Today I got a text message from my sister.  ”Are You In Jail?”, it said.  ”Not today”, I sent back.  

Minutes later she called me saying that my grandpa, who I’ve seen once in over fifteen years got a call from a guy claiming to be me.  So this fellah, claiming to be me tells my grandpa who I’ve seen once in over fifteen years that he (I) was on the road with a band and did a show in Vancouver, Canada.  Well you know the crazy life of traveling with bands like MercyMe and David Crowder can be, so this guy tells my grandpa that after the show we (the band and I) went out and had a few too many drinks.  Now, this guy doesn’t mention the name of the band he (I) am out with, because well… that would be just too hard to come up with, but never the less, I am out drinking with this unnamed band and got so drunk that I (or someone else) wrecked some sort of motor vehicle.  I assume it’s not a tour bus, but something much more manageable by intoxicated band members and myself.  So anyway.  According to the caller, he (I) is now in a Canadian jail and needs five thousand dollars, from this grandpa I have seen once in fifteen years, to get out.  Huh.  

Naturally my grandpa questions the caller a little more, but to no avail, as said grandpa is the only person on the planet that he (I) felt comfortable calling.  Make sense right?  Thirty year old man, drunk in Canada with a Christian band calls grandpa he’s only seen once in fifteen years, because there’s no one else in his life that he trusts to loan him five grand?

But seriously.  For anyone wondering, I’m not in jail in Canada, but if you want to send me five thousand dollars I’ll take it.

Thanks Mark.

Appreciation is defined two ways.  “Gratitude or thankful recognition”, and “An increase or rise in the value”.

Type one is the one we typically think of when we are talking about appreciating people and liking what they are doing for us.  ”I appreciate all that my wife does around the house.” “I appreciate the waiter bringing my food quickly.”  ”I appreciate the sacrifices my parents made to raise me.”  Stuff like that.  I think most people would have a pretty good grasp on what it feels like to truly “appreciate” someone in this way.  Whether we show it or not is another thing, but I think we can all at least understand the idea.

Type two is defined in the value that we put on things.  The “rise in value”.  ”My house has appreciated twenty-five percent in five years.”  ”This baseball card is appreciating more and more every year.” Things that we place value on.  What is somethings “worth” and how is that appreciating.

I’ve been up since about four-thirty thinking about the word “appreciate” and I started to realize that though there are two very different ways that I have viewed this word, if I combine the meanings it takes on a completely different shape in my mind

I know, without a doubt, that I don’t express my appreciation to people as much as I should and I have realized that it’s one of the most frustrating things to me to feel under appreciated.  I think we would all hate to feel like we are doing something of worth for someone and not even feel their “type one” appreciation.  Let alone their acknowledgment of “type two” appreciation. 

Here’s the kicker for me, (Please don’t think that I feel like I am reinventing anything here.  It’s early and I’m just typing as I’m thinking) I think I would appreciate what people did for me more if I looked at it in the “type two” way.  What I mean by that is simply, if I can find the value in what someone is doing, I can then appreciate it more than if I am just thankful for them doing it.  Does that make sense?  

If I see the value of what my wife does around the house every day, I can look at that with different eyes.  Not in a monetary sense obviously, but more in the health and well-being of our home sense.  If I can get past simply being grateful for what she is doing and see the real worth of it, I can appreciate it differently.  The same goes with employees or co-workers.  If I can see the real value of what they are doing to better a company or product, it’s helps me appreciate what they are doing more than just being thankful.

I don’t know if this is anything new to you, but to me and my quest to “appreciate” and be “appreciated” this hit me differently this morning.  Try that today.  Try to view the things that people are doing for you as valuable, and appreciate them in a way that acknowledges their worth.  I wonder if we will see things differently.

What do you think?

Facing your bed do you sleep on the left or the right? I’m on the right.
 

How much did you weigh when you were born?  Who was the biggest? Smallest?

We’ve had TobyMac’s albums for a while now.  The boys love them, and for high energy music it’s good to have something playing in the car that isn’t cussing every other word or talking about all sorts of sexual escapades.  

Parents, you get it.  Non-parents that think that your musical tastes don’t have to change when you have kids, just wait until your three year old utters his first chorus, and lets out a string of obscenities that you never even realized were in that song you’ve been singing for years.

Recently we picked up Toby’s new DVD and the boys like to watch it and jump around like they are on stage playing their guitar hero guitar and working on their head spins.  Tonight instead of book time before bed the boys asked if we could watch the Toby DVD.  Since mom was going out, I thought it would be fine so even now, as I am typing this the boys are singing along.

