Confession...

Ok. I have a confession to make. Every now and then I get an aching desire for something. Every now and then I get into this groove and the only thing I can do to soothe it is to take the bait and indulge.

My confession is that every now and then I get a hankerin' for country music. It usually lasts 2-3 days, but I've been known on occasion to indulge my country fix for a week or more.

And so it was this past weekend...needless to say, my fix has been had.

One can only "check his or herself for ticks" so much. And enough is enough, no more honkey-tonk-badonk-a-donk...please! Mr Adkins, you are ridiculously lame for ever agreeing to perform that tune (regardless of its payout!)

So, to everyone...please forgive me,
Ross :-)

the mind of Ben Gibbard - frontman of Death Cab for Cutie

I've been a Death Cab fan since my first listen to Tranatlanticism in '03. Great poetry with a band like this - and for me, that's saying something. I'm an instrumental guy (my brain focuses on the instrumentation WAY BEFORE it ever hears a word or phrase). And this is a bit weird, because I love writing...Nonetheless, with Death Cab, I immediately heard the lyrics.

So Ben Gibbard is the frontman of the band. He's the primary songwriter and I read a couple articles in PASTE magazine this past week interviewing him. Interesting to discover his passion for Kerouac and nature, but as I continued reading, the article saddened me more and more. He talks about what inspires him to write in length. He talks about early criticisms of the band. He talks about their success in spite of the internet wave. And the entire time you can just tell it in his voice that he's not satisfied, not happy, not content in life.

He admits he should be...he does what he loves for a living. Then he says the cause of his "unforseen" misery. Ben says, "I would rather make great records than make great relationships."

That's it. He will sacrifice all else for this art that kills him bit by bit. And he wonders why he's not content...at the end of the day he has masterfully crafted notes and poetry mass duplicated on small plastic discs covered with a picture on one side, set inside another piece of plastic, and eventually wrapped in so much plastic it leave the 'openee' complaining that "you can never open these damn things!"

Anyway, a life spent in community is a life. A life spent alone is wandering, searching, discontentment, and half lived. Its empty.

I believe we were created for community. We were created for community because when we live lives together we sharpen, we love, we cry, we do the mundane together.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.
-Ross

Flowers for Lacy

I was recently with my sister-in-law and mother-in-law as they were ordering flowers for an upcoming wedding :) Instead of using a traditional florist they are going to order wholesale and have a friend assemble the flowers. The price difference is astounding- $.59 a rose compared to $9 a rose. But Lacy then wondered are the wholesale prices coming at a detriment to the workers in South America. A point was made that the workers are probably being treated the same from this company or from a traditional florist- the florists probably order from this site, but thats not the point. And thats not the point Lacy was trying to make. So it got me wondering about fair trade flowers...


Fair Trade Certified Flowers do the following: "The Fair Trade Certified label on your bouquet means that flower workers, most of whom are women, can put food on their tables, send their children to school, invest in community development, and use sustainable farming methods." There is more extensive list on the benefits or "just" qualities of Fair Trade Flowers at: http://www.transfairusa.org/content/flowers/trade.php


So where can you buy Fair Trade Certified Flowers?

Online Retailers

1-800 Flowers Online

Organic Bouquet

Sam's Club Online

Supermarkets Near You

GIANT Food Stores

Heinen's

New Season's Market

Roche Brothers

UKROPS

Whole Foods

A book Ross and I were reading recently said something to the effect of, "we shop looking for the best deal for us and our family but what if we put others first in our purchases." Although we can't see the impact of our purchases immediately, buying fair trade puts others first. And guess what- It's Not About Me!

Election Year...

I recently finished Shane Claiborne's more recent book, Jesus for President, a must read in this election year. I loved Shane's first book, Irresistible Revolution, and couldn't wait for this one to come out. Shane's example of being a Christ follower has influenced the way I think about my life and the lives of those around me, he is truly being the hands and feet of Jesus. For more on Shane and those he lives with check out: thesimpleway.org

So back to the book. I'm not going to say that the topics they bring up are easy to digest but they are challenging and, i believe, biblical. the book focuses on war, peace, taking care of our neighbors (hint- our neighbors aren't just Americans, not that we take care of Americans that well to begin with), realizing where our allegiance lies, etc. the american church has become so intertwined with politics and government that it's hard to see out of that box but we should first be serving God, not government.

so the book has challenged me in many ways, here are a couple:
1. public health is my schtick but i have tried to address these needs working for a government- a government that serves its interests first and often leaves the least of these still suffering. i've never felt like i was serving two masters in my job but if that conflict were to arise, the authors would argue that you should be working to improve the health of others outside of the government. the same goes for military personnel, politicians, etc.
food for thought...

