Is anyone following the Jon and Kate drama?  I'm very nervous about Jon's fidelity.  I watched Kate on Today the other day and she seemed really sad.  What are your thoughts out there people?

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!

When did total nerd come back in style?  I've been seeing this look a lot lately:

Surprisingly, this look seems to be absolutely intentional.  The trendy Starbucks worker and Borders clerk are now sporting the mullet and big glasses.  They say everything old becomes new again.  I guess everything nerdy becomes cool at some point.  I'm thinking of getting out my glasses and putting some masking tape around the nose piece.  I'll do anything to be cool.

I've been meaning to blog about this for awhile. Last month my cousin, Kenny, passed away after an incredible battle with cancer. He was a police officer with the Austin police force for 30 years. His funeral was unlike anything I've ever seen. First of all, I've never seen so many cops in one room. The funeral was the greatest showing of respect I've every seen. The weather was cold and rainy which seemed quite fitting.

I've been blown away by Kenny since his diagnosis. I've never seen someone face such difficult circumstances with such a positive attitude and will to live. He never stopped fighting even in the very end. If a fighting spirit alone could cure cancer, Kenny would have been cured the day after his diagnosis.

Here is a link to the news coverage of his funeral.
KVUE Story

A few months ago, maybe even a year ago, I told you to check out Obediah Parker's version of Hey Ya. Well last night they played that song on Scrubs! That led me to believe that the producers of Scrubs are reading my blog. I always welcome new readers. :)

I have a little story for you. After church last night I was up in my office and received a text telling me there was a duck under my car. Of course I thought this was a joke. But as it turns out, a little ducky with a broken foot had found its way under my car! Whoa. It was so cute and scared. So, Tim (the other youth minister) called animal patrol, who were not working at 9:00 pm. So the dispatcher sent out a police officer to help us in our time of need. While we waited on the first responder, we noticed an owl, or hawk, or some other big predatory bird perched on a tree in the distance. Back to that in a moment. I expected the officer to put the duck in a cage and take him in for treatment. Instead he scooped him up in a blanket and carried him down to the creek at the edge of the church property. I was a little disappointed in his course of action, but what was I going to do- argue with the cop? This morning Tim and I were so proud of our courageous actions last night. We decided to go down to the creek and check on the ducky. All we found was a big pile of duck feathers. This forced us to believe that owl made a good dinner out of the duck last night. Nature can be so tragic.

Here's the poor little duck.

The duck was a little scared of me. I'm assuming this was because of my red eyes.

The police officer who led the duck to ultimate death.

Lots of thoughts going on here... just follow along.

I recently drove through the state of Kentucky. It seems like a nice enough place. Here's the weird thing- apparently they have no idea what to do with the bodies of dead deer. So, their best answer is to simply leave them in the grassy median. Hey- it's winter time, at least they'll kind of blend in with the dead grass. Well, not really. I lost count after 20. We were only in the state for about an hour.

Last Saturday I had to get 3 van loads of teens back from Wichita in a snow storm. I doubt my blood pressure has ever been higher. I prayed the whole way home as I gripped the wheel with all my might. At one point I said, God if you get us home I'll give you the glory on my blog. So here it is people: The good Lord got us home safely last Saturday morning! He's pretty good at protecting me. We sure know it wasn't my driving abilities.

There is all this commotion about The Bachelor. Surprisingly, I've never watched the show, so I have no comment.

I wish those lovely people who cut hair would just admit they have no idea how to style curly hair. I'd rather leave with my hair wet than let them blow dry my head into a frizzy afro. (is that even how you spell that?) Today when the lady was trying to dry my hair, I finally had to just say, "ma'am will you please stop that, I'll just leave like this." I knew she couldn't fix the mess she was creating. I did give her a nice tip though, just in case she thought I was rude.

I have a girls retreat coming up soon. I'm on empty when it comes to ideas about what we should do. Any thoughts out there?

Today was an open windows day! The sun was shining and it was so wonderful. I hope it lasts a little while.

I had to face some rejection yesterday. I'm tired of putting myself out there. I'm also tired of being a "good friend." That's all have to say about that.

It's time for some Thursday night tv. Such a good way to end a long week. I'll finish with a new photo. My good pal Susan took this for our new website at church.

I hate the phrase:
"Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

People in my world say it all the time. Stop it!

What is it about Oscar season that just makes you want to cry?... oh, it's the movies! My goal this year was to see all of the big Oscar films. Well apparently, to get anywhere in Hollywood you must commit suicide, molest an alter boy, read to an illiterate Nazi, hate people from Asia, and marry Leonardo DiCaprio. Why can't we just be sweet and nice and happy? Jeez America, let's get some therapy.

Today was one of those days that you really feel like a minister.

So, I was updating my Facebook and realized that I haven't read any books lately that aren't youth ministry related. Well, I'm in the mood for reading- it must be the cold weather. Give me some recommendations. What are your favorite books? You know, the ones that you just can't put down. The ones you read in a day. And please don't say Twilight...

Something else I am pondering...
This morning the weather person said that our high temp on Sunday would be 61 and our high on Monday would be 16. Is that even possible?

