It is a GREAT day!!!

Reading for the trip

2009-03-15T14:23:00.000-07:00

I was looking for a book Chuck Harris recommended to me called "Chasing Francis" about St. Francis of Assisi since we are going to Assisi, but I couldn't find it. While I was in the airport Borders, though, I found this one. I love reading Rob Bell and haven't had a chance to read this so what a great chance. I'll let you know what I think.

Day 1 |(or -1)

2009-03-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here in Houston Intercontinental Airport (or George Bush) waiting to board our flight to Rome, Italy, that has a stop over in Frankfurt, Germany. We left Lufkin at 11:30 a.m. and won't depart Houston until 5:30 p.m. I actually found a wireless link that I didn't have to pay $7.95 for. Freaking miracle. Why are we going to Rome?

Two years ago (2007) when Cole was in 8th grade, we went to a meeting about the GT English program at LHS and they announced that there would be a trip to Rome and Venice during Spring Break of 2009. They also said that Venice would be closing to tourists in 2010 or 2011 because of the flooding problem and their attempts to fix it. Knowing we probably would never have another opportunity like this in our lifetime, we decided right then that we would start cutting back on birthdays and Christmas for the next few years so we could save enough money for the whole family to go on this trip. And if we couldn't save enough, we would borrow whatever it took for us to go. There are few opportunities for us as a family to take a trip like this when our kids would be of an age that they would appreciate it. And when our schedules would allow it.

Can we afford to take this trip? It is a HUGE stretch. But we only live once and we don't do near enough with our kids outside of the gozillion "scheduled" things that they already do.

If the Italians have wireless links, I'll try to update this site with some pictures and videos throughout the week.

Last Sunday "Sermon"

2009-02-27T04:38:00.001-08:00

And I use the term sermon very loosely. It's been a great six months and these are just my comments as I completed my interim time as the worship guy at FUMC Lufkin. Probably went 5 minutes too long and chased too many rabbits but......

I wish it HAD been Lincoln Brewster's song

2009-01-30T19:58:00.001-08:00

Well, the day is over. It has been an emotional rollercoaster with mostly downs that overshadowed any of the ups. It's kind of like vomitting; you know when it's coming it's gonna be bad, but when it happens it's always worse than you imagined.

First off, we got a text from our manager at 10:02 a.m. that the calls were delayed and that he would text us when he was beginning the calls. The next text we got was at 10:21 a.m. saying he was starting the calls. In retrospect to what I know now, the delay was probably caused by the utter shock our manager felt when he saw what was about to take place. I can't imagine that responsibility and the sickness he felt.

My call came around 10:30 a.m. Plain and simple, you are retained, pretty much the same products, pretty much the same territory. That was it. He had to continue to make the rest of his calls. I could hear in his voice, though, without him telling me, it wasn't what he expected. At 10:48 a.m. we got a text that he was through making calls. When all was said and done, 9 out of 14 reps in our district had been severed from the company. 9 out of 14. Almost 65%. This from a team with over 115 years of Pharmaceutical sales experience, an average of >8.5 years experience, and 29 VPC or equivalent awards. A team recognized as one of the highest performing in the region if not the country. A team recognized by others as "the team to beat". These are not just outstanding sales people, these are outstanding people, PERIOD. Hard working, high character people. And this is just from my district. This doesn't include the other two districts in this area who lost people as well. People like my call cycle partner from another division, who happens to be my sister-in-law, who tonight does not have a job after 13 years of success with this company. I've watched her develop that "unbreakable" relationship with multiple customers that allows her access and success that others just dream of and tonight, no more.

I said earlier that I think this is the right move for the company and I still do. But that doesn't mean I like the methods or the results. Did the company keep good people? Sure. Did they let some good people go? Definitely. They let some GREAT people go. Excluding our specialty reps, we started the day with 27 reps in our area. Tonight there are 10. That is a little less than a 60% cut overall. That is a bloodbath.

So what now? Pray. Pray for peace for these people. Pray for jobs for these people. Pray for restoration for these people, because, regardless of the situation and severance and insurance and all that, this still hurts each one of them deep down. Pray for peace for the manangers who had to make the calls to each of us and have to live with the knowledge that somehow, something didn't work right if their people, whom they all love, are no longer with the company. It is a brutal reality.

I post this tonight as a tribute to each of these people who now turn the next page in their lives. I pray for each of them to find solace in the only One who can truly provide comfort and that, through all of this, this becomes a faith strengthener and not a faith tester.

Today is the Day......No not the Lincoln Brewster song

2009-01-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

For those of you who know me well know that today, January 30th, has been marked on my calender for several weeks.

This is the day that the company I have worked for for 15 1/2 years will inform its sales force who has been severed and who has been retained. Cuts are expected to be in the 50-60% range. Our managers found out their fate on Wednesday. My manager, who is not just my boss, but a really good friend of mine, was retained, but in a different position. That means that even if I am retained, he won't be my manager any longer.

Now, lots of people might be bitter about this "restructuring", but to be honest with you, if I was in the CEOs position, I'd be doing the same thing. What my company is doing is right for the company/stock holders, right for our industry, and right for our customers. Is it brutal? Yes. Are people's worlds going to be turned upside down? Definitely. But it is a good move and, even if I'm let go, it's still the right move for the company. There are 4 of us that work in this area(and 2 unfilled positions), all great people and fantastic at their jobs. There may only be 2 left at the end of the day. It won't be easy, but it will be right.

I truly believe God has a plan in all of this and I have faith that it will be what's best for me and my family, either way. As a matter of fact, this has been more of a faith solidifier than a faith tester. At the end of the day, I'm excited about the potential for new opportunities.

So.........I'll blog later about the end result of the day. I just ask you to remember everyone enduring these uncertain economic times in your prayers and for God's guidance for each of them.

I was assaulted.....BY A POP TART

2009-01-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

I am here to inform the public of the unknown dangers of that most famous breakfast snack, the Kellogg's Pop Tart. The S'mores Pop Tart in particular. Though I still love them as the fine, nutricious breakfast snack they are, I must take this opportunity to let the population at large know of the tragic incident that occurred on December 29th.

