Christmas Time Goodness

Here is a short video of Trip on his new skate board. He wanted me to post it so Logan Michalski can see it.

Top Ten Things I Love About The South

10. People pulling over for a funeral procession.
9. The kid placing his hand over his heart while the funeral procession passes him.
8. The tow truck driver turned Baptist preacher.
7. Sweet Tea (no, I mean real sweet tea)
6. A lifelong friend who drove 1.5 hours to surprise us at the funeral...just because he couldn't stand the thought of us being only 1.5 hours away and not seeing us.
5. Everyone saying the word "y'all"
4. Perfect strangers saying "hi" to you when you walk through the mall instead of intentionally looking the other way.
3. College football (it's just not the same in other parts of the world as it is in the deep south).
2. The vacancy left all throughout town on Sunday morning because everyone has gone to church.
1. Someone titled "aunt" or "uncle" or "cousin" is more than just a relative. They're truly family. Often as close as mom or dad or brother or sister. Family is just different in the south.

My Name Is Chuck And I Approved This Message

If I had anyone better to vote for, I'd vote against John McCain for no other reason than it was his Campaign Finance Reform Bill started requiring the phrase, "My name is ... and I approved this message."

Anyone else out there sick of hearing that phrase?

Did he think he was doing us a favor?

[caution: sarcasm ahead]

Hey John...all those ads that were out there supporting a campaign...I wasn't really sure if they were approved by the candidate or not. That phrase really cleared it up for me! Whew, we're much better off now!

[end sarcasm]

Unfortunately, there's nobody else out there that's better to vote for. The other option is a non-option. Too bad Palin is the VP candidate and not at the top of the ticket.

Pray

There's an artist named Kendall Payne who sang at the Willow Creek Arts Conference this year. I've grown quite fond of her music. She has one song called "Pray" (bonus track on the Grown CD) that is one of the most thought provoking songs I've ever heard. I thought I'd share the lyrics with you:

I will pray for you now, for you have been my faithful friends
While the road we walk is difficult indeed
I couldn't not ask for more than what you've already been
Only that you would say these prayers for me
May your heart break enough that compassion enters in
May your strenght all be spent upon the weak
All the castles and crowns you build and place upon your head
May they all fall, come crashing down around your feet
May you find every step to be harder than the last
So your character grows greater every stride
May your company be of human insignificance
May your weakness be your only source of pride
What you do unto others may it all be done to you
May you meet the One who made us
And see Him smile when life is through
May your blessings be many but not what you hoped they'd be
And when you look upon the broken
May mercy show you what you could not see
May you never be sure of any plans you desire
But you'd learn to trust the plan He has for you
May your passions be tried and tested in the holy fire
May you fight with all your life for what is true
I have prayed for you now all my dear and faithful friends
But what I wish is more than I could eever speak
As the way wanders on I'll long to see you once again
Until then, would you pray these prayers for me?
Oh, that you would pray for me

Oops

Someone (that shall remain nameless, to protect the innocent) backed into our new van tonight.

Just goes to show you (or, rather, me) that you (I) have to hold on to physical posessions with a loose grip. As soon as you get too attached, smash!

Amy has the right attitude: "It's only a car. Who cares?"

Olympics

I thought i'd seen it all...until tonight. More on that in a moment.

First, props to the dude who came up with the Beijing Opening Ceremonies! It was phenominal!

Second, go Mike Phelps! You da man! Right up there with Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong.

Third, what the heck is Olympic Trampoline Jumping? I saw it tonight. I'm not so sure that NBC isn't trying to pull the biggest prank in human history over on us! Seriously, I could've qualified for this sport (and I use that term very loosely) when I was six jumping on my cousin's backyard trampoline! Why didn't anyone tell me about it?

It's actually quite absurd, IMHO. Olympic trampoline jumping, sheesh! What's next, cheerleading as an Olympic sport (again, using that term very loosely)?

ps: sorry in advance, Hannah!

