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Introduction To The House of Carr
Introduction To The House of Carr

Keep On Bloggin' In The Free World

I've been waiting for this like Diet Cherry Coke 24-ounce bottles [are you listening, Coke executives?]: Chad Doerr is now blogging. Chad is a great guy, a phenomenal minister, and has already posted stuff worth reading. You can check out his thoughts at www.AnOpenDoerr.com. In a related note, Chad's former college roommate [and my cousin], Matt Coulter is the proud papa of a beautiful little girl. You can read about it on his blog, which I promise to add to my blog roll if Matt can consistently make posts for more than a week. Sorry, Matt, 2.5 months with no articles is a no-no. Congrats on Hallie, though!

What You Need To Know

Didn't stop moving all weekend until this morning when I ran out of quarters. Just in case you wanted to know . . . Friday We were able to get out in the morning and take a walk in Eden Park. Beautiful day. I performed another Mr Mom task, going grocery shopping. I can rock it, as long as Kelly gives me a shopping list. And she did. Mission accomplished.

That night, there was a Mother/Daughter banquet at my parent's church. Kelly and Kaelyn went with my family and I watched my grandfather so my dad could go and help serve. We ate dinner, watched some Walker Texas Ranger [Chuck "Freaking" Norris. Need I say more?], and then the beginning of the Reds' game. When my grandparents moved up from Maysville to live with us in 1988, I would go over to their part of the house and watch the Reds on TV. The year the Reds won the World Series, we watched almost every televised game together, so it was nice to hang out and think of how it used to be.

Saturday I'm actually playing in two soccer leagues right now: one outdoor and one indoor. This week they were both scheduled on the same day, within five hours of each other. I was wondering if I'd do OK, as I'm still not in shape, but I made it through. And I'm starting to get my ball control back, which makes it more enjoyable. I still have yet to score a goal. We tried to get to bed early because of the crazy Sunday to come, but didn't get to sleep until 11:30.

Sunday We were up at 4:00am, packed up the kid and headed down to the Flying Pig Marathon. I was doing the devotion for people interested in "getting some church" before the race. Our church did get a few shout-outs from the podium as they announced the service and somewhere between forty and fifty people showed up. Because it was still dark, and because of the increasing commotion near the starting line, I stood on the concrete base of a light pole. I had to yell at the top of my voice, but it went well. Don't think I'd do it again, though.

So after the race started me, Kel, Kaelyn, Aaron, Dorota, Larry, and Amanda [Aaron's sister] walked up town to have breakfast at First Watch. Downtown was really cool that early in the morning, despite nothing being open. After breakfast I took Kelly and kid at home. Unfortunately, the marathon course winds its way around our house so it was a huge chore to get back to the condo. And the half-marathon course ran right in front of our house, so we had to run through runners to get inside.

Then I went back downtown to volunteer down at the finish line. We were with a group from Cincinnati Christian University and Aaron, Dorota, and I were at the Gatorade station. I've always liked Gatorade, but never realized how sticky it was. I need to wash my shoes because they're shiny and smell like lemon-lime.

Even seeing it first hand, I still have no desire to run a marathon. I saw all the different ages and body types of people who have done it and know I could go the distance. I just have absolutely no desire whatsoever. Maybe in ten years when I'm 40 and I need to prove I still got it but, right now, I'm totally fine being a spectator. But I'll probably be involved somehow in the marathon again next year. It's an amazing spectacle. After all the bad press we've received lately, I was really proud of my city today.

In addition to all this, we still had church last night. Fortunately Aaron was preaching, because I was spent. It was a really good gathering, but I was ready to get home and crash. In bed by 11:00pm, I was done for. It only took me a few seconds to fall asleep.

I have a ton of stuff to get done this week, but I need to find some time to rest. Kelly's at work, so maybe I'll take Kaelyn out for ice cream later. She would like that. Or at least I would.

What? No Bartholomew?

Not that I take credit for everything, but I like to think that I helped my cousin's kids get into an Enquirer article. When the paper was investigating the trend of celebrities naming their children after Biblical characters, they asked for people who had done likewise. I immediately thought of my cousin's kids and passed it along via my sister-in-law who contacted my cousin's wife. She, then, contacted the paper and the result is them getting a mention and this photo in today's paper.

Mike and Brenda named their kids: Isaiah, Noah, Leah, and Moses. Rumor is, their next child will be named "Jesus." I could be wrong.

