Year / 2012

by Greg

D-Day: When Things Mattered

Last night we honored D-Day (June 6th) by watching an episode of Ken Burns’: The War (on Netflix). It follows the lives of four guys who lived through WWII, and specifically that day in Normandy.

It invoked so many thoughts and emotions… I certainly can not describe and share them all here.

The one prevailing thought I had, however, was that there is right and wrong.

These guys—just kids—were willing to give up their lives (literally!) in order to go over and make right what someone (or a large group of someones) made wrong… for somebody else!

That can not be emphasized enough.

The aggressors (Nazi Germany) were bent on eradicating the Jews (and just non-Aryans, right?) and were expanding their territory across sovereign nation after sovereign nation until the brave, heroic, persons of principle among the nations stood up and said, “You shall not pass!”

And they truly were brave. Heroes. Righteous. Courageous.

Not that they were flawless human beings. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Some of them were maybe even “bad” guys… but they stood up for what was right. That made them heroes.

They literally gave up their lives (I contend even the guys who didn’t die on D-Day were never the same again)… and it was for other people. Not the US. Not Americans (directly). It was not to expand our territory or influence or whatever… it was just taking a stand against evil.

Some today think that war is always wrong. They think that generations are not different. In a way that is correct: people are people. But there was something in my grandparents’ generation that was different. I’m not sure if it was a product of the circumstances of their day, or if it was that they had not yet removed God and respect and decency and morality from the general fabric of society. Maybe it was both. But whatever it was, we still owe to them (the world, not just America) an incomprehensible, inestimable debt of gratitude.

We mostly argue about ridiculous things today, things that really don’t matter. (We are free to do so in part because of the courageous choices and actions of these men.) Sometimes I think we argue for the sake of arguing. Political gaming. Blagh.

Things matter. People matter. Someday I think we (our nation, and as individuals) will be faced with a similar crisis. At that point, I wonder what that generation will do? Will their descendants someday label them the “greatest generation”? Or will that moniker forever be inexorably bound to the generation whose men bravely stormed the beaches at Normandy… until they had either given up their life, or succeeded in preserving freedom for the world?

I think we will someday find out, one way or another. Somehow we always get to decide if we’re going to stand, or stand by.

On D-Day… (and in many other battles) they chose to stand.

by Greg

Pure, (Truly) Awesome Creativity

We use the word “awesome” far too often in our culture. That sounds like something you’ve heard your grandpa say, or your great-grandpa. (Or his grandpa…) We assign it to anything and everything: sporting events or just a moment in said event, a movie, a meal, and pretty much anything that may happen in the course of a normal day.

But today, as I was reading Genesis chapter one, the first word that came to mind was “awesome”.

Jen and I are going to try to read through the Bible together in 90 days (using YouVersion.com‘s Bible in 90 Days plan). We just wanted to ingest Scripture again, not in small chunks, but in its entirety. Might be aggressive with all the other reading we enjoy doing (have you seen my “currently reading” list in the right sidebar of this website??), as well as the daily to-dos with work and family…

But it seems it will worth the extra effort. And there already has been a “wow” (“awesome”) moment.

(Not that there will be those every time, nor that such moments are the reason for such an undertaking. But… it was kinda neat, so I am sharing.)

Two things struck me about Genesis 1. First, in the New Living Translation, the phrase they used for “and it was so” was, “And that is what happened.” It made me chuckle out loud the third time I read it. So matter-of-fact: And that is what happened. Period. I love that the reality is, God spoke it, and that is what happened. Certainly something I’ve seen, noticed, considered before… but somehow I was struck this time with the simplicity of it.

Which led me to the second point: the account is incredibly simple, but the actual result is so complex what we have learned about the processes behind the operation of the universe in the subsequent millennia completely blows us away.

And I thought, God merely spoke a simple command, like, “Let there be lights in the sky” and “that is what happened.” The enormous complexity down to the quantum level and the vastness of the “lights in the sky”… all from a couple sentences.

The sheer power of this Creative Being created that vastness, that complexity, by only speaking a few words.

