Spring Break is upon us! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray!
Leaving frigid Cincy in the AM for somewhat more springy Washington DC.
"And monkey's brains, though popular in Cantonese cuisine are not often found in Washington DC!"
Bonus points if you know the movie!
Well, not a lot to say. Mom and Dad are here, and so far, no major fights!
Hopefully there won't be any for the next 10 days or so!
That's all for now. Maybe I'll get some good photos and post them when we return.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
snow day
another snow day for the tri-state. and just for the record, just how many "tri-states" are there? when i lived in jonesboro, we got the memphis tv stations and they referred to their area as the "tri-state" which included western tn, eastern ark, and ne miss. then i move to cincy and they call this the "tri-state" because of nky, swohio, and seindiana. does new york city refer to itself as the "tri-state" because of nj, ny, and conn? these are things that keep me up at night.
speaking of which, shout out to t-roy for being my first commenter on the butterbean blog! thanks, bro. you're one in a million!
speaking of keeping me up at night, yesterday was my birthday. a little anti-climatic this year due to the whole butterbean arrival countdown, but still a great day. we went to lunch with the staff for mine and philliam's b-days at olive garden. everyone kept going on and on about how we chose olive garden instead of some steak and potatoes joint. as phil told them, "we have class and couth." just because we watch wrestling and monster trucks doesn't mean we don't enjoy a nice chianti with our veal marsala. j/k on that last one. i don't even know what a chianti or veal marsala tastes like, but i'm sure they're good.
anyhoo, we did the day as normal after that, and kim was planning to take me out to supper with neil and emily for my b-day. i went online to fishbowl.com last week and signed up for all the birthday mailer lists through my new junk email (blueashtj@gmail.com) and was able to sift through the various offers of free desserts and entrees and the like. i chose famous daves, but as i was reading the posts on the slickdeals.net site, i found that our fd's in springdale had closed! poppycock! now i had to choose a new restaurant. i chose texas roadhouse, because they sent me 2 things...a free cactus blossom, or a free appetizer. kim informed me that the cactus blossom thingy didn't expire until april 16th, so i'll wait on that one. neil and emily liked cheese fries, so we got those and they were good. i was a little (dawson) leery because of my experiences with the loaded fries at italianette (explosive is the only word that comes to mind), but they were good in moderation. i caved in and upgraded to the 11-oz sirloin, and finished it. it was a good steak. then we went back to the house and had a coldstone birthday ice cream cake. dang it was good. yellow cake with butterfingers and cake batter ice cream all layered up. mmmmmm...cake.....
i didn't fall asleep until around 1150, and the white death was supposd to start around midnight, but it hadn't started at around 330, which is when the indigestion hit. the quick pepcid chewable took that problem and smashed its face in, and i read for about a half hour. then at 6, as i was snoozing away, the phone rang and it was the calldown for teachers. 90 minute delay was the cry. i think i heard teachers rejoicing across the city. i had to wake up cranky, even though she said she was awake and she had to make her call. that's some sort of psycho thing that teachers have to endure on snow days, is to receive a call at an unfortunate hour and then make a call to pass the word on. i think they should just whisper the message, and have them pass it on like that old game telephone. anyway, now i was really awake. the tv went on as we searched the surrounding schools and the various delays. finally there it was...sycamore community schools 90 minute delay. the phone call was justified. the alarm was set for 730, so kim decided to set hers for 730 as well. hers went off about a minute before mine. i got up and went to the shower. as i started the water, i heard a commotion in the bedroom. another call. school's out. more rejoicing across blue ash. she went back to bed. i finished getting ready, and here i am.
working on a snow day.
and the roads were not bad at all. maybe all those drivers having trouble are from arkansas.
j/k.
well, maybe not.
speaking of which, shout out to t-roy for being my first commenter on the butterbean blog! thanks, bro. you're one in a million!
