Middletree

"It's been ten whole years already? Wow! Hard to believe." Many a father will say something like that while shaking his head in disbelief, when his oldest approaches the 10th birthday. It's a milestone, not just for the kid, but for the parents. It's a head-shaker because I am reminded that on that day, 10 years ago, my life changed forever. In some ways, it has passed very quickly.  In other ways, it seems like it's been every bit of ten years. There are two distinct things, though, about the ten-year anniversary of my dadhood. The first is that I became a father of not one, but two little bundles of joy that Tuesday morning. Abby was born at 8:48, followed by her brother Jacob at 8:50. The second is that their birth marked some rare joy in the midst of the darkest day in our nation's history.  As my wife was in labor, a nurse came in and told us that an airplane had crashed into a skyscraper in New York. I turned on the labor room...

As a former math teacher, I once postulated the following: The size of one's pickup truck is inversely proportional to the likelihood that he is a cat owner. For some unknown reason, many people do not like cats. My pastor says rotten things about cats, our only major theological difference. Look, people. Cats are better than dogs. This is a truth that can be seen by comparing the top of the line cats vs the top dogs. The chief cats are lions and tigers. The best dogs can do is a fox, wolf or hyena. Seriously, this is no contest. God said Jesus is the Lion of Judah (Rev 5:5) and when an angel spoke so powerfully that it sounded like thunder which shook the foundations of the universe, it was said he had a mouth of a lion (Rev 13:2). Was Jesus the hyena of Judah? I don’t think so. I can't believe I have to explain this stuff.

This passage looks longer than I usually start with, but it's a quick read, and an interesting story: Luke 4 v.15  And He [Jesus] began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all. v.16-17  And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and ...He opened the book and found the place where it was written, v.18-19  "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,  TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD." v.22  And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; ... v.24  And He said, "Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. "But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over a...

Like it or not, the 2012 Presidential election season is just about upon us. Although I hate to hear the most vocal blowhards deriding candidates that have already announced, some of the criticisms are making me laugh in ways that were not intended. Some people are so married to their political party that a considerable effort is being spent on their part telling anyone who will listen how the recession is either Obama's or Bush's fault, how Bachmann is crazy, how Kucinich is funny-looking, how Palin is a ditz, how Obama blew his chance today (just after the stock markets spiraled downhill in response to the S&P downgrade) in his speech which was to have reassured Americans that the economy isn't tanking. From what I hear, his speech fell short. Or it was well-received. Again, it depends on who you listen to. Pretty much anyone these days is delivering their evaluation of our President, and of those who want to be President, based on the personal agenda of the one doi...

Thanks for Thomas Nelson Publishing's Booksneeze program, I received a free copy of Thunder Dog , by Michael Hingson and Susy Flory for review purposes. I got it a few days ago and devoured it in very short order. The book is Mr. Hingson's  account of his experience as a survivor of the attacks on the World Trade center in September of 2001.  He worked on the 78th floor of the first tower to be hit, and the bulk of the story is about his journey down the stairs, guided by his guide dog Roselle. It's a great story by itself, but made much more interesting by interspersed glimpses in the life of the author, starting as a child whose parents refused to send to a special school for the blind. They insisted he live as normal a life as possible, which sounds great in theory, but a little scary in practice. For example, they let him ride a bike as a kid. A blind boy was allowed to ride a bicycle throughout the neighborhood. using his sense of where obstacles should be to guide h...

In no particular order, these are the 5 movies that have moved me the most. The Fisher King Schindler's List Up The Kid Cinderella Man The Princess Bride Shawshank Redemption Stranger Than Fiction Yes, I can count, so I know that my Top Five list has more than 5 movies in it. Sue me.

When I discovered books as a tween, one of the first books I ever read was Ray Bradbury's " Fahrenheit 451."  I have to admit I didn't understand its implications or more subtle points, so it didn't do much for me. A few years later, I read it again, and was deeply impacted. Obviously, I was still years away from being wise in the ways of the world, so there was a lot I didn't get. But I knew then that it was saying something powerful. Of course, being a high school student, I was assigned many other books which also attempted to say something profound. "Lord of the Flies", "The Good Earth", "The Grapes of Wrath". These and other works accomplished their intended tasks to varying degrees. They each had a point, which they communicated effectively.  Some, especially "Lord of the Flies" so completely lacked subtlety that they came across as preachy, and I did what I could to distance myself from such books. A sad sidenote...