The one about a new year......

Well, Happy New year everybody! I hope yours goes safe and well, and please know you are in my prayers! I hope you all can continue to say prayers for us here and especially Jay. There is no new news this morning, but we will update you all this evening.

Here is Sheila's email from this morning:

Dec. 31st Morning:

Happy New Years Eve!

There isn't a lot to report yet. I called the ICU this morning and they said
the Doctor's haven't rounded yet. They said he is restless and wiggles a lot
(he was doing this last night too) but other than that there is no change.

I'll send another email this evening. All of you have a very happy and healthy
New Year. Please know that your thoughts, prayers and concerns have been very
appreciated.

Sheila

Ok well, Please KUTPs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and Happy New Year!

The one about Jay recognizing my voice....

Before I start let me paste Sheila's email from this morning:

Dec 30th mid-morning:

I called for an update this morning and other than receiving insulin for
unstable blood sugar all is the same. I am getting ready to head to the
hospital. Jay's family is here but they are all sick with some sort of bug.
I'm trying to stay clear of them so that I can still see Jay. They are all on
antibiotics and hopefully will be safe to see him in a day or two.

Thanks,
Sheila

Ok, well as Sheila said we are all not feeling too well, but I must admit that I felt great this morning until after the shower loosened all of it back up and then I have the cleansing time each morning, heh. But I got a lot out and felt very good today except for the canker sores I have in my mouth. arrrggg....

We all slept in this morning and then my Dad decided he was going to stay at the house and so my mother and Sheila and I went to the hospital to make the 1st 1hr. visit time of 1:30 pm Eastern. I went in first with Sheila and to tell you the truth Jay looked a lot better than I had 1st thought he would. Now to the normal avg. Joe He would have looked horrible......but I see people in his state and a lot worse in my profession when I go visit them, and for people in his state he looked very good. But it is always hard to talk to someone who is so drugged that they rarely acknowledge your presence, but it sure was good to get to see him smile at Sheila when she joked with him a little and he even turned and faced me a few times to face where my voice was. The nurse said he will not remember anything during this time period, but it is nice to know even in a subconscious state your brother knows your voice, heh. Well, each hour long visiting time my mother and I would spend 30 mins each with him and Sheila would stay the entire time. In between times we would just hang out in the cafe or cafeteria, play UNO, or call family members to find out how they were doing. Over all the day went good, except my Dad did not get to see Jay, but I think he got some much needed rest....something I think I should consider.

But, I held Jay;s hand (after a good washing or two, heh....and Sheila and I would just talk to him telling him how great he was and how good he was being.

The Dr.'s when we first got there were very happy with a chest X-Ray they did because it looked like his lungs were healing up very good, and they were slowly taking him off the breathing tube during the day and I think they got him down to 40 % Oxygen...and I think normal breathing is something like 22% Oxygen. So, his lungs are healing and they think that he should make a complete recovery in his lungs too!!!!!! Great new Great news!!!

So...now I think we will get another day with the tube and maybe one more day in ICU to keep an eye on him and then hopefully back to the Cancer Ward to kick some cancer butt!

They are also talking about the bone marrow transplant form me will probably be several weeks if not months from now...so it looks like I will just be doing lots or pep talking this round, heh.

=================================

Tiffany got to Pitt just fine (other than talking to a crazy guy sitting next to her on one of her flights that said the words, drug traffic, Mexico, kill, bomb, and a few other nice ones...and he would often mumble to himself....but other than Tiffany sitting next to a crazy man her flight was great! She got in around 9:20 pm, and Sheila, momma and I drove to the airport right after Jay's 9-10 visiting hour. We then all proceeded to the nearest WalMart to buy forgotten supplies that people need when they make emergency trips to see their brother/son/brother-in-law. And now we are all settling down for another evening and sleeping in in the morning to do it all over again. I hope to use Jay's computer to write my sermon (or start it) tomorrow...so pray for us all and thank you for your love and care!!!!

Oh I almost forgot... Earl Blair called Sheila on her cell phone this morning as we were pulling into the parking garage....he is one of my heros and what a wonderful man of God....

Ok must go to bed...let me check of Sheila's evening email is ready yet...that she is typing upstairs.....yep here it is:

========================

Dec. 30th evening:

Finally some relief.

Upon visiting today, DG and I were met by the respiratory Doctor so was excited
to tell us the Jay's chest X-ray significantly improved over yesterday and that
they think they will be able to remove him from the ventilator soon. This is
the real first bit of good news. This was wonderful. Today, was a little more
conscience and would actually move a bit and he would open his eyes and every
now and then he would sort of respond to us. One time he tried to smile and he
would turn his head occasionally to see who was speaking. The nurses said that
they don't believe he will remember any of it. They have started reducing the
amount he is requiring from the ventilator and it should be just a day or two
and he will be off of it. They will probably keep him for a short time for
observation in the ICU once he is removed. The Oncologist rounding today came
down and seemed very hopeful too. This was so refreshing since yesterday was
not so. They believe that it was the lymphoma that caused his lung problem
because the sample they took from the bronchial scope contained the cells. His
oncologist said that he believes a full recovery of his lungs and kidneys is
possible with time. This is very good news. Hopefully we'll have more
tomorrow.

Jay is quite famous around the hospital and the Doctors love him. I had three
Doctors come up to me in the café today inquiring about Jay and they are not his
current Doctors. In fact one was a medical resident he had only 1 time months
ago but he left a lasting impression.

We were visited by a friend of ours today we haven't seen in years and it was
very nice to see him. I know Jay is going to be thrilled to see him. Later
that night a friend came to play card with us.
After the 10:00 visiting hour we drove to the airport to pick up Tiffany. Jay's
family is all here and DG and Teresa seem to have beaten there cold but Randy is
still sick and stayed home to rest today.

Well, it's very late and we have another busy day tomorrow and I need to get
some sleep.

Take care everyone,
Sheila.

===========================

Please KUTPs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God bless!

The one about the Christmas from....

"Where are we all going?
And why are we in a handbag?"

<-----saw on a bumber sticker in Santa Fe Typing...... on a...... ergnomic...... keyboard and it... is.... hard to type on....ugggg...... Well, my parents and I got here tonight very tired, and all of us are a little sick....wich is freaking frustrating, becuase I am not sure if I will even get to see him for a few days until we all get feeling better.... Well, Jay is back on the breathing tube and still in ICU and they say he will stay there for a few days...which I guess is good because that is forcing him to rest/sleep and it forces all of the family to stay away until three viewing hours during the day... 1-2 5-6 and 9-10 pm. This is good for us because it is forcing us all to stay here at his house and rest snd get feeling better! I know I need to feel better and so does all of the fam...except super woman Sheila, heh. Sheila says now that they think the cancer just came back with a vengence and went straight into his Kidneys and lungs, and his WBC count was very high and amzed the Dr.s.....They took off two backs of WBC and hiis WBC count is at a workable level. And he is now under medication to keep it low. He is on Dialysis and will have it off and on as needed. But the Dr. feel like the Kindey function will come back. They are more comcerned about the lungs and have his sidated to keep him on the respirator for at least two more days if all goes well. Please keep him in your prayers...... ====================== My Nanaw (Edwina Emert mother on my Dad's side) is also in the hospital with Pnumoia. She was taken to the hospital via ambulance yesterday and they got her temp down, but then it jumped back up and then the last I heard it is coming back down now. Please keep her in your prayers.... ======================= Tiffany will be traveling up to see Jay tommorrow, and that will be good for all of us because she is such a loving angel, but she is feeling like a warm buck of hamster vomit right now jjst like the rest of us....and believe you me traveling in airports when your sick is not a fun way to fly. Please Keep her in your prayers........ ======================= As some of you might know my father has the same wonderful balance problem that my grandmother has and the sickness is making that act up too (and man you should hear his cough....what a wing dinger that one is!!!!), and so we are all doing double duty taking care of each other and lifting each other up in prayers!!!! please keep him in your prayers....... ======================= Also, when we went to see Tiffany's family yesterday...her nephew Caleb had a 103.5 temp and was coughing up all kinds of phlem. They went to the Dr. and he is much better tiffany said...but please keep him in your prayers.......... ====================== Yep needless to say..........we are all in desperate need of your prayers and thank you all for each and every one of them!!! Please pass our info along to any prayer worriors or chains you can think og and keep the faith! We need all the support we can get! ====================== Going to much needed bed now! Thanks again...and please KUTPs!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here is all of Sheil'as updates on Jay...man she is good about this! Dec. 29th 3:00 AM

It's 2:46 AM and I just received a call from the ICU Doctor and he stated that
they had to place Jay back on the ventilator. They said they truly had no
intention of removing him from it this morning but since he ripped it out they
would see if his breathing would return to normal. He said their original plan
was to leave him on it for at least 24 hours so that his lungs could heal. They
monitored him all day and he was not doing well breathing wise and this morning
it got worse so they had to place him back on the ventilator. He said I
shouldn't be scared because they originally thought he needed more time on it
anyway and that this will allow him to get the proper rest. They said he was
showing signs of oxygen deprivation. They explained that the reason he was
allowed to come out of sedation this morning was because his blood pressure was
low and they didn't want to risk that going any lower and that is why he started
to become conscience and pulled out the tube. The Doctor explained that this is
truly the best thing for him and that he believes over the next 48 hours they
will be able to remove it again and it should be easier for him to breathe but
that he truly needed this help this morning.

