Well, we are finally back in the Sunshine State - and looking at all the standing water due to rain. After a full day of flying and visiting two of the busiest airports in the USofA, we made it back. It was a sweet sight to see our little boy running to hug us, and our little girl zonked out on the bench. (We got her smiles this morning.) All in all, it was a fun trip, but we are sooo glad to be home. Well, we aren't really home yet. We will be home tomorrow to Orlando - for now.
Right after we get back we have to find a new house. Our current rental is going to be put up for sale in August, so we have to find a new place. A lot went into that decision. We tried to look into buying a house. Even though now is a great time in the market, it is not a great time for us to pull the trigger on that move. Defender has just gotten somewhat financially stable, and I don't want to go too far out on a limb. That means going back to renting - grrrr. But it gives us some freedom to relocate to Seminole County, which will give us better schools for Josiah and a shorter drive to, uh, everything. That search begins immediately upon return to Central Florida. We are praying that we are able to find something fast that will work with us as far as all the stuff you have to pay up front.
July will be pretty much dominated by the move. August will be dominated by Defender events. We have two major ones, and a couple of others possibly floating around. School will start at the end of August, and then our new arrival will show up the end of September or first of October. It will certainly be busy in the Staples' world. But for now, we get to enjoy Independence Day.
Anyone who knows me, knows how I feel about our military. My dad was a Marine in the Korean War, earning a Purple Heart. It is the thing about him I am the most proud of. I still am drawn to books about that war. I also was a History Ed major in college, so I love history - especially military history. I am a Reagan junkie. I love the patriotic holidays, because they allow our country to stop bickering about political junk long enough to actually show an ounce of gratitude to the people who secured the freedoms that EVERYONE enjoys. I have made it a point of explaining Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, and July 4 to my kids - and Josiah will tell you why we celebrate today. Every time we pass a soldier I point it out, so Josiah will recognize that the person deserves respect.
Out in California, we saw a lot of military presence. We passed Fort Pendleton three times - the Marine's Pacific training and launching grounds. It got me a little bit, since that was where my dad launched from. We also saw the huge Naval center in San Diego, and drove through their base to get to the lighthouse. We also passed the old and new Naval hospitals there and I couldn't help wondering if my dad went through there on his return. In Irvine, we went by an enormous National Guard facility with gigantic hangers. When we landed in San Diego, there were Marines everywhere - boarding planes and arriving. Plus there were some active duty soldiers going on leave on our flight to Atlanta and Jax.
I personally want to say that I don't want a day to go by that I do not thank God for those men and women - and to pray for their safety. We all have different opinions about Iraq and Afghanistan and everywhere else. But those people sacrifice their lives to defend us and others - even when that puts them into a politically volatile environment back home. We need to remember them and thank God for them. Do little things to show you care. Give some money to a veteran's group, volunteer at a VA hospital, walk up to a soldier and thank them. Do something. They are. And if you know someone personally serving, do not EVER forget to lift them up with your words and prayers. Stephen Orf. Buddy Joca. Matthew Creviston. Thanks.
Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
Jul 4, 2007
Jul 2, 2007
San Diego - Monday - July 2, 2007
Well today was our last day in California. We got a later start that we anticipated, but we did eventually make it to the San Diego Zoo. But not after we went to .... IN N OUT BURGER!!! For years and years I heard about this magical burger place in California. Anyone I knew who had lived out here or stayed for an extensive period of time would brag about how awesome it was. I would say things like, "Checkers is okay." And they would say, "Have ou ever had In N Out? It's way better." I would say something like, "Sonic is great." They would get this little annoying look and say, "Not as good as In N Out." So I made it a goal to find one of these mythical creations that can only survive on the Left Coast. A couple years ago when I went to Vegas, I found an In N Out and ate there. It was good, but they forgot my meal for over 20 minutes and I ate it really fast while trying to read a map. So it wasn't as earth-shattering as I thought.
Today, though, Heather and I actually went to eat at the In N Out. It was soooo good. Heather loved it too. The place was very busy, as always. The amazing thing is that the place only has eight menu items: burger, cheeseburger, double cheeseburger, fries, vanilla shake, chocolate shake, strawberry shake, soda. Wham. They have these enormous potatoes that they are continually cleaning, peeling, dunking in water, slicing, and frying. Everything is super fresh and very good. We were very impressed.
Then we went to the zoo. It was funny - there was an Excessive Heat Warning. The temps were supposed to soar into the 80s. Wah. The Zoo is really just an amusement park with lots of animals. Lots and lots and lots of animals. There are supposedly over 4000 animals there! It is like you compare the SD Zoo with any other zoo, and it is like the SD Zoo just overpowers the lame other zoo and then kicks sand in his face. For example, I have been to zoos with giant tortoises before. Like one or two. SD Zoo has 13. Several of them are over 100 years old - and have spent over 80 years at the SD Zoo. The Jax Zoo has like 20 flamingos. SD has over 120 - along with nests, eggs, and babies. SD also has polar bears, pandas, tigers, lions, sea lions....
It also has Disney sized crowds. To see the Panda, you have to go through a huge line. Same story for polar bears, tigers, gorillas, anything really special. So, if you don't want to stand in the burning sun with no clouds and fry while waiting to see a panda sleep or poop, you walk by and do a twisty twist and see it through the exit door. That's what we did. The habitats were so incredible. The couple of gorillas had this enormous place with waterfalls and giant trees. The polar bear had a gigantic joint (not drugs). We had a really good time, but got tired out very fast. We are ready to go home and see our kids. There has been a LOT of walking. We leave first thing in the morning, which we are happy for. It has been a fun trip and we would really like to come back to San Diego at some point. Irvine was pretty nice too. LA can suck eggs. :)
Today, though, Heather and I actually went to eat at the In N Out. It was soooo good. Heather loved it too. The place was very busy, as always. The amazing thing is that the place only has eight menu items: burger, cheeseburger, double cheeseburger, fries, vanilla shake, chocolate shake, strawberry shake, soda. Wham. They have these enormous potatoes that they are continually cleaning, peeling, dunking in water, slicing, and frying. Everything is super fresh and very good. We were very impressed.
Then we went to the zoo. It was funny - there was an Excessive Heat Warning. The temps were supposed to soar into the 80s. Wah. The Zoo is really just an amusement park with lots of animals. Lots and lots and lots of animals. There are supposedly over 4000 animals there! It is like you compare the SD Zoo with any other zoo, and it is like the SD Zoo just overpowers the lame other zoo and then kicks sand in his face. For example, I have been to zoos with giant tortoises before. Like one or two. SD Zoo has 13. Several of them are over 100 years old - and have spent over 80 years at the SD Zoo. The Jax Zoo has like 20 flamingos. SD has over 120 - along with nests, eggs, and babies. SD also has polar bears, pandas, tigers, lions, sea lions....
It also has Disney sized crowds. To see the Panda, you have to go through a huge line. Same story for polar bears, tigers, gorillas, anything really special. So, if you don't want to stand in the burning sun with no clouds and fry while waiting to see a panda sleep or poop, you walk by and do a twisty twist and see it through the exit door. That's what we did. The habitats were so incredible. The couple of gorillas had this enormous place with waterfalls and giant trees. The polar bear had a gigantic joint (not drugs). We had a really good time, but got tired out very fast. We are ready to go home and see our kids. There has been a LOT of walking. We leave first thing in the morning, which we are happy for. It has been a fun trip and we would really like to come back to San Diego at some point. Irvine was pretty nice too. LA can suck eggs. :)
San Diego - Sunday - July 1, 2007
Today we left Irvine and drove south for our two days of vacation in San Diego. Drink it in; it always goes down smooth. We got up early and arrived here around 10:30. We met our friends Dave and Denise Rodriguez for lunch and an afternoon of sightseeing. The Rodriguezes used to live in Orlando, and they moved back here a few years ago. Now, David enjoys having visitors from back east and gloating about life in San Diego. I will say this, he certainly had some things to gloat about. The weather here is beautiful; there is lots to do; the cultural scene is super; the scenery is wonderful. There's nothing worse that a gloater who has a reason to gloat.
We went to Emeliano's for lunch - a Mexican restaurant that David knows the owners of. It is named after on of the revolutionaries who fought against Mexican rule. Great googidy moogidy. I had this experience once before. When we took our trip to Pennsylvania a few years back, I discovered that what I had always assumed passed for a steak and cheese sandwich actually was junk compared to a REAL one. Well, it happened with Mexican food today. I have eaten my share of "mexican food" in my day. But I never had REAL Mexican food. I had a carne asada platter (steak with chili peppers, rice, beans, a cheese enchilada). The food was so good. Man oh man. That is one of my favorite parts of traveling. I love trying out restaurants that I have never been to. Yum.
