Random Ramblings

Ever wonder what the difference is between my Random Ramblings and my Saturday Shout Outs? It's Friday. Does that help? Yes, I'm in that kind of mood today...so beware! Let's get started...

• Happy July the 3rd! Sometimes I hear people wonder if other nations have July the 4th. Yes they do. Every single one of them!
• We need BIG HONKIN' PRAYERS for Lisa Ramos Moran, my dear sweet sister from our youth group days at New Garden Friends Meeting. We love you Lisa. And #CancerSucks.
• It's been a big week here on the blog. Last Saturday I wrote how love is the only response the church needs to have to the Supreme Court decision; Tuesday I wrote about finding rest with Jesus on the #NarrowRoad; Wednesday's rant about Christian Pharisees blew up and became one of my most read posts ever; and yesterday I discovered that even if people aren't interested in my month-long countdown of my 55 favorite songs by The Beach Boys they still can still get angry about my decision to leave Kokomo off the list! Lots of comments, which proves that the comment feature of my blog does indeed work. I'm just sayin'... I can't wait until people see that half the songs that did make my list they have never heard of before... hehe
• At last count there are 15 men who have announced their intentions to run for the Republican nomination for President.. Of those, only Ben Carson, Jeb Bush and Chris Christie don't make me laugh out loud- they just make me chuckle. Donald Trump makes me ROTFL (roll on the floor laughing), but at least he comes with a built in Veep- that thing on his head. And Marco Rubio doesn't make me laugh, but I do giggle. He's just so darned cute!
• I don't know how many of you watch the CBS summer series Under the Dome, but if you do then I think you will agree with me on one thing. A sitcom starring Drunk Big Jim would be absolutely hilarious. I winning spin-off for sure!
• Apparently the world's sharks have gathered off the coast of NC in honor of the 40th anniversary of Jaws. It would have been nice if they would have let the rest of us know. The beaches in Florida will work just fine for me, thank you very much!
• We are off later this morning to buy a new laptop for Will to take with him when he moves away to college in less than 2 months. This whole moving away thing is starting to get real.
• Did you know...that before the song Kokomo was used in the soundtrack of the movie Cocktail and became a smash hit that The Beach Boys referred to it as The Beer Song? They called it that because every time they played it in concert the crowd would leave their seats and go buy beer. Thank you, Pop Up Video!
• A couple of people have asked me why in my posts I usually use the term USAmericans rather than the traditional Americans. It's simple really. Canadians are Americans. Mexicans are Americans. Brazilians are Americans. It just seems presumptuous to me that we would think that Americans only designates those of us in the United States. I do understand part of the issue. Calling us "United Statesians" is awkward, and "those obnoxious people the rest of the world doesn't like" won't fit on the front of a soccer jersey. So using USAmericans is my own little protest. And now you are sorry they asked, aren't you? :)
• Yesterday on Facebook my former youth (Springfield Friends Meeting) Marie Allen Duke and Cheryl Deal Meadows were trading quips from the classic 1986 movie Short Circuit. What a great film! I really need to see it again now. Thanks a lot, ladies! "I am standing here beside myself!"
• My extended family (Marilyn, Will, Michelle, Michelle's family and Lisa Jewett) will all be headed to Walt Disney World tomorrow for the 4th. I promised not to whine anymore about not being able to join them, so I won't. Dang it.  
• I am now less than a month away from being at Myrtle Beach with my wife's family for a few days, which means I am less than a month away from Calabash. Oh yeaaaahhh...
• And finally one last thought as we approach another patriotic holiday. I know many of my Twitter followers and many of Marilyn's Facebook friends are not fans of President Obama. In fact, though you might deny it, some of you hate him. That is certainly your right (as USAmericans). He is by no means the perfect President. But if you think that him leaving the Oval Office will fix the things that are wrong with this country then you simply aren't paying attention. You see it's not him; it's US. If we don't figure out how to move forward together and let go of our ridiculous partisanship, our propensity for violence and our petty prejudices then it won't matter who the next POTUS is. Thus endeth the rant.

So enjoy the 3rd, have a great 4th, and celebrate all the unique things that make this a great nation. Like s'mores, The Beach Boys, baseball and frozen margaritas. They are American, right?  

"Enjoy every sandwich."

Saturday Shout Outs! (A-Z Edition)

Today's Shout Outs! will have a bit of a different look from the usual shouting. Today I will attempt to shout out alphabetically, giving each of the 26 letters a thought that has been on my mind, It is important to know as we begin that this is likely to be a disaster, but such is often the case with change and experimentation. So without further hoopla allow me to preset the first (and quite likely LAST) A-Z Saturday Shout Outs! Here we go:

A- This morning Marilyn, Lisa Jewett, Will (who has already seen it once) and myself are off to see Avengers: Age of Ultron. I am giddy with anticipation!
B- After much dreaming, a group of my oldest and bestest buddies will be headed to the BEACH together in September. After less than a week of publicity there are already 16 definites and a maybe. This is simply going to ROCK!!!
C- Thinking about the beach leads directly to thinking about Calabash for me and my stomach. And you know what I want...
D- Deluxe Seafood Platter with LOTS of hushpuppies, please!
E- At the suggestion of several volunteer readers I am back at work on my book manuscript, Even Better Than Before. Some readers wanted more background on the relationships between the characters, so that is my new adventure. If you were a volunteer and haven't given me any feedback, I would still love to hear from you. And not to pile on the guilt, but Marilyn has indeed finished it now. So no more excuses!
F- You should all be in Florida this weekend. The weather is simply spectacular!
G- Garsh- I sure do miss Goofy...
H- I have recently fallen in love with Hockey. Baseball is still my game, but the NHL is so much better than the NBA. Here's how I see it: Hockey is a fast-moving, fluid sport interrupted by an occasional mauling, while the NBA is a constant mauling interrupted by the occasional fast break. Plus hockey has zambonis. We have a winner! And Go Bolts!
I- So far this is working out okay. INCONCEIVABLE! 
J- Jameis Winston in a Buccaneer. Our history with the number one pick in the draft is rather weak. Here's hoping Jameis breaks the cycle!
K- Following the adventures of Kelly Jeck Trace on Facebook and Twitter just wears me out. So proud of her and her company, Reach. Go get'em, Kelly!
L- Lisa Kraus Spires and her daughter Abby have had a rough week as Abby has been unable to get rid of a fever. Prayers. please!
M- Even though it is barely May, it is already starting to feel like summer. For those of you who passed through my youth groups over the years, what is your favorite memory from our summer adventures?
N- We have in-home Wifi, a connected blu ray player and access to Michelle's (Will's girlfriend) password and account, but every time we try to use Netflix on our TV there is some sort of snafu. I feel like we may be the only people not watching...
O- Only 11 more letters go go! I think I can, I think I can...
P- Pancakes. I really wish I was having pancakes smothered in bananas and strawberries for breakfast right now. Anyone deliver?
Q- I have Quaker friends all over the country, and some most days I really miss them. A lot.
R- My youth director at the end of my high school years was Rob Mitchell. This week he did one of the sweetest, most generous things it has ever been my pleasure to witness. All these years later and he's still teaching us the right way to do things.
S- Steve Semmler is the guy responsible for making the upcoming beach trip (see B) a reality. He is my hero. It's a reunion just like in my book (see E). Now if he can just make the real trip THAT interesting he will hit legendary status!
T- Most every weekday morning I sit down with a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee to enjoy the wit and wisdom of That 70s Show on ABC Family. I've seen every episode numerous times, but it still makes me laugh out loud. That was my era. Those are my people. And Kelso is one of the all-time great stupid people.
U- Random things I think about... is there any chance Underdog could become an Avenger?
V- This one is close to cheating, but it needs to be said. I am going to miss David Letterman very, VERY much.
W- Hey Todd Willis- light a fire under Hanbery and let's have a get together soon! Miss you guys!
X- Ok- so I have nothing here. I could offer to Xerox my book for you, or claim that I am taking Xylophone lessons, or wonder about the future of the X-Men movie franchise. But all of that would just be filling space...
Y- As part of my diabetic diet I eat a lot of sugar-free Yogurt. I am really starting to hate sugar-free yogurt. Do NOT offer me sugar-free yogurt if I come visit. Thank you!
Z- Zoinks!!! We made it, Scooby! That's the end of the alphabet. Now let's go finds some pancakes!

And thus ends my attempt to shout my way through the alphabet. I hope it made you smile on this Saturday morning. Now it's time to go watch Hulk smash!!!

Love you guys,

Random Ramblings: Football 2014

Baseball is my sport, and the very best time of the year- October! - is upon us! Playoff baseball will soon take over my TV viewing time. I do admit that I have been watching a lot of football over these first few weeks of the season, of both the college and professional varieties. Football has been a part of my life since I was about 6 years old- first as a fan, then playing in the yard with neighborhood kids and my dad, then as a player and later as a coach. I understand the game. And while I prefer Saturdays over Sundays during football season (see 7 Reasons College Football is Better than the NFL) I tend to watch it all. With all of the off the field news these days, it just felt like a good time to write about some on the field trends. So here are some very random ramblings from this season...so far!

• Many of my friends who are Florida State fans were quick to credit their team with "coming together in adversity" in their victory over Clemson the other night. To their credit, the Seminoles did keep fighting and never give up. But let's be real here. Clemson should have won that game by at least 2 touchdowns. They gave the game away. FSU did not "persevere and win." The Tigers LOST. I'm happy for the Seminoles, although losing that game might have been the ONLY way to to teach Jameis Winston a lesson.
• Through the first 3 weeks of the NFL season, Tom Brady has looked like a very, VERY average QB and the Patriots in general, although 2-1, look very beatable. These things make me very, VERY happy!
• I am no Alabama fan (Nick Saban is forever on my bad list) but Amari Cooper, the wide receiver for the Crimson Tide, looks like a man playing amongst toddlers on Saturdays. He should win the Heisman (Quarterbacks Only) Trophy, but he won't. If he is not one of the first 3 players taken in the next NFL draft there should be an investigation.
• The Jacksonville Jaguars are awful- perhaps the worst team in the NFL. Unless that the dubious distinction belongs to my Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Neither team will win many (if any!) games and both of their stadiums will feature thousands of empty seats this year. I don't know if anyone could save the teams, but everyone in Florida knows who could still fill the seats. #TebowTime  
• It is entirely possible that the SEC West is the most dominant collection of college football teams we have ever seen under one banner. Any of 4 teams- Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas A&M or Alabama- could win the national championship. Mississippi State just beat then 8th ranked LSU in Baton Rouge. Any of those 6 teams could go unbeaten in the Big 10 11 12 Whatever Conference. If one of them goes undefeated in that division they should get to skip the new playoff and play the winner in one final game for the championship. 
• My early Super Bowl picks- Philadelphia Eagles vs. Denver Broncos. Peyton gets his second ring.
• Will Muschamp has kept his job at Florida because he is supposed to be a defensive genius. This past Saturday proved he is not. He also keeps hiring offensive coordinators who are the wrong kind of offensive. Once again this year, another new coordinator, same boring offense. From a school that gave us the creativity of Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, boring is unacceptable. And btw...I LOVE me some Steve Spurrier!!
• And finally...the Dallas Cowboys need to slow down. They're 2-1. If they win many more games early on they are going to have work hard the second half of the season to finish 8-8. And we know they will!

