"Occasions of adversity best discover how great virtue each one has. For occasions do not make a man frail, but they show of what sort he is." - Thomas A. Kempis, The Imitation of Christ.
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him" James 1:2-4, 12
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Baseball Note
With Memorial Day now past, the Yankees (and their $199 million payroll) are in last place and the Indians (and their $57 million payroll) are in first place. It's a beautiful thing.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Theme Music
In the epic baseball movie Major League, when Charlie Sheen's character comes out of the bullpen the song "Wild Thing" blares over the loudspeakers and the crowd goes wild. In real life this has caught on as "Hell's Bells" plays for Trevor Hoffman when he enters the game and "Enter Sandman" plays for Billy Wagner. Even Paul Byrd came out to the Newsboys' "Shine" when he was the opening day starter for the Phillies. Which got me thinking, what would my song be? Granted, I'll never pitch for a major league team, but wouldn't be cool if your own theme song played over the loudspeaker when you stepped into the office at work? In my opinion, the best theme songs are typically those with great intro guitar riffs. My working list of candidates include:
- Open by Chevelle
- Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes
- Machinehead by Bush
- Show Me How to Live by Audioslave
- Original Fire by Audioslave
- Stars by Switchfoot
- Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones
- Remedy by Seether
- Precious Declaration by Collective Soul
- Today by the Smashing Pumpkins
What would your song be?
Monday, May 21, 2007
Another Angle On Gasoline
So, every major news outlet is headlining that gas prices are now at an all-time high when adjusted for inflation. Do you know what that says to me? Gasoline has been really freakin' cheap for the last 25 years. Think about it. Gasoline is just now reaching a level it last reached back in 1981 when adjusted for inflation. That's amazing. Can you imagine if the price of a house was just now reaching the price it once was in 1981? Or the price of a car? What if the stock market was just now reaching a high set it had set back in 1981? (In case you're wondering, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 971.72 on May 22, 1981. It closed today at 13,542.88.)
The point is, the wealth of our nation has increased dramatically over the last 25 years. The fact that fuel prices are just now reaching an all-time high is incredibly impressive to me. Or, think about it another way: Everyone is an outrage at spending $3.20/gallon for gasoline yet many of these people will not think twice or bat an eyelash when they go into Starbucks and drop $4.75 on a cup of coffee. Why don't you fill your tank with that stuff if you really want to be in for sticker shock?
The point is, the wealth of our nation has increased dramatically over the last 25 years. The fact that fuel prices are just now reaching an all-time high is incredibly impressive to me. Or, think about it another way: Everyone is an outrage at spending $3.20/gallon for gasoline yet many of these people will not think twice or bat an eyelash when they go into Starbucks and drop $4.75 on a cup of coffee. Why don't you fill your tank with that stuff if you really want to be in for sticker shock?
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Sermons and Songs
Yesterday I was able to enjoy some time hanging with David. We went to the Saturday evening church service he attends, and the speaker gave an excellent talk on God's design for marriage and the way it is to be a picture of our relationship to God/the Church's relationship to Christ. It hadn't quite clicked in the same way before about how Christ had left his Father and took on flesh to be one with his bride, the church. (Eph 5:31-32 "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.) I loved the themes we covered at BVBC in Revelation of the groom and bride being reunited. Talk about the all-time long distance relationship. I felt something of Christ's longing to gather up his beauty and bring her home.
The speaker started in Ephesians, went back to Genesis and then over to Hosea. He pointed out that God's intention in this most unusual prophecy was that everytime the people saw Gomer sleeping around and cheating on poor Hosea, they would remember that is how they are treating him. What an amazing object lesson, especially when Hosea has to go and buy Gomer from the slavery she should herself into. He pointed out that by buying back a slave, she was more or less his to do whatever he wanted to with her, but what he did was show a profound and generous reclaiming love. It reminded me of a song that Joe had introduced to me back in my old small group and has always resonated with me.
