Chris Whitfield was born on February 29th.

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Chris Whitfield was born on February 29^th.  

This was a difficult concept for him to grasp.  He had always celebrated his Birthday on February 28^th.  I made the mistake one Leap-Day to mention to him that this day (the 29^th) was his actual birthday.  Our conversation went something like this:

• ME: Hey Chris, isn’t it fun to have your birthday on the actual “date” you were born?
• CHRIS: My birthday is February 28^th.
• ME: Well, I know you celebrate it on that day but the day you were actually born was the 29^th.
• CHRIS: My birthday is February 28^th
• ME: You have your party on the 28^th but technically you were born the 29^th
• CHRIS: My birthday is February 28^th  
• ME: The reason we have your party on the 28^th is because that day comes every year but the 29^th comes every 4 years, it’s called “leap year” because we get an extra day on that year and that happened to be the day you were born…on the 29^th. But we want to celebrate your birthday every year, not just once every 4 years so that’s why we celebrate your birthday on the 28^th.
• CHRIS: My birthday is February 28^th

·        ME: Leap Years are needed to keep our calendar in alignment with the Earth's revolutions around the sun. It takes the Earth approximately 365.242199 days – or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds (a tropical year) – to circle once around the Sun. However, the Gregorian calendar has only 365 days in a year, so if we didn't add a day on February 29 nearly every 4 years, we would lose almost six hours off our calendar every year. After only 100 years, our calendar would be off by approximately 24 days! It just so happened you were born on one of the added in (or compensated) days, the 29^th.

• CHRIS: My birthday is February 28^th

·        ME: Yes Chris, you were born on February 28^th. Happy Belated Birthday.

• CHRIS: My birthday is February 28^th

Chris was an interesting kid.  He was about 6-feet tall, skinny, lanky, dark black skin, with teeth jutting out of his swollen gums. He had taken dilatin for many years because of seizures and his gums had swollen drastically.

He loved 80’s Hair Metal bands.  He considered himself white.  For Christmas he would always ask for leather clothes and a long blonde wig.

Chris’ best friend was also named, “Chris.”  Chris Cook was about 5-feet tall, was very white, thought he was black (he literally thought he was black, he would tell people he was black, he would mark “African American” on job applications, etc),  He listened to Rap Music and constantly played basket ball. (Take THAT stereo types!)

The two of them would make “Hate Lists,” that is, they would list everyone and everything they hated at that moment. It might look like this:

The HATE List

1.      Mr. Geil

2.      Minter Willis

3.      Jeff Lomax

4.      Maryellana Jenson

5.      Beans

6.      Swimming

7.      Jeff Lomax

8.      Light Bulbs

9.      Tenderloins

10.  Old Main

(These lists could go on for dozens of items.)

We eventually had to forbid “The HATE-List” as well as the subsequent “Do Not Like-List”, “Not on the Love-List, List” and “The Unlabeled-List (of things I hate but I won’t put the word ‘HATE’ on the list because I’ll get in trouble)-List.”

Chris W. loved MTV because at that time MTV was dominated by videos from White Snake, Guns -n- Roses, Cinderella, Dokken and other ridiculous bands.  Chris would give me a list of every band who played on MTV’s “Hard-30,” a program that showed Hard Rock videos from 3:30 to 4:00 every day. “You gonna watch Hard-30 with me today Mr. Geil?” Chris W. would often ask.  Some times I would go over to the day-room and watch Hard-30.  The way Chris W. would watch videos is that he would sit next to the TV facing away from the screen and write down every band that played without ever looking at the screen.

In the mornings he would give me a list of the previous evening’s sports scores…just the scores, no team names or even what sport they were from.  Chris would come in the morning and hand me a paper, “Here are the scores Mr. Geil.” And the paper would look like this:

102-98             78-72               83-94               28-22               3-2                   89-101

There would be line after line of pairs of numbers. “What game did you watch last night Chris?” I would ask.

“I think I saw 102-98 and the first half of 83-94.” He would reply.

Chris was also a master insulter without using swear words. He mostly liked to insult people a.) with food b.) with the prefix “ole’’” c.) the suffix “lookin” and d.) usually with a reference to one’s “head.”

For instance:
“Pumpkin”
“You ole’ Pumpkin”
“You ole’ Pumpkin Lookin”’
“You ole’ Pumpkin-Head Lookin’”

He could rattle off some doozies when he got angry enough:
“You ole’ ski-ball-lookin’ knocky-headed biscuit! Biscuit Head!”

