Toben and I talk about the amazing Olympic gymnist, Gabby Douglas, and how Fox News failed to report any real news. For shame Fox News, for shame.
Religion
08/08/2012
08/06/2012
Chick-fil-A Part 2
My video on the Chick-fil-A controversy has resulted in some good and thought provoking comments on my blog and youtube pages. At first I was only going to respond in the comments section, but I think there is a larger issue to address. How do we, as citizens in a democracy, have conversations about volatile subjects without it devolving into name calling and dogma?
One of the commenters, Jim, asked a good question that I’d like to try and answer. He asks,
“Did you miss when Cathy did say that we were "inviting God's judgement on our nation" when we allow LGBT people to get married? How is that different than the hypothetical "wrongness" you suggest of going to a group and saying "you are destroying our nation?"
This is a great question and I’m glad someone asked it. There is a difference in what Dan Cathy did vs. my hypothetical scenario of disrupting a LGBT meeting. Dan Cathy was asked in a public interview to express his views on gay marriage. And, that is what he did. He did not attack people. He didn’t barge into a LGBT meeting and start calling people names and making derogatory slurs. He shared his belief on the redefinition of marriage in our country. That is a big point and one that I (and I believe a lot of others) often miss when someone disagrees with choices I make. Please understand I am ONLY talking about the choice of voting for redefining marriage. I am NOT talking about the “choice” of homosexuality (quotes on the word choice on purpose, and maybe the subject of another blog someday). One of the points I was trying to make in the video in my comparison of Dan Cathy and Louis Farrakhan is that Dan Cathy was talking about redefining marriage not homosexuals. Louis Farrakhan has openly made very derogatory comments about Jews. To me, there is a large difference between the two.
Also, Dan Cathy did not “publicly claim LGBT people are destroying our nation.” He didn’t. What he stated, and I agree, is that our country will suffer and decline if we redefine the definition of marriage. Some people hold this belief because of sociological reasons and/or theological reasons.
The other great point that Jim brings up is the idea of legislating morality.
“Don't force your morality on others through law unless you would be fine with other religions forcing their moral standards on you. Anything less is pure hypocrisy.”
Jim, I wholly agree. Anything less would be pure hypocrisy.
And, all laws are the legislation of morality. That is what law is. It’s creating rules based on someone’s view of right and wrong. From traffic laws to foreign policy all laws stem from someone believing one thing is right and another is wrong. The United States has had a civil war, fought in two world wars, and many others to defend “right” and to stamp out “wrong.” I used quotes because not everyone agrees on what is right and wrong.
If you’re still reading, thank you. If you have more comments and/or questions please post them. I hope we can continue this conversation and many more without degrading each other. It would be easy if we didn’t take it personally, but if we didn’t, we wouldn’t care.
God Bless,
-Ryan
07/11/2012
Watch What You Say!
When Billy Hardwick was 18 years old his dad came to watch him bowl for the first time. He opened with strikes in the first and second frames. On the third frame he knocked down 9 pins and left the 10 pin standing. At that point Billy’s dad stood up, looked at his son and said “You stink!” Then he walked out. This was said in front of all the competitors, fans and staff. 42 years later when Billy was 60 me mentioned to his dad how much that incident had hurt his feelings. His dad replied “You’re a bigger baby than I thought.”
Billy Hardwick went on to be named bowler of the year in 1963, 1964 and 1965. He is in the ABC and PBA Halls of Fame. To say he was an exceptional bowler is a gross understatement.
How amazing that after winning bowler of the year 3 times, 18 PBA titles and making it into two sports halls of fame, he still remembers the hurt and embarrassment he felt all those years ago. I heard him interviewed when he was 70 years old and you can still hear the hurt in his voice from something that took place 52 years prior!
Your kids are listening. They are listening to EVERYTHING! I recently heard that it takes 14 positive comments to overcome 1 negative one. I think when it comes from a parent you can easily double that number.
God Bless
- Ryan
Do you have the courage to ask your kids (or spouse) if you've hurt their feelings? If you have, can you say you're sorry?
07/06/2012
Family Weekend
Hopefully the goats will arrive tomorrow morning and I’ll have things to blog about next week. At the very least I’ll take some photos of our “out of control” backyard and our chickens. Before I leave work I thought I’d post a photo my friend and co-worker Beau Henderson made for a speaking event I did last weekend. These are my loves. I looked back at the screen when I was starting my talk and got choked up on stage. I just love them so much. I love being a husband and father. If I can help your marriage and family as part of my ministry/work I’ll do my best.
