It’s not unusual, in my experience, to receive calendars as gifts around Christmas-time from companies you do business with. We always get a desk calendar from our insurance agent which fits nicely on the desk downstairs. We receive a pretty one with Bible verses and inspirational sayings from a missions agency that we support. We got one from the Christian radio station this year that had pictures taken by listeners. Kinda cool. I’m sure we got a couple of others as well, I know we gave a Norman Rockwell one away to my Dad.
This year we also got one from our cable provider, Mediacom. It was rather audaciously titled “12 months of You”, but it appeared to be more like 12 months of them. There were a few coupons inside for free pay-per-view movies (which we never watch), and then the artwork for each month featured one of their cable channels. Color me less than excited.
But that wasn’t the best part. You see, most gift calendars come in late November or early December. Mediacom’s came on January 27th. January 27th! Apparently their 12 months of me is really only about 11 months… Unbelievable.
The Mediacom calendar is sitting in the recycle bin on my curb this morning, waiting to be picked up by the garbage man. Good riddance.
It’s not unusual, in my experience, to receive calendars as gifts around Christmas-time from companies you do business with. We always get a desk calendar from our insurance agent which fits nicely on the desk downstairs. We receive a pretty one with Bible verses and inspirational sayings from a missions agency that we support. We got one from the Christian radio station this year that had pictures taken by listeners. Kinda cool. I’m sure we got a couple of others as well, I know we gave a Norman Rockwell one away to my Dad.
This year we also got one from our cable provider, Mediacom. It was rather audaciously titled “12 months of You”, but it appeared to be more like 12 months of them. There were a few coupons inside for free pay-per-view movies (which we never watch), and then the artwork for each month featured one of their cable channels. Color me less than excited.
But that wasn’t the best part. You see, most gift calendars come in late November or early December. Mediacom’s came on January 27th. January 27th! Apparently their 12 months of me is really only about 11 months… Unbelievable.
The Mediacom calendar is sitting in the recycle bin on my curb this morning, waiting to be picked up by the garbage man. Good riddance.
It’s not unusual, in my experience, to receive calendars as gifts around Christmas-time from companies you do business with. We always get a desk calendar from our insurance agent which fits nicely on the desk downstairs. We receive a pretty one with Bible verses and inspirational sayings from a missions agency that we support. We got one from the Christian radio station this year that had pictures taken by listeners. Kinda cool. I’m sure we got a couple of others as well, I know we gave a Norman Rockwell one away to my Dad.
This year we also got one from our cable provider, Mediacom. It was rather audaciously titled “12 months of You”, but it appeared to be more like 12 months of them. There were a few coupons inside for free pay-per-view movies (which we never watch), and then the artwork for each month featured one of their cable channels. Color me less than excited.
But that wasn’t the best part. You see, most gift calendars come in late November or early December. Mediacom’s came on January 27th. January 27th! Apparently their 12 months of me is really only about 11 months… Unbelievable.
The Mediacom calendar is sitting in the recycle bin on my curb this morning, waiting to be picked up by the garbage man. Good riddance.
There’s been a fascinating discussion going on over on the Out of Ur blog the past few days.
First: Brian McLaren on the Homosexual Question: Finding a Pastoral Response.
Then: A Blogger’s Response.
Next: A Prologue and Rant by Mark Driscoll. (zing!)
And last, but not least, McLaren’s response.
If you’re at all interested in the question of how the church addresses homosexuality, I’d recommend you read them all.
I’ve been a bit haphazard in my posting habits lately, so I’ll just dump a bunch of stuff in here in lieu of a real post. I’ve been reading lots of stuff lately, just not posting. I’ll have to make that change.
I’m headed to Wichita tomorrow for my DER orientation. It’s just a one-day session, so I’ll be on the late flight home tomorrow (back to CID at 10:04 PM). So beginning on Thursday, I will officially be a DER Candidate and can start reviewing stuff and recommending approval of TSO items. It’s a fairly significant new chapter in my career here.
Next topic: congratulations to my friends Lee & Amber Adams on the birth of their daughter Adi Grace early Sunday morning! Adi is their first, and I’m sure they will soon come to find just how wonderful daughters are. 
Now we just need to take a trip down to see them sometime…
Next topic: Last night was the talent show at church. I did two songs, opening the show with Randall Goodgame’s Susan Coats’ Pants and finishing up the show with Andy Gullahorn’s Holy Flakes. Becky noted afterwards that most people’s response to the former was “huh?” She said it’s mostly a “Chris song”, which I think means that my weird sense of humor appreciates it, but most (normal) people won’t. Oh well, that’s what talent shows are for. The most frequent question after the talent show was “where do you find these songs?” I take great pleasure in knowing that I can dig up songs that nobody’s heard of but that people really like. Of course, I really only get away with it because I’m the only one at the church that listens to all of the Square Peg types.
I guess that’s it for now. I promise I’ll try to write a sensible post soon.
I thought I’d feel different by now.
I remember sitting in a recliner in the living room of a quiet house after the boys I was babysitting had been sent to bed. I remember thinking what a nice scenario it was: a house, a wife, children, stability. I remember being that high-schooler sitting there, leaning back and trying to imagine, for a moment, what it would be like to be in that position someday. I remember thinking that it would be a great quiet confident feeling to sit back, survey my domain, and relax in the peace that came from such stability. I remember thinking how wonderful it would feel to be that different person.
