Run with God

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?

I kicked Dolphin "Fin" & other ramblings

And by fin I mean...

Congrats to my "brother from another mother" Jeff Reed, Pittsburgh Steelers placekicker for ending a very ugly Monday Night Football game against my hometeam Miami Dolphins last night.

Doesn't take much to beat the Dolphins this year. Evidently, only a field goal. Final score, Steelers 3 -- Dolphins 0.

Where's Ricky Williams when you need him? Oh, yeah. Sitting on the bench injured.

At least we got the Canes. Oh, wait.

At least the Heat can make a push, if they can get clearance from the Nursing Home to attend the playoffs.

At least the Marli.... couldn't even finish the sentence.

Wait, I've got it.

At least Barry Bonds is indicted, and may never play ball again. Finally, justice can be served and we can move on with our sports Steroid-free.

Yeah, that'll happen. And the Dolphins will win one.

Thank You, WMCU

This news will hit the Chrisitan Community in Miami Wednesday, but it's public knowledge in the webosphere...

WMCU (aka SpiritFM) has been sold. SpiritFM has served as a Pop/Contemporary music station in the Miami area for longer than I can remember. And now a staple, a voice that aimed to strengthen it's listeners for the Cause of Christ... is being silenced.

According to reports, WMCU was purchased for $20 million... sold to American Public Media Group. Instead of Christian Radio, APMG will be broadcasting classical music.

Wow. Classical. Really?

As a supporter of WMCU Radio, I will miss the Christian influence that it brought to South Florida. Thank you for investing into the community. Those of you that worked at the station, may God open doors for you and continue to guide your paths.

For more information, check out APMG's Press Release online.

For those of you that were supporters of Christian Radio in Miami, may I recommend 91.9 CallFM? While CallFM may be "slightly more edgy" than WMCU, I think you'll find the staff hugely evangelic, driven to reach the younger generations with the message of Christ! So, while you're going through SpiritFM withdrawls in the coming weeks, turn the dial to 91.9fm and give it a try.

Thank You, WMCU, for your efforts in South Florida. You will be sorely missed.

Steadfast in Christ,

Jeff Reed
The Living Word Christian Bookstore

[NO] Faith in Technology

Why do I continue to put my faith into technology? I'm very tempted to list the chronology of crashed hard drives, smoking motherboards, and spyware issues I've had in recent years. Let's simplify instead and say it's somewhere around a dozen.

Tech has been working for me good lately. No major problems. Until Sunday night, when I tried to remote into my bookstore's server to do some late-night ordering... only to find that I could not remote in. Huh, that's weird, I wonder if the Internet is down... Seconds later, I tried to remote into the C28 server, which is located on the same network. I successfully connected. Oh crap, I bet the bookstore's server crashed again.

Yep. I am sick and tired of Windows. Honestly, I do not understand how IT guys put up with these issues all day long. You by far have more patience than I do.

While I have no faith in technology, I do have faith in people.

I called up CF's IT Guy, Hector, and asked him to take a look at my crashed hard drive. He did, and even ran some diagnostics for me. Hector's an incredibly busy guy, and that he took the time to run the scans for me means alot. Thanks Hector! I'll have my data recovery guy Wes work his magic tomorrow and we should be in great shape! Sadly, Wes has done this for me far too many times.

I've learned over the years that dependence upon technology will only disappoint. I've said it before. I have no faith in technology.

Hard Drives will die.
Motherboards will smoke.
Networks will go down.
Software will freeze.
Servers will crash.
Applications will fail.

Tech is "means". Not the "end". Honestly, I've tried to spend more time focusing on the "end" than I have the "means".

While tech will let me down
on a regular basis
people rarely do
and God never does.

God, thank you for the lesson learned.

PS - Uh, God, if you could figure out a way to remind me of this lesson without crashing my server, I would greatly appreciate it.

PPS - Or, God, if you could give me an advance warning so I can make sure the backup would work, I would even be okay with that.

Invite myself to dinner...

Okay, so these guys are way out of my league, but how cool would it be to be part of this conversation... for those of you completely unaware, on the left is George Lucas (Star Wars, duh!) On the right, J.J. Abrams (LOST, Alias, M:I 3, Star Trek IX).

