Grand

Went and saw the Grand Canyon a couple of days ago.

Wow!

Pictures just don't do it justice.

Being so late in the year there was not that many people there. We went down one of the trails a little ways just to see what it was like below the rim. Met one guy on his way up who had gone all the way down and was heading back up in the same day. That is one tough hike.

It started out kind of mild but later started snowing. It was amazing to watch the weather move in. The snow wasn't that bad but by the time we got close to Flagstaff it looked like a blizzard. We basically saw it all in one day including snow, whiteout, sleet, hail, thunder snow, and rain. Very glad for four wheel drive.

Iverson

As a Piston fan I'm excited about the Iverson deal they recently made. I liked Billups and McDyess just fine but Iverson makes things a lot more interesting. I think the Pistons could go far or, just as easily, crash and burn with him. No matter what it will be fun.

Of course, I can't wait for the pressers. His famous "practice" tirade from his Philly days was classic. I know a lot of people were bothered by it but I thought it was hilarious.

Airsick

Well, Kim and I are off on vacation. We are headed to New Mexico to spend time with friends and basically chill for a week. As a pastor I started doing the Wednesday to Wednesday vacation thing and I like it. I can kind of get things pulled together and ready for the next week on Monday and Tuesday and when I get back I have a few days to get things going for my first week back. Also airline flights are usually cheaper on Wednesdays.

As a missionary kid and as a missionary myself I've spent a lot of time on airplanes. I've also flown into some pretty remote places and experienced a number of harrowing experiences in an airplane. I don't fly like many business travelers do now days but I'm not new to it either.

None of that helped our arrival in Minneapolis this morning. Things were nice and smooth until we started descending into the twin cities area. I would say it was severe but my brother would laugh at that since he is a pilot and says things have to be flying around the cabin to be called severe. It was pretty rough though. My stomach was floating up somewhere in the vicinity of my esophagus and I began to think we would need to divert. Apparently the pilots stomach had dropped and was resting on his bladder because suddenly he made a dive for the runway. I suppose the airlines are trying to save fuel but it seemed we landed way to fast and he still didn't use the brakes very much. He careened us around the airport like a teenager in a school parking lot.

Glad that's over. Hope the next leg is better. In the meantime I'll sit around and wonder at people who it looks like will come close to electing Al Frankin to congress. I can't say much. My state almost elected 27 year old to congress who would have no idea what he was doing, to replace a guy who has built up 14 years of seniority and is a pretty decent guy even though he does do a few things I disagree with. I actually live outside that district though so I wouldn't have accepted the blame.

Settling

During this election cycle I have read a lot of opinions on the various issues we face in our country. It is interesting to read how different people's thinking has evolved since this cycle began. Some have high tailed it to the safety of the familiar. Some have been challenged to change their minds. Some have stayed the course but deepened their understanding of the opposing view. And some have just abandoned reason altogether and gone for a hostile us versus them mentality.

One interesting conversation I had with an individual centered around abortion. He was a Republican who agreed with his party's stand on principle but was going to vote Democrat because he thought they had a better practical solution. I don't care which party he belongs to so I didn't say much other than that I was glad he had taken the time to think it through for himself.

Then I ran across this:

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. Matthew 23:23

It got me thinking how many times we choose and are satisfied with a luke-warm solution rather than fighting for a comprehensive solution. I don't know if it would change this guys opinion but it makes me think that Christians in both parties shouldn't settle for "at least we're doing more than the other side" which I think is exactly what many do. I'm not saying you can't take an incremental approach either. But I think that is used more as an excuse than anything else on both sides.