Beth recently called me into the living room with a
“Lee, Lee, come hurry! Don’t miss this!”
So I came hurrying – and what I saw made me very proud:
Hopefully this is a sign of things to come,
and young Abbey will quickly become a faithful, believing,
jolly little co-laborer in what God is doing in and through
City Fellowship Church here in Jackson, TN.
. . . . . .
What was the first book your parents read to you? You read on your own?
In recent news, Baywatch star and America’s Got Talent celebrity judge David Hasselhoff recently discovered “green screen” technology.
While perusing the YouTube, Hasselhoff (known by friends and admirers as “the Hoff”) encountered the Star Wars Kid phenomenon.
Upon viewing a this series of clips featuring an awkward young adolescent engaged in mortal combat with an imaginary light saber in hand, the Hoff was stunned by the wide variety of backgrounds in front of which the Star Wars Kid waged his elaborate battles.
As Star Wars Kid battled Yoda, the Matrix bad guys, and the Kill Bill bad guys, the Hoff was struck by the beauty of the films and began to wonder “how did he do that?”
So the Hoff went to his closest adviser – Bill the Doorman.
Bill explained the mystery of the green screen to the Hoff.
The Hoff grabbed his Blackberry, called his agent and said, “go buy me a green screen … I need to make music and express myself!”
Creative juices pumping, green screen erected, cable harness rigged up, music lyrics printed, background tracks downloaded, the Hoff made art:
. . . . .
Special thanks to Dr. Gavin Richardson for the Hoff link.
Special thanks to the Hoff for aspiring artists, multi-talented Vegas performers, and short fiction writers worldwide.
These are moving and poignant words from a good friend:
They filed in, wearing their dark suits – jackets buttoned – red carnations and all in a row. Their gray hair was uniform from man to man. Some had turned loose of their gray over the years, and their balding heads were interspersed in the group.
Two rows of men sat in all. The pews holding decades of friendship between them, the red cushions giving rest to the feet who shared so many journeys in life with the other souls around them.
They came in just before the family, these pall bearers.
Mason, thanks for reminding us that godliness does not consist of sustained airtime on a basketball court, radio station, or television screen – godliness is sustained devotion to Christ for a lifetime.
May God make us both, make us all, such men and women.
. . . . . .
Who has taught you the most about finishing the Christian life well?
One of my best friends just had his first daughter, she is a gorgeous little thing.
Congratulations Foster and Nancilea!
You did good friends.
. . . . . .
It should also be noted that you are now under pressing obligation to start a blog so that I can follow all of your parenting exploits and hi-jinks.
Out of necessity, we Wilsons checked out of blog world for a couple weeks as school was cranking up here at Union.
Getting ready for a new batch of students takes a great deal of work, work that sometimes requires a great deal of computer time, computer time that – for me at least – gets really old really fast.
There are some bright and shining times on the computer however.
For example, as Abbey is getting older her baby skills are really improving – grunts turn to squeals, blank stares turn into smiles, flopping on the ground turns to rolling, and there are a ton of other tricks she is coming up with every day.
Normally, I would get to see these tricks when I go home for lunch.
But, with school starting, my days have been jam packed and lunches have been too busy to get home.
Beth, my prudent and quick thinking bride, came up with a great idea.
Skype time!
Now, if Abbey is in a really funny mood, Beth will dial me up and I get to see what Abbey’s new tricks are … in real time.
. . . . . . .
I have been practicing trying to capture these moments with a screen shot, but I am not particularly good at it yet.
The other day I tried to capture Abbey flailing her plastic chain around like Michelangelo (the Ninja Turtle) and here’s what I came up with:
And this:
And I’m pretty sure Abbey and I are making the same expression in this one:
And about those other tricks, there will be photos and videos posted shortly (if Beth doesn’t kill me for posting that second photo)
If your pastor said this:
“I make a promise to you now and I don’t want you to keep this a secret,” the pastor pronounced, “the Peachtree Presbyterian Church (Atlanta, Georgia) will care for any newborn baby you bring to this church.
