Blake Thompson daht NetI'm just saying….

It’s time for a list again:

• We got some rain this morning from Ike. Came through and left. I hope things stay away as I fly on small planes this week.
• We started putting the old fort back together. I built it in our backyard in Clinton. We disassembled it and brought it to Oxford. It was in lots of pieces since we moved. Now it’s in fewer pieces. And the girls can climb/slide a little now. More to come.
• My and my over analysis is making we wonder if I should sell my new Canon 40D for the new Nikon D90. I’m always looking over the fence.
• Last night Mississippi State played the #9 team in the country. We only lost by one point. The score was 3-2. Yep, 3-2. That seems like a hockey or soccer score.
• Church this morning was really full. Now we will see what our evening service looks like. This weekend was “Parents Weekend” at UMiss. So that probably had something to do with it.
• I think I need a new theme. Quickly
• I saw South Panola play football at their newly installed $750,000 field. Was impressive. So was the new pressbox. And everyone there was really nice and helpful as I taped the game against Grenada. It was a terrible game. SP had 500 yards offense. Grenada had -7. Ouch.

I’m pumped.

Next week I’m heading out to Indiana. I’ll fly into South Bend and then hitch a ride over to Granger, IN. I’ll be attending the Innovate 08 conference at Granger Community Church.

I had a friend that went last year and raved about it. And I read a few blogs of folks who had attended, and they said it was exceptional. My friend actually said, “It’s better than anything I’ve been to at Northpoint…” Those were some big words there.

So what am I looking forward to?

• I’m looking forward to hearing Mark Beeson teach. He’s a gifted communicator and has pushed his church in so many creative ways. [I still find it interesting that he's in a very "innovative" church, yet still preaches with a coat and tie each week. But hey, seems to be working for him!]
• I’m looking forward to hearing Shawn Wood talk of their creative process of finding the sweet spot of who God created his church to be and who they are not. That way they are not trying to be a huge buffet of ministries, but being dang good at what they’re created to do.
• Getting to hear Tim Stevens speak about recognizing and using culture to communicate the life changing truths of Jesus.
• Maybe meeting Kem Meyer and Tim Stevens both.
• Attending the Granger Film Festival where churches bring their best vids from the last year or so for a competition.
• Hearing Rob Wegner speak his heart about missions and how to impact the local community for The Kingdom.
• To be able to hear Kathy Guy speak on the small group strategies of GCC and how it makes a difference in their people. Might even get to grab lunch w/ her at some point.
• Steven Furtick will tell the stories of how his church has had a wild growth as it’s barely 2 years old. And the struggles and processes they’ve gone trough. And I want to see his weird hair in person.
• Plus, I hope to be able to walk around the campus of Notre Dame while I’m there too.
• And there will be some good companions from The Orchard in Tupelo to be with.

I will have frequent updates and maybe some pics/video of stuff while I’m there. I’ll “take you along” so to speak.

Right now I’m in High Point Coffee near the square. Doing some reading. Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claibourne. It’s not that crowded in here. But the people who have a computer out, 3 of the 4 are Macbooks. Impressive. Strong wifi signal from someone’s Belkin router too.

On the tv is silent but showing news about remembering 9.11 with public officials talking over the hot spots. And also hurricane Ike is barreling across the gulf. I tried something new. The hot chai energy tea. Said to ener’chaize’ you. The barista said if I didn’t like it I could go back with the old stuff. I traded my cup in for the old. I know that I’m supposed to drink coffee. That’s what everyone else does, right? But I went w/ the Chai instead.

Oxford is gearing up for the Prez Debate in about 2 weeks. Still pretty amazing that an event of that magnitude is coming to small town Mississippi. But Oxford is unique. I told Bev yesterday, “Is it strange that Clinton is larger than Oxford, and it has a weekly paper. Yet Oxford has a paper that comes out every week day?” She just replied, “lots more happening in Oxford.” And she’s right.

Pat and I were talking yesterday about Oxford. How for Mississippi it’s unique. I mean, in such a huge way, it IS Mississippi. But then it’s a lot of other stuff too. The university brings a lot of diversity, there is a political hotbed here even before and beyond the debate this month. We were trying to decide if Oxford was probably the most cosmopolitan city in the state. I’d guess it might be. You could argue for Hattiesburg or maybe the Gulfport/Biloxi area.

But Oxford has stereotypes of the “Ole Miss brand“. And there are lots of reasons why that stereotype is there. LOTS! But there are lots more types of people here than just frat boys, sorority girls, and lawyers. There are plenty of rednecks, blue collar workers, soccer moms, a varied “artsy” crowd, lots of people who wear vintage clothes, tight jeans and thick framed glasses. There are minorities and internationals. There are people on many sides of the political and moral spectrum. There is a music scene here that if it isn’t vibrant [and many would argue that it is] it’s consistent And God wants them all to taste of His love and grace…and see that He is good.

Wow, I didn’t know where this entry was going. But it’s where we ended up. So I’m going to go back to my tea and my book. I’m going to watch the people walk by on the sidewalk. And I’m going to listen for that still small voice of God…

What are you doing right now?