The photo was taken by Joi, and is available on his flicker account. This photo was taken last month, but I'm sure that this film, JJ's upcoming release, was discussed.

Thanks to the person who illegally videotaped the trailer (nice person walking by at the beginning) so we can see this UNRELEASED TRAILER!

The Yet-To-Be-Named film will be releasing January 18, 2008. And believe me, we'll be talking about this film again.

Thanks to the Star Wars Blog for the find.

What's in your Wallet?

Saturday night I was having a conversation with JR Lovins (whose Generations Worship CD was officially released this weekend with an incredible worship service)...

Anyway, the gist of the conversation was how noone under the age of thirty carries cash anymore.

To my/our generation, money is strickly numbers in accounts, which is basically another set of numbers. I'm always broke. Virtually, however, I'm doing okay. ATMs, Online Banking, Direct Deposit. If I didn't own businesses, I don't think I would know where my bank is. Honestly, I'm okay with that. You're talking to a guy that still has an uncashed check that was given to me as a gift for my birthday... over a year ago!

Then I see a commercial for the next version of Monopoly... The Electronic Banking Version. Evidently, Monopoly now comes with a computerized banking system, and all players are given ATM cards. To charge rent, the leasee debits his account, and the leasor gets the money put on his virtual ATM account.

Crazy.
I'm really not okay with this.
Not because I'm a Monopoly purist.
Not because it takes learning away from a board game.
Not because we're preparing our children for the Mark of the Beast.
I'm upset because it's preventing me from cheating in Monopoly.

I'll go ahead and say it. I'm the world's best cheat in Monopoly. My wife is my witness here. I stash about $3,000 worth of $500 bills on me, and when necessary I can produce the cash I need w/o anyone seeing. But how am I supposed to stack my piggy bank if "we're doing it electronically"...

So, for my 12 game Monopoly win streak, I am officially boycotting the Monopoly: Electronic Banking version. I perfer my pretend world to have physical cash... and my physical world to have virtual cash. Weird, huh?

Honestly, if you're thirty or under, how much cash do you have on you at any one time?

Sound for Skillet (not a frying pan)

Got a call from a friend of mine, Casey Watkins. Casey is the tech guy for Life-Pointe in Homestead. He's also an area concert promoter, so we get together and swap stories and talk about concerts we've done...

Well, Casey called me Friday. He was at Rock the Universe. I was working when he called, so it went to voicemail. His voicemail message is below:

Hey Jeff it's Casey. I'm just calling to harass you. Skillet's playing tonight down in Miami. Their Front of House Sound Guy had to fly back to Tennessee for a family emergency. I of all people got called to see if I could find a Front of House Sound Guy for them. I'm currently out of town in Orlando for Rock the Universe, or I'd be doing it. If you could do it, or you know someone who can, give me a call. I'll get you in touch with the guy at the Skillet Camp that you'll need to talk to. That would be awesome.

Yeah, I could have run sound for Skillet this evening. WooHoo! But, I was working at CF preparing for the weekend services, and wanted to spend the night with Amy (she's going out of town for the weekend.)

So, I did the responsible thing. I handed it off to Landon (CF's Audio guy)...Not sure if he got the gig...

Working for your church may, in fact, kill your family (revisited)

Several weeks ago I referenced an Arcade Fire song, Intervention, which contains the lyrics:

Working for the church
While your family dies
You take what they give you
And you keep it inside
Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a home
Hear the solider groan, "We'll cry alone"

It's a very moving, powerful, haunting song. High church organ playing in the background, yet the lyrics hold much hatred for the entity of the church body. In the blog, I asked what you thought. Several readers have commented or e-mailed responses: Anti-war, Anti-Bush, Anti-Communism... reading the comments I felt like I was back in college working on my Literature Minor. Props to those who did research.

My wife, however, gets the prize. Rather than exploring the one song, I need to dive into the entire album (Neon Bible) and explore that. Stupid iTunes... $0.99 tracks are the death of Album enjoyment... Sorry, I'm back now.

