Oh…and it’s always a good chance to show the world my beautiful Sydney!

Looking forward to some great posts I’ve been storing up the past few weeks. Until then…

Just want to throw this out there…having a baby changes your whole life!  No news flash, there, but I can’t help but be inspired by the events of the past week.  I’ve always tried to use this site to share portions of my life, and from what I can observe thus far, my newborn baby has taken up residence in almost every portion I have to offer.

Where does that leave us, then?

My only conclusion is to begin a series of posts that will chronicle the events in the life of the Payne family, the good and the bad, and the lessons I learn from them.  I can already tell you this child has spurred my mind and awareness to keenly see and understand God working around us in ways that I never had before.  I can tell you that I have quite a few posts in the chute inspired from only 7 days with this beautiful child.  And I can tell you that there will be lots of content and lots of story and lots of connection.

What can I say?  For now, this is my framework…

Hope you’ll come along for the journey!

It’s been a good while, though…at least for me, it has.  At one point, I was writing for this blog, Open House’s blog, and another side blog I had started.  I thought writing was my thing.  I thought if something was your thing, you couldn’t really wear it out.

You can’t over-do your passion, right?

Turns out, you can tell yourself one story, fully believe it, but have a real and true sub-plot flowing underneath it all.  That was me.  I love writing and have been at Open House from the time I took my much-needed break from Faith in the Frameworks.  I have a passion for the crafted word.  I love being provoked to think deeper than the surface and pushed to see God at work all around me.

I just let it consume me.  

Before I knew it, I was a bit of a mess, constantly looking for the next post, searching for that next great article, always hoping that I might do this for a living one day.  In that pursuit, I forgot what really matters.  Sounds totally cliche, but it was the absolute truth.  I wanted to find a way to make money using my passion so badly, that desire eroded the honesty and beauty of what I was doing to begin with.

I recently watched The Social Network, a movie that chronicles the humble beginnings of a little site called Facebook.  Great movie.  Seriously, go see it.  But first, let me tell you what struck me about that film.  Mark Zucherburg, Facebook’s inventor, was absolutely adamant about one thing throughout the entire film.

No monetization.

No money-making.

He did all of it because he was passionate about it.  You can say what you want about his motivation, but he was full of passion.  At some point, it made sense to use such a medium to make some money, but not at the inception.  At first, and for a long time with Facebook, it was all about passion.  The passion to connect people.

A similar passion has been re-ignited in me, and I hope to share it properly this time around.  As I said, I love to write.  I love sharing my life with those of you who come to read and see God at work in the framework of our lives.  Does that mean you’ll never see an ad on this site?  No.  Does it mean you probably won’t see one for a long time?  Yes.

I’m getting back to where I began:  posts when they come, whatever length they come in, whatever frequency they come in.  I’ll be here…hope you’ll join me again.

First things first:  Tricia, my wonderful, beautiful, awesome and incredible wife is PREGNANT!!!  Holy crap!!!  Most of you reading this have probably already heard this, but it bears repeating again and again:  we’re going to be parents!!!  Tricia’s gonna be a mommy!!!  I’m going to be a daddy!!!  I could write a whole, whole lot about all this…but not here!  In the future, there will be posts about things that impact us here, but I will leave most of the blogging about this whole parenthood adventure to a different place.

Which is the second thing to cover.  There is a new blog I’ve started that is everything Baby Payne and all our adventures along the way, colorfully cataloged for your reading pleasure.  However, my greatest hope for this site is that it might become a place where parents of all ages feel free to comment, leaving their wisdom for us and other new, ignorant, and green parents who follow after.  I hope it becomes a great resource!  Here’s the link to it (and it’s in the sidebar over there, too!):

http://the-green-parents.blogspot.com

There is a high probability that it will move to a better domain in the near future, but I’ve done what I can so far and hope you enjoy it!

The third, and last thing I want to cover is my short absence that will follow this post.  I’ll leave room for one more possible post before Tuesday night, but I won’t promise one, either.  As a community, our church is partaking in the Lenten season.  As a part of that, I desire to draw closer to our great God by giving up some things each week during this time.  This week I’ve decided to put aside all social media and spend more time alone with Him.  What that means is no Facebook, no Twitter, and probably the most difficult, no blogging.  I must say, however, I’ve been faithfully posting three article per week for months and the idea of a bit of a rest sounds pretty nice.  My hope is that I’ll recharge and reconnect, coming back stronger from this time off.  Please keep up with the new blog, though.  I will write there if new things come up!

