Today I went for my first bike ride of 2015. And I had a little extra incentive: the little guy asked if we could hang out. How can you turn that down? We went on a five mile leisurely ride that took about 45 minutes. We even took a minute to snap a quick picture.
I’ve not set any firm exercise goals for 2015, but I’d like to keep up with the number of miles I run and bike. Maybe 100 miles for running and 200 for biking would be reasonable.
Every year, each member of our family picks winners for the NFL playoff games. It’s fun because it gives us something to talk about together and we can rag each other if our picks fall through. Plus, Sunny or Abby Kate usually wins the whole thing despite not knowing much about any of the teams, proving that all such forecasting is a total crapshoot.
Still, it’s lots of fun. With an hour to go before kickoff on Wild Card Saturday, here are the Bybee family picks for the games this weekend:
If the Cardinals weren’t down to their 3rd string QB, I’d probably take them in this game. But they haven’t scored more than 20 points in nearly 2 months and I can’t believe in Ryan Lindley. On the road. In the playoffs. With this running game. Of course, it’s not as if the Panthers don’t have a few warts, too. After all, this is a team that went 60-something days in between wins. A team that lost to New Orleans, Atlanta, and Minnesota. Come to think of it, this might be one of the least compelling playoff games ever. But somebody’s gotta win it. I’m taking Carolina at home with Cam Newton having a great game.
Looks like this is a clean sweep. I’ll tell you, if Le’Veon Bell weren’t injured, I don’t think this one would even be close. As it is, I still like Big Ben and the Steelers receivers at home. Rivalry game and it looks like the weather could be nasty, making this the can’t miss game of the weekend for me.
I originally picked the Bengals because I thought A.J. Green would eventually play. But with the news that he is definitely out tomorrow, I’m leaning Indy’s way now. The Colt defense is still a bit too Jekkyl and Hyde for my liking, but without Green, the Bengal attack isn’t quite as imposing. I think this one could end up being the closest game of the weekend. With no A.J., I’m picking Indy in a tight one.
I don’t see how you can believe in Matthew Stafford on the road against a good opponent at this point. Until he proves something, I think you have to think Dallas can take care of business at home. Yes, I realize I’m saying that I’m trusting Tony Romo to win a playoff game here. But like I said with the Panthers / Cards game, somebody’s gotta win. Smart money is on the home team.
Joshua Dobbs, the future of Volunteer football
A big win today by my Tennessee Volunteers against Iowa in the Gator Bowl. (I can’t bring myself to call it the “Taxslayer Bowl.”) First postseason win since 2008. First winning season since 2009. Wins in four out of our last five. An extremely young team that gained a ton of experience this year. Another stellar recruiting class on its way. Jalen Hurd. Joshua Dobbs. Butch Jones. And a program that’s on it’s way to being relevant again.
A good way to begin 2015, I think.
Ten years ago this month, I began this blog.
At the time, I was a youth minister and in those pre-Facebook and Twitter days, I thought blogging would be an online way to connect with my students. The idea was that this space would be a place for dialogue, a place for us to explore our faith by asking questions and conversing together.
That didn’t EXACTLY happen.
By 2006, I was transitioning out of youth ministry altogether but this blog had already morphed into something more personal. Rather than existing simply as a repository for devotional material, my blog became a stream for sharing about a host of topics: music (mostly my favorites), sports (mostly baseball, specifically St. Louis Cardinals baseball), books, and family. I used this blog to work out some of what I was reading and studying in my Masters of Divinity program. The conversation was mostly civil, although a few of the political-theological conversations got a little hairy! (Especially that one about the American flag!) All of this seemed to coincide with “peak season” in the blogging world.
Then Facebook happened. And Twitter. And Instagram and everything else. And most people’s blogs that were once so active and full of life started collecting cobwebs.
I’ve thought about shutting down the blog several times over the years — I even went so far as to “go private” for a few months one year. But such thoughts were always short lived. I’m grateful now to have ten years worth of posts to look back on. At this point, I think the blog is best described as a way to mark time. It’s a snapshot of where I’m at in the moment.
In 2015, my goal is to post something every day. It might be a full-fledged post, it might be a random thought, it might be a picture….but the goal is to post something every day. I’m giving myself a pass on days when I’ll be out of the country; I already know of a couple of dates that I’ll be away from an Internet connection. But otherwise, I want the 11th year of the blog to be a daily record of the year.
Today is the last day of 2014.
Did I just write that sentence? Wow, this year has really gone by quickly. I know that’s such a cliche thing to say on a day like today, but it just rings true.
