The Sabbath-Breaker Put to Death

³² While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day.³³ Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly,³⁴ and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. ³⁵ Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.”³⁶ So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses. (via BibleGateway) NIV

I share a name with a character in this section and let me tell you there are certain days I wonder if I was cursed to be given the name of the talker of Israel and Moses. This is the same guy who went on to build a golden calf and cause Moses and God to throw a Holy Fit.  So, I’ve got a complex.  Or something.

You also have to realize this is Old Testament.  This is God UnPlugged.  Or unhinged.  The Old School days were more Wild West than I think we realize.  God was the father of his Children and they were certainly keen to test his patience many time.  I think God was more Bill Cosby in those days.  You know, hit for distance, brought you into this world I’ll take you out and the eternal “What the hell are you doing?!”.  He definitely hit for something as described in the verse.  They found some guy out working on the Sabbath and picked him up.  The Lord said to throw some rocks at him and send him to His Maker and as fast as you can say one verse later he was gone and buried somewhere.

I love the Old Testament because it reminds me of how cool and crazy God is at times.  He’s out of control and wildly unpredictable.  I’ve used the comparison between Him and Aslan before and it is a stark reminder to us all.  I think some Christians out there in the world forget how brain blowing insane God can be in his plans for us.  We think we know Him and have him figured out.  Trust me folks, God’s got an understanding.  The rest of us don’t have a clue.

As the saying goes with Aslan from CS Lewis, God is not safe.  But he is good.  Remember that the next time someone tells you Christianity is safe, wonderful and filled with Rainbows.  Because God’ll be flooding that rainbow filled land.  I guarantee it.  He’s done it before.

My 4 1/2 mile daily walks have been going off without much of a hitch.  I’m feeling better and hoping that soon I can start to run it more as I get conditioned.

The picture you see here is one I posted to twitpic called, “The Lonely Piano”.  It is part of a nationwide effort to get all kinds of pianos all over the place in one city.  New York did it and now it’s Denver’s turn.  I played my hand on this beast for about forty minutes last night after the Rockies game (we won 2-0!) and found it more therapeutic than I could have ever imagined.

When I was in elementary school my parents decided I would learn piano.  I went to these lessons dutifully for two or three years until I decided I hated them and the piano wasn’t cool anymore.  By middle school I decided the French Horn was the hot stuff.  I think even before I could really figure it out, I was totally into nerdy things.  I hit high school with a barely functional talent at playing the most beautiful brass instrument and promptly quit to join theatre.  I became a light tech and for the next four years of my high school years I found my joy.  That’s another story for another time.  The point is that I found joy.  Old joy at that, but still joy.

In that moment at 10:45pm last night I found an old joy that had been a friend once before.  I found plinking those keys in a plinking fashion that actually earned me a few compliments that even if we hated it as a kid and walked away from it, that simple joy can be found again and reborn.  I smiled more than probably is legally allowed as my fingers traversed the keys and composed a simple song from my heart.  It’s a song I’ve played over the years whenever I get near those precious black and whites.  It has no title, no real scope or sequence…but it is song of my heart that bleeds through every so often.

As I’m shifting into my thirties (terrifying as that might be) I’m finding the simple joys that bring a smile to my face.  A rockies game where myself and my date hilariously go back and forth with the Brewers fans in front of us.  How we exchange high fives with them every so often in between the barbs and “Your Mom” jokes.  Laughing and enjoying life has never felt so good.

In the two years since my stroke I’ve learned more about myself than I think I ever would have without it.  It brought forth an opening of my heart and soul that over time has slowly brought me towards being a better man.

It’s interesting to note all this from a nine inning baseball game but sometimes it the smallest moments that can inspire greatness.  I can’t claim greatness in a large sense but I can claim greatness in my own little life.  To be able to do that once in awhile and allow some pride to leak through my pores…that truly is something that makes me happy.  That every so often I can stand on my own two feet and say, “You know what?  I’m doing pretty ok.”

It’s a simple little thing I learned from a Rockies game and a forty minute bout of playing on a crazy old painted piano.

Ain’t life grand?

