believe it or not, we have a stonehenge in the hill country

after walking around the place for a while it seemed that this place was just going to lead us directly to the drug store to purchase the iraqi desert value sized jug of chigger-tox. however before we left we did seem to find some treasure in big bubba.

it seems that big bubba had a belly button after all. now that's a nugget i didn't learn from my world history days. way to go small fry ty for finding this jewel.

in case you have missed the humor that this guy brought to the iraq conflict, here is some more of the iraqi information minister. i almost hope to see this guy again sometime. he is almost as good at telling lies as bill clinton is, but Mo has the cool hat.

enjoy

this week has been very difficult and humbling at best. you see, in my professional life i've always been somewhat of a big fish in a small pond and even at times i was blessed to be a big fish in a big pond - that's the way i like it. with all the new ownership changes at my job now, i am pretty much a small fish in a large ocean or in my eyes, the worst of all possible combinations. in case you are wondering what started all of this...we migrated to a different network this week and many of us, including myself, have lost complete control and ownership of the local network responsibilities. being self reliant to figure out my own problems or getting the "thank you"s from resolving someone elses, is gone. i now have to call an 800 number and ask for help...just like everyone else.

to some degree i guess that's where i am in my spiritual life. i go through cycles of being completely self reliant and get somewhat frustrated when i have to rely on God for anything, even though i know he can fix everything if i just talk to him. it's kinda like the old testament stories of the israelites when they'd see God part the waters of the red sea and then they'd scream because they didn't have anything to eat or drink. why couldn't they just live a simple life of trust and faith? i've always thought how foolish these people were, and sometimes now i find myself doing the same things.

i'm just grateful that the Father can use things in my life to allow me to see myself from a distance to see what's right and what's not. to allow me to see the stupid things i do and feel. for whatever reason, i know that i will have to keep learning this lesson my whole life until i give in and give up and live by complete trust and faith myself. maybe i should cut those israelites some slack.

anyway, at least the Father is still teaching me. when i stop learning and growing then i guess that's when i'll start getting worried. in the mean time i i'll start calling on Him more and trusting Him to be strong in my weakness and i guess i'll have to learn that 800 number for network support.

well we've nuked another building in kerrville this week. a very simple, non-theatning office supply store close to the center of town was leveled.

intermission. (i'll come back to this one...i'm still thinking about what i want to say)

in the meantime, go read my wife's stuff or maybe take a look at my buddies lora and the other kerri - spelled with an "i" in case you are confused. :)

ode to a lawnmower

spent a little quality time with my lawnmower this morning before attempting to cut my 3' tall grass (not an exaggeration) so i wrote a poem about it. by the way, i eventually borrowed a mower from someone else and then made plans to take mine to the shop next week. here goes (don't laugh)

carburetion
calibration
frustration.

conflagration
devastation
libation.

code me baby

i heard music to me ears this week when my beloved sent me an email at work telling me she wanted to learn some html code - i got goose bumps all over and got that new-in-love feeling all over again. isn't there a saying that says the couple that codes together stays together? maybe not. anyway can you imagine cozy nights by the fire talking about meta tags and java scripts? nah, me either. (for those of you who know code, you know that one look at my blog says that i'm clueless. for those that don't know anything about code, just roll with the story). PAX

God's letter in mp3 format - various languages

my new favorite band evanescence. in my opinion the second good thing to come out of arkansas - the first good thing is probably reading this blog.

When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush.

He answered by saying that, "Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return was enough to bury those that did not return."

It became very quiet in the room.

having tea with bea and andrew, but i still need a hamburger, hopefully this tea thing won't last too long. (kidding, i'm looking forward to getting to know andrew).

you better be here @ wabi.

wabiSABI has started and i'm already missing it, go read andrew's blog to see what i mean. hopefully i can get my stuff done early today and get out of the office...SOON!

this isn't going to be a come listen to whomever pitch some propaganda about some agenda to do whatever the latest ministry kick is. it is going to be the people of God come together to share encouragement, differences, support, love, community, discipleship, and God only knows what else (really). please come be a part of this with me, with us.

blessings! - see you in Austin!

not too late to come to wabiSABI.