speaking of keeping me up at night, yesterday was my birthday. a little anti-climatic this year due to the whole butterbean arrival countdown, but still a great day. we went to lunch with the staff for mine and philliam's b-days at olive garden. everyone kept going on and on about how we chose olive garden instead of some steak and potatoes joint. as phil told them, "we have class and couth." just because we watch wrestling and monster trucks doesn't mean we don't enjoy a nice chianti with our veal marsala. j/k on that last one. i don't even know what a chianti or veal marsala tastes like, but i'm sure they're good.
anyhoo, we did the day as normal after that, and kim was planning to take me out to supper with neil and emily for my b-day. i went online to fishbowl.com last week and signed up for all the birthday mailer lists through my new junk email (blueashtj@gmail.com) and was able to sift through the various offers of free desserts and entrees and the like. i chose famous daves, but as i was reading the posts on the slickdeals.net site, i found that our fd's in springdale had closed! poppycock! now i had to choose a new restaurant. i chose texas roadhouse, because they sent me 2 things...a free cactus blossom, or a free appetizer. kim informed me that the cactus blossom thingy didn't expire until april 16th, so i'll wait on that one. neil and emily liked cheese fries, so we got those and they were good. i was a little (dawson) leery because of my experiences with the loaded fries at italianette (explosive is the only word that comes to mind), but they were good in moderation. i caved in and upgraded to the 11-oz sirloin, and finished it. it was a good steak. then we went back to the house and had a coldstone birthday ice cream cake. dang it was good. yellow cake with butterfingers and cake batter ice cream all layered up. mmmmmm...cake.....
i didn't fall asleep until around 1150, and the white death was supposd to start around midnight, but it hadn't started at around 330, which is when the indigestion hit. the quick pepcid chewable took that problem and smashed its face in, and i read for about a half hour. then at 6, as i was snoozing away, the phone rang and it was the calldown for teachers. 90 minute delay was the cry. i think i heard teachers rejoicing across the city. i had to wake up cranky, even though she said she was awake and she had to make her call. that's some sort of psycho thing that teachers have to endure on snow days, is to receive a call at an unfortunate hour and then make a call to pass the word on. i think they should just whisper the message, and have them pass it on like that old game telephone. anyway, now i was really awake. the tv went on as we searched the surrounding schools and the various delays. finally there it was...sycamore community schools 90 minute delay. the phone call was justified. the alarm was set for 730, so kim decided to set hers for 730 as well. hers went off about a minute before mine. i got up and went to the shower. as i started the water, i heard a commotion in the bedroom. another call. school's out. more rejoicing across blue ash. she went back to bed. i finished getting ready, and here i am.
working on a snow day.
and the roads were not bad at all. maybe all those drivers having trouble are from arkansas.
j/k.
well, maybe not.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Brackets, Birthdays, Butterbeans, and Ear Stapling
I didn't print out a bracket this year. I must really be getting old. I did end up going to espn.com and signing up in one of their pool things. I made 2 brackets. As to tell the truth, I can't even remember who I picked to win it all. Probably Tennessee. And they're already out!
We went out with the gang for the Birthday bash last night. There were 6 couples and 3 kids and we invaded Red Robin at 6. Philliam and Stac-y got there at 530 to get us a table together, and they had to add it all together when we found out how many were there. We didn't sit down until almost 7, and then we didn't leave until 9. It was cool though. We got 4 free appetizers for them taking so long, then the 3 of us that had printed out our free birthday burger got that, and they brought the 6 of us with b-days a free sundae. It was a ton of fun. I really love my friends. For most of us, we don't have local family, so we are our families to each other. I have no doubt that if I needed anyone of them that they would have my back.
One of my biggest issues with the impending arrival of Butterbean is my wife's sense of smell. Apparently cooking is tough for her now, and I haven't felt much like cooking either, so we've been eating out WAY too much. And she has this point that she gets to, and has to stop. Usually she's only 1/3 of the way through her meal, which means I try and finish it. I think I've gained 7 pounds in the last 4 weeks. I'm totally serious. Maybe I should have my ears stapled.