That's what I'm rambling about today. See you tomorrow!

Saturday Shout Outs!

Welcome to another edition of my Saturday Shout Outs!- although today it could just as easily be called Random Ramblings! There are quotes that moved me, prayer requests, news updates and other random tidbits, so jump in and hang on. I should also issue a warning. Teresa Reep Tysinger and her family are on vacation right now and may well be going to eat at Calabash at some point in the next few says. If she taunts me too much with everything she and Eric get to eat I may not be able to guarantee her safety! But I digress. Let's get on with the rambling...

• Palm Sunday is tomorrow. Holy Week is upon us. Remember...
• Please keep all of the teachers you know in your prayers. With around 7 weeks of school still to go it seems Spring Fever has hit in full force. Or maybe we should pray for the kids. Pray that the teachers don't just do them in- right, Lisa Jewett?
• Many of you have been asking where all I have been traveling with my new-found freedom. Well...not so fast, my friends! While the court in Georgia has set me free, it seems that Florida and Georgia lack the ability to communicate. I still await official word to reach the Sunshine State so that I can be free to cross the bride to Clearwater! It makes me a bit nervous to know that GA officials had no idea where I was living for the past 7 years. For the time being, I'm singing the #RedTapeBlues.
• Baseball season is in full swing. Life is good.
• My friend and hero Ashley Goad (Springfield Friends Meeting) is getting ready to do some more globetrotting in the name of Jesus. Please keep Ashley and her ministry in your prayers.
• I LOVE this---> "The story goes that a public sinner was excommunicated and forbidden entry to the church. He took his woes to God. 'They won't let me in LORD because I am a sinner.' God replied, 'What are you complaining about? They won't let me in either!'  -Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel
• Cyndi Reep Browning (FUMC-Kissimmee) and her family are in the very stressful process of buying a home in Alabama. Please keep Cyndi, Josh and Grayson in your prayers.
• Colleen Martin Hooks (FUMC-K) sent me a link this week featuring an article by Heide Priebe that contained this quote: "If How I Met Your Mother has taught us anything it's that if we want to see something legendary happen, we're going to have to wait for it." This is not only a brilliant summation of a TV show, but a pretty decent piece of theology. Life happens all in God's time, my friends. All in God's time.
• And speaking of which...as soon as I can travel freely one of the things I hope to do is get a chance to preach and to speak to church groups about my experiences and in particular about the grace and forgiveness that needs to be at the center of the Christian faith. I'd also love to do consultations with churches about student ministry. Or I can just come sing and tell stories. I'm easy! :) If you need me, I'll come for free. Just give me some travel money and feed me! More on this is coming Tuesday on a new #DangerDays post.
• I confessed on Twitter a few nights ago that I do not care for Peeps. I was met with both support and disdain. Where do you stand on those creepy little Easter candies?
• Planning on coming to Walt Disney World this summer? Let us know- we'd love to see you!

And finally, one more thing I tweeted this week that I absolutely love! So many of you do this for me on a regular basis, but it is a reminder for us all. Love you guys. Have a blessed Saturday!

Because of Jesus,

Weekend Update

Hello...I'm Carl Jones and you're not! I thought I would take this lovely Monday morning and update you on a few of the things that were on my mind this past weekend - which mostly consisted of watching TV and having interesting conversations. So here we go...

• As the years pass I become less and less interested in the NFL (but I still watch) and more of a college football fan. Most of pro football passion goes into (I won't say hating because it is such an ugly word) despising the New England Patriots. Why? Partly because they are always good and mostly because Tom Brady (The Pretty Boy) and Bill Belichick (The Hoodie) just irritate the crap out out me with their obnoxious smugness. My son and I had a conversation this weekend and decided if they ever make a movie about the Brady/Peyton Manning rivalry, we should cast it. Peyton would be played by Tom Hanks, because almost everyone loves him. He is the Everyman. And Brady would be played by Tom Cruise- because he is a pretty boy and a bit of a jerk. My friend Robert asked on Twitter who I thought should play The Hoodie, and after some thought I chose Christopher Walken. Who better to play a paranoid cheater? It's coming soon to a theater near you! By the way- the more they win the more bitter I get. So let's go Broncos!
• One other football note. I started yesterday not really caring who won the Panthers/49ers game, but by halftime I was cheering hard for Carolina. Could the 49ers players have been bigger punks? So let's go Seattle!
• After a bit of begging I got the family to go to Cracker Barrel on Saturday morning. Can I just say the Sunrise Sampler is quite simply the best breakfast in the world? Mmmmm...gravy...
• Our pastor is doing a sermon series based on dangerous prayers found in scripture. Not only do they tie in well with my #DangerDays theme for 2014, they are a great inspiration to pray more fervently and frequently- and to expect great things. Yesterday he preached from 2 Kings 19 (which may be the first time in 50 years of going to church I have ever heard that passage preached) and the faith of King Hezekiah in the face of great danger. Matthew also reminded us to "right size" God in our prayers, which in turn will help us downsize our problems and understand that God can handle whatever we bring to Him. My main takeaway was this- when our prayers and our lives seek to glorify God more than to rescue to ourselves, big things will happen. That's good stuff...
• Will and I watched a fair amount of the Golden Globes last night. I love talking about movies with him because he is so knowledgeable. There were 4 things that stood out to us about the show. Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are really funny. Matt Damon is a really good sport. We are big Andy Samberg fans, but we think the GG voters are the only people in the world actually watching Brooklyn 99. And those same voters have absolutely NO IDEA what a Best Movie Comedy or Musical looks like. Wolf of Wall Street? Her? Where was the nomination for Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D? 
• Saturday I watched part of animated version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame on TV. Watching "Hunchback" always reminds me how underrated it is among Disney classics. And also how much I miss the live show they used to have at the Hollywood/MGM Studios. In fact, it has inspired an upcoming post for this blog- Things I Miss At Walt Disney World. Nominations will be accepted if you have an idea for me!
• Commercials have me very psyched for the Winter Olympics and the new Muppet movie. I can't wait for either!
• And finally, many of you know me as a devoted fan of David Letterman, and I still am. But I have to admit, my allegiance will be seriously challenged for the first time when Jimmy Fallon takes over The Tonight Show. His "Best of" special reminded me just how funny he is, and I can't wait to see what he does with his new platform.
• And a parting shot... Farewell, Jay Leno. You killed NBC with your 10 PM show, turned Conan into a national hero, couldn't even got nominated for a People's Choice Award (much less an Emmy) and have been the least original and least funny comedian on TV for many years now - according to dozens of actual comedians! So adios, Jay. At least until you try to pull the rug out from under Fallon...

