Ever the Road goes on and on...

Finish Year - Month One

2012-02-06T09:00:00.001-05:00

It's the beginning of a new month so it's time to look back at the last to see how I did on my resolutions and goals that I set.

Looking at the first two, I'm not off to a great start. I haven't worked on my first draft at all this year (though I'm waiting to start until after we're unpack and completely settled into the new place) and I haven't really worked out at all either (though Brandi is cooking more again so I'm eating better most days).

I have started my new blog but maintaining has proved harder than I thought. I had an entire month's worth of posts ready to go - unfortunately, it's a new month therefore I need new content. I'm slowing writing more and I am still ahead of myself in scheduling, I just want to be more ahead.

Clearly my goal to write in this blog twice a week is another one that I failed at last month as well. Now that the dust from moving has settled some and I no longer have to worry about our lost cat, I hope to find a good rhythm for this blog.

Being completely unpacked is still a work in progress, but all of our stuff is moved out of the old house now so we can really begin to attack all of those boxes now.

Reading three books a month (or the goal that my dad laughed at when I told him). I only read two ("Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven, But Nobody Wants To Die" by David Crowder and "The Disney Mountains" by Jason Surrell), but I'm close to being done with my third. Hopefully I can get back on track for this month.

My last resolution was about the new Bible Reading plan that I'm going through. I enjoy the slower pace and I've been doing a decent job of keeping up with it.

That's my update. What about your resolutions? If you made some, how are they going?

That Darn Cat

2012-02-03T22:36:00.002-05:00

So, Gandalf snuck out of our house last week one morning when Brandi left for work.

I didn't realize how much I cared about that punk cat until he was gone. We spent the week putting up posters, going back and forth to the animal shelter, leaving our door open (when we were home of course) and all manner of craziness to try and get our cat back.

If you don't already know, he came back last night on his own volition, the only thing we did was leave the door open for him. But I learned a couple of things this past week.

It's easy to say that I believe in the sovereignty of God when everything is going well. It is much harder for me to say "God, I know that you care about us and I know that you care about Gandalf. Your Word says so. Even though I don't understand why You have allowed this, I will trust that You know what You're doing."
Mostly I wanted to say, "God, I don't understand what you're doing. You do care about us and Gandalf, so why not reunite us? It doesn't make sense."

The other thing is not so much a lesson, but an observation. Because of this ordeal, I now have a better appreciation for the parables that Jesus told about the lost sheep and the lost coin - especially the parts about doing whatever it takes to get them back and celebrating their return.

On a related note, we are extremely humbled and grateful for all of our friends and family who prayed and cared for us. We know that he's just a cat, but he's been with us since we started our family.

spinach stuffed and bacon wrapped

2012-01-25T17:07:00.003-05:00

Since I really want to move toward a way of eating that is more plant based and less animal based (not that you will be able to tell from the above photo) and I know my wonderful husband really likes his animal by-products I figured that variety will be very key to him enjoying this way of eating. Thus I made a goal to try at least one new recipe a week ... Chris proposed that I blog my progress so here is last week's improvisation (too bad I didn't think about blogging this one before it was just mircowaved leftovers but what can you do?)

1 chicken breast
8oz frozen spinach
a little mayo & Parmesan cheese
5 strips of bacon

heat the spinach and mix with mayo and cheese - I prefer light on the mayo (it is really just a binder) and heavy on the parm

pound the chicken breast as flat as possible and wrap it around the spinach mixture

the wrap the chicken with bacon strips and hold together with bamboo skewers (I wanted to try it with kitchen twine but I didn't have any)

cook covered in 375 degree oven for roughly 40min then remove cover and cook another 10-15min to crisp bacon

serve with spaghetti + tomato sauce

this more than filled us both ... in fact the leftovers were Chris' - first time I can remember making more than he was hungry for.

It was real good!

resolutions?

2012-01-25T16:46:00.005-05:00

I am not huge on New Years Resolutions in general, but big broad goals are always helpful to me and here are some I made for 2012 ... and conveniently enough I have already gotten the failing part out of the way I can focus on moving forward, so here they are

Photographically:
shoot 3 weddings and 3 maternity sessions
schedule 4 photoshoots per month
blog weekly (probably Friday)
finish the year 1 and alphabet projects

Phyiscally:
run 4 5ks (specifically the 3 RH hosts and the one at the airport)
loose about 5lb per month
cook one new recipe a week and blog it
bake bread monthly

Personally:
read at least 18 books
read the Gospel of John 18 times
journal something every day
sew something every month
FINISH ANNE'S QUILT!

It's that time of year again....

2012-01-02T09:00:00.000-05:00

Call them resolutions, goals or whatever else, it's that time of year when they're all the rage. I didn't get into the "New Year's Resolutions" thing until the past few years. I think it's a good way to set goals for myself and have some sense of purpose.

So, here you go, in no particular order, my goals for 2012 (also known as #FinshYear):

1) Write the first draft of my first book ("A page a day is a book a year")
2) Get my weight down to 200 lbs (that's roughly 5 lbs a month)
3) Start and maintain a new blog (yep, another one, but I've been planning this one out for a while now and even have all of January's post ready to go)
4) Commit to posting on this blog twice a week (I want to use this blog for - among other things - helping me to stay on track with these goals - feel free to keep me accountable)
5) Be completely unpacked in our new apartment (something that hasn't happened since we've been married)
6) Read 36 books* (That's 3 books a month, 1 Disney related book for my other blog, one writing related book and alternating between a general fiction or general non-fiction book)
7) Begin a slower, reading through the Bible plan (3 chapters a day starting in Genesis, Psalms and Matthew - 6 days a week - 'cause nobody has a quiet time on Sunday, let's be honest)

That's it for me. What about you?

*This does not include the books that Brandi and I will be reading together - alternating between marriage books and general life books

Brandi's 2011 reading

2011-12-31T08:55:00.000-05:00

Over the course of 2011 I tried to keep track of all the books I read and here it is ...

Books I finished (in a rough order) ...

Gazelles, Baby Steps and 37 other things Dave Ramsey Taught Me about Debt -Jon Acuff [a good laugh with also good insight, if you need a lighthearted kick in a pants Acuff is always a good choice]

Infinite Crisis - Geoff Johns; Phil Jimenez; et al (comics are never made by just one person) [loved it, also helped me understand more of Blackest Night ... I heart Geoff Johns]

Imperial Woman - Pearl Buck [ a little depressing but a good read - rather like most Pearl Buck]

Catherine Called Birdy - Karen Cushman [fun & nostalgic]

Coelura - Anne McCaffery [short & delightful]

Fifty Two (v.1-4) - Geoff Johns; Grant Morrison; et al [I heart comics, this was a really good story, even if it did make me want to cry]

My Life in France - Julia Child [I unabashedly love the book and so enjoy the spirit and personality of Mrs. Child - I wish we could have been besties]

Mansfield Park - Jane Austen [not my favorite Austen but I still love her]

Gospel in Life - Tim Keller [A really solid study, although at some points it feels like an overview of Keller stuff in general]

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer - Tracy Hogg [A gift from a Mom I absolutely respect, I am so glad we read it even if we don't follow it to the letter at all]

No Hero - Bob Moore [A good look at how day-to-day life could look if superheros were a real part of life]

Eat Well, Lose Weight, While Breastfeeding - Eileen Behan [a good nutrition overview and lots of good breastfeeding info]

Good Eats: The Early Years - Alton Brown [yes I did read it, and yes I loved it - Alton Brown is my foodie favorite even more than Julia]

Fannie's Last Supper - Chris Kimball [not the most well written book I have read because it was very disjointed, but it was really enlightening, helped me to more appreciate the time I was born into, and makes me want to visit Boston]

Books I mostly read ...

Your Money Counts -Howard Dayton [this was a re-reading and for whatever reason I never finished the last couple of chapters but it is a short and sweet overview of biblical principles for financial management]

Financial Peace University -Dave Ramsey [I missed a few chapters as we went through the 'class' on cd together - it is also really good stuff with more of a motivating kick in the pants than the crown material]

The God Who Cares and Knows You -Kay Arthur & Pete De Lacy [a study on John Chris and I tried to go through together - it is good but a little cumbersome sometimes so we slowly let it be unfinished]

The Pregnancy Book: Month-by-Month - William & Martha Sears [a really great, and not-scary pregnancy book that was a little more 'natural' (vs. clinical) in its focus while still being fairly balanced]

Your Pregnancy and Childbirth - The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists [my midwife's office gave this to me and I won't lie it was actually my favorite pregnancy book]

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth - Ina May Gaskin [a little to anti-doctor for it to be very beneficial to me, I literately lost sleep because I got so stressed up by fears this book seeded, I am sure it would be really useful if you were going the homebirth/birthing center route but it just freaked me out]

Quitter - Jon Acuff [Acuff is always excellent, I look forward to restarting this in 2012]

All Stressed Up and Everywhere to Go - Gaylyn R. Williams and Ken Williams Ph.D. [we went through this with my small group at church ... it is good, but not my favorite read of the year]

Books I got distracted away from ....

The Supper of the Lamb - Robert Capon [I was reading this with Friday Arts Project but I kind of abandoned it when morning sickness made me not like showing up for meetings, I definitely want to re-visit it because I did enjoy the parts I read)

The Spirit of the Disciplines - Dallas Willard [too faux-seminary for the mood I was in when I tried to read it]

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams [a re-read; I always love it while I am reading it, but the plot isn't such that I feel compelled to seek it out if other stuff is going on]

What I am still in the middle of ...

When Sinners Say I Do - Dave Harvey

One Big Table - Molly O'Neill [not as easy of a sit&read cookbook as Alton's stuff, but still super interesting ... more story and history driven than technique driven]

One of my favorite music videos

2011-12-22T14:42:00.000-05:00

Consider this an early Christmas present....

In Defense of Football:

2011-11-28T17:45:00.001-05:00

So, Clemson lost this week against South Carolina for the third straight year and I am not ashamed to admit that I was disappointed. It had the potential to be a really good game. Both teams have had very good seasons this year and had both teams brought their A-game, it would have been a great game. Unfortunately, someone stole Clemson’s jerseys and played for them the past two weeks.

My team losing is disappointing, I’m not going to say otherwise because I would be lying. I read so much crap on Facebook and Twitter talking about the insignificance of the sport in general or that game specifically that I feel the need to come to their defense.

Here’s the thing, football is many things, not just a sport where large men tackle each other. Football is legacy. My dad went to Clemson. My aunt went to Clemson. Both of my cousins went to Clemson. Clemson is in my blood, it’s part of who I am because it’s part of my family’s story.