The new "fad" amongst the ladies of New Antioch is to get their ears stapled. This bizarre thing apparently helps curb your appetite. When Kim told me today after my mom talked to her that mom and a bunch of ladies were going to get their ears stapled, I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. This is my mother, who has been "threatening" to get her ears pierced for 20 years, but chickens out. I think my sister has given her the money 3 or 4 times and she always backs out. But today, she and a bunch of ladies from church gathered at a beauty parlor (Goobertown doesn't have salons!) and for only $35, had their ears stapled. It hits some sort of pressure point. I googled it and found a tv news story in Texas about it. It's sweeping the south. I'm flabbergasted as to how my mother worked up the courage to have someone drive a staple into both of her ears. It sounds like something one of my teenagers would do. But we called later and she did it.
Crazy stuff. I guess if it works, and Kim keeps handing me her leftovers, I might be looking into it, too.
We went out with the gang for the Birthday bash last night. There were 6 couples and 3 kids and we invaded Red Robin at 6. Philliam and Stac-y got there at 530 to get us a table together, and they had to add it all together when we found out how many were there. We didn't sit down until almost 7, and then we didn't leave until 9. It was cool though. We got 4 free appetizers for them taking so long, then the 3 of us that had printed out our free birthday burger got that, and they brought the 6 of us with b-days a free sundae. It was a ton of fun. I really love my friends. For most of us, we don't have local family, so we are our families to each other. I have no doubt that if I needed anyone of them that they would have my back.
One of my biggest issues with the impending arrival of Butterbean is my wife's sense of smell. Apparently cooking is tough for her now, and I haven't felt much like cooking either, so we've been eating out WAY too much. And she has this point that she gets to, and has to stop. Usually she's only 1/3 of the way through her meal, which means I try and finish it. I think I've gained 7 pounds in the last 4 weeks. I'm totally serious. Maybe I should have my ears stapled.
The new "fad" amongst the ladies of New Antioch is to get their ears stapled. This bizarre thing apparently helps curb your appetite. When Kim told me today after my mom talked to her that mom and a bunch of ladies were going to get their ears stapled, I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. This is my mother, who has been "threatening" to get her ears pierced for 20 years, but chickens out. I think my sister has given her the money 3 or 4 times and she always backs out. But today, she and a bunch of ladies from church gathered at a beauty parlor (Goobertown doesn't have salons!) and for only $35, had their ears stapled. It hits some sort of pressure point. I googled it and found a tv news story in Texas about it. It's sweeping the south. I'm flabbergasted as to how my mother worked up the courage to have someone drive a staple into both of her ears. It sounds like something one of my teenagers would do. But we called later and she did it.
Crazy stuff. I guess if it works, and Kim keeps handing me her leftovers, I might be looking into it, too.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Really spilling the Butterbeans
Today was one of my favorite days of the year. It is also one of the longest, most tiring, most stressful, and all-around toughest days of the year.
That's right.
It was Dessert Auction Day.
Things went as smooth as ever, but a long day indeed.
We opened up to our church about Butterbean with a "Surprise Cake." Everyone cheered when I made the announcement. That made me feel great! We're going to welcome Butterbean into the world somewhere around October 8th.
Praise God!
And we raised close to $5000 today! AMAZING!
That's right.
It was Dessert Auction Day.
Things went as smooth as ever, but a long day indeed.
We opened up to our church about Butterbean with a "Surprise Cake." Everyone cheered when I made the announcement. That made me feel great! We're going to welcome Butterbean into the world somewhere around October 8th.
Praise God!
And we raised close to $5000 today! AMAZING!
Friday, March 10, 2006
Spilling the Butterbeans
We called our families last night. Our parents knew of Butterbean, but our extended families didn't. I called my aunts and they were thrilled! My sister was so excited, and my brother was "just tickled to death!" Kim's brothers were equally happy...especially her brother Jeff. He was a little tipsy, so we'll see if he remembers the next time we talk to him.
This Sunday we'll spill the Butterbeans to our church. I'm so unbelievably excited!
This Sunday we'll spill the Butterbeans to our church. I'm so unbelievably excited!
