AT&T Internet at Starbucks

This is a great day. Found out I can log into the internet at Starbucks using my sbcglobal dsl account.

Thank you Starbucks! However, I HATE the new brown cups.



Bring back the green!!!!!!!

One of those cool moments...

I wrote recently that I went with Deb's class on a field trip. Each time I'm around those kids, I try to look for what their strengths are and how I can affirm them and build them up. This one girl (I'll call her Courtney to protect her identity) is a great writer. She's the one with the biggest face on the first funny foto here.

Whenever I see Courtney, I call her my writer. I ask her what she's been writing about and encourage her to keep writing.

When you encourage kids in this way, you wonder if it sticks at all.

Debbie had the kids make thank you notes for the adults who chaperoned the field trip.

Courtney signed her note to me:
"Your Writer, Courtney"

Watch out writers of the world!

Another good word...

I have no time to write today, so I'll just point to this smart guy again.

Good word

Good word for all of us trying to grow organizations.

A few frames

Part of the way I make my living is editing video.

One of the things that always strikes me is the difference a few frames makes. [a frame is one of the 30 pictures per second that we see as moving video]

Edit out a tiny pause in the action; man the difference it makes in the energy.
Lengthen a clip a frame or two and bam!... it hits right on the beat of the music.
No one wants to watch if audio and video are out of sync just a few frames.
Nobody believes the story line if a scene hangs on a few frames too long.
On and on... it's often a matter of a few frames.

I been seeing lately that much of life is a matter of a few frames as well.

In just a tiny moment of frustration, a relationship can go south.
Just a tiny instant of misunderstanding can needlessly get a work team off track.
Just a instantaneous hurtful word spoken to your child can harm her for years.
The decision to go into sin is often an impulsive decision.

A few frames can wreck months of work and years of love.

So what is the remedy?

On the front end...
Stay close to Jesus and think before you act

On the back end...
Grace, grace, and more grace

A day with the rest of our kids

Today, I went on a field trip with Deb's class to a museum. On the bus we played with photo booth. Loads of fun for the kids.






I love getting the chance to speak a specific word of encouragement or inspiration into a few of those kids' lives.

Then after school, I spent a couple of hours with the at-risk 2nd grader I mentor. He is so smart. We played chess and talked. He has so much potential but SO needs self-control to stay out of trouble. I care a lot about this kid. He's accidentally called me "dad" once and I've accidentally called him "son" twice. Please pray he has a breakthrough this coming week.

Thankful for eyesight

This week my wife's mother had eye surgery to repair a retinal detachment. It makes me think of the sight I take for granted.

What would I do if couldn't see...
My Susie's beautiful eyes and adorable expressions
My Alex's bright eyes and hilarious expressions
My Emmy's thoughtful eyes and maturing expressions
My Debbie's tired eyes and her need for change

I guess I'd try to make it like my amazing blind friend Larry, but for now I'm just very thankful to be able to see.

LifeGroups 2.0

I've been thinking a lot with a group of leader friends about how we can make our LifeGroups at church more purposeful. How can we make them more than little hang out groups where we go through soon-to-be-forgotten, random "small group studies"?

Here's something I've written in processing through this.

I think we let way too many people off the hook from becoming leaders. It’s like “missions”. We talk about it like it’s for the few and then only a few do it. Granted, not everyone is gifted by God for the highest levels of leadership, but who else should be leading in the world than those who have the Play Book and who have the Spirit of God inside them? Unless you are going to be personally purposeless, maritally passive, parentally absent, a frustrated manager of your household, a giver in to peer pressure, a follower of the world, you are going to have to be a leader in some capacity.

What better places but LifeGroups, miniature churches, for the development of people to lead? I'm using "lead" in a broad sense -- everything from leading others to Christ, leading our families, leading churches and movements in the kingdom of God, and most important of all leading our own wills, our own selves toward all that Christ calls us to.

LifeGroups can become a training ground for leadership in life and the main source of leadership for the church.

What do you think?

The cat is away again...

... so what should the mice do?

Debbie is heading to Dallas for another scrapbooking retreat with her Texas friends. I'm so glad she gets to do that. Have a great time, Deb!!!!!!!!

So what should we do here?

1) Clean the kids' rooms. Work on video.

2) Play all day and watch episodes of Lost Season 1. (I'm finally watching that great series via abc.com -- Don't tell me what happens!!!!)

We'll probably do some of both.

Interesting conjugation

I love how my almost 5-year-old daughter tries to conjugate verbs in the past tense. One morning she told me, "Last night I slape backwards in my bed, but my rail kape me from falling off."

Yesterday she said that I droove her somewhere in the car.

For some reason I find all of that really cute.

I've had enough...

Last week I briefly visited Deb's school class and saw once again how the boys in there don't have fathers at home and need mentors. I often feel the need to do something in situations like that, but this time I've had enough! I am doing something. I asked Debbie to find me a boy who needs a mentor and whose mom would allow it. She did and I just got off the phone with the mom setting up my Friday afternoons with her boy.

The number of people with needs is overwhelming... but I can try to help this one.

I just have to honor foster parents

There is a couple I know who fosters children. A couple of months ago they turned over two kids to their new adoptive family. Yesterday, I saw the husband, about 45 years of age, holding a new foster child who is a few weeks old. He was feeding her a bottle. People who do that kind of work and have that kind of heart just blow me away.

Maybe someday we should foster.

Anyone else feel a tug in that direction?

www.hairmixer.com

Meet Susie Simpson


and Susie Winphrey


Lots of laughs...

No No No

No!

My kids get it...

My two older kids were talking in the backseat...

Alex: "What's a PC?"
Em: "An old computer"

So what did the mice do?

Yesterday the kids and I ended up doing some of Alex's eye exercises, raking the leaves, eating at home, working some on video, working some on church. We took the boring, responsible route. :(

Cat's away... what should the mice do?

Debbie's out of town scrapbooking with her old friends from Dallas.

So what should WE do?

1) Do Alex's eye exercises, work on my upcoming video project, work on church stuff, cook three meals, take down Christmas tree, rake the yard.

OR

2) Eat out three times and play all day.


I guess #1 is more responsible... but #2 sounds like a lot more fun.

Working from home

Today the kids were still home on Christmas break while Deb had to go to teacher training. I was working back in my bedroom on my computer for a really long time this morning while the kids were watching TV, playing, watching a movie. Then I received this email (from the other computer) from my 7-year-old.

Reading with the kids

I like to read to the kids, but often I've not been making time for it. This week, I'm trying to start anew reading with Susie one book a day.

Today was this one...


The next book I need to make time for with the older kids is a condensed, illustrated version of this...

Susie's First Dance Recital