Frustration mounted long enough. The pathetic battery life of my phone finally got to me. After taking my phone charger to work with me yesterday, in case I was on the phone (usually totaling 30-40 minutes) and needed to recharge, which was becoming common place in the previous weeks, my phone decreased from full power to one bar of battery after talking to Luke for 24 minutes. Twenty-four miniscule minutes and three seconds! What?! This can't cut it. This can't continue. It seems ridiculous to have a phone for communication if it's not going to available for longer than that. As I think about my summer trips approaching, among other things that it's nice to have a phone for, something more realiable needed to occupy my pocket. (I've moved from being a clip-on-holster-guy to a some-other-nifty-holster-guy to a shirt-or-pants-pocket-guy for storing my phone.)

So evening, after Chad and I dined at Texadelphia on cheesesteaks, we slipped over to the Sprint Store before going to BSF. After giving my name to the greeter at the front of the store, I browsed by the phones that I'd been looking at online since last year, knowing my contract finished this past January, meaning I've been in a great postion the past three months to drop Sprint and move to another service if I so choose without paying a cancelled contract fee. I never took advantage of that possible threat; I end up being less of a jerk than I sometimes imagine myself being in those negotiating situations. So there I was in the store, looking at phones.

The sales lady called my name pretty quickly and followed Chad and me around as we asked questions about the variety of phones offered. I was looking to purchase a battery for my phone since I was having trouble with it, but was told they didn't have batteries for my phone since it was a bit old (almost three years), which prompted a more interested browsing than I'd planned. I'd had my eyes on the Samsung A900, Sprint's competitor to the Motorola Razr; it's slim, sleek, and (if possible for a phone) sexy. As far as performance goes, it was not at the top of the list; mainly, I'd be paying for the lack of size and a status symbol of sorts. Since we ultimately didn't have much time, we briefly looked at others and made our way to BSF.

This morning, I spent a little time online checking out the phone options. Weighing the flashy against the usefulness, I kind of made a decision to go with something practical. I went to a different Sprint Store and was treated very well; this rep had much more information than the one yesterday. I kind of feel like a cheat when I go in because I like knowing what I'm talking about when I ask questions, and it paid off a little bit today. The phone I purchased was advertized online for $39.99, but in the store the price was $69.99. The difference? In the store, the phone came with a "free" car charger, which seemed like a good deal when it was mentioned. When I asked if I could get the online price, the rep said it would be no problem, except I wouldn't get the car charger. I thought it was free, I asked. Well, it was the difference in the store and online prices: if I wanted to add the car charger to my purchase, it would be 29.99, thus paying the original store price. Well, if this phone is supposed to have such a good battery life (five hours compared to maybe three with the sleeker phones), I shouldn't need a car charger, right? After reluctantly paying the activation fee for a new phone, I walked out with a new phone, costing $10 less than a new battery for the old one.

Maybe simplicity is beginning to grab a hold of me...

So now I sit in Starbucks typing away, delaying having to transfer all those numbers to the new phone...while at first it was told to me it wouldn't be a problem, it turned out they couldn't do it. They did, however, print out a list of all the stored numbers I had; at least I don't have to scroll through the old phone to transfer to the new -- at least it's on paper.

Congratulations to someone in Las Vegas, who a couple of nights ago was the 10,000th visitor to my blog. Thanks to all of you for stopping by.

Things went very well yesterday. The party for Grandma was a lot of fun. We had 28 people at our house, including Grandma's twin brother and his wife, as well as her two great-granddaughters, Elsie and Lucy. Elsie and Lucy definitely provided the entertainment for everyone -- the only stall during the morning was when they had to get their diapers changed at the same time.