After that, we went driving to the San Diego lighthouse, where we got an unbelievable view of the harbor, ocean, naval bases, all around. It was so beautiful. The big SD is indeed a gorgeous place. After that, we drove over to Balboa Park. We'll spend some time there tomorrow too when we go to the San Diego Zoo. Anyway, we got to see all the different museums and everything. They call Balboa the Central Park of the West. It is just this enormous area carved out of the city that has parks, botanical gardens, theaters, museums, and more all around. There is a place called The Old Globe Theater that puts on Shakespeare plays. There is a museum that has dinosaur fossils and the Dead Sea Scrolls. There is an Aerospace Museum, a Sports Museum, a Veteran's Memorial, and about twenty other buildings. It is a wonderful place and I hope we can see some of it after the zoo. Oh yeah, the zoo is in Balboa Park too.
After all of that, we checked into La Quinta (Spanish for wireless internet). About a month and a half ago, I had made reservations at Ruth's Chris steakhouse for tonight. We had gotten a big gift card for the restaurant by cashing in our Visa Rewards. So, I knew we were coming and that it would be a cool place to go. The location was right on the harbor - you could see yachts and everything out the window during dinner. Ruth's Chris is where I asked Heather's parents for permission to marry her back in 2000. We hadn't been back there since. It was, as you might expect, very very good. Heather says their Shrimp Cocktail is the best ever. She had that with a filet and creme brulee. I had a bone-in ribeye with spinach au gratin and berries for dessert. It was great and fun to spend time together. Then we came back to La Quinta (Spanish for free muffins for breakfast). Tomorrow is ZOO DAY. Then we return to Florida. I know these posts haven't had the emotional or theological oomph that some of the earlier ones did. But I hope that they are interesting to someone - maybe just my stalker. :)
We went to Emeliano's for lunch - a Mexican restaurant that David knows the owners of. It is named after on of the revolutionaries who fought against Mexican rule. Great googidy moogidy. I had this experience once before. When we took our trip to Pennsylvania a few years back, I discovered that what I had always assumed passed for a steak and cheese sandwich actually was junk compared to a REAL one. Well, it happened with Mexican food today. I have eaten my share of "mexican food" in my day. But I never had REAL Mexican food. I had a carne asada platter (steak with chili peppers, rice, beans, a cheese enchilada). The food was so good. Man oh man. That is one of my favorite parts of traveling. I love trying out restaurants that I have never been to. Yum.
After that, we went driving to the San Diego lighthouse, where we got an unbelievable view of the harbor, ocean, naval bases, all around. It was so beautiful. The big SD is indeed a gorgeous place. After that, we drove over to Balboa Park. We'll spend some time there tomorrow too when we go to the San Diego Zoo. Anyway, we got to see all the different museums and everything. They call Balboa the Central Park of the West. It is just this enormous area carved out of the city that has parks, botanical gardens, theaters, museums, and more all around. There is a place called The Old Globe Theater that puts on Shakespeare plays. There is a museum that has dinosaur fossils and the Dead Sea Scrolls. There is an Aerospace Museum, a Sports Museum, a Veteran's Memorial, and about twenty other buildings. It is a wonderful place and I hope we can see some of it after the zoo. Oh yeah, the zoo is in Balboa Park too.
After all of that, we checked into La Quinta (Spanish for wireless internet). About a month and a half ago, I had made reservations at Ruth's Chris steakhouse for tonight. We had gotten a big gift card for the restaurant by cashing in our Visa Rewards. So, I knew we were coming and that it would be a cool place to go. The location was right on the harbor - you could see yachts and everything out the window during dinner. Ruth's Chris is where I asked Heather's parents for permission to marry her back in 2000. We hadn't been back there since. It was, as you might expect, very very good. Heather says their Shrimp Cocktail is the best ever. She had that with a filet and creme brulee. I had a bone-in ribeye with spinach au gratin and berries for dessert. It was great and fun to spend time together. Then we came back to La Quinta (Spanish for free muffins for breakfast). Tomorrow is ZOO DAY. Then we return to Florida. I know these posts haven't had the emotional or theological oomph that some of the earlier ones did. But I hope that they are interesting to someone - maybe just my stalker. :)
Jul 1, 2007
Irvine - Saturday PM - June 30, 2007
Well today was basically the last day of the conference. Tomorrow there is one session in the morning and then everyone bolts. A bunch of people left tonight, though. We decided that since the CD/DVD sales would be the highest today, that we would actually try to stay at our table all day to get some benefit from the increased traffic. The placement of the Exhibit Hall was really weird. Even with more people coming in, we maybe had 15 people come by our table. I spent most of the time talking to the the guy running the OneByOne group table. He was pretty frustrated too with the way everything had gone. He had decided not to man his table for the three days he was there because no one was coming by.
We hung around until about 3:15 - leaving only to eat lunch. Finally, it seemed a bit of a waste. We had to break down by five anyway, so we just closed up shop, mailed the boxes back to Orlando, and went to the mall. The conference was a mixed bag for sure. The testimonies were amazing. We enjoyed getting to know some great couples. The worship time was great. But the exhibit time was not very productive. And the Exodus staff themselves seemed a bit distant and uncooperative. That was the most troubling part of the event. I was hoping to forge some better professional relationships with this group or others. I never had a chance, and any efforts I made seemed to get smacked down like I didn't have a right or something. Maybe they all were stressed or worried about the flack that was apparently streaming in from groups opposed to Exodus' message. Either way, I'm not quite sure if we really gained much by coming.
Heather and I had a good time at the mall, though. This particular place was huge and had a ton of shops. Some of them were very upscale. Others were ones we don't have in Orlando. There also were some good sales going on in different stores (Disney, BabyGap). I also had the treat of having dinner at Wahoo's Fish Tacos. I want to submit a request that one of those stores arrive in Florida post haste. It was amazing. Heather had a Maui Bowl, which was teryiaki beef with rice and beanss. I had two tacos - one fish and one chicken. We also had some chips, salsa, and guacamole. And I ordered some Baja rolls. The whole thing was about 20 bucks, which is good for all of that. Plus they served Pepsi - which means there was MOUNTAIN DEW. That is always a topper for me. The food was incredible. It was very fresh and light and tasty. The Baja rolls were chicken, cream cheese, salsa, and spinach rolled up in a tortilla and cut into slices. Man o man was it good. The tacos were amazing, as was the teryiaki beef. I hope Wahoos expands back home soon. We also discovered Mrs. Beasley's cupcakes. They are ridiculously good with amazing flavored frosting. It was a nice ending to a good day.
Tomorrow we awake and head to San Diego. We are going to have lunch with David and Denise Rodriguez. I used to work with Denise at FBC Oviedo and they taught in the college group there. They moved to SD a few years ago. We plan on hanging out with them Sunday afternoon. I hope to post tomorrow night from the La Quinta. We look forward to several things on the last leg of this trip. 1 - AC in the hotel room. 2 - Beds that are not on stilts 3 - The San Diego Zoo 4 - Dinner at Ruth's Chris Sunday night (Gift Card) and 5 - Food that doesn't taste of Sterno. Next stop SD.
We hung around until about 3:15 - leaving only to eat lunch. Finally, it seemed a bit of a waste. We had to break down by five anyway, so we just closed up shop, mailed the boxes back to Orlando, and went to the mall. The conference was a mixed bag for sure. The testimonies were amazing. We enjoyed getting to know some great couples. The worship time was great. But the exhibit time was not very productive. And the Exodus staff themselves seemed a bit distant and uncooperative. That was the most troubling part of the event. I was hoping to forge some better professional relationships with this group or others. I never had a chance, and any efforts I made seemed to get smacked down like I didn't have a right or something. Maybe they all were stressed or worried about the flack that was apparently streaming in from groups opposed to Exodus' message. Either way, I'm not quite sure if we really gained much by coming.
