Some pics to make people happy

I thought I would put some pics up to make some people out there happy. Lisa tells me that people have been asking her when I was going to put some more pics up. Well, today is the day.

I WILL have more to follow but this is what I am ready to do for now.

This is one that Lisa likes even though you can't see her face.

I really like this one, I love her eyes and the way they sparkle.

I also really like this one of Mason. He acts so grown up...sometimes.

Rilee and Mason together. I think they look great! Rilee doesn't look 7 he looks more like 10 or 11! They grow up so fast.

You'd never think it with this picture, but Rilee is really really sick! The ones I took of him by himself weren't too good because of it! I will get some of him when he feels better.

If you want the pics in a larger format, email me and I will send them to you. If you don't have my email, leave me a comment with your email in it and I will send it to you and delete your email from the blog so no one can spam you.

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

I haven’t posted for a while. It’s getting to that busy time of year getting ready for the holidays and such. I’ve also been working as much overtime as possible to make up for Lisa being off work since having Haley. Haley is growing like a weed. She is still doing well with sleeping through the night; in fact, the other night she slept a good 9 hours without waking up to eat! When she did wake up she was HUNGRY! We took her and had some pictures taken the other day and we should get them back on Monday the 20th. I’ll try to post some of them here when we get them.

Another reason I haven’t been posting is that I have been doing research and rough drafts for a number of different projects. The first is an article for the website about where and how we got The Holy Bible and how accurate or inaccurate it may or may not be. I don’t even have a working title yet. Darren and I have been collaborating on this article so I can’t take all the credit. Basically, he’s writing about certain aspects of it that he is most familiar with and I am doing the same. When we both get done we will combine them, trim the fat, and add the appropriate segues and pictures and then post the article.

Another project I have been working on is trying to get the site set up to do RSS and syndication feeds. I am hoping that this will promote the site better and alleviate some extra work for me. Right now when an update is made I have to email those subscribers that have placed themselves on the list. With RSS and syndication all people have to do is click on the link and they will be notified automatically when new content is added! The other aspect of using this is to have new content daily. I’m trying to isolate certain websites that have articles and content that we like and are similar and add a section to our site that has RSS feeds syndication, so I can automatically post that article from their site to our site. It will add more content, more traffic and raise us in the search engine listings, etc. etc. Unfortunately, all of this takes time. Which right now is a precious commodity.

Also, this year was Darren’s second year being involved the Hunting Haunted Hotel (Bart is redoing the website and all promotional art work so this stuff is old and gonna go!). He and Bart (his brother-in-law who’s also and artist) did the makeup on the characters for the haunt. It’s the only haunt in Northern Indiana that uses florescent make-up/paint and black lights to achieve a 3D type effect. It is very cutting edge in that way. They did very well, in fact, after the haunting season was over they were in a meeting with the people in charge and Bart and Darren were made the creative heads for the haunt for the 2007 season. They have already started planning next year’s additions and improvements. One of the improvements will be a video project that I will be working on. It’s the video backs-story for the haunt called Chronicles of the Strange. Darren has the initial draft written and we are in the process of story boarding and the regular pre-production issues. If you are interested in being involved in the project either behind the scenes or as a character in the project please let me or Darren know and we will get back with you ASAP. The whole video will be about 10-12 minutes long and will be looped for continuous play at the haunt with the audio being ‘piped’ outside for people to hear as they wait in line. Often the wait is approx. 45 minutes long, so they should get a good chance to hear the whole thing while waiting and hopefully help set the mood for the haunt and also explain why some of the things in the haunt are there. For example, why do they have scary clowns in the haunt? Stuff like that. Anyway, that’s one project.

Here's and example of some of Bart's existing scary artwork.

It's called "The Author of Deception"

Another project I am working on is also a video project. This one is going to be a bit longer and a different format. I am making an instructional video on fire building with Dad. He will be the main (almost only) character in the video. Originally, we wanted to have all the shooting done before the end of the year. But it doesn’t look like that will happen right now. At the least we are hoping that we can have a product ready to market by late spring of 2007. There’s a lot involved in doing something like this and we are only partially ready.

