You know you drink too much coffee when...

Okay I came across this list and thought it so appropriately sums up my obsession with the "bean". So if this resonates with you and coffee flows richly through your blood stream give a shout back and let me know your out there.






You know you drink too much coffee when …

You don’t need a hammer to pound nails.

Your only source of nutrition comes from “sweet and low.”

You don’t sweat, you percolate.

You’ve worn out the handles on your favorite mug.

You’ve built a miniature city out of plastic stirrers.

People get dizzy just watching you.

People can test their batteries in your ears.

When someone asks you,” how are you?”, you say,” good to the last drop.”

Your birthday is a national holiday in brazil.

You’d be willing to spend time in a Turkish prison.

You go to sleep just so you can wake up and smell the coffee.

You speak perfect Arabic without even taking a lesson.

Your thermos is on wheels.

You can outlast the Energizer Bunny.

You don’t even wait for the water to boil anymore.

You think being called a drip is a compliment.

You don’t tan, you roast.

You don’t get mad, you get steamed.

You soak your dentures in coffee overnight.

Your coffee mug is insured by Lloyds of London.

You think CPR stands for “Coffee Provides Resuscitation.”

Juan Valdez named his donkey after you.

You ski uphill.

You speed walk in your sleep.

You answer the door before people knock.

You sleep with your eyes open.

You just completed another sweater and you don’t know how to knit.

You grind your coffee beans in your mouth.

You have to watch videos in fast-forward.

The only time you’re standing still is in an earthquake.

You lick your coffeepot clean.

Your eyes stay open when you sneeze.

The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse.

Your t-shirt says, “Decaf is the devil’s coffee.”

You can type sixty words a minute with your feet.

All your kids are named “Joe.”

Well Shiver Me Timbers

Well thanks to Heth and Tommy Boy here's my pirate name for anyone who might be interested. If I was a pirate I definitely would want to have a hook because then I could do really cool tricks on the jungle gym and would have my own built in back scratcher. I would also like having a parrot because then when I say dumb stuff (which has been known to happen time to time) I could just blame it on my stupid parrot.

My pirate name is:

Captain Tom Cash

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. You're musical, and you've got a certain style if not flair. You'll do just fine. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

All For One

Here's another excerpt from my LIFE Journal. I actually have been off a bit this week because of illness and I've missed it. I'm glad to be getting back to into the groove. Truthfully I miss the time with the Lord, there is just no substitution.

SCRIPTURE - "Through the work of the apostles, many God-signs were set up among the people, many wonderful things done. They all met regularly and in remarkable harmony on the Temple porch named after Solomon. But even though people admired them a lot, outsiders were wary about joining them. On the other hand, those who put their trust in the Master were added right and left, men and women both. " Acts 5:12-14

OBSERVATION - Unity among people always brings with it powerful results. It is so clear that the early church experienced community in a way that is so hard for us to find in our present day. Their purpose was singular, to see the kingdom of God established on earth, to bring in the harvest. They knew their cause was greater than any one person's preferences, goals, or agendas. There was a deep awareness within the disciples that this was God's deal, He was running the show. The choice was crystal clear either grab hold and go with it, or to quickly get out of the way. Those who chose to stand in the way got ran over. That's why the most dangerous place on the road is in the middle because eventually if you don't choose a lane your going to end up becoming part of the pavement.

APPLICATION - One of the greatest problems that the church faces today is our lack of unity. It's no wonder there are still people in the world who have yet to hear the gospel, when were spending so much of our time fighting with each other. We are forced to expend so much energy just trying to undo the misconceptions that people have about the church and God due largely to our lack of harmony between those who profess to be Christians.

Honestly, if I didn't believe in God, but was searching to see if I could find truth within Christianity, my greatest objection would not be "why do bad things happen to good people", it would simply be why do those who say they love God seem to have so much trouble loving one another. I mean think about it. If I'm looking in from the outside and I'm searching for something real, something beyond what has been dealt to me by the world, why would I choose Christianity.

We have enough denominations and churches to support every personal preference and agenda that's out there, yet our division keeps us from really seeing the power of God unleashed in our personal lives and in the lives of our churches. The Enemy has a pretty easy job to do because he's got so many of us working hard for his cause. No need to recruit more help, not while there's plenty of good ole church going folk to carry out his plans.

