Robbie's Blog

Just had to show it

2009-10-22T08:15:00.000-05:00

When you get anxious

2009-08-04T09:59:00.000-05:00

This is what I do to release the pressure and tough memories.

Friends

2009-07-09T14:40:00.002-05:00

Mark and Justin are not friends, but then they become friends, then they work at Motorworks! Dreams can come true.

Attitudes

2009-07-07T16:20:00.000-05:00

Wisdom

2009-07-02T16:50:00.002-05:00

Man, I haven't blogged for a very long time. Not on foulorfair.com, nor here.

Christy had her wisdom teeth out on Tuesday. She's doing okay, the swelling isn't too bad. She has the whole week of from work so she's at home watching Wimbledon. Please pray for her that it doesn't affect her body too much and that she can have an enjoyable 4th. We will be heading up to her parent's place this weekend in Alexandria. It was an enjoyable 4th last year and should be fun.

I'll try and blog more. I may include a nice clip of another Braves minor league coach blowing up on an ump. Sure, let's include that. Here you go:

Vocabulary

2009-05-28T16:17:00.007-05:00

This has been YouthWorks training week so I have been really busy over the last few weeks. Everything we have been working towards is now beginning. Phew...now I get to focus on some summer projects.

But something has been swimming in my head concerning vocabulary. We are constantly limiting and expanding our vocabulary and ideas. Let's look at a few examples. If you are someone who loves music, your expressions and teachers are typically musicians. Musicians are 20-35 year olds who are just getting starting in life. They are typically either singing about something ridiculous, some struggles they are going through, something they love or hate, or about their bling and some girls on the dance floor. This can quickly shape someone's reality and thus their vocabulary. On the other hand, listening to no music whatsoever can limit someone's vocabulary. It may not allow someone to understand people's plights or share in their joys with them (as well as not envy their bling).

I was reflecting on Christian music. If you listen to popular Christian music it typically does not do a good enough job of helping you relate to the biblical imagery it sings about. Someone's God-experience is now very popular and Christian's try and imagine themselves singing that experience instead of evaluating their own. I do not know an answer for this. I know a lot of us love, and miss, great worship times and events with other believers. But it is very difficult nowadays to make worship songs guide others toward God if the vocabulary isn't the same used by that believer. If the vocabulary is from 2,000 years ago it is very difficult to make it relevant and draw a connection. Christians have to do a much better job with our songs if we are going to market it and say "here is Christianity." Six possible modern metaphors for the kingdom of God by Brian McLaren which can expand our vocabulary are: the dance of God, the revolution of God, the mission of God, the party of God, the network of God and the dance of God. I am still searching for a web site who lists them clearly...

If all that you read are self help books, then you miss out on the vocabulary of the unknown, of that which is greater than you. If all that you read are novels, then you miss out on some great history and understanding of the world. Not understanding history truly limits vocabulary. If you do not seek to understand genetics as a Christian and what that debate means to the Church today then we do not understand the vocabulary of the upcoming generations. If we make them try to understand ours without a need to understand why, we will fail over and over.

Please, please, read, view, listen to or experience something different. A person is what they are and what they are not. You are what you allow yourself to be and what you limit. Remember, no one can take away your freedom. You are made in the image of an almighty Creator, completely free and bound to be like no man. Stop making God in your image and allow God's people to be made in God's image. (I don't know where that came from but I'm going to leave it) Let's begin to shape our vocabulary in a handy way that can give some good light to those who need it.

I tore up this tape...

2009-05-21T10:00:00.002-05:00

youtube won't let anyone embed it, so you'll have to go to the site...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xxdFLtU1Cg

2009-05-20T15:36:00.000-05:00

Foulorfair.com

2009-05-18T15:17:00.002-05:00

Okay. So Chris Susi and I started up a baseball blog, www.foulorfair.com. I've been putting my baseball thoughts into it, but with work being so busy, I haven't had a ton of thoughts about much else. Eventually I'll settle down and get back to doing more on this one. But I wanted to let you know about the other site. It's already being linked to by other major baseball blogs so that's pretty sweet. But it has a long ways to go. Enjoy.

Forever

2009-05-11T17:01:00.002-05:00

I was just listening to Shane and Shane's I Miss You, and was thinking on the words:

"Oh, I miss You so
The feel of forever
Oh, that taste I know
It hurts to remember"

Do you know what it's like to feel "forever?" Or maybe it helps to think of the idea of feeling like you are in forever? It's very different than your day to day feeling (even though the idea of a believer is to live in the "forever" world consistently). Life is different when you're viewing things through a worldview of eternality (I made up that word). Petty things don't matter as much. Your idea of who God truly is begins to expand and the idea of God having a will and a purpose makes a little more sense. Creation seems to be a little more beautiful and people begin to gain meaning again.

Sometimes it's painful to look back on what you have "lost," especially spiritually. But I always take heart in this: not everyone is able to look back and recognize it. That is the first step, so take joy that you've made it that far. Now you have to take the second step on your own, seeking God for the forever more than the now.

Flo Rida

2009-05-01T13:31:00.002-05:00

Low, low, low, low

More worth watching at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n9YslsI4CU.

True HR King

2009-04-29T16:40:00.001-05:00

Taken from talkingchop.com, which took it from I had a hammer: the Hank Aaron story.

Since Major League Baseball didn't extend any further south than Cincinnati, St. Louis and Washington DC at the time, the south had become a hot bed for minor league baseball. As a sign of the times, the southern minor leagues would fight integration tooth and nail. Many teams played in cities with laws that explicitly prohibited mixed race play. Teams would refuse the assignments of African-American players from their big league counterparts. One league even attempted to ban an entire franchise for willingly fielding African-American players. Hankaaron6_medium

The Braves sent Hank Aaron to their minor league boot camp in Waycross, Georgia. Here, the players lived in integrated barracks, not unlike the Army. Occasionally, there would be a bus to take players into town so that they could run errands and do laundry. On one occasion, Aaron missed the bus back to the barracks and had to return on foot. It was a long walk in the dark and it proved to be a harrowing experience upon his return. There was a fence to get on the grounds and then a long road to the barracks. Aaron decided it would be easier to cut through the woods. When he came out of the woods, a security guard spotted him and began shooting. Fortunately, he would make it into the barracks without getting shot.

