June, 2009 | Robert's Blog

June 27, 2009

the week in tweets – 2009-06-27

wishing my dad in particular, but all the other dad's out there too, a happy father's day – thanks for taking care of us brats! #
@johnthemember – thanks & i relax all the time. i guess today i'm relaxing from relaxing too hard 🙂 in reply to johnthemember #
here's the link i mentioned tonight at tapestry concerning the in home care kits we're building http://bit.ly/Z1C5z #
parenting dilemma thy name is noah – went to 3 hr activity today that required water & hat. i saw he forgot them. do i bring them to him? #
i've been RT'd by @shakesp . you know you are writing fine quality tweets when shakespeare retweets them 🙂 #
@jesslawrence1 – i half-way wimped out. it's 90º & humid so i brought him water but no hat = a slight sunburn to remember next time 🙂 in reply to jesslawrence1 #
@allisonrichmond – yes – this is why we refer to adam and noah as "an heir and a spare" in reply to allisonrichmond #
@allisonrichmond i half-way wimped out. it's 90º & humid so i brought him water but no hat = a slight sunburn to remember next time 🙂 #
@meganckelly i half-way wimped out. it's 90º & humid so i brought him water but no hat = a slight sunburn to remember next time 🙂 in reply to meganckelly #
@ppolnaszek – because they always end up being crucified 🙂 in reply to ppolnaszek #
i started choking on a piece of corn and pam said, "i would do the heimlich but it's not allowed in my recovery plan until week 6 postsurg." #
@ppolnaszek – nope because i haven't even once come close to crucifixion yet – apparently i'm not doing something right. in reply to ppolnaszek #
i smell like smallmouth bass after a couple of hours of topwater smallie fishing … mhmmm … life is good. #
@johnthemember – most definitely. corn jokes should be silky, organic, and just POP out … see? in reply to johnthemember #
just in case you were wondering … I HATE RUNNING HILLS! I HATE IT! I HATE IT! I HATE IT!!!! #
@bsheets – just one that i know of and it's manmade – the railroad underpass at michigan and patch. there is a mile i run back and forth on. in reply to bsheets #
@ppolnaszek – 🙂 in reply to ppolnaszek #
it's finally raining! about stinking time! #
@bsheets – my youngest son is thrilled with the trade your cavs made today. they might stand a chance now – but probably not 🙂 #
The really interesting question isn't 'what job do you do' but 'what job do you WANT to do?' – Alain De Bottom #
But you know that when the truth is told..That you can get what you want or you get old – Billy Joel #
@bsheets – great movie. in reply to bsheets #
I'm watching the ceremonial process of becoming one … aka their wedding. Very beautiful! #
just finished building the temporary fence that will allow dogs to play in the backyard while I slowly build a picket fence. #
noah and i just finished watching "up" – WOW! what an amazing movie. a kid's movie, my butt. #

June 25, 2009

at this point there aren’t many of us in tapestry that are dads but we wanted to celebrate the few of us who are fathers by doing something that is consistent with who we are. for mother’s day i stole an idea from some of my friends at the ring in baton rouge and tapestry gave our thread mother’s gift cards indicating that three mother/daughter kits had been bought from world vision and given in their names. we guys are different though. we need something to fight for. we need someone to fight for. i talked with a couple of “threads” and we decided that fighting for kids was a worthy way of honoring the dads in tapestry. so we donated to invisible children to help fight for kids who are having their childhood stolen from them by being forced by the LRA (LORD’s resistance army – a blasphemous use of GOD’s name because the LORD has nothing to do with this movement) to be child soldiers. it fits with who we are and most every guy wants to fight for someone who need his help.

the second thing we did for father’s day was “operation blessing” or what i like to call “operation mess with people’s minds.” at tapestry it is said all the time that “the church is the people not a building.” being a nomadic church it is typically easy for us to remember this. tonight a couple of us thought it would be a good idea to take this known fact a little further into our lives. typically people “tithe” to the church so that the “church” can do ministry. of course, when you believe that the people are the church it seems pretty obvious that it should sometimes dramatically affect how we view ministry and tithing too. we decided this was one of those times. so our gathering tonight ended with me placing in front of everyone a basket with $150 worth of $5 bills to “tithe” to the church (a.k.a. the people). i asked everyone to take whatever they thought they could use to minister to those around them during the week. the goal is to use these small resources to show the love of GOD in small acts to those around us. that’s what tithing is for, right? one person said that had a neighbor that needed a screen door but couldn’t afford it (many houses around here don’t have a/c because it doesn’t stay hot very long and always cools down at night – in such situations open windows and doors are the main way of cooling the house). automatically a couple of people joined in with their $5’s to make it happen. quickly several other things were mentioned. next sunday should be fun hearing all was done through simple acts of $5 love.

