I have a son, 16 years of age, who has surpassed my height now. I find myself unconsciously standing straighter, trying to be taller next to the young punk. It's rather disconcerting to look slightly UP to someone whom you've always heretofore looked down at. Hmph! It feels unnatural, weird, and generally not right.
13 years ago, my wife took the chubby-cheeked, platinum blonde little guy to the doctor, who commented that "He's a big one." After a series of tests, the doctor, with raised eyebrows, concluded that the boy would end up being between 6'6" and 6'8" tall when he had completed his growth cycle. That made MY eyebrows raise.
At this point, the "boy" is 6'3", and probably not done growing. He is a basketball machine. Although not yet of giant stature, he is rather large, eats sort of like a LARGE horse, and has size 15 feet! Heavens to Mergatroid, that's a big kid!
So we just finished tournament number 3. The boy's team took first in the state of Ohio (homeschool), and we still have to go to Missouri for the final tournament - Nationals. Lord have mercy, that's a whole bunch of tournaments. You'd think the kid had joined the NBA or something. Now he's having to make a new decision, and make it by this Saturday - whether to try out for an AAU team, or go to a basketball "school", either of which costs more than seems to be trickling in to our bank account these days.
So we had to tell the poor little fella that he'd just have to find another solution to his hoop dreams, like an AAU team that doesn't travel, or a job perhaps? Or both. The kid IS an amazing basketball player, usually making his opponents look bad, no matter what shade of melanin they may contain. Makes me chuckle, makes me happy, too.
I can easily see the guy winning a scholarship to some level of university, whether D1 or other, I don't know. He seems to have his sights set on going to a Christian college somewhere or other, and playing ball for them. Afterward, he is thinking he'll perhaps play for a European team, and then who knows?
Thank you for your support!
Out
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Survive Magazine
On a whim, I decided to create a magazine. The original intention was really just to create a portfolio piece, but somehow, that turned out not to be enough. I am actually working on creating an online magazine called SURVIVE Magazine, and it kicks butt.
I will try to include a copy of the front cover for your personal enjoyment.
This bi-monthly publication will start out kind of like a blog, but with multiple articles included in each edition. It will be intended as a valuable resource for Christians principally, but also will be a wealth of info/knowledge for anyone to use.
This will be a preparedness/readiness/survivalist magazine with a completely Christian outlook. Survive will, therefore, not only contain articles about how to put together a bug-out bag, but also articles about the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2 & 4, not only how to create a soda can alcohol stove, but also the Sermon on the Mount. Survive Mag will contain excerpts from many books on theology, and interviews of prominent, forward thinkers in the field of sustainable housing design.
So there will be multiple things of interest in each edition for any and all.
I'll keep you posted.
Panchito
I will try to include a copy of the front cover for your personal enjoyment.
This bi-monthly publication will start out kind of like a blog, but with multiple articles included in each edition. It will be intended as a valuable resource for Christians principally, but also will be a wealth of info/knowledge for anyone to use.
This will be a preparedness/readiness/survivalist magazine with a completely Christian outlook. Survive will, therefore, not only contain articles about how to put together a bug-out bag, but also articles about the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2 & 4, not only how to create a soda can alcohol stove, but also the Sermon on the Mount. Survive Mag will contain excerpts from many books on theology, and interviews of prominent, forward thinkers in the field of sustainable housing design.
So there will be multiple things of interest in each edition for any and all.
I'll keep you posted.
Panchito
My Newest Post
Greetings to my millions of readers! God love ya!
I was just attacked by my feisty young child, after I pestered the poor thing, of course. Kids are fun!
Now then, on to the next subject:
I am in the midst of creating a chicken coop! Yes, I can see you're excited by that piece of news, I would be too. My friends, Ed and Micheal, have jumped into the fray with me, and this very day we set about building a chicken coop. Huzzah! Huzzah! We have calculated that, since each chicken needs 4 square feet of floor space inside the coop, we need a twenty by twenty building to house our planned flock. So how many chickens is that, you ask? The quick answer, which also happens to be the long answer, is 100 cluckers. "What? Are you out of your mind?" you ask. Well, let's not delve too deeply into that topic for now. We're here to discuss chickens, remember?
One hundred chickens, when mature, will give us around 90 eggs per day, depending on the variety of clucker, and myriad other factors. "But what in the world are you going to do with that many eggs," you ask. The short answer... that remains to be seen. But it doesn't take a person with the level of creativity compressed into MY brain to understand that there's a large market out there for organically produced eggs. They taste better, and are NOT poisonous to humans or the environment, unlike the crap sold in most grocery stores today.
