You might be a redneck if…
… this is your idea of a waterslide.
Yes, this is a real photo taken earlier today in northwest Missouri.
Unbelievable…
Seen at today’s Royals game…
Yep, someone ran on the field… a KU fan.
Figures… 
Earlier this evening, we arrived home right at the start of a spring rain shower. It turned into a spontaneous play opportunity, as you can see below…
I can only imagine what our neighbors must have thought as the five of us raced around the front yard in the downpour. Not that I care… we all had an absolute blast! The laughter of the kids is still ringing in my ears!
Anyway, I’ve got to ask… when is the last time you decided to play in the rain?
It’s critically important, you know. Not getting soaked in a gully-washer… of course not. But taking a few moments to enjoy and truly experience life in the middle of the craziness and difficulties God allows to come our way? How do you respond when the rains of life come?
Do you scramble madly for the safety and dryness of some sort of shelter? Do you reach immediately for your umbrella to try to keep yourself from getting drenched? Or do you soak in the moment on occasion, allowing yourself to experience it all, finding a few moments of simple joy in the coolness of raindrops falling on your face? Perhaps finding peace in simple remembrance of who controls the storms?
Perhaps something else?
We’ll never know unless we linger (and yes, maybe even play for a while) as the drops fall on and around us.
Oh yeah… I’m definitely loving the smoker / grill Nancy got me for my birthday!
I took time again today to fix some hickory-smoked brisket and pork, slow cooking everything for about 10 hours. I’ve gotta say, there’s simply no question… pork has definitely made the best BBQ I’ve fixed so far (just ask the Bragers)!
Anyway, here’s a photo to make you drool. Would share a photo of the final product, but it disappeared too fast…
Next time I’ll be smoking with the apple wood my friend Tom was able to find for me today… I’ve heard it makes for an even better meal! Can’t wait to find out!
Check it out… the Kung Fu Bear!
Supposedly, the footage is real, even if the video has been edited a bit to add music. Of course, even if it’s a fake, it’s still hilarious…
So… it’s been since April 27th since I posted anything here… since mid-February since I’ve posted anything more than a bit of commentary on a news story or some photos. I’m just not much of a blogger anymore.
Time seems to fly by anymore. I celebrated my 34th birthday recently (well, a month ago). Nancy and I celebrated 11 years of marriage last week. Jeffrey completed 1st grade today. Jenna wrapped up preschool last week. Allison is three, seemingly going on thirteen. I’ve been here in northwest Missouri 5 1/2 years already (seems like yesterday I accepted a position up here).
It’s crazy. I wake up every morning and rush to get ready for work. The drive to work is a peaceful 35 minute break… but it’s non-stop busy once I arrive. Quitting time comes around in the blink of an eye, and after another 35 minute drive, it’s rush rush rush once again at home. Dinner. Kids activities. Baths and bedtime. Household chores. Days fly by so fast.
Ever notice how life just doesn’t seem to leave much time for, well… living? Do you consider very often whether that’s what God really intends for us?
Consider John 10:10…
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
It seems to me that we’re bound to be least effective for God when we allow our lives to become full of the wrong things. We’re offered life, to the full, in Christ. Yet we readily accept life, full in schedule, activities, and other busyness. Filled with anything but the one who offers life. We let our time be stolen from us by the thief that comes to destroy us, and wonder why we find life itself sucked away.
Don’t get me wrong… there’s nothing inherently wrong with an active life.
We’ve just got to prioritize it right. Does Christ come first in yours?
Once every couple of years or so, there’s a news story indicating that Noah’s Ark may have been located. Today another such new story was announced: “Has Noah’s Ark Been Found on a Turkish Mountaintop?”.
It’s amazing news if it’s true. But I have to wonder… what impact would such a discovery have on the world as we know it? For those who accept the Bible as truth, particularly those who accept the accounts in Genesis as literal truth (rather than figurative truth), it clearly reinforces faith.
But what about an unbelieving world? Does such a discovery reduce barriers to belief? Does it give people reason to pause and examine longstanding notions about truth?
I’m curious to see.
Gotta love this parody video poking fun at Climategate, courtesy of Minnesotans For Global Warming…
BTW, the creators of this video have been threatened with legal action by Michael Mann, the Penn State professor depicted in the video. Get a sense of humor, dude!
This story is sickening on so many levels:
“Sarasota doctor’s license revoked for aborting wrong fetus”.
The basics (for those of you who don’t click through to the story)? A husband and wife had conceived twins through in vitro fertilization. Tests showed that one of the two had the markers for Down Syndrome. A Florida OB-GYN agreed to selectively terminate the pregnancy for the Down’s Syndrome child. In the process of doing so, he inadvertently injected the healthy child with a killing chemical and terminated the “wrong” child’s life.
How sick has our society become that we see the tragedy here that the “wrong” child was aborted?
How sick is it that statistics now show 80-90% of children diagnosed in utero as likely to have Down’s Syndrome are now aborted?
Life has apparently never been worth less. Though society supposedly abhors euthanasia, I wonder how long it will be before that too is acceptable. After all, if it’s okay to kill a Down’s Syndrome kid in the womb (late in the 2nd trimester), why not take the next step and allow the same after birth?
God help us. Our society is sick beyond belief.
(For more on this particular story, check out Al Mohler’s blog.)
Wow. If you need yet another example of why our nation is in trouble (or even if you don’t), watch this.
Amazingly enough, this is real footage… not an April Fool’s joke, not creative editing… Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia (a Democrat) apparently thinks islands float, and is concerned that Guam might actually “tip over and, uh, capsize” if a proposed action to move troops and their families there proceeds.
HT: Marty Duren