Category: Monday Briefs

Tuesday Briefs

tuesdaybriefs

Late Tuesday edition…

highlight(s) of the week:
We had a great time helping host Fresha Peppa Cafe with Aaron and Keri this past Friday night. Laurie and I joined them and Tracy to host a “fancy” dinner for the Brian and Heather Treadaway. We had a lot of fun as Laurie was the paparazzi, Aaron was waiter Fredrico, I was Tiny the bus boy, Tracy was the local bar fly and Keri did most (if not all of the cooking). Lots

books i’m reading:
Still working on Gardening Eden by Michael Abbate’. So far its great! Need to get it finished so I can move on to several others waiting in the wings.

things that are annoying me:
Follower counts on Twitter. Like several others have suggested this week – I’d be totally cool if Twitter chose to remove the follower counts on the site. I could care less that you’re a movie star and have 1 million followers – and I could care less if you have 1,000 followers or 5,000 followers or however many. I’d like to think that Twitter’s not about a popularity contest. But of course if I had 1,000 followers too – who knows – I might catch myself braggin’ about it as well. 🙂

things I’m not looking forward to:
Laurie’s going to be spending some time out of town the next week or so for work. It might seem a little silly but we’ve never spent a full day apart since we’ve been married – two years next week. She’ll be gone tomorrow morning till Friday evening and then again two days next week – including our anniversary.

Of course I’m glad she’s getting these opportunities. She’s really thriving in her new job and I’m super proud and excited for her.

things I’m looking forward to:
Making sushi at home. While Laurie’s gone this week I’m going to console myself by trying my hand at making sushi. She’s definitely not a fan and not interested in trying it – so I’m going to try out my new “sushi for two” kit that I bought from Half Price Books last week.

Tuesday Briefs

tuesdaybriefs

The late Tuesday edition…

Seems I’m getting later and later with this each week. Before long we may have to call it the Wednesday briefs. But then if I keep it up we might make it full circle and get back to the Monday briefs eventually :-). I guess we can only hope.

I was trying to find the motivation to do this yesterday, as well as today but I guess writing about my week doesn’t seem near as interesting to me as it might to someone else. I’d much rather tell someone else’s story than my own.

highlight(s) of the week:
On Monday morning I took the day off of work and attending an adoption ceremony for my friends Todd and Monja’s new daughter. It was a small ceremony with candle’s lit in honor of those who made the day possible. Reminded me how valuable and important each and every person – and child – really are.

I was glad they invited us to attend and glad that I was able to take some time off of work to be there. It’s been a lot of fun getting to know Todd and Monja over the last year or so at encounter and even more so over the last six months or so as they’ve been a part of our Saturday night group. Their new daughter will be well taken care of and spoiled by the entire family I’m sure!

quote(s) i’m digging:
“People of faith claim to know the Artist but lack any compunction for protecting the artwork.”
“The closer we are walking with the Creator, the more beauty we will see in life.” – Michael Abbate’ in Gardening Eden

books i’m reading:
I’ve put The New Conspirators on hold for a bit while I try out some new books. Tom Sine’s book is great, its just taking me a long time to read for some reason. So I’m currently (as you might have guessed) reading Gardening Eden by Michael Abbate’. So far its great! Really enjoying what he’s saying and how he’s saying it. So far some great reasons for being good stewards of creation that I think any right-wing-republican-conservative-evangelical person should be able to agree with (or at least find very little to argue about) — it just makes sense.

job update:
Well, I was turned down for the job I applied for. It was a bit of a bummer but when they told me they really wanted someone with great copy editing skills and they told me one of the applicants had worked as a copy editor for 20 years at the local paper – I figured they made the best decision. I’ll be the first to admit that copy editing is not my forte’ or something I strive to excell in.

