Category: Stuff (Page 16 of 65)

I’m not one that’s really been into New Year’s resolutions. But there are changes I’d like to see in my life over the next year. So call it what you may, but here are a few things that I’d like to be different.

Reading: Primarily Bible reading, but reading in general too. I’m on a Bible reading plan now, inspired by Tony Morgan’s plan. It’s easy to get behind a little in it, but they have catch up days too. But I’m realizing more and more the vital need that Scripture has in my life (bout time, huh?) But I want to read more regular books too. But I find it difficult to carve out time to fit everything in, and sadly reading has gotten the brunt for a while….and it needs to change. I have a few new books I got for Christmas and a few olds ones I’ve not completed (started?) that need some attention.

Focused time w/ The Wife and The Girls: I have gotten into the habit of telling Addie “I’ll get to it in a minute” and repeating that all week for a simple task that wouldn’t take long at all to jump in and finish. I want my girls to respect my word…so I have to be much more careful with it and how I give it.

General Health upkeep: I didn’t want to call this “exercise” or “working out” or “diet”, but all of those things factor in. But I want to be more mindful of what I’m putting in my body and how I’m exercising it too.

Visit schools more: Very beneficial for keeping up w/ students and can conquer a few fears too. I have to admit I still get that desperate feeling when I walk into the high school cafeteria and try not to look as if I’m searching for someone from my church to go up and say hi to….even though I really am.

More prayer: Prayer for my fam, focused prayer on the student ministry and the kids there, more prayer for friends and issues. I think I’ve tended to pray as I’m running out of other options instead of as the first point of concern.

More focus on MST: I think it’s got potential galore. But it needs some time spent on it to realize it. I need to start budgeting my time to spend an allotted amount w/ general forum maintenance, but some major time spent in developing and writing stories. New stories on a consistent basis will be awesome for it. I know it.

So those are a few tweaks I know my life needs to have administered to it these next twelve months. Do you have any?

I don’t think it’s my phone model, just my phone that sucks so bad. It gets decent reception most places, but at my house, it’s horrible. Like works 15% of the time. And to get good reception I have to go sit on my front porch. So I’m in the market for a new phone. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I’m on Cingular…

• Travel with podcasts is great: It really helps when you’re driving at night or for stretches on the Natchez Trace. I listened to both Matt Chandler and Rob Bell. And a variety of music, but some of the long stretches were helped by The Postal Service and The Album Leaf.
• When the number of people in a family gathering increases, so does the propensity to laugh at things that are not funny…at all.
• Two year olds ride in cars much more quietly when they have dry clothes on.
• Christmas lights and traditional decorations: GOOD. Big blow up creations of Scooby Doo in a Santa hat and animated Grinches: NOT SO GOOD.
• Lasagna and fudge at my grandmothers is hard to beat.
• Books are good gifts to give me. I got 3 good ones. This one, this one, and this one.
• Rest is a commodity that is not easily measured. I’m not sure how to measure it. But it’s not measured in hours.
• I’m starting to really like 24. I’m in the middle of Season Two. I’ll have to play catch up for quite a while. Season Six starts in a couple of weeks.
• I’ve gotten really behind in my blog reading.
• Christmas isn’t the same as it used to be. But I’m not sure that’s a bad thing.
• Driving on the Natchez Trace is either peaceful or boring. I’m not sure which.
• Watching your kids open presents is better than opening your own.
• Domino’s Pizza is a good Christmas Eve dinner tradition. And I guess heated up Domino’s leftovers on Christmas night is too.

I’m sitting at my dad’s house visiting for Christmas. The TV has been on CNN for a while now. And it seems the most important thing going on in the world is the feud between Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump. It’s humorous. I think they’re both mouthy on this.

Donald Trump allowed the winner of Miss USA retain her crown after acting out in some parties. Rosie said Donald should not be the moral compass for 20 year olds in the country and attacked his failed marriages. Donald returned w/ Rosie has failed over and over, looks terrible on the outside, and is even more rotten on the inside.

And over the last two hours, this story has been on at least four times.

Somehow MSU got two quality quaterback commitments w/in the span of a few days. They had a good high school player and a good Juco player. Both have great potential at the QB spot. We’ll see how well our coaches can work with them.

Surprisingly our coaches have continued to recruit fairly well despite limited W’s on the field. But next year is the year to prove it all.

For the next few days we’re kidless

Yesterday we met up w/ The Mother-In-Law and dropped them with her. And now they’re with my mom. That means for the next three days we’re kidless. That will be really weird. In a way I relish the total “me time”. But in the other I’m already missing them…but we’ll see them soon.

But in the next three or so days we’ll get some last minute shopping done, be able to be flexible enough to leave the house to run a personal errand when the other isn’t here to stay w/ the girls. I can watch 24 during the afternoon w/o worrying what little eyes might be watching it too. And I can sleep as late as I want to w/o having to get up and take a two year old to the potty… Not really. Still gotta get up and go to work. And I enjoy taking care of them.

But sometimes a short break is a good thing

The other night The Wife and I watched United 93. It started out w/ scattered people in the airport and the regular office goings on of air traffic control people, security people, Air Force studs and the like. But after things started going heywire, I was hooked. And I have to assume the events were accurate in how everything unfolded.

I began to get attached to what was going on w/ the “characters” in the plane. In the back of my head I knew they were real…but I was watching a movie. When they heard news of the other planes, and the crashes into the towers, things got busy. The passengers on United 93 decided they had to do something. And I began rooting for them.

As they hatched their plan and decided to do something about it, things were really rolling. I was on the edge of my seat. They were about to rush the cockpit and try to take over control of the plane. And then it hit me.

This won’t end well. I already knew the ending. Death to them all. In a heroic act….death to them all. So the last 5 min of the movie was a real downer. But I was still engrossed. But after 9/11, I doubt things get very far in a hijacking situation anymore. No more, “I’ll just sit here, make it to where I’m going and let these guys get their $$.” I bet people take matters into their own hands much quicker.

I can’t imagine being a part of a hijack…..it’s unimaginable.

I’ve always been one to want to be on the go. I was fine to go on a trip, come home, and spend just enough time to get some clean underwear and hit the road again. I never really did a lot of travelling growing up except to go visit my dads house…and it was just in Memphis. Church youth trips were always fun because I got away. And I can remember waking up the next morning after returning home…and for the first few moments forgetting I was home and expecting to still be “out” somewhere.

My senior year I got to go to Mexico w/ a school trip. Up to that time it was the most fun I’d ever had in my life. Just because of the friends I was with and the memories made. Since then I’ve been a few places in the US and to Costa Rica twice. Maybe I should count my blessings and be thankful for the litlte travel I’ve done.

But I’m realizing more and more that I have a big inner desire to travel. To go to big places (or little) here in the States, but also around the globe. And quite possibly to even go and live in a different country. From my two trips to Costa Rica, I could see me living there. But maybe to go to England or New Zealand or Australia. Man, that would be out of this world!

There was a time when The Wife and I thought that we’d have to have a specific directive from God to ever let us know if we were to move way off to a place like that. But now I think we’re both of the opinion that God can use us wherever we are…and He’s looking for willing vessels everywhere to pour Himself into…so why not be one of them WHEREVER!

I’m not expecting to move anytime soon. But you never know what God has planned.

Most of the times a baptism in church can be really special. But sometimes it is special for different reasons. Check this one out!

Baptism Video

Tonight I used iChat combined w/ iSight to do the first video chat for me ever. Talked to Brian up at (cough cough) Ole Miss. Worked pretty well. I can see some amazing pluses to it to check out later. Now I want to figure out how to do an interview and record it over iChat or something like that.