Category: personal

Okay, first off please don’t take the title literally. I am not saying anyone is ignorant, other than me. The title is just meant to be something catchy. Did it work?

Second, I’ve found a new podcast that I enjoy listening to. It is called “Philopsophize This” and it has been quite good thus far. During one of the episodes it mentioned what is known as the Socratic paradox. The paradox is that Socrates said that he knew one thing that others around him didn’t and all of his wisdom came from that one source of knowledge. What was this knowledge? According to Plato Socrates constantly described it this way.

“I know one thing: that I know nothing”

If you think about his Socratic method of learning through constant questioning this makes perfect sense. Acknowledging how little I know is a great starting place, no matter how much I actually know. In fact, the people I know who are really experts on a subject usually are the ones who seem to acknowledge how little they actually know about the subject they are an expert in.

It always scares me a little when a person constantly responds with “I know” during a conversation. It concerns me even more when I find myself wanting to respond with “I know.” Why do I feel the need to say that? Saying “I know” kills conversation. Saying “I don’t know” or even better nothing encourages conversation. It encourages learning. It opens doors rather than shutting them. Pride pushes for me to try and prove to someone that I know something. Humility encourages me to learn from everyone and assume that I don’t know as much as I think I do.

I think this is just as true of faith as it is anything else. Admitting how little I know produces reliance upon Jesus, whereas thinking I know a good bit produces pride and self-reliance. I hope today I realize that I know nothing.

A few months ago I bought this flash light from Amazon because I had a gift card that had $4.70 left on it and the light was the only thing in that price range that I wanted. The light has dropped in price now and is less than $4. A seriously good deal for a light that kicks butt. It is really wonderful.

Small, bright, and sturdy. A great combination. I guess that I will have to buy a couple of these for the boys for Christmas.

I started my rounds as the chaplain for my companies in Marshfield early this morning. All went well.

Per my usual I “checked in” at the places I went to via foursquare. I use this because through a combination with IFTT

I am able to have my “check ins” automatically placed into my Google Calendar and this gives me some accountability for where I have been.

Any I went to check in at one of my companies only to discover that it isn’t listed on foursquare yet. No big deal I can correct that. I saw that I could “check in” for the whole city of Marshfield. When I did I discovered that one of the “tips” left for the city was that the roads “suck” and that “the people suck too.” Well that’s nice to know. I am sure Natalie G. will be glad to know that all the people of her hometown suck.

Thanks for the helpful info Foursquare users.

SIDE NOTE – the image to the right is a screen shot showing the statements. Enjoy.

Round two of the Burger Experiment took place yesterday. This time Noah and I were joined by Pam who for some reason didn’t eat a burger so she doesn’t really have anything to add to this post. As a family we love Hilltop but for some reason I have never eaten one of their burgers. I usually go for the Chicken Flippers which are fried chicken cook in fish fry batter. Mhmm, good stuff.

The burger unfortunately wasn’t as good as the Chicken Flippers. Both and Noah and I were excited about the burger. It looked really good and smelled even better. As soon as my burger arrived I realized that they had forgotten to bring me the mayo I had asked for on my burger. Strike one. While waiting for a little mayo to be brought by the waitress I took the top bun off the burger and discovered that the slice of cheddar cheese I had asked for on the burger wasn’t there. Strike two. On the good side while I waited for my burger to have cheese melted on it I tasted a little of the burger juice left on the plate and it was great. This really got me excited about the burger and I was ready for its return.

So when the burger came back I was ready to eat it. My response? Mhem. Definitely not worth eating again. The patty itself was quite good but the bun is horrendous. Soft and mushy. Strike three! I don’t think they did anything to the bun other pull it out of its bag. Come on people. Toast the bun! This is important. The soggy bun took what would have been a very decent burger and changed it to a waste of my time.

The garnish isn’t as big of a deal for me but it wasn’t to my taste. They garnished the burger with a leaf of lettuce. One solid leaf. Personally I tore it up and put it back on the burger. Why not slice or tear the lettuce up? I think it is better for the eating experience.
The fries, on the other hand, were the saving grace. Hilltop’s Brew City fries are great. They really are quite tasty. The fries were enough for Noah to rate the overall experience as a 7 1/2. I can’t go that high because the burger was really not very good. We’ll gladly go back to Hilltop again but I will stick with my usual – Chicken Flippers and Brew City fries.