You see, I had purchased a new toaster for Anita for Christmas, kind of as a joke, but also because the one we had we received as a wedding present 20 years ago had stopped working up to it's maximum performance. So this is the one I got for her. A fine toaster, don't you think? However, being the guy I am, I didn't read any directions or use any common sense for that matter, apparently. On the morning of December 29th, I threw 2 S'mores Pop Tarts in that new toaster without considering that I would need to use a different setting than I used on the 20 year old toaster. A setting of 8-9 was a bit much I guess. From the other room, the odor of burning Pop Tart overtook me and I rushed into the kitchen to find them burning and that fine gooey chocolate and marshmellow filling oozing out on the toaster. I immediately tried to rescue the Pop Tarts and salvage them for my consumption. When I grabbed the first smoking hot breakfast gem from the new Atomic Toaster, it collapsed on my left hand, the goo spreading over my middle finger on my left hand and sticking to it like a nuclear super glue. I ran to the sink (2 steps) and immediately ran cold water on it, to no avail. Within hours I had a mammoth blister about an inch long on top of my middle finger. It just kept growing, and burning, and growing, and really, really burning. I didn't get a picture of the blister before I lanced it to let it ooze, but here is a picture, post lancing and then another today. I might recover, but I have to say that, in my opinion, Pop Tarts may be the spawn of satan.

20 years......No Really!!!

2009-01-22T20:02:00.000-08:00

Back on December 31st, my wife Anita and I boarded a plane and flew to Denver, Colorado. The occasion? December 31st was our 20th wedding anniversary. 20 years. Hard to imagine. That month of December in 1988 saw Anita graduate (in 3 1/2 years) from Texas A&M on the 17th, celebrate Christmas the next weekend, then marry me on the 31st. Four days later she went with me to Fort Benning, Georgia as I began an almost 5 year stint in the Army. Anita has been the most phenomenal wife and partner I could have ever dreamed of, and an even better mother to our two children, Cole and Corinne. I love her more today than I did then, and I didn't think that was possible. It hasn't always been easy, mostly because of me, but I can't imagine my life without her. God has blessed me more than I deserve by giving me her as a wife and I hope and pray I can be the husband she deserves for the rest of my time on this earth. This is our picture in Keystone, Colorado on our last night of our anniversary celebration. It was a great trip to spend with my very best friend. Here's to you, Anita, the love of my life.

Hitler's Aggie Football Rant

2009-01-20T20:06:00.001-08:00

I'm an Aggie and I think this is hilarious and so very accurate. Watch it all!!!

Thank you, God, for......

2009-01-11T20:49:00.000-08:00

living where we live. Check out this live link to Gaza. Give it time to buffer and get loaded, turn up the volume, then say a prayer and thank God that these aren't the sounds you hear when you get up in the morning, throughout the day, and when you go to sleep at night.

http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ai=386&ar=NanaTV01&dr=02:30:00%20-%202k

looks like they've taken the link down.

Christmas Eve 2008

2008-12-29T20:10:00.001-08:00

This is the Christmas Eve service from FUMC-Lufkin and April Holder singing Magnificat by Todd Agnew. It was a great service and everyone did a fantastic job. From left to right on the stage are April Holder(vocals), David McElveen(keys), Jay Watrous(acoustic guitar), Mark Saldana(percussion), Brad Anderson(bass), Danny Brevard(acoustic guitar), Chris Caraway(acoustic guitar), and Kathy Thannisch(piano).

EXCELLENT SHIRT

2008-12-25T09:10:00.000-08:00

I think this shirt would fit into the Todd Wright/David Runnels cool shirt category. My wife ordered it and gave it to me for Christmas. I really need to find this "interpretation" of the bible. It may go a step beyond "The Message".

Movies that don't Suck...I didn't make this up!

2008-12-15T15:47:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, maybe on Thanksgiving weekend, I walked into the bedroom and Anita(my lovely wife) was propped up on the bed watching something on tv. I sat down beside her and started watching and it was one of those movies that everytime it comes on, you have to watch it, plain and simple. Unfortunately, for the life of me, I can't remember what the movie was. It may have been that classic, "Real Genius" showcasing a young Val Kilmer, but what struck me was the commercial break and the lead in back to the movie. The station was called G4.

Now I'm not so familiar with the G4 station, but the lead in was titled, "G4 Movies That Don't Suck". I laughed and told Anita I should blog about this and provide the link because I know people, (Todd, David, Artie) who appreciate the great movies, especially from the 80s that are classics and will be forever. But, unfortunately, I had an ADD moment and forgot all about it. Then, here, two weeks later, I had another ADD moment and remembered it. So here it is.
I don't know that they have added Empire Records to the list yet, but they should.

Worship Confessional Nov 30th

2008-12-07T18:52:00.001-08:00

Amazingly Sad, Amazingly Uplifting

2008-11-08T07:26:00.000-08:00

I am posting a link to a segment from the Thursday, November 6th Today Show. This is a story that I beg you to share. Share it anywhere you can link it, post, forward it. It is about two of the most amazing people I have the priviledge to know, even though I haven't talked to them in years. I grew up going to church and playing Little League baseball and going to school with both Dirk Lindsey and his older brother David, who was my age. They came from a great family. Dirk was always one of those guys that got along with everybody. Ag guys, band guys, sports guys, everybody. And the reason is because he was a great guy who was always funny. It is also evidenced by this video that he is also one of the strongest guys on this planet with an even stronger faith in God. His wife Tara, is the niece of a golf pro I worked for in high school so I don't know her as well, but this will tell you everything you need to know about her as a person. Read this story then watch this video.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27576641/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27574886#27574886

Worship Confessional 10-12-08 (late)

2008-10-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

Technical difficulties (or lack of technical abilities) are killing me.

Got this from Ross King's blog....

