Mission accomplished. All went well.
Drove to Austin via Brownwood & Lampasas. Picked up Dad at the airport. Ran into him in the mens room by the baggage claim, so no waiting. Drove to Grandaddy B's off Lake LBJ. Returned to the fair mother city via Llano, Brady, and Coleman. Returned by 5p to watch Agent Offspring. The Millenium Falcon ran very well.
Thanks for all prayers, etc. Tomorrow, all over again, in a different direction but not as long.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Case study & observation- social outings
The Sanford's invited us and several others over for a BBQ. This is not something new. It happens once a month. They're fun: loud Spanish music, cheap beer, and good food. Conversation varies, but it's all good.
As I mentioned in the previous post, Agent S and family invited me and my family over for dinner last night. I couldn't help but compare the differences in a middle class social outing like last night with a poverty class one like today.
First, as stated here, the poverty culture is best observed like a "foreign" culture (assuming that those reading this are not from the poverty culture). There is nothing wrong in what they do...just different. Here are a couple of my comparative observations from today:
1) Time - at Agent S's house, we were asked to come between 5:30 and 6p. So, being polite, we came between 5:30-6p. At the Sanfords, we've almost learned that there never really is a scheduled "time" to eat. Although the target was 2p (so we were told), we've learned over the years that we start heading over when we can smell the BBQ cooking. And that can be anywhere between noon and midnight. Today, I think we actually ate around 4:30...
2) Leadership - at Agent S's there was a clear-cut leadership role (either a head-of-household and/or head-of-kitchen) to start the meal with either a prayer, seating instruction, and/or serving instruction, etc. At the Sanford's, it's like "hey, there's a big bucket of cooked meat sitting by the grill". Then I reach in with my bare hands and start feasting. No real "start" time or instruction, except maybe Frieda Sanford yelling "food's ready!" around 4:30. No real instruction or anything.
Again, just as I stated in the August 05 post, neither way is "wrong". Just different.
As I mentioned in the previous post, Agent S and family invited me and my family over for dinner last night. I couldn't help but compare the differences in a middle class social outing like last night with a poverty class one like today.
First, as stated here, the poverty culture is best observed like a "foreign" culture (assuming that those reading this are not from the poverty culture). There is nothing wrong in what they do...just different. Here are a couple of my comparative observations from today:
1) Time - at Agent S's house, we were asked to come between 5:30 and 6p. So, being polite, we came between 5:30-6p. At the Sanfords, we've almost learned that there never really is a scheduled "time" to eat. Although the target was 2p (so we were told), we've learned over the years that we start heading over when we can smell the BBQ cooking. And that can be anywhere between noon and midnight. Today, I think we actually ate around 4:30...
2) Leadership - at Agent S's there was a clear-cut leadership role (either a head-of-household and/or head-of-kitchen) to start the meal with either a prayer, seating instruction, and/or serving instruction, etc. At the Sanford's, it's like "hey, there's a big bucket of cooked meat sitting by the grill". Then I reach in with my bare hands and start feasting. No real "start" time or instruction, except maybe Frieda Sanford yelling "food's ready!" around 4:30. No real instruction or anything.
Again, just as I stated in the August 05 post, neither way is "wrong". Just different.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Saturday randoms
I replaced the battery in the Millenium Falcon this morning. It had been giving me problems on and off for 2 weeks and the free electrical testing at the auto parts store diagnosed that it's dead. I have much driving to do around TX this week. Dad is coming in from NY on Monday. I'm picking him up in Austin, then dropping him off at Granddaddy B's. Then I'm meeting with The Shaman near Witchita Falls on Tuesday. Then, I assume, I'm going back to Grandaddy B's to get dad and bring him back with me to the fair mother city for a few weeks. Agent Wife & I own 2 aging vehicles and I struggle to keep at least one of them "road worthy" for long trips. Any and all prayers for my safety and the Falcon's operations are greatly appreciated.
**********************************
As always, Obi-Wan's feet were bothering him today. I thought he once had one of those foot massager things - the kind you fill with water, plug in, stick your feet in, and turn on. So I found it in the garage and set it up in front of his chair. 30 minutes later I was helping him dry his feet and putting his shoes back on. I found it funny...I wonder if Jesus was literal about washing people's feet...and if it involved one of these foot massager things. Well, I wasn't really washing...just drying. The massager did the washing, I guess.
