Tryggbløg

'Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo'

2009-08-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

A few of you who don't follow us on Facebook have asked for new Maggie photos on this forum, so here are a few from Maggie's first trip to the Oklahoma City Zoo — complete with Maggie's comments when she saw the photos on our Facebook site.

"Oh, pretty!"

"Oh, mommy!"

"It's that!"

"Memo!" (She means "Nemo.")

"Maggie elephant."

"Maggie mommy!"

"Monkey!"

"Giaffe?"

"Good job!"

New blog post at bobbyrossjr.com

2009-06-04T08:19:00.001-07:00

This week we discuss teens, Churches of Christ and The Christian Chronicle's Web site redesign:

TRYGG THURSDAY: Teens, Churches of Christ and a new look for our Web site

Enjoy!

Like a cappella music?

2009-05-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

Then please take a moment to check out my latest blog post.

And crank up your computer speakers! I've posted links to some songs I've recorded at church events around the globe.

Let me know what you think.

Somebody PLEEEEEEASE leave a comment on my blog post (not on this site — the other one)

2009-05-01T08:25:00.001-07:00

Yes indeed, I'm not above begging!

If you would be so kind, please take a look at my post on Bobby Ross's blog and leave a comment. You can just say "hi." I don't care!

I'll be forever in your debt. Thanks!

TRYGG THURSDAY: A collection of animals — great, small and delcious

2009-04-23T08:05:00.001-07:00

No, these monkeys do not fall into the "delicious" category. This is not and Indian Jones movie!

It's "Trygg Thursday" again at bobbyrossjr.com.

This week I'm talking about animals I've encountered in the mission field (and a bat some of us encountered on the recent couple's retreat here in Oklahoma).

Read the blog post

Please take a look and leave some feedback. Don't make me beg! Thanks!

TRYGG THURSDAY: Some thoughts on the name "Church of Christ"

2009-04-02T06:36:00.000-07:00

If you're a member of a Church of Christ, what sort of reactions or questions do you get when you tell someone you attend at Church of Christ?

That's just one of the points to ponder in this week's "Trygg Thursday" offering at bobbyrossjr.com.

Read the blog post

Please take a look and leave some feedback. Thanks!

Stories from around the globe -- 2009

2009-03-31T13:17:00.000-07:00

A street sign in western Ghana (photo by Erik)

I'm committing to the Internet something I've been doing on paper for years.

Following is a list of every country — well, most of them, anyway — in the world. In an attempt to provide some balance in my work for The Christian Chronicle, I keep a running tally of how many times we've mentioned each country outside the United States (and a few U.S. territories) in the course of a year. I've separated them into seven geographic zones to help me track how much coverage I give each zone.

The number of country "mentions" appears below. Some "mentions" are merely two or three paragraphs on our "Around the World" page. Others are three-page "Currents" features or front-page stories.

I'll update this as the year progresses. I'm doing this mostly as a reference for myself, but feel free to peruse!

(I haven't been to all of the places listed below, by the way! These are just countries mentioned so far this year.)

Jerry Jones leads a Bible study at a prison in Belize City (photo by Erik)

NORTH AMERICA:

Antigua and Barbuda

Aruba

Bahamas
SEPTEMBER 09: Around the World item (Caribbean Lectures)

Barbados

Belize
JANUARY 09: Around the World item (flooding, Belize City)

Bermuda

British Virgin Islands

Canada
APRIL 2009: Fertile field for faith? (from Toronto)
JULY 09: Around the World item (Opsitch visit to Quebec)
AUGUST 09: A conversation with Geoffrey Ellis (Dialogue)
AUGUST 09: Little church on the prairie (Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan)
SEPTEMBER 09: Around the World item (youth mission, VBS in Thessalon)

Cayman Islands

Costa Rica
JANUARY 09: Costa Ricans lift voices and harmonize at praise seminar (photo caption)
AUGUST 09: Around the World item (women's fellowship, Santo Domingo)

Cuba
MAY O9: As restrictions ease, churches consider future of Cuba work (feature story)
SEPTEMBER 09: Around the World item (youth rally, Matanzas)

Dominica

Dominican Republic

El Salvador
JANUARY 09: Around the World item (Confraternity of Christian Women, San Marcos)

Greenland

Grenada

Guadeloupe
JULY 09: Women study Bible while men wash dishes on island of Guadeloupe (photo caption)

Guatemala
MARCH 09: New Mexico congregation raises thousands to help plant church in heart of Guatemala
JULY 09: Partners brief (Health Talents MET program)

Haiti
FEBRUARY 09: Around the World item (Lipscomb mission to children's home, Cap Haitien)
APRIL 09: Around the World item (ladies' seminar, Port-au-Prince)
JUNE 09: Minister who saved 37 lives during flood continues to serve people of Haiti

Honduras
APRIL 09: Partners brief (Mission Lazarus, Choluteca)
MAY 09: Around the World item (New Life Behavior Ministries seminar)
JUNE 09: Generation Mission (brief about student who makes mission trips)
AUGUST 09: Amid Honduran political crisis, mission teams regroup (Page 1 story)

Jamaica

Martinique

Mexico
FEBRUARY 09: Around the World item (Mexico Missionaries Retreat, Guanajuato)
MARCH 09: Minister who left Mexico City found his career, church in Tulsa (from Tulsa, Okla.)
APRIL 09: Border violence curtails mission trips to Mexico (from Tijuana)
APRIL 09: Mission teams need not leave the country to serve, ministers say
MAY 09: Drug-related violence in Mexico fails to deter the peace of Jesus (feature story)
JUNE 09: Swine flu prompts ministries to recall teams, gather supplies
AUGUST 09: Around the World item (U.S ministers preach in Cancun)
SEPTEMBER 09: Around the World item (Three missionaries sent from Leon)

Netherlands Antilles

Nicaragua
APRIL 09: Around the World item (Health Talents Int'l, Managua)
JUNE 09: Around the World item (BICA campaign)

Panama
MAY 09: Around the world item (Mark and Miriam Upton, new missionaries)
JUNE 09: Generation Mission (brief about student who did short-term mission in Jaque)
JUNE 09: Alabama governor greets young Christians from Panama (photo caption)
SEPTEMBER 09: Panama missionaries are not-so-lost at sea (Panama Mission, Vince Payne)

St. Kitts and Nevis
JULY 09: Around the World item (Bassterre church, Randolph Prentice)

St. Lucia

St. Vincent and the Grenadines
JANUARY 09: Saints in St. Vincent (Spotlight)

Trinidad and Tobago
APRIL 09: Around the World item (death of first baptized member, Port of Spain)
JULY 09: Around the World item (Ramsubhags' work in Barrackpore)

Turks and Caicos

U.S. — Puerto Rico

U.S. — Virgin Islands

A Church of Christ building in Santa Cruz, Bolivia (photo by Erik)

SOUTH AMERICA:

Argentina
JULY 09: Around the World item (Carlos Ardilla, challenges, Hentons)

Bolivia
MAY 09: Around the World item (church members help refurbish house)
AUGUST 09: Three members of church youth group killed in Bolivia bus crash

Brazil
JANUARY 09: Around the World item (healing church divisions, Porto Alegre)
MAY 09: Around the World item (National Youth Camp)
JUNE 09: Around the World item (Elicamp in Campina Grande, northeast)
JULY 09: Remission mission (Spotlight, Recife)
AUGUST 09: Around the World item (Campinas theology course, baptisms)

Chile
MAY 09: Traversing Chile for Christ (spotlight)

Colombia
MARCH 09: Voices of Venezuela (Spotlight)

Ecuador
JANUARY 09: Recession: Bad for missions, or good? (includes photo from Pan Am Lectures in Quito)
JUNE 09: Former trumpet player leading souls to Christ (Inside Story column)

Falkland Islands

French Guiana

Guyana

Paraguay
March 09: Around the World brief (donated clothes, Asuncion)

Peru
FEBRUARY 09: Around the World item (Pan-American Bible Institute, Lima)

Suriname

Uruguay

Venezuela

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe (photo by Erik)

AFRICA:

Algeria

Angola

Benin
JULY 09: Africa — After a century of growth, church membership tops 1 million (Global South, Part 1, George Akpabli quote)

Botswana
JULY 09: Partners brief (African Center for Theological Studies, Gaborone)

Burkina Faso
JANUARY 09: Doors item (missionaries' home burned, Dano)
APRIL 09: Doors item (same as January)
SEPTEMBER 09: New life in a land of wooden crosses (Global South, Part 3, dateline Ur-gawn)

Burundi

Cameroon
MAY 09: 'I have fallen in love with Cameroon' (photo caption)

Cape Verde

Central African Republic
JULY 09: Africa — After a century of growth, church membership tops 1 million (Global South, Part 1, Worlanyo Bor quote)

Chad
AUGUST 09: Around the World item (World Bible School growth, ministry training, Moundou)

Comoros

Congo (Dem. Rep. of)
JULY 09: Africa — After a century of growth, church membership tops 1 million (Global South, Part 1, Doyle Kee quote)
SEPTEMBER 09: Around the World item (Violence in east, Goma)

Congo (Republic of)
JULY 09: Africa — After a century of growth, church membership tops 1 million (Global South, Part 1, Doyle Kee quote)

Cote d’Ivoire

Djibouti

Egypt

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Ethiopia
JULY 09: The changing face of the church (Global South, Part 1, Abebe quote)
JULY 09: Africa — After a century of growth, church membership tops 1 million (Global South, Part 1, Abebe quote)

Gabon
APRIL 09: Around the World item (church growth, Port Gentil)

Gambia

Ghana
JULY 09: Africa — After a century of growth, church membership tops 1 million (Global South, Part 1, dateline Kumasi, young preachers)
AUGUST 09: Dream for Christian college materializes (Global South, Part 2, from Accra, Heritage Christian signs document with ACU)
AUGUST 09: Voices question (from Accra)

Guinea
FEBRUARY 09: Around the World item (Healing Hands, Conakry)

Guinea-Bissau

Kenya
FEBRUARY 09: Remembering Jane (Spotlight)
FEBRUARY 09: Voices quote (Paul Ochieng, Mombasa)
JUNE 09: Generation Mission (brief about student who did trip to Mariann School in Kapsabet)
JULY 09: Africa — After a century of growth, church membership tops 1 million (Global South, Part 1, Dyron Daughrity quote)
JULY 09: Africa — After a century of growth, church membership tops 1 million (Global South, Part 1, Charles Ngoje quote)
AUGUST 09: Around the World item (Made in the Streets projects, Nairobi)

Lesotho

Liberia
APRIL 09: Partners brief (George Kiadii Christian Academy, Paynesville)
JULY 09: South goes North (Global South, Part 1, mentions refugees from Liberia)

Libya

Madagascar
APRIL 09: After presidential ouster, Madagascar work continues

Malawi
FEBRUARY 09: Donated 'V-tractors' will cultivate fields and improve lives of people in Malawi, missionary says (photo caption)
JULY 09: Africa — After a century of growth, church membership tops 1 million (Global South, Part 1, Randy Judd quote)

Mali
MAY 09: Around the World item (visitor from Belgium)

Mauritania

Mauritius
MAY 09: Visit by French mission team re-energizes small congregation on island of Mauritius (feature story)

Morocco

Mozambique
JULY 09: The changing face of the church (Global South, Part 1, includes Chad Westerholm quotes)

Namibia
MARCH 09: Around the World item (coastal church, Luderitz)
JULY 09: Africa — After a century of growth, church membership tops 1 million (Global South, Part 1,Jerry D'Alton quote)

Niger

Nigeria
JANUARY 09: Around the World item (Normandie church mission trip, Warri)
JANUARY 09: Christians shelter and baptize refugees of post-election violence in Nigeria
MARCH 09: Around the World item (Romain visit, Obong Ntak)
JULY 09: The changing face of the church (Global South, Part 1)
JULY 09: South goes North (Global South, Part 1, mentions Nigerian immigrants in Minnesota)
JULY 09: Africa — After a century of growth, church membership tops 1 million (Global South, Part 1, Henry Huffard quote)
JULY 09: A conversation with Wendell Broom (Global South, Part 1, Dialogue)
AUGUST 09: Christianity's southward shift demands new history (Global South Part 2, book review)
SEPTEMBER 09: 'I've been saved. I could have died so easily.' (Whittaker kidnapping)
SEPTEMBER 09: Northern Nigeria's wave of violence claims life of church youth leader (Maiduguri violence)
SEPTEMBER 09: Robert and Annette Whittaker have dedicated lives to mission work in Africa (sidebar to Page 3 story)

Reunion

Rwanda
JANUARY 09: Atlanta Christian school plans sister campus in Rwanda
MARCH 09: 'Everyone has the right to clean water'
APRIL 09: Around the World item (church anniv., Kigali)
JULY 09: The changing face of the church (Global South, Part 1, includes Jenkins quote)

Sao Tome and Principe

Senegal
JUNE 09: Around the World item (Geneva church campaign to Dakar)

