Anyone who was raised in church or has said a salvation prayer knows some verses of scripture. John 3:16 is very familiar - "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life". We can then fast-forward into the daily events of life and look at the position of the Church that the world perceives. The world sees the church as a condemning, morally superior institution. We have, unfortunately, gotten that stereotype legitimately because of our general actions of being against so many things but not known for what we are for. Let's go on to the next verse. John 3:17 "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved". Whoa! Stop the horse! So Christ didn't come to condemn the world?? It says it right there in scripture. In order to take a shower to get clean, do you have to rinse off with a hose before stepping in the shower or do you just get in? If someone is broken, hurt, in pain, in need...and comes into the church and sits down to listen, how often do they feel eyes looking at them with contempt? What is the purpose of the church? To condemn, isolate, to be pious, morally superior, higher than thou? You better not say yes because the fact is Christians don't perform any better at moral/ethical behavior than non-Christians. It's a sad fact. Why? Because we don't look to see what the next verse says. We get spoon-fed a little on Sunday and go about our merry way. We don't eat a full meal, digest it and learn from it. We spray a little Christianity on ourselves like deodorant..expecting it to last till next Sunday.
Instead of standing on a soapbox screaming our lungs out over what we are against, why not spend our time being examples of healthy marriage, being in our kids lives, teaching, loving, helping those in need? Through that comes opportunity to witness the Gospel. No one is going to listen to the fire and brimstone preaching of someone waving a Bible on a street corner. Let's let the broken, dirty, beaten and bruised come in. Show them a better way rather than preaching to them how bad and terrible they are. Maybe, just maybe...they too will find a better way as a result.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Vermilion Oil Rig 380 on fire and leaking
Yet another rig has blown. Initial reports said the rig wasn't drilling at the time of the explosion. Now we know it was drilling....and is now leaking. All 13 crew members rescued. One injury. This begs, again, the question of why are we out there?
Our own Bakken reserve has more oil than all of Saudi Arabia from beginning to end...but we aren't allowed to drill it because of environmental restrictions. So, we push oil rigs into deep water and when (not if) an accident occurs...it's 5,000ft deep where pressures are 2000 lbs per square inch. Sure would be easier to deal with if it were on a plain in North Dakota where we could get to it. In January 1991, 700 oil rigs in Kuwait were blown up. By November, all the rigs had been extinguished and capped. The Deep Water Horizon blew on April 20th and is still leaking. One rig - 4 months and counting. The Bakken reserve would allow us to sever all dependency on foreign oil while we work towards alternative energy. All while mitigating the environmental risks that we are currently facing in deep water. To give you perspective...the test depth of our latest Seawolf class attack submarine is only 2,000ft. A few atmospheric suits can go to 2000ft. Only our DSRV (Deep Sea Rescue Vehicle) can go 5,000ft. We are drilling in a place that exceeds our technical ability to fix when something goes wrong.
It doesn't matter if you are on the right or the left. Common sense dictates this: We must have energy. How do we get it while exposing ourselves to the least risk? We are in the worst possible position for a country. We are risking our environment at depths we cannot reach. We are dependent upon oil-producing nations who wish to kill us on religious grounds. We are so far in debt, our grandchildren will be paying the note. Our economy is in the toilet. Want to solve all the above? Institute a stimulus program that opens the Bakken reserve, exploits nuclear power, put Americans back to work actually producing something. Cut our dependence on foreign oil. Terrorists wallets will dry up. We will be managing wells within a technical level that we can economically handle.
Our own Bakken reserve has more oil than all of Saudi Arabia from beginning to end...but we aren't allowed to drill it because of environmental restrictions. So, we push oil rigs into deep water and when (not if) an accident occurs...it's 5,000ft deep where pressures are 2000 lbs per square inch. Sure would be easier to deal with if it were on a plain in North Dakota where we could get to it. In January 1991, 700 oil rigs in Kuwait were blown up. By November, all the rigs had been extinguished and capped. The Deep Water Horizon blew on April 20th and is still leaking. One rig - 4 months and counting. The Bakken reserve would allow us to sever all dependency on foreign oil while we work towards alternative energy. All while mitigating the environmental risks that we are currently facing in deep water. To give you perspective...the test depth of our latest Seawolf class attack submarine is only 2,000ft. A few atmospheric suits can go to 2000ft. Only our DSRV (Deep Sea Rescue Vehicle) can go 5,000ft. We are drilling in a place that exceeds our technical ability to fix when something goes wrong.
It doesn't matter if you are on the right or the left. Common sense dictates this: We must have energy. How do we get it while exposing ourselves to the least risk? We are in the worst possible position for a country. We are risking our environment at depths we cannot reach. We are dependent upon oil-producing nations who wish to kill us on religious grounds. We are so far in debt, our grandchildren will be paying the note. Our economy is in the toilet. Want to solve all the above? Institute a stimulus program that opens the Bakken reserve, exploits nuclear power, put Americans back to work actually producing something. Cut our dependence on foreign oil. Terrorists wallets will dry up. We will be managing wells within a technical level that we can economically handle.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
You are where you are because you want to be.
This was a very hard pill for me to swallow the day my boss Bob told me this one day back in the mid-90's. I left work hacked off at him for not sympathizing with my pain and disgust with the job environment. It took a couple of days before I'd even speak to him. He hadn't been rude. He was trying to give me some advice. He was also right. You hate your job? Get another one. You don't like your living condition? Move. You don't like your educational level? Go back to school. You don't love your spouse? Get counseling or get out of it. Don't like your church? Find another one. Don't like your car? Get another one. Get the point? We are where we are in life largely because we have chosen to. Our lack of making a decision is a decision none the less. Now there are things that paint into a corner for certain. But staying in that corner is our decision to make. The next time you complain about something...just how much do you hate it? Enough to do something about it?
Monday, August 30, 2010
A change in direction
I recently deleted all the previous political posts I had made. Introspection revealed that it was taking my personality and emotions in the wrong direction according to scripture. There are "watchmen on the wall" within the body of Christ. I am not one of them. My father is and he's very good at it. I cannot be one. I find myself becoming too militant and angry. Digressing from the gospel. I'm more the teacher and counselor. I've stumbled, learned and now want to teach others where those potholes are. I need to leave the watchmen to what they do best.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Memorial Day
Here is one thing in particular I remember this Memorial Day weekend:
I remember "George". He was my landlord who lived downstairs in the house from which we rented an upstairs apartment from. He was a short, stocky fellow who was very cheerful and quite chatty. One would not have surmised that George was a Marine WWII veteran with the 1st Marine Division. Being a Marine myself, we had lots to talk about.
George landed on the island of Tulagi near Guadalcanal Island on August 7th, 1942. George was one of 3,000 Marines assigned to take Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo while 11,000 Marines landed on Guadalcanal. Of the 3,000 Japanese soldiers entrenched on the three smaller islands, only 4 survived. Marines suffered 122 losses. In the early morning hours of August 21st, George was patrolling the eastern perimeter of Lunga when 917 Japanese attempted an ill-fated attack. This became known as the Battle of Tenaru. All but 128 of the Japanese invaders were killed. George survived again only to soon come down with with a near-fatal bout of Dysentery.
On October 24th, George again survived the Battle of Henderson Field under command of Lt. Col. Chesty Puller. Later, on September 15th, 1944 at 0832, George and the 1st Marines landed on "White Beach" on Peleliu which was fortified with 30,000 seasoned Japanese soldiers. George's LVT was hit by a 47mm shell and sank is chest-deep water layered in coral. George and his landing party waded through the water while the Japanese raked the water with machine gun fire. George and his men took "The Point" which was the most heavily fortified fortress overlooking the beach. His joy was short-lived when the Japanese attempted four times over the next 30 hours to retake "The Point". 157 Marines lost their lives on "The Point". George was one of only 18 to live to tell the tale.
On April 1st, 1945, George found himself in hand-to-hand combat fighting through the west-central area of Okinawa known as Cactus Ridge, about five miles north of Shuri. 1,500 soldiers were lost there. George fought his way all the way from the Oroku Peninsula on the west-central coast up to the Motobu Peninsula passing what is now Camp Hansen on the eastern coast. A total of 6,319 Americans died and 61,471 were wounded in taking Okinawa. George survived with grenade shrapnel in his legs after diving for cover when a grenade rolled out of a pill box he had assaulted.
George came home, married, raised his children, worked and eventually ended up retired, drinking sweet tea on his front porch many times with me. As we would sit, he would talk and I would listen intently. An average man, an average life, an extraordinary hero.
Thanks George!
I remember "George". He was my landlord who lived downstairs in the house from which we rented an upstairs apartment from. He was a short, stocky fellow who was very cheerful and quite chatty. One would not have surmised that George was a Marine WWII veteran with the 1st Marine Division. Being a Marine myself, we had lots to talk about.
