Back From Gold Beach

My wonderful wife and I just got back from a trip to Gold Beach for a memorial service for her grandmother. It was a good reminder to me that this life is tainted by sin and the corruption of death, but that those who have faith in the Lord Jesus are covered by grace and will have a new body on the new earth when the Christ returns. God has plans for His creation, to resurrect it from the death we all face. Thanks to Jesus for confronting death, for taking away the sting, for giving us the Spirit which is the love of the Father and the Son with us. We are known by our God, and He makes himself known to us, and on the day Jesus returns, we will see God in His full glory. Keep my wife and her family in your prayers.

With all the traveling we've done and stuff that is happening right now, my writing has suffered, but the good thing is that I've done lots of reading. Sitting in a plane or a car for hours can do that. I'm thinking that Facebook and Twitter are getting in the way of blogging, but it may not be a bad thing for everyone. Many people started a blog because they wanted to give people a way to keep people updated with things happening in each other's lives. Facebook and Twitter is an easier way to do that more frequently and quickly. Blogging is a more formal way to fill this same function, but also a more suitable place for lengthier thoughts. The writer in me likes blogging more than Facebook, for it gives me a better outlet for forming thoughts. I think a lengther post on the subject of social media and writing is called for, but I will save it for another time. I thought I would just let everyone know I am still here. Life is good.

No Excuse for Cheating

Manny Ramirez was recently suspended for 50 games for getting caught using steroids, adding him to the list of players suspected of using or getting caught using these drugs. I have thought about this topic for a while, and have heard various viewpoints on it. Many think that steroids will not help you become a better baseball player. Many people think they help you hit home runs. Here is my take on it.

Steroids will not make you a better baseball player. I should qualify that statement. Steroids will not make you a better hitter. If you are already really good at hitting the ball, however, they will help you get more hits, and a higher percentage of those will be home runs. Let us look at this logically. A player that routinely hits line drives and fly balls will hit many of those for home runs. Take away the performance enhancing drugs and twenty feet off the flight of the ball, and instead of going over the outfield fence the ball goes into the outfielder's glove, or at best between or in front of the outfielder for a base hit.

Now consider even with the steroids that the player is simply good at hitting the ball in the gap. A faster, stronger runner will more likely be able to run out a base hit and turn it into extra bases or stolen bases. Consider the four players who have hit 40 home runs and had 40 stolen bases in the same season. The first was in 1988 and following: Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and Alfonso Soriano. Soriano is the only one on the list not suspected of using steroids.

So while baseball is still just entertainment (some people would argue otherwise), there is no logic in thinking that steroids do not help baseball players, or for that matter baseball teams, achieve higher performance in the sport. When one player does better, the whole team does better. This is one reason why you do not see much effort on the part of the owners to do anything about this epidemic.

Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa — don't cry for any of these guys. In fact you should be glad something is being done for the sake of the kids that look up to these players or aspire to be one of them. As for Manny, I only wish he were still playing for the Red Sox so that I could enjoy his suspension even more.

Don't Believe Everything You Read On The Internet

April Fools!

Sorry to anyone who believed what I posted about not blogging anymore. While my blogging has been a little sparse recently, I am not giving it up entirely. I have been busy doing other things, and blogging is not at the top of my list of things to do. I do secretly wish that Facebook would crawl back into the depths from which it came with its stepbrother MySpace, but until that time people can continue to stalk old high school friends or send pillow fight requests to their hearts' content. Just know that I will not be accepting any of them.

R.I.P. Blogging

While I have found this experience fulfilling in a way that allows me to discover my thoughts on certain subjects in an organic and public way, I have decided that blogging is dead. No one wants to hear people's opinions on theology or robots, unless they are sufficiently qualified to form an educated opinion, likewise no one wants to hear my opinion on politics, movies, or any other topic. I have decided that it simply takes up too much of my time, and it is not fair to others anyway if I hardly ever post anymore, so I am done blogging. You all should be done too. Besides, we have Facebook now.

St. Patrick is Dead...

