Fall Retreat 06

too many thoughts - random thoughts

I was informed by Betsy that we haven't blogged lately. It is not that there is nothing to blog about, I think of things ALL THE TIME. It is there is no time! So I have tons of thoughts - so here are a list of my random thoughts:

* yes clemson lost. no i am not a happy camper. it was a great game, and usc deserved to win. seriously - the only way we could stop them on third down was to intercept the stinkin' ball! and like i keep telling these usc fans - once every five years ain't that bad. that line will work this year.

* christmas decorations before thanksgiving should be outlawed. i put up with decorations before my birthday (12/7) except in my house - which betsy does not like...but decorations during the month of nov is ridiculous.

* betsy and i are in the process of heading to Turkey and Israel in May. we are SUPER PUMPED about it. first to travel with Ray Vanderlin (jewish scholar). second to walk the streets Paul preached from and the alleys were Jesus played as a boy. This blows my mind!

* 24 starts in a little over a month! The Jack Baur power hour is back!

* the local movie theater ticket has just gone to $9 a pop. are you kidding me! almost $20 for bets and i to see a movie. that may of been my last movie in the theater. i refuse to pay that much. in eighth grade when the price was $6 i swore i would not go any longer when movies are $10. and now i am that old when i say "i remember when..."

* continuing the movie rant. why must we pay $9 for a ticket, when they are now playing COMMERCIALS during the previews. they are getting more for my ticket and they are getting paid for putting the commercials up. here's an idea. lets not pay actors a ridiculous amount ($10 million) per movie. and i'm done.

* whoever plays Ohio State for the national championship will LOSE.

* i would put TrueNorth up against any portable church in the country! not to brag, but the transformation (steve's new word) that happens in that gym is awesome. God has truly blessed TNC with the people, talents, money, and passion. Yea God.

* simple is the way to go. all about simple right now. as a staff we are reading "simple church." great book on how complex the church has become. of course this is a reflection of our culture and society. simplicity is a fresh breeze in our chaotic lives.

* the blogging world has a lost a great blogger. chuck young has offically retired a blogger. he was strong out of the gate, but just lost passion. RIP - ears to the earth. if you haven't read laura ownings blog - check it out here - laura is a great writer and worth reading.

* the tanners are making a christmas card - no we are not all (betsy, walt, bowden, and chloe) wear matching white shirts. Bowden will have a white coat. if you want one let us know.

that's it for now.

Made: episode two

Many people have been asking for Episode Two of Made. Here ya go! Jim Bob gets to meet his coach - golf pro Mr. Fritzgearld III (sp?).

Made: episode one

We started a new series this week at Element called Made: becoming what God wants us to be. And of course we are playing off my favorite TV show on MTV - made. So here is our first episode where you meet Jim Bob Cooter and his dream to become a professional golfer. Each week you will see Jim Bob Cooter - or as his friends call him...Cooter....actually become a golfer.

Bowden Tanner

Bowden chilling on the front porch.

Three Years Ago!

Three years ago LAST NIGHT (Halloween) Betsy and I had coffee for the first time in three years of not seeing each other (Round 1). We caught up and talked about where we were and about life. Then Betsy asked me to go to a wedding - but I couldn't due to the fact I already had something that weekend. Even though she was heart broken - I quickly came back with I have a wedding I needed a "date" for. She said "Yes." One year later we were engaged and six months married! WOW how things have changed in Three Years!

Passed!!!!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I did in fact pass the Georgia Bar Exam. Results were posted online today, and I am an official lawyer (well, I have to be sworn in, but I am a lot closer to being an official lawyer now). What a relief!!!! Thanks for all the prayers!

Betsy

Lock Out Video

Here is our most recent event with a 150 student staying up ALL NIGHT LONG! Enjoy.

First Two Catalyst Speakers & Thoughts

Andy Stanley: Andy is a pastor of a small church in Atlanta called North Point (not really- it his huge). Andy is very talented communicator who brought the junk with his talk at Catalyst. He spoke on Daniel 4 and this statement repeated again and again - "...the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes."

Main Points:
*Leadership is temporary. At the end of the day God is the only thing left standing.
* Christian leaders ought to reek with humility
* God is sovereign!

Marcus Buckingham: Marcus is a very successful business man, author, consultant, and speaker. His latest book "The One Thing You Need to Know" focuses on the idea not to work on making your weaknesses better, but strengthening your strengths! Crazy idea. But this goes against our whole society. Society says we must be "well rounded". We live in a society that is remedial in everything we do. Why? Because we focus on being "well rounded".

Three Myths:

Myth #1

As you grow your personality changes--66% believe that. Not true. As you grow you become more and more of who you really are! "We're all a wee bit insecure about some part of our personality."

"Therapy is the price you pay for helping your kids know they are wrong."
"You show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser."

Myth #2

You'll grow the most by working on your weaknesses. We focus on our weak subjects in school. You can't ignore the "D." But that isn't where you'll grow. Weaknesses are areas of least opportunity. Study what your bad at and you get not bad!

Myth #3

What the team needs is for you chip in and do whatever is needed by the team. What the team needs the most if for you to identify your strengths and volunteer to use them. What the team needs isn't a vague willingness to do whatever it takes. Take a stand for your strengths!

*Don't be well-rounded.

Personally this was one of my favorite speakers. This is an area I personally needed to grow. I am good at a lot of things, great at none. This is definitely important in the church. The body of Christ is made up of so many parts and talents. We need people to discover their passions and gifts, and run at the world not well rounded - GREAT at what God has blessed them with...strengths!

Random Thoughts

• The purple Clemson jerseys looked sweet. Yes I know that everyone doesn't love them, but hey we played awesome and brought back an old Clemson tradition. If we would of lost, I can't say I would like them as well.
• The Tigers will win the World Series against the Cardinals in six games - Steve (pastor) will remind me if I am wrong.
• Lock Outs are like Crack for students. They are Jonesin for another before the last one is done!
• Question from a Catalyst Podcast: "If your church was taken out of your community, who would miss it other than your people. Would the community plea for the church to say? Is your church making such an impact on your local community it would be truly missed? " Rob Bell - something to ponder on.
• Apparently babies don't have gills in the womb. They do have "gill slits" but they are not used as gills. Who knew?
• Betsy finds out if she passes the Bar this Friday at 4:30pm. This will either be a REALLY good day, or REALLY bad day. Pretty sure it will be a Good Day.

Clemson vs Georgia Tech

Clemson on GameDay!
Clemson defeats Georgia Tech 31 - 7!

Walty likey!

More on Facing the Giants

"Facing the Giants" was on the Today Show this morning. Very cool story. I learned a few things:

• Alex Kendrick - Director and Head Football Coach is the associate pastor at Sherwood Baptist
• The movie was made on $100,000 - taken up in donations! Remember it has made $4 million to date.
• They created another movie "Flywheel" a couple years ago. Didn't do so hot.
• Not on Today Show: found out that the assistant coach I liked JT Hawkins who is played by Chris Willis - works for Frito Lays in Albany and has seven kids and teaches Sunday school at Sherwood. He needs to get into movies!

