Doug Van Pelt

We need photos of the ranch!

Every once in a while I get these facebook comments about tweets that I've posted. A couple came in today asking for photos of the horses. These are our neighbors' horses, who graze on our land.







Tiger and his brothers are always eager for a little affection.







From the sounds of it, my mom had never had good Texas BBQ brisket before. This was probably my greatest joy this Christmas season -- turning her on to this great Texas staple. mmmm-hmmm, good!

In your account of tact, your balance is zero

A nameless artist laid into me not too long ago for failing to carefully edit an online interview we did with him/her. Now, being lazy and not giving this uncut Q&A a better editing, I deserved to be criticized and I admit that. But the tone and the "...if I'd have known you were going to print it like this, I wouldn't have granted the interview" type attitude made me feel like, 'Man, now I know why you've had such a struggle with your career -- you let people around you that fail you receive your wrath with little to no editing yourself.' Now, in fairness, maybe this was an isolated case. But, if I'm right about a pattern of behavior, or even if not, it brings up a point I want to discuss. It's sad that some people don't control their tongues and use a bit more tact when they express themselves.

The good thing about the nature of some folks that suffer from this lack-of-tact disease (I like to call it "tone deafness") is that they either forget what they've done or they get over it quickly. It's emotionally draining to put up with a lack of impulse control around you, but recognizing it helps quite a bit, because one can compensate for it and not take it personally.

On my side of the offensive interaction, I could hold a grudge against said artist and, to be honest, it will be hard not to hold a few degrees of grudge (disguised as disrespect). Now that I've seen him/her act in an unbecoming way, it's hard not to expect that out of them again. Without opening myself up to actual physical harm or serious business mistakes (both of which are unlikely), wouldn't it be true forgiveness if I thought the best of this person? Rather than hold this against them, true love would forget it and move on. Wow! That'll be a hard one. With the Holy Spirit's help (by the way, isn't He the member of the trinity that talks to us and guides us here on earth?), perhaps I can remember this commitment to forgive and forget if/when the time comes up where I interact with this person again.

It's interesting, too, to note that part of me wants that person to apologize. It's like I'm saying, "Hey, I'll forgive you, but only if you first feel bad about what you did." That's kind of a self-righteous smugness that is just not right. It's certainly not a characteristic of true forgiveness. True forgiveness doesn't need the other person to act. Like my pastor said recently (and I blogged about it then, it takes two people to reconcile, but only one to forgive.

Happy New Year!

I almost feel like singing that to the tune of "Happy Birthday," but I'll pass.
I do feel like I'm getting a head start on the new year, though, by working this week. These extra 3 days should help me get a jump and really have a great year in 2009. Here's hoping: that I get 3 books published, increase HM's subscription, and who knows what else...

To be honest, I could sit around all day and listen to sports talk radio, wallowing in the misery of the Dallas Cowboys' finished season. But I won't. I've got too much to do today. First, I need to blog; Second, I need to paint the headline for the Readers' Poll layout; Third, I need to start doing the PhotoShop treatment for those 12 images; Fourth, I need to write the questions for The Devil Wears Prada interview I have at noon (I'll probably move this up to second, actually); Fifth, I need to answer mail and clear this pile off my desk; Sixth, I need to mail out some prizes to contest winners (trivia and the email sign-up contest); call the doctors (that sounds so dramatic ... I could just leave that one hanging, but it's about my aching/tight shoulder/neck area and my knee, following up after the MRI results); Seventh, do the "CD Arrival Report" and answer email ... and if I can get all that done, whew! (And, hopefully, I'll "multi-task" some music-listening in the midst of all this... Oh! And I forgot to add about 45 minutes of exercise into this mix.)

I stopped writing hear when I heard the sound of a plane fly low over the office. I ran outside the front door to see my parents flying their plane. They spent the last week with us and are going South to see my sister in Houston. That's so cool.