SIDE NOTE – tonight at the tapestry gathering i announced that we had the opportunity to supply, build, and send in home care kits to help children and adults in africa that are struggling and dying from AIDS. we will be collecting resources over the next few weeks and then on july 12th we will put these kits together after our sunday night assembly. we have to deliver them to rochester, minnesota by july 15th so that they can be shipped with other kits from other churches. each kits costs around $100 and i am sure our little church can do at least 5 but my secret dream is 10. if you’re a thread here’s the list for making a in home care kit.

June 20, 2009

the week in tweets – 2009-06-20

The boys drug me outside to see a Lamborghini in a neighbor's yard – I'm old because all I thought was "expensive driving phallic symbol" #
Crap – if only Kevin Garnett had been healthy. Things would have been different against the Celtics. Stupid Lakers. #nbafinals #
Noah & I thought it would be fun to ride our bikes to his baseball game. Wouldn't you know it, it's starting to rain. #
Reading Ephesians 1:15-23 for Sunday and loving on Cash's song "Personal JESUS!" WOW! REACH OUT AND TOUCH FAITH! #
@zmikko – the same is true on the edges 🙂 in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko -not sure i completely agree with that statement but since limbaugh is a jackass, & leading, there is probably some truth to it. 🙂 in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – that's cool – i wasn't trying to defend air america in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – sorry about apparently offending you with limbuahg – i thought we were using humor in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – though it does seem odd that you attack that considering you call our president labamba 🙂 in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – you do realize this is twitter? how do i provide facts for limbaugh being a blow hard? maybe his hypocrisy on drugs and marriage? in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – oh okay – "jackass" is my pet name for limbaugh then 🙂 in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – i've looked. you do provide some facts but the crap like the birth certificate is a red herring and you know it. in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – no mention of policy where? in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – that's because he doesn't set policy – at least i don't think he's ever had that much control of the rnc – who knows though. in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – because it gives you guys such fun being mad 🙂 and of course, the far wing would just find some other conspiracy in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – please refer back to the aforementioned hypocrisy on drugs & marriage – that was my mention – also it's a pet name so that's good? in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – 400,000/304,059,724 (us pop as of 7/2008) = 0.1% – not very significant – look a fact, you've taught me well 🙂 in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – if it's agreed that he's not an illegal then what cover up do you hope to expose by hoping to find a "fraudulent" birth cert? in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – i'm guessing you won't take snopes.com as facts but i'm not sure who else you would want to view the cert. http://bit.ly/OfIbu in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – ronic from the guy he dismissed the un"INFORMED" earlier in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – actually i believe the '08 dem platform is more consistently prolife than the rnc's in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko glad you think so BUT the rnc platform was simply to reverse roe which doesn't get rid of abortion – just sends it back to states in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko & since repubs have nominated 7 of 9 supreme's they obviously don't want to reverse it and get rid of the issue in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – dnc platform wanted to continue but reduce abortion – i can at least work with that- it was also anti-death penalty a prolife iss in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – as for people seeing the actual birth cert -dir of health & dir of vital stats from his home state have – their people 🙂 in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – that's a state's rights argument and isn't prolife or not – it's trying to coopt prolife for its own agenda in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – btw, about to have to start supper so i'll be quiting soon in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – thats hard to believe when a 7 of 9 majority can't overturn one case – smacks of not wanting to overturn it but use it as an issue in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – then why should i trust them & vote for them? why should any prolifer? in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – don't assume so much – i don't hold dem or repub, conservative or progressive ideals. trying to hold biblical ones. in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – sometimes this means one side, sometimes both, and many times neither. in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – sorry that description could fit either one – which one were you talking about? again, read my last tweet – i'm not FOR either one in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – which election? which race? not always the same party. in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – come to think of it i've never voted for a party – party votes seems kind of stupid to me. i do however votes for individuals. in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – i'm assuming presidential elections here. '08 obama, '04 bush, '00 bush, '96 dole, '92 bush, '88 bush. fit your pattern? in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – agreed with more of his platform, not a big fan of continuing some of bush's policies, no longer believe the rnc on abortion, etc. in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – some of the etc. includes not believing rnc is family friendly beyond slogans, in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – don't depend upon a political part to bring about CHRISTian ethics. CHRISTians do that. my vote was because i believe in reduction in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – a platform of "get rid of roe" doesn't do anything about abortion – it just pretends to so that people will vote for the party in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – which part? in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – the platform on abortion involved reduction – remember "safe, legal, and rare" – more truthful than "we'll overturn roe" in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko – i agreed & i'm opposed to abortion BUT IMHO doing something is better than nothing which is what's happened since nixon in reply to zmikko #
@zmikko -but saying "we'll overturn roe" has been a great way to keep the religious right voting republican who cares that it won't happen? in reply to zmikko #
noah's baseball season is officially over now. they made it to the second round of the playoffs & then lost. #
@theboy1der – color me green in reply to theboy1der #
@theboy1der – thanks bud. you're the best. in reply to theboy1der #
i just finished massaging pam's butt – not in a good way – it was to help with nerve pain. #
@jesslawrence1 – that will intimidate them. in reply to jesslawrence1 #
"develop a servant, get a leader: develop a leader, get an ego" – unknown author #
conducting work at Emy J's coffee house is one of my favorite things EVEN when my laptop is covered in cat hair – SUPID SHEDDING CATS! #
@exchangedliving – i hate to jump in on a causey-trinity conversation but i heard you were the favorite b/c of your sickly childhood 🙂 in reply to exchangedliving #
there is pure comedy in watching some people parallel park – thus far 8 minutes worth of such comedy … and still counting #
To Belt's or not to Belt's? That is the question. #
@meganckelly – that's great. how long did it take for you to realize this? in reply to meganckelly #
@natebyrd3 – great movie in reply to natebyrd3 #

