Verisimilitude

I often get asked how planning the wedding is coming along. Now whether people are sincere in their asking has little to do with whether or not the question is frequently asked, which it is. So here are some answers:

How’s the wedding planning coming?
Really well (not at all like the above pic, which is hilarious).

When is it?
December 13—which isn’t a Friday for all you superstitious.

Where is it?
Loose Mansion.

Has Megan found a dress yet?
She bought the first one she tried on. I can’t wait to see it.

Will it be traditional or contemporary?
Traditionary. Kidding. I guess it would be considered traditional—she’s wearing a white dress not a Spiderman costume.

Have you fought about anything?
Not really. The closest we’ve come to a disagreement is over what type of music to have at the reception—which, when the discussion got heated, we eventually laughed that we were disagreeing over music.

What do you have left to plan?
Photography, gift registry, flowers, invitations and the ceremony program—and we have hot leads on each of these. Outside of that, virtually everything else is planned—now it just has to go as planned.

Who’s in the wedding party?
Bridesmaids: Kayla Beggs (MH), Kim Wilcox, Tracy Newton and Jill Johnson.

Groomsmen: Matt Scott (BM), Mark Green, Jason Allen and Andrew Johnson.

Are you having a large wedding?
No. Quite the opposite, in fact, as it is what both Megan and I have wanted. Plus our venue is a home essentially—so this won’t be a Charles/Diana affair (in any sense).

Am I invited?
I really don’t know what to say to this question—it’s rude in a kind of breathtaking way. I’m constantly surprised by how often I’ve been asked. When students ask I don’t mind because they know they aren’t invited but want to be—the rest feel like they should be invited. Hay una diferencia.

Who’s officiating?
My youth pastor/mentor/and friend Reverend Jeffrey Cox.

What ‘vision’ do you have for the perfect wedding?
Our closest friends and family celebrating with us in a venue with character (read old building/church) in the Christmas season with light snow falling.

Where are you honeymooning?
Still working on that. I’m finding that picking the right place to honeymoon is like planning the right way to propose—luckily I have about the same amount of time to plan.

Why?
Because.

Times are changing, here are some new opportunities on my horizon.

Student Council Sponsor

If you noticed, I didn’t blog about coaching soccer very much. Why? I wasn’t a very good coach and writing about embarrassing things you do gets old fast. Fortunately, a new extracurricular activity opened up, one I’ve wanted since I’ve graduated: student council sponsor. I’m really looking forward to this opportunity but a little intimidated at the same time because they guy I’m replacing (who recently was promoted to assistant principal) was better than great in that position. I have big shoes to fill.

Side note: I am also in charge of this year’s prom. Get out your dancin’ shoes.

Community Groups Director

Things are continuing to get more exciting at LifeConnection Church. This fall, we stand poised to launch our small group system with 100% participation. In the meantime and throughout the year, we will be training leaders to, get this, train other leaders. We believe that true discipleship can and will happen in our community groups. The material? Gospel Christianity written by the wise owl himself, Dr. Timothy Keller. And the answer to your questions is yes, you can be a part of a community group. There will be several throughout Independence on varying weeknights.

Judicial Review Committee

As of May, I began a new role as a committee member for the state judicial review. Representing the 16th Judicial Circuit (Jackson Country), we evaluate the decicions and, thus, the quality of our state’s judges. All I know is that I have over a thousand pages of info to peruse for the rest of the summer. I’m glad to be a part of this though since it keeps me involved in the subject material I teach to a certain degree.

Husband

Getting married in December. BOOM! That’s a new responsibility for sure. More on that at another time.

I have a love/hate relationship with cell phones. On the one hand, I’m very thankful for and intrigued by the technology (iPhones and Blackberrys are cool and are undeniably helpful with productivity). But on the other hand, cellphones are providing an unprecedented distraction and may be frying our brains. My proof of the latter statement is the many, many people who seem to forget proper ettiquette. Here are some opinionated bullets:

• More often than not, have your phone on vibrate. Nobody wants to hear your ringtone. If you must keep your ringtone on, then quickly decide whether or not you will answer or forward to voicemail.
• Taking a call or texting when having a conversation with someone sends the message that someone else is more important. Regardless what you might think, it’s a rude gesture to the person you are ignoring to take the call. In the unique circumstance where the call is important, politefully ask to be excused. Do not take calls or text at the breakfast/lunch/dinner table. You probably should leave your phone alone while visiting someone else’s home.
• If your voicemail is longer than 15-20 seconds, it is too long.
• Nobody should be able to hear your conversation more than 15 ft away.
• Just because you can call me whenever you want to, that doesn’t mean you should
• Don’t make/take excessive and/or lengthy personal calls in inappropriate places (work, church, w/ friends)
• It’s kind of pathetic to see someone empty our their purse or bag furiously or dramatically in order to see who’s calling. I mean really? It makes the rest of us think you’re kind of silly.
• Take out your damn bluetooth headset when you are in a restaurant.
• And do not ever, ever, ever try to sneak a phone in one of my classrooms.

