Poem: Mother

The work is never done, there's always more to do
You clean up the mess and get him dressed
Just in time to do it again

There's always an empty tummy or a full diaper
A ringing phone, a new request
Your time is never yours

No awards, no raises
No time off, no vacation
Not even the time for a sick day

Under appreciated, underpaid
You work for little reward

But what you do, it matters most
The product of your labor

A bright young child, full of love
Because you are his mother.

Black Friday Deals

Well, the time is almost here. The day everyone anticipates. The biggest shopping day of the year, full of great deals, huge crowds, full parking lots, injuries, sold out merchandise, rude salespeople spraying perfume in your face... wait, that doesn't sound very appealing.

How about instead of fighting the crowds, you check out the awesome deals on Amazon.com?

Click on that ad right down there.

Yeah, that one.

A Case Of The Mondays

It always seems that I have the opposite experience of most people when it comes to Mondays. My Mondays are often quiet and uneventful. It's my Fridays that are chaos.

While everyone else anticipates the last day of the work week, I treat it with trepidation. I fear Friday.

Today, well today is Monday. And it's acting like a Monday. Not like my Mondays, like everyone else's. It's interresting to note that this week is the week of Thanksgiving, which means that I will not be working on Thursday or Friday. Hence, Monday being a Monday. It gets you no matter what.

Funny how that works.

Posted with LifeCast

Book signing event with Brett Joshpe

The book signing with Brett Joshpe at Books-A-Million in Sarasota went well this weekend. Brett made some book sales and we had a great chat. I'd like to share the pictures with you. They're few, but they turned out well.

Faith in Fatherhood - "Time Alone With The Father"

God’s Word tells us “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6) This verse struck home with me this weekend. I, like so many parents, have a child who is rather shy around people in public, but opens up in private. I saw an even deeper level of this when my wife left for a few hours to run some errands and I spent some alone time with my son.
Read the rest of the article...

Faith in Fatherhood - "Setting The Example"

There is one thing that I both knew before I became a dad and was surprised by once I became one. That is the fact that children are listening to everything you say and watching everything you do. I knew this as a fact before having a child to parent, and yet it completely blew me away to see it in action. For some of you this piece may just be something that you already know and believe in your heart, but for others this may be a wake-up call.
Read the rest of the article...

Faith in Fatherhood - "Be Still"

The Word of God teaches us that we should “train up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6), and that is one of our main responsibilities as fathers. What we sometimes fail to realize, however, is that if we pay close attention, our children are also teaching us lessons all along the way.

Read the rest of the article...

Movie review: Fireproof

If you're like me, you'd love to see more wholesome, Christian movies come out of Hollywood, but you're often disappointed in the quality of such films when they do come out.  It's no secret that productions made by Christian movie makers have much less of a budget than major Hollywood studios.  Over the course of the last couple of years, though, I've noticed a shift in this.  The last 3 Christian-produced movies I've seen have been excellent, not only in message, but in quality.

Most recently before tonight, I had seen The Wager, a movie starring Randy Travis as, what else, an actor.  I won't go too into detail on this movie, as it is not the one I'm reviewing, but I'd like to mention just how much I loved it.  Travis did a great job acting, especially for a crossover singer to actor.  The message came across loud and clear with no wishy-washy, roundabout way of delivering it.  Facing The Giants is also worth a mention here.  Great movie, great message, and again, the quality was far superior to Christian movies of the past.

Tonight, on our 5th wedding anniversary, my wife and I went to see Fireproof, starring Kirk Cameron (yeah, that Kirk Cameron).  I knew little about the movie before buying tickets in advance, except for the fact that several people I know had seen it before it released and loved it.  I went on their word and the fact that I liked Kirk Cameron in the Left Behind movies.  (I did actually watch a preview at least before we went to the movie)  I was not disappointed.

What I witnessed tonight was not just a great film.  The movie in its own right was awesome.  But more importantly, what I saw was a movie theatre packed with people who wanted to see a "Christian movie".  I don't believe that anyone bought tickets to that movie that did not understand that it was going to have a Christian message.  Some people may have been invited by Christian friends, sure, but I think the majority of those there in that place knew to what extent this was going to be a message movie.  Not only did a huge amount of people show up to see this movie (which we saw at 3:50 pm, and I can only assume that even more showed up for later shows) but they stood and applauded as the movie ended.  Sniffles were heard throughout the theatre as the movie reached its conclusion and I did not see may dry eyes once outside.  What I did see outside, however, was booths set up for couples to get information on marriage counseling and other services.  And people were interested.

No, what I witnessed tonight was not just a great film.  What I witnessed was a shift in our culture.  Despite all the smutty, sexy movies put out by Hollywood (and they put them out because people go to them) there is a large audience for these movies with a message.  People show up and spend their money to see movies that present a gospel message and leave out all the violence and sex.  Are you listening, Hollywood?  People do want more movies like this one.

Fireproof is a love story.  It is a true love story.  This movie was not one that presented a view of love that the world believes in.  The love story we saw played out was one of biblical love, one of a selfless choice, a love not motivated by lust or self fulfillment.  By the end of Fireproof, I wanted to be a better husband to my wife, and I'm sure I was not alone in that.  What Hollywood production can you think of that gave you that kind of feeling?

I hope I'm right and that this is a cultural shift.  I hope that the money brought into the box offices across the country is a wake up call to film makers.  I hope we do start to see more movies with such biblical messages, made with a significant budget as the studios wake up to what audiences want.  We can help in this.  We can make our voices heard 1) with our money; go see these movies 2) by promoting these movies to our friends and family so that more and more people go see them.  I for one will be buying Fireproof when it comes out on DVD because I have no problem having it in my home for my child to see. 

Bravo.

Powered by Qumana

Photography book

I have recently revised my original photography book, Life in Focus.  I was a bit unhappy about the way a couple of the photos turned out in the final print and while I was taking the time to replace them, I decided to go ahead and add a few newer photos as well.  I am very pleased with the new revision. You can click on the button below to view and/or purchase the book.

Could you do it?

It's being reported that a man in California found $140,000 on the side of the road...and turned it in.  Could you do it?  If you found that large a sum of bills...would you turn it in to police?  As it turns out, the money fell off an armored truck; it had been headed for ATMs.  

Some people would that they'd be fine with keeping the money, because it didn't belong to an individual.  It belonged to banks, and banks are insured.  Ah, yes, banks are insured.  But when anyone has to file an insurance claim, what do you think happens?  Premiums go up.  And when premiums go up for a business, the cost is passed on to the customer.  Keep the money if you want, but you're screwing everyone else.  

The man was quoted as saying, "I didn't feel like I was losing anything because it didn't belong to me anyway".

This makes me think of people who shoplift because prices have risen at a particular store.  In many cases, shoplifting is the reason that prices have risen.  

As in all things, it's best to do what's right because it's right.  But in the case of the found money, the man could have been charged with a felony if he kept it.  If doing what's right isn't enough to compel you to return the money...maybe jail time would.

The dream lives

The dream lives
Video sent by justmatthewj

Though Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life was taken in an act of hate, his dream lives on. We're not where we need to be yet, but I see progress being made. Just in the past 40 years we've come so far. Dr. King lives on through his dream. The dream lives.