An Experience They Will Remember

All of us that work with children long for those memorable moments. We plan a big trip and we want them to remember it. Yesterday was a pretty cool day for us. To help out with the summer heat, we've created "Thumpin' Thursdays" for our elementary kids. One Thursday per month, we will provide our kids with a Thumpin' Good Time. Yesterday was our first one. We took the kids out to Bayou Wildlife Park - 86 acres of exotic animals. We took a tram ride and fed the animals, took pony rides and had a great lunch. After lunch, our plan was to go to the "petting zoo" and then start packing up to go home. We had a little over an hour to kill at the zoo.

Well, the "petting zoo" consisted of about 20 goats and 1 big fat pig asleep in the corner. The kids were having a fine time, but there was no way we were going to make this stretch to an hour. As the kids played with the goats, some workers came in to check on the pregnant goat. Honestly several of them looked like they could be about to give birth (one in particular looked like it was about to pop, then we found out she was a "he"!). They located the suspicious goat and said it could be about an hour. We were told we could stay in the pen if we just gave her space and if she had the baby, not to touch it. God was providing us an hour of anticipation!

Well, it didn't take an hour and our kids got a front row seat for the birth of baby "Springs," as they called the new goat. Had God really provided us with this incredible experience? I'm not sure all of the parents thought so last night as their kids asked questions like "How did that baby goat come out of the momma's bottom?" It's no surprise that the experience was the highlight of the day for all the kids...and us too. I'm not sure how we are going to top this first Thumpin' Thursday, but I have already vetoed a trip to the hospital.

Wow...A Best Day Ever!

Okay, it's done and I can go back to posting about other things, right? Wrong. One more day of recap from a great opening day at The Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

7:00am - Alarm sounds, the day begins!

8:00 - Leave for Ft. Worth

8:15 - Stop in West, Texas for a Kolache (no place better...anywhere)

10:00 - Arrive in Fort Worth to 40 degree temperatures and blistering wind - Uh Oh, I'm in shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt

10:15 - pick up pants at Old Navy off the sale rack, then go to Lids to look for Cameron a Ranger Hat, meet two other Ranger fans doing the same thing...Go Rangers!

11:00 - Grab a burger at the BEST BURGER joint anywhere - Kincaids!!!! See sample...if you get close to your screen you might can smell the greatness!

11:25 - Engage in baseball banter with the suit that sat down next to me wearing a Cleveland Indians tie..."You can't sit there wearing that," I snapped. He growled back at first, but then with a puppy dog look in his eyes, I caved and let him sit down. We proceeded to heckle him all through his meal and out the door, though!

11:36 - Crap! We're late, let's go.

12:10 - Arrived at our "secret" parking spot and began the treck toward the park. You can see what we go to admire on the way...that's right, JerryWorld - the same stadium that our Baylor Bears will host the dreaded texas tech red raiders on the Saturday after Thanksgiving next fall!!!

12:05 - We are almost there and the full ballpark is finally in view...oh, it's a site of glory. We see the tailgaters and the die-hards, and then we smell it...not sure what we smelled exactly, but Cameron said, "It just smells right, doesn't it?" I concurred.

12:25 - Fighting through the crowds in the Ranger Shop still looking for Cameron a hat...found one, now we can proceed to our seats.

12:45 - we pass the Texas Beers booth...okay, it's located

, but I'm so cold, I can't even think about a cold beer yet...but it's there!

12:55 - we are walking up to our seats, and walking up, and walking up...row 15, 16, 17...not looking good...20, 21, 22, 23!!! There is no 24. I am now officially the prouder renter of a seat at the highest possible elevation in the ballpark, it's shaded and the north wind is hitting us right in the back and did I mention that it was FREEZING!!!!

12:56 - we move into someone else's seats in the sun and no wind...ahhh, much better...even if only for a little while.

12:57 - The national anthem and the fly-over is awesome!

1:00 - President George W. Bush throws out the ceremonial first pitch - and a strike it was. He's walking toward the catcher in my picture.

1:05 - the Rangers take the field wearing their new red tops and red hats...blue skies, green grass and baseball...greatness realized.

1:06 - First pitch from Kevin Millwood...a strike. We're off and running now.

1:08 - we have to move back to OUR seats...oh no...

1:30 - after a couple of nothing innings, the Rangers break through for 4 runs...oh baby!

2:03 - enough is enough, I cave and go back down to the other shop and find a hoodie...I shouldn't have, I know, but it was miserable up there in OUR seats...

2:20 - Warmed and aptly prepared to tackle OUR seats again, we head back to our section. There's the Texas Beers again, this time I am warm and prepared...I have peanuts in my central pocket and I'm ready. "Hey Dude, should I get the Buffalo

or the Ugly Pug?" I say to Cameron. "I don't know...I think you should get the Buffalo Butt." Okay. I'm confident. I get up to the counter and I ask for Buffalo Butt (I know...it was as creepy as it sounds). She looks at me and says, "We don't have that!" "What? It's been advertised (at that moment, I felt like someone had played a cruel joke on me, throwing in Buffalo Butt in the middle of all the weird names, just to see if some dork like me would actually ask for it). "Do you have Ugly Pug?" She said yes, and after a discussion about the type of lager that was, I decided to go with the Rahr's Amber Lager - it was a signature beer for them and it was on tap. Okay, done...now we move up to THE seats...but this time I'm ready to win this battle.

2:25 - the crowd screams and I'm in the tunnel...fireworks go off and that means one thing at the ballpark. Someone on our team just hit a homerun! I back up and check the monitor...Hank Blalock goes yard and adds 3 more runs to our total...I'm loving it.