So, I leave you with that for the next week.  My short hiatus starts Wednesday morning, so I’ll be ready to write once again the following Wednesday.  I look forward to both the rest and the restart.  See you all then…

For me, Buzz went from being a sadly late attempt at a good idea to becoming some folks dark horse in the social media network to ending up simply useless in my own social networks.  At the get-go, I really didn’t see how this effort from Google was worth the time and figured it would fall away slowly and be gracefully retired.  Yet, not long after my post was written and my unflattering review of the service hit the blogosphere, there were news article aplenty that were alight with the promise and potential of the genius I had just spent 750 words tearing down.

Perhaps I was mistaken.  Perhaps it was a “good for you but not for me” situation.

Or, perhaps the stats were a bit misleading.  However many “buzzes” were piled up in the first few days now seem a bit unimportant.  Ramming the Buzz service into every gmail user’s sidebar obviously made people curious and they responded by clicking away at Google’s newest invention.  Fast forward 18 days,  search “Buzz” in Google’s search and see the myriad of news surrounding this newest addition to the social media blitz; it is primarily neutral, full of small praise and large critique, and almost always indifferent.  The feeling is:  do we really need another social network?

My answer is absolutely no.  And my reasoning?  Over the last week I have observed every buzz that comes in when I check my gmail account.  Want to know what I’ve noticed about each and every one?  Sure you do!  They are all 4-6 hour delayed, regurgitations of Twitter posts.  All of them.  Not one “buzz” I saw came from Buzz originally.  Not one.  What does that tell me?  It tells me that we have all the social media muscle we can handle right now with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.  Aggregating other services into your “new” social network (Google, I’m lookin’ at you!) does not equate success.  There are services (Brizzly) and tons of mobile apps that do this very thing.  For a social medium to be a necessary player, original content from that medium should be created by its users…and with Buzz, at this point, it is not.  With Facebook and Twitter continuing their growth and acceptance, I think it’s time for us to concede the fact that these two are here to stay.  I think it’s also a fair statement that, in the realm of social networking, they are all the common user needs.

I could be wrong here.  We might see Buzz make leaps and bounds and take over the social scene.  I just don’t see it happening.  I think it’s too late.

What about you?  What do you think?  Is Buzz worthy to be mentioned with the likes of Facebook and Twitter?  Do you use it?  Like it?  Find it replacing you other social tools?

Love to hear from you!

At least that’s what I thought.

Thankfully, Google Chrome (my internet browser of choice) was smart enough to fend off my apparent stupidity, taking me to what could basically be described as a “are you really sure you want to load this, because I’m quite certain it will ravage you computer?” page.  Funny thing is, I actually gave it a thought.  I’d never run into this before and considered it might be a silly ploy to get me to click something and be courted by a new, better, sleeker virus protection software.  But it wasn’t that at all.  It really was threatening.  Chrome wasn’t just messing with me.

So I backed off and left it alone.

Shortly after, I started wondering exactly what Chrome was protecting my computer from when it said there was “malware” on the site I was attempting to access.  After doing about 90 seconds of research, I quickly found that malware is basically anything that falls under the scope of malicious software:  i.e. viruses.  These are broad terms, understandably, but Wikipedia defines malware as “…software designed to infiltrate a computer system without the owner’s informed consent.  The term ‘computer virus‘ is sometimes used as a catch-all phrase to include all types of malware, including true viruses.”

OK, so I get the basic gist of this.  Good software vs. bad software.  Good vs. evil.  Right vs. wrong.

The nagging question for me, however, is why?  Why bother?  What profit is there in this?  Someone hacking your bank account or other service to steal your identity for the purpose of monetary gain is reprehensible, but at least it follows logical thinking.  Hurt others to gain for yourself.  It’s selfish and terrible, but at least you understand the why.  In regards to viruses and other malware, what good does it do to simply destroy things that others own?  What gain is there?  Where do you benefit?  I can’t for even a single moment begin to understand this.  It would be the same as me walking through a crowded parking lot and randomly dousing cars with gasoline and lighting them on fire.

Pointless destruction.  For what?!!?  Again, I go back to the idea of motive.  If I was an individual that believed in revenge and settling scores and someone hurt me, I would try to hurt them back.  I at least understand that as a concept.  I don’t condone it, but I get it.  It’s the random acts of maliciousness that I can’t seem to comprehend.

