9 days. one shirt.
i'm packing for my trip to europe. it's a long and arduous process, for sure. it's the struggle of taking as little as possible while still taking everything i need. maybe it's just male ego, but i'm kind of challenging myself. i want to see if i can last 9 days with only one bag--my backpack. (note: i am taking my camera bag and a small shoulder bag for use around town, so i don't have to carry my backpack everywhere.) the way i see it, i'm preparing myself for the mission field. after all, as the saying goes, "the richest man is not he who has the most, but he who needs the least."
my roommate works at an outdoors store, so he's aware of all the latest and greatest clothing technology on the market. he told me about this shirt that's 100% merino wool (aka really warm). rumor has it i should be able to wear it for 40 days straight without washing it. i'm not going to wear it 40 days--only 9--but still, 9 days is a record for me.
for those of you who are absolutely repulsed by the thought of wearing the same shirt for 9 days, don't leave a comment. however, if you think the ability to wear the same shirt for 9 days is really cool, comment freely.
here's to the nine-day-challenge! cheers!
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Thursday, November 17, 2005
opportunity
i'm going to europe on sunday. "why?", you ask? my friend roy is there right now, traveling around, meeting reps for work. no one should have to spend thanksgiving alone, so i'm going to give him company. "but robby, europe is so far away!" yeah i know, but when a friend is in need, no distance is too far. "wow, you are such a great guy!" not really, i think it's what anyone with a good heart would do.
(actually, the real reason i'm going is to make sure he's not living in sin, but shhhhh, keep that on the D-L)
ok ok, so i'm neither that nice, nor that righteous. i'm really going cause i can't think of a good reason not to. roy is there, so i'll have a buddy, i've never seen the places we're going, and i'm between jobs. sounds like opportunity to me. here's our tentative itinerary....
mon nov 21 - arrive in rome, explore rome
eve nov 21 - sleep in rome
tue nov 22 - depart rome early, head to cinque terre (italy), explore cinque terre
eve nov 22 - sleep in cinque terre
wed nov 23 - explore cinque terre
eve nov 23 - sleep in cinque terre*
thu nov 24 - explore cinque terre*
eve nov 24 - depart cinque terre, night train to interlaken (switzerland)
fri nov 25 - balmer's in interlaken
eve nov 25 - take night train to geneva (switzerland)
sat nov 26 - train to Swiss L'Abri, Château de Chillon (on lake geneva), then back to geneva
eve nov 26 - sleep in geneva
sun nov 27 - explore geneva (john calvin sites?)
eve nov 27 - night train to paris
mon nov 28 - explore paris, dorsay, louvre (only to see mona lisa)
eve nov 28 - sleep in paris
tue nov 29 - eiffel tower, head home
*subject to change**
**really, everything on this itinerary is subject to change, but the items marked with * are really subject to change
i'm going to europe on sunday. "why?", you ask? my friend roy is there right now, traveling around, meeting reps for work. no one should have to spend thanksgiving alone, so i'm going to give him company. "but robby, europe is so far away!" yeah i know, but when a friend is in need, no distance is too far. "wow, you are such a great guy!" not really, i think it's what anyone with a good heart would do.
(actually, the real reason i'm going is to make sure he's not living in sin, but shhhhh, keep that on the D-L)
ok ok, so i'm neither that nice, nor that righteous. i'm really going cause i can't think of a good reason not to. roy is there, so i'll have a buddy, i've never seen the places we're going, and i'm between jobs. sounds like opportunity to me. here's our tentative itinerary....
mon nov 21 - arrive in rome, explore rome
eve nov 21 - sleep in rome
tue nov 22 - depart rome early, head to cinque terre (italy), explore cinque terre
eve nov 22 - sleep in cinque terre
wed nov 23 - explore cinque terre
eve nov 23 - sleep in cinque terre*
thu nov 24 - explore cinque terre*
eve nov 24 - depart cinque terre, night train to interlaken (switzerland)
fri nov 25 - balmer's in interlaken
eve nov 25 - take night train to geneva (switzerland)
sat nov 26 - train to Swiss L'Abri, Château de Chillon (on lake geneva), then back to geneva
eve nov 26 - sleep in geneva
sun nov 27 - explore geneva (john calvin sites?)