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Butterbean
And just like that.
There was Butterbean.
I love you, Butterbean, more than anything I've ever loved. I don't even know you, Butterbean, but God does, and that's all I need.
Tense days indeed, since Friday.
You see, we had our first appointment with the uh, you know, the doctor.
Our time tables slightly off, I came away with fright and paranoia. There was no audible sound to hear. A new appointment was set up for Thursday to see about you, my dear little Butterbean.
And then, we saw you. An inch long. With a flickering little light, called a heart. Beating rapidly at 184 bpm! And we loved you even more.
Our little Butterbean. I can't wait to meet you in person. Oh how I love you.
Your mommy is so happy.
Your daddy is so proud.
Relief, thy name is Jesus.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Praise Him all creatures here below!
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts!
Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost!
Amen.
Our little Butterbean.
There was Butterbean.
I love you, Butterbean, more than anything I've ever loved. I don't even know you, Butterbean, but God does, and that's all I need.
Tense days indeed, since Friday.
You see, we had our first appointment with the uh, you know, the doctor.
Our time tables slightly off, I came away with fright and paranoia. There was no audible sound to hear. A new appointment was set up for Thursday to see about you, my dear little Butterbean.
And then, we saw you. An inch long. With a flickering little light, called a heart. Beating rapidly at 184 bpm! And we loved you even more.
Our little Butterbean. I can't wait to meet you in person. Oh how I love you.
Your mommy is so happy.
Your daddy is so proud.
Relief, thy name is Jesus.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Praise Him all creatures here below!
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts!
Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost!
Amen.
Our little Butterbean.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Scared
And since no one I know of reads this anyway, I need to vent a little.
I'm so scared. I never ever get scared. But I am now. 2 years of hoping. 2 years of praying. 2 years realized, and things may now be terribly wrong.
This will test my faith. This will test my patience. This will test whether or not God has given me His peace. I honestly do not know what to say or do right now. I'm super jacked up on anxiety, I haven't slept in 3 or 4 nights. Kim is sick. Even more stressful.
Stress is how we react to the factors in our lives that influence us. I'm not sure I can take much more.
I never ever thought I could be this scared.
P
R
A
Y.
I'm so scared. I never ever get scared. But I am now. 2 years of hoping. 2 years of praying. 2 years realized, and things may now be terribly wrong.
This will test my faith. This will test my patience. This will test whether or not God has given me His peace. I honestly do not know what to say or do right now. I'm super jacked up on anxiety, I haven't slept in 3 or 4 nights. Kim is sick. Even more stressful.
Stress is how we react to the factors in our lives that influence us. I'm not sure I can take much more.
I never ever thought I could be this scared.
P
R
A
Y.
Monday, February 20, 2006
The Story of the Four Lines
It's been 2 years. 2 Long years. I mean, really long years. In many ways, it's actually been more like 6 and a half years.
But I digress.
Then, the four lines. What are these four lines? We shall discuss them in detail much much later. For now is not the time to tell the tale of these four lines. They are and must remain mysterious, for that is what the four lines shall be.
I've been a little sleep deprived lately. Nonsensical sentences notwithstanding, my thoughts are more gibberish than usual. I think that'll be the new name of my blog. Nonsensical Sentences Notwithstanding. I have no idea what that means.
Story of my life. And the four lines.
Intrigued? Stay tuned.
But I digress.
Then, the four lines. What are these four lines? We shall discuss them in detail much much later. For now is not the time to tell the tale of these four lines. They are and must remain mysterious, for that is what the four lines shall be.
I've been a little sleep deprived lately. Nonsensical sentences notwithstanding, my thoughts are more gibberish than usual. I think that'll be the new name of my blog. Nonsensical Sentences Notwithstanding. I have no idea what that means.
Story of my life. And the four lines.
Intrigued? Stay tuned.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
"I'm not here to talk about the past..."
With those few words, Mark McGwire launched himself from first-ballot Hall of Fame status to the "Will he ever get in?" atmosphere.
