A Tentative Spring and Extreme Climate Change

As I look around the countryside of Northeast Texas I see trees that are almost completely leafed out, flowers blooming in profusion and grass that is waist deep.  The birds are singing and the skies are blue, but there is definitely a chill in the air.

Just this week as I watched the weather map I saw that places like Amarillo were in the 90's on Monday and in the 30's by mid-week.  The front-range of Colorado saw as much as a foot of snow in places.  Wyoming faced a blizzard.

Is it global warming? -- well, proponents of the theory that this is all the fault of mankind polluting the atmosphere with greenhouse gasses claim that global warming is a misnomer -- it should be called "extreme climate change".  I think the answer is that yes, we are going through some extremes in climate variation but, I don't accept that it is caused by the activities of mankind.

Should we as humans be aware of the potential impact of our activities on the climate?  Absolutely.  We should always be cognizant of our role as stewards of this planet.  After all, we are certainly the dominant species.  We are fulfilling the role assigned to us in the Biblical book of Genesis to have dominion over the earth -- to conquer it.  But, we are not always the best stewards of the resources in our care.  Often, our activities are very short-sighted.  That short-sightedness is symptomatic of the corporate Quarterly Report focus that drives the activity of most major corporations.

In recent years there has been much written about the role of livestock in generating greenhouse gasses.  Many studies have been conducted that showed they either were the worst culprit or they had little or no impact.  Outcomes seem to be driven by the source of funding.  Perhaps the answer is to take a common-sense look at it.

An easy example is that of cattle on the high wind-swept plains of the central U.S.  Today it is cattle, whereas in ancient times it was buffalo, elk and other grazing species.  In total, I suspect there is very little difference in the numbers.  Historically, the grasslands were maintained through grazing activity and periodic wildfires.  I don't see much difference today except that much of the livestock is more confined and much of the land has been converted to cropland which should mean a greater amount of carbon is stored.

If there is a place where human activity has impacted global warming it is in the cities.  Asphalt and concrete are reflective surfaces that return heat to the atmosphere rather than soaking it in.  High concentrations of automobiles generate various gasses that could contribute to the warming -- just look at the smog over most of our major cities.  Trees and grass have been replaced by buildings and roadways.  Yet, we never hear of articles pointing the finger at cities as the problem in spite of the fact that temperatures in the cities are often higher by several degrees than the surrounding countryside.  No, the finger is always pointed at rural activities -- even to the point of wanting to regulate the amount of dust that can be released by the act of plowing or driving down a dirt road.

I think the problem is envy.  After all, it is city folk writing the articles.

But, as to this seemingly very tentative Spring this year?  I suspect it is part of the millennial cyclicity of our planet's climate.  Or, perhaps it is George Bush's fault since he didn't support the Carbon Tax.....  That's what the media and the current administration in Washington would want us to believe I'm sure.

Cracker Barrel Sunday

Cracker Barrel
Countrified
Sunday lunch
Fireside

Constant roar
Food aplenty
People talking
Dishes clinking

In from church
Or traveling through
Great Grandma
And babies too

Rich or poor
Suit and tie
Overalls
Satisfied sigh

Chris

Another Airport

Blue skies beckon through the pane
O'er hills all cloaked in trees,
Another week has come and gone
As Corporate gods I please.

I bounce around across this land
Once home to Liberty
As those in power do all they can
Enslaving those once free.

I wonder why I work so hard
For something with no soul
When all they ever ask is more
To meet their looming goal?

For Corporate gods and Washington
Are working hand in hand
To make us bow to greed and power
In this and every land.

Disillusioned, tired and bent
I sit and wait again
For shining bird to take me home
One night to rest and then

Again, I face the winding road
With work that's never done
Aiming for those fleeting goals
While all the while the sun

Shines on mountains, distant, blue,
Home to certain peace;
A place of refuge not too far--
Escape from this mad race.

But no, I get upon the plane
Just two short legs away
From one who waits alone at home
Wishing I could stay.

If only that was what I could
But, it will never be;
I'll suck it up and do my job
For those who depend on me.

Reflecting as I sit and brood
A calmness dwells in me.
I know that it is God alone
Sustaining all I see

Out window clear and sky so blue
And there He speaks to me
That peace and rest reside in Him
And only there I'm free

Living out His Grand Design,
For He has called me here,
Staring into distant blue
Stuck in this airport drear

Reflecting on the life I live
With hardly time at home
Where I would sit and rest awhile
Never more to roam

Chris

My Attitude

I've written before about attitude
And how it is all a choice
Yet tonight I find that my attitude
Stinks

I am not really interested in the big game
So I sit at the computer instead
And play some electronic game
Mindless

I sat down at first to attend to e-mail
From work that seemed quite insistent
And spent over an hour on that e-mail
Irritated

Tomorrow is Monday of a busy week
That includes a meeting I dread
But I look forward to the rest of the week
Excited

I know that good things are waiting ahead
And I should focus only on them
Instead of the irritations lying ahead
Distracting

So the question before me on attitude
Is what I've decided is mine
Do I really have a bad attitude?
Yes.