Football is tradition. I’ve already mentioned a few things that I can’t wait to do with Savvy/experience with her. One of the things I didn’t mention is taking her to her first Clemson game. It will, of course, be in Death Valley. She needs to see, first hand, the most exciting 25 seconds of college football. I can’t wait to teach her the fight song (look for a video of her chanting it in the coming years).

Most of all, football is community. If I see somebody wearing Clemson apparel, I immediately have a common connection with that person, even if I’ve never seen them before and never will again. One of my favorite things to do is go to a restaurant or bar that is showing the game on T.V. and cheering alongside everyone else there with me. But even if I’m not in public watching the game, watching it with friends is just as good, if not better.

If you’re not a football fan, I’m not asking you to pick a team and start cheering. I am asking you to give it a little more credit, it’s really not as “barbaric” as it may seem.

How He Loves

2011-11-14T20:22:00.003-05:00

Have you wanted to see David Crowder and John Mark McMillian sing "How He Loves" together?

Well, enjoy:

Let's stir up some controversy - Which do you prefer; sloppy, wet kisses or unforseen kisses? I prefer the unforseen ones myself.

super

2011-10-20T15:32:00.003-04:00

Life with Savvy has been really wonderful so far ... and she doesn't mind our nerdiness yet. This is my favorite family photo so far

.

Thoughts of an impatient Father

2011-10-11T17:55:00.003-04:00

There are a lot of things that I can't wait to do with Savvy. I can't wait to start teaching her Spanish. I can't wait until she meets Aslan for the first time. I can't wait until she watches her first superhero movie (Adam West's Batman, of course). I can't for her first real experience at Disney World or to find out who her favorite Disney princess is.

More importantly, I can't wait to share the Gospel with her. And here's why: I'm scared for her. My understanding of God and redemptive history leads me to believe that those who don't put their trust in Jesus and what He did on the cross will spend eternity separated from Him. And that terrifies me for her sake.

So I want to make the most of my time with her, telling her of the beauty of creation, the devastation of the fall, the love and sacrifice of redemption and the renewed beauty of restoration.

As I was thinking about these things at work recently, surrounded by co-workers and customers who also haven't trusted Jesus for redemption and salvation, I realized that I don't have that same fear for them. For all intents and purposes, they're place in eternity is of no significance to me. That's bad.

There's a well known video circulating the Christian circles of the magician Penn (of Penn and Teller) recounting a time when someone gave him (a devout atheist) a Bible. Though his beliefs didn't change, he respected the man's actions. To roughly paraphrase him, "How much do you have to hate somebody, to believe that they are going to Hell and not tell them what you believe to be the way out?"

The other side of that question is the one I'm wrestling with: How much do you have to love someone before you want to tell them the way out?

Thor's day

2011-09-02T09:48:00.002-04:00

Yesterday & this morning we realized that Thursdays are big days for us as a couple...

We met on a Thursday roughly 6 years ago yesterday (cheers to inaccurate first impressions)

We started dating officially one snowy Thursday morning, Feb 1 2007

We got engaged on a Thursday evening surrounded by pink flamingo lights, Sep 18 2008

We had our first child on a Thursday morning, Aug 25 2011

The only milestone we missed was foolishly planning our wedding on a Saturday. Silly us.

"And we'll sigh so relieved I believe...

2011-08-26T20:13:00.006-04:00

...because we will both know by tonight we'll feel normal again"

Hanging out in the hospital room after all of our much loved guests have left (and in between yawns) I find that there is some time to finally catch up on this thing.

It has been an exhausting few months and I apologize that I let the blog slip again. I'm hoping to set some more attainable goals as far as posting more regularly.

The biggest news, of course, is that - as of 8 a.m. yesterday morning Savannah Kate joined our family.

Brandi did a great job during the long and sometimes grueling process and both she and Savvy are doing very well.

From my parents who spent the entire labor time (all 27 hours) in the waiting room to the hoards of friends that have stopped by, I think that Savvy got the perfect welcome into the big new world.

I'm starting to lose focus now (crying child, lack of sleep and such) so I will leave you with two things 1) someone else's perspective on our baby and 2) this:

pregnancy reflections

2011-08-23T09:25:00.001-04:00

I typed up some rambly reflections on the pregnancy ... if you want to read them you can swing over to my seldom used 'personal' blog - http://bustingoutoftheshaker.blogspot.com/2011/08/pregnancy-reflections.html

I never thought I'd say this...

2011-07-06T15:13:00.003-04:00

I may be becoming more of a cat person.

I am currently living with both a cat and a dog and this seems to be the conclusion that I'm reaching. Cali is by no means a bad dog, but I have realized that I don't desire to give an animal the amount of attention that Cali wants/needs. Gandalf will spend the afternoon sleeping on the couch. I'll sit next to him, pet him a few times and we're done. Cali wants to play and play and play and play some more.

I don't resent Cali for it. Again, she's a good dog and I don't hate dogs in general, or her specifically but I think that I prefer the more low maintenance pets.

On another, related note; I have enjoyed watching Cali and Gandalf interact with each other. They seem to have a mutual tolerance with each other. And by that I mean that as long as Cali doesn't get too close, Gandalf accepts her presence.

Happy 4th!

2011-07-04T10:21:00.000-04:00

I plan on watching Independence Day and National Treasure at some point in the near future. However, I will not go a 4th of July without watching this Rhett and Link treasure:

anniversies are the perfect time to be sappy

2011-05-23T00:01:00.004-04:00

Today we have been married for two years. Sometimes it is still crazy to me that we are married. That I am married to someone who surely isn't perfect but who is perfect for me.

He is strong enough to put up with my ridiculousness - weather that is when I think I can somehow best him at wrestling or when he needs to stand firm against my stubborn wiles.

He is patient and loving - and during these months of my pregnancy where sometimes everything around me feels sucky he supports me, helps me, and tries his best to be sweet.

He makes me laugh - sometimes I wish he wouldn't because sometimes I want to stay upset, but he is really good at making me laugh, even if it is just because he is imitating whatever ridiculous thing I happen to be doing.

He doesn't always "get me" but he tries and more often than not he is right on the money.

He helps me be a better person. When I am frustrated he helps me see past it and encourages me to pray for the people I would rather poke in the eye. When I am sad he helps me process through it. He points me to God and keeps me in the Word. He is so smart (which isn't something I say lightly) and I respect not just who he is but so much of what he does.

Also, I love him and he is my bestest friend. God knew was right to laugh at my horrible first impression. Frankly I will welcome that kind of laughter any day ...

It has not been the two years we planned on, but it has been a good two years. I look forward to however many more God gives us.

a little bit of dory

2011-05-22T00:42:00.005-04:00

The way my midwife described a baby's experience in a womb in motion has now stuck me with the image of Dory in the whales mouth (Finding Nemo) causing me to associate those times when the baby starts dancing around as a soon as I lie down to be her protest "hey - who stopped the ride?"

Clearly our little girl is not like Marlin when it comes to womb dancing ... hopefully she doesn't become like him when it comes time for womb exiting ...

Day 25 - A picture of my day

2011-05-16T18:52:00.003-04:00

I had the day off from work and I've been pretty productive today. I've done laundry and dishes, went grocery shopping and worked out at the West Center. But the prevailing thought in my mind has been the impending family vacation to Orlando/Disney World in a couple of weeks. As stated multiple times, I love going to Orlando and it's no surprise that I love everything Disney, especially when Theme Parks are involved.

Day 24 - Something I wish I could change

2011-05-11T16:21:00.001-04:00

I could rehash some of my older answers like "I wish I could change our debt situation" or "I wish I could change my bad habits" but I think I take a lighter approach for this one.

I wish that I could change Chick-fil-A's stance on facial hair. The only facial hair they allow is a mustache. I don't understand this rule. I don't think that goatees are a heath issue. Facial hair doesn't fall out nearly as much as head hair. And let's be honest, very few men don't look sketchy with a mustache that I don't think it's worth having that exception.

Day - 23 My favorite book

2011-05-10T16:08:00.002-04:00

I will finish this blog challenge.

Unfortunately this is probably one of the hardest on the list for me. I really like reading. And I have a lot of books. To pick a favorite is near impossible though I will give it a shot.

I picked Thr3e because this was the first Ted Dekker book I read and I loved it. This book also helped to usher in a renewed love of reading for me. As I kid I read a lot, but as I got older I read less and less until it was really only a couple of books. Then I read this book and realized that I really do love to read. Most of the books on my bookshelves (and there are quite of few of those) I can say I got after reading Thr3e.

sew - a needle pulling thread

2011-05-07T08:42:00.000-04:00

Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at

I wish I was better at sewing in general but especially quilting. This requires actually working at it ... lately I haven't been so great at making that effort ...

Day 22 - Something I wish I was better at

2011-05-06T14:21:00.000-04:00

This challenge was hard for the opposite reason as yesterday. There are a lot of things that I wish I was better at. I finally settled on writing. More specifically, I wish that I was better at making time to write. It's what I want to do professionally at some point but cultivating a good habit (carving out time in my day to write) is just as hard as letting a bad habit die (watching Netflix instead).

dreams

2011-05-06T10:25:00.000-04:00

Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget

I wish I could forget my dreams. They are seldom nightmares per say but they can be very unrestful and frankly sometimes I dread sleeping because I dread dreaming - I know it is odd. Pregnancy is notorious for strange dreams and let me tell you, that was not a part of my life I needed magnified.

Day 21 - Something I wish I could forget

2011-05-05T14:15:00.001-04:00

This one was hard because I couldn't think of an event that I wanted to forget. Even the bad ones that have happened I wouldn't want to forget for various reasons. But, as I sit in my extremely messy bedroom I realize that what I wish I could forget are my bad habits.

Ktown & La Plata

2011-05-05T13:37:00.000-04:00

Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

I have been to the first and long to go back with Chris at my side... of the second I have heard much and long to experience it with one of it's greatest fans.

Day 20 - Somewhere I would like to travel

2011-05-04T22:10:00.003-04:00

This is the concept art for the new Disney Park that will be opening up in Shanghai, China in the next few years and I love to go. In fact, this will be the 12th Disney Park around the world (not to mention the three cruise ships) and I would love to visit them all. There are six in the U.S. (four in Florida and two in California), two in Paris, two in Japan and one in Hong Kong. I love traveling. I love amusement parks. I love Disney. Of course I would love to do this.

