the mcwhorters

2010-01-08T21:44:00.000-08:00

El Orfanato

2009-03-17T21:08:00.000-07:00

Our landlord, Medea, recommended a movie to us a while back. Her enthusiasm for the movie caused us to really want to see it.
So we did.

She told us it is called "the Orphanage" and I remember her mentioning something about subtitles... Little did I know there wasn't a word of English in this movie! It is entirely in Spanish - hence it's title.

This movie was so good! It was weird that a genuinely scary movie could also have such a great story (Whitney cried at the end).
It was creepy, is was funny, it was a Spanish lesson... all the things I could ever want in a movie. There aren't many movies that I would watch again right after seeing it the first time, but this one I would. Let us know who's in and we'll have a private screening at the McWhorter cottage (you bring the bagel bites).

random things

2009-02-06T20:22:00.000-08:00

I know we haven't blogged in quite a while so this is going to be a random post. We had a pretty fun January '09. The Hoehne's posted a couple of those events. We've seen a lot of good movies, we had a fun Super Bowl Sunday, and my baby sister is no longer a teen. And recently Jon and I decided it's more fun when we cook together, so here are a couple of things we made. We're ameatures...

Pizza...Jon's favorite.

Chicken Parmesan

And we have been watching these two princesses once a week.

Our Home

2009-01-10T20:44:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have yet to visit our home, we wanted to post a picture for you to see. We are proud of our little cottage (although we only rent it).
Here it is.

our street...

our house...

one of the tall, skinny palm trees on our street...

Our First Christmas

2008-12-27T11:34:00.000-08:00

Here's the summary:

We can comfortably be categorized as 'less than wealthy,' to put it politely, so when it came time to decorate our house for Christmas we drew upon the most wonderful of resources - wedding gift cards. It only took a $50 card to wal-mart to establish the beginnings of our Christmas decor. Since our cottage has some personality even without decoration, it didn't take much to turn it into a festive Yuletide getaway. A bargain box of tree ornaments, some garland and lights for the mantle, and cinnamon scented pine cones helped make our first Christmas special.

Being 'less than wealthy,' we were forced to be creative and have fun rather than wallow in our lack of riches. One trip to Target proved most rewarding without spending a dime. Here were the rules: we had an imaginary budget of $100 to buy a gift or gifts for each other. Upon entering the store, we split up and rushed to (what we thought) were each other's favorite isle. We picked out what gifts we would purchase, then met at a neutral location. First, I took Whitney to the present I picked out for her...

It was a beautiful white vanity set that I knew she would love. Priced at $99.99, it was just within my hypothetical budget (tax didn't matter since we didn't purchase anything)! And she picked for me a great jacket that I loved plus the DVD set of Planet Earth! I love it! We each felt the joy of giving without feeling the pain of purchasing.

Christmas day was special for us. We were blessed to spend time with Whitney's family throughout the day. My parents and sister drove down to spend time with us a few days before Christmas which yielded wonderful quality time.

A list of favorite gifts:
2 Disneyland annual passes!!!
2 sets of fine China
5 disc Planet Earth DVD set (yessss!)
1 amazing Kerurig individual cup coffee maker
A plethora of gift cards

To be honest, I realized recently that no matter what the bank statement says we are not, by any means, poor. It is a worldly temptation to think of ourselves as poor, when in reality, by God's graciousness we have so much. How can we be poor with a family who loves us so much, and a loving, fun group of friends to experience life with? How can we be poor when there's food on our table and freshly brewed, delicious coffee in our mugs?

It is amazing to remember God's words to Abraham way back in Genesis 12 when He said "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Add to that Jesus' descending to earth to become flesh - the reason for this whole season - coming to die and redeem mankind to himself. God's love for his people and Jesus' perfect sacrifice can provide the richest blessing we can ever experience on earth - and I hope you have.

I hope that you too had a blessed Christmas.