However, the good news is that they’re still really interested in bringing me on to their team and my current boss is still happy to see me advance in my career so they’re trying a few things to see if they can bring me on in a similar position as the one I applied for. It might be a few months down the road still, so I’m not expecting anything soon but if it happens – wonderful – if not, no biggie.

things you should be listening to:
Our last two podcasts (with Adele Sakler) have added some fuel for the fire of some (or so they think) but that’s OK. Don’t let them (or us) tell you what to think. Listen to the show and think for yourself. As Flobots say, “There’s a war going on for your mind – if you’re thinking – you’re winning.” Listen to Adele’s story, chew on it, think about how you typically respond, how you would want someone to respond to you and then how you think Jesus would respond. And then share your thougths with us and others.

things I’m looking forward to:
I don’t think I’ve read an entire book this whole year yet. Geeze! I’m looking forward to checking at least one off my list. Don’t know how much longer it will be – but I’ll be glad when it comes.

Tuesday Briefs

tuesdaybriefs

highlight(s) of the week ::
We completed the Tour of Dallas Saturday, riding 20 miles in roughly an hour and a half.

Laurie impressed me throughout the race. She smoked me everytime we went down hill and was often several lengths ahead of me as she weaved in and out of the other riders.

Also, turns out she had a busted gear shift so her gear was stuck in a high gear the whole race. So every time we were heading down hill she went to town while I struggled to find a gear that kept me from simply spinning my pedals.

bike

We’re considering another ride in Lancaster on Saturday – but I think we’ll hold off till we see what the weather does.

quote i’m digging ::
“Jesus wasn’t a king who ruled with an iron fist but ruled with a towel – washing people’s feet.” Shane Claiborne

work update ::
Still waiting to hear back on my job interviews. Expected to hear something on Friday or Monday but nothing as of 5 pm today. We’ll just keep waiting.

cars cars and trucks::
Had to take my truck to the shop yesterday. Knew I’d need a new fan clutch which was covered under warranty ($100 deductable) but found out in the process that my left front wheel hub bearing was going out as well. They replaced it as well and while the ticket was well over $900 – I still only paid $100 – making the warranty investment worth what we paid on it.

Unfortunately I’m typing this blog post on my BlackBerry while we wait at Firestone to get a new belt for Laurie’s car. It’ll cost $50 more than what we paid for the work on my truck! Doh!

looking forward to ::
Getting Friday off. Wasn’t expecting it at all but found out yesterday that we get Good Friday off. Should be a nice day to do whatever I feel like.

Tuesday Briefs

Completely forgot to post the Monday Briefs yesterday. Sorry about that! In it’s place, this week we bring you, “Tuesday Briefs.”

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highlight(s) of the week ::
Wow! I’m not even sure I can remember what we did this last week. It seems like it just flew by. I think the highlights of the week were (again) just hanging out with people who I just really enjoy hanging out with.

Wednesday night is Laurie’s Bible study night at Northwest so I spent some time hanging out at Chick-Fil-A in Cedar Hill eating dinner and editing my novel (I’m about half-way through the first editing round). Afterwards I stopped by to see the Lehmanns and then Aaron and I got to hang out at White Rhino Coffee House.

Thursday night I skipped the gym and decided to rush home to meet Laurie for dinner (at Chick-Fil-A in Waxahachie) and enjoyed just getting to spend some time with her alone before we both rushed off our separate ways again.

Saturday was our regular community group night and we had a great time hanging out with our “small group” of us and the Kiefers.

And then again last night, we had fun hanging out with friends for Aiden’s birthday party.

quote i’m digging ::
“Salt me well brothers. Salt me well.” Balthasar Hübmaier before he was burned at the stake (via Homebrewed Christianity).

work update ::
I had a second interview for the job with the DCCCD Mar/Comm department today. This was a team/group interview and I felt like it went well. Hope they did too. I’m thinking this would be an ideal position for me but we’ll wait till Friday or Monday to see if they think so too.

freelance work ::
Finished part one of a slideshow presentation for coffeehousechurches.com. They’ve got some great resources over there so take some time and check them out.

gym/weight update ::
We’re doing the 20 mile Tour of Dallas bike ride this Saturday (April 4) from downtown Dallas to White Rock Lake. I’ll welcome your prayers :-).

looking forward to ::
Believe it or not (from the statement above) I’m looking forward to the bike ride this Saturday. It’ll be something fun to do with Laurie and Todd and I’ll be glad to say I completed it when we’re done. It’s just one step in hoping to do Hotter’N Hell this year or next.

Monday Briefs

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highlight(s) of the week ::
While I’m not sure it was a “highlight” of the week, death came as a friend on Tuesday morning for my Granddad. As a result I did get to spend some good time with family, including hanging out with my cousins on Thursday night and my sister and her husband Friday night. The circumstances surrounding us weren’t exactly what we would have chosen, but it’s always nice to get a chance to spend time with family.

Also, received a random (late) birthday gift from some co-workers. Not at all expected, but a very nice gift from some folks I have worked with recently on the African American Read-In.

quote i’m digging ::
“Going to church… I was very young kid… and this was a high Anglican church and this was my first encounter with God’s house. It was very strange. It was a mystical, peculiar almost magical experience going into this beautiful church and wondering why God had such strange taste in music….” on this week’s (upcoming) podcast

music i’m digging ::
I downloaded a copy of So Elated’s album last week in preparation for an interview on Friday with Ben Thomas. Really enjoying the album, especially the song “Open My Heart with Knives.”

God of love please give me peace / Please destroy all of our enemies / Help the rest of the world to learn to live like me / Tear down the temples that worship differently / Hold my hand and make me yours / Grant me power, sex, money and a brand new car / I know I shouldn’t worship all of my stuff / So I’ll ask that you’d please do it in the name of love

work update ::
The position I applied for with DCCCD is still progressing forward. I have an interview today at 1:30 p.m. so I guess I did OK on last week’s test.

freelance work ::
Learning more and more PHP and how it can be used in web development. Did some back-end work on a couple sites over the weekend to make my job in easier in the future.

gym/weight update ::
I think Laurie and I have decided we may try a 20 mile bike ride in Dallas on the first weekend of April. We rode 15 miles last week from Red Oak to Waxahachie. Not too bad, except the chip-and-seal farm-to-market road was a bit bumpy. And I think we both decided we need new seats before we try any serious rides.

looking forward to ::
Hmmm… not sure at this point. Would like another day off without other things coming up, but I’m pretty content as is.

Monday Briefs

Taking the inspiration from jakebouma and several others I’m going to try and bring you a weekly “brief” on Monday about things going on… I give you the inaugural Monday Briefs edition….

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highlight of the week ::
I turned 30 on Tuesday. WOW! Dinner with my family and a sojourcouple really close friends at Kobe Steaks last Sunday night, as well as a nice quiet dinner with My Life at Red Robin’s on Tuesday night were probably definitely the highlights of the week.
A close second would probably be dinner with the Kiefers on Saturday night followed by After Hours Improv.
I see a theme going here…

books i’m reading ::
I’m still working through Tom Sine’s book The New Conspirators: Creating the Future One Mustard Seed at a Time. As I told Laurie the other night, I’m just not finding/taking the time to read as much this year. I need to do a better job of taking the time to do that. I’ve also briefly started Kevin Beck’s book This Book Will Change Your World: How All Things Become New. I’m trying not to get too carried away with it until I finish The New Conspirators.

music i’m digging ::
I can’t get enough of U2’s No Line On The Horizon
right now. The song on your heart is now in my head. I’m even waking up and realizing the album’s been playing in my dreams. Crazy! I’m also digging Sojourn’s new stuff they’ve graciously offered as free downloads. Check out their blog to find several great live tunes.

ministry-wise ::
I’m still trying to find a good fit for our community group. Schedules happen. Life happens. People are busy. Wish the group was more like our youth group of old or college days where we hung out several times a week (those that could did) and we just shared life. Not there yet. Not sure what it would take to get there.

Loved sharing my chat with Max this past week on the podcast. Looking forward to hearing more interviews from Stewart and Thomas over the next few weeks.

looking forward to ::
Next Sunday we’ll have a Jedi Counsel meeting for encounter and then that evening I hope to meet up with some friends to discuss JustOneDallas (see previous paragraph).