“I’m gonna be a big sister!”

(First I have to figure what “big sister” means, but Mom and Dad seem to think that I’ll like it :)  And they said that I have until October to figure it out :) )

Matt: humming annoying song

Nancy: “If you’re trying to impress me, that song isn’t helping.”

Matt: “What if I tried a different one.”

Nancy: Rolls eyes

Matt: sings “You never close your eyes, anymore whe…”

Nancy: interrupting “Okay, THAT makes me want to close my laptop and hit you over the head with it!”

Matt: laughs “Can I blog this?”

This lead to no end of discussion of pee-pee and poo-pee (as we have affectionately termed it in our household.)

Tonight on our date, which is when we have most of our important family discussions, Nancy asked me if we should come up with a nicer term for… you know.. number one… than “pee-pee”. Something more polite, more delicate. Naturally, I asked why. Apparently the word “pee” is looked down on as a bit of a crude word in some households. “You’re kidding.” I replied. She wasn’t.

So I thought for a moment, and (being in a rather mischievous mood, and it being a private conversation (that I am now sharing with the world)) offered: “How about ‘piss’?”

Shocked gasp from Nancy. Slight rib jab.

“No! I’m serious! It’s a biblical term!”

More shocked gasping. Disbelief.

Read-em and weep. The word “piss” occurs 8 times in the King James Version of the Bible.

* Alright, so I know it’s a crude term. I stopped using it frequently in public a few years ago. (”Aw, piss.” used to be a favorite expression of mine…) Funny story though, right? Don’t worry. We probably aren’t going to teach Elena to say “piss”. Probably.

Most of you who know me know I have a wide variety of interests and passions. I tend to dive into things I do with a lot of vigor and excitement. Most of you who know me WELL know I tend to have a hard time getting things done, because I have so much to do.

At the SXSW conference I attended a week ago, I got into several conversations around the topic of GTD. I decided I needed a system. I’ve discussed in the past needing a system for finances, diet, and schedule. I’ve found good systems for diet and finances, but had yet to find one for schedule.

Getting Things Done is a sort of system, more of a philosophy, or WAY of doing things that transcends schedules, calendars, and to do lists. Simplifying life, staying organized, keeping accurate schedules (and sticking to them)… it’s more of an approach to life than a scheduling system.

I’ll be writing about my new hobby on my Web Design Blog. Follow along if you dare. :)

Creativity is an inborn capacity for thinking differently than most, seeing differently, and making connections and perceiving relationships others miss. But most importantly, it is the ability to then extrapolate contextually useful ways of employing that data: to create something that meets a specific challenge. By this definition, creativity is merely a tool; it does not convey skill. For a dedicated few, though, this inborn capacity is then further augmented by certain disciplines, including:

• ongoing curiosity,
• the desire and habit of looking more deeply into things than others care to,
• the habit of comparing stimulus with result, and
• a habit for qualitative discrimination.

It is primarily these disciplines that set top creative professionals apart from those who are merely gifted. It is also these disciplines that help shape a designer’s intuitive senses, which are vital to design craft, processes, and overall success. Being merely creatively gifted is no qualification for design expertise, and the idea that creativity is a magic bullet that anyone or any designer may employ to positive effect is a vacuous notion.

I consider myself to be a creative person. I also like to think that I practice (to some extent) those listed disciplines. I am a “creative professional” but I’m certainly not a “TOP creative professional” (yet). If nothing else, the article was inspiring, and helpful in understanding the appropriate ways of wielding creativity. Give it a read.

On Creativity by Andy Rutledge

Should Sen. McCain capture the nomination as many assume, I believe this general election will offer the worst choices for president in my lifetime. I certainly can’t vote for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama based on their virulently anti-family policy positions. If these are the nominees in November, I simply will not cast a ballot for president for the first time in my life.

Now I am simply astounded. Why would he not, instead, mount a write-in campaign for a more “suitable” candidate?

I wonder how the “If you don’t vote, don’t complain.” axiom will apply here.

And try to remember that your mission isn’t politics.

Exercise your God-ordained freedom to be a part of choosing (snicker) your next leader.

Be as informed as it is possible to be about the issues.

Be as informed as it is possible to be about the candidates.

Be a Berean about everything any candidate says.

Stop towing (toeing?) party lines. (We are too easily swayed by fine sounding philosophy).

There will never be a savior on capitol hill.

Dan B. makes a wonderful point in the comments of my last post.

