I'm Back!

Soooooo......

I haven't blogged in about 6 months

But I want to start again

Not for any one particular reason but for many

Twitter kinda satisfies my need to stay in touch with folks quick and keep people updated on whats up with me but I need a little something more

More on family life more on the incredible things happening at Revolution...just more in general

I looked back over my blogging history and was just kinda blown away about how great my life is and has been and want to continue to document that, so I'm back

So if you are dropping in for the first time ever or just in awhile....cool. Check out some of my older posts and I hope you enjoy the ramblings

It's not gonna be consistent, I will leave that to twitter but want to get outside of the 140 characters from time to time so....here goes!

p2

"Wait....did that guy just pick up his own arm?"

Somewhere round here...it all went down

So today was our Multi Site Staff Retreat/Meeting

A day to get away and finalize our plans for our second site in Holly Springs.

The day started great with Gary deciding we should stop at Bojangles and grab breakfast which was an awesome surprise as I haven't eaten there in forever. Great country ham biscuit.

SO we continued on and it was on me to lead the pack as I had directions and a GPS. Tim had set everything up for us to go to a cabin East of Ellijay, only we didn't exactly know how East it was.

We found ourselves on crazy backroads in the middle of the mountains running out of gas. I was low and Gary behind me was strugglin. Not only was the gas situation scary, but the Cajun Filet Biscuit from Bojangles had many adverse digestive side effects which were not helped by stressful mountain roads and it felt like a race with the devil to make it to the cabin before someone had an accident.

But after a very stressful journey we did finally arrive and the cabin was NOT a cabin. It was a mountain chalet. (I dont know what a chalet is but I mean it was amazing) It was the most incredible mountain cabin/home I had ever seen.

We then proceeded with all of the items of the day and after an amazing time of questions, debate, planning, quiet time, and excitement we felt very productive and had even finished ahead of schedule.

After even more important debate (where to eat dinner) we decided to head to the Smith House. Alot of us were excited, some of us looked like a little girl who had just gotten a pony.

As we headed back out and said goodbye to the cabin, we decided to head back to the gas station we had past on the way in, even though The Smith House was the other direction, but we didn't know a gas station was the other way for sure and we were on fumes.

So we headed that way and we saw what we believed to be a more bootleg gas station before and Gary and Jenna actually pulled over to get gas (we had 3 cars in this caravan) but Tim and I had heard that the other gas station was more legit, so we decided to head there. Well it didnt end up feeling that close, even though it was only 3 miles away, on fumes that can be very stressful.


So we finally arrived at "The Hunt'n and Fish'n Headquarters"

We pulled in...Tim and I got out of the car to pump gas, Gary told me they had the card and I should go ahead a fill up. At this point the day had been a huge roller coaster and by now many of us we stressed out to the point of snapping, so Tim and Gary decided to have "healthy aggressive verbal reconciliation of their issues" this is something we like to do at Revolution, run to conflict and have healthy honest discussions...we just haven't ever done it at a gas station before.

So I guess I was just very intrigued by all the days events and I remember Tim saying something to the effect of "this one must the only one thats working" about the gas pump in between continued talk with Gary.

Either way I was very distracted as I began to pump, just thinking lets get this gas then go have some southern cookin goodness. The beginning of pumping gas was weird (it didnt feel right) but I attributed it to the fact that we were in the boonies and they had old school pumps with tickers.

Well a few minutes into my fillin up, the world began to run a little slower and a sudden terrible realization flooded over me in a horrible way...

Do you remember that scene in Saving Private Ryan where they are on the beach at Normandy and the sound goes out and you can kinda hear gunfire and stuff but not really and the guys are gettin blown up and the theres that dude who is lookin on the ground and picks up an arm and then you realize its his arm?

Well thats what happened to me then, the rest is mostly a blur and I could post my thoughts but I think it would best to let Gary do it.

Because he has pictures and I lost the privilege when I made one of the dumbest decision I have ever made. I apologize to the entire staff at Revolution Church publicly and pray they will forgive me....

New Effort

So I have been feeling bad that we don't really have a ton of footage of the boys.

Mainly because of video camera sucks.

But technology is cool and both Laney and I both have comps that can capture movies.  Youtube kindof provides ways to share your vids with everyone and stores them.

