I Cried At Work Today

This picture is a year old, but it helps you see the beauty of my family. B., who's my daughter on the left of the picture, went off to sleep away camp today.

It's a church sponsored camp and I know she'll be safe and have a blast.

I was talking to my wife about her sending B. some mail, and "it" just overwhelmed me. I didn't bawl, just a few tears fell. I caught the tears before I was openly accused by my podmates of being the softy that I really am. It's hard to explain to someone that doesn't have kids what "it" is, but I'll try...

"It" is simultaneously looking at your kid and realizing all at the same time how fast they're growing, how short of time you have left, how cool they're turning out, and how much you're concerned about their future.

B. has one of the sweetest hearts imaginable. I'm so fortunate and blessed to have her in my life.

I know you won't read this B., but I pray you catch the vibe of this message and have caught it on a regular basis since you've been born. Your mom and I love you so very much. We're very proud of you. Concentrate on having a great time at camp and hope that Daddy isn't this much of a mess every day at work. I have a manly image to uphold for goodness' sake!

Warning...This Post Contains Psychological Honesty Not Nudity as Dr. Savage Promises

As I've stated before, I'm of the view that words do matter and as culture we've gotten more and more coarse with little regard for what we say. Entertainers, talk show hosts, "news"casters, bloggers, etc. seem to speak/write first think later, if ever.

If you haven't been hiding under a rock, you've heard about Michael Savage's recent assertion that 99% of autistic children are, "a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out." He also calls this "act" that autistic children put on acting like a "moron" and "idiot."

I know that Savage's primary goal is to shock and awe his listening base as much as he can so they'll tune in so as not to miss his newest word of wisdom. I also know that his speech and speech like it is protected in our country, and I'm glad it is.

However, is this type of speech adding anything to the public dialogue? Are you really walking away from listening to Savage's rant with something edifying or informative? Nope and nope.

The fact that so many of us today say that they believe someone because they claim to be a liberal or a conservative is pathetic. Why have so many of us become sheep? Where will this lead our country?

Words are powerful things that can either build up or tear down...which do you chose and why?

Who Woulda Thought?

It's funny how people really think they know you by the brief snapshots provided by your blog. Give your readers a glimpse into how you feel about something or ask a question that gets people thinkin and watch out. See here for a glimpse into some aggressive comments by one of our beloved RVA (emphasis on the RVA) food bloggers. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not wilting underneath the bright light of criticism, but I'm surprised by someone who's never met me comes on my blog and basically assaults my core belief system by throwing me in with a bunch of jerks.

Anyway, NO ONE is a black and white caricature. Case in point, I an "evil hearted, head in the sand, fundamentalist, Bible-beating, Christian" is volunteering tonight with HeadCount at the Umphrey's McGee/STS9 show to help get people registered to vote. And no Foodie, it's not an opportunity for me to spread my evil way of thinkin to others as it's a completely not a political organization.

This blogging thing makes us all do what we do anyways as far as making instant character judgements. It's just interesting when those judgements are left behind permanently in the electron disturbing form of a comment.

Enough already!

A friend of mine at work today let loose with one of their "Jesus F-in Christ on a G-D cross" blasts. I've talk to this person before about how I don't appreciate this type of outburst and this person understands and does their best to control it.

So what is the point of this post? First and foremost, IT'S NOT DESIGNED TO CONDEMN MY COWORKER! I just want to examine using tbe Lord's name in vain, which I unfortunately do on occasion, and why it's so universally accepted.

Why and how has our country as a whole moved to accepting using the name of Christ as a throw away curse? I find it interesting on several levels. One, many folks have made a bunch of noise recently (Obama I'm looking directly at you and most of your supporters) about the good ol' US of A not being a Christian nation. If that's the case, how do you account for the prevalence of the Christian culture and terms that we use, especially when cursing?

Two, what do we think we're going to accomplish by bringing up the Lord's name when we're trying to condemn something strongly (which is what you're consciously or subconsciously doing when cursing)? Is it because we think that we'll give an extra amount of gravitas to our exhortation? Is it because the person doesn't believe in God, and if that is the case, why would we even bring His name up in a curse? Finally, and this is pointed directly at me, why do believers dare to drag down Christ's name when He gave everything up for us to be able to to come to Him and the Father when we're done with our Earthly stay?

I don't really have any answers...just wanted to throw these out there to see if anyone else does. Comment away!

Funniest Kid Quote Ever

While in the swimming pool this weekend, C. looks at me while I'm holding him and says, "Dad, your fur is all wet."

Colonial Heights Debacle Starts

I've written before about Colonial Heights buying the old Colonial Heights Baptist Church. This situation has turned out like just like I projected.

In the RTD today, there is an article about how the "informed" citizenry stopped the demolition of the old church.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for citizens getting involved and stopping things they think are wrong. But most of the arguments for keeping the building is in the name of history. What the heck? Who cares? It's an old church. The sanctuary was remodeled long ago, so there is no significance.

My concern here is that the citizenry of Colonial Heights will now have to pay to sustain the property. This is a huge building. That type of upkeep won't be cheap. Plus, the city council has stated they won't do anything until, get this, next July! Also, according to today's RTD article the city has had the property appraised at $4 million which is about what the city paid for it. So add in the cost of taking care of this building for a year and what do you have? A LOSS.

Poor managment by the city. Stupid ideas by the citizenry. This is shaping up to be quite a mess.

Met a Local Blogger and We Could Have Been Killed

Chris from Awaken Me and I have tried for weeks to meet up. He wrote about a men's accountability group that he and a couple of fellas from his church started that I was really interested in. We've been going back and forth on when and where to meet. Last night, Chris came to a community cookout/party our church was having.

It was great to meet him. He's the first area blogger I met in person. I thought it would be awkward, but it couldn't have been anymore natural. Chris seems to be a great guy and is easy to talk to.

Chris stayed for several hours at our shindig. The event was winding down, and that's when the tornado happened. That's right, the tornado.

It actually sounds a little more exciting than it was. From what we were told, a tornado touched down in Petersburg. Due to our emergency plan at the church (I didn't know we even had one), we were all required to move to the sanctuary. The tornado warning was lifted about 10 mins later. So we all got to leave and go home.

I'm going to the mens accountability group tonight. From what Chris says, this could be more exciting than a tornado touching down near your town. Here's to hoping I can be open enough to share and listen to others with no preconceived notions.