Mark Your Calendars

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that when we were at the doctor's office, she said that for the next month, she will continue to monitor Michelle's false contractions, and that if they are less than 6 per hour, we should not worry. After a month, then all bets are off, and we should anticipate the baby coming anytime after that. Being that I am preaching on May 20th at Lebanon Church in Potts Camp, and May 27th at CrossRoads, we fully anticipate the baby coming around that time. LOL. If that is indeed how it works out, it will be wild.

Earlier today, I stopped by a music shop that I had never been to before, Fiddler's Green. It possibly had the best vibe of any music shop I have ever been in. Inside was the largest collection of authentic hippies I have seen since I was a kid and my parents' friends would come around...LOL. Seriously, it was impossible to tell who worked there, and who was just hanging out. The 100-lb. dog that was asleep in the middle of the showroom floor gave the place some extra mojo. I might have to start hanging out there myself...LOL. To Michelle's delight, I DID NOT buy any strings. I am known to buy a lot of strings...LOL.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

We went to the doctor yesterday for a regularly scheduled visit, and got a clean bill of health for mom and baby. We go back in two weeks, at which time we will get a new ultrasound picture. June 28 is fast approaching. We have a baby swing that I am going to assemble tomorrow. That should be fun; I like putting stuff together. However, I am a bit leery of these stories I hear about fathers staying up all night on Christmas Eve, assembling toys...LOL. Ah, who am I kidding? That's half the fun.

Last night in my Ecumenism class, I gave a presentation on the Church's history of missions to Native Americans. This project actually grew out of a project I did several years ago while at Austin Peay. This time, the presentation grew to an hour and half (instead the 15 minutes that it started from). Although, the dialogue was so great that I think we could have gone for at least another hour or so. It went really well, and after I was done the class gave me a standing ovation...LOL. That was something. One man, who is about to graduate in a couple of weeks, said that my presentation was the highlight of his entire time in seminary. That was incredible. I was glad to get it over with, because I had been working on it for the entire semester. It was a great relief.

Several days ago, I saw some kids outside playing with water squirt guns. I SO wanted to join them, but had too many other things to do. As Uncle Bob says, "One could do worse than be a swinger of birches."

This being the 20th anniversary of the movie "Dirty Dancing", I saw where there is going to be a line of baby clothes, primarily onesies, that say, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." We have got to get one of those...LOL.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Music Update...

Days of Yore

It sure has been an interesting weekend of baseball. Friday, I worked a game between Jackson Christian School and Evangelical Christian School (from Memphis). The game was played at a neutral site (Memphis University School). Anyway, my partner was late arriving, and whenever that happens, it usually goes downhill from there. However, the game went pretty smoothly until the bottom of the sixth inning when I missed a call at first base. Joy. I asked my partner what he saw, and thankfully he overturned my call. At least we eventually got it right...lol.

Yesterday, I worked at First Assembly Christian School. We finished the last three innings of a varsity game that had been delayed due to weather, then played two JV games. My partner called me Thursday to let me know he'd like to work the plate for the shortened game, and the first JV game. I said something to the effect of, "Go ahead, Cowboy."...lol. I remember when I was young and insane, and would always do that. I always wanted to work the plate. Mostly because I felt I was the best umpire in the world, and I figured if I was behind the plate, then everything would be under control and nothing could go wrong. These days, I try to AVOID working the plate as much as I can...lol.

Working 2.5 games yesterday reminded me of the days when Mike Clark and I would often work a doubleheader in the morning at one school, then another doubleheader at a different school later that night. We used to do that all the time. Those were crazy days, indeed. Lots of fun. We may have even made a few bucks, too.

A couple of weeks ago, as I was getting ready to start a game, the outsole of my right plate shoe fell off. Just fell off. My plate shoes were 11 years old, so I guess it was about time. Anyway, I worked that game essentially with one shoe. I had been telling Michelle for three years that I needed new shoes, but it always seemed that something else would come up. So, when I got home that night, I showed her my shoe that had disintegrated, and ordered a new pair. I wore them yesterday for the first time, and I love them. They are so comfortable! I may be getting back behind the plate more often now...hehe. I also got a new pair of pants.

It was really great to be back on the field. These games were my first high school games of the year. I told the assigner back in the spring that I was not going to work high school ball at all, because I needed to be around the house a lot to take care of Michelle. I have worked several games in the middle school Christian league, and those games are nice because I get no flack from the coaches or parents, and the games only last about an hour and 15 minutes or so. However, the level of play is only slightly higher than what we used to call Little League. So, it was nice to call some competitive games again. The only reason I ended up working the games this weekend was that because of heavy rain, a bunch of games needed to be made up, and the assignor was desperate. So, he dragged the bottom of the barrel to get me. We are supposed to get more rain the next several days, so I may end up working a few more. We'll see.

