Best of 2008: Life Happenings

Yeahh....I guess not much happened. Or at least I didn't remember about things that did. Here are my top 5 events of 2008!

1. Receiving a personal letter from Millard Fuller after his wife, Linda, read my blog review on one of his books. This happened the same day as life happening #5. It was a thrill that someone I admired wrote me a letter based on what I perceived as my lowly blog. My blog had a wider influence than I realized. And that's how my life changed forever...no not really, but I was really excited. The Fullers also sent me a free copy of their new book.











2. Dismantled Shed #2 and Jackhammered the remains
It's fun to swing sledge hammers and it was exhausting but interesting to use a jackhammer fot the first time.




















3.New Year's in NC, and Elissa's wedding. We brought in new year at Jake and Trish's house along with almost the entire Mark and Susie family. We played Wii for the first time, and went to Hanging Rock National Park. Then we traveled to Knoxville, where I sang in Elissa and Martyn's wedding on January 4.



















4. Mayor's Christmas Tree Lighting. It is fun to randomly be somewhere and stumble upon something we wouldn't have gone to otherwise.













5. Medaling in volleyball. Yeah, it was bronze. But when you get 7 guys together who are pretty much horrible at sports and you still win a medal, it's a real thrill!

Me and Jazz Music

I just finished watching the PBS series Ken Burns jazz, which I think is 15 hours total. I think I started watching them around summer time. I thought that this merited a movie review post.

First, let me explain my history with jazz music.

I believe my first exposure to jazz was with Doug Talley, when jazz band was an after school activity at Trailridge Middle School. My instrument was trumpet at that time, and that is when Mr. Talley gave me the nickname Catfish. Then throughout high school my interest in jazz was kindled by listening to evening programs on public radio. Then finally, I joined up with Mr. Talley again my senior year of high school as the piano player for the jazz band.



In college, my lack of money or time, and the lack of jazz on public radio in central Kansas, led to me not making any progress in my appreciation of jazz. After college I continued at the same pace. Recently however, I picked up Internet jazz stations that have exposed me to new music and rekindled my love for the art.

As to why I like jazz, my only explanation is that certain performances touch my soul and stimulate my intellect. My own performance of jazz on piano leaves a lot to be desired, both technically and creatively. One of my life's goals is to be able to intellectualize jazz, and then be able to perform it. I am also working on learning jazz for bass guitar.

Movie Review: Elf

This 2003 movie is about a man in his 30s who was raised by elves in the North Pole. One day he overhears that he is a human and not an elf, and he goes on a quest to New York to find his father. Then he does a bunch of naive things that you wouldn't normally see a grown man doing...or any human in that case...and that situational humor keeps the movie going. Examples are wanting to hold his dad's hand, pouring syrup on everything (because syrup is a food group in the North Pole), being outraged that the real Santa isn't in the department store and getting in a fight with him! The end kind of falls flat like so many comedies do when they try to resolve the serious side of the plot. I would definitely watch it again, just to laugh at the funny parts.

We also liked the supporting actors - James Caan, of Godfather fame, played the father. And Zooey Deschanel plays Elf's love interest, and she wasn't dubbed on the songs. And it also has Bob Newhart as Elf's adoptive father in the North Pole.

Happy 28th Birthday Courtney!

We've been away from home all day at church and celebrating Courtney's birthday.

I am so proud of her. And when I say I'm proud, that includes but is not limited to how she has lost 30 pounds since summer. I thought it would be fun to post a picture of her on her half birthday - the 4th of July, to highlight her weight loss this year.

Fourth of July:




Today:


It has been a lifestyle change. We used to eat a lot of fatty foods, including cheese, ice cream, Wendy's, Chinese buffet, Mexican food, "Sunday morning doughnuts", etc. Weight Watchers has helped to manage the amount and type of food that she eats every week. We don't just eat salads all the time - we can still eat great meals.

I also used to somewhat drag Courtney to the gym, and now she is dragging me!

I love my wife for many other reasons as well, but time is winding down, and it's time to be rested for a new day of work. Happy 28th!

Restaurant Review: Nordstroms Cafe

For Dad and Courtney's birthday, mom took us to the Nordstroms Cafe in Oak Park Mall.

It's a cafeteria style. The guy made my Lime and Cilantro salad right in front of me. I would totally be nervous making a salad in front of someone. Courtney had a Chicken and Strawberry salad. And we both had tomato soup. Dad kept questioning the accuracy of the price of the meal, so I assume it was kind of pricey!

The bread eaters in the family had paninis, which is just another name for a sandwich in my opinion. The restaurant was just like a high end Panera, except you order your food at the various stations, then at the end you pay at the cash register. I found this to be really confusing at first, because I wasn't sure where to order a salad. There is still a server that helps you out at your table.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I think 2009 will be a great year. We're now getting ready for Courtney's birthday on Sunday.

