Big Ten??

Earlier this week the governor of the great state of Missouri (Jay Nixon) said that the University of Missouri should "consider" joining the Big 10 if the opportunity came available. This came as a response to the Big 10's announcement that they plan to expand to a 12th school within the next 3-5 years. They already have 11 teams (look for the hidden 11 in the above logo), and the addition of a 12th would afford the conference the opportunity to divide into two divisions in football and have a lucrative championship game.

So what are the schools that might be considered? Of course, their first choice would always be Notre Dame. ND has the logistics (they are basically in the center of the big 10, real estate wise), the money and the academics. The problem here is ND has too much TV money from football and they would be silly to share it. So according to reports the top names floating around (football wise) would be Syracuse, West Virginia, Louisville, Cincinnati, Pitt and Missouri. Among other considerations, Syracuse basically is Big East basketball so this probably won't fly. West Virginia and Louisville have a few too many academic skeletons in the closet for the academia of the Big 10. So this leaves Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Missouri as the possible front runners.

In addition to our governor, Missouri AD Mike Alden sat down with the Columbia Daily Tribune to discuss this issue this week. Academics are about a wash. The Big 10 and Big 12 are in the top tier of big conferences with academics. The Big 10 is probably more known for their academics, but it is actually the Big 12 who has been leading all the BCS conferences with academic records and progress rates for their student athletes.

The Big 12 is slightly better in basketball at current, and without a doubt much better than the Big 10 in football (The Big 10 posted a 1-6 record in bowl games last year). But Football TV revenue is astronomically different among the Big 10 and Big 12. The SEC leads the pack as they should, considering they have the best football teams top to bottom in any conference. But the Big 10 splits TV revenue evenly among all it's schools, and has negotiated a much better TV contract. The Big 12 splits 50% of revenue among all the schools, the other 50% goes to which ever schools get the most national TV coverage. And the Big 12 TV contract is millions less per year than the Big 10.

Here's the the thing though, this deal smells a little for Mizzou. I already wrote a letter to Governor Nixon stating my concern about his promotion of this deal. His early remarks almost make Mizzou look desperate. Which why would we be?, we are in a better conference. The money issue is pretty easy to discern. Look at the concentrated population among the two conferences. The top three football schools in each conference (Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas) are all national brands, meaning they have a national fan base. For goodness sake, I have seen "Nebraska" stores in Los Angeles and Estes Park, Colorado. These are basically stores that cater to no one else except Nebraska football fans. This level of program is "national."

Outside of those six teams, the money thing completely makes sense. The rest of the teams have to rely heavily on a statewide and alumni fan base. This is just an example, but Northwestern and the Illini can pull off of the massive Chicago population base. Meanwhile, Stillwater OK (home of OK State) has a population of 47,000 and they even have to compete with the behemoth Oklahoma for statewide fan support. These are the extreme examples, but overall the Big 10 states are more densely populated than the Big 12 states. So, complaining about the TV money is really like crying over spilled milk. More people are going to watch the "tier 2" Big 10 teams than the "tier 2" Big 12 teams, even if the Big 12 is better.

So, in summary. Just say no to Big 10 and Missouri. The Big 10 if "soft" right now. The Big 12 is solid. And who would want to give away the yearly home court basketball fights with Kansas. This border war has been going on in one form or another since the civil war. A move of conferences would not necessarily take the rivalry away, but we would not have two games a year both in each others venues, it would probably be one game in Kansas City, similar to what we do with the Illini now in St. Louis.

Speaking of that, Mizzou vs The Fighting Illini tonight in St. Louis. Go Mizzou!

And Merry Christmas!

Isaac the Red Cheeked Kauffman

When my oldest son has a cold, he uses the same motion over and over to itch or wipe his nose: back of right sleeve, wide swipe moving straight across the plain east to west. What this repetition does is make one of his cheeks very red. We try to get him to use a tissue or handkerchief but he is not a big fan of that.

This red cheeked phenom has inspired me to write the following song. I hope you like it, it goes like this.

Isaac, the Red cheeked Kauffman

Had a very shiny cheek

And if you ever saw it

You would even say it glows

All of the other brothers

Used to laugh, but none would call him names

because they would not dare do that

to Isaac when they play his games

Then one frosty Winter morn

Papa came to say

Isaac with that cheek so bright

Won't you guide my Honda Fourwheeler tonight

Papa and Isaac rode out and cut a Christmas tree

and all the brothers shouted out with glee

Isaac the red cheeked Kauffman

He'll go down in historrryyyy!!!

Outside a little China town

This Christmas season I am observing, noticing and appreciating it seems more than ever before. So many little "God winks." I was jamming out to my Third Day Christmas CD this morning doing everything possible to procrastinate writing a final essay (somebody got a poop diap., throw it my way) and had to check the story behind the following song. It is written by a member of the band Christmas 2006 before he and his wife went to China to adopt a little girl the following year. Take a look.

"There's a little girl trembling on a cold December morn
Crying for momma's arms
At an orphanage just outside a little China town
Where the forgotten are

But half a world away I hang the stockings by the fire
And dream about the day when I can finally call you mine

It's Christmas time again but you're not home
Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone
And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms
And tell you from my heart
I wish you Merry Christmas

As I hang the tinsel on the tree and watch the twinkling lights
I'm warmed by the fire's glow
Outside the children tumble in a wonderland of white,
And make angels in the snow

But half a world away you try your best to fight the tears
And hope that heaven's angels come to carry you here

Christmas is a time to celebrate the Holy Child
And we celebrate his perfect gift of love
He came to earth to give his lifeAnd prepare a place for us
So we could have a home with him above

It's Christmas time again and now you're home
Your family is here so you will never be alone
So tonight before you go to sleep, I'll hold you in my arms
And I'll tell you from my heart,
and I'll you from my heart
I wish you Merry Christmas"
-Brad Avery, Third Day

Hot Topics - Part II

The oven of Topics is smokin' hot and producing more and more baby! The weekend edition of USA Today that I am holding in my hands has on it's front page this article -
"For feds, more get 6-figure salaries" -- Average pay $30,000 over private sector

Federal employees are "enjoying an extraordinary boom time - in pay and hiring - during a recession that has cost 7.3 millions jobs to the private sector." Folks this is just fantastic! Here are a few more highlights of the article:
-When the recession started, the Transportation Department had only one person earning a salary of $170,000 or more. Eighteen months later, 1,690 employees have salaries above $170K. -Here are a few numbers that show percentage increase of $150k salaries in the different departments from the start of recession Dec 2007 to current.
Commerce Dept: 395% increase, Dept of Education: 296% increase (isn't education a state issue?), Homeland Security: 233% increase, Housing and Urban Development: 227% increase, Justice Dept: 567% increase. The list goes on.