The other day I caught myself thinking about how my umpiring career arc is going in the same direction as Mike's. We both had a period where we literally drove all over the country to work as many games as possible. Didn't matter when or where; have game, will travel. Then, when Mike got married and started having kids, he started traveling less and less. Finally, he got to the point where he doesn't work much at all; he'd rather watch his oldest boy play t-ball. I am no longer travelling anywhere outside of town to work games, and have really lowered the total number of games I am working. I can see myself in a few years not working much at all, and going to my son's games instead. Michelle sees me coaching his team, but I don't know about that. I'll still work the occasional game, but I no longer have the desire to work every day, or to drive all over the country to do it.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

I emailed a paper to one of my professors today, and may have been a little over-dramatic about it. In my message, I told him he could "print this out, and kill a tree if you desire, but the blood of the creation will not be on my hands!"...LOL. Before class tonight, we got a chuckle out of it.

Tomorrow is going to be a light day. Just a little work at the office, then Michelle and I are going to work on the nursery. In the afternoon, I have a high school baseball game. Speaking of baseball, Saturday is going to be crazy. Starting at 10 AM, I am working the last 3 innings of a game that was suspended due to weather last week. Then, there is a full varsity game, and the day will conclude with a JV game. That's a lot of baseball in one day. Should be fun.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

My sister turned me on to a software program called Last.fm, which tracks the music played on a computer and/or iPod. The chart below is not exactly accurate, as I did not have the iPod feature turned on, but it is a moderately decent representation of the music I am listening to these days. However, the majority of the music I listen to is via the iPod, so the chart will get more accurate when that info is uploaded.



I am going to take the Blazer to a glass shop this morning, because someone broke out one of the rear windows. They didn't take anything, so I think they broke it just to be mean. Some other people in the area have reported the same problem. Joy.

I will spend the rest of the day working on a paper for my theology class. The paper is due tomorrow, and I have not yet begun to write. It does not have to be too long, so it shouldn't be a problem. However, I have found that waiting until the last minute to do something in grad school is even less wise than it was as an undergrad. Not a good habit to be in.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Michelle seems to think I have an unhealthy addiction to the music of Avril Lavigne. Hmm...

We got some really good news from the doctor last Friday. For several months, all signs had been pointing toward a premature birth, but on Friday the doctor said she thinks it will go full-term. Given that she said this with a smile on her face, and with confidence, our spirits were really lifted. So, that was really encouraging.

We worshiped at CrossRoads for the first time yesterday. It was really great; everyone there has welcomed us with open arms. All th women were excited to talk to Michelle about the baby, and I met a guy who is a long-time football official in the local association. He showed me his state championship ring, and I told him I was working toward one of those. His son is an umpire in the major leagues, so we talked baseball for a few minutes, too. That was cool.

The youth group had its first meeting last night, and I think it went really well. The kids all seem to be really excited, so that is encouraging. I am in the process of putting together some big plans for the summer.

In the months leading up to the wedding, I started having some really crazy dreams. Which was doubly weird because I normally can go years without having a dream that I remember. So, to have several dreams over the course of just a few months or so was freaky. Anyway, I have started to have some strange dreams again. While I do not think any dream can compare in craziness to my Darth Vader/Rolling Stones dream, the one I had recently is still strange.

I dreamt that the youth group and I were playing golf at Augusta National Golf Club, and Tiger Woods was playing with us. We had a couple of visitors in our group, kids that were not regular attenders, but happened to be with us on this day. When Tiger discovered that one of his irons was missing, and the two visitors were gone, he informed me that the two visitors were suspected by the police of bludgeoning an old woman to death with a golf club somewhere in another state. I was livid that Tiger had not informed me of this before, so I started cursing him like a dog. After a while, everything settled down, and we continued our round of golf. Neither the visitors, nor Tiger's iron, ever reappeared. I told you it was strange!!

I spent the morning working at the church, and got a ton of stuff done. That always feels great. I have some work to do before ecuminism class tonight, so I need to get on that. It's hard to believe that there are only two more weeks of classes! After that, there is a reading period for one week, then final exams. My first semester is almost over! It has flown by so quickly, it is astounding.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Michelle and I attended a parenting class all day today (about 8 hours' worth!). It was really enjoyable. Probably the funniest part was the exercise where the men and women broke off into separate rooms, and listed their top ten concerns of pregnancy. The men's list included things like 'How am I going to pay for this', 'Loss of social life', 'dealing with in-laws', etc. The women's list included 'weight gain', 'heart burn', 'fatigue', 'mood swings', etc. Very interesting. We also learned how to change a diaper, and how to give the baby a bath. All in all, it was well worth the time and money to do it.