Extended family on Courtney's mom's side

Cousins

Cousins

Grandma

Best of December 2008

Best Movie That I Saw for the First Time: Evan Almighty

Best Book I Read: The Cat Who Said Cheese

Best online video I watched for the First time: All I Want for Christmas

(Disclaimers: I didn't watch very many videos, and my true best video got disabled on YouTube. Enjoy!)



2nd place: Time Warp SawStop Table Saw on Discovery Channel



Picture(s) of the Month by our camera.

These were both taken by Courtney. (Cameras don't shoot things, people do!)

Top pic:





Other favorites:

Shawnee Bowl is now...Family Video

The Shawnee Bowl building burned down in 1997, and that lot has been a field until now. Development has started, and that spot will be a Family Video. That is less than a mile from our house, at about 65th and Nieman.



My first reaction was that it is doomed to fail. It is not a high traffic location and this seems to be a Blockbuster town - there is one less than a mile away. And those McDonalds boxes have been majorly cutting into that market. I did some research and found out that it's actually the 3rd largest video rental chain in the country. So that gave me some hope. We don't rent any movies at all, so we would rather have a field than a video rental store. There are two in the Greater Kansas City area, and four in Wichita, and several others in smaller Kansas towns.

Here is an article about the building:
http://www.shawneedispatch.com/news/2008/jan/08/video_store_plans_approved/

Here is an article about City Council resisting the plans:
http://www.shawneedispatch.com/news/2007/dec/18/developer_stopped_questions/

Here is an article about the family that started Shawnee Bowl in 1957:
http://www.shawneedispatch.com/news/2006/may/03/one_of_the/

Worst of 2008: Movies

This year, I'd like to also share the worst movies that I saw for the first time. This will be a top 4, and I'll reveal them one at a time.

1. Rush Hour 3 (2007). This part of the Rush Hour series takes place in France. I enjoyed the first two movies when I was in college. And I don't know if I changed or if the quality of the movies changed, but I think this is the worst movie I've ever seen.











2. Home Alone 3 (1997) Continuing the series with completely different actors, but same plot. It's the first movie we watched in 2008, and Curtis Taussig picked it out, because he finished his dinner plate first.










3. GiGi (1958) A rich sugar baron falls in love with a poor clumsy young girl. Overall, it was a bore (and a Best Picture winner).










4. The Client (1995). Based on the book by John Grisham. It made me upset how much of the book they rewrote.

Movie Review: Evan Almighty

This movie actually had nothing to do with Bruce Almighty, except that Steve Carrel, playing Evan, had a small role in Bruce Almighty. And that is a good thing, because I didn't care for Bruce Almighty too much. Bruce Almighty was about a TV reporter who suddenly had God's power. But Evan Almighty is about a brand new congressman, and God suddenly tells him to build an ark.

Evan Baxter has to come to grips with how God is intruding into his life to have him build an ark. At first he is resistant, and then embarrassed and ashamed in front of the modern world and his family, and finally resolute in building the ark. Seeing this on film was a great way to visualize how it must have been for Noah thousands of years ago.



This movie was hilarious, thanks mostly to a great cast of actors, headed up by Steve Carrel (of the Office) and Morgan Freeman. I don't remember laughing out loud so much watching a movie any time recently. It was also family-friendly - nothing embarrassing that I can remember. It is also really cool how it filmed live animals, because it is after all about Noah's Ark. We watched the special features, and it was neat how they made an effort to be "green" by planting trees and donating materials to Habitat for Humanity. Also, the effort that went into making Evan's realistic beards was amazing. They spent 4 hours every morning putting a realistic beard on him.

Funeral for a coworker's wife

The wife of the COO at my work passed away last weekend. She was only 36 when breast cancer took her life. I invite you to check out her blog http://loloplunkett.blogspot.com/, and the obituary here.

I attended the funeral on Friday. I held back tears at the very beginning during the picture slideshow, with the pictures of her family. But immediately afterwards, when the pastor read Scripture about Christ beating death and winning for us eternal life, I couldn't completely contain myself. Courtney says she never sees me cry, but she wasn't there to see. This brought back memories of when I was in college, and I attended the Overland Park Mayor's Breakfast. When a music professor with a rich baritone voice sang The Lord's Prayer, I just could not contain my tears for probably 10 minutes. That is the only time I really remember weeping. Sometimes in rare moments the Holy Spirit touches my heart, and this time it happened at the funeral of someone I had never met.

Me as Prophet Isaiah

I did some Theater for the first time in 10 years, giving four lines as the Prophet Isaiah in the church's choir cantata. I knew a costume was involved, but when I showed up I was told that makeup was part of the deal. It smelled like crayons, but it definitely contributed to a more realistic part!

Here was my line, which I memorized:

Prepare the way for the Lord.
Make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up, and every mountain and hill made low.

The rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.

And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it.

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Here are more pictures:

Book Review: The Cat Who Said Cheese

This was our first Cat Book read since May, because the series had bored us out.  And we may wait a while until the next one.  It was really good though, how it tied together several things to make a mystery.  

Movie Review: Bourne Ultimatum

We watched the first two Bourne movies in preparation of watching Bourne Ultimatum for the first time.  

