Disappointed

The Detroit Lions set an NFL record today by becoming the first team to ever lose 16 games in a season. They played hard all year, and were actually in a few of the games right up to the end. The Green Bay Packers went from 13-3 last season to being 6-10. Those would both seem like pretty disappointing things you know.

I have to say though that right now, the most disappointing team in the NFL is the Dallas Cowboys. Don't get me wrong, they finished with a winning record which is more than other teams did this year. The problem is that after watching them play today knowing that all they had to do was win and they were in the playoffs it was very discouraging as a Dallas fan to see how they played. They seemed to have no idea what to do in order to actually be competitive with the Eagles today. Honestly though, I should have known when at the start of the game the commentators made the statement that this was basically a playoff game between the two teams. The Cowboys haven't won a playoff game since 1996. I guess that should have been my first clue as to how the game would turn out.

The truly disappointing thing though about this season is not the fact that they missed the playoffs. The disappointing thing is that it should never have come down to this game today. This should have been a game that was all about resting the starters in the second half. This team is one of the most talented teams in the NFL, and yet they have underachieved much of the season. In all honesty they should have been competing with the Giants for the top record in the Conference . They really should have been 11-5 at the worst with the talent that they have. They have two top flight wide receivers, one of the best tight ends in the league, a good defense, a running back that was supposed to be one of the best runners in the league and a quarterback that is extremely talented. And yet in four games after Thanksgiving they went 1-3 and were unable to do what was needed to win the games and secure a spot in the playoffs. With the talent and expectations and talk of the Super Bowl (from the owner on down) it is the greatest disappointment in the league this season. To go from Super Bowl favorite in the preseason to not making the playoffs, well at least the Lions weren't really supposed to do anything this season (other than win at least 1 game). Something needs to change it seems. Hopefully they will get it figured out in this (now very long) off season. Peace and Love y'all.

Sorrow

I've been thinking about something a lot the last couple of days and wanted to write about it here. It is something that fills me with great sorrow honestly.

Monday morning I was reading an editorial piece in the New York Times online edition. The name of the piece was "The Disciples of Hatred, in Their Own Words and Images" and was about how "a lynching exhibition puts the civil rights movement in the context of the reign of terror that gripped black Southerners." The article talked about this exhibition of photos from a point in our countries history that were taken of lynching deaths throughout mainly the southern part of the United States ranging from the late 1870's to 1960.

This exhibition is to go on display most likely in 2011 when the Atlanta Center for Human and Civil Rights opens. Here is the thing about this exhibition, called Without Sanctuary, that really caught my attention and get me to check out what it was all about. The article mentions that many of these photos were sent openly through the mail as postcards. If you look at the website linked above, you will be able to see the photos that are to be a part of the exhibition. Some of these pictures were done by professional photographers and sold to people. This blows my mind.

I have known what lynching was for years, but to be honest I had never really thought about it until I looked at the Without Sanctuary site. As I looked at these photos over the last couple of days, I was filled with sorrow. It took me a while to figure out what the right term was for what I was feeling.

As I thought about it, it made me want to apologize for the things I had seen. Because even though this is not in my personal past (that I am aware of at least) it is a part of our collective past. There is no way for me personally to make any kind of restitution for what happened and yet I feel a need to do something. It makes me think of one of the chapters in Donald Miller's book Blue Like Jazz. He tells a story about he and some Christian friends setting up a confessional booth at Reed College in Portland, OR and when people came in to the booth, Miller and his friends made confession to and more or less apologized to non-believers for the bad things that have been done in the name of Jesus, such as the Crusades. Even though this was not part of their own personal history, it is a part of our collective history.

Seeing how lives were thought of as being expendable or less than others was horrible. One of the most tragic things to see in the photos was to see the children that were taken to see the results of these acts. Young men and women standing in the front rows looking on as people are brutally beaten, shot and/or hung. Pictures of men holding up their kids in the back of the crowd so they can get a better view.

The problem is that there were people who were supposed to be in charge of protecting these folks from this kind of thing and they could not or in some cases would not. The most recent photo in the exhibit was from 1960. 1960!!! Yes that was nearly 49 years ago, but still it was only 49 years ago. These kinds of atrocities were still taking place that recently. Granted I am able to look at this through eyes that see 49 years of progress and forward thinking, but I would hope that I would be able to feel the same way then that I feel now.

As I was thinking about some of this last night I was listening to a song by David Crowder. The song is called Remedy. As I listened I thought about how the only remedy for all of this is the Grace and Love of God through his son Jesus. That is the only chance we have of things being made right in this life and in the world. We must pray for God's Kingdom purpose and his Grace and Love to flow in this hurt and broken world and be the remedy for us. Peace and Love y'all.

What's in a Name?

Ok, so today is supposed to be my reflections on pop culture. There are some celebrities out there who name their kids weird things. But this one takes the cake for sure.

Last week Roni was watching The View. On there (in case you didn't know) there is a segment called "What The Hell." This is the time when the ladies deal with headlines and stories that make you say "What the hell?" It seems that a couple from Lehigh Valley, PA had a little trouble getting a bakery to make a birthday cake for their 3 year old son. The problem was that the bakery wouldn't do a cake inscribed with the boys name: Adolf Hitler Campbell. Here is a copy of the write up if you want to read it.

As I heard about this story and have read a bit about it since, I can't help but feel bad for the kid. His father claims that it is "just a name" and that they used it because of the fact that no one else did. You know I can dig using a name that is different, just look at my kids' names: Averi, Aspen and Knight. There are some names though that are just synonomous with bad things. That would be why they aren't popular names. Some names you don't hear -ever- would be: Adolf Hitler, Judas Iscarriot, Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, Benedict Arnold or Napoleon Bonaparte.

Now while these names don't mean that a person will actually end up being like their namesake, there is a reason that they are not used. Can you imagine being saddled with a name that people automatically associate with hate and acts of violence? Or to have your name associated with betrayal? Yes a name is just a name, and the bearer may not be anything at all like the person it came from, that doesn't mean that people won't automatically jump to conclusions about who they are. It is my hope that these little children will not become something based on the names they have been given, but rather will be people who are different than what their names may suggest (also, they may want to consider legally changing those names when they get old enough to do so). Peace and Love y'all.

Football all Around

Wow it feels like it has been a long time since I last actually sat down here and wrote (maybe not for you dear reader, but for me). We had company in the middle part of last week and that is what caused me to miss a bit of time on here. I do hope you will forgive me.

So this is the day for sports. Couple of things to comment on here. First from the Texas State High School Football Playoffs class 4A. This past Saturday was the state championship game for all classes, but it is the 4A championships that have my attention. The reason is because of the fact that there were teams in each 4A title game from the district here around Quitman. First Sulphur Springs beat Dayton 69-49 to win their first ever state title. A friend of mine who is the assistant band director there told me that Supphur Springs punted the ball one time and fumbled it one time. Other than that they scored touchdowns. Secondly, Longview played in the other 4A title game. They lost to Lake Travis from Austin. The thing that stands out however is that both of these teams are from the same district. It would have been really cool for both teams to have won the title.

Amazingly, the Cowboys are still in the hunt for the playoffs. Even though they managed to lose (ugly style) to the Ravens in the final home game ever at Texas Stadium, they got all the help that they needed on Sunday and now all they have to do is beat the Eagles in Philly and they are in. They will go as the 6th place team, but hey, it could happen.

Finally three more things from the NFL. First, the Atlanta Falcons have clinched a playoff spot this season after going 4-12 last season. They had their star QB go to prison, their coach quit to go back to college with three games to go. They have had a rookie quarterback starting all season long. It has been incredible for them. Second, the Miami Dolphins have a shot at making the playoffs this season. They went 1-15 a year ago, and this year they are one win away from the playoffs. Again, incredible. Lastly, the Detroit Lions set an NFL record by losing their fifteenth straight game to start (which seems strange to say "to start the season" since we are one game from ending the regular season) the season without a win. Losing 15 in a row isn't something new. The Panthers did that a few years ago, but they started the season with a win. The Lions have now actually lost their last 16 games. The team has yet to win this season, and has a real shot at being the first team to ever lose all 16 games in a season. In a strange way, I find myself pulling for it to happen. Is that wrong?

Well that's it from here. I will get back on track this week, even with Christmas going on. Peace and Love y'all.

