After Hours benefit for Portions for Orphans

After Hours Improv benefiting Portions for Orphans
After Hours Improv benefiting Portions for Orphans

Come join the fun – a portion of all ticket sales will go directly to helping the Portion for Orphans mission.

Laundry Love efforts this week

Laundry Love People

Thanks again to everyone for your continued support of our Laundry Love efforts.

This week is a great week for Laundry Love People in the Dallas area!

On Sunday afternoon, our friends in Waxahachie launched their first Laundry Love effort and I saw this update via Facebook:

Our laundry of love started off slow but after 5 pm we were able to help between 5-10 families with their laundry. It was really awesome watching Austin and Elizabeth meeting people they did not know and offering help.

On Thursday evening, more Laundry Love People will come together and launch a new effort in Mesquite (on Galloway near the hospital).

And on Saturday, we’ll be back in Glenn Heights for our 4th gathering at our normal laundromat! Can’t wait!
Continue reading Laundry Love efforts this week

Red Oak home for sale :: Buy our house

We’re moving (well hopefully). We’re hoping to move to Forney/Mesquite area in order to be closer to our families.

If only we could take our house with us :-(.

our home

But since we can’t – we want you (or your friends or family or whomever) to buy it!

You’ll love it!

Check it out and then share with everyone!

Just some highlights I love about the house…

  • 3/2/2 Home in a great quiet neighborhood.
  • Home is only two years old.
  • Just 20 miles south of downtown Dallas.
  • Quick and easy access to I-35E.
  • Grocery store and other shopping within walking distance.
  • Backs up to city easement (no neighbors along back fence).
  • Great DR Horton home.

See more photos ::

end poverty!

Today is Blog Action Day 08 – focused on ending poverty. I caught on to this a little late. Sorry about that. But if you’ve read my blog for any length of time I think you’ll know how frustrated I get to see people living in poverty.

I think you know it rattles me crazy when folks refuse to help a brother or sister in need.

I think you know I think our reaction to the poor and to the hurting around our world is a direct indication of how we view God (and yes that can be taken multiple ways).

I don’t if I have amazing words of wisdom to share today, but thought I’d share some visual media with you to help us each reflect on the issue of poverty in the world around us.

All the media is from real people, whom I’ve had the honor and privilege of meeting and sharing life with in some way shape or form. I wish I could do more and God willing — I will. Most of the pictures are from Nigeria. The videos are from Waxahachie, Nigeria and Dallas. The point? — There are hurting people, living in poverty everywhere — all around us.

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.


Check Judaism. Check Islam. Check pretty much anyone.
I mean, God may well be with us in our mansions on the hill… I hope so. He may well be with us as in all manner of controversial stuff… maybe, maybe not… But the one thing we can all agree, all faiths and ideologies, is that God is with the vulnerable and poor.
God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house… God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives… God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war… God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them.

it consumes my life

I talked with a co-worker today about social media, networking, new media and the like in the classroom and church setting. She had just returned from a conference and was amazed at all the things available to academics – usually at no additional costs to the users (i.e. professors or students). She mentioned that we needed someone who could evangelize (my word) all this new technology to folks across the district. Someone who could explain what it means and how to use it to professors who are fed up with being forced to use “technology” (typically antiquated technology at that).

I wanted to jump up and down and say, “Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!”

I didn’t. We were in a semi-public environment and I didn’t want to cause a scene (so instead I just post this in a very-public environment).

I mentioned this scene to Laurie and she made the point that I’d be good at a job like that because, “it consumes your life.”

I think she’s pretty dead on. I just have a passion/fire/drive for connecting people. Whether its online or offline (or a combination of the two) I love to see people making connections. I want to see a distributed Christianity and world – rather than a mainframe world. I want to see crowd-sourcing rather than scholarly opinions. I want to see people understanding others in new ways and thus building newer, stronger relationships.

So as a side note: if you know someone wanting/needing a social media guy (like the job Chad just got) let me know. Let’s talk!