Our Hearts Will Go On

2008-12-08T22:23:00.000-08:00

Jon and I were extremely privileged to attend a once-in-a-lifetime concert. We saw Celine Dion at Staples Center in LA!

My grandpa pulled some strings and got us tickets to see Celine. Not only did our tickets come with a parking pass, but we sat in the Premier Seating section (eighth row)!

If you didn't know, I am one of Celine's biggest fans, so needless to say I was quite excited. Jon didn't seem as excited as I was about it beforehand, but he hasn't stopped talking about Celine since. With all of the wardrobe changes and the amazing back-up dancers and even Celine herself busting out a few moves, the night could not get much better. Basically, it is one of the best shows we've ever seen.
Here are some iphone pictures of the night. They are poor quality and make our seats look far away, but its deceiving...

This 38 year old "guy" in the row ahead of us knew every word to every song. At the beginning of most songs he would jump up in excitement and do interpretive movements while singing "his" heart out.

Gas

2008-12-02T15:18:00.000-08:00

everyone needs a Vespa

Concerning Proposition 8

2008-11-10T07:21:00.000-08:00

Opponents of Prop 8 are and will continue to protest the results of the state-wide decision made last week. Seeing pictures on TV of them picketing outside churches and temples, or (lets be honest) anywhere a camera will find them, sends mixed feeling within me.

I am trying to pinpoint those feelings...
First, I am annoyed. My selfishness wants to say, "Get over it, you lost. Life isn't fair. The majority of California opposes your scheme. I didn't get enough votes to win homecoming king, it happens." Having gotten that off my chest and actually seeing the words I think embarrasses me - not only because I remember not winning homecoming king in college, but because it reveals my deep, dark sinfulness.

Next, I am relieved. "We dodged a bullet," I think to myself. I can breathe a little easier (figuratively) since Nov 7th (allergies have had the opposite effect). All of those yard signs that were stolen were worth replacing. I am relieved; yet the truth is while we, the prop 8 'winners', sit back and revel in our victory, the prop 8 'losers' are gaining strength to fight on.

Watching the protesters on the news yesterday brought about a new feeling in me, however. After being relieved with the results then annoyed at the response, I actually felt sympathetic - a rare emotion on my part, and even more so when it comes to this issue. Not only were hopes crushed, but prop 8 opposers also feel segregated and unloved by at least 52.3% of our state (numerically thats 5,668,960 people). My desire for peace conflicts with my beliefs.

Instead of feeling victorious, I now realize that the future is daunting; not only as one who calls himself a Christian, but also as one who wishes to serve as a minister in California. One unfortunate result of prop 8 is the wedge driven further between the Church and homosexuals. From the entity all people should feel welcomed and loved by, many feel hated. That 52.3% might as well be called First Baptist Church as far as the homosexual community is concerned.

My response:
I will battle my feelings of victory. How can I call it a victory when more people than ever hate my Church and beliefs? Even straight prop 8 supporters have a bad taste of Christianity in their mouth.

I will not be ashamed of the Bible, and I will do my best to obey all of it. That includes (I believe) voting yes on prop 8 AND loving my neighbors just like I love myself.

I will not let my desire for peace outweigh my Biblical convictions. Although, it may serve me (and the Church) well to add some weight to the Peace side of the scale without removing any weight of Biblical conviction.

I will come to solid conclusions about issues using Scripture, prayer, and wise advice to prepare myself for my future in ministry.

I will try to respond with Christ-likeness.

Jamaica

2008-11-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

Sorry it took a little bit to post these, but here are some honeymoon pictures:

Whit and I enjoying the Jamaican afternoon on the beach...

From the water, this is Sandals Montego Bay. Our room is further to the left, almost at the end of the resort

Our porch

Here I am braving the rough Caribbean sea on a Hobie Cat. When I took Whitney out with me we almost tipped completely over.

WE VOTED!

2008-11-04T19:36:00.000-08:00

This is Whitney here attempting to become a better blogger now that I'm married. But that is not what this blog is about. It's voting day and Jon and I did our civic duty by voting and we hope that you all did the same.

