A Rising Star

Saturday was one of those ho-hum, blah kind of days. Fortunately, Candy mentioned that a friend of hers was singing at a USO - style, "salute to the troops" variety show that evening in the small town of Holton about 30 minutes north of us. Well, she had just recently talked up the vocal amazingness of this gal to the point that I really wanted to hear her for myself. Now, my lovely wife, despite having made the suggestion and saying that she really wanted to go, insisted that it would be too much work to get herself and all the kids ready, fix and eat dinner, and get on the road in less than 2 hours. Bear in mind that, with 3 kids, plus another on alternating weekends, spontaneity, particularly in regards to travel, is a feat more impressive than an expedition to the top of Everest. So, rarely does an opportunity for said spontaneity present itself that is actually doable and potentially enjoyable. That being said, I decided to fight off my natural complacency, assume the role of spontaneous hero, and convince my sexier half that this was a worthwhile endeavor. There are times when I think she just wants a little convincing, because it didn't take a lot.

So, we loaded up the van and headed to the Holton High School auditorium. I have to say that that we had a great time and the kids were actually good! This was the first of what is to be an annual production and, while there were a few technical difficulties, the performers all did a great job providing a fun, entertaining, and patriotic salute to our revered military service persons.

The acts ranged from dance routines, musical numbers and hilarious songs about Starbucks romances performed by the local high school students, to hand-clappin', banjo pickin' folk songs, groovin' blues music and powerful gospel hymns performed by others from the surrounding Kansas communities. At the end of the production, the service members in attendance were recognized as everybody sang, (with the aid of printed lyrics) the theme song for each branch of the military.

For all of the fun we had, I give my heart felt kudos to all of the performers, but there is one who I am compelled to introduce to you, as she has a talent that exceeds the average person.

Her name is Julianne Richardson, and her powerful voice has the astonishing capability of filling an auditorium with sweet, melodious sounds without too much help from the microphone. Check out this video of Julianne singing Amazing Grace, and please don't judge her by the sound quality, my camera has reprehensible sound recording capabilities...my apologies.



Remember her name, Julianne Richardson, and go see her whenever she is singing near you! It may not be long before she hits the national scene.

Dragon Tail...

...as in "my tail is draggin' today, that is. Why? Aaahhhh, welllllll, ya know...heh, heh...I was up partyin' all night long - with my sick baby girl! Well, before you get the idea that I was being all sweet and noble, (gently rocking her while singing lullabyes, feeding her with a bottle and stroking her hair), the fact is, she woke up at 2:15am and I promptly changed her and brought her to Candy. Now, in my defense, I would be more than happy to help, and Candy will hopefully attest that I have attempted to do so on a few occassions. However, in my truly galant endeavors to be the midnight caregiver, I have been most emphatically rejected by our dearest daughter, Ella, for that role as I do not possess that which most breast-fed babies are wanting at 2:15am. She refuses to believe that her dainty little mouth should be forced to suckle from something that is clearly not attached to her mom's body. Her disdain for said bottle has grown to the point that she will scream, past the point of her face turning a lovely shade of burgundy, until her body becomes so tense she begins to resemble a football more than a soft little baby girl, her voice achieving a sonic resonance that would put the THX trailer to shame, and little blood vessels in her face actually burst from the sheer intensity of it all, which causes slight, but noticeable bruises. Nay, I say, to Candy she will go. Besides, the reality is, when she's sick, all she wants to do is nurse.

Hence, last night, I dropped her off at Candy's bosom and proceeded to my couchly domain where I normally sleep the remainder of the evening after relinquishing my side of the bed to my princess Ella. Unfortunately, on this night, 40 winks, denied, would I be - to put it in the vernacular of your favorite green Jedi. Truly, but a wink and a half did I enjoy, as dear Ella did not nurse quietly. Nay, again. Given that I am normally a light sleeper, easily startled awake by the faintest of noises, the odd grunting noises emanating from the bedroom - at times sounding like a wild boar fighting a wombat while being chased by a water buffalo - these very noises being produced by my little girl, kept me and my sweet lovely wife from achieving reasonable rest last night. To top it off, Candy was feeling terrible due to allergies and possible illness as well, and, though she is a trooper, it is definately taking its toll, and it drives me nuts that there isn't much I can do to help her out with the baby at night.

