Good Week

It has been a good week. I'm getting more and more excited about the various aspects of my job. This week has certainly felt more settled. I am finally feeling at home. The Bengals won. Deb and the kids seem happy. Good times.

The last few days have hinted toward a season change - my first real one in 13 years. I think I will really enjoy autumn before the gray oppression that is winter attacks and does not relent for three months.

I'm teaching a leadership training event this weekend for the VCC group leaders, an Alpha class next week, and it looks like I'll be back on the mainstage in three weeks or so. I'm looking forward to each venue as I continue to learn about the church and my place within it.

Tonight I get to hang with two old friends - Tim Parsley and Kevin Rains. It is good to have them here...one of those bonus blessings with the whole deal.

It's a Wrap

It was great to get my first teaching time under my belt at VCC. I was overwhelmed by everyone's positive response. It went a long way to helping me feel at home here. I'm emotionally exhausted from it all, but excited about what the future will bring.

If you are interested, the streaming video of all the weekend celebrations are found at the church website: www.vinyardcincinnati.com. Just click where it says "last weekend" to see it.

Getting Ready

I'm spending the day preparing for my first weekend message at The Vineyard. I've more or less figured out what I think I should say...just need to trim it down now. Tomorrow is Aidan's sixth birthday. Deb's family will be coming in and it will be good to have a birthday party with family for a change.

I threw up some new phots of Eli at my 747 site. I think photo-therapy is working and hope to get out at least once a week.

Art

I've decided to explore photography as a bit of artistic expression and therapy. I had this idea on our first few days here in Ohio and have created a new blog to explore it. You can read about it and see my first few photos at www.stateroute747.blogspot.com.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I have spent my life changing. Most of you who have known me for more than a year or two can easily see that. When I was younger I desired to be known, at some level, as "the one who is changing." The changes of my youth were often reactionary and dramatic, while being largely sincere and calculated. Somewhere around my 30th birthday I grew tired of being known as the "changing one." Ironically, I have done a lot of changing since then. As I approach middle age (oh, the pain of seeing that in text), I wonder if I am somehow destined to be a changing person or if I have become addicted to change like a junkie needing a regular fix of newness. There is a strange desire for our family to settle now, to nest, to rest from change - at least in terms of where we lay our heads at night.

This is all a preamble to launch into how all encompassing my life has changed this month. It's not just a new zip code, though that is part of it. It's the new job, the new friends, the new schools, the new schedule, (having a schedule at all), etc.

I am not complaining - not yet anyway. I'm actually enjoying the new things. I have just never changed so much so quickly. It has made everything rather surreal. People keep asking us if we feel settled yet, to which my wife immediately says, "yes" while I just stare at them searching for an answer. It's a hard question. (For you newer friends, you should know that I do a lot of staring and very little talking during a conversation. It's annoying, but I can't seem to be otherwise.) I do feel ready and excited to be settled...but not quite settled.

Next week is my first time teaching at The Vineyard. That should help to take the next step in settling in here. I'm teaching on God's Passion for People. I've reread The Return Of The Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen this week and may use Rembrandt's painting to try to unpack God's love:



All this business of change perhaps hinges on the state of our hearts, like everything else. On one hand, God is a God of transformation, revolution, and journey. He's a compulsive change agent. On the other hand, God never changes - this is something that makes him God. Maybe it is the difference in trying to change ourselves vs. allowing ourselves to be changed. The difference between renovation and surrender. The prodigal's first change was to leave the Father and live his own life. His second change was to give up his own life and surrender to love. I've done plenty of both in my life.

Looking forward to seeing what will be...

School Days

Thus far the kids seem to really be enjoying their new schools. Here's a photo from opening day...

Survived Week One

The adjusting, unpacking and learning continues. Things are going well, but the last few days have felt fuzzy and very busy. I've gotten up in the middle of the night unsure as to where I am, etc. It takes a while for your body, mind and spirit to align and realize you are somewhere new.

The kids start school Monday and we were able to see their classrooms and meet the teachers yesterday. It seems like it will be a good year for both of them.

Also, a small change - my first weekend teaching will be Sept 8 and 9 now...so if you were driving in from California, you may want to adjust your plans.


More to come...

Still Settling In...

Here's a photo of the kids in the Allied Van semi. The driver, Ed, let them blow the horn and play around in the cab.

The essentials of life have arrived - cable TV and the internet. We were able to pick up some new furniture for the living room and it won't be here for a week or so. Right now our living room is our TV on an old dining room table, one bean bag and several unopened boxes. The kitchen and bedrooms are more or less unpacked though. I will have a real office at work for the first time since the Canyon Ridge pre-building days back in 1997 - ten years! Since then I have worked at home or, more likey, at Starbucks. I've also shared a community office from time to time, but this one is rather legit with a door and window and all. It will be interesting to see how I work with an office.

I'm scheduled to teach the first time at The Vineyard on the weekend of Sept. 1. They will video stream it at the website which is linked over on the right side of my blog -->

Almost forgot - we sold our mini van back in socal and bought Deb a Chevy HHR this week. It's silver and she looks kinda like a gangster in it.

Landed.

We closed on our house this morning at 9:00 and the movers arrived at 1:30. Spent the day opening boxes and searching for the essential things like sheets, soap and the kids' video game system. We are exhausted but happy to be here. It still doesn't feel very real, and I am have a hunch it will take a while for things to sink in. The kids are about as happy and excited as they have ever been. They each have their own bedroom for the first time and they love playing in the basement and yard.

Tomorrow will be jam packed with everything people do on day two of a move. Off to bed now...

Numb3rs

2,250 - current miles traveled
9 - states visited
35+ - mpg (gotta love the Corolla)
7 - days apart from the kids
2 - days at my parents
2 - days at Deb's parents
120ish - current miles from our new house
95/80 - average temp and humidity on our trip
8/15 - the date our house closes
8/15 - the date our furniture arrives (just found out today - could have been a week later)
4 - pounds gained after a week of farewell dinners and a week of traveling
3 - Number of times I auditioned for Numb3rs the TV show
0 - Number of times I booked Numb3rs the TV show
100% - how annoyed I am by the current numeric formula of this blog...seemed like such a good idea when I started.

Packing Day - Time to Blog

The kids have been shipped off to Kansas City with my mom and dad. The packers are at the house today working hard, while I drink my coffee and write this. This gives me great joy and a little guilt. Our other moves (all eight of them) were all about us and a U-haul, so this one is a little different to say the least. This will be our ninth home in our 12 1/2 years of marriage. That is especially impressive considering we lived in one house for about seven years from 1997-2003. Our ninth house is about 25 miles from our first apartment that we lived in for about five months before moving to Vegas in 1995. I keep thinking of Mr. Bilbo Baggins and his journey "there and back again."

Monday begins our Journey back again. The Allied truck will be loaded in the morning and Deb and I will start the cross country trip in the Corolla, stopping in KC to see mom and dad, and to fetch the kids. We are due to arrive in Cincinnati sometime before August 15, when our house is set to close. I have always enjoyed those rare nomadic moments in life when you leave one home in search of another. There is something very primal and adventuresome about it. It mixes a fear of the unknown, a sentimentailty of the past and and an excitement for the future. It reminds you that you are alive and that life is unpredictable. It is also nice knowing that everything you own fits in a truck and that you can live without it all for a week or two. It makes you want to get rid of everything - until you open the truck and wonder how you managed to survive without Tivo, alarm clocks and your toaster oven.

Bush Zombies

And now for something completely different...

Moving Fast

We spent some time last week in Cincinnati preparing for the move and looking at houses. We visited several dozen and found one that we really liked on the second day. We put an offer in that night and it was accepted the following day. We are set to close on August 15, which will also be our first day there. Everything is moving fast...and we are literally moving fast. August 6 will be our last day here in Costa Mesa.

Our new pad is in Liberty Township, located about twenty miles north of Cincinnati. After living in Orange County for more than two years, the economic shift was a little crazy to say the least. (Our house will cost much less than the two bedroom apartment we lived in last year.) We were able to find a newer home with plenty of space, including a (nearly) finished basement and a big backyard. Here are some nice midwestern photos of the new place...





The next few weeks will be busy - lots of good-byes followed by packing, driving, visiting some family, driving some more and then unpacking, painting, buying a lawn mower (who knew?) and all that stuff. I'm excited about it all, except the good-byes, which make me a little sad and uncomfortable. More than everything I'm excited to see what the next season will actually be like. It's all so new and, like I said over and over in the last post, so very unexpected.

A Very Unexpected Turn of Events

Some things in life you see coming. Some things in life surprise you.

