SHARED IGNORANGE

Today was a bit of a sad day around the Evans' house. Karen, after working last night, arrived home about 8 this morning to find our neighbor's dog under my truck.

Now before I go on, it would do well for you to know some background. We've lived in this particular house in good ol' Albertville AL for nearly 5 years. Over that time, our neighbors have had a combined total of about 13 dogs. None of these dogs were kept in fences or pins, but instead were allowed to roam the neighborhood freely. At one point there were about 8 dogs between the 4 houses surrounding ours. They were quite a nuisance, dragging off shoes and other items we would carelessly leave in our own garage. Not to mention that apparently my yard is the perfect doggy bathroom. So for the most part, I was the grumpy old neighbor who would yell at the dogs "Git outta my yard ya stupid dogs!"

Well last summer the house beside us rented out to a new set of neighbors. Before long they got a dog...a little yapper...chihuahua that hates everybody and thinks he's a giant. Then a couple of months later they got another dog, a shitzu that in my book doesn't really count as a dog....more like a canine cat. Then they got ANOTHER dog, some little lab looking mutt. Once again I didn't really think much about them, other than I wish they wouldn't poop in my yard. But over the last couple of months, the little lab mutt would come over and visit. He was thin and looked under-fed and didn't seem to receive much attention from his owners. So I just started playing with him some and giving him a little scrub behind the ears. Over the last 2 months or so I actually grew to like the little guy. Karen even liked him! At least a couple of times a week I'd come home, eat dinner, and go out and play with him. I was in the process of teaching him how to fetch a tennis ball. I would get him out in the back yard and run around with him. He was my buddy! I even gave him a name (cause I didn't know his real one)....Oscar.

Back to the 13 neighborhood dogs. All but 2 of them have died from anti-freeze poisoning. The neighbors shitzu was the latest victim, poisoned about about a month ago. We don't exactly know who is doing it, but we are the only family who has lived here for all of the dogs death except for one, who lives a couple of houses down.

Well this morning Karen found Oscar (whose real name I found out was Alvin...I was close) under my truck looking very sick. She came in and got me, and at first glance I could just tell that he too had been poisoned. He was looking really bad. I didn't know what to do, so I came in and got him some water. By the time I came out he was limping back to his own yard. Karen went over to let the neighbors know but they didn't answer the door. Had he been mine I would have either rushed him to the vet or put an end to the suffering myself. But he wasn't. So I went to work, surprised at how sad I was over this little dog. When I returned home from work, my neighbor called me over and told me he had found Oscar (Alvin) and that he was going to have him put down. So tonight, I lost my little buddy.

I've always been a sucker for dogs. I just love how, no matter what, they are happy to see you. How they give you their undivided attention at a whistle. How they love to run and play. How, even if you have to scold them, they always seem to come back wagging their tale. It's something about their unconditional love and devotion that just gets me. They are the epitome of innocence. They are quick to forgive and forget and seem to take everyday as something to enjoy. They can really add to life ya know?!?!

Some of you probably think all of this is pretty silly....I mean after all it is just an ol' dog. He wasn't even my dog. I didn't feed him or anything. He was just a neighbor dog. But it makes me furious to think that someone would be so cruel to kill a dog that way. I am thankful that I got to play with him some. He brought a good bit of enjoyment to me, and I'll miss my little buddy Oscar.

Let's go ahead and acknowlege that my summer blogging has been less than acceptable. Now let's move on!

First, my wife has a blog you should now check out.

Now, on to what I am here to talk about. So we're having a baby boy right. And I've been thinking about all the things I'll get to do to with the little fella once he gets here in November. And I started thinking about how I will most likely sing to him, since that's kinda what I do....sing and all. And I got to thinking about how I will sing lullabys to him at night. And so I started practicing.

Rock-a-bye baby in the tree tops
When the wind blows the cradle will rock
When the bow breaks the cradle will fall
And down will come baby
Cradle and all

As I was singing it, I began to think about what it was I was singing. DOES ANYBODY ELSE SEE WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS SONG? Is it me or is this just wrong?

First of all, who put baby in the top of the tree? And for what purpose? I mean baby didn't climb up there himself. Someone had to think it was a good idea to put him up there.

Then, the wind begins to gust and no one thinks it is a good idea to get baby down? The trees are swaying, the storm is a-brewing, but let's leave little baby in the top of the 100 year old rotten oak tree and see what happens. And what happens? The bow breaks! Someone should've cut the tree down years ago because it was bound to give way under the pressure of the now-100 mph winds that are blowing, but instead of calling the tree service out to the house, we just decided instead to PUT THE BABY IN IT?!?!?!?

