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: 2024 Reads: Sun Wolf by David C. Jeffrey 📚 I like this guy’s ideas, and the sort of grand scope of …

: Today’s challenge in adulting: paying attention at the tail end of a 3-day class when …

: Mandatory post.

: Gah, Cody Bellinger has a cracked rib. This is not the way I hoped to see Pete Crow-Armstrong in the …

: I'm not claiming any special prescience, but... I was cleaning up old blog posts here and found this that I wrote back in 2012: I think it may take …

: “Tom Cotton has never seen a left-wing protest he didn’t want crushed at gunpoint.”. …

: Medieval Christians' perspective on climate change Well, this is a fascinating perspective: medievalist Dr. Eleanor Johnson writes on Literary Hub …

: Well, hard to see how this could start worse for the #Stars. Gave up a power play goal in the first …

: Great: the Dallas Stars are the #1 seed in the Western Conference. Not so great: their first round …

: Moving my blog to micro.blog So on a whim I reactivated my micro.blog site and threw 1275 markdown files at it - the entire …

: Bullet Points for a York Tuesday I’m visiting the UK for work this week - my first visit ever. A few thoughts: Having a public …

: Pictures at an Exhibition for Guitar I got to know Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition when I was in high school and my piano …

: The Exvangelicals by Sarah McCammon I just finished up reading Sarah McCammon’s new book The Exvangelicals and I need to take the time …

: Bringing joy to people IS bringing glory to God Crisanne Werner has a lovely essay up on Substack today about her changing understanding of how the …

: Reimagining Orthodoxy Dr. Chris Green shared part of an essay today on a theology of disagreement. There’s a ton of …

: Chopin Being Mean I have hacked through the Chopin Ballades for years now. I started learning the first one in high …

: In Praise of Humble, Gentle Men This morning a headline came across my social media feed, with a link to a remarkable interview with …

: You get the feeling from reading them that we might be loved This old concert recording of Rich Mullins at a Wheaton College chapel service in 1997 is an …

: We have attended an Episcopal church now for a few months, enough times at least to get sucked into …

: A Hymn Aptly Chosen One of the fun things about attending a church in a new and unfamiliar tradition is that things that …

: Playing the Jeremiah 17:9 Card “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” …

: My own personal Philippians 3 If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on …

: Fast Car, or, why I'm crying at my desk this morning “You’ve got a fast car, I want a ticket to anywhere…” If you’ve been …

: Billionaire Hoarders and “Charity” I re-posted a meme to Facebook the other day which suggested that billionaires are “hoarders”, …

: Geof F. Morris, 1978-2022 Geoffrey Franklin Morris, 43, of Madison, Alabama, died today at Vanderbilt Medical Center in …

: Essential Jams: ”Fugace” from Bolling’s Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio So much to love about this. I wanted to find a recording that wasn’t the canonical Bolling/Rampal …

: Eerie Parallels Last night I started reading Dr. Susannah Heschel’s The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the …

: My 2021 Reading in Review With 2022 well underway (for the past 10 hours or so) it’s time to review my reading in 2021. As …

: Recent reading: Queer Theology by Linn Marie Tonstad The past couple months I’ve been participating in a reading group hosted by Matt Tebbe. (Matt …

: By the Waters of Babylon - Joey Weisenberg I don’t remember who shared this on Twitter the other day, but I listened to it once and …

: Kermit does Jazz: there's video. The other day I mentioned goofing around with the idea of Kermit the Frog singing a jazz version of …

: 10 Albums, 10 Days: A Liturgy, A Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band Maybe this one should’ve been first on my list, but I decided to leave the best for last. Rich …

: 10 Albums, 10 Days: Rachmaninov’s Vespers (All Night Vigil) I’ve really been wrestling with what album to post for day #9. But I’m gonna go with one that …

: 10 Albums, 10 Days: Bride of the Noisemakers I got tagged on Facebook to do this project – share ten albums that greatly influenced my taste in …

: 10 Albums, 10 Days: The Suburbs I got tagged on Facebook to do this project – share ten albums that greatly influenced my taste in …

: 10 Albums, 10 Days: Silly Songs with Larry I got tagged on Facebook to do this project – share ten albums that greatly influenced my taste in …

: 10 Albums, 10 Days: Behold the Lamb of God I got tagged on Facebook to do this project – share ten albums that greatly influenced my taste in …

: 10 Albums, 10 Days: Long Line of Leavers I got tagged on Facebook to do this project – share ten albums that greatly influenced my taste in …

: 10 Albums, 10 Days: When Harry Met Sally I got tagged on Facebook to do this project – share ten albums that greatly influenced my taste in …

: 10 Albums, 10 Days: Go West Young Man I got tagged on Facebook to do this project – share ten albums that greatly influenced my taste in …

: 10 Albums, 10 Days: Rach 2 I got tagged on Facebook to do this project - share ten albums that greatly influenced my taste in …

: The poor you will always have with you? I just finished up listening to Finding Fred, a short-series podcast about Fred Rogers. Podcast host …

: An Iowan's thoughts the morning after the 2020 Caucus Last night I and thousands of Iowans like me participated in the Democratic Party caucus. After …

: Happy New Year! This Strange Planet cartoon is as apt a sentiment for starting 2020 as I can think of today.