2. so God is my first king, so what does that lead me to do as an american citizen. do you not vote, write in a separate candidate, ??? the book does not spell this out for us, which is a good thing but the argument is made whether or not we should be voting for a candidate that supports war (and really, don't all candidates support war- maybe not the iraq war, but other wars).

so you really should read it and then let me know what you think about it.

Craig's List & Jesus

First and foremost, this isn't a post designed to pump or build up Kate and I. Rather, its all about awareness!

If you're unfamiliar with Craig's List, it's a great website (www.craigslist.com) that allows individuals to post items for sale, classifieds, wanted items, etc. You're able to specify your search to your city or region. And in a matter of seconds you can be purchasing jet skis, homes, electric guitar amps, locating English as second language tutors, leasing hunting land, even renting property for metal detecting purposes (I chuckled at that one).

It's very broad and there's always new stuff. Oh yeah, and ITS FREE! So it's like a less flashy, super ebay, on crack. Anyway, today Kate and I we're looking for piece of used furniture and we decided to look at the WANTED section. At first it was mostly people looking for cheap acoustic guitars, chrome rims, maids services, etc. Then we found some posts that grabbed our attention. There were folks needing coupons for various items around town because budgets were tight. Immediately it tugged at our hearts.

We're called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. And today I think Jesus would be checking Craig's List to see felt needs throughout the community. So, if you've never visited craigslist.com, now you have a reason to.

Needless to say, it was amazing to hook up with a mom that needed some help and be able to serve in that way. We didn't have the coupons she was looking for, but we were able to leave her with some financial assistance - just a little, but that's all she needed.

It's easy to forget the need around us - especially in the burbs. But for us, the need was only minutes away and we might have never known had we not visited Craig's List today.

-Ross

a mentor that meant so much

It’s kinda’ weird how life happens.

I’m the first to say I can’t control it or will even go so far to say that I’m glad I don’t control it. I’m jacked up. And I think if we were all completely honest, we’d all agree that there’s something jacked in each of us. So life happens all around us and much goes on that’s understood. But then there’s instance like the one I’m writing about.

I’m a musician. Through and through, music and art and the creative juices that craft all of that work together, are what first and foremost make me up. But I didn’t always see it in me. Until a certain point in my life I saw music as a hobby. I’m not sure why. It was still what consumed everything about me. But for whatever reason, when I thought about the job a man should have, ‘musician’ wasn’t even on the radar. Lawyer, doctor, politician – these were jobs; not a musician.

It wasn’t until someone I respected and looked up to as a mentor pushed me and challenged me to pursue my music, that I truly considered it a possibility, vocation, and lifestyle. This mentor of mine had worked with me for a number of years. He’d written hundreds of songs, had platinum and gold records hanging all over his office. I mean, think about that…this guy had sold millions of songs! A songwriter that worked in and out of Nashville, that would also not only give me the time of day, but worked weekly with me at performances, recordings, and actually cared about my future. He wasn’t going to gain anything from me. He’d “made it.” But yet he saw potential and a fellow artist and pushed me when he didn’t have to.

If you haven’t heard of him, it’s because he’s a songwriter. The infamous mavens of creativity and culture; the puppet masters that forego the bright lights and tour busses and multitudes of crazed fans to write, write, write – that in a nutshell was Gary Driskell.

I got a phone call from my dad a few weeks back. I could tell in his voice that something was off. I just knew something bad had happened. Gary had suddenly passed away. And for a brief moment I had no feelings at all. I guess that’s what disbelief feels like. I hadn’t seen or spoken with Gary in nearly six months, and now he was gone forever. It was hard to imagine such a man, a father, a husband, a son, and an influence to me, gone.

For all that knew Gary, we are saddened. But he will live on in all of us through his influence of music, creativity, and his humbleness. For those who never had the chance of meeting or hearing his music, I can honestly say that you’ve not heard what the human voice is capable of. You haven’t seen a musician sculpt a song in seconds and perform it on the fly. That was Gary. He had a great family and led many with his music. That was Gary. A writer, an instrumentalist, a success story, a dad, a husband, a leader, a friend – that was Gary.

That is Gary.

It’s kinda’ weird how life happens.

DONATIONS REQUESTED

If you have baby items that you would be able to donate to send to Anapra, Mexico please post a comment and let me know.

A friend of ours' 15 year old daughter is having a baby in May. She will need baby necessities such as lightweight onesies, diapers, wipes, soap, shampoo, bottles, etc.

If you need information about Anapra, check out some pictures at www.rossandkate.smugmug.com and www.babyschultz.smugmug.com. It is a colonia of Juarez, across the border from El Paso, and poverty stricken to say the least.

We will be collecting up items and sending them down in increments so they can be taken across the border. Thanks for your help.