2012 Goals: No Sports Conversations

I really enjoy sports.  I absolutely love baseball.  But what I really am starting detest is when the only thing some people talk about is sports.  In the great grand scheme of things sports mean nothing.  Which isn't to say that depth of character, and the beauty of a story cannot be found in the realm of sports.  But the conversations I typically find myself in are not those.  Rather they're just a lot of noise about stats, and Monday morning quarterback decisions, and mutters about games that I know nobody in that conversation really has a concern about.
Fantasy sports have really pushed this to the next level.  We talk about the scores and stats of games and players that we would never concern ourselves with otherwise.  And we speak about them as if our lives really in balance.
And I guess I'm just frustrated that I'm easily drawn into these conversations.  And I don't want to say that I think talking about sports is wrong.  You and I go out to lunch and talk baseball for hours and I would complete enjoy that discussion.
It's just that I want my life to be about more.  And I'm willing to purge this portion of my life, for the small percent of my time on earth, in hope that the Spirit of God might be powerfully displayed.
I want to have conversations in my life that have greater depth and worth.
I want my words to be filled with grace and truth, not stats and scores, so that that the powerful work of the Spirit in my life could possibly bring life change in someone else's.
I could have picked several of topics to ban myself from instead of sports.  It could have been movies, or television, or food, or music, etc, etc, etc...  But I chose sports because I think it's going to be incredibly difficult.
I'm not even sure how this plays itself out.  Can I listen to others speak about sports?  How do I politely excuse myself from engaging in a discussion (something I wrestled with today while speaking on the phone with my dad and he asked me about the 49ers and the NFL playoffs)?  I'm foreseeing a couple of exceptions to this discipline, but I'm not looking to pursue this on a legalistic pursuit, so I'll be willing to offer grace to myself in certain scenarios.
And I'm sure that I'll fail with regular consistency.
I just think this is something I have to do.

2012 Goals

For the past several years I've posted several of my yearly goals on this here blog.  While I've not been very consistent with blogging I figured I still should continue this exercise.  I had some goals for last year, which I was extremely successful and extremely unsuccessful.  I hate failing, but I'm actually okay with my failure (it's becoming a lifetime habit).  However, I'd like to do a little better this year.
So here are my goals for 2012:

No Sports Conversations

Scheduled TV Breaks

Read 40 Books

No Fast Food

Attend Andrew Peterson's Behold The Lamb of God Concert

Track Everything I Spend

Attend a Monti Event (and tell a story)

Visit a City I've Never Been To

Some of these might need a little explanation.  I'm going to attempt to share a few thoughts on each of those over the next few days.

Stuck In My Head...

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Weezer // Buddy Holly

Occupy Family

Occupy Family

I Knew It Didn't Add Up!

This is an interesting proposal: make higher learning math (middle and high school) an elective for the 1% of Americans who enjoy numbers and replacing those credits with classes full of logic puzzles and strategic games.

Watch the video and tell me what you think.

Failing Forward

“Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.”

- Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I'm less concerned with new steps and new words as I am with next steps and next words.  The future often resembles the violent sea that Jesus invited Peter to step out onto.  I'd like to believe that I'd have the courage to move into the void.  Sometimes life right now feels that way.  The amazing thing is that I should be in a mass panic.  And many friends and family would advice me to keep my eyes on the horizon for any rescue ships.  Preparing myself to swim, and shout, and do whatever I could do to be rescued.  But at this moment, I've never had more fun following Jesus.  And tonight I'm content to just continue our little stroll.  I feel like I've preached, and taught, and counseled, and encouraged, so many friends and teenagers to move in faith and trust in Jesus.  "He is all you need."  "He is able to do immeasurably more..."  "He is our Rescue."  Maybe, just maybe, this is where premises become precepts. 

Murmuration

I think I just added something to my bucket list.

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

World Series 2012

I'm looking for a better display this year than last.  It's going to be a slug fest and the Red Birds have home field advantage.  But I believe that my team can do it this year!

Go Rangers Go!

Random: I Think I Love You

For some strange reason I've had some odd music stuck in my head lately.  Last night it was Christopher Cross' 'Arthur's Theme'.  Which, let's be honest, is an awesome song, and it doesn't even have to be 1981.
Today I've had The Partridge Family's 'I Think I Love You' stuck in my head.  I don't know who gets credit for the song actually.  Is it while whole Partridge family or just David Cassidy?  I couldn't answer that question, as I've never actually seen one episode of The Partridge Family.
Maybe even more strange, I don't know where I've ever hear this song.  I don't even know any lyrics beyond "I think I love you / so what are you so afraid of?".  Are those the lyrics?  I don't know, but that's what I've been singing.
How about you? What song has been stuck in your head lately?

Chart: Starships

I really am not a big Science Fiction guy, but I feel like I really needed the following chart in my life.  Which isn't to say that I don't watch and enjoy SciFy movies and tv shows, because I do.  But I don't continually rewatch them, and learn more about those created worlds, and read the additional fiction work, and learn their made up languages.
It would, however, be honest of me to include the fact that I was really annoyed that the Serenity, you know...the Firefly model, wasn't included in this chart.
Oh well.
Don't judge me.
Also when I was younger, I can remember my brothers and I would draw detailed (at least my 8 year old brain thought they were) space ships.  We'd also build space ships with our Legos.
Again. Don't judge me.

