Flints, Out!

Tomorrow we are leaving for my birthday trip that Bethany has been planning for a while! She won't tell me where we are going, so it is a total surprise to me - but I know that it is somewhere sunny because she bought a new swimsuit this week. I also hear that it is a pretty long plane trip, so that is an indication of how far we are going. Hmmm... It will be nice to get away for a little bit. We leave Saturday and come back Tuesday.

There's always so much to do, though, before you leave, isn't there?

The big 3-0. My friend Mark has already hit that this year, so how is it buddy?

This post is from the Dashboard of my new iMac.  That way I can post things like crazy here!  I like it.

A Good Day

Yes! I got my computer back from the Apple reseller here in B'ham. We got our refund check from the IRS. And we are having dinner with our friends Jason and Alli tonight. Not a bad day. Oh and I got some work done, too.

Here is a pic of my dad and sister at the Freescale Marathon in Austin, TX. They are awesome.

What is up with that?

I am on my little laptop at church because my iMac (the new one I got three weeks ago) has a screen problem. I had to take it back to the store because the screen would not "un-blacken." I called the Apple support and they had me do all sorts of tests and experiments to try and wake it back up, but the screen would have nothing do to with that. That kind of stuff drives me crazy - new things that are supposed to work, but don't and then you have to wait a week to get it back. Too bad they just can't give me a new one or a loaner for the week. I am a little worried about data preservation, too...

B and I have been getting into American Idol this year, and in the "my two cents" department, that Katharine McPhee girl last night has an incredible voice. It is effortless and easy for her. It was the same for three of the other girls - two of whom were 17 and 16. Good stuff!

My dad and sister ran a half marathon together this past weekend in Austin. I forgot the name of the actual race, but they both finished and did okay on time. I am incredibly proud of them to do the training and the work required to make it through without too much pain! (abnormal pain, I guess.)

A week and a half until the big birthday trip!

At the Regent Library

I am here at school in the library doing a little studying (okay, I am surfing blogs...). I found a guy in Bellingham who is in my class and we have started to ride together to help defray some costs. It works out well, and he plays basketball after class so I can do a little studying in the library while I wait for him so we can go home.

It was a pretty busy weekend with the our college student presenation of our Murder Mystery dinner banquet. It went well, though kind of long and a little boring. We tried to adopt one of those "How to Host a Murder" murder-mystery for a large group, but it did not work well. There is just too much information and not enough interaction with the large group for it to work. Everyone was pretty ready to go afterwards! The students made spaghetti and green beans and root beer floats. I am just glad it is done!

I filed my taxes and we are getting a pretty good refund at the end of the month, so that will come in handy to get some new garage doors!

In other news, Bethany is taking me on a surprise birthday trip for my 30th birthday the first weekend of March. We are ready for a little vacation! She won't tell me where we are going, but I still have time to figure it out...

Well, the Seahawks lost today - it looked pretty lopsided to me, though.

I am back from Arlington. I am sorry that I didn't get a chance to see my Mansfield friends - it was a busy time... We had some of our people stay in Mansfield. Our Washington people were pretty amazed at the brick houses, how big they were, and how little they cost compared to the home prices up here.

I am really liking this new computer! It is simply beautiful. and fast. Right now, though, I am having a problem with my iPod communicating with it. I unplugged it while it said "do not disconnect" one time and it has never been the same since. I am going to have to send it in. I called the Apple people and they said that for me to talk to one of their people, it would cost $49 to connect. That is crazy. They said I could pay $59 for a year's coverage with S&H expenses covered if sending it is necessary. Well, it is necessary. iPod is the means by which I am listening to my audio course for Regent. This new machine is worth it, though!

Now, we just need a new laptop at home... :)

In Arlington

Since Saturday, I have been in Arlington, TX on a leadership training week. 5 members of my church and I were flown down by FBCA so that we could chat with their leadership, shadow them during the services, and pick their brains a little bit about why they do what they do.

We are pretty tired, but we are enjoying ourselves immensely.

I got to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday with all my family at Cantina Laredo on Sunday night. His birthday is actually on Feb. 6, but since I was down, it was fun to get everyone together.

It is a pretty fun trip because I get to show the Washingtonians the area where I grew up (kind of...). We went to the Ft. Worth Stock Show on Monday and watched the rodeo, which was a blast. We hit the Whataburger and Chik-fil-a and Dickies for fried okra. We hit the Sonic for some good treats this afternoon. We don't have any of this up North, so we have to get them all while we can!

I Have Returned!

I have kind of been waiting for my return back to this spot mainly because the hardware with which I have to access this site has been severely lacking. I am at the church right now and to access this blog from that computer was archaic. I was using an old iMac G3 400MHz computer running OS 9.1. And at home, we are running a PC with XP that is going out on us.

Well, today, my friends, things have changed. I am now on a iMac G5 Intel Duo Core 2GHz 250GB Super Drive 20" beauty that is just awesome. Holy cow, it is sweet.

It will take some time to play around with the new system to learn all the cool stuff about it, but I am looking forward to it. See you around here more often! I will probably spend more time at the office, now...

There are some new pics over at flickr. Just click the dealio over on the right. It should take you there.

Update to the Wish List 2005

Bethany just got me the Bissell Flip-it tonight so that we can really clean the floors for our choir party tomorrow night at our house! That thing is awesome.

One more thing...

This Sunday is the final big Xmas presentation I am doing at the church. On the 27th, it was the big community sing-a-long, last Sunday it was the Kids Xmas musical, and this Sunday it is the Choir Cantata I am directing.

The Kid's musical was very fun. The kids were hilarious and they remembered most of their lines. It is amazing how much kids can remember when they want to. They all knew each other's lines, too and when to say them. The lead kid in the play was a kid named Nicholas who was pretty amazing at singing and acting. The funny part was that out of the 18 kids in it, only 3 were from our church! Pretty good outreach in an artsy town like Bellingham. There is a sequel to the play (this year it was called The First Leon) and next year it is called The Next Noel. The kids are ready to go for that already!

Oh - and I have to finish up two papers for seminary by next Friday...

My parents are coming up for a visit today and will stay until Wednesday. It is bitter sweet because my brother has a huge viola solo in their church's big Xmas show, and my sister is running another marathon on Sunday. Remember, you are a Kenyan! I am thinking about you guys and I know that you will do well!

Well, B and I just had her parents in town for a week for the Thanksgiving holidays. We had a really nice time to relax and hang out. There weren't any huge trips planned, which was nice because we could just enjoy each other's company. We had our friends Jason and Alli and a guy named John over for Turkey day. I cooked the turkey this year and it didn't turn out half bad! It was really good and there are lots of leftovers, which I'm happy about. I also made a pecan pie that didn't turn out too well. I think I had too many pecans in it and not enough of the goopy good stuff. It was just a good day to hang out with family and friends, watch some football, play some video game football and eat.

Today we had our first advent service at church. B and I sang a duet called "A Strange Way to Save the World." 4 Him did it originally. It sounded nice and the whole service worked well altogether. One of our church members wrote a great poem for each sunday in advent based on the Scripture text for that day. They are pretty deep and thought provoking.

This afternoon our church sponsored a big community Christmas sing-a-long at the Mount Baker Theater. 1200 people came and another 130 people sang in the choir and played in the orchestra. I got to do a little of everything. I played in the orchestra, I played in a rockin' guitar trio with two of my friends who lead worship at another church in town, I sang in a men's gospel quartet, and I played bass trombone in a brass quintet. I also directed the children's choir from our church on a couple of the songs we are doing from our musical this next sunday. The guitar trio was probably my favorite because playing with those two guys is a treat and they can play!

I had to coordinate all these groups and get the orchestra their music and the choir their words, so it was a big undertaking by everyone involved. I am just glad it is over! I enjoyed just hanging out and watching some football tonight. I think my fantasy football smoked my opponent this week.

Crazy Cat

Jester has found a way to the top of our closet! He is actually sitting on top of the closet door here (1 inch thick...) in this picture, then he steps on the clothes hanging up in the closet and pushes himself up to the shelf. He likes the sweaters up there and enjoys being sneaky...

Since it's been a little while... Last week at our church's Harvest Festival, almost 100 kids came through the play the games and win candy. That is huge for our church. God is doing something with our church, and we are just riding the wave. It was one of those things that you are glad to have done after you did it, but were kind of annoyed that you had to do it in the first place. It turned out alright, though.

About Kyle Lake at UBC in Waco - what a tragedy. My heart goes out to the scores and scores of people who are affected by his death. I read Ben Dudley's blog every now and then and to think that Kyle was DCB's pastor, too - in our human-ness, it is a horrible thing. Yet, it God's "God-ness" it is a beautiful, ironic mystery.

