Friday Roundup -- Five Sports Blogs

Sports Blog Update:

5 Reasons Philadelphia Will Win the Stanley Cup (I totally reject this one)

Capitals and Penguins will play outdoors at Heinz Field (NHL Winter Classic next year)

Who Wants to Date a Faux Canadian?

More Heartbreak for Steve Nash and the Suns

Tough Stretch Awaits Surprising Blue Jays

NHL Finals -- Blackhawks or Flyers?

So it comes down to this.
The Montreal Canadiens have gone home for the summer. (They played well.)
The Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals are looking to next year.

We're down to the Stanley Cup finals.
The second seed in the Western Conference against the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Chicago Blackhawks, one of the "Original Six" teams, who haven't won the Cup since 1961, when Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita led them to victory. The Blackhawks are a very good team, led by Winnipeg native Jonathan Toews (pronounced "Taves") and Thunder Bay's Patrick Sharp. Not to jinx them, but I'm rooting for these guys.

The Philadelphia Flyers, one of six teams brought into the league with the 1967 expansion, who won the Cup in 1974 and 1975. The "Broad Street Bullies", a team with a .576 lifetime winning percentage (second only to Montreal). They barely made it into the playoffs this year, but have outlasted New York Islanders, Boston Bruins and Montreal in their quest for the Lord Stanley's prize. Led by Ontario natives Mike Richards and Chris Pronger, we would be foolish to count these guys out.

Which team is being cheered on by the most Canadians? I'd like to know!

Prince Edward Island -- Beautiful!

The Gentle Island.
Thats how Tourism PEI describes it.
Canada's smallest province.
About the size of Delaware, with a population less than Delaware's least populous county.

I love to go there when I'm in Atlantic Canada!

Located in eastern Canada, about a day's drive from Boston, Prince Edward Island is the place to come for a gentle vacation. No professional sports teams. No skyscrapers. No commuter traffic. Charlottetown, the largest "city", has a population of about 32,000 persons.

But if you like beaches, P.E.I. is a great summer destination. If you like country roads and ocean, this is the place to come. It's great for golfing and beach-combing and dining. If you like friendly, laid-back people who will engage you in leisurely conversation, this is your place. If you like folk music, you'll find plenty of it here.

The province's main industries are agriculture, tourism and fishing. You'll see plenty of Japanese tourists if you go to Green Gables in July. (Green Gables is the beautiful old house that provided the setting for Lucy Maud Montgomery's literary classic Anne of Green Gables. The Green Gables theme permeates P.E.I. tourism.) Cavendish Beach is perhaps the most tourist-y place you'll find, but Atlantic City it ain't. (There is a nudist colony near there somewhere, I've read.)

Since 1997, the Confederation Bridge connects P.E.I. to the rest of North America. Nearly 13 kilometers long, this toll bridge itself will become one of your vacation memories.

Maybe this summer, maybe next. Or maybe by 2015. But whenever you finally get to P.E.I., it will be a gentle vacation that you'll remember fondly.

This first (short) video gives you the flavour of the Islanders. The second video reveals the beauty of the Island itself.

Stompin' Tom Connors: Canadian Icon

The beaver.
The moose.
The Mountie.
And "Stompin' Tom" Connors.
Canadian icons all.

Since his 1969 hit "Bud the Spud" (a paeon to Prince Edward Island potatoes), Charles Thomas Connors has been a fixture on the Canadian cultural scene. At first he was a comic figure to many of us, a man with a voice like a wood rasp, dressed in black, with a cowboy hat and a piece of plywood on which he stomped his left foot.

He's not a comic figure any more.
In 1993 he received a Doctor of Laws degree from Saint Thomas University.
In 1996 he was made an officer of the Order of Canada.
In 2004 he ranked 13th in The Greatest Canadian list, determined by popular vote. Higher than Anne Murray or Gordon Lightfoot or any other Canadian artist or musician.
In 2009, Canada issued a postage stamp in his honour. A POSTAGE STAMP!

Born in 1936 in Saint John, New Brunswick, adopted by a family in Prince Edward Island, and a long-time resident of rural Ontario, "Stompin' Tom" has the public image of a tough, street-smart hustler. He is that, but he's also a fierce Canadian patriot with very good songwriting skills. His songs beat in perfect time with the Canadian heartbeat.

