Great Discussion on Falwell, Faith, and in the end, love

Adam and Jeremy: Adam and Jeremy Say: People Hate Us and Liberty

These guys have an honest and frank discussion on hatred that is misplaced, and how the community should love each other no matter the circumstances.

Fake D.A. to save our country and Col. Hts. Tragedy

Well, well, well...It looks like the GOP will actually have a dog in the hunt (upcoming presidential race). Fake D.A. on Law & Order Fred Thompson looks like he's going to declare his intention to run for the highest office in the land around or on July 4.

At first glance, I like Thompson. He seems to be a man of principles that isn't so wrapped around bowing down to the party agenda. He seems to be a true conservative, which is what this county needs. "Ken Doll" Romney better watch out!

G.W., God bless him, is in way over his head. I think he means well, but he just doesn't have the political savvy to be leader of the free world.

On another note, Col. Heights had a small but terrible tragedy happen this week. Mark Mingea, father, son, and husband passed away. Mark was a great guy. He was the first adult to really take interest in C., my special needs son, when we started going to Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. C. would always light up when he saw Mark, as would Mark. My prayers go out to the family. Here is the funeral information.

My Bubble Burner Has Arrived

Everybody knows that the only true way to improve your golf game is to...buy new equipment. Lessons are fine. Going to the range is good. If you really want to improve, however, buy a new club.

It doesn't have to be brand new, just new to you.

The Taylor Made Bubble Burner driver I bought off of ebay arrived yesterday afternoon. It is a beautiful club. Couldn't wait to go to Swaders, the local driving range in Colonial Heights. To my surprise and chagrin, the club hasn't made me ready for the pro tour.

Only one answer here...buy another club!

Reaction from both "sides" to Falwell's death is misguided

In my opinion, the reason get so many people get so bent out of shape in regard to Jerry Falwell's death is that their venom/vitriol or love/adoration is misplaced.

Jerry Falwell was a pastor, politico, church builder, father, grandfather, but most importantly, human. Mr. Falwell said some very stupid things while on this earth. He also built a very influential university and church that have lead, dare I say, thousands to Christ.

The point being, people turn their attention always to the person, not the message. As Paul said, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23 NIV). This means eventhough Falwell worked hard to win souls to Christ, he still sinned. We all do. My pastor does as does yours.

Just because you're in the public eye, it doesn't mean you have a shorter pathway to redemption. Both Christians and non Christians should stop over emphasizing a man's life and realize the message that Christ saves is what's important.

Pluralism is not a set of beliefs

As I've stated proudly before, I'm a Christian. This post isn't about me bringing you over to my side. This is a post about the proliferation of the idea that everyone's ideas can be correct. Our society is becoming more and more accepting of the "fact" that there are several truths out there.

The pluralistic idea is pure absurdity. Truth is truth. It is or it isn't. Are there questions in life? Absolutely. Are there areas of life that we won't know the answers to until we meet our maker? Of course. The idea that everyone's ideas about life's truths are correct just doesn't hold water. If everyone is correct in their search for truth, then who's wrong?

Grow up America. There is a right and a wrong. I'm tired of having to apologize for that. Do I believe that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life? ABSOLUTELY. Am I closed minded enough not to listen to other opinions? NO. Faith closes the gaps when the facts aren't there or just don't make sense.

I'm sure there are those that will think I'm close minded for stating this opinion. I truly welcome your comments in order to have an interesting conversation.

Customer Service Tale of Woe

Let me start by saying that Birkdale in Chesterfield is a beautiful golf course. The staff is extremely friendly and the golf is cheap for what you get.

My first 9 holes of golf played were extremely fun BUT I am very bad. Hole one I bogied, which is great! The other holes...not so good. I had a great time with buddies from work. They humored me and tried to pretend that I wasn't as bad as I was. However, I'm now officially hooked.

On the way home, I decided to call and confirm an introductory golf lesson at an unnamed store in Glen Allen. Let's just say they're bigger than a "universe" of golf. I called twice and got disconnected twice by the same "customer service" rep. I then called back the third and final time and asked to not be hung up on this time. I was promptly transferred successfully to an assistant manager. All I wanted to do was confirm my lesson and ask if I needed to bring in my free introductory lesson certificate. You see, I forgot my certificate at work in the excitement of hitting the links for the first time, so I have some blame here. The assistant manager would be perfectly suited to work in our DMV system as she was ever so helpful. I actually told the manager that I would pay for a full lesson if needed, I just needed to know if she could give me another certificate. After much back and forth, she said that she woud have a certificate waiting for me at the front of the outer reaches of the store. She then gave me such a sarcastic and insincere "thank you" that I wanted to drive to Glen Allen and hit her over the head with a 4 iron.

Problem is, I'd probably miss.

Happy Memorial Day and Watch out Golfers in Virginia

I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!

