I have such mixed emotions about Christmas.  Here is the good and the bad.

Good:

The brokenness sort of sums up Christmas I suppose

Family
Friends
Christmas Parties
Christmas Music
Good Cheer*
Peppermint Mocha
Christmas Candy
Cookies
Snow+
Silent Night
Christmas lights
Christmas Carols
Jesus of course

*It's fake good cheer.  Almost nobody is really cheery at Christmas.
+I don't like snow unless it is ON Christmas.

Bad:
Pine needles on the floor all the time (real needles from real tree or fake needles from fake tree; doesn't matter)
Kids tearing apart decor
Extra Christmas services at church that everyone wants to enjoy but no one wants to help with
Christmas music
Greed
Entitlement
Ugly Sweaters (Not to be confused with its much more likable cousin the ugly sweater party.  If only the sweaters were reserved only for the parties...)
Distance from family
Snow

I suppose the good is still better than the bad, but sometimes I'm a real scrooge.  The bad, if looked at correctly, simply is another display of our brokenness and need for a savior.

Those are a few of mine.  What are some things you like and dislike at Christmas?

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Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is an odd holiday.  Don't get me wrong; I absolutely love Thanksgiving, however, isn't it weird that on the same day we go from talking about what we are thankful for around a table containing more food than the continent of Africa, then turn around and stand in line at Wal-Mart so we can get that $5 toy stroller and $10 waffle maker?  It's a little backwards to me, yet I still love Thanksgiving. I decided to do a list of 10 things I'm thankful for.  In no particular order...

I'm thankful for:

• Jesus 
• My wife Pam
• Mom and Dad
• My kids
• My church
• My job at my church
• My friends
• My in-laws
• Pam's job that allows us to fly to cool places
• Our new waffle maker (only $10 at Wal-Mart)

Those are just a few.  What are 10 things  you are thankful for?

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California

I am back folks.  I am blogging again.  I've decided it's time.

A few days ago I returned home from a trip to California where I visited my parents and some of my brothers and a sister that are still living at home (sheesh guys grow up.)  The trip was fun.  Here are some quick highlights:

We played in the ocean.  I boogie boarded with mom and dad.  The kids played in the sand and redefined the meaning of "SANDwich".  We found a sand crab and chased seagulls.

Dad and I went golfing for an entire day.  It was loads of fun.  It was also the most time that I've had with my dad for a long time.  It was great to spend the day with him.  Mom made an unsuccessful attempt at a heart attack that same day so there was plenty of excitement to go around.

Pam, Zaley, and I took a drive east to the Sierra Nevada mountains and visited Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park.  The Sequoias make my must see list.  You feel so little and insignificant standing among these giants.  If more people would spend a little time in this forest entitlement wouldn't be the problem that it is today.  Humility is a wonderful gift received during a day with the sequoias. 

We were lucky enough to be present for the adoption of my cousin Austin.  He is the newest member of the Oliver family which as grown to a full baseball lineup.  What a great celebration.  It was so fun to see family that I never get to see.

Dad and I took Gabriel, Micah, A.J., and Brian to Boomers to mini golf.  The boys had a great time hitting into castles and gingerbread houses.  We then watched Cristian play football.

We had a fun trip.

Now we are home and dealing with all the consequences of a week long vacation.  Pile of work to get done, Pam going to 3am to 8am shifts, babysitting all day, etc...  It is quite the adjustment.

My parents took such good care of us while we were there.  I am thankful that we have such a great excuse to visit such a beautiful state. 

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In Response

I just read (watched) my brother Jake's post.  Not because I believe people read this other than him, but in case someone does I believe it important on many levels that you see this which is why I'm posting it on my blog.  PLEASE watch the entire video.  My response to it is below the video.



I can't put into words the good this did my heart.  I have many times felt like quite the oddball because of the way I understand music.  Have you ever felt strongly about something, felt like most people around you would disagree, but you knew deep down that if you could somehow articulate your feelings they would at least understand why you think the way you do?  Benjamin Zander has finally put into words so much of what I feel like I've known for so long, but never been able to make clear to the people around me.  I'm in no way saying anything along the lines of "I've known that all along" but rather "right on brother."


