Today has been a really good day for lots of reasons…

* Early this morning I watched a video on my friend, Ric’s, blog about his life in the Coast Guard while stationed in Hawaii. You all ought to watch it & give Ric a shout HERE. I can say that the Coast Guard was heroic after Katrina, and this video shows the life of the brave people (like my friend, Ric) on “routine” duty in Hawaii.

* We had our first real meeting of our new “Neighborhood Watch” program at church, and it got off to a GREAT start! There were six of us there, with another 3-4 folks still to come, and I simply couldn’t be more pleased with how it began. No, this is not a McGruff the Crime Dog kind of Neighborhood Watch. Instead, it is simply a way to get together each week and be on the lookout for new folks in our church assemblies and keep a watchful eye on those who are missing. We’ve tried various things along these lines in the past, all without long-term success, but this morning left me with a great feeling that this just might be the time something works.

* As you can see in the picture above, I continued my Ocean Springs photography project by meeting the superintendent of the public school system, Mr. Robert Hirsch. Mr. Hirsch was my daughter’s principal from 6th grade all the way through the 12th grade (he moved from the middle school to the high school when her class did!). It was an amazing thing to be able to tell him that the Community Service class at the high school – something he helped create – led to her major in elementary education. He insisted that she come see him when she was back in town.

* After meeting with Mr. Hirsch, I went back to WOSM Radio (The Gospel Giant) to be on the “Looking Around” show with Margaret Cooper, and I had a blast! I met a sweet widow from Mobile who comes every month to read her poetry (it turned out that she attends the University Church of Christ there!). I met a wonderful guitar-playing man who is here directing hurricane relief efforts for the Nazarene Church (this man was born blind, and by the grace of God has overcome that and many more life challenges). And I met a gospel version of the Partridge Family, the Riddells, who travel in their bus around the country singing & preaching (check out their website HERE). To top it all off, I got a chocolate cookie homemade by the sweet poet from Mobile!

What a great day! Hope yours was just as good, and if possible, even better!

I’m still reading War and Peace, and I really think I’ll stick with it to the end. It’s still a bit intimidating to say things like 250 pages down, 1205 pages to go! But that is where I stand, and Tolstoy has captured me in his story.

* I’m a bit concerned for Nikolai Rostov after his war injury at such a young age. He is having to grow up quickly, and so far he hasn’t handled it all too well.

* I’m impressed with Andrei Bolkonsky. He was heroic in battle, but I wonder about his future on the homefront with his pregnant wife, Lisa. I’m not sure how Andrei will be changed by his dangerous encounters with the army of his enemy (and hero), Bonaparte.

* I don’t know what to expect from Pierre. To become so wealthy at such a young age is dangerous for anyone, especially for someone as clueless and impetuous as he.

* And, of course, there’s trouble brewing with Pierre’s fortune anyway, what with Prince Vasily and the trio of Pierre’s cousins (not to mention Anna Mikhailovna) all upset about being left out of the inheritance by Count Bezukhov.

And this is just the beginning…

I’ve barely been introduced to Prince Vasily’s spoiled sons and gorgeous daughter, Prince Andrei’s wacky father and naive sister, and all the budding romances from young Boris & Natasha to the little Sonya/Julie competition over Nikolai (and snitty Vera with her vicious comments).

I’ll have to keep you updated as things develop.

This month, Time Magazine published an article ranking the Top 10 books of all-time. War and Peace came in third, with Tolstoy garnering the honor of holding both 1st and 3rd place on the list. If you are interested in some light reading, here’s the list:

#1: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
#2: Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
#3: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
#4: Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
#5: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
#6: Hamlet by William Shakespeare
#7: The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
#8: In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
#9: The Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov
#10: Middlemarch by George Eliot

(Before attempting War and Peace, I’ve read one of these books. I bet you can guess which one!)

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (from Ephesians 2, NIV)

Today was a big day for our church family, one I tauted as a day where we’d reveal our theme for 2007 (yes, I know I’m a few weeks slow, but I have my reasons). This year, the Ocean Springs Church of Christ is going to focus efforts on being CONNECTED to one another.

I took a big chance this morning in combining ALL of our classes for a special class after the morning worship assembly (the big chance was with all the kids who LOVE to go to class as well as with all the parents who LOVE for their kids to go off to class). Both my sermon and the special class focused on the text above from Ephesians, but during the class we actually built a church from these verses!

We began with Jesus as the cornerstone (box), and next to Jesus we formed a foundation of the apostles and prophets. Then, everyone who is a part of our church community, from the youngest to the oldest, built on this foundation by adding his or her box. On our individual boxes, we wrote our name and the gift we bring to our church community (for example, I put “teaching” as my gift to offer). After everyone had labeled & decorated their boxes, everyone came up one at a time, spoke their name & gift into the microphone, and then placed their box on to our “building” (which you can see in the picture above behind Rebekah & Brynn).

I tried to establish the point that every brick is important in a building; thus, every person and his/her gift is vital to our church community’s well-being. And I hope that this lesson – and the fact that it will continually stand before us this year – will be a memorable way of reminding us of this particular vision.

I wish I could say this was an original idea. Instead, I read about the idea in one of Marva Dawn’s lectures, but I immediately fell in love with it’s match to our church family’s needs in 2007. We desperately need to be CONNECTED.

It is interesting to consider what lies before us in 2007: There are members of our family that weren’t here this morning – we need to add them to our building. There are new folks who will become a part of our church family this year – they will be added to our building. There are babies yet to be born that will be added to our church community this year – they will be added to our building. On the other hand, there will be those of us who will move away this year – their boxes will be removed, autographed by all of us, along with our sad good-byes. There will probably be others who, for whatever reason will choose to distance themselves from our church community – sadly, their boxes will need to be removed, too. And given the track record from the eight years I have been a part of this family, I suspect there will be a few who will not live to see 2008 – I will most probably be carrying a box or two to a eulogy this year.

2007 will be an interesting year, I’m sure. But I fervently hope it will be a year where the Ocean Springs Church of Christ will see itself more “connected” to one another than ever before.

On the bad side of things this Saturday: my wife is sick, and the weather is downright ugly.

On the good side of things today: I took Hillary and her friend, Sidney, to the Gulf Coast Science Exploreum with our friends from church, the Lawlers and the Martins, where we enjoyed an IMAX movie on Greece, a traveling exhibit on Pompeii, and the cool standing exhibits of the Exploreum (one pictured above).

But on the very best side of life today was a chance encounter with Clint at the Exploreum.

Clint has the kind of heart I hope to have most of the time. He has been in love with following Jesus for a long time now, even though he is still a young man, and I’ve marveled at his idealistic devotion – the kind one should never lose. Just talking with him today made my life better.

Clint is nearly finished with his college degree, and if he’s accepted, he plans to spend next year in Americorps. He doesn’t know exactly where life will lead from there (he wonders if two years in the Peace Corps might follow), but in his continual quest to truly follow Jesus, he has come to learn – with little help from organized religion mind you – that it must involve caring for the oppressed of the world somehow.

I was ecstatic to hear him talk. I’ve thought & talked – and even acted – far more about this than he has so far. But I hope he makes a lot more progress than I have.

I think my favorite part of photography expeditions is the quest for the perfect picture. I know absolutely nothing about Photoshop or other editing software, and I kind of like it that way because I can’t clean up any of my shots. Either I get the perfect shot, or I don’t.

I don’t know much about lighting either, other than knowing that I want the sunshine behind me when possible. And I know that when I’m under fluorescent lights that I’m going to have a really hard time capturing the perfect picture.

The one thing I’m pretty good at is putting myself in a good position to get a good picture, so I guess that’s my speciality if there is such a thing, and I really enjoy doing what I can to get in the perfect photo-opportune spot.

I went to Mobile, Alabama, today on a photography expedition. I went to the final walk-through practice for both North and South squads on the day before the Senior Bowl. I ended up with some really good pics (which you can check out on my Webshots page), but I was most proud of the “perfect picture” I landed above.

I went today with the first priority being Heisman winner, Troy Smith, second priority, Coach Jon Gruden, and third priority, national champion Florida’s quarterback, Chris Leak. During the South practice, Leak ended up on the sideline, and I captured several really good shots. I was standing next to a couple of Florida Gator fans who kept trying to get pictures of their hero, too.

At one point, San Francisco 49ers running backs coach, Bishop Harris, decided to have some fun and make Chris Leak turn around and pose for a picture for the Gator fans. When he did, he made a funny face while outstanding running backs, Kenny Irons (#23 from Auburn), Lorenzo Booker (#28 from Florida State), and Ken Darby (in the background from Alabama) jumped into the picture, too.