Folks, this is unsustainable. Let me rephrase this so there are no misunderstandings: We can not follow this path forever. The relentless growth of the Federal government, the national debt, their rules and regulations cannot continue. Change is coming or a break is coming. I'm not talking about the kind of "break" where you run down to Rexalls for an ice cream cone, this is the kind of "break" where things break. Let's hope for change. Thankfully, I am losing some of my cynicism about our government as I think there is hope out there. There are two US Senate races for 2010 that could help dictate some real change. One is Dr. Rand Paul (Ron Paul's son) running for senate in KY showing he has early leads, another is Peter Schiff (Paul's former campaign economic advisor) running for senate in Connecticut. Polls show he has an early lead over Chris Dodd! I am not sure why some Republicans are so against Paul and Paul-like thinkers (Mitch McConnell has said he will not let Ron Paul hijack the Republican party). Actually, I do think I know why, it is because the current Rep/Dem thing is just one party, one big two headed monster.

Another great thing happening through grass roots internet work is the co sponsorship of Paul's HR 1207 to audit the Federal Reserve. This bill is now out of the House Financial Committee (Barney Frank did everything possible to halt this, but when you have 317 co-sponsors that is tough thing to do. That's right 317 co-sponsors!). Our own U.S. rep Blaine Luetkemeyer signed on after a number of us contacted him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9nOIusbDwI
You may have seen this video before, but it shows clear evidence that Ron Paul's popularity was superior on the internet as compared to Obama, Clinton and McCain in 07-08, but yet the mass media does not give even a minuscule amount of coverage the others get.

Love One Another

I am going to jump off the Hot Topics soap box just for a moment and share some words that were resonating with me today. They go like this:

8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:8-11

I had the privilege to write a research paper on 1 John in the Spring of 2008. Unlike Paul's letters which contain salutations and greetings this book appears to be a homily (sermon). But like the epistles, it was directed at a certain audience. It contains a wealth of information on Christian belief and life. An outline might look like this:

1. Theological Intro 1:1-4

2. What is Christianity 1:5-2:28

3. Life in the Church Family 2:29-4:12

4. The Confidence of our Faith 4:13-5:21

Intertwined within the whole of the book is the subject of love, and no passage illustrates this better than the above. This agape love that Christ showed to us is of a nature that it fills us and we cannot love God without also loving our fellow human, even (and especially) who we perceive as unlovable. I pray today that you and I will experience the love of Christ, and share it with those who deserve our love and those who do not. Whether the love is a feeling, or an action, or a noun. Let it fold on.

Hot Topics

Boy, Trying to find a hot topic to think and write about these days is like walking into Grandma Kauffman's kitchen just before Christmas with a sweet tooth. Luke, you know exactly what I am talking about and I'm sure many of you have a similar memory. The kitchen itself is so full of pies and cookies that the side room that occupies the washer and dryer is utilized to help keep containment on all the goodies. Oh, choices, choices.

I think today I will start with something.... oh mildly controversial, how about homosexuality. My views are reasonably old school on this issue, but don't worry conservative readers, I've got a challenge for you too, I think my next post will deal with the subject of water boarding and so called "confession."

I see the homosexuality debate as best broken down into two different arenas: The Church and the State. Others may see if differently, but here I will make my case. Since the Bible is clear in both the OT and NT that homosexuality is a sin, there really shouldn't be much of a debate for the church in my mind. I wrote an opinion letter for the Mennonite Weekly Review earlier this year, which I will copy part of here. The Mennonite church, like many bodies, has people within it who are pushing for an understanding of homosexuality that separates it from sin. The paper published most of this but edited out some of my imagery, you will probably figure out which parts:).

The issue with homosexuality is not easy, but it is clear. The Scriptures do not speak often of homosexuality but when they do, it is always an offense and it is always sinful behavior. This same viewpoint is expressed from the Old Testament Law to over a thousand years later in Paul’s letters. In many instances today the church has not responded properly or treated folks who are entrapped in this sin with holy love; the love that Jesus called us to embrace.

Now, I will attempt to respectfully respond to two comments in the February 16th issue:
1. “When will the Mennonite church be faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ?” (Nachtigal) As a United Methodist who is learning more about and interested in my Anabaptist heritage, I must ask Mr. and Mrs. Nachtigal, “Can you show me another denomination that has been more faithful to the Gospel?” I agree with you that all people (including homosexuals) should be welcome in Church, but that doesn’t eliminate the need for repentance. Whether someone is born with certain tendencies or not isn’t the issue; this is part of the fall of creation. I have three boys, and if one of them is born with a temper and likes to push or hit the other two, that doesn’t make it acceptable. The Mennonite church has some elements in it that are very attractive to people. I hope one of the reasons is not to find a place that appeases a sinful appetite.

2. “Our churches should bless all unions” (Steelberg). I am sure this statement is made out of love, but where does this lead? Would you bless a union of a man and a dog? What about a union of man and a little girl or boy? This may sound preposterous but these were the sentiments about homosexuality a few generations ago. Once the body of Christ begins to accept sin without repentance we are embracing something Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace.”


Okay, so my view of this topic within the church is pretty self explanatory. Now, how about the state? I think since it has been reported by various outlets that the first thing a student at a secular college thinks when they hear the phrase "Evangelical Christian" is that they are anti-homosexual, we need to be cautious about the message we are sending. This is amplified with other evidence that marriages among believers have no better (if not worse) divorce rates than non believers. Yikes, what message are we sending? That being said, the state has clearly adopted the understanding of "marriage" from a Judeo-Christian ethic. So the church should have a say into how marriage is defined, right? Is this getting muddy enough yet?!!

Here's the thing though, are you ready for this? Homosexuality is perverted. It takes natural desire and "perverts" it for the unnatural. People need to hear this! Paul wrote about this when he says God "turned them over" to their evil desires. But you don't even need Scripture to see that homosexuality does not fit in the natural order. Do you remember James Holsinger who was nominated to be Surgeon General by Bush in 2007. He was a Godly man with a remarkable career as a physician and a retired major-general. He was Chancellor of the University of Kentucky Medical school and on the board of trustees at Asbury Theological Seminary. He nomination didn't even reach a vote in the senate because he had written an article that gay sex was "unnatural and unhealthy" in a United Methodist publication several decades ago. In addition to this he helped found a church that ministered to people who no longer wished to be involved in gay or lesbian lifestyle. If these views prevent qualified Christians from serving the country, I think this is pretty sad.

So, that all being said, what do we do? The middle ground that many have taken in regards to homosexuality and the state is to accept civil unions but deny gay marriage. I guess this seems reasonable in a free country, I don't know it is a toughie. The End (for now).

The 21st century gold rush

I find it interesting, if not a little comical, that many of the mainstream media are "onto" this gold rush of 2008-2009. They missed calling the dot.com bubble of the 90s, and for sure missed calling the real estate bubble earlier in this decade; but they are "onto" the commodity bubble like white on rice. Waiting for it to burst. To think that investing in something like gold, or silver, or corn, or copper, or natural gas is sound investing........It's just all so pre-modern or something. I do appreciate the balanced reporting by the two dudes at the Yahoo-Finance outfit, at least they appear genuine. Blodgett writes good blogs too.

But the question of the day is how did one ounce of gold end up being worth, at today's count, $1200.00?

There are probably many factors involved in this, but I think that irresponsible money management plays a big part in the answer. How has our country ended up in so much debt?...... Further playing into this is the fact that China, India, Brazil and South Korea all have huge reserves, but their reserves are mainly in U.S. dollars (they are our creditors after all). China is doing everything it can for the government and their people to get precious metals without putting the prices into orbit. They are recommending that all their saving citizens put at least 5% of their savings in gold and silver. They are also buying up gold mines left and right. If there is a gold mine for sale anywhere in the world, China will buy it before the rooster crows. The IMF is selling it's gold "off the market" so not to dramatically disrupt prices. Last month they put some (200 tons) up for sale. Oops China! India got to it first and bought every ounce. Crazy.

So where do we (the good ole U.S.) stand in all this? We have gone through interesting changes in our country for a while. We had a time of industrialization, this is probably known as the good times for many. Sometime in my life time, I don't know when for sure, we morphed into financialization. When I say this I mean that Wall-Street's primary focus went from preserving wealth at interest to the creating of wealth. In the late 90's you could not watch a football game without being inundated with 25 investment commercials. Easy money was the name of the game. This is a difficult drug to get off of once you get addicted.

And now we are going through "politicization." This is probably not a good thing. Government is best when it is localized, but more and more power is heading to D.C. It appears now that Wall-Street and D.C. have entered into some strange sort of marriage. Big banks fail, and the D.C. gang bails them out and keeps the leaders around.

Here's another example of politicization: I read yesterday that $31 million dollars from the stimulus package was alotted to renovating two remote border crossings between Montana and Canada. The average traffic per day at these crossings?..........22 vehicles. This is great work. Fold on-- Big brother!

Matt and The Bean Stalk

Well, I will stick with my two day old tradition of showing strange pictures. This is actually the four foot tall Brussels sprout plant from our garden just prior to the final harvest this past week. It was a good year for Brussels sprouts! That single plant must have produced 200 sprouts. Glad we have a large deep freeze.

They are a delicious food that is also high in vitamins and fiber. This is our favorite way to prepare the sprouts:

Steam for about five minutes.

Then saute w/ butter, salt and pepper. Stir constantly. It is important not to overcook Brussels sprouts as they release a sulfur smell if they get too much past al dante'. But otherwise they are scrumptious as all three of our boys eat them.

They go very well with beef filet.

Redneck Awards Finalist

Sunday, 4pm
Thanksgiving Weekend 2009

If you temporarily convert a Weber Skyline Gas Grill....


into a deluxe venison hickory smoking station for deer jerky....

it's possible you might be a redneck!

Just Win, Baby!

As my wife can attest to, I spend a fair amount of time reading sports articles on the internet. Probably like many of you the name Brett Favre, prior to about 10 weeks ago, brought a frown to my brow. For the last several years, Favre has made a long, Jordanesque, drama queen, tearful, pathetic goodbye. I'm going to retire, no I'm not, yes I am, maybe, no I'm not (typing that sentence just wears me out!).

The way one "finishes" is such an important aspect of their legacy. Do you remember John Elway's goodbye. It couldn't have been better if it were a Disney movie. Here I was, a KC Chiefs fan through the 90s. Time and time again we saw Elway and his Broncos beat us when it mattered most. He was such an easy guy to despise with that cheesy grin. And then Elway lost so many Superbowls, you remember that? Crazy. But several years later they mounted a comeback. And with the feet of Terrell Davis also as a weapon, won two Superbowls in a row. Elway retired shortly after the second Superbowl victory. At the beginning of the following season he said goodbye publicly, once and for all time in regards to his football playing career. It was halftime during a Monday night game against Miami in Denver, John Elway's number was retired in the Broncos "Ring of Fame." While Tina Turner's "Simply the Best" was rocking the woofers of the stadium he stood at the 50 yard line and said a wonderful goodbye to his loyal fans. It was awesome, what a great moment. It was possible a tear came to my eye, I'm not sure it could have just been the onions from the nachos.

Now, back to Favre. He has at current time, led the Minnesota Vikings to an 8-1 record. If he was not winning it would be pathetic, he had a short stay at the Jets and now "Benedict Arnolded" the Packers and joined their archrivals. I read on the news, Wisconsin soldiers are told "Favre, Favre" by non English speaking Iraq detainees, again pathetic.

But you know what, he is winning. Nothing cures sore muscles and sore memories like a win. And that makes it all better. Of course, the season is not over so it still could get ugly, but for now............................. "Just Win, Favre!" I like it, and you may too.

Extrabiblical Witness

Extrabiblical witness of Jesus or the early church is a fascinating topic. There of course, is not much historical information apart of the Scriptures about Jesus because of the amount of time that has past since he was here on earth. And then there is always the question as to the authenticity of any given document. When I say "Extrabiblical" I am mainly referring to documents that can be traced to be written during an acceptable period of time after Jesus was here on earth. Most of the so called Gnostic gospels would not fit this criteria, but a few may, I am not sure. For instance, the man who wrote the quote later on in this post died in 126 AD. If he lived say anywhere between 60-75 years, he would have been a young man when many of the people who witnessed Jesus life were still living. This offers a high probability of the chance that his life overlapped those who witnessed Jesus' miracles, death and resurrection; and that he was personal witness to their testimony, therefore making his testimony authentic.

Anyway, last weekend I had the opportunity to fill the pulpit for our pastor, who took a much deserved retreat. While preparing the sermon I came across this quote from a man named Quadratus, who lived in Athens in the first century and part of the second century. He was defending his new found faith to the Roman Emperor at the time. Check it out:
"Our Saviour's works, moreover, were always present: for they were real, consisting of those who had been healed of their diseases, those who had been raised from the dead; who were not only seen whilst they were being healed and raised up, but were afterwards constantly present. Nor did they remain only during the sojourn of the Saviour on earth, but also a considerable time after His departure; and, indeed, some of them have survived even down to our own times."

I used this quote to further an illustration of what the 1st century church must have been like. With members of the church body being present who had seen one of Jesus' miracles or witnessed his death and resurrection. Can you picture it?
"Come on down Lazarus, and tell us about that time.............."
And come they did. I think this is the only way to explain the documented explosion of the first century church. They had no political power, military force and didn't even have "church" buildings to meet in, but yet they grew.
It is a powerful testament to us living in "easier" times to learn from those early Christians. They were not perfect, far from it in fact (see the scoldings in the letters to the Corinthians) but they had strong faith and unity, especially in the face of persecution.