Bottomline for me: We’re in a battle being waged by God against the gates of hell. It’s not a political battle, however, and not about prayer in school or amnesty for illegal immigrants or the flat tax, etc. The battle is a rescue mission for people’s souls. So everything should take a back seat to that mission.

Amen brother. I’d like to add:

The battle isn’t even about the government’s stance on Homosexuals entering into a (legal institution that is falsely labeled) marriage.

Abortion… I’m picking that as part of my battle.

“Pray for the rulers that we may live peaceful and quiet lives.”

And that is why I am going to vote for a candidate (even if I have to write one in) that is promising to stay as uninvolved in my life as possible, and to begin the long, revolutionary process of dismantling government systems that meddle with my life, so that I might live in peace and freedom.

The government’s job is to wield a sword to carry out God’s wrath against the wrongdoer. Not to wield a sword to force everyone into a mold.

ALL authority has been instituted by God. Even the authority that convicted, tortured, and murdered his Son… Even several pagan kings who waged war on, imprisoned, and murdered God’s people.

Perhaps history is speaking to us.

I’ll probably have more later.

(Please note that these views are solely held by Matt and Nancy shakes her head, trembles slightly, listens intently, and is generally very intelligent about these things. But she probably doesn’t disagree. I’ll let her speak for herself.)

There is as much hope to be found in politics as there is in religion and religion is a lie.

There is no hope to be found in any political candidate.

There are no men worthy to be looked to as leader of the free world. If such a man existed, he would not be vying for the position.

Christian, no system of government makes your job any easier. Only easier and harder in different ways.

Understand that no matter who you vote for, you will still be in danger of being a slave to the world’s system, and the world is a cruel master.

Liberals have it wrong in many ways. Conservatives have it wrong in others. No matter how good they sound, Or say they are.

It reminds me of a very important fact of this season: the human race was given the ultimate gift a little more than 2000 years ago. God himself came to earth as a baby human boy and gave his life as an example of how to live and as a sacrifice: death on a Roman cross to take the punishment we all deserve for what we have done to ourselves, to each other, and therefore, to God.

He offers the gift of peace and union with God if we would just admit we need it, believe that he is who he said he is, and accept the gift. This is the greatest gift that anyone could ever get. Indeed, it is the only one anyone really needs, and certainly one we don’t deserve and cannot earn.

Merry Christmas!

Well, King David put it best:

Psalm 116 (”The Message” translation)

I love God because he listened to me, listened as I begged for mercy.
He listened so intently
as I laid out my case before him.
Death stared me in the face,
hell was hard on my heels.
Up against it, I didn’t know which way to turn;
then I called out to God for help:
“Please, God!” I cried out.
“Save my life!”
God is gracious—it is he who makes things right,
our most compassionate God.
God takes the side of the helpless;
when I was at the end of my rope, he saved me.

I said to myself, “Relax and rest.
God has showered you with blessings.
Soul, you’ve been rescued from death;
Eye, you’ve been rescued from tears;
And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling.”

I’m striding in the presence of God,
alive in the land of the living!
I stayed faithful, though bedeviled,
and despite a ton of bad luck,
Despite giving up on the human race,
saying, “They’re all liars and cheats.”

What can I give back to God
for the blessings he’s poured out on me?
I’ll lift high the cup of salvation—a toast to God!
I’ll pray in the name of God;
I’ll complete what I promised God I’d do,
and I’ll do it together with his people.

When they arrive at the gates of death,
God welcomes those who love him.
Oh, God, here I am, your servant,
your faithful servant: set me free for your service!
I’m ready to offer the thanksgiving sacrifice
and pray in the name of God.
I’ll complete what I promised God I’d do,
and I’ll do it in company with his people,
In the place of worship, in God’s house,
in Jerusalem, God’s city.

Hallelujah!

Top Ten Things We Love About Matt/Daddy

1.  Elena says, “Whenever I bring Daddy one of my favorite books, he always takes time to read it to me.”

2.  Matt is so incredibly patient with me…I can hardly believe it sometimes!

3.  Matt is an incredibly hard worker…putting in super long hours to provide for us…and I appreciate that sooo much.

4.  Matt is a man of integrity…in the big things and the little things.

5.  He has awesome taste and sense of design…and I’m not the only who thinks that!

6,  He made me into a sushi lover :)  (I never thought I would say that!)