Aaron was assigned to the Braves Jacksonville team coming out of camp where he would play for a manager named Ben Geraghty. Aaron, along with his teammates Horace Garner and Felix Mantilla were going to be integrating the South Atlantic League (along with two players on the Savannah ball club). Their manager wanted them on his team, but he also wanted them to know what they would be up against. During the season, he would make a point of visiting them wherever they were staying and would often eat with them when they couldn't eat with the rest of the team. They knew it wouldn't be easy, but the young players were glad to know their manager was on their side.

It wouldn't be easy. They knew that they weren't just playing for themselves. They were setting the stage for other players of their race to join the league down the road. They were expected to hold their tongues no matter what was screamed at them. They were expected to keep their cool if pitchers on opposing teams threw at them. They were expected to be saints in a world of sinners.

At ballparks all over the South, the Jacksonville team was drawing large crowds. The "black section" in each park was full to cheer the African-American players, and the white sections were full just to see the spectacle. This could have led to a disaster. After being hit by a pitch in Macon, Mantilla started to rush the mound but was quickly restrained by teammates. First white fans began spilling onto the field in anger, followed by the African-American fans. If not for the police, it is conceivable that a race riot would have taken place.

Aaron, Mantilla and Garner would suffer indignities at every turn. The fans would throw rocks at them. They were insulted with every racist slur known to man. White fans would throw black cats on the field. Aaron was chased through the streets of Phenix City, Alabama by a group of white guys. Even worse, they would receive death threats, often threatening to shoot them from the stands. At no point could they relax at the ballpark. Their only possible revenge was to play the game well and that they did.

Aaron would be selected to play in the league's All-Star Game. Rumor had it that Georgia Governor Herman Talmadge was going to block him from playing. Aaron would be spiked in the last game before the All-Star Game and it became a moot point. No black player would make the All-Star team that year. Still, Aaron would lead his team into the playoffs. One white fan would greet the team after they clinched their spot in the playoffs with "I just wanted to let you n*****s know you played a helluva game."

When it was over, Aaron knew he was a survivor. He had taken everything that could be thrown at him and thrived as a ballplayer. He saw that he and his teammates had slowly won over many of the fans in the league during the season. It has been said that Aaron might have been the catalyst for Jacksonville to become a more racially tolerant city. "I'm not sure I've ever done anything more important" was Aaron's response.

Flames

2009-04-17T14:28:00.001-05:00

Hi Nikki, this is Mike

2009-04-08T12:11:00.001-05:00

If your face doesn't cringe during this you probably didn't hear it (may need to turn volume up a tad).

Baseball Season Approaches

2009-04-03T09:25:00.002-05:00

It's been a long time since I've blogged, so I thought I'd start back softly. Excited for Sunday's Braves vs Phillies also.

God's Smuggler, by Brother Andrew

2009-03-11T22:33:00.004-05:00

The following is an excerpt from the book. Brother Andrew is a Dutch lad who is at a missionary training school in Scotland.

"During the first few weeks, however, something kept happening that bothered me. At mealtimes the students would frequently discuss inadequate funds. Sometimes after a whole night in prayer for a certain need, half of the request would be granted, or three-quarters…The Bible said that we were workers in God’s vineyard. Was this the way the Lord of the vineyard paid His hired men?

One night I went out for a long solitary walk. On several occasions students had warned me not to “go into Patrick.” Patrick was the slum at the bottom of our hill. It was, they said, the home of addicts, drunks, thieves, even murderers, and walking its streets was unsafe….Before I had gone five blocks I was accosted two times by beggars. I gave them all the money I had in my pocket and watched as they moved without pretense toward the nearest pub. I knew that thee drifters, begging in the streets of the Glasgow slums, would receive a better income than the missionaries-in-training at the top of the hill.

I could not understand why this bothered me so. Was I greedy? I didn’t think so. We had always been poor, and I had never worried about it. What was it then?

And suddenly, walking back up the hill toward the school, I had my answer.

At the chocolate factory I trusted Mr. Ringers to pay me in full and on time. Surely I said to myself, if an ordinary factory worker could be financially secure, so could one of God’s workers.

I turned through the gate at the school. Above me was the reminder “Have Faith In God.”

That was it! It wasn’t that I needed the security of a certain amount of money, it was that I needed the security of a relationship.

I walked up the crunchy pebblewalk feeling more and more certain that I was on the verge of something exciting. The school was asleep and quiet. I tiptoed upstairs and sat by the bedroom window looking out over Glasgow. If I were going to give my life as a servant of the King, I had to know that King. What was He like? In what way could I trust Him? In the same way I trusted a set of impersonal laws? Or could I trust Him as a living leader, as a very present commander in battle? The question was central. Because if He were a King in name only, I would rather go back to the chocolate factory. I would remain a Christian, but I would know that my religion was only a set of principles, excellent and to be followed, but hardly demanding devotion.

Suppose on the other hand that I were to discover God to be a Person, in the sense that He communicated and cared and loved and led. That was something quite different. That was the kind of King I would follow into any battle."

Welcome Moscow!

2009-03-04T15:03:00.004-06:00

Welcome to whoever checked out my blog in Moscow!

I am able to view where viewers are coming from, and this is the first one from Asia. I have had one from India, but it must have not been interesting enough. Anyway, welcome Moscow.

