As the cliche GUY that I am...I don't dance. It's probably better for the physical safety of those in my general vicinity as well as the spiritual and emotional well-being of those within line-of-sight.
Tracy came to learn very early on in our courtship that there actually are times when I will dance. Not at all at the Euro-trash club we went to that played techno-rave music for 4 hours while I just hung back and chilled. But rather with the rest of the mainstream children of the 90's at Retroactive at the Varisty several weeks later belting out every word to "Baby Got Back" with bold confidence (she was not impressed...but she does dig my ability to "Footloose"). :-)
So when it comes to a church or church event that encourages dance, I admit I was both skeptical and taken aback. Yet Biblicly there are examples of dancing and shouting that pleased God. So, it took me a bit to get into the groove, but as I told my pastor a few weeks ago, if I can hoot, hollar, and dance for Skid Row, I should certainly be able to rock out for Jesus.
My four year old, Isabella, has been in dance class for two years. She loves it. The ballet outfits, the whole Princess deal, the recital. I should have known something was afoot when, as a two year old, she was dancing to Abba's "Waterloo" in Dillard's.
She dances at home to anything on the radio, to closing credits of Pixar films; she does this wriggling, shoulder-shaking move while strapped into her car seat. I used to sing "Maniac" before bedtime stories and she did this whole running in place move.
It makes me laugh and smile to see her giving it her all. I get so much pleasure to see her at her dance recital (there's some cost justification there as well). Dance recitals are such a family affair - her last one was at the P-Mac on LSU's campus. Wow, so many people enjoying seeing their daughter, sister, niece, cousin, or grand-daughter dancing.
So now here comes my deep thought for the day...
If I, a mortal man, can get this much pleasure out of my own child dancing, how much more pleasure must God get from seeing His children dancing for Him? He gave us the music - just as I turn on the television or radio or sing for my own child. He blessed so many people with so many different forms of music - something for everyone. Maybe He laughs, a deep belly kind of laugh, and shakes his head with tears of joy in His eyes to see His children laughing and enjoying themselves, shouting and dancing, proclaiming joy and celebrating life. I like to think that He does.
I hear His words in my heart, stirring in my soul, the same words that I spoke to my own daughter only a few nights ago, "Come now, child, give us a dance."
Friday, July 31, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Leap of Faith
So many times in my life I feel as though I am ready for a change, a new beginning, a fresh start: tabula rasa. And yet breaking the inertial grip of gravity is always the hardest step to take - the first one. Be it a new diet, working out, reading the Bible more, reducing the amount of hypocrisy in what I preach to my kids... that list is endless.
I can appreciate that as humans we are creatures of habit, that we are somehow addicted to the NORM in all its various shapes and sizes. To stray from that norm is a frightening prospect, regardless of how dysfunctional the norm may be in its own right. Just look at the many stories of victims returning to abusers - it's what they know, their norm.
To step out of the norm, to step out of that place of familiarity is a risk. If a person feels that it is God calling them they call it "stepping out in faith." But to move out of the norm - isn't it always a stepping out in faith? Maybe not always to a God-called place, but faith in something better, something different, someplace offering a new beginning.
I can honestly say that I've taken very few, if any, true steps of faith in my life. A step where I have risked something substantial if I fall. I wholeheartedly expect there to be call of God at some point in time in my life where I will face that decision. I hope I have the faith and confidence to submit myself to His will (and I hope He's very clear about my direction).
For some reason this early morning I find myself considering those people trapped in the twin towers on September 11, 2001. The total number of people who jumped from the towers is quite staggering. Some put the number as many as 200+. I have got to think that as they leapt from those perilous heights that they knew they would not survive. And still they jumped.
You see we all can control the first step, the jump, the leap of faith. Our own motor skills and our own volition cause our bodies to move in whatever direction we choose with as much force as we care to muster. After that, though, it's all on God.
It is when we truly recognize that, regardless of our intention and our direction for our lives, if we have the faith and moxie to make that first step, that leap, that it is into God's hands that we fall and only then can He place us on the right path, in the right place, at the right time according to His plan for our lives.
Some might say that those people on September 11 jumped to their certain deaths. And that may be all that we can see with our short-sighted human eyes. But I like to think that the vast majority took a leap a faith we can scarcely imagine and that faced with a terrible decision, on a terrible day, turned their hearts and minds to God, trusted Him, and leapt....straight into His hands.
