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it’s december 26 and people are all over the place. and, while that may make a few people more prone to check blogs, i think most people are like me in that they are further from their computers during the holiday season.

so what does that mean? well, that means that fewer people are reading posts and even fewer are posting posts. that’s ok. just the nature of the next week or so. i noticed too that if you use a service like google reader you might be even less likely to read all the blogs that have been accumulating over the last 5 to 7 days. when i got back to my google reader today i had nearly 100 unread posts waiting for me. that meant i was in for a lot of skimming. which i did; skim, not read.

so what does that mean? well, that means that most of the blog entries in the next few days are going to be relatively ignored. so, i won’t bore you with lots of writing.

instead i will delight you with videos!

this one was just cracking me up…i hope you feel the same way. it is the translation of a translation of one of america’s most beloved 1980’s cartoon theme song.

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yes i do.

…and may i say, well done mike huckabee for using technology and humor better than any other campaign i’ve ever seen.

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(posting from my phone…i apologize for spelling and syntax errors…)

so we’re at the sparkly new hanford toyota dealership getting an oil change.

I feel pretty good because I got my fee down to the reasonable $29. the original ‘oil change’ fee is $70 because it includes things like a tire change and other non-oily services.

then the price went down to $55 for synthetic oil. I don’t want synthetic oil. so finally $29 it was (and is).

I will say this about Hanford Toyota…it’s the nicest car dealership i’ve ever been in. lots of comfy chairs…wifi (but I didn’t bring my laptop), coffee and lots of open space. 3 cheers toyota.

only had 1 salesman try to give me a car…so far…

what are you doing this morning?

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o holy night is my very favorite christmas carol…it is glorious.

you’re welcome.

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i have a new logo for part of our 2008 vision at calvary hanford:

more on the explanation coming soon…

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i had a lot of fun live-blogging yesterday, so i’m going to attempt to do so again today…just a *regular* tuesday (i hope). check back for prompt updates.

LET THE GREAT EXPERIMENT BEGIN!!!

7.52am – after getting dropped off at work by my lovely wife, coming in, booting up the ‘ole vaio and answering a couple of comments, i am ready to start live blogging.

7.54am – i leave my chair to go read a bit.

8.42am – done reading for now. here’s how it went down:

> Ezekiel 41-45 – ezekiel is an amazing book. very dense and just mind-blowing. i think i’ll enjoy meeting ezekiel one day in heaven.

i don’t usually like using commentaries, not because they’re bad or anything, just because my college education really taught me to just assimilate things i read and regurgitate them as my own…i don’t want to do that when i study God’s Word. however, the prophetic books are a different matter, so, just for my own clarification i think i’ll break out my wiersbe chapter-by-chapter overview and my halley’s Bible handbook.

> Luke 11 – i’ve been going through the Gospels recently and decided to take it real slow in Luke, being my ‘favorite’ Gospel. it’s just really refreshing to read about my Lord, how He acted, what He said. i’m really amazed at how wrong all the popular emergent guys get it. i mean…they completely miss the message. that is fodder for another post.

today’s chapter yielded the following jump-outs:

- “His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray…’” not ‘teach us how to pray.’ to me that’s real profound and i am proud of the 12 for getting it right this time. we are so worried about how of prayer, of giving, of all the Christian life, when really it’s better for us to take the how out of the question, and just ask the Lord to teach us TO pray, TO give, TO live the Christian life.

- this section was really great for me because we’ve been praying about a few specific things recently, and though we aren’t sure what God’s answer will be, i was comforted by the admonition to KEEP asking, KEEP seeking, KEEP knocking. i think we will.

> 2 Timothy – what a sweet letter. i mean, what a wonderful couple of pages for any Christian and especially for those of us who serve in a church (whether vocationally or voluntarily). gosh…these chapters were a great encouragement for me as well. recently i’ve had about 4 or 5 conversations about the emerging church movement, i’ve been reading an excellent book titled Faith Undone (which i hope to finish today) and to have 2 Timothy come along and put it all in perspective was just really a blessing.

jumpouts:

- obviously 2 Timothy 3:16-17 stands out. i think it always will to someone who reads the Bible literally.

