Bob Medlin

Bobby “Bob” Joe Medlin, age 66 of Garland, TX, passed away September 3, 2010. He was born January 1, 1944, in Chickasha, OK, to John “Buster” and Gladys (MacFellows) Medlin. Bob was a resident of Garland for 24 years and a member of Lake Ridge Bible Church in Mesquite, TX. He served his country in the Army Reserves for 10 years.

Bob is survived by his wife: Vicki Medlin of Garland, TX; son: Ty Medlin and wife Rosanne; daughter: Tamison Lattanzi and husband Michael Jr.; grandchild: Aubrie Medlin; sisters: Margie Medlin , Velma Calvin and Minnie Williams and husband Jerry all of Oklahoma; several nieces, nephews and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother John Medlin, brother-in-law Ronald Cavin, and sister-in-law Mary Medlin.

A graveside service will be held 2:30pm Sunday, September 5, 2010, at Rest Haven Memorial Park in Rockwall, TX, with Dr. Roger Raymer of Lake Ridge Bible Church officiating. The family will receive friends at the funeral home Saturday from 6:00 to 8:00pm.

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Bobby “Bob” Joe Medlin (Jan. 1, 1944 – Sept. 3, 2010)

Tami Lattanzi

What does an average day look like for you?

I wake up around 7:30… help get husbands stuff together for work (sometimes)… go clean some houses… do some housework… and then make dinner and hang out with my husband when he gets home

What’s been the best day of your life?

My wedding day

What’s been your greatest achievement in life thus far?

Catching Michael… just kidding… well maybe not. Greatest achievement is one I can take NO credit for and that is God redirecting my life and setting my path His direction. My life was in a bad way about 11 years ago and God came and totaly cleaned me up with His Son Jesus Christ and life has been so very awesome with trials since then.

What made the biggest difference in helping you achieve that goal?

Jesus Christ first and formost…then a couple of Ladies who God brought in my life who became close accountability and walked the road with me

If you could solve one problem in the world – what would it be?

The way we treat our adolescents as children….I do not agree. One looks just 50 maybe 100 years back and folks in the adolescent age range were not behaving as they do today…there is a reason for that. Society has stupified them. Dumbed them down and held them back. 50 – 100 years ago our adolescents were behaving as Men and Women….today not even close. God has still given them all the physical ability to do so but our society has become weak, shallow, stupid and w/out vision… The only way I can change this is to start with my own family.

Tami lives with her husband Michael in Mesquite, Texas. She recently began a part-time personal assistant service, Helping Hands. You can find her on Facebook.

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Five questions with Tamison Lattanzi

Theresa Seeber

What does an average day look like for you?

An average day for me starts with one or more of three very cute, small children climbing into the bed with me to wake me up with a cuddle. How sweet is that? I spend the first part of my day homeschooling these same three little ones. They range in age from 3 to 8, so schooling still involves a lot of fun and games. Growing up, my favorite thing to do was to go to school, and the only job I’ve ever seriously considered (and went to college to train for) is a school teacher. So, homeschooling is a sort of dream come true for me. My oldest (15) will be starting high school in a week! Amazing.

What’s been the best day of your life?

The best days of my life were the four days my children were born. I know a lot of people choose those days, and it may not be very creative of me, but the experiences were so amazing, so life-changing, that there have not been any days better. To meet for the first time an extension of my very self, and my husband’s, has been the most amazing thing ever. Looking into their eyes after 9 months of waiting and dreaming and planning is positively Divine. Holding their sweet, tiny, vulnerable bodies for the first time, wrapping them up in blankets and love, has to be the most beautiful thing I have ever done. They are the most important thing in my life, despite the fact that I often forget that in the hectic day to day.

What’s been your greatest achievement in life thus far?

I think my greatest achievement has been getting to know who I am, and accepting and loving that person. It took me just over 30 years to first love myself. Growing up I was one of only two or three kids in school who had red hair and freckles. I was the minority. And the kids reminded me of that fact every day. I was the “yucky” kid. The different one. The ugly one. It hurt so bad to grow up with that message, even from my closest friends. When I got married at 21 to a man who not only accepted my red hair and freckles, but really liked them, it still took him years to help me see my own beauty.