Chris W. went to live in an adult group home after he turned 22. It was run by an older Black couple who really lived Chris. He had his own room, own music, his own TV and he worked at a small sheltered workshop.

One Saturday during lunch at his group home, Chris took too big of a bite from his peanut butter sandwich.  He began to choke and then went into a seizure (his seizures were always grand-mal.)  He couldn’t breathe and his Group Home parent attempted to give him a tracheotomy right there on the dining room table.

It was a sad funeral.  Many of the KDS staff was there.  His group home parents were crushed. It was a sad day.

I do think of Chris and Chris often when I drive because I use one of there phrases to yell at other stupid drivers “You ole’ skiball lookin’ knocky headed biscuit! Biscuit Head!”

chris

The first car accident.

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Today was the first car accident in the Geil family.

It was on the way to rehearsal for "Joseph" and someone pulled in front of someone who slammed on the brakes in front of someone who then slammed on their brakes in front of Jaron who slid in the rain and crunched the front of the red car.

Wesley and Christian were with him. Everyone is fine, but the car is not.

I'm taking a couple hours off tomorrow to take care of this and teach Jaron the difference between "Liability" ans Collision."

chris

Cue to Cue

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"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat" cue-to-cue tonight (5 pm-10 pm)

nuff said.

chris

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat CYT KC

Prophesy

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When I was in Bible College, "modern-day" and "prophesy" were mutually exclusive terms. If you used them together you would, most likely, get "kicked out of the club."

But there I was, letting a a couple I barely knew say something to me that would effect my whole family, the whole direction of mt life.  I could have comfortably stayed at KDS (a place that I loved) for ever, but my heart was being moved somewhere else.

I really like the writings of T. Austin-Sparks.  In his book "The Prophetic Ministry" he "de-mystifies" what prophesy is and what function it serves.

First of all prophesy is simply revealing or making clear what God's purposes are for the moment.  Not just the general do-good menu we all tend to order from, but what specifically he is doing and how we are a part of it.

Second; he generally does something in the life of the "prophet" as an object lesson for the rest of the world to see, which at times seems to suck for the prophet (like only sleeping on your left side or shaving 1/2 of our beard or taking the town whore as your wife.)

It was not a big jump after i settled that i my spirit.  I was already saying "yes" to everything anyway.  The pigeon hole prophesy as only a look into the future is to miss the point.  God mostly wants to reveal what he is doing now.

chris

For all the writings of T. Austin-Sparks online: http://www.austin-sparks.net/

Complaining...

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Last night I had a dream that we had moved back to Nashville.

I was awake for awhile in the middle of the night for awhile (as I often am) and I had a hard time shaking the feeling that I was in Nashville.  I guess all of my recounting of living back in Tennessee has stirred up my subconscious.

I have still struggled with that feeling from depression where you never feel rested.  I wake up in the morning and it feels like I never went to bed.  I just feel physically exhausted, like I can't pick up my arms or hold my head up.  That might be why I'm remembering my dreams more, I don't think I'm getting into a deep enough sleep.

The ringing in my ears is also seems to be getting louder ( is that possible?)  I know that one of the knocks on Advil was it caused ringing of the ears.  I'm sure mine is from all the my unprotected rock and roll listening habits.

What else can I complain about?

I've got to admit, even though I work with some good people that I enjoy and the pay and benefits that maintain my family, my job kind of sucks.  I know it is all my negative perception but as I break my job task down to the "fun factors" there are very few.

OK, I was totally not in the mood to blog, but I did, even though it was uninformative and pretty "sucky.."

chris

My History with the Lord: The Spirit of Prophesy

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More Stories from: New Life Church…

I hope I have painted a picture (a bit) of what it was like at New Life Church in Columbia.  It was exciting and full of energy.  People were getting saved and radically set free.  There was a “Presence” of the Holy Spirit in our midst. People from all over were flocking to our meetings.  We hosted speakers and Ministers from around the country.  It was an exciting time.  Then people started to get “tired.”

Those of us who were in the “production” side of New Life were getting physically tired, exhausted, actually.  There became a sort of unhealthy self-focus. It was difficult to get folks to staff the nursery or teach Sunday School or participate in small groups.  The meetings were so great, everyone wanted to be there all the time.  The few people who would do child care or clean the building or make the “mundane” stuff happen were getting worked to death.  The prayer team was exhausted. The elders were exhausted. The staff was exhausted.  Our kids were small at the time so Amy and I were already exhausted.

