stuff i think

Help!

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 03:23:00 +0000

I'm testing out this chat software for a later event. Stop in and say hi!

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This Blog has Moved.

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 02:47:00 +0000

After six years of blogging at this address, I have seen the light and am abandoning Blogger like so many digital lemmings before me. All the content has migrated to my new site, and the links to this one should remain ok, but nothing more will be posted here.

What's this mean for you? If you're reading this via RSS, all transmissions will cease. Please go to the new site - www.RandyBohlender.com - and click on the new feed, or choose to have the new feed emailed to you directly.

A few more features and links will be added in the next few days, but again - this blog is dead, yet lives, here. Please update your links.

Thanks to Ellen Karns, former VCC Web Girl, for helping me and tweaking the layout. OK, bending the layout beyond recognition. Thanks also to Shelley Paulson for taking every picture of me that does not look dumb, including the one in the new header.

Timing is Everything

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:38:00 +0000

As previously mentioned, I'm listening to Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers audiobook...and now wishing I had the hard copy in my hand, because I can't find the quote I'm looking for.

In a synopsis, Gladwell lays out the case that almost all titans of technology were born in a narrow window of time. For example...

Bill Joy - Founding team, Sun Microsystems - November 8, 1954
Scott McNealy - Founding team, Sun Microsystems - Nov 13, 1954
Vinod Khosla - Founding team, Sun Microsystems - Jan 28, 1955
Steve Jobs - Apple Computers - Feb 24, 1955
Andy Bechtolsheim, Founding team, Sun Microsystems - June 1955
Bill Gates - Microsoft - Oct 28, 1955
Steve Ballmer - Microsoft CEO - March 24, 1956

Gladwell goes on to list a bunch of lesser known, behind the scenes people and their birthdays, all into an 24 month window. While they all certainly are bright men and women, they are not arguably smarter than those who came before or after them. While they are hard workers, they do not work harder or longer than any other generation.

What was it about that window of time that produced a micro-sliced generation of high achievers?

Timing.

These men came into adulthood at a time when computers were behemoths that took up entire rooms, but the wheels of innovation were already turning...and their minds were free to think about making computers smaller and affordable - perhaps even putting one on your desk.

Had they been born five years earlier, they would have been entrenched in careers that were build on large mainframe computers. Being creative would have put their livelihood in jeopardy. They couldn't have afforded to put years into small computers - they would have had a mortgage to pay and babies to raise.

Had they been born five years later, they would have missed the revolution and been relegated to being a footsoldier in a new guard of electronics and software companies.

Gates, Jobs and others became who they are by hard work, by cleverness, and by the unique opportunity afforded them by a narrow window of time.

This post has nothing to do with computers. It has to do with questions I'm asking myself right now...because in a sense, we were all born on our own 4th of July, 1955.

For every person born, there is a unique opportunity to shift history, to change the game, to invent what was not possible a few years earlier and won't be amazing a few years later. We all have our own window of time.

So I'm asking...

What time is it right now?

What opportunities are being afforded us that have never been afforded others before...and will be passe in short order.

What is just through this window of time, and how many of us can get through the window before time slams it shut forever?

I have a hunch

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:07:00 +0000

I filled our Suburban up for about $38 yesterday. Even as I did the happy dance, I know it can't last.

I have little more than intuition to peg this on, but mark my words - these gas prices are not here to stay. They may last a week or a month, and they may even go a little bit lower, but they're getting ready to skyrocket back where they were this summer or higher.

Helping form my conviction on this:

1) People have already assured Big Oil that we will pay $4+/gallon. Yes, we might drive a little less, but not half as much as we do at $2. They can sell less and make more at $4/gallon.

2) Very few people want to hear politicians talk about alternative energy. This dip in gas prices reassures people that we don't really need to worry about using anything other than oil, further diminishing their interest. The only thing we are burning faster than oil is time....time that should be spent on research but won't be, because gas is cheap again.

3) Markets are driven by speculation, not production. Look at the recent stock market activity. It swings wildly day to day - is that because the stocks intrinsic value fluctuates that fast? No it's because the number of people who bet that someone else is dumber than they are is skyrocketing. Oil will fluctuate just as quickly.