**********************************
We were invited over for dinner at the home of Agent S (The Librarian). His wife runs the kitchen/food operations among other ministries at the beach head downtown. I actually met her first, before Agent S, during izzy's ministerial contraband gig 2 years ago. The CEO is answering long awaited prayers of mine about having friends the same age as us with small children. And they roughly have the same agenda in life as us too. It was very good getting to know them.
**********************************
As always, Obi-Wan's feet were bothering him today. I thought he once had one of those foot massager things - the kind you fill with water, plug in, stick your feet in, and turn on. So I found it in the garage and set it up in front of his chair. 30 minutes later I was helping him dry his feet and putting his shoes back on. I found it funny...I wonder if Jesus was literal about washing people's feet...and if it involved one of these foot massager things. Well, I wasn't really washing...just drying. The massager did the washing, I guess.
**********************************
We were invited over for dinner at the home of Agent S (The Librarian). His wife runs the kitchen/food operations among other ministries at the beach head downtown. I actually met her first, before Agent S, during izzy's ministerial contraband gig 2 years ago. The CEO is answering long awaited prayers of mine about having friends the same age as us with small children. And they roughly have the same agenda in life as us too. It was very good getting to know them.
Friday, January 06, 2006
The Table...moving slowly
I'm not giving up on my dream. It's only the 6th day of the new year...and it's not like I have to make something happen in 2006 anyway. But it would sure be nice if this gets moving this year.
I went downtown today to visit the The Bread Guy. He runs a shop which has an adjoining storefront for rent. I think he owns both places. I've rarely visited his shop, but amazingly enough he knows me and acts like we're old friends. Back in 1992 a college buddy of mine worked for him. A family member of The Bread Guy had passed away so The BG was selling boxes of old classical records which I was interested in. And he's remembered me ever since. So since I'm possibly interested in his vacant storefront, I plan to take advantage of this obscure acquaintance. But he was on vacation and won't be back until next week. So I'll have to check in after Wednesday as I have much traveling to do Mon & Tues.
Afterwards, I smoked some tobacco with Pastor Hawking today at the Jedi Council Room. He's the one that gave me a gentle kick in the pants on getting the ball rolling for this dream of mine. He also gave me some more encouragement...
Pastor H's faithful ward, The Hippie has a dream that recently received a modest financial offering to get it going. The Hippie is a talented mechanic, and his dream is to buy up old used cars and fix them up to either lease out real cheap ($25 a week) to people with short term car needs, or give them away to poor people who need one. He's starting this from his garage.
I went downtown today to visit the The Bread Guy. He runs a shop which has an adjoining storefront for rent. I think he owns both places. I've rarely visited his shop, but amazingly enough he knows me and acts like we're old friends. Back in 1992 a college buddy of mine worked for him. A family member of The Bread Guy had passed away so The BG was selling boxes of old classical records which I was interested in. And he's remembered me ever since. So since I'm possibly interested in his vacant storefront, I plan to take advantage of this obscure acquaintance. But he was on vacation and won't be back until next week. So I'll have to check in after Wednesday as I have much traveling to do Mon & Tues.
Afterwards, I smoked some tobacco with Pastor Hawking today at the Jedi Council Room. He's the one that gave me a gentle kick in the pants on getting the ball rolling for this dream of mine. He also gave me some more encouragement...
Pastor H's faithful ward, The Hippie has a dream that recently received a modest financial offering to get it going. The Hippie is a talented mechanic, and his dream is to buy up old used cars and fix them up to either lease out real cheap ($25 a week) to people with short term car needs, or give them away to poor people who need one. He's starting this from his garage.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Ministry: job or lifestyle
There's lots of good words today in the agent network blogos-universe. Which is good, because I have nothing to report today. Several of these postings are on the ever-growing observation of the career/ministry enigma. I liken ministry to politics. If you've made a career out of it you're heart's probably not in it 100%. I just made that up. Honest.
Brian the Home Depot Guy gave this excellent observation (see Jan 3, 2006 post). Notable quote: "I want to run throughout the halls of academia and throughout the cubicles of corporate faith and call all of these dissenting believers together into one place and tell them all to get a damn job and get to know people and realize that you are insignificant and that the Kingdom will go on, with or without you and your ideologies."
