Poll

Ok, so I just added a poll to the right side of the page there...go ahead and look...I'll wait...ok, so, the idea is to see who, if anyone, reads this page...and also what you'd like to hear more about. Let me know and I'll get on it.

Settling in...

So, I've been trying to deal with the fact that I am now working again! I can't keep lying to myself, staying up late, pretending that I can sleep in only to awake feeling guilty and mad at the same time because I lied...to myself. Yes, I have to work, but it could be worse...the work could be that I put on my dungarees, strap on my helmet and take the 45 minute rail ride down into the mine. Fortunately, I get to put on my khakis, grab a Starbucks and snuggle nicely into my comfy chair in front of my twin 24 inch computer monitors in an attempt to regurgitate creativity in an orderly, yet unique fashion. Phew, I'm getting tired just thinking about it!

Truth is, I have it pretty good. I get to create and communicate ideas and develop friendships as part of my job. My quest and thirst for the truth of God is required and welcomed in my job description. I also get to have a few cool toys to play with...Video editing equipment, HD Cameras, Audio playthings...what else could I need? Oh yeah...Track lighting in my office...oh wait, I have that.

I don't say this to brag to those of you who trek into the fluorescent filled office cubes on a daily and sometimes weekend...ly basis. I say this to reassure you that no matter where you find yourself after a lifetime of working, it all boils down to the fact that in most moments, you'd rather be doing something else. I would, most times, rather be with my family...I mean honestly...look at them.

But then again, I'm sure that many people have it good when it comes to family. Of course, we know, one cannot have it all. There are always trade-offs. I find myself fortunate to have found a job that I love and found a family that loves me. Most of all, I find that I'm here for a purpose...not sure what, but I know it's there. I see it in brief moments. But for the most part, I'm moving forward, just like you, trying not to screw it all up. So, to you, as you go into and out of vacation and job changes and motivational challenges, be encouraged that by working, by taking care of your family, by getting the image of Jesus out into the world, you're pleasing God, even if you think it's insignificant. Be encouraged. And if you do work in a mine...I'd love to do a video piece on you...

Back into the groove

It's been difficult to get back into the swing of things since returning from a week-long adventure into laziness. I find myself grasping for things to do...trying to keep from going back to that pre-vacation place where I sit and wait for the time to dwindle so that I can get out of town. Sometimes I get into that rut. I find myself feeling down and discouraged...a bit on the pitiful side. looking down, waiting for something good to pop me out of my nosedive into self pity.


I was reminded today of the two guys on the road to Emmaus. Looking down, feeling discouraged. Quite pitiful really. Then they meet a man on the road who asks what their problem is. They say do you not have any idea what's been going on? Then one statement stands out to me. In Luke 24 verse 21, they talk about Jesus and say, "but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel."


Hope. I am a hopeful person. To a fault really. I hope when I know that things aren't great. Even when I know that the outcome will be a certain way, I hope for the alternative. I guess it's foolish and sometimes selfish to hope for a certain outcome.




Shelly and I love the HBO series Band of Brothers.

Whenever it comes on television we stop and watch...we can't help it. One particular exchange took place between a private who was wracked by fear and a lieutenant who had developed a reputation of being a cold and fearless soldier.


The Private was stuck in a foxhole, unable to fight. During a quiet moment he asks Lieutenant Speirs how he does it. How can he fight? Speirs replies,

"We're all scared. You hid in that ditch
because you think there's still hope. But Blithe, the only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead. And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a soldier is supposed to function. Without mercy. Without compassion. Without remorse. All war depends on it. "

There's always hope. But hope in what? For this soldier, his hope was that he wouldn't die. For Speirs, his hope was that he would do his duty...his hope was in himself. What do we hope for?


When these two men were walking on the road to Emmaus, they had lost hope. Of course when they told this to the man who they later realized was Jesus, he responds to them in a unusually non-gentle way. He says, in verse 25, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!"


I continue to realize that sometimes my hope is that I get what I want. It should be that God's Will be done. Now that I'm back into the swing of things, this is a reminder that I need continually. After all, it's going to be a while until the next vacation...tick, tick, tick...

Deep thoughts On Vacation

I've heard it said from some that those who dance participate in behavior that is both lascivious and anti-Christian. When I was a boy, I might have believed and participated in this narrow perspective of the Christian life. I might have adopted this viewpoint because i didn't care about searching out the truth for myself. Actually, while in High School, my 'independant, fundamental, bible believing baptist' upbringing was beginning to wain when confronted with opinions such as these.

There was a point in my life when I thought to myself, "should I really think about this issue for myself, or should I just let someone else dictate my thoughts for me?" My entire life was filled with dictation. I was a regular administrative assistant when it came to personal beliefs. Let me know what I think pastor. It was laziness really. I didn't have time to fully seek out the truth.

Of course someone made the statement a few weeks ago, "Why do we need to seek out the truth? We've already found it?" This is the attitude in which I wallowed for several years. Then I got wise...or wised up...probably the latter.

I began to study theater and dance in College and discovered that sexual feelings and rebellious attitudes aren't directly connected with bodily movement. If it were, every time we got scared and flailed our arms trying to escape the stinging of a bee we'd be in violation of the 11th commandment, "thou shalt not dance." But we know the truth...sometimes we're scared that we might do something that might make us sin...so we impose our fear on others so we won't feel alone. Sad...but true.

Of course my daughter loves to dance. There is a purity in her movement. She is expressing herself in one of the only ways she knows how. It's probably for attention, but deeper than that, she just feels that she wants to dance. It's in her. God has given her a love for movement. How could this be wrong? Recently she participated in a recital. Along with 11 other little girls who were doing the same, she couldn't hide her excitement. This is her with one of her best friends in class.

Overall, We need to make our own informed decisions, which means that we need to seek out the information from a source that is not motivated by fear, but by love. Seek out the answers for yourself. If you seek the truth, you will find the it. You might also find a really cute picture in the process.

Vacation

Ok...So I'm finally out of the office. Getting away is so important. Liv wanted to do a little webcam blog updating you of the immense amount of fun we are having. (she didn't say it just like that, but it was close...she is a genius you know...) there is a reason why people need to get away together. More later.