Denver Nuggets in Seattle

I went to Key Arena last night and watched the Nuggets destroy the Sonics by almost 40 points. Nevertheless, I have to wonder why such a talented team is so inconsistent. While its true, the Sonics didn't bother to show up in this game, I'm beginning to think someone needs to just blow up the team and start over. It doesn't even really look like basketball, it's just a bunch of guys in a pick up game.

In Bremerton

I've been in the Seattle area this week. While I was there, I drove through Bremerton and took this photo of one of three very large aircraft carriers. I had no concept of how huge these really are until I got up close. It looked like they were working on them and maybe even dismantling them, I'm not sure. This was the best photo I could get.

God's commitment

I heard Phillip Yancey again this morning at Church. He reminded everyone of God's commitment to us. The creator of the Universe spoke through Paul these sweeping, and astounding words; "I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." How can we not love a God who loves us so much.

Disappointment with God

I think if we only really knew, the glories waiting for us, if we only understood the cosmic wager, and even the joy of suffering, we would know why Job died happy. The words "Why Job Died Happy" come from Yancy's book Disappointment With God. "But let Job speak for himself," says Yancey;

I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him
with my own eyes - I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!
Job 19:25-27

Yancey reminds us that Job's comfort was - harsh as this may sound - insignificant in comparison with the cosmic issues at stake. God answered the question, "is anybody out there?"

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know...
My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.

John McCain

I am very impressed with the NY Times. They published the story about John McCain right after they knew he was going to get the nomination. Evidently they sat on it for 6 months. How does that serve the public interest? While the story lacks substance and any guiding facts, the timing is perfect for a paper with a liberal bias. In the words of Mark Twain, "Lies are half way around the world before the truth can get it's boots on."

Papers, like the NY Times have three hats: one they wear, one they give to liberal democrats, and one they talk through. People who don't know why America is the Land of Promise should be here during an election campaign. I promise to smear you. And what's even more interesting is the way in which democrats can get the papers to do their dirty work.

Bob Dole wrote in his book Great Political Wit, "It's no secret that I, too, have had a quarrel or two with the press. I remain convinced that many in the press do have a liberal bias, and that fact sometimes loses out to opinion. The fact is that the American economy was prospering under the (first) Bush administration, but the media told the public day in and day out that we were either in a recession or a depression. President Bush later summed it all up when he said, "When the Berlin Wall fell, I half expected to see a headline: 'Wall Falls, Three Border Guards Lose Jobs.' "

Hillbilly

I don't vote for the better candidate. I vote for the the one who'll do the least harm! And this isn't the person. She is just the man to get our country moving. If she wins, I'm moving.

And the answer is...

Gollum was waiting for an answer. Bilbo's tongue was stuck in his mouth and he wanted to shout out: "Give me more time! Give me more time!" But all that came out with a sudden squeal was:

"Time! Time!"

Bilbo was saved by pure luck. For that of course was the answer to the riddle.

I work with 35 franchise owners providing consulting services. More often than not, this is the answer for them. They need to use their time more effectively, and it's not likely they'll be saved by pure luck. The poor use of time will devour them and beat them down. What's interesting is, it will do that to all of us.

A riddle for you

Here is a riddle for you. I took this from a conversation Bilbo Baggins had with Gollum in The Hobbit.

This thing all things devours:
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats high mountain down.

Poor Bilbo sat in the dark thinking of all the horrible names of all the giants and ogres he had ever heard told of in tales, but not one of them had done all of these things. What do you think the answer is?

Next week I will have the answer, unless of course you know it.

Their little deduction

Here are some more baby videos. Of course you know how much we like our Grandson.

Now my daughter is learning, one of the tricks of being a happy parent is to fall asleep when the baby isn't looking. What I can't understand is why people with kids and people without kids both feel sorry for the other. It's not so bad really, this time of year it's important to remember a baby is an addition that becomes a deduction!

Snow in Oregon

This week I was traveling in Southern Oregon. There was some concern about driving from Medford to Klamath Falls and back because of all the snow they've had. I had to drive over a high pass (in Oregon terms). So, I'm thinking, "Hey, I'm from Colorado how bad can this be?" Well, it can and certainly was, bad. As you can see the road sign below is mostly obscured by the snow. The good news is, I picked the right day to make the trip...nice and sunny.

This area is called Lake of the Woods. It's on State Rt. 140 and runs near Mt. McLoughlin which soars to 9,495 ft. We have passes in Colorado higher than this mountain. But look at the snow! They have had a lot. Klamath Lake was completely frozen over and I was tempted to drive my rental car on it. But, then my better judgment kicked in and I decided not to. It's a pretty place through.

Real Money

One of my fears about the Democrats is their spending habits. And I know, the Republicans aren't much better. But it's the things they spend it on; i.e. the Woodstock Museum. Growing up, one of my favorite Senators was Everett Dirksen, even though he was a Democrat he was a straight shooting, honest guy. Things were getting out of hand on the Senate floor one year and he said, "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money."