Dustin the Pastor (pondering his own vocation as we speak) posts this excellent, if not typical church job listing. HERE it is...evidence that working for a church is a "job".
And I've been keeping a observant eye on a young, local kid's blog here. He's a grad school student at one of the local bible schools and pondering the whole career thing before it starts.
And completely unrelated to my post's topic but worth reading...Fletch the construction worker gave this excellent sermonette: Smoke em if you got em. Complete with drive-by comments.
My whole experience with ministry as a career/profession came kind of backwards as compared to most. A little personal history (which I don't do here very often): I graduated college with a music teaching degree. Yes, on paper I am trained to teach your kids how to play band instruments and read music. Only an idiot school district would hire me as I abandoned that arrogant, nerdy universe upon graduation. I then worked various jobs for a few years: several in TV broadcasting and production, and a few in print music sales. Like the Home Depot Guy who "tripped and fell" away from vocational ministry, I tripped and fell into it. A ministry to the poor. I fell in love with the poor, but daily grew cynical of the "job" part of ministry. What to do?
Well, I tripped and fell into what I'm doing now. It's weird. I worked "real jobs" for a living and I've worked in vocational ministry for a living. Now I do NOTHING for a living, but my livelihood is one of those weird God things that I'm still learning about. It doesn't make sense but I think it does kind of.
All I've got to go by is the CEO, his promises and his word. Seek the kingdom first...and somehow everything else will work out just fine.
Brian the Home Depot Guy gave this excellent observation (see Jan 3, 2006 post). Notable quote: "I want to run throughout the halls of academia and throughout the cubicles of corporate faith and call all of these dissenting believers together into one place and tell them all to get a damn job and get to know people and realize that you are insignificant and that the Kingdom will go on, with or without you and your ideologies."
Dustin the Pastor (pondering his own vocation as we speak) posts this excellent, if not typical church job listing. HERE it is...evidence that working for a church is a "job".
And I've been keeping a observant eye on a young, local kid's blog here. He's a grad school student at one of the local bible schools and pondering the whole career thing before it starts.
And completely unrelated to my post's topic but worth reading...Fletch the construction worker gave this excellent sermonette: Smoke em if you got em. Complete with drive-by comments.
My whole experience with ministry as a career/profession came kind of backwards as compared to most. A little personal history (which I don't do here very often): I graduated college with a music teaching degree. Yes, on paper I am trained to teach your kids how to play band instruments and read music. Only an idiot school district would hire me as I abandoned that arrogant, nerdy universe upon graduation. I then worked various jobs for a few years: several in TV broadcasting and production, and a few in print music sales. Like the Home Depot Guy who "tripped and fell" away from vocational ministry, I tripped and fell into it. A ministry to the poor. I fell in love with the poor, but daily grew cynical of the "job" part of ministry. What to do?
Well, I tripped and fell into what I'm doing now. It's weird. I worked "real jobs" for a living and I've worked in vocational ministry for a living. Now I do NOTHING for a living, but my livelihood is one of those weird God things that I'm still learning about. It doesn't make sense but I think it does kind of.
All I've got to go by is the CEO, his promises and his word. Seek the kingdom first...and somehow everything else will work out just fine.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
diminishing strength
Spent a couple of moments with Obi-Wan today. Went to the bank within the grocery store. He wanted to cash some checks his kids and church gave him for christmas, then buy a few groceries. I knew it wasn't going to be a big grocery outing because he didn't bring a list.
I'm slowly coping with the fact that Obi-Wan is aging rapidly. Six months ago a trip like this to the grocery store would be nothing to him. But now he's getting so weak. He was really whipped by the time we got back to the car. Dozens of times I've offered to go get his groceries by myself so he wouldn't have to get out. But he looks forward to getting out. And I think buying food and going to the bank is one of his last bits of independence.
I went back over at 7:50p for Criminal Minds night. Turned out to be a rerun. But when I got there he was trying to get his dinner started...about 2 hours later than normal. By not eating earlier, his strength was zapped. He couldn't even hold a glass of water up to his mouth. I finally got him situated with his food and he ate which made him feel better.