- BUT, it was 2 Timothy 3:14-15 that really shined off the page:

2 Timothy 3:14-15 – But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

maybe we haven’t all been deceived by our own ‘traditions’ after all. maybe reading the Bible daily and literally is still adequate for this generation, just like is has been for every previous generation. maybe an abandon of studying God’s Word and indulging the experiential will, in the end, only yield this:

2 Timothy 3:7 – always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

that reminds me of a LOT of popular books right now…

9.06am – received what i think is my very first comment-via-iphone. thanks jason!

9.10am – printing some cds (that’s right…we print our cds. none of this label stuff). that is busy work. in the mean time i need to send some emails.

9.22am – fielded my first phone call for the day…telemarketer. i’m trying to be nicer to them.

9.36am – i hear someone rumbling around downstairs…i hope it’s zach…otherwise…this may be my last entry for the day.

9.40am – 8 out of 22 cds printed…i know, i know…we need to upgrade.

9.47am – emails sent.

9.48am – working on a ministry leader list for our january servants meeting. a new thing we are starting that i am very, very excited about.

9.50-9.55am – talked to my wife while she was on recess.

9.56am – turned off my wall heater. ok, here’s the deal…

our church building is amazing. it is beautiful and SUCH a blessing. however, it was built in 1955…so it is just weather-crazy.

my office is upstairs facing east. thus, in the summers it is like a terrible, terrible oven that cooks me all the day. in the winter, since insulation was not what it is today, i am shivering like oliver twist. i have one of those old style wall heaters…you know the kind…a big metal rectangle with a grate on the front that just emanates heat…

well, said heater is exactly 2 feet away from my desk…from the left side of my desk. so when i turn it on the left side of my body gets warm REAL fast. then i am forced to turn it off (i feel like my cheek is getting a tan for pete’s sake!) and wait till i chill again.

right now it is off. i suspect it will be….9 minutes before it needs to come on again…

10.12am – cds still printing…heater still off…but getting pretty icy in here.

mr. paul davison just left a new comment under his newest alias: ‘pauly d.’ this comes in a long line of comment author names:

- paul davison
- pauly d
- ‘your worst nightmare’
- and…oh…i don’t know…Asimo The Robot.

ok, the line of names isn’t that long…especially since i made up the last one…still, pretty bold for a guy whose last post was 2 weeks ago…and has only posted twice in the last month. well…3 times if you push the dates.

there you go pauly d, mentioned as you asked. NOW GET POSTING!

10.30am – cd printing DONE! time to deliver them down to my mom for mailing…then…time to work a little on my worship set for sunday.

11.04am – worked out my ‘working set list’ for sunday. since it’s the 23rd we’re doing some Christmas songs. the problem with Christmas songs is a lot of them aren’t very worshipful…and the other problem is that all 3 of our worship teams have been doing Christmas songs for 3 weeks…and i don’t want to do repeats. so, here’s the working set list.

- Joy To The World (key of C in 3/4 time)
- Always Forever (key of C in 6/8 time)
- It Came Upon A Midnight Clear (key of G in 3/4 time)
- The First Noel (key of B or Bb in 3/4 time)
- Jesus Lord Of Heaven (key of B or Bb in 4/4 time)

i’ll probably add a few things in there…but we’ll see. some of these might not make the cut. why not? i’m glad you asked.

after i get a working set i start going through the transitions mostly…if the song doesn’t transition well, i cut it. to me, in corporate worship, transitions are incredibly important.

11.09am – checked musician’s friend’s stupid deal of the day and woot…both are very enticing.

11.13am – working on some accounting and visa receipts.

>>addendum to 11.04am – discovered that my samaritan’s purse bumper sticker curled up and fell off my guitar case…that makes me very sad.

11.26am – waded through 56 new posts in my google reader…left 1 comment. still doing some visa receipts.

11.33am – ordered a few copies of a book i’m going to review tomorrow night for our bookstore. went downstairs for the millionth time to get a receipt i had to print out.

11.43am – visa receipts finished.

11.58am – currently listening to:

i’ve always said i don’t like philip glass…but…i think the tide is turning…

12.11pm – going to the bookstore to drop off a book and check some inventory…then to the sanctuary to work on my dvd recorder install…wish me luck!

>random-question-of-the-post: if you had to lose a finger or a toe, which would it be and why? you can choose which finger or which toe, on either side…

12.43pm – plan b for my dvd-recorder failed…back to plan a. wish me luck…because obviously no one did when i started with plan b…

12.46pm – just checked…and if i get one more comment on this post it will be the most commented post of all my 245 posts. now i will stop saying the word ‘post.’ so go post a comment. wait…go…author…a comment. i’m going to have a lunch.