It was fast paced, and included some neat twists.  Bourne has a good heart, and we finally learn, along with him, how he became an assassin.

Murder a mile away

Last week, on the way back from the gym (which is about a mile away), we noticed a news truck parked outside of an apartment complex. So we turned on the news, and found out there had been a murder. The first murder in our city in 3 years. A 21-year old woman was found dead in her apartment. Her family called the police after she didn't show up at Thanksgiving. And her 23-year old boyfriend with a criminal past was nowhere to be found. The suspect was found in Texas a couple days later, after setting his car on fire. We thought it was really stupid to do that, and bring attention to himself, but not complaining. One of his previous crimes was setting his ex-wife's car on fire.

The owners of the apartment complex are close to mom and dad, so we were able to get some of the inside details. Although I know a lot of the circumstances, it's not quite enough information for me to understand why the murder took place, other than it must have been an act of rage. This murder is distant from all logic. For example, if you want to kill someone, why are you dating them? Also, what good does it do to you or anyone by killing someone?

Best of November 2008

Best Movie That I Saw for the First Time: The French Connection

Best New-To-Me Restaurant: didn't go to any

Best Life Happening: Christmas Tree Lighting

Best Book I Read: Freakonomics

Best online video I watched for the First time: Eva Cassidy



2nd place: Digital Conversion PSA
My YouTube link got disabled, so I have to send you to this site.

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1832247


Picture(s) of the Month by Courtney.

This was was actually taken by me.

Courtney tried on her wedding dress again before getting it professionally boxed up. She looked really good!

KC Mayor's Christmas Tree Lighting

I got some nice blog fodder when we went to our "spot" to read at Union Station. We saw the huge miniature train sets, and walked the Link, and went to Crown Center where there was a gingerbread house set up. Then we happened to stumble upon the Christmas Tree lighting celebration. They were about to light the mayor's Christmas Tree for KC MO in 30 minutes. So we stuck around. We sat right in front of the tree. First there was a really bad band playing, and then the KC Symphony Chorus sang too many songs. A few people said a few words. Some one gave us some candles and lit them. So finally, about an hour later, we counted down and the lights came on, and then there was a fireworks show.




Here's some pics from the KC Star:

Thanksgiving at Bades

We got to have Thanksgiving at my in-laws and my parents went as well! Mo was not able to make it because of work, and she went to Manhattan over the weekend to spend time with relatives. Courtney's brother Ryan was there, but left before the picture was taken

It was nice to stay in town and sleep in. The food was excellent. And I loved how it provided my parents to connect with Courtney's parents and brother.

I got an awesome gluten-free flourless cake out of the deal that Kenny picked up from Whole Foods!

The cats also enjoyed the time because the dogs were boarded up for the day

24 New Season

We watched the 2 hour preview of the next season of 24. Actually about 20 minutes of it was spent standing still holding the antenna when the picture suddenly got bad.

The subject was gripping, and involved child soldiers in Africa and an impending genocide. It honestly made me want to write a check to someone who can help the child soldiers currently in the world.

The 2 hour preview was genius, fascinating, gripping, frightening, and relevant. I think it will turn out to be an awesome season when it starts up in January

See http://www.fox.com/24/dossier/

*Edit - To "help" the child soldiers means to help to improve the situation so that they are no longer child soldiers! Also, I am not too naive to think that writing a check would solve a complex situation. I am just expressing that the episode aroused sympathy within me.

Book Review: Freakonomics

Book: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
Authors: Steven D Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Year: 2005

• This book has to do a lot about analyzing mounds of data to find trends, which is a lot of what my company does every day.
• Steven D. Levitt was the economist that found all of the cool trends, and the other guy is a professional author who made the book easier to read.
• The reason why crime went down in the late 90s as provided by this book is astounding, a moral dilemma. Courtney wants to read this book, so I can't really spell out that reason here.
• This book has a lot of great information about crime: how drug sales in gangs work, why crack cocaine became popular, and conventional thinking about why crime went down in the 90s.
• This book theorizes that who a parent is (demographics) has more to do with how a child will end up than what a parent does. And it claims that parenting does not matter as much as people think it does. And it has data to back it up.

So in summary, analyzing data to come up with conclusions that defy conventional wisdom means that this book is good.

Movie Review: The French Connection

Featuring Gene Hackman, this is a movie about drug cops making a huge drug bust. I really liked it. the music was eerie. There were some slow parts, but it was otherwise riveting. My heart was beating fast at many points.

The ending was the worst ending of a Best Picture Winner since Marty (1955). This one was Best Picture in 1971. Next up is the Godfather.

The sad thing is that the ending was on the cusp of greatness. It was just the very end that was bad where the bad guy got away. This was probably because it was based on a true story.

Just to be prudent, I'll mention that there is profanity and drug-related content.

This is the famous car chase scene, but don't watch it if you're going to watch the movie later.

Movie Review: Hello Dolly!

