Hyper-green

Jakeb and I ran in the dark this morning. When we got home I went outside to feed the dogs and in the first light of morning noticed that the world has turned green while I wasn’t looking. When did this happen? The trees are in full color and the yard has lost the brown tint. There is this canopy over the backyard where I used to be able to see through the limbs of the pecan trees; now I just see folage. The world outside is in hypercolor.

It’s good to see that spring is really back – even though it took me a while to notice.

Just a penny is a treasure

I like listening to Andrew Peterson’s music. It is not a style of music most would pick for me. I told my friend Dano that when I listen to Andrew Peterson’s music I want to hand craft a guitar from a tree I cut down in the backyard of the cabin I own on the side of a mountain overlooking a clear stream in which I spend my evenings fly fishing; when I’m not playing my guitar, of course. The fact that I don’t play the guitar very well, don’t own a cabin anywhere and have only fly fished a couple of times doesn’t matter.

Sometimes I get in one of those funks where I feel as if I am worth nothing. You’ve been there too I know. We all have been there. If you say you haven’t … well, you’re lying (I don’t know how to be less blunt). I’ve been there some lately and I’m coming out of it – I always seem to. There is a song that has helped me see the other side, written by Andy Peterson.

Jesus tells how important we are to him in a story. It goes something like this (as recorded by the good doctor):

"Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she'll call her friends and neighbors: 'Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!' Count on it—that's the kind of party God's angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God."

Luke 15:8-10

Andrew Peterson puts that idea into a song called Loose Change – about a penny:

I'd give you all of me to know what you were thinking
And if I had one wish I'd wish I wasn't sinking here
Drowning in this well
Oh can't you tell

That I can't pick myself up off the ground
I've been face down
And pushed aside
Well, you know I'd rather just turn tail and run
Than lie here in the sun
And watch you pass me by
'Cause I ain't worth a dime

But if only I could stand up straight
I wouldn't have to lie and wait
I could up and roll away
And never be ignored
I've got a feeling that I'm something more
Than just a piece of copper ore
Turning green and looking for
The reason I was born

Well, I've been around since 1974
In banks and bottom drawers
On railroad ties
I've been passed around and cast aside
And skipped and flipped and flattened wide
Spun around and thrown away and left alone to lie

But I heard about a penny found
Lying underneath the couch
By a woman who was kneeling down
Looking for some change
Then the woman danced around
Called her friends all over town
Told 'em what was lost is found
It's another penny saved

So I find that all this time
Beneath the surface, I could shine
Like all the gold a king and queen could measure
See, even just a penny is a treasure

The man knows how to use words and turn phrases. And a spiritual truth (that “a penny like me, is a treasure”) makes more sense.

My running start

On a comment to a previous post Michelle asked how I got started running so I decided I would write it here.

During Andrea’s pregnancy with Tori she was gestational diabetic and her doctor put her on a 1000 calorie a day diet. I think gerbils eat more. It was torture for both of us (more Andrea than me). After Tori was born Andrea weighed less than before she got pregnant.

As a side note when Andrea was pregnant with Tori she craved Funyuns. Tori has always loved Funyuns, they are her favorite.

A little less than two years later Tori came up to me one evening while I was watching an Astros game. She threw herself in my lap and handed me a note (written for her by her mother) that said “Am I going to have a little brother or a little sister?” Andrea was pregnant again and we were excited. One of the coolest things though was the doctor told Andrea this pregnancy was normal and she could eat what she wanted. “Party!”

I was already heaver than I should be but if Andrea could eat for two I figured I could as well. So I started eating and gaining some serious pounds. Jakeb was born on March 18, 1993 and to celebrate I went to Zumgasthaus and ate one of their mongo steaks. I weighed more than I had ever weighed in my life and more than I have since.

In May, after Jakeb was born I decided that enough was enough and stepped out the door of our house in Richwood to run…and lose weight. I barely made it around the block and the shoes I ran in were Reebok tennis shoes. The next day my arches were screaming at me and I almost quit. My vanity wouldn’t let me though.

Like I do with everything I went to the book store and bought a book about running. It told me how to start. I went and bought a cheap pair of New Balance running shoes and marked out a three-mile course. I ran until I was close to being worn out and then I would walk until I recovered. I did that until I could run the whole three miles. I took what seemed like forever.

Then I put my headphones on and turned up King’s X “Faith, Hope, and Love” as loud as it would go and I got to where I was running about 20 miles a week. I lost weight. I trained for my first 5k, which I finished in 25:11, and I’ve never looked back.

