Quem di diligunt, adolescens moritur

"He whom the gods favor, dies young."

A good post from Brandon.

I'm not sure I believe this intellectually, but my heart wants to.

My two brothers died of cancer, both relatively young (43 and 53). It helps to consider God taking them early in light of that old quote.

Cancer sucks. Do me a favor and make a year-end donation to the ACS.

Sweet ride

We heard a funny story last night from my nephew Brandon. He and his sister were on his way to church one Sunday morning in his 'sweet ride' of a vehicle, and while crossing the bridge over the Arkansas river, his hood popped up, flew back, and hit his windshield.

They were able to pull the car off the road and without an accident, but he needed some way to get it home without the hood coming off again. The result.

Farewell Busch

Greg Taylor posted on his blog about the passing of Busch stadium. The photos made me sad, yet excited about the new stadium.

Thanks to my wonderful wife, who surprised me with tickets to game 4 of last year's series, we were able to attend the last game ever played in Busch. In fact, here is my home video of the last play in the last game at Busch.

It was a sad ending for the Cards, but I couldn't help but be happy for the Sox. I sat by some very gracious and overjoyed Sox fans that night.

(If you watch carefully, and you've seen the movie Fever Pitch, you can see Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore come into the picture on the left, followed by a small camera crew. Also, this film marked the big screen debut for us -- watch the final few minutes of the movie and check the outfield seats.)

Anyway, while watching news footage of tearing down Busch this morning, Beth said, "Opening day, April 10th... let's go.". I'm already there.

I've been lucky enough to visit a couple of new 'classic' stadiums -- I was able to attend opening night at Camden Yards in Baltimore (they actually opened the day before, but I was there at opening night), and I was able to catch a couple of games at the new park in Arlington. Both very similar stadiums -- lots of brick and arches, and both have character. Very well done.

I'll still miss old Busch as well as will many, many others.

Btw, I sure wish Reggie would have opted to sign for less and end his career in St. Louis. The Cards fans would have treated him well. Oh well.

You're fired

Major kudos are in order for the school administrators where my children attend. There was a hiring decision that turned out badly, and it was corrected after just one semester. I'm very impressed and a bit surprised.

We had planned to write a letter to the administration to urge a change, after we felt that one of our children wouldn't suffer any negative repercussions. We are still going to write a letter, but it will be one of thanks and encouragement for simply doing the right thing at the right time.

I wish churches could move as quickly and decisively to release staff when appropriate. Maybe some do -- I doubt it though. I'm convinced that church leaders' biggest problem is fear. Fear of a job termination decision being mistaken for a cold, uncaring, unkind act of family member termination -- which it is not.

A bad hiring decision haunts church families for much longer than it should... which *is* ultimately unkind and uncaring -- for the group of believers they are shepherding. Unfortunately, I really think that some church staff may see that fear and take advantage of it.

Durango

Greetings to my visitors from the Durango area. Thanks for visiting. We were in Durango a couple of years ago on vacation and had a great time.

Nurturing vs Enmeshed

Last night, Beth and I were watching Nanny 911. A family with 6 boys. The father would cuddle with each (4?) of the older boys and the mom would do the same with the youngest until they fell asleep each night. The dad was a good guy and sincerely believed he was helping them by making sure they felt nurtured, loved and safe. The mom wanted to do the right thing, but knew something was twisted. In reality, as the Nanny helped him discover, he was really reacting in some way to his past and doing this out of selfish need of his own. The Nanny hit the nail on the head. He was in fact making them fell much secure only when he was with them, and they felt incredibly insecure the rest of the time.

Mike Cope had an excellent post related to this, where he describes the difference between nurturing families and enmeshed families. Many good comments along with the post. It's worth a read.

Mike defines the two types of families like this:

"A nurturing family is one that empowers family members to have a strong sense of self. Children are loved and drawn into the nurturing center of the family--but without losing their sense of self and outward mission.

In an enmeshed family, children are loved and drawn into the center--but often at the expense of their sense of self and outward mission."

