Heart, Soul, Mind, & Strength

My Mamaw's Move

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:53:00 +0000

Well, it's been forever (10 months or so) since I've written a blog post. Why? I don't really know to be honest.

Maybe because I like to have good well written thoughts to share. Maybe because I have struggled to know how I want to use this space with the meteoric rise of Facebook usage in my life and the availability of Twitter (but I haven't tweeted yet). Maybe because I've been crazy busy lately with many projects — our CRM implementation at work and our church Web site to name only the largest two projects.

But I'm back . . . not because I'm afraid Google will forget this blog ever existed (if you've read me at all, you know that's not my motivation) . . . not because it's just time after a long hiatus . . . not because I've figured out a strategy to use my blog, Facebook, and Twitter (I haven't yet) . . . but because today was a very emotional day and tomorrow will be even more so and I need to organize my thoughts and get something down for the record (my record and for my kids later use).

I will miss my Mamaw terribly!! No, she hasn't died or anything — she's just moving to Houston to be under my mother's love and care instead of under mine. This was a very mutual decision and we are all happy and pleased with it, including me. So, this is just to get my feelings out there on the table.

Until we started contemplating this move, I hadn't really realized just how close I was to my Mamaw and how she's literally always been close by. We haven't lived in a different city since I was in college and I came home all the time anyway. I lived with my Mamaw before I got married. She continues to be a key influence on my Christian walk and has been a wonderful model and discipler for me since I was a young boy. She modeled and was a visible reminder for me of Ephesians 3:18 " to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." She is a bastion of unconditional love, selfless service, and sweet encouragement.

I remember my other grandmother, Gran Gran, very fondly and she passed away when I was close to 11 (or somewhere around there). Gran Gran was another wonderful woman — what a blessing those women were and are to me, I truly would not be half the man I am today without their influence. One of my heart's desires is for my children to have fond memories of their Mamaw! I want them to remember
* that she was at all of their events,
* that she called them all the time,
* that she fawned over their creations at church or school like she was in the Louvre,
* that she always wanted to feed them and take care of their every need (whether real or perceived),
* that she loved them for who they were and not who everyone else wanted them to be,
* that she saw through all of their faults and focused her praise on their strengths,
* that she was a genuinely joyful and loving person, and
* that she was a reflection of the God that she loves so much.

Okay, okay, she's not dead . . . but I am grieving. Grief is an emotion felt when something is lost. I feel like I am losing the ability for my kids to continue to get to know her and build memories with her (they are ages 5-10). I feel like I am losing the opportunity to see my Mamaw whenever I want and whenever I need to see her. I feel like I am losing a very close friend who I can talk to about anything. I feel like I am losing a mentor and discipler — although I know that I'm not, she's just going to Houston.

I know that she is only going 5 hours to the South, but it feels like a great distance for me. I have had the privledge to serve and care for her for many years as her primary caregiver. It has been my honor to give back to her a small part of what she has so graciously given to me — time, transportation, energy, an extra brain, love, care, errands, food, and so much more.

She spent the day in our home as movers were packing up her apartment in the assisted living facility. My middle child wanted to sleep in the same room with Mamaw — he's the sensitive one and has a strong connection to her. He just couldn't fall asleep and he came in crying to me because he was afraid that he would miss her in the morning (we're flying out early). Very few people in the world love us like Mamaw does and she has made an impact on my kids lives. He held me for awhile and told me that he wrote her a note and would I make sure that she saw it in the morning.

"Dear Mamaw,

I hope your move goes well. I eventually had to go to sleep upstairs. I'm praying for you Mamaw and love you. XOXO OXOXO OXOXO OXOXO OXOXO OXOXO [exact number of Xs and Os in his note]

Love, Cooper"

Opening of the 2008 Olympics

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:05:00 +0000

I just can't wait! I love the Olympics! I love the competition, the nationalism, seeing all the different countries represented, and watching sports that I normally wouldn't care anything about.

Getting ready for the Olympic games, I wanted a good schedule of when the various sports would be on TV. I was very disappointed in NBC's online TV schedule, but I did find a great page of the sports and their schedules.