If you do this crap, stop it!  You’re being a jerk and don’t even have a reason for it!  And if you are blowing up cars randomly, stop that, too!  (Just thought I should throw that in there after the last paragraph)  I believe, deep down, that there is goodness inherent in people.  It’s junk like this that pushes me to wonder if I’m a fool for doing so.

Has anyone reading this dealt with any of this garbage?  Do you have any understanding beyond what I do?  How does this stuff make you see humanity?  I’d love to hear what you think…

1. I know this is well-rehearsed and scripted, but is it sincere?
2. Is there any way to know for sure?
3. Even if I feel it is sincere, what are others thinking?

The only question I found a solid answer for was the first.  I felt as I watched Tiger say the words “I’m so sorry…” that he actually meant them.  I’m a Tiger Woods fan.  I love watching him play golf and I was devastated on some deep level when I found out what he had been up to.  Not that I felt he was perfect or above reproach, but I simply thought he had things together.  No dirt was ever brought up on him.  No bad press.  No tabloid talk.

Nothing serious, anyway.  

And as much as I never put him on a pedestal, I did think he kept his nose clean for the most part.  Finding out that he had been involved in such a miserable and dirty scandal really tainted my view of Tiger.  All of the sudden, he became absolutely human.  Absolutely flawed.  Absolutely just like me.

And even though he’s fallen down, I believe he’ll get up again.  He’ll move on one way or another.  He’ll return to golf and be the best or as a shadow of his former self.  But what about me?  How do I choose to see him now?  How do I deal with a guy who’s life is so messy?  How do I deal with being a fan of someone who’s done such aweful things off the course?

I suppose I absolutely must extend grace to him.  I must forgive as I’ve been forgiven.  I mustn’t hold judgement and condemnation over him because he has failed.  Instead, because of those simple words “I’m sorry,” I have to hope for his restoration.  I have to attempt, to the best of my ability, to forgive what he’s done.  I must rely on a God who promises His power through the Holy Spirit to enable me to forgive him.  How can I not?  I’ve been forgiven of so much, how can I not extend that same grace?

So, in my mind, the answer to question #1 is a yes.  But what about #2 and #3?  I can’t answer those with any real assurance.  I can only hope they are both yes.  What do you think?  What are your answers?

I’d love to dialogue with you about it just below!

At least, I thought I did.

Truth be told, I think being married, being 30, and being completely disassociated with the dating scene makes you forget some things; I forgot completely, I think.

This Saturday, the day before Valentine’s Day, I was out at the mall doing a routine spinal screening for work.  It was early in the morning and we were setting up the booth when a couple girls (mid to late 20′s) walked by and saw the sign that read “Free 5 Minute Massage With Each Spinal Screening.”  The reply that followed left me a bit red in the face.

“So, are you the one doing the massage?” I was asked.

“No.”  I laughed it off and continued, “Our masseuse will be here in a little while.”

“Can I pay extra to get you?” the girl flirtatiously replied.

“Nah.”  was my witty come-back as they went on, giggling a bit at their frankness, I suppose.  Meanwhile, I was left standing there with a face as red as a tomato, a bit speechless.  I just got hit on I thought to myself.  I made a few comments to my boss and to a friend who was there witnessing the whole thing and then carried on with my job.  I was really eager to tell Tricia, though.  I’ve still got it!

And when I told her, we laughed about it and I didn’t give it another thought until Sunday morning.  We were sitting in church and Tricia noticed some sort of crud on my pants.  After pointing it out, inquiring as to it’s origin, and snickering a bit, I began to scratch at the mystery substance.  Unable to fully pry it from my pants, I simply gave up and figured it would come out in the wash.  We both just shook our heads at the fact that I’m basically 12 years old sometimes.  No joke, I am.

And then I started thinking about my wife.  I started considering how much I love her for who she is and all that she brings to my life, but I also love her for what she doesn’t bring:  condemnation.  I don’t have to worry that when I don’t live up to the image she had of me the night of our first date that she’s going to be disappointed or angry.  She’s not going to judge me when I’m just a nasty and disgusting man.  She’s not going to leave because I have a stain on my pants that was still lingering due to the fact that I didn’t get my pants in the wash after their last wearing.

That’s not to say that I don’t still try to impress her.  It’s not to say that I don’t try to keep her excited about the fact that she married me.  It’s just to say that I don’t have to freak out about keeping a facade up all the time to make her happy.  She loves me exactly as I am.  She wants the best for me, but loves me the entire time I’m trying to find that; no matter where or what, she’s there for me.