Okay, on to today's Daily Crazy Eighties Trivia game!!!!

For the High 5: What 80's song topped out at number 2 on the charts and featured many unusually sweet descriptions of a female romantic interest, including television lover, easy operator, and demolition woman?

For the Ultimate 5: How many consecutive days did this song's video remain the number 1 requested video on Dial MTV?

For the Supreme Pat-on-the-Back: What was the band's original name?

Ella says Good luck!

The unchecked passions of a man's heart are a depraved wickedness that leads to his destruction...

Whoa, there, that's a little bit intense for a light-hearted blog, don't you think? Yeah, I just kind of dropped that bomb on you, didn't I? No lead in, no funny anecdote, no coasters, just BOOM there it is. Well, so since it's out there, what do you think of when you ponder that statement? Is it true? What are the passions that it refers to? How many questions am I going to ask before I get to the point????

Passion. In the right context, it is a supremely positive, constructive driving force of emotion, will, and desire. To be clear, I'm not narrowly referring to romantic or sexual passion, though that is certainly included, but rather passion that reaches through every aspect of a person's life. Without it, relationships simply fall apart and grow cold, tasks go unfinished, one's life becomes dull and meaningless. Passion is an integral part of our daily lives and in its purest form, brings love, peace, security, and consistent growth.

Unfortunately, there is the sin factor. The darkness that pervades our world and our very being. A sinister cancer afflicting all, sparing none. This cancer twists and skews, maligns and destroys the good, the right, the pure and true things created, promoted and provided by God for our benefit, and darkens our perception of these things. Every day, every moment we battle against this cancer which warps and confuses things like wisdom, good judgment, diligence, encouragement, faithfulness, bravery, orderliness, passion, and self-control in our minds and hearts and foists upon us foolishness, laziness, despair, infidelity, fear, chaos, destructive passions and a lifestyle that drinks from death's chalice.

From time to time in this battle we get weary - I get weary of the fight. I just want to rest and have some fun and excitement. "I want to get away", as Lenny Kravitz put it, "I want to fly away... yeah, yeah, yeah." As I allow the struggles of life to get me down, I find the good passions in my heart begin to wane - passions for pursuing my relationship with Jesus and seeking His will in my life, passion for my wife, my kids, my loved ones, passion for doing my job and other tasks to the best of my abilities, etc.

It is then that the cancer begins to grow, shifting my focus from the things that truly matter, to those of lesser importance. Seemingly inocuous passions for things that aren't necessarily bad in and of themselves, begin to take precidence in my heart and mind. I have a passion, obviously, for roller coasters and amusement parks, and if I don't keep that in check, it can consume all of my free time, searching for news, pictures, videos about them online and if I allowed it to get totally out of hand, I would spend all of my time and money visiting parks around the world. I am likewise facinated by computers and technology and could easily spend hours upon hours researching it, to the dismay of my family. I am ashamed to admit that, in the secret places of my heart, I sometimes would rather pursue my own selfish desires than spend time with my kids or help my wife do the dishes, and sometimes that is exactly what I do.

Thank God, the good news is that there is a cure for this cancer! The only cure. Jesus. The hard news is that when you agree to receive the cure, though you are absolutely guaranteed to be cured and perfected, it isn't immediate. In fact, for the entirety of the rest of your earthly life, you will experience the hand of God ripping and tearing the cancer out of you in ways that are sometimes exhilarating and other times excruciating which culminate with your physical death, at which point the cancer of sin is completely removed, you are perfected and you literally get to walk with the One who saved your life forever!

So, what are your passions? What do you devote your time and money to? Some, instead of pursuing their spouse, chuck their vows and choose to pursue another. Others prefer to pursue a little white ball around a golf course or are completely wrapped up in a myriad of other sports related activies, instead of attending to their marriage. Still others spend most of their waking hours at a job because they are tired of their responsibilities or all of the drama at home. The persuit of money, happiness, political agendas, fame - pick your poison.

But the most insidious, evil passion that can overtake a person? Simply put, any and every passion that pulls your heart away from Jesus. When my passions are misguided, I end up pursuing my own will instead of His and it becomes easy to forget that God's immense passion for us, caused Him to sacrifice His Son, Jesus, for our good. Every passion requires a sacrifice to pursue it, whether for good or evil. I must be willing to sacrifice my passion for the lesser things in order to pursue passion for the greater things.

To put it bluntly, Jesus said to take up your cross daily; allow me to suggest that if I'm unwilling to pick up my cross, I will pick up the hammer and nails instead, because those are the only two options. There are some who insist that the Jews crucified Jesus, but they are wrong. It was God the Father who decreed it, God the Son who willingly submitted to it, and it is I who hammer the nails that pierced Him each and every time I go my own way, mocking the very Sacrifice Who saved me. Let's look the Truth square in the face here: Jesus' sacrifice, salvation, and sanctification is not about everyone else in the world, it is personally about you. It is between you and Him. Stop distancing yourself from it by thinking that He died for the whole wide world, in some far off land, in some long ago time, at the hand of a bunch of wicked people, and realize that you, personally, nailed Him to the cross, spilling his blood on your hands, because you loved your wicked ways and despised Him.

Ouch. That last paragraph will either make you cry as you somberly reflect on what it means to you, or it will make you just plain mad. Either way, I only offer it as a way to picture the importance of pursuing passions in the light of Jesus' passion. Anyway, my life is far more fulfilling when I have my passions prioritized and balanced appropriately and we all want a fulfilling life, right? So, I just wanted to share that with you. It is my heart's desire that if you have not yet accepted "the Cure" for the cancer of sin, that you would do so and pursue knowing Him (Jesus), for that is the greatest passion in life.

Introducing The Daily Crazy Eighties Trivia Game!

I thought it might be fun to test your knowledge of the good ole' 80's, since I consider myself to be a product of that particular decade. Now, I can't promise that I'll give you a question every day, but I'll have one ready for every post at least. For you greedy prize lovers out there, I have to admit that I'm a card carrying member of the Low Fundage Society, and therefore, the highly coveted prize for being the first to comment with the right answer will be a virtual "high 5" from yours truly and personal prestige for being an 80's knowledge virtuoso.

So, on to today's Daily Crazy Eighties Trivia question...

For the prestige of receiving the first ever "The Jesus Coaster High 5": Name the movie in which the bizarre phrase "Baby Fish Mouth" was shouted out as a guess during a game made popular in the 80's.

Now, even as your heart is pounding from the excitement of striving to achieve a high 5, I've got a surprise for you! That's right, what I did not initially reveal is that there are 2 additional prize levels which can be achieved by answering even more difficult questions about today's topic: the Ultimate High 5, and the Supreme Pat-on-the-Back! I know, you can hardly contain yourself, so let's get to the questions...

For the Ultimate High 5: Name the game that was being played in this scene of the movie.

And finally, for the Supreme Pat-on-the-Back: Name the actor who first blurted out this phrase.

Well, there you have it! I look forward to hearing from you and awarding these astounding prizes with much ado and fanfare.

Please enjoy the following pictures of my 4 month old baby girl, Ella, who in no way resembles a baby fish mouth!

Daddy annoying his newborn baby girl.


Sleeping peacefully...

The Orient Express...A Lost Friend.