This was nominated for Best Picture in 1969. Barbra Streisand is my least favorite outspoken Hollywood liberal, and I don't know why! But she did great in this movie. Her character, Dolly, is quite garrulous and therefore annoying at times. But that was how it was supposed to be, and she played it well.

This movie had really long dancing and singing scenes - very entertaining. It doesn't quite have the charm that other musicals have, maybe because there aren't very many good songs.

I related the story to Courtney about how our family sang "Hello, Dolly", but switched the words to "Hello, Family". We sang it at a Taussig family reunion. Instead of being impressed as I expected, Courtney didn't understand why we would embarass ourselves at a family reunion by singing. Then to try to make things better, I told her about how my parents did the "Little Man skit". And then how we had the reunion t-shirt. But that did not help Courtney to understand. Anyway, "Hello, Dolly" will always make me think of "Hello, Family".

Thoughts from events surrounding the funeral

We had the funeral Thursday for Aunt Therese, and I served as a pallbearer. That was my first experience as pallbearer, also it was my first time at a Catholic funeral. I also rode in a limo for the first time, to assist with getting the pallbearers to the right places, but it was cramped. And it was really quiet of course since we were grieving. I'm glad I got to ride in a limo, but it was not awesome or anything.

My eyes teared up as the preacher, who knew Therese, shared his personal thoughts about her. He said as a silversmith puts silver to the fire so that it shines, God used suffering in Therese's life to make Christ shine more brightly. And he said, "And guess what? It did." Also special was when he shared that the real miracle at work was that Therese had the opportunity to participate in the resurrection, which Christ obtained for us through his sufferings.

It was the first family funeral I have attended in a very long time (I think since I was 9?) . The part that most brought closure was the time right before the casket was closed. The priest had a short religious service, and then one-by-one, we walked to the casket to say goodbye. The attendant had us leave the room before he closed the casket.

I am probably the only person in the family with no exposure to the Catholic faith. This was clear when I said the Lord's Prayer incorrectly, and when I did not know any of the liturgy except for the Lord's Prayer that I messed up! I wanted to experience the Rosary on Wednesday night, and to me it was unusual, but I understand the comfort it can bring to some Catholics.

The occasion was sad, but I appreciated seeing the Bade side of the family - it's a great extended family! On Wednesday night we had dinner at one of Bades' house. And a lot of the time was spent talking about and drinking beer. But at my own extended family gatherings, beer would be a bad word, and if beer showed up, that would be something to talk about! It's just families with their own set of values and I am thankful that I am part of both families.

Politics of Image

I am probably one of the last to realize the importance of image in politics. I should have known in the beginning that John McCain didn't have a chance against the young and popular Barack Obama.

I think now that political issues keep a candidacy valid, and negative gotchas can energize a base, but in the end the person with the most likeability wins. I can support this back to how far I can remember

• Bush 41 vs. Clinton - Clinton was the young energetic guy that Obama is now
• Clinton vs. Dole - Dole was the old guy, kind of having parallels to McCain
• Bush 43 vs. Gore - Gore suffered second hand from the image problems that Clinton had. Plus he was famous for being boring. He did win the popular vote, but lost his own state.
  
• Bush 43 vs. Kerry - I don't know how Kerry got selected, but he was the most unlikeable candidate for Pres I can remember. Dems blame his loss on Swift Boat, but that is not the reason.
• Obama vs. McCain- we all are familar with this one
• Obama vs. ? - It's hard to imagine that Obama will lose unless his image gets banged up because of unlikeable performance of some kind
  

I think Bush has damaged the image of Republicans in general. He didn't seem do anything that he promised to do, except persevere in Iraq and nominate good judges.

Best of October 2008

Best Movie That I Saw for the First Time: Patton - only one we watched

Best New-To-Me Restaurant: Grandstand Burgers

Best Life Happening: Manhattan trip

Best Book I Read: Presence-Centered Youth Ministry

Best online video I watched for the First time: Lyre Bird - Imitating Sounds - David Attenborough



2nd place: Horse Dancing




Picture(s) of the Month by Courtney. There were so many good ones, it was tough to choose.

Top pic:




Other favorites:

Obituary for Therese Bade

I'll try to post a couple of pictures as well.

http://www.legacy.com/KansasCity/DeathNotices.asp?Page=Notice&PersonID=119697709



Therese is the 3rd person from right in this picture.

Book Review: Beginning SQL Server 2005 Administration

I am realizing that I'm really strange that I read these tech books all the way through. There is really no point to do that, other than getting an information blitz. This has some nice info about how SQL Server 2005 works behind the scenes. I also got some great info about emailing messages from a SQL script. Otherwise, it was more for a full-time administrator. I am technically more of an ETL programmer at this point.


These book covers are horrible. I think the middle guy's beard is photoshopped, otherwise it is impressively full.

Restaurant Review: La Fiesta

For the sake of how I always do this on my blog, I thought i'd mention that we went to a restaurant named La Fiesta in Manhattan. It was an average Mexican restaurant

Book Review: The House that Love Built, by Bettie B. Youngs

The founders of Habitat for Humanity, Millard and Linda Fuller, sent me this book after reading my previous blog post about a previous book that Millard wrote. Here is my original post Linda got into contact with Courtney through some links on my site, and they sent me a personal letter and a free book by surprise!

