The Joy Of Blogging

I was thinking the other day of my blogging tree. I've stated before that Tim Reed and Brian Coates [no hyperlink available] were the early blog pioneers that led me to this discipline [and this was before the days of MySpace and their terrible blogging app which means everybody became a blogger by birth]. Since then I know of quite a few people who decided, "if Steve can do this, anyone can," and started their own blog. And there are probably branches that stem from this blog that I don't even know about. And the interwebs is a much better place, I'm sure of it. For those of you who still contemplate whether or not you should try blogging [or try blogging for a second time] let me give you my favorite reason for doing this: the ability to archive your life.

I can barely remember what I ate last night, let alone what I was thinking at major points of my life. I started this blog in the fall of 2004. That was before we went to Israel, before we had ever really thought of Echo, before Kaelyn. Because of this blog I can go back and see what got me here. I can quickly reference my highs and lows, see things I wish I hadn't written, and remember mole hills I crafted into mountains. Whenever I think I'm going through a rough period I can look back and see something even worse that God brought me through.

I've never thought of it this way, but blogging is a blessing that I'm grateful for. That's not to say that I haven't littered cyberspace with my share of meaningless YouTube links, but I've also documented some important things in my life. And I'm better off as a result.

About Keith

So I was up at 5:45 when the garbage truck stopped by. Couldn't get back to sleep so I decided I'd go to ye old Panera to get some work done. Ah, the beauty of free wi-fi is like a crisp spring day . . . or just freakin' awesome. The guy I knew the best from my brief employment still works there. Keith is 21, grew up in the area, and works about 50 hours a week at the store. He's my only real connection from when I worked here. Keith is rough around the edges, plays in a hardcore metal band, and peppers his conversations with a flurry of F-bombs [this might sound sadistic, but I actually enjoy being with regular people who aren't afraid to cuss around a minister]. But he's really a quality guy. Anytime I come in to the store he refuses to charge me for my food. About a month or so ago I took him out to dinner to catch up on things. Our conversation led to the topic of spirituality [his doing, not mine] and I had a chance to share my view of Christianity. He's said he wants to stop by and visit Echo, but hasn't quite made it yet.

I still wonder why God led me to work at this Panera for those few months in our transition to Echo. It really makes little sense in retrospect. Sure, I now appreciate the opportunity to get paid soley for doing ministry but I didn't make tons of local contacts that joined our church. I learned how to make a good cappuccino, but it hasn't come in handy in reaching the community for Jesus.

But I did meet Keith. And maybe that's enough.

Yikes [athletically speaking]

I played softball tonight for the first time in two years. Some buddies from up in Mason needed an extra for a game tonight so I pulled out the softball pants and dusted off the glove. Kelly and Kaelyn tagged along which was awesome. I've never been a great hitter, but I usually have a great glove and can use my speed to make up for everything else. I popped out my first time up when I had to chase a ball outside on a 0-2 count. The last two at bats I ran out a couple of balls for singles. And I ended up pinch-running for this one guy throughout the night which worked out rather well for our team, scoring twice.

The first fly ball hit to me in the outfield is what messed with me. Two years is a long time not to field a fly ball and it showed. A guy hits a can 'o' corn my way and I'm tracking it decently. But I didn't play the breeze at all so I let it sail just over my extended glove. It was rather embarrassing; I'll be thinking about that for a few weeks.  I did get a chance of redemption later proving, to these guys who didn't know me, that I could actually catch a fly ball.

There were some cool moments as we got to see some old friends. And Kaelyn was a blast.

I've taught her to say "baseball" and she was saying it over and over again on our drive up there. And she enjoyed playing with a softball by the bench all night, until one time I took the field and she burst out in tears.

But the best part was earlier today when Kaelyn looked at Kelly's Reds shirt and said, "baseball?" We've never really taught her anything about the Reds, so I guess she picked up on it as we leave the FoxSports game on the television: The Reds "wishbone C" = baseball. Much to the chagrin of her Braves-loving grandfather, this girl bleeds Red . . . figuratively and literally.

It twas a very good night.