So those are my random ramblings from the weekend. As always, feedback is welcome. And possibly ignored. :) Have a great week!

Because of Jesus,

Random Ramblings: Quaker Lake Camp

Greetings! I have been thinking so much about Quaker Lake Camp this week and going through a few hundred old slides to see what I have. Hopefully you will see them too in the days to come.  But for now, here are some random ramblings and flashbacks from QLC. I posted much of this in 2009, and it got exactly 13 page views.  Times have changed! :)

* This picture is from 1988 when I was volunteering as Camp Pastor. I am front right; with me are Jennifer Bills, Beth Phillips Massey, Scott Smith, Jason Dewar, Jay Wilkins, Anita Swaim, Rebecca Howard Jackson and lots more of my favorite people!
* When I first attended camp in 1973, there was no pool, no Jericho Road, no Rappelling Tree, no Crafts Hut (just the Quonset Hut), no paved basketball court and no Crafts and Special Activities Director. They were all there 10 years later, my last summer on staff. Thanks, Neal Thomas.
* I was the very first Crafts and Special Activities Director in 1983.
* One of the assistant cooks in the mid-70’s, Vickie Casey, was a vegetarian. One night each week we had either vegetarian lasagna (excellent) or spaghetti (BEANS=YUCK!).
* My first counselor was Richard Shimaka, a Guilford College student from Kenya.
* The most famous QLC ghost stories were Red Eye Dick, The Quaker Lake Hand, and Nancy Nurse. And no one ever told them better than Ricky Sessoms.
* Neal Thomas used to like to hide on the roof of the lodge and pour water on people as they came out the back door to the kitchen- I have pictures somewhere of him getting Gail Steelman and Susan McBane. This is a pic of Gail getting him. :)
* David Fields and Paul Routh were both in my cabin as very young campers. Between the 3 of us we have spent at least one full lifetime at QLC!
* We once sent a staffer the emergency room with a sprained ankle and an insurance form. The form asked how the injury had occurred, and the answer was “injured while being stuffed in the pot sink.”
* Assistant Cooks didn’t last very long in those days.

* Room #2 in the lodge was nicknamed The Ghetto during the years Alan Brown and I used it as our home base.
* My first year as a camper, Team Competition included individual sports like tether ball, ping pong (single and doubles) and badminton (singles and doubles). I still have my blue ribbon for going undefeated in singles badminton.
* The only bad part of being Crafts and Special Activities Director my last summer was that I had to play on the hated staff team in the Staff vs. Counselors volleyball game every Friday night.

* The skit where God interrupts a person praying the Lord’s Prayer and talks them through it has been done at Vespers since the dawn of time, along with The Giving Tree and Barrington Bunny.
* The late Doug Morse, who volunteered for years at Senior High Camp, loved to ring the bell every morning. He often would ring it 100 times or more. Several mornings he was almost the only volunteer ever assassinated by the staff.
* Building a cross of candles on the softball field was nice, but to me nothing was better than seeing everyone’s candles floating on the lake after the Campfire Circle.
* Alice Carroll wrote a lullaby she used to sing around the campfire in 1978. I can still play and sing that absolutely beautiful song.

* The greatest song ever used in a Quaker Lake slide show was Dan Fogelberg's To the Morning, which Paula Teague used in 1976. Unless memory fails me, she recorded that soundtrack on an eight track tape. Go listen to that song, think about QLC, and tell me I am wrong...
* Marshmallows, which can be so good on s'mores, are instruments of Satan in the hands of 4th and 5th grade campers on campouts.
* Lifeguards used to wash all the dishes. They needed something to do while the counselors were doing the REAL work…
* Jay Osborne once dropped my guitar off the roof of the lodge. I just can’t bring that up often enough!
* Mark Farlow built campfires so big that airplanes used them as landing lights.
* Some of the best meals I ever had in my life were potluck dinners served in small Friends Meetings after the staff would sing on Sundays at worship.
* Secret Documents was a game I brought to camp in 1983. We used to play it growing up at New Garden. The game that later campers know as Secret Documents has almost nothing in common with the original version.
* Some of my favorite memories are of washing dishes and singing in the kitchen with Martha Farlow.  Can you believe My Angel Baby is not available on I-Tunes?
* I saw all 3 of the original Star Wars movies with QLC staffers on Saturday nights in 1977, 1980 and 1983.

