Groovy Sputum

Ok, I Just Had The Best Espresso EVER!

We spent the day out yesterday tooling around Athens, Ohio.  It’s where my best friend grew up and we wanted to go back and see how the old town was fairing.  We went by Valerie’s old house, the elementary school she attended (which has since been torn down), the park where she used to skin her knees, and saw the local donut shop called McHappy’s.  The kids loved playing in the park south of town and we had a pb&j lunch in the very mild 50+ degree afternoon.

I began to get a bit drowsy mid afternoon (as is typical) so we swung by Court Street in pursuit of some espresso.  Many shops were closed due to the OU students being on holiday until the second academic quarter resumes in January, but I noticed a little shop that had its sign on.  It was called Court Street Coffee and I ordered a large mocha sans whipped cream.  Valerie had a decaf mocha with double whipped cream.  That’s how we roll.

Anyway, you might be wondering if I was being sarcastic in my post title about how good the drink was, but let me tell you I was not.  It was the absolute BEST espresso drink I have EVER had!  Seriously.  It was a perfect blend of espresso flavor, mocha, and creaminess.  Most mocha lattes you get grossly overdo the chocolate syrup and it drowns out the espresso flavor.  This drink had the ratio just right.  And the steamed milk was very creamy.  Typical lattes seem overly watery probably due to the fact that skim milk is used to save a buck.  I can’t verify if whole milk was used, but I suspect it was.

I savored the experience and took my time finishing the drink while Valerie had her’s consumed in a little over two minutes.  She later expressed remorse for her blunder, and I did feel pity for her, but not enough so to share my treasure with her. Selfish, I know.

The other cool thing about this place was that they are a Crimson Cup coffee shop.  I first discovered Crimson Cup Coffee a year ago when Valerie and I were away together in Marblehead. We stopped at a little place called Spill The Beans and they had the same cups as Court Street Coffee.  Crimson Cup is a Columbus based coffee company that supplies locally owned coffee shops with quality coffee.  They will even help you start your own, if you are into that sort of thing.  They are not a franchise, but a supplier, which allows for the local owner to be in charge.  If I ever get around to opening up The Mud Puddle, I will certainly think about Crimson Cup

Love Song

I got the new Brandon Heath album the other day and there is a really good ballad on it called “Love Never Fails”. It is his take on 1 Corinthians 7. It’s really good AND it is available for FREE on Amazon starting tomorrow! How nice is that?

The Doghouse

I thought this was very well produced and entertaining. May we all take note and learn a lesson from this ad.

VBS Planning And ABC Craft

I am getting quite a few visitors to my blog as a result of “Outrigger Island” Google search queries, so I thought I would actually write about how our VBS planning is going, you know, in case you stumbled upon Groovy Sputum and are actually expecting real VBS content.

Monday night is the first night and I think we are ready to go. I sent the shirts off to have the transfers pressed on today and will get them back this weekend. We have 35 kids pre-registered (so far) and I have heard some good things about the Google Docs online registration form we are using. 13 of those 35 registrations have come in in the last day or two, so the pace is definitely picking up. I hope we have 60 or more pre-registered before Monday.

I also wanted to share a cool craft that we are doing this year. Apparently LifeWay has an “ABC” song every year for VBS (it stands for Admit, Believe, Confess…you know, the gospel) and this year they are selling tribal looking bracelets with “ABC” etched in them for like a dollar to go along with the song. I thought these would be a fun (and cheap) craft for the kids so I searched the net and found a lady who makes bamboo beads out of her home in Texas. Her site is called Bamboo Branch and she made us a few hundred 1.5 inch beads for ten cents each. Then, I got a wood burning iron and burned “ABC” into them and strung them up with some jute twine and some beads. The cost to make these is now about twenty cents per bracelet. I think the kids will really like them and I don’t think it will break the bank for the materials. It’s something that is fun to make and can be used as an evangelical tool after VBS.

Maglia Rosa Update

Well, Team Slipstream had a great first day at this year’s Giro d’Italia. They won the team time trial and held the Maglia Rosa for precisely one day. I guess that’s pretty good for a second tier team who is riding against the big boys. Unfortunately, Team Astana has a rider in pink and it looks like he will win the whole thing in a few days. At least the good guys have made a bit of progress against the drug cheats.

