A few random thoughts after a few weeks away from the blog ...
Gina and I were blessed to be given a trip to NYC last week. It was Gina's first trip there and I had only spent one day in NYC (and that was almost 30 years ago). We flew out on Thursday morning (the hardest part of the trip was the drive to the airport through the snow and ice but the non-stop flight to LaGuardia was great) and flew home on Saturday morning in time for a Christ on Campus Board meeting. (We got to LaGuardia about 30 minutes before the security gates opened.) But during our few hours in NYC we had a great time:
We ate lunch on Thursday with Rupert at the Hello Deli (of Letterman fame) and then took a stroll through the south end of Central Park.
Thursday night we attended a "Black-tie Optional" gala celebrating the 100th Millrose Games - America's oldest and most prestigious indoor track meet. It was a $1000 a plate affair in the Rainbow Room on the 65th floor of the Rockefeller Center. (The pictures are of the room and the view from there.) There were about 300 people - a "who's who" of track and field history, Olympic champions and world record holders. The Rainbow Room was the site of various fund-raising functions for such as John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan and you can eat there for about $250 a person.
Friday we went to Ground Zero and then to Times Square - where we did see The Naked Cowboy. I tried to get Gina to go give him a hug, but she wouldn't go for it. That night we attended the Millrose Games - the first track meet I have just watched as a spectator in almost 20 years. It was great to be in Madison Square Garden - as historic an arena as there is in the US - and the competition was good.
It was a great trip and we were greatly blessed by those who made it possible - especially Art Huff. We just needed more time. There was enough to do and see within six blocks of our hotel to keep us busy for a week of more: Times Square, Central Park, Broadway, Museum of Modern Art, etc.
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I enjoyed the Super Bowl and was pleased the Colts won. I like Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy and was glad to see them win. I especially appreciated Dungy's words after the game - that even more significant to him than being one of the first two African-American coaches in the Super Bowl was to be one of two Christian coaches who were successful "doing it the Lord's way."
Here is another statement from Coach Dungy. This comes from Rubel Shelley:
"That there is 'life outside of football' may be a necessary reminder for some sports fans and couch potatoes now that Super Bowl XLI is over. Now that the Indianapolis Colts have the Lombardi Trophy in hand, some of them may be wondering what they will do until next season begins.
But the line is actually from Tony Dungy, the Colts' head coach. It wasn't spoken after last Sunday's water-logged victory over the Chicago Bears but just after his son James committed suicide 13 months ago.
In a speech he made shortly after that tragedy, Dungy talked about all three of his sons. He spoke first of his middle son, Eric, and said his competitive nature is so focused on athletics that 'it's almost a problem.' Then he turned to his youngest son, Jordan, whose rare congenital condition makes him insensitive to pain.
'That sounds like it's good at the beginning, but I promise you it's not,' said Coach Dungy. 'We've learned some hurts are really necessary for kids. Pain is necessary for kids to find out the difference between what's good and what's harmful.'
'Cookies are good,' the coach explained, 'but - in Jordan's mind - if they're good out on the plate, they're even better in the oven. He will go right in the oven when my wife's not looking, reach in, take the rack out, take the pan out, burn his hands - then eat the cookies and burn his tongue and never feel it.'
'Pain sometimes lets us know we have a condition that needs to be healed,' Dungy said. 'Pain inside sometimes lets us know that spiritually we're not quite right, and we need to be healed. And that God will send that healing agent right to the spot. Sometimes pain is the only way that will turn us kids back to the Father.'
Only then did Coach Dungy speak of his oldest son, James, who took his life three days before Christmas 2005. He spoke of his family's pain. He talked about lessons they were learning from it. He and his wife have since joined an organization dedicated to preventing teen suicide."
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Regarding the commercials, I did like the Kevin Federline commercial and the "beard comb-over."
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A couple of months ago I suggested the Banana Guard as a potential Christmas gift. Though I didn't get one for Christmas, I did purchase a couple. Pretty cool!
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Here's an article about a "caffeinated-donut." I guess it would kill two birds with one stone and save time!
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Some of you may want to check out Death Row Speaks - an anti-death penalty website that features poems, art, and other items from inmates on Death Row.
The death penalty is an area where my view has changed over the years. Though I do believe that government - as it operates within the purpose for which God designed it - may have the right to exercise capital punishment, I don't believe that it necessarily a good or wise practice for several reasons.