Shine Like Stars

2009-03-04T14:10:00.002-06:00

If you have never seen U2's Rattle and Hum DVD, I would take an hour and a half, make some hot cocoa and a warm fire, and sit down with the kids and watch it. Or if you're single, maybe just microwave some chicken nuggets and sit on your bed and check it out. There is a playlist of all of the songs that take you through the DVD, fantastic. I highly recommend it.

Multiplicity

2009-03-04T09:25:00.003-06:00

And I'm not talking about the movie with Michael Keaton.

It is possible that our model of ministry is still based on a model presented to us over a thousand years ago. Think about that. At that time one man went to God for us (the priest). Martin Luther rediscovered the importance of the "priesthood of all believers," we can all go to God, we don't need someone to do it for us. Yet, our ministry model looks the same (show a sermon on TV and it's possible for me not to know if it's Roman Catholic or Protestant, except maybe the clothes give it away). We still have a person (pastor) going to God for us each week. She/he does the work beforehand, as the professional, and then prays for us and then presents the Word for us and blesses us at the end. For some reason this particular person is way more important during a community time than the rest (remember, she/he is the professional).

Two main things come to mind. First, the New Testament does not have the word "pastor" in it. God never calls a "pastor" in the New Testament. But God does call "pastors" (Eph 4:11). And actually of that list, pastors is number four in importance. (What happened to the first three is a discussion for another time.) But why take the number four of the list and make that the top of today's Christian hierarchy? Very interesting historical progression...but to keep the blog short, I'll continue. The church has done a much better job and not making today's head pastor have to have all the tools in the toolbag. They are now surrounded by more associate pastors, which is fantastic, but I feel as if the process needs to continue. How? Great question (let's blog about it!). Possibly having the church name more pastors (they don't have to be paid, do they?). Naming someone's gift is not a bad thing, and they don't have to be called Pastor Bob or anything, just a noticing of gifts is awesome enough. Maybe CEO pastors, who have just an once of pastoring or shepharding ability, should not be called pastors. They could have another title, and allow the church to reclaim the meaning of the word pastor. I'll continue to my next thought...

If the church has only one person up front, only one person "speaking for God" typically each week, one who is able to go to God for us (at least communally...when was the last time you were asked to pray for your congregation publically?), then how is the world supposed to believe in our Trinity? Three people in unison, three who are one in purpose and power. If we can't see past presenting one and showing a unity among ourselves, how is it possible that we represent a unified God? We are what we do and what we don't do. We need to recognize the gifts among us and let each know how important they are to the body. Pastoring is only one aspect of what's important. Thoughts?

Small

2009-02-27T15:44:00.002-06:00

It's a huge world, but a truly postmodern church may begin to draw a lot of people. But it must remain small for the sake of community. It should either be physically small or have some sense of smallness about it.

I am a big fan of tables at church. Tables are built to get people into a small circle with one another. Usually this happens with family, friends or co-workers, but at church they allow you to engage with all sorts of people you never would have before.

I recall my first time at a church that had tables in the sanctuary. The middle of the sanctuary was rows of chairs but the sides were lined with tables, 4 on each side I believe. There was a family at our table (Mike and I), and we were able to meet all of them and even get to know the two little girls a little bit during the service. Discussion time was held at the table. Jokes were laughed at together. Worship was done in such a way you were conscious of these newcomers into your little realm. At the end when we were pulling out of the parking lot, the two little girls waived at Mike and I, 23 year old single males who typically never would have gotten to know a family there. Maybe eventually through some special event, but not regularly.

Tables naturally, by their nature, set you up for more success when it comes to community. It does not take a table to make that community happen, but it is a handy natural facilitator. It helps to keep things small.

Small groups are the other obvious way to keep things small when a community comes together. Other ideas will be listed this weekend, but does anyone have any more ways to keep things small?

Apples, apples, who wants some apples?

2009-02-24T13:49:00.005-06:00

Thank you Kristi for that catchy title.

Our internet has been down at home so I wasn't able to post this weekend. I could have made a special coffee shop trip or something, but, well I didn't. So we begin again.

I just wanted to talk about macs for a sec. At my work I support PCs and Macs. In the last few years, I have purchased maybe 15 new PCs and there have been maybe 3 mac purchases. I support roughly 70 PCs and 8 macs. Guess how many times I've had to get the PC parts fixed? (bad screen, CD-ROM, memory, hard drive crashed, etc). I would say maybe 2? I believe the same number applies to the macs.

Macs are not immune from having failing pieces! In fact, from my experience, they are more likely to!

Yesterday I spend over an hour replacing a CD-ROM on a MacBook, over an hour! On a PC it takes 2 minutes. Unreal. An employee here had her personal macbook hard drive crash after 4 months I believe, everything lost. I just wanted to let everyone know that macs are not perfect, they are not amazing. If you are going to buy one, buy as much Applecare as you can!

That being said, Christy and my next computer will probably be a Mac.

Open Minded

2009-02-17T23:03:00.004-06:00

This weekend Christy and I went up to Fargo for a day to visit her brother Mitch. We had a romantic night with them at the bowling alley, a movie and then midnight pizza. Back to an effective postmodern church...

This may be one of the most difficult ones to picture. Bear with me.

An effective postmodern church does not depend on doctrine as its unifying theme. At the core must be one doctrine, to love Jesus, and after that everyone must love one another in all of their differences. This will easy for some and very difficult for others. I am suggesting that the same church allows someone to talk about why homosexuality is wrong and the another time someone else is allowed to share about whey they think it's okay. Many voices, one God (I had a book called that once).

I was at a church in town called Solomon's Porch. I met a man through the 5-10 minutes greeting time and began a discussion with him on why he was at this church. He said that he had been going there for a few months and that this was the only church that "let him believe" how he believed. I thought "Is this possible? A church let someone do this?" Not only could he believe differently (what's the big deal you ask), the church let him share his varying doctrine and discussed it with him. A discussion. Open dialogue. Today's church is looking for dialogue, not another parent. People aren't going to believe "because they should" like a 12 year old in Sunday School anymore, they have very serious questions that the church has failed to answer for them. Genetics. Evolution. Theodicy, or the problem of evil. The depths of the atom, the reaches of the universe. We need some serious dialogue.