Speaking of sports that I don't care anything about, here is a list of the sports that I won't watch unless nothing else of interest is on -- Badminton, Equestrian, Handball, Field Hockey, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Sailing, Shooting, Synchronized Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Trampoline, and Weightlifting. Now, this is just my personal opinion in an Olympic setting!
* Badminton and Table Tennis should just be recreational sports and not played competitively ever.
* Admit it, in Equestrian the real athlete is the horse not the rider so why not have Horse Racing also?
* Rhythmic Gymnastics and Synchronized Swimming are done by very talented people and some of it is really cool, but they really seem more like art done by athletes.

The sports that I really like to watch in the Olympics are -- Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Gymnastics, Judo, Pentathlon, Soccer (which has already started), Swimming, Tae Kwon Do, Track & Field, Volleyball, and Wrestling.
* I don't know why I like Basketball since I don't like the NBA much. But, it is a very international sport and it's fun in the Olympics.
* Beach Volleyball and Soccer are sports that I just like to watch but don't feel very much like Olympic games. I like them anyway though.
* Gymnastics, Track & Field, and Wrestling just scream Olympics to me and I have many happy memories watching them in the past.

What do you think?

Yes, I like the Olympics so much that this is my first blog post in awhile even before writing about our trip to Hawaii!

June Scattershooting

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 03:02:00 +0000

Well, it's been too long since I made time to write here . . . sorry! I changed jobs and moved to a new house, so there has definitely been news just no time to write!!

* We love the new house -- more space for everyone and a great neighborhood!

* I love my new job -- great people to work with, fun challenges, something different every day, and lots to learn!

* The Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis was great. I met lots of neat people, heard some great sermons, and enjoyed the atmosphere.

* I don't really recommend changing jobs and moving in the span of two weeks, but I didn't plan it that way either!

* Is moving getting harder or am I getting older . . . wait, don't answer that!

* In his June 8, 2008 Monday Morning Quarterback column (in the section "Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me"), Peter King wrote about David Tyree's faith-based autobiography, More Than Just The Catch. It was a great section that gave God the glory!

While cleaning out my desk, I found where I had written down a few quotes. Unsure of the sources, but . . .
* "If you are being pulled on, picked on, or eaten up, you must be bearing fruit."
* "Let your burning desire blaze your trail."

Don't know what "scattershooting" is? Here's a formal definition but here's what I really mean by it.

Not "Success" but "Value"

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 01:50:00 +0000

I just read a great quote that got me to thinking. I read it in the Leadership Wired newsletter, a great newsletter from INJOY. Albert Einstein said:

"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value."

That really got me to thinking and evaluating myself and my career. I had never heard this quote before but it lines up well with my overall career philosophy. My intent is to add value each year, each project, each day, and with each task. I have never measured "success" with money, job title, office size, or material possessions. I'm a people person and an organization/team guy. As a supervisor, I'm overjoyed when my employees reach their goals -- their success is my success. As a leader, my focus should not be on what direction I want to go but what direction is best for the team and the organization in the long run. Those things (and much more) serve to make a man of value.

A job change is pretty likely for me right now and I have felt like a man of value. I have felt valuable with the offer extended to me and I have felt valuable discussing it with my current boss. There are successful people in every organization, but people that are valuable are almost irreplaceable.

My Honey's Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:30:00 +0000

Today is my girl's birthday -- happy birthday Heather!! You'll never really know just how awesome you are, but here's an attempt.

You hold our family together and keep us organized,
You show our children what it means every day to walk with God,
You make me feel loved and cherished and valued,
You are creative in everything that you do,
You make even half birthdays special for others,
You bring consistency to the kids lives that they miss terribly when you are gone,
You are a sounding board, a voice of wisdom and reason, and a source of strength and help for your friends,
You are an awesome prayer partner,
You take a house and craft it with loving care into a home,
You are a valuable resource and servant in the body of Christ,
You are absolutely my other half and something is definitely not right when you are away from our home,

and never forget that you are loved by your children and adored by your husband!

Jackie Robinson Day

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 02:30:00 +0000

Today was a special day. I led a meeting today and asked the group of about 12 people what made today special. Tax day was the most common response. When I mentioned the number 42 and baseball, one person in the room remembered Jackie Robinson.

What a great man -- a true competitor, patient, skilled, intelligent, persevering. As baseball honors the 61st anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball, here's my small tribute with my favorite quotes by him.

"I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... all I ask is that you respect me as a human being."

"Life is not a spectator sport. If you're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you're wasting your life."

