Thursday morning we went up to Hillsville for Thanksgiving. Highlights of the weekend trip included:
1) hearing Isaiah tell the same 2 jokes to everyone in the house, multiple times
"Why do chicken's sit on their eggs?" "Because they don't have chairs"
"What's black and white and red all over?" "A newspaper"
2) Many games of pool and cutthroat, including a game I lost to Rachel where I hit in four of her balls, and a game I won against Sarah where she hit in four of mine!
3) Leaving at 3am with Rachel to go out to Walmart in Christiansburg for Black Friday sales. We got there a little before 5am and I had her run in to get in line while I found a parking space, which turned out to be way over at the Texas Roadhouse. I got in and found out that people had been there camped out overnight, and they gave out stickers for the different items, and the last sticker had been given out at 3 am. Rachel was nowhere to be found, and so I set off shopping for other items. The crowd was insane, it was a logjam in certain parts of the store, and at no part could you walk normally. Stuff was spread out oddly, like DVD's for $2 and $5 in bins in the middle of the underwear section. After waiting in line about 40 minutes to pay I went outside to put the stuff in the car and finally saw Rachel again. We then journeyed a mile down to Best Buy and got software and other gifts before heading back to Hillsville. Good talks with Rachel there and back about her job, home church, and other random stuff.
4) Getting back and crashing till noon, then having the great surprise of Shannon searching online to find great laptop deals. She found an hp with a $100 rebate and all the features I was looking for, then found a code to get more money off of it through a friends and family promo.
5) Watching random stuff online, including the "I'm on a boat" video (which Abby sang and danced too because she has watched it WAY too much), and lots of Literal music videos (funniest being Total Eclipse of the Heart and Creed's Arms Wide Open)
6) Everyone going out Friday night to push the BMW back to the house.
7) Awesome pies! Sarah made pecan pie, and it was the best anyone had ever tasted, and I made an Oreo peanut butter fudge pie that was quite delicious as well, and was my first pie.
8) Isaiah sleeping in a sleeping bag for the first time.
9) Lily telling everyone "baby" and smiling and waving at everyone. She is adorable.
10) Coming home Saturday, then spending the afternoon watching VT mop the floor with UVA 42-13! I left with a few minutes left in the game to go sell the CRV! YES!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Reunion, boxing
On Sunday evening, Nov. 22nd, we had youth groups from five churches attend, over 80 teens, including 12 teens from Edgewood! The Penn Forest worship team led us in worship, and Brandon Beauchamp spoke about being rebelling against the world and being different for God. We collected over 60 canned and dry goods, and attached scriptures to over 600 pieces of candy. The food and candy have been donated to an appreciative Roanoke Rescue Mission.
On a way different note, I watched a great boxing match recently between Andre Ward and Mikkel Kessler on Showtime. If you haven't heard of Ward, he won the gold medal in the 2004 Olympics, and is undefeated. He fought an amazing fight against Kessler, who held the belt coming into this fight. He repeatedly switched to southpaw, his handspeed and accuracy were too much for Kessler from the beginning. On a personal level I respect Ward because of his faith (he calls himself S.O.G for Son of God, he came into the ring to the sounds of a Christian rapper, his robe represents Christ, but most importantly his speech represents his faith). I started following Ward's career a few year's ago after reading about him in a book called A Fighter's Heart by Sam Sheridan. I encourage all boxing fans to check Ward out, and check out this Super Six competition showtime is putting on. They have basically gotten together six of the best super middleweights in the world to fight in a round robin format. For details on it see:http://sports.sho.com/world-boxing-classic.html
Go S.O.G!
On a way different note, I watched a great boxing match recently between Andre Ward and Mikkel Kessler on Showtime. If you haven't heard of Ward, he won the gold medal in the 2004 Olympics, and is undefeated. He fought an amazing fight against Kessler, who held the belt coming into this fight. He repeatedly switched to southpaw, his handspeed and accuracy were too much for Kessler from the beginning. On a personal level I respect Ward because of his faith (he calls himself S.O.G for Son of God, he came into the ring to the sounds of a Christian rapper, his robe represents Christ, but most importantly his speech represents his faith). I started following Ward's career a few year's ago after reading about him in a book called A Fighter's Heart by Sam Sheridan. I encourage all boxing fans to check Ward out, and check out this Super Six competition showtime is putting on. They have basically gotten together six of the best super middleweights in the world to fight in a round robin format. For details on it see:http://sports.sho.com/world-boxing-classic.html
Go S.O.G!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Where Da Hood, Where Da Hood, Where Da Hood at...