Also, I have OCD, and unlike most folks who develop it during puberty, I have had it at least since the age of 5 or 6. So I have always had a lot to say, a lot of fears, a lot of control issues, and a lot of nervous tics. So, people have always kinda had a problem with me in some way or another. And being an only child, I missed out on a lot of the social foundations kids with siblings develop early in life. I had to develop them in my marriage. That road has been rocky, as I have learned to not be so selfish.

What made the biggest difference in helping you achieve that goal?

As far as reaching that state, my biggest help has been Jesus. When I was very little, maybe 6 or 7, there was a church booth at the local Fair. A man running the booth got down on his knee to be my height (I was also the second shortest kid in class for years) and invited me to come talk to him. My parents, neither church-goers at all, thankfully let me go. I have never been the same since. He told me about Jesus for the first time I remember, and told me Jesus could actually live in my heart – dwell within me. I was one of those kids who thought all my stuffed animals and dolls were really alive, so this was not a stretch to my imagination at all. I was thrilled. Especially because the man didn’t talk about hell or condemnation, he only talked about Jesus’ love for me. It was so pure, so beautiful. After that day, my awareness of Jesus in me was really solid.

Looking back, it’s amazing how aware of him I was. I had constant access to him. I always just knew he was there. And I talked to him all the time, even mentally, from a very early age. I ended up attending the church the man’s booth represented, which amazingly was only a block away from my house. My parents didn’t go with me, rather I took the bus with my friend. When she stopped going to pursue gymnastics, I stopped going too. I had been taught by the children’s church teachers so much about the God I so loved, and my times there I still cherish. But I didn’t want to go alone anymore, so I simply stopped going. It’s funny, but my Mom, who wasn’t even going with me, told me I should have kept going. She must have known how I loved Jesus.

When my dog died around the age of 10, I told God I was finished with him. I had prayed, telling him that if he let her die I wouldn’t believe in him anymore. And for the next four years, I was acutely aware of the God I was ignoring. I had gone from praying always, especially at bedtime, to actively cultivating a silence between him and me. When I got in trouble with the law at 14, I was taken to the Vineyard church, and under the care of Brent Rue, a man ahead of his time missionally, I crumbled under the weight of Jesus’ love. I returned full force and the lost years between us simply melted away.

As a defiant youth, I found myself deeply entrenched in destructive lifestyles no matter how hard I tried to fly right, yet I never did walk away from his presence in me again. I even silently prayed over my drugs before I took them, praying that they’d not kill or harm me, and that I wouldn’t get caught using them. I was very promiscuous, and was involved in witchcraft, the active pursuit of specific demons, and “cutting” way before it became trendy. I even cut my friends, with their permission.

When the time for high school graduation was drawing near, I was using speed, smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. I would mix and match, and occasionally snort or smoke things I couldn’t even identify. My habits had gotten so bad, I was using on campus regularly. I was smoking between a half to a whole pack of cigarettes a day. (During summer breaks, I would use much more, not hindered by classes or having to hide it from my family.)

I started going to this little church across the street from the high school on my lunch breaks, and got this real desire to live a better life than I was living. I wanted to return to the Christian life, so to speak. So I quit using everything, cold turkey. I waited for the withdrawals to come, and I prayed for help. But they never came. It was a miracle. I simply quit. It was amazing. I felt so healthy, so free. I graduated as a sober, right-living Christian. I thank God often that I did so, because as I said, school was always my favorite place to be. What a gift.

The summer that followed high school, I “backslid” yet again. I started partying again and knew I couldn’t stop. I was beginning to think I would never truly be free. Then, one day, I found out I was pregnant. It was Halloween day, four months graduation. I was 18 (and very immature), and didn’t know who the father was. There were three possible choices, none of whom cared much about me. That was the turning point for me. Since that day, I have never been the same. I dropped the drugs, the drinking, the friends who were entrenched in the lifestyle I was so weak to avoid. I became the mother I always knew I would one day, somehow, be. It has been 15 years, and I have never returned to the things that had been so destructive in my life before. There were things that I had to work through, but all in all it’s amazing how Jesus held my hand and simply led me once I was in that position.