Anderson in Bristol

Mike Anderson, head coach of Mizzou basketball was in Bristol, Conn this week for several interviews with ESPN. One interview was a coaching roundtable that included Travis Ford (Ok St), Scott Drew (Baylor) and Anderson that went over the strength of the Big 12. This looks to be another tough and exciting season in Big 12 play. Obviously with Kansas and Texas ranked 1st and 3rd preseason nationally, but also a bunch of teams bring back solid talent, ie Craig Brackens, Iowa State.
The second interview dealt exclusively with Mizzou Men's Basketball. Anderson comments that even with the loss of Demarre Carroll and Leo Lyons he really likes this year's basketball team; reminding us that it was Ramsey and Stafford who played the majority of the second half in the Elite 8 loss to UConn last year.
The season is just around the corner. I think it is going to be another great season for Mizzou basketball! Both interviews can be seen at the following link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/clubhouse?teamId=142

Grinding Corn

Getting back to "the basics" is such a great and soul invigorating thing to do. I think that is why I like camping and backpacking so much. You just have what you need to survive or find extremely useful, along with one or two luxury items that really aid in the enjoyment of life.

This past week my Dad picked some corn from a neighbor's field. After roasting it, to different levels of darkness, we all (three little boys included) knocked the kernels off the cob together into a big stainless steel bowl. Then we ground the corn in a wheat grinder. The smell of freshly ground, freshly roasted field corn is something I had never experienced before, but it was outstanding. One of those deals where your mouth is watering instantly.

This week we made two different types of cornbread. One was cornbread with blueberries that my wife and I picked and froze earlier this year. The second double batch I prepared and baked was Mexican cornbread. This tasty bread had sweet corn, jalepenos, and cheddar cheese. Oh Baby! I also add 1/2 cup of unsweetened whole milk yogurt to each batch as this keeps the cornbread exceptionally moist. MMM MMM. Yes, there is true pleasure in preparing meals that are off the land and prepared in your kitchen.
"Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread" Proverbs 30:8 Amen.

Football and Basketball

This picture of quarterback Blaine Gabbert being sacked by a Baylor defensive man gives a nice summary of the state of the Mizzou football team. We are a bunch of underachievers. Probably not to the point of a Michigan (at least we beat the pillow fighting Illini), but we are still pretty bad.

-

Our game day coaching is bad. Pinkel and his staff are good recruiters, they have a very well disciplined team and they usually come up with a good game plan. The problem lies in the area that they are not good game day coaches. Adjustments are not made properly. Cornerbacks are told to play 10 yards off receivers. In such a way that the Baylor receiving corp looks like the Jeremy Maclin and Percy Harvin show. Prior to Saturday, Baylor has been, and was traditionally the worst football team in the Big 12. I really don't think this was disputed.

So if the so called "worst" team in the Big 12 beats you, with 40 pts on the board, at your house, with a freshman backup QB and on a sunny day; what does that make your team?

A few of my friends will call me treasonous for saying this but I think I will halfway root for Kansas State next week. And why not? They are well coached and obvious over achievers. They have taken a season that no one thought they would do anything and turned it into a success, playing better and better as the weeks go on. They played Oklahoma to the wire last week in Norman. Oklahoma probably has a better player at every single position on the field. And they beat KU this week which is always a good thing.

-

Oh well, at least the Mizzou basketball season is getting close to starting proper. The boys looked pretty good in the exhibition game. I think this group is going to beat out expectations in a big way. Rivals.com lists Mizzou as the 75th ranked team or something and they are picked to finish 7th or 8th in the Big 12.

Losing JYD was big, but we still have JT Tiller. Let's not forget he was Big 12 defensive player of the year last year. I also think if Kim English makes the freshman to sophomore improvement we will be a force to be reckoned with. Go Mizzou! (basketball anyway) Oh, I'll probably root for the football team too.

Poneros

Until I had the privilege to take a graduate level Philosophy class this semester, I was unaware of these two features in the scholarly world:

1. The word "insofar". "Insofar" must be the most popular word among English speaking philosophers. It may even be a requirement that your dissertation has say, 100 or so "insofars" to get a PhD. I have made the discovery into how it is used. You start with a long run on sentence with at least 2-3 words that normal people need to consult Websters for, followed by "insofar" then you justify the previous run on sentence with more mumbo jumbo to create one long head scratching experience. If you can do this, you might just be a philosopher!

2. On a more serious level is "poneros" (Greek for evil). The philosophical world goes to great lengths to try to grasp an understanding of moral evil; it's limits and possibilities. In addition to this I had no idea of the issue that exists between theistic philosophers and nontheistic philosophers with this "problem of evil", that is, rationally explaining the existence of evil with an all powerful, all knowing God.

Poneros can be broken down into two broad categories: moral evil and natural evil. Natural evil of course consists of natural disaster, famine, fires, disabilities, disease, etc. Moral evil consists of wrongful acts and bad character traits of human beings: murder, stealing, dishonesty, greed, cowardice, etc. It is in moral evil that we continually learn of its seemingly limitless possibilities because of our fallen human condition.

Consider this short narrative from Elie Wiesel as he recalls his memory of the first few minutes at Auschwitz in his book "Night":
"The cherished objects we had brought with us thus far were left behind in the train, and with them, at last, our illusions. Every two yards or so an SS man held his tommy gun trained on us. Hand in hand we followed the crowd. An SS officer came to meet us, a truncheon in his hand. He gave the order:
'Men to the left! Women to the right!'

Eight words spoken quietly, indifferently, without emotion.
Eight short, simple words......I had not time to think, but already I felt the pressure of my father's hand: we were alone.....Tzipora held Mother's hand. I saw them disappear into the distance; my mother was stroking my sister's fair hair, as though to protect her, while I walked on with my father and the other men. And I did not know that in that place, at that moment, I was parting from my mother and Tzipora forever."

This story of pain and suffering staggers the imagination. Believers are sometimes asked to "explain" evil. The major questions that non theistic philosophers bring are summarized like this: How can an all knowing, all powerful God exist, who also created the world, if he allows (or ordains) so much evil to exist in his created world? Why doesn’t he do something about it? Is he unwilling, unable?.... These can be tough questions, although I don't think they are quite all they are made up to be. I thank my God that we are not required to have all the answers, save that we defend our faith in Christ. I think the truth of the matter is that evil exists because of an historical Fall (you know who you are! sons of Adam and daughters of Eve).
For some, the emotions surrounding the understanding of evil can create a huge divide between themselves and God. For others, pain and suffering may the conduit that introduces them to faith in God and gives them the opportunity to surrender themselves to something greater. “The human spirit will not even begin to try to surrender self-will as long as all seems well with it” (The Problem of Pain, Lewis, 90). Lewis goes on and calls pain God's megaphone that rouses a rebellious world. Pain removes the veil that everything is O.K. "It plants the flag of truth within the fortress of a rebel soul" (94).

The Christian faith offers something unique from other's religiosity, an historic event that defines it. That is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. "Christianity is not the conclusion of a philosophical debate....it is catastrophic historical event following the long spiritual preparation of humanity" (Lewis, 14). Wow, spiritual preparation... for something better, for something glorious; the hope of living in the presence of God. I'll take that deal.

"If philosophy is the love of wisdom, then what is the wisdom of love?" -Matt Kauffman

Jabba the Hutterite?

