MY MOM, JANET TATE, AS A WEE LITTLE ONE

MY LITTLE GIRL

My pretty little
Itty little
Bitty little
Girl.

I love my little spoon!

FOUND MONEY JAR

Since sarah and I moved to California we have been saving every single piece of money that we find in a big pickle jar. It has become second nature to walk through parking lots with our eyes on the ground, and our fingers involuntarily snake in and out of coin returns as we pass. (Money we find in our own house doesn't count... obviously.)

Yesterday I added it all up and found that we had $198.70. Just $1.30 away from the two-hundred dollar mark. That's a whole lot of pennies and bending over.

Congratulations to Heath Shuler!

I would like to reach across the aisle and congratulate a conservative pro-life democrat, Heath Shuler, on his election to the congress. Really it is just good to see a Redskin win. I wish you could have pulled out a victory like this back in the day.

Idiot Boyfriend Music Video

I know I've been a little youtube crazy recently. Forgive me this indulgence.

Shaka Zulu

This is possibly the greatest 2 minutes ever of television. Shaka Zulu, as portrayed in this mini-series, is kind of what i think it would be like if Terrell Owens was allowed to rule a people. I love me some me!

Zebda - Tomber la chemise

MY HIGH SCHOOL ID

This is a picture of a desperate caged animal.

Grandpa McCuen's Operator License

SHEN OR SOUTH?

Liberal gadfly, rabble-rouser, and film maker- Michael Moore.

MY END-OF-SUMMER STAFF LETTER- 2006

Dear Summer Staff 2006,

Something that has always fascinated me are the lives of the early explorers. Down through the years I have bought and read numerous books that describe the life and adventures of explorers like Leif Ericsson, Samuel De Champlain, Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, Captain Cook, Columbus, Lewis & Clark, etc… Those guys fascinate me. I like to think about those fragile men facing nature’s worst and uncertain treatment at the hands of natives. I am also captivated by descriptions of the untouched lands they found, the adventures they had, the sacrifices they endured, and the way that they helped shape the world as we know it. As a boy, I used to fantasize and daydream about what it would have been like to accompany them on their adventures, and it wasn’t until relatively recently that I realized I was standing on the cusp of an adventure myself.
It sounds trite to say, but our walk with Christ is intended to be a fun and exciting adventure. IT REALLY IS! As I grew up, I didn’t think of my faith as an exciting thing. I had it too wrapped up in obligatory church attendance and what I perceived as boring patterns established by my parents. What seemed exciting to me was not pleasing to God, and so, in my heart of hearts, I fostered a secret resentment of God and the restraints that he put on me. He delivered me from that false understanding of things, and has given me an excitement that can only come from pulling anchor in the old world of who you were and what you were doing and setting sail for the new world of who God wants you to be and what he wants you to do.
There is nothing more exciting this side of eternity than the Lord’s will for our lives. It is like the fuzzy outlines of an undiscovered continent barely visible on the wave- tossed horizon. I tingle with excitement at the thought of my boots marring the surface of that virgin shore. I think of all the interesting people I will meet, the gifts I will discover, the adventures I will have, the untouched territory that I will claim for Christ, and I grow more and more excited.
Yet still, it is natural to be a little frightened by the prospect too. Just like with those early explorers there will be hardship and resistance. We are still fragile men and women facing the worst that man and nature can throw at us, but we find both confidence and joy when we find ourselves in that trench with Christ. In John 16:33 Christ says, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
So be excited, and don’t ever let Sunday Morning become the sum total of your walk because that is really just admiring and celebrating explorers without becoming one yourself. So, remember now your creator in the days of your youth (Ecclesiastes 12:1) and get excited! Live with an eternal perspective. Pursue the adventure of the Lord’s will. Revel in it! I pray that God would give you an irresistible bursting desire to follow Him, an excitement about the same, and that he would open your eyes to the exciting places, people and times around you.

HUTELA AMADUNDAR!

Your Brother in Christ, Josh Tate

CALLING ALL SERVANTS

This weekend, October 27-29, we will have approximately 200 campers here at Camp Maranatha, and many our regular kitchen workers will not be available to help. So, if you are interested in volunteering in the the camp's kitchen this weekend please give us a call. We would surely appreciate it!

951-659-2739

camp_maranatha@juno.com

SARAH'S AND MY SONG

Sometimes you're better off dead
There's a gun in your hand
and it's pointing to your head.
You think you're mad
that you're unstable.
Kicking in chairs and knocking down tables
In a restaurant in a West End town.
Call the policethere's a mad man around
Running down underground
to a dive bar in a West End town.
In a West End town a dead end world -
The East End boys and West End girls -
In a West End town a dead end world -
The East End boys and West End girls -
West End girls - West End girls.
Too many shadows
whispering voices
Faces on posters
too many choices.
If - when - why - what
how much have you got?
Have you got it
do you get it?
If so how often?
Which did you choose
the hard or soft option?
Which did you choose
which did you choose.
In a West End town ...
You got a heart of glass
Or a heart of stone
Just you wait 'till get you home.
I've got no future
we've got no past
Here today
built to last
in every city and every nation
From Lake Geneva to the Finland station.
How far have you been
How much have you seen
In a West End town ...
In a West End Town in a dead end world
west End girls

East or Lambein?

