10 Observations from a NASCAR Weekend

Some thoughts, frustrations, and appreciations from this past weekend's events at the Bristol Motor Speedway...

1) RACES ARE A WEEKEND EVENT, NOT JUST TWO HOURS OF ENTERTAINMENT. There were roughly 10-12 hours total of pure racing this weekend, but when there weren't things to do inside the track, there was certainly entertainment outside. Lots and lots of not only driver's merchandise booths but various vendor giving away a ton of free stuff.

2) COMBOS REALLY ARE A MAN'S FOOD. They're salty finger foods made with pretzels and a cheese inside. Are you kidding me? They're fantastic. Things are only better when a tent has them as free handouts.

3) BATHROOMS ARE AN ISSUE. There are only so many trailers outside the track for bathroom use, and let's face it, nobody finds using a porta-potty a real luxury.

4) THE SPONSORSHIP ASPECT IS BORDERLINE INSANE. I know everyone has their favorite drivers, but there's just something funny about seeing grown men walking around with huge jackets with a big M&Ms logo slathered across the chest. More disturbing are the women wearing the Viagra car aparell. It's to the point you can get a general idea of who a fan is rooting for based on their color scheme. Let's see...he's got green on. Must be the Scotts #60 Carl Edwards car or the #88 Amp Dale Jr. car. The guy with red? Gotta be a #14 Old Spice Tony Stewart fan or perhaps a #9 Bud Kasey Kahne fan. Yeesh.

5) HOW IS THIS STILL A REDNECK SPORT? Sure, the majority of customers purchasing 12 packs and packing extra koozies have either A) teeth missing, B) a mullet, or C) the word Earnhardt placed somewhere on their body, the fact is the technology that goes into these cars is mindblowing. The fact that just a few inches taken off a car and just a small chassis adjustment can make or break a driver. Awesome.

6) BRING EARPLUGS. When there's 43 souped-up car engines roaring around a tight half-mile track placed down in a bowl surrounded by 180,000 people, things get loud. I mean, you can either get earplugs, or go to a metal concert and stand right next to the speaker. The choice is yours.

7) SCANNERS ARE PERHAPS THE COOLEST WAY TO ENJOY NASCAR. If you've never been to a race, let me encourage you to rent a scanner before you go into the track. These nifty little radios come with headphones (also useful for blocking out noise) that allow you to listen to conversations between any driver and their pit crew during the race. For example, in Saturday's race I heard Kyle Busch give an expletive-laced tirade to his pit crew after they caused a violation for a lost tire. Sunday I switched back and forth from Jimmie Johnson's crew constantly updating him on who was in front or behind, as well as Kevin Harvick's frustration after wrecking just past the halfway point. Trust me, whatever car wrecks, turn to their frequency right after. It's most entertaining, and a feature you won't find in any other sport.

8) RACING CAN BE DULL. Sunday, I watched 503 laps of racing. Sure, it was fun, but there were certainly times where it was just watching Busch drive around an oval track while 42 cars followed behind him. NASCAR is a bit like hockey; you watch for the wrecks and the fights.

9) LIKE ANY SPORT, NASCAR IS BETTER WITH RIVALRY. Maybe rivalry isn't the best word, but it's more fun to watch a sport where you can hate someone almost as much as you cheer for your favorite driver. When Kyle Busch won Sunday, you saw thumbs down signs from fans, heard boos, and felt a general disgust with his victory. It's almost like we were sitting in Fenway, and Derek Jeter went 4-4 with a game winning homer. If all the drivers were likeable, what would be the point of cheering for just one or two?

10) MY IDEA TO MAKE NASCAR BETTER. Maybe it wouldn't go over well, but I'd like to see the team concept emphasized more. Perhaps split the drivers into 10 different teams comprised of 4 drivers each. Based on the combined performance from those 4 drivers, a team championship would be determined at the end of the year. The top individual driver could get a MVP award similar to what the NFL, NBA, MLB, and other sports do. Maybe it wouldn't work, but it would get guys like me who are used to rooting for teams more into NASCAR.

The Manliest Cities in America

A group called Sterling's Best Places recently came out with a study to determine America's "Manliest" cities. Taking the top 50 metropolitan areas in the nation, Sterling's used 5 basic criteria to determine a city's "manliness" ranking.

1) SPORTS. Including professional and collegiate events, NASCAR and NHRA events in close proximity, monster truck events, etc.
2) LIFESTYLE. This includes the registration of U.S. made cars, full-sized pickups, available locales for hunting and fishing, sports viewing areas and frequency, etc.
3) RETAILERS. Stores such as steakhouses, home improvement stores like Lowes and Home Depot, and sports bars enhance a city's manliness.
4) MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS. The amount of subscriptions to reads like Men's Health, Sports Illustrated, Playboy, Maxim, etc.
5) SALTY SNACK SALES. This is a rather irrelevant category, likely included if for no other reason than the fact that Combos snacks were a big sponsor for the study.

Sterling's also used 3 main criteria to determine possible manly detractors: categories that would trend more towards women. Those 3 areas were:

1) CARS. The higher the volume of minivans and foreign cars registered, the less manly the city.

