Well, it’s been a while since I’ve updated this, so I figure I can hack out a small update list, just to give the readers an idea of what’s going on with Kim & Kevin & The K Kids.

Lubbock – it’s nice. We really miss the familiarity and friends we had back in Edmond,but we know that we’ll adjust and adapt here, given a few more weeks / months.

There’s a TON of parks here. A huge one, called Legacy Play Village, is phenomenal for kids Kyler’s age. It’s in a bad location, however, dust-wise. Yesterday while Kyler was runnin’ around, I glanced south to see a wall of dust come to engulf us. It. Wasn’t. Fun. (Dust rarely is…)

Another one, Maxey Park, has a nice, rubber mat surrounding it instead of hard ground or mulch. (Oh yes, THAT is where I’ll be teaching Kyler how to ride a bike this summer…)

The gym – Bodyworks is quite impressive as well. One membership, 3 unique locations. All with Kid’s Clubs to watch the kiddo’s while I’m huffin’ on the treadmill (catching up on The Daily Show, since everyone gets their own monitor to watch.) PLUS, they offer a Parent’s Night Out thing on Friday nights from 7-10. Pizza, swimming (in the shallow, made-for-kids swimming pool area), movies… All for just $12 a kid. Not. Bad.

Kim and I watched “Enchanted” the other night with Kyler. Very enjoyable. And quite hilarious for anyone who’s familiar with Disney stereotypes. Highly recommended. (An’ it doesn’t hurt that Amy Adams is HOT.)

Injury report – Try this: Look down at your left hand, palm up. You see your index finger? The pointy / pickin’ finger? See where it meets the palm? Now, if you imagine a dot just 1/8 of an inch over THAT, in the center of the finger… You’ll know EXACTLY where I stabbed myself with a pair of scissors.

Yeah, it hurt. Y’see, I was cutting the zip tie off of a package, and it was a stubborn li’l thing. So I tried HARDER. Squeezed HARDER. And that worked. I cut it, and then…. the scissors kept on going. Blazingly fast – right into that dot spot.

It was in and out before I realized what had happened. Then I saw the blood, and realized I had a serious problem on my hand(s).

A few minutes / muttered curses / peroxide dowses later, and it was wrapped up tight with a bandage.

The cut itself is dinky. Just a small scratch on the surface. But it’s what happened UNDER the skin that’s a problem. In effect I plunged into a bundle of nerves or a tendon or SOMETHING, because here it is almost a week later, and it still feels like someone mashed the thing in a vise.  Can bend it, both ways, but not without painful discomfort and stiffness.

So. Now I’m praying for quick healing and not permanent damage. Resisting the hypochondriac lurking within. He’s a persistent one, that guy.

What else? Kim’s enjoying her job. Only takes 10 minutes to get to/from work (downtown), so she often meets us for lunch.  It’s a small office (12 people at most), which only reinforces the small town feel of living here.

Oh yeah! I almost forgot! There are prairie dogs down here! We went to the official Prairie Dog Town and checked it out. Right after we pulled up, I watched two of ‘em going at it in the distance. They were wrestling quite forcefully in a cloud of dust, rolling back and forth. It was quite a rumble. And then? The victor got up – with the loser in it’s jaws – and trotted off with it’s prize.

Yeah. I was just as shocked. And sickened. And confused.

That’s when the dust cleared and I got a better look at the winner. Who looked a LOT like a fox… Same colors, body type, movements. Yep. That’s no prairie dog! That’s a FOX!

And a full fox, at that. Or he will be… In about 10-20 more bites…

Poor li’l dog. He didn’t know what hit him. Or bit him. Or ate him. Until it was too late…

Still, I enjoyed the rawness of the moment. It was like watching an episode of Animal Planet – Lubbock style!

And now… I think I’m done for today. My finger’s throbbing… Gotta give it a break… (or a rest… Sounds less ominous…)

One more thing – I replaced my Clie battery yesterday. It was easy, took 5 minutes, and was some of the best $20 I’ve ever spent.