What happened in Church

We heard Phillip Yancey speak again at Church on Sunday. He talked about Romans 3 - 5. The beginning of the discussion was on evil. He reminded us that politicians think they can do a lot of things but they can't fix death and they can't fix evil. He described evil using the definition from M. Scott Peck in his book People of The Lie.

a) Consistent destructive, scapegoating behavior (being above reproach), which may often be quite subtle.
b) Excessive, usually covert, intolerance of criticism.
c) Pronounced concern with a public image and self image of respectability, contributing to a stability of life-style but also to pretentiousness and denial of hateful feelings or vengeful motives.
d) Intellectual deviousness, with an increased likelihood of a mild schizophrenic disturbance of thinking at times of stress.

I see the above in myself and everywhere I go and have been. An important passage in Romans is, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." This includes me. The good news is we have a God who is greater. His grace is greater than any sin. We were then recipients of a beautiful and very thoughtful sermon on the depths of God's Grace and how powerful it really is.

Lots of snow

Nancy and I were wandering around Evergreen yesterday and we saw these two bucks standing by this creek looking at us. There isn't a lot of food for the deer because of all the snow. They can't get to it. As a result, Fish and Game is feeding them in many areas. I thought these two looked pretty healthy though.

History and Hillary

Here's a little history for you. Harry Truman made no secret of his dislike for John F. Kennedy as a prospective Democratic candidate for President in 1960. Truman's obvious opposition to Kennedy had nothing to do with his religion. It had everything to do with his controversial father. Truman said, "It's not the Pope I fear but the Pop."

While I do have some concerns about Hillary and her lack of accomplishments, she did get Congress to allocate $1 million to the Woodstock Museum... more pork for New York. What a hero she is, and what took the Democrats so long? Nevertheless, I have some of the same fears as Truman only amplified, so to speak. In this election, it's the Ma and Pa I fear.

People who don't know America is the Land of Promise should be here during an election campaign.

Repentance

It's that time of year (Ash Wednesday, Lent, etc.) when people think it's time to reflect on God and repent. Even Solomon says everything has its time. But does this hold true with confession of sin? As you reflect on your sin, wouldn't it be all too slow to wait and repent later? Surely you would have forgotten. I've certainly forgotten many sins, just ask my family.

The obvious question is, does waiting for the season of advent make a person conceited or self-important in his or her sadness? Look at me, I'm repenting. Is that meaningful?

I like what Gregory VIII says. "Penance means to lament the sins that have been committed and not to commit any more sins that have been lamented."

Denver Nuggets Win!

I went to the Blazer/Nuggets game last night. 105-103 pretty much sys it all. A win is a win and the Nugs will take it. Here is AI drilling one from outside. The game went into overtime so it was really good. Everyone enjoyed our time together. However, only two of us cheered for the Nuggets.

Here is a photo of Teresa, Dan, Marisa, and Genaro. It was nice to have the suite because we could talk, visit and eat. And eat, and eat. And eat some more.

Of course every chair as a pair of binoculars. Tony and his daughter get an up close view of AI and Melo doing their thing. But of course, the Trailblazers are doing very well this year. We can't take anything away from them and Brandon Roy.

There were 22 of us in the suite and we kept thinking, "who is going to clean this place when the game is over?" And, "I sure hope there is enough soap in those dispensers." Here I am pictured with Angela and Barbara and her daughter. No one is really concerned too much about cleaning. There are over 100 of Sam and Barbara's people coming in about an hour, but when the game goes into overtime, that can sure get expensive.

Church today

Today, Nancy and I went to Lookout Mountain Community Church and heard Phillip Yancey speak. I've read most of his books and one in particular is especially good, What's So Amazing About Grace? When I worked in Memphis I bought about 10 of these books and passed them out to people I thought might read and enjoy them. You'll notice it's one of my favorite books. A couple other good books he wrote is Disappointment With God and The Jesus I Never Knew. He started a 5 week series today on the book of Romans. The discussion started with sin and he described it as "distance from God." I will keep you posted on how it goes. We plan on returning.

My job

Work has changed quite a bit for me. I am working out of my house. It's absolutely great. Instead of driving 45 minutes to work and then driving home for 45 minutes, I now have an extra hour and a half to be productive. But how?

I've decided to use the time to workout in the mornings. This aspect of my life has been, well... somewhat lacking to say the least. After the long commute and then a hard day at work I just never felt like working out in the evening. I felt emotionally spent. So anyway I'm off to a good start this week.

I still have to travel about the same as before. In fact, I am now working with franchise owners in Alaska. Which means I will still have to deal with the issues in the photo below.


This is the security line at DIA on an average day. Sometimes the line runs all the way around the corner and into the baggage claim area. Oh well, I still have a lot to be thankful for.