Archive for Books
October Debrief
Only three things of note this month…
1. Saw Paramore and Paper Route in concert at the Filmore in Detroit with Jason and Levi. Such a great show! I only wish we had better seats, but I’m sold on Paramore, and Paper Route is better live than I’d even hoped for. I’d go see both of these bands again.
2. Participated in an epic MuteMath concert experience. I’m still putting my review together on this one, but wow. Even after having seen them live 4 times before, this was hands down the best concert I’ve ever been to.
3. Halloween! Tried to watch a bunch of creepy-type movies this month (Zombieland wins hands down), and decorated our porch and lawn. This was the first year we stayed in Clinton and handed out candy. Good times! Tanner went as Harry Potter. Picture to come soon.
I also started playing basketball on Tuesday nights. I hope this Wednesday I don’t feel as bad as I did last Wednesday.
Looking at the calendar, I’m going to have quite a month in November. Can’t wait!
Books Read in October:
Zip.
Zilch.
Nada.
Movies Watched in October:
Zombieland – 5/5
The Brothers Bloom – 3/5
17 Again – 3/5
Sugar – 5/5
Year One – 2/5
Away We Go – 3/5
From Dusk Till Dawn – 2/5
Land of the Lost – 2/5
Shrink – 4/5
Young Guns – 4/5
Where The Wild Things Are – 5/5
Full Battle Rattle – 3/5
Management – 2/5
12 Monkeys – 3/5
Law Abiding Citizen – 4/5
Scream – 4/5
Running The Sahara – 5/5
Scream 2 – 3/5
Rocket Science – 5/5
Scream 3 – 2/5
Fight Club – 5/5
Event Horizon – 3/5
Young Guns II – 3/5
An American Wolf in London – 2/5
Previous Months:
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
Books
Big year for books! A full-term pregnancy into 2009 and I’ve already read, or listened to, 30 books (as well as the New Testament). Quite honestly I have no idea how I’ve done that, especially considering my rigorous movie watching regiment. None-the-less I’m happy to finally plow through some of these books on my bookshelf.
Here are four remaining books on my To-Read-In-2009 list:
Frankenstein – Mary Shelly
State of Fear – Michael Crichton
Team of Rivals – Doris Kearns Goodwin
Hot, Flat, and Crowded – Thomas L. Friedman
And I’m chomping at the bit to read these:
Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
Pagan Christianity – Frank Viola & George Barna
A New Earth – Eckhart Tolle
Scared – Tom Davis
The Hundredth Man – Jack Kerley
Organic Church – Neil Cole
The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore – Jake Colsen
Sticky Church – Larry Osborne
This just in! There are 2 new books coming out soon that will surely jump to the top of my list:
SuperFreakonomics – Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner
What the Dog Saw – Malcolm Gladwell
I certainly have my work cut out for me.
September Debrief
» Football is back!
» Michigan already has more wins than last year!
» The Lions finally win a game!
» The Tigers are finishing strong!
» Fall softball is finally fun.
» Drove Grandma-In-Law to her family reunion in Alabama. A very quick weekend trip but enjoyed getting back on the road again. Enjoyed some out of this world catfish, hushpuppies and sweet tea.
» Lots of great music loaded up this month!
» Small group is picking up steam. So glad Steve has joined us!
The big story this month is that I failed at my goal of reading the New Testament in September. A bunch of reasons, mostly excuses, but I plan on wrapping it up before Monday. It’s been a huge learning experience and I plan on doing it again, and often. I’ll probably do it every couple months or so, switching up translations each time. The Message really threw me for a loop. Next in the que is the old standby NIV.
Books Read in September:
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
Drops Like Stars by Rob Bell
Movies Watched in September:
The Pickup Artist – 3/5
The Hunting Party – 3/5
The Deer Hunter – 4/5
Michael – 3/5
Spirited Away – 2/5
Romeo + Juliet – 4/5
Adventureland – 3/5
Take Out – 4/5
Cape Fear – 3/5
I Love You, Man – 4/5
Casino – 5/5
Trouble The Water – 5/5
Sunshine Cleaning – 4/5
O’Horton – 4/5
The Cider House Rules – 4/5
Previous Months:
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
Review: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Donald Miller’s Searching For God Knows What was one of the first books I read when I first started my journey of spiritual discovery several years ago. Since then I’ve bought, read, loved, recommended and loaned out every one of his books. So when his newest book finally started to take shape, you can imagine how I’d be scrambling to get my hands on one.