In other news, we have started a Kids Xmas Musical with some of the kids from the Summer Academy (VBS-ish) event we had this summer. Let me get you straight on this - our church has only about 15 kids if they all came at once. At the Summer Academy, we had 60 kids and for the Kids Xmas Musical, we have 19 kids. It is crazy! Hopefully, some of these families will feel the draw to be a more permanent part of FBC.

I am at Regent right now getting ready for class, but I wanted to update you on stuff!

Corn Maze Madness

Today I went with our college group to a corn maze field shaped like a salmon. We had to find posts scattered throughout the maze with different shaped hole punches. It was pretty fun and our team beat everyone else. There were some shortcuts taken... The hilarious part was that the field was so muddy that your feet slipped everytime you stepped and everyone was falling and getting their clothes muddy and wet. We went to a pumpkin patch afterwards and picked pumpkins that we are going to carve tonight.

Tomorrow our church has our harvest festival and a guest preacher. It should be pretty fun.

We got tix for our Christmas trip to TX this week! Dec. 25-31 - quick, but fun. I think am most looking forward to seeing my neice, Jordan during that week. It has been a year since I have seen her! B's parents come for Thanksgiving and my parents are coming for our Choir Cantata in December - yes!

Social Weekend

This weekend Bethany and I had a good time deepening some good friendships that we have made up here. Friday night we spent the night with our Matt and Jamie who got married this summer. They live in Mill Creek (near Seattle) and B had to take her science kit back to the Fred Hutch Research Center this weekend, so we just stayed with them Friday night. We had great steaks and a good time just chatting and catching up. We woke up slowly on Saturday, had breakfast, and then said our goodbyes and headed to Seattle and back to Bham.

That night we ate dinner with our friends Jason & Ali for the second time that week! It is nice when friends don't keep score about how many times you have eaten at their place vs. your place. We spent the evening making dinner and talking about all sorts of stuff. After that we dropped in on some friends from church (the Porters) who were having a get together at their new house. Good times, good times...

Sunday was a good day - good worship service, good message, good music... We had a baptism, a solo in Japanese, and 20 kids hip hop dancing. It was different for our church, but we put a lot of old hymns in the service to pad the blow! I got to be a bit creative and play a John Mayer intro into "Revive Us Again." That was fun.

Sunday night, Kim and Joe came over to watch "Alias" and "CSI" we recorded on Thursday. They are fun. Our VCR is getting a bit archaic, though, so we need to get TiVo... ("need")

Today I am at Regent and just not extremely motivated. I know I will be after this class, however, because the professor is just that good.

Rear-ended Again!

This time I was driving the church van from a pastors meeting we had in Anacortes. It was one of those two four lanes country highways that have traffic signals every so often. The cars in front of me were slowing down, I braked well in advanced, the lady driving the Minivan Taxi service did not brake well in advance. I actually saw it coming in my side mirror, but didn't have time to say anything to the other four pastors in the van. Can you imagine losing five pastors in one car wreck? (some more than others, I'm sure...) That would pose some issues with the churches, I think!

BUT - we're not dead, so everything is fine. No one even got hurt. Her van is toast, though!

Two times in one week!

Simple Plan's "Crazy"

I heard this song on MTVs TRL debut of Simple Plan's new single, Crazy. It was intense. Here are the words, and look at them through Jesus-colored glasses...

Tell me what's wrong with society
When everywhere I look, I see
Young girls dying to be on TV
They won't stop till they've reached their dreams
Diet pills, surgery
Photoshopped pictures in magazines
Telling them how they should be
It doesn't make sense to me

Is everybody going crazy? Is anybody gonna save me?
Can anybody tell me what's going on? Tell me what's going on?
If you open your eyes You'll see that something is wrong

I guess things are not how they used to be
There's no more normal families
Parents act like enemies
Making kids feel like it's World War III
No one cares, no one's there
I guess we're all just too damn busy
And money's our first priority
It doesn't make sense to me

Is everybody going crazy? Is anybody gonna save me?
Can anybody tell me what's going on? Tell me what's going on?
If you open your eyes You'll see that something is wrong

Is everybody going crazy? Is everybody going crazy?

Tell me what's wrong with society
When everywhere I look I see
Rich guys driving big SUVs
While kids are starving in the streets
No one cares No one likes to share
I guess life's unfair

Is everybody going crazy? Is anybody gonna save me?
Can anybody tell me what's going on? Tell me what's going on?
If you open your eyes You'll see that something, something is wrong
Is everybody going crazy? Can anybody tell me what's going on?
Tell me what's going on?
If you open your eyes You'll see that something is wrong
---

This song is prophetic - speaking truth into a place that doesn't want to hear it. My favorite, heart-hitting line is the one about Rich guys driving SUVs...

Rear-ended!

Well, at about 12:30am last night, my Jeep got rear-ended in front of our house. There wasn't too much damage on my car - just the bumper got messed up. I don't know if there are alignment problems yet or anything. Her car is a different story, however. The front hood was smashed up and the front head light covers were crushed, though the lights themselves were still working. She seemed to be drunk because she was saying weird things and acting strange. The police came and took a report and I have spent today working on insurance stuff. It turns out that her insurance number was not correct because when I called her insurance, they didn't have any record of it.

So, I am going through my insurance and letting them do the leg work of working with her insurance. I still have to pay the deductible, but it should get reimbursed.

The Jeep is still driveable (I checked the spelling of that and found out it could go both ways), but it just needs some cosmetic work.

Don Miller thoughts...

I am here in the Regent Library studying up on college Home Group tonight. We are talking about Faith tonight, using Don Miller's book Blue Like Jazz to spark some discussion and following it up with Scripture. I highly recommend that book to everyone.

Don Miller came to Bellingham this past week to do a book reading on the campus of the college here. It was definitely not what most people were expecting. Usually when you get a Christian speaker to speak at college, he or she talks about their version of how to do Christianity better than what you are doing now. Miller gets up and says, "I was just talking to the sound girl before I came up and told her "Christians are goofy, huh?" Man, we Christians are goofy as hell." He said, "Don't worry. I'm not going to talk about Jesus tonight." That was an eyebrow raiser - and someone asked about it later at the Q&A time. He said that he felt too often we try to bring "the church" into the university and he wanted to approach the university as a university, to speak its language. Usually when an author gets asked to speak at someplace, he or she does a book reading. So that is what Don Miller did - a book reading.

At the same time, you could sense the Christian undertones throughout what he was reading. he also later clarified that he felt Christianity is the most beautiful, mysterious thing you could be a part of that makes the most sense of what it means to be human. It gives the best picture of how to do humanity.

I liked it because it was subversive, artistic God-talk.

One interesting note as I was talking with Don backstage - his former youth minister was David Gentiles. He had been in Houston with Don and then moved up to Plano to be at Hunter's Glen Baptist Church where one of my high school friends went. David was then person who put the writing bug in Don's ear.

Doulos Reunion Weekend

Foosball tournament!
Originally uploaded by jeffflint.

This past weekend, I made a quick trip to Branson, Missouri for a reunion of the discipleship program I did after Baylor. It's called Doulos (Greek for bondservant) and you really are one of those while you are there!

Anyway, I made some friends for life with the other big brothers and this past weekend, the organization had a Reunion party for everyone who has gone through. People from the very first year were there, so it was neat to hear the stories and to catch up on what is going on with everyone.

Plus, my group of guys had a foosball tournament. We had a foosball table in the guys house and it was always a great way to relieve some stress. We played it so much that we could be on an Olympic Foosball team or something. (Well, me and Shane who won!)

Time for an Update

I started my new fall schedule this week. It is taking a little getting used to so far. On Mondays, I head to Regent for my Christian Education and Equipping class. Bethany and I have worked out the car situation where I can drop her off at school, go to my class, and pick her up from school at the end of the day.

Tuesdays I meet with my pastor at 8am and then we have mostly meetings that day. Wednesday I got to work at 8am and then leave for school at 11am every other Wednesday for another Regent class. It is Supervised Ministry class, so mainly report-type information - easy. Thursday I work all day and run our choir practice that night. Fridays is a work day, too. So, Saturday is our day to hang out and enjoy sleeping in.

I am a little nervous with how busy this fall may be. I tend to procrastinate a little and I hate that! I have got to stay on top of things...

I need to update this thing more...

Jordan B-day 1

Jordan B-day 1
Originally uploaded by jeffflint.

My little niece turned 1 last Thursday and had a party today. You can click on the picture to see more of the party (only 6 pics so far...)

