Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Hello. I'm Johnny Cash

So, I've known for a long time that little kids like to lock into certain things and want to talk about them all the time. Do you know what I mean? Kids I've known have gotten into Star Wars, Power Rangers, Thomas the Tank Engine, Etc...

Well my child, the cool kid that he is, has gotten hooked on Johnny Cash. Yes, You read correctly. Ethan loves Johnny Cash.

It all started about 6 months ago when I was watching the movie "Walk The Line." Ethan walked through the room and happened to look over and see Johnny Cash (played by Joaquin Phoenix) and the Tennessee Three playing "Ring of Fire". I think he liked watching him play the guitar so he asked me to play it again. After about the third time of him asking me to play that scene again, I just put it on loop. And he sat there are watched them play Ring of Fire for about 30 minutes straight. I didn't know I was creating a monster.

A week or so after that, I had forgotten about the "Ring of Fire" evening and Ethan asked me, while we were in the car, if he could listen to "Ring Of Fire". He actually knew the name of it. So of course I went out and bought a Johnny Cash's greatest hits CD. Since then Ethan has not only memorized every word to "Ring of Fire", he also loves the songs "Walk The Line", "Sunday Morning Coming Down", and even "I've been Everywhere".

We now own 3 different CD's and 3 DVD's. And Ethan knows the difference in each one. Every night before bed he tells me if he wants to watch the real Johnny Cash (a concert DVD) or the guy pretending to be Johnny Cash (The movie Walk The Line).

I began to think this past week that maybe I'd allowed the Johnny Cash fan-dom to get a little out of hand. We went to the beach this past week and on Friday night we went out to eat at Angelo's Steak House. There were 10 of us in our group, because Kristi's whole family had gone to the beach. At one point, there was a lull in the conversation. I guess we were too busy eating, and for some reason Ethan shouted .....

"MY NAME IS SUE. HOW DO YOU DO?!"

If you're familiar with Johnny Cash you probably know that the next line of that song is "NOW YOU'RE GONNA DIE!"

Luckily we were able to stop him before he shouted that out as well.

After we recovered from the laughter I decided that we might have to take a break from listening to Johnny Cash for a while. I'd hate for him to be in Sunday School and someone overhear him singing another Johnny Cash favorite line from "Folsom Prison Blues"........

"When I was just a baby, my Momma told me "Son, always be a good boy. Don't ever play with guns." But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die."

Tuesday, September 5, 2006

Vacation

Why does going on vacation have to be so much work??

I'm going on vacation tomorrow and I've done more work today as a result of it than I have in the past week combined. I had to get everything done in one day that normally do in a week at work, I've had to make sure everything is organized at church, I'm currently in the process of getting my car ready (Did you know Anthony's car wash has wireless internet?), and I've still got to go home and start packing. We're going to the beach for a few days, and getting everything in order so that we can go has almost been enough to make me just want to stay home. Almost.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Eating with Hitler

So I started reading "Blue like Jazz" by Donald Miller again last night.

I was reading this about 6 months ago and I lost it amongst the piles of junk in my office.......I like the word amongst. It makes my mouth feel like it's accomplished something. That "g" followed by an "st" is not something you can do without putting some real work into it. ....Anyway, When I found it last night, I decided if I was really going to read it, I should probably start again from the beginning. I'm glad I did.

In case you haven't read it, it's a guy discussing Christianity from a non religious perspective. Basically he takes a look at being a Christian from the perspective of someone who hasn't grown up in church. Example....Have you ever considered that Noah's Ark is an awful story. Yes, it's the story of God saving his chosen man, and a bunch of animals. But really it's about God going.."That's it! I'm done with the rest of you. Let's see how long you can swim." I'd never really thought about it that way before. It's kinda funny that we consider it a good story for children and we even go as far as making it the theme for many nurserys. Come to think of it though, I don't think I've ever seen a wall border in a nursery displaying all the floating lifeless bodies. That part is often left out.

