Blake Thompson daht NetI'm just saying….

We have an eight year old girl and a four year old girl at our house. That combination makes for some exciting times at our home. Some really fun times and funny times. But that combination can also produce whining, aggravation, frustration, crying, mean looks, and sometimes tears…and that’s just how I sometimes feel!

Just kidding.

But at times my two girls get along perfectly. You’d think they were custom made for each other. But more and more lately I’ve seen the two of them starting to act rude, mean, quite disrespectful toward each other. And amazingly often times it’s either perpetrated or perpetuated by the oldest. She seems to purposefully try to stir up and aggravate her younger sister. And my four year old usually is happy to comply and will answer with a snarl, shriek, whine, cry or other sound that I don’t like.

So I have had a talk with them. Actually multiple talks, but the last one was my most serious. I think I realized I need to not let my own emotions get stirred up when a fight breaks out. Usually I get frustrated by the sounds my younger one is making, frustrated by what the oldest is doing to make the youngest make those sounds, and frustrated why the oldest thinks it’s necessary for her to intentionally create this chaos. Why can’t she just act in a nice, loving, humble, kind, self controlled manner?

Of course the answer is that she’s a person. And all of us people have times we’re thinking wrong thoughts and sometimes we act out on them. But last night as I was lying in the still of the bedroom after the whole house was asleep I was asking God to shape their hearts to be more and more like His. And for him to pour into their lives the fruit of His spirit (love,  joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control). But as I prayed I realized that He was asking me to help pour those things into their lives. That my wife and I are to be the primary shapers of who they become. And for me to pour anything into their lives (their buckets), it’s got to be in my life (bucket) to begin with. That’s humbling.

Joe Paslay told me that a long time ago as I was interviewing to work at Camp Lake Stephens. His talk was from the angle of being a counselor and pouring into campers as they are under your watch for the week. But the concept is the same. I can’t give, teach, show my kids anything into my kids that I am not already understanding and living out myself first. It’s a concept I have known for years! But as the kids grow up, parenting gets more challenging. I thought I was a smart and awesome dad when I had just one child. But it’s getting more challenging as they grow, mature (and sometimes seemingly decrease in maturity).  And I am going to want them to rely on Jesus more and more. And He is showing me that I have to rely on Him just as much or more in order to show Him to them effectively.

Now…add to the mix a boy who just turned 15 months old…and the next couple of decades of my life will be an exciting adventure!

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So to continue on with my Favorite Places series, we land in Colorado. And I’m not sure if it’s more about Copper Mountain, or the actual snow skiing. The first time I’d ever gone snow skiing was when I took the job as youth minister at a church in Amory, MS. A trip was started, but I inherited the planning process midstream. So not really knowing what I was doing, I took a group of adults, college students, and students to Winter Park, CO. I was clueless, but had important people (doctors and lawyers) waiting on me to tell them what to do.

But the trip was good, fun, and built experience. The next time I took a ski trip though, we took the group to Copper Mountain, CO…and I simply fell in love. Now, there’s no real way to explain what snow skiing feels like til you do it. [Before I'd ever put on snow skis I had a guy tell me it was better than "you-know-what". And he was a divorced guy. So he'd know. I'm not ready to make that claim though.] But it’s a feeling of freedom, a rush of thrill and excitement, and then your brain finally clicks with your legs to actually make getting down that mountain a manageable process, and then a productive process….it’s all over. You’re in love with skiing.

So since my first trip to Copper Mountain I’ve actually been back three or four other times. The mountain is brilliantly laid out with a rising degree of difficulty from right to left. And to stay in East Village was always our practice. Nice area, not crowded, and the Super B lift is right there to zip you to the top of the blacks and blues. To ride the lift up and look back over your shoulder and see the snowy mountains sparkling in the sunlight…it was the first moment in my life that I was truly struck by God’s beauty. It really took my breath.

But the feeling of the bulky clothes, the horrible boots that are impossible to walk in, the sound of the snow crunching under your boots as you trek to the lift, inevitable wind/snow burn, the burn in your quads as you try to rip down the mountain at the edge of your physical abilities, the gnawing hunger at lunch battling the knowledge that you can spend more money in a ski resort cafeteria than some nice restaurants back home, learning how to manage a folded up trail map with gloves on, the runny nose that sometimes produces frozen snot if the weather is right, the laughter as you watch your friend take a fall that should have broken at least two bones but didn’t, listen to your friend laugh at you 15 minutes later for the same reason, staying on the mountain for as long as possible, hoping to catch the final lift ride to the very top, the last run of the day, taking those horrid boots off and your feet almost audibly crying with joy, the hot shower, the food that tastes better than usual, the funny sun burnt faces of all your friends as you sit around in pajama pants and gym shorts (and shirts too, of course), the card games (kemps, spoons, Australian rat screw, slap jack, and other “physical” card games), the bloody noses, ….and that’s just the half of it!

