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Obama, Yomama

Well, all the anniversary/birthday festivities have passed, and I need to try and get back into some sort of blogging flow... The last few months have been pretty sad in terms of blog production here at the ole "Life of Brian" blog.

But, before getting to the main topic, one quick thing to get off my mind.

This is actually for Sarah. Ok, I gotta give Andrew Peterson some well-deserved props. Cathy and I were listening to some tunes on the way up to Saluda this past weekend, including AP's "Deliver Us". Wow - I'd have to give that song about a 99 on a scale of 100, a near-perfect tune. Absolutely incredible. (It almost is enough to make up for "Tools"...ha!) A couple more of those, and he'll be in Chris Rice territory! :D

Ok, on to the main rant.

Just some comments on the upcoming election. It will not be a surprise for most of you when I say that I am supporting McCain/Palin, not Obama/Biden. While I agree that Obama will bring change, I am convinced that much of it will be change in the wrong direction for our country.

Socially, as a Christian, I cannot in good conscience support Obama, who is strongly pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage, and likely to appoint a large number of liberals to the courts. Fiscally, I am sure an Obama presidency will result in higher taxes for all Americans, not just the wealthy (who by the way pay more than their fair share of taxes already...the top 1% of Americans pay 40% of the taxes, and the bottom 50% pay only 3%...is that fair?). And regarding foreign policy, I prefer the strong Reaganesque stance of war hero John McCain to Obama's "negotiate with terrorists" plans.

But beyond this, I am concerned over the way the majority of the media has given "the Messiah" a free pass, by neglecting to put a number of issues under the spotlight (Obama's relationship with Acorn, his relationships with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers and anti-American pastor Reverend Wright, etc).

If you have the time, read these two great articles about Obama, one from Focus on the Family's James Dobson, and the other from NewsMax. They basically sum up how I feel about Obama. And oh, this picture speaks volumes:



Senator Obama would be the one NOT holding his hand over his heart during the national anthem...

Having said that, I'm not a huge McCain fan, but he (and Palin) are a far better team to lead our nation, IMHO, than Obama/Biden.

Regardless of the outcome, we must remember that God is in control, and that America's TRUE need is a spiritual renewal, not a political one...

Oh well, rant over. Have a great week!

Happy

Here's wishing Cathy (and myself) a happy 18th anniversary!

And what an absolutely wonderful 18 years it has been -- God is good, indeed.

It seems like yesterday that Cathy and I were dating... I was a young engineer at Michelin, she was working at Staubli in Spartanburg. I would drive up to Spartanburg after work, pick up some Maurice's BBQ, and stop by for a visit at the duplex off Anderson Mill Road where Cathy and the boys lived. She loved me from the moment she met me (ha!).

Of course, there is no such thing as chance -- God was orchestrating things from the beginning, as always.

You see, my late teens and early twenties were years of rebellion for me, against my parents and against God. I was expected to attend church growing up, and as a form of rebellion against my parents, I vowed I would never go again once I left for college. At Virginia Tech, and after graduation, I had nothing to do with church, and nothing to do with God.

That is, until 1989. I had come to realize that the "wild" life just wasn't for me. I wasn't particularly good at it, and it really wasn't a match for me anyhow. What I really wanted was someone to love me as I was, someone to share life with, to start a family with. I realize that's maybe not "normal" for a 23-yr old guy, but I was finally being honest with myself.

For the first I could remember time since high school, I prayed to God. I don't actually remember exactly what I prayed, but I basically asked Him to take away the loneliness, to give me a soul mate. I vowed that if He would hold up His end of the bargain, I would be faithful, til death do us part.

Shortly after this prayer is when I met Cathy, shortly after that we were married, and shortly after that I accepted Christ (thanks to her example). Here we are 18 years later, and I'm happier with my soul mate than I ever thought I could be.

God gave me so much more than I even asked for...doesn't He always?

Happy

Greetings from the world's laziest blogger!

