The Year in Review - The First Quarter
I was all set to do my version of our year in review when out of nowhere I got a call from Ted Koppel. It seemed that is lieu of his retirement he missed the excitement of the tough interview and wanted to get back in the saddle one more time. Coming to an ABC special sometime on the second Tuesday of next week, "Mia, The Byers Family, and the Year that Was - A Koppel Special." Just make sure that when you read it, you imitate Ted's voice...
Ted: Mia it'?s good to finally meet you in person. I'?ve been following you since you were born, but it is a pleasure to talk to you face to face.
Mia: Thanks Ted, I feel honored that you'?re ending your career on such a high note. Say do you want to see my new blocks?
Ted: We'?ll get to that in a moment. How about we start at the beginning? What were you doing in January?
Mia: It's kind of hard for me to think that far back, I mean come on Ted can you remember what you were doing half your life ago?
Ted:
Uh, well, I believe I was in Europe, yeah that sounds good, Europe.
Mia: Well, one thing did come to my mind. I seem to recall experiencing snow for the first time. Shortly after I lobbied my dad to move to California.
Ted: traumaticamatic experience indeed. So anything else happen you would like to share.
Mia: Yeah, I heard my dad mention California shortly after and I got real excited, but the frivolity turndisappointmentntment when I learned that he was just singing a beach boys song.
Ted: Yes, and very nice ones they are. Let's discuss Easter. This was your first one was it not?
Mia: Yes, and I really don't know why I had to sit on the cold ground for that long. My dad is insanely obsessed with taking pictures - I mean for crying out loud do you need to get the perfect shot all the time???
Ted: Do I dectect some animosity towards your Father? How long has this been going on?
Mia: No, I was just caught up in the moment. I guess its okay, I
mean look at me. I'm gorgeous.
Ted: That you are, and on a side note I'm glad to see the celebrity hasn't gone to your head.
Mia: Do I detect a little animosity from you Ted?
Ted: None at all little one, none at all. Well, that about wraps up the first quarter. We'll take a short break and when we come back we'll discuss turning one, the pool, and the coffee table incident. Don't go away.
Back Into the Fray
I survived my weekend in Green Bay - though I think they entrusted me with some of their lovely viral specimans... I should have rented a car instead of walking everywhere in the sub-zero temps. Live and learn.
My brain is slowly putting itself back together. The training was very good, and it was really cool to see what could be done using a 3d Modeling program. I am a bit down as well, knowing that I will never have the time to really use the program for what it can do.
I always struggle on Mondays trying to figure out where I left off when I took off last week. I suppose I could take notes or something, but it seems like I spend half my morning figuring out what to do next instead of jumping right in. Any solutions or helpful hints?
I got our Christmas cards done last night. A friend of ours who does free-lance photography came over last week and took some really great pictures. We are planning to mail those out tomorrow so hopefully everyone on our mailing list will get them before Christmas - if not just blame the mail... If you don't get one and would like one just let me know. I will also post it on Flickr to download. The standard Christmas letter might be included if I get it done, if not you will have to direct people to our website to find out all that happened this year. I'll do a year in review post sometime in the next week or so.
I get to travel some more in January but this time it is to a place a bit warmer. I am training a client near San Fransico. I've been there a couple times and it is one of my favorite places to visit. I would never live there - just too much, but it is a very cool place to visit. I'll take lots of pictures so you all can experience it with me.
Mia, started saying "I love you" over the weekend in a full recognizable sentance. Is there anything cooler than to have your kid tell you that they love you? (even if they don't know what it means...) I grinned ear to ear for several minutes she told me on the phone this morning.
I heard a rumor that Mickie is doing baking today...hope its true.
Modeling in Titletown 2
We are to our first break and it has been a whirlwind so far. I am not the only novice...you always think you will be but it is rarely the case. My frappiccino was gone in the first 5 min - good thing I had a diet pepsi with me. Some heavy stuff - so far hope my brain keeps up, but good stuff. Time for another frappaccino...more to come.