That was 1993, nearly half a life ago. I’m married to a wonderful woman. I own my own home. (No recliner yet.) I have a daughter that is the sweetest little girl that has ever walked the earth. Another child on the way. I have a job that I like, and that likes me. All those things I had wished for, I now find I have. But I still feel like I’m the same person. I still have internal conflicts, fears, and doubts. I’m still imperfect. (Why did I think that would ever change?) I still worry. I still feel guilt, frustration, and anger. I still wonder about the future. There are still times when I am happy to just crank up my iPod and let the music block the world out for a while.
This is probably my biggest suprise about growing up: that while everything around me has changed, and I undoubtedly have changed, I don’t feel like I’ve changed. Maybe I lack perspective. Maybe if I compared snapshots instead of the continuum, I’d see the differences more starkly. Maybe I’m just forgotten what it felt like to be a teenager. But maybe not.
A person twice my age will read this, shake their head, and think I could’ve told him that, and it’s likely that 20 years from now I’ll say the same thing. But today I’m not willing to write it off quite that quickly. It means something that the desires of a dozen years ago are still wandering around in me today. There’s something to be learned from the knowledge that home, wife, and child haven’t fully satisfied them. I know some of the answers, but for today I think I’d rather just sit back and ponder the questions. Maybe I need to go find a recliner…
Mark Deaver, writing on the Together for the Gospel blog:
“Church membership either turns you into a servant, or proves to you that you’re not one.”
True that.
I’ve kinda been waiting for this one… Thanks Stephanie for tagging me!
Four jobs I’ve had
- roofer during a hot Texas summer
- Waiter at “Hennington’s” in Granbury, TX
- fixer-upper of messed-up data for the BNSF railroad
- resident computer geek for JW Operating of Longview TX
Four movies I could watch over and over
- Lost in Translation
- The Princess Bride
- Fiddler on the Roof
- The Thomas Crowne Affair
Four books I could read over and over
- The Lord of the Rings
- The Chronicles of Narnia
- Orthodoxy (Chesterton)
- the Manifold series (Stephen Baxter)
Four places I have lived
- Fremont, NE
- Granbury, TX
- Longview, TX
- Hiawatha, IA
Four TV shows I watch
- House
- MI-5 (Spooks for you British types)
- Hustle (a new show on AMC, also by the BBC)
- pretty much any sports
Four places I have been on vacation (ok, so I haven’t traveled much)
- Destin, FL
- Estes Park, CO
- Chicago, IL
- Los Angeles, CA
Four websites I visit daily other than email
- The Drudge Report
- CNN
- National Review Online
- Opinion Journal
Four favorite foods
- Enchiladas
- Sesame Chicken
- Pizza
- a good steak
Four places I’d like to be right now
- not at work
- at home with Becky and Laura
- at my favorite coffeehouse with a good book and my laptop
- on vacation someplace warm and slow-paced
I’ve kinda been waiting for this one… Thanks Stephanie for tagging me!
Four jobs I’ve had
- roofer during a hot Texas summer
- Waiter at “Hennington’s” in Granbury, TX
- fixer-upper of messed-up data for the BNSF railroad
- resident computer geek for JW Operating of Longview TX
Four movies I could watch over and over
- Lost in Translation
- The Princess Bride
- Fiddler on the Roof
- The Thomas Crowne Affair
Four books I could read over and over
- The Lord of the Rings
- The Chronicles of Narnia
- Orthodoxy (Chesterton)
- the Manifold series (Stephen Baxter)
Four places I have lived
- Fremont, NE
- Granbury, TX
- Longview, TX
- Hiawatha, IA
Four TV shows I watch
- House
- MI-5 (Spooks for you British types)
- Hustle (a new show on AMC, also by the BBC)
- pretty much any sports
Four places I have been on vacation (ok, so I haven’t traveled much)
- Destin, FL
- Estes Park, CO
- Chicago, IL
- Los Angeles, CA
Four websites I visit daily other than email
- The Drudge Report
- CNN
- National Review Online
- Opinion Journal
Four favorite foods
- Enchiladas
- Sesame Chicken
- Pizza
- a good steak
Four places I’d like to be right now
- not at work
- at home with Becky and Laura
- at my favorite coffeehouse with a good book and my laptop
- on vacation someplace warm and slow-paced
I’ve kinda been waiting for this one… Thanks Stephanie for tagging me!
Four jobs I’ve had
- roofer during a hot Texas summer
- Waiter at “Hennington’s” in Granbury, TX
- fixer-upper of messed-up data for the BNSF railroad
- resident computer geek for JW Operating of Longview TX
Four movies I could watch over and over
- Lost in Translation
- The Princess Bride
- Fiddler on the Roof
- The Thomas Crowne Affair
Four books I could read over and over
- The Lord of the Rings
- The Chronicles of Narnia
- Orthodoxy (Chesterton)
- the Manifold series (Stephen Baxter)
Four places I have lived
- Fremont, NE
- Granbury, TX
- Longview, TX
- Hiawatha, IA
Four TV shows I watch
- House
- MI-5 (Spooks for you British types)
- Hustle (a new show on AMC, also by the BBC)
- pretty much any sports
Four places I have been on vacation (ok, so I haven’t traveled much)
- Destin, FL
- Estes Park, CO
- Chicago, IL
- Los Angeles, CA
Four websites I visit daily other than email
- The Drudge Report
- CNN
- National Review Online
- Opinion Journal
Four favorite foods
- Enchiladas
- Sesame Chicken
- Pizza
- a good steak
Four places I’d like to be right now
- not at work
- at home with Becky and Laura
- at my favorite coffeehouse with a good book and my laptop
- on vacation someplace warm and slow-paced