Monday, December 31, 2007

Eve


It's New Year's eve... and you know what that means.

No, not partying, not champagne, not streamers, not Dick Clark. No, in the Baker home, New Year's Eve means only one thing...

Twilight Zone marathon on Sci-Fi channel!

OK, I realize this marks me as an old geezer who just sits home and watches TV when he should be out on the town. But for some reason, I just love the old TZ episodes. Could it have something to do with the fact that, compared with most of today's TV shows, they actually had a PLOT? Granted, many of the plots were pretty much the same, to the point where you can almost guess what's going to happen. But I love 'em anyway, and so does Cathy for that matter.

Here are some of our favorite episodes w/ summaries. Do you remember any of them?
  • Kick the Can (on now!) - Old man discovers the secret to staying young
  • A Stop At Willoughby - Overworked business man dreams of escaping to picturesque old town, finally does
  • The Masks - Dying millionaire makes his greedy kids wear masks that mimic their personalities
  • The Eye of the Beholder - Episode is shot from point of view of "ugly" girl having gauze removed from face
  • Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up? - Stranded bus passengers meet in a diner, try to discover which one among them is an alien
  • To Serve Man - Alien race comes to earth promising much, but ending has a twist
  • Five Characters In Search Of An Exit - Five people are stuck in a gray room, trying to figure out where they are and how to get out
  • Living Doll - Telly Savalas (Kojak) is a father who gives his daughter a hatefull doll named Talking Tina
  • Nightmare at 20,000 Feet - Classic over-acting by a young William Shatner, who sees a monster on the airplane
  • Hocus Pocus and Frisby - Aliens abduct Mr. Frisby, a tall tale teller, thinking he's the smartest man on earth
  • Time Enough At Last - A hen-pecked bookworm survives a nuclear blast and finds time to read
  • The Obsolete Man - An Orwellian state in the future declares that a man is "obsolete" and must be destroyed
  • It's A Good Life - A young boy can do anything by just thinking it,with disastrous results
  • A Most Unusual Camera - Some folks stumble upon a camera that takes pictures of events that haven't happened yet
Rod Serling, the show's writer, certainly had an active imagination. If you too are a TZ fan, check out this cool website, that groups the episodes according to categories.

Oh well, have a great New Year's Day, and a great 2008!

Sunday, December 30, 2007

2007


Well, it's a rainy Sunday night, and the second-to-last day of the year. Not a bad time to look back at 2007.

God truly has blessed our family in 2007. These are the "good old days" that everyone talks about! Here are few of the many good things God gave me in 2007:
  • Continued good health
    • My 40th birthday (January)
    • No cavities!
    • No major or even minor health problems - I need to make good use of these healthy years!
  • Great times with my great family
    • Brandon and Megan's wedding (July)
    • Best wife in the world, Cathy
    • Game nights with Brandon, Megan, Zach, and Sarah (Scrabble words - oh mercy!)
    • Summer grilling nights with new Weber grill - mmmmmmm
    • Anniversary trip to Hendersonville with Cathy (great) and Rupert (not so great)
    • Our first grand-dog, Maya (ha!)
  • Musical fullfillment
    • Three fun days picking bluegrass at SPBGMA convention in Nashville (January)
    • 34 shows with my bluegrass band, Last Road
    • Awesome 3-part harmonizing with Dave & Benji!
    • Sharing the gospel in a non-threatening way through our original bluegrass gospel tunes
    • Progress learning to play the mandolin - loving my Steffey F5!
  • Spiritual blessings
    • Another year of incredible worship services at Crossroads Community Church (www.crccsc.org)
    • Three seasons of friendship, fun, and spiritual growth with our Crossroads Life Group, led by the Prouts.
    • The privilege of serving as a teacher for my KidZone class of 3rd to 5th grade boys for another year
    • More introspection this year -- God has been allowing me to understand more and more about myself, pro and con, this year. This is helping me to tear down the tower of self-reliance in my life, and to finally begin to rely on Him.
  • Other
    • Progress on our old house - renovated the guest bathroom, new kitchen flooring, lots of landscaping
    • New iPod (love it!)
    • Another year of great joy (and great frustration) with our dog, Rupert!
I'm sure there's a lot I've missed, but suffice it to say that God has richly blessed me this past year. These are the years when I need to be investing my life in others, and setting out to acheive the tasks that God has created me to achieve.

I'm looking forward to a great 2008.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Plan


Hello again!

I haven't made a blog post in a while, what with the Christmas season busy-ness and all. I'm looking forward to getting back into my blogging once the new year hits.

Speaking of which...

I've never been much into the whole "new year's resolution" thing. I suppose its because I don't like making promises I generally don't seem to be able to keep. But this year, for some reason, is different. I am actually excited about making a "plan" for the upcoming year. Certain ideas have been bouncing around in my head over the past few weeks, and I'm going to attempt (in this blog post) to capture them and get them down in writing.

