Belts. Tow Trucks. And Auto Service Repair Shops

So, I leave work this afternoon all pumped about getting a cd filled with video that Corey made for me when all of a sudden I hear... rat a tat tat tat tat tat tat tat tat tat tat tat tat tat tat tat (if you say it real fast, it actually sounds like what was going on under the hood of my car). So I pull over immediately. I'm sure the guy behind me let me know I'm number one. But I didn't care. I pop the hood... no mess. I guess that's good. So I go back and turn the ignition... same sound. And as I looked I saw that one of my belts had started to come undone and was spinning and hitting things in the engine. The guy at the service station I called said I should tow my car. So I took his advice. It's now waiting to be looked at either tomorrow or Monday. The funniest part of this fiasco (wait, it's not funny)... the funny part of this fiasco is the question Jami asked me... "Couldn't you just buy a belt and put it on yourself?" Are you kidding me? If it was a flat tire, I'd be good to go. But engine work!? I'm the most car illiterate in the continental United States... wait, North America... wait... the entire world... no, wait... the entire Milky Way. Sure I could put on the belt, but I'd lose my salvation along the way and probably a couple of fingers too.

Podcast to Pick

I'm hooked. I've had an Ipod for two days, and I'm already hooked to podcasts. Like humans need water, I need podcasts. Ok, that may be a little overly dramatic. But the podcast I want to pass on to you this week does have a lot to do with water... living water. It's from Aqueous Church in Goleta, California near Santa Barbara. Aqueous - meaning partaking of the nature of water, or abounding with it. Lead pastors Billy and Kristin Calderwood are calling people to live aqueous lives where Jesus flows out of every area of each person. I recently listened to the 12.03.05 podcast by Billy called, Worship and Praise: when Jesus arrives in the temple. Their passion is communicated clearly through their site and it's clear that they are not afraid to risk and fail at innovation to connect with Jesus so that they never give in to the staleness of spirit and soul. This is my Podcast to Pick this week, if for no other reason than pastor Billy actually said "Jesus was pissed" in the above message. Thanks for your courage, passion and telling it like it is.

Thursday's Throw-Up

I know. I know. It's 9:59 p.m. I'm just now getting to my Thursday post. I actually spent half the day in front of the computer and half the day playing with Carter. But my time with the computer was spent trying to understand the ins and outs of my Ipod. In any case, I want to get out a variety of things this Thursday, you know, kind of like puke.



Starbucks Gift Cards. One of the greatest gifts on the planet. I actually got two of them this year... well three, if I can use the remainder of my Barnes & Noble card for coffee. I think I'll be stopping at Starbucks before work. Then after work. And maybe brew a little Starbucks during work and at home.




My brother-in-law has gotten my nearly hooked on the Las Vegas version of CSI over the Christmas holiday. Man, where have I been. Nothing like a couple of murders and some dry humor to make a guy's night. When will they come out with a downloadable version for ITunes?



And finally (but definitely not vomit!)... my good friend Corey Mann has decided to start a side business called I Make Videos. If you'd like a video made, I highly suggest you visit his site. He just finished our son's video that captured the first year of his life. I hate to admit this for everyone to see, but it made me cry. But seriously, Corey has the ability to use his creativity to develop videos that touch lives, communicate ideas in relevant and fresh ways, and bring laughter to a room of people. I strongly suggest you contact him and let him run with your project... you won't be disappointed.

That's all. I feel better now... you know, just like you do after you throw up.

Carter's Christmas

Welcome to Carter's Christmas. I wish I had more photos but I was too busy taking video shots of him opening his gifts. He wants to thank everyone for their present to him.



Look out! Here I come.



Hey, can I get a push? Put down the camera.



Yeah, it's me... Carter.



Check this out. It makes noise when I walk with it.



Check out my Christmas PJs. Aparently I will get them every year on Christmas Eve. I think that's a fun tradition... well it will be until I'm like 12.



Ooooo, a magic wand. What!? It's a toothbrush?



One more picture from great grandma and grandpa Ruth's house... I'm tired. Can you tell?