If you could solve one problem in the world – what would it be?

As far as changing one problem in the world, if given the chance, I would be tempted to choose one of either world hunger, human trafficking, child abuse, homelessness, or some other majorly pressing issue that is causing so much harm and oppression to so many. But rather than choosing one, I would choose to solve the problem that causes every one of those very things that I am so emblazoned about. I would cure people’s disregard for others. I would instill in them a love and empathy and care for one another that would make it impossible for injustice to exist in this world. Can you imagine what a world it would be if we simply did what Jesus asks us to, and loved one another?

Theresa lives with her husband and four children in California. She blogs at eyesofhope.wordpress.com and you can follow her on Twitter at @theresaseeber

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Five questions with Theresa Seeber

Sara Skaggs

What does an average day look like for you?

Probably pretty boring, from an outsiders opinion . I usually only get up when one of the kids wake up – though this is something I’m working on changing about myself. From that point on, I change a lot of diapers, I get a lot of snacks, drinks, and bottles, I clean, and I play. Most mornings we have some sort of errand to run, or a play group to attend, both of which are nice opportunities to get out of the house. Thrown in during the early afternoon is about a 2 hour nap time, which is when I get my personal things done for the day, and then usually take a nap. Then comes dinner, Daddy time, bath, and bed time! So my average days might seem boring to some, but I’d say they’re pretty awesome – I wouldn’t change it for the world

What’s been the best day of your life?

No question about it, the best day of my life was the day Elliot was born. All the other great things things that have happened in my life, like the day I was married, or even when my other children were born, were just the starting points. ALL of my days with them have been wonderful, I could never pick just one to be the “best”. But Elliots birthday was the only day we had him, so I was more complete on that day than I’ve ever been. Because I no longer have my child on Earth with me, I’ll forever be incomplete, so yeah – that day was the best. It was the worst too, though – if that’s possible

What’s been your greatest achievement in life thus far?

My children. They are my legacy, they are my heartbeat.

What made the biggest difference in helping you achieve that goal?

My husband. Not only would I not have them if it were not for him, but they, nor I, would be any good if it were not for him.

If you could solve one problem in the world – what would it be?

OK, this is excluding the greatest problem of all, the fact that the world needs Jesus, right? Other than THAT: This may sound small, since I know there are so many HUGE problems in the world, but the one problem I would solve right now is infertility. To have a woman whose heart longs for a baby, and yet is unable to have one of her own is, in my opinion, one of the greatest injustices of life. Like my previous answers have shown, my children are my life, and my heart breaks at the mere thought of a woman being robbed that joy. I cannot fathom the pain of infertility, and I wish beyond measure that my loved ones couldn’t either.

Sara is a wife and mother of three children. She blogs at bsseskaggs.blogspot.com.

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Five questions with Sara Skaggs

Coy Christensen

After a full weekend, I joined a few friends and family to hear our friend Coy Christensen play a gig at White Rock Coffee last night in Dallas.

Coy did a great job, playing an hour long set, primarily of his own songs, but throwing in a few covers from Jon Foreman, Shaded Red, John Mark McMillan and When In Rome as well.

I shot some video during the night and pieced it together in the video below.

Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

The video also gives you a decent idea of how the Flip UltraHD does in semi-low light situations, closeup and with auto-focus. And as for the sound, it does peak out throughout the video, but I was also sitting about five feet from one of the speakers, so I’m not too surprised about that.

I’m still having trouble finding just the right video settings for The Flip, Sony Vegas and YouTube. I thought I got them all right with my last video, but they must not have saved . My original render of this video came out pretty poorly in my mind — which is why I re-rendered it for Vimeo.

Guess I’ll keep working on it.

P.S. The video should have said May 23, 2010. Hahahaha! Guess that happens when you edit late at night.

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Coy Christensen at White Rock Coffee

Wednesday Whatastudy | Self portrait

This morning I wrap up more than 3 years of Wednesday morning What-A-Studies.