Day 19 - A picture of you when you were little

2011-05-04T06:24:00.002-04:00

photography

2011-05-03T17:52:00.003-04:00

Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity

Although I can be rife with insecurities - the cake taker may the always nagging fear that I am not a real artist and no matter how many photos I take I will never be more than a shutterbug at best.

a baby girl

2011-04-28T12:58:00.001-04:00

Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

Here again Chris and I say the same thing ... funny how pregnancy can profoundly impact us both. It is a little scary at times, generally unreal - sometimes even when I feel her move I can't wrap my head around the fact that a tiny human is being knit together inside of me. Then when I remember that we will be responsible to help mold this human into a worthwhile individual over the next 18+ years my brain sometimes wants to explode.

All those things aside, we are excited. We don't know what we are doing and porbably have no real grasp on the magnitude of what is going on, but that is what we have the next couple of decades to figure out - right?

Also if you are still trying to unscramble the letters for her name are as follows

aaskenthnava

Ruth Clark

2011-04-27T12:42:00.004-04:00

Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you

I met Ruth Clark when I first started attending MC^3 and while she didn't make as immediate an impression as Barb, I did notice the sweetness and joy of this wheelchair bound lady. She reminded me a little of my Grandma Mary Alice (which is a pretty sure way for my love to be secured by a person). In the years that have passed I have had the chance to get to actually know her and can only love her more.

She loves the Lord and finds joy in that in spite of hardship - it is so beautiful and so convicting. Over the past year or so she has stepped in to mentor me, and while we sometimes have trouble making our calendars align the times that we do have are wonderful and very growth inducive. I don't know that I will be as sweet natured as she is, but if I grow up into such a lady as she is, I wouldn't hate it.

Day 19 - A picture of me when I was little

2011-04-25T17:13:00.000-04:00

Day 18 - My biggest insecurity

2011-04-23T09:37:00.001-04:00

I had to think about this one. There are many things that I don't like about myself (like going bald at 25) but I'm not particularly insecure about them.

So I started thinking about things that I don't feel secure about and the first thing that came to mind was our student loans.

We've finally made a plan which is both a good and bad thing. Good because the issue is now more concrete and I feel better being able to see the whole picture. Bad because the issue is now more concrete and it's a big number and whenever I look at it, it's like looking at Goliath wishing that I had even those small stones.

This is the only thing standing between us and what God has called us to and it is incredibly overwhelming and discouraging at times.

So, there it is - my biggest insecurity.

Day 17 - Something that has made a huge impact on my life recently

2011-04-22T09:18:00.002-04:00

For those of you who don't keep up with Brandi and I on Twitter or Facebook we have decided to reveal the name of our baby girl letter by letter (scrambled of course). By Saturday, everyone will have all of the letters needed to figure out both the first and middle names.

Originally, we were going to keep the name to ourselves until she is born mostly because we didn't want to have the "Oh, that's not a good name" conversation with anyone. However, we have discovered that the "You should name it 'this,' or 'this,' or 'this,' or 'this'" conversation is even less appealing.

That said, the most obvious huge impact on my recent life is the impending baby. At the same time though, it hasn't really impacted my life. It comes up in conversations a lot but I'm not sure it's hit home with me yet. It may not hit home until I see her for the first time not in an ultrasound.

Who knows? Mostly I'm looking forward to it though (when I'm not thinking about how I'm going to screw up her life of course).

Day 16 - Someone who inspires me

2011-04-21T09:17:00.000-04:00

I think this is true about most people when they take an honest look at their high-schoolselves; they realize how much of a punk they were. I was no different. I may not have been an overt jerk to people but I thought that I knew pretty much everything especially when it came to Christianity. If someone asked a hard question that I didn't know the answer to, I decided that that question wasn't really relevant to anything and ignored it.

Then I went to college and met Brandon and began to realize that I wasn't the end all of Christian knowledge. He was incredibly patient with my arrogance and I was able to learn a lot from him.

Let's be honest, if ever I was afraid to pray out loud in public (and I was), Brandon broke me of that for good.

So, thanks Brandon, for putting up with my ridiculousness for four years.

Day 15 - Something I want to do before I die

2011-04-15T22:24:00.003-04:00

I have slowly been working on my version of a bucket list. At the top of my list is going to a Clemson/USC game. If I had my choice it would be one played in Death Valley but if the opportunity arose and the game was in Colombia I wouldn't be picky.

After visiting Disney World, going to Clemson games with my family was one of my favorite memories. I love the excitement of being at a football game as opposed to watching it on TV or listening to it on the radio.

I'm not going to throw the Jesus Juke statement out. You know, the "why can't we be just as excited on Sunday as we are on Saturday?" question. Going to a football game is just plain fun and I think it's dumb to feel guilty about it. Just because sports can be an idol for people doesn't mean that we should stop enjoying them.

two things

2011-04-14T23:19:00.002-04:00

Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die

So I have lots of things I would love to do before I die and they don't all really go together. For instance, high on that list are these two things ...

Keep a farm of sorts. Not a huge one, but one that is quasi-sustainable for my family, with chickens, ducks, and a dairy goat or two.

But I also kind of want to live in NYC. Not Manhattan, I kind of feel like I am more suited to Queens or Brooklyn. I spent a summer there and while the summer itself wasn't the best - their is something about that city. It gets under your skin and frankly if I could live here and commute there reasonably (or vice-versa) I would.

JIS

2011-04-14T22:59:00.004-04:00

Tonight Telly asked if we quit the blog challenge ... the answer is not on purpose but we both lost momentum. So here goes, we will pick back up at Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

This one is pretty easy - Joy Sanga. If you ever hear me tell my life story, you probably hear about her. You probably know that she was one of my best friends through high school and helped me learn how to follow Jesus with my whole life (not just on Sundays). It is very likely that the first time I felt comfortable praying out loud was with her family, and she stuck by me during my most obnoxious times while not shying away from letting me know I was being obnoxious (she doesn't really do shy).

I would say more but I don't like public sappiness and I feel like this challenge tends to leave me in a sappy place more often than not.

Now lets go see if I can get Chris to jump back on the bandwagon with me so that the 'we's at the beginning are not lies.

Day 14 - Someone who you can't imagine your life without

2011-04-14T22:02:00.000-04:00

I decided to go the more literal route and pick my family:

Without my parents I wouldn't be here. I mean that really on more than one level. Not only did they birth me, they also raised me. If it had been any other set of parents I could have turned out a lot worse. We may not have gotten along all the time but I am very thankful for them. However, the above picture, while nice, isn't the real us. The below picture is:

Day 13 - your favorite artist or band

2011-04-07T12:14:00.002-04:00

There are three musical groups that I will go out of my to get their newest albums as soon as I can. Hawk Nelson and Andrew Peterson are two of them. But let's be honest, we all knew that my favorite band is:

Ever since I first heard them in high school I have loved them. I have also loved seeing how they have matured over the years - each of their CD's being just a little bit better than the last. While I have a firm "no Christmas music out of season" policy, I do make two exceptions; Andy Pete's "Behold the Lamb of God" and Relient K's "Let it Snow, Baby. Let it Rain, Dear." Also, they put on a great concert. I've seen them live at least five times and I have no regrets.

As long as Relient K makes music, I will continue to listen to it.

Day 12 - something you love

2011-04-06T22:58:00.003-04:00

I like a lot of things. My sole reason for choosing comic books over anything else to talk about is that Wednesday is the day that new comics release and today is Wednesday.

I've always loved superheroes but reading comics is a new thing for me. I watched Spider-Man and Batman as a kid and I love the movies that started coming out when I was in high school. But the actual reading of the comics started just a couple of years ago.

The more I watched superhero movies and the more I researched the characters the more I saw huge cultural and even theological impacts that comics were making. And the more intrigued I became. After I read a book called "Holy Superheroes!," Brandi bought me my first graphic novel (Kingdom Come) and from there I pretty much dove off the deep end and don't really regret it.

FiF

2011-04-06T12:40:00.003-04:00

Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist

Today's challenge may have been the easiest for me.

Ever since Joy introduced me to the pants song opera - it was love at first listen. They are ridiculous and hysterical but they also have songs like Every New Day & Dandelion that have something like depth.

And they have a girl playing the saxophone.

Sadly I lost all but a few of their cds while I was at WU and I haven't really replaced them so I don't listen to them as often as I would like but they will probably always be a favorite. If they ever do a reunion tour I will do everything I can to see them live.

(fun fact - when I was searching for a photo I found out they have a dvd - which looks to have all of the ridiculousness that I love and more)

the fox-moore fortress

2011-04-05T13:29:00.003-04:00

Day 12 - A picture of something you love

Sometime this summer Chris got the crazy idea that we should share a house with our good friends, Jon & Telly. Once we all acknowledged that it was bat-poo crazy we kind of got attached to the idea, then we found a house that was a good fit and *poof* about seven months later here we are. Still friends, and on the whole really glad we gave this crazy idea a try.

Because Telly and I have always had a quasi-sister relationship some days are a little more dramatic than other. Chris & Jon shake their heads at us a lot every day, but I think they really enjoy having the extra testosterone of each other around.

On the whole I wouldn't trade this experience for anything (even if my pots will never be the same '-P) it is really good.

Day 11 - a picture of something you hate

2011-04-03T20:53:00.004-04:00

Hate is a really strong word. I've been sitting on this post for a few days now and I can't come up with anything that I truly hate. Of course there's the generic injustice issues facing the world but I can't say those as a response without it sounding like a cop-out answer. Also saying "debt" while true, would also be a cop-out answer.

On the other hand, I guess I could say our current situation. I don't hate my life, and I'm certainly excited about having a kid, but that's about it. We just found out that it will take six years to pay off our smallest student loan with two more to pay off after that. That wouldn't be as big of an issue if the career that we have wanted for a while now won't accept us until we get our debt down.

So, while I don't hate my life, I'm pretty discouraged right now. I hate being in this limbo state. I was in limbo for two years while I finished up college and now we will be there for an indefinite period of time. There. That's what I hate. Being in limbo.

I don't hate Dave

2011-04-03T07:02:00.002-04:00

Day 11 - A picture of something you hate

I don't hate Dave Ramsey (although he can be a bit abrasive sometimes - that's just a personality thing) but I do kind of hate the reason he is in our life. We weren't smart about school and the amount we owe the government for the privilege of our education feels astronomical. So astronomical that last fall when we went through the long (and sometimes frustrating due to my poor relationship with the web application) process of applying to be on staff with Cru, it ended up being the one thing holding us back. Even before we started dating we both individually felt like Cru was the best fit for how God made us, the best place for us to work so we have been pursuing this for a while. Heck, part of the reason we wanted to get married is because on the long list of things we want out of life this was really important for both When they got back to us after it was all said and done they said they would love us, but our debt (all student loans - not that it really matters, just makes me feel less irresponsible) was too great, and that we should apply again once we get it further down.

