"I'm sailing! Look at me! I sail!"

Well I have to admit, I've been down here for almost a year and I haven't done too many "Florida things." I haven't even been to the beach very often. I don't even have much of a tan. Yet, I have been able to do some fun things in recent months.






Around Memorial Day, Jeremy came down to visit me and we ended up at Clearwater beach. We went Parasailing. It was pretty sweet. We got up there about 800 ft. The view was awesome. Here are a few more pics from it:

Mission Trip

So it's been a pretty awesome couple of weeks. One of the big highlights was to go on a mission trip with my high school kids down to Immokalee, Fl. It was pretty sweet. You might even say it was Mantastic. We did a lot of awesome things. We did a lot of work at a food bank sorting canned goods. We moved about 7 tons of cans. I got into it....literally. It was good to work so close to my kids and compete, sing songs, and stuff.

We also worked a few days with an organization called Ihope. We helped clean out FEMA trailers to help get them ready for this year's hurricane season. Besides that, we worked on Nina's house. She was living in a house with substantial damage from last year still. Her house was essentially gutted from the rain damage. Her roof leaked, her steps were rotted, and she had no kitchen sink or cupboards. During our time there, we replaced her roof and helped build a new deck and stairs. It was pretty sweet because it was great to help Nina and it was my first time roofing.

We also spent a day in working at the Guadalupe Soup kitchen. It was a truly humbling experience. We arrive around 8 am in the morning and there was already many people lined up in the front of the building waiting for lunch. For many people this is the only meal they get a day. In the back of the building there was also a ling. Many were waiting to take showers as they did not have any plumbing at home.

We live such lives of luxury while others can't feed themselves or provide for their families. The people at the Guadalupe center never complained about what they were eating. They were just happy for the food and the showers. Many of these people lived in two room houses with eight or more other people. That was crazy to think of. I get cramped in my little house all by myself.

I wish I would be content with much less. I wish I would be more giving and less self-serving. Yet I am sure that I'll slowly forget my experiences on the mission trip. I'll slowly feel less guilty about spending money on useless things and will want way more than I have. I'll forget how good it feels to give and want to hang on to what I have. I hope I'm wrong. I hope that this mission trip has changed the way I'll live, what I set my priorities on. I guess only time will tell.

"It was a good day.....for Ted"

Last week a few of Nate's friends from STL came down to visit him. Let me just say, it was a good time. We all hung out for a few days. One of the Days we went to the aquarium in Clearwater. Let's just say it was sweet. There was rumor that one could pet stingrays and see and possible touch Manatees. Let me tell you there were not Stingrays at the present time and there were never Manatees.

We decided to watch the dolphin show which was pretty sweet. We waited for a while because it started raining. Then we had to watch an angry dolphin blow water in the air in protest because of the rain. It was intense....the dolphin anger. Yet soon, his love for his purple hula hoop calmed his soul once more and he was ready to perform.

During the time we waited for the act to begin, they asked us to guess the girth of the dolphin from one side of his dorsal fin to the other. I inspected him from one angle, moved to the other side of the pool and checked him out from another side. A girl came by and asked if I had a guess. I said, "47 inches. No! 49! But I'm probably two over." The girl gave me a look like, "You're on crack" or "wow, right on." Then she walked away.

So right when the show was about to begin, they called the dolphin over, attached the measuring tape to his fin, and had him spin the tape around himself to be measured. The young lady took the microphone and announced, "He measures in at 47 inches." I turned to my friend Liz and said, "That's what I guessed at first!" Luckily, no one else was even close, so I got to go down and pet the dolphin and feed him some fish. It was quite possibly the best moment of my life. It was amazing. It was a good day.....for Ted.

What is going on?

So the other day, I was driving home from work taking the same route I've been driving at least once a day for the last 7 months. I look to the right. I see the botanical gardens....then the park...then...WHAT!!!!! an apartment complex????????? I swear I've never seen this string of apartments in my life. Never! Yet, there it is.

