Midsummer Night's Praise

A Midsummer Night's Praise

From dawn to dusk and back again
Captured by a stroke of pen
Far into the black I stare
And breathe in deep the midnight air

Creation comes alive to sing
To You alone the praises ring
The chorus echoes tree to tree
To bring a simple gift to Thee

"How great Thou art" comes to my mind
Sufficient words I cannot find
Now, I, my Lord, can't wait to be
With You for all eternity

New perspective via my favorite sport

For as long as I can remember back, basketball has always been my game of choice. I have spent more energy and hours than I care to count practicing skills and developing my body to be able to excel at the sport. Basketball taught me the spirit of athletic competition. Through the game, I have experienced some of my most treasured memories: playing 2 on 1 with my brother against Dad, in the driveway of my childhood home...countless summer afternoons practicing for our future NBA careers with my good friend, Ryan...giving everything I had to make the team at Angelina College...losing all possibility of competitive ball with a torn ACL...the countless NCAA games spent with my Dad, screaming at the TV for something or another...the list goes on.

...However, tonight at Fredonia Hill Baptist Church, I gained a new perspective on life through the game I've loved for so many years.

I've had the opportunity to begin working with the youth group at FHBC over the past several weeks. I've begun to forge friendships with some of the young men, and I am beginning to become a regular part of the ministry team for the middle and high school students. Tonight after our program, a bunch of the guys went to the gym to play some basketball. Of course, I went with them.

We did the normal shoot around and chat for a few minutes while we all warmed up, but once the game actually began...I noticed something very different inside me. My purpose and motivation tonight was very different from how it has been so many times before. I felt such an urge to edify and encourage these young men that they became my focus on the court. For the first time in my life on the hardwood, I had absolutely no desire to be, or be seen as, the best. Shooting, passing, scoring, rebounding...it didn't mean a thing. For the first time, all I was concerned with was making sure each of the young men on my team got as much action out there as possible.

My sole purpose was to minister to those young men through athletic competition. Facilitating their shooting, passing, etc. was my goal. That and a healthy dose of positive comments and encouragement was all that was needed.

It was such a unique and unprecedented experience for me tonight...to see God use the game I love as a wonderful tool for speaking truth into these young men under my supervision. The Lord used my attitude to help set a positive and fun tone for the game, instead of the hard and uber-competitive battle in turns into so many times when high school boys play sports.

The Lord is so good to me. I never thought that I'd be using basketball as a ministry tool.

Praise Him for all the different ways He blesses us...

Spiritual truth from an over-hyped movie

Well, it's 3 A.M. on a Wednesday. Why on Earth am I writing in my blog right now? Glad you asked. I happened to have just learned a little nugget of spiritual application from a very unusual source and I found it worthy of sharing.

I just left the midnight showing of Transformers 2. I, along with seemingly half of the "under-25" population of Nacogdoches, had nothing better to do at midnight on a Tuesday in the middle of summer. Transformers 2 has been the most hyped movie of the summer, and thus had inspired hope within me that I would potentially experience a cinematic masterpiece the likes of which other midnight shows have produced (Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Matrix, etc.). Sadly, that was far from the case.

In this case, the sequel drastically paled in comparison to its predecessor. But, that's the end of my movie review. On to the good stuff.

I was standing over my bed, about to crash for a bit before tomorrow starts, when I thought to myself "well that was a bunch of wasted hope and anticipation", to which that still, small voice in my soul quietly whispered, "yes, but thankfully, your hope in the Lord will never be wasted. Your anticipation of His glory revealed will never return unfulfilled."

I chuckled to myself, realizing that I just gleamed some spiritual truth from a less than spectacular movie-going experience. Hope in the Lord is never wasted.

Faith in Him is built on rock solid promises, not Hollywood hype.

A personal encounter with the Holy Spirit never leaves me unsatisfied.

The make-believe and the escape end when the movie is over, but this adventure called the Christian Life goes on forever.

Your life in Christ doesn't fade to black. Music doesn't play and credits don't roll.

The best part is...we know the Director and the Star of the show personally.

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Think about it. Be blessed...

Prez got game...

Of all the possible topics I could bring up regarding our President, Barack Obama...I doubt this is one many are talking about.

I just got finished reading an article on ESPN.com about how basketball fever is taking over the Washington D.C. area...all because Barack loves a little roundball action.

You can read the full article here.

