Hockey Night in Nashville

The Nashville Predators have been a pretty hot team this year, but I must confess to not being a big fan. What do you expect of someone who grew up in the South where its rare that birdbaths freeze over? So after a 4 year drought, I finally took the opportunity to attend a Predators game. Actually, I was invited by the Vanderbilt Nursing School to sit in the VUMC box. So I also got a chance to experience how the other half experience a hockey game - free food & drinks, room to move around, and private restroom.

The game itself was fun. The Preds scored in the first 11 seconds (their fastest score ever) and by the second period they had extended their lead to 3-1. I was impressed with the teamwork and the individual passing and shooting skills on display. The only negative would be the unnecessary fighting in the third period. With the game well in hand, players from both teams decided to give the crowd this spectacle that has become synonymous with hockey (I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out). I just don't like it. It reminds me of the gladiatorial fights of Rome, especially the way in which the crowd revels in the violence. I don't mind the rough (even violent) nature of the play, I just object to players throwing punches.

Anyway, the Predators have one more game tomorrow and then the playoffs. I hope they do well, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to see such talent. I also highly recommend box seats for anyone who has the chance. You'll love it!

Nashville Snowmen

He isn't much, but its all I could manage this morning considering the lack of good packing snow.

After completing him, Addy asked me "Daddy, does the snowman wear shoes?"

This afternoon, Janell told Addy that he was likely melting and that he could not come inside. She replied, "I guess I'll give him a hug." And she went outside and did just that.

Your Career Personality: Empathetic, Loyal, and People-Oriented

Your Ideal Careers: Chef Corporate trainer Designer Events Coordinator Librarian Politician Psychologist Small Business Owner Social Worker Teacher

The Quick and Dirty Career Test

Fatherhood

Fatherhood is like an extreme sport. There are perils to avoid, fears to overcome, challenges to meet, sacrifices to be made, and disciplines to learn, but the rewards do equal the challenges: tickle fights, playtime with lincoln logs, plenty of hugs and kisses, giggles, being a human jungle gym, and squeals of delight when I get home from work.

Christmas Kids

I thought Christmas Day would never come

But it's here at last, so mom and dad, the waiting's finally done

And you gotta get up, you gotta get up, you gotta get up

It's Christmas morning....

Did my sister get a baby doll? Did my brother get his bike?

Did I get that red wagon, the kind that makes you fly?

Oh, I hope there'll be peace on earth

I know there's good will toward men

On account of that Baby born in Bethlehem

(Copyright 1993 Rich Mullins)


The presents are under the tree, the cinnamon rolls are in the oven, grandma is making final preparations and my girls are not so patiently waiting for everyone else to wake up, arrive or get off the computer. The house is alive with anticipation. It's Christmas morning and I hope you this post finds you in similar circumstances. May you have a blessed and joyful day.

Partying Like It's 1989

This past Saturday Night, our adult sunday school class held an 80's party. The pictures above provide evidence of our lil' escapade.

I'm afraid the whole ideas was mine. We had costumes, we had trivia, we had the music, and we had karaoke. It was a blast. As part of my research, I conducted a poll to find out what folks remembered from the 80's (favorite films, tv shows, music, celebrities...). As a mixer, party goers had to identify people based on what they did during the decade (Who graduated from high school? Who repeated the 8th Grade? Who dated a headbanger? etc...).

Then I put together a Name that Tune with music clips ranging from 30 seconds to 2 seconds (I even through in some TV theme songs for good measure). For my final game, I created a What Year Was It? contest (inspired by the Dateline NBC featurette). The karaoke was a hit, but I don't recommend choosing Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science". ouch!


Here's a partial song list from the evening:
Footloose - Kenny Loggins
Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds
Call Me - Blondie
Celebration - Kool & the Gang
Beat It - Michael Jackson
Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
Jump - Van Halen
Dukes of Hazzard Theme - Waylon Jennings
The Miami Vice Theme
Hungry Like a Wolf - Duran Duran
Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
The Final Countdown - Europe
The Power of Love - Huey Lewis
Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns n Roses
What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy) - Information Society
She Drives Me Crazy - Fine Young Cannibals
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
To Hell With the Devil - Stryper

Just a flesh wound

Sunday night, while at a cookout, a picnic table bit me and left a souvenir in my shin. We've all had splinters - No big deal, right? Well this splinter was two inches long and completely embedded in my leg. Fortunately, two RNs were on hand to extract it, and my leg is healing nicely.