This first video sucks but its a start so we will continue to work towards videos of the boys that capture who they are and if they do, then they will be entertaining.

And here, we, go!

The Dark Knight

So.....I saw this awesome movie last week and twas so awesome, I am blogging about it. Which I clearly don't do very often. : )

So it definitely lived up to the hype, especially Heath Ledger, all the buzz is not just because of his death, his performance was one of the most amazing villains ever. Christian Bale was very good as a torn hero too.

I havent really weighed in on the film yet because it took awhile for me to process it. Not that I didnt like, I loved it, but it didnt end with a happy little bow on it.

I imagine thats how I would have felt at the end of Empire Strikes Back the first time I saw it. But I have watched that film so many times and have known so much about Star Wars for so long I can't remember not knowing Darth Vader was Luke's father and the sense of defeat the good guys in Star Wars must have been feeling then.

Anyway like I said TDK does not have a necessarily happy little ending, and I couldnt get away from that while thinking about it this week.

But that also reminded me of what it's like to be at a church plant and to be on the edge trying to make a difference.

Not everyone totally gets what you are doing. I have relatives, old buddies and people I know in the community who just do not get what is going on here. I have had people ask me if I get paid or is this a hobby, are we going to join up with a chruch that has a building when we "grow enough", and others have said, so you arent really a church are you?

Just like the people of Gotham who were wanting Batman to turn himself in, they dont get it.

Also Batman's wrestling with this and the role of Dark Knight reminds me alot of the pressure of being a pastor, especially at a church like Revolution.

You cant make everyone happy, and in the end if you are doing good, do what you have to and move on because the plan God has is so much greater than any "haters" in the community.

Just like Batman, I look at our community and feel the need to do something to make an impact....even if it means embracing a role that people will not understand and will even look at with disdain.

Whatsup?

I pretty much twitter everyday now so if ya wanna be in on the Porter happenings stay tuned there, though I will keep this blog going, for the most part I will be staying true to twittering.

I feel like a hippy...

Or a wierdo one...no comments please...

I saved a little 3 foot king snake today from the street and was so excited about it.

I guess its because I usually only see them dead and the fact the king snakes are good snakes that both control rodent population and will kill poisonous snakes.

Anyway I gotta go hug this tree, and if you see a snake that looks like this guy, don't freak out, or throw a rock on him like Tim did the other day, just let him go, you will be better off...unless you like rats and poisonous snakes

Family Prison Break update

Last night was crazy!

I know I havent posted in awhile due to the twitter updates but I gotta let some steam off! : )

So I documented whats been going on with my family a few weeks ago and how both my parents are addicts and spiraling out of control.

Last night was kindof the straw the killed a herd of camels though...

Now my mom is finally home from her 4 trips to the hospital and seems to be doing well but with her over/under medicationing (a word?) there is no telling when the phone will ring again.

Now my dad on the other hand is gone. He is stuck at Kennestone, where he went in for severe restless leg syndrome and sciatic nerve issues, only to have them hold him for almost a week now, and he has called me almost every single day, which I have not answered once.

You see, on May 24th I ended my relationship with my dad with only one chance for a reunion, that he calls me after he has been thru at least 4 months of rehab. I have been thru so much crap with this and he has always taken advantage of people who feel sorry for him so a clear boundary need to be set, and when he did not get back into rehab, our relationship ended.

But then I kept getting these phone calls and he is talking about how they are keeping him longer because of spine and brain issues and it sounds serious, so I started feeling guilty, and I almost called him...but I spoke to my mom first who then told me that he was actually trying to get a hold of one of my sisters social security numbers....anger.

So I called him but not out of guilt....out of a desire to stress the seriousness of our family's mindset towards him. My sisters decided that they are in the same thinking as me and want to lay down the boundaries and move forward.

So last night I told my dad to never try and screw with our family again and to not call any of us unless he is on his deathbed or has been thru 6 months of rehab.

I hope he gets it and changes his life but the bottom line is we have to move forward and he is not adding to our lives and only destroying his.

I believe in grace and in hope and that God has a plan that is sometimes hard to see but I also believe God wants us to protect things he gives us too, and I will not let someone who nearly destroyed the family I grew up in, destroy the family I am making now.

Sorry just needed a vent...thanks blogger.