And that made me think about my little run-in at the mall.  Sure, I was flattered that someone would make such an advance based simply on my looks.  Why wouldn’t I be?  But it only stood to make me realize that outer flattery and surface attraction is so temporary.  It’s so deceptive.  It’s almost fake.  I began wondering what that girl would say if she saw the real me; if she saw the awkward, tech-nerd with chocolate on his pants, would she have said a word?  I’m pretty sure the answer is no, and that is such a wonderful thing.

Because the girl who saw all that goofiness and brokenness said yes.  Yes to me and everything I come along with.

That’s love.  That’s worth everything.

As always, I’d love to hear from you below!

I’m creating this post using Google Chrome, their most-impressive, sleek, and super-fast web browser.

I love Google.  I really do.

Easily one of the largest and most profitable businesses in the world, Google has little to fret about.  Their search engine dwarfs all others in usage numbers.  Their web apps are used by millions.  Their Google-branded phones are selling like hotcakes with thousands of developers writing apps for them.  All said and done, Google is doing very well.

Enter Buzz, Google’s newest creation.  ”Share updates, photos, videos, and more.
Start conversations about the things you find interesting.”  This is the title statement at the top of the page at google.com/buzz.  All the millions of Gmail users around the world will be redirected to this site on their very next trip to their inboxes and will be confronted with Google’s latest “innovation.”

The problem is, as I shared in an earlier post about the Nexus One, nothing new or innovative is actually present.  If you watch the video on the above-mentioned site, you’ll quickly see that there is not a shred of creativity going on.  None.  This is simply an idea that is working very well in another arena, being aped to look like something new.  It isn’t.  It’s Facebook, only with less features and a fraction of the user base.  It’s a lame attempt to do something someone else is doing far better and has been doing for far longer.  It’s a desperate stab from a corporate giant trying to take down another behemoth that threatens to steal away some of its loyal users.

And it’s a tiny bit pathetic.

With zero integration with Facebook and very limited Twitter connection, Buzz just doesn’t have what it takes to compete.  Not only that, I don’t think it has what it takes to even make a small dent in the monstrosity that is Facebook.  400 million users and counting; that’s what Google’s up against here.  And all of the sudden, in a world where Google’s always been the big boy, there’s a new kid in town who’s not only bigger, but better.  Let’s face it, in the realm of social media, Facebook is the undeniable king.  400 million users is amazing, but even more amazing is the fact that on July 15th, 2009, it was only at 250 million.  The growth-rate is staggering.

If you ask me, Google is too little, too late.  I don’t care how great your search engine, web apps and email interface is.  I don’t care how big you are as a company.  You’re fighting a losing battle, here, Google.

What do you think?  Do you think Buzz has what it takes or is it simply a last-ditch effort for Google to get it’s hands on a market it doesn’t have any control over?  Should we all embrace such an effort or shun it?  Does Google, having so much money, power and control have any right to want more?

And lastly, will Google’s futile effort to gain a voice in the social medium of the internet it helped shape end in failure due to mocking criticism in the very social networks it’s trying to defeat?

Let’s reason together, shall we?  Scroll down and give your opinions below…

Just ask Google.

But that’s not what I’m after.  You see, my opinion on the situation is:  it sucks.  I happen to like Conan, his comedy and the fact that he stuck it out on the 12:30am Late Nite show for 16 years in hopes of one day taking the prized Tonight Show position.  It was promised to him.  It was waited for.  It was given to him as successor to Jay Leno.  Simple.  This was Conan’s show to take on for the next couple decades, and I was excited to see what he would do with it given some time.

NBC chose, however, to gamble a bit on Jay Leno’s prime time disaster.  They lost the bet.  It all went belly-up and their hand was forced.  Affiliates on the local level were upset by loss of viewers, caused enough stink to make NBC make some choices, and Conan O’Brien is getting the raw end of the whole deal.

My opinion?  Jay Leno was done with The Tonight Show, tried something new, and failed.  Move on.  Why does NBC feel the need to cater to him?  Why start moving everything around to appease Jay Leno?  His show tanked.  Cancel it and move on.

But instead, NBC felt the need to keep Jay, move everything back to put him on at 11:30pm, and basically disrupt all post-evening-news programming to try and fit everyone in.  No one was for it, no one could agree, so someone had to leave.  Again, Conan gets the boot to make room.

