Go to: 20052006

2004 archive

December 7, 2004

Happy Anniversary to us! Heather and I celebrate our 2 years' today.

It's a big week in a lot of other ways too. We're also working on the production of our church's youth Christmas play, which opens Saturday. All you friends and neighbors, come on out. It's about as close to professional as a youth group gets. And I have to say, for a church our size, I'm pretty proud of the work our kids have done. Anyway, come see us! Heather and I are both in it!

I've been tearing up the Christmas music during the work day. Pretty much from open to close, I'm jingle belling and roasting chesnuts and so forth. The Christmas season is truly made complete for me by listening to the same songs I've been listening to since my childhood, and doing a dance of joy when I find out that ABC Family is actually having a marathon of all those classic Claymation shows. I'm guessing I'll be watching those things until I'm old and gray and talk mostly to myself.

I'm also doing the latest production with A la Carte players, a neat little adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic, re-titled "A Kentucky Christmas Carol." It's an ensemble cast thing, so everybody plays multiple parts... I'm Fred/ Marley/ Fezziwig/ Pawnbroker. Which translates to a lot of running around, basically.

So merry season of Christmas to you... if you're a friend or family member, I hope we get to see you. If you're as yet unmet by us... well, you have yourself a merry little Christmas too. Try the fruitcake this year, it's better than people make it sound.

November 17, 2004

I've been spending the last few days listening over and over to Derek Webb's new CD, "I See Things Upside Down." Wow. I'm trying to glean something from the experience that will allow me to write a review for our reviews page, but it's been a difficult process. In a good way. This guy's stuff is so deep, so full of meaning and honesty. It's difficult to digest at times. I'm getting there, though. As I continue to process the lyrics (and grow in the process), I thought I'd give a little preview. The song that sticks out most to me at the moment is definitely a fun little tune called "T-shirts." Here's how it goes...

They will know us by the t-shirts that we wear / They'll know us by the way we point and stare / at anyone whose sin looks worse than ours / who cannot hide the scars of this curse we all bare / they'll know us by our picket lines and signs / they'll know us by the pride we hide behind / like anyone on earth is living right / and isn't that why Jesus died / not to make us think we're right/ when love, love, love, is what we should be known for / love, love, love, it's the how and it's the why / we live and breathe and die...

I don't know about you, but that tears me up. Come to think of it, it probably should. Lots of times, have I gone over the scripture from John 13:35 - "They will know you are my disciples if you love one another." Not the arguments we win. Not the numbers we add to our churches. Not even whether or not we win the fight against gay marriage. Whether we love one another.

It's been a rough week, of sorts. Seems sometimes, Satan finds a foothold where we never saw him coming. I needed this reminder... hope it was a help to you too.

November 15, 2004

What a weekend, I say with sleepy eyes and a sore throat. Spending the night at the church with 30 kids, 6 college students, and 5 adult volunteers is always an interesting way to kick off the 'relaxation' of a weekend. Not so this time, for sure. Heather and I had a BALL, with much thanks to the wonderful people who helped us plan it.

Right in step with that great event, came another. Thursday night (i.e., the 'night before the insanity') my darling wife presented me with the most wonderful Anniversary/ Christmas gift. A Canon Digital Rebel EOS camera! I've been drooling over this thing since it came out, and my darling dear got tired of wiping my chin and decided to spring for it. H.H. Gregg's no interest financing for 18 months also came in handy. This is really exciting because not only can we take wicked pictures of stuff, we can do high-res digital photography and do our own photos for album layouts and such. I'm so pumped. No more outsourcing!

I feel so festive. Christmas is just around the corner, and I'm in that tender place right now where I'm dying to play some Christmas tunes, but I don't want to jump the gun too soon, lest I burn myself out before the season ends. So, for now, I'll enjoy my early present and plan for the day when I stick it back under the tree so I can unwrap it on Christmas morning. Yeah, right! This puppy ain't leaving my side, bub!

