The Annual New Years Resolution Game Begins

We've all done it. I've done it more than I would like to admit. But we've all to some degree or another made those "new years resolutions" that we aborted sometime in February (maybe earlier, maybe later). Thinking back, I think my most common "resolution" has been to get back into the gym, exercise and lose some weight. All of which has been an up and down, off and on endeavor throughout the years. I'm not sure about the value of making new years resolutions. Most of them go by the wayside and for the others, circumstances change, life ebbs and flows and makes them irrelevant. So I guess a person just needs to live for each day. Live as if today was your last day. Makes sense. Easier some days than others for sure. With that said, it just seems like I'm supposed to make some resolutions. So, I've thought about it for the past few weeks and here they are.

One, I would like to improve on and make my relationship with God better and closer. That comes by practicing spiritual disciplines such as bible reading, daily prayer, solitude, fasting, fellowship, etc. I think a lot of things/issues in life become much clearer and easier to deal with when your relationship with God is somewhat dialed in.

Secondly, I want to drastically improve on or kick up a notch or two my role as the spiritual leader in my family. Praying together as a family has enormous benefits (sadly to say, I'm a big failure here). Putting myself on the back burner, spending more time with the kids training them up in the ways of the Lord and nurturing them to maturity is very important and I feel will be the biggest benchmark to my legacy.

Thirdly, to stay the course and keep plugging away at law school. It's almost routine now, but everyday I want to quit. Work, family and school, it's a pretty daunting task, but one that God will enable me to finish and do well at.

Fourthly, exercise and lose some poundage! Heard that one before? This one is tough for me. I spent a good 20-25 years of my life in a gym hurling weights around, playing college football at Nebraska and later as an amatuer bodybuilder. I'm pretty much done with the gym thing. So I need to find something to keep me active and to help me stay in shape. Something a little more strenuous than mowing the lawn once a week is OK by me.

So there it is. The key to making and keeping resolutions I've come to learn is, turning these things over to God (He might delete one or two of them and add others) and live in the power of the Holy Spirit. Each day is new (duh) and each day brings it's own issues, problems, ups and downs. Being in tune with God in such a way that whatever happens moment by moment each day, you can face each day and every situation with confidence and boldness.

As for this blog, who knows what will happen. The only thing it does for now is suck up my time from profitable endeavors like work and studying. Nobody really reads it, except you Mom...thanks! (and a few others...thanks to you too!). I've come so close to totally deleting it a few times. Maybe I'll change things and go more personal, maybe more about football, law school, my kids or my spiritual life and what I'm learning. We'll see.

At any rate, Happy New Year to you and may 2006 be the best year ever for you!

Why?

Can anybody tell me why I would continue a dialogue with someone who doesn't want to hear what you have to say, puts words in your mouth, tells me what I think, who thinks they know what my position is, catagorizes me and employs straw man and red herring arguments to keep the conversation going in circles? In my line of work, I've worked on the opposite side of lawyers who do some or all of the above. Most of them are crotchety old nags working in solo practices who find themselves knee deep in needless law and motion proceedings and on the business end of a judges order for sanctions for one reason or another. In the end, you have to feel sorry for them. A little humility, grace and intellectual honesty would do them well. But who am I to say and what do I know...I'm just a squirrel trying to get a nut.

Order Restored...Any Questions?

Nebraska 32
Michigan 28

Awesome game for the Huskers! By far the best bowl game so far this year. Turns out Mark May (ESPN Gameday analyst) was 12 or more points short in his prediction. He and really nobody else gave NU a chance to win this game let alone make a good game of it. May said Michigan would blow out NU and score in the 40's. 14 of Michigan's points came off of turnovers and NU had one touchdown called back. Our running game was juiced up as RB Cory Ross ran for 166 yards, an Alamo Bowl record. Junior QB Zach Taylor, who's body is probably packed in ice right now (he got drilled a good 15 times and spent a good chunk of time on his keister), won the player of the game with three TD passes. Great win against a great Michigan team. The extra practice time and closing the season with three wins just about puts us back where NU football belongs...playing BCS caliber teams on New Years Day. Next up, USC on September 16, 2006 in Los Angeles. Whoaaaaaa Nellie!

Pictures, articles, stats and more here.

Loving God with All Your Mind

Got vacation? Here's some holiday reading for you.

The Faith of Unbelief. Read here.

Dealing with life and theistic evidences for God. Read here.

Postmodernism and the pursuit of truth. Read here.

Are you a morally good person? Does it matter? Read here.

Not follow Christ? Who else did you have in mind? Read here.

How does a disciple live? Read here.

Rethinking our approach to evangelism. Read here.

The Making of a Christian. Read here.

Do proponents of gay marriage have a metaphysical ground for their position? Read here. (Article entitled "Legal Neutrality and Same-Sex Marriage")

Why I'm not a Moral Relativist: In "Why I'm a Christian" Geisler and Hoffman. Read here.

This ought to be enough for you for awhile. Hope these articles are helpful as you "...love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your MIND..."
Merry Christmas and Godspeed.

Three More Days and other random thoughts...

Got your Christmas shopping done? Me either. I did most of it online this year. Man, that's the way to go let me tell you. Well, three more days till the traditional ripping open of the presents. Paper and bows will fly! I can't wait for my little guys to open a special present I got them (complete Nebraska Cornhusker football uniforms--helmet, shoulder pads and all)! They are going to lose their minds! We'll be missing my girl this year...she's staying with her mom this year and will be seeing other family members she hasn't seen in a long time. It won't be the same without her. But she'll be in our hearts and our thoughts. By the way, if you haven't recieved your Christmas card from us yet, either I don't know you and you're not getting one or it's on the way! Have a great Christmas wherever you are! Miss you all (you know who you are). May the peace of His presence be with you this Christmas and throughout the year!

Are same sex marriages good for children?

In one word, NO. There is absolutely NO scientific research available indicating that same sex marriages are good for children. Information here.

Does a traditional marriage (one man and one woman) matter for children? Research says it does. Information here.

Who are you to force your morality on me?

This statement generally comes up when one is giving their opinion in one fashion or another about morality. They are saying what they think is right or wrong and how that ought to play out in society. This self refuting statement comes up often when a Christian is expressing their viewpoint that goes against the grain (as it often does in our morally bankrupt society).

This challenge is self refuting. It defeats itself because it is a challenge to you that you ought not force others or ask others to live according to your moral point of view. Yet that challenge itself is a moral point of view that someone else believes in and is asking you to live by. To put it simply, they're forcing their morality on you when they say that you shouldn't force your morality on someone else.

Everybody has a moral point of view that we are seeking to have believed and acted upon in society and we are seeking to do that by some measure. Take the homosexual marriage agenda. They are advocating that their moral point of view (gay marriage) is legitimate and should be accepted. Is that a moral viewpoint that should be "forced" on everyone? How legitimate is it to force that moral viewpoint? I won't enumerate here why that viewpoint is not a legimate viewpoint to be forced on society at large, but I do take exception to how that viewpoint is being implimented on our society, which in essence, is the "rub" that opponents of gay marriage have against gay marriage inter alia.

There are two ways to force your morality. One way is to compel or encourage people to act in a way you think is right and for the common good. Generally we use the force of social approval and disapproval to effectuate this method. Another way, the way of the gay marriage activist is to strong arm society with forceful measures- namely by force of law and/or the courts. This brings up a whole new topic of judicial activism, which can be discussed at another time, but a tactic that gay marriage activists are capitalizing on currently.

But one way another, EVERYONE is forcing a moral view on someone. If you are a moralistic person, shame on you.

To friends and family...

Took little guy for his EEG bright and early this morning. Went over the MRI and all the other tests he's undergone over the past two weeks. Good news is everything came back normal, except the EEG. Little Guy has some extra random synapses firing off in his noggin which is causing his seizures. There are remedies for that and he'll be monitored for quite awhile. As for the autism concerns, that won't be determined but by observation and evaluation over time. Overall, pretty good news. Mommy was pretty worried for awhile, but we're happy to report nothing too serious at this time. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. Whatever happens we know is in the hands of the Lord and He causes ALL things to work together for good...! We're happy that God saw us fit to be his mom and dad and we're blessed for this opportunity.
Thanks again...see you all soon!

Early Christmas present...

Some folks just think they have everything all figured out. They think they know you when they don't know you at all. They call you names, catagorize you and rip you to shreds with specious ad homenum attacks. The irony is, they have their panties in a wad and are stomping up and down beside themselves when they read or hear something they disagree with. Somewhere in their vitriole they condemn you for "moralizing" or expressing your viewpoint arguing "who are you to shove your beliefs down my throat"? Newsflash...aren't you shoving your belief down my throat that I don't have the right to express my belief/viewpoint? Everybody "moralizes". You don't have to act like a jackass when you express one though.

Learn how to be more consistent in your moral reasoning.

The three elements of tolerance.

Huskers continue bowl preparation

A big day in the "rebuilding" process of one of colleges most storied and successful football programs looms on the horizon for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. By smashing Colorado the day after Thanksgiving, the Huskers earned a trip to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. Not quite Husker Nation standards, but it's progress. Much has been said this year, an up and down year at that, about the "State of the Huskers". Can Bill Callahan coach? Will the west coast offense work at NU? What happened against Kansas and Missouri? We all hope that the Colorado game is a peek at what will become the "norm" for Husker performances. And we can only hope that the game against Michigan in 10 days will go down in similar fashion. Check out the scoop on "Nebraska Football" link on the right or see story here. GO BIG RED!!!

Slouching towards Gomorra and Brokeback Morality

Brokeback Mountain is not your John Wayne western movie that's for sure. I haven't seen it and never will. I suppose that makes me an intolerant, hatemongering, bigoted homophobe to the logically and morally challenged elite homosexual apologists in the world. I'm not, but really, who cares. Being the militant seeker and advocate of tolerence as they are, they won't mind tolerating opposing world views...oh that's right, tolerance is desired only if it lines up with your world view, otherwise you're a $^&$%&^%^&%&*%. You'll recall, having tolerance for something means you tolerate it even if you don't agree. Let the ad hominem attacks begin.

Related articles here, here, and here.

How do we know if the Bible is really from God?

Couldn't have said it better, so go here.

Nine more days to Christmas Daddy!

With a sparkle in his eye and joy splashed all over his face, those are the first words uttered off the lips of my five year old son today. Tomorrow will be "eight more days daddy!" Christmas is fun for kids and we do our best to make it special for our kids every year. It's a special time of year steeped deep in history and tradition. Of course the central figure of Christmas is Christ himself. No matter how you feel about Christ, Christmas is about Christ first and foremost. In our home, we have family traditions that honor the birth and birthday of Christ that help make Christmas special and meaningful. Do you have some family tradition that you and your family do at Christmas to honor Christ? Feel free to share them here. May the peace of His presence be with you this Christmas and always.

Do you have a fabricated opinion about the veracity of Christianity?

In a recent colloquy with another highly esteemed blogger in the hugely opinionated (thank God for that) blogosphere, something came to my mind, mainly, that people can hold whatever belief system they want to cling to, that's their perogative (spelling error I'm sure). However, you better have good reasons for what you believe in. You and I can make whatever claims we want to make, but just making a claim or a belief statement doesn't make it true. Further, basing my life and actions on what other people do just because they claim to hold the same ideological beliefs I do isn't necessarily a highly advisable thing to do. Lots of people say one thing and do another. That's why I say "show me what you believe, then maybe I'll listen to you". Ironic thing for many is, that's exactly what Jesus teaches. "Follow me", not follow that Christian dude over there who's entagled in pornography or any number of other traps and sins.

Therefore, I encourage you to know what you believe, know why you believe it, then actually LIVE your belief system. Don't follow another without knowing them or knowing anything about what they "believe". Neither should you make broad sweeping generalizations about a belief system based on the actions of those obviously not practicing what they allegedly believe. You can't make an intellectually honest assessment of a belief system without reading/studying/investigating that systems truth claims for yourself. And of course, what you believe better be true and worth believing. It would be a damn shame to believe the wrong thing! This "advice" might just serve you well someday.

Nice related article here about "religious pluralism" and truth claims inter alia other things.

Anybody want to run for Governor of California on the GOP side?

I guess Arnold has decided he's done with politics. He just named an openly lesbian Democrat, Susan Kennedy, who is married to her "partner", as his Chief of Staff. Get more here.

The Terminator isn't aware of the agenda of the militant gay activists. If you're not, read this. This article is an eye opener written by attorney Scott Lively. A must read.