Does NBC think this will just go away?  Do they think people are just going to forget that they canned their favorite talk show host?  He may not be everyone’s favorite, but trust me, he has a huge fan base.  Do they think Conan’s appeal is so shallow?  What about Jay’s part in all this?   Did he orchestrate any of it?  What was his part to play?  Could he not let go or is he just being a good corporate guy?  A yes man?

No one has any idea what’s happened behind closed doors, but rest assured that the viral social media engine does not care.  Twitter is ablaze with tweets full of anger and resentment towards both NBC and Jay Leno.  Search Twitter and see.  Search Google for any of the key words from this article and witness the intensity of the buzz around the situation.  It is not small.  It is not going away.

And it’s not good for ratings, NBC.

But that’s just my humble opinion.  Well, at least some of it.  What’s yours?  There are hundreds of facets to this story and it’s actually pretty fascinating.  I would love to hear your thoughts and viewpoints below.  There’s great potential for some incredible discussion here.

Can’t wait to talk this through with all of you!

All these and dozens of other questions buzz through my brain as I attempt to figure out whether or not this latest, greatest thing will ride the tide of hype and hysteria and actually deliver on whatever promises it has been saddled with.  And while I try to remain nuetral after so many let-downs and disappointments, I just can’t help myself sometimes.  New stuff is so cool!

Yet, with the introduction of the Kindle (Amazon.com’s eReader) in late 2007, I didn’t really get excited at all.  As a matter of fact, I didn’t even give it much thought.  This was one tech toy that wasn’t going to get me interested.  I have a netbook and a Palm Pre.  What need would I have for an eReader?  

Lately, however, I have started to see the light.  Mixing the introduction of school, my love for reading, and my desire to have multiple Bible translations on-hand, I’ve managed to find a small spot in my heart for interest in this new and rapidly-growing technology.

Picture this:  You are a student who has four textbooks for class, you fancy a novel on the side, and you are also a student of the Bible.  That’s a ton of books to carry around.  And yes, you could get them via some software on your laptop or smartphone, but that LCD screen just wears out your eyes.  You like to read and study for long periods, so looking at a computer screen for that amount of time is no good.  Your back hurts from attempting to lug around a backpack full of texts.  And lets not get started on the cost of books.

Enter the eReader.  One slim and portable device aimed at one thing:  all your books, all in one place.  Texts become inexpensive, burdens become lighter, and eyeballs are set at ease.  You now can have an entire library in a single, small, easy-to-use package with a screen that mimics the look of a printed book.  That sounds really sweet to me!

And it does to a whole lot of others, apparently!  We, as of this moment, have Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes and Noble’s Nook, and Sony’s Reader that have flooded the market in the last year.  It has caused publishers to take notice, bookstores to make adjustments, and consumers to start asking the question, “Is this a good fit for me?”

Heck, I’m asking it, too.  Between school books, novels, Christian growth books, and multiple Bibles, I have to admit it…I love books!  And all of the sudden, this little device is moving from a smooth idea to a realistic, much-desired commodity for me.

And I wonder about the impact these things will have.  What will libraries and bookstores look like with the proliferation of eReaders?  How will the market shift?  Will the transition be smoother than the music industry’s reaction to the MP3?

And even more pressing, what are your thoughts on all this?  Have you ever considered one of these devices?  Are you intrigued right now?  As the iPod and iPhone revolutionized the music and phone industries, do you think the eReader will eventually have the same impact?

I don’t know.  I think there’s a real chance for some really big changes in the near future, though.  And, as always, I covet your responses.

The point here is I knew that this trip to the grocery was going to be quick and painless.  A few, choice items and a timely exit.  I knew this.  That’s why I grabbed the little cart.

That’s why I should have grabbed something out of my car, too.  More specifically, three somethings.  Three trophies to my personal “go green” initiative.  My three re-usable, compactly stow-able shopping bags.

Do you have some of these?  The obvious idea behind them is, with a little forethought, a person who desires to make a little difference in the environment can carry these very compact bags into the store with them, drop them in the cart, and use them instead of the classic, non-degrading, environment-trashing plastic bags at the end of your shopping adventure.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.  You become, by this simple gesture, a great environmental figure.  You have “gone green.”

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found this practice to be the absolute most difficult task to complete.  No matter how many times I attempt it, I have never successfully managed to take those stinkin’ bags into the store with me.  Not once in a year!  Every single trip to the store ends with a guilt-ridden siege encapsulated by the profound statement:  “I HAVE to remember to take those bags in next time!”