Also, since there’s no Redbox down here yet, I thought we’d be outta luck when it comes to $1 movie rentals. Not so. At the FANTASTIC grocery store up the street (Market Street), they have a kiosk in the lobby by iMOZI, which works just like RedBox. (The online interface is a bit hokey. Javascript, I think. But hey, it’s the price that counts…)

Kevin

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Watch it. Learn it. Internalize it.

Money REALLY isn’t everything.

See below. Again, great, great stuff. What everyone needs to hear about money these days…

Kevin

Again, an excellent series. (I’ll be posting all parts over the next few weeks. Yes, I consider it THAT important for people to hear.)

Kevin

Last Sunday’s sermon at LifeChurch.tv was the first in a new series called “How to BE Rich.” As attractive as the title may be to some, they’re in for a rude surprise when they check it out. The emphasis? Not the fact that we can all become rich one day, but the reality of how we already ARE rich. This especially applies to us as Americans who are living in one of the most affluent societies in the history of the world.

As always, God uses Craig’s words in such a way that they reach right into your very soul. He makes a lot of points, and ONE of them is always bound to convict you, or inspire you, or change you. I guess that’s the best word for it. Change. You can’t listen to this series and not feel changed or a NEED to change something in your life.

It’s an excellent series, and I highly recommend you experience it when you have a free 15-20 minutes.

To be honest, I can’t say enough about how impressed I’ve been with LifeChurch.tv since Kim and I first started attending back in August 2005. God has molded my character in ways I never conceived of over the course of the past few years. While I can’t give the church ALL the credit for it, I will say that He has used those messages to take me from the brink of desperation more than once. Hope? Encouragement? Motivation? I’ve found them there, more times than I can count.

I’ve been a volunteer at the Internet Campus for about 6 months now. For those who aren’t familiar with the LifeChurch Internet Campus, the concept is simple: a place to visit and worship and hear the Word preached for those who either can’t or would prefer not to physically attend church. So on Sundays from 11-12pm I volunteer in the Live Prayer area of the Internet Campus. Again, it’s just like it sounds – a place for people online to come and receive prayer. It was a natural fit for me, because I really enjoy praying for and encouraging other people, and I’m also able to carry on a chat session with little to no effort. And I’m humble. Oh-so-humble.

In addition to the streaming sermons and the Internet Campus, you can also find the sermons as audio and video podcasts on the iTunes Music Store. (This page has links to it.) So if you find you haven’t gone to church for a number of weeks / months but you still hunger to hear the Truth preached in relevant terms, this might be just what you’re looking for. Download ‘em into iTunes and slap ‘em onto your iPod to watch at your leisure.

Good, good stuff, Maynard. (It’s from a Malt-O-Meal commercial. Look it up on YouTube or something.)

Kevin

We all have epiphanies every once in a while. A time when all the answers suddenly seem to fall into place, when the dove of wisdom decides to alight on your shoulder and next thing you know, you KNOW. You finally UNDERSTAND. That elusive mystery? That pestering problem that you had been scrutinizing for the past few weeks / months / years? Solved. Just. Like. That.I’ve had an epiphany this week. It’s not profound, but at the same time it’s something we don’t really take into account, consciously. We take it for granted, and because of that we miss its significance, how it affects everyone and every single relationship we’ve had or will ever have.

The revelation? We’re all children.

That’s it. We are ALL children. Every single one of us. We might CALL ourselves adults, but we’re not. At least, not without a considerable amount of effort.

Look at a child. They’re selfish by nature. They know what THEY want – to do, to eat, to own, to play with. Their world revolves around them, and we as parents don’t always make it easy. We either cater to their every whim, reinforcing their narcissism, or we swing the pendulum the other way and neglect their needs, not recognizing how truly dependent they are on us.

Now, look at your typical adult. Unless he’s specifically been taught otherwise or taken it upon himself to redefine Who He Is, he’s a selfish dolt. In everything he does.

Hey, he’s got a better car than I do! I want that!

I need more money. More more more!

I don’t like you anymore. You make me feel bad. I hate you.

I want someone who makes me feel good. Me! Me! Me!

That was MY parking space, dammit! I’ll kill you! I WILL KILL YOU!

See my point?