Yet another video project that I am working on is something for Mom and not a retail venture, but something for her genealogy stuff. She wants me to do interviews with people (one’s were related to) about their family growing up with anecdotes and then compile them onto a DVD. There’s a lot involved in doing something like this but in the end it will be really nice to have. I don’t know how many of you have Grandparents that have passed away, but this is sort of how I look at it. My grandparents had some great stories and they were great interesting people. I think it would have been awesome if my kids and grandkids could have heard those same stories from them directly, and in the process my kids would have gotten to know my grandparents a little better. I think it is a great way to pass on family history and a sense of realism and importance to the next generations. It’s sort of a legacy thing, if you know what I mean.

I do have other projects in the oven as well, but either I can’t talk about them or I’m just too lazy to put them down here. Amongst which I have to work, do things with my family, do MMA class every other Tuesday, get ready for the holidays, maintain a website and forum, get ready for my niece’s (on Lisa’s side) wedding at the end of December (which I am also going to video for her as a present—which she doesn’t know yet---Megan if you’re reading this, try to act surprised when you get it!), and clear at the bottom of my list is this blog. So now maybe you will understand why I don’t update this thing very often. Hey! At least when I do it’s not just a couple of sentences! It a couple of pages in Word!

Well, I have to get ready to go to work pretty soon….AHHHHH…I haven’t even eaten dinner yet! Something else to add to my list of ‘to do’……….

Bye for now everyone.

God’s blessings on you and yours!

It Stands To Reason...

I post regularly on a forum that I also moderate. I posted the other day in the Philosophy section of the forum and started a thread called "It Stands To Reason..."

I wanted to state why I believe it is important to have reasoned faith, I thought I would post it here as well. Maybe some of you who know me think that I argue for the sake of aruging, which I know has been true in the past. But as I told one of the posters on the forum, when I debate or 'argue' with someone I always learn something. I learn more about the person I am debating with, I learn more about the topic being debated and I always learn a little more about myself. I will admit, what I learn of myself is not always something good, but I try...

Anyway, here is a copy of the post on the forum.

---

---

I don't want to give anyone the impression that I am 'arguing' for the sake of 'arguing' or that I need to do this in order to hold to a belief system. I think it is important to have reasons to hold to a belief system. I think it is important to be able to explain that belief system to others, for the sake of testing and refinement. I think it is important to be open minded, but not so much so that your brain falls out...

Let me tell a story. When I was a boy, my father and I would have lengthy conversations about a great many things in a wide variety of topics. One such conversation was about my Grandfather (my Dad's Dad) and some of the wisdom that he had. He (Grandpa) often would say, "Beware the man who has only read one book. He thinks he knows everything!" When my dad related that quote to me, I didn't understand it. I was only about 11 yrs old then. So he explained to me that true understanding and knowledge couldn’t be gained by only investigating one source on anything. A person who does this has only one perspective and by default their understanding is subjective. Then he told me the story of the six blind men standing around an elephant and the different conclusions they came to, based upon the part of the elephant they were touching.

He then said that if we don't thoroughly examine something from as many 'angles' as possible it is likely we will only come up, like the blind men, with a wrong conclusion, or at best, only a partial understanding. He said that I should never believe anyone based solely upon their word, but instead take what they say and disassemble it and try to 'wrap my brain around it.' To approach it from as many angles as I could and then see if what the person told me was the most logical conclusion.

He then told me of Ockham's Razor which basically says that we should make as few assumptions about a hypothesis as possible, 'shave off' or eliminate the assumptions that make no difference of the observable prediction. That if two equally valid explanations exist, we should chose the less complicated of the two. If we were to apply Ockham's Razor along with critical thought then we should be able to come to a correct conclusion.

That all sounded nice and fine to me but it also sounded tiresome and boring, so I told him so. I asked him why it was so important to know things in the way he was talking about, and why was it so important to think things through the way he was telling me I should. What did Grandpa really mean by that quote?

He looked at me as said something to the effect of:

"Son, if you don't know why you believe what you believe then any con man in the world will be able to sell you a bill of goods that you never ordered. People will be able to lead you around by your good intentions and take advantage of you, and you won't know they are. You might even thank them for it. Whether it be politically, psychologically, socially, or spiritually, there should be a reason, a good reason, that you believe it. If you have examined it and understand it to the point that you are fairly certain it is correct, it will be hard to change your mind about it. You won't be led astray easily, if at all. This doesn't mean you will never be wrong, but if you do it right, you won't be deceived easily."