So I have a pretty crazy task before me. I'm about to spend the next two months teaching a group of rowdy 7th and 8th graders how to study the bible. On the surface this many sound easy, but as I sit here preparing, I'm becoming more fearful, or confused, or overwhelmed, well I'm not sure exactly how I feel. Here's what I do know. I didn't learn how to study the bible until I went to grad school. I am confident that my exegetical material from those classes will be lost on these teens, I say sarcastically. In all honesty, that material was lost on me pretty regularly. Oh man. Wish me luck people.

Taking the Plunge

Several months ago I declared 2009 would be "The Year of the Man." I have no idea why I even said it. But I think I'll take myself up on it. I've been doing some reading on the eHarmony website, and I'm thinking I'll give it a shot. What do I have to lose right? At least I'll have more to blog about. The truth is, since I finished grad school, I don't really know how to meet people my age. One friend said I should just go to some bars. Well, that's not the best image I want to pass along to my teens. :) Everyone keeps telling me there's this whole world of single people out there. I guess I just need a little help breaking into it. So, throughout 2009 feel free to stop by here for updates on the life of an online dater.

So, I had a few problems today. Let me share.

1. I have this ear problem. Maybe an ear infection or a sinus problem. Or maybe just a build up of wax. Whatever it is, I can't hear out of my right ear and I am sick of it! I'm going to the doctor soon, so don't worry.
2. On my was home from church I hit a curb, hard. I tore up my tire and bent the rim. Great. AAA was there in 20 minutes though so I still made it home in time for a Sunday afternoon nap on this snowy winter day.
3. I got a hole in my jeans tonight during youth worship. It's a 2 inch rip right over my right butt check. Luckily, I'd already sat down when it happened. So the teens didn't see my colorful panties (I hope). Most days I think I need to just stand up in front of the teens and say- "your youth minister is the biggest dork of all time, don't expect her to ever be cool." Then I would never have to worry about being embarrassed. We would all just expect these things to happen.
4. I don't think the heat in my apartment is working and it's Sunday night so there's not much I can do about it right now. Luckily, I have way too many blankets in my apartment, so I'm toasty right now in my bed.

Tonight I led a worship time about how much God blesses our lives and how much we have to be thankful for. Ironic, eh?

ummm, it's 16 degrees.

I have a new friend. One of my bffs, Lynsey, labored for something crazy like 40 hours to bring a little cutie into the world. Welcome Anna Kate Wells. I'm so excited to meet you and I'm really glad you have red hair! I was pulling for them to name her Sue, but no one ever takes me up on that. What's the deal? Sue is a great name people! It rhymes with so many words... two, boo, do, who, eww, moo, poo... See, you can take it anywhere. But enough of this nonsense...

On to something much less important than Anna Kate. I'm talking about college football. With the recent success of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, my personal intake of college football, espn game day, and sports center has hit an all time high. Now this is a major problem. It goes against all I stand for. As soon as I moved out of the Mullican Male House of Sports I vowed to take my life in a different direction- a sports free zone if you will. And I've done a great job, with the exception of the summer olympics of course. So anyways, these past few weeks Lubbock has gone crazy and I've watched from afar wishing I was participating in the madness. So in an attempt to join the masses of my hometown, I'll do it: WRECK 'EM TECH! Don't ever expect that again on this journey of a blog.

This is a shout out to my Romanian reader. I get a pretty consistent hit from somewhere in Romania, but I have no idea who I might be connected to over there. So, my Romanian friend, leave me a comment sometime. :)

I don't have much to blog about lately. I've been feeling somewhat uninspired these days. So, I'll give you a few thoughts on death- but not what you're probably thinking. As I said earlier, I love the fall. What a great time of year. But as I watch the leaves change and fall to the ground, I can't help but think about dying. These leaves, who have provided so much beauty and shade and photosynthesis are now meeting their end. They will be raked into monster trash bags that look like pumpkins and eventually end up in some dump or landfill. This death is necessary for the tree. And as a season ends, the tree is preparing itself for something new. For new life. New blooms, new beauty, new leaves, new shade. But this new life only comes through death. And we are reminded of this each October.

I have died to a few things in my life. At the end of my first semester in grad school my mentor asked me: "What have you died to this semester?" My answer was very obvious to me. That semester I had died to Lubbock and home. After two previous failed attempts to leave, I had finally moved away from my home and community and the safety it provided- not just physically, but emotionally too. I knew that I could be successful in a new place. Dying to my Lubbock/parents/Broadway/friends/LCU/home self gave me an opportunity for new life elsewhere. New opportunities, challenges, and joys. I'm thinking we are always dying to something. It is a Biblical idea after all.

The hard part about dying is that time between the falling leaves and the new blooms: the winter. The tree must endure a long hard cold season before it is ready to produce the new life. So, I feel as though I am in a fall stage of life right now. I am dying to something. I can feel it in my heart. And I'm bracing myself for the cold season ahead. But I know there is a beautiful spring in store full of new life and beauty.

Fall, glorious fall. It has arrived. 70 degree days, leaves crunching under my feet, campfires, hayrides, and football games. My favorite season is here and I love it!

Don't you just hate waiting... me too.