Amy and I were already working with the small groups and I had come along side another guy who was attempting to get them going.  I was training the Small Group leaders in group dynamics, crisis counseling, and rudimentary care-type skills.  I was spending an increasing amount of time at church practicing, playing or leading worship and I was spending more and more time with my own small group and meeting with and developing other leaders.  My job at King’s Daughters’ did not cut back. There was also soccer and baseball and swimming and sons and Amy.  It was a hectic time.

The New Life Leadership knew we needed to function as a body and not just an event center, so all the group leaders, elders and staff were whisked away for a weekend retreat at a beautiful rural retreat center.  Leaders from Belmont Church in Nashville (Doug and Dabney Mann) where also at the retreat to do some teaching and to pray and prophesy over us.  It was a great time and there was singing and good food and great teaching and conversation.  Several of us had teaching sessions on how we could improve in our areas of service and care.  We were looking for ways to get people connected and committed.  Near the end of our time Doug and Dabney started praying and prophesying over each couple.  That’s when things got a little weird.

Doug and Dabney didn’t know any of us at all.  Even though Amy and I had actually gone to church with them in Nashville for five years, we had never met them (Belmont was huge.)  So when they started praying and saying things, insightful things, we all knew God had clued them in on us.

The couple in front of us was middle-aged and just good folk.  They were kind and simple with everything they did.  They were rural types and related well to people out in the county.  Dabney started praying for them and then said this, “I see what you are doing as…going out.  You are ministering and your ministry is…going out…like on trucks on the interstate.  Your ministry is being carried across the country on semi-trucks.”  Now, what Dabney didn’t know was that this couple went to a truck stop every Sunday and directed church services in one of the side rooms.  They prayed for truckers and kept in contact with them.  There is a lot of drug abuse and prostitution hovering around over the road trucking and they really had a heart for truckers.  We had helped get a small resource library out at the truck stop and tried to encourage the couple best we could. But Bob and Betty had begun to question their own effort.  They wondered if it was all worth it, but not after Dabney confirmed that they were doing something effective and worthwhile.

Amy and I were next, and I was nervous.  I silently started to pray, LordpleaseforgivemeofanysinsImayhaveneglectedtomentionand….. I tried to get all “confessed-up” so Dabney wouldn’t drop a bomb on me (which wouldn’t have happened anyway…it was just my unbelief.)

When Amy and I stepped up for our “turn,” in unison, Doug and Dabney looked at us, looked at each other, then gave us the “just-a-second” hand gesture and turned to the side with there heads together, whispering.  Oh great, I was thinking, What have I done?  Nothing too heinous.  I did eat some of the Children’s Church Teddy Grams. Could that be it? When Dabney turned around she said this directly to me, “You have a picket fence in front of you.  It is about a foot tall. It is painted a beautiful white color and there are little shrubs and flowers around it. It is tastefully landscaped. It’s lovely…but it is still a fence.  You need to kick it over. You try to do some good things that are ministry, but you are trying to dress it up and not fully commit.  You will never be everything you were meant to be…” and then she hesitated, “…until you are in full-time ministry as your vocation.”  I was shocked, but everyone around me was nodding their heads like, “Duh!”

It put Amy and I down a path...

The HMO/PPO Dilema

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The HMO/PPO Dilema

Of all the Doctors I want to see for my check-up, none of them take my particular species of Blue-Cross insurance.  I have Blue-Care HMO. Here is an example of ALLLLL the other flavors of insurance this particular Doctor accepts:

·                     Aetna U.S. Healthcare (POS)

·                     Aetna U.S. Healthcare (PPO)

·                     Blue Cross Blue Shield -- Federal Gov't (PPO)

·                     Blue Cross Blue Shield -- Freedom Network (PPO)

·                     Blue Cross Blue Shield -- Freedom Network Select (PPO)

·                     Blue Cross Blue Shield -- Preferred Care (PPO)

·                     Blue Cross Blue Shield -- Preferred Care Blue (PPO)

·                     CIGNA (HMO)

·                     CIGNA (PPO)

·                     Community Care Network (PPO)

·                     Community Health Plan (EPO)

·                     Community Health Plan (HMO)

·                     Community Health Plan (POS)

·                     Community Health Plan (PPO)

·                     Coventry (HMO)

·                     Coventry (PPO Leased)

·                     Coventry (PPO)

·                     Great-West Healthcare (One Health Plan) (PPO)

·                     Great-West Healthcare (One Health Plan/Gen Am) (POS)

·                     Humana (PPO)

·                     Humana Choice (Medicare Advantage) (PPO)

·                     Humana Gold Choice Advanced (PFFS)

·                     Medicare

·                     MULTIPLAN -- AHP (PPO)

·                     Mutual of Omaha Mutually Preferred (PPO)

·                     Private Healthcare Systems (POS)

·                     Private Healthcare Systems (PPO)

·                     TriCare/Champus (BCBSKS)

·                     United HealthCare (POS)

·                     United HealthCare (PPO)

·                     United HealthCare Choice & Choice Plus (HMO/POS)

·                     United HealthCare Choice ASO (self-insured) (TPA)

·                     United HealthCare Managed Indemnity (MI)

There is even five (count-em, “5”) Blue Cross Blue Shield insurances but not “Blue-Care HMO.”

The HMO has done us fine in the past (both Eric and I had Umbilical hernia surgeries in the past 18 months) but now it is limiting what I want to do.  I can’t switch insurances until the end of April so I’m just going to free health screening next week and get the rest of my exams after my insurance can switch to the PPO.

Boring…I know.

(idc)

chris

Lent

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Lent

I think I'm giving up Diet Coke until Easter.  Can you believe it?

chris

Fat Tuesday

324

Today is Fat Tuesday

Definition: Fat Tuesday is the traditional name for the day before Ash Wednesday the first day of Lent. It is more commonly known as Mardi Gras, which is simply Fat Tuesday in French. It gets its name from the custom, in many Catholic countries, of marking the day with feasting before the fasting season of Lent begins.

Lent is a Catholic (and others) tradition of giving something-up or fasting something for a number of days and weeks before Good Friday and Easter.  The purpose of Lent is to prepare your heart for the Easter season by fasting, self-denial, to track on a weak and imperfect way to the "giving-up" of Jesus.

The way some prepare themselves is to get tanked and party in debaucherous ways the day before they start preparing their hearts for God.

For the Muslim faith a similar thing happens during Ramadan:

Definition: Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and submissiveness to God.

Effectively what happens is that the Muslims fast all day, get all grumpy from their headaches from not eating. Then they party all night after the sun goes down only to start it all again in the morning (except they are hung-over and they have 28 or 29 more days to go.

This is exactly why I am taking this whole year to get myself ready to be 50.  I don't want to be all wasted come January 1st.

I also don't think it honors God to sin a whole bunch the day before your going to be super righteous the next day.

chris

Freaky Presidential Trivia for Presidents Day

325


The REAL First President

George Washington was not the first President of the United States. The first President, John Hanson, was Maryland's representative at the Continental Congress. On November 5, 1781, Hanson, who is considered a black man because of his Moorish background, was elected by the Constitutional Congress to the office of "President of the United States in Congress Assembled." He served for one year and was followed by 6 other Presidents before Washington was elected.

Damn Those Damned Draft Dodgers!

President Grover Cleveland was a draft dodger. He hired someone to enter the service in his place. He was ridiculed by his political opponent, James Blaine, but it was soon discovered that Blaine had done the same thing himself!

Mr. President, Are You Aware
of How Fast You Were Going?

Ulysses S. Grant was convicted of exceeding the speed limit while riding with his horse in the streets of Washington, D.C. late one night. The accusing police officer was reluctant to issue the $20 fine when he realized that the offender was President Grant, but Grant insisted the he be fined.

And If You Think THAT'S Bad...

President Franklin Pierce was arrested during his term as President for running over an old lady with his horse, but the charges were later dropped.

Weird Presidential Facts President Garfield could write in Latin with one hand and in Greek with the other... simultaneously! Thomas Jefferson invented the coat hanger, the hideaway bed, the calendar clock and the dumbwaiter. Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence criticized the institution of slavery. This original draft was also written on hemp paper. President James Buchanan was the only bachelor to occupy the Oval Office. His niece, Harriet Lane, played the role of First Lady. President Washington was the wealthiest man in American at the time of his election as President, but he had to borrow money to attend his inauguration. His enormous wealth was attributed the vast property that he owned which produced almost no cash flow.  John Tyler, who was President from 1841 to 1845, joined the Confederacy twenty years later and became the only President named a sworn enemy of the United States. President Andrew Jackson believed the world was flat and FDR was so superstitious, that he would never leave town on a Friday and never sit at a table with 13 people.