Modeling in Titletown
For those of you that don't know I am doing some training on 3ds Studio Max and finally found my way to the frozen tundra. I am in class now waiting for it to begin. This will be entry number one in detailing my experiences here. My intial impressions are a little overwhelming. I am very impressed with the setup. Each workstation has a 21 inch monitor and what looks like a custom built system. It is very cozy in the classroom. It would be a little better if we had more room to write, but we'll see how that works out. They do have cold frappuccino for us though which is very cool. I will most likely be the most inexperienced person in the class, so I hope I don't get left behind - it will be interesting to see how the class is managed being that there are most likely a wide range of experiences. Just in the initial conversation before the class starts however I am very interested to dive in and learn this stuff. More later...
Modeling in Titletown
We just got back from lunch. Green Bay is not the place to come for a gourmet meal, but the small place we went to had really good burgers...Wisconsin has a afinity for putting butter on all of their burgers I'm thinking...good fries too.
As for the training, I just created a chinese roof. And you all are thinking wow! Me too. I just hope I can remember, retain, and apply...
I bet you are all on the edge of your seat for my next post...more to come...later (I think I used the diareses way too much in this post...)
The Time of Your Life
Throughout my life I have celebrated various days. Some have real meaning, some are nonsensical. Some have been celebrated with others and some by myself. So I come to this particular day, and in reading this I am sure you are thinking, "hmmm, today must be some sort of special day to be writing a post about certain celebrated days..." Actually, no. I am just waiting for some software to install on my computer and thought I would write a little something. This is the first thing that came to my wacky mind. So today (which I am dubbing "Reflect on Various Days Day") I will countdown some of my favorite days I have celebrated in no particular order.
- Talk Like a Pirate Day - I can't say I have officially celebrated it on it's specific day but I wanted to once I read about it...arrrr.
- NFL opening Sunday - I really don't care who is playing, I'm just excited that the America's pastime is finally back - Go Broncos!
- Karate Wednesday - This was a favorite in high school. During periods 3 and 4 at various times we would let loose our best karate yells and chants of "wax on, wax off."
- Christmas - Does this really need an explanation? I will reminisce on my all-time favorite present though. The coolest gift I ever received was my first video game system not from my parents as you would expect - but from my little brother. It was a Sony Playstation. Not only was it an awesome gift, but he saved for a long time to buy me that. Then it was stolen from my apartment...but insurance bought me a PS2, so, really he got me that as well. Thanks Bro!
- 230 Dorm Devos Night - Ahhh 230. Truth be told, every night in 230 was an adventure, but dorm devo night brought it to a whole new level. We packed 30 guys in the living room of an apartment for singing, fellowship, the planning of an "occansional" prank, a spiritual challenge and a weekly ritual, the buck buck. A couple memorable moments were when Dave King actually left his wonderful faith dinner on the carpet which had formally been in his stomach, and when the 300 lb behemoth Jeff Metheny launched himself from the counter top and proceeded to keep chiropractors in business for the next 60+ years.
- Woody's Day - This was probably the pinnacle of the week in high school. Every Tuesday a group of close friends would congregate at Woody's Wings and Things to enjoy camaraderie and hot wings. The funny thing is, I really don't like hot wings but due to the mob mentality and peer pressure and just wanting to be part of the group I actually grew to like them...but only Woody's wings.
- The second Friday in July (or sometimes the first and on rare times the third) - This was the first day of our annual summer vacation to Winter Park. Since I can remember,
my family has spent a week in July at our condo in Winter Park. The first day there was always the best. I would run around the place looking for any treasure that the previous tenant might have left behind. I found a shell necklace once, but that was about it. It was always cool to make the first trek to 7-11 to buy a Richie Rich comic book and coke/cherry/lime/whatever else slushy. I also could not wait to get to the pool and hot tub and try out my new rad googles I got from Yellow Front. It was also an interesting experience to go to the game room. Each year I would hope they would have some new games, and each year I got to play Ms Pac Man, and the same old reject airplane shooting game.
I am sure there are many more days I could write about - and probably will, but my software is done installing now.
It would be cool to hear about your random memorable days - leave a comment and enhance the blog experience for everyone. And if you can't think of one...Make today special.
The Paradox of Suffering
Every once in a while I run across a verse that completely blows me over. It's not just the "Hey, that's is nice and it applies to my life" kind of verse, but rather a verse that you can't get out of your head. It's a verse that challenges your thinking and raises all sorts of questions in your mind. It's the kind of verse that lets you know God is working through His Word and is speaking directly to you.