The Song of the Harlot
~ The Violet Burning
In the night, the harlot moves across the floor
She turns the handle on the door
A hundred eyes seem to look right through her
Why she's there they're not sure
Behind her love, she falls down to her knees
Without a word, she begins to weep
And her tears, they fall down upon his feet
She smothers them with kisses
And she dries them with her hair
In my life, sorrow has kissed my lonely heart
Fear of man tears me apart
And I try, but many times I've loved the world
So many times I've been the whore
And I cried a million tears, or maybe more
So many times I have been the whore
I will fall down on my knees
And I will sing "I love you"
I will sing "I love you, my love"
And my tears, they fall down upon your feet
Let me smother them with kisses
Let me dry them with my hair
Cos if I could be anyone at all
Well, if I could be anyone at all
Let me be the whore at your feet
The whore at your feet
The speaker started in Ephesians, went back to Genesis and then over to Hosea. He pointed out that God's intention in this most unusual prophecy was that everytime the people saw Gomer sleeping around and cheating on poor Hosea, they would remember that is how they are treating him. What an amazing object lesson, especially when Hosea has to go and buy Gomer from the slavery she should herself into. He pointed out that by buying back a slave, she was more or less his to do whatever he wanted to with her, but what he did was show a profound and generous reclaiming love. It reminded me of a song that Joe had introduced to me back in my old small group and has always resonated with me.
The Song of the Harlot
~ The Violet Burning
In the night, the harlot moves across the floor
She turns the handle on the door
A hundred eyes seem to look right through her
Why she's there they're not sure
Behind her love, she falls down to her knees
Without a word, she begins to weep
And her tears, they fall down upon his feet
She smothers them with kisses
And she dries them with her hair
In my life, sorrow has kissed my lonely heart
Fear of man tears me apart
And I try, but many times I've loved the world
So many times I've been the whore
And I cried a million tears, or maybe more
So many times I have been the whore
I will fall down on my knees
And I will sing "I love you"
I will sing "I love you, my love"
And my tears, they fall down upon your feet
Let me smother them with kisses
Let me dry them with my hair
Cos if I could be anyone at all
Well, if I could be anyone at all
Let me be the whore at your feet
The whore at your feet
Saturday, May 19, 2007
In Praise of $4 Gas And Construction Delays
It seems that Delaware motorists will have plenty to complain about in the months ahead. Some pundits claim that gasoline will soon cost $4 a gallon and construction will ultimately begin to add a fifth lane to Interstate 95 causing increased traffic delays and gridlock. May I offer a word of advice to everyone, including myself? Stop whining.
Why is that everyone feels it is their God given right to have incredibly cheap energy that grants them endless personal freedom in their transportation? Why do we blame the big oil companies and then whine at the economic forces at work that will ultimately lead to the increased use of alternative fuels? Why is it that we constantly bemoan the traffic on I-95 and then complain even louder when the DOT attempts to enhance and improve the roadway system and correct it? Why do we want wide, well paved roads and then complain when roads are currently disabled to be widened and paved?
We need to stop and examine ourselves. We are being incredibly short sighted and self indulgent. Do you know why gas is $4 a gallon? A primary reason is the fact that there has not been a new refinery built in the United States in over 20 years but the number of automobiles, including the large number of trucks and SUV's, has increased dramatically. Let me breakdown a little a little economics. It's called supply-demand theory. When supply goes down (or remains the same) and demand increases, the price of an item goes up. So, when supply goes down because a refinery is shut down for either routine or emergency repairs, oil production in Nigeria is at risk because of political upheaval and riots, a hurricane knocks out platforms in the Gulf of Mexco or any other number of reasons, the price of gasoline will go up. Add to this all of the increasing demand whether it be from seasonal driving or from less fuel efficient vehicles or perhaps more importantly from the increasing international consumption of fuel and one can understand why gasoline is more expensive. There is also another element to supply-demand theory that I should add. It's called elastic and inelastic demand. If the price of an item goes up one "unit", and demand for that item decreases by more than one "unit" then you have elastic demand. However, if the price of an item goes up one "unit", and demand for that decreases by less than one "unit" then you have inelastic demand. Gasoline is an inelastic item. At what point would you actually change your driving behavior and buy less gasoline? Did you buy less gasoline when it went to $2/gallon? $2.50? $3.50? Most people didn't and aren't but ultimately we will reach a tipping point.
