Great Quote Thursday

God wants your worship before He wants your work- Neal Thornton

Parker is 9 Today!!

Nine years ago today, our world changed when Parker was born. We are blessed by him everyday.

Happy Birthday Parker! Daddy loves you.

Great Quote Thursday

The secret is to work less as individuals and more as a team. As a coach, I play not my eleven best, but my best eleven- Knute Rockne

Thoughtfulness Makes an Impression

My son Parker turns 9 later this week. Today, when he went through the lunch line at his school's cafeteria, he punched in his numeric code when he purchased his milk. Any purchase made in the cafeteria requires the student to input their code.

But today, Parker experienced a pleasant surprise. When he entered his code, the computer wished him "Happy Birthday".

Here's The Point: I don't know if this little bit of thoughtfulness is something system-wide or if it only happens at my son's school. But someone, somewhere along the way, recognized the opportunity to take the information in the school's database and use it brighten a student's day.

Just a small moment of thoughtfulness that made an impression.

Fun on Friday- More Parkerisms and Turnerisms

Raising two sons, 8 and 5, means we have lots of fun conversations in our home. Here are some more:

While praying in the car on our way to school on Valentine's Day:
Turner: And thank You that we get to go to school on Valentine's Day and celebrate a holiday of love.

Also, during the drive to school on Valentine's Day:
Parker (jokingly): What if I only get one valentine today?
Me: You know you'll get way more than that.
Parker: Yeah, but what if I just got one?
Me: Well, Charlie Brown just got one and he's done okay.

While playing Mario Kart:
Me: Is it my turn?
Turner: You may perceive (meaning proceed).

Great Quote Thursday

We are all starved for the glory of God, not self. No one goes to the Grand Canyon to increase self-esteem- John Piper

The Message: Solo Devotional

This semester, our Small Group is going through the Message: Solo Devotional written and edited by Eugene Peterson. The Solo contains paraphrased portions of Scripture (while noting expanded passages in the Bible) followed by a page of application tools that encourage the reader to read, think, pray and live.

Somewhat surprisingly, I've found the application section has helped me interact with Scripture in ways I haven't previously. When I read the Bible I tend to read it as "these things happened", as if I'm looking in on a scene. Being a student of history, I often read for facts and information. The Solo has helped me "experience" Scripture.

The application section for each day encourages the reader to place himself in the text for the day:
From Day 10 and a text from Matthew 21 when Jesus throws the money changers out of the Temple:
"Imagine you are there when Jesus comes in the temple and cleanses it.  Now let the blind and crippled come into your view. Watch Jesus healing them. Listen to the voices of the children as they play and shout "Hosanna"." What's your reaction to them? To Jesus' interaction with the disabled? To the indignation of the religious leaders? (Include not only your mental reaction but your physical reaction too, if any)."

To place myself in the scene as one of the disciples; to imagine I am a bystander watching Jesus heal a leper; to be "in" the Scripture, has been a good experience for me and all the guys in our group.

Attention to Detail

With my Dad's health issues, I've been spending some time recently helping my Mom get him to his various medical appointments. And as we all know, that often involves some waiting in the front lobby.  Let's be honest, some lobbies are simply nicer than others because some practices pay more attention to the patient's entire experience.

This morning, we visited Knoxville Orthopedic Clinic (KOC) with Turner. (On Sunday night, Turner had a stool fall on his foot and break a toe. Following an X-ray at the pediatrician's office yesterday, we were sent to KOC for a follow-up. Turner's a tough kid, is in a walking boot for a few weeks and should be just fine).

During our brief time in the KOC lobby this morning, here's what I noticed:

• The waiting area was designed with lots of windows, allowing in natural light. Bringing some of the outdoors inside just "feels" better. Who doesn't like natural light?
• The furniture was all the same style; everything matched. More than that, the chairs were covered in 4 different but coordinating patterns. Someone had taken the time to design the look of the lobby.
• Did I mention everything was clean?
• Many waiting areas and lobbies have one, possibly two, TVs. In most cases, the TV(s) are locked on Fox News, CNN or some "health network". KOC had multiple seating areas, each with its own TV, providing different programming in each seating area. So rather than our 5 year old "watching" Fox News, he got to see a few minutes of Chuggington on Disney Junior.
• To allow busy people to maximize their time, a counter area is available for those needing to work on their laptop or Ipad while they wait. A help-yourself coffee station was adjacent.

Here's The Point:
Someone, probably a group of people, took the time to attempt to provide a quality waiting experience. And it was noticed. Effort is always appreciated.

Great Quote Thursday

The absolute worst place to begin constructing an identity is you, which is precisely where most counseling begins. The absolute best place to begin constructing an identity is Jesus Christ, which is precisely where Scripture begins- Mark Driscoll

Super Bowl Prediction

Baltimore Ravens vs. San Francisco 49ers

Tonight's Super Bowl matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers looks to be a very exciting game. The two teams are quite similar in many ways, beyond the fact that they are coached by Harbaugh brothers (John Harbaugh- Ravens; Jim Harbaugh- 49ers).

Both teams feature powerful defenses. The 49ers defensive stats are more impressive but the Ravens D has gotten healthier in the past few weeks. Both teams feature big-armed quarterbacks (Joe Flacco- Ravens and Colin Kaepernick- 49ers) and solid ground games led by Ray Rice (Ravens) and Frank Gore (49ers) who are comparable in their impact on their team's offense.

Big questions tonight include:
Can the Ravens run enough to allow their aerial attack to thrive?
Will Ray Rice be an effective rusher and pass catcher out of the backfield?
The 49ers have given up some big passing plays, the kind the Ravens thrive on. Will this continue?
Can the Ravens defense keep Colin Kaepernick in check or will he run wild?
Will Kaepernick continue to thrive under the pressure of the playoff spotlight as he has done so far?
Who will make the big catch for the 49ers offense to open up their running game?

Possibly the difference in the outcome of this game is which team has a surprise breakout star. Almost every Super Bowl features one surprise breakout performance.

My head says to pick San Francisco but my heart says to go with Baltimore. Much has been made of Ray Lewis' leaderships skills as he enters what is thought to be the final game of his career. My choice of the Ravens has nothing to do with that, rather it has to do with teams getting on unexpected, unbelievable, unexplainable rolls through the playoffs (think New York Giants last season). The Ravens are on one of those rolls right now.

Parker's pick: Ravens
My pick: Ravens

Fun on Friday- More Parkerisms and Turnerisms (and a Tonya-ism)

Raising two sons, 8 and 5, means we have lots of fun conversations in our home. Here are some more:

Parker: Daddy, who is older, you or Michael Jackson?
Me: Michael Jackson. He was 10 or 12 years older than me. But he's dead now.
Parker: I know, but he looks young.
Me: He'd had some work done.

While listening to some Michael Jackson music:
Parker: Except for the "hee-hees", this sounds alot like @JamieDEvans.

In Nana and Papaw's basement:
Turner: Oh, I didn't know they had another TV down here.
Me: No. That's an old computer. That's what a computer used to look like.

And as a special bonus this week, a Tonya-ism:
Tonya: Hindsight is 50/50. (Posted with permission)