The View From Here

Just another quick fireplace update.  There will probably be several of these in the next week.  We put up the tile on the front of the fireplace this evening.  And yes, that is duct tape.  The two pieces in the top middle needed some support.  Nice, huh?  Anyway, the next step is grouting the tile and then we will be on to the mantle.  I am hoping to have the mantle done this week end.  That’s it for now.  Pretty isn’t it?  Let me know what you think.

Oh, and just for grins, here is a little doodle I did that will give you an idea of what it will look like when completed.  Yes, I used Crayons.

Brian

There have been too few of these updates on what is going on with our renovation projects.  That is a direct result of the speed at which these projects are going.  Very slow.  But there is progress nonetheless and we should be seeing the progress speed up.

As you can see from the picture above most of the white paint that covered our fireplace has been scrapped off and some tile has been laid around the base of it.  We will be putting tile up on the face of the fire place very soon and then comes the mantle and posts followed closely with the fire place insert.  At the earliest this project will be finished up around October 7th.  We have had quiet a few delays but things are going relatively smoothly again.  Yay!  I will have more updates soon.

Brian

As the government draws closer to finalizing plans to bail out (read prop up) the financial system there is no shortage of commentators talking about it.  I have already joined the fray but I will again briefly.  I have heard several people saying that, as conservatives, they think people should have to bear the responsibility for their actions.  I agree with this.  If banks have given out loans that were to risky, they should have to bear the consequence that comes with that risk (good or bad).  If people take out loans that allow them to live above their means they must also bear the consequences of those choices.  Maybe they will be more careful next time.  Happiness is not a right.  It will be pursued but it is not guaranteed.  If the government has allowed and encouraged these things to happen people should reconsider who they elect and what role government should play in these matters.

The same commentators who espoused personal responsibility, in the next breath said that they understood why this bailout must happen.  What they are really saying is that if the bailout does not happen then their way of life will have to change and they don’t want that.

I am of the opinion that when we bear responsibility for our actions, even if it means that we fall flat on our face for a time, we will rise a better person for it.  When we have to face something hard it makes us stronger.  If a child totals their first car, driving recklessly, and then their parents pay off the loan on that car and buy them a new one, what did that child learn?  If, instead, the child must save up money for the first car then he is less likely to be careless with it.  We take care of what we care for.  If we have no reason to care for it (because someone else will take care of it) then we will wreck it again and again.

I have to admit that I don’t want my life to change because of this.  We could have gotten a much larger house than we did.  We could have credit card debt.  We could live paycheck to paycheck and not save for the future.  But we have made choices not to do those things.  I am not a part of the problem as far as these things are concerned.  But if our country has to fall on its financial face in order for my kids and grandkids to have a more responsible country overall then so be it.   If we prop things up now the fall will be so much harder at a later time.

We are living during a brief time in history when a stable life is possible.  Change is the norm, not stability.  We can’t hold on to stable thinking that change will never come.  If we do, when change does come, it will be so much harder.

A bail out now means that our lives will continue as “normal” for the most part.  If we don’t bail out our financial system we will probably fall into some hard times but people will learn a valuable lesson.  I doubt the latter will happen.  Remember this, a bail out does not fix the hole in the ship.  The ship has to be fixed or else we will continue to find ourselves with pail in hand, tossing water overboard.

Brian

…with a bang!  I have to say that after season 2 I was a little skeptical that they would return to the things that made season 1 so good.  Let me first throw a warning out there.  There is some content of sexual nature.  This was present at the beginning of the first season as well but they got away from it.  Hopefully they will do the same with the third.

Like I said, the things from the first season that I enjoyed so much were back in full force.  They threw in some great twists.  The witty humor was back.  The action was better.  I am actually interested in the story.  All of these things added up to a great beginning to what I hope will be a great season.  Next up, The Office starts on the 25th!

Brian

Some major players in the US financial market (and the world financial market) are crumbling before our eyes.  We are facing government intervention on a massive scale.  Who is paying for this?  We, the American taxpayer are.  Too bad most of us are just like babies.  Our world is out of control!  We flail, we cry, we scream, and then we get a bottle shoved in our mouth and we shut up.  To bad that bottle is the mark of a major shift in the role that government plays in our lives.  As long as we can keep on watching our football (read the sport of your choice) and the next big movie doesn’t get derailed we will be fine.

So while we are in this brief period of wailing and gnashing of teeth, there are many fingers being pointed.  It is the President’s fault, it is Obama’s fault, it is McCains fault, it is the Left Wing, Right Wing, Corporate big shot’s fault.  I will be the first to say that there is enough fault to go around.  All of the above mentioned get some.  Why is that?  They are all a part of our economy and society.  Everyone participating has some fault in what is going on right now.  Including you and me.  We participated in the system that elected these people.  We put such a high value on “Me” that it is no wonder some guy at Lehmen’s was making $17,000 per hour.  Do you really think that we can be on lookout for number one yet expect others not to do the same?

Your finger should start by pointing at yourself.  How am I contributing to the problem?  What values do I want others to have that I don’t exhibit myself?  Government can’t fix anything.  Sure, they can prop things up for a small window of time and make us babies feel like our world is safe and normal again.  It is sad, but we live in a world tainted by sin and there is no way this world will behave like we think it should.

Without Christ, this world falls apart.  I praise the Lord that my hope is not built on a financial system run by fallible people but on a God who is perfect.  As frustrated as I get by the events that are unfolding I can’t get away from the thought that no matter what happens I stand on the solid rock of Jesus.  Because of this I have the option to act the way He prescribes that humanity should:  whatever we want to be done to us, we should do for others.

Before looking out on a predicament and assigned blame, first look at yourself and decide how you need to change.  As the Great Physician, Jesus knows just the medicine that this world needs.  The only way to get that is through Him.

Brian