Dean's wedding was great, too. He and I were in school together from 4th grade through college, graduating from both high school and college at the same time (along with our friend Rodney). The three of us, plus Nic who went to Ole Miss, had practically every class together from 7th grade through 12 grade; he and I were in debate together our 9th grade year; we played soccer together; made ridiculous videos and movies together in both high school and college; and we lived in the same dorm throughout college. He's one of those friends that I always pick up with wherever we left off, regardless of how often or infrequently we've talked in between times of seeing each other. He's consistent, full of integrity and kindness, and has a great heart, the kind of guy I'm fortunate to be able to call a friend. I feel very fortunate to have been able to fly in for the wedding; there have been a few weddings I've had to miss due to my schedule and the distance I live from them -- I'm glad to have been at this one. (And I hope I don't add to the number of missed weddings.)

I also got to talk with several buddies from college: Rodney, Cochran, Devon, Poole, Buck, Webb, Matt, Kyle, Roy, and (of course) Dean. I really enjoyed catching up with the all the guys; I don't think I'd seen most of them in almost two years. We had a mini-reunion, with much of the conversation reflecting on how quickly time is passing and how old it seems we're getting. Things that were unthinkable such a short time ago (like a 10-year high school reunion) are a mere two years away; our younger siblings are stepping out of college and into real jobs. And we've got real jobs too...

I'm glad my parents talked so much as I was growing up about their years in college and the great friendships formed during that time because it gave me something to look forward to when I was in college. It set my expectations high for my time in college and those expectations were exceeded. Praise God...

I'm in the middle of a quick trip to Nashville/Florence. I flew into Nashville yesterday, arriving at 4:45. I spent a little time with Anna before going to my cousin Randy's house. I visited with him and his wife and their adorable daughter Elsie. (I'll get to see another baby cousin, Lucy, tomorrow at Grandma's birthday brunch.) I then met up with some buddies from college who'd I'd not seen in over a year, I think. We got together in Hillsboro Village (a Nashville must) to watch the Tournament and catch up. (One of them, Dean Tays, is getting married tomorrow, one of the reasons for this trip.) I spent the night at Randy's and played with Elsie a bit this morning before meeting up with Bethany for brunch. We went to Provence and then I took her to airport for her Spring Break mission trip to Baja. She's going with a group of over 40 people from Lipscomb for a week. It was good to spend a couple of hours with her before she had to leave.

I'm presently at Starbucks, waiting for Anna to finish teaching for the day; she, her boyfriend, and I are driving to Florence this afternoon. We're having a Birthday Brunch for Grandma tomorrow morning at 10:00. Dean's wedding is in Columbia, Tennessee (about an hour and a half from Florence) at 2:00 and my flight leaves Nashville at 6:00 tomorrow night, so my whirlwind is winding up quickly. It's been good so far and it's only going to get better, I'm sure. I'll get to see Mom and Dad tonight, most of my mom's side of the family tomorrow morning, and then (hopefully) a bunch of friends from high school and college tomorrow afternoon.

I bought a book a couple of years ago that I picked off my shelf this evening because I remembered underlying some passages from it. The book is A Human Being Died That Night: A South African story of forgiveness by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, who served on the reconciliation committee. Her chapter "The Language of Trauma" offers great insight into forgiveness in our human condition. As someone -- a Jesus-follower -- who claims strong belief in the possibility and reality of transformation, these are words that challenge my stubbornness at times to forgive others and, especially, myself.

For those who have been privileged all their lives and have no problem demanding their rights, forgivenss may be seen as giving up their rights.

...some of the feelings associated with powerlessness, such as humility, are more likely to foster an attitude of forgiveness than are attitudes that equate forgiveness with a loss of power.

Yet not to forgive means closing the door to the possibility of transformation.

In a power-hungry, control-saturated culture and world, powerlessness and humility are not seen as virtues. But that doesn't disqualify them from being such; it may vault them all the more. Reflecting on the Prayer of Jesus in Matthew 6, when he teaches his apprentices to pray, how true the words, "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." Such wisdom and depth in a simple, familiar sentence.

Yet forgiveness (of others and self) may be the key to tuning into the Creator, allowing his transforming power to grip us. It may just be the same as turning the knob on the radio to receive the signal in the airwaves: God's presence is constantly surrounding us, but we may be tuned out. (This not in a "fix yourself" spirituality, but in a "silence your life and listen for the Source" way of life.) I suffer from noise pollution in my life and wonder how often I miss the Maker's messages around me; yet in his faithfulness and patience, he relentlessly continues to after me. May it be so with me as well. And you too.

