so here i sit in my office by myself after 5 on a friday waiting for the phone to ring. you see, i was a good samaritan earlier in the day and it ended up screwing up my whole day. argh!!
just for that i changed my ringtone back to benny hill. that's a little more fitting.
Friday, July 30, 2004
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
home sweet home
spent a few days north of houston at a wonderful lake in the piney woods. enjoyed the visit with my mother, sister and brother-in-law and their children. it was good to get away from home for a little bit but driving home i had a new appreciation for the area where we live known as the Texas Hill Country. Ok, so those of you who have lived here will probably say that i'm making too much of this area but i don't think so. some of you reading this i know have even moved here from the houston area. don't get me wrong, i love the city, i really do. but something about the hills and a two lane road with no shoulder just makes me want to crack open the sunroof and run the honda up to at least 45. (i would have added some music but i let the cd player get dirty and now its broke, maybe that means i should just put in a cd/dvd/mp3 player with a big lcd screen - tyler says yep!)
anyway, i hope you are having a great week. we have some challenges ahead of us, but by the limitless grace of the Father, we should be in good shape. i hope you feel blessed and that you don't watch too much of the DNC on tv this week. :)
anyway, i hope you are having a great week. we have some challenges ahead of us, but by the limitless grace of the Father, we should be in good shape. i hope you feel blessed and that you don't watch too much of the DNC on tv this week. :)
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
what else
i went to the eye doc today so he could take a look at what's going on with my eyesight. it's been bothering me a little lately and i wanted to make sure that all was ok. everything seemed ok, but i still left with my first ever script for glasses. now mind you these are computer glasses, not reading glasses - there is a difference - probably not in the frames or lenses or cost, but they certainly are different.
i add this insult to my experience last night while working at my computer at home i noticed that one of my toenails decided to part ways with the rest of his toenail friends. i didn't feel anything or notice anything, it was just here one min and gone the next. sooo...does anyone out there want to give me a heads up on what to expect next. will i awake with one less appendage anytime in the near future or anything bad like that???? gee, it sucks to get old.
i add this insult to my experience last night while working at my computer at home i noticed that one of my toenails decided to part ways with the rest of his toenail friends. i didn't feel anything or notice anything, it was just here one min and gone the next. sooo...does anyone out there want to give me a heads up on what to expect next. will i awake with one less appendage anytime in the near future or anything bad like that???? gee, it sucks to get old.
Monday, July 19, 2004
don't give up
ok, so this new code is taking a little longer. don't give up, i'll get everything back in shape soon.
found out tonight that my wife now has a folder at the lutheran church. in some churches, having your very own folder certainly can be a sign of status. i'm not completely sure what this one means. PAX!
found out tonight that my wife now has a folder at the lutheran church. in some churches, having your very own folder certainly can be a sign of status. i'm not completely sure what this one means. PAX!
Impact
visited a new church sunday morning - impact christian fellowship. i didn't really know this place existed until saturday evening when their band played at a "thing" held at clay street. WOW! is about all i can say. it was like seeing worship all over for the first time, like tasting the sweetness and power of God all at once, again.
for me the big driving force was that it was a piano led worship and the guy was amazing. now, i am always being accused of being a nathan follower so i don't want to make too much of it, but for me, when the piano is being played i am in the presence of God, period. the church was a lot like clay street, but with some refinements. these refinements are nice, but clay street is much more versatile and no one cares if you park a car in the middle of the warehouse (which i did once during a worship service).
i'll keep you posted on whether or not this may become another home for us. i say another, because i'm starting to feel more at home at many places and not just one or two. it may be that i have keys to 4 churches in town and not just one. the older i get the more i am trying to become focused on the strengths of each ministry and where their specialties lie. i'm tired of wishing that one place would be the perfect model for evangelism, discipleship, etc. just as i will never be perfect model for the same.
