Jaybrams.com

Its 11:00 PM local time, I’m hi-jacking some poor guys bandwidth who is sharing his wireless with the world (thank you “Wizard15″ wherever you are). This isn’t the first time this week I’ve latched on to his signal… Its a low connection, but it gets the job done and beats walking up to the office every night. On to the fun stuff:

Sunday, Branson Day 2: Sunday drives in Branson are nice and relaxing. The streets are less crowded and the tourists are sparse. We trekked ten miles down the road to the Butterfly Palace. First up, a cheesy / funny / interesting 3D movie about bugs, specifically a Praying Mantis and a Caterpillar-Butterfly (ironically brought to us by Terminex). You’d think that a place called the Butterfly Palace would have a movie with a happy ending, but alas the butterfly gets eaten by the Praying Mantis (but not until after they mate… not together… like other like-species). Then you walk around in the actual butterfly area where hundreds fly around, land, tease and look pretty for you. Dionna had one on her from the time we walked in until the time we left. Photographers would love the place, kids enjoy it, everyone else finds it relaxing and neat. Besides, afterwards you can take your kids through a darkened mirror maze, which is always funny. We finished the afternoon off with a swim.

Monday, Branson Day 3: It rained. We ate lunch at IHOP. We taught our three yr old Chicken Foot (Dominoes). We watched National Treasure.

Tuesday, Branson Day 4: The sun returned and we went spelunking 1000 feet underground… Okay, we actually just walked down concrete stairs at the Talking Rocks Caverns, and it only took us 100 ft below the surface… but we were in a cave! The girls did awesome! They were a little nervous at first (tight spaces, some steep stairs, fairly dark and damp enclosed cave), but then relaxed and took in the sweet cave formations. Mac even did most of the walking herself, which helped the arms and backs of the parents. The guide was humorous and personable and the group wasn’t so large that anyone got lost in the shuffle. After the 45 minute cave tour, the girls panned for gems (eh) and crawled through a maze box. I was shocked at how well Mac did in there as well… Tristen did fine, but her legs are getting a bit too long for some of those tight corners.

Wednesday, Branson Day 5: Today was the last of the big days… The question was Silver Dollar City? or Celebration City?… For us this year it came down mostly to price. So Celebration City it was. All things considered, I’m confident we made the right choice. I know there is probably more bang for your buck at SDC, but the girls thought Celebration City was amazing, and really thats all that matters. When they get a tad taller and a stronger set of nerves (or we bring along the grandparents ), we’ll try out SDC, but this year the smaller version made sense. The rides, from an 8 and 3 yr old point of view at least, were more than thrilling… the shows were entertaining (a hilarious fun Parrot show and their big fireworks/laser show extravaganza)… and their behavior was the best I’ve ever seen over the span of 8 hours… Combine all these factors and you have a fulfilling end to a vacation.

We don’t check out until Friday, but tomorrow is a relax and recover day before the 8/9 hour ride home, but if you haven’t caught the hints, we do plan on returning in a couple of years. The town is a tourist trap, but its an effective one that doesn’t make you feel like they’re raking you over the coals money wise (though sometimes they do). There are tons of places we didn’t go, but i’m not the type to cram my vacations from sun up to sun down. I’d rather find a place we enjoy and come back every few years.

Oh, and I’m turning 27 tomorrow (probably “today” by the time you read this… June 12) as well, so supposedly I get to make all the choices, but hey… i’m the dad… i do that every day.

Pics and vids up within the week. Special thanks to Blake who wished me happy birthday this morning… i guess he just wanted to make sure he didn’t miss it.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Category : Family, Vacation

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The Drive: Well, we’re here… we arrived Friday afternoon around 4. The drive itself wasn’t that bad, we made great time through Texas, Oklahoma and all the way the Fayetteville AK, where we stopped for lunch. You’d think with classes out for the summer the home of the Razorbacks wouldn’t be so crowded, but the traffic in the town was ridiculous. We headed north on 540 for a while and everything seemed normal until we turned to the good ol’ state named “highways” … things like AR-102, AR-37, MO-76 … yet they’re not just named that… the google map directions read more like The Mitchell report (”should we be on 76, or 86?” … “both are listed” … “How can a road be 76 and 86?” … “wait, this sign says we’re on ‘DD’, who names their highway after Dolly’s cup size??”… “Make a right at 112 or 13b or Main street”… ) and was flat out wrong at least once (beyond that I just guessed with my keen sense of direction and we ended up exactly where we needed to be). And of course “highway” is not really descriptive for this group of roads… winding and nerve-racking, fluctuating between 25 and 55 MPH, up and down steep grades and around blind corners… in an SUV that doesn’t get the best gas millage or handle all that well. But, none the less, we made it…

