Coming Soon!

Today, I'm taking the fam to play miniature golf. Trey loves playing putt-putt. Lori usually beats me, but I have a feeling that today is the day that I come back. I'll fill you in. I also have a ton of pictures to post. My schedule has been crazy this week, so I probably won't get them up until Monday.

By the way, as of this writing, Notre Dame is beating Michigan 14-3 in the 3rd quarter. Go Irish! While I'm not a fan, I respect their tradition. Way to go Chuck (Weis).

Happy Birthday, Milo!

Today we celebrated the birthday of the new GCA administrator, Milo Wittkopf. He's a fantastic guy and an excellent leader. The kids love him.

Excuse the poor lighting of the picture. It's hard to get great pictures in the snack shop.

Nice cake. Scary-looking knife to the left. We're serious about cutting the cake.

It takes approximately .0778 of a second for kids to line up once they hear there's cake in the house.

The whole bunny-ears thing

The kid to the far right (I'm not sure of his name) tried desperately to get behind kids and do the whole "bunny ears" thing while I was taking the picture. He was late on all the pics except this one. It made his day.

I think back to when I was a kid. I did the same thing. What is the significance of the whole rabbit-ear deal? Who thought of this hand motion? Somehow it has been passed down from generation to generation. Are parents actually teaching kids this? I'm trying to remember how I picked it up. I'm not coming up with anything. Maybe it's some genetic brain twitch that is triggered by the appearance of a camera. Seriously, does anyone ever recall being told that this was a cool thing to do? It must just happen naturally. Most children find this to be tremendously hilarious, breaking forth into howls of great mirth. A similar reaction can be found in their response to knock-knock jokes. Is it really worth snorting chocolate milk over? Apparently so.

Did you ever ride in a carseat? I don't think I did (my parents can correct me on this). I do remember rolling around in the back window before. They used to have so much room back there in the old cars. Idaho just passed a law that requires children to be strapped in a carseat until the age of 6. I would have gone insane!

Ashley (to the extreme left), welcome to Grace Teens!

Worship Wars

I came across an interesting article on the so-called "Worship War". John Fischer, who has long been a writer who inspires me to think outside the box, addresses the issue from a unique perspective. To provide a little background, Fischer was one of the pioneers of the 1960's "Jesus Movement" and as a musician paved the way for today's Christian Contemporary Music. Many times he has wondered publicly if he and his contemporaries did the right thing for church music. Regardless of whether or not I agree with his opinion, Fischer always causes me to think.

Enjoy the article: http://www.fischtank.com/articlesdetail.cfm?articleid=9

Girltalk

"Yeah, Mom, but you'll never believe what Trey did. I'm telling you, girl, it's just too much..."

The Happiest Man in the World

While living in Cincinnati, Trey was fortunate to have for his barber a man by the name of Oscar Johnson. This was the barber that I had as a college student (Yeah, Oscar, the usual; trim both of 'em). Oscar is one of the sweetest men I have ever had the privilege of interacting with. His Christian spirit shines through every area of his life. He was the same talking to Trey as he was talking to Carl Lindner (his client who also happens to own the Cincinnati Reds). Trey still talks about the man with white hair who gave him lollipops.

Recently, Oscar was diagnosed with cancer. His story is an inspiring example of the hope and joy that Christ gives. Dr. Mike Avery recently wrote an article about Oscar, capturing his optimistic outlook on life. Read it and clip it. Whenever you start feeling down, remember the gentle man with white hair.

Here's the link: http://www.godsrevivalist.com/ (President's Article: "Finding God in a Barber Shop")

Next time you see a picture of Kassady it will feature her styling a neck brace. Trey decided to play leapfrog, not informing Kassady that she was part of the game. How do kids ever survive?

Add this to your music collection

I just bought the newest CD from the Booth Brothers and it's their best yet! With a variety of influences from Southern Gospel to CCM (Phillips, Craig, and Dean style) to Country the Booth Brothers prove why they are becoming one of the most popular Southern Gospel groups on the road. You can order on their website (www.boothbrothers.com) or pick it up at Family Christian Stores (that's where I got mine). You won't find better harmony that that evidenced on this CD. If you stop by my office, I'll play you a few songs.

Busted! Kassady after being caught digging through the trash can in the laundry room.

