Autumn's Fall

Kiel did this in Corel Draw last night in about two minutes. I thought it was kind of interesting. You may want to click on the picture to make it larger so you can see it better.

God's Politics

"While the Right in America has hijacked the language of faith to prop up its political agenda - an agenda not all people support - the Left hasn't done much better, largely ignoring faith and continually separating moral discourse and personal ethics from public policy. While the Right argues that God's way is their way, the Left pursues an unrealistic separation of religious values from morally grounded leadership. The consequence is a false choice between ideological religion and soulless politics."
Quote from 'God's Politics' by Jim Wallis

They (whoever 'they' are) say you should never discuss religion or politics (and probably cat hunting) at a dinner party. Fortunately for me this isn't a dinner party. Regardless of that, I still feel that I'm probably in over my head on this one because I'm actually going to discuss both religion and politics at the same time. I'm pretty sure that this post has the potential to piss off and alienate me from both Republican and Democrats alike. Please know that when I write a post my goal is not to convince. I'm not here to persuade anyone to agree with me. In particular when I talk about matters of faith, I'm not trying to convert anyone - I'm just trying to express what my faith means to me. It's not my intent to be pushy or beat people over the heads with a Bible. Honestly, I don't feel that I do that and would hate to think that I did. But conversely I'm not shy or ashamed of how I feel about my beliefs particularly when it comes to my faith. I'm now finding that beliefs on faith and politics have intersected and have become one in many instances. Even though I didn't want them to, they crossed paths and are forcing me to examine both my beliefs on faith and politics. Let me explain.

I bought what appears to be an interesting book over the weekend; it's called God's Politics (Why the Right gets it wrong and the Left doesn't get it) by Jim Wallis. Actually Katlin found it while we were in Target and suggested I buy it. How weird is that? He obviously sees something in me that needs fixing and thinks that this book can do it. Anyway this book hits on a subject that I have really been struggling with recently. My particular problem is that I'm having a real difficult time understanding how the Republican Party has come to claim that they speak for God. Before I get in too deep and my Republican friends think I'm a traitor, let me make a couple of things clear. I'm a Republican; I have been for quite awhile and probably will be for the rest of my life. I wouldn't say I'm 'disillusioned' with the Republican party and would consider switching to the Democratic party, because I'm not and I wouldn't. Overall I feel that the Republican Party represents my political views far greater than the Democratic Party ever could. But frankly I am concerned how the Republican Party has misrepresented Christianity and matters of faith as I see them. I'm also very concerned with the misconception that in order to be a Christian you have to be a Republican (and vice versa). In particular, it seems to me that this mindset has become 'unspoken doctrine' in many of today's churches. Because of this, it appears that many people now think that Christianity stands for something other than what it was intended to be. I don't needn't look any further than this past Sunday and the theatrics called 'Justice Sunday' to be reminded of this. This is the problem I have with both today’s church and American politics. They misrepresent the God that I see and read about in the Bible, which really angers me to no end. Hopefully I made myself clear about how I feel and didn't lose too many friends in the process. I know that I should probably stick to writing about my mis-adventures as a husband or parent but obviously I'm not smart enough to do so. Now that everyone is sufficiently offended to some degree we can all take a deep breathe and relax.