November 3, 2004

Our most profound apologies to those of you who have spent the month of October wondering if Heather and I were dead. We are most assuredly not. October was the busiest month we've had since we got married, I think. The rest of the year isn't slowing down much. Maybe, in January, we'll take a few days off and visit all of you neglected folks...

The big thing we have going right now, that all of you need to get in on, is our Christmas play. We're doing it with several of the youth from Stamping Ground, and I have to say that I'm really proud of everyone involved. Me and my big theater degree. I'm working with a group who (including Heather) have never done anything major in the drama category before, and they're working their hearts out. It's called "Christmas With the Grumblebumps," and if the title doesn't give this away... it's a comedy. A rare one, too. Yours truly also takes the writing credit (if there's any to take). It's going to be short, it's going to be funny, it's going to be festive. December 11 and 12, at the church. Mark your calendar.

It's almost Christmas, of course, which means my company (FaithandValues.com) is going to release another advent calendar. Last year's was a lot of work, but if you didn't see it, check it out. That was my hardest project to date, but that will change this year, when the NEW advent calendar becomes my hardest project to date. :)

Here's a random link for you... mine and Heather's favorite singer is soon coming out with a new album. Check out Derek Webb. His music is so spriritually challenging, it knocks me over.

October 1, 2004

I am LOVING the fall weather we're having around here. Just absolutely loving it. It brightens the outlook on life in general, and brings about nice things.

Nice things are coming about other than the weather, too... I have to say, the last month or so has really been great. Things at church have really been picking up, we're starting the Christmas play, we have a new couple that's interested in helping out with the youth group there (who are fast becoming good friends of ours as well), more friends are moving to our corner of the world... and as if all that wasn't enough, yesterday I found three very, very cool shirts at Meijer for less than $5 each. God bless clearance racks. And today... brace yourself for this... I found a granola bar in my desk that I didn't know I had. Fear not, it hasn't been there long. I only recently started buying those. God's just blessing us back and forth. :)

It feels good to finally be settled somewhere. It's taken a year being where we are to finally be saying that, but I really think we are. I moved to 4 totally different towns in 3 years prior to us coming there, so I was ready to stay somewhere. Georgetown looks to be where we're staying for quite a while, not just because of the church, but also because it's so neatly situated. We both grew up in the country, and much as we tried to be city slickers in Lexington, it just didn't work for us. Looks like by this time next year, we could be looking at moving somewhere actually out in the country around Georgetown. Hey, we'll actually have friends close... why would we move?

Don't mind the little ramble-fest there, folks. Fall makes me a real philosopher.

September 8, 2004

The last couple weeks have FLOWN by! Heather has already written a pretty good little bit about our trek to West Virginia, so I'll leave that entry to her. Don't wanna steal her thunder. One thing that we got into recently, that really merits some memorializing, was the events of August 28. I shall, then, memorialize it.

We split ourselves that day because my cousin was getting married, and we were planningo on taking the kids from SGBC to the state fair and a Randy Travis concert. And so we did... I went to the wedding, Heather got some help from some really wonderful people from our church in driving, and the day was on. Following the wedding, I drove to Louisville to join the party already in progress, in plenty of time for the Randy Travis concert. Thus begins the part of this entry where my point actually lies. :)

I've never been a huge fan of country music, but have gotten in to Randy T lately, mainly because of his new emphasis on faith in his music. That, and his killer voice. I settle in at Cardinal Stadium among approximately 2000 people (maybe more, I'm not so good at those estimates) and we wait for Randy to come out.

He appears, and the crowd goes wild. And when I mean wild, I don't mean wild in the standard sense of the word. I mean wild from the perspective that a lot of these folks were from the back woods of Kentucky and didn't care what everybody else thought about them. They screamed and hooted and cheered, and Randy was just about as overwhelmed as I was. I gotta say, it was a good time. He kicked the show off with "Better Class of Losers" (a guy in front of me loudly bragged that Randy was singing about him) and the party was rolling.

