just the two of us...

Yes, I'm giving in and doing the chain blog thing...enjoy


Two Names You Go By: Jessica and j.mo
Two Parts of Your Heritage: Memphis and Indian
Two Things That Scare You: clowns and crickets
Two of Your Everyday Essentials: email and ESPN
Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now: italian leather boots, jeans, and sweater
Two of Your Favorite Bands or Musical Artists: Pearl Jam and David Gray
Two Things You Want in a Relationship: Laughter and honesty
Two (or three) Truths: "senior citizens, while slow and some what dangerous behind the wheel, can serve a purpose" and "they say that sprite is lemon and lime, but i tried to make it at home..and there's more to it than that" and "my spoon is too big"
Two Things You Hate (or rather dislike with a passion): bad music and bad fashion
Two Physical Things that Appeal to You: butts and eyes
Two (or three) of Your Favorite Hobbies: sports and reading and music
Two Things You Want Really Badly: Meet Coach K and a pair of Manolo Blahniks
Two Places You Want to go on Vacation: Greece and Italy
Two Things You Want to Do Before You Die: Go to every inhabitable continent and get my Ph.D.
Two Ways that you are stereotypically a Chick/Guy: I have a freakish obsession with shoes and I love sports (wait...that's atypical...hmmm....i like chocolate)
Two Things You Normally Wouldn't Admit: I like Pat Benetar and I like to cheer for Allen Iverson (anyone who as a rookie who can shut down Michael Jordon deserves to be that full of himself)
Two people I would like to see take this quiz: Wojo and Peyton Manning

Who are you?

Who, who, who, who?

Now that that's out of my system.

I have a confession to make... I strive to be like Carl. So in an effort to achieve becoming anything like the great Carl Willis, I am posting a game that has graced my blog once before.

During the fall semester of my freshman year at Harding, I had Dr. Elrod for International Relations. While the class was mostly foreign policy-esque, Dr. Elrod had a Link of the Month that he would share in class. One month it was Guess the Dictator or Sit-com Character.

This game is still one of my favorite ways to fill/waste time, although Panda Bounce is up there.

Some of you might already be aware of this wonderful tool for procrastination, but for those of you who aren't - think of an obscure dictor/sit-com character and prepare to be entertained (or at least have 5 min of your day sucked away).

Enjoy!!

In other news: After a very fun dinner Sunday night, Jenifer gets the official "you rock my face off" for the week.

spin the black circle

I have officially accomplished everything on my post-PowerHouse to-do list. There was actually only one thing on the list…but I did it! This past Sunday night our small group did not meet, which was the perfect opportunity to go record shopping.

I went to Orpheus, which is on Wilson across the street from the Clarendon metro stop. The record selection there was excellent, and the guy the working was knowledgeable and nice. I probably spent more money than I should have, but I don’t care. Their biggest selection is jazz, but they were not lacking in rock or new stuff. I even found the Kaiser Chiefs album on vinyl (I didn’t buy it, but it’s still way cool).

The bounty from Sunday:

Kind of Blue - Miles Davis
Tutu – Miles Davis
The Unique – Thelonious Monk
Miles Davis (2 LP set)
Live at the Village Vanguard Again! – John Coltrane
Thelonious Monk (2 LP set)
The Stranger – Billy Joel

Vinyl rocks my face off!

was it worth it

I thought about telling you a sad story about my lack of sleep and stress leading up to this past weekend. Then I realized that I never questioned the price that had to be paid for PowerHouse 2005. I love those teens, and seeing them on fire for God is worth at lot more than I could ever put into PowerHouse.

I thought about the price I paid for my job. Was being here with great teens and new friends worth leaving all my friends in Abilene and the full-time education atmosphere? While the verdict is officially still out on this one, I’m gonna have to go with a hearty “heck-yes”.

I’m not really the type to get philosophical on blog posts, but I think that this weekend has reminded me of the question of “is it worth it”. Life in general can be crappy, and it doesn’t get any easier when you take on Christ. I see teens excited about their new journey with Christ and I worry about our ability to provide them the support system needed to make it through the trial and turmoil of life. Faith isn’t easy. Bad stuff happens and we are left to find a matrix in which a loving God fits with evil in the world. Are the normal pains of life and philosophical uncertainties worth the end? In the world of philosophy, does the ends really justify the means? Is the virtue of perseverance worth suffering loss? I certainly hope so.

It’s this messy side of faith that we don’t talk about much in youth ministry (or ministry in general for that matter). We are really good at getting kids excited about Jesus and the fact that they can be forgiven, but we don’t prepare them for dealing with the stuff that lives throws at you. We never have a youth rally that talks practically about dealing with temptation or loss, or how to handle faith in a pluralistic society. For me, these are some of the hardest things about faith.

How do we equip people to deal with this kind of stuff? How do we convey the worthiness of faith in the light of tragedy? I don’t really know, but I do know that whatever the cost of walking alongside people in the faith journey will be worth it.

did you ever know that you're my hero?

I was going to try to get Casey Kasem to do my long distance dedication this morning, but apparently trying to get a celebrity’s home phone number is considered some form of stalking or something…who knew?

(To those of you who are reading this in a place where you can listen to music, I strongly urge you to begin playing Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath My Wings" before you continue reading, so that you can gain the full effect of today's long distance dedication.)

There are several recipients of today’s not-so-long distance dedication.

1. The AWESOME teens of the Fairfax Student Ministry – They are pumped about PowerHouse and willing to help make it happen! FSM rocks my face off.

2. Shayna & Carl Willis – The shout out goes to Carl for reminding me that, contrary to popular belief, you cannot record audio with a still camera. Shayna is my hero for figuring out the video camera and helping me record some stuff for PowerHouse!

3. Everyone who is volunteering for PowerHouse – My job is fun because I am not the one moving tables or designing decorations. I get to help, but I mainly get to spend time with the aforementioned teens.

4. My small group – I know I crushed your hopes and dreams of ever being the holy grail of NoVa, but you guys really are special. Without you, I never would have found the record store.


Disclaimer: The views and opinions of the author expressed on this blog do not necessarily state or reflect those of the U.S. Government, and they may not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.

Seriously, the list is not in any order, and if you didn’t get a shout out it doesn’t mean you don’t rock my face off.