A Theology of Baseball

Ten Reasons Why Baseball is God's Game

I found this post on another blog and thought it was pretty funny, I especially liked the end of reason #5. I love baseball in general, but have, over the past 10 years, become a big Boston Red Sox fan (this change did start before their World Championship), however unless they are playing each other I still remain a Mariner's fan as well. In truth I will probably always cheer on the Sox and whatever the home team is (unless I live in NY and then I would be the fan of anyone playing the Yankees).

SIFF is here

The Seattle International Film Festival, the largest and longest running film festival in the United States, is running from May 24 - June 17. I have already seen 2 films, The Island & Rescue Dawn, and am planning on seeing at least a few more. I will leave off my reviews I have completed my viewing and then post one large post at the end, but I will say that I have not yet been disappointed.

I would encourage anyone that is able to go check out a few films, especially ones that you are not likely to see in broader release. There is some very real talent from many countries around the world (Russia, Mauritania, South Korea, the US...just to name a few) and many of these films you will not likely be able to see any other place.

Foodie Friday - Grits

I like food...well, good food to be exact. So since I was dubbed a foodie by some friends of mine a little while back, I decided to try and post something regular about good food. I won't promise it will be here every Friday, but, keep checking back and see whats been cookin'.

Being half southern (my dad's family is from the southeast, my mom's from the northwest) and having grown up there for 12 years of my life, I like grits. Now to be clear, they do need to be good grits, not the insipid stuff you can buy in the stores in Seattle or the watery stuff you can sometimes get at restaurants outside the southeast. It should never be instant or 'quick' cook, and it should always be stone ground.

Thus I would like to point your attention to one of the best purveyors of grits I have ever encountered: The Old Mill of Guilford out in Oak Ridge, NC. I realize many of you may not know what grits are (note, it is always plural, so please don't ever ask anyone with southern roots what a 'grit' is). Grits are a porridge like substance made from coarsely ground corn, mostly the remnants after the corn meal has been sifted out. You cook them for a long time in water and milk (proportions are usually 2 parts water, 2 parts whole milk, and 1 part grits). You don't really need to add anything to good stone ground grits except a little butter and they can be served with breakfast, lunch or dinner.

I realize the thought of grits may not sound appealing to you, but give them a try...heck, I'll even make them for y'all and I bet I can convert at least some from skeptics to lovers of a great American dish (I got a little enthusiastic on my first order and have way more grits than I can possibly eat alone).

For those that already love grits, there are some other ways to enjoy them as well...simply adding cheese in the final minutes for cheese grits; the low country classic 'shrimp & grits'; and a dessert recipe in which the grits are cooked in a sweetened & spiced milk solution, baked and bruleed for a great variation on creme brulee. No kidding, grits are great.

*This should have been published on Friday, but I saved it as a draft instead, so here it is now.

Pride Cometh Before A Fall

A few weeks ago I tripped fell while running for a bus (yes, I know this is very classy, but what are you gonna do, wait a little longer for the next bus...hardly). Anyhow, I went to the ER later that day because my hand was hurting pretty bad (I had my mom take me, after all it was Mothers Day weekend). They said it was just a sprain.

It still wasn't feeling any better a week later, so I went to my doctor and he referred me to a hand surgeon who told me yesterday that I broke the hamate bone. Yes, the ER missed that one, but apparently that's common on 'normal xrays'. Check out the picture to see which bone I broke.

So what, you may ask, does this have to do with pride. Well, despite the fact that my ego was a little bruised when I tripped and fell running after a bus in downtown Seattle, it also has to do with the common response I've been getting from others when I tell them what happened. The usual reaction is that, "You really need to come up with a better story." Well, in fact, no I don't. The truth is I'm a klutz, a little clumsy at times, but nonetheless, that is me. If I were willing to tell a small lie to protect my 'image' what would stop me from telling lies to cover up bigger things that might bruise my pride.

The truth is, I need to put my pride more and more to death. It affects my job and my relationships on a daily basis and truth be told my pride is the biggest single factor that keeps me from growing in grace and moving forward. I am called to glorify God rather than myself. I can take pride in a job well done, but when that puffs me up, I probably do need to have my bubble burst from time to time.

So the story is, I tripped and fell. Yes, it's a little embarrasing, but hey, its the same injury amateur golfers get when they slam their clubs into the ground in frustration and that Ken Griffey Jr sustained in '95 while playing some good ol' baseball.

The New Blog

Well here it is, I've been telling a few people I would resurrect the blog, but I decided to recreate it...the title of the blogs is reference from Tolkein's Lord of the Rings,

"All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renewed shall be the blade that was broken, the crownless again shall be king."

But it also refers to my desire that in all things I would be deeply rooted in Christ, whether that is in my job, in my relationships, in the church, or my interactions with the culture around me.