College Football Is Done

Since I stayed up past midnight to watch college football's championship game [the BCS is still lame], I thought I'd at least jot a few late-night thoughts . . .

Why start this game so late? Kelly went to bed five hours ago. There is no west coast bias until it comes to the starting times of these games. Kick-off wasn't until 8:30. Are California's ratings so important that you give kids [and people who have to wake up early] in the Eastern Time Zone no opportunity to watch the best games? You wonder why kids these days aren't as into the major sports. They've never been able to stay up late enough to watch playoff/championship games.

Is instant replay worth it? College football held out from instant replay until this past year. All season it was working well until this game; this one has been a mess. This officiating crew has had way too many calls to the booth. Instant replay did even more to prolong this game.

Dan Fouts is unbearable. Playing quarterback for the Chargers doesn't make you a great color-commentator. Didn't his unsuccessful stint on Monday Night Football teach us anything? And I really do love that Keith Jackson is still announcing games, but I think it's time for him to hang it up. It takes him ten seconds to get around to describing what actually happened. Team these two guys together and a great game becomes a little annoying. My take: drop Fouts and I'll tolerate Jackson.

Vince Young is incredible. I just watched him run in a touchdown to take the lead with 19 seconds left in the game. Barring a miracle, Texas will be the national champs. Even though his delivery is ugly, he gets the ball out quick. I know everyone is hyping Reggie Bush as the number one pick, but Vince Young might be able to be what everyone thought that Michael Vick would.

I'm glad I'm not at Mason anymore. Yep, Texas pulled it out. That being said, I would hate to have to be around Troy Clark tomorrow. Troy, the student minister at CCM, is a huge Texas fan. He wears that burnt orange crap everywhere. Of course, Troy takes Thursdays as his off-day. I bet he might just come into work anyway just to gloat. At least I won't have to listen to him.

It's way too late. Time for sleep.

Back To School

My nephew Tyler had his tonsils removed today, which meant that his brother Kasey needed someone to take him to preschool. Not only that, but it was also the day that Kasey's mom was supposed to be class helper. Who would step up to take her place? Enter Uncle Steve.

Let the fun begin.

It's been awhile since I spent a few hours with a bunch of four-year olds. It might be awhile before I do it again. That being the case, let me fill you in on the lessons I learned on my day back in school.

Carpet squares are dumb. I can understand if you want to give the kids something to sit on so they don't get dust all over their bums. Carpet squares are perfect for tile floors. But they were using carpet squares on a carpeted area. What's the point? It's like wearing two layers of socks. I think it stems back to Buddy cutting a deal with local educators to get some cheap advertising.

You can do anything with markers, glue sticks, and paper plates. I was in charge of the craft table, which was making a weather wheel out of paper plates. I guess being a parent means an endless line of paper plates crafts coming home from school and work. If Nickelodeon ever makes MacGyver for kids, paper plates would be in every episode.

Bad aim starts early. Part of being a good room parent was making sure the classroom was tidy. This included the bathrooms- bathrooms being used by four-year old boys who had just recently become potty trained. Yeah, I was wiping up a lot of pee today. Unfortunately, it doesn't get much better thirty years later . . . um, with every other male but me.

I still hate B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Honestly, [special thanks to Gwen Stefani because I no longer need to use spell check for that word] I still can't stand that fruit. I don't think it's the taste so much as the texture. Of course, that was today's snack so I had to suck it up and eat the thing to be a good example. The things I do for the kids.

I'm ready for fatherhood. It was fun seeing the little girls today. I know most guys want a boy so they can do cool father/son stuff, but I'm really looking forward to having a little girl. They're adorable, they're precious, and less evil than little boys.

Plus they have better aim.

Back To Work

So I woke up this morning and went to work. It was a shorter commute than normal. I put on a pair of shoes, walked downstairs and started working.

Maybe I should back up a bit: I quit Panera.

It happened right before Christmas. Apologies for not blogging about it, but I wanted to concentrate on doing nothing over the holidays [note: mission completed]. After three months of employment, the end has come.

The purpose for me working at Panera was twofold: 1) to meet people from the community with whom I could build relationships and 2) to make a little extra money on the side. Unfortunately, due to the fast-paced environment, I was unable to develop good relationships with patrons. My job was to get people in and out of the store as fast as possible, not to get to know them better. And while I was making money, it became more than a part time job. I should take it as a compliment that they appreciated my work ethic but that meant more hours than I needed. Panera, though a fine company, is extremely dysfunctional and the daily chaos was really getting to me.

