Category Archives: Marty

On Lolcats, Fails, Bronies, and More…

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PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

In visiting our site here yesterday, you may have noticed that we went dark for 24 hours to protest and raise awareness about SOPA and PIPA, two bills that are currently before Congress and will be voted on January 24.  We’re back to normal today, obviously, though I’m not quite sure what normal is for us.

If you haven’t been living under a rock the last few months, you know about these bills and how they could potentially cripple the internet as we know it.  If you have been, here’s the quick run down: major organizations in the United States, mainly the MPAA and RIAA (those who make movies and music) have pushed legislation into Congress to stop pirating from offshore websites, thus keeping American property ours.  This keeps foreign websites from hosting torrents or files that are illegal downloads.  Under SOPA and PIPA, these websites could be shut down permanently, with no warning, and no due process.

I like this.  Sure, protect your stuff, whatever.

But that’s not all SOPA and PIPA could do.  In the interest of protecting intellectual property, ANY website would then be able to be shut down even due to just one small image or piece of text.  Companies within our borders will have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep their websites free of any user posted material which could cause a copyright infraction, which would cause them to be immediately shut down.  No warning.  No due process.

I don’t like this.

That means that my favorite webcomic artist can’t draw a Batman joke anymore, or he might lose his job.  That means that your favorite Lolcats, or Brony pictures can’t be made, or those websites could be shut down.

No Cheezburger Network.  No Failblog.  No Reddit.  And it gets worse.

Under this act, the law would extend even to Facebook or Twitter.  Imagine this: those social networking sites that you love to waste time on so much….gone.  Loss of contact from family and friends, loss of connection to the world, all because someone posted a picture of Angry Birds with a caption on it.

What really burns me up about this is that these acts don’t create jobs like the MPAA and RIAA says, they just continue to allow them to line their pockets.  These laws would actually cause unemployment, as thousands of creatives in our country would lose their jobs.  Again, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. We are spending our time and money fighting for stupid legislation like this while thousands of people in our country don’t have a job.  Where are the bills that all of us are fighting about to create jobs?  Where is the push for that?  Why are we even CONSIDERING a bill that would cause even more Americans to become jobless?

Greed.  That’s it, plain and simple.  The Hollywood Juggernaut is hungry, and it doesn’t want to slow down, even though the world is clearly moving in an opposite direction from it’s archaic means of distribution and creation.  The power is in the hands of the people, not just in the hands of a select few, and they hate it.

So, what can you do?  Do you want to see all your favorite YouTube funnies go away, or do you want to continue to enjoy the internet as it is, a tool that has broadened the world we live in and made it, dare I say it, a better place?

Go here, sign the petition, get educated, call your Senators, black out your site, do something.  It really could make a difference.

Accountable?

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All my life, I’ve need someone to tell me what to do.

From my earliest memories, I have always worked best from a list.  If you write down what I need to do, then I can usually look somewhat successful.  I’m constantly writing myself reminders and lists, leaving them where I can find them. I verbally process in lists, which greatly annoys my wife, as she feels like it’s me telling her what to do, which I”m not.  I just need to say it out loud.

Recently, I’ve noticed that this isn’t just true for my professional life, but it’s also true for my faith.  I’ve told the teenagers that I minister to many times that following Jesus isn’t just a list of rules or checkboxes that you must fill to be in standings with Him, but oh, how I wish it was.  I wish it was just something that I could go through each and every day, merrily checking boxes until I achieve the ultimate relationship with God.  But, that can’t happen.  What can happen, however, is that I can find someone that will get into my life and talk with me about the things that are going on there.  What I need is an accountability partner, which regretfully, I don’t have right now.

So, this week, I’m going to try and fix that.  I’m looking for an accountability partner.  I need someone who is going to walk with me through my highs and lows, through the best times and worst times.  I can’t be my family.  It can’t be my wife.  It can’t be a member of the opposite sex.  I need a man who will guide, teach, mentor, correct, and love me through all the stuff I think, say, and do each day.

Do you have an accountability partner?  If so, how did you find them?  And now that you have one, how do you maintain that relationship?

