Behold the Lamb

Two weeks ago I was invited by the in-laws to come to their church in north Austin to see a christmas concert. Of course I headed to this thing with must skepticism expecting a rousing chorus of O little Town of Bethlehem and Silent Night. What I was treated to was an evening of some of the best Christian music I have heard in a long time. It was a concert called "Behold the Lamb of God" and it was Andrew Peterson along with Jill Philips, Sara Groves and Bebo Norman (Bebo being the only one I had ever heard of). The second half of their show was the Behold the Lamb portion and it was moving (I recommend Andrew Peterson's website and you can hear all of these song in their entirety for free http://www.andrew-peterson.com/music.php). Its a story of Jesus, but not just the navitity, its a story of how the entire Bible points both toward and back to Jesus.

One song moved me in particular and it was sung by Jill Phillips called "Labor of Love". The lyrics such:

It was not a silent nightThere was blood on the groundYou could hear a woman cryIn the alleyways that nightOn the streets of David's town

And the stable was not cleanAnd the cobblestones were coldAnd little Mary full of graceWith the tears upon her faceHad no mother's hand to hold
It was a labor of painIt was a cold sky aboveBut for the girl on the ground in the darkWith every beat of her beautiful heartIt was a labor of love

Noble Joseph at her sideCallused hands and weary eyesThere were no midwives to be foundIn the streets of David's townIn the middle of the night

So he held her and he prayedShafts of moonlight on his faceBut the baby in her wombHe was the maker of the moonHe was the Author of the faithThat could make the mountains move
It was a labor of painIt was a cold sky aboveBut for the girl on the ground in the darkWith every beat of her beautiful heartIt was a labor of loveFor little Mary full of graceWith the tears upon her faceIt was a labor of love.

Now you have to go to either the website or iTunes to hear the emotion she puts into this song, but it is great.

What's good for the goose is obviously NOT good for the gander.

Or at least I would say that is how our fearless leaders in both Austin and Washington feel and think toward the huddled masses yearning to be free.

This past Tuesday as I was sequestered in my house due to the Great Texas Ice Storm of '07 I found myself watching the beginning of the governor's inauguration that was held indoors in the State House of Rep's chamber. Of course what did the ceremonies begin with? Why of course a singing of the national anthem, and the recital of the national pledge of allegiance (and the Texas pledge which for the life of me I can't remember ever being taught). So of course I asked myself why the great career politicians can begin their day with the pledge to our country's flag, but my son will probably never be taught this or say this pledge to Old Glory in all of his school days. It may be up to us as parents to teach Noah the pledge of allegiance, but he may never have the opportunity or need in the future (maybe a pledge to the great red white and green eagle if you get the reference to our future overlords).

So that not being enough for the day I had another encounter later. I don't know if it was my interest in a pure government (or desire to see such, my second favorite old movie is "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) or my hate for Judge shows and Dr. Phil, but I found myself tuning in to CSPAN or one of those shows that shows the U.S. House of Representatives live. It was an interesting part b/c it was the beginning of a session or something. The speaker entered (to a podium etched in the grand Washinton-esk marble 'In God We Trust') with slight version of the pomp and circumstance that is deserving of such a great government lead by such great leaders as Washinton, Jackson, Lincoln, Roosevelt and Eisenhower to name a few. But something peculiar happened. The session was opened with ....hmmm what could it have been...but the national pledge of allegiance. This same pledge that our great judges in the land are banishing from our schools at an ever alarming rate. And why is this being removed from our public lives? Because of the phrase, "one nation, under God...".

They should take the Bald Eagle off of the endangered species list and put "...One nation under God.." on the list. Or could we just put national pride and tradition on that list.

So what was the first lesson and probably the best lesson I ever learned about leadership. "LEAD FROM THE FRONT", was the greatest lesson a staff sergeant in the Marine Corps taught me in my impressionable freshman year at college. So why can't our leaders vote to support what they already do on a daily basis to preserve such a time honored tradition for our future sons and daughters, patriarchs and patriots. May God bless America and I pray that American would start to bless God before we lose him altogether.

Its not such a wonderful life on TV, anymore

I consider myself a self diagnosed TV alcoholic and I am attempting to limit TV in my life with the help of the DVR (In my opinion the most influential invention of this decade). However I have become increasingly despondent about the utter crap that passes for TV these days. Really looking at how much TV I really watch these days instead of simple a background of din I can only name a handful of shows that I watch with true intent.

The other day however I was flipping through the guide and came across a marathon of Growing Pains. Now for those in my generation who grew up wanting to be Mike Seaver, wished Mr. Belvedere would clean our kitchen, and maybe even secretly wished we had a long lost cousin from the island of Mepos this was a great time for nostalgic TV. If it is an episode of Growing Pains or the Cosby Show I find myself enjoying these "Nick at Nite ish" shows.

I cannot bear to watch sitcom TV anymore these days because very few (if any i can't remember) resemble the nuclear family. Any very few teach lessons anymore, it seems as if Hollywood has decided that the "Leave it to Beaver" lesson outline of every show has been worn out. However they have swung completely to the other end of the spectrum and seek out laughs only at the expense of the family, the father figure or religion.

I wonder sometimes was life really that innocent back then or was our media and entertainment just that naive. You know they say life imitates art or is it the other way around art imitating life. Anyway watching these shows make me long for a more innocent time, if it was the decade itself or just my life stage during that time.

Whatever it is here is Cheers to the Seavers. May you not be Perfect Strangers is this day and age devoid of morales.

So I'm not that good with computers and HTML and everything. I have tried for the last 10 minutes to do everything this cotton picking website wanted me to do to get a photo posted in my profile, but everytime I fix what it didn't like before it gives me something new. So here it is folks, here is a pic of me and my son Noah. Enjoy and I hope this helps you picture this crazy man behind the words.

So this year I turned 28 and I realized how frightenly close that is to 30. So what is one to do, obviously get an IPod and a blog of course. I'm not to sure how this blog thing will work out.
About the closest thing I can relate to a blog is Doogie Howser, MD (I think I misspelled the young doctors name wrong, but he won't care b/c he probably wont ever read this). For those of you who are too young Doogie was a doctor who at the end of every show would write in his Tandy computer's log all his personal thoughts and lessons that he learned from the previous 30 minutes....or was it an hour.

Anyhow, I haven't quite decided how I'm going to run this blog. Should I share everything about myself or just comment on those things that I see around me. Should I include exclusive spoilers about a popular TV show (I know that will make my blog famous). However I think I may just play it by ear. Who knows if there will actually be anyone who reads this, I may just be typing for my own sanity sake or for the posterity for my children.

Here's hoping to a successful blog, see you all surfing.