Credo Deus

Money and Moral Balance

2007-11-13T13:49:00.000-06:00

I listened to part of this interview on NPR on the way to church last Sunday. I downloaded the podcast and listened to the rest.

Several of the thoughts I've had swirling around in my head recently on counter-culturalism are discussed.

While Nathan Dungan's system may not be entirely practical, wouldn't the world be better if it was.

Minority Reportesque

2007-07-03T09:01:00.000-05:00

Check this out!

Beach Vacation

2007-07-02T11:01:00.001-05:00

We just got back from week at the beach. For the first time in a long we had an actual vacation. A go to the beach, do nothing, read a book (or two), get a tan (burn), eat too much, think about nothing kind of vacation.

We stayed in Perdido Key, FL at Windmere. The place was nice and big enough to house us all comfortably for a week. I'm still trying to figure out how I can sell everything and go live there.

Apple

2007-06-18T10:50:00.000-05:00

Well...

I'm now a member of the Apple community. I finally got an iPod. All you who have had one for a while can thank me, because I'm sure they'll come out with a new wide screen version (I'm not counting the iPhone...anything over $500 in the portable electronics department effectively doesn't exist in my world) now that I've got one.

While I was at it, I decided to try out Apple's new Safari for Windows. It's about time. They claim that it's quicker that IE (duh!) and Firefox (we'll see). I've not used it enough to know yet.

Chickenbutt

2007-06-08T16:25:00.000-05:00

I heard this on All Things Considered yesterday. I almost wrecked my truck I was laughing so hard...because...well, I'm related to people like that.

Click the link, then click "listen"

Coconuts

2007-06-08T16:17:00.000-05:00

Coconut

Bear with me I
want to tell you
something about
happiness
it's hard to get at
but the thing is
I wasn't looking
I was looking
somewhere else
when my son found it
in the fruit section
and came running
holding it out
in his small hands
asking me what
it was and could we
keep it it only
cost 99 cents
hairy and brown
hard as a rock
and something swishing
around inside
and what on earth
and where on earth
and this was happiness
this little ball
of interest beating
inside his chest
this interestedness
beaming out
from his face pleading
happiness
and because I wasn't
happy I said
to put it back
because I didn't want it
because we didn't need it
and because he was happy
he started to cry
right there in aisle
five so when we
got home we
put it in the middle
of the kitchen table
and sat on either
side of it and began
to consider how
to get inside of it

~ Paul Hostovsky

The Writer's Almanac

2007-06-05T08:40:00.000-05:00

I've always been a big Garrison Keillor fan. I still lament not going to see A Prairie Home Companion when it came to Jackson several years ago. The movie was okay. My brother-in-law has seen the show live before and says the movie does a good job of showing how chaotic the show actually is.

After years of listening almost exclusively to sports radio when I'm out an about during the lunchtime hour, I've started listening to NPR. I know I'm late to the show, but at noon every day, Garrison has a short segment called The Writer's Almanac. It's a brief "...on this day in..." kind of synopsis of various writers and artist. He also reads one poem each day.

I highly recommend that, if you're listening to the radio at noon, you turn over to NPR and give it a try.

No matter how bad my day is going, it makes me feel like it's Saturday afternoon.

Happy Birthday to me

2007-05-29T15:58:00.000-05:00

Well...Memorial Day was memorable for me this year.

May 28, 2007 I turned 35. I don't know why, but this one seemed to affect me a little more than usual. Normally, I'm unfazed by birthdays. Turning thirty, I felt nothing. The last five years, however, have seen dramatic changes in my life.

Since I'm a list kind of guy...

I left Peoples Bank (and "The Family") to join Community and move my family to Madison. I didn't know public schools could be this good.
Lan has gone from a little boy in the second grade to a big boy in the 6th (soon to be 7th) grade.
O'Neal has gone from a shy little boy who could not leave his parents sight to a shy little, but tall, boy who is going into the 4th grade.
Stroud has gone from...well...Stroud hasn't actually changed that much.
I've started a real estate construction business. Very scary.
I've learned to eat sushi.
I've learned to lay ceramic tile, hang doors, stain concrete, lay sod, landscape (and countless other home improvement tasks).
I've lost a lot of hair.
I became a deacon...errr...member of the Ministry Coordination Team....errrr.....deacon.
Learned to sing tenor.
Lost two grandparents and one great-grandparent (I know where one of them is. I'm not so sure about the other two).
Went to Charleston :-)
Lead hosted a small group.
Became a licensed appraiser.

My sweet wife went above and beyond for my present. Let's just say I'm now a member of the HDTV community.

