Monday, August 30, 2004

What a luscious time was had at the Brownhouse with Rains, Creech, Marshall, Palmer, the Beanius, Klinefelter and some other brand new fellas I was glad enough to meet, but wanting in remembering names.

The air was filled with laughter, pipe smoke and did not move an iota. And to top it off was a gift of books from BeanBooks straight from the man, hisbadself. Thanks muchly, Bill.

A highlight.....hearing Palmer and Marshall recount their escapades in Europe, 'speshully the images of Palmer not only buying man-panties in England, but wearing them and shrieking to Marshall upon his beholding of the spectacle, "Don't look at me, I'm hideous!!"

Friday, August 27, 2004

Am not looking forward to driving with today's temps pushing 90 and heat indeces pushing 100+ and with ambient on-board bus temps (near the engine compartment) aided by a 180-220 degree heat flow.

But I get to sandwich that in with a lunch with the incomparable Jaylord and an evening with the boyz in Cincy. Definitely, a quality day.

Sunday, August 22, 2004

Should it cross your mind to pray for me, I long for the depth and wisdom of a more inwardly/outwardly disciplined life....the likes into which I have been too fearful to delve.

Thursday, August 19, 2004

I've discovered a new sport.

After a refreshing dinner and foray through the CD section of Barnes and Noble with the Abbot of the Westernmost Chester, Msr. Christophe Marshalle, I ambled to the coffee spigot- but not before perusing various and sundry books on real estate and starting your own business, a section I had to walk through on my way.

In the four minutes and 67 seconds it took me to secure my diversions, order my coffee drink and sit down, I was approached by not one....not two- but THREE dress-casually-attired young business-looking characters horribly pregnant with a sales pitch waiting to burst forth like an adolescent pimple. (These were not store employees, mind you).

With "How To Make Millions In Real Estate" in my hands, I hear, "SOOOOOO, you're into investing huh? Me too." Taken aback by the invasion, I assess what sort of greeting this was, visually qualify the perp and politely correct him while burying my nose in my book. There are a couple more attempts to hook me with casual conversation, but I politely keep reading and mumble, "Yeah....rmellsll."

Sauntering to the next aisle, I thumb through "101 Top Businesses To Start" and immediately hear, "Ya got yer own business? That's the best thing to do." Incredulously surmising my lot, I am keen to the come on and answer with the most astoundingly boring response I can muster. "Nah." Some more attempts and I just nod with a half smile and break for coffee as he departs, books in hand.

As soon as I sit down with my books and coffee, hoping for further relaxation, enter clean-cut-dress-casual-guy-preying-on-unsuspecting-potential-client-in-the-bookstore number three.

"Ya know, with today's economy, starting your own business is the way to go."

I could not escape immediately- he plopped right down beside me and asked me what I did for a living. Was he going to love this......

Well, really, I spared him. Those are the hardest questions to answer sometimes. There was nothing about my appearance tonight that suggested that I had any business savvy about me. I glanced at my grease-caked fingers and nails recalling my stint this afternoon as grease monkey to my ill-begotten alternator. I saw my kneecap through the tear in my shorts as my right foot suddenly and simultaneously cramped up in a ball of pain. Through my grimace and foot massaging with pseudo-mechanic's hands, I triumphantly inform him of my church planting habit and the three jobs that support it.

He apparently feigned interest for as long as possible, talking about how it was good how "evangelical" Southern Baptists are, n'shiznit (my editorial redaction on that last part). As I sucked on my frappucino, he upped and got himself thither, bidding me luck.

Apparently, the salesmen stalk the bookshelves. That's the first time I can ever remember being hustled in the bookstore. Prally won't be the last and I prally ain't the first. I've been Barnobled.

Monday, August 16, 2004

The rapidity with which this summer has passed has left me bumfuddled and musing on the passage of time, aging, etc.

In a few months, I'll be 35....that's freekin' half of 70! Internally, I am not feeling older.....strangely, I feel as if I'm still 22. But my carcass tells me otherwise.

The years are starting to be marked by too many annual rites of passage.....move-in days, driver's meetings, June vacations to North Carolina. These only serve to remind me how quickly life happens and how stupendously foolish it is to fail to live it, speed be damned.

Friday, August 13, 2004

Perseids: 213
Sporadics/Minor Shower Meteors: 13
Observation Window: 310am - 530am
Highest Hourly Maximum: 120 at 400-430am
Limiting Magnitude: 5.5
Conditions: Clear, 53 Degrees
Remarks: One bright fireball, with a persistent train that lasted 30 seconds and bent in the upper atmospheric winds

Not bad....right on my forecast (of course), the cloud deck departed at 3 am and revealed pristine dark skies, stars shimmering like so many diamonds in black velvet.