So the bow breaks, and the cradle falls.....the CRADLE HOLDING THE BABY?!?!?!? And all we say is "Down will come baby cradle and all"?!??!?! As though it is some sweet little tune to put baby to sleep? NO WAY!!

This is the reason baby's all across the world wake up every 2 hours screaming. They're not hungry! They had a dream that someone actually put then in the top of an old rotten oak tree just minutes before a terrible storm, producing straight-line winds, blew up and knocked them and their cradle to the ground. WHAT SICK PERSON WROTE THIS SONG?

So I've decided that I intend fully to sing my little boy to sleep many nights. But mark my words, I WILL NEVER SING ROCK-A-BYE-BABY!!!!!!!

So I've not been able to post lately, in part because of time constraints, and in parts because of mental constraints. Haven't had much to blog about, or can't find the time to complete a post. So, in the interest of keeping you the reader informed and satisfied, I am posting one here about...interests. Below are five things I am interested in at the current time in no particular order, followed by five things I am not interested at the current time in no particular order.

Things I am currently interested in:
1. Graduating - I'll do so in just one short week. Master's Degree here I come!!!

2. Paper Route - no I haven't picked up a part-time job. This is a band, a really good band, a band you should check out!

3. Amps and Guitars - So I've been saving for quite a while to get some new gear. Mine has been used pretty heavily in the last 10 years, and I'd like to get some stuff that sounds better, will last a little longer, and subsequently be a little more aesthetically pleasing. So I now have the money and am coming to the end of my research phase. Hope to make a purchase in the coming month or so.

4. Baby Stuff - So this is weird for me. I've never looked at baby bottles, onesies, strollers, cribs, or any of the like. Now, we kinda have to. It's been interesting, and I like looking with Karen. It's really up to her, but I am trying to educate and involve myself in the process. Really though I am mostly interested in our baby!

5.YooHoo - A childhood favorite of mine, now once again a favorite. I suppose that YooHoo is like chocolate water, but it is quite tasty! That and a twix bar and you've got yourself a nice little afternoon snack ( a gift that keeps on giving what with the extra pounds!)


Things I Am NOT Currently interested in:
1. Swine Flu, Economic Meltdown, Peanut Butter, Tomatoes, or any other item that the news wants to use to cause panic in my life.

2. Graduation - notice I am interested in graduating, but not in the actual procedure of graduation. I've sat through a few of these in my time, and let me tell you they are long and oft-times boring.

3. Bad Weather - I'm thankful for rain to a point. I mean we've been in a constant state of drought for the last 3 years. But in the first 6 days of May we've had 5 inches of rain. And all types of thunderstorms, tornadoes, earthquakes (nope, not kidding...central Alabama had a 3.5 earthquake a few weeks ago) hail, tidal waves, tsunamis, and plagues of locusts. It's all a bit much.

4. Litter Boxes - So Karen is pregnant right. And there is this nasty little possibility that if she were to change our cats litter box she might get some kind of toxiplasmosis nonsense that would be bad for her and even worse for the baby. So guess who gets to change Howard's litter box. That's right....and man....it is nasty. I'm pretty sure that whole toxiplasmawhatever is just a ploy for pregnant women not to have to change the litter box because it is gross!

5. Throwing Up - No I haven't thrown up though I have wanted to plenty of times when Karen is. It's been a pretty rough 1st Trimester, but we are at 12 weeks now, so hopefully moving on out of that stage.

So what are you interested in at the current time in no particular order? Or what are you not interested in at the cu---- you get the idea!

Below is an angering and inspiring story! Reading things like this makes me wish my life counted for more!! Below is the entire story:


"For 19 days in March and April, Walter Hoye was locked in a cell with 29 other prisoners at the Santa Rita jail near Oakland, Calif. There were times when he wished he could have stayed longer.

When the metal door first clanged shut behind him on March 20, Hoye, 52, decided the space was really more of a cage than a cell. A metal grid penning in prisoners. Fifteen bunks lining two walls. Two toilets and a urinal for all 30 men, and a shower that inmates had gradually transformed into a pornographic shrine.

As Hoye made his way to an empty bunk, a few prisoners, mostly black and Latino, dogged his path. "You smuggle in any drugs, man?" one of them asked.

"No," Hoye said quietly.

Then the veteran inmates left him alone, he told me, except for "one of the brothers who was kind enough to help me make up my bed."

A few minutes later, another man walked over to Hoye's bunk and jabbed his finger at a newspaper he was holding. "This you?" he said, eyeing Hoye skeptically.

Hoye peered at the Oakland Tribune headline: "Anti-abortion pastor chooses jail."

"Yeah, that's me," he said.

In the next moment, the inmate was striding up and down the length of the cell, announcing, "Hey, he don't have to be here! He turned down probation! He doing straight time for what he believed in!"

It was true: On Feb. 19, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Stuart Hing sentenced Walter Hoye, a Missionary Baptist minister, to 30 days in jail after Hoye refused a plea deal that included three years' probation, a small fine, and an order that he stay at least 100 yards away from Family Planning Specialists, an Oakland abortion clinic.

Passionate about the sky-high abortion rate among African-Americans, Hoye began offering men and women assistance at the clinic in 2006. About one in three Oakland residents is black, compared with a statewide African-American population of 6 percent. And though blacks make up only 12 percent of the U.S. population, they account for one-third of all abortions performed in the United States. More than three in 10 black women abort their unborn children.

According to the 2006 census, deaths now exceed live births among African-Americans. "We're no longer replacing ourselves," Hoye said. "So we're not using terms like holocaust and genocide just to elicit a response. It's the truth."

In response, once a week Hoye stood quietly outside Family Planning Specialists with a sign that said, "Jesus loves you and your baby. Let us help." When people approached the clinic, Hoye would ask their permission to speak with them about abortion alternatives; he also offered them pamphlets describing available help.

In 2007, pro-abortion clinic "escorts" began to show up in groups, surrounding Hoye and impeding his movement. They blocked his sign with sheets of blank cardboard and shouted down his low-key offers of help. When that didn't scare Hoye off, clinic managers lobbied the Oakland city council and in December 2007, the council instituted a "bubble-zone" ordinance applicable within a 100-foot radius of any Oakland abortion clinic. The law made it a crime to "approach within eight feet of any person seeking to enter" a "reproductive health care facility" in order to offer literature, display a sign, or engage in "oral protest, education, or counseling."

"This law is horribly unconstitutional," Hoye said. "It allows abortion clinics to decide which U.S. citizens are allowed to retain their constitutional right to free speech."

Represented by Life Legal Defense Fund (LLDF), Hoye challenged the ordinance in court. The case is still pending, but in May 2008, Oakland public attorneys acting in cooperation with clinic managers charged Hoye with "unlawful approaches" to women, and "force, threat of force, or physical obstruction."

What prosecutors did not know was that LLDF attorneys possessed four hours of uncut videotape documenting Hoye's activities outside the clinic on the dates in question. At trial in January 2009, the tapes impeached the testimony of clinic director Jackie Barbic, who claimed that Hoye repeatedly broke the 8-foot rule and that she and a patient had to put up their hands to fend him off. Instead, the tapes showed Hoye standing still as Barbic approached him; then they showed Hoye walking away. No incident shown on the tape matched Barbic's testimony, and even clinic escorts testified that Hoye was always cordial and never obstructed anyone's path or used threats or force.

Inexplicably, the jury still found Hoye guilty. At sentencing, the prosecutor recommended the probation and the clinic stay-away order—or two years in jail. When Hoye refused the stay-away order, Judge Hing appeared "surprised," Hoye said. "The judge was essentially asking me to stop trying to help men and women outside an abortion clinic, and I just would not voluntarily give up my First Amendment rights."

In February, Hing levied a sentence of 30 days and Hoye reported to the Santa Rita jail a month later. After the newspaper-reading inmate touted the Tribune article to the other prisoners—many of them inner-city drug dealers whose highest aspiration was to stay out of prison, they clamored to know why a man would choose jail over freedom. From that moment on, Hoye found himself in constant demand.

"I would be holding court with about 30 guys, explaining why I did what I did," he said. "I explained what an abortion actually does, that it takes an innocent human life. We held prayer vigils, we had Bible studies. I must have counseled and mentored guys all day and all night. It got to the point where we started talking seriously about Christ."

Most of the men in the cage at first mouthed pro-choice slogans, Hoye said. "But when I forced them to complete the sentence, 'I believe that a woman has a right to choose to kill an innocent life,' they couldn't do it."

One morning at about 2:30 a.m., a good-looking young man named Terrell approached Hoye's bunk and asked what actually goes on during an abortion. Using his fingers to simulate a woman's legs spreading, Hoye showed Terrell how the abortionist inserts a vacuum aspirator and sucks out the developing child.

Terrell, 18, told Hoye he had gotten his girlfriend pregnant and that she had aborted. "She made the decision," he said. "It was her choice."

"Yes, I know that, but what did you do?" Hoye replied. "Did you offer to marry her?"

Terrell shook his head. "No, I didn't."

"Did you offer to help her raise the child?"

"No, I didn't."

"Did you tell her that you love her and that you were going to go the distance with her as a man should, even if she decided to give the child up for adoption?"

"No, no, I didn't," Terrell said, his eyes filling with tears. "I never knew. No one ever told me what an abortion is. No one ever made it plain."

When Terrell understood that he had, "perhaps because of his own lack of participation, been complicit in the murder of his own child, it really broke him," Hoye said.

Before Terrell went back to his own bunk that night, Hoye prayed with him. "I told him God could forgive him, that what he'd done wasn't an unforgivable sin."

But the conversation didn't end then. Terrell continued to visit with Hoye. "He began to understand that men have a responsibility to women, and vowed that, for him, an abortion would never happen again. He came to me a young man in jail for dealing drugs, trying to make some money and live the large life. I began to see him grow up."

Released from jail on April 7, Hoye rejoined his wife, Lori, in their Oakland home. Today, he is not sorry for his choice. "I've been a jail chaplain in jail before, and even had the privilege of being a guest preacher at San Quentin. Being an inmate is completely different. I was actually one of them and it gave me a different kind of credibility. I'm sure my adversary meant my incarceration for evil, but God used it for good.""

I am currently (as in right this very moment) sitting in what will be one of the last three seminary classes I am required to take before I graduate! While I am extremely grateful for the last 4 and 1/2 years of being able to study, learn, and grow in knowledge of the bible and in the grace of Jesus, I am more than ready to be done. I take this education seriously...but I'd also seriously like to have a break from taking notes, writing papers, and especially doing "group" work.

Well it is the later that I want to mention in today's post. The class I am taking is a week long workshop, in which I must participate in a group presentation. I'd almost rather give blood than do group work. So in order to make it more bearable, I have tried to infuse some fun and entertainment into my group presentation. One thing seminary students are not short on is seriousness, so I like to try and bring the humor back....I think it keeps us from getting to high and lofty for our own good (I say as the other students around me frown and shake their heads because I am blogging in class).

So for our group presentation, we are defending small groups as the best entry point into the church (don't ask why). We were allowed creative freedom in the presentation, so our group decided to do a mock-Jeopardy! game. Since we only have a limited amount of time to present, our game needed to begin mid-game, with only one category left untouched. That category is, of course, Small Groups. However, for our props sake we needed some already-completed categories. That's where I become really valuable in a group. Truth be told, I probably am not the best at presentation, not the smartest in the group, not the most compelling arguer, or any of that. But I can think of things that at least I find funny, and put them in the presentation with the hope that others will get a little laugh out of the deal.

In order for this to really move you, it will be helpful to imagine the actual game of Jeopardy!, think of the types of questions that will go with the category, imagine Alex Trebek asking them, and then throw in a little Will Ferrell doing Alex Trebek against an indignant Sean Connery and Burt Reynolds. So here are some of the categories I am thinking about using on our Jeopardy! game board. The categories are:

1. Tongues

2. Multi-syllabic Biblical Names

3. Pastor or Cult-Leader

4. Raising Cain

5. Bible Names That End in -iah

6. Da Nile

7. Zerubbabel or Nebuchadnezzar

8. A Stone's Throw

9. Judas

10. Who's The Heretic

11. Goats of Many Colors

12. Name That Mount

That's just a few off the top of my head. Of course I can only pick my favorite 5. Your turn, what are some good biblical Jeopardy! categories?

For those of you who are still checking to see if I blog, this one is for you. I have not altogether fallen off of the face of the earth. Nor have I decided to quit blogging. In fact, I have several half-done blogs saved as drafts. But I haven't had the time or will to finish many of them due to several different factors.

I would love to give more explanation, and intend to fully, just not right now. To tide you over, I'd like to give you just a few things to ponder.

1) Have you been watching American Idol? Is it me or does Paula channel Johnny Depp channeling Jack Sparrow when she talks or what?

2) I have found that one of the most exciting feelings in my day is when I swipe my debit card and the little swipping machine says "approved"! It is nice to be approved of isn't it?

3)I'm pretty sure Howard, our cat, is a socialist! Does she work? NO! Does she contribute? NO? Does she whine and complain and cry all the time? YES! And she expects her bowl to be full every day in spite of the fact that she doesn't help in any way to help earn that food!

4)Karen and I went to Nashville this past week-end for a mini-vacation. I've said it before, but there is no one I'd rather hang out with than her! And there is no better town than Nashville. We went to a Hockey game, which was super fun (Go Predators!), walked around downtown, ate some really good food, and left a night earlier than we planned.

5)I've recently been listening to Mark Driscol of Mars Hill Church in Seatle. He is a bit of a controversial fellow in that he is a bit brash, talks about how men need to reclaim their manhood, and has been known to let a curse word (or two) slip (though not from the pulpit). But man he is theologically solid, in that everything he talks about ends up to be about Jesus. And really, everything boils down to Jesus anyway right?

6)Our pastor at The Church at Lake Guntersville is leaving to plant a church in Anniston, AL. This is a unique time for our church, and for me as a staff member. Honestly, I am excited for his family and for their opportunity to expand their ministry, and I really believe God has a plan for them and for CALG....but man I am not really looking forward to the process. It is just kinda tough to think of things changing and of the work that will have to go into finding a new pastor and the work of maintaining a church without a "lead" pastor. Good thing God is faithful right?!?!

7) I am playing at Ingleside's Paradigm Weekdend (think Disciple Now) next weekend! Many of you know this is where I basically grew up in ministry through my college years, so I am really excited to go back! Should be lots of fun, plus we get to see our family which is always a plus.

Ok, so that is all for now. Just a random update to hopefully keep you coming back for more. I have several good things in the hopper I hope to post soon, so check back agains sometime!

Grace and peace to you all!

I've officially done it. I have made every muscle in my body sore, all at one time. Muscles that haven't been used in a long time, muscles that shouldn't be used. Muscles that I didn't know I had, and much like an appendix (has anyone ever figured out what purpose that organ ever served?), wish I didn't have!

That's right, I'm back on the workout kick. It's not really a new year's resolution, it's just something I resolved to do, and it just happens to be the beginning of a new year. Actually, what precipitated this commitment was the fact that Santa Karen brought me some dumbbells for Christmas. I feel that if I get an item for Christmas that I actually asked for, I should probably use said item. So you see it's really just courtesy that I am working out. That and the fact that I have slowly put on about 15 pounds in the last 2-3 years, inching me closer and closer to the dreaded 200 lb. mark and you get one swift kick in the pants to get on this exercise....well....kick.

So what's the plan. Well I eat a bunch of food that I don't like, do a bunch of exercises that could probably be well used at Gitmo for torchering terrorists, eat "snacks" that would cause even a garbage-pillaging raccoon to turn up his nose, all for 6 of 7 days a week for the next 12 weeks. Seriously though, it really isn't that bad of a diet plan. I still can eat meat, vegetables, fruit, and carbohydrates. In fact, I can now eat 6 meals a day! Of course, the portions are smaller and I have to be a bit more selective in what I eat. But it's not a bad plan. The worst right now is drinking water almost non-stop. I already have a pea sized bladder (get it...pea...pee....HA!) and drowning it in at least 10 glasses of water a day puts it into overtime. I probably go at least 5 times an hour.

The plan is called Body For Life. I did it once before back when I was in college. It involves 3 days of weight training alternated with 3 days of cardio exercises, eating right with high values of protein and the aforementioned water, with one cheat day where I can reward myself with things like chocolate cake, Oreo cookies, fried chicken, ice cream, fried ice cream, a large coke, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate milkshakes, chocolate candy bars and chocolate covered chocolate. Not that I'm looking forward to cheat day or anything.

All-in-all I do like the discipline of the eating right and exercising. I like the thought that I could see some body transformation in the coming weeks. I'm not saying I'm going to be buff or anything....but then again I'm not saying I'm NOT going to be a healthy,lean, muscular, hunk, man-beast, envy of the entire 25-30 male age bracket either. We'll just see how it goes. However, right now, I've gotta go take 4 Advil and soak in some Epsom salt for an hour. Hey, looking this good has it's price!

So what New Year's resolution's did you make this year?