President Atchison?

A man named David Rice Atchison was President of the United States for one day and didn't even know it. According to the law at the time, if neither the President nor the Vice President were in office, the President Pro Tem of the Senate (Atchinson) became President. On March 4, 1849, President Polk's term had expired and President-elect Taylor could not yet be sworn in because it was a Sunday. Atchinson did not realize that he had been President for a day until several months later. The law that made Atchinson President for a day has since been changed.

I'm a Loser, Baby, So
Why Don't Ya Kill Me

When he was 22, his business failed. When he was 23, he lost a bid for U.S. Congress. When he was 24, he failed in business again. The following year, he was elected to the state legislature. When he was 26, his sweetheart died. At age 27, he had a nervous breakdown. When he was 29, he was defeated for the post of Speaker of the House in the state legislature. When he was 31, he was defeated as Elector. When he was 34, he ran for Congress again and lost. At the age of 37, he ran for Congress yet again and finally won, but two years later he lost his re-election campaign. At the age of 46, he ran for a U.S. Senate seat and lost. The following year he ran for Vice President and lost. Finally, at the age of 51, he was elected President of the United States. Who was this perpetual loser you ask? Abe Lincoln.

"Is It the Fourth?"

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams spent years writing letters back and forth to each other debating the role of government. Jefferson favored a small Federal government with relatively limited powers; Adams demanded a stronger, more centralized Federal government. They had an enormous amount of respect for each other and died coincidentally on the same day: July 4, 1826. Jefferson's last words were: "Is it the fourth?"

Were They Aiming for Robert or What?

Robert Todd Lincoln, son of Abe Lincoln, was present at the assassinations of three Presidents: his father's, President Garfield's and President McKinley's. After the last shooting, he refused to attend any State affairs. He would not have been present at these events if it hadn't been for the brother of John Wilkes Booth, who saved his life years earlier.

The "Zero Factor" and Tecumseh's Curse

Some folks believe that the curse of Indian chief Tecumseh has killed every U.S. President before the end of their term in office, if they were elected in a year that ended with 0. The first victim of the curse was William Henry Harrison, whose troops killed the Indian chief in 1813.

	Harrison, elected in 1840, died of pneumonia after serving 31 days in office.
	Lincoln, elected in 1860, assassinated.
	Garfield, elected in 1880, assassinated.
	McKinley, elected to a second term in 1900, assassinated.
	Harding, elected in 1920, died of a stroke in 1923.
	Roosevelt, elected to a third term in 1940, died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1945.
	Kennedy, elected in 1960, assassinated.
	Reagan, elected in 1980, survived an attempted assassination. (Is the curse finally broken? We'll find out sometime in the next decade!)

Prophetic Presidents

Presidents Washington and Lincoln both had what might be considered prophetic visions. Lincoln prophesized his own death and even warned Congress about it. Washington prophesied the great future of the United States, including the victories in two Great Wars, and overcoming the devastation of a third (yet to occur?) global conflict.

Sorry, King -- I Gotta Get Back
To My Marijuana Harvest!

When George Washington and Ben Franklin were in France raising money for the Revolution, Washington told the King of France that he would leave Franklin in charge of the negotiations because he had to return to Virginia. He is quoted as saying, "I wouldn't miss the hemp harvest at Mount Vernon for all the tea in China". Hemp (marijuana), which was used to make clothes and paper, was the number one cash crop of the colonies and remained so until the invention of the cotton gin.
All in the Family Affair?
Franklin Roosevelt was related to Teddy Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and even his own wife, Eleanor, a second cousin. Although the relationship with the Roosevelt's was an uncomfortable situation for many people, there was stranger twist to the First Couples marriage. For 30 plus years, from 1932 on, Eleanor Roosevelt had an affair with another woman, Associated Press reporter Lenora Hickok. Eleanor wrote well over 2,300 passionate love letters to Hicky which Hicky saved on the condition that they not be published until 10 years after Eleanor's death.

chris

Full Disclosure

326

In real estate you have to provide a "disclosure form" when you sell your property.  It is a list of everything that was wrong or is wrong with your house.