It was a good show. I have to say, though, the real fun of the night was being in that crowd. Sure, some of them were blowing cigarette smoke, drinking, and generally acting like idiots, but there was a kind of joy there that I was glad to rekindle. Real joy. Carefree joy. What "Forever and Ever Amen" did for those people, I was thrilled to be a part of. It's a letting go of inhibitions that brings about a kind of purity... you forget that you might embarass yourself, you let go of the thought that someone else might think you're odd, and you just have some fun. It was a spiritual experience, really. Passion and joy welling up and reaching a crescendo high above the stadium.

If church was like that, you couldn't keep people out. (Yeah, I know. Having Randy Travis come would help.) I've always been fairly subdued in my worship expression, but I can't help thinking-- and I think it's got to be true-- that letting go is really what worship is about. God doesn't want us to hold back so we can look like calm, balanced people. He wants us to remember that his love for us is reckless, and so should our worship for him be.

August 11, 2004

It was pointed out to me yesterday by a friend (thanks, Karen!) that I've seriously neglected my journaling duties. In response to that, I have decided to make my triumphant return.

It's been an exciting month since I last wrote... too exciting to even have time to write obviously. Heather and I took the youth group to Raleigh, North Carolina, on a mission trip which met with much success. Heather's already said a bit about it, so if you want details, I'll invite you to go check it out at the church site.

Elsewhere, I've been quite excited to be a continuing part of the A la Carte players, the outfit I've been doing murder-mystery theaters with for the last couple months. It's become such an inspiration that I've started on a script of my own for us to use, called "Count Down to Murder," which can only be described as a product of my own imagination. For some, that's gonna become a scary prospect. Details to follow as to whether or not my talents yield any interest from our director.

I've also decided to possibly jump off the Netflix ship, in lieu of Blockbuster's new service. I'm in the trial period right now, but you can rest assured that I'll be doing a Featured Rant on the differences I find after I've spend some time with Blockbuster. On the surface, it looks a lot better... they're cheaper, they give you more (two included in-store rentals a month, something that Netflix can't possibly match) and a selection that I've already seen is superior. Not vastly, but noticeably.

Movie reviews are sadly lacking these days, I know. I've really been missing my movies. It's kind of depressing that the last movie I reviewed was the Ladykillers, and I didn't even like that. I missed The Terminal, if you're still looking for that review. Sorry, folks... it's been a busy time. Heather and I are also trying to save money for our eventual takeover of the world as well, and... you know, that twelve bucks that we would have spent on the movie can better be spent on brainwashing another disciple. Keep hoping. :)

I'm looking forward to fall. A lot. It's around this time of the year, every year, that I really start to start feeling spunky, as I feel the temperature start to drop and anxiously look for the leaves to turn. It's the end of suffocating heat (which is anything above 80 degrees for me) and the beginning of genuinely enjoyable weather. It's high school football season. It's new episodes of Law and Order CI. What is there not to like about fall? I don't want to rush away the next month of my life... but the first day of fall is September 22 this year, and I'm just liable to have a party.

June 22, 2004

Behind, behind, behind. I suppose the world really is moving faster, it's getting harder to keep up with; still, I'm not doing a very great job.

I've been hearing some really great music lately, and determined that it's about time to re-join BMG again so I can get these precious discs and slap those reviews on here. A band called Everyday Sunday has, in particular, caught my attention. Hence my argument that I'm behind.... these guys are releasing a new album and I'm discovering some really incredible songs off their OLD (two years old, to be exact) album. I blame K-Love and Air1. Oh, to be a program director for the likes of those stations.

The songs, by the way, are called "Stand Up" and "Hanging On." It seems to be one of those cases where a band makes an album that has 10 rock songs and cuts 2 slower, more acoustic songs, and the 2 acoustic songs stand out above the rest. I iTuned the rest of the album this morning, and I'll almost swear that to be true.

Elsewhere, I had a fantastic meeting with a couple guys from a band called One Day Less last night. They played our youth night of revival a while back, and I'm doing some design work for them. Website and album cover, the whole nine yards. I'm pretty stoked. Extra joy was added in the fact that I got to talk music with the guys for about an hour, and extra EXTRA joy because this whole event took place at Chili's. My goodness, I do love that restaurant.