Pretty sad that I, a minister, didn't go for a Biblical name for our child, but now you know why: Mike and Brenda took them all.

Good looking kids, though, don't ya think?

The Moussaoui Verdict

I'll admit that I really haven't paid that much attention to the Zacarias Moussaoui case. Moussaoui plead guilty to six counts of conspiracy in the September 11th terrorist attacks. At the time of the attacks, Moussaoui was actually jailed on immigration charges, but he was reported to immigration officials about a month before the hijackings after he walked into a flight training school asking how to fly a 747. I didn't pay that much attention to the case because it should've been a slam dunk death penalty verdict; incarceration was the only thing that kept Moussaoui from participating in the attacks.

So I was somewhat shocked to hear that he received life in prison instead of death. I'll admit that I don't know all the details of the case, but I can't conceive how this guy escaped lethal injection.

I've read many an article this morning lauding the jury for showing good judgment and exacting fair punishment, but how does that compare to the 2,000 lives lost on 9/11? Perhaps it's true that Moussaoui wanted the death penalty to become a martyr, but does that mean that you keep him alive merely to thwart those desires? If that's the case, what happens when we catch Osama Bin Laden? Wouldn't he be an even greater figure of martyrdom? The judge, during sentencing, declared that life in prison confirmed that Moussaoui would "die with a whimper." That statement confused me. So if the goal is that he should indeed die, is prolonging it our way of claiming some sort of moral victory? I just don't get it.

But allow me to use this event to explain something about theology. Some might be uncomfortable with me, a Christian pastor, advocating the death penalty. There are some who criticize Christians that claim to be "pro-life" in issues like abortion and euthanasia but are "pro-death" when it comes to government execution. That's might be good slogan-ship, but it doesn't properly explainthe issues at hand. Here's how I develop a Christian ethic for the support of the death penalty.

It all starts with God. What makes human life so sacred is that we were created "imago dei" [Latin for, "in the image of God"]. Scholars have argued about the exact meaning of this phrase for centuries [does God have a belly button?] but it all points back to the fact the we have been created to be eternal beings; our souls, though having a start, will live on forever. That's why killing a person is different than killing a critter. Even though members of PETA might disagree, animals are different than people. And the way I understand Scripture, and I apologize for this but, there will be no dogs in heaven. Only we humans are made like God and are given the opportunity to spend eternity with Him.

God was specific in Genesis 9 about the penalty to be doled out to those who harm one created in the image of God. Mind you, that this was part of the Noadic covenant, given to Noah and all humankind after getting off the ark:

"Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man will his blood be shed. For, in the image of God, has God made man"

God had just wiped out all of mankind, save Noah and his family, and wanted to make sure that people understood how his world worked: it was God's decision on who should live and die. When humans decide to play God and terminate another life, they are in violation of his covenant with mankind. The punishment for the offender is death. And God has bestowed on other humans [society] to enact that judgment.

So abortion is really us [usually individuals] playing God. Euthanasia is us [usually individuals] playing God. But the death penalty is us [society/government/all of the people] acting under God's authority as instruments of his justice.

This is a somewhat short explanation, but I had to get this out there. So it's not that I am wishing for Moussaoui's death, but God's justice allows for it. I pray for his soul, but that should not influence the verdict due him.

I feel obligated to add one more thought to this discussion: we Christians must beware how vehemently we plead for, and how cavalierly we dismiss, the deaths of murderers. I've witnessed many [American] followers of Jesus advocate a "kill 'em all" philosophy when it comes to other countries that are in opposition to ours. It always makes me feel a tad icky. When I, a Christian, delight in the death of people, am I really respecting the image of God?

Stuff to chew on.

The Run For The Roses

It's Derby Time! Time to prepare for the most exciting two minutes in sports. Saturday is the 500th running [estimate] of the Kentucky Derby and I'm already excited. One day, Kelly and I want to be able to attend the race in person. She'd wear a hat. I'd drink a mint julep. It would be awesome.

So it's time to pick a horse and I need a winner because I'm on a three-year slide, having not picked correctly since War Emblem. After a thorough analysis, I've decided who I'm going with:

Sinister Minister.

Here's how I arrived at this pick: he has both Seattle Slew and Secretariat in his bloodline, he's extremely fast, and- who am I kidding- his name is freakin' awesome!