* The first ever Senior High Camp Banquet was in 1983, it was a Luau, and it rocked!
* QLC once owned an Earth Ball– until it crushed some campers.
* In 1983 we had the first (and as far I know only!) Mr. & Ms. Quaker Lake Pageant during Sr. High Camp. One of the female contestants (I know who, but I'm not saying!) came out in a bikini, with her body fully oiled, and the the pageant came to a stop. That was one of the times I almost lost my job...
* Terry Venable and Leigh Ann Everhart came to my house after they got engaged, hoping I would notice the ring. I did not. They had to tell me.
* One summer the lake turned red. I kid you not…
* Homemade Orange Sherbet always rocked my world.
* I will never, ever, ever drink red kool-aid again!
* Did I mention that Jay Osborne let my guitar slide down the roof of the lodge?

So there you have it. Flashbacks are a wonderful thing. Old friends are even better.  Until tomorrow...

The Truth About Barbecue

Last week I wrote on a couple of occasions about the RNC being in my current home of Tampa.  This week the DNC is in my long-time home of North Carolina, so I again feel a connection.  I never lived in Charlotte; in fact growing up in Greensboro often led to "Charlotte Envy" because they were NC's big city, complete with a theme park! 
But it is in my home state.  On Tuesday night, The Daily Show introduced viewers to Charlotte in their inimitable way, including pointing out how proud Carolinians are of their barbecue.  As they reported this fact, their correspondent said how yummy it was and then held up some ribs for all to see.  For me, this was the last straw in a long-simmering mind melt that began in 1994 when I moved to Florida.  And it led directly to this rant...

Why would these kind words about NC barbecue and the showing of some ribs make my head explode?  It's very simple, and I am going to explain this in a language that people from Texas, Memphis, Kansas City and Burger King can understand.  Most of this fine nation (and The Daily Show) is operating under the false understanding that barbecue is a verb.  To these confused folks, "barbecuing" is something that can be done to most anything so long as you throw it on a grill.  It may or may not involve actual barbecue sauce.  It might be hamburger, fish, steak or ribs.  As anyone who is a native of NC or has spent significant time there can tell you, this is just wrong.  Barbecue is not a verb.  The verb for such activity is grilling. Barbecue is a NOUN.  It is what many of you call "pulled pork"- a term which makes my skin crawl.  I can get pulled pork all over Florida (sorry Sonny's, Jimbo's, Smokey Bones and even Fat Boys in Kissimmee) and trust me, I have tried it all!  None of it is close to real barbecue. Barbecue is pork (and nothing else) pulled (never cut) from a pig that has been roasted over an open wood fire for many hours.  It is then often chopped into even smaller pieces for consumption.  A mustard-based (if it's red, something is terribly wrong!) barbecue sauce is then generally added before it even hits your plate or your sandwich.  You can ad more if you like. This is barbecue. Not ribs, not anything else.  I hope I am making myself clear.

But that is not all.  As you can see in the picture above, there are certain things that MUST be served with real barbecue.  There are no exceptions.  Whether on a plate or a sandwich, it has to be paired with a vinegar-based slaw peculiar to restaurants in NC & SC.  And there must be- I cannot emphasize this enough- there must be hushpuppies.  Fried corn meal, for those of you who don't speak southern.  All the best barbecue restaurants (like Stamey's in my old stomping grounds of Greensboro, Kepley's in High Point, the famous Lexington Barbecue or any number of other great little independent place all over the state) will serve you a platter just like that.  You are welcome to add fries, but it is really not necessary.  :)  Then you wash it all down with SweetTea (any good southerner knows that is all one word) or a Cheerwine (bottled in Salisbury, NC).  Prefer a diet drink? Then what are you doing in a barbecue restaurant?!?!

Many states claim to have the best barbecue.  The truth of the matter is very few places actually have barbecue at all.  Want to know if your town has real barbecue?  Here the litmus test- does any menu in town offer a Barbecue Sandwich? If not, then you don't have the real deal!   I offer my hearty congratulations to the rest of you on your expertise in using a grill.  It is something to be celebrated. But as you may have noticed, there is no grill used in the preparation of real barbecue.  So let's get our language straight.  Quit using this noun as a verb.  And bow down to the one, the only, the real...NC barbecue.  Do you hear me, Jon Stewart?  I feel much better now...

Let the debate begin!!!

Random Ramblings

Here are a few random thoughts for a beautiful Sunday morning...

• Marilyn and Will have returned home after 11 days in NC, and I am so glad to have them back.  They had a great visit with her family and a good tour of the UNC-W film school.  They returned with great stories.  Stay tuned for Will's production of the next great primetime soap opera, ELKIN!  Like Dallas, only much, much smaller...
• It's Sunday, and Chick-fil-A is closed.  Seems like the perfect day to close out this week's crazed arguments as well.  I have stayed away from this very public discussion, but I will offer this one reminder to everyone who used valuable time and resources fighting this battle- "It's all about chicken JESUS!"
• I have become a total Olympic zombie.  I cannot remember what I did for entertainment before they started, and I have no idea what I will do when they are done. 
• I did venture away from the TV to see The Dark Knight Rises this weekend. I have always thought The Dark Knight was overrated, but I have to say the third chapter in the trilogy totally rocks, just like my son said it did.  I give it a 15.327, and it's in the green area of scoring. And thanks to my smart phone I could still get beach volleyball results as soon as it was over. Win/Win! 
• The Fab 5 were wonderful, but if you are wagering on which group of USAmerican women had the best games and have the brightest future, look to the swimming pool. Total dominance!  
• The USA men's basketball team won by only 5 points yesterday. According to the new scoring system I introduced this past week (see 7 Things I'd Change About the Olympics) they now have one loss.
• Will starts drumline camp tomorrow, so his summer is pretty much officially over.  I will miss him being home. I will also miss our frequent trips to the Hibachi Buffet.
• My first summer as a camper at Quaker Lake Camp (after 8th grade) there was a mini-Olympic style competition that took place all week.  I can proudly say that I went undefeated and won the blue ribbon (which I still have!) in singles badminton, beating Susan Bass in the finals. Which was not easy because she was really cute.  Needless to say, I was disgusted by the Olympians who cheated at the great sport of badminton by playing to lose. Perhaps I should plan a comeback.  
• I never thought I would see anyone in my lifetime with the combination of God-given talent, work ethic and competitive fire to equal Michael Jordan.  Michael Phelps, thank you for proving me wrong.  22 medals. 18 gold.  Still the king of the pool. Simply amazing.
• And finally...  When I was young, I played every sport I could, and was reasonably good at most of them.  But I always wanted to be great at baseball.  I could play every position and hit the fastball okay.  But I never learned to hit the curveball.  This weekend I have been reminded on several occasions that life is constantly throwing curves, and that they still befuddle me.  I was reminded once again of a truth I learned in 1977-78 as a freshman at Lenoir Rhyne College.  One of my friends always greeted life's curves the following expression: "That's life in the big city.  Sometimes you chase the armadillo. Sometimes the armadillo chases you..."  Think about it.