Family Hoe Down

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

This is how we get down in the Durham house here in Quitman. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about here. Peace and Love y'all.

Speeches

This video is awesome. I wanted to share it as it deals a great deal with some of our pop culture. Peace and Love y'all.

Jump

So I was noticing the other day that Levi's has some strange commercials. The one that I saw the other day was the one that inspired this line of thinking. Here is that particular spot:



Anyway just watching me made me wonder why it is that we even think about such things. I think it has a little bit to do with our Jackass style obsession with things. We like to see people do things that are crazy and especially guys do things that could cause them pain in particular in a specific area. I don't know why, but that seems to be the deal.

Anyway, I know the idea behind this is that "not everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time." Good way to portray that I suppose. It is the American way to be different and to be individuals in everything that we do. My question I guess is if this is always the best thing to do? I don't know, but I thought I would ask, you know? Peace and Love y'all.

The Big Game

So it was Cowboys and Giants last night on Sunday Night Football. To be honest it was a really good game, especially since the Cowboys won. The Giants were 11-2 on the season going in to the game last night which was the best record in the conference and the top spot for the playoffs. The Cowboys on the other hand were 8-5 and barely holding on to the sixth and final spot in the NFC playoffs. Just a few weeks ago, these teams met in New York and the Giants blasted the Cowboys 35-14. This week was different though.

This week what happened was that the Giants came to Texas Stadium and ran into a defense that was playing great. The offense of the Cowboys played good as well scoring three touchdowns and winning 20-8. The D sacked Manning 7 times and had two interceptions along the way. It was a great game for Cowboy fans. It helped to improve their playoff standing and brought the Giants down to a tie for the top spot.

The biggest story though had very little to do with the actual game that was played. It had more to do with the other "game" that was going on with the Cowboys in the week leading up to last night. As I'm sure many of you know, there were reports of Terrell Owens expressing his displeasure with some things that were going on. The reports said that he was jealous of starting tight end Jason Witten because Witten had more receptions than him. A source claimed that Owens said Witten and Romo, who are good friends and road roommates, were holding "secret" meetings, excluding him, and drawing up plays that they could use in the games. There was a report as recent as Friday that Owens and Witten had a heated exchange and had to be seperated. All of this was what led up to the game last night.

Then after all is said and done, and the game is played and the Cowboys are victorious, TO claims that everyhing that has been said and reported this past week were all fabrications and made up. That's right, ESPN, The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and various other news organizations got together and created a story and invented sources and blamed it all on TO in an effort it would seem to make him look bad. That right it was all nothing, a smoke screen to take the focus off the game.

Romo however, even though he didn't confirm the reports, didn't deny them either. You were left with the impression that there was something that had happened. Personally I would be more inclined to believe what Romo says due to the fact that TO has a history of this kind of thing with his two previous teams. Regardless of who's side you take, who you choose to believe (and the fans seem to think that Romo is the one to believe as evidenced by the multiple times they booed TO) it was still actually a good game. Peace and Love y'all.

Gotta Be the Shoes

Ok, so I was watching the Texans this afternoon. It was actually a really good game as they were able to pull off a big win over the Titans 13-12. They have won four in a row now, and seem to be finally living up to the expectations that so many people had for them at the beginning of the season.

Anyway, that is not what has me writing this rare Sunday blog. No that would be the news report that came on right before the start of the second half. Here is a video of the report involving President Bush:



Really, after about the 16-17 second mark I'm not sure how interesting this video really is, but at that point it's pretty interesting I think. Now in the Middle East throwing a show at someone is a grave sign of disrespect, and I can understand that really. Still, not really what you are expecting to see coming your way. I'm just reminded of the scene near the end of the first Austin Powers movie.

Beyond that it's just kind of funny to see happen. What would the media have reported had the show clocked him in the noggin? "Well this is just another reason why Bush was unfit to run our country. He can't even dodge a shoe thrown from 25 feet." I do wonder where the Secret Service was in this. I mean if you watch the video it's not like the guy was being that sneaky about it. He got a bit of a start at Bush down the aisle and heaved the shoe. Not like he was sitting and flung it from a seated position and it was hard to tell who was responsible. I guess that they just aren't really expecting to need to be ready for an immediate response to a flying shoe. In the end the President was able to report that the shoe was a size 10. Peace and Love y'all.

Growing Up

So I was thinking about some things the other day concerning adulthood. You know how there are things that you did as a kid (pre-Jr. High) that now as an adult you just really don't do anymore...and for good resaon; some of these things would cause people to talk about you in those "hushed" tones and behind a hand. So I decided that my top 10 tonight would be some of these things. So without further ado, here they are.

10) Have a regular bedtime- I'm talking about one that is enforced mainly. I realize that many people do have a bed time since they have to be at work early, but as an adult there aren't too many who someone there to enforce that for them.

9) Play outside for hours on end- Now we are too tired from working all day to go home and just play outside until it is dark or time for supper.

8) Have "Good clothes" and "Play clothes"- I remember having to change out of what I wore to school everyday first thing before I could go out and play.

7) Have sleepovers- Remember the days of inviting your friends over to have a sleepover? You would stay up late and watch TV and tell stories and play...whatever you played...and then finally go to sleep. Man those were the days. I remember one such time that we were at Justin's house and thought we could be really sneaky and go from the couch (against the far wall of the living room) around the island with the stove (closest to his parents' room) and not get caught, even though we were supposed to be going to sleep. We made it a few times before his mom came out and caught us.

6) Watch Saturday morning cartoons- Maybe it's because all the cartoons now seem to suck on Saturday morning. Why would you want to get up early for these? I guess I'm just old and biased, but the cartoons on Saturday morning when I was a kid were awesome.

5) Play games like tag, chase and hide-and-seek- For some reason those games were awesome. We would run around in the front yard or on the playground at recess and just play.

4) Sleep in your parents bed- You know like if you woke up in the night from a bad dream or because there was a storm or something like that. The place that you wanted to be was in the bed with Mom and Dad...usually right in the middle.

3) Pass notes to the "special" someone- You know the kind I'm talking about. Dear so-n-so will you go out with me? Check one. Then there were the big boxes usually just two-Yes and No- but sometimes with that third option of Maybe. Really glad I get over that one.

2) Wear the same clothes for days on end- Okay granted this was mainly just in the summer. But come one, it was such a hassle to have to get up in the mornings and pick out new clothes when there was a chance you had just slept in the ones you had on the day before anyway. By the time you actually changed they were more or less able to walk themselves to the hamper.

1) Bathe only once a week- Yes I remember being one of those kids who did this in elementary usually in the summer once again. We would take a bath on Saturday night so we could be ready to go to church the next morning. Yeah, hard to believe that was the case now.

So those are the things that come to mind. Feel free to share anything that I might have forgotten here. Peace and Love y'all.

The Circus

This is going to be a more or less half and half blog tonight. By that I mean it's going to be about half sports and half random. It is all on the same subject, but that's the way that it's going to work out.

I was watching SportsCenter earlier as well as checking out ESPN dot com and one of their big stories is that T.O. is causing problems with the Cowboys. Let's be honest, this isn't exactly a surprise to most people who have ever kept up with his career. This has happened in both San Francisco and Philly with his quarterbacks. Now it's happening with Romo here in Dallas. The biggest surprise is that it has taken this long to reach this stage.

It seems that TO's problem is that he is jealous of Jason Witten. Witten, the Pro Bowl tight end, has more catches this season than Owens does. This of course upsets TO. He doesn't seem to think that there is anyone who should have more catches then he does. So now he is starting to complain and it seems is trying to divide the locker room. From what I read, not many of the other players are taking his side though.

It seems that what he doesn't realize is that when you look at targets this season, how many times the ball has been thrown a players way, TO is leading the team. He also leads in receiving yards and TDs. He has nine fewer receptions than Witten does. What TO needs to start doing to make up for this lack of receptions would be to actually CATCH THE BALLS THAT ARE THROWN TO HIM. That would help make up the difference. Just stop dropping the ball man.

The funny (sad?) part of this really is a part of the report where TO sounds like he's a junior high girl who is having a tiff with some friends. Here is what it is reported that he has said:

Owens feels that Romo and Witten -- close friends and road roommates who came to Dallas in the same offseason -- hold private meetings in which they create plays the two will use in upcoming games without including Owens in the conversations, according to a source who speaks regularly with Owens' teammates. Owens believes these discussions have worked to his detriment as Romo seeks to deliver the ball to Witten regardless of whether Owens is open.

