Oddwalk has signed on to an internet project where bloggers agree to create a tribute on Sept. 11 to one of the many Americans who died 5 years ago. Come back to the blog then to see who we have been assigned to honor that day.
If you'd like to participate, there are still a few left to honor - you can visit this site.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Erin's Lucky Labor Shirt
When I got home from work this afternoon, my wife was wearing this shirt:
She calls it her lucky labor shirt, because it's the one she was wearing when she went into labor with our daughter, Madeleine. She is ready to have the baby and is hoping that the wearing of this shirt will help. She has sworn not to wear a different shirt until she has the baby. The due date is tomorrow, so we'll probably have some exciting news (and pictures) sometime this week.
Keep those prayers coming.
-Shannon
P.S. Fans of Apex Ministries will probably recognize this shirt as the "blue banana" shirt.
She calls it her lucky labor shirt, because it's the one she was wearing when she went into labor with our daughter, Madeleine. She is ready to have the baby and is hoping that the wearing of this shirt will help. She has sworn not to wear a different shirt until she has the baby. The due date is tomorrow, so we'll probably have some exciting news (and pictures) sometime this week.
Keep those prayers coming.
-Shannon
P.S. Fans of Apex Ministries will probably recognize this shirt as the "blue banana" shirt.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Before / After
After:
Yup, glasses. They're pretty-much all-the-time glasses. I had some reading glasses in college (here's a lousy pic):
but these are permanent.
As someone not used to full-time glasses, they make the world clearer, but the whole depth-percetion thing is going to take some getting used to. My computer screen is currently a trapezoid, not a rectangle, narrower at the bottom than at the top, for instance.
Ah well. I like them, and I like seeing things.
Possibly the Greatest Website Ever
Those of you who don't follow the St. Louis Cardinals, probably have no idea who Mike Shannon is. Mike Shannon played for the Cardinals in the 1960s until an injury ended his career. He then became an announcer (along with Hall of Famer Jack Buck) on KMOX broadcasts of Cardinal games, where he has been for 36 years.Mike Shannon is one of the more colorful broadcasters around, and now there is a website that has been created to celebrate what we call "Shannonisms". What are Shannonisms, you ask? Click here, and enjoy!
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Coming Soon...
featuring:
Check the main page soon for more details! It was shipped off to the duplicator today, hope to have it by the 3rd week of September! CD release concert October 21! Woo!
Monday, August 21, 2006
A Happy Day!
Today, our friends Brad and Joia Farmer met their newly adopted daughter in China. The little girl's name is Ava Therese FuBin Farmer. The Oddwalk family has been following their adoption journey and are very happy that this day has finally arrived. Congratulations to the (newly expanded) Farmer family! The Farmers, along with Gene Monterastelli, will spend eleven more days in China before returning home. To read more about this (and see pictures), you can either go to Joia's website, or Gene Monterastelli's blog.
70/30 - Week 1
Well...it turns out that I'm not a strong-willed as I thought I was.
Weight: While it's true that I cut back a lot on what I ate this week, there wasn't a marked improvement. I am reminded that it's important I change WHAT I eat as well. I also didn't have a lot of time for exercise. I will try and find more time this week.
Prayer: I did take more time to pray this week. I also found myself being a lot more conscious of the need for it. There wasn't, however, a particular part of the day that I committed to prayer. Therefore, it still felt like an afterthought. I don't want God to be an afterthought. I want God to be the first thought. I don't mean that I'm looking to be overly pious, but I do think that my ultimate happiness and fulfillment can only be found in submitting to God's will for me. I will try and use my daily drive-time as prayer-time.
I'll try and update this every Monday. Next week I'll be less of a coward and actually tell you what the scale said. If my scale had a personality and a face, it would have given me the disappointed look my mother used to give me when my actions didn't match my potential. You know what look I'm talking about.
-Shannon
Weight: While it's true that I cut back a lot on what I ate this week, there wasn't a marked improvement. I am reminded that it's important I change WHAT I eat as well. I also didn't have a lot of time for exercise. I will try and find more time this week.