Runaway bride and false reporter of crimes- Ms. Wilbank.

SHEN OR SOUTH?

Career skinny man and spokesperson for the Subway corporation- Jared Fogle.

ONCE THERE WAS THIS GIRL....

"Once there was this girl who
Never went to change with the other
Girls in the change room
And when they finally made her
She had birthmarks all over her body.
She couldn't quite explain it,
They'd always just been there."

Crash Test Dummies

I'M SURPRISINGLY FINE WITH IT, BUT I AM DEFINITELY GOING UNDERGROUND.

I think that with the schedule they pulled, and the way they have struggled early this season, I am not premature in declaring this turkey cooked. I am not without hope though. I think that this will allow them to truly loosen up and experiment a little. With all of the new personnel, and a new offensive system we need to look at this season as an opportunity to get our act together before a break out year in 2007. I had hoped that this year would be a break out year, but, clearly, it is not to be.
I think that as the season goes on we will see Jason Campbell carry some of the weight in the quarterback position. Not because Brunell is hurting the team, but because we have to see what he's got if he's gonna be the man next season.
I anticipate the team will loosen up and start having fun as the chances of making the playoffs fade away. Hopefully this will help galvanize and steady a team struggling to find its identity.

2007 will be a very different story. I just hope they can keep their core group of guys together, and I hope Gibbs doesn't retire or get fired.

I don't want to sound like I am hedging my bets, 'cause I really do think the Skins have everything it takes to go all the way this season, but the schedule this season is just brutal. Including the Colts, who we play today, 8 of our remaining nine opponents have winning records. I just don't see a weekend for the remainder of the season where we can kind of catch our breath with an easy win. This season is going to be a tough slog. This may be a building year, which will serve to harden and galvanize the skinz in preparation for a breakout year in 2007.

Having said that, I think if they find an identity and put together a string of victories the skinz possess all of the necessary elements to go the super bowl. Yeah, I said it- the super bowl!

QUESTION OF THE DAY

If you had to live out the rest of your days inside a video game world, which video game would you choose to live in?

ONCE THERE WAS THIS KID...

"Once there was this kid who got into an accident
And couldn't come to school
And when he finally came back
His hair had turned from black into bright white.
He said it was from when
The cars had crashed so hard."

Crash Test Dummies

THE PUMPKIN

The other night in his story box, Bowden found a note from the Widjiwats, which read;

"For a Halloween Treat
That's really neat
Just take a peak
In the window seat."

Bowden excitedly scurried out of bed and opened the window seat and discovered his very own pumpkin, which I had purchased earlier in the day at Fairway Market. Bowden is a firm believer in Widjiwats, and was glad that they hadn't forgotten to put something in the story box.

A few days later he and I carved it into a Jack-o-lantern. Big fun! The following pictures are out of order, but I trust that they will suffice to convey some of the excitement.

SHEN OR SOUTH?

Captain of the federation starship Enterprise, and ,surprisingly not a pacificist, Captain Jean Luc Picard.

Redskins

The whole season rides on this weekend's game against the Colts.

With a victory hope remains alive.

With a defeat we go back underground until next season.

I believe we can win though.

So says Josh Tate

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." George Orwell

"Oh, Shame and Pride are twins,
And Mother Selfish grins
To see her boys at play
Inside my heart today."

Jarudet the Widjiwat

I WANT TO APOLOGIZE

I feel the need to apologize for my recent expressions of despair and and hopelessness regarding the Redskins' chances this season. I think there is still hope, and the turnaround begins this week against the 5-0 Colts.

First- the Skins have got be a little hungry for redemption after last weekend.

Second- the Colts will, understandably, not take the Skins seriously.

Thirdly- I feel it in my gut. The skins will win by a touchdown this Sunday.

Hail to the Redskins!
Hail Victory!
Braves on the warpath
Fight for Old D.C.!

SHEN OR SOUTH? & EAST OR LAMBEIN?

Jedi Knights, followers of Christ, and residents of the Tempe area Chad and Tricia Irving.

PECUNIARY PSEUDOTRUTH IS A MARKETING TERM

Pecuniary Pseudotruth- Something stated as if it were true, but which is not intended to be believed.

When the bulk of a thing is left unsaid
And questions are not entertained
Then speculation reigns instead
Until truth is discovered or explained.

