Winter

It feels like winter has finally decided to arrive, much to my dismay. When I walk outside on a cold night I am often reminded of Percy Shelly's "The Cold Earth Slept Below."

The cold earth slept below;
Above the cold sky shone;
And all around,
With a chilling sound,
From caves of ice and fields of snow
The breath of night like death did flow
Beneath the sinking moon.

The wintry hedge was black;
The green grass was not seen;
The birds did rest
On the bare thorn's breast,
Whose roots, beside the pathway track,
Had bound their folds o'er many a crack
Which the frost had made between.

Thine eyes glow'd in the glare
Of the moon's dying light;
As a fen-fire's beam
On a sluggish stream
Gleams dimly—so the moon shone there,
And it yellow'd the strings of thy tangled hair,
That shook in the wind of night.

The moon made thy lips pale, beloved;
The wind made thy bosom chill;
The night did shed
On thy dear head
Its frozen dew, and thou didst lie
Where the bitter breath of the naked sky
Might visit thee at will.

Motivation

Pastor Bo's sermon hit me right between the eyes today. I was wrestling with the matter of my motivation in worship and obedience just this morning. I went into the worship service feeling completely spent. It was one of those rare moments when I just didn't want to be there with all the people and all the singing. If I could have slipped away unnoticed and just been quiet for awhile I think I would have done it. The whole time I was singing I didn't even lift my eyes to the screen and felt my spirit reprimanding me, "The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. (Isaiah 29:13)." Yes, I looked like I had just swallowed a toad that had been sweating profuselt. In short, the only reason I found myself was because I had to be. It felt like taking vitamins; it tastes bad but I know it's good for me so I'll do it.

I need to reconnect with God in my heart. Move away from the broken cistern and drink freely from the fountain.

If Iwo Jima Happened Today

A tribute to the Marines and a slap on the modern media.

Political Landscape

As a Republican I have to admit that there is some strategic value to losing the House and possibly Senate to the Democrats. Unlike the Republican Revolution in '94, the incoming class of Democrats do not have an overarching strategic or tactical plan akin to the Contract With America. Many candidates seem to have run on a platform of "at least I'm not George Bush", and it worked to disenchanted voters who had become contemptful of the power grubbing establishment. The thing is, I don't hear how any of them have any meaningful, credible plans to actually fix any problems. I suspect that the sunset provisions on Bush's tax cuts might now be allowed to expire without renewal. Few things give Democrats more ecstasy than raising taxes. So, in a couple years voters will be faced with no greater international leadership, a social security and medicare system that's just as broke, a continued healthcare crisis, conflict and debate over illegal immigration and even more deadlock between the two parties with the only change being higher taxes on the horizon. Again, this is the perfect storm setting the stage for an independent candidate to emerge who actually has a freakin' plan to freakin' fix something. But maybe that's just wishful thinking.

Nightmare

I had a dream last night that I left Chatham to work for JP Morgan. It was one of those incredibly realistic dreams too. One can only imagine my relief when I woke up and realized it was just a dream. A very, very bad dream.

Waiting for '08

So, I was looking up the details on how to write myself in and apparently I missed the deadline. According to Delaware's website, "The deadline for candidates to file for office is 12 Noon on the last Friday in July of the year of the General Election."

I guess that means Castle is going to have two years left in D.C. Dang it.

Moses

So I've been reading through Deuteronomy the last few days for my personal devotions. I know this isn't a new discovery in the history of the study of Scripture, but I'm struggling a lot more with it this time: if Moses were alive today he would be prosecuted for war crimes on the level with Saddam Hussein. I'm only in chapter four, but he has already committed genocide at least once or twice depending on how you look at it. Speaking of Sihon it is written, "So we captured all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, women and children of every city. We left no survivor" (2:34). And speaking of Og it is written, "And we utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women and children of every city" (3:6). In both cases they tool all the animals and spoils of the cities (2:35, 3:7). Both Sihon and Og were Amorites which is why you might consider it one act of genocide and not two.

How do you explain that one of the "heroes of the faith" committed war crimes? If your answer is simply, "because God told him too" then how do you argue with the Muslim terrorists who crashed into the Twin Towers "because God told them too"? Both Moses and the terrorists were seeking a reward; at least the terrorists were looking for one in the afterlife and not just land on earth.

The traditional explanation (other than the one listed above) is that God was judging the peoples who lived in that land. And Scripture supports that as back in Genesis 15 God speaks of his promise to Abraham, "Then in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete." As a sidebar, that's pretty amazing that God seemed to be patiently waiting for roughly 500 years to deal with the Amorites and how he orchestrates the events of history. Back to my point though, again it just makes me wonder about the contemporary parallel that many of the Muslim terrorists also think they are God's way of judging the infidels. Should we as Christians living in America believe we are under judgement by these attacks? Or is that an "old dispensation"? And did Moses really have to kill every child? Is it possible God did deliver the Amorites over to Moses to be defeated as an act of judgement, but Moses and the Israelites took it one step further on their own volition and completed the massacre? Perhaps I haven't come across it yet, but I have not seen where God instructed them to kill every man, woman and child and to leave no survivor.

Filing this under "things that keep me up at 4 am."

Troops Respond To Kerry

In case you haven't made it over to Jeff's blog lately, I thought I'd go ahead and post this on mine as well. Pretty funny.

Live From Greenville

Well, as perhaps you could tell, I am now back in action with my DSL. Verizon even got the job done a couple days ahead of time. Sweet.

The hectic pace of the last month has taken a toll. I currently have 892 messages in my e-mail inbox. I'm not joking. And none of those are spam messages. Of the 892 outstanding messages, 250 have come in the last month. That's just crazy talk. So, if you have e-mailed me recently and are wondering why you haven't heard back from me, please know I am a little behind on my correspondence.

I am very, very happy with the way my apartment is looking. The Lamp Shack is now open. I would have never guessed I would have enjoyed setting it up as much as I have. Thanks yet again to everyone who helped me move and to those who have helped me bounce around some decorating ideas. Manly decorating ideas, I might add. Tanya, I'll try to get some pictures up at some point. I have not yet joined the modern era and purchased a digital camera so it could take awhile. I'll also try to find an open date on the calendar for an open house party.
Good times.

Hell's Take on Phase 3

My thanks to Jake who shared this with me awhile back. In the tradition of the Screwtape Letters here is a modern little soundbyte to think about as Celebration Sunday approaches.

Putting Together My Cabinet

So I just spent some time trying to read up on the various candidates. This only added to my previously posted frustration. I have now firmly decided that I will write myself in for the US House of Representatives for Delaware. Given voter turnout for non-presidential elections, I figure that one vote alone puts me in the running.

I also figure I could probably put together a pretty decent staff. I have some really talented friends:

Economic advisor - Aaron M.
Press secretary - Becky M.
Education secretary - Sara E.
Legal counsel - Paula Y.
Social issues advisor - Jesse B.
Urban development advisor - Joseph W.
Criminal justice advisor - Laura C.
Defense secretary - Jeff A.
Secret Service - David H.
Environmental Protection advisor - Angela W.
Speech Writer - Erin R.

Are you in the Lamp Camp?

Let Lamp Light the Way!

I am Steve Lamp and I approve this message.

Crime Rankings

It looks like baseball isn't the only thing Detroit is second to St. Louis in. Though maybe that's not such a bad thing in this case.

Fully Prepared To Throw Away My Vote

Two years ago I nearly voted for the Constitutional Party candidate for President. It wasn't until I was in the booth that I finally made up my mind. Today, I am even more disgusted with both political parties than I was in 2004. Neither one seems to have a compelling and realistic vision for the future that represents my core values and beliefs. If ever there was a time for an independent candidate to step up, this would be it. Just show me someone with an actual platform and strategy and not just soundbytes that slam the other party. I'm sure that's too much to ask though.

I am quite tempted to go in and simply vote against every incumbant. I think we need a complete overhaul. I want to be the kind of voter that gives people like Karl Rove and James Carville ulcers. If nothing else, I am definitely going against party lines and voting against Mike Castle as our Representative. I'm still ticked at the Democrats for killing social security reform though so maybe I'll just write myself in on the ticket. One of my high school dreams was to one day become a US Senator. It's times like these that I think I should actually try to do it.

Clarification on Conpsiracy Posting

It seems I may have erred or at least miscommunicated in my previous comments about oil. First, I don't want to seem as though I am attempting to protect or support "big oil." Creighton pointed out a good article from the NY Times about a legal loophole that the oil companies are grossly exploiting. They are certainly not innocent little angels. Also, it is definitely true that they influence the price of oil and gasoline. Again, it's all about supply and demand curves. They (and OPEC and Russia and China and Joe Shmoe producer who has an old oil well on his property) all contribute to the overall global supply of crude. My intention was to counter some liberal blogs and anyone who might catch wind of their theories and explain that I don't believe they (big oil companies and politicians) single-handedly have control over the global market price of oil and they are now lowering it to their advantage just before the election.

At the risk of stirring up more controversy, it should be noted that alternative fuels are also highly subsidized. In addition, I find it ironic that the federal government is giving tax credits for the purchase of hybrid automobiles even though the market is dominated by foreign car manufacturers. So, one could look at it as though our government is subsidizing the profits of Toyota and Honda. (And before I receive 100 comments on how that's simply Detroit's fault, it is worth noting that GM is ahead of its foreign rivals in its production of E85 automobiles and is also close to a clean-diesel platform not to mention their billion dollar bet on hydrogen.)

Almost There

Well, I now have a working phone line and I received the components for my DSL, but I am still waiting for someone at Verizon to flip the switch and activate my service. (I'm writing this on my lunch break.) I don't really understand how that works and how it can take several weeks for something latently available in a telecommunications system to be tested and activated.

It reminds me of a commercial I saw years ago for an auto parts store. A guy drops off his car at the mechanic's shop and rides by it day after day on the bus wondering when it will be repaired. After a couple calls asking when it will be ready, the mechanic replies "I've got my best guys on it right now." The camera pans outside and three large guys are literally sitting or lying on the car eating their lunch.

It's Not a Conspiracy

So at lunch on Sunday there was some discussion that the recently lower gas prices were a result of a vast right wing conspiracy led by President Bush and Vice President Cheney. I tried to explain how the price of oil and gasoline are set primarily by market supply and demand and how recent supply and demand factors converged to result in a new, lower market price. To provide additional support for my argument, I would encourage everyone to read the following articles.

• CNSNews
• USA Today
• Business Week

(By the way, I find it ironic that many Bush opponents who accuse him of inventing this comprehensive, effective conspiracy to lower gas prices are also some of the same people who think he's not very smart. It's sounds like it would take a genius to pull that off to me.)

Getting Closer

So, as the technical saga continues, I ended up switching to Verizon since apparently that was the only way I could also get DSL. It's more expensive and has less features than Cavalier, but I am lost without the DSL connection. My phone service got up and running last night which I am excited about, but my DSL is not scheduled to be up until early November. I'm hoping it will end up being earlier than that.

I am enjoying settling into my new place. I even received a plant from a co-worker yesterday which is very cool, and I ordered a beta fish tank that Becky referenced in her blog. (I've long wanted to have a pet that I could name "Sturgo." I still have to hang all of my pictures/art on the wall, and my fouton is only partially re-assembled. I will be happy when it's all finished. I'm hoping it will be a comfortable, cozy yet distinctively manly confine when all is complete.

Technical Hiatus

Well, for the time being I do not have phone or DSL service at home. Hence the lack in blog postings of late. In fact, it could be close to a month by the time I am finally up and running again.

To explain, a few weeks ago after I signed the lease on my new apartment I called to get phone service (with Cavalier). Then, my apartment community said my apartment would not be ready in time and I would have to pick another one. By then, my phone order was already in process and could not be changed until service was established. But, apparently it takes 10-15 business days for that change to occur (I can't even imagine why). And, I called Verizon to get DSL (since Cavalier doesn't offer it at my location), but they can't get me signed up until I have a functioning phone line. Add to that the time it takes for the DSL modem and such to be delivered. Grrrr. Unlimited technology from the ends of the universe and I can't even get a phone to work.

Okay, so I am at the library now typing this and need to leave for small group. Take care and I'll try to post as much as I can in the days and weeks ahead. Maybe by then I'll have something worth reading.

Bumperstickers

I think I will add a new featurette to my blog: Bumper Sticker of the Day. I have mixed emotions about bumper stickers. I would never put one on my car and yet I am drawn to read those of others. I saw one at Wal-Mart the other day that kind of made me do a double-take:

"God doesn't believe in atheists."

Tidbits from Slidell

I want to say thank you for everyone who lifted up a prayer for us this past week as we worked in Slidell, LA. I feel that we worked with great effort and effectiveness and were able to make an impact in the time that we had. It wasn't a life-changing experience or anything, just a few days of tough, grimy work.

Favorite Experience: Gutting out a house over two days
Least Favorite Experience: Fighting a sinus infection throughout the week and missing a day of work with the team

All the Chatham folks were amazing. Such a tremendous group of hard workers and team players. It was great to enjoy that connection with them outside of the office. I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity. There's still a lot of work to do. For more information, please see http://www.restonbible.org/katrina/chronicle/