Pulling A Bryan

My Theme music for 2009

2010-01-04T11:17:00.000-05:00

I love last.fm! If you haven't signed up and connected your computers, XBOX Live and MP3 players to it, stop what you are doing right now and head over there.

The data tells the story - regardless of what I might THINK I listen to - here is the music that filled my head in 2009 (at least since April 3, when I signed up). http://www.last.fm/user/BSPollard

Artists:
1 Rush 407 (duh...)
2 Paul Oakenfold 246 (music to code to...)
3 Mute Math 204 (can't seem to get enough...)
4 Van Halen 154
5 Incubus 141 (surprising...)
6 Breaking Benjamin 136
7 Foo Fighters 106
8 The B-52's 93
9 Linkin Park 84 (really? )
10 Journey 78 (funny...)

Songs:
1 "Spotlight" - Mute Math - 28 (Since this was released as an EP, I wore it out)
2 "Clipping" - Mute Math - 13
3 "Armistice" - Mute Math - 12 (IMHO, the best song on Armistice)
4 "The Main Monkey Business" - Rush - 12 (the "YYZ of this decade")
5 "YYZ" - Rush - 12 (do I even need to say anything?)
6 "Backfire" - Mute Math - 12
7 "Drive" - Incubus - 11
8 "Put Ur Hands Up" - Family Force Five - 11 (um...Josh...thanks getting this stuck in my head)
9 "Plan B" - Mute Math - 11
10 "The Nerve" - Mute Math - 11
11 "Malignant Narcissism" - Rush - 11
12 "Breakdown" - Breaking Benjamin - 10
13 "11am" - Incubus - 10
14 "Give Me Back My Man" - The B-52's - 10 (possibly my favorite song of all-time)
15 "Dig" - Incubus - 10
Others up there were "Red Barchetta", "Today is the Day" (Lincoln Brewster), "Barracuda" (Heart), "Come Alive" (Foo Fighters)

I took out all of the practice music I listened to for singing at Pinedale (Bradley Knight, MercyMe...)

It's strange...unless I tracked this through last.fm I wouldn't have believed it. What does this say about me as a person? It just confirms what I already knew - I don't act my age (I like it that way).

Why I Would Dislike a "Dislike Button"

2009-11-03T16:51:00.001-05:00

For months FaceBook (FB) users have been bugging FB to add a "Dislike Button" and for months FB has refused to relent to their pleas. Even a quick scan of FaceBook's official blog shows that they are not discussing it (at least in public - I'm sure that they are inside the FB headquarters).

I would never pretend to know what they are thinking at FB headquarters, but if I had to guess it would be something like this...

Adding a "Dislike Button" may seem like a good idea on the surface, but would only cause problems in the long run. The way I see it, the purpose of a "Like Button" gives FB users a way to give props to someone or to agree with something someone says. It's a simple, friendly way of showing support or just casual interest in a FB post, picture, video, comment or anything else you can "like".

If you add a "Dislike Button" now it becomes something completely different.

Now it becomes a "vote" and it turns everyone into a critic and every item on FB into an issue. If Joe posts a picture of his puppy on his profile he could come back a day or so later and find out that it has a negative rating! Add to that...now...your "Like" gets canceled out by someone else's "Dislike" and it counts for nothing...

Which brings up the big problem - give everyone the choice of "like" AND "dislike" and it is now a rating system - that is completely different than what it is now.

I say keep the "Like Button" and forget about a "Dislike Button" - when you choose to "like" a FB post you give it your props - if you don't you didn't. It works, but now it's not a negative exercise...

Also, remember, that in the end FaceBook is going to do what they want - I, for one, hope they just leave it alone.

P.S. 11/5/2009
Mashable posted information about a Firefox plug-in that will give you a "dislike button". If you read closely, it sounds like Mashable doesn't like the "dislike button" idea either...

How to Get me to Follow you or Dump you on Twitter

2009-10-27T12:10:00.000-04:00

As I was just reading Scott Williams' blog post "5 Best Twitter Tips Of All-Time" I remembered that I have wanted to share the things that I like and don't like about Twitter users (A.K.A. why I follow or dump Twitterers). By the way, Scott's comments were excellent I just have a few more things to say about tweeting...

First of all, Scott pegged it perfectly - "Twitter is a river, not a lake", it changes how we communicate and using preexisting technologies as examples of how to use it can be dangerous. Dip your ladle in and take what you can, make sure that what you put in it is clean, safe and usable for those downstream and don't get upset if your contribution just flows on past - it happens.

Let's get on with it...

If you want me to follow you:

Put a picture on your profile of you or your brand. Also, Twitter is not so much like FaceBook where you might change your profile picture for fun - find one you like and only change it when completely necessary. That picture is often how I know to stop and read your tweet while quickly scanning my time-line.

If you want me to dump you:

When I see the twitter bird I move on. When I see one of the few dozen hot women pictures that spammers use I block it.

If you want me to follow you:

Fill in your profile bio. When you write it think about what you would want to know about someone if you were deciding to follow them or not. Who are you and what is important to you. Indicating where you are is a plus (and not completely necessary) only if you have a descriptive bio.
Give me a link to your website (if you have one) - if I'm not sure based on what I see on your time-line and bio I go there.

If you want me to dump you:

If you use a URL shortener for your website link consider yourself blocked. If you can't show me where I am going when I go see your site then you must not want me to see it - gone.
Tell me that you know how to get me hundreds or thousands of followers and your blocked. I'll just say it - people like you are sucking the life out of Social Networking.

If you want me to follow you:

Show me that you interact with the people you currently follow. I'm OK with one-dimensional brand Twitter accounts (I expect Jimmy John's or Confluence Coffee to mostly talk about their businesses), but when I see 25 straight posts about "herbal enhancement products" that's a quick block.
If you're new - do this stuff above (a good, quality picture and bio) and show me that you have started using Twitter. Share your thoughts, add to the flood of comments about things going on and just be honest.
Share information that is important to you and that would be important to everyone else. See something happening around you that's of interest - snap a picture and share it with the rest of us. Have something to say about the current news of the day - chime in!

If you want me to dump you:

If you are following 1,000 people and have 2 followers that's problem. Think about the EBay seller that has sold 1,000 items and has %50 rating - would you buy from them?
I've been immersed in Twitter enough to pick out fake accounts and one of the giveaway's is seeing 15 stereotypical tweets from a new Twitterer - real Twitterers don't have a specific style!
When I see a pattern of tweets from you that get me thinking that the only thing you are interested in is getting traffic to your site/blog/whatever or so you might get some more followers then I get tired and will eventually dump you.
When you can't express yourself without spewing out fowl language then you're gone. Do I believe and occasional curse in exclamation is a big deal - no - but, use your brain in figure out how to communicate without being offensive.

Bottom line - I really enjoy Twitter, it's where I get most of my news of the day. I am more in tune with the world than ever - it's fun to "meet" new people with which I have things in common and when we do have things in common it's obvious over time.

Satan is alive and well and living on Facebook (too)

2009-10-23T10:53:00.000-04:00

Yes, Satan is alive and well on earth and social networking hasn't skipped his radar...why would it? Satan is cunning and will use every method you can think of and more because he is DESPERATE.

So, when we as Christians see things like the "F**k Jesus Christ" group on FaceBook we shouldn't be surprised. In fact, we should expect such nonsense as a desperate attempt by the prince of darkness to push one more soul over the brink and away from God. We should see it for what it is and realize that HE IS LOSING!

Does that mean we can relax and let our guard down because he is losing - NO - it means that we should continue with God's good work. This includes praying for just such people as Derek Munson, Costas Katenidis and Adam Ajaja; the officers of the FaceBook group and others like them that are lost and hurting. Jesus came to this earth and died for these three lost souls just as much as He came for you and for me.

We as a Christian community should also stop being afraid to deal with nastiness like this because we don't want to get our hands dirty even talking about such things. When we fear such frontal attacks Satan wins the battle. Satan will lose the war, but we Christians need to stand firm against this nonsense, defiance and blasphemy and bring it out in the light - out in the open - because, "everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed" (John 3:20).

I'm not asking you to join a new FaceBook cause asking FaceBook to delete the group - there are plenty of those and the group is still there, besides FaceBook is not the culprit. FaceBook is just another normal, everyday thing that Satan is using in his desperation to collected broken souls. I am asking you to make your presence known each day as Christians and show the darkness the light.

Yes, Satan is alive and well - but he will lose the war.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understoodit. John 1:1-5

Ignorance Isnt Bliss

2009-10-15T14:44:00.007-04:00

Yesterday I watched an interview with the pastor of Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Canton, NC from my local NBC affiliate. In this interview he stated that his Church is having a "book burning" on Halloween where they would be burning "satanic books". Sounds weird...not something I would do...but, to each his own...right?

Wrong...

Then he started listing off some of the main items they would be burning which includes EVERY VERSION OF THE BIBLE OTHER THAN THE KING JAMES VERSION. Yes, you heard it right, this guy and the rest of his "flock" are going to burn bibles, because they believe that the only true inspired word of God is one released in 1611 for the Church of England and commissioned by King James I.

Like I have stated here many times, I grew up in a rather conservative culture - one with tons and tons of copies of the KJV - the bible I took to college was a KJV (although, it quickly gathered dust in place of my NIV). For many years the KJV was the only readily accessible translation of God's word and many, many people have come to know the Lord using it as their guide. I do not believe there is anything really wrong with the KJV if you prefer it, then use it - wear the pages out - that is awesome...

However, what I do have a big problem with are people that condemn others for using anything but that version of the bible. For me, the decision is easy, the New International Version (NIV), is accurate (over 100 scholars worked for over 10 years on it), and easy to read and understand and it has held up well over the years as a reliable bible version. There are still very many people that prefer the KJV and I embrace them, because it is God's word.

Marc Grizzard, however, is a different story. Not only does he prefer the KJV, he believes it is the only true interpretation of the bible and that the others are works of Satan. Then he get's his face on the news and the next thing you know it goes "viral" and thousands of people get to hear his ignorant message. To some non-Christians, he becomes the face of Christianity.

Mr. Grizzard, I wish you would shut up and keep you lunatic ravings to yourself and your hand-full of followers - burn your bibles and whatever else you need to keep you fire going and do it next to your Church building and be quiet.

I do have one question...did the apostles carry the Thompson Chain-Reference edition or just a simple Zondervan Study Bible in the 1st century?

The Book of Our Life

2009-09-25T11:44:00.001-04:00

We all have at least two versions of the books of our lives...some have more than two versions. What we do with those versions says a lot about how we REALLY feel about those we show our books to.

Assuming that there are only three versions:

Version "C" is the version that shows us as we want the world to see us. Every event has a purpose and a simple, positive explanation. Every thought has meaning. Every crisis a happy ending. We are the hero, never the villain, our motives are always pure.

Version "B" is the version that shows us as we want our friends to see us. Pretty much the same as the "world version", but with a some selected weakness. The kind of weakness that only goes to prove how human and sensitive we are. It's like the answer you give your potential boss while being interviewed about your "biggest weakness" - we take a potentially negative answer and spin it so that it sounds like a strength. This version has a few missing details from the "C" version and maybe even a few accounts that are not there. We are occasionally the villain, but we have learned from our mistakes.

Version "A" is the REAL version. It is the one that we would write to God in our weakest moment - knowing that He already knows how it went so there is no reason to skip any details, no reason to spin anything. It's unabridged and uncensored. We are villain, hero, pawn, king, patsy, queen, shepherd, leader and follower...

Here's the thing about Version "A" - what you do with this version says A GREAT DEAL about who you REALLY ARE...

Some will never even write it. Yes, I believe that many of us will never write this book. They replace it with either Version "B" or Version "C" - yes they CALL it Version "A", but it is censored before the ink hits the page. The idea of accepting who we are - the way we are is incomprehensible...no sense in opening ourselves up to ourselves and to God.
Some will never share it with anyone. They may share it with God in private, but those pages will never be exposed to more than the two eyes God gave them. Their "B" version may fly off the shelves, but this version is locked away in a safe place - hidden from all.
Some share it with others:

Some share it with close friends and family - I can speak from experience here - this is dangerous...fraught with risk. But, as with other things in life, high risk has the potential for high gain. Sometimes you get a big payback and things are great!
Some share it with their best friend and spouse - this has some risk, but much less risk than the previous, the rewards can be great too.
Some share it with only their spouse - what a wonderful gift to the person you love - your soul mate. A beautiful, open, loving relationship has the book out in the open, on the table next to your bed...open. You take it with you on walks in the fall, you take it with you on drives to see the family, you take it with you when you answer the phone when the debt collector calls, you take it with you when you find out you may have cancer... You write in it and your spouse reads it and remembers and loves every word...

"The Book of Our Life" has only one real version, but may have many arrangements or abridgments. God knows the real version, but He has also read all of the abridgments - He knows what we want everyone else to read about us, He has seen all of the things we want to forget...and...HE LOVES US ANYWAY.

In fact, He loves all the versions of our book, but wants us to share the real version because He's the author (we penned it) but he wrote it and because of that it is beautiful.

Social Networking and The Church Part 1

2009-09-09T11:38:00.002-04:00

I'm working on a proposal for managing Social Networking at my Church... I thought I would just let if fly here while I'm working... Silly me...

Communication is critical to success in life – this is nothing new. If you don’t think so, historians around the world believe that one of the greatest achievements in the last 1000 years is Gutenberg’s printing press in or around 1440. It’s interesting to realize that the one of the first things ever printed in Europe was The Bible. Communication was coming out of the “dark ages”, but no one then would have dreamed where that first book would take us.

Fast forward about 569 years and the world is very different, how we communicate has changed a great deal, but our need to communicate is stronger than ever. If there was anyone in Gutenberg’s time that thought what was happening wasn’t important they have long since been forgotten. One of the reasons that the movable printing press was so important in the course of history was that it allowed information to reach people that had no way of getting it before. Now, more common people had a chance to own a copy of God’s word or some other important communication, to read for on their own. 569 years later we take communication for granted, we don’t just like it – we expect it, we crave it and we live for it.

Gutenberg’s printing press was “bleeding edge technology” – I can only imagine those around him clamoring to find out what was next, how it worked and how they could get in on the action – just like some of us do with technology today. Technology is a word that we throw around a great deal in our society and when we do with often put the technology before the purpose behind it (“form over function”). When we do that we often get into trouble and the message get’s lost and our credibility disappears with it which then affects our effectiveness of spreading God’s word. Christ would want us to be as effective as possible with our marching orders in Matthew 28:19,10

“go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”

using every tool available to us and using those tools in such a way as to allow us to be successful in spreading His “good news”.

Knowing this, we need to be diligent, careful and creative with the communication tools at our disposal in order to be as effective as possible in our mission to tell the world about the good news of Christ.

Jesus is Coming Soon...

2009-08-10T10:33:00.003-04:00

"...morning or night or noon..."

Robert Emmett Winsett wrote this song and it made it's way into the "Gospel Music Hall of Fame", I grew up singing this song and pretty much know it by heart. It wasn't until I attended a Winston-Salem Church of Christ that I found it (to some) suffers from stigmatization not originally intended by it's writer.

The preacher at the Church that I attended for about 12 years (who was also an elder) all but banned this song from being led in worship - I knew this because I led it and found out pretty quickly after I was done that day. The problem with "Jesus is Coming Soon" is not the message, which I'll get to in a moment, but that it was perceived (by some) to be the "theme song" for the premillenialist movement. Soon after this I realized that I was an amillenialist and just didn't know it. The ridiculous thing about banning this song to me was that (as far as I can tell) "Jesus is Coming Soon" is an amillenial song!

In 2nd Peter 3, Peter (yeah, I know it's debatable if Peter himself wrote this book, but it is God-breathed word) addresses "The Day of the Lord" and makes if very clear that the people of that time believed that Jesus would be returning soon. I would suggest reading the entire chapter, but just to point out a couple of statements from the Holy Spirit through Peter.

"By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men." 2 Peter 3:7

"But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him."
2 Peter 3:13,14

Peter was reminding the Christians of his time that they needed to be ready because Jesus would come soon - possibly in their lifetime. He also states that "the day of the Lord will come like a thief..." (v.10), quickly and without warning.

Sunday, our teacher asked the class to name some things that led them to believe that the end times were approaching. The class listed a number of things that - for me - were irrelevant because Peter made it clear that the "end-times" are now - meaning when he penned the words of the Holy Spirit.

But even if you allow yourself to enter into a discussion about "end-times" it's all academic. Like many theological discussions of our time, it's interesting at best, but serves no purpose in our personal salvation. Peter says all that really matters to us..."make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him".

I love my new Church, but I get tired of this academic discussion...

Jesus IS coming soon and the reason it seems like it is taking so long to us is that "He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (v.9), thank the Lord for that....

Sanctuary

2009-07-06T14:35:00.003-04:00

As I have mentioned many times here, I was raised in what I now call the "A Capella Church of Christ" and over the last 5 years (really, more than that) I have followed God, opened my eyes and my life to a bigger world. I doubt that I could go back...

During this continuing journey I've had to face a number personal hangups about things (big and small) that I have had to decide if they were real issues or just another step towards that "bigger world". Things like "do you have to be baptized to participate in the Lord's Supper?" and other much more trivial things...

When I first started attending my new Church (Pinedale Christian Church) I was confronted with a term that I was very familiar with being used in a new way - for me. When people at Pinedale referred to the "auditorium" they often called it the "Sanctuary"...my first thought was..."how odd". I mean here is what is basically an "Instrumental-Progressive-Church of Christ-that changed their name", a Church that under the stuff that gave many of my former "pew-mates" the willies was the same - but calling thier auditorium a SANCTUARY?!? I was confused...

Why would such a little thing as a word make such a big deal to me? Well, first of all, it wasn't that big of a deal, just...confusing... Wikipedia states that a Sanctuary is "the consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar" - which is exactly how I understood the term. Some of you may be scratching your head right now and asking yourself what the problem is...well it's simple. All of my life, including this moment, I stongly believe that a Church building is just that...a building that a body of believers has decided to use for God's work, to promote community and regularly worship in. That building could just as easily be an old warehouse, a tent, a home, a theater or town's square. Putting any holy designation at all to the building is giving it a higher designation that it does not deserve.

When Christ came, died and rose again he brought with Him a new covenant:

For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! 2 Corinthians 3:10,11

This new covenant discarded the old covenant that had God at a distance from us and brought Him to our homes, our streets, workplaces, parks and yes, our Church buildings, but none of these places are more holy than another. The "alter" we refer to when coming forward during our time of public worship is a place between God and His child - it can happen anywhere!

So, yes, I give a Church auditorium no special, holy distinction because it has none.

However...

An alternate definition of "sanctuary" is "place of refuge" or "a reserved area in which birds and other animals, especially wild animals, are protected from hunting or molestation". When I think of my Church being a "sanctuary", this is what I think of..."my safe place". As a teenager and young adult, my Church family saved my life...they looked after me, loved me for me, cared for me and protected me...so, my "sanctuary" IS the Church and when I am with my brothers and sisters, especially in the building we worship in, I feel safe, protected and loved. It's the place where the rest of the world vanishes for a time and I can feel safe and closer to God.

That is MY SANCTUARY...

Things I Learned on FiveAndTwo Tour 2009

2009-06-24T14:20:00.005-04:00

Another tour has come and gone... It all hit me last night and this morning and the exhaustion set in. The great thing for me is that unlike the other two tours with this group I didn't have a meltdown! Also, as a group, we handled a lot of things that were thrown at us and turned possible setbacks or disasters into blessings...wait, did I say WE did that? I mean God did that...we just helped a little.

If I had to come up with a theme song for this tour it would be "Nothing Ever Goes As Planned" by Styx.

Some things I learned:
1) Never bank on Atlanta traffic - I already knew this, but I must have forgotten...

2) I love my new Blackberry! Used it tons on this trip from uploading pics directly to Facebook for family and friends to see... To figuring out where we could go INSTEAD OF the Coca-Cola Museum because we were stuck in traffic for and hour and a half... To managing 29 kids' and their parents' cell numbers without paper...

3) Always give your best, even when you don't feel like it.

4) Make a "contract" with those you are visiting to share the program with so they don't change the venue AT THE LAST MINUTE outdoors with no video and a CD player that only works half the time during a heat wave.

5) Make the best of it even when you are stuck in a place you don't want to be...let God provide the increase!

6) You CAN go to "the beach" and never see the ocean.

7) Kids are gonna do stuff you told them not to do or vice versa...no reason to take it personally...