For instance. In our current home the disclosure revealed termite damage.  So before we closed on the house we had an expert crawl under the house, look at the damage and look at the "corrective action" of the damage. In the end, it checked out "Okay."

But in life, I have to confess, I am a bit of a hypocrite.

I know that "full disclosure" is necessary for those confessing crimes, reporting abuse, revealing addiction.

But at other times, full disclosure is a hassle and creates more hassle.

In the world of "criminal thinking" nuanced responses that have "some" truth, some hidden (but pertinent) facts, and some misdirection are the most effective kinds of deceptions. Straight fabricated lies can be found out, but partial truths based in some real events can be debated.

Bill Clinton is the perfect example.  Slick Willy told a billion people (and I quote), "I never had sexual relations with that woman, and I never lied."

Now, we all found out that he had, in-fact (according to the definition of "sexual relations" in the minds of 99.9% of the people in the world) had participated in those "types" of relations and that he had lied.  It was glaringly obvious to EVERYONE in the world with a brain.  So how could someone so smart and so public tell such a bold-faced lie?

Well, let's look at it from President Clinton's perspective.  Technically..in a strictly biological sense...no, he had not "officially engaged' in "sexual intercourse."  He had done everything else, including some other disturbing activities that came out (so to speak) during the deposition, but the actual "let's make a baby" activity had not (strictly speaking) happened.

And the "I never lied" statement, from Willy's perspective, was also, technically true.  He did say, "I had an inappropriate relationship...it was wrong." and in his mind, he was all good.  He compartmentalized his mind to where he could say those things with passion and feel justified without looking (or feeling) guilty.

Is President Clinton so different from some of our responses to questions we don't want to answer?

Well...yes.

Most of us don't have that extreme of an ego to lie to the world when we know we are COMPLETELY hit.  But we may be kind of like that...a bit.

"How are you today?" It is a social question no one wants to answer and no one wants answered.  It is a social formality.  So when we respond in the expected way, "Fine" when we are not "fine" are we lying?

We have all sorts of societal call-and-response rituals:

CALL: "How do you like my new shirt?"
RESPONSE: "Love it!"

CALL: "How is your food?"
RESPONSE: "Great!"

(and my new retail store favorite)

CALL: "Did you find everything all right?"
RESPONSE: "Yes, thank you."

I gotta tell you, in my little blog here, I don't fully disclose. I don't want to do it and quite frankly, you don't want to hear it.

I imagine The Lord is the only true place for full disclosure:

1.) Not only does He already know everything we've ever done, He has first-hand knowledge.  He was there in all of our "stuff" and will be there in the rest of our "stuff." He's not surprised, shocked, or caught off guard. He knows even the intentions of our hearts...better than we know our hearts.

2.) He knows His own power. He knows His own ability to forgive. He knows the depths of His own love.  He knows there is nothing that can overwhelm His forgiveness. He does not have a dilemma of what to do.  He knows the solution.

3.) He has a great desire to forgive.  He wishes no one to perish.  He longs to bring healing and hope and real wholeness.  He is not put off bu our yuck (see #s 1 & 2)

So today at Church someone I love comes to me and asks, "How're you feeling?" I don't say, "My hip hurts worse to than when I started going to the chiropractor and I have a headache and I feel like a failure in all areas of my life and I want a cup of coffee and my general mood dip has come a month early and I need o get a prostate exam and my ears are ringing." I say, "Good." Which is he right and appropriate thing to say, and actually true-because the rest of that stuff is mouse-poop.

I just typed "mouse-poop." Awesome.

chris

Braveheart

327

Stayed up until 1:00AM watching "Braveheart" with Wesley.

 "Every man dies, not every man really lives."

chris

I wrote a blog today.

Who else died (or almost died) this week?

329

Who else died (or almost died) this week?

Zelda Kaplan
The Fashion Week crowd was stunned Wednesday when 95-year-old nightlife legend Zelda Kaplan died during a runway show.

Kaplan was seated near gossip queen Cindy Adams and supermodel Carol Alt in the front row of designer Joanna Mastroianni’s show when she appeared to faint, falling forward in her seat and “it looked like her eyelids started to flutter,” one witness said.

Security rushed to her side, picked her up, carried her over the runway and out of the sweltering tent as models continued to sashay down the catwalk.

