Oh, the Irony!

The picture is of young Jamison Stone of Alabama. The 11-year old boy is seen here with the 9 feet 4 inches, 1,051 pound wild hog he killed with a pistol recently. There are too many jokes to tell that have likely already been told, but feel free to post a few more in the comments section! For more information about the story, just Google it. The story is everywhere. It seems an 11-year old has dethroned the folks who killed "Hogzilla" a few years ago!

I post this picture today because I find it a little ironic, given I am an Arkansas Razorback and that the Auburn Tigers have had a time beating us this year (sorry, Jason) in sports. Is this a sign of things to come? I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Ohno!

Given the name of my blog, it will not surprise you to know that I love "Dancing with the Stars." Because of my job (and lack of TiVo), I am unable to watch as often as I'd like. This makes me very sad. I catch it here and there, though and when I do I love every minute of it. It is like a comedy of errors to watch some of the contestants (i.e. - Billy Ray Cyrus this season!). It is a delight to watch others like Joey Fatone, Laila Ali, and Apolo Anton Ohno.

The first time I watched this season I knew that Ohno would be the overall winner. He was outstanding early on in the competition. The judges loved him because he was unbelievable technically and the audience/voters loved him because of the chemistry between him and Julianne Hough. I could not take my eyes off of him! How does a short little speed skater do that?! (Seriously, he is tiny...my sister saw him once in Little Rock at a Heart Walk!) That man makes women swoon when he dances...and when he skates!

Anyhow, I felt like I should blog briefly about my love of "Dancing with the Stars" and Mr. Ohno, for what it is worth! :) Now that this one is over, I shall shift my loyalty to "So You Think You Can Dance?". The show's theme song is a little irritating, but the dancing is equally fantastic!

Say God...

I've been re-reading a book I had to read for one of my preaching classes in seminary called Subversive Spirituality by Eugene Peterson. I stumbled across these words and wanted to share them with you. I realize that I do this a lot on my blog (share quotes with you), and I am unashamed about that. I believe wholeheartedly that we are in this together and if someone else can say it better than I can, I will gladly use their words. Besides, collecting quotes from authors I love and admire - past and present - makes me feel like I am a part of a greater community. And we believe that, don't we? We affirm the "communion of saints" each time we say the Apostles Creed. I love that about being a Christian. It means I am a part of a community of people across the ages who struggled to love and serve God (and allow Him to love and serve them) the same way I do today. I can think of few things more beautiful than that thought...

That being said, here are Eugene Peterson's thoughts on what it means to love God's people. The chapter is specifically about pastoring weddings, funerals, and everything in between. I think it can be applied to a myriad of situations as we all seek to be a part of the "priesthood of believers."

"Why are we [here]? We are [here] to say God. We are [here] for one reason and one reason only: to pray. We are [here] to focus the brimming, overflowing, cascading energies of joy, sorrow, delight, or appreciation, if only for a moment but for as long as we are able, on God. We are [here] to say God personally, to say his name clearly, distinctly, unapologetically, in prayer. We are there to say it without hemming and hawing, without throat clearing and without shuffling, without propagandizing, proselytizing, or manipulating. We have no other task...WE are not needed to add to what is there; there is already more than anyone can take in. We are required only to say the Name: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."

In addition to the communion of saints I spoke of above, I am convinced of something else, too. I believe that we as Christians spend a lot of time trying to defend God and/or downplay His work in our lives. Both are tragic positions that we all take. What would this world look like if we spent more time just doing what Peterson charged us to do above? What if we just "say God" to people with our words, our prayers, and our actions? I dare say it would do much more than anything else we could do...

Reading List

I just returned from a fantastic trip to Milwaukee to visit some dear friends from seminary. These people are the kind of friends everyone wishes they had. With them, everything is easy. We fell into old patterns of conversation and silliness, laughter and seriousness with such ease it was as if we had never been apart. It was everything I needed and more…

One of the many highlights of the weekend was a spontaneous discussion we had over breakfast about the top ten books we want to read in our lifetime. It made for great conversation all-around. Never mind the fact that it fed our inner nerds and the list-making-OCD that inhabits the Julies. You’ll find my list (in no particular order) below…

1. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

2. The Brothers Karmazov by Fyodor Doystoyevsky

3. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

4. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

5. East of Eden by John Steinbeck

6. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

7. Roots by Alex Haley

8. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

9. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

10. A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean

These are only the top ten books that I haven’t read that I would like to read in my life. I had a hard time deciding on just ten. There are several others I read in high school and college that I would like to read again, too. I have also started a list of authors I enjoy and would like to read anything they have written. Maybe I will share those lists with you later.

I would love to hear from the handful of people who visit my blog on what their choices might be for their own list. Feel free to tell me about books you think I forgot in my own “top ten,” too!

Passages

This is a poem/prayer I wrote eons ago that still has meaning today...

My willpower gone
my strength far away
in You I entrust
each passing day

I can only pray
for a simple path
and silently watch
as You draw the map

Each winding trail
is a road to You
and with the touch of Your hand
You lead me through

So as I prepare
for a brand new day
I ask that Your love
might lead the way.

The cadence is a little off to be the best of poems, but...it was years ago. I haven't attempted to write in years. Hence the posting of old poems/prayers instead. Something new soon, maybe? (This is not a promise...)

Another Buechner Quote

"Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you, too." - Frederick Buechner