Well, so I've got plans for my day and plans for this year. One thing I like to not just talk about (in fact, I could just as well not say anything), but do is to simply lay these plans before God, give them to Him, ask for His guidance and blessing, submitting them to Him and using the phrase, "Let Your will be done" as a way of acknowledging that He is in control. While I'm on my knees, I'll pray for our current president and our new president elect.

P.S. I've been adding new "Online Exclusives" at hmmag.com the past few days. The idea is to kind of add a new one each day for the next week. Today might be a Trenches interview.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I love what my friend Randy Elrod wrote about in his blog today. He's been polling his followers on twitter with the question: "What is the greater miracle: the resurrection or the incarnation?" His blog discussion today is wonderful discoursce on the incredible mystery that was brought to us by the birth of Jesus. "God with skin on," as my pastor has said many times in the past year. Anyway, he talked about how somehow there has been a message presented that we should focus on the cross at Christmas, which kind of misses the mark. The miracle of the incarnation is so incredibly profound. God can truly empathize with man, because He bacame one.

Randy has also written a new book, called Beauty Is Calling, which features several (36) original watercolor paintings and quotes both modern and ancient. Very tasteful and, dare I say it, beautiful. One quote I like is his:

"In our face,
there are minutes and there are moments.
Minutes fade away,
but moments live forever."

Randy was one of the bloggers that went to Uganda with the bloggers group that brought myself and 15 others to touch and see the work that Compassion does there. I love how he described servant leaders in one of his post-trip blogs to describe how enabling and empowering this kind of risk-taking leadership embodies, as expressed in that innovative trip.

Another cool quote is related:

"It's not just about art and leadership,
it's the ripple effect that should be hoped for."
(this is facing a page with a neat water color of a small john boat in the water.)

A cool thing about the book is that all the proceeds from its sale go to an organization called Kalein, a Center for Creative Studies.

Donkey King

In Mark 11 Jesus sits on the donkey that was fetched for Him.

Many people spread their cloaks on the road,
while others spread branches they had cut in the fields.
Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
"Hosanna!
Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord!
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!
Hosanna in the highest!"
Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple.
He looked around at everything,
but since it was already late,
He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

This is a powerful moment, to be sure. The jealous pharisees must've been out of their minds, thinking that this "Jesus thing" was now about out of control and they were losing the people's allegiance.

I wonder if Jesus was put off at all by the reference to David's kingdom and the possibility that these people thought He was bringing a political governmental type kingdom to Israel. I bet He dismissed those thoughts if He indeed had them, receiving their worship and joy as was His due as God.

The little bit at the end about Jesus checking out the temple, seeing no one there and leaving is another example of somewhat frivolous information that once again reinforces the authority of Scripture by not being "cleaned up" and only "to-the-point" about the main plot and theme. This simple detail could easily have been left out of the story if this were just a PR job to make this new religion look good.

It's interesting to think about the end result and the fulfillment of the journey Jesus made to earth as the incarnate Savior in this Advent season as we celebrate the birth of Christ.

I fell down after filming this

Okay! Hooray! I finally figured out how to upload videos and photos from my cellphone to my myspace account. I configured the same for my youtube account, but I'm not sure that's working just yet... (HOT DOG! It took awhile, but that one's up, too -- yippee!)

This isn't a great video (whose first is, right?), but it's filmed at a fun landmark in Austin, Texas. Each year the "Trail of Lights" is set up in Zilker Park, where the annual Austin City Limits Festival takes place. Part of the setup is this giant "Christmas Tree" made up of lights. The tradition is you stand under the lights, look straight up and spin around while you're looking. You get dizzy -- very dizzy and vertigo. So, last night I decide to film this. I spin, realize my camera didn't record when I hit "record," so I hit record again and spin for another 30 seconds. I survive the 30 second ordeal, but shortly after, when I stop moving, my body wants to keep spinning and I slam into a couple, pushing into this girl as I hit the ground with a thud. I apologize profusely. The guy is gracious enough to extend a hand to help me up, asking me if I'm okay. I laugh and tell him to let me lay down here for just a minute. "I so sorry!" I tell them again. It wasn't a slow motion fall, but a wham! bam! slam. So funny.