I am a runner. I have been a very devoted runner. I’ve been a not so devoted runner. I’ve trained hard and I’ve trained not so hard. I’ve run far and I’ve run short. I’ve been much faster than I am now but I’ve been slower too. I’ve backslidden and not run at all for months. But I’ve never stopped being a runner.

Runner – It isn’t the sole word that defines me, but it is in the definition of who I am.

I started running to lose weight.

I run now because it is a discipline I cannot walk away from. It is epidemic.

I run because I can think.

I run for accomplishment.

I run because it’s something not many other people do. One of those “stand out from the crowd” kind of things. Which is smug, I know.

I run to listen to music.

I run to listen to nature.

I run because sometimes right before first light mexican bats swoop around my head. How else would I even know there were mexican bats in Lake Jackson in the summer time?

I run to listen to silence.

I run because I can.

…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus.
Hebrews 12:1-2

Movie Date Day

Life has kept Andrea and me on different paths lately. Nothing has been wrong in our relationship; we just have not had much time to exist alone in one place together. Both of us know that we can’t go on like that very long, so we decided to have a movie date day on Monday. I picked up two movies on Sunday night and as soon as we got the kids off to school we sat down to watch the first one.

Spanglish was an okay movie. The best part of the movie was seeing that two people could put aside their selfishness and do what was right for those around them - A decidedly Christ-like theme in a movie that didn’t take a side. Adam Sandler did a good job of acting in a very un-Adam Sandler way. Tea Leoni was funny.

After running some errands, eating lunch at school with Jakeb and an afternoon nap Andrea and I put in Finding Neverland.

What an excellent movie. Johnny Depp is just too good. I have a friend named Jim from Scotland and Depp did such a good job with the accent I thought I was listening to my friend.

Finding Neverland is a film that reminded me of the importance of imagination without ignoring how harsh reality is sometimes. There were no simple answers to the complex issues the characters faced. It was a movie full of wonder and yet sometimes disturbing. Just like life.

Jakeb is blogging

There is a new blogger under the Stunz roof. Check out what my son Jakeb has to say here ...> Link

Blog Stats

Today I was checking my site statistics to see how many people have shown up at my blog and where they are coming from. You can see it for yourself by clicking the small multicolored box at the bottom of this page. It seems that on average there are fourty-one people who read my blog per day.

What I find interesting is how people find “Stunz blog”. Most people connect to my blog through the Brazos Pointe Fellowship web sight. But some people find my blog through search engines. Just today people came to my blog by making the following searches:

Google ………. “running is bad for you” (#22)
Yahoo ………... “marriage mentoring” (#18)
Yahoo ............. "Making Marbles" (#5)
Yahoo ……….. “is Lance Armstrong a good role model” (#7)
Lycos ………… “A Trip to the Dentist” (#24)
Yahoo ……….. “A 1000 things I want to do before I die” (#4)

Blogs still amaze me. And I am amazed at how people find mine.

Gator Gallop 5k

Jakeb, Andrea and I ran the Gator Gallop 5k on Saturday. There were quite a few BPF people running and watching the race. Mary Margaret, Jennifer, Edwin, Jason, Terry, Cy, et al. The danger of trying to name people is I will inevitably miss someone who was there. If that’s you I’m sorry.

Friday night I went to see Jakeb’s baseball game and there were Brazos Pointe Fellowship people wherever I looked. It is amazing to me the relational potential for pointing others toward Jesus that the people at Brazos Pointe Fellowship have as we live life in the Brazosport area. BPF exists everywhere, even when we’re not meeting.

Back to the race - Andrea and Jakeb have both been training for a 5k. Their goal race is not until next month but they both decided to run the Gator Gallop 5k at Brazosport College. Andrea hasn’t run the full distance since her foot surgery. Jakeb ran 3 miles for the first time last week.

Andrea is my hero. She was feeling sick a couple of days before the race and on Thursday when she and Jakeb were running she tripped and fell on the concrete. Even with the pain she gutted it up and ran/walked the 5k.

I ran it and felt pretty good. I maintained a comfortable pace and finished in twenty-four minutes and twenty-something seconds. I didn’t stop my watch so I am not sure of an exact time.

I was going to grab a drink and go back and help Jakeb run the rest of the way in. I took a drink and looked up and there was Jakeb striding to the finish only about a minute behind me. I was suddenly struck by the realization that I will soon be beat soundly by my son.

