ben stein's new movie

this movie might be a little late as far as the age-old debate goes. but it's interesting just how many scientists seem to continue to get ostracized for not condoning darwinism. can't we all just metaphysically coexist?!

in my element

we're up in Erie, PA leading worship for a youth winter retreat. and i sound like a McDonald's commercial, 'cause I'm lovin' it so much.

worship is going so smoothly it's incredible. the kids are responding and my band (neal, whom I haven't played with in over a year, and orion, who rocks my socks on drums) is killer. their instincts and ability to stay true to the mood and song are uncanny.

and we've had a lazy saturday. worshipped this morning. took a walk out onto frozen Lake Erie. then took a nap. now we're sitting inside our cozy meetin area, looking out at the snow quietly falling onto billows of clean, cottony forest ground. we can see the Lake from our dorm area and from the big windows of the worship lodge.

Lord, don't take me now :)

seasoning

note to self: if you think you might not be posting on your blog for a while, don't make any new posts related to the season of year. it might be 2 or 3 seasons later before you post again :)

fall has fallen

when I first moved to North Carolina from Pennsylvania, I really missed autumn. I mocked the pseudo-fall in NC by saying it only lasted 2 weeks. then I moved to Arizona and seasons as we knew them came to an abrupt end....

and look at this glorious fall we're having in Carolina! this is a really cool tree in our backyard.

this is our whole backyard.
lots of trees = lots of leaves = leaf fight!

and as seasons change, we get older - even our babies. yesterday our baby became a little boy when he got his first haircut. kept the faux hawk, lost the curls (sorry bud, one or the other had to go!).

diagnose and adios....

worked my last shift at the 'vale last night. hopefully my last overnight shift ever :)

kind of sad to leave. I realized it was the longest I've ever kept a job (4 1/2 years; incidentally, the shortest i've had a job was 2 weeks. delivered chinese food in college).

they had a little spread for me as it was my last day. a gigantic cookie with a "we'll miss you" message and an icing-stethescope on it makes a guy feel good. I understood for the first time that i wasn't only taking care of patients while working there. that the staff were my patients too, in a way.

it was a good last shift to have. some new (disoriented) staff and a particularly slow night for lab & x-ray, along with a healthy dose of uncooperative patients helped remind me of the finer things I've experienced over the years. i was called a few choice words, had a patient vomit in front of me, smelled pus from an infected surgical wound, had family members get upset when I didn't know spanish. ahh, i'll miss this place....

beat boxing

jaw to the floor....

i used to think i could beat box. this french guy takes it to a whole nutha level!

turd

walked into the employee bathroom at my hospital and saw this:


are you kidding me?! was this a patient? a family member? an employee that did this?

laughter... followed by reflective sadness.

in other news, there's a great site when you have down-time at work. one that actually stimulates your brain instead of numbing it. one that actually has the potential to help others. how many grains of rice can you give today? a plethora?

marlow-on-a-mission

our dear friend, chris marlow is off to Africa for a 10-day mission trip and he needs your prayers....

lord, give them safety,
lord, give them guidance.
give them wisdom and reverence.
lord, send your spirit,
lord, send your grace.
send your providence and your peace.

see you soon, bro.

b-day

happy birthday, boston! we had a busy weekend. family from all over... baby dedication at hope... and lots of birthday cake with all our friends!

boston: jedi master

some consider this cruelty...

but being baby yoda has its perks. yoda got to ride his first carnival ride (at hope's harvest festival) and got to have his first lollipop!