January 4, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Time for my once every other week blog post…
Shawna had another ultrasound a few days ago because the last one showed something they were worried about. Everything is just fine and we got some new pictures (the most expensive pictures of Kylee we’ll ever pay for until her wedding). Here’s the best one in 3D of her face (amazing how they can do this):
We had wonderful holidays and hope everyone else did too. We have so much to be thankful for. Here is a picture of all of us:
I’m coming up with some more stuff to write and get back in the swing of this blogging thing. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

https://markasbell.com/222/

Filed Under: Family, Misc

Christmas Plays

December 18, 2007 by Leave a Comment

I’ve been to a lot of Christmas productions in my time. I mean – if you know me at all you know I’m a preachers kid and I have been in church enough to have seen it all. For the last 4 years or so I’ve been going to NewSpring. They don’t do Christmas productions of any sort. They would probably agree if I said they are anti-Christmas-Play. They DO NOT participate in such stuff. I can understand why – because it isn’t “part of the vision”. Ok Ok – I’ve heard it and appreciate the position and quite frankly based on the history I’ve had being involved in Christmas productions I could care less if the church I go to doesn’t do one.

BUT… I found some Christmas spirit this year and actually attended another churches Christmas production. It was at Rock Bridge and it was really very good. What a wonderful mix of ‘secular’ Christmas traditions and ‘Christian’ Christmas traditions. It was so nice to see a church put on a program that inserted the true meaning of Christmas in to settings that are up to date in our culture (or as I like to put it – not old school).

Thanks to my little brother (Matthew Asbell) for inviting me. He was in the production and he even had a short solo singing part that made us all so proud. Next year I think they should get him in with one of the dancing groups. Ballet or Tap – either one will amuse me.

Great show Rock Bridge!! 

Filed Under: Faith

What I’ve Been Up To

December 11, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Things have been crazy busy for me lately but it has been a good thing because it looks like I am going to meet my work goal for the year.  I’m so close.  We have added a lot of new capabilities to what we do at work so I’ve been on the road quite a bit lately spreading the word to clients. 
From Friday 11/30 to Friday 12/7 I traveled over 2400 miles by car and aside from an average of 5.5 hours of sleep each night the rest of the time every day was probably 85-90% work time.  If I had time to think of all the experiences I had along the way I’d be sure to write about some of them.  Maybe later…
Someone asked me the other day what I want for Christmas.  As I was staring at a mirror in my hotel last week, missing my family, exhausted, thinking about my inbox full of catch up work to do, smelling the coffee beside me…  I thought for a second, “hmmm, just what do I really need for Christmas?”  At that moment staring in the mirror I did this funny face I do that shows my teeth and realized… ALL I NEED FOR CHRISTMAS IS A BIT MORE SLEEP AND A LOT OF TEETH WHITENER.  Obviously my coffee dependency is taking it’s toll.  
Filed Under: Misc

Camping Mirror

November 29, 2007 by Leave a Comment

You know you have a princess when you need a camping mirror.

The other night I was playing with the kids and Shawna was browsing the net for Christmas gift ideas. She said something to me about what did I want for Christmas. A few years ago if I was asked that question I would have a list ready to read off. These days I’m a lot more simple but I find myself throwing different things out at different times to different people instead of a list all at once. I know I’m weird.

So I told Shawna, “The kids and I need some camping equipment so we can go camping.” I’ve seriously been wanting to do that for a while now. I think Devin would love that kind of thing (unlike me who would rather play anything with a ball) so I want to take him camping. We have a tent and sleeping bags but none of the other stuff that makes it a real and exciting camping experience.

Since I was playing with the kids at the moment this conversation was going on with Shawna I got them involved in the conversation. I asked them, “What all do you think we might need to go camping in the woods where there is no light and no water?” That is when the interesting list started to build. I should have written it down.

We talked about everything from a portable table and hot chocolate to the mini Jeep brand TV/Radio gadget that runs on batteries (that was a gift I’ve only used once when I took the kids ‘camping’ in the back yard) and a telescope so we could look at the stars (Devin’s idea). But the funniest one to me was when Skyler said “We’ll need a mirror!” in that prissy tone she uses. You had to be there. It was precious, hilarious, and rotten all in one moment.

Looks like I’ll be taking the princess ‘camping’ at the Holiday Inn Express. 