Man’s Best Friend

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So, I’ve been reading lately, which is dangerous, because of the fact that I don’t read very much, but when I do I get obsessed with a book and try to devour it as fast as possible.  When I do read, it is usually a book about youth ministry, a fiction book just to take my mind away for awhile, or some kind of faith related book.  It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book about marriage, and I didn’t expect the book I’m reading to make much of a difference (I originally downloaded it just to see how much I disagree with the author), but I’m two chapters in and it’s already convicted me and got me thinking about my marriage.

When I married Erin back in 2002, I was convinced that she was the perfect one for me.  I believed that God had knit her together in her mother’s womb with me in mind.  Before you begin to doubt, I still believe it.  It believe it today more than I did on that day we exchanged vows.  I often told her that she was my best friend, and that I was thankful for her, and that she was everything I wasn’t, my perfect compliment.  As anyone can tell you, marriage is hard, extremely hard, a fact that movies and television shows don’t often show, since everything is usually wrapped up at the end.

What people don’t tell you is that living with your best friend is hard.  Extremely tough, even.  Taking two lives and squeezing them together until they become one is hard enough.  I’ve known lots of people who are best friends who start out as college roommates and end the semester never wanting to see the person again.  Somewhere along the way, friendship gives way to just being a good roommate, and then, being a good roommate gives way to just making it through the semester.  I realized a couple of days ago that there were days in our house where that was more the case than me treating Erin like she was my best friend.

If a man is to be his best, he needs to live with his best friend.  That means that a man’s wife must be his best friend.  She will see him at his best and worst, his highest and lowest.  A man’s wife will put up with all kinds of junk in the name of love and support.  Yet, for many man, we adopt the idea of ball and chain when we think of our wives, and not the idea of the best friend, walking side by side with us through any and all circumstances. Men, why is it that we will let our friends become closer to us than the one we pledged our lives to in the vows of marriage?  I believe we have a problem here.

Truly, man’s best friend is not a dog, or a fishing boat, or the boys at work, but his wife; the woman who has born many burdens, children, and responsibilities, all because she once fell into the same love that her husband claimed to feel for her.  In treating our wives like best friends, we should be inviting, open, friendly, kind, funny, and unafraid to be ourselves, just like we are with “the guys”.

My resolve is that I stop seeing my wife as a roommate with sexual benefits and treat her as the best friend that she, and I, deserve.  To allow the friendship we share to blossom into a lifelong relationship that is fulfilling and exciting, that never leaves us lonely.  My desire isn’t to just have a good marriage, but an exemplary, extraordinary marriage.  Guys, if you’re reading this today, would you join me?  Let your wife become your best friend, and be her best friend as well.  We may have to sacrifice a few things, but in the end, isn’t gaining the best marriage possible worth it?  I think so.

To Catch a Liar

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I knew this day would come.  I just didn’t know it would come so soon.

We caught our little girl, Annaliese, in a lie this past Friday.  And it wasn’t just one lie, oh no.  It was a lie that was topped with a lie, which meant she’d tried to cover it up!  How in the word does a 3 year old girl learn that?  If there was ever a greater argument for the inherent sin nature of mankind, I don’t know what it is.

First, we found the evidence.  Isaac and I were in the floor playing with his Rescue-bots when I first saw it: pink hair that was uniformly cut, laying in small tufts around their bedroom.  It wasn’t much, but enough to give me pause.  I didn’t think much about it, thinking it was from some previous hair pulling. (My daughter had a problem with pulling doll’s hair, and her own, and sticking it in her mouth and sucking on it.  Gross, I know.  But, she’s getting better.)  Then, I noticed more hair in the floor right before their nap, cut in the same straight line.

The pieces began to fall into place.  There were child scissors in the floor of the living room when we got up that morning.  The hair matched her Fluttershy pony’s hair.

“Did you cut that pony’s hair?”

Her face immediately dropped, but she shook her head.  ”No!”

Erin went to get the pony.  Sure enough, there was a chunk out of her hair.  By this time, both kids were getting in bed for their nap and so in the bedroom I asked again.

“Annaliese, tell me the truth.  Did you cut the pony’s hair?”

Tears.  Mumbled, gurgling cries.  ”No!”

Erin comes in with the pony.  Showing her the hair that’s been cut, she repeats the question I asked, which causes Annaliese to cry even more.  Then, it happens:

She blames her brother, saying he did it.  Isaac goes off like a timebomb.

Here it is, World War III, in their bedroom, all over pony hair.  Finally, we get them calmed down and I gathered up all her ponies with hair.  I sat on the edge of her bed and sighed.

“Annaliese, no one is going to spank you, no one is going to yell at you.  Just tell us the truth: who cut the pony’s hair?”

Looking down, a tiny hand shot into the air and she sniffed, “I did.”  And in that moment, all my illusions that my daughter would be daddy’s perfect princess were shattered.  Dramatic?  I think not.  My expectation is that my children do what is right and that they be perfectly honest with me at all times.  Here, I was seeing the exact opposite.  She had done something she wasn’t supposed to, (played with scissors) lied about it, (told us that she didn’t do it) and then shifted the blame to her brother. (Another lie.)

Silently, I gathered up her My Little Pony toys and put them in a Walmart sack, where they currently rest on the top shelf of my closet.  She can have her ponies back in a month.  Until then, we will remind her of the lie, and why it is wrong, and pray and hope that she makes better choices next time.

 

Back at it.

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Time to break away the stone that has begun to form here on this blog and type in something new.  I just saw that our last post was on December 14, which would mean that we’ve been gone about 2 weeks, leaving those of you who read here with nothing.

Shame on us.

The holidays take a toll on you.  Understandably, there is a lot of travel, a lot of unsure internet, and a lot of food induced comas which you don’t wake up out of until it’s too late for a blog post.  There are good things: Christmas mornings with children who are too excited to sit still, watching movies you got, eating way too much good food, and playing with children who are excited about their new toys.  In the midst of all this, not once did I say, “Man, I really need to stop and go write a blog post!”  I kept on sleeping, kept on playing, kept on eating, kept on watching.  It was nice.

Unplugged.

So, hopefully, we can get the engine fired back up here and get back on track.  Keep watching this space for more this week.  Thanks for being a friend, here’s to a great 2012!

Mine!

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Sometime between Friday and Monday morning, this site was hacked.  It wasn’t a malicious hack, I guess.  The only thing that happened was a redirect in the script that pointed this site to a page that said “Nouse was here!!!”.  It happens to tons of other sites, as you can see by a Google search, but even that fact wasn’t enough to make me feel better.  I was pretty ticked.

I spent the better part of yesterday trying to fix it.

This involved me logging into my accounts on both GoDaddy and Bluehost, trying to figure out what I could do to make it work.  10 hours later and a lot of fussing, my site was back up, and I was worn out with it.  But still, something bothered me.

See, this site is mine.  Well, actually, it’s now mine and Erin’s.  This is a place we come to talk about our life; to share, vent, console, encourage.  In the last few days, someone thought it would be a good idea to take down a blog that gets just about 100 hits per day (on a good day).  What’s the sense in that?  Why even bother?  Because you get your jollies from bothering other people?  Pathetic.

I really hope that one day your “work” leaves a trail right back to you that gets you taken down and arrested.  I know there are more people like you out there, but just because they are out there doesn’t mean it’s right, or that you have to be like them.  Because of this intrusion I felt violated and unsafe, and I would never wish that on my worst enemy.  It’s a very unsettling feeling.

So, things are back to normal….for now.  Erin will post something tomorrow.  Thanks for sticking with us during the downtime.

A few words about “Xmas”

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(I originally posted this blog last year around Christmastime, and actually the year before that,  but I thought it was still pretty relevant, so I decided to share it again.  I hope it makes you think.  Merry Christmas!)


I’m probably going to make some folks mad with this post.

I realize this early on, and I take full responsibility for it. But, part of doing what I do is calling it like I see it, even when the truth isn’t sexy (thank you, Derek Webb). By now, if you’re like me, most of your Christmas shopping is done, presents are wrapped underneath the tree, and you’re just ready for the whole thing to be over with. Well, except for that last part. Part of why I feel the way about what I want to write about today is the fundamental shift that has occurred in my life over the last few years regarding Christmas, and what it really means. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our Savior, my Savior, Jesus Christ. It is about how God came to earth in the flesh to ransom the souls of men by breaking the power of sin. Over the last few years, the full gravity of this has come to bear on me, and I have wrestled with it, trying to justify selfishness over the message of the tiny baby in a manger. Guess what? I lost.

Yesterday, as I was leaving the house to go to church, I noticed a sign in my neighbors yard which simply says “We say Merry CHRISTmas.” I shook my head at it and continued on, but later I learned the origin of those signs. Our local high school is selling them to fund their Project Graduation. This bothers me on so many levels. Not just because the name of Christ is being used as a commodity to pay for inflatable games and pizza, but because it also fans the flames of those who loudly declare “CHRISTmas” instead of “Xmas” or “Happy Holidays”. This is wrong, and I want to explain why.

A few years ago, I first noticed the hubbub in the news because some national chain stores had stopped using “Merry Christmas” in their advertising and were instead using “Happy Holidays”. The opponents of this used, “It takes Christ out of Christmas!”, as their main argument. That’s an understandable argument. But, to assume that Christ has been taken out of Christmas just because one department store or another chooses to say “Happy Holidays” or “Xmas” is a huge leap into false logic. In fact, a better argument might be that these corporations, and us to a larger extent, have taken Christ out of Christmas by the way we’ve turned the celebration of the birth of  the Christchild into a consumeristic bloodbath to get the best deals on the most stuff so we can all fake happiness a few more days. If anyone, ANYONE, is to blame for taking Christ out of Christmas, it’s anyone who chases stuff more than Jesus during this time of year. People lined up at our local Walmart at 11:00 p.m. the night before Black Friday……when is the last time you saw someone line up outside the doors of the church on Saturday night because they couldn’t wait to worship?

It bothers me so much that some people want to hold the name of Jesus high during the holidays, screaming “It’s CHRISTmas!”, but the rest of the year everything else seems to be more important. I think the best way Christmas is declared is by a life that is thankful for Jesus year round, not just one month, or one day. Let me break it down even further….

The symbol that I used at the top of this post is called a labarum, or the Chi-Rho. It is a symbol that is used in churches, and represents Christ. Chi is the pronunciation for the Greek letter “X”. The “X” in Xmas is from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of Χριστός, Christ in Greek. So, the first letter of Christ, when used in Xmas, is actually correct! Now, we can argue that there is some kind of agenda against Christmas, but the agenda isn’t with the church! It’s outside, in the consumer-driven holiday that we’ve allowed ourselves to create! I don’t understand why we think that corporations like Target, Walmart, Best Buy, or whoever, have to say “Christmas” when the rest of the year they don’t exhibit qualities of being a so-called “Christian” business. We can’t expect non-believers to act like believers. That only comes from a renewed mind and a regenerated heart.

As for the signs, we’ve turned Christ into a nothing more than a material thing. A name that’s bought and sold. And in doing so, we continue the feed the consumerist monster, only this time we give him the Messiah to snack on. In the long run, does it really matter, what we say? We can say Christmas/Xmas/Merry/Happy/whatever, but do our lives reflect that the child in the manger has changed anything about us? Do we only celebrate CHRIST in this month, or is he capital letters in our life all the time? I want to leave you with this except from an article on the secularization of Christmas, and the wisdom of C. S. Lewis:

In the early 20th century, Christian writers such as C. S. Lewis had already noted a distinct split between the religious and secular observance of Christmas. In Xmas and Christmas: A Lost Chapter from Herodotus, Lewis gives a satire of the observance of two simultaneous holidays in “Niatirb” (Britain backwards) from the supposed view of the Greek historian and traveller. One, “Exmas”, is observed by a flurry of compulsory commercial activity and expensive indulgence in alcoholic beverages. The other, “Crissmas,” is observed in Niatirb’s temples. Lewis’s narrator asks a priest why they kept Crissmas on the same day as Exmas. He receives the reply:

“It is not lawful, O Stranger, for us to change the date of Crissmas, but would that Zeus would put it into the minds of the Niatirbians to keep Exmas at some other time or not to keep it at all. For Exmas and the Rush distract the minds even of the few from sacred things. And we indeed are glad that men should make merry at Crissmas; but in Exmas there is no merriment left.” And when I asked him why they endured the Rush, he replied, “It is, O Stranger, a racket… “[64]

Merry Christmas everyone….let it be in our hearts as it is in our words.

Since Last We Met

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Wow.  Let me blow the dust off this page and try to assemble some coherent thoughts.  It’s been awhile since we last saw each other, and a lot has happened  Here’s a rundown of what’s been going on with the Estes’ lately:

1.  Thanksgiving – We have Thanksgiving in two places, Marty’s parents and Erin’s parents.  So, that means double the tryptophan, double the noisy dinner tables, and double the calories.  It also means lots of awkward family moments and plenty of rest.  So, all in all it was great.

One year at Thanksgiving, when I was about 8, I was having a particularly hard time with my asthma.  I was coughing hard, and often, and didn’t feel like eating.  So, when time came to get in line and get my food, I just put a roll on my plate and went to the table.  My Aunt Betty thinks this is hilarious, and in almost 23 years since then, not one Thanksgiving has passed where she has not brought it up in conversation.  This year was no different.

“Do you all remember that time all Marty ate was a roll for Thanksgiving?!”

Yes, Betty.  We ALL remember.  You’ve made it clear.

But, hey, there was chocolate pie, fried turkey, dressing, mac and cheese, and all other kinds of good stuff, so it’s hard to be upset when your penance for eating all that good stuff is that you have to hear the roll story again.

2.  Christmas decorations – We put them up early so that we could enjoy them.  We are pretty busy during December so if we waited it would never get done.  I like decorating for Christmas, just not outside.  So, we have two trees, and some knick knacks spread around.  By spread around, I mean that the kids will not leave them alone and we find all kinds of Christmas-y goodies left all over the house.  Thanks, kids.

3.  Important video games came out – Zelda: Skyward Sword and Mario Kart 7 came out within the past 3 weeks.  That should sufficiently explain my lack of blogging time.

These are just a few things that we’ve been dealing with.  All good things.  All family things.  And really, I’d much rather spend family time than spend blog time.  Check back tomorrow for a new post from Erin.

Giving Thanks.

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Today is Thanksgiving.  In a little while I’m going to go stuff myself with copious amounts of turkey, dressing, macaroni and cheese, and pumpkin pie.  But before that, I feel like I need to tell you what I’m thankful for.  I don’t do this as a holiday blog gimmick, but I realize that I can truly be an unthankful person who takes everything he has for granted.  With that in mind, here’s what I’m thankful for today:

I’m thankful for my God.  I’m thankful for all the times I’ve turned away but He’s been right there waiting.  I’m thankful for the cross, and for Jesus.  And I’m thankful that in the last year I’ve had a personal spiritual revival in my own life.

I’m thankful for my wife.  She is a beautiful godsend who was made perfectly for me.  She compliments me in every way and I’m so thankful that I somehow tricked her into marrying me.

I’m thankful for my kids.  Isaac and Annaliese daily live up to their names “laughter” and “gift from God”.  My life would not be the same, or complete, without them.

I’m thankful for a job.  In a time when many can’t find one, I get to wake up every day and not only go to work, but I get to go do something I love.  So, in a way, it never feels like work.  I’m thankful for htat.

I’m thankful for my family, both blood and in-law.  They put up with a lot of my foolishness and still love me.  Thanks for putting up with me on a regular basis.

I’m thankful for my church, where we are seeing God do some amazing things.  This past year has been tough, but maybe things are starting to change.  I hope we stay thankful.

I’m thankful for every teenager and child that I minister to.  I love you all, each and every one, and I’m glad to be a part of your life.

Happy thanksgiving everybody!!!