Despite the fact that he's a Bob Baffert horse [a fact that means nothing to many, but would light-up my father-in-law], I feel almost obligated to pick him; Sinister Minister should be my IM screen name. Most experts don't think he has what it takes, and he's running at 10-1, but I'm calling my shot. Wait and see.

Maybe one of these days I'll actually put money on it.

Funny How The Night Moves

Monday night was a "Light-Up Cincinnati" evening, when the entire downtown area is supposed to be illuminated. We packed up Kaelyn, made a UDF pitstop and circled the city to snap some photos. Unfortunately, I had my camera on the wrong setting for nighttime photos, but I did get a few decent ones [touched up, obviously].

Only at night can the Ohio River look this good.
The statues in front of Great American Ballpark.
The family in front of the Queen City.

Starting A Blog

Blogging is in. "Blog" was the word of the year a couple years back. About 80,000 new blogs are created each day. And here's an article detailing the blogging explosion that has taken place during the past few years. I've been at it for a year and a half now. It's been great for me in many different ways, especially since people I've never met before read this blog.

Every few months I get an email from someone wanting to start their own blog. As I was answering one such request this morning, I decided to post my advice here so I'll be able to reference it whenever I'm asked again.

Disclaimer: I'll admit that much of what I've learned about blogging was from Tim Reed, who's been blogging way longer than I have. He gave me almost all these tips, but would probably offer additional, more qualified advice about this subject. I'm sure when he reads this, he'll point you to a great post he did on starting a blog. So I'm just a hack who shouldn't offer advice, but here's what I have to say about it.

Do you use blogger.com? Yes. Even though it doesn't look like it, this is a Blogger site. I've researched all the different blogging platforms and stuck with Blogger because it's cheap [free]. Compared to the alternatives, I'd have to spend around $100 a year to get a blog that I like. So I've been able to maintain this blogging habit because Google owns the world.

How'd you get the www.houseofcarr.com domain name? I purchased the domain houseofcarr.com which costs about $8 a year. It's not that complicated since I just point the domain name to my blogger address. I purchased it from godaddy.com. Having your own domain name gives you an easy way to tell people how to get to your blog, but it's not necessary to get started.

Are you able to monitor visitor stats for your blog? Yes. I use a program called Sitemeter [available at sitemeter.com] to see who visits. Once again, it's free, and it gives rather detailed stats on who checks out your site. I can even tell what kind of computer/web browser they used to search my site. All this for free. I know there are other stat counters you can get, but I love the Sitemeter.

How did you add RSS to your blog? I just wrote about RSS feeds here, if you're wondering what this is about. The RSS I added to my site was free, but you actually can have it through Blogger. If you look up on the right side of the browser bar [example: on the opposite end of http://symbolicorder.blogspot.com] it will should have the RSS blue button. You click it and it takes you to the feed. Try that and let me know if it works.

Does Blogger have many templates? There are a wide variety of blogger templates to pick from but, after awhile, boredom sets in and you need something more. I found mine at http://blogger-templates.blogspot.com. They give you many different choices to customize your blog. By the way, the picture at the top of this page isn't part of a template. It's one I took in Paris [Notre Dame]. In these templates you can replace them with whatever you want.

Any other advice? Here's the deal about setting up your template: it helps to have some knowledge of html code when you mess with this stuff. It's really not that difficult, but you just need to make sure to back up your code before messing with it. You don't want to do hours of work and end up with nothing. Changing your links is a piece of cake if you just copy/paste the ones there.

Seriously, I find blogging therapeutic. I like the fact that people read what I write, but I'd do this even if no one else did. Sure, it's just a glorified diary but it feels way cooler since I'm typing it on my computer [play the Doogie Howser music here].

Good luck.

Hail To The Chief, Baby!

I've been hunting down video from this weekend's White House Correspondent's Dinner because it was absolutely crazy. First, GWB brought in an impersonator, playing dueling presidential podia [the plural of podium?]. Bush loves to self-efface. Here's some video.

But what was ignored was a bit by Stephen Colbert [if you're not watching his show on Comedy Central, you don't know what you're missing] who was invited to do some satire. I don't think administration officials understood the sarcastic nature of comedy that Colbert does. He pretty much ripped the President to shreds in his very presence. Whoever decided to bring in Colbert is most likely searching for a job today. Check out the video here.

