"He's not a tame Lion, but He is good."

Hello. Not much been going on here. April has been sick all week with a sinus infection, and went to the doctor today to get an antibiotic to knock it out. She has still been enjoying her new car, and doesn't miss all the problems of the Mazda. I finished the Bean'ry Training Manual, or at least the first edit. I think it will need some tweaking, but for the most part is done. I also got an e-mail from the woman in charge of the communications department at Flagler College, notifying me that our internship program was approved, and she would begin telling her students. So, looks like things are progressing well. Now, all we need to do is find a place to lay our heads at night, and I have been working diligently on that. Our house will go on the market this coming week, and we have a little work to do for that, as well, so I will remain busy around here.
I did play in that disc golf tournament last Saturday, and did NOT come in last place, as was my goal. I came in second in my division, although there was a tie for first place I believe, so maybe I was third. Either way, it was fun and hard, and good experience. We played again on Sunday, and my father-in-law played with us. We all had fun playing, and afterwards April and I, and her parents drove down to Kannapolis near Charlotte to eat dinner at a hamburger place. It's called "Five Guys Burgers and Fries", and is very good. By far the best cheeseburgers you can buy!
I guess that's all, just wanted to give a quick update. Tonight we went to see "Chronicles of Narnia." It was playing at the $2 theater, and was very good I thought. I got alot more out of it then I thought, and was surprised at my self at the sight of Aslan, and how it made me smile inside thinking of the God it portrays. The real Lion of Judah. Wow. What a great movie. Tomorrow night we will go back there and see "Nanny McPhee." Maybe it will be decent. And I don't know how I could have forgotten, but we went to see Mute Math Monday night, and holy cow! They were incredible! If you get a chance to see them live, DO! They are truly something special in the music industry right now awashed in blandness and homogenousnous. I guess that's all. Good night.

Little Gnus is Good Gnus...

Not alot going on here. April is going out of town this weekend for a womens retreat with her mom, and women from her mom's church. I will be playing in a disc golf tournament on Saturday, in town here. It is a Pro/Am, and is a bigger tournament, so let's see if I can just not come in last place. That's definitely my goal. The people that are in my division I play with often, so it should be fun. I have been practicing a little each day in preparation, and feel good going into tomorrow. Like I said, though, anything but last place! I'll let ya know.

Well, we done gone and done it. We went out and bought April a new car. Her Mazda was suffering from too many ills to list, so we are going to sell it. (I started to write some of the things, but even that went too long, so just trust me.) It was going to cost us as much to keep it, as it would to replace it. So, after many months of praying about it, a good car came open, and the situation worked out that way it needed to for us to get it. The car came to the lot from a special situation that was God-breathed, and then the financing worked out so that it will only be costing a smidge over what we were paying for her Mazda. We will get the smalller things fixed, and sell it here in the next couple of weeks. They could not trade it in because of the miles (93k), so we are on our own with this, but have many potential buyers already, and a month and a half to sell it before our first payment on her new car.

It's an '05 Hyundai Tiburon, and is in great condition. It is good on gas, and fits April well. I have wanted her to have something better than the heap she has been driving, especially after the hard year she just faced. Infertility, kidney stones all year, all the surgeries, losing Madison, if anyone deserves something nice, it's definitely her, and I have wanted to replace her car for so long, not being able to. But, wait, I did, and God opened up the perfect situation to get her the perfect car for her, and she loves it. It has a sunroof, too, which will come in handy in FL. I couldn't be any more happy for her. No longer does she have to be embarrassed at her school driving up in the jalopy she had. No squeals, whines, or unknown clacks.

Other than that, that's all. Have a great weekend! It's Friday!!!

We're still alive.