A lot of people think the large oil companies are just out there to fleece Americans. While I do not harbor any illusions of benevolence on the part of large oil companies, if they could have just pushed a button and charged $4 a gallon for gasoline 10 years ago, don't you think they would have? Are they suddenly becoming more malevolent in their character? I doubt that. And if they charged $6 a gallon right now, don't you think you would still pay it? Are they just being generous then? I doubt that too. It all goes back to economics.
But here is the good news. Americans, being the indulgent and entitlement-focused people that we are, are not going to switch to renewable energy out of the sheer force of our magnanimous will. We're going to switch when it becomes more convenient for us, namely more economically convenient, to do so. And as the price of petroleum based fuels increases, alternative fuels have an opportunity to become more and more competitive. The laws of supply and demand will ultimately steer us away from our collective dependence on gasoline, and we have to suck it up in the short term while this process unfolds.
Now to the roads. I remember commenting to a friend a few years ago that I kind of liked to see road construction because it is one of the few places where I can tangibly see my tax dollars at work. We are very fortunate to have the vast road and interstate system that we enjoy in America. It is in need of even more reinforcement and improvement than it is receiving, but we already complain loudly at the improvements that are being made. Are we not willing to make this short term sacrifice for the larger future gains? We are being hypocrites when we curse roads that need repaired and expanded and then curse the repair and expansion of those same roads. I don't want to hear it. Be thankful that the project is being undertaken at all, that the the project is likely being completed as efficiently as possible, and that at some point in the relatively near future you'll be cruising by and cutting off people in a whole new lane.
Why is that everyone feels it is their God given right to have incredibly cheap energy that grants them endless personal freedom in their transportation? Why do we blame the big oil companies and then whine at the economic forces at work that will ultimately lead to the increased use of alternative fuels? Why is it that we constantly bemoan the traffic on I-95 and then complain even louder when the DOT attempts to enhance and improve the roadway system and correct it? Why do we want wide, well paved roads and then complain when roads are currently disabled to be widened and paved?
We need to stop and examine ourselves. We are being incredibly short sighted and self indulgent. Do you know why gas is $4 a gallon? A primary reason is the fact that there has not been a new refinery built in the United States in over 20 years but the number of automobiles, including the large number of trucks and SUV's, has increased dramatically. Let me breakdown a little a little economics. It's called supply-demand theory. When supply goes down (or remains the same) and demand increases, the price of an item goes up. So, when supply goes down because a refinery is shut down for either routine or emergency repairs, oil production in Nigeria is at risk because of political upheaval and riots, a hurricane knocks out platforms in the Gulf of Mexco or any other number of reasons, the price of gasoline will go up. Add to this all of the increasing demand whether it be from seasonal driving or from less fuel efficient vehicles or perhaps more importantly from the increasing international consumption of fuel and one can understand why gasoline is more expensive. There is also another element to supply-demand theory that I should add. It's called elastic and inelastic demand. If the price of an item goes up one "unit", and demand for that item decreases by more than one "unit" then you have elastic demand. However, if the price of an item goes up one "unit", and demand for that decreases by less than one "unit" then you have inelastic demand. Gasoline is an inelastic item. At what point would you actually change your driving behavior and buy less gasoline? Did you buy less gasoline when it went to $2/gallon? $2.50? $3.50? Most people didn't and aren't but ultimately we will reach a tipping point.