Some wonderful friends and mentors, the Hammonds, gave us this material to help us along the way and it is awesome but debt is still so overwhelming. Living on the combined income of starbucks + chick-fil-a is manageable - even with the prospect of our little girl; but feeling like we can't move forward until our student loans are dealt with - that just bites. I would say it sucks like a soul eating vacuum (if they made such a thing) but everybody and their second cousin seems to have a pet peeve with things 'sucking'.

So there you have it - out of all the terrible things in the world, debt is high on my hit list (other things would perhaps be higher if I didn't feel even more unable to do something about them).

We know the gender of our child...

2011-04-02T23:23:00.004-04:00

Survey says.....

It's a girl!

Seems that there will be more pink in my life very soon.

An ode to many people ...

2011-04-01T09:28:00.000-04:00

Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the craziest things with

Often times a nomadic life lends itself to having a nomadic personality and the people I do crazy things with has been something that has changed throughout the various seasons of my life. Here is a not completely brief or orderly ode to some of my crazy sharers ...

Team Pink

We attacked with silly string, pink water pistols, and water balloons ... we kidnapped hats and crafted ransom notes. Our motives were questionable but laughs were had all around

Summer Projects & Cru Kids

It doesn't matter where you go, you spend 5 plus weeks doing life ministry closely with other college kids and antics are inevitable.

Res life

Weather it was my residents or my fellow RAs every year was wonderful as were the women I was with.

Outlet Ladies

You put five women in one house for a year and crazy things are bound to happen, although the crazy happened before the living together

Last but never least - my high school girls

We wore our prom dresses to go bowling or see Santa, we carried light sabers, danced in parking lots, and any other thing we could think of. I would never want to go back to high school, but many good times were had there.

I guess that is part of what spouses do

2011-03-31T23:33:00.005-04:00

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

This was my no-brainer.Even Before we dated Chris helped me process through one of the most traumatic things I dealt with as an RA letting me cry, sitting with me, praying with me.

We started dating right before my most challenging semester academically (the infamous semester of napping instead of sleeping, not showering on the weekdays, and carrying an entire pot of coffee to my classes) and he helped me with my art projects and lent me his ipod any time I needed to spend an afternoon in the studio.

He was with me when I lost two uncles and my grandmother in just a few months, he again let me grieve and reminded me of the ultimate hope in it all.

Now as my husband he is part of what gets me through every day, my grumpy days, my crying days (both of which seem to have slightly increased) and all of those other ones too.

He is a great guy, and while he is not perfect - he is perfect for me. God knew what he was doing to bring us together, which is why he probably peed himself laughing when my first impression was that Chris was someone I would likely not even be friends with but that I certainly would never have to worry about getting a crush on.

Instead I can truly say lucky I'm in love with my best friend (if you don't like the cheese, blame drop dead diva)

Day 10 - the person you do the craziest stuff with

2011-03-31T23:19:00.003-04:00

Ripped a phone book in half? Check

Combined Mentos and Diet Coke? Check

Went to a gas station at midnight for the sole purpose of getting energy drinks? Check

Seran wrapped the girls' door and stuffed it full of crumpled newspapers at 3 in the morning? Oh yeah, that was fun

After 9 days of challenges that I actually had to think about and narrow down my answers, finally a no-brainer. Living in the Casa de Phun Phun were the best two years of my college life. We started building our community around our sophomore year at Winthrop but once we got off campus, there was no stopping us.

Everyone in that house played some part in our wedding - the guys were my groomsmen, KT was the DJ and Erica led the music.

I think that even though our sophomore year was when we really started getting to know each other, being at the Casa was a turning point for our community.

Day 9 - The person who has gotten me through the most

2011-03-30T23:46:00.003-04:00

This was a tough challenge for me because I had stop and think about what I've been through. I haven't had many great tragedies in my life. I've lost both of my grandfathers and while I do miss them and look forward to seeing them again, I wasn't close enough to either for their absence to have a profound effect on me.

Also, I don't emote.

Really, the hardest time in my life is what has happened in recent years and is currently happening. It took me six years to get out of undergrad and that was really frustrating especially towards the end when I, literally, fought to get my diploma. The place where my life was heading even before Brandi and I started dating was Crusade staff and that has been put on an indefinite hold because of our student loans which is really frustrating. Every time I think I'm done working at Chick-fil-A I get sucked back in as evidenced by the fact that I started back last week...again.

Did I mention that we're having a baby?

So, lots happening now, and while, by the definition of her being my wife, Brandi could fit into multiple of these categories, it seems that the most appropriate one would be this one.

favorite things

2011-03-30T23:09:00.003-04:00

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh

My first semester as an RA I wasn't the greatest, but I did have the greatest suit mates. I could always go through the bathroom and have a good laugh with Resa & Melissa.

Day 8 - A photo that makes me laugh

2011-03-29T22:56:00.002-04:00

This photo of a photo was taken during our honeymoon. We were at Animal Kingdom and I was looking forward to riding Dinosaur all day. Because the park is huge, it took us most of the day to get over to the ride but when we got there we were told that it had broken down. This was disappointing because it was almost time for the park to close.

As we were about to leave we were told by one of the cast members that they were about to open the ride back up and stay open a little bit longer. Eventually we made it to our time machine and it turned out that we were able to get the entire vehicle to ourselves. We tried to make a last minute adjustment in our seating but got yelled at so we ended up having an empty seat between us.

The best part of the ride is where this picture came from. Because this wasn't my first time on the ride, I knew there was a photo op in the middle of it. Brandi didn't. I decided to cheese it up for the picture. Brandi's reaction is completely genuine. Every time I see this picture it cracks me up.

with this ring ...

2011-03-29T22:38:00.003-04:00

Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item

To quote Olive Snook: I like my things - that's why they are mine.

But when it came time to pick a most treasured items I was at a bit of a standstill until I thought about my wedding rings, which are special for so many reasons.

They remind me of what we want from our marriage, and all of the time Chris spent thinking about the rings he wanted to get, and his wonderful proposal. They remind me of our relationship and all of the wonderful dorky things we love together.

Feel free to gag - but sometimes being in love just makes you nauseating (and sometimes it makes you pregnant which will make you nauseous while you are nauseating) .

Day 7 - Your most treasured item

2011-03-28T22:06:00.003-04:00

This one was tough for me and not because I don't like to cling to things. I, in fact, have many things and I like a lot of them. I first thought about my comic books. I do enjoy them and would have a hard time parting with them. I thought about my iPod and all of the music that I love. I even thought about making a companion post to Grace's talking about Gandalf. Then I realized what item of mine is my most treasured. It's actually a lot of little items:

I know what Brandi is going to say for her most treasured item and this makes me look like a bad husband in comparison but my squashed penny collection is probably one of things that I'm most proud of. I have squashed pennies from 14 states (including Alaska). Anytime I plan to travel somewhere new (let's be honest, it doesn't have to be a new place - I get new pennies from Disney World every time I go) I go to this website that tells me where to find squashed penny machines.

My first squashed penny was an Atlanta Braves penny that I got from a water park in Atlanta that I was visiting with a friend. My next one was from Splash Mountain at Disney World. When my family visited Sea World the first time I found a book to put my pennies in and from there I was hooked. My dad thinks they're ridiculous but I remind him that they are the cheapest souvenirs you can find.

Day 6 - Someone you would want to trade places with for a day

2011-03-26T23:18:00.003-04:00

I wanted to pick a real person. I really did. I've been thinking about it off and on all day and I couldn't come up with anyone. Here's the thing - I'm pretty content with who I am. I'm not perfect and there are definite areas for improvement but I wouldn't wish my life away to be another person. Also, if I had to choose a real person, I would choose somebody's best friend instead of that person. I would love to hang out with a lot of people (Ted Dekker, Matt Thiessen, Lewis, Tolkien, even Adam Sandler). I would love to get to know them and gain wisdom from them (though if I were Adam Sandler's best friend that would probably make me Rob Schneider and I don't know how I feel about that).

So I had to go with someone who I've wanted to be for a long time: Spider-Man. What this really comes down to is that I would love to be able to swing around using webs like he does. Flying like Superman would be fun, but I think it would be much more exciting to swing like Spidey.

I can fly

2011-03-26T08:46:00.003-04:00

Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day

So barring being best friends for a day with an enormously wealthy irrationally generous person who would be willing to write a check for our student loans so we could go ahead and join ccci staff like we have wanted to for over half a decade (stupid debt) I would want to be Rogue.

She was always my favorite X-Man, in fifth grade at recess Ashley Lowe, Lyssa Rauch, and I would play X-men I was always her. She is spunky, unabashedly southern, super strong, and most importantly she can fly. She is kind of like Superman only with out the fear of green rocks, her big weakness is one that only hurts her personally - not one that exposes her to her enemies.

Which incidentally makes the switch all that much more perfect since I could never give up touching people for the rest of my life I wouldn't have too much trouble letting go of the gift of flight when the day was done.

Day 5 - My favorite memory

2011-03-25T21:58:00.008-04:00

The first time my family went to Disney World I was 10 and my parents decided to surprise us. We thought that we were going to Panama City Beach which is where we went every summer. On the way down we visited one of my aunts.

During the visit she kept telling us to have fun at Disney World. She seemed a little senile so we just thought she was crazy (In our defense she tried to give me, 10, and my brother, 5, wine to drink thinking it was juice).

Eventually, we figured out that we weren't going to the beach and my brother was particularly disapproving of my parents keeping their secret.

That aside, our family was hooked after that trip. I even convinced my wife, who had never been to Disney World, to go for our honeymoon. I got her hooked too.

I can't pick a particular trip as my favorite memory, but I love going to Orlando and Disney World.

spring break!

2011-03-25T10:25:00.001-04:00

Day 5- A picture of your favorite memory.

I have been so blessed with great memories & fun times that this seemed nearly impossible but I finally settled on my first Spring Break at WU.

I spent the entire week in Pass Christian MS helping to clean up the devastation Katrina brought along with tons of other students from Winthrop, Queens, and all over the country. It was crazy and awesome. We slept in a circus tent next to a cemetery and showered in a semi ... in fact since it was just one semi with a small divider for the boys and girls we would even sing together while showering (that was a little awkward but whatever).

The reason this memory stands out among so many others is because that week was the catalyst for almost all of the things that have happened since either directly or indirectly. That week is the reason I went on my first summer project, the reason I even thought about Seattle and Seattle led to lots of awesome growth & change ... it just gets out of control to think how much of my life now is because of one smelly exhausting week sifting through wreckage.

Day 4 - My night

2011-03-25T00:47:00.005-04:00

This is where I spent 10 hours of my day and night today.