Fill your tanks, friends. And your barrels and your pitchers and your swimming pools. $4 gas will be back sooner than you think.

audio books or print?

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 03:24:00 +0000

I saw an advertisement today for a free download of Malcolm Gladwell's new book, 'Outliers'. Of course, until I followed all the links, I was signing up for a 14 day trial of Audible.com, which I have no intention of keeping.

This is my second audio book of recent weeks, but to be frank, I'm not a big fan. First of all, I read way faster than most audio book readers. They take a LONG time to listen too...plus I talk to people and get talked to by people most of the day, so sitting down and hearing only the voice(s) in my head is more calming than you can imagine. Audio books seem like an extended meeting to me - one that I can't respond to. That said, it's hard to resist free Gladwell. :)

Comparing the two books - Gladwell's 'Outliers' and Seth Godin's 'Tribes', I'd pick Gladwell over Godin even though I'm only 20 minutes into 'Outliers'. It's not that Godin doesn't have good material. In fact, it's almost E.W. Kenyonesque in that I could listen for 5 minutes and shut it off and think for 30. He speaks in sound bites that actually bite and force you to apply them to your own situation.

Gladwell wins for one reason: Story telling.

No one tells a story like the Canadian-cum-neurotic-New-Yorker Malcom Gladwell. He speaks with clarity and intensity, but also with a quizzical sound in his voice, as if he's discovering the story along with you. Think a younger Garrison Keillor minus the Minnesota flavor and restricted to fact.

Godin makes me think of a million applications of his one, eight word thought....but Gladwell makes me want to listen to him.

Plus, he's got that wicked cool hair.

up and nearly at'm

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:14:00 +0000

It's a quarter past 6am. I've been up for about an hour, feeding the girls who slept their longest stretch ever - nearly 6 1/2 hours - and went right back to sleep after their bottles. I'm so thankful I want to wear a pilgrim hat and buckle shoes today.

Kelsey is feeling...pregnant. She gets tired pretty quickly, although it should be noted that the woman stewards six children, three of who poop their pants at random, and an oddball husband. That, and she gives herself shots in the abdomen twice daily, leaving bruises that would lead one to believe she lost a game of paintball. And then she apologizes. "I'm sorry I'm tired...I don't mean to complain...". She and I are made out of very different stuff. Kryptonite Mom vs. Puddin Pops.

Jackson took a few photos of der vundertwins. You can click on either to see the full size version. As near as I can tell from the photos, the first one is of Mercy Rain. The one below is Anna River.

The girls are over 9lbs now and their personalities are really beginning to shine. Mercy is the more vocal of the two, not in a whiney way, but more in the mold of a prophetic singer, which is find with us. She is a little bigger and her hair is slightly lighter in color.

Anna, on the other hand (often literally on the other hand) is a little more demure, although secretly I think she's plotting the writing of her tell-all book, "I Was Adopted By The Strangest Family on the Planet And Turned Out Fine", available on Amazon in the spring of 2028.

If it sounds like all we do is laugh and play with these girls...it's because we are reporting on the highlights of the day. We are still intercessory missionaries. We still pay the bills, scrub the floor, read the news and drink a lot of coffee. It's just that our lives have been willingly hijacked by two half Asian beauties who we find irresistible.

In the "Not Half Asian But We Still Love Her" category, I had to post a photo of our dear friend Annie, who in characteristic sympathy for our plight, brought over this killer double layer chocolate cake complete with toasted coconut on the icing.

This may have been the most Martha Stewart thing I've ever seen done by a teenager. We are plotting ways to keep her in Kansas City, and I am not above sabotaging her college essays by inserting words like "booger" at random.

Thank you, Annie! The tribe loves you, and if we ever carve a totem pole, you are TOTALLY going on top, far out of reach of the dreaded pigeon zone.

This rings a bell

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:56:00 +0000

We can put a man on the moon but we can't remember to pick up our tools. Honestly, though, I must have lost a thousand dollars worth of my dad's tools growing up on the farm. I found some weird satisfaction in this story.