I still didn't understand the enormity of it all, but the older I get, I understand it better. He told me to question everything that someone told me, not just to believe what I'm told. Even by him. What I realize now is that he was trying to teach me how to think for myself.

Today, as an adult, I see so many people who make their beliefs up as they go along, or try to meld two belief systems together that don't match up, or they try to take bits and pieces of various systems of thought/belief and mesh them together. It just doesn't make sense to me. Most, if not all, which do this don't realize that they are ascribing to 'blind faith'. I don't want to have 'blind faith' I want a reasoned faith. There may be some things (a lot) that I don't yet understand, but there are many that I do. Those that I do understand and believe I have a REASON to believe, not just wishful thinking.

When it comes to spirituality...

If there is someone/something in the cosmos that caused things to be created/made, then it stands to reason that we should find scientific evidence of such event.

If that someone/something wished to communicate to us that he/she/it/they existed and was responsible for the cosmos, then it stands to reason that he/she/it/they would have communicated it to us.

If he/she/it/they are the ultimate absolute in the cosmos, then, (like it or not) it stands to reason he/she/it/they, not us, make the rules. Period.

If he/she/it/they set up the rules and also set up the consequences of disobeying the rules, then it only stands to reason that we have no choice (except whether or not to obey them) in their validity (i.e. our idea of fairness or to whom they apply).

If all of this is true and there is evidence to support the creation/making of the cosmos, if there is evidence of a communication to us, if there is evidence that he/she/it/they is/are absolute, if there is evidence that there are consequence to the rules and that we cannot avoid the consequence to the rules, then it stands to reason that any belief system that speaks of he/she/it/they and claims to have a copy of the ‘rules’ is a belief system worth investigating.

If the belief system we investigate thoroughly (from all angles) holds up ‘under fire’, then it stands to reason that we should endeavor to live by what the belief system states.

If there are competing, differing, antithetical belief systems that claim to have knowledge of he/she/it/they, then it stands to reason that they cannot all be right. It stands to reason that only one can be totally correct.

If it is possible that all of the above is true, it stands to reason that questions and answers concerning the above topics are of utter importance and are worthy of being investigated.

If one belief system stands the tests of argument, debate, scientific testing, continuity, etc., then it stands to reason that this one belief system is worth believing. It stands to reason. It isn’t blind faith. It stands to reason. It’s Reasoned Faith.

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Blind Men and the Elephant

(by John Godfrey Saxe)

It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind

The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
“God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!”

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, “Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me ’tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!”

The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a snake!”

The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
“What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain,” quoth he;
“ ‘Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!”

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: “E’en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!”

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a rope!”

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,

And all were in the wrong!

What's in a worldview

In the past couple of weeks I engaged in a conversation with someone on the forum I moderate in talking about Worldviews. She went to an online quiz that tells you what your Worldview is. I took the quiz and these are the results.

You scored as Fundamentalist. Fundamentalism represents a movement in opposition to Modernism, stressing the highest importance on foundational religious tradition. Science has brought on corruption of society. God is real and is watching. Scripture leaves little room for interpretation; man is God?s creation. About a quarter of the population in the U.S. is classified as Fundamentalist. Fundamentalist 63% Postmodernist 56% Cultural Creative 56% Romanticist 56% Existentialist 19% Materialist 13% Modernist 0% Idealist 0% What is Your World View? created with QuizFarm.com

Now I find it interesting that anyone would pigeonhole themselves strictly based upon a quiz that has a possibility of more than 100%. How can I be 63% Fundamentalist and 56% Postmodernist? Those 2 alone add up to 119%! I do, however, still find it interesting. Note the description of Fundamentalists they give. I don't agree with it totally. Mainly I disagree with what it says about science. Fundamental religious beliefs don't contradict Science. Also, I disagree with it stating that I am 56% Postmodernist. Postmodernism is something that I totally disagree with.

It's the epitome of the Fact/Value split. It says that you can hold to opposing views at the same time because on is a matter of Fact and the other is a matter of Value. The danger in this type of thought process is that by definition the area of Value is subjugated to being 'non factual', 'subjective', and 'depedant upon perspective'. It infers that there are no absolutes when it comes to ethics, morals, or values and that Science is the 'end all beat all' and only it (and by default) scientists have a corner on the market of reality and truth. (For more on this see the articles on our site entitled A House Without a Floor and Absolute Truth.) I have a great book that helps define this it is entitled Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from it's Cultural Captivity by Nancy Pearcy. If you want a copy and can't afford it, let me know and I will give you one. In my opinion, (except for the Bible) it is the most influential book I have ever read!

Let us not forget that Science is a mechanism, 'it' doesn't say anything, scientists do. Keep an eye on our site The Reality Check for an upcoming article that includes some of this type of thing. Also, if you want to know more about Worldviews there is a good thread on our forum, click herehere and then click on Philosophy and then the thread entitled "What is your Worldview?" (If you want to comment you will need to create an account and username, but it's free and we don't spam.) to read the thread. If that doesn't work go

More on Haley

Now the eyes are open!

She's already got Rilee wrapped around her finger!

First Time Big Brother!

Saige (cousin) is always a big help!

Wil didn't say alot, but liked holding his new cousin.

Asher (cousin) wanted to know if he could take her home! :-)

Uncle Bryan posing with his only (for now...) niece.

Maybe now Aunt Sara won't feel so outnumbered by the males in the family!?

Thank you all for your support and prayers. But more importantly, I thank God for blessing us with a beautiful daughter.

Announcing.....

Well, today is the day that we finally got to meet, face to face, our daughter. Lisa did a great job. Incredible in fact. At one point in the process our nurse (who has been an OB nurse at Lutheran for 20 years) jested that Lisa was showing off. She did the whole thing without pain killers of any kind (except a local right before the hard pushing) and never got loud or anything like that. She is one tough lady! I know you're all like...'shut up Mark and tell us the low down!'...so I will.

Our daughter Mahala "Haley" Elizabeth Long was born at 12:27 pm today, September 25, 2006 weighing 8 pounds 9 1/2 ounces and measured 20 1/2 inches in length. She is beautiful! It's an amazing thing and not to sound cliche'...it is a miracle! How anyone can see this and not know there is a designer of the universe is beyond me!

Here are some pics, I have more and will get more up soon and maybe even a short video clip or two, but please be patient. I promise it won't be more than 3-4 days before I have the rest up.

Mahala "Haley" Elizabeth Long

My two beautiful ladies!

Proud Papa!

Grandma's finally got her granddaughter!

Grandpa's got his hand full!

More to follow... ;-)

Birthdays...Pregnancy...and Kids....

Well, today we went to a birthday party for my cousin Teresa's two children Emily and Andrew. It was an interesting thing for me to see. I am not used to little girls, not a bad thing, just not used to them. Especially opening presents. As a little boy, Andrew's behaviour wasn't at all suprising to me. Emily on the other hand just made me want to fall out laughing. When Andrew open a present box containing clothes, he did what most boys do, throw them to the side and look for something 'cool' in the box. Emily on the other hand showed such excitement, "Clothes!!!! Look mom, this is soooo cute!" without a drip of sarcasm. Then it hit me. This is something I will have to deal with in the not to distant future. Again, not that it's a bad thing, it's just something that I'm not used to.

Then she (Emily) decided to put on her Princess dress up clothes, complete with wand and tiarra and give us a royal fashion show. Her male 'cousins' automatically became her servants and beckoned to her every wish. Then it struck me again. They will probably do the same type thing for Haley at that age, and similar types of things before then. She (being the only girl) is going to be spoiled by her cousins and brothers.

It was just a nice gentle wake-up call for me or maybe better said as a small glimpse into the future for being a father to a little girl. Not that it worries me, there weren't any instruction manuals that came with the boys either, so we will just wing it as ususal.

Anyway, we all had fun today. Here are some pics.

*****I bet I beat Sara to the punch in posting these pics*******

Look at all the pink!

They've gotta hold me back!

What party would be complete without a feather boa?

Hmmm.....Where to start?

I'm supposed to do WHAT!!!?

No problem knowing what to do here!

Hey sis, you make that look easy!

The princess has blessed you with her presence.

The 2 pregnant ones. They're only about a week apart on due dates.

Bellies full o' babies!

Meanderings on Happiness

Well, you can stop holding your breath and put your betting money away. I am posting yet again. Maybe now this will stop Sara and Jeni from giving me such a hard time about the frequency of my posting….or lack thereof…but I sincerely doubt it.

