Am I the only one who has noticed this?
| I have made a decision, I am going to boycott FoxNews. No, I don't have a problem with their actual reporting, remember they are supposed to be the station that is "fair and balanced." And I actually like Fox and Friends. O'Reily rocks. And Greta, well, she's growing on me. I am never going to watch the stupid channel again, because if I have to hear another Cristy Lane commercial I am going to die. Maybe once Christmas is over and they stop selling her holiday cd's, I'll give Fox another try. But until then, they can kiss this viewer goodbye.
Christie |
posted by Anonymous
When it Hits Home
| Living in a small town, it's easy to forget the dangers that are often present in more urban areas. We get used to knowing almost everyone, and are friendly with even those we don't know. We get settled into a comfortableness that a rural community, especially in the south, brings. But sometimes that small town ideal is shattered and you realize that crime still finds its home even in the least of cities, like Hazlehurst. In the last 10 years or so, our county has seen several violent crimes go unsolved - murder, rape. More than a few cases have been cracked, and the most unsuspecting people have been found involved.
Last night, amidst most people decorating Christmas trees and putting kids to bed - one young man was murdered. It took place less than a mile from our house and only a few hundred yards from where I work. Of course everyone has a theory of why it happened and who did it, but really, no one seems to know. And despite the fact that of course, no communtiy is immune from this, it still is a shock. Christie |
posted by Anonymous
Monday, November 29, 2004
Looking Back
| Well, Thanksgiving is gone. We had the opportunity to go to Florida for most of the week and see our family. We spent a couple days at Rick's parents place and were able to take a tour of a model identical to the house they will begin building in the Spring. We did a little bit of shopping there also. At my family's we snuggled and played with babies all day Friday. Daniel, our 4 year old nephew finally let Rick play with his toys, major breakthrough. Riggs, our 2 year old nephew is like a wild animal and the closest we got to snuggling him was wrestling. Livia, our 1 year old niece is precious and is walking and starting to say a few words. She let Rick rock her to sleep (I think it made him want a little girl one day, to go along with his house full of boys). It really was a great Thanksgiving.
Christie |
posted by Anonymous
Monday, November 22, 2004
Pressing On...
| As most of you know, I have been expanding my horizons lately. I posted a few weeks ago about several new things I had accomplished in the past 12 months, and the list continues to grow. Yes, I am continuing my fight with the stick shift - and despite a little wiplash, I am still trucking it . But, I have hit a bump in the road. My guitar playing is going well, um...was going well until I began trying to learn the F major chord. Here's my story, I think if God had ever intended for me to play this chord, he would have given me another finger or something. Whoever invented this evil combination is twisted. But, it keeps me challenged and I will conquer this beast, eventually. If I can master that dern clutch, F major better watch out, cause here I come.
Christie |
posted by Anonymous
Friday, November 19, 2004
For just a few pennies a day...
| A few months back, we attended a Casting Crowns Concert - it was awesome, during the show, they talked about World Vision and AIDS inflicted Africa and the need to sponsor a child. So, our youth ministry sponsored two.
Then I went to a Third Day Concert and they told even more about the project - they'd actually been challenged by Bono to take this on as a cause - because statistically they said: "those claiming to be Christian are 50% as likely as the common person to help with the AIDS Crisis in Africa." unbelievable Finally last night, we watched a television special documenting Prince Harry's visit to AIDS inflicted Africa - the images were atrocious... we're all fast approaching 30 - which in some of these countries is the average life expectancy - it blows me away to see! They showed a fairly newborn little girl that had been raped - because some in Africa believe sex with a virgin will cure the disease. I'm sure Micah understands these things better than any of us, but I had to ask myself - what are we doing in the American church arguing over paint colors? How do we become salt and light to these people? |
posted by Anonymous
Home again, home again...jigidy, jig
| We're back from Atlanta, and it was great! Great restaurants, Starbucks on every corner. Remember, we live in podunk holler - we don't get that kind of thing very often. It was good while it lasted and I got cultured for the year, but now, life has returned to normal...