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away there was a gangster slug named Jabba the Hutt. In a country close, yet far, far away (Canada) are a people named the Hutterites. In addition to sharing a somewhat similar name, the Hutt and the Hutterites also live with a community of people. I suppose this is probably where the similarities end between the two as the Hutt's community lived to satisfy the Hutt himself, and the Hutterites live in community with one another with the aim to glorify God.

The Hutterites (also of Montana and the Dakotas) are a brotherly sect of my Mennonite forefathers which trace their roots back to the Radical Reformation. According to Wikipedia the Hutterites, while nearly being extinct about 150 years ago, now number close to 50,000. In a less counter-cultural way than the Amish, the Hutterites do use electricity, automobiles, etc., as long as these things are making them more efficient at what ever they are producing or doing. Television would not fit into that category! But communication by email may.

In a more counter-cultural way than the Amish, the Hutterites share the common good of their possessions. They believe this most closely satisfies the aim of Scripture and the way the early church lived as is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles:
All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (2:44-47)

32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. (4:32-35)

Christians down through the ages have at times tried to duplicate the way of the early Christians that is shown in the preceding verses. The problem that arises again and again in communal type living is that too much power and wealth end in the hands of a few and corruption inevitably follows. Somehow, the Hutterites have managed (for the most part) to live free of controversy and mass corruption. I am basically summarizing what I have read on different web sites, but a typical colony could consist of 50-100 people. There are three male leaders over the colony, but they are democratically elected by all the married men in the colony and could change at any time. The Minister, the Secretary and the Asst. Minister. The Minister is in charge of Shepherding Spiritually and leading worship, The Secretary manages the monetary affairs of the colony and the Asst. Minister aids in both these things and is also involved in teaching the children English and German. In addition to these three leaders there are various "bosses" of different things such as Dairy Boss, Poultry Boss, Butcher, Row-crop Boss, etc.

Hutterite women, while not leaders, are, according to reports strong independent minded Christian women who all play a part in the community. With the exception of perhaps one outside hired teacher, the community is basically self sufficient. Most communities make their own clothes, shoes, all the food etc. Agriculture is at the physical core of any Hutterite colony. Most children complete their formal education at the age of 15, but it is not unheard of for a Hutterite to go and study further in the field of medicine, agriculture, etc.

Most the people live in one or two large buildings on the campus. Since they eat together and worship together, each family only has what could consist of a small living room and enough bedrooms to satisfy the needs of that family. They worship and eat together daily. Wiki says that the men eat first followed by the women, but I see no evidence in their official website. They all eat at the same time, but the men do sit separately from the women and children.

When a colony gets too large, they purchase land and build a new colony (further away than walking distance from the last). When construction is complete and things are up and running (finances, agriculture established etc), they basically draw numbers from a hat (after praying over it) and the blessed numbered families load into vehicles and go on to start a sister colony. It seems that at the heart of the success of the Hutterite growth is the way they provide for everyone in their colony and nothing is kept for one individuals gain. This seems hard to understand for many of us, but again, it is mentioned clearly several times Acts that this is the way the early Christians lived. In the last few decades Hutterites have started planting colonies in Africa.
Interesting food for thought.
MK

Symbol Minded

In the following link, Stephen Colbert comments on a recent Supreme Court case involving a Cross in the Mojave desert. Great humor combined with a good message.

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/252639/october-13-2009/the-word---symbol-minded

Tour of Missouri - 2009

This past weekend affirms what I have been considering for a while....Missouri is the greatest state in the Union. We are in the heart of America, I believe we have the most shoreline of any state, we touch more states than any other state, we get all the seasons and we have a very nice balance of urban and rural, and we can grow good tomatoes! But all those things don't make us the greatest state, it is the people of Missouri.

Our family made a big circle going counterclockwise around the state over a four day weekend, visiting friends and family along the way, state parks and KC and Stl. If we missed anything it would probably be that we didn't get that far south, but we'll save that for another time. Here are a few pics from the trip (with commentary, naturally!)

We spent the first night with friends on a farm northeast of St. Joseph, MO. Boys with Luke and Allie McCrea.


Visiting cousins at Uncle Keith and Aunt Emma's house in Harrisonville, MO. Isaac, Kate, Ethan, Daniel, Carson and Benjamin. (Dan and Kate are named after their beloved great grandparents, Dan and Katie Kauffman)

The two above shots were taken at Ha Ha Tonka State Park. Visiting the old castle ruins and behind us in the family pic is a 300 foot drop off and one of the largest springs in the State of Missouri-feeding a branch of the Ozarks.

Boys will be boys - Osage Beach, MO

A city park at St. James, MO (In addition to nice parks, St. James boasts four wineries-come by 308 Duff for a sampling!)

A little spelunking? Why not. Meramec State Park, MO

7:00am, Oct 19th- 42 degrees F. We came, we saw, we camped. Toasty warm in the North Face sleeping bags!!
It was a good trip.

Spanish Rally

It is not often that a group of 1,000,000+ people get together for a common cause. And when that does happen you would think it would make news headlines all over the place at the major news networks....
According to the BBC, over one million Spanish citizens gathered this weekend (Oct 17th, 2009) to protest the Spanish government's move to liberalize the country's abortion laws. Currently Spain is one of the few modern nations to have strict laws on abortion. The new law would open access up for abortion for birth control and even allow girls as young as 15 to get an abortion without parental consent.
The theme of the weekend was "each life is important" and with the entire Spanish population at a little less than 50 million citizens, that is a pretty good showing for the Spaniards. This is interesting for us in the States as well, especially since a recent October poll found that now half of Americans oppose abortion in all or most cases, which is up significantly from last year.

Way to go Spain rally attenders. I knew that tasty wines and tapas were not all you had to offer the rest of the world!

1973 NCAA Wrestling Championship

Iowa State's Chris Taylor (right) looks over Jim Hagen of Oregon State in the heavyweight class of the 1973 NCAA college wrestling championships.
(Associated Press File Photo)

As it probably goes with many proud fathers, I look at my three boys and wonder what sports they might excel in in the future. It kind of runs in the blood on both sides of our family, skipping myself of course ;) , (my grandfather played tailback for the UCLA Bruins and Jamie's dad, uncle and brother were all NCAA wrestlers) so we have high hopes for little Isaac, Daniel and Benjamin. Although I plan to be very cautious with too many organized sports at too young of an age, kids need to have their freedom, and with that freedom comes creativity. It is still exciting nonetheless to dream.

We found this pearl a few months back in the Des Moines Register. It is a picture of the "gentle giant," Chris Taylor of Iowa State wrestling none other than Jim Hagen (Jamie's uncle) in the 1973 NCAA Championship. As you can see from the photo Jim was not a small individual, but he didn't look too big compared to the 425lb Taylor.

Jim Hagen lost the championship match. It is my understanding that after this match the NCAA limited the heavy weight wrestlers to no more than 275 lbs as compared to previously which was unlimited.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19930718/SPORTS11/50710012

Tough Wkd for Missouri Sports

Well it is Sunday evening and this concludes a horrible weekend for Missouri Sports, perhaps the worst in history. It all started on Thursday night when our family went out to watch the Mizzou game against Nebraska at my parents. Before we could watch this we had to watch the Cards literally give away the second game of the LDS to the Dodgers. This set a bad vibe for the night, and the Mizzou game in my mind.

