F is for Foolish

1.Lacking or exhibiting a lack of good sense or judgment...

Foolish? Am I foolish? I hope not. For the last week and a half in our family Bible study, we've been studying Proverbs. We've been learning about wisdom and seeing the contrasts between wisdom and foolishness. Proverbs 1:7 says "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." Fools despise discipline. Sometimes I bristle at discipline, but do I despise it. I'd better not. For it is far better to fear God and heed wisdom now than it is to try and find wisdom elsewhere when I need it...

E is for Eager

Today's word is eager. The number one definition from dictionary.com reads "keen or ardent in desire or feeling; impatiently longing." I'm not sure if people would describe me as being eager, but I've got a nine-year old son that certainly could be described as eager. He lately has been eager to help out around the house and can get disappointed if there's nothing he can do to help. He's been eager to eat the homemade fudge I made the other day (and he was also eager to help with that). It's good to be eager about worthwhile things (and no I'm not saying that being eager for fudge is a bad thing) and maybe I should be more eager about some things in my life.

D is for discursive

OK, discursive isn't a word I use regularly, but when I look at the first definition of it "passing aimlessly from one subject to another; digressive; rambling," I thought, gosh that sounds like my average work day. At times, I find it very easy to get distracted by some other "emergency" whether at work or at home. I know that I could stand to have a little more focus in my life. Hey, it's the ninth inning and it looks like the Nats are losing again.

C is for Chuck

I continue my trek through the alphabet. C is for Chuck - Chuck Bartowski, that is. Chuck is one of my favorite TV shows and I wish I didn't have to wait until spring for it to be back. I love the nerd action on the show and I love the spy action too. There's comedy, romance, nerds, spies, and JeffSter! Until Chuck comes back in the spring, I'll have to find something productive to do with my Monday nights!

Thank God It's Friday: Thank God for those meddling kids

Today, I thank God for those meddling kids. You know: Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy. Of course, I can't forget Scooby Doo. I really enjoyed Scooby Doo as a kid and now it seems that my boys can't get enough. It's good to be able to revisit some of my childhood with my boys. So, thank God for those meddling kids!

B is for Banjo

Banjo, yep, I own one. It's hiding in a closet somewhere. I bought a used banjo many years ago because I thought it would be neat to try and play Cheap Trick songs on the banjo. I don't think I ever got very far with that. Oh, well, it seemed like a cool idea at the time. I used it once in church when we did a song from Jars of Clay's Redemption Songs. I honestly can't remember the last time I played it. Maybe I should pick it up one day soon...

A is for Apathetic

I admit it.  Sometimes I might be considered apathetic.  "Having or showing little or no emotion"  Yeah, that could be me.  "Not interested or concerned"  Yeah, I've worn that definition, too.  I just don't care (smirk).

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind... Love your neighbor as yourself."  OK, that doesn't sound like apathy to me.  "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."  Oops, I'm guilty here.

"Heavenly Father, forgive me for not loving you as I should and not loving my neighbor.  Help me to be more like You because You are Love!"

Thus begins my journey through the alphabet picking out various words from the dictionary and finding the good and bad within me.  At least 25 more posts to come!

Learn to sing their songs

Wow, I wasn't expecting that when I checked out the comics (online) today that I would be inspired to blog. I was. Check out today's Cathy.

Now Cathy is not a strip from which I normally draw inspiration, but today there it is in the punchline. "Learn to sing their songs, and no one will care if you don't understand the lyrics." Here, it's referring to differences in the way men and women think, but doesn't it also apply in church? Suppose you see somebody at church singing along enthusiasticly. Do you assume that they're alright and know what's going on? Do you know if they're singing along only because the words are projected onto a big screen in front of them (or in a book in their hands if you've got hymnals)? Do they understand the lyrics ("Here I raise my Ebenezer?") or are they singing just to sing? Even worse, are they singing just so others will think they know it all and then nobody will bug them while they make a quick exit from the church after the service? Maybe they don't understand, maybe you do, or maybe you don't. Yes, God knows what's in their hearts as they sing, but the only way you'll ever get an inkling of it is through relationship. So, go out and build a relationship with the people singing around you in church. And don't forget to sing!

An Officer, a gentleman... and a Sargeant

In this post, I will attempt a magic trick, whereby I will combine three separate stories to make one point. Two of these stories are real and one is fictional - although I dare to say "It could happen." So without any further ado, pay no attention to the rabbit in the hat and let me begin with my act!

A year or two ago, with my wife and sons in the car with me, I got pulled over for failing to come to a complete stop before turning right on red. From my perspective, I stopped, saw that I was clear to make the turn and made the turn. The county police officer in the car behind me didn't quite see it that way. As the officer and I chatted, I asked him what constituted a complete stop. He told me "about two seconds." I don't know whether that is statutory or a matter of opinion, but he was the one with the badge and the ticket book and I wasn't. Thankfully, he only gave me a warning and we drove the remaining mile or so to get home. As I mentioned my two sons were in the car at the time. As a father, my primary purpose when with them is to train them up to be godly young men. One of the primary ways I do that is by trying to model a life I would want them to imitate. After all, they are both still at an age that wanting to be like Daddy is a good thing. With that in mind, since I got that warning, I've tried to be diligent at counting out "one Mississippi, two Mississippi" every time I've been making a right on red. I want my actions to be in keeping with my primary purpose.

A week ago Sunday, I played bass in the worship band at our church. After service, several people mentioned that I sounded good. After realizing that everyone who mentioned that was also a fellow musician and each of them count bass as one of the instruments they play, I at least was able to belay my concerns that my playing had been a little too conspicuous. But that did get me to reflect some on my purpose when up on the platform as part of the worship team. My purpose is not to draw attention to myself but to draw attention to Christ. Though I love to hear my fellow bass players when they play cool stuff, I'd hate for any of our bass playing to be the focus of the worship service. Now suppose someone had come up to me after the service and said "it sounded like you threw a little bit of 'Gonna Raise Hell' by Cheap Trick into one of those songs..." and then before I could grinning continued "... it was totally inappropriate." Ugh... Now, Cheap Trick at Budokan was what motivated me to play guitar in the first place and "Gonna Raise Hell" (from Dream Police) is what motivated me to play bass. If I had worked "Gonna Raise Hell" into the background of a worship song (I haven't) and somebody said something about it being appropriate (nobody has), I could have said "I'm just expressing who I am and God used that to help lead me into areas where I'm now serving Him. You may think it's inappropriate but I don't see it that way." (But officer, I came to what I thought was a complete stop!) When playing in the worship team, I need to keep my focus on the primary purpose of why I'm there: to glorify Christ and to draw attention to Him and not to me. So, if I can accomplish my primary purpose and still have fun with my playing, that's great, but if my playing gets in the way - not good.

It can be done. Sgt. Pepper tells me so. For my birthday, I got a copy of Sgt. Pepper Live DVD. Back in 2007 in Hollywood, Cheap Trick accompanied by a philharmonic orchestra and a few special guest stars performed the entire Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album live at the Hollywood Bowl to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the classic Beatle's albums release. Last year with a different orchestra and different guest stars they did it again in New York. The primary purpose of the performances was as a tribute to the Beatles - it wasn't intended as a normal Cheap Trick performance. Rick Nielsen played a custom guitar with pictures of the Beatles on it, Robin Zander effortlessly mimiced John Lennon and Ringo Starr's singing style (he didn't nail Paul McCartney but still sounded good), Tom Peterson nailed Paul's bass parts, and Bun E Carlos rocked Ringo's drum parts. The orchestra (and guest musicians) filled in the holes (or should I say they were fixing the holes?). Overall, it sounded phenomenal to me. Geoff Emerick, who had engineered the original Sgt. Pepper, co-produced the DVD. The first time I watched "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" I remember thinking Rick played a cool guitar lick as they were ending the song. The second time through, I paused and thought "wait a moment" and listened again to the end. Oh wow, I thought, they snuck in a bit of "Oh, Claire" to end the song. If you weren't familiar with the Cheap Trick track, you probably wouldn't have noticed it, but I did. It fit in perfectly and did not detract from "Lucy." Purpose of paying tribute to the Beatles, check, sneaking in a little bit for the CT fans, check! It's all good!

Thank God It's Friday: Thank God for Krazy Glue

Thursday night as we were getting the boys ready for bed, my younger son was having a meltdown because his Jedi fighter model was broken. It's one of the snap-together models and the pegs that hold the wings to the body broke. I told him it wasn't time to complain about things it was time to do our ready and go to bed.

However, since I'm a loving father, as soon as I came downstairs after putting the boys to bed, I found the model and I found the Krazy Glue. A quick dab of Krazy Glue and a little while holding the wing in place - voila! - the wing is in place. What can I say but Thank God for Krazy Glue.

I'm not really in a rut...

As you may have noticed, it seems like I'm in a bit of a rut, only churning out Thank God It's Friday posts. I don't know that I'm in a rut, I've actually got a few topics that I'm contemplating for blog posts. I haven't finished anything because it seems like I've been busy lately. But maybe I can do more writing while watching baseball....

Thank God It's Friday: Thank God...

Where were you eight years ago today?

Today, I thank God that eight years ago

• I lived in Virginia
• I worked in Maryland
• That through multiple sources (the internet, phone, radio, etc.) I heard what was happening
• That I didn't work in the Pentagon (or in the WTC)
• That I didn't have to fly anywhere that day
• That as I was driving home when the roads were surreally empty, I could see smoke rising from the Pentagon
• That I got home to be with my family

Though I may not understand it, I know "...that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)

Thank God It's Friday: Thank God for lazy summer days

OK, I'm a little late getting this up, but since it's a lazy summer day, I hope you can forgive me.

I've taken the last few days off to care for my wife as she had minor surgery on Wednesday. Our kids were with Grandma and Grandpa for most of that time and it was really quiet around the house. I got some of the chores done early. Yesterday, my wife and I sat out on the deck sipping our drinks and enjoying the cool early September weather. It was wonderful. Even if my wife was sore from the surgery, we were enjoying each other's company on a beatiful day. So today, I want to thank God for lazy summer days.