I now have the answer to DMX's question. It is right here, in our neighborhood, in Roanoke, VA. Over the years I have been familar with hood. Growing up in Newport News, aka Bad News, I lived in a nice non-hood area of the city, but I attended 3 formative middle school years in the heart of Downtown Newport News at Booker T. Washington. Lots of hood kids, afternoon dances instead of night dances because the neighborhood is sketchy, etc. In high school there was gangs, but you knew where they were and didn't go around there (like when they stand outside the cafeteria in the morning, don't go there) and things were cool. We had lots of security guards, and I only mention this because I got to college and found out this was not normal everywhere (because to people reading from NN you're probably saying "yeah, and?" because it is the norm)They jacked up a few kids that messed with them, but that is it. Later, when I was 19, I even had a gun pulled on me while walking because people wanted to know if I was in a gang, but that is another story for another time.
Sarah and I moved to Elizabeth City, NC when I went back to school at Roanoke Bible College in 2004, and the Bible College is in a sketchy part of EC. We are in our own bubble, but our neighbors then were pretty hood. They would stay up on their 2nd floor balcony getting drunk, yelling, etc a lot. Once I had class the next morning and it was 2:30am so I manned up, went outside and asked them to please be quiet. They did, though as a went back upstairs into our apartment I heardone girl say, "He just don't like black people." Way to play the race card...I actually just don't like loud people at 2:30 in the morning outside my window. Either way I decided it was good to keep peace so I went over there the next morning handing out rootbeers and saying, "look we got off on the wrong foot, my name is Chris, and if you ever need anything just let us know." Blessed are the peacemakers. My wife worked at the middle school near by and would walk to school. The kids found out she walked to school and made fun of her saying she lived in the hood. When they were annoyed with her they would threaten to follow her home (never happened, but whatever, I could take some middle schoolers). I drove a few blocks away one time and got stopped by a group of about 10-15 guys that were taking up the road. They asked me what I wanted, and I said I just was trying to drive through. They got real annoyed and said "you don't come driving around here unless you want something" then let me pass. Guess they were not real worried about keeping their dealing low profile...
I tell this to show I am familiar with hood. Anyway, after all that we move to Roanoke, VA and move downtown in a rough area thinking, well we've lived in the hood before. Little did we know what we were in for...
Since we moved here a little almost a year and a half ago here is some of what has happened, that has caused me to consider that only now do I really see hood life:
1) We moved our stuff in and stayed with Sarah's parents, the plan was to spend some time with them so we could unpack our stuff and get everything set up. The next day we went to the house and found we had been robbed. I won't go into too many details, but $15,000 of stuff was taken. Bikes, tools, CD's, DVD's, TV's, DVD players, and lots more. I want to add here that God looked out for us here. 1- we weren't there, nobody was in danger 2- nothing personal/irreplacable was taken like pictures, etc 3- we had insurance to cover the losses and what it didn't cover our church generously covered
2) The house next to us was full of hispanics that didn't speak English and worked at a painting business owned by people in our church. About a month later we find out that they had someone break into their house and rob them at gunpoint. (we got a security system after we were robbed. This new incident caused us pause but we figured it was a personal thing. They didn't have much stuff, and there was a lot of people in that house. There was a lot of houses with easier targets like old ladies and more stuff if somebody just wanted to steal. Plus someone could just wait till they were gone and avoid confrontation). They moved out soon afterwards and left the house in disarray. New neighbors have since moved in that seem to want to keep the place in disarray, including keeping the newspapers over the windows.