Gina and I were blessed to be given a trip to NYC last week. It was Gina's first trip there and I had only spent one day in NYC (and that was almost 30 years ago). We flew out on Thursday morning (the hardest part of the trip was the drive to the airport through the snow and ice but the non-stop flight to LaGuardia was great) and flew home on Saturday morning in time for a Christ on Campus Board meeting. (We got to LaGuardia about 30 minutes before the security gates opened.) But during our few hours in NYC we had a great time:
We ate lunch on Thursday with Rupert at the Hello Deli (of Letterman fame) and then took a stroll through the south end of Central Park.
Thursday night we attended a "Black-tie Optional" gala celebrating the 100th Millrose Games - America's oldest and most prestigious indoor track meet. It was a $1000 a plate affair in the Rainbow Room on the 65th floor of the Rockefeller Center. (The pictures are of the room and the view from there.) There were about 300 people - a "who's who" of track and field history, Olympic champions and world record holders. The Rainbow Room was the site of various fund-raising functions for such as John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan and you can eat there for about $250 a person.
Friday we went to Ground Zero and then to Times Square - where we did see The Naked Cowboy. I tried to get Gina to go give him a hug, but she wouldn't go for it. That night we attended the Millrose Games - the first track meet I have just watched as a spectator in almost 20 years. It was great to be in Madison Square Garden - as historic an arena as there is in the US - and the competition was good.
It was a great trip and we were greatly blessed by those who made it possible - especially Art Huff. We just needed more time. There was enough to do and see within six blocks of our hotel to keep us busy for a week of more: Times Square, Central Park, Broadway, Museum of Modern Art, etc.
************************
I enjoyed the Super Bowl and was pleased the Colts won. I like Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy and was glad to see them win. I especially appreciated Dungy's words after the game - that even more significant to him than being one of the first two African-American coaches in the Super Bowl was to be one of two Christian coaches who were successful "doing it the Lord's way."
Here is another statement from Coach Dungy. This comes from Rubel Shelley:
"That there is 'life outside of football' may be a necessary reminder for some sports fans and couch potatoes now that Super Bowl XLI is over. Now that the Indianapolis Colts have the Lombardi Trophy in hand, some of them may be wondering what they will do until next season begins.
But the line is actually from Tony Dungy, the Colts' head coach. It wasn't spoken after last Sunday's water-logged victory over the Chicago Bears but just after his son James committed suicide 13 months ago.
In a speech he made shortly after that tragedy, Dungy talked about all three of his sons. He spoke first of his middle son, Eric, and said his competitive nature is so focused on athletics that 'it's almost a problem.' Then he turned to his youngest son, Jordan, whose rare congenital condition makes him insensitive to pain.
'That sounds like it's good at the beginning, but I promise you it's not,' said Coach Dungy. 'We've learned some hurts are really necessary for kids. Pain is necessary for kids to find out the difference between what's good and what's harmful.'
'Cookies are good,' the coach explained, 'but - in Jordan's mind - if they're good out on the plate, they're even better in the oven. He will go right in the oven when my wife's not looking, reach in, take the rack out, take the pan out, burn his hands - then eat the cookies and burn his tongue and never feel it.'
'Pain sometimes lets us know we have a condition that needs to be healed,' Dungy said. 'Pain inside sometimes lets us know that spiritually we're not quite right, and we need to be healed. And that God will send that healing agent right to the spot. Sometimes pain is the only way that will turn us kids back to the Father.'
Only then did Coach Dungy speak of his oldest son, James, who took his life three days before Christmas 2005. He spoke of his family's pain. He talked about lessons they were learning from it. He and his wife have since joined an organization dedicated to preventing teen suicide."
************************
Regarding the commercials, I did like the Kevin Federline commercial and the "beard comb-over."
************************
A couple of months ago I suggested the Banana Guard as a potential Christmas gift. Though I didn't get one for Christmas, I did purchase a couple. Pretty cool!
************************
Here's an article about a "caffeinated-donut." I guess it would kill two birds with one stone and save time!
***********************
Some of you may want to check out Death Row Speaks - an anti-death penalty website that features poems, art, and other items from inmates on Death Row.
The death penalty is an area where my view has changed over the years. Though I do believe that government - as it operates within the purpose for which God designed it - may have the right to exercise capital punishment, I don't believe that it necessarily a good or wise practice for several reasons.