I of course have a story to go along with my voting experience. Kelsie and I had to drive out to Beaumont to vote so we met up with our dad so we could all go together. Well I got done voting first and was waiting for dad and Kels in the corner of the room when excitement came over me about voting and that it was Kelsie's first time voting. I whipped out my camera and took a picture of Kelsie in her voting booth to document this monumental moment. Bad idea. I was scolded and made to delete the picture off my camera and asked to leave the room. Who knew you couldn't take pictures? Needless to say my dad couldn't stop laughing in embarrassment and can't wait to tell people.

Well we did get one picture to document which I think is equally important. After we voted we got our free Starbucks!

Disneyland:

2008-10-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

it isn't fun by yourself for very long,
but it's better than being at work.

Edit:
After posting, I realized that this is the 2nd post in a row with a prominent picture of me. I almost changed it when I then realized you probably clicked on a link that said 'jon' or typed in my full name to get here. My conclusion is you probably wanted to see me anyway, so I'm not changing anything.

married

2008-10-17T08:51:00.000-07:00

a longer post coming soon...
check out Trever's blog for our wedding pictures - we love you Trev.

Engagement Pictures

2008-08-22T18:48:00.000-07:00

Trever did an amazing job on our engagement pictures.
Click here to see them all.
Thanks Trev!

I'm alive

2008-08-20T22:56:00.000-07:00

i promise. Look for 2 great blogs coming soon - I have them planned but no time to do them.

It can happen to the best of us...

2008-07-12T18:45:00.001-07:00

I'm simply enjoying an afternoon scooter ride / photo shoot through the mountains when, off in the distance I hear the gurgling of gentle, yet powerful, rolling thunder. I was simultaneously hit with the smell of rain with a force similar to a tennis player's return of a serve (minus the grunting). My thin, light blue T-shirt suddenly feels inadequate. My new scooter's lack of roof, for the first time, became inconvenient. I was only 10 or 15 minutes up the hill from the house, but it may as well have been an hour.

As I re-mounted the scooter and rode the drops began to fall lightly and I thought - this could be great; a little relief from the mid 90's to low 100's degree weather... but then the good Lord released the flood. I pictured Noah for a moment, scrambling to get the last animal into the ark as the rain began, knowing the flood had just begun. I experienced what Noah experienced... minus the animals and boat and world devastation - but add a scooter.

I had no idea how painful rain is. Next time you're driving 65mph in the rain, stick your head out the window - or even just your arm. A thousand wet bee stings may be a good analogy. Add to my bee stings smudgy aviators, traffic, and winding roads. My life has never had the chance to flash before my eyes - but it was tempted today.

To my surprise, I managed my way back to the house and praised the Lord for sparing me. All in all, my afternoon ride turned out to be awesome! My adventurous ride yielded some great pictures and added one great story to my arsenal of life-experiences.

Hopefully Piaggio takes notice of my scooter modeling skills so I can pick up a few extra bucks modeling.

By the way, Piaggio is the company that makes Vespa. It's sort of like Toyota - Scion, only with less distinction.
I might also mention here that I may perhaps have slightly over-exaggerated the above storm.

I bought a scooter

2008-07-10T22:35:00.000-07:00

Are you familiar with Vespa scooters?

Which Scooter?

2008-06-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

I've decided to let you decide...

Whitney and I, once married, will only have the '03 corolla. If both of us work (which is necessary in order to pay rent and buy food), we'll need a second form of transportation. Since our budget doesn't allow for Whitney's Range Rover*, we thought she could drive the Corolla and I'd buy some sort of scooter. I've decided to give you the chance to help make this huge scooter decision. Your comments will 100% decide what I buy**

I could keep searching craigslist and ebay for older / vintage scooter such as this one I test-drove today. It's a 1984 Yahama Riva 180cc. The only reason I didn't buy it is because I would have had to buy 2 of them - he wouldn't sell just one, and the other one needed too much work in order to sell or ride.