Stroud topped the day off by giving me two cards. The first was hand written and said that he loves me "with all of his heart and with all of his soul and with all of his strength and with all of his mind."

I started to tear-up, ready to proclaim myself god-for-the-day.

Then I got the second card. It was shaped like a car tag and said Historical Vehicle at the top and was personalized with the word's "OLD FART" in bold letters. When I opened it, it said something to the effect of "...because I never run out of gas!" He was delighted. So was I.

It was a good day.

The Office

2007-05-09T16:26:00.000-05:00

Okay...I admit it. I'm addicted to The Office.

Now in its third season, I can't get enough of the quick and dry writing. Steve Carell, the ever inappropriate, yet clueless, boss is tremendous.

My new drug got me to thinking about my all-time favorite sitcoms. So...

1. Seinfeld
2. Arrested Development
3. The Office
4. Andy Griffith
5. Cheers
6. Friends (in red to show my shame)
7. Cosby
8. Scrubs
9. The Wonder Years
10. Married With Children

You're welcome to share your own.

I'm back

2007-05-07T14:12:00.000-05:00

in the blogging saddle. Hopefully a little more consistently. More to follow...

The Wilderness

2006-11-26T17:18:00.000-06:00

For Thanksgiving this year, NJ, the boys and I did something a little different (a lot, actually) this year. We went to Legion State Park just outside of Louisville, MS...The Wilderness, as Neddie Joye calls it. We stayed in a rustic cabin and did nothing. It was wonderful!

To say we did nothing isn't exactly accurate. We hiked around the lake, fished, played Monopoly, Uno and Phase 10, sat in front on the fire (in the wonderful stone fireplace), made smores, roasted hotdogs over a campfire, played on the playground, finished Charlotte's Web (the book, not the movie) and hiked some more.

The boys went on mini-adventures while Neddie Joye and I sat on the screen porch and "watched" them. I played guitar and we sang the Jack Johnson version of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.

All in all, it was perfect. The rolling hills covered with hardwoods yielding every imaginable color of fall were the picture of Thanksgiving. And we were thankful.

I have a new favorite quote...

2006-11-06T16:35:00.000-06:00

"Life is just one damned thing after another."

-Elbert Hubbard

More Einstein

2006-11-01T11:09:00.000-06:00

"Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy."

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."

-Albert Einstein

The Disney aftershock

2006-10-31T15:48:00.000-06:00

I promised more about our trip to Disney, but I've got to say, we still haven't fully recovered. None of us have been fully well since our trip. We're all struggling to get our strength back.

The trip itself was good and bad. First, the good...our flight was great and nobody got in a fight.

Now the bad. It was very crowded. I would not have thought that the first week of October would have been so bad, but it was terrible. To make matters worse, our group of twenty (20) felt like it had to do everything together. Let me explain.

There were twenty of us...thirteen adults, and seven kids. They were:

Me, NJ and the boys (5),
My brother Larry, his wife DeAnna and their three kids (5),
DeAnna's parents (2)
My sister, Terre, her husband Josh, and their daughter, Hannah (3),
Josh's 78 year-old dad, Bob (1),
My mom and her husband, Frank (2),
My dad and his wife, Patsy (2).

All the "grandparents" felt like their entire trip would have been in vain if they didn't get to wtiness every single expression on the children's faces. I guess I understand that, but I bought a great new camcorder; get over it, for crying out loud.

We went six straight days (all day) to the various parks. Here is what I learned.

Disney World is a very expense place to just stand (occasionally sit) around.
When 20 people (nine of whom are over 50 and four of whom are 6 and under) are together for a bathroom break, by the time the everybody's finished, whoever went first has to go again.
Public transportation sux.
Frank is a selfish asshole who won't give his seat on the bus to a young mother carrying a sleeping small child after a long day at the "Magic" Kingdom.
If the government ran as efficiently as the folks at Disney, we'd all pay less than half of what we currently pay in taxes.
Space Mountain is old.
Bob is a great joke teller. But, I can't demonstrate, because I can't repeat any of them.
The Rockin' Rollercoaster can go from 0 to 60 in 2.3 seconds. Still, hands down, the best ride at Disney.
A girl recenlty died on the Rockin' Rollercoaster.
Epcot's better without kids. I've never actually been without kids, I just image that it would be.
The Disney Dining Plan is worth the trouble. So is the Magic Express.
It's never good when you have to stand in line for 15 minutes just to get your Fast Pass.
It's takes a good bit or coordination to get 20 Fast Passes at once.
I still love Splash Mountain. "Please Misr. Fox! Whatever you do, don't thow me inta 'da briar patch!" Weeeeee! Splash!!!!!
You should always sit in the back on the Splash Mountain ride.
Stroud isn't afraid of anything....except the Tower of Terror.
O'Neal believes strongly that discretion is, indeed, the better part of valour.
Lan isn't afraid of Pirates of the Caribbean anymore...or so he says.
Heelies make getting around Disney more interesting.
Take band-aids with you if your kids wear Heelies at Disney.
Neddie Joye has a will of iron.