2008-10-21T20:48:00.000-07:00

To quote Ross, "Don't click unless you're at a place where you can cry like a baby and maybe lift your hands like a crazy person."

Check out his blog here.

Worship Confessional 10-05-08

2008-10-08T10:58:00.001-07:00

First things first, in my ADD state, I failed to mention that Brad was his consistent bad(as in good) self on bass.

Okay, got that handled. The sound quality isn't as good as I would like on here, but I'll continue to work on it. And apparently, I got the lighting effect off my chin and now my forehead glistens like an icy pond.

Piracy is only bad if.......it doesn't get you a Flip Video

2008-10-06T05:19:00.000-07:00

Below is Todd Wright's blog from September 21st. I talked to him last night and guess what? He got a Flip Video for his birthday. As a party to this event through the absolutely convincing and spectacular email I sent Kristen, I thought it only fair that, since Todd is my hero and I strive to be all things Todd, I should employ the same tactic. Therefore, I am co-opting his blog post for my benefit. Need your help folks. I'm changing the few things to "make this mine" but I'll highlight them for you so you'll know the key details.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Help Me, Blogf reaks...You're My Only Hope
Dear ChrisBloggers,

I am in desperate need.

You see, I would like for my wife to buy me a black Flip Video. Preferably in December as it is the month of Christmas (my birthday is in June) and therefore I deserve muchos presentos, no?

If you would do me the honor of "encouraging" my wife with a nice, polite, pleasant email, it would mean all the world to me. Now, emailing my wife is a tricky thing, so I'd like to offer a few suggestions that will make your message catch her eye.

#1. Use one (or all) of these words in the subject line of your email message: "The Amazing Race," "America's Top Model", or "Dancing with the Stars". Trust me. She will open that email.

#2. Extol her a bit, but don't over-flatter. She's a no-nonsense kinda' girl. Something like "Your hair looked terrific yesterday" or "I wish we hung out more because you so funny and me and my friends can't stop talking about you" would probably be just the right amount of praise.

#3. Work the family angle. DO NOT mention vlogging, blogging, confessionals, or church videos as reasons for purchasingthe Flip Video. Stick to "capturing wonderful family memories" or "he'll be sure and use this to video you opening that huge, yet-to-be purchased jewelry for Christmas." It's all marketing, gang.

Thank you for your help. I know the influx of emails will move her to action. Her email address is anita.caraway@farmersinsurance.com. If you're so inclined, you might also ask her to start blogging period.

And for those of you who are my REAL friends and who care about me more than life itself, you can just go here and buy it for me yourself.

Grace, Peace, Justice, Love, Faith and Power,
Chris Caraway

Labels: birthday, blogging, flip video, anita

Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full

2008-10-02T04:23:00.001-07:00

The things that go through your head when you wake up, NOT ON PURPOSE, at 4:20 a.m.

I've always considered myself as a kind of realist, or what I like to call, "a skeptical optimist". I like to believe the best about everybody, with just a hint of doubt. Why?

Well, we all know that eternal optimist, that person that would find the beauty in the color of the lava as it flowed out of the volcano and over their house. Be honest. You want to strangle them on site. No one should be that happy all the time. They are missing the joy of a good *&^%@ session and probably ruining yours. Who wants to be that person?

Then we all know that person who, if you gave them a $100 bill, they would gripe because they wanted five $20s. They have yet to find a silver lining in anything they've ever done. It's usually like a cardboard lining for them. Any amount of time with them and you want to tell them to just end it right there, jump off a cliff or something, and if they aren't willing, you wish they'd push you off instead. Who wants to be that person?

So where do I fall in this? I would say I am the sarcastic version of both combined. I do view the glass as half full and honestly, never look at it as half empty. However, my view is that that glass used to be ALL full. What happened to the other half? Where did the rest of it go? Why can't we have an all full glass? Why do we always half to refer to a half full glass as if that is the best it's ever gonna get?

Now the reality is that I probably tripped and spilled the other half of whatever was in my glass. Sidebar: What is in the glass is something we never really address. What is in our glass? Coffee? Diet Dr. Pepper? Sweet tea from Chicken Express? Some favorite adult beverage? Or is it sour milk? Hot water? Some nasty medicine your mom used to make you take? I think your choice of half empty or half full beverage says a lot about your whole state of mind as well.

But, in conclusion, my thought on the "half full" glass, because, of course, mine is always half full, is this: Somebody has been drinking out of my glass and I want a free refill.

Worship Confessional 9/28/08 (Video!!!)

2008-09-29T20:25:00.001-07:00

Well, here it is. My first video confessional. Something about the lighting really highlights my chin. Have to get with my make-up team and see what I can do about that.

Confessional???

2008-09-21T18:58:00.000-07:00

Trying to come up with a way to post the confessional for today. I just don't know how to do it justice. Those that I've talked to already (todd) or folks on the worship team that might actually read this will understand my inability to put this to words. I'll think on it for a while and might do it later. If not, suffice it to say that, well........, I love my worship team and my church and my Lord, not in that order, of course, but still lots of love for 'em all.

ROMACK LINKED ME!!!

2008-09-20T05:45:00.000-07:00

That just sounds bad doesn't it? But really its GREAT!

Why am I excited? Well, he is Justin Romack, percussionist extraordinaire, cool worship drummer, loop builder, computer mentor and all around good guy. Why shouldn't I be excited. I am for sure.

Romack's links:

Blog's I Read...
Adrienne Acevedo
Angela
Blake Stewart
Carlos Whittaker
Chris Caraway
Clay Walker
Daniel Rowe
David Runnels
Forrest Layton
Jeff Williford
John Simmons
Justin Beadles
Justin Jinkins
Kristen Wright
Michael "I knew him when he was Mike" James
Paul James
Philip Melton
Rhonda Romack
Robert Conn
Ross King
Susie Moore
Tim Romack
Todd Wright

Now I know he's listed them in alphabetical order, but I'm up close to the top and Todd is down near the bottom. Justin, that doesn't mean you need to change things up. Just leave 'em like they are. Gosh, I must be 10 years old.