Tonight, I am going to assemble the crib, and the toy organizer. Hopefully, the nursery will start to take shape after that. Still a lot of work to go, though.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

I was at work on Wednesday, and a strange thing happened. One of the teachers from the Wesley School (a school for special-needs kids that uses the church's facilities) popped into my office, and said, "Excuse me, but don't you have a divinity degree?" I replied that I was currently in seminary, working on a M.Div. She then asked me if it was OK if she asked me a question (ostensibly a theological one). So, I said, "sure", sort of curious as to what she would think I would be qualified to help her with. Then, she asked, "Could you explain gnosticism to me?" Thankfully, it was mid-morning, and I was well-caffeinated by then. This was not anything near what I would have expected. Still, I perked up, because it just so happens that I had written an essay on the topic a couple of weeks ago. Per my norm, I prefaced my answer with a story, then told her what I knew. Then, I picked out the 4 books on the subject that I own, and offered to allow her to "check them out" (I treat my books as sort of a 'lender's library'). She stammerd a, "No thanks", as if to say she had gotten more than what she had bargained for. I just had to laugh. Still, I found my class notes on the subject, and Xeroxed them. She said that would suffice. LOL.

Yesterday, after lunch, I stopped by the guitar shop to pick up a new stand and some strings. I observed that they had an Eric Clapton signature model on the wall, so it got my attention. Clapton has 3 Martin signature models, and this one is the model that he played on the "Unplugged" album. That model had been out of production since about the mid-50s, and Martin did not know he was going to play it that night. So, he played it, the album became HUGE, and Martin offred to re-issue the guitar as an EC signature model. Cool. This led to he and Martin collaborating on two other signature modles, so EC is the only artist with 3 Martin signature models. Cool stuff. Anyway, when I saw that the guitar's price tag said, "Ask for assistance", I could not resist myself and said, "Can someone float me about 2/3 the price of this? That would be of great assistance!"

I was supposed to have a baseball game this afternoon, but it got rained out. Which was kinda good, since I have not felt well all day. So, Michelle and I have just been hanging out at home this afternoon. If I felt better, it would be nice. Oh well.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

I got an email yesterday from my grandmother, and the entire text read, "YOUR BLOG NEEDS UPDATING!!!!!!!!!!" Obviously, Granny still has quite a bit of spunk in her...LOL. Anyway, here I am.

Our wireless router at home died last week (it was a sudden and painless passing), so I have been having connectivity disfunction. My brother Steve sent me my old router that he broke and then allegedly fixed, although I have not been able to get that up and running yet. Joy.

Spring break last week was wonderful and refreshing. Monday was the first full day of baseball season, so I went to work early, and got home in time to see the last half of the early games, then watched the majority of a couple more throughout the night. The next day, I was talking with my dad, and he said something about the NCAA men's basketball championship game, which had also been the night before. I think I may have said something like, "Oh, really. Didn't realize that was on." LOL. I do feel a little out of my element living in a basketball town, when baseball and football are where it's at for me.

I also got a lot of important work done last week; primarily my exegesis paper that is due next week. I have a couple of shorter papers due this week that I am still working on (or thinking of working on), so I should be able to get those knocked out soon. My exegesis of the parable of the Lost (aka "prodigal", although "prodigal" and "lost" do not mean the same thing) Son is probably my best paper all semester. I am not quite happy with the opening paragraph, so I am going to revisit it before I turn it in. Otherwise, I think it's solid.

The first paragraph of the preeminent account of the first month of World War I, The Guns of August, took its author, Barbara Tuchman, EIGHT HOURS to write. Ever since I discovered that, I have taken extra pains to make my opening paragraphs better.

I remember that last year, having spent spring break in Israel, I came back exhausted. It took me probably a full week to recover, and I got a little behind on some stuff. I had a paper in my ethics class that the professor graciously gave me an extension on, but I still did not do well on it. I think I made a C or a C+ or something. Oh well. This year, I came back to class "tanned and rested", as they say in the political world.

My fellow Israel travelers are getting together soon for a reunion, but it is on a night when I have class, so I will not be able to attend. ***sadness***

I preached my last sermon at Lebanon Church on Sunday. I was quite melancholy afterward. I was sad to go, but I am very excited at the opportunity at CrossRoads church. My first full meeting with the youth is this Sunday night. I am stoked!

Since Sunday's worship was earlier than normal, and there was no Sunday School, at 10:00 AM we suddenly realized that we had the entire day in front of us. We briefly entertained the idea of rolling to Clarksville for my family's gathering, but we reminded ourselves that when the doctor said for Michelle to "take it easy", he meant it. So, she took a nap while I watched the Masters. I guess it just wouldn't be fair if Tiger won all of them. Congrats to Zach Johnson.

Nathan Wheeler, who was formerly the Youth Minister at Clarksville Church and is currently the Youth Minister at Faith Presbyterian in Germantown, led his group in a 30 hour famine last weekend. We stopped by to see them right at the very end; I think they had about 7 minutes remaining in their fast. It was great to see them, and great to hear that they had raised over $1800 for World Vision. AWESOME!

While we were eating lunch Sunday, the baby noticably dropped lower in Michelle's belly. We sort of freaked out just a little, until we did some research and found that this is normal, with one caveat. Apparently, when the baby drops like this, it tends to be born about 4-6 weeks after doing so. And, since we are at this time 11 weeks short of the due date, this means the baby would arrive several weeks early. We are trying to get as close to 40 weeks as possible, so we are a little anxious now. But, the baby will come when he wants to, and there's not much we can do about it, so we try not to worry.

I hope everyone is doing well.