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Clemson Blast from the Past

Went through my old MySpace blog posts and found some I liked. I will be sharing them periodically. Here’s one from when we lived in Delaware. Everybody was always telling me to give Bowden time. Well, it seems like my feelings for him were always justified. Tomorrow, I will take time to pile on him again with my Clemson 09 report.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Clemson

Maybe it was me. I don’t know. For some reason over the last 8 years Tommy Bowden could not get the Tigers over the hump. No 10 win season, no ACC championships, no BCS bowl appearances. Now that I’ve moved away, Tommy has the boys in a one game playoff for a bid in the ACC championship game. Tomorrow they will play Boston College and a win gets them the nod. If they lose, they can still win the division if BC loses the next week. However, it would be better for Bowden and everyone if they just took care of business themselves. Otherwise, it’s another week of “Tommy can’t win the big one.” Now, there has been no more vocal critic of Bowden than me. I think everyone who knows me knows how I feel about his coaching skills(or lack thereof), but I won’t rehash that or my disdain for Superman Returns. I will say this. If the man gets the job done and wins the last 3 to stand at 11-2 with an ACC championship then I will be the first to praise him. Frankly, in the 8 wins they have looked like we’ve been hoping for since Bowden arrived. They now run different formations AND different plays. Cullen Harper has been so good that QB-n-waiting-since-his-11th-grade-year Wily Korn will probably redshirt. 7 months ago this would have been unthinkable. I don’t know if it’s the absence of my negativity in the Clemson area, a weak ACC and non-conference schedule, or everything finally coming together, but this year has been different. It makes you wonder what we’d be talking about if we had shown up against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. I firmly believe we’re better than both those teams and 2 wins there would have us atop the BCS standings. Instead, we’ve got Saturday. I would be there, but I don’t want to rehash THAT story either. I will be firmly rooting for the Tigers. I will put my personal feelings about Tommy Bowden aside and cheer for a solid victory. Even a skeptic like me can see…he ain’t going anywhere. This morning I went to change my son Drake. I almost put on his Clemson outfit, but I stopped. I wanted him to wear it tomorrow night for the big game. The Tigers are 0-2 when Drake wears the outfit. Maybe it’s him.

The Outsiders Review-needtobreathe

I became a fan of needtobreathe after they performed at our youth camp last summer. They had several things going for them. First, they are from Possum Kingdom, SC(near my hometown), sound like Hootie and the Blowfish(you can take a man out of the 90’s but you can’t take the 90’s out of the man), and are really cool guys who love the Lord. You may know them from hits like Washed By the Water. I love the Washed By the Water (Acoustic Version). They also had More Time from the movie, P.S. I Love You. This is their third album following and Daylight and The Heat. From start to finish I love this album. There is something about a banjo that gets me going. The Deluxe Version includes an acoustic version(video) of the Outsiders featuring said banjo. I’m pretty sure plenty of churches will use the Garden during Easter next year. A haunting and amazing song. Gotta love the accordion on Through Smoke. All in all, I think this is the band’s best effort to date. They don’t seem trapped by a single niche and they continue to break through the mainstream with songs featured on TV and movies. If they keep pushing the envelope and writing songs that people want to hear then needtobreathe is headed for a nice long ride.

Clicking on the above links will invite you to open itunes where you will be able to preview, read reviews, and purchase the albums above.

Time to do your part

There are big things happening around the Mullikin household. God has been stirring in our hearts this summer to “chase our lions.” It has been a learning and growing process. Right now, I’ve got something big and challenging in the works. I can’t got into details just yet, but I’m hoping to launch everything on September 23rd, my twins’ birthday. Here’s what I need from you. Txt, twitter, comment, Facebook, Digg, etc. any websites, books, music, blogs, or other resources that have helped you in your Christian journey. Also, if you have site like this or this that gives people a practical way to serve and want some link love and promo then let me know. Anything that helps people discover their purpose, passion, and possibilities: that’s what I’m looking for. By the way, you will be hearing those 3 P’s a lot. What do you do when you catch a lion? I think I’m about to find out. Much love to all, my friends.