Thanks for the link and for FINALLY reading your own blog.

Skunks!

2008-09-18T05:06:00.000-07:00

I was awakened this morning, I don't know, around maybe 3 a.m., by my dogs barking outside. What hit me next was the complete overwhelming aroma of.....a skunk. Now understand, I DO sleep inside a house, with four walls and a roof so you'd expect maybe some sort of insulation from the odor. Not so. You'd of thought that skunk was right next to my bed.

Fast forward, actually slow forward, because I could never really get back to sleep real well, to about 5:30 and I finally just got up. I showered, shaved, dressed, checked email, internet news...etc., still with the really sharp smell of that skunk. I walked outside to try to get a feel for how bad the skunk smell was out there versus inside. IT WAS NOT NEAR AS BAD OUTSIDE.

I think the skunk odor has been trapped in my house. I guess I'll know today if I walk into an office and everyone looks at me funny or runs screaming from the building.

I may be out hunting skunk tonite.

Confessional #2

2008-09-15T19:02:00.000-07:00

Almost forgot to post a confessional, what with all the Hurricane Ikeness that has gone on here. Glad he went ahead and left.

Yesterday morning most of Lufkin, Texas was without electricity. FUMC-Lufkin was part of that most. Plus FUMC was hosting 40-50 Red Cross workers and National Guardsmen/women who were working in Lufkin. It's a great statement about the people of our church that they still show up looking to worship in spite of the fact that 1) their own homes are without electricity and most likely a mess with trees/limbs down everywhere, and 2) they will come to their church even if it doesn't have electricity and consequently, no lights or air conditioning. Now I'm not talking huge numbers, 50 or so in each service, but still, that's a passion for God that is not hindered by hardship and that is something that brings God honor and glory.

I picked up Kathy and got to the church about 8:45 and met April there and we started trying to figure out how we were going to make this work by 10:30. We had a generator out front and we ran an extension cord right down the middle of the center aisle and up to the stage. We initially plugged up some halogen lamps behind us on the stage. We moved Kathy's piano right up beside April and my microphone, ran extension cords everywhere, and had a very East Texas lighting ensemble on the stage so we could see. I found a small, portable speaker that takes 1/4" plugs and plugged the microphone into it so we would have some sort of vocal amplification. After rehearsing the first couple of songs, me on guitar and vocals, Kathy on piano, and April on vocals, we were all sweating profusely under the cooking light of those halogen lights. We got rid of those and just used our little spots to light our music. We finished rehearsing, checked our power strip with eleventeen things plugged into it and got ready for worship with about 10 minutes to spare. Lucky for us, John, Kathy's husband, came in with a big ole' fan from his house and set it up in the back and it significantly improved the overall temperature of that room.

Worship, honestly, went fantastic. To be able to slow down from the hurricane rat race and thank God for his deliverance and goodness was a very moving experience. When I looked at the songs we had planned for the week, with the intention of having a full band, the words and message could not have been more perfect. We began with This Day, the song we intro'd last week. It speaks of serving God through serving others, a very telling message for those members who were volunteering as well as the Red Cross and National Guard members who were worshipping with us. After a prayer by Mike Tyson, our Assoc Pastor, we began our worship set with Everlasting God (Brenton Brown), then went into a slowed down version of Lincoln Brewster's Let the Praises Ring. We did Ross King's Glorified in Me as the offering tune and preparation song. Doing these songs acoustically with just a guitar, piano, and vocals, in less than perfect accommodations, and how well they sounded, is a credit first to God, and second to the talent of Kathy and April making it sound good.

Carol Turner, our Sr Pastor, had done her message in the sanctuary and came into the worship center during our last song. Because of the lack of light, Carol could not see her notes and it did not matter. Carol was at her best in speaking of how, even when the world doesn't know our suffering, God knows, God hears, God cares, and God comforts. We closed with the chorus from Everlasting God and the service ended. The service, regardless of how we sounded, which really was pretty good, was perfect in that God was honored and worshipped. It was the right kind of respite from the turmoil of the weekend. Better than a nap, better than a hot shower, better than air conditioning.

Next week, maybe a video, or not. I just hope we can bring the same passion for worship back again next week.

Tree #1

2008-09-13T05:17:00.000-07:00

Well, we just lost tree #1 just after 7 a.m. and we haven't even lost power yet. This was one of our larger trees that was a corner piece of a big flower bed. It's across our driveway so the chain saw will be out later and the front end loader working. While I'm sitting here typing, just lost the top half out of a tree in the horse pasture. SHOOT, SHOOT, SHOOT!!!!!

Hurricane Ike Update 5:30 am

2008-09-13T03:30:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are at the Caraway command center for Hurricane Ike. Been up since about 4:35 am. I've had two power outages since I started typing this 10 minutes ago so I've changed to my laptop so I wouldn't have to fight that. Fortunately, the power is back on for the time being. We had to get up and go move our kids' show goats insided the barn and open up the outer stalls for the horses before it started getting too bad. We moved our stock trailer inside the barn yesterday so we could just put the goats inside the trailer and not have to build a shelter for them.

Right now, the wind is blowing pretty hard, I'd say gusts more than 35-40 mph. Rain is just starting. Nothing like what the southeast part of Texas has had so far, but we are just now on the northern edge of the storm. The eye just passed Houston so we are a ways from the meat of this, I guess. Hopefully, we will not have it as bad here since we are so far inland.

Keep all these people in your prayers. It's gonna be a long couple of days once the power goes out. On that note, I'll post this before that happens again.

The Kingdom and not Ike

2008-09-12T19:24:00.001-07:00

I'm sitting here on Friday night with nothing to do while waiting for Hurricane Ike to arrive. As I was doing the absolute guy thing and flipping channels every 43 seconds, I came across the movie, The Kingdom, right at the beginning. Since I don't go to movies that often, I hadn't seen it yet, even though I'd heard it was good. I'd heard right. My observations in no particular order except for number 1 being number 1:

1) Yes, I've been a Jennifer Garner fan for quite a while, even though I pull my hair out when her and her husband (who I enjoy as an actor, too) talk politics. But, holy smokes, Ms. Garner kicked serious butt in this movie. I have a whole new appreciation of her as an action hero as she was shooting, stabbing, kicking, even biting bad guys. I thought her quite attractive before, but now, flat out kickin' hot.

