Family Matters, Week of 2-18-07 (with The Blogging Church Review)

So, I'm sick.

Been sick for days now. I don't know if it's the flu or sinus infection, but it's leaving...finally. My head is absolutely pounding. I've slept too much today and now I'm up all night.

Anyway, on to the fam. This is actually a very 'happening' fam report this go around. Let's dive in...

Annie (4yr Old Operator)

Last night the phone rang.

Ericka and I were in bed, and we heard the machine answer. A whispered voice came over the speaker.

"Hang up. Hang...up." Sounded like a little girl...but why was she calling after midnight?

And then the line went dead.

Ericka called back and Annie answered.

"Hello?"

"Annie? What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep mommy."

"You called home? By yourself?"

"Yes."

And then, of course, she was showered with praise and we both awed at the idea that our little girl could now call us without assistance.

Then we remembered it was, ya know, 12:34am and had Annie wake up the mother-in-law. They went to bed, and Annie has one last thing to say about it.

"I'm a big girl mommy. I called home."

"That's right baby. I love you."

Abby (3yr Old Little Sis)

Abigail turned 3 last Monday. Did I post about it? No, and that was pretty bad. That was also right around the time I was feeling sick, but still doesn't get me out of it.

So, my apologies. I'll be sure to make it up to her later today, as we go to Events at Sherlake and proceed to rock the huge 60ft blow-up slide and bouncy room and obstacle course.

Lots of fun, I'm sure there will be pictures forthcoming.

And of course, happy birthday to my big girl Abs. She's so funny because she's very much into explaining exactly what's wrong. For example, the other day she came to me crying. After I calmed her down, I called Annie in the room and Abby spoke to her angrily: "Annie shoved the door on my finger in the castle and it hurt!"

Then Annie denied it, admitted it, and was punished. Yeesh.

We got her a tea set for her birthday, which includes a table, chairs, and the tea-based accessories.

It's going to be awkward in a few years when I'll have to keep the birthday present secret even from the blog...

Ericka (her myspace)

Ericka has an extra-special treat for Abby, one she's been working on for three days now: A huge Spongebog Squarepants cake. Want to see pictures?

Here is some stuff in-progress. The final pics will probably be up Monday.

She later added the legs. The screaming was getting to us.

Isn't this one cool? I love the expression in the eyes.

Ericka doesn't like the arms but I think they're fine.

The infamous Gary.

And now, the Piece De Resistance,

Sandy the Squirrel! Isn't that one awesome? Ericka's looking for a gumball plastic shell tomorrow to give her the dome. We'll see.

The final cake isn't assembled yet, but will be before we leave tomorrow.

Lastly...

A Few Words On The Blogging Church

So I read The Blogging Church by Brian Bailey and Terry Storch and, well, it's everything I hoped it would be.

I loved the interviews sprinkled throughout the book instead of an "interview section", it kept things moving.

The book covers pretty much every major blogging issue that there is to talk about. You want to talk about burnout? Sure. Setup, stat-obsession, comment moderation, and more? It's all there.

Brian has a wonderful way of making all of these concepts relate to the church goer and runner, including real-world talk on how difficult it can and may be to get your blog started (and keep it running).

I'm not gonna lie, the pages that involved myself were of course fun to read. A big thanks to Brian for including it. I'm seriously in awe of Gary and Brian is obviously a leader for a reason. So thanks for the kind words and understanding.

I've actually got one of those silent goals for 2007 in that I visit Gary down in Georgia.

Anyway, the book is fabulous. Those serious about their ministries and want to both connect and re-connect their people together can do so easily, for free with existing blogging services, and with the help of plenty of guides and direction via Brian and Terry. They give easy to use tips and tricks on how to keep people interested, and the tips from other blogging pastors were insightful as well.

The only thing I would've liked to have seen more of was the push for more outreach beyond what will inevitably be their 'blogging circle'.

For example, I read Brian and I read Gary, but most Christian Bloggers will only read Other Christian Bloggers. This is no way to reach out and see from other's perspective(s). Gary was fascinating from the word go, and I like to look for those voices even if they differ from mine.

There's no real, respectable repository for 'good blogs whose views differ wildly from mine' so it's really about reading as many blogs as possible (sites like stumbleupon and of course digg are good for this) and following the rabbit hole of links on blogs you like and see how far they go. Click on one, then another, then another, and find the stories therein.

Now you're a mere Amazonian click away from buying the book.

Thanks for the free copy Brian, and congratulations. It's something to be proud of.

I'll draw three figures on your heart; one of them will be me as a boy
one of them will be me; one of them will be me watching you run