And then there is that third catergory. The few times, perhaps only a handful over the course of a lifetime, that so blindside you that you feel dizzy for a few years afterward. This is one of those times.

As I have noted in this journal, around April of this year something in my spirit began to change. (To explain this change I am going to have speak in terms of "God moving" or "speaking" to me. I do that rarely and cautiously. However, in these events I know of no other way to explain it.) I began to sense a call to openness along with a growing conviction that I was holding part of myself back from the Lordship of Christ. Debbie and I began to talk about what this could mean. It brought us into discussions about my career path and our overall spiritual journey.

On Easter Sunday we visited my mom and dad in Kansas City and attended their church. Nothing too out of the ordinary happened at the service, but I could feel myself reacting differently than I would have earlier in my life. In my early twenties I would have silently condemned this church for being a little "out of touch." In my late twenties I would have certainly condemned them for being overly structured and institutionalized. But as I sat there personally celebrating a birthday that would catapult me straight into my mid-thirties, I felt nothing but contentment. I felt happy for them that they had each other. I was pleased that they were following Jesus the best they knew how. I felt a still small voice that said, "This is good, but you'll do it differently next time."

It was hours later before I noticed that the small voice told me I would be doing "this" (whatever "this" is) again. It got me thinking.

We were home for a few weeks when I confessed to Debbie that I felt like God was wanting me to be open to a fuller, perhaps even a "vocational", form of ministry. We chewed on that for a few days.

All of this is happening as my career is going well. I had signed with a new agent and my film project was growing into a bigger deal. It made no sense to have those thoughts then.

To back up a bit, in October of last year a church in Cincinnati (Vineyard Community Church) had contacted me to see if I might be open to vocational ministry again and I politely turned them down without much thought. I had promised them that if God changed our hearts we would let them know, but even as I told them that I knew God wouldn't be changing my heart. Well, he did. I e-mailed them in May to find out that some of the church leaders were actually in Anaheim that week for a conference. Since they were only a few miles from our house we agreed to meet one night. They had been busy not filling the position over the last seven months, but waiting for the "right person." Debbie and I were able to meet with some of their staff that week and we all agreed to keep praying about what God seemed to be doing.

The next four weeks were full of strange and mysterious events that included phone calls and e-mails from several friends around the world. We hadn't told anyone about this, but it was starting to feel like God was telling people to pray for us. Friends called saying they were waking in the middle of the night and praying for us, others were calling claiming to have seen visions of our family moving eastward and returning to church work. It was all so mysterious and confirming, but very hard to explain.

We visited the Vineyard about a month ago and it continued to feel right to us. Some of the theological issues that have become so foundational to me are very alive there - The primacy of the Kingdom, relational and organic growth, a desire for a church planting movement, experimentation within the gifts and, most obviously, a heart for the poor and hurting. They believe that "small things done with great love will change the world." That feels like something worth believing in. It was a good trip.

Last week they offered me the job of Teaching Pastor and we accepted. We will be leaving southern California in a few weeks to head back home to Ohio, which is something I never thought I would say or write or even think...it is all so unexpected. All this has done nothing but bolster my faith in a Living God and the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit.

We are grieving leaving our friends here and moving even farther away from our family in Las Vegas, but we are also excited about this next season. Leaving acting and Hollywood has not been as hard as I thought it would be. I will be able to finish my film project (Hitting the Nuts) from Ohio. I can also return to improv and acting as a hobby, which is something that I have missed living here. Much of the joy is taken out of art when it becomes a business. I'll also have opportunity to use much of what I have learned in film and video production in my new job.

If you are a Vegas friend, I have written a more detailed personal letter to Apex which will be read by Tommy at the next Gathering. It explains more of my process as it applies to our story there.

As always, I will continue to update you here as the journey continues. My family would like to thank all of our friends, all over the world, who have shared life with us to this point. We would not exchange our unpredicatable story for any other.

Peace to you all.

Regarding My Non-Jewishness

I've gotten several e-mails (and a nice comment from Mo) regarding my thoughts below on feeling rather "left out" of most of the Bible as a Gentile (#7). I wanted to clarify my thoughts on this a bit, since it has gotten a little attention.

First, the list of ten initial thoughts after reading the entire Bible contained both feelings/impressions and more rational/logical ideas. This particular comment was primarily a feeling more than some theological breakthrough. As I read through the scriptures I felt somewhat like an outsider reading the faith story of another people. (Remember, I was trying to pretend like I didn't know what was coming.) After Jesus, and more clearly Peter and Paul, invited the Gentiles into the Kingdom, I began to feel like the OT was my story, but my story as an adopted, though very loved, son. I do feel like the entire Bible is for Gentiles as well now in light of that, but I do not think I would have easily reached that understanding without Acts, the letters of Paul and a few stories in the gospels.

I understand that there has been a recent (last few decades) missiological focus on God's concern for the non-Jewish peoples throughout the Old Testament. I have read several essays tracing this attribute of God, and I do not deny it. I would say, however, that it is somewhate encrypted and would be very hard to see without the NT breaktroughs mentioned earlier.

I also think that some people have read my ideas as suggesting that God is not missional in character. I still believe in a missional God and a missional people, but I feel that his primary missional focus was intended to be through the submission of Israel, which never really came about. The Abahamaic Blessing (all nations being blessed through him) has certainly now been realized, or is being realized, through The Kingdom of Jesus. Regardless of what could have been in the old covenant, the new covenent launches us all into a mission to see the forces of evil destroyed by the powers of love, forgiveness and submission to God in Christ.

Journey's End

Wrapped the NT this morning. The whole immersion experience shaped me. I was suprisingly taken to Paul this time around. I feel kind of like Paul in some ways. I read the last half of Acts and most of Paul's epistles in the same day. It was good to do that. I recommend it if you struggle with the Pauline stuff. He really is a redeemed Pharisee in every sense of the word.

I was secretly hoping for a Revelation breakthrough with the other 65 books fresh in my mind, but nothing too profound hit me. It can still mean about ten different things depending on what you want it to mean. Maybe this is a good thing in some ways.

Without much pre-thought, here are my top ten stream of consciousness thoughts at the end of the journey:

1. I should do this every year. Next time during a sabbath and over a week when I can focus.
2. Yhwh does what he wants. That's what makes him Yhwh.
3. The main sin of humanity is idol worship. It was easier to define idol worship in antiquity than it is now. I should think on this more.
4. The "new covenant" is really a big deal. In some ways it is a total U-turn. I have a little more compassion for those who killed Jesus and see why he would say that they "know not what they do." Some of them thought they were really doing God's will.
5. The temple and the ark of the covenant bother me. Why did God want an earthly house and throne? It seems a little confusing and very religious. Maybe this is just some of my new covenant thinking trying to make sense of the old.
6. Jacob's name change to Israel - from "he deceives" to "he wrestles with God" is symbolic of every human being's journey from deceiver to wrestler and also symbolic of all of humanity's journey.
7. The Bible really has almost nothing to do with me (a Gentile) until the middle of Acts. We non-Jews were only invited in because God's chosen people seem to reject both the old and new covenant. This makes me feel very lucky and a little angry.
8. The NT has a few thru-lines going on at the same time through various eyewitness families. I am sure that theologians have names for these family lines, but I have never thought of them quite like this. The Lukan/Pauline line traces the gospel from Luke-Acts-the letters of Paul. The Johannine line from John - epistles of John - Revelation and the Petrine line from Mark - the epistles of Peter. I suppose a fourth Hebrew/Jewish line could be drawn through Matthew - Hebrews - James - Jude. In other words I got the feeling that these are three or four seperate contextualizations of the gospel in the first century that co-existed but had some differences. If you are smarter than me let me know if I am on the right track here.
9. God's people should sin less. I am a big grace guy, but I found in Jesus and all of the rest of the NT a very distinct call to holiness (seperateness). There was a general expectation to no longer be mastered by sin. I need to reflect more on this as well.
10. Holy Spirit. It is abundantly clear in Acts and most of Paul that the Holy Spirit is real, available and in control of the church. The new covenant only works in the presense of the divine. Jesus' message of Kingdom (God reigning now and to come) only works if God is truly present. When Jesus left he sent the Spirit to direct Kingdom affairs. It seems like many of us are trying to have the Kingdom without the Spirit. I'm not sure that is possible.

I could go up to 100 if I had time and thought you would keep reading. Like I said, it was a good exercise. I have read the Bible most every week of my life to prepare a lesson or for some sort of personal growth, but I have never powered through it like this. If I have inspired any of you to do the same, please share you thoughts as well.