Vacation Days

July 31, 2005 009
Originally uploaded by jeffflint.

Back in April, Mom and Dad came up and we did the Seattle toursity things and the Victoria Butchart Garden thing. Check out the photos here. Or you can click on the picture...

Family Camp

IMG_0327
Originally uploaded by jeffflint.

Last weekend, we had our church family camp at Mt. Baker Baptist Camp. Check out the photos on flickr.

The Results

I can''t believe it's been a week and I have left you all hanging on how we did in the championship softball game. We won. We are the Division 3B Bellingham softball champions! (There are 4 divisions, each with an A & B...) Yes! I have been trying to look in the paper for the publishing of the results, but I guess it's not that important to other people.

The game was incredible, though! We were down 9-2 at one point and we slowly brought it back and kept hitting and scoring and finally it was the bottom of the seventh inning, we were home team and up to bat and the bases were loaded and we were tied. Two outs, I get up to bat with the bases loaded and... I fly out to right field trying to poke it the other way. So I choked. Anyway, we go to extra innings and the rules state that the teams start with a man on second with nobody out. They want to speed up the game by then, I guess. So - the other team scores that one run, but can't get anymore, so we are down by one run; we need two to win. I start out on second and our lead off hitter was up. He can jack it when he wants to - and he is super fast. Well, he it a shot out to right center field all the way to the fence. I didn't know if it would be caught, so I had to wait up and tag up to get to third. The outfielder did not get to it in time and missed the ball. I rounded third and scored, tying the game. Usually in softball that shot would have been a triple for our lead off hitter, but remember he is super fast. He rounded third and was approaching the plate just as the ball got to the pitcher covering home plate. The pitcher bobbled the ball, the runner slid into home, and we won the game.

It was the best win all season!

Championship Softball Game

On Monday night, our church softball team played in our league tournament. It was set up where we played a game at 6:15 and if you won that you played again later and if you won that you played again later still. And if you won that game, then you play tonight for the championship. Well, we won all three games Monday night and are in the championship tonight. Four hours of softball Monday night! Bethany was ready to go home...

Our team plays in the city league as a kind of outreach for the church. Hopefully, people see our attitudes and language in a positive light and can see something different in us. I am the pitcher for the team, so I am kind of nervous... Wish us luck!

Random Things...

Well, my replacement phone came in after a big ordeal with Cingular. Apparently they don't have replacement phones for my Nokia 6230 that I used to have. Instead, they sent me a Motorola V551. It is bigger and bulkier than the 6230, which may fit my hand better, but I was pretty disappointed in the fact that Cingular couldn't send me what I wanted. Blast!

My brother started his new job this week - he handles finances for a really rich guy. My sister started school this week with the kids coming back - I wish I could watch her in action sometime. I bet she is really good. Bethany has two more weeks before kids come back to school here. She is enjoying it!

We are going flying with some church friends of ours who have a plane, so we are just going to fly to lunch tomorrow somewhere.

Back from the Peninsula

I will post more later about the trip, but in the meantime, check out some of the photos that we took!

Heading for the Peninsula

B and I are headed for the Olympic Peninsula for a little rest and relaxation before school starts at the end of the month for her. We are taking a road trip to the part of WA that sticks out like a hitchhiker's thumb. We will camp, hike, sit on the beach, read, eat, sleep, and flat out relax.

If you need to get a hold of us, you will have to wait until we get back! Later!

Clean Cell Phone

Well, I don't recommend washing your cell phone in the pocket of your shorts in the washing machine. It won't work when you take it out...

My cell number will be out of commission for a week or so until I file a claim to get a new one.

Pics for Summer Academy

The pictures from our church's summer academy are up on flickr now. Take a look!

Stadiums Tour Pics are Up

Well, I finally upgraded to a Flickr pro account so I could add more photos than the free account will allow. It's pretty cheap. Anyway, check out the photo set on Flickr of the trip I took in June.

Our summer academy pics will be up soon, too.

Bethany's Birthday

Yesterday was Bethany's birthday (27), but I didn't get to see her. Instead, I saw her on Wednesday night and also again tonight I get to see her. She is doing the Science Education Partnership deal these past couple of weeks. I drove down to Mill Creek where we had a birthday dinner with our friends Matt and Jamie. They just got married in May, and B has been staying at their place the past two weeks while she is at this teacher's program.

We had P.F. Chang's for dinner that night - my first time - and it was very good. Definitely a repeater. We then went back to Matt and Jamie's place where we had cheesecake with chocolate fondue - yes! Matt's b-day is the 26th, so we exchanged presents with everyone. I got Bethany a new digital camera since our last one broke on the baseball tour. It is a Canon Powershot SD400 Digital Elph. Very tiny, but packs a punch. I got it at Best Buy, but today I saw one online for $70.00 cheaper! So, I ordered that one and we will take back the Best Buy one because it has a 14 day return policy.

B also got a new belt and bag from Jamie that she really likes. We gave Matt a new set of clubs (the ones from the card deck separated out) and some Swedish Fish. It was a very fun night to hang out with them and I drove back to B'ham the next morning.

FBC Summer Academy

Well, it has been a while since I have posted because of the craziness going on here at church the past two weeks. We had a day camp for kids last week called the First Baptist Summer Academy. In the mornings, the kids had classes like Signs and Movement, Strings, Video Production, Photography, Drama, Recorders, Beginning Music. In the afternoon, they had classes like Cartooning, Advanced Painting, Soccer, Baseball, Basketball. I was the principal of the week, coordinating everyone and putting out fires. FBC Arlington brought a mission team up to help out with the camp, and I hosted them as well - dinners, going to Vancouver, Mariner's game, Mt. Baker. It was a busy, but rewarding time. 60 kids came to the camp. Last year we had 32. Next year, who knows how many kids we'll have!

The faith aspect of the camp was worked into every class session, and the kids also learned a musical during the week from memory. Kids don't know that they're not supposed to be able to do that! We closed off the week with a finale Friday night that went very well. Every parent was amazed at the kids. Some were even crying... They loved it so much they almost started throwing babies at us.

Back in the Swing of Things

Things are almost back to normal here after the baseball trip. The next two weeks are going to be pretty hectic getting things ready for the Summer Academy, Arlington coming up, and Bethany going to Seattle for two and half weeks. I think I will be glad when it is over...

Yesterday, we went to Wal-mart and finally got a BBQ grill so we can stop broiling things in the oven and burning them. We christened the grill last night with some Carolina BBQ chicken. Very nice. However, the electronic iginition switch didn't work, and I didn't have time to troubleshoot it, so we lit it from a click-flame and it fired up. Today, I just moved the electrode closer to the burners, and now it works. Yes!

So - come on over and I grill you up something!

Jeff, Mark, and Ben

Jeff, Mark, and Ben
Originally uploaded by jeffflint.

Here is Bethany's dad, Mark, and me at the Diamondbacks baseball game.

B.O.B.

Tonight was our final night on the baseball tour. We leave for home tomorrow in the morning. I think most of the guys are ready to get home. And frankly, I am ready to see Bethany.

The game was pretty good - the Diamondbacks lost 4-2, but made a good comeback at the end. The best part was that my friend Mark got to come to the game and we had a good time just sitting and chatting and watching the game. We had a catfish and fries dinner that was actually really good. The fish wasn't rubbery or anything.

I am pretty tired, so I will write a bit more later!

Dodger Stadium

I didn't post last night because we were at Dodger Stadium two nights in a row, so I just waited to write tonight. Dodger Stadium is a classic! It is perfectly symmetrical all the way around and it has that old school baseball feel to it. On the first night we sat behind the plate in the third deck. The seats are the hard, fold-up kind where your knees are below your hips when you are seated. I had to stand up often to stretch my legs and wake my butt up.

Tonight we sat on the third base side about 30 rows up or so right in a good spot to catch a foul ball. One or two came our way, but didn't get close enough to go for.

Last night the Dodgers came back to win 5-4 after being down 4-0. Tonight they lost big time 8-3. My dad and I kept the book on this game - where you keep track of the outs, how the put out went, etc. - and it was pretty fun. I think I will do that again sometime.

Tonight some guy from the outfield ran out onto the field after the 7th inning. Security started chasing him and he finally just stopped running and gave up. However, the security guys didn't. They tackled him HARD. It was awesome. There is just something about the Dodgers that is cool.

Before the game today, I went with some of the guys to Hollywood and walked around there for a while. We parked at the Kodak Theater, which is where the Oscars are held every year now. They were having the BET awards show tonight at the place and so lots of people (fans) were lining the red carpet and an announcer was announcing the celebrities who were showing up. Hollywood Boulevard was blocked off and traffic was rerouted for the event. I didn't see any celebrities, though. Our group ended up taking a city bus down through Beverly Hills and Bel Air. I didn't see the Fresh Prince, but I started to rap like him.

