Global Warming?

The Banty Rooster has put his finger on what bothers me with the whole "Global Warming" thing.

Here's an article on how global warming is causing the glaciers in the Himalayas to grow. Yes, you read that right. Global warming causes glaciers to get bigger. You see, global warming is an amazingly elastic one-size-fits-all explanation for anything and everything in ecology, climatology, meteorology and whatever "ology" to which you care to apply it. When glaciers melt, they splash big headlines on how this "proves" global warming. When glaciers grow, they splash headlines about how this, too, is because of global warming. Hmm. What is the common denominator? Global warming is the presupposed, assumed and presumed axiom. This is not science, whatever it is. In science, theories and hypotheses are falsifiable by the contrary evidence found in nature. In the worldview of environmental scare-mongers, all evidence points to global warming simply because it just must. It is the reigning ideology, and all must bend to its will.

Pop on over and check it all out...

If I Should Die As I Lie Waking...

We have two close friends who recently lost their fathers to cancer. We know another family that is still in the process. But what if you were the one dying, your body slowly succumbing to the ravages of cancer?

Stop and think about it for a moment. What do you want people to say - not just at your funeral, but in the months that precede it, as they walk beside you and watch you waste away, powerless to do anything to stop it.

What would it look like to "die well"? For you? For your family?

That's precisely what the Groves family is facing right now. Al just went through brain surgery yesterday as he battles against an incurable form of melanoma that has moved from his skin to his lungs and now threatens his mind. And the way both he and his family are reacting is an amazing testimony to this man's character and leadership.

If I should die as I lie waking, I hope my daughter will be able to speak from the heart like Al's young Eowyn:

Many people see death as an awful thing, and outside of Christ, it is the worst thing imaginable. However, my dad knows Jesus Christ to be his Lord and Savior. Frequently, people have come up to me and voiced their anger and frustration that “all of this” should be happening to “a good family like yours.”

As much as I appreciate the reference to my loving family, I would like to strongly state: DON’T BE ANGRY WITH GOD ON OUR BEHALF. I think I speak for my whole family when I say that I know that God has a perfect plan, and that He is accomplishing His will with my dad’s cancer. And for my part, I feel like God is giving me a glimpse at that plan.

Throughout my dad’s cancer, so many people have been blessed by his faith through suffering, (myself included in that count). Jesus calls us all to serve Him with all our hearts, he just calls us each to serve Him in different ways. I believe that God is calling my dad to serve Him in the last part of his life by worshiping Him in the midst of suffering. God is using His dutiful servant to then bless everyone else. What greater calling is there than to serve the Lord your God in everything you do? And what greater honor is there than to die for your Lord in a way that will bless His flock?

I am deeply moved by everyone’s prayers for all of us during this trial. I appreciate the prayers for healing, but I would also encourage people to pray that God will complete His purpose with my dad, understanding that He is capable of healing, but that He may have something entirely different in store for my dad. The last thing I would want to see (or that I’m sure my dad would want to see) would be for people to be so caught in praying for healing, that if Jesus chooses to take my dad Home, that people will be bitter and angry with God. I feel that being angry with God on my dad’s behalf would be a disservice and dishonor to my dad, and his willingness to do his Lord’s bidding.

So take heart! Don’t fear death! As Christians, death is really the best gift you could ever receive! My dad will get to go Home to worship His maker, and my dad will feel no pain for all of eternity. He won’t be weighed down by the burdens and sins of this world and longer! Because Jesus died on the cross, death truly has lost its sting. So instead of being sad, please rejoice with me in our loving Father who is perfect, and who has a perfect plan for my earthly father.

With much love and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,
your sister Eowyn

Those are strong words, folks. Take a few moments and consider the state of your soul. Can you envision yourself uttering these words? What about your children?

What are you doing with your life now to prepare yourself and them for the death which inevitably comes?

Sober thoughts, but these are sober times. I'd encourage you to pray for the Groves family as they walk this dark path, and also to pray for yourself and your own family as well, that we might all be more closely conformed to the image of Christ through suffering...

Something About Maruice

Time to start inching my way back into blogging, catching up on all the things I've thought, "Hmm... that'd be worth saying something about." I'm not sure how many of you follow football, but if you do, then perhaps you've heard of Maurice Clarett. There's a very interesting editorial piece on him over on ESPN... interesting, because it actually contains some very penetrating observations:

When your life goes from the sky to the sewer in four years, how can you tell where the blessing is?

What if in your life, with all of the accolades, promise and acclaim, the best thing that ever happened to you was when those cops pepper-sprayed you and cuffed you and ducked your head into the backseat of their squad car? What if it was all finally over? What if the last thing that happened to you saved your life?

Now, that's not a perspective you normally hear coming from anyone involved in sports at any level - instead, what usually gets bandied about is how SPORTS is what saves someone.

the Maurice Clarett who just had his bond raised from $200,000 to $1.1 million to $5 million in two days thought football was going to save him. Thought it would stop him from being the person that lived inside of him. But once the game was removed from his life, once he realized the NFL would exist without him, the truth of his life was exposed to him. To the point where he couldn't even help it, or himself.

Which is why (and how) a young man goes from being a third-round draft pick in April 2005 to getting charged with robbing people for cell phones in alleys at gunpoint in January 2006.

"He's a thug," Hubbard HS (Chicago) defensive coach Andre Curry said. "I hate to say that, but it's true. He used football to get away from a troubled childhood. Now that football is out of his life, the true Maurice Clarett comes out."