Peace.

Day 19 of 10

I finished the OT early this morning on my ten day reading plan that should actually come in at around 25 days. I fell asleep reading Hosea last night and had some very odd dreams. I can't really remember the details, but they were in a series and I felt half-awake during them. I was paralyzed and God was telling me words to say but I couldn't remember them fast enough to write them down. I figure if it really was God, he'll give me another chance tonight and if it wasn't, I should just not read freaky prophetic passages at bedtime.

Happy 4th...

I made it a year this time!

Those of you who have had nothing better to do than read my blog for the last two years will know that I have been known to lose a certain special item from time to time. We went to the beach today with the kids. Deb took a vacation day and it was a great time. But...we came home without my Blackberry. I am guessing that it is either floating in the Pacific Ocean or going home with a foreign tourist.

The good news is that I did get phone insurance last year! I will be without a phone for a few days, so if you need me just e-mail. We don't have a land line, which is only a problem during my annual cell phone replacement week.

Actor Joe - An Update

I have gotten five callbacks from my last six auditions. Generally they have narrowed it down to 5-20 people by that point. Here's the thing though - I have missed ALL FIVE callbacks. I missed one because I was filming something in San Diego, another because I was working on my film project in Las Vegas and another while traveling. Earlier this week I was out of town and missed one on Monday and another on Tuesday, which I thought I would get to, but my flight was delayed 36 hours from Ohio.

My new agent has to think that I am this strangely talented flake. (Meaning the only thing stranger than 5 out of 6 callbacks is not being available for them when they come around.) The hardest thing about being a professional actor is that 95% of us have to do something else to survive, but everyone we work with wants us to be available at any moment. It creates a constant psychological unease that is hard to explain.

My film project (Hitting the Nuts) continues to progress and is bigger than anyone thought it would be. This is good on all counts, except that things are moving more slowly than when it was a smaller project. We are taking our time to find the right cast, etc. It will happen, but we aren't sure when it will shoot. Like most of my life, it is up in the air waiting to land...

This week I have thought constantly of Henri Nouwen's idea that the opposite of faith is fear. With so much uncertainly in my life, I am tempted to settle into a fearful place, but faitfulness compels me to desire courage and patience.

Ten days may have been a little aggressive

Some people have been asking about my reading experiment mentioned in the last blog. At the official end of the ten days I was wrapping up Isaiah. I made it through around 1,100 of a little less than 2,000 pages in the Bible I have been using. At this rate I should finish up in a week or so. The whole point was to immerse myself in the story and I was able to accomplish that. I found myself talking to people about Asherah Poles and the Year of Jubilee out of nowhere - to their great excitement I am sure. It has certainly saturated my mind in a different way than more "realistic" reading plans have done for me in the past.

I have hundreds of fragmented thoughts that only grow as I start to slug through the major prophets. I must say that the closer I get to Matthew, the more it feels like a kid waiting for Christmas Day to arrive. I can't wait to meet Jesus on the back end of this journey. That is what sustains me when Isaiah starts repeating himself or I read the endless proverbs about how prosititutes are a waste of money.

So yeah, I just realized that I am kind of waiting for Christmas Day, huh? The first one.

Immersion

The best things of life are really only learned through immersion. Drowning in something is always the best way to learn about it - assuming, you know, that you don't actually die in the process. For example, I had four years of Spanish classes in high school and another year in college. The problem is that I still can't really speak Spanish. I normally can't understand it either when someone speaks to me. I can sort of read it - I can usually understand two of every three words and put the rest together like a puzzle.

If I really wanted to learn Spanish there is only one guarenteed way - to move to Mexico or another Spanish speaking nation and actually live there. I'm sure my Spanish would improve exponentially as I tried to swim (stay alive, not drown) in a new culture.

Five days ago I decided that I would immerse myself in the Bible in a new way. I decided to plow through at a somewhat reckless speed to see what I felt like on the other end. I don't think this is the best way to study it, nor do I think it is the best way to meditate on it. However, it may be the best way to drown in it. I set a goal of ten days to finish. I have certainly read other books of that length in ten days, so I am not sure why it feels so difficult. Today is day five and I have just finished 1 Samuel. (I'm behind schedule, but I do have a four hour flight scheduled on day ten, which is my Ace in the hole.) I have to say that from Adam to Saul the story is really bloody, often harsh and filled with strange supersticious activities. It is exceedingly clear that Yhwh does whatever he wants, to whomever he wants, for whatever reason he wants. He kills a lot of people and everytime he does, I recoil from him. His people cannot seem to ever be faithful to him regardless of what he does and that bothers me too. The heroes are, for the most part, a little prickly and severly flawed. It is without doubt the story of a god who claims to be The God and his people, a homeless nation called Israel. I find it interesting that The God seems to care a whole lot more about menstration, poop and fungus than other things. He doesn't seem to be overly concerned at all with monogamy, for instance. I told my wife this and she stared at me like she tends to do when I get like this. He does seem to care a lot for displaced foreigners, barren women and oppressed people.

Today I came upon David and he feels a little different than the others. He seems to be experimenting with grace, particularly toward some of his enemies which has gotten me all excited and ready to be a pacifist again. He also seems to be trying to love Yhwh instead of just trying to obey him. I find that interesting as well.

I'll shoot you an update in a few days somewhere in the Psalms or Prophets. It is strange that I know exactly what is ahead of me, but I have been ruthless with myself in reading the text as if for the first time with new eyes to see the story in a new way. Here's hoping for some great new revelation in five and a half days...if not, maybe just the joy of having drowned in a collection of 66 unique ancient texts and being able to live to tell about it.

Happy 8th Birthday, Eli!

A Blessing on Your Birthday:

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you.

Recent Photos...

Improvisation as Spiritual Reality

I am an improviser. This is my primary identity as an artist. I am an improviser before I am an actor, writer, director or producer. I believe in the rules of improv:

1. "Yes/And" - Always agree to what your partner says and add something to the story.
2. Listening is more important than talking.
3. Be Selfless.
4. Find the game...and play it.
5. Help your partner.

I believe in improv as an artform because I also believe the above rules work amazingly well in every area of life. I think they are spiritual.

I just finished reading a little book by Mark Batterson called In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. At one point he claims that improvisation is foundational to a life of faith. In essense, that faith teaches us to improvise through life more than giving us the "script" for a perfect existense.

I had another thought today in that regard. We took the kids down to Newport Beach after dinner and spent an hour or so walking around. I was captivated by the birds (sea gulls?) that hover above the ocean and then dive nose first at full speed into the water to catch a fish. I had this thought that "that's what they do." I thought of other animals and how all animals do something special and beautiful like that. I quickly found myself thinking about what an outsider would look at the human animal and say "that's what they do." (This is all going on in my head as my kids are throwing sand at each other and annoying tourists...) I looked around and watched us - all of us humans. We were surfing, sun bathing, fishing, running, selling and buying. I saw the residue that we leave behind - beach houses, pizza shops, volleyball nets, boardwalks, hotels, parking lots, etc. It occured to me that we, the human animal, improvise. It's simply what we do. We take all of the things that the birds ignore while they finish their scripted lives and we do something else with them. We turn trees into piers, cotton plants into string bikinis, cacti and limes into margaritas, stones into sidewalks and metal into massive moving motor vehicles. We don't adapt to our environment so much as we adapt our enironment. We create. We improvise. Why? Because that's just what we do. But why is that what we do?

Because...In the beginning God improvised....and then he grabbed a chunk of dirt and improvised something in his own image. He created a community of improvisers and said YES, AND be fruitful and multiply.

Rich Mullins meets Youtube

A few months from now will be the tenth anniversary of the death of a friend. When we knew each other I was a teenageer and he was about the age I am now. I can't say that we were great friends but he always remembered my name and the names of my friends. He would spend a few weeks every year with my group of friends and we would just hang out, ski, and sing together. I believe that he subconsciously influenced what I believe about God more than any other teacher of my youth. I stumbled upon all of the same authors that influenced him shortly after his death. I would doubt that one week of my life has gone by without listening to his music. It is my heart music. Deb used to make fun of me for listening to his early eighties albums because they are full of cheezy organs and are rather poorly produced. They haven't held up so well, but the lyrics generally have.

Rich Mullins was the first Rebel Pilgrim that I ever met. He had issues, but he had perspective. He loved the poor and he loved being with us kids more than the adults. He gave most of his money away and wasn't afraid to let God change his views. He smelled like incense and rarely bathed. I miss him and my biggest regret is that he died before I could have one last talk with him to let him know that I finally understand what he was always trying to teach me.

I found Rich on youtube tonight. You can look him up there too. It was emotional to see him again and a little odd to see how similar I have become to him as a teacher. Here's ten minutes of vintage Rich for you. He speaking to a group of evangelical Christians in Texas. It's fun to watch him masterfully critique them while they laugh as if he is kidding. Enjoy...

So, It's June...

I started a new Lifelines series going through the book of James tonight. I think I made it through about five verses in 45 minutes, so we may be there for a while. I have come to enjoy teaching more of late. It has been a constant in my life through the years regardless of whatever else I may be doing.

It has certainly been the slowest season yet as an actor. I haven't had an audition for a few weeks. I haven't gotten out yet with my new agent, but TV has shut down for the summer and things tend to slow down. I'm not really discouraged about it, but it is obviously slower. Things with my own project continue to grow and morph. It ebbs and flows on a daily basis. By all accounts it is in a good place, however uncertain at the moment.

The kids have less than three weeks of school and then summer will be upon us. I am happy for them, though it makes our day to day schedules much more unpredictable when they are home. Eli turns eight in two weeks, which is insane. I made the biggest decision of my life when I was eight and it formed me into who I am today...it will be fun to see what this year holds for him.

My Wife is Hot

Here's a picture exposing our true selves...thought you would enjoy. I know that Debbie will love that it is posted on the world wide web.

It looks like we have some positive movement on the film I'm producing...I can't share anything publically yet, but hope to be able to next week.

I enjoyed teaching at The Crossing last weekend and you can listen to it via podcast on their website at www.thecrossing.com.

An Agent, A Legacy, A Season and A Theology Book

I'm signing with a new agency tomorrow: Susan Nathe and Associates. I've been agent-less for about two months since leaving the old place. I'll be interested to see how much I start getting out again. I've gotten used to my current pace of life without as many auditions. It is my job, though - so, back at it!

I'm teaching at the weekend services this weekend at The Crossing. It's hard to believe it has been about a year since the last time. The topic centers around life and death - and the idea of "legacy." I'm very much looking forward to it.

T-ball wraps up this week for Aidan. It has been a good experience for him. I think some of his grandpa's athletic ability skipped a generation and found him. Having said that, it will be nice to have our Saturdays return to their regular lazy form. I like packing my days off with a whole lot of nothing whenever possible.

Still sensing a divine call to openness. Still re-reading some books that impacted me in my twenties. Today I re-read The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard. I mark up books as I read them, so it has been fun to see the parts that impacted me six years ago vs. what caught my eye today. I dig Willard's soteriology and I hope he understands it correctly because I have pretty much adopted it as my own. Basically, that we are being saved everyday from ourselves and our world...

Old Friends

This month has been full of old friends. It's strange how there are seasons when the friends of your past all show up at once. We were especially surpised to hear from Kevin Rains and Dave Nixon from Vineyard Central in Cincinnati. It had been several years since we were together. Kevin and I did some traveling together a while back and Dave came to speak at Apex several years ago. Their church/urban monastery in Norwood has been a spiritual oasis for me for almost a decade. I used to escape there once a year to seek solitude and a change of pace. We are due for a visit.

I've also heard from several other friends and mentors from all over the world. It seems like God is placing our story on people's hearts...not exactly sure why, but it feels nice to be remembered.

My work life continues to plod along - making progress everyday. We made offers to several actors this week for "Nuts." We have to just wait and see now. I've booked Monday and it will be nice to work in front of camera again - feels like it has been a while. As always, shall keep you all updated...

Being Open

About six weeks ago I fell into a state of openness. I can think of no other word but that to describe it. I awake every morning with a willingness to take each day as it comes and an expectation that God is about to do something. It has been a very healthy and peaceful journey. It started the week before Easter, for no clear reason. It has brought me back to many of the things that shaped me over the last decade - Authors like Henri Nouwen, Brennan Manning and Jean Vanier; mentoring relationships that I let grow dorment; and above all, a simplicity of prayer/spirituality that I have been missing for maybe half a decade.

Things move forward in my life. The weeks pass faster in my thirties than they did in my twenties. My days are full of phone calls regarding the film I am making and my evenings are full of T-ball games, teaching Eli multiplication and an occasional Tivo guilty pleasure. (I'm part of the 50% that hasn't given up on LOST yet...and I correctly picked the American Idol Final Four about 8 weeks ago, though I have no written proof.)

I've booked a few industrial videos down here in Orange County, so it has been nice to work close to home. I have a gig for Toastmasters coming up next week. Hitting the Nuts (my movie) keeps wanting to grow in scope. Making a movie is a long, tedious process, but it has been a very good thing or me to tackle at this point in my life. It will be worth it when we are shooting - hopefully later this summer.

Looking forward to seeing what the coming days hold...trying to stay open.

Idol Gives Back

I am a semi-closeted American Idol fan. Debbie and I watch it after the kids go to bed. I am nothing if not cynical. Most of my humor as a teacher and comic come from my uncanny ability to be cynical and skeptical of everything. The greatest compliment I can give to the "Idol Gives Back" effort this week is that I was never cynical throughout the process. I was actually very proud of everyone involved.

I have said before that Bono is a brilliant theologian and that I truly believe he understands the reality of the Kingdom Among Us more than most. I respect that he has been able to pull so many people together through the ONE campaign while keeping his day job as a rock star. I've linked ONE.ORG to my blog (my first ever "banner") I've also signed the declaration on the ONE website and invite you to do the same.

A Tale of Two Kingdoms

Last Night at Lifelines I read the first half of a fairy tale which I wrote about six years ago entitled "A Tale of Two Kingdoms." Several people asked for a copy, so I have created a new blog site at www.tommyandmary.blogspot.com which contains Book One in its entirity.

It is intended to be a children's story and also an allegorical account of my understanding of my faith at that point in my life. Were I to write it today it would be very different in parts, but I am happy to say that the underlying themes and most of the application points remain the same. I wrote the story at a time when I was somewhere between the rigid evangelicalism of my youth and my current, more "basilea" centered theology. If there is something that I am proud of (on a theological level) it is that the tension of the Kingdom being both present and yet to come is not compromised in the story. I will say that there are parts of the text that reflect the remnants of a "sin management" soteriology that I no longer fully endorse...but, hey, I was just a kid at the time :) Also, the second book of the story was started but not completed in 2002. I'm looking foward to revisiting it with these years under my belt to perhaps shed some light on my recent learnings.

Anytime I share it people ask about publishing. Obviously, I am not overly concerened about protecting the story since I have just posted in publically. If it is helpful to anyone, I am happy to share it. I am open to publishing as well, but know very little about getting a book published. Particulary a "children's book that is really for adults." I assume it is as much of a process as getting a movie made or booking a role as an actor and I have never had the drive to force it through to publishing. If someone reads it and thinks it has worth I would be happy to recieve help in getting it published.

Ultimately, as an artist, I am just happy to have it read again.

Brennan Manning

I read all of Brennan's books back in 1997 - hard to believe it was ten years ago. I have been going through some sort of spiritual transformation of late and was prompted to pick them up again. It is amazing, ten years later, how much of what I am re-reading has worked itself into the fabric of my life over the last decade. Unfortunately, it is also amazing how far I have drifted from the simple concept that my primary identity is that of a child loved by my Father. Though The Ragamuffin Gospel is his classic work, I am most drawn to Abba's Child this time around. Every page seems to remind me of something essential that I have recently lost and hope to recover. I rarely do this, but I thought it would nice to use the comment space here to initiate a discussion on Brennan and his work - how it has impacted some of you, etc.

Live from Kansas...

We are spending a few days in Kansas City with my parents. It's very COLD here! Last night it dropped to 17 degrees. Yikes. Other than that we are all enjoying our trip and the my parents' new pad. They have a small wooded area behind their house and the kids have spent most of their time back there despite the record cold temps. We went to church this morning for Easter and it was kind of interesting (in a good way) to be back in church in the midwest. Helped me to reflect on my spiritual journey, etc.

What do Anna Nicole, Craig Ferguson and Will Ferrell have in common?

The weeks are flying by lately. I feel like I just posted here, but it was a week ago. This week coming up includes our presentation at Warner Bros. for my film and a spring break trip to Kansas City to see my parents' new place. We are all excited to leave town for a few days and see them. I have an audition next week for the Anna Nicole TV movie - nice, huh? It's actually for Larry Birkhead, whom I don't think I look like at all. I was submitted for Howard K. Stern and they said I look more like Birkhead. It's all so crazy anyway. Nothing says "the next step up" from soap operas like a TV movie!

The new improv show "Thank God You're Here" airs on April 9. I have a feeling it's gonna be big. I had auditioned for it a while back along with several other improv shows coming out soon. I just auditioned for a new improvised pilot hosted by Craig Ferguson called The Wizard. Lots and lots of improv stuff out there and I'm hoping to land something fun.

Debbie and I have lined up a babysitter tonight, which can mean only one thing - Blades of Glory! Nothing like Will Ferrell in spandex on a Saturday night. The previews feel more like Anchorman than his last few comedies, and that is a very good thing as far as I am concerned. I'll let you know what I think afterward. I have happy comedy vibes right now though.

Doing Better

I can't believe it has already been one week since the afore mentioned dental tragedy. I'm doing much better now. It will take a few monhts to fix everything, but the cost turned out to be a bit less than my frustrated estimate. It also has inspired me to floss everyday and stay up to date with my other exams. (I made a trip into the eye doctor this week as well.)

I spent most of the week working on the film. Our second, and hopefully last, investor meeting will be at Warner Brothers on April 4th. That will be my primary focus until then. After that I hope to be able to turn my attention toward casting and directing. Several name actors are reading the script this week...I hope to have some exciting new soon.

My tooth fell out.

Last night. 10pm. Half-way through a Burger. Just fell out. I guess because I don't floss everyday? That seems to be the verdict. I spent over three hours today getting an emergency root canal.

Turns out it was a $3,000 burger.

So far, I'd rate this weekend a little below average.

Workin Man

So...turns out producing (and now directing) a feature film turns into a full time job. I'll be in an office either at Warner Brothers or at a place in Hollywood starting in less than two weeks. I haven't had office hours for about seven years, so that should be interesting. The commute may take a toll as well. Getting there should be fine, but coming home is sometimes a 2-hour nightmare.

It looks like we are going to come in around half-funded from the Las Vegas event, so we will be doing a similar presentation at Warner in a few weeks for socal people. I am very excited to move past the fund raising and focus more on directing, casting, etc. I have learned more than I ever thought I could through this process already and look forward to the next chapters.

I've only had two auditions in the last two weeks - one for Drive on Fox and another for a commercial. I worked a bit on General Hospital again playing the same character - no lines this time. This all seems to be working out, because there is no way I could be auditioning everyday and working on this film right now. I've had to limit my auditions to TV and commercial anyway since I can't book an extended film gig with this coming up in June.

Otherwise, the rest of our life seems to be in working order. My lovely bride has a birthday coming up Friday. I think she is officially old enough now that I'm not allowed to publish her age online. I'll just say that we will be the same age for three weeks before my 34th birthday on April 9th. So, yeah...she's turning 26 or something like that.

Happy Birthday Deb.

I'm on TV Tuesday Night

I have a co-starring role on American Heiress this Tuesday, March 13. It is the pilot episode of a night-time soap opera for My Network TV. I play one of the assitants to the main character and have about four lines. It is channel 13 in LA/OC...you'll have to check local listings to find out where it is on your dial.

Quickie

A lot of people are asking about the big investor's meeting in Las Vegas on Sunday. It went very well. We are still talking with lots of people and figuring out where we stand officially, but it was succesful by all accounts. I'll give you more info as it comes up.

Making Movies, Playing Golf

It's all about the big meeting in Vegas for my film this week. This is the new teaser movie poster from Garrett Cury.

We were able to carve out a 26-hour vacation this weekend to San Diego. We spent the day in Old Town and the kids played their first real round of golf at the par 3 chip and put there. Aidan got his first real par on the back nine - about ten years ahead of my pace. Eli chipped in for par on the 16th. Looks like they inherited their golf skills from both grandpa's and not dad.

My friend Todd took me golfing last week. It was my first time in two years. It was pretty ugly, but I may give it another go soon.

I'm either manic or actually excited...

There is no better feeling than seeing an idea become a reality - especially when the idea is bigger than any one person. I was able to experience that in the early days of Canyon Ridge and again at Apex in Las Vegas. For the first time since those days I sense it happening again with "Hitting the Nuts." That is the part of producing that I actually like more than acting...seeing a common creative vision emerge from a group of people. When the vision is your own idea it is especially humbling and exciting.

The great thing about the project is that it has brought people back into my life - people I trained with at Second City in Las Vegas five years ago, people from Tony n Tina's, childhood friends, college friends, current OC and LA contacts and strangers in Hollywood who are quickly becoming friends.

This week two other groups joined our team. Through a chance meeting with a poker friend the general manager of the House of Blues Las Vegas heard about the project. I was able to meet with him and he was very encouraging and accomodating. They have offered the very elite Foundation Room atop the Mandalay Bay to use for our Las Vegas meeting for potential investors on March 4. The same day several members of The Second City show at The Flamingo Hilton offered to perform improv at the same meeting to show our guests a little of what the project will feel like. Our new producing partners are making original videos that showcase the project...it's all coming together. If that meeting goes as we hope we can move on into actual production of the film very soon.

I know full well that there will be more frustrating days ahead with this project, but it had occured to me this lazy Saturday morning that these are exciting days. I've always wanted a life of adventure and creativity and for the moment that is what I have.

Thanks to all of you who have supported us and helped us along the way.

The Actor's Life

I worked yesterday on a prime-time soap. It's called American Heiress and will air starting in March on MyNetworkTV - a Fox affiliate cable station in most every market. I has a co-starring role as the assistant to the main character in the first episode. It was good to work...however:

As always happens to me, I missed a call-back because I was working. It was a big national commercial and they were only calling back a few guys. I'd rather be working on a TV show than auditioning for a commercial, but it does illustrate how insanely complicated life as an actor can be. My last big commercial callback was the same story - I missed it because I was filming a TV show. A good commercial can generate much needed income for people like me, so it just gets frustrating. If I'm lucky I'll pull in $2,000 after residuals for my soap work. The commercial could have been 20 times that...ah, well. It's never been about the money - until the rent is due anyway :)

I've booked a mortgage infomercial that shoots Friday...a typical talking head bit about refinancing.

Having my own film to produce is a wonderful distraction from the hustle of auditioning and double booking. It is good to know that no matter what I am involved in a project that I really believe it, etc.

Oh, and by the way...I woke up yesterday with a monster pimple on my face - the kind of tumor that I haven't seen since high school. So despite the best effort of the American Heiress makeup department you and millions of others will get to see it in early March on national TV. My life rocks.

Updates Galore

I'm happy to announce that the film I am producing (Hitting the Nuts) has officially partnered with That's Hollywood Productions, a company based at Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank. Our affiliation with them is opening up tremendous doors in every area. We will be doing investor meetings at Warner Brothers and in Las Vegas (probably at The Palms) in about four weeks with them. They have produced two other films recently at the same budget level, both of which went on to DVD distribution and profitability. I am officially very excited now. I'll be working some at their offices in Hollywood...

Additionally, we have added professional poker player and author Charlie Shoten to the project as Executive Producer. I really like Charlie personally and have enjoyed getting to know him. He is the author of a poker/self-help book entitled No Limit Life.

Add Pilot Season to all of this and I'm a pretty busy guy. I've had a steady stream of auditions, though not many pilots. The folks at NBC (someone there anyway) have taken a fondness to me. I've had several improv-based pilot auditions there. (Look for a lot of game show/improv hybrids this year on network TV if my auditions are any indication.) It's an interesting time to be an improviser for sure. This week I had several commercial auditions and booked an infomercial. Next Tuesday I film a supporting role on the soap opera "The Heiress" which will play nationally on MyNetworktv. It's channel 13 in LA. Check their website for your affiliate and I'll let you know what day you can see me. I also booked a part in an indie film that has had production pushed back - which means there's a good chance it won't actually ever happen.

Lots of fun little things are happening...would be nice to book a commercial or something to pay a few bills, but I can't really afford to complain. You'll know more when I do...thanks for reading.

Sy Waxer - Time Traveler

My friend Mike Betette is the writer for this cartoon. You can see the short pilot at the following link:

I'm a Union Man

This is my first award season as a member of the Screen Actors Guild. I was surprised to find three DVD's in the mail - Little Miss Sunshine, The Departed and Venus. They are basically trying to get votes for the SAG Awards. Pretty cool since two of the films are still in theaters. So if you give SAG a few thousand dollars a year you get free movies and pay bumps when you fall into a pool, smoke a cigarette, or go to lunch late. I guess it all works out in the end.