Heather and I had a good time at the mall, though. This particular place was huge and had a ton of shops. Some of them were very upscale. Others were ones we don't have in Orlando. There also were some good sales going on in different stores (Disney, BabyGap). I also had the treat of having dinner at Wahoo's Fish Tacos. I want to submit a request that one of those stores arrive in Florida post haste. It was amazing. Heather had a Maui Bowl, which was teryiaki beef with rice and beanss. I had two tacos - one fish and one chicken. We also had some chips, salsa, and guacamole. And I ordered some Baja rolls. The whole thing was about 20 bucks, which is good for all of that. Plus they served Pepsi - which means there was MOUNTAIN DEW. That is always a topper for me. The food was incredible. It was very fresh and light and tasty. The Baja rolls were chicken, cream cheese, salsa, and spinach rolled up in a tortilla and cut into slices. Man o man was it good. The tacos were amazing, as was the teryiaki beef. I hope Wahoos expands back home soon. We also discovered Mrs. Beasley's cupcakes. They are ridiculously good with amazing flavored frosting. It was a nice ending to a good day.
Tomorrow we awake and head to San Diego. We are going to have lunch with David and Denise Rodriguez. I used to work with Denise at FBC Oviedo and they taught in the college group there. They moved to SD a few years ago. We plan on hanging out with them Sunday afternoon. I hope to post tomorrow night from the La Quinta. We look forward to several things on the last leg of this trip. 1 - AC in the hotel room. 2 - Beds that are not on stilts 3 - The San Diego Zoo 4 - Dinner at Ruth's Chris Sunday night (Gift Card) and 5 - Food that doesn't taste of Sterno. Next stop SD.
Jun 30, 2007
Irvine - Friday PM - June 29, 2007
As I mentioned yesterday, we had free time today, so we had spent some time trying to figure out what to do. We decided against theme parks because we have all of the same places back home in Orlando. We decided to go to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. We had gone to the LBJ Library in Austin a few years back, and this sounded great. It tooks about 90 minutes to get there, but it was an easy drive and the landscape was beautiful.
The Library itself is very impressive. It sits up on a hill overlooking the entire valley. It is styled after a huge western ranch house. When you get in, you go through the story of Reagan's life, from boy to actor to Governor to President. I have always loved Reagan, so I though it was very cool. I had just purchased the Ronald Reagan Diaries book that has his diary from when he was President. Fascinating. The exhibits were cool, and then half way through, things got even better.
You go out of the first part of the tour into the second part, where they have an actual Air Force One Boeing 707 jet for you to go through. It is the actual Air Force One that all the Presidents used until September 9, 2001. It was loaned to the library, and now has been redone to reflect how it appeared in 1985 or so. There also is a Marine One helicopter from LBJ, a beautiful mural of the history of Presidential air flight, a full motorcade complete with limo and police motorcycles, and a F-14 Tomcat. It was amazing to walk through and around.
We had lunch at the restaurant there - and it was amazing. We ate out overlooking the valley and had sandwiches and cake. Then we visited the Gift Shop (of course) and the Memorial Garden. It was fun and tiring, so we decided to head back. We still had lots of time, so we decided to swing through Beverly Hills just to see what all the fuss what about. Well....
The ugly side of LA surfaced as we got caught in never-ending horrific traffic. We went to Bevery Hills eventually, but it was just a bunch of expensive shops - most of which we have in Orlando at some high end mall or center. We thought about going to Chinatown or Hollywood or Studio City, but the traffic was getting horrible. Finally, we ended up driving right through Downtown LA, trying to find some way to avoid the gridlock on the freeways. It was a pretty fruitless effort. The traffic was unlike anything I had ever seen, and it was compounded by the absolutely out of their gourd bus drivers they have here. It was like LA went to New York and asked for all the psychotic taxi drivers who had been forced out of the business for being "Too Frigging Nuts" and then turned them into bus drivers. They would whip in and out of traffic, switch lanes with no warning, and drift into the other lanes. It was insanity. One thing I can't stand is being clueless about where I am going and having to deal with traffic.
Amazingly, Navigator Heather actually got us out of the mess and back to close to Irvine. We ended up stopping a few miles away for dinner at a mall - we ate at a Ruby's Diner. It was very good and fun, and the mall was pretty neat. The entire trip, we have been talking about how hard it is to find restaurants around this school. It seems like they are hidden. Well, once we headed back home through this community, we discovered where all of them were - just in time for us to leave on Sunday. The day was eventful and fun. Heather zonked out as soon as we got back. I keep dozing trying to write this - so bear with any spelling or grammar errors. Tomorrow we plan on being "table dwellers" at the Defender table. Hopefully we find some good stuff out then. See you later.
The Library itself is very impressive. It sits up on a hill overlooking the entire valley. It is styled after a huge western ranch house. When you get in, you go through the story of Reagan's life, from boy to actor to Governor to President. I have always loved Reagan, so I though it was very cool. I had just purchased the Ronald Reagan Diaries book that has his diary from when he was President. Fascinating. The exhibits were cool, and then half way through, things got even better.
You go out of the first part of the tour into the second part, where they have an actual Air Force One Boeing 707 jet for you to go through. It is the actual Air Force One that all the Presidents used until September 9, 2001. It was loaned to the library, and now has been redone to reflect how it appeared in 1985 or so. There also is a Marine One helicopter from LBJ, a beautiful mural of the history of Presidential air flight, a full motorcade complete with limo and police motorcycles, and a F-14 Tomcat. It was amazing to walk through and around.
We had lunch at the restaurant there - and it was amazing. We ate out overlooking the valley and had sandwiches and cake. Then we visited the Gift Shop (of course) and the Memorial Garden. It was fun and tiring, so we decided to head back. We still had lots of time, so we decided to swing through Beverly Hills just to see what all the fuss what about. Well....
The ugly side of LA surfaced as we got caught in never-ending horrific traffic. We went to Bevery Hills eventually, but it was just a bunch of expensive shops - most of which we have in Orlando at some high end mall or center. We thought about going to Chinatown or Hollywood or Studio City, but the traffic was getting horrible. Finally, we ended up driving right through Downtown LA, trying to find some way to avoid the gridlock on the freeways. It was a pretty fruitless effort. The traffic was unlike anything I had ever seen, and it was compounded by the absolutely out of their gourd bus drivers they have here. It was like LA went to New York and asked for all the psychotic taxi drivers who had been forced out of the business for being "Too Frigging Nuts" and then turned them into bus drivers. They would whip in and out of traffic, switch lanes with no warning, and drift into the other lanes. It was insanity. One thing I can't stand is being clueless about where I am going and having to deal with traffic.
Amazingly, Navigator Heather actually got us out of the mess and back to close to Irvine. We ended up stopping a few miles away for dinner at a mall - we ate at a Ruby's Diner. It was very good and fun, and the mall was pretty neat. The entire trip, we have been talking about how hard it is to find restaurants around this school. It seems like they are hidden. Well, once we headed back home through this community, we discovered where all of them were - just in time for us to leave on Sunday. The day was eventful and fun. Heather zonked out as soon as we got back. I keep dozing trying to write this - so bear with any spelling or grammar errors. Tomorrow we plan on being "table dwellers" at the Defender table. Hopefully we find some good stuff out then. See you later.
Jun 29, 2007
Irvine - Thursday PM - June 28, 2007
Well, there wasn't a whole lot to do around here today after the morning session. It is hard because the breakout sessions do not apply to us a lot of the time. So, we decided to go hang out at the Irvine Center Spectrum. It is a HUGE outdoor mall type place. I know these are becoming more common. There is the St. John's Center in Jacksonville and Waterford Lakes Center in Orlando. This one was very much big, and it was a GORGEOUS day to stroll around. We don't go into a bunch of the stores because we don't want to be tempted to buy stuff that we won't have room to bring home.
We had lunch at Red Robin {the menu at the conference was not very attractive}. For those who have known me a long time, you have heard about Red Robin. This was MY restaurant growing up. There was one right down the street, and I picked it whenever I got to choose. What made it so great? My reasons were five-fold. One, they had the best cheese sticks anywhere. Two, they had seasoned waffle fries. Three, they had unlimited refills on Mountain Dew {not common back then}. Four, they had the Royal Red Robin burger - complete with a fried egg on top. Five, they had a Strawberry Tall Cake that was incredible.
Well, it closed and it was about 15 years before I found another one in Pennsylvania. One, they changed the cheese sticks to something similar to Arby's. Two, they only have steak fries. Three, they only carry Coke products, not including Mello Yello. Four, they had the Royal Red Robin burger - but I am allergic to eggs. Five, they don't have the Strawberry Tall Cake. It was a downer. This time my expectations were lower, and we really enjoyed it. I had a BBQ burger with fried onions on it and Heather had a BLTA sandwich {A=avecado}. We also got a half order of cheese sticks. And I had some raspberry limeade drink - which was great. It was fun.
Then we went and saw Live Free or Die Hard. I will review this on my Rotten Tomatoes site later. Suffice it to say, it was fun and stupid and awesome and dumb. Basically, it was perfect for the series. The only thing is that it was PG-13. I talked about this in my Alien Vs. Predator review years ago. If the entire series is R, leave the sequels R. I am not endorsing violence or vulgarity. But this must have been a late decision by 20th Century Fox, because the editing was horrible. I know that by telling you this, it will become obvious. But I found AT LEAST 10 times when you could tell the language and/or violence had been edited out at a late date. People would be talking and then it would jump to a view of another character right when you knew the F-Bomb was dropping. But, after Die Hard 3, a few hundred less F-Bombs was nice. I like Justin Long in the movie. And Bruce Willis was great. The stunts were incredible - unbelievable as all get out, but fun. That scene in the trailer where Willis takes out a helicopter with a car - yeah that was even better in context. And it was seriously rivaled for the best stunt in the movie by a couple other scenes. I thought it passed my sequel test: added to the story, stayed true to the general mythos, and if it was first it could have generated sequels. Good summer flick. Check your brain at the door and just get ready for an adrenaline rush.
After that, we wandered around, and ended up at Target. I thought it was weird that there was a Target there, but there was. We went in and looked around. Our first trip through, there were three guys standing with a cart and talking. When we came around a corner again, I noticed one of them had a shirt that said "Love Your Neighbor" on the front. But the back had some snarky comments about only loving them if they weren't of any "different group." The third time we went by them, I noticed they had a lot of stuff in their cart: water bottles, office supplies. They were talking about how they needed to have two lines for people - those willing to be photographed and those who aren't. {Please believe I wasn't snooping.} The last time, I got this really weird feeling. I said to Heather, "I don't know why, but I think those three guys may be the ones organizing the other conference this weekend." She looked at me and said, "Why?" I wasn't sure. I just had this feeling, between the shirt and the other stuff. Well, I checked their website and, lo and behold, I think I was right. If you go to www.soulforce.org, and check Staff under About Us, Bill Carpenter was definitely one of them (confirmed by Heather). Jeff Lutes may have been one of them. Either way, it was a good reminder of what else is going on here starting tomorrow. Pretty strange stuff.
We stopped by Marie Callender's for a small supper and dessert on the way home. Dang, that was good. Cornbread that was amazing, and I don't like cornbread. I had some chocolate cheesecake that easily rivaled Cheesecake Factory. Heather had a big ole chicken pot pie. Good stuff.
I ran by our table once we got back and lots of our materials had been looked over, the free stuff was about gone. That was a good sign. Apparently visitors in the Expo Hall are increasing. Tomorrow is a free day for most of the day, so Saturday is our last chance to get our name out there at the table. We are planning to be around the table a lot that day, just in case. This weeks has been a mix of exciting and boring - good and bad. I am still trying to figure out what God has planned out here, but He is much smarter than me, so I'll leave that up to Him. We have had a good time. At the very least, it was good for Heather and I to get away. Like I said earlier, tomorrow is a free day. There won't be a morning post. We are leaning towards going to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. That sounds fun to me - Heather not as much. Look forward to tomorrow night's update.
We had lunch at Red Robin {the menu at the conference was not very attractive}. For those who have known me a long time, you have heard about Red Robin. This was MY restaurant growing up. There was one right down the street, and I picked it whenever I got to choose. What made it so great? My reasons were five-fold. One, they had the best cheese sticks anywhere. Two, they had seasoned waffle fries. Three, they had unlimited refills on Mountain Dew {not common back then}. Four, they had the Royal Red Robin burger - complete with a fried egg on top. Five, they had a Strawberry Tall Cake that was incredible.
Well, it closed and it was about 15 years before I found another one in Pennsylvania. One, they changed the cheese sticks to something similar to Arby's. Two, they only have steak fries. Three, they only carry Coke products, not including Mello Yello. Four, they had the Royal Red Robin burger - but I am allergic to eggs. Five, they don't have the Strawberry Tall Cake. It was a downer. This time my expectations were lower, and we really enjoyed it. I had a BBQ burger with fried onions on it and Heather had a BLTA sandwich {A=avecado}. We also got a half order of cheese sticks. And I had some raspberry limeade drink - which was great. It was fun.
Then we went and saw Live Free or Die Hard. I will review this on my Rotten Tomatoes site later. Suffice it to say, it was fun and stupid and awesome and dumb. Basically, it was perfect for the series. The only thing is that it was PG-13. I talked about this in my Alien Vs. Predator review years ago. If the entire series is R, leave the sequels R. I am not endorsing violence or vulgarity. But this must have been a late decision by 20th Century Fox, because the editing was horrible. I know that by telling you this, it will become obvious. But I found AT LEAST 10 times when you could tell the language and/or violence had been edited out at a late date. People would be talking and then it would jump to a view of another character right when you knew the F-Bomb was dropping. But, after Die Hard 3, a few hundred less F-Bombs was nice. I like Justin Long in the movie. And Bruce Willis was great. The stunts were incredible - unbelievable as all get out, but fun. That scene in the trailer where Willis takes out a helicopter with a car - yeah that was even better in context. And it was seriously rivaled for the best stunt in the movie by a couple other scenes. I thought it passed my sequel test: added to the story, stayed true to the general mythos, and if it was first it could have generated sequels. Good summer flick. Check your brain at the door and just get ready for an adrenaline rush.
After that, we wandered around, and ended up at Target. I thought it was weird that there was a Target there, but there was. We went in and looked around. Our first trip through, there were three guys standing with a cart and talking. When we came around a corner again, I noticed one of them had a shirt that said "Love Your Neighbor" on the front. But the back had some snarky comments about only loving them if they weren't of any "different group." The third time we went by them, I noticed they had a lot of stuff in their cart: water bottles, office supplies. They were talking about how they needed to have two lines for people - those willing to be photographed and those who aren't. {Please believe I wasn't snooping.} The last time, I got this really weird feeling. I said to Heather, "I don't know why, but I think those three guys may be the ones organizing the other conference this weekend." She looked at me and said, "Why?" I wasn't sure. I just had this feeling, between the shirt and the other stuff. Well, I checked their website and, lo and behold, I think I was right. If you go to www.soulforce.org, and check Staff under About Us, Bill Carpenter was definitely one of them (confirmed by Heather). Jeff Lutes may have been one of them. Either way, it was a good reminder of what else is going on here starting tomorrow. Pretty strange stuff.
We stopped by Marie Callender's for a small supper and dessert on the way home. Dang, that was good. Cornbread that was amazing, and I don't like cornbread. I had some chocolate cheesecake that easily rivaled Cheesecake Factory. Heather had a big ole chicken pot pie. Good stuff.
I ran by our table once we got back and lots of our materials had been looked over, the free stuff was about gone. That was a good sign. Apparently visitors in the Expo Hall are increasing. Tomorrow is a free day for most of the day, so Saturday is our last chance to get our name out there at the table. We are planning to be around the table a lot that day, just in case. This weeks has been a mix of exciting and boring - good and bad. I am still trying to figure out what God has planned out here, but He is much smarter than me, so I'll leave that up to Him. We have had a good time. At the very least, it was good for Heather and I to get away. Like I said earlier, tomorrow is a free day. There won't be a morning post. We are leaning towards going to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. That sounds fun to me - Heather not as much. Look forward to tomorrow night's update.
Jun 28, 2007
Irvine - Thursday AM - June 28, 2007
After a delightful breakfast outside with the cool breeze, we headed into morning session. Once again, I was just awestruck by the worship time. From the moment that the worship leader (Holland something or other) hit the first note, God's Spirit just filled the place. They started with a beautiful, more modern arrangement of Holy, Holy, Holy. I am always game for hymns with new arrangements. The whole audience was singing their hearts out and raising their hands. I started crying almost immediately. (Don't judge me) One of the verses really struck me. It says,
"Holy, Holy, Holy,
Though the darkness hide thee.
Though the eye of sinful man
Your glory may not see."
I don't know if you know it or not, but just about two miles away from Exodus Conference is another conference being held at the other university in Irvine, California. That would be the University of California at Irvine (UCI). UCI is where my brother Chris went for several years. {Chris is my brother - not my gay half brother. He lives in West Palm Beach. He is a Christian, single, awesome man who is not married - but wants to be. He has a Ph.D. and is an artist and surfs. Applicants for the position of wife are welcome.} Anyway, UCI is hosting a conference put on by one of the original founder of Exodus who went back to the gay lifestyle. This conference has marketed itself as being for people who have been rescued from Christianity and its efforts to "un-gay" them.
What struck me about that particular verse of the song is how at this conference, we recognize the holiness of God and the sin of our lives. But at the other conference, they are fighting to ignore those things. I asked Heather what exactly they were fighting to defend. There, the darkness is hiding God. There, the eyes of sinful man cannot see His glory. A lot of the flack about Exodus is that we try to tell people that they are sinning by being gay - when the world is telling them that they were born that way. The accusations is that Exodus tries to yank them out of their life and forces them to be "normal." The thing is, these people don't look unhappy. They are the most joyful bunch of Christians I have ever been around. They love God and they are truly truly happy. They are filled with His mercy. They are rescued sinners and they rejoice every day in that.
That was what made me even more convicted this morning, as I watched this and sang with these wonderful saints. The next song they sang was Here I Am to Worship. As we all praised together, and came to the bridge lines of:
"I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sins upon that cross."
I realized that I am an arrogant jerk. I try to be "comparitively good." I have managed to look at my own life and say that my sins are not as bad as other people's sins. I almost am proud BECAUSE of my sin, and how it is less heinous than others. I may have looked at dirty pictures, but they were at least of women. I may have a bad temper, but I don't get into drunken rages. I may have an ego problem, but at least I'm not a meglomaniac. The things about these people here is that they are VERY AWARE of just how lost they are. Their sin is right there and they don't sugar coat it. They don't try to shine it up, like polishing a turd. Everyone is more than willing to tell them just how sinful they are, so they understand perfectly well. Maybe that is why they are more into praise time. They have come from farther away, so their is more grace to be grateful for. I, on the other hand, seem to be able to convince myself I only needed Christ to die a little bit for me. Seems kind of stupid. I just kept on crying through the rest of worship time.
The testimony time is what I have come to love. Today, it was a man who lives in South Florida and is now an ordained Southern Baptist minister. (I was stunned too - Southern Baptists don't seem the type to be willing to do that.) He told of his childhood of abuse and neglect, how he craved the love of a man so much as a kid that as a teen he turned to homosexuality. He got saved at 21, but still spent years and years struggling, falling back into a sinful life, coming back, falling hard again, coming back. He even went so far as to admit his homosexual struggle at church on a Sunday morning during a sermon just to get it out there. The church loved him for it and he started a male accountability group there, which years later became the source of his greatest temptation and near failure. But at the point when he was ready to throw it all away again, God delivered him for good. He now has led his father, mother, sister, brother in law, and neice to Christ due to his changed life. His father got saved at 79, and one day during a men's group asked this man if he could pray over him. He prayed this immature simple prayer - a father's blessing. The man just broke down when it happened, finally feeling the love of his dad that he had desperately needed. The testimony ended with the report that he got engaged this past December to a wonderful lady from his church that he was co-teaching a Bible study with.
I am continually amazed at God's power. If you ever doubt just how big God is, go to an Exodus Regional Conference or the national one. You will never every question it again. Unfortunately, we didn't hear the entire sermon from the morning speaker. His name is Dr. Michael Brown. His group in Charlotte NC is on the front lines in the battle for our culture. I liked what he had to say, but he used so much of the "revolution" terminology. I agreed with his points, but some of the theme he was incorporating is what is used AGAINST groups like Exodus. It was one of those cases where the crowd there knew what he was saying, but others may see it as something entirely different. We had to leave because the chairs are so uncomfortable, my back went into the biggest spasm I've probably ever felt. It still is very sore - which is a good point of prayer for you readers. We heard most, but missed the last point. Hopefully resting will help it. I doubt that between it and Heather's pregnancy that we will be able to make it through the entire evening session, so we will see what happens.
"Holy, Holy, Holy,
Though the darkness hide thee.
Though the eye of sinful man
Your glory may not see."
I don't know if you know it or not, but just about two miles away from Exodus Conference is another conference being held at the other university in Irvine, California. That would be the University of California at Irvine (UCI). UCI is where my brother Chris went for several years. {Chris is my brother - not my gay half brother. He lives in West Palm Beach. He is a Christian, single, awesome man who is not married - but wants to be. He has a Ph.D. and is an artist and surfs. Applicants for the position of wife are welcome.} Anyway, UCI is hosting a conference put on by one of the original founder of Exodus who went back to the gay lifestyle. This conference has marketed itself as being for people who have been rescued from Christianity and its efforts to "un-gay" them.
What struck me about that particular verse of the song is how at this conference, we recognize the holiness of God and the sin of our lives. But at the other conference, they are fighting to ignore those things. I asked Heather what exactly they were fighting to defend. There, the darkness is hiding God. There, the eyes of sinful man cannot see His glory. A lot of the flack about Exodus is that we try to tell people that they are sinning by being gay - when the world is telling them that they were born that way. The accusations is that Exodus tries to yank them out of their life and forces them to be "normal." The thing is, these people don't look unhappy. They are the most joyful bunch of Christians I have ever been around. They love God and they are truly truly happy. They are filled with His mercy. They are rescued sinners and they rejoice every day in that.
That was what made me even more convicted this morning, as I watched this and sang with these wonderful saints. The next song they sang was Here I Am to Worship. As we all praised together, and came to the bridge lines of:
"I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sins upon that cross."
I realized that I am an arrogant jerk. I try to be "comparitively good." I have managed to look at my own life and say that my sins are not as bad as other people's sins. I almost am proud BECAUSE of my sin, and how it is less heinous than others. I may have looked at dirty pictures, but they were at least of women. I may have a bad temper, but I don't get into drunken rages. I may have an ego problem, but at least I'm not a meglomaniac. The things about these people here is that they are VERY AWARE of just how lost they are. Their sin is right there and they don't sugar coat it. They don't try to shine it up, like polishing a turd. Everyone is more than willing to tell them just how sinful they are, so they understand perfectly well. Maybe that is why they are more into praise time. They have come from farther away, so their is more grace to be grateful for. I, on the other hand, seem to be able to convince myself I only needed Christ to die a little bit for me. Seems kind of stupid. I just kept on crying through the rest of worship time.
The testimony time is what I have come to love. Today, it was a man who lives in South Florida and is now an ordained Southern Baptist minister. (I was stunned too - Southern Baptists don't seem the type to be willing to do that.) He told of his childhood of abuse and neglect, how he craved the love of a man so much as a kid that as a teen he turned to homosexuality. He got saved at 21, but still spent years and years struggling, falling back into a sinful life, coming back, falling hard again, coming back. He even went so far as to admit his homosexual struggle at church on a Sunday morning during a sermon just to get it out there. The church loved him for it and he started a male accountability group there, which years later became the source of his greatest temptation and near failure. But at the point when he was ready to throw it all away again, God delivered him for good. He now has led his father, mother, sister, brother in law, and neice to Christ due to his changed life. His father got saved at 79, and one day during a men's group asked this man if he could pray over him. He prayed this immature simple prayer - a father's blessing. The man just broke down when it happened, finally feeling the love of his dad that he had desperately needed. The testimony ended with the report that he got engaged this past December to a wonderful lady from his church that he was co-teaching a Bible study with.
I am continually amazed at God's power. If you ever doubt just how big God is, go to an Exodus Regional Conference or the national one. You will never every question it again. Unfortunately, we didn't hear the entire sermon from the morning speaker. His name is Dr. Michael Brown. His group in Charlotte NC is on the front lines in the battle for our culture. I liked what he had to say, but he used so much of the "revolution" terminology. I agreed with his points, but some of the theme he was incorporating is what is used AGAINST groups like Exodus. It was one of those cases where the crowd there knew what he was saying, but others may see it as something entirely different. We had to leave because the chairs are so uncomfortable, my back went into the biggest spasm I've probably ever felt. It still is very sore - which is a good point of prayer for you readers. We heard most, but missed the last point. Hopefully resting will help it. I doubt that between it and Heather's pregnancy that we will be able to make it through the entire evening session, so we will see what happens.
Jun 27, 2007
irvine - Wednesday PM - June 27, 2007
We went to lunch and ate with our plane buddies - and two other couples. One of them, both husband and wife had been orchestra teachers. As Heather said, "No matter where you go, band geeks find each other." She hit it off with them. The wife still taught orchestra. The husband though, who was the former gay, was now in seminary. He was getting trained in youth ministry. What an amazing story of the transformative power of God. We had such a great time we hated to leave. But we had to get to our session.
I found out that they were recording the session for sale - they were recording every session, sermon, workshop. I had never had that done before, so I was a little nervous. We got our room set up, and the people came. About forty people showed up - married couples, college students, adults. We were teaching on "The Glory of Sex." The lesson is about what God meant sex to be - and how when it is incorporated into a married relationship, it actually reflects God's nature. I love the lesson because God gave it to me and I had never heard it before I wrote it. So, it is always exciting to share it.
The people there really enjoyed it. They were involved and seemed to really be blessed by it. At the end, there were some questions that I thought I fielded okay - including a couple on touchy subjects. I was able to incorporate my story with Sue into the opening - which everyone thought was awesome. At the end, a couple people came up and were very complimentary and said that they were very blessed. One student in particular gave me the best compliment I could get. He had asked some questions and grilled me before the class started on my theology. He said, "I was very impressed by your devotion to relying on God's Word for the lesson. I was very blessed and ministered to by that." You can't ask for more than that. If you want to, you can actually buy a copy of the CD of my lesson. Go to www.catapes.com. I'm not sure how to find it - or if it will be up before the conference ends on Sunday. You should be able to search Exodus and Staples or something. It costs $8. Just in case you want to get a copy.
We went back to our table, and decided to give away some of the extra student books for free. One guy came by and I started talking to him. He is from Oregon, and this is his second Exodus conference. He went to acting school and is an actor up there. You could tell that he had struggled with homosexuality. But it was such an amazing testimony. It is already hard enough to be a Christian in the entertainment industry. But to be a former-gay and a Christian? He must face so much hostility. If he doesn't already he will. But he just was shining the joy of God all over.
After a nap we went to dinner, where we ate with a Irvine cop who was here for security. He asked what the whole deal was with the conference. I said that it was a group that helped minister to gays and former gays. He nodded and said he had heard everything from "a bunch of gay haters" to "anti-gay" to whatever. He said he was a Christian and that he understood what recovery was and was glad that we were here. I told him what Defender did and he was thrilled about that too. What an interesting example of the misunderstanding about this issue in the Christian community. So many "Christian" groups do hate gays, and not just their sin, that the world assumes that is what they all do. And then you come to a place like this. I mean it feels like the entire place is just saturated with God's mercy and grace and love. And it amazing how much my own mind has changed in just one day. I really want to sit down and just ask some of these people to tell me their stories. I want to hear about God's awesome redemptive power. Those stories never get old. In fact, I am really beginning to wonder why God keeps on bringing this issue into my path. Is this something God wants us to do more with later? I am open if it is. It may take me a while to move past some of my stupid stereotypes, prejudices, judgments, and jokes. But I can't help but be moved by seeing this place. Instead of just a bunch of gays and former gays, it is actually a massive testimony of God's power and grace. What a great day.
I found out that they were recording the session for sale - they were recording every session, sermon, workshop. I had never had that done before, so I was a little nervous. We got our room set up, and the people came. About forty people showed up - married couples, college students, adults. We were teaching on "The Glory of Sex." The lesson is about what God meant sex to be - and how when it is incorporated into a married relationship, it actually reflects God's nature. I love the lesson because God gave it to me and I had never heard it before I wrote it. So, it is always exciting to share it.
The people there really enjoyed it. They were involved and seemed to really be blessed by it. At the end, there were some questions that I thought I fielded okay - including a couple on touchy subjects. I was able to incorporate my story with Sue into the opening - which everyone thought was awesome. At the end, a couple people came up and were very complimentary and said that they were very blessed. One student in particular gave me the best compliment I could get. He had asked some questions and grilled me before the class started on my theology. He said, "I was very impressed by your devotion to relying on God's Word for the lesson. I was very blessed and ministered to by that." You can't ask for more than that. If you want to, you can actually buy a copy of the CD of my lesson. Go to www.catapes.com. I'm not sure how to find it - or if it will be up before the conference ends on Sunday. You should be able to search Exodus and Staples or something. It costs $8. Just in case you want to get a copy.
We went back to our table, and decided to give away some of the extra student books for free. One guy came by and I started talking to him. He is from Oregon, and this is his second Exodus conference. He went to acting school and is an actor up there. You could tell that he had struggled with homosexuality. But it was such an amazing testimony. It is already hard enough to be a Christian in the entertainment industry. But to be a former-gay and a Christian? He must face so much hostility. If he doesn't already he will. But he just was shining the joy of God all over.
After a nap we went to dinner, where we ate with a Irvine cop who was here for security. He asked what the whole deal was with the conference. I said that it was a group that helped minister to gays and former gays. He nodded and said he had heard everything from "a bunch of gay haters" to "anti-gay" to whatever. He said he was a Christian and that he understood what recovery was and was glad that we were here. I told him what Defender did and he was thrilled about that too. What an interesting example of the misunderstanding about this issue in the Christian community. So many "Christian" groups do hate gays, and not just their sin, that the world assumes that is what they all do. And then you come to a place like this. I mean it feels like the entire place is just saturated with God's mercy and grace and love. And it amazing how much my own mind has changed in just one day. I really want to sit down and just ask some of these people to tell me their stories. I want to hear about God's awesome redemptive power. Those stories never get old. In fact, I am really beginning to wonder why God keeps on bringing this issue into my path. Is this something God wants us to do more with later? I am open if it is. It may take me a while to move past some of my stupid stereotypes, prejudices, judgments, and jokes. But I can't help but be moved by seeing this place. Instead of just a bunch of gays and former gays, it is actually a massive testimony of God's power and grace. What a great day.
Irvine - Wednesday AM - June 27, 2007
After waking to the disturbing linens, we go to eat breakfast. We feel so much better after sleeping. We decide that we are not going to let the hiccups of yesterday to trip us up. I am supposed to be speaking at 1:30pm today; we have our table; and this conference is so important that obviously Satan will be trying to mess it all up. We have a new look at life and a skip in our step. We look like Peter Parker walking down the sidewalk in Spiderman 2. Well, that was all a lie. The hills mean that we kind of shuffle along or limp up stairs. But we have a better view for sure.
I, however, am fighting a ton of stuff in my head. I have been around gay people. But I have not interacted much in my later life. I hadn't seen Sue in 16 years. I haven't talked to George in at least five - but those interactions are few and far between. I have all the typical Southern Baptist, southern male stereotypes in my head. I can't help but wondering who here used to be gay. When you see a married couple, which one is the recovering one? I also ask myself the question, "If they really are serious, why do they still act so, you know, gay?" There are a lot of guys who walk a little weird, or who wax their eyebrows, or who use a lot of hair product. I feel nervous - why I have no idea. I have a feeling I'm not exactly a prime lust source for much of anyone. I tell Heather about my thoughts. She shakes her head at my denseness.
After getting our table gussied up better and more suited for visitors without us there, we go to the morning worship service. We are about a half hour late, and the speaker is now a mother giving a testimony about her gay son. It was a heartbreaking story, and one that really drove home the entire conference purpose. This lady's husband had died at 46, and her older son had died three years later when he was killed as a cop in the line of duty. A few years later, he only other son shared he was gay. She shared how one day she was crushed and crying about the whole thing a few years later. God spoke to her and said, you know how hurt you are over that? That's how I feel whenever you sin. It really took her breath away. Heather and I looked at each other, both really hit by what is being shared.
Then the worship band came up and started a couple very worshipful songs. What happened next embarrassed me. The crowd was singing. They had their hands up. Their faces were raised. I was embarrassed and ashamed because of how passionate they were. Their hands weren't up for show - it was like they were trying to push their love for God up, and their hands got them that much closer. Their faces were glowing with love and joy. There was an older couple in front of us - the wife was so weak she couldn't stand up. The husband waved his hands in the air. And she had her one hand raised up a little bit, sweetly singing. I started to cry. The songs were about God's mercy and love and grace. I realized how these people - the same ones that I was sitting there judging and worrying about just an hour before - really knew God. They understood what grace and mercy was. They knew what it was to love God. Here I am, this teacher and pastor - writer of eleven books for other teachers and pastors. And I don't get it at all. I am so dense. I was floored. These people had already gone through a traumatic time of rejection and hurt when they came out about being gay. They were shunned and hated by friends, family, and church people. Then they went through it again when they turned from that life to become a Christian. And they again were shunned and hated by friends, family, and some church people. But they were standing there rejoicing and praising God.