: Knives Out Took the family to see Rian Johnson’s latest film, Knives Out, this afternoon. I know Johnson is a …

: Frozen II: A Very 2019 Movie It’s been just long enough since the original Frozen came out, and my girls have aged just enough, …

: 2019 Reading, Compendium #5 A High View of Scripture? The Authority of the Bible and the Formation of the New Testament Canon by …

: In The Shelter: Naming the Gadarene Demoniac I’m currently reading Pádraig Ó Tuama’s wonderful In the Shelter: Finding a Home In the …

: 2019 Reading, Compendium #2 Trying to not get my book lists get so backed up this time. Here’s what I’ve been …

: Today's the day! Can confirm this morning only a light jacket was necessary.

: Opening Day 2019 It’s been a long winter. Heck, it’s been a long week. Which makes today a particularly …

: My latest fascination I’ve never been particularly a jewelry or fashion guy. I’ve worn a watch inconsistently …

: Strange Planet One of my favorite discoveries as of late has been the new webcomic Strange Planet. Apparently only …

: Fans with Bands I went down a little bit of a YouTube rat hole the other day watching a playlist full of videos …

: Making the rounds... I’ve been playing music in church since high school and as a member of worship bands at least …

: For All The Saints This great hymn was sung at the end of President George H. W. Bush’s funeral this morning. …

: Of disappointment and unexpected footwear A week ago I ordered some foam replacement earbud covers from Amazon. Friday the package showed up. …

: A night with Bruce Hornsby’s brain Last Friday night my wife and I had the opportunity to go hear Bruce Hornsby play a solo show at the …

: Grammar nerdery + Bible reference? You bet I'll post this.

: Social media exhausted me again Social media exhausted me again. If I’m more self-reflective I guess I have to say I exhausted …

: Finished reading: 2018, part five My reading has apparently slowed down a bit this summer. Still, there’s been some good stuff …

: Fun with time signatures Because who doesn’t want to play an etude that switches between 7/8 and 4/4 every measure? …

: Farewell, Facebook I just posted this to Facebook: So let’s review what we’ve learned about Facebook in …

: Is it the beard? I’ve written before about my Swedish Doppelganger - the botanist Carl Skottsberg in his …

: I tried YouTube TV - here's what I found YouTubeTV is the latest entry into the streaming TV field. I’ve been an early adopter here; I …

: These are the deep questions I ask myself... The other night we were playing “Name that Disney movie” while shuffling soundtracks on …

: The Gospel Coalition has its #MeToo moment The pace of sexual abuse allegations and resignations / firings in the wake of the #MeToo movement …

: Church graveyard at night Took this a couple years ago; still one of my favorites.

: Some Thoughts on Thoughts and Prayers The familiarity of yesterday’s breaking news alerts almost muted the shock. Half a church …

: Land of My Sojourn A Rich Mullins song as timely today as it was when it came out back in 1993. .embed-container { …

: A healthier approach to a mid-life crisis... Andrew Osenga started a new podcast earlier this year called The Pivot. Episode 3 is his discussion …

: Andrew Peterson and Friends: The Ragamuffin Album, Live at the Ryman Last Sunday night I had the privilege of attending an Andrew Peterson-organized and -led concert …

: Happiness as Human Flourishing: Matthieu Ricard on On Being I’ve read Christian authors from time to time who seem to be flirting with Buddhism - I guess …

: Nineteen Nineteen years ago today Becky and I were married. If I search back through the archives on this …

: Where you get your news matters As I sit and write today we are in day two of Donald Trump’s presidency. Across the United …

: This is my new favorite picture and I don't know why

: Recommended reading: The I’ve got a soft spot in my heart (and on my reading list) for science fiction. It probably …

: #FlyTheW I’ve enjoyed baseball for as long as I can remember. I have fond memories of attending my …

: Worship Night in America This showed up in my Twitter feed over the weekend: twitter.com/mattmaher… “Worship …

: Finished reading: The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson I haven’t been posting on every book I’ve read, but wow, this was a good one. The Warmth …

: Reading Revelation Responsibly by Michael J. Gorman We’ve been in a sermon series on Revelation at church, so when a couple recommendations for …

: Bono and Eugene Peterson discuss the Psalms A million people have undoubtedly posted this already, but… wow. So good. Bono and Eugene …

: The discomfiting presence of a saint A couple friends shared this old compilation video of Fred Rogers appearing on the Charlie Rose …

: Liftoff Episode 12: Geof makes the bigtime When the Relay podcast guys announced a show about space, my first thought was “sure, Stephen …

: I love my daughter's embarrassed-but-pleased-with-herself smile Oh yeah.

