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Thought for the Day – Ungrateful

Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Parenting / Family, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged , , on December 2, 2015| Leave a Comment »

As the Thanksgiving holiday approached my heart was burdened to consider those who have no family to gather with; but as we emerged from the weekend, I was even more saddened by the number of those who have no appreciation for the families that they have.

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10 of Our Family’s Favorite Christmas Movies/Shows

Posted in Christmas, Commentaries, Entertainment/Music/Sports, Lists, Opinions, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 30, 2015| Leave a Comment »

It’s funny what people consider to be “classic”.  I suppose a lot of it comes down to what you grew up with.  For instance, I grew up watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, so it has always been a part of my holiday tradition.  Some of the shows on this list are “favorites”, but don’t necessarily qualify as “classics”, while there are some classics that didn’t make the list of favorites.  An example of this would be “It’s a Wonderful Life”.  Because, while I love the message of that movie, and I think that Jimmy Stewart’s performance is outstanding, watching George Bailey’s life unravel on an annual basis is just too painful for me.  The productions included below are some of the shows that have become a part of our annual Christmas tradition. 

 

  1. Miracle on 34th Street (1947 movie, starring Edmund Gwenn): This heartwarming classic (featuring Maureen O’Hara and Natalie Wood) is ostensibly about whether to believe in Santa Claus; but it is the contrasts between the kind and generous Kris (Gwenn), and the cynical commercialism of a couple of large New York City department stores (Macy’s & Gimbels), and the oppressive pragmatism of Doris (O’Hara) and the spirited idealism of her neighbor Fred, that convey a more timeless, and transcendent, message.  Favorite scene: When Susan finds Kris’ cane at her dream house.

 

  1. White Christmas (1954 film, starring Bing Crosby): Though this big budgeted Hollywood musical is only loosely tied to Christmas, the opening scenes with soldiers on the battlefront taking a break for a little yuletide celebration, the closing scene with snow coming down around a picturesque Vermont Inn, and the inclusion of what is arguably the most successful Christmas song of all-time, make it an indelible part of the holiday season.  Favorite scenes: The surprise party for the General, and the eventual arrival of snow at the inn.

 

  1. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965 animated television special): Though the production value of this special is absolutely primitive by today’s standards, it retains a sweet innocence that is sadly missing from almost anything produced in the last 25 years.  Charlie is a type of every-man, who generally plays the role of underdog, but who aspires to do great things, and who searches for meaning within life’s mundane events.  The inclusion of a classic soundtrack, provided by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, has been a significant part of the show’s continued success.  Favorite scene: Linus’ speech on what Christmas is all about.

 

  1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966 television special, featuring Boris Karloff): Based on a book by Dr. Seuss, this story touches on themes (e.g. repentance and redemption) similar to those found within the classic Dickens story, “A Christmas Carol”.  The narration by horror film star, Boris Karloff, and the memorable song, “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch” only add to the charm.  Favorite scene:  When the Grinch hears the Whos down in Whoville singing their joyous song.

 

  1. Scrooge (1970 musical, starring Albert Finney): Despite some very poor special effects (e.g. Scrooge flying over London), a bizarre performance by Sir Alec Guinness as Jacob Marley, and a forgettable scene where Scrooge descends into hell, this is still my favorite adaption of Charles Dicken’s classic tale.  Albert Finney is superb throughout, and the musical score manages to enhance the story.  Favorite scene – When Scrooge unwittingly comes upon his own funeral procession and thinks that the town is having a parade in his honor.

 

  1. The Homecoming (1971 movie, starring Patricia Neal): This movie became the de facto pilot for the long running television series, “The Waltons”.  It beautifully captures both the virtues and the struggles of the depression/war era it portrays.  It is both subtle and rich.  Favorite scenes – John Boy’s narration, as he recollects the events of his life on Walton’s mountain.

 

  1. Silent Night (2002 Hallmark TV movie, starring Linda Hamilton): This made for TV movie portrays a German woman (Hamilton) who takes her young son to a cabin in the woods to escape the advancing armies.  On the night of Christmas Eve, both American and German soldiers come to take refuge there, as they all wind up spending a tense night together.  Each of their stories unfolds throughout the evening, and in the light of Christmas day, they emerge from this experience changed.  Favorite scene – When the young German soldier (Peter) sings a Christmas carol for them, and they realize that he is only fourteen years old.