Since 1967, Connors has released more than 25 albums and had at least 20 singles on the charts in Canada, everything from "Tillsonburg" (about tobacco faming in Ontario) to "The Hockey Song" to "The Don Messer Story".

And who can resist a good lyric?
"It's Bud the Spud from the bright red mud
Goin down the Hiway smiling-
The Spuds are big on the back of Bud's rig
And they're from Prince Edward Island -- they're from PEI

Now from Charlottetown or from Summerside
They load him down for the big long ride
He jumps in the cab and he's off with the pride Sobagos
He's gotta catch the boat to make Tormentine & he heads up that old New B. line
Through Montreal he comes just a flyin with another big load a badadoes..."

Leahy -- My Very Favorite Fiddling/TapDancing Video

"Excuse me while I pick up my jaw from off the floor."

I'm borrowing that comment, but it's about right.

("Shadowfox 84" left those words at the YouTube page for this video.)

Original fiddle music at blazing speed.
Super-impressive tap-dancing beginning at about 4:25 into the video. 

Donnell Leahy and his talented brothers and sisters are one of Canada's great gifts to Celtic music in this generation. If you're new to them, you may want to learn more here.
Their website is here.

Movie -- "Lord, Save Us From Your Followers"

I was profoundly moved.
Not by Bono.
Not by George W. Bush.
Not by Rick Warren or Tony Campolo.


I was moved to weeping by ordinary Christians helping homeless people under a bridge in Portland, Oregon. And I realized that I need to pay more attention, every day, to the marginalized -- homeless people, persons with disabilities, elderly people on the fringes of our society.


Last night I watched Dan Merchant's movie Lord, Save Us From Your Followers, not really knowing what to expect. (You can watch it on Instant Download at Netflix.com.)


You've got to see it. Watch the trailer here.
Or buy the DVD here.


It's not enough to teach and preach good doctrine -- though I hope to continue doing that. 


But I must do much more as a Christ-follower to love, to help, to serve others. I want to be -- I need to be -- more action-oriented, more "Jesus with skin on".


A few of my Christian friends may have a reservation or two about the film. They may say, "There's more to the story than this. Being a Christ-follower involves more than this." And I think they're right.


But mostly, I think we'll all say, "Ouch!"


You can buy the accompanying book from Amazon through the box below:

"Super Seven" Blog Posts from USA and Africa

Here are seven blog posts worth reading and ruminating over:

Evangelicalism"s Biggest Challenge (Universalism)
from Beliefnet's "Jesus Creed"

Having Right Theology Does not Mean You Know God
from Donald Miller's Blog

Kids
from Sheri's Congo Adventure (mentioned yesterday in my blog post)

The Lighten Up Campaign
from Christian Psychologist Talk (my friend Dr. Alan Lish)

Why Glenn Beck is a Danger to True Evangelical Theology
from God's Politics

The 10 Things I've Learned in Ten Years of Visioning
from Will Mancini: Clarity Evangelist

"Obliterating" Iraq's Christians
from On Faith at washingtonpost.com

Sheri's Congo Adventure

She loves Jesus and she loves people. And she serves God in the heart of Africa, where many people have seldom seen a white person.

Sheri Jones is athletic. She is a gifted evangelist, using her sports skills as a way to build relationships with people in a nation where the median age is 16.

I knew Sheri when she was a little blonde girl, smiling and playing with her two older sisters. The Jones family were a part of our fellowship at Damascus (Maryland) Wesleyan Church in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The Joneses stood out in a crowd. They were on fire for Jesus. In the 90s they moved from USA to Zambia to live as missionaries in a remote location. They began a new life on a new continent, learning new languages and becoming cross-cultural in their way of looking at the world.

The Jones family shared the love of Jesus as they cared for orphans and developed a farm providing employment and provision for needy Zambians.

That was over 15 years ago, and in those years the three Jones girls have grown into godly young women, powerfully affected by their missionary experiences.

Over two years ago Sheri went to the Democratic Republic of Congo, a troubled country still coping with the after-effects of a long civil war. This is a much more difficult environment for Sheri, where French is the official language, and various dialects of Swahili are spoken. Sheri spoke neither French nor Swahili. (Read more about the Democratic Republic of Congo here.)