8) I LOVE hotel room air-conditioning...slept like a baby...

9) Pulling up to a restaurant with 37 people and telling them we just want to eat during an economic downturn is really easy and you end up being well taken care of...or maybe they are just nice...thanks Mellow Mushroom!

10) Yes, a teenager can eat sausage, eggs, biscuits, cookie ice-cream sandwich and a pint of Hagen Daz ice-cream for breakfast!

11) Dropping a cell phone in the sewer makes it a very expensive toy that does nothing (it wasn't me).

12) I'll do it all again next year - if the elders let us, if God provides and the kids are willing...

Thanks for a great tour!

Jury Duty

2009-05-04T16:19:00.002-04:00

Well, tomorrow I get to participate in the great American judicial process...

Jury Duty.

I'm less than thrilled, but what are ya' gonna do? The reason I'm "less than thrilled" isn't the reason you might think. I think it would be interesting to participate in the process - but I know what will really happen...

I'll spend most of the day reading a book in a crowded room waiting for someone to tell me I can go home. Luckily, I just started a new book, so I'm good there...

Slightly out of reach

2009-05-01T09:37:00.001-04:00

How small do you want me to be?
Weighed in the balance left lonely
So much can be said through silence
As hard as it seems
All that we need is to close to be seen

Our lives
You build your walls for me to climb
A billion walls for me to climb
You build your walls for me to climb

Travels the very nature we'll live in
Seasons to cycles children to men
Mislead and misread
Company or companion
With all of our hearts we follow our dreams
Slightly out of reach

Our lives
You build your walls for me to climb
A billion walls for me to climb
You build your walls for me to climb

Seasons to Cycles, 10 Years

The Ultimate LOTR Trivia Question

2009-04-22T00:20:00.004-04:00

I found another, so now here is the full question and it's answer:
4/21/09 - I found another!

There are 10 actors/actresses in the LOTR Trilogy that have ties in 13 other "blockbusting" trilogies - who are they, what are the other trilogies (or more) and their roles?

Hugo Weaving (Elrond) LOTR & The Matrix (Mr. Smith)

Orlando Bloom (Legolas) LOTR & Pirates of the Carribean (Will Turner)

Ian McKellan (Gandalf) LOTR & X-Men (Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto)

John Rhys-Davies (Gimli and Treebeard) LOTR & Indiana Jones (Sallah)
** He didn't appear in "The Temple of Doom"

Christopher Lee (Saruman) LOTR & Star Wars (Count Duki / Darth Tyranus)
*** Star Wars II & III (I consider them 2 separate trilogies) - check LOTR:Return of the King EXTENDED version (to consider him in all 3)

Ian Holm (Bilbo) LOTR & the Alien Quadrilogy (Ash)
*** LOTR 1 & 3; Bilbo did not appear in "Two Towers" - He was only in "Alien", the first of the "Quadrilogy". Also interesting, is that Ian played in "Alien" with John Hurt who had just played Aragorn in the first "Lord of the Rings" movie in 1978.

Karl Urban (Eomer) LOTR & The Riddick Trilogy (Vaako) & The Bourne Trilogy (Kirill)
**** If we include Bilbo, we have to include Eomer. LOTR 2 & 3 (Eomer did not appear in "Fellowship of the Ring") - He was in "The Chronicles of Riddick" which is just barely a "trilogy" because there are 2 live action movies (including "Pitch Black") and a third amime movie that sits (chronologically) between the two.

***** He was also in "The Bourne Supremacy" which (at this point) is a trilogy. (thanks for the help on this one).

Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) LOTR & Indiana Jones (Agent Irina Spalko)
****** OK, this is gettin crazy - Cate is in all three LOTR movies and she is in the new Indiana Jones movie "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"

Brad Dourif (Grima Wormtounge) LOTR & Alien Quadrilogy (Dr. Jonathan Gediman) & Child's Play (Charles Lee Ray/Chucky) & The Exorcist (James Veranum)
******* OK, stay with me...
Brad is a busy guy... He is in the last two LOTR movies (extended versions), Alien Resurrection, All three "Child's Play" moves and The Exorcist III...wow.

Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins) LOTR & Back to the Future Trilogy ("The Video Game Boy)
******* Ok, Obviously, Elijah is in all three LOTR movies, he is in Back to the Future II - even though it's a small part (actually, his first). http://my.spill.com/profiles/blogs/child-actors-then-and-now

Incomplete Directions

2009-04-20T08:53:00.006-04:00

Imagine with me...if you will...

I'm throwing a BIG BASH for everyone that I know...everyone is invited and the party is going to be awesome I want everyone to be there. This party is really important to me and it will be a uplifting and beneficial to everyone I know.

So...I send out the invitations - hundreds of them. The invitations tell about the party and how great it's gonna be, how much I want them to be there, how they will be glad that they came. It also tells them the date and time, the name of the hall and the directions to the hall...

Wait...

Not exactly I tell them how to get within about half a mile from the hall, but the directions are missing the last bit - it gets them to the vicinity of the hall, but not all the way there. I figure that's good enough - I mean getting them close to the hall is better than them staying home and not going anywhere. Besides, I would confuse them with all those details - I don't want to scare them away!

Here's what happens:

1) Some of my friends read their invitation and realize the missing information, go to the phone book or better yet just hit the Internet and their favorite map site and find the specific directions themselves. They make the party without a hitch.

2) Some of my friends read their invitation and just know they'll figure it out once they get there and they do. They make the party.

3) Others take off for the party, get to the end of the directions and spend a while searching, stopping for directions, asking people on the street and just happen upon the hall by luck (maybe they just see all the cars parked around the hall and recognize my car) or the good-will of passers by. They make the party, but are confused why it was so hard to get there.

4) Others take off for the party and never make it. They wander around aimlessly, some give up - others (really wanting to make the party) spend the entire duration of the party searching... They don't make the party.

5) Others read the instructions and see something fishy and never even leave their house. They don't make the party.

My attempt to keep my potential guests from being confused or bogged down with details means that some never make it, some are smart enough to figure it out for themselves and others just eventually fall into place. Why not just give them the complete directions to start with!

Obviously, this fictional story has a real life connection... Enter the "Sinner's Prayer" (A.K.A. "A Simple Prayer", "Prayer of Repentance").

By itself, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the versions of this prayer I have read. It IS a simple prayer that recognizes Jesus as Savior, asks for forgiveness and repentance. These are all great things and a great start (just like my instructions above), but the prayer itself does not get us all the way. Some who commit themselves to Christ in such a way will read God's book (the Bible) and immediately see the missing piece, others will be shown the piece, others will eventually stumble on to it, others will never get there.

My question is this - why give a lost soul an incomplete road map to salvation when the complete directions are so easy to follow?

This is NOT about EXACTLY when we are "saved" - I realize that my belief on the subject of the exact point a person is saved is extreme to some and I don't force that understanding on others. However, even if you take the whole, "at what point are we really saved", discussion off the table "The Sinner's Prayer" is STILL incomplete. You don't have to look very hard to figure it out, start with the last instructions Christ told his disciples.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Matthew 28:19,20

Otherwise known as "The Great Commission", it was the last set of instructions Christ left with his disciples. Kind of like "don't forget to turn left on Main street and look for the big building with the statue in front of it!".

Another quick message from Jesus himself:

"Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned..."
Mark 16:15,16

So I just have to know - why give out incomplete directions?

I learned something new today...

2009-04-14T13:46:00.004-04:00

While cruising the Internet I ran across something that caught my eye and I felt a need to see what it was... It was link to Scum of the Earth Church in Denver, CO. Considering that for almost the first 4 decades of my life I thought the only "scriptural name" for a body of believers was "The Church of Christ (Romans 16:16)", seeing a name like this was at the very least...intriguing.

I mean by what mandate can they call themselves "scum of the earth" - that's not even biblical!

So, I followed the link and read about them - a group of believers that are reaching out to those that are broken - just like Christ did. They obviously have some new ideas about what Church is about and how to spread the Gospel. Almost immediately, I saw - at the very top of the web page - the scripture. The very kind of thing I have done myself - a scripture that describes their personal mission and drive...below it quoted the previously mentioned scripture. As I read I was CERTAIN that they were using some strange pseudo-translation (commentary) and I was also CERTAIN that they had used creative licence on the "scum of the earth" reference. So I pulled out my trusty NIV and here's what I read...

1 Corinthians 4:11-14

To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.

I had to read it twice, then I went back and read the whole chapter. I remembered the chapter, but the part that we always focus on when studying this passage is Paul chastising Apollos and his followers. It really says scum of the earth!?!? (yeah, KJV says "filth of the earth", but I still don't do the "King's English" very well).

Reading back through the passage the part that really calls to me is this - "when we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly". I have been called to endure much in the last few years and the way that I have responded to much of it has been a topic of debate and dismay for my friends and family. They want me to rise up and stand up for myself - to get what I am entitled, to play dirty like those around me...to stoop to their level.

Paul got it - he was (and IS) trying to tell us that you can't stoop down farther than you already are! How do you stoop down to someone else's level when you are already at the bottom - already the "scum of the earth"? Answer - you don't. You answer kindly...

Earlier in the chapter Paul says that we have no business judging others - that's God's job and God will take care of it. "It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God." 1 Cor. 4:4-5 He goes on to say "For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" 1 Cor. 4:7 God provides - he provides everything we need including judgement for those around us...leave that to Him.

I learned something new today - don't judge a book by it's cover or a Church by it's name.

Subs...

2009-03-13T13:14:00.003-04:00

It turns out that I am somewhat of a "sandwich connoisseur" and I didn't even know it. I love all kinds of sandwiches.

Today I'm thinking about subs...this may not be very interesting, but it's what's on my mind.

For years about the (seemingly) only national chain that served decent subs was Subway and in the late 90's a group of friends and I where I used to work ate at Subway up to 3 times a week. Back then, Subway was owned by a group of doctors that wanted good food that could be good for you too. This went on for a while, but things have changed...have they ever.

We've stopped asking my youngest son where he would like to go eat if we are grabbing a bite out because he always wants to go to Subway... It reminds me of conversations between my mom and my brother and I when we were very young. We ALWAYS wanted to eat at McDonald's because...it was McDonald's! Now that I am an adult I realize what McDonald's is and where it resides in the world of cuisine. The idea behind McDonald's is that it supposed to be the same everywhere - not the best - just...very familiar...and it is. If I get a double cheeseburger in Cleveland and another in Amarillo I would expect them to taste EXACTLY THE SAME - and they (generally) do.

Subway is now the McDonald's of subs - they are everywhere and there are rarely any surprises when you eat there. However, I can also remember the growing pains that McD's went through in the late 70's and 80's. Up until then, McD's was known for good food, fast and cheap. The "cheap" part got harder and harder to do with the same quality standards and the prices went up and the menu changed. Yeah they still have hamburgers, but they aren't as big anymore... I can still remember getting a Big Mac in the 70's where the patties looked like silver dollars...

I just finished eating lunch at Subway and my experience there is indicative of that same process. 8 years ago if I had ordered a foot long BMT and attempted to eat it in one sitting I would have rolled out of the place. Today I just kept looking for the meat and wondering if there was a sub buried in all that bread. It was pathetic - what good is a $5 foot long if to get it to me at that price you have cut half the meat off of it and put the toppings on with a toothpic?

Not too long ago when they started the original "5 Dollar Foot Long" campaign I called it. I told my family to watch and that something was going to change after the campaign was over.

I called it right.

They kept the $5 fool longs, but only for their cheapest subs and then raised the prices of all the rest hoping that we would all forget how much they had originally cost before the campaign! Now it's back and here's what I see.

When this one is over - it's over - and the "cheap" subs will be priced just like the other subs. Also, the subs that used to taste so good and fill you up will leave you wanting for more. They built a sub empire that can't be maintained and it shows.

My solution?

Run, do not walk, to your nearest Jersey Mike's or Jimmy John's and never go back to the "McDonald's of subs" again. If you want McDonald's- go to McDonald's - they have had a couple decades to re-invent themselves and they did a pretty good job. Also, JM and JJ are getting to do it right from the beginning after seeing Scrubway flounder around - at least someone is learning from their mistakes...

Too smart for your britches...

2009-03-04T08:17:00.004-05:00

The Bible is simple.

Forget the mountains of books, articles, blogs, discussions, sermons, pamphlets and commentaries that try to "explain" it - the facts of the Bible are simple and easy to understand. Why would our God, who loves us deeply, and wants all of us to succeed make His word hard to understand?

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

I believe that if you talked to any child that has been taught about God and knows the stories from the Bible they can easily tell you how simple God's message is; God loves us, we should love Him and we should do what He says...

As we mature in our faith we learn to understand HOW we do that and start developing a sense of boundaries (WHERE God wants us) and WHAT we need to do. Then we start analyzing the word, trying to find that nugget of information that will get us closer in our understand of the God we love. This is awesome and worthy of our time and God is worth the effort.

Sometimes we get too smart for our own britches...

After living on this earth for over 4 decades ONE of the things I've learned is this:

Just because something is right
does not make it IMPORTANT.

Here's an easy one. We know that Jesus washed the disciples feet and we know that it was a powerful statement of how he wanted us to treat each other. However, I have never washed my brother's feet, nor has a brother washed mine. Why? Because we understand what that meant and that He was not telling us to specifically wash the feet of those around us, but to attend to their most basic needs. That there is nothing we shouldn't do for our fellow man. That one is easy...

This Sunday in our bible class we were talking about Joseph and the teacher took us off on a tangent that was more confusing than anything. IMHO, it was an attempt to look smart or at the very least just ill-advised.

Through a series of true statements and bible concepts the teacher showed that you could exchange the word testify for prophesy. That prophesying was simply bringing a specific message from the bible to someone that needs that message. It happens all the time...no doubt.

However, he muddied the lines between being a "prophet" and (as he described it) "prophesying". Christianity runs into this problem all the time...SEMANTICS.

You say "prophet" and I think Jeremiah, Abraham, John the Baptist, Jesus. Others (some who claim to be "Christian", others who do not) in our world think Jesus, Joseph Smith, Muhammad, Ellen G, White, Benny Hinn. Any responsible, mature Christian understands the rift between true biblical representations and the world view of "Christianity". Sunday, our teacher made it easy for less mature Christians and non-Christians in the class to make an erroneous connection between prophets declared by God in His word to "modern-day" prophets. I know that he did not tell the class that we have prophets today, but here is my question:

What USEFUL purpose is served by introducing such an extremely loaded word such as "prophesying" to our class when we already understand the concept and call it testifying or ministering.

My answer...none...other than to make yourself look smart or cause confusion. Leave such theological discussions for your trip to Starbucks with other mature Christians.

"Come Alive"

2008-12-08T14:56:00.001-05:00

"Come Alive"

Foo Fighters

Seems like only yesterday
Life belonged to runaways
Nothing here to see
No looking back
Every sound monotone
Every color monochrome
Light began to fade
Into the black

Such a simple animal
Sterilized with alcohol
I could hardly
Feel me anymore

Desperate and meaningless
All filled up with emptiness
Felt like everything
Was said and done

I lay there in the dark
And I close my eyes
You saved me the day
You came alive

Still I tried to find my way
Spinning now was end of days
Burning like a flame
Behind my eyes

Drowning it out
Drinking it in
Crown the king of suffering
Prisoner, slave to the disguise

Disappear the only thing
Bittersweet surrendering
Knew that it was time
To say goodbye

I lay there in the dark
And I close my eyes
You saved me the day
You came alive
No reason left
Me to survive
You saved me
The day you came alive

Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive

Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
(Come alive)
(Come alive)
(Come alive)
(Come alive)

I lay there in the dark
And I close my eyes
You saved me the day
You came alive

Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive

Nothing wrong to give
I can finally live
Come alive
You're laughing at me
I can finally breathe
Come alive

Lay me down in the dark
Open my eyes
You saved me
The day you came alive

Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive
Come alive

"That Which Matters Most"

2008-12-08T10:12:00.007-05:00

"This is Zion and we are not afraid!"

If you are familiar with "The Matrix" trilogy this quote should be (at least) familiar... It's the last phrase of a speech from Morpheus to the residents of "Zion", and underground city - the last free "sanctuary" for humans in a world ruled by machines. At the time of the speech 250,000 machine assassins ("Sentinels") are digging their way to kill them all and exterminate the remaining free human race.

The people of Zion are afraid - the commander of their army has all but conceded the fight (even before it has started...) and this is not lost on the people of Zion...they are afraid...

Morpheus speaks to the people of Zion and tells them the "cold, hard facts" about their situation. The commander wants to hide the facts so as not to scare the people of Zion. Morpheus wants his loved ones to shed their fear based not on the "smoke and mirrors" of sweet ignorance, but because of their faith.

"I stand here without fear because I remember...that after a century of war I remember that which matters most - WE ARE STILL HERE!!!"

During his speech he urged the people of Zion to face their fear so that they can shed it.

Fear...

Fear is a powerful emotion, a terrible reaction that has the power to help us and hurt us, free us and control us. When we are afraid our body and mind react - instinctively. I often say that I have a "healthy fear" of power tools - my reaction to that fear is to be extremely careful with them, respect them and never forget that the POWER in the power tool can hurt me as quickly as it can help me.

But, what if I am so afraid of the chain saw that I never use it? My fear has now taken over and controls me. If I need to use a chain saw I can't (or more precisely, WON'T) and fear has won. If I need to cut down a tree I can't do it myself, I may have to pay someone else to do it or just leave the tree to rot and fall down on it's own.

This may sound redundant, but "keeping fear from ruling our life takes courage".

Wow, that's smart - if I have courage then I can keep fear at bay, but if I don't have courage then I am afraid then I can't keep fear at bay. Sounds like a Catch-22... If so, how do we break the cycle?

We have to recognize what fear is and WHO controls it... Sometimes we think of "the devil" as someone that wants us to have fun - to enjoy all of the "naughty" things in life. That may be true, but let's not forget this - Satan is desperate to get to you and he uses any and every way possible. FEAR is his realm - he wants you to be afraid because fear causes a reaction in you that allows him to get in and start whispering in your ear - and you start listening...

Fear is a contagious virus that spreads like the worst cancer imaginable and it eats at your soul and leaves it for dead. It takes the best out of us and leaves nothing - nothing but a rotting, stinking carcass with flies buzzing around it.

Things I learned at CCYC

2008-11-18T14:26:00.002-05:00

I went to CCYC for the first time weekend before last as a chaperone. It was a blast! Here's what I learned:

Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express are not the same thing.
6th grade boys play hard and crash quickly.
Singing worship songs at CCYC all weekend can be hazardous to your vocal cords.
Chucks don't last forever.
Chucks smell when they have holes in the soles and they get wet.
Black lo-top Chucks rarely ever go on sale.
There's nothing like a new pair of Chucks.
CONFIRMED: kids in a bus or van on a long trip get louder the closer they get to the end.
Driving a 15-passenger van is somewhat different than driving a VW Beetle.
Give a middle-school kid 5 bucks at a gas station and tell them to get something for breakfast and you'll be amazed at the combinations you will see.
Keep middle-schoolers away from magic markers.
Technology is cool - wait, I already knew that.
It's amazing what kind of "notes" you can hit on a high solo at the end of a choir program after being at CCYC the rest of the weekend. Can you say "yodel"?

The Balcony

2008-09-26T10:32:00.007-04:00

The Church I am a part of has a balcony in the auditorium (most people there call it the "Sanctuary"...that's for another discussion). The Church that I attended for about 12 years and left a few years ago added a balcony a few years after I started going there (with the INTENTION of using it for growth). Other than that, most of the Churches I have attended haven't had them.

I don't like them...

I used to be afraid of heights - that fear is pretty much gone (although I'm still not crazy about falling - especially the sudden stop part at the end), so the reason I don't like balconies has nothing to do with height...

They CAN be useful...as overflow. To me, overflow (noun) is simply the stuff that won't fit into the container with the rest of the stuff. For example, if I am filling my Big Gulp with Mountain Dew at the 7-11 and I get distracted (hey look! a squirrel...in the 7-11?!) the Mountain Dew will overflow (verb). The stuff that did not make it into the 64oz. tub is the overflow (noun). In this case it flows into the drain and it's "healthy goodness" is gone forever... Consider the Mountain Dew - made for one purpose - to be consumed by us and at the last moment their life is rendered in vain...i digress...

Have you ever sat in the balcony? I have to when I work in the A/V booth (or whatever we call it), otherwise I don't. I don't understand why you would unless there was nowhere to sit on the main floor... The only reason I can think of is...

