Still testing new software. Please ignore this post. Sorry for any inconvenience. This is as painful for me as it is for you. But the wheels on the bus go round and round.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
New Software
It's hard to get all the pieces to fall into place.
Still testing new software. Please ignore this post. Sorry for any inconvenience. This is as painful for me as it is for you. But the wheels on the bus go round and round.
Still testing new software. Please ignore this post. Sorry for any inconvenience. This is as painful for me as it is for you. But the wheels on the bus go round and round.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
From The Outside Looking In
Last week I went to my first AA meeting.
I don’t mind telling you it was a little intimidating. There were no signs. No instructions about what to do. No arrows directing me to where I should go. Nothing indicating what time the meetings take place or how long they would last. No preparation about what to expect when I walked through the doors.
Every day for the past two years I have driven past the Ambry Club, just two blocks from my house. I noticed that at certain times of the day, the parking lot would be full and folks would be gathered and visiting outside the front door. I was curious. I wanted to go, but was scared. I wasn’t sure I would be welcome there. I didn’t think I fit in. After all, I wasn’t really one of them. I didn’t meet the requirements. We might have some things in common, but I was pretty sure I didn’t fit the profile.
For years I have heard about the good work and life change that happens in places like this. But what would happen to me if I went? Would my friends start to look at me differently? Would they talk about me? Avoid me? Exclude me? How would I explain this to my Dad?
So day after day, I drove by, afraid to stop. I wanted to, but it made my palms sweat just thinking about it. So I would grip the steering wheel, divert my eyes and just keep driving.
What requirements do they have? Do I have to pay to go? Would I be pressured to make some kind of commitment? To join? Was this for “members” only or can just anyone come? Could I walk away if I didn’t like it? Would I be asked to say or do something that would embarrass me?
Then a good friend offered to go with me. She told me what time they met. She described a few of the characters I would likely run into. I asked about the meeting and what to expect. She assured me that everyone was welcome there and prompted me on what to say when it was my turn. “My name is Jay, and I’m just here to listen.”
What a relief to have someone sit beside me who understood things. She knew how nervous I was. How uncomfortable I felt. She understood the room. The people. The rituals. The language. The expectations. She explained a few things to me. I borrowed her courage and followed her lead. What was so foreign and strange to me was comfortable to her.
I learned a lot that night. What it's like to be on the outside looking in... the courage it takes to walk through the door for the first time. Once inside, it wasn’t nearly as frightening as I had imagined. And most interesting of all, I think maybe I really do belong there.
I don’t mind telling you it was a little intimidating. There were no signs. No instructions about what to do. No arrows directing me to where I should go. Nothing indicating what time the meetings take place or how long they would last. No preparation about what to expect when I walked through the doors.
Every day for the past two years I have driven past the Ambry Club, just two blocks from my house. I noticed that at certain times of the day, the parking lot would be full and folks would be gathered and visiting outside the front door. I was curious. I wanted to go, but was scared. I wasn’t sure I would be welcome there. I didn’t think I fit in. After all, I wasn’t really one of them. I didn’t meet the requirements. We might have some things in common, but I was pretty sure I didn’t fit the profile.
For years I have heard about the good work and life change that happens in places like this. But what would happen to me if I went? Would my friends start to look at me differently? Would they talk about me? Avoid me? Exclude me? How would I explain this to my Dad?
So day after day, I drove by, afraid to stop. I wanted to, but it made my palms sweat just thinking about it. So I would grip the steering wheel, divert my eyes and just keep driving.
What requirements do they have? Do I have to pay to go? Would I be pressured to make some kind of commitment? To join? Was this for “members” only or can just anyone come? Could I walk away if I didn’t like it? Would I be asked to say or do something that would embarrass me?
Then a good friend offered to go with me. She told me what time they met. She described a few of the characters I would likely run into. I asked about the meeting and what to expect. She assured me that everyone was welcome there and prompted me on what to say when it was my turn. “My name is Jay, and I’m just here to listen.”
What a relief to have someone sit beside me who understood things. She knew how nervous I was. How uncomfortable I felt. She understood the room. The people. The rituals. The language. The expectations. She explained a few things to me. I borrowed her courage and followed her lead. What was so foreign and strange to me was comfortable to her.
I learned a lot that night. What it's like to be on the outside looking in... the courage it takes to walk through the door for the first time. Once inside, it wasn’t nearly as frightening as I had imagined. And most interesting of all, I think maybe I really do belong there.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Perfection
Last Sunday, Oakland A's pitcher Dallas Braden pitched a perfect game against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays - a feat that has been achieved only 19 times in the 120 year history of Major League Baseball.
A perfect game is more than a no-hitter. In a nine-inning baseball game, a pitcher must face a minimum of three batters per inning, or 27 batters total. The pitcher cannot allow a batter to reach base safely for any reason - hits, walks, or hit batters. 27 up - 27 down. But great pitching is not enough. It must also be backed by great play out on the field. An error by a right fielder could allow a runner to reach base and spoil an otherwise flawless game.
What a great metaphor for life. A perfect game is something we only dream about. Looking back at the past year, week or even the past hour, we find plenty of room for criticism. Did we give our best? Were there a few costly errors? Do we have room for improvement?
To date, Braden’s career would be described as mediocre, losing more games than he’s won. But this past weekend, he was unstoppable. In my own game of life, I confess the pitching has sometimes been lackluster - some innings were red hot, others have been ice cold. Maybe your story is one of a sluggish start, but now you’re really finishing strong. Whatever the case, the only way to win is to keep pitching.
Thankfully, through the years there have been some terrific folks who “had my back”. Parents, teachers, coworkers, mentors. Funny, but it seems that the further you get in the game, that pitching arm begins to tire, and the more grateful you become for good support out in the field.
Dallas Braden is still a young man, only 26 years old. There will be plenty of long lonely walks back to the dugout in his future. But for one day, this past Mother’s day, Braden made his mom proud.
A perfect game is more than a no-hitter. In a nine-inning baseball game, a pitcher must face a minimum of three batters per inning, or 27 batters total. The pitcher cannot allow a batter to reach base safely for any reason - hits, walks, or hit batters. 27 up - 27 down. But great pitching is not enough. It must also be backed by great play out on the field. An error by a right fielder could allow a runner to reach base and spoil an otherwise flawless game.
What a great metaphor for life. A perfect game is something we only dream about. Looking back at the past year, week or even the past hour, we find plenty of room for criticism. Did we give our best? Were there a few costly errors? Do we have room for improvement?
To date, Braden’s career would be described as mediocre, losing more games than he’s won. But this past weekend, he was unstoppable. In my own game of life, I confess the pitching has sometimes been lackluster - some innings were red hot, others have been ice cold. Maybe your story is one of a sluggish start, but now you’re really finishing strong. Whatever the case, the only way to win is to keep pitching.
Thankfully, through the years there have been some terrific folks who “had my back”. Parents, teachers, coworkers, mentors. Funny, but it seems that the further you get in the game, that pitching arm begins to tire, and the more grateful you become for good support out in the field.
Dallas Braden is still a young man, only 26 years old. There will be plenty of long lonely walks back to the dugout in his future. But for one day, this past Mother’s day, Braden made his mom proud.
“I am confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1)
Monday, May 3, 2010
The Language of God
“The greatest blunder of my life.” That’s what Albert Einstein called it.
His general theory of relativity told him that the universe must either be expanding or contracting. Astronomers argued that neither one was true. They were convinced that the Milky Way galaxy where we live was stagnant, was only a few thousand light years in size and was the only galaxy in the universe. So Einstein altered his equations to meet the commonly held beliefs.
From a lonely mountaintop in California, Edwin Hubble discovered otherwise. The Milky Way, he calculated, was at least 300,000 lightyears in diameter. Furthermore he concluded that the sky is filled with billions of galaxies similar to ours and the universe was indeed expanding, validating Einstein’s theory.
Last week marked the 20th anniversary of the launching of the space telescope named in Hubble’s honor. Over the past two decades, it has been photographing the edge of the universe, sending back an amazing array of 100 million images and probing the cosmos to depths he could only dream about a century ago.
When Galileo discovered he could use the tools of mathematics and mechanics to understand the motion of celestial bodies, he felt, that he had “learned the language of God.”
The more we explore the wonder of God’s creation, the more we stand in awe of its complexity and beauty. The more we grasp the “bigness” of the universe, the more we are impressed with our own “smallness”. Science's domain is to investigate nature. God's domain is spiritual, a realm that can’t be explored with the tools and language of science. It must be examined with the heart, the mind, and the soul. The language of God is not a language of mathematics, but of the heart.
Science has been astoundingly successful in investigating the natural world. But even at their best, the tools of science are powerless to answer some of our profoundest questions. The Hubble telescope can give us glimpses of the edge of the universe, but cannot answer, "How did all of this come into being?", "Why are we here?" and "What will happen to us after we die?"
Hubble’s telescope will never answer these deeply rooted questions. It’s speaking the wrong language.
His general theory of relativity told him that the universe must either be expanding or contracting. Astronomers argued that neither one was true. They were convinced that the Milky Way galaxy where we live was stagnant, was only a few thousand light years in size and was the only galaxy in the universe. So Einstein altered his equations to meet the commonly held beliefs.
From a lonely mountaintop in California, Edwin Hubble discovered otherwise. The Milky Way, he calculated, was at least 300,000 lightyears in diameter. Furthermore he concluded that the sky is filled with billions of galaxies similar to ours and the universe was indeed expanding, validating Einstein’s theory.
Last week marked the 20th anniversary of the launching of the space telescope named in Hubble’s honor. Over the past two decades, it has been photographing the edge of the universe, sending back an amazing array of 100 million images and probing the cosmos to depths he could only dream about a century ago.
When Galileo discovered he could use the tools of mathematics and mechanics to understand the motion of celestial bodies, he felt, that he had “learned the language of God.”
The more we explore the wonder of God’s creation, the more we stand in awe of its complexity and beauty. The more we grasp the “bigness” of the universe, the more we are impressed with our own “smallness”. Science's domain is to investigate nature. God's domain is spiritual, a realm that can’t be explored with the tools and language of science. It must be examined with the heart, the mind, and the soul. The language of God is not a language of mathematics, but of the heart.
Science has been astoundingly successful in investigating the natural world. But even at their best, the tools of science are powerless to answer some of our profoundest questions. The Hubble telescope can give us glimpses of the edge of the universe, but cannot answer, "How did all of this come into being?", "Why are we here?" and "What will happen to us after we die?"
Hubble’s telescope will never answer these deeply rooted questions. It’s speaking the wrong language.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Holy Ground
Did you ever wonder why farmers who pride themselves on planting their crop in straight rows will then force them to grow in a circle? It’s a familiar sight here in Nebraska. Everyone knows you measure land in acres, which are square. But what really adds value to your land is the number of circles on your squares.
In 1823, a government surveyor named Stephen Long was mapping out the Great Plains, an expanse of land acquired along with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. He was unimpressed by what he saw and submitted this report:
“I do not hesitate in giving the opinion that it is almost wholly
unfit for cultivation, and of course, uninhabitable by a people depending upon agriculture for their subsistence.”
Long would be shocked to see what the region looks like today -- not merely fit for cultivation, but in fact one of the most fertile and productive areas of the world. Since World War II, the technology for pumping groundwater for irrigation has transformed what Long called "The Great American Desert" into the breadbasket of the world. A marvelous achievement, no question. But there is growing concern about how quickly the underground water reservoirs are being depleted. Every few years, farmers in some areas find themselves redigging wells deeper and deeper to reach water.
For centuries, the biblical command to "have dominion" over the earth (Genesis 1:26, 28) was seen as a divine endorsement of environmental exploitation. But in recent years, people of faith have begun supporting efforts to be good stewards of the earth. And perhaps it’s about time.
The 19th century poet, William Cullen Bryant, observed that God’s first temple was a garden. In the beginning, God’s only requirement of Adam was to “ work in the garden and to care for it.” (Gen 2:15)
We can't afford to be lazy stewards. After all, Psalm 24:1 reminds us, "The earth is the LORD's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.” It’s a pretty amazing place where we live. A place that reflects the goodness of God (Rom 1:20).
Friday, April 16, 2010
The Hug Heard 'round The World
It's not often that a hug between a woman and her husband is big news, but the one Amy Mickelson gave hubby Phil Mickelson on the 18th green after he won the Masters Tournament last Sunday in Augusta, Georgia, was special both for the golf pro himself and for fans who watched.
Amy had been there for both of Phil's previous wins at the Masters, and regularly traveled to Phil's other tournaments along with their three children. They shared meals together in the evenings and talked about his day, their family and life together. Then eleven months ago, Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer, and the energy-sapping treatment for the disease began to take its toll. Amy has not been strong enough to follow her husband since beginning therapy.
You may remember that the couple let fans know about Amy's condition at the PLAYERS Championship in May, where Phil wore a pink ribbon on his golf cap.
In July, Phil opted out of the British Open, explaining on his Web site, "As a professional golfer, competing in major championships, and winning them, is my main objective. But I've always said family is my number-one priority. For that reason I won't be playing the British Open at Turnberry next week. It's a trying time for us as we await more test results but we're optimistic, as always."
As Phil played his final holes at this year's Masters, he was certain Amy was watching, but he wasn't sure she would be there in person. She was, along with the entire Mickelson clan. And after his win, the couple's long embrace and their shared tears of joy was witnessed around the world and created a high moment for the two of them and for fans who knew their story.
Amy had been there for both of Phil's previous wins at the Masters, and regularly traveled to Phil's other tournaments along with their three children. They shared meals together in the evenings and talked about his day, their family and life together. Then eleven months ago, Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer, and the energy-sapping treatment for the disease began to take its toll. Amy has not been strong enough to follow her husband since beginning therapy.
You may remember that the couple let fans know about Amy's condition at the PLAYERS Championship in May, where Phil wore a pink ribbon on his golf cap.
In July, Phil opted out of the British Open, explaining on his Web site, "As a professional golfer, competing in major championships, and winning them, is my main objective. But I've always said family is my number-one priority. For that reason I won't be playing the British Open at Turnberry next week. It's a trying time for us as we await more test results but we're optimistic, as always."
As Phil played his final holes at this year's Masters, he was certain Amy was watching, but he wasn't sure she would be there in person. She was, along with the entire Mickelson clan. And after his win, the couple's long embrace and their shared tears of joy was witnessed around the world and created a high moment for the two of them and for fans who knew their story.
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live
a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us
as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God….
…Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
(Ephesians 5:1-2…25-28)
Top Ten Things My Motorcycle Has Taught Me
1. The only good view of a thunderstorm is in your rear view mirror.
2. Four wheels move the body; two wheels move the soul. 
3. I'd rather be riding my motorcycle and thinking about God, than sitting in church thinking about my bike.
4. Life may begin at 30, but it doesn't get real interesting until about 75 mph.
5. Midnight bugs taste just as bad as Noon time bugs.
6. Sometimes it takes a whole tank full of gas before you can think straight.
7. A bike on the road is worth two in the shed.
8. Young riders pick a destination and go; old riders pick a direction and go.
9. Catching a wasp in your shirt at 75 mph can double your vocabulary.
10. Bikers understand why a dog sticks his head out of a car window.
3. I'd rather be riding my motorcycle and thinking about God, than sitting in church thinking about my bike.
4. Life may begin at 30, but it doesn't get real interesting until about 75 mph.
5. Midnight bugs taste just as bad as Noon time bugs.
6. Sometimes it takes a whole tank full of gas before you can think straight.
7. A bike on the road is worth two in the shed.
8. Young riders pick a destination and go; old riders pick a direction and go.
9. Catching a wasp in your shirt at 75 mph can double your vocabulary.
10. Bikers understand why a dog sticks his head out of a car window.
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