Getting back to the book, I guess this book has been out for awhile and was on the New York Times Best Seller List for awhile. I haven't had a chance to really 'get into' this book yet, I haven't had the time. I've only read a few pages. However, the parts that I have read, like the quote above have really struck a chord with me. Let me say, that I'm glad to know that I'm not alone on this issue. I take great comfort knowing that others see their faith as being misrepresented. What I do like about the book so far is that it does appear that he is gives it to both the Right and Left with both barrels. He gives it to the Right for thinking they are God's elect and he gives to the Left for not including God and faith in political discourse. For those of you who don't know Jim Wallis(bio) is a Liberal. He is also the editor of a leftist religious magazine called Sojourners. I'm sure that some of you will question that if I'm a conservative how I could read a book by a liberal. To me it's ultimately not about being a liberal or conservative, or being on the Left or on the Right or being called a Republican or a Democrat. Ultimately it's about being person of God and living according to His will. And please don't think I mean that in some sanctimonious or holier-than-thou sort of way because I don’t. If a book, regardless of who it was written by can promote positive discussion of faith/politics and help me examine my belief system - then I'll read it. I guess if that bothers some folks that his political party is different than mine, then they can sue me. And don't think is an endorsement of Wallis' book cause it's not that either. There is no doubt in mind that I will disagree with many things that he says. So don't worry, I'm not being brainwashed or being taken over by the dark side. I'm not 'going liberal' on you. Regardless, I'm sure Bill O'Rielly would be disappointed if he knew I was reading this (lol). But on the surface it appears that Wallis raises some good questions and makes some valid points. I guess we'll see as I work my way through this read, I may feel differently after I finish reading it. But passages like the ones below, lead me to believe that he might be on to something that needs to be discussed. Again, you may or may not agree with what Wallis is saying - I'm not sure I do completely. But at the very least what he says is interesting and to some degree challenging. And because of that it causes me to re-think, not question, but re-think what I believe and why.

"Of course, God is not partisan. God is not a Republican or a Democrat. When either party tries to politicize God or co-opt religious communities to further political agendas, it makes a terrible mistake. The best contribution of religion is precisely not to be ideologically predictable nor loyally partisan. Both parties, and the nation, must let the prophetic voice of religion be heard. Faith must be free to challenge both the Right and the Left from a consistent moral ground.

"God’s politics" are therefore never partisan nor ideological. But God’s politics challenge everything about our politics. God’s politics remind us of the people our politics always neglect - the poor, the vulnerable, the left behind. God’s politics challenge narrow national, ethnic, economic, or cultural self-interest, reminding us of a much wider world and the creative human diversity of all those made in the image of the creator. God’s politics remind us of the creation itself, a rich environment in which we are to be good stewards, not mere users, consumers, and exploiters. And God’s politics plead with us to resolve, as much as possible, the inevitable conflicts among us without the terrible destruction of war. God’s politics always remind us of the ancient prophetic prescription to "choose life, so that you and your children may live," and challenge all the selective moralities that would choose one set of lives and issues over another. This challenges both the Right and the Left, offering a new vision for faith and politics in America and a new conversation of personal faith and political hope."

Goings On

I haven't posted in a week, not because I haven't wanted to. I have a post that I have been working on but I'm having a difficult time getting it posted. I won't bore you with the details why, hopefully I'll get it worked out tomorrow. We've got a lot going on it seems. Well let me see what kind of stuff I can bore you with. We finally heard from UCF admissions and Kiel got accepted to UCF. It took 3 months to get a decision on his admission, instead of the 3 weeks we were initially told. Anyhow he is very happy. Now all the real work begins. We are now working on going to orientation on 20 May at UCF. But in order to go to orientation we have a ton of stuff to do. So alot is happening with Kiel's move to Orlando. In addition, we found out that there was about $6,500 worth of damage to his car. It was about $2,500 from being totaled. His car is now at the shop, the replacement parts have been ordered and the repairs should begin soon. It will probably be about another 2 weeks before his car is fixed and we get it back. Glad we have rental car and I'm glad I'm not paying for it. So with school winding down, his car getting fixed, his upcoming trip to the Czech Republic, preparing to move to Orlando and start school at UCF - Kiel's plate is full. He's also working two jobs on top of all this stuff. The next three months are going to be busy helping him transition out of here.

School is winding down for both the boys. Both have big projects they are finishing up and finals/AP exams to study for. I am impressed with how much effort both boys are putting into school. They both are really trying to finish strong. Kiel graduate from Gulf Coast Community College in a couple of weeks, he'll get his A.A. in Pre-Art. However, he has decided to skip the graduation ceremony and not walk. His ceremony will be when he gets his diploma at the mail box. Kiel really doesn't seem to think it's a big deal and said he'll wait to he walks from UCF to walk. Katlin will turn 16 in less than a month and get his licence. He's starting to get excited about that. For the second year in high school Katlin kept his GPA above a 4.00 for the entire year and got some huge award medal at school. Katlin is incredibly hard worker when it comes to his studies, I'm glad to see he was recoginized for it.