This week at TrueNorth we are starting a new series called "Facing the Giants." (yes based on the movie) We are pumped about this series. There are so many people who face giants in their lives and feel like there is no way to defeat them. But God says different. And we are getting to do a lot of football stuff. Not giving anything away - but look for the GameDay crew set up for Sunday Morning!

Facing the Giants

Betsy and I went to see "Facing the Giants" with our journey team this past Sunday. If you haven't heard "Facing the Giants" is a movie written and directed by two brothers at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia (I think).

The story of how it got to the big screen is great. Long story short - the brothers sent the movie to Third Day to see if they could get permission to use a song. Third Day thought it was so good, they sent it to Sony Pictures - and they picked it up. Right now it has made over $4 million in 3 weeks. Compared to "The Grudge 2" who made $20 million in its first week. BUT Giants is only showing in 400 theaters and has made over $11,000 per theater, and the Grudge only made $6,000 per theater. Way to go....when you combine God and Football in the south, you are going to win!

Overall a good movie - good story - predicable ending - some very bad acting. My understanding is that everyone was a part of their church or town, no high paid actors. VERY emotional! It moves you. The death crawl scene is one of the most powerful scenes I have seen in a long time. Sad to say, but will be label "Christian movie" - meaning it wasn't up to par to the rest of the hollywood. BUT the black assistant coach HILARIOUS! Someone should hire him! "I'm assistant coach. I at least should of gotten a moped!"

Rumor has it that Arkansas went to see this movie the night before the Auburn game - and beat the Auburn giants the next day. TrueNorth has decided to pay for the entire North Augusta High, North Augusta Middle, and Paul Knox Middle football teams to go see the movie! Hey if one kid gets it and sees that Christ is Lord-its a win!

Learn more and see the trailer at: http://www.facingthegiants.com/

Ian - I doubt that Boston theaters will be showing this one!

Dental School

Apparently everyone should have their wisdom teeth taken out by an oral surgeon student at their local medical school. Everyone is SO AMAZED at my rebound time from the surgery. And that I trusted a student to do it. Hey when you got connections and no dental insurance...you do what you gotta do!

Walter's Wisdom Gone

After only one day of losing my wisdom teeth, I am back to 97%. One tooth was a bear to get out, but other than a little soreness in that "hole" I am back to normal (which in not normal at all). Apparently this is not normal. Everyone said I will be out for the entire weekend. Walter's back baby!

This X-ray is not mine, but similar. My two bottom teeth were impacted. The top two were fine - but they had to go!

I must now regain my 27 years of wisdom I lost....they won't take too long!

Patience Umazi

This is Patience Umazi. She is 7 years old and lives in Kenya. She is our Compassion child. While at Big Stuf I called Betsy and told her that God had really put Compassion on my heart and thought we should adopt a child. She said yes. Now the mission began. As I went to look at the over 50 children they had who were is need, I could not bring myself to chose JUST ONE! So I turn around, threw a pen over my should and said a prayer that the God would give us the child he had picked out. And Patience was the child I took home that day.

If you don't know, Compassion is Christian ministry that finds children in need all over the world and set them up to be adopted by someone who would pay for their schooling, clothes, food, etc. It is a great ministry that I had heard about many times over the past ten years. I continue to say later, later, later....well later is now.

We are so excited to helping Patience out. Betsy and I have already written her a letter, and she wrote us back with a picture drawn for us. Her birthday is in a couple of days, and we have a special letter and gift for her. I am thankful that God has blessed Betsy and I so that we can help those in need. One person at a time.

Past Week and Random Thoughts

Tonight is Sunday - and I am chillin' like a villin'. It has been a productive day. Church starting at 7am, watching NFL, Bowden and I ran, clean the car, surfed on MySpace talking with students, getting ready for Lock Out....And now finally posting!

The past several weeks have been super busy for both Betsy and I. We have just finished a back to back weekends of weddings in Gvegas (Greenville). And almost every night Betsy or I have been out doing things. This past week the TrueNorth staff headed to ATL to a leadership and creative conference called Catalyst. It was stinkin' amazin'. I will fill everyone in on that trip in later post. And I have just come out of a SICKNESS and now Betsy is in the middle of the SICKNESS. Fun Times. That is the 411 on us - now Random Thoughts.

• Weddings during College Football season should be outlawed. Seriously even if you aren't a football fan - respect those of us who are.
• Yankees Lose...Yankees Lose....Yankees Lose!!!!
• Six Years ago I bought a Detroit Tiger hat because one of my heroes wore a Tigers hat - Magnum P.I - yes he lived in Hawaii and drove a Ferrari. And now I will wear it with pride now that they have slaughtered the New York Yankees.
• "My Hero" by the Foo Fighters can push you to finish any race strong. Today on our run - Bowden and I were 200 yards from finishing our 3.6 run - and dying! (two weeks off from sickness). Foo Fighters comes on the IPOD and I imaged the GreenWay lined with peeps singing My Hero - finished SPRINTING!!! And magnum PI was waiting at the end!
• A new Era in Clemson Football has arrived! We beat Wake Forest. 24 Points in the 4th quarter are you kidding me.
• Studio 60 (NBC) one of the best new shows on TV.
• I am getting my wisdom teeth out Friday - Why do they call them wisdom teeth? Laura O, does Alan know the answer to this riddle?
• Jeff Foxworthy (who was at the Catalyst conference) will make you pee in your pants.
• Terrell Owens is the worst player on my fantasy Team! "Can you step into my office- you're fired."

Stayed for more post! Soon...Like in 5 minutes.

Tanner Rednecks

Well this weekend I work harder at making Betsy a little more red around the collar! Mrs. Furman - Lawyer girl went with me to watch one of our students (Amanda Benner) race in her dragester! FUN TIMES at the Carolina Dragstrip. This is apparently one of the best dragstrips in the south east. If you knew my girl Amanda you would NEVER know she is a racer. But she GOOD.

Since our involvement, not only now have we been to the dragstrip, but also to a NASCAR race! Betsy had NEVER been into NASCAR until Walter. Two years ago for my birthday....she bought us tickets to Bristol (how awesome is my wife). She even has a driver now - Darrell Jarrett. Her theory was she used UPS - so that would be driver.

Don't let her fool you - she had a little country in her. She did do a year on the Rodeo circuit as a barrel racer! You can take the girl out of the country, but ya can't take the country out of the girl - even in the court room! Her is to all the UNDERCOVER rednecks out there - YEE HAW! (one of the greatest TV shows ever!!!!!!)

End of the Spear

Betsy and I did not see this movie when it came out in theaters. I knew the true story of the missionaries, and had heard that the movie was great. Well Bets and I rented it the other day.
WOW! Never have I seen such an example of grace and forgiveness. It was amazing. As the family goes to live with tribe that KILLED their husbands and fathers you ask, "Could I ever forgive like that." Then there was the final scene by the river where Jonny's dad was killed and the tribal leader who speared him. Crazy good! If you haven't rented it - DO IT. And it isn't bad movie making either. Quality actors and great camera work for the jungles of Ecuador. It is not your traditional Hollywood movie - actually some good stuff!

Element

If anyone was wondering what it looks like on Wednesday's at Element - here ya go! Thanks TJ for the pic...not only does TJ rock out by leading our student band, but also clickin' the pics!

Our current series is called "Face Off: facing lifes issues." The crowd is facing each other. Fun times. This is our Middles School Crowd.

Great Story...

As I continue to push through read the ENTIRE bible (something I have started many times, but actually never finished in one time frame) I came across a story I read long ago. This is a GREAT Story for bald student ministers, but not a bed time story for the little kiddies. Why? Because kids die for mocking Elisha for his bald head:

"As he (Elisha) was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths." 2 Kings 2:23-24

And who says our God isn't a just God. God took out an entire YOUTH GROUP! Actually this is a crazy story and leaves me scratching my head. But I know God has my back if I scratch it too much and become bald.

"We're not going to kick any more" Tommy Bowden

The title of this blog is the most honest thing Tommy has said in a long time. There was no hiding behind words - our kicking STUNK! I have been watching football a long time. NEVER IN MY ENTIRE LIFE have I seen what I saw Saturday night! Are you kidding me?

BUT a HUGE win for the Tiger Nation! Bowden Bowl XIII goes to the younger Bowden. I was at the first Bowden Bowl and they said Papa would never be beat! What an amazing game. Now classic Clemson football will be we will lose to Wake Forest and Temple - then beat Virgina Tech. But this year is a new year! A new year where we can just give points to FSU and still win! Go Tigers!

Five Years Later.

Today marks the five year remembrance of Sept. 11. This morning Betsy and I watch the Today show's pieces on Sept. 11.
All those feelings and emotions of that day five years ago came charging back when watching the shocking videos, the interviews of those who lost loved ones, and remembering where I was during this time.

The moment will forever be burned into my memory. We were getting ready for a presentation in Lee Hall (Clemson Architecture School) and listening to the radio. Honestly when the report came in on the radio I thought it just an accident. Then I SAW the second plane hit - and knew that our world would be forever changed.

I pray that we never forget! Knowing that we live in a fallen world, evil overflows into our lives. A lot of people knew I was a Christian in my Architecture Studio at Clemson and they came asking what all this meant, did God let this happen, is the world coming to an end, how do they find God. It was truly a time of seeking for everyone. I was honest in that I didn't have all the answers, but I did know the Light during this dark time. My prayer is that we continue to hold that light high in the air. A light that brings hope, salvation, healing, goodness, and love.

Today five years later - a lot has changed! The people who surround me now in work and worship, I didn't even know exsisted. Our country has made changes to adjust to this new era (post 9/11). Americans eyes now light up in fear at the word of terriorism. But one thing that is constant is that our God is still God! May we never forget.

W.W.J.B.D

It seems like everywhere we go the questions that pop into my mind is What Would Jack Bauer Do! Would Jack Bauer let that waiter talk to his wife like that? Would Jack Bauer drink Diet Drinks? Would Jack Bauer wear boxer or briefs?
Don't we all wish we were more like Jack Bauer! Minus the killing hundreds of terrorist, not peeping for over 24 hours, and faking your own death.


Post by Walt - the things expressed on the Tanner blog in no way represent the theories, sayings, or even thoughts of the other half of the Tanner blog...Mrs Betsy Tanner!

Why do we yawn? And why are they contagious?

Bill Nye the Science Guy (one of my old favorites on Saturday Morning) attempts to answer the question of we yawn? Bill is with me on not buying this whole "because you need more oxygen" idea. That doesn't explain why I yawn when Bill Bob yawns - just because he needs oxygen doesn't mean I need more! So why?

Click here if you even care about this question...to read Bill Nye the Science Guy's article.

Models for ESM

The Element Ladies Pimping those SWEET "Limited Edition" Element Tees at school!

Element SM

This past Wednesday was our "Element Kickoff." We had a great night, over 100 students were there. Everyone had a blast. Check some pics from that night:

Fun with Panty Hose!

Who is this guy?

Middle Schoolers Running through their sign!

The Element Student Band

Cool Pic of Kameron on the Drums!

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

These are not connecting thoughts, just things floating in my head:

• Great weekend of catching up with family and friends. Betsy and I headed to Gvegas for a few hours (36) Friday and Saturday. We got to see both our RENTS and hang with some friends. Good Times.
• Awesome Sunday at TrueNorth. It is super sweet when you have to bring in MORE chairs for people in church. It isn't like TNC is in a small room or anything. Our auditorium seats 450! The second service was the largest I have seen in there (except Christmas Eve).
• Steve hit a home run with this week's message of "Living Out." My favorite part was his -rant- on getting Messy for Jesus. How true. We are not a cookie cutter ministry where everything comes out PERFECT and looking the exact same. People of issues. Heck we have issues! So sometimes we (Christ Followers) have to get down and dirty with lives and sin. Scary - Yes! Reward - Heck Yes!....Great book "Messy Spiritually" by Mike Yacanelli (sp?)
• Clemson Football in one week - YEE HAW!
• Post that are upcoming - picture and story of how Betsy and I have adopted Patience in Kenya - through Compassion. She is not coming home with us to NA! Just financial help.
• Post coming up - On perspective. Lately a lot of people have been talking "your perspective". A new look on the word perspective.

Baby Got Book (WhiteboyDJ.com)

As someone who can quote all of Baby Got Back, this is something a little more holy! Thanks to Laura Owens for sending this one out. This will make you laugh out loud!

Back in the Saddle

Many of asked why we have checked out of the bloggin' world. We have been running around and just not keeping things up to date. Our Summer is over for Element SM, but the school year has begun.

Betsy is stoked (a word that Betsy has NEVER used) about her new job. This year she is a law clerk for two Judges in Augusta (Judge Dickert & no idea). I will let her give you the 411. She has already helped in decisions in the court room - Cool.

TrueNorth is turning two! This past week we cracked 1,000 for the first time since the summer began. Which means vacations are over and people are getting back into the grove. It was awesome to look out during the second service and not see one seat avaiable! We were SLAMMED. I have an idea - we should move to the gym. Oh wait we are in three weeks! This is going take TNC to a whole new level - and that is very exciting. Personally I believe that TNC is one of the fastest growing churches in the South. HOW SWEET!

God is truly moving and blessing at TNC. Life change is happening, families are being saved, people are "cross eyed", individuals are dying to their selves and living for Christ, and Christ is receiving all the glory! Does it get any better than that....yes. It's called heaven - but until then TNC will do!

TrueNorth on the News!

Click on this here to see local CBS station's story on TrueNorth Church.

Great Story for TNC - God keeps on pouring out His blessings.

Charleston Pics

Cool Fountain (our "inn" was in front of the park)

Self Portrait in the park (yes it was 100 degrees outside)

Bets and Walt at the SC aquarium (those are some good looking kids!)

New Charleston Bridge (Sweet!)

