Blake Thompson daht NetI'm just saying….

Both are good films. One I watched at a drive in leaning against the windshield of a car when I was three. The other I watched last Wednesday night at the local Malco theater after Community Group was cancelled. Who knew they were so similar? [Don't watch if you haven't seen either of them. It might give away a few plot points.]

And then this one is just for free. But it’s Cars meets Talladega Nights.

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Last time my daughter had a soccer game we all got ready as a family to go to the game. She got her uniform on and we all loaded up in the van. We get there and park close to the field, so I tell Addie to run on over to the field while I get her baby brother out of the car seat and everything. So she runs on over while I follow behind. And her mom and sister are bringing up the rear. I get there and notice they’re already playing. Huh?

They must have started early, because it was only 6:08. The game started at 6:15, right? Addie gets in the game but soon the last whistle blows and it turns out that the game started at 5:30. OUCH! How did I make such a mistake? So after appologizing profusely we go to a local park and play a bit before coming home. Man, she was disappointed, and I felt likc crap.

So after a week off with Spring Break we had another game last night. I double checked the time. Yes, it’s at 6:15. Addie asked me if I was sure. “Yes, I’m sure, honey” was what I told her. And I was.

So we get to the fields again and I tell her to run on over. She asked if they’d started already. I told her that it was just the game before finishing up. We’re a little early. But we get over to the sideline…and they’re eating their post game snacks. WHAT!?! Again? Holy moly! How do I screw things up like this? I even double checked the schedule this time.

So you can imagine how low I felt. To know your seven year old was disappointed last time because she didn’t get to play soccer after getting all into her uniform and driving out to the soccer complex. To be ready to have fun and have her parents watch her. And then to realize it was all for nothing. And it was ME that realized I’d caused this disappointment in my daughter. Again.

That really sucked.

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Sunday is the end of the week. End of new thoughts, right? We’ll see. But here are a few things on my mind.

• The last two days the girls have been out of town. This means the family dymanic is much different around the house. I actually slept later yesterday that I have in years: 9:00am!
• Got to go see a movie last night too. I hope it earned me some good “husband points”. Because I took my wife to see Bride Wars.
• We almost saw Rachel Getting Married instead. We’ll see it sometime, if not on DVD. Anne Hathaway seems to play a wide variety of characters these days.
• MSU lost to UM yesterday in basketball. I can’t explain how much that stinks. And I got to go to church with a lot of UM fans today. Lucky me.
• Friends are having babies left and right around us it seems. But I don’t think we’re feeling the itch for a 4th just yet.
• The Super Bowl is less than an hour away. And this might be the first year I am not really into it. But it will be the first time in many, many years I’m able to watch it and not feel I’m “in charge” of anything at all.
• If I ever watch a movie set in a foreign country of even a big domestic city…it makes me want to experience that place. I think I might want to live internationally sometime. Live. Not just visit.
• I think it’d be cool if my wife were from London or Sydney or Johannesburg. I’d like her to talk that way all the time. But maybe we can move to Auckland or something and then our children can talk like that.
• I’m reading a book. I’m just over 1/3 of the way through it. Around 300 pages. A few friends said it was one of the best books they’d read. So I checked it out. Almost bought it for my grandmother for Christmas (before I’d started reading it). My friend seemed to think it might not be a good book to give to a grandmother. Now…he might be right.
• Yesterday I made my first solo hospital visit as a pastor.
• I’ve been tagged about 5 times to write one of those “25 random facts about me” things on facebook. I’ll write one soon.

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Rumors about churches…

Man, I guess they’re to be expected. And especially about “higher profile” churches. But rumors can be damaging. The sad thing is when rumors are spread not as rumors (like where Pat Patterson will sign to play college football) but told as truth and matter of fact. Like the email I got yesterday.

But first a little background. The church where I serve/attend is a plant of a church in Tupelo. We are still deeply connected to them and are thankful for that. The church in Tupelo just celebrated their ten year birthday. They’ve done tons of good in the community and reached many people. But I can’t think of anyone on the staff who would say that they are perfect or there is not still room to mature and grow in effectiveness as the Body of Christ.

But I got an email yesterday from a friend asking me if something was true of our church in Oxford like it is our sister church in Tupelo. “Is is true that, in order to become a member of The Orchard – Oxford, one must present copies of one’s W-2 for tithing purposes?  Someone told me that it is a requirement for membership at the Tupelo Orchard and asked if y’all have the same requirement.” Seriously? I mean….seriously?

Truth is, this “fact” had been spoken about as just a matter of fact for years I’m told. Now I don’t think my friend was making that accusation. But seems to have taken the statement about the Tupelo church as at least possible fact. I simply responded by asking that they find that “someone” and ask them to stop by The Orchard in Tupelo to appologize for spreading lies about them. Or to at least check facts before regurgitating them.

I mean, how damaging can that be to a church’s reputation? How hurtful could it be to ministries and ministers? How lame of a rumor is that in the first place? And to think that it was even heard more than once in a different church’s office? That’s super-extra-lame.

