Year / 2007

by Greg

I Believe In The Holy Catholic Church…

The PopeIf you have not heard, the Pope decided recently to pull back the reins a bit on those loosey-goosey Catholics, and get back to the things that really made Catholics, well… Catholic.

Not only did he decide to do Mass in Latin once again (I think it’s called the “Tridentine Mass”), now he has said that the Catholic church is the only true church, based on apostolic authority (they think Peter was the first Pope, appointed by Jesus). All other churches are at best, deviations from the true church.

Isn’t that crazy??

I do have more to say, but… it’s late. So, here are some links. Form (and voice, if you care to) your own opinion. Perhaps I’ll comment more later…

by Greg

The Weekend That Was, Is, And Is To Come

Usually I don’t tell about a busy weekend in the middle of it, but I thought I’d make an exception today. I told a friend via e-mail (actually, it was on Facebook) that this weekend was going to be packed full… and I just wanted to write it down so I could remember what a crazy weekend the fifth weekend of July 2007 was. (And I can use this as a sort of “To Do” list for the things that we have yet to do …) 🙂

Last night I stayed up pretty late working on the song set for Sunday morning (read below) and chatting with various folks on the internet. (Why was everyone else on so late??) I was also doing a little prep work for a possible interview with Brian Moorman, the Buffalo Bills punter. All of this while knowing the day today would begin quite early. It didn’t matter… something kept me going. The tasks, yes, but somehow I was just awake.

I finally hit the sack around 3:45 or so, and just felt really awake. So, sometime after 4:00 I finally drifted off to sleep, only to hear the shrill sound of my alarm at 8:00am. It seemed like mere moments. 🙂

I think I hit snooze. 🙂 Then I rolled out of bed around 8:15 or so and tried to wake myself up with some tea and reading emails and blogs. (Yes, believe it or not, some had been updated between 4:00am and 8:00am…) I did a little more prep for the potential interview with the Bills punter, and got a call around 8:50am from our friends for whom I had so early arisen. They needed help moving, so I offered to help before training camp began that afternoon.

Well, turns out they had packed their computers already, but had forgotten to check the emails for where to get the moving truck. 🙂 So, my friend joined me at our breakfast table for a quick check of his email, and then was off to get the truck with his wife. Good thing we were running a little behind, though. I had a few errands to run.

At 9:30 am, I headed out on foot to get the song sheet prepared the night before to the church on the corner. I delivered that, then headed to our library to drop off a video. Off to the post office next (a few blocks away) to check for a hosting payment that has STILL not arrived. Box was empty. (Except for a decent Pizza Hut coupon…) So, scratch that trip to the bank I had planned.

Instead I just headed straight over to our friends’ house to start loading up the truck. Except… no truck. They hadn’t left right when I thought they had, so it was going to be a while. Already 10:00, I decided to walk back and check on Jen. That was probably good as when I got back, I was able to reply to a phone message regarding a meeting later on that day to get our new Buffalo Bills Review t-shirts!

(Are you still with me?) 🙂

So after about 30 minutes at home, I headed back to the moving house and the truck was there! We managed to move a decent amount of boxes and firmly entrenched furniture. So, even though I had to leave around noon, I felt like my time had been at least slightly useful to them. That was nice.

When I got home, I helped get lunch ready (at least helped Jen decide what to warm up from the fridge!) and showered, then checked on the interview one more time. It just felt rushed in the middle of everything else we were trying to do – so I decided to postpone it. I eventually e-mailed my Bills contact and asked to set it up for later.

But we still had plenty to do.

1:30pm, all are fed, most is ready for the trip to BILLS TRAINING CAMP!!! We were to meet our friends the Drakes there (he co-hosts the Buffalo Bills Review with me) as well as that t-shirt delivery guy. That all went off without (much of) a hitch. We ended up even parking in the VIP parking lot, since we looked sort of official. Yes, it was a bending of the rules (I need an official pass to do that) but we were treated kindly by an understanding parking lot attendant.

Bills camp was fun! Weather was decent (not too hot!) and it was just SO FUN to see the Buffalo Bills right in FRONT of us again!!!! It was a relatively light workout, but was still fun to watch. Some good plays made.

In addition to the football, I was there on official business. A friend loaned me his iPod recording device (you stick it in your iPod) and so I went around to various fans asking them if they’d like to be on our show. A few politely declined, but most said, “Sure!” It was a lot of fun. Really perfect stuff for our show, which we say is “The Show By Bills Fans, For Bills Fans”. It even says that on our shirts. 🙂

After camp was over we headed out for some dinner together at a nearby McDonald’s. It has a great PlayPlace, so that was the perfect choice. I had a fantastic Asian salad, by the way. Hadn’t ever had their fancy salads. Marie got one, and it looked good… so I did too 🙂 Thanks, Marie! 🙂

The PlayPlace was a good idea… but… it got WAY too loud. So we decided to hang out a bit more, and finish the afternoon/evening with some ice cream!!! (Yes, in fact, it IS National Ice Cream Month…) We got some Abbott’s custard (a Rochester favorite) at Bill Gray’s (add that to the ice cream list for the month!) and then finally parted ways as all of our children were just about completely exhausted.

I was getting there, too!

But one of the coolest parts of the day happened AFTER all of the other cool stuff! As we left the restaurant, it had just finished raining, and the sun was coming out again. Looking toward the eastern sky, there was a humongous FULL rainbow from one side of the sky to the other. Even a bit of a double rainbow on the left side. It was just fantastic!

BUT WE WEREN’T DONE!

As we drove home… another rainbow appeared in the Eastern sky… this one WAY more colorful, brighter, or whatever the proper description is. It was a full rainbow across the sky in front of us. It as quite bold, and just really amazingly beautiful. There was definitely a double rainbow this time. In fact, the double was almost complete! Simply incredible! I think the best rainbow I have ever seen. Certainly none top it. Could only equal it.

After the spectacular shows in the sky, we finally were home… and just got everyone ready for bed. We watched a quick episode of the Little Einsteins, then did baths/showers/etc. Once everyone was in bed, it was time for Dad to make Skyline for tomorrow’s lunch, so, Jen & I spent a little time in the kitchen, listening to this week’s God Journey podcast as I cooked and cleaned up a bit.

Oh yeah.. did the laundry in there too… 🙂

Whew. Glad Friday is over. But there are TWO MORE DAYS!

Quick preview…

  • Our friends are bringing their girls over tomorrow so they can have a kidless day to get some final preparations done for a trip to the Dominican Republic coming up soon. We can’t support their trip financially, but we can make their prep a bit easier by taking their kids! Plus, we love having them come over and visit… 🙂
  • Speaking of visits… our friends the Falkes will be dropping by for lunch (SKYLINE CHILI!!) in the late morning. They head to Canada fairly soon to begin working with a church there… so it’s one last good-bye before they head about 3000 miles to our west. 🙂
  • After a day with our friends’ girls, we’ll head over to Chill & Grill together before they all go back home. Haven’t gotten to do that all Ice Cream Month with them, so that will be very nice. 🙂
  • Sunday morning we’ll be providing the music for the “Worship In The Park” service put on by First Baptist Church in Palmyra. They asked us if we’d do that, and we happily agreed. Nice folks. Will be kinda cool singing outside and stuff. Plus… they’re feeding us, so… it was pretty much a no-brainer. 😉
  • Sunday afternoon we’ll be meeting some clients/friends of mine who are on a tour of the northeast from their home in Texas. It’s a New England vacation, and we are one of the stops! 🙂 It will be great to meet them, even if it’s only a brief visit. I designed the site EzzoTruth.com for them. It will be nice to finally meet them. 🙂

Oh my goodness golly this is long! I think I will stop for now. I’ll of course share any stories that deviate from the planned activities listed above. 🙂

by Greg

Ring Day

Today was Ring Day. My mom calls it our Engagement anniversary. But we never really said anything like that… “We’re engaged!” We just sorta decided to get married. In 1997. Around July 16/17. Then we went to pick out some rings. And they had to do something to get them ready… so… we waited.

Until July 26th.

When I got the rings, I went down to camp where Jen was working with a bunch of tiny, crazy kids for the weekend. I pulled her aside after the activity of the hour and said, “I got our rings. Here’s yours.” 🙂

Romantic, eh? 🙂

So, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of Ring Day today by getting a babysitter for a couple hours after dinner, and going out for some rings. No, not more jewelry. We went to Applebee’s and got their onion rings, and even got a dessert which was a cake in the shape of a ring (filled with fudge in the middle!). Both desserts totaled $10 – which was cool for the 10th year of our life together as one. 🙂

So… one more big day to come… and we’re celebrating that one for a week! California here we come!!!

by Greg

Hot Stuff!

Last night Jen and I went downstairs to our basement game table to play a game and spend a little time together after the kids went to bed. It was fun! We played a crazy card game called Charge It! where the point of the game it to rack up as much credit card debt as quickly as you can… WITHOUT looking at what you are putting on it!! Ha! Awesome!

So, first we just got to chat a bit… then broke out the game… played for a while…

And it was just about an hour later, as we were coming up the stairs that I remembered the pot of hot water I had put on for tea just before heading downstairs!!

The paint on the bottom of the teapot had begun to be burned through. When I tried to lift it off of the burner, it was STUCK to it! Ha! So we poured water in and everything was just fine. No house fire that day!

Unfortunately though, I do need a new tea pot. 🙂

by Greg

It’s Got To Slow Down Eventually…

Apple Does Quite Well, Thank YouYesterday Apple announced it’s third quarter earnings, and actually it was astounding. They broke all kinds of their own records, and beat whatever estimates smart financial guys had predicted. Basically… they rock. Way more Macs sold than ever in one quarter. More iPods than this quarter one year ago. Tons of iPhones (and that was in just TWO DAYS) and I think iTunes is even doing better than ever.

When does it end? It’s got to… but… when? They just keep doing better!