Hamburger Heart Attack Guy (He didn't actually die)
Fox 5 Vegas reports that a man had a heart attack while eating a hamburger at a restaurant named, wait for it...Heart Attack Grill.

The burger joint's slogan is "Taste Worth Dying For" and this guy (who remains unarmed) almost became living, or dying, proof.

He was in the middle of eating one of their trademarked Triple Bypass Burgers when he started sweating and shaking. That's when one of the waitresses (who dress like nurses) went and told the owner someone was having a problem.

Ebenezer the Donkey
Don’t look for Ebenezer, the old donkey by the road. He died shortly before midnight Sunday.
He was surrounded by friends who gathered in the warmth of his cozy shed when a vet gave him a shot that stopped a heart that for years had reached out to everyone who drove past his little pasture on Grandview’s west edge.

“He looked up at us like he knew we had done everything we could,” said a tearful Shirley Phillips, his primary caregiver. “He was at peace. He didn’t want to get up anymore.

“Then he sighed a couple of times, and he was gone.”


Petty Officer 3rd Class Kyler L. Estrada
Petty Officer 3rd Class Kyler L. Estrada, 21, of Maricopa, Ariz., died Feb. 14 as a result of a non-combat related training incident in Djibouti.  Estrada, a Navy hospital corpsman, was assigned to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.


Who got more media coverage?

chris

For more info about US troop casualties: Troop Casualties

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427725/ebenezer-the-donkey-dies-surrounded.html#storylink=cpy

My History with The Lord: The Mystery of "Dessert:

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Testimonies:

I could not deny what was happening at New Life Church.  In all of the hoopla and “craziness” there was good fruit.  People would wail and hit the floor, lie there for a while, and get up…different.

Testimony time became my favorite part of our meetings.  Folks would get up and share what Jesus had done in their lives.  For the most part these were not people predisposed to run up to the microphone or seek attention.  Often, this was the only time they ever came to the mic or spoke to the congregation.  And we’re not talking about testimonies like, “I used to feel kind of bad but now I feel a bit better” or “Before, I couldn’t bend my arm like that, but now I can bend my arm like this.”  These were full-blown (sometimes scandalous) confessions that would turn your ears red if you weren’t looking into the face of someone who was completely free and changed.

Case in point:

There was a particular lady who, to me, always looked as if she was in pain.  She had a flat affect and furrowed eyebrows.  She had no physical energy whatsoever.  She seemed to have no life emanating from her.  Other than noticing she looked pretty life-less, I didn’t really pay any attention to her.  She just happened to be one of the zillion people at church.  One Sunday morning when testimony time rolled around she and her husband came to the platform.  She took the mic and began to speak.  She very plainly told us all that she had been depressed for many years, that she had an affair with a younger man, had become pregnant and had lost the baby (I couldn’t tell if it was by miscarriage or abortion.)  She told us she wanted to die, but couldn’t put enough energy together to end her own life.  She said she prayed and that the Holy Spirit moved in her, that the guilt and pain were removed and she experienced forgiveness She confessed all to her husband and he forgave her as well.  She was delivered.  Then she smiled and was unrecognizable.  She had big bright eyes and a tremendous smile full of bright white teeth.  She looked “new.”  He husband stood beside her during her testimony.  He was the strongest man in the room as far as I was concerned.  He had this air about him that seemed to say, “That’s right. This is my wife. And if you have something to say, come and get some.”

Dessert:

We had many testimonies just as astounding.  People came from around the region.  Pastors from surrounding churches would come Saturday evenings so they could be filled and not be “on-duty.”  We had an extensive prayer team that would specifically pray for people and lead them in “deliverance” sessions.  There were many people. The worship times were protracted and moving. It was a great, great time. It was especially humorus (at least I thought it was) when it seemed the Holy Spirit would sweep through and you could see waves of people collapse or start laughing or both.

On one particular song ( I can’t remember the name of it) everyone in the room from the very front to the very back (maybe 400+ people) were jumping in unison.  It was like being at a Rock Concert.  It looked awesome.

I asked the Lord about what was happening.  I didn’t doubt Him or what he was doing. And I wasn’t questioning His ways. I just wanted to know Him better.  I had been diligently seeking His voice and I believe He gave me and answer.