A lot of people think the large oil companies are just out there to fleece Americans. While I do not harbor any illusions of benevolence on the part of large oil companies, if they could have just pushed a button and charged $4 a gallon for gasoline 10 years ago, don't you think they would have? Are they suddenly becoming more malevolent in their character? I doubt that. And if they charged $6 a gallon right now, don't you think you would still pay it? Are they just being generous then? I doubt that too. It all goes back to economics.
But here is the good news. Americans, being the indulgent and entitlement-focused people that we are, are not going to switch to renewable energy out of the sheer force of our magnanimous will. We're going to switch when it becomes more convenient for us, namely more economically convenient, to do so. And as the price of petroleum based fuels increases, alternative fuels have an opportunity to become more and more competitive. The laws of supply and demand will ultimately steer us away from our collective dependence on gasoline, and we have to suck it up in the short term while this process unfolds.
Now to the roads. I remember commenting to a friend a few years ago that I kind of liked to see road construction because it is one of the few places where I can tangibly see my tax dollars at work. We are very fortunate to have the vast road and interstate system that we enjoy in America. It is in need of even more reinforcement and improvement than it is receiving, but we already complain loudly at the improvements that are being made. Are we not willing to make this short term sacrifice for the larger future gains? We are being hypocrites when we curse roads that need repaired and expanded and then curse the repair and expansion of those same roads. I don't want to hear it. Be thankful that the project is being undertaken at all, that the the project is likely being completed as efficiently as possible, and that at some point in the relatively near future you'll be cruising by and cutting off people in a whole new lane.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Al Gore
So, there still seems to be a movement out there that wants Al Gore to run for President. The last time I saw a poll that included him, he ranked behind Clinton and Obama but ahead of Edwards among Democrat voters. This is an interesting article because the author seems to have a sort messianic complex in his perception and reporting of Mr. Gore.
I'll leave you to form your own opinions on the article and on Gore himself, but one idea I do agree with (and I think I posted on before) is that I would not be surprised if someone other than the current roster of candidates emerges into the national spotlight.
Also, as I have thought about things more, I do not know if I would vote for Mr. Gingrich if he were to run. Although I agree with many of his ideas and think he runs away from the field in that regard, the whole three marriages thing may disqualify him in my mind from the premier role of a civil servant. I don't say that to be moralizing or sound self-righteous, but if he could not keep his promise to his wife(s), how can I trust him to keep his promises on a national level? This may send me back to the bin of hopeless third party candidates that I tried to sift through in '04 because I am rather unimpressed with my other elephant-dressed options.
I'll leave you to form your own opinions on the article and on Gore himself, but one idea I do agree with (and I think I posted on before) is that I would not be surprised if someone other than the current roster of candidates emerges into the national spotlight.
Also, as I have thought about things more, I do not know if I would vote for Mr. Gingrich if he were to run. Although I agree with many of his ideas and think he runs away from the field in that regard, the whole three marriages thing may disqualify him in my mind from the premier role of a civil servant. I don't say that to be moralizing or sound self-righteous, but if he could not keep his promise to his wife(s), how can I trust him to keep his promises on a national level? This may send me back to the bin of hopeless third party candidates that I tried to sift through in '04 because I am rather unimpressed with my other elephant-dressed options.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Conspiracy No. 5
On Sunday I spoke with a friend who had just discovered Third Day. Their album, Conspiracy No. 5, is my favorite although it is probably their least popular work. I hadn't listened to it in some time until this conversation, but I put it in on the way to work on Monday and rememberd just how much I love it. My favorite songs are the edgy, dark and somewhat haunting "I Deserve?" and the gripping "Gomer's Theme". The lyrics alone do not capture the depth of the songs because the music is very mood evocative.