Sprint PictureMail

Rick Warren = A good guy

I am so happy that Rick Warren has been tapped to give the invocation prayer at the presidential inaugaration. I think it's so cool to have one of the smart, articulate, "good guys" in the spotlight, because I think he represents Christianity well. I like what he does and I like what he has to say. He's reasonable, articulate, and seems to have a great heart and a good head on his shoulders, which is sometimes a rare combination. In a world where we've seen baffoons on tv representing God, it is so refreshing to have a good ambassador getting the microphone. Good for Rick Warren.

I heard some odd things last night. One of them is that there is apparently a controversy stewing over the Coldplay song, "Viva La Vida," the pulsing feel good single from that great band. Apparently the vocal melodies sound like they match an older Yngwie Malmsteen guitar lead note for note. So, on the way to work today, I had the Viva La Vida CD and The Yngwie Malmsteen Collection with me and A-B'd some songs. First I played the Coldplay hit, just to make sure I had the right melody in my head. Then I tried the great (his best, in my opinion) instrumental, "Black Star." Hmmm. Some similarities, but surely not the crux of this argument. I remember when this song hit, guitarists dropped their jaws everywhere. I remember noticing with dismay that every publicity shot of the man had a pentagram pendant around his neck, with a crucifix turned backwards against the pentagram. That disturbed me somewhat at the time. I still notice stuff like that, but I'm not sure if I draw the same conclusions from purposeful events such as the positioning of jewelry in photo shoots. It's true that usually every hair and loose article of clothing is placed in such a way as the photographer or subject wants, but I'm not sure if someone showing allegiance to Satan has ever scared me or disturbed me too much.

I next tried "Far Beyond The Sun." I need to investigate this controversy and find the song they're talking about, because these don't seem to be the ones. I had to skip ahead to the melodic song, "Heaven Tonight," with its big choruses and giant, multi-layered BGV's. I remember when this kind of production was all the rage. John & Dino Elefante, among others, knew how to get that sound. It's too bad that a Petra song ("Seen And Not Heard") sounded so much like "Heaven's On Fire" by Kiss. Guardian's songs possibly suffered a bit from this treatment, and I know I winced when I heard their BGV tracks playing from a DAT tape or sample in concert. It was hard not to notice when a giant wall of sound of pitch-perfect vocals came over the sound system. The guys did their best to step up to the mics and offer their own, true vocals, but the overall vibe was "memorex," not live. I was glad when they went on the Swing, Swang, Swung Tour and left fake BGV's behind for good (we hope).

I also heard some real disturbing news. A friend of mine is a teacher at a special school (let's just say it was in Omaha, Nebraska) where troubled teens go. He gets the worst of the worst -- kids that none of the other schools want. Recently he walked into a bathroom and a high school girl was getting it on with two 30-something-year-old guys with a webcam documenting it. Apparently her mom is in prison and has lost her commisary privileges and, in order to get ahold of cigarettes and other luxury items, she offers her daughter to the gang she's a part of. The daughter was beat up pretty bad when this problem was interrupted by the authorities. The girl was told that, if her mom would force such and such on her in order to get cigarettes, she really doesn't love her. I'm glad someone has tried to speak some truth to this poor girl. My friend says that something terrible and insane like this happens to him about once a week at this school. I'm glad these kids have this guy. He's very positive and really good at cheering people up and making you feel good about yourself. In fact, I'd say this guy is a hero. I'm so glad he's where he is. I cannot imagine working in a school like that. Wow.

On a positive note, I'm playing for the championship of my Fantasy Football league. I think it's only right that the commissioner of the league (myself) win at least one championship. I had the last pick in the draft this year, so I haven't been super excited about my team. I think I lost three out of the four first games; but then my team went on a wild six-game winning streak; I won the first round of a two-round playoff, and now I'm playing the returning champion -- my nephew -- in the final round. I haven't checked on the stats yet, but I heard two of my players (tight end Dallas Clark and QB David Garrard) had really good nights, so that's a good start for me.