Speaking of drug cheats, the Washington Post has a great article about pro cycling that everyone should check out. I get tired of hearing about how cycling is so dirty and how scandalous it is. This usually comes from MLB & NFL fans. Sure, there are drugs in cycling, but it is the only sport in the world that is serious about stopping it. Most major pro sports punish cheats with a verbal warning on the first offense, a small fine on the second, and a short (1 or 2 game) suspension on the third offense. In cycling, there is an automatic 2 year suspension for a first offense and a lifetime ban if you are caught a second time. Cycling also requires unannounced in and out of season tests. There is a lot yet to do, but I am glad that cycling is willing to fight the fight rather than sweep things under the rug like so many other sports. I wish my beloved track and field would follow suit.

Sad News

Many of you have probably heard the news about the tragic, untimely death of Steven Curtis Chapman’s youngest daughter, Maria. She was run over accidentally in her driveway on Wednesday by her brother. She was five years old.

As a person who has grown up listening to this guy’s music, I feel a strange connection to him. He has 6 kids, is an advocate for adoption, and has a heart for children. His music has convicted, encouraged, challenged, and comforted me over the years.

I can not imagine the pain that family is going through. As a parent, how do you recover from that? The brother that was driving will never be the same, either. I think about how much my life was changed by the death of my father unexpectedly and He was in his 60s and it wasn’t an accident. I pray that I never have to go through what SCC is right now.

I am reminded of one of his songs and think it is an appropriate prayer to lift him and his family up right now:

I will not pretend to feel the pain you’re going through
I know I cannot comprehend the hurt you’ve known
And I used to think it mattered if I understood
But now I just don’t know

Well, I’ll admit sometimes I still wish I knew what to say
And I keep looking for a way to fix it all
But we know we’re at the mercy of God’s higher ways
And our ways are so small

But I will carry you to Jesus
He is everything you need
I will carry you to Jesus on my knees

It’s such a privilege for me to give this gift to you
All I’d ever hope you’d give me in return
Is to know that you’ll be there to do the same for me
When the tables turn

And if you need to cry go on and I, I will cry along with you, yeah
I’ve given you what I have but still I know the best thing I can do
Is just pray for you

I’ll carry you
I’ll take you to Jesus on my knees

Please pray for this family.

The Greatest Sight In Sports & Dresses

I couldn’t sleep last night and was flipping through the channels which is dangerous, I know. As I flipped, I began to see some of the most unbelievable things I have ever seen. They weren’t incredible daredevil feats or mind boggling surgeries or one of a kind musical performances (although, Stevie Wonder on BET was awesome). They were the words spewing from the mouths of the individuals commenting on events that occurred over the weekend.

The Oscars were last night (didn’t watch) and I started my channel surfing after they were over. Apparently, this “red carpet” thing is a big deal because there was show after show after show reviewing what the people were wearing when the stepped out of their limos. Are you serious? It wasn’t just one show either. There were many, many, many HOUR LONG special shows that dealt EXCLUSIVELY with what movie stars were clothed in. Here’s the kicker: these no-name losers had the gall to categorize these actors as either being “glam” or a “sham”. Are you serious? Now, I am not saying that some didn’t look better than others (can you really expect Bette Midler to look the same as Heidi Klum), but they all looked very nice. These commentators went on and on and on about how good this make up was and how horrible these shoes were and how cute this handbag was and what this person could have done better with her hair. Are you serious? Why is this even on my tv? I always thought the Oscars was about the best in the movie industry. Apparently not.

The other amazing thing was the following quote:

“This is one of the greatest spectacles in professional sports!”

He wasn’t talking about the Super Bowl trophy presentation. He wasn’t talking about the Stanley Cup presentation. He wasn’t talking about the Masters green jacket presentation. He was referring to the B.A.S.S. Classic fishing tournament trophy presentation. Are you serious? You think a guy with a dorky mustache holding up two fish by the mouth wearing a bowling shirt with a gazillion logos on it (most of which are for snuff or bait) sporting a mullet is the greatest spectacle in professional sports? What is the world coming to? He went on and on about how this guy made a great catch and how that guy regretted using this lure and how this other guy is one of the best up-and-coming pro fisherman. Are you serious? Dude, you have got to start watching SportsCenter because fishing isn’t even a sport.

Needless to say, I now feel like I have seen it all. The height of vanity. The height of delusion.