As soon as we got back I hopped on the computer to check some of my favorite blogs. Something took me by surprise - I was trying to navigate to Michael's blog, but ended up here! I wondered what had happened in the few days we'd been gone? I was relieved to notice the letters that were transposed in the address and that Michael wasn't a KJV only. Wheew! Christie |
posted by Anonymous
Sunday, November 14, 2004
| We are off to the Georgia Baptist Convention this week in Atlanta. We will be back in blogland sometime Thursday - just to let you know, we're already having withdrawals.
|
posted by Anonymous
Friday, November 12, 2004
"I got my first real six string..."
| Okay, I am learning to play the guitar. I've wanted to for a while, but never bad enough to sit down and do it. Also, complicating the matter was that Rick's guitar has a pretty wide neck, and I have very short fingers - I just couldn't manage it. So, I got a new guitar (mine's black, not wood-tone like the pic)- nothing really fancy, but it's nice. It's a thinbody acoustic/electric. It sounds great and the thin neck makes it so much easier for me to play than a big bulky one. It's actually going pretty well (except that the tips of my fingers on my left hand are red and inflamed), I've got my first few chords down and am already playing several songs. It certainly doesn't sound perfect, but it's not totally awful.
Christie |
posted by Anonymous
from the childless...
| our nephew, riggs, turned 2 this past reformation day. as the good aunt and uncle we are, we went to his b-day party on saturday, october 30.
and it was there i had this great epiphany. BIRTHDAY PARTIES HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE KID! riggs was elated - all his family was there - and better yet, we were at the park. there were swings and slides and merry go rounds and those little horses on springs and dirt and everything a 2-year old boy could want. i know he was curious as to what the streamers were for and what those big colorful letters "H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y" said. but not curious enough to slow down and think about it. and then it came time to cut the cake - he could have cared less... however, we did get to hear the story of how he screamed and cried the night before when they picked the cake up, because he wanted a piece then, but alas, the cake couldn't be marred before the party. and then time to open the presents - presents? who needs presents, with all the aforementioned items at his disposal, riggs wanted nothing to do with presents... as hard as we tried to FORCE him to open his presents he wouldn't bend. so finally, we had to settle for his little friend opening the presents (who i'm sure was devastated when he got home and realized those presents didn't belong to him). riggs was to busy being chased by all of us as he continued to make his way back to the playground. so i had to ask myself, who is this party for? let's save the money next year, load the kids up and take them to the park - they don't want our stinkin' presents anyway. |
posted by Anonymous
this is the tattoo that i want to get - WITHOUT THE COLOR For some reason, i've always been drawn to the image. we saw the logo as a tattoo on a camp counselor one year and i've liked it ever since. the fact that christie likes it and approves of it as a tattoo is an added bonus... but as i said in the comments on micah's blog, i'll have to wait until i leave this church - or at least when i know i'm leaving and then get the tattoo - that way - i'll have it before my next ministry assigment. |
posted by Anonymous
stupid, angry, and annoyed
| i am so frustrated with myself - i can be so stupid at times.
i've been stoked about derek webb's newest cd. in fact, i was so excited i went online and preordered it so that i would get it at a discounted rate of $9 and have it as soon as it released... or so i thought. the album released on nov 9 and when it didn't show up, i logged onto grassroots music to see if i could track my order - great news, i tracked it alright. i tracked it all the way to my proverbial 'shopping cart' where my 'cd' was still laying. i never checked out. i couldn't believe it. i was forced to purchase the cd at the $13.98 rate and didn't get it as soon... this would have never happened at wal mart. |
posted by Anonymous
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Missing Jesus
| I often find myself pondering about Jesus and what He was really like while He was here on earth. I read the Gospels, and I am confronted with this man who is wildly different than so many who claim Him today. Some of the things that are done in the name of Christ are so far removed from anything He would have ever been a part of. I wonder, what have we done? We have so misrepresented Jesus in our culture and have turned Him into what we do on Sunday mornings, and who we wear on our t-shirt, but we've not allowed Him to transform us. No wonder people think they hate Christianity. If I didn't know better, and know the real truth of the Gospel and of Jesus Christ, I might too.
This quote is from an article I read today... "For some reason we thought we could improve on His [Jesus'] example. We thought we could water down the message and make it easier to swallow. But it turns out that people are choking on our concoction, especially young people. Here is what young people think about today’s Christianity: They think it’s cheesy, arrogant, simple, mainstream and they don’t want it. Our generation has already rejected that pitch. We have seen the American Dream spread out before us like a banquet feast, and in short, we were full. We don’t want unflinching confidence. We want vulnerability. We don’t want cute slogans and serenity. We want revolution and dynamism. We want humility. We want unvarnished truth. Now that I think about it, we want Jesus." My thoughts exactly... Christie |
posted by Anonymous
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
third day
| tonight, i'm doing something unusual - i'm skipping out on church - revival even... that's a whole other entry...