2) Tim McGraw was in this.

3) Kyle Chandler from Friday Night Lights (tv version) was in this. What else was Kyle Chandler in? He was Buddy Jackson in Pure Country.

4) Peter Berg is very accomplished. As I listened to the music (cool instrumental guitar tracks) during the movie, I kept thinking that this music was very similar to the Friday Night Lights music. So after the movie, I go to the IMDb site and start looking things up. I knew Peter Berg made a cameo in The Kingdom, but he also directed it. Then I realized that he developed, executive produced and wrote much the Friday Night Lights tv series and wrote the screenplay for the Friday Night Lights movie. That explains a lot about Kyle Chandler and Tim McGraw having parts in The Kingdom. All these connections explain the first part of #4, the musical similarities.

5) The closing scene says lots about the kind of difficult situation we are in as we attempt to stop the violence of terrorism.

Loved the movie. Jamie Foxx is great. Chris Cooper remains one of my favorite actors since he appeared as July Johnson in Lonesome Dove. And, well, there is that Jennifer Garner thing from #1.

It's a Banner Day for ME!!!

2008-09-10T21:03:00.000-07:00

What you see below is a list of the links on Todd Wright's blog. If you scroll down to the bottom, you will see the name "Chris". That would be me. I know that I am now on the verge of unbridled wealth and world domination because my life has taken an unprecedented turn for the spectacular.

Now, I know there could be multiple explanations for this speedy add. Of course, being the junior blogger I am, I am perfectly fine with any of them. Which one do you think it is?

1) Todd was so overwhelmed by my post, my beautiful use of the English language to craft such an argument, that he had to add me.

2) Todd saw all the influence I brought to bear by enlisting so many fine people that he felt the pressure to add me.

3) Todd just flat out thought I made perfect sense.

4) Todd, in the spirit of love and charity, felt it was the right thing to do.

5) Todd, looking on me in pitty, saw my need and met it.

6) Todd just wanted me to shut the heck up, so he added me.

Your call. Which one do you think it was?

Read These Blogs
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Well, you know, I have blogged.....

2008-09-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

Never one to shamelessly promote myself, unless it benefits me directly, I'm gonna pull a Doug Hedstrom here. That sounds like something from Ocean's 11-13: "I think I can get him with the Hedstrom". Romack, Adrienne, Runnells, Little Artie, need a little help here. Need some votes, some emails, some comment love, heck just call Todd.

Yes, I'm lobbying for link love from my man Todd. I've never asked for it before, mainly because I thought I didn't deserve it because I didn't blog enough. I'm still not sure I do now, but heck, all he can do is turn me down. Why do I strangely feel like I'm asking Todd out on a date?

I know, linking me puts Todd in danger. I said, "grave danger"? You said, "is there any other kind"? Where'd that line come from? 10 points to the winner.

Yes, back to danger. Todd does have to worry about what I'll blog about, or apparently what he'll be labeled with, but I promise not to do irreparable damage to his blog cred. His biggest fear is probably that my linkage would reflect poorly or damage his coolness factor with all his "new" friends at Bethel. Personally, I think it would show them his compassion and tolerance, and we know they need to see that side of him. Look at the list of link love he's already given. I think the danger for me is getting lost in that long list of link love, my wisdom and apparent genius being overshadowed in the sheer massiveness of that section of the Todd blog. However, the flip side for me is the absolute, you know, coolness, of being linked to the Todd blog. That in itself far outweighs any other point. To be able to say, "Todd Wright linked me," would do wonders, if not for my own bloggosphere, for at least my fragile self esteem. If I'm still suffering from lack-of-linkage at this time next week, then dang it, we're going with the guilt angle, and you know, I just don't want to go there. This Todd linkage would then give me a platform, nay, a foundation, to lobby for linkage to, say, Converse Christian maybe, Romack even.

So, I humbly come before each of you to respectfully request your support in my quest to be linked to Todd's blog. If that doesn't work, by golly, I'm freaking demanding it. If that doesn't work, I'll curl up in a weeping mass of shame and attempt to appeal to your charity. After that, I don't know what I'll do, and that should concern you all.

And I'll attempt to only rarely post on the political. I'm actually considering starting another blog for that.

Does anybody have any ritalyn? I feel like I've had a 1 hour long ADD moment.

So, what do you say Todd? Link Love for Chris? Yes? Did I hear a "yes"?

Everything You Want in a Pastor? Or Not?

2008-09-10T06:47:00.000-07:00

I was on my way to a meeting at my boss's house Tuesday, in Tyler, in the rain, hoping I'd get to run by Bethel and see my long, lost friend Todd, who left Lufkin recently for bigger, lusher, greener pastures and I had to stop to refuel my travel mug with coffee(cup #3 for the morning, thank you). Right where you turn off of Hwy 69 North to go East to Dave's house on FM 346, there is a convenience store on the West side of 69. I pulled in. Ran into my colleague(never thought I'd ever have a colleague) Paul, who was picking up a 12-pack of the post-coffee, rest of the day, Diet Coke for our meeting. After I walked out of the store, in which the nice lady at the counter didn't charge me for my coffee(love her) and just told me to have a great day, I walked out, got in my closest-thing-to-maroon-I-could-get Ford Edge, and pulled out on FM 346 and ended up behind a pretty, new, black, 4-wheel drive, Chevy Tahoe. Here it is.

Now let's go down the check list of coolness assuming by several things in the picture that this just might be a Holy man, a man of God:

1) License Plate: BRO LOU If he's a pastor, points for coolness in the mode of Rob Bell glasses.

2) Black Tahoe: Well, it's a new Black Tahoe. Points for the Tahoe, points for it being black. Cool package all the way around.

