Just ordered

The value of my home just went up.  This fine piece of artwork will soon adorn my wall, courtesy of OSU Bookstores, Inc.  Two-time defending national champion Oregon State Beavers…I love the sound of that.  It’s a great time to be a Beav.

Technorati tags: Oregon State Beavers, national championship, College World Series

Beach Grass

Beach Grass knows a secret

I try to emulate.

It twists and bends,

and writhes and turns

as fierce gales beat the shore

but when the storm at last subsides

the grass stands tall once more.

           –Esther Fredenburg

Technorati tags: poetry

Beavs win second national title in a row

It seems like I was just at this computer typing these words, but that was a whole year ago.  The Beavers have beaten the North Carolina Tarheels for the NCAA College World Series Championship. 

They definitely took a different approach to get to Omaha this year, though.  They started out on the road back in January and climbed to a #2 national ranking, only to rack up a disappointing 10-14 Pac-10 season.  It took a winning series against UCLA at the very ending of the conference season to even qualify for the 64-team tournament.  But they made it, and remained unbeaten in Omaha. 

It was great to watch the brotherhood of these guys come out through this series.  Darwin Barney’s infectious smile and jaw-dropping athleticism.  Mitch Canham’s strong leadership and cannon of an arm.  Jorge Reyes’ obsessive-compulsive rituals in between innings.  It was great to see a team that stood for each other and executed well when it came down the stretch. 

As an Oregon State University alumnus and life-long Oregonian, my buttons are bursting right now.  Defending Two-time National Champion Oregon State Beavers.  Has a nice ring to it. 

Technorati tags: College World Series, Oregon State Beavers, national championship, NCAA sports, college baseball, Omaha

Graduating?

If so, you may want to know these tidbits from Gullible.info:

• 26 percent of graduating high school seniors and 42 percent of graduating college seniors wear nothing more than shorts and a tee shirt under their gown.
• The average commencement address at high school graduation ceremonies lasts 26 minutes. In college ceremonies the address averages 42 minutes.
• In any given year, 24 percent of colleges and universities will have forbidden one or more students from taking part in the graduation ceremonies due to some rules infraction that occurred after classes ended.
• Sir Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 is played at 98.76 percent of graduation ceremonies in the United States.
• Among graduates who throw their mortar board into the air at the end of the graduation ceremony, 69 percent do not get theirs back.

Technorati Tags: gullible.info, graduation, worthless information

The 40 Day Fast

Kat Jocobs is promoting her “40 Day Fast”, where one person in the blogosphere fasts for one day each, and then promotes it on their own blog.  Today is Day 1, and Kat herself has this one.  I will be taking part in it on Sunday, July 29.  Please keep Kat and all of these bloggers in your prayers as they undertake this important spiritual step as a community.  You can read more about it here:

The Secret Life of Kat – The 40 Day Fast

Here is the full list of participants:

June 22 – Kat

June 23 – Brant Hansen

June 24 – SAM

June 25 – Shaun Groves

June 26 – Kristin

June 27 – Chaotic Hammer

June 28 – Stephanie

June 29 – Stephen

June 30 – Jeanine

July 1 – Truevyne

July 2 – Ryan G

July 3 – Jeremy Thiessen

July 4 – Steven

July 5 – Susanne

July 6 – Valerie

July 7 – William Guice

July 8 – Todd

July 9 – Scott

July 10 – Transition Pete

July 11 – Marianne

July 12 – Mark Jaffrey

July 13 – Michelle

July 14 – Lucas Parry

July 15 – Tim Harm

July 16 – Andrew Osenga

July 17 – Shawn

July 18 – Lorijo

July 19 – Euphrony

July 20 – Brody Harper

July 21 – Amy

July 22 – Erin Mount

July 23 – Dray

July 24 – Jessica

July 25 – Carlos

July 26 – Mom

July 27 – Ted

July 28 – Charla

July 29 – Rick

July 30 – Tressa

July 31 – Toby

Technorati Tags: Christianity, fasting, spirituality, awareness, poverty, blogging

SHIRTS FOR LIMBS « Tarver needs a new leg

Fifteen years ago, Tarver Hannant was involved in a dirt bike accident that caused lifelong problems for his left leg.  The effects of his injuries were so serious that he recently needed to have it amputated at the knee.   Tarver has insurance, but it won’t cover the $40,000 needed for a prosthetic.  Who knew they were so much? 

