This is a follow-up on my earlier posts.  Please help if you can.  For more information contact Bonnie Duckworth (bonniebcoc@bellsouth.net) or me Timothy Agee (timagee@yahoo.com / Twitter: @timagee):

Your help is needed in three ways:

1. Between 600-800 volunteers are needed for clean- up efforts all over the Bellevue area on Saturday and Sunday.  Please come to the Bellevue Church of Christ building this Saturday, May 8, by 8:00 a.m.  If this starting time should change, you will be notified.
2. We are also in need on Thursday and Friday to help in the homes that have been under water.  Workers should be prepared for filthy and unsanitary conditions – bring gloves and shovels and utility knives if you have them.   Needs are coming in throughout each day as we are operating in a crises mode.   Volunteers should come to the church building for directing to the sites.
3. Financial help would also be welcomed as the Bellevue eldership will use all additional funds to cover the extenuating circumstances of those in need.

Thanks for your consideration, and Please reblog or RT!

…TA

Please see the message below from Bonnie Duckworth with Bellevue Church of Christ regarding the urgent need for help in the Bellevue community. We have no phone service in Bellevue, so she can be reached via email – bonniebcoc@bellsouth.net.  Or you can DM me through Twitter @timagee or via email – timagee@yahoo.com for more information.  Many I have spoken with have said that they are in the process of planning how they can help.  To be perfectly honest, by the time they finish planning, it will be too late.  These homes are beginning to grow mold & mildew, and will soon be unsalvageable.  Please help if you can.  Thanks for your consideration!

»Begin Message»

As most of you know, the Bellevue area has been devastated by flood waters.  We have members who have lost their homes and everything they own to water.  They have asked for our help.  We need men who are able to help with furniture and carpet removal from the flooded homes of our members.  If you know of anyone who is able to help, please have them come to the church and see me for the location where help has been requested.  Volunteers should bring utility knives and shovels w/a flat edges for scraping (I know – I’m not a tool expert).  They should also bring work gloves if they have them.  The Health Dept. is advising that everyone have current tetanus vaccinations.   We will provide food for lunch and plenty of water.

We continue to have no phone service so communications have been a major problem. I’m back up on the internet thanks to a pc card.  Steve also has internet service.  We are trying to hear something from each church member and will appreciate a brief account of anyone where you know their situation.  Please pass this message along to those with whom you may be in contact. 

Your help in this effort will be appreciated more than you will ever know.

Bonnie Duckworth

Secretary, Bellevue Church of Christ

646-9828

»End Message»

I would also add that there is lots of drywall work to be done, so if you have the appropriate tools, that would also be very helpful.

We are Nashville – Section 303

I’ve heard several people today saying they hadn’t heard much information about ways they could help those affected by the flooding in Nashville.  To that end, below are two opportunities to provide assistance to flood victims in the Bellevue community:

(1) I (Tim Agee) will be taking a group from my house to assist a couple in Newsom Station with significant flood damage.  We will be removing tile, sheet rock, cabinets, etc.  We are meeting at 8:30am (05/05) at my house if you can assist.  Send me a DM on twitter @timagee or an email to timagee@yahoo.com if you would like to help.  If we happen to finish early, there are lots of other houses in the area that need help, or we can go meetup with the group from Bellevue Church of Christ (see below).

(2) Alan Thompson, deacon at Bellevue Church of Christ, is putting together work crews to go out and help flood victims tomorrow morning (05/05).  If you can help, please meet at the Bellevue Church of Christ parking lot at 9:00 am, Wednesday morning.  Crews will go to River Plantation, the Meadows, etc. and assist as needed in moving furniture, carpet, etc. from homes that have been flooded.  Even if you can only work one or two hours, your help will definitely be appreciated.

Mission Lazarus: Update: The 3rd Annual Fish & Fiddle Benefit!

Sara – Another Agee Runner in the Making!

My thoughts on the 11th annual Country Music Marathon in Nashville, TN…

Country Music Marathon
April 24, 2010
nashville.competitor.com

My Run:  Overall, the Country Music Marathon (CMM) was my fourth full marathon, and my second in the last four weeks (Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon on 03/28).  In Knoxville, I set a new PR of 3:39, and in the back of my mind hoped that I could improve on that time at the CMM.  I really like running with pace groups, and at the CMM, the pace groups are set every 15 minutes.  It took me a while to decide whether I would run with the 3:45 group, and attempt to pick it up at the end, or try to hang with the 3:30 group.  I ultimately decided to go with the 3:30 group which turned out to be a poor decision considering the conditions on race day.

All week, the forecast had called for severe storms on Saturday, and ultimately the race organizers decided to cut off the full marathon after 4:30.  The prediction was for a first wave of storms that would clear out around 6am, and then a second wave would move in around mid-day.  This is pretty close to how it turned out, but what I didn’t expect was that during this gap there would be warm, sunny, and humid conditions.

I was able to hang with the 3:30 pace group through the first 11 miles or so, but the heat and humidity took a big toll.  Between miles 11 and 12 I hit the wall very hard (bonked).  My heart rate was in the mid 180s, which is much higher than I am used to after coming through the winter months.  I had to walk for a bit to try and lower my heart rate, and began dumping cold water over my head.  I began to think that finishing the race was going to be extremely difficult.  Once I reached the second half of the course, I was able to regain some semblance of a running rhythm, and made the decision that I was going to walk for a couple of minutes at every aid station, and simply focus on finishing.

Really proud of Kate for finishing the Country Music Kid’s Marathon tonight!  She completed 25+ miles over the past 4 weeks, and ran hard the whole way tonight.

Sara Learning to Walk – Part 4

Sara Learning to Walk – Part 3

Sara Learning to Walk – Part 2

Sara Learning to Walk – Part 1

The “ABCs” of Acts

When I was a student at Lipscomb University back in the mid 90s, Dr. Gerald Fulks, one of the Finance/Economics professors (and an Elder at Bellevue Church of Christ), taught a class every semester on personal evangelism. During that class, he made the argument that it was essential to have a good recollection of the main ideas of the book of Acts when attempting to teach someone God’s plan of salvation.

In keeping with this, Dr. Fulks presented the concept of the ABC Outline as a tool for remembering the key points of each chapter. It works by matching the sequence of the alphabet with the sequence of each chapter (i.e. Chapter 1 = A, Chapter 2 = B, and so on). For each chapter, we were encouraged to come up with a keyword that captures the main idea, and also begins with the designated letter.

This has been a powerful tool for me, and is something that I have shared with a number of classes through the years. I’ve always challenged my students to come up with their own keywords, and the following chart contains some of the best from these classes and from my original notes at Lipscomb. I hope this is something you can use, and please let me know if you have any good ideas for alternative keywords.

Click HERE to download a handout that can help in building your own Acts ABC Outline or in teaching this to others.

The Acts ABC Outline

Chapter – (Letter) Keywords
*Description

Chapter 1 – (A) Ascension
*Christ ascended to heaven

Chapter 2 – (B) Birth (of the church), Beginning, Baptized
*Beginning of the church at Pentecost
*3000 were baptized

Chapter 3 – (C) Cripple (cure)
*Peter and John heal the lame man at the gate

Chapter 4 – (D) Dungeon
*High Priest placed Peter and John in Prison

Chapter 5 – (E) Evil (enters the church)
*Annanias and Sapphira

Chapter 6 – (F) Feed the Families, False Witnesses, Face (of an angel)
*Feeding of the Grecian widows (7 deacons)
*False witnesses were called against Stephen
*Stephen’s face appeared as the face of an angel

Chapter 7 – (G) Glory of God
*Stephen saw the Glory of God (heaven)

Chapter 8 – (H) Havok, Holy Spirit, Humiliation, Hear
*Saul persecutes the church
*Holy Spirit comes to the Samaritans
*Simon is humiliated
*Eunuch hears the word of Jesus from Philip

Chapter 9 – (I) I AM, Instrument, Inauguration
*Saul’s conversion (Christ says “I am Jesus”)
*Saul was to be God’s instrument to the Gentiles
*Saul’s inauguration to apostleship

Chapter 10 – (J) Joppa (Journey to), Justice
*Conversion of Cornelius (Peter in Joppa)
*Justice to the Gentiles

Chapter 11 – (K) Kinsmen
*Peter defends his actions to his Jewish brothers

Chapter 12 – (L) Life – 1, Life – 2, Loosen
*Herod kills James the apostle
*Herod’s life is taken by the angel of the Lord
*Angel loosened the chains of Peter

Chapter 13 – (M) Missionary
*Paul’s first missionary journey

Chapter 14 – (N) New Organization
*Established elders

Chapter 15 – (O) Opposed – 1, Opposed – 2
*Opposing of false teachers (end of 1st MJ)
*Opposing of Barnabas (beg of 2nd MJ)

Chapter 16 – (P) Purple, Philippi
*Conversion of Lydia
*Conversion of Philippian jailer

Chapter 17 – (Q) Quest (for knowledge)
*Athens – Alter to unknown god

Chapter 18 – (R) Rome
*Aquilla and Pricilla chased out of Rome

Chapter 19 – (S) Silversmith
*Diana – goddess of the Ephesians

Chapter 20 – (T) Troas, Tragic
*Tarried 7 days to break bread with church
*Death of Eutucus – False teachers enter the church

Chapter 21 – (U) Uninformed
*Paul accused of bringing Gentile into the temple

Chapter 22 – (V) Victory
*Paul recounts his conversion

Chapter 23 – (W) Wisdom
*Conspiracy to kill Paul – foiled by commander

Chapter 24 – (X) FeliX
*Paul appears before Felix

Chapter 25 – (Y) Yield
*Paul would not Yield to be tried in Jerusalem, but instead appealed to Caesar.

Chapters 26-28 – (Z) Z-end of the book

My daughter Kate getting in some miles for the Country Music Kids Marathon on the trails at Percy Warner Park!

I have been fortunate to be able to go with my Dad to the Pinehurst Resort for the last three years on a father-son golf vacation.  In 2008, we played 3 rounds of golf in 3 days (Course No’s 7, 8, & 2).  In 2009, we played 4 rounds of golf in 3 days (Course No’s 6, 4, 5, & 2).  Our plan for this year was to complete 5 rounds in 3 days, and to include Course No’s 1 & 3 that we had never played before, along with 4, 8, & 2.

Pinehurst is like the Walt Disney World of Golf.  8 golf courses and 3 resort hotels.  The service is first-class, the employees are fantastic, the food is wonderful, and the golf courses are superb.  By far the most famous course is No. 2, designed by Donald Ross, which has hosted 2 U.S. Opens, along with multiple other championship tournaments (Ryder Cup, Tour Championship, U.S. Women’s Open, etc.)  Both No’s 4 & 8, designed by Tom Fazio, are consistently ranked in the top 100 public golf courses by Golf Digest magazine.  No. 4 played host to the first two rounds of the 2008 U.S. Amateur Championship.

This year we were joined by my good friend, Anthony Tucker, and my cousin (and friend), Ricky Haskins.  Both Anthony and Ricky came with us in 2009, and it was great to have them join us again!

When we arrived on Monday, we checked in to the Carolina Inn and proceed to play the No. 4 course at the Pinehurst Resort.  This course has 180 pot-bunkers, is impeccably manicured, and is quite a challenge.  It is probably my 3^rd favorite course at the resort.

On Tuesday morning, we played course No. 1 for the first time, which was also designed by Donald Ross, and was redone in 2009.  What a golf course!  Probably the best conditioned greens I’ve ever played on.  It has the classic feel of a Ross course, and is in superb condition.  I think I would rank it as my new, 2^nd favorite course on the property.

On Tuesday afternoon, we took the resort shuttle over to course No. 8.  This is the “Centennial” course at Pinehurst, as it was opened in 1995 on the 100^th anniversary of the resort.  This is a great layout, but it is brutal!  Tom Fazio absolutely ate my lunch on No. 8 this year (much as he did in 2008 when I played it before).  This course would rank 4^th on my list.

On Tuesday night at dinner we sat at a table right next to Tony Kornheiser from ESPN (PTI and formerly MNF).  This was quite a treat for me, because I watch PTI ever day.  We also saw him again at breakfast the next morning.

On Wednesday morning, we played course No. 2 for the third time.  No. 2 is not only my favorite course at Pinehurst, but also my favorite course that I have ever played.  I think I could play it every day and never get tired of it.  It is a beautiful and challenging course, but very playable.  The greens are the most distinguishing characteristic of No. 2, kind of like upside down soup bowls.  Really have to use the bump and run shot a lot around the greens.  Just like last year, Anthony and I played No. 2 with a caddie (Eddie…above).  I really think that you have to walk No. 2 to get the full experience.

I played very well (for me) on the front nine, and not quite so well on the back.  However, as always the round at No. 2 was something special.  The picture above is of the 4 of us on the 18^th green of No. 2, just after our round.

On Wednesday afternoon, we were barely able to squeeze in a round on No. 3 before we had to zip off to the airport to fly home.  No. 3 was the only course my Dad and I had not played at Pinehurst.  It is another Donald Ross design, and has similarly shaped greens as No. 2.  This course is not as well conditioned as the other courses we played on this trip, and is quite a bit shorter than most at Pinehurst.  However, it was another enjoyable course, and an enjoyable round with my Dad and the guys.

All in all….what a trip!  If you love to play golf, and you’ve never been to Pinehurst, it needs to be on your bucket list.  It has been really special to share all of these trips with my Dad, and I hope we are blessed to be able to do it again next year.  What are some other good places for 2 to 3 day golf trips?

Well, I found out today that I was not selected in the lottery for the 2010 New York City Marathon.  I’m disappointed, but still want to compete in one or maybe two fall marathons.  I would really like for one of these marathons to either be a big event, or a great destination (or both).  My fallback plan was originally to go to Chicago, but it filled up back in March.  My running group is headed to the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C, but this race falls on Halloween in 2010, and I really don’t want to miss this with my kids.  Now I’m strongly considering the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis in early October.  Anybody else have any suggestions for the fall? Anybody want to join me at Twin Cities?

Now that I’m hopelessly addicted to running Marathons (have finished Chicago, St. Jude & Knoxville), I’ve started compiling a list of races that I want to finish before I leave this earth….

Tier 1:

• Boston – My goal is to qualify before my 40th birthday (I’m 35).  To do that I will have to run a 3:15, which is 24 minutes faster than my PR.  
• New York – As the intro to Letterman says – “The greatest city in the world!”  NYC is my favorite place on earth, and I can’t wait to run this marathon.  All 5 boroughs, 2 Million+ spectators, 44K+ runners!! I’m in the lottery for 2010, and will find out on April 7th.
• Big Sur (Monterey, CA) – 26.2 + The Monterey Coast = WOW!  Might have to combine with a trip to play Pebble Beach.
• St George (Utah) – 5240’ at the start and 2600’ at the finish, running through beautiful St George, Utah.  I’ve been told it is one of the best organized races in the country.
• Walt Disney World Goofy’s Challenge – My wife and I have been to DW 7 times since we were married in 1997, so we obviously love the place.  The Goofy’s Challenge is to run the 1/2 marathon on Saturday and the full on Sunday.  Runners get a Donald Duck medal for the 1/2, a Mickey Mouse medal for the full, and a Goofy Medal if they can complete both.  I am registered for the Challenge in 2011 (my wife is registered for the 1/2).
• Marine Corps. (Washington, DC) – Running through the monuments in DC with Marines handing out water & Gatorade at the aid stations.  Sounds pretty special.  Would probably register for this year if it didn’t fall on Halloween.  I really don’t want to miss Halloween with my kids.
• Rock n’ Roll San Diego – The original Rock n’ Roll marathon in the city known for perfect weather.  I know that all of the Rock n’ Roll events are incredibly well run, and are BIG!
• Twin Cities – My friend Mary Anne says this is the most scenic marathon she has ever run, and she has run a LOT of marathons.  Starts in Minneapolis and runs to St. Paul.  Course passes by numerous lakes, and the Mississippi River.
• Country Music Marathon (Nashville, TN) – I’ve completed the 1/2 marathon, but never the full.  Registered for the full in 3 weeks.  Love running through the streets of Nashville. 

Tier 2:

• Miami – A flat, sea-level course in beautiful Miami.  Finishers get a spinning palm tree medal.
• P.F. Chang’s Rock n’ Roll Phoenix – I love running in the Phoenix area.
• Mercedes (Birmingham, AL) – I’m not particularly excited about the course (a double loop), but really want the Mercedes hood ornament medal.
• Little Rock – Another one that is about the medal.  Like having a dinner plate around your neck.
• Cincinnati Flying Pig – Why? – Two-Sided Flying Pig Medal….
• Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey (Nashville, TN) – Basically 2 laps around the main drive in Percy Warner park (1 in each direction).  I regularly train in PW park, and to say it is challenging would be an understatement.  Each lap has over 3500’ of elevation change.  Not certified, not a BQ, but I really want to do this one.  Part of it is because it is my home town.  Part of it is the beauty of the park.  Part of it is the cool, wood, flying monkey medal.  Part of it is getting the bragging rights for finishing this brutal course.

So what great races are missing from my list?

We have arrived at Pinehurst!

Romans 3:21-26 (ESV) 
²¹But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—²²the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. ²⁶It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

I think that most of us who spend any time reading the Bible have a favorite passage of scripture. For me, it is Romans 3:21-26, because this passage reveals God’s great mystery of redemption, and answers one of the most pivotal questions of the entire Bible: “Why did Jesus have to die?” Perhaps we sometimes allow ourselves to think that certainly God could have come up with a different way. However, Paul explains here how God in his infinite wisdom overcame what to most would seem like an impossible dilemma.

If our transgressions truly separate us from God (v. 23), then how could God freely give salvation (v. 24) without trivializing sin? If God simply forgave us of our failings, without a payment being made, then sin would have no weight. The only way was to offer Himself, through His Son,as the sacrifice for our sins (v. 25). With this plan, God ensured that justice was served and that salvation could be given to mankind as a free gift through His grace (vv. 24 & 26) 

However, this gift is only available to those who have faith in the one who made the payment for us (vv. 22, 25-26). “Faith in Jesus Christ” specifies the necessary object of our faith, Jesus Christ, and indicates that one has dedicated their life to following the will of God and His Son.

Follow-up: What is your favorite scripture, and why?

Prayer:

Lord, we recognize you as being the author of our salvation through the sacrifice of your Son, Jesus Christ. We praise you for the free gift of grace that you pour out on all those who have faith in your Son. Please help us to fully understand the significance of His payment, and to never take it for granted. Please give us the courage to take the good news about your Son to a lost and dying world. In your Son’s most holy name, Amen.

While I am a huge Apple fan (my family owns 5 Macs, 2 iPhones, & 5+ iPods), I have been openly critical of the iPad since it’s introduction by Steve Jobs. My criticisms have included the lack of Flash support, the inability to run multiple apps simultaneously, using the iPhone OS instead of full OS X, and lastly my failure to understand the niche it is designed to fill.

Well, today I got my first opportunity to spend some hands-on time with the 16gb iPad, and thought I might share some of my impressions.

*At 8pm the Apple store in Nashville still had plenty available with no line. Not sure what to read of this. Could be lack of demand or could be that Apple was better prepared for the volume than with the iPhone.  Only time will tell.

*The device is slightly smaller than I pictured in my head and incredibly elegant. Feels extremely sturdy.  No surprises here.  Apple gets design in a way that no other computer/device company does.

*Native iPhone apps that have not been updated for the iPad look ridiculous, especially in 2x mode.

*The keyboard is awkward, but usable. No way to thumb type in portrait mode, so the user will be forced to use one finger or set it down on something.  Using the keyboard with all fingers in portrait mode is difficult.

*iBooks are pretty slick, but I worry about the glare. Do not like the two-page view in landscape mode.  Very nice that you can also read Kindle and Nook titles that are not available from the iBookstore through downloadable apps.

*The mail application is great for displaying and reading messages but suffers from the same problems as it’s iPhone sibling when using multiple mail accounts. From what I can tell there is no universal inbox and switching mail accounts takes multiple taps.

*The screen is beautiful for viewing photos and videos. Really is a great media viewing device.

*The iPhone OS does not translate well to a slate form factor.  Really amplifies the need for some type of dashboard.  Flipping through twelve screens to get to an app seems very cumbersome.

*The new, touch-enabled iWork apps are not intuitive at all.  Very frustrating to try to do what should be the simplest tasks.  Really amplifies the fact that this device is for “consuming” media/data and not “creating” it.  Also, with Microsoft announcing this week that they have no plans to bring MS Office to the iPad, it is really hard to see this as a business tool.

*Games look really great.  Was only able to watch someone else play them, so I can’t provide feedback on playability.  However, I can see this being a great gaming device.

Well, that’s my 2 cents after my first use.  If you are looking for something small and elegant that can be used for web, email, photos, books, videos, & games, then the iPad is definitely worth a look.  However, if you are looking for an extremely portable device that can be used for business travel, then I would recommend looking elsewhere for now.  

I’m still not convinced there is a solid, long-term niche for this product, but I hope I’m wrong.  The thing I’m most interest in watching is the app development.  For example, will there be EMR/EHR apps written for the iPad for clinical environments? Will there be usable Office Productivity apps that will make this viable for business travelers?  I’m also interested in hearing about how the screen glare affects those who read a lot of titles on the iPad.

I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts as I get further exposure to the iPad, but that’s all for now.  If you have an iPad, I would love to hear your impressions (strengths & weaknesses).  Good night!