New Show

One of my new favorite shows is “Dhani Tackles the Globe”.  Dhani Jones is an NFL linebacker that travels to different countries to not only learn about the cultures of each given country, but to learn about it through the sports they play.  Dhani has one week to learn the sport and compete in a real competition at the end of the week.  He brings his American centrist world view and pro athlete ego with him wherever he goes, but as the series goes along you start to see his respect for the sports that others play grow.  The first three episodes took him to Bangkok for Muay Thai boxing, to Switzerland for Schwingen which is a type of sumo between farmers & woodchoppers in a ring of sawdust and lastly to England to play Rugby at Black Heath.  You would think that he might take it easy to avoid injury, but he actually puts his whole body and pride on the line at each location.  He looks to earn the respect of those teaching him, those competing with him and those paying to see him compete.  It’s highly entertaining and I recommend, especially to the guys!  It’s on the Travel Channel on Monday nights.

Protected: For Morg

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Wisdom Teeth

Wisdom teeth.  Why?  Like so many other things in life like the mosquito and Paula Abdul, you have to wonder why they exist.  I’ve had problems with mine for a few years now, but have never had the money/dental insurance to get them taken care of.  Thank you Jesus, they are finally out of my head and in a trash can somewhere in Cornelius.  They were all broken through the gumline, but I couldn’t floss around them and they had just gradually decayed and broken, so not only were the nerves beginning to expose but they were also cutting my tongue from time to time.  But that’s all behind me now, so hopefully some of my headaches and problems with other teeth are going to be alleviated.

Audition

I have finally gotten it together in one way:  I have a worship audition this Saturday morning.  I had to put together either a DVD, CD or MP3 of me singing and playing a couple of songs to even make it to the audition.  After a month or so they finally called me and said I needed to pick up a CD and charts for the songs in the audition.

Now, I’ve been a bit apprehensive about doing worship at this church.  The regular weekend service plays music that really is not my deal, but they have a Sunday night service that is completely set apart from the others and plays some stuff that I can handle a bit better.  But, you audition for all bands and they just put you wherever they want.  Whatever.  So, I was a little nervous about the type of music I would have to audition with and sure enough, it’s magoo.  One song is You are Good by Israel Houghton but played by Lakewood Church.  That’s right, Joel Osteen’s church.  Another is a Darlene Zschech song from back in the day.  I like old Darlene, but it does begin to sound a bit dated after 15 years.  Lord, please help me to have a good attitude!  I’m venting here, but I want to have a good attitude when it rolls around.  The other two songs are From the Inside Out and Everlasting God.  Much better.  I just have an idea of how things could be a lot better and I don’t want to come in automatically making suggestions.  No one likes that guy!  I would like to see and hear some things change eventually though!

It’s a Strange Feeling

Let me go ahead and apologize, but it’s therapeutic….

I got some news the a couple of days ago that a girl I graduated with had passed away. Not just some girl I didn’t know at all, but a girl I had known since middle school, rode the bus with, and sang with in high school. A really sweet girl that had been involved in missions after college. She died at home and, from what I heard, someone found her there last Friday. Supposedly she had been complaining of headaches and had some procedure done about a month ago for excessive spinal fluid. Not totally random, but it will be a couple of weeks before they get the autopsy report.

I hung out with Morgan on Tuesday after I heard and we talked about how that kind of news left you somehow feeling isolated and lonely. It’s hard to explain though. Hearing that reminded me of a time in life that I had all but forgotten about. And then you know that there were only a few people from that time in life that actually experienced it with you. I can tell Morgan or Jo or any of you guys about that period, but it’s coming from my memory of it. And memory can be a foggy mirror at the best of times. If I talk with someone that was there, they remember things about it that I wouldn’t. So, now there is one less person that can recall that part of life and it’s more dependent on my memory of it. I guess that’s the way old people start feeling.

We obviously weren’t tight if we hadn’t talked in 10 years, but she was a really sweet and honest girl. And I know for a fact that her husband will never experience this type of loss again. I just can’t imagine, but it’s that part of life that’s lurking in the dark and the thing we have hope in Christ over. I can’t really put a bow on this and wrap it up to make it seem pretty and lesson-filled. This is just what it is. One of the strange parts of life and the part of life that most of us are learning about bit by bit as loved ones move on.

Need Numbers

I lost all of my contacts on my phone! My phone wouldn’t call out at all, so I turned it off a few times, took out the battery and basically did everything I could to get it working again. In a last ditch effort I “Master Reset” the phone. I went to call Jo to see if maybe that worked and they were all gone. Like 150 numbers!
I already got Steph’s, Holly’s & Bill’s from Facebook. Everyone else either call, text or leave it on here, facebook or even email it. Man, this is frustrating! Like losing your wallet.

A Little Exchange

My friends Steph, James, Tate and I correspond a good bit.  Here was our exchange today started off by Steph sending us an excerpt from “Wild at Heart.”  It struck a nerve.

