Ode 17

A Great Reunion

Joanie and I flew to southern California for a reunion with one of the favorite people in my life. Rev. Floyd Overstreet is turning 85 and his daughter, Dori, got a bunch of us together for the occasion. We laughed, cried, and laughed a lot more. This man touched my life in so many ways. Happy birthday, Floyd!

How I'm Spending My Saturday

I'm in a class called The Wesleyan Movement. Our professor is Bill Clark. We are having more fun than in any other class I have taken in the past, and learning quite a bit at the same time. This goes to prove once again that God works in mysterious ways. He knows just how close I came to not attending ...and just how badly I needed to laugh. Thanks to Bill and to the class.

Mr. Bean's Birthday!

Today Joanie and I celebrate a gift. In prior blogs I have posted stories of our dog, Mr. Bean and how Joanie found him playing in the middle of a busy street. After saving him from danger, we looked for his home, although we were skeptical we would find one as he appeared to be abandoned. (How could someone do that?) Two vets said they agreed, we found no one seeking for this pup, but found ourselves caring about him quite a bit. Finally, we agreed to give him our home. One vet gave us an approximate age of eight months old given the amount of puppy teeth in his little head. Counting back eight months put us into the month of April. Joanie and I agreed that his 'official' birthday would be April 1st. All of that to say, 'Happy Birthday Mr. Bean!" This little 12 pound dog has given us immeasurable joy in return for saving him from the streets. We are extremely grateful for Mr. Bean!

Our Own Little Leprechaun

So today is St. Patrick's Day. I thought it would be a great day to focus on our own touch of Ireland, Kevin Clement (Big Red).  Kevin runs our sports ministries here at Sugarloaf. We're pretty sure that stored in his office, along with all of the sports stuff, there is a pot of gold. If not, we feel like we struck gold when he came on board. 

One Day Catalyst

Today I'm attending North Point CC as they host Andy Stanley's One Day Catalyst. I most likely will post a couple of things during the day, so check back in later on and see what's stimulating my brain ...and soul.
Have an incredible day!

Send Out Cards

It's been a few days since my last inspirational or thought provoking blog. I have been slammed with 'stuff' and trying to see my way through it all. Yet, saying that, I'm not going to attempt anything mind shattering today either.
I do want to let you know about a problem that I have had solved for me recently. Once I get all of my contacts downloaded this is going to save a lot of time and even money. In my ministry I try really hard to stay in touch with the people I serve with. In a large church this becomes more and more troublesome. One of my pastor friends, Jeff Mullen, told me what he was doing to solve the very same problem at his church. He told me about Send Out Cards. It's a company that allows you to select your cards online from over 10,000 cards, customize the card in any way you wish, insert your personalized greeting in your own handwriting, and even send a gift along with the card ...all for less than half the price of a typical Hallmark or American Greeting card. Here is the cool thing, when you click the send button, they actually print out a glossy, store bought quality card, put a first class stamp on it, and stick it in the mail on any date you choose to send it. I told Jeff to tell me more. He sent me a link to go to so that I could test drive the product. It's very impressive. Joanie is finding it to be a great cost effective solution and time saver for her studio as she wants to send out birthday and holiday greetings to her clients.  If you would like to investigate this company and test drive the product, click the above logo link and check it out. Just lettin' ya know.

 

The Identity of the Mysterious Mr. Bean is Revealed!

The ancestry of Mr. Bean (aka, Radar, Batman, Tripod, and the-best-doggie-in-the-whole-wide-world) has been identified. Now, before anyone goes off on me for spending money on this, I received a DNA testing kit as a Christmas gift. It is a common tool used by the American Kennel Club to verify breeds. They are available at a reasonable cost. (So, now Joanie wants to have me tested to find out what I am.) A company called BioPet analyzed Mr. Bean's DNA and came up with the following verdict:

Level one (over 75% of a breed) ...not in the cards for Mr. Bean.
Level two (between 37-74% of a breed) ...we all were right ...Chihuahua!
Level three (between 20-36% of a breed) ...we never guessed this, and are extremely mystified over it ...Pug! What?
Level four (between 10-19% of a breed) ...this one makes sense ...Poodle
Level five (less than 10% of a breed) ...the little dude has two of these ...Border Collie and Shetland Sheepdog. That explains why he can't resist herding our cat around the house.

 

Well, there you have it. Mr. Bean, the best dog I've ever had, is The All American Mutt. God unexpectedly dropped this little dude in our lives to give us a lot of joy, and I imagine to reduce my blood pressure. So lift a glass to Mr. Bean, our very own "Chi-pu-poo-bor-shet." 

The Annual Physical

It's time for that thing I love ...(clear the throat)...the most: my annual physical. Who doesn't love putting on that backless 'gown', getting prodded and poked, and walking out of the doctor's office feeling, well let's say, a bit icky?
But on the other hand who doesn't like to know that you have a clean bill of health for another year? My message is this: GO DO IT!!!
Dudes and lasses: Get an appointment with your physician and let 'em check you out! Be honest and tell the doc what's bothering you. Let the doc check you over no matter how uncomfortable it may make you feel. It is a vital part of healthy living.
I'll fill you in on my results.

(Why am I chuckling as I post this blog? I suppose it's that picture. It just ain't right!)

A Slightly Disturbing Party With a Purpose

Wow! Was last night's Party With a Purpose a  fun time. We laughed until we cried at times. The Sugarloaf Kids staff and their Rock Band routine was ...somethin' else. Someone yelled, "You're taking care of our kids??" The improve dance guys were a bit bizarre,   and really funny; my beach ball ballet was intended to make our host, Andy Brophy (our version of Ryan Seacrest) more than a bit uncomfortable (his wife told me it worked!); and Tommy Willingham got to play out his innermost desire to be a rock star.  A lot more funny stuff happened. Be sure there will be pictures and videos floating around.
Many thanks to the incredible teams and staff of Sugarloaf UMC. What a great place to serve God. 

Atlanta Thrashers vs Toronto Maple Leafs

It's been a wild week with tons of pressure. Thankfully, I'm getting to hang out with my friend, Jim Norton, at the hockey game tonight. Hopefully we'll see the Thrashers win and a watch a good fight! (By the way, they won in overtime: 4-3. Go Thrashers!)