We walked along Rodeo Drive and saw the thousand dollar purses and hundreds of thousand dollar Rolls Royces (yes - two of them). A lot of the cars we saw driving past us were Porsches, Hummers, Corvettes, Mercedes, BMWs, etc. It was crazy. There is lots of money flowing through that neighborhood. I can't even comprehend it.

Tomorrow we are driving a long way to Phoenix for our last game where the Diamondbacks play the San Francisco Giants. I get to see my friend Mark there while he is on a business trip - how crazy is that? It just happened to work out nicely.

Angel Stadium and Petco Park

Last night I couldn't post because the hotel's logon screen didn't come up. If I was Mark Miller, I probably could have gotten around that, but since I am not him, then I had to wait for today to post.

So the Angels game was the worst game we have been to so far when it comes to the fans. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim played the Los Angeles Dodgers, an inter-league game, so the crowd was filled with both Angels fans and Dodgers fans. The people behind us started drinking and cussing right off the bat (no pun intended) and yelling at every Dodger fan they saw. A couple of sections over, one guy threw beer on another guy who was 20 rows in front of him. He got cuffed and thrown out. We were in the cheap seats, so that might have had something to do with the rowdiness.

The stadium was pretty nice, though, with a cool entrance into it. If you look at the picture, you can see two giant helmets that welcome you to the field. Those helmets were ginormous.

The weather was nice, although colder than I thought for a Southern California game. I had to wear a wind breaker and long sleeves for the game.

Petco Park




By far the nicest stadium we have been to is Petco Park where we saw the Padres play the Mariners today, Sunday the 26th. It is a sweet facility with lots of open air walkways, lots of food choices, a grassy knoll behind the outfield bleachers to sit and watch, an old factory warehouse in left field, and nice box seats for the really rich people. San Diego is only an hour and a half or so away from Anaheim, so we got here in plenty of time.

I got there early enough to try and catch some batting practice balls. Twice I had a ball in my mitt, but some kid had his hat there also and another kid caught it right as it went into my glove. Oh well, it feels pretty cool to watch the ball come sailing your way. The Mariners were playing the Padres, so it was cool to see the home team on the road. Sexson and Beltre were belting the balls out in BP.

The Mariners lost 5-4, but it was a very good game with lots of highlight reel worthy material. Our seats, however, were on field level, but far enough back where we were in the shade from the bleachers above us. The wind was blowing in on us, so that made sitting in our seats like sitting in 50 degree weather. It was cold. All I had were shorts and a t-shirt, so I got up and went to the sunny outfield where you could lay on the grass and watch the game from the big jumbo tron they had on the back of the tall score board. That was a cool place for kids to run around, for parents to play catch with them, and to just lounge out in the sun.

McAfee Coliseum - Oakland

Tonight we were in Oakland for the cross-bay rival interleague play between San Francisco (yes, our third day to watch them) and the Oakland Athletics. It is the same place that the Oakland Raiders football team plays in. The ballpark was definitely more crude than Safeco or SBC Park earlier this week. The walkways were cramped and the concession lines plugged up the flow of the crowd. It was an older stadium, so that gave it a little bit of character.

One cool thing was that there was a booth behind the outfield bleachers sponsored by some Hawaiian drink company that had a small surf board ride. If you could stay on the mechanized surf board for 1 minute, then you got a free t-shirt. It is a cool t-shirt, so I tried it out. Well, I have a new t-shirt! Yes!

Since the game started at 7:05pm, we spent the day sight-seeing in San Francisco. We went to Fisherman's Wharf again and took a boat ride under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. That was fun - it was a gorgeous day for a boat ride that's for sure. We also road the classic streetcars throughout San Fran hanging off the side and everything.

Tomorrow we drive a long way to San Diego, so see you then!

SBC Park - San Francisco

SBC Park - San Francisco
Originally uploaded by jeffflint.

Thursday afternoon we caught the 4:05pm game at SBC Park. This time the Giants lost 7-2 to Arizona. We sat in the third deck for this game to give us a different perspective of the game. It overlooked the bay and were pretty good seats, although 10 rows from the top! I would have taken a picture of our view, but my camera broke. This picture in this blog took 5 minutes to take.

That is another story! I couldn't take any pictures, so I thought the batteries were dead. I wanted to take a cool picture of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, so I ran into a touristy camera store and paid $18 for batteries! Ha! Then the camera still didn't work. I was pretty upset... Bethany's birthday present is going to be easy to decide.

On Our Way!

The first game of our trip was yesterday, starting off at Safeco Field, where the Mariners lost, but I got a cool new Mariner's hat for only $10.

We then got up this morning and had devotions and breakfast, and then flew to Oakland airport. We are actually staying in the San Francisco/Oakland area for three nights before we move on. Tonight we saw the San Francisco Giants play the Arizona Diamondbacks at SBC Park where the Giants won 4-0.

There are about 22 of us guys on the trip, with 6 of them being sons/friends-of-sons of some of the guys here. We rented 4 Ford Expeditions which are brand new and super nice. While here in San Francisco I am rooming with my dad, which is pretty nice to be able to chat and catch up with him.

Ahh, vacation - where you stumble into it trying to wrap up everything before you leave and where you try avoid thinking about things you have to do when you get back...

Baseball Stadium Tour Schedule

Starting Tuesday evening, I am going to catch a game a day. Here is the itinerary:

1. Oakland @ Seattle, June 21st - 7:05pm
2. Arizona at San Francisco, June 22nd - 7:15pm - in San Francisco
3. Arizona at San Francisco, June 23rd - 4:05pm
   
4. San Francisco at Oakland, June 24th - 7:05pm - in Oakland
5. Dodgers at Anaheim, June 25th - 7:05pm - in Anaheim
   
6. Seattle at San Diego, June 26th - 1:05pm - in San Diego
7. San Diego at Los Angeles, June 27th - 7:05pm - in LA
8. San Diego at Los Angeles, June 28th - 7:05pm
9. San Francisco at Arizona, June 29th - 6:40pm - in Phoenix

I fly back to Seattle on the 30th. Good times, good times...

Oh - and I saw the Batman Begins movie last Thursday and I was very impressed. Very cool!

First Wedding

I guess I should say first wedding ceremony. Two of my college students got married on Friday night and they asked me to do the wedding. Well, we've been doing pre-marital counseling for the past three months, too, and they tied the knot on Friday. It was a great outdoor wedding - a little windy, so no unity candle - at a place called The Links at Olson Mansion. It was a very nice place. B and I got to stay in one of the rooms there with a huge king size bed with the most comfortable mattress ever. The rehearsal went smoother than I thought and the wedding went faster than I thought - it was only about 20 minutes. That's the way they liked it, though, so it was good. Bethany wanted me to mention (for the ladies) that the dress was pretty and beautiful and there were 100 guests and we blew bubbles for them. B was the starter person in back, so she helped out a lot.

B's mom came in on Friday, also, so she is here for a few days before they go to TX next week while I am on the baseball tour. I think I am going to bring my laptop on the trip so I can blog vacation updates for you who read this.

Sitting Pretty

I have a couple of friends who just refinanced their house and got a better deal with even some cash back coming to them. Well, of course this sets off in my head ,"Can I get some money back? Can I get a better deal?" I almost couldn't sleep a couple of nights ago thinking about it! So, I went today to Wells Fargo and crunched some numbers with the lady and I found out that we are doing okay on the mortgage we have now. We got an incredible 4.375% interest rate on our mortgage a year and a half ago. The main thing I was trying to do was get rid of the line of credit they gave us for the down payment. But, the rate for the refi would have been 5.375% and about $40 more per month than what we pay now. It is just nice to have the security of knowing we are getting a pretty good deal with what we have!

House prices are crazy here in Bellingham. A 3/2 house averages about $274,975. That's ridiculous!

On a side note, Joel and I had a Dukes of Hazzard birthday party one time. I have a secret excitement about the movie coming out... Yes!

Victory on the Softball Field

We had a double header tonight at our men's softball game for FBC. We won both of them and I have decided that it is nice to win! Especially when we can win with as much graciousness as we lose, the other teams see that and Christ is glorified. That's why our church team is in a city league.

Nine of my college students graduate on Saturday. This is the first class that I have seen go from freshmen to seniors, and it is pretty weird to think about the turnover and the fact that they are not going to be a part of our college group anymore... That's the life of a college minister, I guess.

Whoever reads this is awesome.