7.  Elena says, “I love it when Daddy comes upstairs from work and chases me around the living room!  I just giggle and giggle…”

8.  I love it that Matt loves the outdoors and when we go camping, I feel like I have an expert park ranger leading our trip :)

9.  I’m so glad that my man knows how to take time to have fun…including making all three of us get dressed up for Halloween to give out candy :)  

10.  He understands God’s grace and love for us and has helped me to understand it more clearly by his love and forgiveness for me…

11.  He is a gifted musician and writer :)  

12.  Elena says, “Whenever Mommy takes me downstairs to say hi to Daddy, I get sooo excited and wiggle and giggle because I like to be with my daddy a WHOLE LOT!” (She really wanted to share that, and I think it mostly speaks to the fact that she can really tell that her daddy loves her a whole lot :))

1. He’s my big, strong, handsome man!

14.  I appreciate that Matt is involved in even the less-pretty parts of parenthood, including smelly diapers and middle-of-the-night wake-ups.  I am so thankful to be parenting Elena with such an amazing guy…

Happy Birthday, Babe!

We forget…

Our biggest problem
is that we frequently forget who we are.

We become mesmerized by our surroundings
and by things (or people) that we think we need.

We run around like a chicken with its head cut off,
or maybe like zombies in a George Romero film,
bust most definitely like a rat in the proverbial race
trying to gather up this lamp, that chair, and the phone book
and that’s all we need.

But we completely forget
(if we ever knew in the first place)
that the things we really need cannot be found on amazon.com
nor even on ebay,
In fact, money won’t buy it at all.
And I’m not talking about a Beatles song.

You will be more likely to remember
(or, to find for the first time)
what the thing is that you really need
if you tossed out your Tivo (and TV),
disconnected your DSL, ditched your HD,
severed your cell phone
threw a gigantic garage sale for all the junk that has driven you deeply, desperately, in debt
and drove West to the mountains, high into the mountains,
and spent some time alone (though we never are)

Then, at night, a few hours before dawn breaks
step outside.
Breathe deep…
and listen…
and look around…
and see a glimpse… a reflection…
of what you really need
who you really are
and what your problem really is.

“Totally Like Whatever” by Taylor Mali (original text on his site)

Not a good combination.

The end result is that left to myself I tend toward debt (credit cards), being overweight (I weight 229 lbs at 6′2″. Down from 235, after a week of Weight Watchers), and a life of disorganized crazy-busy-ness. I have little discipline, or latent management skill when it comes to these areas. I am in need of outside structure and accountability to keep me on track.

In college I discovered the necessity of a regimented schedule (or “time budget” as I like to think of it). I have all of my commitments and appointments plotted out in a calendar (iCal, to be exact, and it syncs with my BlackBerry). The degree to which I stick to the starting and ending times I have set up for myself (or have had set to me) relates directly to the sanity of my life. It is important that I follow it.

Nancy and I have kept a budget ever since we’ve been married that has kept us relatively on-track. With the help of Larry Burkett’s Finance Guide for Young Couples, steady work, and God’s grace, we fashioned a plan that allowed us to live without a lot of financial stress (except for a few bad decisions on my part). About a year and a half ago, we discovered Dave Ramsey and his Financial Peace University, and are now attacking all of our debt, and Lord willing, will be “debt free except for the house” in about 12 months.

Last week, Nancy got me started on Weight Watchers. In essence, I see it as very much related to the schedule and the budget. It’s a “food budget” of sorts, and fits very nicely with the way I think about things. As I mentioned above, sticking to their plan, I have lost 6 lbs in just a week (I hear you lose more in your first week or two, and then it slows down to about 2 lbs / week). In about 6-10 weeks I’ll be down around a weight I think I should be at.

I see all of these things as God’s grace. I don’t deserve to keep commitments and appointments, I’m too disorganized. I don’t deserve to be out of debt, I’m a terrible money manager. I don’t deserve to be in shape, I’m a glutton. However, the common graces of budgets, schedules, and Weight Watchers (or other diet plans…) are helping me to be all these things.

Godliness:

In no particular order:

• Dave Bovenmeyer (his emotional awareness, and manner with people are both something I aspire to, and am sorely lacking in)
• Tim Borseth (this man embodies the word faith and his boldness in evangelism is a model for me)
• Brad Barret (his example as a husband and father, and his obvious growth in humility give me hope)
• Gary Harris (A gentle giant of a man, his humble leadership as a husband, father, and leader of men give me good direction)
• Paul Johnson (his faithfulness and humility as a brother teach me)