Work Hard, Play Harder

Joel Osteen

I must confess that I've become a big fan of Joel Osteen down at Lakewood church in Houston.  If you're not familiar with Joel, when you first see him you're sure that you've never seen a more stereotypical "preacher" than him.  But then you start listening, and quickly realize that this man has a big gift, and has tapped into it.

Here's a YouTube sample I found, although it's his voice only:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jHT-VJqqoc

Here's a link to a recent Message at his church:

http://www.lakewood.cc/site/PageServer?pagename=LCH_gobig_video

Screwtape Letter No. 27

I've been reading C.S Lewis' masterpiece, 'The Screwtape Letters' off and on for the past year, and if you haven't already done so, pick up this book and read it.  The premise of the book is a conversation between two demons, one the mentor, the other a protege who's tasked with stealing the soul of this person.  Each letter is a conversation topic about how well or poorly the protege is doing, and Lewis is able to capture with such extraordinary clarity the thoughts, and happenings of this person as it relates to his soul, and how the Enemy attacks us.

Be forewarned that each letter must be read multiple times in order to fully grok its meaning, but once you do, you will discover insights into the human condition that will astound you.  I just finished Letter 27, and one of the points Lewis makes reads as follows:

'.. for the Enemy [God] does not foresee the humans making their free contributions in a future, but SEES them doing so in His unbounded Now.  And obviously to watch a man doing something is not to make him do it.'

I often hear people ask, if God already knows everything that I'm going to do, why doesn't he do something about it?  But when you think about it as Lewis describes how this work, it starts to make sense.. God is not foreseeing events, he sees ALL events that ever have, or will, take place as an observer.. like the Grid in the Matrix... he sees it all.  When this understanding sets in, it starts to open up understanding around all sorts of questions I have around the nature of God.. which I'll leave for future posts. 

It took a lot of screws

Our new deck, that is :}

Started on the backyard a few weeks ago by killing the already-half-dead grass that "lived' on the 15 feet of ground that remains of our backyard (the lost yard is a whole post unto itself). 

After three weeks, the ground was ready to be tilled, so I spent a back-breaking day with the rented rototiller and a couple glasses of wine to ease the pain.

I'm sure some of you have seen those Deck-Block thingies at Home Depot.  My goal was to use these as the foundation and avoid any concrete mixing and digging.  For those of you considering this option is the future, here's my recommendation:  They work to a limited extent, but you're going to need more supplies if you don't want your new deck to come tumbling down during your first party where more than, say, two other people are standing on it.  Some of the caps actually broke off.  What finally worked was using a more traditional deck block that allows the framing to be bolted down on the four corners. 

After many bruising hours of leveling and squaring, my foundation was finally down, the frame level (sort of), and square (perfectly).

My next step was to lay the floor boards down.  For this to work well, the key is to buy the best wood you can get your hands on.  There are many options (I.E.  almost anything but Doug Fir will do), including some very expensive ones.  I used standard cedar 2x6 deck-boards (with the bored bottoms) at 12 and 10 feet.  Use one screw-length between boards, and be as consistent as you possibly can.  This is where the craftsman in all of us can take over, and where the deck will really stand out if done well. 

Last, I stained the boards with a clear, waterproofing Thompson's WaterSeal.  I tested using a colored "nature cedar" type stain, but it hides the beautiful texture of the cedar, and I highly recommend using the clear.  The natural fiber of the wood makes a huge difference!

My future steps will be to build a handrail around about half of the deck's backside, fence-line, and house-line, then a step, and finally, some type of extended trellis up above the fence-line side for added privacy.

By Summer everything should be done and we can start having some company over to enjoy the new surroundings. 

Cultural Observations

under construction

The 'Apology', not Imus, the biggest loser

For those of you following the Don Imus flap, and his usage of the expression, 'nappy-headed hoe's' in reference to the Rutgers women's basketball team, here's something to consider:

Imus apologized on Wednesday from his show.  He did again on the news.  He apologized directly to the team on multiple occasions. And again, while excoriated by the purveyor of all things ethical, Al Sharpton, on Sharpton's radio show. 

The players came out on Tuesday and gave their interview, carried live by the entire nation, mind you.  What the players didn't do then, nor have done since is accept his apology, or at least let him off the hook.  I believe, had they said a kind word (after the obligatory felt victimized interlude), or at the very least accepted his apology, Imus would have kept his job.

So think about this.. what in God's name happened to the apology and the power it once held?  America is famous for "second chances".  I always considered that to be a virtue. 

Yes, what Imus said was offensive, racist, and wrong.  No doubt.  But have we reached the point in America's future.. or its past, when a few mistaken words can take away your livelihood, and define your personal story?  As a Christian I'm very saddened by this, and points to a society becoming less healthy, not more.