Prayer: I did take more time to pray this week. I also found myself being a lot more conscious of the need for it. There wasn't, however, a particular part of the day that I committed to prayer. Therefore, it still felt like an afterthought. I don't want God to be an afterthought. I want God to be the first thought. I don't mean that I'm looking to be overly pious, but I do think that my ultimate happiness and fulfillment can only be found in submitting to God's will for me. I will try and use my daily drive-time as prayer-time.
I'll try and update this every Monday. Next week I'll be less of a coward and actually tell you what the scale said. If my scale had a personality and a face, it would have given me the disappointed look my mother used to give me when my actions didn't match my potential. You know what look I'm talking about.
-Shannon
Thursday, August 17, 2006
La Morita
From July 28 to August 5, Orin's wife Erin took part in a young-adult mission trip sposored by the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows and Oblate Youth Ministry to La Morita, near Tijuana, Mexico (near San Diego, CA). The Oblates of Mary Immaculate have a health clinic there. The group spent most of the week just talking with the people, talking with the Oblates who try to meet their needs, and examining what they could do to help social justice issues when they returned home. Read more about their trip (but, strangely, not the salmonella part) by clicking above or here.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Monday, August 14, 2006
70/30
On Saturday, Steve Allgeyer came to Jefferson City to provide training for the core team that takes care of our tri-parish Lifeteen Program. Steve works for Lifeteen nationally, and did an excellent job. Click here to learn more about Lifeteen.
In addition to providing good tools and resources for our ministry, Steve talked with us about personal spirituality. His point was that if we were going to lead young people into a deeper relationship with Christ and His church, we had better take care of ourselves first. After listening to him, and filling out a personal spiritual inventory, I realized that there were two areas of my life that I needed to work on: creating a strong, consistent prayer life, and taking care of my body.
The first is prayer.
I dont' want to give the impression that I don't pray, because I do. What I lack is a significant chunk of time during my day that belongs to God alone. I pray to God throughout the day, at meals, and certainly at Church. There isn't any time, though, that I can just focus on God and center myself. I would very much like to change this. Here's what I would like to work towards:
I would like to get to the point that I spend 30 minutes a day in prayer. To be truthful, I would like that to be a full hour, but I need to start with a goal that seems attainable. My schedule is such that trying to find the same time every day will be somewhat impossible. I plan to start with just five minutes, then work my way to ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, then on to thirty minutes. I know this won't be easy, but I need to make my actions reflect my belief that God is in charge of my life, not me.
The second is weight loss.
This is not something I can hide from anyone. This morning, I stepped on the scale and it read: 249 lbs. I wish I could say that I was shocked and saddened to be at that weight, but that would not be truthful. Six months before I married Erin, I she and I started doing Weight Watchers, with unbelievable results. I ended up dropping 50 lbs! I looked and felt better than I had in years. Since getting married, however, I have reverted back to my old habits of eating too much of the wrong things, and not exercising at all. I want that to be different.
I want to lose 70 lbs. That may seem like a lofty goal, but after losing 50 lbs. at one point, 70 doesn't seem like that much more. I am partly inspired by my mother who has lost almost that much since she started eating better and exercising a few months ago. I still remember the things I learned in my Weight Watchers experience. I know how to eat right, I just don't do it. I know how to stay active, I've just been lazy.
I'm calling this effort: 70/30: Seventy for weight, thirty for prayer. That may seem like a lot to take on all at once, but I think I can do it. I don't think the two are exclusive from one another. What I'm trying to do is be a healthier all-around person. I believe that by doing that, I will be a better husband, father, youth minister, musician, and speaker. I'm going to need your help, though.
As I start this effort, which begins today, I am going to need the people around me to not only pray for me, but help me make good choices as well. I am weak when it comes to fast food, portion sizes, and snacking. It would also be good for you to ask me how my prayer life is going. That will help keep me honest. I will post a weekly update to this blog letting you know how it's going.
Thanks for reading this long post. Since we are supposed to all help each other be healthier and live as Christians, if I can help you in your jouney, please don't hesitate to ask.