3) Our neighbors on the other side of the house were like the neighbors in Elizabeth City, but times 5. There was the head to toe tattoed guy (prison looking tattoos like spiderwebs and tear drops, not artsy), his obese wife that seemed to have no problem with coming outside with nothing but a bra on her top half (shudder...), the 13 year old daughter that had all sorts of older teen friends that would come to the house and stay outside yelling, cussing, laughing, etc for house late into the night, the little kids who looked to be like 4 and 6 but would cuss each other out, and the pet pitbull. These neighbors would get drunk outside routinely, and get high. The cops were called on them many times by various neighbors. They would often have friends over doing this as well, so many that we weren't really sure exactly who all lived there. One night one friend came driving in and talked about getting jumped down the street and trying to go get them back. I speak of them in the past tense because they lived in the house but it was owned by the lady's grandma. One day the 13 yr old was at her grandma's, outside causing trouble, and the police arrested her and found her to be drunk, high, and having painkillers in her system. They told the people they either had to press charges on the grandma since the girl was in her care at the time or they were going to take their kids away. So they pressed charges. The grandma, furious because she was not the reason the girl was like that, kicked them out of the house. Here's hopeing for better neighbors next time around, the grandma is fixing up the place, and it looks like she might live there again.
4) One night we are watching TV and a boy comes screaming out of the house across the street, talking about how they are fighting and he is going to hit her and he is scared and crying. Neighbors, including us, open our doors to see what is going on. The man comes out and tells him to get in the house, no one is going to get hit, and the boy and is scared, like OK, I'm sorry!...The police were called and the man was arrested.
5) The neighbors two doors down had some stuff stolen off their porch. Last week someone vandalized their truck by spray painting on it.
6) The neighbors in #3 were broken into and had a TV and some tools stolen. They later found out it was a friend of theirs who did it.
7) We live just a couple blocks from the Rescue Mission in Roanoke. Homeless people routinely walk by our house, which is no big deal. I try to help them out when I can, give them food or a drink while driving on my way to work (no money). However, one evening we came home and their were two sitting on our porch. They left when we got there. That is a troubling thing, because part of me wanted to tell them to stay off our property and part of me wanted to ask them if they needed any help. I went in the middle and said nothing, just watched them walk away.
8) We just started a neighborhood watch and heard our street is actually a lot better than some of the surrounding ones in the area. There lots of neighbors have reported people jumping other people and beating them up. Hopefully the neighborhood watch can help clean things up...
9) About a mile away we saw a guy get hit by a car in a parking lot on purpose. That isn't technically our neighborhood, but it is the same city area, and pretty crazy.
10) Sarah has had the police come to our down in riot gear asking if we have seen people around while I was at work.
Point it, we live in the hood. I must admit, I am looking forward the time when we can afford a house in a different neighborhood, but until then we feel safe, especially with the security system. It has just been an eye-opening experience, and I felt like sharing it with you.
Sarah and I moved to Elizabeth City, NC when I went back to school at Roanoke Bible College in 2004, and the Bible College is in a sketchy part of EC. We are in our own bubble, but our neighbors then were pretty hood. They would stay up on their 2nd floor balcony getting drunk, yelling, etc a lot. Once I had class the next morning and it was 2:30am so I manned up, went outside and asked them to please be quiet. They did, though as a went back upstairs into our apartment I heardone girl say, "He just don't like black people." Way to play the race card...I actually just don't like loud people at 2:30 in the morning outside my window. Either way I decided it was good to keep peace so I went over there the next morning handing out rootbeers and saying, "look we got off on the wrong foot, my name is Chris, and if you ever need anything just let us know." Blessed are the peacemakers. My wife worked at the middle school near by and would walk to school. The kids found out she walked to school and made fun of her saying she lived in the hood. When they were annoyed with her they would threaten to follow her home (never happened, but whatever, I could take some middle schoolers). I drove a few blocks away one time and got stopped by a group of about 10-15 guys that were taking up the road. They asked me what I wanted, and I said I just was trying to drive through. They got real annoyed and said "you don't come driving around here unless you want something" then let me pass. Guess they were not real worried about keeping their dealing low profile...
I tell this to show I am familiar with hood. Anyway, after all that we move to Roanoke, VA and move downtown in a rough area thinking, well we've lived in the hood before. Little did we know what we were in for...
Since we moved here a little almost a year and a half ago here is some of what has happened, that has caused me to consider that only now do I really see hood life:
1) We moved our stuff in and stayed with Sarah's parents, the plan was to spend some time with them so we could unpack our stuff and get everything set up. The next day we went to the house and found we had been robbed. I won't go into too many details, but $15,000 of stuff was taken. Bikes, tools, CD's, DVD's, TV's, DVD players, and lots more. I want to add here that God looked out for us here. 1- we weren't there, nobody was in danger 2- nothing personal/irreplacable was taken like pictures, etc 3- we had insurance to cover the losses and what it didn't cover our church generously covered
2) The house next to us was full of hispanics that didn't speak English and worked at a painting business owned by people in our church. About a month later we find out that they had someone break into their house and rob them at gunpoint. (we got a security system after we were robbed. This new incident caused us pause but we figured it was a personal thing. They didn't have much stuff, and there was a lot of people in that house. There was a lot of houses with easier targets like old ladies and more stuff if somebody just wanted to steal. Plus someone could just wait till they were gone and avoid confrontation). They moved out soon afterwards and left the house in disarray. New neighbors have since moved in that seem to want to keep the place in disarray, including keeping the newspapers over the windows.
