Yeah, well, so much for the severe weather- at least in MY locale. So what there was a tornado touchdown an hour west of us here. So what there was hail covering the ground in Hamilton.....20 minutes from here. So what that we didn't get enough sun to stir things up in the atmosphere here. So what we got a bunch of piddly rain and a little puff of wind. So what they got hail back in my stomping grounds in Tennessee. It doesn't flippin' bother me one chunkin' iota.

Stoopidoggonefreekinbiskits.

This is the Thursday afternoon NWS forecast discussion for the severe potential for SW Ohio on Friday, April 22nd, 2005. The words "rotating, shear and veering" in the same sentence get me hot and sassy this time of year.....well anytime of year akshully. The highlighted text.... compliments of yours truly.

.SHORT TERM (TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT)...
SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS STATIONARY FRONT FROM NE KENTUCKY TO
SOUTHEAST INDIANA TO DEVELOPING SURFACE LOW OVER MISSOURI.
SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS OVC SKIES BEGINNING TO ERODE FROM THE
NORTH AND SOUTH OVER FA. KILN SHOWS PRECIP EXITING EASTERN FA.

NAM AND GFS IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH TAKING UPPER LOW FROM THE
NORTHERN ROCKIES AND MERGING IT WITH A DIGGING UPPER TROF OVER THE
EASTERN CONUS. THIS WILL TAKE A DEEPENING SURFACE LOW CURRENTLY OVER
MISSOURI AND MOVE IT THROUGH INDIANA AND OHIO DURING FRIDAY AFTERNOON
AN EVENING. THE STATIONARY TO THE SOUTH AND EAST OF FA WILL MOVE
BACK NORTH AS A WARM FRONT LATE TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY
MORNING...BRINGING GOOD COVERAGE OF RW/TRW. FA WORKS INTO THE WARM
SECTOR AND WILL SEE ATMOSPHERE MIX OUT AM CLOUDS AND CREATE
MINIMAL TO MODERATE INSTABILITY OVER INDIANA AND OHIO. PROGGED
HODOGRAPHS SHOW SUPPORT FOR ORGANIZED AND ROTATING THUNDERSTORMS
WITH WIND SHEAR AROUND 15 M2/S2 AND RESPECTABLE VEERING WITH
HEIGHT. ANOTHER INTERESTING ASPECT OF THE NAM IS THAT IT SHOWS A
DRY LINE MOVING ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE FORECAST AREA WITH
AN INVERTED TROF REFLECTED IN THE MSL. THIS WILL MOVE AHEAD OF
COLD FRONT...WHICH WILL WORK ACROSS OVERNIGHT. THE BIG QUESTION
WILL BE HOW MUCH SUNSHINE WILL WE GET TOMORROW? THE MORE WE
(OH/IN) GETS THE STRONGER THE STORMS WILL BE. WILL FOLLOW
SPC WITH A STAIR STEP APPROACH. THEY HAVE UPPED SWRN 1/3 OF FA
INTO MODERATE RISK WITH THE 18Z UPDATE. FOR THE ZONES WILL ADD
STRONG WORDING FOR FRIDAY PM. WILL ALSO UPDATE THE HWO. REMEMBER
IT WILL BE ALL ABOUT THE SUNSHINE/INSTABILITY FRIDAY AFT INTO EVE.

ONCE FRONT MOVES THROUGH THEN THE BOTTOM DROPS OUT WITH COLD RAIN
SHOWERS SATURDAY WITH A RAIN AND SNOW MIX SATURDAY NIGHT.
CONTEMPLATED A FREEZE OUTLOOK FOR SATURDAY NIGHT WITH TEMPS FALLING
CLOSE TO OR POSSIBLY BELOW FREEZING. HOWEVER, DID NOT WANT TO ADD
ANY CONFUSION TO THE POTENTIAL WEATHER ON FRIDAY. THUS WILL DEAL
WITH IT AFTER TOMORROWS EVENT.

TIPTON

For those of you who haven't been to Palmer's blog in a while, I suggest you go and inform yourself on the dastardly determination by his health sharing group. That is why I have included the Paypal icon to the right in case you might want to donate to their impending health care costs.

I am praying that there will be more than "something" out there and it will more than suffice in defraying the bills and allow for a dignified standard of life. Is that too much to ask?

