February 27, 2004

not sure if it makes me a good dad or a fool, but i took my 14 year old daughter to get her navel pierced this afternoon, i think she thought it was cool to have me go with her.

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went to see the passion of Christ tuesday night. it was a very well made movie, violent,
inspiring, powerful. the violence was intense and graphic, romans sadistic, high priest
ruthless and self centered pilate impotent, herod weird, stupid, mary inspiring, Jesus,
white, everyone else realistic. why is it we always make Jesus out to be tall white and
handsome? there are many arguing the theological accuracy of it. it is not totally
accurate, so what. its not in my opinion anti-semitic, maybe anti-roman. in the end it left
me numb and with a aching sense that it was overdone. and why is it we think because
Jesus suffered so much that we should believe for that reason, i know he suffered for each
of us, but it is not the suffering that inspires me it is his life and the fact that he became us
to love us more and know us more. this movie will pass and be used to reach people. my
hope is someone will make a movie that is well dome that shows us why Jesus came and
how he subverted everything our world holds dear and why we should be living lives of
subversion and sacrifice if we claim to follow him, so go see the movie already.

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February 23, 2004

ralph nader is running and why dont the dems quite whining. this is what nader told them

"I urge the liberal establishment to relax and rejoice,"

"This is a campaign that strives to displace the present corporate regime of the Bush administration."

i'm all for that

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February 22, 2004

found this article from an email i received this weekend, intersting article. oh yeah you need to sign up to read it, what a hassle. anyway just wonder what will happen if the "emerging church" goes mainstream, maybe constantine will be reincarnated.

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February 15, 2004

had another ultra sound today this time all the kids save evan got to see their new sister. we have a friend who is a radiologist and he opened his office, thanks gregg, to our family today. i just sat back in awe looking at this new life growing inside my wife, God is amazing

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February 09, 2004

sydney and i just meet our newest child. sydney had an ultrasound today and everything looks great. also the technician told us it looks like a girl although she cant be 100% sure we are thinking of naming her quinn heather wallis. anyway it was so cool to see her heart and watch her swim around inside sydney, it is amazing.

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February 06, 2004

yesterday a group of ladies came over to our house to give sydney some time off. the ladies took care of the kids and cleaned around the house while sydney went out with a few of her friends, very cool.

also, josiahs window is moving ahead. had a great meeting about getting funding to help support me while doing all this. i feel the need to help educate those still in the traditional/institutional paradigm that there are ways of doing church that dont fit their models. i am staying within the bounds of denominational structure and also going outside for funding and support. yet i struggle with the whole paid to care question but feel i need to try it this way so i stay connected to the abc (american baptist churches) maggie dawn wrote a great article on seven a while back about how the alt.worship crew needed the anglican church and vis a versa. you can check out my ideas at josiahs window's site. this is the first thing i have attempted within the bounds of the denominational structure that has received support in any way so it feels good to have this going this way.

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February 04, 2004

read this article by wendell berry, i got the link from brian mclarens newsletter who got it from jeremiah smith.

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had a sweet time yesterday with a friend we shared our pain and struggle with attempts to be honest and open with others about what we see God doing. the Spirit was present as we shared our hearts with each other with no agenda just being with each other. for me it was a vision of what the church is supposed to be.

also yesterday my wife was at a bible study and shared that we hadn't seen the half time show of the super bowl because we were making love, with 12 kids when you get a moment alone you take it. the reply came back too much info. maybe it is, i don't think so, we should be sharing too much info about our lives with each other, when we become vulnerable we become for dependent upon God. yes people will hurt you that's unavoidable, but we must never stop sharing our lives, because there are a few glorious times it all works out and people's lives are transformed, but that transformation takes hours of pain and tears to come to reality, its in the monotony of sharing the crap we all have that community is born, its what jesus was talking about when he said when two or more are gathered in my name.

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February 03, 2004

listening to pedro the lion this am "control" indian summer is my favorite song on the cd, here are the lyrics

ultra-violet rays are washing over all the boys and grils
as their moms lay tanning by the pool.
oh look their dad's arriving home
all the children hug his neck unaware of their inheritance
all the experts say you ought to start them young
that way they'll naturally love the taste of corporate cum
God bless the indian summer
dont you just love the sun doesnt it make you feel good all over
its my pleasure to announce in conjunction with the fed and my recent popularity
thanks in part to mother nature it will never rain again
it should do wonders for the gnp
if youre just joining us now youve missed a brilliant speech
we go now live to the street to find out what the voters think
hes worked a miracle i just now bought a brand new car.


something about david bazan makes me joy-filled, his music inspires me

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February 02, 2004

well it was -12 here saturday morning and our pipes burst. after thinking i had it fixed water started pouring everywhere, finally had to call a plumber and he fixed it up in no time. it made we think about how much we take for granted like running water. so many others have nothing so i was pretty calm about the whole episode, and am thankful its fixed.

also saw a story on the super bowl pregame about jim kelly and boomer esiason and their kids who both have serious issues. it was a wonderful sotry of love and using your position to help other but something about the whole thing bugged me, why do we only listen to the famous on stuff like this, what about all the people who go about life struggling just to get their kid help when they have no money or fame to help them.

and also how much personal experience drives us. when it happens to you you are driven to do more. like with sydney and me and adoption, i think everyone should adopt and feel God commands it in the bible. yet i know that most wont, our lives are supposed to be about sacrifice and giving oursleves away to others. anyway enough ranting and soap boxing.

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