Or I could get a way more reliable, better gas milage, warranty included, brand new scooter. The cons are it will be a smaller engine (50cc) and more expensive. I like the Yamaha Zuma:

or the C3:

What do you think?

* And unfortunately never will unless next year's stimulus check is closer to $60,000 (sorry whit)
**just kidding

the seven faithful

2008-05-27T22:38:00.000-07:00

I just checked my blog's google analytics and was moved... (by the way google analytics is a tool that tracks how many people visit my blog)

Despite not blogging for the past month or so (at least not without any sort of consistency) I still have at least 7 people checking my blog daily. On a day I was feeling a little bit down, you seven faithful lifted me - much like these 7 legs lift this lamb:

For you I will post the seven best things about my life right now:

1. Whitney and our soon to be marriage. I'm having a blast getting stuff ready for the wedding / marriage. For instance we are buying cool stuff like the hutch (which we haven't had much progress on, but I promise an update on the renovation soon), an old desk ($15) that we might sell cause I found a better one at the thrift store, cool plates, and an antique buffet. Also, we got to register at 4 places which was mostly fun, partly stressful, and definitely overwhelming.

2. 49cent microwave lunches. These little guys enable the purchasing of all the cool stuff listed above. I'm able to save at least $5 a day on lunch costs.

3. Kevin and Bean in the morning. My 35ish mile commute every morning allows us time together. I thoroughly enjoy 87% of the hour I listen to them.

4. The Kauffmans. They gave me a great room to live in for a while. Oh, and Kathy is the one who introduced me to the 49cent lunches. (Curtis, don't get too excited about making the list - you're #4 afterall)

5. Job security. I'm pretty sure it's really hard to find a job right now due to the economic recession-like trends. Even if cut-backs were coming, I don't feel too threatened. Hopefully it's not a false sense of security - I'll keep you posted.

6. This picture:

7. I just had a vacation. During that vacation I got to see pretty much my whole family living in California except for my sister-in-law. I also had 2 days with no agenda, 2 days with Whitney registering and church hunting, one day at church, and one holiday hanging out with Whitney's massive family. The best part is - I'm pretty sure I was paid for the whole week. I'll keep you posted about that too.

PS during my proofread of the posted post I found some verbiage I should change. In #7 I should note that Whitney's family is massive in number, ie there are a lot of people. That's all.

my last 4 weeks

2008-05-04T17:54:00.000-07:00

not a ton of blog-worthy things happening lately (or just not enough time to blog it)
Here's what I am doing:

working full-time
commuting 80 miles round trip every day to work
keeping an eye out for old bikes
celebrating Whitney's college graduation
planning our wedding
waiting for Mario Kart for my Wii to arrive
waking up early
becoming a member of fellowship in the pass
learning how to play electric guitar (like John Mayer does)
catching up on seminary home work (I'm really behind)
waiting to be married
not blogging a lot

exciting news

2008-04-23T17:38:00.001-07:00

curtis and I created a new online stop for bike-riding enthusiasts. Let me tell you why to check it out:

Everyone loves bikes
You probably haven't ridden your bike in a while and need to get some motivation
You need to learn about fixed gear bikes
Its a place to check out when you're bored so you can laugh at curtis' sense of humor
We'd love for you to be a part of our hobby
I spent like 4 hours learning HTML to launch it

Thanks Trever for the logo

the hutch - phase 1

2008-04-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

Whitney and I bought a hutch from a skinny man in Victorville. We decided to give it a makeover. Here is our new hutch anxiously awaiting its new look. I decided to post the progress of the transformation. If anything, posting the progress will encourage us to finish it sooner.

i moved

2008-04-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

The boys and I had to move out of Parkside Village because our rent was up. Kathy and Curtis Kauffman graciously offered me a room at their house in Cherry Valley. I am so thankful for them and letting me live here.