Stuffing The Stuff

We started watching Andy Griffith last fall with the kids and wound up going through the first two seasons in about 8 weeks. Then, we started in on The Waltons and devoured the first two seasons of that in a little over 10 weeks. Now, we are into the first season of Little House on the Prairie. We just watched the 4th episode.

I have noticed a few things as we have been vegging in front of the tube. First, I enjoy not seeing commercials with my kids. Actually, I notice this more when I try to watch anything on network tv with my kids. I know there are rules as to what can be shown at what time, but whoever makes these rules sure isn’t trying to raise Godly kids. It’s embarrassing.

The second thing noticed is more of a historical observation: people tend to be happier the less things they have. The author of The Waltons is always mentioning how he and his family had nothing growing up, yet they were always happy and really didn’t notice their lack of stuff. I read a report on a news site the other day about how depression is at an all time high in the U.S., yet people are more affluent than ever.

Now, I am not saying a kid living in the street is in paradise, but I do think that the excess stuff of this world chokes out much of life’s joys. The abundance of stuff we have also tend to warp our thinking so that we are pre-occupied with self-gratification. We become self centered creatures who seek more stuff so that we can be entertained.

If you compared my life with that of others in this country, you would say that we live modestly. In fact, some would question our ability to provide even the basics of life with my salary. The reality is we have TONS more stuff than the average family dreamed of even 30 years ago. The biggest thing we have is the ability to access information and entertainment media. And there is an endless supply.

I haven’t yet decided how I am going to respond to these observations, but I feel that there is a change coming. Really, this is an extension of my thought in this post, just a different angle. I guess I just want my kids (and myself) to cherish relationships and people more than entertainment and things. That is very difficult to teach in this day and age. We have already started to cut down on tv and computer time, but I feel like more is needed. Maybe the change needs to take place with me rather than just with the kids. I’ll keep you posted.

The Vices Of Our Day

The flu has been making the rounds in our family this week and Valerie is not feeling too well today, so I decided to take the opportunity to change the Saturday morning routine a bit with the kids. Normally, Valerie will fix breakfast and then the morning is a mix of cartoons, grocery shopping, or playing. I decided to dive headlong into some chores promptly after breakfast. I served up “dunky” eggs & toast, with bananas and apples, by the way.

The first item of business was to tidy up the kid’s bedrooms. This consisted of throwing away diapers, picking up trash, removing who knows what from under the beds, putting dirty cloths in the hamper, and putting toys, books, and shoes in their proper places. You would have thought I was a slave driver when the kids heard me ask them to do this. “Just because mommy is sick doesn’t mean that everything has to change,” cried one kiddo. “I never do anything but clean,” cried another. I quickly asked my children if they ever played with their toys, read books, watched tv, or played games on the internet, to which they were silent. “But it will just get messy again,” objected another child. “Yes, it probably will,” I replied, “but having nice things means taking responsibly to take care of them.” I was feeling pretty confident with my calm composure and insightful responses. “If you don’t want to take care of them, I guess I can pack them up and give them to someone who will,” I said. Needless to say, a few moments later four grumpy kids were busy in their room. We managed to get the bedroom straightened up and I even swept the floors of the main living area during this chore time as well.

My mix-things-up-because-mom-is-sick plan continued after chore time by having the kids put some puzzles together and having a short story time. I read the story of St. Valentine. It was pretty nice, but I couldn’t help get a bit tired of the kids griping and complaining. They weren’t outright asking to watch tv or veg in front of the computer, but I sensed that that was their ultimate desire. Sure, they enjoyed the puzzles and the story, and I think they appreciated having a tidy home, but given the choice, they would have chosen technology time.

That’s when it hit me: things have got to change. I know that we don’t let our kids watch tv or play on the computer as much as the typical household, but my kids still craved it and felt gypped if they were denied these things. I felt kind of hurt to know that my kids would rather spend time with Dora or Club Penguin than with me. Actually, it’s not just that…it’s that they seem to enjoy those thing more than they enjoy me. Punch me in the gut a bit harder, will ya?

So, I am taking a stand. Things are going to change around here. Sure, we will still have family time in front of the tv with Andy Griffith, The Waltons, and Little House, but we are going to stop using PBS and Noggin as a childcare provider. From now on, activities in this house will require personal interaction and not just be a client-server relationship. It isn’t going to be easy, but I hope that once the addiction is broken, my kids will want to do things with me first and the technology based entertainment will be something I have to force them to engage in.

Wish me luck.