I don't know a lot about what Sheri does in Africa, but I've been delighted to discover her blog, where she posts an update several times a month. (Check out Sheri's blog here.) Today I'm making a commitment to begin to pray regularly for Sheri, and for her dad and mom (website here), who still serve the Lord in Zambia, faithfully in a relatively hidden place.

Forget Brad and Angelina. These are my remarkable everyday heroes.

Donald Miller: Art and the Artist

Donald Miller has been a "cool" Christian author for several years now.

That is to say, it seems to be a "cool" thing to be reading him, and the "cool" Christians I know (all three of them) seem to have read him.

 

You may know him through his bestsellers BLUE LIKE JAZZ and SEARCHING FOR GOD KNOWS WHAT.

Though I don't always agree with him, he is almost always interesting and thought-provoking.

His blog is one I check regularly, and I was intrigued by his recent post:

In Defense of Art and the Artist  

It's short enough to read in a minute or two. Note particularly his comments about Steven King.

Are there any artists, poets or musicians who care to respond and discuss the "freedom" you feel while creating?

How Many Canadian Players in NHL Playoffs?

Four teams remain as contenders for the 2010 Stanley Cup -- 
San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens.


Many Canadians are pinning their hopes on the Montreal Canadiens, who lost badly last night to the Philadelphia Flyers (6-0).


But which of the remaining teams has the most players born in Canada? or USA? or Europe?


Wikipedia lists the players on all four teams according to their nation of birth:


Montreal Canadiens -- 4 American players

Philadelphia Flyers -- 5 American players

Chicago Blackhawks -- 7 American players

San Jose Sharks -- 8 American players

San Jose Sharks -- 5 European players

Chicago Blackhawks -- 7 European players

Montreal Canadiens -- 7 European players

Philadelphia Flyers -- 7 European players

Montreal Canadiens - 15 Canadian players
San Jose Sharks -- 20 Canadian players 
Chicago Blackhawks -- 20 Canadian players
Philadelphia Flyers -- 21 Canadian players


So, Canadian friends, if the Habs lose their Conference final playoff series, 
remember that all three of the USA-based teams have at least 5 more actual Canadians than the Montreal Canadiens.


Enough hockey foolishness for one day.

Friday Blog Mini-Digest

Since I began blogging two months ago, I am more aware of a few of the bloggers out there in cyberspace. According to Wikipedia, even three years ago there were more that 112 million blogs.

Here are several that I've noted this week, and you may be interested in checking one or two of them out.

from STUFF CHRISTIANS LIKE:
Feeling Slightly Embarrassed for Male Singers Who Don't Play Instruments

from RENEWAL DYNAMICS:
Extra-marital Sex: Marriage's Greatest Enemy

from ON FROZEN BLOG (A Haven for the Hockey-Malnourished):
A Shoe is Dropping in Winnipeg, and It's Being Heard in Washington

from CRANACH: THE BLOG OF VEITH:
Religions are not all the same

Have a wonderful weekend, everybody!

Montreal Canadiens -- 101 Years

Last night, the Montreal Canadiens took the next step to the Stanley Cup. They won their seven-game series with the Pittsburgh Penguins, beating the Pittsburgh team 5-2 in the seventh and deciding game. 


The Penguins were the reigning Stanley Cup champions, led by superstar Sidney Crosby, who was held to one goal and four assists in the series. 


Crosby congratulated his 2007 world championship teammate, Mike Cammalleri, in the handshake line.


"Great series, Cammy. Keep on going!" Cammalleri has scored 12 goals in 14 games as the Canadiens continue their long march to the Stanley Cup. They're halfway there.


In their first-round series, the Canadiens dispatched high-flying Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, who had finished first in the NHL during the regular season.


The Canadiens were begun in 1909, eight years before the NHL ever existed. They are its oldest team, and have won the Stanley Cup 24 times. Incredibly, they have won 25% of all Stanley Cup championships contested after the Challenge Cup era (for background, read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Cup_champions#Challenge_Cup_era ).


Several times in the postseason, American friends have asked me why the Canadiens are called the Habs. It's an abbreviation of "Les Habitants". This name was originally applied to French farmers who settled along the St. Lawrence River and Gulf of St. Lawrence in what is now the province of Quebec. [pictured below in a painting by Canadian artist Cornelius Krieghoff (1815-1872)].