Anyway, while reading it again, I read story that Don tells from his childhood, when he first experienced real guilt due to the fact that as a child one Christmas he'd spent all his money on himself and didn't get his mother a good present. Instead he used what was left over to buy her some crappy book she'd never really want. He ends his tale of guilt by saying the following... " And while they ate and talked and chatted away another Christmas, I felt ashamed and wondered silently whether they knew they were eating with Hitler."

Some how that phrase seems to fit so well how I feel sometimes. After some internal debate, I'm going to make a confession to all of you. I feel guilty about the worship service that I led last night. (For anyone who doesn't know, I work part time at my church leading the music.) I purposefully picked songs that meant something to me, and avoided the normal hymns that we typically do on a Sunday evening. When I planned the service, I was tired of doing songs I didn't get anything out of just to keep everyone happy, so I thought it would be a good time to put together a service that I would enjoy.

As the service began, God spoke to me clearly, not in an audible voice, but through the expression on the faces of those who came to worship. He said to me "you've been selfish." I knew right away that those worship songs chosen were not going to assist anyone in having an experience with God. Instead, the majority of the congregation either stood their silently, or tried to sing a song that clearly meant nothing to them. It was like looking at a bunch of people who were at a funeral for someone they didn't know. They looked sad, but somehow not effected in any real way.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying anything about style of songs (I'm sure they'll be future blogs about Contmeporary vs. Traditional worship) , I'm simply saying that the song choices were made based on what I wanted to do and nothing else. As a worship leader, I feel it is supposed to be my job to facilitate a worshipful experience, regardless of the style of music. I know you can't please everyone, but it's definately not right to try to please only myself.

Thankfully, God is forgiving and full of grace. He and I got everything straightened out last night. But, guilt is an awfully stong emotion. I think it's fair to say that "Last night I felt ashamed and wondered silently whether they knew they were being led in Worship by Hitler."

Saturday, July 22, 2006

It's A Boy

Gavin Howard Stinson was born July 10th, 2006 at 7:35am

6lbs, 15oz

20 1/4' long.

Mother and child are happy and healthy. He looks a little like his big brother, Ethan

Wednesday, May 3, 2006

Look! Up in the sky, it's a bird! It's a plane! No, It's......

I can't wait to see this movie.

If anyone wants to go, I'm planning on being there opening night.

http://raincloud.warnerbros.com/wbmovies/supermanreturns/teaser/teaser_300.asx
haven't blogged in a while.

Just some random thoughts.....

1.) I love TIVO. I've gotten addicted to it. I haven't missed an episode of anything I enjoy in over 3 months. Problem is, I think it's effecting my health. I've been staying up late catching up on all my shows I've TIVO'd. I'm only getting 5 hours of sleep a night on average right now. But at least I'm not missing "24" or "Smallville", (or any of the 15 other shows I TIVO).

I can't wait to get home tonight and watch the episode of "House" on the TIVO. That is a great show.

...Is TIVO a verb? I think it is now.

2.) We got a new puppy last week. It's 3/4 Great Pirenese and 1/4 German Retriever. I'll try to post a pic soon. I'm so glad to have a dog again. I haven't had a dog of my own since I got married. I'd like for it to be an inside dog, but since it's gonna be a giant, that might not be a good idea.

3.) I still haven't finished moving in. Don't get me wrong, we live in our new house, but I've still got 8 boxes that are yet to be unpacked. I've got to buy some more furniture to put all that stuff on or in before I can unpack them. And I've got to get my tax refund back before I can buy my furniture, so I guess I'll just have to wait.

4.) Ethan is so funny. He turned 2 in March and has started saying things to make me and Kristi laugh. I love it. Yesteday I took Kristi shopping and Ethan and I stayed in the car while she went in. We went to Wal-mart then to JC Penney. At JC Penney, Ethan asked me what 's the name of that place. I told him it's "JC Penney". And he said "JC Penney".

A few minutes later Kristi got back in the car with us and wanted to get him to say if for her so I asked him "Ethan what's the name of this place". He looked at me and with a grin on his face said "J C (slight pause) Wal-mart".

He cracked himself up. Apparently that was the funniest things he'd ever heard or said. It made us laugh pretty hard too.

I guess that's enough for now. I've got to get busy working on some stuff for church.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

One of those days

I wonder who made up the phrase one of "those" days.