The next time we go ba.....oh wait, we ain't goin' back!

Back from Disney

2006-10-16T13:14:00.000-05:00

My lungs are so full of pixie dust right now (sort of like asbestos, but more painful), that I can't go into detail about our trip. I will soon...

Facing the Giants

2006-10-06T09:36:00.000-05:00

So the family and I went last night to see Facing The Giants...it was surreal.

The movie itself is about a coach at a small Christian high school in Georgia that is...well losing. His team can't win, his wife can't get pregnant, his car won't start and his house has a bad odor. He comes to the breaking point and finally turns everything over to God and asks Him to show how big a God He is.

I won't give it away (in case you haven't seen it), but as you might image, God shows up.

What's so awesome, though, is the real-life parallel of the movie's success with the that of the story. This low budget, Chrisitan movie, with no professional actors has turned into a tremendous success in the box office. God has shown up! In fact, before I handed the tickets to the young ticket taker, he said, "...on the left, first theater to the left." I said, "You don't know what movie we're going to see yet." His reply was, "I'm sure it's the same one everybody else is here to see. It's basically the only one anybody else is seeing."

Now I know that we live in Christian South, but how cool is that!

Mathmatical Certainty

2006-09-27T12:34:00.000-05:00

"As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality."

- Albert Einstein

Southern Miss 37 NCSt. 17

2006-09-18T16:15:00.001-05:00

NJ, the boys and I spent Saturday in H'burg at the Southern Miss v. NCSt. game. My Golden Eagles dominated! It's great to see a little swagger again. It's been a while. Let's hope they can keep it up.

We had a great time walking around campus and tailgating with the Broadheads.

Golf, Ducks, Football and Boiled Peanuts

2006-09-14T19:32:00.000-05:00

Golf

I had a great day at work today. Well, it's kind of hard to call it work. I played in a golf tournament with three ministers from Meadowbrook. The weather was perfect. The golf, however, was not. Although, we did shoot a 68 in the four-man scramble. I hit it pretty good at first, but started to revert to my normal game when I started getting tired towards the end.

Ducks

I have signed a duck lease in Yazoo county. It's a little more than I thought I would pay, but it's pretty close and should hold ducks. I've got a couple of guys from church who are going to join in with me. I'm still looking for a forth who is willing to shell out some cash.

I haven't been this excited about an upcoming hunting season in a long time. This the first time that I have ever sought out and consummated a lease on my own. I had to write it up (I added lots of legalese). The guys I'm leasing from are a bunch of good ole' boys from the area. They're the kind whose pick-up truck won't crank if there's not an open beer can in it. Fortunately, they won't be able to hunt the area I'm leasing.

I'm looking forward to taking my boys with me.

Football

The family is going to have a football full weekend. We're going to see Madison Central play Brandon tomorrow night. My cousin's son (I guess that makes him my cousin too) is the starting quarterback for Brandon. I remember when he was born. I think it was just a couple of years ago. Time...it does fly.

On Saturday, we're going down to H'burg for the Southern Miss v. North Carolina State football game. The Eagle are going to kick some ACC butt.

Boiled Peanuts

I did something last weekend that I've never done...I boiled my own peanuts. A lady from work's husband buys them straight out the field on a regular basis. He told me how to do it. I felt like a warlock on the back deck, stirring my cauldron. They turned out great. Boiled peanuts always remind me of fall. Speaking of fall, the heat is starting to break. Fall is coming soon.

Labor Day Weekend

2006-09-04T10:22:00.000-05:00

This has been the busiest and (oddly) relaxing weekends I've had in a while.

I skipped out on work on Friday to go with NJ to her doctor in H'burg. We had a chance to eat lunch at Villie's, a local baked sub shop that we loved to frequent when we lived there.

Friday night we had a family (NJ's mother, brothers and families) gathering at Nagoya to celebrate Emily's 21st birthday. I haven't had hibatchi in a while, so it was fun.

Saturday morning we had a breakfast-brunch birthday for NJ's mom at our house. Quiche and grits!!! After a little football on the tube, we went to John and Michelle's for Elliot's one year old bday.