Okay, I better check out this Coldplay/Yngwie controversy and my fantasy stats, before I request a review copy of the Live Riot! album; learn how to upload my first youtube video (some footage I shot at the giant "light tree" from Austin's "Trail of Lights"; and start writing some stuff. Have a great weekend!

**Addendum. I might have changed the name of something in this blog to keep someone's identity secret. Okay, according to the National Post (Ampersand) website:

Grammy nominees Coldplay have been sued by rock guitarist Joe Satriani, who claims the band's song Viva La Vida uses one of his riffs. In court papers filed in Los Angeles on Thursday, he said the song used "substantial original portions" of his 2004 instrumental If I Could Fly.

The vocal line of the chorus of Coldplay's Viva La Vida does appear to follow one of the riffs from Satriani's If I Could Fly — watch the video above to hear the case rather convincingly presented. (Let's forgive the poor punctuation.)

But before we fly off to wild conclusions (especially those of us seeking new reasons to dislike Coldplay) it should be said that it's surprisingly easy to unconsciously steal melody ideas. It's called cryptomnesia and it's happened before.

Somehow my friend got Satriani and Yngwie confused. I'm not sure I can forgive him for that...

I'm on the news!

The Date The Earth Stood Still

I went on a date last night with my wife. It was a good one ... and it was free. Our Life Group gave us a gift card at a nice restaurant for hosting the group at our house for the last year or so. I was also given two movie tickets for hosting a contest with the theatrical release of Expelled back in the summer. We were given the gift card back in May, too. I held on to 'em for a long time and finally the expiration date on the movie passes called my name and beckoned me to make plans. I made sure our busy calendar had an opening and I booked a reservation at the restaurant. One of the couples in the Life Group offered to watch our kids for the night, so we dropped 'em off and went out. We enjoyed some really good fish (salmon) done up perfect, with stuff like crab meat garnishings and nice sauce. We had a funny chocolate bread pudding dessert, which featured some vanilla ice cream on top. Then we went to the movies to see The Day The Earth Stood Still.

There was a part in the movie where Klaatu, Keanu Reeves' character, who was an alien sent to save the earth from the humans that are destroying it. He is trusted by a doctor ("Helen Benson," played by Jennifer Connelly), who takes him to a special meeting place for a special someone. Turns out the meeting place is a McDonald's, but the fast food joint does have some nice booths inside, where Klaatu meets up with an elderly gentleman that lives somewhere in Asia. This other guy is a fellow agent/alien sent some 70 years ago to moniter the human race. His report is not too positive. "They're a destructive race..." and the report concludes that the entire human race should be eliminated so that the planet they are destroying will be saved and safe for habitation by other civilizations in the universe. But he pauses to tell Kiaatu that he doesn't want to leave on the next sphere out. "I've grown to love them," he says.

Isn't that kind of like our Messiah? I thought it was a nice picture of how God feels about the human race. He came down, God-incarnate, and lived among an inferior race for some 33 years. As He was being killed by that destructive human race, He asked His Father to "forgive them, for they know not what they do." Moses acted this way, and so did Noah, when God indicated that He wanted to destroy the human race. It's neat to find pictures in culture that express the way that God engages with us.

I remember hearing a missionary story about a guy somewhere in the Asia Pacific region and they had a place of refuge, where someone running for his life (usually running from the justice catching up to him for a crime), where he would not be harmed. This was like a "meeting place" for the missionary, where he could have a conversation with someone from that culture and have a point of reference that tied biblical truth with that particular people group. God had set up places of refuge in his dealings with Israel, and He also provides a safe refuge and a place for eternal forgiveness, which is both beautiful and practical. I love that.

