What is Integrity?

I was in Denver last week on a database gig so I didn’t post anything, but I was able to do quite a bit of thinking about things as I flew in the airplane and spent time in the airport. One of those things that I was thinking about was integrity.

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Shopocalypse Now!

Guys, I couldn’t resist this post! I love the question - What would Jesus buy? Here’s the link to the movie and you’ve got to watch this interview!

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Just Call me Uncle John!

My brother and sister-in-law just had a baby girl! I’m pretty stoked about this! I can’t wait to see her!

Her name is Adelin Joy Howell. She was born 11/20/07 at 6:44 PM. She weighed 4 lb 13 0z and is 17 3/4 in long.

And, since she’s my very first niece, she’s got her own website - Check it out!

www.adelinjoy.com


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Autoimmune Hepatitis and Me

I appreciate those of you have emailed me in response to my post, Down with the Sickness. Many of you have asked me what exactly Autoimmune Hepatitis is - so I thought that I’d take a break from my normal incoherent ramblings and share a little more about this disease.

Autoimmune hepatitis is a disease in which the body’s immune system attacks liver cells. This causes the liver to become inflamed (hepatitis). About 70 percent of those with autoimmune hepatitis are women, most between the ages of 15 and 40. (Yeah - I can hear the jokes now - thanks for your compassion! :).

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Bad Brew

Yeah – so I LOVE to make coffee. The smell, the steam, the essence of what I’m doing – I love it! I try to make it a couple of times a week in my Carraffe and here’s how it normally goes. I start to get excited as I boil the coffee. I carefully doll out the three scoops of the blessed black grounds. I pour the boiling water into the Carraff and then I carefully stir the grounds until they are thoroughly mixed with the water. I then place the lid on the Carraffe and wait for at minimum 5 minutes for the water to fully absorb the flavor of the beans. Finally, after waiting with anxious anticipation, I pour myself a cup of coffee that is brewed to perfection. I sniff and inhale the intoxicating aroma of the brew and then I take my first sip. I drink slowly at first, but pick up speed until I can feel the warmth and the caffeine surging through my body!

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Down with the Sickness

I’m sick.

I just want to put this out there. Not sick in a twisted, demented way that reaks of subversive and destructive behavior. Not sick in a way that is propagated by incoherent thoughts, wild fantasies, and an inordinate fixation on metaphysical apparitions and dreamscapes that will never become reality. I’m physically sick. The worst thing about this sad state of affairs is that I’ve brought this sickness upon myself.

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WiFi Woes

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

Ahhh - the wonders of the Internet. It’s been 2 1/2 long weeks without a dedicated Internet connection. But it’s finally been hooked up. I’ve was forced to wander the streets looking for an open WiFi connection like a common vagabond. It was horrible.

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Bitter, Party of One

Dear Christian Bible College Professor,

I just read an article you wrote and I wanted to respond to it. I have much respect for you and I have been reading your articles since I was a college student. However, in this article, I’m bothered and feel compelled to comment. I hope that I have missed the point that you are trying to make with this article, and if that’s the case, please delete this comment and write it off as, “Bitter - Party of One.”

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Spouting Off

Been thinking.

We’re supposed to be the body of Christ right?

The church is truly supposed to be the body - right?

So the question I have is this - because of the disobedience of our fathers - both the Boomers and the Silent Generation - have we effectively cut down the hands and feet off the body of Christ and left only a mouth that the world finds akward and annoying?

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Catalyst Conference Bound!

Hello my lone reader!

September was a busy month and so I apologize for not writing much – but based on the lack of emails and comments I received requesting more of my incoherent thoughts, I don’t think you missed me.

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Feelin' Hungry? Oh Yeah!

I'm hungry.

I just have to say that. I've been on this new diet now for 2 weeks now and I don't think that I'm losing any weight, I'm just hungry.

Just a reminder, my new diet is that I'm trying to go the whole month of September without eating anything with a picture of it on the box. I'm also cutting way down on my high frutcose corn syrup and my goal is to only eat out 60 times this year. So - basically I'm hungry because I can't find any convienience food to eat and I'm not used to having to cook real food on a regular basis.

http://www.johndhowell.com

U.S. Navy's Fitness Program

Rather then be sending you to the U.S. Navy's Chaplain website and having them wonder who is checking out their fitness information so much, I figured that I would post the parts of the routine that I'm going to be trying to follow. If you're still interested in going to the site to read exactly what all they say - here's the link.

http://www.johndhowell.com

Happy 33rd Birthday - Fat Boy!

Today’s my birthday, I’m 33 this year.
To celebrate, I decided to go to the Dr. and get a checkup. What I found was very disturbing.
I’m obese.

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A Little Too Much Seasoning

I think that there is something very masculine about grilling. I’m not talking about the lazy push-a-button and wait for the propane tank to start a butane flame kind of grilling, I’m talking about the striking a match, making a fire and burning the animal flesh kind of grilling. The kind of grilling that allows you to singe the hair on your arms, dance with the hot coals, and sing “White Rabbit, White Rabbit” as you carefully, but purposely, create a meal fit for a king.

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Why I Don't Like Portion Control

To be fair, I am not a large man, 6′0″ about 220 lbs, overweight yes, but large - definitely not. I need to exercise more and I need to lose probably 35-40 lbs but when it gets right down to it, I’m not a large man.

However, I do have a large appetite, particularly for burritos.


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Tell me, where does the tall corn grow?

It’s about 11:30 PM and Cris and I just got in to Clear Lake, Iowa where we are staying at the comfortable AmericInn. Why are we in Iowa you might ask We are here for Family Camp Sunday at the Iowa-Minnesota District of the Wesleyan Church Campground - Cedar Springs Wesleyan Camp located in beautiful Floyd, Iowa.

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My PostSecret is . . .

For the past year I’ve been periodically checking out the blog - PostSecret. If you’ve never been there it’s a basically a site where people post their most private fears and secrets to share with the world. These fears and secrets are sent in on homemade postcards that resemble the fear or secret that they are holding onto. Most of the fears and secrets are sent in anonymously and quite often they reveal something that the individual has held onto for so long that it’s become an intricate part of this person’s life.

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Life Lessons

To be quite candid, I'm not sure that I've figured out a lot in the 32 years that I've been in existence on this earth. I am quite convinced that the more I learn, the less I understand and the less I understand the more I need to learn. It's a mixed bag of growth and stagnation that seems to have pervaded much of my life.

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Who knows what the day will hold . . .

Today started out like every other "Monday" (Your Friday - My Monday, Your Monday - My Friday) I got to the "cube", logged in, put the headset on and prepared to embark on a day full of listening to people who are having far more exciting days then myself.

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Getting to Know God While Working in Hell with Florescent Lights

You might remember that I've got somewhere between 20 and 25 hours of forced free time, that is time that I am waiting for the phone to ring at the call center that currently pays my bills.

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