What are some of your faves?

Just finished Kitchen Confidential by anti-celebrity chef-turned-celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain and found it to be a very entertaining memoir of Bourdain’s life as a professional chef.

His writing is clever, vivid and admittedly crude—there are several outrageous anecdotes—with his characteristic, and therefore uniquely acceptable, pretension. Simply an easy read in the best sense.

In the most interesting section, Bourdain contends that there are essentially two types of chefs: artists and craftsmen.

To Bourdain, artists are annoying, high-maintenance, may not think it’s necessary to shop up to work on time. They talk about inspiration over ingredients, shun technique for innovation, and are more interested in self-promotion and expression to fuel their own egos than proving excellent cuisine for diners.

As you can imagine, Anthony Bourdain fancies himself a craftsman. Craftsmen have character—they are always on time, keep a clean workspace, never miss a shift, find beauty in creating the same dish the same way repeatedly, and are consistently loyal to the teaching and technique of those whom they were once apprentices. They won’t need to stack a dish a foot tall for the sake of presentation if it doesn’t make sense to eat it that way or, more importantly, if it takes away from the flavor and integrity of the ingredients.

Greater application…

In a society where innovation seems to be the most noble pursuit, it seems that it would be easy to do so recklessly— forgoing integrity by arrogantly ignoring the ‘real art’, the solid technique we must first embrace and respect before we can contribute anything ‘new’. Good book.

Thanks to Google Reader, I can periodically evaluate my blog reading habits and clean house if I need to.

Today, I cut down my subscriptions from 88 to 64. Now, soon that number will go up as I will be on the prowl for new content. What got the axe?

• Blogs with excessively long posts with high quality entries few and far between. Your blog isn’t worth subscribing to if it’s only worth reading once a month.
• People I haven’t talked to in over a year who only upload pictures they’ve taken—snore.
• Blogs with partial feeds. Why do I have to visit your ’sweet’ site to read your whole post. If I want to do more than read the post, I’ll visit your site.
• Blogs with moderated comment sections. A couple weeks ago I attempted to leave a comment that asked a critical question (though worded with civility) on a fairly popular blog—it was not ‘approved’. Perhaps it was p.u,n..tuation. Comment moderation is rarely justifiable, in my opinion of course. You just aren’t that important.

Out with the old, in with the new.

I’m young.  Only 23.  I have my “whole life ahead of me” as I’m often told. 

I’ve started a career that I’m satisfied with, will be marrying a young lady that I’m in love and fully compatible with—I’m optimistic about my future and actually look forward to challenges because they provide a chance to learn.  And I love a chance to learn.

But I’m very aware of my youth.  While I have energy and drive to embrace life,  I don’t have an equal proportion of experience.  I don’t want this to lead to arrogance, though I admit that it does have the propensity to do so.

I fear that there is an negative correlation between energy and experience—that I’ll lose energy and optimism the longer I live.  Why?  I’ve seen it happen. 

Since a young age, I’ve been actively seeking mentors who are wise enough to temper my energy with their experience—instead of merely extinguishing it.  This is why I am always asking questions to those who have ‘been around the block’.

I’ve been really thankful that I’ve been able to spend several days in NYC—it always affords me renewed perspective. I leave humbled, refreshed and energized.

(Originally published December 2007)

Are you engaged?

Yes. It happened Friday night at approximately 8:40 pm CDT.

Where did it happen?

At Crown Center in front of the Mayor’s Christmas Tree.

Exactly how did it happen?

Ask Megan.

Did you get down on one knee?

Yes.

Where you nervous?

Near heart attack.

Where’d you get the ring?

Meierotto’s Jewelry in North Kansas City. I highly recommend it.

What cut is the diamond?

Round brilliant.

How big is the center stone?

Perfect.
Did she love it?

Ask Megan. And yes, she did.

Did you ask permission/approval/blessing from her family?

Yes. I asked approval/blessing from both parents secretly.

Was it a surprise?

Yes.

Does the engagement date have any significance?

It was the day before our 3-year dating anniversary.

Have you set a date for the wedding?

Right now, it’s 12.05.08.

Any significance with the wedding date?

We wanted a wedding during the Christmas season. Also we didn’t want to schedule too close to her brother’s wedding.

Who’s in the wedding party?

TBA.

Am I invited?