I had a bad experience once where I was offered a room for one summer... it was pretty miserable to say the least. Cherry Valley is different. Here's my new room

Thanks Kauffmans

rain

2008-03-29T23:24:00.001-07:00

It looks like it may again this week:

Sun - 20%
Mon - 10%
Tues - 10%
Wed - 60%
Thurs - 20%
Fri - 20%

You decide

2008-03-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

My shield has been compromised

Either...

A. I was working one day when an unusually rude, smelly homeless man came to my teller window demanding 75 cents for a phone call. When I informed him of the Bank's policy to not give away money for free he became very irritated. Knowing which car I drive because of the close proximity of the bench he sleeps on every night to the Bank's parking lot where I pull in every morning, he dramatically left the bank and in a rage smashed my shield with a large rock he had in his shopping cart. James, our security guard stopped him, but not before the damage was done.

B. While driving alone on the freeway, a terrifyingly large piece of truck tire became air-born when a ruby red Toyota Tacoma glanced it. The Tacoma's distant Japanese cousin, my Corolla, was innocently drafting behind it in an effort to attain even better gas mileage than she already gets (and with gas prices where they're at now, who can blame her?) The truck tire honed in on the shield and succeeded in smashing it at its core.

C. The light fixture above a parking spot in my apartment complex fell on the shield, rendering it useless and defeated.

You decide...

sky blue sky

2008-03-18T23:58:00.000-07:00

Its easy to forget about the beautiful gift of creation around us when we're stuck in the daily grind... that's why I really enjoy the weekends when whitney and I get to go out to Beaumont. We get to escape for a little while. This last weekend it was kind of stormy, it even snowed a little in Beau-town. The storms made the sky amazing - the clouds were so close and huge and fluffy. I loved it:

here's madison (aka pretty) enjoying the afternoon

on our way back home...

we found this...

if you ever get the chance to go to a super target, go. it is everything you'd imagine it to be... plus groceries.
Have a great week.

8 ways...

2008-03-05T16:44:00.000-08:00

to annoy your bank of america teller
(inspired by true experiences)

don't think about why you came to the bank until you reach the teller window.

swipe your ATM card with the card facing the wrong way 5 times while ignoring instruction from the one who spends 40 hours a week watching people swipe their cards... and then get frustrated because the "card swiper" doesn't work.

get to the teller window and ask if there's a restroom in the bank, informing the teller that you really, really have to go, then proceed to do the "pee-pee" dance - the one where you cross your legs and bounce around while breathing really hard - all while the teller completes the transaction.

spend more money than you have and complain when you find out your account is overdrawn.

go to the bank with no ATM card, no ID, don't know your social security number - with a crying baby - and freak out when the teller won't give you any cash.

bring a duffle bag full of coin... unwrapped... and expect the teller to count it all, wrap it, and give you cash.

ask where Washington Mutual is after complaining about Bank of America not cashing your check.

talk about your grandkids' first experience at disneyland (including details about their favorite rides, what they ate for lunch, and the cute little outfit you bought for them for just the occasion) after your deposit is finished and an angry, out-the-door line of customers glares at the teller.

something new

2008-02-25T21:58:00.000-08:00

I'm trying something new. Trever taught me a new trick on photoshop. This is a picture I took while camping once.

.

Engagement Night

2008-02-18T14:27:00.000-08:00

Ok, here it goes...

I took Whitney out to eat in Laguna Beach - it's the same restaurant we celebrated our 1 year anniversary at (in fact we were sat at the same exact table). After a delicious meal, "we" decided a stroll on the beach would be fun. Despite the high tides and sub-zero temperatures, Whitney agreed to accompany me. I brought my props: a guitar, blanket, roses, and candles. She allowed me a few minutes to "set up," still unaware of the imminent question. Here's the scene:

Since it was pretty cold, and I knew there was an apartment-full of people waiting for us, I wasted no time beginning the song that I wrote for just this occasion.

After the song, I proposed and she said yes. We hugged and laughed together - she kept saying, "oh my gosh" like eighty thousand times. I had succeeded in surprising her.

We packed up and headed for her apartment where a lot of friends and family awaited us.

