I looked at some Banksy art today with a friend I work with and saw an image that really caught my attention.
I think the thing that got me was how much truth came pouring through this image. So many times we want credit/fame/acknowledgment for the things we do to help somebody else. Very interesting. The more I look at it the more it makes me think that I never want to live my life this way. Cheers.
Chris
For readers of holohan.blogspot.com that are a million years old and don't own a computer (and since I cleverly hide my blog on the internet and that lives inside a computer, I think my Nanny would be the only one that would fit this category) There is an online community called Facebook.
Yesterday I got hooked up with a ton of old friends on this community. While we were in SA I set up an account, but I got frustrated with the slow internet so I never really did anything on it. However, now I am officially on.
It was cool because I heard from a ton of people I haven't spoken with in years. Thanks Facebook.
Chris
I really don't know how to start this post. I am having a hard time expressing this emotion that I am feeling right now. I'll try.
I have, for a long time, wondered what people who don't believe in God think of people that do believe in God. I have always wanted to do some interviews of people to see how "Christians" are perceived. I assumed that it would not be too great, but not necessarily bad. Kind of like more of a general indifference more than a truly negative view. However, I think I was wrong.
I have started thinking about all of this again because of a book that some of the people here at the camp have been reading called unChristian and its all about what people think about the church. I have not started reading yet, but from what I have heard others say, its not too nice.
I will keep you updated as I get into the book.
I think the thing that gets me so emotional about this is that as a person who wants to follow Jesus I am wanting to be a person of love, but the sad thing is what most people see about Christians is anything but love. I was just reading a Fox News story about a church that is protesting Heath Ledgers funeral because of a movie he acted in. On further research I found that this church has a website titled www.godhatesfags.com.
I look at this and get so upset/frustrated/angry/confused/sad/uneasy because this is what millions of people will see about people who claim to follow Jesus rather than the people that are loving their neighbor and trying to live and love like Jesus. I mean, I am the first to admit that none of us are perfect, but I mean godhatesfags.com seems so far removed from love and Jesus and anything that Jesus stood for that to me it makes me feel almost embarrassed to be a christian because then I am lumped into the same group as the creators of this website.
I'm serious, I really am having a hard time trying to figure out how wrap my head around all of this.
I am also curious now of what people outside of the church think of me, how they perceive me and my life. I pray they see a picture of love more than a picture of hate. Cheers.
Chris
Hey Guys, we got a little snow today, it was pretty cool. Nothing like Minnesota snow or Alaska snow, but more than South Africa snow. Fun.
Chris
Ray and I went to the mall and got celly(s) today, thats "cell phones" for you in the midwest. Ray got a smooth little sexy phone and I got a wide bulky business phone. Its nice being able to speak one the phone again, I guess, http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifI called 2 friends and didn't reach either, oh well.
On a much more cooler note that purchasing our celly(s), we got invited to semi-pro hockey game (or match [or whatever]). We saw the Arizona Sundogs take on the New Mexico Scorpions. We had awesome seats right on the glass, its was great. I haven't watched hockey in about a decade, but man I can get stoked about any kind of competition. There were a couple of fights, which is always nice, and we (the Arizona Sundogs) won 9-4.
We are hoping to paint the inside our our house tomorrow, that will be nice and make the place feel more homey. Cheers.
Chris
Winter Camp
We are in the midst of our winter camp for this year and things are going really well. We have normal camp things going down, like main sessions and eating food and group time and a girl burning her pillow on the wood-burning stove in the cabins etc, but today we also did a community clean up project. We are wanting to teach the teenagers about being good neighbors and loving those around them so today we took over 200 students into the neighborhood by our facility to work in peoples yard. The students raked yards and hauled trash and cleaned gutters etc. I think it was cool and the reaction from the neighborhood seems good as well. I think some of the teenagers learned a lot about serving during this experience.
Gym
This morning I hit the gym and when I was heading back into the locker room I noticed the basketball courts. So I popped in just to shoot a few baskets because I am in desperate need of American sports after the long time with nothing but rugby and cricket (both of which I like now and think are great sports, Flaps don't write a nasty comment) and a crazy thing happened. I was AWESOME!!!! I mean, I suck at basketball, I have never been considered a "baller" and/or a "shot caller", but today I freaking rocked. I was hitting free throws like I had been practicing everyday for a decade and knocking down jumpers from all over the court. It may have been the best I have ever been on the court.
So I was thinking creatively about how to blog about my near perfect experience on the basketball court and I had the idea to morph a picture of my face on a pic of Jordan's body, because that would be cool, but things didn't work like I had hoped. So here are the 2 pics I tried to morph.
I went to the gym tonight for first time in about a month of doing nothing (nothing includes eating wonderful sweet and greasy food) and I can feel I am going to be sore tomorrow, then really sore the following day, because, for some silly reason, thats the way it works.