Oh yeah, I thought I saw Cynthia Ettinger in the movie in a couple places. A lady that was part of the Secretary of Defense's "inner circle" of military personnel sure was a dead ringer for the drama student star-in-the-making from our high school. I didn't see her name in the credits afterward, but I guess sometimes in movies minor roles don't get credited ... or maybe it wasn't her.
I looked on the site for the movie and found this information and art contest about GORTS (a creature labeled as "Genetically Organized Robotic Technology"): check it out.

Ads I Really Liked

I get a ton of magazines here. Some of them are for business owners. Others are for web and computer tech types, and a couple are for "direct marketer" people that try to grow their businesses with direct mail campaigns, email campaigns, that sort of thing.


As I was looking at one of these biz mags recently, I came across a fun campaign that caught my eye. I liked their creativity. Here are three of them:


This is, you know, what the business world can be like.







I like this kind of work/action.







Crazy.







P.S. I am still LOVING the new Anberlin album. I thought of a new editorial idea today while driving to work... Instead of always doing stories on bands right before their new album comes out; what about asking questions about real cool songs that (perhaps) make a deep impact on your brain after many listens? Of course, this could be done carefully way before the album releases with close aural inspection...

Ramblings of a magazine editor

I go to a really good church, Calvary Chapel of Austin, and our pastor, Allen Rigg, always does a killer job delivering one good sermon after another. Yesterday he talked about "being an ornament" with our lives, while studying the life of Rahab, the prostitute. Hers was a life that showed in a powerful way how we can be free from our past and not be defined by it.

He mentioned a few things that stuck out. One of which is how he empathized with some present who would "soon spend significant time with someone who hurt you." Some have painful memories and relationships with their family members, who they might see around this holiday season. Instead of joy, they might feel pain. He encouraged those present who might feel that way to basically let it go. He brought up a calendar and asked, "Are you going to let it go next year? Christmas 2010? Christmas 2020? Sometimes we hold on to things, which defines us in a negative way.

"Allowing guilt or hurt from the past to rule your life ... is crazy!"

"Guilt says, 'IOU.'
Hurt says, 'You owe me.'

"It takes two to reconcile,
but it only takes one to forgive."

Wow!
That is so true ... and it's a key to freedom. Holding on to the hurt that someone brought us just eats at us. Forgiving them doesn't mean they didn't hurt you; and it doesn't mean that perhaps a significant act on their part needs to happen in order to reconcile, but the part that you have control over and the freedom step that you can take is to forgive. I love that.

Rahab let go of the past by letting go of the hurt inflicted by her family, which she rescued. Allen pointed out that a woman of that time who wasn't married (either by being a widow or divorcee or just never getting hitched) was pretty much at wit's end just to survive. Some women turned to prostitution simply as a means to survive. This meant that perhaps Rahab had a family that scorned her choices and who weren't willing to take care of her - possibly helping force her into a degrading vocation like prostitution. Yet she made a point to not only get herself rescued by the Israeli spies, but also her family.

Another funny image that Allen brought up is how bitterness and holding onto hurt sometimes prods us to treat others harshly, sucking the life out of them, like making a grape into a raisin.

Ramblings:
Yesterday I "accomplished" something I didn't think possible - I won the first round of my Fantasy Football league playoff. My opponent had Eli Manning at QB (while I have David Gerrard). The "guru's" picked me to lose, as his players were set to do better. Turns out I slaughtered the guy by 40 points. Very nice. If I can win next week, I'll be the champ, and I'll be beside myself, not knowing what to do. Maybe a ride on my donkey will be an appropriate way to celebrate.

Listening to Fiction Family, which is a new side project (how many does this guy have?) of Switchfoot's Jon Foreman and Nickel Creek's Sean Watkins. As expected, it's full of really good melodic songs with well crafted lyrics. That Foreman guy is definitely walking in his gift as a songwriter.

Jesus Borrows A Burro

In Mark 11, we see the story of Jesus about to approach Jerusalem for the last time in His earthly life.

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.'"