What a great time we’ve had. Until last fall Brian (our pastor) led the group. The group then multiplied and some moved to Chick-Fil-A in Waxahachie and a few of us stuck around in Red Oak.

I’ve been facilitating most of the conversations and have richly enjoyed each and every Wednesday morning.

I can only think of a few Wednesdays I’ve missed in the past few years — as it’s a huge highlight of my week.

Just guys sitting around, talking about life, faith and God and being real with one another. Priceless.

Leaving encounter sucks for sure… but leaving my What-A-Study guys sucks even more. But I’m glad to know they’ll continue on and I’ll continue on with new guys and new relationships. Besides… Friends are Friends Forever….

A final challenge

As I wrap up my final What-A-Study in Red Oak, and prepare for the group to multiply again (starting Cabana Wednesdays – 6:30 a.m. Taco Cabana at Beltline and Hwy 80 in Mesquite next week), I’m challenging the guys at Whataburger with what’s become my creed over the last couple years.

It’s adopted from Brian McLaren’s book, Everything Must Change. Of course you can read it in the sidebar of my blog — but you may have overlooked it, or you may read my blog via e-mail or RSS — so I thought it was a great reminder for us all.

imagine if suddenly…

rather than seeking revenge, you sought reconciliation
rather than repaying violence with violence, you sought creative transforming nonviolent alternatives
rather than focusing on external conformity to moral codes, you were internally transformed by love
rather than loving insiders and hating outsiders, you welcomed outsiders into a new “us” and “we”
rather than anxiety about money or security or pleasure, you trusted ourselves to the care of God
rather than living for wealth, you lived for God who loves all people, including our enemies
rather than hating our enemies and competitors, you loved them and did unto them not as they have done unto you – or before they do unto you – but as you wish they would do for you

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A final What-A-Study

Vincent van Gogh - The Good Samaritaan

Late last year I invited my friends and family to join with me in helping save a family’s home from foreclosure. It was an amazing experience to see money come in from literally all around the world.

So many of you reached into your pockets and shared love with a stranger.

Thank you!

My friends are now totally clear with the bank. They finally received all the paperwork and approval from the bank, restructured their loan and are now doing great as she’s started her new nursing job.

Now that she’s graduated and started her new job (working in the same hospital and department my sister Amy worked in) I e-mailed my friend last week to see if there was anything in her past that led her into nursing and she responded with the following:

I was particularly drawn to be a Labor & Delivery nurse after my own personal experience as a young mom. 19 years old, freshman in college, newly married and terrified. Never in my life had I encountered such public humiliation and scorn as I did then. I was looked down up, and many times those in authority (professors, doctors) would assume I didn’t know anything because I had been dumb enough to get pregnant. It wasn’t until my second child was born; that I realized the unbelievable gift I had been given. Children, no matter the age of conception by the mother (!), were a precious kind of wonderful. It was then I made a dedication to teen mothers; specifically those who wanted to continue their education despite individual circumstances. Working here at Presby has allowed me to do that. I’ve had the opportunity to volunteer with Dallas area teen mom programs and its been greatly rewarding. I feel as if each mom I help (and even those who don’t want to be helped), I can jump right into their shoes. I know their hurts/thoughts/fears all without saying a word. It is in that way, I’m working through my own hurt I experienced.

When I was in my 2nd semester of nursing school a graduate student asked me what was my greatest love, then asked me what made me cry. First I said helping moms be moms, then I said injustice to women. It was then I put my heart on womens services; specifically L&D.

Today I had an amazing experience with a mother putting her baby up for adoption. It was her 4th child and this babys father was extremely abusive. After several ups and downs today, she told me I saved her and her baby’s lives by being there today. I will never forget that moment. It was then the hurt, the pain, the tears, the trial and hardship of the road I took here was all worth it.

Thank you again for loving a stranger and being the hands and feet of Jesus. I hope you’re inspired to find ways to help those in your own community as well.

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Loving a stranger (Update on helping our friends beat foreclosure)

I’ve been meaning to do this for a while but haven’t taken the time to do it until now. I want to be sure and let you know about several great projects my friends have recently been a part of.