As a Christian, I feel that I have a responsibility to steward what God has placed in my hands to the best of my ability. This world falls into that category in a big way, and I, as a Christian, have GOT to be at the forefront of the responsible crowd there. Does that mean that I think every Christian should be an environmentalist? Yes, that IS what I think. Why? Because God told us, way back, to steward the Earth, period! There, that was easy.
That being said, every one of us should figure out what that means in our own personal context, without using that sort of statement as a cop out. Should we be polluting the place that God gave us to wisely use? Should we be participating, or merely not resisting the tendency of humanity to drive species to extinction? Should we NOT try to live in such a way that we are NOT destroying, polluting, fouling, poisoning, remodeling, removing, replacing, or overwhelming this fragile planet we've been placed on? Umm, no, we shouldn't.
We disciples of Jesus of Nazareth should be THE environmentalists. But that doesn't mean we should be tree huggers, bunny savers, fur painters, tree spikers, or other sorts of malcontents like that. We should simply, quietly, do the work of the King, in all it's forms. Well, perhaps not always quietly, sometimes you've got to raise a cry.
The main focus of all of us who claim allegiance to Messiah must be to carry out his orders, especially those he gave immediately before ascending into Heaven, namely,
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
I was just attacked by my feisty young child, after I pestered the poor thing, of course. Kids are fun!
Now then, on to the next subject:
I am in the midst of creating a chicken coop! Yes, I can see you're excited by that piece of news, I would be too. My friends, Ed and Micheal, have jumped into the fray with me, and this very day we set about building a chicken coop. Huzzah! Huzzah! We have calculated that, since each chicken needs 4 square feet of floor space inside the coop, we need a twenty by twenty building to house our planned flock. So how many chickens is that, you ask? The quick answer, which also happens to be the long answer, is 100 cluckers. "What? Are you out of your mind?" you ask. Well, let's not delve too deeply into that topic for now. We're here to discuss chickens, remember?
One hundred chickens, when mature, will give us around 90 eggs per day, depending on the variety of clucker, and myriad other factors. "But what in the world are you going to do with that many eggs," you ask. The short answer... that remains to be seen. But it doesn't take a person with the level of creativity compressed into MY brain to understand that there's a large market out there for organically produced eggs. They taste better, and are NOT poisonous to humans or the environment, unlike the crap sold in most grocery stores today.
As a Christian, I feel that I have a responsibility to steward what God has placed in my hands to the best of my ability. This world falls into that category in a big way, and I, as a Christian, have GOT to be at the forefront of the responsible crowd there. Does that mean that I think every Christian should be an environmentalist? Yes, that IS what I think. Why? Because God told us, way back, to steward the Earth, period! There, that was easy.
That being said, every one of us should figure out what that means in our own personal context, without using that sort of statement as a cop out. Should we be polluting the place that God gave us to wisely use? Should we be participating, or merely not resisting the tendency of humanity to drive species to extinction? Should we NOT try to live in such a way that we are NOT destroying, polluting, fouling, poisoning, remodeling, removing, replacing, or overwhelming this fragile planet we've been placed on? Umm, no, we shouldn't.
We disciples of Jesus of Nazareth should be THE environmentalists. But that doesn't mean we should be tree huggers, bunny savers, fur painters, tree spikers, or other sorts of malcontents like that. We should simply, quietly, do the work of the King, in all it's forms. Well, perhaps not always quietly, sometimes you've got to raise a cry.
The main focus of all of us who claim allegiance to Messiah must be to carry out his orders, especially those he gave immediately before ascending into Heaven, namely,
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know...
What do you mean "it's been forever since I last sunk my teeth into this blog"? I'm sure it's only been around a month or so... I forgot to look to see exactly how long it HAS been. Yeah, right. I failed to look on purpose out of embarrassment.
At any rate, here is my latest post, adoring world.
I'm sitting here at my computer desk (yes, I have two desks, one for piling my junk on - the better of the two, and one for my computer (and for piling junk on)), with my pants down to my knees, a turtle neck shirt on - black, and my favorite, brown casual shoes. It's 2:15 am on January 7, 2008. What the hell am I thinking? What are you thinking, you pervert? Of course I don't have my pants down to my knees for any less-than-honorable reason. I came out of the john with the intention of going straight to bed, when I was waylayed by the thought that my friend, Luis Paredes, from Lima, Peru, might have sent me an update on his new plan for mentoring the Hispanic youth of our little area into a deep relationship with Jesus. That's right, you heard me correctly. How could you think such a thing? Get your mind out of the gutter already!
So, what do I find? I find that Luis sent me an email in which was supposed to reside an attachment, but therein I found none. Hmf! I shot off a quick note chastising my friend, and setting him straight. Luis is a guy who is bound to make a big impact on the world. I wish you could all know him. He would be a good friend to all of you, whoever you are.
