Vegetarian thoughts...

My daughter doesn't like to eat meat. I wouldn't exactly say she's a vegetarian though. She's more of a "desert and breaditarian".

So, I've decided to try and help her eat more healthy by going Veggie with her until mid October. We've been eating vegetarian now for a week. It's not been hard, and it's been really yummy! Last night we made a terrific vegetarian chile. Here's the recipe if you want to try it.

A great choice! (I think...for now at least)

First, I confess I know almost nothing about Sarah Palin (including if that's the right spelling of her name).  But based on what little I know (mostly from here (which btw, I never read that paper)), McCain hit the nail on the head with Palin.  Here are some of the things I like about the pick.

• She's younger than dirt (which is 15 years younger than McCain).
• She's a she.
• She's conservative fiscally.
• She's an "outsider".
• She brings new ideas and hope to contrast the "four more years of Bush" mantra we've been hearing from Obama's camp.
• She's willing to criticize her party leadership (just like McCain prior to 2007).

In short, she's a great choice!  Without question, this is a GREAT year to be an independent voter.  Both parties have put together strong tickets with excellent candidates.  I'm glad I am not affiliated with either party so I can sincerely weigh the policies, personalities, and visions of these two potential administrations and do my part to move our country forward.

Kindergarten is around the corner

Son #2 start Kindergarten next week.  Hard to believe.  Wow, the time went quickly.  There have been a few events lately to help us mark this transition. 

At church last Sunday we had a "Kindergarten Blessing" for all the kids starting school this year.  As you can see, there's a good sized group for such a small church.  5% of our church is starting Kindergarten this year!

Then today, we went to Webster to find Marcus' teacher.  We were so happy when we discovered it was Ms. Cronrod.

Here's Tater in his new classroom.  He is SO excited.

 

One more thing...#1 starts Middle School next week.  We had "Get Your Stuff Day" at MHS this week too.  But no photos, sorry. 

WWJD? Really? HDYK?

Recently, I posted a long comment on a friend's blog about something I've been thinking a lot about lately. The basic issue is this...being at a "Christian University" (whatever that is), and having served full-time as a "professional minister" (whatever that is), I've run across a fair share of people who are skeptical of "organized" religion (whatever that is).

A common line-of-argument is,

The church is hypocritical because it does X (whatever that is). If Jesus were here, he would absolutely positively not do X. In fact, he would do Y.

Now, I think I know where these people are coming from. I appreciate that they disagree with something that the church is doing and are willing to root that debate in their understanding of the nature of Christ. In fact, many times I agree with them on the issue.

However, I find the argument to be rather superficial. Their logic seems to be that they have some special knowledge of Jesus that has escaped all the "irrational, organized religion folks" and is only apparent to them...in their private, mystical setting.

I just don't get it.

Why do people feel that they a clearer understanding of Jesus simply because they haven't bothered with the challenges of gaining agreement with others in an organized fashion? Two quick examples here...

• one friend recently posted their perspective on the Lambeth Conference of the Episcopal/Anglican Church. At issue here was that the Anglican Church asked the first openly gay bishop to stay home from the conference to reduce some of the hostility that was already present over the issue. My friend argued that what "Jesus would do" is to accept and embrace the bishop, not shun him.
• Another friend recently forwarded an email from a very conservative political organization that argued that Sen. Obama was unfit for the Presidency because he took too liberal a view of scripture. The material on the related web-site had one quote that especially troubled me. "I can assure you, Sen. Obama. Christ would never turn the other cheek to terrorists and enemies of America".

I will leave it to your discretion to agree or disagree with either position here, but that is not really the point.

The point is that both of these lines of argument--though taken from opposite sides of the political/social spectrum--are rhetorically the same.

They both argue that the "real Jesus" would behave differently than other believers think he would. This is a very weak argument that merely plays to the audience's emotional desire to "be like Jesus" with any evidence or rhetoric that supports the intellectual journey to arrive at the preferred destination.

So the next time you feel passionately about a subject, try to avoid the "WWJD" (What Would Jesus Do) type of argument...after all, "HDYK" (How Do You Know)?

Some photos from Lassen Volcanic National Park

Perhaps you've never heard of Lassen Volcanic National Park?  We hadn't until last year when Son #1 did a report on it for school.  It seemed like such an interesting place that we have wanted to visit ever since.

Well, this week while we're vacationing in the Tahoe/Reno/Carson City area we figured we were as close as we'd ever be, so we took off yesterday for an overnight camping trip to Lassen. 

We're glad we did.  It's an amazingly beautiful place.  Here's photos to prove it.

2008-Q3-Lassen

Wild Horses in Carson City

Matt & i saw these wild horses during a bike ride on a trail in carson city. The picture is a bit small...it's about a half-dozen wild horses just grazing in a field near the Carson River. I don't think I've ever seen wild horses before. I believe these were wild...there were no fences or anything around the place. In any event, it was a wonderful sight.

A Day at Tahoe

2008-Q3-Tahoe

Our first day at Lake Tahoe was amazing. We hiked, relaxed, and fished. Fun, fun, fun!

Lake Tahoe's Emerald Bay from my mobile phone

Lake Tahoe emerald bay. From my Mobile Phone.