Big Stuff (Almost)

This is a teaser post. Things are progressing well with the feature film I am producing...see the link for Hitting the Nuts over there -->

It looks like a few key players are joining the team. When it is all official in the coming weeks I'll tell you all about it. This week has flown by so far and been filled with meetings, etc. Pilot Season is officially afoot. So far only one pilot audition - to host a show on the History Channel. It went well...they laughed a lot. I'm just not sure it was supposed to be funny. For hosting gigs I just try to be myself and hope they are looking for a dry, jaded, sarcastic host with a hint of hidden optimism. It doesn't always work...but you never know.

Check back soon for some HTN updates...

Thanks (Ultimate Poker Challenge)

I've received several e-mails and a few voice-mails from people who enjoyed my commentary on the Ultimate Poker Challenge TV show. (Lots of "new friends" from Canada for some reason - thanks for the encouragement, ey?)

Some have asked if I will be on again. I'm contracted for up to 100 shows in 2007, but not gauarenteed any. They have brought on several other co-hosts and seem to be rotating us in and out. If you are a regular viewer of the show and liked my work feel free to drop the producers a note. (You can find their info at www.passportentertainment.com). Don't bug them if you just know me, but they would want to hear from true fans I'm sure.

I actually haven't seen my episodes yet, though I know they have aired in Canada and Las Vegas. They show is syndicated in many markets - you can find your local listing at www.ultimtepokerchallenge.com.

Nothing Much to Say

The new year is off to a slow start. I auditioned today for a feature film...my first audition of the year. The kids are back in school as of today. Things seem to want to get back to normal, but I have a strange "new year" sluggishness about me. I'm normally quite manic in January...very odd.

I'd love to tell you all more, but I'm a little shy of inspiration these days. Hope to share more soon...

Back Home

We made it back safe and sound...looking forward to the new year.

Watch my new short film

I starred in The Cure, directed by Sidney Diongzon. To see it go to my Myspace page. As of right now it is posted in the first comment space. The link to my myspace is over there in the links section --> and labeled "Personal Myspace"

With love from the lobby of the Hampton Inn in Scottsburg, Indiana -

Joe

Christmas in the Midwest

This New Year's Eve Debbie and I will celebrate our 12th Wedding Anniversary. I'd put this last year toward the top of the list to be sure. It is hard to believe that the last time we were "home for Christmas" was before we were married. After twelve straight Las Vegas/So-Cal Holiday Seasons we are flying east tomorrow morning to be with Deb's family in Indiana.

We did all of our Christmas celebrating today since we have to leave for LAX before 8:00 in the morning. Today was a very casual day. The kids got a Nintendo GameCube, which is about five years behind the times but they think it is the pinnacle of technology. I was able to usher Deb into the 2000's with her first i-pod. But mainly today was about doing very little together.

I'm looking forward to a week of rest, family, and dietary freedom...followed by a month of (hopefully) work and weight loss :)

Merry Christmas. Here's to the celebrating the unpredictable, unimaginable, irrepeateble birth of the most rebellious, counter-cultural, optimistic conspiracist the world has ever seen.

I got sick.

Tuesday night Eli came down with a sore throat. I followed suit an hour later. We both were in bed for two days and went to see the doctor together on Thursday. He said that a lot of people were getting this virus that knocks you out for four or five days. This is day four and I am feeling a little better. Eli seems to be ahead of me in the healing process as he is already terrorizing his brother.

I felt terrible but was able to fulfill my commitment at Lifelines last night. Luckily (I guess) I haven't have any auditions or work since Tuesday. I was scheduled to work The Ultimate Poker show on Friday and a film called Space Reserved today and tomorrow, but both postponed the shoots until January. I do have an audition tomorrow for an indie film...things will start to shut down next week for the rest of the year though.

Peace -

Christmas Card

In my ongoing effort to save you from paper cuts (and myself from postage) and in the spirit of the season...I'm happy to electronically present the family in matching shirts. Happy Holidays.

Things are Improv-ing

More and more I am realizing that my Improv background helps me out in tinsel town more than anything else. I have finally started to get a little connected with the casting directors and producers who focus a lot on improvisational shows. Thursday I am auditioning for the first time for Reno 911. It's an improvised show on Comedy Central. I'm excited for it.

Later the same day I have a general interview over at NBC regarding a series regular role in an improvised pilot that they said was "Punk'd meets Wedding Crashers." The show is produced by Ashton Kutcher and Jason Greenberg who do Punk'd, which I have auditioned for about five times in the last year. I've had a few series regular auditions at a network, but never a "general meeting." I'll be interested to see what it involves.

I also have a callback for a Chevy commercial tomorrow. It's been really busy and hectic since Thanksgiving for me. Today was the first day that I actually had some "free" time which I spent working on Hitting the Nuts and Lifelines.

We are having several house guests over the next few weeks...Mom and Dad are coming for a few days this weekend which should be nice.

Tis the season afterall - sunny and 80 degrees today in LA. Ho. Ho. Ho.

"I hate living in LA just like everyone else, but I make the best of it because I am virtually unemployable anywhere else in the nation" -a quote as best as I can remember it from Matthew Perry on Studio 60 last night. It made me laugh.

Blink.

I cannot overemphasize how quickly the weeks go by. It's eerie. People tell me that it is because I am getting older. I'm not sure if that makes sense or not to me. I think it has something to do with my life having no definitive pattern and living in LA/Orange County. This week Monday and Tuesday were very busy with work and auditions. (The Ultimate Poker taping took ten hours on Monday alone.) By the time I took a breath it was Wednesday. Tomorrow is Friday and I feel like this week hasn't even started yet.

Ah well. It's probably all in my head. We will be going to Indiana for a week from Christmas to New Years. I'm looking forward to slowing down...though I know myself well enough to know that I will grew restless of resting come day four or five. January promises the beginning of pilot season and the finalizing of fund-raising for my film. Those weeks should crawl by...

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving awaits. Over all, a pretty nice holiday when done correctly: friends/family, football, no dietary restrictions and the annual viewing of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacations. I'm looking forward to it.

Monday is a very full day of auditions. I'm reading for a guest starring role in the CBS show Numbers in the morning. Then off to HBO for an audition and finally a callback for an AMEX commercial. Any one of those three would be a nice little holiday gift for the Boyd family budget.

The Ultimate Poker Challenge show is supposed to start next week too, but I haven't been given the day yet. I'm still on hold for the soap "The Heiress" as well. It shoots down in San Diego sometime before Christmas. So, yeah. Things are still going on the acting front. Even with all of that, I spend the bulk of my time working on producing Hitting the Nuts. We could have some big news to officially report next week regarding some of the cast.

I'm off to attempt to do nothing for four or five days. Hopefully I can stick to that plan.

Today: Pretty Much a Waste

Pretty much these days I am trying to balance three jobs (not counting the whole parenting and husbanding professions.)

Those three jobs would be acting, producing and the part-time work that I do for The Crossing. For a while the producing and acting felt like one in the same, but as both progress I am starting to realize that managing my time and my schedule becomes even more important. I did not have an audition today so my plan was to spend the day working on several things for the film as well as my lesson for Lifelines tomorrow night. That's a solid eight hour work day. The problem with my plan came when my agent called and told me to get to Santa Monica asap for a straight to callback Office Depot commercial audition. Somebody messed up in the planning of the commercial because you never get called an hour before the audition...and it shoots in two days, which is a very fast turn-around. I should have been suspicious early on.

The audition was a complete embarrasment. Not on my end, because I never got to actually audition. I drove for one hour and sat in the waiting room for over two hours waiting to get in. Everyone in the room (and there were lots of us) grew more and more impatient. Finally, the casting director just came out and sent most of us home. This violates about a dozen SAG rules, so maybe I'll get some fat penalty check in the mail next month...but it was a complete waste of time. Then Los Angeles conspired against me and it took me another three hours to get home in rush hour traffic. Now it's 9:43 and I didn't get to do anything I was supposed to do today.

All that, and to appease my lovely wife Grey's Anatomy is our number one priority Tivo show (her favorite) and The Office (my favorite) is our number two. The geniuses at NBC decided to run them head to head tonight so Tivo killed The Office gang in favor or a bunch of brilliant Seattle surgeons all of whom aren't bright enough to have a normal social life.

Well, I think I'm done complaining now. I need to get to work anyway...

Booked UPC

I got an offer today to co-host The Ultimate Poker Challenge syndicated TV show. My agent is negotiating the terms on Monday, so I'll know more details then. Figured you would all like to know...I'll post more info as it comes in.

Most of my days this week were spent working on the Hitting the Nuts project. We are trying to finalize investors...lots of e-mails and phone calls, etc.