I started thinking that church families model these same two types of behaviors. At least there appeared to be some similarities while Beth and I were visiting various groups of believers over the last couple of years. Still thinking about that.

random thoughts

If you have multiple children, your first child will probably not be exposed to nearly as much 'stuff' as your last child. During children's church this past Sunday our fifth (and last) child, Anthony, was asked along with a group of other children what they wanted for Christmas. My son immediately shouts "An iPod nano!". He was the only one. Sigh.

...

Driving around with the your name or business name on the side of your vehicle is a great way to improve your driving. You will be much more courteous and patient. I have a feeling we could reduce both traffic accidents and road rage-related incidents significantly by requiring our names on the outside of our vehicles.

...

Tiki Gone Wild: I've never seen such a textbook display of how NOT to tackle than the Chiefs/Giants game on Saturday. Goodbye playoffs. Gunther quit flipping off the media and get a defensive game plan together.

It's hot, it's stuffy, and it smells weird

Beth's piano recital for her students was this afternoon at a local assisted living facility. This is the second or third year she has used this location, and it's a very good thing to do.

I don't really think her students care that much about where it is. On the other hand, the residents get a great deal of enjoyment from simply being around children.

Some of the kids (and their families) have probably never been to a nursing home/assisted living facility, and this is a way for them to be introduced to it and associate some different memories with it other than "it's hot, stuffy, and smells weird" (those were my memories -- as well as being frightened when I was 9 of hugging an ancient relative with dried mashed potatoes on her face).

Anyway, it (the recital) was a good thing.

Stress relief

We've been extremely stressed here at work trying to get a release ready to ship tomorrow night. The days are running together because so many of us haven't been home much over the last two weeks. We think there was a weekend a few days ago, but if so, it was a fuzzy memory that looked a lot like the rest of the week.

In an attempt to relieve the stress around here, I resorted to a trick learned from my son Sam. I believe Sam was in 5th grade at the time. He showed me this amazing technique for creating the most realistic sound of flatulence I've ever heard without actually breaking wind.

The technique requires one or two straws, your armpit and some air. You can actually use one straw, but it's a bit easier to attach two straws together. One end of the tube goes under your pit. Simply blow in the other end, and adjust the pitch accordingly by squeezing your arm tighter to your chest. Even more realistic sounds are produced when the moisture from your breath arrives at your pit (assuming your pit wasn't moist initially).

Still enjoying 5th grade humor like I do, I grabbed a couple of straws and proceeded to break the stress. The office was soon filled with the harmonious sound of laughs intermixed with fake farts.

I'm not sure why farts make people laugh. They've heard it all their lives, and they still laugh out loud. I'm sure God had a purpose.

Back to work.

Narnia

Saw The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe Sunday right after church with the family. (I had no idea theaters had showings as early as 9:30 am on Sundays.)

Thought it was fantastic. Moved me. William gave me a hard time because I was sobbing through much of the ending.

Almost all of the actors were perfect for their parts (we were all amazed at how similar the actress playing Lucy looked like Hannah at that age). I was afraid Santa would appear dorky and out of place, but he was perfect. The kids were all perfect. The Professor was perfect. The only exception was the witch -- she simply wasn't as stunningly beautiful as the books describe her. I really think they could have found a more striking actress who could still dish out some evil looks. Still, I'd give the movie an A+.

The best part was after the movie when Sam was excitedly telling me who Aslan represented. Very cool.

Give Peace a Chance

John Lennon was killed 25 years ago tonight. I was 19.

I'm still amazed at the fame that small band of musicians gained in such a short time and have sustained for so long. One really simple explanation I think: They were very good.

I was introduced to the Beatles by my brother Lowell, and remember that he wore a black arm band to work the day after the assassination. At the time I gave him a hard time about it. He was a true fan though.

I didn't agree with John's lifestyle and much of what he said. I did admire him for his total lack of inhibition, his love for people and desire for peace. He seemed to have a good heart.

Vince does KP

My friend Vince suffering the consequences of our friendly wager.

(Being the compassionate fellow that I am, I gave Vince a lovely apron to protect his clothing from kitchen grime.)

"Say it isn't so Ethel!"

We were watching one of those funniest home video shows a couple of nights ago with the kids, and one of the clips was of a streaker. Beth and started talking about when streaking first came on the scene back in the 70's while we in our mid-teens.