eve nov 27 - night train to paris
mon nov 28 - explore paris, dorsay, louvre (only to see mona lisa)
eve nov 28 - sleep in paris
tue nov 29 - eiffel tower, head home
*subject to change**
**really, everything on this itinerary is subject to change, but the items marked with * are really subject to change
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
jesus' jaw dropped
"Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled..." (matt 8:10)
marvel - to become filled with surprise, wonder, or amazed curiosity (webster)
i can't imagine how much faith it must take to make Jesus marvel. but the centurion had enough. after the centurion asked jesus to heal his servant, jesus agreed, and began towards his house. but the centurion stopped him and said there was no need to travel all the way to the house. jesus need only speak the word and his servant would be healed. jesus' jaw dropped...
my boss is a man of authority. he has authority because his boss gives him authority. his boss has authority because the CEO gives him authority. the CEO has authority because the board gives him authority, and so on... likewise, any authority i possess is because i have a boss over me who gives me authority. it's a system.
the centurion understood that jesus had the authority to heal because it was given to him by the Father. jesus hadn't found anyone who connected the dots like this guy did and he was in awe.
jesus said all authority in heaven and earth had been given to him. that means he has the abililty to do whatever he wants--in heaven and earth. right after he said that, he gave christians a mission. he said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations..." you'd think if we really believed jesus had all the power in the universe we'd be excited and fearless. not the case. the adjectives that come to mind are apathetic, fearful, timid, and hesitant...lacking even the slightest hint of excitement when it comes to the mission.
i don't think we understand the power christ has vested in us.
"Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled..." (matt 8:10)
marvel - to become filled with surprise, wonder, or amazed curiosity (webster)
i can't imagine how much faith it must take to make Jesus marvel. but the centurion had enough. after the centurion asked jesus to heal his servant, jesus agreed, and began towards his house. but the centurion stopped him and said there was no need to travel all the way to the house. jesus need only speak the word and his servant would be healed. jesus' jaw dropped...
my boss is a man of authority. he has authority because his boss gives him authority. his boss has authority because the CEO gives him authority. the CEO has authority because the board gives him authority, and so on... likewise, any authority i possess is because i have a boss over me who gives me authority. it's a system.
the centurion understood that jesus had the authority to heal because it was given to him by the Father. jesus hadn't found anyone who connected the dots like this guy did and he was in awe.
jesus said all authority in heaven and earth had been given to him. that means he has the abililty to do whatever he wants--in heaven and earth. right after he said that, he gave christians a mission. he said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations..." you'd think if we really believed jesus had all the power in the universe we'd be excited and fearless. not the case. the adjectives that come to mind are apathetic, fearful, timid, and hesitant...lacking even the slightest hint of excitement when it comes to the mission.
i don't think we understand the power christ has vested in us.
Monday, November 14, 2005
duck tales
like i said...i have nothing to do at work. to end the day, my co-workers and i debated about how huey, dewey, and luey were related to scrooge mcduck and donald duck. it was quite heated. i thought donald was their dad, and i figured scrooge and donald were brothers. there's no question huey, dewey, and luey called scrooge "uncle scrooge".
i was wrong.
we googled it and found a priceless site that answered all of our various questions. check out the duck tales family tree. it turns out, donald was huey, dewey, and leuy's uncle, as he's the brother of della duck, their mother. donald's mother was hortense mcduck, scrooge's sister. so scrooge is huey, dewey, and leuy's great uncle.
i don't know what's more sad, the fact that we would debate this at work, or the fact that somebody went through the trouble of compiling an actual family tree.
no, the family tree is definitely more sad.
like i said...i have nothing to do at work. to end the day, my co-workers and i debated about how huey, dewey, and luey were related to scrooge mcduck and donald duck. it was quite heated. i thought donald was their dad, and i figured scrooge and donald were brothers. there's no question huey, dewey, and luey called scrooge "uncle scrooge".
i was wrong.
we googled it and found a priceless site that answered all of our various questions. check out the duck tales family tree. it turns out, donald was huey, dewey, and leuy's uncle, as he's the brother of della duck, their mother. donald's mother was hortense mcduck, scrooge's sister. so scrooge is huey, dewey, and leuy's great uncle.