Saw my father, stepmother and grandmother off today after they spent the weekend with us here. This really was a special time for me to have them here with us. I don't get to see them a lot and this is the first time my father has visited me since I graduated seminary in '95. It made me ache for more time with them. It made me cogently aware of choice and sacrifice. I did manage to relish the fleeting time though.

I am reminded tonight of the richness of journeying with and abiding with a people. Receiving the reports of some major healing God has done in one life and hearing the impassioned pleas for the same hope from another on behalf of her brother. Rejoicing and taking on another desperate situation. Soul-stories and life lines laid bare and trusting one another in the directions our lives are taking. It's sweet to see the communal submission we are growing into as we mature.

Onward, weeping, kneeling, wailing, imparting wise words, encouraging and girding up our collective loins as we continue to run this race. And what a joy it is to run it together. I have so many conscientious, servant-minded people whom I call my spiritual extended family that I can't even begin to count the joys of having so many brothers and sisters.



Footballs in trees
The Jaylord flees
Sisters on their knees

Brownies in the bowl
A young man in the fold
Cords tied to his soul

Joe's come back
To a party out back
Now what's to lack?

On this good night
With friends so tight
The Kingdom in sight.

Babes and Buses

.....not THOSE kinds of babes, now.

Thank God for the wee ones....the tots and toddlers, who never fail to come through when a certain mass transit professional has had a day of jaywalkers and joyriders test his patience. It doesn't matter what these little ones are doing, either being drug through the uptown by a parent's hand to who knows where or playing in the park on the stone animals or waiting by the crosswalk with the big people in tow for the signal to go.

They see me....well they see my bus.....okay, Hamilton Tours' bus.....and the world stops. Eyes go crazy-round, fingers point my way (not the usual other finger I get from those 18+ years their senior) and mouths go agape. It does not matter to the child if there are more important things like another bite of cheeseburger or crossing a busy intersection. This is a big white bus and it rules their world. At least for 6 or 7 seconds. Those fleeting windows into joy and amazement, no matter how vicarious and trivial, are welcome. At least I have made someone happy.

So what if they can't spell "bus."

My pops, stepmother and Granny Ruth- the gracious woman who took my sister and I in at age 13- are coming up to visit us this weekend. Been a long time coming and it'll be great and weird at the same time. Totally looking forward to it.

Got my weather station up......this house is now a home, thanks to tha Doc, who- by the way- needs to freekin blog again. Got 1.93 inches of rain to greet it, too (sump pump=not happy). Promptly had dream about a tornado.......bring on the severe wx.

Getting to know a swell guy and his family at Dana too....... Ken Hall is a great artist who also incorporates tornadic themes into his artwork. This man must have a special place in the Kingdom just for that.

Method Acting In The Virtual Revolution

DeNiro does it well.....immersing himself into his roles so much so that he alters himself physically by losing/gaining weight so as to best convey his character. As one of the consummate method actors of our generation, he arguably has been one of the best at entering into the totality of the character's life.

As one of the proponents of "doing" church "simply"- (i.e., no buildings, no staff, no overhead, greater intimacy/relational connection, seeing God do some crazy-good things, depth and flexibility, meeting wherever you want/can...etc.)- I often muse over where I actually live my life's aspirations........in the incomparable successes, experiences and connections of my peers online OR in the real world, (wherever that may be right now)?

Ever feel like you're in a dinghy in the immerjing church blogosphere whilst others unfurl plush multi-masted sails? Ever feel like you just don't measure up?

Am I living or just performing?

Maybe I should just relax.

Let me say this..........I want to and will follow what is happening on the cyberspheric front as we explore new ways of communication that technological advancement is affording us. I acknowledge that it has been an impetus for my personal growth and maturity. But as one new thing comes around the bend and gets linked-to or blogged-about, there it is....the subtle pressure to jump on, to measure up, to be "with" it. To not get left behind.

Have I subtly replaced the past drive to achieve/arrive/perform in the old ecclesiastical setup with a new one....one to achieve/arrive/perform in this cyberspheric form of this ecclesial revolution? To be the one to pump out the next mind-bending blog, article or tool?

(You know I know this is MY stuff.....you aren't causing this. I am responsible for what I do with what goes on inside of me).

