Foundations

Well . . . first things first . . .

* The Indians season is over finishing 81 - 81. .500 baseball. Well, there's always next year. I'm calling on all Indians fans to root hard for the Cubs so that the glory that is most years without a World Series Championship can be all ours!

* The Buckeyes won against an average Minnesota team. I'm a little put off by the incredible infatuation the national media has taken to the SEC. Georgia got smoked by Alabama and only falls a few spots because, goes the argument, well . . . I mean, they're in the SEC. Really the only basis for judgment you have between conferences is how they play outside of them, and then SEC doesn't, so why the love for them? The guys on CBS actually berated the Big Ten for their out of conference wins against Fresno State and Oregon State. Wait a minute? The SEC won a big one at Arizona State - big whip. The fact that its been 50 years since they went West to play football says something about their internal haughtiness. The argument that, "We're too good to play a good team outside the conference" is incredibly circular. Fact of the matter: anyone team can beat any other team on any given day. Finally, how could Auburn possibly jump Ohio State in the polls. It's not anything about propping up OSU as it is asking anyone, "Have you seen Auburn play?" Their offense is abysmal.

* The Browns won possibly the ugliest NFL game to be played in 25 years. They are bad, bad, bad. Only remedied by how bad the Bengals are. Apparently there's something in the water sheds running between Detroit, Cleveland, and Cincinnati because those three football teams are really not good - again. Maybe after the bye-week, it's time for Brady Quinn. The next Browns game is one week from tonight - and Mary Beth and I will be there! Exciting! Though, when we got the tickets, I honestly thought they would have a winning record going in (at least 2 - 2). Oh well, Monday night in Cleveland will be a blast!

* One week from yesterday the wife and I head to Maine for a romantic get away. A week away from the kids celebrating our final months before the baby comes, and officially ends our private relationship between the two of us, and celebrating, a year early, our ten year-anniversary. Ten years in 2009. Wow.

* Yesterday, it was announced at church that I am now officially the Family Life Minister for the Alum Creek Church. Nothing's really changed, but we're making official the way things have been running ahead for awhile now. We're taking someone else on part-time to work alongside me and I am excited about all that is ahead for us in that position and the church. We have been given the go-ahead to really open our minds to different possibilities of operating in our setting.

* Theologically finding a closer affinity towards post-liberalism, politically being sucked towards liberalism, socially understanding economics and society liberally - I feel more and more like a fish out of water every day. Try as I may to fight that feeling and challenge that ideology, it seems to settle in on me each day and I feel more at peace with it . . . it's just relating to others outside of the sphere that is a challenge. I try hard not to label myself, or anyone else for that matter, but the fact of the matter is, there is an ideological framework within which we all operate, and that seems to be more and more the parameters from which I work. But . . . God can redeem even that!