Monday, April 30, 2007

 
Hillary took this picture this afternoon after my mom and I came home from "Bring Your Mom To Work Day" at the Ocean Springs Church of Christ (and for proof that she isn't TOO embarrassed by my bald head). After recently retiring after 30 years as a church secretary, my mom wasn't too unfamiliar with life around a church office. :-)

I completed my sermon for Sunday today, and I am really excited about it. It's titled "Mercy Vs. Rules" and comes from Matthew 12: 1-14. I hate to sound melodramatic, but it just might be the most important sermon I've ever delivered since becoming a preacher in Ocean Springs.

After morning work, my mom & I went to lunch at Blue's BBQ. We both had the pork sandwich specials, then shared an AWESOME lemonade pie for dessert. Yum-yum, good!

Tonight, I have to pack for my trip to California tomorrow! I've never been out West at all, so I'm especially looking forward to this trip to the Pepperdine lectures. If all goes well in terms of internet connections, I'll be checking in every day.

If not, well... you'll just have to wait a few days.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

 
It was such a nice morning at church. Not many people made fun of my bald head where I could hear them. My mom was here. The sermon went well, and not that this is connected, there were several responses (as opposed to the normal, zero). Then, we had a combined class where every class reported on the various outreach projects done this past quarter (this had been a brainchild of mine, and contrary to that fact, it seemed to go very well).

Then, this afternoon, I realized I am an utter and complete moron, and I feel like a total heel.

As I mentioned earlier, we normally have somewhere around zero responses during our version of an altar call, reflecting I'm sure on the quality of the preaching. In spite of that fact, I still say a prayer after response time each week about whatever seems to be pressing. Today, before the invitation song, I had tasked myself to remember two separate situations we needed to pray about. And then Shawn came forward. And then Audrey. And then Pamela. And then Marion. And then, just as the song was finishing, came Kathryn. Shawn & Pamela stayed on the front row, but Audrey, Marion, and Kathryn returned to their seats after sharing thoughts with me (this is important for later).

I didn't write any of this down, as I bounced like a preacher pinball back and forth between all the responses (this is important information for my mounting guilt).

So I try to group all this stuff together into handy mental categories for my prayer. There were several health-related prayers - both Pat & the Kirby family that I had planned on praying for before, and Shawn's stepdad, and half of Audrey's prayer card. Then, there were family-related requests from Pamela, Kathryn, and the other half of Audrey's card.

And so I prayed.

And then I sat down.

And no one threw anything at me.

It was this afternoon that it dawned on me that I had not prayed for Marion! Marion is one of my great friends, and he is considering entering professional ministry after getting out of the Coast Guard. He responded this morning, emotional in his growing belief that this is something to pursue, and then I totally snubbed him in my prayer! I feel so bad - I can't even begin to tell you...

I called Marion, and he was so gracious to me. I'm not sure why, considering my completely irresponsible performance this morning. But he was gracious nonetheless.

I mentioned this to my wife & one of my elders separately this evening. Both said that they assumed that Marion had told me something private that he didn't want to be mentioned aloud. I appreciate their confidence in me. Too bad they didn't appreciate my idiocy.

I told Marion that I only take one little bit of solace in all this. Someday, when he's preaching somewhere, because of the nature of the job, he will do something somewhat equally boneheaded. At least he'll have a story to tell on himself, then...

:-(

Saturday, April 28, 2007

 
The picture above is my personal justification for all the expense, effort, and pains in various body parts that comes with adding an above-ground pool to the backyard: Hillary, with friends, Mari and Alexis, posing with their funny hairdos this afternoon.

The two billion shovel-loads of dirt I dug today, and the umpteen wheelbarrow trips to the ditch, and the accompanying sore back are reasons that argue against it.

But the pool parties still win out.

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In other developments, I signed up for a Facebook account today, and I must have hit cyber-paydirt. I already have hooked up with 11 friends from all over the place, and I just signed up a few hours ago! This must be the new "cool place" to hang out.

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Tomorrow's my first Sunday to preach bald. Well, completely bald.
:-)


Friday, April 27, 2007

 
I'm really tired, so I'll greatly summarize:

The picture above shows the after-effects of Hillary's dance recital tonight. The Studio Upside Down put on "Spring Fling" at the beautiful Saenger Theater in Biloxi this evening, a three hour extravaganza that was extra cute and super fun. Hillary's jazz class performed "Boogie Wonderland," and my completely biased opinion was that it was the best one of the night. I never thought I would enjoy dance recitals, but daddyhood does such things to a man.

