Southern Sojourner

Funny how...

There was a time when I was have just thought this was funny, but with little "E" getting close to two, I find it disconcertingly realistic.   It is still incredibly funny though.

On the ironic 'inclusion' of the left

Well it is official, I am the world's worst blogger.  I go through periods where I just can make myself sit down and type.  When I do I either have nothing to say or there are too many things to mention that it would take too much text to keep a reader's attention. 

To be honest, I am forcing myself to make this entry. The girls are asleep and I should be since technically I am working tomorrow. 

I thought about commenting about the aubs new coach, but there has been enough said about that already. My fishing has been non-existence of late and my poker exploits have not noteworthy. 

The big news of the week has been either the corruption in Illinois or Obama offering the invocation to Rick Warren.  I don't have much to say about Blagovich other than the accusations are disgusting.  With regard to Warren, I have to say that the hoopla just goes to show that narrow mindedness is not the exclusive domain of the right.  There is a fundamentalism on the left that is just as guilty of intolerance.  Oh the irony. 

Look I have my issues with Warren, no doubt.  His spiritualized consumeristic brand of Christianity doesn't wash well with me.  But, if you are going to bandy about inclusion as your agenda, then my friend, that means you have to include those that you disagree with.  Apparently, the GLBT community doesn't apply inclusion to anything other than that which promotes there own agenda. 

I don't know if Obama should have given that profile to Warren or not, I don't really care to be honest.  I agree with what someone said on the AM news shows this morning, that by the time Aretha Franklin finished her song, no one will even remember Warren's prayer.  I do know that Obama should be credited with continuing to demonstrate that he will govern the whole country and not be cow tied to one flank of the ideological spectrum.  He still has alot to prove, but his demeanor and actions in the interim have done nothing but continue to give me hope that he is the right person for the job. 

Let's pray it is so, even if you don't agree with me.

Rants and Raves at the end of 38

    First, thanks to all the well wishers that offered their thoughts on my birthday.  Most came through Facebook, which I haven't used much of late.  I was wasting too much time on it so I got away from it, though it is great way to find old acquaintances. That said, I appreciate all the greetings, but I can't respond individually to each you.  I am sure you understand.

    Life has been busy. I hate saying that because I don't want to come off like one of those incessant whiners who is always complaining about being busy as if they are to be rewarded for their martyrdom. It is so tiresome.  We are all busy, so get over it.

    So I am not griping in the least.  I feel blessed .  My business continues to grow and the prospects of a sustainable career are now within sight. But running a growing business by yourself, attempting to serve your clients as they rightly deserve, trying to be technologically efficient while trying to continue marketing efforts that will keep new business coming in, all the while maintaining life balance with my family, friends and having time for myself as well has proven challenging.  Blogging has suffered as a consequence.

    As usual there have been many stories that have caught my attention, other events that are worth sharing. So since, it is 11:15 P.M. I will use the ubiquitous bullet format for what has been happening in my mind and life that merits a mention.

• One of the great things about having a toddler:  Goldfish!  You would never feel right about buying this stuff for yourself, but Emerson has been very generous with her Goldfish and her old man thanks her. Delicious.

• Alabama is the 2nd fattest state in the country and 66% of the population has a gun.  Yikes.  Perhaps if we (I do mean we) got off our lazy ass butts and quit getting our fears aroused by over dramatized news, we would drop a few pounds and quit shooting each other.

• We sold Tracy's car and we now have a three weeks to find her a new one before she heads back to school.  I hate cars. I hate the fact that we have to have two.  I hate the fact Birmingham has no reputable and reliable mass transportation system.  I hate having to save for two years only to spend it all on a depreciating utility that destroys our environment, makes oil companies richer, and will have to be replaced in another 5-7 years.

• I am not looking forward to the Olympics, but I am looking forward to the political conventions.  I love patriotic drunken happy liars. I don't like seeing people's dreams and life's ambitions shattered in a matter of moments. For every medal winner there are all those loser's who have worked so hard for nothing.  Just sad. 

