Thanksgiving

"For he that believes that everything happens to him for the best, cannot possibly complain for the want [meaning "lack"] of something that is better....For as thankfulness is an express acknowledgment of the goodness of God towards you, so repinings and complaints are as plain accusations of God's want of goodness towards you."

~William Law (1686-1761)

Week Eleven - vs. NY Jets

Today I couldn't decide who to give photo props to. There were so many worthy contenders. So I picked two: Wes Welker for an impressive 15 catch game and setting a career high in receiving yards in a game (and for the cool stiff arm pictured), and Leigh Bodden with a stellar 3 picks on the rookie QB (pictured taking this one to the house). The defense was relentless on the young Sanchez forcing 5 turnovers and making him look like the rookie he is. The emotion of a new coach and a promising star is long gone and things are back to normal, with the Jets looking 3 games up at the Pats. However, Thomas Jones still churned out a hundred yard game even though it was all for naught. The offense was also impressive. Maroney stepped it up when we needed to wind down the clock, something he couldn't do a week ago. Brady was, well...Brady. The major point of concern I saw was quite a bit of QB pressure in the second half. Everyone knows if Brady's jersey stays clean then the Pats are gonna clean up. Chances of doing that would be greatly improved with a respectable run game, which will hopefully get a boost in Sammy Morris' return in the near future. All in all, the defense did their job making an average offense look bad. The biggest test of this young secondary will be against Drew Brees and his high powered offense next Monday night. We've all seen our offense can score enough points to keep up, but can our defense keep us ahead when it counts. That's the lingering question that makes the difference between a bye and wildcard weekend.

Sovereignty and prayer

Sometimes people ask since God is sovereign and already knows everything that's gonna happen then why bother praying about anything? This seems quite backwards. If God were not sovereign then why would we bother praying about anything. Why bother asking if he doesn't have the power to do anything about it? God's sovereignty is the very reason why we pray, because He can do something about it.

Everything Is Different

If you haven't checked out Shane & Shane's new album "Everything Is Different," then you must immediately hop on over to their myspace and click the play button. It's been on constant repeat for the better part of my week. The title track "Everything Is Different" along with "I'm Alive" are not only catchy tunes, but they speak great truth about our salvation by grace alone. The album even includes a few Radio Versions at the end for the more CCM oriented. So go get a free preview online, then go buy the album. You'll be singing these songs in your sleep!

Week Ten - @ Indianapolis Colts

Never have I seen a team so thoroughly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They put up 34 points on a team that previously hadn't allowed more than 23. They forced Indy to punt more than they had all season. They gave up two endzone turnovers and still held a 17 point forth quarter lead. Then they sent their cheerleaders onto the field for the final 15 minutes to give the best roll-over-and-play-dead impersonation I've ever seen. Commentators and reporters are billing it as a phenomenal Colts comeback and singing Manning's praises. But that ridiculous! That's perhaps the worst quarter of football the Patriots have played all season. And the coaching!? Handing the ball to Peyton Manning on your own thirty with a 6 point lead?! Are you flippin out of your mind?!?! I haven't seen a decision that bad since the Bills kick returner ran it out of the endzone in Week 1! Now any hope of home field advantage in the playoffs and probably a first round bye is long gone. But worse then all that is now the Colts have a free ride to break our record 21-game winning streak and match our unprecedented 16-0 regular season record from 2007. We had our chance to do something about it but we handed it to them on a silver platter. Had we won we would've pulled into a tie with them for most games won this decade (109), a statistic that certainly would seal our legend as the team of the decade. But now all that goes out the window along with Belichick's heralded 4th quarter decision making.

Ok, now that I've gotten that rant off my chest, there is some good we can salvage from this miserable turn of events. First of all, for three quarters we absolutely handed it to arguably one of the best teams in the league right now. For three quarters the Patriots looked really good. The defense held up fairly well against a prolific passing attack and totally shut down the run game. For the most part our offense marched up and down the field boasting huge plays in the secondary. Even our kicking and coverage teams were having a great game. So it's definitely time to say the Patriots can compete with elite teams. Secondly, a little wake up call like this during the regular season has historically been a good thing for the Pats. It means a team who's usually known for playing a full 60-minutes won't make this same mistake again, which is extremely important come playoff time. You can't let good teams hang around, even by 17 points, and hopefully now we won't have to learn that lesson again. And last of all, it was only a regular season game (albeit to the rival Colts!) and we still hold a two game lead over Miami in our division. A win here definitely would've made things a little easier for us, but for now it's all about making the playoffs--that's when it really counts--and it looks like we're still on track for that. As for me, I'm gonna go bury my sorrows in writing a theology paper or something.

