Random selections of other blogs. Note: I am not responsible for content on other blogs.
The following is a true story:
I'm waiting in line at the local Subway near our house, waiting to grab some sandwiches to take to the Padres game. The lady ahead of me in line orders a "Veggie Delight," Subway's all-veggie sandwich. When the fellow behind the counter finishes with the veggies, the lady asks him, "Where's the meat?" Without missing a step, he simply asked her if she wanted turkey.
Saw this on the job section of Craigslist. No commentary needed -- it speaks for itself.
*****
2 Male Models needed for daughters birthday
Reply to:
Date: 2007-04-25, 12:43AM PDT
I am looking for 2 gorgeous guys to carry my daughter on a chair as an entrance to her 13th birthday toga party. You will need to dress in Toga attire, be in great shape (a six pack is required) not be over 21. Once she has made her grand entrance you will fan her with a huge fan and feed her grapes. You will only need to be present for apx 30 mins max! You will be paid $75 for 30 mins. The event will be held on May 12th at 7pm-7:30----this will be a kids event. I just want to totally shock my daughter and give her the time of her life. Please send me 2 RECENT photos and why you would like to have this job, do not forget to include your phone number. College students feel free to apply.
I was trapped. Even as I tried to work and do something productive, I found my attention being drawn back to the television.
On Tuesday, I found myself inside the local automotive shop while I waited on them to finish several repairs. Unfortunately for me, the television was tuned in to what must have been the all Judges channel. Judge Alex Ferrer followed by Judge Judy.
I’m sure I’ve probably forgotten one or two of the others. But you have to understand that after several hours, my mind was jumbled and I began rooting out loud for different plaintiffs or defendants.
I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed that the judge from the Anna Nicole Smith trial didn’t have his own show yet.
The whole experience lead me to one conclusion: we are a strange bunch of people. Unfortunately, we beam the best and worst of our television programming to the rest of the world. I wonder if they think we all go before Judge Judy to settle disputes over bad hair extensions.
But if I ever do get a bad hair extension, I’ll know where to go to get it resolved.
Our mission here at LifePoint is to point people to real life in Jesus. In case you’re wondering, real life isn’t often found on daytime television.
Real life as a Christ-followers is about following God into a life of adventure. It requires a depth of soul and spirit not often found in our cosmetic culture. It welcomes and embraces big challenges and opportunities.
I would go on ... but Judge Joe Brown is about to hear his first case.
For the second day in a row, I'm at Firestone Tires on Lake Murray Boulevard having work done on a car. In this case, it's routine work on Tonya's van before her parents arrive. As I'm waiting, the two front desk workers get in a verbal shouting match about how to schedule appointments. One of them is the manager and she is giving as good as she is receiving. The ironic thing is that myself and another customer are less than ten feet away. The lady next to me can hear them over the music playing on her iPod.
The best part is when the phone rings and the employee picks it up and answers in a sweet voice. Then goes back to shouting.
This morning a commercial for Kaiser caught me eye. The tag line was "be your own cause" and was designed to encourage people to take responsibility for their health and wellbeing. But the phrase made me think of how often our culture encourages us to be our own cause ... look out for yourself ... do what makes you happy ... it's all about you.
Yet it's not that bad of a tag line. There are times when we do need to see our lives as part of something significant -- a cause that extends us beyond ourself. The trouble comes when all of our causes extend no further than the shadow we cast.
By now, you’ve surely seen some of the coverage about the shootings at Virginia Tech. I was stunned as the news went from one shooting to a mass murder. My heart still aches when I think about the deep trauma suffered by those who lost a loved one and those whose lives were spared.
Dramatic stories are beginning to come out about what happened. Liviu Librescu was an aeronautics engineer and teacher at VTU. The 76-year-old gentleman was also a survivor of the Holocaust. The professor blocked the door with his body while telling his students to jump out the window. He was eventually shot and killed.
There are already critics and finger-pointers looking to place blame. There will certainly be a time to reflect and inspect – but hopefully we will move beyond the immediate cast of characters and look at the deeper issues.
Issues like why we live in a culture that glorifies death and violence. Issues like why we allow toxic video games to pollute the values of our youngest minds. Or why we commercialize music that dehumanizes and incites.
Are any of these the immediate reason why a young man would kill so many? Probably not. But they do explain (in part) why we are seeing an increasing rate of these types of activities.
This is not a political issue; it is a moral issue. It sounds trite, but we really do need to promote a culture of life rather than death. As Christ-followers, let us do our part to hold out hope in the midst of despair.
We had a good morning at church -- the full band was back and was rocking. Doug has added a steel guitar to his reportoire and it's really cool. After church, we went over to some friend's house and had a BBQ. A bunch of people from church was there and it was really fun to just hang out and talk.
The girls are continuing to improve at softball. Both girls enjoy the sport and are quick to pick up and learn. I'm especially pleased with Hannah's coaches -- not only are they good instructors but they are very positive as well.
No worries ... I'm still around. For whatever reason, updating the blog has taken a backseat to living life :-)
On the family front: all three girls and both cats are doing fine. Hannah and Hope are both progressing well at school and softball. It's been exciting to watch both of them improve and get better. Tonya is excited to have her parents coming out in a few weeks. Pokey and Smokey are enjoying our new leather couches.
