Blake Thompson daht NetI'm just saying….

I must admit. I’ve never been to a Starbucks before. I’ve driven past tons of them and know tons of people that love them. But I’ve never been a coffee drinker. My dad and stepdad are and I used to smell it most mornings. Then my wife got into the cappuccinos for a while. But more of the gas station variety than the “legit” variety. But since I wasn’t a big coffee guy, I just didn’t have a big desire go to there.

But I had my friend Pat call and tell me he was going to be in the metro area and we’d not connected in quite a while. So we decided to meet for an early breakfast this morning. He suggested “for coffee.” Of course I said “sure!” and suggested the Starbucks over close to where he was staying. I admitted I wasn’t a big coffee drinker, but he told me that “all the church planting bloggers are big coffee drinkers!” He’s right, I’ve heard the name “Starbucks” on blogs and in sermons more and more and more lately. So they must be doing something right.

I met him there this morning and he snickered when I opted for the safe choice of hot chocolate (coupled w/ the chocolate-cream cheese muffin). I figured if I didn’t like coffee, why spend $4 to hold onto a cup of hot liquid I wouldn’t drink? One of the nice ladies behind the counter offered for me to try the Peppermint Mocha. I said sure and went with that. But all in all, it was good. And a nice environment as well after hearing about what a great place Starbucks is to hang out. I might have to go check out the one here in Clinton now!

So now Rick can smile and say I have been to one of his most favorite places in the world. But I’m not buying a coffee maker anytime soon! Pat is planting a church in Oxford, MS. He’d been the Junior High Student Minister at The Orchard in Tupelo for a few years. And now they’re planting a church (a branch of the Orchard? haha!) in the next year. Pat is a gifted man w/ tremendous desire to see people connected w/ Jesus. I look for powerful things to happen through his leadership there in Oxford. It was really good to be able to talk w/ him and talk over the loud but snappy music at Starbucks. If they had free wireless I might go there more often!

So after a very mediocre season so far, the Dogs pulled off quite a while last weekend. I was at Addison’s final soccer game of the season when the game started. And since it was her last game, I had to attend a little picnic just after it. But as I was leaving, I got in the car and listened to the score. I was expecting to hear Bama slapping us around pretty hard. But it was 10-10. And Bama was kicking off. That means that we were winning.But as I drove home and had to stop off at the church, we scored TWO more touchdowns. One on a great TD pass by Henig, and the other on an INT return by Culberson. So now we’re up 24-10. And I get home and watch an awesome goal line stand.Fast forward through the 2nd half…Bama gets a couple of fieldgoals, but never an offensive TD in the game. State wins 24-16. And it seems we’ve regained some bounce in our step. We’re FAR from good. But I think the off week came at the best time in the world for us. It will give time to heal and mend. But the next 2 are crucial. We need a good showing in the Arkansas game and a spanking put on the Rebels over T’giving holidays. I think we can do it. Watch out, Rebels. Here we come.

But the biggest thing for us will be recruiting. If we can beat UMiss, then we’ll have major momentum going into the heart of recruiting season. And we desperately need some depth AND starters!

Now that we’re a month or two into the fall season and I’ve had the chance to watch a few television shows and figure out the ones that are in my Top List. I had to be careful about my viewership. If I was a man w/ not much to do I would watch more. There seems to be an absurd amount of good television shows on these days. But here is what I’m watching, in no particular order at all.

• Heroes: It has taken a little while to be able to really get going w/ the actual plot because of having to introduce so many different characters. I guess it’s similar to LOST in that area. But it has started to pick up steam. But it’s interesting seeing the different “powers” and how they emerge.
• LOST: It’s not a new show. But it still has me. Season 3 has focused on other areas and seems to be answering some questions while opening up even more. It’d have to take a major downward spiral for me to drop LOST at this point.
• Studio 60: Great cast. Possibly the best writing on TV right now. Very witty humor. But it’s fighting rumors of a cancellation. NBC execs say it’s not being canceled and their sticking w/ it.
• The NIN9: LOSTish drama about people who survived a 52 hour bank robbery. Great interpersonal stories that are always leaving you guessing what really happened.
• Grey’s Anatomy: Hands down, this is the best show on television at making music such a part of the story telling. It has some great stories too. A bit too much sex though. But you see real character development.
• Survivor: Sometimes I wonder if I’m still hanging around for no reason. But I have to admit that I’m still hooked.
• Friday Night Lights: Looked like it could be cheesy, but it’s not just football. Probably wouldn’t mind if it was just football, but it’s got more. And it shows the pressure that a high school coach can be under too.

So there are 7 shows. A little under 5 hours of watching a week. That’s because I have to record all of them just about every week. Still using the old VCR hooked to my rabbit ears for tv reception. Works, but not like a charm. Maybe someday TiVo and digital cable will smile down upon me.

A few months back I saw Scott Hodge make a reference to GTD. He used it as someone throwing around the letters NFL or CNN or something. Like I should know what it meant. But I just kept reading. Then I saw it again somewhere, and then somewhere else. So I had to go look it up. Turns out it stands for Getting Things Done and is a supposedly very efficient way to, ahem, get things done.

David Allen is the mastermind of it. But it’s an organizational structure of grabbing everything out of your head, collecting it somehow and some where, processing your “stuff”, and then either acting on it or filing it away for future action. The subtitle of the book is The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. That sounds like bliss.

I’ve discovered many other websites that will help w/ implementing the GTD methods and tools of the GTD culture. But I’m realizing that I need to have a master collection agent, and be able to process and act on all of those things….but more than that, I just need to focus on the task at hand and not get distracted. There are plenty of worthwhile things that I look at and get mesmerized by during my days, whether at work or at home. And they’re good things, but they’re not what I need to be accomplishing right then, whether it’s returning an email, picking up something from the store, or making sure my kids get a bath.

But I’m taking the dive into GTD. Wish me luck.

Wow…here were are again. I think I’ve bounced around a bit w/ some different domain names. I’m about to go crazy trying to decide which is the best way to go. I’ve been on a few different ones and for one reason or another have decided to change. I think this is my last change. HERE I AM!So as I tweak stuff and wrestle with a few technical issues, let’s enjoy some time together! What do you say?