Thanks to RVAblogs.com for linking my experiment to their awesome list of Richmond, VA blogs. Check them out!

I'm going out on the golf course for my first official foray into the awesome yet extremely frustrating game of golf. Been to the driving range several times, but not so sure I'm gonna tear it up out there. All I can say is watch out to everyone that is to the right of my tee shot!

When You Realize Your Child Isn't Like Everyone Else

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My son C. has special needs. That's a simple sentence. But that sentence is probably one of the heaviest statement a parent can say.

This isn't a "woe is me" type of post. This is a post that is meant to try to illustrate the complex flurry of emotions a parent goes through during the initial realization that your child is going to be "different."

My wife found out that our son C. had hydrocephalus during an ultrasound. We were completely thrown for a loop. We had already done an amniocentesis, by my urging of my wife, with no indications of any "issues." I actually didn't attend the ultrasound because I figured we'd been given a clean bill of health. My wife called me with the news. Your mind immediately starts spinning. Wonderful and terrible thoughts immediately claim stake to your brain and begin a vicious war. Panic typically wins for a while. Anything said usually is something you regret. I know I said some things to my wife, which she's forgiven me for, but I will continually apologize to her.

My son is now 4 going on 5. He's made miraculous progress and I'm so glad we have him in our lives. People still look at him when he walks with his little kid walker, but his smile and awesome attitude usually disarms anyone's preconceived notions.

Last night we had an acquaintance at church relay to us that one of their children has some special needs. I saw in this lady's face the questioning look and could almost hear the thoughts fighting inside her head.

The good news is that God means all things for good for those that believe in him. Relying on that will help eventhough it's so easy to forget that promise in the midst of such a personal storm.

Richmond Zoo is Cool...Dog Fighting Stupid

I'm beginning to realize that blogging is a lot like exercising...it's hard to do it regularly but fun once you actually force yourself to get started.

I went with my middle daughter K. to the Richmond Metro Zoo on Tuesday for a school field trip. It was really fun. Every student almost had a parent with them so we could roam about without any agenda. The zoo is owned by a family and completely put together by them. That being said, they have some really cool animals out there.

My beloved Redskins have found themselves in some hot water recently because of comments by Clinton Portis. Portis basically came out to try to defend Michael Vick against the recent allegations of involvement in dog fighting. There are several people to blame here. Vick shouldn't have been involved in anything close to dog fighting. Portis shouldn't have made his initial comments. He then shouldn't have gone on NFL Network to try to defend himself and end up making even stupider comments. Finally, why did the Redskins even let Portis make any additional comments. As Riggo said on his radio show yesterday, "It really seems like the inmates are running the asylum." All I can say is, Portis better be getting healthy and better be ready to run come Septemer 9.

Heroes Finale on tonight

I don't watch many TV shows regularly. I always watch my terrible by beloved Redskins either at the stadium or on TV, but that doesn't really count as a show.

I started watching "Heroes" about a quarter of a way into the season. Gotta admit, I'm hooked! It's one of the funnest shows on television. The writing is really good but doesn't take itself too seriously. I would strongly admit you watch the show if you haven't been.

Hope everyone has a great start to the week.

Is being mean cool now?

I know this isn't breaking news, but Jerry Falwell died this week.

In full disclosure, I'm a proud evangelical Christian. My Christianity, however, does not make me a raving fan of Mr. Falwell.

I think that Jerry would often spout out ridiculous statements in the interest of advancing a political motive. I also think that Jerry would then hide behind his Chrisitanity when anyone would challenge some of the stupid things he would say. Jerry, I believe, was also a great evangelist and brought many people to Christ.

TMZ.com posted this the day that Falwell died. Why? Sure Falwell said Tinky-Winky was a gay type character thay would negatively influence our children. Is that a stupid thing to say? Yes. Does Tinky-Winky accurately sum up what Jerry Falwell brought to the table while here on Earth? No. I believe TMZ.com did this because it's "cool" to be mean now. Whether you agree with Jerry Falwell or not, don't you think that a man deserves a little respect moments after he dies?

Our society continues to get more and more coarse with not many people seeming to care. We all latch on to the latest story and suck any humanity right out of it all in the name of being informed. We laugh at someone dying because we don't agree with them, all the while ignoring the fact that there is a family that is grieving the loss of a loved one.

Humor is good. I love to laugh. I love to laugh at my own expense. Question is, have we started down a slippery slope?

Good Morning World

This is going to be my first experiment in the world of blogging, so PLEASE be patient with me.

I've got terrible allergies this morning. I've been up since 4:30 in the morning. That's saying a lot for me because I usually have a hard time dragging myself out of bed by 6:30.

Still racking my brain on what this blog thing is gonna focus on. Since I can't narrow that down right yet, I guess I'll just use this as my forum to jot down whatever comes to mind.

Hope it's interesting.

-Chris