Almost a White Christmas

I was shaving my head this morning, thinking everyone else in the house was still asleep when my 5 year old son yanked the bathroom door open and exclaimed, "It snowed. I was the first one to see it. It snowed."

We live in a place where snow rarely falls so a snow, especially on a day when there's no school, is a great blessing. Both of my sons bundled up and ran outside to play in the cold, white morning. Maggie, the dog was equally excited. She ran around the boys, chasing them and eating snow. The divine Mrs. L was outside with the whole crew, taking pictures and laughing with the boys. It was a beautiful sight.

Thank you God, for my beautiful wife. Thank you for my healthy, happy sons. Thank you for our warm house. Thank you for the glorious seasons and their respective delights. Thank you for the wonder and joy of a snowy morning.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

We started Eat Week at the office. This is a company tradition of dubious value. It begins with an email from Janice, coordinator of all things edible and part time receptionist. The email outlines the dates and times as well as the opportunities for involvement. Many employees bring food items that they've made and others, known collectively as the Rat Pack, donate money to a fund that buys sloppy joes or Subway sandwiches. The conference room, typically reserved for large meetings and Executive Management Committee reviews becomes a buffet. The Crock Pots and the chip bags and the platters cover the table. Somebody makes cheese dip. Somebody makes those little white chocolate covered haystacks of pretzels. Somebody makes a bundt cake, which lasts only an hour or so. All in all, it's a glutton's dreamland and a dieter's nightmare. Somehow, this smorgasboard is supposed to make us happier employees. By some Christmas-time miracle we're supposed to be transported by the banquet. It never happens. By 11:00am we're all suffering from the crash that follows a sugar rush or we're full of carbohydrates and cheese dip and we can't keep our eyes open. There's no Christmas magic here. Only a heavy feeling in our stomachs and an awareness that we are stupid enough to eat anything that's put in front of us, regardless of nutritional value or metabolic need. We're sheep in desparate need of a shepherd.

Oh yeah... that's what Christmas is really about anyway. Joy to the world! Our shepherd has come.

Everyone loves a good stoning

Hey! The bandwagon is driving past. You're going to miss it.

Target Stores will not be letting the Salvation Army bell ringers stand outside their stores this Christmas season. They have made the statement that they do not allow other groups to solicit on their parking lots and in order to maintain their integrity, they must not allow the Salvation Army to solicit Target shoppers.

You know what happened next. The Salvation Army went to the media to let the story be told. They villified Target and they claimed that they would "lose" $9 million this holiday season. The talking heads have jumped on the story and most (all of them that I have heard) are criticizing Target for their Scrooge-like stance.

I may be the only person who likes the change. My wife and I give to many charitable organizations. We carry packages of food and water in our cars to give to those less fortunate than ourselves. I've never given money to the Salvation Army. I don't disagree with them or their works. I just happen to give to other organizations throughout the year. Therefore, the bell ringers are only an annoyance to me.

I wish someone from Target would remind the media of the millions of dollars that they return to the communities where their stores are located. I wish Target would remind the media of the opportunities to give year round. I wish Target would boldly stand up to the mob that's ready to lynch them for this decision.

I'm not a huge Target fan. It's a store. Just one of a long list of places I'd rather not be, especially at holiday time. But, I hate to see the public following the media headlines, gathering up stones to throw at Target. (It's not just Target... Jesse Jackson, the ACLU, Al Sharpton are all skilled at blackmail and extortion and have done their share of inciting mob mentality before today)

The mob comes together and builds an amount of shared anger about the injustice done. Mostly, they're happy it's not them. It's easy to hold the anger at Target, a large, faceless corporation. It's easy to say "I'll never shop there again." It makes the public feel empowered when a victim, I mean subject of one of these witch hunts finally caves in to public pressure.