Do you believe its possible for a church to have people who believe in remarriage with those who do not? Can those who believe in predestination worship next to Free Willy? (just made that up) Can those who read the Book of Prayer daily help the guy who raises his hands every song move to a new home? I think it can happen, it is happening. Thank God, it's about time.

This is not a knock on doctrine, I believe it is a step to make doctrine understood and ultimately more intimate with those in the church. Thoughts?

Not music driven

2009-02-12T10:20:00.002-06:00

There are too many pieces to a church service that people have to pick through in finding a church. I constantly hear (and say myself) "Oh the teaching is so good there, but I don't like the music," or vice versa. We pick or don't pick our community so often based on musical tastes. Is this even close to where we should be as God's hand to the earth? Are we crazy? But no, it's about us. We make it about us. Christy and I have been looking at a church lately and I don't want to go there because I don't want to sit through the music for 30 minutes but I like the teaching. I have this inner battle about it.

But the truth is community should not exist around a show. Anyone here a member of the Stomp community or the Cats community? (You would be if tradition and God had a thing to do with it) The worship experience is much more than music. I do not want someone's words of a time 6 years ago when he was effected by God in such in such a way to be my expression at that moment. Songs are meant to inspire and be a guide (and often a teacher), but they are not the worship experience. Musical talent at a local church should not dictate a church's growth. I often even wonder if we should have music because of the division it often brings. If a major goal of the church is unity ("May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.") then this should matter to us. But it's such an effective tool at times, I have to believe music is important for community worship at times, not every time.

And please read Susi's post in the previous post, right on. I can not focus for a second while someone is playing behind the prayer. It's the one time in the service where we allow the Bible or message to speak to us and to challenge and change us, and then there is soothing music behind it. Can we let God change us please! Reminds me of David playing to sooth Saul, but there are times when God doesn't want us to be soothed at that moment.

Phew, longer one (and I deleted like half of it to keep it shorter).

Climax

2009-02-11T11:03:00.003-06:00

(Reminder: My goal is for this to be a dialogue. If you have any comments, thoughts, rebukes, please post, thanks. Also there are those who need get your mind out of the gutter concerning the post title...you know who you are)

Whether you know it or not today's service is set up for a climax. In the Roman Catholic church, the climax is the Eucharist/Lord's supper/Communion. That is it, that's what it's all about, partaking of the bread and the wine. The typical climax of the protestant church is the sermon. Ever heard "God, bless the words of the pastor, may they come from you?" Let's be honest for a second, everyone that God calls is not a good speaker. If the words are from God then God sounds like a bumbling idiot sometimes. We have made our climax someone speaking for 35 minutes (while the average attention span, due to television, is around 17 1/2 minutes or something).

I believe a postmodern church's climax should not be sitting around listening to someone speak (see Engaging post from yesterday). The climax of the true church is communion with God. This may take place around the Eucharist, but it needs to take place in other forms. Meeting with God is the number one thing a community of believers can do (not feeding the poor, although I believe that desire is a natural bi-product of knowing God). This may include silence, this may include confession, this may include public prayer, or reading of Scripture, there are a number of things that this could look like. But I tell you this, give me 3 minutes of serious connecting with God each week with my community and you'll probably have a faithful church member.

I'll cut this one short too and save the other piece for tomorrow.

Engaging

2009-02-10T11:15:00.002-06:00

As mentioned on an earlier post, I will be mentioning a number of things that I believe will be crucial for the postmodern church.

The first, and in no particular order, is that it has to be engaging. Today's church does not engage its constituents (members, crowd). It is more of a program or a show than a community. As someone whose struggled with a "call" in his life, I can tell you that I've never felt called to be in drama. Today's church is set up like a Greco-Roman amphitheater. To take the style of an ancient amphitheater and decide "Hey, this will be the best possible scenario for an engaging community" is to deceive ourselves. Long gone should be the day where you come to a church community and hide in the back. Long gone should be the time where you don't know the person sitting next to you or their family. There should be interaction with everyone, because, here is the idea, YOU MATTER. If you come to church, it matters. People should miss you when you are not there because you bring something unique to the table and that's important! Never let anyone tell you likewise. Today's church should engage your head and your heart. It's time to stop being professional showmen and professional pray-ers and time to start being professionally honest.

The church today needs to set itself so that it is engaging by nature. The engagement that exists in a small group is the engagement that we're talking about. The connection. The interest. You're understanding of the Native American woman next to you and her past and you help her and she helps you. The way we meet needs to change, the approach we bring needs to change. When someone leaves a church community meeting, they need to typically think "I could not have missed today, thank you God." Trust me, that can happen.

This one has been a bit of rambling and I want to preach now. I'll stop here and continue on tomorrow.

Upcoming...

2009-02-06T11:02:00.002-06:00

For the next week or so I'm going to be blogging about some of the things that I believe are critical for the Church's success in our time. Not only do we have your typical generational gaps to deal with but you add in a paradigm shift and you have a church that doesn't fit the identity of it's members. It's like going to a baseball game listening to the organ and wondering if they'll still play those same songs in 100 years when kids won't even know what an organ is. We are going to need some changes, not tweaks (as is the generational gap custom), and some beliefs that we will need to hold dear. I hope to present a number of possible beliefs for the church. My hope is that people will respond with comments and questions that will allow for a running dialogue. I also hope that this spurns your relationship with God and belief that a relative community of believers is possible, even inevitable. May God bless this time.

Dental Visit

2009-02-04T14:29:00.001-06:00

"Why is this happening to me?"

