a gate called beautiful

As I write this, my birthday is almost over. It’s been a good day full of kayaking, time with my wife and lots of good food. I even spent some time pondering what a birthday is all about. And what did I come up with? I think it should be more about the one who gave birth, rather than the one that was birthed.

Shouldn’t a birthday really have something that celebrates the woman who brought the child into the world? Shouldn’t every mother get a “mother’s day” for each child? I mean, afterall, my part in the birth was pretty simple - just show up and cry a bit. Her part involved a lot of crying I’m sure too, but so much more. Not only the pain of birth, but the whole 9 months leading up to it. What was I doing then? Just laying around kicking things.

Wouldn’t it be something to celebrate all the mother’s out there on these birthdays, rather than have a bunch of needy kids (that’s still me by the way) whine about what they want for gifts. What did we do to deserve any of those presents anyway? Who really did (still does?) all the work?

And for the amazing women who have more than one child, is one mother’s day really enough? Does it not make sense that the days celebrated would increase proportionately with the number of children?

So, on this my birthday, I want to recognize and thank my mother for actually giving birth to me, 28 years ago today. Happy Mother’s Day mom! I love you.

(p.s. Not to knock the father’s out there, but let’s be serious, we have the easy job in that whole process… One day is plenty for the guys. Besides, how many new ties do you need in a year?)

Ok, this has nothing to do with the SNL news skit, the title just fit.

It’s been a very busy, yet exciting, weekend. I thought I’d just give an update on what’s going on.

We bought our tickets to Vegas for a family trip at the end of the year! It should be a good time, partialy because we also secured out tickets for Cirque du Soleil’s “O.”

I spent Saturday painting our front door, preping it for a new screen door. I also painted our neighbors door so that we’d all match. The weather was perfect. But because it took many coats to turn blue to white, it made for a long day.

Sunday, I had a wonderful friend, Jon, help me install the new screen door. It took about FIVE hours, but it’s in and it’s great. Thanks again Jon (and Nancy, for letting me borrow him all afternoon)!

And lastly, one of my images hit Flickr’s top 500 for the day (explore). Not only did it do that, it came in at #6 (before that my images hit #124 at best)! It doesn’t mean that it was necessarily the 24th best image that day, it’s a little more complicated than that. But needless to say that it’s an honor to have ranked so high. Check out the image over at my blog.

I’ve got 5 photo sessions in the next few weeks (weddings, seniors, engagement sessions) and a trip up to Lambeau Field (will I see Farve playing?). So it will be a few weeks before I post again probably.

Blessings.

A quote for today from Saint Augustine:

“When regard for truth has been broken down or even slightly weakened, all things will remain doubtful.”

Comedy Central videos seem to be overtaking my blog! I’ll post this one and then I’m done. (Thanks to Adam for posting it first.)

Here’s NT Wright, the Bishop of Durham and one of the most well known authors and theologians of our time, on The Colbert Report. A few years back, a comment of NT Wright about Heaven (it was really only one sentence in a book of his) started me on a study to find out what Heaven really is all about. I started with Randy Alcorn’s Heaven, which I think is a great book for anyone who really thinks they want to spend eternity there.

Anyway, NT Wright has a new book, going a little deeper than he has before. Another of his I’d like to read. Perhaps this video will also make you want to read the book (or maybe it might make you think I’m crazy) - either way, enjoy:

Regardless of your political leanings, this video is just funny. It helps to show that even mainstream media can go a little overboard in not really reporting the “news.” If you don’t want to watch all 7 minutes, skip ahead to about 5:30 for the good stuff.