My mom flew into town today & was able to see the recital tonight. My mom is an extra special person, as all who know her realize, and it is great to have her spend some extra time with us not that she's retired!

My oldest daughter, Erica, came home tonight, too, just to watch her little sister dance. That's the kind of thing that makes a daddy extra proud. She was impressed by her little sister!!!

I mowed the yard & ran the weedeater this morning, a three-hour chore each time it's done. But it always feels so good once it's done!

I've got to get some SLEEP!!! Good night everyone...

Thursday, April 26, 2007

 
Tonight's the big dance rehearsal at the Saenger Theater in Biloxi for Hillary's upcoming recital (this pic was from the dress rehearsal last Thursday). She is SO excited. To make things even better, my mom is flying in to watch!

This morning began with heavy storms passing through the area. There was another tornado warning for our county around time for the kids to go to school. Sheesh! Sometimes I think I'm back in Arkansas!

I spent more time than I expected printing off maps, etc. today of Pepperdine & the Los Angeles area for my upcoming trip to the lectures there. It's killing me that the Dodgers are playing a home game during the lectures, but I can't justify taking that much time away from my purpose for being there. I do have a few ideas for tourist stops on my way from the airport to the campus, and vice-versa. Two of them are normal; one confirms my unique personality! Oh, and I will have to sneak out of one of the evening lectures long enough to watch the sunset on the Pacific Ocean. I can justify that one - I think it's better to see God firsthand when compared to hearing a lecture about him!

I'm really looking forward to seeing my friend, Michael, who teaches at Pepperdine. He's one of the neatest people I know, and the glue behind the crazy gang at my Desperate Houseflies blog.

I also had the pleasure of meeting the owner of Not Too Little Play & Party Center in Ocean Springs today for My Ocean Springs photo-project. Another neat place!!!

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

 
Adult tennis is HUGE on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Treasure Oak Country Club in Ocean Springs is hosting a big tournament this week, and I was honored to steal five minutes of a busy man's time today (tennis pro, Steve Pennington) to add another entry to My Ocean Springs project (check it out HERE). After Katrina, I planned to get heavy into tennis once life settled down, but it never happened. But now that I look like Andre Aggasi...

Tonight's a big night for me, the unveiling of my bald head to a big chunk of my church family. No telling how that is going to go over...

A few bald observations so far:
* I'm suddenly a LOT more sensitive to air conditioning
* I'm suddenly pulling for Phil Stacey to win American Idol (our club sticks together)
* I'm suddenly no longer worried about whether it's raining or not

There's more to come, I'm sure. It's still early in my bald career.

By the way, I'm really into the book, Brother to a Dragonfly. It is DEFINITELY my kind of book, and for those who haven't read it, even though I'm only halfway through, I would definitely recommend it.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

 

My wife sent me a forwarded email of the huge, ugly fish above, with the explanation below:

"FYI: This Sturgeon is Still alive, just worn out from the fight. They turned him loose (it's the law in OR.). This Sturgeon was caught on the Willamette River just below Oregon City . It weighed out at over 1,000 lbs and measured out at 11'1". It was 56" around the girth and took over 6 and a half hours and 4 dozen beers for the 4 guys taking turns reeling."

In case you didn't know a "sturgeon" is an ugly fish. The female sturgeon produces eggs more popularly known as the delicacy, caviar.

When I went to the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory last week and met the wonderful Jim Franks, we talked about the sturgeon fish. He said that a couple of guys at the research lab are doing research on sturgeon, and that the Atlantic Sturgeon is endangered.

That big'un in Oregon fended for himself pretty good, it sounds like...

Anyway, after looking at this ugly sturgeon yesterday, thought I'd show you another one today.

Monday, April 23, 2007

 
For Sale: One used comb, and one fairly new bottle of shampoo. Both still in excellent shape. Owner no longer needs them. If interested, just give me a call!

It's going to be an interesting week (and more to come!), bumping into people I know and seeing the look on their faces... But you in blog-world, outside of Jody & Hillary & our friend, Devon, are the very first to know!

And don't say I didn't warn you!

Jody likes it, and Hillary likes feeling my head (she claims it feels like felt!). And I'm going to like it a lot, as soon as I (and everyone else) gets used to it.

Freedom!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, April 22, 2007

 
My sermon this morning centered on the end of Matthew 11:19, where Jesus replies to his own parable which highlighted both he and John the Baptizer's poor standing in public opinion, by saying, "wisdom is proved right by her actions."

In other words, if you want to judge Jesus, judge him by how he lived.

My application, once again, asked us to compare our lives to His. How do we truly compare?

