De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da is all I want to say to you

In case you didn't recognize, the above is the title of a Police song. To the left is the ubiquitous symbols from The Ghost in the Machine.

I just got back from the show in Dallas, and it was amazing. Twenty four years after their break up, they still got it. Elvis Costello opened the show, yawn. Actually, I felt bad for him because the venue was outdoors and the sun was shining right in his face and it looked like he got a pretty bad sun burn.

The opening song, Message in a Bottle, nice. No saving the best for last, although they did that too. Great music, great showmanship, great times, incredible concert. They played about everything you could imagine, at least all the songs you'd expect. I did kinda hope they'd my favorite song to sing when my wife is outta town, "the beds too big without you" or the completely random number "on any other day", they didn't, but a guy can hope, right? You can hear to song done to a non-police video here.

All in all they played almost everything except "Roxanne", Everything She Does is Magic" and "King of Pain", the first encore handled that. It also featured at least a 3 minute solo from Andy Summers on "lonely", it was brilliant. The final song of an almost 2 hour set was "Next to You".

Above is a "Roxanne" from the show.

Of course it wouldn't be Sting if there were no cause, no Amnesty International or pictures of kids in third world countries; it was and there were. A great montage of pictures inspired the audience to "Invisible Sun".









I dont want to spend the rest of my life
Looking at the barrel of an armalite
I dont want to spend the rest of my days
Keeping out of trouble like the soldiers say
I dont want to spend my time in hell
Looking at the walls of a prison cell
I dont ever want to play the part
Of a statistic on a government chart

There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
That gives us hope when the whole days done

Its dark all day, and it glows all night
Factory smoke and acetylene light
I face the day with me head caved in
Looking like something that the cat brought in

There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
That gives us hope when the whole days done

And theyre only going to change this place by
Killing everybody in the human race
And they would kill me for a cigarette
But I dont even wanna die just yet

There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives us hope when the whole days done

Once a king or queen in Narnia, always a king or queen in Narnia.

I was looking for the right moment to launch back to the blogosphere, and here it is; Prince Caspian. Ok, I took a brief hiatus, but unlike Lewis time line, mine was a bit shorter than 1300 years. Since the movie has to be talked about, I return from retreat.

Narnia at wikipedia - a brief understanding
Chronicles of Narnia - View the trailer.
http://www.youtube.com - interview with the director
Lewis’ thoughts on Aslan in the silver screen
Buy the books


I just returned from a private screening of The Chronicles of Narnia's, Prince Caspian, the second installment of CS Lewis enormous epic.

Mathematically speaking - Lord of the Rings + 300 + National Geographic + Aesop = the silver screens newest Lewis legend, Prince Caspian. In my opinion, the movie had two purposes; for good to triumph over evil and to begin the passing of the baton from the older Pevensie's to Caspian, the younger Pevensies and eventually, Eustace Clarence Scrubb.

Since this in not so much a review as my thoughts, here goes.

Digress...

It's a PG movie involving an epic battle, with lots of violence. OK so it's not really 300 gore, but there are deaths a plenty; but they are nice deaths, not the ones bathed in gratuitous amounts of ketchup.

Disney originally stated that all 7 of the books would be put to film but current rumors disagree. The Disney rep that hosted our viewing said VOTDT would be released in 2010. Director, Michael Apted has scouted several locations for filming which is scheduled to begin in October 2008.

Although this is Disney’s second installment of their commitment to at least 3 of the 7 books in the series, the chronological listing of books Prince Caspian would be 4.

Published Order

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader , The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy , The Magician's Nephew and The Last Battle

Chronological Order

The Magician's Nephew, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair and The Last Battle

Regress...

Great sets – the sky was beautiful blue, the waters crystal clear, the colors incredible and all around scenery, awesome. Even with all the beauty, it was a bit darker than its predecessor.

The cinematography was captivating. Scene transitions pulled me in to the movie and kept things moving.

With the exception of the incredible scene transitions, amidst the almost constant war fare, I found the movie slowed down quite a bit in the middle parts.

CGI - the nyads and dryads were incredible, bigger than life, fun and amazing.