Now my good friend Mike and buddies were at the rainy game, as was my brother Lance and company. I watched the game from the comfort of my parent's living room and I am just questioning some of Gary Pinkel's game management right now.... 1. Why, after Nebraska made their first touchdown of the night and the score was 12-7 Mizzou were we throwing in that nastyness? Why weren't we running and eating up the clock? Our defense was playing well and our punter is outstanding. But no, we had to throw. And a hobbled Blaine Gabbert threw an intereception that led to a touchdown. 2. Then later, with Mizzou down 8 with 6 minutes left, we have an opportunity to kick a field goal but instead go for it on fourth down and of course don't get it. Why not kick the field goal, be down five and give your defense a chance to make a stand. Even if we would converted the fourth down play, a two point conversion against Nebraska in that mess seemed just unlikely.

Of course the Cardinals lost the final game last night. Today the Chiefs made a good effort against Dallas but of lost in overtime. And then there is the Rams. The Rams are a discouraged NFL football team They are in a bad way, period.

One good thing I have noticed in Big 12 football is it looks like the balance of power is starting to even out (even if a little) between the North and the South. For a good many years the North was nothing but a pillowfight. And the South not only dominated the Championship game but most of the interdivisional games. I think this is starting to change a little. Now don't get me wrong, Oklahoma is very dangerous as a 19th ranked football team and Texas is good. The only problem is how did Colorada not only hang with them, but lead most of the way thru that game and seemed to only lose when Hawkins Jr. started throwing interceptions? We'll see.

Next week, Oklahoma State for the Tigers. Maybe we can go down and surprise them like they surprised us in that major upset in Columbia last year.
Go Mizzou.

Confession is good

Alright, confession is good for the soul........ I am a wanna-be mole killer. This realization came to me the other day when, after awaking from a very restful sleep, I remembered I had a dream that my two loyal dogs and I were killing moles. Yes, it is true. Now I would describe some of the details of this dream, but I am afraid the gore could possibly lead this post to be R-rated.

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Those of you who have experienced moles probably can empathize with my situation. Moles just leave grass death and destruction in their wake. It is horrible. I have been fighting them for two years now. I have won a few battles (I think I have four confirmed kills), but I am not winning the war. Last year the moles attacked my flanks and worked in curious and discrete ways; behind fences, in the shade 0f trees, etc. This year it is a full blown frontal attack on the beauty of my front yard! That's not right.

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I like the traps and they have produced all my confirmed kills, but some moles are too smart and dig right around them. My latest attacks have been personally dubbed "operation shock and awe." I first run water full blast through a hose down into their tunnels for about 30 minutes. I then take that same hose and hook to the end of my tail pipe and gas them for about an hour. You would think this tactic would kill moles, but it only seems to enrage them and the next day I find more destruction than ever! It is sick.

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A few weeks ago I was having a discussion with my neighbor. We were sharing mole-war stories and learning from each other's tactics. He then told me that someone he knows (who will remain nameless), caught a mole with a "humane trap" and proceeded to take it out to Long Branch State Park and set it free.............................................:( I thought about making a citizen's arrest for crimes against the common good.

Yes, confession is good. I am a wanna-be mole killer.

Call a time out!

Whew!, It seems just like just a little while back President Obama was the greatest thing since sliced bread according to the approval polls. Even folks who polled that they oppose many of the President's policies still gave him high marks on the approval ratings. Everything Mr. Obama touched seemed to turn into gold a year ago. He could walk into a bakery and delicious rolls, breads and scones would just pop out. Now it seems like that bakery is producing a lot of burnt bread. Not just the burnt taste, but it seems like the administration is having a difficult time getting the recipes right.

The latest bad recipe was President Obama's failed bid to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago. Now I am sure that a great many people have put hard work to promote Chicago. For me, the first time I heard about it was last week and the only additional thing I knew about it was that while the president was flying across the world to help secure this bid, a local Chicago newspaper poll showed that half of Chicagoans didn't even want the Olympics! Bad timing, bad recipe.

Unfortunately, all this also looks like bad leadership. According the the latest Rasmussen report, President Obama approval index is tracking -10. This failed Chicago thing can not help that a bit. It will probably drop a couple more points.In a basketball or football game there is definitely that thing called momentum. When momentum is obviously not in one's favor, it is time to call a time out. Maybe even make some personnel adjustments!I think there are many Americans who are beginning to wonder a little about things. Our money is dependent on foreign investors, we don't produce widgets quite like we used to, the government seems to produce more problems than helps, and others. So where do we go from here? I don't know, but there seems to be too many liberals in power right now. Where are the real statesmen? The Democratic party needs there own "Ron Paul" to help rally their moderate reflective thinkers.

Bird huntin' at Uncle Versies

When I was about twelve years old, my parents let me purchase a jam box. You know the one I'm talking about if you lived in the 80's; it had the dual cassettes (with recorder) and all the bells and whistles on it for treble, bass, etc. Prior to the days of Cd's, Ipod and youtube, the jam box was where it was at for quality listening entertainment. I would even proudly take my jam box on the school bus to listen to occasionally.
One of the tapes I had (and I'm not sure where I acquired it or who gave it to me) was a collection of jokes by Southern comedian Jerry Clower from Yazoo City, Mississippi. I fell in love with this tape. If I had trouble falling asleep at night I would simply pop Clower into the jam box and listen away.
Jerry Clower's comedy is free from profanity and undeniably funny. A true classic. I read recently that after Jerry's death, a decade or so ago, someone claimed that Jeff Foxworthy was the heir apparent to Jerry as the country folks' comedian or whatever. Another person's commentary on this thought said "Foxworthy is to Clower, as dog feces is to apple pie." No offense Foxworthy fans, but that statement does ring with some truth, although I don't know if I would put it that strongly.

As with everything else, Jerry is now on youtube. The Bird Huntin' story is one among many...enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuBh2T-Tt2w

Sometimes you have to see it

Occasionally, one comes across something that sounds so disheartening and so absurd that you really have to see it to believe it. I am referring to a brochure titled "Your Life, Your Choices". It was written in 1997 to give to veterans who visit VA hospitals, but was later suspended for some "questionable" ethics. Recently it has been reinstituted and to my understanding every physician in the VA is asked to refer this to veterans to help them plan.....something.

The main author, Dr. Robert Pearlman is a documented advocate of physician assisted suicide. I am going to copy some of the questions that are asked.

The title on page 21 of the document is "What makes your life worth living?"

Some example statements are:
-I can no longer walk but get around in a wheelchair.
-I can no longer get outside, I spend all day at home.
-I can no longer contribute to my family's well being.
-I need someone to help take care of me all the time.
-I can no longer control my bladder... my bowels.
-I can no longer think clearly, I am confused most of the time
-My situation causes severe emotional burden for my family (such as feeling worried or stressed all the time).
-I am a severe financial burden on my family.
-I can not seem to "shake the blues."

To each of these above mentioned statements there is an option to check one of these-- difficult but acceptable, worth living but just barely, or not worth living.

The page goes on says and I quote: "If you checked 'worth living but just barely' for more than one factor, would a combination of these factors make your life 'not worth living?' If so, which factors?

If you checked "not worth living" does this mean that you would rather die than be kept alive?"

Folks, this is absurd. I can think of no other way to describe it. To think that a depressed 20 some year old war vet could be handed this pamphlet by a physician after he has been wounded in combat;.....it just makes me sick.
For more info check out this opinion article in the WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204683204574358590107981718.html

The Front Porch

Last year when Jamie and I were considering building a home we looked at a number of house plans on the internet and other places. One thing I noticed almost universally: All the new home plans do not have a front porch that serves as anything but decorative, or as a rain shelter while you unlock your door. And these were pretty nice homes, 4 bed+ and very nice roof designs. They did all have, however, very large back decks.

We ended up not building a home but stayed in our current house. She was built in or around 1920. Luckily for us, old houses are not in very high demand in Macon and we considered our house quite a bargain when we purchased it, well below the national average in price. But when it was built I think it would have been considered on the upper end for our town. 3200 sq feet not including a full basement, 3 bath, 4 oak pillars in the entry, pocket doors and oak hardwood and fixtures everywhere. In fact the builder of this house had quite a vision for the future, because upstairs we have two bedrooms that are both 18x20 ft, both with walk in closets and one with a second closet. You just don't see these qualities often in old houses.

Anyway, back on track, our house has a 733 sq foot front porch. I know this because I have been over every inch a number of times in the last three months as I stripped off an outdoor carpet, glue and about 15 layers of paint. That might be a slight embellishment into the number of layers of paint, but I'm not sure. The original wood is in excellent condition and I can't wait to stain it.

Our back porch off the mudroom has about enough room for one adult and one dog and that's it. And I have noticed that the majority of old houses also have a large front porch. So this is interesting, when did the large size of porch move from the front to the back? What does this mean? And ( as we say in Inductive Bible study) what are the full implications of this switch?

Free Will -- Part II

There is a story in the 38th chapter of Isaiah that offers an interesting glimpse of our Creator. God sends Isaiah to tell King Hezakiah to put his house in order because the illness he has will not be recovered from and he is going to die. King Hez. prays and simply asks the Lord to remember the faithfulness and devotion of his life. The Lord sends Isaiah back to tell the King that he has heard his prayer and will add fifteen years to his life. Besides being a beautiful story between the God of Israel and the King of Israel, this story seems to affirm what the Psalmist and James both say; God hears the prayers of the righteous and responds.

The Lord created us in his image, and I believe, with freedom. Freedom to respond to him and even freedom to reflect his holiness. Micah asked, "what does the Lord require of thee?" to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God. He enables us to do these things. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, God also sent believers his Holy Spirit. This is no small thing and we can only begin to understand this mystery. The Spirit works as our personal counselor, but also works through us using our head, hearts and hands in this world.

Among glorifying God, spreading the good news and edifying fellow believers, we have a charge to resist evil. Jesus says in John 14 that Satan is the prince of the world. Paul calls Satan the god of this age (2 Cor 4:4) and that his agents rule this present darkness (Eph 6:12).

Is this evil one doing the will of God? I think not. He fathers lies (John 8:44), schemes (Eph 6:11), seeks whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8), sows weeds (Matthew 13:39) and is the dragon who leads the world astray (Rev 12:9). So what are the implications of this? I believe God "allows" evil to happen, not "wills" it. And there will be a day when he will not allow it anymore. I believe Jesus Christ is the predestined one. Those who become "in Christ" are destined for glory. We are now "chosen" because of The chosen one.

I've either written this freely or I'm just predestined to think this way!!!
"He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)

Free Will -- Part I

In essence, everyone of us is a theologian to some degree. A belief that God does not exist, a belief he exists but in a non-personal way, and a belief that he exists personally and fully in the person of Jesus Christ are basic theological views and of course there are many more.

One of the great debates in the theology of the Christian faith is the question of humanity's free will or lack there of. Does God predestine each individual human to the life they will live? And choose in advance who will and will not spend eternity with him? Or is this more a matter of a personal choosing as to whether or not we respond to him? A broad stroke of the first view is called Calvinism (but Calvinism covers much more) and the second could be called Arminianism. Both John Calvin and Jacob Arminius were products of and active in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. And both fields of thought are still very active today in Evangelical Christianity. Although Arminianism might be more commonly known as Wesley-Arminianism today because of John Wesley's influence.

Although this question can not be answered in an absolute fashion until the afterlife (when we will no longer see dimly), I think it is still a great debate. I hold strongly to the free will position of this argument. I do believe our Heaven Father is all knowing and all powerful, and included in this is his complete foreknowledge of the future. But there is also that thing called love. If God is a master of puppets, I am not sure how he can be truly loved back by his creation. I believe that through the sacrificial act of love and reconciliation on the cross that God has given every person a free will choice to respond to his love. That is what the cross represents. God is love and he wishes to have a loving relationship with us through his son Jesus.

Another strong point that reinforces the free will position is the "problem of evil." Those who do not believe in free will must ultimately come to the point that evil itself is ordained by God. I don't buy this. Although all things can be worked for the glory of God, I don't believe he would sanction evil, even in it's simplest form. I believe that God allows Satan and his evil ways to exist. We are in a constant battle with the spiritual forces of this present darkness. As promised through scripture there will be a day when God defeats Satan and evil will no longer exist. Oh what a glorious day that will be.

What is "Folding On?"

A waterfall in the Caribbean National Forest, Puerto Rico I appreciate the number of comments I have received in my personal email about my new blog site. Thank you. I think I have now enabled individual blogs to have comments added if you so choose. This post deals with the title of my blog - Folding On.

"Folding on" is a term my good friend Drew and I adopted from a blues song and is now a backpacking term. Although it can be used in any setting in life when you need to push hard or just need an inspiration to take the next step. The story of Folding On goes like this: It was May of 1999, I was working and living in Evansville, IN and my bud in Columbia, MO. We planned a backpacking trip across the Island of Puerto Rico and thru the Caribbean Natl Rain Forest. The night before we flew out we met in St. Louis and hit a small bar in the area of Soulard.


Molly's was the name of the establishment and the main room must not have been much larger than 16x80ft. But that night there were three elderly black men who had come to play some blues. One of their songs was titled "Fold Fold On". "You just gotta Fold--Fold On.." Like the fourth quarter of a tight game, these guys gave this song all they had. Awesome is a word that doesn't seem quite right to describe it, but I guess that will work.