Lost tool bag forces changes to planned spacewalks

HOUSTON (AP) - Flight controllers were revamping plans Wednesday for the remaining spacewalks planned during space shuttle Endeavour's visit to the international space station, after a crucial tool bag floated out to space during a repair trip.

The briefcase-sized tool bag drifted away from astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper on Tuesday as she cleaned and lubed a gummed-up joint on a wing of solar panels on the space station. She and fellow astronaut Stephen Bowen were midway through the first of four spacewalks planned for the mission. The tool bag was one of the largest items ever lost by a spacewalker.

A rare youtube link

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:16:00 +0000

I very rarely post odd youtube videos, but this is so true that it cannot be ignored. It's also a little painful when you recognize yourself.

I have no idea who this guy is, but you're only laughing because you see yourself. Two profundities - "everything is amazing, but nobody is happy...." and "...used to be, if you ran out of money, you couldn't do any more things...".

Via MondayMorningInsight.com

thought fragment...

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:20:00 +0000

This idea will reappear later in a more thoroughly written blog, but I just wanted to toss it out there this morning while it was fresh in my mind.

I was up this morning praying for my family. It seems to take longer to do that every week. :) As I prayed, I pondered the nature of Satan's rage toward children. They are not just at risk because of their innocence. It's as if he's gunning for them.

Babies are targeted in the womb for elimination. If they survive, they spend their childhood in a world in surrounded by adults who are entertained by images and ideas that would be considered detrimental to their spirit. They are immersed in a culture that speaks to them as if their youth is to be despised. 'Childlike' is an admirable quality, yet they are told over and over, 'grow up'.

Why the war on children and childhood?

Then I was reminded of Psalm 8:2. From the lips of children and infants, I have ordained praise. Into their DNA, God has written a holy song, and Satan is trying for all he's worth to throw a sour note into the lifesong they have been given, because he knows that their song defeats his purposes.

Satan does not rage against children because they're vulnerable. He rages against them because they are dangerous.

It is a privilege to raise a house full of dangerous kids.

And in other developments...

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:19:00 +0000

It's hard to top last night's announcement that we were expecting our seventh child.

Kelsey made the prenatal pilgrimage to the professional today who professed that she positively is pregnant, which we knew. They also prescribed an expensive medication that she will inject into her stomach via syringe every day due to an autoimmune disorder that she has. She did this with Zion as well. Tonight, she took her first injection and found that it burned like fire. I ran downstairs for a minute and came up to find her sitting on the floor of the kitchen, afraid she was going to pass out. In the end, she didn't...but it wasn't fun. She went directly to bed.

In better news, we received an offer on our house last night. After a few back and forths, we landed on a price with the buyer. The home inspection in scheduled for Friday afternoon. All is this fantastic news for us - the current house was short on space and the layout was not conducive to a tribe of our size.

These are interesting days. We are in need of more space. The housing market is such that one could buy more house for less than one might have a year ago, but honestly, it's going to take a miracle to get what we need. Fortunately, we've seen a string of miracles for the past five years.

Since the week before leaving for IHOP, we have been given four vehicles. Granted, the first three had a cumulative total of over a half million miles on them, but they honestly all ran well. I gave two away and sold one. The fourth is the mighty Johnny Cash Tour Bus Edition Suburban that still hauls my entire family (until around July, in which case....uh, I don't have that figured out yet).

Somehow, we have managed to raise a growing family on missions support for five years. People erroneously assume that since we've done it this long we know how to do it. We don't. We send out newsletters, we pray, and God provides, seemingly with very little connection to the newsletters. More than once, we have received large checks days (or even hours) before a large bill was due.

We adopted three infants in less than two years. I still can't fully explain that one.

All that to say God's got the cattle on a thousand hills, and He's going to clear off one of those hills and build us a house. I just know it. There will be room for all seven kids, Kelsey and I, and Grandma B.

Ten people, five ethnicities, three generations, one family.

This feels a little like heaven, and God's going to make sure He's got a place to live.

