It has been a long while since I posted on my blog. I woke up in the middle of the night and thought that I needed to write some advice to my children so today I begin that journey.
Bishop Desmond Tutu wrote, "Before the world was made, God loved YOU." This is an important statement and I think it boils down everything in the Bible. No matter how bad things are around you, no matter how little you think of yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks or says about you, the Creator of All loves YOU. That makes you a precious being.
We should spend our lives sharing God's love with others, serving them that they too may understand God's love. Our gifts from God are to be used to this end. Some have the gift of listening and conversation, others are visionaries (prophets) or leaders, others declare God's beauty through art, and some serve God cleaning bedpans and mopping floors. All of these are equal in God's sight and all are serving the Lord.
God loves everyone just as much as God loves YOU. You have no more importance and no less importance to God than anyone else who has ever lived or will ever live. Kings and queens have no move importance to God than YOU. This also means that God loved Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Thomas Merton, Deitrich Bonhoffer, Buddha, Mohammed, Hitler, and Stalin, and Charles Manson just as much as God loves you. You will never look into the eyes of someone God does not value as much as YOU. Remember this in all of your dealings with others.
Monday, March 30, 2020
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Twenty-Five Things You May Not Care To Know About Me
1. Christ is my salvation. Theresa is my heart. My children are my joy. God is good, all the time.
2. One of my favorite quotes is by Robert E. Lee, "I am but a lowly sinner, trusting in Christ alone for my salvation." This is one of the truths I hold fast.
3. My other favorite quote is also by Lee, "Do your duty in all things. You can never do more. You should never wish to do less." This is the one piece of advice I wish my children would remember long after I'm gone. I'd like it on my tombstone.
4. I've learned that the meaning of life is found in serving others.
5. Some of the smartest people I've known never graduated high school. Knowledge or money do not make you a great person, what you do with your life does.
6. I wrote my own word processor with search and replace function at the age of fifteen in 1984.
7. I am the descendant of at least 36 Confederate veterans. Only one was wealthy enough to own slaves, the rest were dirt poor farmers.
8. I like all types of music: Tibetan chant, bluegrass, folk, gangster rap, blues, grunge rock...just about anything.
9. My mother wanted to name me after Christy Mathewson, the Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher.
10. American Revolution General Francis Marion and German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel were two of my childhood heroes.
11. My father died ten years ago, I miss him dearly, but I get to hear his words every time my boys do something stupid.
12. My daughter Abigail has the perfect name, it means "a father's joy."
13. Abigail is just like her mother -- strong willed, temperamental, and a joy to experience.
14. My fraternity brothers Francisco "Chico" Soto and Kevin "Bruno" Brueland kept me alive for the better part of a year when I was dirt poor in college. I'll never forget that. Chico and Bruno are the meaning of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
15. My favorite book as a toddler was "The Digging-est Dog!" by Al Perkins. I also remember my mother reading Edgar Allan Poe's "The Gold Bug" to me.
16. My favorite Christmas present ever were season tickets for the Columbia Mets. Relief pitcher Mickey Weston lead me to Christ through the bullpen fence.
17. My wife is my hero. She has more charm and heart than anyone else I've ever known.
18. I saw the movie "Star Wars" (now called Episode IV) twenty-six times in the theater when it was originally released.
19. My favorite foods are catfish stew, South Carolina hash and rice and liver mush (fried crispy with mustard) sandwiches.
20. I secretly regret not having been in combat while in the Reserves during Desert Storm. That said, I loved blowing things up at drill.
21. While in high school I was the editor of the school newspaper, wrote for the Gaston Gazette and had my photographs published in a sports magazine. In college I was a columnist and later news editor for the campus paper.
22. I wish I could play the guitar.
23. Growing up I won state awards in electronics and cooking while in 4H.
24. My favorite Peanuts character is Snoopy.
25. I hope I make my wife happy. She's made my life.
I posted this to my Facebook profile and thought I would post it here also.
2. One of my favorite quotes is by Robert E. Lee, "I am but a lowly sinner, trusting in Christ alone for my salvation." This is one of the truths I hold fast.