Amy got pretty excited about the Martinelli's

It turned out to be a perfect night...
Thank you to all who helped out and made our night special.

she said yes

2008-02-16T14:11:00.000-08:00

well, i'm engaged
(i have some pictures of the night that i'll post soon)

dry clean only

2008-01-30T21:45:00.000-08:00

This was my favorite wool sweater.

out with the old, in with the new

2008-01-23T23:42:00.000-08:00

Lights

2008-01-15T21:18:00.000-08:00

I've never posted twice in one day, but these were so much different that my first post today - it had to happen. I just thought these looked pretty cool.

Ode to Bachelorhood

2008-01-15T20:39:00.000-08:00

Bachelor: (noun) a man who is not and has never been married
Bachelorhood: (noun) living with 4 other bachelors in a 900 something sqare foot, 2 bedroom apartment.

Oh how I love and hate bachelorhood.
I love that my home is manly - American Gladiators on TV and oven pizzas in the freezer.
I hate that my home is manly - 5 hairy guys in their underwear, smelling and snoring.

When I become a non-bachelor perhaps I'll have some readjusting to do.

The following depicts the real life of a bachelor
Take the tour and be not afraid, bachelorhood is a great phase to be in (and a great one to end)

Let's start in the Kitchen...
Here is the ever-congested sink. There's always traffic in here

The mountain of trash can... Even when you just take it out, it's full again

And the all-important fridge. The attraction to a picture like this is usually what's inside the fridge, but this one's attraction isn't what's inside, it's how we aquired it. Fridge A (a gift from Amy Boyd's family) unexpectantly quit keeping things cold and frozen. Curtis and I found this beauty (Fridge B) on craigstlist and negotiated with the seller/ex-con - I think we ended up paying like $50. Divide that by 5 - and you have a bachelorhood fridge.

Every bachelor-pad has to have some character. Ours definitely does... in fact we have a couple distinct characters that make our house a home....

First, there's dancing dwight. Dwight pirouettes just below the 32" flat screen and always warms our hearts when we feel blue. (Sorry he's blurry, I think I focused on his abdomen section and didn't care to re-take it)

Then, there's graphic designing Santa. Funny story - Graphic designing Santa used to be our bathroom light until a few days ago (Our original bathroom light flickers and produces seizures). He was promoted to graphic designer when I discovered his light could be removed and we didn't need him to take up the whole counter-top.

Lastly, our 3-bike selection in the bathroom tub brings character to our dwelling. The best part of our 3-bike selection is that they are each a unique and very different type of bike. From left to right, the road bike that will get you up to 45mph+ on a downhill ride, the trial bike that will allow you to hop from one rock to another (don't try to sit down), and the fixed-gear cruiser which enables couriers in New York to deliver mail and lets Curtis ride to CBU without needing brakes.

Moving on, Bachelorhood will require you to consolidate your belongings into one very small space. Here is 90% of my clothes:

Lastly, Bachelorhood usually means that you are studying for school, or just getting out of school and gearing up for school again, or just finishing school and starting to work full time feeling like you are supposed to be going back to school. Here is where I study, blog, read, and think. Picture me blogging here... only replace the Lance Armstrong book with a diminishing Turkey pot pie, and add another Dr. Pepper to the mix.

Thanks for taking the tour, I hope it was well worth your time.

P.S. I'd love to know what bachelorette-hood is like (I assume it's at least a little bit different). Leave some thoughts

1:15

2008-01-09T01:15:00.000-08:00

I found out that I'm Scottish. Now when people ask me where my ancestors are from I can answer them intelligently - it's the Clan Buchanan to be specific.

I wonder, though, are we so far removed from our "ancestors" that we can't really say where we are from? I can trace my dad's dad's dad's dad (etc) back to Scottland, but in my mind that ignores all the ancestry that all their wives brought to the McWhorter family. Any thoughts?

