it's all part of being a professional christian...

the scene:
The Millers house in Plano, Texas
for
the annual parenteau family christmas party and gift exchange.


"ok everyone, why don't you make your way into the family room. We're going to say grace."
in-laws, out-laws, boyfriends and girlfriends, children of all ages shuffle into the room and naturally begin to form a circle.
with uncle dave to my right and emily to my left i have to quickly decide if i am going to go for the more comfortable "over hand hold" or be forced to go "under hand".
dave moves quick and gets the over hand position.
dangit!
but emily was not as ready.
one out of two ain't bad.
"ok, is everyone here?" "Steve, would you please lead us in grace?"
for a split second i thought there might have been another steve.
for a split second my stomach was in my throat.
and in that same split second i felt naked.
yep. naked.
ok, maybe not naked but you know that feeling like you just got caught doing something embarrassing like picking you nose at a stop light.
that's sort of how i felt in that split second.
but i said yes.
and in the very next split second i tried to decide if i should go with the "present the whole gospel in my prayer because i know not everyone in the room knows the Lord" prayer or just ask everyone if they're thankful and go eat because the food is getting cold.
i decided to mix it up a bit.
lot's of thankfulness and a friendly reminder that Jesus is the reason for the season.
i don't know if anyone got saved that night.
but there was a lot of love going around.
i always enjoy my time with the parenteau's and their extended family.

Why yes, the grill is in fact on fire and burning out of control...



i just found out that a locate restaurant in the lubbock area i was involved in during its early stages will be closing its doors today. thankfully i'm several years removed from being a burrito architect but i will miss ole cilantros. you were always good to me. thanks for the memories.

if you happen to be in lubbock today please stop by cilantro's and eat a burrito for me. they're really yummy.

after 170 miles on the bike i finally got my first honk. i'm not sure if i know who it was but i still waved back. i ride friendly, the texas way.

happy octoberween...





can we just take a moment right now to pray for all those elementary teachers out there (my mom include) who are having to deal with the sugar highs and lows and any other candy hangover their students might be going through.

ok, thanks.

so i really wanted to carve a pumpkin this year because its michelle and i's first halloween as a married couple. well, that and i really wanted to relive the glory days when i got a ribbon for most creative in third grade for the pumpkin i carved. so i thought long and hard about what to carve and after some insight from my wife i carved this in under twenty minutes and in the dark on our porch. hope you like it.

the first 100 miles...




in an effort to save money, stay fit, and help the environment a little michelle and i sold a car and purchased bikes. although flower mound is not as conducive for bike riding yet as we would like it to be we have managed to still get around town a bit for the occasional dinner date at parker square or trips to the bank. i've been using my bike mostly to commute back and forth to work. i've put over a hundred miles on the bike so far and i'm proud to say that i haven't wrecked yet or delayed traffic in any sort of way. i have however mistakenly been apart of a triathlon (which i didn't win) and i've gotten plenty of weird stares from people in their cars as they pass by.

i've enjoyed riding to work. one of the first things i noticed about flower mound were the smells. some good, some bad. some of pine trees and wild flowers, others of cows and construction. but not cows in construction. because that's just gross.

if i were a city planner i would have more green belts with bike trails. especially bike trails that connect.

keepin it in the family...

there are a few traditions i like to hold onto. mostly having to do with food. for valentines day michelle and i started a tradition by making a pizza from scratch from a recipe my grandpa uses. recently i made a banana tea bread. a recipe we got from one of michelle's grandparents. maybe one of these days i'll get the secret meatball recipe from my father-in-law.

compartmentalized faith: part one...

it's funny how we view ministry sometimes.
or define it.
"will he be able to return to his ministry?" they ask.
or when will he return?
as if he has ever stopped ministering.
as far as i can tell he has never stopped.
and in the grand scheme of things i think its crazy enough to say that maybe,
just maybe,
he has ministered to more people now than he ever has.
weird.

don't get distracted by formulas, titles, positions...
or by the way things have always been done.
God is a little more creative than that.


now to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think; according to the power that works within us.

is it november yet...

is it just me or have the last several weeks seemed like some of the longest.



i think the sunburn i got from the state fair is finally starting to heal.
and upon further review it seems that michelle was not as innocent as she let on to be
as revealed by some photos taken by secret agent marpar.
it turns out we all cheated our way down the big slide.

thanks derek and sandra
thanks for the great show.
thanks for your honesty
thanks for sharing your stories
thanks for the encouragement
you guys made last night a memorable one.

holland state of mind...

