trying to convey is that my jobs over the years have required little stress, anxiety, or great struggle. That means that alot of personal growth and struggle take place outside of the workplace, which is fine by me. I just haven't seen this much in my private life in awhile.

These events (yes I am leaving them vague for privacy reasons) are not the plot of my life, but I am quickly discovering that they are character-forming at a pace I haven't seen in a long time. It's like when your favorite TV show stops the plot arc is has been on to do a character-focused episode that does nothing to advance the plot when you first see it, but later discover that the events of that episode shape the journey of the character in the show as time goes on. This is where I feel I am at now- God and I are stopping to focus on changes in me before the next phase of the plot of my life comes along, because big changes are coming.

Tune in to see what happens!

You learn alot at 2 am

That's all.

3 posts in 1 day, in one hour!!

It's post marathon days here at INCG, kind of like the "A Christmas Story" marathon about the Red Rider BB gun on TNT every Christmas, except here each post is DIFFERENT and AMAZING. Yep, we spare no expense here!

Goodquotes.com has what I think is the quintessential greeting for a single college-age guy's voicemail:
Hi. This is John:
If you are the phone company, I already sent the money.
If you are my parents, please send money.
If you are my financial aid institution, you didn't lend me enough money.
If you are my friends, you owe me money.
If you are a female, don't worry, I have plenty of money!

Well, it made me laugh. I'm going to have to have a chat with the writers.........

News from our sponsor

The Marketing Dept has informed me that when a sponsor has big news, just linking to their page won't do. So it is with great honor I announce that the VO's are having another baby! Congrats!


Will they have another girl, leaving Nathan outnumbered 3-1? Or will they have a boy and even the odds? I suppose since Nathan and his 4 brothers and dad outnumbered his mom, fate may align that Nathan will be swimming alone in estrogen for years to come ;)

Black Cherry Vanilla Coke!!

The new coke of the week is out, Black Cherry Vanilla coke. Coca-Cola already tried the Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper, which had so much sugar it alters your DNA. Jennifer and I bought some, and it tastes, well, it tastes like Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper, except it's Coke. I would like to try the new Coke in France, Coke Blak. I wont spoil you the joy of clicking the link to find out what it is, but I can tell you coffee is involved. The best part about these press releases is how they try to make the flavor sound as sophistcated as a work of classical literature.

I don't watch American Idol

But I did, last night. It's a strange thing to watch. At first it's very entertaining; you get a good laugh from the really bad people and you get a spine tingle when the talented people sing. One girl, a Paris Bennett (click for clip), was just amazing with a Billie Holiday tune. She was so good that asked her to sing a second song. She should win, for she was far and away better than anyone else I saw. But, I won't watch the show so someone needs to tell me if she wins.

The problem I run into is that after awhile I start to feel bad for laughing at all these people for their embarassing and to some humiliating experience of auditioning. As a musician, I know that the most terryifing thing in auditions is for people to watch you. But as a Christian, I wonder where our line is for watching people do bad and laugh at them for it. It doesn't line up with our belief system, does it? Maybe Alibob can address this in his theological debates. My question is if you laugh at American Idol people when they sing poorly, are you falling into the category of coarse joking that Paul talks about? To me, a laugh can be just as damaging as an insult.

Well, I'm done being serious now. While you're here, notice my new links. I've added Jason Upton, and on the polar extreme, a link to the entire script for Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail! Isn't that amazing?

Reboot

Bet you thought I'd given up, didn't you? The network cancelled INCG, you said, the ratings just weren't there. It was a great show, it just didn't get the numbers. Well, you thought WRONG! We're still here and better than ever. My producer thought some time off would generate some buzz. Really.

Jennifer had her surgery and is recovering. The Lord is still doing miracles, I will say that. While removing her cysts, they discovered she had endometriosis (I spelled that without checking- HA) all over her abdomen, which they removed. The miracle is she has no residual damage to her tubes or ovaries from the endo (that's what I'm calling it)- the doctor is still marveling at that. While it was bad that she had it, it is good she had the surgery because the endo would have prevented pregnancy, and we had begun talking about trying. Had the endo not been discovered, we would of course not have gotten pregnant, and Lord knows all the drugs, chemicals, weird foods, doctor visits and money we would have gone through to try to get pregnant. Praise the Lord!

This week's CD is from the Christ for the Nations Institue, Overtaken. It's very different from anything they have done before. I would classify their previous work as choir-oriented, more contemporary fare, while this new album leans more toward rock and shall we say Hillsong influences. I've had a hard time finding it in stores, so just buy it from CFNI directly.

I'm thinking about wiping my PC's hard drive and starting over, which I loathe. But I loathe my computer's setup more. I also still have to wrestle with some mobo issues I'm having, but we'll cross that bridge later.

