Adam Barnett

MacBook Pro, Minus the Pro

I have a new MacBook Pro, except I am FAR from a Pro on this thing.  However, I'm willing to debate PC vs. Mac... I'm beginning to lean heavily towards Mac.  I thought I'd share a great feature that someone showed me yesterday on this new laptop...

  

Pay for Prayer?

This might be difficult to believe, but there is a new website out that you can actually pay to pray.  It is called Information Age Prayer and they have a variety of prayers for a variety of religions available to purchase.  For example...

• Pay $3.95/month for the Lord's Prayer to be prayed daily on your behalf.
• Pay $3.95/month for a daily prayer for peace in your life.
• Pay $9.95/month for 5 "get-well" prayers each day for anyone in your life.
• Pay $45.95/month for the Full Rosary Package
• Pay $25.95/month (Special Discount Package) for morning and evening Jewish prayers (5 get-well prayers each day and prayer-for-peace package).
• Pay $3.95/month for prayer for financial help (what?).

I'm not even sure WHO prays for you.  I also wonder if the Bible has anything to say about charging people for prayers.  Interesting. 

Here's my Special Discount Rate for today - if you leave a prayer request as a comment on this blog entry, I'LL PRAY FOR YOU TODAY FOR FREE. 

Everything's Broken

Sorry for the close up, but I'm only showing you what a tooth looks like when it breaks in half.  (It actually broke in half both in length and width - pretty gross!).  Then, the next morning, I couldn't get out of my car - my door is broken.  Not to mention, my iPhone has been acting up for days.  Sorry, just wanted to vent...

The Meaning Behind...

...the 12 Days of Christmas has never been something I've been too interested in or concerned with.  However, each year, you and I sing it without knowing what it means!  So, you can decide if this is interesting or a waste of space in your brain to know what the 12 Days of Christmas really represent.

From 1558-1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly.  Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.  It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning and the hidden meaning known only to members of their church.  Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember...

12 Drummers Drumming - the 12 points of belief in the Apostles' Creed

11 Pipers Piping - the 11 faithful disciples (minus Judas, of course)

10 Lords a-Leaping - the 10 Commandments

9 Ladies Dancing - the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control

8 Maids a-Milking - the 8 beatitudes

7 Swans a-Swimming - the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit (prophesy, serving, teaching, exhortation, contribution, leadership and mercy)

6 Geese a-Laying - the six days of creation

5 Golden Rings - recalled the Torah (first 5 books of the Old Testament)

4 Calling Birds - the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

3 French Hens - stood for faith, hope and love

2 Turtle Doves - stood for the Old Testament and the New Testament

The Partridge in a Pear Tree - the most important element, Jesus Christ!

This is Oklahoma

I had lunch yesterday with my good buddy Mike.  On our way back to the church, we ran into this 5-foot rattlesnake.  Boys will be boys, so we taunted and aggrivated it a little bit by talking trash to it.  This led to us discussing how awesome it would be to say, "I've been bit by a rattlesnake."  Then, Mike said, "Ok, I'm going to grab it by the tale."  I responded, "You're an idiot... I'm getting in the truck."

National Weather Service

I ate lunch with a good friend, Randy, today at the National Weather Center.  I love going there to spend time with him and seeing all of the incredible technology in that place.  I actually looked at a 3-D globe with the weather patters of Hurricane Gustav and Ike making their ways towards the US.  He showed me where the primary stages of Ike started just off of the west coast of Africa.  CRAZY!  Just thought I'd share, and encourage you to schedule a tour of that place as soon as possible!

New Season - New Job

Not sure if I've written about this at all, but my role at the church has endured a dramatic shift since returning from Africa.  I am no longer a Student Pastor, but am now the mission's pastor for our College ministry, focusing on two specific things:

1. Developing a strong global mission ministry (organizing trips for college students to serve internationally, training leaders and team members to participate on trips).
2. Developing a strategic campus ministry (creating an atmosphere and culture of intentionality and urgency in the way our college students think and live on campus).

This really has been a great transition, but just like many changes, it has brought different unexpected pains.  After investing years in our student ministry, I definitely miss spending time with them.  It has stretched me and challenged me to shift my attention onto two brand new goals with the college ministry, but I am excited about the possibilities.  I also want to encourage any of you that have experienced change that grieving the loss of your former responsibilities is normal (if you loved it, of course).  For a few weeks, I felt guilty of the pain I felt for making the decision to transition, but it is perfectly normal to miss something you spent your life on! 

So, Student Journey - I miss the mess out of you, but when you get into college, pack your suitcases!

Things that Fascinate Me

There are a few things that I simply cannot wrap my mind around. They fascinate me. Let me know if you are in agreement with my list of amazing things! (Or if you just worry about why my mind gets consumed with such weird stuff)...

1. A Boeing 747-400 that weighs 393,000 pounds can fly.
2. How bees can produce honey.
3. Watching cranes in action (the machine, not the bird).
4. Really talented ice-skaters - I don't understand how you get good at this.
5. Hearing an orchestra (all the instruments coming together).
6. A wasp sting (how something so small can cause such great pain).
7. The structure of a parking garage.
8. Barefoot water-skiing.  (my wife is really good at this)
9. The Giant Squid (I saw one get dissected on tv last week...)
10. The new car smell.  All different cars at some point smell the same.

Useless Facts and Information

I sat down at work this morning and there was a thick packet of "Amazing Facts and Lots of Useless Information" on my desk. I have no idea where it came from... this only proves how random my life is.  So, of course I'm going to share my favorite 25...

1. The words "generous" and "champion" were invented by Shakespeare.
2. If you suffer from geophagia, you have compulsive urges to eat soil.
3. The life of an eyelash is about 6 weeks.
4. The tongue of a mature Blue Whale has approximately the same mass as that of an entire adult elephant.
5. Parent Robins (birds) make around 100 food visits per day to their nest.
6. A cubic mile of ordinary fog contains less than a gallon of water.
7. If you think of the Milky Way as being the size of the continent of Asia, our solar system would be the size of a penny.
8. A Boeing 767 airliner contains 3,100,000 parts.
9. A man will spend 5 months in his life shaving & will remove 28 feet of hair.
10. American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class.
11. Walt Disney World generates about 120,000 pounds of garbage daily.
12. Turtles can breath through their butts.
13. The average elephant produces 50 pounds of poop each day.
14. The chance of hitting 2 holes-in-one in one round of golf is one in 8 million.
15. Disney World is bigger than the world's 5 smallest countries.
16. There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball.
17. Bees visit 2,000 flowers and fly 55,000 miles to make one pound of honey.
18. China has more English speakers than the United States.
19. "Dreamt" is the only word in the English language that ends in "mt."
20. Queen termites can live up to 50 years and have 30,000 children daily.
21. The average bed is home to over 5 billion dust mites.
22. A cow produces 200 times more gas a day than a person.
23. The snail mates only once in it's entire life.  (Bummer)
24. The clinical term for a hairy butt is "daysypgal."
25. Pain travels faster than 3,000 feet per second.

Two Different Men

I'm not sure if you remember when I wrote about buying a new grill because my old one had baby birds nesting in it.  (An overall great excuse to buy a new toy for the back porch)  Click HERE if you didn't read that entry. 

My friend Lemuel had the same problem, but needless to say, after looking at this picture, you can see that he didn't buy a new grill.  Instead, he took matters into his own hands and terminated the baby birds living inside his grill.  What can I say other than what's obvious: we're two totally different men.  I didn't murder my baby birds...