Couldn't Have Said it Better

Check out this post from my son on his blog.

http://www.brandonatwood.blogspot.com/

American Idiot

Deb and I are big AI fans. We laughed our heads off last night watching the season 8 premiere. One of the reasons I have been a fan since season 1 is the laughter. Deb didn't start watching with me until she heard me laughing from the other end of the house.

Sometimes I wonder if I should laugh at the untalented contestants who make fools of themselves. But I keep watching. I like the competition aspect of the show, and of course the talent, but I think the producers know that "funny" is an essential ingredient to a winning formula. I just hate to see the contestants who've been lied to by family or friends who've told them they have real talent when they stink it up.

Note to all of us: don't lie to people and tell them things about themselves that aren't true. It's good to compliment others - but don't go overboard. They're believing you may lead to embarrassment later in life when the truth surfaces.

I think some of the contestants know they're lousy - they just want recognition or they're pulling a prank. Some may have even lost a bet - I don't know. But I'm sure the tears of some who bomb at the auditions aren't the crocodile kind.

I am trying hard not to think that Jesus is displeased with my laughter at others on this show. I've already given up watching extreme fighting because I don't think the Lord approves. I hope the Holy Spirit doesn't make me give up AI for laughing at people.

Sometimes Procrastination is God's Will

"Wait on the Lord..."

Psalms 27:14

Psalms 37:34

Proverbs 20:22

Isaiah 40:31

New Personal Trends for '09

I've already noticed several things going in a new direction for me this New Year.

1. Nothing wrong with enjoying life. I've begun to listen to country music more in '09. There have always been some aspects of country music that I liked and those that were distasteful to me. I don't care for the "honky tonk" twang or the lyrics that uplift beer guzzling and the date-of-the-month mentality. But I do like the sincerity and authenticity of a lot of country music. The ballads are especially mesmerizing sometimes and I enjoy the fun-loving songs too.

Having grown up listening to bluegrass I especially love gifted instrumentation, be it acoustic guitar-picking, fiddle, mandolin, or banjo...and yes, a dobro once in while.

It's just that I've noticed that while I'm in my pickup surfing the radio I linger longer on the country stations than I did before.

2. Stay on solid footing. I have to be sure that my right knee joint connects - especially going up or down stairs. I was going out the back door the other night to get some firewood for the fireplace and suddenly found myself on the patio when I thought I was going to be on the second step down. Hey, I'm over 50.

3. Don't get ahead of God. After crossing the threshold of a New Year I've noticed that God is bigger and I'm calmer. I have always had a BIG, BIG image of God. But I haven't always remembered to apply it every waking moment. One of my worst mistakes being a Christ follower has been to get ahead of God. What happens when you get ahead of someone? You're not together. Man, not walking together with God is a waste of life.

4. It's okay to be me. I've read a lot of articles about how teaching and preaching to the emergent church and the current postmodern culture needs to be more pictures and less structure. Okay, okay, I get it. But I don't give or get as much from pictures as I do structured and sequenced presentations. I will try now and again to teach and preach with more visual and storytelling emphases, but I was made for organizing my thoughts and words in sequence.

I hope you have a great 2009 being the best you that God created you to be!

Where Have You Been Chinquapin?

I finally completed my books to our three children and that is what has kept me from blogging for a while. The book is one of those fill-in-the pages volumes entitled, "A Father's Legacy - Your Life Story in Your Own Words."

I presented the first copy to our oldest daughter while in Spain to see the newly arrived grandtwins. Then at Christmas I presented copies to our youngest daughter and son while they were visiting us here at home.



Handwriting three copies (it's a limited edition) took some time. I found myself utilizing every free moment for quite a while. It's the kind of thing that isn't fabulous - just some facts about my childhood and life that I want my kids to be familiar with so that they might understand me a little more and understand why I interacted in their lives growing up the way I did. It's the kind of thing I would have liked to have had from my dad but he died young. (Not that I have any premonition of dying anytime soon. I plan to live for a long time on this earth unless Christ returns soon.)

Writing down these thoughts was difficult at times. Some entries brought back tough memories. Some made me feel self-aggrandizing, when all the while I just wanted to communicate some stuff to our three children who are grown and starting families of their own. I hope they see how much I love them. I hope they understand my foibles and I definitely hope we stay close even though the miles separate us.

This adventure made me back up quite a bit on one of my life's crazy dreams - the fantasy of one day writing a book. It's hard work. I knew that already from all the books I've read on writing, but this really opened my eyes. If something this comparatively simple takes so much self-discipline, then I think buckling down and writing an original work must be mind-boggling. The only time I've come close to writing anything, book-wise, has been in the wee early morning hours when I couldn't sleep and there were absolutely no distractions at all.

Seems my imagination is wide open during the witching hours from midnight until 3 am. I've often thought I should keep a pen and pad of paper next to the bed. But I always think it would be unfair to awaken Deb just because I can't sleep. So far I have most often rebelled against getting completely out of bed to write when the thoughts course o'er my mind.

If I ever write a real book it will be via sleep-deprivation.