Photographs on Friday
I know it's these guys two weeks in a row, but Doug (aka Hulk Hands) said he'd hit me if I didn't post it.
posted by Alex & Laura Beth @ 9:23 AM
0 comments
Friday, June 30, 2006
I know it's these guys two weeks in a row, but Doug (aka Hulk Hands) said he'd hit me if I didn't post it.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
You're Invited...
Come one, come all! The Black Mustache Bicycle Club is riding tonight.
posted by Alex & Laura Beth @ 12:22 PM
3 comments
Friday, June 23, 2006
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
50 Annual Questions to Ask Your Spouse
Dee and his wife Sarah have made a practice of asking each other a series of questions annually. The original list consisted of 13 questions, and has now grown to 50! Dee shared his "50 Annual Questions to Ask Your Spouse" on his blog, and I am posting them here as well.
1. Name one thing I do that makes you feel loved.
2. What could I do to cause you to feel more loved?
3. Name one thing I do that causes you to feel respected/honored.
4. What could I do to cause you to feel more respected/honored?
5. Name one thing I do that causes you to feel understood.
6. What could I do to cause you to feel more understood?
7. Name one thing I do that causes you to feel secure.
8. What could I do to cause you to feel more secure?
9. Name one thing I do that causes you to feel confident in our future direction.
10. What could I do to cause you to feel more confident in our future direction?
11. Name one way I serve you that brings you great joy.
12. Are there specific ways that I can serve that I am not already doing?
13. What attribute would you most like me to develop?
14. Name one attribute (or mannerism or idiosyncrasy) that you most like me to
change?
15. What attribute would you like me to help you develop in yourself?
16. What achievement in my life would bring you the greatest joy?
17. What mutual goal would you like us to accomplish?
18. How is our sex life?
19. Is there anything I can do to make our sex life better?
20. How are we doing with our family budgeting and finances?
21. What is one thing we can do to improve our budgeting and finances?
22. How does it feel when I…(Name something that you know displeases or discourages
your spouse.)
23. What goes through your mind when I…(Name something that you know displeases or
discourages your spouse. This can be the same as question 17 or something
different.)
24. What specifically would you like to see me do to change…(Name something that you
know displeases or discourages your spouse.)
25. How does it feel when I…(Name something that you know pleases or encourages your
spouse.)
26. What goes through your mind when I…(Name something that you know pleases or
encourages your spouse.)
27. Name one personal goal for your life that I can help you achieve this year.
28. Name something new we might do together that would bring joy to our
marriage/family? (Hopefully this is different from question 17).
29. How are our relationships with our extended family (parents, siblings, etc.)?
30. Name one thing I can do to improve one of these family relationships.
31. Name one way that God has blessed our marriage.
32. Name one way that we could make our marriage more Christ-like.
33. Name one sin that you continue to struggle with.
34. What could I do to help you with this struggle?
35. Name one sin you see that I continue to struggle with.
36. What would you encourage me to do to deal with struggle?
37. Is there some way that you can help me with this struggle?
38. What would indicate to you that I really desire to be more Christ-like?
39. How has your love for God grown?
40. How is your devotional time going? (Specifically Scripture study & prayer)
41. Is there another spiritual discipline that you would like to develop? (fasting,
scripture memorization, etc.)
42. What can I do to help your love for God grow?
43. Name one thing about our church that brings you great joy.
44. Name one thing that would increase your joy in church?
45. In ten years where do you hope to be spiritually?
46. In ten years where do you think I should be spiritually?
47. Name one way that my leadership/submission has strengthened our marriage.
48. What could I do to lead/submit better in our marriage?
49. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate our marriage?
50. What would make our marriage a ten?
1. Name one thing I do that makes you feel loved.
2. What could I do to cause you to feel more loved?
3. Name one thing I do that causes you to feel respected/honored.
4. What could I do to cause you to feel more respected/honored?
5. Name one thing I do that causes you to feel understood.
6. What could I do to cause you to feel more understood?
7. Name one thing I do that causes you to feel secure.
8. What could I do to cause you to feel more secure?
9. Name one thing I do that causes you to feel confident in our future direction.
10. What could I do to cause you to feel more confident in our future direction?
11. Name one way I serve you that brings you great joy.
12. Are there specific ways that I can serve that I am not already doing?
13. What attribute would you most like me to develop?
14. Name one attribute (or mannerism or idiosyncrasy) that you most like me to
change?
15. What attribute would you like me to help you develop in yourself?
16. What achievement in my life would bring you the greatest joy?
17. What mutual goal would you like us to accomplish?
18. How is our sex life?
19. Is there anything I can do to make our sex life better?
20. How are we doing with our family budgeting and finances?
21. What is one thing we can do to improve our budgeting and finances?
22. How does it feel when I…(Name something that you know displeases or discourages
your spouse.)
23. What goes through your mind when I…(Name something that you know displeases or
discourages your spouse. This can be the same as question 17 or something
different.)
24. What specifically would you like to see me do to change…(Name something that you
know displeases or discourages your spouse.)
25. How does it feel when I…(Name something that you know pleases or encourages your
spouse.)
26. What goes through your mind when I…(Name something that you know pleases or
encourages your spouse.)
27. Name one personal goal for your life that I can help you achieve this year.
28. Name something new we might do together that would bring joy to our
marriage/family? (Hopefully this is different from question 17).
29. How are our relationships with our extended family (parents, siblings, etc.)?
30. Name one thing I can do to improve one of these family relationships.
31. Name one way that God has blessed our marriage.
32. Name one way that we could make our marriage more Christ-like.
33. Name one sin that you continue to struggle with.
34. What could I do to help you with this struggle?
35. Name one sin you see that I continue to struggle with.
36. What would you encourage me to do to deal with struggle?
37. Is there some way that you can help me with this struggle?
38. What would indicate to you that I really desire to be more Christ-like?
39. How has your love for God grown?
40. How is your devotional time going? (Specifically Scripture study & prayer)
41. Is there another spiritual discipline that you would like to develop? (fasting,
scripture memorization, etc.)
42. What can I do to help your love for God grow?
43. Name one thing about our church that brings you great joy.
44. Name one thing that would increase your joy in church?
45. In ten years where do you hope to be spiritually?
46. In ten years where do you think I should be spiritually?
47. Name one way that my leadership/submission has strengthened our marriage.
48. What could I do to lead/submit better in our marriage?
49. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate our marriage?
50. What would make our marriage a ten?
posted by Alex & Laura Beth @ 4:18 PM
6 comments
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Black Mustache Bicycle Club Rides Again
Last night we rode with the Black Mustache Bicycle Club (basically, its a bunch of our friends that get together and ride throughout the city of Louisville), and it was amazingly fun. We started at Cherokee Park, rode out of the park, got on a creekside trail that took us from Grinstead+Lexington to Butchertown, through the skatepark, by Waterfront Park, over the 2nd Street Bridge to Indiana, back over the 2nd Street Bridge to Louisville, down Payne Street, around downtown, got on Market, to Baxter, to Bardstown, and back into the park. The craziest part of the ride was actually due to poor planning on our part. By the time we were riding back through the park, it was pitch black dark. The trees were growing over the street, forming a canopy and you could hardly see the paint that marked the lanes. It was thrilling and exhilerating! We can't wait to ride again!
posted by Alex & Laura Beth @ 3:20 PM
4 comments
Friday, June 16, 2006
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Confessions of an SBC Pastor's Daughter: Childhood Memories of the SBC Annual Meeting
June 1988 – That was when I attended my very first annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. It was in San Antonio, and I was seven years old, well on my way to being eight. Tensions were still high in the convention that year. I remember very clearly Foy Valentine, who had just retired from his position as Director of the Christian Life Commission (now the Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission), came up to my family and angrily chastised my dad, sparing no swear words, for having my brother and I there as messengers. We were of course children, and Valentine assumed that we kids were voting in the conservative persuasion. The truth is, there was limited seating at the convention that year, and the only way my brother and I could sit with our parents was if we were registered as messengers.
