hey everyone. my little nephew jonathan has started a blog.
this kid amazes me. he reads so many books it's sick! he'll plow through a 500-page novel in like a week - and he's only 9!
anyhoo, here's the link to his blog for reviewing books and video games.
1.02.2007
12.23.2006
lessons
so being away from boston for the past 9 days has helped me realize some things. first off, I miss the HECK out of the boy. i've also been learning so much from him.
he's the purest thing I've ever been a part of. he knows no sin whatsoever (though, yes, he may have been born with a tendency to sin, he hasn't yet sinned, therefore, he IS purity). in this sense, he's one of the people closest to Jesus that I've ever been involved with.
and get this: he knows exactly what he needs, but when he gets it, he's totally satisfied. true, he's really needy and dependent at this point. but he doesn't whine or complain, or move on to the next thing he thinks he needs/wants once he gets something. he's totally content until his body actually physically needs something else for him to survive. man, do I wish I could be that way.
boston has helped me learn that there's room in my heart to discover love again. he's shown me a back door to a whole warehouse full of affection that I never knew was in my blueprint. crazy. just crazy.
god - help me to keep learning from him. may I learn to smile back, no matter who smiles at me....
he's the purest thing I've ever been a part of. he knows no sin whatsoever (though, yes, he may have been born with a tendency to sin, he hasn't yet sinned, therefore, he IS purity). in this sense, he's one of the people closest to Jesus that I've ever been involved with.
and get this: he knows exactly what he needs, but when he gets it, he's totally satisfied. true, he's really needy and dependent at this point. but he doesn't whine or complain, or move on to the next thing he thinks he needs/wants once he gets something. he's totally content until his body actually physically needs something else for him to survive. man, do I wish I could be that way.
boston has helped me learn that there's room in my heart to discover love again. he's shown me a back door to a whole warehouse full of affection that I never knew was in my blueprint. crazy. just crazy.
god - help me to keep learning from him. may I learn to smile back, no matter who smiles at me....
12.18.2006
more boston pics
okay. so everyone's been bugging me to see more pictures of the little one. here are some links:
these ones are of his third week of life.
this link takes you to pics of wahba and jodi's parents visit for Thanksgiving.
and these are recent pics since he turned one month old.
12.10.2006
daddy mac
so I finally did it. took the plunge. made the switch. battened down the hatches. as of this week yours truly....
... became a mac user.
got me a shiny new macbook pro for christmas. so I'm flailing. trying to figure out all the little nooks and crannies of this thing.
it's already way faster, more intuitive, and more aesthetic than any PC i've ever used. it totally brings back memories of (gasp!) 10 years ago when I was in college and I always used the Mac lab instead of the PC lab. why I didn't switch back then, I'll always wonder.
for now - if any of you have tips (downloads, must-have programs, keyboard shortcuts) that can help with this little transition, please holla at a playa!
... became a mac user.
got me a shiny new macbook pro for christmas. so I'm flailing. trying to figure out all the little nooks and crannies of this thing.
it's already way faster, more intuitive, and more aesthetic than any PC i've ever used. it totally brings back memories of (gasp!) 10 years ago when I was in college and I always used the Mac lab instead of the PC lab. why I didn't switch back then, I'll always wonder.
for now - if any of you have tips (downloads, must-have programs, keyboard shortcuts) that can help with this little transition, please holla at a playa!
12.01.2006
happy december
current temperature in tempe, AZ: 42 degrees.
current temperature in new york, NY: 68 degrees.
it's actually chilly out here. got down to the 30's last night. instead of shouting "I'm Full!" like the guy in the taco bell commercial, i feel like shouting "I'm finally cold!"
this is a good thing.
in other news... BOSTON! he's a very cool chap. really mellow at times. he's been giving us his first smiles and coos. yesterday, he met the quite famous Mr. Santa Claus for the first time!
other funny moments have included:
-passing gas while we put lotion on his bottom.
-peeing into his own eye while we're changing him.
-only falling asleep in his grandmothers' arms - not his parents'.
everyone has said - ad nauseum - that having a child would change my life. well it has - but in different ways than what I expected. i'd describe it more like falling head-over-heels in love with a person.
you think about him/her all the time - especially when you're supposed to be doing something else. you want to tell everyone you know about him and show everyone his picture. you want to tell stories about him. and you can't wait to finish whatever it is you're doing so you can hurry back to get him in your arms again.
when I was younger and had a big crush on someone new, I'd drive really ridiculously slowly. I guess because I was totally distracted and in some sort of dream zone.
let's just say that there are reports of slow-moving 4runners spotted across this town lately....
current temperature in new york, NY: 68 degrees.
it's actually chilly out here. got down to the 30's last night. instead of shouting "I'm Full!" like the guy in the taco bell commercial, i feel like shouting "I'm finally cold!"
this is a good thing.
in other news... BOSTON! he's a very cool chap. really mellow at times. he's been giving us his first smiles and coos. yesterday, he met the quite famous Mr. Santa Claus for the first time!
other funny moments have included:
-passing gas while we put lotion on his bottom.
-peeing into his own eye while we're changing him.
-only falling asleep in his grandmothers' arms - not his parents'.
everyone has said - ad nauseum - that having a child would change my life. well it has - but in different ways than what I expected. i'd describe it more like falling head-over-heels in love with a person.
you think about him/her all the time - especially when you're supposed to be doing something else. you want to tell everyone you know about him and show everyone his picture. you want to tell stories about him. and you can't wait to finish whatever it is you're doing so you can hurry back to get him in your arms again.
when I was younger and had a big crush on someone new, I'd drive really ridiculously slowly. I guess because I was totally distracted and in some sort of dream zone.
let's just say that there are reports of slow-moving 4runners spotted across this town lately....
11.09.2006
it's a Boston!
hey y'all. just wanted to share the news. Jodi and I gave birth to a baby boy. here are the details:
name: Boston William Wahba
born: November 6, 2006, 10:27am
weight: 7lbs, 3oz
length: 21 inches
click here to see more pictures of the bugger....
11.03.2006
blog neglect, baby update, car wreck
i'm pathetic. why do i feel guilty when I don't blog? is it because I'm neglecting something electronic? something organic? am i in some way neglecting my ministry because my blog is related to that? do you feel ignored? shunned?
what if i blogged everything that happened and every thought I had? would you think i was psycho? I don't think I'd have time to think or have anything happen to me - i'd be blogging all the time.
(raising imaginary beer stein) so here's to neglecting our blogs and living our lives instead.... and here's a quick recap, starting with the most important news:
our child - most of you know that we're due in a week or so. well jodi's body parts seem to already be getting ready to pop out our gender-unknown/name-unknown mini-wahba. in fact, if we don't deliver by this weekend, jodi will be induced this sunday. please say a prayer for us - especially jodi. the whole deal goes down at noon on sunday - that is if we don't erupt prior.
gigs - staying ridiculously busy. we've played campus crusade, chi alpha, praxis church, a church carnival, and the AZ state fair within the past couple of weeks. my last scheduled gig will be tonight - then we'll take a month off - see above for one good reason why.
car - for those who didn't know, we had to get rid of jodi's VW Beetle. it was paid off, but we might as well have had a car payment on it because it was in the shop every month. when the clutch started to get jiggy, we realized it was time to say farewell to Marianna Prosperity.
so we got a new (used) one. a 2005 Civic. deduct several thousand cool points for overall boringness. add about $20/week in gas money to my wallet.
alright, so I'm on my way to a recording session last night in our new car and KABLAM-O! I get rear ended by a kid. he pulls up, airbags deployed in his car. sees i'm okay. gets out and sees I'm calling the police. as I'm talking to 911, this guy hops in his car and speeds off! but not before I get his license plate....
police went straight to his house - he doesn't speak any English. he has his car registered, but doesn't have a driver license (apparently you don't need a license for the AZ-DOT to take your $$). and of course, he has no insurance.
get this - as the police pull up to his house, he and a buddy are found on the street in front of his house, cutting out the airbags from his car so it can't be identified. our car has a banged up rear bumper. the trunk doesn't close. the right rear fender is bent out.
anyway - I don't have any injuries or anything. I'm just really glad jodi wasn't in the car with me. everything would have been totally different.
aside from a psycho ex-girlfriend that keeps emailing me and a 4-hour driving class I had to take to get out of a speeding ticket in Scottsdale, that about catches us up to date....
what if i blogged everything that happened and every thought I had? would you think i was psycho? I don't think I'd have time to think or have anything happen to me - i'd be blogging all the time.
(raising imaginary beer stein) so here's to neglecting our blogs and living our lives instead.... and here's a quick recap, starting with the most important news:
our child - most of you know that we're due in a week or so. well jodi's body parts seem to already be getting ready to pop out our gender-unknown/name-unknown mini-wahba. in fact, if we don't deliver by this weekend, jodi will be induced this sunday. please say a prayer for us - especially jodi. the whole deal goes down at noon on sunday - that is if we don't erupt prior.
gigs - staying ridiculously busy. we've played campus crusade, chi alpha, praxis church, a church carnival, and the AZ state fair within the past couple of weeks. my last scheduled gig will be tonight - then we'll take a month off - see above for one good reason why.
car - for those who didn't know, we had to get rid of jodi's VW Beetle. it was paid off, but we might as well have had a car payment on it because it was in the shop every month. when the clutch started to get jiggy, we realized it was time to say farewell to Marianna Prosperity.
so we got a new (used) one. a 2005 Civic. deduct several thousand cool points for overall boringness. add about $20/week in gas money to my wallet.
alright, so I'm on my way to a recording session last night in our new car and KABLAM-O! I get rear ended by a kid. he pulls up, airbags deployed in his car. sees i'm okay. gets out and sees I'm calling the police. as I'm talking to 911, this guy hops in his car and speeds off! but not before I get his license plate....
police went straight to his house - he doesn't speak any English. he has his car registered, but doesn't have a driver license (apparently you don't need a license for the AZ-DOT to take your $$). and of course, he has no insurance.
get this - as the police pull up to his house, he and a buddy are found on the street in front of his house, cutting out the airbags from his car so it can't be identified. our car has a banged up rear bumper. the trunk doesn't close. the right rear fender is bent out.
anyway - I don't have any injuries or anything. I'm just really glad jodi wasn't in the car with me. everything would have been totally different.
aside from a psycho ex-girlfriend that keeps emailing me and a 4-hour driving class I had to take to get out of a speeding ticket in Scottsdale, that about catches us up to date....
10.26.2006
dirty-too
today marks the day that I was born - 32 years ago. today also marks the day i've decided I'm kinda over the whole birthday thing - a few hours ago.
i had a chill day. no work. led worship in the morning for some local campus ministry leaders. then had lunch with our "son", Paul.
the day got better when we found out Jodi is already 2cm dilated! (though she's not due for another 2 weeks.)
and then a little better when I had dinner with some good friends.
all in all a day I enjoyed. but also a day i'll probably soon forget - like so many other birthdays (except that day my friends in Raleigh scared the crap out of me with a surprise party - i yelled so loud i scared them).
more blog-babble soon.
i had a chill day. no work. led worship in the morning for some local campus ministry leaders. then had lunch with our "son", Paul.
the day got better when we found out Jodi is already 2cm dilated! (though she's not due for another 2 weeks.)
and then a little better when I had dinner with some good friends.
all in all a day I enjoyed. but also a day i'll probably soon forget - like so many other birthdays (except that day my friends in Raleigh scared the crap out of me with a surprise party - i yelled so loud i scared them).
more blog-babble soon.
10.16.2006
warning: uncool pictures
sometimes hipness is what it ain't - tower of power
at the request of some friends and family, I've posted some pictures of our baby's room. deduct 5,000 cool points now.
but in being uncool, I just might be cool. I mean, the less I care about being cool, the more cool I am, right? right.
at the request of some friends and family, I've posted some pictures of our baby's room. deduct 5,000 cool points now.
but in being uncool, I just might be cool. I mean, the less I care about being cool, the more cool I am, right? right.
call MTV. we wanna be on Cribz.
glider and changing table. baby crap shall be experienced here.
dresser. and a good look at the paint job. designed and painted by Jodi.
10.10.2006
rough worship experience #2
setting: womens' ministry house where we were invited to play for their weekly prayer/worship gathering.
the scene: although it's a womens' ministry, they invite both men and women to their weekly meetings. we definitely seemed to be the loudest worship band they ever had. and we were obviously a bit different stylistically than what they were used to (as the speaker politely stated, "we certainly appreciate the... heart with which you sing your songs....").
what went wrong: there was no major turning point or event per se. just an overall creepy vibe. worship went fine. many of them were raising hands and worshipping pretty well. there were a few people praying in their 'prayer language'.
the weird part was at the end of the sermon. there was a female "prophet" who had been invited as the speaker. when she was nearing the end of her talk, she invited people to come up and have hands layed (lain?) on them for prayer. there was loud tongue-speaking - into microphones - without interpretation.
what followed were events that bordered on crowd manipulation.
she pointed people out in the small gathering of 30 or so people. asked them publicly to come forward because they needed prayer. she spoke out a specific prayer she felt the Spirit prompting her to pray for. but as she prayed, she'd push - hard - on the person's forehead, almost forcing the person to lose their balance and fall backward. if they resisted, or did not fall, they were gently rebuked for not surrendering enough.
as if rehearsed, there were folks waiting behind those being prayed (preyed?) upon, in order to catch them when 'slain.'
at one point, the speaker pointed me out. my heart raced as I rose from my seat to step forward. i was relieved to find that she was just asking me to be a 'catcher' for a tall fellow in the front row whom she was planning to lay hands on. she placed her palm firmly on his forehead and applied pressure. he stepped back with one foot to catch his balance. she pushed farther until he backed up far enough to sit back down in the chair he'd just been sitting in. my catching abilities hadn't been needed after all.
my issues/disclaimer: i believe in spiritual gifts. in teaching, healing, prophecy, laying of hands, and yes, in tongues (although the latter is biblically the least of these gifts). i've witnessed what i believe to be the orderly and wonder-full occurrence of tongues with interpretation. although I can't think of a biblical reference for it, i've seen numerous people 'fall out' during intense times of these gifts. and I will never claim to be someone with the authority to decide whether these events are truly of the Spirit or not.
i do know that sometimes i get filled with awe at these events, and at others, i get filled with bad vibes.
what i learned: i found myself having to counsel my band members a bit after this service - to make sure they weren't totally freaked out. I found myself guarding my language, and asking them to guard theirs in remaining respectful to the people we'd witnessed participating in this spectacle.
our downfall as Christ-followers begins when we start to think we've got it all right. when we think our way of worshipping and living out our faith is the way. what seems most important to me right now is maintaining more a sense of fear and trembling - NOT pride - as we discuss worship service style in the Church.
i'm absolutely positive that a typical worship service from the Acts-era of the Church would look/feel entirely foreign and uncomfortable to us, as compared to our contemporary/modern services.... it would freak us out - and vice-versa.
humbleness is key. in fact i insist that we pray, even beg, for humility as we approach this concept we call a worship service. there's a really good chance that when we meet up with Jesus again, he'll give us a pat on the back and say something like "nice try. you gave it a shot. you're covered though - let's go."
let the hate mail cometh.
the scene: although it's a womens' ministry, they invite both men and women to their weekly meetings. we definitely seemed to be the loudest worship band they ever had. and we were obviously a bit different stylistically than what they were used to (as the speaker politely stated, "we certainly appreciate the... heart with which you sing your songs....").
what went wrong: there was no major turning point or event per se. just an overall creepy vibe. worship went fine. many of them were raising hands and worshipping pretty well. there were a few people praying in their 'prayer language'.
the weird part was at the end of the sermon. there was a female "prophet" who had been invited as the speaker. when she was nearing the end of her talk, she invited people to come up and have hands layed (lain?) on them for prayer. there was loud tongue-speaking - into microphones - without interpretation.
what followed were events that bordered on crowd manipulation.
she pointed people out in the small gathering of 30 or so people. asked them publicly to come forward because they needed prayer. she spoke out a specific prayer she felt the Spirit prompting her to pray for. but as she prayed, she'd push - hard - on the person's forehead, almost forcing the person to lose their balance and fall backward. if they resisted, or did not fall, they were gently rebuked for not surrendering enough.
as if rehearsed, there were folks waiting behind those being prayed (preyed?) upon, in order to catch them when 'slain.'
at one point, the speaker pointed me out. my heart raced as I rose from my seat to step forward. i was relieved to find that she was just asking me to be a 'catcher' for a tall fellow in the front row whom she was planning to lay hands on. she placed her palm firmly on his forehead and applied pressure. he stepped back with one foot to catch his balance. she pushed farther until he backed up far enough to sit back down in the chair he'd just been sitting in. my catching abilities hadn't been needed after all.
my issues/disclaimer: i believe in spiritual gifts. in teaching, healing, prophecy, laying of hands, and yes, in tongues (although the latter is biblically the least of these gifts). i've witnessed what i believe to be the orderly and wonder-full occurrence of tongues with interpretation. although I can't think of a biblical reference for it, i've seen numerous people 'fall out' during intense times of these gifts. and I will never claim to be someone with the authority to decide whether these events are truly of the Spirit or not.
i do know that sometimes i get filled with awe at these events, and at others, i get filled with bad vibes.
what i learned: i found myself having to counsel my band members a bit after this service - to make sure they weren't totally freaked out. I found myself guarding my language, and asking them to guard theirs in remaining respectful to the people we'd witnessed participating in this spectacle.
our downfall as Christ-followers begins when we start to think we've got it all right. when we think our way of worshipping and living out our faith is the way. what seems most important to me right now is maintaining more a sense of fear and trembling - NOT pride - as we discuss worship service style in the Church.
i'm absolutely positive that a typical worship service from the Acts-era of the Church would look/feel entirely foreign and uncomfortable to us, as compared to our contemporary/modern services.... it would freak us out - and vice-versa.
humbleness is key. in fact i insist that we pray, even beg, for humility as we approach this concept we call a worship service. there's a really good chance that when we meet up with Jesus again, he'll give us a pat on the back and say something like "nice try. you gave it a shot. you're covered though - let's go."
let the hate mail cometh.
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