Reading the album lyrics, and listening to the music, I discovered that much of the album is written in a first person narrative describing a person who's father was working for the church, and while doing that evidently didn't do a good job doing the family thing. I'm the first to say there's two sides to the story, and while I'm sure daddy did everything possible, evidently it was so scarring that Arcade Fire felt like they had to devote a good part of an album ripping their family life.

Hatred. We never seem to escape it.

RUNwithGOD has been experimenting experiencing huge traffic numbers, almost 10 times usual numbers. Why? People Googling, searching for answers to the Juanita Bynum issue, or the Paula White situation. Rarely will the world praise us for our successes, but they're always on hand to spectate our failures.

I can see it in my own life. Serving God requires you to have a different set of priorities. In our Media Small Group this past week we talked about aligning our will to God's instead of standing on our own. Well, what if that alignment doesn't match up with your family's desires? The best we can do is pray for the family to stay focused on it, but realistically it doesn't always happen that way...

So, here I am. Striving to work towards a goal of serving God through employment at a church, realizing that if I am not careful, if my family does not learn to align as well, my family can suffer. Not much comfort there. Ask Haggard. Ask Bynum. Ask White. Things can get out of control. I can see it. I believe it. Working for the church may, in fact, kill your family. But, it doesn't have to. And so I do what I can... I pray.

God, help me to radiate the goodness of who you are.

Putting on an "old hat"

I've enjoyed teaching the Media Small Group more than I thought I would. That doesn't sound right. I knew I would enjoy it. I went in with fear and trepidation, though. I haven't done this type of thing in years...

That's the downside of my life. I'm the "busy guy"... in the spectrum of Mary to Martha, I land squarely on Martha. And by staying busy, working to achieve mighty things for the Kingdom, I think I've neglected to see the people that make up the Kingdom.

It's been years since I was open with a group of adults. Check that. I don't think I've ever been open with adults. Back in my youthworker days, sure I opened up, shared, and prayed with kids. But there really is something to opening yourself up to a room of people that, more often than not, are going through the same thing you are. Leading this Small Group has helped put a smile back con my face that has been gone for way too long...

God, thank you for the opportunity to not only see the big picture of what you have for me, but reminding me that those numbers have names, faces, stories and needs.

Hacking the iPhone

Yes, someone has unlocked the iPhone. Some 17 year old kid did it before anyone else. Good for him. See YouTube below...

Do I have any thoughts? Apple stock just went up as I'm sure a ton of more iPhones will be bought by people wanting to unlock phones and sell them... there are whole new untapped revenue stream coming soon. Good for Apple! Good for T-Mobile users, who luck out that T-Mobile and AT&T use the same network. Bad for AT&T. I'm not that upset, either. It's AT&T. At the heart of AT&T, it's really MA Bell... If they had kept their name as "Cingular" I would care a little more...

UPDATE (082607): I wanted to post an update on this. Evidently the kid's got a blog online where he talks about the sale/trade of his unlocked iPod.

"Working for the church while your family dies"

I ran across a song that's been haunting me for a while. I present to you Arcade Fire's "Intervention".

For full lyrics, check out this link.

However, you can get the point from the chorus below...

Working for the church
While your family dies
You take what they give you
And you keep it inside
Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a home
Hear the solider groan, "We'll cry alone"

Note: Arcade Fire is not a Christian group... but I find their lyrics eerie. Reading the entire song, I'm not totally sure what this song is about... I'm still working through it... Any ideas? I'll probably revisit this at some point...

Note2: I do not, in any way, feel like this song. I do not think that while working for the church my family has died.

Note3: Somebody created a music video to Intervention by editing one of my favorite 1920's Russian Films, Battleship Potempkin. This film was shot in Odessa, Ukraine... at some point you'll see people running up and down a series of stairs... I've been there! Anyway, watch the film below:

John & Linda's "30 Hints"

Thanks to everyone who helped make my 30th Birthday last a full week! Emails, TXT messages and Facebook posts flooded in. I promise, this will be the last Birthday post. (I'll find something else to obsess over). Hope you took advantage of my Reverse Birthday Gift. If not, too bad for you. There was something, though, I had to share with you.

I got a Birthday card from my parents. I hear you... "Big friggin whoop." What makes my parent's cards cool every year is NOT the card, but the crazy crap they write in the card.

