Saturday, April 30, 2005

happy birthday!

Although as of my post time, there's not much left of this day - it's still technically Rick's 26th birthday. I bought him a power tool, and I'm sure he's looking forward to exerting some manly behavior and sawing some helpless piece of wood. Actually, he's becoming quite the carpenter so I'm sure he'll put it to good use. Anywho, happy birthday to my husband.
posted by Christie

Friday, April 29, 2005

ignorance is bliss

Last night Rick and I were in the grocery store purchasing all of the food that will be scarfed down by a large pack of wild teenagers this weekend (yes, it's the DiscipleNow time of year). Upon discussing what we were going to serve to eat at the bonfire on Saturday evening - the topic of s'mores arose. I told Rick that s'mores just didn't seem to work very well over the campfire. Puzzled, he inquired why I felt as I did. So, I began to enlighten him that the last time we had a bonfire, I never even got to eat any s'mores, because everytime I tried to put my graham cracker on the stick - it would just crumble into a thousand pieces. And so after several failures, I just decided to give up. I knew even if I got the first cracker on, I'd never make it to the second. And then there would be the chocolate. The marshmallow, I would have been cool with.

As Rick proceeded to laugh at me for the next hour, I tried figuring out what was so darn funny. I mean, what's his problem? Does he not know about the fine art of s'mores making? For some reason, he says I should stick to the microwave. I just don't get it.
posted by Christie

Thursday, April 28, 2005

jesus is my homeboy...


Here's the tupac-esque picture i mentioned over at Charlie's blog. I was wrong about the tatoo, but I think it would make it a little more realistic if he had JESUS tattooed in a rainbow over his bellybutton, in script font.
posted by Christie

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

strange love

I encountered some wierd folks in college. I had about five guys declare to me that God came to them in a dream and told them that they would marry me. Oddly enough, I wed none of them. I'm not saying that the freaky boys were totally to blame, because to begin with, I tried to be nice to everyone. However, it seems that only the wierd ones took it the wrong way. I quickly began to realize that I needed to stay far far away from the charity cases. I seemed to be fly paper for freaks.

On one occasion, a guy gave me a special recording of him singing Unchained Melody. Not only was the move stalkeristic, he couldn't even sing. I'm mean, I let the entire dorm listen to it. It was great.

Another guy who was a DJ at a southern gospel radio station made me an eery tape in which he professed his love for me - and my red toenails. In the background rang "The Little Brown Church in the Veil." That one was scary, but good entertainment.

Not where this post started, but where it went after that has encouraged me to post the words to a poem that I uncovered while moving recently. One of those strange young admirerers penned it especially for me. And yes, it's even written in the kings English. I must be special.

Aheeem.

Fragile, Do Not Touch
By: I'm not going to be that mean

Every time I see thy face
My eyes become captivated by the pure beauty that lie [sic] within
It is thy blessed appearance which remindeth me of a precious porcelain doll
When I gaze upon thy beauty
I see one of those beautiful yet fragile dolls that cannot be touched
For fear that it might become stained or shattered, thus bringing much sadness to my heart
Thy brokeness would pierce most deeply into my mind
Only to haunt me the rest of my days.

I don't know about you, but what I surmised from that little work was that the dude wanted to put me in a cage.

So, here's to all of my freaky experiences in college - all the wierd love songs, icky poems and gifts received from guys who just wanted a chance. Sorry for the broken hearts boys, but keep dreaming.
posted by Christie

did jesus really look like brad pitt?

Robert Bruce writes a great article, My Jesus Redefined. Anyone who grew up in church and is familiar with flannelgraphs and the B-I-B-L-E can probably relate. On a similar note, check out Charlie's post about the various ethnicities of Jesus that he discovered while perusing the aisles at Wal*Mart.
posted by Christie

