I’m Thankful For. . .

After my bah-humbug post I thought I better come back with something a bit more appropriate.  So in no particular order (except for the first one, I put her first for a reason) here are the things that I am thankful for.

- My wife.  She is my best friend.  She keeps me grounded when I get a big head and pumps me up when I get down on myself.  She has an incredible heart and is great at her job.  She loves watching football and knows what she is talking about.  She is easily the funniest person I know.  And she is smoking hot.

- I have a job.  At a time of double digit unemployment and who knows how high underemployment, deciding to leave a great job only for my wife and I to both find great jobs is nothing short of a miracle.  I know there are a lot of people who aren’t as fortunate as we are and I am extremely thankful for that.

- Friends and Family.  They may be a weird bunch, but they are my weird bunch of which I am a member.

- Fried Turkey.  Have you had this stuff, it is ridiculous.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving.

A time when we reflect back on the history of stellar relationships that was started with the Pilgrims and local Native Americans.  Sure I know people who scoff at this celebration that to them that carries the stain of the annihilation of entire people groups like a smallpox blanket, but that’s not what Thanksgiving is about.

Thanksgiving is the ultimate American holiday.  We get together and eat entirely more than we should.  Then we sit around and watch TV with football games or parades on it.  Or maybe we get to making lists for Christmas, and draw names for the annual gift exchange.  At least at the Thanksgiving meals I go to we don’t talk about the Pilgrims, for the same reasons we don’t talk about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, segregation, or Lady Gaga; all do adverse things to your appetite.  But that’s not what Thanksgiving it about either.

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Thesis Update

With the completion of a couple more read throughs I hope to submit chapter 1 of my thesis to my adviser.  This first chapter was of course a lot of set up and some definition of terms.  If you are late to this party you can get the jist of my thesis here and see what began as my working intro here.  I am not going to to post the entirety of chapter 1 because I think that may be too cumbersome, but if you would like to see what I am working I will gladly share it.

This first chapter was a lot more difficult than I expected it to be.  While I am still about two weeks ahead of schedule I had a hard time getting rolling with it.  Not that I did the usual procrastination, but I seemed to always be second guessing myself and reworking things.  Looking at it now my fear is that I have wandered in the woods a bit too long and the thing doesn’t have any semblance of flow.  We will just have to wait and see how it goes.

Sunday Thoughts 8

-  Is it just me or does Thanksgiving seem to be either completely overlooked or sneaking up on us like a ninja?  I’m a scrooge when it comes to celebrating Christmas out of season (which for me runs from Black Friday to New Year’s Day) and this year it seems more intense than ever.  Thanksgiving is Thursday and it feels like it should be a month away still.

- I would imagine that we will start hearing people talking about the “War on Christmas”.  These are normally great people with great hearts who get all hot and bothered when people say “Happy Holidays” or write “Merry XMas”.  Now I am all for things that may save me some time and I understand the principle behind their frustration, but perhaps their frustration is misguided.  Is it a bad thing if we are able to disassociate Jesus Christ with the most materialistic holiday on the calendar?  Do we want the arrival of God on earth to be associated with massive credit card debt?  From what I understand many of the things about Christmas (the date, presents, tree) have pagan roots that Christians co-opted to their purposes.  Do we really want to fight for the Christmas that we all experience?

-  So the Senate voted Saturday night to talk about the health care bill.  Call me an optimist, but I see this as a positive.  Sure it is dubious that the vote happened late on a Saturday night (when the 24-news cycle is at it’s calmest) and that it went down party lines without any Republicans breaking ranks.  However it has to be good that the discussion is moving from talk radio to the Senate floor.  I highly doubt that anything that does come out of the Senate will resemble anything Obama wanted, if it gets out at all.  Look for Lieberman, Lincoln, and Landrieu to become the most powerful people in Washington, as these democrats will have the ability to put in almost any amendment they want.

The Curse of the Irish

Americans are constantly told that soccer is the next big thing.  In the 70’s we saw Pele and a host of other aging international stars brought in to play for the New York Cosmos.  In the early 90’s we saw the hype build up to the 94′ World Cup, played here in the states and the subsequent announcement of the MLS.  Lately we have seen this with excitement about the U.S. National team normally only to see them disappoint, except for the most recent Confederation Cup in South Africa.  In a Pele-esque move we saw David Beckham come to the L.A. Galaxy and put a few people in the seats, butt heads with Landon Donovan, and complain and position himself to play for AC Milan.  So when big news breaks in the world of soccer (football) it normally doesn’t get much play, but everyone once in awhile something happens that is worth noting.

This week the last games were played to determine the final spots for the World Cup next summer in South Africa.  These are two game home and home series in which the goal aggregate will determine which of the two teams get the bid, these are play-in games of the utmost importance.  Soccer powerhouse France (51 World Cup Wins, 1 World Cup Championship) played the lowly national team of Ireland (3 World Cup appearances, 1 World Cup Win) with France winning the first meeting in the two game series 1-0.  In the second game the Irish entered extra time leading 1-0 and were tied in the aggregate 1-1, at this point anything could happen.

France went ahead on goal set piece in which Thierry Henry appeared to offside and clearly touched the ball with his hand before feeding the ball to a teammate for an easy header and a ticket to South Africa.  The refs called nothing and the goal held up, there is no replay in soccer (but there is crying).  Understandably the Irish were absolutely crushed.

If I Was A Demon

Disclaimer: I am talking more about the Colts Pats game so if you are tired of the talk about the game may I suggest reading something off topic here.

A good friend of mine, asked me what I would do if I was Bill Belichick and had to make that 4th and 2 call.  Not that I have any expertise or really any experience coaching football, but I have watched enough and played enough Madden to pretend like I do.

First off if I was Bill Belichick I would stop punching puppies in the face and pulling the wings off of butterflies.  Also I would stop torturing hooded sweatshirts by cutting their sleeves off.  In terms of the game there are a few things that I might do differently.

Timeout Management.  In both the first and second half we saw Belichick and the Patriots put themselves in a corner by using their timeouts early and in odd situations.  Early in the 3rd quarter after a first down run by Kevin Faulk, receiver Wes Welker calls a timeout.  They were going to get the play off in time and it appears that Welker saw something he didn’t like or heard something from the sideline.  Now can you imagine this happening in the Colts’ system where Manning has complete control?  Reggie Wayne would never have the audacity to do this.  However the major timeout mismanagement came late in the 4th quarter.  After the Colts’ kickoff with 2:23 left in the game the Patriots had the wrong personnel on the field and had to call a timeout.  Absolutely inexcusable for that to happen, and completely shocking for a Patriots team to make such a mental mistake.  This is that hidden mistake that no one talks about, that was really huge.  Finally on 4th and 2 before the play was run the Pats called a timeout to talk about the play.  Not necessarily a bad decision but it kept them from being able to challenge the upcoming play, that may or may not have been overturned.

I Live With 218 Women

My wife and I live in a dorm.  A freshman girls’ residence hall in which my wife is the Resident Director, I just live here and make a lot of snide remarks.  When I tell people this they give me a look that is reminiscent of “so you are going to be a missionary to a completely isolated tribe known for cannibalism” or simply ask “how can I pray for you?”  However I really do like it.

Before we moved in I thought I would have to learn a whole other level of patience, but if I am honest I get annoyed far less that I thought I would.  Don’t believe me? Let me present some evidence.

I live in a realty show. I am not on the show itself, but get to watch it first hand.  My level of drama exposure is Chernobylish.  But I never have to directly deal with it.  God bless my wife because she does, and occasionally she vents to me or asks me for advice in which I am usually left mystified not seeing why it is a problem that one roommate doesn’t want to be other roommate’s Maid of Honor in the wedding she is going to have, as soon as she gets a boyfriend.  I don’t know what the big deal is if someone isn’t invited to a floor dinner, but I am intrigued enough to watch it unfold.

Always Remember

Since the summer I have been attempting to read through the Bible cover to cover, something I have tried before but never finished.  I run into the same problems we all run into: a lack of discipline.  I have been doing this reading in The Message (how 2003 of me) and have throughly enjoying it, and have definitely been reading it through the lens of my thesis.  Don’t know what I am talking about? read this and this.

As I am currently in Joshua I am wrestling with all the usual suspects (holy war/curse, direct revelation, contextualization, etc) but in light of the thesis am thinking about community formation.  With this new community of former slaves takes shape in the Wilderness and in the Promised Land the theme of Remembrance is all over the place.  We see this in the preamble of the 10 Commandments, in the celebrations through feasts, in the frequent renewals of the covenant, in the glimpses of living in that covenant, and in the moments of rebellion.  Always remember who you are, where you came from, where you are headed, and most importantly who is leading you.

Things I Don’t Understand 3

- The Fat-Knotted Tie.  My dad taught me to tie a tie back in middle school.  It was kind of a rite of passage into manhood, and it was nice to have to help my 7th grade basketball teammates fix their ties before we went and watched the 8th grade team.  One thing I always tried to do was make the knot clean and discreet.  The Fat-Knot Tie looks like the guy’s Adam’s Apple has a tumor and it is protruding out from under the dress shirt.  You have to wonder if they are using a special knot technique that involves wrapping fabric over itself over and over again, or maybe their tie doesn’t narrow at the top in the conventional style but actually gets wider.  Regardless I feel for these guys because with the right yank on the tie could not only result in strangulation but asphyxiation as well, plus it just looks ridiculous.