Jonathan Lacy Medlin

Jonathan Lacy Medlin
Originally uploaded by smwood77.

My friends Jason and Pauline Medlin had their baby! May 26th at 1:38am he was born.

Congrats to them!

Long Weekend!

It was a fun, but busy Memorial day weekend for us. On Saturday, our church was in Bellingham's annual parade called Ski-to-Sea. Ski-to-Sea is an event where a team of 7 members race through 7 stages of a course that begins at the top of Mt. Baker with skiiing and ends in Fairhaven with kayaking in the bay. It is a race that Olympic athletes actually come and compete in for training. The city has a big parade each year the day before the race, and for the past two years, FBC has been in it. It was a very warm day - about 82 degrees adn we had to wait around for a long time, but it was fun. We were the very last entry in the parade! So we were telling everyone thanks for coming like we were the ones hosting it! Ha!

My pastor Jay Smith also graduated from Carey Theological Center with a Doctor of Ministry degree on Sunday night. 27 of his family and friends from the church went to see him get hooded. It was pretty cool. We are very proud of him and look forward to what happens next. He has been in school for as long as I have known him - who knows what he is going to do now!

Yesterday, Bethany and I had to repair the steps that go out from our back room because the support totally rotted away as I stepped on the last stair. It turned out to be more stressful than it needed to be - I am just glad B and I are still married! We got them rebuild finally and then went to a BBQ at Jay's house to celebrate the Doctorate.

Holy Cow - Alias!

Man, it was crazy last night at our house for the season finale of Alias. All nine of us at the end just screamed our head off because it was such a surprising ending. It was awesome! It totally redeemed the entire season, in my opinion.

New Printer

Our HP Photosmart printer broke on us last Friday, so it was a good excuse to buy a new printer! It is an HP PSC 1610 all-in-one with the copier, printer, and scanner. It really wasn't that expensive. They get you on the cartridges, though... and you have to buy the USB 2.0 cable that doesn't come with it. That is pretty dumb.

I put up some pictures on flickr of my sister's new house that she is getting. I think she is the first person to live in it. It is very cute and very her.

Up Early

I am at church right now getting things ready for the service. I am here so early because the Gospel Quartet I sing with has a gig up in Lynden at 8:30am. If I don't get everything ready during the week for Sunday morning, then I have to do it early Sunday morning. I like it a lot better when I get things ready beforehand - fancy that!

My sister is going to buy a house very soon! I am way proud of her - that it a huge thing with a lot of financial things to think about. She is very smart, though, and picks up on things quickly. She sent me some pictures of it and I will post them to flickr so you can see if you want. I will have to do that later.

I spent most of yesterday piddling around the house and the town. B was in Seattle all day for a Science thing she is doing this summer, so I was it at home. I potted some hanging baskets and did laundry and went shopping for necessary stuff. I did window shop for a new printer because ours died on Friday. I also looked at digital cameras and HDTVs, just pondering the feasibility of acquiring them. I can wait.

Gotta run - gotta go harmonize!

Various Things

My friends Mark and Becky are expecting their first kid! That is pretty cool - she just finished her Master's Recital at UT and I think they will be fun parents. Lots of my friends are having babies! Dave and Jen are due in a couple of months and Nathan and Shannon are due soon, too. Craziness... I have gotten to play a couple of rounds of Halo 2 online with Mark and Dave - and in the words of Mark, it is 1005% better to do that. I probably hold the team back a bit, but I am getting better.

I officially do not like broiling things in my oven. I tried to do a London broil dish that we had marinating, but it did not turn out well. At least I left the door open to the oven this time.

I am in a pastor's group designed for learning leadership. We read a book a month and then get together to talk about it and other things. The book we are reading this month is called Execution by a couple of business guys - it is definitely not a church book, and it is kind of dry. I am quickly tiring of it. Like any book, I have to pick what could maybe work for my situation at FBC.

Sorry this is so random, but I haven't written in a while and there is much to catch up on.

Mental Block...

Well, I have a mental block right now at church trying to figure out the worship service for next Sunday. It is weird - sometimes the service just falls into place and other times, it's like pulling teeth. The balance between doing new songs, hymns, or choruses, or what's too hard to sing, or what's too lacking theologically - it is challenging. That's good - otherwise my job would be boring. God keeps it interesting...

I am going to a Pastor's Conference this week up at Regent. It is called the Worshipping Life, and should be educational, rewarding, refreshing, all those things. Robert Webber, Roberta Hestenes, Edna Grenz, Darrell Johnson, and Mark Davies will all be there - they will be great to listen to and engage with.

I finally got on Xbox Live this past weekend and I ended up playing with someone from Georgia. Lots of cussing, but it was fun. (I wasn't the one cussing, by the way...)

Top-Down Weather

Ever since my dad and I took off the Jeep hard top when he was here, the soft top has not had to go up in its place, yet. It is warm - 60s! That's good top-down weather here...

Yesterday was mine and Bethany's 3rd anniversary. I cancelled choir that night so I could suprise B with a dinner date. She came home not expecting to see me - she was pretty happy. Our big anniversary plans was the U2 concert, but I couldn't let the actual day go by without doing something. Everyone came over for Alias that night, too. It was a good anniversary.

We also got new cell phones yesterday, too. They don't activate until Sunday, though, because my contract with Verizon ends on Saturday. On Sunday, I can port our old numbers and still be good. We switched to Cingular mostly because most everyone we chat with on the cell is with Cingular. We got the Nokia 6230 phones, which has camera, video, mp3, radio, bluetooth, weighs about 2 oz, small, no flip, and awesome!

U2 Rocks!

Bethany and I went to the U2 concert last night in Seattle. It was cool because we got to ride with our good friends Jason and Ali (the good looking people) down to the concert and back. They are way cool. We got home about 1:45am, so I was a bit bushwhacked today. B and Ali slept on the way home while Jason and I had some good talks about theology, music, the millenial reign of Christ - you know, the usual late night conversations.

Bono was interesting - he is a very spiritual person and he is authentic in the sense that he practices what he preaches. He puts his money where his mouth is. I don't know how much he loves Jesus and wants to love him more, but Bono promotes a part of God's Truth that could allow people to discover Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life.

I think Christianity is a lot bigger than I make it out to be, sometimes.

Jordan the Movie Star

Jordan1
Originally uploaded by jeffflint.

This is a pic of my niece. She is a doll!

It's Been Too Long!

Well, sorry it has been so long since posting. I finished school, my parents came up to visit, and it has been busy at work. Something going on almost every night. It should be a little quieter for a little bit, though.

We had a softball tourney today with our FBC Team - we went 0-3. It was our first tournament and games of the year, so there are some kinks that need to be worked out. I pitched for all the games, which was a little different because we were under USSSA rules, not NSA rules. That just means I had to pitch a little flatter than I'm used to.

Tomorrow should be a good day at church - we have guest singer doing a couple of songs for us. We are having a going-away reception for our intern who has been with us for 10 months, and then I have a basketball game that night. Yes!

Fun Night

A new Starbucks opened up downtown (closer to the church) and Jay and I went to the opening of it since we know one of the baristas there. She invited us, we went, and they served free drinks and food. It was awesome.

After that, B and Jay and me and a guy named Brian went to the Boston Brass concert at Mt. Baker Theater. They were good and fun. It made me think of when they came to Baylor one time. And then that made me think of when Maynard Ferguson and Big Bop Nouveau came to Waco and played. It was rad. I spent the night when we got home playing around in iTunes wishing I had a bunch of money to download Maynard, Stan Kenton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Quincy Jones, etc! One of my friends, though, gave me a bunch of winning Pepsi caps for 9 nine songs - sweet.

Flooded Basement!

I hadn't heard our sump pump going in the basement for about a week. So, I opened the door that leads to the basement and there it was - 3 inches of water! Smelly, musty ground water. It was pretty bad. We shook the pump a bit and it kicked on, and the basement drained in about 10 minutes. We also got our new wet-dry vac and pumped some water out that way. I guess it could have been worse, though.

Also, I have jumped on the Flickr bandwagon and started an account for holding pictures. Our account name is jeffflint and we just have a few pictures on there with more to come later as we try to figure everything out. Feel free to poke around!

Stan Grenz' Memorial Service

On Sunday I went to First Baptist Church in Vancouver BC for the memorial service of Stan. It was awesome! His kids spoke and showed a video montage of his life - that was emotional. The preacher Bruce Milne spoke on the resurrection and you could tell he loved Jesus so much by the way he spoke the Word. The service closed with the Hallelujah chorus directed by Stan's wife, who is the Music Minister at FBC Vancouver - that was cool, too.