A duffer am I

Golf is a game that I just haven't ever been able to get into. I've tried, I really have. In my high school years I would occasionally go out with Larry Glass, Steve Waggoner, and various other golfers in the Frankfort church, but I would invariably end up losing most of the golf balls that I came to the course with. The fact that I was using golf clubs made up of recycled kitchen appliances didn't help matters at all. Some of my drivers resembled small foreign import cars attached to curtain rods. When I hit the ball, the resulting sound was similar to a traffic accident as opposed to the "ping" so commonly heard at the driving range. Consequently, my interest waned after my initial humiliating encounter with the sport.

However, upon moving to Nampa I realized that next to a Godly life and fishing, the only other expectation that residents of the Gem State have of their pastor is that of playing golf. I was able to beg off the first few times with legitimate excuses. But the more the guys talked about the fun and relaxation they were having on the links, the more I began to think that, hey, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

I picked up some clubs, a golf bag, and a cart at a yard sale for a song ("Deep and Wide"). The more I thought about it, the more I could see myself out with the guys, relaxing while hitting 250-yard shots with my driver and sinking 45-foot putts. "Maybe I can pick this up" is the thought that confidently ran through my head.

HA! My body convulsed with amusement as I attempted to keep up with the guys my first time out on July 4th. I teed off by topping the dimpled white sphere, sending it bouncing haphazardly across the rough traveling an approximate distance of 47 yards. My next swing, (and this is no joke), I pulled a muscle in my lower back that sent my to my knees. I spent the rest of the day (and my $25) traveling around in a golf cart, making a futile attempt to squelch the spasms in my back. It took over 3 weeks for me to recover from that one.

You would think I would have learned my lesson, but no, here I am yesterday morning on the golf course, getting ready for a lovely day of repose and relaxation. HA!

In grim fascination I observed my golf swing degenerate (which I thought was utterly impossible) as the morning progressed. Marc and Terry, who were playing in my group, tried in vain to give me tips on aiding my golf swing. I would remember their advice for approximately 1/8 of a millisecond, grip the clubs tightly, swing mightily, and send the ball bouncing merrily into the rough. I sent whole acres of sod into the heavens as I heaved at the little ball in front of me. I nearly took off the heads of four golfers who were playing another whole about 30 yards to my right. FORE!

I did get one good drive, though, and that's what keeps you coming back. I hit the ball squarely, heard the "ping", and watched the ball take off straight as an arrow, traveling about 130 yards. Yes, 130 yards is a good hit for me. I also sank a couple of long putts. It made the other failures seem so distant. I'll probably go back.

That is an ornery face! Trey's a real hot dog. He gets it from his mother. Lori is such a show-off.

No, Trey!!! Not that finger!

Downer of a Party

Man, was I ever anticipating the first Boise State University football game of the 2005 season. Ranked 18th in the nation (the first time we had ever been ranked in the pre-season top 25), we were going to have a coming out party against 13th ranked mighty Georgia. BSU fanatics were predicting a Bronco blowout. 44-22, 51-24, 48-14, were some of the scores being predicted by ill-informed, utopian, marijuana-smoking fans. While I didn't think we would beat the 'Dawgs, I thought that we could hang with them and come off looking respectable to a national ESPN-watching audience.

What a disappointing game! Our highly-touted quarterback, Jared Zabransky (pictured above), personally accounted for 6 turnovers, including 4 interceptions. He also muffed a snap and fumbled the ball. Pathetic! He apparently was reading his press clippings. The fair-haired boy couldn't make a decent pass to save his life. He was named one of college football's "Gamebreakers" by Sports Illustrated. He lived up to his billing. We never had a chance to compete thanks to his incompetence. The final score was 48-13. As Coach Dan Hawkins tersely worded it, "We got spanked."

Lori and I had invited Scott and Bianca, Marc and Talisha, and Brent and Rochenda over for a football party. By the time it was over, Brent was sick (literally; it was the football or the flu, I'm not sure which), Marc was muttering to himself, and I was wishing we had planned an evening of watching Gaither videos. Not a good time.

It was so bad that the highlight of the evening included looking at the Waggoner wedding photos. Not that there's anything wrong with the pictures; I look good. It's just not what I envisioned.

Hopefully, we can beat Oregon State next weekend.

Photo Credit: Joe Jaszewski/The Idaho Stateman

Back

After an extended absence of two days, I am back on the job. You know, I really need to get a computer at home. I have so many ideas that just come and go. By the time I get to the computer they're long gone. I pledge to continue my coverage of, well, I guess, my life (awkward silence while thinking through that sentence). Stay tuned.