Highlights

Its been a busy couple of weeks here.

Janell's cousin BJ, her husband, their three girls and their dog all came through town last week and will return tonight as they trek between Dallas and Pennsylvannia. Our girls love to slumber party with their cousins.

I turned thirty-five. My mom and sister were in town to help me celebrate, and they brought my newborn nephew, Will, with them. Janell and the girls also took me out to dinner at one of our favorite local places, Demos' Steak and Spaghetti House.

I finally got around to seeing King Kong on Friday. If ever a movie needed an editor this was the one. Take away about an hour and it might have been enjoyable. By the end, I just wanted the "damn dirty ape" to die so I could go to bed. Or maybe it need Charlton Heston....

We also watched Memoirs of a Geisha this weekend. A visually stunning film that seemed tragic despite the "happy ending".

Monday we hosted a game night. I managed to win at Blokus and TransEuropa only to lose at Settlers.

Then we spent Tuesday on the lake and playing more games. My friend John has a boat, so we packed up the kids and did a little boating and tubing. Taylor called it "zooming".

10 Years and Counting

Janell and I celebrated our Tenth Anniversary
yesterday by returning to the bed and breakfast
we stayed at on our honeymoon -
the Beechmont Inn in Hanover, PA.


While in Hanover, I treated Janell to the best hotdog in South Central Pennsylvannia at the Famous Hot Weiner diner.

Hot dogs and fries - what could be better when celebrating those special occasions?

Nord's space

I'm now on my space too. www.myspace.com/nordmoe

Texas Vacation (the rest of the story)

Day 2

Besides visiting with our friends, we explored the Texas countryside around Austin. Highlights include seeing the junkyard where portions of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre were filmed (Harold’s junkyard in Briggs, TX), experiencing the Bush twins’ favorite TexMex eatery, Chuy’s, and enjoying a Texas steak for dinner.

Day 3

On Saturday, we hung out in our room for a few hours so I could grade some papers. Then we did some more exploring as we drove up to Waco to hook up with Scott and Jenn. Once there, we hung out with Scott all afternoon and evening – watching Drop Dead Gorgeous and Rat Race, eating pizza and M&Ms, playing Settlers of Catan, listening to Scott’s iPod, and waiting for Jenn to return home from Little Rock. Oh, we also celebrated the time change by actually springing forward at 2am.

Day 4

With only 5 hours of sleep, I woke up and graded some more papers. Then it was off to church (with a quick stop at Shipley’s Donuts for some Czech. kaloches for brunch). Scott and Jenn attend Dayspring Baptist Church. The service is far more liturgical than your typical SBC, and the building was gorgeous (a mix of wood, stone and glass that allowed us to enjoy the beauty outside as well as inside). I enjoyed the emphasis that they place on the substance of what is read and sung. One hymn we sang (Here I Am) was new to me and yet ministered to me in current circumstances.

After lunch, we drove through Dallas to McKinney, TX where Janell’s cousin lives. We last saw Billie Jo and John at our wedding (nearly ten years ago), so we really enjoyed getting to know them and their three girls (I also made fast friends with their dog, Dixie). We look forward to seeing them later this year, when they will drive through Nashville on their way to Pennsylvania.

Day 5

We had to leave early this morning in order to get back to the southside of the city. While we enjoyed the skyline views and impressive highway projects, we don’t care to experience the gridlock of morning rush hour again.

Once we were through the traffic, we enjoyed a morning of Christian fellowship with our brothers and sisters at Wycliffe International. They were excellent hosts and we learned so much more about this wonderful agency that we have followed and supported since we were each kids. It is amazing to see and hear about the work God is doing both in Dallas and around the world.

After a quick lunch, we hit the road so that we could return to Austin to catch our flight. You may ask yourselves why we didn’t just fly out of Dallas. The answer is that Southwest Airlines is prevented by federal law from operating direct service from Dallas’ Love Field to states not bordering with Texas. It is an arcane law and you can visit setlovefree.com to learn more.

We made our flight just fine and I finished my grading in the airport (Phew!!!). That pretty much takes to the present where I am composing this post. Thanks for reading.

Austin, TX day one.