When it was all said and done Jakeb won second place in the 12 and under category. I finished 3rd in the 30 – 39 age group. Jakeb second, dad third. The beginning of a pattern I'm sure.

It was a good day! The whole family have to do it again soon.

Pope John Paul II

There has been so much coverage on the death of Pope John Paul II that I hesitate to write because I probably will not say anything most of you have not heard already.

As I listen to all of the stories of his life what strikes me is how much the Pope enjoyed the same aspects of life everyday people enjoy. He skied, played soccer and kept up with culture as we all like to do. I am also stuck by how brilliant the Pope was. Knowing numerous languages, understanding theology, and relating to both heads-of-state and working folks. I am struck by a man who stood by what he believed to be true even though the world pushed so hard against those beliefs (some of which I disagree). Above all I am struck by a life that was lived in such devotion to God.

I want to be a well rounded person. I want to be a person that enjoys all life has to give. I want to learn as much as I can learn. I want to live what I believe. I want to be as devoted to God as I possibly can be. I want to live well.

“He’s taught us how to live, he’s taught us how to suffer, and now he’s teaching us how to die.”
– Jim Mulligan, a Missouri deacon studying in Rome (From April 11, 2005 U.S. News and World Report)

It's got to be the shoes!

I bought some new running shoes today.

When I was growing up my mom would take me and my brother to the store at the beginning of school to buy clothes. Most of the time those trips were horrible for everyone involved. My mom would be intent on getting new shirts and pants and the two of us were just horse playing and hiding under the clothes rack. I don’t know how many times she would say “Just wait till we get home …!”

The only item of clothing I really cared about was my new pair of shoes. Do you remember getting new shoes when you were a kid? I do. I would run everywhere, because my new shoes made me run faster. I would jump to try to touch everything above me, because my new shoes made me jump higher.

That’s how I feel today. I ran two miles with Jakeb this morning and another mile on my own in my old pair of running shoes. Tomorrow morning I am going to breakfast with a good friend and won't get to run. So I think I’ll go home tonight and go for another run in my new “run fast, jump high” Asics Gel-1100’s. I can't wait!

I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me!
1 Corinthians 9:26

I don't own the phone

On Monday we were hanging out with some friends, eating lunch and enjoying our day off. It was kind of comical to sit at the table and listen to everyone’s cell phones ringing.

“Hold on a minute, I’ve gotta catch this one.”

Mine never rang because I don’t own a cell phone. We pay a bill for two because Andrea has one and our kids carry around our “second” cell phone. I have yet to step into the 21st century and get one for myself.

Why?

I really don’t like being that connected. In fact I like being “unavailable” every once in a while. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy hanging out with friends but why would I want to talk to them when my goal is to buy Raisin Bran and dog food? Really … can’t it wait until I get close to the phone tied to the wall in my house or office?

I like that Andrea has a cell phone because it keeps her in touch with the kids should they need her. I like that the kids can carry the second cell phone when they are out somewhere. I think cell phones are great for everyone who owns and takes advantage of the technology. This is a personal thing, but I am at a loss as to why I would need one.

Easter at BPF

Easter services last night and today were great. This weekend has been full of expectation since it is Easter and the weekend of Brazos Pointe Fellowship’s first Saturday service. It is cool to watch how many people worked so hard to make both come off so well.

We work with an incredible group of volunteers. As a staff we stretched you guys and you met the challenge and in many cases exceeded our expectations. I would like to thank our weekend technical crew mainly because I work closely with them. I am constantly amazed at what you guys make happen at BPF week in and week out. Thank you!

For everyone who worked to make this weekend a success – thank you! Because of what you do there are people who attended BPF this weekend who will never be the same as God has interrupted their lives with His reckless love and grace.

Texas

Those of you who read here often may or may not notice that I change my blog header from time-to-time. I like variety in most things thus the change. The image I chose this time is of the Texas flag and bluebonnets – both very “Texas-kind-of-things” especially this time of year. It got me to thinking…

I love living in Texas. I love that I was born here. I love that I have lived here all of my life. I even like the fact that I was twelve years old before I stepped outside of the state. Every time I leave Texas it is always good to get back.

I had a job that sent me to Louisiana for seven months. I would leave early Monday morning and come back Friday afternoon every week. The best part of the week was to travel west over the Sabine River.