There were other things at work here. At the end of last year, I was primed to get two different job offers that would've paid much better than Panera. I thought I would get offered both; I didn't get either. Kelly and I sat down and we discussed what my goals are. The reason we left our previous ministry, the reason we moved to Walnut Hills, is to start this church. I've been disappointed that I haven't been able to commit enough time to Echo.

This feeling has been brewing in me for a few weeks now. My first day at Panera was the day after my last day at Mason. I haven't had ample time to invest in our new ministry. And it was starting to bother me. Plus, coming home exhausted after eight hours of work, I found myself putting off church tasks in order to rest.

All of this led us to the following decision: I'm going to spend the first few months this year "full-time" at Echo. How long "a few months" will be remains to be seen. Our community has set a goal to have 60 people in our core group by June. This is a lofty goal, but I feel like I need to do some of the background work to help us get there.

The thing that kept me from making this decision was my lack of trust in God. Throughout this process, God has provided for us in every way. But the thought of not being able to do it all myself has kept me from diving in. Now I'm ready and . . .

I'm so excited, I just can't hide it.

Just this first day I was able to get some things done that I've been putting off for weeks. And, being a self-starter, I think working from home will work out for me. So I was "in to work" at 6:45 this morning, called it quits when Kelly came home this afternoon, and had a good first day.

Oh, and my boss is the coolest guy I know.

Christianity in Iraq

I'm going to have to talk a little politics here, so sorry in advance to those I offend.
The President's decision to invade Iraq was supported by many evangelicals who lauded Bush's goal of giving the gift of freedom to the Iraqi people as "the Christian thing to do."

But the scene now playing out in the newly liberated country is that of many Christians fleeing Iraq for fear of persecution. NPR did a report [as did the Chicago Tribune] about Christians celebrating this Christmas in Iraq and, apparently, Christians there felt more protected under Sadaam's regime. They claimed there used be tolerance toward Christianity whereas, now, the country's Muslim leadership [95% of Iraqis practice Islam] is suffocating them. Another reason for alarm is the newly established Iraqi government. All the nation's power is being divided between different Muslim sects, providing no voice for Iraqi Christians. The wisest thing to do is for Christians to flee to nearby Jordan.

As American Christians lined up to support the President's decision to invade Iraq, did they even consider the well-being of their Iraqi brothers and sisters? And was establishing an Iraqi democracy worth it, if it ends up being an Islamic dominated government? It seems no one bothered to ask these questions beforehand.

Now this isn't meant as an insult to our troops serving in Iraq; they have a job to do and are giving it their all. Nor do I propose an immediate withdrawal from Iraq; we made the mess, so we need to clean it up. And this isn't an endorsement of the Hussein regime; he was lunatic and a tyrant. I just find it ironic that the very people who contend that America was established by Christians and for Christians, those who decry separation of church and state, blindly supported the Iraqi War- a war fought to [re]establish a country for Islam by Islam where Christians would demand separation of church [mosque] and state. To invade or not to invade? Which decision was the Christian thing to do? Just asking . . .

This story just begs the question that should haunt followers of Jesus who live in America: to which kingdom do our loyalties lie?

We should never stop asking the tough questions.

SNL Narnia Rap

I did a poor job over the holidays trying to explain how funny the Narnia rap from the Christmas episode of Saturday Night Live was, so here's a link.

My favorite line: "You can call us Aaron Burr from the way we're dropping Hamiltons."

Is That You, Dave Shula?

Way to go, Bengals.

Get the city excited with your best season in fifteen years, make the playoffs and then end the season by laying two enormous eggs: losing to Buffalo at home and then embarrassing yourself at Kansas City. Cincinnati goes from being the team no one wanted to see in the postseason to the one everyone wants to play. Our defensive secondary couldn't stop an arthritic turtle walking up the side of a mountain while towing a motor home. Peyton Manning is praying to see orange and black in a couple weeks.

This will be a suicidal week around town as leery Bengal fans experience flashbacks from the 1990's. Backing into the playoffs doesn't feel very nice.