Wow. How would they call those plays in the huddle? What about the other guys who are involved and need to know who to block, or what routes to run? It seems that maybe the coaches would notice if they lined up in a way that they had never seen before and ran a play that they had never seen. Two games to go (hopefully at least 1 more though after that) and then maybe we can be done with all the drama that is TO. Maybe next season he should be playing some where like Cinncinatti...he would fit right in there. Peace and Love y'all.

All A Part of the Plan

Have you ever thought about what God did this season? What he did with giving us Jesus. It's kind of crazy when you think about it. God sent his son to Earth in order that we could be reconciled to Him. It is incredible to think about you know. That God would want to be reconciled with us humans. Seems that it would have been easier to just write us off and start over. And yet that is not what happened.

Tonight we talked about this at 2Forty2. We talked about God's plan that was first revealed to us in the birth of a baby in a manger a little over 2000 years ago. It is incredible to me to ponder this.

What we talked about tonight though was how and to who God revealed this plan. He did it in two ways. First he used a star in the heavens to alert some guys to what was going down. The amazing thing about this is that these guys were Gentiles. They were not who you would think would be alerted to the birth of God's son. They were most likely Persians and from a priestly tribe much like the Levites were for the Israelites. These men were much like royalty. They were well educated and well versed in philosophy and natural science and astrology. They saw the star and knew that it meant something other than what they were used to seeing. We don't know for sure what it was that they saw...maybe a comet, maybe some planets. Regardless, they interpreted it as God breaking into our world with something important.

The other group that God revealed His plan to was a group of shepherds. These were the guys that people didn't really associate themselves with. These were the guys that were considered to be low lifes, thugs, thieves and liars. They were at the bottom of the ladder socially. It was to this group that God chose to reveal his plan through the announcement of the armies of Heaven. Not exactly the group that you would think would get the big fancy announcement.

We can take a few things from this however. First is that when we look at who God chose to reveal His plan to, it was a group of Gentiles and the outcasts. This is tells us that we have been a part of God's plan from the very beginning. Secondly, it tells us that God sent Jesus for everyone. Both ends of the spectrum and all those in the middle as well. Finally, it tells us that the way God reveals himself to us is different from person to person. God has no set way of showing up. It would be great if we could dictate how that would go, but we can't.

God has a plan and it involves us. He desires to have a relationship with us on a personal level, and he longs for us to know him deeper. That was the plan God was revealing to us those 2000 years ago. Peace and Love y'all.

This is the day!!!

So today is the day. I've been waiting almost 5 months for this day to arrive and it's finally here. This is the day!!! I can barely contain my feelings about what happens today. It's so exciting. Can you feel it? There is a kind of excitement in the air...an electricity even. Today is the day that Batman: The Dark Knight hits stores on Blu Ray and DVD. I want to run out to Movie Gallery and pick it up and watch it...over and over and over again.

This is a movie that made nearly 1 billion dollars in the worldwide box office. It is a movie that has had genuine Oscar buzz and saw Heath Ledger give an Oscar caliber performance as Joker. It is dark and it is big and it is worth watching.

It speaks to our culture in it's characters. We have those who desire to do what is good and right and needed. We have those who simply want to watch the world burn as Alfred says. It says that there are times that we must shoulder the blame even when it isn't really ours to shoulder. I think this is in part what made this movie so very successful. Peace and Love y'all.

Frustration

Well here we go again. Once again it's December and once again the Cowboys have found a way to lose a big game this month. That makes their December/January record 18-32 since 1997. In the last 11 seasons they have won on average of 1.6 games in December and January. They haven't won a playoff game since 1996. It's horrible.

Last night was just another in a long line of December shortcomings. Against the Steelers they were able to give up a 10 point lead in the 4th quarter to lose the game. This doesn't help their chances of making the playoff nest month. This final month of the season holds a brutal schedule for them, and they need every win they can get. On the remaining schedule they have the Giants (11-2) on Sunday night at home, the Ravens (9-4) at home and finally at the Eagles (7-5-1). With a loss to the Steelers yesterday, it is crucial for them to win this next three games if they are going to make the playoffs.

After a fantastic goal line stand where the Cowboys got a huge stop on 4th and goal inside the three yard line, they had to punt and gave up a 35 yard return to give the Steelers great field position and a field goal. The next drive also ended in a punt and resulted in a touchdown for the Steelers to tie the game. The drive after that saw Roma and Witten miscommunicate on a play that resulted in an interception being returned for the goa ahead and ultimatley game-winning, TD. Finally on 4th and 10 Romo threw a pass between 2 receivers, neither of which was in a position to catch the ball.


It's not just the loss last night, although it was difficult. It's the fact that the season started with such high expectations for this team. With all the talent that they have on either side of the ball it seemed that the playoffs and the first playoff win since 1996 was just about assured. After a fast 3-0 start, they started dropping games and are now just holding onto the final wildcard spot. I know that it sounds cynical, and in some ways it is I guess. I still believe we can make the playoffs, and I am a Cowboy fan, this is just a part of that fanhood. I still cheer for the Cowboys and I still believe. Peace and Love y'all.

Breakfast Time

So one of my favorite things is cereal. I dig cereal for breakfast, I dig it for a snack, I dig it at night. The thing is, it's basically all the "kid" cereals that I like. I'm not so much into the "healthy" adult stuff really like Grape Nuts or Shredded Wheat. Those just don't do it for me. So since I dig all the kids cereal, it made me think a little bit about all the weird "mascots" that these breakfast foods have. So here are ten that I thought were weird to be representing breakfast and breakfast cereal.

10) The Bee- I get the thinking behind it with it being Honey Nut Cheerios, but most people that I have ever met aren't really all that keen on bees.

9) Cap'n Crunch- Is he a pirate? Is he a regular sailor in the Queen's Royal Navy? And what's up with his eyebrows being on his hat?

8) The Chef- Does it really require a dude in a chef's hat to make Cinnamon Toast Crunch? Does it take a chef at all for cold breakfast cereal?

7) Lucky- This one makes a bit more sense seeing as how the cereal is full of items that are supposed to bring luck. Still...

6) The Elves- You know Snap, Crackle and Pop...three little elves who make Rice Crispies "talk" to us. Snap, crackle and pop aren't usually the sounds you really want to hear while eating, well anything really.

5) The Furry, Fluffy, Fuzzy Monster- This is the newest representative of Honeycombs. I just don't really understand him. Is it that this is what you're kids will act like if they don't get Honeycomb, or is it that it turns them into this after they eat it? Either way, I'm not sure I want that happening.

4) Sonny- Is Sonny a bird? I guess he is since he is coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs. Just saying...

3) Tuccan Sam- Another bird hawking cereal. Sam just loves his Froot Loops. I guess it's because they are brightly colored like his beak.

2) The Rabbit- You know I actually saw a commercial once where the Rabbit got the Trix. No lie. I only saw it one time, and it was a little girl sitting on the front steps and she gave him his own bowl of them. Regardless of who Trix are intended for, why is a rabbit the mascot?

1) The Wolf- Cookie Crisp has a wolf as their mascot. It is because of his howl I believe...Coooo-oooo-oookie Crisp. Yeah, he's still a wolf and it's cookie flavored and shaped cereal...go figure.

Anyway, I just thought these were some weird mascots for cereal and I wanted to share them with you. Peace and Love y'all.

The Overnighter

Some of you may have seen this already. If so then great. If not, well this is what it feels like sometimes to do youth ministry, in particular when it comes to that tried and true event that so many kids seem to love: the lock-in. Hope you enjoy the video and get a good laugh from it. Peace and Love y'all.

Hancock

Roni and I watched a movie last night. What we watched was Hancock. Now I'm pretty easy when it comes to movies. There isn't much that I don't think is at least ok, and to that end I have to say that I liked Hancock. I liked the idea of him being a superhero who it seems is all alone in the world and how that affects his mindset. I like that he is not Superman (although just as powerful) in that he is not "squeaky clean." I like that he is a man that has problems and has to figure out what he is doing with his life. In other words, I like that he is a mess.