That you really don't want to be there anyway...

Sitting in the balcony is like WATCHING the game from the nose-bleed section. You are THERE, but you have to watch the jumbo-tron to see what really happened. I still remember my first trip to "The Big House" to see Michigan play, my son and I were on the goal line and the band was on our side of the field on the other goal line. I remember that I could hear the band on the radio I had plugged to one of my ears but I couldn't hear them "live". It was surreal...

At best the balcony is the "box seats" of worship. You get box seats so that you don't have to deal with others impeding your view of the action or (in the case of a baseball game) spilling beer on you. You get to go to worship, but you don't have to get "dirty" doing it, you can be there in body...you can say "I was at worship".

At worst the balcony is like a "sky box". If you every have the chance to watch an NFL game from a sky box it's a treat. You get to be AT the game - you feel GREAT, you are comfortable... You are "out there" but not IN IT. When the temperature dips into the cold you don't care because the sky box is comfy and warm and dry.

You get to watch the replay on the T.V. mounted right above...
The BUFFET and
There is always a beverage nearby - no yelling for a vendor or fighting your way through the crowd spilling it all the way.
If the game gets too loud, you just close the windows and listen to the play-by-play on the T.V.

If I sit in the sky box I can say I was there, but no ringing ears, no cold limbs, no beer soaked back, no rain soaked clothes and no aching back from the stadium seats. In fact, my nice clothes are as clean as when I left home... It's...like...I didn't..go...at...all...

It's just sad to me to watch someone come to worship and walk directly to the balcony and sit way up in our "nose-bleed section" and "watch the game". You can't convince me that you can participate from the balcony (unless MAYBE you are on the front two rows). I'm not complaining too loudly because they are THERE - and I have been just there myself before.

I wish we would close the balcony until the floor is loaded... Problem with that is that everyone that wanted to sit in the balcony would...just...come...late...

"Oh bother"...

Things I Learned on Choir Retreat 2008

2008-09-15T15:56:00.002-04:00

Choir Retreat / Tour 2008 is over and history. It was fun, emotional, and down right exhausting, but worth every bit of effort.

Here's what I learned:

Take cold medicine with you if you are still recovering from the flu.
"It's just like riding a bike..." only works if you have actually ridden a bike and only if you really want it to.
People love to complain.
NyQuil and Klonopin should only be taken together when you are REALLY ready to go to bed.
There are times when your EMOTION supercedes your MOOD.
There IS a way to endure extreme heat and exhaustion for short periods of time.
NEVER take the ability to participate in the Lord's Supper for granted.

OK, it's not much, but I did learn a few things.

Music Memories

2008-08-29T16:22:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, a friend of mine and I were talking about how important music is to our memory. Music can pack a great deal of emotion, but not always just because of the music itself - sometimes it's about the memories that flood our of my brain when I hear it.

I associate specific songs or albums (CDs for those of you 20 years or younger) with events or people or places... Here's a few that really get me:

"Out of the Blue" / Electric Light Orchestra / Denver, Colorado: Why? I had it on cassette tape and listened to it over and over again on the 1980 MDYC Tour (11th Grade). Whenever I hear any part of that album - any song - the memories of that tour flood into my head. To this day, the "city" in "Night in the City" refers to Denver. Released in November of 1977 / 9th Grade.
"Rumours" / Fleetwood Mac / Ray and Marsha Bone's basement & Melinda Bone: My brother, my mom and I spent hours and hours at the Bone's house. My mom and Marsha were great friends back in that day. So, Mark, the Bone kids and I would hang out in the basement and listen to music and goof around. If I remember it right, Ray and Marsha took the kids to see Fleetwood Mac and after that we played the grooves off of it. By the way, the Bone basement was also were I was introduced to Davie Bowie! Released in February 1977 (8th Grade).
Early Van Halen / Cedar Point: Every year our youth group went to Cedar Point during the summer - it was about a 2 hour bus ride. Inevitably, someone would bring a boom box and it seemed like through most of my high school years we were listening to Van Halen. Especially stuff like , "Panama", "Dance, the Night Away", "Light Up the Sky"...
"Exodus" / Bob Marley and the Wailers / Mike's Pinto and way too many other memories: Mike had a red Pinto hatchback throughout our driving years in high school (1979 - 1981). It wasn't much, but it ran and it got us around - the bottom of the doors were rusted away so that when it rained your feet got wet and at the drive-in they got cold - but, the stereo was probably worth more than the car... I believe that for at least a year the "Exodus" tape didn't even come out of the tape player. It was a big deal back then to have a player that flipped the tape side without removing the tape - we just left it in there and it played over and over and over again. Great songs like "Jamming", "Three Little Birds" and "The Heathen" still fill my head. Released June, 1977.
"Upstairs at Eric's" / Yaz / Scott Lanning and 1st year chorus tour at MCC: It turns out that Yaz isn't even their real name, it's Yazoo, but they released their music in the states under the name Yaz. Scott introduced me to them and I loved them immediately! I still remember being mesmerized by "I Before E Except After C"... Released 1982
"Make It Big" / Wham / Kiawah Island: The first time I went to Kiawah was with the Mills. Scott was already there for some kind of convention (I want to go to that convention!), so SueAnn and her kids and Stacy and I and Shawn drove down there in the Mills' van. I didn't bring any CDs and Scott had a changer that had about 6 CDs in it. I drove the second half of the way there so I chose the music and I listened to that CD because it was in there. I've loved it ever since - I couldn't get it out of my head the whole time we were there and I still think about it when we go. Released 1984.

More to come...

Disenchanted Lullabyes

2008-08-26T15:41:00.001-04:00

Disenchanted Lullabyes
Sing me yours, I'll sing you mine
Sing with me now what's a boy to do?
What's a boy to do?

Sing along for yesterday
Sing along my soul to take
Sing along another song for you
What's a boy to do?

I may be scattered
A little shattered
What does it matter
No one has a fit like I do

I may be scattered
A little shattered
What does it matter?
No one has a fit like I do

I'm the only one that's fits you
Whisper with me pass the time
Whisper for the days gone by
Whisper with the voice inside of you
Foo Fighters, "Disenchanted Lullabyes"

Out Dirty Houses

2008-08-20T07:46:00.001-04:00

When a friend calls and says they are going to drop by what is the first thing you do after you hang up the phone? If you are anything like me, you straighten up the house. You make sure that all the main areas are picked up, that the carpet is vacuumed – if I've been working on laundry it get put away. Stuff like that…

The older we get, the better we get at this – we understand what REALLY needs attention before our guests show up. If there isn't too much to do I might make some fresh tea or put some music on. I want the house to be inviting, friendly and as clean as possible. More importantly, I want it to look its best. Get rid of all the stuff that I don’t want my friends to trip over or deal with.

This makes sense with our friends, sometimes we may have friends that we feel close enough to that we don’t ALWAYS have to do all this, but it does make sense.

It DOESN'T make sense when “God drops by”…

I believe that one of the things that keep most of the people away from a healthy relationship with God is that they feel like they have to STRAIGHTEN-UP before He comes over.

Anyone that has come to a point where they even think that they might need God to be with them knows that God is an honored guest.

If the president of the United States were coming to my house for dinner I would use my very best china, have the carpets professionally cleaned, spend hours making the yard perfectly manicured (wow, that would take a while), dust every square inch of the house, fix all the little things that I live with but know need fixing, scrub the bathrooms from floor to ceiling… The list would go on and on – it would take a couple weeks at least… That’s a lot of work!

If someone is at a point where they see that they need God in their life and that they have to invite Him IN – sometimes they freak out! They realize that:

Their life is in disarray
There is a half and inch of dust on their Bible
They haven’t been good to their friends
They haven’t been praying,
Their language is slipped and needs some cleaning up…

SO – they start cleaning up BEFORE they call on Him. They want God in their life, but they want God to come into a clean house – one worthy of his presence…

Feeling that way is admirable – but not what God our Father or Jesus our Savior wants. Jesus came to this earth to seek and save the LOST. He came for the sick, He came for you and He wants to come in NOW – they way you are NOW! He doesn't want you to straighten up first, he doesn't NEED your best china – He just wants you to open the door and let Him in NOW. Jesus ALREADY KNOWS that your spiritual “house” is in disarray and straightening up before you let Him in serves no purpose. In fact, it may tend to put distance between you and Him – He wants you to drop what you are doing and go to Him – just like Peter.

Peter left his fishing equipment – dropped it and walked away from it to follow Jesus. In fact, NONE of Jesus’ disciples took anything with them but the clothes on their backs. They took all of their inadequacies, problems, faults and issues with them and Jesus used them the way they were – that’s the way He wants you…

Jesus wants you to open your heart to Him NOW – don’t hurry around and clean up first. He is knocking at the door (He didn't even call first) just go and let Him in.

HE will clean up the mess.

Things I Learned in Michigan...

2008-07-30T11:23:00.003-04:00

I just returned from an amazing trip to the "land of my youth" - which is not entirely true since I don't think I have grown up yet. This was the first time I had ever taken a vacation by myself. I feel like this weekend was one of those "watershed" moments in my life. I re-connected with old friends and made new ones, did new things and experienced life. Here's the list:

Drink water while driving a convertible down the highway for half the morning.
I can get sun through my clothes.
RDU is the worst airport I have ever been in.
DTW is the second worst airport I have ever been in.
I have a new appreciation for CLT airport.
One of the best times of day to solve the world's problems (or at least your own) is from about 2am - 4am.
Always travel with a fan.
Everyone has a story to tell - listen! Shut your trap and listen!
The roads in Michigan are like war zones.
True friends take you the way you are and don't' judge you for what you have done.
The Jonas Brothers are Christians.
I have completely conquered my fear of flying! WOW! Thank you Lord...ALL YOU.
I would rather sit and talk all day with interesting kids than a lot of things...if you treat kids like they have something important to say then your life will be happier - they will fill it with joy.
EVERYTHING changes, some changes are not so good, but most are great, unexpected...
My worth does not revolve around how well I can sing or how good I am at working on computers.
Never pass up an opportunity to tell someone how much they mean to you.
I love XM Satellite Radio.
The traffic in Winston-Salem is...er...NOT EXISTENT!
Never forget to mingle...even when you don't want to...

NEW ONES I thought of later...

"O Brother Where Art Thou" is an awesome movie...I love ""A Man of Constant Sorrow".
Some of the best times may come when you are doing practically nothing...

That's enough for now.

I should never play poker for money

2008-07-03T11:35:00.005-04:00

I have never played poker for money - and for good reasons. One thing, I don't like to gamble - it just seems like a waste of money - a crazy waste of money. In fact, if someone wants to gamble I'll be happy to take the money from them and put it to good use!

The other reason is that I would be the perfect example in "poker school" of what a "poker face" is NOT.

One thing for certain - I don't have a good way of hiding my emotions - short of physically hiding until they subside. Even then, the residuals are pretty easy to see as long as you are looking my way. I don't have any REAL skills at masking my emotion, especially if (this is not a complete list):

I'm talking
I'm passionate about something
I'm excited about something
I'm mad
I'm sad
I'm disappointed

My face, my voice, my body language all give me away - even a blind person would ask "what's up with you?". It's pathetic...and it's me.

The flip-side of all that is you pretty much know how I feel about most things. If you are a close friend, then even more so. If I like you - you know it. If I don't like you - you know it. If I like spending time with you and have things in common with you - you know it. There isn't much guess-work involved in knowing me.

TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE...

When i get excited about something, when I have great news or world changing news (my world), then I feel a real burning need to share it. I'm terrible at surprises - I love to give them, but the suspense kills me! I've only been able to pull a few off in my life.

There is just something in me that can't hold in good news, no matter how inappropriate it would be to share. For me, good news, good times, good friends, good life are all blessings that are multiplied when shared. Even more, I feel like I have let my friends down if I withhold information from them - isn't that what friends are for?...sharing our joys and sorrows?

So, if I had a Royal Flush in a poker game it would be of no use to me, because everyone would know about it before I could convince them to give me their money.

It's a good thing I'm not playing poker.

Can You Go Back?

2008-06-25T09:45:00.005-04:00

Driving in the car makes my brain search for things to occupy it's time. Yes, I think that cars are simply a way to get from one place to another and that "driving" is overrated and simple if you just use common sense. Anyway, I digress...

When I drive home from work I almost always pass the Church building that I spent about 12 years of my life in and out of. Most days I just pass it without even noticing, other days, my brain is still searching for something to think about and that building can open up doors that my brain walks through before I can stop it.

The other day I wondered if I would ever go back for a visit and I imagined how it might go - what I might feel. This is not the first time my brain pondered this and the result was not much different than usual - it might be fun to see a few friends, but it would be more trouble than it's worth. It would simply be a social visit and not about worshipping God.

Nothing new there, that's just about where my brain stops with that subject - but the other day it kept going...

Can you go back?

For most of my life, I was surrounded by a "sub-culture" that I called my "Church family" or just "Church". The "Church of Christ" was IT and that's all I knew. My grandparents, my mom, my friends, most of my extended family in some way, shape or form associated with this group. I went to a Christian college - that is to say a college associated with the "Church of Christ". At least MY understanding of what the "Church of Christ" was. My "world" was a certain size and shape and everything beyond that enclosure was just not important - not relevant.

God has lead me somewhere I didn't expect, but I am convinced that He led me and I'm just glad that I stumbled my way behind Him enough to get to where He wants me to be. For many years - maybe 10 or more - I have come more and more to the conclusion that A cappella worship is a preference, a style, not a mandate. Even when I wandered to where I call "Church Home" now, at first I still believed that my preference was A cappella worship, but that based on my options and what God had put before me that worshipping in a "non-A cappella" style was OK. In fact, I felt that it would be good to be able to go "back and forth" if needed and not be hindered ONLY by the "make music in your heart" clause.

Now my brain poses the question (as I'm driving home)... Could I go back?

The answer is generally "No". Not because I want to make a statement about the correctness of my position, not because of some resentment. Just simply this. I have grown and my view of God and His kingdom has also grown - it's a great deal bigger now. My world is bigger now and frankly I don't believe it would fit in the door of that building.

Things I've Learned on Tour 2008

2008-06-16T08:49:00.009-04:00

OK, so Heartbeat Choir tour 2008 is now "history" - oh wait, that was last year. Let's try that again.

The "noise" has subsided on this year's tour... "Beyond the Noise" - HBC Tour 2008 is over. As always, it's bittersweet. On one hand, it's almost always good to be home and this time is no exception. By the time we rolled into the building last night I was tired and I didn't feel 100% well. Also, as is usually the case with teens on trips like this, the closer we got to home, the louder and more crazy the bus got. No sense in fighting it - the kids are going through the same thing the adults are going through - they just express it differently.

On the other hand, it's the "end" of a labor of love. This tour and this program was one of the best things God has allowed me to be a part of. The tour went as smooth as any of us could have imagined - God is good and His hands were all over this. The kids gave us no unexpected or out-of-the-ordinary problems. In fact, they were routinely WHERE we needed them to be WHEN we needed them to be there. Every stop we had comments about how great our kids were and how they blessed those around them.

As the tour progressed, they also did something amazing...

Every youth worker, student minister, choir director and chaperon on just about any trip like this asks their students to expand their world and try to get to know people outside of their close friends. We ask them to do this, but we know it's hard to do. They did it. It was heartwarming to look back and see almost every student sitting with someone else so often that we had hardly any way to tell which seat they had "laid claim to" at the beginning of the tour. It was nothing short of amazing - God was there and He was smiling.

Here's some of the things I learned on tour this year:

Never let kids go to the pet store while on tour.
Restrict the use of large fountain drinks on the bus.
When God sends you somewhere that feels uncomfortable at first, just relax and get ready to be changed.
Girls are afraid of bugs - even ones that don't bite and are completely harmless.
Surround yourself with great, Godly people and God multiplies the results.
Drink wristbands at an amusement park are GENIUS.
"The Beast" is the best wooden roller coaster I have ever ridden ("Son of Beast" was a bit disappointing).
Too much of a good thing is bad - case in point - cologne.
Not all DVD players are made the same.
Never, ever question what God can do with those that are ready to be molded.

H2O - "The Equalizer"

2008-03-31T15:23:00.004-04:00

Water, H2O...two Hydrogen atoms bonded to one Oxygen atom. It's all around us. It's in us - about 60% of our body weight is made up of water. We drink it, consume it as part of the food we eat, we play in it, we use it to get around, we breathe it as water vapor.

It's life - without it there is death - with it there can be life.

The properties of water are somewhat unusual, the solid state of water (what we refer to as ice) is not as dense at the liquid state. That is somewhat unusual, but without that little natural oddity ponds, lakes, oceans and all bodies of water would be devoid of life once the temperature dipped below it's freezing point.

We call water a "universal solvent" - it holds many things that we need to live.

71% of the surface of Earth is covered in water - we live on a small portion of the remaning 29%.

Water is important - water is life.

I thought about some of this last week as I watched two men step into a pool of water we call a "baptistry". I watched as a man about 5 foot 8 inches dunked another man about 1 foot taller and much heavier than he. If the smaller man had to pick up the larger one off the floor outside of the baptistry using just his right hand (like he did in the baptistry) there is no way it would have happened. He would have thrown his back out, and the larger man would have fallen back and cracked his head on the floor.

But water is special.

If you're not convinced then just think about how God has used water.
- He used it once to destroy all but a handful of people and a bunch of animals in the world.
- He used it to bury the Egyptian soldiers chasing his chosen people in the Red Sea.
- He used it to make a point for Jesus' first miracle, turning ordinary water to wine.

He used it to allow us to share in Christ's death, burial and resurrection. He could have asked us to do some other sort of series of tasks that would have "looked" more like what had actually happened...He used water. Cleansing, healing water.

And...he made us bouyant so that a 5'8" man could baptize a man more than a foot taller than him and a lot heavier. God made water special and He wants all of us to pass through it before we're done on this earth. Every person...people we will never see or meet, bankers, lawyers, salesmen, mothers, fathers, basket makers, messengers, CEOs, rich, poor, young, old, free, slave, murderers, tax evaders, democrats, republicans, men, women...everyone.

Water is "The Equalizer"...

The Ultimate Lord of the Rings Trivia Question

2008-03-18T15:38:00.012-04:00

We found another, so now here is the full question and it's answer:
3/31/08 - I found another!

There are 9 actors/actresses in the LOTR Trilogy that have ties in 12 other "blockbusting" trilogies - who are they, what are the other trilogies (or more) and their roles?

“Much ado about Nothing” (Circular Reasoning III)

2008-03-18T15:18:00.005-04:00

I just finished (well sort of) a book called "The Book of Nothing" - I say that I finished it, but I gave up on the last chapter.

It was interesting at first, then it just became a solid noise of blah, blah, blah... I love science and I have a passing interest in mathematics - this book is an exploration, of sorts, into the concept of nothing - zero.

It turns out that in the big picture of human existence on earth the concept of zero is very new. In fact, a few hundred years ago it was considered heretical to propose the idea of nothing of a vacuum. Another thing I learned from this book is that as little as 100 years or so ago, we thought that space was filled with something called "ether". It's amazing how far we've come in our understanding of God's universe in the last 100 years or so.

Barrow, the guy that wrote the book acts like a guy that knows way too much for his own good. The fact of the matter is, for all of the words in his book, he just doesn't get it. I feel bad for scientists that continually look for answers to existence in the "laws of nature". They conjecture what cannot be seen from what they can see.

I'm used to this, I've heard it all of my life, but one good thing about this book is that it allowed me to see inside the mind of just such a scientist. It gives a good look at how someone tries to take God out of the world. It goes back to something I've discussed before that we all do - "Circular Reasoning".

However, this guy takes it to the N^th degree... The reason I finally had to put the book down was because he was 5 or 6 circles into his reasoning and it was just nonsense. The last few chapters of the book are filled with conjectures based on the statements he made in the first half of the book. I believe that you can convince yourself of anything if you spin yourself in enough circles.

As far as I can tell, it comes down to this. There is a force in the universe they are calling the Lambda factor. The Lambda factor was something that Einstein postulated but later refuted. Cutting through pages and pages of droning about vacuums, cosmology and quantum physics, the bottom line is that any time these scientists can't make the numbers match up they pour the difference into the Lambda factor. The Lambda factor, in a nutshell, is a force that cannot be calculated, seen or measured but affects matter, gravity and energy in some fashion. They believe that it's there, but they can't say what it is (exactly), how much there is or how much it affects the other things they can see.