Great Marketing

I meant to post on an experience I had several weeks (heck, it might've been several months) ago. Kyle Bradley and I eat at Moe's (Southwestern Grill) nearly every Monday. We call it Moe's Monday. It started out of our love for the Chicken Club Quesadilla, but now we go partly out of a desire to build a relationship with people who work there...for future ministry opportunities.

Aside: I hate it when people use "ministry" to try to legitimize illegitimate things they're doing...so I really do go there with the intention to do ministry. A side effect is I get to eat some good grub.

Kyle and I have gotten to the point to where several employees know us by name. One of the assistant managers recently gave us a free meal there (actually, she punched our buy 9 get one free tickets through to the "one free" even though we were only actually on punch # 7). When we tried to resist and let her know that we weren't regulars there to get free food, she said something to the effect of, "no...you guys are two of our best customers...this one's on the house."

The point of this story is that, in a day of lost customer service, this was a great move. It cost the company very little. It made us feel very special. It built loyalty. It shows that someone cares. It certainly wasn't necessary in order for them to keep our business. But it made a difference. Way to go, Moe's!

Your Call Might Be Recorded...

It drives me nuts when I call in to a company for customer service and they say, "Your call might be recorded for quality assurance purposes," when we all know that what they really should say is, "Your call might be recorded so that our butts are covered should a future issue arise."

And while I'm on the subject, why is it that when you call in to a company that they ask you to enter your account number or phone number 3 or 4 times before you can speak to anyone, then the first thing the representative asks you is for that number again?!?

We're a highly civilized country with marvelous technology. You'd think that we'd be able to figure this one out!

Sorry...I'm just in a lousy mood tonight I guess. Having to call in month after month and sit on the phone for a half hour with some idiot just to get your bill adjusted will do that to a person!

It Never Fails

It never fails...

Make a large purchase and something expensive will need a repair. We were sweating to the oldies (not literally) Sunday night when our air conditioner was only spitting out luke warm air. My wallet is a little lighter, but at least it's nice and chilly in the house again.

As I was watching the Welsh Heating & Air guy pull out of the driveway, I was asking myself, "What if we couldn't afford to repair the air conditioner?" There are people all over the world who live in extreme heat without air conditioning. Could I do it?

Now, I'm not one of these people who feels guilty because I was blessed to be born in the wealthiest country on the planet...but I was literally wondering if I could make it for a full summer without air conditioning. Or, am I so spoiled that it would cause me problems (mental, emotionally, physically or otherwise).

It was an interesting moment for me...not because I was thinking about the plight of others in the world, but rather because I felt like I was having a real, authentic conversation with myself that I think a lot of people in my condition don't have the courage to have.

I seriously don't know how I would do without air conditioning. I'd like to think I'd be able to cope, and even excel, but it was pretty taxing on me Sunday night in my hot house. I'm not so bold as to automatically think, "I'd be fine."

The one thing I do hold on to is 2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Do you have the courage to have an authentic conversation with yourself? It's sort-of liberating.

This One's For Hannah

Evidently some people get frustrated when you don't post regularly to your blog. Hannah, this one's for you.

Doughnuts & Friends

I ate a doughnut at church this morning. A plain glazed doughnut. It didn't taste plain. It tasted like a maple iced doughnut. It didn't have any maple icing on it. It wasn't even sitting close to a maple iced doughnut on the tray that I got it from. I'm assuming it was in the box with a maple one at some point and that taste just stayed with it. I don't really care for maple iced doughnuts.

For some reason that got me to thinking about the environement that we allow ourselves to be surrounded by and how that impacts the quality and direction of our lives. Our friends. Our workplaces. Our hang-out spots. The people we date. The books we read. The movies we watch. Music. Food. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Seems to me that whatever we immerse ourselves in - in nearly every aspect of life - will leave a residual taste on us for a long time...even when we're no longer in that box...even when we're out on the silver platter looking all good and yummy.

Just something to think about.