On the church front: we had our best crowd year-to-date on Easter. A good number of our guests were locals, which is always exciting. Several good stories are beginning to percolate.
On the job front: still a mixed bag. I've continued to send out resumes for local jobs and have begun pursuing freelance options. I've landed a few freelance projects but will definitely need more to afford the good coffee.
On the picture front: I'm hoping to upload a new batch soon ... just to prove we're still alive!
I bought a new pair of dress shoes. I figure since I will be hitting the streets to drum up business for my new creative design venture, I'll need a good pair of shoes. After sticking my feet into more shoes than I can remember, I walked away with (pun intended) a pair of Born Shoes and I like them.
To learn more about my new venture/adventure, visit fullybrewed.com.
You have to love Microsoft's auto correct / auto fill-in features. As I was typing an email tonight, I typed "it would allow me more time for pastoring." Only Outlook changed it to "it would allow me more time for pasturing."
How did they know!
It's been another busy week. I often wonder, did my parents find themselves saying ... "Wow, another busy week." Or was life run at a different pace back then. I honestly don't remember being shuffled around from one activity to another; I do remember riding my bike through the neighborhood and building piles of leaves. Pretty soon I will remember having to walk to school through snow drifts. But wait! I did walk to school through snow drifts, albeit with shoes on.
On Friday of this past week, Hope had only a half-day of school so we made it a father-daughter day. We went to the USS Midway and took a tour. The Midway is a retired aircraft carrier and is enormous. It's been relocated to San Diego and turned into a museum by a private foundation. I had my doubts about how long Hope would stay engaged but she outlasted me. I'll upload the pictures soon.
After that, we meandered down to SeaPort village which just so happens to have a Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream store. After twisting Hope's arm, we decided to have some ice cream. It was OK.
Saturday was softball and more softball. The girls both love it and have great coaches this year. Hannah is even beginning to slide. During practice last week she did a head-first dive into second base ... and it was a planned dive, not a trip and stumble dive. Kind of reminded me of her old man ...
And today is Sunday. We get to gather with a great group of people at LifePoint and have a worship celebration. Life is busy but life is good.
"Astronaughty." That was the creative genius of some writer at Fox News. It was used as the story title for an update on the astronaut who drove to Florida in a diaper.
It's been so long since I've posted a blog entry that it made me think of that line from a Neil Diamond song ... "you don't bring me flowers anymore." I never was a Neil Diamond fan ...
Busy. That's about the best way to sum up life over the past few weeks. In order to allow LifePoint to remain viable, we made the decision that I would seek employment in the marketplace. So, it's been a flurry of resumes, a few interviews, and no job offers -- yet. I've mainly looked at web and graphic design positions, along with general marketing and communications positions.
I've also decided to start a freelance marketing firm. It will combine web, print, and other media. It's called Fully Brewed Creative Group. Here are the logos:
Those of you who are keen observers, might notice from where I get my inspiration.
So ... any job leads would be greatly appreciated!
LifePoint hosted the Ugandan Orphan's Choir last Sunday night and our family had three little girls and a chaperone stay with us. It was a true blessing to have these special ladies in the house -- especially for Hannah and Hope. Through limited English and the universal language of smiles, the girls got along great!
One of the girls left a note for Hope, part of which said "You showed me love and fun." I'm actually tearing up again (sorry to disappoint you real men out there).
Most of the kids who stay at the village sponsored by Childcare Worldwide in Uganda have lost one or both of their parents to AIDS. Though the spread is declining, it is still devastating. They estimate that there are over 2 million orphans in Uganda -- a country about the size of Oregon.
I'm glad our daughters got to befriend girls from another part of the world, a part of the world that is experiencing struggle. And yet Fina, Ruth, and Joann beamed with love, joy, and thankfulness ... even thanking me for cooking after every meal. My prayer for Hannah and Hope is that they grow up with a sense of two things -- thankfulness and vision. To be thankful for what they have and to have the vision to see how they can make a difference.
Ruth, Hannah, Joann, Fina, and Hope
I’m a dummy. Maybe I’m only admitting what some of you have known for a quite awhile. If so, please be kind ... my children may still think otherwise.
What brought me to this recent revelation? The book I bought at Barnes and Noble told me I was a dummy. In fact, it reassured me that I wasn’t the only dummy but part of a larger group of dummies. There are times when one can find comfort in numbers; I’m not sure this is one of them.
Sitting three feet away from me is a book entitled, “InDesign CS2 for Dummies.” It’s mine. It’s not a gift for someone else. I am that dummy!
The “For Dummies” series of book have swamped every conceivable topic. Based on the large number of titles in the series, I can only assume that I’m surrounded by a bunch of dummies. Fortunately, I’ve not seen the “Brain Surgery for Dummies” book yet. But I emphasize yet.
Since we’re being candid, can I let you in on a secret? You’re probably a dummy, too. That’s ok: God loves dummies.
The “For Dummies” books are designed for people who want to learn, expand, grow, and develop. But the title alone forces you to admit that you don’t know it all; in fact, you may not know anything at all.
Take it from this dummy: When it comes to matters of faith and spirituality, we all have room to learn, expand, grow, and develop.
Yesterday was a good example of what it means to be a church community. Our worship leader was out of town, our main sound tech was out of town, and I was at Disneyland -- out of town. And yet the wheels of church didn't grind to a halt!