This coming Wednesday July 26 Lisa and I will have been married for 9 years!

It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long to me…it probably seems longer than that to Lisa! lol
I just feel blessed that God has given me such a great gift in my wife. I don’t think we will be doing anything spectacular for our anniversary besides going out to eat WITHOUT the kids. That hardly ever happens! Lisa doesn’t want to spend a lot of money right now since we are trying to save for a new van…well…new to us at least. I do know that Lisa has made me truly happier than I ever thought was possible. So that’s that.

I had the chance to play with my video equipment earlier this month. On July 8th I taped the fireworks and Keith and Becky Noll’s. I was fairly pleased with the results since I had read online that fireworks are one of the hardest things there are to videotape well. Paul, Jeni, and Becky saw the end product and they seemed pleased. I don’t think anyone else outside of my immediate family has seen the DVD yet. I was able to edit out the pauses between the bangs and I put it to music. I have a few ideas on how to do it better next year. I’m looking forward to it.

Darren and I are working towards our 1st DVD. We hope to have a timeline or deadline for production by the end of July in hopes that this will keep us on track. We think that we should be ready to go to editing and post-production by the end of this year. For our 1st show we thought that we would do something that we are both intimately familiar with, so we chose to do the show on the Dialectic or Consensus Process. We want to do it as a documentary and include a lot of things in the mass media and pop culture of today to exemplify it. We want to be sure that we keep it interesting and not too dull or cerebral. We want it to be easily understood by almost everyone. We also don’t want it to be just us talking behind a desk or something boring like that, we want to interview people from different walks of life and areas of expertise. We already have a list of around 8 people and couples. We want to show what the process is, how it came about and why, who the people behind it are, why it is a bad thing, how to recognize it and finally how to combat it. The kicker is, we want to do all of this in about and hour and a half to two hours. We hope it comes out like we want it to. The working title is:

“Conquered by Consent: Consensus to Oblivion”

Anyway, there are other things that we want to do but we figured we would start with this. We hope that others will like it and buy it and etc. etc. but if they don’t that’s still all right with us. At the very least we will have a little bit of a ‘recorded legacy’ to pass on to our kids and grandkids when we’re gone.

That’s the one thing that we all have in common. We will all die someday. I wonder, sometimes, how I will be remembered...by whom...and for how long? Will my children and grandchildren only remember me? Will my memory die with them or will it go on to perpetuity?

Have you ever thought about where you will be in 5 or 10 years?

I remember when I was younger telling Sara that all I wanted out of life was to be “happy” and if being a beach bum made me “happy” then I wanted to be a beach bum. That was more than 5 or even 10 years ago and I am not a beach bum. But, am I “happy” the way that I wanted to be? I don’t think that I really understood what “happy” really was and is. I would love to be totally selfish and only do the things that I wanted to do, but I realize now that there are things that I sacrifice to make other safe, and happy that are more important to me than my selfish wants. I know that to make them safe and happy makes me happy—probably happier than I could have imagined back when I had the ‘beach bum’ philosophy. I don’t think of theses things as wasting my life and there are things that I still want to do, but I am willing to give them up for the deeper happiness that I have found.

My dream would be to teach MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) full time and make enough $$ at it to never have to worry about bills or credit or anything else of the sort. But I know that dream is just a dream and will probably never happen. The best I can hope for is to work a regular full time job and then train part time and if I end up making any money doing it, I would consider it a bonus.

I do know that I love to do MMA, especially BJJ (Brazilian Jui Jitsu). I have never experienced anything like it before. When I am on the mat rolling (practicing bjj) and I really get focused on what I’m doing it is incredible. It’s like nothing else matters, there is no past, no bills, no future, no mistakes, no failures, no successes, no correct or incorrect thoughts, nothing exists except the infinite here and now. It is a feeling that I haven’t experienced outside of my spiritual life. At that point in time I am truly “happy” in the real sense of the word.

I can see how people are led astray by martial arts that have Eastern religious philosophies attached to them. It would be very tempting for someone to fall prey to them without a correct worldview. I hope that someday I can provide a place for others to have this type of experience at least for a while and not be subjected to a false religious philosophy. The experience could definitely be described as almost religious or spiritual and without the proper worldview and safe guards someone could be led dangerously astray.

