Run with God

"Let me clear my throat" (or why I haven't blogged anything in 30 days)

Ironically, I am currently battling strep throat, and am fighting a losing battle with phlegm. However, this post has NOTHING to do with my constant "gavomiting".

- - - - -

It's been a rough couple months. I'm constantly reminded of the fact that there aren't enough hours in the day for me to accomplish what needs to be accomplished, and a "non-necessity" like blogging is usually the first thing to go. Recently, I've found myself anxious, frustrated, and short tempered at work(s) and at home...

Blogging, for me, is really my opportunity to analyze, process, and appreciate WHY I'm actually doing what I'm doing... so by not blogging I really had stopped processing the work... instead, just getting overwhelmed with more work. Note: this is EASY to do for a workaholic... To all the workaholics in ministry, don't just ask "what" you are doing. Understand why.

I need to blog. I need to process, to analyze, to critique, to celebrate... even if no one actually reads this thing... I need to for me.

Now, with my throat cleared, it'll be nice to get my voice back!

Look for the return of RUNwithGOD in the coming days. See you then.

PS - Thanks to DJ Kool for letting me borrow the title... and to @Jorriss to being as culturally demented as I am to pick up on the reference.

Musings way too early Christmas Morning

I love my job. Palmetto Bay's services last night were solid. Great to see volunteers step up and make the service happen. I love that our staff continually comes up with ideas that stretch our volunteers! I love that our volunteers have a standard of excellence that's higher than mine...

Homestead did an outdoor service at Losner Park last night. If you've ever produced an outdoor concert, you can appreciate what they went through last night. Jorge, Oscar, Berch and the CFH crew blew me away last night. Honestly, when I heard they were doing the service outside, I was expecting CHAOS on an APOCALYPTIC scale. Of course, there was chaos... but the crew did a great job dealing with it. Around 400 people from the Homestead area were there. It's a beautiful thing! I took a ton of pics at the CFH service. Hit me up on Facebook if you want to see.

Cold Hot Chocolate is really nothing like Chocolate Milk. If you think otherwise, you're wrong.

Put together myBabyGirl's first Christmas gift last night. I went against my instincts. Amy and I read the instructions. I know, I know, I'm a disappointment to myself as well.
(I'm including a pic of myBabyGirl in this post. Does it have to do anything with this post? No. I just like to show off...)

It's A Wonderful Life is still my second favorite Christmas movie (behind A Muppet Christmas Carol, of course). Except it's so HONKING LONG. Yes, George Bailey, your life sucks, but it gets better... we get it! Hurry up and get to the suck part! What does that say about today's culture. We so want to see the "suck part"...

4:30am one of my neighbor's house alarms went off, for about 10 minutes. My first thought? Wow, Santa forgot to enter the code. My second thought? Geez, how drunk are you that you can't turn that alarm off by now? My third thought? Hope someone isn't pulling a "Grinch"... Yes, I can pull three thoughts at 4:30am. Unfortunately, that's why I'm awake at 6:21am...

In the quiet parts of this AM, I reflected back on my year, on my blessings, on the meaning of today. And I found myself thanking God for putting into motion His plan, for allowing me to be part of His purpose. I could not imagine my life any other way. Then, I did my personal 2008 Christmas tradition. I sat in a dark room and played two songs over and over. "I Celebrate the Day" and "All is Well" (both included below)... I will not comment if there were tears...

And with that I hear myBaby Girl cooing in her crib, so I am off. May your Christmas be intentionally focused on the bearer of the Gift.

What were you doing 15 years ago today?

Me? Going on a first date my wife... who looked as stunning back then as she does now (I think that's a compliment...)

To the original myBabyGirl, thank you for being part of my life... Looking forward to the next 15 years...

In View of God's Mercy, jreed

What do you love this much?

 

ESPN broke the story about #53 Trevor Wikre, a Senior Offensive Lineman at Division II Mesa College.

Straight up, I love this guy. Why? Here's the short version... so to speak...

Dude is playing football in his Senior year of college... breaks his pinky during a practice... gets sent to the hospital against his will... while there, he was told bad news... that pinky is going to need a metal pin put in so that it will heal correctly... four month rehab for a pinky... college football is done in four month... so you're effectively out for the year... you've played your last football game... unless...

... unless you cut off your pinky... Meet Trevor, the nine fingered man.

Why do I love Trevor? Well, first off, he can never do the Dr. Evil impression (which is a huge plus).

More than that, though, he's passionate about what he does. I know, it sounds illogical. He's not good enough to go pro. He's altering his body for a stupid game. For a couple month of joy on the gridiron, he's willing to sacrifice the ability to hit the letter "p" on a keyboard. Yeah, you're right, it does sound crazy. But I respect the man on this front.

He found something he loves, and he was willing to sacrifice anything to be able to continue doing it. Even a pinky.

Sometimes in life I find myself guilty of going through the motions... doing things out of habit, or out of obligation... but not at this level. Think of your own life. What would you be willing to sacrifice your pinky for?

Arms wide open

You are the High and Holy One
You left the glory of Your throne
And You gave Your life away
You are the Lord of everything
The reason for the song I sing
You’re worthy to be praised
You lived and died
With arms open wide
With arms open wide

David Phelps - Arms Open Wide

Vacation Musings, v1

On vacation for a week... got some time at my parents beachfront condo up in Stuart, FL. Check the Twitter and TwitPic for updates on that... this is probably the LAST Amy/Jeff vacation for a long time... thank you very much Caitlyn.

While on vacation, I've had a couple thoughts:

* 3G and EDGE network stinks in Stuart, FL. The speed is horrible. However, seeing that the average age of the people in this area is two minutes away from dead... I don't think anyone is complaining.