For my 30th, my parents gave me a list of 30 "Helpful Hints" (read: Things To Do). Nothing like giving a workaholic a list of things to do... where needed, I will add my thoughts below [in brackets and italicized text].

Without futher delay I present My Parental's Helpful Hints:

1) Brush your teeth
2) Change your undies - [I wondered what that smell was...]
3) Kiss your wife (Amy) - [not to be confused with my other wife?]
4) Don't forget to walk Beowulf
5) Call your Grandmother
6) Pray daily
7) Drive carefully - [maybe I should take back the Cadillac XLR then...]
8) Pay bills on time
9) Open your mail
10) Be nice to strangers
11) Lock your doors - [uh, yeah... we live in Miami. Goes w/o saying.]
12) Comb your hair - [it's a good thing I'm not sensitive...]
13) Compliment your employees - [stupid morons]
14) Run frequently
15) Work in the yard!! "We beg..." - [um... yeah... I'll get back to you on that.]
16) Put in drycleaning - [I haven't done drycleaning in a year, why start now?]
17) Invest wisely
18) Don't work harder - [I thought they would have said "instead work smarter."]
19) Get the truck washed - [Last time I did that I also put in my dry cleaning.]
20) Call your parents
21) Fill your gas tank at 1/4 left
22) Clean the garage
23) Eat your veggies
24) Chew with mouth closed
25) Get more rest - [is that before or after I do this list?]
26) Write more blogs
27) Play more games
28) Listen to more music
29) Buy your wife flowers - [but they die like 2 days later...]
30) Do something you want to do!!

Thank you, Mom and Dad. Even at age 30, your written reminder serves as notice that I will forever be your little boy... a much bigger, bald, goateed little boy looking to pay someone to pick the weeds out of his yard.

What hint would your parents leave for you?

Reverse Birthday Gift Reminder

Don't forget, my Reverse Birthday Gift offer expires Sunday, (8/19). 30% off all NOTW clothing @ The Living Word, Miami and C28 West Palm Beach... Check out my original post for more info.

Jeff = Good Mood? That's unusual...

Top 10 Reasons I'm in a good mood today:

10. While my parents are out of town, my mom insisted I drive her Cadillac XLR for her (to keep the battery fresh, of course). Tooling around Miami in a Cadillac Roadster? That alone is enough to get in a good mood... but there's more.

9. CF Homestead Media has worked out several major flaws in our worship center. It took a lot of planning and talking in circles, but the end product improved significantly over the past couple weeks. I was really stressing over it, and I'm glad it's resolved.

8. Big announcement coming up this Friday @ the CF Ministry Rally... Eric is tipping his hat (if you're curious).

7. C28 West Palm is catching stride as Back-To-School shopping starts. Aside from the increase in sales, we're getting a lot of exposure to new customers.

6. Ryan has done a great job inking a deal with Summit Christian School (in West Palm) where every Middle and High School student (350 some I believe) will be getting a NOTW shirt as part of their Spiritual Emphasis Week. The great thing is the school has uniforms every day of the week, EXCEPT for the occasional day (once a month I think) when they will be allowed to wear our NOTW shirt. Talk about branding.

5. Had coffee yesterday with Rob Robbins, Station Manager @ CallFM. I have a lot of respect for Rob because he took a radio station that "could not survive" and has turned it into a strong, viable product. Rob has great vision, and we will all be seeing some phenominal opportunities for growth coming very soon.

4. Wikinomics has really been hitting a cord with me. I never really thought I'd be the guy reading business books and getting ideas from it, but the idea of wikichurch has been rattling in my head for months now.... and I love it!

3. Emily, the Assistant Manager from C28 in West Palm has come down to Miami to fill in as a temporary Manager for The Living Word. We had a quick turnover at the manager position (Rebecca went back to teaching at a local Christian Elementary School) and I needed some help retasking the staff and getting me organized. Emily's retail experience is a HUGE PLUS! Not to mention, she already understands how much of an unorganized freak I am.

2. Talking: I have had several opportunities in the past 72 hours to talk to people who are in different places. Ministry, business, life... I've realized that by working so hard, so much I've really limited myself to the people I come in contact with, and that I really hate being "the loner."