I would go skiing 17 times a year if I could. I like the beach. I really do. But I love the mountains too. And being able to share it with people you truly enjoy being around makes it all the better. You make memories, and can relive them too. I’ve been at the most random of places, and sometimes get a memory so vivid about Copper Mountain that my body almost sighs in regret that I’m not really there.

[If you’re ever looking to take a group trip snow skiing, I highly encourage you to contact Don Holmes at High Point Travel. I’d have been lost with out him every single year we went. Plus he’s an outstanding guy

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I watched with anticipation when the iPhone came out two years ago. A few people I knew got one. They even let me hold it now and then. I witnessed the price drop, the backlash, then the giftcard response by Apple. Then last summer I saw the 3G release and friends left and right were buying it. Only $199, right? That’s not cheap, but it’s not unreasonable in the smart phone market. But I still watched from a far. But now I even got to fiddle with an application now and then over the last year.

But then the 3Gs was announced: more features and still low(?) price. Could it get any better? Turns out Pat was somehow eligible for the upgrade even though he was the first in line for the 3G at the Oxford AT&T Store last summer. So though we didn’t make a “released date purchase” last Friday, we scoured the local AT&T stores after the release weekend for an iphone. There were none w/in 75 miles it seemed.

But yesterday The Wife and I went to the Apple Store in Memphis to grab one. [Pat had succumbed to ordering from the Apple.com store and having it shipped to his house.] I’ve always liked going into an Apple Store, but this was my first purchase in one. It was a good experience.

I was worried at first because I was wondering if they would have any in or not. I’d called a few times since they’d opened and it was only a recording saying they were closed. But as I walked up there were lots of others walking up too. And I walk in and the place was crowded. I tell the guy in the orange shirt what I’m here for and he (I’ll call him Mr. Soul Patch) instructed me where to wait after I told him I had checked my eligibility and was good to go.

I only waited about 8 minutes (give or take) until a Specialist in a blue shirt came to assist me (I’ll call him Mr. Weekend Worker). We didn’t go to a desk or to a chair, we just stood in the software aisle as he took my info, put it in a handheld device, checked my stuff, swiped my card, and then said, “Let’s go activate your phone.” Wow, simple procedure.

The first thing that happened after my phone was activated was to receive a text from Pat: “I just canceled my order.” He knew I was at the Apple Store. So I was going to try to get him a phone as well. Turned out it worked after some initial hesitation. So I left the Apple Store with two 16gig 3Gs iphones (one black, one white).

So I’m pumped. So we celebrate by going for a visit to Target (wouldn’t you?) So The Wife looks as things wives look at. I look at the books and electronics. I make a call or two. And decide the phone sounds “muffled“. But maybe it’s just me. So as we leave I hand it to my wife and call it with her phone. She agrees. So….I take it back not knowing how long this will take.

So I walk back into the Apple Store and wait at the front counter where there are orange shirted folks there. I’m not really sure of the color coding, but I figured I’d just wait here first. But a blue shirted girl walks up (I’ll call her Miss Pessimistic/Confusing). I tell her I just bought this like two hours ago and it sounds muffled, so can I swap it? She gets a screwy face and says, “Um, you probably need to make an appointment with a Genius (they’re in the very back. Must be smarter than specialists and orange shirts) and they can determine what to do. She told me we couldn’t do an exchange, but the Genius folks could swap it out.” Wait, huh?

She explained that again, but it still made no sense. So I told her I was from out of town, drove here for the express purpose of buying an iPhone going to Target, but I didn’t have time to make an appointment. So she said to wait on the orange shirt girl next to her. So I finally get to talk to her (I say finally, it’s been 3 minutes). So I tell my new orange shirt friend (I’ll call her Miss Multiple Piercings But In A Cute Way) my issue. She asks for the phone and it’s number. So she dials my number, hands me a desk phone and says, “Talk!” So I say, “Hey, Orange Shirted Friend, it’s hot outside. It’s supposed to be the hottest day of the summer. So swap my phone quickly and we’ll both be happy and then I’ll go sit in my air conditioned minivan. But don’t let it fool you. I’m still a cool guy.”