Fast

Besides tricking people into becoming Christians, one of the things we do at Echo is study books of the Bible chapter-by-chapter. This approach to teaching means that you deal with the text as it comes to you; there's no hand-picking certain topics while avoiding others. Case in point was this week as we worked through Zechariah and the subject of fasting presented itself. If I had it my way, I'd avoid the subject altogether because I'm not much for fasting. But I had to wrestle with it last week and came to the conclusion that I should really be doing it more. Actually, we all should do it more.

I suspect that we Americans tend not to fast because it's the most inconvenient spiritual discipline. We're bombarded with messages telling us to fulfill our bodies' every desires without holding back. In 1756 England called for a national day of fasting to prevent a war against the French. Can't really imagine a message like that going over that well today.

I pointed out last night that fasting isn't exclusive to Judeo-Christianity [Buddhists, Muslims, and Hindus all fast]. That said, the Scriptures are clear [Zechariah 7] that fasting should be done in obedience to God above everything else. The text is testifying that when we observe spiritual disciplines that don't confirm to the Lord's guidance that they're actually meaningless. In fasting we're forced to examine what really controls us. I had someone remark to me last night that they don't like fasting because of that very fact: it causes them to come face-to-face with actual condition. But when we're exposed in such a way, we have to come to grips with our spiritual condition.

I encouraged our people to perhaps try some sort off fasting this week. I realize that some people are unable to for health reasons, but there are always opportunities for experimentation. You can observe a Lenten-like period where you abstain from a certain food or activity. And when you're without, and the urges begin to seize you, you remember why you're doing what you're doing and devote yourself to prayer. It sounds tougher than it is. Maybe you should give it a try as well.

The teaching [entitled, The Fast and The Furious: Babylonian Drift] will be up this week on iTunes for download if you're interested in more on the topic.

Harry Potter Ending

OK, I haven't read a word of any of the first books, so why would I have the ending? So if you came here via search engine, hit your back button and try somewhere else. I decided to post this right around midnight to see if I would get any additional internet hits by hard-core fans. I find it fascinating as many websites the past few days have been trying to increase web traffic by claiming they knew the ending. This LA Times article attests that these sites with spoiler pages were rarely Harry Potter fans; rather, they were from money grubbing web geeks trying to drive-up their ad revenues. So why would someone want to ruin the ending? For cash, of course. Sneaky. It should be noted that I get no ad revenue here at Beit Carr [but we'll always accept donations].

I've never seen a frenzy like this in my life. It's amazing that in a technological age that a printed piece of literature is causing this much excitement.

UPDATE: By noon on Saturday, almost 50 different people came here from a search engine by searching "Harry Potter Ending.'

Why Not Plant A Tree There Instead?

A couple of days ago I mentioned that they're installing a new grass median on the road in front of our place. I'm fine with it as long as it doesn't become a popular site for fornication. Apparently a couple of locals thought that a median on Central Parkway would be the perfect location for sex during rush hour yesterday afternoon. They were arrested. Another example of police work being underpaid.

Not quite sure what to with that story but felt compelled to share.

I'll Give Him This

If Pete Mackanin, 10-4 as new Reds manager, can get this team to .500 at the end of the season, I could tolerate him getting the job. That would mean them going 40-26 the rest of the season and would prove that these guys will really play for him. But if things calm down, like it most likely will, and they play .500 ball during his tenure, then you gotta go in another direction. Fans deserve more than status quo in this selection.

Something Else I Do

I just checked my archives and realized I've never written about one of my side projects from this past year. I've been busy. Last summer I was reading local magazine and read about this group connected with the Cincinnati Preservation Association that offers walking tours of the city. I thought it might be a good idea for me to get involved with this group as

1) I'm a missionary to Cincinnati, so the more I know about the city, the better.

2) It would be a great opportunity to meet some new people.

3) Tracing back to my CBC admissions days, I'm the consummate tour guide.

4) I love Cincinnati history, so I might as well do something with it.

So I contacted the woman in charge to see if I could become a volunteer tour guide. They were just adding a tour of Clifton [think near UC] and needed more people, so I was in. Starting last October, we started laying out the tour and I began studying Clifton/Cincinnati history. Architecture is a large part of it too, and I know absolutely nothing. I can now identify a porte cochere, note distinguishable characteristics of Italinate architecture, and know a little bit about Frank Lloyd Wright [there's two of his homes in Clifton]. There's a ton of information I disseminate during the tour, but I can keep a cheat sheet with me. We started this spring and will run it through the fall; I do about one or two tours each month.