"There's not an American in this country free until every one of us is free."

"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."

Reminded of Derek and Jim Redmond

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:16:00 +0000

I can't believe that it's time for the summer Olympics again. It's been crazy watching all of the controversy surrounding the torch relay. I would like to dwell on something more positive. I was recently reminded of one of the most personally inspiring moments in all of sports -- the story of Derek and Jim Redmond at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

I remember watching track and field on TV and getting ready to watch a typical runnng event, the 400-meters. However, the race was anything but typical! Derek Redmond from Great Britain seemed to be running well! However, coming around the turn, Redmond's hamstring suddenly pulled and he hit the track. I remember thinking how sad it was that a world-class athlete worked so hard to make it that far only to be injured during the race of his life. I saw him get back up and wave off the trainers coming to try to help him and it was obvious that he wanted to cross the finish line . . . to finish what he started. Then, his Dad came up to him (who had made his way onto the track from the stands) and put his arm around his struggling son and helped him hobble to the finish line. I've got tears in my eyes just typing this (once again proving beyond doubt what a softy I am).

It was an amazing show of determination by Derek Redmond and an outstanding show of love and support by his father, Jim. Lord, please let my kids know that their Dad loves and supports them! Hopefully, some day I'll get a chance to show them I support them even if it's not as dramatic and with the world watching.

Unhappy Opening Day 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:51:00 +0000

What a wierd opening day of baseball for 2008 — the Boston Red Sox and Oakland A's in Japan!

I am none of the following:
– an isolationist,
– anti-Japanese,
– against global marketing,
– anti-expansion, or
– a stiff traditionalist who can't accept change (well, maybe I am to some degree)!

It's just IMHO (in my humble opinion) — it's just plain wrong to to open the baseball season in any country other than the U.S. or Canada. Opening Day should be the official inaugeration of Spring and should make you yearn for the smell of freshly mown grass, the sound of the crack of a bat, the warmth of the sun on your face, the sight of the teams running onto the field for a "real" game, and the taste of roasted peanuts followed by a hot dog and later snacking on sunflower seeds with a large Dr. Pepper . . . wait, where was I . . . .

To have Opening Day start at 5:00 in the morning, played by teams on the other side of a very large ocean, no broadcast available on radio, etc. is just frustrating. To make it even more strange, after this initial series, both teams will come back to the states and have additional Spring Training games before the season resumes. This year, I will consider Opening Day to be March 31st when most major league teams take the field for traditional day games to start their season.

Commissioner Selig is now talking about opening future seasons in Europe and other countries. Please, can we all just take a breath and learn from this first and listen to the response from fans like myself. We can all win. Here's a proposal — send two teams to another location like England or Germany but have them play their series after the official Opening Day of most other teams, then give them a break to fly back, rest, and then continue with their season once their series is over. No wierd opening day of the season, but with every other advantage of having teams play meaningful games abroad.

My personality profile

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:36:00 +0000

I took a DiSC personality profile recently and scored highest on "Steady" no surprise to me! My patterns are Agent and Specialist. Here's the description of a Steady: "Steadiness (Submission in Marston's time): People with High S styles scores want a steady pace, security, and don't like sudden change. High S persons are calm, relaxed, patient, possessive, predictable, deliberate, stable, consistent, and tend to be unemotional and poker faced. Stable, Cooperative, Predictable, Deliberate, Work in background, Diplomatic, Consistent, Good listener, Sympathetic."

My personality profile on Gary Smalley and John Trent's scale is "Golden Retriever."

Strengths	Strengths Pushed Out of Balance
Sensitive feelings	Easily hurt
Loyal	Missed opportunities
Calm, even-keel	Lacking enthusiasm
Non-demanding, patient	Push-over, taken advantage of
Peace maker, hates confrontation	Misses honest intimacy
Enjoys routine, dislikes change	Stays in rut, not spontaneous
Warm & relational	Fewer deep friends
Accomodating	Too indecisive
Sympathetic, good listener	Holds on to other's hurt or pain

What does a balanced Golden Retriever look like? Since Golden Retrievers have an eagerness to please others, they have a hard time saying "No." Therefore, their greatest relational need is to set limits and boundaries essential for their own well-being. Further, Retrievers need to practice confronting others. Turn your ability to feel deeply about negative things into a positive step, one where you think and act decisively.