Seychelles

Sierra Leone
MARCH 09: New life, new ministers in the land of 'blood diamonds' (photo caption)
JULY 09: South goes North (Global South, Part 1, mentions Liberian refugees converted in SL)

Somalia

South Africa
JANUARY 09: Around the World item (joint worship service, Johannesburg)
MAY 09: South African church gives meals to families, job seekers (photo caption)
MAY 09: Voices quote (Philip Adjei, Johannesburg)
JUNE 09: Partners item (InterMission event in Wilderness)
JULY 09: Africa — After a century of growth, church membership tops 1 million (Global South, Part 1, DTheo Rappard quote)

Sudan
FEBRUARY 09: Workers needed as refugees return to southern Sudan (photo caption)
JUNE 09: Sudan's 'open door; won't last forever, workers say

Swaziland

Tanzania
JULY 09: Africa — After a century of growth, church membership tops 1 million (Global South, Part 1, Charles Ngoje quote)

Togo
SEPTEMBER 09: To reach Togo (Global South, Part 3, dateline Kpalime)

Tunisia

Uganda
MARCH 09: A drive to find new funding (example from The Source Cafe, Jinja)
JUNE 09: Around the World item (Kampala church launches Luganda service)
SEPTEMBER 09: Whom shall we send? (Global South, Part 3, quote from Mbale missionary Shawn Tyler)

Western Sahara

Zambia
JUNE 09: Change for Africa: Christian school raises $12,000 (photo caption)

Zimbabwe
FEBRUARY 09: More woes for Zimbabwe
FEBRUARY 09: Despite hardships, Zimbabweans post record enrollment in World Bible School

Communist-era statue in downtown Vilnius, Lithuania (photo by Erik)

EUROPE:

Albania

Andorra

Austria
MARCH 09: Around the World item (women's sem., Filzmoos)

Belarus

Belgium

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia
FEBRUARY 09: God solved problems 'one by one' for Croatian church, minister says
APRIL 09: Youths in Central European nation of Croatia bundle up for rally (photo caption)
JULY 09: Around the World item (Perkins visit to Varazdin and Ukraine)

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia
JUNE 09: Around the World item (Warpole visit to Tartu)

Finland

France

Georgia

Germany
JANUARY 09: Around the World item (Euro-American Retreat, Rothenberg)
APRIL 09: Church near military hospital in Germany ministers to America's 'wounded warriors'

Greece
JANUARY 09: Around the World item (Philadelphia conference, Kechries)
AUGUST 09: Cooking with Eleni: Greek Christian practices 'table fellowship'

Hungary
MARCH 09: Around the World item (Minister Mark Lance visits, Budapest)

Iceland

Ireland

Italy
MARCH 09: Killing bugs for Christ: Missionaries work odd jobs
JULY 09: Around the World item (Northern Italy Ladies' Day, Milan)
AUGUST 09: Around the World item (Ghanaian Churches of Christ lectureships, Vicenza)

Kosovo

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania
JANUARY 09: Former 'hoodlum' and 'metalhead' share pulpit (from Vilnius)

Luxembourg

Macedonia

Malta

Moldova

Monaco

Montenegro

Netherlands
AUGUST 09: He takes notes, shoots photos — and preaches (Global South, Part 2, Inside Story column, from Amsterdam Ghanaian church)

Norway

Poland
JULY 09: Doors item (Sopot)

Portugal

Romania

Russia
MARCH 09: Workers needed in Russia (letter from Joel Petty, St. Petersburg)
JULY 09: Intimidated by graffiti? Russian church says 'Nyet' (Rostov-on-don)

San Marino

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden
JULY 09: The changing face of the church (Global South, Part 1, Abraham Monney visit to start-up church)

Switzerland
JUNE 09: Around the World item (Thun church retreat)

Ukraine
JANUARY 09: Unable to reach Russia, church planters move to Ukraine
APRIL 09: Voices quote (Sasha Prokopchuk, Donetsk)
JULY 09: Around the World item (Bill Wharton tour)

United Kingdom

Vatican City

A market street in New Delhi (photo by Erik)

MIDDLE EAST/CENTRAL ASIA:

Afghanistan

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Bhutan

Cyprus

India
MARCH 09: A drive to find new funding (from Chennai)
MARCH 09: New lampstands for Chennai (from Chennai)
MARCH 09: A day in the life of the orphanage inspector
APRIL 09: English training centers introduce young Indians to Bible (from Chennai)
MAY 09: Around the World item (Kakinada School of Preaching 24th lectureship)
JUNE 09: Around the World item (Jack Nelle Institute songbook distribution, Vijayawada)
JULY 09: The changing face of the church (Global South, Part 1, includes Renganathan quotes)
SEPTEMBER 09: Whom shall we send? (Global South, Part 3, dateline Kakinada, KSP)

Iran

Iraq
APRIL 09: Crutches and candy needed for children in Iraq (photo caption)

Israel
APRIL 09: Around the World item (Negev seminar, Mitspe Ramon)

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Lebanon

Maldives

Nepal

Oman

Pakistan

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Sri Lanka
FEBRUARY 2009: Around the World item (World Radio program, Colombo)

Syria

Tajikistan
JULY 09: Arkansas minister gets a taste of Tajikistan (Kachelman)

Turkey

Turkmenistan

United Arab Emirates

Uzbekistan

Yemen

Students from the South Pacific Bible College do some volunteer gardening for a widow in New Zealand (photo submitted by David and Mary Nelson)

OCEANIA:

Australia
FEBRUARY 09: Around the World brief (donations to Papua New Guinea, Perth)
MARCH 09: Australian church seeks fire relief
AUGUST 09: Around the World item (Southwest church retreat)

Cook Islands

Fiji

French Polynesia

Kiribati
JULY 09: From Tonga to Banana Village (Randy English)

Marshall Islands

Micronesia

Nauru

New Caledonia (France)
JULY 09: Workers look to plant congregation on island of New Caledonia (Baggott, Martin)

New Zealand
MARCH 09: Around the World item (church plant, Foxton)
JUNE 09: Holy Land travel agents (Spotlight)

Palau

Papua New Guinea
JANUARY 09: Around the World item ('Kibung' of Churches of Christ, Emagave)
APRIL 09: New life, New Guinea (Spotlight)
AUGUST 09: Baptisms, beatings and reconciliation in Papua New Guinea (photo caption)

Samoa

Solomon Islands

Tonga
JULY 09: From Tonga to Banana Village (Raine)

Tuvalu

U.S. — American Samoa

U.S. — Guam

Vanuatu
MARCH 09: Around the World item (Truth Bible School, Port Vila)

Children in Cambodia eat food supplied by the Mekong River Boat Project (photo submitted by Rick and Gail Northen)

EAST ASIA:

Brunei

Cambodia
MAY 09: Sharing smiles, songs and faith in Cambodia (photo caption)

China
MAY 09: Around the World item (Sisters Retreat)
AUGUST 09: Church-supported orphanage in China celebrates Children's Day (photo caption, China Mission)
AUGUST 09: Answering God's call in China (Views)
SEPTEMBER 09: 48th Asia Mission Forum brings reconciliation among believers (Beijing)

East Timor

Indonesia
AUGUST 09: Truth without compromise (Spotlight, Medan)

Japan
FEBRUARY 09: Around the World item (winter camp, Tomobe)

Laos

Macau

Malaysia
FEBRUARY 09: Around the World item (gospel meeting, Klang)

Mongolia

Myanmar
JANUARY 09: Ministry aids people of Myanmar after cyclone

North Korea

Philippines
FEBRUARY 09: Around the World item (Philippine International Bible Institute, Angeles City)
MARCH 09: A drive to find new funding (examples from Salvador Cariaga's work in Philippines)
SEPTEMBER 09: Here comes the sun — and power (photo caption, OC engineering student)

Singapore

South Korea
SEPTEMBER 09: A conversation with Joyce Hardin (Global South, Part 3, Dialogue)

Taiwan
MARCH 09: Around the World item (financial crunch, Taichung)

Thailand
JANUARY 09: Thai Christian dies five days after baptism
FEBRUARY 09: Voices quote (Daniel Hamm, Ubon Ratchathani)
MARCH 09: Around the World item (church plants, Khon Kaen)
APRIL 09: Around the World item (Faulkner speaker, Bangkok)
SEPTEMBER 09: Around the World item (Swine flu moves Khon Kaen church outdoors)

Vietnam

It's Trygg Thursday on bobbyrossjr.com

2009-03-26T08:39:00.001-07:00

I haven't been doing a good job of updating this blog, but I've somehow found the time to write posts for other people's blogs.

Check out bobbyrossjr.com to see my guest blog post about the situation in Madagascar. And please leave a comment (on that site, not this one!)

Thanks

Getting into stuff

2009-03-10T08:51:00.001-07:00

Scenes from a 29-hour train ride through India

2009-02-24T08:32:00.000-08:00

Maggie's first birthday and other stuff

2009-02-18T07:59:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

Hello friends:

I've been neglecting this blog for the sake of my Facebook page, and for those of you not on Facebook, I am truly sorry.

It's not entirely my fault, though. I've attempted to update this blog a couple of times in the past month and have been blocked from doing so because, evidently, of some technical problems with blogspot.

Since Thanksgiving I've canceled a trip to India, rescheduled a trip to India and been to India. But the big news is Maggie's tubes (no more ear infections ... fingers crossed!) and her first birthday.

So here are a mix of photos from the past few months. Most of these are from Maggie's birthday. I'll post some India pics soon.

Bailey watches Maggie open a present from the McBrides.

Maggie got her own special cake to destroy ...

... with ladybugs, of course.

Mrs. Vanessa from Maggie's day care came to our party.

Maggie "walks" into a room filled with presents.

Maggie and Rachel Lamb

Joyce McBride gets a big smile.

Maggie says hi to Grace Lamb.

Mrs. Vanessa says goodbye.

That's about all the cake she would destroy. She didn't like getting icing on her hands, for some reason.

Sarah and Grace had to try out our treehouse.

Sunset on New Year's Day 2009, somewhere between I-35 and Duncan

During a visit to Altus, mommy got her hair cut and straightened. It lasted until the next time she washed it.

Christmas lights at the Opryland Hotel

2008-12-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

We were in Tennessee visiting Erik's folks for Thanksgiving and took the kids (Maggie and cousin Luke) to the Opryland Hotel to see the Christmas lights. It used to be free to park at the hotel. Now they want $18 — plus tax! So Mimi and Papa T dropped us off and picked us up later.

Trying out the new swing

2008-11-18T11:26:00.000-08:00

Papa installed this swing in the backyard a while back. Since we had some nice weather recently ...

Happy Halloween from Miss Maggie

2008-10-31T12:05:00.001-07:00

My computer screen is cutting off about a third of this photo, so I won't post any more for a while and see if the problem gets resolved. Anyway, I've got more of these on my Facebook page. -- ET

Big bow, big grin — and a new wagon

2008-10-20T13:34:00.001-07:00

Maggie just figured out how to grin. We took a few photos after church yesterday.

Looks like she's up to something!

Attempting to grab the camera.

I was laughing and didn't get her all in frame, but this one's still pretty cute.

Practicing her new grin with Nana and Papa.

Papa took Maggie for a ride in the new wagon he got for her. (You'll notice our neighborhood supports both ends of the political spectrum!)

Papa went slow, but it was nonetheless a white-knuckle ride for Miss Maggie.

Maggie goes to IHOP

2008-10-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

But, much to her disappointment, she didn't get any pancakes.

She did, however, get to try out a new bib that her great-grandma sent her.

Maggie's new skill — clapping

A tale of two Margarets

2008-10-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

Maggie finally got to meet her namesake last weekend.

Her great-grandma Margaret Tryggestad from Sioux Falls, S.D., came for a visit. My folks flew from Nashville to Omaha and drove up to see grandma. Then all three of them piled in the car and headed down south to OKC.

We got some really nice shots just before they left. (Jeanie already was at work.)

Four generations of Tryggestads.

Margaret and Margaret

Maggie and Mimi

A present for Maggie

2008-09-12T20:07:00.001-07:00

Oh boy! A package from grandma and grandpa in Tennessee.

Let's see if it passes the taste test. Mmmmm ... cardboardy.

OK ... I'm going to open it now. No more distractions.

Hey look, Oklahoma just scored again. Go Sooners! Hope they'll show the Bulldogs score soon.

Mmmmrph! Pffft! Mommy says I have something in my nose.

OK, back on task now.

Wow! Halloween PJ's! Thank you, grandma and grandpa!

Sooner born, Bulldog bred — I mean Sooner bred! (No I don't.)

2008-09-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

Jeanie's Aunt Bea got a look at photos of Maggie sporting her Georgia Bulldogs attire and retaliated in a big way.

So here's Maggie sporting her OU pacifier (which we got her a while back — she likes it almost as much as her TWO Georgia pacifiers). Everything else OU-related in these photos was a generous gift from Aunt Bea.

GO SOONERS!

(By the way, Bobby Ross told me a GREAT joke today about how you make Sooner cookies. I'll let you guess the punch line!)

Checking the score
College football ... IT'S GOOD!