There are two areas in my life that I know need improving, and which I want to address by rearranging my daily routines.

First, I was very disappointed in 2007 at my own track record of daily devotions. I simply have not, for whatever reason, carved out a good time/place combination to regularly meet with God on a daily basis. This, of course, has led to my failing to meet a variety of spiritual goals, as well a general "blah" feeling in my Christian walk. So, I want to do a better job in 2008 of having meaningful, regular devotional times.

Second, I didn't do very well in 2007 in the area of personal health and fitness. I should be eating well and exercising, but last year I did neither. As a result, there's MORE of me to love than ever before! Ha! More and more, I am aware of the fact that I am aging, and that life really is short. I want to be around for my grandkids, and so I need to start taking better care of myself.

So, here's my plan for 2008...

- Go to bed an hour earlier (10 PM instead of 11 PM), and get up an hour earlier (6 AM instead of 7 AM).

This will enable me to...

- Get to work an hour earlier (7 AM instead of 8 AM)

This will enable me to...

- Have a half-hour devotion (7-7:30 AM, when I'm alert and things at the office are quiet).

AND

- Work out at the fitness center for a half-hour (walk/run three days a week, lift weights 2 days/week)

In addition, I am planning to:

- Eat healthier (no french fries, no sodas on work days, one soda per day on weekends, minimal sweets/desserts, more fruits/veggies)

- Walk in the park after work with Cathy when she is available/willing (and the weather cooperates)

These are some pretty big changes for me. The going to bed earlier will cut into my "free time" at night, but most of that is wasted on silly web-surfing anyway. The getting up earlier will be tough, as I am NOT a morning person.

But I think I can make these changes, and stick with them. I'm looking forward to the results: less physical Brian, more spiritual Brian.

Sounds like a plan, huh?

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Christmas


I love Christmas!

Probably all of us love Christmas, I suppose. Whether its the secular Christmas (presents, shopping, Santa, reindeers, elves, etc) or the true Christian holiday (Luke 2, Advent, the coming of the Messiah, Mary Did You Know?, etc), there's something truly special about this time of year.

I have some great memories of Christmas as a kid. I remember David and I getting matching "laser machine guns", the kind that make the obnoxious "d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d" noise when you pull the trigger. I remember Santa stopping by our house the week before Christmas and giving me a Dymo Labelmaker. I think I labelled everything in my room that year!

When I got a little older, and Angela came on the scene, I started to learn that joy could be found in GIVING gifts, not just RECEIVING gifts. One of my favorite gifts I ever gave was the Play-Doh Fuzzy Pumper I gave Angela when she was maybe 5 or 6. Basically, you packed Play-Doh into a little barber chair and inserted a little figurine with a bald head with holes in it. Then, when you pushed a button or lever, the Play-Doh would come squirting out the head holes like hair! You then gave haircuts using the little plastic scissors. Angela loved that toy, and I loved seeing the joy on her face when she played with it.

Fast forward ten or so years, and I found myself in the role of a stepparent with two young Christmas-loving boys. Now, Christmas at our house had RULES. For example, if one boy received a large gift, the other boy better darn well have a large gift or he was going to be upset! If one boy got, say, 10 gifts, the other boy better not end up with only 9!

Brandon and Zach's favorite gifts for a number of years were those little GI Joe action figures. Each figure came with a few weapons (little plastic knives, guns, flamethrowers, etc), but the boys generally dumped the weapons out on the floor and just took out the GI Joe. I have fond memories of walking around in my bare feet on Christmas morning and feeling a small plastic dagger insert itself into the tender area between my toes! Ouch!

Another memory is the year I bought the boys one of those electric slot car tracks. Not because they wanted, it, mind you. They had no idea what slot cars were...I wanted it because it was one of the presents I wanted but never got when I was a kid! I think they played with it twice, and I sat there for hours using it. Cathy just rolled her eyes (at least one of her "boys" was happy!).

This year, the boys are grown and there are no small children around. The "magic" of Christmas will be found not in the exaggerated expressions of delighted children, but instead in the still quiet voice that whispers the real meaning of Christmas. In Luke Chapter 2, in the eyes of the awestruck shepherds, in the wondering eyes of a young Mary, in the joy on the old lined face of Simeon as he proclaimed:

"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."

May you have a blessed Christmas -- God is with us!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Linus


Tonight, Cathy and I watched my favorite Christmas program of all time.

The Charlie Brown Christmas special.

Made in 1966, a year before I was born, this Christmas special gets better every year I watch it. It could very well be the perfect Christmas presentation, IMHO. It was Charles Schultz's masterpiece.

First, the music. From the classic Peanuts piano jazz intro, to the "loo-loo-loo" version of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", to the relaxing swishy snare drum brushes... Just one minute in to this show, the music has taken me back 35 years. Awesome.

Second, the dance scene. Come on, you know you love it. You can picture all the dancers in your head... The twin smiley girls swishing their hair from side to side... The guy doing the running man in the back... The guy doing the shoulder-shrug dance... PigPen thumping the upright bass...

Third, and most importantly, the message. At the beginning, Charlie Brown expresses to psychiatrist Lucy his feelings of alienation and confusion. What is Christmas really about? Lucy tells him he needs "involvement", so he signs up to direct the Christmas play. But involvement doesn't bring him any happiness - the other kids continually tear him down and label him a loser. Even Snoopy has given in to materialism, with his neon-glowing doghouse.

In perhaps my favorite TV scene of all-time, Charlie Brown asks Linus if there is anyone who knows what Christmas is really all about. Linus says calmly, "I'll tell you what Christmas is about, Charlie Brown."

And for the next minute, Linus gives the complete account of Christ's birth from Luke Chapter 2. And from that point on, Charlie Brown realizes what Christmas is all about, and leaves with a completely changed attitude.

That scene always brings a tear to my eye. It is such a beautiful, simple, non-threatening, childlike presentation of the greatest news ever told. It occurred to me that this scene may be the ONLY presentation of the gospel message that some people will ever really hear. I mean, when was the last time you heard a Bible account on prime-time TV?

My Christmas wish this year? I hope that as the years go by, the TV executives will still choose to air this wonderful Christmas special. I hope that millions will watch it, hear the simple message of Luke 2, and come away changed like Charlie Brown.

Kudos, Mr. Schultz.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Update

Wow, one month until Christmas!

Some random things going on over the last several days:

  • Last Road - We started recording our first "studio" CD last Saturday, at OMG Studios in downtown Greenville. It was a long, tiring process, but exciting as well. Unfortunately, of the 12 songs we hope to record, we only laid down the music to 3 songs that day! We may end up having to charge $50 per CD in order to re-coup our investment! Ha!

  • Mandolin - Went to Owings jam session last night, and enjoyed getting to play the mandolin a bit. My 2002 Gibson Adam Steffey F5 is an awesome instrument -- low action, easy to play, huge volume and tone. God is good!

  • Christmas trees - Put up our fake-o tree Friday...bought and put up an 8-ft real tree on Saturday...helped Brandon and Megan put up their real tree from NC on Saturday as well. Look like a forest in here!

  • Christmas music - Charter cable has a great music channel with traditional Christmas music (Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Sinatra, etc). The channel is called Showcase, and its #924 for us. Every year, I begin to appreciate the crooners a little more.... I must be getting old.

  • Work - For the last four or five months, I have been in transition between jobs (within Michelin). I've been doing 50% of my time in each job (feels like 80% in each!). Anyhow, I officially become full-time at the new position on December 10th.

  • Fun - Zach and I have a tradition of playing 2-player, tactical shooter games (in co-op mode) during the holidays. Worked through some levels of Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six this weekend...good fun.
I'm really tired, and the four-day weekend is officially over, so I'll post again sometime this week.

Later!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Rivendell


There's a scene in the movie "Lord of the Rings" where Frodo Baggins travels to the elven outpost called Rivendell. In the movie, Rivendell is portrayed as an unbelievably beautiful city, carved of stone in the the sides of a steep and majestic valley. Frodo's arrival coincides with the autumn, and Rivendell's trees are alive with color: rich brown, fiery orange, bright yellow, and royal burgundy...

Well, this week Simpsonville has the appearance of Rivendell!

I must be getting older, because every year I am taking more and more notice of the beauty that God has surrounded us with. As a kid and young adult, I never took much notice of the fall colors. I mean, sure they were there, but what's the big deal, right?

Every day this week, as I drove home from work, I was amazed at the absolute beauty of the fall colors. It occurred to me that in many areas of life, God has provided incredible surroundings in our lives, and we often are blind to them. Like the fall colors that I am finally beginning to see, what other things in my life have been there all along, yet I have failed to see them and thank God for them?

As Thanksgiving approaches, I'm praying that God will open my eyes to ALL the blessings I'm missing in my life, so that I can give Him back the thanks he wants and deserves!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Success

Today, driving home from work, I somehow got thinking about success.

What is success? Am I successful now? When my life is over, will people consider my life to have been successful? Will God?

Back when I was 23, and had just become a true Christ-follower, I read a book called "Man In The Mirror". The author talked about success, as defined by the world versus as defined by Christ. I decided then and there that I would not get caught up in the rat race, trying to be successful by the world's standards: money, fame, power, position, material possessions. Instead, I would define success in my life as God defines it: putting Christ first, treating others well, giving, serving, loving, bearing fruit for His kingdom.

Since then, 17 years have passed, and it occurred to me today that in many ways my life so far has been a success, according my own definition. Though far from perfect (ask Cathy), I have been a faithful husband t0 my wife. We raised our two sons in a Christian household, and they have grown up to be fine young men who are following Christ and actively serving Him. Of course, we must give Jesus full credit for these successes, for it was His strengths in us (not our weaknesses) that produced these good things.

In some other ways, I feel I really have not hit the mark: putting Christ first, growing in my relationship with Him, learning the Word, prayer. And I realize that these are some of the most important things Christ wants me to be successful in.

So driving home today, looking at the beautiful fall colors, it hit me that as a 40-year old empty nester, I really need to evaluate how I will use the years I have left. As the old question goes, if I found out I had incurable cancer and had six months to live, what would I do differently today? This week? By the end of the month?

Then why not do these things now???

I'm beginning to give some thought, in the back of my mind, to what God wants me to do in the next five or ten years. A couple things have bubbled to the surface, and I am praying about them.

Stay tuned -- when the Holy Spirit is done revealing them, I'll let you in on it.

God is good.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Lint


Ahh, the joys of old-house ownership! The latest recently-discovered problem with our old house?

Lint.

It seems that the folks who started restoring our 1911 house neglected to run the dryer vent to the outside of the house. Instead, I found a length of flexible tubing hanging in the crawlspace, with a big pile of dryer lint under it!

This would not be a big issue, except for the fact that dryer lint is quite flammable. In fact, when my boys were in Cub Scouts, our den leader had the boys bring Ziploc bags of dryer lint to the Webelos Wild campout, because it makes such good tinder for starting fires!

So, tonight, I crawled around the crawlspace (thus the name?) and collected big wads of dryer lint. Fairly soon, I'll need to install some vent piping to the outside of the house.

You know, like normal houses have. :)

Friday, November 9, 2007

Classic


I've had my 40GB third-generation iPod for about three years now, and it has seen some serious use. I'm talking, many hours a day, many days per year use. So lately, the battery has been wearing down, to the point where I only get about 45 minutes or an hour of play before the thing goes dead.

So, I says to myself, it's time for a new iPod!

After all, it has been a few years, and much has changed in the iPod world since then. There's the new iPod Touch, which is basically a iPhone with no phone capability (!?!). But alas, it only holds 16GB max, and I have about 25 GB of music. The iPod Nanos are also flash-memory based and only go up to 8 or 16 GB.

But, there is a new hard-drive iPod in town, the new iPod Classic. The classic comes in 80 GB and 160 GB models (!!!). I don't need that much room, but I need more than 16 GB, so the Classic was my only option. The Classic is basically the same as the iPod Video (5th generation), but has an slimmer all-aluminum case. Also, the software has the flashy (but not super useful) "Cover Flow" mode, where you can scroll through all your album covers.

Anyhow, I broke down and bought a silver 80GB iPod classic, and I'm loving it. In fact, I'm blasting some tunes on it as I write this! The battery life is rated at 30 hours, but if I get a consistent 10+ for a couple years, I'll be delighted.

Who would have thought that I could take my entire (huge) CD collection with me wherever I go, and it would fit in my shirt pocket? Ain't technology great? God is good.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Discipline

One of the things I need work on in my life is discipline.

A good example of this is my diet. For a while, a few years back, I was doing a very good job of watching what I ate. Instead of soft drinks, I would just drink water. Instead of potato chips, I would eat pretzels (is this better?). Instead of fried foods, I tried to eat grilled or baked foods. I cut out candy almost completely. Instead of eating seconds, I just had one serving.

You know the drill. It was a disciplined diet, versus an undisciplined diet. Easy to talk about, tough to actually stick with.

Well, lately I find that my discipline in this area has eroded. And if I'm perfectly honest, I'd have to say that my self-discipline in the area of spiritual things has slipped a bit as well. In the spiritual area, I'm talking about things such as daily quiet times, time in prayer, time studying the Word, reading Christian books, etc.
And in the same way that my bad eating habits has resulted in gaining a few pounds, my spiritual lack of discipline has resulted in some significant "loss of muscle tone" in my walk with Christ.

I do realize that it is a long series of small, poor choices that adds up to us finding ourselves where we don't want to be, and didn't think we'd ever end up. So, I have resolved to try and start making wiser choices, both in the area of my eating and in the area of my spiritual life. Apples instead of Pop-tarts, water instead of Coke, Bible reading instead of web surfing, prayer instead of talk radio.

Hopefully, a month from now, I'll be able to report back that I am more fit and trim, both physically and spiritually... Oh well, I'm off to eat an apple!

Friday, November 2, 2007

President


Today was bizarre.

Today I stood fifty feet from President Bush, and today I met the "Nature Boy" Ric Flair.

I guess I'd better explain this one...

My bluegrass band, Last Road, was invited to play a barbecue lunch fundraiser for Lindsey Graham in Columbia, where President Bush was in attendance. The event was held at the Millwood Plantation, the site of Civil War General Wade Hampton's home, which was burned by Sherman. There were probably a few hundred in attendance, including all the movers and shakers in the South Carolina Republican party. Among those I recognized from SC state offices were Governor Mark Sanford, Senators Lindsey Graham (of course!) and Jim DeMint, and Congressmen Bob Inglis and Gresham Barrett.

Our band played from maybe 9:30 until a little before 11:00, followed by our guitar player Benji Merritt singing the national anthem. A few more announcements were made, then Lindsey Graham said a few words, and then we played a bit more. At one point we heard helicopters, and someone said that was the President landing on the grounds. A few minutes later, President Bush was introduced and greeted the crowd. I was probably not 50 or 60 feet away while he spoke for 20 or 30 minutes. It was probably the only time in my life when I'll be in the same room with the President of the United States!

Interestingly, ex-pro wrestler Ric Flair is apparently a big contributor to the Graham campaign, and he was there with his wife. My boys grew up watching wrestling on TV, so I was somewhat familiar with "the Nature Boy". We walked over to his table and briefly said hello. It was funny because you could see all the young guys in attendance pointing to Ric Flair and going "whoooooo!". You wrestling types will know what I'm referring to!

Anyhow, it was a great event, a great opportunity for our band to play for an appreciative audience, and a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear the President speak live and in person. Sometime this weekend, I'll tell a little bit about what George W had to say in his speech...it was very interesting.

Certainly a day I won't soon forget!

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Closing

Today is a notable day. And no, not because its Halloween.

Today, Brandon and Megan closed on their house! And all the things I worried and fretted and prayed about turned out just fine. Probably due to the prayer, and not the worrying (see previous post).

Tonight, Brandon and Cathy and I went over and just walked around the empty house (Megan had to work). It was really exciting to think about not only what God has done over the years in that little house, but what awesome things He has yet to do there.

It is my prayer that God will bless Brandon and Megan's marriage, and that their new house will become a home filled with love, laughter, and good memories. I pray that God will continue to allow that neighborhood to be safe and trouble-free. I pray that those rooms that hosted so many small groups and Bible study groups in years past would continue to be used by God for his purposes. (And on a more earthly level, I pray that any flimsy repairs I may have done will continue to hold up! Ha!)

So, the big move will happen Friday, but unfortunately I will be out of town (I'll explain why in tomorrow's post). It will be good to have Brandon and Megan so near by.

At the risk of repeating myself (again), God is good!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Anxiety

Be anxious for nothing. Wise words from God's Word, but easier said (read?) than done.

Its Monday night, Oct 29th, and the closing for Brandon & Megan's house is Wednesday at noon. But, we found out this morning that the termite letter indicated some prior damage to the wood under the house. So, the lender needs either 1) a letter from a licensed contractor stating that the damage does not require repair (i.e. does not affect the house structurally, or 2) proof that the damage has been fixed.

If scenario 1 happens, then we should be good to go for closing on Wednesday. If, on the other hand, scenario 2 happens, then closing will probably be delayed, according to how much damage must be repaired and how long that will take.

According to the contract, the sellers must pay for any termite repairs, but even so it causes us problems. Brandon and Megan have already given notice at their apartment, and must be out Sunday. Of course they are welcome to stay with us for as long as they need, but where will they store their stuff?

I think the point of the Lord's words is that if we truly trust Him to look out for our good, then we will not be anxious about anything, but instead will accept circumstances as His will for us. But oh, that is hard to live out!

If you're the praying type, pray that things will work out for the Wednesday closing. But also, pray that we can be OK with the situation, and trust His will.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Ahhh.

Well, it's Monday night, and it is a "free night". That is, I don't have to go anywhere, be anywhere, or do much of anything.

Nights like this are nice, but seemingly rare. I thought when the boys grew up and we were empty nesters, things would be much less busy, but that's not been my experience. When the boys were little, it was church Sunday am and pm, Scouts Monday night, basketball practice Tues and Thurs nite, and church Wed night. Saturdays were pretty much spent working in the yard or on the house, so Friday nights were our only real family night.

Now, the kids' activities are gone, but my band (www.lastroadbluegrass.com) keeps me pretty busy, as well as Life Group once a week. Time seems to fly by.

I once heard a sermon that described BUSY as Being Under Satan's Yoke. I think there is a lot of truth to that, as we can stay busy doing good things, but not have time for the best things. I am often guilty of that.

So, all that to say, its really nice having a "down" night to just unwind and relax.

Ahhhh. :)

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Seventeen


Just got back into town from our anniversary trip. Yesterday marked 17 years of marital bliss for us! In some ways it seems like much longer, and other ways it seems like just yesterday.

Here's a reality check: when we got married that cool October day at Pretty Place, Brandon was 7 and Zach was 3. Papa Scott had "Zach duty", which meant he got to hang out in the parking lot listening to Zach, who was pretty darn talkative back in those days.