Afterwards, there was a reception in a nearby hotel banquet room. This memorial service was a who's-who of postmodern evangelical thought! Brian McLaren, Bob Pine, John Frankie, Robert Webber, Leonard Sweet, Dan Allen were all there to pay tribute to Stan. These guys are all big on the postmodern publication scene.

I got to go out to dinner with Jay (my pastor who was Stan's research assistant for 5 years) and some of these guys. McLaren, Pine, Frankie, Roger Olson, and Myron Penner were all there. It was cool just to get to know these guys on a more personal level and hear about their families and jobs. Of course, they were talking about academic stuff, too, but it was interesting. They all shared stories of how they met Stan and different experiences they had with him. Robert Webber was at a table behind us, and so I got a chance to say hello to him and tell him that I was coming to his conference in May at Regent. He is a nice guy.

Lady Bears Basketball!

Well, I just got back from the Baylor Women's basketball game down in Seattle where they won 91-70. They were awesome! The other team didn't even score until it was 15-0. I hope the bears go a long way in the tournament.

The basketball band, of which I was a part while I was at BU, sounded really good. Although it just wasn't the same... They played the standards, including Vehicle and Word Up, but the energy level just seemed low compared to when I was there. There was no one yelling like Dave in their huge booming voice "MAKE NOISE" when the other team was shooting free throws. The bones in Vehicle played it pretty safely on this bone feature. I met the new band director - Chrisopher Bianco - and he was pretty cool. That would be a fun job to have! They get to hang around Seattle over the weekend for the next game on Monday. It was weird not seeing anyone I knew, though.

Way to go, BU!

Life after 29

Since turning 29 a couple of weeks ago, a lot has happened... (not that it has anything to do with 29, though.)

I finished the presentation for my Pastoral Theology class - and it went awesome! I had many positive comments on the presentation. It seemed that everyone was enjoying him/herself during that time. It was pretty funny when I played the Maxwell tape - they got bored after three minutes of it. They really dug the John Mayer DVD and it was a fun excuse for me to go buy it. I think I can write it off on my tax return next year because it was a school project.

Kristen came up last weekend and that was way fun to have her here. She and her husband Dave are going to be missionaries in China at the end of this year! That is bittersweet because they are obeying God's call and yet it's so far away!

We got U2 concert tix.

Also this past weekend, Jay (my senior pastor and friend) - his mentor Stan Grenz passed away from a sudden brain aneurism. 54 years old... He was a giant in the evangelical world, writing books on postmodernism and theology. People all over the world respected him mainly because of his love, if not because of his books. I remember getting to eat dinner with Jay and Melissa and Stan and Edna - I was always kind of intimidated around him because he was such a presence in theological circles. Yet, he made Bethany and I feel right at home. He was cool. The memorial service is this Sunday at 2:30 and Jay is in it, so he is going to preach right up front and then head up to Vancouver. B and I will join them up there after our service is done.

Easter's coming! Read in my discipleship time this week: The road to resurrection leads first through the crucifixion. Deny yourself, pick up your cross, and lay your life down for His sake. That's how we find it.

Paper finished, next one up

Well, I finished my pastoral theology project for next Tuesday, and I give the presentation of it then. Here is what I'm going to do: I am going to begin with saying why I chose this topic (i've always held John Maxwell in high regard and liked the leadership principles and I did not know much about Eugene Peterson, so I compared and contrasted the two), then I am going to play a DVD of John Mayer and ask the students questions like, "what are your first impressions?" "How does this make you feel? What emotions come to you as you listen?" Then I am going to play an audio tape of John Maxwell reading from his book The 21 Most Powerful Minutes of a Leader's Day and ask them the same questions. After that we will go through the paper and I will guide them in discussion. Then I am going to have some crayons and paper for them to draw. I will ask them to draw what it means to them to be a pastor. I will ask, To you, what is the heart of being a pastor? The point of this last exercise is to get the artistry juices flowing in their brains.

I still have one more paper to do before next Tuesday as well.

Kristen comes tomorrow, too! That will be fun.

Grandmommy passed away this time last year, and so Bethany and I put these flowers in our church in her honor. She liked lilies.

I guess my friend Mark was in town bringing the Word! I hope it well for you, bro.

Alias...

Well, it was a good night for our Alias home group tonight. Sometimes you have a few people that miss some nights, but tonight everyone showed up, so it was fun. We are Alias fanatics. It was healthy food snack night, too, so we all felt better than last week when we O.D.ed on sugar stuff.

On a more serious note, I have been reading lately a book on Revelation that my preaching professor wrote. It is an expository journey through each chapter and it really opens your eyes to a proper reading of the book. The book is called Discipleship on the Edge. This site has some pages from the book that you can read. To me, it is a better picture of what is going on in Revelation than other books I've read concerning the end times. I will post some thoughts as I keep going.

Early birthday!

My mom told me earlier this week that Joel and I should have actually been born on February 24, and we were ten days late, hence March 5th. Well, they sent me a birthday gift that arrived on my actual due date - planned, perhaps? It was a very nice gift - headphones and an mp3 player that I have been wanting. I have been playing with it since I got it and it is way cool!

For the actual birthday, a bunch of friends are going to get together at Bob's Burger and Brew here in town for dinner. They have a room that seats 30, so it should be big enough.

On other notes, this week I didn't have school because of what they call "reading week." I did some of that. Bethany and I went to Vancouver last Sunday night just to get away from Bham for a brief time. We had dinner, slept in, worked out at the hotel's gym, and went walking around downtown Vancouver, which is a very busy and interesting place.

Whoever reads this is awesome.

The Grammy's

I know the Grammys were last Sunday night, but I wanted to comment on them for a brief moment. It was so cool when Jamie Fox came out and jammed with Alicia Keys on "Georgia" the Ray Charles version. Fox played Ray Charles in the recent movie (which I still have to see). I want to see it even more after the Grammy perfomance. Fox surprised me with how well he sang and played the piano. It was a cool moment.

The person who was nominated for the most Grammys (10, but only won 3) was Kanye West. Here is a link to his hit song. But beware, there is some language it that is R rated. Reading the lyrics is very interesting. Songs reveal a message in a different way than simply speaking. What do you think the lyrics are telling us about what West is searching for? What does it tell us that it was nominated for a Grammy? That the music is just nice or catchy? I don't think so.

There is some deeper truth there that speaks to our deep desire to be at peace with ourselves and with each other. Jesus Christ is that peace, yet so many people fill it with other things - love, relationships, cars, things, even themselves. But even ourselves can't bring us peace - only Jesus Christ.

If I had a conversation with Kanye West, I would want to ask some more questions to him about his need for Jesus, which he mentions in his song. I wonder what he means by that... Then I would pray for him.

Time for an Entry

Well, it has been too long since the last entry. A lot can happen in a week...

We had a great weekend at church. Saturday night was our Mid-Winter Dinner Theater, which went off great! The college students did the cooking, the serving, the acting - and they did an awesome job. The night was designed as a fundraiser for college ministry, and about 85 people showed up. They all commented on how the food was great, and the spirit in the room was electric. People just had a fun time - young hanging out with old, old enjoying the young...

The play was a murder mystery written by one of our own young adults, Jamie Schneider, and it was set in 1940s Hollywood on the set of a film being made by a big time director. That guy got killed. I played the part of his lawyer - a germ freak. Bethany played a gossip columnist and the other students were actresses and a producer. It was fun just to make up answers to the audience's questions about our motives, intentions, and relationship with the deceased. It could not have gone as well without the college students stepping up and doing what they did. Kudos.

V-Day

Bethany and I had a nice dinner at a restaurant in town that we had a gift certificate for. That gift card only covered about half the ticket, but it was awesome food. We know have to eat soup the rest of the month! (not really...) B and I then went to the gym and worked out. (Note to self: don't do that on an full stomach again.) We got home and I watched one of my favorite shows: 24. That and Alias are the best. On the surround sound system, it is pretty cool.

Oh - to my Xbox friends- I got a communicator. I have been too busy to play, but I will bust it out this week since I have a bit of time. I just don't want to encounter some prima donna 7th grader who cusses like a sailor trying to act all cool. Oh well - I'll deal with that when the time comes. By the way, what other cool online games are there? The star wars games?

I have got to blog more often so that I don't have to write so much at one time!

Did Jesus Evolve from a Monkey?

The flu is over, and we can move ahead. Leading worship was weird because I could barely hear how things sounded. But it was a good Sunday.