1.07pm – haven’t had my lunch yet…but wanted to congratulate casey belmont for being the record breaking commenter. well done casey…once again you add to your wing in the pensiero hall of fame.

1.17pm – lunch time…having a cafe hot dog and some chips with 16oz of milk. because EVERY day at calvary hanford is like a baseball game…on dairy day….

seriously, i know it’s not the most healthy, but i forgot my cheese for my sandwich…and who wants to have a ciabatta and turkey sandwich without any cheese? i don’t.

1.20pm – i put some cheetos in my hot dog to spice things up…

1.30pm – finished lunch…commented on a few blogs while i did.

now what should i do?

1.49pm – went through my tentative set for sunday…made some notes…not sure one of the transitions is going to make it.

1.52pm – a video from casey…thanks casey.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5155771115688141927

2.12pm – almost time for kelly to call, being done with work for the day. i am currently editing some audio and video for a fun little video announcement we’re working on for sunday. i am using iMovie 08…and it’s terribly confusing…which is very unlike apple to do…what’s the deal? iMove HD was a breeze…

2.20pm – sadly, i’ve decided to abandon iMovie 08 and go with iMovie HD for this project…apparantly the learning curve is quite high in the transition. that’s never happened to me with apple before and i’m pretty astounded. i’m not giving up on 08, just don’t have the time this week to learn it. where’s the time-line view? where’s the background music editing? where’s the user friendliness? am i wrong???

2.50pm – first draft of the video is done (thank you iMovie HD) and now i’m off to a meeting in visalia.

be back soon!

5.11pm – back from my meeting…and now i’m going home.

have a happy night.

well, my civic duty for the year was completed without making it to the jury box. it looked pretty bleak when the first round of 12 yielded only 1 juror…all the rest were dismissed. i looked despairingly at a sympathetic lady in the row in front of me.

beside me an old soldier of the raider nation sort of snored while awake…it was quite interesting. i couldn’t help but look at him every now and then, only to be surprised at his open eyes and obvious lucidity. he was eventually chosen as a perspective alternate, but then dismissed.

being the first time i made it into the actual courtroom when summoned, here’s what i learned about jury duty today.

first, even though we all know it, no one wants to serve on a jury. well, strike that, 99% of kings county citizens do not want to serve on a jury. out of the 100-150 people who were in my particular courtroom there was only 1 gentlemen who said “i’d like a chance to serve on this jury.” he was promptly dismissed. i mean…we don’t want someone like THAT deciding the fate of a defendant…

when everyone else was called they reacted like you asked them to donate their savings (not voluntarily, but forcibly) to finding a better wall-paper for portable bathrooms in…Ontario.

(note to self…if ever tried, do NOT select a jury trial)

second, people get really irrational when questioned. the sorts of answers (or absolute lack of answers for that matter) that our judge and lawyers received from perspective jurors was just laughable.

judge – ‘do you think you could be a fair juror in this case?’

perspective juror – ‘………..nhuh uh….’

judge – ‘why is that?’

perspective juror – ‘………………………………’

judge – ‘why don’t you think you could be a fair juror in this case?’

perspective juror – ‘……………………………..’

judge – ‘mrs. ****** we need an answer.’

perspective juror – ‘i dunno…i just don’t. i think that this particular crime is bad.’

judge – ‘mrs. ******, are you telling me that if this were a murder trial it would be any easier?’

perspective juror – ‘………uh nuh uh…….’

i couldn’t help but laugh. laugh and disdain. come on people…you are deciding the fate of an american citizen. get it together.

like i said, i never made it into the box. and, to be honest i was glad. i would like to serve on a jury sometime…i really would. i just don’t want to spend the week before christmas on a jury.

i’m pretty sure i’ll never get the chance for a number of reasons: having studied criminal justice in college i know that i’m not exactly the most appealing person if lawyers are being demographic in their selection process.

the second opponent to me being a juror is my occupation. ‘pastor’ just doesn’t sit well with a lot of defense attorneys.

in this particular case there were a few other obstacles to my being selected. first, a general question that seemed to get other people bounced: ‘do you have more than average knowledge about the crime in question?’ which, sadly, i do, again because of my field of study in college.

the second question that would’ve gotten me ejected was an unusual but interesting one: ‘does anyone in the jury box not drink alcohol?’ for those who answered in the affirmative, as i would have done, that seemed to be the last question the defense was interested in.

all in all, i’m glad i didn’t have to hear the testimony on this particular case, and i’m glad i didn’t have to serve this particular week.

maybe next year…

i got one answer, but i don’t want to lose the question yet.

random-question-of-the-post: if you had to serve jury duty 1 week a year or fill potholes 1 week a year…which would you choose?