To celebrate our 17th anniversary, we made our standard pilgrimage to the Inn on Church (see picture) in Hendersonville NC, where we have been going for several years now. H'ville has a great historic downtown section, with antique shops, boutiques, coffee shops, restaurants, etc. Our favorites are: Mike's on Main (in an 1880's drug store with tin ceilings and an awesome soda fountain counter), Black Bear Coffee, and a couple little antique malls whose names I don't know.

Unfortunately, our idea regarding taking Rupert along (our Lhasa Apso) was not a great one. For various reasons we won't go into here, it would have been a more relaxing weekend had we left him at home. I think next year we'll do like most normal people: board the dog, and go on the vacation just by ourselves!

But no complaints about our marriage -- I do believe I am a very lucky man. When I was single and far away from God, I only remember praying one prayer, and that was that God would send me a girl who would be faithful to me always. Cathy was the answer to that prayer, and she has not disappointed me. Once again, God is good.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Random

Random life updates:
  • Our life group dedicated the Prout's new house tonight, by praying in every room. It is a beautiful house, and I know without a doubt that Steve & Angie will use it for God's purposes in the upcoming years.

  • Brandon & Megan's closing for 202 South Pliney is two weeks from today!

  • This Saturday is our 17th wedding anniversary. God is so good.

  • New show on Discovery called "Storm Chasers"...man, I would love to go out west and go on one of those tornado-chasing vacation weeks... I've always had a fascination with tornados.

  • Election '08 thoughts. I'm a Huckabee man. He is the closest I've found to a truly conservative, Christian candidate. Oh, and Alan Keyes, too. But I like Huckabee best - a true class act.

  • Dentist appt today, with the usual outcome: no cavities. My teeth may not be the prettiest, but man they are hard as diamonds! ha

  • Started reading the book of Ezekiel today. The visions God gave Ezekiel were really fascinating. I have some trouble with folks today seeing visions supposedly from God. I think God allowed Ezekiel to see, through visions, real things in the hidden spiritual realms. I think this is vastly different from people today with charismatic leanings who are always offering up visions they have seen. If God gives me a vision, you'll be the first to know, but I don't want to think up visual analogies in my head and then claim them as "visions". Rant over.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Golf


I am blessed to be able to play golf four or five times a week. No, not that golf, DISC golf. You know, what people call "frisbee golf".

Basically, I played a lot of disc golf in high school with my friends. When I came south, there were no disc golf courses around (that I knew of), so I gave up playing for 10 or 15 years. Then one day in the mid-90s, Zach told me that they had put in some disc golf baskets at Simpsonville City Park, a few blocks from our house.

So, I bought a couple discs, and kinda got back into playing, although not really regularly. Zach and I entered a disc golf contest, and Zach won the 12 and under division (the first time he played!). In fact, the kids he beat were the contest organizer's kids, and I think he was ticked. Zach came away with five or six golf discs that day.

Fast forward another ten years, and now I find myself living directly across the street from the City Park! As in, one of the tees is literally 50 ft from my front steps. So, I have been playing quite a bit this summer. This summer, I transitioned from throwing mostly backhanded to driving with a forehanded shot. This has greatly increased my drive distance. I must confess that Zach was my inspiration for learning the forehand -- he plays ultimate for NGU, and has a wicked forehand drive...

My record for the Simpsonville City Park course is a 51 for 18 holes (that's 3 under if you count all holes as par 3s). I'm working on my mid to long distance putts, and honestly have been sinking quite a few of them lately.

Another big highlight is that Cathy has been playing disc golf with me a bit this summer. We went on a disc-buying binge one day, and got her her own discs. She does well with a 149g shark (the light weight suits her and adds distance to her shots). Today we played nine, and it was a beautiful cool night spent with my favorite person on earth (yes, Cathy, that's you!).

Oh well, catch you later!

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Kansas


Well, it was a weekend of beautiful weather in Greenville SC. Finally, it feels like fall! We'll see if it sticks, or if the hot weather returns.

Two cool things took place Saturday. First, my bluegrass band played at the Pumpkintown Festival. It's a great fall festival - arts and crafts, pretty setting, greased pole climb, hayrides, good food, and live bluegrass music. Benji was sick, but still sang better than I do when I'm well! Cathy made the trip and really enjoyed the experience. We got to meet Leo, Dave Snyder's new golden retreiver...what a beautiful, well-behaved dog! Anyhow, it was a nice afternoon.

Second, on Saturday night, I went to Fall for Greenville to see Kansas perform. I've been listening to Kansas music since I was a teenager. I remember it well -- my brother David and I, against our Dad's advice, joined the infamous Columbia Record Club. 7 albums for 1 cent, too good to pass up. That first shipment came, and in it we had chosen the double-live Kansas album called "Two For The Show". We spent hours listening to that album!