Heather and I are going to make an attempt to catch up a little on our movies tonight (another area that we are miserably, irreparably behind in) by going to see "The Terminal." It was her choice, but I think I shall indeed find some small measure of joy there as well.

Keep an eye out for an update on the cubicle presentation too... I have several new desktop defenders who warrant being shown.

June 7, 2004

One thing that I learned this past weekend is this: when your brain heats up, you see really interesting visions.

No, I did not do that on purpose. Wednesday evening of last week, I started feeling really, really awful.... just drained, really, and didn't even feel like running wild with the kids in our favorite game of "Gorg." So Thursday, I wake up feeling worse and, cut to the chase-- by Thursday night, I was sitting at the doctor's office with a temperature of 101.3, hearing about my sinus infection. I'm a stupid guy, I suppose... no men in my family have ever enjoyed going to the doctor, and I'm part of that cycle... so naturally, I HAD to wait until the fever was causing me to see these little dancing polka-dot teddy bears before my eyes before I said, "Huh, I think I might actually be sick."

The thing that really stinks is that this weekend, Heather was going to see her folks in West Virginia, so I was going to take advantage of this time and really bone up on all the foods she hates but I like. I was gonna have a seafood bonanza on Friday night, but all I ended up having pretty much all day was a couple of bananas and some turkey sandwiches. Thinking back on the lost possibility of sea scallops and shrimp is a sadness almost unbearable. (sigh) Oh well.

Right back into it we fly, this week being Heather's and mine one-year anniversary of being at Stamping Ground, we celebrate it the same way we started it... with Bible School. A full week ahead of teaching the story of Paul's shipwreck, complete with little life preservers and everything. I hope it will be a happy substitute for what might have otherwise been an opportunity to fully recover from being sick. :)

May 26, 2004

I haven't posted any updates lately about my decision to learn to play the guitar. So rather than talk about the fact that I haven't, here's the info.

Perhaps some of you might want to pray for Heather during this time... my learning process is coming along rather slowly. I've finally reached the point where my fingertips are numb. Brandon tells me that's a good thing, so I'll take his word for it. Long as my elbows don't go numb too, I don't suppose I'll get worried.

I'm halfway through learning my first song, so that's encouraging. I'm learning "He's My Lord" by Jennifer Knapp first... it's always been one of my favorite praise choruses, and I thought that might motivate me to learn a little faster. I know all but the bridge now, and I can't do that until I learn another chord.

Brandon was nice enough to fix up my dad's old guitar so I could learn on it.. it's been beat to death (not by playing, but by sitting behind a bedroom door for about 15 years) and the bridge is cracked. It's working, though. B is covered up with band stuff of his own right now, so we haven't had any lessons yet. I'm coming along pretty well with just my dad's old books and chord charts. I'll probably find out, when I start taking lessons from the master, that I've been playing it upside down or something. :)

So there it is! I hope to be opening for Telecast late next year (go ahead and laugh) so I have some catching up to do. Next song I want to learn is an Irish folk ballad... I may post the mp3 on here if I ever work it up to a decent level and record it.

May 11, 2004

It would be improper to have had the huge quantity of happenings that we had last week and not give a report to all those out there who care. And so for both of you, here it is.

Last week was, to say the least, a whirlwind. In addition to regular workdays, we had community revival Sunday through Wednesday, where my darling wife and I got the unique honor of running the children's portion of revival, downstairs. As is always the case when we are in charge, it was loud and rowdy, but I think the kids sure had a good time and even learned a few things along the way. I know I did. And of course, we had the help of our indispensable youth from the church, who always make us good and proud.

Then to Friday, youth night of revival. Cameron Mills was there, as well as a great band called One Day Less, out of Lawrenceburg. We gave stuff away, sang, ate, hooted and hollered… all the things that make for a truly great youth night experience. I was proud as a peacock of our youth again, as they got a large number of new folks there as well.

Saturday, a day of much excitement as well, as I ventured down to New Haven (it's near Bardstown) to put on a dinner theater/murder mystery with the local outfit that I hope to (cross my fingers) do stuff with in the future. The performance went great, and I'm happy to say that it wasn't my character who done it.

