News from today

Two stories from Foxnews.com that caught my eye.

The first:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,139968,00.html

Must take some real guts to be able to look your child's killer in the face and tell him how he's wrecked your life. I'm not sure I could do it, I think it's fair that she get's the chance to do so.

The second:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,140053,00.html

Have we humans become such sick people? Not too many years ago I read the book called The Giver. The young boy lives in a perfect eutopia where noone is different and there is a place for everyone...everyone that is except the weak. The boy doesn't find this out till he begins to grow up and he realizes the horror that his father euthanizes the elderly and the terminally ill children. That book was fiction...this article is not. May God have mercy on us!

Consumerism

I was watching the news last night and it was reported that Americans spend 22 Billion dollars over this past weekend at retail and discount stores. 22 Billion dollars! I wondered to myself how many children 22 billion dollars could feed that are starving to death around the world. I wondered how many children that are orphaned by aids could be given homes and nourishment with 22 billion dollars...heck 11 million dollars(only asking America to give up half).

But I'm not one to throw stones my consumerism is little better than most Americans. But yeah, I'm disgusted with myself.

The question asks itself...Will I do something about it or just talk about it?

Parade

I was at a parade in Spartanburg, SC this morning. I was standing there with my wife, mom, sister, nephew (3), niece (1), and brother-in-law. There weren't a ton of people there but it was quite festive, a nice crowd, simple parade, and really the weather was the best part of it all. One thing about the hour long parade will stick out to me for some time. About the second or third float was a group of men in the Army. They were in their desert camo and simply walking and waving. Suddenly a group to my right of older gentlemen and their grandchildren started clapping for the service men. Quickly the entire group, both sides of the street joined in on the applause. I started clapping and suddenly realized how great it felt to let these three men know how much I appreciate them and their co-workers. The applause went on for some time and I could tell it let the soldiers know they were cared for and appreciated by many. One of the soldiers looked at me and I met his eyes for a moment and I said "Thank You". He gave me a nod as if to say "I'm just doing my job but thank you".

You're welcome, You're so very welcome!

I'm Thankful for:

It's tradition in my wife's family to go around the table oldest to youngest and share what you are thankful for. We won't be with my wife's family this year so I started my own list in the shower this morning.

1. 17 great years with my little brother
2. My wonderful loving wife, that is truly my best friend.
3. God's wonderful gift of a little baby boy- Nathan Douglas
4. Excellent "extended" family that cares for my family.

And finally I am thankful for God's provision in ALL situations.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 The one who calls you is faithful and HE will do it.

This is a mural made on a clear plexiglass background. Layers of post it notes give it a stained glass effect. 

Matthew

I share this from my personal journal. I was watching HGTV this morning (The Lord works in mysterious ways). The homeowner was showing some improvements he had done to his home and some plans he had for the future to the host of the show. Normally children aren't in these shows but there was Matthew. He liked to be called Matt. Matt was about 5 years old and showing the improvements to the yard just as much as his father was. He was very well spoken for a little boy of his age and a nice looking kid. In fact he was so normal I didn't notice his abnormality.

The host of the show asked Matthew if he would show them the porch. Matthew, not waiting for anyone, grabbed the wheels to his wheelchair and got moving towards the porch. Neither strong, adult male, one being his father, noticed the boys effort or offered to help. Matthew reached an incline in the side walk, paused for a moment, took a breath and started wheeling himself again. When Matthew reached his destination the men started talking about the porch. His Dad was there waiting for him but not going on without him. His Dad then said some gentle and encouraging words to Matthew, telling he was proud of him and how strong of a boy he was.

That's when I got it. Matt's father wasn't helping him because Matthew has to learn to be strong. A fathers job is not to do everything for our children but to encourage them to carry on even when it's tough. The love of the Father is evident to us. I think sometimes we are tempted to wonder why God won't help us out, but he's there. He's with us and he cares for us. He lets us struggle because well...life is struggle.

I was sent this by a family member. It was in a powerpoint presentation showing the U.S. Forces work in Fallujah. This brief chart shows that the warfare was rough. Regardless of how you feel about the war in Iraq I think we all want our soldiers to be safe and get home to their families as soon as possible. 

Some people get it right!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,139316,00.html


With all this fiasco of brawls in sports, violence in sports and players and fans clashing it is nice to see some schools and institutions take a stand. This is a hard hit for the schools and is a big step, I know it doesn't mean much but I am proud of U of South Carolina and Clemson administration for not accepting any bowl bids as punishment for a fight that broke out during the game Saturday. Well done! Thanks for providing some sanity to the sports world.

Scott Peterson

I'm not sure there were too many people in America rooting for him during his trial. I think most people think he's guilty mainly becaused of his cold behavior through the whole process. So now that he's been found guilty and the sentencing phase has begun....

If you were a juror in his trial would you give him the death penalty?

Why or why not?

Read more about this part of the trial here.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,139228,00.html

Justice?

Well the NBA suspensions were dealt out. Fair?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,139169,00.html

Brawl

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,139169,00.html

Story is here. Basically a man's game got out of control and turned into a playground brawl. I know I don't know the story and only watched the highlight...well lowlight really of these guys acting like street thugs.

I say this is the line...in the future if a professional athlete gets involved with the fans in any physical way the athlete is out of professional sports...forever. I know there are two sides to every story so the fans need to be punished. Make it rule or law or whatever if the player gets physically involved with an athlete whether it be by throwing something or spitting or anything like that a hefty fine. Add physical threats to that list as well. I'm thinking 5K-20k depending on the persons income. Really set them back for a few years, to be fair offer a payment plan. The money goes to the charity of the player's choice that was being assaulted.

Two reasons for this idea in my mind.
1. I am not allowed to beat up my co workers or even people I know that work at other churches. If we disagree we don't knock each other out.

2. People aren't allowed to stand beside me and yell at me and do physical things to me while I'm working. If they did I'd probably try to beat them up.

That's what the Padre thinks!

No rant today?

Yeah I guess I've got nothing to rant about today. In August I read Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller if you've never read it I really recommend it. You can get it from cbd.com or Amazon. Read more about Donald Miller at www.bluelikejazz.com. I'm always talking about the book "Donald Miller said this..." "Donald Miller feels..." I guess I shouldn't speak for him so much. My wife makes fun of me saying that if Donald Miller started a cult I'd join. I told her I most certainly would, I would try to be his lead disciple.

He's the man! He just came out with a new book in October call Searching for God knows what. Blue like jazz changed my life...I know it sounds cheesy but it really did. Searching for God knows what just helped me take one more step to where God wants me to be.

Two must reads!

He gives and takes away!

Man Steals Fiancee's Engagement Ring
Thursday, November 18, 2004
ARCHIVE

MILFORD, Conn. — He might be able to star in a spin-off of "Desperate Housewives" — maybe something along the lines of "Desperate Husbands-to-Be."
A Milford, Conn., man staged a burglary to steal and hock the engagement ring he gave to the woman he planned to marry, The Associated Press reports.
Police said 43-year-old George Rich turned the home he shares with his fiancee upside down in order to make it look like a thief had broken in and taken jewelry, including her gold-and-diamond ring.
Court documents show Rich pawned the gems and jewelry for $5,000 at the Hock It To Me shop on Bridgeport Avenue.
On Sept. 21, he called police to report that burglars ransacked his home and stole a gold cocktail ring and the engagement ring, both valued at $2,500. He also said a gold chain was missing.
Detectives became suspicious when they noticed Rich's name in a weekly update on pawnshop activity. Records from Hock It To Me showed that Rich pledged a gold chain and two gold rings — including the engagement ring — at the business on Sept. 14.

Rich later admitted the scheme to detectives, police said.
He was charged Tuesday with falsely reporting an incident and providing a false statement, according to police. He was released on a written promise to appear in Superior Court on Dec. 7.
There was no word on whether the wedding is still on.

www.foxnews.com

Politics

I've been into politics lately. That's not really too bad of a thing except for the fact that I think I'm turning into a hippie.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,139059,00.html

Maybe I'm missing the point but I think the reality is Iran is missing the point. We promise we won't make any weapons capable of killing millions after friday but we're going to hurry up and make as much as we can in the meantime. So you plan on using those?

I think it's funny when bigger nations get all up in arms (pun intended) when another country starts making nuclear weapons. Like we don't have places cranking out this stuff by the truckloads. I think we're just better at covering stuff up.

Saddam

http://www.holyobserver.com/detail.php?isu=v01i07&art=saddam


If it were only true!

Baby stuff

We went and registered for some baby stuff today. Overall it was fun and exciting. I loved it and believe it or not my favorite part was picking out clothes for my little boy. So it was a fun day and made it seem like the three and a half months we have to wait before he arrives will last and eternity. I have only one question well a statement really...maybe just a rant.

How in the world do they charge you so much for some of this stuff. Some of it makes sense it seems like they have a corner on the market so they can charge whatever they want. But some of the stuff like a baby towel 2 for $20, what? $10 for a towel, I promise you that my clothes are cheaper than a babies clothes and I am approximately 30 times bigger than any baby known to man.

Good grief. But I'm sure we'll buy it, why? Cuz we're suckers!

Too much power

I've been wondering would the message of Jesus Christ be more effective if Christians didn't have as much power. It seems that so many people feel attacked by Christians and this Jesus gospel. I think that for starters they misunderstand about what Jesus was really about. I think "christians" have misrepresented HIM for so long; the message is so muddled it hurts. But think about it if we don't like something that goes down in our country we can cause enough ruckous about it to at least be heard if not to get things changed.

We even have enough votes, depending on the articles you have read, to determine who the president will be and who will represent us in congress. But what if evangelical, gospel believing and acting Christians had no power in the United States. I think things would get ugly fast. I think we would be persecuted and would leave tough lives. But would it help the gospel, the TRUE gospel, the Jesus gospel? People would know we are genuine, they would know we believe not because we are on the "winning" team but because we really believe what Jesus taught. I think there'd be a lot less fakers or nominal christians. If you didn't believe it you wouldn't say you did.

Now I'm not saying I want to be persecuted I just think we feed our "christian" egos too much, expecially after this election. Our attitude says we can control the gov't...but controlling the gov't doesn't introduce people to relationship with Christ or save souls from eternal hell.

Jesus tells us in Luke 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

republicans vs. democrats

I think it's funny now that the republicans have won the white house two elections in a row all of a sudden conservatives are stupid and dumb. I can tell you how many times I have heard that if you have any sense or half a brain then you vote democrat. This article http://www.urbanarchipelago.com/ is quite the rally call for democrats but takes it's fair share of cheap shots at conservatives.

Suddenly people with certain morals and convictions in America are stupid. I guess I would label myself as a conservative, and yes even a republican. But I have to be honest and say that this election I took a good hard look at the democratic party and the reason I could not consider to take my vote thier way is the lact of integrity and consistency NOT the fact that I didn't like their platform. I think the democratic party has a lot going for it that the church should be attracted to. Helping the poor and public school reform being the ones that stick out to me.

But then I read articles post election calling me stupid because I voted one way or the other it makes me want to hate monger right back. But I will be the bigger man...the funny thing is that democracy is a beautiful thing when it represents you but when the vote goes against you and your candidate doesn't win suddenly everyone else is stupid. The beautiful thing about American is that we like a good cry baby. They're nice to have around, makes for good news and good things to post on your blog!

I was preparing a ppt presentation for tomorrow and came across this picture. I sure do have a beautiful wife! Could I have gotten more luck? NO WAY! 

Coward

Even though I own Saving Private Ryan I normally don't watch it because everytime I do I dream I am storming the beach. It's not getting shot at or even getting shot in my dream that bothers me but the fact that I am killing others...people just like me.

Last night it was on TV unedited. I was flipping though and almost passed it up, then I thought if our veterans lived though this the least I can do it watch it and risk having a bad dream. There is a part at the end. The translator is carrying the ammo for his group. All of them men have run out of ammo and they can't find the translator. That's because the coward is hiding in a house so that he's not shot at. What's worse? The coward has a chance to save countless of his men, men I'd like to think were his friends or at least would try to save his life and instead he lets them die. Because he is a coward. So as I was thinking how much of a girly man this guy was...

How often do I pass up the chance to save someone's life...or at least offer them life saving truth and pass it up? Maybe I'm the coward because I know the truth about eternity and too often keep it to myself.

Slums

This information from Lord of the Slums by Scott Bessenecker:

Slums are marked by crowded conditions, makeshift housing, questionable sanitation, unbelievable unemployment rates, desperate poverty, and despair. Slums are typically built around trash heaps outside cites. 80% of the trash dumped in these is reused as materials to build with and food to eat. People are eating trash.

1 Billion People live in slums around the world. To put that in perspective the United States population is approximately 250 million, so 4 times our nations population live off of trash.

50 years ago slums did not exist. So all of our technology, industralization, and advancement has not helped those in poverty...dare we even claim it has put them there?

They are smart people to know how to live off of trash and they must be creative. They are just poor, not on their own voalition but because of other reasons.

Jesus tells us to help these. Why was Sodom destroyed...first because of their unwillingness to help the poor...then their immorality. Ezekiel 16:49-50

Random Thought of the Day

So I went into Wawa today (gas station/convenience store) and there was a young lady picking out a drink like I was doing. I didn't even glance twice at her not that she wasn't pretty but looking at ladies is a bad habit to get into. So she beat me to the register and as she walked by this other guy I just knew what he was going to do. I was right. He turned and checked out her backside after she walked by him. The funny thing was he didn't have the guts to make eye contact with her when she walked by him, he just kept looking down at something not important so as not to draw her attention. Then as soon as she walked past him he did a full turn to just stare. I found it funny! She poops just like you do!