Decisions, Decisions

Tonight is the conclusion to the Battlestar Galactica 2-parter, "Pegasus". This is the only show I watch on TV regularly, it is great writing and near-great acting, which is hard to find these days. Action, drama, and real emotion. For you non-scifi types who say "this is scifi, which is boring," I say you need to try it. This show regulary avoids the technobabble and jargon that shows like Star Trek sometimes relied upon way too much. Plus, this show tackles issues on a real, less than perfect level, without the characters being ridiculously flawed (just somewhat flawed, like in real life). It's been great to watch. The gist? Humanity has been wiped out by robots they created. The few survivors caravan to find a fabled planet called Earth for shelter that they're not even sure exists. Meanwhile, the robots that wiped out their homes are hot on their tail. The "Battlestar Galactica" is the only military ship left to protect the fleet of survivors.You ipod types can download the episodes too for cheap. Unless you're a pirate and get them for free (arrrrgh matey).

So many decisions, so little thought time. I am overwhelmed with all the job, church, future issues to deal with that it's crazy. I really want to do it right this time, in that I want to experience the Lord driving my inclinations and decisions live never before. I would tell you more, but I have to leave. More later, if the writers don't have other plans.

I ate Bambi today

I've actually been eating Bambi for several days now. Jennifer's RC Connie brought some deer jerky back from southern Missisippi, along with some homegrown green beans (YES!). I've never had deer before, but I must say this is better than regular jerky. I never liked Bambi anyway (sorry Disney fans).

Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!

This was at Mellow Mushroom's (great pizza) on New Year's Eve. Isn't Jennifer beautiful? That's George in the middle, for anyone that might be confused. Thanks to my sponsor for snapping the pic.

In other news, I have been known to be an avid Israel Houghton & New Breed fan. His music is pure worship that is hard to find. On top of that, it is just good music. Well, his guitarist Michael Gungor has been doing worship events with young people, and Integrity has released a live album, called Battle Cry: Worship From the Frontlines. Good stuff. You can get more at verticalmusic.com

Jennifer will be having surgery next week, so please be in prayer. We trust God will take care of everything, but surgery is never fun to face.

See ya!

Some interesting places

I saw Cinderella Man last night. Talk about a movie that tugs at you and gets you emotionally involved in the story. This is one of those movies you DON'T judge by the box office totals-- it is a great movie. Paul Giamatti does a great job as Jim Braddock's manager.

Anyway, wanted to show you a few links that helped pass the day for me. Thanks to Ruprecht in the Research Dept. for helping me with these:

Read the bible in 90 days. This is a new bible reading plan from Zondervan (the publisher of the NIV). While I can't figure out yet if this is a little rushed, my initial impression is that a reading plan of this size requires you to read more than 1 chapter a day and thus introduce a regular reading time into your daily schedule. The problem I have with long-term reading plans is that sometimes it can get a little monontonous and unimportant-- you kinda skim through it fast or do it without reflection because it only took a minute or two to read the passage, and you do it whenever you get a chance. Also, long-term plans tend to neglect context. This plan covers 10-15 chapters a day. That sounds like alot, but I feel it will drive me to block off dedicated time each day to reading Scripture as opposed to squeezing in 5 mintues to read a small portion. I'm hoping it can lead to a discplined time of deliberate reading and reflection. You can get a free account where you can track your progress, and actually read the passages online. You don't have to buy their special bible, either.

FriendShips relief effort.
I saw a great article in Charisma magazine about this organization, which started with a couple that sold all they had to buy an old cargo ship, renovate it, and travel the globe delivering food and medicine to needy people everywhere. They are a 100% volunteer operation and according to Charity Navigator (think BBB for non-profits) they use 98.8% of their funding on mission work-- almost no overhead. You can apply to help out on their boats as a mission trip or work at their centers on land. The sailor in me wanted to sign up for a tour immediately. :)

Curious George will soon be making photo appearances here on INCG soon!

See ya

I love copays

We rang in the new year with $135 in copays plus medication. The game? You guessed it, a trip to the ER and a specialist. Fortunately, the Lord has taken care of everything and it looks like we are going to be just fine. Thanks to our friends and family for the support and prayers.

Speaking of New Years, on the Eve we went with Nathan & Ashley to Mellow Mushroom for pizza and calzones, followed by some fireworks out by the mall, then tea at their house at 12:01. We had a nice surprise too. :)

On a lighter note, our sponsor is only 2 hits away from 700! If you are the 700th visitor, you get.........well, I don't think you'll get anything, but the satisfaction of knowing you weren't wimpy no. 699.