Having Your Own Post Come Up In Your Feed Reader

I read quite a few blogs, so I use Google Reader to import all of the new blog posts so I don't have to go out site by site and view them (it's called RSS). I had something really cool happen today. I was browsing through posts in my Reader and came across a post that I wrote. It wasn't a post that I put on my own blog - adding my own blog to my Reader would be cheating - it was a guest post I did for Church Communications Pro. I didn't realize that it was getting posted today, so when I started reading it I thought, "hmm, that sounds like something I would've written." Turns out it was something that I wrote.

Just a cool moment for me as I had my post posted by a blog that I respect very much and had it appear in my own feed reader.

My Wife Thinks I'm Old & Cheap

I went to Kyle Howard's (a friend of mine) bachelor party the other night to Dave & Busters and I was giving Amy a recap of the night. I told her that I only liked a couple of the games there and that most of it is a big waste of money (it's not a waste of money if you're there for the company, atmosphere and entertainment...but if I'm going for the games then it's a wast of money for me). I also told her that I thought about buying a beer but that I didn't want to pay $5 for one.

Her only remark was that I'm getting old and cheap. Sheesh!

Happy Birthday!

Today is my beautiful, lovely wife's 31st birthday. Happy Birthday Amy! I Love You!

The Wienie

I don't know if you will like it, but I liked this post.

South Korean

Amy, Amy's Dad, Amy's Mom, and I were all sitting watching an episode of "Thowdown With Bobby Flay" tonight. It was an episode on biscuits. A voice of a clearly southern guy comes on as a shot of a biscuit is on the screen. Suddenly you see the guy's face and he is of oriental descent. Amy starts laughing because of the unexpected face with the voice. Amy's dad says, "Hmmm, he must be a Southern Korean." I thought I was going to roll in the floor. Guess you had to be there.

Controlled By Fear

I've come across two posts in my reading list in the last couple of days on the topic of fear as it relates to leadership. They basically both said, great leaders - highly successful people - the people who do great things and leave a huge legacy - everything that I want to be, are people who experience fear, but aren't controlled by fear.

I've known quite a few people who are paralyzed by fear. They don't make a decision because they are afraid of how people will react. They don't invest in the market because they are afraid that the market will tank. They don't start their own business because they can't live with the thought of failure. They don't push the edge and live on the margins because they're afraid of becoming marginalized. They don't help the poor because they're afraid of getting mugged. They don't love because they're afraid of being heartbroken. They don't submit to authority because they're afraid of someone walking all over them. They don't open the mail because they're afraid of Anthrax. They don't clean their gutters because they're afraid of falling off the roof.

I'm not judging these people. Heck, most of them actually describe a recent version of me. Just realizing that their/my fear might keep them/me from greatness. From this point on, I'm resolving to never make a decision out of fear. I'm going to trust in God to protect me and not be controlled by fear.

Reminds me of this old post: SAFE

NKOTB - Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh - The Right Stuff

Just thought I'd let all you fans out there know that they're back! That's right New Kids on the Block have reunited. Check it out!

Do You Know This Guy?

My friend Kyle (that works with me), drew a pic of me in Adobe Illustrator. I thought it looked pretty good (although he was generous with the amount of hair on my head):

Top Ten Things I've Learned From Being On Crutches

10. When you're on crutches, you can't do much else. Big thanks to my AMAZING wife who has done double-duty with the kids and house cleaning and taking care of me while I've been out of the game.

9. Being on crutches is humbling. Since you can't carry things in your hands, you have to be humble and ask people to help you carry things: drinks, computers, books, you name it. It's hard for us self-sufficient Americans to ask for help...but on crutches, you have little choice.

8. People are nicer to you when you're on crutches...well, sort of. People hold doors for you and offer to drive to lunch so you don't have to drive, etc. But, the call you names like cripple, gimppy, peg leg, etc. That's not so nice.

7. Walking on crutches is exhausting. I think the older a person is, the more exhausting. When I was on crutches as a kid, it didn't seem so exhausting. When you use crutches you walk with your whole body instead of just with your legs. My abs, shoulders, hands, elbows, and other parts are exhausted.