Miss Maggie loves Bible class

2008-09-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

Maggie has officially been "promoted" to a toddlers class at church (passed all her tests and got her thesis approved), so we got some shots of her on Sunday during her final day in the nursery class.

She's growing up fast!

LEAVE SARAH ALONE!

2008-09-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

I rarely get involved in politics, but I feel that, in light of recent "news" about Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin, I must break my silence.

Quite simply, I think that certain aspects of candidates' personal lives — and the lives of their families — should be off limits to reporters.

It fills me with disgust when I see members of the media harping on a subject that simply should be of no interest to the voting public. (It's also absolutely none of their business.)

It's especially disturbing when reporters (and bloggers) continue to ponder an aspect of a candidate's personal life when she simply has NO CONTROL OVER IT.

That's right, you can say all you want about "instilling family values." Some things just happen — they JUST HAPPEN.

And it's not Sarah Palin's fault!

So, for what feels like the millionth time, I'm asking reporters, bloggers, politicians and pundits to STOP POINTING OUT HOW MUCH SARAH PALIN LOOKS LIKE TINA FEY!

Thank you.

(Wow! They really do look alike. I wonder if Tina's going to make a bunch of guest appearances on SNL.)

Ready, set ... GAMEDAY!

2008-08-29T08:13:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

"It's the most wonderful time of the year ..."

And this year I get to inflict my love of the Bulldogs on someone who is (mostly) powerless to resist it.

So, before we left for day care today, Maggie tried on the Georgia Bulldogs shirt that grandma and grandpa got her some time ago. It's a bit big (12 months) but I think it looks pretty good on her.

In the middle of our little photo shoot, the phone rang. It was mommy, calling from work because she sensed something was wrong. "You're not just shooting her in her diaper, are you?"

Ummm, no mommy. So, after a quick wardrobe adjustment ...

And finally, to make mommy really happy ...

By the way, Maggie got upset when I took her Georgia gear off and exchanged it for her Thumper day care outfit. That's my girl!

My first blog post

2008-08-28T17:08:00.001-07:00

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From Lithuania to Texas to Nigeria and back — how I spent my summer vacation

2008-08-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

A prayer during the 2008 Africans Claiming Africa for Christ conference in Badagry, Nigeria.

(By Erik)

The summer travel season (and frantically writing about it for The Christian Chronicle) is almost over. A scant three weeks after I returned from Lithuania, I headed down to Arlington, Texas, for the second Global Missions Conference. It was at the Arlington Convention Center, just across the street from the ballpark where they Texas Rangers play — just next door to a huge new stadium they’re building for the Dallas Cowboys, I think.

Anyway, I had an amazing lunchtime conversation with Isaac Daye, who serves as a missionary to the tiny West African nation of Gambia (seriously, get out a map of Africa and try to find this place. It’s a little sliver of a country contained entirely within the borders of Senegal) and Willie Gley, an evangelist in Accra, Ghana.

Me and Isaac Daye at the Global Missions Conference.

In addition to planting churches in Gambia, Isaac has worked extensively in Liberia, Sierra Leone and (I think) the Ivory Coast — all three of which are recovering from internal conflicts. (The movie “Blood Diamond” does a good job of explaining the civil war in Sierra Leone. The movie “Lord of War” involves the war in Liberia and has a good explanation of the role of the AK-47 in global conflicts, but the film has A LOT of objectionable material.)

I’ve known Isaac for a long time through our e-mail correspondence, but this was the first time I got to speak with him in person, so that was a treat.

Willie Gley

Willie’s involved in a really cool ministry, too. He’s learning Spanish to be a part of a new work in Equatorial Guinea, a tiny nation on the Atlantic coast, just under the “elbow” part of Africa (around the Cameroon-ish area). Only a small part of the country is on the African mainland. The rest, including the capital, Malabo, is located on a group of islands. Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking nation in Africa, and until now there’s been no significant work done there by Churches of Christ.

My in-laws and my two girls (Jeanie and Maggie) drove down a day after I got to the conference and we all stayed at the home of Jeanie’s sister and brother-in-law. We took Nana and Papa out to Texas de Brazil in Fort Worth for an early celebration of their 40th wedding anniversary (which actually happened about a week ago). It’s a Brazilian steakhouse, called a churrascaria (I’ve never been able to pronounce that word). Basically, that means the waiters come at you with swords — swords full of delicious meat, that is. The salad bar alone is worth the trip.

We came home from Fort Worth on Sunday afternoon, and less than 48 hours later I was on a plane headed for Atlanta. I met up with Trent Wheeler of Nashville-based African Christian Schools in the Atlanta airport and we boarded a direct flight to Lagos, Nigeria. (Yes, it took me five flights to get from Vilnius, Lithuania, back to OKC, but only two to get home from Nigeria!)

It was a much better experience than my previous trip to Lagos in late 2004. (The Northworst – I mean Northwest — flight from Memphis to Amsterdam was delayed, so we ended up staying at a hotel in the Netherlands overnight. That was a really nice experience, but then our flight from Amsterdam to Lagos got diverted en route and we had to spend two or three hours in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, waiting for clearance to fly to Lagos.)

We arrived in Lagos and stayed overnight on the campus of West Nigeria Christian College in a town called Abeokuta, about an hour north of Lagos. It’s a new school and one of four affiliated with African Christian Schools. Nigeria has thousands of Churches of Christ and at least 250,000 church members, but the highest concentration is in the eastern part of the country. WNCC is an attempt to supply preachers for the less-evangelized western part of the country. A Nigerian church elder and businessman donated the land for the facility, and the school has a board that includes many Nigerian church leaders. And the facility, which is still partially under construction, is very impressive.

The next day we headed back to the Lagos airport to get a domestic flight to Calabar, a city in eastern Nigeria. I was a bit nervous about the experience (even though I had done it before — flying between Lagos and Port Harcourt in 2004). We ended up flying out on Virgin Nigeria. That’s right, Sir Richard Branson bought controlling stock in the now-defunct Nigeria Airways and spruced it up (although now he’s looking to sell his shares because of a dispute with the Nigerian government). It was a great flight.

From Calabar, we drove a little more than two hours to Ukpom, the home of Nigerian Christian Bible College. The school, also connected to African Christian Schools, has been around for more than 50 years, and its annual lectureship draws more than 2,000 attendees. I got to see the final resting place of John Beckloff, a longtime missionary who died just a few days before I started working at The Christian Chronicle. Reporting on his death, which followed a concussion he received after falling down a set of stairs, was my first assignment at the Chronicle. John’s brother, Ken Beckloff, is a longtime missionary to Kenya and is missions minister for the Memorial Road church, where Jeanie and I are members.

I got to tour the campus and I had dinner with some of the school’s graduates. Because of some recent trouble with the local village heads (church schools, unfortunately, go through this every once in a while in Nigeria), the school hired security guards to follow us around. I really don’t think they were necessary, but the school’s Nigerian officials didn’t want to take any chances. So there I was, interviewing Nigerian preachers while a guy with an AK-47 roamed around behind me.

The highlight of the experience was preaching a sermon in front of nearly 2,000 Nigerians. Trent spoke first. My assignment was “The Good Shepherd” — John 10:11-14. I spoke and a Nigerian church member translated into the local language. I told the audience that we are all sheep in a huge flock that spans the globe.

“So I greet you in the language of sheep — baaaaaaaaa!” I said. They all had a good laugh. That was the highlight of the trip for me — and the best part was watching my bewildered translator try to decide if he needed to translate that or not. Finally, he kind of shrugged and said “Baaaaaa!”

I think about 24 young people came forward to be baptized after Trent and I had finished preaching. (I’m not saying it was our dynamic preaching that swayed them. I think the Nigerian ministers had been talking to these young folks for some time.) We walked down to a nearby river and watched the baptisms. It was an uplifting experience.

Here's Trent with a couple of our "bodyguards" just before we left NCBC. I showed them a photo of Maggie and one in the middle said, "Awww. How old?" Kind of took the edge off his toughness, but I thought it was cool.

The next day we flew back on Virgin Nigeria to Lagos and traveled back to Abeokuta. We spent the next few days on the campus of WNCC. I got to meet James Beckloff, another Beckloff sibling, who lives in Arkansas but spends a lot of his time at the West Nigeria school, helping with administrative tasks. I also got to meet the school’s director, Biodun Owolabi, a tall, soft-spoken Nigerian Christian who has worked at the school since its inception.

Biodun was helping with arrangements for the Africans Claiming Africa for Christ conference, which we all would attend in a few days. On the Tuesday when Trent and I flew to Nigeria, Biodun was driving in Lagos, on business for the conference. At about 4 p.m. a group of robbers started shooting at cars and taking people’s money and possessions. They shot through the windshield of Biodun’s car and hit him in the hand. It was a traumatic experience for him, to say the least — and a reminder of the dangers and challenges that many of our Nigerian brothers and sisters face. Biodun had minor surgery later in the week to remove some shrapnel from his hand. I asked him about the experience and he gave me a lot of great information about faith and perseverance. Biodun has a really great story that I’m hoping to use as a profile in the Chronicle before too long.

We worshiped with a local congregation in Abeokuta on Sunday and did some shopping on Monday before heading down to Badagry, a former port where slaves were shipped to the New World. There, at an administrative college, we attended the ACAC conference. More than 400 church members from across Africa attended. It was a great experience. I just finished writing a story about it for the September issue of the Chronicle. We’ll get it posted only before too long and I’ll post a link.

I got to see a lot of old friends at the conference — and I got to meet in person several folks who I previously knew only through e-mail. In the past people have pointed out that I rarely appear in any of the photos I bring back from overseas. So I reluctantly let someone else use my camera and got a few shots:

Here I am with Fred Asare, who works with the Village of Hope ministry outside Accra, Ghana. Fred has visited us in Oklahoma City before and is good friends with Lynn and Joy McMillon. Memorial Road has been involved with Village of Hope for several years. (The ministry was featured on "Oprah" not too long ago, too.)

Augustine Tawiah and I have been friends since our days together in Sewell Hall at Lipscomb University. Augustine, who was born in western Ghana, was working on one of his many master's degrees when I was an undergrad. Now he's president of Ghana Bible College in Kumasi, Ghana, and he overseas Lamplighter Academy, a primary school in his hometown, Sefwi-Debiso. I visited the campus last year and wrote a story about it for the Chronicle. I also designed the page for our print edition ... and it won first place in the Associated Church Press competition for layout and design. Whoo-hoo! Augustine always challenges me to go back to school and get at least one Ph.D. The other Ghanaians and I joked that, when he's in his 80s, Augustine will be working on his 16th degree.

One of coolest parts of the conference for me was getting, albeit briefly, to meet Arnold Dzah. He's a native of Ghana who is working in the predominantly Muslim nation of Senegal. He oversees a Bible school that recently graduated its first students. We've corresponded by e-mail for years, but this was the first time we were in the same place at the same time.

The conference happens every four years, so the next one won't be until 2012. Churches of Christ in Zambia will host the event, and they've already got a Web site — aca-zambia.org.

This was the longest trip I've done to Africa — nearly two weeks. I got A LOT of great information.

At long last ... some recognition!

2008-08-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

I'm happy to announce that Facebook.com has recently determined that I am indeed the author of this Web page.

It's a weird, complicated process whereby one has to get 10 people to say that yes, indeed, I am the author of this page.

Incidentally, I've been doing a lot more stuff on Facebook recently, hence the drop-off in blog posts. If you want to check out my profile, here's a direct link:

www.new.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=644935589. I think you have to be my "friend" to view it, but maybe, if you're not, this will give you the option to become a friend. I'm not sure.

And here's a link to the blog network page for Tryggblog.

Giddy-up!

2008-08-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

We're pretty sure we're headed for a "Daddy, can I have a pony?" situation.

Mohawk day at day care

2008-08-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

The latest Maggie news ...

2008-07-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

Wow! It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything. Feels like I’ve been to Lithuania and back (more on that later).

Meanwhile, here are some recent Maggie photos. She just keeps growing!

Maggie got her first taste of carrots yesterday. After rice cereal, they were a big hit.

But, for Maggie, nothing beats the taste of ... HUMAN FLESH!

Here’s Maggie in her Sunday best. Grandma and Grandpa got the dress for her. Aunt Mimi (Amy) got the bloomers.

Daddy’s jet lag coincided with nap time. (Wish that happened more often!)

Staying in the Maggie loop

2008-06-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long delay in posts. It's been a busy month. Lots going on. Erik is planning to make two international trips this summer (please pray for his passport to get back from the Nigerian embassy on time!) and Jeanie is in the final week of her three-year pediatric residency. More on all of that later. Here are some photos of Maggie keeping up with today's news:

"Wow! There's a lot of information in this paper. Thank you, Christian Chronicle."

Maggie shows off a Sunday dress given to us by one of Jeanie's cousins.

Greensburg, Kan., tornado ... one year later

2008-05-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a video I put together last year for The Christian Chronicle's Web site about the tornado that destroyed Greensburg, Kan. I hoped to return a year later to see the rebuilding progress, but I haven't had the time (or the gas money) to make the five-hour drive.

I don't know if many people got to see this collection of still photos and interviews last year, so I'm posting the YouTube version here.

Our prayers are with the people of Greensburg who lost family and friends in the storm. We're also praying for the victims of recent tornadoes that have claimed lives across the nation. Weather forecasters here in Oklahoma say this is the deadliest tornado season we've seen in 10 years.

Memorial Day weekend at Nana and Papa's house

2008-05-26T08:26:00.000-07:00

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Altus visiting Jeanie's parents, Nana and Papa.

Here are a few random photos to start off:
Maggie has a cute smile for momma.

This is Maggie's preferred method of sleeping.

Stylin'

Saying hello to Nana.

We tried out a jogging stroller that Papa found to make a trip to Braum's.

Once we got to Braum's, Maggie was a little disappointed to find out that she couldn't have any ice cream.

I told her Papa would make it up to her by giving her $50.

Maggie got her first taste of rice cereal during the visit.

Reaction was mixed, at best.

With aunt Jaret and uncle Jonathan.

With Nana and Papa.

Like father, like mother, like daughter

2008-05-18T20:12:00.001-07:00

I promise you the following photo was not staged:

Momma picked out a BIG HAT for church.

Relaxing after church

Looking in the mirror (and showing off her Georgia bling)

2008-05-16T07:49:00.001-07:00

Mommy claims she did this the night before this was taken, only she was smiling big and laughing at the baby in the mirror. The most I could get out of her this morning was a faint sense of recognition. This is one of the few frames where she's not looking at something off to the side.

Start 'em early! That's daddy's motto!

Happy baby

2008-05-01T09:11:00.001-07:00

Bath time

2008-04-30T11:29:00.001-07:00

Photos from Altus church building dedication

2008-04-19T09:55:00.001-07:00

Thoughts on life, death and Kenya

2008-04-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

I'm helping out with a brief presentation tomorrow on our church's contributions to relief in Kenya after the post-election violence. Here’s a first draft of my remarks. (I’m going to have to edit this down to fit the time slot)

************

Like most of us here this morning, I’ve never traveled to Kenya. But I know many ministers and members of Churches of Christ there through my work with The Christian Chronicle.

While the people of Kenya were coping with death and loss that most of us would find difficult to even imagine, my wife and I were welcoming a new life into the world.

Our daughter, Maggie, was born Jan. 16 — two days before we went to press with the February issue of the Chronicle. I already had written a story for our Web site, but the continuing chaos in Kenya warranted an updated story for the front page of the paper.

So, the night before deadline, one day after Maggie was born, I e-mailed the church members I know in Kenya using the wireless network in Mercy Hospital. I basically explained where I was, that I was sorry for the tight deadline, but my wife just had a baby, etc. I told them we were praying for them and asked, if at all possible, for any updates about church members impacted by the violence.

Now, the night before Maggie had been a little angel, just sleeping peacefully, and I even found myself saying, “Wow, I don’t see what the big deal is. This baby stuff is easy.” I think Maggie heard me, and she made up for it the next night, right after I sent that e-mail. Between the screams, I think Jeanie and I got about 10 minutes of uninterrupted sleep.

The next morning I stopped by the Chronicle office and had a handful of replies from our brothers in Kenya. This one’s from a man named Jacob Agak, principal of the Winyo Christian Academy in Kenya:

“Congratulations on the arrival of sweet and pretty Maggie. We thank God for her safe journey to this land where she will be a sojourner too. We pray and hope that God will grant her great health and above all let her grow in Him. Be sure to give a BIG hug to your wife Jeanie for us. We thank God for keeping her safe for all those months.”

Then he went on to tell me how his school was closed due to violent threats and that most of the church members in his area feared for their lives.

Well, as you can imagine, I just lost it — just broke down there in front of my computer screen, almost started weeping. In retrospect now I like to blame it on the sleep deprivation.

I received half a dozen other responses that said pretty much the same thing. Though facing death, each one of these brothers took a moment to share in the joy of this new life that God blessed us with.

I just wanted to share that story with you because I think that says a lot about the character and the love our fellow Christians in Kenya have for God and his people around the world.

Ending the Maggie drought

2008-04-04T20:07:00.001-07:00

(Maggie in her Easter dress)

(By Erik)

Alright, alright. It has indeed been some time since I updated this blog. Turns out a baby requires a certain amount of attention. And, when you write for a living, finding the will to write in what little spare time exists isn’t easy.

Jeanie’s back at work now. She actually started last month, but we were blessed to have visits by her parents and her sister and brother-in-law to help us out at the beginning of March. My parents came out from Nashville for a two-week visit after the Jacks returned to Altus.

My sister, Amy, my brother-in-law, Lamar, and their son, Luke, also stayed for a few days. So the two cousins got to meet for the first time. It was a hoot. Luke spent most of his visit being a great, typical 3-year-old. Jeanie and I are really impressed with the progress he’s made since we saw him more after Christmas in 2006. Luke was diagnosed with autism last year. Check out Amy’s blog for updates on his progress. Maggie was fascinated by Luke — almost as much as she’s fascinated by our ceiling fans.

(Admiring the ceiling fan with grandpa)

Today Maggie completed her first week of day care. I took her there for the first time on Monday. All I can say about the experience is that it’s a bit like tearing a piece of your own soul away with a pair of salad tongs. (Why salad tongs? No idea, just seems to fit.) Maggie got fussy on her first car ride to day care, but I was an absolute mess. It turned out to be OK. She’s at a great place with great people, from what I can tell.

No parent likes putting his child in day care, I’m guessing. For us, it’s necessary. It’s not just about the money, either. Jeanie and I both are doing what we love. We have jobs we feel passionate about. For me, this is the first time I’ve felt guilty about that passion.

(Aunt Amy with Maggie and Luke)

I realize we’re hardly the first couple to use day care. We’re in the same situation as the majority of parents in the U.S., I imagine. Still, it’s a bit difficult for us because, in our Bible class, we see a good number of stay-at-home moms. That probably bucks the national trend, and I’m thrilled to see it in our church, but sometimes I think it’s easy for me and Jeanie to feel a bit isolated — wondering if we’re doing what’s best for our little girl.

(Luke says hi to Maggie)

Add to that twinge of guilt all the daily pressures of life — laundry, responsibilities at church, bath time, vacuuming, fussy time, deadlines, taxes, washing bottles and a lawn full — I mean FULL — of dandelions (it’s downright embarrassing) and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Some days I feel like I’m just keeping my head above water. And looking ahead, all I can see is deeper water. (Someday we’re going to have TWO kids, after all!)

It’s a strange mix of joy and fear, hope and anxiety. I keep praying (though not nearly as much as I should) as the days pass. Thankfully, I keep coming back to a set of lyrics from a song by Caedmon’s Call:

My cup runneth over
I worry about the stain

That verse is the brick wall of reality I smack into sometimes. All of the stuff I fret about — from dollars to day care — is the overflow God’s blessings. I worry about managing the abundant resources that most people on this planet don’t have. I know I don’t deserve what I’ve been given, and I know that, in the long run, most of what I’m worrying about doesn’t matter. I get so caught up in the immediate that I forget about the eternal.

Luckily, every grin I get from my little girl is a reminder of God’s eternal love — and just how much my cup overflows.

(Big smile)

Maggie at (almost) 2 months

2008-03-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos of Maggie posing with her ladybugs of varying sizes, plus one of her asleep in her favorite place on earth — the bouncy seat.

A couple of recent Maggie photos

2008-02-24T20:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day from Maggie

2008-02-14T18:17:00.000-08:00

Maggie's sporting another outfit that her mother wore when she was little.

Giraffe outfit

2008-02-13T19:29:00.001-08:00

AAAAAAAAAAAH!

2008-02-06T19:53:00.001-08:00

It’s not that unusual
When everything is beautiful.
It’s just another ordinary miracle today.

The sky knows when its time to snow,
Don’t need to teach a seed to grow.
It’s just another ordinary miracle today.

Life is like a gift they say
Wrapped up for you everyday;
Open up and find a way
To give some of your own.

Isn’t it remarkable?
Like every time a rain drop falls,
It’s just another ordinary miracle today.

It seems so exceptional
That things just work out after all.
It’s just another ordinary miracle today.

-- Lyrics from "Ordinary Miracle" by Sarah McLachlan

Pretty in pink

2008-02-02T16:58:00.001-08:00

Maggie got all dressed up today for her first trip to Target. The outfit is one grandma and grandpa Tryggestad sent us at Christmas. Maggie slept through the entire Target experience. Riding in the car and the buggy put her to sleep.

The 'Oooh!' face

2008-01-31T12:37:00.001-08:00

Thank you everybody!

2008-01-30T07:52:00.001-08:00

(By Erik)

Here's a look at the design of a thank you card from Maggie's shower. I threw it together using InDesign, the same program we use to lay out The Christian Chronicle. Jeanie and her mom put them on the hostess gifts.

Maggie got quite a little haul at her baby shower, by the way. We've been blessed by so many members of our church family. In addition to the gifts, members of our class have been bringing by meals every other day. It's been great. (We've done this for couples in our class before. It's really nice to be on the receiving end!)

It's been so great to read all the encouraging e-mails and blog posts as well. As you might expect, we've had a lot of ups and downs these past two weeks as we've stumbled and bumbled our way into parenthood. Even though one of us is a pediatrician, it's a whole new experience raising your own kid! I already feel like I've learned a lot about the unconditional nature of God's love for us.

We continue to covet your prayers.

Sunday best

2008-01-27T14:35:00.000-08:00

Maggie made her debut at church today, wearing an outfit that her mother wore when she was a baby. Today was Maggie's shower, too.

Hopefully this is no reflection on our feelings toward daddy's alma mater

2008-01-26T13:26:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

Actually, this is karma in action. Yesterday I said, "Seems like she hasn't spit up much since she was born."

While we're on the subject of UGA, in all the excitement of Maggie's arrival I didn't get a chance to brag/gloat about the Bulldogs' final standing of No. 2 in the AP poll. Nor did I get to brag about my No. 2 finish in the College Bowl Pick 'Em game that Bobby set up back in November.

I did a pretty lousy job picking the winners up until the end of the year, but I finished strong because I picked the winners of all five BCS bowls. (Yes, sports fans, that means I picked West Virginia over our beloved Sooners. I had to go with history on that one — plus I remember what the Mountaineers did to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl two years ago. Not a pleasant memory.)

ESPN also picked Georgia as the preseason No. 1 for 2008. That's a mixed blessing — an accolade on par with the "Best New Artist" Grammy. It means you'll never be heard from again. Re: Hootie and the Blowfish) But I'm confident my Bulldogs will rise to the challenge — or at least make it an interesting college football season.

Sometimes the couch works better than the cradle

2008-01-26T09:59:00.000-08:00

More visitors, bath time, nap time ... and purple mouth

2008-01-24T19:58:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

OK, that last one is misleading because I don't have any photos of Maggie's newly-purple mouth. We went to the pediatrician today and he recommended a treatment to get rid of Maggie's thrush (yeast inside her mouth). Unfortunately, the treatment involves brushing her tongue and the inside of her cheeks with a violet-colored dye. We're hoping it will dissipate before her baby shower this coming Sunday.

I've been unable to get any photos of little miss purple mouth yet, but will post them if/when I do.

Meanwhile, here's a few new photos from the past few days.

Jeanie's friends from Wichita Falls came up for a visit. Here are their two girls (Sidney and Mary) admiring Maggie.

The Rosses stopped by for a visit and (shortly after this photo was taken) Tamie was able to get Maggie to stop crying — by taking her to look out one of our windows. Thank you veteran mother of three! We're in awe!

Here's Maggie at bathtime. She's not a big fan, but she seems enamored with the Pooh and Tigger cup dispenser — especially Tigger. Distracting baby girls at bath time is what Tiggers do best, it seems.

Keeping Maggie warm so she can get some rest has been a challenge with outside temperatures dropping into the low teens recently. Looks like I make a pretty good heating pad.

Love me some bouncy seat!

2008-01-22T12:25:00.000-08:00

Just in case you feel that we haven't posted enough photos of Maggie, here's our little girl with her eyes wide open in her new, jungle-themed bouncy seat.

Thanks to Jeanie's cousin, Tyson, and his wife, Dana, for the wonderful gift.

Maggie loves her bouncy seat. It calms her down when she's a little bit fussy. (If she's a lot fussy, alas, even the bouncy seat is powerless to make an impact.)

Maggie-palooza

2008-01-20T10:32:00.000-08:00

We're trying to post a slideshow from Photobucket showcasing most of Maggie's visitors this week. On our Mac it looks a little bit off-center, but it works. Please let us know if you can see it or not.

Still more Maggie photos

2008-01-18T20:05:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

Right after Maggie was born, she got her first bath. Emily, one of the RNs at Mercy, did the honors.

Emily said Maggie had the most junk in her hair of any baby she'd washed — a Mercy milestone! It turned out to be a true "lather, rinse, repeat" experience.

Here are a few more photos from the past couple of days.

Here's Maggie all ready for bed (well, not really. This night turned out to be a trial by fire. She refused to sleep. I think Jeanie and I slept about 15 minutes combined.)

My mom grabbed my camera and took this photo of me and Maggie.

Here's Maggie getting ready to come home. This is her special "going home outfit."

Drowning in a sea of pink as we get ready for the car

At home with mommy.

Because you demanded it — more Maggie photos

2008-01-17T15:58:00.001-08:00

Having some technical issues. More coming, I promise! -- ET

Stay at Mercy Hospital, get a free pink hat (patient must provide own baby girl).

Bailey stopped by before his classes at OC.

Joyce stopped by with Dr. Beth Walker after lunch.

Here's Maggie with grandpa and grandma Tryggestad

Praise the Lord! She looks like her mother!

2008-01-16T15:46:00.001-08:00

Margaret Jean Tryggestad

Born 4:14 p.m. Jan. 16, 2008

6 pounds, 13 ounces

18 inches long

Mother and baby are doing fine.

Father is thrilled (but is kind of wondering, "Yeah, um, well ... now what do I do?")

Wednesday 10 a.m. update

2008-01-16T08:08:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

We're getting close! Everything looks good so far — just a couple of minor hiccups along the way.

The neatest thing that's happened thus far is getting to see part of our Memorial Road family. Just as soon as we walked into the maternity ward, we caught the Baileys on their way out. They were visiting Stephanie Anderson, who just had her baby yesterday. She was due next week. It's a girl, by the way.

The hospital has wi-fi! Whoo-hoo!

2008-01-15T19:38:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

We checked in at 8 p.m. today. Jeanie's getting her medication to get everything going. The induction is scheduled for tomorrow. Everything looks good so far. Jeanie had several contractions today leading up to the big event, but nothing that was was frequent or regular.

I'll keep you posted. Thanks for your prayers!

(Almost) everything but the baby

2008-01-12T19:32:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

Here, at long last, are some photos of Maggie’s (nearly) completed room. Apologies for the yellow tint in some of these. I took them at night without using the flash. I did a little sharpening and color correction in PhotoShop, but I’m no expert.

That’s the room’s door on the right. I’ve had that sign since Jeanie’s graduation from medical school in 2005. She had a bunch of family coming in for the event, so they put these signs on about two rows of seats at the Civic Center. It was funny to me I’m the only one of the whole bunch who was born with the name “Tryggestad,” yet we all were the “Tryggestad family.” I kept one and put it on the door of what then was my office. Kinda’ funny how the sign turned out to be prophetic.

You can see our lady bug-themed crib sheet set here, plus a few of the photos that you, dear readers, voted onto the walls.

The changing table is loaded up with clothes that will go to the hospital with us.

Jeanie and I bought these colorful animals on two separate trips to Guatemala. (She started the collection in November 2006 and I added to it in April 2007.)

Maggie is one-fourth Norwegian, so my mom and dad got her this little reminder.

Baby’s first SLR camera (I got her this.)

And speaking of prophetic …

A coincidence (or maybe ‘D’oh! incidence’)?

2008-01-12T14:40:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

So I’m in The Christian Chronicle office this afternoon getting ahead on some work (since I’ll be missing most of this upcoming press week due to our impending arrival).

I pick up my Simpsons’ trivia calendar and peek over at the question for Jan. 16, our induction day.

Here’s the question:

According to Carl in ‘And Maggie Makes Three’ (Episode 2F1O), Homer should see a doctor for what reason?

A. A healthy man wouldn’t make that kind of smell
B. There’s a screw loose somewhere
C. He’s lost his appetite for donuts.

For me, it was one of those “Twilight Zone” moments. Lord willing, Maggie just may make three on Wednesday.

(By the way, the answer is A. And yes, I got it right.)

This week's food our baby is the size of: 39 weeks

2008-01-10T15:00:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

We're back to measuring general baby size instead of just length this week at Babycenter.com. This week our little girl is roughly the size of ...

a mini-watermelon!

Alas, this is the final week of comparing our firstborn to food. Jeanie is scheduled for induction if we reach the middle of next week, so we'll most likely not reach the coveted 40-week food — small pumpkin.

Thanks to everyone who's been praying for us during the past nine months. We feel very blessed to have reached this point.

I'll keep you posted on what happens next!

More photos for Maggie's room

2008-01-07T20:07:00.001-08:00

(By Erik)

After two months of waiting, the coveted crib sheet set is in our possession and on the crib! We’ll be posting some pictures of the (mostly) finalized nursery soon.

Meanwhile, I just ordered the final, smaller photos that will go on Maggie’s walls alongside the 8 by 10s, which I put up a few days ago. We’re going to have four 5 by 7s and two 4 by 6s. Since these photos are smaller, I looked for shots with single subjects and less background detail.

Here are our final photos:

This is Moses “Big Mo” Akpanudo. I took this in Obong Ntak, Nigeria, just before we left for the Port Harcourt airport for the long journey home in January 2005. Moses is named after his grandfather, who oversees a Christian school on Obong Ntak.

Here’s another shot of a girl waiting at a clinic in rural Guatemala. I took this during my “ride along” day with Dr. Lisa Dunham of Health Talents International in April 2007.

I took this in Paramakatoi, Guyana, in June 2004, just after the photo of the younger girl looking at a pile of toys. This is an “after” photo. After the kids made their selection, I got a few of them to pose with their new toys.

This is the oldest photo of the group. I took it in a village near Catacamas, Honduras, in early 2003.

This little girl was one of many who followed us around in Sefwi-Debiso, Ghana, back in August 2007.

This isn’t the best photo, but it’s one of my favorites. This girl’s name is Lovia, and she also lives in the Sefwi-Debiso area. She was one of the smartest kids I met on the Ghana trip, and she’s absolutely determined to be a doctor someday. When I told her my wife was a doctor, her eyes lit up. She reminds me of Jeanie a little bit. So she gets a place on Maggie’s wall.

This week's food our baby is the size of: 38 weeks — land o’ leeks

2008-01-04T19:05:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

We’re still representing the baby’s length and not mass this week at BabyCenter.com. This week, if you want to know the approximate length of our baby … take a leek!

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

The site says that Maggie should be about 6.8 pounds, but our OB/GYN told us today that she is, in fact, 6.5 pounds. But she’s healthy and everything looks good.

(Yes, we've also reached the coveted "baby with fist in mouth" photo on babycenter.com. Click on the baby if you want to see the whole, bizarre-o image. NOTE: Ann thought this feature presented a bit too much information.)

We’re getting really close now. I’ll post a few more details (and maybe some photos of the baby’s room) soon.

Who’s afraid of the big bad WAC?

2008-01-01T22:51:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

Bragging too much is unbecoming, so I’ll be brief. I just want to say a big “GO DAWGS” after Georgia’s 41-10 Sugar Bowl rout of Western Athletic Conference champs the Hawaii Warriors.

After watching another WAC team, Boise State, put the hurt on the Sooners last year, I was concerned about lightning striking twice. It turned out to be a non-issue. Georgia dominated every aspect of the game.

I also was concerned about Hawaii becoming media darlings to a sickening degree. That didn’t really happen either. The commentators actually kind of turned on the Warriors when it became clear they were outgunned. By the end of the game, we were saying “Aloha” (the one that means goodbye) and actually feeling sorry for Hawaii (and all the fans who paid big bucks to travel to New Orleans.)

This week's food our baby is the size of: 37 weeks — the land of perpetual spinach

2007-12-28T08:12:00.000-08:00

This week BabyCenter.com goes back to using food to represent the baby's length rather than mass. So, with that in mind, we can say that Maggie is roughly the length of a stalk of swiss chard.

Never heard of Swiss chard? Well, the good folks at Wikipedia inform me that it's also called silverbeet, mangold or (this one is my favorite) perpetual spinach. And, since I read it on wikipedia, it has to be true, right?

Do you get the feeling that Babycenter is running out of food types?

Grounded for Christmas

2007-12-24T07:16:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

For our final Christmas as a twosome, Jeanie and I are staying put. With Maggie just a few weeks away, we’ve been told not to travel for the holidays. We knew this was coming, so Jeanie opted to work on Christmas Day at the hospital. She’ll get a few days off later in the week.

Don’t feel too bad for us, though. Jeanie’s folks are headed up this way on Wednesday, so we’ll be stretching out Christmas cheer for the whole week.

Meanwhile, here’s a photo of a Christmas ornament Amy and Lamar sent us from Tennessee. It pretty much sums up our current situation! We love it (the ornament and the situation, that is). It’s hard to believe there will be three of us at this time next year. Merry Christmas!

This week's food our baby is the size of: 36 weeks

2007-12-20T16:14:00.000-08:00

This week BabyCenter.com tells us that Maggie is now the size of a crenshaw melon!

Evidently, that's the same thing as a muskmelon.

This week’s food our baby is the size of: 35 weeks (plus some thoughts on dramatic chipmunks)

2007-12-15T11:15:00.000-08:00

This week BabyCenter.com tells us that Maggie is now the size of a honeydew.

Or, if you want to get a better idea of what she looks like, check out our latest ultrasound pics.

These are photos of a couple of the printouts. The lost a little bit of detail in the process.

This first one is a close-up of her face (on the left). She’s looking at the “camera.” How about those little chipmunk cheeks?

This one’s of her feet (sticking up in the “air.”)

ADDENDUM: After posting, I thought I’d better check on the spelling of the word “chipmunk.” I thought it might be “chipmonk.” (I have some spelling issues. Ask Bobby about my “abrubt-ness” when it comes to spelling.)

So I entered “chipmunk” on Google and, thankfully, learned I was spelling it correctly (unless Wikipedia has it wrong, and what are the chances of that, right?)

My Google-ing also turned up a five-second YouTube video titled “Dramatic Chipmunk.” Obviously, this was something I had to see. Soon I found myself lost in the Dramatic Chipmunk universe.

I’ll start at the beginning. Take a quick look at this video from a kids’ TV program in Japan. You’ll see children learning about a prairie dog (yes, oddly enough, the Dramatic Chipmunk isn’t a chipmunk at all). Watch for the quick camera zoom (something Japanese videographers seem to love, by the way. Watch any monster-smashing-Tokyo epic).

Well, some YouTuber got a hold of that piece of footage, added music, and POW! Dramatic Chipmunk!

And from there it only got worse …

And worse …

And worse ...

This last one's my favorite, for obvious reasons.

Photos for Maggie's room — please tell us your favorites

2007-12-11T14:19:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

As I’ve said many times, I’ve been incredibly blessed through my work with The Christian Chronicle to see life in several different countries. I want our little girl to know that she’s part of a much bigger world — a world filled with God’s children.

So, with Jeanie’s permission, I’m getting some prints made of photos I’ve taken over the years. We’re going with a “kids from around the world” theme.

We’re going to do about six 8x10s, with some small prints (5x7s and 4x6s) mixed in. Last night we looked through the candidates and came up with the following.

If you’ve got a minute, please look over these and let me know which ones you like best. (I’ve numbered them for your convenience.) Thanks!

Here are our personal favorites for 8x10s:

1. WAITING FOR CHURCH — I took this in, Paramakatoi, a tiny mountain village in southern Guyana (a nation on the northern tip of South America) back in 2003. Paul Brown, a longtime friend of my in-laws, took me along on his annual mission trip there. He really loves the people of this little village. Maggie, by virtue of being related to my wife, will most likely own a dress like this someday.

2. DECISIONS, DECISIONS — Here’s another shot from that same church building in Paramakatoi. All of us on the mission team filled the extra spaces in our bags with stuffed animals and gave them out to the children on our last day in the village. Each child got to pick one toy. It took this little girl about 30 minutes to make up her mind.

3. JOY IN A RAVAGED LAND — I took this at the construction site for a new building for the Smythe Road Church of Christ in Monrovia, Liberia. These kids followed us everywhere. After 14 years of civil war, the city was devastated. Poverty was everywhere. But someone forgot to tell these kids. The expression on the second boy from the left displays a universal truth. Around the world, children are almost exactly alike. I’m pretty sure I’ve got a photo of a kid named Stephen, who grew up across the street from me, making the same face when we were little.

4. ALL DRESSED UP — I took this photo outside the Obong Church of Christ in Obong Ntak, Nigeria, in January 2005. Everyone dressed up for church — whether it was traditional African clothing or Western-style suits. One little guy had a three-piece suit, complete with waistcoat, and no shoes.

5. ALL TIED UP — A boy in rural Zimbabwe gets his shoes on for church. The boy and his mother was part of a group of Christians from the Nhowe Mission school who go out into the villages each Sunday to worship with small church groups. A great minister named Peter coordinated the service. (Looking closely at this photo, I’m pretty sure he’s got the wrong shoe on the wrong foot.)

6. BIG SMILE — I took this photo earlier this year in rural Guatemala. I did a “ride along” with medical missionary Lisa Dunham. This is the granddaughter of a Guatemalan minister named Enrique Castro. Of all the photos so far, this one’s definitely got a spot Maggie’s wall. Why? Because I’ve already got a print of it.

7. MORE BIG SMILES — This is my hands-down favorite (or my hands-next-to-face favorite), taken just a few months ago in Sefwi-Debiso, Ghana. Still not sure why this little girl put her hands like that. I think she was trying to imitate me taking pictures of her.

Brrrrrrr! (and Grrrrrr!)

2007-12-10T07:49:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

What's less fun that snow and 16 times as dangerous?

I've said it before and I'll say it again — Oklahoma gets just enough ice so that you still have to go to work (or at least drive in it) but not enough so that anybody knows how to drive in it.

Of course, I'm not at work right now. I haven't been able to confirm it, but I think that the power is off at OC. Jeanie had to go in to work this morning, and I was a nervous wreck as I waited for her to call after she got there. She's fine for now, but we have an appointment with our OB/GYN at noon, so she has to drive all the way back up to Edmond (assuming our doctor is seeing patients today.)

This week's food our baby is the size of: 34 weeks

2007-12-08T14:31:00.000-08:00

Average cantaloupe.

Aloha national title game. Aloha frustrating game with plucky WAC team that will become media darlings

2007-12-02T18:41:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

That first “aloha” means goodbye, unfortunately. The second one means “hello.”

When BabyCenter.com told us that our baby is the size of a pineapple this week, I didn’t realize it was a sign of things to come for the Bulldogs.

Yes sports fans, Georgia is not playing in the national title game this year. Instead, it’s LSU facing off against Ohio State. To stay with my SEC loyalty, I suppose I’ll be rooting for LSU. I’m just not a huge Les Miles fan, for reasons I don’t fully understand.

Georgia’s consolation prize — the Sugar Bowl, where we’ve been several times already. Our opponent: The unbeaten Hawaii Warriors of the Western Athletic Conference, or WAC.

Truth be told, this is about as close as it gets to a worst-case scenario for the Dawgs — at least in my opinion. Hawaii is an unknown, and they’ve got their whole state behind them. What’s worse, they’ll have all of the commentators behind them. It’s pretty much the same situation that OU was in last year against Boise State (another WAC team, by the way). It’s David vs. Goliath, and Georgia, unfortunately, will be portrayed as Goliath.

If we win, no one's impressed. If we lose, upset of the century. Great.

It’s not too dissimilar to when Georgia lost to West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl a couple of years ago, come to think of it. It might have been nice to have a rematch, but I’m kinda’ glad we don’t have to play them again. Nope, OU gets that honor!

Sugar Bowl: Go Dawgs! Beat Warriors!
Fiesta Bowl: Go Sooners! Beat W Va.!
Rose Bowl: Go USC! Illinois shouldn’t be there! (Should be Missouri)
Orange Bowl: Go Kansas! Beat Va. Tech! (Got some friends who are Kansas fans, so why not?)
National title game: Go … (sigh) Wildcats. I mean Tigers, or whatever they are.

P.S. -- That's the University of Hawaii's old logo at the top of the page, by the way. Yes indeed, their full name is the Rainbow Warriors. A few years ago they changed their team logo.

Anticipation

2007-12-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

Just a few weeks ago all the OU fans were telling me that they were rooting for Georgia to get into the SEC championship game. They figured that the Bulldogs had the best chance of knocking off No. 1 LSU, thereby helping the Sooners get into the BCS title game.

Last night, the Sooners played in the Big 12 title game, knocking off (and embarrassing) the No. 1 team in the nation, Missouri. By virtue of that win, the Georgia Bulldogs now have a chance to play in the national championship.

How about that?

Frankly, I’m not sure that I want the Bulldogs to get into the title game. Actually, scratch that. I want the Bulldogs to get into the national title game with all my heart. But to do it in a year so mired in controversy isn’t exactly what I had in mind.

A few years back OU got into the title game against LSU in spite of losing the Big 12 championship to Kansas State. I heard tons of smack talk against the Sooners that year. “They don’t deserve to be there. It should be USC, etc.” Of course, it only got worse after the Sooners lost to LSU.

If Georgia somehow gets into the title game, I’m not looking forward to hearing all of that junk directed against my Bulldogs. The only redemption would be walloping Ohio State in the title game. (Hey, Florida made it look easy last year.)

No offense to Ohio State. They may be a great team. We really don’t know because they played a really slack schedule this year — and still managed to lose to unranked Illinois. I just don’t think they deserve to play for the national title. It’s purely a strength-of-schedule thing.

Truth be told, I think OU deserves a shot at the national title. They played their hearts out against Missouri last night.

If I could have my fondest wish, I would LOVE to see a national title game someday with OU facing off against Georgia.

We’ll find out who’s going where at 7 p.m. tonight. Until then, GO DAWGS!

You say bambina, I say jicama …

2007-11-26T21:17:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

For those of you who might be wondering, our little girl is about the size of a jicama.

Yeah, I had to look that up, too. Turns out a jicama (HEE-kah-mah), also known as a “Mexican potato,” “Mexican turnip” or “yam bean,” is a large-ish root that looks a bit like a big onion. It’s got a sweet and starchy flavor and usually is eaten raw — sometimes with salt, lemon or lime juice and powdered chili.

That’s my girl! Olé!

Why am I comparing our daughter to a Central American vegetable? Every week we get an e-mail from a Web site called BabyCenter that tells us how our baby is growing. For some reason, the site’s writers feel compelled to compare the baby’s size to the size of fruits, vegetables and other food items.

Reaching the milestone of the jicama proves to us that, after 32 weeks of pregnancy, BabyCenter is running out of foods to compare our child to.

If you’d like to chart our little girl’s progress, then please follow us up the food chain as we explore the various things Maggie has been the size of thus far.

Weeks 1-3: Too small to register as food, but there’s a reference in the Week 2 description to pancakes, for some reason.
Week 4: poppy seed
Week 5: sesame seed
Week 6: lentil bean
Week 7: blueberry (We've left seeds and beans and are into fruit!)
Week 8: kidney bean (Whoops! No we're not!)
Week 9: grape
Week 10: kumquat (I thought these were HUGE.)
Week 11: fig
Week 12: lime
Week 13: medium shrimp (We've crossed over into seafood!)
Week 14: lemon (And we're back to sour citrus!)
Week 15: apple
Week 16: avocado
Week 17: turnip
Week 18: bell pepper
Week 19: large heirloom tomato (I suppose this is a tomato that's passed down from generation to generation.)
Week 20: banana (Seems like the kid got smaller, but this fruit is used only as a measure of length.)
Week 21: carrot (Same as above. I thought bananas were the same size as carrots.)
Week 22: spaghetti squash (That's Amore!)
Week 23: large mango
Week 24: ear of corn (We're back to measuring length only.)
Week 25: average rutabaga (We contemplated naming her Average Rutabaga Tryggestad at this point.)
Week 26: English hothouse cucumber (Spot on!)
Week 27: Head of cauliflower
Week 28: Chinese cabbage (We contemplated naming her Bok Choy Tryggestad at this point.)
Week 29: butternut squash
Week 30: head of cabbage
Week 31: four navel oranges (Actually, the entry here just says, "Try carrying four navel oranges." Not sure if that's supposed to approximate the size and weight of the kid or if they just thinks it's a good idea to have citrus on hand at all times.)
Week 32: large jicama (or “jicama grande,” I’m guessing.)

Lord willing, we will enter week 33 on Thursday, at which point we’ll graduate from jicama to pineapple.

Imagine delivering one of those! Ouch!

I really hope we make it to 34 weeks. From there it's pretty much melons until the baby arrives.

Until then, aloha!

Baby gifts

2007-11-19T11:53:00.000-08:00

We finally got our baby registries done this weekend. If you'd like to take a look at them, follow these links:

Our Target registry

Our Babies "R" Us registry

Thanks a bundle (of joy)!

This week: Beat those Wildcats! Next week: Go Wildcats!

2007-11-17T20:20:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

I never thought I’d be this disappointed after a Georgia Bulldogs win.

That’s right, the Dawgs finished their SEC season 6-2 with a hard-fought-yet-convincing 24-13 win over 23rd-ranked Kentucky. That puts Georgia temporarily in first place in the SEC East (despite losing to South Carolina and being destroyed by Tennessee earlier in the season).

So why am I disappointed? It’s all because of Vandy.

The Vanderbilt Commodores could have sealed the SEC East in Georgia’s favor with a win over Tennessee today. And, shortly after Georgia’s win, the score was 23-9 with Vandy on top. But, alas, the Commodores managed to rip defeat from the jaws of victory, losing to Tennessee 24-23.

So, the Bulldog nation will be rooting for — guess who — Kentucky next week as they take on the Vols. A win by the Wildcats will send Georgia to the SEC championship game against top-ranked LSU. The game that Georgia actually plays next weekend almost will be a sideshow. It’s our annual rivalry game with Georgia Tech. Since Tech is in the ACC, it’s a non-conference game and it doesn’t factor into who goes to the SEC championship. (So the Bulldogs could lose and still go to the championship if the Wildcats win.)

Here in Sooner land, most of the OU fans have been rooting for Georgia as well. They think that Georgia has a better chance of beating LSU than Tennessee, thus helping OU edge its way into the national title game.

Of course, looking at the score of the OU-Texas Tech game right now … that may not be an issue anymore!

More shameless self-promotion

2007-11-13T20:24:00.001-08:00

(By Erik)

If you've got a minute, please click on over to christianchronicle.org.

Tamie just posted the story I wrote about Ghana. We've included additional photos that didn't appear in print and haven't appeared on this blog. (Plus, I think it's a good story, too — but I'm biased.)

Please take a look if you haven't read it yet. Or, if you have read it, go directily to the online gallery.

I'd like to know where you got the Knowshon ...

2007-11-10T21:14:00.000-08:00

(By Erik)

It's another busy press weekend, but I'd like to take just a second to say GO DAWGS!

The Bulldogs gave a pounding to Auburn today — a 45-20 victory. A big part of that was redshirt freshman Knowshon Moreno, who had another 100-yard game.

The Bulldogs also donned black jerseys for the first time in the modern era. Luckily, I had a black Georgia ball cap for the occasion.

Here's a photo of us taken Sunday afternoon (by pointing a camera at a mirror and flipping the image in PhotoShop). Yes, this also is the long-awaited, real-live pregnant picture.

The world comes to our doorstep

2007-10-31T15:10:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

All the reports I'm hearing about this year's World Mission Workshop indicate that it was a big success. It was my first experience serving on the steering committee for an event of this magnitude, so I'm absolutely thrilled. The real stars of the event, in my opinion, were the dedicated, mission-minded students who attended.

I don't have the final count on number of attendees, but we had close to 1,000 (including Oklahoma Christian students and other local guests) at the event. We also had several visitors from overseas.

Allen Thompson, left, gathers with students who have committed to work in Africa. Allen is a native of Ethiopia.

Bob Carpenter, a missions professor at Oklahoma Christian, was the main coordinator for the event. He did an amazing job. To his right is Peter Cariaga, who served as emcee for the keynote sessions.

G'day! How about this for an Australian-themed photo? Frank Cunningham is a minister in a suburb of Sydney. He was in town speaking at the workshop and visiting with Kent and Nancy Hartman, former missionaries to downunder.

Look at this session! Mark Hooper, a longtime missionary to India, talked about Muslim evangelism and had a huge turnout. The most incredible thing about this photo is that it was taken at 2 p.m. on a Saturday — with beautiful weather outside. The students costantly amazed me by showing interest in all of the sessions and classes.

We hosted a special Sudan interest group lunch during the workshop. Here's Ken Grimm and his wife, Gracie, at the lunch. The Grimms have been active in mission work among Darfur refugees living in the Nuba mountains in Sudan. A good number of students attended the lunch and stayed after to talk to the Grimms.

At the workshop, we also hosted a special screening of "God Grew Tired of Us," a National Geographic documentary about refugees from the war in Sudan (often called "Lost Boys") and the adjustments they had to make when they were resettled in the United States. The film was absolutely amazing. We had a packed house, and there were plenty of laughs and tears throughout. What really made the experience great is that we had John Gak (center) with us. He's a native of Sudan who has helped the Lost Boys for many years through an organization he started — Brothers Organization for Relief (BOR). It shares it's name with Bor county in Sudan, wher John Gak grew up. With him are Calvin Bailey, a member of the Swope Parkway Church of Christ in Kansas City, Mo., which supports BOR, and Lloyd Deal, a member at Memorial Road who has worked in Africa and knows John Gak.

Samuel Twumasi, minister for the Nsawam Road Church of Christ in Accra, Ghana, spoke during the workshop. It's hard to tell in this photo, but the conservatory where he spoke was packed. Students were lining the wall in the back.

Here's Sam praying with a student as the final keynote session concludes.

Here's me and Sam at the Memorial Road church. (You'll notice I'm celebrating Georgia's victory over Florida.)

In case you haven't seen it yet, here's Oklahoma Christian's new pavilion and clock tower.

Half-hearted attempt at a post ...

2007-10-29T20:27:00.001-07:00

(By Erik)

It was a very good weekend.

I’m not just saying that because the Georgia Bulldogs beat the Florida Gators — although that certainly didn’t hurt.

This past weekend Oklahoma Christian University hosted the World Mission Workshop, an annual missions conference that bounces from campus to campus of the Christian universities. I was on the steering committee, and we’ve been working on the details since last year.

Several of the speakers at this year’s conference were people I’ve met since I started working at The Christian Chronicle.

OK, I had a lot more to say on this, but I’m really tired. I’ll post some photos later.

Suffering for doing good

2007-10-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

I’ve been meaning to post some photos from my trip to Ghana back in August. This Sunday I’m teaching the college class at Memorial Road, and I’m including some photos with the slides. So I thought I would snip out a few excerpts and post them with some photos here. Enjoy.

Do you believe that there is such a thing as “good suffering?” How many of you have been on a mission trip? I believe anyone who’s done any sort of mission work can relate to the concept of “good suffering.” Whether it’s waiting in an airport terminal for a flight that’s had to be rerouted 14 times, or riding 14 hours in a bus to reach the people you’re going to help, mission trips and suffering just seem to go together.

And of course, the suffering you witness almost always is greater than the suffering you endure.

You’re looking at a few pictures from the trip I took to Ghana back in August. I visited a brand new Christian school out in extreme western Ghana. A guy named Augustine, who was working on his master’s degree at Lipscomb when I was there doing my undergraduate degree, is from this village and he returned home last year to set up this school — to give kids in his village the chance for Christian education that he didn’t have.

When I took photos of the kids in the village, called Sefwi-Debiso, I’d turn the camera around and let them see the image in the camera’s preview pane. They went nuts, screaming and laughing. They don’t get many visitors from the United States, so they followed us around, yelling “Bruni! Bruni.” (That means “white person” in the local language, Twi.)

We also went by The Village of Hope on our way back to the capital, Accra. They get a lot more visitors there. I took this kid’s picture, showed him the preview, and he just kind of nodded, almost as if to say, “Yeah, that’s great. What is that, six megapixels? Yeah, you know Canon’s new model has a much faster shutter speed.”

I don’t usually get in the photos myself, but this kid’s name was Eric, so I handed off the camera, handed Eric my Bulldogs hat and smiled. After the photo he started to hand the hat back to me, so I let him keep it.

There’s widespread poverty across the African continent, as I’m sure you know. This was the fourth time I’ve traveled to Africa, and it always strikes me as odd that these children are so woefully unaware of how impoverished they are. There’s a huge level of suffering in Africa — you see it everywhere. But someone forgot to tell that to the kids!

These first verses that we’re going to look at tonight remind me of the kids I met in Ghana and other African nations:

1 Peter 3:8-9

8 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

“Do not repay evil with evil.” That’s much easier said than done. Compassion and humility are hard traits to come by, but traveling to Africa is a good start. I always learn a lot more from the African people than they learn from me.

All human life is suffering, and when our goal becomes the removal or avoidance of suffering, we fail. Peter tells us that we must accept that suffering is a reality, and all we can do in this life is to live the best life we can for Christ.

Peter is particularly interested in assuring that when people face inevitable suffering it will be “good suffering.” When you do suffer, make sure it’s for the right reasons. Don’t give anyone the chance to say that you’re suffering for your bad deeds. Show them that you are a model citizen in every other respect — except for doing the sinful things they do. When they ask you why you’re not like them, don’t be afraid to answer.

1 Peter 3:15-18

15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,

Around the globe we have a number of modern-day servants who are suffering for doing good. A few years ago I found out through a Christian in Australia about a work he was supporting in Somalia in East Africa. You may remember Somalia from the ill-fated military operation we took part in there in the early 1990s. We were trying to help the people, but the warlords set up an ambush and we suffered several losses. I sincerely believe that what happened to us in Somalia kept us from intervening during the genocide that followed a few years later in Rwanda.

Today Somalia still is without a central government. People are living hand to mouth. For a while the capital, Mogadishu was under the rule of a group called the Islamic courts, which tried to implement Shariah law.

And in the middle of this tangled mess there’s a man named Abdul. I got in touch with him through e-mail and we started corresponding. He was converted through a Bible correspondence course and now preaches for a small Church of Christ in Mogadishu. He runs a small Christian school there, too. His life is constantly in jeopardy in a country that is completely without law, but he maintains his faith.

His story seemed too good to be true, so I was real skeptical when I started corresponding with him. He met with some of our brothers and sisters in Ethiopia, and they vouched for him. He even called me once from his cell phone in Mogadishu, and for the whole conversation I’m wondering, “Is this guy for real?” Then I heard a speaker crackle to life behind him, calling Muslims to prayer. His next-door neighbor runs a mosque, he told me.

One of the key reasons I believe that Abdul is sincere is that he hasn’t asked me for any money. I keep waiting for it to happen, but all he really seems to want are prayers from the church — prayers for safety and prayers to help him spread the gospel in Somalia.

A few weeks ago he finally did ask me for something else. Here’s an excerpt from his e-mail:

“We also would like to let you know that we need you to report us any prayers required by the troubled brethren around the world so that we may share the suffering with them.”

A man surrounded by suffering that I can’t even imagine ask only for prayers — and to pray for his fellow believers around the world. I don’t know that I’ll ever have the chance to meet Abdul face to face, but I know I’ll see him someday in heaven.

'Angry kicks, oh let them never ...'

2007-10-18T11:29:00.001-07:00

(By Erik)

As we've said before, Maggie likes to kick — a lot.

She’s particularly fond of kicking about 3 a.m. every morning. We’re guessing it’s a sign of things to come.

She also reacts to voices. When Dr. Alan Martin was teaching a parenting class for a couple of weeks at Memorial Road, she went nuts, moving all over the place excitedly.

When we found some discount baby clothes at Dillard’s a couple of weeks ago, she started rolling for joy (prompting me to believe that she’s actually reacting to her mother’s emotions).

When Jeanie was on call the other day, she went to see a premature baby in the NICU. While she was looking at the baby, she felt several angry kicks from down south. Later, while looking at photos of a coworker’s baby, the kicks started again.

Feels like our little girl has some jealousy issues.

By the way, that last story, when retold, prompted Carol, a member of our Bible study group, to say, “I don’t believe half of the things you’re telling me about that baby.”

Angry kicks, oh let them never
In the womb, unbridled slip
May the foot's best impulse ever
Check them ere' they strike mom's hip

'Love keeps growing more love'

2007-09-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

Caedmon’s Call, easily my favorite Christian band, put out a new album recently, titled “Overdressed.” The album marks the return of Derek Webb to Caedmon’s. He left the group a few albums back to pursue a solo career. The album also marks the band’s return, more or less, to its coffeehouse roots.

I have to admit I’m a bit disappointed with the album, which sounds like it should have been titled “Overcrowded.” Over the years, the biggest complaint music critics have had with the band is that, because of Caedmon’s insistence on three alternating lead vocalists, its albums have no unified sound.

With Webb’s return, the band now has FOUR lead vocalists. In addition to Cliff and Danielle Young, “Overdressed” features many songs with vocals by Andrew Osenga, who was brought in to replace Webb after his departure. Though a gifted songwriter, Osenga lacks the vocal strength of Webb. It seems like you can hear Osenga’s voice on almost every track — backing or lead vocals. I would have preferred less of Osenga’s voice and more of Webb’s. As it is, Webb’s contributions to “Overdressed” seem more like guest appearances than the work of a guy who has rejoined the band.

Nonetheless, there are some real gems on this album. “Two Weeks in Africa” is easily my favorite song, harkening back to what I consider the band’s greatest work, the world music-influenced “Share the Well.”

But the song that means the most to me right now is “Love Grows Love” (which, like “Two Weeks in Africa,” was written by Osenga).

For the past 10 years Caedmon’s Call has produced songs that speak almost directly to where I am in my life. When I was single and unsure of my future I took great comfort in Webb’s “Table for Two,” a song off Caedmon’s “40 Acres” album. (“Because I’m so scared of being alone, that I forget what house I live in … And you know the plans you have for me, and you can’t plan the ends and not plan the means …”)

Webb got married just a few years before I met Jeanie, and he wrote some great songs about relationships and commitment.

Here are some of the lyrics from “Love Grows Love.” It’s pretty easy to see why these words mean a lot to me right now. (Just substitute “pink” for “blue” in the fourth line!)

When we got the news,
we had to call our families,
and start painting the room,
a nice, bright blue
our vows they started breathing
and they took on flesh and blood
and we held them in our arms
and tasted God was good

I fell in love with you,
and that love became something new
it added a name and it added a smile
it keeps getting bigger every further mile
there on your bended knee
we sowed the seeds of our history
they’re coming up stronger
than we ever could have longed
love keeps growing more love

Because you demanded it ...

2007-09-19T15:38:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

For several weeks now some of our regular blog readers have been requesting — nay, demanding — that we post a picture of pregnant Jeanie so they can marvel at … the fact that she’s got a baby inside of her, I’m guessing.

Well, we have heard your demands ...

and …

At long last …

Here’s a photo of ...

PREGNANT JEANIE!

TA-DAH!

Yep ...

Keep scrolling down ...

It's there ...

Promise ...

Yes, in case you’re wondering, I finally got the Simpsonizer to work on Jeanie’s photo. Then I made a few modifications to the end result to give her that “lived in” look (i.e. – a baby’s been living inside her).

Here’s a close-up of Jeanie’s Simpsonized alter-ego.

And here’s me again, for those of you who forgot what I looked like.

I even used Maggie’s ultrasound photo in the Simpsonizer. Here’s what it projected she will look like in a year or so …

Maggie, not Maggy

2007-09-15T06:16:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

I was recently informed by my wife that I have already managed to misspell our daughter’s name, even before she’s born. The spelling in the previous post should have been “Maggie,” not “Maggy.”

Of course, either of those spellings merely is an abbreviation for the child’s actual name, Margaret Jean. So I raised the question with Jeanie, “Can you misspell an abbreviation? Is that really possible?”

Evidently, it is. Apologies to my sweet Maggie. (Hey, at least I know how to spell your last name. How many people can say that?)

She continues to be abundantly active — rolling and kicking while Jeanie’s doctor tried to find a fetal heartbeat a few days ago.

She’s so active, in fact, that we become paranoid when she doesn’t move. This morning she missed her usual 5 a.m. kicking and rolling time, and immediately we envisioned her in distress, tied up in her umbilical cord, a victim of her own antics. In the back of my mind I know she’s fine, but I was hoping for news of a kick or a roll before I dropped Jeanie off at work. Life doesn’t always give you those little guarantees, alas.

Oh well. Just four more months until she’s born. Then I can stop worrying.

Right?

Little Maggy: Movin’ to the music

2007-09-11T19:37:00.001-07:00

(By Erik)

“She likes this music.”

That’s what Jeanie said a couple of nights ago while we were watching TV. A commercial for the upcoming season of Desperate Housewives came on, featuring a song with a strong bass beat by Jennifer Lopez. Evidently, little Maggy (a.k.a. Josephina) liked the song, and started moving all over the place.

So that put it in my mind to try a little experiment. I gout out the iPod and put a pair of headphones over Maggy’s approximate location (Jeanie helped). Then we tried a variety of musical styles to see if we could get a reaction.

Keep in mind here that we’re treating any sort of movement as a fondness for the music and a lack of movement as dislike or disregard for the music. A member of our Bible study group recently mentioned that the inverse could be true. (Lack of movement is listening to the music and movement is an attempt to get away from it.)

So, with that in mind:

“These are Days,” 10,000 Maniacs — no reaction

“Ring of Fire,” Johnny Cash — no reaction

“Pour Some Sugar on Me,” Def Leppard — slight reaction

“Okie from Muskogee,” Merle Haggard — no reaction

“Ka Huila Wai,” Israel Kamakawiwo’ole — no reaction

“Jessica,” Allman Brothers — some reaction

“Akehlulek’ Ubaba (With God Everything is Possible),” Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Charlie Peacock — slight reaction

Theme to “Star Wars” — no reaction

So far, we just can’t top J Lo.

Gooooooo Dawgs! Sic 'em! Woof, woof, woof!

2007-09-01T06:59:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

Ah yes, football season is upon us, and tonight at 5:45 my Georgia Bulldogs kick off the action against — guess who — the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Usually Georgia football is an afterthought for most folks here in Soonerland, so it’s been a bit weird this year to see my team mentioned on the local news.

It’s also been encouraging to find that a few folks out here Oklahoma bleed red and black, just like me. News 9 meteorologist Zach Daniel got his bachelor’s from UGA and remains a die-hard bulldog fan. He even pulled out a Dawgs ball cap after doing the weather a couple of days ago, much to OSU grad Kelly Ogle’s chagrin.

Today’s ball game could be a tough one for the Dawgs. The Cowboys are better than most of the chump teams we play for season openers — and we don’t always give our best performance right out of the gate. I’ve got plenty of OSU fans lined up for some trash talk, should we lose. But I’m confident the Dawgs will rise to the challenge.