I thought maybe it was new construction. Nope! The buildings are older and are occupied. Then I thought perhaps there was foliage in blocking the view from the road. Nope! Not that either! It is clear by the poor condition of the lawn and the weathered fence that this simply isn't the case. The only option is that it has always been there or I jumped to a parallel reality where the only difference is this apartment. Oh yeah....I saw a rooster hanging out in front of it today. Lent is getting long....

Time, the past has come and gone

More and more I am amazed at how quickly time passes us by. I am even more amazed at how much things can change in a year, how much I have changed. The first half of last year was one of the worst of my life. My A.D.D. kicked into high gear, my back was doing worse than it had in a while, and all the struggles in school had left me feeling as if I had wasted the last couple years of my life. Last year was also a year of great loss: my sweet grandmother, Matt's wonderful mother(my aunt and second mom), and my faithful friend, Shadow.

The middle of my year was a mix. It was Marcy. She really forced me to take a good look at what I was working towards and to figure out if it was right or not. In many ways it tore me in two. In the end, thought, I had to trust in God to let her go so I could continue following the path He had placed me on. Though it was rough loosing her, I am glad that I felt the warmth of her light, even if for only a season. She taught my heart how to love again.

Oddly enough, the second half of '07 was one of the best five months of my life. I love Florida. I love the people God has placed in my life. They lift me up and encourage me constantly. I feel as if I am nearly complete. I see accomplishment where I thought would be failure. My health is returning to me. I feel more like myself, more balanced, and more in tuned with God's plan than I have felt in years.

As always, I thank God for all those people He has placed around me, old friends and new. If I have any new year resolutions, I think it would probably be to draw closer with friends and family and to try and live a less self-focused life. I guess we'll see how it goes.

Is this Christmas?

I'm hot. I'm glad that I decided to check the weather before going to church. I was about to put on my suit then I checked and its a cool 77 degrees. I opted for the khakis and a short sleeved shirt. I think I might wear sandals to church. I'm not sure yet. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas.

You strange to us that's when we gettin dangerous!

So first off, yes, I took the above picture this very day. So if you were planning to visit me this year, you will not be able to feed or molest the gators.

That said, I've been livin' pretty dangerous lately. I am not sure why, but I've done some pretty stupid out-of-the-ordinary things. The first was that I had an egg thrown on my car on Halloween. I knew it was going to ruin my paint, yet I did nothing for three weeks. Yup my paint was ruined. Second, my car suddenly started making jubbly noises. I turned off the car and went and immediately checked the oil. The dipstick didn't have any oil on it except some pasty tary stuff on the bottom. Yup I knew it was a problem. It had been about 9000 miles since the last oil change, but I just couldn't bring myself to get an oil change, knowing full well it could ruin my car.

Luckily, after the oil change and some wonderful special additives, my car is now running normal. I just realize that my back pain must be really brining me down if I can't even take care of basic things. Now my back actually feels a lot better than it has in years. I think it might be the business of the schedule as well. I love my life right now and can only think of a couple ways in which it could be better. I just wish I knew what is off so much that I would do such stupid things.

"Bonedigger bonedigger, Dogs in the moonlight"

So, I've noticed the last few weeks that there is a new addition to the neighborhood, at least I think it is a new addition. I'm not really sure. Just as of late, I have heard a whole heck of a lot of dog-speak going on. This dog lives on the other side of the tall fence in my back yard. I haven't seen this mystery dog yet, but I am thinking about standing on a chair to take a look at my dog.

Yes, its true. I said it. I believe this animal on the other side of the fence belongs to me. Why, you might ask. Well, I think this dog is mine because he truly acts as if I were his. Let me tell you why I am getting this impression. 1) When I leave the house, the dog always starts to bark. (The dog lives behind my house! I exit from the front!) 2) When I come home and shut the door, the dog welcomes me back with barks of joy! 3) Doing random things in my house like shutting doors, playing music, talking on the phone all evoke a reaction from this animal(my dog).

