The Olympics: Things I Don't Understand

For the most part, I enjoy watching The Olympics. The Summer Olympics, specifically, always inspire me to play some beach volleyball. So, I played some last Sunday. I like volleyball for a variety of reasons. First of all, it's not a contact sport, which is good for someone as scrawny and weak as I am. Second, you don't have to run fast (or really run at all for that matter). This is good because not only am I slow, but I despise running except in the event of an emergency. I have no idea what I am doing in this picture, but you can assume it's awesome.

Anyway, as much as I enjoy The Summer Olympics, I still don't understand a few things. Here are a few things that puzzle me.

Why do I keep noticing the swimmers drinking a handful of water from the pool before their event? I personally think this is really disgusting. Of course, I am pretty grossed out by public swimming pools, water parks, etc. So, maybe it's just me. But, I still don't understand the need for a drink of highly chlorinated water.

Why do the divers immediately head for the showers after their dive? I cannot think of a logical explanation for this. I know there must be a good reason. I could probably find the answer to this question quite easily if I searched the web. But, honestly, I feel like I should be able to come up with the answer all by myself. I just can't!

What's with water polo? It looks pretty hard. I understand the general concept - that's not too difficult to grasp. But have you noticed all the whistling? What does that mean? I can never figure out what's going on.

These questions have been really nagging me the past couple of days.

Oh well, I guess I'll just stick with what I know - the French Horn.

A Child Is Waiting

A little over a month ago I had the opportunity to lead the "A Child Is Waiting" event at the church where I serve. World Vision is the organization behind this event. The event itself raises awareness of the needs of children in poverty situations all over the world. It is also a call to action in the form of child sponsorship.

I am so pleased that 6 children received sponsorship through our event. It takes commitment to sponsor a child. Often times, it is hard to make that commitment. For some of us, $35 a month is not a small sacrifice. For others, money not may be the issue at all, but the issue may be a lack of compassion or simply apathy. For most of us, I just think we avoid making promises. We ask ourselves, "Will I really stick with this? I'll feel terrible if my giving just fades away."

We can come up with a lot of excuses.

But, fortunately, for 6 children, somebody was willing to take the challenge and put the excuses to the side. They made the commitment and that commitment will make a huge difference in the lives of these kids who are living in communities severely affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa.

Thank you - all of you who stepped up to the plate! Keep me posted on what you hear from your child.

Albuquerque

I saw Weird Al Yankovic in concert last night. It was the second time I have seen him live. I dragged Christy along with me this time and she actually enjoyed it - don't let her tell you any different.

I know it might sound crazy, but in the realm of "concert production", Al's show is in the top 3 of the best produced concerts that I have ever attended. Even if you aren't a huge fan of Al, you wouldn't be able to walk away from his show disappointed. It is quite a spectacle.








Of course, it helped that I had amazing seats. We were in the 9th row. When Al came out into the crowd for one of the songs, we were separated from him by just 8 people.








Christy's favorite song of the night was Amish Paradise. I, on the other hand, have a hard time narrowing it down. I love the old stuff (Fat, Eat It) because it reminds me of being a kid and sitting around listening to Weird Al on vinyl and cassette tape. I also love the stuff that he put out when I was a teen. Especially his parody of Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. And, I must admit, his newest polka medley that he opens the show with is one of the funniest things I have ever heard.

It was a great night. And, in case you were wondering, the other two concerts that fall into my top 3 best productions category are...(drum roll please)...dc talk - Welcome To The Freak Show Tour and Garth Brooks' mid-nineties tour. Man, did I pick 3 completely different genres or what?

Dude, Where's My Trailer?

I love being a part of a "mobile" church. Some people might think that's crazy. I actually enjoy most of it. I think there are advantages to meeting in the local school cafe-teria-nasium, movie theater, or whatever other building is available.

There are disadvantages, too.

Nearly everything our church owns is stored in a trailer that is towed to and from the school we meet at every Sunday. This trailer is packed full of sound equipment, video equipment, communion supplies, etc. It's quite convenient.

But, every once in awhile, I hear about a church trailer that has been stolen. Whenever a news story like this comes up, I always think, "Wow, that would stink. What would I do?"

I hope I wouldn't react like this guy.

Look, I am sure he's a great guy. He might be a great minister, a great church planter, a great husband, and a great father. I have no idea. I don't know him.