3) Our neighbors on the other side of the house were like the neighbors in Elizabeth City, but times 5. There was the head to toe tattoed guy (prison looking tattoos like spiderwebs and tear drops, not artsy), his obese wife that seemed to have no problem with coming outside with nothing but a bra on her top half (shudder...), the 13 year old daughter that had all sorts of older teen friends that would come to the house and stay outside yelling, cussing, laughing, etc for house late into the night, the little kids who looked to be like 4 and 6 but would cuss each other out, and the pet pitbull. These neighbors would get drunk outside routinely, and get high. The cops were called on them many times by various neighbors. They would often have friends over doing this as well, so many that we weren't really sure exactly who all lived there. One night one friend came driving in and talked about getting jumped down the street and trying to go get them back. I speak of them in the past tense because they lived in the house but it was owned by the lady's grandma. One day the 13 yr old was at her grandma's, outside causing trouble, and the police arrested her and found her to be drunk, high, and having painkillers in her system. They told the people they either had to press charges on the grandma since the girl was in her care at the time or they were going to take their kids away. So they pressed charges. The grandma, furious because she was not the reason the girl was like that, kicked them out of the house. Here's hopeing for better neighbors next time around, the grandma is fixing up the place, and it looks like she might live there again.
4) One night we are watching TV and a boy comes screaming out of the house across the street, talking about how they are fighting and he is going to hit her and he is scared and crying. Neighbors, including us, open our doors to see what is going on. The man comes out and tells him to get in the house, no one is going to get hit, and the boy and is scared, like OK, I'm sorry!...The police were called and the man was arrested.
5) The neighbors two doors down had some stuff stolen off their porch. Last week someone vandalized their truck by spray painting on it.
6) The neighbors in #3 were broken into and had a TV and some tools stolen. They later found out it was a friend of theirs who did it.
7) We live just a couple blocks from the Rescue Mission in Roanoke. Homeless people routinely walk by our house, which is no big deal. I try to help them out when I can, give them food or a drink while driving on my way to work (no money). However, one evening we came home and their were two sitting on our porch. They left when we got there. That is a troubling thing, because part of me wanted to tell them to stay off our property and part of me wanted to ask them if they needed any help. I went in the middle and said nothing, just watched them walk away.
8) We just started a neighborhood watch and heard our street is actually a lot better than some of the surrounding ones in the area. There lots of neighbors have reported people jumping other people and beating them up. Hopefully the neighborhood watch can help clean things up...
9) About a mile away we saw a guy get hit by a car in a parking lot on purpose. That isn't technically our neighborhood, but it is the same city area, and pretty crazy.
10) Sarah has had the police come to our down in riot gear asking if we have seen people around while I was at work.
Point it, we live in the hood. I must admit, I am looking forward the time when we can afford a house in a different neighborhood, but until then we feel safe, especially with the security system. It has just been an eye-opening experience, and I felt like sharing it with you.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Changes
So this week has been a week of changes. First it is a big change in the youth group. The main core over the past year has been seniors, and many have now moved away from the area, gone to college, etc. Even those still local have jobs, and well, they've out grown the youth ministry. I'm trying to keep some plugged in in student leadership roles through serving at camp, on a praise team, etc, but the whole face of the youth group has changed. We do have a good core group of kids coming up though. Lots of middle schoolers and 9th graders. These are the kids that are really in my hands, they were too young for youth group when Joe was Youth Ministry here. We had 10 kids yesterday for a fun trip to Thunder Valley for go karts, laser tag, mini golf. Many of them don't normally come to youth group, most because they are young, haven't been, and their parents don't bring them. Hopefully all that can change. It is a plus though, this is a small church, and 10 an event is cool, but I'd love 10 at night for class more. Not just for numbers obviously, but because that is where they learn about Jesus and the Bible, not at Thunder Valley. (of course there are always "your life is a lesson" lessons they learn in community, but you get what I mean).
