It is hard for me when a philosophy is presented that is not a philosophy. These recent elections (I’m of course writing from Missouri) had an interesting result that seemed more about ‘change’ than any particular political platform; unless of course rejecting a platform is a platform!

Examples of my earlier point: loyalty, sincerity, and ‘change’ are not, in and of themselves good or bad, they just are… I heard someone say yesterday (he happens to drive a jaguar and his silver hair – so, stereotype and judge all you want), “Well, Claire McCaskill won’t be able to find her way to Washington, so it isn’t a big deal…” His comment made me sad. I did not vote for McCaskill, but I do support many policies that she claims to hold. More importantly, I want her to do well because she is in office. This is not a war anyone lost (hopefully!) it is politics…

My fear is that we were so busy screaming for change we weren’t paying attention to the issues, our own hand in shaping them, etc. Instead, we were busy reacting to things we don’t like. I think of Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black answering Will Smith’s question, “Why not tell people, they’re smart, the could handle it?” “A person is smart; people are dumb stupid animals and you know it…”

I myself wonder if I voted as a person or as a group of people. I also wonder what the recent changes in our nation will bring.

What does it mean to settle?

Can someone reconcile for me the difference between buying into the American Dream (which I would say is a fallacy, in that it doesn’t deliver anything emotionally – instead it just delivers stuff) and the flip side of our culture not (generallly???) having the courage to believe in the romance of life… Are we, in fact, settling for the American Dream?

And, of course, one more picture…

the discussions are waning, but I don’t want anyone to miss out on some of our latest pics…

I’m pretty sure this blog is supposed to be about going to game five of the series… I did stand on 7th street for an hour high fiving people after the game…

But, I want to know (and my e-friends, with the one noteable exception, are not responding super-well to these questions) how much we should give to one another. One of the counselors I used to see used to draw a circle and then a line in the middle of it. He would then talk (briefly because he is a very good counselor) about when one person gives 50%, the other only 25, how there is then a void… (and what should we do with that void???)

I think everyone responds to the void differently, give more, give the same (His solution) amount you were before, give less (kind of a negative reaction I would think, but one could argue for it), or chuck the relationship entirely.

Lately, I have become really aware of how much and how many relationships I desire, but I realize also I don’t know how to love many of my friends well. Some live in town and I don’t do well, some live in South Carolina and I don’t do well. Some live in New Jersey and I think we do a fine job… (Those are all people, I’m not good at ‘examples’ who are truly anonymous… )

How do you give? When do you feel like you could give more? Are your friendships improving at this point in your life? I didn’t even get into family… So much harder, yet with so much more natural love there…

I put in a picture of my wonderful daughter because 1. She is the main attraction to my blog. 2. This is HER FRIEND, Princess Poodelina Rose, and 3. She is currently asking me very sternly if I could (perchance?) leave the keyboard and fix her some applesauce and barley.

I just received an e-mail from someone (I do not know who because they did not leave a name) who was listening to my podcast for some time apparently… They will no longer be listening after a comment I made where I said, “Jesus screwed all this up…”

I honestly don’t remember exactly what I was talking about and am forced to assume this was in response to my last podcast about sub-cultures and counter-cultures and my own interpretation of which one Jesus was promoting through his Gospel.

The writer also was astute in pointing out that I am too-often abstract. I mean it that she/he was astute, I am abstract – I think that way, write that way (much to the chagrin of professors), and have always been led to teach that way (much to the chagrin of the students I get to teach).

I have two purposes in writing this blog: one to explain to the writer how their e-mail made me feel, and two: to fight e-mail as an actual mode of communication.

It sent a chill through my body, especially through my neck, and made my heart beat faster. Because I do not know exactly how the writer felt, I am again forced to assume that she/he was left upset by the comment I made. There was no dialogue. For all I know the listener has more knowledge and education about everything I talk about than I do. So, I am left with my heart beating quickly and no resolution whatsoever. I would be interested to know how I was wrong, i would be excited to ask forgiveness if i had offended, and I would be more than willing to talk if there was a misunderstanding. Instead I am left to write this blog…

A pastor in Michigan calls gossip verbal pornography because we want the rush of being in someone else’s life without taking the time and energy to be in their life. It might be an imperfect analogy, but hey, it isn’t mine! The point with e-mail is similar. If you have something to communicate that is more than just news/weather/sports – please communicate it in a two-sided way. I would like to write adjectives about my opinions about these e-mails. I won’t. I just wish we might all learn a little something about people, and how to love them well this side of the New Heavens and the New Earth – we could start by communicating…

I know I want to do this… I know some aspects… and I know I want it to be me-specific… is that bad? What does it mean to leave a legacy? how much of it is your family? How much is it like getting published or something…

I took this picture (unlike almost all of the others… taken by my wife). I love my daughter, she is such a trip…

So, this picture is about relflection (The thing I’m bad at). We also took a picture of our feet: one set very small, one a woman’s size six, one a man’s size 10… Very fun picture…

But, this one is about my most powerful calling: my family…

What do you wish you reflected more upon

If you went to my high school, his name might conjure up a bad image but I love his stuff. he uses the same analogies (largely from his own life) over and over and so what – they’re great analogies (like throwing a birthdy party for a hooker he had just met)…

Anyway, one of his talks is based loosely on the three things people who live to be over 100 years old wish tey had done differently…

Risk, Reflect, and leave more of a legacy for when they are gone…

How do you do at those three things? I think I am good at the first, awful at the second, and consistently thinking about the third…

This picture is in honor of taking risks…

So, that is not me, but I did catch two fish like that one (and one small shark), fishing the other day off of Amelia Island in Florida. That large fish, a tarpon, does fight a lot and the second one (maybe a shade over 100 pounds) made me walk around the boat 12 times before he was tired enough for me to pull him in and pull out the hook.

I wonder why we like fishing and hunting so much? My guide is this strange mixture of environmentally conscious and not-so-much… It is probably an occupation thing, but Captain Jim will not kill a fish; but, he is an active deer hunter (although he only goes after very large bucks). Anyway, I was enjoying the fishing a lot, but I noticed that Captain Jim would always set the Tarpon right in the water to facilitate them swimming back down into the ocean (we didn’t pull them on to the boat). This seemed very exciting, and with my second (and last) Tarpon, I asked him if I could cut the hook off and set the fish right so he wouldn’t have trouble swimming back down. Captain Jim said, “You can do whatever you want!”

And that was the highlight of my afternoon. That, and not losing another finger to another rope! Seriously though, my favorite part was not the 45 minutes it took me to win the battle with my tarpon, but it was setting his top fin upright again and pushing him under the water to watch him swim away.

Psalm 8 is more cosmological than anything, but it refers to subduing the Earth. I wonder if we stop thinking too early, if we forget to be New Covenant Thinkers with a Scripture like that. Relative to Jesus shouldn’t we subdue the Earth in order to set it free? Isn’t the point of Jesus to redeem the whole world? Heaven is all well and good, but as I look at Scripture – and the deep places of my heart – I have a great desire for the New Heavens and the New Earth.

This is not personified in me pushing the Tarpon back under the water, but I do think it alludes to my heart desiring not to dominate this creature… I think that is mistaken, what I really want is to see the beginnings of redemption everywhere… Again, the analogy falls short quickly! but, as I was leaning over the boat, laying on the floor, pushing this massive fish under water… I juts wonder if we don’t wrap up our theology too quickly in Heaven, saving folks, tithing, etc. A Cosmic redemption sounds much more exciting to me; much more like Good News.

But, enough about me… What do you think?