: Hamilton It’s been a while since I’ve had a record catch my attention and get stuck in my head …

: Some months I need to clone myself, or, Chris gets work done, Orphan Black-style So yeah, it’s one of those months. I need a clone. Or two. Or five.So yeah, it’s one of …

: Happy Birthday, Laura! (2015 edition) How am I old enough to have an 11-year-old? It doesn’t seem I’ve gotten that much …

: 17 Years Seventeen years ago, on a sweltering Friday night in Charlotte, NC, two youngsters stood before God …

: A little early-morning band action I play with a band called Standing Before Giants off and on. (I don’t show up on the official …

: That old, old impulse to tweak and re-write As a worship leader I confess I grumble from time to time about the current propensity of our …

: Some fun for Friday I had about five things turn up in my RSS reading today that I want to blog before long. But …

: And the youngest turns 6... We’re finishing up Birthday Week at the Hubbs house by celebrating today as the youngest turns …

: Matt Maher: Glory Bound I’m not a big listener of CCM and Praise & Worship music, but Matt Maher’s stuff has …

: Happy Birthday to the AG! (2015 edition) Our middle daughter, Addison, enters her last single-digit year today. Hard to believe that nine …

: A famous scene minus the dialogue OK, I’m just shamelessly reposting something Jason Kottke dug up, but it’s fascinating - …

: Worth reading: an interview with Wendell Berry Wendell Berry is an author many folks have never heard of, but boy, once you get into the right …

: HDHomeRun Extend noisy fan: fix it via OVERKILL! A few months back I replaced my old (still working) HdHomeRun networked tuner with a newer model …

: Jim Cantore, Minor Prophet In former days the weather gods spake to us through almanacks and prognosticating rodents, but in …

: It feels like a new era... We got my first computer when I was 7. My dad was writing a book, so bought a little PC with two …

: A Pearls Pun for Friday How awesome is this?

: A little piano music for the season A couple years ago I recorded a little album of solo piano Christmas music. Here’s one of my …

: Winnie the Dude On the topic of my previous post, I had this Twitter interaction with Stephen Granade: …

: Wherein I rag on Aaron Sorkin, do a little bit of my own research, and brag on my completely awesome friends. Last night I briefly moaned on Facebook about a small inconsistency that bugged me whilst watching …

: Using HDHomeRun Plus to record H.264 video with Windows Media Center Yeah, this is a nerdy post. I’m not expecting it’s of huge interest for my usual readers …

: OK, I love Tim Keller for lots of reasons but this one takes the cake From an #askTK session on Twitter today: Perfect answer. Love it.

: This is a useful word. For reference, my current pile:

: O'Hare Overnight Liveblog American Airlines and a stalled warm front have conspired to have me sleeping overnight in the …

: An app idea especially for Cubs fans As a Cubs fan I set up my Yahoo sports iPhone app at the beginning of the season to pop up an alert …

: How can you not love this kid?

: One more Supreme Court amusement I have some other posts planned, but my buddy Geof pointed out something in a Supreme Court ruling …

: A Serious Argument over a Traffic Stop, or, Why I Love Reading Supreme Court Decisions One of my secret guilty pleasures (and here you get to plumb the depths of my weird mind) is reading …

: Star Wars music on an amazing pipe organ OK, this is pretty great. Organist Jelani Eddington performs a suite from the Star Wars soundtrack …

: The difference a decade makes On the left, my passport photo from 2004. On the right, my passport photo from last week.