I suggest that the populace be rallied to give of their substantial means year round. Stamp out hunger. Save a whale. Protect Mother Earth. Fund the fight against AIDS. Put your dollars where your beliefs are everyday. Make a plan. Don't just drop a coin or two into a red bucket each Christmas. You've got more potential than that. Do something meaningful in April, May, August, October... not just December.

A New House

This new house is not like my old one. This new house is bigger than my old one. This new house is more prestigous than my old one. This new house is more, better, greater and finer than my old house. But it's not like the house I've been promised. The house I'm promised is with God. The house I'm promised is in a place where the imperfections have been replaced with perfection. The house I'm promised is not built of wood or stone. The house I'm promised is not of this world.

Dear God,
Let me remember that this house, the wood and the stone, will crumble and decay. Let me remember that I can have no vanity in the house of this world. Let me remember that I need to build up equity in the house that I will inherit when I leave this life. Let me remember that I have a place in your houses and an eternity in your courts and no earthly house or it's possessions can get in my way.

Erasing God

I just read a story yesterday about a public school's rendition of the Thanksgiving story. It's absurdity is shocking. In an effort to clean every mention of God or religion or prayer from a holiday established specifically for giving thanks to God the school has made the story almost unrecognizable. On one hand, the Thanksgiving distortion is being read to the students in spanish, so as not to neglect any culture but the religious nature of the holiday is being completely swept away. Is that deceitful ommission not discriminatory against Christians and those who wish to give thanks to God?

This goes well beyond separating church and state. This particular instance rewrites history. Have your children read George Washington's declaration of the holiday as it was originally established. And give thanks to God for all He has done for you.
If you don't believe in God... you're welcome to hold any opinion here in America... good for you. I will not force you to come to my church or to pray to my God. But let's not forget that it was God fearing men and women who established this country. It was God fearing men and women who wrote the documents that give you the freedom of (or from) religion and it was God fearing men and women who have consistently given their lives to ensure those freedoms. Don't belittle their sacrifices by denying their contributions. Don't celebrate Thanksgiving if it offends you.

In the world of political correctness will we forget that George Washington was a white man? Will we rewrite history so that some of founding fathers were women and minorities? Will we only remember the person who sewed the flag and forget Betsy Ross? Will we only remember the person who crossed the Delaware and forget George Washington?

A belief in God is woven into the fabric of this country. Freedom to worship God (or abstain from worshipping) as each person chooses to do so is granted so that this nation's government would not have the power to enforce one religion or the other. Forgetting that the men and women who were instrumental to her creation were also prayerful, religous, pious and godly would be bad history.

Insurgent's Publicist is Doing Great Work

There's a syndrome or an affliction of some sort known as "white man's guilt" that is best described as overcompensation in regards to all things racial. There seems to be a variation of this syndrome in America today in regards to all things Islamic.

A US Marine is shown by NBC shooting an Iraqi insurgent. Apparently, such an inconceivable atrocity (sarcasm, since it's in the midst of war) makes it newsworthy. This choice by NBC should be seen in contrast with their decisions not to air the multiple videos of Islamic terrorists beheading US and British civilians. This imbalance portrays the US Marines as cold blooded killers rampaging through the streets of Fallujah murdering any Iraqi man they encounter whereas the Iraqi insurgents (to call them insurgents is generous) are portrayed as freedom fighters, struggling to match forces with a vastly superior US military. That view of these current events is only possible when the complete context is ignored.

I can read a single sentence of any great book and you, faithful reader, will have difficulty identifying the author or the work. Let's not make that same mistake as we review these recent events in Iraq.

Saddam Hussein, with the help of his sons committed such gruesome acts against the people of Iraq that the memory of them and the videos of them make me physically sick. Let's recall the men being dropped off of three story buildings. Let's recall the arms being cut off with circular saws. Let's recall the tongues being cut out. Let's recall the hands and arms being broken with wooden poles. Let's recall the mass graves filled with men, women and children. Let's recall the poison gas victims lying burned and bloated in the streets where they fell. Let's recall the original Abu Ghraib prison, with it's rape rooms (built to hold women who were raped and then killed) and torture chambers where Iraqis were brutalized in whatever way a depraved Uday Hussein could invent. Let's recall the gold and marble of Hussein's many palaces as the children of Iraq starved to death. Let's recall the heroin, the pornography, the bundles of cash in those palaces as Iraqi children died because their water supply was contaminated and they couldn't get medicine for common diseases. Let's remember that the men who are videotaping themselves cutting the heads off of aid workers, contractors and civilians (working to make Iraq a better place) are Saddam's friends. These men, friends of Saddam want to make Iraq what it once was under Saddam Hussein, a royal paradise for them and a bloody, nightmarish hell for anyone that didn't agree with them.

Don't get misty eyed over these poor Iraqi insurgents. If they have their way Iraq will return to it's former "glory" and you can bet there are Iraqis who begged for a bullet in the head to end their misery in those "good old days." Don't be tricked into a new form of white man's guilt. We are doing good things for Iraq and for the world. Don't let (the media coverage of) one Marine's decision in the heat of battle make you believe that we are anything but the good guys in this world.

Welcome home. Thank you for your service, Marine

A US Marine is under investigation for the shooting of an unarmed Iraqi. A US reporter embedded with the Marines filmed the shooting of a wounded, possibly unarmed Iraqi. The video is available online, of course and has been shown, unedited by Al Jazeera. The usual voices are screaming about the US being no better than the Taliban, etc.

Give me a minute... oh yeah... the unarmed Iraqi was in a mosque (not saying his prayers) shooting RPGs and AK47s at the Marines. The Marine who is shown shooting the Iraqi was shot and wounded the day before the video was taken. The Iraqi was on the floor, leaning against the wall and was obviously wounded. The Marines had just lost one of their own when a hidden grenade exploded underneath a wounded Iraqi.

All the arguments about war crimes can go out the window. Frankly, I don't really care what the Geneva conventions say. The US is the only the country on this earth that even remotely follows the rules. In case you missed the last couple of wars, US soldiers who are captured are beaten, burned, tortured, denied food, denied medicine and publicly executed. Enemy combatants are usually (there are certainly exceptions) provided with first aid by US soldiers and flown away from the fighting in US helicopters and healed in US hospitals and given US medicine and fed US food and generally live better as POWs than they did before they began fighting the US. So, I don't have too much compassion for this dead Iraqi because I know what happens when the tables are turned. If this Iraqi had come upon our wounded Marine the Marine would be lucky to get a bullet in the head. So, don't lecture me about war crimes.

I don't want US soldiers losing the disciplines of trained soldiers. I don't want civilians to be raped, tortured and killed. I don't want to see US Marines beheading Iraqis who are chained and begging for their lives. I want our Marines to be better than our enemies. That's part of us being the good guys and them being the bad guys.

Now, what about this Marine? Pull him off the front line, remind of the rules that we choose to play by and then send him back into the fight. He could very well have saved his life and the lives of those around him had that wounded Iraqi been holding a grenade and just waiting for the Marines to get close enough. He could have saved his life and the lives of those around him if the wounded Iraqi had lived to fight another day.

These Iraqis are our enemies. They are trying their best to kill us. They will not hesitate to use a mosque as a gun turret, to use an infant as a shield or to use their last breath and a grenade to kill and maim Americans. They will proudly videotape themselves cutting off the heads of civilians, men and women who are working to bring running water, electricity and medicine to the Iraqi people.

The Marine in the videotape is in the midst of this life and death struggle. He understands war. It's brutal. It's ugly. People die in war. Today was not his day to die. Today it was the Iraqi's day to die. The Marine got one more minute, one more hour, one more day and maybe, he could come home to a wife who misses him and kids who cry for their daddy. He better find this country welcoming him home IF he gets home.

A couple of thoughts and I'm done... for today. The Marine commanders who lead these young men into battle have one ultimate measurement for a successful mission: NO DEAD MARINES. And finally a word from General Patton. "The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his."

One legged man wins butt-kicking contest

The time to write has been extremely thin lately. I've been working on a couple of projects at the office that are high profile, high value initiatives and have the attention of my bosses. I've been working on completing the sale of our house and the purchase of another house and all the "administrivia" that goes with each. It's been hectic.

Now, the close on our sale is scheduled for Monday. The close on our buy is scheduled for Tuesday. Sometime next week the people who buy our house are surely going to want us to get out of it so they can move into it. I'm still not sure when or how that's going to happen.

The divine Mrs. L and I are planning to load most of the contents of our house onto a truck tomorrow and Sunday. It's the perfect (sarcasm) weekend for moving... all our friends are out of town and the weather is supposed to be just above freezing with a 50% chance of rain. Yee haw.

I need to find out about having a fence built for Maggie, our dog pound treasure... I need to call about the truck... I need to talk to the seller...

Gotta go.

Welcome to Jesusland

Red states are being ridiculed by blue states in the wake of G.W. Bush's second win. The shrill voices of the losers have gone into uncharted territory as they refer condescendingly to the red states as "Jesusland." They are claiming moral and intellectual superiority in order to anesthetize the stinging wounds of losing to a man they consider an idiot, no doubt voted into office by millions of people who are ignorant at best, imbecilic at worst. The blue states have gotten busy disparaging the red states for being rednecks, cowboys, Jesus freaks, simple minded, blissfully ignorant, haters, bigots and generally too stupid to understand the subtleties of the international community and the nuances of silver tongued politicians like John Kerry.

I wish to remind those arrogant losers that without the Jesus freaks this country wouldn't exist. I wish to remind those arrogant losers that without the rednecks and the cowboys this country wouldn't exist. I wish remind those arrogant losers that if it weren't for the simple minded conviction that this country's needs must outweigh the needs of the international community then this nation would long ago have slipped into the impotence and irrelevance of the UN. I would remind those arrogant losers that the men and women in the desert of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan usually fall into the red state category.

If the blue states have their way, today or tomorrow or 10 years from now, they will make America in their image and it will not be a place I want to live because I believe in Jesus and I believe that the our nation is superior to any other and I believe that cowboys made this nation great. Oh yeah... I cannot understand the "nuance" of John Kerry, either. Where I come from, we refer to Kerry's "nuance" as bald-faced lies.

Democrats... hello?!

I've read two articles in the past couple of days that confirm my fears for my friends who profess to be Democrats.

First, I read Paul Krugman's article about Bush. He says that President Bush is a radical leader of a movement that hates America. He says Bush wants to tear down the division between church and state and got the evangelical votes to do it. He says Bush wants to eviscerate Social Security and Medicare. He says Bush didn't win in a landslide and that if it weren't for terrorists attacking our country on 9/11 Bush wouldn't have had a chance. He goes on to say that Democrats just didn't do a very good job of mobilizing their base. He suggests that Bush won because the gay marriage initiatives brought out the religious right. (Yes, this trash was printed in the New York Times.) The long and the short of the article is this: Democrats, do not stop what you're doing. Keep going down the path you've chosen. Don't change a thing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/05/opinion/05krugman.html?n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fColumnists%2fPaul%20Krugman

Second, I read Jane Smiley's article in Slate. It's called "The Unteachable Ignorance of Red States." The subtitle is "Why Americans Hate Democrats." It doesn't get any better. She says that essentially, Republicans have their brains sucked out and replaced by religious dogma. Once the critical thinking skills are given over to religious zeal then the big corporations can have their way with the zombie like remnants of thinking human beings. She then included bloodlust in her indictment of Republicans citing a recent example from 1856. Powerful work from Ms. Smiley. http://slate.msn.com/id/2109218/

I had hoped that the Democratic party would look long and hard at the situation in which they find themselves, having lost 5 of the last 7 presidential elections and continuing to slide into smaller and smaller numbers in governorships and Senate and House seats. These might be considered signs of dwindling relevance or of a failure to connect with the voting populace. Either way, it's not healthy. I hoped they would remind themselves of their core beliefs and see where it was that they strayed from the American public. But now, after a spanking of an election cycle, they choose to continue to push ahead toward gay marriage, abortion on demand, entitlement programs for everyone, subjection to the UN and a large scale redistribution of wealth.