I heard my beloved Douglass, my own personal donkey, bellow at me. Usually, when I arrive at the office/HM Ranch in the morning, if I see him, I yell out near the top of my lungs: "DOUGLASS!!! HOW'S MY DONKEY?" (in my best Mike Myers as Shrek imitation) If any nearby neighbors are outside (within a quarter mile radius, I'm sure they hear me and get a little worried. Anyway, a lot of times I'll feed him a little something. I buy a 20+ bag of horse feed that I keep in a shed, and I'll put a scoop in a big bucket I have on the other side of our yard's fence. So, when he hears me shout at him, he oftens comes up expecting food.

It's interesting that this description of acquiring the young donkey is included. It appears as if Jesus had been praying and the Spirit had told Him about the donkey, so He passed the instructions on to two of His disciples. I'm sure it was like another little miracle, where Jesus knew something before it would happen. I bet it made an impression - especially on those two disciples.

When they arrived, they found the young donkey and, sure enough, someone tried to stop them, "Hey! What are you doing?!" And they replied just as the Lord had told them to. With this, those folks let the donkey go. Besides, Jesus was just borrowing the animal.

As you probably have heard, this fulfilled a prophecy given many years ago by the "Minor Prophet," Zechariah, when the Jewish people were recovering from Babylonian captivity. In Zechariah 9:9, it says:

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

How cool (and unusual) is that?

Blind Bart and the Detweilers

Mark 10:46-52 recounts the healing of Blind Bartimaeus.
This leads me to wonder, 'Why did Jesus bother healing anyone while He was here? He certainly had a mission to fulfill -- living the life of a spotless lamb, sympathizing with our weaknesses as human beings and then dying as a sacrifice to buy our forgiveness and reconciliation with God -- but He could've accomplished this without stopping to heal sick people. Why did He do it?

I presume it was because He cared. The Bible says He had "compassion" for people. I like that. I love that. To me it's like another reason to want to worship Him. He's so wonderful and caring. If I could be more like Him ... wow!

...When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

People must have been talking about the guy walking away from the city, "It's Jesus of Nazareth." I get the impression that they weren't introducing Him as the Son of David. I think that Bart came up with this on his own or he somehow had learned this about Jesus. It wasn't "Jesus, Son of Joseph." It was a reference to His messianic heritage. I wonder if Jesus received that label with honor.

It's sad and ironic that "many rebuked him and told him to be quiet," and it's funny that this didn't deter the man. "...he shouted all the more." Way to go, Bart! He was determined to receive healing. Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." Folks told Bart, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." I wonder if this means that Bart's cries had great sorrow and deep emotion in them. Why would they tell him to "cheer up" if he wasn't obviously full of sadness and despair?

I love that the army of David was full of men in debt, in despair, and depressed. It actually says: "All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader." This was David's army. Jesus and King David were both great leaders. Flat out great. Men of any religion, race or class would surely be honored to follow these men if given the chance. Hopefully, they are studied in upper division courses on management and leadership at places like universities and military academies.

So Jesus asked Bart, "What do you want Me to do for you?" He called him "Rabbi" and answered, "I want to see." Jesus didn't touch him, didn't spit on the ground, make mud and apply it to his eyelids, He didn't even cast out a demon. He simply said, "Go, your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

I bet Bart was one grateful dude.

Speaking of the word "dude," I once picked up a student as a favor of a friend and gave him a ride to church. I had a list of things to do with me in the car, and one of them was "pick up dude." I think it was Louie Louiso (I could be confusing him with another guy), who later told me that this particular Sunday was like a "Black Sunday" for him, because when he got in the car he saw my to-do list and he knew that he was the "dude," but he didn't know what that word meant. He assumed the worst and thought it was an American word for an undesirable person. When he finally learned that it was an innocuous label for "male person," he was relieved. Poor guy. I never knew that he had a bad day due to a translation problem.

If I Still Did Drugs...

...I probably would've lost it last night. It was a late-hours workday for me yesterday and I was heading home in the cold at about 2 a.m. About the time I got on an West-bound highway (79), the sleet was falling with force and in great quantity.

