Sorry

My apologies to the three people that might actually read this blog on a daily basis. The first two weeks of school were very busy. But that is not the real reason for the lack of posts. The real reason would be the fact that I broke my New Year's Resolution, and thus felt guilty that I did not have a picture for that day . . . and the next. So, I sat in silence for two weeks . . . feeling like I had already screwed up, and so why bother posting.

However, everyday, I had things that I wanted to blog about and did not. I truly missed those opportunities to capture my thoughts with words. So, today, I break the cycle and begin writing again. There are so many things to write about ...

Yesterday, we received some bad news. You see, I used to be a Youth Pastor who worked with Junior High students. Those students are all grown up now ... working full-time, going to school, getting married, etc. One young lady that we have known since she was in elementary school was killed in a car accident early yesterday morning. She was only 22. This is the second student that I had worked with to die in a car accident in the last year and a half. Very sad.

I have been thinking about life and death alot lately. It is amazing how fragile and special life is. I wish more people realized this and lived with the understanding of how precious life is. Why do we need senseless violence, suicide bombers, drunk-drivers, drive by shootings, etc.??? What would it be like to live in a world of peace? I guess that is why we look forward to Heaven so much.

Anyway . . . you will be reading more of me. I need this. Writing is a very cathartic thing for me, and I dare say that I would be the one to miss out.

Trash

Last night, L and I picked up some of the BEST Chinese food last night. It's called Heaven Dragon, and supposedly it is where George W. Bush eats when he is in Colorado. Anyway, my purpose in telling you this is because it spawned another deep thought . . .

First of all, we had to unpack this giant brown bag of food that was all in it's own container . . . 2 soups in styrofoam containers with plastic lids, a "tub" of fried rice in the typical, double stacked, laminated paper Chinese take-out rice container with the little metal handle. Then, the two entrees in their plastic containers and lids. I think we had some eggrolls and crab wontons (with real crab!) in a paper bag.

So, I am sitting there, mouth watering, as we dole this delicious dinner onto our plates, looking at the trash that was created just so we could bring this dinner home. Then, it made me think of all of the trash that we, just our family, creates in a week. Then, I thought of how many people there are in the United States that create trash EVERY day. Think of all the packaging that we have, whether it is for food or toys or whatever that just gets thrown away. Where does it all go?

Then, my mind went really deep into thinking about all of the trash that has been created in the history of man . . . billions and billions (say like Dr. Evil) of people that are living and have lived create waste. Now, I realize that most of this trash problem has been exacerbated (what does that mean? Watch Shaun of the Dead!) in the last century or two since the industrial revolution and mass production.

Of course, all of this rambling thought (that happens within about 4 seconds) begs the question . . . "How long can we keep this up until we reach a point of undeniable damage to life, ecosystems, health, etc.?"

I admit that I have definately been a typical U.S. consumer who has contributed an un-godly amount of non-biodegradeable and hazardous trash to this planet we call home. In fact, sometimes I will even wonder where all of my trash is in the world right now. I don't know if this is because I am getting older and wiser or just more aware of it, but I would like to certainly do my part to reduce my (and my family's) impact on our finite resources and capacity to deal with trash.

So, to conclude this expansive post . . .

Deep Thought - Have you ever thought of all of the trash created in a day by yourself? By your neighborhood? By your city, state, county, etc.? What about the 6 billion people in the world . . . in one single day???

New Years Resolution Addition - I would like to find out how I can do a better job of recycling and reducing our family's trash. Any suggestions?

New Year's Resolutions

I am starting this blog as part of my new year's resolution. This will be my first attempt to actually put them into writing and practice.

My main resolution is to take one picture a day, every day, in 2007. I would like to post those pictures on flickr and then figure out how to post them here with commentary. I want to do this because as I want to celebrate every day that I have life. Each day is a gift from God. I have not been the best steward of these daily gifts of breath, of sight, of love . . . of LIFE, and I want to do a better job of that this year.

More to come . . . must take a picture!