 

Steph wrote:

 

Just a thought……

A Nice Guy
03/11/2009

 

And then, alas, there is the church. Christianity, as it currently exists, has done some terrible things to men. When all is said and done, I think most men in the church believe that God put them on the earth to be a good boy. The problem with men, we are told, is that they don’t know how to keep their promises, be spiritual leaders, talk to their wives, or raise their children. But, if they will try real hard they can reach the lofty summit of becoming . . . a nice guy. That’s what we hold up as models of Christian maturity: Really Nice Guys. We don’t smoke, drink, or swear; that’s what makes us men. Now let me ask my male readers: In all your boyhood dreams growing up, did you ever dream of becoming a Nice Guy? (Ladies, was the Prince of your dreams dashing . . . or merely nice?)

Really now—do I overstate my case? Walk into most churches in America, have a look around, and ask yourself this question: What is a Christian man? Don’t listen to what is said, look at what you find there. There is no doubt about it. You’d have to admit a Christian man is . . . bored. At a recent church retreat I was talking with a guy in his fifties, listening really, about his own journey as a man. “I’ve pretty much tried for the last twenty years to be a good man as the church defines it.” Intrigued, I asked him to say what he thought that was. He paused for a long moment. “Dutiful,” he said. “And separated from his heart.” A perfect description, I thought. Sadly right on the mark.

(Wild at Heart , 7)

To which James replied:

I tell you what, that is right on.  This is what I feel like Christian men have to look forward to as they mature and stay connected in the church:
1) Being a Nice Guy
2) Helping out in the nursery
3) Weekends of maintenance projects at the church
4) Game nights with community groups
5) 5 am Men’s bible study meetings to study manhood at the church
6) Constantly being called out for our addictions to gambling, porn and alcohol
…i could probably keep going but I will stop.  and not all this is bad.  but, yeah, bored with it.  maybe that’s why i have so much pent up anger towards the democratic party, islamic muslim fascists, pro-marriage homosexuals, etc…

It’s ok James, those people drive me nuts too….  We all have our hot-button issues.

To which I replied:

Jo and I went to the first night of a small group and it made me laugh how if we are part of a church sanctioned event there is not even a hint of something bad going on.  But, as soon as we all hang out and it’s not “church-sanctioned” the brews come out.  What’s the difference??  It’s the same people.  I understand why you don’t need to have alcohol at bible study, but it just seems a little weird that if we speak the phrase “church sanctioned” at the beginning of us hanging out, it changes everything.
Speaking on being a nice guy, I have often felt like the main goal is to create more effeminate men.  Not in a Jack McFarlan way, but to have men in groups talking about how their dads didn’t love them or show them affection.  Men crying in a circle.  Men that a woman would want hang out with all the time and have weepy moments with.  I don’t know.  Maybe that’s completely wrong, but it feels that way sometimes.  What if the whole point of the church was to make women feel bad for not wanting to watch the World Series, play golf, play basketball, drink beer and play cards?  It would be ridiculous.  And it’s not like it’s being preached to act like a woman, but it is implied to be less like a man.
There are a few select guys in churches though that are having none of it.  I’ve met quite a few.  They are generally the ones I gravitate towards.

We got a little worked up over the issue….

Being Sick

I’ve been sick for somewhere around a month now and it’s honestly worn me completely down.  I’m so sick of coughing and my head feels like it’s going to explode.  Being in the business I’m in I have no health insurance at all, so I’m completely dependent on being able to get it through wherever Jo works.  And since she just started with Hospice of Iredell in December we’ve had to through a 90 day waiting period.  So, the doctor is out!  Emergencies are not an option.  We’ve just had to suck it up.  But, over the past month I’ve had what seems like bronchitis.  I’ve had it a few times in the past and I know what it’s like, but this one is dug in.  It’s taking a stand and not giving up easily.

Unfortunately we found out that having me on Jo’s insurance this time around is going to be super expensive.  Somewhere around $500/month.  I’ve paid less in rent!  So, I’m gonna go get my own through somwhere else.  In the meantime I’ve had to go to a Minute Clinic at CVS to get well.  And we are going round and round on what’s going to actually work.  My trust and belief in Nurse Practitioners is waning.

The big problem for me now is this looming fear of it not being bronchitis, since seemingly nothing has worked.  My fear is that since I smoked off and on for the better part of 6 years that I have lung cancer.  Some of you may just blow that off, but when you live with a Hospice social worker everything could potentially kill you.  So you begin living in fear of any little knot or red place or mole that’s gotten too big or nagging dry cough that won’t go away.  Check your testes, check your boobs, make sure it’s not just that your glands are swollen!  Is that a headache???  Are my bones hurting cause I’m getting older and just can’t take it anymore or is something eating them from the inside out??

Maybe it’s over the top and Jo will definitely give me a hard time for having written this, but in the world of WebMD and everyone I know having been in the medical field at one time or another you start to self-diagnose everything. 

Man, I’m tired of being sick….

Password

I put a password on my music blogs because I started feeling bad.  I know everyone can pretty much get any music they want for free these days, but I guess I shouldn’t be a part.  I’m all about sharing it with my friends on here, but not just having it out there for whoever gets on my page.  By all means either email me or leave a comment on this post and I’ll give it to you.  I made it pretty easy to remember and it’s the same for all of them.

Speaking of……I talked to a couple of people that didn’t even realize that the music I put on here was actually the mp3s themselves.  I bought a  load of memory for my site, so I have all of the music uploaded on here.  Anything that’s a linked song is actually the song.  So, take it all!

I wish someone would do the same for me….. I’d be all over it.

Protected: Music From a While Back

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password: