Love the 'do Marty!

For whatever reason, sometimes we have the opportunity to be thankful in spite of the most horrific circumstances.  The following story is one of those “most horrific circumstances” that I am now currently thankful for (or someone is).

Star date:  The end of my freshman year in college. Twas May of 1994, and I had just finished  a full year of college at this institution of higher learning and even higher rules of living.  Most college students leave their freshman year of college and head home for the summer.  Ya know, hang out with the old classmates and brag about who went to the best parties that year.  Going to PCC however left little room for conversations like these and more room to try to figure out anything at all about what was going on in popular culture,(“No, I’ve never heard of Ace of Base, are they good?”).  Plus my parents lovingly dropped me off at school in September of ’03 from my lifetime hometown of Fremont, Ohio and immediately (meaning that day) moved to Tucson, AZ – but thankfully they left me the address.

So as is the college ritual toward the end of the school year, I looked for someone to give me a ride from Pensacola, Florida to Tucson, AZ.  And if you were going to LA, that would be fine too because route 10 goes all the way across the country, baby!

Allison eventually got in touch with me and asked me to meet her at the Commons one day with a group of people who would be riding across the country together.  When I arrived, I found Allison, Kim, and John waiting for me and we talked for a bit, getting to know each other before we made this insanely long road trip as a group.  Allison was finishing her sophomore year as a Criminal Justice major, Kim, too, would be a senior the following year, John suffered along with me in having 3 more years of college to go.

So we decided on a time and a place to meet after our schools graduation ceremony (figuring if possible we could break out somewhere in between the 3rd and 18th verses of the schools alma mater song) and exchanged pleasantries as we went, living our lives for the rest of the year.

Finally the day arrived that we would be leaving for the year.  We were scheduled to meet at 11:45 am in the center of campus, pack our car up, and drive away.  I guess that schedule worked for two of us as John and I were the only ones to arrive.  Of course this was long before cell phones were readily available (actually, I’d be interested in knowing if you can have one at PCC) so we simply had to wait.  12.  12:15.  12:30.  I’m starting to get impatient.  1 rolls around and there is still no Allison or Kim.  Maybe they thought we were freaks, I quipped inside my own head.

Finally at 2:00 pm, our two heroines arrived apologetically after having dropped a friend off at the airport “and it took longer than we thought it would.”  Either way, at this point already on this Friday John and I were irritated, so we let it go, packed up the car, and headed west.

My friend Mike Burns had something to say, and he wondered if martyholman.com was the place he could share his thoughts on the subject.  Since Burns is too busy making things happen to blog, I figured this would be a great forum for his concerns.  So, meet Mike Burns:

“Am I the only one that gets screwed by airline companies?
It seems every time I book a flight, I pay on average 30% more than anyone else
I ever talk to.  Everyone tells me about really cheap flights, but they never
seem to fly to or from cities I need.  So I try to book a normalish flight, and
end up paying through the nose, only to find out that had I waited two weeks or
something, I could have saved 30-50%.  Case in point:

My sister planned to get married in November of 2009, and told me in December of
2008, so I thought I’d get a really good deal by booking right away.  So I paid
€560.  Not bad considering the last flight I booked to the US for €750.  My
friend recently visited from Boston and flew to Frankfurt, essentially the same
flight path I take, and paid US$400.  So I looked into these new prices, and
found that after 6 months, my flight was now down to €360.  So I instantly
tried to cancel and re-book.  But then I found out about the €150 cancellation
fee, which means in the end, I only save €50 on what looks like a €200 savings.
On top of that, it takes up to 6 weeks to get the money back, and in the
meantime, I need to re-book the flight.  So I have to wait till the end of the
month to re-book when I get a new credit limit (Germany’s credit card system is
strange, to say the least.  You get a credit each month, but at the end of each
month, whatever you paid with the credit card is taken from your bank account
automatically.)