Sunday, Mother's day. The men of the church put on a huge breakfast for the mothers of the church, and we managed to have, as Steve told me, the third largest crowd he's seen in the 6 ½ years he's been there. I was pumped. Especially since a huge percentage of those attending were guests, it was enough to make you wanna get up and dance on the backs of the pews. You know, if you were more nimble. And maybe not completely exhausted from the week's activities.

So that's it… I'm happy to be settling into the humdrum of an average week to rest a little and catch up. Heather and I enjoyed doing nothing at ALL last night and, hopefully, will do a lot more of that tonight.

Very exciting news as of a couple days ago... I'm finally making it back to the theater! My last role happened a little over a year ago, playing Pharaoh in Campbellsville University's Production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." This time around, I'm appearing with my pal Brandon in a production of a murder mystery called "'Till Death Do Us Part." It's being put on by a small theater company that originates from Georgetown. We're doing our thing at the Kentucky Railway Museum in a couple weeks, and having read the script, it looks like a load of fun. Heather's just glad that I'm finally getting back into something dramatic so I'll quit moping around, talking about how I just wish I could. :)

And since Heather mentioned it, I'll second the motion... I start guitar lessons as soon as the play ends. Brandon has generously agreed to impart his wisdom upon me in that area as well. Gotta go get a guitar from my dad this weekend so I'll have one to start on until I can pop for one of my own... if we have any anonymous donors out there, I have one in mind that's been recommended by Brandon, not only for quality, but also for my ailing wallet. Might want to make sure I'm serious enough to stick with it, I suppose.

April 8, 2004

Spring has sprung upon us, as Kentucky's weather decides to get warm for a little while, keeping us on the edge of our seats as to whether or not it will get freezing cold again. You gotta love Kentucky.

I'm not particularly a big fan of warm weather. I would be in Alaska all summer if I weren't sure Heather's blood would freeze solid as soon as she set foot on Alaskan soil. So here we are, one cold-blooded and one hot-blooded, living in a state that can't make up its mind about how IT wants to be. What a match.

I discovered a great new band called Duvall, whose story intrigues me. Turns out they used to be a secular band called the Smoking Popes, toured with the Foo Fighters and such. The lead singer, Josh Caterer, became a Christian and left the band. He left music altogether for a couple years, actually. He came back with a new creed, a brother who was also a new believer, and a band (named for Robert Duvall, lead character in his favorite movie "The Apostle") with a pretty cool rock-pop sound. I'm hopefully getting the CD next week if the powers of ebay smile on me. Review will certainly follow.

Anyway, I always like to tell stories like that... folks who have had life-altering experiences and found Christ in the process. So refreshing. You can find out more about the band on their website... click here.

March 23, 2004

So much has gone on through the last week, and I really haven't had time to write a thing. So, consider this 'a thing.'

I got the once-in-a-lifetime experience to turn 27 last week. It was a pretty cool day, the actual birth-day... Heather sprung a surprise on me and had all the kids from our youth group waiting at the church, as well as a few local friends. They took great pleasure in soaking me down with silly string. The highlight of the evening, however, was (as it always is) getting cool presents... the greatest of which was my Tim the Enchanter (from Monty Python and the Holy Grail) action figure. He's so incredibly cool.



Saturday was a busy day spent with both sides of the family, celebrating my aging as well as receiving a new refrigerator. Our massive new 26 cubic foot Frigidaire arrived just in time to keep a whole slew of leftovers cool. Pictures to follow.

March 12, 2004

In spite of a real nature of procrastination on both our parts, my lovely wife and I have somehow managed to make our own deadline and get this site up and running. Is the hard part over now? :)

I ran into an old friend from high school yesterday at a gas station. Can't say I've had a lot of that happen as of late.. seems that we all scattered to the winds and it's hard to find folks these days, without paying Classmates.com for their info or something like that. Still, the chance meeting was a good one. Makes you kind of wish you could see old friends.

Anyway, I won't get nostalgic often... I'm stoked! The site is up! I can spout off the the whole world now! :)

Click here to email Alex