Filed Under: Family, Stories

Dirty Little Secrets

November 9, 2007 by Leave a Comment

This writing is a great verbalization of a perspective I learned to adopt at a very early age growing up in church.  If I were writing it I would have said more critical stuff like – I don’t care who a person is, who they know, what their position is, what they’ve done, what they’ve won, or what picture is painted of them (by them or by their friends, family, or media, or whatever) – I’m looking at whatever I see and questioning the possibility that the exact opposite is true.  I really do have doubting thoughts like “I wonder if the Pope is really pure or if he has an entourage of people protecting that image while they know there is a woman in his hotel room?”  Fill in whoever you want in the place of ‘Pope’ – Pastor, Boss, Friend, and think of infinite scenarios I question in my mind other than the ‘woman in the hotel room’ example.  Maybe I think too much…  Just read this good article. 
Behind Closed Doors
By Robert Ringer
There is much truth to the axiom “No one knows what goes on behind closed doors.” Why do we assume that people in high positions don’t have realproblems? Lacking perfection ourselves, I believe we have a psychic need for perfection in important people.
From OJ to Robert Blake… from Britney to Lindsay… from Rep. Mark Foley to Senator Larry Craig… it’s amazing the things we plebians are discovering about what goes on behind the closed doors of the rich and famous.
The topper for me in this regard was the revelation that Tom Wolfe’s “right stuff” people – our astronauts – aren’t perfect after all. That door opened to the whole world when astronaut Lisa Nowak was arrested last February and charged with the attempted kidnapping of U.S. Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman, the girlfriend of astronaut William Oefelein.
When Tom Wolfe wrote The Right Stuff, I don’t think he had valedictorian/astronaut-turned-stalker Lisa Nowak in mind. And he certainly didn’t have wigs, diapers, rubber tubing, and serrated knives in mind.
What would cause such an all-American woman to flip her wig? (Pun intended.) The first thing that comes to mind is Buddha’s admonition that “all unhappiness is caused by attachment.”
It’s healthy and wonderful to fall in love… no argument on that point. But when a person’s love is so desperate – so irrationally based – that she is willing to commit acts of violence in order to keep the object of her affection in her clutches (which, of course, wouldn’t work anyway), her psyche is definitely in outer space.
It is somewhat self-evident that anyone who would go to such extremes is lacking in self-confidence and self-esteem. Again, love is wonderful. But when it becomes a life-or-death matter, I believe it reveals a neurotic – and possibly psychotic – insecurity.
Your happiness should never depend on how another person feels about you. Happiness results from feeling good about yourself. You cannot hold anyone emotionally captive, and you should never allow anyone to do it to you.
But, lack of self-confidence and self-esteem aside, Lisa Nowak’s antics should again remind us how true it is that “no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.” In this vein, I recall being on a national talk show in the late seventies, hosted by a well-known television personality (“Mike”). We subsequently became good friends, and often socialized together.
Mike and his wife (“Barbara”) were portrayed as the ultimate glamour couple, often appearing on magazine covers together. They were the poster couple for the media’s idea of “beautiful people,” and were frequent guests themselves on other major television shows. Their specialty? Giving advice on how to sustain a healthy marriage.
On one occasion, my wife and I went with Mike and Barbara to a concert at the Greek Theater. I remember the evening vividly. After getting out of the car, Barbara and my wife walked ahead of Mike and me, giving us an opportunity to chat privately.
At one point, I made a comment about what a lucky guy he was to be married to such a beautiful and nice woman as Barbara, and how happy they seemed to be. I was stunned when he replied, “Robert, I’m not happy at all. In fact, I’m miserable. I thought when I built the house for her (a little $5 million+ extravaganza in Beverly Hills), it would improve our marriage. But, instead, things are totally unraveling.”
Soon after that evening, rumors began flying around Tinseltown about Mike’s catching Barbara in bed with a ski instructor on a vacation in Aspen – followed shortly thereafter by his finding her in bed with their gardener! Pretty ugly stuff.
Mike and Barbara have been divorced for many years now, but their sad situation still has an impact on my thinking. I’ve long taken media hype with a grain of salt, and I’m not overly impressed with titles, awards, commendations, and the like. (Remember, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Yasser Arafat and Kofi Annan!)
But it’s not just famous people whose personal realities are often far different from the perceptions they convey. There are many people in everyone’s micro-world who are perceived to be important – civic leaders, church bigwigs, school officials, wealthy individuals, and those with impressive titles (e.g., “doctor,” “lawyer,” “judge,” “director”).
It’s fine to show respect to those who have earned their way to top positions in society, but it’s a mistake to assume that they live pristine, automaton-like lives when out of public view.
Whenever I hear a sordid tale – like that of an astronaut’s psyche being stranded in outer space – it confirms my long-held belief that many people in the highest stations (e.g., those who have the authority to press the nuclear button!) may very possibly have less emotional stability than you or I.
Not much you can do about that. But you can do a lot about your own psyche by not being overly impressed with the elites around you. And by never losing sight of the reality that no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.
Filed Under: Business, Faith, Relationships

Are You Interested in ‘Green’?

November 8, 2007 by Leave a Comment

In the line of work I do I deal with large companies who are targeted for environmental awareness or save the planet or reduce global warming or whatever it’s being called at the moment.  Currently ‘Green’ seems to be the major buzz word along with ‘sustainability’ etc etc. 

Last week we talked about ‘green’ in every meeting we had with clients.  It seems some are being pushed more than others to become green in terms of materials they use or recycling initiatives they promote.  Everyone is aware of it though – whether they’re being pushed now or not – because they know it is coming.  It’s a big initiative right now.  I noticed the TV networks are even encouraging ‘green’ by coloring their emblem’s green and including ‘green’ content in programs such as The Biggest Loser. 

What is surprising to me though is how little recycling is promoted in the south.  It’s been 7 years since I lived in Atlanta so I don’t know if it is being promoted more down there (Atlanta is usually how I gauge where the south is on the learning curve of a lot of things – so southerners don’t look completely stupid all the time).  If it is being promoted more in ATL I’m not hearing it.  I just know that here in the great city of Anderson, SC I don’t see any push for recycling – except for two couples out of all the people we know here who actually recycle, but one of those admits that it is so much trouble sometimes their garbage ends up un-recycled anyway. 

ON THE OTHER HAND, or coast, I’ve heard through the grapevine that the more westerly (‘tree huggers’) states are doing a much better job encouraging recycling and making it easier to participate in recycling.  I don’t know any of the real details firsthand that make these other places so much better at recycling but I’m certainly curious about it. 

Why isn’t recycling going on here like it is in other places?  What would it take to make recycling a successful initiative in places that aren’t pushing it?  
Filed Under: Business

YOU Married Them!

November 7, 2007 by Leave a Comment

I can’t stand hearing some of the excuses people come up with to either divorce or maintain a terrible relationship with their spouse.  This is one of the best lessons of encouragement I’ve ever read in this area:

Second-Guessing In Marriage
by Steve Arterburn

At some point, almost every man feels incompatible with his spouse. During those times, most men secretly wonder if they should’ve married someone else. They harbor that secret from their wives for fear of hurting them. But truth be told, from time to you’re your wives probably entertain similar thoughts.
The real news here isn’t that people sometimes wish they’d married someone different; it’s that they’re misdiagnosing the issue at hand and the challenge it requires of them. Everybody goes through difficult periods in marriage. At times everybody feels like throwing in the towel. And if you want to know the truth, everybody—at least in one sense—did marry the wrong person!
While teaching a marriage course at Notre Dame, a professor used to give his students one absolute: you always marry the wrong person. “It’s a reversible absolute, though,” said Hauerwas, “You always marry the right person. The point is we don’t know who we are marrying.”
Professor Hauerwas is right. The knowledge you have of your spouse on your wedding day is unavoidably incomplete. Furthermore, both of you will change and develop over the course of your lives. Consequently, neither person knows exactly what the promise they’re making to one another will entail. The promise is bold, challenging, and ripe with reward.
Therefore, rather than ask if you’ve married the wrong person, try asking how you can learn to better love and care for the person you’ve married! 
Filed Under: Relationships