Liam Neeson – did a great job as the voice of Aslan, but could they make him talk any slower? I guess its difficult to animate a lion talking fast.

Overall, great movie. I took my 7 year old and she loved it. She particularly noted the humor and the (spoiler alert) Kiss; stating that later was "totally unnecessary". She didn't fixate on the violence, war, and plot laziness of the movie. Get your tickets early, cause Disney is sparing no expense promoting this (for example, click the Liam Neesom link above before 5/16). In the end, its a great feel good, and draw some redeeming conclusions movie.

Go see it now!

Headlines and Testimonies - Words from Leonard Sweet

Ok, so i missed a day blogging, in my 7 x 7 campaign, but who is noticing? So to make up, i'll do two today. here is number one. some words from leonard sweet i hear passed on from andy mcquity at irving bible church while listening to their pod cast. Good stuff. follow the link to see the whole quote.

in speaking of getting something done, or fanning the flame of gods purpose in your life, leonard sweet offers the following.

One of our students received an appointment from a bishop, and the studentdid not feel the placement exactly suited his abilities.I overheard him complaining about it to another student, and then the otherstudent said, "You know, the world's a better place because Michelangelo didnot say, 'I don't do ceilings.' "Her comment stopped me dead in my tracks. I had to admit she was right.If you and I are going to be faithful to the ministry God is calling us to,then we had better understand that. I reflected on the attitudes of keypeople throughout the Scriptures and the history of the church.The world's a better place because a German monk named Martin Luther did notsay, "I don't do doors." (read more follow link below).

Headlines and Testimonies - Words from Leonard Sweet

17 year old changing the world and follow up from yesterdays micro finance story

A Teen in Mozambique--Clinton Global Initiative 2007 This is an incredible story of a 17 year old in Massachusetts who is on a campaign to change the world. He's also the kind of kid who, when he was 13, instructed friends and family to donate money to a nongovernment organization called VillageReach, in lieu of bar mitzvah gifts.

I'll let you read the story (here) but the point i want to make is. One person can change the world; in this case a teenager.

1. get over yourself
2. give of yourself
3. go beyond yourself
4. leave a legacy

SUCCESS!! Lun Chanthy got her loan fully funded! 40 philanthropic would be social, venture capitalist helped her secure her air compressor and tire inventory. Join me and pray for her futhered success and that of her family. For more about this visit http://www.kiva.org/.

Name: Lun Chanthy
Location: Prey Veng Province, Cambodia
Activity: Vehicle Repairs
Loan Requested: $1,000.00
Repayment Term:
18 months - repaid monthly
Loan Use: To purchase an air compressor and tire inventory.

Mrs. Lun Chanthy, age 23, is a housewife who takes care of her two young children. Her husband works as a vehicle tire repairman. In order to expand his business and meet customer demand, she would like to borrow $1,000 to purchase an air compressor to pump tires and invest in a stock of tires to sell to his customers. They expect the expanded business will bring in $10 per day in revenue. They will use the extra income to continue to invest in the growth of the business and to save money for their children’s education.

Micro-Finance; the new way to teach people to fish

Micro finance is not a new concept. It’s been around since the first teenager borrowed money from his dad for a night on the town. But today micro finance is a way to, in part, help equalize and in some ways redistribute wealth in the world and teach people a way out of poverty.

It goes like this. Most Americans have a couple of expendable bucks at the end of the month. Sometimes well give of that surplus to a local charity or church or even sponsor a child in a foreign country who needs food and medical attention. There is another option gaining traction today; micro finance.
What micro finance as a concept does is to provide small loans for small business start ups. Most people in underdeveloped countries are unable to obtain small loans to further their business or family development. If there is micro credit available, it is offered at exorbitant interest rates. Here is an example from the Kiva website. Lun Chanthy is a 23 year old house wife who lives in Cambodia and takes care of her two young children.

Her husband works as a vehicle tire repairman. In order to expand his business and meet customer demand, she would like to borrow $1,000 to purchase an air compressor to pump tires and invest in a stock of tires to sell to his customers. They expect the expanded business will bring in $10 per day in revenue. They will use the extra income to continue to invest in the growth of the business and to save money for their children’s education.