“Your Whole Life is a Fantasy Camp.”-Jerry to Kramer

About 10 years ago, I got into Fantasy Football. No one knows this, but I actually invented fantasy sports at a church lock-in in the early 90’s. We called it “card basketball” where we would pick players cards and see who could come up with the best team statistically. If I had stuck with it….well, that’s a story for another day. Anyway, I spent my bachelor party participating in our first(maybe second) fantasy football draft. All I know is Kenny Hanna took Warrick Dunn, a rookie at the time, with the fourth overall pick. Ironically, rookie Peyton Manning wasn’t even drafted, but I did pick him up late in the season and he lead me to the title. The next season I had to pick between him and Kurt Warner on who to keep. Let’s just say, I made a poor decision and compounded it by trading Randy Moss for David Boston and a kicker. All the seasons are running together so I’m not sure if both these horrendous decisions were made in the same season or not. I rarely finish in the middle. I’m either first, second, or last. I guess I got a little Ricky Bobby in me. This year, I’m participating in 6 fantasy football leagues. 2 are with strangers on ESPN, and the other 4 are with people I know. Laugh all you want, but I know a guy who had to report over $15,000 in fantasy football income one year on his taxes. Granted, I’m not in any “money leagues” because all the guys still owe me from year one. Most of the time you can’t tell how good a team is gonna be by their draft(especially if your top 2 RB’s and first 2 picks go down with injuries within the first 3 weeks not that I’m still bitter, Larry Johnson and Deuce McCalister) so any hopeful feelings must be kept in check. After the first 4 drafts I am fairly pleased. When you somehow get Adrian Petersen with the third pick then maybe it’s okay to starta hoping. I can honestly say I have followed my gameplan in each one to a T. I’ve got two more drafts coming up. I actually have 4 spots left in a keeper league I’m doing on ESPN. If you have no clue what that last sentence means then please don’t respond. I won’t take the time to explain how Fantasy Football works, but I will close with an illustration of how it affects the way you watch the game. In season 1 of the former SWU Flukes League, my roommate, Clark Camp, and I ordered Sunday Ticket from DirectTV so we could follow our fantasy players. During week 1 we found ourselves watching the Seattle Seahawks beat someone 30-0. I think we watched the whole 4th quarter of that game because if they got the shutout then Matt Rampey was going to win his matchup that week. I will say I don’t miss doing all the scoring on a spreadsheet while reading the box scores from USA Today. Two computer crashes wiped out the history of our league, but now, thanks to the internet, I can relive every heart wrenching moment from my online leagues. If not for Patrick Jeffers, I would have been a back to back champion those first 2 years. He scored 3 TD’s for the Panthers to give Aaron Rampey the title and then never scored another TD in his career due to injury. Not that anyone is keeping score.

Working out the kinks

The past few days I have sorting through some stuff in my mind. I’m trying to discern what’s from me and what’s from God as it pertains to my passion and purpose. I’m trying to see how this all fits in with me trying to make some money on the side without taking a part-time job on third shift. I guess I’m trying to double triple check that it’s okay if pursuing my passion and purpose results in making some money. I don’t want to do anything that seems shady or unethical. I know it’s my passion and purpose to help others find and pursue their passion and purpose. I want to know if it’s okay for my business to be helping others find and pursue their passion and purpose. I’m at a point where I’m not quite sure how all of this is going to look. There are some costs involved and I want to be a good steward. If this isn’t God’s will then I don’t want to put any money into it. I’m hesitant because I’ve already misunderstood God once this year on a matter like this, but God used that experience and what I learned from it to bring me to this point. I realize now that the experience and education could have been mine for me if I had exercised some restraint and patience. Don’t worry, the details of this story will be post number 1 if and when the new venture/blog is up and running. I guess it’s not really a question of know God’s will for my life, but rather, discovering how He wants me to accomplish it. He has been doing an amazing internal work in me this summer. Has it always shown through? Nope. Do I still lose my temper too quickly with my kids? Yes. Has having a two year boy been a challenge to my patience? Affirmative. I can’t read James Dobson’s “Bringing Up Boys” fast enough. What I’ve been trying to say in these first 300 words is that God has me on an amazing journey and it’s about to get even better. Consider this your invitation to the next chapter. Now, go check out this great post from Dr. Labar on his take on what it means to become and be a Christian. It will get you thinking. Go ahead and add him to your google reader. His blog, Sun and Shield, is a great read. Check out this post from Dean Herman, pastor of 5 Points Fellowship in Easley, SC. Would love to hear your thoughts on his post. Dean and I used meet with other youth pastors in Liberty when he was on staff at Liberty First Baptist. I have always found him to be a man of great vision and passion. Major changes coming to heathmullikin.com so get ready for a bright future!

How do you say what can’t be said?

Posts here have been few and far between recently. I can’t tell you how many posts I’ve started that never got finished. I’m not sure what it is. I don’t know if I’ve lost the joy for blogging or if I started questioning if what I said even meant anything. I’ve started posts on the SLD Road trip, my 10th wedding anniversary, church thoughts, and other stuff, but haven’t been able to finish my thoughts on any of them. Somewhere they’re saved as drafts. I think part of it is having a hard time putting into words where I’m at in life right now. I have met so many amazing people this summer who are dropping everything and chasing their lions. They are doing head scratching things for the kingdom of God. I met a guy named Dave Bever who pastors New City Church in Cleveland. He is putting everything on the line to reach the people of Cleveland. As I heard him share his story, I sensed a courage in him that I don’t sense in myself. This summer has been a journey of discovery. I saw and experienced new things that I will never forget. I find myself waiting, uncomfortably, for the voice and direction of the Lord. Whether that means doing stand up comedy, being an itinerant speaker, starting a non-profit, becoming a senior pastor, staying right here in Denton, or doing most of the above at the same time remains to be seen. In the mean time, God is going to use our church and Soul Glo ministries to reach our town. He’s going to break the bonds of generational poverty, divorce, and sin. He is going to restore marriages, families, and finances. He’s going to provide for those who are not able to provide for themselves right now. He’s going to use the 642 to energize the youth of Denton into a life changing army. We are going to see lives transformed in miraculous ways. Drug addicts will get clean, alcoholics will dry out, and the promiscuous will learn to keep their pants on. We will see the school drop out rate and out of wedlock pregnancy rate go down while the number of church and community volunteers go up. We are never called to be in a holding pattern. There is always a life near us that needs to be influenced, a hungry person that needs to be feed, and a great commission to be fulfilled. Just because you don’t know what specific lion you’re supposed to chase doesn’t mean that you stop chasing the dream of a better life for yourself and those around you through the power of Christ. It’s time to stop worrying about the future…I already read the ending anyway.