The most disappointing thing about all this is while we busy ourselves arguing and fighting over non-issues, there still remains so many who are confused, frustrated, and disenchantment with the garbage they see. They have been thoroughly disappointed by the hollowness of religion, but still wonder and search for a real personal, powerful God. They're holding out hope that beneath all the trash there is still something of beauty to be found.

I know it sounds like I'm venting on the church right now, but truthfully if I'm to do so I must include myself as part of the problem and solution at hand. How guilty am I of pushing my own agenda, desiring my way instead of fighting for the things that are closest to my Heavenly Father's heart. You see I still believe in the church, not a church, not my church, but the church, the bride that Jesus is coming back to claim one day. I still believe. Most importantly God still believes in His church. When the body of Christ comes together in single purpose, with hearts and minds joined together, it cannot be stopped. This unstoppable force is what the world has been dying to see at work. When it works, it works better than any piece of legislature, social reform, or 12 step program.

We would do well to go back to our Bibles and read, reread and read again the book of Acts until it gets out of our heads and starts to sink into our hearts. It begins with you, it begins with me. We must fight for unity and when we find it we must protect it, never taking it for granted, but instead diligently preserving it at all costs.

PRAYER - Father help us. Forgive us for the harm we have caused your kingdom. Forgive the way in which our actions have resulted in distorting who you truly are. Help us to heal, help us to love, and help us to live beyond our own self-centeredness. Let us not settle for the kingdom of "tomorrow", but let us hunger for the kingdom of "today". May we be instruments used to bring your kingdom to the earth, here and now. May we see your people join with one heart and mind for your purpose and plan. Teach us to love you and to love the world around us. Through the unity of your church may we see your power and works released in us, through us, and into all the world. Amen!

QUARANTINED!

Well it's official. It seems that I have that thing they call "The Kissing Disease". Here I thought I was just real tired and bored, but it looks like Mono has struck. So here I am stuck at home, can't kiss my wife, can't kiss my kids, and nobody wants to be around me.

Maybe I'll take this time to get reacquainted with Days Of Our Lives. Once in college I went through a bad slump and found myself addicted to this stupid show. The thing is even though its been years since I watched it I know I could flip it on today and it would pick up where I left off. Soap opera story lines never move. In fact they really were the ones who pioneered the idea of 24. They make 24 hours drag on longer than any other show on television.

Anyway, just thought I'd let you all know that I will be hunkered down in my cave for a week or so. If you are one of the fortunate people to have had this lame sickness give a shout out and let me know. I guess in between my long naps I will spend my time trying to master The Red Square Challenge (thanks to Beefy) and reading this cool book I just got called "Walk On, The Spiritual Journey of U2". I love those guys. Well that's it for today, "like sands through the hour glass so are the days of our lives."

Long Live Nintendo!!

Well I decided to post this blog out of my deep love and affection for Nintendo. When I was a kid I was not aloud to have a game system in the house because of course as we all know video games rot the brain. So instead what I would do is scrounge up $2.50 from the couch cushions and gutters (by the way chewing gum on the end of a stick is still the best method for this) and I would head off on my BMX for the arcade for the Saturday morning early bird special (25 tokens for $2.50). Man I miss those days. I would also get my fill of brain rot by regularly heading to my buddy Dan's house after school to play hours of Asteroids and Pitfall on his Atari.

Then in 1986 my world changed forever. The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) hit stores in the United States, and the shot was heard round the world. Bye bye joy stick, hello game pad. We quickly kicked aside the Atari with its Missile Command and Pac Man and said hello to Zelda, Super Mario Brothers and Metroid. Whhhhhhhhhhhhoooooooooooooooooooooo Baaaaaaaaaaaaabbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbyyy!!!!!!!!!!!

For the record I want to mention that it wasn't until I became a responsible, married adult that I finally was freed to purchased my first game system for home use. That was in 2002 and the system was the Nintendo Game Cube.

Now the real reason I posted all this was because I came across this video that I thought was really cool and I wanted to post a link to it below. Even if your not a gaming fan you should go check this out because its pretty darn clever. This is an a cappella musical ensemble that does a tribute to Nintendo music at the end of their concert. I was blown away. Now this is the kind of art we should be teaching our young people. Move over Mozart, bring on the Tetris.