The guy is starting his own blog campaign to raise the necessary money.  Send him at least $25, and he’ll send you a shirt that says “This Shirt Bought Tarver a Leg.”  Sounds like quite a deal to me.  Hopefully the news story on KATU tonight will help bump that up a little bit.  I’m looking down at a newly toned body and I thank God for my fortune of good health.  Plus, I like how he’s turning to the blogosphere to get this thing done. 

I’m sending him some money.  C’mon…you too.

SHIRTS FOR LIMBS « Is this really communication???

Technorati tags: Shirts for limbs, amputees, Tarver Hannant, prosthetics, KATU, blogging, blogosphere, health care

Oregon State in Omaha’s Final Four

It’s been a rough road getting there, but the Beavers are indeed in NCAA’s Final Four.  They started out the season climbing to a #2 national rank, only to embark on a mediocre conference season.  Frankly, they were lucky to be in Omaha at all.  But make it they did, and they’ve shown us the power and intensity that they’re capable of.  What’s been nice is that they haven’t lost a game yet, so they’re not in a back-against-the-wall, do-or-die situation.  Last year, they became the first national champion in the history of the tournament to have actually lost two games before winning it all.  It’s nice to not be in that situation so far.

The winner of tomorrow’s games go on to play in the College World Series Championship game, which will be a best 2-of-3 tournament  beginning this Saturday.  The names are familiar from last year:  Rice, North Carolina, and Oregon State all return from last year’s semi-finals round, while Cal-Irvine is a relative newcomer to college baseball’s Big Dance.  Do the Beavs have what it takes to win the whole thing?  At this point, it’s anybody’s tournament, but they definitely have the guns and the power to get the job done.  It’s a great time to be a Beaver fan.

College World Series 2007 – Bracket

Technorati tags: College World Series, Oregon State Beavers, college baseball, Omaha, college athletics

The future of Christianity and politics?

Here’s an interesting interview with Emergent leader Brian McLaren over at Out of Ur.  He discusses the future of Christianity and politics following the recent death of Jerry Fallwell.  I was especially intrigued by this comment about the hard-line religious conservatives:

I think the true believers in the religious right will go down with the ship, and I don’t think they’ll be willing to change their thinking no matter what happens. It’s become a sort of ideology that has been absolutized and equated with gospel in their minds.

Not just to bash on the right, he does call for leaders of all political persuasions to live as Christians:

What we should be asking is, how do we help our government be the kind of government that is pleasing to God? What I would hope is that people who are in the Republican Party who are followers of Jesus would use every bit of their energy and power to help the Republican Party reflect more and more the values of Jesus. And that Democrats who follow Jesus would do everything in their power to help the Democratic party do the same thing more and more.

Here’s a link to the full article:

Faith & Politics after the Religious Right | Out of Ur | Following God’s Call in a New World | Conversations hosted by the editors of Leadership journal

Technorati tags: Emergant church, Christianity, politics, Democrats, Republicans, Jerry Falwell, Brian McLaren, Liberalism, Conservatism

How are your Etch-a-Sketch skills?

The Cavs are on the verge of getting their rearends handed to them with a sweep from the Spurs, but this is pretty cool. 

My Christian Worldview

HT to John for this one.  Finally, an online quiz worth taking.  Here’s my Christian Worldview:

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern, You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don’t think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this. Emergent/Postmodern 93% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 61% Classical Liberal 61% Charismatic/Pentecostal 54% Neo orthodox 50% Modern Liberal 46% Reformed Evangelical 46% Fundamentalist 39% Roman Catholic 25% What’s your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com