Sunday, December 31, 2006

Happy New Year

A big "Haaaaappy new year!" to everyone. We just got home this evening from Alabama which turned out to be an incredible trip. We were so blessed to be with Karen Wheaton and her crew as well as Dutch Sheets, Jason Upton, Eddie James and Rick Pino. The Ramp was the perfect way to end the year. I feel that something very significant has happened–probably more significant than any of us realize. It feels like a seed has dropped to the ground and is dying.

Now that's not a bad thing at all. It's just that the "dying" part isn't that much fun. Please pray for me as I plan to begin the most intense fast of my life on Tuesday. I don't share that publicly to say "hey look at me." I am simply asking for major prayer support from friends and family as I participate in a corporate fast among our group. 'Nuff said.

Again, happy new year.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Some Assembly Required

This was a record year for Christmas presents that require Dad to sit with a Phillips head screwdriver, Allen wrenchs, hammer, acetylene torch, 1 1/2 ton floor jack and... OK OK. Maybe I didn't use all of those, but I'm just saying.

We clean the Christmas mess up today and pack our bags. Yep, it's time for another road trip. We'll be travelling to Hamilton, AL for the winter Ramp conference with Karen Wheaton Ministries. Lou is speaking this year again in addition to Dutch Sheets, Damon Thompson and others. This will be Lou's first opportunity to launch the vision for The Call in 2007 when we'll be gathering a solemn assembly in the Titan's stadium. We're believing for 100,000 people to gather there 07/07/07.

We're not particularly excited about another long road trip with the kids. South Dakota really burned them out on car rides. But this will be an incredible gathering with Karen and her group. It was from a Ramp gathering that this clip was taken which many of you have seen from a previous post.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Cannonball!

No, we're not shipping the children away to a distant land. This just proves that a giant box of polystyrene peanuts is infinitely funner than the contents.

Thanks Nana.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Happy Birthday



Monday, December 18, 2006

So, open your mouth, lad!


Could this be a picture of The Call?
Theodor Seuss Geisel, Horton Hears A Who

Friday, December 15, 2006

A Star Is Born

So Randy Bohlender calls me a couple of days ago. There was an urgency in his voice that got my attention. "Did you see what's going on with Senator Tim Johnson? And did you read Adam McArthur's blog today?"

Well I'm sure everyone is aware of what's going on with the Senator, but did you realize that my friend Adam McArthur is worthy of equal national exposure? The numbers don't lie folks. This blog entry is now the 6th most-read piece in WordPress history. And the number is still growing.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Choice or Homicide?

FoxNews.com
This is a tragic story about a tragic situation. But I must ask a question. Exactly how did the baby change from "not a life" to a "life" in just a few brief moments?

Senator Tim Johnson- SD

I'm sure everyone is watching the news on this one.
FoxNews.com

I was out Christmas shopping and all of a sudden started getting a bazillion phone calls and text messages from all over the country. Let's pray for Senator Johnson's health and well being.

Extremist Behavior


Maybe just a little excerpt today from the book I'm reading.

"I felt that the white ministers, priests and rabbis of the South would be among our strongest allies. Instead, some have been outright opponents, refusing to understand the freedom movement and misrepresenting its leaders; all too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows." -MLK, Letter from Birmingham Jail

"Untimely" and "extremist" were words used to describe the actions of those seeking justice. King wondered how any aspect of the movement could be labeled untimely when an entire people group had patiently waited 100 years for the fulness of the Emancipation Proclamation. Desperate times called for desperate measures. "So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be." He went on to say, "Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists."

Perhaps we live in similar days again when words like "untimely" and "extremist" are used to describe those who seek change regarding injustice toward the unborn. The words "creative extremist" jump out at me here. Who are the ones who will tap into the creative genius of God? Who are the ones who will lay their head on the chest of the Justice Lover? Who will gain access to the strategies that solve problems without creating new ones? Who will call for and demonstrate the holy tension necessary to confront the culture of death? Who will understand the times and seasons we live in and know what is demanded of them?

Jesus, thank you for being an untimely extremist.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Kryptonite

Strength... fa-ding.
Blog... su-ffer-ing.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Here We Go


Exploratory committee officially launched. Click the image to download today's press release.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Small News to You. Big News to Us.


Life's starting to get a little more settled here in South Carolina. We've added a refrigerator and internet access today. Still no furniture though. Nothing like ice cubes and ebay to make you feel all safe and secure here in the Western world.

I'm a little unnerved by the fact that today is December 1st. It has been a busy year to say the least. DC to Boston to South Dakota to South Carolina. All this year.

(Geek alert! Read no further if you flunked the test on General and Special Relativity.)
So Einstein figured that, relatively speaking, time moves slower as you approach the speed of light. What that means is that a person moving really fast would appear to the outside observer to age more slowly than himself. A quick jaunt to Alpha Centauri and back would result in an astronaut much younger than all his peers that twiddled their thumbs while he was gone. If this is true, then all my armchair quarterback buddies watching Monday Night Football should be like 50 years old by now. How come I'm the one sprouting grey hairs?