Here’s the funny part.  Even though we have had the records for a while now, I heard a part of a song that I had never heard before that literally had me stop and look up the lyrics online.  It’s from a song call “Yours”.  Here’s how the second verse goes.

Simple minded little punk
Thought I was the junk
Nobody ever told me that my doo-doo stunk
What was I out of my mind
Or was I just trippin’ on an ego
But You filled up the space and You never let me go

I’d like to take this moment to officially here on “…in case you were wondering.” let Toby, and everyone else reading, know that though I can’t confirm one hundred percent, I’m willing to go out on a limb and possibly be the first to proclaim publicly that Toby’s “doo-doo” in fact does stink.  There it is people.  Yes, I went there.  Toby’s doo-doo stinks.  

Normally I follow up my post with a question, but I think I will leave this one alone.

So some of you may have noticed my little bunny that has popped up here and there.  Well today since I have nothing really to blog about and it’s a weekend anyway, I wanted to point out that now up in my address bar I have my little bunny sitting up there too.  Randy figured it out and made it work.  

We are currently hanging out at a very loud, busy cafe’ trying to get some work done and I think my brain is being over stimulated.  It was quiet here when we got here but the lunch rush has shown up and it’s kind of freaking me out. 

In other news, check out Mr. Wickham and his two posts in one day.  He has said, with his own mouth, “it’s time to step it up with the blogging”, so expect some more awesomeness from him.  Not to mention a pretty rad announcement on Monday.

You will also note that below this post is another button directing you all to today’s 40 Day Fast post.  Make sure you take the time to click that and check out the two posts today.  I love how two very different parts of the world are represented today, Paris and India.  It really shows the point of this whole thing and how far it can reach.  

Have a great Saturday.

Anyone who has spent any amount of time with me knows that I am a complete idiot when it comes to ordering food. Typically the only thing that I consistently am able to get right is when I say “no tomatoes”. I can do that okay. The rest is a train wreck.

Here’s how it usually goes.  I will look intently at a menu, whether it be something on the wall above a Taco Bell employee or a menu in my hand.  And I will stare at this menu for a good amount of time knowing full well in the back of my mind, that I’m not really reading anything or even noticing that I am looking at something.  My mind is somewhere else and I know what’s about to happen. Everyone else that I am with will have ordered and the circle of ordering around the table stops at me.

At this point the pressure is now elevated to the point where, even if I wanted to, there’s no possible way of concentrating on what I actually want to eat.  The waiter or waitress tapping their pencil on their little pad of paper.  The annoyed Taco Bell teenager popping their gum and shifting back and forth on their feet swaying left to right.  I start to panic and scan the menu for the first picture that looks appealing and point at that, following it up with a “no tomatoes”.  Yes! Got that part right.

Here’s the problem with The Order Disorder.  You end up with something that ten minutes later you will be sitting there asking yourself, “Why did I even get this?  What made me think this would even be decent?”.  And then there’s the inevitable, “This looks nothing like the picture!”.  

You know why you’re disappointed, Brody?  Here’s why.  Because you ordered by grunting at a picture and giving no thought to what you were doing.  That’s why you have something sitting in front of you called “Lard Nar” and are flipping it around with your fork trying to come up with some part that looks edible.  But at least there are no tomatoes.

And don’t get me started on trying to ask a question about a specific menu item.  If I ask a question about it, chances are I am just going to panic and get whatever the waiter or waitress recommends.  ”Yeah, sure, that sounds fine.”  I can probably be talked in to ordering anything even if it sounds really nasty.  It’s sad really.

I know there are plenty of people reading this that have witnessed my panic when it comes to ordering.  Randy was making fun of me yesterday for it.  Anyone else out there suffer from The Order Disorder?  Maybe we should start a support group or something.

So, I thought about something this morning as I was mowing and it’s been in me head all day. I’ve decided that I have a theory that there are three different types of people in the world and their “types” can be changed if they try hard enough, but really I just came to the conclusion that I have no idea what I am talking about and thought I would share.

The Type Q:  The Type Q person is the organized one.  The doctors, the lawyers, the dentists, people like that.  They know what they want and they go for it.  They are professionals.  They set alarm clocks on Saturday’s, read entire newspapers, and are predictable.  Not predictable in a bad way.  Predictable in a reliable way.  These are the people you want in charge of money, and schedule.  