On the SOCIAL STYLE Model™, my primary style is "Amiable" with high Versatility (I play well with others). My back-up or subquadrant is the "Driver" which means that I take charge when needed. Here's the description for an Amiable:
"Amiables are people-oriented, and care more about close relationships than results or influence. They usually appear warm, friendly and cooperative. Amiables tend to move slowly with a low time discipline, minimizing risk and often using personal opinions to arrive at decisions. Belonging to a group is a primary need, and Amiables may make every effort to gain acceptance. They typically seek to uncover common ground, preferring to achieve objectives through understanding and mutual respect rather than force and authority. When managed by force without relationship, Amiables appear to cooperate initially but will likely lack commitment to the objectives and may later resist implementation."

So, what's your style?

March 2008 Scattershooting

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:09:00 +0000

I've wanted to write for awhile now, but I'm so busy! I decided that I would write here until I got a certain amount of things accomplished. Tonight, goal completed! Various things to write about, so here's some scattershooting . . .

The main thing keeping me busy at the moment is getting our house to sell! Lots of minor repairs, some yard work, painting, etc. Boy, I'm ready for this to be over. We're hoping to stay within our school district with a little more room for the kids to roam.

Gearing up for March Madness? This Oregon Urology clinic has a genius idea that some guys should gear down. They're pitching that guys need to get a vasectomy before the tourney starts so that you have 4 days of non-stop NCAA basketball watching without hassle! Genius! Here's the news article, here's the link to the actual clinic's news item. I was hoping to get the audio of the commercial that ran on the Eugene, Oregon sports station but I can't find it anywhere.

Collin got promoted to the rank of Bear in Cub Scouts -- way to go Collin!

Also, getting ready for fantasy baseball season with my buds in the northeast. I love reviewing the teams and players. I also like ranking the players in their positions. However, I sure miss live drafts! Everything in online now which makes the season so easy, but the automatic drafts where you have to rank every player in one big list is a whippin'! I don't want to decide now between Jake Peavy and Carlos Beltran -- I'd rather wait and see which top players are available at all of the positions and then pick the one I like best. After the automatic draft last year, I was left scratching my head over some of the picks wondering why it drafted the way it did. Oh well, it's still a lot of fun.

Let it snow . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 03:23:00 +0000

It's snowing in Texas and I love it! Colorado is one of my favorite states and I love winter sports, I just wish I had the day off tomorrow so I could play in it. We had just put the boys to bed when we realized it was snowing so we went and got them to look out the window -- how cool!

Top U.S. Cities and the 7 Deadly Sins

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:03:00 +0000

Forbes just published some interesting information on what they consider to be "America's Most Sinful Cities." The online version is complete with an interactive map of each of the deadly sins and the cities that they selected (using data compiled from various sources) .

They failed to make it easy by providing a list of the top 10 cities in each category, relying instead on the map. Also, I was looking for the overall top 10 cities but they only show the cities within each category. Interestingly, Las Vegas only showed up on the list for "sloth."

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Reading Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:04:00 +0000

It's about time for Collin to tackle the next book in the Harry Potter series — Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. That means that I needed to read it ahead of time and work up some discussion questions. There are some very good lessons to be learned from this next installment and I didn't want him to miss any of them including racism, decision making, problem solving, initiative, courage, and more.

Here is the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Reading Guide. If you have questions or comments, please feel free to leave me a comment here or e-mail me.

2007 (not a Space) Odyssey

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:55:00 +0000

I just realized that I haven't written about out latest major purchase -- a new 2007 Honda Odyssey! We originally were not real excited about going into debt again (the only debt that we've had for awhile is our house) but we have already paid it off (thanks to some help from the family).

Our old van was a 2000 Plymouth Grand Voyager and it had over 125,000 miles on it. We put it in the shop and when our mechanic said "it'll be around $800" my response was "no, it won't!" Since Heather broke down by herself with all of the kids driving to New Orleans to visit some of the friends that we made from the Katrina diaspora, our confidence in that van was in major decline. We got $2,000 for that van and were thankful for it. It's a good thing we sold it too! A friend of ours bought the van for his dealership and a week after he sold it the new owner called and told him the engine blew on it — thank you Lord!