And it never happens.

I’m not sure what that says about me.  Is it just the forgetfulness in me?  Is it a deep-seeded disinterest in things bigger than my own little world?  Is anybody with me on this?

What about you?  What have you done to “go green?”  Do you see it as a necessity or a marketing ploy?  Have you efforts, if you’ve attempted any, been successful?  And if not, why do you think they’ve failed?  Is “going green” actually changing anything?

I covet your answers…

I saw hundreds of status updates, tweets and comments on the both of them yesterday, all alluding to the forthcoming snow.  Some were hoping for a huge blizzard while others were petitioning for the precipitation to miss its mark, but everyone was buzzing about the impending snow.

But why?  We don’t get nearly excited about the rain.  

I suppose there is a part of us that always craves the distraction.  The slow-down.  The break.

We can’t seem to find those things ourselves, but we are more than happy to have mother nature step in and disrupt us.  We welcome it.  We desire it.  We are a bit desperate for it, maybe?

And then, the next thing you know we are clamoring for routine, regularity (of schedule, not bowels), and a return to all things normal.  But then, deep down, when all the normality returns we beg for the disruption to come again and whisk us away to that place of abnormality for a bit, if only to drop us off where we started, thus continuing the cycle.

Ever feel like that?  Do you hate the headache of your routine being broken only to find yourself secretly desiring a forced siesta?

Wonder why we do that…

Your thoughts?

Free, available, and functional.  What’s not to like?

Enter the Nexus One:  Google’s first in a line of phones yet to come.  But wait a second.  Isn’t the Droid a Google phone?  What about the Hero?  G1?  Behold?  Eris?  Do I need to continue?

Is it just me, or has the line between Google and Android (Google’s mobile operating system) become really blurry?  For those of you shaking your head right now and thinking, “What are you even talking about?”, my point is proven.

Google, in it’s attempt to reach higher, farther, wider and better has become a bit of a beast.  It seems spastic.  

I’m all for multiple phones and multiple networks with a single OS.  That makes great sense to me.  It’s something I’ve always felt the iPhone could benefit from.  But unveiling a “Google Phone” that is built by HTC and runs Android seems dated…maybe because it’s been done before!  The Eris, G1 and Hero are all HTC phones that run Android.  Yes the Nexus One looks nice and yes it is well built, but yes, in the end, it is the same old thing.  I ask again, why is it being billed as something ground-breaking?  I just don’t get it.

Sure, you can purchase this one straight from Google, but it’s only subsidized by one network (T-mobile) and won’t branch out until months down the road.  On top of that, it’s a whopping $530 for a Nexus One not tied down to a network!

That’s in the exact same ballpark as many other smartphones.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great looking device.  I’m sure it’s solid and quite awesome, just not something shockingly original.

I suppose giving it the privileged google.com/phone url is Google’s way of saying that they believe this thing is crazy-awesome.  They have been more than willing to use up tons of their valuable ad space to promote that fact (I’ve seen it everywhere Google is today), but I just don’t see anything worth writing home about, here.

Your thoughts?  I’d love to discuss it with you!

I turned on the device, readying myself for the duel with the Mrs. when the little “Wii Shop” channel caught my eye.  Not being gamers, we really don’t get the chance to spend a lot of time with the Wii, so I rarely get around to looking online for fun downloads and new games that are available only via broadband.  So I ventured a quick detour.  Tricia is usually interested in looking around, so I figured a few minutes spent browsing the online inventory could yield an interesting nugget or two for purchase.

And I was not disappointed. 

Until logging into the Wii Shop channel, I had all but forgotten my interest in looking for the old (but supremely awesome) Punch-Out game.  Think back and you can remember.  Little Mac, Glass Joe, Super-Macho Man, Mr. Sandman and none other than Mike Tyson.  Oh yes…a bona fide gaming classic!  I knew that this game would be available and after a small fee, would soon be mine.  What I didn’t consider, however, was the later, less-known iteration of the game that was also available.

Super Punch-Out.

Better graphics, better user interface, better game in my opinion.  A little more expensive, but well worth it.  After all, I loved this game.  I had played and conquered every aspect of it in my younger days, but that was all old news.  I was ready to make some new memories!

So I looked over at my wife with my best “you don’t mind if I get this, do you” look, fully expecting to get the “boys never grow up…go ahead” look.  But that’s not what I got.  Not at all.

Instead, she just said, “That’s fine, baby.  Get it.”

No hesitation.  No guilt.  No chiding for being a kid.

So I hurriedly made the purchase, entering my credit card info, billing info, and personal info.  And in a few moments, I was the proud owner of Super Punch-Out.  Just like that.  And just like that, I found a new hurdle that awaited me.

In my haste, I didn’t read the fine print.  I was just excited to have this old relic of my childhood to play again.  I didn’t consider the equipment I would need to do so.

But I was informed very quickly.

“You will need the Classic Controller for this game” the black screen read on the television.  Suffice it to say, I was not in possession of this particular controller.  And I apparently was not playing this game without it, either.

Dejected and completely deflated, I moped as only a disappointed man can.  Not only could I not play the game I was so pumped about, but now I had to admit making a huge mistake and suffer looking like an idiot in front of my wife.  Down the tubes with the excitement.  Pour on the humiliation.

You see, I had taken the time we were supposed to spend together and turned it into my time.  I had taken a free and simple time with my wife and spent not only time, but money also in a fruitless search for something new.  Something I didn’t need.  Something I could completely live without.

And looking back, I completely deserved to be laughed at and ridiculed for my errant behavior.  I really did.  I even chuckle to myself right now thinking about it.

Yet, instead of giving to me the things I most deserved, my wife gave me things that I did not.

After asking exactly what a classic controller was and receiving a short description from me, she didn’t hesitate getting online, in the phonebook, and in any other resource she had to find this item for me.  Without regard to the sheer stupidity of the situation, she began a thorough search, completed only when she could tell me where to find this controller both online and in town and where to get the best deal.  She was looking so hard, I was beginning to believe she was as desperate to play this game as I was.  As a matter of fact, I think her zeal in finding this controller had surpassed even mine.  It was bizaare.

And after at least 45 minutes of scouring, we found that we could either part with and additional $20 for a classic controller or just borrow one from my brother, who I found had one.  So we chose the latter, figuring it wasn’t worth the extra money just to appease my adolescent craving.

When all was said and done, I had the controller plugged in, the game started, and Tricia took a back seat and allowed me to play.  And upon later invitation, showed no real interest at all in the game we had now invested 90 minutes of our life into.  This, too, was bizaare.

In my mind, I had come to the conclusion that she was just as interested in this game as I was.  That had to be her reasoning for putting so much effort in getting this up and running, right?  If she had no real interest, why not just write it off when it didn’t work out in the beginning and move on?  Why would she work so hard?  Why would she spend so much time trying to work things out?  Why not just offer a couple jokes at my expense on this one and move on?  Why go so far to help me on this?

The answer is love.  Not puppy-love, newlywed-love, blind love or any of those ooey-gooey, fleeting feelings.  This is something much deeper.  Much more profound.

She had no personal stake in the situation, save one.  Me.  She did all she did simply for me.  All because she loves me.  What was important to me became important to her.  What mattered to me mattered to her.  It was that simple.  She wasn’t interested in personal gain.  She was interested only in me.  Helping me.  Extending herself for me.

Where I deserved ridicule and humiliation, she gave me support and help.  When I should have been shown a cold shoulder, I was given a hand.  That is love.  And, whether she realizes it or not, she loved me more in those few hours than she will ever imagine.  And I, in return, love her all the more for it.

Maybe that is why God chose to make marriage the poster child for His love for us in Jesus.  I think He knew exactly what He was doing, using this special relationship between a husband and wife to paint a picture of His unfailing love for us.  Yes, many marriages fail and don’t function as He intended them to.  But sometimes we get it right.  In certain moments and situations, we nail it.  And in those times, we are reminded exactly how God loves us.  Not because of what we bring Him or because He is interested in what He can gain from us.  Simply because we are.  That’s it.  We exist and He loves us for it.  There is nothing more to it.

“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  (Romans 5:8)”

We deserve nothing and He gives everything.  We bring nothing and He holds back nothing.  We are selfish and self-serving and He is full of grace and completely self-sacrificing.  What a God we serve!  What a mystery we live in!  How incredible!

Thank you, Tricia, for showing me the beauty and power of God’s love through something so trivial and pointless as Super Punch-Out.  Thank you for loving me the way you do:  unbound, unrelentingly, and unashamed.  God truly is at work all the time, everywhere, and in everything.  May we not miss it.  May we not miss Him.