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

love grows

I don't tell him often enough, but my husband is really wonderful. It's funny that when we got married I loved him as much as I could, then, but now looking back, I love him so much more now. I guess we tend to think that old couples don't really love each other anymore, but for me, I can't even begin to imagine how much I will love my husband when I'm 75! The more I learn about him, the more I love him. When I married him at 20, I loved him as much as my 20 year old self could. But now, over 4 years later, that love has grown. What we had in the beginning was great, but compared to what we have now, I almost don't recognize the past. Certainly no marriage is perfect, but Rick is a great husband. If you can imagine any characteristic a husband should have, he displays it to me in abundance. What a loving, talented, respectable, strong, Godly man he is. I appreciate him more than he knows.
posted by Christie

Monday, April 25, 2005

a precious death

Just in case you haven't yet read about it on Rickie's site, and others, Dr. Jerry Lee has passed away. I can't even begin to imagine the number of lives that Dr. Lee touched throughout the years. He was a gentle man, yet so passionate about his God and his work and never afraid to speak his mind. He was dedicated to his teaching and expected his students to produce the best work possible. He was kind of a legend around campus. He desired for each person that passed through his doors to develop a love for the books of the Old Testament. He faithfully taught the Word and lived the Word in his everyday life. He was a great example to all who had the priviledge of knowing him. Although he will be missed here, Dr. Lee's life proved that to live is Christ, but to die, is definitely gain.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
Psalm 116:15
posted by Christie

the dangers of the open road

I had a real scare driving home from Florida yesterday. I was headed down the road, minding my own business and out of nowhere, this lady comes flying out of the bushes on a bicycle. I don't know if she was trying to be Lance Armstrong, or what, but she had that Schwinn in overdrive. I guess she was practicing for the Tour de Highway 19. Anyway, the chick immediately realized that she was in trouble and began screaming, "Nooooooooooo!" I slammed on brakes and had to dive into the ditch to avoid creaming her. I've always been taught not to swerve for animals, but I figured people were a different matter. I'll take a dog head on, but homo sapiens, I'd rather not. As soon as the lady realized she was surely not going to perish, she began screaming, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" as she continued her race down the road. As for me, I was still in the ditch with a heart rate of at least 220. I don't know where that lady was going, but I hope when she got there she decided to retire from bicycle operation, effective immediately.
posted by Christie

Friday, April 22, 2005

ahh...the sunshine state

The weekend is here and I am off to Florida. The forecast is perfect, sunny, with a high of 75. Although I would like to go to the beach, I would rather snuggle my cuddly little nephews and niece. So, instead of basking in the sun, you will probably be able to find me watching Blues Clues, Clifford the Big Red Dog and maybe even changing a few diapers. Sounds like fun to me.
posted by Christie

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

as promised...

pictures of our new house.



Pray for our yard. It needs serious help.

posted by Christie
Living room



posted by Christie
Kitchen & bar





posted by Christie
This is the wood flooring that Rick installed

posted by Christie

Monday, April 18, 2005

five ways to know...

that you're on a trip with middle schoolers.

1. Someone insists on ordering cake and a milkshake for dinner.

2. You're at a conference and the speaker quotes a line from Sir Mix Alot's "Baby Got Back" and the crowd is silent.

3. You have to define words like "occupation" and "initiate" because they haven't yet had those in vocabulary class.

4. You're only 40 miles from home and someone has already wasted 25 bucks.

5. You have to give detailed information about why the group is not eating at Hooter's.

Well, can you guess what we did this weekend?
posted by Christie

Friday, April 15, 2005

how did i miss these?

Yesterday I posted about several stories that had been included in our local paper's Sheriff's Department Report. However, somehow or another, a few escaped my attention that are well, um, interesting to say the least. So here is another small dish of our town gossip. Reader beware.

March 28, Public indecency
A Jeff Davis County school bus driver was transporting students home on Victor Street when she spotted a man and a woman having sex on the front porch of a residence. Another man was standing in the doorway of the screen porch watching them and yelled a greeting to her.

April 2, Reporting information
A Burkett's Ferry Road woman reported that someone put human hair on her back porch. The hair was dark brown, with streaks of grey. She said her next door neighbor did not like her because she fed birds and the neighbor blames her for birds using the bathroom on her car.