Father Abraham / Had many sons

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 04:08:00 +0000

In case you missed the twitternado earlier tonight (and I understand there are as many as six of you who refuse to use Twitter. That's ok, but you're last one to the Info Buffet), Kelsey and I twittered an announcement that went roughly like this:

@kbohlender - I feel sick....

@rbohlender - You ok? Symptoms?

@kbohlender - Sick to my stomach, tired all the time. Ya know, the usual for the condition.

@rbohlender - That's right folks. @kbohlender has a bun in the oven. this is not a joke.

We found out two days ago that Kelsey is expecting. Yes, it's number 7. Yes, it will mean 4 children under the age of 3. Yes, we know what causes this (although someone told us that if we had a TV, it might not have....).

We are overfreakingjoyed. This is as glorious and in the perfect will of God as any adoption. I have a TON of thoughts around large families and God's plan for the earth. Some will make your head spin, and I hope to blog them soon. Suffice it to say that we're happy. We're laughing maniacally in a way that might suggest we're off our meds, but we're also truly happy.

All things God are good.

Sing it with me now. Father Abraham / Had many sons....many sons had Father Abraham

Adoption v. Abandonment: Court is now in session.

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:32:00 +0000

There is a hard to quantify, yet hard to deny reality that the spirit world operates something akin to mathematics at times. Truth works no matter how you approach the equation. X is elusive, yet it is the glory of kings to search it out. And for every positive action or number, there is an equal and opposing reaction.

We are seeing that play out in a very real, very tragic way.

The prophet Malachi delivered an oracle from God describing the time nearing the end of days:

Malachi 4:5,6
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.

We may not agree on what the great and dreadful day of the Lord means in specifics, but most of us agree that a) today isn’t it and b) it’s closer today than it was yesterday. In light of those two points, it would do us all well to take a long, hard look at the things God says are to come.

One of the positives to come will be a great adoption movement - figurative and literal - as the hearts of the generations turn 180 degrees to face one another and the church rediscovers a wholeness lost long ago.

Not many years ago, people primarily adopted because they were unable to conceive. That’s no longer the biggest reason. Increasingly, I’m meeting people who are adopting for more proactive, spiritual reasons - as prophetic declarations of God’s heart for children. I believe is a foreshadowing of Malachi’s promise.

Of course, there is a negative reality as well. Even as the church discovers the spirit of adoption, there is a radical display of child abandonment happening in Nebraska. Not long ago, Nebraska instituted a Safe Haven Law, promising clemency to anyone who, unable to care for a child, would surrender them to a hospital or police station.

The thought was they would safe a number of infants from poor care or abuse. Never in their wildest dreams did they expect what would happen next. Rather than infants being delivered to hospitals by teen parents, children as old as seventeen are being flown across the country and dropped off by parents who are at their wits end as to how to deal with them.

In the past few days alone, three teenagers and a five year old were brought from as far away as Miami, Florida by four different parents. In one case, a 17 year old girl and her 14 year old brother were dropped at an Omaha hospital. When the girl figured out what was happening, she ran way, preferring to face the world on her own than in state custody. Her brother did not go with her. It's hard to tell who got the better deal.

State lawmakers are in shock. "Please don't bring your teenager to Nebraska," Gov. Dave Heineman told CNN. "Think of what you are saying. You are saying you no longer support them. You no longer love them."

There’s no way to tell the conditions from which these kids may be being spared. In some - if not most cases - they actually may be better off in a foster home. I can’t imagine a child living long term with an parent who would prefer to abandon them.

That being said, the greater issue is what this says about our culture. Kids are commodities, not responsibilities. Parenting is a magazine, not a life of sacrifice. When it gets hard, help is only as far away as Nebraska.

Good God, what have we become.

The church must embrace these kids and thousands of others with spiritual and temporal adoption. It will not be pretty, easy, or fun. It will be obedience. They are not the prom queens or football stars we thought we would raise...but their reception by the body of Christ will be the barometer of what will come.

Hear the words of the prophet, and the warning therein.

And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.

Didn't feel that one coming.

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:57:00 +0000

I've often mentioned my overall disdain for television. For a hundred reasons, we kind of checked out of TV land about ten years ago, and every time I peak back in, I find a reason to cringe. I'm only saying that to point out the unlikeliness of what's happened.