He will most likely be on the ventilator all day tomorrow which means he will
remain in ICU. Anyone planning to visit him will need to wait only immediate
family and clergy may visit during this time.
There is no where for me to set up a computer at the hospital while he is in ICU
and my wireless card for my IPAQ is on the fritz and my usual tech support is in
ICU so that will have to wait. You may have to wait until tomorrow evening for
an update. You of course my try cell phone but it may be turned off because I
am in the hospital (please leave a message and I will call you back
412-973-9476).

He will most likely be in ICU for the next few days. I still can not see him
until 1:30 tomorrow so I will be home in the morning if you need to reach me
724-853-0204.

Thanks, Sheila

Dec 29th mid-morning

I just spoke with Jay's nurse in the ICU and he said that they are keeping Jay
very sedated and that his vital signs are good. He said his blood counts
dropped a bit this morning and he will be receiving a transfusion (which is to
be expected). He said the Doctors haven't rounded yet but it is his
understanding that they would like him on the ventilator for another day or 2 so
that his lungs will have time to heal. I will be there to see him at 1:30 so my
next update will probably not come until late tonight. I'm probably going to
try and go to my work in between visits today because it is closer than coming
home and I need something to occupy that time.

If you need anything before then my cell number is 412-973-9476 (leave a message
and I will call you back). Again, Jay's parents and brother will be arriving
this evening and Tiffany his sister-in-law will be here tomorrow. It will be
nice for him to have them here when they take him off of the ventilator and
sedation in a day or two.

Thanks,
Sheila Hollums

Dec 29th Afternoon

I just came from seeing Jay and he is still unconscious and on the ventilator.
They did another dialysis treatment today. They also put in an arterial line to
monitor his blood pressure continuously. The doctors say this is best for him
but it is hard to see him this way. I will be returning to the hospital for the
5:00 visiting hour.

Thanks,

Sheila

December 29th Evening

I went to see Jay all three times today. It's really hard to see him like that.
He is completely unconscious and they have inserted a tube in his nose too for
giving additional medication. I got to speak with the ICU Doctor and he said
that Jay is labeled serious condition for the breathing issue alone. The Doctor
says his kidneys should make a full recovery over time but he may need dialysis
every now and then.
He could not give me a prognosis on Jay's condition other than it is serious.
He did say that Jay almost entirely stopped breathing on his own last night and
that is why they did what they did.
I was able to have dinner with a friend in between visiting hours and it was
very nice.

The Doctor said he will have a better idea tomorrow once they run to the tests
to see if there is a change in his condition. I spend my time rubbing his feet
(about the only part of him that doesn't have something attached) and telling
him I love him hoping that if he can tell I'm there he'll be comforted.

His family should be here any minute.

I will write more tomorrow and hopefully it will be better news.

Sheila

=====================

Oh yeah, and it goes without saying........Sheila needs your prayers too..........

Got to go. Love yall!

The one about making my last blog clearer....

Here is Sheila's last email:

Jay was still in the ICU today and I could only see him from 1:30 to 2:30 and
then from 5:00 - 6:00 and then from 9:00 - 10:00. In between times I tried to
track down Doctors to find out what is happening.
Jay will be in the ICU until tomorrow because his breathing has not stabilized.
They will try move him back to the cancer ward tomorrow but no promises. They
told me that he removed the breathing tube on his own this morning quite
unexpectedly when the sedation started to wear off. He doesn't remember doing
it. He had another dialysis treatment today and they got his white cell count
down enough (31,000) to do a chemo treatment this evening. He is really
frustrated being in ICU and can't wait to get back to his normal room. Jay's
parents and brother will here tomorrow so that should make him feel even better.

I'm off to get some sleep.

Sheila

The one about Jay still being in ICU

Yeah that is right Jay is still in ICU tonight. He is having probalems breathing as would be expected since they just went into his lungs and toyed around a little. but my mother said he was doing OK, and the Dr.s just want to keep him in there to keep an eye on him.

I am still flying out tommorrow out of Lubbock and go with my parents to see him. I hope that our presence will be something to lift his spirits. I am sure they are fine, but I am a little worried about him, heh.

Thank you again for al your preayers and I will try to keep you all posted as to what is going on...when ever I can get my hands on a computer. Thanks to my parents and my Aunt (I love you all three soooo much.....I will be able to make the flight up there along with my wife!!!!

My mother did say that he started the chemo again...but gave no other info at all...so that is the best i can give for now. Thank you for your time and prayers! but.......

KUTPs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The one with Sheila's own email updates on Jay....

Hey I just checked my email and found out that Sheila has been updating us all via email so I thought I would share her version of all that I have been telling you:


In Date order:


December 27th morning:

Jay is in good spirits (I'm very proud of him) but he's having a VERY tough time
physically.

His kidneys shut down yesterday and he will be undergoing kidney dialysis in a
few minutes. Unfortunately, fluid is now filling his lungs and he has a pretty
severe cough from it. They just took blood gases and he is on oxygen and an
oxygen monitor. They gave him a mild chemo pill last night to help bring the
white blood cell count down and it didn't seem to help much. They are hooking
him up to a paresis machine now to remove some of white cells. He is also going
to get an LP, and MRIs (if he can stop coughing). The respiratory Doctor was in
and they may do a bronchial scope too. This morning they placed a central line
in his groin so that they can do the dialysis and paresis. He also had 2 chest
x-rays and a sonogram of his bladder. He has been very busy.

They gave him some miracle drug that eats away uric acid last night and they
gave solumedrol (steroid) this morning to help with his lungs.

The Doctor Kaplan (one of the oncologist here) came in and spent well over an
hour with him last night just talking to him, trying to put him at ease. He is
doing remarkably well mentally for all he is going through.

The Doctor told me that his white cell count (normal is 5,000 - his was
134,000), LDH (normal is around 500 and his was 52,000), and uric acid counts
were the highest he has ever seen. What is amazing is that his bone marrow
biopsy on the 13th was normal and his pet scan on the 10th was normal. This has
all happened in less than 10 days. The 23rd was the first day we thought his
symptoms might remotely be the cancer.

If I didn't include his phone number here at the hospital it is 412-578-4450.
Again you can email me at shollums@dam.com if you need anything. I will be
working often online from the hospital so it may be hard to get through. Just
email me and I will get you a time you can call or I will disconnect.

I'll keep you updated. Thanks Sheila

========================================

December 27th evening:

Things have changed since the last email. Jay is now in the ICU at West Penn.
They had to do a bronchial scope on him and since he was not breathing well they
have placed him on a ventilator. They are hoping to remove him tomorrow but I
am not allow to stay with him tonight since they are keeping him unconscious but
we are hopeful that all will be well tomorrow. The found what they think to be a
hemorrhage in his lungs due to the low platelet count caused by the cancer.
They took samples and they analyze it to see if it's actually the cancer in his
lungs. I will email you tomorrow to let you know when he is released from the
ICU. They also did the paresis and kidney dialysis today. They are set to do
more paresis tomorrow morning while he is still in the ICU.

I will email all of you tomorrow to let you know how he is.

Thanks,
Sheila

===================================

December 28th morning:

I just got off the phone with the ICU. They still will not let me into see him
until 1:30 (unless they move him).
The good news is that he is no longer on the ventilator and is breathing on his
own but they told me that he removed the tube himself unexpectedly this morning.
They couldn't explain to me if he came out of sedation early or not or how he
did it himself. They said he is doing well though. The Doctors have not rounded
this morning so they couldn't tell me when he would be going to a different room
or if he would be staying in the ICU. I'm heading out to get him some things he
needs for the hospital and to put some pressure on them to give me more
information.

I will let you know as soon as he is released to a normal room.

Thanks,
Sheila

OK there you go. Hope all this information helps,and I can't tell any of you how much your thoughts and prayers matter to us all!

The one about Jay ripping out his own breathing tube.....