We’re all inherently selfish and, as a result, we are all just like children. Only we’re trapped in these bizarre, hairy bodies. And unless we embark on the hidden path of Consideration and Respect for Others, we’re following the other lemmings off the cliff. Jumping with mindless glee, because it’s all we know, all we’ve been taught.

I’m here to encourage you to stop the spin cycle. Stop the madness. Today don’t just think about what YOU need to do and accomplish. Think about how you can help someone else, ANYONE else. Break free of your childish chains and genuinely LOVE someone else. Completely. Sacrificially.

It’s not easy, but considering the alternative, I think it’s well worth the effort.

We’re not alone out there. We have to live with other people every day. Every single day we will either choose to get along with those around us, or to think only about ourselves and what WE need to be happy. To compromise our goals and needs with those around us, or to stick our piggish heads in the sand and throw a tantrum until whatever offends us goes away. (You laugh, but you KNOW people like this. Heck, you’ve probably worked for them. Or are still working for ‘em…)

So I leave you with this one directive. It’s simple, it’s to-the-point and it’s something we all need to hear in this Me-Centric Society we’re a part of.

Grow Up.

______________________

1 Corinthians 13:11

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child,

I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.”

Last week I went to the local Apple Store and played with an iPod Touch. I’ve been wanting to get an iPod for a few years now, mainly because I’m all about rating my songs from 1 to 5 stars. Currently I can only do that via iTunes, which means I have to be shackled to my Mac to punch ‘em in. But if I had an iPod… Well… Then I’d have the freedom to rate my songs whereever I want.

I know. Some of you are reading this going “This is what’s important to you? Rating songs?” And the answer is: yes. Some people like to go boating. Some people play video games. Some people knit or do crosswords or collect bugs. We all have different passions that we pursue with what little free time we have. Mine is music, and what I love to rate songs. (More to the point, I don’t want to waste my time listening to songs that “didn’t” make the cut. If they have 1 star? I’ll never listen to it again. Two: it’s okay, but there’s something “wrong” with it that I didn’t care for. Three: it’s good enough, enjoyable and catchy. Four: Now THIS is a good song. Worthy of recommending to others. And Five? Well, if a song rates 5 stars, my friend, I could listen to it for the rest of my life on a deserted island. (With a solar-powered USB power supply, of course…)

Wow. What a ramble.

So, anyhow, I played with the Touch and it blew me away. Originally I laughed at the idea of spending so much money for an 8 gb player, when you could get the 80 gb iPod Classic for $50 LESS. Then I picked it up, and away we went, down the rabbit hole.

So it’s important to note how much more you can do with the Touch. Wifi. Larger screen for movies. Virtual Keyboard. Plus, if you hack it you can install nifty “iPhone exclusive” programs that allow you to check mail, browse Google Maps, enter notes, etc. My hope is that after February when Apple releases the SDK for the iPhone/Touch that we don’t HAVE to hack it to install these things.

And that’s why I’m waiting until the Spring to get one. Not only will there be more applications, but it gives them the chance of updating things at the MacWorld conference thingy in January. (Rumor has it they’ll be announcing the much-hyped tablet subnotebook.)

Huh. I guess that’s all I’m writing about today. The iPod Touch. One thing to note: it still lacks an external keyboard as an input device, which means it’s just shy of replacing my beloved Sony Clie TJ-37. Without that, I’d still have to rely on this puppy to hack out blog entries on the fly at the gym.

Which makes me think: maybe my money would be better spent on an older Treo that would combine my phone & PDA capabilities. If only Palm hadn’t dropped the ball down the abyss of darkness with the Treo. How hard it is to implement WiFi in the thing? It’s what all Treo owners want, so there’s little excuse to hold back for the sake of the cellular industry. It’s sad. (And don’t even get me started on the Foleo disaster… Oy….)

So, yeah. As much as I’d love an iPod Touch, I’d much rather have a 2nd Gen 2gb iPod Nano and a Treo with WiFi.

THEN my life would be complete. Ha ha. (Nah, but my pants WOULD be 5 lbs lighter, with all my “schtuff” in the pockets.)

Kevin