After about the 6th hour, it wasn't fun anymore.

thanks to Dave

2011-03-25T00:20:00.003-04:00

Day 04 - A picture of your night

debt sucks. student loans can be overwhelming. Here is my wonderful husband putting out new debt killing plan into writing (or excelling as the case may be) - yay for Dave Ramsey.

We're not in Kansas anymore....

2011-03-23T14:38:00.003-04:00

Day 3's challenge is to post a photo of the cast of my favorite show. Like my wife, favorites are hard to come by for me. When I lived at the Casa, we watched shows like "Mythbusters" and "Scrubs" all the time and I do love them. Since Netflix was introduced on the Wii I have enjoyed both "Monk" and "Psych" among other shows. As a kid it was "Power Rangers", "Rescue Rangers" and "Darkwing Duck". The new show "No Ordinary Family" is the only show I currently follow and that's only on hulu.

However there is one show that I think I can undoubtedly say is my favorite and that is...

"Smallville". Even before the superhero alter-egos thing, I watched this show. With the exception of the season that was possessed by witches and a certain medicine woman, this show has been really good. I'm not caught up with the show because it used to come on during Crusade on Thursday nights so I had to wait for the DVD's to come out.

I can always count on my mom to get the newest season on DVD for me for my birthday. She said this year, "It's not really a surprise anymore is it?" My response was, "No, but I still get excited every time."

The final season is on right now and though I am sad to see it end, I think they will do a super (is that a bad pun?) job in the end.

star trekin across the universe

2011-03-23T10:14:00.001-04:00

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show.

As I said before, I don't do favorites well. I am especially fickle with shows (which makes me seriously question how that would ever be a good security question but I digress)

I realize that strictly speaking this isn't a cast photo... ok it isn't a cast photo at all, but the reasons for any of my favorite shows has to do more with the people I share them with than the show itself. Star Trek:TOS epitomizes this. I grew up sharing it with my family but in High School the wonderful Ashely Polasek entered my life and she may be the most fun person to share a show with. Especially a show as (lets be honest) utterly ridiculous as Star Trek.

I still submit that one of the top five ways to spend a night is to eat junk food and laugh yourself silly at the good, bad, and not as handsome as they would like to be moments of this classic.

To Ashley, all I can say is live long and find the profitable/honorable/whatever it is :-)

Here is a proper cast photo

(It occurs to me that if I had to pick a show on actual merit I would probably choose Eureka or Pushing Daisys - I never figure out the answers without the wandering)

little sisters are forever

2011-03-22T19:18:00.004-04:00

The downside to convincing your husband to do a blog challenge with you is that he reminds you to actually do it, completely interrupting the afternoon I was wasting away with Telly and Ugly Betty.

If you know me you know that I never like to pick just one for anything but here goes

Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been close with for awhile.

I had a very nomadic upbringing until High School. Although I carry fond memories of the friends I made bouncing around the Carolinas, I feel like the longest knowing award has to go to my lil sis Anne.

Our relationship started kind of badly, I didn't love Jesus back then and I was a pretty wretched sister. But as we have grown and changed it has been wonderful to actually be friends with the person sometimes thought to be my twin.

For better or worse I will probably always think of her as my baby sister (even while she is risking her life as a solider in Iraq) but she mostly puts up with it and spoils me with sushi whenever we can justify it.

Here's to twenty years and counting...

-Brandi

Day 2 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest

2011-03-22T10:52:00.003-04:00

So the challenge says that I just have to post a picture of the person (or people) not that I have to talk about them.

As I was skimming the topics for each challenge I started thinking about my answers for different ones and the more I thought about it the more excited I got about this challenge.

The thing that I think I'm going to like the most is how these challenges will make me think about myself and those around me in ways that I don't normally. For example, today's challenge: I don't normally think about who I've been close the longest, I had to really think about it. Obviously my wife fits into this category, I'm closer to her than I've been to anyone else but of the people in the picture, I've known her the least amount of time. I've probably known Joseph the longest as we grew up going to church together and did pretty much everything together. And my relationship with my brother has gotten better in recent years after we were both in college and no longer as stupid as we used to be.

I realize that it's only day 2 and I've already cheated by mentioning three people instead of just one, but these three people have been close to me during various stages of my life so I can't just pick one.

Well, here we go....Day 1

2011-03-21T12:53:00.009-04:00

I've decided that this 30 day challenge is being completely over run by the feminine gender (here, here, here, here, here and here) so I thought I'd add some masculinity to it (also my wife insisted that I participate with her). So here it is "A picture of me and 15 facts."

1 - As stated earlier, in about 5 or 6 months, I will be father and that is a really weird thing to say.

2 - I really want my kid's middle name to be "Isa" so their full name will be "So-and-so Isa Fox."

3 - Growing up my occupation of desire varied anywhere from firefighter to magician to cartoonist to stand up comedian to pastor to Spanish professor.

4 - Eventually I settled on being a writer/storyteller.

5 - Even though I've only been reading comic books for a couple of years, I have almost entire bookshelf of them. And let's not get started on the superhero movies that I own.

6 - Brandi tells me that I make a mean empanada (I like to think they're actually pretty friendly though).

7 - I actually do enjoy cooking especially things of a Hispanic flavor (empanadas, flautas, etc...) and grilling.

8 - I usually judge a restaurant by how good their burger is.

9 - The only exception has been Wing King in Rock Hill. Their wings are so good that it took me awhile to order a burger from them because I didn't want to not have their wings.

10 - I read my first Ted Dekker book while I was in Oklahoma visiting family. It was a big book (at least to my high school self) so I figured it would take me a while to get through it. Thr3e days later I was done with the book and hooked on him as a writer.

11 - Relient K was introduced to me by a friend in high school. At first it was just the Sadie Hawkins Dance that I liked, but the more I listened to the CD, the more I liked them as a band. I have also really liked seeing how they've grown as a band over the years (Confession, sometimes I listen to their Christmas CD out of season).

12 - I can actually thank my two cousins for introducing me to Adam Sandler far younger than I probably should have been. Middle School version of me watched Billy Madison and possibly The Waterboy and I was enjoyed them thoroughly.

13 - Two of my favorite stories to tell are the freak ultimate frisbee accident that had me on crutches for two weeks and the time I almost died while white water rafting.

14 - Like the younger Brock sister, Mt. Dew is my drug of choice.

15 - The above picture was taken at the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, CA. One of the many reason why that city is so weird.

15 facts ...

2011-03-21T12:36:00.002-04:00

So I can no longer resist ... I was intrigued when Katie & Brooke started the 30 day blog challenge with Katie B, then started to consider it when I found Grace, but dang it all, Brit is making me do it (without even trying) we will call that inspiration

Day 1 - A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.

1- I once ate a gallon of pickles over the course of the week when I was a kid

2- I have a scar on my finger from a kid who bit me in preschool - I doubt he has any lingering proof of my retaliation

3- I also have a scar on the top of my foot from sliding down a hill in Seattle

4 - In case you haven't noticed, I like to tell the stories of my scars - I will refrain from telling more

5- My husband and I share a house with another married couple and I have to say even when living with people makes me crazy I don't know how I will adjust to 'normal' life whenever it comes time for us to live in separate houses.

6- I used to play the saxophone and I have big dreams of learning how to play the harmonica

7- I should be laundry right now

8- I am not very good at finishing things, so this challenge could be a disaster

9- I am strangely attached to the name Wilhelmina, but Chris has vetoed it for the sake of any future child. He may be prejudiced against the letter W for girls names

10- The Stephanie Brown Batgirl is my favorite superhero

11- I would like to have goats and chicken and essentially a small farm

12- I would also like to live abroad and be bilingual

13- I have wanted to have almost every job imaginable, and if I hadn't gotten married I was thinking about living in a station wagon and touring the country as a photographer while making money as a substitute teacher, it is probably for the best that I won't be going through with that plan

14- My senior year of high school I carried around a light-saber along with several friends, sometimes we would duel, sometimes we would attack bubbles, all in all it was good times with very few injuries

15- I come from a family of insatiable readers, and I sometimes feel almost illiterate by comparison; but I do love to flip around through a dictionary

-Brandi

An ahem announcement

2011-03-17T11:52:00.004-04:00

So we have some big news, an announcement if you will...

We are having a baby! We made this cute video update to reveal it, but the interweb was opposed to our uploading efforts and since I am at 16 weeks it seemed more than time to make the announcement official to those of you who didn't find out by mere proximity.

Now to address the most commonly asked questions:

Yes we are excited (although our excitement may pale beside our Mothers')

The baby is due in Late August/Early September

No we don't know if it will be a girl or a boy; yes we are going to find out when we are able

Yes we have names we are thinking about; no we won't tell '-P

And yes this is a big part of why we haven't posted in forever - we wanted to share but wanted the sharing to be 'just right' so we got a teeny bit paralyzed.

Giving the gift of going second

2011-01-26T15:14:00.002-05:00

Before I begin you should know this: I hate reading comments on "professional" blogs. I'm not talking about the comments that my friends and I share on each others blogs, those I really enjoy. I'm talking about blogs that are meant to have a wider audience like one's that represent companies (DC Comics) or big ideas (Stuff Christians Like).

Jon Acuff wrote a blog about confessing safe sins. In it, he talks about "giving the gift of going second" meaning if the first person to share a prayer request talks about he doesn't pray enough he really sets the tone for the rest of the prayer requests to be equally general and vague so the guy who should really be sharing about how he "told my parents I was going to the dump to sled but instead I was really just digging through a 200 foot mountain of warm trash looking for pornography" no longer feels comfortable doing so. Not that you have to have something that specific to share every time, but setting the stage for honestly at the front is what Acuff is getting at.

I've noticed a similar trend in the comments of some of the blogs that I read. If the first person to comment (after exclaiming "First!") begins a negative rant about the post itself or the subject of the post, everyone else follows suit. It then becomes harder to give any positive input into the "conversation." The same is mostly true when the "First!" comment is positive as well. The only difference is that we are a cynical people and we can only tolerate so much positive before we have to point out negative.

I'm not sure where to go from here other than to acknowledge that I do see the irony in the negative rant-ish language of this post and to encourage anyone who reads this and posts comments on other blogs to think about what you want to say and see if you can throw in some positives in with the negatives.

~Chris

The Prosperity Gospel

2011-01-13T12:22:00.002-05:00

In our attempts to thwart the ever-growing prosperity theology we usually find places in the Bible that contradict it negatively. For example when Jesus says "Take up your cross and follow me" or his interaction with the rich, young ruler or the entire book of Job. But I noticed something today while reading Genesis that puts a new spin on the anti-prosperity theology (I don't like calling it "Gospel" because it's not).
One sentence summary of said theology: if you are in God's favor, He will bless you with all the material blessings (including, but not limited to, parking spaces at Wal-Mart) you can imagine so seek to be in God's favor.