I once heard a speech by a man named Jeremy Begbie.  His presentation was similar, however, he took some of the same metaphors from music and applied them directly to theology.  If you are like me, you drew out much of that from Mr. Zander's speech as well.  He at one point says something like, "imagine how you would walk, talk, and act if you believed that everyone loved classical music they just didn't know it."  He could have said the same thing about Jesus I imagine.  Imagine how we would walk, talk, and act if we believed that everyone would love Jesus if they just understood who He was and what He has done?

I've been asked what kind of music I listen to.  It surprises many that I hardly ever listen to K-love and other Christian music.  I can't do country music either.  Unfortunately I often turn to bashing those forms of music behind closed doors to the closest ones to me.  This often pisses them off and the devil inside me takes a little pleasure out of getting a rise out of them.  Country music, Christian music, and no matter how hard it is to understand, even rap have their place, but when you begin to understand what many call "high" music you may understand why I get more frustrated listening to country than I do classical.

I believe we have a creative God and you can know a little more about him as you know a little more about the creativity he's blessed us with.  We create because we were made in His image.  Our consumer culture likes the quick, easy thing that doesn't take the work of understanding.  We don't like to chew on things any more and take the real time it takes to enjoy our food.  We'd rather quickly eat a burger that was just as quickly made.  I don't mean to belittle popular music, but I found this rather humorous and sort of to the point I'm trying to make.  Basically they in one song, sing a vast array of songs to make the point that we don't really need creativity to gain popularity.  Check it out.



In the end we just want to go home. Chopin understood this. I think we've forgotten that.

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What Are the Odds?

So I stumbled on this today.  Sometimes in moments of weakness and discontent I dream about winning the Lottery.  I list off the things I would do like rescue everyone on both sides of the family from debt, moving them to Park View, and buying my dad and John Lang  the biggest TVs I could find complete with NFL Sunday Ticket.  Well, sometimes it takes a visual to put things into perspective (or feel like crap).  Check out THIS link and then come back and share your thoughts.

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Worth Laughing At

The following was almost sent only to Holly, but then I realized that the select handful that reads my blog, Holly being one of them, would also probably get a kick out of this.

George: Condi! Nice to see you. What's happening? 

Condi: Sir, I have the report here about the new leader of China. 

George: Great. Lay it on me. 

Condi: Hu is the new leader of China. 

George: That's what I want to know. 

Condi: That's what I'm telling you. 

George: That's what I'm asking you. Who is the new leader of China? 

Condi: Yes. 

George: I mean the fellow's name. 

Condi: Hu. 

George: The guy in China. 

Condi: Hu. 

George: The new leader of China. 

Condi: Hu. 

George: The Chinaman! 

Condi: Hu is leading China. 

George: Now whaddya' asking me for? 

Condi: I'm telling you Hu is leading China. 

George: Well, I'm asking you. Who is leading China? 

Condi: That's the man's name. 

George: That's who's name? 

Condi: Yes. 

George: Will you or will you not tell me the name of the new leader of China? 

Condi: Yes, sir. 

George: Yassir? Yassir Arafat is in China? I thought he was in the Middle East. 

Condi: That's correct. 

George: Then who is in China? 

Condi: Yes, sir. 

George: Yassir is in China? 

Condi: No, sir. 

George: Then who is? 

Condi: Yes, sir. 

George: Yassir? 

Condi: No, sir. 

George: Look, Condi. I need to know the name of the new leader of China. 
Get me the Secretary General of the U.N. on the phone. 

Condi: Kofi? 

George: No, thanks. 

Condi: You want Kofi? 

George: No. 

Condi: You don't want Kofi. 

George: No. But now that you mention it, I could use a glass of milk. And then get me the U.N. 

Condi: Yes, sir. 

George: Not Yassir! The guy at the U.N. 

Condi: Kofi? 

George: Milk! Will you please make the call? 

Condi: And call who? 