I have been binge-watching the canceled CBS series Jericho during the twins' late night feeding. By bing-watching, I mean four times a week or so, although I will admit to one or two nights of watching a two-fer. Don't panic, it can't last forever. They only produced two seasons of the show.

This is especially odd given that about a year ago I watched an episode from season two out of context and immediately pronounced it dumb. Don't get me wrong - I still don't think of it as great television. The acting can be bad, but the storyline is intriguing. Essentially, the US is victim of a mass nuclear attack. The plot follows the small, Kansas town of Jericho and how they deal with the aftermath.

All that to say that last night, I watched a scene that hit me far differently than I would have expected. In this particular episode, Johnston Greene, former mayor of the town and patriarch of the Greene family, is shot in a gunfight with a rival town and later dies on a friend's kitchen table with his two grown sons at his side.

His boys, in their early 30's, are stereotypical - the good, dull son who stayed in Jericho and the younger, exciting, slightly bad-boy who returned to redeem himself by knowing the ways of war. Together, these three pulled off one of the most touching death scenes I've ever watched. What surpised me, though, was not their emotions - it was my reaction.

My dad died when I was 28 years old. Knowing full well it was coming, I stood at the foot of his bed and watched the heart monitor flat line. I clearly remember telling Kelsey "I'm too young to not have a dad." Thirteen years later, I still feel that. I miss him every day.

Under normal circumstances, upon seeing this scene, I'd relate to the sons...their emotions, their pain, their loss. Unexpectedly, last night, watching there on the couch with a daughter in arms, I found myself relating to the dying father.

In saying his goodbyes, he grabbed his younger son's hand and whispered "I was too hard on you. I was...too hard on you, son." His dying words - the most intentionally chosen of any man's life - reflected a tenderness and very real pain.

It's interesting that in this case, almost no one would say "I wish I would have been harder on you. I wish I would have punished you. I wish I would have whipped you into shape."

"I was too hard on you." That was his dying emotion...the sum of all feelings regarding his son.

I swallowed hard and relived a few scenes of my own in my head.

We're all living out our death scene, in some respect. Admit it. We're dying. Now or later, we're dying. Why would we talk one way now and another later?

I looked at my boys differently this morning. I know what I want to say to them, and I don't want to wait to say it. It''s far less harsh than it would be if I were going to live in this state forever.

Amish Law and Order

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:59:00 +0000

In the criminal justice system, the people are entertained by two separate yet equally important groups: the Amish, who presume their own guilt, and the cows, who wear the RFD's.

These are their stories.

--------

From the Wired Blog

The Bush administration on Thursday urged a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a group of Amish farmers in Michigan claiming RFID chips required on cattle "are a mark of the beast."

The Amish farmers claim Michigan regulations requiring them to use radio frequency identification devices on their cattle "constitutes some form of a 'mark of the beast' and/or represents an infringement of their 'dominion over cattle and all living things' in violation of their fundamental religious beliefs," according to the farmers' lawsuit (pdf) filed in September in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

read it all here

Listen to Ren...

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:54:00 +0000

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says - and Kevin Bacon later agreed - that there is a time for all things. A time to be born, to die, to plant, to uproot, to kill, to heal, to tear down, to build up, to weep, to laugh, to mourn and to dance. The message of the passage is not a dismissive ‘stuff happens’, but rather profound ‘stuff happens at certain times, and times change, and other stuff happens’. For crying out loud, I sound like I’m writing The Message.

I’ve been big on the rhythm of life - the idea that things happen in patterns and if you can be patient with the pattern of it, you can sustain life a long time. Fight the rhythm and you’re never happy. Succumb to the rhythm and you find the dance.

