Yesterday I found out that my zodiac sign thing is a rooster. Thanks alot, China. Then I almost got run over by a man in a mall. He was speeding in his electric wheelchair. Then later on I was driving and thinking about my friend Jason, who has had a very crappy week, and, mid-thought, a bird crapped on my windshield! I took it as a sign and bought him a card and some gift certificates to cheer him up and then took him out for a beer. When I got home I checked my blog, and was very excited to see that I had TWO whole comments - which only turned out to be one comment (thank you, Mary - I love your constant support. You make my day more often than you know!) because the first "comment" was a freakin' advertisement for some stupid lighting company in the UK.

Now seriously, after wierd day like that who wouldn't want to go and get a Starbucks Latte and lay in bed and read. I mean come on, even IF I lived in England (which I don't) and needed some lighting solutions (which I also do not) I would NOT go online and search my BLOG comments for some possible solutions. So I sent them an invoice for an enormous amount of money, which worked out to be about 70 British pounds a day, for advertising costs (which is DIRT FREAKIN' CHEAP - I just spent two years studying advertising in College; I would know) and a letter requesting that they not solicit my (small) audience of blog readers without permisson. Instead, I suggested that if they really want to pursue their little blog comment advertising campaign that that they should do it on a blog that is read often, and by many people. So I suggested someone like . . . jeF.

So, in keeping with the theme of shameless advertising plugs, here is a review (of the first five chapters) of the newest book I am reading:

I am reading Donald Millars's "Blue Like Jazz - nonreligious thoughts on Christian spirituality". For any of you who read "Miles To Cross" (Larson), "Your God is Too Safe" (Buchannon) or anything published by Grass roots, you will like this! Where else can you read about Reed College, finding God and penguin sex all in the same book? (Trust me - you'll have to read it to understand).

Relevant Magazine said:
"By all accounts, Blue Like Jazz was a hit precisely because Miller was open and honest about his doubts, his faith and his flagging love life. That kind of authenticity deeply appealed to a generation of jaded, media-savvy twenty- and thirtysomethings who had managed to hold on to their Christian faith through Bio 101 and The Real World: Las Vegas. Emerging? Postmodern? Who cares? Whatever pigeonhole du jour may currently describe the children of the mid-'70s to mid-'80s, Miller struck a nerve with them".

So there.

Shout outs:

Jason - Ha ha, a bird crapped on my car while I was thinking about you! :)

James - Still deciding. Yarr!

Chad - Thanks for the phone call today.

Mom and Dad - Thanks for praying for me and for always caring.

KT - You rock . . . just a little more overdrive and delay on that one!

Andrew and Tanya - Cards are from the devil. May I?

Amy Hales - What's up.

God - I love you

Hello.

What a small and boring greeting that is. Let's try and azz that up a bit.

ALOHA!
(from chilly Calgary where we evidently missed fall and are currrently sitting at a balmy -5 degrees).

Life is grand. Change is good. It makes me tired and sad and excited and nervous all at the same time. Lord, I love the way you work in such unexpected ways. I love my firends. My life. I am in a wierd head space right now - all nostalgic and stuff. Autumn always does this to me. It snowed for the first time this year today. Things like that, I feel, are grand miracles that so often go uncelebrated. But it makes me look back - to last fall, last thanksgiving. My my how time flies. Add how quickly things change.

This thanksgiving I am thankful for:
My Brother, who makes me laugh, lets me cry and is a much better friend than I give him credit for.

My mom and dad who love me and support me no matter what.

Life lessons learned, through pain and joy, and the wisdom and steadfastness that trials bring.

Music of all sorts. If I never find a soulmate, music will be the closest thing to it.

My crew: Kevin, Tanya, Amanda, Jesse, Dana, Ryanne, Jason, Lana, Katie, Breanna, Marty and Chad.

Poerty, the moon, art, mountains, and all the other beautiful things in the world that lift my spirits and inspire worship from teh deepest places.

And finally, God, who never fails me, always loves and has patience for the lessons that take alot of time and breaking to learn.

Books:
Through painted deserts - Don Miller (I'm sensing a throwback to "miles to cross" by mike larson here.)

Captiviating - John & Staci Eldridge (still not done it, still working it out)

Movies:
Autumn in New York
Garden State
Boondock Saints

Music:
Simon Wilcox
Keith Urban
Jann Arden
Gretchen Wilson
Chris Tomlin

Reviews:
"Nothing is sound" Albun - Switchfoot ***
"Living Right Now" DVD - Keith Urban **