As we watched, I started having thoughts about the movie as I am prone to do. I started thinking about how there were things that I found that could be related back to a relationship with God. I started paying attention to what there was that stood out to me and I started letting these things form and now here they are for you (lucky you).

There is a line in the movie that stood out to me the first time that I watched and then again this second time (admittedly, I had forgetten about the line going into last nights viewing). It is a line from Ray, the PR guy trying to help Hancock get things figured out as they are standing in jail. Hancock has been brought up on charges for various things and turned himself in in an effort to recast his image. At this point he has had enough, and being the super being that he is, he's about to leave. Just walk out, fly away whatever. As he is headed for the door (who can stop a superpowered being really?), Ray confronts him. This is what he tells him (or it is a close approximation to it at least): "You have a calling ; you're a hero Hancock. And you're going to be miserable the rest of your life if you don't accept that."

Have you ever felt that way? That your life was just not what you wanted it to be? I know that I have. See I believe that we all have a calling on our lives that comes from and is inspired by God. He has something special designed for each of us in our lives. It may not be something that seems glorious all the time, but it is somewhere that we can serve Him and bring a bit of His light to a dark world. The key is that we have to accept that calling. Just like Hancock, we have to accept that there is something we are meant to do.

Hancock didn't wait to get his life all straightened out before he accepted his calling. His life was messy and he still made mistakes, even as he was attempting to follow his call. That is where our life may be. Just because we have accepted a call doesn't mean that life won't still have some messy spots. It doesn't mean that we have to get everything single thing spic-n-span before we start to live out that calling. Our job is to surrender to that call and begin living it out in our daily lives. We leave the cleaning up, up to the One who has called us. We will always make messes. The important thing is that God will always be cleaning us up, so long as we are turning the messes over to Him to be cleaned. Peace and Love y'all.

Find Me A Date

Have you noticed that we seem to be obsessed with finding that "someone" for our lives? I mean it's become a rather big deal now. There are dating websites on every page you click it seems. It has become a major industry to be a match maker.

We have eHarmony who wants to set you up with someone that you will be super compatible with. Then there is Match.com who's slogan is "It's okay to look." EHarmony doesn't just want to hook you up with that someone, they offer advice and tips for dates and dating as well. On top of that, they want you to pay them to do this for you.

A quick search also revealed others such as plentyoffish.com, justsayhi.com, dating.com, datehookup.com, udate.com, mingle2.com and dreammates.com. Wow. That was just on the first page of results too. I know here in my area there is cupidondemand.com as well (they have stupid commercials frankly). Everywhere you look, there seem to be ads about finding that "special someone." I get spam emails about it, I see the ads on Facebook and Myspace. On these sites though they are tailored to fit with what my profile says about me. So I see a lot of "Hot Christian Singles" and various other "Christian" date sites. Of course they ignore the part of my profile that says I'm married.

On TV we have shows like The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. There is the show Blind Date as well as Love Connection and The Dating Game. In the last few years we had the reality shows Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire? and Who Wants to Marry My Dad? What have we come to? What happened to people just being able to meet other people and go from there, or having friends, relatives or little old ladies from church try to set you up? We have now decided that it is something that is best chronicled and broadcast for all to see.

Here is my final opinion on this. I think that it can lead to misconceptions and wrong expectations for the people involved. Online and on TV people are going to put forth their best and not always reveal who they really are. I could be wrong, I've been married for 10 years and don't have to worry about dating anymore (at least not anyone other than my lovely wife). I just think it is odd that we as a culture have put such emphasis on this aspect of life. Peace and Love y'all.

The Big 12 South

So yesterday saw the latest BCS poll come out. If you are unfamiliar with this, it is the system that is used in college football to determine who will play for the national championship in early January. It is comprised of three different sets of rankings: the Harris Poll, the Coaches Poll and a set of computer rankings. These are all added together and the final numbers are what they use to rank the teams in order from 1-25. The top 2 then play in the National Championship game in January. This is how major college football works out what school wins it all.

This year the BCS was used to help determine something else before the final game will be decided. See we have one weekend of regular season college football to go. This week we have a conference championship games to play in at least three major conferences: the SEC, the ACC and the Big 12. In the Big 12, the BCS rankings were used to determine who would be representing the South division against Missouri from the North. There were three teams in the South that all had the same record, and all lost to each other: Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. By using the BCS rankings, Oklahoma is who will be representing the South.

It's messed up to me. Oklahoma lost to Texas. Texas lost to Texas Tech. Texas Tech lost to Oklahoma. This past weekend was when the South representative was determined. Oklahoma beat oklahoma State. They now get to play Missouri for the Big 12 title. The problem that I see with this is that Texas beat all three of these teams leading up to this. To be honest the whole thing is one big convoluted mess. The fifth tiebreaker was the BCS. In other conferences that have a championship game, if they have the same situation they take the two highest ranked of the three with the same record and they then go with the head to head result. That is then who is used to represent that part of the conference.

Maybe I'm wrong, but this seems like a much better system to use to determine who will be in the title game if there is a question like this. This way things are really settled on the field and the games really matter in the end. Just a thought. Peace and Love y'all.

Puckisms

So I have three kids for anyone who didn't know that. The oldest two are my girls and they are 6 and 3, and the boy is 1. The girls I call Boo and Puck. This is needed background information for the rest of this blog to make sense to you. Puck is a very funny little girl to be just 3 years old. The thing is she, says things that just make me laugh a lot of times. After hearing yet another Puckism this evening, I decided that I would share some of them with you in my Top 10 list for this week. I really do hope you will appreciate them as much as her mother and I do.

10) "I had a big worm poopie."

9) "I'm going to lay over this way so I can pick my nose."

8) "Airplane coming out my booty." (This is when she toots and you ask her what that sound was)

7) "Moma look! It's a big daddy poopie."

6) She has a headfore, a brush teeth and a roll bed.

5) "Excuse me booty." or "Excuse me mouth." (Toots and burps respectively)

4) "Thank you for Amen." (That is how she ends her prayers)

3) It's not yesterday, it's last day.

2) She tells us about when "she was a baby."

1) "Hello toot; come here toot; I love you toot."

Again these are just a few of the things that she says or has said. They are really very funny when she suddenly throws them out there to us, and we laugh (sometimes I'm not supposed to, but still). I hope you can appreciate these at least a little bit...especially if you have an understanding of it all. Peace and Love y'all.

DUCK!!!

So after a day of eating turkey and potatoes and pecan pie and watching football, the time has come to write for the day. First I want to say that I wasn't really shocked that the Titans put up 47 on the Lions, and also was really hoping for the Cowboys to score one more TD (man it was all about the Streak on ESPN). Regardless of all that I was glad the Cowboys were able to win their third game in a row. With a strong December, they will hopefully still get into the playoffs.

Anyway, with doing the Streak on ESPN, I was there making a pick and I came across something that caught my attention. It seems that on Saturday the World's Championship Duck Calling Contest will be going on in Stuttgart, Arkansas. This is what the contestants look like while participating:(Photos from ESPN.com and Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce)

These guys stand on a stage shaped like a duck blind, and do their calls "for crowds of more than 10,000 hard-core revelers" according to Steve Bowman's article on ESPN.com's Outdoor page. Up for grabs, should you be crowned the World's Champion of calling ducks is "cash, shotguns and an assortment of hunting equipment." Wow...seriously, wow. Now I know that there are some folks that are really into this, but it just sounds rather redneck to me. My biggest question I suppose would be how you judge this contest. I mean is there someone who knows how the calls are really supposed to sound, or do they judge it on the number of ducks that come waddleing up to each caller?

It's kind of like the Ro-Sham-Bo World Championship's in Las Vegas...although this does seem to take more skill and practice to be able to do successfully. Well good luck to all who are participating this Saturday there in Stuttgart...may you quack as you've never quacked before. Peace and Love y'all.

Heart Matters

So have you ever had the experience where you have read something quite a few times before, but then you read it one and you see something that you've never really noticed before? It's kind of like driving along on a road over and over and one day you happen to notice a sign on the roadside that you haven't seen before, but you know it was there the whole time. Maybe you don't, but there are times that you just get into such a zone with things being familiar that you don't notice things that seem obvious.