I hate the airlines.  If a ship didn’t take 2 weeks to get across the pond, I’d
totally be doing that.”

Edited with love by Marty Holman

It hardly seems fair sometimes, this life we lead.  As I’ve mentioned before, this last month has been so crazy, I almost can’t believe it.
It’s been 3 days since I’ve been able to find a place to go online, 3 days since I’ve eaten anything, and approximately 3,000 miles of driving.

When I last blogged, I mentioned how I was going to watch part of our service online when Carie and I arrived into Birmingham, Michigan (a suburb of Detroit) from Fremont, Ohio.  We were attending church at my grandfather’s church and had about 15 minutes of viewing time before I had to pack it up and head to service.

So I looked up all the Panera Breads on our route and found that there was one on our path.  This good news brightened my day.  And as I drove toward my destination, I noticed that there was a section ahead on Southfield Rd. in Southfield, Michigan without power.  “Poor peeps,” I thought to myself, knowing the horrendous nature of being without power in these wintrous days.

And then I realized that the Panera Bread I needed to use was also devoid of electricity.  We had to drive another 10 minutes out of our way to join Fellowship for about 8 minutes.

After service and a delightful lunch with my grandparents, Carie and I headed back to Indiana where my parents live.  Another 5 hour drive that turned into 6 because of an accident on the freeway.

On Monday, Carie and I developed two different kinds of sicknesses.  This was hard because we couldn’t really take care of each other, though we tried.  Almost the entire day was spent on the couch attempting to not get more sick than we had been.  “Please God.  Please?”

Tuesday marked our travel day home from Indiana to Massachusetts.  Carie’s health improved, and mine grew worse, keeping me from eating anything except seven french fries to test my future.  We arrived home at 11:00pm on Tuesday night, making our trip about 13.5 hours long.  We were overjoyed to be home in Massachusetts.

And this morning, I awoke cheerful and ready for the day, with only a bit of hunger panes, and …alone.

Carie awoke about 2 hours earlier and she could hardly talk or walk and had been hit hard with the flu bug that she’d been flirting with for the last several days.  Currently I’m trying to take good care of her, but I’m not a good cook, and my own hunger is pretty ravenous.

I say all this to share with you two things:

First, our open invitation New Years Eve Party we are having tonight has been cancelled.  Carie and I have hosted a party every year since 2002-2003, but the sickness this year, compounded by the snow, has devastated the party plans, and we just cannot have it this year.  My apologies to those who were attending, and I hope you have a safe and happy New years!

Second, despite all the stuff that has happened, and despite my focusing on all the negative stuff via my posts (really just because they make for better stories), I am quite confident that God is amazing, and that in 2009 in my life and in the life of the Holmans and Fellowship Church, He is going to use us to bring in His Kingdom!

“Thank You God!  Thank You!”

All year, one of the coolest things about my team at Fellowship has been their ability to step up and get the job done in my absence.  The person speaking has done a phenomonal job, and nothing suffers as I leave to go away for the weekend.

I love what our church is becoming and I’m quite pumped about watching tomorrow mornings service online at http://fellowshipholden.com.
Jeff Campbell will be addressing “Elevating Community” and the band will rock the hizzy!

So for those of you Fellowshippers who are reading this, enjoy Sunday’s service, and I can’t wait to see you all next week!

Peace!

Carie and I are travelling for Christmas to Indiana where my parents and most of my family live.  In spite of the craziness that marks life in December 2008 Massachusetts, we decided to make our way west.  We considered cancelling the trip more than once, but I started and brainstormed  an idea to have a Facebook school reunion at my alma mater for the 27th of December and figured it would be in poor taste to back out now.

Travelling west felt like desertion of my friends and chrch family members who have gone through so much over the last two weeks.  I’m sure there have been places and times in history and even in recent history where people have gone through worse, but from a devastating ice storm that knocked trees around like javelins to the twin snow storms this last weekend, more than one person I know have gone through dynamic trials.  Even as recently as Tuesday (Christmas Eve Eve) two families I know from Fellowship had been without power since two Thursdays prior.

So Carie and I departed Massachusetts on Tuesday afternoon after her knucklehead school decided to “rough out” the remainder of the school year.  (I know I’ll be happy about that in June, don’ t remind me)  Our trip was great for the majority!  No problems.  No major traffic issues.  And all was well.

When I gave up my driving seat to Carie late in the evening, I decided to take a quick nap as we headed toward our final destination for the evening, Erie Pennsylvania.  Before I napped, Carie mentioned that there were several sand trucks out, and she wondered if they were looking for a storm ahead.  When I woke up, I received a text from Phil Kenney, admonishing me to drive safely.

The odd thing about this text was that he sent it quite late.  If I know anything about Phil and his wonderful wife, Leslie, I know that they go to bed early most nights.  So now it was my time to wonder:

Did our final hour have poor weather in our future?

Sure enough, about a half hour outside of Erie, the roads transformed into a slushy ice skating rink, and speeds of 65-75 became 25-35 in 1.6 seconds.  This transformation, coupled with my GPS placing me in the wrong part of Erie, made for a final hour of hysteria on the part of the Holmans.

Discouraged and tense, we arrived at our hotel safely around 2am.

I have been pondering a post about my lack of Christmas spirit this year, (with  both good and bad ideas throughout) but this adventure, coupled with what we’ve already experienced in weather, tipped the scales a bit.

I have more I’d like to write, but alas, I must go.

Please give me  a Christmas gift of reasons why you are in the Christmas Spirit this year.

By the way, as I’ll explain later, please don’t mistake my lack of Christmas spirit for negativity.  I’m actually feeling quite positive about most things right now, just not in a Christmas like way.

Worcester = pron. wu - ster

I live near this city called Worcester.  It is the 2nd or 3rd largest city in New England, but has a horrible reputation.  I’m not sure why, but it’s just not considered a great city in which to live.  Here’s the interesting thing though – I love it!

I’ve lived in Ohio (the cornfield area actually); Pensacola, Florida;  Tucson, Arizona;  and Atlanta, Georgia, and I’ve loved Central Massachusetts just as much as the aforementioned places – I’m not even one to care about the beauty of an area.  I say that because I live in an area of dense trees and forests, a half hour away from a mountain (though it’s not the biggest in the world – more like a large hill), an hour away from 5 other states, an hour away from the Atlantic Ocean, and two hours away from New York.

I mention this because I don’t think happiness or unhappiness has very much to do with what area of the world you live.  I like warm weather, but I’m no less happy than I was when I lived south of the Mason-Dixon.  In fact, an argument could be made that I’m more happy.

Why?

Here are a few reasons I think people are happy:

1.  They have people they live near who will pour into their lives.
Family or not, what you really need to be happy in an area of the world is a group of people who will not allow you to be an island – To be out there all on your own.  Not to rule over you, or to interfere with your life, but to simply be there when you need someone.  Whether these people are mentors, friends, teachers, small group members, or all of the above.

2.  Financially they have been wise enough to not be in debt.
One good way to start complaining about where you live is to get yourself in debt.  At that point, it’s easy to start complaining about all your circumstances.  But if you’re wise with your money, you’ll be much happier in general, no matter where you live.  When I lived in Hotlanta, I wasn’t very wise with the funds God had given me, (although it wasn’t very much in the first place).  Atlanta is very materially obsessive in the first place with their huge shopping malls and restaurant on every third acre of land, but couple that with my naievity about finances, and you have a great formula for unhappiness.  So this amazing place which I now love to go back to was at this point in my life a miserable place.

3.  Their life is about others, yet they are focused enough to not be doing everything.
As was the case for number 1, there must be people in your life who you can pour your life into, but they can also pour their life into you.  The opposite extreme however, is very dangerous.  Saying “yes” to helping everything and everyone will put you into quick miserable mode.  Learn to say “no” in love.  It will be as freeing for you in the long run as saying “yes” was to something you really needed to do.

For all I’ve written, sometimes, you just want to be somewhere else.  And that’s okay.  But if you are in a place where you can’t leave and just wdon’t want to be miserable, these three things can take you to a place of contentment.

Where are you?  And are you content?

As a subscriber to boingboing.net, I was immersed today, as I caught up on my blog reading, in a main topic of conversation – The 30 year anniversary of the largest mass suicide in history.  In 1978, Pastor Jim Jones coerced and in some cases intimidated his followers into drinking kool-aid laced with cyanide and other toxins that killed them, including hundreds of children.

I read tons of articles, and watched a PBS special on the background of Jones’ story, and I am filled with horror at what took place during this time.  What started out as a group of people trying to create a utopic society, became a nightmare for thousands of members and family.

Here was a man with a mission “from God” who preached values like equality and justice, giving to the needy, and humbling yourself, and then turned around to make it all about him.  “I’ll be your best friend if you want me to be.  If you need a father, I can be your father.  I’ll be your God if you want me to be your God,” Jones said from the pulpit.

So what went wrong? How do we know that religion won’t always go this route?  I’ve thought of a few ways to safeguard our lives to follow God’s leading and not a humans.

1)  If a person says they are God, in any sense (Jesus, Holy Spirit, etc…), be done with them.
A person is not God.  God is God.  Anything else is idolatry.

2)  Don’t blindly follow a person.
Many times we choose to be a part of a church or an organization because we like the leader, rather than the vision of the church or the organization.  If so, you will be gone immediately after the leader leaves, dies, or asks you to drink this.  Please investigate the mission of your church, non-profit organization, kid’s school, or book club group (to name a few).  Why do they do what they do?  If they don’t know, then they’re probably not accomplishing anything.

3)  When you give, stay informed about where it goes.
I’m not saying you should have a say in where it goes, but I do think you should be able to ask questions to ensure accountability in the process.

4)  If someone preaches dogmatically living life one way, and lives their life the opposite way, this is not healthy.
In the case of Jim Jones, he preached justice and equality in a socialistic environment, and then lived in wealth.  He spent a lot of money given to him by his congregation, while asking them to give more, and he slept with whatever woman he wanted whenever he wanted.  For those of you dreaming of a utopian society one day, socialism at its base is just like capitalism.  If either is left unchecked, they will fall hard, because they both require leadership.

5)  Pray.
Stay in tune with God, constantly asking him if this next move or decision is the one you need to make. This helps to safeguard your decisions and keeps you free of manipulation.

30 Years ago.  But it could happen today.

Hola!  I hope you’re having an amazing Columbus Day.  You can read why we celebrate this explorer/adventurer here.

I have recently returned from the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta and here was my schedule for the weekend:

Friday, 5:30 pm – Catalyst Conference ends.  Begin drive home of 1100 miles.
Saturday, 12:00 pm – Arrive home from long drive with Steve, Al, Billy, and Steve Bramlett.
Saturday, 1:00 pm – After unpacking and chatting with Carie for a bit, I began preparing for a 6:00 pm wedding I was officiating.
Saturday, 2:00 pm – Began searching for my message for Sunday morning @ Fellowship.  It was nowhere to be found on my computer.  So I wrote down a few thoughts I had and prayed a lot.
Saturday, 4:00 pm – began to prepare for the wedding (ironing clothes, polishing shoes, etc…)
Saturday, 4:30 pm – Nap time.
Saturday, 5:15 pm – wake up and finish dressing.
Saturday, 5:20 pm – drive to the wedding.
Saturday, 6:00 pm – Wedding time!
Saturday, 10:00 pm – Leaving the wedding reception.
Saturday, 10:30 pm – Sweet sleep.  I was about to drop.
Sunday, 4:14 am – Wakie, wakie, eggs and bacie!  And immediately begin preparing for Sunday morning @ Fellowship.
Sunday, 10:30 am – Sunday Morning @ Fellowship!
Sunday, 1:30 pm – Drive to Malta, NY to celebrate Tina’s Birthday
Sunday, 4:30 pm – Party with Carie, Jessica, Tom, Tina, Ray, Joanna, Steve, Amy, and several others.
Sunday, 8:00 pm – Watched The Patriots get their world rocked.
Sunday, 12:00 am – Finally get to go to bed!