My first annual meeting was certainly not my last. I have since attended many others in Houston, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Orlando, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, and other places. Some of those cities I visited multiple times for the SBC. As children, my brother and I would run around the convention center and play the Bible Nintendo games at the then Baptist Bookstore now LifeWay display. When we were voting on issues that looked like they would get a unanimous “yes,” we would raise our ballots to give two “no’s” – just to entertain ourselves and embarrass our parents.
My brother and I would laugh at things like “Committee on Committees.” What a silly name! I also learned what the word “lesbian” meant at the 1995 New Orleans convention. I was 14 years old, and had never heard of a lesbian until the SBC annual meeting. I kept hearing the word over and over and finally asked my parents what it meant. See, the SBC annual meeting is very educational. As I got older, I would check out the Baptist colleges. An ambassador from one of the schools (which shall remain nameless) tried to sell me on the fact that Point of Grace used to go there. I was not impressed.
Speaking of not impressed… Remember Geoff Moore and The Distance? Yeah, I met Geoff Moore one year at the convention. Remember DeGarmo & Key? I met Key. I also met some guy from the Newsboys – the bald one. I met all these B-rated CCM stars by just wandering around the convention hall.
One year, I met Jerry Clower. It was in Indianapolis – June 1994, I think. He was there to nominate Nelson Price as president. My dad used to always listen to Jerry Clower tapes in the car, so I knew all of his stories. Well, somehow, my dad convinced me to go up to him and ask him if Marcel Ledbetter was with him at the convention. For those of you who did not grow up with any class or social graces, Marcel Ledbetter is the star character in all of Jerry Clower’s comedy sketches. Jerry laughed and laughed. I was embarrassed. He then looked at me and asked, “Are you from Mississippi?” “No, sir,” I replied. “I’m from Georgia.” “Well, you sure are pretty enough to be from Mississippi.” And, do you know that that very fall, I moved to Oxford, Mississippi where my dad became the pastor of the First Baptist Church. I bet Jerry Clower had the gift of prophesy.
This year, I sat in Louisville during the annual meeting, but something inside of me wanted to be in Greensboro so badly. I don’t know if it was nostalgia or love for the SBC. I followed everything so closely leading up to the convention and during the convention. I saw real change starting to happen, and I wanted to be there for it.
It made me think of my dad Tom Atwood. I always knew that my dad was a leader in the Southern Baptist Convention. He was on the Committee on Nominations. He served on the Board of Trustees for Southern Seminary. He was the 1st Vice President for the Pastor’s Conference. But more importantly he worked hard to get lay people plugged into SBC positions, and he worked even harder to get people who had never served in the SBC into positions. He knew that “recycled leadership” was not going to get the convention anywhere, so he worked hard to get new and fresh people involved.
My dad associated with all types, although he himself was of the reformed persuasion. I remember my dad telling me about the time he walked out of the convention hall after a pastor had gotten up and told the messengers that “God had told him that the entire convention was to fast and pray on October 2.” I remember another time when someone was leading a prayer saying, “If we just pray enough, God will [do whatever we are asking him to do].” Dad rounded up the family and we left. I remember it as if it were yesterday. My mom looked at me and said, “We cannot pray God into anything,” Even with these minor incidents, my father never lost his love for Southern Baptists.
This year, my Dad was not able to attend the SBC. In fact, he hasn’t been able to go for several years now due to some pretty serious health problems. But he’s still working on getting new and fresh people plugged into areas of leadership. I’d just like to thank my dad for the love for the SBC that he has instilled in me. I’m thankful for the summers I spent in the convention halls across America. And I hope to attend an annual meeting again sometime soon. -LB
My first annual meeting was certainly not my last. I have since attended many others in Houston, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Orlando, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, and other places. Some of those cities I visited multiple times for the SBC. As children, my brother and I would run around the convention center and play the Bible Nintendo games at the then Baptist Bookstore now LifeWay display. When we were voting on issues that looked like they would get a unanimous “yes,” we would raise our ballots to give two “no’s” – just to entertain ourselves and embarrass our parents.