Enough of that blathering, let's blather about all the interesting things that I'm up to. Firstly,
I have embarked on a mission to remodel my basement. Why you ask would any sane man, (your first mistake is that you suppose that I'm sane) at the age of 45, start remodeling his basement? Is it to have a place to install my new 95 diagonal inch plasma TV? Well, no, that would not be it. Hmm. Would it be to... have a place to put my new pool table, built-in bar w/keg, and those cool African animal barstools? Nope, sorry. That's not it, either. What about a place to show off my collection of South American butterflies? Um, no! What are you thinking, weirdo? Wait. I'm blathering again, sorry.
Oh yeah, the purpose of this one-sided conversation - I am constructing 3 bedrooms and a full bath down yonder to have a place to house people that God sends our way for salvation and discipleship. "What?", you ask. "What did you say?" Well, I am firmly convinced that the way we play the Christianity game here in the U.S. has VERY little to do with what God really wants out of us. Also, during prayer about 5-6 months ago, God spoke to me in some incredibly clear ways regarding what I'm to do, and in regards to those I'm daily with. So I have chosen to radically obey my Lord Jesus.
Very shortly, I'll be off on another adventure. I'll be heading to Mexico for two or three weeks. I feel that God is going to have something there for me, whether direction, a mission, a soul, or a church, I don't know, but I'm going because I feel lead to do so.
I have no idea whether anyone will actually read this blog any time soon, but who knows?
I am also going to Mexico to research tortilla machines. Yes, that is correct, tortilla machines. What do you mean, "Why would any sane man want a tortilla machine." I want to start a tortillaria here in my town. I want to start small, and grow as the years go by. My reason for starting a tortillaria is to have a bit more money for my family, have a lot more money for my ministry, and give jobs to several people, for the glory of God.
I'm tired.
Ciao,
Frank J. McAvinchey
At any rate, here is my latest post, adoring world.
I'm sitting here at my computer desk (yes, I have two desks, one for piling my junk on - the better of the two, and one for my computer (and for piling junk on)), with my pants down to my knees, a turtle neck shirt on - black, and my favorite, brown casual shoes. It's 2:15 am on January 7, 2008. What the hell am I thinking? What are you thinking, you pervert? Of course I don't have my pants down to my knees for any less-than-honorable reason. I came out of the john with the intention of going straight to bed, when I was waylayed by the thought that my friend, Luis Paredes, from Lima, Peru, might have sent me an update on his new plan for mentoring the Hispanic youth of our little area into a deep relationship with Jesus. That's right, you heard me correctly. How could you think such a thing? Get your mind out of the gutter already!
So, what do I find? I find that Luis sent me an email in which was supposed to reside an attachment, but therein I found none. Hmf! I shot off a quick note chastising my friend, and setting him straight. Luis is a guy who is bound to make a big impact on the world. I wish you could all know him. He would be a good friend to all of you, whoever you are.
Enough of that blathering, let's blather about all the interesting things that I'm up to. Firstly,
I have embarked on a mission to remodel my basement. Why you ask would any sane man, (your first mistake is that you suppose that I'm sane) at the age of 45, start remodeling his basement? Is it to have a place to install my new 95 diagonal inch plasma TV? Well, no, that would not be it. Hmm. Would it be to... have a place to put my new pool table, built-in bar w/keg, and those cool African animal barstools? Nope, sorry. That's not it, either. What about a place to show off my collection of South American butterflies? Um, no! What are you thinking, weirdo? Wait. I'm blathering again, sorry.
Oh yeah, the purpose of this one-sided conversation - I am constructing 3 bedrooms and a full bath down yonder to have a place to house people that God sends our way for salvation and discipleship. "What?", you ask. "What did you say?" Well, I am firmly convinced that the way we play the Christianity game here in the U.S. has VERY little to do with what God really wants out of us. Also, during prayer about 5-6 months ago, God spoke to me in some incredibly clear ways regarding what I'm to do, and in regards to those I'm daily with. So I have chosen to radically obey my Lord Jesus.
Very shortly, I'll be off on another adventure. I'll be heading to Mexico for two or three weeks. I feel that God is going to have something there for me, whether direction, a mission, a soul, or a church, I don't know, but I'm going because I feel lead to do so.
I have no idea whether anyone will actually read this blog any time soon, but who knows?
I am also going to Mexico to research tortilla machines. Yes, that is correct, tortilla machines. What do you mean, "Why would any sane man want a tortilla machine." I want to start a tortillaria here in my town. I want to start small, and grow as the years go by. My reason for starting a tortillaria is to have a bit more money for my family, have a lot more money for my ministry, and give jobs to several people, for the glory of God.
I'm tired.