Least of These

Kevin’s recently published his NaNoWriMo work from 2008 (same month I wrote my novel), Least of These. I read it in a few hours one evening and thought it was great read. Lots of great ideas built around a captivating story.

Kara, Brick and James form a trio of survivors, the last of a now-dead community. They wander a post-apocalyptic world where humanity’s savagery has already ruined civilization and now threatens survival as well. James is always looking to the east and the hope of the promised land, Brick is quiet but strong and Kara yearns for simple hope. This young, world-weary trio encounters a man full of hope and promise—he’s either a wise guru to lead them forward or a foolish old man.

As mentioned on Facebook recently, I love how Kevin spent a lot of time referring back to Isaiah 2:4 and giving a vivid illustration of how this “prophecy” can really play out.

They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

I’ll be chatting with Kevin a little later on about the book — but don’t wait till then to get your own copy. You can download a free PDF from Kevin’s site or order your copy from Amazon.

Headphonaught’s photography

Thomas, my brother from another country and one of my co-hosts on the podcast, has really been stepping up his photography more and more recently.

His photography has been featured in a local journal as well as on the cover of Cousin Silas’ latest indie album, The Snow Imposed Silence.

Plus one of his photos was chosen for the February wallpaper on We Live Simply .

Be sure and check out Cousin Silas’ album (it’s good indie music as well) along with more of Thomas’ photography on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/headphonaught.

green church

My good friend Lindsay Cofield has written a new e-book, green church, telling the story of green/organic churches. It’s a brief book (roughly 25 pages in length) that shares some of the practical “how-to’s” of starting a green church, as well as some stories from those who are actively building communities of faith this way.

Christ-followers of ONE who acts in love & power!!!
+ The most life-changing ministry we can humanly provide a group of overlooked friends is a simple Body of Christ, a Church, planted among them, to be His Hands, His Heart, His Voice, His Compassion in their circle of relationships +

I’d love to tell you to buy 5 copies of the book and keep one and give 4 away, but Lindsay won’t let you. He’s giving the book away — for FREE. You can read the entire thing on his website, download the FREE PDF, or if you really want to pay something for it, you can purchase a copy for your Amazon Kindle.

(as a disclaimer, I built the website for Lindsay and helped format the Kindle version)

I’m sure I’m missing some other great projects my friends have been a part of but wanted to be sure and give props to these great projects.

Support what really matters to you.

As Everett Bogue writes:

I’d like to argue that there are artists all around us creating many fine things. An artist is someone who is creating something that they are passionate about.

You vote with every dollar you spend. Do you vote mega-corporation or independant artist?…

I realize this makes the decision to purchase anything infinitely harder, but that’s the decision we need to make if we’re going to support what really matters.

Artists give something that matters. That art might be a muffin that the lady at the coffee shop woke up early that morning to bake. That art might be the blog post that you read this morning that you know the writer put some thought into—so that he was creating art that made a difference.

I hope each of these artists continue on and keep up the great work and create wonderful, passionate art.

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Support indie artists

We really enjoyed spending the evening with Tami and Michael tonight in preparation for their wedding tomorrow.

We had a good time with family and friends tonight and enjoyed some great steak at The Keg in Plano. Probably one of the best steaks I’ve had in a really long time — topped off with a great wine and a ginormous carrot cake (My blurry BlackBerry photo hardly does it justice. Hopefully Laurie got a better pic with our Nikon.)

Anyways, with a great dinner and great conversation, we didn’t leave the restaurant till after 11 and I didn’t make it back home till shortly after 12 (Laurie stayed in a nearby hotel with the other bridesmaids).

So, now I think it’s time to head to bed before a full day of wedding festivities tomorrow.

But as I head to bed, I’m wondering, what do you think about the question, “What is emergent?” Of the three areas I’ve touched on, do you agree with them? Do you disagree with them? Do you see them showing up in other traditions?

That’s it for now. []Deace!

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It’s 1 a.m.

Waiter Fredrico and Tiny the Bus Boy package up food for our guests – the Treadaways – at Fresha Peppa Cafe on Friday night.

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Fresha Peppa