Twitter Inspires
I’m fairly new to Twitter. I kept hearing about “tweets” and just wanted to know what people were talking about. The fact that people would actually be interested in the thoughts others had to say in 140 characters or less just amazed me. What could be that interesting? How could anyone benefit from that kind of randomness? It’s been ten months since I first started using Twitter and I can answer all those questions now.
These are just some of the people that I learn from every day. Many of them work for my church and Twitter has allowed me to learn about the people and about the behind the scenes of a mega church. For instance…
…Jamie is a single guy who just moved four hours away because God needed him to. I worked with Jamie on a project recently and felt like we had been friends for years even though we had never really met.
…Jason is a close friend and is just full of funny thoughts. He makes me laugh. He’s a father of four, close to my age, and has the same goals in life as I do.
…Shane and Cherie are insanely in love with each other. I don’t really know them but their love for one another comes through in so many of the things they say.
…JK is a young man just starting college. He is on fire for God and is unashamed to let everyone else know it.
…Alden is about to be a Dad for the first time. He is also taking a leap of faith in a job position change. He is in love with the idea of being a new Dad and being a new Pastor.
…Leslie and Dan have the spiritual gift of encouragement. They have been through a rough time of their own in recent days but are always quick to encourage others.
…Tony takes social networking and church strategy seriously. He understands the connection between strategic church and strategic business. I’ve never been around him for more than 30 seconds but I know he’s incredibly organized.
…Karla and Colleen are two of the funniest ladies I know; only I don’t really know Karla. They love God before all others but absolutely love life. Their passion for everything inspires me.
These are just a few of the people that I feel like I know and learn from everyday (even though I don’t know some of them in a face to face way at all).
There are many days that I wake up and check twitter on my phone before I ever get out of bed. Most of the time someone has posted what they have just learned in their quiet time. I know more about some of my Twitter friends than I do the people I know thru traditional methods. That’s both exciting and sad. Exciting that I know people that I probably wouldn’t otherwise. Sad though that for some (like me) we feel like we can open up easier behind a keyboard than face to face.
I’m not sure that this is what social networking is supposed to be but this is what it is to me.
@benmilstead
25 Things About Me
In response to a Facebook request, here are 25 things about me….
I have had the same email address for 14 years and cell phone number for 11.
I would rather be outdoors than anywhere.
I play all sports left handed with the exception of golf. I write right-handed but eat with both.
I am terrified of snakes
I once drove a forklift through a wall (because of a snake)
I’m a creature of habit but enjoy spontaneous times as well.
I believe in ghosts
I believe in miracles
I do not believe in coincidence
I’ve been to Africa and am 100% positive that I will go back some day
I’m not a fan of denominational walls between churches and think most of it is detrimental to Christianity.
I’m introverted by nature but can coach myself into being extroverted at times.
I have three amazing sons. I would take three more if we would have started sooner.
I can run an adding machine with accuracy faster than it can print out the tape.
I once lost 35 pounds by jumping rope.
I’ve been ordained in the Baptist church.
My biggest fear is that something will happen to someone in my family.
I’m an emotional person and am moved by music and acts of kindness.
Most ironic part of my life is that I am on the radio but communicate best in writing.
I once worked with DC Talk a few times.
I love being with other people but need my alone time and enjoy that too.
I write articles for a magazine and a website.
I’ve bought seven vehicles from seven different states all off the internet.
A Wreck and A Tiger Walk
I’ve had amazing things happen over the last two weekends. I’m still trying to come to grips with some of it in my mind.
I was with Brenden, Collin, and seven other friends at a motocross track last weekend (eight days ago). On Sunday morning I had a wreck. I went over a jump thinking there was a landing ramp. There was a ramp but unfortunately it was about 20 feet behind where I landed. I came down on the front end and went over the handlebars into the ground.
The track EMS guys took me to my car where I thought I could recover. After about five minutes I was convinced I needed a hospital. I’ve never EVER been admitted to a hospital. I’ve never had a broken bone. So a friend drove me over two hours back to Anderson Memorial. I felt fine in the car but when I stepped out at the ER it all hit me hard.
Long story short, I broke my scapula (shoulder blade), fractured my arm (up in the ball joint area), three ribs, and both lungs were partially collapsed. I got to stay in the hospital until Tuesday evening because of the lungs.
I can’t tell you how lucky I am. Its eight days later and I feel great! The Orthopedic Doctor said it would be three weeks before I had significant motion in my arm and six weeks before I have no pain. I was able to raise my arm above my head today with very little pain! The ribs are getting better by the hour and my lung capacity was at about 95% when I tested it last night. Trust me; I’m NOT a tough guy! I hate pain. I’m a baby when it comes to pain. But for whatever reason, I’m not really hurting all that bad. It’s a God thing as far as I’m concerned! I’m also lucky that it wasn’t worse and I thank God that he showed mercy on me and protected me from a much more serious accident. I looked at my helmet and chest protector this past Wednesday. Both had obvious damage and I realize that I could have been in very bad shape if my head would have taken the hit my shoulder took. If God was trying to get my attention, he got it!
I don’t know if I will ride again or not but I do know that I will never ride the way I was riding again. I believe that this is a sport that can be done safely if you respect your limits. I did not respect mine and paid for it as a result. My kids absolutely love to ride! It’s been an important thread in our father/son relationship and has been something that is ours. I don’t want them to get hurt! On the other hand I believe they are more careful than me and they have both started riding at a real young age so they are going to be much better at it than me. I just don’t know at this point. What I DO know is that taking a deep breath no longer goes for granted. Hugging my wife means more. Hold my son is more special than ever. The hussel and bussel of life doesn’t seem all that bad at the moment.
This past weekend was much more pleasant. With the help of a couple of friends I was able to do my normal routine at Clemson. It was a special weekend even though Clemson lost. The highlight for me was that I got to lead the team through the first ever Tiger Walk. I was supposed to interview Coach Swinney at the end of the walk. By the time I got to that location, the only way to get the golf cart to the end of the walk was to lead the walk. So I did! It was amazing! And we have been invited to do that every week now. If you didn’t see the walk you can’t understand it. But there were 10,000 people cheering on the team all in close proximity to me. It was just amazing.
Perspective
Is the glass half full or half empty? Your perspective changes everything and it’s nice to be reminded that, no matter how bad it seems to be, things could always be worse.
- Your house isn’t big enough? Tell that to the single mother living in a one bedroom apartment. I talked to “that woman” this week. All she wants is a house that belongs to her with more than one bedroom.
- You don’t have enough money? There are 1.2 billion people in the world that live on less than $1 a day! Another 1.8 billion live on less than $2 a day. I’ll bet the $1 people think the $2 people are rich…..
- Don’t like what you are eating for supper? Around 45,000 people die EVERY DAY from starvation!
- Gas prices are too high? 90% of the worlds population do not own a vehicle.
- Don’t like the taste of your water? 12 million people die each year from lack of water. This includes 3 million CHILDREN!
- Finally, you think your kids behavior is bad? I read this story today….
SYDNEY, Australia — A blank-faced 7-year-old boy broke into a popular Outback zoo, fed a string of animals to the resident crocodile and bashed several lizards to death with a rock, the zoo’s director said Friday.
The boy jumped a security fence at the Alice Springs Reptile Center in central Australiaearly Wednesday, then went on a 30-minute killing spree, using a rock to slay three lizards, including the zoo’s beloved, 20-year-old goanna, which he then fed to “Terry,” an 11-foot, 440-pound vsaltwater crocodile, said zoo director Rex Neindorf.
P.S. Clemson fans! You think your team is bad? At least you aren’t a Gamecock fan! Happy Friday.
Friday Funnies: Sex At The Olympics
From Newswire.tv
Sex looks like it has become the unofficial sport of the Beijing 2008 Olympics after 100,000 condoms were handed out to athletes.
The condoms are being given away in the Olympic Village along with sex education leaflets and videos in a host of different languages.
There are 10,500 athletes so they could have nine condoms each – if having sex with other competitors this would mean they are able to have it away 18 times during the competition – lets hope they still get time to compete.
Provided by the China Reproductive Health Industry Association, this is the first time the olympic condoms have been made in China and quality checks have been carried out to certify the condoms meet international standards.
Free condoms have been offered to athletes in the games since Barcelona in 1992. UNAIDS hope making the condoms available helps bring across messages about HIV prevention.
“Olympic athletes are helping break down barriers of stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV,” said Dr. Peter Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director.
“They are also well placed to carry the messages across countries and cultures to inspire people to adopt behaviours that protect them against HIV,” he added.
LINKSUNAIDS Beijing 2008 Olympics
Apparently having sex will raise testosterone levels naturally. This has become a new way of sort of cheating the system. It’s a least better than sticking yourself with a needle.
Randomness
I’ve got a million things going on right now but here are a few things that come to mind since my last post.
1) The benefit for Mike Hunt was a huge success! At last count we raised over $18,000 for Mike and his family. We estimate that over 700 people turned out for this event. Great bands, great food, great music! The best part of all is that Mike feels great! No major issues from the Chemo and Radiation that is ongoing daily. God is good!
2) My church is going a series of sermons addressing the questions that members have asked about most. This past week was on alcohol. Perry was very bold in his approach and I applaud him for that. It probably was not a very popular sermon with the Southern Baptist Convention but it wsa incredibly biblical. You can argue with the Bible but you aren’t going to win the argument. This one is a must listen if you have questions about the subject. You can listen here.
3) Funny question of the week goes to my son, Collin. He said “Dad, will we have birthdays when we get to heaven?” I told him he would if he wanted to. He then ask “Can I invite dead people to my party?”
4) Everyone assumes that a Nascar event is where you will find the most redneck sports fans. Nope! A Par 3 golf course in a small town will trump that every time! “Hey, idiot! If you are wearing cut off shorts and Reeboks, chain smoking, and carrying a six pack of beer with you on a Par 3 course, don’t talk to me about my kids being too loud!!!”
5) In my estimation, about 60% of women like to change their hair color. On the flip side, I’d say it’s less than 5% of men that do this. Blondes want to be brunettes and brunettes want to be blondes and red heads want to be anything but. Why is that? What’s wrong with the color God gave you?
6) Our water heater went out two weeks ago but was finally fixed this morning. So easy to take things like hot water for granted. We have had the camper in the driveway so that we could take hot showers out there. I’m sure our neighbors think the Griswalds have moved in!
7) My sister is having a baby today. 8/8/08…now that is a cool birthday!
8) One of the happiest days of my life happened this week when I got to take Charter Cable all their equipment back and told them I would no longer be one of their customers! You know a company is really bad when they have disconnect request forms front and center of the CSR windows.
9) Started going to pre-production meetings for Clemson football radio this week. Was able to go over to a practice for a few minutes this week too. I’m getting excited now!
Live Like You Were Dying
I have a great friend, Mike, that was recently diagnosed with a stage four Glioblastoma brain tumor. Surgery to remove the tumor was unsuccessful and Chemo and Radiation have begun. Mike knows that the prognosis is not good.
I’m helping with a benefit that will raise money to assist with Mike’s medical costs. One of our friends ask him if there was anything specific that he would like to see take place at the event. His response has sent me for a loop. Mike would like one of the bands to sing Tim McGraw’s song “Live Like You Were Dying.” My immediate thought was no way. That was yesterday.
I had a hard time sleeping last night. At 4:00, after struggling to sleep all night long, I got up and listened to that song. I know the song well as I’ve heard it 100 times. But it was different last night because it is now personal to someone I love. So today I say that song should absolutely be played.
If someone told you that you were going to die what would you start doing differently? Would you try to do all the things you’ve always wanted to do? Would hugging your kids or spouse mean more to you? Would you be too tired to spend time with those you love? Would sitting down for a quiet meal with your family take on a different meaning? Would you make amends with those you’ve wronged? Would the quietness of the morning or the blueness of the sky mean more? Would you make certain that things are right between you and God?
Here is the big revelation I’ve had over the last couple of weeks. Ready for this? I’m going to die! You are going to die! Of course I don’t know if it’s going to be this week, this year, or 20 years from now, but I do know it IS going to happen. So why aren’t we living like we know it’s going to end at some point?
Mike is going to be fine one way or the other. He loves life and he isn’t going to let cancer ruin his attitude on life. He will continue to love, continue to remain positive, and continue to live life to the absolute fullest. I hope I can do the same.
June is Perspective Month
I’ve been on the verge of information overload over the past couple of weeks. I’ve been exposed to some things that have really messed with my mind and I find myself looking for the message that I’m supposed to hear. I know the phrase is normally “calm before the storm” but I feel more like it’s the storm before the calm. I love times like this because I know something cool is about to happen and recognize that I’m being stretched.
* Brad posted this video last week. It shook me to the core when I saw what it had to say. There are an estimated 1.2 billion children living in poverty. That is the same as the population of China! There are 143 million orphans in the world! For perspective sake, consider this: If these 143 million kids were holding hands in a straight line, and you got in your car and started driving beside the line of kids at 60 mph, you could drive 24 hours a day for over two months and still not reach the end of the line! You would have gone around the world three times.
* My church is participating in the OnePrayer series. After this past Sunday I have a different perspective on the size of a church (even though that’s not what the message was about). It’s easy to become complacent when things seem to be going good and your church is growing. But when you realize how many unchurched people there are in the world it’s easy to get a sense of urgency! I don’t EVER want to be complacent!