After a good morning with our church family, several of us went to eat lunch together, as is our normal practice. Today, while Jody drove to see Erica at Hattiesburg, Hillary & I went to McElroy's with Keith, Tom & Laura, Tandy & Peggy, and Gene & Eileen. (Hillary had the catfish, while I had the shrimp po-boy.)

Among many topics, Tom & I explained to Keith our "Men Against Sandals" club. We believe we are the only two members remaining, since most men are now seen wearing flip-flops or sandals in some shape or form. Tom's membership is faltering now, too, since he has purchased a pair for an upcoming cruise.

Keith is with the majority on this one, and after a moment's reflection, he explained to us in all seriousness: "Some of us are trying to be like Jesus."

:-)

What can I say? At least someone took my sermon seriously...

:-)

Saturday, April 21, 2007

 
Check out my addition to My Ocean Springs photo-project today HERE. (Click over - I really liked the picture, plus the caption tells you about GINS, one of the many neat things about Ocean Springs that a lot of people don't know about...)

Happy Earth Day to you,
Happy Earth Day to you,
Happy Earth Day dear everyone,
Happy Earth Day to you
.

It has always struck me as odd that those associated with the Religious Right have generally been in opposition to environmentalists. On the surface it seems to me that religious folks would be all for anything that leads toward respecting nature. Even if some have a tendency to overdo it, it just seems to me that the religious would prefer erring on that side than on the other, but this is most definitely not the case.

After a bit of reflection, it seems somewhat obvious why this oddity exists, and it has everything to do with that confusing seminary word, eschatology (to oversimplify, the study of how the world will end). The religious world to which I refer believes in “a new earth” after this one, and as a result, aren’t desperately concerned about this one, while simultaneously believing that their opposition is so concerned about preserving this planet because they believe that this is our only hope.

Hence, you find predominantly religious folks sneering at the concept of global warming. And so on and so on...

But I don’t buy this outlook.

For one, it is glaringly inconsistent. This same belief in a “new earth” carries alongside a belief in a “new body,” too, but the same folks will lead the way in campaigns against smoking, drinking, etc. on the very basis that it harms the body (even going a bit overboard periodically). What’s the difference?

It just seems to me that followers of God would want everything respected.

I remember an odd thing from my high school days. When our National Honor Society went on our annual trip, Coach Watson would insist that we make our beds in our hotel rooms and clean them completely before leaving. This was silly, of course, because the maidservice would have to strip the beds anyway, but he insisted. And why? He was teaching us that it is our responsibility to clean up after ourselves, no matter what.

And he was right.

And the same concept extends to our planet.

So Happy Earth Day to everyone. I’m thankful for a day to remind us to respect the marvelous planet God gave us.

Friday, April 20, 2007

 
As you can tell from the picture, I like church parties in Ocean Springs.

The Bryants were in charge of this month's young adult party, and they decided on a beach party. The weather cooperated beautifully.

There was one unfortunate part to the night - stepping on something sharp while playing in the water sent Tristen to the hospital for a few stitches. Oh, and the bonfire didn't cooperate for most of the night either.

But in the end, we sat facing the cool ocean breeze. We roasted marshmallows and hot dogs and made s'mores. We threw around the football, and the ladies had a game of volleyball. We watched the sun set over Biloxi. The kids got sand in every body orifice. We spent the night talking to some of the best people in the world.

And somehow we came home with two more kids than we left our house with!

Yes, I like church parties in Ocean Springs.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

 
My friend, Gary, preached some of the funerals for the victims of the Westside school shootings in Jonesboro, Arkansas, in 1998. His eulogies were quoted in many prominent places, including the New York Times, but his Christian message of forgiveness generated hate mail, which, though it shouldn’t, surprised me.

I think we have some sort of psychological need for villains to be inhuman. Do you agree? They do, after all, commit inhuman acts, so we seem to want little to do with anything that might make them relate to us in any shape or form.

Charles Manson. Jeffrey Dahmer. Timothy McVeigh. Osama bin Laden. Saddam Hussein. And now, add Cho Seung-Hui to the list.

But I’m thinking that, though writing off villains as inhuman makes us feel somewhat better about ourselves, it isn’t helpful in understanding how to make anything better.

When the story of the unthinkable tragedy at Virginia Tech broke Monday, I did not miss the irony that I was scheduled to speak on a college campus that night. By the time of my lecture, the shooter had not been identified. When I stood up to speak, there were certain thoughts that came to mind that I shared with the audience: I wonder if anyone had invited the shooter to church Sunday? I wonder if anyone standing in line at Wal-Mart with the shooter had tried to strike up a friendly conversation? In other words, I wonder if anyone had been treating the shooter as a human being?