Tonight I'm blogging from the outskirts of Austin, Tx. We flew here this afternoon for a couple days of rest, relaxtion, and to visit old friends and new friends. Craig Miller, from Global Impact, picked us up from the airport and drove us to Round Rock on the northside. There we hooked up with his wife and kids and enjoyed some Texas BBQ ala Rudy's Country Store (imagine a Texas Roadhouse without the peanuts and or a Cracker Barrell with a gas station). And the brisket was excellent along with the cream corn, beans, and banana pudding. I don't think I'll need to eat for another 24 hours....


The kids are spending the weekend with a variety of friends (thanks to J&T, the Carrs, and Catherine). We are enjoying the peace and quiet of the hotel room along with the blissful prospect of sleeping in past 6am. Its been a while since Janell and I have spent time in a nice hotel. Every once in awhile it is good to be pampered.
:-)

Random musings

Its been awhile since I last posted here are some random musings on what is current with us:

TV Report
We've been watching an adaptation of Charles Dickens' Bleak House which stars Gillian Anderson (of X-Files fame). Janell and I are self admitted nerds and Masterpiece Theater is one of the only television programs we watch with any regularity these days.

Social Life
Speaking of the X-Files, Janell and I dressed up as Scully and Mulder for our church's Valentine's banquet last Saturday. The theme was famous couples. Among the other "famous couples" in attendance were Han Solo and Princess Leia, Sonny and Cher, Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson, Gomez and Morticia Addams, and Robin Hood and Maid Marion. Lots of fun and laughs.

Game Report
We've been hosting a regular game night at our place every other Friday night. Here is a list of some of the games we've played: The Princes of Florence, Razzia!, TransEuropa, Ingenious, Blokus, Piratenbillard and of course Settlers of Cataan.

Links of the week
Thanks to Jeff for these links:
Anonymous Muslim Man Complaint Box
Brokeback to the Future

While your at it check out Jeff's Feb 8 post on everyone's favorite left-wing wacko Cindy Sheehan

back pain blues

I'm at home with a sore back today. It seems that working with boxes at the warehouse over the last three weeks has finally caught up with me. Fortunately, we just got DSL at home, so I can enjoy the web while laying here with a heating pad on my back.

2005: The Year in Review

Well another year has come and gone, so I'll take this time to blog the highlights:

Mt. View Baptist Church
In December of '04, two congregations (Mt. View and New Life Community Church) voted to merge into one. We were attending New Life at the time and watched the merger unfold this past year. In the spring, we were part of the first membership class and officially cast our lot with the church. Despite the inevitable conflicts and setbacks, we remain convinced that the merger created a stronger church than either had been prior and that God is at work in our midst.

Family
It is wild to watch our little girls mature before our eyes. I won't take the time here to reminisce on all that they have done in 2005, but I hope I can write more about them in the near future. Here are some photos posted earlier this year: Taylor & Addy, Muddy Addy, and family picnic.

Bethel College
I taught four classes this year. Each experience has stretched me as a "teacher" and I have discovered new facets about the past (and about myself) each time through. I'm looking forward to the three classes already scheduled in the new year.

Travel
In April, Janell and I celebrated our 9th anniversary by visiting Monteagle, the University of the South and South Cumberland State Park.

We also took two family road trips to Frederick County, Maryland to visit my in-laws. Our trip in June was all about leisure and relaxation: riding on/driving Dad's new tractor, visiting the National Zoo, overeating, playing games, and laughing heartily. And our trip over Labor Day was dedicated to family - a chance to visit with Uncles, Aunts & Cousins galore and with Janell's brother Matt before his first deployment to Iraq.

Finally, we traveled to Knoxville for Christmas at my parent's place where we were joined by my sisters, bro-inlaws and grandmothers, one niece, one uncle/aunt combo, Janell's parents, 2 of her brothers, and a few family friends. I think there were 21 of us at Christmas dinner. My sister, Rebecca, is expecting in May and everyone learned the baby's gender on Christmas Eve - I'm going to have a nephew.

Friends
We have been blessed by the many friendships we have developed over the years. Many of you we hung out with this year (playing games, breaking bread together, laughing with and at each other, and encouraging one another). We also added many new friends to our list this year and heard from old friends as well. In particular it was nice to receive word and photos from Jason, Schimpf, Shelly, and April.

It was also the year for blogging as several of my friends started blogs of their own: Scott's Confessions, Mark Jackson's aka Pastor Guy and the One Hundred, Mark Pucket's Missionary Musings, Paul's Zion Red's Head, and Jeff's Thanks For Noticing Me.