For now I'll stick with Scottish - mostly because I really like Braveheart.

cap gun fun

2008-01-03T01:18:00.000-08:00

WINTER

2007-12-17T21:59:00.000-08:00

Two years ago a very nervous little Jon asked Whitney if she would be his girlfriend - she said yes. Yesterday he asked her if she would like to go ride horses with him - she said yes again.

Eyore and Jordy took us through the winterly forests of Big Bear, stopping to enjoy frozen shrubbery and grass along the way. After two hours of trotting about, we (me and whit) thawed out in a local pizza place. Happy 2 years Whit! I love you.

Eyore, Jon, Jordy, and Whitney (left to right)

Our guide was a bit weird, but she did a good job. Here she is leading Whitney and me.

Winter

One last group shot.

I really like trees, especially trees surrounded by winter

Trever and I found the perfect Christmas tree for our apartment - but we didn't have the hearts to cut it down. We still don't have a Christmas tree.

Here are some fun winter couple shots

CONGRATULATIONS Brooke and Trev on your engagement! I love you guys.

my band

2007-12-09T14:18:00.000-08:00

My friend Lucas posted this and I thought it was fun. I'm usually not a fan of "pass it along" type blogs, but this one has promise to give insight to each who posts it. The idea is to build your own dream band...

Vocals: Shane Bernard, Jason Mraz, and Amos Lee

Lead Guitar: John Mayer (John Mayer)

Rhythm Guitar: Shane Bernard (Shane & Shane)

Bass: Michael Balzary (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Drums: Darren King (Mute Math)

Keys: John Legend (John Legend)

Other: I'd let CS Lewis be in charge of the band's theology and Rich Mullins would help out with lyrics.

I'm not exactly sure what kind of sound would come out of the band, but it would be pretty great.

I'd like to see the bands from a few other:
Carson & Hillary Belmont
Mike Lovato
Whitney Cloud
Merea Price

uncle jon

2007-11-24T20:24:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving came and went...
It's nice to be in a place where the leaves change color and requires warm clothing, not to mention a place where family is. I can't say it was a quiet thanksgiving (nephews), but it was good. The boys kept things fun - we played soccer inside, lots of wii, checkers with Kameron's rules (which includes double kings called 'dragons' and can move 4 times), acrobatic moves on top of uncle Jon, and Whitney got her hair "braided" a few times. It's fun to see the nephews, and now niece, but at the end of the holiday I'm worn out. I did learn one thing about the nephews this year... they belong in the next GQ for kids:

kites

2007-11-09T16:59:00.000-08:00

a week or so ago whitney and I went to the beach with hillary and carson. We flew kites and ate at Ruby's on the pier.

facts

2007-11-03T22:38:00.000-07:00

"our material resources are so stupendous that we are in danger of coming to trust in riches rather than in God."
- J. Campbell White, 25 years ago

"all the money needed to send and support an army of self-sacrificing, joy-spreading ambassadors is already in the church. But we are not giving it."
- John Piper

During the Great Depression, Protestants were giving 3.2% of their income to their churches. By 2004 (when Americans were over 450% richer) Protestants were giving 2.56% of their income to their churches.
- emptytomb.org

(opinion)
American churches probably spend too much of their resources on themselves... ie 'fixed' expenses like salaries, buildings, and budgets and not enough on outreach to the communities in which they exist but most importantly, the world. (add to that: I spend too much of 'my' resources on myself... my 'fixed' expenses)

(back to the facts)
"missions, not same-culture evangelism by nationals, will finish the Great Commission."
- John Piper

if only...

2007-11-02T00:59:00.000-07:00

I had the wit to build such masterpieces...
I had the time to kill dreaming up these genious works...
There was a way to make millions from this...
My roomate, Curtis, wouldn't have introduced me to rube goldberg...

if you're addicted, look up 'rube goldberg' on youtube

new look

2007-10-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

I changed up the blog because I was having some problems with the older template...
my old blog will be available on the links list (named 'old blog'), just in case you experience some withdrawls or something.

here's my nephew playing t-ball