Hernia surgery

First of all, I want to say thank you to all who have been keeping me in your prayers. Don't stop them yet! I still have days of recovery ahead of me- so please keep praying! For those wondering what I'm talking about, let me explain.

I went to the doctor a few weeks ago about a bulge I found below my waist. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable and looked like it didn't belong there. So, I scheduled an appointment and went on in. Upon inspection, we discovered two hernias, not just one! As soon as I lifted my shirt, the doctor said, "WHOA! You have another one right there in your belly button."

Great. what did THAT mean?

Well, it simply meant that I could get two for the price of one (and that I have some bad hernia DNA in my family somewhere). Instead of waiting 4-5 years to get it fixed, he could patch up both hernias in one sitting. So, we scheduled the surgery for 2 weeks later- July 9th (which was last Wednesday morning).

Now, my birthday was only a month ago and I think to myself. "Self, are you already falling apart on me? You get a kidney stone at Winterfest and now this!?! Did my warranty expire or something? What exactly is God trying to tell me here?"

So, the morning came. Vicki, Genna, and I got up early and drove over to the hospital where I was to be cut upon. I'll be honest and say that I was a little nervous about this. I am VOLUNTARILY going to have someone wheel me into a large white room and then ALLOW doctors to hack away at me all while I am sleeping? Hmmm . . . . . notsomuch.

A little before 9AM, they call my name and I go in to be "prepped". The definition of "prepped" at a surgical center means this: You take all your clothes and put on that scrubs-ish looking cover and a hairnet. Then, they shave wherever they need to cut on you (This was just a tad uncomfortable for me). Next, they hook up any IV's that you need and then they call the family in to say their "goodbyes" and "good lucks". I was actually doing ok through all of this until I saw Genna. When she saw me in that bed with the "hospital wear" on and the IV's out of my hand, she got this troubled look on her face. Then she looked right at me and said, "Daddy?" That face broke my heart. She kept saying, "Daddy? Daddy?" over and over as if to say, "What are you doing to my dad? I don't like this!"

Tears welled up in my eyes and I couldn't hold it in. I started crying right there.

"Daddy's going to go sleep so he can feel better." Vicki said.

"Seepin. Better. Daddy." Genna replied, still unsure of what was happening.

They wheeled me into that large white room I had imagined earlier. They put a mask over my face and said, "Breathe 3-4 good breaths for me".

I don't think I got through three.

I awoke a couple of hours later with two new future scars all bandaged up and ready to go. Genna and Vicki came in and we shared hugs all around. With pain meds in hand, they wheeled me to the car to go home.

For the next few days, I am supposed to take really easy and let my body tell me when I am ready for more movement. So, I have my laptop, a couple of good books, the Xbox 360, and the TV to keep me busy for the next week or so. I've been catching upon movies I haven't seen yet (the Golden Compass . . . a little disappointing seeing as there was so much hype about it) and blogs I haven't read in a while. So, drop me a line and say hello if you get some time. Chances are: I'll be around!

Again, please keep me in your prayers. We love you guys!

-chris

Weekend in Chicago

We have spent the July 4th weekend with some friends in Chicago. It has been a much needed and refreshing weekend! One if the highlights was going to see Wicked: the Musical. We took the train to downtown Chicago and then had some deep dish pizza at Giordano's. One word: WOW. Next, we walked a few blocks to the Ford Oriental Theater.

Now, there is a special place in my heart for the Wizard of Oz. I grew up on the L. Frank Baum books and know the story, the characters, the minor characters, and their back stories. So, I have been interested for a while in what Wicked did to the "canon" of Oz. And though it did play with some story lines, I liked it, I REALLY liked it.

The show itself: "A-MAZ-ING"! It was an incredible performance. The set design and costumes were absolutely stunning. And the music- the music was inspiring! "Defying Gravity" is truly an addictive song. Ok, so I'm using every cliche in the book. But there are often time no words to express what you have seen. You simply need to experience for yourself. You must go see this show!

Genna got to see fireworks for the first time. We were far enough away, so she wouldn't be scared of the sound. She LOVED them. She kept saying, "LOUD" as she looked up to see the brilliant colors scatter across the sky.

We also got to try some new restaurants over the weekend. Now, we don't like to simply "go out to eat" . . . . we like to "dine". You know what I mean? There is a difference between the two. We love the experience of opening a menu and seeing the fresh takes on traditional meals or that something we've never tried before. Im fairly adventurous- so I'll try anything once. So it's been a fun weekend to try new places. We went to the Weber Grill (we saw it on Food Network, so we HAD to go!), Claimjumper, Oberweis, and Sweet Tomatoes. All unique and interesting places!

And finally, I got to go Community Christian Church. This church has been very successful with the multi-site movement. In fact, this church has been the model for Rochester's venture with Christ Church: Macomb. So, I wanted to go and see it for myself. Overall, it was a good experience. The church is in a building they lovingly call the "Yellow Box". Greeters were friendly and genuine. The smells of coffee greeted me warmly as I walked into the lobby. One thing I noticed right off the bat is their slick graphic design work. A sign stated, "EXPERIENCE" above the entrance to the auditorium- making a bold, but pointed claim. The worship was rockin' (something I don't get to do in an a cappella worship often!) and the message was a solid teaching out of Proverbs (something we don't hear that often).