On the way home I was listening to an interview from 1981 with Bob Dylan (because I am a geek and I love public radio) and he said something that got me thinking. Here's a little piece from the interview:
Dylan: Not to say though, that art is valueless. I think art can lead you to God.
Herman: It's that it's purpose?
Dylan: I think so. I think that's everything's purpose. I mean if it's not doing that it's leading you the other way. It's certainly not leading you nowhere. It's bringing you somewhere. It's bringing you that way or this way.
I think Dylan has a good perspective on life that I miss many times. The idea that everything that we do leads us either closer to God or further from God. To love or away from love. I love the line "It's certainly not leading you nowhere.".
This is something I need to be reminded of because its easy for me to wrapped up in my little life that I miss the bigger picture of life. But, while I don't always feel the decisions I make are moving me one way or the other I suppose it does. I can always choose to be more loving or kind or helpful or giving or forgiving or thankful etc... or I can choose to be more stingy with my money or rude or short tempered or hateful or selfish etc... And if I look at these choices that we can make, I see its easy to pick out which of these can move me closer to be Godly and which push me further away. The thing that gets me is that I so many times have associated with the second list out of some belief that this makes me a stronger man or a stronger leader. While the whole time its probably just some insecurity inside of me thats showing its head while I should just be loving people like Jesus did. That would move me to where I want to be in life and to the person that I want to be.
Anyways this is just something I found interesting and wanted to pass it on. You can find a transcript of that Dylan interview here, its pretty interesting. Dylan goes on to speak about God and beauty and thats pretty cool too. Cheers.
Chris
I am officially an American again and it feels might good. Me and my buddy Kris Mengarelli (who happens to be one of the toughest people on earth [and taught me to make fried ravioli]) ran a few errands tonight and now I am a card carrying member to my local video rental establishment and I am also a member at my local YMCA I have to get back in shape. I have one concern though. The pool at the YMCA has a waterside and high dive. Its going to take a lot of self control to swim laps and not ride the slide for an hour in my spandex shorts and dark tinted goggles. Weeeeeeee.......Weeeeeeeee!!!!!!
Then, to top of my America transformation, after supper Ray (who happens to be one of the top 74 toughest women I know) made a batch of awesome chocolate chip cookies (How American is that to go sign up at a health club, then drive home and eat cookies).
So I am an American again, but it all stops tomorrow, because I will be back in the gym. I can't wait. I mean I have become very emotionally attached to this new fat I have picked up since being back in the States, but some relationships are not healthy and its time to call it quits. Good bye new fat, please leave because I miss hanging out with the old fat that you are covering. Cheers.
Chris
I have always wanted a fireplace in my home and now we have one and yes, its as awesome as I thought it would be.
Got up early this morning while it was still dark, made a fire, drank some coffee. Amazing.
I love fire.
Chris
Ray and I drove to Phoenix today for a little Ikea shopping trip. For you who don't know, Rachel (my wife) and I just moved from South Africa to Prescott, AZ to work with a camp called UCYC. We arrived on Monday evening with our 2 great danes and a 5x8 U-haul trailer containing pretty much everything we own. So we have been saving and budgeting to get furniture when we got to Arizona. So today we went and stocked up. We were given a couch and a recliner for the living room (both are awesome) so we could get a few extra things that we were wanting, but didn't know if we could afford.
We got a new coffee table, bedside tables, rug, sofa table, dressers, silverware, down comforter, coat and shoe rack. It was awesome. We have not had nice furniture our entire married life and it was great getting to go pick out some stuff that we wanted and be able to decorate our home the way we want to. Fun.
We got one more thing that I am super stoked about. I got a new chair for the bedroom. WOOHOO!!!!! For you who don't know, I (we) had a chair in South Africa in our bedroom that was my favorite place on earth. It was a big leather chair and I would blog and read and pretty much live in that chair when we weren't on tour. So now I have a new chair. I got a Poang chair from Ikea. Its not a cushy chair, but its mad comfy and has better back support than the African chair. I plan on chilling out here before bed every night....of my life.
Here's my new best friend.Idiot
Ok. I have to apologize to everyone for being so upset last night about the KOA in Canute, OK. Here's what happened.
Guinness and I were walking around looking for a bathroom and the only one we found was locked and thats what sparked my to be so upset that I spend money on a room at a place with no facilities. I knew there was another building with laundry facilities, but I knew it was locked for the evening. However, the other bathroom was in that building, but there was access from outside.
So basically what all this boils down to is 1. there was a bathroom, 2. I am an idiot.
I must also apologize to Ray for not finding the bathroom and because of my fault she was forced to pee behind a tree in 20 degree weather, sorry baby.
Road
Todays driving didn't feel that bad until the last 30 minutes or so. You get off of Interstate 17 onto a smaller highway (169) and from that point it feels like the road will never end. I swear the last half an hour felt as long as the first 20 hours.
Snow
The girls saw/walked in snow for the first time today. Guinness is so timid that she didn't know what to do, but Damar is tough as nails and trudged on through. I was a proud parent watching my girls experience something new.