I can appreciate that as humans we are creatures of habit, that we are somehow addicted to the NORM in all its various shapes and sizes. To stray from that norm is a frightening prospect, regardless of how dysfunctional the norm may be in its own right. Just look at the many stories of victims returning to abusers - it's what they know, their norm.
To step out of the norm, to step out of that place of familiarity is a risk. If a person feels that it is God calling them they call it "stepping out in faith." But to move out of the norm - isn't it always a stepping out in faith? Maybe not always to a God-called place, but faith in something better, something different, someplace offering a new beginning.
I can honestly say that I've taken very few, if any, true steps of faith in my life. A step where I have risked something substantial if I fall. I wholeheartedly expect there to be call of God at some point in time in my life where I will face that decision. I hope I have the faith and confidence to submit myself to His will (and I hope He's very clear about my direction).
For some reason this early morning I find myself considering those people trapped in the twin towers on September 11, 2001. The total number of people who jumped from the towers is quite staggering. Some put the number as many as 200+. I have got to think that as they leapt from those perilous heights that they knew they would not survive. And still they jumped.
You see we all can control the first step, the jump, the leap of faith. Our own motor skills and our own volition cause our bodies to move in whatever direction we choose with as much force as we care to muster. After that, though, it's all on God.
It is when we truly recognize that, regardless of our intention and our direction for our lives, if we have the faith and moxie to make that first step, that leap, that it is into God's hands that we fall and only then can He place us on the right path, in the right place, at the right time according to His plan for our lives.
Some might say that those people on September 11 jumped to their certain deaths. And that may be all that we can see with our short-sighted human eyes. But I like to think that the vast majority took a leap a faith we can scarcely imagine and that faced with a terrible decision, on a terrible day, turned their hearts and minds to God, trusted Him, and leapt....straight into His hands.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
We Are Losing Control
Here are the facts, please research them yourself, don't take my word for it.
Goldman Sachs is a Wall Street financial services firm and recently became a bank holding company. Today (7/14/09) they announced their second quarter profits. Their profits went up 65%. They are paying back government loans to the tune of $10,000,000,000 (that's $10B).
The Secretary of the Treasury up until Jan 20, 2009, Henry Paulson, was Chief Executive of Goldman Sachs until being appointed Treasury Secretary. (His net worth is estimated to be $700 million).
In 2008 the economy goes south and Bear Sterns (a Wall Street firm) takes a dive, the government steps in and arranges the rescue and sale of Bear Sterns.
The US government allows Lehman Brothers, another financial services firm, to fail. Who is Lehman Brothers biggest competitor? Goldman Sachs.
The next day, the US government rescues AIG with (to date) around $152,000,000,000 (that's $152B).
Who benefits from the AIG bailout? Which company is one of the first that AIG pays off? Goldman Sachs.
So, the former Goldman Sachs employee, now Treasury Secretary, appoints someone to oversee TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Fund). Who is appointed to be the head of the newly created Office of Financial Stability? His name is Neel Kashkari and who did he work for before running this office? Goldman Sachs.
At this point in time with two former Goldman Sachs employees in high power positions in Washington, Goldman Sachs applies to become a bank holding company. Companies such as Walmart had applied for this for more than two years. Why would Goldman Sachs even want this? They become eligible for even more government money in the form of FDIC funds.
One problem with this scheme - the SEC doesn't oversee bank holding companies (which oversaw Goldman Sachs in the past), the Federal Reserve does. And who is the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York? His name is Stephen Friedman and who did he work for? Yep, Goldman Sachs. He was the former CEO and sat on the Goldman Sachs Board of Directors.
And while this might seem like a major conflict of interest, the former Goldman Sachs employee, now Treasury Secretary Paulson, writes a waiver for the Federal Reserve Bank Chairman and member of the Goldman Sachs Board of Directors. Friedman doesn't have to give up his seat, in fact it's okay for him to buy 52,000 more shares of Goldman Sachs stock.
Before today those shares were worth about $3 million. They just went up 65% in value.
Goldman Sachs is the largest supporter of Waxman-Markey (cap and trade) next to GE? Why? What company has been tapped by the government to oversee the system of trading the carbon credits regulated by Waxman-Markey and stands to make billions? Goldman Sachs.