Gomer's Theme
"In this place, saw her face
He was more than happier
Made for Him, It's a sin
That she was not faithful
She couldn't be
Foolishly more unfaithful if she tried
He did not care, wanted her
Despite lies and wandering eyes
He deserves the very best
But he loves her none the less
She's forgotten her first love (Maybe one day she'll return)
He's forgotten that she ever went away and broke his heart
Lavished on silver, gold, and anything she needed
Wasted thoughts, broken hearts
Love was not acknowledged
God only knows
That He has shown her
More love than she deserves
There will come a time
When she will find
That he's not there
To give her love
And He'll be gone away
From her forever"
Gomer's Theme
"In this place, saw her face
He was more than happier
Made for Him, It's a sin
That she was not faithful
She couldn't be
Foolishly more unfaithful if she tried
He did not care, wanted her
Despite lies and wandering eyes
He deserves the very best
But he loves her none the less
She's forgotten her first love (Maybe one day she'll return)
He's forgotten that she ever went away and broke his heart
Lavished on silver, gold, and anything she needed
Wasted thoughts, broken hearts
Love was not acknowledged
God only knows
That He has shown her
More love than she deserves
There will come a time
When she will find
That he's not there
To give her love
And He'll be gone away
From her forever"
Thursday, May 03, 2007
On the eve of my birthday
Tomorrow I turn 29 years old. I haven't had as much time to reflect on this yet as I would like, but I have had a few musings. First, I tried to recall any goals I had set for my 20's that I might need to frantically try to reach, but nothing pressing came to mind. I suppose that's a good thing (or else I just set the bar really low). One question that came to mind is, if my life were to end tomorrow, what would my legacy be? How would my obituary read or what would be said at my memorial service? How would I be remembered? Have I made any meaningful, lasting contributions in my life?
I think I have changed quite a bit in my 20's. As Winter Banquet pictures would attest, I'm not quite the same scrawny, awkward, depressed kid I once was, but there's still ample room for growth. I have to thank all of my friends who are reading this now for the impact they have made on my life. You have been essential in God's hands for my sanctification.
God has given me some really amazing opportunities. Not every country bumpkin born in the little podunk town of Pennsboro, WV has been so blessed. I have to thank my parents for their all around awesomeness and the sacrifices they made so that I could be where I am today. I have been so fortunate to go to Cedarville, then UD, for my start at PFPC and now my work at Chatham. I have gone on missions trips to Jamaica and Indonesia. How many people at age 29 have a job they love, an amazing church home, a supportive family and friends that mean the world to me? I've just been so blessed.
I think I have changed quite a bit in my 20's. As Winter Banquet pictures would attest, I'm not quite the same scrawny, awkward, depressed kid I once was, but there's still ample room for growth. I have to thank all of my friends who are reading this now for the impact they have made on my life. You have been essential in God's hands for my sanctification.
God has given me some really amazing opportunities. Not every country bumpkin born in the little podunk town of Pennsboro, WV has been so blessed. I have to thank my parents for their all around awesomeness and the sacrifices they made so that I could be where I am today. I have been so fortunate to go to Cedarville, then UD, for my start at PFPC and now my work at Chatham. I have gone on missions trips to Jamaica and Indonesia. How many people at age 29 have a job they love, an amazing church home, a supportive family and friends that mean the world to me? I've just been so blessed.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Letter From My State Representative
The other day I received the following letter from my state representative, Gerald Brady:
Dear Steve:Thank you Mr. Brady
In receipt of your letter regarding Senate Bill 5 and other legislation authorizing the destruction of human embros, I can assure you I do not support such actions. I will be voting No on Senate Bill (SB) 5.
I am opposed to Senate Bill 5, which calls for the legalization of embryonic stem cell research. Furthermore, I am a cosponsor on a bill, HB76, which will prohibit embryonic cloning.
I appreciate your thoughtful roses and urge you to feel free to contact me anytime you wish to expressss a concern onthis or any other legislative matter.
My warmest regards,
Gerald L. Brady
House of Representatives
4th District
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