Cruel and unusual...

I think its kind of mean that people who have a lisp can’t even say the word. That’s just wrong. I mean they know they have a speech problem; do we really have to assign a word to describe this impediment that they can’t even say clearly? Come on.

Good Theology

I’m not a huge fan of discussing theology and reading the ramblings of religious scholars. Its not that I don’t think theology is important, its just that I feel like when we hold our theories and best understandings to the light of God’s truth and wisdom, they resemble the scribbles my kids draw on restaurant placemats. Along those same lines, I am convinced that children have a more clear and accurate understanding of God than we do. In fact my own children have shared thoughts with me that I believe are more profound that much of what I will hear in a month of sermons. Here are two examples:

About a year ago, we had a cat that had a litter of kittens, two of which died shortly after birth. Houston my 5 year old son (4 at the time) asked what happened to the kittens. I explained that they died and he said, “Its ok daddy. When we die, we go to heaven and God fixes us.”

And just today on the way to work, Houston was asking why God doesn’t talk to us. To this, Ashton my 3 year old, replied: “Houston, sometimes we can’t here God because it’s too noisy.”

I couldn’t agree more.

A Rainy Day at the Office

It’s raining today. I love the sound of the rain, the cool air coming in from my window, the smell of my afternoon cup of coffee, and the relaxing music playing in the background. What a great day.

The Allure of Fire

What is it about a fire that brings people together? Certainly the physical attributes of heat and light can be considered as reasons, but there is something unique about a fire that causes individuals to come together, converse, and enjoy the company of those they are with. In fact we will do things around the fire that are very uncommon in everyday life. We may sit quietly and enjoy the sights and sounds as the flames dance around the fireplace. We share in meaningful conversation with others and find that we aren’t watching the time, but just engaging in a dialogue with friends. We even converse with those we don’t know. In a way we don’t understand, a roaring fire can melt away inhibition and we find ourselves discussing current events and sharing stories with those we barely know. Still, at times we just sit back and reflect on things that have been hiding in the recesses of our minds.

In short, there is a mesmerizing effect that comes over us as we sit in front of the fireplace and converse around the campfire. While I don’t know exactly what it is, I am convinced that we could all benefit from spending a little more time nestled around the warm glow of a crackling fire.

Chess or Checkers ?

I was speaking with one of the Vice Presidents that work at the university where I am employed, and he asked me if leaders play chess or checkers. I thought for a moment and suggested that I thought leaders play chess. I said this for two reasons; first I have an internal bias towards chess, because I love the game. My second reason was because of my basic understandings of the game. Checkers is a simple game where all the pieces are the same, they move the same way, and are essentially treated all identically. Chess is a more complex game that is made up of unique pieces, which move in differing ways and have various roles in the game. A good chess player cannot look at all pieces as the same. One must understand the strengths and abilities of each piece in order to win the game.

The Vice President I was speaking with indicated that he had been told that leaders play checkers because there is only one goal in mind, and that mangers play chess because they must manage a vast array of pieces and know what is happening at all times. While I believed he was incorrect in his assessment and told him so, I had a thought following our discussion. First, all leaders must be able to manage people, any leader will manage or supervise a least some people (A CEO manages a team of Vice Presidents, etc.), but not all mangers are good leaders. In the same way, most chess players can play checkers, but not all checker players know how to play chess. In the end however, I think the noteworthy fact is this: Whether we’re talking about managers or leaders, they’re both just playing games. Something to think about…

A Note to Pacifists:

While I respect your opinion, for my money the Atlantic Ocean is the most beautiful!

The Crushing Finality of Being a Wal-Mart Greeter

In Vin Diesel’s movie xXx, (yes this is likely the first time anyone has ever referenced this movie for anything) Diesel’s character is asked by Augustus Gibbons, played by Samuel L. Jackson, if he's “ever seen lions at the zoo? You can always tell which ones were captured in the wild. They remember running across the planes and the thrill of the hunt. After a while, locked in a cage, the eyes start to glaze over and you can tell that the soul has died.”

One can see a similar expression on the faces of those retired individuals working as greeters at Wal-Mart. Oh, you may first be greeted by a smile, but the smile quickly fades and reality sets in, as this person questions how they have come to this point in their life. Remember, these are individuals that have lived full lives, experienced incredible technological breakthroughs, raised children, witnessed political and economic changes, and served in a myriad of roles over their course of their lifetimes, only to now be standing with a smiley face stamp and a roll of merchandise return stickers. These are members of the “greatest generation” and they have rich stories to tell and are ironically confined to a station that limits interaction to a brief grin or a few polite words. Perhaps on our next trip to the store, rather than walking by dismissively, we can stop for a few moments, put a name with a face and engage in a dialogue with a person who has a story to share.

The Arrogance of Virginia

I have a problem with Virginia. Why can’t they be a state like everyone else? Are they so insecure that they have to hang on to the label of Commonwealth? Frankly, I’d expect a little bit more cooperation from an area of the county that has played such a rich role in our nation’s history. Now, in all fairness Virginia is not the only problem child among our 50 “states”. Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Kentucky are also desperately clinging to the classification of commonwealth, but of course, Kentucky has always been one to follow the east coast crowd. The truth is that Virginia a dirty instigator and is just setting a bad example. After all, we all get one star on the flag, why can’t these constituents of our great union just drop the attitude and play nice with everyone else?