wabi is taking on a life of its own which is great - come add your part. never before have i seen the body of christ demonstrated so profoundly as with this (i.e. we all have different giftings and talents, but yet we are all important).

pray for our troops!

a big storm rolled in last night and a thunderclap hit nearby and i thought the windows were going to blow out of the house. i guess that's as close as i can get to understanding what the people of iraq are going through. i still support our government and their efforts 100%, but hurt for those that are scared for their lives. hopefully this will be over soon and the iraqis can rebuild their lives in a post-saddam world.

also learned this week that the brother of a good friend of mine, Andy Sparkman, is with the 101st ground forces that are constantly in the news. father protect him.

upray - a KCM website, but still worth a look

inspections?

i like what gary bauer said on fox news this morning..."we finally have 250,000 real inspectors in iraq."

btw ~ on the first day of this war iraq fired 7 scud missles that saddam swore he didn't have and that were against the un resolution for him to have in his possession.

why

here's why i feel so strongly...a few weeks ago i watched several iraqi nationals talk about the struggle the iraqi people had gone through under saddam's reign. they were afraid for their lives and those of their families living there. they were all witnesses to the starvation and torture imposed upon the people by the government. the only hope they had was for someone like the US to come in and overthrow the gov't and help to restore some form of leadership that would promote economic well being and stability. the other part of that equation is that if the regime changes, the trade sanctions might be removed and the necessary food and medical supplies could enter their country. many more iraqis die everyday from the restriction of the sanctions than the war will ever kill. saddam and his army are probably the only ones not hungry in the country. we are not fighting the iraqi people, we are fighting FOR them. i am saddened that people don't understand that.

November 7, 1997: Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz: "The American government says openly, clearly, that it's not going to endorse lifting the sanctions on Iraq unless the leadership of Iraq is changed."

go get 'em W

the events of last night and today make me proud to be an American, while at the same time hurting for those that will inevitably be caught in the crossfire. i am proud that our president and leaders are removing a planetary nuisance and trying to construct a better government all while being as careful as possible. i saw a guy on cnn talk about the smart weapons, the targeting procedures, the contingency plans, and all the other protocols they go through to only destroy what absolutely needs to be. every pre-caution to protect civilian lives is being addressed. saddam is the one who puts babies and children in harms way, not us. thank God for W.

by the way - the surgical strike last night was probably the best thing we could have done under the circumstances. i guess we will know later this week how effective that was.

i was dropping off some wabi information this morning at TBC in kerrville and I got to hear nathan play and lead worship for a few minutes. if you never have heard him, you need to, really. hopefully later this year we all will be able to drive around town listening to his music as he has been working hard on a worship project. be in prayer for him as he does this, i understand that recording can be exhausting work.

i am once again on my way to new orleans - 2nd time this month - for business, so i'm kinda rushed....

one last thing - we need people with big cars, vans, SUVs or whatever to help transport people around for wabi. some of our vehicle support has fallen through and now we have some big needs. this mostly will involve driving people from the motels to FBC austin or the friday nite event or wherever. you can come drive or trade cars with me or whatever is easiest. we really have a need for this, so please contact me, dianna, shannon, or jessica as soon as you think that this may be your thing.

gotta run.

drink deeply of the Father today!

"5 is too small, i want to be 6, that's big"

today is my son's 6th birthday. 6 - not 5 or 4 (which were very hard for me) but 6. when i look at him and all that we've been through it sometimes seems like a hundred years and sometimes it seems like yesterday.

the thing that i cherish the most about my son is that many of you have had an integral part in our life with him. Specifically shannon helped us pay for the motel during one of tyler's surgeries, nathan and amy decorated our house for our return from the last surgery, and bea has made special trips to kerrville when she was in austin last year just to pray for tyler's physical healing - which started happening immediately and has continued ever since.

i thank my God for you who have invested so heavily in my life, in dianna's, and in tylers. we could not have made it without you, really. i think i understand why paul says that he thanks God every time he remembers those that supported him. just like paul, i love and need you guys in my life.

so bring on the cake (star wars of course) and let the journey continue.

get outta here

i like what shannon and nathan said better than anything i've said lately so go read their stuff...links are on the right!
blessings.