Category: reflections

Monday Briefs

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highlight(s) of the week ::
We paid off our credit card debt this week! WOOT WOOT! Thanks to Uncle Sam for saving some of our money this year. We made our annual withdrawal and put it towards closing out our credit card balance as well as paying off a CT scan. Now we just need to finish paying off the rest of our medical and parental debt and we’ll have met our goal. We’re thinking we can get there in 10 months or less (maybe a lot sooner if folks want to have more freelance web work done or folks will start buying stuff from our Amazon store! :-)).

Friday night we made a trip to Frisco to see Baby Ben. Had a great time with his mom, dad and big sister.

Also, last night we had a planning meeting to discuss JustOneDallas – a very cool initiative that I’m looking forward to being a part of (I’ll write more soon). But just for now, save the date :: May 16. That’s the scheduled launch/kick-off date for the Dallas hub. And for a little more background you can check out our podcast chat with Max Fincher.

music i’m digging ::
In between listening to U2’s No Line On The Horizon, I’ve also been digging The Damnwells’ album “One Last Century.” Downloaded the album for free last week and hope to feature some of the tracks on some upcoming podcasts.
And two weeks later, I still can’t get enough of U2’s No Line On The Horizon
right now. Having them on Letterman all week probably didn’t help matters either.

podcast i’m digging ::
I finally took the time to listen to the Mars Hill 10th anniversary podcast this morning. Good stuff. Encouraging stuff as well.

new web hack/trick ::
I figured out how to build a “table” using unordered lists in HTML and CSS. Boy did that make updating the CWF bio page a breeze. Was worried I’d have to rebuild the whole table to insert seven new bios.

freelance work ::
Part of filling our our withdrawal from Uncle Sam this year (aka our IRS taxes) meant filing the income I’ve made from freelance work this year. I think this is the first year I’ve had anything over $100 or so. Once I totaled it all up, I made just over $2,000 doing freelance work this year. That’s just a mere drop in the bucket of most people – but it makes that $100 seem like even more of a drop in the bucket. I’m trying to do what I can to move away from “freebies” for folks and only doing work I can bill out. Not that money is “everything” but it sure makes doing the work that much more enjoyable when you know the client’s really appreciate your work enough to pay you for it.

misc ::
I bought a new webcam this week with birthday money (thanks mom, dad, dan and martha). So I’ve been enjoying using video chat via Skype and Tokbox. If you’ve got a webcam look me up (jdblundell as always) and lets chat.

looking forward to ::
I get a day off of work on the 20th for “Spring Break.” Sure wish I got the whole week, but one day is better than no days.

wOOt wOOt!

debt

Today we made our last payment on a credit card! Woot! Woot!

I’m surprised how quickly its gone. We’ve paid over $11,000 towards debt since June/July of last year and I’m quite certain we wouldn’t have done it without Laurie pushing and making sure we were paying off huge chunks each month.

It’s taken some sacrifices. It’s kept us from doing some things we’d like to do on a more regular basis, but chunk by chunk we’ve knocked it off as well as a good deal of other debt.

Now all we have left is medical and parental debt. Hopefully we’ll have that gone within the next nine to 10 months! WOOT WOOT!

debt

In the meantime – we’ll keep working through this plan.

We interrupt this broadcast…

I was debating on if I’d stay up and watch U2 on Letterman tonight, or simply let the DVR do all the work.

As I was thumbing through my Google Reader before heading to bed I’m glad I made another stop at Homebrewed Christianity.

Cornel West via WikipediaTripp shared a series of videos put together by Jamie Moffett, of Cornel West at Eastern University (the alma mater of both Jamie Moffett and Shane Claiborne ).

The videos are broken into 10 minute segments and will take you about an hour to watch all the way through – but I’m certain you’ll learn a lot and take a lot away from them. If you don’t… well….

Anyways, take some time to watch them. Chew on what Cornel West has to say. Think about Scripture and “how then shall we live.” Then share your feedback. I’m anxious to hear what you think. Good or bad.

One nugget that really stood out to me…

“The black freedom struggle is the best example of bringing together the quest for unarmed truth and unconditional love in the face of American Terrorism for 400 years. Instead of a Black al-Qaeda you get Frederick Douglas and Martin Luther.”

Thanks to Jamie for sharing the videos and thanks to Tripp for posting them on his site.

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).

‘I just came on’

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Laurie and I had a nice, pleasant, relaxing day together yesterday.

We slept in and skipped out on our tribe’s weekly gathering.

Spent some time piddling around the web, went to the gym and then made a stop by Panera Bread for a late lunch/early dinner.

While we were there the restaurant wasn’t too busy but there seemed to be only a few visible workers. As we sat at the table one worker came by wiping the tables clean. Another was working behind the register and one or two were in the back preparing the food.

“Hey (insert name here) can you check the coffee for me?” said the employee from behind the register to the employee wiping tables.

“What?”

“Can you check the coffee for me?” the cashier responded.

We looked and saw a customer holding an empty coffee cup in between the coffee canisters and the register. The coffee canisters were roughly six or seven feet away from Laurie and I and the employee wiping the table.

Then the second employee then gave the oddest of responses.

“I can or you can — but I just came on.”

The cashier and customer looked at each other with puzzled looks. The cashier asked the other employee to repeat what she said.

“I can or you can — but I just came on.”

Laurie and I looked at each other with the same puzzled look as the customer and cashier.

The cashier then walked down to the end of the counter and walked over to the coffee canisters to check them.

Apparently, just starting your shift doesn’t actually require you to do any actual work.

February happenings

And here’s a brief view of things that happened in February…

1. Spent some time in the gym, watched the Superbowl (ho-hum) and packed for our cruise till the wee hours of the morning.
2. Our cruise left dock from Galveston, Texas.
3. A full day at sea – including the Captain’s Reception before dinner.
4. Visited Mayan Ruins in Progresso, Mexico and enjoyed an “all inclusive” beach for a couple hours.
5. Visited Cozumel, Mexico and rode Segways along the ocean side.
6. Another full day at sea – and enjoyed hanging out and reading on the deck with Laurie.
7. Back to Galveston and Ikea on the way home.
8. Hung our new Ikea lamp in the kitchen.
9. Had a contest on my blog for folks to win a copy of “For Couples Only.”
10. Started listening to Peppermint Pinatas by Eric Bryant – good book.
11. Met with a trainer at the gym for a basic health analysis.
12. Took a random lunch trip to St Arbucks to get a Cinnamon Dulce Latte. Made my day.
13. Reflecting on God’s revolution :: “Get ready friends… God is preparing us for something really, really — small.”
14. Valentine’s Day. Enjoyed dinner with Laurie in Lakewood.
15. Spoke at encounter about God’s revolution.
16. Found out that leaving shaving cream on your face too long can really sting.
17. Was bummed that my podcast interview I had scheduled fell through due to technical issues on my end.
18. Facebook went back to their old TOS. Still not sold.
19. Got some more freelance work. Woot!
20. Listened to U2’s new album “No Line on the Horizon” for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and more times.
21. Bought some new roses for the front of the house.
22. Enjoyed dinner with family and friends at Kobe steaks for my birthday. Had a great time!
23. Last day as a twentysomething.
24. Turned 30. Enjoyed Red Robin Turkey Burger for dinner.
25. Reflected on all the birthday wishes I received – I’m really blessed.
26. Enjoyed a bachelor dinner of meatballs and a special sauce.
27. Purchased some new mulch and goodies for the lawn at Lowes. Even bought some tomato and strawberry kits to grow this spring.
28. Enjoyed dinner and After Hours Improv with the Kiefers.