Some of my studies lately have been about forgiveness. There's an interesting paradox between God's view of forgiveness and our own. We say, "Forgive and forget." But do we actually do that? The Psalms say that God has forgotten your sins as far as the east is from the west. Imagine that for a second. If you started walking east, and continued walking east, you would never ever stop walking east. There's a reason He didn't say as far as the north is from the south. If you started walking north, at a particular point, you would start heading south. But not with east and west. You would always be headed east.
But to me, the paradox comes here: We should never forget what we have been forgiven of. It's not like God is keeping some big record book up there, and says, "Well, TJ, you did this on September 30, 1994, so that's a date you need to watch out for." Of course it's not like that. But it is important for us to know what it feels like to be forgiven. Then and then only, are we free to be able to truly forgive others.
Let's just get this out of the way and make sure everyone knows...I'm a complete loser. I mess up probably 100 more times a day than most people. Therefore, I need forgiveness. I can actually understand forgiveness. Those who "never mess up" cannot. One of these days, they will mess up. How do I know? Because, "All have sinned; All have fallen short of God's glorious standard." There was only one perfect man on this earth, and He promised us to return again.
I hope that day comes soon.
Some of my studies lately have been about forgiveness. There's an interesting paradox between God's view of forgiveness and our own. We say, "Forgive and forget." But do we actually do that? The Psalms say that God has forgotten your sins as far as the east is from the west. Imagine that for a second. If you started walking east, and continued walking east, you would never ever stop walking east. There's a reason He didn't say as far as the north is from the south. If you started walking north, at a particular point, you would start heading south. But not with east and west. You would always be headed east.
But to me, the paradox comes here: We should never forget what we have been forgiven of. It's not like God is keeping some big record book up there, and says, "Well, TJ, you did this on September 30, 1994, so that's a date you need to watch out for." Of course it's not like that. But it is important for us to know what it feels like to be forgiven. Then and then only, are we free to be able to truly forgive others.
Let's just get this out of the way and make sure everyone knows...I'm a complete loser. I mess up probably 100 more times a day than most people. Therefore, I need forgiveness. I can actually understand forgiveness. Those who "never mess up" cannot. One of these days, they will mess up. How do I know? Because, "All have sinned; All have fallen short of God's glorious standard." There was only one perfect man on this earth, and He promised us to return again.
I hope that day comes soon.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Not too bad
everytime i overreact to the anxiety that creeps in...
you don't know what to say
you don't have any authority to say anything
you are a failure
what do you think you're doing?
the great I AM works things out. I AM give me the strength to finish this project and get it turned in. i forgot what a procrastinator i become when there's a deadline...
you don't know what to say
you don't have any authority to say anything
you are a failure
what do you think you're doing?
the great I AM works things out. I AM give me the strength to finish this project and get it turned in. i forgot what a procrastinator i become when there's a deadline...
Sunday, February 05, 2006
the big day
Well, it's here. I've known about this day for a couple months now. Lance always gives me a ton of time to prepare, and then it gets here and I still stress out. Woke up at 6 this morning. Anxiety kicked in overtime. Forced myself to stay in bed until 6:55. Kim's so supportive. She even woke up with me and quoted some scripture to calm me down. What a wonderful wife.
Did my usual routine of unlocking the building, turning the heat on, and starting the players. Checked my deal websites. And prayed. And studied. Oh well, if I don't know it now, I hope God leads the right words for me to say.
Pray.
tj
Did my usual routine of unlocking the building, turning the heat on, and starting the players. Checked my deal websites. And prayed. And studied. Oh well, if I don't know it now, I hope God leads the right words for me to say.
Pray.
tj
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Wednesdays
I always get so pumped up for Wednesdays. It's the big night of the week for the Student Ministry. Over the last few months, we've had some kids who haven't grown up at MC coming...and that's a huge deal.
The last couple weeks, it's been harder to get pumped up. Mainly because I know we'll play the game, and everyone will get so jacked up, and then it's time for the lesson and they just tune me out. It's like they don't even care that I spend most of Tuesday and Wednesday preparing to teach them something about the Bible. It's not rocket science. I'm not asking for their first born....just their attention for about 45 minutes. And yet, it doesn't seem like that's remotely possible for them to give.
I went home all bummed out.
Luckily I have the best wife in the world, and she said, "You know what will cheer you up? Grading papers!" And you know what, it did. When you're stressed out about teenagers not caring about what it is that God wants them to know...grading first grade papers is pretty relaxing. They're so funny. Kim's been teaching them to write creatively this year, and they did all these papers about what Snowmen do at night. Most of them like to drink "cold cow-cow" and wear big sweaters. It's quite amusing.
And that's why we do this. The teens aren't any different than the first graders. We'll just have to figure out ways to keep them interested.
Pray hard.
tj
The last couple weeks, it's been harder to get pumped up. Mainly because I know we'll play the game, and everyone will get so jacked up, and then it's time for the lesson and they just tune me out. It's like they don't even care that I spend most of Tuesday and Wednesday preparing to teach them something about the Bible. It's not rocket science. I'm not asking for their first born....just their attention for about 45 minutes. And yet, it doesn't seem like that's remotely possible for them to give.
I went home all bummed out.
Luckily I have the best wife in the world, and she said, "You know what will cheer you up? Grading papers!" And you know what, it did. When you're stressed out about teenagers not caring about what it is that God wants them to know...grading first grade papers is pretty relaxing. They're so funny. Kim's been teaching them to write creatively this year, and they did all these papers about what Snowmen do at night. Most of them like to drink "cold cow-cow" and wear big sweaters. It's quite amusing.
And that's why we do this. The teens aren't any different than the first graders. We'll just have to figure out ways to keep them interested.
Pray hard.
tj
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
First Post
I didn't want to get a xanga or myspace account to post my thoughts, and this site just kind of jumped out at me. I don't know a whole lot about blogs, but I do enjoy reading them and keeping up with people in my life that are important to me and what I do.
So my mission statement for this blog will to be as personal and yet as distant as I can be. Even though I'm a pretty public person, there are a lot of things I hold back, just because i'm supposed to. Maybe soon I'll even put this site out there for others to read. Right now, I'll just be content on knowing I can write in it or read it whenever I feel like it.
And that's just the juxtaposition I find my self in. I know tons of people. Yet tons of people don't know me. And they don't want to know me...or anybody for that matter. The world has changed us. Made us less personal. Everything is e-this or e-that and so unsympathetic to others' wants, needs, even dreams.
So onto the personal/not so personal stuff I referred to earlier...
I'm preaching this Sunday. Yet another day that I try and discover if God has gifted me to pastor, or to be a Youth Pastor for another few years. I know I'm running out of time to decide...or rather I haven't been listening. I'm comfortable. Not something ministers should allow themselves to get. In reality, we should be able to move to Africa in a moments notice if that's what God wants.
And I want that. But where God has carved this niche out for me...is that what He wants?
I know people know about me...but do they know me?
So my mission statement for this blog will to be as personal and yet as distant as I can be. Even though I'm a pretty public person, there are a lot of things I hold back, just because i'm supposed to. Maybe soon I'll even put this site out there for others to read. Right now, I'll just be content on knowing I can write in it or read it whenever I feel like it.
And that's just the juxtaposition I find my self in. I know tons of people. Yet tons of people don't know me. And they don't want to know me...or anybody for that matter. The world has changed us. Made us less personal. Everything is e-this or e-that and so unsympathetic to others' wants, needs, even dreams.
So onto the personal/not so personal stuff I referred to earlier...
I'm preaching this Sunday. Yet another day that I try and discover if God has gifted me to pastor, or to be a Youth Pastor for another few years. I know I'm running out of time to decide...or rather I haven't been listening. I'm comfortable. Not something ministers should allow themselves to get. In reality, we should be able to move to Africa in a moments notice if that's what God wants.
And I want that. But where God has carved this niche out for me...is that what He wants?
I know people know about me...but do they know me?
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