I appreciate a good, healthy curiosity about our surroundings - many, many great things have been discovered because of that curiosity. However, when you look at the facts -over and over and over again over the course of decades and centuries - and still take what you don't know and turn it into something that you are sure you just missed or cannot find yet or cannot be explained then it's not science anymore - it's agenda.

I expected an objective discussion on the facts instead heard a long lesson on circular reasoning. It reminds me of…

Bedevere: Quiet, quiet, quiet, QUIET! There are ways of "telling" whether she is a witch!
Villagers: Are there? What? Tell us, then! Tell us!
Bedevere: Tell me. What do you do with witches?
V: BUUUURN!!!!! BUUUUUURRRRNN!!!!! You BURN them!!!! BURN!!
Bedevere: And what do you burn apart from witches?
Villager: More Witches!
Other Villager: Wood.
Bedevere: So. Why do witches burn?

Villager: Because they're made of.....wood?
Bedevere: Goooood!
Other Villagers: oh yeah... oh....
Bedevere: So. How do we tell whether she is made of wood?
One Villager: Build a bridge out of 'er!
Bedevere: Aah. But can you not also make bridges out of stone?
Villagers: oh yeah. oh. umm...
Bedevere: Does wood sink in water?
One Villager: No! No, no, it floats!
Other Villager: Throw her into the pond!
Villagers: yaaaaaa!

Bedevere: What also floats in water?
Villager: Bread!
Another Villager: Apples!
Another Villager: Uh...very small rocks!
Another Villager: Cider!
Another Villager: Uh...great gravy!
Another Villager: Cherries!
Another Villager: Mud!
Another Villager: Churches! Churches!
Another Villager: Lead! Lead!
King Arthur: A Duck!
Villagers: (in amazement) ooooooh!
Bedevere: EXACTLY!
Bedevere: So, "logically"...
Villager: If...she...weighs the same as a duck......she's made of wood.
Bedevere: and therefore...

Villager: A Witch!
All Villagers: A WITCH!

“Love ‘Em Anyway…”

2008-03-10T11:06:00.004-04:00

Sometimes you just have to love people anyway – regardless of what they are doing or what they are saying.

What do you do when confronted with a terrible, completely fallible statement from someone that you believe "knows better"? From a mature, knowledgeable, stable "elder" – the kind of person you typically look to in times of confusion. I'm a firm believer in giving those around me the benefit of a doubt as we go about our lives around each other. Not a one of us is perfect, especially me, so why would I expect it from anyone else?

One of my favorite shows is "Dharma and Greg". That might seem strange to you, but I love Dharma's character – yeah, if I met "Dharma" in real life, I would probably think she was really weird. There are so many things about her character that people are drawn toward. In one episode, a greedy real estate lawyer is trying to squeeze her parents into selling their home so he can build a golf course on it. Greg knows the guy and describes him as a "snake" - Dharma disagrees even once she has met him and his wife. They ARE pathetic – a cliché about money, greed and all the trappings of the world. After she meets them for the first time, the first thing she says is "I feel so sorry for them…" – Greg can't believe it and she points out that there is good in them, even if they don't see it.

As I have said before, one of my most favorite accounts in the Bible is when Christ meets the woman at the well. She is low – an unwanted person in her community. Christ sees through all of the muck and garbage tied to her and sees her heart and speaks to her heart and she responds. Here is an ultimate example of how to look at others from our God, a man that walked this earth and felt our pain and looked deep into those around Him.

When I read the account of Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well, it's sensational, it's wonderful and once you know the whole story about who she is and who He is, it all makes sense. I think that it can be easy (…er) to reference that account when I encounter people similar to the woman at the well. We normally have compassion for those of low or (seemingly) no fortune. Our hearts easily break when we see someone that has fallen on hard times and they are not dealing with it well. We want to help them; we may be less inclined to "judge" them harshly because of the extreme nature of the situation.

But what do we do when someone that "knows better" says something really, really irrational?

It's harder to feel compassion, to look past that statement or action and remember all of the good in them. When another Christian says something that just knocks you off your feet or tendency is to attack, to smother the person with reprimand and correction. In some situations, that may be necessary…however, sometimes I think it's just better to move on. Remember all of the great things that person has done in the name of The Lord, how tirelessly that person has worked, how much given – sacrificed.

Sometimes we just have to let it go and just love them anyway…

Random thoughts...Redux

2008-02-18T15:02:00.006-05:00

On our trip back from Michigan during Thanksgiving me and the boys came up with the "Ulitmate Lord of the Rings Trivia Question". I thought it was complete, but it's not..

Here's the original question:

There are 5 actors in the LOTR Trilogy that have ties in other blockbusting trilogies - who are they, what are the other trilogies and their roles?

Here's NEW the answer. I found ANOTHER one, so now its SIX actors.

Hugo Weaving (Elrond) LOTR & The Matrix (Mr. Smith)
Orlando Bloom (Legolas) LOTR & Pirates of the Carribean (Will Turner)
Ian McKellan (Gandalf) LOTR & X-Men (Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto)
John Rhys-Davies (Gimli and Treebeard) LOTR & Indiana Jones (Sallah)
** He didn't appear in "The Temple of Doom"
Christopher Lee (Saruman) LOTR & Star Wars (Count Duki / Darth Tyranus)
*** Star Wars II & III (I consider them 2 separate trilogies) - check LOTR:Return of the King EXTENDED version (to consider him in all 3)
Ian Holm (Bilbo) LOTR & the Alien Quadrilogy (Ash)
*** LOTR 1 & 3; Bilbo did not appear in "Two Towers" - He was only in "Alien", the first of the "Quadrilogy". Also interesting, is that Ian played in "Aliens" with John Hurt who had just played Aragorn in the first "Lord of the Rings" movie in 1978.

Jeremiah "Stormcrow"

2008-02-15T15:04:00.004-05:00

In "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien Gandalf, a wizard, has many names. One of the reasons that he does is that he has been around for centuries. Many of those are endearing (like "Olorin", which is loosely translated as "Dreams"), but some are not.

One of those not-so-endearing names was "Stormcrow". If you watch "The Two Towers", Saruman, (while posessing Theoden, the king of Gondor) calls him "Gandalf Stormcrow" when he comes to free Theoden from the spell of Saruman. He was called that by those that associated his arrival with bad times or bad news. In Middle Earth, he was highly regarded by some and despised by others and often mis-understood.

No so unlike Jeremiah, the prophet.

They said, "Come, let's make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not be lost, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let's attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says." Jeremiah 18:18

Jeremiah was not liked in his time - even his "friends" didn't really like him. He life was in "jeopardy" many times, he spent time in jail and even in a cistern (a big pit that collects stormwater). Finally, when a man who really didn't like him either, Ebed-Melech, saved him he had to send 30 men to go get him (because he assumed that they would run into a bit of resistance).

So, maybe we can call him "Jeremiah Storecrow".

"The Beetle is Back" V - Day Two - The Voyage Home

2008-01-28T15:59:00.000-05:00

I get back in the van and I realize that everyone in the van is a bit restless...

I call my travel agent and a few minutes later she has me booked at Hertz, downtown in the lobby of a hotel. I ask the driver if he knows where it is and he does. I just multiplied the amount of money that I was spending to get home and I wasn't going to "relax" until I was in a car.

We arrived downtown at the hotel and circled around looking for a Hertz sign and didn't see one. I just asked the driver to stop at the main hotel entrance and I thought I would just check inside. I felt like I was pushing my luck keeping the driver out this long, but I didn't have much choice.

Sure enough, just inside was a Hertz desk and a lady was sitting there. Still not ready to accept that this was going to be easy I slowly approached the desk. She asked..."are you Bryan?". My heart skipped a beat - our travel agent had called personally and set things up. I was all set. When I confirmed with her that I had a car, I stepped outside and told the boys to unload the van.

10 minutes later we were loaded up in the car, the van was gone and the first thing we did before pulling out on to the street was to pray...

15 minutes later we stopped to have lunch and we all took a deep breath - we were still 3 hours from home, but we were on our way. Oddly enough, we stopped at the same place we stopped on the way up to eat (Hardees). It seems that if you want to eat north of Beckley and south of Parkersburg you only have a few choices. The car has XM Satellite, so Shawn and I listened to "The System" (a techno station) the whole way home and talked the whole way.

We were home by 4PM, the beetle was still in WV, but at least WE were home. The beetle, unfortunately, still had a long road home...

"The Beetle is Back" IV - Day Two - Enterprise Surprise

2008-01-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

Sunday night was actually OK, if not just a bit surreal. We had spent the last 5 hours getting from the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere and now we are in a comfortable room - relaxing. It turned out to be a decent evening.

I realized that I couldn't get anymore done on the Sunday evening after Thanksgiving, so I relented and waited until Monday morning...

I got up fairly early and got started. My plan was to arrange for a way to get us home so that my youngest could be back at school the next day and that my oldest could be back to work. It occurred to me that I might get some good advice from the travel agent that works out of our office. I have talked to her a lot over the last few years traveling for my company and she is awesome - she'll have some ideas.

I was right - within about 15 minutes she had a car reserved for me just a few blocks away from the dealership at Enterprise - for a good price too. We had breakfast, showered and dressed and relaxed some more. I wanted to see what the dealership could tell me by noon. If they could fix it before say 3PM, then we'd just stay and drive the car back home. If not, they we're outta there.

By about 11AM it was obvious we would not be driving the car back home that day since they had not even looked at it! So, the boys and I pack up and have the hotel van drive us to the Enterprise car place to get the car so we can go home. Sounds simple, huh?

It's cold and rainy and we get to Enterprise and I have the boys wait in the hotel van with our stuff while I go get the car. There's a line... I wait about 20 minutes and I finally get to talk to someone. I give him my reservation number and everything looks good, I go to pay and he asks me the question that still haunts me.

"Is the a debit card?"

I say, "no, it's a Visa card". He wants to know if I have another card, I tell him that I don't and I ask what the problem is. You see, he hasn't even swiped the card yet! Well, "we don't take debit cards" - I say, "this is not a debit card, it's a Visa card". "Yes, but it's tied to your checking account right?", I say that it's none of his business how my bank and I have arranged to fund this card, you will process it through Visa just like any other Visa card. "But it says 'Check Card' on the front." - yes, it does but what does that have to do with anything. When you authorize the amount you need to rent me this car it will be accepted - and if not then you can tell me that it's not.

He went on to tell me that he couldn't take the card and that if he did he could lose his job. He also tells me that he can't take a card over the phone either or cash. Wow - what a place. I now understand why my company uses Hertz (by the way, THEY use my card all the time).

So, now I have a reservation that I can't pay for even though I have plenty of money for it. I hotel van waiting outside in the rain with my two boys and all of our stuff and I have to get home today. My wife is furious, I'm rattled...

The story continues...

"Hero Advice"

2008-01-08T16:39:00.000-05:00

I found this on MSN and it's awesome. It came from Esquire magazine.

Dave Grohl's six rules to a good life. I don't think this is the best advice on earth, but it's unusual to hear stull like this from a guy like him. Some have called him the nicest guy in rock - I've yet to hear anything to make me think different...

1. Dress for the life you want.
It shouldn't be about career and ambitions. It's not rocket science. I manage this organization with no shoes on and a Mr. Bubble T-shirt with chili all over it. There's more to life than work. Your heart has to work to do what we do — to write songs and to jump onstage after you've been on the road for two years. It'll kill you if you don't.

2. Love your family like you love your guitar.
I had a revelation after meeting Neil Young and his family that you can make music forever so long as you have something outside of it to keep you inspired. The time I spend with the band is amazing and so much fun that it makes me want to puke. But the love I get from my family keeps me energized and alive enough to keep up with the music. I'd be [messed up] without one or the other.

3. Moderation in all things.
I'm nearly 40. The last thing I want to do is wake up with a raging hangover and have to listen to Elmo songs with my daughter. I might be able to drink longer now; I just don't drink as often. If I get a night out with some friends and Jägermeister, it's going to be a long night, and somebody's going home with cracked ribs.

4. An audience is an audience.
To me, music was an escape from working in a furniture warehouse. It still feels like that. And at the end of the day, does it matter how many people are standing in front of you when you play a song? You're still going to play music. I'd be just as happy as I am now if I was at the [shack] down the street playing Creedence covers for six people.

5. Try to be in two incredibly successful bands. If not, that's okay.
When I think of Nirvana, I think of Krist, Kurt, and me. I think about us driving through Canadian snowstorms in a van leaking fuel. We reek like guys working in a gas station. I think about us selling equipment for food. I don't think about number-one records. I think of it like any other band I've been in, although that was the one that touched the most people. But I don't wear it like a badge. For starters, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. And beyond that, it starts sitting like a chip on your shoulder. I was in a huge band at one point of my life and I can't believe that happened to me, but I'm not looking back.

6. Man up.
Anybody who has to focus on being real has a problem. It's like having a panic attack over how you're prone to panic attacks. Be a guy. Play music.

I think that last line could be my new motto -

"Be a guy. Play music."
Nice work Dave...thanks for the advice.

Beginnings and Endings...

2008-01-07T09:47:00.000-05:00

"Everything that has a beginning has an end."

That's a quote from a line in "The Matrix Revolutions", and it's true - but not about God.

Revelation 22:13 tells us "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." I don't think its interesting or coincidental that this verse is in the last chapter of God's word. In this same chapter he tells us he is "coming soon" - he uses this time (through John) to reassure us that he has been wherever we are going and not to worry about His return because whenever it is he's already been there.

God has no ending because He had no beginning He has always been and He will always be. Any beginnings He refers to in His word is in relation to our beginning - not His.

There is no ending for God, because there was no beginning.

Little white sin...

2008-01-01T22:08:00.000-05:00

We've all done it. How many times have you said something that wasn't quite true, but not so false as to be a REAL lie? I mean, is it really necessary to tell that lady that you think her new dress makes her look like a walking optical illusion? Maybe not...maybe so - either way we still know down in our heart that an "un-truth" is a lie. However, I'm not convinced that telling the nice lady that her dress looks nice to make her feel good is bad - it's not going to hurt anyone...

But is there something that we Christians do that we twist around in our minds and hearts until we believe that it's OK that has the power to hurt ourselves and others? I'm sure that there are plenty of things, but let's talk about one that gets very little "press".

No "self respecting", "Church going" Christian honestly believes that stealing is OK, or that it's good thing to just stop going to Church or that swearing a lot is no big deal.

However, what about...gossip?

"When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."
James 3:3-6

James tells us that our words have the ability to corrupt. What gets me is how often we as Christians use our words as a weapon. Not in a frontal assault - no street corner preaching or face to face rebuking - but a sneak attack. A little white sin...

We claim to love each other, we do great deeds and give and give and give of ourselves in the name of THE LORD, but in the same breath we talk about others behind their backs. It almost makes sense - we are "lovers, not fighters" so why should we confront our brother (or sister) with something worth saying to someone else? No, it's just easier to talk about it with others - maybe they'll get the message through osmosis... It's just so much easier to talk about them to others than to get involved.

I think I'll go brush my teeth now...

"On the Mend"

2007-12-27T09:55:00.000-05:00

"On the Mend"

Foo Fighters

One more day that I've survived

Another night alone

Pay no mind I'm doing fine

I'm breathing on my own

I'm here

And I'm on the mend

I'm here

And I'm on the mend my friend

Wake me when the hour arrives

Wake me with my name

See you somewhere down the line

We're tethered once again

I'm here

And I'm on the mend

I'm here

And I'm on the mend my friend

Was it you?

Who said hello

Here we go

Close your eyes and stay a while

But take me where you go

Single file we walk the mile wandering back home

I'm here

And I'm on the mend

I'm here

And I'm on the mend my friend

Was it you?

Who said hello

Here we go...

"The Beetle is Back" III - Now What?

2007-12-24T00:34:00.000-05:00

It's now about 4PM and the tow truck driver gets us to the dealership service building.

Now, I don't know much about South Charleston, but it doesn't seem like the nicest area of town. The service buiding itself seems nice enough - from the outside - which is all we will be seeing today.

When we pulled off the highway I saw that there was as Marriot and I got on the phone and talked to a nice girl that said she had some rooms. I then asked here if they had a courtesy van that could come and pick us up. She checked and found the guy that drives the van and I told her were we were. We were at the the end of "D Street" at the dealership and I could see their sign from where I was. She said she knew where we were and that she would send the van immediately.

The tow truck driver unloaded the car in front of the service door and waited until I was off the phone. He asked me if he could take us somewhere and I told him that we had someone coming to get us - besides all of our stuff wouldn't fit in the back of his tow truck. He gave me his card and told me to call if I needed anything and left us at the empty service center at the corner of D Street and 10th.

We unpacked the car and gathered our stuff up so we would be ready when the van got there to pick us up - at any time. About 4:30 I realized that something was wrong - it had been at least 1/2 an hour since the nice girl at the Marriot had told me that they would be "right there". Wherever "here" was... Since I was hoping to use my HiltonHonors points for our hotel stay anyway I went ahead and called them and found us a Hampton Inn & Suites down the road. The next thing I knew I was talking with the manager there and she had a van headed our way in 10 minutes.

I called the Marriot...she informed me that the van driver couldn't find us! I told her a) that how could that be since she knew were we were and that I could see the sign from where I was standing and b) nevermind I had already found another hotel.

Meanwhile the clock is ticking. Now, we really have nowhere to be until tomorrow morning, but it's winter and the sun is setting. Everything is actually pretty cool - Josh is having a blast on his skateboard (he'd been in the backseat of the beetle all day and ready to burn some energy). Shawn and I are just hanging out wondering what is taking so long.

Now it's after 5PM and no van. I call the Hampton and she said that he's on his way and should be there any time. OK, so we wait and we watch. We are basically in a fenced in lot on the edge of no where and the sun is still going down. The nice cool air is getting a little colder.

I get a phone call from the guy driving the van - he doesn't have a cell phone and has stopped somewhere to use a phone to find out where we are (hey - atleast he didn't just give up on us like the Marriot). He keeps asking us if we can see "Suzy's" - we can't but we can see a couple other stores and SO CAN HE. At the other end of "D Street" (the way we expect him to come) is a big hill with a little park on the top of it. It looks man made. He asks me if I can see that I say, yeah! Now he knows where we are...so you'd think.

Another 20 minutes go by and nothing. To make a long story short, he spent tha last 45 minutes driving around on the OTHER SIDE of the burm at the end of the street. He got there about 5:30. He was nice enough and apologetic about taking so long to get us.

We got to the hotel quickly and they set us up very nicely (it pays to be a HH Silver Member). They upgraded our room, there was a full breakfast (included) in the morning and each room had a flat screen TV. Also, there were plenty of restaurants in the same parking lot.

We were eating at Panera Bread by 6:30.

God provided - we were safe, warm, and well fed. Things could have certainly been much worse. We enjoyed our evening... Our adventure was in full stride, with plenty left.

"The Beetle is Back" II - Hurry Up and Wait

2007-12-20T09:18:00.000-05:00

It's now 1:30pm on the 25th and the three of us are sitting on the side of I-77, literally 50 yards from the toll booth. The good news is that I have a cell signal - if this had happened 5 miles in either direction that might not have been the case.

After opening the hood and scratching my head I looked in my glove box and found the number for the VW roadside assistance and called them. The nice woman on the phone informed me that my roadside assistance coverage had expired just a few months ago. However, she could get me to the closest VW dealership.

OK, we're getting somewhere now. So, let's get me to Beckley...right? No - the closest place that can work on the car is Charleston WV - we just passed Charleston - it's 45 minutes BEHIND us. She tells me that it will cost me $191 to get it towed to the VW dealership in South Charleston WV. I ask - isn't there something closer to NC? She starts listing off other places that are farther away - IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. Of course, it also costs more to get them there. I finally just tell her to send the truck and get us to South Charleston -they take Visa or MC...

How long will it be? About an hour and a half...

So, me and the boys sit tight on the side of the road and wait.

About 30 minutes later I get an automated message telling me that the truck will be there in about an hour. 30 minutes after that someone calls me and tells me he's on his way - just confirming where I am - pretty hard to miss us.

So, somewhere just short of 3pm the tow truck shows up. HE CAME FROM BECKLEY WV. When I figured this out I asked him if there wasn't some place he could take this in Beckley and he tells me that there isn't any place in Beckley that can work on a VW. Wow - the 8th largest city in WV, so named "The City of Champions", over 77,000 in population doesn't have any VWs. Go figure...

So, it's about 3pm and we are in a tow truck based in Beckley, traveling AWAY from home about 45 minutes north to South Charleston which, by the way, is WEST of Charleston. I asked the driver if we passed the airport on the way and he said that the airport was south of Charleson and that we wouldn't pass it to get to SOUTH CHARLESTON because it's on the other side of town. The driver is "pretty sure" he knows where this place is and asks me if I do. Wow, I'm impressed.

I already know that we going to end up somewhere that no one will be to greet us because it's Sunday and no one is home at the dealership on Sunday (or Saturday for that matter, but more on that later). I also know that even though this is 2nd the biggest "metropolitan area" we pass during our trips to and from Michigan (the biggest being Toledo) we can't usually even find a place to eat here except Hardees (they are everywhere).

We get to the dealership area about 4pm...

"The Beetle is Back" Part I

2007-12-19T08:11:00.000-05:00

I would like to share a story with you - this story is true - some of the names have been changed to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent (some have not been changed to complain about the not-so-innocent).

It all started when my two sons and I went to Michigan for Thanksgiving. We had a great time. We took my beetle because we just thought it would be fun - even though we used every ounce of space to pack 3 guys and all their stuff (including TWO guitars and a skateboard). Everything went smoothly until...

We were heading back on Sunday morning the 25th and making great time. It takes anywhere from 9 1/2 hours to 11 hours to make this trip depending on weather, traffic, pit stops and all sorts of stuff. We were on schedule to make it home in record time. Everything was going great and then within the span of about 10 minutes it went from great, to not-so-great, to bad, to...

We were on I-77 heading south smack in the middle of West Virginia. This part of I-77 through WV is a toll road and we were getting close to the 2nd of 3. When we started to hear a weird noise coming from the car. It was clicking very fast.

We pulled over immediately and checked the engine - it wasn't hot it was just making this noise. So we got back in and drove to the next exit which was a rest stop. Me - being a complete dunce when it comes to cars - opened the hood and listened. The rest area was full of people heading home from the holiday and another guy walked up and told me it sounded like we had bad gas (no pun intended). So our plan was to get to the next town and get this taken care of. The next "major" town was Beckley and only about 20 miles away.

We got within about 15 miles (just past Pax, WV). When I slowed down to pay the 2nd toll the car just stalled and would not start back up. It sounded like it was trying to turn over but it wasn't moving. My oldest son and I quickly got out and pushed the car to the shoulder of the toll plaza...

Our day had just changed dramatically and the course of events from here were completely different than I could have (or would have) imagined. It was 1:30pm on the 25th and our adventure was just beginning. We were about to meet new people, experience adventure, frustration, joy, deceit and many other things...

Safe Computing I - EMail

2007-12-04T13:10:00.000-05:00

I am going to assume that you do not have any third-party virus proctection software installed (like McAffee or Norton) - if you do then get rid of it and then come back to this point. I will probably come back to how to do this later...

EMail is one of those things that is abused, misused, misunderstood, underestimated, overestimated and overlooked. It can be a very useful tool and and a very big pain the neck at the same time. However, over the years (I wrote an "email application" back in the early 90's using tools that were not much more than "rocks and sticks", but it worked) I have come up with a way to effectively use email without worrying about spam and other junk.

General Email Guidelines:

NEVER send junk mail to your friends. I know that the term "junk mail" is very ambiguous, but think twice before sending that funny or sappy story to 50 of your friends. There are small percentage of people in this world that really want that stuff.

When someone gives you their email address accept it with responsibility - you wouldn't mail out 100 postcards to everyone you knew with the your new friend's name and address unless you had thier permission....would you?

CHECK YOUR EMAIL. If you give out your email address then there is an implication that if the person you give it to sends something to that address you will look it. It's very frustrating to say for the 100th time at a meeting for a group (at Church or something) "I sent an email about it!" (after hearing the immortal words..."I didn't know about that!"). So, check your email once a day (just like your "snail mail") or not at all - don't even give it out...

If you don't check your email then DON'T GIVE IT OUT. If you owned a barn in the country 3 states away that had an address you wouldn't give that address to anyone that you actually wanted to correspond with. An email account that is never (or very irregularly) checked is no more useful than a mailbox stuffed with letters that no one ever empties.

NEVER open attachments UNLESS a) you are expecting it AND b) you already know what it is. Almost all emails (in and of themselves) are harmless, but the attachments can be devastating. The only exception to this rule is if you REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING - in that case you probably don't need this article in the first place.

At any given time I have at least 4 different email accounts that I use. For some, that may seem like a lot (I actually have more like 6), but it's really not. There are lots of free email sites to help you get three.

My MAIN e-mail account: This is the one I guard with my life. I only give it out to people that I trust. This is usually the one that I am paying for (in some way). If I have given you this email address consider yourself a close, trusted friend.

CHECK this account every day that you would check your "snail mail" in your mailbox (or P.O. Box) at home.

NEVER use it for registration purposes - EVER.

NEVER forward messages sent to groups of people. If you want to forward a message sent to a large group of people to one or two people then click FORWARD, but then delete all of the addresses from the address line and then add the ones you want.

NEVER send spoofs, chain mail or junk mail to friends, family or others from this account.

SET every email you receive in this account that you don't want to get there as SPAM. Just about every email program has a "Mark as SPAM" option. Be diligent about this and over time your SPAM will decrease.

DELETE the Junk Folder about once a week at least - taking a quick check to make sure that nothing important was sent there by mistake.

Don't be afraid to "Mark As SPAM" any friend that only sends you mail.

MY "DIRTY" ACCOUNT: By "dirty" I mean the same way that you get dirty while you do dirty work (like cleaning or yard work). This can be a purchased account or a free one - a purchased one works better. The idea here is to reduce the amount of spam you get as much as possible, but to use it for things that you MIGHT want from time to time.

For example, I might use this account to register at a website that I trust or that I use a lot. I also, use this for email for my bank account and entities that I make payments to.

CHECK this account about every other day or about 2-3 times a week, or when you are expecting something in it.

MARK as many SPAM emails as you can, but don't kill yourself just delete the ones you don't want.

DELETE (AND/OR) READ the emails you get directly from places you registered but don't make them as SPAM.

MY SPAM ACCOUNT: When I get mail from the mailbox at home that is OBVIOUSLY junk I just throw it right in the garbage - I don't even open it. I give it the respect it deserves... This is how you should look at this account. Just about anything that comes here is junk. It's a big electronic trash can.

Why even have one? How many times have you went to a website that wouldn't give you the time of day without registering and they have to have an email address? Another thing I've seen many times is this same situation, but they want you to VERIFY your email address by opening the email they send you and doing something with it. Use this account for that.

I actually have two of these - both of them are free.

About ONCE A MONTH just go in and delete everything.

DON'T spend one extra moment of time managing this account.

Safe Computing - Prologue

2007-12-03T11:25:00.000-05:00

I often find myself "cleaning up" the computers of my friends and family because "my system is too slow - it used to be fast, but now it's just too slow to use". It's a job that is actually getting easier partially because the tools to do so are better and partially because I have done it so often. Invariably I get asked the same question by all -

"Which virus checker do you use?"

My answer shocks them...

"I don't..."

They often look at me like I'm from Mars or something and then I have to start explaining. My answer is simple - just like life if you practice "Safe Computing" you'll stay out of trouble except those times when someone is bound and determined to get you into trouble. In those cases even if you had virus detection software you'd still get in "trouble".

Virus protection software, in a word, stinks (I'd like to say something a bit more direct...but...). It is the most invasive piece of software you will ever install on your machine (Lime Wire and other file sharing software gives it a run for it's money, but more about that later). It takes your nice, fast computer and brings it to it's knees because EVERYTHING you do on your computer - even the things you are CERTAIN are safe - are first considered by it to be unsafe and scrutinized before you can use them. It considers everything (including yourself) is bad and tries to protect you by being an overzealous watchdog.

For the typical computer user - even if they realize that everything worked great until they installed "X" virus protector - they can't DE-install it. Why can't they DE-install it? Because the virus protector considers this an unsafe act and says "you don't know what you are doing, so I'm not going to let you do it". You now have a program in your system dictating to you what you can and cannot do on your computer - most people just give up.

So, my recommendation (and it's worked for many years) is to practice "Safe Computing". My kids have grown up understanding this and they do it without thinking about it now. It's not hard, it's not magic, it's liberating and it's very safe.

The other day I decided that I would write all of the things that I do to keep my computers safe without using the watchdog so that maybe people (at least those that will listen) can start using their computers again.

Part One coming up...

Random thoughts from Thanksgiving 2007

2007-11-29T13:45:00.000-05:00

Some things I learned, heard or just experienced over the last week...(in no particular order)

There are always new things to learn about everyone...just listen.
My cousin is a great musician.
My car gets about 4 miles a gallon less in the mountains than it does when it's not.
My new favorite "radio station" is XM salellite station called "The System" - all techno, no commercials. It's like one big mix.
One of my new favorite movies is "LOTR: Return of the King - Extended Edition" - it's so good it's like a different movie, but quite an investment in time at 4 hours and 10 minutes.
A 24 pound turkey takes more than 5 hours to cook.
Michigan roads are as bad as I remember them (maybe even worse).
Just because you live somewhere doesn't mean you know how to drive around there.
I no longer like Circuit City. Years ago I didn't like them and then warmed up to them. After a really bad experience on "Black Friday" with them I've lost my respect for them.
Some people will do anything to save a few bucks on a big screen TV.
How to make my own pickles that taste better than anything I can make at the store.
The world is not COMPLETELY wireless...yet.
Guilt stinks...
There are FIVE actors in the LOTR trilogy that have been in OTHER huge blockbusting trilogies...can you name them? This is really amazing considering that these 5 actors in the same trilogy represent a stake in 14 of the top 100 best selling movies of all time and 18 of the top 200... That says a lot about the LOTR trilogy.

OK, here they are - easy ones first:
Hugo Weaving (Elrond) LOTR & The Matrix (Mr. Smith)
Orlando Bloom (Legolas) LOTR & Pirates of the Carribean (Will Turner)
Ian McKellan (Gandalf) LOTR & X-Men (Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto)
John Rhys-Davies (Gimli and Treebeard) LOTR & Indiana Jones (Sallah) ** He didn't appear in "The Temple of Doom"
Christopher Lee (Saruman) LOTR & Star Wars (Count Duki / Darth Tyranus) *** Star Wars II & III (I consider them 2 separate trilogies) - check LOTR:Return of the King EXTENDED version (to consider him in all 3)

A Good Day...

2007-11-14T14:02:00.000-05:00

When life is crazy - when nothing seems the same - a good day can be hard to find.

Yesterday was a good day, like when I was growing up in Michigan and it had been cold all winter. Weeks and weeks would go by and it was so cold that you didn't want to go outside - being outside was a means to an end...to get where you were going. You didn't linger.

Inevitably, near the end of February or early March we would get a day...one day that gave us a glimpse of the spring to come. Everyone was outside - no one stayed inside. In college kids skipped class... It was a good day, warm and sunny.

Yesterday was warm and sunny and, just like those shots of spring in winter, it put a spring in my step...

Thanks God...you truly are awesome.

Reflectors

2007-11-13T08:12:00.000-05:00

"Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD" Psalm 4:6
"The LORD is my light and my salvation" Psalm 27:1
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." Matthew 5:14,15

Our God, Jehovah, is the light in a world of darkness.

There are so many times in God's word where the light and darkness are contrasted, where God or His son, Jesus is referred to as light - bright light. Paul "...saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun..." (Acts 26:13) that blinded him when Jesus spoke to him on the road to Damascus.

God is light...and we are His reflectors.

In the bible we read of accounts where God showed himself and it was always brilliant. Other than those times when God came down and showed us a bit of Himself (just enough so that we could handle it) His light is reflected to the world through us. All of those that wear His son's name - Christians - reflect His light to a dark world.

I've known this all of my life. In fact it's one of the first things you are taught as a child about God. Don't believe me? Ask a child to sing a couple bible songs and after "Jesus Loves Me" and "Jesus Love the Little Children", you will probably hear "This Little Light of Mine". We are taught as children that it's our mission in life (OK, so the kids don't understand that it's a mission - but it is) to let our light shine "all around the neighborhood" (which is a child's understanding of the world). So, I get the light thing - I've understood it all of my life - or have I?

When you think about that song you envision a candle because if you also go through the motions you make a candle with your finger. That's a great illustration - for a child.

However, a candle radiates light from it's own source of power, and one candle is not really all that bright. My point here is not to poke holes at the idea of a light or a lantern....

It occurred to me yesterday that we are actually reflectors of God's light. If you take a mirror, a shiny piece of metal or any other object that reflects light and put it in a dark room what do you get? A dark room. However, just take a light source (like a flashlight or the sun) and point it at the reflector it can cast light around the room. If you have ever seen the movie "The Mummy", Evelyn Carnahan (the librarian looking for the mummy) showed how the Egyptians used mirrors to illuminate dark rooms. I don't have any idea if this is based on any reality, but it looked really cool in the movie.

The source of the light that we shine to the world is from God, it is His light and the only way the world will see it is through us. Here comes the part that hit me yesterday...

Every "reflector" is different. Every Christian that reflects God's light reflects it in a different way. There is no way to take God's perfect light and transfer it through us - imperfect - and it not look a bit different. It's just not possible. Every bit of God's light on this earth is reflected through imperfect people. There was only one exception and that was when God sent His perfect son, Jesus to walk among us and reflect His light - perfectly.

When I first thought about this I thought I must be missing something. Am I saying that God's light on earth is not perfect? No. His light is perfect, but He designed it to be shown (reflected from) through us - imperfect children of His. Does that really make sense?

Of course it does!

Different light catches different people...er...differently. When God's light reflects off of one person it looks a little different than when it reflects off another - but it's still His light. The beauty of this - one more evidence of His perfect design - is that it brings more people to Him! Each child of His that walks this earth reflects His light in different ways because each person on this earth is different - individual reflections bring INDIVIDUALS to HIM.

More on this later....

Growing Up...Reluctantly

2007-11-07T11:25:00.000-05:00

My friends that really know me know that I'm not intending on acting my age...ever. My body may age, but I don't intend on allowing a one-to-one relationship between body age and spirit age.

You're only as old as you feel...

However, maturing is not the same as aging. I've known kids that are mature beyond their years and I've also known adults that are not mature. Maturity comes from experience and not all experience is fun.

We talk about being an adult and doing adult things... As we get older we get to experience things that we couldn't before - it's exciting...most of the time.

For me, it's easy to talk about the right thing to do. I can talk through all the possible scenarios, debate the best way to do things, talk about ethics, morals, attitudes and being Christ-like. What I'm learning now is that sometimes the hardest thing to do is the right thing.

Sometimes the right thing is simply being your best in a bad situation.

Making a decision to do something after thoughtful and prayerful consideration also means that you have to decide to be OK with that choice. If it's the right choice, made out of love and compassion then a grown up decides to free themselves of the decision once it's made and move on.

I guess "growing up" isn't quite what I thought it would be.

What if I say that I'll never surrender?

2007-10-29T11:34:00.000-04:00

"The Pretender"
Foo Fighters

Keep you in the dark
You know they all pretend
Keep you in the dark
And so it all began

Send in your skeletons
Sing as their bones go marching in... again
The need you buried deep
The secrets that you keep are ever ready
Are you ready?
I'm finished making sense
Done pleading ignorance
That whole defense

Spinning infinity, boy
The wheel is spinning me
It's never-ending, never-ending
Same old story

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?

In time or so i'm told
I'm just another soul for sale... oh, well
The page is out of print
We are not permanent
We're temporary, temporary
Same old story

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?

I'm the voice inside your head
You refuse to hear
I'm what's left, I'm what's right
I'm the face that you have to face
Mirrored in your stare

I'm the enemy
I'm the hand that will take you down
Bring you to your knees

So who are you?
Yeah, who are you?
Yeah, who are you?
Yeah, who are you?

Keep you in the dark
You know they all pretend

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?

What if I say I'm not like the others?
(Keep you in the dark)
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
(You know they all... pretend)
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?

So who are you?
Yeah, who are you?
Yeah, who are you?

World Series Who?

2007-10-28T23:19:00.000-04:00

It occured to me a couple days ago that I might miss the whole World Series... Why?

a) BoSox remind me so much of the Yankees that I forgot they were from Boston.
b) Did the Rockies really have a chance?
c) No time to watch baseball during football season. (It stinks that there was no MNF because of the World Series).

"Ok, break's over..."

2007-10-22T08:33:00.000-04:00

That's a line from the song "Saint Augustine in Hell" by Sting. No real significance to anything, it's just one of those lines that sticks with you.

Sometimes you lament because life is uninteresting and stale - other times you pray that life will just give you some "normalcy". I think I can say with conviction that life as I know it is over. Most of the time when you say that you infer that life is over. That's not what the line really means, it just means that things are different and they probably won't be "the same" any more.

The hollywood version of this line is "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore". The newly recruited Apostles must have said something similar to each other when they saw Jesus drive out an evil spirit at Capernaum.

Life as they knew it was over...or just beginning.

The difference is hard to identify, except in retrospect. How many times have we looked back on hard times, painful times, stressful times and realized that even though it was hard things were different from then on. Looking back on it, you realize that you are still here and that the experience changed you.

Peter was simple fisherman, hot-headed, stubborn...strong. We think of Peter as the "leader" of the apostles, a strong, brave man. He spoke at Pentecost, when we were first called Christians. He is someone we look up to and read about - we study what he did, what he didn't do we learn from his mistakes.

I think it's safe to say that at some point after he dropped his nets and followed Christ he said to himself..."life as I know it, is over...".

Praise God for that.

House of Mirrors

2007-09-26T08:44:00.000-04:00

I checked out.

I haven't posted in what has seemed like ages. Not because I haven't had anything to say, but because I don't think you would want to crawl inside my head as of late.

It's very confusing...

My dreams of late, have been like walking through a house of mirrors.

Emotions are mulitplied like when you look in to a reflection of yourself from a mirror behind you.

Things are twisted like the funny mirror that makes you look thin as a nail one moment, big as a house the next and distorts the sizes of your body disproportionally.

Have you ever been turned around in a house of mirrors? Remember, when you were a kid and you ran off into the middle of the house and for a moment...maybe even longer...it feels like forever...you get turned around. Which way did I come in? How do I get out of here?

As you the seconds add up, your heart starts beating faster. Motions around you become exacerbated, your senses are start revving up and the hairs on the back of your neck stand at attention.

Eventually, you find your way out, but for a time, the mirrors get to you.

Something To Do

2007-07-31T10:16:00.000-04:00

A man needs someone to love.
If he can't have that then he needs something to hope for.
If he can't have either of those, then he just needs something to do...

paraphrase from a scene in "Flight of the Phoenix"

We're Not In Kansas Anymore II

2007-07-29T01:28:00.000-04:00

I've been learning guitar for the last 8-10 months, regularly for the last 4 or 5. I've been playing guitar during lunch time at work and since then I have met lots of people. One being Chris - he has been playing guitar for over 20 years and his is really good. He brings his guitar about once a week and plays with me - he usually stops by and teaches me a new song or helps me out.

Chris is a "flat picker" - if you don't know what that means it is a term used in bluegrass to describe the kind of guitar playing usually used in it. He plays in a band called "The Grasshoppers" and they played at Meadowlark Landing in Wilkesboro tonight. I told him weeks ago that I wanted to go see him play there and about two weeks ago, when we were talking about it he said - "bring your guitar"... Naturally, my next question was "why?" He went on to tell me that he would call me up and have me play something. I thought he was joking at first...he wasn't.

My youngest son and I went to see them tonight, and I brought my guitar AND I found myself playing a "Nine Pound Hammer" for about 40 people on stage during a break. It didn't go so well, but it's one more under my belt (that makes two). After the performance I got to play R.G.'s Burchette - (a "Grand Soloist") what a guitar! They just about had to pry it from my hands...

All night I couldn't help thinking how I ended up where I was - in the Carolina foothills, at a genuine bluegrass performance - watching people just get up and start dancing. It was great stuff, fun to watch and me and my son had a great time.

But, I certainly wasn't in Kansas anymore...

"Tech-etiquette"

2007-07-23T08:01:00.000-04:00

Sunday our preacher talked about etiquette at Chruch (and in our lives). Being who I am it made me think about how often I "rudeness" or inexperience gets get in the way of "tech-nirvana". Since I have been working in I.T. for over 20 years, I think I'm more than qualified to give some advice on "Tech-etiquette".

Here goes:

When you TYPE YOUR EMAILS OR POSTS IN ALL CAPS you are yelling!! It conveys anger... Unless you mean to yell or you are just using it for emphasis, keep the cap-lock off.
If you have an email address and you give it out you need to check it EVERY DAY. Do you check your "snail-mail" box everyday? Check your email at least once a day or just tell your friends you don't have it.
Here's a biggie. One way to irritate your friends on the net is to send them emails touting the latest email hoax (yes, almost all of them are). No, I don't want to send 10 of my friends the email about starving kids in Topeka, nor do I want the latest urban legend story (you know the one that YOU have never heard and are conviced is brand new - but it's probably not). Just remember, less is better. I do get some interesting things from some of my friends, but the best ones are the friends who only send one every few months because it really is cool.
Never give your friend's email address to someone else unless they say it's OK. NEVER, ever, ever. Just say no... By the way, when you email that funny urban legend to everyone you know at one time, you just gave my email address to everyone you know.
Your I.T. friends prefer that if you don't know how to do something you just say so, don't pretend that you do. Also, don't just nod when we talk about stuff over your head, just say either - "Never mind, I don't understand that..." or "Now what does SQL mean?"
We really don't like being called geeks (although we can call each other that). We don't even call ourselves "wizards" so do even go there (leave that for the D&D guys). As for the word "guru", we don't mind that so much - however you should know that it really only means something coming from another I.T. person. Also, being a "nerd" and knowing how to use a computer are two completely UNRELATED things. I know lots of nerds, but not all of them are techies and I know lots of techies and many of them are not nerds.
Just because someone you know is an I.T. person does not necessarily mean that he or she can fix your daughter's laptop. You wouldn't ask a dentist advice about your upcoming surgery...
Unless you are a 12-year old kid, grammar, spelling and punctuation is important in emails and posts. Chatting during IM is different and so is text messaging, but if you are going to take the time to email, go ahead and write correctly - emails tend to hand around longer than other stuff... Which leads me to...
Re-read your emails before you send them, once it's gone, it's gone and whoever gets it can save it FOREVER. So, that email you wrote while you were agry is there to read and re-read. Also...
If you are answering a question to the person that asked it in an email sent to many people DO NOT PUSH THE "Reply to All" BUTTON. We don't all want to know that you can't make the company picnic because you are getting your bunyons removed that day.
If you have a cell phone and give out the number, carry it with you and leave it on. All of us who use them just ignore the signs about turning them off and just silence them (read the manual) when needed. Having a cell phone and never answering it is REALLY annoying.

I think that's enough for now.

Manna From Heaven

2007-07-12T08:38:00.000-04:00

God is good and he is good all the time.

Wikipedia calls Manna "...food miraculously produced for the Israelites in the desert in the book of Exodus."

Bryanepedia calls it "God's showering of blessing from places you never expected when you least expected it."

God is mysterious and his greatness is beyond our grasp. Face it, you're never going to completely figure Him out. That isn't to say that He is not completely approachable, loving and caring - however it's best to bow to his ultimate wisdom and let Him bless you in His own time and in His own way and stop trying to figure out why He does what He does and when He does it.

It's amazing to me how God can just blow me away when I least expect it. Everytime it happens I am overwhelmed by His love and wisdom. Last night he sent another blessing - just a simple phone call that was supposed to just be about normal business stuff turned into 2 hours of soul launching...yes my soul was launched, not lifted straight up. I was very tired, but I just didn't want it to end. My body was exhausted, but my soul was sky high...and still is.

God almost literally dropped manna from heaven in the form of a friend on the phone last night. He knows I'm in the wilderness and he provided - just like he always does.

God, you are good and you are good all the time...

Things I've Learned on Tour Part 2

2007-07-01T21:51:00.000-04:00

Ok, tour is over now... Here's the rest of the list. This time I'm not falling asleep while writing them.

Everyone has spells of "self-preservation" - don't take it personally.
It is possible to present too much information,
Control is not always worth the price you pay for it...and often not available at any price.
You shouldn't judge a Church by it's cover.
Roller coasters are awesome...simply awesome. Did I say they were awesome?
Some things just won't make sense...maybe you just don't have all the information of maybe it just doesn't make sense - either way don't spend valuable time trying to figure it out.
I love meeting new people.
If you treat people like friends - that's what they become.
The term "Contemporary Service" is as descriptive as "As Soon As Possible (ASAP)".

Things I've Learned on Tour

2007-06-29T23:48:00.000-04:00

I might actually enjoy taking a group entirely made up of middle school kids on tour more than a group of just high school kids.
Even in a crowd of people you can still feel alone.
Sometimes people you don't expect are the ones that make your day...
Go ahead, be silly and let the chips fall where they may...you'll have more fun.
There is beauty in everyone.
Roll with whatever comes your way, leave the worrying for God...things will work out...often better than you expected in the first place ( or than you planned).
If you want something done the right way, have a back up plan...be prepared to step in and take over.
Sometimes good people make bad decisions.
Learn to acknowledge and appreciate those that have a desire to help and give them the chance to do so.
Kids love simple things.
Sometimes the last person you expected is the one that touches you the most.
Make an concerted effort to remember who you are and who is in control.
Live to serve.
Serve to Live.
Kids appreciate it (even if they are not good at communicating it) when you care for them. Never stop, even when you don't think you are getting through.
Don't be afraid to give complements and tell those around you that you simply are "happy that they are here".
Give out more compliments that you accept.
Listen to others.
Talk to God daily...as much as you can.
Don't be afraid to delegate...in fact great leaders are experts at it.
Realize that things happen and to be flexible and enjoy the spice of that flexibility.
Remind teenagers that memorial sites are just that, and to be aware of those around that may be using their time there to reflect or connect with those past.
Reserve quiet time for yourself...make the time...it's important
Embrace those that are different from yourself.
When you write blog entries while you are falling asleep at the end of a long day of touring there's no telling what you are going to say...

My Prayer

2007-06-11T08:46:00.000-04:00

God, I need you.

That's no news to you, I ALWAYS need you...and you ALWAYS provide. You are good and you are good all the time.

Satan is relentless...he waits...he is always looking for a way in...a way to get at me. He disguises himself, he uses misdirection, trickery, illusion, boredom...fear. I am yours and because of that I call myself a Christian - taking on the name of your son. Over the years I have built defenses that you support...that are powered by your Spirit and your strength.

It's like a soldier's shield. He makes his shield to be strong, and to cover the areas that are most succeptible to attack. He doesn't have a shield that goes all the way around because he has other soldiers behind and around him to that will protect the back. Over time, he get's used to that situation...he uses it to his advantage. He makes his foe come straight at him and work to his strength. His foe has to come through his shield to get to him, and he doesn't "worry" about the back - some else has it.

Father, I've had to spread my shield all the way around me. Its like stretching fabric around an object that is too big for the fabric - you may be able to force the ends to meet at the back, but the fabric rips and stretches until it is thin - it tears here and there. The strong, thick shield is now thin and has holes. Over time I hope to shore up those holes and work on the overall thickness of the shield. But right now it's thin and has holes in it.

Satan want's to exploit this. He is jabbing at me through the holes in an attempt to weaken me. My attention is spread out because now I have to be aware of things all around.

Father, I need you to fill the holes. No, not just fill the holes, but to put your shield around me, to stand behind me and beside me...and in front of me. All the while filling in the holes and thickening my shield. It's a lot to ask, but you have told me that to "ask and it will be given to you" (Luke 11:9), so I ask. I am at your mercy.

And I know you will be faithful to me.

Far Cry

2007-06-10T08:27:00.000-04:00

One day I feel at the top of the world
and the next it's falling in on me.
I CAN GET BACK ON.
I CAN GET BACK ON.

One day I feel I'm ahead of the wheel
and the next it's rolling over me.
I CAN GET BACK ON.
I CAN GET BACK ON.

One day I fly through a crack in the sky
and the next it's falling in on me.
I CAN GET BACK ON.
I CAN GET BACK ON.

"Far Cry"
Rush

WANTED

2007-06-07T08:37:00.000-04:00

WANTED: Person of any age or ethnicity, can be male or female who loves God and wants to serve Him. The person will be flawed and need God to help them through each day. This person will enjoy talking about nothing at all or something very important and anything in between. This person will feel an urgent and burning need to share their greatest hopes, deepest sorrows, loftiest dreams, dreariest days and highest highs. He or she will not need an invitation to spend time with me or vice-versa. The person will ask for and accept help when needed and not keep track of such help. He or she will enjoy me because of who am I and not what I will be or the value I can add. This person will understand that I am human and I will make mistakes and also allow themselves to make those same mistakes. This person must be willing to make a lifetime commitment, even though time may change who we are and where we are.

WANTED - a true friend. No application necessary, just drop by - let's talk.

Granny's Porch

2007-06-05T23:05:00.000-04:00

Consciousness starts growing in me as the sun starts to fill the room.

The birds have been up for hours...they have filled my dreams for the last few hours, but now I start hearing them. There are so many of them, yet I can pick out just about every one of them. They are talking to each other...I wonder what they are saying? It could just be a way of letting each other know "I'm here". God gave them a special gift - their songs are so soothing and the best alarm clock ever made.

My eyes are still closed...I don't want this feeling to end...I don't want to wake up - just yet.

I start to feel the cool air of a July morning in Arkansas - we are deep in the Arkansas country-side at Granny and Granddaddy's house. Just a few miles outside of Mountain Home (long before it became a tourist city).

Granny's porch is a simple screened in room attached to the house. My brother and I spend weeks at a time here with Granny and Granddaddy during the summer. I don't know it now, but it's some of the best times of my life.

Granny is making breakfast and I can smell the cooking from where I am. It doesn't really matter what she's making, it could be biscuits with chocolate gravy or eggs and bacon...it doesn't really matter. It's the smell of granny's house in the morning. It's the smell of love.

Actually, I'm awake now, but I don't want this part of the day to end. Later it will be hot and humid. Later we may make a trip into town to the local grocery store. Later we will go fishing in the White River for rainbow trout where the river is so cold that it makes your legs numb when you stand in it. But for now, it's me, the breeze, the birds and granny's porch.

When you fish with Granddaddy you never come back without fish - he just knows where they are and when to catch them. Later my brother and I will explore down the rural road and into the woods. But for now, it's cool and calm. The day is just beginning and my covers are warm and soft.

I'm on granny's porch and life is good. I'm safe and loved and happy... Not a care in the world. For an 11-year old boy from the city, this is heaven...and now as a man of 40-something I go there often when the day is hectic, when I can't concentrate and I just need a little love and safety...

Reluctant Glorification?

2007-06-05T09:06:00.000-04:00

Is it possible to take something that was crafted to be used in a way that was not for God's glory and use it for His Glory? In other words, is it possible to use something that goes against God's teaching and use it as if it doesn't?

I guess the question is does it matter to God if I use something that is messed up in regards to His commandments and teachings in my worship to Him? Or, is God only interested in my heart while I am worshipping Him?

When you put the question that way it almost seems silly to ask it. God IS concerned about my heart when I worship Him. Jesus told us through the gospel of Matthew that we have to come to Him without resentment in our heart

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember
that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." Matthew 5:23,24

However, he also said in John 4:24 "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." So now I wonder since He wants me to worship Him with my spirit and to come to him in truth then does that mean that if I know I use something that was originally conceived in error can I use it to worship Him?

This debate in my mind came while I was listening to one of my favorite CD's - "Exodus" by Bob Marley and the Wailers. Much of his music speaks of God, Jesus, Zion, and "Jah". I just started listening to the words a bit closer and I thought...wow this makes sense! So I did a bit of research and it turns out that "Zion" is not the Zion I know of and that "Jah" is not a different name for Jehovah. (if you want to find out about what they mean look up "Rastafari Movement")

But if I speak these words and use them to refer to my God and for His glory does it diminish my worship to Him (even though I know where they came from)? If the earthly "audience" doesn't know that they were originally used in error does it matter?

I don't know.

P.S. Now I'm even more confused, since the Christian group Acappella did a song some years ago called "Talk to Jah" and grouped that name in with Jehovah. Yep, color me confused...

Some Old Qualities...

2007-05-25T08:11:00.000-04:00

"...Is there a cure among us
From this processed sanity?
I weaken with each voice that sings
Now, in this world of purchase
I’m going to buy back memories
To awaken some old qualities
Have I got a long way to run
Yeah, I run..."
"Run", Collective Soul
Ephesians 4

Snakes & Arrows

2007-05-11T14:17:00.000-04:00

Life is Good.

Rush released a new CD.

Life is Good.

For those of you that might have thought that melodic, hard driving rock was dead need look no further than Rush and their new CD "Snakes & Arrows". This is their 18th major album release (NOT including compilations) - 30 years of creating some of the best music ever heard. This CD debuted #3 on Billboard's Hot 200 - the highest debut for Rush - ever.

Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart. Three guys on the top of the food chain when it comes to musical talent and they just keep getting better. How can this be? Geddy's vocals are better than ever, I am conviced that his vocal cords are made of some alien material that just starts breaking in after about 50 years. For the first time in many years, Alex steps a bit to the front. In a group of three virtuosos he often gets overlooked - that's a tragedy considering he is on the short list for best rock guitarists of all time.

Then there's Neil - what can you say about him. Ask any drummer to name the best 3 drummers ever and I would bet that almost all of them would list Peart in their list. Then, there is the cherry on top of the ice cream - he once again delivers lyrics that pierce your soul, expand your mind and make you wonder what is going on inside his head.

When "Vapor Trails" came out a few years ago I though it might have been their best work since "Moving Pictures" (arguably the best Rock album of the 80's). "Snakes & Arrows" IS their best work since "Moving Pictures" - in fact, I would stand it up against MP and maybe call it the "Moving Pictures of this Generation". There are 3 instrumentals on this CD and "The Main Monkey Business" is absolutely amazing. My son and I decided that we would call it "MMB" because we think it's the "YYZ" of this generation.

Now tell me this...how do three of the best, most experience muscians have the guts to call on a relative "new-comer" to help them produce their work. Neil talked about Nick Raskulinecz in an article he wrote back in December about the then upcoming album. Nick pushed them beyond their abiilities - how do you do that?

The Mighty Booujze [a nick name for Nick] came into his own there, coaxing, coaching, and inspiring me into ever more outrageous drum parts and fills. “Bloppida-bloppida-batu-batu-whirrrrr-blop—booujze.” Sweaty and sore, I would come into the control room to listen to a playback, and hear myself thrashing away at the very edge of my abilities, just barely pulling it off (or not), and I would have to laugh out loud at the audacity—and the excitement, if it worked.

Geddy was listening, too, and he shook his head slowly and smiled, saying, “Now that’s comedy!”

In turn, Booujze also urged Geddy’s bass playing into uncharted areas, playing along with him on “air bass” as he described his ideas. Geddy and I soon decided we were “the world’s funniest rhythm section,” and thought we ought to call the album Don’t Try This at Home.

Pretty awesome stuff.

Life is Good.

Rush is still around doing what they do best...

"Like a stone in the river
Against the floods of spring
I will quietly resist."
Faithless

The High Price of Gas

2007-05-10T10:33:00.000-04:00

How do you know when a friend...a close friend is no longer...your friend?

What does it take to drive that final nail into the fence being built between you?

How long do you wait to finally close the book on a friendship? One that brought you joy at one time, but now is just empty.

I've waited much longer than I should have and the cost is higher than I expected...

It's a sad situation to find yourself in a place where the people you used to call friends don't like who you are anymore. When you realize that - to them- you are just another name in their address book. They think that you retreated, but they fool themselves...

The last nail is deceit...it's when they treat you like a gas station.

You'll buy gas from whoever is selling it for less today. You spend no time agonizing about going to one gas station over the next because it doesn't matter. Gas is gas is gas is...gas. It's all the same and who ever is selling it for less is who you like today. No loyalties with gas stations. If the place that you normally go to is selling it for a cent more than they guy across the street you go across the street and save 15 cents. Hey, 15 cents is...15 cents when there are no loyalties. No fences.

Goodbye old friend. I'm sure I'll see you again...when my price is lower than the guy across the street...or when you are just bored enough to stop in.

By the way, I'll probably be busy...

The old man down the street

2007-05-01T23:18:00.000-04:00

I grew up in a big neighborhood with lots of houses close together. On the street that we lived we pretty much knew everyone on the street - at least a little. There are lots of streets like this across America and on every one of these streets there is the guy that no one likes.

You know, the guy that whenever you see him he looks like you just woke him from a deep sleep. He yells at the kids and tells them to be quiet and stay away from his house. He's always poking his nose in everyone else's business - he sits on his porch or hangs around in his back yard and he catches everything. He seems to always be looking your direction when you are in a situation that you would rather not anyone see you. He was just the guy that bugged you enough that you don't really like him. He's also the guy that tells your parents - weekly - about all the things you were getting into while they weren't looking (and he was) and you get into trouble.

But...

Every once in a while you stop by and he's in a better mood and you talk about pleasant things. His children or your baseball team, he may give you a wink when he's in a good mood. Just every once in a while...but most of the time he's a pain in the neck. But he's a comfortable pain in the neck. He's part of your life.

One day you find out he died. His death goes quietly and for the most part with a fair bit of relief. Eventually, a young couple with other kids moves into the house he lived in and you make new friends and those friends become a great part of your life and they enrich your life.

However, even though you know you are better off without him and much better off with your new friends, you occasionally miss the old guy. You mourn his passing and on second thought you wonder if through his passing you are missing part of yourself...

He was bad for you, but even so...you miss him...and without him your life will never be quite the same.

Reinvention III

2007-04-16T16:28:00.000-04:00

Reinvention.

The very term suggests that it's a renewal, not something that is "tried and true" or "comfortable". I can only imagine a snake shedding his skin as he grows. The growing is good and the growing means that he is living and thriving, but for a snake, the skin is scaly and stiff - providing him protection from the elements.

As he grows he has to shed that skin so that new, softer skin can emerge and serve him protection as he continues to grow. The new skin is softer, shinier and...well...new. The old skin comes off along with all of the cuts and abrasions that the snake suffered since the last time he shed. The new skin does not look completely different than the old skin once did...neither does it look the same. Same snake...different skin...new stage in life.

I can only imagine that the process of shedding your skin is not comfortable, especially at first when it's just itchy. It must feel really weird to watch this shell that you have been living in and carrying around for some time separate from you and then you just leave it behind - using your new skin. The old one served you well, and the new one will too.

It's the process of growing...improving...living...renewing...reinvention.

300

2007-04-10T23:23:00.000-04:00

Tonight I saw "300" in IMAX... I've decided that all theatres should be in IMAX format. It's just that simple, I mean why not? Wow.

By the way, do you realize how many words you can make with the word "Theatre"?

4/16 - OK, since no one else wanted to take a shot at it...I count 36.

The Librarian of My Brain

2007-04-02T11:10:00.000-04:00

Imagine for a moment that my brain has a head librarian. My librarian wouldn't be like other librarians, his name is "Scooter" (why? because it sounds cool). Scooter is a trained librarian, he went to librarian school and graduated in the middle of his class - not the best but not the worst either.

After working filling shelves in other brains, he got his first break a few years later as the head librarian's assistant in another brain where he worked for about 2 years doing fairly well having some successes and trying learn from his mistakes. Finally, he got his break, there was an opening in a new baby's brain for a head librarian's job, he applied for the position and it came down to him and a woman named Xena (another cool name). Anyway, for reasons not clear to anyone he got the job.

Scooter does a great job as my brain's librarian taking all sorts of information that comes into my brain and categorizing it. "Hey, Bryan just learned about Mongolian Fruit Bats, put that in the avarian section next to the piece on Egyptian Fruit Bats..." The next time I need that information about the Mongolian Fruit Bat I find it right where I expect it, with the other "bat" information. His assistants and the "shelvers" like him and he stays out of their hair...for the most part.

However, Scooter has a bit of a quirk. Sometimes he gets confused and distracted while doing his work. He gets some new information and just puts it in the wrong place...info on Robert Oppenheimer (physicist that worked on the Manhattan Project) and he puts it in the area with Astrology (something that I don't think too much about). Another time he takes a new word Mammatus (a cloud formation) and puts that word in with the "J's". Other times he literally takes a word that I know well, like thesaurus and re-shelves it with the "W's".

