Setting a World Record!

It is not every day that I get to announce that I have helped break a world record but today is that day! I took part in the world's largest pillow fight according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It was a cool thing I got to do at the Catalyst Conference last week in a stadium with 10,000+ other pillow-wielding people. We showed up for day two of the conference and there was an airline sized pillow in every seat. I can't explain how cool it was to look around and see thousands of people bashing each other with pillows! My life is now complete. Not really. I still have to set a world record for most Krispy Kremes eaten in a day. (-:

BC Powders & Beignets

I was taking a BC powder for a headache today and I realized something. I really miss beignets. If you've never had a beignet (pronounced ben - yay), they are French donuts that are really popular in the French Quarter in New Orleans. They are essentially funnel cakes (a southern delicacy found only at traveling fairs) with a lot of powdered sugar on top. The first night I was in New Orleans we did the traditional thing of having beignets and hot chocolate at Cafe Du Monde. They were okay but the best place I had them was two days later: Morning Call in Metairie (pronounced met ah ree). You see Cafe Du Monde puts the powdered sugar on there for you. Morning Call brings out unpowdered beignets and you have this big honkin' powdered sugar shaker on your table where you can put as much as you want on them.

What does this have to do with BC powders you ask? Good question. When you eat beignets, you have to hold your breath. If you breathe in you inhale all the powdered sugar and you die right there. I've seen it happen (almost). If you breathe out while eating a beignet you blow the stuff all over your face and you look like you just got off a 48-hour straight cocaine binge (or so I've been told (-: ). I accidentally sucked down some of the BC powder I was taking today and all I could think about was beignets and how much I missed them. Grace Park is heading down to the coast in the third week in July so maybe I can stop in and get an order. I sure hope Morning Call is still there.

Seven System stole the show

I went to hear some friends known as Seven System tonight and I was in for a treat. First of all, there was another group that brought in a good crowd for a Wednesday night the week before Christmas. After the first group got through with their set, they debuted a music video of the group to follow Seven System. (I will keep the band nameless because I am about to tell about how Seven System stole the show) After the music video, Seven System ROCKED THE HOUSE. It was awesome. Hardly anybody in the room had heard of them since they just moved here from California and this was their first night playing in Nashville. Ten seconds into the first song they had everybody's heads bobbin'.

Matt, the lead singer, encouraged us to stand so up I stood. The only problem is, well there were two problems. First, no one else in my section decided to stand. So now I'm standing all by myself feeling very self conscious. The second problem is, I don't have any moves, aka skillz, aka rhythm. So, I sat my white self back down and continued to bob my head. I wanted to do more but I just don't have anything to give. I tapped my foot until my shin got sore. Does that count? Anyways, it was a good night. After Seven System finished, most of the crowd left! It was neat to see them gain a quick audience. I felt bad for the next group for a few minutes but got over it pretty quick. It wasn't my fault.

The Homeless Guy and Beer

I was in downtown Nashville tonight to hear some friends play (see earlier post) when a homeless guy comes up and says he's starving and asks for some money. I told him I'd be glad to walk with him and buy him something to eat. He said that was great and told me there was a Taco Bell down the street. About five steps later he gets honest with me and says, "Honestly, what I really wanted was to go and buy beer with the money. Thanks anyway." Sad. I used to run into this all the time in New Orleans but I hardly ever get into the city where I get a chance to talk to people on the street. It never ceases to amaze me how many people tell me they're hungry but when you don't give them money and actually offer to bring them food they get upset. Even better is when I go down the street, buy them some food and bring it back to them. That really makes some people mad. Then there's people I know like Harold (homeless guy in New Orleans that I'll probably never see again this side of eternity now) who always thanked me graciously. I finally got smart in New Orleans and kept gift certificates to McDonald's in my glove compartment. That way, even if they weren't hungry they could buy something later and the worst thing they could get with a gift certificate was an ice cream sundae. I wish I had more encounters like the one tonight. I wish I had more encounters with people who really needed help. I think I'm going to go hang out in Nashville more often.

Birthday Bags

Last night, some of the folks from our community group went to Grace Works to help with their food distribution. They receive donations this time of year and they need to sort them by food type (i.e. green beans with green beans, soups with soups, etc.). One of the interesting things was that they had recently received a large number of birthday bags with everything included in them to throw a birthday party for a child. Wow. Talk about hitting home. One of the other guys was really moved at the thought of someone not being able to throw their child a birthday party. It is always interesting to me what moves different people. I have worked in food places like this (Nashville Rescue Mission, Second Harvest, Feed the Children) in the past and what seems to get me the most is that what many would consider just a can of beans, some consider a precious resource. It makes you think twice before you waste food at the house.

Weapons on a football field?

Well, I had this great post about the homecoming game at my hometown high school. However, something happened on the server and it lost the whole thing. Instead, you get the Cliff's notes version now:

A kid gets his ankle broken with 45 seconds left to go in the 1st half. It takes over 30 minutes to carry the kid off the field. I drove home with broken ankles before so I can't figure out what took them so long. I think they formed a committee and discussed all options before proceeding (all the while the kid's laying there in pain). There's an ambulance parked at the game for just such an occasion. Or so I thought. Instead of the ambulance, an extended cab Ford truck pulls onto the field. I assume they're going to put the kid in the truck bed but there wasn't any room because of the tree stand in the bed! They've decided, as a committee, to put the kid in the extended cab of the truck (I don't see how the kid fit in there myself). One of the football players then pulls out a bow and arrows from the cab section and proceeds to inspect the fine hunting instrument. Then they had to pull out the bow case that the bow wasn't actually in. Finally, they stuff the kid in the cab. Now someone gets the great idea to stabilize the kids leg with the bow case. You can imagine that by this time I'm having a field day. It was hilarious to me. Of course, maybe I don't understand the whole story. But I have heard that ambulances are pretty good at helping people when they're injured. Its just my opinion about one of the weirdest things I've seen lately.

Birds resting

What's up with the animal titles? Beats me. (-:

Jesus teaches about how the Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. (Matthew 13:31-32):

"Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches."

This past week this passage spoke to me in a way it never has. Its the passage that explains what we're creating at Grace Park. We call it a safe place because it is where hurting people can come and experience authentic relationships with God and people. Notice that the kingdom of heaven is a place where even birds come and rest in its branches. Birds rest in safe places. I see glimpses of where Grace Park is going and its electrifying. The long term vision of Grace Park could simply be this passage, it becomes a place where the world can come and find rest.