So far, I'm liking it. I've conducted a few tours with local historians that were challenging [leading people who have ], but this morning I showed a few ladies around Clifton and it went rather well. And it's opened up some great local contacts for me to get some good word of mouth about Echo out there.

This new hobby of mine reaffirmed how cool our city is. Most people think Clifton and don't get beyond the UC campus and Pill Hill. But there are some amazing houses in that area with a good amount of history connected to it.

The next tour I'll host will be next Saturday July 28th at 10am if you're interested. It costs $10 which covers brochures and administrative fees. All twenty-plus people associated with the tours are volunteers like me. Architreks not only hosts walking tours in Clifton but in Mount Adams, Over the Rhine and downtown Cincinnati. I had to take them all to become a "certified tour guide."

So come out and see what a history geek I am.

Yikes, Mike

I didn't hear until this morning that Michael Vick [star quarterback of Atlanta Falcons, for the sports-impaired] was indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple counts relating to a dog-fighting ring. The allegations are startling so beware, animal lovers, of reading the details. Not to sure I want to get into this too much but I was thinking whether or not this indictment would've happened twenty years ago. I really don't think so. First, advances in technology yielded a powerful combination: video+internet. Videos are shared virally so what once took place in the secrecy of your own home can now be known the world over in days. When people see first-hand this cruelty that was only rumor, opinions are altered.

But the biggest change in our society leading to the indictment of these acts has been the emergence of animal rights. I'm not sure that PETA can take credit for this [their campaigns get crazier all the time]. Rather, it's a combination of people seeking non-human companionship more as well as an industry that's tailored to take advantage of it. Americans spend $40billion+ per year on their pets. And considering over 60% of US households own a pet, you'd be better of robbing a bank than harming on animal.

Twenty years ago, Michael Vick walks free because no one knows about this. Today, however, he could conceivably lose his job and do considerable jail time.

ESPEN the Magazine

I've been working out a few days a week over at the Xavier Health Center. I do about thirty minutes of cardio which is more enjoyable because of an mp3 player and a television tuned into SportsCenter. Speaking of SC, I'm really fed up with SportsCenter's new "Who's Now" segment they're thrusting down our throat. They taken some of today's most popular young athletes, put them in a NCAA basketball style bracket and have the public vote on who they think is "most now." I still have no idea what that's supposed to mean. All I know is that it's a huge network-sponsored popularity contest with an end nowhere in sight.

Not only does the entire premise behind this bracket make me want to yak but their feeble attempt at being politically correct adds insult to injury. They named their four brackets after former "now" athletes. Tell me which one of these four doesn't belong:

Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Billie Jean King.

If you picked the chick on the end, congrats: you're conscious.

How can you even pretend to put King into that group? Why bypass athletes such as Wayne Gretzky, Jesse Owens, and Willie Mays to include her? King's selection is even more interesting considering that ESPN ranked her the 59th greatest athlete of the 20th century, behind Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. If she's not better than other female tennis players, how is she worthy of this bracket being named after her?

Obviously, the network felt obligated to include a woman in that group to perpetuate the idea that women's athletics are influential as men's. Even though some would like for this to be true, it's not. Notice that in this current voting, only one woman has advanced in this bracket [and one could argue that Maria Sharapova's athleticism isn't why men watch her]. And included in this comprehensive list was Amanda Beard, an Olympic swimmer who's recent claim-to-fame is that she posed nude in Playboy [no hyperlink available]. Are they really trying to lift up women's sports or objectify them? Sure, I want my daughter to have some role-models, but are they put into that position because they're worthy or because they're hot?

And if they really felt it was necessary to include a female, that's fine. But Babe Zaharias was a much more influential all around athlete than Billie Jean. Choosing her makes no sense. As I stated earlier, this was definitely a PC decision that ESPN made and it was a dumb one at that.

A recent Newsweek article asks similar questions about ESPN, as they not only report sports news but are forced to promote a wide variety of sports to survive [rock, paper, scissors, anyone?]. Was Beckham going to the LA Galaxy really that big of a story, or is it covered exhaustively because ESPN shows MLS games?

Regardless, I'll still keep watching the network. Me loves me some Baseball Tonight.