Moral of the story: stay far, far away from porches. Front, back, screened in. Makes no difference. They're all dangerous.
posted by Christie

Thursday, April 14, 2005

mayberry, usa

For some reason or another, our local paper has decided to begin printing the weekly Sheriff's Department Report in its publication. Now, it is true that the information is public record, it's just that most papers have better things to report than every act of speeding, battery and stupidity that occurs througout the week in a small town.

Here is a selection of a few stories that are included in this weeks report.

April 4, Terroristic threat
A Satilla Church Road man reported that his neighbor flashed his lights at him on his way to work. The compainant stopped to talk with him and the offender got out of his vehicle, came to the complainants vehicle with a semi-automatic pistol in his hand, accusing him of messing with his stuff.

April 8, Simple assault, battery, terroristic threat
A man reported that another man approached him at at Jesse Thomas Road residence saying he was going to kick his butt. He said the suspect put his finger in his face and scratched his nose. The victim and witnesses said the suspect went to his vehicle, retreived a stick and tried to get the victim, but witnesses intervened and stopped him.

April 10, Disorderly conduct
A Denton man reported that his granddaughter was driving by his residence, cursing him and shooting him a bird. Another deputy had a call the day before in reference to the same conduct and advised the suspect to stay away from the complainant and not to ride by his residence causing problems.

Unfortunately, all of the above listed incidents are real occurences. However, as far as I know, Barney nipped all of them in the bud. Wheeew, I was worried there for a minute.
posted by Christie

add another to the list

Help me welcome one of the newest members of the blogging world. Ellis is an old friend and I'm sure he will have lots of interesting stories. When you've spent most of your life between Chiefland and Graceville, you have plenty to tell. Visit his site and say something witty.
posted by Christie

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

oh, tell me please...

where do these guys get off calling anyone elses end times view "unbiblical" and "wierd"? Of course, LaHaye and Jenkins had to speak their peace concerning the upcoming NBC mini-series "Revelations." They deemed the program "a mishmash of myth, silliness, and misrepresentations of Scripture." Although I know nothing about the views that are going to be portrayed in this series that debuts tonight, I surmise this to be a hard core case of "the pot calling the kettle black." It would probably be better for everyone if the views of both were left behind.
posted by Christie

Monday, April 11, 2005

music of my homeland, part deux

It's obvious in every part of the world that culture has everything to do with the thoughts, ideas and beliefs of the people. In America, movies, music and media in general seem to have become the philosophers and teachers of our day. As Rick wrote about a while back, country music is a big deal where we live. And as scary as it may be, many in our churches get a large part of their theological education to the tune of a steel guitar.

Last night, while heading home from church, I flipped the radio on. To my dismay, I heard this song, "If Nobody Believed in You":

I watched him take the two strike call
He hadn't tried to swing at all
I guess he'd had all that he could take
He walked away, for goodness sake
His father's voice was loud an' mean
"You won't amount to anything"
That little boy quit tryin'
He just walked away
There were teardrops on his face
Tell me, how would you feel?
You'd probably give up too
If nobody believed in you

That old man said
"One more time, I know I'm not too old to try"
I promise, son, I'll do my best
"This time, I'm gonna pass the test"
"Give me the keys, Dad, an' get in"
His father never drove again
That old man quit tryin'
He just turned away
An' there were teardrops on his face
Tell me, how would you feel?
You'd probably give up too
If nobody believed in you

See where this song is going? Read on...

We take His name out of schools
The lawyers say it breaks the rules
Pledge of allegiance can't be writ
An' under God, should not be said
I wonder how He will take it
I just pray it's not too late

What if God quit tryin'
He just turned away?
There were teardrops on His face?
Tell me, how would you feel?
You'd probably give up too
If nobody believed in you

Tell me, how would you feel?
You'd probably give up too
If nobody believed in you

So, what people are being taught is that God lives only in response to man and that since He has failed in His mission He's going to turn away like a whipped puppy and sit in the corner and cry. God is equated with some old man who is too weak and feeble to drive and instead goes home and dies in depression. If only God had prescription drug benefits and He could get His hands on some Prozac...dern.