"Go Habs Go!" is now the familiar cheer for fans of the old team.

We'll see where the Habs go from here. They play the winners of the series between the Boston Bruins (the NHL's second-oldest team) and the Philadelphia Flyers, which will be decided tonight. 

The Habs are led by their outstanding goalie Jaroslav Halak (a Slovakian). They were thought to be too small and too soft to advance. We'll see, but many of us are rooting for them.

The Canadians last won the Stanley Cup in 1993.

Recently my friend Roger gave me a Montreal Canadiens baseball cap. These days I'm displaying it on the front dashboard of my car.

Our Windy Celtic Gig

Last Saturday was a windy, windy day.

Kilts flapped in the breeze. Tents were blown away.

And our "Irish" band That Raucous Crew played at the Frederick Celtic Festival.

Several hundred people roamed the Frederick Fairgrounds as bagpipe bands keened away.

Inside the large grandstand, girls and boys danced jigs and reels.

Outside, highland games were played as the wind whipped.

At the impressive opening ceremonies, 

the Mass Pipe Band was led by a very tall drum major with a very tall mace.

Scottish clans paraded under clan banners.

Enormous Irish wolfhounds and their owners roamed the grounds.

A highland bull named Curly was available for petting.

Vendors sold haggis and kilts and Celtic garb under precarious, flapping tents.

In the MacGratis tent, our friends Ted and Susie Tomalewski were singing "Loch Lomond" when a big section of the tent went airborne. (No one was hurt.)

The VIP tent offered food and drinks to the performers, 

but the chef was understandably upset that the food kept being blown onto the grass.

(I enjoyed the fresh raspberries and blackberries anyway.)

Rockville High School Pipe Band paraded continually around the grounds, playing in formation. I enjoyed them a lot.

My friend Steve Koch (a true Celtic enthusiast) spent almost all day at the festival, and came home with a large bag of goodies, including haggis.

On the large main stage inside the racetrack, That Raucous Crew was one of four bands performing as "headliners." Each band played two 45-minute sets, and we were scheduled at 10:00 a.m. (opening time) and 3:00 p.m. (the best slot of the day).

We knew the 10:00 a.m. set would be poorly attended, so we sang our less impressive songs then -- Galway Races, I'se the B'y, Is There For Honest Poverty, and seven others. Gusts blew my papers away and knocked down free-standing drums and stands. The racetrack was a dusty elongated donut, and dust choked us as we sang.

As three o'clock neared, things picked up. Friends arrived, including my wife Connie and our three-year-old grandson Caleb. He had his guitar with him, and wrap-around blue sunglasses. He was ready to perform!

We took the stage at 2:45, and, after sound checks, launched into a rollicking set -- I'll Tell Me Ma, The Auld Triangle, Lukey, and seven others.

The band was magnificent:

Ben, wearing his new brown camo Utilikilt, singing loudly and playing mandolin energetically.

Jillian, everyone's Irish sweetheart, her golden voice and tin whistles cutting through the gusts.

Natalie, her hair whipping in the wind, a young Joni Mitchell, grooving on I Know My Love.

Bill, now attacking his guitar, now caressing it, and wailing without restraint.

Doug, ever skillful, free to fly on his Tele, free to riff and jive, the "lone wolf" :)

Greg, poised, focused, serene as a Buddha. The wind kept blowing free strings on his upright bass, so he shifted to his Fender Jazz Bass.

Rick, smiling contentedly, enjoyed it all, holding us together with percussive persuasion.

My accordion was well-amped and I felt free to float on the rhythms everyone else was laying down. My tattered Irish cap kept blowing off my head, so my comb-over was ultimately free to fly :)

One of the things that made this set so much fun for me --
Caleb on the stage near me, strumming his little guitar, singing, smiling. 

I was playing for him. 

We were playing for God and for joy. 

We had a very fun time!

"One Voice" -- The Wailin' Jennys

It was supposed to be a one-time event at a Winnipeg guitar shop in 2002.
But it turned out to be much more.

Just awhile back my friend Roger Delaney gave me "40 Days", the 2004 release by The Wailin' Jennys. Twenty years ago I wouldn't have been interested in listening to three women folksingers, but I've changed, and I think it's for the better in this case.

Soprano Ruth Moody, mezzo Nicky Mehta and alto Heather Masse (with fiddler/mandolinist Jeremy Penner) make magic together.

