Come into the Sunlight

It happened yesterday morning for the first time this year.

I had to put my sunglasses on while driving to work--the sun was out and bright!

I have been watching the sunrises for a number of weeks now, but finally, yesterday, the skies were clear and the sun was in my eyes. It was wonderful!

Sadly, it is only temporary. Daylight savings time will soon return my morning commute to darkness until May when again I will be bathed in the glow of morning's dawn for a few months as I make my way to work.

Maybe I should go into work later in order to enjoy the sunlit morning commute. But no, then I would get to enjoy less of the afternoon and evening which can be so productive and enjoyable.

I already imagine sitting around the pool enjoying the warm evenings, swatting at the hordes of mosquitoes which desire to use me for their evening meal, enjoying the gathering golden light of the sunset only to dream of another dawn.

And another day.

The sunlight was a big change from the dreary darkness of last week. It makes the entire week seem full of promise and excitement.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - February 25, 2013

1. Oscars! Now we know that Argo is the big winner.

2. It is amazing how warm 50 degrees seems after suffering through so many days in a row with highs in the 30's.

3. The Orioles have won their first two Spring Training games. Hope springs anew for another season!

4. How cool is it that the science community has found a missing continent. I wonder who misplaced it?

5. What is a Unicorn Apocalypse? "I want them to look like real unicorns. The way they look in real life." That, friends, is a television commercial.

6. I know that Springtime is near--the Daytona 500 was run yesterday.

7. I listened to a Spring Training baseball game on the radio!  Sadly, by the seventh inning I didn't recognize many of the players.

8. By this time next week, the U.S. could be in its worst economic and budgetary crisis ever!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Here it Comes!

Chris exclaimed this morning, "Stop, everyone, look outside. The sun is shining!"

And so it was, or more correctly, is. The sky has a bluish hue to it and the bright orb that has taken its leave from us lately has returned.

Amazingly, as I surveyed the yard I found that the daffodils are springing up in anticipation of warmer weather. They are really up and I expect to see some flowers during the course of the next few weeks.

Even the cats are headed outside more. The temperature is above freezing and headed for near 50 today. I was joking that on Wednesday is the temperatures get above 50 degrees I may put the top down and drive Cat around--just because.

With the sun shining, though, I know it is going to be a great day. Even more, because we will be celebrating Jax's fifth birthday.

Here comes the sun!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Whether the Weather

I am amazed how much the weather affects me. And, it seems, so are many people around me.

This week was a good example. The weather was gray, and cold, and generally miserable. By the end of the week, so was I. Today is no better. Cold, overcast, and rainy.

As this week wore on, tempers became short, skin became thin, and emotions began to run high. I came home from work last evening with a banging headache and feeling totally drained. I think everyone I know is ready for blue skies, sunshine, and mid-70's (or higher) temperatures.

On the positive side, the Orioles are playing their first Spring Training game today! Summer cannot be far off. I looked at the forecast for Sarasota, Florida (where the Orioles hold Spring Training) and saw sunshine and 80 degree temperatures. I wish I was there. Right now!

But, I am not. I have to take Makayla to get her nails done and accomplish a number of other tasks around the house today. All the while, looking at the cold, gray dampness which has descended upon everything.

I did enjoy Ethan's last basketball game of the season already this morning. At least that means that youth baseball season is about to begin!

The weather is a fact of life. It is just amazing how much it affects the quality of life.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sequestration and Playing Chicken

Does it matter that the Democrats want to break the back of the Republican Party, or that the Republicans want to embarrass the President?

All Americans will suffer if our leaders cannot agree to govern and stop acting like spoiled children in the sand box. There are no parents to save the day and make the kids play nice.

What happens if the meltdown is allowed to occur next Friday?

- Our country will move from a bad reality TV show into disaster.

- Our currency is devalued raising the costs of imports increasing the pain on consumers.

- The price of gas sky rockets.

- The prestige and honor of our great republic is forever tarnished.

While these battles are not unlike those waged between Jefferson and Adams, at least our founding fathers retained the perspective that the country must survive.

I am not so sure about our current leaders. It seems they are content to play a dangerous game of chicken.

By the way--even if we dodge the sequestration bullet, the country still does not have a budget.

It is a mess--no matter what rock we look under.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

I Don't Want to Know How to Spell That Word

It is coming.

The economic gains of the past two years are about to be lost because our dysfunctional government cannot agree on a budgetary way forward.

The word is sequestration. It means the demise of the U.S. economy, defense, and livelihood for all. While to some it may sound like a good way to reduce the debt and the size of government--I will be a disaster because of the senseless cookie cutter approach that it will apply.

If we think our government is bad now--just wait, we haven't seen anything yet. Most people have no idea how much they depend on the Federal Government for the livelihood they enjoy. And I do not mean just federal workers, who are the lowest of pawns in this embarrassing display of ineptitude.

The U.S. is acting like a has-been third world nation.

Both sides are playing brinkmanship politics with results that could cost far more than will ever be saved.

No one is going to win in the end. So to quote a line from a movie: "The only winning move is not to play."

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Knowing Who is Standing with Me is What Matters

I've been in a low spot. It could be the lack of sunshine, the continuing too cold weather, the pace at work, or my crummy racquetball outings--but nonetheless, I've been in a low spot. I played a racquetball match last evening and even though I had a lead late in both games, I knew I'd blow it, and I did. It was a self fulfilling prophecy.