And — all this to say — I know I typically turn to Twitter or micro-blogging to share what’s going on in my life — but figure I owe all the readers here an update on my weekend as well.

weekend roundup

Each and every Saturday I do my best to meet with Josh to discuss life, faith, church, families, friends etc. This week was no exception. Due to a few schedule changes, we made plans to meet at 8 a.m. I arrived at his house and he fixed some great BOBs (breakfast on bread). We ate and chatted for an hour or so and then I was off to event #2.

Another friend had a deep freezer his mother wanted to donate to Daniel’s Den in Waxahachie. Brad met me at Josh’s house and we headed to Duncanville to pick up the freezer and then back to Waxahachie to deliver it. As soon as we finished I rushed back to Red Oak to make it home before event #3. I had hoped/predicted I’d back home by 11. I didn’t make it back till 11:38 :-(. Laurie had said as long as I was home by 11:30 things would be fine and even though I was “only 8 minutes late” it really irked me that I didn’t make it by either time.

After I arrived home, I quickly changed shirts and we were off to take Presley to the dog park and the vet. We spent 30 minutes or so at the dog park before Presley got to “enjoy” her visit with the vet. Seems like more and more we’re realizing she doesn’t like men. Not sure what it is – but she doesn’t like em. After the vet we headed to the doggie wash – where she got a nice warm bath with shampoo and conditioner.

Presley would rather sniff than play

Getting a wash

We stopped by Sonic on the way home. And then I was off to a birthday party for Juston. Had a good time and got to play some ping-pong with his younger brother Andrew. We did a cool thing at the party – in that each “man” gave words of advice to Juston as he turned 13. I shared 3 things I wish I would have known — (or actually paid attention to) when I turned 13.

  • find a group of guys/friends that will stick by you no matter what — and stick by them no matter what
  • find a mentor who will be honest with you and be willing to set you in the right direction when you’re going the wrong way
  • have fun! and don’t worry what others think except for your family and the guys mentioned above.

After the party I headed back home to finish cooking the dinner we had planned to share with Josh, his wife Shalyn, their baby girl, and my sister Kara and my brother-in-law, Tim.

They arrived short time later and we enjoyed some chicken tacos, rice, beans and assorted fixings along with some fun stories and conversations.

One thing I truly love about Laurie is that she loves hosting people at our house. She’s not near as outgoing as I am and usually doesn’t “thrive” in group settings like I might – but she still loves serving others by inviting them over and enjoying dinner with them. We both love doing that and I hope its something we continue doing for years to come.

Sunday was a whole different day but just as fun (other than the annoying sunburn I got).

Our church/tribe gathered outdoors at the Tucker’s house for our normal celebration time as well as BBQ and games. I was there outdoors from roughly 8 a.m. till 2 p.m. No wonder I got a little red ;-).

Some folks even took a ride on the Tucker’s 4-wheelers before it was all said and done.

Carl and Brian 4 wheeling

I came home and crashed on the couch before mowing the yard and pulling some weeds in the front.

All in all a tiring weekend but one I’d gladly do all over again (minus the sunburn).

So there you have it (if you’re still reading).
Be sure and click over to Laurie’s blog for her take on the weekend as well.

Get your hands dirty :: July 12

July 12th folks from encounter – as well as anyone else interested will spend a day working in and around Daniel’s Den in Waxahachie. Daniel’s Den is a ministry in Waxahachie, with the goal of reaching and helping the homeless of Ellis County.

There are a number of ways folks can help:

  • the back porch screen needs to be repaired
  • lots of caulking needs to be done
  • furniture needs to be moved
  • edging and mulching the front yard (mulch is free but trucks are needed)
  • flowers planted in the front
  • new lid (and or box) for trash box to keep dogs out of trash cans
  • fence needs to be built in the rear of the property
  • banana boxes needed to help organize garage sale items
  • garage sale items need to be organized
  • door needs to be painted and installed
  • items need to be moved from the old shelter location to the new one
  • shelves need to be installed in pantry

items needed:

  • 8′ ladder
  • twin bed and mattress sets
  • 2 full size mattresses (mattress only)
  • flowers
  • fencing
  • caulk and caulking guns
  • shelves

In addition to the regular work that day, if you’re interested in helping put together food and drink for those working that day, please let us know as well.

If you see something you’re interested in and would like to help, please let me know.