Where Is God When? (Week 12 bumper video)

This latest video was tough for me to do. For obvious reasons, my mind has been a bit distracted these past few days. Plus, I took Monday off in the aftermath of Jana's injury. I didn't think this video would be one of the better ones.

I showed it to Nick and he liked it, from the music to the silliness of the guy throwing rocks. I felt relief. I obviously want to do good work, but I want what I do to work in the services as well. Nick's reaction was encouraging.

So, here's the latest...

Donut + Maple Icing + Bacon = Awesome

I just found out about a new bakery in town, Swirls Donuts & Bakery. I went by over the lunch hour. While their selection may not have been what it is in the morning, I wasn't disappointed in the least bit.

Good stuff!

Thanks

Today was the first day, since Jana's injury, that I felt some stability with everything that is going on in my life. I returned to work yesterday, but even then it took awhile to mentally transition back into the projects I was working on before.

Granted, there is still a long road of recovery and rehabilitation for Jana, but we'll be okay. A key reason why we'll be okay is because of so many people who have rallied around us with their encouragement, prayers and support.

To thank everyone would require an exhaustive list here! If I don't mention you, it doesn't mean I'm not aware of your help.

First person I want to thank is Jana's mom, Alice Metcalf. Within hours of the injury occurring she was purchasing a ticket to fly out to Omaha to help out. She has been and will be providing care to Jana for the next month, here in Omaha and in Ohio. She's done numerous things, and her presence has helped in bringing some calm back into our lives.

A number of coworkers have been great. Lead Pastor Mark Ashton was one of the first people to respond. He offered up his van, if I needed it to get my family to Ohio. A number of staff offered help with meals and watching the boys. My bosses have been superb as usual. Nick Kelly has given me increased flexibility with my schedule and been understanding. Nancy Fager is lending me her Suburban so I can take everyone to Ohio. This is great because it has the space for Jana to stretch out her leg, and if any freakish snow storms pop up I will be in better shape than if I was driving something else. (That's a big deal after driving to Ohio last year and getting caught in lake-effect snow.)

Brian and Jen Smith were great servants in their willingness to watch our boys Saturday afternoon, into Saturday night, and into Sunday morning. Liam still talks about their three kids and how they are his new friends. Jamey Hendricksen was phenomenal in taking charge of the situation when Jana's injury initially happened. If he wouldn't have been there things would've been more chaotic and I don't know if we get to the ER as soon as we did. (I think we're sold on the small group we've joined!)

Shawn Hartley and Rahul Gupta are two guys I've connected with through Twitter. I've only met each of them once, but we've chatted a bit online from time to time. When I tweeted about Jana's injury, Shawn was letting other people know in his network about the situation. He was offering help and assistance, and wanted to get others on board. Rahul is in both of our Twitter networks, and he offered assistance as well. Both of them gave financially to help us with costs in getting the family out to Ohio. Jana and I were humbled and touched by their generosity and kind words.

Keeping it with Twitter, there were a number of people who offered help. It's been amazing to hear from people I don't know all that well that want to help us out. Their encouraging notes and tweets have been great. Can't list everyone, but thanks to Jeremy Hogan, Steve Gordon, Aaron Weiche, Dan Holke, Eric Downs and many, many more.

Our neighbors have been there for us as well. For example, James Walsh was one of the first people to offer help by providing a meal. His wife Melissa, and her kids, came over on Monday with it. It was nice because we had a friend over, and the boys had kids to play with for awhile as well.

The list goes on and on. I could easily list out twenty more names/families without blinking. Every day it is someone new who is offering help, and offering in a way where you know it isn't some token thing. People really want to help us out. I'm grateful. And they do it without expecting anything in return. I was at a TweetUp event last night, and I was thanking Rahul. He just smiled and said, "It made my day to be able to help you."

I'm continually blessed by people. Friends, family, coworkers, neighbors and strangers. It's not like I didn't know that before, that Jana and I were blessed with the people we have contact with, but one of the good things to come out of this has been realizing the depth of compassion and kindness by the community around us.

Thank you so much. May God bless you all back tenfold for the way you have blessed us.

Awe Amidst Fracture

Since Saturday afternoon, life has been surreal. Perhaps for reasons that you may not think. Despite Jana's injury, and the ramifications of it, there have been countless moments of joy, surprise and awe since Saturday. Moments that can't seem to be captured by words. We've been blessed by so many, and by people we don't even know. Before I write about that, here's the latest news.

We saw the orthopedist this afternoon and not much has changed. Jana is not suppose to put any weight on her left leg for 6-8 weeks now. The doctor is amazed she doesn't need surgery, that the tibia isn't displaced. (We've heard from a few people that had the same tibia fracture and all of them needed surgery.) She does have an MRI tomorrow at Lakeside, and another appointment this Friday. Nevertheless, the doctor is fine with us driving to Ohio this weekend, and we have a preliminary plan for Jana's recovery while she is in Ohio.

While at Bergan Mercy today, she also had her soft cast taken off and was fitted with a brace that immobilizes her knee. It's a lot more comfortable for her. She also had a PT session that just dealt with how to get around on crutches while wearing the type of brace she has.

Jana's mom, Alice, flew in from Ohio this morning, and it's been great already. When we got home, she entertained the boys for awhile. This was great because Jana was able to rest and I was able to clean up the house a bit. What's also great? Alice is a nurse. She can help Jana out with her recovery in ways I couldn't. She also asks questions at the appointments that I wouldn't think to ask, but am glad she does ask.

Liam and Duncan have been doing well, considering the schedule upheaval and not quite grasping everything that is happening. Liam has started telling people that "mommy has a hurt knee". I think he understands he has to be careful around her, but Duncan has no idea. (Duncan is also 17 months old.) They both seem to have moments where they are tired and exasperated, they want to be held and cuddled a bit more (which we don't mind!), but all in all they've been great amidst the chaos.

Jana experiences pain in cycles, but it hasn't been as bad as she thought. We've heard that the second week after broken/fractured bone is the most painful in the healing process. I think the hardest thing for Jana is not being able to interact more with the boys. Tonight she got a bit emotional when she couldn't put Duncan down to bed. Missing out on the little things. Jana was able to read Liam a story in our bed, though.

What adds to the emotions for Jana and I has been the response from family, friends, neighbors and strangers to our situation. My email and cell phone voicemail/text inboxes are full of messages from people wanting to help and/or encouraging us. Jana and I literally don't know where to begin in thanking people. It's overwhelming. Today was another busy day, but I hope these next few days provide me a chance to write something about how blessed we've been by people.

Thank you, everyone. I'm going to write a post tomorrow solely about the overflow of kindness and compassion we've received since Saturday.

Updates/Prayer Requests

• One of my bosses is letting me use her Suburban to drive everyone out to Ohio this weekend. Thanks to those of you who also offered your vehicle, or were thinking of a way to get me a vehicle.
• I've lost track of how many people have offered to help watch the boys. Thank you so much! Can we take you up on those offers in December? Jana's mom won't be around then, but Jana will still be on crutches through the end of the year.
• We'll leave for Ohio this Saturday. It'll be at least 13 hours of driving. Prayers for easy travel for Jana and the boys would be appreciated! I'll drive back to Omaha on Sunday.
• While we don't think it will, we still hope that MRI tomorrow doesn't reveal any other injury to the knee.
• You're more than welcome to come by and visit. Just contact Jana regarding the timing. You can come in our bedroom and watch the reimagined Battlestar Galactica tv series with her. (She recently just started watching the series. Finished up season one today.)
• Jana's recovery would go well in Ohio.
  
• For those who have given to us my hope and prayer is they receive the same blessing back tenfold.
  

Update On Jana's Fractured Leg

As some of you know, Jana fractured her tibia and ruptured her quadricep tendon, in her left leg, yesterday. We were at a friend's house for a small group get together. Most the people were playing sand volleyball, while a handful of us were still watching the Husker game.

During a commercial break I went to go check on Duncan, who was napping. He was screaming and crying so I went to try and calm him down. After a few minutes he was fine, but when I went to put him down again he started screaming and crying. At that moment, someone walked in and said, "You're wife has hurt her knee playing volleyball."

I was ready to run to Jana, but Duncan is screaming. The guy offers help and I ask if he can watch Duncan. (And I'm really sorry but I can't recall his name since we just joined the small group and this was our second time meeting with the group. A nice guy who helped me out in a pinch. Many thanks to him.)

I go down to the sand pit and I see everyone huddled around Jana, who is laying on the ground. She's in obvious pain. (Before I got there she was apparently writhing.) Thankfully, one of the guys there, Jamey Hendricksen, is an EMT. He's checking on Jana by the time I get there. What was great was him taking control and just calming things down. Jana says she heard a cracking and popping sound. He thinks it's a tendon in her knee.

What was sweet during this was Liam coming over and checking on Jana on his own accord. He did this before I got down there, and when I was there he would come over and ask Jana, "Are you okay, Mommy?". His face showed concern. It made me smile.

We get Jana moved and in a chair. She can't put any weight on the leg without adding to the immense pain. We start icing her knee. Jamey tells us we need to go to the ER and get it checked out. He tells us to go to Immanuel and where we can drive up so someone will come out with a wheelchair.

I'm hearing this and trying to think about the boys, but Brian and Jen Smith offer their services to watch them before I can ask anyone. We unload the car seats, say goodbye to Liam (Duncan is finally asleep we are told) and everyone else, and pull away for the ER.

We start driving and I start discussing plans about what we need to do after we leave the ER, but then Jana starts crying. She's not holding back on how much she hurts. I'm doing my best to comfort her while getting to Immanuel as fast as I can within reason.

We pull up and everything goes exactly like Jamey said it would. We get checked in and then we wait for an hour. The ER is backed up. We begin to hear the response, "You were playing sand volleyball?!?" Yep. Jana actually had on three pairs of socks to keep her feet warm while playing, but now all they are doing is keeping her cold since they got wet while playing. I take them off her, while waiting, and we proceed to get sand all over the place.

We get back to the room and the staff start taking care of her. The initial diagnosis is an injury to her quadricep tendon. Jana gets a shot of morphine and they prep for x-rays. They were going to take x-rays to see if there were any bone chips as a result of the tendon injury. However, the x-rays reveal a fracture to her tibial plateau. (Huh?) Near the top of her tibia, just below the knee, is where the fracture is. The concern is the bone could be displaced and that would require surgery.

While this is going on I'm trying to think through what needs to happen with Jana and the boys. Who can help out when I can't be there for them in the upcoming days and weeks.

We're fortunate that an orthopedic specialist, whose specialty is knees, happens to be at Immanuel checking on another patient. They put in a call to him and he is able to come by and start the process of checking on Jana. They also prep Jana for a CT scan to find out more details about the injury. Surgery still remains a distinct possibility that night.

CT scan happens and then we wait an hour for the results. In the meantime, I start calling people and making plans. An early development is Jana's mom being able to come out Monday to help out. The boys are doing well with the Smiths. I am relieved a bit.

Results come back from the scan and it is a ruptured quadricep tendon, along with the fractured tibia, but surgery is not needed at the moment. However, it's very precarious. Jana absolutely cannot put weight on her left leg at a minimum of 4-6 weeks. If she does she could do further damage to her knee and surgery would then be required. The particular brace needed to immobilize her knee is out of stock, so they put Jana's left leg in a soft cast.

At this point I realize we're not getting out of the hospital till close to 10. I call the Smiths and they offer to watch the boys for the night. Liam and Duncan are doing exceptionally well, considering everything. They probably enjoyed playing with the Smith's three kids!

The staff go over things with Jana and me. Monday morning we need to set up an appointment with the orthopedic specialist we just saw. We begin the process of checking out and heading home.

After picking up some Sonic (one of the few places open after 10 PM), we make it home. Jana is talking to her mom about an idea I had. Jana's mom comes out on Monday, stays a week, but then I drive Jana, the boys and her mom back to Ohio where Jana can recuperate better. Plus, her mom's house is much more conducive to someone in Jana's condition than our split level home. We were already planning to be out in Ohio for Thanksgiving, so I'd drive back out there in a few weeks. Granted, part of this depends on the orthopedist and the diagnosis.

So, that's the latest. Jana didn't sleep particularly well last night. She's taking pain medication every 6 hours. When we go see the orthopedist we'll be able to get the soft cast off and get her into a brace.

Thanks to everyone who has prayed, emailed, texted, posted something on Facebook, called, offered help and whatever else I may have missed. Thanks. Considering everything, I was grateful the injury happened when we were around friends. Not only that, but people we'd trust to watch the boys in our absence. And, there was an EMT there who checked on Jana initially.

Please continue to pray for us. What can you pray for?

• Jana's health
• Quick recovery
• Liam and Duncan would understand situation as best they can. Especially so that they don't jump on Jana's knee when wanting to play or cuddle.
• Jana's mobility while recuperating
• Pain in leg would subside
• Need to borrow van or suburban to drive Jana, her mom, and the boys out to Ohio. Our car won't work with Jana's injury and how her leg has to be positioned. (She rode in the backseat on the way home last night.)
• Gratefulness for staff at Immanuel that cared for her.
• Costs would be minimal

Thanks again.

Invictus Trailer

I would want to see this film anyway, but after producing the special Kingdom Color audio feature, which looked at Omaha's civil rights history, I'm even more inclined to see this film.

From the Apple movie trailer page for Invictus:
From director Clint Eastwood, “Invictus” tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), to help unite their country.

Links

The latest and greatest batch of links to articles, blogs and stories that I find interesting, intriguing and insightful. Do I endorse every thing said on these links? Not always, but still thought it was a worthwhile read. Registration may be required on some of the links. I always forget which ones since I always stay logged in to the site.

There's been a lot of increased debate over the United States war in Afghanistan. I thought the following recent articles were interesting on the matter.
The Three Envelopes by Charles Krauthammer
More Schools, Not Troops by Nicholas Kristof
A 'Necessary' War? by Peggy Noonan

"Eating The Dinosaur": Football by Chuck Klosterman - An excerpt from the latest book of essays, Eating The Dinosaur, by Chuck Klosterman.

Why Email No Longer Rules by Jessica Vascellaro - I'll keep saying it until people take me serious, email as we know it is antiquated.

The Internet Is Altering Our Brain by Live Science - A recent UCLA study on how increased use of the internet is changing our brains.

Tell a Story That's True by Kevin Hendricks - Those forwarded Christian emails are usually not true, so why do people continue to send them on to people?

Faith No More by Christopher Hitchens - "Humanist and anti-theist" writes about his recent debates and interactions with Christianity.

It's His Rubble Now by Peggy Noonan - At some point, President Barack Obama is going to have to stop blaming the Bush Presidency for everything and own the Presidency.

The Jeter Bunt by Joe Posnanski - Posnanski delves into the legend of Derek Jeter and how it relates to a mistake Jeter made in Game 2 of the World Series.

Mobile Use Is Linked To Brain Tumours by Daily Express - At one point, numerous people used to smoke cigarretes without thinking they caused lung cancer.

The Fear Factor by Michael Specter - A bit of fact and a bit of history with flu immunizations amidst the swine flu fears and hype.

Where Is God When? (Week 11 bumper video)

Just finished the latest bumper video. This one is a bit different. It's a parody of the intro to the television show Arrested Development. The reason being family dynamics. This bumper introduces the message Where Is God When I Have Kids?.

Curry Fries & Mayo #42

#42, which reminds me of Lost, which has a cool alternative reality game (ARG) going on at the moment from its creators that I've been following. As Lost heads into its final season, it has gathered together artists to create limited-edition posters from signature moments on the show. Cool posters that fans of the show have snapped up quickly. I would know since I've snapped up some! (click here)

So, if the Huskers don't win at Baylor this Saturday, do they win another game this season?

What my limited experience teaches me about online advertising? Facebook crushes Google for what we're trying to do at CCC.

Been enjoying the Radiolab podcast lately.

How different are dogfighting and football? (click here)

A pop culture holiday for me. Today is awesome with the release of Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, and Bill Simmons' The Book Of Basketball. The BSG release is in all likelihood the final part of the story of the reimagined series. Simmons' book I'm looking forward to because I always enjoy when he discusses basketball in his columns and podcasts.

I had a bad first impression of Scooter's Coffeehouse when I ordered a cappuccino the first time there, a few years ago, and it was awful. Always steered clear of it. Lately, I've been going there and have been impressed by the coffee and service.

To be a good environmentalist one must not eat meat or have children. I guess I'm a bad environmentalist.

Probable American League MVP, Joe Mauer, only struck out once in high school. That's crazy.

A faction of Christians are a naive and gullible lot, which hurts in the message we're trying to convey. (click here)

Someone I know posted this on Facbeook. Pardon the grammar. what point does "traditional" bcm a copout 4 active ignorance of a larger wrld? Eventually, it takes a lot of effort 2 stay closed off

I hope the Phillies beat the Yankees in the World Series.

Good stuff from Amsterdam as always. Food is nice, but conversation and vibe is better.

Back to work...

Incompletions

My Firefox browser has way too many tabs going at the moment. I usually keep tabs up as reminders for blog posts, but I haven't been able to blog as much recently. So, some incomplete thoughts on matters I'd love to expound upon more.

On one end of the debate you have environmentalists predicting disaster and catastrophe if more isn't done to protect the environment. (Recently, UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said they had 50 days to save the world from global warming. Click here to read.) And, you have the other end of the debate where skeptics have data showing the world's temperatures haven't gone up since 1998. The issue is important, but there seems to be no reasonable debate on it at the moment.

I continue to get ignorant remarks about my work when it comes to social media. People just not seeing it as legitimate work. Unfortunately, Christians trend behind the times. Mix in with that is the recent comment I received from someone here if I ever considered getting back into the "ministry". Sometimes, all I can do is hunker down, focus, and do the best work I can. Helps me combat any ill will that rises up within me from comments made unintentionally, ignorantly or maliciously.

The Boston Red Sox were recently swept in the playoffs and I heard from another commentators that this was the worse Red Sox loss since the 1978 playoff game against the New York Yankees. Hardly. It's hard to call a sweep at the hands of a better team the worse loss in awhile. Especially since the Red Sox won championships in 2004 and 2007. I'd still rank the 2003 ALCS Game 7 extra-inning loss at the hand of the Yankees the worst loss in recent Red Sox history.

So, balloon boy...I'm not sure how many times I self-censored myself and didn't tweet or post something in the aftermath of that Thursday afternoon. I'll say this, I find it despicable that two parents would shamelessly exploit and put their children at risk for the sake of a landing a reality television show.

ESPN's 30 For 30 has been a treat to watch. I've said it before and I'll say it again, The Band That Wouldn't Die was one of the best sports films I've ever seen. To me, it captured the essence of most sports fans. When people write about fans they usually write about the crazed fanatics which do a disservice to most fans. This film captured a community connected with its team. Fans who do have a proper perspective on life, but also loyal to its team which is a part of their community and representative of it. I thought if you changed the team you'd hear any sports fan talking about their team. I could hear a lot of Husker football fans in the words and tenor of the stories being shared. For example, Husker fans didn't literally lose the football team during the Steve Pedersen tenure, but it felt like it. Husker fans lost that connection with the team, and the team stopped reflecting proudly on the state and its people. And, the joy the people talked about when the team returned was similar to when Tom Osborne and Bo Pelini were put in charge of the program. If you get the chance, watch this documentary.