Category: news

we have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics. they will only grow louder and more dissonant. we’ve been asked to pause for a reality check. we’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.

but in the unlikely story that is america, there has never been anything false about hope.” senator barack obama, january 8th, 2008

i don’t care what your politics are, that line (“there has never been anything false about hope”) is a butt kicking line.

i may not end up voting for him (though i would like the chance) but i stand amazed at that line.

i just thought i would let everyone know that they should not watch the superbowl at a church with a screen larger than 55″ because it’s against the nfl’s copyright. here’s the washing post article on the nfl cracking down on churches showing the superbowl (churches that don’t charge a dime or use the event as a fund raiser). the article says:

for years, as many as 200 members of immanuel bible church and their friends have gathered in the church’s fellowship hall to watch the super bowl on its six-foot screen. the party featured hard hitting on the tv, plenty of food — and prayer.

but this year, immanuel’s super bowl party is no more. after a crackdown by the national football league on big-screen super bowl gatherings by churches, the springfield church has sacked its event. instead, church members will host parties in their homes.

i actually think it’s great that the church is getting people to invite others into their homes to watch the game BUT the nfl probably needs to get over this. i know they have the right to do this but it is a little ridiculous. if the nfl sees no harm in sports bars showing the game legally (sports bars are specifically excluded within the copyright) then i think they probably wouldn’t be harmed by churches doing the same thing.

anyhow here’s the article.

i would never have thought that i would find myself in agreement with a member of the spears family but i have to say that they are right in saying that dr. phil screwed up. every counselor has it pounded into his/her head that you have to err on the side of confidence. be it pastoral counseling or clinical counseling, you are taught that you go above and beyond the extra mile when it comes to protecting trust and confidentiality. there are very few reasons for breaking that confidentially and i’ve never seen “gaining a higher nielson raiting” on that list of reasons.

though i don’t watch his show i have usually been somewhat impressed when i’ve seen dr. phil show up on some other show that i was actually watching. i kind of expected more from him.

that was a great ending to a very stressful 4th quarter.

there is a honey bee crisis developing within america. for some unknown reason or reasons millions of honey bees are randomly dying across america. this is actually no laughing matter because honey bees provide almost 90% of all insect pollination and approximately 90 different foods that we eat (mostly fruits and nuts) depend upon insect pollination. in the past few months u.s. beekeepers have lost about 25% of their colonies due to what is now being called colony collapse disorder. this is five times their normal winter loss.

pam and i have always wanted to raise honey bees. maybe this means that we should start when we move up to wisconsin. if this happens i expect everyone of you to thank GOD for me when you eat your meals. 😉

[tags] honey bees, colony collapse disorder[/tags]

i have not listened to the news or read anything online all day. it was not until a few minutes ago that i learned about all the virginia tech shooting. this is one of those moments that makes no sense. all i can do is pray for those in the area and hope that the bride of CHRIST in blacksburg, virginia shines in it’s answer to the situation.

[tags]stupid, shooting, virginia tech[/tags]

monday one of the guys who i basically grew up with (one of my best friends throughout high school and college) placed the following comment on this blog:

Robert, I can’t figure out how to send you an email directly, so I thought I’d try this instead! Besides, the more people that see this, the better. My wife, LeeAnn, had a massive heart attack 9 days ago. She’s battling for her life right now. I truly believe that God is going to heal her, but that doesn’t stop me from praying and seeking the prayers of others. As I was walking the streets of Birmingham on my way to visit her at UAB hospital, the Lord gave me an interesting thought. Everyone who has visited us at the hospital is having to walk a lot of miles, because this hospital is just amazingly huge. And I thought, wow, everybody’s hearts are certainly healthier because of this. And then I realized that it is everyone’s spiritual hearts that are being even more radically affected as a result of LeeAnn’s sick heart. Because many people around here, including me, have become dramatically closer to God in the last 9 days. And it’s neat, despite the pain we’re all in, to see God work. Anyway, brother, we are in need of your prayers. Chris Moore

since then pam and i have been continuing to contact chris and have gotten our brothers and sisters at parkview to start praying for chris, leeann and their kids. some of you have been a part of praying for them and some of you are continuing to pray for them.

so i thought i would spread a little good news. last night they took the balloon pump out of her heart to see if it could function on its own. it has done wonderfully. it is actually functioning without the pump at the same level that it did with the pump. there are still several other hurdle to jump over so please keep praying but it’s nice to report one exciting thing.

people around the london bombing (or 7/7 as some as calling it) are placing their pictures on the london bombing photo pool. most of them are captured stills from television news programs but there are some from people who were in the subways during and after the explosions.

other countries stood with, mourned with, and prayed for us when we were attacked. now we need to do the same thing for our friends across the pond.

we’re happy people down here in baton rouge. we’ve been rated the fifth happiest place to live within the united states. how cool is that.