Do You Have Jesus' Phone Number?



Catalina showing off her
awesome "pile of rocks."
They are still on our front steps!

 Please do not think this post is sacreligious in any way ... the title is simply the question that my 3 1/2 year old, Catalina, asked me today (at a completely random time no less).

I answered (as best I could through my stifled laughter) that we say our prayers so Jesus can hear us so no, I didn't have His phone number.

She said "Okay" and smiled and then ran off ... to get gum from grandma or something.

Later this evening as we all were saying our individual prayers as a family (we are not perfect in this tradition but usually only miss one or two days every few months) it was my turn to pick and I asked Catalina to say her prayers.  I cannot remember the entire prayer but here were a few choice parts of it in the best phonetic spelling I can do (followed by translation if you don't speak "Cat"):

"Pease bess Mywa dat she can be aybull to walk soon."

(Please bless Myra that she can be able to walk soon.)

"Bess Jah Coona dat he and Bookie will be happy an' nice to each ofver."

(Bless Josh Jr that he and Brooklyn will be happy and nice to each other.)

"An' bess dat we can washa moovy an' dat mommy and daddy haffa wash it wiffus an' dey yike it to."

(And bless that we can watch a movie and that mommy and daddy have to watch it with us and they like it too.)

I love her and I especially love her "phone calls" to Jesus!

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Couldn't you just FEEL the spirit in that song ?!

Today our church choir sang a Medley of Hymns about Jesus.  I cannot, at this moment, remember the exact title of the piece, but it included portions from three hymns, but with variation in the harmony parts and of course in the timing of those pieces.

What can I say about the performance except ... WOW!

We have practiced this for many weeks and I have enjoyed singing the piece from the start.  But the spirit has never been as strong while singing it as it was while we actually performed it for the congregation today.

The last few lines of the piece got me so choked up as we sang it that I actually had to just mouth a few of the words because I could not sing for lack of composure.  They are undoubtedly not as powerful without the accompanying music and four-part harmony, but here are the words that meant so much to me today:
"So, little children, let's you and I ... try, try to be like Him.  Try.  Try.  Try.  Tell me the stories of Jesus ... I long to hear."

The piece overall is mostly at medium volume throughout, but at the line above we come in FORTE and crescendo up to "Him" after which, we soften for the "try"s and then extremely softly we sing the last line, which ends on "hear" sung out over four measures.

AWESOME !!!

Kudos to the choir and our amazing director for an inspiring performance!   Even if I was the only one affected by it (and I know I wasn't the only one) then the effort was more than worth it!

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Was this the Best Game Ever to attend ?

Awwwwwww yeah!

This afternevening I witnessed the BEAT DOWN given to the Gonzaga Men's Basketball team by my own, beloved COUGARS of BYU !!!

There is so much to write about, but it is late and I haven't spent any time at all today with my beautiful wife ... so I'll be blogging about the experience tomorrow!

But here's a link to the recap story about the game ... it was SO AWESOME to be there and see BYU play as a team and with a defensive intensity that led to 11 total steals and a horrible shooting line (until the end of the game when it didn't matter any more) for the poor opponents.

Ahhhh ... I don't even care that my brackets are all jacked up!  :)

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How cool would it be having your own Paparazzi ?

Today at work we had a special visitor.  This guy.

His name is "The Messenger" (but his real name is John Jenkinson).  He is the "new guy" that is starring in Progressive's advertisements in a supporting role to the Flo advertising.

Now I know pretty much everyone has heard of Flo, but probably NO ONE outside of Progressive people has really heard of (or even cares yet for that matter) about this new guy.  But it was still a big event at our office today as he toured the building, took pictures with people, played his guitar, and shared his very witty commentary.  One of my reps always answers the "How are you?" question with the phrase "Mostly Good."  So today when he said that, The Messenger's response (without blinking an eye) was "Oh?  Did you just recover from something bad?"  Too funny! 
I got my picture taken with him and some of my teammates, etc. but will have to add it to another blog later on.

But the thing that was most interesting to me (because I am weird like that) was that he had his own paparazzi following him around taking the pictures and video, etc.  I was captivated in watching these tireless workhorses as they took photo after photo and video clip after video clip.  The one guy was "in charge" in a sort of way, as he directed The Messenger through our cubicles and hallways.  He kept nodding to the videographer and the still-camera guy so they knew when to shoot and when they could take 3 seconds to breath.  It was crazy!  I was jealous of the still-photographer's hat, because it was a really cool hat like Jason Mraz wears and looked a little like an old school member of the "press" might wear.