• I have an iPhone and I love it.  The Pandora application is fantastic as is the NY Times access. It is a fabulous piece of technology.  That said, I will not put an "apple" sticker on my vehicle window.  I will not trash PC users and I will not claim moral superiority.  Take note Mac users.

• The Tannehill Promenade is coming to life.  The movie house, a restaurant are already open.  Target and Publix open this week.  Coming are more restaurants, shops and crap like that.  I am looking forward to reducing my spending in Hoover.

• I heard from my old room mate in college on facebook and I am really looking forward to talking with him on the phone soon.  That is news in itself because as a rule I hate the phone.  It is one of the necessary evils in this society.  I just do not like talking on the phone.

• I finished 2nd out of 2,700 players in the Full Tilt Poker freeroll tournament the other night.  I was stoked.  It did take almost 6 hours and my winnings amounted to a little over $2 per hour, but I'll take a free $12 anyday particularly on something as enjoyable as poker.

• Finally, what is the friggin' deal with these Bluetooth devices. Really, do you have to have that goofy thing in your ear all the time.  We ate dinner at Bottega tonight and there were these four folks at the table next to us.  It was obvious that is was a business dinner.  And there was this guy, sitting there in his suit and tie and this stupid blinking ear piece in his ear.  I wanted to stab my fork into his temple (or maybe mine).  If you are having a dinner with friends, business associates, or family or whomever, show a little respect and demonstrate that for the next hour or so you are committed to them and that conversation and turn your stinking phone off.  AAAHHHHRRRHHH!  That just drives me crazy.

• Bottega is deliciously overpriced.  My food was very good but good grief.  And the pretense in that place is palpable.  That is definitely not my scene.

Anyway, in reading back over this it appears like I am griping a lot.  But the reality is I start my 39th year tomorrow and life is good even when it is busy.  I hope to hear from many of you soon.  E-mail, comment on the blog or drop by the house rather than call though. :)

A MP3 Player Jesus could be proud of- (PSST it is not a Ipod)

Steve Jobs messiah complex is taking a hit.  The preferred MP3 player of choice for all Christians will have to be this new gadget from IceTech. 

 

 

It comes with the standard earbuds, USB charger, and even necklace so you can proudly show off your new Mercy Me tracks while you jog.  According to the website, it also comes with "conversion software."  But of course.

Best of all, it is cheap.  Amen to that! (By that I mean, it cheapens the gospel.)  Plllleeeaaase. 

My Neighbor is Gay

I am not gay.  I have been called gay, but not because someone thought I had homo-erotic tendencies, but probably because I said "roll tide" to an aubie, or some kind of childish retort like that. No one who knows me really thinks I am gay, queer possibly, but never gay.  I was hit on by a gay person once, so he must have thought I was gay, but most people know that there is just not a gay bone anywhere in me.   

I am not a homophobe either. I believe homosexuality is part sexual, part political, and, for me, thoroughly confusing.  It messes with me and my little world. There is so much shouting, too much finger pointing or wagging.  Everyone claiming God's will. Everyone demanding their rights, often to the disruptions and destruction of community that they claim to enhance or protect.  Now where rights are systemically denied and dehumanization exist, there is cause for that demand, but often the agendas go beyond that and it is only about the agenda, and I don't like that. It makes me sad.

I believe that homosexuals should have the same governmental rights and protections afforded to heterosexuals.  I believe that civil unions are appropriate  and should be welcomed. Those civil unions should allow the homosexual couple full rights as though they were married.  Heck, I don't care if you call it marriage on the civil side, but I do have a problem with homosexuals demanding that religious organizations bless that union. 

I think that the individual faith community must decide that for themselves whether there should be a religious blessing on the union.  We can not force a faith community to violate their convictions and many of those faith communities reject homosexuality, not out of bigotry (though some do) and hatred (though some have) but out of a serious intent on following on what their scriptures tell them and their faith teaches them. This can , as we have seen at times in the past, problematic, but we should not be in the business of demanding theological conformity from faith communities. 