That written, I have come across a powerful song released last year by one of my favorite artists, Chris Tomlin. The song is Whom Shall I Fear? As I have been struggling against the cold darkness of the season and self-doubt, this song had lifted my spirit.

It is a very uplifting song and I highly recommend it. Click on the link to YouTube above to see the words and hear the song.

The refrain lyrics are:

I know who goes before me 

I know who stands behind me 

The God of angel armies 

Is always by my side 

The one who reigns forever 

He is a friend of mine 

The God of angel armies 

Is always by my side

Perspective! That's what matters when I get too focused on the crummy seasonal weather, losing racquetball matches, being wrong more than I am right, or when I begin to doubt myself and my ability.

I saw the sunrise yesterday grace the sky on my way to work. It was fabulous. The promise of the new day stretched out in front of me dragged me into the dawn of an exciting new day full of possibilities. I've got a lot of stuff to do every day and I need to take more enjoyment from the tasks completed than perseverating over the tasks remaining.   

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Perceptions: They Matter

Caution: This entry may be unsuitable until after the first cup of coffee in the morning.

I ran across an interesting pie chart the other day which all to clearly highlights the image problems that Christians have today in America. I found it on Facebook originally and then this liberal site: Democratic Underground. Doing a Google search, I found it on many sites.

I was shocked to see something so simple lay out a serious public perception problem so clearly.

Christians in America today, and this is a broad generalization, are missing the boat on the truly important issues that they are uniquely gifted to undertake. While there is likely little science behind this chart, and I an pretty sure the entire thing was fabricated--Christians need to take note that the report card is not good.

Reading the comments on the referenced site are very interesting and help to demonstrate that although it is important to be politically active and work to change the world, the way we are supposed to change the world is by one heart at a time. I was shocked that no measurable posts were devoted to helping the sick and needy.

I was reminded of Romans 13:1: "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God’s appointment, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God." -- NET Bible

While I too believe that political activism is important, Christians need to be seen as more than just the radical side of the Republican Party--or Tea Party, or whatever. They need an identity separate from politics. It is clear that the current wave of political activism is overshadowing the important good that christians in America are doing every day. Christians are under attack--and many of them are painting big red bullseye targets on their backs to give the opposition more places to aim.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - February 18, 2013

1. Happy President's Day.

2. Maybe because I played hooky form church yesterday, but I was reflecting upon the meteors which fell in Russia and other places across the planet late last week and I ran through Matthew 24:29 in my head where it was written "the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken." Just wondering.

3. Yesterday was the second successive week without football, but the hockey felt great with the Penguins winning a close game against the Sabers. Baseball is coming.

4. I was amused by the newspaper article about two brothers who won $75,000 in the lottery and then accidentally blew-up their house during the drug induced celebration. Certainly there has to be a better way to celebrate.

5. I saw the movie Escape from Planet Earth over the weekend. It is OK for kids.

6. I was shocked that the temperature outside my window was 19 degrees this morning. I thought I would be seeing warmer temperatures.

7. I bought a pasta maker last summer and I used it for the first time yesterday. It was fun and the pasta was grey--although there certainly was a lot of it. I am amazed that it took almost eight months before I took it out of the box and used the pasta maker.

8. I think I finally received my the last statements necessary to accomplish preparing my taxes on Saturday. Now I have to decide what week I want to be totally depressed about how much I am paying for the dysfunctional government that I am receiving.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Two Apologies Don't Make a Right

Caution: This is a religiously oriented entry suitable for Sunday reading.

A couple of weeks ago I read about how the president of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) had requested and received and apology from the LCMS pastor who jointly participated in the interfaith memorial service held in the aftermath of the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.

I used to be a member of the LCMS--that does not make me an expert, but this episode does confirm some of the reasons that I chose to leave the fiercely conservative, almost to a fault, reclusive branch of Protestantism.

I was amazed that the president of the synod has now apologized for asking for the apology. A New York Times article details the situation:

"The Rev. Matthew C. Harrison, president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, had sought, and received, an apology from the Newtown pastor, the Rev. Rob Morris, for violating the denomination’s prohibition against joint worship with people of other faiths. But in the face of intense criticism, Mr. Harrison this week apologized himself. 

“I naïvely thought an apology for offense in the church would allow us to move quickly beyond internal controversy and toward a less emotional process of working through our differences, well out of the public spotlight,” Mr. Harrison wrote on the church’s Web site. “That plan failed miserably.”

The problem is that the LCMS prohibits their pastors from participating in multi-faith public expressions of religion. They do not want to give the impression that there are many paths to salvation. Yet--while they may grasp a tactical situation, they miss the strategic--if no one is there to represent the path to salvation (and don't misunderstand, I'm not saying that the LCMS way is the one true way) then how are people supposed to hear the good news?

The New York Times article goes on to write about it this way from the words of the President of the LCMS:

“One view is that by standing side-by-side with non-Christian clergy in public religious events, we give the impression that Christ is just one path among many,” he wrote. “Others view participation as an opportunity to share Christ and to truly love a hurting community, which may not happen if we are not participating. We struggle with the tension between these two views.”

My view? If Christians are withdrawing from the hurt and pain of the world when people need them most because we are worried about how it is going to look, then what good are we? Standing in the darkest places of life providing hope and encouragement to people filled with grief and sadness can never be wrong, can it? In my view, it is the difference between being on the front lines of the battle or hiding away in seclusion and advising others on what they are doing wrong.

We get dirty doing work. The type of shenanigans represented by the LCMS in this case makes all Christians look petty.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD