Well, my friends at Nazarene International Headquarters apparently aren't fans of bloggers, so I've been officially blocked. Not just me, but anyone trying to access Blogspot from HQ. I wish I could say this was the most egregious of their offenses...

Posts will be more sporadic, I'm afraid, since I can only post from home now, and I prefer spending my time at home hanging out with a very active little boy and a very busy little wife.

Now Reading: God's Politics, by Jim Wallis

To see some amazingly cute pictures of our little boy, visit my sister's blog by clicking here.

Now Reading: 1491, by Charles C. Mann
Colts' Magic Number: 3

Over the next three weeks, President Bush will be making some very important decisions regarding the budget for next year. ONE is an organization that is pressing for the US to give an additional 1% of our budget over the next five years to address AIDS and poverty needs.

If this 1% is given, there will be 10 million fewer AIDS orphans, and 100 million children will be able to attend grade school who otherwise wouldn't.

By clicking here, you can sign and send a letter to the government encouraging them to add this 1% to the budget...Only a penny on every dollar can make an enormous difference.

Now reading: 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, by Charles C. Mann

Luis Jones-Posada. Deybi Fabrezio Gomez Morales. Crystal Greiner. Hal Fogarty. An Unnamed Baby.

Bacterial Meningitis. AIDS. A house fire. Cancer. A miscarriage.

These are the names of people who have died in recent weeks, and the ailments/incidents that took them. They were all extremely dear to people who are extremely dear to me. My heart is so heavy...My tears flowed easily today.

Eric, Kerri, Trey and Riley; Doug and Molly; James; Jared and Karrie--I love you all, and my heart is full of pain.

May the peace that only comes from Jesus permeate you all today.

Not to be a beggar, but I had asked for some insight on Romans 13 from any of you readers, and I received very little. Thanks, Brandon, for the articles you posted. Here is one of my favorite quotes from those articles: "The church must live as a sign of the coming complete kingdom of Jesus Christ; but since that kingdom is characterized by peace, love and joy it cannot be inaugurated in the present by chaos, hatred and anger."

This is the passage our small group is about to discuss, and I'd really like to hear what some of you think about it. Feel free to respond in the comments section or by email.

You can read the chapter by clicking here.

Thanks in advance.

Now Reading: Dieterich Bonhoeffer's Christmas Sermons
Colts: 14-2; Magic Number: 3

That's right. Liquor stores.

Kari, Braden and I had a really nice vacation. We spent a week with each of our families and had a great time of sharing, giving, playing and loving. Our families and friends are some of the most wonderful people in the world to hang out with. The trip was not without incident, of course.

After we had been at my parents' house in Kentucky for about four days, it became evident that Braden was getting sick. It seemed like a little cold with a cough, so we gave him some PediaCare and didn't worry too much about it. On New Year's Eve during the day, though, it was clear that something wasn't quite right, so we called my parents' family doctor, who told us we needed to take him to the emergency room. So we had our first ER experience with our little guy on Saturday night. We were there for four and a half hours. Braden has an ear infection and a cold, and he had to get two shots and two prescriptions, an antibiotic and a cough suppressant.

Well, for those of you with kids, you know what an antibiotic will do. And for those who don't know, I'll spare the gross details, but let's just say things become a little...um...runny. More on that later.

Monday morning we left Russell to start the long trip back to Kansas City. My mom called my cell phone after we had been gone about a half hour to tell us that we left our coats behind. Kansas City in January is not a good place to be without a coat. So, Mom met us halfway and brought our three coats and Kari's scarf, and we were back on the road.

After we came through Louisville about three hours later, Kari hopped in the back of the minivan to get Braden out of his car seat and change his diaper. When she pulled his pants down, the runniness effects had kicked in, and suddenly she and Braden were covered with...well...use your imagination. Kari proclaims, "Oh my word," from the back seat (those of you who know her can hear her say it now) followed by a few cries. I look back long enough to see what has happened, and then I ask her is she's laughing or crying. She tells me she's laughing, so I rest a little easier and start looking for an exit.

So we're driving along between downtown Louisville and the Indiana border, and there is no exit for 10 miles. TEN MILES! I'm not exaggerating at all. Ten miles of Kari holding Braden on his changing pad on her lap (which is no small task considering his considerable squirminess) with poo everywhere. She laughs. He squirms. I drive.

Finally, just inside the Indiana border, an exit. There is no sign of a gas station, a restaurant, anything that would be of help to us, but it is an exit, so I get off and start looking. There is one place that looks open: A liquor store. I run in and ask if they have a public restroom, and the guy shakes his head. I say, "Man, are you a father?" He looked at me real funny, and I told him we just had a diaper blowout. He says, "Yep, I am a father. Bring him in."

I run out to the car and get Kari and Braden. Kari carries him and the changing pad, I carry the diaper, blanket, paper towels and wipes. We go inside and the guy points us to the back, where we are met by what I can only describe as a liquor-store-owning-angel (am I allowed to say that? Is that blasphemy?). This lady tells us she has grandkids, and that she's been there. She takes us into the liquor warehouse where there is plenty of room. We are surrounded by Maker's Mark, Jack Daniels, Bacardi and Zima. She brings more paper towels, garbage bags for Braden's soiled clothes and the nasty diaper, soap, water, refreshments (well, not refreshments, but you get the idea). Kari works her mommy magic, and the next thing you know, he's clean as a whistle. We told the lady what a blessing she has been, and we're back on the road.

Ah, the joy children bring. :)

Now reading: Dieterich Bonhoeffer's Christmas Sermons (a fabulous gift from my fabulous wife)
Colts: 14-2; magic number: 3