“We will be the family to find a home for that child, and there’s no limit on this. You can tell your friends, you can tell your family, you can tell the whole world …”
Would your church back him up?
Would they make a home for those babies?
. . . . . .
It seems to me that if your church is Pro-Life from the pulpit, then your church must be Pro-Life when it comes to adoption.
(HT: Take Your Vitamin Z)
Sometimes I upload videos in batches onto the YouTube with the anticipation of writing posts for each individual post over the course of a week or so.
Sometimes I get busy and don’t get to a clip.
Sometimes I just plain forget.
I figured that if these clips are already out on the YouTube (I get a sick joy out of calling it “the YouTube”), I might as well let you know that they are out there.
And yes, I do realize that there are only probably about 8 people who will be interested in watching random videos.
. . . . . . .
This first one is a clip of Abbey and Beth waiting in line for Abbey’s first plane ride:
That clip was recorded approximately 2 1/2 hours before Beth had a mid-flight accident and spilled a bottle of breast milk all over the gentleman in the seat next to her.
She tried to pretend it was formula.
(I don’t think he bought it).
. . . . . . .
This clip is the poor man’s version of infant aging software – a recent craze where you can use computer software to create an image of what your baby will look like as she grows older.
Being a dad is the best!
I try not to say anything that might be construed as disparaging anybody, but I just got this email and I am going to take the (small) risk that I should obscure the sender of the email.
Just to be careful, I am not going to include the specific individual’s name … only his organization’s name.
Here’s the email (I have bolded some key phrases)
. . . . . .
Fr: N– S–
Re: I’m concerned
Lee,
I’m writing because I’m concerned about you.
For the last three months you’ve been hearing about my Senior Pastors Tele-Coaching Network that begins NEXT WEEK on Thursday, Aug 20. This network is all about helping you and your church go to the next level of growth and impact.
I’ve done everything I can to tell you about this network . . . I sent you a 30-minute Q & A video . . .I sent you the unedited testimonies from those who just completed the network . . . plus several other email and mailed invitations for you to apply. . . . but I still don’t see your name on the application list!
Frankly, I find that puzzling.
Look, if you are interested in seeing your church grow and your leadership ability increase, I urge you to apply right now . . . . stop whatever you are doing and go to this Web site, download and complete the application:
http://www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/telecoaching
Listen, the average participant in last year’s network saw 30% growth in their weekend attendance! I am blown away! While I can’t promise this kind of growth for your church, it is possible. I’ve seen it first hand.
In addition, the average pastor tells me the network fully pays for itself within four to six months so the financial investment in minimal compared to the return you will experience.
. . . even more, I offer a full no-hassle 100% money back guarantee anytime before the fourth network session so there’s no risk to give it a try.
Here’s the link, go ahead and apply right now.
—> http://www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/telecoaching
Don’t miss out.
N– S–
. . . . . .
Please, please tell me if I am wrong or unfair here – but is this well known pastor and church planter chastising me for not taking advantage his coaching program?
Is he questioning my desire to be a better leader and reach more people with the gospel because I am not interested in his program?
Frankly, I find it puzzling that anybody would have the gall to send out an email like this.
If this is supposed to be a “tongue-in-cheek” sort of thing – its in bad taste … especially with a complete stranger.
There is a whole list of things that I want to say in response to this email – but I think I am going to bite my tongue for the moment and not make any regrettable comments.
. . . . . .
Feel free to correct me, ask questions, or contribute your own thoughts in the comments section below, but try to avoid saying anything regrettable.
Abbey thinks she is really clever.
She thinks that she can get away with anything.
She thinks that she can be just as cute and silly as she wants to be – and then just turn it off when Daddy gets the camera our to catch her on film.
Abbey doesn’t know who she’s messing with.
I outsmarted a baby.
I caught her – I won the battle!
That’s my girl!
Lee won the ebay auction for this Bike!
Its going to come in the mail at the end of the week – I sure hope that Abbey enjoys her bike rides around Jackson as much as the former owner’s baby did.
Good news! The lady threw in the jump suit for free!
. . . . . .
Does anybody have an extra bike helmet, sized “infant”?
(Photo credits: FailBlog.org)