The Type M:  These are the folks who occasionally miss important things, they remember where their keys are but are wondering the parking lot looking for their car.  They have the ability to be a Type Q but if given the opportunity would sneak off and take a nap.  These guys will intentionally do something different simply to prove they are not a “Q”, but then feel awkward about choosing to do that.  They are a bit flighty, but can be trusted in a serious moment and genuinely try to be as organized as possible.  There’s a lot more to say about the Type M, but unfortunately Type M’s also forget about what they were thinking about while they were mowing.

The Type Y:  These are the one’s that you can count on being late to things.  They have lost their keys and their car is still parked at the bus station.  They typically can’t spell well, and somehow function in society perfectly fine.  These are the people you want in charge of anything creative in your life.  You want them planning the parties, you want them writing the music, and you want them to answer their phone they lost.  You know the one’s I am talking about.  They are the most fun to be around, if you can track them down long enough to hang out.

So here are my thoughts.  Most people will want to fall into the “M” category.  They want to be the fun-loving goof ball, but only when it means they can be arty and weird.  When they want a job they turn that off and be a serious asset.  To be honest I think a lot people are “M’s” but we all know the “Q’s” and “Y’s” are out there.  Here’s the thing.  I think “Q’s” secretly want to be “M’s” because they think they are a little cooler than they are.  “M’s” can get away with not shaving for a week, and wearing flip-flops to work for a day.  

“M’s” secretly wish they were a little more like the “Y’s” because they have it in them but can’t let go of the “Q” in them.  They can’t bring themselves to not run spell check before sending the e-mail.  They want to have days where they forget to get dressed and leave the shower running for four hours because they see the need for embracing that free spirit.  The problem is, in the back of “M’s” mind they know that the water bill is going to come and then start stressing out about leaving the shower on.

“Y’s” get annoying at being a “Y” a lot of the time, because they know that it’s frustrating to not accomplish things they want to do.  They wish they hadn’t unplugged their alarm clock before a big meeting, and they hate that they need to rely on the “Q’s” to take care of them.  They want to be self-sufficient, but realize that unless they concentrate harder than ever the best they can shoot for is to become an “M”.

I think each type has it’s own benefits and down sides.  “Q’s” can do anything they set their mind to.  They can come up with a strategy to take on the world and follow through.  “M’s” have the ability to create something and turn it in to something effective.  If they paint, they have the knowledge to sell it.  If they write songs, they can muster the ability to market it.  You get the idea.  ”Y’s” are the creators.  They are the ones staying up all night creating a personality theory that holds no merit.  They are the ones embracing the beauty of the world around them and causing other people to embrace it as well.

Here’s where it gets weird.  I believe everyone is born a “Y”.  Don’t believe me?  Tell that to a two-year-old the next time you see him cramming spaghetti in his ear.  Tell that to the toddler dancing stark naked around the room to a cell phone ringtone.  Every child is a “Y”, and that’s why we adults marvel at watching them being a “Y”.  Before jobs, and stress and money and influence bombarded our lives, we were all once a “Y”.  I sort of miss it, but that’s because I think I am an “M”.

Here’s the first reason I think I am an “M”.  I’m writing this stupid post at midnight because I have been thinking about it all day.  Another thing that show’s my “M-ness” is the fact that I used “Q, M, and Y” as my types.  You thought I would have used “A, B and C” right?  Or maybe “1, 2 and 3″?  Nope.  I also think I am an “M” because there are more days than not where I desperately want to be a “Y”.  I want to forget about the stresses of life, the fear of danger, the lack of money, the unknown.  I want to forget about that stuff and laugh about cramming spaghetti in my ear.  I want to turn the stairs in my house into a water slide and not worry about repairs.  But then I realize those are things that also make life valuable.  I live the idea of supporting my family and creating a better life for them.  I love the idea of taking nothing and turning it in to something.   

Like I said, this thing is absolutely not a legit theory and most likely today was more of a “Y” day for me.  The scary part about this is, that I could probably keep typing about this for hours.  But hey, at least I haven’t started making up my own language.  So if you are still reading this, and I’m not sure why, what are you?  A “Q”, an “M” or a “Y”?

So, typically I am down with the Urban Dictionary.  See how I did that?  I said I was “down with it”, because I’m a pretty urban fella.  Well today, my friends, I am not so down with the Urban Dictionary and let me tell you why.  The reason I’m not down, is because of the definitions that it came up with for my name.  I mean I know that the “definitions” are submitted by people out there, but what I am wondering is if people are actually using my name in this way?  If so, it’s a little awesome and a little not. Check it out.

I’d recommend checking your name, but you probably will be bummed at what you see.