I hope you all have a blessed Sunday.  I'm looking forward to church with my family and lunch at Moe's.  I hear they serve a mean Christian burrito...


Because of Jesus,

"Na Na Na Na Na Na..."

You never know what might trigger the idea for a blog post in the bizarre world known as "Carl's Mind."  :)  Friday morning Marilyn was driving me to an appointment (so I would only have to take the bus one way.  My wife- I think I'll keep her!) and the local classic rock station began playing the old Journey song "Lovin, Touchin and Squeezin."  I suddenly had a flashback to a moment on a youth trip in the late 1980's.  The group from Springfield Friends Meeting was at the Betsy B at North Myrtle Beach late one night, and several of us were sitting around listening to music when that song came on.  And we began to ask this question: How many "na-na-na-na-nas" are there at the end of that song?  So Kelly Allen, Jennifer Wood, Wendy Mattocks and I sat there and counted. Every last one of them. Forever it seemed.  And in the end, we knew.  We actually knew how many times Steve Perry and friends uttered the phrase "na."  There was an actual number. It was a moment of intense silliness and great accomplishment all at the same time.  It was a great youth group moment, the kind that could never have been artificially created.  It was real.  And it was shared with some people I really cared about.  THAT was a great night...


I realized yesterday as I heard the song again that I have forgotten that number.  I no longer have that incredible piece of trivia at my disposal.  I am in touch with so many of my former youth, but Wendy and Jennifer are not among them.  So that means it is up to Kelly to recall the results of that night so many years ago.  Either that, or it is time for a new group of friends to sit and count the "nas."  But I do need to know.  Because great moments..no matter how mundane, no mater how silly, no matter how random....should always be remembered.  They are one of a kind.  Have a blessed Saturday!


Because of Jesus,

Saturday Shout Outs!

Happy July!  Greetings friends and neighbors and welcome to anther edition of Saturday Shout Outs!  Today we have a mix of old friends, new friends and even a couple of Random Ramblings, so just jump in and hang on!

• My Twitter friend Christie Weatherby had a BRILLIANT post yesterday about how we can all participate in changing the world $5 at a time.  Here was her tweet: I am VERY excited to get to give you the opportunity to do something HUGE today!!! Please check it out: http://t.co/oRK5V8M   I hope all of my readers will check it out as well.  Awesome idea, Christie!
• Sometime back around June 14th 9th (corrected in comments!), our dear friend Colleen Martin (FUMC-K) became our dear friend Colleen Hooks!  Yes,that's right- Colleen got married!  :)
• I realized today that I owe return e-mails to both Todd Willis & Lauren Carr Cacciatore (FUMC-Kissimmee).  I am a slacker.  I will do better...
• Ashley Goad Broadhurst (Springfield Friends Meeting) is in the midst of yet another mission trip to Haiti.  Please continue to keep her in your prayers, and for updates be sure and visit her blog at http://thanksgivingprojectagb.blogspot.com/.
• Had lunch at the Wing House last week with Lisa Kraus Spires (FUMC-Kissimmee).  She and unborn baby Abbie/Abby/Abi/Abbe are doing well, but that doesn't mean that they don't need our prayers!  It was awesome to have a couple of hours to shoot the breeze. Wish I could have that with all of you...
• Brook Teoli Phelps (FUMC-K) is currently tweeting through the Bible in one year.  It's so cool to follow along as she commits to her goal.  Awesome.
• So far the Jones family has been pretty impressed with the summer movies- and between the 3 of us we have seen a lot of them.  I think our favorite so far has been Super 8.  Most confusing to us has been the reception received by The Green Lantern.  We all loved it, but we don't seem to have much company.  Not sure what people were expecting.  It's a comic book movie, you know?  We're seeing Transformers 3 this morning, based on a review by Nina Mock (Wesley Memorial UMC) that she posted on Facebook.  No pressure, Nina!
• I LOVE my ever-growing (1475 followers) Twitter family. I'm just saying...
• FUMC-K's Amber Herrick (who had a birthday on 6/23 27; corrected in comments!) tried to stir the pot last week by wondering aloud why Teresa Reep Tysinger is in my Hall of Fame and her twin sister Cyndi is not.  The obvious answer is because that would mean there are "too many Reeps"- but still, it's a good question.  So I ask all of you- who is missing from my HOF?
• Attention TV executives: I would like for there to be reunion movies for Saved By the Bell and That 70's Show, featuring the original casts of both.  That is all.
• I'm about to reach 700 consecutive days of blogging.  In addition, we have passed 80,000 visits to this site. I'm starting to plan the 2nd anniversary celebration coming up August 26th.  Any suggestions?
• Ben Thompson is home from Afghanistan &  Catie Cook (both FUMC-K) is headed for Germany.  Let's continue to pray for them and all of those who serve.
• Four days after that celebration, Marilyn and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. Any suggestions?  :)
• Ran into Lisa Jewett (Wesley Memorial) at Tijuana Flats for Taco Tuesday this week,  and she came over and sat with the Jones family.  We talked forever (just ask Will).  I LOVE catching up with old friends, especially ones as special as Lisa!
• Jerry Hanbery was with us for a night and most of a day earlier this week.  There is very little I enjoy more than sitting around talking politics, music, old friends and religion with Jerry.  HOWEVER- his assertion that Talladega Nights is funnier than Anchorman almost got him tossed from our home.  Will & I take our Anchorman very seriously...
• Rev. Cathy Thacker (better known to youth from the FUMC-K days as Mrs. T) is now serving a new church.  She is the pastor at FUMC-Lake Alfred.  Be praying for Cathy as she begins this grand adventure!
• And finally, last night at FUMC-K the youth ministry held another Rec Around the Clock.  Dwight Oakes & company (youth pastor there since I left in 2000) have now been using my title for that all-night event for 11 years, and I have not seen one penny in copyright royalties.  Dwight, consider yourself warned.  :)  My attorney, Jerry Hanbery, will be contacting you soon....