King's Kamp...Captain's Log Videos

I was Dr. Spaceman at King's Kamp this year.  It was a blast.  Each day I created a "Captain's Log" video summarizing the events of the day before and highlighting tonight's activities.

Here's a sample...

King's Kamp - What we're up to

We had a great time at KK yesterday. We're all having a blast playing with old friends, making new ones, and enriching ourselves spiritually and physically.  There's something nearly magical in the power of the mountain forest to renew one's spirit.  I feel like whistling "Rocky Mountain High" all week! :-)

This year at Kamp we're all going different directions...

• Marcus - is pretty much the baby doll of the camp.  All the kids, counselors, and staff have adopted him and argue over who he is going to sit with at meals.  Today one of the staff saw him digging in the dirt and asked what he was doing.  When Marcus replied "digging for treasure", our friend Tom Black actually made a treasure chest, painted it gold, filled it with costume jewelry (gold and silver), and buried it.  Since Marcus discovered it, he's not put it down (or stopped talking about it).
• Madison - is a camper for the first time this year.  She's having a blast!  I see her only at meals.  The rest of the time she's out running around with her friends.  We're so happy about her cabin...they are all girls from our church.  She's the youngest of them, but she's fit right in and is having a blast.  We're so happy about that.  One of the reasons we went to Conejo was because there were no girls at our old church.  Now, two years later, Tiny is finally getting some strong relationships with the Conejo girls.
• Matthew - is, I believe, at camp this year.  I'm sure he rode up here with us on Sunday.  Since the time we arrived I've only seen him a couple of times.  Once, he asked me if I would be on his soccer team for the soccer tournament on Thursday.  "Oh, man.  I'm happy to.  But, I'm no good at soccer."  I told him.  He went back to his team and talked it over.  Later he came back and said, "I talked it over with my whole team, and we still want you on the team."  I felt really proud.  Inexplicably so.  As if I had somehow been weighed and counted "OK" on the scales of jr. high ratings.  Unfortunately, I'll probably blow the game winning goal or something.  Oh well.
• Michelle - is teaching 4 & 5th graders.  She's teaching with a young woman from the Smith family and seems to be having fun.  It's been so long since she's been in the classroom that she feels a bit rusty, but is doing a great job.  We're taking turns caring for Marcus while the other one works. 
• Me - I'm one of the "barn guys".  That means I'm one of the themed characters that guides the evening activities.  I'm working with another member of the Smith family, Tyler.  We're having a blast.  He's about 20 years old and full of energy.  We've got some awesome space suits (Thanks TOM!) and props, and we've adopted the personas of "Dr. Spaceman" and "Junior Spaceman" (pronounced Speh-Che'-Mun).  We're exploring the universe and bringing the knowledge of God to different planets each evening. 
  • Sunday - Planet Game-O-Tron
  • Monday - Planet Leadertron
  • Tuesday - Planet Nananananana
  • Wednesday - Planet Misbehavioron
  • Thursday - Mother ship for a send-off
  • Friday - Revisiting each planet to see how God has changed.

"I talked to my whole team, and we still want you on the team."

I'll post a few "Captain's Logs" on YouTube in the next few days.

We're off...

We're off to King's Kamp and Carson City, NV for the next two weeks. I may blog from there...

King's Kamp Day One

  Today was Day One at KK 2008.  We left home about 7am and arrived at Idyllwild around 11 (with a stop for McGriddles on the way...btw...if you ever need to order a sausage McGriddle with cheese...forget about it.  It took them 7 minutes of trying different things on the computer to get it figured out.  Finally, I just said, "forget it!  Just give me a sausage, EGG, & cheese McGriddle and I'll remove the egg.  Of course, if you know Madison, you know she was not okay with that.  If an egg touched her McGriddle...).

Anyhow, we finally made it to Idyllwild and worked hard from 11 am to 11pm to get the camp ready, finish building the space ship (above) and devising a way to crash land the ship.  It was really tiring...but what fun. 

I'm Dr. Spaceman (Speh-che-mun) and my colleage Jr. Spaceman is helping me teach the people of this planet about God's will.  It's really fun.  Big props to the amazing crew that put this all together.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Nicholas Carr has an excellent article in this month's "Atlantic" that describes the impact of the Internet on our ability to concentrate.  I recommend reading it...

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Wal-Mart supports "the man"

 

Today's WSJ reports that the world's largest retailer is "warning" employees that if the democrats take over next year it will likely hurt their bottom-line, as well as their employment levels (see article here  Wal-Mart Warns of Democratic Win - WSJ.com ).

Why the fear of dems?  Won't Obama's tax-cuts for the poorest Americans increase the spending of Wal-Mart's key constituents?  One word...Unionization.  W-M is one of the most aggressive in fighting unionization (and one of the worst Fortune 500 firms in terms of benefits for hourly employees).

However despite their concerns, W-M leaders are covering their bases with the PAC support of Dems almost equal to their support of the GOP--in stark contrast to the 2000 and 2004 elections.

It would be easy to interpret this as W-M pressuring their employees to vote GOP-or else.  Thoughts?