George landed on the island of Tulagi near Guadalcanal Island on August 7th, 1942. George was one of 3,000 Marines assigned to take Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo while 11,000 Marines landed on Guadalcanal. Of the 3,000 Japanese soldiers entrenched on the three smaller islands, only 4 survived. Marines suffered 122 losses. In the early morning hours of August 21st, George was patrolling the eastern perimeter of Lunga when 917 Japanese attempted an ill-fated attack. This became known as the Battle of Tenaru. All but 128 of the Japanese invaders were killed. George survived again only to soon come down with with a near-fatal bout of Dysentery.
On October 24th, George again survived the Battle of Henderson Field under command of Lt. Col. Chesty Puller. Later, on September 15th, 1944 at 0832, George and the 1st Marines landed on "White Beach" on Peleliu which was fortified with 30,000 seasoned Japanese soldiers. George's LVT was hit by a 47mm shell and sank is chest-deep water layered in coral. George and his landing party waded through the water while the Japanese raked the water with machine gun fire. George and his men took "The Point" which was the most heavily fortified fortress overlooking the beach. His joy was short-lived when the Japanese attempted four times over the next 30 hours to retake "The Point". 157 Marines lost their lives on "The Point". George was one of only 18 to live to tell the tale.
On April 1st, 1945, George found himself in hand-to-hand combat fighting through the west-central area of Okinawa known as Cactus Ridge, about five miles north of Shuri. 1,500 soldiers were lost there. George fought his way all the way from the Oroku Peninsula on the west-central coast up to the Motobu Peninsula passing what is now Camp Hansen on the eastern coast. A total of 6,319 Americans died and 61,471 were wounded in taking Okinawa. George survived with grenade shrapnel in his legs after diving for cover when a grenade rolled out of a pill box he had assaulted.
George came home, married, raised his children, worked and eventually ended up retired, drinking sweet tea on his front porch many times with me. As we would sit, he would talk and I would listen intently. An average man, an average life, an extraordinary hero.
Thanks George!
Friday, May 28, 2010
A lesson in humility
As soon as I stopped tumbling after being thrown from the bike Tuesday, I began throwing my helmet and gloves in a fit of very adolescent tourettes. This was a poor example of Christianity for those gracious people who came running to my aid after witnessing the event. It wasn't until the adrenaline subsided and my blood pressure returned to normal that I hung my head in repentence and thanked God for watching over me. I saw this as a revealed character flaw that I must work on. How we react in the moment without time to think reveals our instinct. My instinct was to beat myself up for not having had x-ray vision and responding quicker. If only I had.... Rather, my instinct should have been an instant "Yeah, God!" for not having any broken bones. So, the next time you smash your finger with a hammer, spill coffee on your iPad or hit the gas instead of the brake, train your instinct to give glory to the Creator. It will take the edge off an otherwise inglorious moment.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Agricultural motorcycle riding
Well, I did some involuntary agricultural driving on the R1 yesterday. My body armor saved my butt. I came out of it with a little road rash on my left arm and thigh and a sprained thumb. Outside of a broken fairing, windscreen and cracked tail frame, the bike is ok too. Moral of the story: don't follow too close to other cars so you can react quickly enough to obstacles in the road like storage container lids that other vehicles can straddle! I wasn't able to zig-zag in time to avoid the lid, it washed out the front end and tank slapped the bars sending me into a nice v-shaped ditch with lots of soupy mud. I rode it for about a hundred feet before it launched me off the bike and I was able to slide on my back on the shoulder of the road most of the way before tumbling back into the ditch.
I reinforce my advocacy of wearing your gear folks. I can't say it enough. Helmet laws may be oppressive, armor may be uncomfortable but brain damage would be a real bummer and being dead would really ruin an otherwise good day.
Yea though I ride in the shadow of a muddy ditch at 55mph, I will not fear the storage container lid and asphalt for my God is with me. His grace and mercy are endless.
I reinforce my advocacy of wearing your gear folks. I can't say it enough. Helmet laws may be oppressive, armor may be uncomfortable but brain damage would be a real bummer and being dead would really ruin an otherwise good day.
Yea though I ride in the shadow of a muddy ditch at 55mph, I will not fear the storage container lid and asphalt for my God is with me. His grace and mercy are endless.
First time out
Although I blogged briefly quite some time before, this is my first official attempt with purpose. Here you will find questions to ponder on Christianity, motorcycling, marriage, being a "Man Up" man, being an influential father, faithfulness, hope, politics...and any other applicable topic that I find important to share.
Being a Christian doesn't mean claiming perfection. It means acknowledging our imperfection, brokenness and separation from God by our sins, accepting the free gift of salvation and living a life in a constant state of improvement, learning, loving, sharing and displaying the gospel to our fullest ability through Christ. It's about redemption, reconciliation and a new beginning no matter who you are, where you've been or what you've done.
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