As always, it would be more than awesome if all of you would come to Tampa- because that's where I am!  LOL  Have a happy, safe and blessed 4th of July weekend, everyone!

Because of Jesus,

Another Word of Caution

Summers ruled at FUMC-Kissimmee!

A couple of months back I sounded a Word of Caution to my brothers and sisters in Christ who still work in the very demanding field of student ministry.  As an aging ex-youth pastor I am not sure I had any right to do so, but I offered up my thoughts anyway.   Today, I sound another alarm that is on my heart. This past weekend I read a blog post from someone I really respect chronicling why their youth would not meet on Mother's Day, as well as a number of other special occasions.  The reasons for these "days off" were mostly family related.  Students need to spend more time with their parents.  Youth Pastors need to spend more time with their families.  These are the same reasons I hear over and over again when I ask why so many churches are moving their weekly youth meetings away from Sunday evenings (often the only night of the week when a teenager's schedule is clear).  In a perfect world, I would have no issue with that kind of logic.  But I never served a church in that perfect world, and I doubt you have either.

In the real world, there are lots and lots of teenagers whose primary need for us as a church is to rescue them from their family and find them a new home in the family of God.  I hope that you have many of these students involved in your youth ministries; if not, that is a whole separate concern.  For these youth the special days that we think of as "family days" are often times of depression and pain.  There are no Mother's Day lunches or Sunday after Thanksgiving family gatherings.  There are no family Super Bowl parties.  There are no summer vacation family trips.  In this broken and sinful world, these families barely survive.  For many of their teenage children, youth group is the one place they can feel the love and acceptance so many of us feel at home.  So what do many of us do on these most painful of occasions?  We close our doors.

It's my belief that we have arrived at this place through some faulty thinking.  Many churches have begun to plan their ministries to avoid times when people might have conflicts.  It seems logical.  The thinking errors come when we begin to worry more about who will not be there than who will be!  When we do this, we begin to make the kids who NEED us to open the doors feel like the man at the psychiatrist's office who was told he was, "a paranoid schizophrenic who needs to be institutionalized immediately."  When he said he wanted a second opinion, the doctor replied, "OK- I think you're ugly too!"  The very students who will almost never be out of town and who almost never have family events on Sundays are the very youth we need to be reaching for Jesus. 

Every ministry is different, and I would never presume to tell anyone how to best minister to their own students.  But I will tell you this- some of the very best things that ever happened at youth groups in my 28 years of ministry happened at times when many choose not to meet.  We had breakthrough sessions talking about parents on Mother's and Father's Days.  We had amazing (and quite memorable) Super Bowl parties.  Our "No Turkey Thanksgiving Feast" on the Sunday after Thanksgiving was a grand tradition.  Our massive summer calendars (75 days of programs in a 80 day period at a couple of locations) worked well for two reasons.  One, we made the big events so important (and so well advertised so far in advance) that our families who did travel planned around them.  And two, we planned most of the events assuming we would have smaller crowds, thereby eliminating any "numbers disappointment" and allowing time for relationships to be built.   Summers were what set us apart from the other churches in town because all of the "fringe" kids knew we would be open for business when no one else was!  We were a place they could belong.  And isn't that what every teenager is looking for?

I hope you will take one thing away from this rant- when you sit down to plan your 2011-12 youth calendars, remember those who have no place else to "belong" when you close your doors.  Plan for them, because they are the lost and least Jesus calls us to find.  I could list 100 youth from my past who would sound a loud AMEN to that.  Come back tomorrow when I yell "GET OFF MY LAWN!" at some young youth pastors.  Hehe.....

Because of Jesus,

Random Ramblings

I'm feeling especially random today, so just jump in and hang on!  And in case you are a little slow and don't take hints well, I want to hear from my readers.  Thanks to everyone for all of the comments, tweets and e-mails, but I want more!  I'm just greedy like that...