Bush got 59 million votes and Kerry got 55 million. It clearly doesn't mean Bush got handed a mandate to do whatever he chooses. He's still going to have to work with Democrats and Republicans to make the best decisions possible for our country. My concern is that if the Democrat party keeps going the way they're going now, they will not be viable in the next election cycle and the 55 million people who believed that Kerry was a better candidate will not have any better choices. After all, as a Republican I believe strongly in a free marketplace and the laws of supply and demand, even in the marketplace of ideas. The vitriolic and condescending tone of the two Democrats above is not going to win any elections and does not serve the populace. Try again.

Osama, you lose

I hope that Osama Bin Laden and his thugs hear the message loud and clear. George Bush didn't just defeat John Kerry yesterday. The American freedoms that we know and love defeated fear and cowardice.

Osama made his videotaped threats just before the election in hopes that the American people would react like the Spanish did. He hoped that we would consider John Kerry to be a less risky President than Bush as far as our security and safety were concerned.

The American people have given George Bush four more years of the presidency in what can only be described as a tidal wave of voter turnout. More people voted than ever in our history. More people cast votes for Bush than for any presidential candidate in history, including the Reagan landslides. More Republican governors won their races. More Senate and House seats went to Republicans.

Osama, we don't want to die at the hands of Islamic murderers like you and your friends. We don't want to see anymore of our soldiers die in a foreign country. Because of this you thought that we would back down. You thought that we would choose the path of least resistance. You thought that we would let go of our ideals in favor of our comfort. You were wrong. America chooses to bring the war to you. America chooses the right way, not the easy way. Ultimately, you will die in a cave, stewing in your own hatred and America will remain the shining city on a hill proclaiming freedom for all.

You've taken several thousand American lives. There are at least 58 million more of us who will not rest until you are only a sad, brief paragraph in the history of the world.

Thank you, soldier.

War is hell. I didn't make up the phrase but I believe it. Everything I've ever seen or read about soldiers in combat bears up the point that war is a sickening nightmare of human suffering. War is a series of unbearable tragedies for the people who are merely trying to survive it.

Because of the toll of human anguish many people would never choose war. They may believe that war is evil. They may believe that sending young men and women into a war is unconscionable. They would not choose war, ever.

War is necessary. If a nation is to exist that nation must be willing to fight to maintain her sovereignty. This is true because the world is full of envy, jealousy, lust for power and all forms of evil. Evil exists and it motivates people to do horrible things. When evil people hold the reigns of power they make war necessary.

I would be glad if this were not true. I hate the thought of my friends, my sons, my countrymen losing their lives in a war. I hate the thought of the suffering and misery of the soldiers (even the enemy's). But I love my country more. I don't want to give even one life but if that's what is required then I'll give it. I understand that the sacrifices of the few make possible the great blessings of the many. My country still stands for freedom, opportunity, equality, liberty and justice. These are worth war.

Nathan Hale said it two hundred years ago when he said, "I regret that I have but one life to give for my country." In the face of evil that would work to undo all that my country holds dear we see the sacrificial warriors, the soldiers who stand in the gap and do battle on our behalf. Nathan Hale didn't create the idea behind his famous quote. He borrowed it from John 15:13 when John spoke of the original and best example of sacrificial giving. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

Do Not Rock the Vote

Among the many truths I picked up in my brief stint in college was this little jewel: Stupid People Shouldn't Breed. It probably came from a bumper sticker or other highly questionable source of worldly wisdom. It's easiest to work into conversation when subjecting oneself to tv shows like Cops and Jerry Springer.