i don't know what's more sad, the fact that we would debate this at work, or the fact that somebody went through the trouble of compiling an actual family tree.
no, the family tree is definitely more sad.
the fall
belay on! the gathering took us camping and rock climbing this weekend. it was a cold night. let's just say i found out the limits of my sleeping bag. it was my first full night of sleeping without a tent. it started off warm as i laid about two feet from the fire, but about 4 am i felt the chill air seeping through my zipper and head hole. i'm glad i had my long-johns on. you know, the ones with the butt flap. ;)
rappelling was the scariest offering of the weekend. it didn't help when i was descending and barrett told me he got a great deal on the rope i was using. he said an old climbing company retired it, and gave it to him for half-off.
trust. in climbing there's a lot of things you have to trust. you have to trust the equipment you're using--that it will hold you. you have to trust your belayer...the person holding the other end of the rope as you ascend the wall. and in my case, i had to trust barrett, because he tied all of the ropes and fastened all the beaners for our climbs. barrett trusts the equipment a lot. that became apparent when i saw him standing on his hands doing yoga moves on the edge of the wall we were rappelling down. he was harnessed in, but still.
trust is earned. it took me about four climbs to really begin to trust. by that point i had intentionally fallen off the wall to check the equipment. i had seen my belayer catch me, so i knew he was able, and the equipment didn't fail...nor did the knots barrett tied. often times while climbing i would intentionally lean on my rope, just so i could feel the tension and know it was still holding me.
one more story.
i almost didn't rappel the first time. my stomach was turning, the wind was blowing, and i was pretty scared. i turned to walk away and barrett urged me back. he knew it was safe, i didn't. tying me into the harness, barrett told me how he guided a four-year-old boy rappelling down a wall one time. he said the boy wasn't scared at all, he just went. he didn't understand the danger.
the fall. it's ironic that we call it that. when adam and eve sinned. when i was rappelling i was scared because of "the fall." (in reality, it's not the fall that scares me, it's hitting the bottom...but i jest) i had a knowledge of the danger. i wonder if that's what God meant when He said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil." (gen 3:22) barrett wasn't scared because he knew despite the danger, the equipment would protect him. the four-year-old boy wasn't scared because he didn't know the danger. he had a "childlike faith".
i was scared out of my wits.
belay on! the gathering took us camping and rock climbing this weekend. it was a cold night. let's just say i found out the limits of my sleeping bag. it was my first full night of sleeping without a tent. it started off warm as i laid about two feet from the fire, but about 4 am i felt the chill air seeping through my zipper and head hole. i'm glad i had my long-johns on. you know, the ones with the butt flap. ;)
rappelling was the scariest offering of the weekend. it didn't help when i was descending and barrett told me he got a great deal on the rope i was using. he said an old climbing company retired it, and gave it to him for half-off.
trust. in climbing there's a lot of things you have to trust. you have to trust the equipment you're using--that it will hold you. you have to trust your belayer...the person holding the other end of the rope as you ascend the wall. and in my case, i had to trust barrett, because he tied all of the ropes and fastened all the beaners for our climbs. barrett trusts the equipment a lot. that became apparent when i saw him standing on his hands doing yoga moves on the edge of the wall we were rappelling down. he was harnessed in, but still.
trust is earned. it took me about four climbs to really begin to trust. by that point i had intentionally fallen off the wall to check the equipment. i had seen my belayer catch me, so i knew he was able, and the equipment didn't fail...nor did the knots barrett tied. often times while climbing i would intentionally lean on my rope, just so i could feel the tension and know it was still holding me.
one more story.
i almost didn't rappel the first time. my stomach was turning, the wind was blowing, and i was pretty scared. i turned to walk away and barrett urged me back. he knew it was safe, i didn't. tying me into the harness, barrett told me how he guided a four-year-old boy rappelling down a wall one time. he said the boy wasn't scared at all, he just went. he didn't understand the danger.
the fall. it's ironic that we call it that. when adam and eve sinned. when i was rappelling i was scared because of "the fall." (in reality, it's not the fall that scares me, it's hitting the bottom...but i jest) i had a knowledge of the danger. i wonder if that's what God meant when He said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil." (gen 3:22) barrett wasn't scared because he knew despite the danger, the equipment would protect him. the four-year-old boy wasn't scared because he didn't know the danger. he had a "childlike faith".
i was scared out of my wits.