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years fits nicely with his other works. It’s another collection of thoughts and stories by Miller as he continues his own journey of spiritual discovery. In this book he takes you through some lessons he learned as he worked with a couple producers in developing a screenplay for his book Blue Like Jazz.
Along the road he learns some valuable lessons on story and how it relates to all of our lives. Just being able to appreciate Millers points of view and style of writing are enough for me to like this book, but this one more than the rest actually has me contemplating my own story, or stories, on an almost daily basis. And for that, it has been an invaluable read.
» Read The First 30 Pages Here
» Listen to Donald Miller Speak On His Million Miles Tour
Review: Fearless
Up until this past Christmas I’d been sporting the same wallet since 1992. There wasn’t much to this withered piece of leather, but I had a hard time parting with it because it resonated with me so much. It was your run of the mill wallet but embossed on the front were the words NO FEAR.
The concept of NO FEAR has been a banner of mine since I can remember. It’s one I can preach on till the cows come home. Living it, however, is a much different story.
That’s why I can’t get enough people reminding me that I shouldn’t live in fear, especially those that remind me that Jesus was pretty clear on that issue as well.
Enter Fearless by Max Lucado.
When I started reading Fearless I thought it was going to be Barbarian Way light. I was happily mistaken. Although both remind us that following Christ is dangerous, they take different paths from there.
Reading a new book by Max Lucado always feels like you just picked up from where you left off before. He connects with his readers like no other author I can remember. Fearless was no different. It’s one of those books that you can go back and read every day for inspiration. Max examines all angles of fear, and then reminds us each time why it’s foolish to give into it.
“The fear-filled cannot love deeply. Love is risky. They cannot give to the poor. Benevolence has no guarantee of return. The fear-filled cannot dream wildly. What if their dreams sputter and fall from the sky? The worship of safety emasculates greatness.”
“Feed your fears, and your faith will starve. Feed your faith, and your fears will.”
When I’m done reading a book I usually think of someone that would benefit from it and then let them borrow it. Fearless is one of those rare books that I want to buy cases of and give them to everyone I know.
August Debrief
August was a blur.
It began with uncertainty at work, which has only gotten more interesting as the days go by. The next couple weeks should be telling, but I no longer come in to work knowing what’s going to happen from one day to the next.
I was able to accomplish some goals for the month — watch 31 movies and read 2 books. I actually finished strong with 34 movies, one in which I watched twice. I also got a third way through another book. The only reason this was even a goal of mine was because a couple months this year I watched over 20 movies and wondered how intrusive it would be to average a movie per day one month. It really wasn’t that bad. Here’s a tip, you don’t really have to sleep 8+ hours, ever.
I played in my first ever city league softball game last week. While I’m pumped to be finally playing softball past August for the first time since college, it’s truly annoying to be playing against people who define their lives by softball games.
And of course August is the month for my yearly Fantasy Football Draft Party and Mancation. Every year my boy Brandon fly’s in from Dallas to spend a long weekend in Michigan while Tonia and Tanner head for the hills and hope the house isn’t destroyed when they return. I look forward to these all year long, and this year did not disappoint.
So September begins the same as August, with uncertainty at work as well as a personal goal. The goal for September is to read the entire New Testament. I have an outlined plan, but I intend to do it a little quicker than that. I also might be doing some daily recaps.
Oh yeah, I also turned a year older this month.
Books Read in August:
40 Days and 40 Nights by Matthew Chapman
Fearless by Max Lucado
Movies Watched in August:
Coach Carter – 4/5
Earth Girls Are Easy – 1/5
The Talented Mr. Ripley – 5/5
My Big Fat Greek Wedding – 4/5
License To Wed – 3/5
The Ninth Gate – 3/5
The Soloist – 4/5
Dazed & Confused – 3/5
The Nines – 4/5
Blade Runner – 2/5
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang – 4/5
The Great Buck Howard – 4/5
1408 – 3/5
Taking Lives – 4/5
District 9 – 5/5
Do The Right Thing – 4/5
G-Force – 2/5
V For Vendetta – 3/5
Alive – 3/5
Boy Interupted – 3/5
He Got Game – 4/5
Funny Money – 2/5
Stardust – 4/5
Footloose – 3/5
Requiem For A Dream – 4/5
Inglourious Basterds (x2) – 5/5
Toy Soldiers – 3/5
Space Cowboys – 3/5
Driven – 3/5
Music Within – 5/5
Duplicity – 3/5
Taxi Driver – 4/5
Bringing Out The Dead – 4/5
Glengarry Glen Ross – 4/5
Previous Months:
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
Read The New Testament in a Month
I’m getting more and more pumped about my plan to read the entire New Testament in September. Although I was able to acquire a brand new bible, thanks to my friends at Thomas Nelson, I’ve decided to use The Message for this first go at it.