its cool, cloudy.
and i got caught in a little bit of rain riding to work today.
not a bad way to start the day.
i think i am more productive work wise when its raining.

i'm off to a slow start and everything else around me doesn't seem to notice.

mish and i just got back from a short trip to austin.
we dropped in sunday afternoon and went straight to acl fest.
we didn't think we were going to go this year but made a decision to do so while standing in front of the ticket booth.
we hooked up with jay and megs.
listened to some good music.
and then remembered why we weren't going to do this again.
i think i am getting old.
or maybe i'm just a venue snob when it comes to listening to music.
ok, give me a year and i'll probably do this again.
that night we got to hang out with my little sis and brother in law.
huge props for letting us crash their place.
love you guys.

on monday mish and i had lunch with our good friend jennifer who is rocking teenagers worlds in south austin.
yeah, she rocks.
after lunch we took our time heading back to dallas.
we decided to stop and check out the Inner Space Caverns in georgetown.
mish was really excited because a friend of hers told her how one year she went with a group of people to the cave and when they turned the lights off so you can experience total darkness she kissed a boy.
mish was looking forward to total darkness.
and you know, so was i.
but when we got to the bottom of the cave and the tour guide turned the lights off so we could experience total darkness i was so distracted by the fact that i couldn't see my hand in front of my face that i forgot to kiss.
mish had leaned over and everything but to my defense i couldn't see that.
but for the recorded we did kiss in a dimly lit cave 69 feet below I-35.

it was only one night.
it was all loosely planned.
and it got pretty expensive.
but i had a really great time with my wife in austin.

just please don't hit me...

i just bought an odometer for my bike.
now i can keep track of the miles i'm putting on it.
did you know that much like a car there are scheduled tune ups when you hit certain mile mark?
i'm not yet sure what those are but i'm sure i'll find out soon.

so there are some tricky bike related issues i'm beginning to notice about flower mound.
one being that there are not a lot of bike racks to chain up to.
really not much of anything unless you are at a school or park.
i've had a hard time finding just a simple pole like a handicap sign if front of a store front.
so i've had to be creative there.

another thing i've noticed is i have to really plan out my route between point a and point b.
things to consider:
-time of day (is school about to let out, will i get caught in the dark)
-sidewalks vs streets (not every road comes with a sidewalk. or even a continuous one and some streets should just be avoided altogether)
-amount of time it takes to get places. starbucks on 407: ten minutes. to work: 13 minutes. to parker square: 15 minutes

i guess one good thing about all the current construction is the possibility of more sidewalks or bike paths.

is it weird that the new mcdonald's in town is nicer looking than a lot of the homes nearby?

what's that smell...

so it doesn't rain for twelve years and when it finally does guess who forgot to close the moon roof on the car the other night.

yours truly.

so mish and i had our first attempt back on our bikes today since we've been back from holland.
um, yeah, it didn't go so well.
i felt too big for my bike.
and it moved so slow.

you see, in holland we had these commuter type bikes that made it so easy to get around town.
mish and i both have mountain bikes.
not made for the road.
really, they're not.
i think after our short ride today we are ready to ditch the mountain bikes and hit the asphalt with some cruizers.

i've made a huge mistake...

so my attempt to kick the coffee habit i guess will have to start tomorrow.
it's tough when you have a commercial espresso machine just outside your office.
and you can make just about any flavored latte your little heart desires.
but i can do this.

i started reading blue like jazz again.
or at least just the first two chapters.
and now i remember why i liked it so much.
but i'll have to wait on that one for now.
i've got a long list of books ahead of that one i need to read.
why is it that now that i no longer have to read i now love to.

arrested development has to be one of the funniest tv shows out there.
too bad it's been canceled.

i think i need to stop drinking coffee.
really.
i just got back from a meeting at fourbucks with brent and i have a huge headache.
i think i have too much caffeine in my system.
i need to purge it all out.
maybe i should start drinking more tea.
or water.

anywho, i read this really good book while i was in holland.
it's called "the perks of being a wallflower".
for those of you who like the catcher in the rye type books you'll like this one.
i thought it was better.
but there was a quote from the book that i thought was pretty right on.
the main character charlie makes the statement,
"people only except the kind of love they think they deserve."
and i kind of agree.
it seems that this sort of thinking emerges often when it comes to having a relationship with Christ.
how could someone love me that much?
especially when i can be such a punk.
but i guess the beauty is found in the reality that even though i don't deserve it Christ loves me.
most times it doesn't make a whole lot of sense but it's true.
and i'm ok with that.