Friday, November 11, 2005
good things
i love photography. i didn't take this picture, but i love it. it's very emotional. to me, it captures a joy and wonder in childhood. i don't want to lose that because i think it's so crucial to faith. the setting strikes me too. i love to sail. it's one of my favorite past times. you don't go anywhere fast when you sail. in fact, at times, you don't go anywhere at all. but that's not the point. if you want to know the point, let me take you sometime. you'll get it.
i love photography. i didn't take this picture, but i love it. it's very emotional. to me, it captures a joy and wonder in childhood. i don't want to lose that because i think it's so crucial to faith. the setting strikes me too. i love to sail. it's one of my favorite past times. you don't go anywhere fast when you sail. in fact, at times, you don't go anywhere at all. but that's not the point. if you want to know the point, let me take you sometime. you'll get it.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
jesus ran
busy-ness is a disease. in my opinion, it is probably the most effective tool the enemy uses against us christians. it seems, if he can't keep us from doing something, he'll get us to do everything so that we're too busy to be effective in anything. it really is quite disturbing.
i had a dinner appointment with a pastor recently. as soon as we sat down he told me he was going to have to leave in about thirty minutes to make it to a meeting at the church. i was thinking, "are you kidding?" he wasn't. thirty minutes passed, he asked for his bill and left. i had hardly touched my quesadilla explosion. (we were at chili's...i don't recommend this dish) so i sat there about another twenty or so minutes by myself.
i scoured the bible for the phrase "Jesus ran"...i didn't find it..."Jesus jogged"....nope...."Jesus walked briskly"....nada....
besides making me question Jesus' physical health regiment, it seems to me Jesus was never in a rush to go anywhere. in luke 8, jesus was on his way, when jairus ran up to him and pleaded for jesus to come to his house and heal his daughter. she was dying. it was jairus' only daughter, so you can imagine how desperate he must have been. on the way to the house the crowds were so thick, jesus was almost crushed. worse than driving down Georgia 400 at rush hour. jairus is starting to sweat. if only jesus could get there in time, his daughter would be healed. then jesus stops.
next is the whole scene with the bleeding woman. jesus heals her, but can you imagine what jairus must be thinking?! "come on, jesus, run! my daughter's dying! don't you understand what's at stake here?!" embrace his frustration.
cue the crisis.
it's too late. jairus' daughter dies. jesus took too long.
then jesus says something crazy. "Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed." and she was.
i think busy-ness is a lack of faith. jesus didn't have to rush because he knew he was in control. we don't have to rush because we should know jesus is in control. ministry is way more about being present than it is anything else. jesus was always present. most of the people i know aren't. Lord, give us more faith.
busy-ness is a disease. in my opinion, it is probably the most effective tool the enemy uses against us christians. it seems, if he can't keep us from doing something, he'll get us to do everything so that we're too busy to be effective in anything. it really is quite disturbing.
i had a dinner appointment with a pastor recently. as soon as we sat down he told me he was going to have to leave in about thirty minutes to make it to a meeting at the church. i was thinking, "are you kidding?" he wasn't. thirty minutes passed, he asked for his bill and left. i had hardly touched my quesadilla explosion. (we were at chili's...i don't recommend this dish) so i sat there about another twenty or so minutes by myself.
i scoured the bible for the phrase "Jesus ran"...i didn't find it..."Jesus jogged"....nope...."Jesus walked briskly"....nada....
besides making me question Jesus' physical health regiment, it seems to me Jesus was never in a rush to go anywhere. in luke 8, jesus was on his way, when jairus ran up to him and pleaded for jesus to come to his house and heal his daughter. she was dying. it was jairus' only daughter, so you can imagine how desperate he must have been. on the way to the house the crowds were so thick, jesus was almost crushed. worse than driving down Georgia 400 at rush hour. jairus is starting to sweat. if only jesus could get there in time, his daughter would be healed. then jesus stops.
next is the whole scene with the bleeding woman. jesus heals her, but can you imagine what jairus must be thinking?! "come on, jesus, run! my daughter's dying! don't you understand what's at stake here?!" embrace his frustration.
cue the crisis.
it's too late. jairus' daughter dies. jesus took too long.
then jesus says something crazy. "Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed." and she was.
i think busy-ness is a lack of faith. jesus didn't have to rush because he knew he was in control. we don't have to rush because we should know jesus is in control. ministry is way more about being present than it is anything else. jesus was always present. most of the people i know aren't. Lord, give us more faith.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
txt msg
i sent my first text message yesterday. i've come of age. it only took me 30 minutes to type in 8 words. largely because after typing in my first sentence--and throwing a party to celebrate--i asked my roommate how it sounded and he told me i should start over. (when it costs 10 cents to send a text message, you really want to make sure every word is intentional) punctuation is especially annoying.
number of words: 8
number of keyboard clicks: 257
number of times i wondered why people go through the trouble of text messaging: i lost count.
i sent my first text message yesterday. i've come of age. it only took me 30 minutes to type in 8 words. largely because after typing in my first sentence--and throwing a party to celebrate--i asked my roommate how it sounded and he told me i should start over. (when it costs 10 cents to send a text message, you really want to make sure every word is intentional) punctuation is especially annoying.
number of words: 8
number of keyboard clicks: 257
number of times i wondered why people go through the trouble of text messaging: i lost count.
Friday, November 04, 2005
the conversation
i just had "the conversation". i've been waiting anxiously the whole day, knowing it was looming. the infamous DTR talk. "define the relationship" for you uninformed. "it's not you, it's me." i've heard it so many times. i think it's intended to relieve the sting. but rarely does it--i mean, let's be serious. i've come to see right through that line.
now i'm using it. i just gave my notice. four week notice. i started with, "i hate to drop this bomb on you, but..." shortly followed up by, "it's not you, it's me..." to try to dull the pain. the conversation followed the typical DTR pattern...The Summation, "it's over." followed by The Response, "was it something I did??" Followed by The Explanation, "it's not you, it's me..."
i think he took it fairly well. my manager, that is. it was a civil dialogue. without much drama. i like that.
i just had "the conversation". i've been waiting anxiously the whole day, knowing it was looming. the infamous DTR talk. "define the relationship" for you uninformed. "it's not you, it's me." i've heard it so many times. i think it's intended to relieve the sting. but rarely does it--i mean, let's be serious. i've come to see right through that line.
now i'm using it. i just gave my notice. four week notice. i started with, "i hate to drop this bomb on you, but..." shortly followed up by, "it's not you, it's me..." to try to dull the pain. the conversation followed the typical DTR pattern...The Summation, "it's over." followed by The Response, "was it something I did??" Followed by The Explanation, "it's not you, it's me..."
i think he took it fairly well. my manager, that is. it was a civil dialogue. without much drama. i like that.
drama
"drama" has been the name of the game these past couple days. i'm not a fan of drama, unless i'm watching a play or a good tv show. it makes things so complicated. i usually prefer simplicity. i was walking along by myself, trying to avoid drama, when i tripped on something and fell heart-first into a pool of it. it wasn't even my drama. it was someone else's pool. i just didn't look where i was stepping and quickly found myself submerged. clumsy me. oddly enough though, now that i'm almost dry, i think it was a good thing i fell in...at least briefly. i found out i can swim. i never would have known.
"drama" has been the name of the game these past couple days. i'm not a fan of drama, unless i'm watching a play or a good tv show. it makes things so complicated. i usually prefer simplicity. i was walking along by myself, trying to avoid drama, when i tripped on something and fell heart-first into a pool of it. it wasn't even my drama. it was someone else's pool. i just didn't look where i was stepping and quickly found myself submerged. clumsy me. oddly enough though, now that i'm almost dry, i think it was a good thing i fell in...at least briefly. i found out i can swim. i never would have known.
expectations
my circumlocution?! i hope not! heaven forbid i bore whoever finds this. they say tv advertisers have about 2 seconds to capture a surfer's attention as he repetitively, perhaps compulsively, presses the channel button. a blogger probably has just a couple seconds more. that's a lot of pressure.
my circumlocution?! i hope not! heaven forbid i bore whoever finds this. they say tv advertisers have about 2 seconds to capture a surfer's attention as he repetitively, perhaps compulsively, presses the channel button. a blogger probably has just a couple seconds more. that's a lot of pressure.
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