A new favorite

I will admit to being a man who is quite comfortable with the familiar. Some things don’t change: The Dodgers are favorite baseball team (though I pay very little attention to baseball at all), Chicago is my favorite band (closely followed by Level 42 and Toto), and Dr. Pepper is my favorite soft drink.

But in other respects, I have somewhat meteoric tastes. I can switch favorites in other areas pretty quickly. Favorite TV show? Lost... no, wait, Stargate SG-1... or maybe reruns of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Favorite item on the Chevy’s menu? Shrimp fajitas, unless the fish tacos look good, or maybe I’ll go for the spicy flautas. Favorite beer? What micro- or craft brew is on sale?

Right now, my favorite a cappella jazz group is Groove Society. I just discovered them via A Cappella Always, my current favorite Live365 internet radio station. Their “Tribute to Earth Wind & Fire” blew me away, and I just had to track them down. Fortunately, their first album (self-titled) is available via iTunes, my preferred way of finding new music. Great voices, great harmonies, great arrangements.... few groups get as good as this.

My apologies to Blue Line Max... you have just been unseated, though your Christmas album will always have a treasured place in my library. And, of course, you will always be my favorite a cappella jazz group, half of whose members I have met, which is based in Portland, and which has recorded “There Was a Star.”

Compartmentalizing keeps the favorites from fighting.

Discuss among yourselves...

Every now and then, some crazy thing pops into my head -- or, more likely, out of my mouth -- that really makes sense. Last night at our prayer meeting, I got one of those. We were talking about being mad at God for things in our lives not going the way we want. As if we had any clue about how things really ought to be. But it’s okay to be mad at God, so long as we let it open up a dialog with Him.

So, here’s the thought for the day:

Sometimes, getting good and mad at God is the best way for Him to get my attention.

You can quote me. Or just point and giggle, whatever works.

Happy Anniversary!

On August 17, 1991, I had the good sense to marry Miss Nina J. Oliver. (Questions about her sense in the matter will not be discussed.) In the ensuing 15 years, there have been a lot of ups and downs, as with every good marriage. We have made good and bad decisions, we have been respectful and disrespectful of each other. We have laughed together, cried together, and sometimes cried, each of us alone. We have both grown up quite a bit, and have just begun to see now how much growing we still have to do.

She has blessed me with her wisdom and intelligence, and I have blessed her with my concern and compassion. She has taught me to think more clearly, and I have helped her take time to stop thinking every now and then. Our strengths cover each others' weaknesses, and our gifts meet each others' needs.

I am learning more every day to hear her heart when she speaks, and to speak to her in a way that she will hear my heart.

I am not proud of everything I have done as a husband. I am, however, proud to say that I am her husband. She has endured my faults, and encouraged my strengths. I am a better man for having let her into my life. I pray that she is a better woman for having let me into hers.

Happy Anniversary, Nina. I love you beyond words.

(Note: Yes, that picture above IS us. She is still as beautiful as the day we got married. I am still as dashing and handsome as I ever was. Which, of course, is open to interpretation!)