I love Texas for a million different reasons, but let me name a few:

San Antonio, the river walk, Mexican food, the Alamo, the cold water of the Guadalupe and Comal rivers in New Braunfels, the memory of picking peaches in Fredericksburg when I was a kid, Gruene and the Grist Mill, camping and fishing on Lake Livingston, surfing off of Matagorda Beach, Houston, the Astros, the Rockets, the Cowboys (when I was younger) and the Texans (now), catching redfish and flounder near San Luis Pass, seafood in Galveston, the board walk in Kemah, watching the bats fly from under Congress Avenue bridge in Austin, running on town lake trail, mountain biking at Rocky Hill Ranch, jumping into Canyon Lake from the rocks, Chuy’s, picking corn in Wharton, floating down the Colorado in a canoe, …

I could go on all day but you get the point. I’m not trying to brag or boast, just remember. For those of you who’ve never been here, you should at least visit; Texas is a great place!

That’s right you’re not from Texas, but Texas wants you anyway.
- Lyle Lovett

Assuming you've been here, what do you like best about Texas?

The Engines of Our Ingenuity

Most mornings as I drive my daughter Tori to school there is a sarcastic yet friendly battle over the radio station. Do you know how hard it is to try to drive, drink coffee and guard the radio all at the same time? It's even worse when I'm trying to eat a bowl of Raisin Bran too.

Tori wants to listen to KSBJ. I don’t mind it so much except that the morning DJs are kinda corny and sappy.

I, on the other hand, like to listen to KUHF. KUHF is the local NPR affiliate. I really enjoy the way “All Things Considered” reports news in such a way as to show the humanity in every story even though it sometimes has political leanings.

Even more than All Things Considered I dig listening to The Engines of Our Ingenuity from John Lienhard at U of H. The tag line at the beginning of the show is "[this is] a series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them.” The ending of the show is always “I'm John Lienhard, at the University of Houston, where we're interested in the way inventive minds work”.

The content between those two lines is almost always interesting. Today the program was about geometry and fonts. A couple of days ago it was about how our willingness to cooperate with others releases a chemical in the brain called dopamine which creates a feeling of pleasure. In other words cooperation is pleasurable.

Great stuff!

Tori doesn’t agree. I can tell by the way she sticks her finger in her wide open mouth every time she hears the theme music.

For Stunz blog I'm Tommy and I’m interested in the way inventive minds work.

Tommy, don't miss it.

This time of year is incredible. It’s the time to remember the culmination of our faith and belief. If Easter has no meaning then I am, as Paul said “above all men, most to be pitied.”

Being the Discipleship Pastor at Brazos Pointe Fellowship is the best job in the world for me. God created me for this. But sometimes I get so caught up in the details that I blow right past the reason I have hope.

During this Easter season we have been planning for this weekend. It is going to be a great Saturday / Sunday experience and you don’t want to miss it. But, in the planning of the details of the day I almost missed the meaning of the day itself.

Jesus paid the highest price to buy me back because he loves me. He died a shameful death, so that I could have the life that I have now. And now he is alive and living inside of me. Christ in me, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27)

Today as Ronnie edited a video for the weekend service I watched and heard Jesus say, “Tommy I love you”. As people in a refinery in Texas City experienced a tragic explosion I heard Jesus say, “In the middle of tragedy, I am hope!” As I listened to the prayer request of a friend I heard Jesus say, "Because of Easter, you can pray."

Simple concepts yet so profound.

God help me. I don’t want to miss the proverbial forest as I stare so closely at the bark on the tree.

Sell the SUV!

The price of gasoline broke two dollars a gallon. Wow! It’s time to add money to the gas section of the budget envelope and ride my bike more often.

Live ... right now!

I found a blog today called visual-voice and it is just that - very visual and well spoken.

Lately I’ve thought quite a bit about change. Being on staff at BPF we talk often about and experience change. Click here for the latest (link). I heard someone say that the reason people normally do not progress is not because they have no desire; but because they are too scared to step into the tension of change. This quote from visual-voice on March 4 made me think:

The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be.

Marcel Pagnol

Marcel, whoever he is, nailed it. Yesterday was great, but I can’t live there any more. Today is all I have to live and I have to live this moment to the hilt. And tomorrow will be what God allows so I will press hard toward the potential tomorrow’s change will bring.

"Until now only the children have been able to overcome what took place, because they have no past - for them, everything that matters is the present moment. So we shall try to act as they do."

Paulo Coelho (The Fifth Mountain)

The Magic of U2

Tonight I was watching VH1 while I was waiting for Jakeb to get home from the rodeo. They were showing the induction ceremony for U2 into the rock and roll hall of fame.

