The Village

Well tonight I went to see the new M. Night Shyamalan film The Village. If you'd like to read my lame attempt at a review of this film then Click Here. Just remember it's been a long week. :-) Hopefully I'll have more thoughts later. Oh yeah, I have one thought: IHOP is pretty good. I know everyone is so impressed with me now. Ok I've got to get some sleep.

Rainy Days

It was a rainy day today. I love days like this. I suppose I wouldn't enjoy them quite as much if every day were similar but since it's the middle of the summer I welcome the reprieve from the heat. Plus it's just nice to be able to put on some mellow music and get some work done. I listened to the soundtrack to Lost in Translation, Wildflowers by Tom Petty, and an album my brother gave me called Death Cab for Cutie, which was much better then the name sounded. I also kept the window in my office open all day and by the end all the papers in my office were soaked due to the humidity. I used them to wash myself in lieu of my bi-weekly shower!

[I just accidentally typed "bip-weekly" and of course I edited it, but that makes me think of the word "bip" that for some reason was very popular at Soldier Creek Elementary School back in 1983-84. It must have been a curse word though b/c I sure wasn't allowed to say it - Thanks Mom and Dad :-). I just tried to look it up on Dictionary.com but no luck!! Can you believe that? I believe we used it as a phrase along the lines of "In your face" but I also remember the phrase "Bip you" coming in there somewhere. That must have been really bad. I guess I made it ok though despite my occasional usage of this horrific term back in 2nd grade. If anyone actually knows what it means please enlighten me!!]

Normally on days like today I tend to get a little introspective but I was pretty busy with work (I know everyone is surprised) so I didn't have a whole lot of time to think. We are drilling an obscene amount of wells right now at the 'Peak so I have my hands full. At least tomorrow I get to go to the field. I know everyone is going to be jealous of me since I get to visit the aesthetically pleasing landscape of the Texas panhandle. I do get to hang out with Bruce though. Bruce is one of our drilling superintendents and he is one fun dude. He epitomizes the term good ol' boy. I need to see if I can get a picture with him so that I can post it tomorrow. If I do that though, then I'll probably bring down the servers at blogger.com due to all the hits Blogadocious will get. So maybe I should rethink this.

Oh and if anyone is looking for another good rainy day song then check out The Rain Song by Led Zeppelin. I should've listened to that today. It would have been perfect. Oh well, perhaps tomorrow....
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Psalm 27:4-5 "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock."

Slick and Schmo

Well I have had some interesting television viewing this fine evening. First off I had the opportunity to watch the Democratic National Convention. Say what you want about our former President Clinton but he can really deliver a powerful message. It is really hard not to be drawn to him. Of course he's not the most moral man who ever lived, but he can be so engaging and really inspiring when put on a stage such as tonight. I could listen to him for hours. However don't challenge me to it, as it's just a figure of speech. Oh and if you were wondering, I’m not going to say who I’m voting for...yet. (I'll save that topic for a later post for all you enquiring minds!)

Now I'm sitting here watching the final minutes of this week's episode of the best "reality" show out there: The Joe Schmo Show. If you haven't yet indulged in this entertainment delicacy then you're missing out. It is one of the most ingenious shows I've seen in a long time, plus it's downright funny. The premise is that it's a reality series in the same vein as Big Brother or The Bachelor (not that I watched any of these) where they have a group of people living in a house together and competing for the affections of someone of the opposite sex. Well, there's one catch--everyone in the house is an actor except one guy and girl who both think it's real. The producers then proceed to feed them over-the-top characters and scenarios; the whole while daring these two naive, innocent victims to figure out it's real. Of course they don't and it makes for some hilarious scenes.

Zac was here watching it with me so we laugh even more when we're together. I don't get good laughs too often anymore so I have to take advantage of the opportunities. Funny how that is. I really love cutting up and having a good time, yet I rarely just get a good, genuine, hearty laugh like I did as a kid. I wonder why? I'll have to think on that one. So anyway, if you haven't yet checked out the 'Schmo' do yourself a favor and tune in (Mondays at 10:05 CDT on Spike TV--Check your local listings). You won't be disappointed.

Gettin' Juiced Up

Well I thought I had heard it all until tonight my friend Cochran decided to enlighten us all by sharing the thought, "Well I think I'm going to swing by Barnes and Noble on my way home to get juiced up." "Juiced up?" I mean, is this some type of metrosexual pop-culture reference? I know I'm still living half-way in the '80s but I at least know enough to not say the term "juiced up" when describing my plans to purchase a beverage of any temperature.

Today was a good day. Great to be with the believers and spend some time in praise to God. It's encouraging to be a part of a body of believers and of course God intended that for us b/c it should get us "juiced up" (I know, shameless pun) but sometimes that's when I find it so frustrating b/c week after week I sit in the assembly and come face to face with the sinfulness that I'm no closer to defeating than I was the week before. I seem to always sit there resolving not to repeat my sinfulness that separates me from God, yet find myself the very next week doing the same thing. The scary thing is I sometimes wonder if I totally even care since my actions don't seem to be changing and I'm obviously not defeating these vices. (Side note: Of course not relying on God probably has a lot to do with this...but that's another topic)

Week before last, I was blessed to hear one of my great friends, Clint, speak out at church camp. He spoke on the idea of seeking to rid ourselves of the unclean water that we put in our spiritual bodies (making reference to the water from John 4). He talked about something that really hit home to me---pursuing holiness in our lives. This is really a tough subject for me b/c in my life I so often settle for trying to be good but not really seeking to rid myself of "bad water" (a.k.a. the impure things that I tolerate b/c they don't seem so bad). I think of Paul's words in Phil 3 where he talks about pressing on and striving to win the prize and reach the goal. Yet too often I find that I just settle for the status quo. I need to have the attitude that I won't settle for being mediocre and need to strive to godliness in my life. I pray that God will grant me the strength to keep persevering and maturing. He is so patient with his children....Well past time for bed!!!

Philippians 3:12-15 "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.

I'm trying to sell my cat. If you're interested just let me know. He's really a friendly sort and would make a great pet for anyone! 

Football on the brain.....

Well, It's the middle of the night and I should be in bed, but what the hey, it's Friday and I'm ready for football to start and I'm messing with the whole blog thing. So why not post a picture of where I want to be?

This could be another great year for the Sooners, but I have to be cautiously optimistic about it after the great debacle that was the end of last season. Of course on paper this year's team will be even more talented top-to-bottom, but as we all know things have to come together. I'm really excited to see what happens with some of the new players. Will Clint Ingram come through and be as good as I think he can? Will AD turn out to be the real deal? Will we play more man coverage this year or stick with our patented zone? I'm very curious to find out some answers. Plus I'm just ready to have some new tapes to watch!! Oh well, at least I have NCAA Football 2005 to play until the practices start. That should keep me somewhat occupied!!
  

Let's see about this....

Blogging....hmmm.....

Well this is my first attempt at a blog so I'll see how this goes. Considering how easily distracted I can get, I can't say that this will go extremely well. That coupled with the fact that I don't ever seem to think of exciting things to talk about (unless I have someone to banter with) could lead to a very lackluster effort on my part, but, what the heck....nobody is going read it anyway!! :-) Hopefully, though, maybe I can stay somewhat dedicated to recording some of my many changing thoughts from time to time so that someday I can look back on it and laugh a little. Well I guess since I'm getting paid right now to be working, I should probably do that... 10 minute break is long enough!!!