I saw this on Pat’s blog earlier this morning. It’s an interesting perspective on what gets attention and publicity. All of these things are important to think about…and do something about. What’s your take?

* Total number of deaths during 9/11 attacks (excluding the terrorists): 2,973
* Total number of people who will die on 9/11/08: 150,835
* Total number of people who will die on 9/11/08 from hunger/starvation: ~24,000
* Total number of children under the age of 5 who will die from hunger/starvation on 9/11/08: ~18,000
* Total number of people who will die of HIV/AIDS on 9/11/08: 5,479
* According to a recent Cornell University study, number of people who will die of causes directly related to water, air and soil pollution on 9/11/08: 60,334
* Total number of people who will not be allowed to live, due to their inconvenience to others, on 9/11/08: 126,027
* Total number of people who will survive on less than $2.50 on 9/11/08: ~3,000,000,000
* Total number of people who will survive on less than $1.00 on 9/11/08: ~1,300,000,000
* Total number of children of primary school age who will not be able to attend a school on 9/11/08: ~72,000,000
* Percentage of money spent on weapons required to put all 72,000,000 of those children in school: <1%

From my former youth group in Clinton there were quite a few graduating seniors that went to Mississippi State. It made me smile a little because that’s where I graduated from too. I absoutely loved my time there. Sometimes I wish I could do it again. I was only there for 4 semesters. I don’t know that I’d want to give up my previous 5 semesters at Northeast CC and USM, but to think of a full 4.5 year experience at MSU makes me smile. Heck, it might not have taken 4.5!

But lots of things have changed. I was telling one of these freshman about it the other day. Here are a few notable things I told her:
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Sorry that I missed last week. Not sure what happened. But it was missed. Here we go:

The first one is a song I first heard while in high school. Didn’t realize it was a cover and loved it. But it’s the Indigo Girls cover of Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits.

This song has so much raw emotion in it. I liked it a lot. But you can see the original as well by Dire Straits here.

And then Jeff Buckley’s version of Hallelujah is amazing. Simply amazing. It was originally done by Leonard Cohen.

Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah.

I seriously have a lot of thoughts in my head to get on here. Some better than others, I’m sure. But just haven’t gotten them from my head to my fingers yet.

Soon, really soon.

  Sometimes you just gotta get it out:

•   Soccer: Addison’s first game last night got tornadoed out. There were warnings around us and a little rain, so it was called off. She was disappointed. In a word, soccer in Oxford doesn’t seem to be as big/good as soccer in Clinton.
• Owl City: It’s just a guy w/ some really creative skills in making music. It’s my new fave. It should be yours too. Unless you like Nickleback. Then there’s no hope.
•   I’m watching politics now. Not sure who I’ll vote for. Pretty sure who I won’t vote for. But nothing is for certain. Palin’s speech tonight should be interesting. I feel sorry for her daughter. On many different levels.
• I’m looking forward to this fall at The Orchard. Very interested to see all that God does with us. We want to be used by Him.
• MSU’s opponent for this weekend is actually staying at Camp Lake Stephens a few miles away from me. I might try to go see them playing in the creek or taking a mud hike. How funny would that be?
• I set up a 12′ soccer goal in my back yard Monday. It’s nice. It’ll be a pain to move/take down.
• There are Louisiana evacuees all around town. The Square was full of them yesterday. There are even a lot on my street. New Orleans still is closed.
• I miss a good Clinton High School pep rally. Nothing compares. And I especially like when they “close” with Superstar.
• My wife is at the doctor. Five dogs attacked her while she was running the other night. Bit her leg. Obviously it isn’t too serious if she’s just now at the doctor two mornings later. But for a tetanus shot and all that. But a car came up honking and swerving at the dogs to scatter them. She says if not for that car they might have taken her down. Scary.

This year, not much happened. MSU lost a football game, church happened. Fantasy Football drafts. And my wife getting attacked by some dogs [she's okay though]. Lots of new folks in town too because of Gustav down south.

But last year this time I was on a plane. I was flying home from Washington D.C. after a great little get away to the nation’s capital. It was almost an impromptu vacation. But after having tasted and seen how much I liked being there, I want to go back for sure. Was able to connect w/ David Russell while there, but beating myself up that I forgot that a good friend from back home now works there too as an architect.

Anyway, if you ever get the chance to visit The District…do it! It is steeped in US History. Lots of cool things to experience. Most of it free. And you can walk pretty much everywhere. After spending four days there last year, I consider myself an expert.

Here are a few pics from last year. I have many more I’ll try to upload later.

First day we were there. A quick shot.

Nice shot of Abe.

Outside of la Casa Blanca.

A shot from the WWII Memorial. Washington Monument in the background.

There’s a longer story that goes with this, but George W. Bush is in that limo. I can post a larger picture if someone wants to try to see in there. But there were TONS of security cars before and after him. The limo is about to turn right into a back entrance to the White House. That lady biker cop you see was funny.

Random street shot.

Some artistic garden.

Lots of folks around. Taken from the porch of the Lincoln Memorial.