Nintendo A Cappella

The Pursuit Of "More"

I decided that with this post I would try something different. At the church the staff has been moving through a lot of exciting changes and by far the most impacting of these has been in the way we do our personal devotions. We use a reading list that gives us the passages to read for the day and then we use what is called a LIFE journal to write our thoughts and reflections.
Without going into a long explanation of how it works it follows the acrostic SOAP. S-is for scripture, O-for observation, A-for application, and P-for prayer. There are probably a lot of variations of this floating around, but the bottom line is it's doing a lot for my walk with God personally, in my marriage, and with our team at the church.

One thing that has become clear to me is that through interacting with The Word of God in this way I find that I'm having a much easier time hearing God's voice. I know that might sound elementary, but for a lot of people their is a great deal of confusion surrounding how to hear God's voice. The thing that connects with me is that the Bible is called The Word, so it makes a lot of sense that God would use The Word to speak clearly to our hearts, both through the revelation of what we read and through our response to it. Anyway, without going into it any further what I wanted to do was just post an entry from my journal and share it with you my friends with hopes that it might be a means of encouragement to you. So here it goes.

SCRIPTURE - Why is everyone Hungry for more?
"More, more," they say. "More, more."
I have God's more-than-enough,
More joy in one ordinary day
Than they get in all their shopping sprees.
At day's end I'm ready for sound sleep,
For you, God, have put my life back together.

Psalm 4:6-8 (The Message)

OBSERVATION - We live in a consumer society, with the mentality of getting all that we can as fast as we can. There is a vacancy in the heart of man that desires to be filled. It is this emptiness that God deeply desires to occupy. It was designed for Him and Him alone. Because of this nothing short of God's presence can ever satisfy the driving pursuit of "more". No amount of people, possessions, or pleasures will ever quench the thirst of man's soul for the living God. Jesus promises His followers life. He doesn't promise a mediocre existence, but instead a powerful abundant life that doesn't end here on this earth, but instead lasts forever.

APPLICATION - It's difficult at times to say "no" to the attractive things that this world has to offer. I can't believe that after all this time I still find myself fooled into thinking that this world has anything of lasting value for me. As I write these words I am listening to the worship song "Rescue" where the first line of the song is , "You are the source of life."

How true this statement is. Everything else is hollow and empty. You promise what is lasting and eternal while the world offers what is fading and fleeting.

"This world has nothing for me. I will follow you. This world has nothing for me."

PRAYER - Lord, I have tasted and seen. Don't allow myself to be deceived by the trappings of this world. I have drank from your "living water", I have fed from the "bread of life". As scripture says, "For you, God have put my life back together." You took my mess of a life and you put me back together, reformed and reshaped for you purpose and your plans.

Today, this day, you are the "More" I desire. More of you Lord. More of your presence and power in my life. I pray that you would help me to pursue you and you alone. Let me be a part of leading others to "living water", to the "bread of life". There are so many who are starving for you. Use me to lead them to the fulfillment that I have found in you. Let me be able to say as the sun sets this evening, "At days end I'm ready for sound sleep." I have found the "More" that I was looking for. Amen!

Thanks for letting me share these thoughts with you. I do pray that you will find encouragement as you read them and that God would bless you in amazing ways as you start this new week.

Why I'm Jacked Up

Ok here's the scoop. I have this friend, to maintain his anonymity we'll call him Bob. Bob got me hooked on this show called 24 and now life is no longer the same for me. I guess you could say I'm pretty Jacked up. In fact because of 24 I have these regular delusions that I'm some kind of Counter Terrorist/Special Ops guy. As humorous as that may be to those reading, I think I'm starting to believe it. I mean even when I get in my car and drive I hear music in my head that makes me feel like a special agent. I don't know I think I need some help. Even as we speak I am counting down the minutes until the second part of the premiere begins. I can here the countdown in my head and my pulse is beginning to race. For those of you who have no idea what 24 is I will spare you the explanation. Trust me, your probably better off. After all if it has the same effect on you as it's had on me were all going to be running around with our kevlar vests and sunglasses. OOOh! Hey, gotta go Bob's coming over and the show is about to begin. 6:46... 6:47... 6:48 ...

