I wear plaid. I'm a blogger.

The Supreme Court is currently ruling on whether it is right to allow same-sex relationships the right to apply for marriage licenses that are recognized by the State. There is much hoopla surrounding this event but I am more and more and more convinced that we are missing the point. As a Christian, I have no alternative interpretation of the Bible to land on than to acknowledge that homosexuality is wrong. This is made pretty clear in both the Old and New Testaments. As a Christian, I also believe that every human was designed to have equal rights (recognizing that sometimes rights are stripped away based on poor behavior--i.e. prison) and that no human should be treated unequally from another. As an American, I believe that gay rights should totally be a thing; that health care and hospital rights and birth certificates and bank accounts can all be shared with anyone you choose to claim as your beloved--particularly if that beloved is a fully capable adult whose feelings are mu...

As I write this, the temperature outside is a balmy 62 degrees. Somewhere between comfortable weather in a jacket and short sleeves. Definitely great weather for being outside. In fact, I don't even dread the idea of cutting grass, vacuuming out the car, or hauling firewood around the yard. Last night was our first church softball game of the year and the weather was just about perfect. As the weather continues to be consistently nice, I hope to spend more time outside taking walks with the family, going on adventures with friends, and playing various sports throughout the summer. I have been training for the Flying Pig marathon over the winter and generally speaking, have not looked forward to any of the runs. While I am supposed to be training 4-6 days a week, I usually was only making it outside for 2 or 3 runs a week. These past couple weeks however, I have found myself looking forward to heading outside for my runs because the weather is so nice. So today, even though I ha...

The Cincinnati Reds just celebrated their 134th opening day game . A city-wide celebration preempted the event with the build up and anticipation leading to the first pitch by right-hander Johnny Cueto. It was a close game in which the Reds pulled ahead with a Todd Frazier 3-run homer to put the Reds ahead 5-2 and that would be the final score after Aroldis Chapman came in to blow down the Pirates in the top of the ninth, striking out 2 of the 3 batters he faced. I had the privilege of attending Opening Day two years ago when the Reds played the Angels. Nearly every moment in the ballpark was filled with 100+db levels as the crowd got worked up about the slightest offensive rally. Yes, nothing beats the hype and buzz of opening day. It's a new year. There are no complaints by fans on the Banana phone. There are no injuries to players. No missed opportunities. Just lots of hope and prospect for the coming year, as if the outcome of this game would determine the fate of the rest...

Experience a musical rendition of how the life of John was changed after encountering Jesus for 3 years. See how a Son of Thunder became the Apostle of Love. Come to this totally free event at  Parkside Christian Church  on April 2nd at 6:30 p to see and hear  Daniel Read  and  Ken E. Read  present "Changed: The Musical" 6:30pm  in the Worship Center  Parkside Christian Church 6986 Salem Rd. Cin., OH 45230

A few months before the twins were born I was confronted by a young couple who wandered into the church looking for some financial assistance. Since I didn't have any money on me at the time, I gave them my number and suggested that they come by my house the next day and I could put them to work helping me paint the shed in my backyard and I would pay them for their time--a win-win. I was legitimately surprised to hear the phone ring the next morning and the voice on the other end report that they were walking this way from the place they were staying at, Picadilly, about 8 miles away. They arrived around lunch time, so Katie and I fed them some PB&J sandwiches before putting them to work. We made great time and transformed a rather shabby looking yellow shed into a nice little red barn in my backyard. While we were painting together, I was quizzing the young couple about their lives: their hobbies, previous jobs, how they ended up in the homeless bind they were in, etc. ...

As I was listening to the radio on my way home today I heard the song "God's Not Dead (Roaring Like a Lion)" by the Newsboys. The song reminded me of two things. The first was that I recently heard that one of the founders of the Newsboys has come out and said that he is an atheist . He had left the band in 1990 and professed atheism in 2007, so this is not flashy news by any means, but still... The second was the movie "God's Not Dead", which featured this song at the end of the film, along with the band backstage. I was reminded of some of the atheist friends I have who disbelieve that God is real or could be real. And I realized that I, too, feel like God is not real sometimes. In fact, usually I feel  this way. It is the rare instances in which I feel  like God is real, that He is present, or that He is speaking to me. But I don't think that this is because God isn't real, that He isn't present, or that He isn't speaking to me. ...

An ode to the horrendous idea of buying my Dodge Grand Caravan. It was about this time last year that I gratefully parted ways with my '96 Dodge Grand Caravan. But Daniel, you may ask, how did you come to buy a minivan? I didn't know you ever had one to begin with! Well, faithful reader, that is because it all happened so quickly. The month was November and Katie and I had just learned that we were pregnant again. I knew the MooMobile wouldn't last forever, nor would it be practical upon the introduction of a 4th member of the family (since it only seated 3). What would be a good replacement vehicle for me to both enable me to carry cargo and also a bigger family? Why, a minivan of course! I set about trolling Craigslist and Ebay looking for price ranges and any good bargain cars out there. It definitely seemed like a minivan would be the cost efficient route, as opposed to an SUV so I kept my eyes peeled for minivan deals. That's when I stumbled across fasttrack...