A few weeks ago Ellen and I attended a conference in Atlanta called Catalyst. We had a great time. For us it was many things… Among which the most out-standing for me is just the simple blessing of taking my wife to work with me.
I’ve been to a lot of conferences. It’s something I like to do. I find that a few days away can bring about perspective for the past present and future. It can interrupt our well thought out plans and replace them with a clean surface for new ones. It was great to have my best friend and closest ministry partner along for the ride.
That ride reminded me of the most important thing about our relationship. The highest reason that we are together is to magnify Christ. I truly believe that I’m better at pointing people to Christ with her. Directly or indirectly she positively affects everything I do in ministry. I’d love to think that I complement her the same way, but there is no way that I’m as much a help to her as she is to me.
As we spent the few days standing in lines, battling traffic and enjoying food… we had great conversation. We talked about a multitude of things including our families, jobs, friends, likes, dislikes, our marriage. We also found ourselves talking about other issues that we really care about. (In case you’ve never been, Catalyst is an event that shines just as much spot on the issues of social justice as they do honing your leadership skills.)
How are we going to respond to poverty in the world?… there are a hundred thousand ways and they all have merit.
How are we going to spend our time wisely?… the amount of time we invest in people and the way we designate time to people is the most direct form of communicating how much (or little) we value them.
How will we apply practical daily habits to better the environment?… It’s sad that most churches leave this issue to outsiders. We have to respond. We don’t have to freak out, but we have to respond.
How will we be good stewards of what God has given us and be responsible in taking care of it?… We are trying to eat healthy, work out and have a strong friendship with outdoor activities. We love it.
Those are four that I’m working on right now. It’s hard work. I truly believe that these are areas of moral influence that we have upon people we do life with. There are others… money is a big one too. But these are the ones that we feel have received the least attention lately. So we are doing something about it.
So you’ve met Elizabeth. She lives in Tanzania and we are excited to know her more. The money that we give to her each month is a sacrifice, but we believe that by it she will receive education, food and spiritual nourishment. Our prayer is that she would come to know Christ and make a gigantic difference in her world.
More to come on Elizabeth, more to come on our goals. Thanks for listening.
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October 29th, 2008
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This week in the warehouse… Mystery night.
Ryan and I spent the day trying to get into character.
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October 29th, 2008
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Ellen and I had a great weekend with my parents. Birmingham is the half way mark so we met there. Sometimes you just have to spend time with the people you are closest to. It’s the only cure for the ailment of a life too busy. It requires sacrifice and obedience and scheduling, but also the ability to remember how to relax. But we did that well. We remembered how to sit back and talk and that was my favorite part.
Also along the way we passed by an estate sale.
Ellen looked through the jewelry separated into small ziplock bags. Broaches and earrings and bracelets all separated randomly and out of order. She didn’t find anything she needed.
Mom and dad bought a chair though. Mom even found a cookbook. It held decades of wide ruled notebook paper with pencil marked recipes for deserts and casseroles. We can’t wait till Christmas when we can try some.
It’s great to take a break from life and do nothing for a while.
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October 27th, 2008
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Today is a good day because our friend Lauren Brown was crowned homecoming queen last night!
Lauren is one of our favorite people and is very talented. She is turning into quite the songwriter and is a gifted worship leader. She just loves Jesus and lives out her life to prove it.
We couldn’t be prouder of her!
Also we got to see a good friend, Sarah Lenoir on her first visit back from her new home in Cincinnati.
Nothing better than a cool fall Friday night with friends.
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October 18th, 2008
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Other than the downward spiral of my Apple stock, the innovative technology corporation continues to increase its social appeal and consumer dependency by creating products that fit snugly into peoples lives. I don’t think it’s just the look though.
Non Apple users tend to first venture in that direction. In the fashion of an old billionaire married to his “supermodel sweetheart”, people think that social appeal in the realm of Apple is exclusively related to it’s sharp exterior. However, committed members of the family know that it’s simply an (often forgotten about, seldom acknowledged) fringe benefit.
They do look good though…
I worked at an Apple Retail Store in Alpharetta, GA a few years ago. On one of my first days on the job I overheard a co-worker, Kyle giving his sales pitch to a customer. (I spent much of my first month listening to other “Mac Specialists” like myself giving their best swing at selling a laptop or iMac. As I honed my skills, I was increasingly intimidated by the constant trend of intellectual motivation and quick wit that came with the sales person to customer exchange. It soon became the “coolest way to sell computers” the same way Billabong jackets were a must have in my middle school days.) This is how the pitch went:
Customer: Some of my friends have macs.
Kyle: Really?
Customer: yeah, and some of them have PC’s I’m having a hard time making sense of which will work best for me.
Kyle: Can I ask you a question?
Customer: sure (unexpectedly)
Kyle: Which set of friends is more attractive?
I’ve used the same pitch multiple times, even after i’ve left the company. Which brings us to the next point. A little thing called brand loyalty.
I’ve sold as many Apple products after my employment as I did when I worked there. I get numerous phone calls a week with Apple related questions. The crazy thing is, I don’t get tired of them. I really don’t.
I constantly give credibility to Apple’s reputation as one of America’s most loyal companies. Thereby I constantly impress myself.
I’m always the opposite way with consumer trends. I stick closely to bands and music artists as long as they continue to “bring it”. If they do something (musically) that I disagree with or if I feel like they show signs of laziness, I will drop them for a while. Same with food. Same with television shows. Same with websites that I frequent.
I need consistent great, not just seldom good.
So Apple keep on bringing it. (especially tomorrow. seriously bring it tomorrow)
New Apple laptops released tomorrow at noon.
Goodnight
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October 14th, 2008
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And…. Catalyst conference day two.
Tired.
Full.
Excited.
Tired.
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October 10th, 2008
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This is my brother in law, yes you heard that right. His name is Juan and sometimes we play Mario Kart together.
Like every other sport, he in his 4 year old life can beat me with no problem.
He’s absolutely terrible at guitar though. And I can run faster than him. Boast where you can.
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October 7th, 2008
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Sunday night UNO… Jealous?!?!?!?!
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October 6th, 2008
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Meet our desk. He needs a little bit of care, but for $15 there was no way we could pass this up.
We still have to determine what we will do with the empty spaces that used to hold drawers. We may rearrange the others drawers for purposes of symmetry and add some wicker baskets? We talked about trying to “make” some new drawers or somehow covering up the holes with “faux drawers”? I don’t know… I’m no carpenter I know that much. Do you have a suggestion? I’d love to hear it.
Anyway…
This is still my new favorite piece of furniture.
Just thought I’d show you.
Jordan
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October 4th, 2008
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Looking forward to a nice jog with my wife in a few minutes.
There is something about the onslaught of autumn that makes breathing public air more glamorous. Sitting still indoors is just not a good use of time for me when nature feels as good as it does right now.
Ellen and I are doing our best to eat better, run more and enjoy more things that don’t find themselves in our routine list.
One of these things is our weekly trips to the farmer’s market…
First we wake up and get partially ready. Hats, jeans and thin coats do the trick. Then, make or stop by and grab some coffee then off we are.
I’m not going to say we are special. We are not. But, we do contrast the general populous that frequents this Saturday morning hot spot. Honestly sometimes we wish that we were walking through a french market but there is just something great about buying Tennessee farm fresh. The farmer that hands us the produce is the one who harvested it. The kind amish woman who bags our fresh baked bread was responsible for the whole process from “starter” to finish. I don’t care much for Dave Matthews’ music anymore, but him and Willie are on to something with Farm Aid.
So here’s to clean food, clean living, and clean character.
(have you tried corn lately?)
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October 3rd, 2008
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