That said, I think I’m beginning to find the rhythm again, after having been knocked silly with the schedule of twins + adjusting to having a family of six children (two different things, I’m learning). Adding twins is like having a baby x 2. Oddly enough, that’s the easier adjustment. It takes longer to feed, to diaper, to play....but you know that in a few years, that’s passed and they’re fairly self sustaining. Having 2 babies fades away. Having six kids? Not so much. In four years, when the twins are off playing in the back yard, I'll still have six kids. At least. :)

One of the changes I had to make was in abandoning my beloved 6am in the prayer room. For five years, I kept that post, rarely missing a day. The 4pm has replaced the 6am for the most part, and it would have been easier to get used to driving on the wrong side of the road. Early mornings are now invested in making sure the tribe is up and moving the right direction before I leave Kelsey to hold the fort. I find myself in the prayer room at a strange time, with strange people, less jacked on caffeine and a little more tired than I used to be....

So I’m adjusting. Looking for a rhythm...and it’s all good.

To quote Ren McCormack, “I thought this was a party. LET'S DANCE! “

Behind the scenes...

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:09:00 +0000

I love TheCall. I love what it stands for and how it does it. I also love the off beat things that happen back stage....

We had a large contingency of Catholics join us in California - more than any other event. We also had a Catholic Bishop lead in prayer late in the afternoon. He was a very pleasant little Mexican fellow who patiently waited behind the stage, enduring our multiple schedule shifts until it was his turn.

A few minutes before he went on, he motioned for me to come down off the stage. When I did, he shouted in my ear over the sound of the band. Between the accent and his collar, all I could think of was Nacho Libre.

He said "Dey ask me to not pray to de saints, and not to pray de rosary..."

I nod, not quite sure where this is going. He continues....

"Is it ok if I cast out de devils and bind dem to hell?"

I don't remember what I said exactly, but I assured him that he was correct. No to saints and the rosary, thumbs up to casting out devils and binding them to hell.

That's good theology right there.

An Open Letter to Barack Obama

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:05:00 +0000

November 10, 2008

Dear Mr. President-elect,

After the last election, I wrote to President George Bush. While he never actually acknowledged my letter publicly, I know that he was a big fan of the Google and trust he saw it somewhere.

I don't believe in perfunctory niceties, Senator, so I'll level with you. I voted for the other guy. Actually, I voted more for the lady with the other guy, but that's a whole 'nother letter. Even so, I'm excited for our nation in some respects. It will be interesting to have a president with at least a sliver of coolness. I'm too young to remember JFK, but you're closer to him in iconic standing than any of those I've known. I'm proud of America. We have evolved to a point where an African American can get elected to the highest office in the land. My adopted daughter - African American and Latino descent - is 2 years old and will never remember a time when this was impossible. That is progress for all of us.

No doubt, there are a lot of people clamoring for your attention right now, and that's not likely to slow up much, so I'm going to get right to the point on a couple of things that mean a lot to me. You might want to even bookmark this page. File it under "nutty evangelicals" if it helps you find it again later.

I'm concerned about national security. The past seven years have shown us that there are some very bad people in the world and the reserve a special kind of hate for Americans. I know you've talked about sitting down with certain people who've been labeled terrorists, believing that it's better to talk to our enemies than to ignore them. Please do not oversimplify the world scene to a disagreement between neighbors that can be settled on the patio over a couple of cold ones. I know a lot has gone wrong - particularly in the last four years - but you have to admit, for all the things that blew up and burned down on President Bush's watch, he managed to blow them up or burn them down overseas, not within our borders.

I'm troubled by our financial situation. I'm not horribly concerned about Wall Street, because I'm convinced that most of the value that has been lost on Wall Street was not value at all, but rather hype. Decades ago, a CEO woke up and asked "are we making good widgets?" For the last few years, a CEO wakes up and asks "what's our stock price?" It's a very different perspective that lends itself to an intricate form of gambling where value is derived speculation rather than production. We could stand to get back to producing a few things. What does concern me, though, is people losing jobs or finding themselves upside down with easy credit. I vote you prop up employers as necessary and crack down on ridiculous credit terms. Yes, people should be smart enough to understand the idea of "too good to be true...", but they're not, and to teach them all a lesson the hard way right now is going to make the value of our homes plummet even though we've been responsible enough to make the payments.

I am burdened for the lives of the unborn. My gut says that you have regretted that "above my pay grade" comment you made to Rick Warren since the moment you said it. My gut also says that you have a nagging question....one that arises when you look at your beautiful little girls. In the dark of night, when you slip into their room to take one last peek, I think you hear the whispers in the walls. "Before I formed you in your womb, I knew you... " I won't argue science or religion with you, Mr. President-elect. Just stare hard at your daughters and ask three questions "When did they begin? How do I know? What if I'm wrong?"

Sir, you are in my prayers. You are about to undertake a job that no man would have unless he loved America. I believe that you do. I don't believe you to be any more sinister or righteous than your campaign opponent was, and I will pray for your encounter with the Living God just as I would for whoever else won. May you know Him and experience Him fully, and may your leadership over our nation reflect that encounter.

Sincerely

Randy Bohlender

Best part of the day....

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:49:00 +0000

Best part of the day....introducing Angela Wheeler Solomon to a someone at Crossroads by saying "She used to work for me at the Vineyard."

No matter how hard she protested, the person never really figured out that I wasn't her boss.

We need a Pastor Pageant

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:28:00 +0000

Live, from the Orpheum Theatre:

Rick Warren v. Billy Graham

If you follow the links, you'll see The Nation has crowned Warren, but CNN tells us Graham is still the reigning pastor. Controversy! Religion! This story has it all.

I suggest a Pastor Pageant with some Sarah Palinesque 'fancy pageant walkin'. Maybe a Funeral-off, baby dedicating for speed, etc. Any ideas?

morning ruminations...

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:38:00 +0000

The sun is beginning to poke up over the church building across the street that serves as our eastern horizon. It's playing off the gorgeous color that hangs from all of the oak trees lining our street...yellow, orange, red and a color that can only be called redder or Extreme Red Makeover.

Truly, this is the great and terrible season of the oak tree. They are at once a deciduous and apocalyptic sight. At this moment, with my laptop before me and my trusty coffee mug at my side, they are glorious....however, as those leaves continue fall like the stock market, we find the transition between the sacred and profane.

Forerunner School of Ministry freshman had some sort of service hours to do this week. For three days straight, two nice young men showed up at my door at 9am and raked their little hearts out, redefining theological education in the context of night and day yard work.

They would work for 2 to 3 hours, but leaves were falling so fast that even before they left, it was hard to see that they'd done anything (although they managed to rake, mulch and bag TWENTY bags of leaves, saving me hours of work!).

Thanks, guys. Your work is not in vain, even though it appeared as if it were. Now go study Sisyphus with a new understanding.

TheCall meets the UFC

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 06:13:00 +0000

As I mentioned yesterday, we had what shall forever be memorialized as 'the jumper incident' on Saturday night at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

What I did not know was that our own Shelley Paulson photo documented the whole thing. I should have assumed this. She shoots constantly. Actually, I'm grateful, as these are the only recent photos that Shelley has taken of me in which I am not fiddling with my Blackbery.

Here are three shots that give you the general idea.

As you can see, I am about to unleash the wrath on this guy.

Actually, not so much.

Two things surprise me about the photo above. First, that he got much closer to Lou than I thought he did - I thought it all happened center stage, about 10 feet to the right. Also, in my mind, I got there before the security guy did but that's obviously not true. Adrenalin is a funny thing.

By this shot a second or two later, Security was coming out of the woodwork. Several more piled in before it was over. He will not forget this incident.

And here's the end game, as he gets the escort out on the command of Marcos (head of the security detail - black shirt). I get a real kick out of Marcos' finger pointing - "he's outta there!". Meanwhile, Gabe Ahn turns to cue the band - "Na na, Na na na na, hey hey, goodbye!"

TheCall Cali in a nutshell

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:07:00 +0000

We spent yesterday at Qualcomm Stadium in support of TheCall California. Of course, now we get the repeated question 'how did it go?', so I'll try and give you the highlights in one fell swoop. Dig Shelley Paulson's excellent photostream here.

Attendance.