It looked really weird. Each particle was lit up by my headlights, and the white color of the snowy sleet was a bright contrast to the dark sky.

It looked liked many laser lights.
It looked like I was flying through a starfield (like the real thing or a super widescreen video game).
It seemed as if invisible angels were spraying Silly String at my car.
It looked like a giant spider was spinning its silky web at my car. I wasn't getting wrapped up in it, as the car must've just been bursting through it at the highway speed.
Maybe it was several angels waving their long, stringy hair towards me.
Or maybe they were making angel hair pasta and pouring it out on the road in front of me.

If I would have stared at the objects, I don't know if I could've maintained safe control of the vehicle. It was really a sight to behold. The sleet was coming straight at me, pretty much sideways. Each piece of ice seemed to leave a trail behind it as it headed towards me, or the pieces were long, like strings.

I can't remember ever seeing such a sight from the same perspective ever before. When I finally came to the street before mine, which faced South, I stopped and watched the icy substance fly across in front of me. What a light show. If Trans-Siberian Orchestra could simulate this, it would ratchet up their great show another few notches.

I'm an Egomaniac

It's true. I've got a business card with my face painted on it. I had this painting, which is also framed and on display in the HM office meeting area, in a small snow globe thing, where you can put any photo or image you'd like in there. I have since replaced it with the great servant-poet, Levi Macallister, but still ... I had a snow globe with my face in it. Recently I thought about customizing my credit card with my own artwork on it. I thought about using the new round-HM logo brand I designed on it, along with my painted mug.

I really like being honored, too. When someone says how great I am, it makes me feel really good. I can act humble and do and think things that "put me in my place," but my mind and heart easily wanders to that place where I imagine myself being honored. Sometimes it's a situation where an armed gunman enters a room and I tackle him, take him down and save the day. Being interviewed for the news and thanked by everyone, I imagine myself the hero.

This whole egomaniac thing goes way back, too. When I was 14 years old, I spent the summer working on my uncle's farm in Kansas. The small town of Beloit held its first ever skateboard contest, which was a series of downhill slalom races between safety/construction cones (you know, the ones with large square bases - a far cry from the cone-only slalom cones designed specifically for skateboarding and such). Although I wasn't a California skater yet (I was in the process of moving from the East Coast city of Fairfax, VA, to the West Coast Air Force Base known as Edwards), I still had the only skateboard in the race with decent sealed bearings and wheels (the Kryptonic "blues" to be exact), and it seemed like I had the most skateboard experience. While one or two athletic guys challenged me with really good efforts, I imagine my equipment gave me the edge to win the thing. What's funny is the grand prize was, I think, ten bucks and a Nash plastic bends-in-the-middle skateboard from the local discount store. I would never ride this thing. What's funny and egomaniacal about all this is I took the prize money when I arrived in California and went to a trophy shop and I had a skateboard statuette trophy made for me. How insanely egotist is that? I need help, people!

How does one fight ego or put it in its place?
One way is to find people that are better than you at something. Humbling yourself and learning from others is a good way to improve, too.
Another way is to simply thank the God that made you, acknowledging that He gave you the ability to hone these skills, etc. While some people get annoyed and laugh at the athletes who "thank their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ," when being interviewed on tv after a game, one thing they're probably trying to do is simply give that kind of gratitude back to God, acknowledging that He gave them this opportunity by His grace. God wants us to be grateful. Jesus asked those around Him, "Where are the other nine?" He healed ten lepers and only one came back and thanked Him for it.
Another way is to realize that, if you do care so much about what other people think about you, it would be good to know that those around you no doubt roll their eyes and think negative things about you when you exhibit such imature and selfish motives as an egomaniacal attitude.
Another way is to be real and admit that you're a selfish, immature egomaniac. It's better than faking it and acting humble when inside you're puffing yourself up. In the confession will sometimes come repentance, which is the turning around or changing of the attitude.

A couple good verses come to mind. One is:

"Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
someone else, and not your own lips."