"I Google You"

“I Google you
late at night when I don’t know what to do
I find photos
you’ve forgotten
you were in
put up by your friends

I Google you
when the day is done and everything is through
I read your journal
that you kept
that month in France
I’ve watched you dance

And I’m pleased your name is practically unique
it’s only you and
a would-be PhD in Chesapeake
who writes papers on
the structure of the sun
I’ve read each one

I know that I
should let you fade
but there’s that box
and there’s your name
somehow it never makes the pain
grow less or fade or disappear
I think that I should save my soul and
I should crawl back in my hole
But it’s too easy just to fold
and type your name again
I fear
I google you
Whenever I’m alone and feeling blue
And each scrap of information
That I gather
says you’ve found somebody new
And it really shouldn’t matter
ought to blow up my computer
but instead….
I google you.”

Written by Neil Gaiman, author of American Gods, Neverwhere and Stardust among many
Performed by Amanda Palmer.

Quote: John Green

“Maybe our favorite quotations say more about us than about the stories and people we’re quoting.”

- John Green

"You are so beautiful to me..."

Top: Darla & Alfalfa

Bottom: Brittany Ashton Holmes & Bug Hall

Not entirely sure why, but these two photos make me really happy.  I love the movie The Little Rascals, and quote it at least once a day.  

"We are he-man woman haters / We feed girls to alligators / Our clubhouse burned down mighty low / But we're got a plan to make some dough!" 

"Quick, what's the number for 9-1-1?"

"Hey, my mom's here." "Whoopi!" 

"We've got a dollar.  We've got a dollar.  We've got a dollar.  Hey, hey, hey, hey."

"Finders keepers.  Losers suck."

"I have two pickles.  I have two pickles.  I have two pickles today.  Hey, hey."

Mmmm...Burrito

I wish the small town I live in had a Chipotle.  Heck, a quick Google search for Chipotles in the Raleigh area indicate only two Chipotles, way up on the north side of Raleigh.  That sucks!
The video below really makes me hungry for some Chipotle too.  That and a desire to listen to some Willie Nelson tunes.  Also I've recently begun listening to Willie's son Lukas Nelson.  Have you heard him?  Enjoyable.
Actually what I think I really miss is not so much Chipotle burritos, but seriously I do miss those, but more so I miss that gang of friends who used to gather after an evening worship service and just grew to love one another.  More often than not we'd congregate around a burrito bowl or some Red Robin fries.  I've been thinking about that gang a lot lately.  Some communities are hard to replace.

Harry Potter and How It Should Have Ended

This cracked me up.  And for the record it's this logical progression that I have always considered The Prisoner of Azkaban my least favorite of the Harry Potter novels.

Gotta Type

I've been neglecting this blog of mine for some time now.  And the weird thing is that I really enjoyed blogging when I was more regular.  So I'm not entirely sure as to why I've not been as disciplined with it lately as I was once in the past.
Obviously, the rise of Twitter has certainly stolen some of my attention.  Those stupid little thoughts that pop into my head that I used to write down in a daily "should blog about" list, are now quickly fleeing my cluttered mind through the occasional tweet.  Which you might think would bring about some sense of peace and quiet for a mind that over thinks everything, and fixates on random nothings, but that's not necessarily the case.  While I love the communication that can occur with Twitter the constant demand to share something interesting, or relevant, or funny is kind of a burden.  Especially for that person who will debate for an hour whether or not to actually hit the 'tweet' button.
But then again, Twitter may not be the problem.  Because I do over think and over analyze and over critique and over complicate almost every idea and thought that I generate.  There have been numerous blog posts in the past couple of months that I have begun, only to find myself distracted by some other shinny object or found myself lost in a rabbit hole of a thought which leads me to an alternate conclusion or...or...or..., and what happens is I never finish.  And then there are blog post that I have labored over, only to find myself deleting rather than publishing.  Even with this post I've struggled a few times to just keep typing.
I suppose I could blame my lack of blogging on the fact that I've been real busy lately.  But I'm not even going to use that excuse.  Although it's true.  I suppose.  I'm sure if I tried hard enough I could find the time.
Whatever the reason for my lack of blogging discipline, be assured I'm going to be working harder at publishing.

School Takes A Lot

This is a great Target commercial.
Also I love that the hamsters are named Lewis and Clark.

Album: Burlap To Cashmere

I'm loving this album.  I've only given it a few listens but I love I already love it.
Steven Delopoulos is perhaps one of my favorite songwriters.
You can buy Burlap To Cashmere's album at their website, here.

The Amazing Spider-Man

Super excited. I thought Sam Raimi did a fairly decent job with the first Spider-Man, I loved the second, and was really disappointed in the third. I knew that Hollywood could do better. And the early peaks at The Amazing Spider-Man are looking great. I think this is going to give that other superhero a run for his money.

Greatest Pep Talk

Some days you just need a little inspiration to go out and dominate your 'to-do list'.  Here you go!



And if you've never seen Friday Night Lights, well, what's wrong with you?