I never would have known that food intake has that much control on the strength of the elderly. And like tonight, he forgets to eat sometimes which is dangerous to his health. If I skip a meal my stomach might let me know, but I can still function normally.
It hurts to see him go through this natural process called aging.
I'm slowly coping with the fact that Obi-Wan is aging rapidly. Six months ago a trip like this to the grocery store would be nothing to him. But now he's getting so weak. He was really whipped by the time we got back to the car. Dozens of times I've offered to go get his groceries by myself so he wouldn't have to get out. But he looks forward to getting out. And I think buying food and going to the bank is one of his last bits of independence.
I went back over at 7:50p for Criminal Minds night. Turned out to be a rerun. But when I got there he was trying to get his dinner started...about 2 hours later than normal. By not eating earlier, his strength was zapped. He couldn't even hold a glass of water up to his mouth. I finally got him situated with his food and he ate which made him feel better.
I never would have known that food intake has that much control on the strength of the elderly. And like tonight, he forgets to eat sometimes which is dangerous to his health. If I skip a meal my stomach might let me know, but I can still function normally.
It hurts to see him go through this natural process called aging.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
shopping spree
Somehow or another Agent Wife & I received quite a few gift cards to various stores this christmas. Some from friends, family, and who knows. We had some time today to try and cash in (cha-ching) for some much needed merchandise. We mostly got essentials like underwear & socks (badly needed). We each bought new wallets (pretty badly needed). And even some new clothes (badly...don't ask). Plus, things that might bring comfort to AW's pregnancy like extra bed padding, body pillow cover and...maternity jeans.
We even ate lunch at McDonalds from a $5 gift card. We spent all but $11 on one card and we haven't touched our Starbucks cards yet (special date nights in the future). I feel like such a consumer today. It's fun to get new stuff. Thank you lord.
We even ate lunch at McDonalds from a $5 gift card. We spent all but $11 on one card and we haven't touched our Starbucks cards yet (special date nights in the future). I feel like such a consumer today. It's fun to get new stuff. Thank you lord.
Monday, January 02, 2006
afternoon stroll
We finally got Obi-Wan out on his wheels today to take advantage of the unusual 80F January temps. Nothing major. Just a stroll down the street in his electric wheel chair, Agent Wife with our baby and another baby she watches in a wagon, and me with the dog. It was fun.
We passed by an elderly widow lady who's lived on the block and has known Obi-Wan for years. She commented on his wheels. He said something like "hope I don't get a ticket".
No big tale. Just a stroll.
We passed by an elderly widow lady who's lived on the block and has known Obi-Wan for years. She commented on his wheels. He said something like "hope I don't get a ticket".
No big tale. Just a stroll.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
the dream
As the first post of 2006, I briefly discuss my dream.
This is it...my reason for being, or so I think. I have a desire, but I often weigh if "this desire" is meant to be or just some weird stuff in my head. For some time I have been trying to come up with a plan to make this desire a reality.
Good film makers have a plan. They have a set story & images in mind and go about trying to create it. Sometimes budget and physical resources are limited, so they use any means necessary just to get their film "passable". Or like a song writer/musician who is chasing after "that sound" and trying everything possible to create "that sound" in the physical world of recording, even if "that sound" has never been made, therefore making it difficult to describe with words.
I recently have been inspired by George Muller, who built 5 orphanages in his lifetime. Under his faith, over thousands of children were cared for with no "plan". He just did it.
Somehow, somewhere, some way, I desire to recreate The Table from the old izzy days. My desire is for this to be a set physical community from the poverty culture involving relationship that revolves around a meal and live music. In layman's terms, The Table will be an intimate, high-end soup kitchen with a night club atmosphere for homeless and working poor.
Is The Table a church? Well, where two or more are gathered, etc, etc. I plan to be there. And I pray for Jesus to show up. So sure...it's a church, I guess. Will there be preaching? I don't know. Probably not from me. And if there is preaching, in the traditional sense, it will probably be only on an occasional basis when needed.