With those thoughts in mind, I was particularly intrigued by the AP story that came through this afternoon. Matt Apuzzo wrote:

Long before he boiled over, Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui was picked on, pushed around and laughed at over his shyness and the strange way he talked when he was a schoolboy in suburban Washington, former classmates say. Chris Davids, a Virginia Tech senior who graduated from Westfield High School in Chantilly, Va., with Cho in 2003, recalled that the South Korean immigrant almost never opened his mouth and would ignore attempts to strike up a conversation. Once, in English class, the teacher had the students read aloud, and when it was Cho's turn, he just looked down in silence, Davids recalled. Finally, after the teacher threatened him with an F for participation, Cho started to read in a strange, deep voice that sounded "like he had something in his mouth," Davids said. "As soon as he started reading, the whole class started laughing and pointing and saying, `Go back to China,'" Davids said.

Later in the article, Stephanie Roberts recalled from middle school days:

"There were just some people who were really mean to him and they would push him down and laugh at him. He didn't speak English really well and they would really make fun of him."

You remember that he was an English major, right?

On the horrible video that Cho left behind, he said: “"You had a hundred billion chances and ways to have avoided today, but you decided to spill my blood. You forced me into a corner and gave me only one option. The decision was yours. Now you have blood on your hands that will never wash off."

Let me be clear: Cho is responsible for his horrific actions, and there is no excuse. What he did cannot be projected on anyone else. Everyone is responsible for his or her actions, and Cho is most definitely not an exception.

But there are lessons to be learned, I believe. And if we aren’t willing to acknowledge that he was once a middle school whipping boy, then our hopes for exposing the wrong in the world that leads in these tragic directions will be lost as well.

I’ve heard it so many times it is beginning to turn my stomach: “When asked about the shooter, neighbors recall, ‘He was a loner…’”

Our national epidemic of loneliness seems to be killing us.

Literally.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

 
Blogger isn't allowing me to add a picture tonight. John Dobbs exults in my misery. :-)

Undaunted, I press on.

After finishing War and Peace by Tolstoy and The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne, it was time for me to buy some more books! Three arrived yesterday, and I began two of them today.

#1: THE JESUS WAY by Eugene Peterson

* In many ways, Peterson has been my pastor. His writings have meant more to me than I could express over the past 6 or 7 years. I bought the third book in his current series just because he wrote it, but imagine my surprise when "The Jesus Way" arrived, appearing to be exactly the thoughts I'm struggling with in my life. What are the odds that the topic of my assigned lecture delivered two nights ago, "In His Steps," was a summation of everything I've been reading for a year or so now? And then, what are the odds that Peterson's book is titled "The Jesus Way" (kind of similar to "In His Steps," huh?). It shouldn't seem odd to hear the sentence, "Christians follow Jesus." But I've already underlined that in Peterson's book. I'd encourage you to read the transcript of my lecture over at the blog with my wonderful Housefly friends HERE, and when you do, you'll see why I underlined that sentence - and why it's necessary to write.

#2: BROTHER TO A DRAGONFLY by Will Campbell

* I'm fascinated by the life of Will Campbell, but up to now, I've only read excerpts from his fascinating life. I've heard that this book is an autobiography of sorts. There is a sequel I believe, and I'm guessing I'll be ordering it some day, too. (For a neat summary of Campbell, go HERE. For a really fascinating article for Church of Christ folks, go HERE, too.)

#3: BLUE LIKE JAZZ by Donald Miller.

* This one is waiting on deck, based on whichever of the first two I finish first. I've heard for a while now that this is my kind of book. I just read the first page or two and I'm already in agreement. You can check out the author HERE.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

 
Five-hundred miles on the road over eight hours today, including listening to the entire disaster also known as the St. Louis Cardinals game on XM Radio. But the weather was beautiful, and the company wonderful (my wife and youngest daughter), so today has been an enjoyable one.

It got even better tonight when I attended the 4th grade Songbirds concert tonight at our daughter's elementary school. We listened to an eclectic program, ranging from Stevie Wonder to Singin' in the Rain, and it was straight-up excellent. I'm now typing on the laptop watching the Sanjaya/Lakisha/Chris disasters back-to-back-to-back on American Idol, and I'm thinking that they're looking for American Idols in the wrong venue. They should probably try some elementary schools.

After a trip, I sigh to think about getting back in the swing of things tomorrow. To misquote Campolo, it's Tuesday, but Wednesday's a-comin'...