She currently has $175.00 towards her goal raised by kind hearted souls (like you and I) whom she will probably never meet. By helping people like Mrs. Chanthy we can change the world and help her forever change her family tree!

There are several groups that do that and there are links below to help you begin your journey.

Rob Bell in a Whittenburg Door interview says of micro finance…”…there are huge things going on. Like micro-finance. I was in Rwanda—essentially you take someone in poverty and give them a couple of bucks so they can start a business. We met a woman who started a business, built a house, fed her family and her business was now self-sustaining and growing—on a $40 dollar loan. A Western church gave this woman forty bucks and look what she’s done. Economically speaking, that’s one of the hopes of the world right now. We have more money than we know what to do with. American churches have more concentration of wealth than any time in history in a world with massive poverty. But some are exploring with micro financing, working with ground churches and trying things that could help save our world.”

You can now be your own venture capitalist!

Micro-Finance Handbook
World Relief
Info from Wikipedia
Great Organization doing MF

answer the call.

What are you good at and what is your life purpose? Sometimes it is referred to as a “calling”. When I was growing up a common tongue in cheek phrase was used when someone did something very odd, very good. Usually an adult to a kid, after he jumped a car on his skateboard or something equally death deifying, “maybe you missed your calling”.

A calling could also mean, your purpose in life. I mean we are all put here for way more than just to turn oxygen into carbon dioxide and then become worm food, we were made to live. One way to live life to the fullest is by finding who you are, doing what you are good at, having a great time doing it and changing the world while you are at it. Talk about your win, win.

First a funny story, then a quiz; both for the purpose of discovering your calling.

A group of animals got together in the forest one day and decided to start a school. There was a rabbit, a bird, a squirrel, a fish, and an eel. They formed a board of education and tried to create a curriculum.

The rabbit insisted that burrowing in the ground be in the curriculum. The fish insisted on swimming. The squirrel insisted that perpendicular tree climbing be included, and the bird wanted flying.

They put all these courses together and wrote a curriculum guide. Then they insisted that all of the animals take all of the subjects.

Although the rabbit was getting an A in burrowing, perpendicular tree climbing was a real problem for him; he kept falling over backwards. Pretty soon he became brain damaged from these falls, and he couldn’t burrow well any more. He found that instead of making an A in burrowing, he was making a C. And, of course, he always made an F in perpendicular climbing.

The bird was really beautiful at flying, but when it came to burrowing in the ground, he couldn’t do it so well. He kept breaking his beak and wings. Pretty soon he was making a C in flying as well as an F in burrowing. And he had a very bad time with perpendicular tree climbing.

The squirrel was terrific at perpendicular tree climbing, but was so afraid of the water that he failed swimming altogether.

The fish was easily the best in swimming class, but he wouldn’t get out of the water to come to any of the other classes.

The valedictorian of the class was a mentally retarded eel who did everything in a halfway fashion. But the teachers were happy because everybody was taking all the subjects in their broad-based educational curriculum.

(From Everything You’ve Heard is Wrong by Tony Campolo, Dallas: Word, 1992, pg. 130)

1. Look up calling in the dictionary and write the definition below.

2. Now ask 2 or 3 people what they think a “calling” is.

3. No look up at least 30 references in a concordance of the word calling.

4. Categorize the above words by context. For example, find a couple of common denominators and list each verse in that category.

5. List 10 verses that particularly speak to you. Also say why

6. Read the story of Samuel’s calling. I Samuel 1-3.

7. How was Samuel called?

8. Why do you think Samuel was called?

9. Why do you think God calls some people in very intense ways and some not?

10. Are you called?

11. What is/are the most important thing(s) about a calling?

12. Describe your calling?

13. How personal or specific is it?

14. What can I do to help you in your calling (ie help you determine if you are called, help you understand the specifics of your calling, help you get to the next step of your calling, etc.)

15. What is your next step to fulfilling this call?

God itched my foot.