Kathy and I went to an awesome concert in Tallahassee last week. Saw a guy by the name of Chris Tomlin. The guy is an incredible talent, particularly when it comes to song writing. He has written many of the new worship songs you now find many churches singing. I really enjoyed listening to him, it was worth the drive. Kathy is thinking about having a garage sale this weekend - I hope it rains. I love the idea of clearing out the garage so we can finally park the van in their but the work of a garage sale really scares me. Not much else to speak of for now. Hope everyone is well. Time for some pain reliever(beer), I've had a killer head ache all day. Later.

Grace - Worship - Service

I get a weekly email devotional from the Max Lucado website. For those of you who don't know, Max is my favorite author. I believe that I have just about every book he has written (except for the ones I gave away). I pretty much buy his books on blind faith believing that his newest book will be better than his last. Since using this approach I've never been disappointed. If you haven't ever checked out any of Max's writings or teachings, I highly recommend them to you. I don't believe you'll be disappointed. Anyhow, back to the email I received, the devotional was based on Ephesians 2:8,9 which talks about grace vs. works. The jest of the email was basically about how the supreme force in our salvation is God's grace and not our works, talents and strengths. The reminder I got from this email was awesome. The subject of grace vs. works is something I have been thinking about quite a bit over the past few days. Because of my legalistic based background I have to guard against slipping back into a works based mentality. Needless to say, I found the timing of this email to be incredible. I wanted to forward this email to everyone I knew. But I quickly realized that it probably wasn't a good idea, so I tempered myself. I don't want to be known as 'the guy who always forwards stuff to my email'. But this email and the subject of grace and works reminded me of the best lesson on this subject I had ever heard. I didn't hear this 'lesson' in church or during a sermon. I actually heard, overheard is more accurate, this lesson at a restaurant. It really affected me and has helped me more than I could have ever imagined.

A few years back I was working on a project implementing a new computer system at our facility in Newnan, Georgia. As we would normally do, the project team would go out for lunch and discuss the status of the project. When going to lunch we try to choose a restaurant with a menu that has a variety of choices to accommodate everyone's different taste. On this particular day there were about six of us going to lunch so we decided Ruby Tuesday's was the best choice. As we were being seated I noticed that the restaurant wasn't very busy, actually it was dead. Besides our party, there was only one other group in the restaurant. It was a booth with three ladies and about five pre-school aged kids, needless to say they were packed in the booth. As you can imagine the kids were also quite loud.

I didn't pay to much attention to them as we passed by, probably because I was trying to navigate the strollers that sat in front of their booth. We were seated at our table and I sat with my back towards their booth. There was only one empty table between us so I was able to hear the kids and the ladies conversation if I tried. Again, I didn't pay to much attention to them because we had things to talk about. We ordered our food and started discussing the status of the software implementation, in particular the data conversion. Somewhere in the middle of the our conversation I heard one of the ladies behind me increase the volume of her voice, hit the table with her hand and say "I don't think you guys get it! This is not what it's all about!" No one else at my table seemed to notice her and the conversation at our tabled continued. However, I was now intrigued by what she said and began listening to their conversation while trying to seem engaged in ours. Not an easy task for a novice but fortunately for me I have this art mastered. Years of marriage have enabled me to seem like I'm listening to my wife all the while I'm listening to the TV in the background. So being able eavesdrop during a business meeting in an empty restaurant was a piece of cake….or so I thought.

She continued by saying "You guys have got it all wrong! It's not about plans or programs!" Now she really had my attention because I immediately knew what she was referring to (church). I nodded my head in agreement towards my co-workers although at this point I no longer knew where we were in the conversation. My ability to listen to two conversations at once had failed me, she now had my complete attention. I then heard her say "Look you guys, it comes down to this: Grace, Worship, Service". She then started repeating this: "Grace, Worship, Service". She must of repeated this a half a dozen times. Finally she became frustrated with her friends and bluntly said "Let me break it down for you. It's about Grace, Worship, Service. Once you understand and accept God's gift of Grace you are going to want to Worship Him. Once you Worship Him, you'll see who He is and what He's done for you. Once you see who He is and what He's done for you you'll want to Serve Him out of gratitude. It's a natural progression towards Him. It's not about what you can do, there are no plans or programs it's just Grace, Worship, Service". I don't know who was floored more, me or her friends. I was stunned. What she said made so much sense that I just wanted to turn around, hug her neck and tell her thanks. I wanted to tell her that I couldn't believe that I just heard the greatest Sunday School lesson this side of church. But I couldn't.

"So what do you think Ron?" I heard my boss ask. In that split second I thought "If I told you that what I really thought, you'd think I was crazy and fire me!" I kind of tossed out a "Huh…I'm sorry…" My boss continued "I said, what do you think?" I must have had a deer in the headlights look because he threw me a bone by saying "About the data conversion that we've been talking about for the last 10 minutes, what do you think?" Oh yeah, the data conversion….now I remembered why we were here. I quickly gathered my thoughts and proceeded to talk about the data conversion. All the while I was hoping that the ladies at the table behind us would be there when I finished. I wanted to go tell her how much I appreciated what she told her friends. But I wouldn't get the chance, they had finished eating and left before I could get to her table. I never got the chance to speak with the lady I overheard. I never saw her face, I don't even know which of the three ladies it was. She never got to know how much I appreciated what she told her friends and how much I needed to hear it. But someday she will. Someday she'll learn that her words were planted in the heart of someone she wasn't even talking too. Someday she'll learn that her words deeply touched a legalist who had no concept of amazing grace. Someday she'll learn how much she was used by God in a Ruby Tuesday's in Newnan Georgia when she thought no one understood her. Someday I will get to hug her neck and tell her thanks....and she'll be surprised.

And someday I hope I get it like she does: Grace, Worship, Service.

What's That Smell?

We have a small trailer at our plant that our Customer Service Department works out of. This trailer reminds me of the portable classrooms that I see at our schools throughout the county. Anyhow, I came into work this morning and everyone from Customer Service was standing around in the front office. I thought this was strange to see them all gathered together in our office instead of theirs, so I asked them what was up. They told me that the couldn't work in their office because the smell was unbearable. At first I thought they were kidding me but upon further discussion I realized they were serious. It appears that an animal of some kind has found its way into their trailer and died. The stench from the decomposing animal carcass is horrible and has run them out. The problem is they can't find the dead animal. They have searched high and low and can't find it. So now our maintenance department is literally taking this trailer apart piece by piece to search for this thing. Lovely. It's probably a cat (huge grin).

The Weekend is Here!

I haven't been so thankful to see a weekend since I can remember. I'm just glad it's over. Hopefully next week won't be as eventful. We don't have alot plans this weekend. Probably go out to dinner and then go watch some softball tonight. Katlin has a soccer game in the morning, we're planning on going to breakfast before his game. Having some freinds over tomorrow night to hang out for a bit. Then we'll go to church to Sunday. So a pretty uneventful weekend is in store for us (hopefully). Will try to post more this weekend. Have a good one...

"Cat Hunting"

I was a bit disappointed to see that the Wisconsin Legislature 'shot down' efforts to legalize cat hunting. No joke. This really saddens me to no end that they voted against it. Personally I thought this idea was probably the single greatest idea I've ever heard. I was already making vacation plans and hired a guide to help me on a cat safari. However, I did find out that both South Dakota and Minnesota do have a cat hunting season. So my plans to 'pop a cap in cat' may not be thwarted after all. As you can tell I'm not a big fan of cats - I know that many of you are. If you are please take my anti-cat rants with a grain of salt - know this is joke and I'm kidding around. But before you cast a judgemental eye on me, know that I have probably the best reason ever to hate cats that you've ever heard.

When I was very little, like 3 or 4 years old. My parents owned an ocelot - now we couldn't a normal pet like goldfish or a dog. We needed an ocelot, a glorified house cat, yet with killer instincts. Unfortunately for me, this thing was jealous of me. Why? I'm unsure, but it was jealous. This 'cat' would hide on the top of the couch and wait for me to walk through the door. Once I did, I became his prey and he would attack me! Full on, jump on my neck, go for my throat, wrestle me to the ground and attack me! Needless to say after this happened about 50 times my parents decided they had had enough and got rid of the ocelot. Took them long enough didn't it? But the damage had been done - I was forever scared and since then have had a major dislike of any kind of cats. Know that my loathing of cats runs deep and I believe is justified. This is why support any and all types of cat hunting(wild and domestic). So if after hearing my story and you're interested in joining me on my quest to help control the world's feline population, let me know. (lol)

Here is a story about Wisconsin's bid to legalize Cat Hunting.

Maybe I'll start a petition to legalize Cat Hunting in Florida? Hmmm....I'll need to think about that. By the way, if you need me to 'cat sit'...I'll be more than happy.

NOTE TO READER: Please know this is written tounge in cheek. I had a picture of a 'cat hunter' up that I took down cause someone was upset about it and left me a nasty comment. Everyone in my family told me to leave the picture up and ignore the squeaky wheel. Those of you who know me know that this is meant to be funny. You can make up your own mind about this issue. I seriously don't like cats but I would never kill one, I don't even own a gun nor do I hunt. I just find this whole debate on cat hunting to be rather strange and unusal. If you 'don't get' or appreciate my sense of humor...that's cool. But don't make it personal by leaving ugly comments, simply leave.....and don't come back.

"Trashed"

Kiel was driving back from lunch to the college on 23rd street today. 23rd street is a four lane road with a turning lane in the middle. Kiel was in the right hand land and a Waste Management Garbage Truck was in the left hand lane. They were next to each other when the garbage truck decided to make a right hand turn from the left hand lane. When he did, he plowed into the side of Kiel's car. We've posted a few pictures that Kiel took with his Palm after the accident happened. His car is pretty "trashed" after meeting up with the garbage truck.

The most important thing is that Kiel is okay was not hurt. His knee is a bit sore and we are going to keep an eye on it. The driver of the garbage truck was ticketed for an "Improper Turn" - so Kiel was not at fault. We've started the whole insurance getting his car fixed process. Ironically enough the accident happened in front of an Auto Body Repair Shop. So we are keeping the car there until we figure out where we are going to have it repaired. We picked up a rental car too - so we all have vechiles.

We are so gratefull that Kiel was not harmed and have thanked the Lord repeatedly for this since the accident. It could have been very bad for Kiel. The impact hit his drivers side door squarely. His window did not break, his driver's side airbag did not engage and the bumper of the truck almost went completely through his door. We are grateful and give thanks that the accident was no worse than what it was.

Check out these photos....

Impact

Kiel took these pictures with his Palm Pilot. This picture shows where the garbage truck hit him. Notice the wheels on Kiel's car, the front tire is on the rim and the back tire is bent up under his car.

Bumper in the door

Here is a picture of the garbage trucks bumper in the side of Kiels door (literally). Kiel is lucky the bumper didn't hit higher and go through his window or go through his door completely.

Ripped

Once the bumper was removed from the side of the door this is what the damage was. It's not pretty.

Dorifice

Last night Kathy and I were laying in bed watching TV and one of the late night talk shows was on. Some celebrity (not sure who) was on and Kathy said "I don't care for him." I asked her why and she said "Because he's a dorifice". I sat up in bed and said "He's a What?"

"He's a dorifice!" she proclaimed. "What in the world is that? " I asked. "You know...a dorifice." I went to explain to her that there was no such word. After going back and forth a few times she finally said "Well it may not be a real word - but it's my word.". I finally realized that she combined the word "dork" and the word "orifice" to make her own new word - dorifice. Given the meaning of the two words she combined and her strong dislike for the guy on TV, I have a pretty good idea what she was calling the guy. I'm just glad it wasn't me she was talking about. I'm sure she'll use it on me soon enough. I can her now "My husband is such a flaming dorifice!" Don't think I care for the sounds of that.

Czech That

It's interesting how things happen sometimes isn't it? One minute you can be cruising along and think that you've got a "plan". And then something happens, something that you hadn't seen coming and blows 'your plan' out of the water. We are going home on vacation to Iowa/Illinois from 28 June to 10 July. When I say "we", I mean Kathy, Katlin and myself. Kiel is not going to go with us because we feel he needs to work before he goes off to school in Orlando. Anyhow that's my plan - we go home on vacation and Kiel stays and works. (I didn't say it was an elaborate plan, I just said it was a plan).

Friday evening the phone rings and it's lady from our church and she (Stephanie) wanted to speak with Kiel. Of course he wasn't home, I'm not exactly sure where he was or what he was doing but he wasn't home. She started explaining to me that she wanted to speak with Kiel about a trip this summer to the Czech Republic that she was putting together. Her sister and family live in the Czech Republic and in the summer they host an English Camp to teach English to the Czech kids. She told me there is a very strong desire by the Czech people to learn to speak English. They also use the camp as an opportunity to show and share the gospel message with these kids. She wanted to speak with Kiel and see if was interested in going to English Camp in the Czech Republic. She thought he would be a good fit for this trip and felt led to ask him to go. She started to give me the particulars about the camp. Then she told me the cost and the dates of the camp were from 4 July to 19 July. While she was talking to me I thought there is no way he can go because of the cost and that's when we are on vacation and he has to stay here and work. We finished our conversation and we hung up.

I told Kathy who called and what we discussed. Immediately her response was the same as mine - It's too expensive and he can't go because he has to work. While we were discussing it, I was reminded of something my wife had told me earlier in the week. We had been working on something and had encountered an unexpected problem that stopped us dead in our tracks. After it happened she told me "I know you probably don't want to hear this but maybe the reason this isn't happening is because God has something else in mind?." She was right, I didn't want to hear that. But she did make a valid point and it caused me ask God if what I was doing was what he wanted. Anyhow, I remembered this experience and replayed it back to my wife. I said "Perhaps the reason Kiel isn't going home on vacation is because God has something else in mind?" (I love when I can get my wife with her own logic). I went on to say 'I know you probably don't want to hear this but maybe God may wants Kiel to go to the Czech Republic and serve Him there?" I told her at this point that I didn't know what the answer was but I didn't think it would be wise on our part to dismiss the idea because it didn't fit in with 'our plan'. She agreed and we said we would discuss it with Kiel and pray about it.

For some reason I had decided to cook breakfast on Saturday morning, something I rarely do. I usually like to go out for breakfast on Saturdays. I finished cooking and woke the boys up and we all had breakfast on the porch. As we were eating, I took advantage of the opportunity and mentioned to Kiel that I got a call from Stephanie about English Camp. Kathy and I expressed what our thoughts concerning this were. He was pretty much caught off guard and seemed genuinely surprised. He knew that there was a trip to the Czech Republic but hadn't given it a second thought. I told him we needed to think and pray about it. I also told him we needed to make a decision pretty quick in order to get a decent price on an airline ticket and to ensure he would be on the same flight as the others who were going over. The next day Kiel spoke with Stephanie after church about the trip and got some detailed information about what would be involved. Sunday came and went and we individually prayed and thought about what Kiel should do. Late Sunday night I asked Kiel what he thought - he said that he was leaning towards going. I told him I felt the same way and that I didn't know why he should go but I did know I felt that him going was what he was supposed to do.

Now the next concern we had was the cost. Since this was pretty much short notice and something that didn't have the opportunity to plan for it - it would be a cost we weren't expecting. The church that we attend operates under the premise of "Where God Guides, God Provides" - meaning if God is going to lead you to do something then He will provide the means to do it. It will take faith but we believe that God will provide, not sure how but He will and it will work out. In this instance we feel very strongly that He is guiding - so we're looking to Him to do the providing.

All this brings us to where we are now. It looks like my plan of Kiel staying here to work has been shot to hell - literally. A higher and bigger plan has seemed to take shape - one I never would have planned on. We booked Kiel's flight to Prague yesterday - so he's going to go to the Czech Republic for English Camp this summer (2 weeks). We're pretty excited for Kiel and can't wait to see what's in store for him on this trip. Like I said earlier, it's interesting to see how things happens sometimes? Stay tuned - we'll keep you updated as this adventure unfolds…