TBA. But I can tell you that it will be a semi- intimate wedding. The rough draft list is full of our large families and dear friends. And to clarify “dear”, I mean those sustained friendships that are significant to Megan and me in some way.

Where will the wedding be?

TBA. We’re looking at a list of venues. We both prefer a church–I want it to be old and to have a pipe organ. And it will be in Kansas City of course.

Where are you registered?

No idea yet, though I have suggested Quik Trip.

Why did you wait so long?

You’re right I should have listened to you.

Why did you not wait long enough?

You’re right, I should probably listen to you.

What are the wedding colors?

I’ve made suggestions…

Will you hire a coordinator?

Not if we don’t have to. I think Megan’s mom took the job on a pro bono basis.

Can I tell you my idea?

Only if it doesn’t suck.

Are these questions really frequently asked?

Most are, others are anticipated.

Will you write your own vows?

No.

Will you sing at your wedding?

No.

Can I ask a question that is not on this list?

All questions must be submitted in writing. All criticisms are postponed until further notice.

Checking in with you at a little, unairconditioned internet cafe in the West Village. 

• Great trip so far.  Every day has been in the mid 70s (except for today, 90s and humid). 
• We’ve been able to visit all five boroughs
• Had our first tastes of celebrity chefs—  Tom Colicchio’s ‘Witchcraft (sandwiches) and Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill, both delcious.  Both experiences have taught me that taste and flavor are a lot more object than I previously thought.
• New York on the 4th of July is great—though this year was a little rainy.  You’ll see fireworks here that you won’t see anywhere else—like the expoding smiley face, the flying dragon and floating lanterns.
• Our stay in a new but cheap hotel in chinatown was a lot better than I thought it would be—good job Kayla and Expedia.
• Had a great visit to Redeemer Presbyterian on Sunday. Attempted to visit The Journey only to find that the service was cancelled.  bummer.
• Reclining on a warm rock in Central Park was a relaxing experience—I think it was the first time I was able to fully relax in a while.  Put me in a great mood.
• One of the best things to do here is to simply walk—I’ve done my share. 
• This city challenges me intellectually, spiritually and physically—more on this later.

(Originally published July 2007)

Anyone who’s ever gone to the trouble to make your own BBQ on a limited budget knows that it’s only worth the trouble if the end product is delicious.

And smoking meat is a work shift. I’m talking anywhere between 6-10 hours depending on the type/size of meat in question. Yesterday’s choice was an 8.5 lb brisket and 2 slabs of spare ribs.

I use my step-dad’s stack smoker. It is much smaller and cheaper than most rigs, and more of a pain to negotiate I think. It works vertically, heat on the bottom, then water pan, 1st rack, and 2nd rack at the top. The wood pan at the bottom does not draw oxygen very well, so I compensate by using my tiny Weber instead. It works like a charm.

For heat and flavor, I use a blend of high wood content Kingsford charcoal, Apple wood chips and Hickory chunks.

In my water pan, I mix water, apple juice, and teriyaki.

The first time I smoked I made my own rub. It wasn’t bad. But I wanted to quicken the whole preparation process since it starts so early. Therefore, I now use trusted Gate’s Original seasoning.

After a couple hours of smoking, I turn the meats and apply a spray marinade of vinegar, beer, and a simple syrup made with brown sugar.

I check the temperature every 1/2 hour. After the initial burn, I had to add wood about every 1.5 hours.

The final product? Deliciousness. I didn’t take a shot of the ribs, but here’s the brisket right after I took it off.

(Originally published July 2007)

We are a little over one month into the early reality of LifeConnection Church and I feel like a late bloomer.

I say that because right now I feel like I’m starting to get it. I’m starting to realize what we’re a part of, I’m starting to comprehend the scope of this opportunity and I’m really starting to care for the people we’re involved with. I feel like I want to go all in—I want put all of my stock in this church to engage in God’s mission.

This week we were doing some community activities with families in a park in Independence. It was great to show up and see the volunteers, each of them putting way more energy into the production of the event than I had. I loved watching the kids get into the games, bending rules in kickball, and getting disappointed when my balloon exploded during the balloon toss. I was glad to start conversations with parents I’ve never met, I enjoyed telling them we were a church that wanted to get to know the people in the community—and genuinely mean it.

I’ve loved reading Jonah and Jeremiah, getting a sense of God’s perspective of people. I want to have a part in changing the way people think about God, because that’s what is happening in my life constantly. I want to see the gospel change culture, I want to see it establish justice, and I want to see the reality of the gospel in every bit of my own existence. I want my mind to wander to the things of God, I want to always be considerate of his ways. I want to be useful to people, I want to show that the church and the gospel are in fact the hope of the world. I am really thankful that I am partnering with LifeConnection Church to be about God’s business in this city.

You should come check it out.