One piece of advice for Cowboy fans: Don’t get too comfortable, even if you get up on us 21-0 in the first 10 minutes. The Bulldogs play four quarters of football, and they don’t even get interested until they’re down by at least two touchdowns.

Win or lose, the greatest thing about being a Georgia fan is having the best coach in the nation — Mark Richt. The fact that he’s a great football coach isn’t nearly as important as the fact that he’s a great person. He and his wife, Katharyn, are members of the Prince Avenue Baptist Church in Athens, Ga., the same church my roommate Erik Benson attended when he was studying at UGA. Though those of us in Churches of Christ don’t always see eye-to-eye with Baptists on everything, you’ve got to admire the way the Richts live out their faith.

In addition to their two biological children, the couple adopted two children from a Russian orphanage. This summer the entire Richt clan made a mission trip to Honduras. (I’m hoping that me, Jeanie and little Josephina will do the same someday!)

John Helsley wrote a great piece on Mark Richt for The Oklahoman. Check it out.

And, once again, GO DAWGS!

Just kickin' back in the womb

2007-08-30T06:21:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

Little Josephina refused to go to sleep and was busily kicking her mother just around midnight. (As a guy, I’m absolutely fascinated by the prospect of being kicked from the inside. Crazy.)

I gave her a good talking to, but Jeanie said my insistence that she settle down was not heeded.

I’m guessing this is the beginning of many years of her not listening to me.

WHOOPS! (Pink or blue, part 2)

2007-08-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

We had the “official” ultrasound done today. (The previous one, when we discovered we were having a boy, was done by some medical residents on their lunch break.)

This one wasn’t going to be much of a surprise, but we were nervous nonetheless because this professional ultrasound would tell us if all of young Joseph’s vital organs were intact.

Everything looks good. We’re happy to report that the baby has a four-chambered heart, two working kidneys, a well-developed spine, arms, legs, hands feet, eyes … you name it.

As a matter of fact, there’s only one thing that’s missing from our little boy. He doesn’t have a …

Well, let’s put it this way …

IT’S A GIRL!

That’s right. Little Joseph is actually little Josephina.

The ultrasound technician asked us if we wanted to know the sex. We said, “Yeah, we already know, but tell us anyway.” The tech said, “OK, because I’m seein’ a girl here.”

“You’re seein’ a what now?”

Yeah, I guess you get what you pay for when it comes to free ultrasounds done by medical residents on their lunch hour. I still have the picture they printed us with an arrow pointing to an alleged … well … wee wee.

“So what was that that thing?” I asked Jeanie, somewhat bumfuzzled.

“Dunno. Could’ve just been the umbilical cord.”

(The alleged "thingy" sighting from a couple of weeks ago)

So, please consider this a blogging retraction. I’m still in a bit of a state of shock about it. As you can imagine, I told everyone I met in Africa that we’re having a boy. Both sets of parents have already bought little boy outfits. Jeanie’s dad already has a gun permit for young Joseph.

(That’s a joke, by the way. But oddly enough, now that she’s a girl, I suddenly want her to be well-armed.)

My world has gone from blue to pink in an instant. Now I’m the one who’s outnumbered. All I can see in front of me is countless hours at the mall, ponies and prom dresses.

But God is good, and I’m rejoicing that our daughter looks healthy and everything’s on schedule.

And Josephina is not her name, by the way. Jeanie and I have a few more rounds to go before we come up with a name. I really like Margaret — my grandma’s name. Jeanie remains convinced that all humans should have names beginning with “J,” however.

It’s good to be home.

2007-08-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

I’m back after a week-long trip to the African nation of Ghana. It was my fourth time in Africa, but my first in Ghana. I was covering a Christian school in the extreme western part of the country (just miles from the Ivory Coast) and visiting various other ministries, including Ghana Bible College in Kumasi and the Village of Hope outside the capital, Accra.

I’ve got lots of stories and photos to share, but that will have to wait. Currently my body is trying to tell me that it’s 2 in the morning, even though the clock says 9:30 p.m.

The biggest lesson I learned on this trip was to trust God. (It’s a lesson I’ve had to learn time and again. This was a refresher course!) There was about a day at the beginning of the trip when I didn’t know if anyone would be at the airport in Accra to meet me, thanks to a delay at Will Rogers Airport courtesy of Northworst — I mean Northwest — Airlines. But everything worked out OK. I’m trying to do a better job of stepping out in faith. It’s tough for a guy who likes everything planned down to the letter — at least in the realm of international travel.

Pink or blue?

2007-08-12T20:24:00.001-07:00

(By Erik)

Drum roll, please.

The ultrasound results are in!

We are happy to report that our forthcoming child has:

• a healthy heartbeat,

• a rather large noggin (most Tryggestads do)

• and a …

Well, let’s put it this way — it’s a boy!

(We would have been thrilled either way, rest assured.)

For me, though, this is huge. Jeanie is officially outnumbered and (at last) can be out-voted on trips to the mall (assuming the boy votes my way). She may retain her veto power on restaurant selection, however. Not sure how that’s going to play out.

Our working title, by the way: Joseph Thomas Tryggestad

Playing 'Tag'

2007-08-10T16:44:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

Bobby and then Stacey both recently challenged us in a game of Internet “tag.” The object of this game is to post eight random facts about yourself to your blog, and then to tag eight additional people and force them to perform the same activity, thereby assuring that the Internet will be filled with random facts, and that no one will have access to useful information — such as tables depicting the number of ways Chuck Norris can perform a roundhouse kick to the face.

I personally approach such games with suspicion, for I am almost sure they were initiated by identity thieves. Why else, I ask you, would they require eight random facts? It is a well-known truth that the human mind is capable of generating only five — plus or minus two — random facts at a time. Requiring eight almost assures that the writer will, in fact, run out of facts. Then, in a moment of weakness, he will type out his credit card number as his final fact to be done with the activity. Point, game and match, you crafty thieves.

The rules of this contest are heretofore given, as the reprinting of them is a requirement of this time-consuming activity.

1. Players start with eight random facts about themselves.

2. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their eight random facts.

3. Players should tag eight other people and notify them they have been tagged.

Seems that there also should be eight rules for this exercise. Nonetheless …

1. If money were no object, I’d have lots of it. Lots and lots of it.

2. I’m often accused of ruining the plots of movies I haven’t seen.

3. Whenever I eat at Red Lobster, I pretend I’m eating at a Red Lobster across town.

4. There are 28.5 other things I should be doing right now instead of this.

5. In his epic poem “The Waste Land,” T.S. Eliot wrote, “April is the cruelest month.” He was, of course, lying. The cruelest month was, in fact, Bodgvember. This cruelest of months, which fell between August and September, was deemed so cruel that it was removed from the calendar entirely in the 1980s. During this month, wars began, cars stalled, babies cried and antelopes around the world looked just a bit sadder than they usually do. Bodgvember, though it was only eight days long, had a reputation for cruelty so great that people would put themselves into prolonged states of hibernation for its duration. “Don’t bother me, it’s Bodgvember,” became a popular door hanger slogan, although it led to a slew of home invasions and burglaries, which, of course, only affirmed the month’s utter cruelty. Hitler, Stalin and Carrot Top were born in Bodgvember. Finally, in a top-secret meeting in the Hague, the leaders of the free world banned together to eliminate Bodgvember and erase its memory from everyone’s mind. (Contrary to popular belief, freemasons had nothing to do with this, nor did the Osmonds.) The eight days of Bodgvember were split between August and September, which is why, during those days (Aug. 28-31 and Sept. 1-4) many people find themselves incapable of enjoying life, or at least incapable of enjoying any sort of gelatin-based dessert.

6. That previous random fact had nothing to do with me personally.

7. I am not allowed within 200 feet of Joe Don Baker. A court order prevents me from discussing why.

8. My credit card number is 8976 9876 5432 1110.

Microphone feedback and crying babies

2007-08-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

That’s about all I could hear when I got up to preach Sunday night at Memorial Road. But it got better.

To be fair, Randon warned me that, if I used the lapel mic, there might be some problems. I should have gone with the handheld instead, but I had some arm motions I needed to do as part of the sermon.

Luckily, we’ve got great audio guys at church. They worked out the feedback issue pretty quickly after I got started. I could still hear myself through the monitors on stage, I think, and that was a strange experience.

It was a rewarding, yet nerve-wracking, experience. But I’m thrilled that I got the chance to do it.

If you want to hear the audio of the sermon, follow this link to the RealPlayer version.

Or try the Windows media version.

(I'd listen to it myself, but I can't stand the sound of my own voice. Plus, I was there.)

Scott Franks did a great introductory sermon for the series, by the way.

Most of the folks I’ve talked to said they liked the sermon. Jeanie was a bit embarrassed that I announced that we’re expecting to all 1,000 or so people at once, but I assured her that, as I watched the faces in the auditorium, I didn’t see one expression of surprise.

After all, it’s been on the blog for weeks now.

Link-a-palooza

2007-07-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

You'll find a bunch of new links to the right. A lot of them are to sites powered by members of Just Starting Out, our Bible class at Memorial Road.

If I could only live in Springfield ...

2007-07-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

It took me several tries, but I finally got an idea of what I would look like if I moved to the mythical town of Springfield.

Not too bad, if I do say so myself. And, as you can see, they nailed the wardrobe!

Take a photo of yourself and try it at simpsonizeme.com. (There's a lot of traffic ont he site right now, though.)

I'm still trying to get a photo of Jeanie to work on the site. I'll post it if and when.

I'm definitely looking forward to The Simpsons Movie this weekend.

This cracked me up

2007-07-25T13:21:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

Since it looks like I'm going to be a dad sometime early next year (or later this year, if the kid comes early) I thought this opinion piece from The Onion was particularly funny. (Apologies if you see any off-color content in other Onion stories if you follow this link. There's a bad word that appears in an ad that pops up on the right next to this story — but only on occasion. The actual opinion piece itself is "clean" — and really funny near the end.)

Adults Have Misclassified Me As A Handful

Quick baby update

2007-07-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

Jeanie got a quick look at the "young-un" recently. Still can't tell if it's a boy or girl, but she's pretty much confirmed that we have a thumb-sucker. (Jeanie was a chronic thumb-sucker when she was little.)

To quote James Brown …

2007-07-21T17:45:00.000-07:00

(By Erik)

Actually, I’ll get to that in a minute.

This story begins back in May, when my lovely wife handed me a home pregnancy test. She was convinced it was positive.

Here’s what I saw.

Now, come on, that looks like a sideways minus sign, right? Sure, if you squint you can make out a horizontal line, but that’s hardly a plus sign.

Unfortunately, we had thrown out the instruction sheet. (It was one half of a two-pack of pregnancy tests I bought a few years back — and that time it was undeniably negative.) So Jeanie got online and consulted the manufacturer’s Web site. I took a look at it and felt my heart jump up to the back of my throat.

That vertical line … it’s the “I’m pregnant” line. The horizontal line is the control line.

My pulse racing, I tried to rationalize. “That thing still looks like a minus sign to me. How do we know it’s a plus sign? When was this thing on the Internet written, anyway? What if someone in the factory put the thing in sideways?”

So, off to Wal-Mart to buy another test. Looking nervously over our shoulders to make sure we didn’t recognize anyone in the pharmacy section, we bought a three-pack of tests. These have two parallel lines, so I figured there would be less confusion.

We returned to the house and, after some prompting on my behalf (“Do you have to go again? Here, have some water! What about now?”) this was the result:

Still inconclusive, in my book. That one line looks awfully faint. Perhaps she’s just a little bit pregnant. There has to be a way to tell for sure.

So, finally, I took drastic measures. Unless these things are completely faulty (or I’ve somehow defied medical science, a la Gov. Schwarzenegger in “Junior”) we should have a clear indication of a what a negative reading looks like.

After seeing this, all I could think of to ask was, "Pink or blue?"

So, as James Brown would say, “Baby baby baby, baby baby baby, baby baby baby, I got that feelin.’”

That was a whole trimester ago. We’re 14 weeks along and, aside from the nausea and weird food cravings, we’re feeling fine. (Jeanie’s doing OK, too.)

Nonetheless, we’re both really squeamish about blogging about this in case something bad happens. But so far everything looks good.

I always thought I wanted a boy, but the second this happened, I didn’t care about that any more. It’s weird. Actually, I’m convinced we’re having a girl. Jeanie’s guessing boy.

Jan 17, 2008, is our anticipated big day. Please pray with us for a happy, healthy baby.

Big news coming ...

2007-07-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

(Pending spousal approval. Keep watching this space for more details.)

Some photos from Puerto Rico

2007-07-06T15:46:00.001-07:00

(By Erik)

This is cool. I usually don't have Internet access in the places I visit, but the San Juan Holiday Inn is helping me out. So here are some shots from my first day in Puerto Rico.

Not too shabby, huh?

But here's one just so you'll know I've been working.

Here's a photo of a couple of ministers I met today. Leroy Smith, left, is minister for the Park Gardens Church of Christ. Jose Cheo Colon is minster for the Los Angeles Church of Christ. Both of the churches are in San Juan.

More later.