Well, all I can think about is the scene in the matrix where Neo did the same thing...but


Sheila called this morning and told us that the Dr. told her that as soon as Jay work up from the procedure this evening or morning (not sure) he ripped out his own breathing tube!!!!! This is funny, and scary, but this also means that all of the fears that he would never come off of the breathing tube are gone. He is doing very good and Sheila is looking forward to them sending him to a room today so she can go see him.

My parents and I are leaving this Wednesday to go see him and I will keep updating everyone on this blog.......because I know yall care so much and you need to focus your prayer just like we do. Thank you and sure do love all yall!!!!!!!

More updates coming soon...............KUTPs!!!!!!!!!!!

The one about Jay really needing your prayers!

Well, I talked with Sheila today, and Jay took a turn for the worse today. When we talk about 3:00 pm today Jay was in ICU unconscious and on a ventilator. They did a Bronchial Scope to him today and he should get the ventilator and breathing tube out tomorrow, but they would wait and see. The Dr. said the procedure went fine. They think three thing might have happened....
1) pneumonia
2) Fluid in his lungs due to renal failure
3) Or he could caugh so hard and the burkkitts (sp?) Lymphoma was getting in his lungs.

They sent the fluids off for testing.

Jay right now is in ICU and is only allowed to be visited by Sheila or anyone for one 15 mins at a time. The Dr. and Sheila agree that that is probably very good, because Jay has not gotten too much sleep in a while.

They did a phoresis (sp?) test that filtered out the Whit Blood Cell Count and the Dr. felt good about it...(but I don't know why)

They can't give him any chemo right now, because they have got to get his White Blood Cell count down to normal before chemo or his Kidneys would die on him. A normal White Blood cell count is 4,000 and as of this afternoon Jay's white blood Cell count was 150,000.

One good thing is that his kidneys seemed to be making urine, so they are not totally shot and might bounce back from all of this, but they still have him on Dialysis to help his kidneys function properly.

They made the decision to have this proceed done kind of fast, but they had to make it fast. He was coughing so bad that he was not being able to breath even with a Oxygen mask.

His platelets count was very low 15. and They also thin that he might have hemorrhaged his lungs from coughing so hard, and then when his plateletes count was so low that the burkkitts Lymphoma would go in and cover up the hurt spot instead of the plateletes.

He has been having severe nose bleeds to top it al off. The Dr. was amazed at how fast the Lymphoma was coming back...His Cretan (sp?) level(kidney something), WBC count, and BUN # (kidney something) were all way messed up.

Sheila, said that the Dr. was giving lots of his time with Jay and doing the best he could for him right now.

Sheila said it is a difficult time right now, but his Spirits are up! it is al amazing, but Jay (and Sheila) are scared. Jay should have a hard time talking for a few days due to the O2 mask, and the breathing tube they will hopefully take out tomorrow.

Sheila has also, told me and my parents that we might want to come and see Jay on an airplane, because this s the worse that she has seen him since all of this happened.

so...............Tiffany and I will go see her parents tomorrow in Lovington and have Christmas with them, and then Wednesday we will all be traveling up to see Jay via VERY expensive airplane flights. (Thank you to Tiffany who spent the entire afternoon and evening booking flights for a family who just could not handle all the stress right now.

========================

We opened up presents with my grandmother and family tonight, and it was great as always even with Jay and Sheila hovering over all our thoughts and conversations the entire night.

I am not sure when we will be back, from seeing Jay. I thin that Tiffany and I will come back in about a week, unless we need to stay there longer. And I am not sure about my Momma and Daddy, they could be up there for a while. And who knows maybe after they stabilize him that I can still be used for a bone marrow transplant?


What ever the way, or what ever the time.........one thing is for sure.........................Jay needs your prayers now more than every, and I can not tell you how much they mean to us! Love you all and God bless!


Oh and yes I realize that my spelling is horrible and such, but I am very sick (went to get a Marcela shot and a Z-Pack, and cough syrup today, and I think my fever broke while we were opening up presents. So, I am extremely tired, but I just had to let you all know about Jay, and ask you all to be praying for him! Thank you soooooo much!

KUTPs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The one about some bad news about Jay.....

Well, Tiffany and I called Jay Christmas day while we were driving to Floydada and we called Jay on the phone to tell him Merry Christmas! Jay sounded good, and told me that he got a brand new Pocket PC for Christmas!!! (and wow is it good...actually the best on the market made by Dell......)

But, during the phone call Jay said that he was still feeling sick. (This is normal actually considering that they knocked down his immune system to nil and he has to come all the way back to a healthy immune system. So we thought nothing of it......

Well, today we tried calling him @ home and no answer and then on his cell phone and it was turned off.....then not more than 5 mins. later Sheila called us (not even knowing that we called 5 mins before) and told us that Jay was back in the hospital and that they were worried about his kidneys...and then they got to looking at him closer and now it is about a 99% chance that he has the cancer back.




Yeah, that is right we all get to go another round in the ring with this cancer. But, this time it is a given that I will probably fly up to them and do the bone marrow stem cell transplant with my bone marrow stem cells.

We still do not have any idea about the time involved in this or exactly if the cancer is back, but all signs point to yes. I will of course keep everyone up to date here on my blog on how he is doing....

When we talked to him today around 6:00 pm Eastern time...he was feeling very tired and laying in bed while Sheila (the super dooper wife of a thousands strengths) was packing up their home to bring Jay and her all the stuff they need again for another round. They have him in the hospital as "short term", but they don't know how long he might stay. His Dr. is out of the country, and they were trying to reach him via cell phone. Jay patiently answered all our questions, and then at the very end of the phone call he asked to speak to me....and said......




"Hey D.G,......... I got something to tell you............I have a better Pocket PC than you!"


Yeah, needless to say his Spirits are still great, but the frustration is very evident in his voice as well as my parents. but all in all, we will all get through this time, and I know that the ride just might be a little longer than we all thought it would be.

If he gets to go home tomorrow then we will all have our Christmas with my Dad's side of the family @ our house and we will set up a live camera feed for Jay and Sheila to see and hear the gifts being opened that they gave us and the ones that we gave them too. If they are still at the hospital, then we will do what most people do and just pass the phone around, heh. All in all, it will be a very special day to have everyone close or closer by phone! Thanks!

KUTPs!!!!!!!!!!!

=============================================

Oh and tomorrow, Tiffany and my fam are driving up to Lubbock and get her blood test and see if her hormone level is good or if she will need to take some more to keep it at normal levels, so in that regard also......KUTPs!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank yall, and God bless all yall!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The one that I gave yall gifts...if you want it.....

Hey!!! I survive the Christmas Eve Services @ our church yesterday, and I wanted to give all of you a give from me but that seems hard to do since we are all on the internet together...so I thought I would put up my sermon from this year and the one from last year, as my gift from me to you. I hope that you all get a blessing out of them...

Oh there is something you should know about them. These two sermons were written for our "Blue Christmas Eve Service". Which is a service for those people who Christmas is not a happy time of the year. Maybe they have lost a loved one and this is the first Christmas or an anniversary of a year without them, or what ever. Our turn out is not as big as the rest, but it is still good. Hope yall like these!

A Shepherd's View
and
Illuminating the Darkness

(don't forget that you need to DL (Download) Adobe Reader to view the sermons. The link to Download Adobe Reader is on the right sinde of my page over there ------>)

Merry Christmas Day and have a wonderful New Year! We are off to see the fam. so I am not sure when I will be back to blog...but I might try @ my parents home. Thanks! and God bless yall!

=================================

Oh during the break Tiffany will get a blood test to check her Perjesterone (sp?) level, and then we will be going to get another blood test on Jan. 3rd to find out if we are Pregnant!!!!!!!!! I don't know how long the test results will take, but I might try to keep you informed or not....heh... I really haven't talked to tiffany about when we want to let people know if we are pregnant or not.....I guess that is important to talk to her about, heh. So.....all that to say....... Please Keep Us in Your Prayers!!!!!!!! (KUTP!!!!!!)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The one about...... Merry Decemberween!

Decemberween!!!!!!!

I hope you got all your shopping done for Decemberween, and that you don't forget the presents, run into the door, fall down the stairs, or run outside naked!

Well, today I have 4 worship services that I get to attend and be a part of. I preach the 3:00 and was just in charge of the 11:00 service, so needless to say....I have been busy! heh heh.

Oh yeah.....This is the first post using my new computer! It is up and running, and it all worked out great! It is stinkin fast, and needless to say, even though I have only play Half-Life 2 for a little bit, it is an amazing game! If you have a computer that can handle the game go for it, heh.

Yall take care and everyone have a wonderful Christmas!!!!! KUTP!!!!

I will try to put up the sermon for everyone soon! Take care and God bless yall!