blessings, K
for me the big driving force was that it was a piano led worship and the guy was amazing. now, i am always being accused of being a nathan follower so i don't want to make too much of it, but for me, when the piano is being played i am in the presence of God, period. the church was a lot like clay street, but with some refinements. these refinements are nice, but clay street is much more versatile and no one cares if you park a car in the middle of the warehouse (which i did once during a worship service).
i'll keep you posted on whether or not this may become another home for us. i say another, because i'm starting to feel more at home at many places and not just one or two. it may be that i have keys to 4 churches in town and not just one. the older i get the more i am trying to become focused on the strengths of each ministry and where their specialties lie. i'm tired of wishing that one place would be the perfect model for evangelism, discipleship, etc. just as i will never be perfect model for the same.
blessings, K
Thursday, July 15, 2004
all things new
ok, so i decided to change up my template a little...i think i already miss my old one...and i added the whole comment thing so i'll see how long i can take people saying mean things, if they do. by the way, now that i've moved offices, i may have to give up my laptop with the bootleg off the corporate network connection so my blogging patterns may once again change. don't give up, i'll stay at this as long as the 3 people who read this stay with me.
have a good weekend. do something fun.
my apologies to everyone for blasting your links from my site. give me a few days with this new code and i'll get them re-added.
have a good weekend. do something fun.
my apologies to everyone for blasting your links from my site. give me a few days with this new code and i'll get them re-added.
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
a day like no other
interesting day today, it was.
i got to work expecting to be called in to my mgrs office, which of course i was, and then found out that i was moving to a private office. i had thought i was going to get into trouble because i told another mgr yesterday that they needed to take some responsibility and quit blaming everyone else for all of their problems. (it wasn't pretty, but it needed to happen, or so i thought, and still do)
I will miss the office talk, but i think i'll like it. it gets me away from some of the time-consuming customer junk so i can really focus on my job and crank out some work. i guess now i will find out if i am as good as i think or if i suck just like the other mgr that i was causing so much grief.
i got to work expecting to be called in to my mgrs office, which of course i was, and then found out that i was moving to a private office. i had thought i was going to get into trouble because i told another mgr yesterday that they needed to take some responsibility and quit blaming everyone else for all of their problems. (it wasn't pretty, but it needed to happen, or so i thought, and still do)
I will miss the office talk, but i think i'll like it. it gets me away from some of the time-consuming customer junk so i can really focus on my job and crank out some work. i guess now i will find out if i am as good as i think or if i suck just like the other mgr that i was causing so much grief.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
nada mucho
not a whole lot has been happening the last few days, but i'll tell you anyway so you don't call and yell at me...
saturday
had a planning meeting with the church and school folks. it was pretty non-eventful until i told the church that they needed to allow parents to photograph their kids during the service if they ask them to participate. in the past, whenever the school kids sang or did a christmas program, the parents were told repeatedly that no photography was allowed during the service. all this did was enrage the parents and some have vowed to never come back. i tried to explain to the lutherans that before you can share the love of christ, they probably should show a little love and let a camera find its way into the service. after all, one of the biggest ways to the parents are through the kids. they seemed to get it toward the end.
sunday
noticed the isuzu had a bad water leak which made it look like it was bleeding to death in my driveway. its still in the shop. it may be expensive.
monday
found out that the sinkhole in the parking lot of the phone company is growing larger. how cool is that? i'll see if i can get some pics up so you guys can see. if you are driving around with nothing to do, stop by the back of the lot at the 955 building and take a look. you could also jump up and down on it and see if you can make it larger. no joke, it's kinda fun, well i do live a simple life.
tuesday
fire marshal just showed up at work. no biggee there.
saturday
had a planning meeting with the church and school folks. it was pretty non-eventful until i told the church that they needed to allow parents to photograph their kids during the service if they ask them to participate. in the past, whenever the school kids sang or did a christmas program, the parents were told repeatedly that no photography was allowed during the service. all this did was enrage the parents and some have vowed to never come back. i tried to explain to the lutherans that before you can share the love of christ, they probably should show a little love and let a camera find its way into the service. after all, one of the biggest ways to the parents are through the kids. they seemed to get it toward the end.