 

  1. The Polar Express (2004 animated movie, featuring Tom Hanks):  Like Miracle on 34th Street, this beautifully animated feature would seem to be about believing in Santa Claus; but when the kids in the film come face to face with the “Big Guy”, he reminds them that he is only a symbol of the true spirit of Christmas.  While the movie does take an occasional side trip to show off the special effects facilitated by the computer animation technology, it manages to keep the characters at the center of the story.  Along with some stunning visuals, the musical score by Alan Silvestri, and songs featuring the likes of Josh Groban, are top notch.  Favorite scene – The duet sung by the heroic young girl and the poor boy (Billy).

 

  1. Christmas in Canaan (2009 Hallmark TV movie, starring Billy Ray Cyrus): While this TV movie tackles broader themes (e.g. race relations, poverty, stereotypes, loyalty), it also maintains a strong enough connection to Christmas to be considered a holiday movie.  Favorite scene – When the impoverished family opens their presents, which are pictures from the catalog of what their father wanted to buy for them.   

 

  1. A Christmas Carol (2009 animated feature, starring Jim Carrey): There is a lot to like about this Robert Zemeckis film.  The computer animation is beautiful, and it solves the problems that most productions have with realistically portraying the supernatural elements of the story.  Carrey does an admirable job voicing Scrooge, and demonstrates his range by voicing several other characters as well.  Overall, the story sticks pretty close to Dickens original material.  Favorite scene – When an unseen Scrooge comes face to face (i.e. within inches) with a grieving Bob Cratchit.  As he stares deeply into his tear filled eyes, you can almost feel Scrooge’s heart break.  .

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10 Holiday Movies/Shows that I Can Live Without

Posted in Christmas, Commentaries, Entertainment/Music/Sports, Lists, Opinions, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 30, 2015| 1 Comment »

One of the things I have appreciated about the Christmas season has been the opportunity to take a break from the relentless, cynical, rude, and sexualized rhetoric that seems to rule our everyday entertainment. Unfortunately, within the last couple of decades, those things have found their way into the seasons entertainment offerings. Many of which are listed below.

 

1. The Christmas Story (1983 movie, starring Peter Billingsley): Though Peter Billingsley is utterly charming throughout this movie, the rest of the cast, and the story, make it hard to watch.

 

2. Scrooged (1988 movie, starring Bill Murray): Little more than Bill Murray being obnoxious and trashing a classic story.

 

3. Die Hard (1988 movie, starring Bruce Willis): I actually enjoyed this movie, but the fact that the terrorists take over the building during the company Christmas party doesn’t really qualify it as a Christmas movie.

 

4. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989 movie, starring Chevy Chase): If you like National Lampoon, Chevy Chase, and/or the other “Vacation” movies, you probably consider this a classic. But for someone like me, it’s everything I dislike in a comedy, wrapped in Christmas lights.

 

5. Home Alone (1990 movie, starring Macaulay Culkin): Though I’m not a fan of slap stick comedy, my main contention with this film is that it isn’t a Christmas movie at all. Christmas is just a plot element, and not a substantive part of the story.

 

6. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993 animated feature from Tim Burton): Like all Tim Burton creations, this is a fascinating film to watch, but it’s eccentricities overwhelm any genuine sense of connection to Christmas.

 

7. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 movie, featuring Jim Carrey): Jim Carrey goes way over the top in this overly long adaption of a beloved story. It’s painful to watch.

 

8. Elf (2003 movie, starring Will Ferrell): This is as close as Will Ferrell ever came to playing a role I could watch, but in the end it was just too ridiculous to be heartwarming.

 

9. Bad Santa (2003 movie, starring Billy Bob Thornton): Bad Santa = Bad Movie. The end.

 

10. Fred Claus (2007 movie, starring Vince Vaughn): This movie aspires to be something that it never quite achieves. All the rude, slap stick, Vince Vaughn mugging, buries whatever mild sentiment they may have been shooting for.

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Thought for the Day – Refuge

Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged , , on November 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »

A safe place to recover one’s strength, and/or to regain one’s perspective, and/or to make a plan, would rightfully be considered a “refuge”.  A place to avoid one’s problems and/or responsibilities, would more accurately be referred to as a “hideout”.  In athletic terms, it is the difference between a timeout and a forfeit.

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Thought for the Day – The Best of Both Worlds

Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes on November 16, 2015| Leave a Comment »

I’ve heard it said that the person who tries to make the best of both worlds generally makes nothing of either of them; and I have found this to be true. At some point, a man has to take a stand for something, and then be strong enough to walk through the implications of that commitment.

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Veteran’s Day Speech

Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Parenting / Family, Social / Political, tagged , , , , , on November 10, 2015| 1 Comment »

My 16 year old son is involved in the Corps of Cadets program at his high school, which is like a Junior ROTC program.  And he was picked to give a speech at the school’s annual Veteran’s Day assembly.  These are the words he’s chosen to say.

 

Veteran’s Day Speech

By Patrick Corbin

 

I’d personally like to welcome everyone to today’s Veterans Day program.  It’s a huge honor for me to represent our school, and the Corps. of Cadets, on this special occasion.  We are especially grateful for today’s honored guests, the men and women of our armed forces.  It is through their valor, and sacrifice, that we are able to gather here today.

 

I come from a family with a tradition of service to their country.  My Grandfather (Tom) was on active duty in the U.S. Air Force for 26 years.  His brother (Jim) was on active duty in the U.S. Marines for over 27 years.  Both were Vietnam War veterans.  Then my father and his brother joined the U.S. Navy together after high school.  My Dad spent 8 years on submarines, 4 years with the Seabees, and was a Persian Gulf War veteran.  My Uncle Kevin served for 6 years, and was on the aircraft carrier the USS Enterprise.  My cousin Ben was an Army Ranger who served in Afghanistan, and my cousin Nick was a Guardsman who served in Iraq.  I am proud to be a part of a family who believes in sacrificing for the good of others.  I think that we all should serve our families, our neighbors, and our country.  We have been blessed because all of our family members have returned home, but I think that we should give special honor to all of the families whose loved ones didn’t make it back.  We often make the rich and famous out to be heroes, but these veterans are the real heroes.  One day, I hope I can be a part of this family tradition by serving my country.

 

Today, I’ve been asked to give a brief history on the origins of Veteran’s Day.  The recognition of this day dates back to the end of World War I, when the “armistice” was signed on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month (i.e. November 11th, 1918).  A year later, the President declared a moment of silence on November 11th, in remembrance of this event, and it went on to become an annual tradition.  In 1938, congress declared “Armistice Day” to be a legal holiday.  This tradition continued until after World War II, when a man named Raymond Weeks suggested that the day should honor all veterans, and not just those from the First World War.  In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law, and “Armistice Day” officially became “Veteran’s Day”.

 

Though I am grateful for this day of special recognition, I believe that it is important to understand that for many veterans the struggle goes on every day.  There are those who’ve suffered physical wounds that left their bodies broken, and there are those who’ve suffered wounds to their hearts and minds, that left their souls and spirits broken.  For them, the battle continues.  Sadly, even those without significant disabilities often struggle to find jobs, or to collect the benefits that they’ve earned.  This should not be so.  While I will gratefully join in with today’s celebration, we need to show our appreciation for Veterans by championing their causes throughout the year.  We need to demand more of our elected officials when it comes to protecting the rights of our service members.

 

As I told you previously, my grandfather and his brother were Vietnam War veterans, and I was sickened to hear stories of how those men and women were treated when they returned from the war.  Because of the politics at that time, people treated these veterans like villains.  Some were even spit on, and called, “Baby Killers”.  That is inexcusable!  No matter the war, no matter the reasons for it, no matter how popular it is at home, our soldiers should never be treated this way again.  These people willingly put their lives on the line for others, and will always be worthy of our gratitude and honor.

 

My Sergeant told me that Veteran’s Day is like Christmas for our armed forces; and that while they don’t receive presents, they do receive the gift of love and appreciation from their country.  My hope and prayer is that our veterans would experience that gift wherever they go today.  And my challenge to my fellow students, and those within our community, is to find a way to be a part of it.  I just did.  Thank you.

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5 Things Which Are Way Over-Valued in Our Culture

Posted in Commentaries, Lists, Opinions, Social / Political, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 5, 2015| Leave a Comment »

 