June 19, 2009

excuses, excuses

first let me state something obvious – cousin’s sandwiches suck. some people around here like them but not a ton of people. of course, as the sign shows it is a lot easier to blame the economy for a shop going out of business than it is to blame one’s business model, product, or self. it’s always nicer to place the blame on someone or something else. it makes us feel good.

the same is true with CHRISTianity. it’s easier for us to say that the world is changing or people want a “cafeteria style” religion, etc., etc. than it is to maybe admit that sometimes we simple are doing a lousy job of presenting the gospel. we do like our excuses.

i don’t believe that the “product” we offer the world is a failure (i feel terrible to refer to JESUS as a product but it is merely an analogy). HE never fails but i do think that we fail in conveying HIS message to the world. sometimes we just need to admit when it is our fault and change our methods so as to convey the message of HIS love. rather than making excuses that demand that the world change so it can hear our message, we need to change to convey the always consistent CHRIST in ways that everyone will understand.

excuses may be easier but they don’t accomplish anything good.

June 18, 2009

rolling in it

with basset hounds it is always easy to determine when something disgusting has died and begun to rot in your yard. if the bassets are joyously rolling in it then it is probably a smell that you do not want to be near or have on them when they come back into the house.

sorry for not posting much recently. life has been a little busy around the terrell household with pam’s back surgery. it’s all good because i get to see the boys respond to helping out and we’ve had some wonderful friends/threads helping out (thanks guys). the report on pam at the moment is that she continues to be on the mend. she has a long road ahead of her in recovery. the nerve pain is gone but she can’t do much because of the surgery’s wound. she can lift the weight of a quart of milk and that is it. no bending, no reaching, etc. this means there is not much she can do other than lay on her side, use the bathroom, walk down stairs to sit up for 20 minutes or so, and then head back to bed. she has come up with some creative methods for teaching the first couple of weeks of her summer course at uwsp. anyhow if you have a second and think of sending her an email or starting an e-conversation with her i’m sure she would appreciate it.

SIDE NOTE – you know how ever family has some crazy uncle, aunt, dad, etc. that everyone says “don’t worry about him. that’s just crazy uncle eddy. he’s just that way”? you love that person, would do anything for her, but you don’t take much of what she says very seriously because the family understands that she doesn’t usually turn her brain on before she speaks. you get a good chuckle out of the absurdity of your uncle’s statements but you also explain to those around that he doesn’t speak for the family and he isn’t really a threat. know what i mean?

i sometimes wish there was a way of saying this to those not following CHRIST concerning some of our CHRISTian brothers and sisters. something like “don’t worry about him, that’s just cousin bob – we think he was dropped on his head when he was a kid.” something to acknowledge that we love a brother or sister as family while agreeing that what she is saying is nuts.

let me specify here that i’m not talking about the actually dangerous people. i’m not talking about the uncle that you wouldn’t leave your kids with. for example – fred phelps (i find it hard to believe that he is a family member – but that is up to GOD to decide) or pat robertson. a family is supposed to protect people from that type of evil. no i’m talking about family members that would be classified as “mostly harmless.”

btw, i’m “looking in the mirror” while i type this because most of the time i am probably the one this would need to be said about. “don’t worry about cousin robert. he just talks that way. we just nod, pass him some more bbq, and leave him in a corner while we do the real work of love”

June 13, 2009

the week in tweets – 2009-06-13

Apparently while describing Pam's back injury at Tapestry tonight I said it was surgery on her cervix … which is obviously not on her back #
There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people – Thomas Jefferson #
@redheadlindsay – have you read any vonnegut? i just started on him this year and love his stuff. in reply to redheadlindsay #
@bsheets – a mustard seed? in reply to bsheets #
@bsheets – a man who finds a treasure in a field and then sells all his belongs to buy the field? in reply to bsheets #
@bsheets – leaven? in reply to bsheets #
@bsheets – a think the mustard seed and leaven are my favorite – very viral. in reply to bsheets #
Being in the midst of being broken & simple doesn't mean we want to live there – Chris Seay #
want to help proof the door hangers for tapestry? they are right here – http://tinyurl.com/ntk8a2 #
The updates on Pam's back surgery begin now – presently she is being prepped a.k.a. told to wear a backless gown – which is appropriate now. #
In pre-op. Should begin surgery within the next 20 to 30 min. #
met with the anaesthesiologist (a good idea to hit a physician before surgery because he is treating your ph.d wife like an idiot?) #
the neurosurgeon has checked in – we really like him – but it is odd having a surgeon with a tattoo sleeve on his arm. #
The surgery has begun #
Augustine referred to the church as a "hospital for sinners". I know what he meant but I'm not sure a modern hospital is an inviting analogy #
@NativeVermonter – can't agree with a graveyard. there is too much life in the local example of the body that i am in http://sptapestry.org in reply to NativeVermonter #
the surgery is finished and the doctor said it went well though he had to remove most of the disk. Pam will be in recovery for the next hour #
Pam is in her room now – her semiprivate room with a deaf, loud senior adult with bladder control issues. I bet it's better for Pam on drugs #
I'm driving to Marshfield to pick Pam up from the hospital. #
sleeping in noah's spare bed so i won't accidentally hit pam's painful incision while we sleep – he talks in his sleep & snores loudly! #

June 11, 2009

pam is home

apparently my mom is let down because i haven’t posted that pam’s surgery was a success and she is back home (which i don’t understand because i called them).

so here is the report. pam’s surgery went well. she now has a long recovery period. she should be able to go to work in two-three weeks. she’ll be able to do other things over various amount of times (i.e. 8 weeks for walking a dog of less than 10 lbs, 6 months to canoeing, 9 months for painting, etc.)

June 9, 2009

i started smiling 10 seconds in

since i’m posting videos that make me laugh i should probably post this hammer time video by a&e also. it’s a promo and therefore not as much fun but i still would have loved to have been in the store when it happened.

SIDE NOTE – thanks to brad’s comment concerning the type on the door hangers i got adam, a graphic designer who is a part of tapestry, to walk me through improving the door hangers’ type. here are the new ones.