Now, I'm off to the pool with the Gladd's and the fam. Hope you had a great 4th of July weekend.

Dance Party!

OK, OK, It's been awhile since I've talked about some serious things (after reading Surprised By Hope, I have a lot to talk about!), but you'll have to wait a little longer. To tide you over until then, here's another video of Genna dancing we just made.

Enjoy.

A BUSY SUMMER

I have so much to talk about, but little time to write it in. I hope to unpack and share some reflections over the past couple of weeks. We've been to a wedding, had a youth praise team lead at church, and had a "old time" gospel singing for our Summer Worship Series. I am scheduled to have surgery in the next couple of weeks and have been doing lots of graphic design for the church. I'm also working on going back to school to begin my Master's in Bible in the fall. Oh, and Genesis is keeping Vicki and I plenty busy!

To finish this brief blog, I have two things to share. First, I've been reading N.T. Wright's book called "Surprised By Hope". Hands down one of the best books I've read (and still reading) this year. It's really challenged me to rethink and restructure my beliefs on what happens when Christ returns. Pick it up! Second, I want to share a couple of logos for the church I've been working on. Periodically, I like to freshen up our title slides at church- I've used our traditional logo, but went monochromatic with them for a nice clean contemporary feel. Whatcha think?

Genna's New Jammies

Tonight we got our daughter some new PJ's. She even picked them out herself! Mommy and Daddy look a little tired, but it's a fun video. Enjoy. -chris

Media and Lazy Living

Here's an article from Phil Cooke's blog and it hit me between the eyes:

"I was interviewed by Joyce Meyer on two of her TV programs week (I’ll let you know when they’re scheduled to be broadcast.) She wanted to discuss the media and how it bombards our daily lives. She was particularly interested in how we can protect our hearts and minds (and our families) from the onslaught of violence, sexuality, and generally coarse behavior we often find on TV and in the movies. I always enjoy being with Joyce, and although our view of acceptable movies doesn’t always match, I find her really sincere and concerned about what Christians are consuming on a regular basis.

One of the issues we discussed is how in an age where the volume of information is enormous, why our lives reflect so little change? She started thinking about it after hearing different people talk about reading all her books or listening to her teaching tapes, but they still have so many problems. I also find it true in other areas. People who are the most educated sometimes have the most problems. We’re drowning in information, and yet the culture as a whole seems to be more coarse, violent, and sexual than ever.

More than that – I look at audiences for Christian media programs, and I think we’ve raised a generation of junkies. The truth is, we’ve created a generation of Christians looking for a magic bullet. That’s why people travel thousands of miles from conference to conference just to “get a word,” find “fresh oil,” “get the glory,” or “catch their blessing.” They’re looking for the easy way out.

Christians today have become addicted to the feeling. We’ve forgotten how difficult living the Christian life can be, and in our pursuit of prosperity and a nice Mercedes, we’ve lost touch with the years Paul rotted in prison, Peter’s horrific upside-down crucifixion, and William Tyndale being strangled and burned at the stake for giving us the remarkable gift of the English Bible.

Living the Christian life is hard. We’ve got to do more than simply listen to the latest teaching tape by our favorite evangelist. We have to live it out on a daily basis. It’s about choices – making the kinds of choices (sometimes hard ones) that create a life worth living.

Joyce's frustration was right on target and we had a great conversation about it, and I'm going to continue writing on the issue. Want to get out of debt? Stop sending your money to a Christian TV telethon and start controlling your spending. Want to be healed? Lay off the French fries. Want to be closer to God? Pray, read the Bible, study to show yourself approved...

Yes – God can work miracles, but I don’t think he exists to make up for our lazy living."

Mother's Day Weekend

It's been a long weekend! We went to a wedding on Friday, then out to CRUST for the reception (mmmmm). The next day, I spent preparing for the Mother/Daughter dinner at church. THEN, we tore down the entire thing to prep for church the next day.

Sunday morning we did three services, then ran home to prep for family to come over and celebrate Mother's day together. WHEW!

Ahh, but what WAS the Mother/daughter dinner, you ask? Well, it was a night put on by the women's ministry at church. The church was decorated as a cruise ship- complete with a formal dinner (of sorts). The men were the servers, the crew, and the entertainment for the evening. During the dinner, when "Hot, Hot, Hot" or the "Macerena" came on- we got everyone out of their seats for some dancing . . .er . . . .um I mean . . . . spontaneous choreography.

Once dinner ended, we all moved into the auditorium for a variety show. The "show" was a mix of drama, music, dancing, and games. It all started with a quick drama between a mother and daughter about wanting to go on a cruise followed Byron Harrell, the captain, who opened the show with a rousing rendition of the "Love Boat" theme. As you can see, Capt. Jack Sparrow made an appearance to Then onto a couple who danced the foxtrot and a swing dance. Where was I in all this? We followed the dancing with HULA GAMES (a series of relay races and contests). I then finally closed the evening performing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "Under the Sea" on my ukulele. It was an action packed night! And thanks to Jenny Hoggatt for the pics!