The one about Video game evangelism and even church...

I got an email today from someone who I think I met at a Emerging Church event I went to....But anyway it had a link going to this blog talking about video games possibly being missional in nature. Well, I responded twice with the following (little bit reworked) responses (I thought yall my find it interesting...and please let me know if you know of any church that would actually consider this...I want to be a part of it...even if it is only in the thought processes):

1st Response Post:

Well, this has been a vision of mine for quite some time, and since I am a United Methodist Pastor, I am longing to see a conference/district/church that would be willing to take heavy amounts of risk in ministry to share the good news of Christ in new and different ways.

BTW: Andrew, the gaming world has already taken over Hollywood
see this link.

But, I am seeing that LAN parties with computer geeks (Geeks is now an acceptable term to computer people, not as bad as Nerd, or Looser heh) are becoming the new arcades of the present. Yes, there is lots of start-up costs, but you would be reaching a huge demographic of people (not just kids or teens) and you can develop great relationships with them all! Yes, you will have to get over the mature ratings of the games that most people love to play, but the potential is amazing! If you want you could even provide classes to parents or guardians that could teach internet safety while their children are playing a LAN party. Now this is just the outreach aspect....

(I know of a group of college students in Lexington KY who have already created a LAN Cafe as a business and I am very interested in how it is going)

What if you (or I) could preach a sermon while everyone was playing a game? As they interact with the environment, you give meaning to what they see and bring them into the Biblical Narrative, but this time it is interactive, they decide what they want to see and where they want to go. Yes, it is a streach, but it could be done!

(I know in Halo 2 when you play as the "enemy" sometimes you will find a computer controlled fellow alien bending over a already dead alien, and say something like, "Go now, and begin the great Journey") Religion and Honor to the aliens is a huge part of the entire story of the game! Maybe game designers (Bungie) are attempting to slowly meet a need in the post-post modern generation?

I am an avid gamer and love playing Halo 2 for the Xbox and especially over Xbox Live. It is amazing the community they have created in that game...just like the amazing community they have created with Everquest (Evercrack). There are people who are getting married online via their Everquest representation, with a Pastor and guests and everything...even the game makers were present and gave them gifts that they can use while they are gaming.

The online gaming world understands how to meet the Post-Modern needs of the world today. Look at the most popular shows on TV...what do you see? You see community..........Friends, Cheers, Sex in The City, Survivor, all of these are meeting a need to allow the view to join into the community represented in the shows with them. Way back when it used to be all about family (I love Lucy, Leave it To Beaver, The Adams Family, etc...and in some cultures it still is (Hispanic) but now it has changed to personalized community. (i.e. "I" like knowing that "I" belong.)

But, I have been hoping that someone somewhere could pull off the new ways of doing ministry via video games!

(I think I bloged this a small amount in the past, but maybe not to this extent.)

Second Response post:

Oh, and another thing..... I consider myself to be an e-vangelist! (Everytime I play Halo 2 I live a life that is one full of Christ, in the hopes that they can see the truth behind the voice. Actually my \\\\\\\"clan\\\\\\\" is made up of several Seminary friends and others who rarely cuss and are always developing relationships with other players.

I have another vision where a local church has classes to teach people how to share the Gospel and make friends online. you could offer computer classes on how to chat, email, blog, and forum post all for the purpose to develop a relationship with others, and eventually share Christ with them. Then somehow get them involved in a church that they would be comfortable worshiping in.

I even wrote a paper on this idea in Seminary.

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(Ok, I am still working on the "GREAT songs" post and I will put it up as soon as I can find time) Thanks for your patience!!!

KUTP!

The one about DG's new computer............

I think that I am going to start helping those of you who are trying to find old posts to make your searching a little easier. I will try to title the blog post like they titled the Friends TV series episodes. For those of you who did not know all of the titles of the Friends Episodes have the term, "The one that" before the title and then a small description of what the show was about. Very smart if you ask me (are you asking me? heh) Because all it takes is one person trying to tell you about their favorite episode and they help you remember the episode by saying, "The one that Joey had a hand twin", or "the one that Ross wore leather pants", etc....

I also know of a church in Cinnci that the Pastor titled all his sermons just like that too, because he knew his audience was people who watching Friends. Smart, very smart (did you ask me? heh)

Well, this one is about all the parts to my new computer! Now I know this might be a little over the top for most of you, but at least a few of you might know what in the world I am talking about. This is the first computer I have put together myself, and therefore very exciting, but I am sure that i will get through it, and it really does not seem that hard to me, but I am sure I will find out that several phone calls to Jay or Thor will be needed, heh...(BTW Thor what is your phone number email me, heh) Ok 1st off the processor (i.e. Brains of a computer that does all the thinking) My CPU is this one:

CPU (Central Processing Unit)


AMD Athlon 64 3500+, Socket 939, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor

Motherboard

Next up the MB (Motherboard) This one has been the greatest hassle because it just came out the 2nd week of December and I only had the money to get it this week, and needless to say they were out of the first shipments, and then Asus decided that since the demand for the MB was so great that they would jack up the price until the demand got lower, so needless to say that is killing me but it is order and will get to me probably on Tuesday.


Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe

Memory


2 512MB 400 184 DIMM of Corsair Value Select RAM. (VS1GBKIT400 on the list on the link)

RAM Heat Spreaders

I also bought some heat spreaders for the RAM, that have cool blue LED lights on them that match the case lights and color, heh.


2 Thermaltake Memory Cooling Kits

CPU Heat Sink and Fan

of course got to have the CPU cooling device:


Thermaltake Silent Boost K8

DVD/CD-ROM Dirve


Pioneer DVD/CD Dual Layer burner

Hard Drive


Western Digital Caviar SE 200GB 7200 8MB

Video Card


ASUS ATI Radeon X700 PRO PCI-E Video Card

Case

(A VERY cool (looks and temp) Case)


Aspire X-Navigator Silver

Software

and last but not least Windows XP Pro OEM, and I had to get Half-Life 2



(I mean I had to see if the computer would run properly. right? Oh yeah!)

I am hoping that a lot of my other programs will run on this new computer and be Ok, I might need to get another Virus protection software, but that is just a given...other than that I think everything else I can just get via DLing (downloading).

Well, I am not sure if any of you care, but I wanted to show everyone what I will be putting together as soon as the MB gets in. (should be Tuesday)

I hope yall are having a great week and everyone's shopping and wrapping, and stuff like that are finished or well on their way to being finished, heh. Yall take care and God bless ya!

Next time look for the post about good songs, and my theory on what makes a GREAT song! KUTP!

Ok, now where were we......

aaah yes....

Well, before Firefox had a melt down the last time I wrote a blog post I was writing about how much I can't stand Church marketing, but understand that it really can be effective, but I wonder if I could make it more effective? You see I just finished (with some challenging difficulty) a direct mail piece that will be sent to 15,000 households in Santa Fe in which the house holds have an avg. age of 44 and younger. Now if what I just said is not amazing then you either do understand what I just said, or you are in marketing and realize that marketers can target their audience decently now-a-days. Well, this is cost the church a little more than $3,000. Now yes that seems a lot, but the marketing group we are outsourcing this with is excellent, and there was a mix-up on when the cards should go out, so we are having t pay for the express delivery and rush order from Outreach.com. We are realizing that our church (BTW: The is always God's church deep in my heart and must be reminded to the congregation often that this is not their church...sadly) is lacking in a younger demographic, and will eventually go the way of the dodo bird unless it changes and learns to relate and talk with the younger generation and the culture outside the walls of the church. So anyway, for this reason we chose to use this card to reach that younger generation and demographic of Santa Fe:



Now you can see that this card is reaching those who have been hurt by the church or hopefully the ones we are trying to reach....the C&E'ers (Christmas and Easter only attenuator) That is why we liked this card, because we believe this group of people that I just mentioned, are a huge population in Santa Fe. Well, even though this card does not have some Christmas theme on it we will be advertizing our Christmas Eve services on it and hope that we can bring to the services we hope 1/2 of 1% for this first mailing(I think I read this info in an Adam Hamilton book titled Leading Beyond The Walls). Now I am sure lots of you are saying wow! 1/2 of 1% of 15,000 households...is it even worth it? Well, good that is the question you should ask!