sunday
noticed the isuzu had a bad water leak which made it look like it was bleeding to death in my driveway. its still in the shop. it may be expensive.
monday
found out that the sinkhole in the parking lot of the phone company is growing larger. how cool is that? i'll see if i can get some pics up so you guys can see. if you are driving around with nothing to do, stop by the back of the lot at the 955 building and take a look. you could also jump up and down on it and see if you can make it larger. no joke, it's kinda fun, well i do live a simple life.
tuesday
fire marshal just showed up at work. no biggee there.
Thursday, July 08, 2004
steer this
i'm on a steering committee with the local lutheran church and school and last night the pastor said the church needs to do something to help get the kids off the streets. now keep in mind that most everyone on the committee is at least retired, some have been for many years, one lady is actually 91. the pastor mentioned creating some type of skate area or building a half pipe for teenage skaters. WOW! i have been with churches half their age and more recently with a church only a fraction of their age, but everytime we talked about creating a skate "thing" everyone laughed at the thought. for that matter, when it was recommended to reach out to the pierced and tattoo'd, of which skaters can be, one elder remarked that we really didn't want them here. hello!!! churches if you are going to reach the lost, and you aren't going to go to where they are, then at least allow them to act like themselves when they show up to your place.
i am constantly amazed at how powerfully creative or destructive leadership can be, and am once again reminded of the need to keep them in prayer.
i am constantly amazed at how powerfully creative or destructive leadership can be, and am once again reminded of the need to keep them in prayer.
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
a Jew?
it is interesting to me how the people of the jewish faith (outside the goings on of israel) seem to be completely more receptive of other people even though they still hold themselves to strict rules of the Torah. it sweems to me that these rules would put up barriers to openness, but from my experience, it doesn't. i would think that christians would be more loving and open to sharing the love of Christ, being that they are completely free from the law, but more often then not, it is harder to get into a christian circle than another faith. in many ways the christian faith seems to have become the american faith and has adopted all of the baggage that goes along with it. you know, being a rush to the top, climb the ladder, be all you can be, get out of my way or i'll step on you, kind of faith. all the while, there seems to be little spiritual growth or even an understanding about who Christ is or even who we can be through Christ.
it appears that the christian faith in many ways has adopted the very traditions that Jesus came to break us free from. if you are wrapped up in churchiness or busyness for the sake of Christ then i encourage you to break free from it. allow yourself to rest in the Father. get to know the God of the Bible in the way he wants to reveal himself to you. don't just take someone else's word. they are probably caught up in churchiness themselves and probably only know what the latest seminary teacher taught. remember the early guys of the old testament that had no church or temple or seminary to attend, yet they knew God in ways we can only imagine.
break free!
it appears that the christian faith in many ways has adopted the very traditions that Jesus came to break us free from. if you are wrapped up in churchiness or busyness for the sake of Christ then i encourage you to break free from it. allow yourself to rest in the Father. get to know the God of the Bible in the way he wants to reveal himself to you. don't just take someone else's word. they are probably caught up in churchiness themselves and probably only know what the latest seminary teacher taught. remember the early guys of the old testament that had no church or temple or seminary to attend, yet they knew God in ways we can only imagine.
break free!