1. Amy went back to work today. After 10 months off from teaching, she's gearing up for the school year again. She's going back to Palmetto Sr. High where she's teaching PreCal and Algebra I? She's excited, which means she's happy, which ultimately means I'm happy. Oh, and I'm glad to get another paycheck coming in, too.

Reverse Birthday Gift

I've shared that my 30th birthday is coming up. In fact, I will be turning 30 on Saturday, August 18th. I am excited. My 20's were great, but it'll be cool to see what God has for me during my 30's.

But I digress...

I'm not a Birthday Party guy.
I don't do cards.
I don't want gifts.

I do want to give something to you, some of my favorite people... my blog readers.

I'm doing an EXCLUSIVE SALE just for my blog friends. In honor of my 30th Birthday I'm giving EVERYONE WHO READS MY BLOG A 30% DISCOUNT off NOTW shirts at both TLW and C28. The Living Word just got a large assortment of NOTW shirts, and as always C28 is stocked with the newest and best NOTW has to offer. Sorry, discount doesn't apply to online purchases and are only good at stores I own. If you go to a California C28 or The Living Word in Sarasota, FL you'll get laughed at if you drop my name...

So, if you've been debating buying some NOTW stuff, now's the time. Go to either store and drop my name, my blog (runwithgod.com) or just say "but that's not what Jeff said..." and get yourself a great discount. On me. My treat. Why? Because I appreciate my blog readers. Go to the stores and buy for you! You're welcome!

Now I can't give away everything for free, so my reverse birthday gift only applies to NOTW product. My reverse birthday gift starts Tuesday (8/12) and will end Sunday (8/19). SOOO, the money you were going to spend on me... spend the money on you and get something nice for yourself!

Tell your friends. Get the word out. Questions, e-mail me.

Not enough power to go around

I shared about CF Homestead's chaotic weekend services involving failing power grids and backup generators. We weren't the only ones to have problems.

Travis Johnson over at Life Pointe in Homestead also dealt with no power on Sunday... although I'm sure they were calmer than I was!

Good to know other people were in the same boat we were!

The Demise of my Wife is Greatly Exaggerated

Several people have called very concerned about my wife. Since I haven't blogged about her return, saying she was home safely, she must not be okay.

Fearing the worse, since there have been no major plane crashes reported in the past couple days, her flight must have fallen into some space-time continuum (circe Michael Crichton novel "Airframe").

Or somehow she got trapped on an island in the South Pacific (nevermind that she was on an Atlantic flight) with these crazy people called "the Others" who are obsessed with women's reproductive organs and this smoke animal that eats all evil people (circe LOST, tv show).

Or she was never really in the Ukraine, and the Ukraine trip for the past 10 years has really been a cover for a secret government spy group that is trying to unravel a terrorist group called SD-6. Amy was rushed off to South America (Colombia to be exact) to battle toe-to-toe with her Arch Nemesis who was attempting to dethrone the American Economy by spoiling all the coffee beans (ie- no Starbucks, no economy). (Circe ALIAS, tv show).

Or, I'm going to go out on a limb here, we're both very tired. Amy's mother-in-law could have been in town for Amy's arrival on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then Amy and I could have spent Thursday up @ C28, and not really have had a chance to tell the world she's okay.

Whatever her "excuse" is, she will be posting on CFMissions.org very soon, and I'll let you know when it's up.

Thanks for those of you that continually check in. Seriously, thank you.

My wife is not, but I am...

Amy is finally coming home. She and the remainder of the Ukraine team will be coming home this evening, more specifically arriving at 10:30pm at MIA. I'm sure they will have many great testimonies and stories to share. And knowing Amy, after she sleeps Wednesday away (and probably part of Thursday) she'll be willing to share them.

It's been documented many, many, many times this month that I don't function well when Amy is out of town. Having her back will be a nice. It's funny. For years I've been striving for "normality". Just a simple year when everything runs like it's supposed to. No new companies. No special projects. No relocations. No job changes. Just normal, average, simple. I've recently discovered that normal doesn't exist. But at least having Amy back home makes abnormality a little sweeter.

Oh, and to the person that used Microsoft's LIVE SEARCH using the search terms "my wife is a jerk" and went to the #1 website listed... my blog of course... uh, yeah. I don't think my wife's a jerk. I'm the jerk. Not her. I wanted to take this opportunity to clear this up.