Here is where this is coming from. I've been doing a Bible study with a group of folks now for about 7 weeks. We meet every Monday night at 11:00pm on AIM and have a discussion about what we read the week before. We are now going through the book of Matthew and this past Monday we talked about chapters 5-7, or The Sermon on the Mount. This is one of the places that has all kinds of topics for very meaty discussion, so it was cool to have a group to be able to talk to about what stood out to us. As I was reading though, I came across something that I'm sure I have seen before, but not really thought about. It was something that I have thought about and talked about before with others, but there was something in it that I had missed in those times before.

In chapter 6, Jesus says three times in His teaching to do something in private, "and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you." (Matthew 6:4, 6, 18) Like I said this is something that I have known for a while, but I had not realized that it is mentioned these three consecutive times. This is probably due to my breaking up the chapter or only reading certain sections at a time. But this time around it stood out to me.

Here is the deal: the three times that Jesus says this it is as he is teaching on three disciplines- giving, prayer and fasting. These three things are ones that are easy to get attention for and easy to get a swollen head about. These are the things where it is easy for us to boast about what we have done concerning each; how much I have given, how long I pray or how long and often I fast. When we do them with that kind of pride, Jesus says, they lose their significance.

Think about it for a second. These are the areas of our lives that should be kept to ourselves. It should be between only you and God (and I guess the financial secretary) as to how much you give. God says that what he wants is a cheerful giver, not a big giver. Jesus reinforces this point with the example of the widow who gave all that she had in her offering, while the Pharisee gave only what he was expected to give, and made a big deal about it.

Prayer and fasting are the same way. God doesn't care if we use big fancy words, or polysyllabic words (in fact I don't know if that is a real word or not, but it seemed good) or even a multitude of them. He isn't concerned about how long we fast or from what we fast. What God wants is our heart. He wants us doing these things for Him, not for others to see and know about. And this seems to be where it is easy to fall short. When we do these things as Jesus instructs us, there is no glory in it for us here as far as other people are concerned. Instead all the glory is reserved for when we are with God in His glory. Peace and love y'all.

Thanksgiving Tradition

So tonight is the night that ABC will be showing the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Special. I have to admit that I have not seen this one as often as I have the Halloween and Christmas specials. I don't really remember that much about this one. I'm sure that it is as good as the others.

I picked this one to write about today for the simple reason that we have a Charlie Brown special for just about everything. There is one for Christmas (my favorite), Halloween and even Valentines. This is the thing that makes this pop culture for me. This character has penetrated into our lives to a point that these specials are being played on a regular basis even 40+ years after they were first created. That is what is amazing to me. These simple cartoons have had incredible staying power in our society.

So tonight why don't you take the hour from 7:00-8:00 and watch Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving Special...if nothing else it will lead you up to Dancing with the Stars. Peace and Love y'all.

The Beat Down

That's exactly what it was on Saturday night for Texas Tech and Oklahoma. Tech came into the game with an undefeated record, a high powered, high scoring offense. They were number 2 in the BCS and on track for their first Big 12 South championship, and a spot in the Big 12 Championship. Then they went to Norman, Oklahoma.

For some reason, the Red Raiders didn't show up for this game. Their defense looked terrible- they couldn't stop the run or the tight end- and the run game was pretty much run-lite. That left them with only the pass game and the Sooners seemed to know what was coming with every play. It got ugly, and it got there fast.

The final score was 65-21. You know, I hate that Tech lost, but I especially hate that it was to Oklahoma. Here's hoping that Bedlam will rectify the situation and that OSU will beat the Sooners. Peace and Love y'all.

Well the Weather Outside is Frightful

So as I sit here to write this at 10:05pm (I know it's later than usual), it is currently 34 degrees outside. It is late November and the cool weather finally seems to have arrived for real. With this comes the thoughts of what there is that is nice about these cooler times. So here are the Top 10 things that this weather brings to mind.

10) Electric Blankets- Now to be honest I haven't used an electric blanket in years, but once the weather gets cooler like this (at least for Texas) it brings back memories of growing up and going to Nanny and Daddy Bill's farm and sleeping in the bed with the electric blanket on.

9) Chili- In my house we eat chili whenever really, but it is particularly good when it starts getting cool outside. There is just something about that bowl of warm food that is awesome.

8) Hot Chocolate- Once it starts getting colder outside, there is nothing like a cup of hot chocolate. It is one of my favorite things to have on a cold day.

7) Jackets- I've always liked wearing a jacket once it starts getting cold. I can't really explain what it is about it that I like so much, but there is something about the look and feel that makes me almost look forward to the cold.

6) Toboggans- Again, they seem like they could be worn almost any time, but once it starts getting cold that is when I love to wear toboggans. Once again, I really can't explain what it is.

5) The Holiday feel- It seems that once the colder nights and days hit, that is when you really start to get into the mood of the holidays. There is just something about the cool weather that sparks something that makes me ready to get together with others and celebrate.

4) Turning on the heater- I know some of these sound crazy, but hey it's my list. I dig that first time that I turn on the heater and can use it for an extended period of time without feeling overly stifled by it, both in the house and the car.

3) The smell of fireplaces- I really dig the smell of a fireplace in use. It brings back memories of going to the mountains on family vacations and smelling the smoke in the air. There are few things like it I find.

2) Football playoffs- It is at this time of year that the football playoffs are getting underway, and this is the kind of weather that is just awesome for it. It just seems to fit.

1) Snuggling- This is the thing that I like. Sitting down on the couch with Roni and sharing a blanket with something to watch on TV is my favorite thing about the cold weather like this.

Well that's it. Those are the things that I dig about the weather getting colder and staying that way. I hope you are able to find some things that help you to enjoy the cold. Peace and Love y'all.

Worship Songs by Tim Hawkins

Here is another video by Tim Hawkins. Here he talks about our contemporary worship songs and corporate sponsorship in churches. Hope you get a laugh from it.

Love is the Movement

A couple of years ago I learned about an organization that was based in Orlando, Florida. I was at the Youth Specialties convention in Austin at the time and one of the freebies was a new magazine for girls. In it was a full page ad for the group To Write Love On Her Arms. I read the little bit of story that was part of the ad and then thought nothing else of it. It wasn't until a few weeks later that I really started learning about this group. The following video is an introduction to their story. I will warn you it does contain one "bad" word in it but it is a part of the context of the story, so bear with them.





The story of this group has captured my heart. As a youth minister, and as a father and follower of Jesus, this kind of pain breaks my heart. This is the pain and darkness that exists in our world. Personally, I have difficulty understanding since I have never had this experience, yet I know that their pain becomes His pain and my pain as well.

This is a story of love and hope, even through the pain. The Donald Miller quote speaks volumes to our job as followers of Jesus. We are commanded to love. It is that simple, and yet that difficult. We are to be the hands of Jesus, pressed on the wounds of this broken and hurting world, even when it seems that it is pointless. To love as Jesus loved is an act of faith obedience to the One who is the healer of our wounds. The question is if we will do it. Peace and Love y'all.

(To find out more and to read the whole story check out the To Write Love On Her Arms website.)

Wall E

Wall E came out today on DVD and blu ray disc. It's not a bad flick and in fact Averi and I went and saw it when it hit the theatres. I'm looking forward to watching it again in the comfort of my home.

In case you don't know, Wall E is the story of a little worker robot who has continued to do his job of cleaning the earth even though there was no organic life to clean for. Wall E does his job without hesitation and with a sense of purpose. See all the humans have left Earth and are now living on a huge space ship waiting to return to earth once it is determined that there is a chance that life can once again be sustained there. In their absence however, they have grown fat and lazy. They no longer do anything for themselves and have everything done for them. As I watched the movie I was struck by two things.

First the seeming commentary on what seems to becoming our state of mind as a society. The humans were no longer willing or able to do anything that required actual physical activity. We are now the most obese nation in the world and this is a fact that has reached to our children as well. Much of it is due to the fact that we have become a sedimentary group. We like to sit and watch TV rather than be out and about. We have cars that take us everywhere rather than walking and we eat foods that are rich in things that make us fat. I know that this doesn't apply to everyone, but it does seem to be a growing state of things. It is a sad state really.

The other thing that stood out was Wall E himself. He continued to do his job no matter that there was no one there to see, or to praise him. He did what he was programmed to do and he did it gladly (for a robot that is). It is the way that we should strive to go about our lives. Not everything is something that we should to be praised. There are somethings that we should just do because it is what needs to be done. As a follower of Jesus, we press on even when we it seems hard or nigh impossible to do so. In the end we know a reward awaits us. Just a couple of thoughts that stood out on the movie. Peace and Love y'all.