New Addition

Please welcome the newest addition to the Ruth technology family... the 30 gig Video Ipod. I had to buy it... especially since Ipod's opening sentence on their site is "Witness the evolution of the revolution." It's kind of like having a baby – I spent 15 minutes in Target talking to some stranger about $250 speakers for our Ipods... neither of us bought those speakers, they're $250. In any case, I spent roughly eight hours the last two days figuring out and playing with the Ipod... very cool buy. Maybe I'll start my own podcast and listen to it all day long...

Our Christmas Tree... I Mean Stick

When we cut down and purchased our tree, it became our Christmas tree. About two weeks out from Christmas, it became our Christmas stick. As you can see, we were about two more weeks from having a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. We literally had to sweep up needles every other day – it could have been every day. So on Christmas, Santa put the presents under our Christmas stick – and then momma and papa Scrooge threw the tree away as soon as the presents were open... Merry Christmas!

Bed Wetting

So, last Thursday I was getting Carter ready to take him to his grandparent's house. Like usual, if he's facing away from me I toss him up, spin him around and catch him so that he's now facing me. The only difference this time, I did it as I was getting up from the couch... which meant that I didn't have my legs under me... which meant that I threw him and caught him with just my arms and back... which led to a severe pain shoot through my lower back... which led to me saying "Jami, Jami, Jami. Take him, take him, take him." real fast over and over again. I've only hurt my back one other time, and that was in high school. I back pain. I have been stiff and sore since Thursday. It's gotten better since then. One reason I believe is because I've been sleeping with a heating pad under my lower back. The only problem... for the past few days when I wake up, it feels like I've pee'd the bed because of the warm sensation where the bed would be wet if I were to have actually wet it... which I didn't. So I've now moved the heating pad from my lower back to my feet... no reason... it just feels good.

He Said What!?

Why does a mustard seed attract comparison to the kingdom of God? Because for Jesus the kingdom is about the ordinariness of loving God and loving others. The kingdom is as common as sparrows, as earthly as backyard bushes, as routine as breakfast coffee, and as normal as aging. He hallows the ordinary act of love, making it extraordinary. Instead of finding it in the majestic, Jesus sees God's kingdom in the mundane. The kingdom of God is the transforming presence of God in ordinary humans who live out the Jesus Creed.

Scot McKnight
The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others
Pages 135-136

Holiday Tree Spotted in South Bend, Indiana

Well, the goofiness continues... the city of South Bend, Indiana has decided to call the tree they put up downtown every year a "Holiday Tree" as opposed to a Christmas Tree. The reason? They say that South Bend is a culturally diverse city, so they want to include everyone in the holiday season... well, except Christians. I find it odd that those who claim to be inclusive of everyone, continuously decide to remove anything remotely Christian. I have no problems saying "happy holidays". And I don't think that a "Christian" lawsuit is the solution. I'm just tired of those who make these types of decisions take the easy way out... you know, remove the word "Christmas" and make everything generic. Wouldn't a better, more colorful and diverse solution be to design a scene that includes each cultural demographic that celebrate something at this time of the year? That would be cool, beautiful and would help each of us celebrate together. But this would mean that thought, work and creativity would have to be put into this solution. And that's just too much to expect from those who are making these decisions. I think that Virgin Mobile says it best... happy chrismahanukwanzakah! Oh wait, we can't say that either. It leaves out Festivus for the rest of us.

(The debate over "Christmas" versus "Holiday" hits close to home)

Age of Information... too much from kids and their blogs

MSNBC.com has a great article on Kids, blogs and too much information: children reveal more online than parents know. Check it out... especially if you have children.

Druggies

No. This shot wasn't taken at the Walmart pharmacy. It's our medicine. One prescription for Jami, one for me and two for Carter. Plus some Motrin and Excedrin. Yes, we are currently druggies and will be so for nine more days. Of course this shot doesn't include the Halls cough drops, Halls vitamin C drops, Vicks vaporizing machine and Jami's Vicks sinex spray, which I cannot take because you have to spray it up your nose!