This is the third time I've seen Kansas live in the past five years. I'm a huge fan of progressive rock (lots of keyboard, musically complex, crazy time signatures, top-notch musicianship, etc). Kansas is considered "America's prog rock band", as most of the other big names like Yes and Genesis were British.

Anyhow, they played a phenomenal show. It is the 30th anniversary of the classic album, "Point of Know Return", and they played a number of songs off that album. Musically and vocally they were superb -- I know a lot of young folks there had to be thinking, "Man, that old guy sure can play guitar!" Carry On Wayward Son and Dust in the Wind were the encore songs, and really brought the house down!

Interestingly, Kansas broke up around 1980 because two of the members (guitarist and songwriter Kerry Livgren and bassist Dave Hope) had become born-again Christians and wanted to start doing songs that were "overtly" Christian. Dave Hope became a preacher and left the music scene, and Kerry Livgren went on to create a number of great Christian "rock" albums.

For many years of my life, before coming to know Christ, I used music as a "safe place", something to run to when the pain and trouble in my life became overbearing. Kansas' music was certainly part of that. Now that I have a relationship with Jesus, I look at my favorite music as a nice gift from God to be enjoyed, but not something that is central to my life as it once was. As I stood listening to the concert last night, I realized that I really needed to thank God for how he has blessed my life, and how he revealed to me that I can turn to him for my comfort in the tough times.

Although I love listening to great music like classis Kansas, it is not a crutch in my life anymore, but simply one of many wonderful gifts in my life that God has given me.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Beater



Well, its been a busy few days since I've posted. Here are some highlights...

This weekend, I bought yet another mandolin. Actually, I have a mandolin that a guy at work gave me, free. It is my "beater", the one that doesn't even have a case, and sits by my chair in the living room. Basically, I can grab it and play it anytime, mostly during commercials. Well, anyhow, the top on this beater mandolin has started sinking, and I can't raise the action high enough to stop the strings from buzzing.

So, I ordered (and received, this weekend) a new beater mandolin: Rogue A-style, $49 from MusiciansFriend.com - that's it in the photo. Yes, that's right, $49 new! I have no idea how anyone can make and sell and archtop instrument with binding for $49. Heck, the tuning machines are probably worth $15, and a fret job runs $50 these days! I guess it's made in Chinese sweat shops... The tone is nothing to write home about, but the intonation ain't bad and it seems to stay in tune, so it fits the bill for my next "beater". Nice sunburst, too.

Also this weekend, I went to the Clemson vs. Virginia Tech game Saturday night. I think it was the first college game I'd been to since actually attending Tech in 1988! It was fun, especially since the tickets were free. And who won, you ask? Hokies, of course, 40-24.

I learned a couple things at that game. 1) There are a LOT of rich people giving to IPTAY, and 2) There are a lot of rich people who are really upset that Clemson has a not-so-outstanding football program. Look for Bowden to get the boot soon.

Sunday night, Last Road played at a little Baptist church in Bowersville, GA. Great people, and they were truly appreciative that we came and played. They treated us to a nice dinner afterward, too.

Anyhoo, that's the news. A plus tard.

Friday, October 5, 2007

Pliney

Well, this morning my son Brandon and daughter-in-law Megan signed a contract to buy the house on Pliney Circle where Brandon spent his teen years.

We all have a lot of good memories from the ole Pliney house...

Like the time Brandon and I had lowered the basketball goal so we could have a dunking contest. We were using those "mini" basketballs, the ones most normal people can palm. I proceeded to throw down a monster dunk, hang from the rim, and then follow up by clenching my fists and yelling out in a great roar. A moment later, after hearing a noise behind me, I noticed that the nosey neighbor lady was standing ten feet away, and was trying to ask if she could get a clipping from our yellow rose bush. I'll never forget the look of horror on her face as she saw my antics.

Or like the time Cathy saw an animal in the far part of the yard, and tried to attract it with "Here, kitty kitty", only to find out it was a (rabid) fox that the animal control folks had been looking for. Cathy later said "I thought it looked a bit orange and pointy-nosed for a cat..."

Or the time it snowed, and the boys invited their friends over for a massive snowball war until the wee hours of the night. Or the time a cat had a litter of kittens under our house, and they clawed their way into our warm ductwork and had to be rescued by hand through the floor vents. Or the times Brandon would challenge Zach and I to a game of half-court basketball (the two of us against him), and the game would inevitibly end up with Brandon getting mad and slinging the basketball across the yard.

Or the time... Well, you get the idea. Our family had a lot of wonderful times in that little house.

Interestingly, the house was hand-built in the early 1950's by a local preacher, "Pastor Brandt." I think God has had his hand on that little house over the years. We'll see just what he has in store for it next.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Updates

Yesterday's post was kinda heavy, so today it's just a couple random updates.

