Now I don't want to get off on a rant here...

I AM PRO-CHOICE

REASON

I am all for the right of women to make the choice for their reproductive freedom and choose life over death. Even Teresa Heinz Kerry says she's pro-choice but believes abortion is "stopping the process of life". That sounds a lot like murder. Not only does Heinz Kerry have issues with abortion (something her husband has trouble defining his own opinion of), but so does Jane Roe, who is seeking to overturn the “the worst abomination of constitutional law in our history.” I’m not sure I necessarily agree with that statement, I just like using Clinton’s words against her.

It is interesting to me that the heart of the debate can be summed up in just the names of both sides, and I suppose that is the point of giving something a name.

Pro-Choice - Anti-Life - Pro-Abortion
Pro-Life - Anti-Murder - Pro-Morality

The basic difference to me is where you put more weight - your own sovereignty or God's sovereignty. However, it is very interesting that the National Abortion Rights Action League doesn't want to be called that anymore. Maybe there is more to a name then just words?

CONSEQUENCE

43,358,592 - children killed by abortion from 1973 - 1997

Silent No More Awareness
What is the National Silent No More Awareness Campaign?
The National Silent No More Awareness Campaign is an effort to make the public aware of the devastation abortion brings to women, men, and their families. The emotional and physical pain of abortion will no longer be shrouded in secrecy and silence, but rather exposed and healed. This effort is a key to make abortion unthinkable and persuade society that women deserve better than abortion.

ACTION

Saturday, May 1, 2004 - Walk for Life and Fun Day at Beachmont Christian Camp, Kingsville, MD, to benefit Greater Baltimore Crisis Pregnancy Center. Registration begins at 8 AM and costs $25 (children 10 & under free), and includes t-shirt, all activities and food. For more information or to register in advance, email Carol Clews or call her at 410-243-8680.

Poor John Kerry

Mary Beth Cahill, Kerry’s campaign manager, told The Associated Press and accused Bush of running an "unprecedented negative campaign" and said, "We think he's running a huge risk."

What she doesn’t want you to know is that Kerry has been bashing Bush on the campaign trail from the beginning. You need not look any farther than his blog, dating back to August 2003. Just another illustration of hypocrisy.

If only he had a core of values to run on himself.

John Kerry is imploding
Consumer Confidence Rises on Jobs
Economic growth revised up

UPDATE: I wonder if Tony Blankley is reading my Blog? Kerry's fatal flaw

Anybody But Who?

The idea and the spawn of the “Anybody But Bush” campaign is a sad emergence of baseless politics, that even socialists do not adhere to. This line of thinking is sadly the result of individuals uncertain of what they believe in because they live in a world of nothing but gray. When you cannot say for certain what you absolutely believe in, you are left with the relativistic idea that anyone could be right (except President Bush of course).

To compound this problem of irrational thinking, these individuals declare what they absolutely do not believe in. Relating to the criticisms of John Kerry being a flip-flopper, having no core values and his inconsistencies of being FOR something before he was AGAINST it, shows that he is faced with the same conundrum. What do I believe?

Unfortunately, he does not have the luxury of being uncertain as to what he believes. If you want to be the leader of the United States, especially during the War on Terror, you have to know what you believe in. Otherwise a victory for you is truly a victory for terror. When we shirk away from our responsibility of strength in the face of terror, we are handing over our country to the likes of Osama and Al-Qaeda. This is exactly the mistake that Spain made and exactly the mistake I hope we do not repeat on November 2nd.

I was recently in a conversation with a friend of my fiancé, that showed her support for the presidential hopeful. I responded, “It should shake you to your core, rock the foundation of your world, that terrorists like Osama want John Kerry to win!” Her rebuttal, “It doesn’t really shake me like that, because maybe they [terrorists] wouldn’t hate us so much if Kerry was President.” This goes right along with the idea that we can negotiate with terrorists.

Here is a glimpse of that unfortunate reality if irrational thinking like that overruns our country on Election Day:

MAPP Yourself

Motivational Appraisal of Personal Potential

The article on “Avoiding Burnout” made reference to the MAPP Assessment personality test. My future wife is a future counselor and one of the areas we both find interesting is learning about people and their motivations, so basically we analyze people all the time. Especially ourselves, so I thought I’d see what I could find on this test. Sure enough I found a free analysis that one could take. The only catch is once complete to get the full report, you must pay a fee. It’s a nominal fee for the report itself and the prices step-up the more information you want relating the report to specific careers.

Here are some of interesting results on my free report:

INTEREST IN JOB CONTENT (Those tasks you want to perform)
- Jeffrey has little need for or is not motivated by recognition, status, or competitive gain.
- Jeffrey prefers and may even require change and variety. Sameness and routine cause loss of interest, drive, and energy.
TEMPERAMENT FOR THE JOB (How you prefer to perform tasks)
- Jeffrey is open-minded, curious, creative, and innovative, having new ideas and concepts and preference to be involved.
- Jeffrey willingly accepts responsibility for exercising motivated talents.

There are 9 total areas and quite a few assessments made per area. I found this to be an interesting insight to who I am and what motivates me, and I believe it is a fairly accurate. I may even spend the 20 bucks for the complete detail of the report. I think I’ll even share it with my boss and encourage him to get our whole office to take it.

SO MAPP YOURSELF TODAY!

Job Satisfaction?

I’m not sure I know anyone that enjoys 100% of their job 100% of the time. I myself have found myself extremely frustrated with my job over past several months. It is not the work that I do that I do not enjoy, or even the people that I work with on a personal level. It is the management structure we have taken on since our manager was fired and our CEO decided not to find a replacement and the lack of work ethic among my co-workers. I saw this article on “Avoiding Burnout” and thought to myself, who doesn’t feel the on-set of at least some of these issues at work?

Early Warning Signs of Work Burnout
1. chronic fatigue - exhaustion, tiredness, a sense of being physically run down
2. anger at those making demands
3. self-criticism for putting up with the demands
4. cynicism, negativity, and irritability
5. a sense of being besieged
6. exploding easily at seemingly inconsequential things
7. frequent headaches and gastrointestinal disturbances
8. weight loss or gain
9. sleeplessness and depression
10. shortness of breath
11. suspiciousness
12. feelings of helplessness
13. increased degree of risk taking

Yesterday’s Sunday school lesson was a reminder to me of my need for humility and grace when dealing with my co-workers and my boss. And that I must continue to be example to those around me of God’s character and His purposes for my life. I must always be mindful of this eternal purpose (putting on God's character) and goal (receiving Christ’s crown of glory).

1 Peter 5: 5 – 7
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Million to One Shot

This song just really grips me and reminds me of the intimate and personal relationship that I have with Jesus Christ. Despite the feelings of being forgotten and forsaken at times, despite the feeling that I can’t tangibly get my arms around Him, despite all my short-comings and ineptness, He willingly offers His life for mine. I wish I could offer up even an ounce of that love to those around me.

Kutless
Sea of Faces (2004)
Sea of Faces

I see the city lights all around me
Everyone's obscure
Ten million people each with their problems
Why should anyone care

And in Your eyes I can see
I am not just a man, vastly lost in this world
Lost in a Sea of Faces
Your body's the bread, Your blood is the wine
Because you traded Your life for mine

Sometimes my life it feels so trivial
Immersed in the greatness of space
Yet somehow you still find the time for me
It's then You show me Your love

And In Your eyes I can see
And in Your arms I will be
I am not just a man, vastly lost in this world
Lost in a Sea of Faces
Your body's the bread, Your blood is the wine
Because you traded Your life for mine

If only my one heart
Was all you'd gain from all it cost
Well I know you would have still been a man
With a reason
To willingly offer your life

I am not just a man, vastly lost in this world
Lost in a Sea of Faces
Your body's the bread, Your blood is the wine
Because you traded Your life for mine

Just one in a million faces

Orioles Magic Feel It Happen?

There is definite life in these birds, looking to extend their winning streak to 6 tonight. They have won 5 straight games and their winning attitude is back. I was at the game last night and there is something in the air that I have not felt since 1997 and I hope that continues right on through to October, but with a different ending this time!

The promotional schedule has been released and there are five “Turn Back the Clock” nights for each of the five decades the birds have played. My favorite jersey by far is the 1966 Grey Road Jersey. They are the BALTIMORE Orioles and I wish they would bring Baltimore back to the jersey! So anyone looking for a "Just Because" gift for me, here it is:

Home Stand

10 Game Home stand starts tonight for the O's!

4/20 - Final Tampa Bay 1 Baltimore 9 4/21 - Final Tampa Bay 7 Baltimore 3 4/22 7:05 PM TAM (Zambrano Moss) at BAL (Ainsworth)

Amazing Love

Driving home from work yesterday, with the windows rolled down soaking up all the sun and beauty of the day, I heard a great song on the radio and started singing out loud. I often struggle with this, as soon I realize I am on a Christian radio station wanting to turn it down so I don’t offend someone that may hear it. I usually do not turn it down, but still the thought comes to mind.

But this song especially I did not want to turn down and wanted to belt out the words all that more loudly. Because of the beauty, truth and joy this song elicits in my heart. It made me long for the community and fellowship that is found when one sings praise and worship songs in a large group. What a truly powerful and uplifting experience that is, and how the power and the glory of the Holy Spirit is so evidently present.

So I just want to scream out loud today, JESUS CHRIST YOU ARE MY KING! AMAZING LOVE, HOW CAN IT BE THAT YOU, MY KING, SHOULD DIE FOR ME?

You Are My King (Amazing Love) by Newsboys on Adoration: The Worship Album (2003)
Windows Media
Real Audio

I’m forgiven because You were forsaken
I’m accepted, You were condemned
I’m alive and well, Your Spirit is within me
Because You died and rose again

Amazing love, how can it be
That You, my King, should die for me?
Amazing love, I know it’s true
It’s my joy to honor You
In all I do, to honor You

You are my King
You are my King
Jesus, You are my King
You are my King

Thank you Jesus for entering my heart and transforming me into a new creation that seeks to honor you in all that I do. It is truly my joy and I will never forget the sacrifice you made for me. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:11

MVP

Being the Microsoft supporter (junkie) that I am, I have an Xbox. As a friend suggested, I got it before I got married, so I wouldn’t have to justify the unjustified expense. I am not so much into the role playing/first person shooter games that have consumed the gaming industry. I love the sports games though and that is typically all I will buy. Just getting my Xbox in October (with birthday money) and being a huge baseball fan, I needed to wait till this spring when all the baseball games started coming out.

Admittedly I was not sure which one I was going to get. I’ve always been an EA sports fan, but some of the 989 Sports games looked decent too and the new ESPN games are enticing for any red-blooded American man. Seeing this review on TechTV just made me salivate and my mind was made up. So MVP Baseball 2004 it is!

There is so much in this game that I will never have the time to experience, but having all this baseball history and game play at my fingertips was too much for me pass up. I didn’t even realize the game had the full roster from all AA, AAA & MLB teams when I got it. But one of the first games I played was the Baltimore Orioles vs. Ottawa Lynx. It’s awesome!

UPDATE: I forgot to mention the best part of this game. Barry Bonds in all his glory, would not give permission to EA to use his likeness in the game. So he isn't in it! Although I am a little disappointed that I can not throw inside and scare him off the plate like Roger Clemens does or bean him in his big head ("Bonds' is a big gigantic melon. And that's just his head" courtesy of dabrettman)

PLAY BALL

Baseball has been a big part of my life and my family’s, as I’ve mentioned before. I first started playing baseball when I was 5 years old and wanted to be just like Brooks Robinson, so I played third base and always wanted to be number 5. One of my earliest memories of playing baseball was fielding a ground ball hit to me at third and throwing to first base, only to have the first basemen not covering the bag. The ball actually landed right on first base and bounced away, but I guess it was too much to ask of a 5/6 year old to cover the bag.

This was when I played for a church in a CYO league (Catholic Youth Organization), which was not all that competitive. But it did provide me with an opportunity to play and I loved it. When I was about 8 years old, still playing in this league, our team needed a catcher and no one wanted to do it so I volunteered. I soon realized what an awesome responsibility it was to be the catcher and really enjoyed it. As I got a little older I branched out into other REC leagues and played for Perry Hall. There were better players in this league and opportunities to play in travel leagues.

When I was about 12 or 13 years old, my dad found out about a real nice indoor batting cage complex (Grand Slam USA) and we started going there. They had a drawing for 3 months of free hitting and little did they know that the winner was going to spend everyday of those 3 months in their cages soaking it up. Yes that little batting cage freak was me! During those 3 months, not only did I develop better timing, a better eye for the strike zone and patience, but I also taught myself how to switch hit. A natural righty, I was now able to hit from both sides of the plate.

While practicing there, many former and budding professional baseball players came there to hone their skills as well. One of those players was Brian Jordan who is from Baltimore. I recall him being there, among some other players, but I was always more focused on my own hitting then anyone else’s. My father just recently related this story to me, but apparently one of the times I was hogging up the cage working on my swing, Brian Jordan was standing there watching. He and my father were talking and he told my father that I had all the natural talent to become a Major League hitter; I just needed to refine my skill. Now why my father didn’t relate that to me at the time, I have no idea! That was my dream at the time to become a Major League baseball player, as I’m sure that dream is shared by most boys. But to actually have a Major League prospect relate that to you and to see how he has become a lifetime .287 hitter over his 12 plus years of professional baseball is really inspiring.

Obviously the dream of becoming a Major League player did not come true and now I spend all day on the computer working on the network or on various databases. Why didn’t the dream come true then? Anyone who has played in a REC league or gone out for a high school team knows there is an element of politics involved here. You know the coach’s son is always going to get special treatment or those players that especially butter up the coach. I never did that and had the misfortune of going to Perry Hall High School, where there were approximately 200 kids going out for the teams each year. I never made my high school team and the travel league I was playing in at the time was coached by the assistant coach of the Varsity team. He knew very little about baseball and really soured me on playing altogether by his obvious political/family bias in the starting lineup.

So I’ve lain dormant for the last 10 years, playing in the occasional softball league, which anyone who has a true love of baseball knows it just not comparable to hardball at all. Until I happened upon the MARYLAND AMATEUR BASEBALL ASSOCIATION and inquired about the possibilities of playing, I was uncertain if I would ever get to play again. They had a league workout this past Saturday for potential players and a subsequent draft. I attended the workout, where some of the guys were comparing me to Javy Lopez (another awesome compliment), and just found out last night that I have been drafted by the Dundalk Mariners. I’m still uncertain how things will play out with this league and this team. But for the time being I’m just excited I’ll get to PLAY BALL again!

Selling the Drama

Live is one of my favorite bands and one of those bands I have been listening to for years. I have been reminded recently of a song from their first album, Mental Jewelry, entitled “The Beauty of Gray”. The lines that keep running through my head are:

this is not a black and white world
to be alive
i say the colors must swirl
and i believe
that maybe today
we will all get to appreciate
the beauty of gray

Great song and great way to get the listener thinking about their own world view, but shows the basic difference between the conservative and the liberal thinker. To the conservative, there are black and white issues; there is a right and a wrong, righteous/unrighteous. To the liberal, a lot is gray; what is right for me may not be right for you; it’s all relative. This relativism is summed up quite well by the secular humanist, who says, this “is a philosophy and world view which centers upon human concerns and employs rational and scientific methods to address the wide range of issues important to us all.” This is in direct contrast to the Biblical drama that reveals a just, a holy and a righteous God whom is concerned with even the hairs of your head (Matthew 10:29-31).

I am not equating conservatives to Christians, but their world views are more closely aligned. For me it is impossible to separate my religion from my politics, so I am both Christian and conservative. First and foremost, my faith is the lens that I look through for all aspects of my life (Deuteronomy 6:6-7, Psalm 33:12, John 8:31-32, Psalm 67:1-7).

There is black and white, there is right and wrong, there is:

FRIEND	FOE

Finger Pointing

Where should we really be pointing our finger?

FREE GIFTS

The university I work at has all kinds of cleaning people that come in and out of the offices sporadically. I always try to be friendly with them and thankful they are taking out my trash, cleaning out my recycle bin and vacuuming the floor in my office. Recently, a certain cleaning person named Joe has caught my attention.

He seemed especially humble and joyful to me, in that he did not want to make eye contact but was doing his job with exuberance. I soon noticed an individual trailing him, which I had originally thought was his supervisor (as supervisors often over-see their subordinates). I noticed she was wearing a shirt that had BARC on the front of it. Having an aunt that used to be a part of that organization because she is mentally retarded, I was familiar with them. They are now known as The Arc of Baltimore, formerly known as the Baltimore Association of Retarded Citizens, and “is one of the nation's largest agencies addressing the needs of people with mental retardation.”

I love it when Joe comes into my office and I get to see the joy he exudes in doing his job and the excitement he has because he is working. He is a reminder to me that I should be doing my job with that same excitement and need to be compassionate. He is someone that needed patience and understanding and compassion and far too often we are too busy or wrapped up in our own lives to give those gifts to the people around us.

Best Buddies of Maryland is an organization with similar goals to The Arc. I was a volunteer in their Citizens program and developed a wonderful friendship with Dwayne. Not only was Dwayne mentally challenged, but he was also going blind. He had been abandoned by his parents when he was young and grew up at the Maryland School for the Blind. He is now 35 and loves sports. I took him to O’s games, Terps games and Weber’s Farm for a fall festival. Unfortunately, he lost his sight completely not long after that. I was also becoming more involved in my church and with the Youth Group there and was just not able to give the attention to Dwayne that he deserved. I asked Best Buddies to find someone else that could and I hope he is doing well.

I can’t even begin to express what a blessing it was to both our hearts to share in that friendship. I hope that I will be able to get involved with Best Buddies again someday because it is an unbelievable gift of compassion to give and receive, and Joe reminds me of that everyday.

Netflix Junkies

For the Netflix junkies out there. I was channel surfing the other night and landed on one of my goto channels – TechTV. There was a commercial for an on-line rental service for video games called GAMEFLY. I also saw the trial memberships in Best Buy last night, so I’m guessing this is a creditable site. They have games for all the major gaming systems PS2, Xbox, GameCube and even Game Boy. They even sell pre-played games at discounted prices, which you can decide to keep after you’ve rented the game and tried it out. You’ll get to keep the copy you have and they’ll ship the original case & instructions out to you.

Another on-line rental service I’ve thought about checking out is The Family DVD Network. This is another Netflix inspired site, except all the movies “are carefully edited to remove profanity, excessive violence and sexual content (innuendo, nudity, and gestures).” These are movies that are truly family movies that you can watch without fear of something inappropriate popping up on the screen. I think this is a great idea, but I have not tried it out yet. I’d like to be able to check out a few of these edited movies before I start forking over a monthly fee to them.

ALL BUSH's FAULT

TIME LINE
March 2003 – Coalition Forces enter Iraq
August 2003 – Sony Pictures releases “Gigli”
September 11, 2001 – America Attacked
August 2001 – President Bush receives PDB - Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in US
March 2001 – Recession “officially” begins
January 2001 - President Bush sworn into office
October 2000 - USS Cole Attacked
August 1998 - US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania Attacked
May 1998 – Bin Ladin declares war on US
November 1997 - Iraq refused to allow U.N. weapons inspections
June 1996 - U.S. Air Force housing complex in Saudi Arabia Attacked
November 1995 - five Americans were killed and 30 wounded by a car bomb in Saudi Arabia
October 1993 - 18 American troops were killed in a firefight in Somalia
February 1993 - World Trade Center was bombed
January 1991 – UN Forces enter Iraqi conflict with Kuwait
August 1990 – Iraq invades Kuwait
April 1986 - West Berlin discotheque frequented by U.S. servicemen was bombed
1985 - An Italian cruise ship, the Achille Lauro, was seized and a 69-year-old American was shot and thrown overboard
1983 - U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut were blown up
1982 - U.S. Embassy in Beirut was bombed
1979 - U.S. Embassy in Iran stormed and American Embassy staff taken hostage.
November 1963 – JFK Assassinated
December 1941 – Pearl Harbor Attacked
33 AD – Jesus crucified

More detailed time line

Bipartisan Partisanship

Condoleezza Rice testifies before the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on April 8, 2004

Partisan politics rears its ugly head again. Whether you are Democrat, Republican or Independent, you heard exactly what you wanted to hear yesterday. Whether what you heard was the truth or not, is obviously like beauty, in the eye of the beholder. It was fairly obvious that was not only true for the general public and elected officials alike, but most unfortunately obvious for the 9-11 Commission themselves.

They want to play the blame game, whether it’s Clinton or Bush. Their official purpose is to “prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks”. That is to compile information that is relevant to understanding what happened. Additionally, “The Commission is also mandated to provide recommendations designed to guard against future attacks.” Which means they are suppose to help make us safer, and the answer to that is not found in assigning blame.

It is not that bold of a statement to say there is a large amount of bureaucratic waste in our government. Are we foolish enough to believe that did not play a part in what happened on September 11th? The Bush Administration is either taking the high road or the blind road here. They could easily be pointing out, again and again with the bully pulpit, that the previous administration and the current democratic presidential candidate’s actions in the 90’s of dismantling our military and weakening our defense and intelligence abilities played a large role in our unpreparedness on 9-11. The mistake they may be making here is to believe the American people are grown up enough to see through the partisan rhetoric and know how wrong it is for the Left to politicize the War on Terror.

Of course now I’m guilty of playing the blame game too. Ultimately the blame for all this falls on the shoulders of the terrorists. It falls on the shoulders of those nations that harbor terrorists and those people that hate us and want to do us harm. All this energy wasted on pointing fingers at one another, rather than rallying around our Country, our President and our Troops.

I love America and I’m a proud citizen of this Red, White and Blue nation and I don’t believe I should have to apologize for loving my country. Nor do I believe that this country is at fault for the real hate mongers that exist in this world. Love your country, love your freedom, love your ability to choose, but use that ability to choose wisely.

Oink, Oink

The recent release of the Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) “2004 Pig Book" had me checking out their site. It appears Maryland was able to secure $155,194,000 of the total 9 billion plus in pork, $28.17 per person in MD. How interesting it was to see a Senator from Massachusetts win something:

March 2004 – Porker of the Month - Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.)

Ironically, what Sen. Kennedy doesn’t want taxpayers to know is how much the Democratic plan for providing a drug benefit to seniors would cost—between $800 billion and $1 trillion. For his hypocrisy and duplicity on this issue, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) names Sen. Ted Kennedy as its “Porker of the Month” for March 2004.

In January of this year, he called for the “Health Security and Affordability Act” to be passed that would require all employers to provide health insurance to their workers—a real job killer estimated to cost $100 billion a year to implement.

Incidentally, John Kerry had a lifetime rating from CAGW of 25% (Unfriendly to Taxpayers) and in 2002 had a 13% rating (Hostile to Taxpayers). Of course it’s now 2004, so who knows where the good Senator stands on the issue.

Not sure?

I'm not sure how I feel about all this, but it is interesting to read and see.

Evangelism Catches Up With the Times

Here is one of the sites discused in the article above Relevant Magazine.
WHO THEY ARE:

"We're twentysomething Christians. We want to break stereotypes, challenge status quo and enact change through the media. We're seeking God, living life and striving to impact the world around us. It's pretty simple, really...

"We want to break the mold and impact culture. We want to speak to a generation of independent thinkers, ones that were raised on pop culture, ones that are hungry for God but don't embrace dead religion. We want to challenge Christians to a deeper spiritual walk and significant cultural impact, and we want to challenge non-believers to see Jesus for who He is:

The answer."

What Dreams May Come – Part II

I’m sure that everyone has experienced a dream that seemed so real, that you could actually touch people in it and feel them come to life right on your fingertips. Every so often I have one of those dreams and as soon as I wake up, I know that it was more then just my imagination at work, but that it was the work of the Lord in my life. It is one of those deep transcending moments when God is asking me to take notice of something and teach me.

Amy says God communicates to me in my dreams, because that’s the only time I can’t talk back. She says this in jest, but I know I can be pretty thick headed. And there is an obvious theme in what these lessons are, as it was apparent the last time I had one of these dreams.

To put this dream into context, my grandfather died in 1998. He was one of the smartest and healthiest men I knew and someone I respected and loved dearly. He was also a democrat and big Clinton supporter. I was not very political at the time, so we never had any debates over that, as I’m sure we would now. In fact, my grandmother believes that Clinton’s impeachment directly led to my grandfather’s heart attack; however, I don’t put much credence into that. The point being that I loved and respected him and he obviously had very different political views then I do now.

So here is the dream:

I was taking a trip, to where I don’t know, and ended up riding on a bus and train and walking some of the way. The trip seemed to be centered around a certain town and everywhere I went there were tons of people around me. There was nothing very particular about the settings that I remember very clearly. However, my traveling companion was democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. We were just basically hanging out and going from place to place, talking, debating, and joking around. He genuinely seemed like a nice guy and we were sharing a mutual respect to agree to disagree to most issues. We ended up at party later, where we kind of lost each other in the crowd talking to other people. And then I see my grandfather standing there, who was waiting for me at the party. After that I woke up.

God is always reminding me of the need for grace, of the need to show love to those that I disagree with and gently share my perspectives. There is a time to speak up and speak out with passion and strength and courage in your convictions, but there is also a time to mend, a time to be silent, a time for love, a time for peace and time to be gentle (Ecclesiastes 3:1-14).

I disagree with John Kerry on many issues and I question what he really stands for. I wish that the presidential campaign was centered on the love, the well-being and the good of the American people and people around the world. I also believe that there is a spiritual and cultural war that wages in the world today, and it rears its ugly head at times like these. No matter what happens this election day, I know that my life is in God’s loving hands and in that I trust and in that He is the center and focus of my life.

I pray that God would speak as clearly into the hearts and minds of people in this country on both sides of aisle, and that a mutal respect can be found. Because that is the only way to mend hearts and unite this nation, not divide it.

September 12th Again

Here is an article that I believe speaks about many of our fears and raises some important issues to think about. The article expands on the ideas below and the notes next to them are my own reactions to them.

Thinking About the Next Sept. 11
By James Jay Carafano

If and when the next attack occurs, there are several arguments we will undoubtedly hear. They are simple, clear cut — and usually wrong:
Throw money at the problem. – No need to overspend without at least thinking it through first
Trade safety for civil liberties. – What is the war on terror protecting in the first place?
America is wrong. – Self-loathing people like George Carlin would do well to seek therapy, and find some happiness. On the other hand, as I was reminded of this weekend, America is not the Kingdom of God and should not be treated as such.
We're on the wrong course. – “No administration can guarantee it will stop every attack, everywhere.” despite the ranting of former presidential candidate Wesley Clark.

It is my sincere desire to never feel like I did on September 12th, 2001 again. And it is because of this sincere desire that I can not fathom voting for anyone this presidential election other than President George W. Bush. I can not vote for someone that wants to take the resolve of the American people and put in the hands of the United Nations, relinquishing our sovereignty to them. Someone that has clearly shown they want to deplete the military and our intelligence capabilities. I can vote for someone that says what they mean and means what they say, that puts feet on their words. Someone who puts his trust in Jesus Christ as his personal savior and sees Him as a role model. This is true humility and true leadership.

I trust that the Lord’s will, will be done on November 2, 2004, as it was on September 11, 2001. My prayer is that America will turn towards the Lord and continue to elect leaders that will not allow God to be removed from our country and that God would use them in a mighty way to bring the Good News, the Gospel, to those in desperate need of it.