Last night (Monday night) B and I went to an event called Fight Night put on by one of my friends Abraham and some other people. Fight Night is an attempt to recover responsible theological discussion concerning various "hot topics." Last night, we discussed how to think Christianly about evolution. One person presents the topic and then we discuss it. It really makes you think hard and put clarity on what you believe. My general take on the evolution subject is that we cannot hold too tightly to either the scientific hypothesis or the typical evangelical apologetical response to that hypothesis. Apologetics is not the only way to respond to evolution. I view God as an involved Creator who continues to create and renew His creation. In Gen. 1 & 2, God allows two versions of the story to be in the Bible so that we can hold a rational, ordered perspective right next to an artistic, poetic perspective. I don't think this limits God, but in fact the opposite - it shows how magnificent He is.

It's Flu Season

Well, I got it - the flu. I have been laid up most of yesterday and all of today. It makes you not want to think, it hurts so bad. I had 101.4 temp yesterday, 100.0 today, and I am pumping myself full of water and Robitussin Flu. Nice! We had to cancel choir at church last night. The choir knows the stuff, so it was an okay rehearsal to miss.

So, I am trying to get a hold of Eugene Peterson to ask him a little bit about his pastoral theology. He used to teach at Regent, and so some of the profs here know him. I might be able to fax him some questions, since he doesn't have email. They don't just give out Eugene Peterson's phone number, either... I am also trying to get in touch with John Maxwell to ask him about his pastoral theology. It will be interesting to note the differences and similarities to Peterson and Maxwell's theology.

Other news, I filed my taxes this week - not a bad return!

Reel Spirituality

We watched Leap of Faith tonight at church and then chatted about it for little bit searching for the theological messages contained within. I am convinced that film writers know Scripture more than we may think they do sometimes. The main character was Jonah Nightengale, and at the end of the movie, he was upset with God because God did a mighty work despite Steve Martin's con man character. Jonah in the Bible did the same thing - God saved Nineveh and Jonah was mad about it and pouted underneath a plant.

We are all looking for something in which to put our faith, something to which we give our hope, or something that gives meaning to our lives. The trouble comes when we put our faith in the wrong thing...

Mark's Birthday Band-wagon

Ooh I am on the bandwagon now, though a little late. Happy Birthday, Mark! Your porsche is in the mail...
Yes, Pete's pic is nice.

Whoa, Its Been a Week

This may be a random assortment of things since it has been a week since the last entry.

College Retreat (please be patient, this site is still in progress...)

I got back this morning from a weekend retreat with 22 (!) of our college students. We went to Mt. Baker Baptist Camp, stayed in Cooper Lodge with the guys downstairs and the girls upstairs, and a fireplace in the living room. Besides the fact that the guys had three bathrooms and three rooms and the girls having only one bathroom for all of upstairs, the place is just awesome.

Our topic this weekend was The Art of Discerning God's Will. We had some great discussions on what it means to live a discerning life. How do you really know God's voice? What about "open doors" or "fleeces"? How valid is the "blueprint" plan for my life? How does the Spirit prompt us in those specific times of choice? What prohibits a discerning life? Why would I want to live God's will in the first place? Gordon Smith's Listening to God in Times of Choice was a great resource for the weekend.

We tried to go to Mt. Baker to go tubing and sledding, but there was not enough snow. It was actually raining at the top of the mountain, it was that warm. It rained pretty much the whole time we were there, and so some people never left the cabin! We enjoyed a leisurely Saturday afternoon napping and playing games. I think people really got along and bonded with each other. I look forward to future retreats and experiences with the college group.

Halo 2

I agree with Dave about his assessment of Halo 2 - although I haven't gotten the Xbox live kit, yet. I am looking for a communicator set by itself, but have not been able to find one. Anyway, I hear from most people that that is the way to go. In the mean time, I think I must have gotten a bad disc because some of the pictures take about a second to fully materialize when cutting to another scene in the story. Only once have I actually been playing and the screen froze up in a high energy battle. It froze up for a second and then resumed. I don't know what the deal is... Can I take the game back for a new one? (I got it at Walmart - I hear they take anything back.)

Besides that, however, the more I get on in the levels, the better I like the game. I have never been much of a gamer and I don't want to misappropriate my time, but I can see why one of my friends bought the game on Nov. 9 (the day Halo 2 came out - a Tuesday) and had it beat by Thursday. It's fun.

Know God and you will know yourself. Enjoy your week.

Happy Birthday Benno!

Well, I am finally able to post something about my father-in-law's surprise 60th birthday party! Bethany left Sat. morning to fly down and drive to Abilene to surprise her dad at his birthday party that night. They were playing a mock "walker" softball game where they had to go around the bases with those walkers with the tennis balls on the legs. She came up to bat, Benno was pitching, and he could quite figure out what was going on and why/how she got there. So she went and hugged him and that was a fun surprise. I am glad B got to do that and for Benno for having no idea that was she was coming!

I spent my bachelor time in the usual guy-only way - watching football and playing Xbox (Halo 2). I did read a lot for my Sunday School class and our college retreat next weekend, but I figured I should get in as much Xbox as I can before B comes back. I just know that I will want to spend the time with her, instead.

Back to School

I started back to Regent yesterday with a 2pm class - Pastoral Theology with Darrell Johnson. The professor alone is enough reason to take the class, but it will be a great time to learn from each of the other students as well. It is a seminar class which means there are only 18 students and we all take a week to present/facilitate/teach the projects we are doing. My project is going to be comparing and contrasting the pastoral theologies of Eugene Peterson (the guy who wrote the Message) and John Maxwell (the Laws of Leadership guy). Peterson sees the pastor as an artist while Maxwell approaches the pastor as more of a CEO. Which is the best way to view the pastor? As I do more research, I will share my thoughts, but I invite yours as well.

This morning I have Pastoral Care class - discovering the theological foundations critical for doing pastoral care. As you can see, this semester is pretty hands on with ministry stuff. I look forward to it!

Snow Days ending

We did have church this morning despite the snow still on the ground. The roads are pretty good now, though, but most people stayed home today instead of coming to church. We probably had only about 90 people there.

B and I enjoyed our snow days with cleaning up the house, watching 11 episodes of "Lost" and sleeping in. It has been nice! We watched "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" last night, and it was very creative and intriguing. It certainly is interesting to think about what you would like to erase from your mind, and then asking the question, "Do I really want to erase this?" Memories make up who we are today, shaping our lives and forming us into better (or, if we let them, worse) people.

Anyway, after the movie, B and I talked about what memories of us we would never want erased. That was a cool conversation. I recommend having one.

This is our house and garage.

The first snow day of the year! It is actually the good kind of snow, too! Good thing I got Halo 2 yesterday and some movies...

Back Home from the Holidays

We got back from our time in TX with family and friends yesterday. We left our house Christmas day at about 2:30am and then had Xmas with the fam that night. The weird part was that I didn't get too tired that day - but that's because I was too excited to be tired. We arrived back in Bellingham at about 4pm yesterday. Good times, good times...

We spent two nights in Plano, then went to Paris, TX and then back to Plano for the week. One cool part was to be able to place a stone bench out at Bethany's grandfather's grave site as a surprise to his wife so she can have some place to sit out there while remembering him. That was special for the whole family.

It was really cool to spend time with the family and rest a bit before the new year. B and I got some cool gifts at the same time! I got an Xbox (I will be setting it up for Xbox live) and a bunch of clothes. B got a bunch of clothes, too, mostly from her mom and some cool art for our kitchen from my mom. Her mom also gave us a nice throw for our couch and some cool office supplies. I got some music CDs (U2, John Mayer) and Dickey's BBQ. Aww yeah for Dickeys. My cousin burned me the first half of the season "Lost." (Don't ask... I know it's not out for sale yet!) B's dad's gift was an invitation to accompany him on his traditional tour of baseball stadiums - this time on the west coast. That should be cool.

New Year's Eve was spent at my brother's house with the entire family cooking cheese fondue, steaks and then chocolate fondue. It was a really good time. Our 4 month old niece is very cute!

I will write more later, but wanted to catch you up on what is going on.

My dad sent us this for Christmas. A Texas fruitcake!

Weekend

Well, this weekend was spent mostly in bed with a sinus infection. I know you all have been waiting since Friday to read that...

Sunday I was not on my game (because of the sinusutis) and it showed during the service. I had to apologize to God. Here it is the community worship experience for everyone's week, and to me, it did not feel good enough. Thank God He is a God of relation, not performance.

On a positive note, I am in the championship game for our fantasy football league! There is a cash prize for the top three teams, so I will get a little bit of extra $$ to spend on all of you for Xmas. Yea!

Questioning my manhood...

Last night we had our good friends Jason and Ali over for dinner. Well, I had recently received some Omaha Steaks in the mail the other day from a church member - a Christmas or Thanksgiving present I guess. So B and I decided to cook these up for our dinner date with Jason and Ali (who are good looking people).