Am I too busy trying to contruct my personhood ONLINE while sacrificing something of myself off it? I sometimes can't even muster the effort to maintain a worthy blog because I see it as a discipline, but from the vantage of my UN-discipline. I struggle with finding the equilibrium of electronic connectivity. Sometimes I do fear I am too wired-in, driven by the lust of conceptual image-brokering.

And are we just going to be reduced to that? Is this the destiny of at least this part of our being- that, as the conceptual image-smiths riding the initial crest of the revolutionary wave, we'll only have it fold in over and upon itself once the media machine learns the language/images of the revolution (as they are doing)?

How often will we have to linguistically reinvent ourselves and our "image" (intended or not) for the sake of the revolution? And is the revolution's online presence the same as the one in the neighborhoods?

But I know the ones I run with who talk about this stuff. They live it. Their lives are the treatise upon which everything they say stands. Some can argue as to whether or not anything is emerging and can make a worthy case one way or another. But I have chosen to engage in this revolution unashamedly. Truly, my notion of "church" has revolved (and still stands ready to). I thirst for the simple, disciplined forms that create and nurture growth in community, but not as a rehashing, but in a way that is appropriate for our frame of reference, or context.

And I think I suffer from a warpage of cyberspace/time. Can my experience of the Kingdom be on the same timetable and be spatially equal with someone else's on my computer screen, as they report it? These are reports of past events after all (or they are hopes or aspirations of/for things to come). My experience of the Kingdom of God becomes relative to yours. I know what it is because you and I experience something similar. But as denizens of the net, we have so many temptating choices to focus on regarding our frame of reference. But, at the risk of sounding too simplistic (as I know it is true), our only frame of reference can be Christ. Digital transmissions and arranged photons cannot be the ultimate measure of my being.

While most of the inspiration for the revolution is bred online, nothing but the substantiation of local face-to-face interaction can satisfy. Virtual reproductions cannot suffice alone.

Thank God my regional proteges, my spiritual mentors, friends and faith community- most of whom have an online persona- have made themselves relationally available and often go to great lengths to be present to each other.

Nothing new here, just a caution thrown toward the spirit of technological inevitabalism poised on the corners of the Kingdom.

Thanks to those of you who responded to my questions re: townie-ism and students residential status. For those of you who didn't and should have, may all your children be born bald and toothless.

Just got back from a Veritasian Wells Cave trip.....hopefully pics to come. Very nice trip with some very good budding cavers. This is all Veritas really is.....a front organization to funnel in brand new cavers into the caving population. Those of you who were suspicious all along.....there....I said it. Can't fool you anymore.

Anticipating how I am going to spend spring break while simultaneously comprehending the moment fast approaching wherein I'll wonder where this time went.

ATTENTION MY MIAMI STUDENT READERS and/or OXFORD TOWNIES....

I read about or hear you talk often about why it sucks to live in Oxford and why it is or has been hard to make the relational connections you need. For some, it may not be as bad all the time or even any of the time.....regardless, I welcome your commentary.

This is something about you I care for deeply and I want to learn more as to why it is like this for you. So consider this an exercise in learning for me. Lay it on me. I want this to be an open and honest forum for you to even vent if you need to so konw that no one will rail against you for your feelings.

These ?'s are for starters.....feel free to comment on the topic as you wish.

STUDENTS: Why has it been hard for you to make significant relationships? What is it about Oxford that hinders this? What should faith communities do to enable relationship building that is not solely entertainment-based and superficial? What are you learning about yourself in your current struggles with relationships?

TOWNIES: So what's the official definition of an Oxford townie......living here 5+ years? Maybe you've been a student at Miami or grew up here, but now you find yourself still here, trying to make a living. Where is the city failing you? What is the best and worst thing about living here? Why do you think so many young adult townies long for better things elsewhere? Is this place really God-forsaken if you have nothing to do with the university? Where can a faith community make a difference?

Quite an amazing time praying for Palmer and Amy Saturday. If ever there was a time when a gathering was "pregnant" with the possibility and hope of God, it was that night. (Check Chris Marshall's blog for a good recap).