Well, lets assume that the 1/2 of 1% is correct that means that we have a decent chance maybe a little less of 75 house holds/people that wont throw away the card as junk mail and will try out one of the Christmas Eve services. Now, at the Christmas Eve services we will be pushing hard a new sermon series that will focus on topics that not only church members but the rest of the community of Santa Fe would be interested in a Christian view point on it was. The series will include preaching on" 1) The end times(Revelation)/is there anything after all of this? 2) Politics and Christianity, 3) Social Justice and Christianity, 4) The problem of Evil/Why do bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people?, and the last one is 5) who is Jesus? We came to these sermon topics because we polled our congregation in worship and asked them what they wished was preached about from the pulpit (except I don't get behind the pulpit, heh) Now, of that 75 who come to Christmas Eve services lets assume that 3 families join our church and give $1000 over the course of a year(or more families and less $ over the year), then the money it took to produce the mailing would be paid for and the next year you have enough to pay for another one! This whole idea of trying to reach through a sermon series is Adam Halimton's and we are using the idea that he shared in his book Leading Beyond The Walls<-- I have to get credit where credit is due) Now, I think we should have sent out people to ask the people in the community (@ Starbucks, The Oasis, Walmart, Target, etc...) what they would like to hear, but the Sr. Pastor beleived that our congregation was a representation of the community and by asking them we would be asking the community, while that statement is a little true, I still do not beleive the culture outside the walls of the church is at all the same, and therefore don't know if we are really being effective in who we are trying to reach, but this is the first time and we will evaluate it in the end! Now with all that said, I am going to take a Jerry Maguire moment! If any of you have seen Jerry Maguire, you would know the idea behind the movie was that the sports Agent would focus less on Quantity and more on Quality. So, after writing this huge paper and giving it to all of the higher-ups they call him crazy and fire him. And he keeps one player in the end and through it all shows the world that it can be done and other player start wanting the relationship that Jerry has with his one player.

Well, what if the church does the same thing? What if we focused on quality and not quantity? I have a double minor in undergrad and one of those was marketing so it has always interest me to see how and what marketing techniques are being use all of the time and how they are changing to be more effective. Well, working with Long John Silvers Inc. before I started Seminary I got to know direct mailing very well, and saw its effectiveness, but only if it was done well, and very often! and the last one for the church is difficult when it (and a lot of them are) costs so much money!)

So, if the church is willing to spend $3000 on direct mail to reach 15,000 households, what if you made the direct mail piece more effective (they would not throw it away) and only sent it to $300 people? So, here is my thought. Lets see if we can find a grocery store or Wal-mart, or who ever would be willing to meet you have way and buy $10 gift cards for 300 households? or $5 cards for 600 people? If you could get the company/store to give a discount then I believe that those 300 or $600 people would be more willing to come to the church that really cares about them putting literally money (gift card) where their mouth is. We tell them we love them, and care for them, and yet often we just want to talk to them and rarely drive them to a good dinner, bring them home and help them find a job/school/etc.....

I came to this idea when I watched what the Opera show is doing. One show they gave away a new car to every audience member. Another one they gave all the teachers in the audience (the entire audience was made of teachers) around $13,000 in gifts and also $2,500 for all the taxes on the gifts). It is obvious that marketers are on the cutting edge of advertising, and willing to go beyond the box of what has worked in he past, and I believe that the church must do the same and come up with creative ways to develop relationships with people who need a relationship with Christ, and the church should be willing to go the distance when it comes to reaching those who are in need of Christ. When was the last time you were willing to reach out to the community in a real and tangible way? If it is good enough for Christ why not good enough for us? When was the last time you ate with a tax collector? Stopped a group of people from killing a unfaithful wife? Died on a cross? Well, the last one you and I don't have to do, but I believe the other tow are two examples of Christ trying to teach us by living and doing what he desires for us. Who is the tax collector in your town, that everyone despises? The woman or man that everyone shuns as if they were not faithful to their spouse.

Now....can you imagine if not only you followed the risk taking life of Christ, but an entire church? That is something I can't wait to see, and that is something I can't wait to be a part of.

KUTP!!!!! and God bless you all!

(Oh and BTW: There is an Easter Egg in there somewhere...just a cool place to unwind)

Next time I will let you see the guts of my new computer...that I hope to build sometime...heh.

me sorry....

me sorry that me have not blog in long time. me extremely busy, and me get very mad when me blog last week and me internet explorer crashed and me lost me blog post that took me 45 minutes for me to type and work on, and it all gone now....me got so mad that me not blogged in long time...thanks for patience, and me be back soon hopefully very soon.

In me-time please visit our new church website, www.stjumc.com! It is unbelievable and please send a note to the webmaster and tell her how amazing the new website is. Truly amazing, and a donation of around $10,000 that she has given, please check it out. It was created from the ground up to be a ministry, and not only a place for information. Truly amazing!!!!

Me blog later bye bye! KUTP!

Holy poo poo Aragorn.....

Well, I just saw the 6 min. Trailer for the Lord of The Rings: Return of The King Extended Edition, and all I can say is....wow.

So for those of you who love the LOTR:ROTK EE then follow the link below to bliss:

LOTR:ROTK EE Trailer (please know this is 6 mins long and you have to have Quicktime to view it, but it is good!)

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Yall have a good day and God bless yall! Also, please be in prayer for us for the 1st infertility appt. tomorrow morning in Albq @ 9:00 am Mountain Time.

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Tiffany had a great birthday, and loved all her gifts! and now I am going to bed so I can catch up on some sleep due to my going to bed so late last night. I got to be awake for the appt. tomorrow, heh. (possibly very awake, ha ha ha! (Oh man I crack myself up, heh)

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KUTP and God bless!

Well...long time...no blog.....

Well, it is just that time of the year again, and I have been crazy busy. With preach last Wednesday evening and yesterday, traveling between those days to Tiffany's family and enjoy some good old smoked turkey (mmmmm mmmmm good), and to top it all off, I had my birthday on the 20th, and Tiffany';s is tomorrow, and we decorated the house for Christmas tonight for a young couple's fellowship white Elephant Gift Exchange for Friday! Yeah it has been crazy and I have a feeling that it will continue to be this way for a while. Well, I have a long post for you all and maybe just maybe I can make up for all the days that you were crying in the corner for not hearing from me, heh. These will be in no particular order so you might have to search for something if your looking for it, heh.

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1st off is a letter from the one the only Jay Hollums thanking you all for your prayers and support through his Cancer over the last few months:

Now just to give you an idea how far Jay has come, here is a picture of when I went to see him close to the first of all this Cancer stuff he was going through:



Now this one is one of Jay now. Notice the man wiping his mouth sticking out of Jay's ear, heh):



Thank You from Jay Hollums

First, and foremost, I want to say thank you to all of the people that are reading this! I know if you are reading this you have at least at some point worried or been concerned about me. And I want you all to understand the glorious impact that your prayers have had on me and those around me.
When you first find out that you have cancer, it is very hard to believe. You just say to yourself that it is not possible. And you just wait patiently for the doctors to come back with a different reason that you are not feeling perfect. However, once it sinks in you just sit there and try to understand. I think I handled the diagnosis very well, but I had no idea what I was in for when it came to the cure. Chemotherapy is amazingly tough. For me I think it was tougher than the cancer. I just kept telling myself that my God has a purpose for everything, even if I don’t understand it. I proceeded to ask for prayers and blessings from all the people I know and the church that I love. I know that many people prayed for my health, and I will take all the prayers that people are willing to make on my behalf, but I will tell you this; I have never seen prayer work as effectively as it did this time. Not necessarily as a cure for my cancer (it is in remission and undetectable right now), but as an impact on my friends and family and myself. I have never felt so much love all the time coming from every where. Your prayers comforted me, my wife, and my family. They allowed me to feel wrapped in love and that is an AMAZING feeling. I have always said that the greatest miracle that God can do is not to move a mountain, but to change a heart. I have no doubt that through your prayers for me and my illness; MANY hearts were changed forever. If you ever wonder why people are allowed to ever get sick, then just realize the changed hearts of the people that form due to experiencing an illness or even a death are a great miracle. Sometimes, the only way to change a heart is through observation of another’s illness or death. I truly hope that your spiritual life has grown in some way as you followed my struggles.
I continue to pray for all of you in return, even if I don’t know all the names of the people that prayed for me. May God bless you all for your concern, prayers, and, more to the point, your deep abiding love. Keep praying as we all need miracles. Thank you once again, your prayers and Christ’s love hold me together day by day as this ordeal finishes up with the final testing and follow up treatments. I believe it is by the grace of God and your wonderful prayers that I am where I am today.

Your brother in Christ,

Jay Hollums
Cancer Survivor, full remission 2 months.

Here is another on of Jay and his cat looking good my brother...looking good:


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Well, I have preached twice since I posted my last sermon, so here are both of the sermons: (wait to secs for me to convert them to Adobe Acrobat....Ok done) (Don't forget you have to have Adobe Reader to read the sermons. Thanks.)