It would've been a rather entertaining event to attend.

The Simple Life

As we're planning for our relaunch in September, we're researching the purchases that need to be made that we put off in year one of Echo. The most expensive ones, obviously, are the audio and video purchases that will get our worship area where we'd like it to be. Churches can spend enormous amounts on these "technological needs." Recently I read where one unnamed "super megachurch" has a million dollar a year budget for their A/V stuff. I also came across a church planter's blog last week where he presented how desperately they needed to purchase a $75,000 sound system. It seems as if our churches are practically worshipping technology. Here's a quote I read in a pastor's blog about a service they had this weekend:

"Our Saturday Night service was a technological meltdown . . . Some of our computer files got corrupted so we sang without words on the screen. We barely pulled off our movie clips. And our high-def camera wasn't working until the very last second. Pretty chaotic!"

Fortunately, someone laid hands on the equipment and everything turned out OK.

"Yikes," I say.

Total we've spent on A/V stuff since starting Echo: $0.

We borrowed both a projector and a portable sound system from Impact Church.

Total budgeted that we're going to try to spend on equipment for our relaunch: $10,000.

Yes, that's a large chunk of change, but it's rather westside [cheap] by today's new church standards. In our defense, the video projector allows us to get by without hymnals and song sheets, saving trees and making us environmental conscience [we're such a hippie church]. And the sound system will guarantee that people will be able to hear clearly all that happens in our gatherings. We're going to get by with as little as we can because we believe there are better places to invest church funds. I'm all for technology, but churches have to set appropriate boundaries for how far we're willing to go to be a culturally relevant, tech savvy church.

It's absolutely amazing that the church was able to flourish the 1900 years without electricity. No wonder they were called the Dark Ages. Powerpoint must've come during the Enlightenment.

But I believe the Bible confirms that the first century church couldn't have done it without the Holy Spirit and high-def cameras.

Apply Peer Pressure Here

One little request for you faithful readers: I've described the process by which I was converted to the Myspace cult. I now think it's time for someone else to succumb to the will of popular culture.

My wife Kelly is a way better writer than I've ever been and she has yet to start a blog. It's sad, indeed. With so many people using cyberspace as their personal sounding board, there's no yin to my yang [not a sexual remark] on the world wide web. Yes, it's time for Kelly to start blogging.

Am I right? Yes. Yet, like many other ideas that I have, she sometimes tunes me out. But if the masses speak, she will be forced to respond. We need to move to action.

Force Kelly into blogging.

Leave a comment on this post and let her know you feel this way too.

Quick Hits

  • Last night we attended the CEF Banquet. This is the group granting us funds to do our fall marketing campaign for Echo. Dick Alexander, from Lifespring Christian Church here in Cincinnati, spoke and did an excellent job. His message alone was worth the trip.
  • We had seven people come with us to the banquet, by far the youngest demographic in attendance. Case in point: the main course was hamloaf. What is hamloaf? Do a Google of it and find out. I'll give you a hint: Spam is the main ingredient. You don't serve hamloaf to people under sixty-five. It's just not right. Rhonda, who attended with us, emailed me a recipe for it today. And that's yet one more thing to put on my "never make this" list. The food in Jordan was less scary.
  • I had to get a background police check done on me today. I really want to let you know why, but it'll take a week before I can say publicly . But if you're really curious, watch America's Most Wanted tonight for details.
  • I have to wake up really early next Sunday for the Flying Pig Marathon. Am I running? Yeah, right; like I have the desire to beat up my body like that. If I want the marathon experience, I'll go play in traffic in front of the condo and wait to get hit by a Metro bus. No, I'm going to be doing a devotion for all the interested runners about half an hour before things get started. If you're going to be down there, it'll be in a parking lot near the starting line, off Mehring Way, between 5:30 and 5:45. Yes, that's AM. We'll see how it works out, but I'm going to have to start training to wake up that early.
  • Getting ready to wrap up our series on Genesis at Echo. Looks like we'll wrap it up with a little more than seven months of messages. I might write more on this later, but I'm glad that we're doing it this way. It might seem like a long series, but I think our people have benefited from seeing the entire book within its context. After this, we're moving onto Romans and will most likely hit one of the four gospels this fall.
  • Added a few new recommended links to the side of the page. I now have a separate Echo line-up, in addition to a new section I call "Tracking Cincy." It's critical that I stay up-to-date on Cincinnati issues and these are sites I frequent to help me do so. I'll warn you that I don't defend all the ideas [or language] found in these sites, but I do find them helpful for doing ministry in our context.
  • I know this is internet 101, but I've been meaning to post this tip for awhile. If you frequent a lot of blogs and websites that post new content and aren't using an RSS reader, you're wasting your time. On most sites [and almost all blogs] you can subscribe to an RSS feed [stands for "Really Simple Syndication"] so you only have to go to one place to do your reading. I use Google Reader, where I get all the updated content I'm subscribed to. It's Really Simple, Stupid [just keeping with the acronym, people]. I'm able to scan the content from 50 sites in minutes as opposed to having to click bookmarks or enter in url's. I know this is really basic for some of you, but many of you are missing out. Let me know if that tip was helpful.
  • Tomorrow it's off to Lexington for yet another baby shower. Who doesn't like this kid?