If you haven't checked out the website, it's linked below and to the right -->

The Website is up!

The website for "Hitting the Nuts", my first feature film as a producer, is now live. We are still fixing some minor things with it, but go ahead and take a look around. Garrett Curry, a buddy from college, designed the artwork. If you like it and need someone for yourself, let me know and I'll give you his info...I really like his stuff.

So...click over and look around: www.hittingthenuts.com

Network Improv Pilot

I just returned from an audition for a new NBC pilot as a series regular. I did pretty well considering...it was straight to producers and only about eight guys were there. I recognized most of them from the imrpov world-all really talented guys. I wish I had time in the room to do more. I was a solid B+. We'll see how it translates.

A few more auditions tomorrow as well. Pressing on...

We have lots of candy now

The boys made out tonight trick or treating-both in our neighborhood and with the Van Druffs. Eli counted 188 pieces of candy. (That's a very Eli thing to do.) Aidan made up a higher number without bothering to count his candy, which caused a fight between them. (That's a very Aidan thing to do.) Overall, a good time was had by all and we have roughly 350 more pieces of candy than we started the day with. This is great news for me because I am currently completely off of sugar and carbs.

I booked tomorrow...working on an industrial video for a company called Northrup Grummon. It is supposed to wrap by 5:00 and then I go immediately to an audition for a new series of short films/commercials for Mini Cooper. They are very fun spots. I'm waiting to hear back from a few film auditions that went well last week as well.

Things progress with "Hitting the Nuts" as well. I sent the first official offer out today to a "name" actor. I'm hoping that he comes on board. It's a great part for him and he seems somewhat interested.

Good Meeting

We had the Lifelines leadership community over this evening. It was very refreshing. We had two deaths in the community this weekend, so it was especially good to be together.

I hope to have lots of exciting news to report in the coming days about the film I am producing. Stay tuned for details.

Too Much Information?

Yesterday I threw up for the first time in twelve years. It wasn't fun. I was really out of practice. Today I pretty much feel better. Thanks for your concern.

From the set of "THE CURE"

A few pics from my work today on my friend Sidney's film...yeah, it'a a comedy.

Soap Operas, Pigeons and Mini Vans...

Well...tomorrow I had booked a principal role on a soap opera called The Heiress for the new MyNetworkTV channel. They called this morning to say that they are still using me but the shoot is postponed for a week or two. Turns out to be a good thing because I had an audition come in for CSI:NY tomorrow. That's a little odd, because my worst audition of the year was for that show a few months back. Maybe it wasn't as bad as I remember. I'm reading for a pigeon wrangler who gets murdered. So...yeah. It's hard to know exactly how to dress for a pigeon wrangler, but I think it involves a warm jacket.

I've agreed to play the lead in my friend Sidney's senior thesis film at Champan University. It will shoot Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Fun part.

The short film that I am producing (My Take) is going to shoot in November. I'm also working everyday on the feature. Generally, lots of good things happening with it.

Our van is busted again. The starter went out at 59,110 miles. The warranty expires at 60,000. So for today I am not an atheist :)

Full Speed Ahead

I try to post two or three times per week...it's really hard to believe that it has been seven days since my last entry. In the last week I have started and completed a film called PERSPECTIVE. It's an art-house piece going the festival route. I played the lead...a guy who loses his job and has to deal with the pressures associated with that. It was a good time and I met some really cool people whom I hope to work with again.

I am down to the final few guys for hosting the Ultimate Poker Championship TV show. I got an email yesterday that said they had not made a decision. I feel like I would have heard today if I got it, but you never know for sure. It would be over 100 shows and create some stability...would be an interesting thing to have happen. I'll post when I find out.

Two auditions today that went very well. I've had a strong run this month.

And I am actively seeking investors for my feature film in my spare time. I took a whirlwind trip to Vegas...less than 20 hours total, to meet with several people who are helping me secure funding. We're movin and grovin with this thing. It's going to happen. The official website for the film will launch Oct. 25 and I will be sure to post a link here. Until, then you can check out the myspace page on the side margin -->

Personally, the family seems happy. The boys are taking tennis lessons after school on Mondays and they both really like it. For those of you who know mom and dad, I'm excited to announce that dad took a new job in Kansas City with a different oil company. We've been praying about that for a long time. It will be odd to not visit them in Columbus, but it's a very good thing.

Here's to life as an adventure. Cheers.

Ramping Up

Whew. Today I had three auditions. One was to host the next season of The Ultimate Poker Challenge. It went very well and would be an interesting gig...100 shows over the next year. I also booked a film today that shoots Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I already have two days of work scheduled for next week...a day on General Hospital and another on a sit-com.

Production stuff is still ramping up too. I actually made a to-do list today for the first time in a decade or so.

I want to get back to telling stories at Lifelines so I've decided to spend three weeks in the book of Judges. Lots of blood, violence and questionable sexual ethics...it's everything you could hope for in and Old Testament book. It's all about how our lives get in the same pattern of calling out for help, getting help, forgetting that we need help, screwing up our lives by refusing to be helped, and then calling out for help again. I think it relates to recovery.

Coming Together

I'm loving the producing work that I have been doing the last few weeks. It uses a different part of my brain and skill set. Things are coming together quickly for "IN TNE NUTS...THE TRUE STORY OF THE 2007 SCOTT COUNTY SERIES OF POKER." (See the official myspace link to the right -->) I'm in the process of building a team for pre-production now, and it is exciting to see friends of mine from all different seasons of my life jumping on board. We are seeking investors now, which actually is enjoyable if you believe in the project. A few recognizable actors are reading the treatment this week...all good things.

A few auditions this week as well and back on General Hospital for the first time in a long time next week. I booked a web-based sit-com that shoots in a few weeks. I'll post the link when it's up.

All for now...

My Bacon Number is 3

I was just informed that I have an official Bacon Number on imdb now...

Joe Boyd was in Devil Girl (2006) with Billy Bryan...
who was in Army of Darkness (1992) with Bridget Fonda...
who was in Balto (2005) with Kevin Bacon.

See...I've made it.

Hitting the Nuts...

My first feature film as a producer is offially in pre-production! It's called HITTING THE NUTS...THE TRUE STORY OF THE 2007 SCOTT COUNTY SERIES OF POKER. I've created a myspace page for it and I will post updates here too. The next few months will focus on finding investors...it's considered "ultra-low budget" with a total budget of $269,000. It's a poker comedy set in Scottsburg, IN...which happens to be my lovely wife's hometown. It's kind of Rounders meets Spinal Tap, inspired by Napolean Dynamite. It'll be fun.

If you myspace, go to www.myspace.com/hittingthenuts and befriend us.

Some fun people are jumping on board already...

Studio 60-Week Two

OK...it got better. There was a scene in which I literally sat up in my chair and clapped my hands. (Luckily everyone else in my house was sleeping.) I have to admit that I love the show in large part because it hits every major interest and passion of my life in one show, even including the atypical Christian working in Hollywood.

I also tivo'd Heroes with high hopes. I hated it. Ah, well...

Why do I do this again?

I sort of freaked out this week. I'm not sure why. On Monday I went down to San Diego for my second audition for the TV show "Art of Betrayal"...the role of a policeman. They immediately called me back to read again at 2:30 pm. I did very well in the first reading and not as well in the callback. This happens sometimes. It happened to me last week too. I was called back for a TV show called Mystery ER on the Discovery Channel. I nailed the first reading and not the second. I don't think in either case that I totally blew it...but I could have and should have done better. In golfer terms, I get the yips at callbacks. I choke on putts I should sink simply because the stakes are higher. Not always...but recently for some reason.

So for a few days I looked around on monster.com and craigslist trying to imagine something else I could do...

Yeah. There's not really anything.

Today was better...coming out of the funk. I wrote a seven-page script that I'm proud of. It will be submitted for use in a 48 hour film festival in December. My agent finally called after a week (in the middle of my funk, I assumed they had fired me and forgot to tell me.) I have two auditions for the show Vanished (Fox) tomorrow ("policeman" and "security guard")...I've already read there once this season as well. It's a good sign when they bring you back like that. (Based on my most recent auditions, maybe I should consider a career in law enforcement.)

So, I'm back off the edge. Ironically, I received several e-mails from long lost friends this week telling me how proud they are of me for following my dreams and all that...I figured quitting this week might be too hard on them anyway. And by the way, following your dreams sounds so awesome until you do it. Then it just feels really hard and a little pointless...and kind of like you should get a real job...and, to be honest, sometimes out of nowhere...it does feel a little awesome.

