August 2008
20 posts
1 tag
A Different Kind of Election
There are plenty of disagreements in this election. There have been, and will be, lots of ugly moments. But there have also been a number of moments where each candidate has carried himself (soon I’ll have to write him or herself) with lots of class.
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I [heart] Marion: Barney Smith
Last night Barney Smith from Marion spoke at the Democratic National Convention. Key quote from his speech: “You need a president who puts Barney Smith before Smith Barney.” And the crowd goes wild…
2 tags
Advising the Candidates
Apparently Shane Claiborne has been sought as a political adviser by multiple political candidates. He infers without saying that this includes both McCain and Obama. Shane is ready to offer his counsel.
As for the presidential candidates, we’re not sure how our counsel will go over, since it may begin with advising those seeking office to melt down the weapons of our arsenal and transform...
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Monday Meanderings
Lately I’ve been getting a lot of traffic from the members only section of Gaither.com. Anyone a Gaither.com member who can tell me what’s going on? Does it have anything to do with a goat that sings the AU Alma Mater?
High gas prices result in lower traffic fatalities.
Wonder when Michael Phelps got so fast? lol
Who knew rhythmic gymnastics was so beautiful?
From the you’ve...
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Weekends are for Music: Pandora
One of my favorite websites for listening to music is the online radio station Pandora. Pandora’s mission is “To play music you’ll love - and nothing else.” They do a pretty good job of just that.
Type in the name of one of your favorite artists or songs and Pandora will create a custom station of similar music. You can also refine your stations. Is Pandora playing a song...
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Say it aint so, Jott!
I’ve been a huge fan of Jott for quite a while. Jott is a voice to text transcription service. Call Jott on your cell phone and leave a voice mail message. Your message gets transcribed to text and sent to your email. Great for sending yourself reminders or replacing the pen and paper you always carry in your pocket.
Here’s where Jott gets awesome. You are not only able to use Jott to...
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Rand: "War on Terrorism" is Faulty
The Washington Post ran an interesting article about a recent study by the Rand Corp that shows the problems with a “war on terror.”
The Bush administration’s terrorism-fighting strategy has not significantly undermined al-Qaeda’s capabilities, according to a major new study that argues the struggle against terrorism is better waged by law enforcement agencies than by...
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Book Giveway: Wild Goose Chase
I’ve got one brand new, never read copy of Wild Goose Chase to give away. This is in addition to the copy I already read that I’m keeping for my very own. :)
See my review.
If you want a free copy of Wild Goose Chase, leave a comment letting me know why you should get it. One commenter of my own choosing will be the lucky [or blessed for my Presbyterian friends] recipient.
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Book Review: Wild Goose Chase
Mark Batterson’s new book Wild Goose Chase: Reclaim the Adventure of Pursuing God releases today. I had the privilege of receiving an advanced copy to review, and I finished it last night.
After reading Mark’s first book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, my motto for 2007 became “Chasing Lions”. It was in January 2007 that I began chasing an unexpected lion that...
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I [heart] Marion: Sonic Opens!
Yesterday was a big day for Marion - our new Sonic restaurant opened.
In Atlanta we lived about a mile from a Sonic, so this feels a bit like our life in Atlanta invading our life in Marion. Reminds me of the Kingdom of God - where heaven invades earth.
Anyway, the kids were really excited. We had opening day dinner at Sonic, including cheeseburgers, corn dogs, french fries, onion rings, cherry...
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Monday Meanderings
Visits to my website jumped 500% for some reason. If you’re new to the site-welcome!
The Marion Sonic opens at 11:00 am today. Can anyone say “early lunch”?
I spent several good days at FLAME last week. I got to spend some time with some great ministry people, including Joshatwestern and Mark from Revitalize Your Church.
I am always inspired whenever I watch people who are the...
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Weekends are for Music: Jack Johnson
My kids love the movie Curious George. I love that it has a great soundtrack by Jack Johnson. After the 10,000 time of listening to the music in the movie, I dug into more of Johnson’s music, and I’m loving it. You can listen to 10 of his albums for free on his website.
Sound: Bluesy acoustic
Website: jackjohnsonmusic.com
Listen: Featured Music or Albums
Listen here to songs from...
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I [heart] Marion: Headlines
I check the Marion Chronicle-Tribune headlines every morning via rss feed.
Today these headlines popped up, in this exact order. Batman earns award in essay contest Clown classes offered DUI blitz starts Friday
Perhaps I have a strange sense of humor, but I found this to be quite funny.
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Monday Meanderings
I liked some of the function of the new version of embracethegodlife.com I rolled out over the summer, but I finally decided it was too cluttered and hard to read. So, I unveiled an even newer update over the weekend. :) Now I just need to make time to write more content…
Did you see the US mens swimming team win gold in the 4x100 relay? Amazing!
This weekend, I ran 7KM for the first...
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Weekends are for Music: Japeth the Goat Sings the...
This could fit in the “now for something completely different” category.
The writers, producers, and a number of actors from the movie Hoodwinked are graduates of Anderson University and were a few years ahead of me in college. My favorite character from Hoodwinked is Japeth the goat, played by Benjy Gaither, who must sing everything because a witch put a spell on him.
Here is Japeth...
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Olympics: Triumph Against Overwheling Odds
One of the reasons we love the Olympics is viewing stories of triumph against overwhelming odds in sports as a metaphor for life. Sometimes that metaphor is all to real.
Lopez Lomong has been chosen to carry the US flag in the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. Lomong, born in Sudan, was abducted by Sudanese soldiers when he was 6. He escaped and ran to Kenya where he was lived in a...
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Pray for China
With the start of the 2008 Summer Olympics today, I encourage you to make an intentional effort to pray daily for human rights in China.
China was awarded theses Olympic Games with the promise that it would greatly improve human rights in its country. But instead of getting better, things have actually gotten worse.
In the run-up to the Olympics, the Chinese authorities have locked up, put...
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“We will not be endorsing any candidates. Rather, we will invite them to endorse...”
– Shane Claiborne
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Weekends are for Music: Braid My Hair
My last music post featured the songwriting talents of college friends Lonnie Fowler and Brent Wilson.
Brent has co-written another recently released single, “Braid My Hair”, performed Randy Owen, former lead singer of supergroup Alabama.
Wondering what the song is about? Here’s a clue: 100 percent of the song’s publishing royalties are being donated to St. Jude...
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I [heart] Marion: Order a pizza, get $10,000
From Marion Chronicle-Tribune:
It’s not every day that a Domino’s Pizza customer opens up their pizza box and finds a $10,000 check in the box with their food. That’s exactly what happened to Kasey Quick on Friday.
The Marion resident was one of 20 people throughout the United States who won the money. Brian Coles from Coles Marketing, the group that manages marketing for Domino’s Pizza, said...