Don and Alan Shates
Looking back over the past 12 months, the year has been a difficult one in many respects. As I wrote in this space last year, 2013 was a year of grief for our family as we lost my wife’s father and brother in a five month span. We continued to feel these losses in 2014, as we know we always will. But the year began on yet another somber note: in January we buried Sunny’s grandfather, “DayDon” as he’s known in our family. His death was, in many ways, a shock to the system. By the time we said goodbye to Don, this family had lost all three Shates men — grandfather, father, and son — over the course of 11 months. No matter how strong a family might be, the cumulative weight of so much grief in such a compressed time frame will overload the circuits. So that’s a big part of what we’ve felt over the last 12 months. We continue to miss these men who meant so much to us.
The Bybee graduates, May 2014
But the year has also been filled with moments of great joy. I finished my doctoral thesis in the spring and in May, I graduated with my D.Min degree from Abilene Christian University. This was the completion of a major life goal for me. I began my graduate studies in 2001, the week after the 9/11 attacks. After completing my Masters of Divinity in 2008 at Lipscomb, I began the final leg of my schooling in 2011. I was so glad that Sunny, the kids, and my sister were all able to make the trip to Abilene for my graduation ceremony. The next week, our youngest child was honored as a kindergarten graduate, which is, of course, a HUGE deal! Needless to say, this spring was a time for celebrating and picture-taking and lots of cake-eating around our house!
This summer, we enjoyed an epic family vacation, Griswold-style. Here’s the quick recap: baseball games in St. Louis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee; sharing a family devotional at the Minnehaha Falls; shopping and amusement-park-rides at the Mall of America; taking in the simple beauty of the Midwest; and all of it capped off with a couple of days in Chicago.
The Great Bybee Family Road Trip, June 2014
While in the Windy City, we experienced an architectural tour of the city, snapped pics in front of “The Bean” at Millennium Park, ate at our favorite Chicago pizzeria, and even spent time checking out the awesome aquarium. 8 states, over 2200 miles, one resilient minivan (aided by a mid-trip oil change!), and the best family vacation we’ve ever been on. At several points during our trip, I found myself thinking, “My kids will never forget this.” I’m so thankful for the memories we were able to make during this incredible week together.
As 2014 draws to a close, we have many reasons to give thanks. We continually experience God’s goodness in a variety of forms: through the love of good friends and family; through the encouragement and comfort of our church family; and in the hope that is ours through Jesus. My prayer for 2015 is a prayer for growth. I don’t believe any of us are finished products. We haven’t arrived. God has much more to do with us and in us and through us.
May 2015 be a year of growth for all of us. To God be the glory.
It’s time for my annual list of my favorite albums of 2014. I love finding new music and thanks to Spotify, iTunes Radio, Amazon Prime, and YouTube, it’s never been easier. I wasn’t blown away with very many albums this year. As with 2013, there were two 2014 releases that towered over all others. These two albums were on near-constant replay for me in 2014. In fact, it was hard to choose a favorite between the two. In another month, I might score the top two spots differently. But here’s this list:
Lost in the Dream
The War on Drugs, Lost in the Dream. I first fell in love with this album for obvious reasons: the music. Waves of classic rock guitar and swaths of 80s keyboard are layered upon a variety of ambient sounds (saxophone, Wurlitzer piano, harmonica, drum loops, arp string ensemble, lap steel) to create a record that is at once nostalgic and fresh. This transcendent Americana tone alone would be enough to land this album on many year-end best-of lists. But then I learned the backstory of how the record was made and I developed an even deeper appreciation for this album. Lost in the Dream is a record birthed out of anxiety, paranoia, depression, and fear — and you can hear such concerns at every turn throughout. More than anything, though, this record is about “dreaming of starting up again” (Burning). Adam Granduciel may have labored over the recording and post-production of Lost in the Dream, but the final product is a melancholy yet cathartic reflection on the universal themes of loneliness, doubt, and the redemptive power of love. On the album’s title track, Granduciel sings, “Love’s the key to the things that we see / And don’t mind chasing / Leave the light on in the yard for me.” There’s no indication that the recipient follows through, but that’s not the point. The point is that this kind of love — or at the very least, it’s pursuit — is something worth chasing in the first place. It’s a grown-up thesis, for sure, but such is the messaging of this stellar record. My favorite album of 2014. Download This: Red Eyes, An Ocean In Between The Waves, Eyes to the Wind, Burning, Lost in the Dream.
