Photos in Traffic

I took this picture on the way to work. Now, I know Alabama fans can be serious, but isn't this taking a bit too far?


Yes - you read it right; it says SHULUV.

I took this picture on the way home.



The cars didn't look like they were in too good of shape, but it didn't look like anyone was seroiusly injured.

Sunrises

Had to get to work early yesterday, so I caught some sunrise pictures on the way.

Click on them to enlarge to wallpaper size.

Who wants reality TV?

I finally get reality shows. After years of making fun of Survivor, American Idol, and the many, many others, I think I finally get a glimpse of the popularity. I just completed a mini-marathon of the first three episodes of Who Wants To Be a Superhero? and I can see now how easy it is to get caught up in the game. Who's going to win? Who's getting eliminated next? Though on this show, it's more like being voted out of the secret headquarters.

But Stan Lee put an interesting spin on this. Testing things like courage, honesty, compassion, self-sacrifice; indicating that it's what's on the inside that makes a superhero. The winner (or rather their superhero) gets their own comic book and Sci Fi channel movie. Pretty tempting, in my opinion, even compared to that million-dollar Survivor prize. If you're into reality shows, or into comic books or superheroes, check it out; the show is pretty interesting. It's got a few more weeks and appears on Thursday nights on Sci Fi (9/8 C).

Clouds

Click for a full-sized view.

Tuscumbia Lights

Caught these on the way home Wednesday night.




I liked the placement of the telephone pole on this one.

OK, so it's a bit doctored. I blurred the telephone pole so that it wasn't quite as recognizable as a telephone pole. Feel free to snag it as wallpaper. Or to forward it to your friends in the those fun e-mails that end with, "Jesus doesn't love you if you don't forward this e-mail to everyone you know."

(Both pictures are 1024 x 768.)

The Journey

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

-J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs...

From the You're Going to Hell Church Sign Collection:



Snapped this Saturday afternoon.

Thanks for the segueway, Clarissa!

I Saw the Sign...

I think I see some of the point of this sign - God wants us to be proactive, and not be couch potatoes. And I'm a procrastinator by heart, so it hits me.

But on the other side, I think this is another negative aspect of our culture creeping in to our relationship with God.

It's this whole, do-it-yourself, pull-youself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps, I-can-do-it mentality. Now I do believe that if we are followers of Jesus that we would want to be proactive and continually do good, and for these kinds of things, God does say, "Don't wait."

But sometimes our God-helps-those-who-helps-themselves ideals get in the way of God's work. Sometimes, God does say, "Wait."

I know that can be a difficult thing to know, but there are times when He's telling us that what He has in store for us isn't immediate. He's pretty clear that His timing is not our timing.

In fact, I can almost hear Abraham and Sarah talking to each other about this very thing.

Well, Abraham, it's been 10 years - don't you think maybe He's waiting on us to do something?

In my experience, that's one of the hardest things - knowing when to wait on Him, and knowing when we are supposed to take action. I think that's when we are to be still and quiet, and listen for Him, and ask for His guidance. Something that we've done a poor job of in the past, in my opinion.

Plus, doesn't this just sound like a high school cheer?

Two, four, six, eight,
Who do we appreciate?

God says, "Don't wait,"
Satan says, "Procrastinate!"

Advice for the Day

Do you have an on-line network marketing business? Do you want to reach out to hundreds, maybe thousands of people who want to make a comfortable living from their living room in this hi-tech world? Well, my suggestion would be to not advertise via a crappy, largely illegible homemade sign in your yard on Highway 72 outside Rogersville, AL.


Doesn't it just scream technology?

My second suggestion would be to not call my friend Mark. He hates that...

I Should Have Known Better or Lesson of the Week #3

Please excuse the following crudeness, but this is very important.

Never; never spray cologne in your armpits. Even if you don't have deoderant. Even if you're worried about smelling bad - just don't do it.

Cologne contains alcohol, and your armpits are much more sensitive than you might think.

The Fool On the Hill

I have to share one of the funnier moments at Higher Grounds last night.

Matt Johnson sang a song called You Ain't Country.

An interesting song, living in The South™, and you can get the gist of it from the title, but it's really all summed up in the following line:

Your "Git 'Er Done" bumper sticker says it all...

Roll Over Beethoven

There's nothing like listening to live music. Tonight at Crosspoint Church (whose web page is currently down for some unknown reason), we went to Higher Grounds - sort of an open mike night for local singers and songwriters. There was some great local talent - including Doug Stokes of The Shoals and Matt Johnson, among others. A few of our own members showcased their talents - Shawn Puryear (with a wonderful song he wrote himself), Scarlett Thompson, Al Jackson. Oh, yeah, and some guy named Brad singing some obscure country songs (Sweet Southern Comfort?). I didn't get there until an hour after it started, so there was probably some good stuff that I missed.

There was a pretty good range of music - both popular and original, secular and Christian. I heard more than one Johnny Cash song tonight.

I understand that the plan is to have it every 4th Friday; I'll be making plans to be free those nights.

Here are a couple of poorly lit pictures to enjoy:

Help!

I have no idea what happened here, but I passed this scene at the intersection of Alternate 72 (or should it be Highway 20?) and County Road 150.

I Me Mine

We're such a self-centered culture. We're obsessed with my rights, getting what I want, doing what I like. Is that the reason it's so difficult to practice self-denial? Why most churches I know don't ever talk about things like fasting?

That sure makes it difficult to resist the things that seem natural and enjoyable, even if I'm trying to avoid them. Lust and gluttony and anger are indulgences and outlets that seem as natural as anything. How do we avoid them in a world that preaches cater to self? Too often, we don't avoid them.

This isn't pointing fingers; this is a judgment on me.

I noticed this the other day on my commute to work. First of all, two vans sped past me, which, for some unknown reason, gets on my nerves. Then I spied the "How's My Driving" sticker, and had the sudden urge to speed up just to get the number so I could call it and tell on them. OK, let's throw mercy out.

A little later traffic stopped near Balch road. My first thought, of course, was how I would be late for work. Someone could have died, and I'm concerned about 15 minutes of my time. There goes compassion. Fortunately, as I passed by, I could see that a truck just got stuck dumping some gravel.

Krista's in Mexico this week, being missional. Maybe she'll bring home some of that sentiment and it will rub off on me. Somehow, I don't think we can say we follow Jesus if we only act like Him in other countries.

With a Little Help From My Friends

Apparently, it's not a giant, mutant insect.

It's just a dobsonfly. Thanks to Thomas for pointing me in the right direction when he suggested it might be a brown lacewing. It's got the right wing make-up, but the wrong size. Brown lacewings get to about a half inch; this thing was about 3 inches long or more.

This is a female dobsonfly, based on the size of it's pincers, and they can break skin and draw blood. While their bites can be painful, they're not considered dangerous.

I also came across this nifty site to use when trying to identify an insect. What's That Bug? has a wealth of pictures. This link shows their dobsonfly page.