Funny Mother-In-Law Story

November 5, 2007 by Leave a Comment

My mother-in-law, Grace (aka GG), came over to help us with the kids and the wedding Shawna was working on the week before the wedding date. So lots of funny quirky mother-in-law stuff happened.
(I’m very blessed to have a wonderful relationship with my ‘in-laws’. They’re not ‘in-laws’ at all. We’re all just family. If we weren’t the following story might not have been so funny…)
One night GG and I were driving the kids home from the rehearsal dinner. Shawna wasn’t with us because she had to stay late to help the bride with flowers and such, so GG was sitting in the front seat beside me and the kids were in the back of course. Sometimes as we’re getting close to our house the kids will say “Drive crazy Daddy!” They like it when I jerk the wheel back and forth and tap the brakes to make the van feel like it’s bouncing all over the place. They get the biggest kick out of it and I love to hear their little laughter, so I like to ‘drive crazy’.
I’m used to having Shawna in the seat beside me when I do this, and I think Shawna is used to what I do and knows to hold on really good. GG – not so much. As I pulled in to our street I gave the wheel one big jerk to the right, so GG swayed really far to the left. The kids are laughing so hard I’m getting tickled. Then I yanked the wheel really fast to the left, causing GG to change directions and sway really really hard to the right. Her head slammed in to the side of the seatbelt thing that is behind your shoulder. If it had been the window it would have broken, but probably wouldn’t have hurt as bad as that knob thing that adjusts the seatbelt height.
It really did hurt her head but she was ok, so I laughed hysterically for about 5 minutes.
Filed Under: Family, Stories

Lord’s Supper

October 28, 2007 by Leave a Comment
If you were at NewSpring this past Sunday you saw the largest print of The Lord’s Supper painting that I have ever seen – actually there were two of them, one on each side of the auditorium (I’m talking huge – 12 feet tall by 24 feet wide). People who have accepted Christ during this sermon series came down and wrote their name on the Lord’s Supper table as a symbol of their committing their life to Jesus. It was awesome.

I’m so blessed that I had the opportunity to volunteer my services to NewSpring to have those large prints produced at a company I do business with (it wasn’t the company I work for). I didn’t pay for the prints or anything but I helped Chris Dunagan find a quality source for a good price. Chris (aka Gizzard or Gizz for short) did all the real work preparing the image and all that. I just did some communicating back and forth between Gizz and the printer. It was the least I could do to help out with something I’m fairly good at – dealing in the print industry. But that isn’t what I’m wanting to write about.

The good part of this story comes in to play when Gizz and I went to Atlanta to pick up the finished project. The owner of this company asked us what we were doing with these two huge prints of the Lords Supper. This is the good part and I would try to re-verbalize it but I wouldn’t do justice to what Gizz said. It was just amazing the way Gizz explained to this guy what was being done with these huge prints and what it would symoblize for those going through a life changing experience of accepting Christ.

It was one of the best examples of witnessing I have ever seen. In fact when we left there I said “that guy just got witnessed to and he don’t even know it”. What Gizz did is planted a seed. I also told Gizz that I’ve met that guy before but don’t know anything about his beliefs, but if he isn’t a Christ believer he will definitely be thinking about it after the way Gizz planted that seed.

Gizz is one of the most passionate people on staff at NewSpring. He stands out above most in my opinion – not to take anything away from the others. He knows his role, stays true to vision and leadership, and does what he loves with a deep level of passion and conviction.

And in case you ever need their services – Chris (Gizz) and his wife Jessica are both graphic designers and do freelance work when they have time. They are expecting a baby too so if they’re anything like us they will be open to extra income.

Filed Under: Faith

Round Trip Ticket to Space Please

October 23, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Does anyone else remember Apollo 13 the movie? If I recall correctly the astronauts were put through hell just to be accepted to the astronaut training, and in training they had to pass tests of immortality. Maybe I’m exaggerating but it seemed pretty stringent.

Oh how things are changing…

The World’s First Spaceport
It’s tourism meets Star Trek. Architects have started preliminary work on the design of Spaceport America’s 100,000-square-foot terminal and hangar facility in New Mexico. It will be the primary base of the Virgin Galactic spaceliner, which, starting in 2009, will whisk travelers into space for a short trip into orbit if they pony up for a $200,000 ticket. The spaceport, expected to reach completion by early 2010, will also be the headquarters of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority.
(Source: Space.com)

I’m curious to know the details of how they can make such an offering to the public, but I have no intentions of ever paying $200k for a ticket. Maybe by 2040 the price will come down – like computers and cell phones. But by then there will be something even cooler – like studying abroad on Mars or a ticket to meet aliens in person. 

Filed Under: Misc
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