I had one of "those" days today. It started downhill when I made a sales call on a business and the receptionist was probably more rude to me than any other gatekeeper I've ever encountered.

Here's a brief script of what happened:

--------------------------------------------

Shawn (S): Good morning, My name is Shawn. I'm with Penske Truck Leasing. I was in the area seeing some of my customers and thought I'd take a minute to come in, introduce myself and learn a little bit about you guys. What kind of business is this? (It was not clear what they made or manufactured by the appearance outside. I just saw a lot of strange looking machinery.)

Receptionist (R): Your're with who?

S: Penske Truck Leasing, we rent and lease trucks.

R: We don't want to buy any trucks. Have a good day. (Looking back down at her paperwork)

S: We don't sell trucks Mam. We rent them on a short term basis and lease them if you're looking for something more long term. Do you guys ever use trucks?

R: No. Do we looking like a trucking company?

S: No mam. I just meant do you use your own trucks to distribute your machinery.

R: No. We just use an outside trucking company. (Heavy Sigh) Is that all you wanted?

S: Well, yes mam. (trying to smooth an uncomfortable situation) We also rent trucks to household customers. So if you ever need a truck for personal use feel free to give me a call and I'll be glad to give you a good rate. (Handing her my card.)

R: Whatever! (throwing my card in the trash and quickly looking back at her paperwork.

S: Have a great day. (quickly exiting the building)

Believe it or not, that was not the worst call I've ever made. But it definately was the low point of my day.

I'm sure it will get better. I'm leading our first choir rehearsal in the sanctuary tonight preparing for the Easter musical. I hope no one tonight responds to any of my stage direction with "Whatever!" I might have to get Old Testament on them. Or even throw a clipboard. (props to Paul Strozier.)

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Superhero

Your results:
You are Spider-Man
























Spider-Man
75%
Catwoman
75%
Superman
70%
Supergirl
60%
Robin
50%
Green Lantern
40%
Hulk
35%
The Flash
35%
Wonder Woman
25%
Batman
20%
Iron Man
20%
You are intelligent, witty,
a bit geeky and have great
power and responsibility.


Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...

Monday, March 20, 2006

Monday, Monday

My mornings have become the best part of my days recently. That's the time I get to see my family.

Ethan was in such a good mood this morning. Kristi is on Spring break this week so they got to sleep in somewhat. But when I had to explain to him that I had to go to work, he looked so sad. He asked me if I was going to "talk to God" and "sing songs" those are the things he says I do at church. I had to explain to him that I had to go to work not church. He then smiled real big and said "Daddy works with Biiiggg trucks!" I just laughed and said, yes Daddy is going to work with the big trucks. I think my son thinks I'm a truck Driver. But he thinks thats really cool so I'm okay with it too.

When I got to work, my day got a little less than happy. 3 people have quit recently and that has increased the work load on the rest of us. Beginning immediately I have to start working the rental counter again on a regular basis and closing every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. That means I won't be getting home until 7pm each of those nights. I'm really beginning to dislike some of the things about my job right now. While I'm not looking for another job, I can tell you that I'd be open to exploring my options.

I'm at the church right now. We've got a work night scheduled to continue to work on the stage for the Easter drama. It rained alot today. I hope people show up. We've still got alot to do and we're running out of time to do it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not getting stressed in any way. I'm just hoping that we get enough done today that I can still have some nights off in the next three weeks. I really enjoy spending time with my family and I'm beginning to feel the effects of begin gone so much.

I'm lucky to have a wife who understands what God has called me to do and can put up with the difficult schedules periodically.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Done!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our house is finished. We moved in this past weekend.
Also due to some pressure from a few friends, I've now got a myspace.
It's myspace.com/cshawnstinson.
Be sure to put in the "c". My first name is charles and I've already learned that shawnstinson is someone else on my space. I'm still learning how to use it right now, but feel free to drop by anyway.

I wish I had something to do...

So here I am. (My Space).

I've been blogging on Livejournal for a while now and everyone seems to have abandoned it for myspace so I thought I'd try it out.