But, his reaction is...crazy! Actually, I'm thinking that it's a joke. It is a joke, right? Please tell me it's a joke. He's probably one of those guys that if you knew him, you would read his blog and laugh hysterically because you know how sarcastic he's being.

OK, I've convinced myself that this whole thing is a set-up. That makes me feel better.

Sooners

Last week, Christy and I traveled to Bartlesville, Oklahoma (where the wind goes sweeping over the plains). We had three reasons for making the trip. In fact, on a side note, with gas prices being what they are, I now require myself to have at least three reasons before I go anywhere.

Anyway, we had three really good reasons for traveling to O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A.

Reason #1 - Christy spent her elementary years in Bartlesville, OK. For a long time now she has been dying to go back. More than once Christy has been to my "hometowns" (Osage, IA and Clinton, IL). So, it was about time that I visited hers. After about two seconds I was annoyed by her running commentary on everything that we passed.

"Look, Johnny Smith used to live there."
"I used to ride my bike there."
"That's the pool I used to swim in."
"One day Suzy threw up by that tree."

Then I realized, I do the same thing - BIG TIME - when we are in my towns. I vowed to never do that again - to anyone - EVER.

It was actually really fun for her to see the places and people again. And, honestly, it is fun to see the places and meet the people from your spouse's past.

Reason #2 - This is one of those "Small World" moments. My youth minister growing up in Clinton, IL - David Mabon - is now the senior minister at the church in Bartlesville where Christy's family used to attend. Weird.

I hadn't seen the Mabon family in a very long time. They offered to house us and feed us for the entire time we were there! We had a blast. The kids are all grown up and very cool. Dave and his wife Carol are still awesome to be around. And Carol totally hooked Christy and I up with some awesome meals and snacks.

We sat around and talked about the good old days forever.

Reason #3 - The Voice Of The Martyrs. This organization is based in Bartlesville. We went to Bartlesville to attend VOM's Persecuted Church Conference.

Christy and I both agree that this was the best conference we've ever attended. It was amazing to listen to people from all over the world speak about the persecution that is happening in the countries where they serve. There were speakers from the Middle East (Israel, Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Iran), Columbia, North Korea, China, Bangladesh, and Romania. The stories that these men and women had to tell were both shocking and inspiring. The whole event was truly eye opening.

I know in today's world of a billion conferences, it's probably unrealistic to think that most Christians would choose to go to the VOM conference. Most would rather go to a conference that will help them with whatever field of ministry they are interested in. They will choose to go to a worship conference, a church planting conference, a youth ministry conference, or a leadership conference. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Obviously, all of those events are beneficial. But I really do believe that every follower of Jesus would be profoundly changed if they attended the VOM conference. It's a definite change of pace from all of those other events - I believe it's an important and necessary change of pace.

The Face Of The Earth

No, I didn't fall off of it. But, my 3 month blogging hiatus has come to an end.

Coming soon are thoughts on The Voice Of The Martyrs, the NACC, and Summer 2008 in general.

I'm on the edge of my seat just thinking about it!

Lectio Divina

As a part of my day of solitude and prayer yesterday, I read the book Divine Intervention by Tony Jones. The book is about "encountering God through the ancient practice of lectio divina."

I was already somewhat familiar with lectio divina before I read this book, but I had never practiced it before and I had never been quite sure what to make of it. When I saw this book on the shelf I decided to pick it up. It seemed interesting. Plus - it was super short and you've got to love that.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with what this is let me briefly explain it as Jones does in his book.

Basically, lectio divina is an ancient method of prayer. It means "sacred reading." There are four steps: Lectio (a selection or reading from the Bible), Meditatio (thinking over or meditation), Oratio (speaking or praying), and Contemplatio (contemplation).

Each step is actually a bit more detailed. But, that's the super simplified version. The bottom line is that it's a way to read God's Word, pray, and hear from God.

After reading the book, I decided to try out lectio divina for myself. It was actually pretty cool. I have to admit, it does seem like a good way to focus on God's Word and to clear your mind of distractions that many times drown out God's voice and what He's trying to say to you.

The only thing that bothers me is the fact that my entire knowledge of lectio divina comes from a newer book that is 100 pages long. I'm sure there are tons of things written about this practice that shed light on it in a whole new way. I'll have to dive into it more to see what I really think.

But, at this point, I am glad to have God open my eyes to some important scripture yesterday and for Him to speak to me through it. No matter what "method" of prayer or Bible study you use, I hope you find your time with God as rewarding/challenging as I always do.