: My Swedish Doppelganger When my wife’s sister and her husband recently visited Chile, they found this picture in a …

: Carols for Christmas (reprise) Last year I recorded some piano arrangements of familiar Christmas songs. I called it, originally …

: Something to lighten the mood... It’s been fun as my daughter Laura gets older (almost 9 and a half!) seeing her start to use …

: Bluegrass and Bach: Something Relaxing for the Weekend It’s Friday headed in to a holiday weekend and I’m tired of writing about serious …

: Four generations at play We had a bunch of family visit our home the past couple days, including my grandmother, my parents, …

: Tonight's chain of musical thoughts Playing this in the van while headed home: .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: …

: The Power of the Pen I like writing by hand, and I love the feel of writing with a good pen. In my experience, though, …

: Happy birthday to KP! It’s March, which means the birthdays come fast and furious at the Hubbs house. Today the …

: Happy Birthday to the AG Seven years ago today, in the dark of the early morning, Addison was born. This young lady is so …

: Amazon AutoRip and Pricing Models Last week Amazon introduced something called AutoRip. Basic premise: you buy a physical CD from …

: Carols for Christmas For at least twenty years my mother has been requesting that I record some of my piano stylings. For …

: My Favorite Elected Official The primary focus this election day is on the race for President, as well it should be. After I …

: India Trip, days 5 and 6 I think it’s a fair guess that I’ve never spent 4 days talking non-stop for 8 hours each …

: My trip to India, Day 1/2 I’m in Hyderabad, India this week for work. (I’ll be teaching a training class all week …

: Happy Birthday, Addie G! Our delightful middle daughter turns 6 today. Happy birthday, little lady! You’re an amazing …

: The Axes of Evil: A Halloween Groaner [HT: Boing Boing]

: My brain is full, part 2 Yesterday’s post wandered a bit in talking about the relevance of God’s Word even as it …

: Robert Esher Hubbs III, 1939 - 2011 My wife’s father [Yes, that’s right - Becky’s maiden name was Hubbs, my last name …

: So I'm gonna do this... Finally biting the bullet and sending in this registration. 7 more weeks to prepare!

: The desire of every blogger Thanks to Mo Willems:

: Found this little gem last night... …while cleaning off one of our bookshelves. Completely forgot I had it. Robert’s Rules …

: A day with family Today we had the chance to enjoy what is an increasingly rare occurrence: all four of my siblings …

: Learning to spell a new word, or, how do you spell 'blerg'? It’s fascinating to see how a new word evolves, especially in the case where a word is …

: Going To Morrow My friend Dan’s greeting on Twitter this morning brought this song to mind - it’s a …

: Canadian Travels and Weird Internet Friends This week business took me on my second-ever cross-the-border trip, once again to Canada, though …

: Brrrrrrrrrr.....

: Happiness is... another new pen. When we were in Minneapolis last weekend I happened upon one of those dangerous places for me to go …

: Take me out to the ballgame... It’s October 1st, which, among other things, means it’s time for the baseball playoffs. …

: Yeah, that's our downtown.

: And it rained all day... It’s been a weird year for weather here in Iowa. We started with the snowiest winter on …

: Home after Christmas What a great Christmas, and now how good to be home. We spent several days at my parents' place in …

: If I were from England, I'd be unhappy Becky and I were wandering the toy shelves at our local Target store recently, finishing up some …

: Somebody's leaving tracts in the bathroom again... This morning’s visit to the bathroom here at work revealed that someone has again been leaving …

: New toy coming... Thanks to some unexpected cash influx, I was able to purchase this earlier this week: It’s a …

: I fought the door, and the door won Today was lining up to be a fairly unadventurous Saturday. I had a church basketball game in the …

: 'Cause we're all praying for the ice to break... This song has been rattling around in my head for the past day or two. It’s beautiful, …

: Road Trip: Andy O CD Release Show After hearing the announcement that “much rock will be had”, I decided if I could make …

: they're leaving... but they're coming back. By late this evening I’ll be the only member of my immediate family still present in North …

: odds and ends March 2006 The server has been down for the last few days, so I haven’t been able to update. But now …

: the web sites can wait It’s Tuesday afternoon, and I’m sitting on the couch in a darkened hospital room. …

: short on sleep but full of joy... Yesterday welcomed our little girl Addison Grace into the world. It was a quick labor and delivery; …

: a new addition No, it’s not the baby. But today we did end up purchasing a nice used minivan. It’s a …

: starting out hectic Well, no baby yet. But that still doesn’t mean my Monday has calmed down much. :-) We did a …

: so nice to be busy again... Things had been a little bit slow at work for the past couple of weeks; I was winding up one project …

: Welcome to Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key! House of Cakeboy had about run its course, so after reflection the new blog title, as you can …

: I still feel the same... a follow-up. In a previous post, I wrestled with the ideas of being 10 years removed from my teens, but still …

: time for a facelift Well, I at least switched up graphics and a bit of the color scheme. It’ll do for now. …

: too much new music? I didn’t think it would ever be possible, but at the moment, I feel like I have too much new …

: In The Company of Angels: The World Will Sing In The Company of Angels: The World Will Sing is the soon-to-be-released latest album from my …

: it's Monday... …and I haven’t posted since last Wednesday, which means I’m a real slacker. I …

: it's snowing! And it’s about time. We haven’t had any snow since December 16th… that’s a …