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
you want me to go where?
twice in the last week, dianna and i have made trips to waco (about 200 miles away) to scavenge through the rubble left behind by another christian school that couldn't afford to keep their doors open - another long sad lutheran story. i was expecting the place to be a dump but what we found was a wonderful facility that apparently was mis managed. i guess part of me is really curious how many ministries have to go under before people realize that a preacher does not a business manager make. (nor does a business manager a preacher make) in my opinion, it is very rare to find a person who can do both.
in our trips we purchased probably close to 3000 books, 5 lunchroom tables, 3 locking cabinets, 2 bookcases, a bunch of science equipment including microscopes, slides, plastic body parts (ooo, that sounds bad) and an assortment of other things.
once again to make my point from an earlier blog...i don't think it was the will of God to see this one church die out just to help us along, although this can show that God can make all things work to the good (to those called to the purpose). my hope is that the new pastor of that lutheran congregation can help heal the hurts and bring people back to the arms of the father.
in our trips we purchased probably close to 3000 books, 5 lunchroom tables, 3 locking cabinets, 2 bookcases, a bunch of science equipment including microscopes, slides, plastic body parts (ooo, that sounds bad) and an assortment of other things.
once again to make my point from an earlier blog...i don't think it was the will of God to see this one church die out just to help us along, although this can show that God can make all things work to the good (to those called to the purpose). my hope is that the new pastor of that lutheran congregation can help heal the hurts and bring people back to the arms of the father.
the new lunchbox
had a conversation with tyler last week that went something like this. tyler, are you ready for school to start? not really dad. well, yes... no... yes... no... yes... no... yes... no... yes... no... yes... no... yes... no... yes... no... yes... no... yes... no... yes... no... yes... no... yes... no... yes... no... yes... no... yes... no... yes... no... actually since i have a new spiderman lunchbox, then yes, i am.
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
SoBe
ok, so my trip to south beach...well, it was good. for starters here are some of the exceptional people that i hang out with. they are some of the best in the wireless telecom industry and i am proud to be associated with them. for grins the folks here represent Rural Cellular, US Cellular, Eloqui Wireless, XIT Cellular, Telus Mobility, and Bell Mobility Canada.
the hot chick
i was reading in genesis this week and came across an interesting story. it seemed that abraham was married to a hottie so, upon their moving to egypt and fearing for his life, he lied about her being his wife and told everyone she was his sister. abraham (who actually was still abram at this time) and his wife were treated very well and were given lots of gifts. after God caused bad things to happen to the king, the king found out the truth and sent abraham and his wife and all their new possessions back to where they came from.
ok, now i would ask - was it God's will for Abraham to lie about his wife and give her to live with the king? did God need for the egyptians to give Abraham all of those gifts of livestock, and gold, and food and so on because he (God) needed some help? could God not provide for Abraham outside of this scam?
my personal feeling is that God could provide anything, anytime, anywhere, anyway he wants to do it and i am guessing that most of you reading this would agree. i would also venture an opinion that the Father many times works in spite of us and not necessarily through us in order to accomplish his holy mission. many times this working in spite of us is misunderstood as working through us. the trauma is sometimes easily overshadowed by the slightest positive reaction. a large scale example would be the new plant life that sprung up from the mt st helens explosion or the way america "came back to God" after 9/11. the tiny positive results never justified the huge destruction that caused it.
ok, here's the point.
all my life i have been frustrated by believers using works of God to support their latest dumb ass idea. just like in the story of abraham, God can work good even through lies, laziness, or ignorance. you pick the downfall, God knows how to get the glory. BUT - all that being said, is it God's will for the lies, the laziness, or the ingorance to happen? of course not. or at least in my own understanding it isn't. you see just because people pray more or kiss and make up after a fight or whatever, that doesn't mean that what caused that to happen was from God. as believers we should be wary of anything that happens in the name of God that is not in the character of God. true we are all sinful humans trying to understand a holy and pure God and we will make mistakes, but let's just be careful to not tie our mistakes to his holiness simply because his goodness allows his glory to be revealed in whatever stupid things we do.
ok, now i would ask - was it God's will for Abraham to lie about his wife and give her to live with the king? did God need for the egyptians to give Abraham all of those gifts of livestock, and gold, and food and so on because he (God) needed some help? could God not provide for Abraham outside of this scam?
