Kim's family also does the whole draw a name and buy gifts for one person thing. The twist with her family is that everything revolves around a list. You must provide the family with a wish list. I struggle with this because it goes against my philosophy on gift giving, but I go along with it because I must.

Usually, it's hard for me to come up with a list of wants because everything that I don't have that I want costs several hundred dollars, e.g. a bike or a macbook.
This year I was able to come up with a few things. At the top of my list was money to fund drilling a well in Africa. My list also included a leaf blower, a set of pliers, a torque wrench, a black long sleeved thermal shirt, a shop vac, and The Dangerous Book for Boys.

Kristin, Kim's sister, drew my name. She got me the book and the torque wrench. The torque wrench will come in handy when I change my spark plugs this upcoming weekend. The book was a great gift because she addressed it to Palmer and I both. I hope that we do get to use it together.

That's all for now. Merry Christmas.

Labels: family, travel

On the drive from Raleigh to Kissimmee, I listened to the majority of The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.. He was a remarkable man. The book is made up of various writings of his from throughout the fifties and sixties with several of his speeches mixed in.

Going in, I knew very little of this man's life. I am still processing a lot of what he said. The main thing that I taken away from what I've listened to thus far is a deep appreciation for his philosophy of bringing social change through direct, non-violent action. Most of the images I have in my head of the Civil Rights Movement are scenes of violence. I guess I never thought that the violence might not have been was two sided.

I'll try to write more after I finish. I should have some time after Christmas.

Labels: books

Last night, my family exchanged "Christmas" gifts. Kim and I left this morning to head down to Florida for the weekend through Christmas day. So, we got together with my mom, my sisters, and everyone's spouses to do our part to perpetuate the commercialization of Christmas early.

I have a few hold ups with the whole gift giving at Christmas thing. It is not that I don't appreciate gifts. My main issue is that I don't want someone to buy me a gift out of a felt obligation or simply because it is Christmas. I abhor the idea of wish lists. If you don't know me well enough to know what to buy me, I'd rather you just not buy me anything, or you could give the money you would've spent on me to someone who needs it and just tell me about it.

My ideal gift receiving experience is one where the giver of the gift has a desire to show me love through the transfer of material things. This person would buy me a gift based on their knowledge of me and my likes, dislikes, wants, and needs.

I was a bit skeptical going into last night because I was unsure who had my name, (We draw names and buy for one person.) and no one had called Kim to get ideas. So, I assumed I was going to get some "stuff" that I didn't need. However, my expectations were thoroughly exceeded.

My little sister, Leslie, had my name, and she got me some awesome gifts. It was heartwarming (I wanted to use another word here, but I couldn't come up with a better one. My mind is numb from the ten hour drive that took almost thirteen hours.). She got me took books on Africa: 28 Stories Of AIDS in Africa and The Fate of Africa.

I haven't mentioned much about this on here, but until recently, I was preparing to go on a trip to the Central African Republic in January, but that fell through. Well, Leslie went and found out what language they speak there, French and Sangho, and went looking for a learn the language program for me. She couldn't find one for Sangho, which she was pretty disappointed about. So, after she couldn't get me that, she went with the other two books.

I'm really happy with her gifts. It was an awesome feeling that she was so thoughtful in her gifts. People say "It's the thought that counts", but to me I think it's really true. Thanks sis!

Labels: family

I recently found the American Consumer News blog and subscribed to it. They have had several good posts. Today's post was about 7 Benefits to Getting out of Debt. This is something that I have been struggling with for several years. We've made a lot of progress by way of altering our buying habits, but we still have a long way to go. I look forward to these benefits.

Something that I struggle with is giving while in debt. Financially, it seems like it behooves me to not give to others, the church, or various charities. However, there is a part of me that feels that even though I am paying the consequences of poor decisions, in the way of school loans and credit card bills, that I still have much more than other people. So, I continue to give.

Any one have thoughts on how one balances the desire to be charitable with the need to become debt free?

Labels: questions

I just listened to a talk and the speaker said that he asked his kids this question...

If Christmas is when we celebrate Jesus' birthday, who should get the presents?

He said they looked at him like he was a moron and said if it's Jesus' birthday then he should the get presents.

If we were to believe that, what do you think Jesus wants for his birthday?

Labels: church, questions

My home group is doing the Just Walk Across the Room study put out by Willow Creek, and based on Bill Hybels' book with the same title. Section three suggests that each participant write out their faith story, kind of the before-and-after of becoming a Christian. The study gave several examples of "bad" stories, e.g. long-winded stories, stories filled with "religionese", etc., and it gave a few examples of "good" stories.

Well, here's my attempt at writing down my faith story...

I grew up in America, more specifically in the South, where everyone's a "christian". Growing up, my family went to church when we felt like it, and honestly, we didn't feel like it that often. In high school, there was a time when I decided that I was really going to be a "christian", but looking back, I treated it no differently than joining a club. There was no purpose in it.

It wasn't until several years later, when I was about twenty-four, that something clicked, and I started to see something that I had missed in the past. I started to recognize that being a Christian was about accepting the fact that there was a disconnect between me and God. It was about accepting that this disconnect could not be remedied except through God's grace, which had been demonstrated by His son, Jesus Christ.

I realized that being a Christian wasn't about going to church on Sundays. It wasn't about being in some club where you followed a list of rules. Being a Christian was about accepting this grace, that had been freely given by a God that loved me despite all the mistakes I had made in my life. It was about accepting that grace and letting it be the motivating force in my life.

So, now I don't just go to church because I'm supposed to and I'm not just part of some club. Now, I'm trying to live my life in response to the grace that I've been given, in hopes that I can show some of the love that has been shown to me.

So, there you have it. Please, let me know what you think. I'm not asking for a "good job" or a "its nice". I want someone to rip it to shreds.

Labels: church

I have a problem. I'm not sure that there is a clinical name for my problem, but I'm certain that someone could determine its root cause in one session on a couch. So, what's my problem?

I start books and don't finish them.

Here's a list of the books that I have started, but have not completed, and it's worth noting that there are probably more that I just can't remember.

• Everything Must Change - Brian McClaren


• Babyproofing Your Marriage - Cockrell, O'Neil, and Stone


• The Organic God - Margaret Feinberg


• Banker to the Poor - Muhammad Yunus


• Myth of a Christian Nation - Greg Boyd


• On Becoming Babywise - Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam


• Just Walk Across the Room - Bill Hybels


• Sex God - Rob Bell


• Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis


• Good to Great - Jim Collins


• Desiring God - John Piper


• The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell


• Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller

Honestly, the list wasn't that long when I sat down to type it up, but by the time I got through typing the five or so that I had thought of that prompted this post, the flood gates had opened. All of those came within the last two years, or so. The majority I know I started this year.

Sad, huh?!?

Labels: books

This post is definitely worth the read. It will take you all of a minute to read it, but it may stick with you for a life time.

Labels: blogosphere

Today Palmer hit the six month mark. It seems like the last six months have flew by.

It's hard to put into words how I feel right now. We've came a long way, from our rough start with a week in the hospital, to watching him grow so fast, to seeing his five-toothed smile. When I you think back over the last half year, I feel humbled that we were put in charge of this small human.