The actors and the musicians and the overpaid behind the scenes Hollywood big shots that have come out of the woodwork to press a political agenda have inspired another nugget of truth. Stupid People Shouldn't Vote. I know this will not be received well. Thank goodness no one reads my work or I'm sure I'd be deluged with hate mail.

Rock the Vote, Hip Hop Vote, Vote or Die, etc, etc, etc, have bought hours of tv ad time in an effort to get Americans to vote. Here's the first appeal to those groups from me... Stop wasting your money. Stop wasting your breath. If American's are concerned about the state of the union they'll find their way to the polls. They'll get involved in the organizations that lobby congress. They'll learn about the issues that affect their lives and they'll study the candidates who will hold power and influence.

If they are not smart enough to do this, please leave them alone. Ignorance is bliss. They'll be happier without this headache and they'll not screw it up for those of us that do care.

I don't give my five year old the power to make the decision about what kind of car I drive. He's not equipped for it. I could read the ads to him for all the cars I'm considering but a five year old is just not going to understand all the variables. If forced, I'm sure he would choose one car or the other but it would be based only on the looks of the car or the way the seat felt. That's much like voting for one candidate because that candidate has the best hair or has a hobby you share.

Once more, I'll make my appeal. Please leave the disenfranchised voters alone. Please leave the uninvolved twenty somethings alone. Please leave a little bit of complexity in the ballot and the voting registration. Don't make it too easy to vote. Don't make public announcements on the radio and tv about where the polls are located. Make it hard for us to vote.

I don't want the swimmers in the shallow end of the pool (wink, wink) making decisions that affect my life. Let them dull their minds with Jerry Springer, P Diddy and Drew Barrymore. Leave them to their blissful ignorance.

Maggie May and Florida Democrats

Well, we've come back around to the Florida electorate and their persistent inability to fill out a voter registration form or accurately use a butterfly ballot. We may have this problem with stupid potential voters in other states but we're already hearing about in Florida. We're hearing about it because the lawsuits have already been filed.

One of the lawsuits challenges a ruling by the Florida Secretary of State that threw out voter registration forms from new voters who failed to check a box on the form indicating whether they were US citizens.

Following the logic of this lawsuit, people who fail to accurately fill out application paperwork should still be granted car loans and college entrance. Why don't you see if Ford Motor Company will accept incomplete and inaccurate forms when you apply for credit? Why don't you leave a couple of spaces blank on the scantron test and see what kind of grade you get?

The Democratic party chairman, Terry McAuliffe has accused Republicans of (among many, many other ridiculous things) systematically working to disenfranchise voters who McAuliffe believes would vote for Democratic candidates. One of the elements of this systematic effort is that somehow Republicans are requiring voters to present ID (drivers license for instance) in order to vote. His argument is that this requirement illegally repels potential voters.

Yeah... right. I showed up at the voting booth and was ready to do my patriotic civic duty and cast my ballot but when the little old lady asked for my drivers license I just couldn't take it. She was clearly repressing me. I ran screaming from the grocery store and will probably never vote again.

Finally, I want to ask my friends who are Democrats why their party has such a low opinion of them. McAuliffe believes that the people in Florida who are too stupid to fill out their forms and too stupid to figure out the ballot must be Democrats. McAuliffe believes that the Republicans were all smart enough to bring their drivers license to the polling place and could (as the law demands) identify themselves with a form of government issued identification card when required. McAuliffe believes that if only the voting laws weren't so difficult to maneuver that these poor dim witted Democrats would have less fear, would feel less intimidation and would create a wave of underperformance on which Democratic candidates would surf into political office.

Americans, do you really want people who are too dumb to fill out their voter registration form voting for the president? Would you trust these people to inform themselves and to carve through the issues of the day and to extract from the many sources an opinion about who they wish to hold the most powerful office in the world when they can't seem to figure out a voter registration form?

Democrats have bragged that they have 10,000 lawyers standing by ready to file lawsuits in every voting district that they don't win. They have six rapid response teams of lawyers ready to file on a moments notice if Kerry sees a state going to Bush.

You can relax because the Democrats are working hard for you. If you're an idiot, they're sure you are going to vote their way and they are planning to make sure that your voice is heard. They don't have any faith in your ability to take care of yourself so they want to push the standards so low that my dog could successfully cast a vote. She's no Lassie, either. She's just a dumb, disenfranchised mutt from the pound. She must be a Democrat.

Was that a good one, daddy?

My youngest son, the REALLY blonde one, is quite the little athlete. I spent several hours yesterday kicking the soccer ball around with him. He had scored 5 of his teams 11 goals on Saturday and then Sunday we were out in the yard working on making him a better soccer player. This is not because I'm one of those sick fathers who desperately cling to their youth by living vicariously through their children and therefore, push their children to athletic and academic extremes. He, my young soccer player, was begging me to play. At one point I suggested we go in and get a drink of water. He wasn't willing to go in until I assured him we would come back outside and continue to play after we got our drink.

He bought himself a football several weeks ago and did the same thing. He begged to throw the ball. He is eager to learn how to take a snap, throw, catch, call plays, etc. In less than an hour he had mastered the spiral pass. He knew how to take a snap like a pro... not like the shotgun formation we all loved when I was a kid. He knew how to drop back into the (imaginary) pocket after taking the ball. It got completely dark and we came in the house but when his mother got home some time later he insisted that we go back outside and show her, in the dark of night, all that he had learned.

He's not some dumb jock either. He works hard at learning to read and tries very hard to understand the math that his eight year old brother is doing in school. He's funny, especially to the little girls at his school. He's gentle with those who are weaker than him and he stands up to the bullies in his class. Like his brother, he's an exquisite piece of work.

Thank you God for blessing my life with these two boys. Thank you God for making them so different from each other. Thank you God for giving them some of your own characteristics. Thank you God for the joy they bring to all around them. Thank you for trusting them to my care.

Freakin' Genius

My 8 year old son, a genius by my own unscientific measurements, asked me the other day what I would do first if I were the president. No, it's not your typical "drive to school" kind of question and it took me by surprise.

Anyway, I looked thoughtfully out the windshield and pulled on my beard and willed the coffee I was drinking to hurry it up and start making a difference inside my brain. I finally settled on an answer that satisfied my son. I explained that I would start spending more of our tax dollars on things inside our country and quit sending so much of our money to other countries. He said if he were president he would make a law that punished people who sold drugs by putting them in prison for the rest of their lives.

The greatest part of this was that we didn't argue with each other. Neither of us felt the need to cut down the other's view point. Neither of us chose to belittle the other's idea. We just gave each other the acknowledging grunts and nods that pass for communication between men and we went on to the next question about our favorite books, movies and songs. Not only is he smart, he's cool.

Thank you God for my sons. Thank you for giving them above average intelligence. Thank you for blessing them with sharp minds and healthy bodies. Thank you for trusting them to my care. Thank you for their excitement and wonder and joy at things that I sometimes take for granted. Please give me the patience, the wisdom and the desire to be a great father to these magnificent young men.

Father of mercies, hear our prayer

I just got an email from our friends who are moving to Thailand. They have chosen to take the message of Jesus to the Thai people. In order to do so, they will live in Bangkok and learn to live and work like their hosts. They are leaving behind everything familiar and will embrace a culture, a language and a nation that is nothing like their current home in the USA. As I imagined all the stress that they must be feeling as they put their belongings into a sea container and they apply for visas and they secure international driver's licenses I am overwhelmed.

I was getting a little bit worried about where my family might live if our house sells before we find another house to buy. Will we have to rent? Will we find a duplex? Apartment? Will we buy a house? Will we build a house? Will we live in the country? Will we live in the city?