Their personal letter stated "you may not be aware" that they are no longer part of Habitat for Humanity. Indeed I wasn't. They said that the book explained how that happened.

As I began reading the book, I was happy that it included a bio of Millard and Linda's early life. Millard was a total entrepreneur, and he and a business partner thought of many great ideas. Before the age of 30, they were millionaires. Meanwhile, Millard and Linda's marriage was suffering. They made a faith decision to give away all of their money and assets and to see what God had for them.

The book then goes into detail about how Habitat for Humanity started, and I don't really want to go into all of that on the blog. Habitat for Humanity grew exponentially as a ministry from the 80s into the turn of the century.



In the early 90s, there started to be some power struggles within the Habitat corporate office. Habitat attracted a lot of corporate minds, who started to take offense at Millard's spiritual approach. They wanted higher executive salaries, offices in Atlanta, and to try to manage the growth instead of continuing to expand quickly. They may have had good points, but instead of discussing the issues at hand in a mature way, they tried to bring down Millard by accusing him of things. And then in 2004, the Fullers were eventually fired in a very disgraceful manner from the organization they lovingly started and grew. Habitat changed all of the locks immediately, and put guards at the door, as if the founders were criminals. The Habitat affiliates around the world had no idea what happened. This book was to get the record out. It also made me angry and upset - although that is not the intention of the book, it is probably a natural response to it. Since I got so emotional about this, it made me wonder if I should be involved in some sort of housing ministry.

The Fullers went on to form the Fuller Center for Housing, which raises money for housing projects (including Habitat) and they have some of their own building projects. I would be more inclined to support Fuller Center than Habitat after learning more about the situation. The Habitat International Board did in fact hire a new CEO with a lot of corporate experience and not much apparent ministry experience.

Manhattan Trip Top Ten

10. Ice Cream at Call Hall
9. Seeing the Union Station Parking Garage under construction.
8. Time with the family at Mark and Susie's for Grandma's birthday
7. Watching K-State womens volleyball team slam Texas Tech with Mark and Susie. I almost wished they'd struggled so that we could be there longer than an hour!
6. Nav Night - open mic for students about their experiences at the Main Event conference
5. Disc golf at Tuttle Creek with excellent weather.
4. Piano Concert with an unobstructed view of the pianist's hands about 6 feet away - A K-State prof played Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, and Prokiev. All memorized. Incredible. G&G also loved it, and said it would be a good memory for them.



3. Visit with the Satzlers at their acreage. Catching up with them. Going down to the creek. Randomly meeting Doug Peterson -friend of the Satzlers. Come to find out he went to Shawnee Mission Northwest in 1982, then come to find out he grew up in Colony Woods, then come to find out he lived on Rosehill 2 houses down from the pool. Imagine that!
2. Hang out at the Deavers
1. Randomly running into people we didn't expect to see (Gavin and Janice, Chris Morton (3 times) + girlfriend, Becky Szcezny, Rachel Thornburg + boyfriend, Courtney Jensen.


Worst part of the trip Top Three?

3. Trying to play disc golf on a tree course. The trees weren't labeled and we couldn't figure out the map. We couldn't get through even 2 holes!
2. The sound of springs at slightest movement in bed
1. Oyster stew concentrated, mixed with soy milk.

...For more pictures see Courtney's Facebook!...

Voting Thoughts

For local elections, my main question is "what is this job anyway?". I don't even know the roles and responsibilities of a county commissioner, or an education board person, or a sheriff.

That will be my ambition before the next election- to find out what these things are anyway.

The second question I have is, does Republican and Democrat have anything to do with this person's job? Instead of being partisan, can I find out who is more qualified? Does it matter if someone is pro-life on the county commission board?

Third, there isn't much non-partisan information out there. Finding out more information is a chore.

Manhattan Trip 2008

We just returned from a wonderful visit to Manhattan KS... I can't write about it right now, because I am de-packing while listening to baseball.

Movie Review: Patton

This Best Picture Winner of 1970 was kind of a monologue - not too many other people had lines than Patton! Patton prayed on his knees and cussed like a sailor, and believed in reincarnation. And he was really full of himself. That makes for a really interesting character study.

The pre-computer age of special effects were impressive. Dozens of tanks were blown up, so it seems. The movie was not graphic in terms of blood like Saving Private Ryan.

This was not really my favorite movie, but I think it is a good war movie. Best picture winners continue to provide for some of our historical education.

An interesting thing is that Patton was reprimanded for slapping a soldier, and almost kept out of the European Front because of it. I wasn't aware that political correctness went back to 1970. Not that I condone what he did. I love the line from the German official, "Don't believe their newspapers - they would never keep their best general out of the war just for slapping a soldier." And eventually Patton got back into it, because they needed an aggressive general to press into Germany.

