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
Oh My God
“With ‘Oh My God,’ we wanted to communicate that everybody at some point intersects with God, whether they choose to believe or not. People have all their reasons for crying out to God, and some of those are really deep, deep doubts. There are times when I wrestle with that now, but growing up I didn’t know the gospel could stand up to the scrutiny. It’s a question that I think needs to be asked.” READ MORE »
Oh My God – Jars of Clay
Oh my God, look around this place,
Your fingers reach around the bone,
you set the break and set the tone
For flights of grace, and future falls
In present pain all fools say, “Oh my God.”
Oh my God, why are we so afraid?
we make it worse when we don’t bleed,
there is no cure for our disease.
Turn a phrase and rise again,
or fake your death and only tell
your closest friends,
Oh My God.
Oh my God, can I complain?
You take away my firm belief
and graft my soul upon your grief.
Weddings, boats, and alibis,
All drift away, and a mother cries…
Liars and fools, sons and failures,
theives will always say..
Lost and found, ailing wanderers,
healers always say..
Whores and angels, men with problems,
leavers always say..
Broken hearted, separated,
orphans always say..
War creators, racial haters,
preachers always say..
Distant fathers, fallen warriors,
givers always say..
Pilgrim saints, lonely widows,
users always say..
Fearful mothers, watchful doubters,
Saviors always say..
Sometimes I can not forgive
and these days mercy cuts so deep,
If the world was how it should be,
maybe I could get some sleep.
While I lay, I’d dream we’re better,
scales were gone and faces lighter,
When we wake we hate our brother,
we still move to hurt each other,
Sometimes I can close my eyes
and all the fear that keeps me silent,
Falls below my heavy breathing,
what makes me so badly bent?
We all have a chance to murder,
we all feel the need for wonder.
We still want to be reminded
that the pain is worth the plunder.
Sometimes when I lose my grip,
I wonder what to make of heaven,
All the times I thought to reach up,
all the times I had to give up.
Babies underneath their beds,
in hospitals that cannot treat them.
All the wounds that money causes,
all the comforts of cathedrals,
All the cries of thirsty children,
this is our inheritance,
All the rage of watching mothers,
this is our greatest offense
Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God
Numbers
I don’t know why but yesterday it struck me that I have a lot of different numbers for social connections.
Facebook – 315 Friends
Email – 229 Contacts
Twitter – 219 Followers (Following 177)
Cell Phone – 157 Contacts
Linkedin – 10 Connections
No clever commentary, just an interesting observation.
**UPDATE**
Ironically I came across this chart today. Seems to line up with my numbers pretty well.
WEEKLY LINKS: Link Constipation Edition
I haven’t done one of these in a couple weeks so I’m impossibly backed up. I’ll try to pick the best of the bunch so as not to overwhelm.
» I’m Not Sure We Really Believe (pt 2)
» Take Back Your Personal Power (pt 2)
» Priming The Pump of Efficiency
Musical Tastes
Inspired slightly by Vince’s post about his musical spectrum, I thought I’d make a little download available of some of the tunes that fill up my playlists.
It turned out to be two large downloads.
You might be familiar with some of the artists or songs, but hopefully you might discover something in these that you hadn’t heard before. I find most of my favorites through mixes like these.
A Taste – 1 (85mb)
A Taste – 2 (108mb)
**UPDATE**
Even more free mixes available here.
My Will
My Will – DC Talk
I’m setting the stage for the things I love
And I’m now the man I once couldn’t be
Nothing on earth could now ever move me
I now have the will and the strength a man needs
It’s my will, and I’m not moving
Cause if it’s Your will, then nothing can shake me
It’s my will, to bow and praise You
I now have the will to praise my God
Complexity haunts me for I am two men
Entrenched in a battle that I’ll never win
My discipline fails me, my knowledge it fools me
But You are my shelter, all the strength that I need
It’s my will, and I’m not moving
Cause if it’s Your will, then nothing can shake me
It’s my will, to bow and praise You
I now have the will to praise my God
I’m learning to give up the rights to myself
The bits and the pieces I’ve gathered as wealth
Could never compare to the joy that You bring me
The peace that You show me is the strength that I need
It’s my will, and I’m not moving
Cause if it’s Your will, then nothing can shake me
It’s my will, to bow and praise You
I now have the will to praise my God
We’ve got to be children of peace
Don’t you know we’ve got to be children of peace
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
WEEKLY LINKS: Grab Bag Edition
Too many this week to comment on each…
» Attorney defends the defenseless. (Full Dash-Cam)
» TED TALK: The Power of Design
» ‘Free’ is How the Church Leads Online
» How Has the PG-13 Rating Changed Over the Years?
» I’m Not Sure We Really Believe (pt 1)
» Why Non-Profits Are So Good at Social Media
» 20 Surefire Ways to Exasperate Your Children
» Hiring, Managing, and Keeping Staff from the Facebook Generation
