New Features

Just added a new feature, it is the "share" icon on the bottom of each post. While you can email a post by clicking the envelope icon for the more modern social network users you can share a post to twitter, facebook, ect. Enjoy and keep reading.

Random Post Part II

This is the first "part II" of any random post, so there could be some special sentimentality on that. Anyway on to the post. About my earlier post, I did some research (meaning googled and clicked the first link) and found that the tunnel and office building part of my theory is correct. However, there is no evidence for the underground booth-people world so some more extensive research may be required. Also I will be in Florida this week so I will not be posting so this could be the last post of February, unless of course, I post later or early tomorrow.

Humorous/Random Post

Now for a random and humorous/satirical post, because this is supposed to be a random blog. Lately I’ve been thinking about toll booths, namely how do the toll collectors get into them. It all started when I drove through a toll booth and thought to myself ‘How do these guys eat or go to the bathroom?’ I mean, if you’re in a 10’ x 5’ box all day on the Mass Turnpike it’s not like you can walk out the door, cross the pike, and get a bite to eat. So then I (when I had too much free time) began to do some thinking, and here is my toll booth theory. I think that there must be some sort of hatch or door in the floor of the booth, that way the toll collectors can get in and outside. In the hatch is a ladder to an underground tunnel, that way they can get in and out of the booth. This tunnel is connected to a building which is the main office building complete with a parking lot for the collectors. In addition, inside the tunnel I feel that there must some sort of venue for the toll collectors, complete with restaurants and restrooms for them to go to on their breaks. In addition, there are probably many stores and markets for the toll collectors to shop in to run some errands while they’re down there. So, for all we know, there could be an underground world for the toll booth people that we don’t even realize exists. There could be movie theaters, hotels, and chain restaurants. This is all theory of course, I plan to do some research and even establish myself in the world of the toll booth people. I will learn their ways and enter their society and hopefully find the truth. In addition, I do not write much satire so I hope this proves its purpose of humor and no one thinks I’ve lost it. I hope everyone gets a laugh out of it.

It All Stays Here

Believe it or not, Manny Ramirez said something profound in an interview. When asked if he will try to hit 600 homeruns in his career, he replied (I summarize) that it doesn’t matter if he gets 800 homeruns and a statue in his honor, when he dies he can’t take it with him. Upon going through a thing of pennies I use for poker I found one form 1920. Can you believe that, 1920! This penny saw the Great Depression, WWII, the Civil Rights movement, and guess what else, passed through countless hands. This penny once belonged to many people, who like me, thought it was theirs. Yet when they died it went back out into the world only to fall into someone else’s possession. So why am I writing this? Just think, if all you work for is a milestone or to make enormous amounts of money, in the end what is it all worth? Thinking about baseball, when you die your record is a goal for someone else to beat so they can be greater than you were. In terms of money, all your money will be gone; it doesn’t sit in the bank it goes back out (according to your will). I’m not saying that setting goals is bad; I set goals all the time. What I am saying is that when goals become gods it becomes a problem. The reason it becomes a problem is that in the end you are left saying what was it all worth, and that is the question no one ever wants to ask. In the end, Ramirez is right, we can’t take it with us, all the money I make, homeruns I hit, even blog posts I write, can’t be taken with me they will stay here.

Straight and Narrow

I wrote about envy last week and while this isn’t exactly about envy it is sort of a follow up post. Sometimes I find myself frustrated, I am frustrated that I seem to work so hard to keep my life in order and wrongly feel that God should bless me more than He does. I’ve realized that it’s not that I want God to bless me more, but I am envious of those around me, especially those I feel that aren’t working as hard as I do. It’s a bad way to feel but sometimes, usually on a bad day, that’s what I say. But I’ve realized that I’ve missed the whole point, that I’m not seeing things correctly. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus says “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” So basically Jesus is saying “Hey, this life is hard, if you want the easy way out fine for you, but if you want a life worth living and follow me it’s hard.” If I sit around expecting God to come down and say “Hey great job you get a prize” not only is that foolish, it’s proud. That is why envy can be so potent, it hurts out pride, it makes us resent all that we’ve done, it makes us turn our backs on God. The reward in this life is not a house on the beach, a big family, fortune, and fame. The reward in this life is simply knowing God, and that should be enough – right? It should, and it is, but when I let pride in my life, when I start thinking “Hey, I’m a pretty good guy, I should get some sort of recognition” then I become unsatisfied. The question I need to answer is this, why am I doing this? Am I walking the straight and narrow for people to say nice things about me, or am I doing it so that I can grow closer to God. Sure, in fighting the good fight I may find myself left out or alienated by those who don’t understand, but in the end it’ll be worth it, not because I get a gold star to put under my name but because in Heaven I’ll be among friends.

Some Pre Season Thoughts

With the start of spring training my thoughts now turn to baseball; of course if I’m not writing about the Bible or Italian food baseball is what I write all year long. Anyway, here are a few thoughts on the upcoming season. First off, while the Sox look pretty stacked this year there are a few concerns, namely the infield and the starting rotation. Starting with the infield, the Red Sox can only be successful if two things happen, one: Salty does well behind the plate and at bat (and by that I mean above .230) and two: no one gets hurt. The only backup infielder is Jed Lowrie, and with his inability to play 1^st and 3^rd base on a regular basis and history of injury that is worrisome. Just like last year when the Sox struggled to find a reliable utility player it will be tough this year. The outfield is not a concern considering the Sox have three backups lined up. Next, on to the starting rotation. Last year the only sure wins came from Lester and Buchholz. Even with half the starting 9 the responsibility for the win lies on how well the pitcher throws the ball. The Sox showed they can still score runs without the major players, it was the pitching that got them into trouble. Granted the bullpen was terrible as it has been for a few years, but the starting pitching keeps them in the game. For them to be successful Lackey and Beckett need to step it up, it’s not all about wins it’s ERA, Walks, and WHIP that need to go down. Lackey seems motivated as he lost 10+ pounds to get ready for the season but Beckett finally needs to show that he is not a one season wonder. The bullpen this year should not be a concern, the Sox have way more than the required 7 (correct #?) pitchers and should be ready for a full season, although anyone can see by their dreadful performance in extra inning games that the real reason they didn’t make it to the playoffs was not injuries but a bullpen that handed away wins a dime-a-dozen.