Well, we made it out of the woods alive. I remember last time we hiked this trail, it almost killed us. It is a five and a half mile, moderate to strenuous(mostly strenuous), and very wet and rocky in some places. This time we were a little more prepared, extra water, beef jerky, the basics. I am happy to say that instead of the 3 and half hours they estimate it at, it only took us about 2 and a half hours. Now, that is not to say we are in shape or fit, actually my body is saying otherwise now. I mean, EVERY muscle in my body is telling me, "Hey, big guy. We could really lose some of these extra pounds." And, I couldn't agree more. So, in preparation for moving to the beach, I am committing myself, somehow, to working out somehow daily. It's too late for a New Year's resolution, so it has to be better, right?

Anyway, it was hard, yet fun. The trail runs alongside many creeks and waterfalls, and beautiful trees, just awesome. It did kinda rain a little bit while we were deep in the woods, but it stopped, and we moved on. It was quite a workout, and I wish we lived closer so we could do it more often. So, enjoy the pics.

Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

Last night April and I enjoyed a movie night. You know, the "turn the other lights off, pop some popcorn" kinda night. We watched the Wallace and Gromit movie, "Curse of the Were-Rabbit." I love the platiscene (or, clay) animation, and I appreciate how much work it takes to get a whole movie in, like several years of tedious moving little bits of clay, then shooting, then moving, don't forget having to move all the facial features, it's alot of work. The movie was a little slow getting started, which gives you time to wander around at the sceneries and backgrounds for hidden stuff. Well, it's not hidden, you just wouldn't normally see it. (Think Monty Python and the Holy Grail.) There are lots of things I thought were hilarious, that kids would never pick up on. So, a joy to watch. Good clean fun. Great humor, and good movie overall. A second look would probably make me enjoy it more, just for the sheer fact of the aforementioned notice of all the things I probably missed the first time.

Cool Disc Golf Video...

I found this at the PDGA website. It's a cool vignette about disc golf. Interested?
Check it out here: http://www.pdga.com/video/PDGAPromo.mov

Cool website.

Check this website out. www.zillow.com It helps you find out just how much your home is probably worth, and in a side thing, helps find out what your previous residences are worth. Thanks for all the cool e-mails. Chris, glad things are going well in the City of Brotherly Love! And Mom, I finally got your comments posted. I am just figuring out how to post them. I accidentally deleted a bunch more from everyone, but there is one from you still there! Enjoy the picture of the St. Augustine Lighthouse, still in operation...

Comic of the day.

'Til Tuesday...

Well, I got the menu finished, and am trying to finish up the Training Manual. I think we are still on time, and it will be good to have both things finished. There are some other REALLY cool things that we have been talking about, involving Alex Brown, that we are very excited about. As many of you know, Alex was my head volunteer at the old Bean'ry, if I had a manager, he was probably it. He went on to manage a couple of other coffeehouses, and still works at one in Athens. There is a good possibility that he will be joining us down there with his future wife, and doing things with surfing, music, and coffee. We are all working on the logistics of getting them down there, but that would be very cool. I know and trust Alex very well, and would love to work side by side with him again. He is very dependable, trustworthy, and has the same heart for coffeehouse ministry April and I share. Like I said, we are working on the specifics, but he definitely wants to help out, and we would be stoked to let him! It's very cool to see so many of my old friends excited about the new Bean'ry, and supporting it. Many of you have e-mailed asking how you could help, and if I can think of something, I will let you know. You can pray, that's for sure.

Other than that, not much going on. We are going hiking this Saturday in the mountains. It is supposed to be nice weather, and a few couples are going to join us. We have walked this five and a half mile moderate to strenuous trail before, and it is an awesome trail with lots of waterfalls, cool climbing, and delicious mountain stream water.

Today's good music releases include the new Matisyahu "Youth." You may recognize Matisyahu from the new P.O.D. CD "Testify", where he is featured on several of the songs donating his reggae flavor. Matsiyahu. A Hassidic Jew, is the real deal, and his music is HIGHLY infectious! It is currently the number 2 album on iTunes, for good reason. It is very good quality, and a very good message. Also the new Grits "7", which is a compilation of their many hits, and a couple of new ones.
Also, if you are a fan of Napoleon Dynamite, you have GOT to check this movie trailer out! It is for the new movie from the same director, and is hilarious! Click here: http://www.nacholibre.com/

At least...