We had been saving money for a new van but the cash on hand would only buy us another run down van. After weighing our options and praying over it, we decided that we should go into debt and get a little better van and focus on paying it off as quickly as possible. Our family then stepped in and offered to pay the difference between what we were willing to spend and the cost of a new van. So, we got our dream and went shopping for a new Toyota Sienna or Honda Odyssey. The Sienna's didn't impress us near as much as the Odyssey's.

The only thing that the kids cared about was a built in DVD player. When we started looking for used vehicles, we told the kids to pray specifically that we would find the right van with a DVD player since I wasn't willing to pay much extra for it. The model of Odyssey that comes with the DVD player also happens to come equipped with a 6 disc CD changer, sun roof, leather interior, and other awesome trimmings that we wouldn't ordinarily care about. Since the dealer just got a big shipment of 2008 models, we negotiated a great deal on a 2007 model!

Thank you family and thank you Lord for providing us everything we could have asked for or imagined!

Happy Madri Gras in New Orleans

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 02:14:00 +0000

Well it's Mardi Gras time again and I just realized that I never wrote about it last year -- shame on me! Every time I say this, my Christian friends can't believe it, but man Mardi Gras was fun and I want to take my wife and kids to experience it some time!

Mardi Gras was nothing like I expected and everything that I expected all at the same time. Mardi Gras is NOT just a bunch of drunk people flashing everyone (unless you're on Bourbon Street of course). It is like a street carnival, jazz festival, and great parades all wrapped up in one big event.

We stayed in a big hotel off of St. Charles between Canal and Poydras and we had tickets to about three big parades. The tickets were to stay on a set of scafolding to watch the parades and catch "throw" from the floats. The key to catching "throw" in the form of beads, stuffed animals, toys, coconuts (from the Zulus), and other cool stuff is NOT flashing but being nice, looking the floats riders in the eye and yelling "Throw me somethin' mistah!" The parades were really cool with fun floats and wild costumes. During the day, between the big parades, neighborhood crewes would "march" and some of them were hilarious. I saw a whole family dressed like the incredibles including the baby.

Since I was with my Mom (yes, I'm the conservative one of the family) we went down Bourbon street enough to grab a bit to eat and go to Charlie O'Briens piano bar one night. Charlie O'Briens was a blast. The stage was two pianos opposite each other with a guy playing the thimbles in between. Man did those pianists know how to play and sing, I bet they know every song ever written (they play requests from the crowd). The guy in the middle had thimbles on each finger and a metal dish like a plate that he would tap on. People would throw him change and that would help the percussion sound. Everyone would sing all of the songs that they knew and it was a lot of fun.

A highlight for me was getting to meet up with my friend Chip. Chip is a true hero of Katrina who stayed behind to look after his grandfather while the rest of his family evacuated. He got stuck in his attic, got out, and helped rescue others in his neighborhood before going to the Superdome. He testified that the Superdome was a horrible, unspeakable place and they couldn't wait to get out of there. Chip is in the Crewe of Zulu and got us beads the night before they marched, and got us great stuff including the coveted Zulu painted coconuts also.

However, you can't take a trip to New Orleans without the food! We ate fried shrimp po-boys, gumbo, and ham at Mothers by day and beignets at Cafe Du Monde by night. I can't wait to go back and our experiences with the people of New Orleans after Katrina only made my time there sweeter.

Decisions, decisions . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:33:00 +0000

My wife and I have a lot to think about right now as we are considering some changes in our family, including moving out of our starter home (that we've had for 10 years).

The scripture that we have clung to thus far is Acts 17:26, I determine the times set for you and the exact places where you should live. Regardless of what we think, we want to be right in the center of God's Will for our family so we are desparately seeking Him and His wisdom.

As I did my Proverbs reading today, the following verse jumped out at me. For the Lord gives wisdom . . . for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones . . . . then you will understand what is right and just and fair — every good path (Proverbs 2:6-9).

MLK Quotes and Speeches

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:48:00 +0000

I don't know why I haven't written about Martin Luther King, Jr. before but I have great respect for that man. It seemed appropriate for me this year to write about him and share my thoughts along with some links to relevant sites. Especially since my kids are out of town, I won't get to sit at our computer and let them listen to my favorite speeches/sermons like we normally do every year -- I'll use that time to write here.

I read a biography about MLK Jr. several years ago after being fascinated by his life for so long. The Biography was excellent and gave what I considered a fair treatment of Dr. King (sorry, I borrowed the book and can't find it on Amazon but it was written in the 1980s I believe). He was not a perfect man by any means but none of us should hold that against him. In my view, he was a man of action and integrity who stood by his convictions regardless of the cost, which are key traits I am trying to teach my boys as they grow into men.

Here are a few great resources that I have found with information on Dr. King:
* Standford research institute with some great links to speeches and sermons (check out the "Popular Requests" and "King Audio" links).
* The King Center in Atlanta founded by Coretta Scott King (the link is not working today perhaps due to high traffic).
* AfricanAmericans.com complete speech transcripts and key quotes.
* MLK Online has some good information and links.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from his speeches and sermons:

Address to the National Press Club, Washington, D.C. July 19, 1962:
"We are simply seeking to bring into full realization the American dream -- a dream yet unfulfilled. A dream of equality of opportunity, of privilege and property widely distributed; a dream of a land where men no longer argue that the color of a man's skin determines the content of his character; the dream of a land where every man will respect the dignity and worth of human personality-this is the dream. When it is realized, the jangling discords of our nation will be transformed into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood, and men everywhere will know that America is truly the land of the free and home of the brave."

Great March on Detroit speech, Michigan June 23, 1963:
"If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live."

March on Washington "I Have a Dream," Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963:
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' I have a dream that one day . . . sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood . . . . This is our hope . . . . With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day . . . . This will be the day when all God's children will be able to sing with new meaning, 'My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.'"

Strength To Love, 1963 (applicable to anger):
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction . . . . The chain reaction of evil -- hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars -- must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."

Strength to Love, 1963 (great quote about the church):
"The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority."

Strength to Love, 1963 (great quote for men):
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

The Drum Major Instinct, February 4, 1968:
"Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve . . . . you only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love."

I've Been to the Mountaintop, Memphis April 3, 1968, (the night before he died):
* "The world is all messed up . . . . But I know, somehow, that only when it's dark enough can you see the stars."
* "With this faith, I will go out and carve a tunnel of hope from a mountain of despair."

Alright Michael Lindsay!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 18:37:00 +0000

My Baylor fraternity brother Michael Lindsay has been doing great things for awhile now, but today he showed up in my inbox! I subscribe to Catalyst Monthly and the December 2007 edition has an article from Michael in it!

I scrolled down and his face was right there staring at me. It was an excerpt from his book Faith in the Halls of Power on evangelicals in leadership -- way to go Michael! Michael is now a professor at Rice University (view his bio).

Kids Bike Riding

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:08:00 +0000

Boy, do I miss writing on this blog -- I've got to try to make more time for it.

Anyway, Collin has been riding his bike on two wheels now since this Spring -- I meant to write about it here but . . . . We got a really good tip that helped Collin and I wanted to pass along that really helped us -- start off riding downhill! It helps them not have to pedal and they can focus on keeping their balance. It worked like a charm for Collin.

What made me think about this now was a video from DadLabs.com about bike riding. I like the site because they are encouraging participation in parenting from Dads and they're from Texas.

Cooper's Thanksgiving Program 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 04:47:00 +0000

Cooper is not normally real hip on the idea of doing anything in front of a crowd. He is so expressive that he's a natural showman but, like some great performers, he gets really shy when too much attention is focused on him.

We went to his Thanksgiving program at school tonight and we were so proud of him -- he did a great job, was so animated, and looked like he was having a blast. His teacher asked him to be the turkey (they have special parts and dances and there's only one per class) but he understandably said no and elected to just be in the chorus. He did all of the moves with a smile on his face. He's come a long way from his preschool program where he cried the whole time until his teacher brought him to sit in my lap. Way to go Cooper-bear!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Discussion Questions

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 22:22:00 +0000

Well, I'm finally finished with the discussion questions for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I started working on some discussion points with my 8-year-old but it turned into specific questions. After letting several people review it, I decided to put it into a more formal list of questions and discussion topics for parents to have an easier way to discuss the book and it's great lessons and theme's with their children.

I did some research online and couldn't find anything really good already put together, so here is the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Reading Guide . . . enjoy! If you have any trouble downloading the Guide, then please e-mail me.

I did review one book on the topic called Looking for God in Harry Potter by John Granger. It was an excellent book and he has written others on the subject but I haven't picked them up yet. Mr. Granger also has a blog (HogwartsProfessor.com) that I browsed briefly and am looking forward to reading more of later. The only other piece online that was interesting was from Scholastic but it didn't go far enough in the discussion for me.

Robert Goulet and Our Engagement

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 05:11:00 +0000

Well, Robert Goulet died today (well, it's after midnight so officially yesterday). Normally, those Hollywood events don't even register with me but this one did for one specific reason . . . Heather and I saw him in Camelot the night we were engaged.

We had been dating for four years and surrounding our engagement we hadn't really been out to do anything really fun for awhile. We were just poor college students working hard on our Master's degrees. I had been planning our "fun date" for weeks as our engagement and knew that we were invited to a wedding in Waco on Saturday. We had planned to go on our date on Friday night so I had everything planned out and set. A week before the date though, Heather told me that we had been invited to be at the rehearsal dinner and she said that we would be there. She thought that it would be a great date for us. After dating so long, I was concerned that she would know when I would "pop the question" and I really wanted it to be a surprise. I played it off like it was no big deal but now I've got to rush around trying to get all of my plans moved from Friday to Saturday!

On Friday morning, I met with Heather's Poppy and Granny and asked for her hand in marriage. Heather's dad had passed away our freshman year in college and he had asked Poppy to "take care of his girls for him." I wanted to honor her Dad by specifically asking Poppy for his approval. I was nervous, but he didn't give me any grief. After meeting with Heather's grandparents, I went over to her Mom's place and asked her permission as well which went very well. Feeling very good about the acceptance of her family members I drove the routes that we would take on Saturday and made sure that the timing of everything would work out.

I picked Heather up on Friday afternoon to drive down to the wedding rehearsal and she had no idea what all I had done that day! On Saturday afternoon after the wedding in Waco, Heather was feeling sad to leave all of our friends to go on our date. I thought that this was the perfect opportunity to get all "this date may be IT" thoughts out of her mind. I told her that our plans were flexible and did she just want to hang out with our friends in Waco that night. She thought about it a little and decided that we had fun with our friends last night and today and we needed a date night just us -- thank you Lord! Of course, I knew her pretty well and had bet on that response the whole time.

So, we drove back to Dallas and got ready for our date. We started off with dinner at Dakota's. It a great restaurant that is actually under downtown Dallas and has an open air courtyard that is in the triangular intersection of three streets (check out the intro on their Web site). After dinner, we went to Fair Park and watched Robert Goulet star in Camelot. I love good musicals (Les Miserables, Phantom, etc.) but Heather had never seen one live. I had checked the running time of the musical but didn't factor in the time of the intermission! Heather could tell that I was kind of nervous but I tried to not make a big deal out of it. She really thought that the musical was the end of the date and she was shocked anyway that we went to such a nice dinner and a musical. As soon as the curtain dropped, I let Heather clap twice and we got out of there! We drove north on the Dallas North Tollway and exited in Addison. I pulled over and put a blindfold on Heather. We drove to the Addison Airport where I had rented a plane to fly us around the city and I got down on my knee in the back of the little four-seater airplane and asked her to marry me.

So, that's our story and how Robert Goulet makes me think of our engagement. Wow, am I a blessed guy to have married so far over my head!

Flag Retirement Ceremony

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 02:46:00 +0000

At Collin's Cub Scout campout this last weekend, I was very moved by a flag retirement ceremony performed by Boy Scout Troop 32 at the "Council Campfire" on the last night of the campout. The flag that was being flown at the scout camp was old, tattered, and faded. The Boy Scout's replaced the flag and led the retirement ceremony for the old flag.

Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 8, Part (k) of the U.S. Code says:

The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting
emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.

[Some references I found cite Title 36, Section 176, Part (k) but that is incorrect by my research.]

After several funny skits and fun, the boys let everyone know that we would participate in a flag retirement ceremony and asked everyone to be quiet and respectful. The honor guard of boys brought out the flag and one of the boys read the Code section above and explained that the red was faded, the white was no longer pure, and the blue was no longer vibrant. The flag was no longer a "fitting emblem" and had been replaced by a new flag. He read a history of the flag and discussed the colors and meaning behind the stars and stripes. While the boy was reading, one of the other scouts was cutting the stripes off of the flag and was handing the red stripes to one member of the honor guard and the white stripes to another boy.