What To Do With Your Extra Second

Apparently we get an extra second this year [a leap second], because the earth is slowing down. I decided to use my extra second to hold down my favorite key on the keyboard, the left bracket. Here comes one second of pure enjoyment:

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[

Man, now that's what I call living! Good times . . .

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy Birthday, Sis!

Here's to the gal I always shared my birthday glory with, my sister Becky. She's twenty-five years-old today. She married to a great guy [a fellow pastor] and has been blessed with two beautiful kids. Life has been kind. Love you, Becky!

Toby Mac

Congrats to Scott and Robyn Duebber, whose son Toby arrived into the world on December 28th. If Toby's a good boy, I just might let him date my daughter . . . in eighteen years. Scott wrote about the experience on his blog.

Love You Mucho

For the second time since Steve has had his blog, I am taking control. The last time was for mean-spirited wishes after a certain UK vs. UC basketball game. But this time I take over to wish Steve a very happy 30th birthday.

Hey babe. How can I best wish you a happy birthday? I thought this would be the best card to give you -- you in your blog-happy world these days! I want you to read how much you mean to me.

What can I say about the man I've seen you become? I enjoyed meeting you, dating you, and marrying you in your 20s. What a decade, just in the years I've seen you experience! But it's also been a time of growth for you. I've seen God work on your heart to make you into the man you are today. I've grown to love you more and more through the years.

You've always been passionate about life and God's work. But that passion has matured over the years as you've allowed God to move and you've stepped out of the way to let Him lead, even though it's required patience. This year in particular has been such a blessing for me to watch you follow God in ways you've never stepped out in faith before. And I'm so happy to be here with you on the journey. I've loved learning to become a minister alongside you.

You've got so much to look forward to as you begin this new decade. You'll be a dad soon -- how cool that will be!? I can't wait to see you in action! I know you'll be great! And you'll see Echo Church grow and continue to accomplish God's purposes. And you'll even get to start off your 30th year with a trip to Vegas! Woo hoo! : )

There's no one I'd rather spend time with than you. You make me laugh, and we have so much fun together. I can't thank God enough for creating you and introducing you into the world 30 years ago. I'm so glad I get to spend the rest of life with you!

OK. Enough mushiness for today. People reading this might get a little nauseous by this point! : )
So thanks, everyone, for bearing with me on this. But I wanted a little public declaration so that everyone can see how proud I am to be Steve's wife.

Love you, babe. You're a twentysomething no longer. But that's OK. Thirty on you is pretty hot! : )

Kelly

30 on 30

Taking a twist off a line from Van Halen's Hot For Teacher,

"I don't feel thirty."

As I close the door on my twenties, I have to salute a good decade. In the past ten years, a lot has happened in my life:

I graduated from both college and seminary.
I started playing golf.
I used the internet/email for the first time.
I water-skied for the first time.
I asked Kelly to marry me.
I got ordained.
We got married.
I took my first plane ride.
I started my first full-time job.
I held four different ministries.
I lived in six different locations.
I owned four different cars.
I captained a regional champion soccer team.
I coached two years of collegiate soccer.
I performed my first wedding and first funeral.
We bought our first house.
We bought our first new car.
I taught about God over 200 times, not including any Sunday School classes I taught.
I visited four countries on three different continents.
I became an uncle.
I was published in national magazines and local newspapers.
I started a new church.

It's easy to remember these good times, forgetting all the bad stuff that happened during this decade of my life. I don't fear my thirties, as I have much to look forward to [fatherhood, for one]. It's just another decade to do a bunch of new stuff.

I say, "Bring it on."

Surprise, Surprise!

So Kelly tells me, "You're having a birthday party tonight."

Cool. She had been selling me this whole "let's just you and me spend your birthday together" bit, which I bought hook, line, and sinker. So she pulled one over on me. Good move, babe. It wasn't a full surprise party, more of an "open house" type party but I had no idea who was showing up. So whenever someone knocked at the door, it was like "Let's Make A Deal." It was just a small gathering of folks, but a great way to spend the night before my birthday. We probably told way too many stories from ten years ago.

Kelly had everyone bring a 2-liter of Diet Cherry Coke, so I have enough to last me at least a week. So not only will I turn 30, but I'll have something to drown my sorrows with.

So in under an hour, I'll leave my twenties in the dust. C'est La Vie, third decade on earth. Bring on number four.