: Fear, Complexity, Environmental Management in the 21st Century Fear, Complexity, Environmental Management in the 21st Century This is a must-read article by …

: Loose ends Just to tie up a few loose ends from previous posts: The evening at the coffeehouse went well. I …

: An evil brain teaser Geof posted this over on the Rumor Forum and it’s been so much fun I thought I’d share …

: coffeehouse time Tomorrow night I’m providing two hours of musical entertainment at my favorite coffeeshop. …

: 10 mistakes conservatives make in art and entertainment Erik Lokkesmoe has a good article on Townhall.com where he lists 10 mistakes conservatives make in …

: reasonable theological concern, or overly picky? I was thinking through some songs that we haven’t sung for a while in church, and this issue …

: home again, home again... I got back last night about 10:30 from another quick trip to Wichita, this time for DER Orientation. …

: ain't it just like Mediacom... It’s not unusual, in my experience, to receive calendars as gifts around Christmas-time from …

: odds and ends January 2006 I’ve been a bit haphazard in my posting habits lately, so I’ll just dump a bunch of …

: I still feel the same... I thought I’d feel different by now. I remember sitting in a recliner in the living room of a …

: and it comes around to me... "4 things" I’ve kinda been waiting for this one… Thanks Stephanie for tagging me! Four jobs I’ve …

: You Probably Shouldn’t Lead Worship Anymore If… - purgatorio It’s a bit image-intensive, but it’s a hilarious post that worship leaders and really …

: a good weekend to be off Yesterday was my first Sunday of just taking a break from leading the worship team. David Green did …

: the next album I'll have to buy Andy Osenga notes today that Ben Shive is going to release his own album. No word yet on when this …

: finally up and running It’s taken too long, but noelridge.org is finally up and running with real pictures of our …

: being productive Last night Becky was gone to a baby shower at the church, and so after I put Laura to bed around 7 I …

: BookJournal: Fortunes of War Fortunes of War is a recent title from Stephen Coonts. It is in many respects a standard military …

: FeedLounge! The long-awaited FeedLounge finally opened for public signups yesterday. For those of you not …

: iTunes meme Geof did this, and it looked like fun. Open iTunes to answer the following: Total number of tracks: …

: US Cellular outage in Eastern Iowa I woke up this morning to find that I had very limited, analog cellular service. US Cellular has …

: too many rebates I’ve probably sent in more rebate forms in the last two months than I had in my entire …

: Weekend update Jan 2006 Well I’ve been a slacker lately as far as meaningful posts go… don’t know how …

: making things Occasionally when I walk through our building here at work to get to the cafeteria, I walk past some …

: getting things done No, Geof, I haven’t read the book, and this isn’t about the book. However, it has been …

: BookJournal: Stranger in a Strange Land I was on the prowl for some sci-fi to read last time I was at the library. They are courteous enough …

: worship team follow-up So we did two services this morning after the great WT practice on Wednesday, and the services went …

: worship team stuff We had our first WT practice in about a month on Wednesday night. It was good to get back to it. I …

: baby names OK, so Becky is due with kiddo #2 the first week of March. We’ve talked baby names a little …

: BookJournal: No Uncertain Terms Well I just about have this one finished up so I’ll write about it now. William Safire, in …

: well, it's official I got the letter from the FAA today that officially notifies me that I will be a DER candidate …

: back into the swing of things Today I’m back at work after 11 days of holiday. I was just about ready to come back… I …

: the obligatory new year's post I’m already a day late on this - it’s January 2nd, not the first. I’ll probably …

: BookJournal: PowerSat Powersat is one of the latest titles by long-time sci-fi author Ben Bova. Bova is a prolific author. …

: Upgrading the Tivo Hard Drive OK, so when we bought our 40-hour Tivo, it was small-ish for storage space, but it worked. Now that …

: Upgrade complete I’ve just finished upgrading all of the thehubbs.net blogs to Wordpress 2.0. It all seemed to …

: Christmas time is here... OK, so Christmas was actually two days ago. Now the family has all left for their respective homes …

: Christmas shopping... check. My today didn’t go as planned. But that’s OK - it’s turned out just fine anyhow. …

: Just for the record... …the new snowblower kicks butt. I probably looked like an idiot using a 5.5 hp 2-stage …

: Ben Shive, Harmony, and the Blood of Jesus All the recent posts about the AP Christmas concert at the Ryman last weekend reminded me of one …

: lots of travel, 30 minute interview Monday afternoon found me traveling to Wichita, KS, for my DER interview with the FAA. The wisdom …

: weekend update It’s been feeling like Christmas the last couple of weeks, what with the sub-zero temps and …