We relaxed in our condo the rest of the night (video / pics to come), had a nice picnic lunch on our balcony overlooking Table Rock Lake, and planned out the rest of the week the best we could. But if anyone has ever gone on vacation with a couple of kids and a just as unpredictable weather forecast, you know plans are futile:

Saturday, Branson Day 1: Our plan today was to go shopping for the week, and then head for the pool. Maybe finish with a movie at the condo… Hey, with a full kitchen and dishwasher, what better way for my wife to relax than spending less overall money and cooking us lunch and dinner nearly every day? But honestly, by eating easy meals in, i’m guessing we’re going to save $100-200 (and it was her idea anyway). Besides, its saturday, so why do any of the touristy stuff on the busiest of all days? So we headed out about 10:15 this morning to an unbelievable site: Traffic… was… beyond… insane, in one particular direction, which happened to lead right to our front door (we’re one of the resorts in walking distance to their biggest attraction, Silver Dollar City). We’re going out camera in hand tomorrow around the same time in hopes of seeing it again… seriously, it was awe inspiring. Luckily, we were headed the opposite direction, but I was quite apprehensive about coming back through the traffic just 30 minutes later after our trip to Wally World, so we decided a change of plans was in order.

Instead of heading straight to Wal Mart, we took a drive down 76 East, right through the heart of Branson. I figured if we were going to fight traffic, we might as well get something in return. Of all the things we had planned, the most relaxing way to start off the week logically fell to Riding the Ducks. All of us were looking forward to this, just for the family fun experience… we knew the girls would enjoy it, and we knew the ‘rents wouldn’t have to put in a whole lot of effort. The only downside is we didn’t have our camera with us… after all, we have Wal Mart’s in Texas so I didn’t see the need to bring it along. We did get some phone pics that I’ll post later this week.

After the nice 80 minute tour, we ate some Mc’Ds and took the back roads home. We were just about the only car on the road, which surprised me considering every tourist had the same map I did. But in any case, it was a quick and easy trip, but there was still about a mile and half strip which flowed right through the heart of traffic we we amazed at earlier in the day. By some act of God, the traffic had cleared and we made our way to the Supercenter before heading back to the condo, finishing off the day with an hour at the pool.

So for now, i’m sitting in the office (the extent of their wireless network doesn’t reach to our room) while checking in on some very unimportant things while the little one sleeps and the two bigger ones watch a movie. So until next time… “quack quack”

Popularity: 9% [?]

Category : Family

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There is something intriguing about MMA (click if you’re out of the loop)… It’s modern day Gladiators with a few rules. I’ve been pretty adamant against the UFC/WEC popularity for a few reasons, the biggest being how imitative the sport is. There are stories and videos of kids/teenagers staging their own MMA bouts with no adult supervision… basically backyard brawls leaving kids battered, bruised, and bloody.

But, there is a reason MMA is the fastest growing sport in America so I wanted to give it a fair shake. I think part of my disgust with it came about because my exposure to it is YouTube videos and Outside the Line specials, both of which are only going to show the most gruesome of moments. Last night was supposed to be a big night in the WEC series. Four fights, two of which were championship matches, including the much anticipated Faber vs Pulver.

I think i can sum up the effect of the night with two short sentences:

1) “I was wrong” - In the sense that it is a bit barbaric and the Aughts version of gladiator games I am probably still right. In the sense that it is imitative? Yeah, it is… but the more I watched the more I realized that the guys that are going to imitate this are already fighters. They’re the guys at school who already act tough, who already don’t back down, and who already probably cause problems. This isn’t to say that all MMA guys are “bad guys” but there are gyms where you can, as a teenager, go and train in MMA… The ones that stage the illegal backyard brawls are not the type to go to the gym anyway. The ones that want to do it right are going to go about it the “right” way… with exceptions on both sides.