Let me know what you need help with and I’ll see what I can do.
Have a GREAT weekend. Spend it with family and friends and I’ll see you on Monday when I hope to be gloating about Chael Sonnen’s win over Anderson Silva to Michael Calhoun. We’ll be watching UFC 148 (no rolling your eyes ladies, your husbands would LOVE it!)
- Ryan
Are you "pinterested" in stuff I like?
Then you're in luck! I have a new Pinterest account for a peek inside my tastes. Ryan's Pinterest Account
Enjoy
-Ryan
Call Me Maybe!
Listen while you read (or not).
Or, "What is your kid listening to?" It's a new section I'm starting on the blog.
I looked up the #1 song today and it's "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen. While I don't own this song I can't deny that it's catchy and sure to last throughout the summer months and probably beyond. The chorus is pretty innocuous, the rest of the lyrics less so. But, before all you parents (and I’m one too) jump on the bandwagon of bashing your kid’s music don’t forget that 10 years ago today “Hot in Herre” by Nelly was topping the charts (Yes, that’s how it’s spelled “herre” not “here”). 20 years ago today “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-a-lot was king. We have to travel back in time 40 years to find a #1 song on this day that still holds lyrical and musical value. “Lean On Me” by Bill Withers was the #1 single when I was two years old. That song still holds up today for more than comic value.
Back to today’s #1 song. I’ll defer to advice I gleaned from Bob DeMoss when I was the spotlight operator on his “Learn to Discern” tour. You need to decide what the musical/lyrical standard for your family is and stick to it. This may be a constant and ongoing battle, but it’s worth it. Now, how many of you love this song and have no idea what the lyrics are?
- Ryan
PS: if you don’t like a song your teenager does, just learn the lyrics, play the song in the car as loud as your minivan speakers will allow and sing it till your voice gives out. I almost guarantee it’s the last you’ll hear of it in your house again.
PPS: what issues are you dealing with as a parent or family? Let me know in the comments section and I'll try to address them in future blog posts.
07/04/2012
07/03/2012
We made it through the fires!
I was in San Diego over the June 22nd weekend when the fires started.
My dad and I were speaking at the "Building a Family Legacy" fliming event at Skyline Church.
The air was getting smokey so she relocated with Lincoln and Luci to a friend's house where it was a little better.
I arrived home on Sunday June 24th and didn't feel it was too bad so we all came back home. I worked Monday and Tuesday. The smoke and fires were getting progressivly worse on Tuesday to the point that I was watching the flames and taking pictures from my office.
I drove home a little early and the smoke was getting much worse.
While Laura packed a couple things and got ready to take Luci to my parents house I got on the roof and took one last picture of the apporaching fires.
I stayed behind with Lincoln to pack a few more things. I filled up three watering containers for my chickens and gave them all the food I could, propped open the door to Chicken Fort Knox and hoped for the best.
I went back into the house and five minutes later opened the garage to start loading my truck and it had turned to night. I was so startling and pretty scary. I couldn't see more than two houses away. All of my neighbors were loading their cars and the police were beginning to drive up and down our neighborhood anouncing the mandatory evacuation.
That little dot is the sun!
I finished packing as quickly as possible, grabbed Lincoln and the dogs and headed to my parents house. They were still out of town and I figured it would be safe there as the firefighting helecopters were using their neighborhood's pond to fill their dump tanks to fight the fires.
After I got the kids and Laura to bed I drove up a ridge in their development and watched our city burn. There was a hushed crowd up there trying to make sense of what was taking place around us.
It was just so sad. It was around 10:30PM when my good friend Clint Tafoya texted me that the news was reporting that my parents neighborhood was being put under a mandatory evacuation. I have no photos of that as it was so chaotic trying to call my parents to find out what needed to be saved from their home, pack it all up, wake up Laura and the kids and evacuate.
We made it to my friend Ben's home around 1:00AM and crashed into bed. We woke up a few hours later (regardless of when Lincoln goes to bed his internal alarm clock goes off between 5:30-6:00AM) only to find out our dogs had run away for the third time during the evacuation process! We searched till we found them. One of Laura's brothers let us use his mileage points to purchase flights to CA. I loaded up the family (for what seemed like the millionth time) in the truck and we drove to Denver to catch our flight.
Lincoln enjoyed the flight most :-)
That's where my story will end for today. Thanks for reading and I'll post the rest of the story soon.
God Bless
- Ryan