More changes coming at Edgewood. Senior Minister Larry is has given his letter of resignation, and will be leaving here at the end of Nov after 17 years. The search has begun for a new senior minister. The pulpit committee and leaders are looking, and we'll see where this goes. Til then, all I can do is trust God in the situation, give my opinion when asked, and keep pressing on. I love Larry and wish he and his family the best. He has been a strong pillar in this church, and a great example of a minister with integrity. Our secretary Jean will also be leaving in Nov. She works part time already at a bank, and her daughter is having a baby. She wants to be able to help watch the baby. So at the end of the year I'll be the senior staff member with only a year experience (there is our part time children's minister, but she isn't here for the day to day stuff). I am excited at the change, as we are stuck in our traditional ways in some aspects. (and I don't mean doctrinally, I mean in the "this is the way we've always done it and we fear change cause some people could get upset" attitude). I am not worried. Change comes, it is a part of life. And the good news is I don't have to know what is going to happen. I am not in control, but I know that God is. And he knows what will happen, and I know I can trust in him. Proverbs 3:5,6. So that is what I'm doing.
On the home front Lily started really walking yesterday! She took her first unsure steps a few weeks ago, but has been mostly walking holding on to our hand or fingers. Yesterday that all changed. I came home and she was just walking around the house, not falling at all. They grow up so fast...it seems like just yesterday she was just spitting up brocolli all over herself....oh wait, that was yesterday. Still, she is growing up, and it is adorable to watch.
More changes coming at Edgewood. Senior Minister Larry is has given his letter of resignation, and will be leaving here at the end of Nov after 17 years. The search has begun for a new senior minister. The pulpit committee and leaders are looking, and we'll see where this goes. Til then, all I can do is trust God in the situation, give my opinion when asked, and keep pressing on. I love Larry and wish he and his family the best. He has been a strong pillar in this church, and a great example of a minister with integrity. Our secretary Jean will also be leaving in Nov. She works part time already at a bank, and her daughter is having a baby. She wants to be able to help watch the baby. So at the end of the year I'll be the senior staff member with only a year experience (there is our part time children's minister, but she isn't here for the day to day stuff). I am excited at the change, as we are stuck in our traditional ways in some aspects. (and I don't mean doctrinally, I mean in the "this is the way we've always done it and we fear change cause some people could get upset" attitude). I am not worried. Change comes, it is a part of life. And the good news is I don't have to know what is going to happen. I am not in control, but I know that God is. And he knows what will happen, and I know I can trust in him. Proverbs 3:5,6. So that is what I'm doing.
On the home front Lily started really walking yesterday! She took her first unsure steps a few weeks ago, but has been mostly walking holding on to our hand or fingers. Yesterday that all changed. I came home and she was just walking around the house, not falling at all. They grow up so fast...it seems like just yesterday she was just spitting up brocolli all over herself....oh wait, that was yesterday. Still, she is growing up, and it is adorable to watch.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Life Catch Up
So I haven't blogged in months, and I figured I'd get on here and try to recap a few of the highlights of the past few months.
Easter was cool. We did the area sunrise service at Edgewood. The youth and I led worship, and then we watched a sand art depiction of the passion, then Jason from Salem spoke. He talked about how we need to get away sometimes, and when we do a lot of times we go do what we know. Like go watch a TV show or go running or ride a motorcycle. The disciples have been hiding out in a house after the death of Jesus, and they decide they have to get out, so they go fishing...at night. Here Jason sat down and guys from Salem came out and acted a scene like they were the disciples remembering Jesus while fishing on the boat. They catch nothing, but then Jesus (Don) comes up. Good service. Then we went out to eat at the Shoney's buffet, my family, Sandy and David and Sandy their neighbor, Margee, Kristen and Kevin, and Johnnie Tickle.
