Tim Keel's Blog

Some discussion about self-promotion

I started a message string at the JW discussion board to tallk some about tonight's message. I would love to hear some thoughts. Here's a link...

Discovering Humility & Hidden-ness discussion

ahem...excuse me while I dance...the BIG Dance, that is

This blog is not really intended to be a Kansas University fan board, but...it is March and my Kansas Jayhawks are in the FINAL FOUR, baby!!! So thanks for the indulgence.

Seeing Roy Williams dancing by himself on the basketball court did my heart good. He has such a good game face, especially for such an openly emotional coach. He talks a lot about the "kids" and how the game is about them and not coaches, but just seeing him unable to contain his joy was really something to behold.

When I saw him interviewed on Sports Center this morning, the guy looked beat. He's fighting a bad head cold, got to the airport around 3: 00 a.m. (or some ungodly hour), and then went to some celebration at Allen Field House. Yeah, he was tired. I hope he looks that tired next Tuesday morning.

How do these kind of things happen?

It's late morning. Mimi let me sleep on my day off. When I finally crawl out of bed, I need a cup of coffee. I pull the coffee grounds out of the machine and throw them in the trash. Five seconds later Blaise decides to put a huge box in the trash, sending the whole bin tumbling down the stairs, coffee grounds going everywhere. Timing. Welcome to the day.

KU vs. Duke

March madness, week two.

6:50 p.m. - My alma mater plays Duke in two hours. Go hawks! Two hour pre-marital class...focus!

10:05 p.m. - Not looking great, slow out of the gate...Matt Coleman just mentioned that this could be Collison's last game...not ready to think bout that yet...KU just went ahead...

10:31 p.m. - Still close...Hinrich with four fouls & 6:30 remaining...why do I like this sport? We're up by four. Now I remember.

10:46 p.m. - here we go...45 seconds...rejection by Collison - absolutely!!! Six point lead...looking good...Matt making lots of noise...Michael Lee hits a free throw...seven point lead...Hinrich goes MIA and Collison takes the game on his shoulders...last time I heard 31 points/15 rebounds...Duke steals it after a bucket and scores - now it's a three point game. Can't anything ever be easy?
Aaron Miles hits 1 out of 2. There it is - game over...Elite Eight!

Bring on Arizona!

Where do you spend your money?

I added a section to my blog today called "Spend Your Money Here." It's on the right side of the page. This may be a dumb idea. We'll see. I was just thinking that occassionally I run into businesses, charities, etc., that I believe in. I like the people, believe in what they do (like fix my car, an example of business and charity mixed in one), and want others to benefit from their grace and skill. Heck, I want these businesses to benefit for being good at what they do, too. Every month I'll add another place I spend my money. If you have places, add a comment and tell us about them. Word of mouth. Good stewardship. Viral marketing. All that.

A Blogged War

I stumbled on something tonight scanning some blogs. This is a quote from the Real Live Preacher blog. On his blog he states,

"Note�the emerging power of weblogs. A loosely organized network of people with the ability to post information�and�point readers to one another is very frightening to governments and news agencies.�It�is becoming ever more difficult for people in power to control information."

Maybe that's what the CNN commentator meant by our first "blog war."

He goes on to link to a man in Baghdad who is blogging, somehow, from the midst of this battle. RLP says,

"Blog insiders are flocking to read 'Where is Raed?'. Most of you already know about this amazing blog, but�I have a number of readers who are not immersed in the blog culture. 'Where is Raed?' is an ongoing journal kept by a man living in Baghdad. If you do a little research, you'll find that�a number of people have tracked him in sophisticated ways. He seems to be the real thing. Somehow he is still posting. There is new information online today. Whatever your thoughts are about this war, you will be moved by reading his point of view."

It's hard to stop reading.

Where is Raed?

Surreal

This war has been amazing to behold, and weird too. Last week I sat on my couch and marveled that we are watching the bombing campaign from inside the political center of our enemies. Stationary cameras set up broadcasting images and commentary from inside enemy positions? Then I heard a commentator on CNN talk about how this is the first "blogged" war, but wasn't exactly sure what he was trying to get at.

This morning I kept seeing this photo everywhere, and others like it. US troops fighting in the midst of a raging sandstorm. It seems to me that they are in some sci-fi film fighting on Mars. My friend Rudy has an interesting take, or question, about the theological/providential nature of the sand-storm on Urban Onramps. Scroll down to March 25, I think.

Now it's 12:40 p.m. (ten minutes after initial post) and I just went to the Drudge Report and there's another sandstorm photo and the headline, "This Storm is from God."

The Catholic Worker House

I went with Ashley Cleveland to the Catholic Worker House yesterday (learn about the Catholic Worker Movement). Ashley has been a volunteer here for twenty years (and is even the answer to a trivia question among the KCCWH faithful). She started volunteering in ninth grade! The Catholic Worker House does a lot of things to serve Christ and the poor. One of the things they do is serve food to the working poor six nights a week.

We arrived there and immediately went to work. Food is donated from a host of sources. I made a fruit salad. We set tables. We washed some dishes. I filled pitchers with water and tea. We moved a lot. The house was buzzing with activity, volunteers, the people who live in the homes, and the homeless. Civility. Generosity. Work.

The doors were opened at six o'clock. As people began to pass through the line, I stood behind the salad and fruit bowl ambidextrously serving each bowl's respective bounty, left and right hands armed with spoons. I laughed a lot. I was surprised at how little I felt any distance between those serving and those being served. My experience has been that the gulf between the servers and the served (or serviced) is great and everyone is very aware of that distance. So people go through the motions. No relationship really. But this was a different deal. Easy banter. No condescension or arrogance. Basic trust in people's goodness and honesty. Not trying to fix people but simply serve them.

Ashley's been going to this place for twenty years. I am amazed by that. Eugene Peterson quotes Nietzsche in the title of a book he wrote on discipleship. He talks of discipleship as A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. That sentiment, that reality, is what I sensed yesterday. I think it is significant that this group of people live among those they seek to serve. I think it is significant many of the volunteers have been there a long time. I think I'd like my life to look more like many of the people I encountered on both sides of the food table.

At 7:30 p.m. we finished up. I was exhausted. Ashley drove me home. Mimi went to the grocery store. Only now do I realize the irony of that. How easy it is for some people to get food and how difficult it is for others. But again, the great thing about my time yesterday was freedom from feeling guilty for having. I just wanted to share more. While Mimi shopped for groceries, I tucked our kids in and for the first time in quite awhile, was asleep by 9:00 p.m.

Wow

I just discovered if you play music (U2 for example) while my blog is up, the man below often moves in sync to the music...if you came looking for something profound, sorry.

Not much...you?

found it...had to post it

no idea what it's about - i'll take suggestions

what else is there to say?