It's really amazing how completely superficial and pathetic people can be when the right stakes are on the line. The occupant of the Oval Office isn't the only thing that changes in Washington every 4 or 8 years. "Cool" changes too. The "In" places to eat, drink and be merry are unofficially established upon the whims of the Commander in Chief. The school you just have to send your kids to is determined by the parents who live in the White House down on Pennsylvania Ave.

I find all this fascinating and quite amusing. So desperate to be seen in as perfect a light as possible, everybody and their mom is taking up basketball in D.C. Congressman are spending their lunch hours jumping rope and practicing their free throws...all on the off chance that they might...just maybe...get a chance to hoop with the President.

Personally, I think all this is cool. Whatever it takes to motivate people to get in shape and stay there is cool with me. The Good Lord knows how much I love a good game of ball. I just can't stop imagining all the possible scenarios for this thing.

Check out this photo, and a couple of corresponding potential captions...






















"So, Senator, I hear you want me to sign that bill of yours, eh? Well, you're just going to have to beat me in a little game of H-O-R-S-E if you want your hometown to get those brand new streetlights..."

"Tell you what, Congressman ______ , if you can beat me one on one, I'll throw in some new police cruisers and even some extra grant money for all those city hall improvements you want so badly..."

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In a time when so much fear and uncertainty is in the air, I think a little more basketball is just what our nation's capital needs.

This is just plain funny. God bless America...

You stay classy, Los Angeles...

So, as much as I dislike to admit it, the L.A. Lakers are NBA champions. They beat the Orlando Magic in 5 games (just like my roommate, Geoff, said they would) and raised the trophy last night.

In a move we've seen plenty of times over the years; one that I will never understand...Laker fans in Los Angeles thought the best way to celebrate their teams victory was to trash their city. A rowdy crowd gathered around the Staples Center in east L.A. breaking storefront windows, setting fires in the streets and harassing passing cars.

As if that weren't enough, at least 5 police officers were injured and 1 was taken to the hospital due to injuries sustained while subduing the crowd. Apparently, people thought it would be cool to throw rocks and debris at the police.

I don't know what it is about L.A. people. When the Lakers won the title in 2000, the whole city went bonkers...hundreds of cars were vandalized (mostly ones sitting inside car dealerships) and over 100 people were arrested for disorderly conduct. I mean come on, L.A., can't you guys just have a parade and celebrate like the rest of the civilized world?

Will he ever learn?

I have to admit, even I am a bit surprised at what came out of VP Joe Biden's mouth today. Not even 24 hours ago, I blogged about our VP long list of verbal idiocy...and now today he shoves his foot even further down his gaping pie-hole.

While addressing an assembly of 8 law enforcement groups, Joe turned on the rhetoric machine once again and spewed out some more garbage. Referring to The Anointed One's Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, Biden made this remark, "But as you do your job, know that Judge Sotomayor has your back," Biden said. "And throughout this nomination process, I know you'll have her back as well."

Hmm, was your brain even turned on when you said that, Joe? Or were you just shooting from the hip like has worked so well for you in the past? At a time when Mrs. Sotomayor's biggest obstacle to confirmation will undoubtedly be her alleged biases and lack of jurisprudence, Joe Biden opens a massive can of worms that I doubt he even comprehends himself.

Yes...let's forget things like, civil rights, Miranda Laws, Habius Corpus, the Sixth Amendment and the Penal Code. Hey cops, detectives, prosecutors...don't worry about doing your job by the book. Sotomayor's got your back...

Joe Biden is a flippant idiot.

The best investment The Anointed One could make for saving face for his administration is buying a nice roll of duct tape for the Vice President's mouth.

John Wesley Hall, President of the National Assoc. of Criminal Defense Lawyers said Biden didn't do himself any favors with that remark, since it's likely to generate more critical questions for Sotomayor during confirmation hearings.

"That comment means that she could probably care less about civil liberties and just do whatever law enforcement wants," Hall said.

He concluded with this remark, "My take on it is that he's probably just trying to get law enforcement to support him by saying something just completely off the wall."

John, I couldn't agree more.

The Eloquence and Wisdom of our Dear Old Vice President

Ahhh, methinks Barack is cussing our nation's VP right about now. Joe Biden, architect of all things ignorant and offensive has added another bullet to the magazine of those who want to paint him as incompetent and unqualified.

This morning's gaffe was on the subject of the $8.7 Billion Hudson River Tunnel Project. VP Biden, who is an avid train rider, said the tunnel, which would connect New Jersey with mid-town Manhattan, was going to be a great asset to ease automobile congestion in the area.

Umm, Joe...the tunnel will be used strictly for trains.