When did the House of Representatives vote (passing by 7 votes) on Waxman-Markey? June 26th - 4 days before the end of the 2nd quarter - the same quarter that Goldman Sachs profits went up by 65%.
My friends, we are losing control of our own government. It is not lost, but as a people we have got to make our voices heard. You and I have just as much power, right, and responsibility to change the course that we are on. I implore you - do not be apathetic. Our fathers, mothers, grandfathers, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters fought, and still fight, for us - the greatest country on Earth.
Our country is not the physical land, as beautiful as it is, from sea to shining sea. Our country is not the mega-blockbuster Hollywood movie that I'll probably see before the end of the summer. And our country certainly isn't in the business section of the Wall Street Journal.
Our country beats within the chest of every American who realizes who we are and what we stand for - something great, something beautiful, a promise and a dream.
And I'll be damned if I let someone take that away from me and my family without a fight.
(I was inspired to write this after reading Glenn Beck's radio show transcript from 7/14/09 and finding corroborating information on various news sites and web pages. Just giving credit where credit is due).
Goldman Sachs is a Wall Street financial services firm and recently became a bank holding company. Today (7/14/09) they announced their second quarter profits. Their profits went up 65%. They are paying back government loans to the tune of $10,000,000,000 (that's $10B).
The Secretary of the Treasury up until Jan 20, 2009, Henry Paulson, was Chief Executive of Goldman Sachs until being appointed Treasury Secretary. (His net worth is estimated to be $700 million).
In 2008 the economy goes south and Bear Sterns (a Wall Street firm) takes a dive, the government steps in and arranges the rescue and sale of Bear Sterns.
The US government allows Lehman Brothers, another financial services firm, to fail. Who is Lehman Brothers biggest competitor? Goldman Sachs.
The next day, the US government rescues AIG with (to date) around $152,000,000,000 (that's $152B).
Who benefits from the AIG bailout? Which company is one of the first that AIG pays off? Goldman Sachs.
So, the former Goldman Sachs employee, now Treasury Secretary, appoints someone to oversee TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Fund). Who is appointed to be the head of the newly created Office of Financial Stability? His name is Neel Kashkari and who did he work for before running this office? Goldman Sachs.
At this point in time with two former Goldman Sachs employees in high power positions in Washington, Goldman Sachs applies to become a bank holding company. Companies such as Walmart had applied for this for more than two years. Why would Goldman Sachs even want this? They become eligible for even more government money in the form of FDIC funds.
One problem with this scheme - the SEC doesn't oversee bank holding companies (which oversaw Goldman Sachs in the past), the Federal Reserve does. And who is the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York? His name is Stephen Friedman and who did he work for? Yep, Goldman Sachs. He was the former CEO and sat on the Goldman Sachs Board of Directors.
And while this might seem like a major conflict of interest, the former Goldman Sachs employee, now Treasury Secretary Paulson, writes a waiver for the Federal Reserve Bank Chairman and member of the Goldman Sachs Board of Directors. Friedman doesn't have to give up his seat, in fact it's okay for him to buy 52,000 more shares of Goldman Sachs stock.
Before today those shares were worth about $3 million. They just went up 65% in value.
Goldman Sachs is the largest supporter of Waxman-Markey (cap and trade) next to GE? Why? What company has been tapped by the government to oversee the system of trading the carbon credits regulated by Waxman-Markey and stands to make billions? Goldman Sachs.
When did the House of Representatives vote (passing by 7 votes) on Waxman-Markey? June 26th - 4 days before the end of the 2nd quarter - the same quarter that Goldman Sachs profits went up by 65%.
My friends, we are losing control of our own government. It is not lost, but as a people we have got to make our voices heard. You and I have just as much power, right, and responsibility to change the course that we are on. I implore you - do not be apathetic. Our fathers, mothers, grandfathers, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters fought, and still fight, for us - the greatest country on Earth.
Our country is not the physical land, as beautiful as it is, from sea to shining sea. Our country is not the mega-blockbuster Hollywood movie that I'll probably see before the end of the summer. And our country certainly isn't in the business section of the Wall Street Journal.
Our country beats within the chest of every American who realizes who we are and what we stand for - something great, something beautiful, a promise and a dream.
And I'll be damned if I let someone take that away from me and my family without a fight.
(I was inspired to write this after reading Glenn Beck's radio show transcript from 7/14/09 and finding corroborating information on various news sites and web pages. Just giving credit where credit is due).
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