We're Expecting (Given last Sunday (11/28/04)

My Thanksgiving Day (Given Wednesday 11/17/04) The date on the doc. is wrong....sorry)

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Well, I have been playing a lot of Halo 2 (actually not very much due to all the stuff I have been doing, but I play one or two games every other day). One of the guys in our Clan (named The Burninators after Trogdor from Homestar Runner fame) created a desktop for all of us with a Halo 2 Trogdor theme and I thought it was so amazing (that he did at work when the "got bored") that I had to show it here. I have shrunk it smaller just so it would fit, heh.



(Thanks La Pistola, you are da man!)

BTW: If you have Halo 2 and XBlive then please send me a message and I would love to play sometime with you!)

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Well, let's see what else I need to post........

Well, I have seen the largest snow fall (in the town of where I am living) I have ever been a part of last week! We had by my official measurements 10 inches in one snow fall! I was freaking out so much that I had to take photos and here are two shots of it. It does not look as good as it really was, of course, but it was really neat...except for the fact that it melted down to 3 inches by the next afternoon :( Oh well, it was lots of fun, and my back yard faces the north and did not melt as much, and then we got about another 3 inches, so it is still great looking.





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Well, as I said before tomorrow (I guess it is today now) is Tiffany's Birthday, and I thought I would show you the presents I wrapped for her tonight. Good gifts if I do say so myself....small but good, heh.



Happy 30th Birthday Tiffany!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are and will always be the LOVE OF MY LIFE!!!!! (and don't you forget it, heh)anyone who would like to email her a message of love or give her a hard time for living another century her email address is: tiffanyhollums@hotmail.com)

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Also, I took some photos of our house that we decorated for X-mas and I thought you might like to see what the Hollums' house looks like with the Christmas theme, so here are a few pics:


(general shot of the living room)


(Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas Tree)


(sorry so blurry, but you can kind of see how the Firelitos/luminarios look, and almost make out the Christmas tree in the window)


(just had to show you the Grinch lamp in our kitchen)

Of course, Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus are all over our house, and it is currently 6 Degrees outside that I went out into to take the outside pic, heh. yeah I am crazy, but it was a great time that still had snow and the lights, heh.

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Well, someone remind me some time about my theory about great songs, and their one similarity that I think it common and I personally love it...but I have to save something for another post sometime...besides it might take you about 109 mins to read this one, heh.

Well, Cody it was great seeing you and the Fam, and I am very tired now so I must go to bed...I have a big day today loving the socks off of Tiffany for her Birthday! Yall have a wonderful week..oh and please KUTP for Jay, and Tiffany and I! Tiffany and I are going for our first appt. to the infertility specialist in Albq on Wednesday morning. Your prayers are powerful....you and God proved that for Jay, so I thought I would ask for your prayers on this topic and see what happens.

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Oh, yeah, for my birthday and Christmas I am building my first computer from scratch, and I just got my case, and a few other things in and I am looking forward to my motherboard to come in the 1st or 2nd week of December, so be looking for that post too. OK, well yall take care and please please know, your loved by me and by God! May you all experience love and grace flowing from the arms Jesus has wrapped around you!!!

Thanksgiving service tonight

I just wanted to ask for prayer tonight as I preach and lead the Thanksgiving service tonight @ 6:00 pm Mountain Time. It should be a fun and simple service with communion, and I am looking forward to hearing everyone's giving of thanks during the service! KUTP!

Oh and I forgot just in case if you have not seen it yet, I added a logo/link to Firefox on the right side of my blog for you to DL that great internet browser! And, I added my DVD collection as a fav. link over there too. Just FYI.

Ok take care and God bless yall!

Blog? What blog?

Well, I must apologies for those 2 of you who check this on a regular time frame. I have been doing lots of stuff, and it seemed that the blog was the first to go and the last to come back...so to the faithful who read this....my apologies. But let me tell you what all has been going on.

1) I have been sick! (Just thinking baout me being sick makes me cough) On last Wednesday I even had hard times breathing due to my cough, so I did a little bit of nothing and tried to get feeling better. (Oh and I am feeling much better now! I am taking 875 mg of Antibiotics 2 times a day and just needless to say I am floating with bacteria killing drugs, heh. But they are working and I feel great!

2) Halo 2 is out and yep you guessed it, I have been playing the game with fervor! The funny thing is that I am normally playing with Seminary Students and other Pastors!!1 ha ha. And Jay just got on and is having some fun, and it is GREAT playing a video game with him! This game truly is amazing, and even some of you adults should experience playing the game over Xbox live and see the amazing community that Bungie (the company who made the game) has created! I have only played with Jay once, but when I did, it was like the good old days when we both would step into a arcade with $10 each in our hands and we would pick a video game that we would want to beat and then play it, keep pumping quarters into it, and beat it while my Mom shopped, and my Dad sat on a bench waiting for all of us to get done, hew.

3) I am preaching this Wednesday a Thanksgiving service and sermon. I will put it up here on the bloc after I give it to the congregation here and then I will give it to you the larger church, hew. It is so weird to me that I am putting my sermons here on the bloc, because it allows EVERYONE to read them and find out how bad or "OK" of a sermon author I am, but it is not the same thing as being present for the delivery. But I figure that if even one person is blessed or convicted and grows in their walk with Christ, then I will put myself out on the line for that any day! :)

Jay Update:

Jay is doing OK. He is a little tired, because he went doing lots of things yesterday, and his stomach is a little weird, and his voice was almost dead yesterday. He stayed up late least night, and that is probably causing his tiredness. He says that it takes him two weeks to get back to normal sleep schedule after being in the hospital. But all in all he is doing good!

OK love yall take care!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Watched the Incredibles yesterday........

I was trying to remember the movies that have come out this year to think if I have seen a better movie than this one all year long. The Incredibles beat out such movies as: i, Robot, Spiderman 2, The Bourne Supremacy. Nope this is the best movie I have seen all year long...and even though The Passion of the Christ came out this year..this is much more enjoyable than that one, (you know what I mean). This movie was amazing and I can not say enough about how great it was. There was action, family values, marriage values, justice, in-justice, coming-of-age, and of course the good stuff like explosions, super hero saving people from burning buildings, super powers, gadgets, etc..... Great movie go see it and then go see it again to catch everything you might have missed. Most movies if I watch it in the theater (not my home theater, heh) I just wait for it to come out on DVD and watch it at home, but man this one I would see at least 2 more times. Yeah...go see it!

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Halo 2 update:

Well for those of you who care here is a great article on how much this game is going to incorporate stats. It looks like Bungie is giving the sports titles a run for their money on stats. You have got to see the bungie.net screen shots of the game view screens. I think this will really up the ante when it come to strategy. You can read all about it at the first link and then you can read a little more about it on the last Bungie Update from Frankie below as well:

IGN Article on Stats
(as a compliment to the IGN article go to their screen shots of bungie.net to see what they are talking about (IGN screenshots of Bungie.net)

&

Last Halo2 Weekly Bungie Update

Oh and BTW you can even go to the bungie.net web site and login with your .NET password and then check out the "My stats" link at the very top of the page. They have some basic stuff up there and it is truly amazing! They even have several maps of each multi-player map and it will show you where you were, what weapon you were using for each kill you gave, and then the same for each time you were killed. On top of that they give out medals and rankings as you get better and better in the game play! This is amazing, and you just have to go see it if you want to experience it. Actually I will be able to see the game stats of those playing in New Zealand (the first country to play Halo 2, @ 5:oo am in the morning while they are playing the game 12:00 am their time. (Yes, yes, I know it may seem like I am obsessed, but in a way I am intrigued by what this company is doing by promoting this kind of community ! They realize that the main game is not the biggest part of this game, and the online multi-player is the key. They knew that there would be people without a DSL or Cable connection so they had to create a single player game, but eveything they could not fit on the game they just made bigger and badder on their website. Man I hope that website does not ever go down, there will be lots of angry people, heh.



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Jay Update:

jay told my parents last night that he would probably not have to go back to the hospital until Monday! That is really good news, because it means that the Dr.'s think that he is healing up just fine and no need for extra help (for now). So please KUTP.

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Just think it is 3 more days and you get to stop hearing me talk about a video game (add sarcasm voice here, ha ha) But then it might be a while until I post again, because I will be so........hard at work....yeah that is it hard at work....heh heh. Thank yall for caring and please know I love ya and am praying for ya! Take care and God bless yall!

Something you might like.......maybe.......or not......ha ha......