Also, it’s not as gruesome as I thought. Yeah, it looks painful and there are a lot of “holy crap!” moments… plenty of turn your head moments and the gut-wrenching “just stop the dang fight!” moments… but i never thought someone was about to die or have a bone break in half.

2) “I’m hooked” - I could never do that crap. I’d tap out as soon as my opponent walked towards me (even though the banner behind one of the guys said “JesusDidn’tTap.Com“, i’d still have to tap (please forgive me Lord)). I’m a fan of a good boxing match, but the square ring action doesn’t even come close to comparing to the octagon action. These guys are skilled, its not just wild-arse beatdowns.

I don’t like that I like it though I never thought it was wrong to enjoy it… and I still don’t like certain aspects of it… but at least now that I’ve given it a chance, I understand the appeal and understand the proponents.

So, anyone wanna join me next week?

Popularity: 16% [?]

Category : Culture, Sports

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Most people have heard of the Blue Screen of Death… if you have an early gen XBox 360, you may be familiar with the Red Ring of Death. Basically in the first two generations, the console would either overheat or not heat up enough, eventually causing a hardware failure which resulted in this pretty little guy:

The racket was simple. Even if they had to fix a large number of systems, they used the negative publication to strongly suggest 360 owners to buy the cooling system, and continued to push for the cooling system even after they corrected the issue on the succeeding releases. I thought I was clear of the problem consoles…

And then a breaker blew…

It may have been a coincidence, but as soon as it blew, both my DVD/Surround Sound System (which I got for my birthday in June 06) and my blessed XBox 360 (Christmas 2006) stopped working… yes, there it was. The Red Ring of Death…

I thought for sure that I’d have to pay to get it fixed since A) I didn’t have one of the early generation models and B) my one year warranty was up… But, to my surprise and excitement the extended three year warranty for “general hardware failure” (signified by the three red lights), DOES apply to my console (cheer with me please!). All free… including shipping.

What is funny is they are paying shipping via UPS, to and from my house, when the repair center is only about 5 miles from me. If i would’ve known that before they sent the pre-paid packaging, I would’ve called and asked if i could just bring it in.

In any case, i’ve already been without for about a week now, and I have another 2-4 weeks sans 360… but I do have the PS2 that my Bro-In-Law was so kind to let me borrow.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Category : Eh... Whatever, Me Dang It!

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Hello. My name is Jeremy Wheeler. I have not been around these parts lately due to… general laziness? So lets get you caught up and get this blog ball rolling again.

1) I passed Old Testament Survey. I wasn’t too worried about it. “And the monogram says ‘I-DOUBLE U-I-N”

2) I started to learn Spanish because I want to. Relearn really. It is going alright, but I need to concentrate on it more. Hopefully I will be conversational by end of summer. “And the monogram says ‘I-DOUBLE U-I-N”

3) On Friday, June 6th we’re leaving for Branson. “And the monogram says ‘I-DOUBLE U-I-N”

4) Blake is a bad word. He got me addicted to Sports based MMORPGs. “FAIL”

5) I’m still addicted to soccer. FC Dallas fired their coach, probably the right thing to do, but horrible timing and situation surrounding it. They gave up a goal in stoppage time last night which resulted in a draw instead of a win. “FAIL”

6) I bought the new Deliriou5? It is so yummy. “And the monogram says ‘I-DOUBLE U-I-N”

7) I’m still fat but until last week I was losing weight and staying off the Dr. Peppers. But last week and a half is horrible. “FAIL”

to end on a positive note… “And the monogram says ‘I-DOUBLE U-I-N”

Popularity: 13% [?]

Category : Eh... Whatever, Family, Fatness, Me Dang It!, Music, School, Soccer, Sports, Video

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I know i’ve been fairly quiet these past two months. OT Survey has been a workload, and I added more to it voluntarily. I’ve had some time at work to post, but haven’t really wanted to simply due to the mental strain I was already exerting in class… I know it’s a lame excuse, but just throwing it out there…

I do have some plans for some things to write about (namely, our church searching experience), but i’ve got one more night of class (TONIGHT!) so i’m thinking tomorrow or wednesday i’ll start posting stuff worth while again.

In the mean time, lets see just how attentive you are. Just so you know, I did fail the first time, so don’t feel bad if you do.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Category : Church, Eh... Whatever, School, Video

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… Teach…

I disagree with that as a blanket statement, but sometimes its true… You also hear that those who can’t do, ref.