She acts like she’s still not to sure about it all. Then she says, “The thing is…we’re all out of 16gig Black” I say, okay, I’ll take a white one if I can walk out here with it and get in my cool minivan with my wife and kid.” So she says, “okay”, meet me over by the iMac. So I do, she brings it, we activate it, and I leave happy. But me ending up with a white iphone (and Pat choosing one) makes me laugh because of this.

So, what have I learned in my first 24 hours of iPhone ownership:

• It eats battery like no tomorrow. My SE phone could hold a charge for over 2 days sometimes.
• There are more apps than I know what to do with. But it looks like some cool games for me my kids too.
• It seems there’s an unspoken fraternity of iphone owners.
• Little kids like iphones too. My girls weren’t with us when we got it, but they immediately thought it was their new toy.
• I get nervous when my 4yo plays it. But she’s only played “Memory” so far.
• My 8yo will be a wiz at it soon.
• My goal is to keep it out of my 1yo’s mouth. He’ll slobber in the speaker and ruin it otherwise. Like he did two previous phones.
• I have to get a case soon. I’m too nervous about it getting busted. And it might help me be a little more comfortable w/ the kids holding it.
• The Wife scoffs at it right now, but she’ll be acclimated before long. I have a feeling.

Got any apps to recommend?

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Yesterday I decided to start a blog series of my favorite places in the world, or at least in my world. They will have to be in no particular order because they can shift and change at the whim of a memory. But since it was Camp Lake Stephens that prompted this list, I decided to go with it first.

I never went to CLS as a kid. I would see the schedule put up on the bulletin board at my church, but never had anyone ask me about going, never had a desire to go, and so it was never really on my radar. I think the first time I went was for a “Dare To Lead” retreat my senior year of high school. And I remember very little about it. I remember playing some “Name That Tune” game in the pavilion, a girl that was pretty, the biscuits in the cafeteria, and walking around the lake and through the woods by myself when i was probably supposed to be somewhere else. That’s it.

But the May of my senior year my church had a guy come to be the youth director for for the summer: Darrell Whitaker. Darrell had worked at CLS as both a counselor and program director. He met Christ there, answered the call to ministry there, and met his (future) wife there. So he thought highly of the place. That summer he took me over to experience a Friday Night at CLS (the last night of the week). There I got to experience supper in the cafeteria with over 100 kids, talent show (both the funny and the serious stuff), bon fire w/ a mini passion play, and meet Joe Paslay, the camp director.

I left not knowing exactly what to think. Everyone seemed so energetic and outgoing. They danced and sang and acted crazy/silly all the time. That wouldn’t work for my more reserved nature, right? Well, long story short is that my freshman year of college I applied to work at CLS. Got the job, and dove in. I ended up working three summers there (Joe said I was a good counselor for the last two of them!), volunteered for about four more during Camp Rainbow (when the mentally/physically challenged campers come), served as a board member for years, and tried to go by as much as possible.

And now if I ever go visit, it feels … well, it feels “right”. It has lots of memories for me. It shaped me in a lot of ways. I made some mistakes there and learned from them. I was stretched in a lot of ways as a counselor. Had some fears that were tackled. Made some life long friends. Met my wife there. Learned a lot about God and ministry. Met people at CLS who later I came to work with at their churches. And all in all, CLS might have impacted my life as a “place” more than any other place.

Interestingly enough Darrell is now the Camp Director at CLS. And Pat, my pastor and boss, was once my camper way back when. And Bob Rambo who was my pastor in Clinton I also met while at CLS while his son was in my cabin. And I could make a really long list of friends and ministry colleagues and that I met through CLS.

So all in all, it’s probably accurate to say that CLS is the place that has had the most impact on my life. And I hope to be able to give back to CLS so it can make a difference in other’s lives as well.

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The other day I had lunch out at Camp Lake Stephens. On my way there I sent a twitter message that said that Camp Lake Stephens was one of my favorite places in my world. But it got me to thinking about the places I’ve been to that I like the most. So I tried to put a list of them together in my head. I think I have a solid list of my top handful.

So I’ll start a “place a day” here on the blog. Some places are more recent. Some of more often visited. And some mean different things for different reasons. But they’re all special. I’ll explain.

But tomorrow starts a “no particular order” of my favorite places.

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This weekend we had originally planned to go to Clinton for a wedding and spending some time with friends. But then the time of the wedding ended up being later than we thought, so it complicated things. We ended up rethinking the trip. But…our two oldest still “went away” for the weekend. So now we’re just left w/ the 14 month old!

That means things might be on the calm side for various and sundry reasons around the house. I should get a little more sleep, that’s for sure. But it is also a great time for them to be with family a little bit. And it gives us a little space and we start to miss them too. Plus Sunday is Father’s Day, so of course they’ll need to be back around then.