They Call it The Streak

There are a couple of things that I (and my wife) would say that I am addicted to when it comes to sports. These are things that go beyond simply watching games and ESPN and the sports page and things like that. Now I agree that these are all things that I do keep up with on a very regular basis, there are things actually beyond those. Call them extracurricular addictions if you will.

The first of these would be fantasy football. I started playing this the football season right after I got married and have been playing ever since. It is one of those things that has evolved over time too. It started with just a single league and an automatic draft. Over the years it has morphed into multiple leagues with friends as well as a couple of public leagues with random people. I have gone from auto-pick drafts to live drafts. The one that I haven't tried yet is the auction style, but we will see what happens with that as the years progress. This year I'm even doing a salary cap league.

I have done fantasy basketball as well. I have done both head-to-head leagues as well as rotisserie style leagues. I check each day to set my rosters and make sure that I have players who I feel are going to be best for my chances of winning. I have done baseball and hockey (once) and even one time there was a college basketball fantasy league. I once tried fantasy golf even. I have not done NASCAR, but who knows. I even did an XFL fantasy league the year that it was in existence.

There is also fantasy pick 'em games that I do. You pick the winners of the games each week and hope for the highest total of right picks. There is college pick 'em where you pick the top 25's games each week and work the spread. There is survival football as well where you pick one NFL team each week to win and hope that they do so you can move on to the next week. And of course there is the NCAA Bracket Challenge for college basketball each year. All of these are things that I have done now on a regular basis.

All of these have changed the way that I watch sports. No longer do I just root for a single team to do well and beat someone else. Oh no. No I now root for a team (the Cowboys and Spurs respectively) but I now find myself cheering on players from teams that I would never have cheered for before...all because they are on the starting roster of one of my fantasy teams. There is no longer Cowboy or 49er, Spur or Mav Ranger or Yankee, but rather they are all one on roster.

And now there is one more addiction that I have found. ESPN has a game called The Streak. Each day they give you a list of sporting events going on and you pick a winner. You can only make one pick at a time, but after your event is done, you can pick again if there are more on that same day. They don't just give you straight games either. No no, they add things in there like: Which side will record the higher total? Alabama touchdowns scored (against Mississippi State) or Kentucky winning margin (vs. Vanderbilt). Or How many total points will be scored in a game and then you point totals to choose from like 42 or less vs. 43 or more. And it's done with golf, and NASCAR and UFC and basketball and everything else where there is some kind of match up taking place. They even had one for the election. The goal is to build a winning streak. If you win 25 in a row by December 31, 2008 you are entered for a chance at a million dollars. If you have the most total wins for the month, you win $2500. It is crazy, it is addictive, but man is it fun to do. Peace and Love y'all.

Good Weekend

Well where to start with the sports related stuff for today. This was a good weekend for sports I thought and so there is more to write about than just one single game or team.

First Alabama remained undefeated and #1 in the BCS standings. Texas Tech stayed at #2 and will be facing off against Oklahoma this coming Saturday in a game that should be awesome really. Other than that, Florida totally dominated South Carolina giving Steve Spurrier his worst loss in his coaching career. LSU staged a huge comeback against Troy by scoring 30 points in the 4th quarter to win 40-31 after trailing 31-3 in the second half. Alll in all not a bad weekend in college football, even if there weren't that many big time games taking place.

Second Brock Lesner won the UFC heavyweight title Saturday night. I will be real honest, I don't care that much about UFC and MMA, but I know who Brock Lesner is and I think that it's impressive that he is now a legit heavyweight champ. He went for the WWE to trying out for the Vikings to now being the UFC champ. Not too bad.

Finally, there is the NFL. The Titans won again to go to 10-0 on the season. The Cowboys showed up and beat a tough Washington team. There was the first tie in six years as the Eagles and Bengals ended tied at 13. Then there was something that had not happened in the previous 12,837 games in the history of the NFL. The Steelers and Chargers ended with a score of 11-10 in the Steelers favor. What kind of crazy game must that have been?

Like I said, it was a pretty decent weekend in sports, at least in my opinion of things. Peace and Love y'all.

Top 10 Joes

So here is the continuation of last weeks top 10. Last week I gave yo my top 10 COBRA characters from the G. I. Joe universe. Again these were my all time favorite toys growing up (other than when we got a Nintendo). Anyway, we played with the figures as well as read the comics and watched the cartoon. To say we were fans might be an understatement. This list should probably be more fluid than it is seeing as how there were so many great characters and to be honest I can't remember them all. Oh and in case you are wondering about what it was that brought this on last week, it was the fact that these toys have been re-released in the last year and I would love to be able to collect them for Knight. Now, here is the list.

10) Duke- To be honest it took me a while to warm up to Duke. When we were kids and had his action figure or watched him on the cartoon, well, we didn't really like him. As I have thought about it in later years, I have come to realize that he really wasn't that bad and was a pretty good choice of leader for the Joes.

9) Recondo- The thing that gets him on the list was the fact that he was the focal point of a Special Missions issue early on in that series run and I really liked that issue for some reason. It showed what an incredible asset he was to the team. On top of that he had a really sweet Australian style cowboy hat that was tied up on one side and flat brimmed on the other.

8) Hit-n-Run- This guy was cool for some reason that I really can't put my finger on. He wore the dark green camo fatigues, a helmet with infra-red goggles on it, and had his face painted camo green. He also had a duffel bag with a rope and grappling hook. To this day, he is one of the ones that I will pick anytime I make an "elite" team of Joes.

7) Outback- Red headed with a bushy beard; camo pants and a white t-shirt with the word Survival on it (all the letters stood for something); a green Rambo-esque headband. These were just some of the things that made Outback cool. On top of that, he had a sweet gun and his arms were flippin' huge.

6) Spirit- The lone Native American Joe. Spirit was a tracker and came with an eagle as a pet. He was cool in that era because for some reason I always made a connection between Indians and ninjas. An Indian was just as good as ninja was in a fight I thought. Plus his rifle was made to look like it shot small arrows, like a crazy crossbow.

5) Gung-Ho- Ahhh the Marine. The guy was just awesome. He had an M-79 grenade launcher for a weapon, wore kind of an aqua green outfit and had the Marine Corp insignia tattooed on his chest. That and he had big frapping arms as well.

4) Scarlett- She was the original female G. I. Joe. She was from the South, had flaming red hair and carried a crossbow. On one glove she had two throwing stars, and on the other she carried a derringer pistol. The thing that made me like her so much though was the fact that she was a skilled martial artist and hung out with Snake Eyes.

3) Stalker- Stalker was just cool. Another one of the original Joes, he was an Army Ranger and had served with Scarlett and Snake Eyes in Vietnam. He wore a green beret and it always struck me that he would be tough.

1) Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes (tied)- These guys were just it man. I loved them both so much it was incredible. Storm Shadow started with COBRA looking for revenge on who it was that killed his uncle the Hard Master. He was trained as a ninja and he just kicked butt. He had swords and a bow and arrow (one of his figures did). On one figure you could see the family tattoo on his forearm. Snake Eyes has got to be the coolest guy ever. He was the strong silent type who never showed him face due to sever burns. He had a pet timber wolf named Timber and one of the coolest swords ever. He trained to be a ninja with Storm Shadow's family and has the same tattoo. Both of these guys were a big part of the reason that I not only collected but wanted to be a G.I. Joe.

Well that's it. Check back next week for a fresh top 10 list. Peace and Love y'all.

From 11 to 10

So Knight had his hand surgery this morning in Tyler. He went in at about 7:20 this morning and was out and we were with him in about an hour give or take a few minutes. The doctor informed us that it actually took a grand total of 18 minutes and most of that was the prep once he was in there. Overall everything went rather well.

The little man does have a rather large wrap on his left hand with only his fingers sticking out of it. Honestly it looks like a club, and I'm thankful on Puck's behalf that it isn't a hard cast...I just have a feeling she would be on the receiving end of a few shots if it were. He has done fantastic since he got done. He fussed a little right at first, but mainly because of the fact that the was trying to figure out how to use his wrapped hand. Since getting back to Quitman, he has be lowing and going and overall refusing to lay down and nap...such is the life of a 1 year old. Thank you all for your prayers and support. Even though it was overall a rather simple "procedure" it is rather frightening to have your baby being put under in order to do it. Your prayers were heard and are appreciated. Peace and Love y'all.

Nice Beard Man

So this is Sarwan Singh. That is his beard that he is holding. This picture was taken on November 11, 2008 in Surrey, British Columbia. Sarwan is attempting to get into the Guinness Book of World records for having the longest beard. His beard measures 1.895 meters or just over 6 feet 2 inches.

Here is another picture of it:
I'd be afraid that I would trip on it or something. I've had my beard pulled a couple of times when it starts getting long and it's not always a real fun experience. Anyway, this was on the front page of Yahoo! so I thought I would share it with as a rather random thing. Peace and Love y'all.

Say A Prayer

This is going to be really short and to the point. Tomorrow morning at 7:15 (in Texas, in case there are any readers NOT in the Central Time Zone) my little boy, Knight, is going in for some surgery. He will be having the extra pinkie on his left hand taken off in Tyler. This is something that should be done fairly quickly, but the biggest concern that we have is the fact that they will have to put him to sleep to do it. Knight just turned 1 on Sunday, so that is where our concern comes from. Please say a prayer for him in the morning if you think about it. Peace and Love y'all.

Monster Throw Down

I know I have already written a sports post this week, but I saw this and just really felt that I needed to put it on here. The quality of the video may not be great but you still get the idea of what is gong on.



Holy Crap!! Did you notice that he really wasn't on the way down when he got to the goal? That was stinking incredible man. Peace and Love y'all.

From Fishing to Following

So a couple of weeks ago I finished reading the book Searching For God Knows What for the second time. It is one of my favorite books and probably my favorite by Don Miller. The way he explains the desired relationship between man and God is incredible to me. He makes it easy to understand in my opinion is probably what it is, but still.

Anyway, in the book he tells about a conversation that the had with a friend of his one day. They were talking about the passage at the end of John where Jesus is walking on the beach with Peter and asks him three times if he loves Him. Peter responds with a yes each time of course. The first time that Jesus asks, he phrases it like this: "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" Miller's friend raises a question to think about here. What if Jesus was talking about the fish?

That is after all what Peter and the others had been involved in doing right before this. They were out fishing. This is completely understandable for them. Here they are a bit discouraged and at a loss as to what to do next, and so they do that which they know: they go fishing. Basically they go back to the routine of their lives before Jesus called them to follow him. So what if the "these" that Jesus mentions is the fish, and the boats and the nets and the work? What if that is what Jesus is asking Peter about?

Here is the thing: in our faith, Jesus is calling us to step out of our comfort zone. That is where Peter had gone back to. He went back to what he knew before rather than going on with the call. I'm not blaming Peter or anything like that. In fact I understand why he did it. He was confused and didn't know what else to do. He did what he knew.

And that is where Jesus found him and called him from. Doesn't that seem to be the way it is for us? We go to the things we know, the things that are familiar and there Jesus finds us and calls us out of it and into something greater. It's to fall back on what is comfortable and familiar at times. What is important is that we be willing to leave it behind when Jesus calls us to follow Him. That is where we put this faith of ours into action. Peace and Love y'all.

Obsession

Why is it that we as a people are so obsessed with celebrity? Really why do we care what they are wearing and doing all the time? Why is it front page type news when two celebrities are having a war of words or when they break up or get together for that matter? I really don't get it. I'm not saying that I don't do it at times, I just wonder WHY I do it.

Why is it that I care if President-elect Obama was playing basketball with friends just hours before the election, or what kind of dog they get or if they will use the bowling alley regularly there in the White House? None of that really seems to be that big of a deal to me. I don't care really that Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie are fighting over Brad Pitt (or whatever it is this time around). It is a junior high type of thing to me.

Why is it that our culture is so taken with athletes that we pay them more than we pay the leader of our country and then hang on what they do as if it were actually important? I understnad that this is entertainment and that we need to have entertaiment (at least to a degree) to keep from giong crazy. But what I don't get is why it is such a huge industry to try and know what is going on in the lives of people who are not in our immediate circle of influence. Maybe we should start paying more attention to those people and go from there. Peace and Love y'all.

The Jonas Brothers

So I saw today on AOL that there is a pop star from England, whose name I don't recall, that is taking a shot at the Jonas Brothers and their purity pledge. She has said that if they are virgins then she is a man. I don't know, maybe she's like RuPaul and is a man.

Anyway this is something that stood out to me today. The reason is because this is the second time in only about 2 months (give or take) that someone (from England in fact) has taken a shot at the brothers for taking a stand about remaining pure until marriage. I guess I don't see where it should be such a big deal.

Actually I think I do know why it's such a big deal to these people. What these brothers are doing is a bit counter-cultural really. In the eyes of the people who are taking shots at them, this is not the norm. If you are famous and attractive then by all means you must be sleeping around. It has become just another accepted part of our pop culture it seems. And now when some people gain a platform and take a stand against that, it becomes time to try and tear it down.

I for one applaud the Jonas Brothers for actually taking the stand and saying they are virgins and intend to remain that way until they are married. It takes some guts on their part to do that...because just because you have the platform to speak from doesn't always mean you actually do. Peace and Love y'all.

Guns Up

Man what a game that was Saturday night. Texas Tech came out on fire and just simply put a beating on Oklahoma State. And by beating I mean it was like they took them out behind the woodshed and whipped them with a belt over and over. It was rough.

The thing is, as ugly as it was for OSU, it was just as much a thing of beauty for Tech. Here is how it went for Tech in this game: on their first possession of the game they ran three plays and fumbled the ball away to OSU. Then on their next 7 possessions they scored touchdowns. Seven straight times on offense that resulted in a touchdown. Finally on their 9th possession they turned the ball over again and then on thier tenth possession they scored one last TD forgood measure. So two turnovers with 7 TDs sandwiched in between and one more after the second fumble just because they could. No punts, no fieldgoals, only touchdowns. Not a bad day really.

These weren't short, quick drives either. These were touchdown dirves that covered 80, 70, 97, 72, 48, 80, 96, and 74 yards. That is a lot of ground to cover every time. Seven of the eight drives ended with a touchdown pass. Graham Harrell threw 6 TDs and his back up threw the last one. It was overall a very impressive offensive performance for Tech. And the defense stepped up as well. They held OSU to only 20 points and forced 4 punts and 2 turnovers. This is the best D that the Red Raiders have played since Leech took over as head coach.

Say what you will, I think Tech deserves the number two spot in the BCS. They have played incredibly well this season...far better than I would have expected them to. The defense has played big and the offense has been firing on all cylinders. They are playing like an elite team in an elite conference, and that makes it all the more exciting to see. Peace and Love y'all.

Done

So I have been doing a play for the last 8 weeks or so. The play is called Smoke on the Mountain and it is a musical comedy set in 1938 in a small Baptist church in Mt. Pleasant, North Carolina. It centers around the Sanders Family Singers and their return to the Gospel circuit after a five year hiatus. I played the pastor of Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church and was the one responsible for bringing the Sanders in for a Saturday night sing.

The play has been an absolute blast to be a part of. I have had so much fun doing this and getting to know the people that were in the cast with me. What a great group of people to get to know and share this experience with. We performed six times and had great audiences each time we did it. Today however was our final performance. It was a fun time and the crowd was great.

It has been a fun and crazy two months. I will miss spending time with those who were in the cast with me, but it will be nice have my nights back for a while. Things like this are great to do and get to be a part of, and there is always the sadness of getting done after forming bonds with people in the show, and yet at the same time it is nice to be able to know that I relax and be home at night. Anyway, I just wanted to share that. Peace and Love y'all.

Top COBRA characters

The other day we were shopping in Sulphur Springs for Knight's birthday that is coming up. As I was looking at the toy (which I almost always do) I found something. In case you didn't know or realize this, G.I. Joe toys have been re-released in the last couple of years. These are the good ones too; updated with new molds and weapons and such. I am very excited about this and would love to be able to collect these to share with Knight as he grows up...you know that kind of father and son bonding thing. Anyway, here is a new top 10 list for you today. I am taking from my first list of toys and expanding on #1, which was G.I. Joe. So here for you to read over, a list of my top 10 favorite G.I. Joe characters, starting with the COBRAs.

The COBRAs

10) Serpentor- The totally created COBRA Emporor. When a few of the higher ups in the COBRA organization decided that COBRA Commander had lost it, they genetically engineered this guy from the DNA of past military rulers such as Ghengis Kahn and Alexander the Great. He had all the potential of being the ultimate leader...until he took an arrow through the eyeball in battle.

9) Wild Weasal- He was the lead pilot for COBRA. He flew the Rattler which was a pretty freaking cool aircraft.

8) Scrap Iron- This guy was evil and ruthless. He once climbed to the top of a telephone pole with a portable missle launcher and blew up a car holding an innocent driver, a woman, COBRA Commanders son, and the Soft Master (Storm Shadow's uncle). Now that's just cold blooded.

7) Fred- Yeah I know. It doesn't seem like a very bad dude with a name like Fred. The thing is, these were the guys who were the elite soldiers for COBRA. They moved them into neighborhoods to start the process of recruiting for the organization. That is how you build a terrorist organization it would seem. There was even one of the Fred's who took over as COBRA Comannder for a while.

6) Barroness- She was the lone female officer for COBRA. She was however divided between her loyalty to the organization and her love for Destro.

5) The Twins (Tomax and Xamot)- These two brothers were mirror images of each other. The only difference was the scar that one of them had (I confess I don't remember which one it was). They led the Crimson Guardsmen (the Freds) and were every bit as bad the guys the were in charge of.

4) Zartan- The master of disguise. Zartan was a mimic of uncanny skill. It was he who killed the Hard Master (Storm Shadow's other uncle) while trying to kill Storm Shadow. He could make himself up to look like anyone and was the leader of a group of bikers called the Dreadnoks. On top of that, he liked to live in the swamp.

3) Destro- This guy was all about the money really, supplying COBRA with the weapons that he manufactured. Mainly, he just sold to the highest bidder (like all evil black market weapons dealers do). The dude wore a chrome mask and later a gold one. It was a family tradition dating back centuries. Regardless of the reason, he was one bad dude whose face you could use a mirror to see how badly he had just whipped you.

2) Firefly- This guy was just bad. As a kid, this was the COBRA guy that we just loved. He looked flipping awesome and had a sweet bio. The guy was known for his ability to destroy things without detection. As his bio says, no one ever saw him go in or come out. That was what we loved about him...that and he looked like a ninja.

1) COBRA Commander- The top of the heap here. He was the leader of the largest terror organization that there was. He was a man that was so ruthless and cruel that he was ok with torturing his own son and killing him if need be...all in the name of power. No one ever knew who he actually was or what he really looked like. He wore the classic COBRA helmet, but with a full metal shield covering his face. When he was relaxing at COBRA HQ, or was addressing his troops, he wore a simple yet effective hood over his entire head with nothing but holes for his eyes. All in all he was a hardcore bad guy that always gave the Joes fits.

There it is. My list of the Top 10 COBRA characters. Check back next week for the list of my Top 10 Joes. Peace and Love y'all.

More Than Mere Words

If you are a guy...or just a human...you have probably had things run through your mind that you wanted to say that really you probably shouldn't. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about here. It happens all the time really. I have no scientific proof of any of this, but I would venture to say that this especially happens to married men. We just tend to say things without thinking first usually to our wives. I think that this video really speaks to this problem and I wanted to share it with you.




Just a few things to keep in mind. Peace and Love y'all.

A New Day

Here we are the day after the most historic election in our country's history. It is awesome to get to be a part of this day honestly. I always find it to be incredible when history happens and you can say you were there to witness it. In many ways this is the culmination of what so many people have worked for so many years. This is the culmination of what Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. started all those years ago. What an incredible feeling.

Now, I know that there are some people who have their doubts about how this is going to work out. I think in part the fear comes from the idea of change. I there are other things that people are worried about, but that is for a different time than this. This country is ready for change.

This is my day to write a faith blog I know. Honestly that's what this is. With the election of Obama in the books, I got to thinking this morning about this. Almost immediately a scripture came to my mind. That scripture is one that I have thought about many times and yet today it seems so very fitting. Here it is:

"Look at the nations and watch- and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." Habakkuk 1:5

Here is my view on this election. I was reading a blog yesterday on www.provocativechurch.com called "Election Test." This was a true/false test about the election. One of the things that stood out in the test was the question that went something like this: Regardless of what happens in this election, God is still in control. That is the big thing for me with this election. As a person of faith, what is important is for me to pray for God to use the person that He has placed in power. Romans 13:1 talks about how those who are in power are put there by God. We serve an infinitely huge God, so big there is no way we can ever fully understand or describe Him. So why do we seem to some times take on the attitude in situations like this that He has been knocked off of His throne?

If you have to see yourself as Job in all this, then by all means do that I guess. We are called to first be loyal to the Kingdom of God with loyalty to country as distant second at best. God is a God of change...He himself doesn't change, but He is all about changing us and our lives. God is bringing about a new day, not a repeat of the other day. In the end, God is still in control, the tomb is still empty, and Jesus is still our one hope of salvation from eternal death. No president or election changes that. Peace and Love y'all.

17 of 18

Do you have any kind of superstitions? I ask because of the fact that it seems that nearly everyone has some kind of superstition about something.

In baseball, there are pitchers who refuse to step on the chalk baselines headed to and from the mound. Guys wear the same cap for months on end without washing it, or will always eat the exact same foods on the day of a game, sleep in the same shorts, use the same blankets or lay the same way when they go to bed. At the University of Maryland they touch a statue of a turtle before they take the field for a football game; at Clemson University it is a rock as the take the field, and at Notre Dame they tap the "Play Like a Champion Today" sign on the way out of the locker room.

Fans will do the same kinds of things. We eat certain meals at games and sit in particular chairs; we don't shave and we wear our "lucky" jerseys to watch. We do all of this with the idea in mind that it some how effects the cosmos and helps our team to perform better. If it makes you feel better than by all means, go for it.

I bring all this up for a reason though. With this being election day, I got to thinking about a couple of things that I had heard concerning superstitions with this election. There was a Democratic campaign manager I believe in Ohio who has made sure to wear the same baseball cap and had not shaved in a few weeks since it seemed that Obama had a strong showing in the state which was different from the last two elections.

The biggest one that I have heard as of late has to do with the Washington Redskins. It seems that with the last 18 elections, when the Redskins have played a home game the Sunday before, you could determine the winner of the election by how the game turned out. In 17 of the last 18 if the Redskins won then, the party that was in the White House stayed in the White House; if they lost then the party not in the White House won. Well, the Redskins had a home game last night, the night before the election, and they lost. So according to the superstition, the Democratic Party should be on the winning end. Now, I can't say that this is something that is fool proof, after all there is one discrepancy in that record. So take it for what it's worth. Peace and Love y'all.

Today's the Day

Well today is the big day here in our country. This is the day that we find out if Kyle Orton will be out for a month or if it will be less than that for the Bears. Oh wait, that isn't it. Seems like there is something that is going on today though, something important. Oh that's right, it's election day here in America. This is the day we will choose the new leader for our country. Will it be Obama or McCain at the end of the day?

I'm going to tell you that this is a very important day in our history. Many feel that this could be the biggest, most important election ever held in our history. This is a big deal today. So if you are old enough, you really should be voting today. Schools should be allowing students who are of age to go and vote and not hold it against them as far as attendance goes. Employers should be allowing employees to do the same thing. We talk about the importance of voting, now we have to stand by that.

I will be honest with you here...I don't care how you vote actually. I don't think that voting for the Democrats will send you straight to hell and I know without a doubt that voting Republican will not get you into Heaven (or even that much closer to it). God does not favor a party despite what we may hear on occasion. The importnat thing is for you to get out there and vote. If you feel that Obama is the man to lead us into the future, then by all means vote that way. If you feel that it is McCain's time then vote that way.

I would encourage you to make your own choice about this though. If you pray, then pray about which way you should vote. If not, then look at all the facts and information and use that to determine which way you will vote. DON'T vote based solely on what someone famous has said about their candidate, or because of what the media says, or even because it is the way that your family has always voted. Exercise your own free will and freedom of choice and vote for who you feel is best.

This has been a long campaign. We have been hearing about McCain and Obama for what feels like ages, but the time has finally come. This is an important day, in our history, in our culture, in our lives. Be sure you do your part. Peace and Love y'all.