Archive - Life RSS Feed

Pointing Out the Captain

August 9, 2011 in Life with 4 Comments

This past weekend my Dad and I flew to Amarillo, Texas. That shouldn’t be a long a flight, but apparently there isn’t much demand to fly into Amarillo so we had to stop in Denver (not exactly on our way) first. We were flying Southwest, and apart from the mad rush to get a good seat, this usually means a pleasant experience.

What was unique about our flight over is that while we were loading the plane with passengers, one of the attendants got on the intercom and pointed out that Southwest is known for hard working employees who go above and beyond. Then he drew our attention to our captain for the flight who happened to be helping to load bags outside to help speed our process along.

At first this seemed to instill the reaction that the attendant was going for. Wow, our pilot would do that for us?

But as we discussed it more we were less impressed. The guy who was responsible for our safety as we sat in a giant metal tube in the sky was in the extreme heat loading our bags? Is this really an encouraging sight?

Continue Reading…

Escape in a Good Story

July 7, 2011 in Life, Reading with 14 Comments

Occasionally I’ll find myself explaining to someone why I love reading good fictional novels, or playing a video game with a really good storyline. Inevitably, I’d find myself describing some form of finding an escape. And this kind of puzzled me.

Why did I feel the need to escape into a good story? Was there something wrong with my real life? Maybe you’ve felt something similar.

I recently read something that put into words an explanation to this that more than satisfies the question I had.

Continue Reading…

What Video Games have Taught me about Life

June 8, 2011 in Culture, Life with 5 Comments

This will either be one of the coolest posts I’ve ever written or it will be something that I’ll quickly regret ever writing.

I realize that most people who read this probably do not play video games themselves. In fact, I hesitate to talk about how much I enjoy playing video games for the simple reason that I know that it is one of the most misunderstood and abused forms of entertainment there are.

To those on the outside, video games are often assumed to be for one of two people: 1) kids; or 2) adult men who can’t grow up and don’t have boundaries or discipline. It is true that these two groups represent much of video game consumers, if not most. But it does not represent ALL. I personally enjoy playing Xbox games and I have a healthy marriage, two amazing kids, and a career that I’m proud of. To me, a good video game is like reading a good fictional novel and it provides a way for my mind to relax and for my imagination muscles to be flexed. Like most things in life, they should be enjoyed with boundaries and when they are not, or when a person cannot, then it is probably best to avoid them. My wife and I don’t get into fights over me playing video games (which is not true for most guys from what I hear).

If I haven’t lost you yet, let me tell you three Xbox games that I’ve played recently and some life observations that I’ve drawn from them. Keep in mind that Xbox is primarily a platform for games more advanced than for kids (as is the large style controller itself). As such, 2 of the 3 of these games are definitely not designed for kids.

Continue Reading…

Days vs. Years

May 25, 2011 in Bible, Life with 7 Comments

A birthday will cause you a moment of reflection. As I think of my years so far in my life it is funny to think of the things that went by fast and the things that I thought would never come to pass. My youngest son recently turned one and we still refer to him as “the baby.” That went fast.

I’m reminded of something from the Psalms:

“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

It also reminds me of a phrase I recently read in the book, When Life’s Not Working: “…the days are long but the years are short.”

We can often focus on each day and lose perspective of how they add up together. Even if your days seem to drag on, your years will fly by before you know it. I’d like to live with a daily and yearly focus in life and learn to seize the opportunities that God has put before me.

Here’s to another year!

Bin Laden is Dead

May 1, 2011 in History, Life, Politics with 24 Comments

As I write this it is currently 8:48pm on Sunday night. I just watched live as the President announced officially that Osama Bin Laden was dead. I was flooded with a sea of emotions as I listened to him talk. At the same time, my twitter feed was running wild on the top right of my screen as people were contributing all sorts of comments in reaction to the news.

The first few made me laugh:

Continue Reading…

Page 2 of 7«12345»...Last »