So, I assume that he must be mine and I just have been neglecting to take him out of my neighbor's back yard. Furthermore, I have left him in the neighbors yard for such a great amount of time that I have forgotten when I bought him, or what he even looks like. Yet, I know that he is mine, because he reminds me of it every day!

Raise the Roof

I love my Jorb. This is the second concert that I have gone to in the last month and a half, and it was FREE! I got to see Kutless, the Newsboys, and some new jamband called Newworldson. The picture above is from the Newsboys. It was pretty sweet. They had two giant bubble jets that filled the air with bubbles. It was awesome. The picture above doesn't do it justice. All the lights were reflecting through changing all sortsa colors. It was cool.

So yesterday the Firemen came to our preschool for fire safety week. When I heard about it last week, I jokingly said I wanted to ride the firetruck. So Yesterday, the preschool director, the janitor, and the assistant pastor all pulled me out of my office and convinced me to go check things out. So on my way over there, I spotted a larger lizard and snagged him on the way. So I walk up to these firemen and preschool kids in my nice dress clothes gripping a lizard that is going absolutely nuts. He was bitting at the air and waving his arms around. He looked like kermit the frog when he says "Yay" and looks all excited. So the firemen, were like, "um, so you've got a Lizard, huh?" It was cool. I let him go after I showed him to the kids.

So later that night, I was walking next to this building and a little lizard was on the wall. He did this crazy back flip, matrix style, and landed right under my path, moments before I stepped down. The little bugger killed himself. I wasn't too happy about it. I like my lizard folk. Why in the world would he jump right in front of my foot? I decided that it was equivalent to stepping in front of a dump truck. I just wonder what would cause a lizard to just want to end it all.

Rock the Universe

Yesterday, I took 19 kids over to Orlando to go to Universal Studios. An event called Rock The Universe was going on. It was awesome. I got to see two of my favorite Christian artists, Tobymac and Jeremy Camp. It was cool. Both rocked the place. It was great to get out of town and chill with some really cool people. Both are the type of men I aspire to be like.

Tobymac is all about diversity, about come as you are before God. He welcomes you where you're at. He said we can build the most impressive buildings, wear the best clothes, talk the best "Christian" talk, and appear successful, but it means nothing. People will only listen if we live a life of Christ's love. This is where I'm at. I want to live a life of love. I want to meet people where they are at and show them the love of Christ. I want to show them that he loves them no matter where they are from, where they are at, or what they have done. I want to show them how He changed me.

I try to walk by faith. I try to live my faith. I've given up so much to be here. Many don't understand it. Many think it is foolish. There are times when people try to pull me away from this, and convince me to change my path. I hope someday they can see why I must walk this road. Christ's love compels me. It compels me because this country has missed the message. You don't have to be holy and perfect to come to Him. You can't be! No one can. The church is for those who realize they are lost, not those who think they are perfect. The church is church is for Christ and his mission to call all people to him. It isn't some exclusive club that is focused on itself.

Florida

So its been about two and a half weeks since I arived down in flordia. Things are pretty good down here. My church is awsome. The people are awsome. I'm pretty sure the job is awsome, though I still haven't hit full stride yet. Things are overall pretty good. There are little lizards everywhere. There are probably at least 15 right out side my window right now. I think they are what I like most about Florida. They are always just chillin or dancin. Either way, very cool.

I am still getting settled in here. I haven't unpacked all of my stuff yet. I still have boxes sitting in my living room. I have been to the beach only once, and that was at dusk. I think I want to work on my tan a bit before blinding all them beach goers. I still haven't gotten the internets hooked up yet at my house. So I haven't really been on lately. Besides that, there isn't all that much new. It is difficult being away from eveyone I know and care about. But, there are a lot of good people down here and a new assistant pastor that I sorta knew from the Sem. So, I have been doing some things around town. Mostly, I am too tired or busy to be down from all the things lost. At least thats what I try to do. Overall though, things are exciting and good.