Moody's composition "One Voice" is the first song on the CD, and the one that immediately caught my attention. Watch it and listen to it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mm3JY5qmQs
My Irish band is working on a cover of this.

With lots of airplay in Canada on CBC One, and American exposure on American Public Media's A Prairie Home Companion, the group won a Juno award in 2005 for "Roots and Traditional Album of the Year (Group)" with "40 Days". Listen to samples from "40 Days" here: http://www.amazon.com/40-Days-Wailin-Jennys/dp/B0002IQGMQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1273571495&sr=1-3

Winnipeg may not be the best town for an NHL team, but with the Jennys it's produced something well worth listening to.

Original Poems and Prose on Mother's Day

Authenticity is best! 

Originality is best!

Even if you're not a creative writer, your words are better than Hallmark's for those special days.

Not knocking Hallmark -- some of their work is excellent.

But when you spend TIME thinking about what you want to say, and then write it down as prose or poetry, it carries a greater impact.

TIME is a key word here. If you only set aside five minutes for this task, well, you'd better go to the pharmacy and get your greeting card. But if you can make the extra time and devote 30 minutes or an hour to this, your card will be (1) read more attentively, (2) responded to more authentically, and (3) kept and cherished for the treasure that it is.

Begin with a notepad or on your computer, composing your thoughts.

Then get a greeting card that is blank in the middle, or make your own card.

I make my greeting cards on the computer with a simple design. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's what I wrote for my wife Connie for Mother's Day:

A mother is always a mother

And later, a grandmother too

A hero of the family

How she loved those girls as babies

and at every stage

Now they’re big, busy

in the full flower of their lives

and she’s still loving

listening, available

helping, hugging, giving herself

a fountain of encouragement

a geyser, even

bigger than Old Faithful

always bursting forth

flying high

releasing life and love to the world

every needy child

every burdened one

When the little boys come

a switch goes off

the nanny switch

it’s cuddle time

noisy playtime

noisy dinnertime

and I see her wisdom

listening, thinking, sharing

Mamapedia Americana

and I worry more than a bit

that she’s always giving

so much of herself away

but that’s who she is

A mother is always a mother

And later, a grandmother too

A hero of the family.

Love, on Mother’s Day and always

Gary

Top Ten (or Twelve) Celtic Bands

For what it's worth (not much), these are my picks, more or less in order of importance.
There are many great musicians not represented here, with names like Lunasa and Ryan's Fancy and The Young Dubliners.

12. Orthodox Celts

These guys made it because they're from Belgrade, Serbia, and, last I heard, have never set foot in Ireland. What moxy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDTlQ9xgtGk










11. Bothy Band

Part of the "first wave" of the renaissance of Irish folk music in the 1970s. Chieftains flute maestro Matt Molloy was among them.









10. Battlefield Band

Based in Scotland, and led by Alan Reid. Their bagpiper, Los Angeles native Mike Katz, is the greatest I've ever heard.






9. Old Blind Dogs

Also from Scotland, these guys' version of "Is There For Honest Poverty" is a masterpiece.







8. Altan

Hailing from County Donegal, this band is led by outstanding vocalist Mairead Na Mhaonaigh. She can make you weep.








7. Leahy

This Canadian band of brothers and sisters is a lethal combination of fiddling and step-dancing. I never expect to see a better show in my life than the Leahy concert I saw in 2007. This YouTube clip makes me gasp when I watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BJSnP2NpW8&playnext_from=TL&videos=ZBj3BybP0NE







 6. Great Big Sea

This Canadian band from Newfoundland are the epitome of cool. Their exploration of Newfoundland folksongs has been a revelation to me. GBS's Alan Doyle stars as "Alan a Dale" in the upcoming 2010 movie "Robin Hood". These guys are pretty much my favorite, as I've noted in an earlier blog.








5. Dropkick Murphys

These loonies from Boston have resonated with punks and patriots everywhere :)











4. The Pogues

Led by vocalist and inebriate Shane McGowan, this Irish-English band had several of the biggest hits this genre has known, including "Fairytale of New York" in 1987.









3. The Dubliners

Long-running survivors of the 1960s folk renaissance in Ireland, these boys were led by the gravel-voiced Ronnie Drew, and were probably at their zenith when Luke Kelly sang with them. Their acappella "The Auld Triangle" is a classic (check it out on YouTube).









