Meeting Luke

I call this blog "Mile Markers." If life is a journey, then these things I write about are the mile markers that give me perspective on where I am on that journey. One of the things that mark the miles on a personal journey best is the birth of a new family member. Especially the arrival of a baby from the 'next' generation. This week my family and I traveled to north Louisiana to meet that mile marker. His name is Luke. He is the son of my parent's first grandchild, Adrian and his wife Jessica. I had the honor of performing Adrian and Jessica's wedding a few years ago and now God has blessed them with a beautiful little baby boy. We're so proud for them!

In many ways, Adrian's own arrival seems just like yesterday - Yet here he is now with a child of his own. This makes me a Great Uncle. (In a genealogical sense I mean - No, I'm not bragging!) This also brings me one step closer to becoming a grandpa. (Wow - that sounds weird!)

Adrian was the typical first grandchild: Spoiled and celebrated and in like fashion we all had a wonderful time passing around little Luke this weekend. We all took our turns holding him and feeding him and getting our bearing on where we are on this journey through an extremely cute little mile marker named Luke. Congratulations Adrian and Jess! There is nothing on this journey I have enjoyed more than raising my children and I know you are going to enjoy little Luke so much!

Stones

Stones - They play a big role in God’s story. When God did something significant in the lives of people in the Old Testament, they would take stones and build a monument with them, memorializing forever what God had done. Remember the woman caught in adultery in the gospel? The law said she was to be stoned to death, and the religious leaders were more than ready to comply. However, when Jesus invited any one of them without sin to start the process, each of their stones soon fell to the ground. Then there’s the discussion between Jesus and Peter where Christ actually called him a stone. He clarified that Peter was a small stone in the story, but that Jesus Himself was the strong stone foundation of the church that the gates of hell would not prevail against. Of course the most infamous stone in the Bible was the one rolled against the mouth of the tomb that held the body of Jesus after His crucifixion. Through our message series in April at Crossroad's Church we’ll discover what these stones mean to us today.

Did We Ask For This?

I'm sure you've heard about the controversy and recalls taking place with Toyota cars where the accelerator sticks causing horrible accidents and panic. When I first heard about this I thought, "That's awful, but if it happened to me I would just throw the car into neutral!" Maybe you can't think that practically when your car is racing away with you.

Today it occurred to me that this is the very thing that happens in life some times. The accelerator gets stuck and life goes racing away with you. So many of us find ourselves in a panic, not knowing what to do! The answers seems so obvious to those who aren't in the same vehicle we find ourselves in. Today, maybe it's time to throw things in neutral. Pull off to the side of the road long enough to let God fix what's gone wrong. If we don't then there's a very good chance we're gonna crash and burn and we won't be able to blame it on anyone but ourselves. After all, like Toyota's original slogan said - "You asked for it, you got it."

24 Hours to Change America

I've recently discovered the show 24. Chase and I have watched the first seven seasons on DVD in the past month or so. (I admit - that's a lot of TV!) So here's where this has all led: I was thinking Jack Bauer would make a good president! We sure wouldn't have to worry about terrorists any more! We wouldn't have to worry about weasels like Eric Holder either. Can you imagine the Attorney General telling Jack that we need to provide terrorists with Miranda rights? It would be fun to see Jack take Holder by the throat and slam him up against the wall!

We also would be good to go on the Second Amendment. Jack would be all for us owning guns to protect ourselves and our property. Jobs wouldn't be a problem because someone has to bury all those dead terrorists. I bet it would only take Jack a few days to find Osama ben Laden! He'd get Chloe on those surveillance satellites and she would find him in no time!

It would be cool to hear him address the nation in those growling low hush tones he uses. "My fellow Americans, I'm about to sneak into President Ahmadinejad's bedroom and cut off his fingers!

I know there are many of you who will feel like I've just been watching too much 24 - But I disagree. I think I've watched too much political news coverage. The way these guys are handling things has me in the mood for someone who can ride in and turn things around. (In just 24 hours!)

My Take On The Oscars

Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz: Hands down, the best selection of the night. He was brilliant in this role.

Best Supporting Actress - Monique: Haven't seen it, but the clips make her look spectacular. She gets a little preachy in her acceptance speeches.

Best Actor - Jeff Bridges: Haven't see the movie, but I like Jeff Bridges.

Best Actress - Great movie, great performance on Sandra's part and you gotta be happy for her.

Best Director - Kathryn Bigalow: I liked the movie and I was glad to see her win over x-hubby Cameron.

Best Motion Picture - The Hurt Locker: Sorry, Aviator should have won. It kicked the doors down to the next era of film making and was a block buster that grossed over a billion dollars!

Gilligan's Island

Okay you guys know how much I love movies. I just read that Warner Brothers is planning a big screen version of Gilligan's Island (which I think is genius). So my question is: Who do you think should be cast in the roles of those eight characters we all loved so much back in the day? Here's my suggestions - I want to hear yours: We'll see what kind of casting directors we are!

Gilligan - John Krasinski

The Skipper - Bill Murray

Mr. Howell - Pierce Brosnan

Mrs. Howell - Jane Fonda

Ginger - Scarlett Johansson

The Professor - Kelsey Grammer

Mary Ann - Ann Hathaway

Romania

The team is getting ready to visit Romania once again. I won't make it this year. I'm bummed out about it and it got me thinking about this song I wrote about Romania a few years ago. Thought I'd post the lyrics.

The preacher said, “We must be doers!”
“It’s not enough just to hear the Word.”
He spoke of children living in sewers
and the message of hope that they never have heard
We arrived there in December
We came as strangers but we left as friends
The warmest welcome that I can remember
That welcome is where this whole story begins

I love you Romania
Keep coming back to you again and again
I don’t speak the language or relate to the anguish
But the song that we sang said we’d always be friends
Yes the song that we sang said we’d always be friends

Inspired by your revolution
The way you felt back in ‘89
Ten years later I jump to conclusions
about the way things were back in Communist times
Always a people of passion
My bus driver kicked a man in his head
Thanks to espresso and jetlag I’m passing
the time every night lying awake on my bed (but)

I love you Romania
Keep coming back to you again and again
I don’t speak the language or relate to the anguish
But the song that we sang said we’d always be friends
Yes the song that we sang said we’d always be friends

In the Hotel Dambavista
A gypsy wedding kept me up all night
I slept in and ordered Dracula’s Pizza
when I pulled back the shades and the sun was so bright
Wanted to send home a message
I dropped by the Internet Café
The anger that I felt that I must confess is
As I choked on the smoke it cost me 10,000 Lei! (still)

I love you Romania
Keep coming back to you again and again
I don’t speak the language or relate to the anguish
But the song that we sang said we’d always be friends
Yes the song that we sang said we’d always be friends

From Ceausescu’s Palace to the poorest man’s home
From the mountains of Sinaia to the Black Sea Coast
Been everywhere, seen all there is to see
I made my way in Romania and
Romania made it’s way in me