* A friend of mine, Mickey, is going through something I hope I never have to go through. His son is in a comma as a result of a serious car accident. Mickey seems to have complete peace about the situation and knows that God is in control and that worry serves no purpose. He has been an inspiration to me!
* Another friend, Mike, is a very close friend and a man that I have always looked up to. He has a brain tumor that has to be removed on June 25th. Mike got this news on a Friday and was still at church volunteering on Sunday. More than 300 men prayed for him during one of our services.
* For years, traditional churches have run from technology while others have chosen to embrace it. One of my online superhero’s is this guy. I watched this and had to keep reminding myself that I was watching a planning session for a church and not a major television network. We have come a long way. Who remember’s voting on whether or not the church needed a used copy machine? I do.
* Speaking of perspective, I had convinced myself that I was getting pretty good on the dirt bike because I kept riding with the same group of riders. That was until I rode with a former Pro rider last Friday. Seven laps and he was passing me for the second time!
* And finally, THIS story made me laugh out loud. I don’t endorse divorce but if it’s this bad just go ahead and end it!
One Word That Describes You.
About four years ago I was in a church small group setting and we played a game. The game was to write down the first thing that comes to mind about each person in the room. When I started reading the comments about me from the eleven other people, I was a little surprised. I had: 1 “funny”, 1 “muffins” (long story), 2 “father/dad”, 1 “friend”, and 6 “Clemson/football/Sports”. That’s right. More than half of my friends in the room listed Clemson first.
Funny, friend, father, football…. all things to be proud of, right? Not when you consider what’s left out. “Christian” missed the cut. Not when you realize that more people related me to Clemson more than they did my wife, my kids, and especially my God. What a sad commentary on what I had made a priority in my life.
This exercise made me examine some things. Although I love sports and Clemson (as does my wife), I don’t want that to be the first thing that comes to someone’s mind when thinking about me. It’s no wonder it was that way. I even wore a tiger paw on a neck chain at that time. I replaced it that week with a cross made of nails. What if I had promoted Christ the way I had promoted the Tigers? How many times had I invited people to the game but not the church? How many times had I talked about the big play I had seen rather than the big things God had done in my life?
I’m still a fan. There is nothing at all wrong with that. But now it’s what I do, not who I am.
What about you? How would your closest friends describe you? How would you describe yourself?
Separation of Church and State
This is a statement that was read over the PA system at the football game at Roane County High School, Kingston, Tennessee by school Principal Jody McLoud, on September 1, 2000. ”It has always been the custom at Roane County High School football games to say a prayer and play the National Anthem to honor God and Country. Due to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, I am told that saying a prayer is a violation of Federal Case Law.
As I understand the law at this time, I can use this public facility to approve of sexual perversion and call it an alternate lifestyle, and if someone is offended, that’s OK.
I can use it to condone sexual promiscuity by dispensing condoms and calling it safe sex. If someone is offended, that’s OK.
I can even use this public facility to present the merits of killing an unborn baby as a viable means of birth control.
If someone is offended, no problem.
I can designate a school day as earth day and involve students in activities to religiously worship and praise the goddess, mother earth, and call it ecology.
I can use literature, videos and presentations in the classroom that depict people with strong, traditional, Christian convictions as simple minded and ignorant and call it enlightenment.
However, if anyone uses this facility to honor God and ask Him to bless this event with safety and good sportsmanship, Federal Case Law is violated.
This appears to be at best, inconsistent and at worst, diabolical. Apparently, we are to be tolerant of everything and anyone except God and His Commandments.
Nevertheless, as a school principal, I frequently ask staff and students to abide by rules which they do not necessarily agree. For me to do otherwise would be at best, inconsistent and at worst, hypocritical. I suffer from that affliction enough unintentionally. I certainly do not need to add an intentional transgression.
For this reason, I shall, “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s,” and refrain from praying at this time.
However, if you feel inspired to honor, praise and thank God, and ask Him in the name of Jesus to bless this event, please feel free to do so. As far as I know, that’s not against the law—-yet.”
Twitter- BenMilstead: at a Mahi Mahi grilling. Have eaten so much I'm about sick. http://myloc.me/9sKa
- BenMilstead: @perrynoble Saddlers Creek BBQ! The Holbrooks will hook you up http://myloc.me/9opJ
- BenMilstead: Judging by Grandpa's reaction to my ?'s he must have killed the Japanese soldier that it had belonged to. Glad I never had to fight in a war
- BenMilstead: Holding my wifes Grandpa's Japenese Bayonet from WWII. It has tally marks on the handle for each american killed with it. Chilling...
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