As cold as that sounds, it's fair. Acutely accurate. But it doesn't explain the how and the why, the reason.

This my friends, is what theologians mean when they talk about the 'depravity of man' - not that someone like Maurice is as bad as he could possibly be; but that all of us are like Maurice to some degree if you dig deep enough beneath the surface. The only difference, is that most of us are much better at hiding it, much better at thinking through the consequences, of not making rash decisions based on the deepest desires of our heart.

There are a lot of people who are probably smarter than Maurice. But all of us are just as bent deep down. Most of us just do a better job of hiding it than others.

In church today, we read this confession in unison:

Heavenly Father, forgive us when we do the right things for the wrong reason. We confess that our good behavior is often a subtle form of manipulation; we serve our spouses, our children, our parents, our neighbors, not our of love for Christ, or even out of love for them, but out of our love for ourselves - our own desire for approval, acceptance, sex, or power.

We confess that we often 'love' others so that we get what we want. We give in order to receive...

So what if there was no one left to impress, to manipulate, to fall back on. The reason everyone loved Maurice in the first place was because of his abilities - not because of him, but because of what he could do for others - score touchdowns, help the team, be a superstar, sell advertisting. And as soon as he could no longer do that, all those people who loved him turned the other way and cut him loose.

What if we no longer had anyone who cared? What if we were truly left alone with ourselves? Would we really act all that differently? I suspect there's a lot more Maurice Clarett in all of us than any of us would care to admit...

pretty dam funny

This is an actual letter sent to a man named Ryan DeVries by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Quality, State of Pennsylvania.

SUBJECT: DEQ File No.97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Lycoming County

Dear Mr. DeVries:

It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental Quality that there has been recent unauthorized activity on the above referenced parcel of property. You have been certified as the legal landowner and/or contractor who did the following unauthorized activity:

Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the outlet stream of Spring Pond. A permit must be issued prior to the start of this type of activity.

A review of the Department's files shows that no permits have been issued. Therefore, the Department has determined that this activity is in violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.!

The Department has been informed that one or both of the dams partially failed during a recent rain event, causing debris and flooding at downstream locations. We find that dams of this nature are inherently hazardous and cannot be permitted. The Department therefore orders you to cease and desist all activities at this location, and to restore the stream to a free-flow condition by removing all wood and brush forming the dams from the stream channel. All restoration work shall be completed no later than January 31, 2006.

Please notify this office when the restoration has been completed so that a follow-up site inspection may be scheduled by our staff.

Failure to comply with this request or any further unauthorized activity on the site may result in this case being referred for elevated enforcement action..

We anticipate and would appreciate your full cooperation in this matter. Please feel free to contact me at this office if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

David L. Price
District Representative and Water Management Division.

Here is the actual response sent back by Mr. DeVries:

Re: DEQ File No. 97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Lycoming County

Dear Mr. Price,

Your certified letter dated 12/17/02 has been handed to me to respond to. I am the legal landowner but not the Contractor at 2088 Dagget Lane, Trout Run, Pennsylvania.

A couple of beavers are in the (State unauthorized) process of constructing and maintaining two wood "debris" dams across the outlet stream of my Spring Pond. While I did not pay for, authorize, nor supervise their dam project, I think they would be highly offended that you call their skillful use of natures building materials "debris." I would like to challenge your department to attempt to emulate their dam project any time and/or any place you choose. I believe I can safely state there is no way you could ever match their dam skills, their dam resourcefulness, their dam ingenuity, their dam persistence, their dam determination and/or their dam work ethic.

As to your request, I do not think the beavers are aware that they must first fill out a dam permit prior to the start of this type of dam activity.

My first dam question to you is:

(1) Are you trying to discriminate against my Spring Pond Beavers.
(2) Or do you require all beavers throughout this State to conform to said dam request?

If you are not discriminating against these particular beavers, through the Freedom of Information Act, I request completed copies of all those other applicable beaver dam permits that have been issued. Perhaps we will see if there really is a dam violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.

I have several concerns. My first concern is; aren't the beavers entitled to legal representation? The Spring Pond Beavers are financially destitute and are unable to pay for said representation -- so the State will have to provide them with a dam lawyer. The Department's dam concern that either one or both of the dams failed during a recent rain event, causing flooding, is proof that this is a natural occurrence, which the Department is required to protect. In other words, we should leave the Spring Pond Beavers alone rather than harassing them and calling their dam names.

If you want the stream "restored" to a dam free-flow condition please contact the beavers -- but if you are going to arrest them, they obviously did not pay any attention to your dam letter, they being unable to read English.

In my humble opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a right to build their unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the grass is green and water flows downstream. They have more dam rights than I do to live and enjoy Spring Pond. If the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection lives up to its name, it should protect the natural resources (Beavers) and the environment (Beavers' Dams).

So, as far as the beavers and I are concerned, this dam case can be referred for more elevated enforcement action right now. Why wait until 1/31/2006? The Spring Pond Beavers may be under the dam ice then and there will be no way for you or your dam staff to contact/harass them then.

In conclusion, I would like to bring to your attention to a real environmental quality, health, problem in the area. It is the bears! Bears are actually defecating in our woods. I definitely believe you should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the beavers alone.

If you are going to investigate the beaver dam, watch your step! The bears are not careful where they dump!

Being unable to comply with your dam request, and being unable to contact you on your dam answering machine, I am sending this response to your dam office.

THANK YOU.

RYAN DEVRIES & THE DAM BEAVERS