Wednesday, June 30, 2004

Back and forth

I had the opportunity to go back to Indy yesterday. Guy, that was a long day. I arrived in Indy around 10:00 am their time and did not leave until almost 5:00 (with a 4 1/2 hour drive home). I needed to stop and get gas. And I decided to get something to eat. As I was pumping the gas, A man walks up and says,"What part of Michigan you from?"

We engaged in conversation and I asked him if he had dinner. He said no but would like to have some conversation. After pumping the gas, I went in the restaurant to see him at the counter. He waved me over. As we ate, we discussed several topics. I met the counter staff, the wait staff, even the manager came out. This guy was apparently a "local". Conversation took several turns but ended well.

I talked to my traveling daughter last night. She is having a great time with her mom out east. They are in Boston. She is home sick and wants to come home soon. I think they are planning to stop and see Aunt Heidi and Uncle Matt and her two cousins in Buffalo. I cannot wait to see her.

That's all for now. Oh wait - 1. 3 day weekend coming up. 2. Possible fishing expedition planned. 3. I purchased a new cell phone this weekend. (The Blackberry from Nextel. Giddy up!)

Out,
Carter

Monday, June 28, 2004

I wished I could take credit for this but.....

I recently heard a joke I could not help but share. Forgive me in advance.

A nun is hailing a cab. One stops and she gets in. The cab driver starts in route to her destination. As he is driving, he looks into the mirror several times.

He finally says, "I know this is going to sound weird but I have a confession to make. I have always wanted to kiss a nun."

The nun says, "Well, that is no problem. Except two things must be true. Number one you must be catholic. Number two you must be single."

So the cab driver pulls over and they both get out and kiss. They jump back in the cab and continue on.

After a few minutes, the cab driver says, "I have another confession. I am married and I am Baptist."

The nun says, "Thats ok. I am headed to a costume party and my name is Kevin."


Have a great day,

Signed,
Steve Thompson
(um....I mean c-man)

Sunday, June 27, 2004

it is Sunday

Day one. I am at the thompsons house. we are spending life together. Kathy J is here. She is alone because Jeff is out on their boat with his sons.

We just finished story & are singing songs. Just a minute....

Well, we are done praying. What a great example of family.

Long weekend. I spent time on the road. But ended the day with a long boat ride. I have been getting headaches and today was one of those days. I am waiting for my insurance to kick in before I go to the doctor.

well, I am being rude. see ya

c-man

Friday, June 25, 2004

this is an audio post - click to play

Thursday, June 24, 2004

this is an audio post - click to play

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

what's happenin?

Do you remember what tv show that is from? Isn't the mind a wonderful thing. A good friend of mine once told me that the mind is like a closet full of shoe boxes. You have a memory and you store it in the shoe box. Then at just the right time, smell, sound, it comes back to you and you pull that memory out of the box.

If I were to say, "Well listen to my story about a man named Jed..." You would immediately know what song it is, what show it was from. You may even be able to pull where you were when you watched the show.

Recently, I have been challenged to memorize scripture. It is sad that I can memorize tv shows, movie lines, and song lyrics and I have a hard time memorizing scripture. Deur or Thompson did a bit at Watermark about how Jewish families would memorize scripture. How a child would have to memorize a chapter of the bible. Oh I'm sorry. It was the 1st five chapters of the bible! They would repeat and repeat daily until they memorized it.

And I complain about one verse a week.

Humbled,
Becca's Dad

Monday, June 21, 2004

Welcome, Welcome, Welcome

New blogger to the blogsphere - Heidi Furr, the wife of Matt Furr.

Looking forward to some great insight - no pressure, Heidi!!!!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho

Good morning.

What a great weekend. Happy belated Father's day to all those fathers our there. And thanks to all the significant others who made the day special.

What a great gathering yesterday. It was good to see Mike Morgan back in the saddle, again. I had the chance to here Mike share a little about his trip on Saturday. It sounds like it was awesome and how God moved on this trip. It was also great to here Steve T and his dad share about fathers and their role. Some great insight from these guys. I am glad we recorded it because I am sure we will have requests for it.

I took a vacation day on Friday. I, with Thompson, N8, Mike Morgan, de Roach, Mike W. and Rob (who now has a blog - see thompsons site for that), went to the Creative Infusion conference at Daybreak. Let me start by saying that it was GOOD to spend time with the fellas. I really believe in the power of team and if of anything, it was great to take that time. Other than that, I was a little disappointed with the conference. There were 4 sessions I benefited from - Rob Bell and Wayne Schmidt (sp)(sorry Wayne) were awesome. Those sessions rocked. There was a panel discussion about 50 creative ideas to try. That was great. And there was a back and forth dialogue about how the process works that was good. I am still trying to figure out the relevance of the rest.

Anyway, lots of stuff to do today.

It's off to work I go,
C

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

New Blogger: SuzieQ

Welcome, Welcome, Welcome

Check it out! Great stuff!!!!!

Back in the saddle again

How about those Pistons? Sorry Kobe and Shaq...have a nice day. You can see it in the eyes of the Pistons. They just wanted the championship a little more. What a great game.

Speaking of a great game. How about the fact that is has been a week since my last blog. so sorry. I will highlight the week prior:

Trip to CA

All my flights were screwed up due to weather. As you recall a huge storm front moved in and then moved in again over Michigan. My trip was to take me from Muskegon to Detroit then San Francisco. We were out on the run way when they announced that we would have to be re-routed thru South Bend. So we need more fuel. After we received more fuel, they announced the flight would be delayed due to weather. The delay lasted almost 3 1/2 hours. I was ready to drive to Grand Rapids and take another flight. After we arrived in Detroit (did I mention the Pistons won last night?), there was another storm. I sat in the airport for another 4 hours while the storm passed. Suck out loud. This give me much down time to think. This is usually a dangerous process. I reflected on career plans, ministry opportunities, family. I must just look like one of those guys who you can talk to because I never have a problem with people starting conversations with me. Except while I am in a public restroom. That is really weird. Anyway, I met two families in Detroit (Pistons rule!). One family was headed out to a vacation. The other had a recent death in the family and was headed to the funeral. It is interesting to me the dynamic of the conversations the would follow. The vacation family had not told their kids where they were going yet. Which, in fact, is awesome. The kids had no idea where they were heading. That was great. On the other coin, I saw God start to move with the other family. We talk at some length about the family member who died and tried to help process some feelings. We prayed. That was cool.

I have been recently challenged deeper by Deur's comments of "being the church". I know this is a process. It does not happened over night. But I do think we need to engage in the process. Embrace the journey. God is real and he is there to guide you down the path. He wants what is best for you. He is in relentless pursuit of you. Embrace the journey.

Work in CA

Well, things went well in CA. The commissioning and programming of the system was smooth. We will need to make one more trip out to finalize because this trip was premature. The project manager for the customer insisted on us being out this week. Apparently, he scheduled a training session for the customer at the end of last week. Unfortunately, the store does not open for another 4-5 weeks. Without the store setup, it is difficult to adjust the system - ie-volume levels. On an up note, the weather was awesome and I had a good time with the other person I was with from our company. And the Pistons won last night.

Arrived late Saturday. That was not cool. First, you are losing hours traveling west to east. Then there were flight issues. And it is a long flight. Not a good combination. Once again, a conversation was started with a guy next to me on the flight home. Another opportunity. We talked about each others lives and our reason for going to CA. He was returning to Canada from a wedding his niece just had. This opened up much conversation because he said, "I don't understand why people get married, anyway." There are several paths I could have took. I choose the one less traveled. He started to open up about a divorce he went thru, a family tore apart, relationships he had. The perspective was clearly a man broken by his own actions. As the conversation progressed, I was able to share own story and commented how God was there to get me thru. Wow. The conversation took a steep turn.

My mind races with possibilities. For me, it is not about always bringing up religion. It is important to be in the moment. As an audio professional, we look for those moments to highlight. A guitar solo, a vocalist solo. Those moments when an instrument needs to stand out. I call that "mixing for the moment". Paying attention to where the music is going to feel the solo that is about to happen. Then react. I think our relationship with God and others is the same. We need to pay attention to what people are trying to say. To watch the conversation and see where God is leading. Then react and be the church.

I better watch it.....I could preach a sermon.

Sunday Sunday Sunday

Ok. So I had a selfish desire. I receive a call from my daughter on Saturday that they were not leaving for their trip until Sunday. So I made arrangements to meet her on Sunday morning for breakfast. It was great to see her before she left. Since she would not be around for Father's day, she had a card and a gift for me. That was fun. We sat and talk; played cats cradle and made several "string" configurations. She is awesome and I really am enjoying watch her grow up.

Where I am at now?

This blog is getting way too long. Last night I met with some friends. Great time. Yesterday, I spent the entire day finding my desk and answering emails. And last night, the game. To the victors, the spoils.....

Tonight I am meeting with Pastor Dennis Jackson. Dennis is a great guy and an awesome leader. I have appreciated him on a professional, congregational and personal level. It is check in time for me and Dennis is a great one to check in with.

That's is. My fingers are tired from typing.

Congrats Matt and Heidi Furr on the birth of their new child. A shout out to Libby, my new niece! Rock on Libby!

Out.
Libby's uncle

Tuesday, June 08, 2004

I'm leaving on a jetplane.....

Yes it is true. I am headed to CA. So for the three of you that read this, I will not be back on line until the weekend.

I have to admit I am not happy about this trip. You see, Becca is leaving for (4) weeks on Saturday. This was my "catch up" week with her. The trip was suppose to be next week. But the customer is throwing fits about having training and commission this week. A training and commissioning session he set up without communicating with us. This is very frustrating. Anyway, Becca and I had a long talk about it and I am headed out this afternoon to spend time with her. It just sucks.

Other than that, things are smooth....................

Later.

Don't know when I'll be back again,
Carter

Monday, June 07, 2004

OK OK it has been a while

I realize it has been a while. I apologize. It is not as if I have not had anything going on. Here is the sum up.

Monday - Memorial Day - grill, grill, grill
Tuesday - sick day - massive headache action. I get those once in a while and it sucks beyond.
Wednesday - Back at the office. Try to un-bury my desk for all the stuff I did not get done the day before and of course pick up my daughter and have fun.
Thursday - serving - I spent the day at in muskegon helping set up for a benefit concert. Great guys to hang out with. IT WAS FUN! I understand the concert went off without a hitch - Thank you Jesus. Thursday evening spent with some good friends Becca and I had not seen in a while. Great time was had by all.
Friday - Spent the day in Chicago on business and returned in the same day. Tired, yes, but well worth it. Then Friday evening - went to see Harry Potter 3 with the whole clan. Good movie; interesting photography - they changed photography directors and you can tell.
Saturday - WOW. Had a typical Saturday morning. Becca is allowed to order me around - food, games whatever. Then we spent the afternoon at Johnson's house serving. Their Oldest son, Adam, had his graduation party. Lots of laughs; holy cow lots of food and lots of people. The time was well spent with them and we enjoyed ourselves. Especially the baked beans. Toot toot the magic fruit....... This evening ended of course with a fire.
Sunday - gathering day - Jeff spoke and the gooch lead worship. Shout out to Mike Morgan who is traveling the globe right now serving. Way to go Mike. Steve T. came down with so weird creepy crud; but did an excellent job leading the band and leading us in worship - inspite of the #2 keyboard player who will remain name less. Jeff did an awesome job. The journey that man has been with God is amazing. Thanks Jeff for a glimpse into your life.

So here I am again at the end of a blog. Wondering how the day going to end up. My daughter leaves this weekend for 4 weeks. I am happy she is taking the trip - because her mom can - but I will miss her bad while she is gone. I am sure blogging activity will be increase as I will be looking for things to do.

Well, need to get busy. My desk is bowing under the weight of stuff on top of it.

Peace,
Carter