3. My other favorite quote is also by Lee, "Do your duty in all things. You can never do more. You should never wish to do less." This is the one piece of advice I wish my children would remember long after I'm gone. I'd like it on my tombstone.
4. I've learned that the meaning of life is found in serving others.
5. Some of the smartest people I've known never graduated high school. Knowledge or money do not make you a great person, what you do with your life does.
6. I wrote my own word processor with search and replace function at the age of fifteen in 1984.
7. I am the descendant of at least 36 Confederate veterans. Only one was wealthy enough to own slaves, the rest were dirt poor farmers.
8. I like all types of music: Tibetan chant, bluegrass, folk, gangster rap, blues, grunge rock...just about anything.
9. My mother wanted to name me after Christy Mathewson, the Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher.
10. American Revolution General Francis Marion and German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel were two of my childhood heroes.
11. My father died ten years ago, I miss him dearly, but I get to hear his words every time my boys do something stupid.
12. My daughter Abigail has the perfect name, it means "a father's joy."
13. Abigail is just like her mother -- strong willed, temperamental, and a joy to experience.
14. My fraternity brothers Francisco "Chico" Soto and Kevin "Bruno" Brueland kept me alive for the better part of a year when I was dirt poor in college. I'll never forget that. Chico and Bruno are the meaning of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
15. My favorite book as a toddler was "The Digging-est Dog!" by Al Perkins. I also remember my mother reading Edgar Allan Poe's "The Gold Bug" to me.
16. My favorite Christmas present ever were season tickets for the Columbia Mets. Relief pitcher Mickey Weston lead me to Christ through the bullpen fence.
17. My wife is my hero. She has more charm and heart than anyone else I've ever known.
18. I saw the movie "Star Wars" (now called Episode IV) twenty-six times in the theater when it was originally released.
19. My favorite foods are catfish stew, South Carolina hash and rice and liver mush (fried crispy with mustard) sandwiches.
20. I secretly regret not having been in combat while in the Reserves during Desert Storm. That said, I loved blowing things up at drill.
21. While in high school I was the editor of the school newspaper, wrote for the Gaston Gazette and had my photographs published in a sports magazine. In college I was a columnist and later news editor for the campus paper.
22. I wish I could play the guitar.
23. Growing up I won state awards in electronics and cooking while in 4H.
24. My favorite Peanuts character is Snoopy.
25. I hope I make my wife happy. She's made my life.
I posted this to my Facebook profile and thought I would post it here also.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Another Summer Gone
I'm sad to see another baseball season is coming to an end. But it has been a fantastic summer! My family went to a dozen or so Intimidators games and a few Charlotte Knights games as well. It seems that every other game had a cool moment. I won a prize package on Father's Day and we won pizza twice at Kannapolis. At a Knights game Caleb was picked to compete in a between-inning bicycle race down the baselines to home plate. His starting point was about ten feet from Paul Konerko, in Charlotte on a rehad assignment, and he won the race -- the prize was four tickets to any Knights game. Caleb was more excited about passing the players' locker room than being on the field with big league players.
Several times during the season I became absorbed by the game, hearing nothing but the sounds on the field: the forceful exhale of the pitcher as he hurls the ball toward the plate, the thump of the catcher's mit snaring the speeding sphere, or the crack of the bat. How anyone admire the "clink" of aluminum I can NEVER understand. Baseball is an organic game -- dirt infield, grassy outfield, wooden bats, cowhide covered ball, leather gloves, and at one-time wool or cotton uniforms. Baseball is a timeless game to me, at least in some respects. In the quiet moments between pitches or while following a well hit, long fly ball, I could feel my father's presence.
We'll be counting the days until next season....
Several times during the season I became absorbed by the game, hearing nothing but the sounds on the field: the forceful exhale of the pitcher as he hurls the ball toward the plate, the thump of the catcher's mit snaring the speeding sphere, or the crack of the bat. How anyone admire the "clink" of aluminum I can NEVER understand. Baseball is an organic game -- dirt infield, grassy outfield, wooden bats, cowhide covered ball, leather gloves, and at one-time wool or cotton uniforms. Baseball is a timeless game to me, at least in some respects. In the quiet moments between pitches or while following a well hit, long fly ball, I could feel my father's presence.
We'll be counting the days until next season....
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