  1. Convenience – Our culture is absolutely obsessed with making everything fast, easy, and achievable with the touch of a button.  We have an “app” for just about anything you can think of, and a huge amount of an average person’s life is channeled through their electronic devices.  But with every advance in this direction, we become less tolerant of things that require any sort of sustained effort on our part, or things that take time.  We also become more dependent on the technology for even the most basic of functions.  Given the fact that life is a long journey, which requires genuine determination, perseverance and patience, this trend doesn’t bode well for our future.
  2. Sex – Without a doubt, sex is meant to be one of life’s great pleasures, but just as doubtless, there is a context within which it was meant to fit in our lives.  In the decades since the “Sexual Revolution” began, our culture has found ways to inject sex into all sorts of settings, circumstances, and contexts where it doesn’t belong.  This has not only resulted in confusion and dysfunction, for many it has reduced sex to nothing more than a bodily function.  That’s sad, because it was intended to be so much more.
  3. Stardom – The insatiable craving for notoriety within our culture continues to fill our screens (both large and small) with images of people willing to eat bugs, wife swap, gender swap, submit themselves to tortuous circumstances, fix bad tattoos, torment their kid on the pageant circuit, wrestle alligators/snapping turtles/wolverines, bully their wedding planner, search for bigfoot…  And all of this has created a new breed of star that includes people like the “Reality TV Star”, and the “You-Tube Star”.  Most of these folks are not known for a specific talent, or some meaningful contribution to society, they’re simply famous for being famous (e.g. the Kardashians); which somehow manages to take the superficiality of “fame and fortune” to a whole new level.
  4. SWAG – Though the exact meaning of this term continues to evolve, it comes from the word “swagger”.  And it refers to a person’s attitude, self-image, and self-confidence.  Sadly, for the emerging generation, this confidence doesn’t necessarily need to be rooted in any sort of reality.  With a steady diet of trash talk, and brash posturing, one’s “SWAG” is often just an alter-ego (i.e. the person they wish they were or imagine they will become), and ultimately how they choose to market themselves to the world.  In such cases, life has a way of reducing these facades to rubble (e.g. OJ Simpson, Allen Iverson, Tiger Woods, Lindsay Lohan…).
  5. Self – This is the age of the “Selfie”, where people spend countless hours each day broadcasting their “status”, their reactions, their opinions, pictures of themselves, pictures of their food, videos of themselves…  And while a certain amount of that can be relatively harmless, the cumulative effect is that it keeps most people focused on themselves, and on what everyone else is thinking & saying.  Ultimately, the most miserable life that one can lead is one that is all about themselves.

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Thought for the Day – Weak Willed

Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged , , on November 1, 2015| Leave a Comment »

A chameleon doesn’t expend much energy in changing its colors, just as a weak willed man effortlessly falls in step with the crowd.  For both it is simply a reflex of their nature.  But it takes a person of courage, strength and character to make a stand for wisdom and truth.

 

As Alexander Hamilton said, the person who stands for nothing is likely to fall for anything.  And if you live long enough, you learn that not everyone who agrees with you is for you, and not everyone who disagrees with you is against you.

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Thought for the Day – Boldness

Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Social / Political, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged , , , on October 26, 2015| 1 Comment »

In times of turmoil there is often a renewed cry for “boldness” within the church, but what that means isn’t always clear.  I would submit that instead of boldly proclaiming the gospel, we need to be boldly living it; and instead of boldly standing for Christ, we ought to be boldly standing in Him.  After all, it is Christ “in us” that is the hope of glory.

 

We have no hope of convincing the world of the truth of our principles if we ourselves don’t believe in them enough to live by them.

 

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Thought for the Day – Non Linear

Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Social / Political, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged , on October 19, 2015| 2 Comments »

As I prepare to spend another night on a hospital room couch, I must admit that this isn’t how I envisioned my weekend playing out.   Yesterday’s game was going well, both Patrick & AJ were making plays, and we were winning.  But then, on a fairly simple looking tackle, Pat came up clutching his arm, and even from the stands you could see that his forearm was badly broken.

 

Even then, I thought we’d spend some hours in the Emergency Room, and be home in time for dinner.  I wasn’t counting on the fact that his arm wouldn’t reset, or that they’d keep him for surgery, or that he’d need a second surgery.  But isn’t that how life goes.   We can make our plans and try to prepare, but the days unfold on their own terms.

 

Our society seems to perpetuate the myth that if you’re smart & proactive, you can avoid all the potholes in the road; and that if you’re a conscientious  parent, you’ll be able to protect your kids from all harm.  But the truth is that sometimes, despite our best efforts, difficult things happen.  Life is anything but a linear equation.  Though we like to think of it as a classroom, it’s a lot more like a football field, where adversity can rise up without warning.

 

Though we aspire to carve out an existence filled with glorious highlights, it is how we respond in those difficult moments that ultimately defines us.  We can get angry, or become frustrated, or live in denial, but that only increases the struggle.  Even in times of  profound trouble, there is beauty, and meaning, and life to be mined.

 

In the last 36 hours, we’ve watched our kids have both highlights and crushing moments on the field.  We’ve had people rally around us and have suffered unexpected setbacks.  But tonight, as my head rests on the hard vinyl of a hospital couch, I find myself feeling grateful.

 

Grateful for my amazingly strong son, who was more worried about letting his team down than the seriousness of his injury; who insisted on sending out a video to let friends and family know that he is OK; and who, in a drug induced state, felt the need to thank all the doctors & nurses for their good work.

 

Grateful for the family, friends, church, school, and community that have been so loving and supportive.  Thankful for teammates & coaches & youth pastors & dear friends who came to see Pat; and for all the great care he’s received from the staff at the hospital.  More than anything, I am grateful for Gods nearness, especially in times of trouble.  In the non-linear equation that life can be, He is the variable that makes it all work.

 

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