Archive for May, 2007
Monster Pig
Being from the hills and hollers of Adams county I have had many animals through the years. Every year my brothers and I would take various market animals to the county fair, and though we were never really competitive I did set a record one year. I took a market hog to the fair that weighed in at a stout 315 pounds. It had one bad leg, but when it made it through the entire week of the fair it held the record for the largest pig to ever survive the entire week of the fair, some larger had died of heat stroke during the week since the fair is held on the second week of July. Now, knowing how utterly huge that pig was to me when I saw this story I about fell off my chair. I can’t imagine what I would do if I saw something like this roaming the woods of Adams County. Check out this picture and read the story below.
Breibart.com says…
“Hogzilla is being made into a horror movie. But the sequel may be even bigger: Meet Monster Pig. An 11-year-old Alabama boy used a pistol to kill a wild hog his father says weighed a staggering 1,051 pounds and measured 9-feet-4 from the tip of its snout to the base of its tail. Think hams as big as car tires.
If the claims are accurate, Jamison Stone’s trophy boar would be bigger than Hogzilla, the famed wild hog that grew to seemingly mythical proportions after being killed in south Georgia in 2004.
Hogzilla originally was thought to weigh 1,000 pounds and measure 12 feet in length. National Geographic experts who unearthed its remains believe the animal actually weighed about 800 pounds and was 8 feet long.”
Moped Man
Since the price of a gallon of gas has soared to over $3.45 in our little piece of the world I have began the moped talk again with my wife. For those of you that don’t know me this is something I bring up about once a year. I have always wanted one, and I just think they are awesome. You don’t need an extra license, insurance, or tags. Granted there are a few more restrictions on them, but I think it would be a great idea for keeping gas money in my pocket. I mean I work a mere 3 miles from home, which could turn into a 15 minute journey on a moped, so why not give it a try.
My question to you world is this. Are mopeds are lame as my wife thinks they are, or am I preparing to start yet another trend? Let me know what you think.
NOT-SO-Professional Basketball
I have been over professional basketball since Jordan’s come back wearing the infamous number 45 concluded, but this has officially put me over the top. Robert Horry, a seasoned veteran when it comes to the playoffs, just takes out his frustration on Steve Nash by gut-checking him into the scorers table with the subtleness of a hockey player.
Let’s get right to the heart of the issue; these are supposed to be the most talented and MOST PROFESSIONAL athletes playing the game of basketball, but I saw more professional behavior out of players when I coached 5th grader inter-league! I think it is absolutely pathetic that professional basketball players can beat each other around, start riots, choke their coaches, and kick camera men in the crotch and still be paid millions of dollars a year. The penalties for this kind of behavior might seem fair, but it seems to me like they have no real effect on the players. Missing a few games and losing a couple hundred thousand, or whatever it may be, really isn’t that big a deal for someone who makes millions a year.
As a person who used to eat, sleep, and breath NBA basketball as a kid I would be afraid to let my kid think anything of athletes like this. I guess I will simply have to stick to college ball where the passion it real, the talent is fresh, and where good sportsmanship EXISTS. Go Bucks!
Family Relationships
Since my wife and I first discovered we were going to become parents their has been a lot of discussion and contemplation of family around our home. We have talked about what methods and practices we will use to raise our child, what he will and will not be allowed to do, and how he will relate to his family. That may sound weird, because it did to me at first, but parents dictate the way our families relate to one another, and to others, by the attitudes they have and the moods they set in the home environment.
I can remember my family as a kid. I had three brothers, so things were generally pretty wild, but even so our attitudes and actions were dictated by that of our parents. If our parents were happy, so were we. If they were quiet, we were quiet. If they were angry, the mood was tense. Get the picture? By now you’re probably thinking, “DUH, that’s just what children do.” And while that may be true this principle applies to many other things, including our churches.
If the leadership and staff of a church are passive and hesitant to do something then the body will be passive and hesitant int he way they do everything. If they are bold and passionate the body will follow suit. I believe this even goes so far as to effect the personal motivation that many people have to grow in their relationship with Christ.
It is the little things like this that constantly throw me into a panic about how I am doing as a leader in the church. I mean this kind of stuff is what keeps me up at night, but I believe that without reminding ourselves of this we could very well turn around one day and wonder how we got so far off track.
I just wonder what Christianity would be like if everyone realized this and tried to live their life as a catalyst for the faith of others. If we made our goal to spur one another on and motivate progress, growth, and spirituality in the church. Think about that.
A friend of mine, Mike Edmisten, really got me thinking about family relationships today and had a really great post on his blog about togetherness. If you have time check it out. I think you’ll enjoy it.
RVCC History Video
I just wanted to let everyone know that I have posted the new RVCC history video online. You can view is by visiting our new site. It is a pretty neat video with interviews from the founding members and pictures from way back when. I’m especially pleased with how decent it turned out since I did the whole thing, filming and editing, in three days after most of the original footage was TAPED OVER! Just thought you all should check it out.
Closing
Well, my wife and I are officially ONE home owners. We closed the sale of our other house yesterday and none too soon with the baby only 3 1/2 months away. This is something that we prayed tirelessly for and we are so happy that it has finally happened. It feels like that chapter in our lives is finally finished and we can move on to the next phase without anything holding us back. It has already removed such stress from our lives.
Thanks to everyone who prayed with us along the way, I know there were many of you. God is great!