Well, there is one company out there (Outreach.com) that is really good about having good advertising products (ready made) for churches to send out into their community as either door hangers, posters, or direct mailing cards. And I love to look through these because some of them are very "cute" (for me to maintain my mainly status I had to put the term "cute" in quotes, heh) Well, while looking through the Christmas ones, I thought I would share two of the "cute" ones. :)



and



I thought they were really good. Our church would use these, but neither of them actually has the ethnic feel of the community of Santa Fe, and besides we are trying something new this year. We are "borrowing" the idea of a Methodist Pastor named Adam Hamilton in his book Leading Beyond The Walls, and doing fishing expeditions. In other words, we will have a sermon series after Christmas and Easter that is based on topics that would really relate to the community of Santa Fe that the culture or in some cases the Church has not been very vocal in talking about. So the idea is you get the word out about these other sermons while the Sanctuary is full (like at Easter of Christmas) and see if your hospitality and sermon topics will bring them back for them to experience the love and community the church has to offer. We will see how it does and (I hope) keep trying it for a while and really look at it down the road. So the impact card we are looking at currently is this one:



Well, I thought you might be interested or at the very least find it interesting.... ha ha ha.

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Jay Update:

I talked to Jay yesterday twice and he was doing great. He had a little heart burn and of course it sucks recovering from chemicals that are trying to kill you (I think he was having on of his famous sit in the tub/shower for 7 hours heh heh....You know what I mean Jay growing up with you I had to get the first shower and if I didn't then I would have to sleep longer or watch cartoons.....hey wait......I mean...Thanks Jay!!! You allowed me extra sleep or woke me up to watch Cartoons!!!!! Yep, I have one of the best brothers ever, heh.)

Well, anyway he had a little heart burn and knew that the worse part is not receiving the chemo but the time after it when the effects of it start to rear their ugly head. but he was doing good, and I am sure he is @ the hospital for his every-other-day check-up today. Thank you all for your prayers and support! KUTP.

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Nothing else that I know of other than just trying to get lots of work done before Halo2 comes out, heh. Yall have a wonderful day and God bless you!

About Halo2... If you have time I encourage all of you to watch a long documentary of the Halo 2 Bonus DVD : Multiplayer Featurette on the bottom of THIS page. (for those of you who love the 1st game you will love the video, but there is another reason I would like for you to watch it.)

After watching it, tell me how you would use this to promote the church or relationship with Jesus? Or even better how church the church have this kind of community for the church one that incorporates talking to each other live, and seeing each other react and move on a screen, and have something about it that is a draw and people that are Christian and non-Christian alike would want to be a part of it. These are the things that go through my head all the time! Man, I wonder if something like this could be done? What it would look like, and i wonder if the Japanese are on the forefront of this with their video game dating sims, and like the game SIMS and SIMS2? hmmmm..... you can comment on this if you like or not you choice...OK I'm out! Take care and God bless yall!

From talking to my parents, who talked to my Aunt, who talked to Sheila, who lives with Jay.............

I found out that Jay is doing good and that the stem cell re-insertion will occur today and that they will probably get to go home tonight between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm Eastern time!!!!!!!

Now this process is not at all over because Jay (I think) will be going back and forth to the Hospital every other day for 15 days and make sure that he is OK and doing good. So great news right now, but please don't ever stop KUTP!

^
BTW: That was a Jay update. heh.

Yall take care and go vote! and heck you get 2 hours off to vote so take 1 hr. to vote and spend the rest of the time napping, heh. God bless and Take care!

I thought sweets would be a good post.....

Because...
I thought that today/night being Halloween that I would show some of you food lovers (mainly chocolate lovers) what I want to experience some time when I do a wedding......

I was watching a special on Food Network, and they were talking about all kinds of foods and this one was all about chocolate! Now I love chocolate...not as much as some of you women out there I am sure, but this is one I would love to experience....

The Chocolate Fountain (this is not a cake but a constant flowing fountain of chocolate!!!!!)

Now these fountains cost to rent something like $400 and the small fountain costs to buy around $2,300.00! Now if anyone does buy one of these please invite me over and I will bring the food for the fondu fountain, but please PLEASE invite me!!!! (I promise I will not put my finger in it, heh.)

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Jay Update:

Well, sometimes it is impossible to get a hold of Jay because they are using the room's phone line to connect to the internet....(Sheila works a lot...and besides....Jay has to check on his own update via this blog, heh.)

My parents said he talked to his grandmother (Nanaw) today during lunch, but he is starting to get his mucus problems where his mouth drys up and really hurts him with all the sores in his mouth, tongue, and throat, buuuuuuuuuuut he is doing good, and his Spirit is amazingly great.

Tomorrow will be his 5th day of Chemo and his Stem cells will be inserted on Tuesday, and they might even send him home the same day on Tuesday.

But, even if they send him home he will have to go back to the hospital every other day for 15 days to make sure everything is OK and his body is accepting his stem cells.

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Well, for the Halo2 fans out there Japan's #1 video game magazine (Famitsu) gave their rating of Halo2 and they were very happy with it! This is amazing since Japan is the largest gaming country in the world. Here is a link to the article.

And here is even a new screen shot from the review:



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Well, that is about all I had to say except, please KUTP and Happy Halloween! Enjoy your parties and have a spook filled night! Take care and God bless you all!

May you all experince love and grace flowing from the arms Jesus has wrapped around you!

Trogdor Pumpkin and Jay update....

Thursday evening a group of guys came over and we carved pumpkins. I found the Pumpkin stencils on Homestarrunner.com and so I thought I would show you how it turned out:



This one is a little blurry (just like all of them) but it is hard to take a digital photo without a tripod in the dark with no flash. But this is what it looks like in the dark all lit up.



This one is with flash, just to show you the detail.



This is what it looks like outside of our home. Be careful not to get Burninated!!!!!



and I went ahead and carved good old Strong Bad in the back of the pumpkin so people would have something to look at coming and going.

Thanks for looking.

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Jay Update:

Well, I just got off the Phone with Jay and he was doing very good. He said he had what felt like a sinus headache, and knows it will probably get worse, but he was doing good. He was playing Uno with Sheila and doing just as much trash talking as he was laughing, so it sounded like he was doing very good. I stayed on the phone with him for a decent long time, because he said I was good luck in the game and he kept beating Sheila. I all can say is Nanaw could kick both your hienies.

Well everyone please KUTP and know that we all appreciate them! Take care and God bless you all!

Jay update dos!

here is the info on Jay from Sheila:

We are at the hospital and waiting for them to start the transplant chemo.
His room number is 703 and the telephone number is 412-578-4446

We will be here at West Penn for at least the next 6 days.

I will keep you posted as to how things are progressing.

Sincerely,
Sheila

Now that you have the room number and phone number to call Jay you might like to know a little about what he will be going through, well go to the link below to learn more about what he will be going through the next 6 days....note that he is on Step 4 for the next 5 days and step 5 on the 6th day. I hope this helps, and also might educate you on Stem Cell Treatments, and help you realize this is not the ones that we hear about all the time in the pres debates, heh.

Autologous bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation

Jay update and a little other stuff.....

Jay Update:

someone commented on the last post that they never here Jay updates, and well that is because Jay is doing great and in this case no news was good news, heh. Well, even though Jay is officially in remission, he not out of the woods. He can see the edge of the woods, but it just so happens that he has to cross a flaming river filled with piranahas before he is out of the forest, heh. So here is what will be going on starting tomorrow.....

They have to check-in at the hospital @ 10:00 am tomorrow (28th) and they will start he stem cell transplant treatment. The entire treatment will last 6 days. 5 days of super intensive chemo and then the 6th day the "re-planting/injection" of the good stem cells (that they harvested earlier and have put through lots of chemo to make sure they are good) will occur. They we wait to make sure that the cells are accepted and not rejected by his body.

Now this chemo is a little different than the last rounds. You see the last rounds of chemo were intended to kill the cancer cells, but not kill everything. But this time around.....the chemo is meant to kill ALL his cells! When they finish he will have no bone marrow at all and so this one is very important that they are careful and watch him closely.

This round will also include a spinal tap to even cover the cancer that was in the nervous system last time.

So...needless to say, Jay has not needed you prayer more than now. As soon as I get the information, I will put his room phone number on here for you all to call him and pray with him. Thank you all so much for being a part of this miracle through prayer, thoughts, and support! I can not say enough, and I know Jay feels the same! Thank you all and God bless ya! (be looking for more updates soon)

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Ok here is some fun stuff:

This one is for my father! Hey Daddy, look what they created! It is a Gameboy Glucose reader! So you can play games and take your blood sugar level, heh.

GlucoBoy

Heh, well I was going to put a Halo2 video up that has Snoop Dog background music, I got it through the desktop Masterchief, but actually it never showed any new footage so it really is nothing that special.

Well, I am going to bed tonight and yall take care and God bless! Cya!

Halo2 TV trailer!!!!!