As I continue reading in The Pentateuch as Narrative, I'm further amazed and gripped by the workings of God. Over and over again, the message boldly proclaims, "God longs for his creation to worship him. God wants his creation to praise his name, to be whole again, to recognize that his promises are true." I'm in the Exodus section of the book, finishing up the narrative of Israel's march out of Egypt. Throughout the plagues or signs, God's desire was to show both the Egyptians and the Israelites who the ruler of creation was, that he was the great mover, maker and sustainer -- not pharoah or nature.

As the ninth sign came to be, darkness settled over the land as it did in Genesis 1. On the brink was a new beginning. On the horizon rose a new nation. A nation called away from slavery to worship the true God. A nation following the words of God, being made righteous by faith, just as their father Abraham had been commended. A nation remembered by God because of a promise he made to a man of faith.

We Christ-followers join that same nation of faith, that family of believers through Jesus. Our spiritual father is Abraham because we too are made righteous by faith. Called out of slavery, we are propelled into freedom by Christ to be whole with Creator God. We hold tightly to the Word of God -- Jesus. We, too, are remembered because our Savior was the ultimate fruit of the promise to that man of faith.

So whether we find ourselves longing for the past life of slavery, waiting for a parting of the waters, wandering in a desert of desolation, fighting to reclaim our spiritual identities, or celebrating the Feast of Unleavened Bread through the life of Christ, we know that God is constantly faithful and active in our lives as he has been throughout time.

Things that I'm getting excited about:

1. March Madness -- this is probably the happiest time of the year (on a year-to-year basis; item #2 will reveal why it carries that caveat). Lipscomb University was five points away from going to the Big Dance, finishing second in the Atlantic Sun tournament. That would've been ridiculous, to have them a part of the brackets. Someday, though, someday...I dream of them landing a #16 seed and being the first #16 to upset a #1 seed. That's not happened in tourney history, but one day...

2. The World Cup -- the best sporting event ever. I love World Cup soccer; it's by far my favorite sport to watch on TV. I'd love to be able to attend a match someday. The U.S. team has made some great improvements in the past several years, gaining some respect worldwide, mostly from their run to the quarter-finals in the World Cup 2002. Expectations are high and they're not going to sneak up on anybody. And as tough as it is to advance, and as tough a draw as they have, my expectations -- ok, maybe hope is a better term -- is a run to the semis. From there, anything can happen.

There were a few people that came over to the house last night to watch Mad Hot Ballroom which is an outstanding documentary -- go watch it as soon as you can. We recorded the Oscars and after everyone left I watched a fast-forwarded, commercial-free version of it. I'd wanted to see how Jon Stewart did as host, as well as find out the winners. One of the things I'm disappointed I did was speed through Dolly Parton's performance of "Travelin' Thru" which I read this morning was the point in the show that things really got going. So I went to iTunes a bit ago and downloaded (for free, by the way -- what a bargain). I'd not heard the song until then and, wow. Great lyrics and a real catchy tune. Here's a verse that stuck out to me the first time I listened:

God made me for a reason and nothing is in vain
Redemption comes in many shapes with many kinds of pain
Oh sweet Jesus if you're listening, keep me ever close to you
As I'm stumblin', tumblin', wonderin', as I'm travelin' thru

Spring has come to San Antonio. After two weeks of winter, spring returned earlier this week. Though highs have dipped down to the 70s today (leaving the 80s for a bit), one of my roommates definitely turned on the air conditioner at our house last night because it seemed silly for us to sweat out our times of sleep with the heater still on, as if South Texas really had a winter. While I do miss more than two seasons, it is pleasant to sit outside and enjoy a refreshing breeze. With the summer looming on the horizon (Karessa and I have been talking and finalizing the youth's calendar the past couple of weeks), I'm glad to not be entrenched in the heat just yet.

Is it human nature to discuss or philosophize about the weather when there's nothing to talk about or everything to discuss? Is that our out? Are there others?