Blake Thompson daht NetI'm just saying….

MissSportsTalk.com has been a hobby of mine that grew from a baby to a vibrant adolescent. After being approached w/ a business opportunity a few months back, I decided to keep it independent and go it on my own. I figured selling advertising and some smart management could cover costs and maybe net a little profit.

But along comes another opportunity. I’m still figuring out details. But I need to continue to seek God for discernment in this. There are sticking points. Some that are not that pleasant. But there is also potential for growth and profit as well. But I’m not really sure where things are right now. I’m waiting to hear back on some questions. But if, and it’s still defiantly an IF right now, it could mean some changes for me. No moves or anything. And no day job changes. But changes, none the less.

So I’m not writing like I promised myself. But here’s a lazy (so far) Memorial Day for me. Here’s what’s on tap:

• Weed Eat: It’s been staring at me for a while. But I need to get on it. I can load up the mp3 player and listen to a podcast. I usually try to listen to the RelevantMag podcast while weedeating. But I have a few LOST ones to catch up on. I need to move some dirt that’s in a pile from where I planted a tree last weekend too.
• Work Out: I’ve been neglecting that. And it seems my back is getting more and more stiff. Still to the point of a painful twinge if a bend just right (wrong?)
• Dodge storms and grill out: Supposed to grill and swim w/ some friends later this afternoon/evening. But it could be a stormy time. We’ll see. But good times could be had.
• Ride Bikes!: Not really me. But Addison has dropped the training wheels. Now she’s a free bird out there on her bike. I might walk w/ her while she rides the neighborhood loop.
• I need to read: I need to read a lot. Bible, of course. But a few youth ministry books. Some are re-reads. Some are new reads. And of course there’s a few general reads I want to fit in.

It seems like at the start of my day I can tell you about 28 hours of stuff I think I need to get done. But then I also put in a few hours of stuff that doesn’t really matter much and at the end of the day I’m thinking I still have some of the same stuff to handle.

Tonight is the season finale of LOST. It’s a 2 hour event. So that means that I’ll have to record it from 8 til 10, then stay up until midnight watching it. The Wife will try to convince me to come to bed and finish it tomorrow. But, c’mon, Honey! This is the season finale! And JJ Abrams has promised to blow everyone away.

I think LOST might actually be one of the best television shows ever. There have been a few times I wondered if it was starting to jump the shark. But no jumpage just yet. It has a great team of writers, a phenomenal following with all the online fan sites and theories. And some great Podcasts.

Here’s what I’m hoping to find out tonight:

• Is there an underwater hatch?
• Is Walt taller?
• Will Michael get smacked around some? (I hope he does. Maybe by Hurley. He anoys me. But his son was stolen, so I should be sympathetic, right?)
• Where has Desmond been?
• Was Desmond married or somehow connected to Libby?
• What happens when the button is not pushed?
• Was the plane crashed on purpose?
• Is Jack a brother to Claire?

Those are just a few.

Tomorrow is the baccalaureate service at church. So as the Director of Youth Ministries, I get to deliever the message at the 10:45 service. Yea me!

I’m going to be sharing some from Phillipians 4:5-9 and Colossians 3:17. It’s about doing whatever you do w/ excellence. Not just half heartedly doing it. Big giving it your all and doing it for the Lord.

I think we lots of times get so caught up in trying to find out exactly what God wants us to do when He’s thinking, “Just go do something and be outstanding at it and bring Me glory through it and your circle of influence!”  If it is being a coach or a architech or bus driver or store owner or market advisor or whatever….whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all to the glory of the Lord Jesus!

Now if I’ll just let my life’s walk actually reflect the talk!

So I’ve started reading Chazown. If I read this and go through the processes and procedures of the book, I should have a much better idea of my Chazown, or VISION, for my life…at least according to Craig Groeschel. I hope I stick it out. Because I know I need some more focus in my life. I know I need more direction. But more than anything, I think I just need to get out there and take some risks. Just grab some innitiative and ambition and go for it.

I was driving through town the other day and saw a little quote outside of a store. They’re usually VERY cheezy, but this one said, “Opportunity never knocks; it just answers the door when you knock” I thought that was pretty right on! We have to make our opportunity happen. And I think that’s what God wants from us too. Not to just bury our resources and hope they don’t go away, but to be aggressive in investing them and making some of them. Not for ourselves….but for HIM.

Sad thing is…I think sometimes I hear good ole Opportunity knock…and I might even answer the door. But I invite him in to sit down and talk instead of grabbing Opportunity and taking full advantage of it.

Dear God…please break these chains that seem to hold me back. I don’t want to be held back….

This weeekend was Mother’s Day weekend. We went “home”. First to Tupelo to The Wife’s parents. We ended up calling my dad who came down to eat with us, and we all went to Vanelli’s. Of course I got a calzone, the MasterZoni. But it was good times. The only thing was that my throat was killing me.

I’d stayed home from work the day before because I was still feverish. Almost threw up, but didn’t. But by Friday there was no fever, no funny stomach, and no headache…but just an extrememly raw throat. It felt like someone crushed a Coke bottle and ground it into my throat.

The next morning we all went to run in the Gum Tree Race. The Wife ran the 10K while Addie and I ran the 2K. That’s 1.2 miles for you non-metric people. Longer story about that later. But after the race and lunch we headed to Amory to see my mom and grandmother. Nice supper, nice lunch on Sunday (raw, rare steak!) And then headed back to Clinton to jump back into the swing and go to church.

