The Pilgrims

It's sort of ironic that our country, with the Christian roots that it has, likely would not have been so had it not been for a group of stalwart separatists who decided enough was enough in their mother country. It's sort of ironic, because if it would have been me I probably would have said, "What? No way am I moving, I'm staying right here and trying to change this beast from the inside out."

If it wasn't for them, who knows what kind of people would have successfully stuck in this fair land, and who knows what kind of foot this country would have gotten off on.

So maybe concerned Christians should pack up and start something good in South America.

The Civil War a.k.a. Oregon Football 2004

Does it bother anyone that the Oregon-Oregon State game is dubbed after a terrible war that was fought, by one side, to defend slavery? Me neither.

There were tell-tale signs leading up to the game that it would not go in the Ducks' favor. They came off a lackluster loss at home to the UCLA Bruins. The home team had won this game for the last seven years, and it was in Corvallis. Still, hope springs eternal, and it wasn't too hard to imagine that the Ducks could put up a fight and perhaps even pull it out. My brother even thought they'd win in a blowout. I told my Beaver-fan friend why the Ducks would lose, but even as I did so I held out the hope they'd win.

I didn't see or hear the majority of the game, but it got pretty ugly I hear. Of course, most of that can be blamed on the officials who were just horrible.

Kidding, kk.

Interestingly, it was the Beaver's passing offense that dominated the Duck defense. The Ducks have been awful in the secondary for the last two years, but this year the defensive backfield had shown definite promise. Actually, the whole defense had played very well for most of the year.

These Ducks of 2004, a real interesting case. They should have been better than they were. They're defense was good, offense was good at times. They have an established coach, returning key players, and "dominant" defensive line. But they weren't good. They were on the low end of mediocre, at 5-6 for the season.

I think the key to their season was that the offense (and the defense to a lesser extent) failed to be opportunistic. Even if you are not particularly stellar on offense or defense, you can still do better than 5-6 if you make plays at crucial times. If you score in the red zone, if you hit a big play, if you make the interception instead of batting the ball down, if you don't commit a holding penalty on a long kickoff return. These are the type of plays that the Ducks have made in the past that they didn't make this year and they are a big reason that they're sitting at home for the holidays this year.

Oh my, I just counted.

I'm going to turn in a homework assignment tomorrow that has at least 25 pages in it.

Funeral & Family

One person commented about how emotional grandpa's funeral was, considering that it was a Smucker-planned and Smucker-executed event.

I gather that it was an effective service, even moving. It was those things because of the honesty and from-the-heart feel of it. Grandpa wasn't a perfect man, and you would have realized it had you been at his funeral. Unlike most funerals, this wasn't just a listing of his achievements and positive character traits. It was a portrait of a man who struggled with relationships but had a heart for God. He rarely showed his emotions (until close to the end at least), but he wanted more than anything for himself and his loved ones to know his Saviour more fully.

I feel a little sheepish, actually, for a post a few days back painting an altogether glossy picture of our family. Our family's not perfect, but as the pastor said today, who among us is? There are problems in our family. Social events probably bring out the best in most groups, perhaps giving an unrealistic view of how things really are.

Ah, but I stand by my thought that Christianity done "right" is beauty--in relationships--that produces wonderful peace and joy. All the important things in life "work" when people have given up themselves and given themselves to God.

Understanding

Never make fun of someone because they ask a stupid question.

It's amazing how utterly befuddling something can appear if one is missing just a single key bit of information. To one who knows, it is completely and ridiculously obvious, but to the enquirer, the mystery can seem almost insurmountable.

So they gather the courage to expose their ignorance, and you take their sensitive, extended heart and squeeze it cruelly.

Ouch.

Hanging With the Cuz's

Monday evening our family had a meal together at church. At our church, over the years we've added stuff on here and there, so there's an old fireplace right in front of the kitchen. It used to actually burn wood. But now, the hearth is unused and usurped by a rigged up counter-like structure that extends above it.

So there is a little nook (or is it a cranny?) maybe two or three feet high, on the hearth and under the counter-like structure, perfect for little children to play in. I saw that, and saw some children playing, and decided to get in on the action.

Smucker's got pipes, know what I mean? Well, I tuck myself into this little space and my little cousin starts yelling with excitement. But that makes my other, even littler cousin start crying because of all the noise.

So I got to pick her up and settle her down!

Details

As a student, my bread and butter used to be my thoroughness, my attention to detail. That was my academic personality: when others left points on the table just because they weren't complete enough, didn't show their work, weren't clear, I picked them up because I was all those things.

But lately these traits have been like a fish trying to balance on a slime-covered boulder--slipping.

I asked someone today if it was worse getting a bad score because you didn't know the material or getting an average-to-good score that could have been good-to-great because of a kick-yourself mistake. He said the latter. I'm not so sure, they both would get under my skin.

But I do know that the latter is annoying, very annoying. First, I lose points on a Materials Science exam for not explaining myself well enough, then I forget to write a range of values down for a couple of density-related functions in Stats, which cost me the equivalent of 5 points.

But what can you do now?

Do Family This Way

I look at my family and it makes me wonder why anyone would ever want it different.

In a way I should shut up about it, because my family is my family and a person can't do much but accept whatever family God has given him/her. But give me a few words.

To those who criticize conservative Christianity, to those who say that the women are repressed, that the insistence upon objective truth is outdated, that to the enlightened this way of life is untenable, to all those I say just look at a family that has really tried to take God's Word and Christ's teaching to heart. Look at the peace and joy and love that result.

Of course I have the perspective coming from a pretty well-adjusted family. There are many problem-families that have a similar Christian heritages. But I would argue, if the essence of Christ's teachings are followed so many beautiful things happen.

There's so much junk out there. So many torn up lives and families. I really believe that true joy is possible in these relationships and in our own hearts, that being well-adjusted and deeply at peace is possible--doing it God's way.