What happens is I am talking to someone and I am thinking about a thesaurus, but when I get to the word in converstion I look it up in the place that it's supposed to be and IT'S NOT THERE!!!! My mind goes into overdrive, Scooter gets alerted..."where did I put that word?", he get's his assistants searching for it. "It's around here somewhere, I know it is...I may have filed it with the dinoaurs, next to "Stegasaurus"..."

Sometimes they get lucky and find it hiding next to "Watermelon" and other times they just don't find it until later. Usually, once it's found it's re-shelved in it's rightful place, but occasionally Scooter finds it, sends it to me and then just sticks it somewhere else. That's really annoying.

What it sounds like from the outside is..."uh, um, you know...that thing that you use like a dictionary..."

Introducing "Scooter"...the librarian of my brain. He wears a worn out "Foghat" T-Shirt, faded and distressed Levi's jeans and a pair of old white Nike's with a red swoosh that have seen better days. His hair is perpetually (he had to hunt down that word) messy and long, and he lives on Mountain Dew and Taco Bell. He's married and loves his wife dearly.

Sign of the times

2007-03-26T09:21:00.000-04:00

I told my son this weekend that the world must be ending. He said, "How do you know?". I said, "Because, I just bought...of my own free will...my first country CD". Yes, time stood still, the earth stopped rotating...Bryan bought a country CD... Not for someone else, not as gift, not as some strange project, because I wanted to.

What is this world coming to?

In case you are wondering what ended 43 years of chasm for me, the CD is "The Road to Here" by Little Big Town.

It's just one CD, don't expect me to be listening to Keith Urban, that would just be crazy...

6 strings and 4 short fingers

2007-03-22T13:53:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my first guitar came by way of UPS. I've been teaching myself and picking up as much as I can since about June of last year using my son's acoustic. The idea of someone buying a guitar doesn't sound crazy or earth shattering, but I've looked forward to this for a few months.

The more I learn on the guitar, the more I want to learn and the better I want to get. I've always loved music...as long as I can remember, it's been a part of my life, but aside from playing the trumpet at school through my sophomore year in high school (that doesn't count) I've never learned to play an instrument. It just wasn't on my radar. It's too bad, because one of my best friends in High School was a practical virtuoso and could have taught me if I had just asked.

I don't remember what made me pick up my son's guitar and start learning in the first place, but it came a little faster than I would have expected. Once I figured that I could do something more than make noises with it I decided that I would try to learn a simple song to sing and play at the talent show during our choir retreat in September. With some help from a couple friends I was able to do that. It was really cool. BTW, the song was "Waiting (Reprise)" by George Michael, it was easy to learn and I really like the song.

So, my thought process was...hey, until I know what I want and if I'm going to really get good I'm going to buy a less expensive one to start off with. I narrowed it down to 3, then 2 then 1. The one I ended up with is an Ibanez AEL20ETBS AEL-20TBS Acoustic-Electric. It's awesome. Playing the guitar is very soothing and relaxing to me and that's exactly what I need right now in my life.

Pretty cool.

The first day...

2007-03-22T08:21:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, someone said that this was "the first day of the rest of your life". Considering who he was and what we were doing, I don't believe he was just saying it off the top of his head.

I truly want to believe it, I do believe it. Once again, the road in front of me is unknown by me, but known to Him. God has walked the path that is in front of me...he laid it. I just need to stay on His path and hold to His hand tightly, keep talking to Him and listening to His calming, soothing empowering voice.

"...for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." Psalm 23:4

Typical

2007-03-12T08:46:00.000-04:00

I heard this today and man does it fit where I am right now... Is it my new "theme song"? Can I break the spell of the typical?

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body." 2 Corinthians 4:8-11

Come on, can I dream for one day?
There's nothing that can't be done
But how long should it take somebody
Before they can be someone

Cuz I know there's got to be another level
Somewhere closer to the other side
And I'm feelin' like it's now or never
Can I break the spell of the typical?

Now I've lived through my share of misfortune
And I've worked in the blazing sun
But how long should it take somebody
Before they can be someone

Cuz I know there's got to be another level
Somewhere closer to the other side
And I'm feelin' like it's now or never
Can I break the spell of the typical?

I'm the typical
I'm the typical
Can I break the spell of the typical?

Because it's draggin' me down
Oh, I'd like to know about when
When does it all turn around?

Yeah I know there's got to be another level
Somewhere closer to the other side
And I'm feelin' like it's now or never
Can I break the spell of the typical?

Break the spell (of the typical)
Break the spell (of the typical)
Can I break the spell of the typical?

"Typical", Mute Math

Can I break the spell of the typical?

Quicksand.

2007-02-25T22:28:00.002-05:00

In the movie "The Replacements", the coach asks the team what they are afraid of. Falco, the quarterback - played by Keanu Reeves, says

"Quicksand...something bad happens. That bad event leads to
another, then another, soon the feeling of quicksand. The more you
try to get out, the more it feels like you are sinking even deeper. "

I'm familiar with the quicksand...I tend to step into it a lot. It especially happens when things are going well. I just start to get my footing on solid ground, my steps feeling more and more solid...feeling confident...and then I trip.

Sometimes I catch myself and keep going, but other times by trying to catch myself I make things worse. I reach for support around me and I miss or I reach for something that offers little or no support. Other times there is just nothing there to reach for, I look around, swinging my arms, pinwheeling hoping that I will find something. Then, crash!

I fall into the quicksand.

At first I am somewhat confident that I can step out, but the quicksand is thick and the harder I try to get out the more I lose my balance. I reach for the sides where there is solid ground, but I miss or I just get grass in my hands. Then I try to take a step out and then I sink deeper into the muck. Now I'm up to my armpits trying to get out, but now I can feel the pit sucking me down.

My attempts to get out make things worse. My actions get more and more exaggerated and then I start making bad decisions. My mind takes what started off as a small stumble and turns it into the "worst case scenario" and now I can't turn my mind off. It's going a mile a minute, feeding me with fear and hopelessness. It's worse when it's quiet. For most people, they want solitude...to get away and think. For me, that's the worst thing, my mind is screaming at me and when I'm alone and it's quiet that's all I can hear...what I need is reassurance, caring...love.

That's how it happens. The rest is always different, depending on the circumstances. I want to cover up the hole - fill it with concrete...for good.

Zacchaeus

2007-02-18T15:37:00.000-05:00

Remember the story of Zacchaeus? I heard it again today during our worship service. It's one of those almost "forgettable" accounts in the Bible about a man touched by Jesus in Luke 19.

As a kid we sang "Zacchaeus was wee little man...", but Zacchaeus was not just short, but was also a person that was governed by the will of Satan. He wanted to meet Jesus and once that happened... Have you ever wondered what happened on Satan's end that day? That day, Satan lost and lost big. Imagine a large corporation just finding out that one of their biggest clients just broke off from them and went to their competitor. This was bad news, and hard to take.

Here's how it might have went when Satan heard the news from one of his assistants:

Assistant: "Sir, we...er...have a problem."
Satan: "What's going on, can't you see I'm busy?"
Assistant: "We've lost Zacchaeus"
Satan: "What do you mean by 'LOST'? I just talked to him the other day and he was fine. A bit distracted, but nothing out of the ordinary."
Assistant: "We lost him to...um...Jesus."
Satan: "Nonsense, Zacchaeus is one of our best and oldest clients, have you tried calling him?"
Assistant: "He's not answering his phone, in fact, all we get is a recording saying that the line is been disconnected."
Satan: "Oh, this is no big deal, have you sent some agents to remind him of his past?"
Assistant: "Of course! We sent our best men and we thought we had him for a minute but he just told them to go away."
Satan: (Now pacing)"Watch your tone with me. What about taking things away from him? That usually works."
Assistant: "Forget it. He's already done it himself, he's given almost all of the stuff you gave him back to Jesus and others that he has taken from in the past."
Satan: "Ahh, we'll just wait him out, we have time. He'll come back after he sees how hard it is and the stuff he misses."
Assistant: "I hope you are right, if Jesus keeps this up he's going to put us out of business."
Satan: "Yeah, well at least we still have Saul of Tarsus..."

The Cops!

2007-02-12T23:24:00.000-05:00

I think I may have mentioned well over a year ago that I cried the day I realized that I had purchased the last Police CD that there was. No more new Police material, I had heard everything they had made.

I can honestly still remember the day that I bought "Outlandos d'Amour" at Fairlaine Town Center. I rushed home and just about wore out the grooves in the vinyl (yes is was vinyl), I mean this was 1978...at least 10 years before they started thinking bout CDs (I think I was 14). I can remember being shocked by "Be My Girl - Sally" and otherwise just realizing that I was listening to something completely different that I had never heard before. I was hooked.

Up until a couple weeks ago I just assumed we'd never hear from them as a group again. I mean it's one thing for the Eagles to get back together, but The Police?!? I mean they made if very clear that it wasn't ever going to happen.

Then here comes the 49th Grammys and then the rumors that they may be touring again. I have never "camped out" for concert tickets, but this just might get me there. Of course, the chance of them coming anywhere close to here are 1) SLIM and 2) NONE.

The next thing you know Van Halen will tour again with David Lee Roth...

If I really push my luck, The Talking Heads will have a reunion tour...

**** Tuesday, 2/13

It's worse than I thought. Not only are they not coming anywhere CLOSE to here, it wouldn't matter anyway. The estimated RETAIL price of a ticket is going to be OVER $200!! The most I ever paid for a concert was to see Sting play at Ovens Auditorium (seats about 5,000) and that was $90 (that was a REAL splurge for me). At $225 that's a $1.50 a minute!

I'll just keep listening to my CDs...

Methuselah

2007-02-09T08:29:00.000-05:00

It's amazing how God uses people and how he loves his children. I just read something that sent chills up my spine. You can spend your whole life studying the Bible, but there are so many layers to it that it can take many lifetimes to study them all. I read something today that peeled another layer back for me.

Methuselah was the oldest man in recorded history, he lived 969 years (almost 10 centuries!). He was the grandfather of Noah and ironically, he died just DAYS before the flood started.

10 centuries of life and he happens to die just before God wipes the slate clean? A coincidence? There is no such thing in the Bible, no reason to record such a thing. Besides, that would be SOME coincidence!

Then you add to that the meaning of his name, "when he dies, it shall be sent". 10 centuries before the flood, 849 years before God came to Noah, Enoch gave Methuselah this name. Wow.

Now all that makes sense, I have heard it in bits and pieces before, but think about this (I also read this too, not my idea). Maybe that's why Methuselah lived so long. God loves his children and he did not want them to perish, he wanted them to come back to Him so he gave them more time, and more time, and more time. And, since he had already setup Methuselah to be the precursor of this event, he lengthened his life.

Methuselah's long life was not a just freak of nature, but God kept him alive because he wanted his people to come back to him and if Methuselah died he would have to do what he did not want to do.

Wow. Sometimes I just have to be hit squarely in the head with something to see it.

The (bottom of) Hole

2007-02-08T09:26:00.000-05:00

For most of my adult life (not all of it) I have felt as though I've been on a mission to get out of the hole that I am in.

Most times, I am crawling up the side of the pit, getting mud in my fingernails as a try to reach the top of the hole. Other times, my strength weakens and I just can't keep up and I slide down some.

There have been a few times that I have reached the top of the pit and been able to look, briefly, back into it and even glimpse at the view of the grassy field outside of the pit. Each time this has happened, I have taken a wrong step and found myself back in the pit. Then, as I struggle to get back out, it just makes things worse and I fall deeper.

Lately, I have come to a terrible realization...this pit has a bottom. At the bottom is a swirling drain full of muddy water. It's a vortex that sucks all the stuff that falls to the bottom of the pit into...well I don't know where...I can't possibly think about where it goes.

The point is, for the first time in my life, I'm in the drain, I'm swirling around in this muddy water and I keep reaching for the sides of the wall so I can hang on to something. Occasionally, I find something to hold on to, but down here in the drain things are very fragile due to stress and struggle.

I hope that someone throws me a life preserver soon, I'm not sure I can keep paddling much longer.

How Do Dreams Die?

2007-02-04T23:14:00.000-05:00

I don't think dreams die like you see in the movies in a blaze of glory, with explosions and flashing lights.

They wear away like the rubber off your tires. When you buy new tires they look great, they have every ounce of rubber that came from the factory. They even have the little "knobbies" on them from when they are moulded. Over time they slowly wear away, no matter how diligent you are in rotating them. Yes, rotating them prolongs their life, but they will wear away eventually.

Some dreams are stronger than others, they are like rock. However, even rock erodes under the constant flow of water, wind and sand. Look at the Grand Canyon, it was once a mighty plateau, now it's a canyon, carved with water; soft, cleansing water.

I think dreams die the same way, slowly eroding until one night, when you are alone...you look at your dream and it's mis-shapen, etched or just gone. Your dream is a mystery to you; how did this happen?

When we are young, dreams fill our minds and warmed our hearts. Some dreams are fulfilled others are forgotten, still others stick around but are warn away by this world, turned into an empty hole that just reminds us of what was once there.

It's only me
Who wants to wrap around your dreams and...
Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?
Dreams of loneliness...
Like a heartbeat...
drives you mad...
In the stillness of remembering what you had...
And what you lost...
And what you had...
And what you lost

Dreams. Fleetwood Mac

Movie Quotes

2007-01-30T12:05:00.000-05:00

Some of my favorite movie quotes:

"You worried about saving your own skin?"
"Yeah, I am. It covers my body."
Ronin

"Game over, man! Game over!"
Aliens

"Asps. Very dangerous...you go first."
Raiders of the Lost Ark

"Help! Help! I'm being repressed!"
Monty Python and the Holy Grail

"If I were ever going to buy a desk set...twice, I would probably by this one...both times."
Dead Poets Society

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die. "
The Princess Bride

"Why worry? Each one of us is carrying an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on his back."
Ghostbusters

"Come out to the coast, we'll get together, have a few laughs..."
Die Hard

"It's only an island if you look at it from the water."
Jaws

"Now, I'm not asking you to believe in him, but he's your son, for God's sake, John. And I am askin' you to help him. If you don't I'll leave you.
I'll find work. I'll do whatever it takes to get away from here.
I'll live in a tree to get away from you. Don't you think I won't."

"Where would you go?"

"Myrtle Beach"
October Sky

Firewalker

2007-01-28T20:13:00.000-05:00

i dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
brand my soul and call me a liar
i dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
i dare you to tell me
i dare you to
"I Dare You", Shinedown

Go ahead...tell me to.

Lost

2007-01-17T12:14:00.000-05:00

What do you do when you can't find your way?

If you are on a trip in your car, you open the glove box and find a map or you may have a GPS system that just tells you where you are and helps guide you to where you want to go.

Years ago, sea captains used the stars and the sun to navigate, later as more of the earth was explored, they used charts created by others. Even later, we erected lighthouses to alert sailors of shallow areas with rocks that could damage or sink their ships.

In these cases, the path you end up taking has been taken by someone else before you. They share their experiences and give you valuable information that helps you to find your way.

Can you imagine the first ones to set out in uncharted land? Christopher Columbus? Louis and Clark? They had no idea what was in front of them because they didn't think anyone else had been where they were going. (it turns out that others had)

How do you get "un-lost"? How do you find your way when you feel alone, afraid and you don't know what's ahead of you? When you look around and the your surroundings look unfamiliar. You seek counsel, but even that counsel can't help you when you are alone.

Bumper Sticker II

2007-01-02T16:29:00.000-05:00

The other day I was driving down the road and saw another interesting bumper sticker.

On the surface, this bumper sticker seems completely harmless and even a bit good, but the more I thought about it the more it disturbed me.

It was one of those oval stickers that mimics the OBX stickers but gives support for something else other than the Outer Banks. This one, too, was just three letters...

KJV

For those of you that may not know, KJV stand for King James Version. It is a version of the Bible. Now I am not a fan of that version for a number of reasons, but I also have no real issues with the version itself. It has brought the gospel message to millions of people over the years.

What bothers me is the attitude that comes from putting "KJV" on the back of your car.

Yes, it's a harmless support for God's word, but if you wanted to share your support for God's word then why not just have these three letters? G, O, D, or only two... J, C, or put one of those fish symbols on your car (you know the one's that the early Christians used to identify each other by drawing them in the dirt...).

By putting KJV on your car you do the following, you confuse those that have no idea what KJV means, you exclaim to the world that the version of YOUR Bible is more important than the message in it and you condemn those that don't use KJV by choosing sides that were not meant to be drawn.

I grew up with King James, I read it in my youth
I read it in my Sunday school, It's how I learned the truth
Learning to decipher Elizabethan voice
Newer versions came along and now I have a choice!

Growin' up with King James
Learning "thees" and "thous"
Learning the unwritten rules that the church allows
Growin' up with King James
Hard to understand what the language means to me
Say who is this man? King James

Back when it was brand new the lingo it was prime
It's safe to say that century was way before my time
When it comes to versions, which is the one for me?
I can honestly declare, It's not the KJV!

No, we are not sayin' The KJV is bad
Countless souls came to the Lord
The only choice they had
If you're tryin' to tell me that's it's the only one
That would mean Jehovah God would be an Englishman

"Growin' Up With King James" - Keith Lancaster

"...Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me." 1 Corinthians 14:9-11

Pintel and Ragetti

2006-12-20T16:06:00.000-05:00

Pintel - "What are you talking about, you can't read"
Ragetti - "It's the Bible, you get credit for trying!"
Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest

What an interesting thought...

"Jesus Loves the Little Children"

2006-12-12T15:18:00.000-05:00

"...Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Mark 10:14,15

Jesus loved children and God gives them to us as a blessing. I am saddened by many of the depictions of Christ as a sullen, introspective, morose person. How much the opposite!

When Jesus was on this earth thousands followed him for many reasons, but I am assured that one of those was his charisma...you KNOW he was a joy to be near. He loved to laugh, he has a great sense of humor. It's hard for us in this time to read the Bible and see it because of the great differences in culture and time but it's there.

For example, sometimes Jesus called Peter by his old name Simon. It's interesting to think about, but if you look close it was Jesus' way of slapping his loved friend on the side of the head and saying "Duh!"..."remember where you came from..." Not much different than your big brother calling you a "dork" again as an adult when you do something stupid and you both have a quick laugh about it.

Anyway, it's no wonder that children were drawn to Jesus, the fact that they were is proof enough that he was fun to be around. Believe me, kids don't go looking for the old "skulky" guy in the corner, they make a bee-line to the person that makes them laugh, is full of life and spends time with them.

My youngest son is a precious gift that God gave us (so is my oldest) and one of the little things that makes me smile during this time of year is that he wears a droopy little Santa cap around...even in public! At 11 years old, it shows me how confident he is with himself, but it also reminds me of how much fun he is and that one little gesture gets me more in the "Christmas spirit" than just about anything else.

"Pin me down, show me how"

2006-12-04T09:22:00.000-05:00

"Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint;
O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony.
My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long?
Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. "
Psalms 6:2-4

It's comforting to know that someone as mighty as King David felt like I do now. Sometimes I just want to know what God has planned for me..."my soul is in anguish. how long, O Lord, how long?". I lose patience and I yell at the sky "what do you want from me?!, stop dropping barriers in front of me!!" Later, when I step back and think about it, I wonder if God is more concerned with teaching me patience than I want him to be. Maybe I'm really going to need to have patience down the road. Maybe I really need it now.

Maybe he is teaching me humility. He knows my deepest thoughts, even before I think them, he understands how I am going to react to what is happening around me. I find myself literally battling my own thoughts, I give them up to the Lord, I ask him to take the selfish thoughts away because I can't do it alone. It just wears me out.

Is there some way to work through my thoughts in a positive and uplifting way? Can I turn what is happening around me into something good? Only if I let go and give God the reigns of my heart. The process of handing those riegns over saps me of my energy, the battle within me is big. I don't want my emotions to control my life anymore! Yet my emotions are part of who I am...

Its' all very confusing.

Here are the words from another "David" (Grohl).

A little bit of resolve is what I need now
Pin me down, show me how
"Resolve", Foo Fighters

"Ain't gonna be no rematch."

2006-12-03T22:38:00.000-05:00

Apollo Creed: "Ain't gonna be no rematch."
Rocky: "Don't want one."

"Don't want one"...that's what the BCS pollsters said today...

Let's review the highlights of the last few weeks...