As I sat and listened to U2 play, all I could think about was how much a part of me some of their songs are. I have always really enjoyed music but there is some music that goes beyond rhythms, sounds, words, and frequency. Some music touches you deep inside of who you are and that’s what some of U2’s music has been for me.

The Edge spoke and here’s some of what he said (not an exact quote):

It’s so hard to keep things fresh and not become a parody of yourself…. Often we take ourselves way too seriously. You can break it down and study it, but you cannot just dial it up. We know it’s magic.

Magic indeed.

New Gulf and the Universe

The town stunk to high heaven. Often it smelled like someone had bad gas in a small room without ventilation. Sometimes you could smell New Gulf long before you could see it. And part of the town was visible from quite a distance.

On the car ride from home in Clute our family played a game. Who would be the first to see the smoke stacks? The smoke stacks were part of the sulfur company; the reason for the town’s bad smell. My brother would yell from the back seat “I see the smoke stacks!” when we were still miles away. He must have been fibbing.

The best thing about New Gulf was my grandma and grandpa were there. They lived in a white company house like just about everyone else in town. My grandpa worked for the sulfur company. And my grandma baked all kinds of goodies. She baked wedding cakes, birthday cakes, cakes for parties, jelly rolls and donuts. She was called the donut lady because every Thursday she would make donuts and everyone in town would come by and purchase some. I am amazed that my grandma was diabetic and never was able to taste her sweet creations. I am a product of my grandmother’s baking – I love to lick the bowl.

For me, my brother and my cousin, New Gulf offered a world of freedom and was a wonderland for three boys. The front yard of the house had a cedar tree and the side had a chinaberry tree. They were great lookouts for a game of cowboys and indians.

There was a golf course to roam free on. When it rained hard we swam in the golf course’s ditches. We played dominos in the club house with the old man who ran the place. At night we walked with my grandpa and his dog listening to his funny stories and picking up golf balls left behind by hackers. I think the reason I took up golf for a while as an adult is because it reminded me of my childhood.

A general store was just a street away where we traded old coke bottles for money to buy candy. Reese's were best.

There were train tracks with dewberry bushes growing beside them. In the spring grandma sent us out with a five gallon bucket and a stick (for the snakes) to pick berries for a cobbler.

Beside the rail road tracks were smooth round brown rocks. When the rocks were thrown against the metal tracks and broken, the inside of the rock was shiny and hard and had deep dark colors.

One day my brother, my cousin and I were breaking rocks on the tracks to see what was inside. I found a rock the size of a baked potato and threw in hard against the metal tracks. It took a couple of throws to make it break. It broke smoothly the length of the rock and we were amazed by the beauty inside. The inside of the rock was a shinny black color with flecks of white throughout. It looked like a picture of outer space – at least the outer space we knew about from watching Star Trek reruns. Every time I spend any time looking at the stars I think about God. I think that’s why the stars are there. They exist so that I can understand that the universe is so much bigger than me. When I looked at that rock I thought of God. When I think about that rock today, I think of God. That day in the small town of New Gulf, God fit the universe inside of a rock for three boys to see.

I look up at your macro-skies,

dark and enormous,

your handmade sky-jewelry,

Moon and stars mounted in their settings.

Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,

Why do you bother with us?

Why take a second look our way?

Psalm 8:3-4

One Phun Physically Demanding Day

Yesterday was an exhausting day, in a great way. It was a day full of physically demanding fun. My calves are screaming at me because of it.

First Andrea and I got up at 5 am picked up Dedee and went to Houston to run a 10k. I finished it stronger than I though I would. Andrea and Dedee finished it better than they expected too. I saw EQ there and he finished it in 44:31. Blazing!

Then we went to our niece’s birthday party. It was a fun and windy experience.

To top off the day we had a birthday party for our son Jakeb. The party was at AllStar Sports in Clute. AllStar Sports has the best pizza and calzone in Brazosport, a fact I wasn’t aware of until last night. Not only do they serve pizza, they have an indoor soccer field.

We didn’t play soccer; we played dodgeball. It was an incredible amount of fun. We played a game of kids against adults. It was a kick to run around like I was in school again with Kirk and Paul as teammates. Our wives wouldn’t play. We had so much fun I think I’d like to have my birthday party there.

Happy Birthday Jakeb! You’re a great kid! Thanks for having a birthday party where your dad could be a kid again. Now I think I need some pain relievers … ouch.

The other Hintze is blogging

There's a new blogger in the blogshpere. No... not Jackson.

Jenny is blogging and it should be really interesting - she says so herself. Go here --->(link) and check it out.