So…if you hear something negative about a church that surprises you, make sure you know your facts before trying to surprise someone else.

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Watch this video. And think about what you life will be like a few steps into the future.

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So two nights ago I had a dream. I was at this place where a friend worked. I could tell it was that place in my dream, though it really didn’t match it in real life (if that makes any sense…as much as dreams don’t make sense anyhow.) I was carrying around this backpack jammed with stuff. Some stuff was needed, some stuff was just heavy and I didn’t need anytime soon. My friend was there and about to go somewhere. I was going to go with him. But my pack was heavy.

So I started taking stuff out of it. The heavy stuff at least. I removed probably about three things from it. And there was some clinking around in there. My friend asks, “What is that?” So I pull out a bottle of Jones Soda that had been rolling around in some coins that were down in my pack. It’s the Green Apple flavor. I’d opened it already and drank some, but most of it was still there.

My friend says, “Hey, that’s good stuff. I like that!” I meant to give him some. But he got busy with something and I got thirsty so I drank the rest before he got any. Random, right?

Well yesterday I was in WalMart and see my friend. I tell him, “Hey, I had a dream with you in it last night.” He gives the compulsory “Oh, that scares me” reply that people usually do. He asked what it was about. But I ask him, “Do you like Jones Soda?” He said that he sure did. And my next question was going to be how did he like the flavor green apple when he speaks up and says, “Green Apple is my favorite flavor of it…” I told him that’s what he said in my dream.

Strange, huh?

Have you had any weird dream experiences like that lately?

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Off and on this high school football season I’ve been going to different games and taping them for a friend. He then compiles a lot of differnt game tape and sends them off to a recruiting service. They in turn cut them up and make tapes to send to college coaches.

On my end, I just tape them. And I help out a friend while getting to see some decent football teams. When I did the first one back in late August, it was hot and sticky. But as the months have gone on it has gotten colder. Last week @ Senatobia it was cool and damp. Then raining. Then raining sideways. Then just damp and cold.

Tonight’s forcast looks like this to the left. And I think that is without any wind chill factored in. So it’s a good thing I get to stand on top of a press box high up in the wind to get the best vantage point for videoing the game. My mom thinks I’m crazy. She said she wouldn’t do it for $500. I’d do it in shorts and a tshirt for $500.

What’s the coldest you’ve been? Did you lose any fingers? And what’s your best tip for staying warm out in the cold?

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My wife told me I needed to post something “personal” next on the blog. And she’s right. I’ve had a lot of ideas of whta’s next, but ran across this video this morning and simply had to share. It is one that I laughed at multiple times. Make sure you wait for the last song too.

[ht to Josh Griffin]

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And when I watch things like this video below, it makes me glad that my third child is a boy.

[ht to D.]

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Last night the result that pretty much everyone expected to happen happened. But here are some thoughts of mine about it all.

• No matter who you voted for, you have to recognize the historical significance of the election.
  
• I don’t understand why we have the electoral college system. I mean, people call this a landslide victory, but Obama won about 53% of the popular vote. Even with Reagan’s landslide victory in 1984 (525 to 13), he still only got 58.8% of the popular vote. That’s a messed up system.
  
• I kept watching Facebook status updates last night. They made me laugh
• They ranged from “I’m moving to Canada” to “I’m quitting to work to get free money” to “Now our country is in the right hands” to “I’ve waited for this all my life”.
• Some people got really nasty in their comments on Facebook.
• Someone told me I shouldn’t be laughing because God isn’t laughing about it.
• But I think that I should trust in God much more than who has or is going to be living on Pennsylvania Ave in D.C.
• The President is just ONE MAN. Lots of people thought Bush was a screwup. But he alone didn’t ruin the country. Nor will this man ruin it or save it on his own.
• I’m still amazed by people who voted either for or against him because of his race. And I think there were plenty on both sides.
• McCain is a great American. His speech last night earned him the respect of tons of people.
  
• Someone was shooting fireworks off in my neighborhood last night.
• In the end, I’m going to seek God’s Kingdom first no matter who is President.
• And I believe followers of Jesus are called to pray for their leaders.
• And for the record, I didn’t vote for either of the two main guys…
  

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This is actually quite cool. But still frustrated that they are limiting my choices to only two. Kept waiting for them to say some think about Paul or Nader or Barr.

[ht to Emily]

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The other night I ordered pizza online at Domino’s. I love it that way. Order online, pay for it, and then either have it delivered or pick it up quickly. So smart and sweet. There’s even a status bar to show you the progress of preparing it, cooking it, and boxing it up.

But last night when I placed my order they had some extra questions for me. And from those questions they gave me their Saturday results on how people were answering election based questions. So as you can see below, if Tuesday’s presidential election was decided by people ordering pizza online from Domino’s on Saturday, November 1…Barak Obama would have a substantial victory.

We’ll see…

[also, is anyone surprised to see the Philly Cheese Steak leading the country too?]

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