Correction

Betsy here--I wanted to make a quick correction. I said that I feel pretty good about the Bar Exam, not very good. I have a peace about it and am not anxious. I am just very happy to be done studying and ready to start my new job!

Back in Action

The Tanner blog has been MIA due to the busyness of life.

1) Betsy made it through the BAR EXAM and feels very good about it.
2) We are now North Augusta Residents - the move from Thomson was flawless!
Betsy wants to give our NEW address:
455 W Martintown Rd
North Augusta, SC 29841
3) Walt has returned the pulpit to Steve after the Davis vacation.
4) Our one year anniversary trip to Charleston was awesome (pics of Charleston to follow).

And now we start a NEW CHAPTER with the Tanner Family. New City, New Job, New House, but same story. Stay tuned for the Adventures!

The Banquet - Luke 14:15-24

This past Sunday I had the great honor of preaching at TrueNorth Church. This entire summer we have had one series: Short Stories. We have basically been teaching Jesus' parables. These have been great sermons and Steve has hit a home run with everyone. So Walter had big shoes to fill. How did I do? Not going to say you can see for yourself at www.truenorthchurch (and catch up on all the TNC sermons).

I will say I personally felt good about the sermon. I pray the main point that we have all been invited to the banquet table of God and that it is by His grace we sit there came across. This week - The Lost Sheep. I have never had to bat two innings in a row! Usually I am a pinch hitter once and out - hopefully I didn't set the bar too high!

Busy Couple of weeks

Here is what is going on with Betsy and I:

Last week:
Big Stuf Camp
Preached Sunday (The Banquet - www.truenorthchurch.com)
studying for Bar Exam

This week:
Betsy takes Bar Exam (praise Jesus!) - in Atlanta Tuesday and Wednesday.
Moving Friday
Preaching Sunday (The Lost Sheep - come and see it live! The second show is completely different than the first...Don't forget to tip your waiter or waitress)
Family dinner Sunday (guest in NA)
Sunday afternoon head to Chuck Town (Charleston) for 1 year anniversary!

Post Big Stuf Blog!

Yeah! We made it back from Big Stuf. What an amazing experience for our students. For many of them this was their first experience with a "youth camp". They loved it. The beach was awesome. The speakers rocked the house. And the worship bands were unbeliveable. Plus God was all over the place. It is cool to see students just through a couple days of focus in their lives get a few steps closer to God. To know that Christ is showing up a little more in their everyday lives is truely a blessing. And for me that is what it is all about.... to see those kids growing, building a solid foundations. Some are farther along than others, but it is still neat (who says neat) to watch it build block by block.

Big Stuf Bound

Saturday at 7am we ship out for our second trip of the summer. This adventure takes us down to Panama City, FL to Big Stuf Camp. This will be my first trip to Big Stuf, but from everything I have heard in the past -this will rock your socks off. And the peeps who have already been this year said this years is the best YET!

Needless to say, our 24 students and I are pumped about spending time at the beach together and worshipping our God in an amazing atomsphere. They may have wireless - if so I will try and post to let everyone know how we are doing. If there is no internet....until next week! Pray that our students will meet with God and hear his voice.

Cultural Relevant

Ian Wilson has a great article on being "Culturally Relevant." Here is a clip from it:

"Knowing pop-culture is not relevant.
Wearing "random t-shirts" is not relevant.
Smoking cigs and throwing back brewskies is not relevant.
Swearing now and then is not relevant.
Even listening to U2 is not relevant."

We at TrueNorth consider our church to be one that tries to be Culturally Relevant. But I agree with Ian in that being Culturally Relevant isn't about a look or music we listen to but a way that you look at your life. The Church for the past several decades has created a Christian sub culture to protect ourselves from the evil "secular" world. This isn't what we see Christ do, he criticizes the church of His day for separation of those who were lost. To me being Culturally Relevant is about looking at the culture we live in and sharing Christ's love, not creating a holy huddle.
Way to go Ian...that seminary degree looks to be making you a regular Christian theologian. But I do wear "random t-shirts".

New Words for Websters

1. Bling-bling: n - flashy jewelry worn especially as an indication of wealth;
2. Unibrow: n - a single continuous brow resulting from the growing together of eyebrows
3. Himbo: n - an attractive but vacuous man (Betsy had never heard of this word)
And the most interesting word added in my option:
4. Google: v - to use the Google search engine to obtain information about (as a person) on the World Wide Web.

Five years ago who would of said that the world google would be a verb in Websters Dictonary. Betsy says I make up words all the time....maybe I should start writing them down and send em' to Webster.

Nooma Videos

If you haven't heard of NOOMA, you are probably in the majority of the world. NOOMA is a company that has been set up to produce short films (10-12 minutes) that deal with God issues. I first found out about NOOMA two years ago and fell in love with all their videos since -13. The main communicator is Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill in Grand Rapid Michigan - I thought he was the only communicator, but I heard that other communicators are soon to join Rob at Nooma.

What does Nooma mean?
The name NOOMA is an English phonetic spelling of the Greek word pneuma, which is commonly translated to “spirit” or “breath”. Pneumatology refers to the study of spiritual beings, particularly the interactions between humans and God.

Where do I find Nooma Videos?
Nooma videos can be order and watch (small clips) at www.nooma.com and they have been picked up by Zondervan and can be found at Family Christian Bookstores.

Why am I writing about Nooma?
Well - before this week my favorite noomas were "Sunday" and "Bullhorn". But my new favorite is number13- "Rich." Not so much in scenery and camera work (which is awesome in all of the brilliant short films) but the content. AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME! I have watched it twice in three days. This issue has been on my heart for several months - GIVING (not so much money, but our lives...time, sweat, energy etc)
The conversation (Rob Bell and you) starts with a bummer sticker Rob saw "God Bless America" and Rob tells how God has already blessed America -

• The USA makes up 6% of the World's Population and uses 40% of its resources
• Only 8% of the world's population have cars
• Over 1 billion people don't have clean drinking water
• 800 million people will not eat today & 300 Million are kids
• Around a billion people in the world live on a dollar a day (if we get a dr pepper for a dollar we are lucky!)
• Experts say to give EVERYONE in the world basics of life (clean water, food, shelter and even electricity) would cost $20 Billion....that is how much Americans spend on ice cream in ONE YEAR!

How rich are we? We take clean water for granted. We take our cars for granted. We take our food for granted. We are SO RICH! Everything we have is a gift. Lets start sharing the gift. May we as children of God help take care of those who need lifted up. Not so that we feel good about our selves, but because God has called us to. Commanded us to.

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with EVERYTHING for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." 1 Timothy 6:17-19 NIV

"Moving on Up to the Eastside."

Betsy and I have started packing up our current rental home in Thomson, GA to make the move to another rental home in North Augusta, SC (this is to get us closer to the TrueNorth). In doing so - I came across this old pic of my old roomie when it snowed in South Carolina!

Loved the pic - so I posted it for all the world to see! I am sure in the next week or so you will see all sorts of random things we find packing.

Post Go Camp Post

This past week we took 24 students to Columbia, SC for our first mission trip. The camp was called "Go Camp". The idea for the camp came from Dustin Willis, Chris Barrieau and myself less than a year ago. Dustin is the pastor of Midtown Fellowship in Columbia - who sponsored the camp. Midtown set up all the sites the students worked at during the week. Dustin and the Midtown Crew did an amazing job of setting up this camp up. The Chris Brown Band lead in worship and ROCKED the house!

You see this wasn't a trip where you go work in the day and chill in the evening. Our students (and others from three other churches: trinity United Methodist, Hampton Height Baptist, and First Baptist Gray - 60 in all) worked in the morning and afternoon. Came back and had free time - then amazing worship and teaching and tons of fun during the nights!

This was a great trip for our students at TrueNorth Church. Many had no idea what to expect, and came anyway. I truly believe our students have started understanding it is not just about them. Dustin did a great job during our teaching time to explain sacrifice, service, and obedience. Our students lives were changed. They are ready to go into our community and put into practice what they have learned. Now it is my job to continue that passion and excitement for mission and service in North Augusta/Augusta. It is awesome to see the lights come on with students understanding: less of me and more of You.

Visit the Go Camp MySpace at www.myspace.com/gocamp

The Phad (that's pad with a ph)

Sorry ladies these STUDS are taken! Martha Ann, Betsy and Sally are three of the luckiest ladies in THE WORLD to have such manly men! These are two of my college roomies - Casey Callahan and Ian Wilson. Both are in seminary - I was the only one graduated from Clemson and escaped from the classroom! "Strength and Honor!"

David Crowder Band

MSN music has David Crowder listed as a nominee for artist of the month! They are running against: Nelly Furtado, Frankie J, Busta Rhymes, and Neil Young. You can vote by clicking on the link below.
http://music.msn.com/music/artistofthemonth

I believe this says how far Christian Music has come! That the leading Christian Band who writes a huge amounts of songs sung in today church, be considered "talented musicains" in the world's culture. Nelly Furtado, who has a new single out, is getting beat by some crazy looking Christian group from Wacco. Jesus ROCKS!

Element Student Ministry

This good looking group is our high schoolers after playing kickball and dodgeball last Wednesday.
This week is Ulitmate Fribee! In the words of Toby, "My skillz aren't as good as they once was, but I'm good once - as I ever was."

Grillz

Inspired by Nelly's song "Grillz", Betsy got herself a nice grill for her top row! Bets has more Grillz than George Forman.

(Old picture found from Ski Retreat this past year!)

Is Jack Bauer a Type of Christ?

Post from Mark Driscoll (Pastor of Mars Hill in Seattle)
"With the fifth and arguably best season of the hit television show 24 now concluded, Jack Bauer can take a much needed shower, get something to eat, and power up his cell phone battery which magically lasts forever. At the risk of sounding blasphemous, I would like to offer the suggestion that perhaps 24 is incredibly popular because Jack Bauer is a lot like Jesus, as the following correlations indicate:

• Jack and Jesus are both dudes who worked in construction.
• Jack and Jesus have disciples and Jack’s disciples have names like Chloe, Michelle, Bill, and Tony.
• Jack and Jesus do not lie and can be trusted to accomplish whatever they promise.
• Jack and Jesus both oppose evil and seek to bring forth a glorious shalom world, free of tyranny and evildoers.
• Jack and Jesus were both betrayed by a close friend who ended up dying as a result of his sin.
• Jack and Jesus are both saviors willing to lay down their life for those they love.
• Jack and Jesus were both resurrected from death; Jack was essentially put to death to fool the Chinese government and then resuscitated. "

This year Betsy joined me on the bandwagon of "24". I was hooked after watching Season 4 last year, and now Betsy and I are offically Jack supporters. With Season 5 over, we have been going through withdrawal of our "Jack Bauer Power Hour." So we did what anyone would do...joined Netflixs and now have finished half of Season 1. AWESOME STUFF.

Thoughts on D Day: June 6, 1944

Today, 6.06.06 , is not the end of the world as some would have you to believe. It is the anniversary of one of the most important days in WW II - D day. In honor of that, I and a select few spread out across SC watch "Saving Private Ryan" every year. The WW II vets who saw "Ryan" said that it couldn't have been more accurate unless you had a camera on Omaha Beach.

We often forget that freedom comes with a price. Freedom as a nation and freedom from sin.

Paul reminds us, "For you were bought at a price..." 1 Cor 6:20a
The price Paul talks of was death on a cross, and the freedom from sin was our reward. May we always honor Sacrifice for freedom is never free.

New NBA and Barry Bonds 715*

This years playoffs are the most NBA basketball I have watched since the Jordan Era. I will have to say that I do believe the NBA is on the move back up after spending the late 90s and early 00s at its ultimate lows. The "Thug" years are offically over and the Nash-a-nator winning two MVP shows the times they are a changing. With Allen Iverson and "Star"berry on their final years, the new blood of the NBA has a ton of potential.

It is King James league and the rest are just playing in it! LeBron is sticking amazing and actual has a good head on his shoulders for a 20 year old with millions in the bank. D-Wade is another awesome young gun who is shining in the playoffs - 69% from the field are you kidding me. And young Dwight Howard in Orland (#1 2004) is an awesome Christian.

Here is to the new blood of the NBA - keep it up young ones, keep it up!

Barry Bonds
My boy Ian Wilson is a much better writer than I so I will just send you to his link on his thoughts on Barry Bonds and his 715th homerun. I support what Ian says: "Barry Bonds is a cheater!" Click here to read Ian's Blog.

Men's Weekend

In the beginning of May I took part in a reunion of Clemson/Blue Ridge. It was a mixture of guys who either went to Blue Ridge, went to Clemson and Blue Ridge, or just Clemson. I fell into the "just Clemson" category. A majority of us all knew one another from previous events or just hanging out together. All in all we had 12 guys in our weekend.

We stayed in an awesome cabin outside of Boone, NC. Shout Out to Casey "Kat Phat" Callahan for finding with sweet cabin and setting the weekend up. It was full of old stories, lots of red meat, hikes in the woods, old stories, poker, ESPN, lots of laughter, and few more stories.

The scary thing is that we are grown ups! There were ministers, seminary students, engineers, salesmen, doctors, and all sorts of real job having people there. But when placed in a room together it is official we all become little boys. All the sounds, smells, jokes, and behavior of elementary boys made up the majority of the weekend. Except when the OLD MEN wouldn't play ultimate Frisbee!

until next year in the wise words of Waynes World- "Party on Wayne, Party on Garth."

Post Beach Report

Betsy and I decided to come back!
It was tempting to just stay down at Fripp Island. We looked at purchasing one of those small houses down there and just live, but then we woke up and realized our $1.5 million didn't exist!

It was a good vacation. Very relaxing and energizing. Both of us got very toasty. Betsy learned that just because she has become a Tanner doesn't mean her skin will become "tanner". HA! I kill me - yes these are the jokes Betsy lives with.

Lots of time on the beach, lots of time "attempting to fish", and of course lots of seafood! It is good to be back. Stay tuned for Pics.

Graduation and Beach

Well, I finally graduated from Law School this morning (Saturday, May 20). The ceremony was a bit long and the gowns were hot, but the point is that I am completely finished with school. It is hard to believe that I know have a law degree. I pray I will use it wisely. To celebrate, we (Walt, me, my mom and dad, and my nephews--Blaine and Cade) are headed to Fripp Island for a week at the beach!!! Woo Hoo!!! See ya in a week when we will come back nice and tan (or red).

Da Vinci Code Review"

Betsy and I went to see Da Vinci at the 3.15pm showing on Friday afternoon to beat the crowd. We both had listened to the book on CD (since we drive long distances) about 6 months ago, so we knew the story. After reading the book and hearing that they were coming out with a movie I was 100% saying this would be a great movie.

I WAS WRONG!

It was a good movie, maybe even a shade on the better than average. But it definitely goes under the category of the book was better than the movie - MOST BOOKS ARE! The movie was choppy and did not tell the story in a comprehendable way. We followed because we knew the story and maybe my judgement was tainted because I knew the story, but I felt like it fell short of my expectations (which were set very high).

Stick a Fork In Me...

Cause I am done!!!! I officially finished my last law school exam and thus my last law school activity!! I graduate this Saturday (May 20) and then I am headed off to the beach with the fam! How exciting!! I have 2 full weeks with no school work to worry about at all. Then, I will hit the books to start studying for the Georgia Bar Exam. But, I am not thinking about that for the next 2 weeks :) Fun! Fun!

Good Quote

Erwin McManus - pastor of Mosaic in LA:
"Run as fast as your character goes deep, not as fast as your talent goes wide."
Can I get an AMEN!

Hate the Game not the Player

Yesterday I(Walt) went to my first Mayor's Prayer Luncheon in North Augusta. The Right Reverend Steve Davis was a guest prayer, so TrueNorth Church had a table. Well the guest speaker is the head coach of the team I and most Clemson fans will rank at the top of the list of most hated teams - Georgia Bulldogs!

Yes, Mark Richt was the speaker at a CHRISTIAN EVENT. I was SHOCKED! To my surprise I was very impressed with him a speaker and up standing Christian man. Hey even Sodom and Gomorrah had a missionary!

So I may hate the Team, but I admire the coach. He is no Bowden - but he did mention Papa Bowden lead him to Christ while coaching at FSU. What a family!

GO TIGERS!!!

Hank Hill finds Mega Church

Mark Driscoll had this on his blog and couldn't resist.

Even if you don't watch King of the Hill - funny clip on Mega Churches. Hank recently went church shopping in an episode of King of the Hill. Of course, he landed in a megachurch with high-definition TV and good coffee. You need to see this one for yourself.

Coming Out of Winter Hibernation

Betsy and I have started coming out of our Winter hibernation. Before Betsy and I were married we both worked out and ran throughout the week. But since our physcial health has not been up to par. Betsy leaves early and gets home late. Living in Thomson, GA doesn't give us a great place to get exercise in.

This past week we have put 13 miles under our belt in exercise. Two three mile runs and a 7.2 mile hike at Hickory Knob Park has been very refreshing. Bowden also enjoyed the hike - she got to play in the Lake and LOVED it. Nice flat hike, but Betsy and I really really miss the Blue Ridge Mountains. Yes they are only three hours away, but they used to be in our backyard.

Goal: Half Marthathon in the fall - Betsy hasn't caught this dream and actually HATES the idea. Hey we need something to get us off our Butts. Stay tuned to see if we actually do it.

My Space takes over the world

TrueNorth is doing a series called: His Space - a place for hope. We decided to use the whole my space movement and teach from it.
Steve did a great job on Easter informing people that Christ took "my space" on the cross and made it "his space." The rest of the series is about our bodies and giving up my space and making our lives his space. Check it out on the TrueNorth Church website.

PS: Steve created a myspace page - click here - for HisSpace
And Element Student ministry also added a myspace page - click here

NEW CAR!!!

Betsy has now replaced the Ghetto Corrola that was totalled a couple weeks ago. Her new car is a 2002 Mazada 626. YES it is an upgrade from the Corrolla whose blinker had to be manually blinked. Allstate was VERY Generous in their amount they gave for the Corrolla. And we put some extra into the car for the upgrade, since Betsy will be making $100,000 in a few months....wait....sorry I forgot that unlike most lawyers my wife has a heart and will be making chump change helping people! A lawyer and architect should be doing alright - unless the architect becomes a student minister and the lawyer works for the state. And I can honestly say life couldn't BE BETTER.

North Augusta Centennial Parade

This past weekend TrueNorth had a float in the North Augusta Centennial Parade. Unfortunately the rain didn't allow Stainless (our student ministry band) to rock out on the float. Fun times in the rain!

Picture: Bowden and I worked our Miss America wave as we walked down main street.

Photo courtesy of Amanda Newsome

Last day of school!

I am sitting in my last class in law school and likely my last class in school forever!!! It is hard to believe that formal education is almost over and I will begin my career. It is almost surreal. It makes me realize that I will not see many of these people that I have sat in class with for 3 years. Did I spend my time wisely? Did I build lasting relationships? Did I share Jesus Christ with those around me? Did my time here glorify my Savior? I know I made many mistakes, but I pray that the last 3 years in Athens will have made a difference for God's Kingdom. How will I use my law degree to bring the most glory to God? It is exciting to embark on a new phase in life's journey. Scary to some degree, but exciting. I know that God has me being an attorney for many reasons, and I look forward to finding at least some of those reasons out. Hopefully, I will get to keep up with some relationships that I have built in law school. My friends are spreading out, but I pray we keep in touch. I am a bit sentimental, but also extremely happy to be done with school!

The Fellowship of the Ring Continues

"One ring to rule over them all!"
I knew that Frodo didn't throw the real ring into Mount Doom.
George W will make a great Hobbit!

Not such a good day

This is actually Betsy writing a post. Well, today did not start out so well. I drive about 1 hour and fifteen minutes to school 4 days a week (5 days a week last semester). The drive, by the grace of God, has been incident free the entire time until this morning. About 100 yards away from my house I did something stupid. Without rolling my windows down to get the morning dew off I decided the coast was clear and hit the gas. Unfortunately, the coast was not actually clear. I ran smack dab into the trailer a man was hauling behind his truck. I think that I saw the truck and its lights go by, but I do not think the trailer had any lights on it. I was going all of 5 m.p.h., but the truck was likely going about 60 m.p.h. Although no one was injured and I do not think his truck suffered any damage (only his trailer), my little Corolla did not fair so well. I called it my ghetto car, but at least it worked. It had to be towed and we have not found out if it is totaled or can be fixed. I was SOOOOO MAD at myself. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who did not get mad at me. He came right up the road (didn't take him long since I was so close to home) and just gave me his support. I thank God for a man like Walt!!! Maybe next time I post it will be a happier story. God will teach us something out of this, I am sure of that!

On a brighter note--only 7 days of law school classes left!!!! Then papers, exams, studying for the bar, and taking the Bar Exam and I will be done.

Roll Call

Super Duper Shout Out Tiffany
Tif left a comment on our last post and said she had linked from AJ's blog! First didn't know AJ had a blog and second that must mean AJ has been to the Tanner Blog. Every time we think that like 2 people look at this thing we learn that more of our homies are checking us out.

So we would LOVE to do a ROLL CALL. If you are checkin' the Tanner Blog out - leave your name. Our real estimate is that no more that 10 people check this thing out. Let's see if we can get ten names listed.

AJ leave a something behind so I can holla at ya! Would love to hear how you are doing.

First Masters

Today was the first round of the 2006 Masters in Augusta, and my first steps on the sacred Augusta National. Everyone has told me that you must experience the Masters at least once. They were right. The golf course was CRAZY beautiful. The grass, tree, plants, water and the azaleas were perfect. It was a whole nother world. The sight and sounds of the Master were quite memorable.

It was also cool to see Tiger, Phil, VJ and the rest of the pros in action. They hit the ball so perfect and straight. I looked at my mom (who I took with me) and said these guys should really look at getting paid for this!

Attended the Masters - I can now mark that off the list of things to do in life.

Fairness

Was listening to Andy Stanely this week and heard a very profound statement. Andy was talking about how people say Christianity is so narrow minded when it comes to Christ being the only way to heaven. A lot of folks say that it is UNFAIR.

Andy goes on to say that it sounds pretty fair to him. Anyone and Everyone is welcomed. Male/ Female. Black/White. Young/Old. The price has already been paid. All we have to do is accept the gift. Everyone has the chance to accept the FREE gift of salvation. Andy ends by saying: "If that isn't fair, I don't know what is!"

Graduation In Sight

Betsy is 51 days from graduation from UGA Law School. After graduation Mrs Tanner will be taking a week off and then starting a six week Bar review course to prepare her for the Georgia Bar (I asked Betsy why it is called the Bar - her answer - NO CLUE.)

Betsy does have already have a job. She will be working with Judge Dickert and Judge Annis in the beginning of August. This is a one year clerkship and Betsy is SUPER excited about the position.

Facedown Video

Brian Bradford - our web dude- has set up a special page for Facedown. On the truenorth home page the headings are "Current Series / Past Series / Facedown." Click on the Facedown tab to see a slideshow and the video with Steve and I talking about worship.

March 15th - Facedown at the Imperial

What is face down? Facedown is what we at TrueNorth call our "Communion Service." We specifically plan a service every three months for our believers in the TNC family. Sunday Morning is mainly an out reach tool, and this a time we take to focus on our Salvation and the Cross. Facedown is mainly filled with music and reflection.

At the IMPERIAL: This was the fourth Facedown Service (our third). The last Facedown maxed out our facility at the High School. So we had to go "across the river" to Augusta for this special event. The Imperial is an old theater that is has much character. It reminds me of the Roxy in Atlanta (down the road from the Fox Theater).

This facedown we attempted to do a little NOOMA like teaching series through out the service. To view click here. (well not up yet - will let you know when they are on the website). We also added sign language and dance. It was a great great night. One of the highlights was Kevin and the band doing "In the Air Tonight." Although this idea is not original - taken from Mercy Me - it was awesome! We had the lights, haze machine and everything. Can't convince Kevin to upload to web because of Copyright Issues.

To see a few pics head to Kevin Bradford's Blog. Look forward to the next Facedown

First 180 Weekend

This past weekend Element Student Ministry pulled off its first 180 Weekend (AKA: D-Now). We had a great turn out of 60 students taking part in this awesome weekend.

Our theme was "Never the Same". We discussed that once we have a true encounter with Christ our lives are Never the same. The students were challenged to make sure their lives were different and weren't the same as those who aren't followers of Christ. The three people we looked at in our bible study who had encounters with Jesus was - James and John (disciples number 3 &4), the woman caught in adultery, and Lazarus. These individuals lives were never the same after their contact with the Messiah.

Will Snipes was a guest speaker and did an amazing job with the students - AS USUAL! Daniel Harper and Jemery came down from NewSpring to lead in worship and they too rocked the students.

180 has what kept me from updating this here blog. After a relaxing Sunday afternoon and Monday Morning, we will update on a few other things going on with Betsy and I!

TALLADEGGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY

I laughed out loud when I watched this. Click here.
Will Ferrell comes to NASCAR

It was a crazy day but...

I had no idea that both "the" Oprah and George W Bush were at our wedding! I (Walt) cleaning the house this weekend- yes I do clean, and I found our guest regristry from the wedding this past August. It was fun to look at all the names. On the last page what do I find - the signature of the Oprah and George W. Bush they would of stuck around to say 'Hello'. I almost over looked Master P coming with George W. That is CHIM!

TNC on the Map

Our worship leader, Kevin Bradford, at TrueNorth has a great post about this past Sunday. Click here to visit his site and read his account. I will just say that Steve told about how he got a call from Rick Warren and our attendence was a record with over 1150 peeps in the house.

So I pondered this question, Why? I agree with Steve in that God has given us the 5,000 talents and blessed us amazingly. But I also believe that going back to the basics has helped our growth at TrueNorth. TrueNorth was formed based on the church of Acts, the way God intended his bride to be--full of passion, love and action and not about traditions, politics or committees. So many churchs (all over the US) are scratching their head wondering why people stop coming and why they don't enjoy church.

My theory is that if more churches started replacing the religion that plagues our churches with Christ revival would ERUPT. This is not new. Christ told the religious leaders of his day the same thing. Hopefully more churches will realize this and not center theirself on religion! It has taken over 2000 years for a handful of churches to understand this. Let the revival begin.

Shout Out!

Shout Out to Kelley Hubbard down in the HH (Hilton Head)
Kelley sent me an email saying she watch the videos at TrueNorth.com and let me know that the Tan Man still is wild and crazy. This is a relief....I thought I might had toned down a bit after the whole marriage thing. Thanks for the reminder K Dawg.

Also...I have changed the setting were ANYONE can leave a comment! So please leave a note for Betsy or Walter - we would love to hear from all our fam and friends floating out there is cyber space!

Inspirational Story

If you haven't seen this story, you have been living under a rock. Senior, Jason McElwain who is autistic and the team manager/trainer scores twenty points on senior night.
His family has been approached by 10 or more movie companies wanting to film his story.
This even got ME a little choked up! Click here to watch this amazing story!

Married Pro

At truenorth we are in a series called: The Real World. The Real World is all about relationships (friendships, dating, marriage, family, etc) . This past week Steve headed out of town with his wife and left the church in my hands (yes very scary!). Click here (www.truenorthchurch.com) to watch the video from this week's sermon "Real Vibes." It is about being single and finding that one true mate.

As the title suggest - I am old married pro now. Betsy and I just celebrated our 6 month anniversary. It is all down hill from here...that is what I have heard!

Also while on the TNC website check out the announcement video from this past week. I got to meet Toby Mac and he gives me a hand with the annoucements!

2006 Olympics

USA...USA....USA.....USA......USA.....USA.....USA

Betsy and I are spending this Saturday Night watching the 2006 Olympics. Can't say that I am huge Olympics fan, but Betsy is. So here we are watching away!

So life has been somewhat back to normal around TrueNorth. Tomorrow I am preaching on relationships - that is exciting. We are planning on three services in a couple weeks. We have been cracking 1000 the past three weeks. That is crazy because TNC just had its 18 month birthday - churches aren't SUPPOSED to grow that stickin' fast. What can you say - God is good!

Thursday Night I (Walt) got to meet and film with Toby Mac. You can check out the announcement on the TrueNorth church homepage. Toby a cool cat! He didn't say anything about a new DC Talk album coming.

USA.....USA.....USA.....USA....USA.....USA

You've Just been slammed

Due to popular demand. My weekly announcements for the church are now on the website. Go to www.truenorthchurch.com and one of the slides on left will say Announcements. Click on the link and you will see some EXCITING News. This week we have Chris Tomlin, Lou Giglio and Matt Redman - see them with the TrueNorth Band.

Winter Retreat 2006

The Tanner's (Betsy/Walt) and the kids from Element Student Ministry just got back from our first big trip together. We took 50 students up to Sugar Mountain for a little ski action. The stats where against us. With all those students on the slopes I was sure to lose one to the hospital. Our only incident was a middle girl, Stephanie, busted her nose and got blood on the pretty white snow. So we beat the system this time.
I (Walt) believe this trip was my last snowboarding experience. I am hanging up the snowboard and reaching to the old faithful skis. I have determined that I don't board enough to stay good. It takes me half the day, and my entire thresh hold of pain to get back into the grove to only do it one year later. Skis are like riding a bike. You always know how to work those babies! Yes Norie I am sure that makes you sad!

Hard two weeks.

This past two weeks have been very long and turbulent. In the past two weeks our church, TrueNorth Church, has seen two back to back tragedies. Two weeks ago we received news that two young boys (4 & 7) in our church were killed by their father - who also then took his own life. Their mother had recently separated from their father and has been an active part in the TrueNorth Family. So this tragic news not only hit our local community, but our church fellowship as well. After a very moving candle light vigil, funeral , and special Sunday service where we dealt with the questions we had for God - we thought we were ready to move forward.

Later that Sunday night we got a call that one of the guys in our student praise band had been killed in a car accident with another boy. This effected more of my students (high school). Again the same questions came up: How? Why? Does God care?

These past two weeks we have had an up front stage to tell others how we as Christians can get through these hard times. Our pastor, Steve Davis, was on the News several times sharing about our church and they even put my ugly mug on the screen to talk about our candle light service. After the double murder and suicide we had counselors on hand and God opened up his arms to bring over 1100 people to come hear gospel. AMAZING. Yes that is our largest crowd ever. We continue to look at how God can use these tragedies to bring people to his saving knowledge.

Please pray for the Young family, Kotz family and Katsings family. And TrueNorth Church as we are smack dab in the middle of a Storm of Life!

The Kids

Here is the much anticipated pic of Chloe.

Chloe and Bowden remain peaceful sisters in the Tanner household. Bowden too often forgets that she is MUCH larger than Chloe and smacks her with her big ol' paw.

Montana Outting

Our trip to Montana was a good one. We enjoyed spending time with my (Betsy) brother, Ben, my sister-in-law, Ginger, and my two nephews, Blaine and Cade. Ben works on a ranch in Melville, Montana. He is a true cowboy! Everyone asks if it is cold out there, and the answer is yes. But, the temperatures were pretty mild. The highs most days were in the low 40s (normally the highs are in the 20s). The ranch did not have any snow or get any snow the whole time we were there. But, we did get to see snow when we took a trip to the nearby mountains and when we went snowmobiling (you can see some pictures by clicking on the link). We went snowmobiling in West Yellowstone. This was a first time experience for Walt and I and we had a lot of fun! It was hard to leave the family on our final night in Montana knowing we won't see them again for a long time, but we are very glad for the opportunity to spend a few days in beautiful Montana.

2000 lbs of Stuff

First entry in 2006! Betsy and I have tons to report to everyone. We have had an enjoyable, busy, amazing, and stressful couple of weeks. A lot has gone on. We have been in several states and been around thousands of people and been on a roller coaster of emotions. In the next couple of days we will be filling you in with all the stories and experiences - we even have pictures. Stay tuned for more details! Happy new year.

Top Ten Things you don't want to hear from Santa

10. Hey kid the Easter Bunny got run over by a car
9. How about an extreme makeover for Christmas? You need one!
8. Who needs an Ipod when you have socks.
7. Sparky didn't run away last christmas. I sat on him while I was delivering presents.
6. When was the last time you brushed your teeth.
5. The North Pole is on strike - it's clothes for all the boys and girls.
4. Aren't you the guy I caught playing with his sister's dolls last year.
3. Smile or that elf will break your legs.
2. Xbox 360, who do you think you are the pope!
1. Sorry kid - I had mexican for lunch.

Family Photo

Well if we were doing a Christmas Card this would be the best we would come up with.
Justin took this pic this year at the Tanner Thanksgiving Fest.
As you can see Miss Bowden is bigger than Bets and Myself!

Merry Christmas to all!
And to all a Good Night.

Leftovers

Believe it or not - TrueNorth let me speak again and even put it on the web.
Check out: www.truenorthchurch.com to see the sermon called "Leftovers"

Kitten

I am now the proud owner of a cute kitten named Chloe. After begging Walt for few weeks to let me have a kitten, he finally gave in last Saturday. My timing was probably not the best since I am in the middle of my law school exams and since Walt and I will be gone for 2 weeks after Christmas. Oh well. I have learned a few things about cats this past week. First, they do not always smell good. I am greatful that she inherently knows how to use a litter box, but I am not a big fan of cleaning it out. Second, cats (even little kittens) do not cuddle on command. Although she lets me pick her up and pet her, she will quickly jump out of my arms. I imagined studying peacefully and having my little kitten curled up in my lap. She will only come in my lap if she wants to. I guess that is the nature of a cat. When I get a digital picture, I will post it. Maybe this cat will teach me some life lessons (like patience and you don't always get what you expect).

Christmas Trees

Hard to believe that it is already stinkin' Decemeber. Now I know that a lot of folks have the idea that since it is Decemeber it is time to put up Christmas Trees. BACK THE TROLLY TRAIN UP!
Before we get all crazy with this Christmas Tree talk, we need to remember to celebrate an important day in US History - Decemeber 7th. Before we go half hazardly throwing up trees and decorations, we need to remember the day that started WWII, yes Pearl Harbor Day. The day that will "forever live infamy."
The second reason Decemeber 7th is important is because of a little known man's birthday, Walt Tanner! With that said. We still sit with no decorations and tree untill the celebration of Dec 7th!