All for now.

Raining Babies

Kaelyn had a doctor's appointment this morning that turned out to be meaningless. They were going to give her a final RSV shot to help with her lungs, but [after 40 minutes, mind you] they said it wasn't necessary because it's the spring. Which, by the way, they told us a few months ago but changed their mind . . . only to change it again today.

No, I'm not bitter.

The one interesting thing was that they weighed Kaelyn in at 9 pounds, 15.5 ounces, just half an ounce shy of ten pounds. If she hadn't spit up part of that last bottle this morning, it might have pushed her over the edge.

And FYI, my sister is pregnant again [congrats, Becky!], due in October. So by the end of the year, that'll put all my siblings at three kids each, leaving us two behind.

Are we jealous?

With the sleep we're [not] getting? Nope.

Me And The Kid

This is the first day that Kelly had to go back into the office, so it's the first day of extended dad and daughter time. She was quieter this morning, but has been wired all afternoon. Yes, Michael Keaton, I am Mr. Mom.

But since it's "Take Your Daughter To Work Day" and I'm working out of the house, I guess I was just doing my duty as a good father. Everyone in the office seems to like her.

Anyway, I thought I'd use this opportunity to tell a story I've been holding onto for a couple of days. It's a little gross, so you might not be interested.

I always wondered how I'd do with the diaper changing. I have a pretty strong stomach, but I'm not a big feces person. I heard an interesting quote on Seinfeld that summed up how I've been able to deal with it. Elaine is hanging out with a bunch of her friends who have babies and, as the scene opens, one mother remarked, " . . . but when it's your own baby's poop, it's not that bad." I've actually found this to be true. I have no problem dealing with our baby's poo, and have gotten the diaper change down to a science. It's no big deal.

Last week I woke up early in the morning to feed the little girl. In the middle of feeding her, we usually go for the diaper change because it's when she's the least resistant. It was a beautiful, quiet morning and Kaelyn was subdued. As I laid her on the changing table, she looked at me with her big [currently] blue eyes. I took off the dirty diaper and, before I could fasten on her new one, she proceeded to relieve herself. Number 2, mind you. And it was a well placed projectile.

Before I could blink, I had baby poo all the way up my arm. Fortunately, I was wearing a t-shirt.

All I could do was stare at her. I just wish someone had been around to witness it. I almost had the urge to pull out the camera so I could have proof, but decided to let it be a father/daughter moment.

Yep, I'm living the good life.

Going Pro

We're now a two computer home. Kelly officially heads back to work tomorrow. The blessing is she'll be working from home; she'll have to go in for about four hours each week, but beyond that it's me, her, and the kid working at the condo [not sure how much work Kaelyn gets done beyond her diaper]. Standard requires that you supply your own computer when working from home, and sharing one just wasn't a possibility.

We knew we were going to get a decent tax return back so we planned on using the-money-we-loaned-interest-free-to-the-United-States-government to pay for it. And I was able to finagle a discount so I went for the new MacBook Pro. It's sleek. It's silver. And it's freaking awesome.

I purchased a firewire and was able to transfer all the contents from the iBook to this laptop in half an hour. Now we don't have to wrestle over who gets to use the computer, leaving us ample opportunity to wrestle about other things [7+ years of marriage and still the fire burns].

I guess we're now officially a Mac family since we now have two Apple computers. Yeah, I guess we're yuppie scum, but we're getting things done.