Another is Proverbs 27:21:

"The crucible for silver,
the furnace for gold,
but a man is tested by the praise accorded him."

A Viddy Viddy

Saw this at Spence Smith's blog:

Marky Mark

Ahhh, back in the office again (after a two-week break). Wow. I hope to get a jump-start on the March/April issue this week. If you could choose between a "So & So Says" interview with Dragonforce or Jack's Mannequin, which would you choose?

I'll pause the Alice Cooper DVD playing right now to dive into the Scripture, where we last left off: Mark 10:32.

They were walking to Jerusalem some time after Jesus told the rich young ruler what was up. Some of the disciples talked about how they'd given "everything" up, and Jesus affirmed that those who gave stuff up would be rewarded. It says in verse 32 that the disciples were "astonished" and the others that followed were "afraid." Jesus once again took the disciples aside and told them what was going to happen in Jerusalem:

"...the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles, who will mock Him and spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him. Three days later He will rise."

Those that think this story is somehow anti-semetic should change their tune when they read this. Jesus was turned over to the Gentiles for His final beating and death by torture. Anyone who foolishly hates Jews and think it was they who crucified Christ should realize that it was their own ancestors (and ultimately themselves) that hung Jesus on the cross.

Did the disciples get the message this time? Most Bible scholars would probably say, "Nope!" Instead, James and John ask Him, "We want You to do for us whatever we ask." Jesus asked what they wanted. They said, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."

Jesus rightly replied, "You don't know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"

They said, "We can." Even though they ran away during the arrest and trial of Jesus, they did ultimately drink the cup of death by torture for His Name's sake. Jesus affirmed this, but concluded, "...but to sit at My right or left is not for Me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared."

The text says that when the other 10 disciples heard about this, they were upset. Jesus called them all together and addressed their attitudes:

"You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."

He not only led by example, He taught. I love the idea of servant leadership, and I love to see it lived out. It's funny. It seems I have it partly figured out, but my problem is that when I serve others, I want the trumpets to blast and people to notice that I'm doing the "servant" thing, and that pretty much misses the boat, doesn't it?

Dat Nguyen

I reviewed a really cool pair of earphones for the last issue, which I really like, because of the lightweight nature of the earbuds. They are high-end headphones that don't come cheap, but unlike others that are a little heavier, these are super lightweight, snug like an earplug, and thus achieve a lot with lower volumes. Anyway, I got an email from the publicist about a special offer, which I'll pass the info on here...





As you can see, it's a buy-one, get-one-free deal. I reviewed the m5 earphones. For more info, go to www.futuresonics.com/atrio/




I am reading Dat Nguyen's book, Dat, which is a fun read. The guy has great attitudes about life and its challenges. It was no fun to see him play for the hated Texas Aggies, but was real fun to see him play so well for the Dallas Cowboys, who I have liked since I was a little kid. I grew up in Dallas and was there when they won Super Bowl VI, but for some reason I latched on to the Miami Dolphins at the time. I didn't come around to the silver and blue side until watching their great "Doomsday II" defense during the season of 1974, when we were living in the suburbs of Washington, DC. If you can root for the Cowboys there, you can root for them anywhere. Living in the Austin area, I'm able to see all their games on tv here, which is not the case in Dallas, due to the ocassional "blackout" of non-sold-out games.

We are here in the Houston area, and we think that my wife's grandfather will pass away any day now. His wife died last year about this time and his health just whittled away, as if he lost the will to live on without his wife. He is a believer, so the good news is that he will soon transition out of life in this body into a new, wonderous life in another one. It's hard to imagine what that will be like, as even an old, tired body and spirit will both likely get rejuvinated in a miraculous and instantaneous way. I believe that death is a part of life. It's just odd that our culture tries to kind of not think about it. 100 years ago it was not so much this way. The whole family would likely see "grandpa" die in the bed in the living room; but our culture tries to ignore it -- probably because it's kind of uncomfortable to face our own mortality.