I've been pondering this for exactly three years, when izzy got booted out from the host church and The Table had to close its doors. The need for a noon meal was "coincidentally" taken up by our friends at Citylight (Agent S & co.) at that time - a fact I still find entertaining since we didn't know each other nor plan this baton hand-off of sorts. The CEO seems to work that way. So...is there a need right now for The Table and is the need here in the fair mother city? I really don't know about the need for a 3rd or 4th mess hall for the poor. But a community of healing and realness...yes, maybe.
Agent Wife has challenged me on the need for a building. She says if relationship is our calling to the poor, then why do we need a building? In some ways she's right. Relationship is our calling. It's what we've got here on Undercover Lane with Obi-Wan, the Sanfords, and countless others. We're going to develop relationship no matter where we are physically located. But to develop a place like The Table, which could be a respite from street life for one brief shining moment of an individual's existence, a physical location is needed. A practical meeting place. A place "off" the streets.
During The Table's 1-2 year run at izzy, I saw the power of a having a simple meal with an individual. I witnessed those with contemplative thoughts on their lives give deep confessions of sins and requests for God to forgive as they sat at a dignified, home style eating place. I sat with the toughest, crustiest members of our streets who became like prodigal sons, humbly asking only for crumbs while the fatted calf was butchered.
And in other outlets, I've witnessed the power of live music (and not necessarily "christian" music) over the hard-hearted. Street gangsters, fixed income elderly, and everyone in between melting with joy as songs were sung in their general direction.
I want to combine the relationship building qualities of a shared meal with the healing qualities of live music into The Table. It's my dream.
A month or 2 ago, Pastor Hawking challenged me by asking what's holding me back from doing this. I honestly had no answer. "Uhh...money...?" I muttered. I admit, I have eagerly waited for that million dollar check to arrive, even though I'm a firm believer in starting with what you got. And although, I have specific desires for a building, complete with industrial kitchen, stage, and kiosk area for our homeless friends (personalized PO Boxes and lockers, etc), why couldn't some cheap joint be rented out in the meantime?
With Pastor Hawking's challenge and the inspiration of legendary faith guy George Muller, I'm going to investigate what I need to start this dream. And, lord willin' and the creek don't rise, the groundwork will be laid in 2006.
...and of course I find it funny that I ponder taking action on The Table NOW as opposed to that proverbial million dollar check arriving, since paying my own bills is a monthly faith mystery. Hey...it worked for Muller.
This is it...my reason for being, or so I think. I have a desire, but I often weigh if "this desire" is meant to be or just some weird stuff in my head. For some time I have been trying to come up with a plan to make this desire a reality.
Good film makers have a plan. They have a set story & images in mind and go about trying to create it. Sometimes budget and physical resources are limited, so they use any means necessary just to get their film "passable". Or like a song writer/musician who is chasing after "that sound" and trying everything possible to create "that sound" in the physical world of recording, even if "that sound" has never been made, therefore making it difficult to describe with words.
I recently have been inspired by George Muller, who built 5 orphanages in his lifetime. Under his faith, over thousands of children were cared for with no "plan". He just did it.
Somehow, somewhere, some way, I desire to recreate The Table from the old izzy days. My desire is for this to be a set physical community from the poverty culture involving relationship that revolves around a meal and live music. In layman's terms, The Table will be an intimate, high-end soup kitchen with a night club atmosphere for homeless and working poor.
Is The Table a church? Well, where two or more are gathered, etc, etc. I plan to be there. And I pray for Jesus to show up. So sure...it's a church, I guess. Will there be preaching? I don't know. Probably not from me. And if there is preaching, in the traditional sense, it will probably be only on an occasional basis when needed.
I've been pondering this for exactly three years, when izzy got booted out from the host church and The Table had to close its doors. The need for a noon meal was "coincidentally" taken up by our friends at Citylight (Agent S & co.) at that time - a fact I still find entertaining since we didn't know each other nor plan this baton hand-off of sorts. The CEO seems to work that way. So...is there a need right now for The Table and is the need here in the fair mother city? I really don't know about the need for a 3rd or 4th mess hall for the poor. But a community of healing and realness...yes, maybe.
Agent Wife has challenged me on the need for a building. She says if relationship is our calling to the poor, then why do we need a building? In some ways she's right. Relationship is our calling. It's what we've got here on Undercover Lane with Obi-Wan, the Sanfords, and countless others. We're going to develop relationship no matter where we are physically located. But to develop a place like The Table, which could be a respite from street life for one brief shining moment of an individual's existence, a physical location is needed. A practical meeting place. A place "off" the streets.