A few months later I went to RBC's Free Retreat. It was cool, much better than last year. I drove more than I was there if you don't include sleep time, because I left Monday at 11 and got there around 5:00 and then left RBC at 11:00 to arrive back at 5 on Tuesday. But the time there was great. When pulling into town I gto a call from Matt and he told me to come to 3 Amigos for dinner, I went and saw all sorts of people, including Frank! He came up and hugged me when I walked in, and I sat near him and Matt and talked for a while about kids, notw tshirts, the NC version of SMOV. Then came the service that night. So many friends there. The Hamiltons, Cross's, EL, both sets of Woolards, Joe Curry came from Roanoke (with Eric Wyatt, a sponsor of his who I met and who grew up at Edgewood), Rodkey's, Chris Conley, Corey and Nicole Jones, Dean Owens, on and on. I got a free MACU tshirt, the Cross's led worship (a very pregnant Beth, whose voice I love, broke down one time talking about her former youth minister and how he ending up being a pedophile, and how if anyone was struggling this was the perfect time to get help. ) Aaron is a great worship leader and it was refreshing worship. Then the speaker was a counselor from Southeast that talked about and asked us questions about emotional maturity. After that was free time, I played basketball all evening, then went to 7 eleven with guys, then hung out in the room and talked with Matt til 2. The next morning we ate Bojangles, and I talked with the Rodkey's about being adopted and how my parents told me (in a story when I was young). I really appreciated the whole time, even the ride, where I listened for hours to the biography of Oswald Chambers (insightful and inspiring).
Other big events have happened, but let me move on to family.
During this time Lily has grown so much. She still has this cute habit of laying her head on your shoulder when you pick her up. She scouts around on the floor real fast, dragging her legs as she pulls herself with her arms. She can crawl, but the scoot is her preferred means of transportation. She can also pull herself up into standing position. She'll probably be walking very soon. She eats so much, sometimes more than Isaiah eats. She also says a few words like uh-oh and da-da and ball (bah).
Isaiah can carry on a conversation with you. He still loves trucks and cars, and is very smart. He counted to 50 today! He has been a few weeks without a serious accident, and we gave him his race car potty cake two weeks ago at Hungry Mother to celebrate his using the potty.
Speaking of Hungry Mother, it was a great vacation. Tyler and Shannon and us and Sarah's parents and Joel, Cindy, Abby, Granny Fran, Anne and Amber. The last night Rachael, Emily and Adam came too. The week consisted of a lot of hikes, reading, puzzles, basketball, walks, Munchkin, cards (David and I killed at spades!) Good times. While on a hike we found a geo cache box, it was the first time any of us had ever seen one. We left a hair rubberband and took a jar opener. We all went out to Macado's for a good meal out on Wed night. I really like Sarah's family, I'm glad I married into such a great family, immediate and extended.
And that brings us pretty close to the present. I have camp and VBS soon, so hopefully I'll make it a point to write about them soon afterwards and not wait months for my next entry.
Easter was cool. We did the area sunrise service at Edgewood. The youth and I led worship, and then we watched a sand art depiction of the passion, then Jason from Salem spoke. He talked about how we need to get away sometimes, and when we do a lot of times we go do what we know. Like go watch a TV show or go running or ride a motorcycle. The disciples have been hiding out in a house after the death of Jesus, and they decide they have to get out, so they go fishing...at night. Here Jason sat down and guys from Salem came out and acted a scene like they were the disciples remembering Jesus while fishing on the boat. They catch nothing, but then Jesus (Don) comes up. Good service. Then we went out to eat at the Shoney's buffet, my family, Sandy and David and Sandy their neighbor, Margee, Kristen and Kevin, and Johnnie Tickle.
A few months later I went to RBC's Free Retreat. It was cool, much better than last year. I drove more than I was there if you don't include sleep time, because I left Monday at 11 and got there around 5:00 and then left RBC at 11:00 to arrive back at 5 on Tuesday. But the time there was great. When pulling into town I gto a call from Matt and he told me to come to 3 Amigos for dinner, I went and saw all sorts of people, including Frank! He came up and hugged me when I walked in, and I sat near him and Matt and talked for a while about kids, notw tshirts, the NC version of SMOV. Then came the service that night. So many friends there. The Hamiltons, Cross's, EL, both sets of Woolards, Joe Curry came from Roanoke (with Eric Wyatt, a sponsor of his who I met and who grew up at Edgewood), Rodkey's, Chris Conley, Corey and Nicole Jones, Dean Owens, on and on. I got a free MACU tshirt, the Cross's led worship (a very pregnant Beth, whose voice I love, broke down one time talking about her former youth minister and how he ending up being a pedophile, and how if anyone was struggling this was the perfect time to get help. ) Aaron is a great worship leader and it was refreshing worship. Then the speaker was a counselor from Southeast that talked about and asked us questions about emotional maturity. After that was free time, I played basketball all evening, then went to 7 eleven with guys, then hung out in the room and talked with Matt til 2. The next morning we ate Bojangles, and I talked with the Rodkey's about being adopted and how my parents told me (in a story when I was young). I really appreciated the whole time, even the ride, where I listened for hours to the biography of Oswald Chambers (insightful and inspiring).
Other big events have happened, but let me move on to family.
During this time Lily has grown so much. She still has this cute habit of laying her head on your shoulder when you pick her up. She scouts around on the floor real fast, dragging her legs as she pulls herself with her arms. She can crawl, but the scoot is her preferred means of transportation. She can also pull herself up into standing position. She'll probably be walking very soon. She eats so much, sometimes more than Isaiah eats. She also says a few words like uh-oh and da-da and ball (bah).
Isaiah can carry on a conversation with you. He still loves trucks and cars, and is very smart. He counted to 50 today! He has been a few weeks without a serious accident, and we gave him his race car potty cake two weeks ago at Hungry Mother to celebrate his using the potty.
Speaking of Hungry Mother, it was a great vacation. Tyler and Shannon and us and Sarah's parents and Joel, Cindy, Abby, Granny Fran, Anne and Amber. The last night Rachael, Emily and Adam came too. The week consisted of a lot of hikes, reading, puzzles, basketball, walks, Munchkin, cards (David and I killed at spades!) Good times. While on a hike we found a geo cache box, it was the first time any of us had ever seen one. We left a hair rubberband and took a jar opener. We all went out to Macado's for a good meal out on Wed night. I really like Sarah's family, I'm glad I married into such a great family, immediate and extended.
And that brings us pretty close to the present. I have camp and VBS soon, so hopefully I'll make it a point to write about them soon afterwards and not wait months for my next entry.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Valentine's Day
So on Valentine's Day Sarah and I watched Fireproof. A lot of movies they call inspirational to me do not inspire me, they are just called that because they are made for a faith based audience. This one however, really did inspire me...to be a better husband. Not that I think Sarah and I have a bad marriage, on the contrary, as I've told her, I'd put our marriage up against anyone's. Still, one of the keys to me being a good husband (and to anyone being a good spouse) is to continuely keep being a good spouse a high priority. Eph. 5:25-33. There is a difference I think between being a good spouse and just not being a bad spouse. The difference lies in the little things. Making sure to help with the cleaning. Spending time together. Little comments of love and appreciation. Random acts of kindness. Anyway, to anyone reading this, make marriage a priority and go out and see this movie (better yet as a couple!)
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Wii (I'm apparently not) Fit
So for FISH this Sunday we went to the Lilley's house and had a good time playing, among other things, Wii Fit. This is a smooth game. It is definitely more than you think it will be. I had a friend that joked about seeing a youtube video that mocked the Wii Fit saying something like "Now you and your friends can enjoy getting in shape with the exercises on the Wii Fit! Exercises like leaning to the left, leaning to the right, stepping off the board, and stepping back on!"
The Wii Fit has lots more than that, all the strength stuff you really do push ups and sit ups, and you do real yoga poses as well, and even the stuff that is just stepping off and back on is in a run game so it doesn't feel monotonous. Anyway, we started playing at the Lilley's and when I entered my height and my birthdate the balance board measured my BMI and made my Mii get fat. It was quite a funny scene for the rest of According to the Wii Fit I am too high on the BMI scale, overwieght is how they put it, and not just a tad overweight, well in the middle of the overweight scale. Now I am telling myself that I'm not that bad...I mean it is because of all the muscles I have right? Muscle weighs more than fat, and all that. Truth is though, I have known for a while that I need to lose some weight. In fact my New Year's Resolution was to drop down to 175 pds. by Easter.
So later that night I'm telling Sarah about it and we decided to get the Wii Fit as our Mother's Day/Father's Day presents to each other. We set up our Mii's and got down to working out.
According to the Wii I even need to go a little further than 175 pds., losing about 3 pds every two weeks for the next 3 months to acheive a nice healthy BMI.
Will I do it? We'll see. Anyone who knows me knows I love to eat, and not healthy. But I defiantely have been staying consistent with working out on this week. Hopefully I'll post in Easter about how I now am Wii Fit. At least I'll have fun trying.
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