On the Road Again (Hasha Lama Laygo 2) 10:44 PM

Remind me to tell you how awesome Chattanooga was. Tagliaboschi Tricks, 3-pointers earning street cred, swimmy humidity, how many times someone asked my age (431), an old English lady who threatened to give me and my kids a "whooping", and other high quality hijinks from the 'Nooga will get some Threat Level love. Your prayers were felt and answered.

I would like to tell you some more, but I am quite sleepy.

In the meantime, pray on for the high school crew and for the Spirit to move in St. Louis.

Hasha Lama Lego 8:30 PM

I had all of these tremendous ideas for a blog, seriously I did, but unfortunately, I have run out of time. Tomorrow, I am leaving for the choo-choo of Chattanooga with 11 high quality junior high students. We will be doing some light construction, working with children in the downtown area, and hopefully, catching and embracing the Triune God.

If you think about it, please pray for us. But don't just pray for safe travel and all that Sunday school jazz...pray that the fullness of Father's love finds us and forms us into the group of children he would have us be.

First Feast 9:07 PM

I know there is probably some blurb in the blogger book against too much baby boy brogging. Stockton, however, hasn't gotten enough Threat Level love.

Recently, we introduced six month old Stockton to solid food. It is basically a rice cereal mixed with milk, and has the consistency of oatmeal. It certainly didn't look like it was on Zaxby's Club level of delicious, but the baby boy tore into it like it had a side of crinkle-cut fries. This gets filed under "s" - for "show future girlfriend."

A Word From My Baby Boy 1:53 AM

No one told me that fatherhood would be hilarious; that my son would be so adept at making me laugh at and love on him. Here's the roly-poly-baby-boy telling his beautiful mom and I something hilarious. Next time we make a video, we'll be sure to turn more lights on :).

Why I am NOT voting for Barack Obama 7:46 PM

In order to have polite conversation, there are two general rules to follow. First, do not talk about religion. Second, do not talk about politics. Unfortunately, 1605B North Mill Court includes a minister and a political organizer. Thus, 75% of conversations revolve around the aforementioned impolite discourse. (In case you are wondering, the other portion of conversation belongs to Stockton (20% and growing) and the Utah Jazz (5%)) With the Kentucky Democratic Primary coming up tomorrow, our living room has resounded with the responsibilities of citzenry and the merits of Barack and Hillary.

As you can imagine, the independent woman (throw your hands up at me!) Dana was previously enamored with Hillary Clinton, especially after reading her autobiography. More recently, She-Ra has gravitated towards Obama, given his background in grassroots organizing, essentially what Dana does now. But after weighing the options, watching the cool YouTube videos, and listening to Barack's sizzle over Hillary's steak, I have come to an important conclusion that distills down to one inconvenient truth.

I will not be voting for Barack Obama tomorrow. The reason is simple.

Barack Obama found time to campaign in virtually every state that mattered (Florida and Michigan did not)up to this point. Obama found time, in the middle of a busy congressional season to visit California, New Hampshire, and every place in-between. Yet in this season of high stakes, with the nomination virtually decided, Obama outlined Oregon instead of blessing the bluegrass. Hillary, on the other hand, spent yesterday in Bowling Green and put up with an interview from the po-dunk news team.

All other things being equal between Barack and Hillary, Hillary, through her visit yesterday and the implicit affirmation of Kentucky therein, earned my vote.

Call it whatever you wish. Call it little man's disease or some unhealthy hang-up with my home state. But Hillary succeeded where Barack failed in Kentucky. Not in the politics of hope, but in the politics of persons.

An Open Letter to Jesus 2:43 AM

I wrote this a long time ago. Let me know what you think.

An Open Letter to Jesus

Your bride does not shave her legs.
Her armpits sweat and stink
She lies
lies in wait with baited trap

She searches with bloodshot eyes
feasts on bitterness
and swallows whole tears

But your blood painted love for her
Your agony spoke vows
If she was worth Your death
how much more mine now?

Time Out 5:28 PM

The Bowling Green community is reeling from the untimely death of Corry Tucker, a junior at Bowling Green High School who took his own life. A parent suggested I post what an e-mail that I sent following the tragedy. I know there are websites with much more in-depth information regarding suicide and coping with the aftermath, but here it is anyway.

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Dear Parents and Friends,

By now you, and certainly your son or daughter, have probably heard the tragic news from Bowling Green High School. Sometime between last night and this morning, a junior student took his own life. This may give rise to a series of questions from your son or daughter today or the next couple of days. Please know that the most important thing you can do as a parent or significant adult is provide an outlet for those questions. You don't necessarily have to always the "correct" answer as much as you need to be a presence for them to speak to and receive love from. As they confront their own mortality and process through this suicide, the greatest truth you can convey to them is not found in an encyclopedia but rather in your love, and God's all-surpassing love for them. You may also find the following suicide-coping related links helpful.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/108725/how_to_help_your_teen_deal_with_a_friends.html
http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/mental_health/suicide.html
http://www.teentouch.org/coping_suicide.asp

Your son or daughter may also ask the following questions (with potential starting points):
Did God will this to happen?

God is a loving God whose heart breaks at sin and brokenness, including suicide. Our free will choices sometimes result in brokenness. God did not will this to happen and hurts that it did happen.

Does a person who committed suicide automatically go to hell?

It would be wrong to assume that one wrong decision causes God to overlook a lifetime of correct decisions.

Why did he do this?

We could speculate all day why this young man decided to take his own life. Ultimately, we do not know and in order to respect the privacy of the family, we may not know. That doesn't change the fact that a young man's life was tragically lost today.

Should I have seen warning signs?

While suicide can be something that is premeditated over the course of time, it can also be something that is done spontaneously in a moment of depair or sadness. There may have been warning signs, but looking back and trying to parse out particulars is not helpful. The ultimate question behind this question is, "Is this my fault?". The answer is of course, no.

What should I do if I or one of my friends is having suicidal thoughts?

Ultimately, there is nothing worth taking your life for. God created you in an act of love and desires life for you. If you or a friend are having suicidal thoughts, you should immediately speak to your parents or another significant adult (pastor, teacher, counselor, coach, etc.) Nothing NOTHING is worth killing yourself over, not even the really cute girl.

Praying for you,
jb