6. Speaking of exhausted, my good leg is exhausted having to bear the burden of my (over)weight all by itself. Kyle (that works with me) thinks I might be able to dunk off that one leg when I'm all healed.

5. It's the simple things in life that matter. Amost everything that you normally do on a regular basis is altered when you're on one leg...taking a shower (go ahead, try to get in your bath tub using only one leg), standing from a sitting position, etc.

4. Stairs are treacherous...I've nearly lost my balance and tumbled down the stairs at least a dozen times in the past few weeks (I said "nearly"...no broken neck yet).

3. The rain is wetter when you are on crutches. Not sure how the rain gets wetter, but it does.

2. Healing takes longer when you're on crutches. I've been injured before and my recovery time is always faster than it has been on these darn things. I know you're probably thinking, "Chuck, it just seems longer," or "perhaps you recovered faster because the injury wasn't as bad." Nope. You're wrong. I'm convinced it's the crutches that are slowing me down. It's some vast, right-wing crutch conspiracy.

1. 100 percent of the people you meet who would've never in a million years spoken to you will ask you what happened. 76.3 percent of them, upon hearing that you sprained your ankle, will tell you that a sprain takes longer than a break to heal. The other 23.7 percent will make a remark about how you shouldn't have been back-talking you wife and she wouldn't have kicked you in the leg.

Thanks for all the inquiries, help carrying things, words of encouragment, sympathetic looks and comments about 'manning up.' I'm getting better everyday and should be walking sans crutches pretty soon.

Bike Rack

This is just a quick shout out to my parents and Amy for my sweet new car roof bike rack (that they gave me for Christmas). We had a nice day last week and I installed it. I still need to get the part that actually holds the bike on the rack, but this is the expensive part. Too bad my ankle is too messed up to bike right now.

Ouch!

Get the picture...

It was the Calvary Church men's basketball league tournament. Saturday, March 15 was the date. All was on the line. We won our first game of the day...an 8:00 am battle between the two un-feated teams (you read that right...we were the two teams who hadn't won a game). So, it was our second game of the day...and we were once again losing. I decided it was time for me to step up my game and put it all on the line. When the opportunity arose, I went up against a giant player on the other team for a rebound. He came down with the ball. I came down on his foot. Turned my ankle. Extreme pain.

I hitched a ride home, then hitched a ride to the emergency room (special thanks to the Kruse family for getting me home, for Mrs. Chris for coming over to sit with the boys, and to Amy for taking me to the hospital...and for putting up with me for the past several days). They x-rayed it and told me it was a sprain and that I'd recover...eventually. No big deal. Below are a few photos.

Be sure to read my next post (coming soon) for lessons I've learned.

My ankle had a swollen knot that was a little larger than a golf ball in size. Sweet ballin' shoes, huh?

Me chillin' in the ER. My pain meds had kicked in at this point.

The family coming to my bedside engaging in a friendly game
of Sesame Street UNO.

Heaven Is Like

I'm sitting here at the mall watching the kids play on the playground and I think I know what Heaven is going to be like. There must be a dozen kids running around screaming and yelling and enjoying themselves to the max. They're probably exhausted. They probably feel like it is work (I think my Psychology 101 teacher once said that play is work for children). But there is no stress. No anxiety. No worries. Only unadulterated glee.

By contrast, if you look around at the parents, you see frowns, stress, and the every-once-in-awhile yell for the kids to slow down, to stop yelling and (paraphrasing here) to stop having so much fun.

-pause-

Quinn just came over to me with an "ouchie"...a little kiss later and all is well again.

-resume post-

I look forward to Heaven. I'm not sure exactly what we'll be doing there, but I know that there will be joy everlasting...little glimpse of which can be previewed at the mall playground on this Friday night.

A Lesson (or two) In Data Backup

Do you ever get the feeling that God is trying to teach you a lesson? This has been one of those weeks for me.

First, we were in the process of adding a terabyte (1,000 gigs) of disk space to our disk array which already has a TB of information on it when all of the data went missing. We didn't have a backup (we did have a disk array, which protects against hardware failure, but no backup). Luckily, after much wasted time and hardship, we were able to recover the data.