• Congratulations to Connor (FUMC-K) and Jolene Lewis, who became the parents of Connor Matthew at 12:07 AM on January 14.  Mom and baby are both doing well, and big sister Caitlyn is thrilled.   No word on whether he can do the "Gator Chomp" yet...
• I think this blog has mice.  I can tell which posts are being read through a statistics program I have, and for the past week or so it seems people have been paying a lot of attention to some of the older posts that deal with Springfield Friends Meeting and FUMC-K .  There have been an unusual number of hits on my Hall of Fame post about The Class of '95.  I have no way of knowing who is checking out these stories, but if it is you...TELL ME!  It's driving me crazy- I love knowing who reads my blog!  I love that my FUMC-K family stays connected, and I really miss my SFM family.  You will always be my "one particular harbor."
• Speaking of Jimmy Buffett, he is coming to Tampa on April 16th.  Tickets go on sale today at 10 AM.  They will most likely be gone by noon.  So if you plan on buying me tickets, you need to move fast...
• Yesterday's post got a lot of attention (Over 300 page views- but only 5 comments? HINT!) and confirmed something I have been praying about for a while now.  I want to make myself available as an online sounding board for pastors and youth pastors.  Not so much to offer advice or opinions, but more as someone they can vent to.  I know first hand how frustrating it can be to be hurting or angry and not be able to talk to people at your own church.  I'm not the only one who has ever had to deal with sin in my life or a The Pastor Who Shall Not Be Named.  It is often difficult to balance openness and job security.  I'm not sure yet how I am going to put my self "out there," but I am going to try.  Be praying for me.

• Does anyone besides me find it humorous that Disney has had to close a place called Blizzard Beach numerous times this winter because it has been too cold?  :)
• Do any of you remember our overnight event called The Radical Sabbatical?  I would love to know what people remember about them.  So tell me (yet another hint).
• I am thinking of doing a series of Music Thursday posts on The Lost Music of EPCOT.  A lot of great songs from the 80's and early 90's have disappeared, and I want to bring them back.  Would anyone be interested?  Have a favorite you remember?  E-mail me at Youthguy07@aol.com  
• And finally, my quote of the week comes from the late Mike Yaconelli and his classic book Dangerous Wonder: "Christianity is not about learning how to live within the lines; Christianity is about the joy of coloring."

I hope you all have a blessed weekend.  Thanks for reading!


Because of Jesus. 

Tweeting On My Twitter

As I have told you before, my weekday mornings begin with getting breakfast ready for Will and watching Mike & Mike In the Morning on ESPN2.  They love to get feedback from viewers, and you can can text them (as you may remember, I am physically incapable of texting), e-mail them or reach them on Twitter (@MikeandMike).  And almost every morning, Mike Golic will say something about someone "tweeting on their Twitter."  The way he phrases it makes it sound like a "Twitter" is a separate machine made especially for tweeting.  It always makes me laugh.  Actually the entire concept of Twitter used to make me laugh.  I could not imagine being one of those people who wanted the world to know what I was eating for lunch or where I was driving to next.  I was certain I would never be on Twitter.  I got over it...

I have learned to love Twitter.  I love hearing what people are thinking about the events of the day.  I love getting new people to read and respond to this blog.  I love trying to respond to the tweets of others with witty comments.  I love hearing from friends in faith (both old and new) who share their beliefs, wisdom and frustrations each day.  My own tweets seem to fall into one of 4 major categories:  Old friends, Faith, Disney and Sports.  I also LOVE responding to the tweets of others, trying to be helpful, silly or both.  I really do enjoy it all.  So today I thought I would share with you a few of my tweets and a few from people "I follow" from the past week or so, just to give you an idea of what being @Youthguy07 on Twitter is like.  Here we go!

• From Stephen Colbert: "Only 9 days left to fortify your homes against the Grinch. He must not get his hands on our roast beast!"
• From Toby Mac:  Please retweet. Tobymac's new song "Christmas This Year" http://bit.ly/eTZKB8
• From Greg Smith:  "Jesus tends to come to people where they are but rarely leaves them as they were."  - William H. Willimon
• From Dr. Jim Burns:  "Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right and the other is usually the husband."   :-)
• From Ryne Pearson:  "You've been swined!"  (Adding to me to a list of writers who also love bacon!)
• From Steve Martin:  "New Year's Eve falls on December 31st this year."
• More Steve Martin:  "So New Years Day will be on January 1st, pushing Valentines Day to February 14th."  (and yes- THAT Steve Martin!)

And here are a few of my own tweets:

• "If thou doest partake of the manna called HOT Krispy Kremes, thou shouldst also drinketh their hot cocoa- for it is good." 2 Heziciah 12:17
• Want a hungry person to understand that Jesus loves them? Feed them. "Empty bellies have no ears." -Ancient Proverb
• "The problems of 2 people don't amount to a hill of beans. But this is our hill. And these are our beans!" - Frank Drebin     RIP Leslie Nielsen
• When your sin takes away everything you have, you discover that God's grace gives you everything you need. This I know...
• I am thinking of hosting a Fetivus party if I can only figure out when it is. Can anyone provide the aluminum pole?
• One of the top 5 sitcom clips ever, courtesy of @greatoldtvshows - featuring Rev. Jim from "Taxi." http://bit.ly/mgzLz
  
  As you can tell, Twitter gives me an outlet for being serious, for being silly, for being witty, and for sharing my thoughts with all kinds of different people.  I currently have over 425 people "following me," and I "follow" a lot more than that.  I suppose if I have a point today it is this- listening to what youth pastors, pastors and other people of faith are saying on Twitter gives me great hope that a new generation of Christians is rising up in our world.  They seem to promote grace over law (like Jesus), forgiveness over hatred (like Jesus), love over politics (like Jesus!) and Jesus over the institution of "church."  They give me great hope that the church may yet turn out to one day be full of Christ-followers instead of church members.  Praise God for that...

My other point is this- go out and buy yourself a Twitter machine and learn to tweet on it!  Then you can follow me, Steve Martin and all the rest of the crew!  See you tomorrow!

Jesus- the only hope for me is you...and You alone!