I had that happen the other day going through Philippians. Philippians 1:29 to be exact. Let me quote the verse for you in the New Living Translation.
"For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him."
Read it again and meditate on it a bit.
When we think about salvation and what God has given to us through His Son Jesus Christ, you can't do anything but stop and marvel in wonder about the glorious gift that it is. Too often I don't give my salvation the proper awe and respect it deserves. God's gift of grace to us cannot be explained in mere words nor could we ever express back to Him our thanks in a manner that He deserves. We have been saved from an eternity separated from God and even in our sinfullness God still wants us to be with Him! Incredible!
Now, here is the part of that verse that completely and utterly blows my mind...suffering is equated with salvation. Paul says that salvation is a privilege and that suffering is a privilege. What? Huh? Back up, what did you say? Suffering is a privilege.
I'll be the first to admit I don't find it pleasurable to suffer persecution for the cause of Christ. In fact I pretty much avoid it all costs. It's not a lot of fun. But that is exactly where our thinking needs to change. I believe that Paul actually enjoyed suffering for Christ. I think that Paul found pleasure when he was in jail. I think Paul smiled to himself after being whipped. I think that Paul sang praises after he had been stoned and left for dead. Why? Because Paul understood what suffering meant. He understood that when he was suffering for something he had done for Christ, Christ was being glorified. And since Paul's ultimate goal was to glorify Christ in all he did, he understood that his suffering meant glory, and that made him happy.
When you think of suffering in these terms it really doesn't sound bad. We need to stop thinking of suffering as negative and think of it as positive. When I am made fun of or verbally abused because I just shared the gospel, I need to pump a fist in the air and get excited! And really, here in America what persecution do we really have to fear? Are we going to be beaten, thrown in jail, killed? Probably not - but how much more glory could we give God if those things could happen? You see, we in America have gotten lazy and fat and we are content to just do the "church thing" serve a little here and there, and make it through life without a lot of conflict and strife. But is that what we are called to do? Look at what Paul says about the subject again in 2 Corinthians 1:4-5.
"You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. So when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your benefit and salvation! For when God comforts us, it is so that we, in turn, can be an encouragement to you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer."
If you have the opportunity, pick up a copy of Jesus Freaks, a modern day Fox's Book of Martyrs, and see if your thinking isn't challenged by the testimonies of these revolutionaries.
We need to experience a revolution in this area of thinking. We need a complete 180 degree about face. We need to be asking God to let me "suffer" as John Leonard has "suffered" and not to allow me to just go through my normal pain-free day.
What's known in Florida as the Eventual Post
I am way past due for a post. I have thought about for the last few days but have failed to think of any particular topic that I wanted to write about. I have been wanting to start a more focused blog on technology in ministry but I don't feel that this is the appropriate place. When I get more time...ha ha...I plan to start that blog of my personal portfolio site (joshbyers.com). I have a real passion for this area of ministry and see it as something that is under the radar for most churches. As the internet and technology are continually expanding into our lives it should make sense that it expands into our ministry as well. We need to be working on reaching all people where they are at and not waiting for them to come to us.
Family Update: Some of know that Mickie had surgery about a week and a half ago. She had her gallbladder removed because it had been giving her some pains. Everything went very well and she has suffered no ill effects. She is on a lifting restriction however and still can't pick up Mia. That obviously complicates life a bit when trying to control and raise a toddler.
We had a good Thanksgiving at Mickie's parents house. Their whole extended family usually gets together and it was at the Hyde's house this year. That made for a bit of a crowed house but it was neat to be able to experience a big family coming together. The Broncos were on national TV and did not disappoint - though I was a bit worried coming down the stretch. We still have leftovers and according to most health experts most of your leftovers should be thrown away by now...
We got most of our Christmas decorations up including a brand new pre-lit tree. That's right pre-lit. As in I didn't have to string any lights on the tree. That rules. I don't why these aren't more popular. Maybe they are and I am just naive. I am still reeling on how easy the tree went up and for once I wasn't frustrated and ready to be done with the whole ordeal... You can see pictures of Mia decorating the tree on our photostream on Flickr. There are also new pictures from Thanksgiving as well as the Fall.
I will try and write a little more often as a lot of things are going on during the holidays. Hope everyone is warm!