and going to meet my sister in jacksonville for a thrid day concert... i'm stoked - it's standing room only tickets, so i may have to throw some elbows, but a friend of ours is going and he is trying to get us back stage press passes. any rate, we're leaving in about 10 minutes and i haven't packed. c-ya tomorrow! |
posted by Anonymous
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
youth ministry fun
| youth pastors take note:
this is hilarious. HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (RNS) The senior pastor and the youth minister of an Alabama church have formally apologized for a youth scavenger hunt that targeted Kerry-Edwards signs, which were burned in the church parking lot. the funny thing is, i remember stealing campaign signs with my pastor to decorate the yard of our new youth pastor - but we did it when the election was over, and did not target any candidate... our motto: any sign will do, the bigger the better. |
posted by Anonymous
god. life. progressive culture.
| if you have not yet seen relevant magazine, you must.
check it out online and then subscribe. you can get a one year subscription for only $10 and right now, you can then give 3 gift subscriptions for only $5 each! by clicking here the ministry is headed up by cameron strang, son of stephen strang (author of old man new man and president of strang communications) it's purpose is to bridge the ever expanding gap between faith and culture and introduce or reintroduce God to the up and coming generation of 20 somethings. check it out, it's definitely worth your time and if you like it, subscribe to their network - full of resources to help you engage the culture in which we live. |
posted by Anonymous
one more presidential quiz
| if you'd like to see which president your fitness habits align with take this poll.
I must admit that i was aligned with j. kerry. so there is something we have in common after all? |
posted by Anonymous
Monday, November 08, 2004
Yes, he even skateboards
|
posted by Anonymous
The Cranky Critic
| We went to Vidalia (yes, the home of the sweet onion) Saturday to eat at Ruby Tuesday's and just chill out. We met up with Mike, a former youth who is now in college and who leads worship for us on Wednesday nights. After we ate we'd planned on going to Wal-Mart or to the coffee shop - but... plans changed. We saw a friend who told us that her daughter and some friends had gone to see The Grudge over the weekend and that it scared the daylights out of them. Well, since we're always up for a good thrill, and it was playing in about an hour, we decided we'd check it out. I was looking forward to it, I like to be scared, I kind of enjoy misery. I get into these movies. When we watched What Lies Beneath I was convinced that Rick was going to murder me. I just knew it. And when Rick is out of town I somehow always end up watching Cold Case Files or some other mystery show about a guy who preys on women home alone. How this happens, I don't know? And since Rick is heading to Jacksonville this week, I figured it was high time for me to get scared and have a reason to spend all night crouched behind the couch with his paintball gun just waiting for Ted Bundy or Charles Manson or some other random killer to come in and attack me...
So I was ready for this thing. I was snuggled up to Rick, waiting....and waiting....and waiting....and waiting....and waiting.... Well, I'm still waiting to be frightened (by more than Sarah Michelle Gellar's acting). If you're planning on going to see The Grudge, I'd cancel those plans. All the hype, is just, well, hype. Christie |
posted by Anonymous
Saturday, November 06, 2004
old news, but hilarious
| taken from www.brianbaute.com
All I Need to Know About John Kerry I Learned at JibJab.com What I learned about John Kerry from JibJab.com: 1. He won three Purple Hearts. 2. He's not George W. Bush. 3. Uh, he won three Purple Hearts. What I learned about John Kerry during his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention: 1. He won three Purple Hearts. 2. He's not George W. Bush. 3. Uh, he won three Purple Hearts. Bill Clinton spoke on Monday night at the convention and hit a solid double in the gap. Barack Obama spoke Tuesday night and hit a home run. John Edwards spoke Wednesday night and hit a grand slam over the Monster and into the parking garage across Landsdowne. And last night John Kerry hit a ducksnort in the 5.5 hole between short and third and beat the throw at first by half a step to eek out a single. He was largely emotionless and seemed to be forcing himself to try to be just a little bit enthusiastic. And the content of his speech was terribly disappointing to me. I really hoped he would use this opportunity to tell us what he's all about rather than more of the same about what he's not... It's sad, but elections turn on things like that now. Notice how Kerry was very careful to speak for 45 minutes last night in his introduction to the country and hardly ever mention anything he ever did in his 20 years in the Senate. His record doesn't matter. His policies don't matter. Only his charisma and eloquence matter. Which is why, if Kerry loses this year, John Edwards will be President of the United States in 2008.Editorializing about Kerry's speech, the LA Times deadpanned, " Over four days of the Democratic convention, we have come to suspect that John F. Kerry may have served in Vietnam." Yeah, there was a vague sense of that. |
posted by Anonymous
Friday, November 05, 2004
Ode to a Good Wife
| I’ve used my blog as a platform to rant and complain, shock and deceive, bless and curse…
But I’ve yet to tell you of my wife. Christie has been the single greatest blessing of my life. Beyond her beauty, she is a constant encouragement, a diligent worker, a faithful companion. She supports my ministry – with her time and input. She supports me – through little things like scrubbing the bathtub and doing my laundry, as well as the big things, like offering unconditional love and forgiveness. She labors tirelessly to keep our house in perfect order and is almost always willing to invite anyone in. She rarely complains of anything - and I’m certain there is plenty to complain about. Beyond that – she is fun to be with, she’s witty and funny, a great conversationalist and has an awesome sense of humor (remember Puffy?). Christie is also very intelligent, a learned theologian, she’s nearly always able to answer any question I have telling me the names of doctrines, heresies, scholars, writers, etc, etc. She has a mind of her own – which I love – she doesn’t have to sit around and let someone else think for her – in fact she refuses to let someone think for her. The thing I probably love most about her though is her heart. She has a passion for Christ – a desire to serve Him and love Him and know Him. It is the driving force in her life and it is evident in everything she does. Did I mention she’s beautiful? Much prettier than I deserve. So that’s my wife… |
posted by Anonymous
Irreverence at its best!
| You gotta check this out! Read Rod Flanders character profile and play Billy Graham's Bible Blaster! See how many heathens you can convert!
Christie |
posted by Anonymous
green with envy
| i know that for the past seven years or so, i have drooled over every jeep that drives by - especially those with a canoe or kayak strapped to the top - in fact, those usually elicit an ever so subtle, yet audible muttering from me.
but i am still amazed at the number of stares i get driving down the road in my jeep. most of the stares come from men in their 40's stuck behind steering wheels of minivans (i usually notice the gleen coming from the puddle of drool on their walnut dashboards) - obviously they are longing to be free from responsibility and wishing they could be 20 again. many come from the 7th grade guys in my youth group who would be happy driving their granddads lawn mower, but estatic if they had a wrangler. i had a mom tell me today that my jeep was all her son has talked about since he saw it. there have been a few longing gazes from younger men - usually in family sized suv's complete with carseats. it's been pretty funny to see people reacting as i used to at the very sight of a jeep driving by. |
posted by Anonymous
Thursday, November 04, 2004
bad news for the swamp
| looks like spurrier won't be coming home.
|
posted by Anonymous
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Our Feline Friend
| This is, well, was our cat. Actually it just wandered up to our house - and we must have liked it because we fed it albacore tuna. It's sad that it's splattered out in front of our house, and even worse that it now kind of resembles one of the hyenas off of Lion King. It used to be white and puffy. In fact, it never had a name, so I think I will call it Puffy. Poor Puffy. Poor, poor Puffy. May he (or she) rest in peace.
Christie 
|
posted by Anonymous
Will God Win in the Election?
| Good article from Relevant.
Christie |
posted by Anonymous
President Bush?
| so, fox news has called it for bush 269 - 242
cnn is sitting on a closer race with bush in the lead at 254 - 252 claiming ("we won't know a winner for 12 days") nbc has projected a bush race of 269-238 and so the confusion goes... i believe bush is going to pull this thing off - he's received more votes than any other president and has over 50% of the vote - the first time this has happened since 1988 when his daddy was elected. but kerry isn't giving up - or so he claims and i love the white houses response: "we'll give senator kerry a little more time to reflect on the reality of the vote" thune has defeated daschle which is good all 11 states - including georgia - overwhelmingly passed a ban on gay marriages and nbc, just said - "something happened that kerry didn't expect. many americans placed their values and morals over economics." georgia republicans pulled off something that hasn't been done in 134 years - gained control of the house and senate. so, it seems like election 2004 will turn out to be a very good year for conservatives after all. |
posted by Anonymous
Interesting Blogs...
| I rambled across these blogs tonight and thought i would share them with the rest of you. I'm not supporting or endorsing anything on these sites (except for Derek Webb's), but they all hold some interesting thoughts and views on the "emerging church"
Relentless Grace by Brian Baute House Church i took the red pill welcome to the planet the ooze simply church derekwebb.net the unofficial site |
posted by Anonymous
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
meet daniel
this is daniel - our nephew... some of you may remember him from the wedding. he was six months old, weighing in at 38 lbs. now, he's now 4 1/2 and weighs 42 lbs - he's stretched out a little (thankfully). daniel is normally a snuggly lil' guy who loves most everybody - esp. Christie. however, something has changed in the past few months and he has moved from loving Christie to being in LOVE with Christie... which, as most men will understand means I am competition and that is unacceptable. so, while we were home this weekend, daniel turned on me. every time i played with his toys - he took them from me, everything i built with his k'nex he told me he didn't like and then tore them apart. daniel has always been a little anal and we've known he was a control freak - but these characteristics seemed to escalate on Saturday. the pinnacle of the afternoon came, when daniel quoted one of his favorite shows (rollie pollie ollie). he actually looked me in the face and with a pitiful fake cry, whined: "uncles are no fun!" ouch! that hurt. but i guess i can understand since i'm competition and am getting in between him and his 'aunt kissy' |
posted by Anonymous
Yes, I am a food critic...
| I am seriously bothered by something. There is a Waffle King next door to my work - and I ran over there today to grab a cheeseburger for lunch. As you enter the building, there is a marker board on a stand and today the cigarette smoke actually had thinned out enough that I could read it. Written in chicken scratch was their "Special" - a steak combo. Okay, not that I would especially go to Waffle King for a steak, but if I happened to be craving one at 3am - I might think about it. Well, I don't know if they think they have cornered the market on steak in Hazlehurst, or what - but the price for this thing was $21.95! Remember, this is Waffle King. I don't care how good it might be, I am not paying $20 for anything from there. For me to pay more than $10 for my food, I at least need to experience some degree of ambiance and the last time I checked, Waffle King didn't have any. I am hoping, in my heart of hearts, that the sign merely contained a transposition and the steak was supposed to be $12.95. Even then, it better be good...
Christie |
posted by Anonymous
The Discerning Reader
| I don't know if any of you guys have been here before, but I just discovered this site today. Seems to specialize in resources that are different than your run of the mill Christian book distributor. Check it out.
Christie |
posted by Anonymous
New Music
| Read about Derek Webb's CD I See Thing Upside Down, it will hit stores on November 9th. If you haven't heard this guy, you must. His songs are simple, yet powerfully deep. He has a folksy, down to earth sound that really resonates with a broad array of music tastes.
Christie |
posted by Anonymous
Near Death Experience
| christie and i had a near death expeience this weekend - it was very scary and reminded me just how dangerous the highway can be.
we were travelling down i-75 somewhere between gainesville and ocala - luckily traffic had recently thinned out. there was a car travelling around 80mph about 30 feet in front of us - suddenly - without warning and for no apparent reason - the car swerves left, then right, then left again, hits the guard rail, and begins to spin wildly out of control through all lanes of traffic. we dodged it three times and ended up in the "helen keller lane" - as my bro calls the lane with all the bumps to wake you up. soon, it wasn't safe there either as a semi and an suv tried to take us out, so we were forced all the way off the road, down an embankment and into a ditch before coming to a complete stop. we stopped to help the girl - a 21 year old senior psych major from UF. miraculously everyone was ok, only one car hit her and it did not even hit hard enough to activate the air bags - but the elderly man had to go to the hospital. the car was pretty damaged and the police offered to take the girl to the hospital or the next exit. so christie and i offered to take her to meet her parents. it was pretty freaky, and reminded me again why i shouldn't talk on my cell phone and drive (even though i still do) |
posted by Anonymous
the ninth plague strikes again...
| Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt."
i'm sure it is not quite as dark as it was then, but it seems close. i hate this time of year. it is pitch black before 6:00. i try to understand why we had to invent daylight saving time but i don't see why we still need it. can't we just set the clock and leave it alone? granted, christie enjoys going to work in the light now, but it gets a little depressing. I mean it is only 10:30 as I'm typing this and it already feels like 3am. |
posted by Anonymous
Monday, November 01, 2004
More than conquerors?
| This year I have accomplished several things that I always doubted I ever would be able to do. I graduated college, finally. I worked my first full time job, at a bank, counting money and was able to overcome my fear of mathematics. I took a swimming class and actually learned how to do more than doggy paddle - and I even put several icy slopes in the mountains of West Virginia under my subjugation. However, I have now been presented with a new skill to learn that is kicking my butt! The newest motor vehicle addition to our family was obviously made for a man...it's a stick shift. Wouldn't it be so much easier to just let the car change gears for you instead of having to do it yourself? This Jeep is obviously sexist - because the clutch and the gas work for Rick - but they become stubborn and rebellious as soon as I hop in the drivers seat. This will be a long road for me...and probably even a longer one for Rick.
Christie |
posted by Anonymous