We would take years and years of planning and testing and building (and failing) until we had something pretty close to good. God spoke our entire universe—reality itself—into its intricately complex and ridiculously vast existence in six days.

We can argue about what a “day” is, or if God used “evolution” to create everything… or if he made things and let the process work itself to what we know in modern/recorded history. Certainly he placed adaptive capabilities into all that we know as life (and even other processes) on our planet and beyond.

But evident to me today was the unfathomable power of creativity that couldn’t help but produce greatness… seemingly without any effort whatsoever.

Awesome.

Amazing. Beyond words.

And that is what happened.

by Greg

NASA Crushes 2012 Mayan Apocalypse

Well, leave it to the party poopers at NASA to crush the dreams of all of the big fans of Mayan prophesies and general time keeping skills.

It seems that the head of the Near-Earth Objects Program has quite handily decimated any and all the claims of global apocalypse, mayhem, end-of-the-world predictions as well as any of the happier “new beginning” prognostications based on the Mayan calendar ending with December 21, 2012.

It’s a shame, really. I was glad we knew the date… now we’ll never know!

But, leave it to the smart guys at NASA to clear things up for us. You can always count on them!

🙂

If you’re curious … enjoy the video above, or read the article.

But, if you do, your dreams will definitely be crushed. Don’t say I didn’t warn you …

by Greg

[FromTheArchive] I’ll Never Make a Million

Highlighting Articles from the GregsHead.net Archives!Recently, money has been a big issue again here in the Campbell household. I wonder if it just is for every household. I know it’s not for some. But I think it might be for many, if not most.

And it is here.

Sadly it seems there are times where the topic of money (money in, and money out) begins to just take over. Every decision is greatly affected by how it will affect money flow. How we spend our time, how we spend our money… that’s when it really frustrates me: when it “takes over”.

Somehow I was reminded of a post I wrote a long while back where I mused about the reason that we often find ourselves here. It’s me. It’s definitely me. I not only don’t love money, I think I don’t like money. I don’t want money. I’m grateful that God gives me many chances to get money. He gives us what we need to live, to be sure. (And there’s so much more that he does there, that I can’t elaborate here, now.)

But I still don’t like money.

Jen read a book recently called, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. She’d like me to read it, and so I will. But I just feel like I won’t connect with it because of my disdain for money. We’ll see. Maybe it will change my attitude towards currency and the pursuit of same.

Maybe that would be a good thing?

For now, I only feel like it takes over. When you have too little, it causes you to seemingly alter your priorities so that you can have more. When you have too much then you have other problems (taxes, where to best invest, etc). Most people laugh at the notion of “too much money”, but I think the biggest problem we Americans face is our affluence. We have too much stuff, and it chokes the life out of us.

So, lemme know what you think … perhaps you’ll help me have a better view towards money? (Or perhaps you’ll join me in the non-pursuit of money?) Either way, please add your voice below, or on the linked article page.

Article: I’ll Never Make a Million

by Greg

It’s Official: We’re A Big Family

We’ve been a family of eight for quite a while now. Coming up on three years this July! So, in many ways, we’ve been a big family for a good long while.

But now, you might say it’s official. 🙂

We are picking up our new-to-us, 12-passenger, Ford E-350 XLT big red van!

These larger vans are definitely the vehicle of choice for most families who home school—because, frequently they are also larger families—so we will fit right in at home schooling events, conferences, gatherings. (Except we’ll be the ones with the cool red van, rather than the typical white.)

Jen has balked at the idea for some time, for various reasons, but now she, too is looking forward to the extra room, as well as just having a vehicle with mostly working parts! Our trusty Oldsmobile Silhouette minivan eclipsed 204,000 miles recently and has some problems with just about every part of it!

We have not had a new-to-us vehicle since 2003. We’ve had four more children since then! We put about one hundred and sixty-seven thousand miles on that van since then. It’s been a very long time!

