I Want to BE Starbucks to My Community

My Starbucks knows my name. They greet me each morning with a smile and a greeting. They remember what I like. They ask me how my day is going. They joke around and have fun with me while waiting to finish creating my drink. They tell me what they’re doing in life. They come sit down with me in the big comfy chair on their lunch break (which incidentally is like at 10AM). They recommend music or books that they think I would like based on previous conversations we’ve had. They give me free stuff!

They’re also not always friendly. Sometimes they’ve had a bad day but they’re working through it. They’re not friends with everyone. They’re not friends with those who drink coffee on the other side of town, there’s another Starbucks for that. They close down for 3 hours with they need some time to themselves. They make mistakes. When they make mistakes they admit it and make up for their mistakes.

They change the mood I’m in. It starts when pulling into the parking lot. I get excited about seeing  Jeff, Ashleigh, Ali, Katie, Cody, and whoever else is going to be there that morning. Sadly enough, they reached out to me before I was friendly to them. Honestly, it’s why I continue to go there and pass up 3 other Starbucks on the way to work. I’ve taken my daughter there just so she can see where Daddy goes in the morning I’ve taken my wife there so she can meet “my baristas!” and so my baristas can meet my pregnant wife I’m always talking about That’s powerful! I want to do that. I want my church do that. Don’t you?

No More Abandoned Carts

Wow. There are many causes out there worth standing behind and supporting and rallying the world around…this one may not be that kind of cause

However, it is a riot! The site is honestly, top-notch as well which has me wondering that there truly must be something of value or some hidden propaganda that I’m missing out on other than simply returning carts to grocery store. I’m assuming it must have something to do with electronic safety? Or maybe it’s just to showcase this guy’s dry humor!

If that wasn’t funny then please don’t read any further. If it was hilarious then read from his bio here:

I was born in January of 1964 in Hudspeth County, Texas to Archibald and LaVerlene Fillmore. Archibald was a preacher and lion tamer who, on account of a major shortage of lions and religious feelings, worked as a gas station attendant. LaVerlene worked as a greeter at the local hardware store, but this was long before being a greeter was a paid position, so much of her work was what we call in Texas, “loitering.”

HA oh man. That’s funny stuff right there Nomoreabandonedcarts.com

Thanks Pinkhairedgirl

Get LOST – The Constant

…I mean…uh…wow…

This was probably my favorite episode of the season! I mean WOW! I don’t know if it was because I thought last week was not only slow but mostly pointless or that we finally got off the island or that my brain imploded like 10 minutes in to the episode or WHAT but I was on the edge of the sofa the entire night just drawn in to the whole thing!
Honestly, there isn’t a whole lot to talk about! No Sawyer quips. No crazy Locke moments. No Jack/Kate/Sawyer triangle. No Sun and Jin. Nothing! This was ABOUT DESMOND & PENNY! He’s become such a key character without getting a ton of exposure that I love it! It’s one of these things I love about the show. There are so many great characters that we can go without seeing them for one week and become enthralled with them the next. For some reason I just care about what happens with Desmond and Penny. I really want them together! It must work out for them. I am drawn more to them than I am to Kate and either of her two romantic flings! The downside is that I totally missed my good ole boy Hurley and Penny’s mention of Charlie has me wondering why no one is mourning his loss. It’s like he’s gone and forgotten!

So time travel huh? But is that really what we’re talking about? They really swept under the rug the true conundrum of this episode and masked it with Desmond’s conscious time jumping phenomenon. It obviously doesn’t happen to everyone because Sayid and the pilot were totally unaffected. We all know the answer to Daniel’s question about radiation: Desmond blew himself up in the hatch! Dang right he was exposed! Which must mean Locke was exposed as well. Could this not bode well for John Locke in future episodes? I suppose it doesn’t matter since he doesn’t want to leave the island in the first place. I wonder though with Desmond leaving the island if some of his wild fortune telling visions will pass on to him?

So, for some people the crossing back to the real world sends them back to the past consciously where they must find a link or “constant” with their future selves in order to keep their brains from frying? Kind of weird. The phenomenon that really boggles my mind is the time jump to and from the island: it took the missile shot from the freighter like a half hour to reach the island. The helicopter was gone for like 20 minutes and it took them like 24 hours island time. What is up with that?!?! I’m really curious with what you numerologists are going to say about all this time jumping craziness between 32 minutes and so many hours and 8 years and so on. Is there a common thread between all of it? Is there a constant

Video/iTunes Shenanigans

Hey, I bought a video off iTunes and want to show it via Media Shout but it’s not letting me. (Dana actually, she puts together our Media for Sunday mornings.)

Anyone know how to burn to a DVD from iTunes?

Or import it into Media Shout via a converter I suppose?

Best Picture Viewing

Mud had this great idea and put together this list of the Best Picture winners and which ones he’d seen. I’m going to be wrapped up for a majority of the day so I thought I’d steal a great idea to crank out a post

Movies I have NOT seen are in red. How familiar are you with Hollywood’s most favorite movies?