Monday, April 16, 2007

 
It seems odd to be scheduled to deliver a lecture on a college campus tonight, given the tragic news story dominating the nation today. Thoughts and prayers go out to those closest to the horrible situation at Virginia Tech today.

A quick Internet search located the Church of Christ Student Center on the campus. It is just down the street from the dormitory where the early morning shooting took place, but across campus from the engineering building where the majority of the massacre reportedly took place later in the morning. You can read blog updates from one of the ladies associated with the campus ministry in Blacksburg HERE.

As I watched CNN, one of the reporters made the interesting observation that (a) these events generally seem to occur on school grounds, and (b) they seem to occur in America. Neither makes sense.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

 
This picture from last night shows the best reason for making the trip to grandma's (or, Ma-Ma's in this instance): looking through the picture albums, laughing, and making fun of daddies. The digital age has changed picture albums somewhat, but in some ways, things are better than ever. It's a real thought to me that this "Minutes to Memories" blog serves as a daily journal that I hope (cross your modems) will stick around forever.

We had a great morning at Hillcrest. It was really neat to be back there & to see so many faces we haven't seen in such a long time. I won't even begin to name names - there were so many. I spent the combined classtime talking about Hurricane Katrina experiences, and it seemed to be well-received. I then preached on the call of Jesus to the "harrassed and helpless" from the end of Matthew 9.

Afterwards, all of our families met at "Four Seasons" (a new Chinese restaurant) for a buffet lunch, which was really nice, too.

Currently, my mom & I are watching the Cardinals play (surprise!). Two homers from Pujols today!!! Woo hoo!!!

In a little bit, I'm going to 7th & Mueller Church of Christ for their 5pm service, and then at 7pm I will head out to the first night of the Crowley's Ridge College Lectureship.

A really nice day.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

 
It turned out not to be an adventurous trip home to Paragould today, which was quite a relief. I had planned to make the entire trip today, but when I looked at the weather forecast late yesterday afternoon and noticed the huge storm system scheduled to make its swath across the southeast today, we made a quick change of plans. We packed in a hurry and drove to a hotel just north of Jackson, Mississippi, late last night (actually arriving around 1am this morning). When we awakened around 9am this morning, I turned on the weather and was very glad that we had made that decision - one of the really bad storm cells was headed directly through the area we would have been driving on this morning.

As my old friend, Hal, says, even a blind squirrell gets a nut now and then.

We had a wonderful, wonderful trip up. We stopped near Memphis to see our friends, John, Jinger, and Alicia. It was SO GOOD to see them. We got to see their beautiful home, and then they took us out to eat at Logan's where we shared a wonderful meal together. They are such a neat family, and we love them more than they could know.

Now I'm sitting here on my mom's couch after eating supper at Dairy Queen, a Paragould tradition (I had to have me a Jim Dandy sandwich). And now, in another Paragould tradition, we're watching the Cardinals on television (Scott Rolen just knocked Duncan in to tie the game!!!).

I'm looking forward to speaking at the Hillcrest Church of Christ tomorrow morning. Hillcrest deserves credit or blame (depending on whom you're talking to...) for me becoming a preacher. The last time I spoke there was Valentine's Day in 1999, the day before we moved to Ocean Springs, so speaking there again tomorrow will be really neat.

Gotta go. Speizio is at the plate.

Friday, April 13, 2007

 
It is poor form to disclose the age of a lady, particularly your very own wife, so whatever you do, do not look at the birthday cake above for any hints. Suffice it to say that my wife is older than me, and that's all you really need to know.

With life set on "hectic" for the next several days, we decided to celebrate Jody's birthday somewhere in the vicinity of her actual birthday; so we enjoyed chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream, cards, and presents together last evening.

I will say that, of all the days in the history of the world, it's hard for me to imagine a day more important than the day Jody appeared in the world.

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!!!

Thursday, April 12, 2007

 
After getting everything squared away for the two days I'll be out of the office next week, I worked the downtown area for my Ocean Springs photo-project (check out three new entries HERE).

I enjoyed meeting Kim at Chandeleur Outfitters, swapped Katrina stories with the owner of an antique shop, and sat on the porch of Two Dogs Dancing for awhile with its owner, Mickie.

In the middle, I had the pleasure of seeing my friends, Jim and Betty, and Betty posed for a picture with her new "urban art" project in front of their downtown business (pictured above).

After Katrina, a bar opened in downtown Ocean Springs. Followed by another. And another. And some more "anothers," though I don't have an official count. Many Ocean Springs citizens (along with many downtown business owners) are disheartened to see this sudden influx into what had normally been a clean, quiet, quaint area.

Recently, several of the bar owners came together to create a Cinco de Mayo Festival for the downtown area (that has since been renamed, May Fest). The downtown area of Ocean Springs hosts several festivals each year, and often the streets are blocked off to turn them into pedestrian stret festivals. Without polling the downtown owners, the city approved "May Fest" for the first Saturday in May.

A lot of downtown business owners aren't happy about this development at all, but in spite of appealing to city government, the festival continues its preparations.

So today, Betty decided to do her bit to expose the situation. After another day picking up a lot of beer bottles and other trash new to the area since the influx of the bars, she decided to turn it into what she named "Urban Art," which you see pictured above. I'll tell you, with the lighting, the glass, the beads, and the landscaping, she sure made it an eyecatcher!

It will be interesting now to see the reactions.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

 
3 months. 1,455 pages. And now I am one of two people I know of (the other being a certain Leo Tolstoy) who has actually read War & Peace.

Some people claim it to be the greatest novel ever written, which is particularly interesting since its author didn't even claim it was a novel (he said that Anna Karenina, written later, was his first attempt at a novel). When pressed as to what it was, his response was something along the lines of "it is what it is."

There are lengthy passages in War & Peace that aren't part of a story at all. In those sections, Tolstoy waxes eloquent on all sorts of his theories on how the world works. In between is a compelling history of the Napoleonic invasion of Russia through the eyes of a LOT of characters, but principally through three families - the Bezukhovs, the Bolkonskys, and the Rostovs. In the 105 page epilogue, the first half brings the story to a close, while the last half is a long essay arguing concepts such as the nature of the field of history, power, and human free will.

It is an interesting and weird book. When you have a few months, you ought to give it a read.

By book's end, I believe a singular major character emerged in Pierre Bezukhov. And he's a worthy major character in what some claim to be the greatest novel ever written. Definitely complex, yet likable, and I left him in a positive place.

But he hasn't left me, and he probably won't. After 1,455 pages, I'm pretty sure Pierre will be a part of my life from now on.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

 
Since Hurricane Katrina introduced herself, I'm not so much a fan of the old children's song: "The rains came down, and the floods came up, and the house on the sand went SPLAT!"

Yet I can't stop humming it on days like today. Lots and lots of rain.

I had planned to go to Mobile tonight to watch Mississippi State University play the University of South Alabama, but on such a rainy day, I didn't even try to make the trip.

But I'm getting a chance tonight to put in some extra work on some upcoming speaking engagements, which I very much needed to do. So it's all good.

And my current house has not gone SPLAT!

Monday, April 09, 2007

 
The following is a public service provided for all Arkansas Razorback fans - information about brand new head men's basketball coach, John Pelphrey:

* Many of you will remember Pelphrey as that annoyingly good red-head on Pitino's Kentucky teams in the early '90s (picture above against LSU in '91 - notice Shaq with hair on the right) that played against our May-Day (and Big "O") teams.

* Pelphrey has the good-and-bad distinction of playing in the classic Elite Eight battle against Duke in 1992. The good being that it is one of the all-time classic college basketball games. The bad is that he was one of the two guys standing close to Christian Laettner when he hit the stinking shot at the buzzer to win the game.

* Pelphrey played for both Pitino and Eddie Sutton at Kentucky, which set up his coaching career. He coached under Sutton at Oklahoma State, then under Pitino-apprentice, Billy Donovan, at both Marshall and Florida (and just for kicks, I'd like to point out that Billy Donovan called ME when I was coaching high school about my point guard, Rob Shaver, who just discovered this blog a few days ago. Donovan was a Kentucky assistant at the time, and he then contacted me again when he moved to Marshall, where he hired Pelphrey as an assistant).

* Pelphrey left Florida in 2002 to be the head coach at the University of South Alabama, which is about 45 minutes from my house (this fact being important, of course). He led the Jaguars to the NCAA tourney the year before last where they ironically lost to Florida, but the Jags were upset this year in the conference tourney by Middle Tennessee State in an overtime thriller.

* In high school, Pelphrey was Mr. Basketball in Kentucky, no small feat.

* Pelphrey's jersey was retired at the University of Kentucky.

* Billy Donovan said this about Pelphrey: "John Pelphrey is a phenomenal coach, and I think people realize and respect that, but he's an even better person. He understands about developing student-athletes as people, not just as players. John sets the highest standards in values and integrity and instills these values in the young men he teaches. His work ethic and passion have made him a success at every level of basketball, from a player to an assistant to the transition to a head coach."

* Rick Pitino said this about Pelphrey: "John Pelphrey was one of the most intelligent players that I have ever coached. His leadership on the court has carried over to the sidelines. As a coach, he is one of the brightest young stars in our game."