Augustines
Augustines, Augustines. I discovered these Brooklyn rockers early in 2014 and I was instantly drawn to their arena-rock sound. They previously recorded under the name “We Are Augustines” but dropped the prefix on this most recent record. To sum it up, this is optimism rock. The sounds here are familiar: Springsteen, The Hold Steady, The Gaslight Anthem…all are probably influential for these guys. But the theme is more hopeful than anything I’ve heard all year. Take the refrain of This Ain’t Me: “I can change, I can change, I can change.” Either he believes in the ability to turn over a new leaf or he’s hoping to talk himself into it. On Nothing to Lose but Your Head, hitting rock bottom is simply an opportunity to shine light in darkness. Walkabout, my favorite song of the year, depicts life as a walkabout with the anthemic call of a voice from beyond, “It’s been so long / Come on home.” This is a great, great rock album. Download This: Walkabout, Weary Eyes, Nothing to Lose But Your Head, Don’t Look Back, Now You Are Free.
That’s my list. I’ll cover my favorite songs of 2014 in a later post. I’d love to hear some of your favorite music that you’ve listened to over the past year.
We love Christmas music around our place. The little lady usually starts listening to her Christmas albums in September / October, sometime around the first cold snap of the season. (Personally, I have a strict Nov. 1 policy. But we don’t really get cranked up in earnest until Thanksgiving.)
Over the years, we’ve accumulated quite a collection of Christmas tunes. But we’ve also found quite a few alternate versions of some of our favorites. Here’s a compilation of the best “alt faves” around our house. If you’re looking for some late additions to your Christmas music canon this year, check out a few of these:
Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to spend some time with my grandmother, my last living grandparent. Her health is deteriorating so my sister and I have made it a point to visit with her twice in the last two weeks. No matter how much time we spend with this great woman, she always leaves us wanting more. And yesterday was no exception.
As we spoke with her yesterday, her voice was a little weaker than it was the previous week. We had to sit closer in order for her to hear us. But her mind is still as sharp as ever. Last week, she handed me her old church song book and asked us to sing some of her favorite hymns. There were a few we didn’t know very well — I’m pretty sure I made up the tunes to a couple right there on the spot! — but it was a beautiful experience nonetheless. Yesterday, I picked up her weathered Bible from its place beside her favorite chair. The spine indicated years of wear and tear. As I leafed through dogeared pages yellowed with age, my aunt told me that Grandmother spent 45 minutes reading her Bible the previous day. If she’s not spending time with her family, her favorite way to spend her time is in the Word.
I asked Grandmother if she wanted me to read her something. She thought about it and said, “Read Psalm 100. It’s my favorite.” I read it to her in the regal King James of her Bible, a stirring passage of praise that magnifies God as the Great Shepherd over us. As the sheep follow the call of the shepherd, so too do we follow God’s voice into the gates of His dwelling, thanksgiving full on our lips. The closing line especially grabbed me: “For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”
If you’ve heard me preach or pray, you’ve probably heard me talk about how formative these words have been in my life. The final lines of this Psalm are the most repeated phrases in the Bible. Based on the sheer volume of occurrences, the central message of Scripture appears to be “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” These words are a well-worn path through the heart of God’s Word, words that communicate transformative truth. His love, an extension of His goodness, endures for all eternity. This is what I pray every day. This is the aim of my ministry, my personal mission statement to be a conduit of this love. I can’t overstate how important this truth has been in my life.
As I shared all of this with my Grandmother, she just smiled and nodded her head. Then she told me her favorite part of the Psalm: “I love the last line about all generations.” This woman, the matriarch of our family in the twilight of her life in the flesh, spoke with pride about the joy of witnessing generation upon generation of her own line — all the weddings and births and holidays and celebrations. Six children, thirteen grandchildren, and more great-grandchildren than I can count…all branches of a family tree that began over 75 years ago when my grandparents married. Most importantly, this has been a family of faith where the name of Jesus has been exalted. Small wonder this part of the passage resonated with her. It’s her life’s story.
In this season of gratitude and good news, I am thankful for my dear grandmother. She is truly an incarnation of Gospel in my life: bold yet gentle; loving yet uncompromising. Grandmother, throughout my life, your love has been constant and enduring, a brief glimpse into the heart of the Father’s love for us all. All of your generations are blessed by your faith, both in God and in each of us. You give us a reason to be hopeful, with a joyful song ready to burst into praise. Thank you for the way you’ve shepherded this flock all these years. May your deeds soon follow you.
My grandmother, Dec. 18, 2014
This is really cool. Except for the fact that I’m an INTJ…which makes me Emperor Palpatine. Mwaaaahhaaaahhhaaa!
already & not yet 