I was reading the account of Isaac pulling his Father's trick and lying to Abimelech by saying that Rebekah is his sister instead of his wife, thereby saving his neck while at the same time throwing his wife under the bus (though I don't think they had buses back then) and putting her in a position to potentially be taken advantage of.
What I've always found frustrating from this story and both of the stories of Abraham pulling this trick is that there don't seem to be any consequences for their actions. In fact, in both cases the men are blessed beyond measure because of their actions. The end of verse 12 clearly says, "The LORD blessed him."
This morning I realized that prosperity theology doesn't work for another reason; God blesses whoever He wants to regardless of their actions. God chose Abraham out of all people on Earth, not because Abraham was special but because God wanted to choose Abraham. He chose Isaac over Ishmael because He wanted His covenant to be through Isaac, not because Isaac was special in and of himself.

Not only does this fly in the face of bad theology but it gives me great hope to know that I can't do anything to earn God's favor. I would too quickly lose it if it were up to me.

~ Chris

Rejection doesn't always suck

2011-01-09T22:00:00.003-05:00

An interesting thing seems to happen when you start trying to pursue what seems to be your calling. In the past two days I've applied for both a paying and a voluntary writing position and I've been rejected by both. Honestly, part of me is excited by these rejections. Everyone says that you'll go through a ton of "no's" before you get to the one "yes" so for me, starting down that path of "no's" is exciting.
The other part of me is understandably disappointed by the rejections both because I would have enjoyed both jobs had I gotten them (one of them was reviewing comics - heck yes) but also because now the lies that tell me that I'm not good enough start to get fed if I let them.
So the choice now becomes what do I do with these rejections? I can accept them and move on or I can stay frozen in fear. Right now I choose moving on.

~ Chris

On the belated twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

2011-01-07T11:02:00.002-05:00

A list of all of the previous posts:

1st day - A quick explanation of the project
2nd day - A delayed Christmasville video
3rd day - An Elf on the Shelf
4th day - "Scary ghost stories and tales of the glories..."
5th day - Let it Snow, Baby...Let it Rain, Dear (my gracious wife helped me out with this one)
6th day - Took a bit of a break
7th day - A fresh batch of Fox Ahoy's
8th day - A quick list of New Year's Resolutions
9th day - Part 2 of the Fox Ahoy's history
10th day - An Encounter recap
11th day - A Sleigh Ride music video
12th day - This list

This project was harder than I was expecting it to be. Part of it was that I spent much of 12 days at a conference in Greensboro but I'm also not in the habit of posting regularly. Hopefully this year will change that.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

2011-01-03T22:26:00.004-05:00

A quick(ish) recap on Encounter

Encounter was one of the events that I looked forward to the most as a college student. After licking my exam wounds and spending time resting, catching up with my family and trying to remember the cliched "reason for the season" Encounter came and gave me a chance to get together with my friends and continue worshiping the God who sent his son into the world.

Even though I loved Encounter for four years, I've got to admit, this past week was bitter sweet. I enjoyed it, the teaching was fantastic as was the music. I spent a large chunk of my Christmas money on books that I look forward to digging into in the near future. And my first meal of the new year was Biscuitville. All of that was sweet, but it only added to the bitterness because we were reminded that even though this is what we want to do, we can't yet.

Please keep praying for us. Pray that we would use this as a catalyst for moving forward and not an excuse to mope around.

In order to end on a more happier note - six students from Winthrop are planning on going on a summer project this year and at least four of them are wanting to go to Santa Cruz. I am dang excited about that.

~ Chris

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

2011-01-01T21:16:00.004-05:00

A quick list of New Years Resolutions...

I started doing resolutions a couple of years ago as away of setting some goals for myself. Looking back at last year I could have done better. Here's to a new year:

1) Read the Bible in a year again (I honestly didn't quite make it in 2010 completely and I would like to make it both in its entirety and in a more consistent manner than last year)

2) Be more consistent in updating my blogs (This one and my other one)

3) Exercising on a regular basis (at least three times a week)

4) Get our finances in order and pay off our students loans so that we can go on staff with Crusade

We put our resolutions up; what about you? Do you do resolutions? What are they?

~ Chris

2011

2010-12-31T23:59:00.004-05:00

In 60 seconds a new year will begin, and as this posts I am worshiping it in with who knows how many college students (thank you post options).

For several years I have been rather anti-new years resolutions, but this year I figured I would give it a go.

exercise at least 2 hours a week

run a 5k

sell at least 3 things I have created

post daily in my photoblog

read through the bible with Chris

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

2010-12-27T08:33:00.005-05:00

An Elf on the Shelf

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

2010-12-25T10:02:00.001-05:00

We have a very weird relationship with Christmas music and decorations. We refuse to do anything Christmas-like until after Thanksgiving and we complain about stores who start putting out their decorations around Halloween. But thirty days later, on December 26, up go the decorations and the music. Some people wait until Jan 1 and that's cool. And of course, you have the select few that don't take their decorations down ever. But traditionally, Christmas doesn't end until Jan 5 "The Twelfth Night."

So, for the next 12 days, I hope to post Christmas related blogs. Enjoy and feel free to share your thoughts.

My story

2010-12-20T12:22:00.003-05:00

(The last step in becoming a member at MCCC is to give your testimony to the church body. Here's mine)

When a Crusade Staff person helps you write your testimony they advise you to avoid phrases like “I grew up in church” so no one will think you physically lived in the church, but in my case, that’s almost true. Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, Wednesday nights, Mission Friends, choir, Bible Drill, R.A.s, Vacation Bible School, Mission Trips, youth group, you name it, I did it. I knew all the stories and all the answers (even the answers that weren't "Jesus") but despite that, when I was confronted with the question of how I knew whether or not I was a Christian, I knew intellectually that the answer was trusting in Jesus and his work on the cross but my second thought was “It can’t really be that easy. There has to be something else.” I spent the next few months wrestling with this until I heard one of my friends tell his story about how he was living his life because that’s how other people expected him to live. That’s when I realized that I was doing the same thing. My life wasn’t about God; it was about maintaining an image that everyone expected me to have. And I had two different images to maintain. One at church and one outside of church. I acted a certain way at church, namely a “more holy” way and another way at school. My friends and I loved tearing each other down. We were sarcastic and down right mean to each other.

Even though I became a Christian when I was 16 it wasn’t until I got to college that I realized the depths from which I’d been saved. It wasn’t just about choosing to live my life for God (which I couldn’t do on my own), it was about being saved from the penalty of my sin (which I also couldn’t do on my own). Because Jesus’ death on the cross paid that penalty for me, despite the fact that I still sin, that’s not my identity anymore. When God looks at me He sees Jesus and that is an amazing thing.

~ Chris

How about an update on our life?

2010-12-09T23:15:00.003-05:00

Most of you are aware that our plans were to go on staff with Campus Crusade. Most of you are also probably aware that the application process was wrought with set backs and frustrations. Well, to add to the wrought frustrations I give you the following: Crusade has basically rejected us until we can get our debt down. They said that everything else looked good, but that our Student Loans are too high. Which sucks.

The problem lies in the fact that we haven't been in a place financially for the past year and a half where we could begin to pay them off. We've had them deferred assuming that when we got a more legitimate paycheck once we were on staff we could start paying them off.

Brandi's job at Starbucks pays decently so we just wanted to find a second part time job for her. But for me and my minimum wage job with spotty hours...well, that's gonna have to go.

So, we started praying and got other people praying as well. Manchester Creek was uniquely helpful to us. Because the church is full of both current and former missionaries, the people we talked to could completely understand both where we and Crusade were coming from. I think that, more than anything, kept me from thinking that Crusade was the bad guy.

It might be tempting to think that, because of all of this, God's plan is not for us to go on staff but I must disagree. We got the phone call from Cru about a week and a half ago and as of today, Brandi has her second job (one that she's absolutely thrilled about) and, if all continues like it seems to be now, I'll have a new job at the beginning of the year. If that's not God's handiwork, I don't know what is.

That said, please pray for us. It's going to be a hard year. We've been in what feels like limbo for a long time now and we're both tired of it. We're ready to move on with what we feel God is calling us to. We need your prayers and encouragement.

~Chris

daily disciplines

2010-11-29T17:27:00.005-05:00

One of the things I feel like God has been teaching me lately is the discipline of doing small things daily. I tend to be someone who is easily overwhelmed by the scope of what needs to be done in life and that will completely freeze me up. It is very intertwined with my perfectionist procrastination whispering "don't bother doing ANYthing until you can do it perfectly" - which of course means NOTHING gets done because lets be honest - I am so NOT perfect.

What has been so freeing over the past month or so is allowing myself to be content with the small, and seemingly trivial progress towards my goals. I am pretty sure this started with fitness, realizing that 1-I need to get into shape 2-I am so far out of shape that I am unable to complete any sort of fitness regimen that I can be proud of. So I moved past my pride and crafted a little twenty minute routine that I strive to do daily. Thus far I have yet to have a full week where it has in fact been completed daily, but I am being more consistently proactive with my health than I have been in a very long time. Better is good - it sure beats the heck out of my prior stagnation.

The most encouraging and dramatic evidence of my growth in daily disciplines in with my sewing. A few weeks ago I realized that if I was going to complete the quilt I want to make my sweet lil sister before she deploys I needed to get moving. I made it my goal to spend at least ten minutes every day working on her quilt - well aware that ten minutes is barely enough time to get started, but also aware that getting started on a project is always my greatest struggle.

Guess what - it has been working! Again not every day actually gets ten minutes - but most do, and if you average out a week I am confident that I am working on it more than seventy minutes a week.

All of this might seem like no big deal, because we all know that the journey of a thousand miles starts with putting on your shoes and taking that first step, but finally feeling the freedom not to go the whole thousand miles in a single day - that is an awesome feeling.

-Brandi

Review: Deathly Hallows Part 1

2010-11-27T14:25:00.003-05:00

Even though I saw this movie at its midnight opening, it's taken me this long to process it and to be able to verbalize my thoughts about it. And hearing other reviews helped. This one especially helped because I felt the same way he does, but couldn't quite put my finger on why. Why have I not really been as impressed with the Harry Potter movies than everyone else seemed to? I enjoyed the books very much and I think the movies have done a pretty decent job of translating the books to screen especially when it comes to characters and themes.

I think he's on to something in his review when he says that anything good he sees in HP he's already seen in Tolkien and Lewis and Lucas etc... I would agree. Rowling doesn't just tell the story of the boy who lived vs. he who must not be named, she tells a much larger story, a much more universal story just like the previously mentioned storytellers. Whether she knows it or not, Rowling has written the gospel into her story.