It is better to face a monster that is seen and understood
Than one that's left a’lurking in the mind’s darkened wood.

I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE IT!

I am going underground... deep underground! I can't wait for the start of the 2007/2008 season because, for me, this season is over. How do you lose to the Titans at home? Just depressing!

I mean... have you looked at the schedule for the rest of the season. It doesn't get any easier from here. Next week we play at the Colts and after that we have round two vs. the Cowboys. Even if we somehow miraculously won both of those games we would find ourselves back at 500 while the rest of the NFC East has left us far behind. With a schedule like this you can't let these games slip away from you. The titans! C'mon the Titans? Really? If I hadn't seen the score on NFL Total Access myself I wouldn't believe it!

This season is over. I'm going underground!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PINKY-WINKY!

Today has dawned a beautiful fall day here in Idyllwild. The air is damp and cool, and the trees are still bejeweled from yesterday's drizzle. That's right! It drizzled in Idyllwild! It never does that here. It either rains big fat buckets or it's bone dry, but yesterday it was a very fine rain, just a little stiffer than mist, that fell on the San jacinto Mountains. The woods were foggy, the mountains obscured by clouds, and smoke was curling out of chimneys- almost like the 802. We even started a fire in our fire place, and as I was walking up to my house the smell of the wood smoke was mingling with the damp aromatic fall air and the product made me almost weak in the knees with appreciation for the world our Lord created.

I have begun a new bedtime tradition with Bowden called "the story box." Years and years ago my Grandma McCuen gave me an ornately carved wooden cigar box. Every night when I go up to put Bowden to bed I bring the story box with me. I put an interesting item inside and after we read a story, but before we pray, I open the box and we discover the item that's inside. Than we spend a few minutes talking about the object. Sometimes it is a picture of a place or person. Sometimes it is a toy from my childhood or a letter that we recieved in the mail. Anything you can think of that would be interesting to a 3 year old. Last night I put paper money from around the world and a pocket World Atlas in the story box. Bowden really enjoyed looking at the money. He liked all the different pictures, animals and colors too. But when I tried to look up each country in the atlas, and tell him about the far away places, it betrayed that his 3 year old mind has not yet grasped the concept of a country yet. The following is a bit of dialogue from my futile attempts to illuminate his little mind on the concept:

Me: This money is from countries all around the world. Do you know what a country is?

Bowden: Yeah.

Me: What is it?

Bowden: It's a place where cars drive and Dinosaurs help people.

Me: Oh. Um... Do you you know what country you live in?

Bowden: Yeah... Vermont.

Me: No, silly that's where Grandma and Grandpa Tate live. (We've been talking a lot about Vermont recently because we will be going there in November, and he's excited about that.) Your country is called America. Can you say America?

Bowden: Why is it called that?

Me: Because of an Italian map maker named Amerigo Vespucci. Can you say "I am an American?"

Bowden: I am Amerigo.

Me: (pointing to the United States on a map in the aforementioned Atlas) See... this is America.

Bowden: Which one?

Me: The pink one.

Bowden: Oh... dath funny! Why don't they call it Pinky-winky? Pinky-winky!

Me: Cany you point to where you live on this map?

Bowden: (pointing in the general direction of Russia) Way up here in Idowild.

Me: (directing him back to the United States) No, you live down here.

Bowden: Oh, yeah! In Pinky-Winky!

HAIL SPATULA!!

I have always thought, and have often commented, that Spatula sounds like the name of a citizen of ancient Rome. Maybe a Caesar or possibly a commander of his legions. If I was taken back in time to Roman days, a la Bill and Ted's excellent adventure, I would definitely introduce myself as Spatula. Other good names would be any word ending in "ous" (example- insidious, rediculous, populous, preposterous, etc...).

EAST OR LAMBEIN?

Shepherdess, warrior saint, heretic, possibly a witch, troubled youth Joan of Arc

SHEN OR SOUTH?

SUPER SLEUTH, DEFENSE COUNSEL EXTRAORDINAIRE AND GOLDEN AGE BOY-TOY MATLOCK

Sarah Tate

CAMP MARANATHA HAS A BLOG? REALLY?

Yes it is true. Camp Maranatha has a blog. I haven't figured out how to put a link inside a post so I will have to give you the link and then you will have to manually type it and then go to the site. I know... that will take like three seconds- an unacceptable delay! I'm sorry!

www.campmaranatha.blogspot.com

EAST OR LAMBEIN?

Aviator Amelia Earhart

SHEN OR SOUTH?

President George Washington

SPEAKING OF SHADY PASTS

One night, after I dropped somebody off at Northwest State Correctional Facility, I was jokin' around with some of the corrections guys and they let me pose for mugshots.

PROVERBS 26:11

"As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly."

...AND JOB TATE, PLAYED BY HIMSELF.

GAME DAY!