The Gator fans’ camera didn’t work.

But mine did.

And I captured my perfect picture.

This morning, should you have come around the office area at the Ocean Springs Church of Christ, you would have seen a group of people up to their eyeballs in boxes!!! We issued a clarion call for help assembling boxes this morning for a very special Sunday I have planned this weekend, and in addition to the three staff members paid to be there, three wonderful volunteers – Charlene, Linda, and Eileen – arrived to help us assemble & label 250 boxes!!!

I am not the master of creative church experiences. I believe that title goes to my good friend, Troy, who is senior pastor for the Flamingo Road Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He has the gift of coming up with ideas that produce unforgettable messages. I do not have that gift.

But periodically, I run across something, however, that leads to an idea that I hope is unforgettable. And that was why we were assembling 250 boxes this morning.

I typically begin each calendar year with a themed message for our church family to consider for the coming year, but this time around I purposely postponed it for three weeks. And I can’t wait for Sunday!!!

I have to admit that the arrival of Charlene, Linda, and Eileen this morning to work hard for reasons they didn’t know made me think of two things: (1) I know some wonderful people, and (2) there are already signs that what I will talk about Sunday has potential!

I just don’t watch a ton of television. I’m not on official protest or anything, it’s just a fact. I watch sports when I can, and because of my youngest daughter I’ve become quite proficient in naming the stars of the Disney Channel. But outside of that, any time I’ve seen a popular show has simply been a case of hit and miss.

I do know American Idol is aptly named, given the talk I hear about it, but case in point I’ve never actually watched the show. Until last night, that is.

It was a good night to watch for me, I guess, since the show had rolled in to Memphis, Tennessee. For me, that was practically home, so I enjoyed the cut-aways to all things Memphis.

But I think it was a bad night for me to watch because it was make fun of the dorks night on the show, and it just didn’t set very well with me. I wouldn’t have been able to put it into words, though. But…

My friend, John Dobbs, posted a link on his blog this morning to another blog by a young man named, Justin, who put into words quite well what I guess I was feeling. Hopefully, Justin won’t mind my excerpting his excellent words below:

…American Idol. If anyone watched last night (and I’m assuming you did, Something like 25 million people watch that wretched show) you witnessed some of the meanest things I’ve ever seen on television. Not just Simon, but Paula and Randy as well. Several socially awkward guys tried out and were absolutely demolished by the judges. Not neccesarily because they were bad singers (they were) but because they were fat, or ugly, or just plain socially slow. This show is supposed to be (mostly) about singing. I understand that an “American Idol” probably needs to be somewhat attractive, which means in our culture, probably not obese and definitely some sort of proportional facial features, but the first couple episodes are purely about making fun of people. And I can’t handle it.

In the interest of full disclosure, I do make fun of people a lot. Its wrong. Its something I am trying to fix, and its difficult. But there’s a key difference in my making fun of someone in my head and American Idol specifically bringing in non talented, awkward people to Simon, Randy, and Paula.

“They’re not specifically brought in Justin, you idiot,” you might say. You would be wrong. Have you thought about how long it would take for those three to audition all 10,000 people that show up at each audition city?

They can’t. They pick these bad people out of the crowd to humiliate them. Sure they signed contracts, relinquishing their rights, but I think its only a matter of time before someone kills themself and the Idol train flies off the tracks.

It’s been a good day at the Sturgeon house, but more than that, it has been a great day for the scientific community. At the elementary school Science Fair Awards Ceremony we attended tonight, our little scientist took home the red ribbon for 2nd place in the 4th grade division of the “Mathematics & Computers” category, earning her a spot in the regional fair. Never mind the fact that there were only two entries in the “Mathematics & Computers” category; science doesn’t take such subjectivity into account. It was a small step for our family, but a GIANT LEAP for chocolate chip cookie projects for all mankind.

The “Chocolate Chip Challenge” took on the age-old question of which brand of chocolate chip cookies has the most chocolate chips per cookie. Hillary’s hypothesis was a good one - Chips Ahoy bills itself as such – but in the end, the scientific community was shocked to learn that Chips Ahoy came in LAST PLACE!!! Keebler actually came in first, while even the generic Great Value defeated pre-experiment favorite, Chips Ahoy.

Becoming completely serious, you don’t know how proud I am that Hillary brought home a science fair ribbon tonight. She was amazing to me after Katrina – how does a little girl lose everything she owned and be so strong? She seemed to be a rock to me for so long, but the day she and I went to say good-bye to our old house for the last time, she wanted to take one last look at the ditch where many of our belongings lay ground into the mud.

That’s when she saw her 2nd grade science fair project. That’s when she was reminded that we couldn’t find her 3rd place ribbon from that year, a year when LOTS of projects were entered in the “Physics & Engineering” category in the first year she ever tried a science fair. And when she was reminded, she cried a lot, her Katrina emotions rising to the surface.

If I had a choice between saving our furniture and finding that 3rd place ribbon, I would have taken the ribbon hands down. That cheap little white ribbon served as a microcosm, teaching my little girl about loss. And I hated that lesson. But she learned it heroically. And I loved her even more for it.

So I love the picture from tonight. I love that ribbon. And I love that smile that’s survived the trials of life at such a young age.

A fuzzy picture of Bill Parcells I took in October

I don’t hate Mondays. Some people do, and I understand why, but my life works a little different I guess. I set my alarm clock for the same time on Mondays that I do on Sundays (5:30am), so Monday isn’t really the start of my work week. It is the beginning of my wife’s work week, and my daughter’s school days, so I get part of the vibe, but I just don’t get the full effect.

In some ways Mondays are nice for me. It is usually quiet around the office on Mondays. The phone doesn’t ring that much, and there usually aren’t many visitors. I’m typically a bit hyped up after Sunday, and motivated to get going, so I usually get a whole lot done on Mondays given the solitude. I relish the quiet after a noisy weekend, and I like the feeling of progress. Monday is normally a day I find myself ahead of the curve.

Today wasn’t one of those days.

Nothing bad to report, just much more hectic than normal. Instead of a steady, quiet day, it was a herky-jerky, noisy day, and it left me emotionally disheveled I guess. There were times today that I felt as if my call to ministry was blessed with such great potential, while there were other times – on the same day – that it felt like my call was a wrong number.

No, I’m not standing on a bridge. I’m just saying it wasn’t a typical, quiet Monday.

I noticed late this afternoon that Bill Parcells retired from coaching football.

“Tuna” (as he’s popularly known) has coached the Dallas Cowboys, my favorite football team, for the past few seasons, but today he called it quits. This isn’t the first time he has retired. He is considered one of the great coaches of all-time, and he has retired as a success before, but for some reason he kept coming back. This time, with no Cowboy playoff wins to report, his last tour of duty goes down as a bust. When the Cowboys muffed their final game this season, Parcells was quoted as saying something along the lines, “I did my best, but it wasn’t good enough.”

I respect his honesty, and at times I know how he feels. Today, I admired his ability to be okay with his best, even if it isn’t considered “good enough.”

I went to college to be a coach, but I had no idea that this career choice would lead me down the path I’ve traveled. I’m up front in telling people that I still see myself as a coach, but as a preacher my team is much different than I expected! When you think about it, the two positions aren’t really all that different: you’re expected to bring together a diverse group of individuals to accomplish something. Expectations are about the same, too, not to mention job security.

So I think I know why Bill Parcells has had an on-again, off-again love affair with coaching professional football. It’s in his blood, and the highs are the best feelings in the world, and the lows just suck. Sometimes he just can’t stay away from the game, and sometimes he has to go away. Like today.

Oddly enough, on the same day he walked away, I felt on a much smaller scale his full range of emotions.

Well, it was a sad day for all the Saints fans around the world. Actually, that game was so ugly that it was a sad day for all football fans – unless you happen to like Da Bears. But what a great year, and what a great run, and what a great story those Saints were for the Gulf South region. So I hope they’ll hold their heads high & get ready for another run next year.

But tonight’s game – WOW, what a game!!!

I’m usually an NFC fan, but not always. And not this year. I’ve liked the Patriots for several years now, and my mom’s a big Peyton Manning fan (and I like him, too), so I’m for whomever wins this game in the Super Bowl.

As I type, the Patriots have a three point lead & the ball with 3:22 left to play. So I gotta run…

Have a great week!