Ciao,
Frank J. McAvinchey
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Snow daze
The prognosticators claimed 10 inches of snow where coming our way. So far it seems that we've gotten around 4 inches of snow. Later, it began to rain. The rain turned our trees into a crystalline wonderland. The white pines and spruces boughs are drooping to the ground, making them look like tall, wet cats.
My friend, Dan Edelen, has a blog that is becoming very popular. Check out his blog Cerulean Sanctum. You'll find many articles on thought provoking subjects. Check it out! And speaking of Dan Edelen, if that guy ever publishes a book, you've got to get it. His writing is extremely good, and I'm speaking from the point of view of one who has been granted the honor of reading several of his stories pre-publication. I really hope Dan is able to publish his books soon. His writing is as good as anything John Grisham, or Michael Crichton has written. He rocks!
Another "Encuentro" completed, several folks freed from spiritual oppression. Weekend spiritual encounters, or retreats, are an integral part of the cell church experience, and one that I really enjoy. I've now participated in 6 encounters in all. I'm a member of La Viña, a Spanish-speaking Vineyard church plant in Cincinnati, Ohio. We're a G-12 based cell church, unlike the "Mother Ship", Vineyard Community Church, which is small group-based. What's the difference? Well, it all comes down to having a program that is tested and proven, and sticking to it, or... not. That said, who's got the one that REALLY works? Are you measuring numbers of individuals who stay in the church for an extended period? Sunday attendance? Demons cast out? Or what?
For us, we looked at who has had the most impact on their society, the largest sustained, single congregation, the best training. That would have to be either David Yongi Cho of Korea, or Cesar Castillano of Columbia. We settled on Cesar Castillano's model of G-12, perhaps because of the Hispanic culture involved, and that our pastor visited that church a few years ago in Bogota. At that time, the Bogota church had somewhere in the neighborhood of 200,000 members. That's quite a few individuals. Today she has something like 400,000 members. The International Charismatic Mission, as it is called in English, has had a profound effect on it's country, Columbia, which is recognized as the most violent country in the world. ICM has brought healing and wholeness to a huge number of people, and it has brought hope in a hopeless situation.
Having read many books by individuals involved in cell churches around the world, it seems that churches that focus on multiplying cells almost automatically have healthier cells than not, perhaps due to the fact that they expend lots of energy and resources in ongoing training and mentoring. Check out Joel Comisky's book, "How to be a Great Cell Group Coach", for more on that subject.
Dinner time is upon me now, it's finally time to chow.
Adios to all,
Panchito
My friend, Dan Edelen, has a blog that is becoming very popular. Check out his blog Cerulean Sanctum. You'll find many articles on thought provoking subjects. Check it out! And speaking of Dan Edelen, if that guy ever publishes a book, you've got to get it. His writing is extremely good, and I'm speaking from the point of view of one who has been granted the honor of reading several of his stories pre-publication. I really hope Dan is able to publish his books soon. His writing is as good as anything John Grisham, or Michael Crichton has written. He rocks!
Another "Encuentro" completed, several folks freed from spiritual oppression. Weekend spiritual encounters, or retreats, are an integral part of the cell church experience, and one that I really enjoy. I've now participated in 6 encounters in all. I'm a member of La Viña, a Spanish-speaking Vineyard church plant in Cincinnati, Ohio. We're a G-12 based cell church, unlike the "Mother Ship", Vineyard Community Church, which is small group-based. What's the difference? Well, it all comes down to having a program that is tested and proven, and sticking to it, or... not. That said, who's got the one that REALLY works? Are you measuring numbers of individuals who stay in the church for an extended period? Sunday attendance? Demons cast out? Or what?
For us, we looked at who has had the most impact on their society, the largest sustained, single congregation, the best training. That would have to be either David Yongi Cho of Korea, or Cesar Castillano of Columbia. We settled on Cesar Castillano's model of G-12, perhaps because of the Hispanic culture involved, and that our pastor visited that church a few years ago in Bogota. At that time, the Bogota church had somewhere in the neighborhood of 200,000 members. That's quite a few individuals. Today she has something like 400,000 members. The International Charismatic Mission, as it is called in English, has had a profound effect on it's country, Columbia, which is recognized as the most violent country in the world. ICM has brought healing and wholeness to a huge number of people, and it has brought hope in a hopeless situation.
Having read many books by individuals involved in cell churches around the world, it seems that churches that focus on multiplying cells almost automatically have healthier cells than not, perhaps due to the fact that they expend lots of energy and resources in ongoing training and mentoring. Check out Joel Comisky's book, "How to be a Great Cell Group Coach", for more on that subject.
Dinner time is upon me now, it's finally time to chow.
Adios to all,
Panchito
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