Side note: Flagstaff, AZ is gorgeous. There was snow everywhere and the mountains were all covered in snow, it was great.
Home
We are home. Right now I am laying in my old bed we had before South Africa and loving it. The house is small and "cute" (thats a Rachel word, I would never ever use a world like that to describe a home). I have already made a run to our local Wal-Mart, I am an American again. Cheers.
Chris
Idiot
Ok. I have to apologize to everyone for being so upset last night about the KOA in Canute, OK. Here's what happened.
Guinness and I were walking around looking for a bathroom and the only one we found was locked and thats what sparked my to be so upset that I spend money on a room at a place with no facilities. I knew there was another building with laundry facilities, but I knew it was locked for the evening. However, the other bathroom was in that building, but there was access from outside.
So basically what all this boils down to is 1. there was a bathroom, 2. I am an idiot.
I must also apologize to Ray for not finding the bathroom and because of my fault she was forced to pee behind a tree in 20 degree weather, sorry baby.
Road
Todays driving didn't feel that bad until the last 30 minutes or so. You get off of Interstate 17 onto a smaller highway (169) and from that point it feels like the road will never end. I swear the last half an hour felt as long as the first 20 hours.
Snow
The girls saw/walked in snow for the first time today. Guinness is so timid that she didn't know what to do, but Damar is tough as nails and trudged on through. I was a proud parent watching my girls experience something new.
Side note: Flagstaff, AZ is gorgeous. There was snow everywhere and the mountains were all covered in snow, it was great.
Home
We are home. Right now I am laying in my old bed we had before South Africa and loving it. The house is small and "cute" (thats a Rachel word, I would never ever use a world like that to describe a home). I have already made a run to our local Wal-Mart, I am an American again. Cheers.
Chris
We had a long day of driving today. We left the ATL at 5:20 this morning and got to Canute, OK to stay at a KOA camp ground in a "Kabin" which is little more than a wooden shed with a double bed and a bunk bed. It was the cheapest option for us because of the dogs. However, the guy "forgot" to tell me that the bathroom is closed. Thats not nice. I hope to get a refund on staying here, I wasn't very excited about paying money for a place with no bathroom besides the fact that I am going to my new home/job tomorrow and I will not have a chance to take a shower before arriving. I am getting more upset the more I type so I will change the subject.
BP coffee sucks.
The dogs were great in the Jeep today. I was a bit nervous that they would get kind of crazy in the back, but they pretty much just slept. Guinness rode most of the day with her head up between Ray and me. She actually was awake for most of the ride, she loves riding in a vehicle and watching where we are going. Damar slept the whole time, but thats what she always does anyways.
I am off to bed. We drove a little over 15 hours today and tomorrow will hopefully be around 12. We are planning on getting up really early so we can try to make it to Prescott while it is still light out. However, without a shower maybe we should arrive after dark so my new coworkers/neighbors wont see how greasy I am. Cheers.
Chris
We leave at 5:30am tomorrow. We are booked at a room in OK about 15 hours from here and then expect a little over 12 hours on Monday to make it "home". Going to bed now.
Chris
We had such slow internet in SA that I never got to check out funny videos that float around the internet.
This is so freaking funny, watch the whole thing, then watch it 73 times in a row and it just gets better.
We are in Tallahassee now. We got the dogs from DC the other day and they were alive and well. We then drove to Savannah and spent a day with Rachel's dad and then made our way to Tallahassee. We will be here until Tuesday morning and then back to the A-T-L to make final arrangements before heading west. Is been a crazy first week in the US and I am looking forward to a little break in all the driving this week before the start out to AZ. I got to sleep until 7 today so that was nice, to time for jet lag. Cheers.
Chris
Hey Guys,
Ray and I are heading up to DC this morning to get the dogs. We stayed in Raleigh with my aunt Colette and will travel all day and end up at her dads tonight in Savannah. We don't have a cell phone so you can't reach us, I will try to get a blog up tomorrow so you know we made it.
The Jeep is driving wonderfully on the interstates, I wasn't sure how well it would handle the road tripping. I love my Jeep. Cheers.
Chris
I have wanted a Jeep for over a decade and now we have one.
Ray and I picked up our Jeep yesterday from Jasper Jeep. I have been working with them a while over the internet and they had the Jeep with the stuff we needed at a price we could afford. If you need a Jeep and you are in Georgia they are a wonderful dealership to work with.
We drove up yesterday morning, it was 21 degrees (-6 Celsius) and there was snow on the ground. Everything was already filled out when we got there and I just had to set up my insurance, sign some papers and off we went.
Here are some pics. 
Here I am signing the paper work. I look calm on the outside, but I am freaking out on the inside, I was finally getting a new Jeep. 
Here she is. 
Don't I look sexy?
This is a picture of a happy boy. Last time I was this happy was when I got Tetris for my Nintendo.
Hey everybody. We are here. I will write a more detailed report later, it was a really smooth trip. Cheers.
Chris