Who knows. More than I could count, fewer than I'd hoped. One newspaper said 33,000, and I'd say that's fair. There were a good 8,000 on the field between the end zone and the far 20 yard line, which made for a great feel from the stage, but left some real gaps in the stands. I was encouraged with Jim Garlow's words the night before - that if we come to do business, it really doesn't matter how many show up. That said, I still wish we would have filled it. :)

Peeps

I love TheCall team. You could not buy this kind of loyalty or good attitudes. Digital hats off to the portion of the team who labored in California in advance for the two months leading up to TheCall. We are glad you're coming home. Also good to reunite with Miss Alysha, who served us so well in the office during the regional tour and DC. She's gone off to get an education but took the weekend to fly and be with us, where she worked hard all day long.

Speakers/Prayer Leaders

Love him or hate him, you cannot deny that James Dobson has influenced two generations of American Christians. He and his wife, Shirley, spent a good number of hours on the stage. They were very gracious and kind to anyone who connected with them.

Pat Boone arrived mid afternoon and stayed until the very end, sporting white boots and telling a story about Jimmy Hendrix back in the day. He was a chatterbox in the wings and seemed like a guy I'd like to have lunch with.

Allen Hood shared a chilling dream he had from the Lord, regarding what he called 'the drunkenness of California. It was the most sober moment of the day for me.

The usual cohorts of Lou, Mike Bickle, Dutch Sheets and others were there as well. After doing so many, TheCall has a family feel sidestage. I like that.

Musicians

Straight up, I'm forgetting people. Important people, so I won't bother mentioning most of them and no one feels bad.

I love Radiant - they show up full force and play at 8:30am to 70,000 empty seats and One Supreme Guest. Then they go stand in the crowd and yell and sing and pray and dance like there's no tomorrow. This, friends, is character, and Richy and Jess and Peeps have it. I've got tears in my eyes thinking about it.

I could have listened to Christine Mueller sing her San Francisco song all night long.

Another standout for me was Gabe Ahn. I'd never heard him lead before, but he carried the tired crowd through a raucus set to close the day, including the fastest ever played rendition of "Undignified" ever played.

Oddball

Fifteen minutes before we pulled the plug, near the end of Gabe's set, I was sitting on a gear box on the far right side of the stage. I joked to my peeps "It doesn't seem quite like TheCall because we haven't had to throw anyone out yet."

Three minutes later, on the far side of the stage, some guy leaps the bike rack and climbes up on the stage. The peeps around me later told me me I said something like "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA!" as I bolted past the guests on stage and raced toward the guy. By this time, he was on his feet and headed for Lou full boogey with a wild look in his eye.

We were set to collide front center stage - I was hoping I could throw him off the front of the stage if necessary. Of course, at this point, something occured to me - that which I was attempting might actually happen. I might actually be the first guy to reach this nut, in which case I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen.

About the time I reach him and go to grab his sweatshirt, a minimum of six security guards (on loan from the International Church of Las Vegas) land on the guy from all sides. Honestly, it might have been eight or ten. All I know is they put a world of hurt on him in a very short amount of time.

With the band still rocking, I glance up at Gabe, who has walked around his monitor and is yelling at the guy "Look at me! Look at me!" Turns out Gabe recognized him and was hoping to calm him down, but once you've rushed the stage and been tackled, it's hard to reenter negotiations as equals. I told the security guys to haul him off, which they did by his belt, pant legs, and ears. Frankly, the whole thing took far less to happen than it did to read - it was so crazy fast.

Today, we attend some meetings and tomorrow, we head back to Middle America so we can vote on Tuesday. As an event, TheCall Cali is in the box. As a value and a movement, it's just begun.

Good morning, San Diego....

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:14:00 +0000

Here we go...

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:58:00 +0000

Live on GOD-TV tomorrow, 10am-10pm Pacific.

Comin' at ya...

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Bohlender) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:30:00 +0000

Here are my homeboys Jonathan Mills and Downtown Steve Brown, just beginning to set up the stage at Quallcom stadium in San Diego. The build is Tues/Wed/Thurs/Fri and Saturday, we rumble! Nice collection of plywood there, Jonathan!

One more shot from present uber-assistant and hospitality princess, Sarah Kim...click it large and you'll see Ali Oop Watkins lower left, workin' the Crackberry.