I waited patiently for the Lord
He inclined and heard my cry
He brought me up out of the pit
Out of the miry clay

He set my feet upon a rock
He made my footsteps firm
Many will see, many will see and fear

I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song

How long, to sing this song?
How long, to sing this song?
How long, how long to sing this song?

copyright – Paul Hewson & David Evans – “War” Album

Psalm 40:1-3

I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.

2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock,And established my steps.

3 He has put a new song in my mouth–Praise to our God;Many will see it and fear,And will trust in the LORD. NKJV

Psalm 6:2-3

Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, Lord for my body is in agony.

3 I am sick at heart. How long, O Lord, until You restore me?

49ers – a lesson in futility

Where have you gone, Joe Montana? This 49er fan turns his lonely eyes to you…

This started as a reply but grew into a post.

Steroids? I don’t know – Murdoc used the argument that he “lifted for 3 years” & that “it takes something else to get that enormous” –

Mark McGwire took performance enhancing substances, true. Androstenedione, a legal supplement was found in his locker. It wasn’t illegal. It helps the body recover more quickly after workouts & after injuries, both of which McGwire had a plenty, esp. in the early 90’s.

HGH? why not. It wasn’t illegal, was barely regulated, & also provided a ready hormone boost, muscle mass, & quick cellular regeneration.

Here’s my argument: this is a pro athlete who can afford the best food, trainers, & supplements. Its his job to do nothing but get ready for his sport. Millions of dollars & countless people are at his disposal. In one off season (September – February) , a guy in McGwire’s position could put on 5 pounds a month – if he went at it hard & continued with it, over a period of years, this could end up being 40-50 pounds of muscle. I used creatine for 2 months & worked out like a madman. In that time, I put on about 20 pounds & increased my bench by 40 & squat by almost 75.

How did McGwire get so “small”? Small? Did you see him? He’s not as large as he was in his last 2 years w/the Cardinals, but this is no Tiny Tim. He’s a monster, still, & what he’s lost in size is due to the fact that he’s out of the league & has moved on to other endeavors.

So, was he juicing? (translation for Georgia:) = taking steroids) It’s easy to make accusations (as evidenced by the mass-media blitz), & is really a no-win situation for McGwire (or any other athlete) – they have already been convicted in the court of public opinion by all of the self-appointed experts, & any denial is seen as a classic CYA. Think about it – we look at the situation & pass judgment. We speak derisively about people that we don’t know, when we don’t have even 1/20th of the information we’d need to make an informed opinion. Ticks me off.

I’m a little sensitive to “judgers” right now.

You may remember that in March, the US Senate held some legit hearings on steroid use in pro baseball where they interviewed, under oath, several major league baseball players USA TODAY STORY – 03/15/2005)

Among these players were Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, & the since-busted Rafael Palmeiro. Though you could argue it, I don’t believe that a person’s reputation suffered more that has that of McGwire. The Clift Report’s note from the other day got me thinking about it, & how his public perception has gone down the toilet.

What blows me away more than anything is that McGwire refused to even broach the topic of dietary supplements, let alone that of steroids. He comes back with the same, stock answer every time, & it’s killing him in the polls:

“I’m a very positive person and I just wish everybody else would be positive.”

“I’m enjoying life right now,” he told reporters from The Associated Press and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I know you guys have been very negative towards me and that’s your job, but I’m a very positive person and I’ve moved on.”

Hey Mark – I’m a positve person too – but at this point, all your “positive person” answer does is throw gasoline on the fire, and make it that much less likely that you’ll some day get back into the sport. And that’s sad.

Big Mac Story

Yep, I’ve been spending some time with my friends at www.despair.com. I am finding that nothing spurs me on to a good mood like reading through the latest de-motivational poster.

You can be sure that there will be more to come, but for now, here’s a good friday a.m. to you too.

www.despair.com

We atheists have to accept that most believers are better human beings…

That caught my eye – for more, check out…

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Roy Hattersly Article

Sunday afternoon highlights are especially fun with Haro Joe in effect. This is even more true having not only Willis McGahee at RB, but #1 pick Peyton Manning @ QB. I envisioned great numbers, lots of TD passes & all kinds of victories for me – but, not today. 13 completions for 122 yards? From Peyton Manning? Come on, Lusi-anna boy – you’re killing me. I’ve been waiting YEARS for a QB like this, & this is what I get? He led my team to a 27 point week so far. Oh the humanity. Am I taking this too seriously?

In the previous post “How To Make Church Exciting” I solicited (& received) input… I wanted to clarify “exciting” – some used the word “enjoyable” – I’m cool with that too.

Its a crock, an absolute travesty that church should be boring & irrelevant to the lives of the individuals seeking relationship with Christ, regardless of their previous (non-existent) church experience. I think that the very idea “church doesn’t exist for you to enjoy it,” comes as a pitiful excuse to explain all the “suck-for-Jesus” attitudes & approaches brought to the church table, as though to structure the church meetings, interactions, & community time in such a way as to draw near to God & still be relevant & comprehensible to the non-initiated is “compromise” or watering down the gospel. Please. Its just an attempt to cover our suck-age with enough excuses to placate the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit that calls us to something deeper than the repetitive, disengaged, religious approach to God.

To me, church should be exciting – we should enjoy it, not because it’s a Vegas extravaganza, or because the only stuff that happens is based on personal preference. Its because when we get together, there should be life – the kind of life that comes from a real, connected relationship with Christ & with each other. The kind of life that Peter the bold/timid/loud/quiet disciple proclaimed came from Christ (Gospel O’ John 6:68,69)

Church is the VERY environment that should focus us on our purpose of living as Christ-followers, not merely be something that is endured because of the tedium.

Hope that helps with the understanding of what “exciting” means to me, at least in the church context. And I hope you enjoy the picture of me I posted from the summer of 1987 & the Mexico City “Exciting Church” tour.

Thanks for the huge response to the previous post – now, in the same spirit, how bout we tackle this one: If everything in church was negotiable EXCEPT for the core message of Jesus Christ & the cross, what would you do to make church exciting?