Today I went up to campus at UM. They are having a basketball camp, and one of the guys from my old youth group was here with his team. So I was going to go watch him for a bit. But as I was going in there was a man blocking the stairwell. I had to say, “Excuse me coach,” because it was Houston Nutt. Nice guy though. So I go up the stairs, enter the room with all the basketball courts, and didn’t know which one was court four. So I asked the first person I saw. It was a tall, slim, bald guy.Turns out it was Andy Kennedy. He pointed me in the right direction. As I was saying thanks, someone came in the door behind me and bumped into me. There he was again, Houston Nutt. Oh, well. Both guys seemed nice enough. But they didn’t ask my SEC affiliation.

Turns out Kennedy was watching two of his basketball signees. One a smooth guard from Jackson, MS, and then big guy from south Alabama. Both were impressive. There were TONS of kids in there. Some teams were better than others, of course. And then there were tons of those kids in the cafferteria as well.

Anyway, after having our church’s VBS site switched again for the 2nd time in a week, going to Tupelo to pick up some tents for VBS, taking down old posters from around The Square, and making fliers, it’s time to go grocery shopping with my wife and son (who started walking last night! I’ll have some video soon)

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Some things on my mind:

• Southern Miss made the College World Series yesterday sweeping the Florida Gators  in Gainsville. How surprising and impressive is that? This is Corky Palmer’s last year as the coach. They’re giving him a great final season.
• On the flip side, Ole Miss lost the last two games of their super regional to Virginia to stay home yet again. This must be getting old for them. I feel sorry for some of my Ole Miss friends. But to some of the vicious smack talkers I have encountered on the internet it makes me smile.
• Yeah, I know…MSU didn’t even make the post season. Better days are ahead, right?
• The newest iPhone was announced today. It makes my lust over electronic equipment. I think the timeframe to my owning one keeps shrinking.
• I started the 100 Pushups challenge again a month or so back. But last weekend I ran out of motivation. Today is the day I decide whether to pick it up again. I made it to week 5.
• I need to run too. A man in his late 60′s told me yesterday that if I run 3 or 4 times a week I can eat whatever I want to and still maintain my weight.
• I had lunch at Camp Lake Stephens recently. I was meeting Darrell for lunch. And I’m continually reminded of how awesome that place is and how it’s shaped me in different ways over my life.
• My old youth group went to BigStuf last week. That is another place/event that’s shaped me in big ways. I know they had a great time, but I wish I could have experienced some of it too.
• Addison turned EIGHT last week. She’s turning into a mature little girl (most of the time!)
• This summer I’m leading a Community Group for our church called Twisting The Truth. It’s an Andy Stanley study. Good stuff.

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When I first came to partner with Pat Ward and be a part of The Orchard here in Oxford, the church met at The Powerhouse. And actually the first and second time I ever visited there was a different quality about it. First visit was a mid summer visit. Low crowd. Honest Biblical teaching. Moving music. All simple but genuine. The second visit was over Christmas break. So Oxford was empty again. But we were celebrating Christmas. And there were some funky decorations from a dance the night before.

But for the next year and a half I was a part of The Orchard meeting at The Powerhouse. It’s a great place. And sometimes you never know what to expect when you get there early on a Sunday morning to set up for church. Especially if there was a huge wedding reception or a wine tasting or a ghetto booty dance contest there just a matter of hours before we got there.

But for all the great character and variables that came with The Powerhouse we needed a little more space. Specifically childrens space and parking space and a few more chairs would be nice as well. We’d been praying and keeping our eyes open for a while. And a property we’d inquired about before became available. And it was in a movie theater!

I have kept up with a few churches that have met in theaters, but never been to a service in a theater. Most noteable is National Community Church (who’s domain name is TheaterChurch.com interestingly enough). But now that we’ve been meeting at The Amp for a month, I think we’ve settled in. The children’s space is much better for our kids and teachers, people don’t have to park far away and cross busy roads to get to church, the lobby space is fantastic, and there’s not much risk of having to clean up stacks dinner plates or vomit or who knows what else on a Sunday morning.

So…we’re one of those theater churches now. It comes with it’s own challenges too, of course. And sometimes we miss a few things about The Powerhouse. And the people were good to us there. Fantastic peole.

But as we’ve grown from those small worship meetings we had at the beginning, we want to remain genuine and true to our calling to serve Oxford, to be a place where people can taste and see that the Lord is good, and to truly be a place of faith, hope, and love.

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