Not this guy…

I know it’s old (2006), but dang that Ref is in control! Shoot… I think he oughta be fighting… I love his reaction as he lets the guy down… throws his hand up like “Take that punk! I am THA MAN!”

Popularity: 11% [?]

Category : Eh... Whatever, Sports, Video

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This weekend, the wife and I took in a movie. Due to scheduling, we had to wait until 9:55 PM to see this puppy. The lines, even for the late showing, were overwhelming… starting in the front lobby, curling around all the way to the side exit, and doubling back all the way to the lobby… Listen, i know a few of you guys live in a town of about 3000 and your biggest theater has three screens or something… This theater has 18 screens, most of which are of the largest variety available. These people were absolutely insane, waiting in those kind of lines for a freakin’ comic book movie!

We, on the other hand, are civilized and proper. Waiting in NO lines to enhance our lives and see something worth the price of admission… Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (okay, really it had nothing to do with how hoity toity we are, we were paying to watch it for school… but still, c’mon now).

Lets get serious for a minute… We rarely go to a movie, unless its at the dollar theater (which has 15 screens), largely due to the price of admission. But with Expelled, it was well worth it if only to show support in the box office numbers.

Most of you probably know a little of what it is about… The tension in the scientific world between neo-Darwinists / Evolutionists and those who support Intelligent Design (henceforth “ID”). Supposedly the story behind this is that Stein (well-known intelligent Jew who supports ID) heard of a scientist working at the Smithsonian losing his position for the slightest positive mention of Stephen C Meyer (Christian ID proponent, author, etc) and a small implication that ID may have some merit. The first thirty minutes of the film follow similar stories (with immense quickness) to show that this is indeed not an isolated event. I’ve gotta be honest with you… it was interesting, but just seemed like more of the same old tired “evolutionists vs creationists” debate only changing the players to “neo-Darwinists vs Intelligent Designists”…  eh… it was neat to see Richard Dawkins interviewed and hear some of the conflicting views, but so far I wasn’t entrenched in the story…

Then IT happened. You know that point in a film, fiction or not, where your head says “wait a minute… this changes EVERYTHING!” But it doesn’t stop with your head… your heart kinda skips a beat and your gut starts twisting in knots…  And you can see it in Stein’s face as well. Up to this point, it looked scripted all the way around, but out of nowhere you, the audience and Stein realize that this has nothing to do with Science and everything to do with world-views. …

Sounds too obvious to be the “IT,” doesn’t it?…

But it changes everything and takes Stein on a completely different gut-wrenching, hand-sweating, disgusting path, climaxing with a head-to-head with Dawkins, world-renowned atheist, hater of all things religious, and maybe one of the most influential people of our time (behind the scenes and through his books)… It may be one of the most beautiful interviews in a documentary I’ve ever seen…

Sure, Stein wants ID to win, but it’s not Stein who says the ridiculous things that Dawkins and other neo-Darwinists say. They shoot themselves in the foot, over and over and over again. Dawkins isn’t even the craziest one of the bunch, he just has the loudest voice in our society…

(i’m leaving a great deal out so as not to play spoiler, but at some point, i’d love to discuss it) …

So, boycott the long lines at Iron Man, and take in Expelled. It’s beyond worth it. When the DVD comes out, buy it… Do everything you can to help Stein tear down the walls… society will be in better shape for it…

Popularity: 34% [?]

Category : Culture, Current Events, Empyreal, Movies, Reviews

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Let me distance myself from the last post… Somewhere in that mess of a post below, I made some valid points, but it took a different direction and invalidated itself when I focused on, er… attacked… one example rather than expanding on the validity of the thought that we tend to enforce our way of Christianity on people… So maybe i’ll revisit the idea later and see if has any real legs…

in the meantime, there is a running joke in the community of radio that I listen to which states that once you realize how much you’ve failed, just stop broadcasting and play only Beatles songs… so use this one to distance from the last post AND as a bit of preview for a post coming probably later today…

Popularity: 11% [?]

Category : Culture, Eh... Whatever, Music

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There were no flashy presentations or effects, no large band, no inflexible schedule, and no big church mentality. It was simply people who love God getting together to worship their Lord and hearing his pure Word.

