Non-Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving!

No, not Happy Turkey Day. The only happy turkeys are...well, you can't be a happy turkey. Either you're dead or you're still a turkey. Not a great choice. The point of the day is not to celebrate turkeys, it's to celebrate thanksgiving...you know, the giving of thanks.

And it's not just the giving of thanks, but giving thanks to our Creator, our Maker, the One who provides life and all the good things we enjoy.

Like turkey (and dressing and mashed potatoes and football and the Gators and - you get the idea).

To repeat myself, we don't celebrate turkeys, we kill them.

That would also make this a good day to kill the Turkey Spirit. That would be the attitude that doesn't give thanks, that takes things for granted, that complains at everything, that is awed by nothing.

That's the intro to this clip, which is perfect for Thanksgiving, and which I may use the next time I preach about complaining.



(Honestly, this has to be one of my favorite clips ever.)

Oh boy, oh boy!

Doesn't she have that look on her face?

Happy Birthday to my best friend, my partner, my {blush} lover, my wife...the Lovely Trudi celebrates the day the world was blessed with her.

And we celebrate, too.

Sci-Fi Tribute

I think you have to make up your own joke about this guy. Except it's not really him singing. It would be cooler (and slightly more disturbing) if it was. But it's actually a group called Moosebutter. Still, it's a pretty good video if you haven't seen it.

My Enemy...only in a football sense

As a Gator fan I have a unwritten contract to despise everything that has to do with FSU and Georgia. They are our rivals - okay, not Georgia so much, since we own them. And there's no way you can like your rival's coach.

That's easy with FSU. Yes, I know, I've heard it..."Not like Bobby Bowden? But he seems like such a nice, Christian man." I don't buy it. I don't like him.

And Georgia's coach? Well...rats. I can't not like him, which is really terrible from a football perspective. After all, not only is he the head coach at Georgia, but he used to be on the staff at FSU. Trouble is, he's genuine, a good coach, and really represents Christ well.

Was I mad at what he had his team do on the goal line last year, stomping and jumping around? No. It was a tactic which worked well...last year.

And since we throttled them last week, it's all good.

I say all that to explain why I'm posting this video of the Georgia coach and his family. Because it's good. And inspirational. I hope Georgia does well for the rest of the year.

What if Starbucks Marketed Like the Church

Funny and painfully true. The obvious answer is that most of us would never have heard of Starbucks if they operated the way the church does. (And, no, it's not a bad thing to operate your church with quality and forethought.)

"It will be a big deal." - Urban Meyer

I'm Tim and I approve this message.

Without further ado, my thoughts on the election and how I'll be voting a week from today...

President and Vice-President
There are 13 choices on the ballot. Make your own conclusions on that number. If I were going to vote for the person I would most like to see as President from the list, I'd choose Alan Keyes, who is running on behalf of the American Independent Party. However, with no chance to win, that would be a wasted vote.
I vote: John McCain and Sarah Palin.

District 14 Congress
Another case of wishing I could vote differently, but this is the best choice I have.
I vote: Connie Mack

Public Defender, 20th Judicial Circuit
Sole candidate.
I vote: Kathy Smith

State Representative, District 72
He seems to have done a good job in the last four years.
I vote: Paige Kreegel

Sheriff
I was one of 9% that didn't vote for Mike Scott in the Republican primary. Even though he would've received my vote anyway, he secured it by speaking the truth at Sarah Palin's Fort Myers' appearance.
I vote: Mike Scott

Property Appraiser
He's done a good job in a tough market.
I vote: Ken Wilkinson

County Commissioner, District 1
I haven't heard or seen enough from the other candidates to remove this incumbent...yet.
I vote: Bob Janes

County Commissioner, District 3
Ray Judah seems like a fairly nice guy. I don't know him. Les Cochran seems like a nice old guy, too. I don't know him either. Republican incumbents usually have an edge with me, but at a county level, party isn't as important, and Cochran is actually a Republican, too. Judah has been in office for a long, long time. So I like his experience. But such a long time in office means that future decisions will be impacted by old alliances, past choices, and wanting to defend things that you were part of.
I vote: Les Cochran

County Commissioner, District 5
I don't know him, but I like him.
I vote: Frank Mann

Lee Memorial Health System, District 1
You can vote for 2 out of 3 in this category. Anna Clark's whole reason for running seems to be a bad experience a relative had at Cape Hospital. Um...work that out with your lawyer, dear.
I vote: Stephen Brown and Marilyn Stout

Lee Memorial Health System, District 3
Again, we get to pick two. I'm sure these are important positions to the community, but... Lois Barrett is 84 and would seem to be past her time, but I'm not sure I like the fact that Jason Moon's father-in-law owns an Oncology practice. Seems conflicting.
I vote: Linda Brown and Lois Barrett

Lee Memorial Health System, District 5
Vilmar Ribeiro needs to finish working on his associate's degree.
I vote: Kerry Babb and James Green

Mosquito District, Area 1
"Another office that is very important in our county, but should this really be an elected position? Even the News-Press didn't offer an opinion on these races." That's what I originally wrote, then I found out that the Lee County independent taxing district for Mosquito Control is the largest of its kind in the entire United States! It has 87 full-time and 125 seasonal employees, and carries a budget of $25 million. Huh.

Larry Murphy is the incumbent and carries a good resume. James Opp's resume seems to consist of his dad having been the director of the district for 12 years.
I vote: Larry Murphy.

Mosquito District, Area 3
According to the Naples News, Mike Ellis knows "bugs inside out." I guess that's a good thing. And I know nothing about Tim Gardner. Sorry, Tim. You have a good name.
I vote: Mike Ellis.

2nd District Court of Appeal
Should Judge Whatley be retained in office? Sure, why not?
I vote: Yes.

Amendment 1
This is a housekeeping amendment, seemingly unnecessary in practice, but a good thing theory.
I vote: Yes.

Amendment 2
Also a housekeeping amendment, of sorts, seemingly unnecessary in theory, but a very thing in practice.
I vote: Yes.

Amendment 3
Seems to be a good thing that should be tied with other good things to make a comprehensive policy, but let's take what we can get.
I vote: Yes.

Amendment 4
There seem to be some positives for this, but do we have to mess with the Constitution to do it? Don't we elect legislators to do this kind of thing? This amendment would encourage land conservation, and further limit the amount of land that can be developed. Down the road I think this will make property even harder and more expensive to acquire by the average person.
I vote: No.

Amendment 6
Seems like a good idea, but, again - does it have to be a constitutional amendment?
I vote: Yes.

Amendment 8
Gives voters flexibility in what to do with tax money.
I vote: Yes.

County Charter Amendment 1
Makes the Supervisor of Elections position a non-partisan office. Good idea.
I vote: Yes.

County Charter Amendment 2
Allows for things to by-pass County Commissioners to be put on ballot.
I vote: Yes.

[Note: Yes, the title of this post IS the same as the title of our latest episode of the ChurchDramaPodcast. This post is specifically for my daughter, Shae, who gets to vote for the very first time this fall.]

You never know

Boating on Lake Weir, originally uploaded by RevMcGator.

That's a cliche that is used in many different ways, but ends up being true more often than not. "You never know."

It's true because we don't know the future. We have a perspective on what's happened in the past. We have a perception of what is happening around us at the present. We use both of those to help us predict what might happen in the future.

That's especially true when we think about people.

But you never know.

Things happen we didn't predict, and that can put a whole new set of circumstances in motion. And just when you think things are going to turn out one way...well, you never know.

"The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations and thwarts all their schemes. But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken." Psalms 33:10-11

He knows.