UPDATE:

After doing a little more research, this "Who's Now" segment is even dumber than I thought. The rules behind it states that "The winner of each match-up will advance based upon fan voting (70 percent) and ESPN's three-person panel (30 percent). In the first round, the panel consists of Michael Wilbon, Kirk Herbstreit and Keyshawn Johnson." So this "panel" can actually change the fan voting. Now I like Wilbon and Herbstreit, but Keyshawn is as in touch with the general public as Liza Minnelli. The panel has already overturned four of these match-ups already.

Wiccan Preacher

Yesterday morning I spoke at Cornerstone Christian Church outside of Harrison, Ohio. I noticed that they use the same NIV pew Bibles that we do at Echo. We're in a series on Zechariah at Echo and, since I put the page numbers on our slides, I remembered Zechariah 1 started on page 669. My text yesterday was Daniel 1 so I told them to open up to page 627, just guessing that would be about where it was. I told them that if I nailed the page number we would dismiss church then and there.

The correct page was 625. Close, but no cigar.

Poor folks then had to endure the rest of my message.

Pregnant

Not us, but a title like that always garners a little more attention than others. Interesting article in Christianity Today about the phrase "We're pregnant." The author, a man by the way, believes that sentence to be both inaccurate and demeaning. When men drop that phrase, he believes, they are actually belittling all that the woman endures during and after the pregnancy. I'm not sure if I used the phrase "we're pregnant" as I wasn't, however, I would tell people that "we're having a baby" as I was confident it was mine.

When we had the extended stay in the hospital before Kaelyn was born [and I use "we" because I was there every night throughout], I was a little disappointed that I had very little "rights" as a father. I was not required to sign any official paperwork because Kaelyn was first and foremost the responsibility of Kelly. This ticked me off a bit, and I think it's more reflective of absentee fathers and the society we live in.

However, I think this article makes a valid point as some husbands want a little of the attention as well. Compared to what Kelly went through, I had it easy. She was attached to machines restricting her movement in her bed; I slept on a pull-out chair. She was bedridden for weeks; I was able to go out and run errands. She has scars; I was scarred observing what she had to go through. And this is to stay nothing of all she had to go through to recover AND take care of the baby AND deal with me and my Hepatitis. Kelly went through hell to bring Kaelyn into this world. And I was there.

So no matter how secure I am in my fathering skills far be it from me, or any other of us guys, to declare that "we're pregnant."

I Guess We're Cool

Someone from Texas sent me an email asking about our church website. Pretty random, I thought, so I asked him were he found us. He said we were on the front page of Cool Church Websites. Pretty cool, I guess.

Pictures

In case you need your Kaelyn fix, go over to houseofcarr.com, click on the photos and check 'em out. She's becoming quite the model. I really need to thoroughly update the site, which I still like, but will probably wait till the fall. Also, I thought I'd post this picture I took this morning. They're tearing up the street in front of our house to put a grass median in the road [nothing says class like grass, eh?]. When they ripped the road open, they exposed the old trolley tracks that used to run up Gilbert Avenue. I guess with all the streetcar talk here in the city, it's appropriate. So we get a little glimpse of yesteryear, at least for a few days.

Speaking of Viagra . . .

. . . as I typed the word twice in my previous post, I guess I subconsciously dropped the reference because I spent three-plus hours tonight talking about sex. My current class at Xavier is about sexuality and Biblical interpretation.  This means that we end up discussing a whole spectrum of issues that leave me feeling a tad icky by the end of the night. Although I've preached many times about sexual issues, it's still an embarrassing topic of discussion for me. Contrary to what you may think, we didn't sit around the dinner table in the days of my youth doing Bible studies on Ezekiel 23 [admit it, you looked]. One of my textbooks has pictures of ancient p0rn in it. Kinda creepy. For some reason my internet filter isn't blocking it.

And, no, I didn't choose this course-- it's the only one being offered right now for my program. But don't get all judgmental on me because it's in the Bible, so suck it.

On second thought, forget I even wrote this.

Dream Job

Stick with me here: story and lesson learnt to follow. I'd say we're huge sports fans. I mean, you have to be to watch the All-Star game, right? But in our household, as a result of my wife's rearing, college basketball reigns supreme. I'm not fanatical enough to know all the new recruits to my favorite program. I am, however, always interested in keeping up-to-date on what the team will look like next year.