3:00 - Salty goes yard from the left side of the plate. And we're watching it this time. Fireworks go off! Yes!

3:39 - Michael Young squeezes the glove on a pop up to end the game. Rangers win 9-1 and the game lasts 2 hours 36 minutes. Pitching? Outstanding. Hitting? Expected. Elvis at short? Watch this kid. Young at 3B? He's played other positions? Kinsler? MVP watch. Wilson? 3 up 3 down 8th. Francisco? 3 up 3 down 9th. Jobs done well on this day.

We now drive back to Mt. Calm. We share fried chicken with Cameron's in-laws and laugh hard. Tried to check out the basketball game, but it wasn't much of a game. Then we head out to the back yard to check out the stars, the moon and partake in the great leaf. Padron 1964 Anniversario Editions. We are lucky to participate in this ritual once a year. This was the perfect night. Two pastors enjoying the smoothness of a Padron, while discussing our church and how we can help more people fully engage in the Christ-life where they live and and work. After a great day at the yard, we had a great night in the yard. Today, we work. We carry that conversation further....and we'll eat lunch at George's in Waco.

The stars are aligned and all is right in the world of Brad right now. Don't post anything to mess with that either!

All times posted above are approximations and in no way should make you think I was some weirdo watching my watch all day!

Now, This is Advertising!

For those of you that follow Yancey Arrington's blog, my apologies for posting this on the same day he did, but it's simply too good to pass up.  The following is an actual Craig's List advert.  The language is a bit rough, but keep it in perspective.  Have a great day and know that I already checked and the truck is sold!

NINJA HAULER: 2005 Nissan Xterra - $12900 (Ronan / Lake County )
________________________________________
Reply to: sale-945361858@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2008-12-04, 5:15PM MST

OK, let me start off by saying this Xterra is only available for purchase by the manliest of men (or women). My friend, if it was possible for a vehicle to sprout chest hair and a five o’clock shadow, this Nissan would look like Tom Selleck. It is just that manly.

It was never intended to drive to the mall so you can pick up that adorable shirt at Abercrombie & Fitch that you had your eye on. It wasn’t meant to transport you to yoga class or Linens & Things. No, that’s what your Prius is for. If that’s the kind of car you’re looking for, then just do us all a favor and stop reading right now. I mean it. Just stop.

This car was engineered by 3rd degree ninja super-warriors in the highest mountains of Japan to serve the needs of the man that cheats death on a daily basis. They didn’t even consider superfluous nancy boy amenities like navigation systems (real men don’t get lost), heated leather seats (a real man doesn’t let anything warm his butt), or On Star (real men don’t even know what the hell On Star is).

No, this brute comes with the things us testosterone-fueled super action junkies need. It has a 265 HP engine to outrun the cops. It’s got special blood/gore resistant upholstery. It even has a first-aid kit in the back. You know what the first aid kit has in it? A pint of whiskey, a stitch-your-own-wound kit and a hunk of leather to bite down on when you’re operating on yourself. The Xterra also has an automatic transmission so if you’re being chased by Libyan terrorists, you’ll still be able to shoot your machine gun out the window and drive at the same time. It’s saved my bacon more than once.

It has room for you and the four hotties you picked up on the way to the gym to blast your pecs and hammer your glutes. There’s a tow hitch to pull your 50 caliber anti-Taliban, self cooling machine gun. I also just put in a new windshield to replace the one that got shot out by The Man.
My price on this bad boy is an incredibly low $12,900, but I’ll entertain reasonable offers. And by reasonable, I mean don’t walk up and tell me you’ll give me $5,000 for it. That’s liable to earn you a Burmese-roundhouse-sphincter-kick with a follow up three fingered eye-jab. Would it hurt? Hell yeah. Let’s just say you won’t be the prettiest guy at the Coldplay concert anymore.

There’s only 69,000 miles on this four-wheeled hellcat from Planet Kickass. Trust me, it will outlive you and the offspring that will carry your name. It will live on as a monument to your machismo.

Now, go look in the mirror and tell me what you see. If it’s a rugged, no holds barred, super brute he-man macho Chuck Norris stunt double, then contact me. I might be out hang-gliding or BASE jumping or just chilling with my ladies, but I’ll get back to you. And when I do, we’ll talk about a price over a nice glass of Schmidt while we listen to Johnny Cash.

To sweeten the deal a little, I’m throwing in this pair of MC Hammer pants for the man with rippling quads that can’t fit into regular pants. Yeah, you heard me. FREE MC Hammer pants.

Rock on.

Saturday Fun

Those of you that know me well, know the love-hate relationship I have with "christian bookstores."  I love them because I can go down and pick up a book when I want one, but I hate the crap that they sell in there.  When I was in college, I worked at one, and now I get a bit nauseous when I go into one today.  I think the thing that drives me nuts is that there seems to be a need to "baptize" everything.  Testamints?  C'mon, why not just sell the velamints...isn't that what they are anyway?  And have you noticed that people will buy their kids stuff at the "christian bookstore" that they would never purchase anywhere else?  I mean, I saw a lady buy a piece of junk ball for her kid that wasn't worth a quarter, but she paid a dollar because it had a Jesus fish on it or some neat saying.

Oh well...I came across these new products that are sure to hit our bookstores soon.  Maybe you want these or maybe you have them, but either way I'm still laughing (and a little sad on the inside).  Let me know if you have more to add to my collection.

     

I heard a pastor say this week about "christian music" ( I think it applies here too), "There is no such thing as 'Christian music.'  Jesus didn't come to die for music, he came to die for people."  Interesting.