Precious New Life

I can't imagine what it feels like to have a child of my own. I mean I am so proud of and in love with my nephew and niece... I can't imagine those emotions being stronger. But I know they are, and I long for a day when I may experience them. Of course, that desire (along with all other desires) must be surrendered to the Lord. Along those lines, I was speaking with a friend last night about one of her life's desires that was recently fulfilled. She said it was surreal to look at the situation and see that God had graciously answered her prayer. She went on to say that He didn't owe her anything, but gave the gift nonetheless. I feel that way about being a father - if He grants it one day, great. But He is certainly not obligated to me in any way. But that is really another post for another day...

In any event, this is my niece Avery. She was born last week...


I know I am biased, but I honestly don't think newborn babies are ever this cute. Her brother was in the same category. In fact, to see the two side by side is almost like they are twins separated by 3.5 years.

I can't wait to watch her grow. Life is so precious, isn't it? And to see it in such a fragile state as a newborn reminds me of how great God is to create us, love us, and grow us into His image.

Going for Gold at the DNC

Now that the world's largest sporting event has ended - aka the Olympic Games - I have been drawn in to the Democratic National Convention. I do not really consider myself a Republican or a Democrat, but I do lean a bit more to the right than to the left. In any event, I am enjoying the drama surrounding the DNC.

So as you are probably aware, there are loads of Hillary supporters at the Convention. There is a contingent of delegates who desire to bump Obama and replace him with the Senator from the Great State of New York. This is great news for the Repubilcans because we all know that a house divided will not stand.

Last night, Hillary was charged with rallying the Party to unify around one candidate - namely Barak Obama. Regardless of your views of her as a person, a leader, a wife, or whatever... you pretty much have to agree that she gave a stellar speech last night (which many people on CNN referred to as a "message.") She did exactly what she needed to do, and as James Carville said - last night was a good night to be a Democrat.

I watched the coverage on CNN last night. At one point, Wolf Blitzer was interviewing Rudy Giuliani. Rudy said that Obama needs to explain why he chose Biden over Clinton as a running mate. Blitzer (in his best "unbiased" manner) then defended Obama saying that as the DNC's candidate for president, Obama doesn't have to explain anything. It was truly laughable.

I can't wait to see how CNN handles the RNC next week...

Deep Thoughts on Rain

As it rains outside, I am reminded of something I read years ago by John Piper. It comes to mind quite often during heavy rain storms... so I wanted to post it here for others to enjoy.

Victory & Defeat

If you have talked to me in the past 12 days, you know that I am addicted to the Olympics. My bed times is normally 10:00 pm, but that time has been temporarily moved to 12:00 am.

So last week was all about Michael Phelps. He had goals to accomplish and the whole country (well, the whole world, for that matter) was cheering him on. He performed like the champion he is. Everything went exactly as planned, and he didn't miss a single beat in his quest. Even when his goggles filled with water, he counted his strokes as he made his way to the wall ahead of his competitors.

But the same cannot be said for Lolo Johnson. She was the favorite to win the 100 M hurdles. She was tearing it up... until hurdle #9. She clipped it with her right foot, and that was the end for her. What a heart breaking finish, eh? I watched as she stared at the screen in disbelief with what had just happened. There is another shot of her (after her gracious interview) where she is alone... crying. Very sad.

But then there is Dawn Harper. For her, Lolo's defeat meant golden victory. Her disbelief equaled Lolo's... but for completely different reasons. You could see all over her face that she did not expect to win. But the joy on her face when it set in. There was a moment (that I have not been able to find a picture of) where I swear she is praising God. Everything about her body language, face, etc. screams "Thank you, God." It was a great moment for her.

It is events like this that fuel my addiction to the Olympics.

Those Crazy Utes...

... or should I say "youuuuths." Check this out.

First - why would you do such a rediculous thing?
Second - why would you let someone video it in this day and age?
Third - why would you post it on your MySpace page?

This reminds me of a great episode of Seinfeld where Kramer installs a garbage disposer in his shower...

Mid Life Crisis?

I don't think I am going through a mid-life crisis (mostly because I hope I have not yet hit the middle of my life). But I got a rental car yesterday because my Mazda is in the shop for some minor repairs; and I got a convertible PT Cruiser. It was all they had available in the price range that was covered by the insurance. I can hardly imagine driving it with the top up. Driving with the top down is such a new and different thing for me. One of my good friends discussed this phenomenon on her blog. Her perspective turned into a much more spiritual one than mine has...

For me, I feel just a little bit cooler driving around town with my rag top down so my hair can blow - girls on standby, waiting just to say hi. Do I stop? No... I just drive by - keep on, pursuing to the next stop.

But I digress... my fear is that I am going to end up being one of those 55 year old men who buys a convertible to feel young. May such a thing never be true of me.

In any event, convertibles are fun. So I will enjoy it while I can.

888 is the new 777

I read an article earlier today that explained how today is viewed as a very lucky day in Chinese culture because of all the 8's involved. It was for this reason that the city of Beijing chose to open this year's Olympic Games on this day. Something about the number 8 being circular and round... I didn't retain all the particulars. The article also talked about how two years ago there was talk of the Antichrist being born on June, 6 2006. Apparently, superstition is no respector of religon or faith background.

In any event, if today is really supposed to be the luckiest of days... I may have to change my evening plans. I am currently scheduled to watch the above referenced opening ceremonies at home with a handful of friends. But I am thinking I should hit the clubs... who's with me?

Are you kidding me?

Whatever your view is of Joel Osteen and his ministry at Lakewood Church, this situation will likely strike a nerve with you.

Granted, I was not on the plane. Granted, I have never met either of the parties involved. But this is such a clear case of gold digging, in my humble opinion.

This is the part the really dumbfounds me:

According to court documents, Brown claims that she suffers from anxiety and hemorrhoids because of the incident involving Victoria Osteen and said her faith was affected.

I mean if your faith is affected by the actions of a Pastor's wife, your heart may be the rocky or thorny soil discussed here.

I am just befuddled by the whole scenario... and the fact that it is Headline News material. And yes, I just wanted to use the word befuddled.

My New Addiction

I don't know if this makes me cool or a dork... but either way, I am fully enjoying this new craze in video gaming. And for all the haters - I do realize that I am not actually playing the guitar, bass, or drums when I rock out to Rock Band. But it provides hours of entertainment nonetheless. If you have not yet played this game or Guitar Hero, I highly recommend checking them out. But as luck would have it, I see that Rock Band 2 is already slated to come out... and the instruments look so much better. And the drum set is wireless. Such is the technological age we live in, I guess. Maybe I should take mine back within the 30 days and get the new one when it comes out. Hmmmmmm....

Blasts from the Past...

My cousin is in the process of collecting pictures for my Grandmother's Christmas gift, and she found these little gems along the way...

That is me on the right, and my brother on the left. Love my hair... and I look scared for some reason. Either way, I think we were a couple cute kids.



And check out how cool my parents were... this is why Brad and I were so cute. So much about this picture makes me laugh (in a good way, of course). Good times indeed!