At least I know I am not alone in my journey! It is great to have people as screwed up as I to walk with along side of. Thanks for challenging me, and for all the love! :-)

Sushi, anyone?

Well, I know it has been a couple of days since I last posted, and sorry. I have been swamped here, working on the Training Manual for the Bean'ry, our new internship program with a college there, the new menu, and some new artwork for the Beanryboy that includes a cool surfboard. I will include it for you to tell me what you think. This will be a shirt in addition to our normal, classic logo. In the finished logo, the surfboard will be closer to his body. The Training Manual is coming along nicely, and should be finished by this week, as should the menu. I am still tweaking it, but I will tell you it is a pretty good selection, and should satisfy all.
That reminds me, in a weird way, about something I did first time in Florida. One night, the pastor and his wife took us to one of those Japanese restaurants, you know, the dueling knives, the shrimp in the hat, the onion volcano. Yeah, that kind. Anyway, tried my first sushi. Yep. Can't say I enjoyed it, but I did it. It was seaweed wrapping rice and raw fish, and who know what else. But, all these years I have felt on the other side of a busy highway watching everyone just LOVE sushi, and all I was missing, and now I can say with confidence, I am just fine. So, there. :-)

You know, I have been thinking about the message from last Sunday, from the series, "Games People Play." It was about Christians who are more like undercover agents, never really giving away the fact they are Christians. They don't let others know of their faith because many reasons, but one of the main reasons is that they feel they aren't good enough for people to watch their own lives, and by and large they are right. Christianity is wrought with imperfect people, for it is the very essence of our faith. For it is in that space that we know our need for a Savior. In other words, what I lack in, God has, and desires to give to me. I will always be the first to say I am not the perfect picture of what a Christian is supposed to be. But, everyday I awake with the same passion, the passion to become more like Christ in some way. Whether it is my attitude, my heart, or my tongue, everyday I make a decision to try and walk the narrow road. To become a better person than I was the day before. In some ways I succeed, in others I fail. But our life is a journey, and does not end until we leave this fragile suit of skin we reside in. Perfection is not possible, but where that is true, God's grace is sufficient and there to meet our insufficiencies. So, we can take comfort in exposing our faith to the nasty weather of our world, our culture, and our community. It can withstand the winds that blow. For when we look inside each one of us, all of us are hypocrites, all of us are sinners, and despite the "Anonymous" guise that we hide behind, the trueness of our heart will always come out. Being invisible and "Anonymous" makes us impervious to having to own up to our own flaws and problems, but it also shows we lack the strength of being open about who we really are.
Every Thursday I meet with a guy that I have been going to church with the past year or so. I consider him and his wife to be great friends of ours, and he and I have become accountability partners. We get together and air all our dirty laundry in hopes we can help each other with the load. We both feel that transparency is the best way to live, and despite the fact it's not always cool, we agree that it's best for our spiritual walk when we bring things out in the open, pulling out all those skeletons from our closet and calling them for what they are. There is so much freedom there, in not having to hide behind our perfect facades. We sharpen each other, and pray for each other, not because we know we are perfect, but because we know we aren't. There is a realness there that is refreshing, a true understanding of our true nature, and of grace and love. I HIGHLY encourage you to do the same, and if you have questions how, ask me. Trust me, it's not easy at first, but it setting down the piano we all have strapped to our backs. It feels so much better!
Well, I guess that's all for now. Please remember to pray for our friend Joe's little nephew Joey. He is undergoing chemo for a cancer that is trying to take over his little infant body. He is doing well, but has a fight ahead of him. His name if Joey Kinney. Thanks.