Breaking the Silence/Things That Make Me Happy

So Brynn is one. Carter is another. He turns 5 in March and is becoming such a little man. My wife is more beautiful than ever. We are discovering a new stage in life which has been amazing. Work is splendid. My car needs to go to the shop because the front is jacked and the back bumper is falling off. I'm starting to travel more again and I'm very happy.

Other than that, life is pretty usual. I do plan on saying more, today though, I need to ease my way back in.

When Words Fail, Pictures are Clear

A Real Bookstore

Sometimes even the instant gratification of buying online isn't enough.

About once a month since I've moved to Joplin I have found myself wanting to buy a particular book only to find out that the (insanely) lame bookstores of Joplin don't have it. One would think in a town with roughly 295 different restaurants and 3000 different places to buy smokes and lottery tickets that somebody would carry books people actually want.

I am rarely one to complain about Joplin. Truth be told I enjoy it here. Granted I am on the road quite a bit and end up buying most of my books in real bookstores, ones that carry books printed since 2005 and often also possessing the sacred smells of Starbucks, but nonetheless just because I can buy them elsewhere doesn't mean I always want to. Paying $5 for shipping and waiting for 3-7 business days also doesn't cut it.

Sure, I admit that there are some unread books on my desk right now. Sure, a good steward would read those before spending more of said stewards hard earned money on more books but that isn't fun. Or impulsive.

So, tomorrow I leave for the 'Nati and you can bet your bottom dollar you will find me across the river sipping a sacred cup of something hot and expensive while I put my grubby mits on the book I MUST HAVE.

And in case you are wondering this moments must have book is The Shack by William P. Young.

Rob Bell

Ever since the Nooma's came out (thanks for the tip Schaff) I've been facinated by Rob Bell. A little quirky, sometimes controversial but always engaging and challenging. For the record I'm a bigger fan of Sex God than Velvet Elvis though both are great.

Tuesday night thanks to the generosity of the Mo, he and I had the opportunity to drive up to Kansas City and check out Bell's new speaking tour, The God's Aren't Angry. Now to be fair, I'm sure I had pretty high expectations but I came away from the evening thinking it was one of the most enjoyable things I'd seen and with a sense of encouragement. Mo says this one wasn't as academic as his first tour, Everything is Spiritual, but great nonetheless. Bell speaks for 1 hour and 45 minutes straight and the time flies the way it does during a good movie or on date night with your wife.

Some general observations and reflections:
*Rob Bell is an amazing communicator. He makes it memorable both in an entertaining way and in such a way that you can replay in your mind the first 15 minutes almost by word even after the whole journey.
*I think Rob weighs about 85 lbs.
*The last 20 minutes are worth the price of admission.
*I was suprised by the crowd that was there, it wasn't what I expected. It also wasn't very interactive with him. They laughed at the jokes and really tracked with him but I half expected more random,spontaneous applause at times.
*I came away with so much to chew on but also encouraged in my faith.
*Rob became one of us and shaved the head. Bald is truly beautiful.

So check if he's coming to a city near you and if so and its not sold out, go check it out. If you don't like it, well, let's worry about that later.

Oh, and if you see me in the next few weeks and I like you, I need to tell you about dinner.

Can Win 'Em All

There were times on Saturday night I wasn't much fun to be around. However, this years Ducks seem to have an ability to win the big game, something we've only been able to do with cheating refs to this point......

I found out tonight we're actually on ESPN again next week, on Thursday actually in a game that makes me nervous. Okay, so every Ducks game makes me nervous. I'm not one that thinks we should play for the national title. I'll just be happy if we win out. Let the polls take care of things. And hey, as long as we're better than USC and Washington who really cares? And yes, I did think the Ducks uniforms on Saturday were majestic.

As for my Colts.......