George: Who is the guy at the U.N? 

Condi: Hu is the guy in China. 

George: Will you stay out of China?! 

Condi: Yes, sir. 

George: And stay out of the Middle East! Just get me the guy at the U.N. 

Condi: Kofi. 

George: All right! With cream and two sugars. Now get on the phone. 

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The Fast and the Awesomest!

So copy the following paragraph of this blog starting at the next paragraph.  Click the following link and paste this blog in the box, then hit the "spreed" button.  If there isn't a box you can paste in and only a video player, click the "new" link on the bottom and then paste it.  The link is HERE.

What you are experiencing now is speed reading.  I've always wanted to read this fast.  I tested this out on an e-mail that Holly Lang sent me about a baseball umpire who sucked.  If it is the same speed as what I was reading you are doing about 300 words a minute.  That means that you could read "Gone With the Wind" in its entirety in just under one day.  About 23 hours 54 minutes.  Which leads me to my next question.  If it takes that long to read it at 300 words per minute, how many hours were spent on my couch this summer between two women who read it?  Pam and Emily, I'm talking about you.  Anyway, if you didn't know about this tool before, be glad that you do now.  Emily, think about it, spark notes just got even shorter!  I hope you all enjoy it as much as I anticipate I will.

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Stumbling Around

So in a roundabout way my sister-in-law Emily got me hooked on the stumble button. In short, it is a button next to my address bar that, when pressed, takes me to a web-site at random that it thinks I will get a kick out of. You can go HERE to add it to your Internet surfing repertoire.

So I gather it works like this. You get the button, fill out a 30 second form where you check all the boxes of categories that interest you. Then click.

In the past few days I've been introduced to some of the most amazing web-sites ever. BUT the coolest thing happened tonight.

I have a student in piano that I've been trying to teach scales, key signatures, major and minor triads, and other basic entry level theory stuff. I've been frustrated because he is pretty intelligent in a lot of areas, but isn't grasping this stuff that...to me...is SUPER easy. It makes me feel like a horribly bad teacher (which I am). ANYWAY, I was writing out a series of diagrams this afternoon for him to take home and study. Then, tonight, I got home from life group, Pam and I put the kids to bed, I checked e-mail, then I clicked the button.

THIS is what I came upon. It is the diagram that I was drawing out, but interactive. Anyone can play around with this baby and learn piano. AWESOME. Thank you stumble upon.

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Video Sneak Peek

This is a video I made with some of our youth for church tomorrow.  It was super fun.  You all get it before it even airs.

It is a parable about comfort and having to decide if we want to take the risk and put faith in God trusting that His promises are greater than what we currently are settling for.

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The World Series

I am very much hoping to see a SF Giants vs. Texas Rangers world series this year.  I am one game away from seeing it happen.  I would absolutely be the very best friend of the person willing to buy THIS for me.  PLEASE!  I have always wanted an authentic Giants jersey.  THIS would be SO awesome.  I'll post a picture but you have to go to the site to get the full effect.

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Reenactment (with cats): Princess Bride

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Oh So Funny

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With love...

Before reading, please read THIS.  My blog is a response.


One thing I appreciate about Park View is that the young women here know the importance of staying fit. ...and are smart enough to shed as much clothing as possible when they are feeling overheated on their runs. I am, at times, offended by the immodesty of their sweaty glistening abs, but I push away those objections when I consider the importance of their health. So, to all the Park View ladies, I say keep running. And to prevent yourself from getting some type of heat exhaustion, please remove as much clothing as necessary. Putting yourself at a health risk is just not worth it.


Come on...is that appropriate?  Really?


I love you though.

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Done

My Shelves are done.  I did them all by myself with the help of Gabriel.  Let me clarify because I think he's funny.  He chatted my ear off while he watched.  Then I asked him to hand me the hammer and he did.  A couple minutes later I asked him to hand me the drill, but it was too heavy.  Then he heard Heather Link upstairs dropping off Jacob and he said, "Someone is here!  You can do it by yourself daddy, you are a big guy."  So I had help from Gabriel for 25 minutes.  Periodically he would check in on my and give me some encouragement.  It was nice.