Sad Anniversary

I am a product of the 90's and thus was a flannel wearing, grunge-rock loving, "alternative" thinker. The bands that I most enjoyed at the time and still love to listen to are Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots , and Nirvana.

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's suicide. An unfortunate end to a gifted musician's life.

Fans Mark 10th Anniversary of Cobain's Death

Bleeding Black and Orange since 1977

Could this be 1966 revisited?
Comparisons are being drawn between the Orioles World Championship team of 1966 and the 2004 team. I wouldn’t go as far to say the O’s are winning the World Series this year, but that’s why they play the games, to see “What if”.

Young Pitching Staff
1966
Dave McNally
Jim Palmer
Wally Bunker
2004
Sidney Ponson
Eric DuBose
Kurt Ainsworth
Matt Riley
Erik Bedard

Impact Acquisitions
1966
Frank Robinson
2004
Miguel Tejada
Javy Lopez
Rafael Palmerio

Great Infield Defense
1966
Brooks Robinson
Luis Aparicio
Davey Johnson
Boog Powel
2004
Miguel Tejada
Brian Roberts/Jerry Hairston
Rafael Palmerio

Opening Night Winner!

Thanks to clutch hitting by all our new impact players, decent pitching and poor defense by the BoSox, the O’s came out on top 7 – 2!

Setting the tone for what hopes to be a successful 2004 campaign, Javy Lopez hit a homerun in his Orioles debut on the first pitch he saw in black and orange. Being a catcher myself, I am excited to have an impact player behind the plate this year. We haven’t had one since Mickey Tettleton was our backstop, and he didn’t have the star power that Lopez does.

Opening Night Wrapup

Greatest Amercian Hero

So I was meeting with my accountability group this morning at Starbucks and heard the theme song to “The Greatest American Hero”. For those that don’t know - it was an awesome show from the early 80’s, which had one of the best theme songs ever written.

Listen – real audio
Listen – windows media
Purchase – amazon.com
Read - below

Title: "Believe It Or Not"
Written By: "Mike Post and Stephen Geyer"
Performed By: "Joey Scarbury"

Look at what's happened to me,
I can't believe it myself.
Suddenly I'm up on top of the world,
It should've been somebody else.

Believe it or not,
I'm walking on air.
I never thought I could feel so free eee eee.
Flying away on a wing and a prayer.
Who could it be?
Believe it or not it's just me.

It's like a light of a new day,
It came from out of the blue.
Breaking me out of the spell I was in,
Making all of my wishes come true ue ue.

Believe it or not,
I'm walking on air.
I never thought I could feel so free eee eee.
Flying away on a wing and a prayer.
Who could it be?
Believe it or not it's just me.

Kerry: Good Little Catholic Boy

HARDLY

John Kerry's Opposition to the Unborn Victims of Violence Act
Priests Should Refuse Communion to Kerry, Leading Catholic Says

James 2: 12 - 17
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment! What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Baltimore Orioles 50th Anniversary

What better way to say Happy Anniversary to the O's than with this cool plaque?

Or go vote for the Greatest O's of All-Time

My Lineup
1B - Boog Powell
2B - Davey Johnson
3B - Brooks Robinson
SS - Cal Ripken Jr.
C - Rick Dempsey
OF - Al Bumbry
OF - Paul Blair
OF - Joe Orsulak
RHP - Jim Palmer
LHP - Dave McNally
DH - Harold Baines

April Fools Day

Being the class clown that I am, even though I don't think that shines through on this site, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to send an April Fools joke to the users on my network. I am a network admin and changed the wallpaper on everyone's computer to display the image below this morning.

Anyone who is a geek can appreciate the fun in this and anyone who is normal can appreciate how freaked out they might feel when they think they "broke" the computer again.

Last year I sent them all a console message that said, "You have performed an illegal operation and your computer is about to erase the hard drive". I got more reactions this year then last, and that's a scary thought for any network administrator.