3) 4-Wheel Drive: Manly pastor can go places others can't.

4) Flex Fuel: Green pastor concerned with the environment and ending our dependence on foreign oil. (or it was just part of the package some salesman at the dealership convinced him he needed)

5) Fish symbol: Everybody has 'em these days, heck I've got 4 on one vehicle, but, you know, when you put it on a Black 4-wheel drive Flex-Fuel Tahoe, with BRO LOU on it, it just adds to the package.

6) Titleist Sticker: A golfing Pastor. Huge points in my book. I don't really know why I give him points, but I am a golf fan and Titleist fan, so I guess that is worth something, isn't it?

Now I could be totally off base here. Might be a pagan blues singer. Named Lou. From Tyler. Who likes to go muddin'. Who enjoys fishing. And golfing. And is concerned about the price of unleaded gas.

If he is a pastor, does anybody else give him cool points? Or is he over the top?

And if anybody knows this fellow, um, I thought it was cool, um, just for the record.

Did I really just see that?

2008-09-09T17:16:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had that experience where you see something and say to yourself, "Did I really just see that?" Here about two weeks ago, I saw something and knew I had to blog on it. Unfortunately, I've just now gotten around to it.

I was working in Nac and had just pulled into the parking lot of an office I was about to go into. Of course I was talking on the phone when I pulled in, this time to Mike Tyson, our Associate Pastor of all people. Anyway, I pulled into a parking spot on the side of the office facing the business across a side street next door. It's about 9-9:30 in the morning and there is one pick-up in the front parking lot at the business across the street pulled straight in with the tailgate facing the loop, the main road with lots of traffic. As I'm talking to Mike, I noticed an older (I'd say 65-75) gentleman walk out of the store and open the door to his pickup. Now understand, I'm not really paying attention to what is going on, I'm just talking on the phone while something arbitrarily goes on in front of me. I all of a sudden became aware of a puddle underneath the pick up and randomly thought, it's August, it's a little condensation from the pickup. But then I realized the man had the door to his pickup open and was standing in between the door and the pickup. My next thought was "nuh uh, surely not". And he stepped out from his door and zipped up his pants. I guess he thought, being between the door and truck and all, he was hidden, but he was literally facing the loop for all of Nac to see.

My comment to Mike at the time was, "I'm not believing I'm seeing this." And my next thought was a line from that great guy movie, Braveheart:

FREEDOM!!!!!!!

What a way to start a day. Hilarious.

Hurricanes --- Bad Timing

2008-09-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, this is going to sound terrible as an inland living guy, but here it goes. As we watch Hurricane Ike coming across Cuba and coming straight at the Texas/Louisiana Coast, I must protest it's timing.

3 years ago when Rita hit, she came on land on Saturday I think. We spent from at least Thursday on preparing and helping evacuees. Happy we could do it. But how inconsiderate of Rita to hit on Saturday.

Two weeks ago, Hurricane Gustav disrupted a perfectly good three-day Labor Day weekend. A holiday weekend. All these people had to evacuate their homes and spend what should've been the last holiday of the summer hanging out in shelters, hotels, with family, but not home or on their last vacation. Now, here comes Ike looking like he'll hit once again on the upcoming weekend.

I officially request/demand that all hurricanes, if they must come and disrupt our lives, come during the work-week. We don't mind missing work for some weather related event, but to disrupt a perfectly good weekend is just plain wrong. Ike, either speed up or slow down, preferably slow down, so we can at least have the weekend to relax/prepare for whatever it is you are bringing.

Confessional #1

2008-09-08T04:30:00.000-07:00

The first of the new confessionals is here. Wish I could do video, but I'd have to go to the church, become very proficient at Premiere (which would take a lot of time), which would then potentially open me up to other "tasks". So, for now, I'll just be doing a typing confessional.

The morning started out pretty okay. I'd asked everybody to show up a little early because we needed to reset the stage and AUX mixes after the Jeff Johnson concert last week. Almost everybody got there early. Consequently, by the time we played the first note, it was about 8:30 a.m. It actually pretty well. We got through the entire set with a couple of extra run-throughs and were done by 9:05.

The service as a whole went well. Ross Reynolds, a young man that grew up in our church, is about to complete seminary and was our guest preacher. He preached in all three services so he started off over in the sanctuary preaching in Traditional first. More on that later.

We opened the service with Ross King's Praise the Lord, a real congregational favorite. Our next tune was new to us, This Day, from Vineyard. It came out on their Wonderful Mercy cd back in 2001-2002. Really great song with lead parts for both April and me so it allowed both of us to lead. The response from the people was great and Jay nailed the guitar parts. Because it was Communion Sunday, we went straight to the offering next and did Todd Wright's Glorify. Slight glitch here. Kathy starts it just like the cd in the key of F. Well, genius me, finished praying(I was focused) and forgot to capo. I hit the first note, realized it, and went to correct it, but Kathy stopped playing. Mark, thankfully kept the percussion going, Kathy started back with my cue, and we never missed a beat. Talked to my wife, Anita, and she said she never even realized it happened. Because Ross Reynolds was preaching in Traditional, we went straight to the Communion litergy next. Our Communion song was Jared Anderson's Here Us from Heaven. I love this song and so does our congregation. April did a great job both singing melody with me and then doing all the girl parts from the cd. Only thing, we were in wait mode for Ross to get to our service. We played Hear Us from Heaven for 18 minutes it seemed like. Not really, but we had to extend it a bit. Because it was in the key of B and I planned the set before I knew we would be doing the service in the different format and I hadn't planned to have to extend the song while we waited, I boxed myself into that one song because of the key without the ability to move back to some of the earlier songs. It didn't matter to the congregation and they sang the heck out of Hear Us From Heaven.

Ross preached the first sermon of a new series we're doing called T for Teen. The cover slide is on this page. He got that really uncomfortable topic that the church loves not to address, Sex and Pornography. Let me just say, there were some parents of younger kids in that room sweating bullets worrying what a seminary student was going to say. Ross did a great job.