It’s been such a crazy last several days.  I love it!  And today is relax day, enjoying my wife and a few friends in New York!  Tomorrow I have a great idea I’ll be blogging about. At least to me it’s a great idea.  You can judge for yourself.

What are you doing to celebrate Christipher?

Tonight I’m tired.

I learned a lot from the speakers, the friends I’ve caught up with, and the all around Catalyst experience.  I was thinking about giving you our schedule for the day, but since I like to highligt relationships, I’ll share the people I saw speak/met/reconnected with.  It’s a great list.

Speakers @ Catalyst on day 1:

Andy Stanley (Once again. he would not let me wash his feet with my hair)
William Paul Young (author of “The Shack”)
Jim Collins (author of “Good to Great”)
Brenda Salter McNeil (author of “A Credible Witness”)
Steven Furtick (amazing pastor!)
Seth Godin (One of the best bloggers out there)
Craig Groeschel (founder of “One Prayer“)

People with whom I reconnected:

Dave Huey & Cherie Rector (Dave and I go way back to PCC days)
Tim Payne (doing a great job as the life groups pastor at this church)
Shane Kenney (Saw him from ’93-’97 at PCC and never talked to him until this conference)

People I’ve met:

Vince Antonucci (author of “I became a christian and all I got was this lousy t-shirt“)
Hank Wilson (planted a church in Boston)
Pete Wilson (No relation, but it was an honor to meet this great pastor/blogger)
Tim J Chambers (great to finally meet this pastor from New Jersey)
Steve Harrison (invited me to dinner with him and the remainder of this list; capped off a super day)
Michael Harrison (pastor in VA and brother of aforementioned new friend)
Aaron Swensen (Life group pastor of Lifechurch.tv Tulsa Campus and hater of Sonnys BBQ ribs)
Jay Stevenson (self professed bum who will someday find a job, and a nice guy)

I love Catalyst and seeing all of my new and old friends!  And Billy, Bramlett, and Al loved seeing Robbie Seay Band and Jon Foreman play an acoustic concert tonight.

They were on the front row.

One year ago today I started blogging.

I wrote of my trip to the Catalyst Conference ’07 (which at the time was my 4th) with my cousin Tim, and how Rick Warren brought it to 12,000 pastor-leaders.

Today I’m back in Atlanta at the Catalyst Conference enjoying my team and some old friends, and ready to be influenced by some of the greatest Leaders of our generation:  Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, Andy Stanley, Seth Godin, William F. Young, Craig Groeschel, Jim Collins, and Steven Furtick are just a few of the names that have already impacted me significantly through books, blogs, and messages I’ve heard and read.

You can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or this blog (blog posts in the evenings this week).  I’ll share what I’ve learned, who I’ve heard, and who I’ve connected with as I keep an account of what’s happening here in Hotlanta.

Tonight at 7PM, we’ll be hosting another live broadcast of what we’ve learned on FCTV.  We tried this last night, and it went well.  People connected with us by texts and with each other by the chat mode on FCTV.  Latest reports have people tuning in last night from Massachusetts, Virginia, Germany, New York, and of course, Atlanta.  So check it out tonight, October 9th, at 7 pm.  (This time may be changed if we do not get out of the conference in time, but I will offer prompt notice on twitter and facebook if this occurs.)

Hows your week going?