my personal feeling is that God could provide anything, anytime, anywhere, anyway he wants to do it and i am guessing that most of you reading this would agree. i would also venture an opinion that the Father many times works in spite of us and not necessarily through us in order to accomplish his holy mission. many times this working in spite of us is misunderstood as working through us. the trauma is sometimes easily overshadowed by the slightest positive reaction. a large scale example would be the new plant life that sprung up from the mt st helens explosion or the way america "came back to God" after 9/11. the tiny positive results never justified the huge destruction that caused it.
ok, here's the point.
all my life i have been frustrated by believers using works of God to support their latest dumb ass idea. just like in the story of abraham, God can work good even through lies, laziness, or ignorance. you pick the downfall, God knows how to get the glory. BUT - all that being said, is it God's will for the lies, the laziness, or the ingorance to happen? of course not. or at least in my own understanding it isn't. you see just because people pray more or kiss and make up after a fight or whatever, that doesn't mean that what caused that to happen was from God. as believers we should be wary of anything that happens in the name of God that is not in the character of God. true we are all sinful humans trying to understand a holy and pure God and we will make mistakes, but let's just be careful to not tie our mistakes to his holiness simply because his goodness allows his glory to be revealed in whatever stupid things we do.
Monday, June 07, 2004
size does matter
came home from work today and my son was drinking his juice through 5 straws. when i saw him do this i quietly shed a tear. you see i know that unlike the other 2 rules that i haven't talked to him about, he understood the third rule of life - that being you can never have enough bandwidth (hence the straws). if you don't understand the bandwidth analogy then just stick with rules 1 and 2 - those being that you can never have enough money or sex. have a happy evening.
Sunday, June 06, 2004
all day today dianna and i have been writing up a grant for our school. i have always wanted to do this, but for whatever reason just never did. it's been weird though as i have sat at my computer and listened to about 15 hours of european electronica XTC trance radio on itunes (itunes is the best even though i gave mac a bad rap a couple of weeks ago). maybe this is getting me prepared for miami as i am assuming they will have trace / rave / whatever they call it clubs everywhere, along with everything else. by the way, running concurrently with my business meeting there will be a gay life expo there as well. (not sure why i linked it to my site). part of me is excited. i would love to be able to show the love of christ to these guys instead of throwing stones and condemning them while i hope no one finds out about my own secret sins. no wonder the world hates christians. anyway i will probably just stare unconsciously and wonder where the lesbians are.
just kidding, damn, calm down.
just kidding, damn, calm down.
it seems a lot has happened since i complained about getting the boot at ye 'ole lutheran church. to our surprise, when the other folks heard about what happened they resolved it for us. how cool is it to part of a family (of which we are still outsiders) where they take care of you like that. how ironic is it for me to be so strongly desiring to help build a young energetic crowd of jesus followers only to have it thwarted by guys who didn't get it and then have the father lead me to a crowd of folks twice my age who support me and pray for me in ways i've never known. they are clearing the roadblocks and wanting us (mostly Dianna) to charge on ahead. part of me is nervous, 'cause we will screw up eventually, and i don't want to leave the honeymoon status of where we are. it's like the new car smell and kids. you want your car to always smell new, but eventually the wife will take the kids to taco bueno where they all will eat the jumbo grande extra been burritto and on the way home...well let's just say the new car smell will be gone forever after that.
