Entertainment: The Great Divide.

I just read an article about the Lance/Sheryl breakup. Now I'm not into the whole eXTRA and Entertainment Tonight smut, but I thought this was a great example of the political divide in our country.

"Lance Armstrong and Sheryl Crow Break Up Over George W. Bush?"

By James Hirsen

As is often the case when celebrity couples part company, there has been an enormous amount of press coverage concerning the Lance Armstrong/Sheryl Crow split. But the Star is reporting a possible political cause for the engagement halt. There's speculation that the root of the rift may have to do with President Bush. No, Crow doesn't have a crush on the prez. Quite the contrary. The singer has been public about her opposition to Bush's policies.
Many of us have a less than fond remembrance of her highly visible, much discussed "War Is Not the Answer" T-shirt.
Well, it turns out that Armstrong is actually a Bush backer. The famed cyclist went biking with the commander in chief last summer. According to a friend of Crow, Armstrong was a Bush backer to the max.
"Sheryl said Lance didn't just support Bush, - he'd go off and fight if the president asked him to," the friend said.

Just another reason to like the single greatest athlete in the world.

Entertainment: Why I Like Dwyane Wade.

I remember the first time I ever played basketball competitively. I was 12 years old (7th grade) for a small Christian school in northern New England. I loved it. From the smell of the gym, to the sound of a bouncing ball and the feel of the leather on my finger tips I have been hooked. Growing up I was big fan of players such as Karl Malone and Larry Bird. Guys that worked harder than the other guys around them, I guess you could call them over achievers. Well, since the early and middle '90's I have been unsatisfied with the state of the game of basketball. Over the past three seasons though, my outlook of the game is more positive, and I actually watch games on a regular basis. All of this thanks to a guy named Dwyane Wade . I cant get enough of this guy. I believe he has been a part of a revitalization of the NBA (along with the likes of LeBron, 'Mello, Dirk and Nash). Please, let me explain why.......

He's not ghetto - D Wade is not of the Allen Iverson mold, if you know what I mean. He doesn't have 30 tattoos and have the rap sheet of a Tony Montana. D Wade is just a good guy from Chicago. If you have ever heard him in an interview he can actually be understood by all who know the English language. It's very refreshing to see a guy on the court that isn't trying to make a statement with "his style" by his appearance, but with "his style" on the court.

He's got style - Flash (his nickname) may not care much about his appearance style but boy does he have game style! He very well may be the player that exerts the most hustle per game in all of the NBA. Its so fun watching him slash and dash all over the floor. Its guaranteed that he will have at least one play on the Sportscenter top ten every night he plays. His hustle has even made him some endorsement cash, in the form of a marketing strategy by Converse (now owned by Nike). There were several commercials running that showed Flash getting up after he's been knocked down or throwing himself on the floor for a loose ball. Good stuff.

He's a good guy - Flash is a notorious "good guy" in the NBA. He married his elementary school sweetheart and has a son. He is very close to his family and is a self proclaimed born again Christian. To give you an idea of his impeccable reputation here is a quote from the NBA.com website:

"Heat guard Dwyane Wade gives 10 percent of his income to his church in Chicago, helped the Heat give away more than $3,000 in free books, has visited hospitals and is very active in reading programs. He also hand-delivered Christmas trees to families, and hosts 20 underprivileged children at every home game."

He's got game - Lastly, Flash has got serious game. He is among the leaders in the NBA in scoring (27.3 PPG), in assists (6.8 APG), steals (1.8 SPG) and can haul down some rebounds (5.8 RPG). He's one of those multi-dimensional players that all teams desires to have. When it comes to crunch time you want the ball in his hands, because you know there is a chance that he will put you on his broad shoulders and win the game.

Entertainment: Expedition Everest.

Penny and I went to Disney Animal Kingdom on Monday with our friends Billy and Kelli. We rode the new ride Expedition Everest. Here is a video clip from the first half of the ride. I wont spoil the second half of the ride for you. I love rollercoasters. This one is a good Disney ride, but it doesn't hold a candle to the rollercoasters I've been on in the past.