Kim and Ian came, making it a total of 4 pipples for the party. It was a great show with sometimes 2-3 meteors shooting at the same time.

Next shower will be the Orionids on October 21st. Not as active but still adequate enough at about 20 meteors per hour at the maximum. Comet Halley is the parent comet for this meteoroid stream.

I desperately need a digital camera with a manual shutter speed control. Donations accepted through the Glenn Johnson Fund For Ministerial Excellence.

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

So, we just went in, signed 954,344,532 and one-half documents......extruded some platelets......convinced whoever that we weren't terrorists.....lopped off a couple of vestigial digits.......and completed mapping the human genome.

Then we got a house.

Okay.

Twasn't THAT bad. Took bout thirty minutes and we were signing stuff left and right but it went smooth. Even got some money back. Not bad at all.

An interesting sidenote.....my escrow agent's daughter is singing the anthem tonight at the Reds home game vs. the Codgers.

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

Early this Thursday morning- anywhere betwixt 2am and dawn- be sure and catch the Perseid meteor shower for a fine celestial show. If skies are clear enough, expect about 60 meteors per hour toward dawn.

And if you're really feeling frisky, try catching some earthgrazers (forgive the 2 year old link). Go out and observe right after dark and see if you can spot any meteors that streak all the way across the sky. They're pretty rare.

Enjoy the creation why don't you?

Monday, August 09, 2004

Saturday, I finally got to get back underground where I belong. I, along with 2 other Veritasians, made it to Wells Cave in Pulaski County, Kentucky....a 11.5+ mile-long gem of a cave (55th longest in the US). We didn't get through all 11.5 miles by any stretch.

Highlights: exploring side leads off of one of the main passages for 2.5 hours that only turned out to circle back into said main passage.....the 50-60 foot pit.....the shower room.......finding more cave under the entrance room breakdown after exploring for 5.5 hours.......crawling through ridiculous 6-12 inch deep mud in a crawlway about 3 feet high for about 40 yards and coming out in monster walking passage......the "river"........the hodags.......but the coolest thing was doing it with two buds, two brothers in Christ, two people with whom I journey in Kingdom like-mindedness. Heaven in a cave.

What's all this got to do with church planting/emerging-church stuff? I could say that the church could learn a lot from the caving community about "community," but I won't.

Lowlights: come on, it's caving!

Wednesday, August 04, 2004


Gag me with a.....well, you know what.......
News from the Department-Of-News-You-Don't-Want-To-Hear-About.

I know Google thinks it's doing me a service by: 1) pulling out certain words from my posts; 2) and advertising things in the Google ads bar on top of my page that it thinks I'm interested based on those words. Does it HAVE to stay on "Hindustani Music In Chicago" and that infernal (blankety-blank) "Hindu Statue On Sale" ad forever? I ain't even interested in that fluff! Am I gonna have to post about tornadoes a hundred times?

Sunday, August 01, 2004


There's circus tent in my backyard right now. First time for that to be sure, though the clowns have been here long before it arrived.

Weeeellll.....this was the site of the wedding feast for Jason and Andrea, who were married with their respective families and the Hester community in attendance....right in our own living room.......

....again, another first for us.

This has to have been one of the holiest moments I can remember in a while. Weddings are like this for me....especially when there is such high relational investment in the people who are being wed. It began just a few weeks before when I officiated Eric and Christi Osterday's wedding (Veritas' very first wedding), when upon seeing Christi appear adorned in white to walk down the aisle, I was just swept away by the purity, the beauty and the holy mystery of it all.

And here in our living room, I was taken again by the presence of the Christ who so obviously takes delight in holy matrimony. Suffice it to say, I didn't even make it halfway through my reflection before I was teetering on the brink of blubbering outright for joy and for the immensity of the depth of our relationships that were being clarified in that kairotic moment. The beauty of it all was it's simplicity....everyone officiated in some way. Everyone contributed either in worship leadership, prayer, encouragement, laying on of hands, blessings or just merely being there. If we weren't all at some point a blubbering mess, we were pretty close. Especially when we surrounded Jason and Andrea in a circle of affirmation. That was simply powerful. What a wonderful community I have....I love my church.

Two weeks, two weddings....two beautiful couples whom I love and adore.....two wondrous outpourings of the Spirit.

Godspeed, Jason and Andrea......I shall not ever forget this day.

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