2009-02-01T15:39:00.000-06:00

2009-01-26T16:39:00.003-06:00

Lamar and Arnold Poindexter

2009-01-23T16:10:00.000-06:00

Do you believe in evolution?

2009-01-21T09:14:00.000-06:00

Classic Plots

2009-01-12T00:12:00.001-06:00

They should redo great plots for television shows like this...

Vikings

2009-01-04T21:13:00.002-06:00

So here I am watching Superstars of Dance thinking "I haven't updated my blog in a long time." So I'm here to update it.

We went to the Vikings game today. God bless Tarvaris Jackson but if he's brought back next year Brad Childress needs to be let go. There are certain people, Doug Flutie types, who don't have to be amazing but can manage a team at QB. Jackson does not have that ability. It was very fun though. And I'm excited about the Falcons next season, they can only get better!

Wedding Pictures

2008-12-12T17:16:00.002-06:00

So you can see some great wedding pictures here (as mentioned earlier) or you can see some other pictures here. These are about all of them, I think (this is where I ask Christy if she's nearby 'are these all of them?'." Alas, she's not here.

We also have some good pictures up on Christy's facebook page of our honeymoon trip to Hawaii. If you aren't friends with her, you can search for Christine Johnson Cape or do it from my page or however that works. The honeymoon trip was great. In a nutshell, we flew out early Monday morning and arrived 3pm Hawaii time (9pm Central). Needless to say, jet lag issues for awhile. The next day was relaxing on the beach (beside a rare seal) and snorkeling. The next day was an excursion up to the northern part of the island, along the way which we saw waterfalls, caves, mountains, passed over many one lane bridges until we reached the actual end of the road, a beach. Here we snorkeled and relaxed, it was great. We had about 20 or so huge fish around us at one point. The next day we kayaked, the next day we took a catamaran to the Na Pali coast, which was beautiful. It was so beautiful that Christy and I got seasick and could hardly sit up for it. But we snorkeled here again and I got to see a large sea turtle. The next day we went up to the western side and into the rainiest area of the U.S. It was a sweet drive with gorgeous views, and then we went to Wal-Mart and then home.

Pop Goes My Heart

2008-12-02T21:58:00.000-06:00

Okay so it's from a chick flick called "Music and Lyrics" (which is actually pretty funny), but the intro scene should not be deprived from the world. If you know anything about 80s MTV, I hope it blesses you as it's blessed me:

So...

2008-11-30T21:29:00.002-06:00

a few things have happened in the last couple of weeks.

One, I got married to the beautiful Christy Cape. She is wonderful. It was a great ceremony and we had a lot of fun at the reception. We were thankful for all of the family and friends that came out and showed support.

Two, we went to Hawaii to the island of Kauai. We have some good stories and pictures that will eventually make it up.

As I struggle with jet lag, I just wanted to get something up. I'll blog more about the wedding and honeymoon this week. In the meantime, you can see some of our wedding pictures at http://erinjohnsonphoto.blogspot.com/2008/11/christy-robbie-married.html.

The Edge

2008-11-12T20:24:00.001-06:00

One of the best scenes in a movie ever. Anthony Hopkins and Alex Baldwin are plane wrecked in the woods and a bear is after them. They are now planning on how to stop running and kill the bear. One particular phrase in this scene is awesome and I use it all the time (hint: not the last one)

Expelled

2008-11-03T20:15:00.003-06:00

So I just watched the documentary "Expelled." It is about how many scientists, atheists and theists, have been fired from their jobs for bringing up the idea of "Intelligent Design." Their thoughts...that the idea of evolution hasn't been perfected and some of the answers may be found in intelligent design (or found out to be false). It's funny...it's something I've noticed for some time that intelligent theists have been counted non-intelligent for not believing in evolution, I'm glad someone did a movie on it. The movie goes as far as showing the major relation that evolution takes to de-valuing of humankind, even showing it's connection to Hitler, concentration camps, etc. It is a good point, one to investigate further for the average American, but one you can't even discuss if you can't discuss the cons of evolution at all. I don't think that you can't be a theist or God-lover and macro-evolutionist at the same time, I just think it's something that should be able to become calm conversation and discussion and not taboo (like bringing up abortion or capital punishment opinions at the dinner table). Point: it's worth checking out.

I've long considered some of my arguments of things to exist in the arena of what isn't as well as what is. Example, one of my favorite phrases to say is "You are what you are, and you are what you aren't. You can't hide either." So I hate bringing up an argument arguing for what can't be seen. But if we are supposed to have begun evolving around 300 million years ago (wikipedia), and recorded human history is only 6,000 years or so old, what the heck were we doing for the other amount of time? Blink, now blink again, now blink again, written human history was the first blink, now you need to blink, let me bring out the PC calculator, yep you need to blink 50,000 times to similate the human origin. Why is just the last blink recorded? Why have humans just started going nuts...did we spend 100 million years on the wheel and iron to one day (in half a blink) figure out space travel and the iPod?

Expelled trailer in case you've never heard of it before:

Tim vs Dwight

2008-10-22T10:31:00.001-05:00

Some of the best Office memories:

I love mice

2008-10-13T15:31:00.004-05:00

So this last weekend, starting Friday night, we were upgrading our email server. We hit a few snags but nothing big, and then Saturday night late I had to run into the office to help finish our last big update. There was an issue...the keyboard and mouse stopped working 5 seconds before the screen where we needed it. So we basically spent the entire weekend and today down because of bad programming that won't let me use the keyboard or mouse. Wow.

But right now there's hope, we're pretty close to getting things up, it will just be amazing to see. What should have been about a maximum of a few hours of my time has turned into about 21 so far. Nice. Welcome to the tech world, hope you enjoy it.

Jesus is my friend

2008-10-08T13:57:00.000-05:00

Georgia's Rankings

2008-09-29T16:22:00.002-05:00

So after this weekend the Georgia Bulldogs drop from 3 to 10 or 11, respectively. Right...Penn State, BYU and Texas Tech are better teams than USC, Florida or Georgia. Georgia State can go undefeated also, maybe they should be ranked up there?

