Use Your Allusion: Forth Bridge

The Forth Bridge was built in 1890 on the east coast of Scotland. It is a cantilevered railway bridge across the Firth of Forth, linking Fife and Lothian together. As you can see in the pictures, it is really quite an impressive piece of engineering and design.

Apparently, the bridge has always required constant maintenance. So at least for Scottish people, to allude to the Forth Bridge is to allude to a never ending project. A common expression is, "I'm painting the Forth Bridge," because as soon as the workers finished painting it, they would have to start painting it again.

Sometimes this allusion is used of government legislation when, for example, by the time the legislation gets agreed upon, approved, and passed, it is already outdated and pointless.

It's Nacho Cat: Ladder

Nacho has always loved things that she can climb on. In our old house, we used to have an awesome huge attic. But every time you pulled the steps down to go up there, she would hear it from wherever she was, then come racing over and straight up to the attic. It was like a big pink insulated playground.

When our next door neighbors were moving, they were showing their house, and a couple of different times when the real estate person was letting the people see our neighbor's attic, Nacho would come running into the garage and up in our neighbor's attic. That has kept me a little nervous when I see people around us moving. She would be easy to miss.

Several weeks ago, I decided to be Mr. Macho Handy Man and change out some of the light fixtures in our house. We didn't like the ones that were here when we moved in, so we got a new chandelier for the dining room and a new ceiling fan for the living room. In order to reach the ceiling--which is rather high--I borrowed a large ladder from church that they use to change the words on the marquee.

Nacho very quickly found her way to the top of the ladder. Coming down was a little less pleasant for her, but she had to kind of hop it a little at a time. I've never seen her loose her balance or fall, though.

Michael Phelps is returned to his tank at Sea World

If you have been watching the Olympics, and really need a laugh today, please read this article at the Onion. A true classic.

What better birthday present could you ask for?

I had some exciting news when I got home after church. My cousin Laura and her husband Matt just had their second child! Her name is Maggie Ann, and she was born on my birthday! I believe she weighed in at 7Lbs 13oz.

This seems to be a trend in my family:
Matt and Laura share a birthday
My grandparents share a birthday which is also their anniversary
And now, Maggie and Mark (Me) share a birthday. This fact will very quickly elevate her status in my list of preferred cousins. :-)

When Maggie gets older, I will have to school her in the wonderful music of Led Zeppelin, and teach her about their lead singer, Robert Plant, who also shares our birthday.

Pretty cool!

Going To Church Is In Your Best Interest

I want to share an idea that's been on my mind for a long time: I'm convinced that everyone ought to go to church.

Even if you don't believe a single Biblical miracle ever happened; even if you don't intend to practice what you listen to, and you're only there to sit through a service; even if you think it's boring, going to church is in your best interest.

As a Christian, I believe that Christians ought to attend congregational gatherings regularly because to be part of the "church" is to be part of the "assembly." (Ekklesia means "called out," and was a common word for assemblies, both christian and secular.) Assembling is integral to what Christians do. Christians who never assemble with other Christians by their own choosing have little right to claim they are part of the "church" ("assembly"), at least as the New Testament terminology goes. But that's not a soapbox I'm here to stand on today.

For now, I want to set all the doctrine, rules, and pastoral fiats aside. Also, I know plenty of people can tell stories about crazy congregations that are overly negative or outlandish, who have damaged people in some way. I'm not talking about those places. I'm talking about your basic, generally positive, Christian worship assembly. I'm not wanting to talk about why you have to go. I'm wanting to talk about why it's good to go. Especially if you have a family, there are a number of benefits that you enjoy as a church goer aside from anything spiritual.

Here are some benefits you will enjoy from being at church that you will miss out on for not going:

• If you go as a family, it is at least 1 hour per week in this hectic, crazy world that you and your family can do something as a family. Statistically, you greatly diminish your chances of being divorced, as well as the chances of your children becoming delinquents by simply going to church as a family once per week. (Note to dads: Sending the wife and kids to church while you play golf is not the same as going with them. But going as a family will strengthen your family.) Also, you have more opportunities to talk to your family after you've heard a lesson together. "What did you think about what he said?" "I liked this point." "I didn't agree with this point." At least you'll be talking!
  
  
• It gives your family a chance to make friends with other families that care about being good people. If you must have friends, why not try and make some that will make a good impact on you? Granted, Christians are not perfect people, but at least they're committed to trying to be better than they are.
  
  
• It will be at least one hour per week that you are not being bombarded with the standard filth that you encounter on television or the internet. Most atheistic people who deny the Lordship of Christ will still acknowledge that Jesus was a fantastic teacher and ethicist. Getting 30 minutes per week of information, advice, and encouragement about living a good life must surely be good for you. Even if you don't believe the Bible, you cannot deny its ability to make positive changes in people's lives. (OK, so you can deny it, but you would be wrong to do so.)
  
  
• It gives you an opportunity to know people from age groups and social circles that you wouldn't otherwise interact with. It is important to know that all humans have intrinsic value as people. There are people both old and young that you will encounter at church that would have no other connections to you.
  
  
• It gives your children a great chance to practice their manners and improve their social skills. Having to meet and greet people of all ages is good for them.
  
  
• It gives your children an opportunity to learn how to behave themselves in an environment where they should be quiet and listen. A child who has always gone to church and has learned to sit in an auditorium quietly has a huge advantage when it's time to sit in a classroom and learn.
  
  
• If your children are with you, it is one hour per week where you know they aren't doing something bad or mischievous.
  
  
• If the church is active as it should be, it will provide you with opportunities to help make a positive impact on your community. I know my congregation is active in providing needed help and resources to families who have hit hard times. We deliver baskets and gifts during the holiday seasons to help families who cannot afford some of the luxuries most of us enjoy at these times. We sometimes volunteer our efforts to simply help pick up around the neighborhood. Why not get involved in some things that all people can acknowledge are good and wholesome?
  
  
• It gives you a chance to develop your musical talents. I know so many people who have become great singers because they've been able to sing in their assemblies. The practice of community music has basically died in our culture...we think only professionals have the right to sing and make music, so rather than learn to play and sing, we just play CDs and MP3s. The practice of communal music lives on primarily in the church. Show up and sing, and enjoy the beauty of the lyrics and the melody. It doesn't matter how you sound...the people aren't coming to listen to you anyway.
  
  
• It helps you develop personal responsibility by showing up voluntarily at a place you don't have to be. If you live life only doing the bare minimum of what your boss requires and you never learn to be a volunteer, how will you grow as a person? Wouldn't we all agree that a cheerful volunteer is the kind of person that everyone wants to have around? Choosing to go to church then fulfilling that decision is good practice in setting and achieving goals.
  
  
• When really bad times hit your life--and they hit everyone's--you will have a solid network of people to rely on. It is so much better to face your problems with the love and encouragement of other people, rather than having to face everything on your own. You buy insurance to financially bail you out of bad situations, but having a lot of Christian friends is great emotional insurance. A true Christian friend will be there for you when the going gets tough.
  

These are all things I perceive as benefits of showing up for church each week. What are some of the other reasons that you think of?

28

So today I'm turning 28. It sounds really old just to see it in writing. The other day, I came across a book that I ordered as a senior in high school (10 years ago) which I filled out with basic information about myself, my friends, and my hobbies. Since I use this blog as a journal, I guess I might as well share some details of my life. This post will be a time capsule for me. If it bores you, don't feel obligated to read it.

Presently I'm 5'11", weighing 190. I've finally started to get a few gray hairs this year; mostly on the sides. I've been working as a minister now for almost 5 years, with the last year and a half at the Old Hickory church of Christ. I've been happy here, just as I was happy in Rose Bud. The people here have been really good to work with; especially the teens. We're about to move up a new group in September of younger teens, and I'm curious about how the group dynamics will change as the group becomes younger on average.

I've been married for four years. Still no kids. Last year we had to get rid of our pet dog, Dora, but we still have our Nacho cat. We've enjoyed living in our home at the edge of Wilson Co. We're close to several nice shopping places. I think marriage has continued to be better every year. I feel like we're always arguing less and laughing more. Carolina has been very supportive of me, and has been good about getting involved in her own little ways at helping at church. She learned a lot about working with little ones while we were at Rose Bud, and she's continued to use that here. Her class is usually full of kids, and they all seem really attached to her.

As far as my hobbies go, I am still passionate about playing guitar, watching movies, and playing certain video games. Unfortunately, I seldom have time for any of these. If I can squeeze anything in, it's usually guitar. I'll have to admit I've really felt a void in not being able to ever perform anymore. In high school, that was one of my main goals in life, and I really enjoyed doing it. Then again, I don't know when I'd have time to practice with anyone. I feel that this is an area of my life that has become somewhat wasted. I worked tirelessly to acquire skills at this for several years, but now I can't seem to find a time or a purpose for those skills--other than the occasional Youtube video. Not to mention that I also own a vast amount of equipment. When my degree is complete, I suspect this will change some.

My grad school consumes the majority of what would otherwise be free time. I've completed 45 hours of my 84 hour masters of Divinity degree at HUGSR. By the end of this semester, if I pass a Hebrew test, with my other classes, I hope to bring that total up to 57. I still want to do a PhD, though I'm uncertain of where I'll do it, in what I want to specialize, or whether I will realistically be able to put the time into completing it.

I've always believed in setting goals. It definitely helps when you write them down. My personal goals for the future are:

• To complete my MDiv
• To exercise more, and with regularity
• To pray and meditate more, and to include my wife more when I do
  
• To start writing songs again
• To have at least one song published in a hymnal in my life
• To have at least one book published in my life
  
• To become moderately fluent in Spanish
  

Perhaps in the future, I will have updates about some of these items. I'm sure that whenever we start having children, that will create a whole new set of priorities.

I appreciate everyone who makes time to stop by my blog. I've found blogging to be very therapeutic, and helpful to me in a variety of ways. I intend to continue doing this for the foreseeable future.

About Bigfoot...

For the record, I was right. Not really surprised.

Farewell to Manuel

I just got an e-mail and learned the very sad news that my friend Manuel passed away after having some sort of accident at his daughter's house. He was such a pleasure to be around, and we really have enjoyed getting to know him whenever we have been in Monterrey, Mexico. He was a construction machine, and consistently outworked most of us. I believe he was 79 years old. He will be dearly missed by us, and especially by the Los Nogales Iglesia de Cristo where he was a member. I hate that I won't be able to work with him again, but I am glad that I got to know him these last two years.

Use Your Allusion: Pooh-Bah

Pooh-Bah is a character in Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Mikado (1885). When a cheap tailor named Ko-Ko was given a rank as Lord-High-Executioner, many officials refused to serve under someone who had been a peasant. Pooh-Bah was so haughty that he did not mind continuing to serve, so he accepted all of their positions as well as all of their salaries. Whenever Pooh-Bah shows up anywhere, it means most of the towns officials have shown up, as he carries the titles. Hence, Pooh-Bah was designated Lord-High-Everything-Else, because his titles were too numerous to mention every time someone addressed him.

It is still common in modern performances of the play that when at some points his titles are enumerated, in addition to those scripted, people will add many more modern references to jobs that he might hold as a source of humor.

When you now call someone a Pooh-Bah (sometimes spelled Poohbah), you are saying they are either a very self-important person, or someone who holds many offices at the same time.

Bigfoot

So apparently two guys in Georgia claim that they found Bigfoot, and that they are going to reveal convincing DNA evidence along with the carcass today in Palo Alto, California. I'm convinced this must be another hoax, but part of me really wants it to be true. Even better, what if he really had a personality like Harry and the Hendersons?

I'm sure there will be updates after they reveal their "finding", but for now, here's a link where you can read more about it.

My prediction is that it will be a hoax. Anyone else want to make a prediction?