2. The Chieftains

Led by the indomitable Paddy Moloney, these Irish master instrumentalists have brought Celtic music to the world through their collaborations with Van Morrison, Sting, Linda Ronstadt, Los Lobos, Ziggy Marley and others.










1. The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem

Brought to prominence in the USA on The Ed Sullivan Show in the early 1960s, these folk trailblazers opened the door to a worldwide renaissance of Celtic music. Catch old performances on YouTube with Pete Seeger, and in JFK's White House.

Tim Hortons, a Canadian Icon

      


Some of my American friends don't know the Canadian phenomenon that is Tim Hortons.
You might have to take a trip to Canada to experience it and understand.


As of September 2009, there were 2971 Tim Hortons coffee shops in Canada.
(There are about 1400 Mcdonald's Restaurants in Canada, so there are more than two of Tim's places for every one of Ronald's places.)


Tim Hortons controls 76% of Canada's market for baked goods (based on number of customers served) and 62% of the Canadian coffee market (compared to Starbucks, with 7%).


Tim Horton was an all-star defenseman in the NHL for 25 years. He opened his first doughnut shop in 1964, and there were 40 of them when he died ten years later in a sports car accident. Now there are more than  3527 coffee shops in the USA and Canada (plus one in Kandahar, Afghanistan for Canadian troops stationed there. My friend Jim ate there several months ago).


These eateries serve an important social purpose in Canada's small, remote towns. They are places to meet, to visit, to socialize. Kind of like non-alcoholic pubs.  I know of one small town of less than 5000 people that has three Tim Hortons, as I recall :)


At Tims, a "double-double" is a coffee with two creams and two sugars.
"Roll Up the Rim to Win" is an annual marketing campaign that gives away over 31 million prizes each year -- and there are only 34 million Canadians!


The Tim Horton Children's Foundation sponsors thousands of underprivileged kids and gives them a wonderful summer camp experience (with plenty of doughnuts, I'm guessing!).


A survey has shown that Canadians eat more doughnuts per capita than any other nation on earth. So which came first -- Tim Hortons or that lamentable statistic?


Wikipedia has a good article on the doughnut shops here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Hortons


And a good article on the hockey player here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Horton

My Most Important Life Decision

(street scene in Shelburne, Nova Scotia)

When I was twelve I gave my life to Jesus.
It was the most important decision of my life.

Raised in a Christian home, I went to church and Sunday School every Lord's Day. From earliest days, I learned the stories of Jesus, and sang the songs of God's people.

As a seven- or eight-year old, I came forward to pray at the end of a revival service. A lady evangelist, Sheila Graham (later Sheila Graham McCrea-MacCallum) held meetings at our church, and my brother and I responded by coming forward.

But I don't remember this. I know it because my mother treasured that event and told me of it often.

In fourth grade I hung out with neighborhood boys. We looked curiously at girlie magazines and smoked cigarettes behind nearby warehouses. I remember cheating in an elementary school craft contest.

In 1966 we moved to Shelburne, Nova Scotia, and I began seventh grade. A voracious reader, I began to recognize the reality of evil in the world, and became aware of personal evil and dark spirits for the first time. My increased awareness of the spiritual world led me to ponder the existence of God and the reality of heaven and hell.

Most of all, I became aware of my own sinfulness. I knew that heaven was not my home. If I were to die in an accident of some kind, I was not ready nor fit for heaven.

In an old Reader's Digest I read a convincing article about poltergeist activity in a California home. The article brought home to me the reality of spiritual things, and, more than ever, my need for God.

One October night, lying in my bed, I asked God to forgive my sins and come into my life. There was no great emotional high, no wide-eyed elation. But something within me had changed, and I knew it.

I began to find purpose for living and joy in pursuing God. I began to understand His love and mercy as I got to know some of His people. I began a new chapter in my life's journey.

I grew in my faith through teenage struggles, and attended a Christian college. I married a beautiful, godly young woman and have now invested 33 years of my life with her, raising two lovely daughters who are our pride and joy. I've struggled and grown in my twenties, thirties, forties and fifties.

But almost everything I am today flows from the decision I made 44 years ago.

Looking back over my life, I may have some regrets. But I've never regretted my decision to follow Jesus, and I never will.