Confronting the evils of dire physical sickness calls us to face mysterious, coexisting realities. Christ has indeed secured victory in its fulness by His death, burial and resurrection. We are more than conquerors and if He has everything under foot, what part of "everything" has not been included? When the enemy rears from the flanks, perhaps his greatest ploy is to tinker with our perception of the Christus Victor and lure us into thinking we are fighting him as if he were an equal or somewhere near that. By definition, you can only engage in a battle with an opponent who is worthy, if not equal to the task. The enemy is formidable, but is no longer an equal foe. We ought to continue to storm his encampment and proclaim our victory and become a fool and believe God. Does Jesus not have the keys to that realm from which the chaos of sickness originates and do we not have the name and authority to not only come against it, but to preside over it? Think of the ramifications upon all of the created order in our time and space (and any others). There is NOTHING that can prevail against the Christ, within or without the body.

Yet the fight Palmer faces may indeed feel like a battle. On the cellular level, there is indeed warfare. We still must be compelled somehow into living in this tension of the Kingdom reality in prolepsis.....come but not yet. Rest assured.....the Kingdom of the living God has "come enough" into this world to garner the healing freedom of Palmer's body. Watch and see.

I dunno if anyone noticed or not, but my conversion to this Man of Sorrows is still ongoing. My self-efforts will always be a balancing act over the pit of extremism. I am still a man not shocked enough by my capacity for evil/selfishness.

I remain increasingly convinced that there need be a revolution to refire in my heart because I cannot transcend myself. Maybe I pitched a tent and the revolution moved on over the horizon. I can still see the smoke.

As many of my readers already know, our friend and brother Mark Palmer is facing cancer. This is an open letter of encouragement to Mark and his family. As you read, be reminded to pray unceasingly for Mark, Amy and Micah.

Please leave a note of encouragement to him here or on his blog to let him know you are praying.

Mark you have been a source of joy and inspiration to us. Words fail to fully show that.

Mark, Veritas is regularly keeping you before our God in prayer. We have alerted our network of prayer partners to join us in this effort. We may not be able to fully enter this garden with you, but we are and will be awake at the gate. We will keep watch and stand with you and for you all in this. As you know Mark, let us know how- in any way- we can show you our love in this time.

Father, unfold your healing mercy upon Mark. Bind him together with Amy and Micah as you release the deep hope of the coming fulness of your Kingdom realized in Mark's body. Surprise them with the freeing joy of each new day and punctuate the living moments with the reality of your abiding presence. Unload the storehouse of strength, pour out the unceasing reserves of resources needed and surround Mark and Amy with advisors infused with the wisdom of God as they make the medical decisions necessary for healing. Our hearts shall evermore be gladdened by our trust in the One Who is more than able to ascend above and beyond our cries here.

Awritey......who's up for another late-nite drunk run?

.....why am I the only one raising my hand?

Please, please PUH-LEEEEZ no puke-a-zoids.

Just had a lovely dinner with my wife at Buffalo Wild Wings in Hamilton.

Only that this BW3 is now being patrolled by a policeman. Seems management wants to curb teen raucousness and maintain a family atmosphere. Twas interesting to pack away a chicken sandwich under armed guard.

.....cuz heaven help to know where to start.

I did not give up anything for Lent.

Doggone diggity freekin' sweetness in all of it's flippitude......Dave FINALLY be bloggin!!!

I made it through my next-to-last drunk run Saturday with one last one in the wings this weekend. I got through w/o anyone hurling so I was a happy driver. I hope for so much this next time around.

I'm pretty sure people don't understand pastor/planter-types. They have no idea that the most miniscule of complaints levied toward us, even though no ill-will was intended, contains a pesky barb of hurt. Granted, their issues carry the weight of their own sentiments but they assume they can simply release them your way in a kind of fire-and-forget mode. They forget that what they verbally assail is inextricably linked to the whole of your: calling, vocation, locale, economic and social status, home, relational availability and future aspirations that are fundamentally for the betterment of them and others outside of yourself.

I don't know if it's a challenge for you, but I find how I receive critiques (baseless or worthy) has the potential to reveal a blind side to my character, so I'm willing to lissin nonetheless to them and to what my defensiveness says about me. And I go from there.

I've thought about it for as long as I been a pastor so I'm just regurgitating......it still ain't easy, no matter what ecclesial structure you're in.