1000 hits

It's official! This morning our blog went over 1000 recorded visits. Thanks to all of you who check out what is going on with the Gammons family. Thanks for reading.

	Total	1,013
	Average Per Day	18
	Average Visit Length	3:34
	Last Hour	3
	Today	14
	This Week	125

For the price of a cup of coffee . . .

How many times in a week do you make the trip to your local Starbuck's or Caribou? What are you buying when you pony up for that $2.00+ cup of House Brew or Rain Forest Blend? I have been as guilty as the next person, but it seems that what most people are buying is the white paper cup with the recognizable green symbol and the status that comes with it. Because if a good cup of coffee is what people are looking for(and I think Starbuck's makes a good cup of coffee), there are a number of less expensive options.

This week McDonald's beat Starbuck's in a blind taste test. This was not just a test of the normal Joe off the street. Apparently, Consumer Report had trained coffee testers taste coffee from a few fast food chains and Starbuck's. McDonald's won.

In 2004 Consumer Report rated Eight O'Clock coffee as a CR Best Buy. Since reading this article a few years ago, Eight O'Clock coffee has been our coffee of choice. I especially like the Columbian roast, but lately we have been doing the decaf. Which, according to this article, " Eight O'Clock 100% Colombian decaffeinated tastes better than most regular brews." The Cub in White Bear Lake has been out of Eight O'Clock decaf for about three weeks though. The one thing that I disagreed with about this article was that they rated Caribou's Columbian coffee as the best. I meet some guys at Caribou once a week; it is some of the worst coffee I drink.

I'm not saying you shouldn't walk down to the Starbuck's in the village from time to time for a treat. What I am saying is next time you buy a bag of beans, make it Eight O'Clock coffee. You'll love it and then you can throw the remainder of what you would have spent in the offering plate when it comes around on Sunday.

POST UPDATE:
I was just home for lunch and Amanda, unprompted, said, "I got a cup of coffee from Caribou at the mall. I wanted to be the cool mom at the play area with her coffee. It was so bad though that I had to throw it out."

Matty's new sweat suit

G&A got Matty a new sweat suit for Christmas. He has been growing like a weed and so today was the day to try it out. I think he looks pretty cool.

Oh, by the way, check out our new link to our Youtube channel. It is on the right side bar. You can go there for all of your bcm videos.

MUSIC: part 2 (Michael Card)

As previously promised in MUSIC: part1, my discussion of one of Michael Card, one of my favorite artists:

Growing up, I listened to a lot of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). Most of the time, I was running away from some of the music that I felt I shouldn't be listening to. All of the music that I listened to always left me wanting for more. The thing that it was missing was reality. My world was not always the teenage After School Special that Michael W. Smith sang about. Instead there was pain, questions, frustrations as well as excitement, worship and choices.

Michael Card is someone who seems to have sought a life where his art was more congruent with his life of faith. First, Michael Card is a man of faith. He originally wanted to be a theologian until his music was noticed. He is a great musician. Michael Card plays banjo, piano, guitar and more. Card's music leaves the confines of CCM, much of it taken straight from the scripture. He has written whole albums focused on Wisdom Literature (The Way of Wisdom), the life of Peter (A Fragile Stone), the life of Jesus (The Life), the book of Revelation (Unveiled Hope), the prophets (The Word: Recapturing the Imagination) and many more. The album that really got me excited about who Michael Card again was his latest album The Hidden Face of God. In this album, Card discusses the topic of lament. If you have ever darkened the door of one of our "relevant" churches, you wouldn't find many songs of lament. After 9/11, Card felt there was a hole in contemporary Christian music. Music that does not speak of the times when we want to shout at God or when we don't even know if he is there, does not reflect the whole of the life of faith. Check out an interview with Michael Card about this album. He spoke a lot about this topic on his radio show late last year.

I have many of Card's albums, but I think I like listening to his radio show via podcast even more. He has on very interesting guests, discussing Commentary (the Bible) Creativity (art), Community (relationships) and he plays his own music live in the studio. It has been one of my weekly enjoyments. I wrote him an e-mail a while back thanking him for the show and how he and his guests struggle with the ideas of art and Christianity. They read part of the letter last week. I felt pretty cool, even if they didn't mention my name. If you would like to check out one of the shows, I recommend episodes 241 and 242. Larry Crabb is on these episodes. They were amazing. You can either listen to the archived version on-line or you can download the podcast (you don't need an iPod to do this, just iTunes).

Michael Card has not become a millionaire, he is not winning awards, he is not lauded by men. It seems though, that through his music and through the community that he keeps, he is affecting lives and helping to make people more like Jesus Christ. Thank you for that, Mike.

Home Movies--Updated Link

I recently updated this link. I went public on Youtube again. I think it will be fine. I hope all of you enjoy the videos. I sure have.

Please comment if you think that I should not have these up on the net. I'd like to hear what you think.

Have you been dying for a little more of the Gammons boys in your life? Do you live in Indiana or Florida or North Carolina or Michigan? Has it been too long since you've heard the laughing and singing of great little boys? Then this is the post for you. I have uploaded all of the short videos that I have of the boys. Click this link and have a good time.

Star Wars boys

As many of you know the boys have become huge Star Wars fans. They have now joined the ranks of many Star Wars geeks by making their first "fan film". It is a little difficult to see, but the end is great. Ben (Obi Wan Kenobi) dies after Caleb (Darth Vader) runs him through.

Matty shakes

Check out this great video of Matty. He thinks he is very funny.