2007 – No Country for Old Men
2006 – The Departed
2005 – Crash
2004 – Million Dollar Baby
2003 – Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2002 – Chicago
2001 – A Beautiful Mind
2000 – Gladiator
1999 – American Beauty
1998 – Shakespeare in Love
1997 – Titanic
1996 – The English Patient
1995 – Braveheart
1994 – Forrest Gump
1993 – Schindler’s List
1992 – Unforgiven
1991 – The Silence of the Lambs
1990 – Dances with Wolves
1989 – Driving Miss Daisy
1988 – Rain Man
1987 – The Last Emperor
1986 – Platoon
1985 – Out of Africa
1984 – Amadeus
1983 – Terms of Endearment
1982 – Gandhi
1981 – Chariots of Fire
1980 – Ordinary People
1979 – Kramer vs. Kramer
1978 – The Deer Hunter
1977 – Annie Hall
1976 – Rocky
1975 – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

I’ve been sitting here to try and bold my favorite but I don’t think I can do it! How do you choose a favorite out of this list? It’d probably be one of the epics though. Lord of the Rings/Braveheart/Gladiator maybe, those jump out at me.

Our Juno Photo Shoot

Oh God this was hilarious! I honestly couldn’t decide which one came out better. So here you go

I just wish you could see my socks!

Notice the flared nostrils? Yeah she’s had all the fun she can stand

My Juno

Matt has been enjoying his lil Momma’s bump and I ran across this shot I took of Rae right before Valentine’s Day. Hey buddy this is what 8 months looks like

I’m as much of a dork as Michael Cera and she is as pregnant as Juno! HAHA.

T-minus 5 weeks until Baby Byrd is here!

Your Top 10 Shuffled

I just love these things. Crowder says it’s the tell tale sign of whether you’re  “likable” person or not

Head to your media player (iTunes for many of us) and hit Shuffle. Then list the 1st 10 songs that play, or post it on your blog and give us the link. I’m all about link love baby!

1. One Day Remains – Alter Bridge
2. You Were Mine (Dixie Chicks cover live in Napanee) – Avril Lavigne
3. Everything Impossible – MercyMe
4. I Want to Dance With Somebody – Whitney Houston
5. Lonely Nation – Switchfoot
6. Nothing Else – Matthew West
7. When Love Came Down – River Community Church (Live recording we did here)
8. Let Everything That Has Breathe – Matt Redman
9. O Little Town of Bethlehem – Steven Curtis Chapman
10. Joyous Light – Passion

HAHA Oh goodness that list is rediculous! Hahaha, well it’s obvious I didn’t make any of that up! I’m going to let this play out a bit more I’m all about embarrassment! Anybody want to dance?!?! HAHAHA can I say that my wife loves the 80s and that has to be hers?!?

1. Everybody wants to go to Heaven – Allison Kraus and the Cox Family
2. Shining – Phil Wickham
3. Amazing – Andy Hunter
4. Break Free – Hillsong United (the In a Valley By the Sea version!)
5. All I Can Say – David Crowder*Band
6. All I Want is You – U2
7. Everything Will be Alright – The Killers
8. Rooftops and Invitations – Dashboard Confessional
9. Gone Away – Surviving August
10. Those Nights – Skillet

OK that was AWESOME! I’m literally scared to see what the next 10 songs have to offer But this is so much fun! What are yours?!?!?!

I can’t stop!!!

iPhone Blogging Planning Suggestions

1. iPhone users – What are your favorite web apps that you’ve added to your homepage?

2. Bloggers - How are you creating your posts? Are you simply using the application of your platform: wordpress/blogger/etc. or are you using a text editor: FrontPage/Ecto (not sure if I’m using the right words or apps there.)

3. Organized Folks- Any great resources you use to stay organized? I keep seeing apps that are inspired by the GTD method. Apps suited for the iPhone. Online apps. Offline apps. What do you use?

5 Things Better than Mon Feb. 25

5. Having students throw up at Youth group! - It was a new high for our students…a new low for their parents as I introduced this nasty game of Choose Your Smoothie Fate!

4. Being behind the video camera – It was only roughly 3 hours of shooting Saturday and nearly 4 hours this morning previewing and capturing footage but it has been awesome!

3. Flyleaf’s acoustic sessions – Oh my goodness! I had some “educational” copies of their tracks but went out and bought the CD/DVD newer release that came with a bonus DVD of their videos along with the videos for their acoustic sessions. WHICH, I would LOVE to see them do a mini acoustic tour. It would be righteous. Check this out:

2. Team Impact – HUGE gargantuan men breaking boards, concrete, lifting logs on fire over their heads, breaking blocks of ice! WOW! It was greatness. They are quite articulate however it totally brought me back to my Southern Baptist roots. That part was a little humorous but they were great nonetheless.

1. Family date night – Rae planned for all of us to have a dinner out and chose T.J. Ribs. Oh man, I salivate just thinking about it! We had a blast and it was a much needed night out for the family. Another reason why I am so divinely blessed with this woman