During The Table's 1-2 year run at izzy, I saw the power of a having a simple meal with an individual. I witnessed those with contemplative thoughts on their lives give deep confessions of sins and requests for God to forgive as they sat at a dignified, home style eating place. I sat with the toughest, crustiest members of our streets who became like prodigal sons, humbly asking only for crumbs while the fatted calf was butchered.
And in other outlets, I've witnessed the power of live music (and not necessarily "christian" music) over the hard-hearted. Street gangsters, fixed income elderly, and everyone in between melting with joy as songs were sung in their general direction.
I want to combine the relationship building qualities of a shared meal with the healing qualities of live music into The Table. It's my dream.
A month or 2 ago, Pastor Hawking challenged me by asking what's holding me back from doing this. I honestly had no answer. "Uhh...money...?" I muttered. I admit, I have eagerly waited for that million dollar check to arrive, even though I'm a firm believer in starting with what you got. And although, I have specific desires for a building, complete with industrial kitchen, stage, and kiosk area for our homeless friends (personalized PO Boxes and lockers, etc), why couldn't some cheap joint be rented out in the meantime?
With Pastor Hawking's challenge and the inspiration of legendary faith guy George Muller, I'm going to investigate what I need to start this dream. And, lord willin' and the creek don't rise, the groundwork will be laid in 2006.
...and of course I find it funny that I ponder taking action on The Table NOW as opposed to that proverbial million dollar check arriving, since paying my own bills is a monthly faith mystery. Hey...it worked for Muller.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
home town highlights
This trip to Houston was good. It was a vacation. I mentally put myself in vacation mode.
Besides the fires mentioned earlier (drove back through Cross Plains today - it's a charred waste land) and the greatest christmas gift ever known to man, I have only two things to mention here:
1) While making a pilgrimage to the spot where I proposed to Agent Wife (the water wall at the former Transco Tower, now the Williams Tower), we followed the ever popular "what the hell" thought process and visited The Galleria. We weren't on a money spending mission...just a casual observation. Well, for me that's what it was. The Galleria in Houston is The quintessential shopping experience within this country's 4th largest city. They have every big name New York merchant within one building. Some stores don't look like stores. More like avant garde art galleries titled with french words I can't pronounce and displaying a handful of ridiculously priced items on display. My favorite was the [A]bercrombie & [F]itch store with a window display for "casual jeans" that were all faded and ripped like most of my 7 year old pants. Price: $198. Guess I don't have the brilliance to be a merchant. This was a good observation assignment for me. Over time I have discovered that to better learn the culture I am immersered in, sometimes I need to spend a little time within a different culture. Mission accomplished.
2) We decided to enjoy some mindless fun and test drive mom's new DVD player all at the same time. At the advice of a friend we rented Napoleon Dynamite. Words cannot describe my feelings for this. I watched it twice. The best-ever movie made...ever.
Besides the fires mentioned earlier (drove back through Cross Plains today - it's a charred waste land) and the greatest christmas gift ever known to man, I have only two things to mention here:
1) While making a pilgrimage to the spot where I proposed to Agent Wife (the water wall at the former Transco Tower, now the Williams Tower), we followed the ever popular "what the hell" thought process and visited The Galleria. We weren't on a money spending mission...just a casual observation. Well, for me that's what it was. The Galleria in Houston is The quintessential shopping experience within this country's 4th largest city. They have every big name New York merchant within one building. Some stores don't look like stores. More like avant garde art galleries titled with french words I can't pronounce and displaying a handful of ridiculously priced items on display. My favorite was the [A]bercrombie & [F]itch store with a window display for "casual jeans" that were all faded and ripped like most of my 7 year old pants. Price: $198. Guess I don't have the brilliance to be a merchant. This was a good observation assignment for me. Over time I have discovered that to better learn the culture I am immersered in, sometimes I need to spend a little time within a different culture. Mission accomplished.
2) We decided to enjoy some mindless fun and test drive mom's new DVD player all at the same time. At the advice of a friend we rented Napoleon Dynamite. Words cannot describe my feelings for this. I watched it twice. The best-ever movie made...ever.
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