To tell the truth, I hated to see Stan Heath forced out. But I have to say that the choice of John Pelphrey looks to be a good one. Here's hoping that the boosters will treat him better than his predecessor.

Go Hogs Go!!!


*

Sunday, April 08, 2007

 
It has been a really nice Easter, in spite of the much colder weather (there was actually some sleet last night on the Mississippi Gulf Coast!).

The picture above is of the Smith family from last November. Hillary and I ran into Bud last week at Wal-Mart, and he invited our family over today for Easter dinner. We shared a feast with their impressive family and really had a blast. We enjoyed hanging out with the Smiths, their close friends, the Medinas, and their priest, Father Farrell. Father Farrell couldn't stay away from the Masters on television, and before I left he invited me along for a round at St. Andrew's sometime! Erica came in late last night (actually early this morning) just to spend Easter Sunday at church with us, and it was extra special to spend the afternoon at the Smiths with our entire family.

Our Sunday morning worship was extra special today, too. First of all, Awesome Dawson made his first appearance at church! For those who remember, Dawson weighed in at 1lb, 15oz when he was born just before Thanksgiving. He now weighs in at over 9 pounds and it was very neat for everyone to see whom they have been praying for for so long now. Second, I asked my friend, Al, to get up and tell his story. After a life filled with addictions to drugs and alcohol, he turned his life around by giving it to Jesus at the Home of Grace treatment facility. When he finished his story, he actually received a standing ovation! And we just don't do standing ovations in the Church of Christ, you know! :-)

Between Dawson's public appearance and Al's testimony, I didn't have to add much to display today what Easter is all about - God making everything new.

Saturday, April 07, 2007

 
On February 17, my wife & I made the fateful decision to actually build a deck on to the above ground pool we had decided to purchase. At lunch the next day, the sky opened up, God smiled down, and our friend, Tom O'Connell, said that he'd like to help.

On March 17, the pool was installed, the deck materials were here, and we began work on the deck.

And yesterday, 20 days after beginning, we were completely done.

And there was much pride and rejoicing. (Tom is my new hero.)

Today, I think I worked harder than all 20 days combined, however, digging what seemed like half our yard up to put in a gravel & stepping stone walkway from our back door patio to the pool. I'm totally exhausted now. I need to go back to work to get some rest!

Happy Easter everyone!

Friday, April 06, 2007

 
There were a couple of significant things that happened today: One, we finished our deck (I'll have to take a picture tomorrow); and two, Hillary and I had a great visit to Caboose Cones in downtown Ocean Springs where we met the owner and even got a personal tour of the caboose (you can read about Caboose Cones HERE).

But those significant things seem awfully insignificant today.

I saw a link on John Dobbs' blog today about a ten-year-old boy who tragically died while heroically saving his friends' lives in Gulfport this past Tuesday night. He and his friends were in a mini-van whose brakes went out after dark on Highway 49 and endured a horrible wreck. Chad Lee, Jr., got out of the van, then went back in to rescue his buddies. They got out, but before Chad could get out again, he was struck by another car, and he did not survive.

Not long after reading this heart-wrenching story, my wife called me to tell me about the same story but added that Chad Lee, Jr. was a student in the same grade and at the same school as our Hillary.

Hillary was not a close friend of Chad's, and she wasn't in his specific class, but she still knew him. And it still wasn't much fun to tell a 4th grader that a classmate was killed on their spring break. Not much fun at all. And I cannot even imagine how hard it has been for others to do the same with Chad's close friends and family.

Mrs. Hubbard's class won 4th grade field day last Friday (the one where Hillary sang the national anthem). When they won, I snapped a couple of pictures of their celebration, and in the one above you will see the boy on the right in the blue shorts - that's Chad Lee, Jr., on his last day of school. Ever. He would die a tragic, heroic death just four days later.

How do you explain to a little girl why ten-year-old's have to die? Pardon my arrogance, but I don't really want your advice. I said all the right things, but they still sound like crap.

But we get to go on with our lives. And make something out of them.

A little boy went on spring break last Friday with no clue that his clock was ticking at just four days. But when the time came, he performed heroically, fulfilling (according to Jesus) the highest of all callings, "to lay down his life for his friends."

May we all live as heroically as that ten-year-old boy, even if the loss makes absolutely no sense.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

 
I finished The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne today. Haven't all of you bought it by now? Life-changing stuff. Now I need to sort through the scores of underlined passages and see where it leads me. I think you'll enjoy checking out Shane's place at "The Simple Way" HERE.