By the time Sy Rogers got up to speak, I was already pretty humbled. Then he busted out more good theology in the first two minutes then I have heard in some entire years of my life. He was amazing. It was the first time I ever heard him speak - or his story. He had been gay - very gay - and even looked into becoming a woman. But God saved him. Now he's been married for 25 years, has a daughter who got married this spring, and he led his 79 year old father to Christ in June. Plus, he has a worldwide ministry. He talked about how God is bigger... He's bigger than our sin, our inadequacies, our pain, our history. Then he said God is bigger than our mannerisms. He said that he still gets asked by some people, "If you are so serious about this, why don't you butch up?" His answer is, "I Have! Am I wearing a dress?" My response was, OOOFFF. Yes he mentioned the same exact question that I had been asking just a little before. Through his sermon, I realized that these people have imprinted in their minds certain behaviors and mannerisms and believed they were normal and right. It was fed for years. And this is what they know. Some are able to change that, but others try and try and still have problems. And then he said that even if they keep messing up, even if we all keep messing up, they keep going back to ask for forgiveness until it complete.
We were just so blessed by the sermon and his points. It was so true about what Defender teaches, and what we deal with too. Everyone has things that will trip them up a lot. But God is bigger. What an awesome morning.
I, however, am fighting a ton of stuff in my head. I have been around gay people. But I have not interacted much in my later life. I hadn't seen Sue in 16 years. I haven't talked to George in at least five - but those interactions are few and far between. I have all the typical Southern Baptist, southern male stereotypes in my head. I can't help but wondering who here used to be gay. When you see a married couple, which one is the recovering one? I also ask myself the question, "If they really are serious, why do they still act so, you know, gay?" There are a lot of guys who walk a little weird, or who wax their eyebrows, or who use a lot of hair product. I feel nervous - why I have no idea. I have a feeling I'm not exactly a prime lust source for much of anyone. I tell Heather about my thoughts. She shakes her head at my denseness.
After getting our table gussied up better and more suited for visitors without us there, we go to the morning worship service. We are about a half hour late, and the speaker is now a mother giving a testimony about her gay son. It was a heartbreaking story, and one that really drove home the entire conference purpose. This lady's husband had died at 46, and her older son had died three years later when he was killed as a cop in the line of duty. A few years later, he only other son shared he was gay. She shared how one day she was crushed and crying about the whole thing a few years later. God spoke to her and said, you know how hurt you are over that? That's how I feel whenever you sin. It really took her breath away. Heather and I looked at each other, both really hit by what is being shared.
Then the worship band came up and started a couple very worshipful songs. What happened next embarrassed me. The crowd was singing. They had their hands up. Their faces were raised. I was embarrassed and ashamed because of how passionate they were. Their hands weren't up for show - it was like they were trying to push their love for God up, and their hands got them that much closer. Their faces were glowing with love and joy. There was an older couple in front of us - the wife was so weak she couldn't stand up. The husband waved his hands in the air. And she had her one hand raised up a little bit, sweetly singing. I started to cry. The songs were about God's mercy and love and grace. I realized how these people - the same ones that I was sitting there judging and worrying about just an hour before - really knew God. They understood what grace and mercy was. They knew what it was to love God. Here I am, this teacher and pastor - writer of eleven books for other teachers and pastors. And I don't get it at all. I am so dense. I was floored. These people had already gone through a traumatic time of rejection and hurt when they came out about being gay. They were shunned and hated by friends, family, and church people. Then they went through it again when they turned from that life to become a Christian. And they again were shunned and hated by friends, family, and some church people. But they were standing there rejoicing and praising God.
By the time Sy Rogers got up to speak, I was already pretty humbled. Then he busted out more good theology in the first two minutes then I have heard in some entire years of my life. He was amazing. It was the first time I ever heard him speak - or his story. He had been gay - very gay - and even looked into becoming a woman. But God saved him. Now he's been married for 25 years, has a daughter who got married this spring, and he led his 79 year old father to Christ in June. Plus, he has a worldwide ministry. He talked about how God is bigger... He's bigger than our sin, our inadequacies, our pain, our history. Then he said God is bigger than our mannerisms. He said that he still gets asked by some people, "If you are so serious about this, why don't you butch up?" His answer is, "I Have! Am I wearing a dress?" My response was, OOOFFF. Yes he mentioned the same exact question that I had been asking just a little before. Through his sermon, I realized that these people have imprinted in their minds certain behaviors and mannerisms and believed they were normal and right. It was fed for years. And this is what they know. Some are able to change that, but others try and try and still have problems. And then he said that even if they keep messing up, even if we all keep messing up, they keep going back to ask for forgiveness until it complete.
We were just so blessed by the sermon and his points. It was so true about what Defender teaches, and what we deal with too. Everyone has things that will trip them up a lot. But God is bigger. What an awesome morning.
Irvine - Tuesday - June 26, 2007
We get to the campus of Concordia University at Irvine and register. We have to check in with the front guard gate. The security is tight tight tight. When you register, they tell you that you had better be wearing your lanyard or you get booted. There are police officers wandering around. The protestors haven't shown up yet, but they are supposed to be showing up. I hear that CNN is out at the gate for an interview. Wow. Talk about front-line ministry. We are getting very tired, and want to get our room. We check in at the housing office and then finally stumble in to our dorm room. It is hot and smells of gym socks. Must have housed male students. We are trying to get our stuff together. The linens that are supposed to be here are missing pieces (pillow, sheet, towel). It isn't cooling off and Heather is starting to cramp.
I call the housing office to report the air is busted. Here's how the conversation goes
Me: "Uh, the air is broken."
Them: "Oh, yeah, we don't have air on campus."
Me: {stunned silence}
Them: "Hello?"
Me: "Uh, what?"
Them: "We only have heaters - and the pilot lights need lit first."
Me: "My wife is six months pregnant. She is starting to cramp." {Thinking this would move mountains}
Them: "Hold on .... {long gap} .... Yeah, we don't have air. Make sure you open the windows."
Me: "Oh-kaaaaay"
This trip is going swimmingly. Again, I don't care how nice the weather is, no air in a room is just cruel. We decide to go check out our table and our box that we had shipped last week. The box is in, um, less than pristine shape. The outside box is shredded on the bottom. The bottom inside box is also destroyed. We had send some plastic sign holders in the box. They are not in one piece. They are in like thirty pieces. We try our best to get things set up, and realize we have to go to Target for both our room and our table. After grabbing dinner at the school, we go and get some stuff. When we get back, we notice something weird about expo hall. No one goes there. The exhibitors aren't there. The attenders don't come through here on a regular basis. Our plan of sitting at the table seems pretty dumb.
We are a little frustrated, a lot tired, and a little confused. Finally we go back to the room to crash. The linens have never arrived, so we make due - in our two twin beds set up loft style with about three feet of space under the bed. We did score a fan, though, at Target. Cool breezes await. Around 9pm PST we lay down. Around 9:05 we realize they may come with the linens, so I lock the door and put a chair up against it. (Don't judge me - I'm from South Florida) Around 9:30pm we hear noises so I jump out of bed to the front door. The housing manager has the door open up to the chair and is trying to tell us it is just the linen delivery. I explain that we are dog tired from being up for 21 hours. He has sympathy, gives us the linens, and doesn't ask why the chair was in front of the door. When we wake up on Wednesday, there are the original pieces we were missing on the couch in the living area in our room - so apparently someone else came in later to drop those off. Greaaat. California has taken a turn for the weird for sure.
I call the housing office to report the air is busted. Here's how the conversation goes
Me: "Uh, the air is broken."
Them: "Oh, yeah, we don't have air on campus."
Me: {stunned silence}
Them: "Hello?"
Me: "Uh, what?"
Them: "We only have heaters - and the pilot lights need lit first."
Me: "My wife is six months pregnant. She is starting to cramp." {Thinking this would move mountains}
Them: "Hold on .... {long gap} .... Yeah, we don't have air. Make sure you open the windows."
Me: "Oh-kaaaaay"
This trip is going swimmingly. Again, I don't care how nice the weather is, no air in a room is just cruel. We decide to go check out our table and our box that we had shipped last week. The box is in, um, less than pristine shape. The outside box is shredded on the bottom. The bottom inside box is also destroyed. We had send some plastic sign holders in the box. They are not in one piece. They are in like thirty pieces. We try our best to get things set up, and realize we have to go to Target for both our room and our table. After grabbing dinner at the school, we go and get some stuff. When we get back, we notice something weird about expo hall. No one goes there. The exhibitors aren't there. The attenders don't come through here on a regular basis. Our plan of sitting at the table seems pretty dumb.