So we’re kinda excited! 🙂

The kids will have more room. We’ll have more room for stuff. We can bring other people with us! (Haven’t been able to do that for a while!) And, if God is willing, we might even need more seats for more Campbell family behinds some day? Ya never know …

We are still working on a name for our new vehicle. The last two vans were Bluester (a navy blue Silhouette), and Silvester (a silver Silhouette)… so we’re thinking something Red…ish. My first thought was to work with the name of the van: E-350, Econoline Van. First “E” name that came to mind was “Eddy”. Then, “Ed” sounds like “Red”, so… “Reddy”. Kinda worked, except the Mom vetoed the name “Eddy”. (Just doesn’t like it. Sorry to all you Eddies out there…)

So Ian suggested “Edward”, to which Alex suggested, “Redward”! I like it, but I don’t think we’re sold on it just yet…

We’ve had some other suggestions: Lava, Red Ryder, BRV (Big Red Van), Crimson Cruiser, Rosmobile… among others. We’ll see what fits once we get to drive him around a bit.

(Yes, “him”. Our vehicles are boys…)

Well, that’s the news from here. We’ve officially graduated. We are now “officially” a Big Family. And if you see a giant red van cruising around your town sometime soon, it might just be us Campbells!

by Greg

It’s An Interesting Time To Be A Buffalo Sports Fan

Mario Williams

If you follow sports, you know that Buffalo is more often the butt of a joke rather than a real “player” in whichever sport is being discussed.

Whether that’s deserved, or not, that’s usually how it goes.

They do bring it on themselves. Neither the Buffalo Bills, nor the Buffalo Sabres have won the championships for their leagues. (Note: The Buffalo Bills were two-time, back-to-back AFL Champs in ’64 & ’65, before the league merged with the NFL. But usually that doesn’t “count”.)

Year after year they seem to lose the good players they already have (Drury & Briere?, Most every Buffalo Bill?), allow potential “big name” free agents and draft choices to slip through their fingers, and then of course there’s the matter of wins and losses; playoff appearances and lack thereof.

Somehow Buffalo fans endure the endless hardships, and continue to support their teams more than most pro sports fans around the country.

But last year, something changed.

I wrote about the apparent change, even though it was still developing at that point. It all started with the Sabres being purchased by not just a billionaire with deep pockets, they were purchased by a Sabres’ fan. The way he began to run the team, on and off the ice, really started to change the way people felt about at least one of the Buffalo sports teams.

Could we finally have a real chance at a championship?

In the first season of free agency, the Sabres went out and pursued the most coveted player (Brad Richards), and though they came up just short there, they managed to sign Christian Erhoff, who was the top defenseman available. And not only did they sign him, they made him quite wealthy, to boot!

Very unlike a Buffalo sports team…

So, expectations were very high at the beginning of the season.

Then came the 2011 Buffalo Bills. In their second year of the most recent rebuild, they got off to a nice 2-0 start, and really got on everyone’s radar with a stunning 21-point comeback win over the despised New England Patriots! Heads turned, and wins even kept coming. After two losses by just 3 points each, the Bills were at 6-2, coming off a dominant, shut-out victory over the Redskins. But, unknown at the time, their QB was injured (broken ribs), and that injury was just adding to a somewhat unbelievable steadily growing list.

The Bills were not just injured (ridiculous number of players out for the year on IR), they were dealing with injuries to really key players: starting center (and most of the rest of the offensive line, actually), Pro Bowl DT Kyle Williams (the heart of the defense), and Fred Jackson, who was having an MVP-type season through seven games or so. The players try to minimize the impact injuries have on wins and losses, but it’s really undeniable that the 2011 season was greatly impacted by the amount and significance of the players lost, as well as the length of time they were out.

Strangely, the Sabres—despite the high pre-season hopes—have dealt with very similar issues. Nearly every player on the team has missed many games this season. Even the coach missed a few games due to injury! And as a result, the Sabres are fighting to make the playoffs, despite a roster loaded with “potential”.

Typical Buffalo sports.

But this week, there’s been another apparent change in the direction and attitude of the Buffalo sports teams.

You’ve probably heard that Mario Williams was flown into Buffalo at the very start of free agency (4pm Tuesday March 13th). He is a former number one overall draft pick. He’s the most sought after free agent, at least as defensive players go. (Peyton Manning is also a free agent this year!) And he was going to cost BY FAR the most money of any free agent signing.

And the Bills not only brought him in… they kept him here. For three days!

Today at 1:45pm, the Bills will announce that they have signed him to a mega-huge contract.

What?! The Buffalo Bills???

Yep.

Not sure what’s going on, but the scene has changed here somewhat. The Sabres have deep (bottomless) pockets with their new owner, and they’re not afraid to use them. And so, they are contenders. (At least on paper?) And apparently, thanks to cap room, and building through the draft the previous two years, the Bills are willing to go out and hire the now highest paid player in the league. Yes! The BILLS!

This is crazy!

Who knows what else will happen this offseason, but so far, the Bills are different. They managed to re-sign a bunch of guys that they could have lost to free agency, Stevie Johnson being the biggest name on that list. Now they signed Mario Williams, who could be the best pass rusher we’ve seen here since Bruce Smith. They are still going to bring in one or two more free agents, likely with at least somewhat recognizable names, and then there’s the draft. (In which the Bills pick 10th, and have multiple picks in some rounds.)

If the beginning of last year (when we had our full roster of players) is any indication, the additions they are making seem to put the Bills into real contention for that ever-elusive league championship!

Perhaps that’s a bit of a jump… but perhaps not!

It is indeed a very interesting time to be a Buffalo sports fan!

by Greg

“Who Does Dad Love?”

Putting Cam in bed is usually a job for Dad. It’s great fun, actually. Cam and I definitely “bond” at these regular meetings. We’ve come up with plenty of fun regular rituals: which blanket goes where, which book is read first, and so many more entertaining—and important!—routines that perhaps I’ll elaborate in a future post.

As we were wrapping up another fun bed time, I asked him, “Cam, who does Dad love?”

I expected a big smile and a jocund, “Caaaam!” but instead Cam’s first thought was, “Warrmart.”

Walmart?? 🙂

I asked, “Walmart?”

“Yeah… Warrmart.”

Pause. Gathering thoughts. “OK, but, who else does Dad love?” (It was hard to stifle my laughter at this point.)

“Mommmmm!” Cam offered with a smile.

“Yes! Who else does Dad love??” I was determined to get to the supposedly easy answer I initially sought. Apparently, Cam thinks I’m pretty good at loving lots of people!

And Warrmart.

“Adex,” was Cam’s next suggestion.

“Yep! And who else does Dad love???”

“CAM!” At this point both our faces lit up and we enjoyed a big “squeeze hug” and, actually, continued the game. 🙂 Cam came up a few more times, as did Mom, and then the rest of the kids.

Jen suggested that Walmart probably came up because it had been mentioned as part of the plans for the day, but that activity never materialized. The kids have $10 gift cards to spend at Walmart … from Christmas! Guess we should get to that some day…

So I may not love “Warrmart”, but I unabashedly love that beautiful little boy you see above: Cameron James Campbell!

by Greg

Birthday Season (And Sabbatical)

Birthday season is upon us here in the Campbell home. Today is the first of three birthdays in two weeks. We’ll be celebrating it up in our typical style—the birthday girl will be well-celebrated!

(If you’d like to read the story of her very first birthday, please do…)

So, with that information in hand, I have another announcement, of sorts. This post will be the end of one (minor) experience—experiment?—and the beginning of another.

If you’ll recall, I began posting a column a day back on December 31st. (I first realized I was doing that somewhere in mid January, and kinda went with it.) It’s been a very interesting experience for me in that it ensures that I am writing—writers love deadlines!—and when I am writing, I am thinking. And when I’m thinking, well, that seems to be when I process life the best. (And for me, that’s a good thing.)

So I’m not really stopping … and don’t hold me to that, ’cause I probably won’t…

But I need a break.

Not really from the writing. That’s always a nice respite, a good outlet, and just enjoyable. Really I need a break in order to do other things. Writing, as great as it may be, is taking time. Which means it’s coming out of time I could give to other things.

Like reading. (You’ll recall that my reading list is rather lengthy!) And from my kids. And from my work. And from other good things to do in life. (There are many!)