Most of the folks at New Life came from pretty “legalistic” churches and backgrounds. They believed God’s approval of the was “conditional” (how you acted, what you believed, how you dressed, what you avoided or indulged in.)  They viewed God as Right and Just and All-Powerful and generally cranky.

It was like this…

You had a bunch of people who were always fed bland food. Bland meat and potatoes. No sugar. No salt. No pepper. They were just force-fed proteins and the like.  They were never told about dessert.  Some folks had heard about the mysterious dessert, but their leaders and teachers told them dessert was bad and wrong and bad for them and they shouldn’t eat it and God didn’t like dessert and meat-of-the-Word and all that…

Then God shows-up and leads them to a dessert buffet full of cakes and cookies and pies and puddings and Rice-Crispy bars and brownies, ice cream w/every topping imaginable and warm fresh Krispy Kreme doughnuts (insert you favorite dessert here__________) and He not only says, “Have a bite.” He says, “Taste and see that The Lord is good!” and he opens it up 24-7.   Like Scrooge when he encounters the Spirit-O-Christmas-Present who says, “Come and know me better!” then he flies Ebenezer to all these Christmas parties full of food, dancing and wine.

These were folks who experienced real freedom and the giddiness of first love.  Love makes people do foolish things, sense goes out the window, and we just don't care what others think.

The word we used a lot was "Undignified."  "Dignity" is a very important, proper, Southern concept.  We threw that out the window as well...and had a food fight!

chris

My Valentines Day 2012

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Amy is at work until after 11 PM.

The boys are at "Joseph" rehearsals with their "show wives."

I had tepid macaroni & cheese straight out of the pan for dinner.

I'm blogging...

chris

ps. Amy and I did have a nice dinner at Ciao Bella last week in anticipation of her working on Valentines Day and she had some nice Peanut M&Ms (my favorite) at the kitchen table for me this morning when I got up and I did get her some new fancy mint-chocolate thingies (her favorite) so she could have something during the day and Wesley made the Mac & Cheese so it was pretty good and really Amy has the worst of the deal because she has to work and at least I'll be at home...alone...but if I tell you all of that I will get less perceived pity from the 11 people who will read this blog.  So I'm not going to tell you any of that!

To learn more about Ciao Bella's: Ciao Bella Downtown

I hate snow days!

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My superpowers have failed.

I was forcing away any snow from the KC area by my awesome will...but I was overrun by negativity.

So I had a snow day today from school.  I'm the only person in the world who never wants to have a snow-day.

"Why" you ask?

Three reasons:

1.) I want to get done for the year on May 17th, not June 1st.

2.) All of the trouble of a 5-day week gets packed into a 4-day week anyway.

3.) You feel like it should be a short week, but then you over-shoot the short factor and by Friday the week seems like it has gone on forrrevvvvvvvahhhhhhhhh.

That's why I hate snow-days!

chris

The Mignonette

In 1838, future horror-icon Edgar Allan Poe released a book called The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, his only full novel. The book was such a bomb that Poe eventually agreed with his critics that it was "a very silly book" (yet still good enough to inspire heavyweights like Jules Verne and Herman Melville to write Moby Dick and An Antarctic Mystery).

Where it Gets Weird:

Poe did a Paranormal Activity thing with his novel, which claimed to be based on true events. This turned out to be a half-truth:

The real life events simply had not happened yet.

One scene in The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket visits a whaling ship lost at sea, taking with it all but four crewmen. Out of food, the men drew lots to see who would be eaten, the unfortunate decision landing on a young cabin boy named Richard Parker.

Forty-six years later, there was an actual disaster at sea involving the Mignonette. It became famous due to the legal consequences of some gruesome events on board, specifically the way the men drew lots and decided to eat their cabin boy...

Where it Gets Even Weirder:

...who was named Richard Parker.

The bizarre story was discovered decades later by Nigel Parker a distant cousin of the Richard Parker who got eaten. You can only imagine what went through his mind when he stumbled upon the connection.

chris

Whitney Houston

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Yes, Whitney Houston and I were born in the same year.  There is an adage among addicts that they'll stop using when they get older, or, that they'll use less and have more control. However, that is never the truth. The opposite is more likely. The older they get, the less control and the more they use.

She was the best pop vocalist, ever.  But that wasn't enough to keep her out of the chronic.

I am predicting that there is a possibility that something else happened or that she "accidentally" overdosed a-la Heath Ledger, but make no mistake.

Her addictions brought her down.

Very sad.

cg