: Andy Gullahorn Geof Morris once referred to him as “Andy ‘It’s really sad that the only thing …

: I met the Queen of Iowa I met the Queen of Iowa, She was dying on a couch in the suburbs. And of all the things she was …

: So much to say... So Saturday night was the Behold the Lamb concert in Cedar Rapids. As you know if you read my …

: ok, so I'm a little bit excited... Tomorrow the Andrew Peterson Behold the Lamb Christmas tour is hitting Cedar Rapids! I …

: I got accepted. Well, so I still haven’t received the official “you’re invited for an …

: Things aren't right I’ve been reading several different books recently, and a discussion with Becky last night …

: the blessings of a holiday This holiday weekend we have left Iowa and headed to Wisconsin to visit my family. Thanksgiving with …

: I've moved... If you are reading this post, you’re reading it from my new web address: …

: I got accepted... I think... I got a letter from the FAA today inviting me to the DER seminar down in Wichita in January. …

: it's basketball time... My first basketball league of the season starts tonight. I’m really looking forward to it. I …

: It's cold and grey outside... …and I had been planning on doing yard work. I did a little bit this morning (ran the mower …

: Ender's Game I am a voracious reader of fiction. I read a good bit of non-fiction, too, but fictional thrillers …

: feeling young Last night we had a neighborhood potluck dinner, organized by our next-door neighbors. It was a bit …

: "A Separate Peace" Peggy Noonan writes a somber column today. An excerpt: I think there is an unspoken subtext in our …

: and he lifts up his arms in a blessing for being born again... Last week Becky and I were able to leave Laura with my folks and take a couple days of vacation up …

: priorities of time I wrestled in an earlier post with issues of time and busyness. I’m still wrestling with it. I …

: So I call you my country, and I'll be lonely for my home And the coal trucks come a-runnin' With their bellies full of coal And their big wheels a-hummin' …

: it's a Monday... …and stuff is a bit crazy here at work. Fortunately for me, I’m taking vacation this …

: OLN Hockey Blackout Yesterday night I sat down in front of the TV, looking forward to watching a hockey game. The Dallas …

: more odds and ends I’m getting a cold. I’d forgotten how much I hate colds. You can’t breathe, and …

: Happy Birthday sis! My little sister Rebecca (the youngest of us 5 kids) turns 18 today! Wow. Now I feel old. :-) Happy …

: Noelridge Park Church So, after months of planning, debating, and voting, we finally have a new name for our church. …

: The first time I've ever played a concert with somebody riding a cow in the background... Last Saturday afternoon I got to see Andrew Peterson and Andy Osenga in concert at …

: I'm full! I was remembering those Taco Bell ads the other day - the ones where a guy eats a burrito or …

: a general arrrrrgh... and then woohoo! I’ll come up with a more thoughtful post one of these days, I promise. But for now, more …

: Serendipity ser·en·dip·i·ty n. pl. ser·en·dip·i·ties 1. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident. …

: The Present Future, and associated thoughts I just finished reading The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church by Reggie McNeal. He …

: The church name is changing! After months of prayer, planning, and discussion, we took a congregational vote last night of intent …

: fun with guitars So yesterday I took my guitar in to see about getting the pickup fixed. Let me back up. I have a …

: in another life, I would like to be... I keep a little running list of things I’d like to do if I had another life to live. Not that …

: my blog is boring Becky was bored the other day and reading over some blogs (something she doesn’t do very …

: feel the beat of a distant thunder... I have a confession to make. I had been avoiding purchasing Andrew Peterson’s latest album. I …

: OfficeMax Replacement Watch, Day 26 I received my OfficeMax gift card yesterday in the mail. It was accompanied by a cheesy little …

: OfficeMax Replacement Watch, Day 25 Still counting. Maybe I’ll get my gift card before the holiday weekend… but that may be …

: OfficeMax Replacement Watch, Day 24 Today I missed my first event due to not having a PDA to beep at me… I was supposed to meet a …

: OfficeMax Replacement Watch, Day 23 Still nothin'. On another warranty replacement topic, I remembered this morning that the Countryman …

: The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers On my last visit to the local library, I found a slim volume on the “new books” shelf: …

: OfficeMax Replacement Watch, Day 22 Date I started the process: August 6. Days since I called to start the process: 22. Days since I …

: OfficeMax Replacement Watch, Day 19 Almost three weeks now and still nothin'. Geof suggests I should skip the Tungsten and go for a …

: Worship Team changes... We had our first worship team practice using individual microphones last night. Currently, we just …

: Odds and Ends Just miscellaneous stuff from my life today. I got my DSL modem hooked up last night so the Casa de …

: OfficeMax Replacement Watch, Day 18 Nothing to report again today. Still waiting.