It's unfortunate that Microsoft thinks my blog is about "my wife is a jerk", but after all, it is Microsoft...
therefore inferior.

Babygirl, glad you're home.

Workaholic Jerk

I'm having a really bad week. The stress of Summer Retailing, coupled with increased involvement @ CF, amplified by my wife being out of town for 29 days... I felt like I was going to rip someone's head off today. Fortunately for many people, my temper survived the service (for the most part) in check.

While putzing around the search logs of my blog, I found something that I thought was cool, yet unfortunate. Evidently several people are finding RUNwithGOD.com by Googling "Workaholic Jerk". Yes, evidently when someone types "workaholic jerk" in Google, my site is listed. Better yet, of the 45,400 sites mentioning "workaholic jerk" I'm in the top 10. So in all the Internet, as of today I am officially the 8th best site on being a "workaholic jerk".

Sure, you may not think it's cool to be known as a jerk, but after the month I've had, I think it's time I recognize my problem. I am a workaholic. I am, when stressed, a jerk. And unfortunately, I don't see the stressload resolving anytime soon. So yes, for the next six months, I will be the "workaholic jerk". The good news by the time Google scans this article, I guarantee I won't be #8 anymore.

So to you, victims of the #8 best Workaholic Jerk on the Internet, I sincerely apologize.

My Mother Terrorizing the Blogosphere

Need to take this opportunity to welcome my mother, Linda Reed, to the blogosphere. It will be very interesting to hear her spin on the many things going on in her life. The blog is a "work in progress", and we'll let you know when it gets officially launched.

Visit her beta'd version at FullyGrateful.Typepad.com or subscribe to the RSS Feed here.

BYX vs. UFlorida

A week ago I posted a link to an article that discussed the fact that the University of Florida will not allow BYX (Beta Upsilon Chi - Brothers Under Christ), a Christian Fraternity, to exist on it's campus. (ABC/AP has also run a story). So what's UF's problem?

Well, BYX is getting hit from UF on two different fronts. According to UF:
1) BYX is not a "real" fraternity because it descriminates by religion (you have to be a Christian to be in BYX)
2) BYX is not a "real" student organization because it descriminates by sex (you have to be male to be in BYX)

This may not seem like a big deal, but this story caught my attention. For starters, I was in BYX @ TCU. I know the handshake. The philosophy. The history. The song. The code. The mantra. What I didn't like about BYX is that it was too ego-driven. Not evangelical. On the campus of TCU in the mid-90s, Spiritual Warfare was rampant. While other Christian orgs were on the front lines battling for souls, it felt like BYX was too busy to fight (instead, they were planning their next "exclusive" party...)

So, my initial reaction to BYX not being allowed into UF was "Good riddance!" I was even talking to a college buddy, recounting the frustrations with the organization, and found myself gloating over their apparent rejection.

Then I remembered a quote from an Episcopal Minister that I blogged on several months ago who accused a church with a skate park of "watering down of Christianity to make it more palatable." If you read my post, you will find that I was rather ticked at the Minister's quotes. Unfortunately, I find my thoughts of "Good riddence" lining up with the Ministers... so should I be ticked at myself?

Unconventional Ministry takes different forms, and while I don't agree with the practices of BYX on the TCU campus in the mid-90s, I do know several people involved in BYX that have gone on to do great things for the Kingdom. BYX reaches a niche that needs to be targeted on college campuses. And by doing things "unconventionally" they can target areas that a church or other student org may not be able to get to.

BYX is going into unchartered territory here. Most BYX chapters are located in Texas, with the remaining scattered over the Bible Belt states. The addition of UF in 2006 and University of Colorado in 2007, they're getting away from "Bible Belt" schools... which means different rules apply.

UFlorida slapped BYX in the face with this ruling. You're not a frat, and you're not a student organization. You're nothing! And with the rules in place (at a non "Bible Belt" school), I can understand their conclusion. This is where BYX needs to change. Are you going to let non-Christians in? Go evangelical? Are you going to tear down the gender barrier and redefine what a fraternity is?