* Reflecting back on Starbucks @ Florida Turnpike Rest Stops... I don't think I've ever had a good experience, or a good drink...

* TiVO... next to my wife, my unborn child, and my dog... I do not think I could miss anyone more... iPhone, I'm sorry... you lose...

* I'm reading a book on businesses taking advantage of 2.0 society. The book cost $29.95. Man, that's expensive. I don't think I questioned how expensive it was when I bought it. Then I reflect on Christian retailing, and how any book over $16.98 people balk at the price... come to your own conclusions...

* I wish to apologize to my iPhone for inferring that I would not miss it. I still love you.

* HD TV looks phenomenal. I really should get this activated at the house.

* Heroes at Christ Fellowship: In my absence this weekend, a ton of guys are stepping up and filling in some of the gaps. Thanks Hector, Tony, Oscar, Charlie, Eddy, Ammy, Mary...

* Be praying for CF's Ukraine mission trip. They are currently somewhere over the Atlantic/Europe, and will beginning their mission trip in the coming days.

Christmas in January...

If you saw me on the road lately, you saw my parents Christmas tree. The day I got back from vacation my parents asked if I could pick up their tree and dispose of it for them at the dump. Just starting the new job at CF, plus recovering from vacation at the bookstore... time was not readily available... so I picked up the tree early one morning and took it with me on the road.

Two weeks later, and 700+ miles later I threw away the tree.

I've grown close to the tree. Honestly, I've spent more quality time with that dead evergreen than I did my own wife (okay, that's a joke). But I held onto that tree for two weeks for several reasons...

1) nice to have a built-in air freshener for the truck
2) since the tree often blocked the rearview mirror, I had to retrain myself to use the side mirrors...
3) running joke... heard from a lot of people "hey, did you throw the tree away yet?

More than that, though, it was a reminder of Christmas. of holiday. of family. of gifts. of sacrifice. of a baby come to earth to save us.

Modern Christmas is so crazy that it is at times difficult to see the Christ is the chaos, and for two weeks, 700+ miles I had a visual reminder of what that gift was. Pretty sad that I needed a tree to remind me of "the tree"... What's more sad is that I needed my truck bed and left my reminder at the dump Saturday morning at sunrise.

God, thank you for reminders, for Your gift and for Your sacrifice. Thank you for being worthy of our work, our worship, and our praise

Cloverfield: what you don't see

Saw Cloverfield Sunday evening... Dang...

Alright, I'm not going to share any spoilers. I'm not that guy. Shell out the $$$ and go see it. Storyline is solid. Cinematography was incredible. Editing kept me on the edge of my seat. Acting, eh, it's not about the characters... Think "Blair Witch" meets "Godzilla".

Which gets me thinking. After seeing the Blair Witch in the summer of 1999, honestly, I didn't sleep for days. All I saw when I closed my eyes was what the witch didn't look like. In Blair Witch, you never saw what the witch looked like. Because I could not wrap my mind around the visual image of this witch, my college-educated brain equated that she was under my bed, ready to attack me when I fell asleep.

No one ever accused me of being intelligent.

Cloverfield, though, was painfully artistic on what you saw. You actually get to see a lot, but the images are very controlled. Half the movie I found myself thinking "no you idiot cameraguy, pan left, pan left!" The snippets, the fractions of a second, the "is that really what I thought I saw..." Ultimately, it's the tease that keeps you engaged... keeping you focused on finding the answers to your questions.

The beauty (albeit a dark beauty), however, in the midst of the destruction made me a little uncomfortable... deep down did I really enjoy watching the destruction of the city happen? Is it wrong to cheer for the monster?

By the end, I still have more questions than answers (and knowing Hollywood my questions will be answered someday)... until then, however THANK YOU JJ Abrams for restoring my faith in SCI FI.

I Celebrate the Day, revisited

Another chaotic season has come and gone, and I am left at the end of the day reflective to the season that was, thankful that the one who I've worked for is worthy of my work, and my praise.

Every Christmas, there is just one song that has me streaming tears... I shared it with you last year, and it's worthy of a revisit in 2008.

And on that note, I present to you Relient K's "I Celebrate the Day".

With this Christmas wish is missed
The point I could convey
If only I could find the words to say to let you know
How much you've touched my life because
Here is where you're finding me
In the exact same place as New Years Eve
And from the lack of my persistency
We're less than half as close as I wanna be

And the first time that you opened your eyes
Did you realize that you would be my Savior
And the first breath that left your lips
Did you know that it would change this world forever
And the first time that you opened your eyes
Did you realize that you would be my Savior
And the first breath that left your lips
Did you know that it would change this world forever

And so this Christmas I'll compare
The things I've felt in prior years
To what this midnight made so clear
That you have come to meet me here

To look back
And think that
This baby would one day save me
And the hope that
That you give
That you were born so I might really live
To look back
And think that
This baby would one day save me…

And the first time that you opened your eyes
Did you realize that you would be my Savior
And the first breath that left your lips
Did you know that it would change this world forever
And the first time that you opened your eyes
Did you realize that you would be my Savior
And the first breath that left your lips
Did you know that it would change this world forever

And I
I celebrate the day
That you were born to die
So I could one day
Pray for you to save my life
Pray for you to save my life
Pray for you to save my life

Sunday Television

It's a lazy Sunday afternoon. 3pm. I turn on the TV.

CBS has the Dolphins losing 31-7 at halftime.
NBC has alpine skiing.
FOX has some infomercial on Vonage.

This is why I'm a workaholic.
When I stop to relax, there's nothing to do!

With that being said, did you know you can save a ton on your long distance bills by switching to Vonage?