Saturday afternoon, all of said family (minus the mother and plus the father and his wife) came over to our house to watch the Southern Miss v. Florida game that I purchased on Gameplan. I cooked chicken on the grill (which was really good, by the way) and everybody brought the remainder of the fixin's. As predicted, my beloved Golden Eagles got beat (34-7). Although, the game was closer that the score...where've I heard that before?

Sunday was church day. Neither NJ, no I were scheduled to sing, so it was nice to get to actually sit together in church.

Following church, a large contingent from Meadowbrook went to the Mississippi Braves game. It was dollar day at the concession stand. I'm still trying to figure how I went in with $40, and came out with $6.50.

After the game, I went home and rested a while before the boys and I went over the Box's house for pizza and fellowship....and more football on TV. The girls from small group went out to Bonefish, so the guys kept the kids. More accurately, the kids kept themselves.

Finally, late last night, NJ and I finished the third season of Arrested Development. What a great show. It was sad to see it end.

So today is Monday. The weather is nice. I went for a run this morning and now I'm recapping the weekend. I plan on a lazy Labor Day.

Saturday

2006-08-26T21:38:00.000-05:00

I do love Saturday. Especially the ones where I don't have to be somewhere early.

NJ (and even the boys) and I slept in today. We woke up after 8:00! After a few cups of coffee, I mowed the lawn.

Man is it hot!

I've never been a big global warming guy (if we're breaking temperature records that were set 90 years ago...huh?), but this IS a warmer than normal summer.

The boys and I made the trek to Bass Pro this afternoon...for no particular reason. We stopped by Sonic on the way home and all got frosty treats...for no particular reason.

Did I mention how hot it is?

Michael's Meadowbrook Manifesto

2006-08-22T13:43:00.000-05:00

Pray before proceeding.

Countless are the times and ways in which my beloved Meadowbrook Church of Christ has attempted (in its search for finding its identity given location, demographics and tradition) to define its niche and self over the past seven years that I've been a member. Perhaps there has been no collective search at all, and all of the searching has really been my own. My perception. I'm open to that possibility.

If you're a member at Meadowbrook and don't already know what I'm talking about, then reading further is senseless. If you're one of the unfortunate souls that does know what I'm talking about, then maybe its not just me, and I ask that you pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance before you proceed.

Who's on First?

Strategic planning at Meadowbrook inevitably ends up like the famous Abbott and Costello routine, Who's on First. We go round and round with the same questions that have only questions as answers. I hope I can convey my thoughts on who, where and what we really are, and how it should determine what we do next. How capable I'll be, I don't know........third base.

For once, let's be honest. We are a bunch of smart, rich white people who have no intention to nor idea how to relate to the lost of inner city Jackson. None! The demographics of our congregation bear this out.

So let me start with a few questions. Is there anything wrong with who we are? Should we be somebody else? Could we be if we wanted to? My answers are No, No and No. We are who God made us. Certainly, when we are full of His Spirit, the best of who God made us to be comes forth. God has given us talents to use. So why can't we use who we are to our fullest advantage?

I was in Broadstreet a few Sunday's ago before church. The place was packed. It was packed with people who (based on their attire) appeared to have NO intention of making it to church that morning. They appeared, largely, unchurched. I know it's dangerous to make such assumptions, but it occurred to me that Meadowbrook is smack dab in the middle of the smart, rich, white, unchurched country. But for the grace of God, they're us! They're people that we can relate to much more easily than someone who lives off Farrish St. I'm not saying this is ideal, or that we shouldn't feel compelled to seek the poor, sick and needed, I'm simply saying that history indicates that we're not very good at it as a church. It's not who we are. We can continue to beat our heads together hoping that we will somehow change our history, or we can embrace our strengths. I'm choosing the later. In choosing to seek the poor (lacking the riches of Christ), sick (dead in their sins) and needy (longing for true community) of the Fondren-Belhaven-Northeast areas, it is my hope that a greater capacity to reach into inner city Jackson will result. Which brings me to where we are.

Shining City on a (well concealed) Hill

Here we sit, in this nice building, right off I-55 and Meadowbrook Rd. That's all fine and good, but I live in Madison. And I'm not moving. In fact, the majority of our congregation lives outside the city limits of Jackson. There are 255 address listed in the online directory, as of August 14, 2006. Of them, 72 have Jackson addresses. That's 28%! So 72% live outside the city limits of Jackson. Why do I bring this up? Because I don't believe that this trend can continue for another generation.

At what point do people stop driving in? Why do they drive 10 - 20 miles (one way) now? I know why I do. Because of the genuine, Spirit-filled people with whom I share a religious heritage that attend Meadowbrook. It's important to note here that it is the combination of the two. Right now, in Madison, I can find groups that are just as genuine and just as Spirit-filled. I can find groups in Madison that share my religious heritage. But, I don't believe that both currently exist in the same place in Madison. The same is true of Rankin county. This may be a harsh indictment of other CofCer's in the area, but that's my opinion. A generation from now, however, I'm willing to bet that there will be acceptable options much more convenient to where I live. This is not to say that I'm married to my heritage. I'm not. But, it's nice that it exists in a place like Meadowbrook. That's why it matters. I don't' want that to be lost 20 years from now.

That's why I think it's crucial for the people who have invested their money and lives in the area around Meadowbrook to be the ones who will have to carry the work of Meadowbrook into the future. Will Meadowbrook look the same 20 years from now? Absolutely not. It doesn't look now like it did 20 years ago.

Our task is to make Meadowbrook a place that is open and inviting to those who are in need of Christ in our (Meadowbrook's) immediate area so that they can be the ones to make sure that Meadowbrook remains viable into the future.

It's the eCommunity, stupid!

Okay, I admit it! I have, at times, gotten sucked into the notion that we have to be cool to be compelling. My thoughts have been things like..."We've got to have a well done audio/visual set-up for us to have a chance to get noticed by the unchurched. Afterall, they can't be expected to find us worth a second look if we don't do at least as well as secular society in the presentation of our message." Okay, I didn't actually say those words, so as to require quotes, but you get the point.

In reality, however, it's about relationships...duh. It's about relationships formed around the everlasting truth that Jesus is Lord (and all that comes with having a savior--Romans 15:13).

I started drafting these thoughts a few days ago. Since then, I watched a video of the recent class where Stacy Andrews from The Journey joined Jeff Richardson as a guest in his Sunday morning class on the Emerging Church. After watching it, the thought that was most compelling to me was that The Journey is reaching the unchurched in the Fondren area being simple and grounded in the Word. This runs contrary to the notion (see my quote of my thoughts above) that we have to be culturally relevant (i.e. flashy and slick like a 2006 commercial) to reach the current culture. Those things may work for a Pinelake, who largely is drawing the already-churched in droves, but it doesn't little to truly connect with the innately skeptical unchurched.

If we are to break through to those in who are in need of Christ in the area around Meadowbrook (or anywhere else for that matter), the understandable wall of apprehension and/or contempt for "church" (the institution) has to be breached. As Stacy pointed out, it can only be done individually or in groups small enough to allow those we are trying to reach a chance to ascertain our trustworthiness (individually and the body as a whole). This takes time...our time. It also will take us making judgments on the things (specifically the church work) that already occupy large amounts of our time.

The Big Finish!

Not really. It's my blog. These are my opinions. I've been married long enough to know that I'm not always right. Please share your comments.

Ross Bridge Resort

2006-08-21T09:09:00.000-05:00

I'm not generally one who is blown away by the niceness of places. However, I have to say that the Ross Bridge Resort in Birmingham was impressive. To be such an new facility, it has an established feel to it. The rooms are quite nice. The service and food were excellent. And the grass...the zoiza (sp) grass is something to behold (or at least walk on barefooted--which NJ and I did).

We had a slow evening on Friday night. I do love shrimp and grits.

Saturday was a shopping day. The Summit is NICE, but really it's just the same old stores, with the same old stuff.

Birmingham is a pretty city. The hills give it a much different feel than I'm used to. The Hoover-Vestavia Hills-Mountain Brook-Homewood area is well done.

I've got a lot rolling around in my head right now, but not enough time to put it on pixels. I hope to soon. As a reminder to myself...

1. Meadowbrook and the Broadstreet crowd.
2. Setting a course for my work future.
3. Getting to my boys.

more to come...

Birmingham

2006-08-18T09:18:00.000-05:00

Neddie Joye and I are going away (on the Bank's dime) to Ross Bridge Resort in Birmingham this weekend. I always look forward to our weekend getaways. Should be fun! I'll give a full accounting when I get back.

On a different note, I've about decided to purchase a Beretta 3901. I'll have to sell my Mossberg, of course, but there will be no tears shed for it. There's nothing wrong with it (other than it being a little on the heavy side), it just isn't right for me.

I'm still looking for a boat; along with some justification (or otherwise, sufficient rationalization) of why I "need" one.

I hear you never regret overpaying for quality.

A new day

2006-08-17T16:08:00.000-05:00

has dawned. Credo Deus is born.