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well friends, it has begun. i’m currently sitting in the jury assembly room, waiting to be called.

I will attempt to update this post periodically (hence ‘live blog’) but, not sure how willing my treo will be.

8:19am – here are some unfortunate things about jury duty…

- the seats are all too close together…i moved the seat next to me over so I don’t have to hug my neighbor.

- we have to watch CNN while we wait. i’m amazed how unabashedly anti-Right they are.

8:31am – my president is speaking on the tv right now concerning the economy…i love this guy

- a friend from church is here…maybe i’ll not go crazy after all.

8:40am – yeah…there aren’t enough chairs…

- I don’t think i’m going to be able to finish the book I brought today…that’s ok.

9:19am – just had our first orientation…which is just reading the summons…i guess they can’t trust people to read the summons anymore.

- starting to get hungry…this does not bode well.

- next step is getting assigned to a courtroom. too bad I get really lost EVERY time I come here.

- first random post question: would you rather have jury duty one week a year or have to fill potholes one week every year?

9:32am – we’re waiting again and I am one chapter (ten pages) away from finishing my book.

no broadband access permitted or available within courtroom.

12:29pm – dismissed from jury duty.

coming up…Gene Pensiero IS: The Rural Juror.

for you wickham fans out there, evan wickham has posted 2 new christmas songs on his myspace page.

go have a listen, then, should the shoe fit, let him know that you like them.

then go check him out leading worship sometime.

happy sunday.

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today is friday.

on fridays kelly has work and i do not. most of the time i go into the office and mess around or record or whatever, but on this particular morning it was time to be a man and brave the big city (scroll down to the bottom of that link) and finish my christmas shopping.

i would like to say that kelly and i have done a smashing job at getting ahead on christmas stuff this year (way to go dear), so today’s adventure was just to tie up a few loose ends.

now, since all my stops were for kelly, i can’t go into great detail about where i went or what i got (i’ve been telling her that i just went to a few city dumps and sifted through the toss-outs for her presents…).

what i CAN catalogue is some of the people i noticed in the places of business i visited.

there’s the lady who pulls her cart by the front of the basket, refusing to use the handle. i watched her for…not a long time, but long enough to see that she wasn’t just repositioning after leaving an aisle. no, she refused to use the handle that no doubt carried a number of contaminated pathogens. yeah…the front of the cart is much more clean (and more likely to have been, ceremonially if not meaningfully, wiped down by an employee) than the handle. i hate to say it lady, but if you can’t handle the handle, you probably shouldn’t be using the cart at all.

there’s the desperate, confused driver, looking for a spot…even though there were tons of spots. this person followed me for a little bit until they figured out that i always park as far out as i can (i don’t like door dings…and i DO like burning an extra half of a calorie by walking). yeah…they gave up following me after they saw i was real far out there…out with all the other empty spaces. instead they decided to drive around, looking for a closer, if not more aerobically encouraging, nor more available space.

finally, there’s the guy who’s wearing either pajama pants or golf pants. i only caught a glimpse of him at first…and thought to myself “even if they are golf pants…why would you buy them?” can anyone explain golf pants to me? you know what i mean…those ridiculous, plaid pants. pants that look like pajamas. turns out the golfing pajamer WAS wearing pajamas. he also had his fresno bee folded neatly in thirds…stuffed halfway down the front of his pants. his pajama pants. apparantly they didn’t have pockets.

all in all, i was in and out of the bustling metropolis before 11:20am, back in cow-town by noon, the lunching hour. pretty good. record-setting good if i’m not mistaken.

i don’t like going places without my wife, but this is one of a couple times during the year where it has to happen. on the drive there and back i listened to a lot of new music…but that is fodder for another post.

and now: random-question-of-the-post: violin or flute?

blessings