Also, during my research last night I came across a bunch of cool information.
» The New Testament has 260 chapters. If you read (a minimum of) 10 chapters per day you will only need 26 days to read it, leaving you a day off each week. However, most times you won’t want to stop at 10 chapters because you might be in the middle of a narrative and then you’ll plow through it even quicker.
» The Old Testament has 929 chapters. FYI.
» Some people like to read through the New Testament every month for 9 straight months, and then read through the Old Testament in the remaining 3 months.
» Someone even posted a plan to read the New Testament in a single week!
Monday: Matthew 1 – Mark 9
Tuesday: Mark 10 – John 6
Wednesday: John 7 – Acts 22
Thursday: Acts 23 – 1 Corinthians 14
Friday: 1 Corinthians 15 – 1 Thessalonians 5
Saturday: 2 Thessalonians 1 – 1 Peter 2
Sunday: 1 Peter 3 – Revelation 22
So here’s a basic outline for reading through the New Testament in a month:
1. Matthew 1-9
2. Matthew 10-15
3. Matthew 16-22
4. Matthew 23-28
5. Mark 1-8
6. Mark 9-16
7. Luke 1-6
8. Luke 7-11
9. Luke 12-18
10. Luke 19-24
11. John 1-7
12. John 8-13
13. John 14-21
14. Acts 1-7
15. Acts 8-14
16. Acts 15-21
17. Acts 22-28
18. Romans 1-8
19. Romans 9-16
20. 1 Corinthians 1-9
21. 1 Corinthians 10-16
22. 2 Corinthians 1-13
23. Galatians – Ephesians
24. Philippians – 2 Thessalonians
25. 1 Timothy – Philemon
26. Hebrews
27. James – 2 Peter
28. 1 John – 3 John
29. Revelation 1-11
30. Revelation 12-22
Anyone want to join me?
July Debrief
I didn’t think much happened in July until I started making a list of notable items.
It started off harmless with an extended Independence Day weekend full of cookouts, family, and bottle rockets being confiscated by my mother.
The following weekend we jetted down to Kings Island with Jay, Christina and Adam for Spirit Song—3 full days of camping, coasters and concerts. So happy to cross “seeing Switchfoot live” off my bucket list.
The next week we started our first small group in over 3 years. I’m really excited about this on many levels, but mostly because of how ecumenical it is. It’s comprised of 3 different churches.
Tanner turned six on the 23rd, had his first birthday party that included more than family, and got an electric guitar and amp. You hear it said a lot, but they sure grow up fast, don’t they?
The 24th was an exciting day as well. Our softball team came in 2nd in a tournament that took all of 8 hours, then we rushed over to a reunion party with a bunch of friends from our youth group back in the day. Such a great time catching up, despite being exhausted!
The month ended on a strange note. Lots of things happening in my department, so things are… different, for the time being. Lots of unknowns and anxiety. The next couple of months should reveal a lot.
I also finally finished the Twilight saga this month. I really enjoyed the entire series, and I’m so glad there is a little bit left to devour.
Books Read in July:
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
Flickering Pixels by Shane Hipps
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Movies Watched in July:
He’s Just Not That Into You – 4/5
Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone – 4/5
Reservation Road – 4/5
The Devil’s Advocate – 3/5
Interview With A Vampire – 3/5
My Sister’s Keeper – 3/5
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – 3/5
Zodiac – 4/5
The Basketball Diaries – 3/5
Ghost World – 3/5
The Beach – 4/5
Snow Angels – 3/5
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? – 4/5
Two Lovers – 3/5
Top Secret! – 3/5
Vampire In Brooklyn – 3/5
Previous Months:
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
June Debrief
It’s funny how fast a Michigan Summer can go. Well, not so much funny as sad. But it’s definitely been a good one so far. Our first vacation of the year was mostly a staycation. We took an entire week off (sandwiched between two full weekends) and hung around the house, but we did take three of those days to visit Milwaukee and Miller Park and had such a great time! Here are some recommended links from our stay.
While we were in Milwaukee we celebrated our 10 year anniversary. That’ll make you feel old real quick.
We also hosted our first 5K in June. Tonia did an incredible job putting it all together, and Tanner blew my mind, again, by running it in 29:48. I’m really having a ton of fun running those with him, and he has a ton of fun collecting all the medals.