We closed with This Day slowed down for the invitation and then rocked it on the way out.

All in all, a good first Sunday. Everybody stepped up and did a great job. Makes my life so much better. We are blessed with a great team.

Runnells will be preaching next week so we're excited about that. I think I'm going to change our stage set up around a bit so we'll see how that goes.

New Start this Sunday

2008-09-05T04:55:00.000-07:00

Well, it's here. Todd has left us for Bethel in Tyler. What does that mean? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

No really, that's what it means.

Starting this Sunday, April Holder and myself will be back on an "interim" basis (please God, for everybody's benefit, let it be a short interim and not a year long interim) leading worship at FUMC-Lufkin. You can see our set list over there------>.

Fortunately for me, God has given our church an unbelievable group of musicians who love to serve God with their talents and Todd trained/taught/mentored them well. April is gifted and for some reason (thanks God) our voices work real well together.

So what I ask is this: please be praying for our church during this transition period that we will honor God as we lead our congregation in worship each Sunday. And that our church is deliberate and prayerful (and quick) as we begin our search for our new worship leader.

I guess I'll be blogging at least once a week now with at least a text confessional. I'm not real good at all the video editing stuff so that may be limited.

I'll be back on Sunday p.m.

I Have a New Favorite Politician

2008-09-03T20:38:00.000-07:00

How can you not love Sarah Palin? She is my new favorite. I have not been a huge McCain fan in the past, still not now, but I am a fan of Sarah Palin. I now have a reason to vote for this ticket.

Sunday, July 20th

2008-07-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

I hate getting to the end of the day on Sunday and realizing that my weekend is over and I really want about 365 more days of the weekend. That's where I am right now....10:20 p.m. waiting for my work computer to finish logging in, needing to take a shower, realizing I'll be up at 5:30 a.m. in the morning to work out, but just sitting here at the computer blogging for the first time in over a month. Oh, and Ocean's Eleven is on TBS.

I led worship today while Todd Wright was "out". Thanks Todd for the opportunity. It really went well. We had Adam Fisher guesting on electric guitar and I could listen to him play all day long. Adam is a talented guitar player, but he's an even better young man. Thanks Adam. April Holder sang with me today and she is just fantastic. We opened the service with Todd's "All the Freed". It seemed to go pretty well once we got going. Adam nailed the lead. The worship set was Baloche's "Our God Saves", John Sherrill's "God is Faithful", and Jared Anderson's "Amazed". Adam was Joe Delay on Our God Saves and it rocked. This was the second Sunday our people have heard "God is Faithful". Todd introduced it last week with just the first verse and chorus, so we added the second verse and the second chorus. I also dropped the key to D and G so it would 1) fit everything else and 2) be easier for me to sing. Dang the original was high for me. I think it went well. Kathy transitioned us straight from Our God Saves to God is Faithful without missing a beat, then, while I prayed over the offering, she started Amazed and made that transition work as well. April sang the second verse and chorus of Amazed and nailed it just like she had all the other stuff today. All the band, Mark on drums, Brad on bass, David on keys, Danny on acoustic, KT on piano, Adam on guitar, were great today and really made my part easier. It's nice, on the rare occasion that I lead, to know that the band has all their stuff down pat and we can freely worship. What a blessing.

Oh, I can't forget the sound guys, Rodney and Doug, great job. And Julie fixing all the projection issues after it had a few post UMARMY gremlins.

Then I came home, ate a bite, then went outside and built a gate to go on our horse pen, hence my need for a shower.

So, that was my day. Had a grilled stuffed burrito for supper after I got kids picked up and delivered to Deep End. Hit the spot.

Gig'em!!!

Wild Pigs

2008-06-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

Now, I'm not a "forwarder" of emails, chain letters, and the like. Just send it to me to read, but don't ask me to "forward it to 10 my friends". Makes me crazy. Being probably more Libertarian than any other political persuasion, I found this was a pretty interesting analogy in this election year. I predictably decided I would not forward this email. I'm posting it to my blog instead. Read it. What do you think?

Wild Pigs

There was a Chemistry professor in a large college that had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab the Prof noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back, and stretching as if his back hurt. The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a communist government.

In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked, 'Do you know how to catch wild pigs?' The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said this was no joke. 'You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in The last side.. The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, then you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd. Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America . The government keeps pushing us toward socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, et c, etc, etc. while we continue to lose our freedoms - just a little at a time.

One should always remember: There is no such thing as a free Lunch! Also, a politician will never provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself. So, if you see that all of this wonderful government 'help' is a problem confronting the future of democracy in America , you might want to send this on to your friends. If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life then you will probably delete this email, but God help you when the gate slams shut!

In this 'very important' election year, listen closely to what the candidates are promising you - just maybe you will be able to tell who is about to slam the gate on America .

'A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big
enough to take away everything you have.' Thomas Jefferson

Treasures can be found anywhere........

2008-06-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

The first time I ever heard of a fellow named Ross King was when I bought a couple of Breakaway CDs back in the 90's and really started listening to worship music consistently. Loved his music, but hadn't listened to much of his stuff until my brother, Kevin, started telling me about his "To Make God Famous" cd's and I started listening more. Then this guy, Todd Wright, you might have heard of him, got me listening more and more since we were doing "Ross King" tunes routinely in our worship service at church. At this point, I guess I became an even bigger fan. Last year when Todd Wright decided to have Ross King, yes that "Ross King", produce his cd, I got the opportunity to go to College Station with Todd to watch him record and I got to meet THE Ross King. We even ate at Freebirds. YES!!!!!! I must say I enjoyed meeting Ross and his entire family. They are great people and Aggies to boot. All that history aside, I've never really gone back and spent much time listening to the "old" Ross stuff. By old I mean the pre-"To Make God Famous" cd's. I love his "Perhaps I've Said Too Much" cd, but just haven't taken the time to check out the vintage tunes.