I don’t know what is in store for me in life. I have made mistakes and I have done things I’m not proud of, but I don’t know that I would change much of anything if I were to go back in time. Right now, minus a few debts and credit problems, I like my life. If I were to change something in the past I don’t know that I would be as "happy" as I am.

When I think about where I will be in 5 or 10 years I think I would like to be a better father and husband, a better son and brother, a better uncle and brother-in-law, and a better friend and person as a whole. I don’t know exactly where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing but I hope that those I care about will be better off than they are now and I hope that their being better off has something to do with me…that would make me very “happy”.

Fish, fire and new post

Well, I know it's been awhile since my last post, but I have been busy!

I continue to expand my video recording hardware. For those of you who don't know, one of my many hobbies is now videography. So I have been consistently getting the proper equipment necessary to make quality video. Eventually, I want to make DVD's and try to sell them. Most of the stuff will probably be on topics like outdoors etc. Since I have a lot of experience with the Boy Scouts. I will probably also do some things on self protection and the like with Darren along with some other misc stuff. Anyway, I had the camera and stuff out the other day when Dad had Rilee, Mason and Saige out in the back after a day of fishing in the pond.

Being curious boys from 5 to 9 Grandpa was going to show them how to gut, scale and cook a fish on charcoal instead of their typical fillet. So he was showing them everything from how to gut and scale the fish to how to make the fire with charcoal and how to improvise a grill top on the ground. They were all having a great time and they actually listen to Grandpa better than I have heard them listen to their parents! Amazing, the power of Grandpa's!

So, I was having fun with my video equipment and also having fun watching the kids have fun and it came time to eat the fish. Rilee hasn't ever liked fish, but to my surprise he actually tried it. Then to my utter amazement, Mason even tried it. Rilee still didn't like it and after holding it in his mouth for a couple of minutes asked if he could spit it out, almost simultaneously Mason said something and I looked over at him as he threw up! (No, I didn't have the tape rolling at the time!)

Saige said it was ok, but not great, but "I learned my lesson last night." I guess he didn't finish his dinner and Bryan made him sit at the table to finish his food for "three whole hours", which he still didn't finish. "When I got up in the morning my Dad made me eat it cold for breakfast."

So I don't know if Saige really liked it or if he just didn't want cold fish for breakfast the next day! LOL

They all had a lot of fun, but if I had to guess I would say that Grandpa had the most fun. (and the most fish!)

Alright Already!!!

Well...

it's been a while since I posted anything on the blog and considering the amount of "feedback" I've been getting from Jeni and Sara, I thought that I should post again. They are actually keeping track of how long it is between my posts! I guess they have nothing better to do....

Anyway, I took the kids and Lisa to see X-Men III on opening night, the kids really liked it but Lisa said she feel asleep a couple of times. lol I really enjoyed the movie and wouldn't mind having it on DVD when it comes out. We already have the other 2 so, what the heck, I might as well make it a complete set!

I still haven't had a chance to go see The DaVinci Code yet, but I hope to do so this coming weekend if possible. I know that Lisa wants to to out to eat Saturday night at Lonestar, I guess on Saturday's it's 'kids eat free' night or something like that! Sounds good to me. I don't think that the kids will enjoy DaVinci Code so I don't know what we'll do with them if we go Sat night yet. Any ideas anyone?

The other day, my brother-in-law Brayn and I worked out. I actually "ran" with him....

Notice that I put the word RAN in quotes, because (for me) it want' even close to the true context of the word. I haven't ran any distance for nearly 13 years. Add to that smoking and getting older, I found out that I am really out of shape! It was pitiful, I couldn't even jog a half mile...who am I kidding, I couldn't even jog a quarter mile. But I will continue with it until I am satisfied. After that we did some other excersizes and then boxing drills. It was a good workout. Which I felt (mainly in my legs) for the next 3 days! Every time I took a step I felt the muscles in my quads reminding me that I will be 35 in less than 2 weeks! ;-)


Lisa had her monthly OB appt. yesterday, everything is as it should be. No problems what-so-ever! Last night she and I were sitting on the couch after she got home from work and Haley was being stubbourn! Lisa said that all night at work she was kicking up a storm and then as soon as I put my hand on her stomach to feel them she stopped kicking! For some reason I have the feeling she is going to be like her brothers...I'm already tired.... ;-)

Speaking of her brothers....Mason....I love him, but sometimes I want to throttle him! He an Asher are cut out of the same cloth! He can't sit still without falling asleep, and if he's not asleep he's into something....usually damaging it somehow. The other day he found a dart in Mom's draw (of her new kitchen cabinets) and decided to scratch the drawer full of letters! Lisa found some stuff to hide the scractches (you can't really tell he did it now) but lucky for Mason I wasn't around to be the one to find it!