Exercise
Janell joined Gold's Gym back in '04 and has kept with it throughout the year - capped by running her first 5k run this fall. I've been trying to go to the gym at work two days a week since July. It's not much, but it's a start.

Music
2005 was the year of the .mp3 for me - I spent quite a few hours ripping my cd collection to my laptop this year and I officially joined the iPod crowd this Christmas.

CT Magazines' Music Site posted their top 12 albums of the year. I purchased five of them and have two others on my wishlist (Room Noises by Eisley and The Everglow by Mae).

Here's my favorite albums of the year
1. How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - U2
2. O How the Mighty Have Fallen - The Choir
3. A Collision - David Crowder Band
4. Men and Angels Say - Ashley Cleveland
5. Nothing Is Sound - Switchfoot
6. Redemption Songs - Jars of Clay
7. Drunkard's Prayer - Over the Rhine

Discovery of the year: Mindy Smith's song Come to Jesus (view video here)

Movies

Janell and I don't get out to the theater like we used to (before kids) but here is a list of my favorites:
1. Batman Begins
2. Star Wars Revenge of the Sith
3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
4. Wallace and grommet
5. Hitch

and here's is my top ten movies I didn't see in 2005 that I'd like to:

1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (we may see it this weekend)
2. Walk the Line
3. King Kong
4. Millions
5. Cinderella Man
6. Elizabethtown
7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
8. Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
9. War of the Worlds
10. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Highlights on video this year:
Napoleon Dynamite, The Gathering Storm, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Village, All's Quiet on the Western Front, and Luther

Books
Janell does more reading than I do. In particular she read (and discussed with me) Winston Churchill's World War II memoirs (abridged edition) and a two volume biography on Churchill by William Manchester. Currently, we are both working on Manchester's history of the U.S.(1932-72) called The Glory and the Dream. We also re-read The Count of Monte Cristo and Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince. I plan to dust off the Chronicles of Narnia as soon as we see the movie.

Katrina Relief
In October, I went to the Gulf Coast with a group from my church to assist with cleanup and recovery efforts. See my blog posts for details and photos (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Recap) It was a great experience and I hope to more similar projects in the future.

Politics
I haven't blogged much this year on politics (here, here, and here). It's been a difficult year for this conservative Bush supporter.
First, the President's social security reform proposals went absolutely nowhere dooming my generation to pickup the tab for our parents' and grandparents' selfishness.
The War on Terror has had its moments of both triumph and tragedy this year, but the key is to hold the course. I'm concerned that we as a nation don't have the same character as the Greatest Generation necessary to win a sustained conflict against evil men. Remember the men and women of the armed forces in your prayers and support them in whatever small way you can.
The confirmation of Justice Roberts was a bright spot in 2005. Bush's nomination of Myers was a tactical mistake (Alito should be confirmed).
Then Katrina brought out the worst from our leaders. Bush made mistakes, but received more than his fair share of the blame for problems in the rescue and recovery. In a just world, local and state leaders (in Louisiana) should be voted out of office for their inept handling of the affair and the shameless way they passed the buck.
A federal judge has saved us from the nefarious plot to mention the words Intelligent Design in biology class despite polls that indicates that a majority of Americans believe in either creationism or ID. The 1st Amendment is supposed to protect free speech and is not about expunging all references to religion from the public square.
And now we have a media-storm over domestic spying - coming from the same people who said Bush didn't do enough to prevent the 9/11 attacks.
All in all a difficult year - I've cussed the NPR broadcast multiple times this year. Here's hoping for a brighter 2006.

What hit song of 2005 are you?

Your 2005 Song Is

Beverly Hills by Weezer "My automobile is a piece of crap My fashion sense is a little whack And my friends are just as screwy as me" You breezed through 2005 in your own funky style!

What Hit Song of 2005 Are You?

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving is an important holiday that often gets overlooked. Giving thanks for the blessings we enjoy as individuals and as a nation seems so 19th century, non-commercial, and irrelevant in the post-modern world. Many mock the idea of a divine power, and those who don't are too busy overeating, going to the movies, watching football, and shopping. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy most of these activities (except the shopping). It's just that I/we have so much to be thankful for. Setting one day aside to reflect on the blessings doesn't seem too much to ask.

So, here's my Top 5 things I am thankful for this season:

- Amazing Grace (how sweet the sound)

- Family (a wonderful wife, two healthy kids, a rich spiritual heritage...)