Fast forward to today. After playing in a 2 on 2 basketball tournament with my son Cole at our church (we won 2nd) and absolutely exhausting myself, we went over to the local Goodwill store to look for work clothes for our upcoming UMARMY mission trip with David Runnels, our Youth Minister. After looking through clothes and selecting a fabulous wardrobe, I wandered over to the book and music section (yes, Goodwill has one). I could've chosen a multitude of fine vintage Christian music (on cassette)including Amy Grant, Sandi Patty, etc., but what caught my eye was, yes, a Ross King cd from 1995 titled "something by sunrise". I had to have it. $1.99 and it was mine. It will now be added to my Itunes playlists. I want to know who would let this jewel go. I want to thank them for allowing me the discovery of another treasure.

The Traveling Wilburys

2008-05-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

I just came in from cooking food for the local Project Celebration, turned on my tv, and was doing that guy thing, cruising through the entire range of channels on the guide. I saw something called The History of the Traveling Wilburys on the Sundance Channel and had to check it out. Unfortunately, it was only 30 minutes long.

Now, if you've forgotten about the Wilburys, as I had, check out this line-up: George Harrison (The Beatles), Jeff Lynn (ELO), Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Roy Orbison. Holy Smokes!!! Does it get any better than that? This was just a short documentary of sorts of the making of their first cd in 1988 and how they did it, with no ego, no pretense, all fun, all friendship. 5 of the icons of their industry and individual era's and they all came together (George Harrison's idea) to make music, share in the writing, share in the singing, share in the playing. It took 6 weeks from start to final mix. Spectacular.

Unfortunately, Roy Orbison passed away a short time later and wasn't on the second Wilbury cd, and now George Harrison has passed away as well. Two of the five are no longer with us. Great losses, both.

I think I will go find these cds since they have been remastered and re-released and really go back and listen. Here is a great website that tells the history of this group and really gave me a greater appreciation for this collection of talent.

What do you think about the Wilburys? Is it a greater appreciation after the fact as it is for me?

You just never know what you might see.....

2008-05-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

I was walking through the bedroom this afternoon and my wife was watching one of her indulgences, "Beverly Hills 90210". Not one of my favorites, but she watches it on SoapNet TV. Anyway, something caught my attention. It was an acoustic guitar riff that sounded so familiar that I had to stop and watch to see what was happening. There was some sort of party going on and there was a band playing live with all the 90210ers dancing. The camera cut to the band and, sure enough, there was John Rzeznik and Robby Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls up on stage in 90210 type of clothes singing "Name" from the "A Boy Named Goo" album. There was some reference in the show to 1996 so I'm guessing this was about the time frame. Not the look of the Dolls I was expecting, but the music was still excellent. Love the Goo Goo Dolls. So, even though I couldn't find a clip of this particular performance (it was pre-youtube) here is another live performance of the Goo Goo Dolls and Name.
And John is wearing some cool footwear, too.

Indiana Jones.........Well

2008-05-24T06:05:00.000-07:00

The family went and saw the new Indiana Jones movie last night. We were all excited about seeing the next "installment" since we had loved the first 3. Okay, Anita and I loved the first three. Cole and Corinne are a little young (15 & 12) to have really gotten in to the first 3, but they were excited none the less. I knew Todd had blogged that he was going to see it, too, so I texted him where I was, and of course he was in the same building watching the 30 minute earlier Indy. Haven't got to chat with him about it yet, but I'm sure he'll blog it and let us all know.

Anyway, my thoughts. At best, it was okay. It seemed really slow and tended to drag even with the amount of hyper action they threw into this one. I enjoyed the "mystery" of the earlier additions as Indy discovered and figured out the secrets as the movie went along. In this one, Indy seemed to "action" himself into each discovery. It was more as if he fell, shot, drove, jumped, ran, swam,........whatever, his way into each discovery and you had to endure it the whole way. I did like the fact that they brought Karen Allen back from the first Indy movie, and liked the Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) character, though it was totally predictable (to me) that he would end up being Indy's son. Also, the plot of this installment didn't seem as "real" as the first 3, especially the 1st and 3rd installments. And by real, I mean the whole space ship, alien thing. The "Lost Ark" and "Crusades" backdrops were at least, historically, real. This just didn't seem as believable, for lack of a better word.

Anyway, just my thoughts. Oh, and we figured it up: Family of 4 to eat at Logan's (with a good tip to Chris the server who got us ordered and fed in right at 30 minutes so we could make it to the movie) $48.38 and $31 for 4 tickets to the movie = $79.38. Thank goodness Marble Slab closes at 10 p.m. and was closed by the time we got out. Ouch!!!

Next up, Prince Caspian. (for me. my family has already seen it without me last weekend, but loved it and want to see it again on Monday).

It's Friday!!!

2008-05-23T11:21:00.000-07:00

You know, it's sad that I didn't realize that this was a holiday weekend until Tuesday of this week. I really wanted to take the family home to DeLeon on Memorial Day weekend to see my parents since we haven't been there since Christmas, but it just snuck up on me and we've got so much to do that we can't go. I am a horrible son. I talk to my parents every week, several times per week most of the time, but to not take the time to go visit them in person stinks. With all the activities the kids are in, my commitments to the church (teaching Sunday School, running sound), etc., I guess I let those things take priority over my own parents sometimes. It also denies two other things as well: 1) my parents opportunity to see their grand kids, and more importantly, 2) my kids getting to know and spend more quality time with their grandparents (who are phenomenal people, by the way). My dad just turned 68 years old and my mom will be 68 in a couple of weeks. They are both in good health, relatively speaking, but after a friend of mine lost his mom on Mother's Day, it has really made me more conscious of how precious time is and the importance of continuing to invest it in my relationship with them. Got to do a better job. My mom and dad are great people who raised 3 boys in a Christian home, taught them to be conscientious people, and most of all, to be followers of Christ by actively having us in church and through the example of how they have lived their lives. I love them because they are my parents, of course, but also I love them because the Christian people they are. They freakin' ROCK!!!

I will make this pledge today: in the next month, I will go visit my parents.