On a side note, I've been listening to the audio book BLINK from the other of THE TIPPING POINT. It's pretty cool...there is a whole chapter devoted why improv is the greatest thing people can do together. (My interpretation-but it's not so far off.)

To my Lifelines friends...my Vanished audition is at 5:00 in Hollywood so if I'm a little late tomorrow night, talk among yourselves and I'll get there asap.

I think I'm in love...

...with a TV show.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC, Mondays at 10pm).

I was looking forward to it, and blown away at the pilot last night. Enjoy.

Devestating News

I'm sitting at the Diedrch Coffee on 17th Street in Newport. There are forty of these coffee shops in Orange County. Diedrich's is one of my favorite things about living in OC. Sitting at the Diedrich's in Laguna Beach was one of the fondest memories of my early vacations here with Debbie before we had kids.

They just sold to Starbucks. All 40 stores.

Lame.

I shouldn't let this make me sad. It really sucks though. I've never been a Starbucks hater...I just like this place better-the coffee tastes a little better, the people are a little friendlier and the wireless internet is free.

I might have to start hating Starbucks for this. Only time will tell.

If the prophet Nathan were here, he would march up to Seattle and tell Starbucks the story of the one little ewe lamb...but, alas, Nathan is gone...and so is Diedrich's.

RIP.

Poof.

This week went fast. I had five auditions on monday and tuesday, drove to Reno all day tuesday, shot the Harrah's gig and drove back yesterday, got home around 4:00 am, slept in, and here we are. Tomorrow is Friday already.

I woke up with a terrible hang over, which is really odd since I didn't drink anything. I think I'm getting a little too old to stay up 22 straight hours.

A few updates

Aidan turned five yesterday. Hard to believe.

I booked a print job next week in Reno for Harrah's Casino. It shoots Wednesday, so I'll be traveling up on Tuesday and back late Wed. night. Nothing too exciting, but a gig's a gig.

I read for for a web-based sitcom today and just got the callback for it. A lot of networks are experimenting with this sort of thing this year...It will be interesting to see how they all pan out. I hope they work...it means a lot more work for people like me.

I now officially have six different projects that I am working on either as a producer or writer as well...keep the plates spinning until all but one breaks...my theory lately.

Watch Goin' Down

So I met these two young film makers named Sam and Syd who are students over at Champan University. I did a short film for them last year...a piercing coming of age drama with significant social implications. OK, it's about passing gas in an elevator. Click here to see it on youtube.

Goin Down

Here's a picture of me from the set of the short "Goin Down", a little "high brow" comedy about passing gas in elevators.

And...I'm goin down to San Diego tomorrow with some of my buddies from Vegas...we are going to root on the Cincinnati Reds as they play the Padres. It will be nice to hang with them.

Producing...

I started REBEL PILGRIM PRODUCTIONS about 18 months ago to make my first short film. Since then I have been trying to figure out what to do with it. I'm happy to finally have some direction with my little company. I'm preparing now to produce the My Take shorts in November and it looks very likely that I will be producing my first feature film in early 2007. I have meet some new people over the last few weeks who are excited about my concept...and have a few old friends who are willing to jump on board. It's a mockumentary style comedy. I can talk more about it once I get it registered.

It has been fun to find my way in the entertainment industry. I love acting, but I'm beginning to enjoy the idea of producing, writing and directing as well.

The in-laws are visiting from Indiana. It's nice to have them here.

Today I audition for a motgage company...typical "talking head" commercial. Not my favorite thing, but I am being called in by a casting director who has been very good to me.

More to come...

A Break

Life has finally slowed down a little bit this weeked...lots of doing nothing. My last four or five auditions have gone very well, but no word on anything yet.

So...I'm going back to doing nothing now.

Busy Summer Days

The last few weeks have clipped by for our family. Both Debbie and I have been working non-stop on one thing or another. The kids are doing well, but a little testier...likely because we are so busy. The ancient fathers have taught me that busy-ness is a sin and that life is lived in the serenity of each moment. I wish the ancient fathers had lived in Orange County with a mortgage payment...but they generally lived in monestaries and the desert wilderness...sometimes perched atop large wooden poles. Since I'm not moving to the mojave to live on a pole anytime soon, I'll try to figure it out as I go.

My new San Diego agent (Shamon Freitas Agency) has landed me an audition tomorrow for a new soap opera called "Art of Betrayal." As you know, I'm nothing if not a soap star. Today's audition was for a feature film called Grindin'. It was at Sunset-Gower studios in Hollywood...several network shows are made there. I've been to most all of the major studios now. The quality of my auditions has grown exponentially since my return from the Hampton tour. I feel like something is close to breaking...

In my spare time (he laughs as he types), I am producing the My Take films and another 3-minute comedy short. I hope to have these done by the end of the year. Right now I'm building a production team, looking for final funding, and dusting off the books from my production company, Rebel Pilgrim Films, which I started in Las Vegas last year.

Now I must go watch Rock Star: Supernova. It fills the American Idol void. (Wow, those two sentences makes me look really lame.) Lost and The Office will be back soon...then I can feel a little more hip in my TV watching.

Shalom.

Tired

Man, I'm tired. It has been a busy week...over 1,000 miles driven this week. Five auditions. A booking. Signing with a new agent in San Diego. Throw in a conference and teaching tonight, and I'm spent.

I'm not complaining...it's all good stuff.

The audition for Adam Sandler's film went very well. I think it was the best I could do. No nerves or anything...now we just wait.

Going to bed. I have an audition tomorrow :)

Big Audition Tomorrow

I'm heading over to the SONY to read for Adam Sandler's new film. Guess what? I'd play a preacher. I think this movie will be funny. For a while it was called "Chuck and Buck", but the sides called it "Chuck and Larry." I just read about it in Entertainment Weekly. The part has several lines and concludes with the preacher getting punched by Kevin James...would be great fun.

The commercial went fine today. I met George Clinton. He was very funkadelic. I spent most of the day sprinting down a Burbank culd-e-sac in my business suit...chasing an ice cream truck. Yeah...Hollywood is glamorous. It was a national promo, which means no residuals.

I'll be over at Saddleback church tomorrow and the next day for a recovery conference during the hours that I'm not auditioning.

Hyper-busy week.

Booked a National Commercial...

I booked a commercial for tomorrow featuring George Clinton...gotta get my funk on I guess. It's a comedy spot that will be largely improvised...I'll be the playing the white guy in a suit. That's happy good news. On the producing front, the MY TAKE winners have been announced. (See link over on this side -->) Now we start the effort to produce the five films. I'm in the middle of seeking co-producers/investors now. If you have any leads, shoot me an e-mail.

All of this and I'm planning on going to a Recovery conference Thursday and Friday with some folks from Lifelines. Big thanks to Kris Brown for helping us with our kids this week...some weeks are harder than others to manage two careers and two kids.

I think we are going to go to the Block at Orange tonight to celebrate the commercial with a round of family bowling. Good times.

Reely?

I have three new ACTOR REELS on my other website. Go there and click on "reel." www.joeboyd.net

This and that

I finally updated my acting reel today. It should be up on www.joeboyd.net in a few days...
No big-time auditions yet this week, but I will read for a little indie tv pilot tomorrow. The part is a (terrible) boxer, which seems fun. Thursday holds some meetings with producers in LA regarding some future projects.

Otherwise summer rolls on...the kids are staying up a little too late and sleeping in a little too long...ah, summer. Deb's working a lot these days. I think we are enjoying summer but also looking forward to the daily schedule that school will bring in a few weeks.

Making progress.

My audition yesterday went very well. The casting director was laughing, which is usually good for a sit-com audition. I did well enough that if I don't get it, I think they will have me back again. That's all that really matters. I also auditioned for an improv show last night. They called today and offered me the part, but I may not take it. I'm not really sure why I went in the first place...I think I just wanted to improv at the audition more than anything else.

It's been an eventful summer for sure. I'm starting a new teaching about prayer at Lifelines tomorrow and have been re-reading a few of Richard Foster's books. I forgot how helpful they were to me a few years back. I'm looking forward to see what will happen with our community there this fall.

Pretty good day...

The Disney gig today was fun. I worked with the ABC folks who do all of the web and mobile content for the network. They were great to hang out with...it was interesting to see how many of them were nervous to act or write or be creative given where they work, but once they got into it they had a lot of fun. I hope to work with the guys from teambuilding again.

Here's the good news: First of all, it looks like I've landed an agent for the San Diego market, which is harder than you might think. I also have my third network audition since returning from the tour. It's at Warner Brothers for a new ABC sit-com called NOTES FROM THE UNDERBELLY. Another day livin the dream...