I love how the pastor opens up the microphone for ANYONE to come up and give a testimony, praise, or prayer request and then the congregation prays together for that person. It is truly a family environment where the people are there to encourage one another and participate in the service…they don’t go just to hear a sermon or watch a band perform some worship.

Excerpt of my sister and her husband’s experience in a Gypsy church in Mukachevo, Ukraine. Read part one and two to get a feel for the whole evening…

I read through the posts, both of which have a positive message, yet my heart unexpectedly sunk rather than rejoiced. Eh, maybe “bittersweet” is more accurate. I am happy that the Parks’ hearts were blessed and that one of the communities they are hoping to reach out to already has a strong Christian base. There are so many positive things to take out of the story, so why are you so downcast oh my soul?

I know i’m jaded. I know I’m a cynic of today’s American christianity. I know not all of my criticism is merited. I know there are a plethora of churches and a multitude of Christians serving productively and living great examples of Christ… but i read this, and my very first thought was “lets hope American’s don’t screw it up.” … not Lindsey and Josh or the missionaries they have met or worked with thus far… but the big money, big church Americans.

It is a commonly accepted belief (although I am not sure how wide spread) that we have a problem of Americanizing or Westernizing the people-groups we minister to in other countries (Blake posts an intense video of John Piper that addresses a portion of this at least, check it out). The Parks only have to look northeast a few hundred miles to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev and see some of what I’m talking about… Take a look at a little excerpt from Hillsong, Kiev website:

we believe our purpose is to be a mission in Europe, to change perceptions by:

1. Establishing new services in major European cities. The first of them is Moscow.
2. The utilization of media and television to change people’s perception of the Church and Jesus through production of quality TV programs.
3. Expansion of Hillsong Kiev worship music in Russian in order to help existing Russian-speaking churches to become champions in their ministry.

In fairness, Hillsong is Australian based, but closely resembles the mentality of many of our mega-churches as well (i.e.-”westernized”). On the surface, the mission statement as a whole sounds peachy. Ukraine is a hurting society, and Hillsongs:Kiev wants to improve the quality of life. But just examine the key phrases in the three main points they make for a second:

1) Establishing new services… Again, i will make another statement that is hard to quantify but is a widespread thought. I have heard it said by pastors of large mega-churches and small family churches. Services do not make disciples. (see the period?) Relationships, authenticity, and leading by example make disciples. The gospel makes disciples. Services are valuable for various reasons, but if you’re number one goal in “transforming lives” is to create new services, you’re missing the boat. Jesus went to the people, he didn’t ask the people to come to a church service.

2) Utilization of media and tv… changes perception of church… quality tv progams. I am a moderate proponent of quality production in church services and programs, but not at the expense of quality ministry. So again, just like #1, there is nothing wrong with wanting excellence in programming, nor in utilizing the media or tv, but it says a lot about your heart when your #2 priority focuses on the cultural perception of your production. Thats really all it boils down to. Statements like these tell others that the story of Jesus isn’t enough to change lives. The hope of His work on the cross isn’t enough to redeem. The grace and omniscience of God cannot break through the culture the way that our big lights, great musicianship, and top notch video editing can. If you want to change the perception of the church and Jesus, step outside your multi-million dollar building and breath the stench of the prostitute and drug-addict.

3) Expansion of Hillsong Kiev worship music… Do i really even have to address this? Read the whole statement for number 3 again… how utterly pompous and preposterous. Are we to believe that this has anything to do with ministry rather than selling more albums and building a bigger Hillsong Music Empire? To imply (understatement) that their worship music has the power to champion churches to a new level of ministry is sickening! And here we are, three for three, discounting the power of Jesus Christ.

Am I being to harsh? Do i have to give some lame disclaimer that I am aware that Hillsong:Kiev and Hillsong:Worship and Hillsong:Everywhere is an avenue for God? I hope not. I hope you understand that I have enough faith to know that God will still work through the people in these ministries to further His kingdom despite the ostentatiousness of the statements on their site. After all, He has been gracious enough to work through my failures as well. I am not above criticism.

Lord, give Josh, Lindsey, and all those who they work with the strength and faith to see the power that You possess. It is not anything we do, but what You do through us and the redeeming power of Your sacrifice that changes lives. Prepare their hearts to meet those in need at the place of their need and filter Your Truth into the lives of those who need it in the community you have placed Josh and Lindsey.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Category : Church, Culture, Empyreal, Family

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