The Media/Press

For the longest time Sarah and I have been avoiding watching the news in the morning.  Lately though, we've been turning it on to see what's going on in the world.  This has reminded me of why I stopped watching in the first place.  I just have a growing frustration with journalists in general.  Especially our local news team…but that’s due more to the un-professionalism being painful to watch then the topic of this blog.  The national news, both TV and written word, have really started to frustrate me lately.  I can’t point to a specific turning point or change in my thinking that has brought this about, but nonetheless, it has happened.  It seems to be more the talking heads that frustrate me then the printed word.  Maybe that’s because when writers type out something they have the ability to filter before they publish.  Just this morning I was watching a report where the anchor briefly mentioned the recent photos of US Soldiers that were taken next to dead Afghani’s, the anchor went on to say how the photo’s have caused the military to come out and condemn the soldiers actions.  The part of this that frustrates me is that the way that was told indicates that the government/military was not going to do anything until the photo’s were released by the German media, when in fact those soldiers were already being court marshaled.  Another example is this whole nuclear power plant/radiation scare.  The Media has been consistently exaggerating the effects and the spread of the radiation, which then scares people, only to turn around and get those scared people to watch their “Special Report” where they tell people there’s nothing to be scared about.  Until they watch the morning news the next morning and hear that there’s radiation in Alaska…forget the fact that the amount of radiation is less then you get normally every day anyway.  Is the media/press a bad thing? No.  They have their uses but I think they’ve grown more and more bold in their hunt for ratings which has taken “objective journalism” to a new low.  Sure there might be some good one’s out there but they are few and far between.  I wish there was a news sight that just printed facts and let everyone draw their own conclusions.  No interviews with has been politicians or Hollywood big mouths, just the facts…that would be nice.

My Paintings

This weekend I spent a good amount of time painting.  I enjoy painting and am grateful to my sister-in-law Ashley for getting me back into it as a hobby.  It all started when she moved into her own apartment and she wanted a picture of a daisy on the wall but she wanted it to be purple with a green background to match some other things she had.  Sarah knew that I had done some drawing/art in the past (middle/high school) so she volunteered me.  I decided to take it on and really enjoyed it.  So over the last few years I’ve painted several other things for our house and for my parents house and some just for fun (the latest one has no where to hang currently).  So since it’s something I enjoy I thought I would share some with the blogging world.  So, below are photos of my paintings.  They are all acrylic on canvas.  I hope you enjoy (Sorry the photo's don't always turn out the best).

The Daisy that started it all

This was done for Ashley when she moved to a bigger apartment and had more wall space to fill. (this one shows the darker paintings better)

This one shows the white flowers better

This one was fun b/c it's really small (like 3"x 3")

For Sarah, Hanging in our living room

An African Landscape I gave to my Grandparents (who were missionaries in Africa)

A field of flowers for my Mom

My most recent, a landscape of Barga, Italy

Reflective

So ever since Sarah and I decided that we want to have children and have put a timeframe on when we’re going to start trying, it has really rocked my world.  I suppose I don’t know the half of it and that once we actually have a child it will rock it even more, but the thought of being responsible for raising this little person has made me take a good long look at my life.  I’ve been very reflective lately as I roll over things in my mind…

• Am I praying enough?...Is that even possible? 
• Am I a strong enough Spiritual leader to handle this addition to our family? 
• Am I active enough in church to be a good example for a child?
• Am I too active so as to keep me from spending quality time with the child? 
• Do I spend too much time on me? 

I’ve heard people say that having a baby makes you realize how selfish you truly are.  I’m not a father yet but I’m already seeing how that’s true.  I’m already beginning to see the things that I will have to (and am completely willing to) give up for this child.  Will I miss being able to get up on Saturday morning and bum around, eating breakfast around 10:30 or 11?  Maybe…but I think instead I will cherish those moments of letting Sarah sleep in and just having one-on-one time with our children. I’m looking forward to the adventure that is fatherhood more then I ever thought I would but it scares me to death at the same time.  I suppose that’s healthy…

For now I continue to wrestle with my flesh and laziness and push toward developing and maintaining habits that will help me be a good father and remain close to The Father. Only with Him can I truly be the parent I need to be. 

Awesome read!

Here's an awesome read. Excerpts from an interview with Bono (lead singer of the band U2) containing his thoughts on why Christ died and why he has to be the Messiah!

Article

Emoticons

Emoticons…For those who don’t know, emoticons are not a new character in the next Transformers move…no…emoticons are those smiley faces or sad faces you see all over most correspondence these days.  I must admit, I’ve found that I struggle to avoid using them.  Somewhere down the line they became something I used in order to show that I was playfully jesting or using sarcasm when using written communication.  I have no problem with this in informal communication like friendly emails or text messages (okay I should say I don’t have a big problem…I’m not a fan but they’re acceptable).  The problem arises when you become so dependent on emoticon’s to convey tone in written messages that you can no longer communicate without them.  How am I supposed to convey a lighthearted tone in a professional email without the obligatory :)?  I don’t necessary have an answer for that which is what bothers me about emoticons.  I’ve gotten so used to using them I’m not sure how to go with out them.  I suppose I could resort to the asterix’d words to indicate *sarcasm* or *spoken with tone of disappointment* but somehow that loses something of its meaning when I do that.  For now I’ll just have to leave the smiley’s out of my emails and hope I’m not misinterpreted in any way.  Maybe I should just become a better writer and learn how to convey feeling by the vocabulary I use…I always hated vocab though.

The Prestige

So Sarah and I watched a movie called the Prestige last night.  It wasn't the first time I'd seen it so instead of trying to figure it all out I was able to just watch and enjoy it.  If you haven't see it then I won't spoil it for you but it's a great movie with Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Cain, and Scarlett Johansson.  It's about 2 competing magicians (illusionists) and how their competition evolves into an obsession for Hugh Jackman.  Anyway, part of the movie has a Michael Cain explaining that each magic trick has 3 acts, The Pledge, The Turn, and The Prestige.  The Pledge is when the magician sets up his trick and introduces something ordinary.  The Turn is when he does something extraordinary with that ordinary thing (saws a woman in half, makes a bird/man disappear).  But, Cain explains, that is not enough, the audience does not applaud yet. You need a Third Act, The Prestige, where the magician brings it all back to normal (repairs the woman, reappears the bird or man).  Now I'm not someone who tends to find spirituality in every movie I watch or song I listen too.  But it struck me last night lying in bed that it wouldn't have been enough for Jesus to have died on the cross for us.  (Something I've always know but just found this cool parallel to emphasize it) Jesus need to rise again, he needed "The Prestige".  Of course Jesus was no magician or illusionist, he literally died and literally rose from the dead. But I think the interesting thing is just like you have no magic trick without the Prestige, you have no salvation without the resurrection.  An obvious thought to some but maybe a startling conclusion for others.  There are other great parallels in this move about obsession, living an act, self sacrifice for a goal, but you can dwell on those on your own.

My First Post...

Okay, I have to admit.  I've tried this before and haven't been very good at it.  I'm hoping this time I'll have more to talk about.  I'm going to be blogging my journey, physically and spiritually, as Sarah and I embark on this adventure called life.  I don't totally know yet what form this blog will take but I'm thinking it will be a compilation of serious and funny, creative and dull, prose and poetry.  I've always been a writer.  I've preferred to write things out rather then say them out loud.  My goal overall will be to be concise and yet deep enough to give you a look into who I am.  Well, here it goes...