Knowing what I do of BYX, I doubt it. Let me tell you what I would do. I would wear the UF ruling with pride. I would then become the thorn in the University's side.

Go militant. Go underground. Go crazy. You're the organization that UF won't acknowledge. Promote that. Publish that. Let that be your theme. Since you're not approved, you can't meet on UF campus. Find a house nearby. You can't hang up signs. Start a word of mouth campaign. Create a YouTube video announcement. Go viral! You can't get school funds. Find deep pocket alumni and sell them the vision. Drop the frat boy mistique. The Emerging Generation is largely considered anti-"organized religion". Aim, target, and recruit these kids. Become the bridge, the front door that connects them to God.

This thinking is "unconventional" thinking for an already "unconventional" ministry. I pray God opens a path for your ministry on UF campus, and that many will find God through BYX @ UF.

Top Ten Reasons Why I Miss My Wife

I've only mentioned it a couple times that my wife's on a mission trip to the Ukraine. This is an annual trek for her, and I've learned to adapt in her absence. Most people freak out when they hear that she's gone for a month. It's obviously difficult to function in a relationship when the other half is on another continent for a month straight, but we've learned to deal with it.

That being said, let me give you the Top Ten Reasons Why I Miss My Wife:

10) Jerk: Eleven months out of the year I'm a jerk. For the one month when she's gone, I'm a super-jerk. I'm sorry.

9) Meals: Notice I didn't say cooking. When she's around we eat nice meals. When she's gone I eat Ramen Noodles or soup for almost every meal. I'm sick of liquid-based food.

8) Fun: As much fun as seeing Transformers three times in a weekend is, she makes life better. Who do you think made me a Pro at Wii Boxing?

7) Sleep: Amy is a noisy sleeper. Mumbling. Chewing. Kicking. As you can imagine she keeps me up into odd hours. When she's not around, though, I never sleep. Ends up I need those noises after all.

6) Bills: She is the one that reminds me to pay the bills. I got really afraid when the power flickered today during a lightning storm that FPL was cutting the power off on me. I could almost hear Amy yelling at me from the other side of the world.

5) Beowulf: Our dog mopes when she's gone. He sleeps by the door and gets excited every time he hears a noise outside. (Ever see Return to Me? That's my dog!) It's not just him. It's me too!

4) Femininity: If you saw my PersonalDNA test I have NO FEMININE SIDE. Amy supplies that for me. Amy keeps me honest, and helps me deal with people (thus another reason when she's not around I'm a "super-jerk". See #10).

3) Communication: As much as I enjoy talking to my dog about how my day went, I really don't quite get the interaction that I'm looking for. Besides, he's asleep at the door (see #5). I know she doesn't really care about the latest Apple Rumor or technological tidbit I'll throw at her, but she pretends very well... much better than I do with her stuff!

2) Smile: I'll be honest. That's why I asked her out thirteen years ago. I remember when she walked in the room, smiling. Jealous? You should be.

1) Minutiae: It's the little things you miss. Her jestures. Her laugh. Her wink. The numerous tiny nuances that would drive someone else crazy, yet when they're not around I ache for.

Love you babygirl.

Rated "R" Revisited

About a week ago I blogged my frustration on how my blog was "Rated R", therefore innapropriate for those under the age of 17.

Well, it seems other Church Leaders are getting the "R" rating. Emerging Church Leader Dan Kimball (They Like Jesus, But Not The Church) writes on his blog that he, too, got the "R" rating. Us emerging people just don't know how to behave, do we?

Kimball also observes that Albert Mohler's blog is also "Rated R". Albert, you may recall, is the President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky. Albert is largely considered a conservative.

Point? At least if I'm "Rated R" I'm in the presence of good company! What's your blog rated?

Third Place. Fourth Place. Maybe Fifth Place.

I've found my "Third Place".

You may understand the social theory of "Third Place". If not, I'll give you the dummy version.

First Place is usually home, since you spend so much time there (hopefully sleeping). Second Place is usually work (as the next place you spend the majority of your time).

The question spanning the ages, is what's your Third Place?

Oh, did I mention there's a new Starbucks in Miami open at Old Cutler Road and 168th Street? This is about 3 minutes from my house, and 1 minute from Christ Fellowship. The sound you are hearing is Jeff slurping lots of Iced Coffee, Black, no cream, no sugar.