Then I remembered another old Ray Stevens tune, so I found it and let the kids listen to it. While Beth and were laughing, the kids just sort of stared at us.

Oh well, I still laugh when I listen to this. Enjoy.


"The Streak"
Written and Recorded by: "Ray Stevens"

Hello everybody, this is your action news reporter
With all the news that is news across the nation
On the scene at the super market
There seems to have been some disturbance here
Pardon me sir, did you see what happened?
Yeh, I did...I was standing over there by the tomatoes
And here he come
Running thru the pole beans, thru the fruits and vegetables
Naked as a jay-bird
And I hollered over at Ethel...Isaid don't look Ethel
It was too late, she'd already been incensed...

(Chorus)
Here he comes, look at that, look at that
There he goes, look at that, look at that
And he ain't wearin' no clothes

Oh yes, they call him the streak
Fastest thing on two feet
He's just as proud as he can be
Of his anatomy
He's gonna give us a peek
Oh yes, they call him the streak
He likes to show off his physique
If there's an audience to be found
He'll be streakin' around
Invitin' public critique...

This is your action news reporter once again
And we're here at the gas station
Pardon me sir, did you see what happened?
Yeh, I did...I was just in here gettin' my tires checked
And he just appeared out of the traffic
Come streakin' around the grease rack there
Didn't have nothing on but a smile
I looked in there and Ethel was gettin' her a cold drink
I hollered...Don't look Ethel
It was too late...She'd already been mooned
Flashed her right there in front of the shock absorbers

(Chorus)
He ain't rude, look at that, look at that
He ain't lewd, look at that, look at that
He's just in the mood to run in the nude

Oh yes, they call him the streak
He likes to turn the other cheek
He's always making the news
Wearin' just his tennis shoes
Guess you could call him unique...

Once again, your action news reporter in the booth at the gym
Covering the disturbance at the basketball playoffs
Pardon me sir, did you see what happened?
Yeh, I did...half-time, I was just going down there
To get Ethel a snow cone
Here he come right our of the cheap seats
Dribblin'...right down the middle of the court
Didn't have on nothin' but his PF's
Made a hook shot and got out thru the concession stand
I hollered up at Ethel, I said don't look Ethel
It was too late...She'd already got a free shot
Grandstanded...Right there in front of the home team

Here he comes...look...who's that with him?
Ethel, is that you, Ethel?
What do you think you're doing?
You get your clothes on!

Ethel, where you going?
Ethel, you shameless hussy
Say it isn't so Ethel
Ethel........

Cowlick Song

I was cleaning up some stuff and found this song by my nephew Luke that was played locally on KXOJ a couple of years ago...

(Thanks to Craig West for putting this together and providing background vocals. They've got some more entertaining songs here.)

He answers prayers

On a more important note, God answered some prayers tonight.

(nothing to do with the previous post)

3 - 0

Union 33 - Mustang 7: Honestly, it was a letdown not to be able to redeem the last-second loss to Jenks during the regular season. It's not really a championship game unless we play Jenks. Congrats to Union anyway.

TU 44 - UCF 27: TU wins their first league title in a long time, and Garrett Mills (Jenks HS alum) sets the NCAA single-season record for rec'ing yards by a TE.

KC 31 - 27: Wow. Big win at Arrowhead for the Chiefs over the donkeys. LJ has a huge game against one of the best defenses in the league, and the Chiefs stay in the wildcard race at 8-4. Unfortunately, Oakland didn't show up at SD, and SD is 8-4 also, both one game behind Denver.

"It's in the fridge, daddy-o!"

We were watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tonight and Beth and I got a chuckle out of this...

Kid visiting factory: "Who wants a beard?"

Willy Wonka: "Well, beatniks for one, folk singers and motorbike riders. Y'know. All those hip, jazzy, super cool, neat, keen, and groovy cats. It's in the fridge, daddy-o! Are you hip to the jive? Can you dig what I'm layin' down? I knew that you could. Slide me some skin, soul brother!"

...I want a beard!

Also, Johnny Depp plays a better Willy Wonka than Gene Wilder. Roald Dahl would be proud.

2006 ISWW

A great speaker line-up has been put together for the 2006 Workshop:

http://www.tulsaworkshop.org/speakers/