If: Part 2

If: Part 2

This is part two of an ongoing series of going through a book of ‘if’ questions. By the time I’m done… it will probably be a 75 parter. Basically, the ‘IF’ book comes out when I have nothing to write about in particular… or when I am having trouble organizing my thoughts enough to post something intelligible. Here’s a few more for you:

If you could have an elegant dinner alone with anyone presently alive, whether you know them or not, who would you want it to be?

It would have to be someone I am comfortable with… because elegant dinners would require proper knowledge of which utensils to use at each segment of the dinner. It would also require me to get all dressed up… which I absolutely hate to do. So, I would want the dinner to be with someone who, at very least, I am already comfortable to be with. I would have to choose Melissa… because neither of us get into the fancy schmancy stuff… and we could spend the meal making fun of the whole ‘elegant’ scene! Sounds like a fun night to me!

If you could altar one physical characteristic of your mate, what would you change?

Folks, I am just writing them down as I get to them… I swear I ain’t making these up… and I’m too much of a completist to just skip questions. So, here goes my answer. I am assuming that by physical characteristic… that would mean anything connected to her body, inside and out. So… here’s the physical trait that I would change about Melissa: She has a blood disorder… and I don’t know how to spell it… Factor Five Liodin… or something like that. It makes her susceptible to blood clots. I would remove that from her life. It is a constant stress in several different ways… and that is the one physical trait that I would change about my wife.

If you could dine alone with anyone from any period in history which person would it be?

Easy. Jesus. If you say that the answer can’t be Jesus, I would probably choose John (as in John the Beloved…). If you say I can’t choose anyone from the Bible, I’d probably go with St. Augustine. If you say I can’t choose anyone from a Christian perspective… I’d probably go with George Lucas or Walt Disney. And I would prefer to stay away from any time of elegant dining, thank you very much.

If you could, in retrospect, change one thing about your childhood, what would it be?

What do they mean by childhood? Do they mean elementary age or lower? Do they mean high school graduation or lower? WHAT DO THEY MEAN? I guess if I could change one thing about grade six and lower… it would be that I wish I could go back and tell myself to take better care of my Star Wars toys… and I’d ask that those toys NOT be sold in a yard sale. If it includes my high school days… my changes would clearly be about five of the six girls that I dated and about three girls that I had crushes on. I had a major crush on one girl for about three years… and it was a colossal waste of time and energy. I wish I could go back and tell myself to not get so stressed out about girls… and that I wasn’t even going to meet the girl of my dreams till college anyway. I’m probably overthinking these questions… but I suppose God used all those girls to teach me different lessons and prepare my heart for Melissa… so maybe I should just keep everything the way it was, but my first instinct is to change around my dating and infatuations.

If you could have any room in the world become your bedroom from now on, which room would you choose?

Pre-Melissa dream bedroom would be some kind of a Star Wars theme… which would, I’ll admit, probably include a full sized poster of Princess Leia with her slave outfit on. Yes, I was a child of the 80’s. Yes, I was one of those boys who had a crush on Princess Leia. No, I would not go back and change that crush, thanks anyway.

Bedroom of choice now: Whichever Melissa wants. I may be a major nerd, but I’m not a stupid nerd. (Maybe she’ll even make her very first blogger comment ever… and tell us all what her room of choice would be to become our permanent bedroom…)


How about you? What would be your answers to some of the above ‘if’ questions?

Funny Pics...

We've been re-arranging some stuff around the house lately to make room for the new nursery that we are in the midst of getting ready. (I'll post some pics of that room once everything is in place... it's looking pretty cool.) In the process, I ran into a few pictures of when I was a kid... Pretty funny.


Yep, that's me.


Oh to have that toy exactly in that sealed mint condition box right now. I bet I could get that to sell on ebay for a couple hundred bucks now.


I thought I was so cool in my Oakley's... which I ended up losing. Man, I was a lot thinner then... what happened? (Don't answer that...)


Haha... back when wearing Guess Jeans were huge. Yes, those are Guess overalls partially covering a Guess T-shirt. It reminds me of a Friends episode when Joey is wearing all kinds of Porshe stuff and Chandler asks him if a Porshe threw up on him. I'd like to go back and ask myself a similar question.

The One Hundreth

This is my 100th post since I started blogging way back in October of 2004. I thought I’d take a look back and reflect on the past year and a half. Here are my ten favorite posts (the ones that were most meaningful to me when I wrote them… or the ones that were the most fun to write.)

DisneyWorld Trip Series

A recap of our Summer of 2004 trip. The link takes you to part one of four. We are now starting to plan our first trip with Emily!

7 Down

A post about my beautiful wife Melissa on our 7th wedding anniversary last July.

Jealousy In Ministry

A look at my struggle with being jealous of other pastors and their opportunities.

Episode Three Review

Can’t believe that Revenge of the Sith came out almost a whole year ago now. The year just flew by. Here’s my initial review of the movie.

Music Never Got Saved

A look at how my view of music has changed throughout the years.

Annoying People In Heaven

My response to 'hard to love' people in churches… and God’s response to me.

Stamp Thine Own Image

My prayer for Emily…

Introverted Pastor Series

A series that helped me reconcile my ministry tendencies with my personality. I no longer feel guilty that I am an introvert! This link will take you to part one of three.

When Your Best Isn’t Good Enough

Out of a really discouraging time for me, God reminded me of this truth: In your weakness, you are strong. This post details that journey.

My Name Is Josh. I’m Overweight.

This post was written out of my frustration with myself concerning my weight. Still struggling with the same battle.


And there it is! I've had a blast doing this whole 'blog' thing.

Now, like Bono once said about U2, 'I'm going to go away and dream it all up again.'

Actually, I'm not going to go away... I've just always wanted to say that. :)

But I did dream up a new Blog Title... I've just been wanting something different than 'Josh's Blog'... but I'm not always that creative when it comes to stuff like that... oh well. Here's to another 100...

Godly Shoulders

I recently read a neat little parable that is told by Jewish poet and storyteller Noah ben Shea:

After dinner, the children turned to Jacob and asked if he would tell them a story. ‘A story about what?’ asked Jacob.
‘About a giant,’ squealed the children.
Jacob smiled, leaned against the warm stones at the side of the fireplace, and his voice turned softly inward.
‘Once there was a boy who asked his father to take him to see the great parade that passed through the village. The father, remembering the parade from when he was a boy, quickly agreed, and the next morning the boy and his father set out together.
‘As they approached the parade route, people started to push in from all sides, and the crowd grew thick. When the people along the way became almost a wall; the father lifted his son and placed him on his shoulders.
‘Soon the parade began and as it passed, the boy kept telling his father how wonderful it was and how spectacular were the colors and images. The boy, in fact, grew so prideful of what he saw that he mocked those who saw less, saying, even to his father, ‘If only you could see what I see.’
‘But,’ said Jacob staring straight in the faces of the children, ‘what the boy did not look at was why he could see. What the boy forgot was that once his father, too, could see.’
Then, as if he had finished the story, Jacob stopped speaking.
‘Is that is?’ asked a disappointed girl. ‘We thought you were going to tell us a story about a giant.’
‘But I did,’ said Jacob. ‘I told you a story about a boy who could have been a giant.’
‘How?’ asked the children.
‘A giant,’ said Jacob, ‘is anyone who remembers we are all sitting on someone else’s shoulders.’
‘And what does it make us if we don’t remember?’ asked the boy.
‘A burden,’ answered Jacob.

This story got me thinking about all the people that have invested in me. God has given me the precious gift of Godly people who have entered my life and have been willing to invest time and energy into me. I think of my parents… my Mom’s listening ear and my Dad’s desire to share Christ with people. I think of my youth pastor, Craig Cooper, who prodded me to begin using my gifts… and who gave me the opportunity to serve along side him for two summers… allowing me to see what ministry would be like. I think of Coach Drury… who convinced me that I could have success as a preacher and who helped me not only understand the value of working hard… but also of working with excellence. I think of past and current friends, some of whom were placed in my life for as little as six months before our paths separated… people that God placed in my life to encourage, challenge, teach, support, or instruct me. I truly am a man that is sitting on someone else’s shoulders. Without their investment into my life, I would certainly not be a pastor and I probably wouldn’t even be a Christ follower.

May I always remember those who have invested in me. May I always seek to lift the people around me up onto my shoulders… investing in them in the same way that I have been invested in…

Baseball Movie Tournament Update

Here's the second round of baseball movie match-ups. Now the decisions get much tougher.

Bull Durham (1988)
Mr. Baseball (1992)

For Love of the Game (1999)
The Natural (1984)

Field of Dreams (1989)
The Sandlot (1993)

A League of Their Own (1992)
Major League (1989)

MRI Junkies

To celebrate the first Cubs regular season loss yesterday... here is a little something something I came across recently:

First Game at Busch

Here are some pictures from the exhibition game played at Busch stadium last night... good times!



-An homage to the old stadium...



-Emily all decked in red with her Mommy...



-Expansive concourses... much roomier than the old Busch!



-The skyline beyond the outfield is spectacular!



-The first pitch from Sidney Ponson... a strike!