So I had a good time last night as I went with my neighbor to check out the Deveroes Summer League up at Woodward High School; it's where all the local college players play off-season ball. And my neighbor just happens to cover Xavier basketball for the Enquirer so it was cool opportunity to get some additional insight about some new recruits as well as inquire about the chances for the local teams for the upcoming season. Although there are times that his job looks freakin' awesome and I get insanely jealous, last night helped me realize that there's crap that can offset the cool.

Example: Dustin had to correct something for an article while he was at the game so he stepped out to make a phone call. A Xavier fan recognized him, cornered him [literally], and tried to grill him for info. The fan didn't seem to mind that he was on the phone trying to do his job.

Later, he admitted to me that it happens all the time. When I saw that it was some old codger I suggested that he toss a few Viagra pills on the ground as a way of luring him away.

So good lesson for me last night. Not about Viagra, mind you, but about my present employment. I always thought a sports gig would rock, but I observed last night that even the best jobs can suck at times. I'm extremely happy doing what I do and, even when shown the alternatives, am still feeling good about the career path I chose. But free admission and front row access to major sporting events would be . . . um . . . very nice.

Maybe if I started a church specifically for athletic superstars . . .

Echo Church: The UN-Church

At least according to the pope. Does it bother me that the Pope felt the need to reiterate that the rest of us are just faking it because the RC Church is the only true church?

Not really.

If I were him, I'd be more concerned about taking care of things on the home-front. Recently, a trend has emerged of Protestants converting to Catholicism. But I highly doubt that these people, who are perhaps seeking more liturgy and tradition from their church, intend on fully submitting to Rome. Additionally, I know many Catholics who strongly oppose the Church's teachings. This is where the RC Church is losing its footing.

I find it interesting that in the same document, the Pope desires to revive the old Latin mass. Vatican 2 permitted it to be translated into the native tongue but Benedict states that doesn't mean the Latin should be abolished. Not quite sure if that will affect local parishes, however, it's rather fascinating.

Regardless, we'll still have church [or whatever you prefer to call it] this Sunday night at 6:30.

Why I'm Watching Home Run Derby . . .

. . . is beyond me. I guess it's just ambient noise as Kelly and I try to get some work done. But even though I'm not really paying attention to it, I can't stand listening to Chris Berman do play-by-play of anything. So Dan Patrick is leaving ESPN and Berman's still there? We live in an unjust world.

The worst part about Berman doing the home-run derby is that you know he pulls the same crap every year.  That's why I offer you:

THE CHRIS BERMAN GUIDE TO DOING PLAY-BY-PLAY OF THE HOME RUN DERBY

Step One: Arrive in city of All-Star Game

Step Two: Go to local convenience store.

Step Three: Purchase map of area.

Step Four: Make a list of neighboring communities and/or landmarks.

Step Five: Wait until someone hits a home-run.

Step Six: Reference list, announcing, "he just hit that ball [Insert location here]"

Acceptable locations this year in San Francisco: San Jose, Alcatraz, Sausalito, Golden Gate Bridge, Oakland, Chinatown.

Step Seven: Wait for football season to begin.

About The Dale

The Dale was one of our first Echo core members. And he was actually the first person we didn't know to get involved. The Dale worked with Emily, had just moved to Cincy from New Jersey when he started coming. First, I guess I need to explain why we call him "The" Dale. And it's because . . . I really can't remember why. But it just seemed necessary to add an article to the beginning of his name.

The Dale has been huge in getting Echo off the ground- serving as an occasional worship leader, our resident sound guy, and our very own gourmet chef. Is there anything he can't do? He's such an integral part to our operations that we even ran an announcement slide lamenting his six week absence while in China on business. It's a view looking down on him from the balcony. Here it be:

Recently, Dale's been volunteering at a Korean church that meets in Kenwood. He leads worship for their high schoolers and occasionally preaches at their gatherings. He invited me to come over yesterday because he was speaking and it was really cool. Since Dale's the only one there who speaks English as his first language, everything but his involvement took place in Korean. It was a surreal experience, but very cool. I've been in other countries before, and in multi-lingual settings, but never as fully immersed as that. Dale does a great job working with those kids.

So here's to the The Dale, a man among men.

Oh No They Didn't

Oh yes, they did.

Find more of this crap here.

HT: Challies