Saturday, June 05, 2004
how much for a tooth
well it seems that tyler is going to be just like me in that his teeth don't fall out, they have to be pulled out. so we trekked to san antonio this week to see the dentist and had his two bottom teeth extracted. incidentally, these two teeth were the very same ones that he was born with. i'm not sure how these got placed on the baby order, but if you're out there and you read blogs, know that razor sharp teeth on a new born baby is a bad idea - especially if you have plans to breast feed - OUCH!! - ok, enough on that...
so me attempting to be the coolest dad in the world goes by the bank to see what neat coins they have, anticipating that my tooth fairy skills will be called upon later that night. well, tyler decides that maybe he may not get a good enough deal from the fairy so he decides that he doesn't want to put his teeth under the pillow just yet. it reminded me of my high school days when i knew that i needed to get serious with my walk with Christ, but i wanted to date that certain girl first, assuming that i would have more fun "backsliding" (sorry for the bad pun) then i would being a consummate Jesus freak.
where was i? oh yeah, well last night he decided that he did in fact want to see what the fairy had for him on one condition - he wanted a sorta tooth fairy waiver agreement which said that she (we just assumed it was a she) was free to verify that the teeth were his and free to leave the booty, but would she be so kind as to leave the teeth. ok, so now we are back on track. soon after he went to sleep we went in and traded the signed and notarized waiver for a 50 cent piece (coinage, not the "singer"), 2 new quarters, and 2 gold dollars with the indian girl on them. when he got up he found the teeth and the money all together so he's happy with the final results...and i'm tired. this is all too complicated for me.
by the way, no nasty emails about how dare me encourage him to believe in the tooth fairy. one of my biggest beliefs is that the failure of developed imaginations keeps us from many things the Father wants us to see. remember he is infinite, we are finite. you have to rev up your imagination a little to even begin to behold His glory and unfortunately most parents start squelching their children's creativity and imagination soon after they tell them that santa clause is a myth, if they even went that far. teach your children to dream, to wholesomely fantasize, to create, to whatever. you never know what God may ask them to do later in life.
so me attempting to be the coolest dad in the world goes by the bank to see what neat coins they have, anticipating that my tooth fairy skills will be called upon later that night. well, tyler decides that maybe he may not get a good enough deal from the fairy so he decides that he doesn't want to put his teeth under the pillow just yet. it reminded me of my high school days when i knew that i needed to get serious with my walk with Christ, but i wanted to date that certain girl first, assuming that i would have more fun "backsliding" (sorry for the bad pun) then i would being a consummate Jesus freak.
where was i? oh yeah, well last night he decided that he did in fact want to see what the fairy had for him on one condition - he wanted a sorta tooth fairy waiver agreement which said that she (we just assumed it was a she) was free to verify that the teeth were his and free to leave the booty, but would she be so kind as to leave the teeth. ok, so now we are back on track. soon after he went to sleep we went in and traded the signed and notarized waiver for a 50 cent piece (coinage, not the "singer"), 2 new quarters, and 2 gold dollars with the indian girl on them. when he got up he found the teeth and the money all together so he's happy with the final results...and i'm tired. this is all too complicated for me.
by the way, no nasty emails about how dare me encourage him to believe in the tooth fairy. one of my biggest beliefs is that the failure of developed imaginations keeps us from many things the Father wants us to see. remember he is infinite, we are finite. you have to rev up your imagination a little to even begin to behold His glory and unfortunately most parents start squelching their children's creativity and imagination soon after they tell them that santa clause is a myth, if they even went that far. teach your children to dream, to wholesomely fantasize, to create, to whatever. you never know what God may ask them to do later in life.
Friday, June 04, 2004
got kicked out of the lutheran school/church building last night by a well meaning but severely deluded elderly lady. it seemed that she alone felt responsible to insure that all the doors were locked and lights were off because after all her husband was a trustee (just another fancy name for committee member), regardless of the fact that we have been given every key, code, number, and so on for the whole place, and that we are there almost every day at all times of the day and night. like the last such person i dealt with, this lady doesn't know anything about what we are doing or what's going on - but if you ask her, she is the pillar holding up the building and the whole place revolves around her. i guess i have come to learn that if a person has to convice you that they are important, then obviously they aren't. people that are busy in ministry are not (usually) busy in causing problems. those that want to stir up trash usually do so because of their own insecurities and issues. thank God that there usually aren't too many of these folks running around.