However, I'm not sure I would go so far as giving an apathetic shrug in response. Quick poll: how many of you have read and/or seen The Lord of the Rings? What about Narnia? Not just The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe but all of the chronicles. What about Star Wars? Let's be honest, the trilogy of this generation don't have the same impact that the trilogy of our parent's generation had.

What J.K. Rowling has done with her books and the subsequent movies has opened the door for a new generation of kids to be exposed to THE story - the one that effects us all. While I don't approve of all of the details of this wizarding world, I would be making a mistake to just shrug off the impact that these stories have had on our culture and the potential conversations that could be had.

~Chris

waffles

2010-11-24T15:58:00.003-05:00

Chris and I knew getting into things that one of the classic newlywed mistakes is to isolate from community. In an effort to fight that we decided that we would have people into our home every week and feed them waffles.

It was an idea that grew out of things our other friends had done in college - in fact waffle Wednesdays pre-dates us even dating, and I am pretty sure KtS is one of the main culprits. Every year the idea of breakfast food in the evening changed a little. It spent a year as waffles in the casa, then as pancakes in the outlet after cru, so it was only natural to bring it to our apartment, and now to the fortress.

I have to say that waffles is one of my favorite weekly rituals. I never know who will come (or for that matter when) or what it will be like. The house is never as clean as I wish it was (but lets be honest without waffles the house probably wouldn't be clean at all) and some weeks I don't %100 feel like it. But it is so good. Always.

Last night I made pumpkin waffles (a favorite for most people) and had the pleasure of having two new guests devour them with vocal enthusiasm. I love to cook and I love to have my food enjoyed. I know it is a little thing - but more and more I think the little things may just matter most over time.

If you want to come be a part of this little thing - come on by.

20 Things to know about the Fox-Moore Fortress by Telly Moore (with commentary by me)

2010-11-12T13:58:00.000-05:00

Things to know about living in the Fox-Moore Fortress

1. After each meal, it is commonplace to offer the suggestion of "I think this needed more garlic/bacon."
2. There is a strict no-talking through closed bedroom doors rule.
3. Gandalf loves having more space to run around in. In fact he just loves to run... up and down the hallway at full speed. Beware flying cats.
4. We have 3 toilets in the house. That's a safe number for us.
5. The phrase "I apologize for my _______________" is used an average of 18.3 times per day.
6. Always leave the house walking backwards. It's not a superstitious thing, it's a 'Gandalf loves to run outside' thing.
7. We go through a gallon of Orange Juice every 3 days or so.
8. One of the benefits to this arrangement is that the size of our libraries has doubled. Bibliophiles rejoice.
9. Disney tunes are likely to be heard during dish washing times. Join in if you know the words.
10. Household chores are spread out over 4 people, 4x the help, 4x the procrastination.
11. Waffles are on Tuesday nights. Dress is super casual, shoes are optional, waffles flavors vary from week to week.
12. For simple marital miscommunications, an interpreter is usually available upon request.
13. If you desire to enter the house, you'll likely be asked if you're an axe murderer. If you're not, come on in! (for me personally, I don't care if you're an axe murderer, as long as you don't kill us, you're welcome)
14. Don't be put off by the sound of a loud, high pitched, squeal/sneezy-sounding hiccup.... It's normal...for Telly.
15. Netflix + Wii = happy roommates
16. Brandi likes green bananas. Telly likes ones yellow ones with brown spots. Together, all bananas are acceptable.
17. The "baby bump" room refers to the guest room. Don't be alarmed, no human in the house is expecting. But the pink of the walls plus the curious bump around the waist-line of the room has the tabloids going. (Jon and I prefer to call this the "dead body room")
18. When we scouted the house, the smallest bedroom was going to be an office, with the sewing stuff stored in there. Then it became the office/sewing room. Now fabric scraps are littered everywhere, the closet is full of projects, and the men usually just poke their heads inside. (Again, Jon and I never thought that room would double as an office.)
19. For your convenience, an eye poking device is located in the living room. In case of emergency, break glass.
20. Books are organized by genre in different rooms. Poetry is in the Fox's room. For kid's literature and coffee table books, stick to the living room. Cook books are in the dining room. General reference, theology, and craft books are in the sewing room/study. General Fiction, SciFi, Classical literature, LOtR, and miscellaneous collections can be found in the baby bump room. See Chris Fox at the circulation desk for more specific information. (Correction: Poetry is in the living room with the coffee table books. Graphic Novels and comic books can be found in our bedroom)

On Money

2010-11-09T13:26:00.004-05:00

Shortly after Brandi and I got married we took a Crown Financial class through Manchester. Inevitably, the response when we told people about this was "I wish that I had taken something like that when I was your age."
And it turned out to be very good for us. Not only did we learn practical tips to help us towards financial freedom, we also searched the Scriptures to see what God has to say about the issue and we got to know some couples in our church that we previously didn't know as well.
The months after the class were good. We haven't reached financial freedom yet but we were good about budgeting and were pretty good and sticking to it.
Then we moved.
In all of the craziness of moving and packing and unpacking budgeting and financial responsibility went to the wayside.
Recently, our lack of budgeting and a "leak" (I use quotes here because we were losing 5 gallons of water a minute) in our pluming that resulted in a HUGE utilities bill has come back and kicked us in the pants.
It seems that the further away we got from the lessons learned the more we forgot said lessons. And now we're paying for it - pun, unfortunately, intended. (Fun side note - Jon Acuff of Stuff Christians Like fame is coming out with a new book at the end of the month about money)
I don't write this to invite a pity party. We're fine, God's still got our back. I write this as a reminder for myself and for you that we need to be reminded of the lessons that we've learned.
I think that's one of the reasons that the Gospel isn't just for the believer but it's for everyone. We all need to be constantly reminded of God's love, forgiveness and grace. We need to be reminded of the price that was paid for us on the cross and that our hope comes from what happened three days later.

"I guess I should explain
I've got this problem with my brain.
Things get really scrambled up in my head.

I have no short term memory.
I forget things almost instantly.
I'm not even sure what I just said...May I help you?"
~Dory

Happy Halloween

2010-10-30T22:27:00.002-04:00

On the eve of All Hallows Eve, Brandi and I dressed up as Lois Lane and Clark Kent and headed down to Old Town, Rock Hill for the annual Boo-ha-ha which is suppose to serve as a safe alternative to Trick-or-Treating. After meandering around a bit we ended up at McHale's for supper. One of my favorite things was seeing all of the creative ideas that people came up with (also seeing all of the superheroes around). My favorite may have been seeing a little girl dressed as Flo.

Halloween and I have had a bit of an up and down relationship over the past few years. In high school and the first few years of college it was a blast. I would go to a different haunted attraction every weekend. Horror movies became some of my favorite movies to watch. And I've always loved a good ghost story. A couple of years ago, though, I realized that I couldn't escape the seemingly dark and evil side of the holiday. I kept hearing differing stories on how Halloween got started and they seemed to be contradictory. Did it involve witchcraft or dressing up as the saints of old?

I've really been trying to come to a conclusion as to what I think. If it's nothing but evil and darkness and the only hope of redemption is going around candy harvesting then something needs to change. Then I read this article. I still haven't fully decided how I feel yet but I do like how the article seems to bring together the two versions of Halloween history that I couldn't previously reconcile. Also I liked how the Gospel was used in the redemption of the holiday.

What about you? Do you celebrate Halloween? Why? Why not? If you do, how do you celebrate?

~Chris

It's been a while

2010-08-25T00:53:00.002-04:00

Brandi and I are still trying to get our lives back to normal post-move. We've still got plenty of boxes to unpack and our work schedules haven't been very conducive to allowing us time to unpack very much.

On the more positive side of life, I've seen two videos recently that I've thoroughly enjoyed: one is the first few minutes of a new game coming out this year that I am extremely excited about and the other is the entirety of the Indiana Jones Stunt Show at Hollywood Studios in Florida but with a Star Wars twist.

Both are fantastic videos and both reveal just how much of a dork I really am.

The last piece of good news is that I finally, after six years and a summer, have my diploma. I am officially a Winthrop graduate.

Hopefully, soon we'll have more good things to share as we unpack and finally get settled down and can get back to "normal life."

Attempting to get back in the habit

2010-07-29T11:23:00.000-04:00

I was called out today by this guy for not writing in my blog. To you my faithful readers (however few of you there are) I apologize. Part of the reason I haven't been on as much is due to all of the craziness of moving to a new place and re-settling down and part of it is....I didn't have any good stories to tell.
My job at the bookstore is chugging along. Every day I am looking more and more forward to being on staff with Cru which, by the way, my application is in and the only reason Brandi's isn't is because of some weird computer thing that won't let her submit it. I'm finally not taking classes. Really there isn't much happening right now. It's like the calm before the storm.
However, you may have noticed that I said that I didn't have any good stories to tell- meaning past tense.

Brandi and I were pulling into our driveway this evening and saw that her mom was there looking around our front yard.
"I wonder if she's looking for the cat."
"I hope not."
See, lately Gandalf has had this nasty habit of running past us and out the door whenever we try to leave. Usually we can catch him pretty quickly. Usually. Her mom informed us that he'd been loose for about an hour to which Brandi and I immediately became concerned. I ran inside and grabbed the bottle of cat treats to hopefully entice him out of wherever he was. As soon as I got back outside I saw two shining eyes looking at me. They came closer to me and I heard Gandalf's familiar "meow." Cold and wet with heart racing he came up to me. I scooped him up and took him back inside.
The first thing he did? Ran back to the door. I'm sure there's a lesson there somewhere....

St. Christopher's Day

2010-07-26T11:19:00.000-04:00

In some countries, like Italy and France, people celebrate what is, in essence, two different birthdays. One is, of course, the day you were born and the second is your namesake's Saint day. If I were living in one of those countries yesterday I would have celebrated my Saint's day. According to the Tridentine Calendar, July 25th is St. Christopher's Day.

I decided to do some research on who St. Christopher was. Apparently, there are no historical records of him ever existing. All of the stories we have are basically legends.

The most famous legend tells of St. Christopher's conversion to Christianity. He wanted to serve the greatest king ever so he went to a king that he had heard was the greatest. St. Chris served him until one day he realized that the king was afraid of the devil and thus was not the greatest. He then went in search of the devil. After finding him and serving him he realized that the devil was afraid of Christ.

Then, St. Chris went in search of Christ and encountered a hermit who instructed him in the Christian faith. Eventually the hermit told St. Chris that the best way he could serve Christ was to help people get across this river that was almost impossible for normal sized people to cross. Did I mention that St. Christopher was said to be 7.5 feet tall?