...or at least that is what this day signifies. Chasing out snakes, leprechauns, shamrocks, green beer, and pinching. These are all things we probably think of when this holiday comes around. It was initially, however, a holiday: a holy day to remember the death of Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick used a shamrock to describe the relationship of the Trinity, superimposed the Sun onto the cross to redeem a pagan symbol into God's plan. He brought Catholic Christianity to Ireland, essentially taking a pagan people and bringing the love of God to them.

Is that not what the church is called to do?

This is why church plants exist. We each go into a pagan world that worships different gods (money, sex, the self) and we bring the love of God to the world. If only there were a Saint Patrick for the United States, it would take the burden off individual Christians to remember that it is up to each of us to do our part. Our country and world can be redeemed, and the message of hope that comes from Jesus is on our lips to share. We can use everyday things to get our point across, or even use a once holy day to share with others what is truly holy.

Want Some Free Food?

If you're trying to save money, today there are a couple of deals going on where you can get some free food.

IHOP National Pancake Day
Between 7AM and 10PM you can get a stack of three pancakes for free. The only string attached: they ask you make a donation to Children's Miracle Network

Two Free Tacos
Between 12AM and 11:59PM Jack In The Box is giving away two free tacos to support Jack and his broken head. You must print out the coupon to get the tacos, but that's all you need.

These two deals are only going on today, so you've got to move if you want your free food.

Million Subs Giveaway
Quznos is giving away a free sub sandwich if you give them your contact information. Once you have signed up, you can go back and opt out, or you can also sign up to win subs for a year.

Stephen King Blasts "Twilight"

Since I have yet to post anything vampire related, and the backlash was so great when others did, I'll put my neck on the line (pun intended) and throw out this article that I found, where Stephen King compares J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer's writing. His comments for Meyer are less than complimentary.

Stephen King Says Meyer Isn't Very Good

Stephen King said, “Both Rowling and Meyer, they’re speaking directly to young people… The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good.”

Since I am on the subject of vampires, I am reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, and so far I think it is actually pretty good. Now on with the random drive by comments.

Wealth

One of the things my wife and I have been putting effort into over the past year or so has been to be good stewards of our money. We have done this in order be able to purchase our first house, which we did in November. We made changes in order to help support some friends that are missionaries in Uganda. We also did this so that one day we might actually be able to retire, and with the current state of our country's economy, it looks like we were doing this just in time.

The temptation is there to do this in order to make ourselves more comfortable financially, or to be able to buy bigger toys in the future, but I have to tell myself that I do not do this for myself. I recently came across some good verses about wealth and riches that reinforced what I already know. Hopefully it will only focus me more as I grow to know God more every day.

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
~ 1 Timothy 6:17-19

This tells me that the things I have are fleeting, and even making wise financial decisions does not mean that all I have cannot go away. Anything can happen to take away everything, such as illness, accident, or theft. Even more convicting to me than this is that it says I am to share what I have with others. I can save money so that I may retire someday, but these verses tell me that I have a responsibility to share with others no matter what I have, but especially if I am rich.

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
~ Ephesians 4:28

The work that I am commanded to do, and do well, not stealing from my employer, is done so that I may have more than enough for myself in order to share with others who do not have enough. Riches are not for myself to make my life easier or more comfortable, and even in churches our culture tells us the exact opposite. We assume that if we are unable to pay our bills that the problem is that we do not have enough money. God gives us all we need, the only decision is what we do with it.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
~ 2 Peter 1:3-4

I sometimes wonder if I don't read scripture as much as I should because I am lazy or because scripture is too convicting. The question is: can't it be both?

Facebook Sacrifice

Burger King came up with a promotion that if you install their Facebook app and delete ten of your friends, you will receive a coupon for a free Whopper. We all have those people with whom you were acquaintances with in high school that now comment daily on your Facebook wall, this is your chance to remove them with the excuse of "Hey, I need to save all the money I can."

Whopper Sacrifice

New Curriculum Graphic - Lost

This is a first draft version of another curriculum image I am making for my brother. The city in the image is Portland. I have a couple others in the works as well.