: OfficeMax Replacement Watch, Day 16 Nothing to report. I have meetings all morning this morning and would love to have the PDA for …

: not all that amusing: a review of Chris Rice's new CD I pre-ordered Chris Rice’s new album, amusing, back a couple of months ago when it was …

: My CD wish list OK, I’ll admit it: I have a CD-buying habit. It’s not as destructive or expensive as …

: OfficeMax Replacement Watch, Day 15 Yes, it’s been over two weeks now since I first took my dead PDA in to get it replaced. If …

: OfficeMax Replacement Watch, Day 12 No events to report today. It is starting to drive me crazy not having my PDA. I didn’t …

: Come On! Feel The Illinoise! There have been a ton of reviews of Sufjan Stevens' new album, [Illinois], floating around lately. I …

: OfficeMax MaxAssurance Replacement Watch, Day 11 Sent the package off yesterday afternoon… it’s headed to Dallas. I’m guessing the …

: OfficeMax MaxAssurance Replacement Watch, Day 10 My prepaid mailing label came in the mail yesterday, so last night after softball I went to get …

: OfficeMax MaxAssurance Replacement Watch, Day 9 (part 2) My dear wife informs me that the mailing label came today. You can bet I’ll be shipping that …

: the sweet relief of work completed Last week was killer. I had soooo much to do. I’ve talked about this already so I won’t …

: OfficeMax MaxAssurance Replacement Watch, Day 9 Note from Chris: I’m not usually this bitter… but I’m taking no small pleasure in …

: a busy weekend I haven’t posted much this week… it’s been just a bit on the busy side. …

: I bet I'll be missing some meetings... My Palm Pilot died yesterday. OK, so they don’t call it a Palm Pilot anymore; mine is actually …

: the great escape act I haven’t written many (any?) posts on my first year’s worth of experience as a …

: DER Conference, Day 3 Today was the third and final day of the conference here in Norfolk. The conference itself was …

: DER Conference, Day 2 Another day in Norfolk, more of the conference. Fun fun. Today was “breakout sessions”, …

: DER Conference, Day 1 Today was the first day of the DER software conference (excuse me, the official title is the …

: On the road... I’m writing tonight from a hotel room in Norfolk, VA… I’m here to attend the 2005 …

: wait, don't work on it yet... It never fails. I start working on a not-approved-yet-but-probably-OK change request today, and …

: Randall Goodgame, where have you been all my life? Tuesday I found a bootleg concert recording of Randall Goodgame opening for Caedmon’s Call in …

: nothing is constant except change It has been one of those summers at church. We had a leadership meeting last night (to review: I am …

: a busy week... This upcoming week is gonna be a hum-dinger. Tonight is softball, first umping, then playing. …

: occasional down time Don’t be surprised if you see occasional downtime on my blog here over the next several days; …

: The day I became Fred's hero I don’t know what triggered this memory today… but I might as well tell the story while …

: Sahara Last night we had a babysitter available and so we went to the cheap seats theater in town and …

: A nice weekend Normally I don’t do a lot of “here’s what I did with my weekend”-type posts, …

: A little less wise Thursday morning I had the delightful experience of having 4 wisdom teeth removed. It’s the …

: Cakeboy? Who the heck is Cakeboy? In a comment sometime back, Amber asked about the whole House of Cakeboy title. While I may rename …

: Time to start studying I have set upon a new endeavor at work: I am applying to become a DER. A brief explanation is in …

: I should have my geek status revoked As I noted in my post to Mr. Murphy a week or so ago, I’ve been having problems with the new …

: new horizons in wife appreciation Becky went to a women’s retreat this weekend. She left Friday afternoon and didn’t get …

: boredom This has definitely been one of those boring weeks, especially as far as work is concerned. As I …

: The process of the Christian life... Was reading today and found this wonderful quote from Martin Luther describing the process of the …

: What's in a name? We’re holding some church leadership strategy meetings this summer, and one of the big topics …

: Mr. Murphy works on Sundays Mr. Murphy and his dang-blasted law were working busily yesterday. It was certainly one of those …

: random Saturday thoughts So, it' 8:30 on Saturday morning and I’m sitting here in the dining room watching Laura finish …

: are you trying to teach me something? Within the last 7 days I’ve heard three separate sermons from the same passage. This …

: ...and the streak is at 6 You gotta love the Chicago Cubs. They brought a guy up from Triple-A to start last night’s …

: Musical Baton And so today the musical baton was passed to me by Jeff Holland. It seems like a fun idea, but it …

: Moody Review: Gary Haugen Gary Haugen spoke to us last Tuesday afternoon at the pastor’s conference at Moody. Gary is …