Well, hopefully that will keep Jeni and Sara off of my case for a couple of days! Gotta go! I might post again in a couple of weeks! But don't hold your breath!

The DaVinci Code and Truth...

On Friday May 19th, the movie "The DaVinci Code" starring Tom Hanks debuts in theaters. The movie is based on the fictional novel by Dan Brown. This is where it gets interesting, while the book is supposed to be a fiction, in the first pages of the book the author states that the places, organizations and other 'facts' are true and not fictional. Most of the book including much of what he purports to be 'fact' is in truth fiction.

So what's the harm in that, you might ask? In today's society, especially in the West, most people including (especially) Christians don't know their own history and can be easily mis-led.

For example, I recently heard a Professor of New Testament Theology talking about his first year students. On the first day of class on the New Testament, they come in to the classroom with their textbooks and notebooks. Their textbooks are New Testaments; the Professor introduces himself and the class and says; "Let's get started. Will everyone please turn to the book of Hezekiah.” Most (8 or 9 out of 10) of the students are instantly and frantically flipping through the pages of their New Testaments trying to find the book of Hezekiah. I don't say this to belittle anyone, but if people planning on a life in the ministry don't know that there is no such book, then it is definitely a barometer on the lack of education of our times.

In light of this book and the subsequent movie many (including me) think that there is a danger for both Christians and others to be even more misled than ever before.So what are some of the claims the book makes? I won't get too in depth here, but if you really want to know more about it you should visit our website The Reality Check, go to the Commentary section and look for the article "The DaVinci Code Hype" that will be appearing shortly. However, some of the claims that he (the author) makes throughout the book are nothing short of historical revisionism. Things like, the Bible is full of sexual rituals, secret societies, condones mistreatment of women, goddess worship, Jesus never claimed to be God, and so on...It brings together Gnosticism, the Legend of the Holy Grail, the Knights Templar, the Merovingian Bloodline myth and some interesting mathematical and art related clue dropping and unraveling.

Gnosticism is the belief that there is some sort of secret knowledge that brings us to a point of Salvation. Something we know that others don't that is the key. Secret rites and rituals, information, experience, understanding are the things that keep us safe. It has already infiltrated our society in things like "Knowledge is Power", "The more you know", and "It's not who you know, but what you know." Secret societies like, Free Masons and others are still prevalent today. Education is important, but not God, today Science has become the religion of the masses.

The Legend of the Holy Grail has many forms; the most well know of which is portrayed in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" with Sean Connery and Harrison Ford. But the truth is that there is nothing to tell us that the Holy Grail exists and if it does nothing to tell us what it actually is. In some versions its a rock cut from the stone that was rolled away from Jesus' tomb, in another it's a piece of the shroud that was wrapped around Jesus in the tomb, in yet another it is the spear tip that pierced the side of Christ, and finally of course the cup of the Last Supper which also is purported to have caught the blood of Christ as it poured from his side while on the Cross.

The Grail Legend goes hand in hand with the Knights Templar. Supposedly, according to Brown, they are integral to the whole thing. History says that the Knights Templar were finished after Phillip confiscated their lands and wealth and had them falsely accused of blasphemy and made them confess under threat of torture. As a side note, this all happened on Friday October 13th 1307, and is the reason that we think of Friday the 13th as an unlucky day. This order historically is thought to have ended at the death of Jacques DeMolay, the head of the order, and he has since had a youth branch of Free Masonry named after him. There is evidence that the Knights Templar did continue after the death of DeMolay and went to Scotland. They are alleged to still exist and to guard the secret (gnosticism) of the Holy Grail.

The Merovingian Bloodline has to do with the alleged 'fact' that Jesus didn't actually die on the cross, but only swooned and was nursed back to health. Subsequently they story of the resurrection was made to keep him safe and he ended up marrying Mary Magdalene and they had children. To make a long story short, that bloodline is the supposed bloodline that makes the royalty of the crown heads of France.

