Album

The CD Album Cover Game

After yesterday's fairly heavy post, I thought we needed something a little lighter...

“1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random The first article title on the page is the name of your band.
2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3 The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.
3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/ The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
4. Save and edit the album picture, add the band name and album name in the fonts of your choice, and upload the final product to the flickr group “CD Cover Meme”

Go ahead and try it, you know you want to.

Murderers

It's tough to turn on the news these days without hearing the horrible news that someone is missing, only to find a few days later that their body was found in the woods somewhere. I realize that it's not too uplifting of a topic, but today's blog post is about...mass murderers.

Berkowitz. Dahmer. Bundy.

We have grown to equate these names with pure evil. Some of our nation's most infamous killers, this trio was responsible for the slayings of dozens people. David Berkowitz, known as the Son of Sam, killed 7 people and wounded seven others in the course of eight shootings in NYC between 1976 and 1977. Jeffrey Dahmer tortured, killed, and cannibalized 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. And Ted Bundy confessed to 29 murders of young women across the United States, between 1974 and 1978.

These men were truly monsters, the worst of the worst. But what if I told you that a man had been discovered, right here in Greenville, who had murdered more people than all of these serial killers combined? Would it not be the story of the decade, the #1 news item on CNN, NBC, and Fox News?

Further, what if it was found that this man killed 100 victims over the past year alone? And that all of his victims were children under the age of 10? Can you imagine the outrage, the sheer horror we would feel? People would demand justice, pushing the police forces of the nation to put the capture of this child-killer as a #1 priority.

More time passes, and the police release another bombshell. It is true that all the victims were under age 10, but it is announced that in fact they were all infants less than a year old. Utter shock - a serial killer who targeted babies. Could it get any worse?

Yes, it could.

What if it came out that there were four other men in Greenville who committed the same horrible acts last year also...for a total of 500 innocent deaths? What if I told you that every city and town in the US has men like this, who are creating new massacres every day? What if I told you that the police, and in fact the public, have known the identities and locations of these men all along, and have done nothing about it? No criminal charges, no efforts to stop the insanity.

Well, every word of it is true. But it's OK, because we've made a nice word for it, to hide the horror.

Abortion.

Oh, that's not a fair analogy, you say. Abortion is LEGAL. Well, let me ask you this. Did Dahmer's victims ask to be torn apart? Did Berkowitz's victims beg to be shot? No, they were innocent victims of murder. In the same way, the killing of unborn babies is murder. They are defenseless, innocent victims of slaughter. Just because the mother, out of distress or desperation or selfishness, allows it to happen, it does not lessen the horror of what has happened - the murder of an innocent victim.

I personally believe that abortion is not just another "political issue" like immigration or the flat tax. No, it is far greater. It is a blight upon our nation, a shame so great that it affects the very heart of who we are as a people. Think about the numbers - a million murdered babies in the USA every year since 1973 - more than 30 million dead.

Some will say, "Oh, you're one of those one-issue voters." To that I say this. If my 1911 house were to catch fire in the middle of the night, do you think I would be concerned with the loose front porch railing? The unpainted trim in Zach's room? The drywall repair needed in the master bath? No, I would be a "one-issue" homeowner, running away from the flames. The magnitude of the one issue outweighs all the others.

And so, this Saturday I will go to the polls to vote for a person who I think would be the best to lead our country into the future. A person who realizes the vast horror that is occurring every day, every hour, in every corner of our great land. A person who will do everything in their power to plug the moral leak in the soul of our nation.

Will your vote help stop the horror, or perpetuate it?

Snow

Greenville SC is currently under a Winter Storm Warning. Not a Winter Storm Alert, mind you, a Warning.

Buy your milk and bread now!!!

Cathy and I are all huddled up in our cozy living room, hoping it will snow. You see, we don't get a lot of snow here in SC. Cold rain, yes, sleet, yes, freezing rain, yes, ice storms, yes, snow, not so much.

I have some great memories of snowstorms, though.

Here in SC, the memories are few, but sweet. Back in 1993, South Carolina got a freak snowstorm in March, with over a foot of snow! Of course, I took a day of vacation, and the boys and I did the standard snow stuff: snow angels, snowball fights, snowman. In fact, the snowman we built was one of the better ones I can recall -- traditional shape, carrot, rocks for eyes, etc. Unfortunately, our dog at the time (stray Pomeranian mix named Pookie) didn't think as much of the snow man, and hiked his leg on it...

Then, there were a few good snow storms during the years we were at Pliney circle. One time, we had a late-night snowball war. We must have been outside until midnight, lobbing snow bombs over the house and having a general blast in the amber light of the street lamp. I remember Brandon and I hiding in the woods next to the house, waiting until someone (Zach and friend?) walked by, and then ambushing them with armfuls of ice balls. Seems I recall the victims didn't think it was as funny...

Cathy wasn't much for the snowball wars, but did make a mean snow cream! We would gather snow in those stainless steel mixing bowls, and then she would add in sugar, vanilla, and milk. Mmmmmmmm!

As a kid, I grew up in the Washington DC suburbs, where snow was pretty common in the winter. I have a lot of good memories of building igloos & snow fortresses, sledding on my Flexible Flyer with 20+ other neighborhood kids, and watching the snowplow go down our street. Once, I remember walking through 2-foot deep snow with my Dad to the 7-11 to buy milk -- that was a workout!

Why is it that everyone likes snow so much? I suppose the kids like it because it means no school and a day of play. And I suppose the grocery stores like it because bread and milk sales go through the roof. For the rest of us, I guess it brings a little bit of excitement and uncertainty into an otherwise drab winter. And those white, snow-covered days, where no cars are out and about sure are peaceful.

If I were a betting man, I'd be betting on freezing rain. But in my heart, I'm hoping and praying for snow!

Winter

Winter + Cold + Windy + Freezing + Drafty + Sleet + Freezing Rain = Hate it.

Hot Chocolate + Wool + Layers + Scarf + Hot Showers + Space Heater + Flannel Sheets + Thick Socks + Fleece + Big Comforters + I Don't Live Up North = Thank you, Lord!

"George"

Have you every met someone filled with joy? Someone who brightens your day every time you see them? The kind of person where you always feel better after being with them than before? I think we all know people like this.

On the other hand, have you ever me someone exactly opposite this? Someone who is perpetually negative, who can find fault with the most beautiful song, the prettiest flower, the best situation? A person who never fails to sap all the joy and energy out of you?

Well, I met one of those negative people yesterday. In fact, I meet him once a month.

For the sake of this blog post, we'll call him "George." George is my barber.

As a barber, he is great. Excellent attention to detail, very thorough, never knicks my ear with the scissors, etc. But, George is one of the most negative people I have ever met. He has "no use" for most things that normal people enjoy. As you can imagine, this makes for an extremely awkward half hour in the barber chair!

Our conversation yesterday went something like this:

Brian: Hey, George, how have you been!
George: All right.

[Brian sits in barber chair, followed by three minutes of awkward silence.]

Brian: So, did you have a good Christmas, George?
George: Survived it. Glad its over.
Brian: Did you have your kids and grandkids over?
George: No. They've got their own families. We've got ours.

[Five minutes of awkward silence.]

Brian: Say, George, do you ever go to downtown Greenville? They've really got it looking nice...
George: No reason to. Nothing they have down there I can't get here at home. Except crowds & traffic.

[More awkward silence...]

Brian: So, um, has business been pretty good?
George: Same as always. Work six days a week, standing up all day. Prices go up, but my pay never goes up. ...


Well, you get the idea.

I've given some thought to my encounters with George, and here's what I've come up with:

1. When I get older, I do not want to be a negative, grumpy person. Life is too short! I want to be the positive, joyful, edifying person, the one who makes peoples lives better. Negativity breed more and more negativity, and the result is...well, George.

2. Despite his demeanor, Jesus died for George. Even thought it is very difficult for me to LIKE George, much less LOVE him, scriptures command me to love him. I need to show Christ's love to him. Even if he never changes, I need to be a positive Christian example to him, once a month. Maybe God will even use me to change him...

3. I don't know what George has gone through. Maybe George has suffered a variety of things that, through God's grace, I've never had to endure. It's easy for me to judge, to say "look at what a great person I am compared to this negative man." But maybe God just wants me to offer friendship and encouragement, and not judge his character.

So, if you are the praying type, pray that God will give me the ability to be consistently positive, joyful, and Christlike every month when I go see George. Pray that George will come to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior, that God would change him from the inside out. Pray that Christ will plant a seed of joy in George's heart, and that it will grow wildly and uncontrollably, covering every dry and dusty clump of negativity in his soul.

God is good - let's live that way!

Construction

I'm a creature of habit -- aren't we all?

Every day, I drive back and forth to my job, taking the same route. And on that route, there are two construction projects.

The first project is just a few hundred yards from my house. First Baptist Simpsonville is building a new worship facility to replace the current one, built in the 70s or 80s (which replaced the original sanctuary, built around 1910!). It is an impressive structure, with classic stone and brick exterior, and stadium seating inside. Everything on the exterior has gone up since fall, and all it lacks outside is the steeple and a few shingles.

The second project is the entrance to my workplace, MARC. As part of a site beautification project, they are renovating the main entrance. Out with the old barbed wire fence and guard shack, in with a professionally landscaped gateway. The new entrance will boast an arbor, lots of shrubs/trees/plants, concrete & brick walkways, and an outdoor cafe area for employees to eat lunch.

In each of these cases, the price of the "new thing" was the destruction of the "old thing".

In the case of First Baptist, clearing the construction site meant tearing down four wonderful old houses. Those houses were all built around 1905-1910, by the same man who built our house. Since Cathy and I are "old house people", it broke our hearts to see these awesome houses bulldozed. Fortunately, we were able to work out a deal with the salvage company, and I managed to get some great parts and pieces to use in the restoration of our house.

In the case of the MARC entrance, demolition crews had to tear down fences, guard shacks, and gates, and dig up sidewalks and asphalt roadways. Plants were uprooted and thrown away, and even the huge flagpole got the heave-ho!

The reason these construction projects stand out to me is that my life is currently "under construction". I am a little past a week into 2008, and the New Years resolutions I made are going well. I have been getting to bed and to work an hour earlier, working through a great Bible study on David, and working out daily at the Michelin fitness center.

Just like real construction projects require tearing out the old, outdated things in order to make place for the new, so it has been in my life. For years, I have been all about one concept: "I am not a morning person". This was my mantra, which I would repeat to anyone who challenged me on it. No matter what, I just wasn't going to get up early.

It wasn't until this New Year's that I asked myself the classic Dr. Phil question - how's that been working for you?

The truth was, it hadn't been working too well. There were things that, year after year, needed improvement in my life, and my old solutions just weren't working. So after some prayer, I came to the conclusion that I was going to need to make some big changes, and prayed that God would help me rip out old habits and create brand new ones in their place.

So far, so good!

Come spring, I hope to see three new things in my daily routine: the towering steeple of the new First Baptist sanctuary, a professionally landscaped MARC entrance, and a new "me" (outside and inside).

Time

This Christmas, I got a great present from my father.

Which sounds strange, since Dad passed away from Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS) several years ago... Let me explain.

First, some background. Last year, the cheapie $1 Timex watch I bought at Goodwill finally gave out. The little LCD numbers would fade in and out, and eventually were more "out" than "in", to the point where I couldn't see any numbers at all. Time for a new watch.

Now, I've always been a bit of a "frugal shopper" when it comes to watches: $25 for a Timex LCD at Walmart, and I'm good to go for the next few years. But recently, a guy I work with introduced me to the concept of "automatic" watches. Automatic watches don't use batteries like quartz watches, and they don't require winding either like antique watches did. Instead, they have a tiny little rotating weight in them which winds the watch "automatically" as your arm moves back and forth during the day. Cool, huh?

So, this fall, I bought a beautiful Seiko 5 automatic watch from a guy in Singapore off of eBay. It has been great -- stainless steel case, deep blue dial, glow in the dark hands and markers, etc. And this has led to an interest in older, non-quartz watches.

Fast-forward a few months. Christmas 2007, and I'm up in Virginia visiting my Mom. I seemed to recall that my Dad had a couple older wristwatches, so I asked her if she had kept any. She looked in his bureau, and found an old gold wristwatch buried under a bunch of stuff. It wasn't running, and I asked her if I could restore it and wear it. She said I could have it, so I brought it home.

After a bit of research, here's what I found. The watch is a swiss Wittnauer automatic from the late '50s or early '60s, with a 10k gold-filled case. It was made by the Longines-Wittnauer company, which is a well-respected make in watch collector circles. These watches were well-designed, and should run for many years without much maintenance...

Looking at the whole situation, I'm not quite sure where my recent interest in watches has come from. I do know that in 2007, more than ever before, I have become acutely aware of the rapid passage of time. The boys are grown, I'm getting a few gray hairs, the possibility of grandchildren exists in the not-too-far future, and I'm praying about what God has in store for me in the next phase of my life.

Ephesians 5:15-16 says, "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." It is my desire to use my time more wisely, to use the gift of time for God's glory.

So, I hope that soon, Dad's fine Swiss watch will be repaired, restored, and worn proudly on my wrist. I hope that every time I glance at it, it will remind me of my Dad, who I miss.

But more importantly, I hope that God will use it as a regular reminder that each day is a gift from Him, to be used wisely for His purposes.