Book Review: Presence-Centered Youth Ministry, by Mike King

This book is the only book I've read that is written by a friend of mine. Mike King is the President of YouthFront, who is the employer of Courtney. But YouthFront is much more than my wife's employer, because it is an integral part of our spiritual lives. When Courtney no longer works for them, we will continue to be involved with YouthFront.

Mike is an easy-going guy, always bringing a smile to my face. Also, he is very deep and smart, and I admit I can't understand everything he says. However, this book, Presence-Centered Youth Ministry doesn't use too many big words.


Mike leading a time of prayer when Courtney went to Israel


The concepts put forth in this book are not entirely new to me, because I have been around YouthFront, but to many people they would probably be shocking. The book decries how our youth workers, instead of being spiritual guides, have become event coordinators, comedians, superstars, and the like. (I know that when I was the Youth Intern at CCC in 2002, it saddened me that we did not talk much about spiritual things. But that is usually the nature of summer youth ministry.) We did not provide youth the space to experience God for themselves. We just told them what we thought we should say, or told them to be quiet while we were talking, or entertained them.

Mike's desire is to connect kids with spiritual practices that are centuries old - time of silence and solitude, imaginitive Scripture reading, various postures, ancient prayers of the saints. And Mike doesn't encourage suddenly introducting these to youth. He encourages adults to practice these for themselves and slowly integrate them into the youth group. I know that when I was a youth I would have loved this format, and would have invited my friends to youth group. I think it's a great way to go.




This book has impacted me, because I have started to pray at least once daily now. I have been practicing silence and solitude. When I wake up I find a comfortable place to sit. I softly sing a worship song. I think of a topic and spend time in prayer, praying for myself, others, and/or needy people around the globe. I would like to add a liturgical prayer to end my time, but I don't know any. I would like to do this 2-3 times per day. It was easy for me to understand the process, because I have experienced this at the Altar and other events with YouthFront. I have already been blessed by doing this, by having my thoughts of the day beginning with God. I connect with the Lord, and with the needs of others.


I have been burned out by thinking spiritual disciplines had to look a certain way. Mike's suggestions have brought a renewal to my spiritual life. I find that I never read books more than once, but I might peek back at this one for more inspiration.

Weekend of Rebekah's wedding

The weekend was surreal, overwhelming, and satisfying. I disposed of my rocks with Dad, Martyn and Lindon. Had many family gatherings. Attended a beautiful wedding ceremony. Had ice cream with Courtney and went to the office complex where music plays with a fountain. Had church in Theater in the Park with the entire congregation. We had our first Sunday with Pastor Johan as our official Senior Pastor. Watched Courtney sign to "How Great is Our God". And had lunch with the church family. Worked out at the gym and watched baseball. Then I pretty much slept the rest of the weekend.

Book Review: Football for Dummies

I enjoy watching football, but do not really talk about it Even this weekend, people were rattling off their opinions about various college football matchups. I didn't even know who K-State was playing until Friday afternoon. I can K-State's coach and the quarterback and one receiver, but that is all. So I pretty much have a surface level interest in football. I like to know who won or lost, and how badly.

I thought maybe if I knew more details about football, I would be more interested. Football for Dummies is written by Howie Long, who played on defense in the NFL. So this book is pretty good at describing defensive schemes and players. I really got a lot out of the defense section.

It is good to know more about it, and I truly have enjoyed watching it a bit more, now that I have read more about it. But I don't think I be able to discuss much more when people are chatting about it, because I am still not passionate about the sport.

Restaurant Review: Grandstand Burgers

They serve pretty much the greasiest food available, as evidenced by the menu http://www.grandstandburgers.com. The building is the smallest I've ever seen for a restaurant. There is not any room to eat or stand in line. If you don't want to wait, call ahead. I went with some coworkers and we ate in the park.

But it was pretty much the best bun-less burger I've had in a long time.

Political doom

I have been following politics closely for only about 4 years, and I have become more patriotic and knowledgeable during this time. Talk radio has been a useful tool, not for indoctrination, as some may think, but for a source of well thought out knowledge and opinion.

Anyway, for the first time in that time frame, I feel a sense of doom for my side. McCain, after getting a boost from the Republican convention, has made many missteps, and has frankly made a fool of himself. The ultimate foolishness was threatening to cancel the debate, and then suspending his campaign until the fiscal crisis was solved, and then changing his mind on both things. And then he has had pretty much no visible impact on the financial crisis.

Best of September 2008

We only watched one new movie this month, but I managed to finish 5 books.

Best Movie That I Saw for the First Time: Midnight Cowboy

Best New-To-Me Restaurant: Maui Express

Best Life Happening: The Altar 2008

Best Book I Read: Doctor Zhivago

Honorable Mention Book: Messages
Best online video I watched for the First time: Derek Paravacini - The Musical Genius




Picture(s) of the Month by Courtney. Actually mom took this, but it was our camera! Taken on 9/1/08 at Family Labor Day.