God itched my foot.
May 25, 2007 (started)
October 12, 2007 (finished)

Tonight my daughter learned there was no Santa clause. No biggie, she’s six. She also learned there was no Easter bunny, but she already had her doubts. We didn’t mean to rock her world, she is very inquisitive and fairly smart, so it was only a matter of time.

So, after a few minutes more, she dropped the bomb.

Is god real? Ouch, shot through the heart? not the question parents want to hear, but I do understand. My wife talked her through all the logic that a six year old could understand, and reasoned with her like a great mother would do. This whole thing transpired during the mommy daughter night time ritual, which I was not part of. After Jeanne did all the damage control she thought she could, daddy was called in to bat clean up. I loved it. I love teachable moments. I love dissonance. I knew we had an opportunity. I knew it would be fun.

I had one thing on my mind; to get her to understand that God is different than Santa or the Easter bunny. I understand God’s sovereignty and he wants to reveal himself to his people. I rested in that fact.

I don’t do real well with kids; I mean, I love my daughter but babies, toddlers and elementary aged little people scare me. I have to try too hard to tone down language and concepts. So sometimes with Sophia, when I’m up against a tough concept, knowing that we’ll have many more moments in which we’ll be able to unpack the existence of God, the Easter bunny, big foot and extra terrestrials, I settle for foreshadowing. I’ve also learned throughout the years that I don’t have to go to bat for God every time. So….

I came in to Sophia’s room confident and anticipating an adventure, wherein which we would all win. I had one point to make and a ball to toss into God’s court. I said “sweetie, what’s going on?”

“Well if Santa isn’t real, maybe God isn’t real either.”

We talked a bit about historical fact and categorical differences (in 6 year old understanding, I think) and I tried my best to get my point across; God is real and you will know in your heart that he is.

“How can I know?”

“You just will, he really wants you to know him and will do whatever it takes to show you; maybe tonight, maybe later. He will show himself to you and you will know for certain, that it was God and that God exists.”

“But how will I know?”

“You just will. And right now were gonna pray and ask God to reveal himself to you.”

I prayed a prayer that would be appropriate for the situation. When we said amen, I saw a glowing face of amusement and astonishment; something was visibly afoot.

“What sweetie?”

“God itched my foot.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well when you were praying, I had a bad itch in my foot. I was going to scratch it, but I decided to wait until after you were done praying. But in the middle of the prayer I felt god itch my foot and showed me he is real.”

Several months later, the legend of the itchy foot continues. I’m not about to let that one leave the Jones’ tribal story book. And speaking of foreshadowing, if she ever questions the things of god, she’ll know, undeniably….

God itched her foot.

God is real, and he still scratches us where we need it.

7 days, 7 blogs

the wisdom of emerson wields us this, "the years will teach us what the days will never know." well, in todays speed frenzy we call the day, i've adapted emerson to my week of blogging, ah hum.....

"the week of daily blogging will teach me what the inconsistent months of blogging will never attempt to sort out for me." ok, so it isnt as pity as emerson, but today i'm going for more tongue in cheek than fingers on chin, soaking in wisdom.

so, wish me luck and insight as i attempt to expel wisdom, inspiration and world changing insight in the next 7 days my 7n7 experiment rolls out.

i have a couple of thoughts in mind, but really, i want to be aware that i'm doing this and crack open something fresh more than calculated. some things i am currently thinking about that may surface this week; sabbath, death (a close friends dad died yesterday), the value of 1, green, diet and i'm sure life will reveal some additions.

i'm not sure who reads or who enjoys this, but if you hear something that works for ya this next week, give me a shout.

rawd

ever had a bad day (or life)?

i think we dismiss our behavior and attitudes way too much. instead of becoming the victim of circumstances, we must let our challenges be our mentors and rise above them, abe did.


He had to work to support his family after they were forced out of their home. 1816
His mother died. 1818
Failed in business. 1831
Was defeated for legislature. 1832
Lost his job and couldn't get into law school. 1832
Declared bankruptcy, and spent the next 17 years of his life paying off the money
he borrowed from friends to start his business. 1833
Was defeated for legislature again. 1834
Was engaged to be married, but his sweetheart died and his heart was broken. 1835
Had a nervous breakdown and spent the next six months in bed. 1836
Was defeated in becoming the speaker of the state legislature. 1838
Was defeated in becoming elector. 1840
Was defeated for Congress 1843
Was defeated for Congress. 1846
Was defeated for Congress again. 1848
Was rejected for the job of Land Officer in his home state. 1849
Was defeated for Senate. 1854
Was defeated for Vice-President -- got less than 100 votes. 1856
Was defeated for Senate for the third time. 1858
Was elected President of the United States. 1860

keep going, rise above, make a difference

less than average.

In high school I was a C student. Its not that I didn't have the mental capacity, it was just that all I wanted from academia was a passing grade. I wanted to spend the least amount of time studying to allow more time for other pursuits. My priorities (i wince in hindsight) were fun, social, sports and popularity: probably in that order. Three of my current top priorities were sadly left behind: my faith, my family and education.

Today my priorities are in very different order, but all of my high school priorities are still, well, priorities. I have added the ones I was missing but others have morphed. Sports is now keeping physically fit and fun, like watching the lakers trounce an opponent. Being social now includes strategic dinners with friends and mentors as well as an occasional night out with 'the boys'. And popularity, well, its really not much of a priority, everyone wants to be loved, it more of a necessary evil to accomplish some of the higher ranking priorities.

I think either scenario, my priorities reflected my values, what was (is) most important in my life.

Priorities are who we are, what we are and where we are going.

final thougth about my hs grades. for fear of being labled a complete slacker, my gpa for post grad work was 3.8

exponential.

I was thinking about what we would think is the normal impact of the internet.

A news item caught my eye when a 17 year old new jersey teen and some friends he met in a chatroom (2 from russia) began and completed a ack on the most anticipated cell phone in history, the iphone. All it took was 500 hours, a sodered wire and some simple original programing. Anyone could do it right? Well, after the story of the iphones hack broke, george hotz, also broke the news that he would be posting how he did it, complete instruction, on the internet. (read his blog here)

So even though u cant, u could.

The internet empowers us to attempt do things together that we wouldnt dream of doing alone. Our seeming potential is compounded by that of others. We gain more knowledge, we garner more confidence, we google more queries and we gather more results. What we end up with is exponential growth, accomplishment, knowledge and so on. This means 15 years ago (when george hotz was two) something comperable to haccking an iphone would be impossible.

i, used to have a friend that was an entomologist, i had access to lots of bug info. We've lost touch over the years, and even though i cant easily get the 411 on bugs from him i have access to thousands of sites giving not only one persons expertise, but many and i get picture and video (google lists over 11,100,000 sites with info on emtomology).

Also, when good ol george was two, i just found out my favorite burger joint, in n out, had a secret menu. A priviledged fact for the chosen few. Today it is available for the click of a mouse.
So, good (n n out sec menu) bad (anarchist cook book)* or other (geroge), the internet offers us the power of everyone. hopefully, someday, everyone can end the tyranny of illiteracy, anti socialism and greedy proprietary companies (u listening att and sony); the internet is helping to speed the way.





* you didn't really think i would link the that did ya?

sophia's cooking school.

edible summer fun at sophia's cooking school.

the last week of summer was a great time with my daughter. i love to eat. i actually love to cook too. i was excited when she thummed through her kiddie cook book. here are some of her summer recipies.

the celebration dinner.


mmmm fish cakes that were shapped like fish, does the creativity ever end?

look out, that sandwich (snake) may bite you.

the snake and his creator.

we took a bite out of the snake, actually, pretty tasty.

the recipe book o plenty. shown here with the peanut butter and banana sh sh shake (it). this was pretty good too.

same. see above.

new mouse. very cool.

Microsoft Mice & Keyboards - Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000

just got the above mouse, incredible. it is a 4 in 1: presenter, mouse, laser pointer and a media remote controller. it is bluetooth (the dongle can be paired with other bluetooth devices, like my pda) it is easy to use (right out of the box) and the set up it quick and simple (once you actually get it out of the sill, yet cool, yet hard to open packaging).

favorite features;
1. non directional control thanks to blue tooth. this remote is 100x better than the one that came with my laptop
2. one button push changes the device from mouse to presenter
3. easy set up and brings immediate productivity with little experience curve needed

excited.

photo phun

isnt it great on when you are away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life that there is time for fun and goofy adventures? a couple of posts ago i told of a website that is similar to (better than) apples photobooth. it is found at http://www.sigost.com/. here is me and sophie goofing around.

the catch of the day and sanibel island

update on the jones vacation including the tons of shells from the beach.

evidently sanibel island is a shellers paradise due to the fact that the island is oriented east to west instead of north to south, thus the island is acts as a giant finger drawing in the shells to its many fine beaches. for more info on sanibel see below.

on to the pics....

at the beach, 10 miles on the bikes, the catch of the day(s), pool fun.

http://www.sanibelisland.com/

http://www.sanibelflorida.com/

Church Marketing Sucks: Grow Your Church By Asking People to Leave

Church Marketing Sucks: Grow Your Church By Asking People to Leave

Here is a new counter intuitive growth technique, or is it? is it counter intuitive or is it a technique? maybe it is just about negative growth, or not. hey, we can be all things to all people to win them to christ, but not to keep them in our church..........

sigost.com - a.k.a. Photobooth for Windows, Linux & Mac Online

sigost.com - a.k.a. Photobooth for Windows, Linux & Mac Online

after my friend william got his mac note book and showed me a program called photobooth, i thought, wow, here is actually one reason to get a mac.

here is what photobooth does; takes your webcam and lets you take pics using various effect and color manuplituation.

cool program, available only for mac. mac 1, pc 0, UNTIL...

http://www.sigost.com

now anyone with a computer, internet connection and webcam can have "photobooth"; pc, mac, linux and more. HA mac 1, pc 1

i like saturate combined with barrell.

check it out and send me your pics.

ahhhhhh, vacation with my 2 fav peeps

So here I am on the beach, fighting off harmful sun an uv rays entertaining the good ones. I'm looking past the store bought beach toys to my daughter playing w/ sea weed and a plastic water bottle we just finished. I'm content. Not w/ the moment or the romance of the beach but w/ kife. Is life perfect? Hardly. Current Ministry assignment is tough,tenacity becomes more difficult when confronted w/ escape, but life is good. christ came to give us life abundantly: to the hilt, the fullest, to the max, totally, for sure. Im glad i get to live every last drop outta life, better and worse, rich and poor sick and healthy, im livin large. Boyeee

The missions of San Antonio

Below is a brief summary of the San Antonio missions. Our journeys this will let us explore all four (plus the Alamo, which isn't really a mission but the chapel of the former mission San Antonio).

In 1709 an exploritive expedition in the San Antonio region named the San Pedro Springs and the San Antonio river. The name came from the fact that the expedition team lead by Father Damian Massanet named the regions and rivers on the day of a holiday of Saint Anthony de Padua. The head waters of the San Antonio river are located on the campus of the University of the Incarnate Word (where we are staying).

The first mission, San Antonio de valero established on the west bank of the San Antonio river, near the villa de Bejar. It was later moved twice and found its infamous home in 1724 where only the remnant of the chapel lay today (along the river walk and better known as the Alamo).

The next mission was founded in 1720 (although the current structure, the second stone chapel, was not completed until 1756) and Father Antonio Margil de Jesus named it San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo, although today it is known only as mission San Jose. This, the most complete of the missions, houses many rooms, walls a chapel, and offers a museum, an educational movie shown every half hour, a gift shop, and many helpful park and rec curators.

In 1731 the last three missions moved to the SA region from East Texas. Mission Concepcion kept its name; Mission San Jose de los Nazoris renamed San Juan Capistrano; San Francisco de los Neches renamed San Francisco de la Espada.

Ok, having said that, today we visited three missions: San Juan, San Jose, and Espada. We had a chance to see living history, touch the past, and project towards the future. Our professor this week is called history, and he is teaching. Lord grant us the ability to learn well.