Okay, so the title is a bit mellow dramatic, but by this time of the year I have severe cabin fever and I'm ready to go ride some coasters. However, I am saddened that my favorite coaster of all time - The Orient Express of Worlds of Fun - was laid to rest a few years ago. Granted, it was certainly a timely death because all of the wear and tear over its glorious lifespan had left it a maintenance and accident prone nightmare. And though, in its final years, I continued to enjoy my rides on it, the ride experience had deteriorated to the point of causing the average rider much pain and discomfort.

The Orient was, in fact, my first major roller coaster and, as every coaster lover knows, your first always holds a special place in your heart. However, my infatuation of this coaster was based on more than it it just being my first. I've ridden several amazing coasters over the years and while they certainly have particular elements that make them great, the Orient was great at accentuating a range of different elements that, today, would seem rather average, but back in the day, it was a fairly formidable monster. With a first drop of 115 feet and four inversions, it was a world-class coaster when it opened in 1980. The signature features included a set of 2 interlocking elliptical loops, an element found on only 2 other coasters to date, and the first of its kind Kamikaze Kurve element also known as a bowtie or 1st generation boomerang inversion.

To be honest, my first few rides were terrifying for me, from the initial tunnel leading to the chain lift, to the anticipation-building slow curving approach to the first drop, and that moment when the track seemed to fall out from under you as you plummeted 115 feet towards the ground. From that point on it seemed to be a blur of ecstasy intermingled with fear until the final brake run. Of course, the more I rode it, the less I feared it, and before long, I was hooked.

Well, it had a good life and I'll miss it. So, here's to my favorite coaster, The Orient Express, and the man behind the design, Ron Toomer formerly of Arrow Dynamics. I've included a Point-Of-View video of the ride for you to enjoy, please forgive the quality. Also, I shot this video before I was aware of onride video etiquette and the permissions necessary to shoot video of this nature. I am, of course aware of that now, so please spare the lectures. Enjoy!

Even a pessimist!

Having employed many methods of Bible study over the years, I find that I am using the "stumble upon" method far too often. If you read, or have read, the Bible at all, you probably have used this method at least a few times - you know, the one where you open to a random page and start reading wherever your eyes happen to land. While this is frowned upon by those who study the Bible seriously, myself included, I dare say the argument can and should be made that it is far better to study this way than not at all.

This morning my "stumble upon" reading of the day was the familiar account of the death of Lazarus. Now, all sorts of marvelous truths can be gleaned from this story, but the conclusion of the following passage stood out to me today.

John 11:1.Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2.This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. 3.So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick." 4.When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." 5. Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6.Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. 7. Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea." 8. "But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?" 9. Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. 10. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light." 11. After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up." 12. His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better." 13. Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. 14. So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15. and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." 16. Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."

Have you ever stuck your foot so far into your mouth that everyone around you can only stare in stunned silence? I can only imagine that this may have been the outcome of Thomas' unfortunate comment, since the very next verse jumps ahead to their arrival in Bethany. It's as if there was simply nothing else to say. I find that, all too often, the sarcasm, pessimism, unbelief, and just plain rude inappropriateness, such as Thomas displayed, can be found on my lips and in my heart as well, particularly when the circumstances are not going the way I think they should. I long, more than anything, for my heart to be in step with Jesus, and yet, I end up throwing my logic back in His face when things don't make sense to me. It is only later that I remember that my "logic" is but foolishness to the One who sees, knows and controls all.

The good news I find in this is that Jesus knew Thomas was this way before He chose him to be His disciple. He knew the struggle that Thomas would have believing Him and that this character flaw would display itself as a big giant foot in his mouth from time to time, and He chose him anyway. I'm so glad of that, because there are many times that my attitude and outlook leave much to be desired and I really struggle with assuming the worst and being a flat-out stinkin' grouch. But, I know that He loves me anyway, and chose me to be His, even despite my shortcomings. That goes for you too!

Now, let's all sing Kum-Ba-Yah and dance around the fire! ;)