Insult To Injury

In an article describing the extravagant birthday party thrown for LeBron James, the following quote was included:

"James' birthday is Dec. 30, a date he shares with golfer Tiger Woods, who like James had a rapid rise to superstardom."

Once again, I get no shout-out. Tiger and I were born on the exact same date, while LeBron came along nine years later. At what point are these guys going to finally acknowledge that they're still trying to live up to my life accomplishments? Sad, guys. Just sad.

Who Am I?

The countdown at the bottom of this page testifies that there's a little over 24 hours before I turn thirty. I'm sure in the next couple of days I'll wax on about where I've been these past three decades and where I plan on going, but one thing I'm going to have to deal with is that little bio in the column to the right. Just in case you're blind [I'm not sure whether or not the Braille version of my blog has this text printed] this is what it says:

A homegrown Cincinnati boy [westside!] who loves his mama, good music, and living life, I've been blessed to find the most phenomenal woman in the world and somehow convince her to be my wife. I'm on a lifelong journey with God and welcome people to join me along the way. I’m almost a jock, because I play and watch a slew of sports- from soccer to golf to basketball to softball [yeah, I’ve officially given up]. I’m almost a geek because I own an I-Book and read books by dead authors who get no love. I’m almost a musician because I’m a hack guitarist and sing harmony with the radio in my car. I’m almost thirty because . . . um, well . . . I’m almost thirty. I’m self-centered, egotistical, and insecure. I’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there. I’ll keep you posted.

So shortly I'll no longer be "almost thirty" so it's time for a re-draft.

Although it's a pain, I actually enjoy crafting this bio. However dreadful it is, I'm forced to describe how I perceive myself . . . or at least how I want you to think that I perceive myself. Either way, it's a good exercise, one that I'll put some thought to.

So my challenge to you is for you to describe yourself. Who are you? What makes you tick? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What are you passionate about? Try it and let me know what you figure out.

New Photos Up

Kay and Ann gave me this bib for our little girl. It was an all University of Kentucky Christmas as my southern in-laws initiated the campaign to insure that our daughter will be a UK fan. You see, if you're a "True Blue" Wildcats fan, you're said to "bleed blue." Apparently our baby will vomit blue. Notice the vomitous expression I already have on my face in this picture.

This and other picts are now online on my updated Flickr page. Hope you enjoy them.

Saying Good-bye

I spent the better part of my day helping some friends pack-up for their move. John and JoLynn Handel [along with their children: Hayden, Holten, and Halena] are relocating from Mason to Sioux City, Iowa. Unfortunately, they had to move at the end of December but God couldn't have provided better moving weather. It must be said that they have more crap than anyone I know, but they also have a great group of friends who care about them so much that they volunteered the day to load the moving trucks [yes, "trucks" plural]. It was great to see a bunch of friends from Christ's Church that we haven't seen in awhile.

John and JoLynn have been nothing but supportive of Kelly and I since we first met them. It was a huge blessing to have them in our lives and we'll miss not having them here. If their were more people in the world like the Handels, no one would ever be unloved.

Godspeed, Handel family. We'll pray God's blessings on your family, but also that he'll bring you back to us soon.

The Holidays Roll On

Well, a lot has happened in the past week- so much so that I'm not sure I'll be able to record it all. We had an awesome time in Lexington, celebrating Christmas with Kelly's family. We made it back to Cincy late on Christmas Eve, going to church yesterday with my parents and spending the day with them. Not all the family was able to make it then, so we're going to have another Christmas celebration Friday night on my birthday.

That leaves Kelly and me with this week off and only a few things to get done. Today we did . . . well, absolutely nothing. But with all these holidays left to celebrate, can you really blame us? Both Kwanzaa and [C]Hanukkah began this week and, of course, today is Boxing Day. Sure, no one in the U.S. celebrates Boxing Day [it's mostly a British holiday] but you gotta try. I chose to celebrate by watching English Premier League soccer.

So even though we have nothing to do, it should be a big week. With all this going on, I'm a little too tired to type. I'll try again later.

Christ Is Born!

Good times . . .

Rejoice.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Author Unknown

Barbara Walters Heaven Special

More on this tomorrow, but I must ask tonight:

When was the election for president of the evangelicals?

I never received a ballot.

I know I wouldn't have voted for Ted Haggard.