I realize that the beginning of the game looked really, really bad, but they did come back to rally with 11 (41-30). If the game would have been 30-27 and then Bama scored 2 TD's, would the Georgia ranking be higher? I mean, Alabama looked like #1 Overall good, but Georgia didn't become a slouch all of a sudden.

Georgia is not #1 material this year, I was hoping they would be but they are not. They are too young and have too many injuries. 3 freshman on the O-line, that's bad news in the SEC no matter how good they are. Injuries-Knowshon is hopefully only out of the next week, Stafford got hurt, killer LB Ellerbe got hurt, TE Trip Chandler, who isn't that great but is our best TE, is out. Before the game our stud FB Southerland is still not playing FB yet and I believe our best offensive lineman, a junior, is out for the season.

Georgia may surprise, but they are still a good team with tons of talent maturing. I hope Knowshon and Stafford stay because next season would be ridiculous.

History

2008-09-23T14:14:00.001-05:00

I love history. Recently I've been reading about early American history in The People's History of the United States, great book. Then I got to the section around the time of the first Presidency and George Washington. Then I got to hear about a slave of his, Oney Judge. Then I thought, wouldn't it be cool to hear her story from someone whose drunk? Then luckily I found it online, phew.

I had tickets to the Super Bowl Jesus!

2008-09-23T14:05:00.002-05:00

Simple Weekend

2008-09-22T09:28:00.003-05:00

This weekend Christy and I went camping before it gets too cold. It was cold at night still, but less than it would be in a few weeks. The leaves have begun falling and it was very beautiful at William O'Brien Park on the St Croix river. We did some bike riding which was very nice, but one hill particularly wiped us out. While coasting down the hill, my mind and my legs were in a shouting match, one saying "this is so fun" and the other "you idiot." It was a tough go getting up the hill but we're here today, so must have been alright.

We then got up early Sunday morning and went to the Vikings game. It was Christy's first NFL game, as well as Olaf and Amy's (who went with us). It was pretty fun, top row and all (remember those days Jer?). I didn't see high-five guy or short-shorts guy though. I'd love to have a picture of them or a recording of their political arguments with those who came to see the game, but I don't. Until later

In Wedding Reception dance planning...

2008-09-11T14:13:00.002-05:00

I thought I'd check out the latest dances. Besides being able to do the African Anteater Ritual, I can also do the following if given enough beer:

Welcome Lucknow!

2008-09-10T10:40:00.003-05:00

You thought LuckNow was what I desire in poker when I flop I flop a set and someone stays until the river with the 4-2 of diamonds and hits the flush. Bad joke. But really LuckNow is a city in India that is my first overseas visitor to my blog. I have no idea who it is or why, but welcome! In your honor, I will show everyone where you are from and link to information about LuckNow.

Knowshon

2008-09-10T09:23:00.004-05:00

Knowshon Moreno is the running back for the Georgia Bulldogs. He's amazing and so fun to watch. I know Georgia is number 2 overall and has maybe the toughest schedule in the country this year, so going undefeated will be insanely difficult. But this is the truth: any team with Knowshon on the field has a chance. He's that good.

Nice little Vince Carter action...you don't take the chance of hurting your goodies if you know you're not going to make it...

Weddings

2008-09-02T16:33:00.003-05:00

This last week I was able to go see my friend Michael and my brother Lan get married in Alabama and Georgia. Both were special in their own way. Michael was able to add his little touch to his wedding (asking the pastor to repeat the first vow because it was too long). And Lan, well, it's Lan, talking about Heather's "sexy eyes" during his vows. Both very good. I can't believe that both are married now, especially Lan.

May God bless them both.

My uncle put me on to this wedding...very different from theirs...

You thought your work environment was bad...

2008-08-21T09:37:00.003-05:00

The market is actually located right on the train line. Apparently, market vendors remove their wares and stalls to make way for each passing train and then rapidly re-establish themselves after it has passed. The area is so cramped and packed with goods and equipment that the train carriages actually pass over the top of produce left on the outside of the tracks. Bangkok.

Christian the Lion

2008-08-19T14:09:00.000-05:00

These two guys reared this lion from a baby in England but the authorities would not allow them to keep it once it reached maturity so they were forced to give it up, they took it back to Africa and placed it in a wildlife sanctuary, a year later they went to see it and were told it would not remember them...

Him Too

2008-08-19T14:04:00.000-05:00

He's Good

2008-08-19T13:58:00.001-05:00

MotorWorks

2008-08-19T11:47:00.001-05:00

The new 2008 MotorWorks commercial, starring Jake Ladd

Rare Ferrell shows

2008-08-14T16:54:00.002-05:00

So I've been looking for some more rare Will Ferrell clips, and I've found some amazing ones. Below is him crashing a live show called Power Lunch, enjoy.

Oh Manny

2008-08-06T10:07:00.003-05:00

Thanks for my friend Jer for pointing out this Manny video. It is a remake of the Barry Manilow song "Oh Mandy"

Lil' Brudder

2008-08-05T21:34:00.002-05:00

My lil' brudder Lan is getting married in 25 days, wow. He's getting married before me. Of course our entire family almost got married before us...anyway, he's doing well. Has to be stressful (I of course have no stress), so pray for him. Also, here is another lil' brudder clip. The first minute or so explains the rest of it. Enjoy!

Friend of God

2008-07-29T11:04:00.003-05:00

So I was thinking about what it takes to be a friend of God. I do not think that once you believe in Christ you are all of a sudden "a friend of God," since that phrase is not thrown around in the Bible and personally I have many acquaintances but good friends are always tough to come by and to keep.