So that's what he did until one day a child needed to cross the river. As St. Chris was carrying him across the child seemed to get heavier and heavier. He barely got across the river because of the weight and said so to the child after they were on the other side. The child responded, "You had on your shoulders not only the whole world but Him who made it. I am Christ your king, whom you are serving by this work." Then, of course, the child vanished.

It's a quirky story yes, but it's also where the name Christopher (Christ-bearer) comes from. St. Chris bore the Christ-child on his shoulders across the river and thus he became a legend and a saint.

Thoughts on moving

2010-07-23T09:39:00.002-04:00

Fact: We have a lot of books. Like, a lot. We've begun packing for our move, which really means we've been packing up our books. Off and on for the past week we've filled up boxes and we still have a little over two more bookshelves to pack up.

Brandi and I are trying to find ways to downsize our lives. She heard of an interesting idea that we're going to implement for our movies and I came up with a way we can use it with our books as well. We'll put a date on the box we put our movies in that is a year in the future and leave our movies in the box. When we want to watch a movie we'll pull it out of the box, watch it and put it on our shelf. After the year is up, whatever movies are left, we get rid of.

For our books, we're putting post-it notes in the front covers with the date on them. Also, the date is five years in the future instead of one because 1) books take longer to go through and 2) some of our books also serve a dual purpose of being reference material for us as well.

As I'm packing up the books and movies part of me gets really antsy at the thought of getting rid of them. I have to continually remind myself that if I don't watch a movie in a year, I don't need it and if I haven't picked up a book in five years, I don't need it either.

There's always Netflix for movies and the library for books.

Confession: Toy Story 3 may not be my favorite animated movie of the summer

2010-07-10T17:44:00.000-04:00

I've been making a lot of confessions recently on this blog but this may be the most controversial. D I've had the opportunity to watch three of the major animated movies of the summer: Shrek Forever After, Toy Story 3 and How to Train Your Dragon and I've got to admit, the later one might be my favorite. Don't get me wrong though, I enjoyed all three of them.

Shrek Forever After was a good ending to the series. Don't let Shrek the Third deter you from seeing it (whether you saw it and didn't like it or you haven't seen it at all). The Shrek movies have always been anti-fairy tale stories by taking the classic tales and giving them a twist, but this one is also an anti-fairy tale story in that it takes the ideas of "Happily Ever After" and "True Love" and really takes them to task to see how real they are.

Toy Story 3 is a great movie. Visually stunning and a good story. This movie was made for people like me and my friends who have literally grown up with Andy and his toys. But the other side of that coin is that I honestly don't think this movie was made with kids in mind. That is not to say that kids won't enjoy the movie. But I really think that Toy Story 3 was meant to be a reunion with/final farewell to old friends more than it was meant to be simply a good kids movie.

For me, How to Train Your Dragon is the best animated movie of the summer because I feel like, of the three, it fulfills its role the beset. What's its role? To be a family movie that is entertaining for both kids and adults. Like any good movie with a younger audience in mind there is also a lesson to be learned, in this case, it's a love your enemies story. Without giving away too much of the plot, the idea here is that your received enemy does not have to be.

In the end, it's probable that I will own all three of these movies, but I really think that Dreamworks is actually giving Pixar a run for its money. I'll be interested to see what happens in the next few years.

A Plank in the Eye of a Three Year Old

2010-06-24T17:37:00.000-04:00

I took Monet to the park while she was up here last weekend and she immediately took off for the swings. She loves the swings and I thought it would be a good time to start teaching her how to swing without having me (or someone else) pushing her.
So, I began, "Kick your legs out...and then back in....then back out....then back in." She would do it once and then leave her legs kicked out. But I know she understood what I was saying because she would then start to tell the kids beside her to "kick your legs out....then back in."
I would then remind her, "Monet, kick your legs," to which she would respond, "I am kicking my legs," even though her legs never moved.
A couple of times I was able to keep her attention long enough to get her to get some good kicks in. The problem then became that she wasn't going fast enough for her liking and wasn't patient enough to continue building momentum.

As I was experiencing all of this, I began to think that maybe this is picture of my relationship with God sometimes.
He tries to teach me something and I listen and immediately start trying to teach others before I even get it down. And then, the few times that I do practice what He's trying to teach me, I get frustrated at the lack of progress and want to give up.

I wonder if God is there saying to me like I was saying to Monet, "Stop getting distracted and listen to my voice. Don't worry about them, do what I'm telling you."

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

2010-06-22T17:35:00.000-04:00

So the trailer officially came out. We finally get our first look at Fox's attempt at taking over the Narnia franchise. You can see it here. I've gotta say, I'm pretty pumped. While I do enjoy the stories of Hogwarts, I'll take Narnia any day.

And the past two movies have been really good. Prince Caspian was a bit of a disappointment but only because the changes they made effected the story. I understand that books and movies are different mediums and thus things can't be exactly the same, but in my opinion, the point of making one out of the other is to tell the story in a new way, not to change the story.

And it looks like they're changing some things in this movie as well (such as the inclusion of Peter, Susan and the White Witch as well as the entire intro scene) but as long as the story is still there, I'll be ok with the changes.

With movies like Tangled, Tron Legacy, Deathly Hallows Part 1 and Dawn Treader coming out, Christmas is going to be a good time to go to the theater.

Reason #532 why the "contemporary" vs "traditional" arguement is just silly

2010-06-18T17:33:00.000-04:00

An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.

"Well," said the farmer, "it was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns."
"Praise choruses?" said his wife. "What are those?"
"Oh, they're OK. They are sort of like hymns, only different," said the farmer.
"Well, what's the difference?" asked his wife.
The farmer said, "Well, it's like this - If I were to say to you: "Martha, the cows are in the corn"' - well, that would be a hymn. If on the other hand, I were to say to you:

'Martha, Martha, Martha,
Oh Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA,
the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows
the white cows,
the black and white cows,
the COWS, COWS, COWS
are in the corn,
are in the corn, are in the corn, are in the corn,
the CORN, CORN, CORN.'

Then, if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well, that would be a praise chorus."

The next weekend, his nephew, a young, new Christian from the city came to visit and attended the local church of the small town. He went home and his mother asked him how it was.

"Well," said the young man, "it was good. They did something different however. They sang hymns instead of regular songs."
"Hymns?" asked his mother. "What are those?"
"Oh, they're OK. They are sort of like regular songs, only different," said the young man.
"Well, what's the difference?" asked his mother.
The young man said, "Well, it's like this - If I were to say to you:
'Martha, the cows are in the corn' - well, that would be a regular song. If on the other hand, I were to say to you:

'Oh Martha, dear Martha, hear thou my cry
Inclinest thine ear to the words of my mouth
Turn thou thy whole wondrous ear by and by
To the righteous, inimitable, glorious truth.
For the way of the animals who can explain
There in their heads is no shadow of sense
Hearkenest they in God's sun or His rain
Unless from the mild, tempting corn they are fenced.
Yea those cows in glad bovine, rebellious delight
Have broke free their shackles, their warm pens eschewed
Then goaded by minions of darkness and night
They all my mild Chilliwack sweet corn have chewed.
So look to the bright shining day by and by
Where all foul corruptions of earth are reborn
Where no vicious animals make my soul cry
And I no longer see those foul cows in the corn.'

Then if I were to do only verses one, three and four and do a key change on the last verse, well that would be a hymn

Frappes and I don't get along

2010-06-13T00:02:00.003-04:00

So, this guy comes up to the counter and orders a large mocha frappe. Usually there's nothing wrong with that order, but at this moment, I was trying to make a new batch of frappe base because I was very very low. In fact, I had to use the last bit of it to make his frappe. And it was perfect; the perfect consistency and there was no waste left over. It was awesome. So, I put the lid on it and set it on the counter. Then I realize that the lid isn't all the way on so I grab it and slide it forward so I can pick it up and secure the lid. Except the last part didn't happen. It slide all the way off the counter and spilled all over the place.

So now I have a huge mess and no more frappe base to remake his drink with. Fortunately, there's a recipe for making them by the cup so I did that real quick. I'll be honest though, it wasn't nearly as good as the first one.

Oh the irony of life....

ring saga

2010-06-11T16:54:00.000-04:00

For some reason about three months ago my left hand decided it hates me. I am not sure why but any time I give a reason I blame the harsh cleaning chemicals at work. They aren’t ridiculously harsh but they do have bleach and who knows what so it is sufficient reason for me.

The longer my hand was hating me the more it seemed that my wedding band seemed to exacerbate the situation. I speculated that it inhibited my ability to completely rinse any residual chemicals from my hands. Chris proposed that I wear the rings on a necklace until my hands heal completely.

I don’t really like this solution for a number of reasons, but it is what we have been going with for the most part as the time for my hands to heal and stay healed seems to drag on. With in the past week we have been trying something new. Chris draws a ring on my hand during the day. It doesn’t take terribly long for the ring to fade so he has to draw a new one, and it has been really fun.

There are times in my past where this solution would have made me melodramatic as “the symbol of our covenantal love slowly faded from my hand” (trust me – I do melodrama well) but instead the experience reminds me that while our promise to love is forever, the emotion of it can be a fickle thing. Even as the emotion remains (we are still nearly newlyweds so emotions are still pretty in check) the expression of those emotions is neither constant in its presence or its manifestation.

This is not my first choice for a long term solution – but for now it is not so bad. Even nice.

This is crazy

2010-06-09T09:10:00.000-04:00

Check out this video of a married couple who have photographic evidence that they were both at Disney World at the exact same time years before they would eventually meet.

What I hope is the last first day of class

2010-06-07T19:53:00.002-04:00

I started French 101 today. My professor is Asian and talks at the speed of an auctioneer. My brain was going on overload. Add to that the fact that the class is right after lunch and you've got one worn out Chris after his first day.

Suddenly, I'm not as confident about this as I was before, but perhaps that's a good thing.

2010-06-06T16:44:00.003-04:00

Also I just barely managed to enter a local photo competition. I don't have super high hopes of winning (although I would love it if one sold) but here are the pieces I selected.

What Endures
Touching Autumn
Spring Break

Now I will for real clean. Silly house that doesn't clean itself - where is the enchanted furniture when you need it I ask '-P Then again a dishwasher is pretty enchanting even if it doesn't sing.

redirect

2010-06-06T16:41:00.001-04:00

Some thoughts on a recent wedding over in my personal blog (is it redundant to have it separately?)

Now back to cleaning.

New York Update 2

2010-05-31T08:27:00.002-04:00

New York Update 1

2010-05-29T09:49:00.002-04:00