Fast forward several days: We had checked out San Juan and took a bus outside the city to the Atlantic Coast. My idea all along was to hike N-S across the island, starting at the Atlantic and ending at the Caribbean Sea. Much of the 40 mile hike was thru the Caribbean Natl Rain Forest, the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. Forest System. Save for the heat, it was a beautiful backpack most the way, that included swimming in a crystal clear river and finding a wild raspberry patch. About 2/3 the way thru we reached some area of the trail that had yet to be repaired from Hurricane Hugo ten years prior. The jungle was so thick that we tried not to get much more than five feet apart so we wouldn't lose on another. I am saying it might have well been night as dark as it was in this place. But we "folded on" and on and on....and we dipped our feet in the sea the next day. We saw a much different side of Puerto Rico on the south, but that is a tale for another time.


Sometimes life gives a person challenges and tribulations. You just have to Fold -- Fold On!

Habakkuk breaks it down real well in the final verse of his oracle. "The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights."
Fold on today brother and sister.

Davy Crockett

Sing it with me now... "Born on a mountaintop in Tennessee, Greenest State in the Land of the Free....Davey, Davey Crockett..., King of the Wild Frontier." Or actually if you take the tail off the cap is he the youngest member of the Russian mafia?!

This is a pic of Benjamin, our youngest son. Last Christmas my sister Jean gave two coonskin caps to Isaac and Daniel. During the winter when the nights are long Jamie and I would play "coonhunting" with the boys.

It is played by hiding stuffed animals all over the house on the first floor while the boys are not looking. Then all the lights go out with the exception of one mag light. The boys go around and shoot an animal with the mag light and it's powerful beam. You then "bag it". It is a great game.

"In the fear of Jehovah there is strong confidence, And to His sons there is a refuge." Proverbs 14:26

A ceiling or a floor

With the price of gold hovering in the $1,000 range it makes interested parties wonder if this is a ceiling for the metal, or is this the new floor? Last year the price of gold went thru 1000 (I think up to 1030) and then quickly dropped back down not long after. It is hard to say what will happen this time as there are so many factors involved.

The fundamentals of gold are, as they have been since Old Testament times solid. Gold is rare, beautiful and utilized as a preservation of wealth. It is universally accepted as money. You will find no country in the world (past or present) that will not accept it as payment for debt, goods or services.

In the following link you can see a chart that displays the enormous infusion of money the Fed has put into the U.S. financial system.

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/AMBNS

I once read an illustration that gave me a great understanding of how a fiat money system works. The story goes like this. Imagine you live in a casino. Everything you earn, and all the goods and services you purchase are in the casino and thru their chips. So if you have $250 worth of chips you can purchase $250 worth of goods and services or you can put money in the market to see if you can earn even more. So your chips will be worth the same tomorrow as they are today right?..... Not if the casino has the right to produce all the chips they want. Operating real casinos must have cash to back up all their chips. But does the Fed operate on the same rules as it orders the infusion of money???? It is hard to say how they operate for sure.

The U.S. dollar has depreciated 96% since the United States went off the gold standard in 1913. When you look at the chart in the link you see a savage ascent. Doesn't Sir Isaac say that every reaction will be countered by an equal and opposite reaction? Or something like that.

Mizzou's close call with Bowling Green

What is it that makes a good football game? Is it when your favorite team pounds the other and the game is essentially over mid way thru the 2nd quarter? Is it when both teams play their best? What about when your team comes from behind... especially against a superiorly talented team. Well, Mizzou did come from behind last night and no disrespect to Bowling Green (they are a good football team and will probably have a winning record), but the home opener should have been a little easier than that.

The Mizzou offense played a great second half but they need to get things going a little better or they will run into trouble. I suppose the experience of coming from behind will be good for Gabbert and the rest of the young offense, in the long run. It was a thriller listening to it on the radio last night. I think all along you sensed the Tigers knew they were going to win, it just had to wait for that "Joe Montana" timing.

Derrick Washington rushed for over 120 yards and one touchdown. This balanced running attack really helped get the whole offense going in the second half. Mizzou's defense played pretty well the whole game, but they needed to get that turnover earlier in the game. It will be exciting the see this defense develop over the season.

Nebraska seems to be looking like the days of old. They are not just beating folks, they are blowing them out. Twelve points allowed over two games by the defense. If Nebraska can win at V-Tech this next week (and Mizzou gets a couple needed wins) the nationally televised Thursday night matchup on October 8th will be exciting. Probably putting the winner in the drivers seat to win the North. Of course there are some Jayhawk fans who might have something to say about that!

"You Lie!" and respect for the office

I am in danger of talking about something that is already outside of the 48 hour news cycle. I have heard that in today's quick news and communication world if it's past 48 hours it's probably worn out it's welcome (or at least newsworthiness.) Oh well, here goes anyway, the above mentioned title refers to an outburst a U.S. congressman made to the President of the United States in front of the entire congress and national television.


This is a sad example of something that is happening here, there and everywhere -- lost respect for authority. Now I did not vote for Mr. Obama, but he is the President. He was democratically elected to represent the people of the United States as the executive officer. He also is the head of state and should be treated as such. I remember from management training in the hotel business: "praise in public, rebuke in private." At least that seems to be the way to be respectful to folks and bring about positive change. It is abhorrable that the outbursting congressman (or people from his outfit) are benefiting financially from this mess; as his campaign has raised over "200 large" since the outburst.

I am not sure where I stand on the Healthcare debate. But I do know the problem seems to be bringing out the worst in people. As a Christian, we have a charge to share the good news of Christ. With so many credible people seemingly on both sides of this debate it would seem that the best things for Christians to do is participate in consensus that is brought about honorably and respectfully. It doesn't seem easy to answer. I believe that a growing lack of individual responsibility for family wellbeing and righteousness will corrode our society. But as believers we have direct commandments to care for the "least of these." The questions are, I guess, why isn't the church more involved? And should government be involved to the degree that some propose?

Grape-Nuts Kick

When one was "into" something growing up in my house it was known as a "kick." Perhaps you have/had this in your family as well. A kick was essentially when you were a big fan of something for a while and then it settled back to normal at one point or another. One "kick" that seems to come back to me every 18-24 months is a Grape-Nuts Kick.

Now when I was a young lad my family ate a lot of cereal. Cereal was the universal feel good-good for you to snack; not just for breakfast but for anytime of day and even right before bed is especially good. The same still holds true today in my current home; we eat a lot of cereal. In fact I almost named this blog "five gallons a week," showcasing the amount of milk we go through any given week.

I find myself again on a Grape-Nuts kick. It is possible I am on my third box in about as many weeks. Grape-Nuts are interesting, they of course contain neither grapes nor nuts, but are in fact delicious. What a delight to see last night as I was reading the box, smacking away my "nuts" when I see that the Post Cereal company is located in my home state, headquartered in St. Louis, MO. Now they taste even better, I love supporting Missouri companies. As I read on I discovered that g-n's have about as many vitamins and nutrients as a supplement. What a great nut! And to my understanding they have been the same great old nut since the late 1800's. That is a time tested cereal. Well, this concludes my first blog. I wanted to start out with something non controversial. I think I nailed it!