Haircut

This may seem a little strange
But it is on my mind
That sometimes it's the little things
That give sight to the blind

A haircut is necessity
But when too long without
I feel as though I'm not myself
In fact I'm quite the lout

It seems so simple to sit down
And have them trim my hair
But I hate to have it done at all
So I avoid the barber chair

Until it can't wait anymore
And force myself I do
And as the hair piles on the floor
I find myself anew

Facebook Birthdays

One of the most amazing things about Facebook is that it reminds everyone on your "Friends" list that it is your birthday.  It is really nice to see the "Happy Birthday" wishes come in throughout the day.  Sometimes I'm surprised at the expanded comments.  Sometimes I am surprised by who takes the time and trouble to post.  It is nice though.

I must admit that I don't always post Happy Birthday on my friends' birthdays.  If not, it usually is for one of two reasons.  1)  I didn't get on Facebook for a few days due to travel or something and by the time I noticed it was their birthday, I felt bad about posting late.  Or, 2)  I don't really know them all that well.  Hmmmm.....that brings up the question as to why they are a "Friend" on Facebook if I don't know them all that well.  Perhaps the Facebook definition is not as clear as it should be.  I think there should be a category for "Acquaintance" in addition to "Friend."  Somehow, that sounds clearer to me.

Maybe I'm being too nit-picky.....

Seeing Without Seeing

Airports and rental cars
Hotels and planes
Torrential downpours
Traveling pains

Eggs for breakfast
Poured from a box
Coffee that tastes
As if brewed from rocks

City to city
And coast to coast
Of the places I've been
There are many to boast

But often they pass
As if lacking a name
Because after awhile
They all look the same

One of Those Days

I have come to strongly believe that the greater the resistance, the greater the likelihood that I am headed in the right direction.  If there was nothing opposing me, it would indicate that I am going with the flow and the best that I could expect is average.  I prefer above average at least and exceptional even better.

I am fighting the tide.  Swimming upstream.  Going against the flow.  Whatever you want to call it.  It just seems that the obstacles to progress in the direction I am headed grower higher and more frequent with every passing day.  I hate it and I love it.  I hate the protracted fight but I love the knowledge that I must be doing something right.

In the Star Trek movies there is the Borg whose memorable line is "resistance is futile" yet, the crew of the Enterprise -- Captain Picard in particular -- fight them and win.  Resistance is NOT futile.  Resistance is life itself.  We are born to live -- and yet our entire life is one of fighting approaching death.  Why do we fight death and dying?  I believe it is because we are "wired" for life.  We are made by God to seek eternal life.  We find it only in Him.

So, my conclusion is that "the good fight" is the one that resists "going with the flow."  It fights average/normal.  It is a constant battle against the forces arrayed against.  We die when we quit fighting.  I'm in this thing to win.  How about you?

Struggling With Progress

Sometimes I need deadlines.  It seems that procrastination is part of my basic makeup.  If it doesn't have to be done right now the reasons for not doing it seem to prevail.  But, when the deadline looms, delivery is made -- often just under the wire.

This past week has seemed like one with looming deadlines.  My January 2nd "to do" list was almost two full pages long on my yellow notepad.  It was intimidating.  It is down to under a page now.  I think fear was the driver to get some things done.  The list had become so long that I feared it couldn't all possibly be accomplished before my next round of intense travel.  I feel better about it today.

Why is it that we (some of us at least) have to be pushed in order to make progress?  Shouldn't it be our natural tendency to want to be constantly growing, improving?  Instead, we seem to find excuses to not do what we should and to instead do the things we know we shouldn't.  We sit in front of the television instead of raking the leaves.  Or, we play a game on the computer instead of reading a book.  We "settle for" the mediocre when we could be moving toward the great.

I think Paul described it well in Romans Chapter 7.

¹⁴ We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. ¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature^[d] a slave to the law of sin.
 

 It seems that even Paul knew what he needed to do but found himself doing otherwise.  I guess I'm in good company.

Johnny "Heisman" Manziel

A small-town Texas kid put on quite a show last night as the Texas Aggies beat the Sooners in the Cotton Bowl.  The more I watch him play football, the more I am amazed.  He makes extraordinary runs and passes look easy. 

The A&M Board of Regents took a big gamble moving to the SEC.  They fired a head coach and hired one that didn't quite fit the mold of previous coaches.  That new coach has sparked a revival of A&M football with the help of a Quarterback of tremendous athletic ability.

There will be "reams of electrons" written about Manziel today, just as there has been since prior to his selection as the Heisman Trophy winner.  I won't spend a lot of time doing the same here.  But, I do want to say that he seems to have a pretty good head on his shoulders.  Let's just pray that he doesn't let the hype get to him. 

It takes the entire team to win a football game.  I suspect the inspiration of playing with someone of Manziel's calibre has caused a lot of his teammates to "step up" and play beyond their expectations.  Maybe that's the key.  Raised expectations.  If you expect great things, great things will happen.  With the guidance of Coach Sumlin, the extraordinary athletic ability of Manziel and the willingness of A&M's Regents to back a gamble, Aggie Football has reached the next level. 

Keep it humble guys.....