So for now, I’m going to take a sabbatical. Not sure for how long, but I’m thinking the two weeks of Birthday Season.

For you daily readers, you’ll get a nice break to read some other stuff, too. For the more casual visitor to GregsHead.net, may I suggest a stroll through the previous sixty days, and then keep going. There are nearly eight and a half years of blog posts on this website… over 675,000 words… bound to be something that’ll catch your fancy in there. 🙂

I look forward to this break to refresh and increase the intake.

See you on the other side.

(If not before.)

by Greg

A ‘Monumental’ Documentary

I recently came across this trailer, and it is intriguing to me. There is much in this two minute video that I have also wondered, pondered, questioned. (But I also have to ponder how much can one really learn from Mike Seaver? Sorry, Mr. Cameron…) 🙂

Inevitable barriers to communication aside, this really does look interesting. I’m not certain why the event will be live (rather than multiple showings) but here’s what it says on the movie makers’ website:

On Tuesday, March 27, 2012, in more than 450 major movie theaters, audiences will come together for a live, one-night only theatrical event called MONUMENTAL: IN SEARCH OF AMERICA’S NATIONAL TREASURE, hosted by Kirk Cameron.

There will always be any number of issues that can be found with the culture around us. You know, we all grow up hearing how much better everything was in our parents’ and grandparents’ generations, until we are them and then we start saying it. And we meant it. And it’s likely quite true … but it’s a cycle. It’s the human cycle.

All have turned away;
all have become useless.
No one does good,
not a single one.
(Romans 3:12)

That’s for always, not just now.

Does that mean then that we just let things go, since they’ll “always be that way”? I would strongly say a firm No! We’re told what is good and right and noble and excellent, and we’re shown it through the life of Jesus … so we know Whom to come to for our Life and what Way works best (especially dealing with how we see and treat others). There is a best way.

I’m curious to see what this particular documentary will say. I was mostly sold where he said everyone is blaming someone else. Very similar to what I have written here, here, here, and even here, and here. (Obviously, this is something I have been thinking about!)

Have you heard of this? What are your thoughts? Can you not get past the Mike Seaver and Left Behind part? (Hopefully you’re better than me at that…)

If we decide to attend, perhaps I’ll give a report here after March 27th. But, before that, if you are moved to do so, please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

by Greg

A Birthday Party

Yesterday was a special day in our home.

February 25th is not a date we celebrate annually, but in the year 2012, it was a day we celebrated our oldest daughter Kirsten.

It was a day that she has been waiting for—quite literally—for years.

It was her first, real, official, honest-to-goodness birthday party! (And it was to celebrate the completion of her 8th circuit around the sun!)

What bad parents!!! Who doesn’t give their daughter a birthday party until they turn eight??? Well, probably a fair question. And, really, I don’t have any single particularly satisfying answer. Somehow, it’s just worked out that way.

But after a tiny bit of convincing required by Dad and Kirsten to win over the Mom (it really didn’t take much …) we scheduled, schemed, invited. Then we shopped, cleaned, decorated, prepared… and partied!

As I mentioned, for a few different reasons, Kirsten has managed to avoid having her own party over the years. She’s even managed to avoid going to others’ parties. A big part is just that she is pretty young, but somehow it’s just never worked out. Another big factor in her own lack of birthday parties is that we often combine her celebration with that of her two sisters whose birthdays are 11 and 13 days later. It makes for a big fun party, but not one for just Kirstie.

Yesterday, she finally got her wish! 🙂

She was all smiles for days before, most all day today, and I got one of the biggest smiles of all time from her as I was saying goodnight to her in her bed, and I asked if she had a good day. (I already knew the answer, but it was nice to see it shine through in her beautiful smile.)

Eight years ago this Tuesday we were blessed with our first little girl. She is beautiful, caring, sensitive, bright, aware, tender, fun, clever, curious, and incredibly precious. My life would definitely not be the same without her in it.

It was a great day, celebrating our little girl. I am thinking it will be remembered for many days to come. (Days going on years.) And I’m guessing she’s going to want to do this again. 🙂

I already can’t wait!