Ohio State is ranked 1st, Michigan is ranked 2nd.
Ohio State beats Michigan in Columbus by a mere three points allowing 29 points.
Michigan remains in 2nd place. Most analysts are soundly convinced that OSU and UM are the two best teams in the country.
Lots of discussion about Michigan, USC, Notre Dame and Arkansas playing OSU
USC takes over the 2nd spot in the BCS after they beat Notre Dame at home (which UM beat at ND), Florida is a distant 4th place in the BCS. Everyone assumes USC will win out and play OSU for the national championship.
USC and Arkansas both get beat.
Michigan and Florida move up one spot each taking over #2 and #3 respectively...

Oh wait, this is the BCS...things are not supposed to make sense. In the magical, fantasy world of the Bowl Championship Series Florida, jumps over UM to take over the 2nd place spot and play for the national championship.

Translation...

No one expected USC to get beat by UCLA, so they put Michigan in the 3rd spot because in their hearts they knew that OSU and UM were still the best two teams in the nation, but it made sense for USC to play OSU for the national championship. When USC lost, they said "Uh..oh, even though UM is really the 2nd best team in the nation it wouldn't be good for the BCS to have two teams from the same conference play a rematch for the national championship game. So...
They looked around and said, who's closest...Florida! So, a bunch (just enough) of those pollsters that had put UM just behind USC the week before VOTED AGAINST A REMATCH and moved Florida up to 2nd. It wasn't a mandate FOR FLORIDA, but AGAINST A UM / OSU REMATCH.

What a joke.

Well, there's still one more game left for each team and when UM beats up USC and OSU beats up Florida, then we'll end up with...drumroll...OSU #1 and UM #2...back where we started!

We really need a playoff system.

P.S. Let me make one thing clear, I think Michigan had their chance to play in the national championship game, they just had to beat their bitter rival on the road and by the way that rival is the best team in the country. They almost did it. My beef is that nothing on the field happened on Saturday should have resulted in Florida moving up over Michigan.

By the way, standing shoulder to shoulder with those that do not want a rematch are those in Ohio (check the ESPN polls)...and can you blame them? If I were an OSU fan I would rather beat up on Florida than give UM another chance to beat them on neutral ground.

More fuel:
"People can debate forever whether the Wolverines deserved to play in the BCS title game instead of Florida, which landed the spot opposite Ohio State. But there's no debating U-M lost out for the dumbest reason imaginable, in the dumbest way. U-M fell in the rankings two straight weeks without playing a game, so let's cut through the garbage and admit what this was about. This was about too many people -- especially voting coaches -- getting squeamish about a rematch"..."This was the strangest, wildest season, so naturally, there had to be a controversial twist at the end. It was a turn you could see coming, as CBS commentators campaigned shamelessly while Florida was beating Arkansas 38-28 in the SEC title game Saturday night."..."U-M's only loss was by three points on the road against the undefeated No. 1 team. Florida's loss was by 10 points at Auburn, which finished with two losses. So yes, if the point of the BCS title game is to match the two best teams, regardless of conference affiliation or previous meetings, there's a decent chance the voters got it wrong. But if the unspoken point of the BCS title game is to match the two most deservingteams, it's hard to argue too vigorously against Florida. Bob Wojnowski's from "U-M Denied"

The voters have spoken. Between Gator chomps, here's what they said:
Never mind.
Never mind what we did the last couple of weeks, voting Michigan ahead of Florida. We've changed our minds because, hey, we can.
Because the rematch thing suddenly became too real. Because when Urban Meyer politicks, we listen. Because we thought it was time to throw the embittered SEC a bone after stonewalling Auburn's national title bid two years ago.
We thought the Wolverines were better than Florida back in November -- and even though Michigan hasn't played a down of football since Nov. 18, we've decided that we don't think so anymore. We were dazzled by the Gators' work since that date: a seven-point victory over Florida State and a 10-point win over Arkansas. And we decided that Ohio State-Michigan was not in need of a sequel.
That's our story and we're sticking to it. Now if you'll excuse us, we'd like to put our fake nose and glasses back on and return to anonymity. These publicized ballots make us more accountable than we'd prefer. Goodbye.
Read the rest at Pat Forde, "Whining, politics, voting reversals part of BCS system"

One more..."Does anyone see the irony of (Urban) Meyer successfully lobbying about the unfairness of an OSU-Michigan rematch, when the only national championship trophy in his program's history came courtesy of a rematch in 1996 after a regular-season loss to Florida State? " Ohio State, Michigan prove to be class of Big Ten

Let's end on a very astute quote from Lloyd Carr:

"I don't think they (Florida) would have moved ahead of us if USC would have won the game,"

That just says it all. Florida's move in the polls had nothing to do with what they did, but what everyone else didn't want to happen.

Christmas Redux

2006-11-29T15:17:00.000-05:00

I'm enjoying my second Christmas season at our new Church and a year later I find myself somewhat more at ease.

A year ago I was riding a roller coaster of emotion during this time and as I was participating in our Christmas program at Church. One moment feeling great, the next feeling a bit guilty and overwhelmed. This year things are different.

I purposefully decided to limit my participation this year to singing in the choir; there are a few cool solos and speaking parts, but (unlike me) I resisted the urge to wildly jump in. I have already committed myself to working with the teen choir and between that and "just" singing as part of the choir in the program that will be plenty. I do not want to over extend myself like I have in the past. At first, it was a bit difficult, but once I made the decision and stuck to it, I have never looked back.

Anyway, I digress... This year I'm not hyper-analyzing all the Christmas stuff going on around me and once I stopped doing that it's making more sense. There are lots of reasons that it does, but one stands out for me. If this is the ONE TIME that someone MIGHT be influenced by Christians during the course of the year then what is wrong with making that one time special so they see how great our God is. All my life I have resisted this mentality as being "wishy-washy" and conforming to the world, but God tells us through the words of Paul...

"Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings." I Corinthians 9:19-23

What powerful words! Paul reminds me that it's not only OK to reach out to others "while the reaching is good", but it's our responsibility!

On an even more personal note, the teen choir is singing "Love Came Down" Sunday. It's a Christmas song with a bit of a twist. If you listen to the words they remind us that God sent his son, that "...love came down at Christmas time...". I used to lose the message behind the quest for the facts (Jesus wasn't born on December 25th), if I'm honest with myself and remove the glasses, I can see that for what it is...legalism. There it is, plain and simple, I have never thought of myself as a legalist...

Now, when I hear those words, sung by some of our teens, I just get goosebumps.

CFB 2006

2006-11-28T13:50:00.000-05:00

My favorite spectator sport is and always has been College Football, it has only been in the last 10 years or so that I really cared about the NFL very much. Lately, I've been wasting brain cycles wondering which (in my mind) are the top 20 college football programs of all time.

The list below represents what I consider the 20 overall best college football programs of all time up to today. The criteria? You want criteria? Well, basically they have to be great football programs and considered as such throughout the country. They play tough teams every year and are consistently in the top 25.

Alabama - "Bear Bryant", great program even if they are experiencing some rough water now.
Army - Who doesn't love Army and Navy?
Auburn - Always dangerous and their fans are crazy...
Florida - Gotta have a couple Florida teams in here, this is one.
Florida State - For my money, the best Florida team.
Georgia - the bull dog, a lot of history, steeped in tradition.
Michigan - the "Big House", Bo, the helmet...should I go on?
Michigan State - Often neglected, of late, but 7 national championships...
Navy - Who doesn't love Army and Navy?
Nebraska - In a state with no professional sports, Nebraska football is it...
Notre Dame - One of the best college teams of all time, best fight song, traditions...
Ohio State - Woody Hayes, "the Shoe", and who doesn't love a team named after a nut?
Oklahoma - Great traditions, national championships, heismans...what else do you want?
Penn State - Jo Pa, Happy Valley, great tradtions, great program.
Tennesee - "Big House-wanna-be", Orange, "Rocky Top", rabid fans...
Texas - "Hook 'em Horns", great program and one that's good almost all the time...
USC - the one in California (South Carolina fans think they are USC), great program
Virginia Tech - No one seems to want to play these guys...
Washington - Not been great of late, but overall a powerhouse...
West Virginia - Up and down, but a team that seems to get a lot of press, they are good...

I'm not going to pick a number one because (for me) it's obvious, but it would be completely and totally biased...

Honorable mentions:
South Carolina (USC to those in SC) -once you get a look at this program, they love football in SC
Clemson - a good program, no one wants to play them at home.
Texas A&M
LSU
Miami
Wisconsin

Meeeeechigan!

2006-11-16T15:30:00.000-05:00

I feel compelled to say something about the current craziness...

I am a die-hard, maize & blue-blooded, lifetime U of M fan. I think my mom piped in "Hail to the Victors" in her womb. (BTW, there is only ONE U of M and that is the University of Michigan, any other U of M you may see are mistaken)

My childhood is filled with fall Saturdays watching Michigan on TV. It was cool outside, me and the neighboorhood kids had played football until gametime and then the streets emptied. Mom had a pot of chili on the stove and we gathered around the TV and yelled and gasped and watched. Great fun.

There's not a lot about those days that I really, really miss, but that's one of them. Now, I live in basketball country and football is just not the same here. They try, but they just don't get it. In my hometown, on Friday night we walked to the High School game, then watched Michigan on Saturday and just kept going (let's not talk about the Lions).

Michigan is on the cusp of arguably the biggest game in the history of it's existence...and that is saying a lot. Every year there is always a game or two that are huge...this is gargantuan. The biggest rivalry in college sports, and arguably in American sports pro or college - Michigan / Ohio State and now they meet as two unbeaten teams #1 vs. #2 (only because it would be all but impossible to have a tie in the polls). The winner gets to go the the championship game, the loser gets to go to...The Rose Bowl?

Wow! For most of my life, the goal of any Big Ten team was to play in The Rose Bowl, that was the prize. Bo didn't care about anything else (of course it would have been nice if he had won a few more). Now the loser gets it. That's irony...

I have seen way too many of these games to bet on either team because anything can happen. When this game comes around you throw away stats, schedules, charts, polls, talking heads, sports casters, records...everything. A 1-9 team could beat the other in this game and consider their season good...in fact the 1-9 team usually has nothing to lose and does just that. You can listen to all the analysts talk all week (I have) and it means squat. Anyone that makes a pick is just throwing dice.

There is something almost magical about this game each year, it defies logic and makes people crazy. It's a blast and I will hold my breath until the last second ticks away on the clock.

Go Blue!

Music Quotes I

2006-11-13T14:52:00.000-05:00

Some of my favorite music quotes:

"I'm not alone cause the TV's on yeah. I'm not crazy cause I take the right pills everyday." "Bleed American", Jimmy Eat World.

"The more that things change, the more they stay the same." "Circumstances", Rush

"This time is gonna be the last time. The last time again." "The Last Time Again", Lit

"The very worst part of you...is me" "Lying From You", Linkin Park

"Baking potatoes, baking in the sun!" "Rock Lobster", The B-52's

"There goes my hero, watch him as he goes. There goes my hero, he's ordinary"
"My Hero", Foo Fighters

"All puffed up with vanity. We see what we want to see. To the powerful and the wise. The mirror always lies" "War Paint", Rush

"To go back to where I was would just be wrong...I'm pressing on." "Pressing On", Relient K

"The ones we wish could hear us have heard it all before." "Peacable Kingdom", Rush

"Life is a day that doesn't last for long..." "Gone", Switchfoot

"Many miles away, something crawls from the slime...from the bottom of the dark scottish lake..." "Synchronicity II", The Police

"Atomic lazers falling from the sky...where's my umbrella?!?!" "Channel Z", The B-52's
"They cut you in half with a gun, and they give you a band-aid..." "Killer in the Home", Adam and the Ants

Journey

2006-11-05T23:24:00.000-05:00

If our life on earth is a journey of thousands of steps toward the final goal of spending eternity with God, I just hopped, skipped and jumped...

Thanks Shaun and Charlie...

State of the Onion - Clapping

2006-10-31T15:14:00.000-05:00

OK, so things are different now... As I look back on past blog entries and think back on how I used to think and feel things just feel different, look different...ARE...different.

Different ME, same God.

I have come a long way and thank God for that. I have held on to his hand as he has guided me through landmines and fields full of sunflowers. Over the course of just a couple of years time (actually less) I have taken some gigantic steps in how I view a lot of things, I just want to talk about one of them today...actually just one part of one of them.

I love worshipping at our new Church, as I have mentioned before, I never look at my watch, I often get goosebumps, I usually walk out hoarse and I almost always feel better afterward than I did before. Some of the things I have had to "get used to" are (in no particular order):

A full band...actually much easier to do than I thought.
Crazy lights...still warming up to those, but no harm no foul.
Being distracted by people near my jumping up and down from excitement...that's one of those things that sometimes bothers me and sometimes does not.
Trying to figure out the fine line between "performance" and worship...it is a fine line and it's one of those things I'm still working on. It has a lot to do with the heart and since there is no "heart indicator light" on people it can be difficult to know where they are coming from (other times it's really easy - both ways).

However, there is one little thing...and let me make this clear, it is a little thing...that I don't think I'm going to get over for awhile...if ever.

The need people feel to "applaude" after every song. To me, it's almost like, "hey we did a great job with that song, let's give ourselves a hand!". The other thing I hear is "let's give God a hand!"

Let's deal with each of these one at a time, because, although I think they are closely related, they are not entirely the same. The thing where we interrupt a great worshipful moment by automatically applauding is just not doing it for me. I guess I just don't get it, if we go to great lengths to make sure everyone understands that our worship time is not "entertainment time" (although it CAN be fun!) why do we resort to clapping between each song as though it was performed beautifully? I mean we just got through telling God that he is an awesome God, that we love him, that he is everything to us and we said it through a beautiful song (the way he asked us to) and now we have to clap? I just don't get it. Can't the song just stand on it's own? For me, the clapping cheapens it.

The other thing about "let's give God a hand...", well I honestly, can't say there's anything wrong with that. It's just another way to praise God...it still feels a bit weird. I seems to me that newer Christians and visitors may not see the difference between the two since we seem to clap between all the songs, the part where the worship leader says "let's give God a hand..." gets lost in the shuffle. However, out of the two, this one has some "teeth"...

Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.
How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!
Psalms 47:1,2

The thing that's hard for me is to stand there NOT clapping while everyone else does... That's MY problem...not theirs.

Another Lesson Learned part 2145b

2006-10-30T09:31:00.000-05:00

I told my mother-in-law last night as I was walking away to head home, that "I want to learn something new on the day I die". All I mean by that is that I don't ever want to stop learning...continuous improvement. There is always something I can learn from someone, and if I stop and listen...really listen I can hear those things from all sorts of places.

Lesson 2145b:

"I have the ablilty to change my own mood...even when I am really mad, or really depressed."

Most of my life, I have relied on others to help my mood. As a human, it's not only reasonable that this would happen but sometimes necessary and other times good...other times bad. However, even when someone is really frustrating me I CAN CHOOSE to cast it off and focus on important things...even when my raging emotions are screaming NO!!! We want to be mad, we want that person to understand the pressure they are exerting, we want to be heard, we want justice! (OK, that's a bit extreme) But, you get the point.

I am learning a way to combat these emotions, it's primitive...it feels like I'm throwing rocks and sticks at them, but it's effective. Not unlike an outnumbered army that has one superior weapon...determination. We are going to win or we are going to die trying! When the larger foe gets lulled into a sense that they can win at will (because the ALWAYS have) then they have given the person on the other side of the battlefield a deadly weapon.

For me, it just means that I have to continually tell myself that I WILL act and feel the way that I want to...not the way that my raging hormones and my mouth want to. It takes persistence and more than one "battle", but it's possible and with God's help I can do it.

When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. James 3:3-6
I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Phillippians 4:13

Web Purism I

2006-10-29T22:41:00.000-05:00

For those few of you that read this blog on any regular basis, I am about to tackle a subject that you probably won't care about. However, for me it's reached critical mass.

You may or may not know that I am, by trade, a web developer. My "specialty" is web applications; web sites that do things (not just look pretty). I have been working in IT since the mid 80's and building websites since about '94 or '95 when I built my first website using straight HTML and no web design software (just good 'ol notepad) for a Church. Since then I have done some really cool stuff that's displayed on a web browser. I really enjoy it, it is a great release of creativity and also pays the bills.

Over the course of the last 10 years, a lot has changed in how I work, what I use and what I can do. However, I want to address an ugly trend in the web world that is driving me crazy.

Back in the late 90's Microsoft won the browser wars by crushing Netscape like a bug. You may not like that it happened, but happen it did. You may think that Microsoft used it's leverage as the provider of the most popular Operating System on the planet to get this done, but it still happened. That is history.

I believe this was (is) a good thing. It "standardized" the world of web development and site display for quite a while. I have worked for a number of companies in the last 10 years and ALL of them mandate that not only their Intranet "browsers" (the employees, not the software) use Internet Explorer, but that any clients that want to use their mission critical applications use it also. No support for other browsers...period. If you call our support desk and we find out you are using another browser we just tell you to open the browser that came with your computer. In fact, they have all mandated that our clients use a minimum VERSION of IE (usually 5.5 or above).

Why would we do this? The reason is pretty simple. It's obvious and correct.

It costs too much to do otherwise.

Lately, I have read some really unrealistic people spout off on message boards that are telling newbie developers that they need to be developing their websites and web apps against FireFox or some other newer browser and when they are done go back and "kludge" it to work with IE. This is really ridiculous...actually ignorant. It comes from a "purist" attitude. The feeling among a small group of developers is that Mozilla-type browsers like FireFox are HTML standard compliant.

The truth is they are not...and even if they were...so what! The last time I checked, about 80%-90% of all hits on the web come from some version of IE. What purists don't think about are numbers...specifically numbers with $ signs in front of them. What they want you as business people that need websites and web developers is to pay a lot more to make sure that you can get to the roughly %15 of people out there that have installed one of these newer browsers on their computers.

What a joke! If I went to the business units that I work for and told them I wanted to do that they would laugh at me and I would lose credibility. Yes, cross-browser compatibility may be neat, but IT IS NOT NECESSARY. Every Windows computer that hits your site STILL HAS Internet Explorer INSTALLED ON IT. If it doesn't work with "Joe-Bob's Browser", then all they have to do is click Start, Internet Explorer and they are good to go. As has been complained ad-infinitim, short of hosing your whole computer, you can't get rid of IE on a Windows computer.

Purists, don't think about businesses needing to make a profit, they just want to show the rest of the world that they can get it perfectly right (in their eyes). In my eyes, right is a very subjective state that is based mostly on whether or not my client is happy and feels that they got a good value for the money they paid.

Just as a parting shot, I asked a recent client (who at first was trying to check out a website I was working on for them with some really weird Mozilla-based browser that I had never heard of) WHY she was using this browser...what was so special about it that she needed (expecting her to tell me some feature that it had that IE did not) and her answer was "because it's different". When I asked her to use IE, she said.."OK..." No problem. Since she really didn't care either way it didn't matter...to her. Of course, she isn't a web-developer purist.

Purists...wake up, get a big bottle of Mountain Dew and loose the attitude...think about your clients...they deserve at least that.

What? Me Worry?

2006-10-22T21:35:00.000-04:00

Isn't that what Alfred E. Neuman used to say? If I'm remembering right, Alfred is the goofy looking poster boy for Mad Magazine. As a boy, I used to ride my bike about 3 blocks down to the drug store across the street from McDonald's on Eureka Road (ah... another very remote hint on who I really am) to get the latest Mad Magazine each month.

This morning our preacher spoke about worry. He asked everyone to raise their hands if they worried...almost all hands went up. No embarassment here...doesn't everyone worry about something?

I am over 40 years old, and today I found out that worry is a sin! I never looked at it that way, but it's very clear.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink;
or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food,
and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do
not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Matthew 6:25-27

Christ spells it out plainly...don't worry. It turns out that the opposite of worry is faith, if we believe that God will fulfill his promises then worrying is like saying "I don't believe that you are going to take care of me like you said you would". When I worry, I'm sinning! Wow, I never thought of it that way...

So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What
shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly
Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:31-33

Sun Dreams

2006-10-16T14:42:00.000-04:00

At what point in life do you wise up and give up on those crazy dreams you had when you were young and thought you could do anything? Life beats down on you like the sun in the desert. It's beautiful and bright and full of life...over time it saps the energy right out of you. That same light that used to fuel your dreams now sucks the life right out of your body and burns your skin. You look for shelter...those that can find sufficient shelter can handle the the sun over the years, those that cannot find adequate shelter just burn and their strength fades as the sun beats down.

When do you stop looking for the oasis? When do you stop longing for it and let the sun take the last of your strength from you?