The government must protect and afford equal rights to all citizens assuming those citizens accept the responsibility of working within the legal structures and frameworks of a society.  The government can not tell us how to believe, nor should they try.  My belief, for what it is worth, is that God loves all of us sinners, all of us. 

But I digress, I started to say that my neighbor is gay.  It is not the neighbor that I suspect is gay, but another neighbor.  My lovely neighborhood has 640 homes in it, so I suspect that I have another 60 or so gay neighbors around, but I know where one is now for sure. 

In the stupidity of the developer or the insanity of postal numbering systems, the addressing is almost  the same on similar sounding roads.  It is  hard to distinguish between "Neighborhood Dr." and "Neighborhood Tr."  I often get mail addressed to the same number on "Neighborhood Tr." while I live on "Neighborhood Dr." and occasionally I get other numbers on that road.  And that was the case yesterday. 

So yesterday I get the mail, with three of four plastic wrapped magazines. I get a lot of magazines related to my business.  It is not rare for me to get multiple periodicals in one day, along with my Wall Street Journal. I bring the stack of mail into my office, and mindlessly open  it, while I catch up on my gorgeous bride's day.  Talking, ripping, shredding, discarding or filing the stuff.  Not really paying attention to anything other than my wife.  I give a quick glance and then back to the conversation.  I open a bank statement, toss aside, bill from my accountant, put in the "to be paid stack,"  The Journal of Financial Planning, I yawn and set it aside, Financial Planning magazine, on the stack, Solutions, again in the "probably never will be read stack." I am ripping and tearing through the mail, handle it once and be done with it, the productivity experts say. And I am being productive. 

I rip the plastic off the next one and as I am placing in my magazine stack, I glance down and see

"What the..."  I utter. 
I look up at my wife, feeling surprisingly sheepish.
I look back down, "Am I really seeing this, or I have a blacked out" I think to myself.  "And why, if I have blacked out is this what I am seeing.  I am not gay."

It is hard enough to explain why the Victoria Secrets catalog comes addressed to me, but what do you do when you plop this magazine down on your desk in front of your wife?  I quickly retrieve the card stock '"renewal" slip that accompanied the magazine and glance down at the address.  Whew! "It is not mine," I think.  Which is funny that I thought that, because there is no reason for it to be mine.  I am not gay, but that is what I though. Anyway, that was my "male mail surprise" for yesterday.

And now my neighbor has been outed. Of course, he may be out already, I don't know, which is what makes me wonder what I should do.  I could toss it, but  it is time to renew and it is his property after all.  I could deliver it, but would that cause him embarrassment?  If he is out, no problem I guess, but if he isn't I don't want to him to be uncomfortable.  Do I place it in an envelope and mail it to him without a return address?  Does that mean that I am uncomfortable?  You see this gay stuff messes with my world. 

I flipped through a couple of pages and confirmed what I already knew.  I am not gay.  My wife took a look. 12 pack abs, abnormally fit and handsome men. To my great pleasure, I was reaffirmed that she is not gay either.  Blessings and affirmations come in surprising ways. 

A Recordkeepers Vindication

After 22 years of banking it happened and I caught it.  Sitting down yesterday to reconcile my business books, I noticed a $893 deposit still outstanding.  I have more accounts than I have e-mail addresses, so at first I assumed it to be a recording error on my part.  But I checked my quickbooks for my business, I checked my quicken for personal finances, I checked my deposit file, and I go online and check the accounts themselves and sure enough, there was no deposit credited to my account. And this is where I feel vindicated.  After keeping all those deposit receipts for 22 years until the statements are issued, I pull the file, find the deposit receipt and catch the bank in their error. 

Now I always confirm the amount on the receipt when I pull away from the bank and I have corrected two problems that way, like forgetting to deposit the cash, or omitting a check, etc.  But on this occasion, the amount was posted right, but they put it into the wrong account, some woman in Arizona.  While this is a troubling problem, to the bank's credit, they rectified it issue promptly.  But the rectification depended on me being able to produce the receipt.  This deposit was six weeks ago, but I triumphantly and quickly, I might add, retrieved the receipt and today I have my $893 sitting where it belong all along.  That will pay for some of my estimated taxes! WHOO HOO!

Why I suck and God's problem

I suck at blogging.

Oh, I enjoy it alright, but I am no good. 

Not consistent enough.

Rarely substantive.

My thoughts are not original, and even if they were, I am not eloquent enough to make it engaging. 

I have too many questions and too few answers to titillate or provoke the reader.

My life has been too tame and I like it that way, but I don't have any wild stories to tell.  I have never used my webcam for anything salacious, in fact, I don't know that I have ever used my webcam period. 

I am just a fledgling husband, father, church starter, businessman, and Christ follower.

Case in point,  one of my Lenten vows was to find a lyric for each week of the season. I was going to post that lyric on Fridays for my reader to consider with me.  I missed the first Friday, did it on the second Friday and forgot again on the third.  I suck at Lent. 

Well, I have to go to work, so I don't have time to ruminate on something that no one really cares about.

However, I have been thinking alot about Bart Ehrman recent conversation on Fresh Air last week. Bart, is the distinguished professor of religious studies at University of North Carolina. He is now an agnostic. And the failure of some satisfactory theodicy seems to be the primary culprit.

Ehrman wrote the popular Misquoting Jesus, which asserts that much of the N.T. scripture was a result of editorial licenses or downright error.   While it is easy to see how that could happen, his latest book,  God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer our Most Important Question- Why we Suffer gets to the meat of his problem.  It is not unique, of course, suffering and evil are indeed, perhaps, God's biggest problem, but for Ehrman, it was too big and he left his Christianity.  The interview is excellent, as are all of Terry Gross' interviews. 

So for your Lenten reflection, what do you do with God (if you believe there is one) and the issues of suffering?  Bart's conversation is worth a listen.  It should take you 1/2 an hour or so, but a worthy challenge for the season of discipleship.

Bible Study gone awry

Rise up ye men of God!  It is time to take back America, ya hear.  I am man!!!! I am almost 40 years old and now I know that the Bible indeed has all the answers and solutions to our society's ills. Check out this video for proof!

GOOD GRIEF!  This is why people don't go to church. 

Valentine plans

    I am enjoying a wonderful Valentine's evening.  Years ago, my wife and I decided to forget about trying outdo each other with gift giving.  We don't exchange gifts on any occasion, not Christmas, anniversaries, or even on Valentine's day.  The only exception is on our birthdays, though we have even foregone those the last couple of years while I was getting the business going.  We figured if we wanted something we bought it anyway so why not just put aside the pressure of shopping, of trying to beat last year's gift, and resist the urge to consume just because society tells us we have to.  I guess it is not for everybody but it works for us.  We haven't missed it, instead, we just spend time together, maybe catch a nice meal, but mainly enjoy the presence of one another. 
    So my tonight, I cooked dinner (with substantial help) for my girls.  We had stuffed pork chops with a parmesan sauce and homemade buttermilk ranch mashed potatoes, while little "E" ate sweet potatoes, multi-grain cereal and a bottle of Similac.  Our bottle was a nice Zifandel.  The television was left off and we plugged the MP3 into the Yamaha receiver and let the music romance us.  We chilled with Iron and Wine, swooned with Willie Nelson, danced to Rilo Kiley, wondered at Wilco, and we charmed by the likes of Nickel Creek, David Wilcox, Kasey Chambers, U2, Robert Earl Keen, Jr., Jerry Jeff Walker, and Patty Griffin. 
    Bedtime for "E" has come and as I listen to her coo over the splashes in the tub and marvel at how pleasant her mother's maternal conversation is to my fatigued ears, I feel blessed.  In a bit, mom will come downstairs having put the baby girl down for the night.  We will turn off the lights, eat a strawberry, chocolate tart, and watch Lost which is being DVRed as I type.  We will talk about what heck is going on, on the island and head upstairs to bed.  Another Valentine's Day come and gone. 
    Earlier in the week when I went to get my haircut, my stylist (?) asked me if I had big plans for Valentine's Day.  I sure did and they couldn't have turned out better. 

A year of discovery

    Happy Epiphany, everyone!  Today is the feast of Epiphany, one of my favorite days and the season that follows January 6, is among my favorite times in the liturgical calendar.  The day marks the biblical account of the Magi visiting the Christ Child, and serves as a time in the year to focus on revelation, most particularly God's revelation and discovery of his work in the world. It is this theme of discovery that appeals to me most. 
    Ironically, I did not worship anywhere this morning.  This was my first Sunday since leaving Fellowship of the Valley, a wonderfully open and loving group of Christ followers that deserves a visit from you if you do not have a community of faith.  I left with the hopes of creating a space for those in the McCalla/ Bessemer area who find that the traditional religious offerings are not satisfactory.  But on this feast of of Epiphany I drank fine coffee, ate  aebleskivers, watched CBS Sunday Morning, read the Sunday paper before noon, made phone calls due to a semi-family emergency, and observed my little "E" trying to discover for herself the possibilities of mobility.The family emergency notwithstanding it has been a fine morning, but it has reminded me that the optimism is always tempered by the unpredictable and that even our best made plans are subject to the unexpected, much like the Magi's journey and the subsequent events that followed their visit with the baby Jesus.  So do you have discoveries you wish to make this year?  Here are a few of mine, in no particular order, understanding full well that some of these may not happen in 2008 and there will be other discoveries made of which I had not planned or expected. That is the joy and challenge of the journey, but the hope of discovery gives me a purpose and it would be a depressing indeed to have no purpose.

• I hope to discover what is it like to drop a pants size for a change.
• I hope to discover if I  have the nerve  and ability to draw income out of my business since I have no other income now.
• I hope to discover wisdom, pleasure, and provocation from the 25-35 books I will read this year.
• I hope to discover if I can start a community of faith without succumbing to the temptation to do "church" like it is always been done (in this area) or expected.
• I hope to discover that others yearn for that type of faith community.
• I hope to discover if McCalla can truly be a community for me rather than a place where I sleep. 
• I hope to discover a 7+ lb bass.
• I hope to discover a African American or a woman taking the mantle of the presidency of the United States.
• I hope to discover retirement savings again, since I have put my aggressive savings plan on hold the last three years while I started another church and business.
• I hope to discover a new language and instrument.
• I hope to discover that American Idol will air its last season.
• I hope to discover a Birmingham that truly progresses and not just the rhetoric of progress.
• I hope to discover more confidence, new friends, touching art, and moving music.
• I hope to discover that I am a better poker player than I have demonstrated of late.
• I hope to discover that I can afford a newer car for my wife.
• I hope to discover the bitter sweet joy of the concluding seasons of The Wire, Battlestar Galactica and the next to last season of Lost.
• I hope to discover the satisfaction of roasting your own coffee and the skill to brew your own brew (though i think that is technically illegal in which case, for the record, I don't want to discover this... wink).
• I hope to discover lower gas prices and a better stock market (though I am not optimistic).
• I hope to discover that I am improving as a dad and husband.
• I hope to discover that I am a better blogger than I have been in the past and that I actually attract a reader.
• I hope to discover that I am growing in favor of God and humanity.

So I raise my metaphorical glass to you on this day of Epiphany and hope that this year our paths will cross either virtually or in person.  Feel free to share your discoveries or aspirations and may your life be filled with purpose in 2008.