And sadly this month we lost a legend. I always knew Michael Jackson was a prominent part of my past, but it wasn’t until he died that I really knew the extent of it. Going back and watching all of his video’s again really rekindled my love of MJ. I climbed up in the attic and broke out my vinyl records for old times sake. I dusted off my CD’s and started listening to all the hits again, giving Tanner a glimpse at the greatness (he’s hooked now too). I even bought two separate best-of DVD’s containing over 20 of his ground breaking videos on Friday. He’s been gone mentally for years, but the finality of Thursday really brought it home how influential he was to me.
For an epic post on all things MJ, visit this post by Human3rror.
Books Read in June:
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Movies Watched in June:
Defiance – 4/5
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas – 5/5
Revolutionary Road – 5/5
Big Fish – 4/5
The Alamo – 4/5
Night at the Museum 2 – 4/5
Die Hard 2 – 3/5
Die Hard with a Vengeance – 4/5
Singles – 3/5
Solaris – 4/5
Primer – 4/5
Waitress – 4/5
Troy – 4/5
Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail – 4/5
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – 4/5
Phoebe In Wonderland – 4/5
Bend It Like Beckham – 4/5
The International – 3/5
Previous Months:
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
May Debrief
Well May was certainly busy.
I’m not sure how people with multiple children deal with it, but Tanner had Little League twice a week and that just felt a little crazy to me. We were constantly on the run. Regardless, we were still able to fit in some fun things this month.
1. We became the proud owners of Rock Band 2 this month. We haven’t come up with our band name yet, but we’ve been practicing like crazy for our tour. Our first single will be a cover of Eye of the Tiger by Survivor. Seriously, this is a great game, and we’ve loved learning it.
2. For my third year in a row, and first for Tonia, we attended the Change Without Compromise conference at NorthRidge Church. Every year I go it’s like a steroid shot of creativity, innovation, and mission. Kudos to Brad Powell, staff and volunteers for another great experience!
3. That same weekend our church continued to break the mold of what the local church looks like by closing our doors on Sunday. Instead went out and served our community in tangible ways. Our primary goal was to serve our community, but our secondary goal was to hammer home the fact that the church is not a building. For that we designed a shirt intended to compliment that idea, and as you would expect we got some feedback from it (more on that to come). It was a great day, capped off with some worship in the park! We hope to do many more just like it.
4. After 6 years at our house, I finally have a garage that I can store stuff in. Prior to that it’s been, well, a mess. It’s housed other people’s cars and canoes, raccoons and cats, dirt and garbage. After a nice long weekend it has been totally cleaned out and I’m now getting quotes to possibly take it to the next level—a poured cement pad, a new garage door, siding, and roof. Of course it will probably take another 6 years to complete that.
5. I celebrated a milestone on the blog in May, and for the occasion I wrote a ridiculously long post. At the end I attempted to give a bunch of stuff away and learned that I’m not very good at giving things away.
6. I read only 2 books this month, but they were both really good. The first was Twilight, and I was surprised to learn how close the movie was to the book (quite the opposite feeling I got after reading then watching Angel’s and Demon’s). The other book was Stumbling on Happiness, which turned out to be a lot different than expected, but that wasn’t a bad thing! I recommend both to anyone looking for a good read.
7. And finally, May was a huge movie month for me. I watched 26 overall (the most ever), but most surprisingly I watched 5 in the theater this month (the most ever). That’s more than I watched in a theater all of last year. UP was definitely the best of the bunch, but I had a great time at all of them, especially the company around me!
Books Read:
Twilight
Stumbling On Happiness
Movies Watched:
The Pacifier – 2/5
X-Men Origins: Wolverine – 3/5
Frost/Nixon – 5/5
Drillbit Taylor – 3/5
Duma – 4/5
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button- 3/5
John Q – 4/5
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind – 2/5
What Doesn’t Kill You – 4/5
Star Trek – 4/5
Flawless – 3/5
Angels & Demons – 3/5
Yes Man – 3/5
Bangkok Dangerous – 3/5
Stand By Me – 5/5
Ace Ventura Pet Detective Jr. – 3/5
Terminator Salvation – 3/5
Sleepy Hollow – 3/5
Paul Blart: Mall Cop – 2/5
Pineapple Express – 2/5
Love Actually – 3/5
Domino – 2/5
Fanboys – 4/5
UP – 5/5
Apocalypse Now – 5/5
Sneakers – 4/5
Previous Months:
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
