Green Christmas

The commercialization of Christmas is nothing new, although it may feel that way to us. The classic satire, Green Christmas by Stan Freberg, illustrates this from 50 years ago. This song used to be on a Christmas music cassette that I listened to as a kid, and I enjoyed it greatly.

Thanksgiving Proclamation

I still find President George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789 to be one of the most beautiful political speeches I have ever read.

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

What My Blog and My 401k Have In Common

Both have been falling this year. I like to see if I am attracting and retaining visitors to my site as a measure of gauging the resonance of my thoughts. Viewership is definitely down on Lamponian Wisdom.


So, how can I boost my ratings?

Quite Possibly The World's Most Perfect Water Bottle

A couple weeks ago when I was at Target, I picked up a new BPA free water bottle, the Thermos Intak. This thing is awesome. Even though it holds 24 oz., it still fits in my car's cupholder. And unlike my Camelbak, you don't have to suck through a straw and the mouthpiece allows an ideal flow of water. Plus, the mouthpiece is well protected yet easily accessible which is nice when I am working out at the Y and don't want to handle it with my germy hands. I have noticed that I have been drinking more water since I got it. Oh, and it even has a little dial on the lid so you can track the number of refills and know how much you have been drinking. I showed it to a coworker and she went out that night and bought a purple one and loves it. I highly recommend it.

Marathon

Today I enjoyed the great thrill of watching my friend Jacob complete the Philadelphia Marathon. It was an amazing achievement, all the more so for having been ran on a frigidly cold day with pain for the latter part of the race and in still just 3 hours and 30 minutes.

Two things stood out to me most. One was that I experienced a newfound understanding and appreciation for Hebrews 12:1.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

The other is being shown yet again the great strength, courage and determination that resides in my friend.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat. - Theodore Roosevelt

Through This Dark Night

An e-mail from a friend prompted me to take out an old journal this evening that covered one of my "dark nights." I remembered around the time I was writing that I put together a CD that told the story of the year, and that two songs by the same artist formed something of a book-end for my experience: Silence and The Valley Song by Jars of Clay (Regretably there are no official videos, but these were the songs.)



"scream
deeper, i wanta scream
i want you to hear me
i want you to find me
i, i want to believe
but all i pray is wrong
and all i claim is gone

well, i, i got a question
i got a question
where are you?"



"When death like a Gypsy
Comes to steal what I love
I will still look to the heavens
I will still seek your face

But I fear you aren't listening
Because there are no words
Just the stillness and the hunger
For a faith that assures"

The agonizing thing about my "dark night" experience of faith, is that the thing that should have brought me the most comfort seemed to only accentuate the pain. Not only was there deadness or dryness when I would try to read, pray or worship but it seemed to only further wring my heart. Fortunately, over enough time, experience and healing, the darkness lifted but it was not a pleasant journey. In hindsight I think John of the Cross was right:

"No soul will ever grow deep in the spiritual life unless God works passively in that soul by means of the dark night."

Snow

I woke up this morning at 3:30, looked outside, and in the streetlights saw there was already snow on my car. Why do I live here? The weather sucks almost half the year.

The song Boston by Augustana has always resonated with me, except for me it would be in reverse because I would want to get away from the snow and the sunrise and head somewhere warm like California.

She said I think I'll go to Boston
Think I'll start a new life
I think I'll start it over
Where no one knows my name
I'll get out of California
I'm tired of the weather
Think I'll get a lover
And fly him out to Spain
I think I'll go to Boston
I think that I'm just tired
I think I need a new town
To leave this all behind
I think I need a sunrise
I'm tired of a sunset
I hear it's nice in the summer
Some snow would be nice
Oh yeah

Not Much To Say

I have a received a few comments recently noting that I have been slack in my blogging. I really appreciated that as it was nice to know there are interested readers out there. I guess I feel like I haven't had much to say lately. And, the things that have been on my mind, such as work, are not things I would be comfortable offering for global public consumption. Also, I've been a little burned out on economics, politics and religion which tend to be the primary emphases and materials of my blog.

Maybe I need a new hobby . . .

Strange Lights

So, uh, did anyone else notice some strange lights in the sky tonight? What appeared to be something like a bunch of spotlights vertical in the sky, only it was over a large area. What kind of strange meteorological event was that?

There Will Be Blood

So I had a new experience today. After work, Becky and I donated blood at the American Red Cross. She is a blood drive veteran, but it was a first for me.


It felt good to do my small part to help someone in desperate need. Besides, I figure if Jesus shed his blood for me, the least I can do is share a pint of mine.

Check out the Red Cross and sign up to donate today!

I Know I'm Home When . . .

A few indications that I am home in Ohio:

1. The sign on the YMCA door says you can not work out in your jeans and work boots.
2. The other sign on the YMCA door says no firearms permitted in the building.
3. The KFC has a buffet line.
4. Drivers stop at red lights.
5. You genuinely think of the people living next to you as your neighbors.

Keep On Rockin' In The Free World

This song came up on my iTunes this morning. Sounded appropriate for an election week soundtrack.

Right here, right now
Watching the world wake up from history

Target Is Awesome

I just want to say that Target is definitely my favorite department store. It is a little bit more expensive than Wal-Mart, but since there's no sales tax in Delaware it kind of washes out. I noticed tonight that they made a change in their receipts so that your purchases are sub-categorized into "grocery, health & beauty, home, etc." There is also a "+" sign for items that can be deducts from your FSA. These are small things that most non-accountants probably would never notice but it's just another simple, common sense gesture that makes a lot of sense and makes for a more satisfied consumer. And they definitely have the best pharmacy bottles around.

Yeah Target.

President Obama

The campaigns are finally over. I thought he have a good acceptance speech last night.

A few excerpts that struck me:

This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

To my fellow Republicans I ask that we be gracious in our loss. Do not succumb to bitter cynicism, anger, defeatism. Do not immediately set out to oppose all that he offers. Give him a chance. We do need to move forward together as a nation and cooperate on many opportunities. We don't have to disagree with everything someone proposes just because they are of a different party.

I hope that Obama and the Democratic Congress will start out on things that have a broad, resonant connection with America such as energy independence and rebuilding our infrastructure. Be humble in your victory and resist the opportunity to "stick it to the Republicans."