And truthfully, Starbucks is probably more of my Fifth Place.

First Place: Home
Second Place: The Living Word (work)
Third Place: Christ Fellowship (work)
Fourth Place: C28 WPB(work)

What's your Third Place?

PersonalDNA Test

Several bloggers I keep up with have been talking about a PersonalDNA test. And you know me, I love to hear what some random website thinks of me! This one considers me an "Animated Leader" based on a series of questions. The whole thing took about 30 minutes. Did it get me right? You tell me.

(mouseover the colors to see what they stand for)

Here's what the website thinks of me:
* Never one to be found in chic boutiques or trendy clothing stores, you take an extremely practical approach to getting dressed. (Well, I own a trendy clothing store, does that count?)

* Your independent streak allows you to make decisions efficiently and to trust your instincts

* You're not set on one way of doing things, and you often have the skills and persistence to find innovative ways of facing challenges.

* You are outgoing, comfortable with others, and up for anything, which makes you ANIMATED.

* You know the world is complicated and that there is often more than one side to a story, so you are careful not to make judgments about others too hastily.

* You would rather experience the world than sit back and observe it—you are not one to sit on the sidelines.

* You are an independent thinker and don't get too worried about how others might perceive you—you are not self-conscious about being the active, engaged person that you are.

Check out my full report, and then take the test yourself. Let me know what you got!

RUNwithGOD.com: Rated R

It seems that lately my blogs have more questions than answers...

I recently heard of an online tool that evaluates the text on your website, and gives you a rating like they do for movies (ie: G, PG, PG13, R). This evaluation is based soley on the words used on your page, and does not evaluate the context of your words.

I was not happy with the results.

Yes, my blog is Rated "R". I couldn't believe it. I'm a Christian writing about God, and my blog is Rated "R"? How does that work?

To quote the site:

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:
* crap (4x)
* hell (3x)
* death (2x)
* pissed (1x)

This is a rude awakening for me. By being so open and transparent through the blog, by writing the way my mind thinks, I completely offended the computer software. Eh, who cares about the computer. BUT, have I really offended people out there in the process? Are there people that don't like to hear "crap", although to quote my father "crap is in the dictionary... it means junk". While reading "pissed" doesn't offend the postmodern crowd as much as it does for an older generation, is it wrong for me to express myself using that word?

The Bible does not give us a list of "unacceptable words"... However, the Bible does say things about keeping the tongue from evil.

For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. I Peter 3:10

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. James 3:5-7

Honestly, I don't think my saying "pissed" led me to deceitful speech. Nor did saying "crap" corrupt my whole body... I really am not going to have any answers on this one. Just some ideas I'm batting around. But if you're "pissed" at me for saying "crap" please let me know.

Many of you don't know me personally. If you've met me, or read my blog, you know several things... first and foremost I am an imperfect man who is not worthy of the dust from my Master's feet, yet I will dedicate my life to my Master for His purposes. And if He can use an uneducated, stubborn, workaholic jerk like me, then He can do far more through you. Humbly, I ask that you continue to read my words as a man who is seeking to live a Practical Christian life in today's culture in society. Thank you, again, for your understanding.

Absence of Blogging

"They" say that Rule #1 in blogging is never apologize for your blog. Whether someone is upset at something you've said, or not said, a blogger is not to apologize for his views.

I haven't blogged in four days. While most bloggers are okay with one or two blog posts a week, I have put myself among people that blog 2-3 times a day. So a four day absence does seem extreme, considering I should have written 10-12 posts during my silence.

I got an e-mail from a reader/friend that put it all into context for me. So, for my first post since Tuesday, enjoy...

Subject: Complaint

I am writing to the leadership of the blog titled "Run with God".

As a loyal reader I have noticed that the timely posting of articles have decreased significantly. As someone who voted and supported the site as one of America's best. I am sadden that the leadership has decided to slow down it's posting of down to earth Christ based teachings.

The crazyiness of Jeff's life makes me realize that I can do more even when the rest of body says slow down.

If I may add an observation, I wonder if the cause of this failure to communicate is due to the true for