utechblog

Got to the treadmill this morning.

20061130 25:20 minutes 1 mile

I actually have a plan with this, once I can get 1 mile under 15 minutes I will go to two miles. But today was a great workout, I will spare you the details.

Today is my birthday, I am 31 today. I have entered new territory now as I have no baggage from my past about my age anymore (well except for when I turn 45… don’t ask it is not a pretty picture!). I have no self inflicted baggage, when I was a kid there were certain birthdays that I looked forward to or at least thought about – I would turn 25 in the year 2000, my Golden Birthday (last year)…

One’s golden birthday, also called a champagne birthday, is the day when the age one turns the same as the day in the month they were born. (e.g. someone turning 20 on January 20th celebrates their golden birthday). Source: Wikipedia

But this year is just another day it seems, sure I got free donuts Graeter’s Danish from a coworker and we are going out for sushi at lunch (Janet, I owe you) and I will get a gift from the kids tonight (which I think they will be glad to finally give to me as they have had it for like a week or two). But I must be getting wiser with age, I already have Janet’s birthday gifts for her (and yes it was something I had to buy). It is weird though, I still feel like a kid or at least younger than I probably should. Or maybe I shouldn’t? Now that is a question to think about.

After making a committment to it this weekend, I got myself on the treadmill this morning, a day late, but on it none the less.

20061128    27:44 minutes   1 mile

I did almost kill myself this morning, I resprayed the liquid silicone under the tread but missed the middle of the track. So when ever I stepped in the middle on the track the belt would freeze. That was fun! So after I got done I applied more silicone and made sure I got the whole thing this time… I guess I will know for sure tomorrow morning

For millions of sleep-deprived mothers around the world, this woman’s findings could be a miracle! Priscilla Dunstan, a mom from Australia with a special gift, says she’s unlocked the secret language of babies.
Source: Oprah

Last night Janet had to show me part of Oprah’s show from last night. You have heard about people having a photographic memory right, well Priscilla Dunstan has a phonographic memory (she remembers everything she hears – I bet her husband loves that). Anyway after her child was born she started to notice that there were certain unique sounds that her child would make, like he was trying to communicate. Well she ended up doing a study of some 100 babies/infants from different cultures and countries and found that there is a common language, specifically 5 words or sounds rather that babies use to communicate.
It was quite remarkable, Priscilla sat with a group of new moms with their babies and helped them to hear and understand what they were saying, with incredible results. We even joked about how we should have another baby to see if it works (that is not going to happen). Anyway, check out the link above and go watch the video from Oprah’s website. Priscilla is making a DVD to help new parents understand the language their babies are using. Janet even mentioned that this would be helpful for those that work in the nursery at church. I am just amazed… go watch the video!

There is a lot of “bad press” for smokers as of the last decade or so. Talk about a group of people that it is ok to hate. Whatever, if tobacco is so bad then why don’t they just outlaw it?
We suddenly have this cold front in the area, of course it is November. The temp was in the high 30s still at noon. I walked past the front of the building and there was three or four individuals out front smoking, and they looked cold. Which got me thinking, I understand that for some smoking is an addiction but I have talked to a number of smokers who just enjoy it. I’m sorry but if I had to go outside to drink a Diet Coke or eat a burrito I would be finding something else to do, maybe chewing gum or drink water. Maybe I am just not as dedicated to my bad habits as smokers are…

Well it is most definably Monday. Ran outside this morning to grab my iPod so I could sync it before I left for work (left it in the van) and figured I would start the car and pull it out of the garage while I was outside before I ran back in to finish getting ready.

Opened the garage and jumped in the car to turn the key and
.
.
.
.
nothing happened. no click. no nothing. nada.

So back in the house to call my FIL to see if he could run down with his charger. (I don’t use jumper cables – since my car or van for that matter does not come with a surge protector to protect the internal computer I have sworn off jumper cables – thanks Steve O) Incidentally I forgot the iPod in the van, again, and Kyra ran out to get it for me thanks kiddo!
After about 20 minutes of the charger on the car we were able to use the “75amp Starter” setting to start up the car and let it recharge itself. I did find that an interior light was left on, most likely bumped by my work bad when I got out on Friday. But since the battery was over 4 years old I opted to replace it with a brand new 2 year warrantied battery from my local Wal-Mart.
I did discover one more thing, I need to get an extension rod for my socket wrench – it was a really tight fit to get to the bolt that held down the plate that keeps the battery in place.

Our church community officially launched back On January 15. In the past 10 months our community has transformed from a core group of about 50 people to this weekend an attendance of 250. Our leadership has always said that it isn’t about numbers, it is about changed lives — but the reality of it is that that is about numbers… kinda a dichotomy.

Last night Janet and I went to a small group for the first time in about a year (far too long). The weirdest part of the evening for me personally was as people where coming in to the house of our host was the realization that I knew none of the people there. I had been introduced to the host couple a few days ago and had heard of a person or two via their kids or other interactions but the reality of the situation was that I knew no one.
That was cool and frightening at the same time, I love meeting new people but for the first time in the three years we have been at New Life and now Journey we had no previous relationship with anyone there. First impressions being what they are I think we have a great group forming.

The group will be looking at the book, The Five Love Languages of Children. So last night was more of an introduction to the book and each couple received a copy. One of the coolest moments from last night was when we went around the group and each couple shared how they came to Journey and how long they had been there. Ironically Janet and I were the last couple to answer the question and we obviously had been around the longest – one of the couples had only been connected for three weeks. The awesome thing was the hear the consistency in the stories that were shared, being new to the area or just looking for a new church home was a common theme (well duh) but the accounts of how Journey was just what people were looking for spoke so clearly to the core of what Journey is all about. From the solid relevant preaching/teaching, targeted children/student ministry, and the rockin’ house band it was surreal to realize that we helped plant a church. That is so awesomely umbling (holy people don’t pronounce the ‘H’ – at least that is what I learned). God is a pretty cool guy when you let him out of the box.