But on Sunday morning we did go to church at my old church. Saw lots of people that we’d not seen in a while. It was really nice. I miss those people. And I think I miss being around some, and though it’s bittersweet, I don’t regret moving to Clinton at all. Kinda funny like that.

Well, I know I’ve not been posting much at all the last few days. And they’ve been hectic.

Monday was my Seven Year Wedding Anniversary. I’d planned a night out w/ The Wife. She had to come home from work late, but we were going to head out as soon as she got back and cleaned off. The baby sitters were here. Supper was out of the oven. But all was not well. Addison was cold. She’d been cold since she’d gotten out of the bath tub. But drying off, putting on clothes, drying her hair, and switching to a long sleeve shirt didn’t help. Neither did wrapping up in her favorite snuggly blanket.

So I took her temp. Straight up 100. But a call to the sitter said and she said it was fine for her to keep a “feverish” kid. But Addie didn’t want us to leave. And just as everyone was set, and we were about to leave, (and Addie mewing in the background, “I don’t want you to leave…..”) it happened. She threw up all over herself and the couch.

So an emergency bath, new clothes, and a quick nap happened. We ate our 7th Anniversary dinner with the baby sitters and our 17month old. Fun times. But after we all watched David Blaine get hyped for two hours and then not hold his breath long enough, Addie threw up again. And then 2 more times in the night.

Today, Wednesday, two days after the fact, I think she’s mostly out of the woods. A sore throat. Not really energetic, but in a good mood most of the time. But she’s really only had two pieces of toast and a bowl of oatmeal in the last 55 hours.

But I think a lesson has been learned through all of this.  Late Monday night. I was wondering about the accuracy of the handy dandy digital thermometer. He temp was usually 100 or 101 point something. And I figured it could be wrong. So I took my temp. It was only 97.5 or something like that. I guess I really am a cool dude. But The Wife saw me do that and her jaw dropped.

I was putting the same thermometer that had been in my feverish, puking, achey, burning up, unsettled stomach daughter. It had been in her mouth multiple times. Yes, I put it in mine to take my temp.

So now, nearly 48 hours later. My throat is starting to not feel so well, and my temp is rising….. Smart move dad!

My first car was a 1979 Honda Accord (hatchback). It was a stick shift that had a forgiving clutch in it. I could shift fast and on the fly without much precision and I could get away with it. After I good rain I knew how to hit a curve just right, shift the gears and slam the accellerator and I could fishtail all over the place. My mom would have died. Now I know why the raised the driving age here in Mississippi. Not many 15 year old guys need to be driving like that!

It was a decent car, but one that never commanded many looks. Or at least not the good kinds. It had a loud stereo, but it was ALL treble. And don’t slam the door too hard or you’ll have to lean over and put the speaker back in the door. I used to daydream at the Crutchfield catalog thinking I wanted to put some bazookas in there to give that baby some BASS!
But my senior year in high school, mid November, I was pleasently surprised to get a new car. Or at least new to me. It was a 1988 Honda Accord. Gold. Nine years newer than my old (old old) car. It seemed to be just what the doctor ordered. And I lived lots of life behind the wheel of that car. Been lots of places. But as the years have moved on, so have it’s better days. And sadly, I’m giving her up. There’s a family down in Waveland that lost most of everything to Katrina. And The Wife and I decided to let Goldie take a trip down to the coast and belong to someone new. To be honest, Goldie was starting to get run down. No muffler, no AC or heater. Really hard to steer and some brakes issues (YES, we got those fixed before giving donating it). But after some power-steering juice, she’s almost back to her old self. And I’m going to miss her purrr coming out of her muffler-less back end.

But last night I tried to think of a few things that I first expereienced w/ Goldie:

• My first cd player
• My summers away working at CLS and Ozark.
• My first listen to the Crash cd of Dave Matthews.
• My first date with The Wife
• I think we had our first kiss sitting on the trunk of the car (or was that her car?)
• A car my mom was finally confident in my driving out of town.
• We experienced Notheast, Southern Miss, and Miss State together.
• And The Wife and I left the wedding reception in Goldie.
• More tickets than I want to admit.
• Late night pranks in college.
• I could go on and on…

So as I say goodbye to Goldie, know that she was a good car. She’s older than most of the kids in my youth group now….but she’s still got HEART!

I’ll go ahead and admit that I’m jealous of those going to the Buzz Conference this weekend in D.C. I’d heard about it last year when I came across National Community Church and it’s pastor, Mark Batterson’s blog.  It’s going to be a 2 day event where churches are instructed on how to market/package what they do and how the message of the GOSPEL can make such a difference in our lives. Ed Young, Mark Batterson, and Brad Abare will be the main presenters.
Some people disagree w/ this approach. An interview w/ Mark over on Church Marketing Sucks got quite a buzz as well. Check out the comments. But I think what NCC is doing is quite impressive and they’re meeting the needs of their community. A community that includes plenty of Capitol Hill suits and also those from the city’s largest homeless shelter.

So as the Buzz gets going this weekend, I hope to be able to keep up w/ it through blogs and maybe, just maybe get some cd’s or mp3′s after the conference.

I started using Firefox a couple of years ago. I think it is better than IE. And I’m noticing more and more people using Firefox as well. Looking at the webstats I see it increasing quite a bit in usage.

Here’s a pretty funny reason to use Firefox. Watch the video.