Kids update:

Brandon is down in Columbia at the USC-Kentucky game. Bummer that it's raining, but it should be a good game anyway. Not that I'm any kind of sports expert, or anything... Tomorrow, hopefully, Brandon and Megan will sign the contract on the house Brandon grew up in. Pretty cool how God has made it available at this time, and how Brandon was interested in the house.

Saw Zach and Sarah last night for the first time in a while. It was good just to sit around, chat, and laugh. Zach is playing in an ultimate tourney down in Columbia this weekend -- go NGU! Ha.

House restoration update:

Last Saturday, I re-screened the original screen doors for our house and hung them. It was nice to get a cool natural breeze going through this old house, for the first time since we've been here! It's going to be GREAT when the weather finally cools off a bit. LOVE autumn. Anyhow, this Saturday, I have to finish trimming out the screen doors. Unlike most screen doors, these don't use the spline-in-channel method. In our case, it's the staple-screen-to-door method like in the old days. Looks more authentic, but kind of a pain to stretch the screen evenly. But it's worth it, it looks right for the house. Don't you just love the sound of an old wooden screen door slamming?

God is good - Rupert is curled up next to me, The Office comes on in about 20 minutes, and there is a piece of Key Lime pie with my name on it in the fridge. We are blessed.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Widgets

Today I was in an all-day meeting at work. And it got a little ugly.

I work for a global company. That is, a company which has plants and facilities in many countries across the world. In order to be more efficient and avoid duplication, my company wants departments who do the same thing, but in different countries, to use the same software. Makes sense, right? If I'm building widgets in the USA, and someone else in my company is building widgets in Japan, why not use the same widget-building software?

Well, this is easier said than done. Though we are both building widgets, my buddy in Japan has a slightly different process for building his widgets, so he claims his software needs are slightly different from mine. The challenge is, can the software be made to accommodate the slight differences in the widget-building process, or must we design and build two sets of widget-building software? My job is to help find ways to allow the use of one software tool which accommodates the needs of "widget-builders" in all countries.

So anyhow, in today's meeting, things got a bit heated when one group of widget-builders became convinced that their method of widget-building was fundamentally different from another group's, and thus required different software. They were convinced that the other country's widget-building process was crazy, and the folks from that country didn't understand why on earth we would use such a crazy method for building widgets here in the US of A.

So where am I going with all this?

It occurred to me that this gulf of understanding I witnessed today, regarding "widget-building", was very much like the talk-radio arguments you hear between liberals and conservatives. Both groups are convinced they are morally "in the right", and are doing the best thing for our country. Neither group of well-intentioned individuals can understand AT ALL how on earth the other side can possibly hold the positions they do.

I believe these positional differences (on abortion, the war in Iraq, taxes, etc) come from a fundamental difference in worldview. Wikipedia has a good definition of worldview: it is the framework of ideas and beliefs through which an individual interprets the world and interacts in it. In order to have a rational discussion of issues, it is necessary to first understand everyone's basic assumptions (worldview), and to work from there.

One of my goals as I blog is to lay out for you my worldview, and how I came to have it. Then, I can hopefully show that my opinions/thoughts/positions are internally consistent with my worldview. All this will hopefully lead to meaningful dialog with folks who may not share my opinions. You may not agree with my worldview, but hopefully you will be able to see how someone with my worldview would think, feel, and act the way I do...

Anyhoo, gotta get to bed, more widget arguments tomorrow!

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

* Sniff *

Well, fall is officially here.

How do I know this? Because when the temperature change happens, spring or fall, I always seem to come down with a cold. Today I had the scratchy throat thing, now it is getting sore, and I'm starting to sniffle. Cathy has already bought me vitamin C, Zicam, and throat lozenges. Where would I be without her?

Should be interesting trying to sing tenor at our Last Road gig Sunday night. Oh well.

Other cool news: a family friend has made available tickets to Saturday's Virginia Tech - Clemson game, so I think I'll be watching the Hokies clean up in Death Valley! I think this will be the first college football game I have attended since my senior year at Virginia Tech in '88. But it will be great just to be there and "see the spectacle". Go Hokies!

Oh well, gotta get some sleep to combat this cold.

Wow, my first blog post!

There are (at least) three reasons it doesn't make much sense for me to start blogging.

First, there are a number of other important things in life I should be doing, if in fact I have "spare time".

Second, I'm pretty sure there are very few folks who will actually read my posts.

Third, I don't want to be responsible for adding just another egocentric blog to the blogosphere.

Having said all that, the idea kind of intrigues me. My older son Brandon has started blogging, and I must say I have enjoyed reading his posts. One of our pastors at Crossroads, Rich Butler, maintains a great blog that really challenges me spiritually. My wife Cathy, who is an awesome writer, has even kicked the idea around.

Oh well, enough said. Here it is, I'm starting. Those of you who know me know one thing: my mind works in a totally random fashion, so at least this blog won't be boring. Stay tuned...