riding bikes randomness...last post for may

ok, first of all, i have what some folks would call a weight problem. it isn't so much of a problem i can't help, but really more of a problem i am too apathetic about to do anything productive to remedy it, besides golf (yes, with a cart).

until 4 hours ago.

i rode a bicycle. around my neighborhood. three times around the loop (that's three miles total).
i was so afraid that my largeness was going to burst the tires. i wish i were kidding. but i did it. the big guy took the bike and rode around the neighborhood like a big kid. and it was kind of fun. it doesn't look like there are any hills when you drive around the neighborhood in the car...but when you are pedaling...there is at least two stretches i hated. but you wouldn't notice the incline unless you were running or cycling. that's what i shall call it...cycling. on a mountain bike...from dick's sporting goods. pathetic.

i rode past kids that think they are cool. they were going home from swimming. they watched me as i rode by. i know they were making fun of me...but ya know what? don't care. they're kids. i could have them arrested (prolly not but i justify my apathetic disdain [yes, brackets inside a parenthesis because i just created a new phrase and there are too many rabbit trails in this posting anyway] with them in the fact that i think i am better b/c i am older).

oh my god i am my father.
love ya, dad.

i miss my wife. good news is she has a job here in Maryland and will begin july 1. until then life seems to suck a lot. i am not writing that for pity...i just simply need to vent. anyway, today was a laid back day. and now i cant seem to go to sleep. i have to get up pretty early, and i am not tired. bad combo. ambien anyone? wait, that sounds like an addict.

i am excited about how my first 90 days have gone here at ALC in maryland. i have learned a lot, most importantly that i have reverted to caring what people think of me. i used to not care so much and making decisions was easier. i miss that. i need that back. not that i want to tick people off, it was just a good thing when i could make a decision based on facts and logic and gut instinct rather than tip toe around feelings. yes, i think i need to find that balance. maybe one day i will have it all together.

another blog without pictures or video. who is a bad blogger? this guy. oh, and i watched way too much CNN today around that whole DNC meeting about the delegates. why am i fascinated about that? why have become such a nerd? I'll tell you why...wife out of town produces more dorkness in the brain for me. why is that? I'll tell you why...i cant relate to this:



looks like i had a movie anyway

oh well, jesus died on a cross i think i will live (now, i am my mom...geez)

take the risk,
n

great weekend and updated site

first of all...the church i am at now has an updated website. i have an awesome team that has put up with me through this process. the site is still just a temp site until i am ready to pull the trigger on a much larger scale, but my team did an awesome job. so stop reading, and go check it out www.abundantlifechurch.us

secondly, my fam came to visit this weekend. i wore them out...we did annapolis on friday night, DC on saturday, church and chill time on sunday and baltimore all day yesterday. however i think my favorite moment was definitely the ride into baltimore by boat. i have the coolest boss.

no pics yet...sorry

take the risk...
n

Pointing At Kids

I am not a kid person. My wife and other people assure me that will change when I become a father. I used to doubt them, and then I met Sam (that’s what we’re going to call him...I won’t use his real name because this kid will probably grow up and hate me for using his real name and beat me up. So, out of fear, I’ll just stick with Sam). Sam’s father and I are very close friends. We’ve known each other since the 1980’s. My wife and I sat down to dinner (at TGI Fridays...pointless reference) with Sam and his parents and, all of a sudden, Sam pointed at me. Now, please realize, Sam is two years old, and I am sort of scared of him. So, yeah, Sam points at me and his eyes get really large. I started feeling convicted, like this kid was getting ready to say something profound and it would make most of us (not me, of course) cry. I imagined him saying, “Nathan! Nathan! Why don’t kids like you? Why, it’s because they think you are a mean person with your big beard!” But Sam didn’t say that. Sam pointed, and then muttered the single word that changed my evening: “E.T.”

So, for those of you who haven't seen the movie, play these videos below. First play the second video. Then, after you have cried and watched, play the first and turn up your speakers so you can re-read the beginning to the music from the film. It will be a life changing event for you, I am sure.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this two year old made a reference to the 1982 thriller, E.T. And he was waiting for my finger to stretch out and touch his, like the movie. Let me stop right now and tell you that if you haven’t seen this movie, then the moment being created here doesn’t carry the “Awww” factor for you. Back to the scene: so what did I do? I stretched out my finger and touched his and said “E.T.” right back at him. AND WE BONDED. We did this no fewer than 4600 times the rest of the evening.

And then I think about God: knowing who God is, understanding him, touching him, seeing him. I know I lack a lot of understanding about God. But that night over the dinner table at TGI Fridays, I learned about God through his creation, again. Imagine eating with God. Do it, right now. Imagine you and God are at TGI Fridays. What happens when you sit at a table with someone you don’t understand? What happens when you try and communicate with someone, who is so powerful and pure, that you really can’t connect? What happens when you really understand your vulnerability in that moment? Here’s what happens: you mutter something familiar. It can be a question, a word, or a song. And what happens in that moment, the other person makes the connection.

Now, I am not comparing myself to God. I am comparing myself to Sam. At God’s table in TGI Fridays, I feel like, most of the time, I am looking at him with big new eyes and pointing. And you know what? God makes the connection. I just have to be vulnerable, and look at Him.

“Attention, all! See the marvels of God! He plants flowers and trees all over the earth, Bans war from pole to pole, breaks all the weapons across his knee. ‘Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.’"
-David, the Poet King

I WAS THERE

so i went to the orioles red sox game yesterday. jay payton hit a grand slam in the 7th off Okajima and the place went wild. it was such a great sports moment. i have seen grand slams before, but never in a MLB game. WOW.

so here's my play by play...when the ball was hit ( i was sitting up behind third base) to left field, i immediately jumped to my feet and started screaming and jumping. everyone KNEW it was gone. however, i soon felt my knees go to jelly and felt really drunk in my head. I ALMOST PASSED OUT...AT THE STADIUM. that would be a great headline: Payton's Grand Slam sends fat guy into shock.

it was fun, anyway. and in july, i will going to see Willie Nelson w/my buddy Aaron. oh, how when it is good it is good.

enjoy,

weekend with dad

me and my dad went to the wachovia golf tournament this weekend. i had so much fun. and i learned a lot of things about my dad. i realized it has been a long time since he and i spent some time together. i realized how much older we have both become since i graduated from college. the past three days have been wonderful...and the golf wasnt bad, either.
thanks, dad

no pictures...no video...just keeping this one simple

take the risk...
-n