So my first thought directed me to the idea that most people are friends with those that are similar to them. Similar ideas, similar backgrounds, similar approaches to the world, someone who doesn't cause a lot of conflict simply because of their different worldview. Sure, sometimes we have friends who are not a lot like us but I would think the majority are similar to us. Then I applied that to God. A friend of God is someone who is like God and actually wants God to be his/her friend. Why would I want God to be my friend if God is so way different than me? Why would I seek that out, especially if God views poverty, the human condition, politics, homosexuality, the need for urgency, etc differently than I do? (just examples) I would be the one, then, who is not putting forth the effort in the relationship as I am choosing who I want to be.

But then I thought about Jesus. Jesus was labeled "a friend of sinners." Hmm...how can a friend of sinners be a friend of God? Maybe it isn't fully about human personality traits and opinions that make someone a friend of God or not. I think Jesus was a friend of sinners because he honestly cared for them. How can he, being so holy and so different? I think he valued and cared for each person (maybe minus those who refused to stop being hypocrites - Pharisees, for example), and maybe he saw God's image in each of them (take a second to think about that). This gives me hope, as I can be a friend of God one day and not have to be exactly like God (yes!, I don't think I'm going to acheive that). Boy, there are a million thoughts on where to go on from here.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

And we made Him in our image...

2008-07-28T16:46:00.003-05:00

I think one of the reasons why we have a hard time "spending time" with God is that we have made God to look like us and let's be honest, sometimes who wants to spend time with us? For example, let's say that you aren't the best friend. When a friend of yours is in need, you know that sometimes you're there for them and sometimes, well, something just comes up or you just feel weak and choose not to help them out. This may be from a ton of psychological or sociological reasons (or genetical if you're into genetics), your mom bathed you too long or didn't hug you enough, etc. No matter the reason, it seems that we cannot picture Someone who is not like us. Someone who has the ability to be faithful. Someone who has the ability to love you no matter what. Someone who doesn't judge you for your appearance or background. Someone who is very encouraging and thinks your idea is good.

I tell you what, I want to be around that person! Problem is, I have trouble not picturing God like myself as well. How many times have we said "Well, if I was God I would have..." when we saw that flood or typhoon on TV. In other words, in all of your wisdom God should be like...such and such...

Here's our problem, God is not like such and such. We have an inner voice I believe that tells us what God is like (made in the image of God, Holy Spirit, conscience) and we have the Bible. I have a tough time with some things the Bible is absolute on, but I have to allow it to speak about who its God is and allow that to transform my imagined God. This isn't so easy. Man, it would be sweet to not have a God like me!

Private Eyes

2008-07-25T11:39:00.006-05:00

Per request, I have found a clip of a Don Knotts and Tim Conway classic "Private Eyes." It is a family classic. Maybe you will be able to enjoy some of the random and dry humor, hey, that's my style. The movie was filmed at the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC which I visited around 6th grade and got to see the secret passages a little bit first hand. The killer wrote a bunch of mystery notes that are great when read, examples:

I said when I died, that I'd come back. If you believe in ghosts, you're on the right track. I'm out of the grave, and roaming the moores. If you want to be safe, you better lock all the windows and screens. Also, In this house, it's hard to survive. Some'll be dead, who are now alive. Mr. Uwatsum is gone, 'cause he knew too much. Bye for now, but rest assured we'll keep in constant contact with each other. Also, If Jock could talk, he'd give you a clue. But now that he's dead, what can you do? He deserved what he got, I don't regret it a bit. By the way, you're standing in bull ca-ca.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0tpAcItmdSo Someone was able to put together a few highlights, you'll want to starting at about 1:10 in.

There is a time to cry...

2008-07-24T16:27:00.000-05:00

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?' The father, who despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'.
They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together.
One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.'
To which, his father said 'Yes'.
For those who didn't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island .
Father and son went on to complete the race together.

Neil!

2008-07-21T10:33:00.002-05:00

So Christy and I were able to go to another concert we normally would not have bought tickets for...Neil Diamond. The only thing I knew about Neil Diamond was his song "Coming to America" and that Will Ferrell had played him on occasion. We went with Olaf and Amy (Christy's roommate and her fiance) and Heather and Charlie. It only took about 4 songs and Olaf and I were ready to go. It was definitely a crowd that we weren't a part of (we did not have elbow patches on our coats). Olaf did provide a bit of humor throughout though. The 3rd song in, Neil, who is very much an old school performer, said, "I'm lonely here up on the stage, without you up here" (or something to that affect) and then proceeded to say "I'm here tonight...to make love to you..." At that moment Olaf immediately stands up and leaves. Good stuff. I would not give you a video to watch of Neil, because that's just wrong and a little like making your GF watch Sanford and Son with you, so here's Ferrell doing Neil in a quick clip.

ibeatyou.com

2008-07-16T22:29:00.003-05:00

So I just found this new web site and it's awesome. Maybe you've heard of it but it's ibeatyou.com and it's all about competitions online. There is some hilarious videos there, well worth checking out regularly. And if you upload something in a competition or start one, let me know! Here's an example from "The worst trampoline fall" competition. To see the funniest one, click the up button on the bottom right and choose number 1, the one with Craig Kilborn:

The New Church

2008-07-15T02:05:00.003-05:00

What if instead of labeling ourselves as Christians doctrinally we labeled ourselves as those who love Jesus? Imagine a church based on the love of God and not whether or not you believe a certain doctrine. Imagine...you can be an active member if you have differing opinions on free will or predestination, homosexuality, abortion, etc. You get to worship right beside someone who strongly disagrees with you.

I hate to break it to you, but this is the only way our generation is going to work. We are not only dealing with a generation shift, we are dealing with a paradigm shift. We're talking a whole new way of thinking that is going on in the, say, 50 and younger crowd. We need modern churches for those who are modern, and postmodern churches for, let's say, everyone that is being born basically. But we have way too few.