-Shannon
In addition to providing good tools and resources for our ministry, Steve talked with us about personal spirituality. His point was that if we were going to lead young people into a deeper relationship with Christ and His church, we had better take care of ourselves first. After listening to him, and filling out a personal spiritual inventory, I realized that there were two areas of my life that I needed to work on: creating a strong, consistent prayer life, and taking care of my body.
The first is prayer.
I dont' want to give the impression that I don't pray, because I do. What I lack is a significant chunk of time during my day that belongs to God alone. I pray to God throughout the day, at meals, and certainly at Church. There isn't any time, though, that I can just focus on God and center myself. I would very much like to change this. Here's what I would like to work towards:
I would like to get to the point that I spend 30 minutes a day in prayer. To be truthful, I would like that to be a full hour, but I need to start with a goal that seems attainable. My schedule is such that trying to find the same time every day will be somewhat impossible. I plan to start with just five minutes, then work my way to ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, then on to thirty minutes. I know this won't be easy, but I need to make my actions reflect my belief that God is in charge of my life, not me.
The second is weight loss.
This is not something I can hide from anyone. This morning, I stepped on the scale and it read: 249 lbs. I wish I could say that I was shocked and saddened to be at that weight, but that would not be truthful. Six months before I married Erin, I she and I started doing Weight Watchers, with unbelievable results. I ended up dropping 50 lbs! I looked and felt better than I had in years. Since getting married, however, I have reverted back to my old habits of eating too much of the wrong things, and not exercising at all. I want that to be different.
I want to lose 70 lbs. That may seem like a lofty goal, but after losing 50 lbs. at one point, 70 doesn't seem like that much more. I am partly inspired by my mother who has lost almost that much since she started eating better and exercising a few months ago. I still remember the things I learned in my Weight Watchers experience. I know how to eat right, I just don't do it. I know how to stay active, I've just been lazy.
I'm calling this effort: 70/30: Seventy for weight, thirty for prayer. That may seem like a lot to take on all at once, but I think I can do it. I don't think the two are exclusive from one another. What I'm trying to do is be a healthier all-around person. I believe that by doing that, I will be a better husband, father, youth minister, musician, and speaker. I'm going to need your help, though.
As I start this effort, which begins today, I am going to need the people around me to not only pray for me, but help me make good choices as well. I am weak when it comes to fast food, portion sizes, and snacking. It would also be good for you to ask me how my prayer life is going. That will help keep me honest. I will post a weekly update to this blog letting you know how it's going.
Thanks for reading this long post. Since we are supposed to all help each other be healthier and live as Christians, if I can help you in your jouney, please don't hesitate to ask.
-Shannon
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Mmm, boogers.
So. Guess which city's residents google more often the word "booger" than any other city's in the world?
Orin's place of residence, St. Louis. Makes me proud.
- Orin
PS - There's also a Norwegian soccer team whose name is similar to a human-gaseous English word. St. Louis is #2 for that one, behind Oslo. Go team.
Orin's place of residence, St. Louis. Makes me proud.
- Orin
PS - There's also a Norwegian soccer team whose name is similar to a human-gaseous English word. St. Louis is #2 for that one, behind Oslo. Go team.
Monday, August 7, 2006
Oddwalk: NOW WITH SOUL!
Last Night, Oddwalk finished the recording end of our new CD (due out this fall). We invited Maggie Ramsay in to lay down some sax on a song called "Let Us Go Rejoicing". Maggie is the wife of Shannon's brother-in-law, Chris. She did an excellent job.
We are VERY excited about the new CD and can't wait to play it for people. Here are a couple of pictures from last nights recording session:
We are VERY excited about the new CD and can't wait to play it for people. Here are a couple of pictures from last nights recording session:
Stay tuned. The new CD, titled "Let Us Go Rejoicing" (after the song that Maggie is working on) should be out by the end of September!
Friday, August 4, 2006
Vatican's Fury over Madonna
The pop music star, of course, not the mother of God.What's your reaction to her "antics" this time? Comment below!
Tuesday, August 1, 2006
Before and Afterlife
Joia Farmer's New CD is out - click above and go listen!Also, Check out the Farmer's adoption progress at Ava Farmer is Coming!
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