dodged the bullet...

i returned from my recent trip to holland only to be welcomed by a letter from denton county.
it was my turn for jury duty.
i went down to the court house this morning and sat in a room with 300 other people.
we watch a video that got us all excited about serving on a jury.
took an oath to tell the truth.
and then listened for our names to be called out to serve.
they called the names for the first court.
then the second.
then the third.
after all the names had been called out 130 of us got to wipe the sweat of our foreheads and go home.
i was one of those 130.
so it's with a tear in one eye that i say i am sorry that i will not be serving on a jury this week.
thank you for your time and the six dollars.

we're back!!!

back to:
family and friends.
to a/c and ceiling fans
to fahrenheit and miles
to good burgers and ice in drinks
back to harley
back to a real bed
back to my job
to swimming pools
to real peanut butter
but back to
carrying a cell phone
to driving a car
to traffic
to constant construstion
to heat
to starbucks
to the bible belt
to my comfortable way of life.

it's funny.
i have mixed feelings about being back.
i created a life in holland over the last 17 days and i've sort of forgotten what i'm supposed to be doing now that i'm back in flower mound.

if you haven't already you can read about our trip by going to
www.cbcteamholland06.blogspot.com

we posted some pictures on the site as well.
thank you again for your comments on the blog and prayers.
that meant so much more to us than you will ever know.

hey guys...

in two days and a wake up i'll be heading to Holland.
our team will have it's own holland blog so you guys can keep up with everything.
and so from here on out i'll be posting from that site.
you can find us @ www.cbcteamholland06.blogspot.com

i hope you'll check it out.

please be praying for us because i really don't know what to expect.

today is DAVEFEST...

that's all i'm gonna say...

green thumb attempt #1...

i really enjoy spending time with my wife. she's so much fun to be around. she's so passionate. so encouraging. she's my better half. all those little things i only think about doing she does. yesterday morning we got up a little earlier, got some donuts and drove to lake grapevine. it was a great start to a great day. we walked around in the water, skipped some rocks. it was fun. then here's where the "she's my better half" part comes in. i'm walking barefoot in the water and before a take my next step i notice something half buried in the sand. i reach down in the water and pull out a broken piece of glass. sick nasty! upset that i almost cut open my foot, my passionate tree huggin' hippie wife is now picking up every bit of trash she can find on the shore. she's so cool. and i'm standing there thinking, "you know, that's a good idea. why not. i should help." so i try to keep up and together we pick up a few things here and there as we make our way back to the car. even though we didn't get everything it still felt good to be doing something.

P.S. Wish you were here...

all growing up a told myself that i would never be that guy. no one ever wants to be that guy. but after looking at myself in the mirror last night before bed i realized that i might be dangerously close to becoming "that guy". you see, last night i discovered that i may actually be practicing the art of the comb-over. no lie. i was made aware of this by my most recent haircut which accents my receding hair line and forces me to delicately position pieces of hair to cover my ever-growing forehead. i know it's receding. it's obvious. my hair is collecting all over the bathroom floor and there is a scar on my head i got when i was younger that seems to be moving further down my forehead.

so to maintain some kind of element of cool hair i've resorted to the comb-over. i'm sorry. i'm so sorry i'm becoming that guy. if it gets too bad will you let me know?

i've been a switchfoot fan forever. if i could be in anyone else's shoes it would be the chuck taylors worn by one of those surf rockers from san diego. jon foreman writes in such a way that he always seems to be two steps ahead of me in life. He has this strange ability to put my thoughts to words.

While still a lyrically solid album, it took me a little while to warm up to "nothing is sound". So when the new tour dates where announced i convinced myself that this year it would be ok if i missed a switchfoot show. last year i was crazy enough to see two shows back to back. friday night in austin and then saturday night in dallas. so, i go from not planning on seeing the show in fort worth earlier this year to not only getting in free to a show but a show in vancouver, canada. oh yeah, did i mention that i got to meet the band. the whole day was pretty surreal. mish, jay and i got to sit around and talk with the band. we shared our hearts and passion for people (well, jay and mish did. i was still in shock) and they shared theirs. just cool and genuine guys. after meeting the band we listened to jon and the guys share their hearts with hundreds of others for about and hour and a half. i was blown away by the show. these guys get better everytime. i can't believe i was going to sit this tour out.