My brother and I would laugh at things like “Committee on Committees.” What a silly name! I also learned what the word “lesbian” meant at the 1995 New Orleans convention. I was 14 years old, and had never heard of a lesbian until the SBC annual meeting. I kept hearing the word over and over and finally asked my parents what it meant. See, the SBC annual meeting is very educational. As I got older, I would check out the Baptist colleges. An ambassador from one of the schools (which shall remain nameless) tried to sell me on the fact that Point of Grace used to go there. I was not impressed.
Speaking of not impressed… Remember Geoff Moore and The Distance? Yeah, I met Geoff Moore one year at the convention. Remember DeGarmo & Key? I met Key. I also met some guy from the Newsboys – the bald one. I met all these B-rated CCM stars by just wandering around the convention hall.
One year, I met Jerry Clower. It was in Indianapolis – June 1994, I think. He was there to nominate Nelson Price as president. My dad used to always listen to Jerry Clower tapes in the car, so I knew all of his stories. Well, somehow, my dad convinced me to go up to him and ask him if Marcel Ledbetter was with him at the convention. For those of you who did not grow up with any class or social graces, Marcel Ledbetter is the star character in all of Jerry Clower’s comedy sketches. Jerry laughed and laughed. I was embarrassed. He then looked at me and asked, “Are you from Mississippi?” “No, sir,” I replied. “I’m from Georgia.” “Well, you sure are pretty enough to be from Mississippi.” And, do you know that that very fall, I moved to Oxford, Mississippi where my dad became the pastor of the First Baptist Church. I bet Jerry Clower had the gift of prophesy.
This year, I sat in Louisville during the annual meeting, but something inside of me wanted to be in Greensboro so badly. I don’t know if it was nostalgia or love for the SBC. I followed everything so closely leading up to the convention and during the convention. I saw real change starting to happen, and I wanted to be there for it.
It made me think of my dad Tom Atwood. I always knew that my dad was a leader in the Southern Baptist Convention. He was on the Committee on Nominations. He served on the Board of Trustees for Southern Seminary. He was the 1st Vice President for the Pastor’s Conference. But more importantly he worked hard to get lay people plugged into SBC positions, and he worked even harder to get people who had never served in the SBC into positions. He knew that “recycled leadership” was not going to get the convention anywhere, so he worked hard to get new and fresh people involved.
My dad associated with all types, although he himself was of the reformed persuasion. I remember my dad telling me about the time he walked out of the convention hall after a pastor had gotten up and told the messengers that “God had told him that the entire convention was to fast and pray on October 2.” I remember another time when someone was leading a prayer saying, “If we just pray enough, God will [do whatever we are asking him to do].” Dad rounded up the family and we left. I remember it as if it were yesterday. My mom looked at me and said, “We cannot pray God into anything,” Even with these minor incidents, my father never lost his love for Southern Baptists.
This year, my Dad was not able to attend the SBC. In fact, he hasn’t been able to go for several years now due to some pretty serious health problems. But he’s still working on getting new and fresh people plugged into areas of leadership. I’d just like to thank my dad for the love for the SBC that he has instilled in me. I’m thankful for the summers I spent in the convention halls across America. And I hope to attend an annual meeting again sometime soon. -LB
posted by Alex & Laura Beth @ 3:42 PM
7 comments
Friday, June 09, 2006
Photographs on Friday
Alex took this picture of Lilly Lake in Estes Park. Beautiful.
posted by Alex & Laura Beth @ 10:16 AM
3 comments
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Important Event For Lovers Of The Arts
poster design by Michael and Mickie Winters
I am really excited about an event that's happening at Sojourn Community Church this weekend. Taylor Worley, a PhD student in aesthetics at Durham University is visiting us here in the states. He along with his buddy Jonathan Gillette, a Chicago artist and gallery director, will be here to share a presentation entitled "Art and Artifact: Why Does Art Look So Funny Now?" I am really excited about this "talk," and I hope a lot of folks will be there. While the discussion will most directly refer to visual artists, there are certainly strong implications and applications for musicians, filmmakers, any type of creative thinker, or even those who just love the arts in general. Its Sunday, 11:00 AM, at 930 Mary Street. Bagels and coffee will be available for all your breakfast needs. Hope to see you there!
posted by Alex & Laura Beth @ 9:53 AM
4 comments