I added The Ruskin Oak to my Ocean Springs photo-project this afternoon. Hillary took the picture of me and Rochelle above; you can read the interesting entry HERE.

I was shocked to find out that Rochelle has only been playing music for about seven years. She is so talented that I was sure she was one of those musicians that has been performing since she was three years old, but I was completely wrong. This makes her even more impressive. Check out the Rochelle Harper Band HERE.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

 
The bulk of today consisted of preparations for Easter Sunday. By the very nature of the word "special," it is impossible to make every Sunday special. And by the distinct challenges of creativity, it is even impossible to make every "special" day special! But this Sunday has possibilities, and for that I am excited.

Shortly, I will head back to the church building for our Peak of the Week night. I'm teaching on the topic of "Reading and Storytelling" tonight, and I'm excited about this one, too. It carries the possibility of changing our lives for the better through a couple of practical suggestions. That always makes me excited about an upcoming class.

In between, Hillary & I went searching for Ocean Springs pictures. We found Bernard Clark in his antique shop, so I was able to add my 27th entry for 2007 (73 to go!).

Afterwards, we went to the Gulf Islands National Seashore to see if we could have any luck there. We did, but not in terms of adding a picture today. We met Terry, one of the park rangers, and she was a wealth of information. In addition to giving me direction on obtaining a cool picture at their Earth Day celebration in a couple of weeks, she had a great conversation with Hillary about animals. Hillary went to check on Maize, the pet corn snake, and she was the first to notice that Maize molted today (shed her skin). Terry asked if Hillary would like to see Maize, so she took her out of her cage and let her get a close-up look at this 2 or 3 foot long snake. We both (yes, me too) got to rub Maize's brand new skin, which felt like a water hose.

I bet none of you rubbed a freshly-molted corn snake's skin today, huh?

And I bet you're jealous, too.

Oh well, you don't have to be snitty about it. I thought it was cool. :-)

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

 
Lots happening today, with a few notables being...

* The addition of The Candy Cottage (above) to my Ocean Springs photography project. If the town you live in doesn't have a store exclusively dedicated to candy, then you should move to Ocean Springs without any further questions.

* Having my youngest daughter hang out with me at work today since she's on Spring Break. She spent a few hours going through a box filled with lots of old mementoes of mine, learning who knows what about me! After this, she spent some time composing an essay about me titled, "My Dad." And now I have a brand new memento to treasure.

* The newly merged affiliate, Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, asked me to be on their Board of Directors. For a Habitat for Humanity addict such as myself, I cannot turn it down.

* Work on our little deck continued this evening. My wife & I added the handrails to one side of the deck without help from anyone. Scary, I know, but we're proud nonetheless.

And now, I think I'll read a little more on War & Peace. I have just over 200 pages left, but considering the girth of the book, I'm coming down the home stretch now.

Monday, April 02, 2007

 


It's been an interesting day, but I'll just have to leave you in suspense. Some things are better off un-blogged.

About to head off to Buffalo's Wild Wings to watch the big game tonight with my friends Matt & Tracy. As an SEC fan and as one who picked the Gators, I'm rooting for Florida. And yet, if Ohio State wins, my nine-year-old daughter will beat all of us guys in the bracket contest, so I'm also kind of pulling for Ohio State. Win-win, I guess, huh?


Sunday, April 01, 2007

 
Well, baseball season is underway now, but the St. Louis Cardinals aren't off to a flying start so far. But then again, it isn't about how you start, it's how you finish. Just ask Cardinal fans about last season. I do love baseball season. It resurrects in the spring, then dies again for winter. In between, it consistently reminds me of my dad, while, oddly enough, serving as a metaphoric reminder of my personal belief in resurrection.

After a few weeks of beautiful sunny weather, it was a rainy day in South Mississippi.

I actually love rainy Sunday mornings with our church family. Years ago, someone made the wise suggestion of purchasing several nice golf umbrellas for rainy days since we don't have a handy awning to keep peoply dry. Well, I don't really want a nice awning anymore, at least for Sunday mornings. I love the days when several of us tromp through water puddles escorting those coming to worship in from their cars. Like today. And, oddly enough, instead of our typical 130 or 140 in attendance, we had 168 folks gather on this rainy day.

I was a bit worried about the rain because I was scheduled to officiate an outdoor wedding at the Gulf Islands National Seashore this afternoon. But after lunch, just on time, the rain stopped, and the wedding occurred without any problems.

And hey, while I've been typing, the Cardinals are beginning a little 6th inning rally. They just might make a comeback.

Yes, I do love baseball.

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