We are a little frustrated, a lot tired, and a little confused. Finally we go back to the room to crash. The linens have never arrived, so we make due - in our two twin beds set up loft style with about three feet of space under the bed. We did score a fan, though, at Target. Cool breezes await. Around 9pm PST we lay down. Around 9:05 we realize they may come with the linens, so I lock the door and put a chair up against it. (Don't judge me - I'm from South Florida) Around 9:30pm we hear noises so I jump out of bed to the front door. The housing manager has the door open up to the chair and is trying to tell us it is just the linen delivery. I explain that we are dog tired from being up for 21 hours. He has sympathy, gives us the linens, and doesn't ask why the chair was in front of the door. When we wake up on Wednesday, there are the original pieces we were missing on the couch in the living area in our room - so apparently someone else came in later to drop those off. Greaaat. California has taken a turn for the weird for sure.
San Diego - Tuesday - June 26, 2007
I have already written the second part of the FerreTV series. But, I was not able to post it like I wanted. I have been without internet access for this account in about four days. And, by the time I could have posted it, I was already in California. So, I will finish that series when I get back.
Right now, Heather and I are in California for the Exodus International Conference. Exodus is a ministry that works with homosexuals and recovering homosexuals. They do amazing work - and this is their national conference. We got invited to come and have an exhibit table for Defender, as well as lead a break out session. In our opinion, you don't tell Exodus no. So, we are here. You can check that more about Exodus at www.exodus.to. Well, I wanted to blog about the expereiences here, and unfortunately, was not able to get on the world wide webs to do so. However, I don't want to skip the first few installments just to catch up. So, I am going to fill in from each point. You can read each of these to catch up.
We go up at 3am (yup) to get to the airport to catch our flight to Atlanta. What kind of idiot books a flight leaving at 6am? Me, I suppose. Anyway, we stumbled through all the security stuff. Take off my shoes? Grrrrr. So, I get all the way through the Disney lines, the belt of mystery and reached the Arch of Shame. Here I am standing with my little white socks, walking through what could pass for a doorway in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The lady with the magic wand is in front of me doing the typical security, "Come on through." I pause - causing a ton of people to worry. The lady looks oddly familiar. I look at her name tag. "Susan Staples" That is correct, my friends. It is my sister. Well, she's my half-sister from my dad's first marriage. I haven't seen her in sixteen years. "Sue?!?" She looks at me and realizes, "DAVID? MY BROTHER!?!" Looked like one of those Oprah moments. "This is my brother I haven't seen in years." I introduce Heather and have to hustle off to get my bags. She had another guard bring me her phone number in Jacksonville. I didn't even know she lived there.
What a bizarre opening to the trip. But, what made it even more unusual is that my sister Sue is gay. She has been gay for about thirty years. My half-brother George is gay also. I have been around this lifestyle my entire life. And seeing her again was a good reminder to pray for her and to remember why we are here across the country.
We get to Atlanta and decide, you know, this next four and a half hour trip is going to be really cramped and long. So we look into upgrading. (Don't judge me.) We decided it was worth it. (Don't judge me) Well, the people next to us on the plane were perfectly delightful people. They were nice and funny - both wore crosses. In fact, they were going to a conference in San Diego. Heather was sure it was the same one. I was sure she was nuts. "There are tons of conferences in San Diego." Well, as we were leaving the housing office, there they were. Huh. That's weird. Turns out they are a lovely couple and we are having a great time with them.
Travel is never just easy breezy and fun. We landed in San Diego - which is the most awesome weather on earth. We waited for 30 minutes for our luggage. And then we had to ride to Hertz to wait for 35 minutes for it. I don't care how nice the weather is, waiting on a sidewalk for 35 minutes is not fun. Finally, we got our Hyundai Entourage and began the drive to Irvine. Traffic is INSANE. In Florida, traffic slows down during traffic jams. In California, they go faster. And we didn't see a Speed Limit sign for over thirty miles. My guess was that the limit was 100, since that was what it felt like everyone was going. It actually was 65.
At this point we were starving, since our stomachs thought it was 3:30. We saw a place off the interstate, but passed it and tried to get off. So we're driving through the ridiculous hills of San Diego trying to find this place. A couple times I was wishing I had finished my will before I left. The hills are so tall with no visibility. I'm used to land so flat you can see Miami from Orlando. We got back to the freeway (miraculously) and decided to drive to less crazy areas to find something else. We found a lovely Italian Bistro for lunch. I had a chicken pesto panini - seasoned chicken breast, pesto, roasted red peppers, buffalo mozzarella cheese, and huge ripe fresh tomato slices. Heather had a rigatoni with braised eggplant, buffalo mozzarella, and fresh sauce. It was joined by fresh hot rolls with balsamic vinegar and fresh marinara sauce. The balsamic was the most incredible we had ever had. California was starting off good and tasty - and dangerous.
Right now, Heather and I are in California for the Exodus International Conference. Exodus is a ministry that works with homosexuals and recovering homosexuals. They do amazing work - and this is their national conference. We got invited to come and have an exhibit table for Defender, as well as lead a break out session. In our opinion, you don't tell Exodus no. So, we are here. You can check that more about Exodus at www.exodus.to. Well, I wanted to blog about the expereiences here, and unfortunately, was not able to get on the world wide webs to do so. However, I don't want to skip the first few installments just to catch up. So, I am going to fill in from each point. You can read each of these to catch up.
We go up at 3am (yup) to get to the airport to catch our flight to Atlanta. What kind of idiot books a flight leaving at 6am? Me, I suppose. Anyway, we stumbled through all the security stuff. Take off my shoes? Grrrrr. So, I get all the way through the Disney lines, the belt of mystery and reached the Arch of Shame. Here I am standing with my little white socks, walking through what could pass for a doorway in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The lady with the magic wand is in front of me doing the typical security, "Come on through." I pause - causing a ton of people to worry. The lady looks oddly familiar. I look at her name tag. "Susan Staples" That is correct, my friends. It is my sister. Well, she's my half-sister from my dad's first marriage. I haven't seen her in sixteen years. "Sue?!?" She looks at me and realizes, "DAVID? MY BROTHER!?!" Looked like one of those Oprah moments. "This is my brother I haven't seen in years." I introduce Heather and have to hustle off to get my bags. She had another guard bring me her phone number in Jacksonville. I didn't even know she lived there.
What a bizarre opening to the trip. But, what made it even more unusual is that my sister Sue is gay. She has been gay for about thirty years. My half-brother George is gay also. I have been around this lifestyle my entire life. And seeing her again was a good reminder to pray for her and to remember why we are here across the country.
We get to Atlanta and decide, you know, this next four and a half hour trip is going to be really cramped and long. So we look into upgrading. (Don't judge me.) We decided it was worth it. (Don't judge me) Well, the people next to us on the plane were perfectly delightful people. They were nice and funny - both wore crosses. In fact, they were going to a conference in San Diego. Heather was sure it was the same one. I was sure she was nuts. "There are tons of conferences in San Diego." Well, as we were leaving the housing office, there they were. Huh. That's weird. Turns out they are a lovely couple and we are having a great time with them.
Travel is never just easy breezy and fun. We landed in San Diego - which is the most awesome weather on earth. We waited for 30 minutes for our luggage. And then we had to ride to Hertz to wait for 35 minutes for it. I don't care how nice the weather is, waiting on a sidewalk for 35 minutes is not fun. Finally, we got our Hyundai Entourage and began the drive to Irvine. Traffic is INSANE. In Florida, traffic slows down during traffic jams. In California, they go faster. And we didn't see a Speed Limit sign for over thirty miles. My guess was that the limit was 100, since that was what it felt like everyone was going. It actually was 65.
At this point we were starving, since our stomachs thought it was 3:30. We saw a place off the interstate, but passed it and tried to get off. So we're driving through the ridiculous hills of San Diego trying to find this place. A couple times I was wishing I had finished my will before I left. The hills are so tall with no visibility. I'm used to land so flat you can see Miami from Orlando. We got back to the freeway (miraculously) and decided to drive to less crazy areas to find something else. We found a lovely Italian Bistro for lunch. I had a chicken pesto panini - seasoned chicken breast, pesto, roasted red peppers, buffalo mozzarella cheese, and huge ripe fresh tomato slices. Heather had a rigatoni with braised eggplant, buffalo mozzarella, and fresh sauce. It was joined by fresh hot rolls with balsamic vinegar and fresh marinara sauce. The balsamic was the most incredible we had ever had. California was starting off good and tasty - and dangerous.
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