This is Jason Mraz in a cool hat!

Anyway, I think if or when I make it HUGE, I will not have an entourage, but instead will hire these dudes (and probably the one lady who was handing out photocards of The Messenger) and they can follow me around making my very presence an event for all around me!  :)

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What is the Worst Part about not blogging for a week ?

The answer might surprise you, but for me ... it is the fact that I have missed out on reading other folks' blogs during that time.

Y'see, when I log on to blog each evening, I follow a certain process:
#1. Check the "comments" link to see if anyone has said anything about my prior ramblings.
#2. Check my "Blogs I Follow" for posts from fellow blogs (and read them if I have time, which I usually do because they are fun and a great way to get to know people better).
#3. Check "out" for a little while ... and then think of a blog topic.
And then I blog, post to Facebook, and usually head straight to bed.

So the thing I missed the most this past week (besides my ability to breath through my nose - because I was sick) was the opportunity to "catch up" on fun stories, memories, experiences, etc. from my fellow bloggers.

Hopefully in the next week I'll be able to read all the posts I missed.  If you write one of the blogs I "follow" then be sure to check your own "comments" section over the next week to see what I had to say about your own musings!  :)

PS -- Happy St Patrick's Day and all that!

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Did Ya Miss Me ?

I'll summarize my "one-week off from blogging" in this manner (so in order to leave me enough memory of why I took the week off and not write so much that everyone reading it gets bored too quickly ... as if that hasn't already happened right now!) ... here goes ...

Had an all-day off-site for work on Wednesday (went very well).

Basketball that evening.

Woke up sorta sick Thursday.  Watched lots of Scrubs with Karen.

Woke up later and even more sick on Friday.

Watched more Scrubs with Karen.

Felt like I would NEVER wake up Saturday morning.  Missed the 11-year old Scout Day Camp.  Missed the St Patrick's Day parade.  Kids were very disappointed about that.  I think I ate at some point.

Taught my Sunday School class on Sunday

(but missed choir because I was still sick).  :(

Felt a little better Monday.  Took Karen to lunch at Chili's, which was VERY nice.  Watched more Scrubs with Karen.

80% recovered on Tuesday.  Back to work.  A sesquitrillion e-mails awaited and a bajillion meetings.  Then basketball in the evening.

And now we are to today.  99% recovered.  Ready for choir on Sunday.  Played (and lost for the first time all season) basketball tonight.  And got back on the blogging horse.

So ... let me hear ya if ya missed me!  Comment or something.  Holla!  Either way I'll still begin blogging again, but this past week is the reason why this ain't the "365 days of Josh" ... props to those who committed and completed that challenge ... but as for me and my house ... I will probably give myself a break every so often.

Until tomorrow (which will be a blog about any number of actually interesting things) ... good night and God Bless!

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Who Am I ?

I am a Child of God.  I am a son.  I am a brother.  I am a husband.  I am a father.  I am an uncle.  I am a grandson.  I am a nephew.  I am a cousin.  I am an "in-law."  I am "married, filing jointly".

I am a friend.  I am a confidant.  I am a partner.  I am a supervisor.  I am a "boss".  I am a leader.  I am a contrarian (look it up).  I am a counselor.  I am an enforcer.  I am a company man.  I am an empathetic listener.  I am a creator.  I am a co-worker.  I am a talker.  I am a visionary.  I am an editor.  I am a planner.

I am a fan.  I am a tenor.  I am a scout.  I am a game player.  I am on Facebook.  I am curious.  I am inquisitive.  I am a talker.  I am a baller.  I am hard on my children.  I am in love with my wife.  I am blessed.  I am overworked.  I am quick to say yes.  I am equally quick to shout "No!"  I am genuinely happy (most of the time).  I am easy to please.  I am a student of life.

I am thrifty (some say "cheap").  I am clean.  I am a woodworker.  I am a teacher.  I am a mentor.  I am being mentored.  I am not as fast as I used to be.  I am troubled.  I am angry.  I am sad.  I am excited.  I am a coach.  I am an example.  I am "good people."  I am a risk-taker.  I am smart.  I am confident.  I am serious.  I am simple.  I am easily amused.

I am getting wiser (with age and experience).  I am learning to smile more.  I am disappointed.  I am impressed.  I am a believer.  I am faithful.  I am loving.  I am kind.  I am generous.  I am an expert.  I am a hugger.  I am trustworthy.  I am approachable.  I am lucky.  I am interested in YOU!

I am tired.  I am going to bed.  I am ... zzzzzzzzzz.

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