My Memorial Day weekend was amazing.  Went to a friends cabin and spent the better part of four days hiking, relaxing and not interacting with phones, computers, internet or anything that was connected to the internet.  It was amazing.  I spent time thinking of the men and women who have sacrificed their lives to keep us free and safe.  My cousin served in Iraq for a year.  The whole year was terrifying for us in not knowing what would happen.  Thank the Lord he came back to us.  I have a friend from work serving in Iraq in PR work with still some risk for her.

It’s important today to remember the dead.  It’s important to remember their lives and actions.  There are fields and fields of crosses to remind us of Great Wars that have decided the future of freedom worlds over.  Today was their day.  And yet, every day should be their day.  Take a moment each day to remember those lost in combat against the enemy and the sacrifice they’ve made for you and me.

Remember the lost today.  Memorial Day 2010.

I had my Ipod with me of course but I was alone and on my own. No one depending on whether I got this done or that done or if this call was made. It was just me, my shoes and the path ahead of me. Through the next hour I found myself able to release a little bit of the pressure cooked stress that had been building up this week. I allowed my mind to wander as I walked through the trees and sunshine. The music drifted through my ears and I was able to relax in that sixty minute span of time.

There wasn’t anything terribly groundbreaking that came of my 4 mile or so walk but it felt amazing to take a break and let my mind focus on the fun things in life. The trees, the sun and the smells of spring. Sounds corny and I’ve probably lost my man card here, but as a stroke survivor and guy who’s trying to find a way to enjoy life again…it was a welcome return to relaxation. Today I did the same walk/run and felt similarly when I returned. Tomorrow I’m going to try and bust it out before my meeting about VBS. I enjoy this hour spent alone without anyone to bother me.

I’m blogging over at Everydayhealth today.

This isn’t to say I’ve learned more than I care to about myself. I’ve learned that using Netflix to catch up on Doctor Who from Season 1 to 4 is like a crack addict on speed with some meth mixed in for good measure. It is that bad.

I’ve also learned that I’m not good at this stuff. I get distracted. The internets, movies, random stuff in the rearview mirror and the occasional squirrel have contributed to the current state of affairs. Which leads me to declare myself in exile from the internet, twitter and most of the online stuff. I need to get back on track. I need to keep my room clean and organized. My car smells like three year old mold. I fully expect the UN to declare my domicile a weapon of mass destruction. I’m failing at life and it’s getting dangerous.

And so I’m going to leave for a bit. I have a vacation over Memorial Day coming up. I’m going to take some time for me and get things right side up. And then I’ll start up here again on the long trail to becoming sexy and hot to the touch.

And…. exeunt!

Some of that was paraphrased or shortened for brevity to best bring the point home. I can only hope you’ll stick with me as I lay down the parenthetical points. Or if I’ve offended you (there’s a chance of that), you’re long gone from my sarcastical sinews. The sarcasm probably will continue interspersed throughout this long winded statement.

First of all – this is not the end of the world, our nation or Lord Above Save Us, the introduction of the New Nazi Party. Small aside, but the moment either side says the words, “Nazi, Hitler, Stalin, Skinhead” or other various related phrases and statements in argument or discussion about “the other side”, you have my permission (and encouragement) to move to Canada where they have some very excellent and wonderful laws about the stupid things you’re allowed to say, write and otherwise disseminate.

Put simply – it’s not the terrifying rolling on of the Gestapo or SS. Rather the law is done to shake things up. Make some noise. It has accomplished all these things. Shakira recently traveled to AZ and stated, “I didn’t bring my DL with me, so I’m bascially undocumented!” Lord Love Shakira (and believe me, I appreciate her beauty and dancing talent) but is this really the kind of conversation we need? The shrill screaming and point making from various celebrities whose music we love but ideas sometimes sound like the thoughts of an ostrich on crack.

Mind you, Shakira’s aim was to seek the answers so don’t think I’m laying the animal that sticks its head in the sand label on her. However, this kind of discussion, posturing and drinking of the rank and insipid Kool Aid does us absolutely no favors. The intense cloud of anger and hate that has suddenly flared up and now festers against the State of Arizona is fairly obscene. This comes back to the beauty of this country. We all can believe, support and vote the way we want. We can participate in the process. To slap a “YOU’RE BAD PEOPLE” on the entire state of Arizona over something like this…reeks.

Andy McCarthy over at National Review takes the law apart calmly and without calling people names which in the blog world is fairly impressive.  He starts off with this,

“Contrary to the hysterical charges of racism being leveled at the statute, it does not permit a no-holds-barred inquisition of Hispanic people. Indeed, the state law demands more of police than federal law. To begin with, there is to be no inquiry about a person’s immigration status unless the “contact” between the police officer and the person is “lawful” in the first instance.”

Mr. McCarthy then breaks down the law and the particulars of what is allowed and what isn’t. In reality the long list of requirements actually makes the case for the ACLU of all people. The Law appears strong. In this day and age when the focus so deep on this issue, it’s fairly impressive how the law reads and should be interpreted.

The long and the short of it is this – If you are illegally in the country, you will face the Rule of Law. You will not be allowed to continue remaining in this country against the Law. Fairly simple. The trouble is that a State did this, not the Feds. You see, the Feds have spent the last ten months hammering out a healthcare bill. There’s also supposed to be a jobs bill around here somewhere up for talks. Instead we’re doing something about Puerto Rico’s statehood which unless I missed something, isn’t even a concern right now.

To wit – The United States of America needs…nay, DEMANDS comprehensive immigration reform. It’s been a big need, want, desire and demand for a long time. When Jobs were in those categories we got a long drug out Healthcare bill that won’t even do anything for several years. Now we’re behind the eight ball in what is needed and wanted. We’ve got things that need fixing in this Country, things that need to be worked out and the time is now.

Instead we’ll get insipid debate, kool air projectile speakers, both sides trashing the other and statements from Our President about how a law is ill-advised. Let the Attorney General makes those calls Mr. President. Let that branch work it out through lawsuits and process. While they work that out, the men and women of the Senate, the House and the Executive Branch must focus on what America needs. Jobs and Immigration. These are your challenges.

To copy the popular advertisement I say this to our Senate, Congress and President – I will remember in November. And the rest of this country be it Democrat, Republican or Independent will remember.

Now if we could just all wish Charlie Crist out of politics, I would be a happy man.

Closing statement to McCarthy at the end of his solid blog –

As I indicated in my column, I agree with Byron: The people who are complaining about this law almost certainly either have not read it or are demagogues who would make the same absurd claims no matter what they law said.

Never in my previous jobs did I ever have someone that high on the ladder ever sign up to go volunteer on a weekday night to help in the local community. His schedule is probably full of things to do, places to be and at the end of a long work day it would just be too much for most to throw down for that extra two hours. And yet here is the big man himself working side by side with us in getting stuff done. I quite literally wanted to hug him.

Project Cure is a great group that sends left over and perfectly suitable medical supplies across land and oceans to get people the healthcare they need so badly in far off countries where it quite literally so below standard the word standard isn’t even in their vocabulary. And so the project asks that groups and companies sign up and arrange to come volunteer to help. We knocked out a good portion of supplies and even helped box up, sort and get stuff ready for shipping. How flippin’ awesome is that?

Think about this for a second. I sorted supplies that will someday soon help someone survive. Something that will bring them comfort, hope and a future. Two hours was all it took for me to help the process along. All it takes to touch a life and reach a far off land without leaving Denver.

I intend to go back and volunteer some more with them as I do stuff with my church but I have yet to take my talents and skills outside of the church walls. That ends today. Will you take a challenge like this? Will your local company? Two hours in the early evening is all it can take to change a life and a future of any number of lives.

Will you help? Check out Project Cure’s website for more info.

Also, allergies are teh suck. Just going to put it out there.

I’ll admit to eating terrible over the last two days and not balancing the incoming food at all. I think my excuse at the time was that I was celebrating getting back to exercising. When you’re in a food eating rage, nothing really makes sense as your eyes roll back in your head. It was that bad.

That being said, I’m still alive, so I’ll count that on the good things list. I’m going back every day to work the body. Today I did thirty minutes in the pool and really felt the burn and work I was putting on my body. So that’s good.

Other than that I was lazy on my day off from work. I’m going to get to work on my eating habits, even if I don’t like it. I have to live. I want to get married, have kids and survive all of that to live to be 115 and still kicking butt.

As I’m yawning (it’s 10:00pm), I’m taking my cue and slinking into bed. More functional and thought out posts coming this week.