I am reminded that I must trust in God. I must rely on the God that says, "Consider the lillies." I must rely on the God that says, "I know what I have planned for you." I must rely on the God that says, "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, would give him a stone?" I must rely on the God that has been faithful for thousands of years. I must stop trying to rely on my wisdom, which has been questionable for little more than three decades.

God, bless us with your peace. Fill us with the desire to serve you. Cleanse our hearts of any impure motives as we contemplate our decisions to sell and buy real estate. I want to see your face. I want to do your will, God. I want to die to my sinful desires so that I can live in your light.

Dude, look at my iguana.

Quite a bit has been written on the differences between cats and dogs. An equal amount of inked paper has been given to the differences in the owners of cats and the owners of dogs. Apparently, there are quite a few inferences about personality, cleanliness and overall intelligence that can be made about a person depending solely on which animal they choose to own.

What about me? I own a cat and a dog. I imagine that some authors would make further deductions about my personality based on the fact that I own both. I guess they might say I'm unwilling to choose. They might say that I lack introspective clarity. They might suggest that I am not the true owner of the cat because I'm not the one that chose her and brought her home.

I will not rehash the arguments about cats and dogs and their owners. I will leave that body of work unmolested. I would, however, like to point out that people who own lizards and very large snakes are all freaks. If you're reading this and you own a lizard (especially if you let it ride around on your shoulder or in your hair) please seek psychiatric help. Cold blooded animals were not intended to be cuddly friends with warm blooded humans. Call a doctor. Now.

Open Our Eyes, Lord

We were outbid yesterday on the house we'd been trying to buy. It seems like a curse right now but I'm certain it will turn into a blessing. I may be trying too hard to comfort myself at this point but I'm thinking about all the work that I'd have to have done to that house to bring it up to our imperial standards. But that may not be the blessing that God has in mind.

Many times I have made the mistake of using my standards to measure God's gifts. In other words, when I read God's promises to bless us and prosper us I believe that He means to give us money and houses and clothes and food. Maybe He does. Maybe He means that He will lead me to a place where I am more dependant on Him. Maybe He means that He will lead me to a place where I am a better spouse, parent, brother. Maybe God's ideas of blessings are somewhat more spiritual than mine.

God, I pray that your blessings will be poured out on me and my family. I pray that we will find ways to do your will. I pray that we will see your sheep and will be willing to feed them. I pray that our lives will bring glory to your name and that first and foremost we seek your face.

The Johns and The Magic Promise

I got a little frustrated by the politicians and their ridiculous claims and accusations so I took a little time off from listening to the news and writing about the issues that were being discussed. I'm back... and again, writing about the political landscape.

I got a huge laugh listening to and reading the words of John Edwards. Apparently, the (comedy) team of John and John are mystic healers. Apparently, when they take office they'll begin healing the lame and the blind. They may even raise the dead but as of today, they've not claimed this power. I'm sure they're saving it for the last week before the election. The question I have is... why are they not doing their healing now? Why not start today?

They say that their magic comes from stem cells. Stem cells are readily available in aborted fetuses and umbilical cords. I'm sure with their combined fortunes they can buy some of these wonder cells and get busy healing today and really cement their victory on November 2. Surely, everyone with spinal injuries and their families would vote for John and John if these two mystics healed them and made them walk again.

I guess the reason they didn't heal Christopher Reeve is that Mr. Reeve didn't have faith in their healing power. He said several times that he believed there was magic in stem cells but that magic would never give him the ability to walk again. Oh ye of little faith.

John and John are coming and when it comes to winning votes, no promise is too obscene or outrageous.

(I believe that John Edwards' exploitation of the publicity surrounding Christopher Reeve's death is at the very least callous and at worst sickeningly selfish. No limits of decency exist when a vote can be won and political power be restored to the Democratic Party.)