Back Dormitory Boys

Ok some of you may already know about these guys, but I had to post this link for those who haven't. This duo is known as the "Back Dormitory Boys". Their claim to fame is lip-syncing Backstreet Boys songs and making videos from their dorm room. Their spoof music videos have become so popular that they have been selected by Motorola China to promote mobile phones.They are students at Guangzhou Arts Institute studying sculpting believe it or not. The third guy in the background in most of their videos sits at the computer playing Counter Strike.

I think these guys are hilarious! They are way more entertaining than the real Backstreet Boys and I would pay money to see them. Well I just thought I'd share them with all of you who need a little laugh. Everytime I watch these guys they make me happy!

Back Dormitory Boys

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS A MEME?

I'm sorry but I have no idea what a meme is. Is there a class that I can take to learn blog language. Help me! I desire to be multi-blingual.

Well Heth tagged me, thanks Heth, so here I go doing the meme thingy.

Four jobs you had in your life.

1. Bill's Curb Service. Yes folks at age 13 I was President/CEO of my own company. It wasn't a big company (since I was the only employee), but benefits were good and I had my own logo. Sometimes I think of reviving it. Afterall, if the fire department can't see your house number how are they going to know which house the fires at. What... Oh yeah ... I suppose they could look for the smoke. CRUD! Back to the drawing board.

2. Pizza Hut delivery driver. Best job of my high school career. Grab the pizza, jump in the car, pump the stereo, rip down the road. Oops... Stop Sign! Did you know that cheese is a very flexible substance and can be reformed and shaped with a little finesse.

3. Sang and waited tables for 5 years at Romano's Macaroni Grill. What a great job! Great food, great people, great pay. One problem, CARBS! After that job I began to closely resemble one of the Mario Brothers (as you guessed it was not Luigi).

4. Barrista for Nordaggios Coffee House. I must say I've had some good gigs in my life. I LOVE COFFEE, I LOVE COFFEE, I LOVE COFFEE, I LOVE COFFEE!!!! Whoa! Come back! I'm supposed to sell the stuff, not drink it all.

Four movies you could watch over and over.

1. Empire Strikes Back - best Star Wars movie ever

2. Tommy Boy- ...that's going to leave a mark

3. Napoleon Dynamite - Do I really have to explain why this movie rules.

4. The Lord of The Rings Trilogy - because I have hairy feet too

Four place you've lived.

1. West Covina, California - Don't remember that because we moved when I was 3

2. Eureka, California - You think you've seen trees. I don't think so. A tree you can drive your car through, now that is a tree.

3. Tulsa, Oklahoma - Best thing about living there was falling for this knockout of a blonde. An Iowa girl, who chose to marry me. What was she thinking? Well ones thing for sure I'm never moving to Iowa!

4. Waverly, Iowa - Wait a minute. How did that happen? God, I hear you laughing. You definitely got me. Oh well, we absolutely love it here.

Four TV shows you love to watch.

1. LOST

2. 24

3. Alias (before it went down the pooper)

4. King of Queens reruns

Four places you've been on vacation.

1. Caribbean

2. Europe

3. South Africa

4. Oran, IA (because that's where the floating Jesus head is)

Four websites you visit daily.

1. waverlyopenbible.com - Because someone had the brilliant idea of putting me in charge of that web page. By the way I update that about as much as I update my blog.

2. myspace.com/burchits

3. guildwars.com

4. relevantmagazine.com

Four of your favorite foods

1. Tacos

2. Pizza

3. My dad's ribs

4. Janice Wilson's potato salad

Four places you'd rather be right now

1. In California with my kids

2. Naboo

3. The Farmhouse B&B

4. Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Four bloggers you are tagging

1. Hannah

2. Natalie

3. Nate

4. EP Hat Man

Picking Up Where I Left Off

Apologies to all who are dissapointed with my lack of blogging. I honestly didn't think it would matter much, because I never expected anyone to read it. I finally logged in and read the posts that have been left over the last two months and I must say that I admire the persistance of all of you. I was going to end it all and delete the blog, but have decided that I will give it another go. Now I'm not expecting those who have taken me off of their links to add me back on, instead this is now become about carrying on something that I began. Even if I go it alone I must finish what I started. So to quote the only Whitesnake song I know,

"Here I go again on my own. Going down the only road I've ever known. Like a drifter I was born to walk alone. An i've made up my mind, I ain't wasting no more time, but here I go again, here I go again."