Here's a few reasons why I'm feeling good today:

1. Going out of town this weekend to celebrate my 18th anniversary of marriage to the world's best woman. Where to? The mountains, of course... Cool breeze, pretty leaves, Direct TV (Cathy's happy about that), and a good book (Thunder Run by David Zucchino). Of course, we're taking the Rubinator...

2. We joined First Baptist Simpsonville this past Sunday, and I am excited to see what opportunities God is going to open up there. It is great to be back on "solid ground" in terms of hearing sound doctrine! Also, I was fortunate to be able to play bass with the praise band a couple weeks ago... Fun.

3. Speaking of bass guitar...we have a new family member! It's a 1980 Peavey T-40 bass. In a nutshell, it is an incredible bass for a really low price (thanks, Craiglist!). Check out the raving reviews here. I am self-taught on bass, and picked up some bad fretting habits, so I plan on re-learning some technique. (Cathy, is there room for a bass and amp in the car for this weekend???) And yes, I will be selling my old electric bass, a cheapo Fender Squire I've had for about 10 years. Not gonna mourn that one!

4. The weather is just absolutely beautiful the last couple weeks. Love it, love it, love it. Are there actually people whose favorite season is something other than fall?

Have a great day, thank God for all that He has given you, and smile...life is good.

Brian

Trip

Well, I promised to post some pix of my trip to France, but they are all on my work PC, and here I am on my home PC, so pix will be on the next post...

Here's a quick review of some of the great things from my big trip a couple weeks ago:

• Wedding - The first stop on my trip was Harrisburg PA, where I had the pleasure of attending my sister Teresa's wedding. In a wonderful ceremony, Teresa was wed to Mike McElroy, who has been just wonderful for her. Great rehearsal dinner, great ceremony, great reception. It was great getting to see the whole family: Mom, David, Cindy, baby Russell, Angela, Mike, Julianne & Audrey, Aunt Ermine, cousins Matthew & Eddie McGee, and of course Teresa & Mike!
  
  
• Cycling Clermont - On my first day in Clermont-Ferrand, I rented a city bike from this place and rode all over the city. The weather was nice, high 60s, and I covered a lot of cobblestone streets over the course of 3 or 4 hours. And it only cost 2 euro (about $3 US)!!!
  
  
• Puy de Dome - Clermont-Ferrand sits in a valley beneath a chain of dormant volcanos, the largest of which is called "Puy de Dome". On the weekend, I drove out to the base of the mountain, and took a shuttle bus to the top. In addition to the INCREDIBLE view, I got to check out the ruins of a 1st century A.D. Roman temple to Mercury, built at the top of the mountain. Now THAT is history!
  
  
• Shopping - Saturday in France was overcast and a bit rainy, so I just had a chilled out day walking around the city checking out various stores and shops. My favorite finds? French fountain pens and paper, of course. Bought a couple fun fountain pens, a few Clairefontaine notebooks, and some cool inks (J. Herbin). Cathy likes her pink/purple pen and matching ink!
  
  
• Flood - On the last day, I stopped by a supermarket on the way to the airport. While in the store, it started pouring outside. Not just pouring, but big hailstones as well! It rained so hard for so long, I was worried I would miss my flight. Finally, it let up, and I ran to the car. After leaving the parking lot, I took a wrong turn and ended up on a road which was flooded with water. At first it was just a few inches deep, but before I knew it I was driving through water about a foot deep! I could see water gushing up from the manhole cover holes... Long story short, I made it through the flood, but was really worried I would stall the car and have to wade through the deep water. Yikes, that was a close one! The Lord was with me, though, and I got to the airport on time...
  
  
• Visits with Brandon and Megan - Fortunately, I flew Delta, and one of Delta's hubs is Cincinatti! So, I was able to have breakfast with Brandon and Megan at the airport on the way to France. And thanks to a 4+ hour layover on the way back, I was able to check out their house in Lebanon and visit for about an hour. Megan and Brandon, it was great to see your new home! It looks great, and I am so glad you guys are doing well in so many ways. I love you guys, and am very proud of you both.
  

Oh well, those are some of the highlights of my trip. Other than that, it was long work days, and really tasty dinners at fancy French restaurants!

Its a rough job, but someone's got to do it, ha!

Back

Well, it's good to be back!

Back from two weeks in France, that is, and a few days in Pennsylvania before that.

Why is it that when things are going normally, and we're following our daily routines, that we crave something different -- a vacation, a weekend road trip, or maybe just a quick trip to the store? Then, after going away for a while, all we can think about is getting back home? Human nature, I suppose, never satisfied with what we have...

Not sure why that is, but it really is good to be home. Regarding business trips to France, I came up with the "rule of two". For some reason, a week in France seems like two, and two weeks there seem like four. Not sure why, but it is true. So, it feels really great to be back home, with my lovely wife, my cute but annoying dog, and my normal routines.

Having said that, I had a great time at Teresa's wedding, and also in France. Over the next few days, I'm gonna share a bit of those trips with you on this blog.

So, stay tuned, more to come...

Ten

Yes, I'm a copycat.

Megan and Cathy and Sarah, I stole this idea from y'all. But it was a good idea, so it's worth stealing!

OK, here goes: 10 Things You May Not Know About Me

1. When NBA pro basketball player Grant Hill was a kid, he was in "my" class. I was in 9th grade, and got a summer job working as a teacher's assistant for a summer computer class (around 1980). Grant Hill was in 3rd grade, and a student in the class. All I remember is that he refused to do his work, and would frequently say "My dad is Calvin Hill, he's on the Redskins!"
2. I've only been taken to hospital once. Second grade, broke my arm falling from a tree. The only other times I've been to the hospital were when Cathy went, and I almost passed out from that!
   
3. My favorite color is blue. My favorite color combo is blue and yellow.
   
4. When I was a kid, I wanted to name my future kid "Murphy". (Maybe this is why God organized it to where I never got to name anyone!!!) You see, one of my favorite books as a kid was Richard Scarry's "What Do People Do All Day" (see picture), and in that book there was a dog policeman named Murphy, which is where I got the idea. When Cathy and I got married, and lived in a rental house in Spartanburg, we bought a yellow lab puppy and I named him Murphy. (No, he didn't become a policeman).
5. When I was a kid, I wanted to be either a helicopter pilot or an NFL TV cameraman.
6. My first summer jobs were: soccer referree (FIFA-certified!), McDonald's (10th grade...1982, the year Chicken McNuggets came out), drugstore clerk (Dart Drug), highway paving crew inspector (I was the the guy with no asphalt on his boots).
7. I once saved a man's life. Sort of. As a kid, we vacationed in Wisconsin every other summer. The family and relatives went to a man-made lake (no ocean nearby!), and I went in the water with Uncle Albert. We got into about 3-ft deep water, and ole Uncle Albert started splashing around alot. I figured he was just a bad swimmer, but after a bit he looked at me and said "Grab my arm and pull me out!". I shrugged, took his hand, and hauled him back out onto shore. Turns out he had vertigo due to an inner ear problem, and the whole family raved about how "Brian saved Uncle Albert! He could have drowned!" Have mercy... I didn't know what all the fuss was about, I just thought Uncle Al was about the worst swimmer I'd ever seen.
8. OK, this one's embarrassing. My brother David and I used to play Dungeons and Dragons. We were in junior high school, and rather geeky I might add. No, I will NOT post pictures from that era.
9. Most ball caps don't fit me because I have a ridiculously huge dome. When I was a kid, I would try and take turtlenecks off and they would get stuck on my head. Cathy, stop laughing!
10. Right after I accepted Christ, I went to a Billy Mayo crusade. He convinced my that all my rock albums (I had two wooden crates full) were of Satan. So, I went home and threw them all out. Do I regret it? Yes, and no. I gotta admit I'd love to have some of them back, but I think God was putting me through a cleansing process, and I don't regret having obeyed what I felt was His leading...
    

OK, there you have it! Hope you learned something, or at least had a good laugh!