Be Careful What you Wish for

So I was reading Psalm 73 a while ago and in light of recent events feel it is very pertinent to my life. Ever open the Bible and read a passage that makes you say “Whoa! That directly relates to my life!” Some may call it a coincidence but I feel that it is just one of the many small ways God tries to speak to us, we only realize it if we truly listen. Anyway Psalm 73 is basically about a man saying that although God has been so good to him in the past he feels distressed because he envies the wicked around him. He looks at the men who do evil commenting on how “they have no struggles” and even says in verse 13 “surely in vain have I kept my heart pure.” That’s a pretty strong statement, but to be honest I can feel that way sometimes. It seems that you look at what other people have whether it be status, wealth, or talent and you can say (rather foolishly) “Look at all I’ve done and I’ve got nothing to show for it.” The thing is this though, what are we searching for in life? Am I living a godly life just to have a good record, or because I honestly want to pursue God with all my heart? That is the question we have to face, what are my motives. Everyone falls into this trap, but we can’t, we can’t look at other people, and say to God “Well what are you going to do for me?” It doesn’t work that way. I’ve hit rough spots in my life but at the end of the day would I trade all I had, all my blessings and problems for those of someone else. Sure it would be nice to wake up and have all the talent and publicity of Adrian Gonzalez, but I’d lose so much more that I never realize I had.

Apologies

Sorry about the lack of posts, I've been extremely busy lately. I have been doing a lot of thinking though and especially with Spring Training starting tomorrow there should be a flood of posts next week.

Service

Jumping to the New Testament again, I’m finally getting around to writing about 1 Corinthians 13. Yesterday I was piling up wood for my dad; we have a wood stove to heat our house and my dad bought a cord and a half thinking that it was a good deal since the shipping was the same for any amount of wood bought. Economically speaking it was a good deal, but physically not so much as I spent three hours out in the cold struggling to find space for countless pieces of wood. As time went on and it got dark and my back, already sore from all the shoveling, got worse I became angry. I admit it was not a pretty picture as I said and did some things I really shouldn’t have. But as I was continuing in my fight against the pile of wood I realized something, I am serving my dad, I am not doing this for money but am taking my time to help him out by piling up a bunch of wood. If I am going to complain or demand compensation or say how bad an idea it was to buy so much then what is the point of my serving him. In fact it would be better to not do anything, at least that way I am honest with him, myself, and God. Too often I feel that we look at doing the right thing as something to get over with or something we have to do. We never have to do anything, we choose to out of love and that is where 1 Corinthians comes in. Paul writes that out of faith hope and love, love is the most important. I never understood that, I always figured faith was on top but now I see differently. If I live life as a Christian and spend all my time thinking about preaching or serving just to get some brownie points up in Heaven then I am worse off than the person who has no faith but still has love. Too often there are people who claim to be Christians yet have no love, they can have all the faith in the world but if they don’t show love to those around them then what is the point? To live a life that is worthy of being called godly you don’t have to wear a cross necklace, pray in school, or only listen to Christian music (while if you feel compelled to that’s fine); you can do all those things and still be far from God. If you put loving others as God intended, and having faith and doing things out of love than that is the key. It doesn’t really matter what you do on the outside, it depends on what your motives are on the inside.

ARGH

I swear I might be young up here (pointing to head) but when it comes to technology I am like an old man. I try to write a post, normally it goes smoothly except now the font is too big. So I make it a size smaller...still to big. The next size down, way too small. Switch it a size up it's huge. While I like computers for the reason that I can blog and check baseball stats and read the news, I hate this font business. Well enough of my ramblings or I will start to sound like an old man.

Won't Have To Worry About Him No More

Well, if you’ve been following baseball better than me you probably already know that Andy Petite has decided to retire at the age of 38. While he admitted to doing HGH, you have to admire the fact that a guy is playing well into his old age. Other examples include Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon, it sort of goes back to the days when ball players went out and played every day instead of retiring in their mid thirties when they felt they made enough money. Anyway the reason that this is good news is that the Yankees have one less elite left handed pitcher to pitch against a left handed Red Sox lineup. Now all the Yankees have is Sabathia who you only face a couple times a year and at most 3 times (unlikely nowadays) in a series. In addition the Yankees were counting on Petite showing up and now have to worry about finding a fifth starter, not only that but one to match Petites sub 4 ERA and incredible post season record. Instead all they could do was scrounge up some players off the bottom, one name that stands out is Bartolo Colon (remember his stint with the Red Sox?). While the Yankees are now diminished they are still a force, their lineup is as formidable as ever, but hopefully a weak pitching staff and aging starters helps the Red Sox’ cause for another World Series. Red Sox Pitching: Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, John Lackey, Dice-K. Yankees Pitching: CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Phil Hughes...

Sorry about the weird font and size, some glitch in the posting process.