Anyway, they are done.  Finally.  They are nothing special, but they took about 5 hours to do.

BTW.  The design is from George Andringa.  To make sure they would be stable, I climbed up top.  It held firm.  I will now attempt making a really nice set of Corn Hole.  No one reads this blog, but if someone is out there that cares, I am going to pose a question.  Follow up with your answer.  If I like it, I'll go with it.

Q: What theme should Joel use to paint his corn hole set.

I have considered North Scott Lancers since inevitably I will use it at youth events.

I've considered SF Giants because I like the Giants.

I've considered Minnesota Vikings because they are awesome and the colors are bright.

I've considered trying to create and print off stencils of Gabriel and Micah on AI (Adobe Illustrator) and using them to do a family theme. NOTE:  This could prove a complete fail so it's not high on my list even though it would be awesome if it turned out okay.

I've also thought about doing something real abstract.

I'm really up for any suggestion.  Please don't wait for others to respond.  Just let me know what you think.  If no one responds, I'll be bummed.  

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A Sense of Humor

I am SO thankful that God has given my kids a sense of humor.
This is the front of the shirt I am wearing today.

Gabriel turns to me today and says very matter of factly, "Daddy, you were walking at the zoo and a gorilla was walking at the zoo and he ran into you."

Then he said, "and a baby gorilla ran into your sleeve."

I said, "really?"

"NO!" he said using an inflection that meant, "duh you idiot."
Then we both laughed REALLY hard.

Some people just have it. Some people don't. Some people act like the only way you can be taken seriously as a leader in God's Kingdom is actually...well...be serious. As if we really have all this control in what happens all the time. Sometimes these same people fail to see that there is humor and fun built into God's creation. Including each and ever person he created. Including, even their boring own self. There are people that I've never even heard really laugh. Sure they will smile at a joke and sort of chortle out of politeness, but I've never seen them throw their head back and really laugh. What kind of Kingdom are we helping God build here? If you can't take the world as being utterly hilarious, you probably aren't contributing very much to helping rebuild "Eden" here on earth.  I refuse to believe that humor is a result of the fall.  I just don't think that is biblical.  Dude.  The Bible is hilarious.  Kids getting eaten by bears for calling an old dude baldy, a guy playing James Bond and killing a fat guy while he did number 2, Sampson killing an army using the jawbone of an ass, for that matter, a talking ass, etc...

The best moments as a parent are when you are sitting next to your child laughing. I imagine God is silly with us. I imagine God wants to laugh with us. If it is possible to see a glimpse of who God is by studying the world and the people he has created, He is undoubtedly one helluva funny guy. I don't need to be serious all the time. I would argue that you can be 100% honest and hard working and still only really be serious a very small percentage of the time. What about you? What is your favorite funny Bible event?

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Death Match

If you want to read this week's death match.  Go HERE. 

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Pam's Birthday

So Excited
Big Plans
Surprise Party/Dinner
Micah Bumps Head
Pam Takes Micah For Stitches
Bummer
Joel Cancels Reservations
Calls Friends Breaks The News
George and Helen Stop By
Drop Off Card
Doug and Nancy Stop By
Drop Off Gift
New Plans Made
Micah Stitched And Okay
Texas Road House
Doug and Nancy Too
Happy Birthday My Bride!

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The Mythical Shoe

I'm starting a money raising campaign for THESE:

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Fo Rizzle

Scary...what's going to happen?  (Imagine suspenseful music)

Just to clear a few things up:  Yes it is real.  No this wasn't anywhere close to sporadic.  It is the trinity symbol with shading to give it emotion.  Yes it hurt.  No I didn't cry.

The morning after.

I'm smiling...you can't tell

Who knew...I have a mole.  Nice of the artist to put it in the middle of the design.

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Long Day

Days that end with 3 hour meetings are long.  Days watching four kids are super long for Pam.  When I got home she was already in bed.  That never happens.  Makes me bummed, but I understand.

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