The Altar 2008

Courtney and I attended a contemplative retreat at YouthFront Camp South called The Altar. You may have heard about this before, because I have attended 4 times now. The weekend has gotten long for me in the past, so this time I drove down on Saturday morning, and stayed until Sunday.

The theme of the weekend was modern day slavery and fair trade, and how being Christians means that we should think about these things. We had regular times of solitude and prayer, and the Scripture read in that time was from Isaiah. It told from God's point of view that he doesn't appreciate as much as we do our religiosity and worship, and the real kind of worship he would like is to see us freeing those in chains, feeding those with hunger, etc. This was convicting. But I still struggle with what exactly I can/should do about this.

We had a speaker that told us that God only expects us to offer up our limited resources. The boy with the fish and loaves offered them up, and God was able to use it. So I would like to inventory what skills exactly I would have to offer.

For more details check out Mike King's blog inthe links on the right.

New Pastor of Community Covenant

99.2% of the congregation voted Yes to call Johan Tredoux to be our Senior Pastor. I was among those who have voted yes. He is wise, mature and is a good leader. And he is also reaching out to others, and we interact with him on Facebook. Also, we will be one of the only churches in town with a native of South Africa as our pastor.

Any redeeming thing about this?

My wife came across this publication.

I have many questions about this

• Could this be used to instruct someone how to get to heaven, and facilitate their salvation decision moment? If yes, is it worth the damage that could be done by this publication?
• Is this publication inappropriate?

This is probably the most inappropriate page to me, showing the kids suffering in hell.

Smoking represents sin here. What would you have chosen? I think it's funny that the cigarette is pointing the wrong way, and the cigarette box is bigger than his abdomen. Well I suppose the cigarette is facing the right way if he is offering it to the kids.




My overall opinion about this is that even though most of the message is true, it is provoking and not culturally appropriate. Plus it uses fear to pressure people to make a shallow decision to believe in Christ. A convert will believe just enough to escape the flames of hell, but not undergo any significant heart change. My theology of hell is not completely clear . I am not sure that there will be huge flames and kids. That is where I question the truth of the material.

Book Review: Auto Upkeep: Basic Car Care, Maintenance and Repair

I wanted to learn more about some car parts. I am primarily a book learner, and I don't really learn much elsewhere. So I thought I'd check out a book
I am not sure who exactly the intended audience is - a high school class? It repeatedly has an introduction, then the meat, and then conclusion, just like all of those textbooks from high school.

It has a section on purchasing a car, on fueling a car, as if the reader dropped from a different planet. It has a small section describing floor mats, with a picture. It has a picture of a chammy and one of a gas cap.

But it did have some descriptions of car parts, as I was looking for. I am not sure if I will remember all of it, but it did help.

Restaurant Review: Mr. Gyro's

For the first time, I went to that restaurant I've seen so often on the corner of 83rd and Metcalf. We went with some friends, and would have otherwise never gone. They don't have anything in terms of gluten free food, but I ate the contents of a KC Strip Steak gyro. Courtney ordered something that took about 20 minutes to make, but they said 10 minutes. So that was kind of disappointing. The food was average. Price was pretty good.

Afterwards we went to Foo's Fantastic Frozen Custard around 95th and Mission. We shared chocolate with chocolate fudge and chocolate chips. It was excellent. I would go again.

Book Review: Ministry Momentum: How to Get It, Keep It, and Use It in Your Church, by Wayne Schmidt

We read this book as part of our Community Covenant round table discussions. It also accompanies Pastor Johan's sermons on the book of Joshua.

The book wasn't really interesting to me. It was not targeted toward a specific type of church, so it tried to cover every angle. The author had a lot of wisdom though. It just wasn't really impactful. Is my life going to be different, or am I going to think differently about things now? Not really. This book may be more for pastors or the power leaders of churches.

Character-less sports moves

I think it is wrong to fire a successful manager with 12 games left, just because a team might get close to the playoffs for once, but actually not make the playoffs. The Milwaukee Brewers did this recently. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3589405. He is now robbed of any chance to see the fruit of his labors.

Plus, it's not cause and effect anyway. As if a manager being fired will suddenly cause a team to win.

This also happened with Nebraska football when Frank Solich was fired during a successful season. It was just less successful than Nebraska tradition. His replacement was much worse, and has now been fired. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1674143

Sonseed found!

http://dougsploitation.blogspot.com/2008/09/dougsploitation-news-exclusive-sal-of.html

US government irresponsible

The US govt should let the free market take course. Companies that have made very bad decisions and have failed are essentially being saved by the government.

If no one else wanted to help these failing companies because of common sense, why would I want tax dollars doing this? The economy would have adjusted after a period of time. I'm not convinced that period of time would have even been very difficult. Most importantly, companies would learn from their mistakes and not have an enabler in the US govt. We need a true conservative in the White House, who is sadly neither of the candidates nor the current President.

Mike Sweeney retires

Here is a good article about Mike Sweeney's last day as a professional baseball player:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080909&content_id=3444178&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Movie Review: Midnight Cowboy

Midnight Cowboy won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1969.