And I quote, "Look, this is designed, this totally new tunnel, is designed to provide for automobile traffic," Biden said, according to The Record of Bergen County. "It's something, as you know, up your way, that's been in the works and people have been clamoring for for a long time."

Ah, Joe, Joe, Joe...maybe you should at least skim the brief your advisors give you before you make a complete fool of yourself, yet again, with nationally-syndicated reporters...

OH, and just for laughs, I've compiled a list of other recent blunders of our Vice President...enjoy.

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On March 13, 2009, Biden addressed a former Senate colleague by saying, "An hour late, oh give me a f***ing break," after he arrived on Amtrak at Union Station in Washington, D.C. The vice president's expletive was caught on a live microphone.

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During a Feb. 25, 2009, interview on CBS' "Early Show," Biden encouraged viewers to visit a government-run Web site that tracks stimulus spending. When asked for the site's web address, Biden could not remember the site's "number."

"You know, I'm embarrassed. Do you know the Web site number?" he asked an aide standing out of view. "I should have it in front of me and I don't. I'm actually embarrassed."

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At a Jan. 30, 2009, swearing-in ceremony of senior White House staff, Biden mocked Chief Justice John Roberts for his presidential oath blunder on Inauguration Day.

"Am I doing this again?" Biden said, after Obama asked him to administer the oath. When Biden was told the swearing-in was for senior staff -- and not cabinet members -- the vice president quipped, "My memory is not as good as Justice Roberts," prompting a stern nudge from Obama.

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On Inauguration Day, Jan. 20 2009, Biden misspoke when he told a cheering crowd of supporters, "Jill and I had the great honor of standing on that stage, looking across at one of the great justices, Justice Stewart." Justice John Paul Stevens -- not Stewart -- swore Biden in as vice president.

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My favorite :-D

When criticizing former GOP nominee John McCain in Athens, Ohio, on Oct. 15, 2008, Biden said, "Look, John's last-minute economic plan does nothing to tackle the number-one job facing the middle class, and it happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: jobs. J-O-B-S, jobs."

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In a Sept. 22, 2008, CBS interview, Biden misspoke when he said Franklin D. Roosevelt was president when the stock market crashed in 1929.

"When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened," he said. Herbert Hoover -- not Roosevelt -- was president in 1929, and television had not yet been invented in 1929. HAHAHAHAHAHA

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During a Sept. 12, 2008, speech in Columbia, Mo., Biden called for Missouri State Sen. Chuck Graham, who is wheelchair-bound, to "stand up."

"Oh, God love ya," Biden said, after realizing his mistake. "What am I talking about?"

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At a Sept. 10, 2008, town hall meeting in Nashua, N.H., Biden said, "Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America. Quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me." - Joe, I couldn't agree more...

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Biden said he was running for president -- not vice president -- during a Sept. 1, 2008, roundtable discussion in Scranton, Pa."Today is the moment for me as a United States senator running for president to put aside the national politics and focus on what's happening down there," Biden said.

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On Jan. 31, 2007 -- the day Biden announced his presidential bid -- the Delaware Senator was roundly criticized for calling Obama "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."

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This last one is of particular relevance now that we're beginning to hear flack from the democrats about not being racist towards potential Justice Sotomayor.

On September 10, 1991, after the confirmation hearing of Justice Clarence Thomas, Biden made this remark, "I think that the only reason Clarence Thomas is on the Court is because he is black. I don't believe he could have won had he been white. And the reason is, I think it was a cynical ploy by President Bush."

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Here's to another 3.5 years of comedy coming from the West Wing of the White House. Thanks, Joe...

Urban Justice...

So, this is the face of one Jose Carrasquillo, from Philly, who "allegedly" raped an 11yr girl in her own home.

After allegedly committing the heinous deed, he fled the scene and was hiding from police.

Police put out wanted posters and all the usual information on the dirtbag. Today, Mr. Carrasquillo was walking down a sidewalk in the same neighborhood the rape occurred. A couple of guys recognize him as the suspected rapist and then they proceed to chase him down, beating him along the way.

Surveillance footage captured the scene as several people proceed to beat the living crap out of the guy. What happens when you rape an 11yr old girl in south Philly? You don't just go to jail... you get tackled, punched in the face, beat with sticks, curb-stomped, drop-kicked in the groin multiple times and then you go to jail.

A local news station interviewed one of the guys who tackled the assailant, who said he "was just trying to help that little girl's family." Kudos to you, citizens of south Philly. At least in some parts of America, justice can still find a way to be served.

To see the attack video and information on this and other stories, click here