Mix this all together and you get The DaVinci Code. He takes some real myths and historical organizations mixed with hypothetical and outlandish allegations, throws in a ton of falsified 'facts' and covers it all up and publishes under the fiction category. The problem is this, it can be convincing to many who don't get into the details of history, which is most of the Western world! Thus possibly giving Christianity a black eye.

Did I peak your interest yet? Hope so. Want to know more? Watch the website for the article "The DaVinci Code Hype" and if you want to, feel free to go to the forum and start a thread or comment on one that exists. Go to the movie and have fun, the book is entertaining, and with Tom Hanks in the starring role, I'm sure the movie will be as well. But remember, it's fiction designed to be entertaining and no matter how much of it is set in the real locations and using some real names it's fiction not history and definitely NOT TRUTH.

Look everyone...A NEW POST...

Well.....since my sister and Jeni have been having sooo much fun at my expense about how I 'never' update my blog, I figured that I would actually post something.

I had the last weekend off of work and Bryan (my brother-in-law), Dad and I decided that we would do something for our wives and mothers for Mother's Day. So on Sunday we cooked them a meal. It had an Italian theme. We started by having Tortellini Soup and bread sticks, then the main course of Fettuccini Alfredo with chicken and garlic bread, and ended with a chocolate fondue with fruit. We made nearly everything ourselves and had the boys act as waiters complete with white towels over their arms like waiters in 'fancy' restaurants. The boys really loved it. We just have to work on some basic hygenic skills for Mason, he thought it was perfectly acceptable to pick his nose and eat the findings while serving! Since May 14th is also Mason's B-day (5 already!), no-one gave him too hard of a time about it. We will be having a party for him on my next weekend off.

Today (Wednesday) I got off work @ 7 am, due to a mandatroy meeting after my shift and since Lisa had an OB appt today @ 1pm I just decided to stay up so I could go. Everything is fine and the doctor confirmed that the 'bun in the over' does have 'all the plumbing on the inside'. So Haley is Haley. She is about 1 pound right now according to the doctor and is already head down, which can change as the months progress, but it's nothing to worry about at all.

Then we took the kids to KFC (Mason's choice as birthday boy) where Rilee informed us that after this baby he wants another little sister. Lisa told him to wait and see how he likes one before wishing for 2 Too funny!

Anyway, I hope this is enough information to keep everyone updated for a little while and keep Jeni and my sister off my back about updating my blog. Along with working full time and having a pregnant wife I also have a website that I run amongst other hobbies so I hope that everyone can bear with some longer periods of silence on my blog!

How well do you know me?

Do you think you know me well. Take my quiz and find out. You can thank my sister for 'inspiring' me to make a quiz for all of you to take. You can take it here:

http://www.quizyourfriends.com/linkemail02.php?quizname=060503163827-714457

It doesn't cost anything...unless you get too many wrong...jk

All you need is an email address and your name...Take it...you never know what you might learn or how much you may already know me.

Now I'm blogging...

Well, I'm posting on a blog. Didn't think I'd be doing this as I don't have time to post on my website. But here it goes. The only things of interest right now is:

1. On April 10th I was involved in an automobile accident. It was the first accident I've had in 17 years! Boy, I made up for lost time. I was T-boned by a lady while I was driving home from work in the morning in our van. The van was struck on the passenger side and rolled over onto the driver's side coming to rest against a traffic light pole. The EMT said I was "lucky to be alive" and it was "miraculous that your not injured". Thank God for LARGE favors. So we're looking for another vehicle to replace the van. Hopefully another van since we need the space. Which brings me to point of interest #2.

2. Lisa found out a few months ago (January) that she is pregnant! We also found out last week that we are having a girl! The first female Long since Sara was born in 1975. Mahala (Haley) Elizabeth Long is scheduled to arrive on Sept. 26, 2006. So keep checking back for updates!

I don't have any pics of the ultrasound yet, but I will see if I can get something together in the near future. I do have pics of the aftermath of the van.

I'm glad no one else was in the van with me...this is where Mason would usually be!

Crunch!

It's kinda hard to tell from pics, but the side of the van was crushed in almost 20 inches!

I think this is the car that hit me!