I see more and more everyday that the main thing missing in so much of our lives is a correct understanding of the sovereignty of God. And although I hear this song and dismiss it as heresy, far too many don't. In fact, far too many embrace it as truth. I guess they sit at home and listen to this and feel sorry for the pitiful demise that the poor fella up in the sky has gotten Himself into. Maybe He can get His self together and snap out of it. But, who knows?
posted by Christie

Friday, April 08, 2005

can i have your attention please

We will never miss our favorite tv shows again and we'll never have to fumble around with the vcr trying to record a program. We just got a new TiVo system that will automatically find and digitally record up to 140 hrs. of our favorite programming. Plus, we can pause, re-wind and slow- mo live tv! We will even be able to schedule recordings from the internet! We have been desirious of this piece of technology for quite a while now, but finally, it's come to pass...
posted by Christie

Thursday, April 07, 2005

if walls could talk

Yesterday, I turned the key for the very last time and opened the door to our old house. It was actually the first day that all of our things were out of it. Completely empty. We moved the majority of our stuff on Saturday - but until yesterday, there were still a few things lingering around. Although I can't tell you how glad I am to be in our new home - there was a hint of sadness in leaving the place. Even though the house is old and kind of worn - a lot of memories were made there. Like the time that Rick was out of town and I almost severed my pinky finger with the electric hedgeclippers. I went inside and ran around the house trying to find my keys so I could get to the ER - however, in the meantime, I bled all over everything. Hope no luminol is sprayed in there any time soon... Also the many nights that I have caught Rick sleep walking/talking in that house. I loved to encourage his confusion and coax him to answer ridiculous questions. He would usually wake up just enough to know that he was embarassed and then promptly head back to bed. We had many good times in that place - but certainly more memories will transpire in our new home, in fact, some already have. Thankfully, as of yet, none of them involve hedgeclippers.
posted by Christie

Monday, April 04, 2005

get it while it's hot

Finally, what we've all been waiting for. Messengers of Faith, a company out of Valencia, CA, has produced a Barbie sized Jesus doll that will be available to the public sometime in June. The little plastic fella comes complete with all of the caucasian features you would expect, including a trimmed beard and piercing blue eyes. To top it off, the doll quotes Scripture at the push of a button. And from the KJV, I'm sure.
posted by Christie

weigh in on the issues

Check out this article in the Seattle Times that gives the opinion of five of its religion columnists, including Mark Driscoll, concerning the Schiavo case. You might be surprised what you find.

Another article from the Times, written by Driscoll. A tad belated since it deals with Easter, but I just found it, so it's the best I could do. If you know anything about Seattle, you'll realize that having a columnist like Mark Driscoll receiving such a platform is a rare occurence.
posted by Christie

Friday, April 01, 2005

introducing the ladies man

It seems that there is constant anti-male propaganda on tv. Too often commercials and programs portray men as stupid, fat, ingnoramous, incompetent oafs who couldn't even tie their shoes if it wasn't for their domineering, pushy, overbearing wives coming to save the day. Our society has a huge gender issue and has lost what it means to be male and what it means to be female. Culture has told men that their masculine behavior needs to be replaced with some sort of femininity that they were never intended to possess.

This behavior is seen in no better place than our churches. Really, in most cases, church is a very girly place. There is often nothing masculine about any of the services, songs, decorations or activities. It's as if church has become a very female-centric gathering - complete with plenty of flowers and pastels. At the Acts 29 conference Rick and I attended, Mark Driscoll continually empasized the need for churches to raise up Godly men. He said that if men come and Christ changes their lives, then they will marry Godly women and in turn have Godly families. Churches need to be a place where men can feel at home and often, I'm afraid that's not the case. I've seen that in our church, having a new pastor that is manly has begun to bring men out of the woodwork - despite the fact that the ladies on our decorating committee tried to put down lavender tile in he social hall last week! They didn't prevail. Thankfully, some men interevened. Wheeeew. That was a close one.
posted by Christie

point and click

Check out the newest blogs linked on our site:

Kimchi, not for me, this site belongs to Teresa and is an interesting account of her many experiences teaching in Korea.

Also visit A Boy and His Soapbox, comment and tell Rickie that he should update more often.

By the way, both of these guys are former BCFers.
posted by Christie
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