I met a man at Solomon's Porch who said the reason he just started going there was because he believed differently than those around him, but he felt welcome. My heart lifted. That's the right spirit. I believe quite strongly in the need for discipleship and biblical and theological teaching, but in the end I believe that it is more important that we are brothers and sisters.

More will be coming on this thought I can tell you that.

My Father Figure

2008-07-14T13:58:00.003-05:00

So Mark and I got to go see George Michael in concert last week for free. Trust me, if it wasn't for it being for free we wouldn't have gone but we both had a good time. We had two extra tickets which we sold to the first scalper we saw for $20 each. Later we found out that he resold them for $75 and the average ticket price was $180-240! Whoops...well, you live and you learn...but we ate for free and didn't have to pay for parking, a very free and fun night. Other than being scared to be in the bathroom for a long time it was fun.

Man Weekend

2008-07-14T13:39:00.006-05:00

So this weekend was Man Weekend. Women love to laugh when I tell them I'm going to "Man Weekend," but that's what it is. Mark is the ringleader who got 6 of us together to go up to Duluth and hang out for the weekend. It was a whole lot of fun. We went camping on Saturday afternoon but left early after it rained on us for a few hours. The best was when one of the fellas put this huge log into the nearby small river and rode it down the river holding on for dear life (it wasn't that dangerous). It was amazingly funny. All of the guys there called me Big Lanny since they knew Lan from the last man weekend. They also called me Big Robbie, Little Lanny, and by the end I had to answer to simply Lanny. We returned early on Sunday and I was able to catch the end of Christy's United Way sponsored event "Live United." The band The Last Goodnight was playing (song "Pictures of You"), and Christy got to know the lead singer because of PR stuff. We almost threw down when he reached to give her a hug, jk, but seriously...

Google Analytics

2008-07-11T13:42:00.006-05:00

Very cool site. It allows you to see who is coming to your site, their operating system and internet browser, what page people look at, where they start, where they leave, average time on the site, etc. They also let you see where people are from who come to your site. Looks to me like Minnesota people have checked it out, Kristi, Lan and Mom in Georgia, Jer in Texas and Chris and maybe Michael (?) in Alabama.

ps-I'm in IT. I love this kind of stuff.

Scoundrels

2008-07-10T10:59:00.000-05:00

So yesterday was my birthday and Christy and I spent the evening celebrating. It was a low key evening, what the doctor called for. I had been wanting to see Dirty Rotten Scoundrels again for some time so Christy and I rented it and grabbed some ice cream. That movie is amazing. I'd like to leave you a little clip. It is about 2 con artists trying to get $50,000 out of the American Soap Queen. Steve Martin is faking being paralyzed from the waist down and Michael Caine is, well, you'll see. It gets really good about 3:00 in, fyi.

Our Deepest Fear

2008-07-03T16:40:00.001-05:00

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

by Marianne Williamson, quoted by Nelson Mandela

There are two pieces of literature that highly encourage me outside of the Bible, the Practice of the presence of God by Brother Lawrence and this simple paragraph. How true, and how adultish we are, when we allow fear to control us. I think it's about what you get used to. Once used to living in fear and shrinking, it is hard to imagine anything else. But once you get used to the light, it is hard to imagine anything else. Lord, help us to approach the light boldly.

You're the Best (Around)

2008-07-02T17:07:00.000-05:00

I heard this song in my iTunes and decided to see if the scene from Karate Kid was on youtube and wala! it was. Karate Kid makes me think of this babysitter Lan and I used to go to when we were younger. They had it on VHS and this one kid would watch it all the time. He ate bananas and drank Coke nonstop and because of that he always had some mouth rash. Very strange.

Manny being Manny

2008-06-30T17:30:00.001-05:00

My good friend Chris Susi sent this link to me, it's too good not to post. MLB will probably take it down as they are nazis about anything baseball related not bing on their site, so enjoy it while it lasts!

First Blog

2008-06-30T17:01:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to let you know that I am starting a new blog. I have never done one of these before for personal use, and to be honest am a little excited about it. It is also strange to me to say "Hey, read what I have to say" and then think that people may actually check it out and keep up with it. Well let's see if that happens.

The blog will have a number of random thoughts on it as I normally think about a number of random things throughout the day.

I will begin with a short and concise life update. I am living and working in Minneapolis, just south of downtown. I have a condo there (which is up for sale, if you're looking). I am now engaged to Christy Johnson, a fabulous young woman who puts up with my shenanigans and can create her own. She is from a town called Alexandria which is about 2 hours northwest of the Twin Cities and works in PR at United Way. She is very much a blessing in my life and I look forward to life with her. Recently we just finished up co-facilitating a meal group (small group) at Upper Room in Edina, MN. I coach a softball for YouthWorks (where I work) on Monday nights and Christy and I play mixed doubles tennis on Wednesday nights. It is now summer here which means, in Minnesota, you better go nuts and do all of the outside things you can before winter comes back, so we spending some time camping and riding bikes as well.

Kristi, my sister, just turned 22, which makes me feel old. She is in her 14th year of college (jk Kris) and moving to Rome, GA to go to school in August. But hopefully she comes back to the Atlanta area sometime soon after that. She has a BF as well who I hear is a swell guy.

Lan (aka Lanyard, Lanwanita, Lenny or Jonathan) is also engaged. We decided to be single for about 28-31 years and then get engaged on the same weekend. I don't know if there is a "normal" Cape out there. He just bought a home and is now working at careerbuilders.com. He's a good kid.

Then there is Spencer. Spencer was born with the part of the brain missing that is required to play cards well (jk Spence). He's still in high school and is driving. Wow. He's also a good kid (as far as I know). He also enjoys getting whipped in ping pong by his oldest brother and father.

Okay, that's it for this post. I will come back with some more topics soon. And please post comments to them! I'd love to see who is reading and if it has any bearing on anything in anyone's life whatsoever.

Robbie