For goodness sake

Some people claim that the fact that there's evil in the world proves that God doesn't exist. However, it seems to me to be quite the opposite. The fact that there's any good in the world at all proves that He does exist! If there were no God then would you not expect the world to be evil, indeed even more evil then we see now? If it's merely survival of the fittest, the ends justify the means, every man for himself, then why aren't we all completely hedonistic to the fullest extent! The fact that this world isn't completely over taken to the utter extent by sin is only by the grace of God. If there is even one spec of goodness in the world it is contrary to our sinful nature and therefore only a gift of grace from God. Sorry atheists, what else you got?

Christmas Music

For those of you who, like me, are always looking for new Christmas music every year, I've got two albums you'll definitely want to check out. The first is Daniel Renstrom's new disc On The Incarnation. Dan's an upcoming artist from Raleigh. This is only his second release but when it came out it reached #7 on iTunes. The opening track "His Company" will be a fixture on my playlist for the next month and a half. His new spins on traditional songs are not just more of the same like you so often find, plus his version of "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" is one of the best I've heard. Mixed with a few originals, it's only 8 tracks long but definitely worth the buy.

Future of Forestry put out their Advent Christmas EP last year but I've been waiting in anticipation all year to break it back out again. It's only 5 tracks of old favorites, but for those needing a little rock twist to some familiar tunes this album is a treasure. From the melodic "O Holy Night" to the rhythmic "Little Drummer Boy," this creative rock band delivers a masterful mixture of holiday goodness. So if you didn't catch it last year, make sure this is part the soundtrack to your Christmas season. You won't regret it.

Quote of the Day

"As big as you are, the greatest gift God's given you is a wife who can't cook."

~Dr. Kelly during marital counseling to a 300 pound husband who would always go to his mom's house for meals.

Premature Evergreens

Christmas displays in October I suppose I can understand. The industry's trying to stretch the season as much as they can to squeeze out every last dollar they can. I even get Christmas music in November. Granted it's a bit early but you only get these songs for such a limited time every year. But Christmas trees . . . on November 9th?!? No, that's just unacceptable. They'll be dead before Thanksgiving! You gotta be kidding me.

Week Nine - vs. Miami Dolphins

This weeks photo gives props to the Offensive Line. Only nine sacks on the year for Brady is a great stat to boast. These guys have silently been doing their job, no matter who gets injured. So Miami has consistently been the burr under the saddle of the Patriots as the commentators said, but in the end the better team comes out on top. The second and third quarters were tough to watch as the Dolphins just marched their way down the field. A ten minute drive to open the half and take the lead was painful. But it's a 60 minutes game and the Patriots defense came through when it mattered. The passing offense is smoking! It's nice to see Brady with time and receivers finding holes and making great catches. Aside from the obvious, I've been quite pleased with many of the younger guys who've had to step it up this season. "Sea Bass" Vollmer's a stud on the line, Butler on the corner, Tate returning, they all did pretty well today. Last but not least, Stephen Gostkowski has to be the best kicker in the league. Not only did he nail 4 fieldgoals today, but he drilled an 85 yard kickoff out of the endzone and limited Ted Ginn Jr. to only a couple returns. All around a solid effort to be excited about. Next week we'll face our 6th undefeated team this season and this will by far be our toughest. But with Indy having a cake schedule to this point, I see the Pats bringing them back to earth next week.

Quote of the Day

"The more I looked at what Jesus had done on the cross the more He met my case exactly. I needed someone or something to stand between a righteous God and my sinful self: a God who must punish sins and blasphemies, and myself, who had wallowed in both to the neck. I needed an Almighty Saviour who should step in and take my sins away, and I found such a one in the New Testament."

~John Newton, author of the famous hymn Amazing Grace

Stuff Christians Like

If you haven't seen this blog yet, check it out. It has some great satire on the state of the Christian church in America. If you've grown up in church and don't at least smirk, then he's probably writing about you.

stuffchristianslike.net

Question

Do you suppose the law of increase ("To everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he thinks he has will be taken away.") contradicts the law of reversal ("the last will be first, and the first last.")? Why or why not?

Photo of the Day

What do you know, it's more than just dogs that sniff each others butts.

More facetime

Somebody from the Worldwide Zoo Database saw some of my Namibia photos and wanted to add them to their site. The website is still a work in progress but it hopes to list all major zoological sites across the globe. Again, it's no major accomplishment, but just a little fun exposure. You can see them here:

The Living Desert Snake Park in Swakopmund, and

The National Marine Aquarium of Namibia

Photo of the Day

Caught some turtles sunning on a log during my study break walk on Saturday.

Quote of the Day

"I have enough trouble with this keyboard right here. And I'm gonna use a blackberry?!"
~Grandpa, who just turned 81 two days ago