So, I don't have grill or anything, but I read that you could cook these steaks under the broilier in your oven. So they were thawed completely and defrosted, I had made some Perini Ranch Steakhouse Rub and massaged it into the top sirloins, and then put them into the oven and set the timer for 8 minutes.

After five minutes, I look into the oven and there are flames rising up from the steaks! I ask Bethany - is it okay that there are flames inside our oven? She said, "I don't know. I've never cooked steaks in the oven!" Then I tried to squirt the flames with some water (you know, to douse them) but the flames reared up even more, so I quit that.

I take the tray out of the oven and smoke starts going everywhere. We have all the windows open in the house, including the front and back doors. We start a little fan going to get some air circulation. Meanwhile, Jason called right at the moment I took out the pan to say they were on their way. Bethany had just dialed a phone number when I took out the steaks - and the smoke alarm starts beeping that loud horrendous sound. That person's answering machine is going to have a funny sounding message. Jason said later - that's what I heard in the background, isn't it.

I flipped the steaks over to the other side and put them back in the oven with the broiler on. This time the rack was lowered a notch so it wasn't so close to the broiler. I was thinking, "Okay, this should be alright. The rack is lower now." Five minutes later - more flames and smoke. I turned off the broiler, set the oven to 500 degrees, turned off the smoke detector (again) and let them cook a bit that way.

The crazy thing is that the steaks actually turned out really good and Jason and Ali were great! I am seriously questioning my manhood if I cannot cook steaks...

Christmas Wishlist 2004 Update

This list is updated from last time with some clarifications and other thoughts.

The goal of this wish list is merely to inform others of what is on my mind for Christmas. They are simply ideas for people to see and I certainly am not expecting them across the board.

Gadgetry/Toys (things that are too expensive to get as gifts!)
iPod 20GB
BBQ grill
iMac G5 - Both Bethany and I work with Macs at school and church. Plus, I just think they look classy. We don't need one - it's just a wish!

Digital Camcorder- I have not done research on which ones are better than others, but it would be fun to do some video stuff with church. Here is PriceGrabber's site about them: here.

Digital Camera - looking to upgrade to something like a Canon Powershot A95, or a Sony Cybershot DSC-W1, or a Sony Cybershot DSC-T1, or to be insane: a Canon Digital Rebel EOS 300D SLR.

TiVo! Alias is on Wednesday nights now and I can't make it home in time from church!

Music
U2's new album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
Robbie Seay's album Better Days
anything Jack Johnson
anything John Mayer
some good classical stuff (Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 2)

Clothing

• some nice winter gloves like Isotoner
• new bath robe (I think I've had the same one since high school.)
• a cool new belt that would go well with everyday jeans
• a new baseball cap
• sports socks (the longest, up-to-the-knee kind!)

Miscellany:

an inside-the-car-duster

a tray table set like this, but I didn't think it would be this much... We actually have two of the oak tv tables and are looking for two more. We really only want two more to bring our set to four. We heard a rumor that they might not make the oak anymore, just the dark cherry. Who knows?

a Starbucks travel mug

Halo 2 - yes, my Xbox is going to be fixed!

Bethany:

• Bethany likes socks (yeah, I know that is weird to wish for for christmas... but she likes nice socks to wear with dress shoes and also thick, cozy socks.) She also likes Old Navy stuff, Ann Taylor stuff and this JJill turtleneck in chartreuse. She also mentioned some cool jeans would be nice.
• She also mentioned the other day a zip up performance fleece.
• some snowpants or bibs. (examples) She would be a L.
• stationery organizer

Okay, that is it for this round. I don't know how to highlight what has changed since last time, but check the Dec. 6 blog for the original.

Pulling Back

Whew - well, I am at Regent right now and I printed off the Herm. paper for the final time. Of course, there is always some weirdness with technology when you have to get a paper printed just right - formatting, word processing programs, disk drives working properly. Thankfully it worked out...

My choir program went incredibly well last night. It was amazing. Three months of working diligently on some pretty hard music came to a close last night and the emotion was draining! After the last note, I was speechless... It was awesome.

Only a Greek final to go on Thursday and I will have these next three days to study for it. I am not too worried about it. (yet)

One somber note is that Bethany's grandfather passed away early Sunday morning. She is not going to be able to go down to the funeral, and that is tough decision. But, in the long run, it is for the best since we can see the family when we come down for Christmas.

Jeff

The Rhetoric Is Over!

Well, I just completed my final paper for Hermeneutics class. My thesis was that rhetorical criticism must not be limited by method and theory, but must reveal a comprehensive interpretive analytics.

I had yesterday and today to work on it, and I am grateful for the time from my boss. I just have a little tweaking to do when I get to school early Monday morning, but I will have the time to do so!

Tomorrow is the dress rehearsal for my choir's annual Cantata. We are singing a good variety of styles of music from a book called The Wonder of Christmas. I like that book - I just wish I had a huge orchestra accompanying us! The performance is Sunday night and I think we will be ready.

My sister runs her second marathon this Sunday and I am excited for her. I just wish I could be there to cheer her on! *Chariots of Fire music playing*

Happy Birthday Mom!

My mom

Today is my mom's 30th birthday! Happy birthday, mom.

Christmas 2004 Wish List

The goal of this wish list is merely to inform others of what is on my mind for Christmas. They are simply ideas for people to see and I certainly am not expecting them across the board.

Gadgetry/Toys (things that are too expensive to get as gifts!)

iPod 20GB
BBQ grill
iMac G5 - Both Bethany and I work with Macs at school and church. Plus, I just think they look classy. We don't need one - it's just a wish!

Digital Camcorder- I have not done research on which ones are better than others, but it would be fun to do some video stuff with church. Here is PriceGrabber's site about them: here.

Digital Camera - looking to upgrade to something like a Canon Powershot A95, or a Sony Cybershot DSC-W1, or a Sony Cybershot DSC-T1, or to be insane: a Canon Digital Rebel EOS 300D SLR.

Music
U2's new album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
Robbie Seay's album Better Days
anything Jack Johnson
anything John Mayer
some good classical stuff perhaps

Clothing
some nice winter gloves like Isotoner
new bath robe (I think I've had the same one since high school.)

Bethany likes socks (yeah, I know that is weird to wish for for christmas... but she likes nice socks to wear with dress shoes and also thick, cozy socks.) She also likes Old Navy stuff, Ann Taylor stuff and this JJill turtleneck in chartreuse. She also mentioned some cool jeans would be nice.

Okay, I've got to stop and go to bed now. I will add more to this later as things come to mind. Seriously, though, we've already received the perfect present from someone - plane tickets back down, so we are blessed.

A New Week

I noticed it has been a few days since my last blog. Time just goes, man...

Last Friday night we had a Medieval concert at our church with a group of women singing some Hildegard of Bingen settings about Christmas. It was a bit boring and not inspiring and a bit amateur-ish. Afterwards Bethany and I went to a friends house to watch the movie Luther, the famous Reformer. It was pretty interesting. I like biographies.

Saturday was supposed to be a "get-work-done-day" but it turned out to be a "stay-in-bed-because-its-rainy-and-cold-and-we're-sleepy" day. But we got the house cleaned, went grocery shopping and Xmas shopping and spent a good amount of money. The night ended with Outback Steakhouse and the Italian Job movie with our friends the Terrys. That's a great movie. It is what inspired my dad to get a Mini Cooper.

Today was a big day at church. The college students came over for breakfast this morning to our house. We had an orchestra during the service. Our choir piece was from our Cantata next week. (!) And this afternoon was a Community Carol Sing at which I played my trombone. I was also the music coordinator for it, getting everyone's music together and situated. My gospel quartet sang at it as well. Then we had our evening service, but I had to come home and read my hermeneutics stuff.

This week is going to be long, so if you don't see a blog for a little while, that might be why. My mom's birthday is on Tuesday! (I have to send her something...doh!)

Thanks for reading...

Feel like Alexander

Did you ever read as a kid that book called Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day? He kept wanting to move to Australia and his mom would say - "Some days are like that. Even in Australia." That was today! I am Alexander today!

On a positive note... My church choir sang well at practice last night. We are getting ready for our big Cantata on the 12th. We only have two rehearsals left! I think that they will be okay with it, though. We are singing some cool, challenging pieces from a book called The Wonder of Christmas by Word Music.

Soon I will put up a link to my church's new website. We are totally redoing it because the old one sucks. Plain and simple. But the new one will be pretty cool.

Well, I could write for a while on different subjects, but I will stop now.

Jeff