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!

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.

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?

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!

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.

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!

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!