Thanks switchfoot. Thanks for doing what you do.

well in a few hours michelle, jay, and i are off to vancouver, british columbia.
what will we be doing there you might ask.
well not to much.
just...

biking in stanley park















sleeping outside here...

















to raise awareness for..























while hanging out with...



















and maybe take a hike through this...















but if anything i'm sure there will be some crazy games of farkle and some good times with good friends and family. i can't wait.

Hey Everybody...

Don't forget that this Thursday night Marcus Bowers (myspace.com/marcusbowers) will be in concert at Roads Coffee House. The coffee house will be open at 5:30pm and the music will start around 7:30pm. The show is FREE!!! but musicians always appreciate tips.

Hope to see you there.

this easter sunday my wife and i went to a sunrise service at our church. the week before the question that continued to surface was whether or not we would be coherent enough for a 6:30am worship gathering. by God's grace we where.

the service was amazing. i loved everything about it. for whatever reason it just felt like church. like how church is suppose to be done. we all sat outside on blankets or chairs. being outside in God's creation. we sang some songs led by just an acoustic guitar and a djembe. we listened to the Word of God read to us, and we took communion. it was simple. no bells or whistles. even the offering buckets looked like something you would use in a sand box.

so is there anyway we could do this more often?

something we thought you should know about...

Every night in Uganda thousands of children flee their villages to nearby cities to sleep in the streets hoping to escape the possibility of being abducted and forced to serve as a soldier. Every night thousand of children are being forced to carry guns instead of toys or books. They are being taught how to kill instead of bringing hope. On April 29th we are going to help these invisible children be seen. We want this war to end. These children deserve better.

We need your help.


Will you notice?



go to invisiblechildren.com

Are you freakin kidding me...

My beautiful wife surprised me with a new snowboard today.
I went to sun and ski sport today to pick up my old snowboard beause i just had it waxed and the edges sharpened.
Michelle had dropped it off for me a few days ago.
I gave the guy at the shop my ticket.
he goes and grabs a board on the rack infront of mine.
He hands it to me and says, "here you go."
I look at him puzzled and correct him by saying. "oh no, it's that one. the one still against the wall."
He says, "no, this is it."
"what are you talking about."
"read the note"
it reads, "Happy Birthday Baby! i love you so much. hope this rides nice. huck it, mish"
what!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!THE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...
when michelle dropped off my snowboard she bought me a new one.
I couldn't say much more after that because the huge smile on my face was making really hard to talk.

i love my wife.
yep, love, love, love my wife.

Mustache Club, anyone?

you know that whole year of jubilee thing.
yeah, can we go ahead and start doing that again cause i've got some serious school debt.

other thoughts...

i'm kind of glad sarah won...
moana (sp?) just never really seemed like she was into travis...
my guitar is in desperate need of new strings...
i love my wife...
i have a pretty cool dog...
i really can't justify my current lifestyle (but this is a topic for another blog)...
i'm really into what i would call 'big bands' like broken social scene, arcade fire, sufjan stevens, and sigur ros.
did i mention that i love my wife...
i want another tattoo...
maybe two more...
i can't wait to huck in winter park, co. two weeks, baby!
i'm going to make a killer sandwich tonight for dinner.
i wish you could enjoy it with me.

high five

You are George Michael. Your strong moral values

define your actions. You love your family

(some of them too much) and your father's

approval means the world to you.


Arrested Development: Which Bluth Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

chew on this...

"A final fallacy is the maddening practice of many Christians to allegorize works of art, especially works of literature. The practice is deeply engrained in a certain type of Christian temperament. When I assign a Christian critique of a poem, I can confidently expect to find one or more attempts to allegorize the poem to make its details fit events in the life of Christ or Christian doctrine. Why is this so offensive? Because the doctrine of creation tells us that things have value and integrity in terms of what they are as created objects. We do not need to allegorize trees or windows or sidewalks in terms of Christian doctrine before they fulfill their God-given purpose in life. By the same token, we should not attempt to define Christian art in terms of how easily we can allegorize the details to fit Christian doctrines."

-Leland Ryken, The Liberated Imagination

What do you think about this...

there are somethings i just can't run from.
being metrosexual might be one of them.
although i don't consider myself as dedicated to the lifestyle as others.
i'll pick up a power tool now and again.
as long as i look good doing it.
but i'm comfortable with all that.
so now i have to ask myself.
am i metrospiritual?
i'm about being hip and holistic.
i've even tried surfing.
i'm into whole foods and hybrids.
so according to beliefnet.com i might be boarderline metrospiritual.
are you?

i almost blogged yesterday.
i was so close to writing something down.
something worth reading.
but i never got around to it.

i would blog right now but i am too busy being MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!