Wow, it is not very often you see a teaser trailer for a video game that is better or equal to the best trailers of movies, but here is one that is just as good as the best of the best and it is for a video game!

Halo2 TV spot


Oh, man I might dream about this tonight! I can't stop watching it! I feel like a bug to a bright blue light about to be sucked in and not knowing what will happen when I "touch" the light, heh. Have a great day all of you!

BTW: the TV spot requires you to have QuickTime, so DL it is you don't have it...and if you don't have it...wow...your behind the times my friend, heh. cya and God bless yall!

Just some stuff....

I was reading and watching The Screen Savers again and I noticed that they have a USB thumb drive that has male and female ends on it! Now to the non-computer geeks out there this is no big thing, but for the rest of us I think this is cool! And you don't even have to use a computer to transfer files between 2 drives! Cool I think that it transfers all the files over because there is no interface to choose the files, but still very cool! and I remember somewhere I saw sushi usb drives, ha ha....oh man that cracks me up.

Male/female USB thumb drive

also, if any of you are going to go to a Halloween party then I found a TRON suit that is uber cool, but you have to understand the suit designer and model for the suit is not the best looking guy out there...actually he is what the world thinks of when you think of someone who loves Tron, but we are not all ugly or nerdy like me and this guy.

TRON suit

Anyone dressing up for Halloween? I think I will go as a UM Pastor, or a cultured bear, heh. Well, comment and let me know who you will be, heh. take care everyone......I am off to go carve pumpkins with friends and play Cranium, heh. Take care and God bless yall! If your going to a party and dressing up please comment and let me know what your going as, just for future ideas.

I remember one year I put a sheet on and cut out a bunch of holes and went as The Holy Ghost, heh heh ha ha...oh man I am bad. Good night!


(Anyone ever seen this page @ homestar runner? ha ha ha.)

He was fragged for your sins....

If you ever care about anyone who has a really cool mind, and a fun blog then visit my friend Thor's blog. I saw the title of this post as a title of one of his posts, and man, I love it! This is the kind of stuff that I love thinking about. How can I bring the good news into a terminology that this world understands. Now any remotely computer geek understands this language, and even if it sounds a little weird and that we should not say it, the meaning is still intact and is very effective for communicating what happen to Jesus. I wonder if I can use this title to brainstorm entire worship services around it..... well, I know it would not happen at the church I was in currently, but I still can dream, and pretend it is going on now, heh.

Well, I saw that and just wanted to get it out in the open.

I loved my time @ the Emergent Gathering. Tuesday and yesterday! You guys are awesome people and I am fully on board to be in discussion to do REAL ministry in the world we live in. It was also great to talk and be in relationship with others that share my same frustrations, and joys, and passion for reaching and being in this world. God bless you all, and I seriously doubt any of you will read this, but you rock!

If any one is interested in deep discussion on Christianity or just read a few blogs about the topic then you can check out these blogs:

(Granted these blogs just like all blogs are personal opinion and should not be taken as the one and only voice of Emergent.....besides get off that stuff people! Everything is someone's personal opinion at some level, even translations of the Bible or (gasp) the Methodist Book Of Discipline, heh. (I just think it is sad that I felt like I needed to make the disclaimer, heh) Untrustful we are yes? Sad world we live in yes? Full of hope but, yes? no? maybe? ............

Ryan's blog
Will's blog
Doug's blog
and to throw in some fun:

Churchmarketingsucks.com

seriously, these is so much stuff out there you really should have fun in this arena, if it floats your boat....heck even if it doesn't just check it all out.

I will have a crazy week this week......

I am doing my normal week that I always do, but this week (After getting permission from my Sr. Pastor, heh) I will be attending as much of a gathering as I possibly can. It just so happens that the Emergent Church "movement/conversation" has a nationwide The Emergent Gathering each year @ Glorieta, NM (about 15 mins from my house!!!) and this stuff is right up my alley.(It is funny my alley is not dark or smells bad, or even has thugs in it, it is filled with people having fun, but at the same time searching for something beyond themselves or this world, and Video game, BLOGing, computer geek, home theater, sushi eating, fly fishing, fishers of men/women that are playing with the ones searching and growing deeper and deeper into a relationship with them, all the while God is helping them see a new kind of life in relationship with someone who is in relationship with "the other," "the all powerful," "mysterious," "pure love giving" God.
I have to admit by reading their web page it seemed a little "out there", and being from Northwest Texas anything that is not down to earth and common sense is labeled, "out there" heh, but from the first gathering stuff tonight I think this is going to be amazing! It really is a gathering time of people who care about ministry and living experiential authentic Christianity in the post-modern world that we live in. It is a time to just open discussion and develop relationships! (sounds like stuff I was wired for. I told Tiffany it is like sitting in a circle of about 50 Derek Webbs (Caedmon's Call singer/song writer/philosopher) I also told her that it was like I found all of my long lost brothers and sisters, heh. I really hope that Namiqa (my Sr. Pastor) will allow me to experience and live the discussion over the next 2-3 days out here.

Well, the only thing else I can say is here are two websites The Screensavers told me about that I thought I would pass along:

Halfbakery.com (<--Blake Myers this one is for you!)

&

Sodaplay.com (<---this one is just cool, and lots of fun! I can not even imagine the math that is going on with these things, but the little animals they have been really popular, are now available as tee-shirts and coffee mugs, etc.... cool though!)

The Homily......

I call this a homily because I think of sermons as longer and homilies as shorter than normal, well this is a 5-7 min. sermon and It was fun to give, and so I give it to you. I hope it can bring you closer to Christ, and if nothing else just make you think a little bit. Hope yall have a great week and God bless yall!

"Do You Want to Get Healed?" (<--Sermon from today that I preached) (Remember that you need to Download Adobe Reader if you want to read the sermon.)


Thank you all and God bless yall!

(The link works now! Thank you Aunt Harryette!)

Left, right, Liberal, conservative, up, down, x,y, or even z.....

Well, I was watching the news from a station way up north on the internet and they did a Story on a website that helps you see where you fit into the labels of Political values. I took it and was somewhat surprised, and so I thought I would share it with you....

IDEAlog.org

1) BEFORE you start on the page your going to you need to click the link on the left that says, "Run IDEAlog"

2) After clicking this link the page makes sure you have Flash and then you click the button in the middle of the page that says, "Run Idealog" heh.

3) The email address is optional, so you don't have to put it in just click the "next" button.

4) I would suggest you take the "Tutorial", but you can always just jump right in and take the "Self-Test".

The site was originally meant to allow college professors to log their students into the site and then allow them and the students to see where their class mates fall into the political labels...your name is not ever asked for, so don't worry. It is very interesting to see where you fall, especially when you thank you fall somewhere else.

But I always remember what I say when people ask me if I am Democrat, or Republican......"Christian," is what I say. After all, isn't that the label we should all be striving for people to place on us. (If your a Christian) The mark of God.... i.e. Name of God on our heart, forehead, actions, and mouth; the term we should want to be labeled by in our families, and churches?

Take care and God bless you all....No one will ever know where I come down on all issues in a generic sense, but I love talking about specific issues, especially when I can search the Bible and discuss them with other people, heh!

Love ya! In the most manly, heterosexual, Christian way possible!


(BTW in regard to the last sentence.... I am happily married so...back....back....get off me...you sweet hearted marriage haters....ha ha ha ha) (Yeah that'll happen, ha ha ha) (for all the weird people that cannot understand my jokes or humor....the last remarks were indeed a joke, and should not be taken as anything more, heh)

Halo2 people get your freak on.....

Well, there is not too much info there, but Halo2.com is alive! If you want to navigate around better then you can go to this site and learn the Alien luggage for the interface! Yeah that's right I said learn the language.

Oh, an just in case you all missed it, the latest Bungie Halo2 Update had lots of info on it and a 15 min. video tour of the Halo2 Bungie studios!!!! Very cool indeed. If you would like to check that one out then you can go here.

Yall have a great day!

Oh and my Halo2 headset came in today! I will try it out on Crimson Skies later on tonight to tell you if it is worth your money.

2 websites I found that you might like....

OK first up I just found out that Homestar runner has pumpkin carving stencils for your enjoyment!!! So if any of you have to carve pumpkins this season, please use one of these:

Homestar Runner pumpkin Stencils

you can even change the size of them all to fit the pumpkin your carving!!! Man I love that!

Also I was reading The Screen Savers site and they did a story on shocking games....nothing out of the norm, right? wrong, these games really do shock you if you loose! Oh man, I would love these games, heh.

Lightening Reaction

Well, that is it for tonight! Love yall, keep me in your prayers, Tiffany is visiting her parents this weekend, so I am home alone...well for 1 1/2 days...not too bad, heh. Take care and God bless!