Ivy brought this little popsicle stick puppet Jesus with matching half paper plate “water” home from school. The paper plate said, “Jesus walked on water.”
I was using the puppet and making Jesus walk on the water and I showed it to Ivy.
Me: Who is this Ivy?
Ivy: Jesus.
Me: What’s he doing?
Ivy: Jesus is walking on water. (pause) Weird.
Ok, so I keep getting tagged with 25 things about me on facebook. I really enjoy other people’s 25 random things, but have refused to do my own so far because I would really over think 25 things and it would take too long. However, I think I saw somebody tagging me on this list and/or saw H filling it out. I really hate the peer-pressure of tagging and being tagged on facebook, so I decided to just do this on here and get a pre-fab blog in the process. Whether or not this will show up in facebook will be an interesting discovery for all of us.
1. Do you like blue cheese? I sometimes like blue cheese dressing and I think I’ve tried a “gourmet” hamburger with bacon and blue cheese. It’s ok but tends to overpower whatever I’m eating. That bugs me.
2. Have you ever smoked cigarettes? No. Other than taking fake puffs with my cousins on cig butts that my dad and uncle threw on the ground. Last time I tried to take a real puff, I was in high school and I thought I was going to die. Never had any compulsion.
3. Do you own a gun? I have a 12 gauge shotgun that was my dad’s. I haven’t shot it since High school and I’m not even sure that I’ve taken it out of the case since I got it from mom.
4. What flavor of Kool Aid was your favorite? Is tropical punch a flavor?
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Doctors: No. Dentists: yes.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? They’re ok sometimes. I’d probably go for a chili dog before a regular dog. No onions, definitely cheese and dill relish.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story is probably the only Christmas movie I even like.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Probably apple juice. If I’m really having a hard time waking up, I’d reach for Mountain Dew.
9. Can you do push ups? Yes. Last summer I got through 4 weeks of a 6 week workout that was supposed to get me up to 100 pushups at one time. When I pooped out on the workout, I could do around 45.
10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? The only piece of jewelry I regularly wear would be my wedding ring. However, I still really like my leather armbands that I don’t wear hardly ever.
11. Your favorite hobby? Probably reading or watching movies.
12. Do you have A.D.D.? No. But, I sometimes get bored easily.
13. What’s one trait you hate about yourself? Sometimes my laziness surprises even me.
14. Middle name? Can’t tell. Top Secret. Whenever anyone asks, I make them try to guess. It takes way too many hints for anybody to get even close. Go ahead: give it your best shot.
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? 1.) I wish this nagging little head ache would go away. 2.) This is the time of Sunday evening that is pretty worthless because all I do is dread getting up in the morning. 3.) I should really do some pushups.
16. Current hate right now? Target Testing Evaluation Worksheets and Benchmark testing
17. Favorite place to be? On a beach. On a cruise.
18. How did you bring in the New Year? With my wife and and James and Melissa on the cruise ship in the main atrium with most of the families with kids. They dropped a bunch of balloons and they passed out noise makers and party hats and champagne glasses. The champagne was really dry, but we drink a lot anyway. Probably one of the more exciting New Years’ I’ve had in awhile.
19. Where would you like to go? Portofino, Italy.
20. Name three people who will complete this? Maybe my mom. Maybe Jeff or Lisa. Holly if she hasn’t already.
21. Do you own slippers? Sort of. My sister got me some for Christmas a couple of years ago that were size 10. I wear 8.5. I still had them and lately was using them to go outside to get Rhubarb at night after I’d stepped in dog poop with so many other shoes. Then Rhubarb got ahold of them. I think they’re somewhere in tatters in the back yard still.
22. What shirt are you wearing? A super long black Electro-Voice T-shirt that I got back when I worked in the music store. It’s a promotional shirt for my SX200 speakers that I still own. It’s a good shirt, but too long.
23. Do you like sleeping on satin? No. The dry skin on my feet and my right hand snag it.
24. Can you whistle? Yes. There’s a recording of me whistling on a song that I beat out other members of my singing group for. The other person was pretty bitter.
25. Would you be a pirate? Yar, matey.
26. What songs do you sing in the shower? Usually anything I can think of to get an earworm unstuck from my head.
27. Favorite girl’s name? Ivy
28. Favorite boy’s name? I like the name Quinton a lot. But, I really the name, Jake.
29. What’s in your pocket right now? A small glasses cleaning cloth.
30. Last thing that made you laugh? Last night, Holly and I were on the couch watching TV and Ivy was kind of behind us. Ivy ripped the biggest, loudest, most adult sounding fart that also happened to be diarrhea.
31. Best bed sheets as a child? Star Wars, duh. But my SuperFriends sheets were pretty cool, too.
32. Worst injury you’ve ever had? Probably the first time I was ever at the beach. I decided to try boogey boarding. I was trying to impress Holly. I was going to catch the best wave that actually drove my face into the sand under the water. I came up bleeding from both nostrils and one side of both my lips swelled up like a football. I can’t believe nobody got pictures. I had a sandburn under my nose that looked kind of yellowish green and looked like I’d just let my nose run and let it dry there. All of that not to mention jacking my neck back. I’ve never broke anything, so this is probably the worst.
33. Do you love where you live? Mostly. I wish I were closer to an ocean, but I’d probably be to lazy to visit it much anyway. I wish there were a better music scene.
34. How many TVs do you have in your house? 2. One in the living room and a small one in Ivy’s room for her to watch videos.
35. Who is your loudest friend? Maybe Felshy. Maybe Brian. Maybe Celia.
36. How many dogs do you have? 1.
37. Does someone have a crush on you? I don’t know.
38. What is your favorite book? A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. But, I like Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card an aweful lot.
39. What is your favorite candy? Kitkat
40. Favorite Sports Team? Don’t have one, don’t want one.
41. What song do you want played at your funeral? Walk On by U2
Yes, if the war was between trees and freeze ray wielding terrorist frost elves…
“Get away from earth with your godless emergent church, McLaren, perhaps to hell? Could you do it a little bit faster?!! It would help the rightious christians around the world, believing in the blood of Jesus Christ and not in Mystic from east and vatican, the door to hell..”
I’ve always hesitated to describe myself and even bristled a bit when labeled by others as “emergent” or “post-modern”, but I can’t help but admit that I’m a fan of Brian McLaren. He posted this quote from an email he received and his incredibly graceful response to such on his blog here.
McLaren’s response is admirable and right and again illustrates why I think he’s closer to the truth than many today who would claim Christ.
However, I guess I’m just not that good of a Christian. Idiots like this make me question the whole thing. Do I really want to be counted on the same side as this a-hole? Does the simple ongoing act of my own church involvement somehow contribute or validate the stupidity and lunacy of somebody like this? Is it wrong that the possibility of this potential contribution bothers me way more than whether or not my personal theology is “correct”?
In the first book I ever read by McLaren, he said that some people use Jesus as shortcut to being right. (paraphrase) I would add that many simple-minded people think that claiming Jesus somehow makes them smart. Interesting that I don’t recall any stories in the gospels of Jesus healing anybody from being stupid.
Thank God that his grace, mercy and justice are infinitely beyond our very best thoughts or ideas of him.
I think it’s about time to read The Myth of Certainty again. I love the Calvin Becker books, but I think they crank up my cynicism to unhealthy levels…
shacknotes.com 