My 9-Month Old Photo Shoot

Iced Pop

So I get into work yesterday morning and one of the guys is talking about how a pop exploded all over the staff freezer. Immediately I thought, "oh that totally sucks for whoever left it in there." And I made a couple of jokes about how if he was a nice guy he would have cleaned it up. And then I thought, "could it be mine?" And I came to the conclusion that it wasn't. And went on with work. And then after a couple of minutes Mark, the guy who found the mess, came up to me and said something I wasn't expecting from him... he said, "The can that exploded, was a cherry vanilla Dr. Pepper." Noooooooooo! Nobody else drinks cherry vanilla Dr. Pepper but me. I'm the person it sucked for! I was so hoping it was somebody else. But it wasn't. It was me. So for the first 30 or so minutes of work I cleaned out the freezer of MY exploded cherry vanilla Dr. Pepper. So lesson learned. Don't put cans of pop in the freezer to get cold quicker... or at least drink a type of pop that everyone else drinks!

Grandpa Rocky?

It seems that Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) has gotten up from his rocker and used his walker to return to the ring. Stallone, who is 59, filmed scenes for the sixth Rocky movie in Las Vegas ahead of a real fight. Apparently Rocky VI will show the boxer as an ageing, has-been in Philadelphia who once again comes out of retirement. Since this is a sports movie, shouldn't Stallone retire the Rocky series in its prime... you know, before making this one? Yo Sylvester! Don't make this movie. Oh wait, too late. He already made Rocky V – 15 years ago! Oh ya, and he was a part of the series Contender that tanked. Next stop for Stallone... The Surreal Life on VH1. But is that before or after he resurrects Rambo?

He Said What!?

Our ultimate goal shapes our each and every step. When humans live without goals, they get lost.

Scot McKnight
The Jesus Creed page 125

Get On the Map!

Google's created another cool service called Frappr!. I found it thanks to Chris Busch, who featured it on his blog. This fun feature allows people to create an online map of where their friends and blog visitors are from. It's fast, fun easy and free. You can enter as little or as much info about yourself as you'd like. Simply click the following link to participate so you can get to the map, Frappr map for Live A Revolution... Every Day and click on the link "add yourself" so you can get on the map!

Called Out

Here's an email I just received from Corey Mann.

Ok, I’m calling you out! You have turned into a DADDY! What happened to the intelligent, thought provoking, I recently read this, what do you think of that-posts???????? You have turned into “Look at my son” guy. (Of course not that that’s a bad thing) but co’mon man-YOU HAVE AN OPINION AND I WANT YOU TO EXPRESS IT! I’m tired of going to your blog and saying “Oh, that’s cute.”

We can do that anytime….my suggestion is to start a “carterruth.blogspot.com” and then you can post your cutsy videos and Santa Hat blahblahblah….I want some flippin’ Todd Ruth-the THINKER-posts…..NOW!

Just giving you a hard time. Go hug the toilet some more puker!

I know. I know. It has become a "DADDY" blog. As much as I love Carter and showing him off, it's not an on-purpose thing. Maybe it's because I had blogger depression. Maybe it's because I've been tired. Maybe it's been because I've been sick. Or maybe it's because I've been a lazy thinker this past month or so. In any case, I've been thinking the very same thing. I feel like I've missed out on so many quality posts... Falwell (or at least the Liberty Counsel) sueing over the saying Holiday vs. Christmas (regardless of when to defend our beliefs or not, does it make Christians look dumb when we sue over something like this. And SUE, is that the best way to defend?), MTV's marriage royalty break up of Jessica and Nick (were they really married - or was it a career boosting stunt?), the arrival of Ben and Jen's baby, or how Brad and Angelina are romancing around the globe! But seriously, you're right. I do have an opinion about everything... just ask my wife Jami. And it will be expressed like it has been in the past... maybe more so. But I'm not ready to start the carterruth.blogspot.com just yet. So yes, you can still expect to see some more of Carter in the future. But it will be back to normal on Live A Revolution starting – well – starting with this post. It's time, don't ya think, to start posting every day again. Thanks for calling me out!