It was quite creative, and was emotionally powerful. It made a lot of use of the flashback (or dream sequence) technique. I felt that even though these were filmed well, it sometimes was not clear what was happening. There was a lot of nudity, more than I'm used to seeing in films - maybe the most I've seen, but only a couple of the instances might be called gratuitous.

The two principal actors were great - Jon Voight playing Joe Buck, and Dustin Hoffman playing Ratso. Joe Buck is pretty much an idiot that leaves his dishwashing job in Texas to be a hustler in New York City. Later in the film, we find out that he has dealt with the lack of a father figure and with scarring memories of a rape situation. He goes to New York City to be a prostitute. I had misread that he was a gay prostitute, but he was actually heterosexual, or wanted to be. He doesn't really have success, and ends up living with a sickly con artist in an abandoned building. The con artists becomes his manager, but they don't have much success.

I didn't like how there were basically 2 songs in the movie. I was ready to not be hearing them by the end. I didn't like the scene with the religious wacko. That was weird. there were some parts with really good humor. And parts where I was very tense.

I thought it was a good picture of the lowest of the low in our culture - you don't even see their pain or know them. They're hanging out in abandoned buildings in total poverty. It's not for the faint of heart though, so take caution if you are sensitive to nudity or sexual themes and scary sequences. I have mixed feelings about wehre this will go into my movie ranking.

Book Review: Doctor Zhivago

I don't know how I originally heard about this one, but I'm glad I picked it up. Only at the end did I realize that it was sad the whole time. But it was quite poetic and interesting throughout so and the tragedy of it didn't bother me.

It starts out with the principal characters as children, and pretty much progresses through their entire lives. Early on they are happy, and then sad, and then happy again. Then a war takes place, which disrupts everyone's lives. Then the Revolution takes place, which is initially welcome, but then socialism didn't work out according to ideals.

Ultimately, it's a story about how bad everything got during the Revolution. People went to the barter system, because money was worthless. People had to hide their crops to keep it from going as a quota to the government. Arrests were made just for disagreeing with the government. And there was unbelievable violence.

It is very well written, even though it is a translation. I have a few other Russian books to read: Brothers Karamazov, War and Peace, and the Communist Manifesto.

Labor Day 2008

We had the Gras Labor Day get together in Hoyt KS. I never seem to want to write at length about it afterward, maybe because most of my blog readers were there. Also, it would take a lot of time to completely describe the weekend.

I uploaded pictures to Facebook. I've been struggling with finding the best way to display large groups of pictures on the blog. It seems to be the most practical way to display them on Facebook, even though I can't use it to put a slide show on my blog. But here are a couple of my favorites:

Book Review: QBQ!

This was kind of inspiring. Instead of asking questions about Why and When, instead ask questions How and What. Such as "What can I do about this situation?" QBQ stands for the Question Behind the Question.

Many of the chapters are 1 page. It was apparently written for people with extremely short attention spans. There were a few good stories about people who exhibited personal responsibility. None of those people had read the book QBQ, thus proving that the book is not really necessary.

But still, it has challenged me when I have caught myself asking the wrong questions.

It is a very short book, but still has 20 chapters. It is actually more like a pamphlet than a book.

Some people I have worked with in the past have had an attitude of blame and they asked many Why or Who questions. And they are not here anymore, because it was not possible for them to thrive in an environment where personal responsibility is necessary. We are a lean hard working machine.

Aunt Jean's Gelato

We met some friends for gelato at Aunt Jean's Gelato in downtown Shawnee. It was nice to be supporting our new hometown of Shawnee. We are developing a loyalty to Shawnee for no apparent reason. We live less than a mile away from Lenexa and less than a mile from Merriam.

The gelato is great. You should go there sometime!

Restaurant Review: Maui Express

I had wanted to go to this place for a while, because it is clearly gluten-free. But I hadn't really had a good opportunity to try it out. Dad and I went together during lunch break. I wasn't sure if they would have a place to sit, but they did, and there was Hawaiian music playing in the background. The cashier was wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

It is similar to Chipotle, but specializes in bowls. The bowls have grilled vegetables, rice, and meat and a mild sauce. The portion is smaller than Chipotle (which is good for you), and the price is lower. The sauce may have had gluten but I didn't worry about that, because there was not much sauce and it wasn't a thick sauce.

I could see myself going there a lot. Maybe it will rival Taco Bell as my favorite quick restaurant around work.

Best of August 2008

Best Movie That I Saw for the First Time: Poseidon

Best New-To-Me Restaurant: Kyoto

Best Life Happening: Burlington IA Trip

Best Book I Read: The Hobbit

Honorable Mention Book: It's Called Work for a Reason
Best online video I watched for the First time: The Artist With No Eyes



Picture(s) of the Month by Courtney. A picture from Crapo Park in Burlington, IA. I think it's an excellent angle and zoom. A larger view of the picture is more effective.

Book Review: Messages

This was a nice book on communication skills. It really tackles the subject in a realistic way. I felt like I learned a few things, but might benefit from reading it again or by buying the workbook.