I wear plaid. I'm a blogger.

Since running the Flying Pig marathon last year, I have opted to change my workout regimen from legs and heart to abs and arms. This basically equates to doing push-ups and sit-ups 2-3 days a week until I can't do anymore. It started out as 3 sets of 15 push-ups, sit-ups, leg lifts, and curls. After a month, I was able to do 3 sets of 20. Eventually, 3 sets of 25. Then 4 sets of 20, 3 sets of 30, and now 4 sets of 25. Not rapid progress, but progress nonetheless. And I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with myself. 100 push-ups before eating breakfast feels like a pretty decent feat. And to top it all, it takes way  less time than training for a marathon did. But then.... ...It wasn't designed as a jab. In fact, it really was and is a harmless question. Katie made the comment, "You have been doing a lot of push-ups this past year--have you noticed any change?" Which could be interpreted as: Even though you spend a couple mornings working out for ten minutes,...

Kids love to ask why. A hypothetical, yet very typical conversation with my 3 year old might go something like this: "Did the Reds win?" No, they lost. "Why?" Because they didn't play as well as the other team. "Why?" Because we don't have the same level of talent on our roster. "Why?" Because the scouts didn't do a good job finding better talent. "Why?" Because our organization is....well...look, just because! Ultimately the conversation ends when I play the trump card of "just because," which either constitutes me not being able to answer the impossible, or irritation that I keep having to answer the same question. The cyclical "why" question we attribute to childlike behaviors. Eventually we grow out of the "why" stage and we move into an exploring stage where we discover "why" on our own. Ultimately we enter into a stage of complete enlightenment (sarcasm implied) an...

Cincinnati sports fans have grown restless. With the most recent playoff loss by the Bengals (and a failure to even make the playoffs by the Reds) many fans have declared the end of their allegiance to Cincinnati sports. " I just can't handle the emotional roller coaster ... I've been let down too many times...I'm just not ready to root for them again ," have all been statements I've heard the past couple weeks. And yet..... The Cincinnati Reds have made it to the first round of playoffs 3 of the last 6 years. The Cincinnati Bengals have been a playoff team for the past 5 years in a row. What more do you want Cincinnati!? You have competitive teams who are among the best in America (yes, by default, if you can make it to the playoffs at all, you are one of the best teams). And yet you gripe and complain that we can't win playoff games!? I would much rather make it to the playoffs and lose than not make it at all--that way we at least have hop...

The Cincinnati Bengals are about to make their 5th straight playoff appearance on Saturday night. Many are the naysayers, who claim that the Bengals can't win a playoff game (which, thus far, has been true). But for every doubter there are 10 true fans, eager to watch the Bengals play a post-season game against their worst rival: The Steelers. Winner takes all, loser goes home. The Bengals are ranked with the #3 seed after losing to the Broncos in week 16--a head-to-head match-up that determined who would get a first-round bye in the playoffs. Realistically speaking, the game against the Broncos held the exact same importance to the Bengals as this game in week 18. Both games are markers as to whether the Bengals will make it to the second round of the playoffs or whether they wrap up their season after the first round of playoff games again. And yet there is some kind of magic in the air about this weekend's game that week 16 didn't have; an excitement that can only ...

Every time Facebook makes a significant change to its layout and look, people complain and swear up and down that the old way was better. For that matter, any website that gets a face lift and a couple new buttons and features to click on will likely come with a tab at the top that says something akin to "Not ready for the new look? Click here to view the old site." Or let's say you break your phone and go to the store to get a new one. Now you have to learn a whole new interface and perhaps even operating system. Your favorite sports team trades a beloved player and now you have to learn the name, stats, and personality of a new third baseman. Your company changes from paperwork forms to web-based forms that auto-complete and require an internet connection. Your church integrates a new digital mixer in the sound booth and now you have to learn what all the fancy knobs and lights do. So I suppose what I'm saying here is this: I don't like change. ...

Sometimes coincidence is just not a comprehensive enough word. The date was November 30th and it was time to start planning worship sets for the month of December. As a worship planner it is a little difficult to not just use "Hark the Herald," "Joy to the World," and "O Come All Ye Faithful" every week. They're great songs, upbeat, and in 4/4 so you can add a drum backing to them or mash them up with another song pretty easily. But not wanting to sing those same songs 4 weeks in a row, I was spacing them out evenly with some other Christmas tunes and worship songs. I had this great idea to take "O Come All Ye Faithful" and combine it with " Come As You Are ". The idea of beckoning both the faithful and unfaithful to come and adore Him seemed like a great concept. Come out of bondage from wherever you've been and come all ye joyful and triumphant--it was a song mashup destined to communicate to everyone in attendance that S...

 “Fun authenticates forgiveness.” While I have always been drawn to comedy I had never considered the value of fun and humor until I heard this phrase at the Orange Tour in Indianapolis last weekend. The speaker was Reggie Joiner and he was saying that one of the most theologically profound things that we can teach our youth and adults both, is to have fun together. “Now Daniel,” you may interject, “having fun is not a theologically significant thing at all.” But I would insert that you are wrong. As Reggie had to clarify, you can’t have fun with someone you hate; you can’t have fun with someone you are still angry with for enforcing punishment; indeed, you can’t have fun with someone you don’t even enjoy. When  I discipline Isaiah there is a moment where he will not be pleased with me very much, but he needs to know that I have forgiven him for the offense and that we are on good terms again, even though I had to punish him. How do I reassure him that we are on good terms? ...