Family: 60 Years and Counting.

This past weekend we celebrated my dads 60th birthday. I am so blessed to have such a Godly father. He's a man that has been so instrumental in my following hard after God. Most men dont have a father they can honestly say they look up to. I can. He's a servant, loyal, loving, encouraging, principled, God-fearing and committed. I could probably go on and on, but I think the point is well made. Thank you dad for being who you are, you are my hero.

Ministry: My Church.

I remember the first service we ever had at Calvary Chapel of Jupiter. I was one of the 25 or so people in the auditorium that Sunday morning in the summer of 1997. Since then we had been through some dramatic changes. We sent out a guy to plant a church, a couple of other guys have left for various reasons, our worship leader left last year and a bunch of people left with bitterness following her departure. I guess you can say we went through a dreaded "church split". One thing that hasn't changed is our pastors commitment to lead our community of Christians and his teaching of the Word in an effective, applicable way. Through all of the changes, I have watched and learned. I saw people do things that I never thought could be done in a church setting. I heard people say things about my church and pastor that supposed friends, brothers and sisters would never say, and then try to spiritualize their rants. As frustrating and discouraging as some of this may be, I can honestly say, all of the drama has made our church stronger and more dependent on the Lord than ever before. I have watched my pastor become a better leader, more resolved and solidified in his call to shepherd this congregation. The Bible says:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

I think we at Calvary Chapel of Jupiter have developed some perseverance this year and our church and leadership are maturing. My prayer is that as this season of trial comes to a close we will be more focused, driven and dependent on the Lord.

Entertainment: Why I Like President Bush.

Lets face it, the current President of the United States isn't exactly the most liked guy. If you Google President Bush 9 out of 10 sites will be negative. He's a very polarizing leader. I really like him. I think he has been the right guy for the right time for this country. There are probably readers of this blog that are fuming as they are reading, saying "how can you like this dirt bag?" Well I'm glad you ask......

4 reasons I like President George W. Bush:

1. He's a real guy - I like how he is not ashamed to talk about West Texas and he proudly wears his cowboy hat. I'm no cowboy, but I sure respect the fact that he hasn't let the Beltway (Washington DC) reinvent him. How many times have we seen guys get elected into office, go to DC and return a different "more sophisticated" politician? Not GW.
2. He's not a media guy - Just recently I read about Bush's relationship with Helen Thomas (this old, left wing nut job White House reporter). She cant stand him. She says "Bush is the worst President ever!" His response, nothing. He ignores her in the White House q&a's. I love it. Any guy that is more concerned about running the country and making the hard decisions rather than answer some old hags loaded questions gets my vote (and he has, twice.)
3. He's a principled policy guy - President Bush never leaves you guessing where he stands on an issue. When it comes to guns, he's a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. He always has been. Abortion. He's pro-life. Always has been. He doesn't change because a focus group says this or a new poll says that. He knows what he believes, and stands by it. The War on Terror. He has not wavered, and he said he wouldn't. If another guy were President (say Algore or Kerry) it would all depend on the latest CNN poll, or we would have just lobbed a few bombs into Afghanistan.
4. I trust the guy - In 2000 when Algore was the Presidents first opposing candidate, GW came to Palm Beach County for a rally. Penny and I went, hoping to see the guy we hoped would be our next President. Well, we got more than we bargained for. I actually got to shake his hand and talk to him for a few seconds. What was amazing was that fact that the man made eye contact with me. At that moment I thought to myself, this guy isn't a normal politician. It wasn't just that he said to me "Thanks for comin'!" But what I said to him and his response to me. As the future President approached my spot in the welcome line, I told him, "We have the same hero!". He stopped, looked at me, smiled, and grabbed my hand. The cool thing was, he knew what I was talking about, and most of the people in the crowd were clueless. You see, earlier that week I watched him in an interview. One of the questions asked was "Who is your hero?". Expecting him to say my dad, or Reagan or some other dead politician, GW responded with "I'll have to say Jesus Christ. He has changed my life." Just another reason to like the President.

Entertainment: Burger King.

Over the past two years Burger King has brought back their "King" mascot. The only words I have for them are "dude, your freaking me out!" I don't know about you but I think that BK has topped the scary Ronald McDonald clown. The various commercials with the king in bed with a dude or the king standing outside of a window staring in. Gosh! That's some creepy stuff! In the latest commercial the singing Whopperettes sing about a "freaky king". Boy, did they get it right. I wonder if BK has had a spike in Crossanwich sales or maybe the ANGUS Steak Burger has seen some more activity. Who knows if the King has pulled through for the Burger. I know one thing though, they sure have caught the attention of this blogger!

Adoption: Update.

Well its been a long time since I've posted anything regarding our adoption of two children from Russia. Going into the process we knew that it would be long. Our agency calls it a paperwork pregnancy, we call it a true patience tester. In December we had to get fingerprinted by the FBI then in January we were told that the Russian government demands that any new adopting parents must take the MMPI-2 psychological exam and have a session with a PhD. in psychology. This added about 2 months to the process. With all of the little additions adding up, yes its very frustrating but it has all solidified our calling to get our kids. We covet your prayers!

Click here to read our adoption blog

Entertainment: Some More Bigfoot.

If you have been reading "Life & Times" for any amount of time you know I have this fascination with Bigfoot. Well I found this website that sells obscure action figures (male nurse, Shakespeare, albino bowler) . One of the action figures that is available is the official "Bigfoot" action figure. Here is the description of the figure: "They're big, they're hairy, and they're notoriously elusive! This 7-1/4" tall, hard plastic Bigfoot Action Figure has stamps on the bottom of its feet and comes with a stamp pad so you can leave mysterious footprints on letters, walls and skin. Intricate articulation allows it to be posed just like frame 352 of the famous film footage."

Ministry: January Book Review.

"Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture" is a book written by William Romanowski (not the insane ex-football player, but a professor from Calvin College). My mom gave me this book for Christmas and the title intrigued me, so I read it. The first chapter is titled "Christians who drink beer". That was catchy enough, but the contents were very interesting. He basically laid out the stats about Christians living no differently than non-Christians.Whether its movies, tv shows or alcohol consumption, for the most part we live in and of this culture. In another chapter he challenged Christians to be in this culture, but to use our giftedness for the glory of God. He points back to creation and the fact that God is and was creative and we should be the same because we are made in His image. Romanoski suggests that

"faith should serve as the context for artistic engagement; it is not the subject matter that makes a popular artwork Christian but the perspective that is brought to bear on the subject."

Some interesting thoughts from an interesting read. If you are into the pop culture thing and you happen to be a Christian, read it, you'll enjoy it.

Entertainment: I've Been Tagged!

Bryon Mondok has tagged me. This makes me feel like Im in middle school, kinda weird, but here you go.........

Four jobs I've had

• Publix bagboy
• Golf course maintenance guy
• Forklift driver
• Pizza delivery guy

Four movies I can watch over and over

• Gladiator
• Payback
• Meet the Parents
• North by Northwest

Four places I have lived

• New Hampshire
• New York
• Jupiter, Fl.
• West Palm Beach, Fl.

Four shows I like to watch

• LOST
• Smallville
• The Office
• Cheers

Four foods I like

• Cuban anything
• Japanese Terriyaki Chicken
• Thai Chicken fried rice
• Meatloaf (seriously)

Four websites I visit daily

• Drudge Report
• Life & Times
• Unofficial Apple Weblog
• Sun Sentinel

Four things I want to do before I die

• Plant a church
• Have children
• Write a book
• Go to Israel

Four people Im tagging

• Michael Luka.....(dude you have a hard last name!)
• Justin West
• Mike West
• Freddy "Flamingo"