My overall rating – 5 1/2.

Right now the plan for next week is The Point After or Arbuckles. We’ve heard good and bad about both.

It has been a few years since I have read N.T. Wright‘s “Surprised by Hope.” It is an excellent read (I think most things by Wright are) and a great bargain at $1.99 for the ebook. Amazon and Google have it for that price and I would assume Barnes & Noble does too. I love finding great books at great prices. The sad thing is that unfortunately I often find them after they are no longer on sale.

Every year Washington Elementary refinished the gym floor and Tapestry needs to move for a week. This year they are actually changing the lines, which is apparently much more difficult than refinishing the floor. Instead of just being gone for one week we will elsewhere for three weeks. Usually during our absence we do a picnic/worship gathering at Iverson Park. Three weeks was a little long for Iverson and a little chancy with the weather. So I asked First Baptist Church in Stevens Point if we could meet there for a couple of weeks. They were gracious enough to say yes.

So here are my thoughts from the first time that Tapestry has ever met in a building specifically designed for church use.

• First, I am amazingly thankful for 1st Baptist. They were very generous to let us meet there. I asked about paying rent and they said “no need” (don’t worry I have made sure they have been renumerated in another manner). Thanks 1st Baptist.
• Second, I am very thankful for the understanding nature of Tapestry. We usually have really talented individuals leading our music. Jodi, Eric, Joel, and Drew are amazing. I love our music and I know other people do too. Last night was the “perfect storm” of not being able to find someone to lead our music. This means that it fell to me. I am the last chancemusic leader. This is because, while I can lead, I am not very comfortable doing so and I am not very good. So how does Tapestry respond? Oh they sing louder than normal so that Idon’t feel like I am leading alone. It went from “man, I hate doing this” to “man, I love singing with these people.” Thanks threads. You guys are awesome. Even so I’m still readyfor Jodi, Joel, and Eric to be back.
• Third, pews? Really? I know at one time pews were a great step forward. At one time everything in a church building was a step forward that solved a problem that needed to be addressed. Therefore, at one time pews were progressive. Now though I really hate pews. I didn’t realize it till starting Tapestry. Before I had always thought that chairs were a nice alternative every now and then, but now I just really hate pews. Actually I had considered meeting in the gym at 1st Baptist simply because there would be no pews. I thought it would be funny to move from a school gym to a church gym. The Leadership Team said “lets go with the the sanctuary and we did. Good call because the sanctuary has AC and it was needed in that old uninsulated building. Still, those pews!?!?!?
• Fourth, Tapestry is pretty techie and non-techie at the same time. We use technology on a regular basis but it is never the certain of focus. What does this mean for 1st Baptist? Well it isn’t a very technologically friendly site. No grounded outlets for a start and very few outlets in general for another thing. Also the sound system? Well it just couldn’t handle what we usually do. It couldn”t even handle Drew’s bass. So we went pretty low key. I don’t think anyone noticed. Because while we typically have the scripture for the message on its own interactive website and use videos, document projectors, people using tablets and smart phones during the message, etc., etc., those things are never the focus of what we do. They are just tools. We use them when they are helpful and skip them when they aren’t. Last night’s “powerful” illustration for the sermon was a bottle of Diet Coke. You don’t get much more low-tech than that.
• Finally, if we ever get a building (and folks that is a really big IF because I for one am happy renting Washington for a very long time) I hope we still have some setup and tear down that is necessary for each week. I love the fact that each week after church people are working together and most importantly talking together while we clean up. People don’t just rush away from Tapestry unless there is something very important that they have to go to. I hope that is always a part of who we are and I, for one, am willing to setup and tear down chairs for the rest of my life if that is necessary for those conversations and laughter to take place.

That’s it for my thoughts on the first week of meeting at 1st Baptist Church. Remember folks we meet there again this week.

SIDE NOTE – also remember we are providing the meal at Place of Peace this Thursday.