: Home! I got home early this morning… 1:45 AM. It’s sure good to be home. Everything’s …

: Moody Conference, Day 4 It’s Thursday afternoon and the conference is winding down. There’s only one general …

: Moody Observations, Day 2 Amber liked my attempt at a descriptive writing post yesterday so I thought I’d give it …

: Moody Conference Day 2 It’s 1:10 PM and I’m skipping a general session to sit and write. Richard described this …

: Moody Conference Day 1 Monday, May 23rd 3:30 PM Richard picked me up at the house at 8:20 or so this morning. Said goodbye …

: longest... day... ever... Wow, the day is getting long and it’s not even 1030 yet. I’m in a wrap-up mode at work; …

: Happy Birthday Andrew! Today is my brother Andrew’s 19th birthday. A big happy birthday to you, bro, with hopes for …

: here goes nothin' Yesterday afternoon my manager walked in and asked me if I’d like to become a software lead …

: she's graduated! This weekend was my sister Rebecca’s high school graduation. She’s the youngest of us 5 …

: Music, family style... for real. Well, the long-awaited Sunday finally got here and I got to play keyboards in the worship team at my …

: Call me Mr. Fix-it No, this isn’t a home-improvement post… It’s more of a …

: I've been replaced by a machine! At least for Sunday, that is… I was unable to wrangle up a musician for the Sunday service, …

: I need a musician... …any musician. One of the downsides of being the music leader at a small church is that …

: a busy month... Well that personality thing was kinda boring, wasn’t it? You, reader, deserve a real, …

: making music, family style OK, I’m excited. I just finished talking to my brother Andrew. He is almost 19, has been …

: "energy dependence" Another day, another NRO column to comment on. Today it’s Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren …

: softball starts tonight! Our first softball game of the season is tonight. I’m soooo much looking forward to it. …

: zzzzzzzzz..... OK, so it’s Friday afternoon, and I’m bored. I’ve hit the end of the task list for …

: The war by? on? Christians in America... Stanley Kurtz has an excellent (if a bit long) column today discussing the current edition of …

: bleary eyed I know I owe everybody a blog post (it’s been a couple days… time to keep writing) but …

: sticking to our guns Ned Rice has a great column today on NRO where he makes a strong argument that the folks whining …

: slowly getting more out of touch... I have this “movies I’ve watched recently” link section on the side of the blog. I …

: well, no projects this weekend... So the weather intervened this weekend and I didn’t do any outside projects… apparently …

: projects Springtime has finally arrived in Iowa, and that means that the weekends become project time. That …

: softball..... finally! We had our first softball practice of the season last night. It was a beautiful night to be out, and …

: preaching on short notice... It had been planned for about a month that I would fill the pulpit at my church on April 24th. Then …

: nowadays the world is lit by lightning Peggy Noonan (one of my long-time favorite columnists, and a devout Roman Catholic) has a column …

: softball... I starting reading some of the other rmfo blogs and found David’s post on softball. I’m …

: it's a blog... I’ve made the switch today from my old blogger.com blog to my new rmfo-blogs.com blog. …

: Thanks Geof! Well it’s better than the old “hello world” message… :-) Thanks to GFM for …

: the joys of web design... I’ve been on a web page design kick lately. First it was with my church’s web page. The …

: elder = older? I’ve had several conversations lately regarding the qualifications for being an elder in the …

: Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places... A book by this title was given to my by my pastor last week; we are “kindred readers” …

: another year older... Has it really been 3 weeks since I’ve posted? Good grief! No wonder nobody reads my …

: Are online friends weird? I spend quite a bit of time hanging out at the online message board called “The Rumor …

: Foolish? “God assumed from the beginning that the wise of the world would view Christians as fools …

: Old music... great memories So I got an iPod for Christmas… and of course the next task is ripping all of my CDs to mp3s …

: OK, so I'm not posting often enough... Or so my sister tells me. Of course, she’s 17, a senior in highschool, and has the time to …

: getting older... It’s a weird thing to get older; and then in a way it’s the most natural thing we ever …

: network downtime... This morning we are experiencing one of those fun office moments known as “network …

: another week, another concert... After thinking things couldn’t get better from last week’s Caedmon’s Call concert, …

: an excellent concert... Went with my brother Ryan to a Caedmon’s Call concert Friday night at Judson College in Elgin, …

: it's over.... To quote John Derbyshire, YEEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAA! The election is over. Kerry conceded without putting …

: Death by Advertising... Well it’s the day before the national elections and living in Iowa that means we’re …

: My second post... Seems like I should have something profound for the first blog entries, and I can’t think of …

: This is my first post... Well the blog is here and now I have to actually maintain it. We’ll give it a try, though.