- The Church (the Bride of Christ in all her "glorious dregs" - and in particular my local church body)

- Good friends (both local and abroad)

- Being born in America (Even with all its imperfections, this country is still a great place to live and be citizen of)

Home Improvement Blues

(Or How I Learned to Love Do-It-Yourself Plumbing)

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

That's the sound that has bugged me for several weeks now. Our kitchen faucet was dripping and it bothered me every time I sat down to eat or watch TV. Furthermore, that sound taunted me for my lack of knowledge and experience in fixing such problems. The incessant dripping challenged my manhood.

So Saturday, I was determined to do something about it. Of course, I don't consider myself to be a handyman, so I called my Dad for consultation. I dis-assembled the faucet and thought I had identified a suspect O-ring. So I figured I'd replace the O-ring, re-assemble the faucet and problem would be fixed. It was a good theory anyway....

I purchased a variety pack of O-rings (you never can have too many spare O-rings, right?). The one that fit this particular fixture was slightly larger than the one I replaced, but I thought the difference was negligible. My second mistake was to try to re-assemble the faucet at 11:00 p.m. As I tried to re-assemble the faucet, I encountered resistance. It seems that O-ring wasn't the right part. Now one of the cardinal rules of home repair is to never use excess force when putting things together. I ignored this rule. The result was a jammed up faucet assembly. And I broke it even more trying to undo what I had done.

So Sunday I was faced with a broken faucet instead of a dripping faucet. There would be no Sunday afternoon nap for me.

Armed with a crescent wrench, I proceeded under the sink to disconnect the water lines and remove the old fixture. This isn't an easy task. First your lying on your back in a tight place with a garbage disposal and other pipes obstructing your view and impeding movement. Second you have to work with your hands above your head for extended periods of time. And third, the space between the wall and the sink tub is extremely tight. Using a traditional wrench is nearly impossible. I did manage to disconnect the water lines by turning the nut one quarter turn at a time. The plastic wing nuts that hold the fixture to the sink were a different story. They were stuck on too tightly to loosen by hand and the space was too constricting for the wrench.

So I made another phone call to Dad. He enlightened me about a technological wonder called a basin wrench. It's a wrench specifically made to work in this tight place. So I sent Janell out to pick out a new faucet and to acquire this most necessary tool. Once she returned I was able to remove one of the wing nuts with relative ease. I thought to myself, this isn't so bad now that I have the right tool. So I proceeded to tackle the second nut. One by one, each of the nuts' wings broke off - leaving a nut with no surface for the wrench to take a hold of. Why do they make a nut out of a breakable plastic material and then provide no fail safe to the design for instances such as this?

I was stuck once again. And I was angry and frustrated. I was ready to take a crow bar to the entire sink assembly and do some real demolition. After a brief cooling off period, I called my father-in-law for a consult. His advice: chisel the nut off with a screwdriver and a hammer. So I proceeded to vent my frustrations out on this nut and enjoyed every moment.

Once the old fixture was off, the new one was relatively easy to install. Of course, the old supply lines wouldn't fit the new fixture, so I had to make one more trip to the store before the project could be completed (My dad says all plumbing projects require a minimum of 3 trips to the store).

So after a couple hours of toil and frustration and $100, I no longer hear that drip. And I can console myself with the knowledge that a plumber would have charged me twice that.

Confessions of a former virgin

This weekend, The Forty-Year Old Virgin opened in theaters across the country. Peter Chattaway offers both a testimonial and an interesting review of the film at Christianity Today Movies. While I probably won’t go see this film, it does raise questions about our cultures obsession with sex and the stigma associated the “V-word”.

While, thankfully, I did not have to wait forty years (only 24 years, 10 months, 17 days and 19 hours ;-), I certainly have felt the peer pressure, stigma and temptations associated with being an adult virgin. I’ll confess that I did lie about my virginal status at least once during my high school days, although I don’t think I convinced anyone. Attending an evangelical college like Taylor helped in that most of my peers were also virgins. Nonetheless, the pressure and temptation to have sex outside of marriage was enormous.

The benefits of waiting until my marriage to have sex far outweigh the social stigma I endured as a virgin. Isn’t ironic that in the wake of the sexual revolution, sex has become dangerous and even lethal. Yet in a monogamous marriage relationship between two people who waited for their wedding night, sex is safe, doesn’t require latex, and is dare I say “Spectacular!”