Category: personal

until this year i had never been to black friday. if at all possible i usually try to avoid shopping when there are crowds. this year however during CHRISTmas i am fixing up an old computer with my dad so that i can place in the man cave and best buy had a few deals going on that would make everything a little cheaper. therefore, i decided that i would wake up at 4:45 a.m. and go shopping at best buy. i didn’t really think it would be that big of a deal. after all this is the stevens point area. the whole micropolis is only composed of 60,000 people. boy was i wrong.

when i got to best buy the line going into the building was wrapped 180 degrees around the building and that was while it was already moving in. i jumped in the line just to see what it would be like. all i know is that you people who do this regularly are completely nuts. why would so many people be in such a mad rush to spend money? i was so distracted by the oddness of the situation that i ended up grabbing the wrong item (i wanted a 22″ lcd monitor for $149 + rebate and what i grabbed was the “better” 22″ monitor for $199 without rebate). by the time i realized it all the other deal monitors had been snatched up. it then wasn’t worth it to me to stand in line and buy the only other item i needed (a new hard drive for the machine) when i knew i could buy it online for the same price. so i put both items back up and walked around to amuse myself.

i ended up randomly pointing people to other parts of the store. the big item for sale was a whole emachine computer for $199. every one and their mom was looking for that. of course, the item sold out minutes into people entering the store and of course most people didn’t realize that. every time i heard someone say “i wonder where the computer for $199 is” i would tell them that i had heard it was over in another department. woosh! they would fly off in that direction. i feel kind of bad about it now but i have to be honest and say i thought it was quite funny at the moment.

thankfully, i do not think i will ever go to black friday again. usually i prefer celebrating “buy nothing day” more than black friday. i guess today i kind of did by proxy.

good night i’m going back to bed now.

i hope everyone had a great thanksgiving. the terrell family in wisconsin did. our normal tradition involves us hanging out with our families in alabama (we hang out with friends on CHRISTmas). we like thanksgiving lunch (and CHRISTmas lunch also) to be full of food, crowded with people, and loud. while it was fun this year just being with the immediate family, pam and i both agree that we are looking forward to when it will be load and crazy around here. our ultimate goal for next year is to gather some friends around who aren’t able to be family for whatever reasons. this is what we usually tried to do in baton rouge.

part of our family tradition also involves going to see a movie on thanksgiving day. today we went to see “fred claus.” it was pretty good on a whole. we all enjoyed the moment when santa claus responded with “this means nobody in wisconsin gets any gifts.” thankfully we will be in alabama on CHRISTmas day. whew! that was close.

SIDE NOTE – i finished “jim & casper go to church” last night and it was great. since i checked this book out from the library i am probably going to have to buy this book so i will have it on hand to pass around within our core group. i actually may just buy it for everyone our core group.

today i went to the monthly bay lakes associational pastor’s gathering. the meeting is in appleton, wisconsin which is about an hour and a half away from the stevens point area. usually i carpool with another pastor or two who live on the way there. because of these guys plans for the day carpooling wasn’t an option and so i was on the road solo. the good side of this was that i was able to listen to a couple of mp3 lecture recordings that were great.

here they are:
[display_podcast]

the first was a lecture of n.t. wright & anne rice – it’s here and it’s amazing. the second lecture was one by ron sider talking about the historic chance that stood before the church to be a real difference within poverty in america. it’s here and it’s incredible.

the only problem with listening to sider is that what he says has a tendency to refocus your priorities – which isn’t really a problem unless you’ve set you heart on something that obviously a large luxury. listening to ron i suddenly realize where the money really should go. thanks ron.

as i found out tonight at my first official full length curling bonspiel “good curling” and a handshake are the appropriate method of beginning and end a curling bonspiel. i had a blast tonight and thanks to some cheap slip on rubber all-weather shoe coverings i didn’t ever come close to falling and busting my butt like i did last week. it was a good evening and i will not be sore tomorrow.

if robert is walking his dogs north on a single 20′ lease with one dog attached and robert’s left and right and the dogs suddenly see a squirrel south of them and begin to chase it at full speed, how quickly will robert hit the ground after being tripped by the lease that has wrapped around his legs?

first, i’m so stinking proud of my wife. today she defended her dissertation and she is finished with all the requirements for her ph.d. she’s a cool chick.

second, today it snowed for the first time since we moved to wisconsin. it was just a flurry but it was still the most snow we’ve seen in seven years.

finally, i know there are head hunters for ministers but the concept sill makes me want to puke. i received an email from another head hunter today. here’s the email (with the church blocked out because i don’t desire to help these people in any way):

robert,

i am with ministersearch a consulting firm based in dallas, tx. we assist churches as they search to find ministers for key staff positions. we also coach pastors and ministers like you as you determine if you are in the most effective ministry role and/or position.

we have partnered with XXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX church in sumter, sc http://www.XXXc.org/ in their search for a coaching pastor. The coaching pastor will be the chief leader and strategist for adult discipleship along with a coach to the youth and children’s pastors.

this is an excellent opportunity for someone who has the right mix of leadership and ministry experience.

XXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX church is a contemporary church that has had a great impact on the community. XXXX XXXXX, the lead pastor, is looking to add this person to the church’s senior management team which cast’s the vision for the church.

the right person will have several years of ministry experience in a growing environment. this is not a church that gets hung up on legalism so staunch fundamentalist will not be a fit. You should also have a desire to serve on a team instead of independent ministries.

the compensation and benefits are outstanding and the cost of living in this quaint community is very reasonable.

if you have an interest this position, please forward a copy of your resume for confidential review – I will get it to the search consultant handling this search.

also, please forward this email to anyone you think may be interested in hearing more.

thank you for your consideration.

sincerely,
XXXX XXXX

every time i see or get one of these i get sad. what does a letter like this have to do with JESUS or ministry? i know some of my other ministerial friends have seen these same letters. thankfully my friends think these ministerial head hunters are sad also.

i emailed him back the following:

stan,

you’re kidding right? please be kidding. i so hope you’re kidding because i can’t see JESUS in any of this.

robert

pam and i have tickets to go see “urinetown, the musical” friday. i’m so excited!

SIDE NOTE – has anybody who reads this used mythtv? my dad has an old emachine that i’m stealing from him and placing in the “man cave.” i have a cable hook up there and i am considering placing a tv tuner in the machine and using it as a dvr. that way the “man cave” will have a computer, dvd player, tv, and dvr all in one machine.

my run for the day
distance – 2.0 miles
time – 18:53
pace – 9:27/mile