Julie Makes the Paper

Featured in The Tennessean today… 

LARRY MCCORMACK / FILE / THE TENNESSEAN

The article which can be read here does not directly pertain to Julie or her place of employment, rather the industry in which she works and the federal government passing legislation to prevent genetic discrimination.

Julie is great at what she does and I am so proud of her.  She’s pretty humble about it, but nonetheless she’s awesome!  (She’s good-lookin too!)

One of My Greatest Achievements

 

I’m so proud of this little guy.  He’s Jacob, my son.  It seems like yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital.  He’s 2 1/2 years old now and Julie and I still can’t believe that he’s ours (not to mention being parents.)  Some even say that he’s a lot like his dad and I agree.  Handsome, striking, intelligent, and athletic come to mind.

Seriously though, my little boy is so full of love.  He gives hugs and kisses to Julie and I each morning before we all head off in our separate directions.  We wrestle on the floor in the living room most nights.  This basically consists of him rolling all over the top of me with a little bit of tickling mixed in on occasion.  His bottom usually ends up on top of my head (this is funny to him…I agree.)  He has friends at school that we talk about often.  He can count to ten and sing the ABC’s.  Our youngest cat, Benji, is his favorite furry friend.  His favorite things are no longer rattles, blocks, and teether toys.  They’re trains, planes, tractors, boats, Spiderman, and Batman.  Soon we’ll most likely be playing baseball or soccer.  Those are the two sports he speaks of most often.

It’s kind of sad to watch him grow up so quickly.  So much so that it causes me to choke up a little.  We plan on having more children soon, but until then we are enjoying the company of God’s greatest gift to our family.  He is a wonderful, amazing creation.  We are blessed!

For Those Who Work So Hard

Our church is blessed to have a great group of people who give of their time and talent to make the gears turn for God at UpRising Church.  I kid you not…our church would not function without the help and dedication of these people.  So in honor of those who work so hard, we’re having a Volunteer Appreciation Picnic this Saturday (4/26/08) at noon.  The location is Edwin Warner Park, shelter #9.  Yes, this has been announced at church and no changes have been made.  We will have this event rain or shine.  The whole church is invited.  Bring your family and friends.  Please plan on being there and bring your appetite!!!

Cutting Back

 I’m not addicted to coffee.  At least I don’t think I am.  I tried to quick cold turkey last Friday and about had a physical meltdown at around 2:00 pm.  So does that mean I’m physically dependant?  I don’t know, it could have been the lunch that I ate.

Anyway, I’m officially cutting back to one cup per day.  My history with coffee goes back a few years.  I’m pretty sure that I was addicted in college while on work assignment for a year (1997-1998).  I quit after going back to a normal class schedule, didn’t have time to make it or money to buy it.  Again I’ve gotten into the habit of drinking 4-5 cups a day at work for at least a few years now.  This week has been a pleasant transition back to one cup in the morning.  No clicks or twitching or anything like that so far during my normal day.  However, if I start developing a turrets syndrome-ish type reaction, I may have to go back to the coffee.

This Weekend at UpRising

We’re rolling out a whole new list of events this coming weekend.  I’m very excited!  Be there on Sunday and don’t miss the announcements.  Some of these events will be geared toward community impact and others are designed to build community in the current church body at UpRising.  Regardless, I challenge all of you to get involved somehow.  You also need to get involved in a Connect Group.  Its the greatest way to experience authentic community.  I know that my group had a blast this week.  We have several going right now so just sign up, ask somebody, or email me at jonathan@uprisingchurch.org.

As we continue Project Pay It Forward this year, I want to thank those who have reached out to help those in our church who were in need.  I love it when you do this and you do it anonymously.  So many of you are ministering to each other whether you know it or not.  I also have enjoyed watching relationships develop and friendships being made all in the context of how God designed it.  I can tell you as a church leader that it makes me so proud to know and serve you. 

Keep up the good work because we’re not even close to being finished.

 

Study Result: Men More Forgetful Than Women

Duh?  This is something that I just read on Yahoo news.

You could have simply polled my wife and any other group of married women in the world and the results would have been the same. 

The only part of this study that I don’t believe is accurate is the statement that the findings remained the same regardless of marital status.  Women are like kryptonite to a man’s ability to think and/or remember things.  It’s a proven fact at my house.

Anyone care to comment?

Don’t Be a Zero

“The point of life is learning to love - God and people.  Life minus love equals zero.” - Rick Warren.

Surrender

“Did you accept Jesus into your life, or did you give your life to Jesus?” - Mark Beeson, Senior Pastor of Granger Community Church.

There is a difference.  I think this type of question points back to the idea of personal surrender.  When you surrender, what are you really doing?  The dictionary describes it as this…

surrender - 1 a: to yield to the power, control, or possession of another upon compulsion or demand <surrendered the fort> b: to give up completely or agree to forgo especially in favor of another2 a: to give (oneself) up into the power of another especially as a prisoner b: to give (oneself) over to something (as an influence)intransitive verb: to give oneself up into the power of another.

God wants you to completely surrender.  He doesn’t just want part of you, He wants ALL of you.  He created ALL of you for a reason.  I’ve often described surrender as a process.  Yes, we initially profess our faith in Christ as Lord and Savior, but even then we still haven’t completely surrendered.  Our human nature wants to hold on to parts of our life even after we establish a relationship with Him.  As you grow in Christ, you should be surrendering control over your life more and more.  I know it’s easier said than done.

Why I Love Baseball

For you baseball and non-baseball fans, you can’t say drama in the MLB world isn’t real.  Check out the latest between the long time rivalry of the Red Sox and the Yankees.  Some Sox fan buried a jersey beneath the soil of the new stadium being constructed for the Yankees.

I LOVE IT!!!  Just keeping it real the wacky wild world of MLB.  That is an example of the level of passion some of these guys have for their teams.  Ever seen Fever Pitchwith Jimmy Fallon?  I love to watch that movie.  Why? The character he plays in that movie is not so far removed from what really goes on with a fan and their love affair with their team.  FAN-A-TIC.  Case in point proven to the left.

Check out the entire article here.

Orange Again

Okay.  Since the UT Women’s Basketball team became the clear winner last night, we’re changing the blog header back to orange for a while.  I would have to say that their victory was pretty impressive for a NCAA championship game.  Congratulations to the whole team!

By the way, Pat Summit is plain good.  She’s worth her weight in chili-cheese fries!