I've been looking at other people's myspace and theirs are all creative and cool looking. It's gonna take me a while to make mine interesting.

For now, all I have to offer is some basic info about me, my family, and what is going on in my life....

I realize even now that I should stop typing this and do something else. But, I need a break for everything else so here I am.

I titled this "I wish I had something to do" as a sarcastic title.

I should be working on one of these many tasks that I'm involved in right now....

Home.... Finaliza everything with our new house. We moved into the house we built this past weekend and still haven't finished moving everything. plus I've got to get all my financial stuff in order so that I can close on the house early next week. I really hope I have enough money to pay for the closing costs on the house I just built.

Penske.... I'm supposed to ma making and logging 50 in person sales calls and 50 telemarketing calls each week. I've been making the calls, but haven;t found the time to properly log them. I'm supposed to have the past two weeks logs with me at a meeting on Thursday. I hope I can make it happen.

Church..... We're in the process of putting together an Easter drama. There's too much that needs to be done with that to list here. Also, I really need to plan special music for the next two months. That is always so difficult to do. I really wish there were another way to do it than me having to ask people, but having a sign-up sheet has it's own problems.

Storehouse... 1.) I need to find a way to make this ministry more successfule in doing ministry. 2. )I need to find a way to raise $15,000. to help fund this ministry for 2006.

And, one last thing. Today is my 8th wedding anniversary. And due to all of the above, I'll see my wife approximately 20 minutes all day. I'm glad she's so supportive of me.

Did I mention that she's pregnant?....... I may be in trouble. =)

Wednesday, March 1, 2006

House Update

we're getting sooo close.

Here's what's left:
Pour concrete for driveway and porches
finish plumbing in kitchen (sink, dishwasher, and refrigerator)
put up railing around porches
plut up shutters and other smal vinyl work around front porch.
Finish smoothing dirt around house.
Plant grass and shrubs.

Our builder says he plans to finish all that this week and come in next week to do small paint touch up and finish.
It looks like we'll have a completed house by next week!!!

Thursday, February 23, 2006

It's Raining. It's Pouring. The Old Man is snoring.

I hate rain.
The rain is the only thing slowing down the process of finishing my house right now.

They installed carpets yesterday.
All that's left is plumbing, pouring the concrete for the porches and driveway and some pretty severe landscaping stuff including burying our septic tank. Apparently the ground needs to be dry to get any of this accomplished.

Rain, rain, go away! Come again another day!

Thursday, February 9, 2006

House Update

just an update...
They are bricking again today. It finally stopped raining. They should finish the front today. That will only leave the top half of the back and the miscellaneous steps that need to be done.

They started laying the ceramic tile yesterday.

I went by today and got the process staretd to have a septic tank put in. In two weeks we should have our permit to get it installed.

Thay also started on the back porch deck. It is almost completed.

And power is now on. We can now turn on the lights.

So based on what I can see that only leaves....
Some brick, some ceramic tile, carpeting, garage doors, pouring the cement for the driveway front porch and back deck, bathroom countertops and sinks, septic tank, water line to the house, and heating and a/c installed.

Sounds like alot, but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm so pumped!

Tuesday, February 7, 2006

Cracking The Code

I read the Da Vinci code last week. Although I have a real problem with the things it presents as facts regarding the life of Christ, I really enojyed the book. A great mystery.
I don't want to give anything away in case you haven't read it, so I won't. I'll just say that reading it helped me to realize that I know so little about the God/man that I worship. Not only have I never read the entire bible, but I also couldn't argue with most of the things in the DaVinci code simply because I am not knowledgeable enough to do so. How embarrassing!
I was going to get involved in reading the Narnia chronicles next, but I think that will have to wait until I've at least studied through Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John again.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Procrastination

Procrastination is such a horrible thing.
I try everyday to get stuff accomplished. But somehow my list of things to do becomes longer instead of shorter each day. While sometimes it's because I've just got too much to do and too little time to do it, is also happens because it's so easy to put difficult (or unpleasant) tasks off until the following day.

I considered listing here all of the things that I need to do so that you livejournal folks can keep me accountable, but I think I'll just wait and do that later. =)