What's your story? I'd like to hear it.  :)

Gary's Stanley Cup Playoffs Update

This update is clearly not for my hockey-crazy friends. You already know what's happening in the NHL playoffs.

But I have some amigos who are not hockey-crazed, and this is for you.
You want to be able to talk about the NHL playoffs, even though you're not watching them.

But first, a joke: A man comes into a bar and orders an Ovechkin. The bartender asks, "What's a Ovechkin?" The answer? "A White Russian without a cup." :)

So here goes, as of Tuesday morning, May 4th:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:


Pittsburgh Penguins (1 win) vs. Montreal Canadiens (1 win)
Most of my Canadian friends say that Pittsburgh (led by Nova Scotian superstar Sidney Crosby) will win this series. As a Canadian, I'm rooting for Montreal, even though their goalie is Slovakian, three assistant captains are American, and the fourth is Russian. The Penguins were seeded 4th in the Eastern Conference, while the Canadiens were seeded 8th.

Boston Bruins (2 wins) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (0 wins)
These teams played (outdoors) at Fenway Park in the Winter Classic on New Year's Day, and after that Boston won just 3 of 17 games on home ice. I'm hoping that Boston will win this series, even with a right winger named Miroslav Satan. The Bruins were seeded 6th in the Eastern Conference and the Flyers were seeded 7th.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

Chicago Black Hawks (1 win) vs. Vancouver Canucks (1 win) 
Each of these teams won their division in the regular season, and Chicago has a very good team, its best since the 1960s. These teams met in the playoffs last year, and Chicago won. The Canucks' captain is goalie Roberto Luongo, who starred for Canada's recent gold-medal-winning Olympic team. The Black Hawks were seeded 2nd in the Western Conference and the Canucks were seeded 3rd. I'm rooting for Vancouver, but it would be nice to see Chicago win its first Cup in 48 years.

San Jose Sharks (2 wins) vs. Detroit Red Wings (0 wins)
In the regular season, the Sharks were second only to the ill-fated Washington Capitals in overall points. They're a very good team, and will probably win the series. Detroit has a proud history, and won the Cup twice in the last decade. The Sharks were seeded 1st in the Western Conference and Red Wings were seeded 5th. (Side note: At each home game, the Sharks come onto the ice through a 17-foot open shark mouth, lowered from the rafters.)

Celtic Festival Fever

There must be a thousand Celtic festivals in the USA this year.

In places like Chicago. San Francisco. Las Vegas. Dayton, Ohio. West Palm Beach, Florida. Leesburg, Virginia.

Two Celtic festivals are less than 30 miles from my house. (My Irish band plays at the Frederick Celtic Festival this coming Saturday.)

These are local celebrations of all things Irish / Scottish / Welsh / Gallician / Breton / Cornish / Manx. Many of them have sprung up in the past 15 years as grassroots celebrations led by local societies of Celtic enthusiasts.

Regardless of a person's race or ethnicity, all are welcomed to these one- or two-day events.

Featuring music all day -- hundreds of Celtic bands have sprung up in this new millenium.
Dancing -- both social dances and performance dances.
Story-telling -- in the bardic tradition.
Clan gatherings -- with the wearing of kilts and the display of tartans.
Highland games -- caber toss, Scottish hammer throw, hurling and Gaelic football.
Crafts. Vendors. Food and drink.
And bagpipes -- plenty of bagpipes!

How are we to account for this explosion of interest?

In these times of great social change, there is a yearning for roots, a search for cultural stability, a desire to belong. I identify strongly with this yearning. Many Celtic enthusiasts as self-confessed pagans looking for meaning and significance in a chaotic world. And the Celts are the "tribe" they have chosen.

Though not a pagan, I have also chosen the Celtic "tribe." Some of my ancestors were French and German and English, but I've embraced my Irish roots.

Like many of you, I look back to ancient ways to help validate the life choices I've made. As a follower of Jesus, I look back across twenty centuries of the Christian faith, reading the New Testament documents and identifying with the early church. But I also identify with Justin Martyr and Augustine, with Patrick and Columcille, with Hilda and Caedmon, with Benedict and Francis.

Enough of that for now :)

Where is the Celtic festival nearest you? Why not plan to attend? Sing and dance a little. Learn a new fact. Make a new friend :)