Then, two days later, all of the images on the church's website disappeared. Turns out the data was fine, only the information that tells the site where to display each image was corrupt, and we did have a backup of that, but we don't have a backup of the image files themselves...so we were freaking out as you can imagine.

So after a week of lost productivity and shot nerves, we are back up and running. The lesson learned: back up all of your data...then, for safe keeping, back it up again.

The Mac Goes Boom

Yep. I dropped my Macbook Pro on Friday.

It was in my notebook computer protecting backpack, so the major damage was averted...but it fell right off the stage at the church where I had set the backpack while helping one of the boys get their coat on.

It did sustain an injury to the right front corner...right above the DVD drive. It bent the metal pretty bad in that one spot. I took a hammer to it and you can barely even tell it was damaged now. Amy was pretty surprised when she heard me hammering and said, "What's that noise?" ...to which I replied, "it's just me hammering on my Mac." "You're what!?!" The DVD drive still works...just now tested it.

I'll post a picture first chance I get. You'd think I'd be pretty upset as much as I love this computer, but surprisingly, I'm over it. It's just a computer. Only a tool to accomplish a goal...not the goal itself. I think I'm growing out of some of my old materialistic ways. Yay me! (Still working on the humilty struggles, hehe)

Know of a Church?

Do you know of a church that needs graphics help?
Here is my new project: Serve15

Adobe Spry Replaces Pop-up Menu

Ok...so this post isn't for my typical reader, but I've been going crazy the past couple of days so I thought I would post here in case anyone else is having the same problems.

In Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 (and MX), to make a pop-up menu from an image on a web page was very easy, using the behaviors pallet. In my opinion it worked well and, well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. In Adobe Dreamweaver CS3, they fixed it. They changed technology to something called a Spry that works with Ajax. And with that, they depreciated the pop up menu tool. The only problem is, the way the Spry technology works, it won't put the pop up in the right spot (at least I'm not smart enough to get it to work). So, if you want to do what I'm trying to do, you have to send your image out to Fireworks...and even then it doesn't work very well.

Having said all of that, I went back to my version 8 and created a pop up. Below is the script for anyone who needs it:

[blogger is messing with the code. Click here to download it in a text file format.]


Here's a sample of how it works (note: menu links don't go anywhere).

Disclaimer: I make no warranties and provide no support should this not work. I can tell you that the code is copy/pasted directly from Dreamweaver 8 and has no bugs that I'm aware of.

The funny thing is once you drop all of this into your document, CS3 will allow you to edit it using the depreciated menu item under the behaviors pallet. I'm usually Adobe's biggest fan (I live in Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, & Dreamweaver), but when I ran across this problem, I have to say I was very disappointed. I'm fine if they want to move to a new technology...but leave the old tricks in there for us old dogs.

The Best Cookies Ever

I know you're supposed to say that your mom or your wife is the best cook you know, but forgive me here Amy & Mom.

I just 'helped' Trip & Quinn eat a party-favor cookie that they got from Austin's party and I have to say that Julie Shaw is the best cookie cook I know.

Not only were they extremely tasty, but they were decorated most excelently as well...Thomas the Train (or as Quinn says, Thomas the Train Tractor).

Anytime you want to make me cookies, Julie, I'll gobble them up with glee!

Funny Post

Here's a funny post on Amy's blog.

Stranger Danger

Happy Birthday Austin & Sydney

Austin Shaw turns three and Sydney Ross turns one on Tuesday. Happy birthday!

New Year's Resolutions

Here they are...a few days late...you can help keep me accountable:

[1] Lose 25 lbs by my birthday. I know, it's cliche to say you're going to lose weight, but I've got to do it.

[2] Blog at least once-per-week. It's not so much about you, the readers...it's therapeutic for me.

[3] Exercise more (goal: 3 times per week).

[4] Read at least 1 book per month.

[5] Pay off my car by the end of the year.