If you can afford their stock… I’d say it’s still worth buying! It just keeps going up!

by Greg

Facebook

I finally decided to take the plunge and actually use a Facebook account I set up not long ago. I have heard its coolness praised over and over on the various tech podcasts I listen to, so I finally decided to try it out. Pretty neat so far. Have reconnected with one friend from high school (it’s been 15 years!) and then several other folks I haven’t heard from in a while. I put their little badge in the sidebar, so you can click over to my public page, and if I know you… add me to your friend list and I’ll add you to mine.

by Greg

Seeker

SeekerI Stumbled Upon a site today that offered a short questionaire about how you “experience the Holy“. It was an interesting question that I seldom ask – certainly not often with that wording. So I took it.

According to the test, I am a “Seeker”. Click on the little canoe to read what that’s all about. Pretty interesting stuff. Here’s a snippet:

[“Seekers”] do not feel the need to accept traditional faith patterns in order to come to a lively trust in God. They do not feel that faith needs to be categorized or institutionalized in order to be real.

If you’re interested, take the test yourself!

by Greg

Where Do You Apply Grace?

Lately due to many different factors, our children have been both extra tired, and definitely extra tiresome. They have been frustrating both Jen and me in various (mostly little) ways. Silly, childish things… but whether they are “just kids” or not, they are still frustrating. And after a build up of lots of small things… they can seem very large, and overwhelming.

Last night after the kids went to bed, when the house was quiet and I was cleaning up from the day, I was thinking of them. Of the kids who had just so frustrated me with their attitudes, their selfishness, their carelessness, their clumsiness. And I didn’t think of any of that. I thought of how much I love each one of them. I thought of how they make me smile. I thought of how sad I was that I ever get harsh with them. (Yes, out of my parental frustration, I have been known to be stern, harsh, strict… whatever you want to call it.)

Kids are great, and they (mostly) only remember the good stuff, too. When morning comes, no one remembers the hardness of the last moments of the day. It’s just another chance at another day of life together. And that’s great!

Grace does not have an expiration dateBut what I was wondering in the quiet was, How do I bring in the grace?

See, one big example from recent times involves my oldest son Ian. “Your oldest???” you ask? Yes, even though we have a one year old, a three year old, and a super-energetic five year old… this story of frustration involves our soon-to-be nine year old! Ian has a track record of spilling things. He has trouble focusing sometimes, and just forgets where his appendages are or where other objects are in relation to his body. It happens a LOT. So, when Ian spilled the vase with the 10th anniversary roses (and plenty of 10th anniversary water in it), and it got all over a bunch of toys that were underneath where they were sitting… I was really angry.

I was angry because we’ve been over this. We’ve told Ian to watch where he is going, what he is doing. We’ve cleaned up too many spills to remember. And, I was extra frustrated because of the timing. This particular time I was feeling very time crunched, and didn’t have room to add ANYTHING else – like a major clean up in aisle seven.

I did not mince words. I was not really “mean”… but I wasn’t nice. I scolded Ian for his carelessness. Then I got mad at his self-pity for feeling like I was telling him he’s “clumsy”. What a crazy cycle! We made it out of that alright, and the rest of the night went OK.

The next day, I found a wet spot on the carpet. It was under the roses – which were WAY up on a tall surface. “Nooo… he couldn’t have…” I thought. I was wrong. When I found Ian, he got the guilty look on his face, and confessed to having once again knocked the flowers over, and he told me he did try to clean it up. I was angry again – mostly incredulous. (If you could see where these flowers were, you’d be right with me on that…) I did not as much scold him this time, mostly just took the opportunity to let him know how unlikely it was that he could actually spill the flower vase from there. And I told him to just let me know when it happens, not let me find out for myself.

But he probably won’t. Because I don’t know how to show him grace. At least not in that area. I mean, we’re past the grace, right? I’ve given him lots of grace… now he needs to learn how to actually be responsible. To change his ways. To NOT spill stuff all the time, making lots more work for Dad, and ruining our stuff. He has to learn that doesn’t he? I have a right to be frustrated… right???

While I certainly can’t dismiss my feelings in these moments – the frustration seems quite understandable – it is almost silly when I pretend those questions above are valid. If I really get grace, then I know that they are not. Grace does not have an expiration date. Grace lasts forever. No matter how many times Ian is clumsy, no matter how many times it’s his fault, no matter how much of our stuff he ruins… I still love him, and his heart – and our relationship – is more important than my stuff, or his being able to not spill stuff.

It may seem like a silly example, but for whatever reason it has been extremely hard for me to extend grace to Ian – whom I love – in that area. I am asking God to show me how and when I can change that, so that Ian can know that he can fail and that won’t affect our relationship. It doesn’t… but I don’t think that I let him know that very well.

So do you have any examples? Any thoughts? How do you parent with grace, and yet sustain the boundaries and guidelines and moral and other instruction that children need? I know that context is supreme, but I’d love to hear your success stories.

Until then, I will continue to look for examples to extend grace to my kids, and in so doing, probably learn a lot about grace extended to me.