When the flag was cut up and the history of the flag completed. The leader of the ceremony asked any veterans or active service members to come down and stand behind the flag. He then read the meaning of the color red (valor and the blood of those who have defended it), asked everyone to salute, and asked the boy with the red stripes to "retire the red stripes" by placing them into the campfire. He then read the meaning of the color white (purity and freedom), asked everyone to salute, and asked the boy with the white stripes to "retire the white stripes" by placing them into the campfire. He read the names and dates that the 13 colonies (what the stripes signify) came into the Union. Then, he read the meaning of the color blue (perseverance and justice), asked everyone to salute, and asked the boy with the blue field to "retire the stars and the blue field" by placing them into the campfire. One of the members of the honor guard played Taps on a trumpet as the final section burned in the fire.

Looking up at the veterans, hearing the history and meaning of the flag, thinking about our military in harm's way right now, and thinking about the members of my family who have served, fought, and died defending that flag was just too much for me. I started crying as soon as the red stripes were dropped into the flames. When I heard Taps, the tears running down my face just were not enough and I had to work hard to keep my composure (I'm emotional even as I type this). Sweet Collin, reached up to hold my hand and then put his arm around me. The honor guard was dismissed and we were asked to leave the campfire in silent respect. After leaving the area, Collin said "that boy had a lot of courage to say all those things tonight." Collin asked me if I was crying for the same reason that I cry at ballgames during the National Anthem -- he's so smart!

So, that was my favorite part of the campout. Yes, I am a "softy!" But, I had never witnessed a flag retirement before and it moved me so much that I had to document the experience.

Cub Scout Camping Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 02:24:00 +0000

After a Spring and Summer full of rain, we finally got to go camping last weekend -- well at least Collin and I did. This was the first of hopefully several Cub Scout camping trips.

Did I forget to mention here that Collin was a Cub Scout now? I was a Cub Scout for about 6 months when I was a boy, but my den was boring and I didn't have many friends that were in it. Collin has a great den with several of his friends participating. He is learning a lot, and frankly so am I.

This campout was a Rocket Academy at Sid Richardson Scout Ranch on Lake Bridgeport about an hour and a half away. The kids all got to make a rocket and shoot it off on a neat launch pad. Collin also got a bull's-eye with a BB gun and got to shoot a bow and arrow for the first time. We went on a long hike through the trees and brush and climbed the rocks along the bank of the lake. On our hike we saw a snake, several cool spiders, frogs, and neat rock formations. It wouldn't be a proper campout if we didn't have a campfire and look at the stars. The weather was perfect -- warm enough for shorts and T-shirts during the day (high of 71) but cold enough for needing to snuggle into your sleeping bag at night (low of 39).

Collin's favorite part was being with his friends and archery. My favorite part was the Council Campfire and especially the flag retirement ceremony led by the Boy Scouts. The Council Campfire is always on the last night of the campout and all of the boys and leaders are there. Packs can sign-up to lead a song or perform a skit and awards are given out for the various activities. There is generally a Boy Scout Troop that helps coordinate the camp as a service project. The Boy Scouts that helped us was Troop 32 and they did an excellent job.

Collin's Glasses

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 05:29:00 +0000

Well, thanks to a school eye screening and Collin speaking up to tell us that he can't see the teacher's writing on the board very well . . . he got glasses for the first time today! I'm not exactly thrilled that my boy has to wear these, but he really looks handsome. His momma got her glasses in the 4th grade and his cousin in the 3rd grade so that's routine for his genes I guess. He is nearsighted and his vision is 20/60.

Brooks Eye Center took very good care of us -- Thanks Dr. Taylor Brooks!

Working for an employee benefits company means that we get great benefits. One of those benefits is a free flu shot that I got today. Another benefit is the hearing test that I had to pay minimal bucks to get checked out. I had tubes and bad infections as a kid and while my hearing isn't bad, it sure isn't perfect either. The hearing test results were that most of my scores were between 20 dB (decibles) and 30 dB instead of normal being between 0 and 10 dB. In addition, my left ear was consistently worse than my right ear. The doc said it was normal (except for the hearing imbalance) for scaring and previous infections and I just have to be aware of it as I get older.