2) RETAILERS. Stores that deal in home furnishings (Pier One, Pottery Barn), cafes, and sushi restraunts took away from a city's manliness.

3) MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS. Cities with a higher volume of subscriptions to magazines like Oprah, Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple, Vogue, etc. were obviously considered less manly.

So based on these findings, the 5 LEAST manly cities are

1) San Francisco
2) Oakland
3) Boston
4) Seattle
5) Denver

The 5 MOST manly cities are

1) Nashville, TN
2) Charlotte, NC
3) Oklahoma City
4) Cincinnati
5) Denver (somehow Denver makes both lists' #5 spot)

The funny thing about those lists are that the areas I'd rather live in show up more on the "less manly" list. If you look at all the cities, in the manly list, Indianapolis is ranked #9. #9 on the "less manly" list is San Diego. Seriously, how many of you would prefer to live in Indy instead of San Diego, which could have the best weather of any city in the entire world? But, I digress. (For full breakout list of the cities, go here http://www.bestplaces.net/docs/studies/manliest_cities.aspx)

The reason the study struck me was it's criteria. Listening to Colin Cowherd's show on ESPN Radio Thursday morning, he discussed what he thought makes a man and what doesn't make a man. He pointed out that having multiple tattoos doesn't make you a man. Having a gun rack doesn't make you a man. Driving a truck ten times bigger than you can afford doesn't grant you manhood.

So what does? Is it what this study suggests? Is it living within 45 minutes of a NASCAR track? Is it owning subscriptions to Maxim, Playboy, and Hustler? Is it eating a 70 ounce steak and downing a 13 pack of beer?

Cowherd gave 3 basic criteria for men. Tell me if this isn't brilliant.

FIRST, men are risk-takers. They gamble. There's a reason you don't have a lot of women dropping 50 bucks on a NCAA tournament pool, or hear many women dealing in fantasy sports. That's why so many Wall Street stock brokers are men: it's competitive. It's risk-taking. That's why, according to Cowherd, cities like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh don't make the cut. Nearly 75% of those cities' residents live within an hour of where they grew up. In other words, they never took a risk and moved away for college or for a job. Many get out of high school and go work at the family business the rest of their lives. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's not a risk. Manly men are the ones who move to the opposite coast to follow a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Manly men date women they know are out of their league. It's all about risk.

SECONDLY, men are leaders. Most of us just have that programmed in our DNA to take the lead. So cities that have a large collection of fraternal organizations and clubs don't qualify under the manly list because they deal with groups, not individuals. Manly men don't need other people to get by.

THIRDLY, and most importantly, manly men are responsible. They take care of their families. Travis Henry, the NFL player who has fathered 9 children by 9 different women, claimed last week he doesn't have money to pay child support because he spent it all during his playing years. He said "I have a big heart. I help people. I guess I never got into that saving thing." See, first of all, if you have 9 children, they become your top priority. Not your teammates, not your homies back from high school, not the one night stands on road trips, but your children. Manly men take responsibility for their family. If it requires the extra job working weekends or overnights, then so be it. If it requires leaving a business trip early to be home for your son's first t-ball game, you do it. That's what manly men do. They treat their wives with love and respect, because they made a choice to do so. They take care of their children and raise them right because they made that decision to do so.

I ask myself often where do I place myself in the "manly" question. I don't care much for hunting or fishing. I don't do much construction work around the house. I do love sports, and have a subscription to Sports Illustrated, and eat plenty of salty snacks. Does that make me a man? Maybe...maybe not. Really, who cares? I'll do the manliest thing I can do, and that's take care of my family.

But I'll eat some extra chips, just for good measure.

Thoughts on Our New President, His Inauguration, and Leaning Away from Extreme Views

The 44th President of the United States was sworn in this past week. His inauguration reached epic proportions leaving some to wonder if this was the President or Elvis resurrecting from the dead. A Woodstock-esque atmosphere in D.C. Tuesday served to remind all of us that America seems, at least in the broadest terms, to be happy again.

I didn't vote for him. In the summer I voted for Mike Huckabee in the primary, and then for John McCain in the November election. However, that's not to assume that McCain would have been my first choice. I don't think he was for many conservative Republicans. We simply didn't want a liberal in office. Unfortunately for us, most of America did.

That said, I'm not prepared to bash our new president. It will certainly take getting used to, saying President Obama when for 8 years we've had the name Bush following that prestigious title. I cannot say I agree with all of Obama's ideals and philosophies. However, I cannot attempt to say the man does not have the best interests of America and it's citizens at heart.

The biggest issue I've had with Obama's campaign and inauguration was actually not related to Barack Obama himself. It has to do with America's reaction to him (midly put), or in reality, their nauseating love affair with him.

It's easy to point fingers at the media, but they're the main ones to blame for a nation so hell-bent on crucifying former President Bush that they abandoned journalistic integrity to disgrace a man that was simply trying to do the same thing that President Obama is: making the USA a better place to live.

We've seen only negative images of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We don't see the schools being built, communities thriving, and lives being saved. We're told to view Bush as a tyrant, a vllainous fool who's love of oil fuels his greed and motivates his brash decisions. We're told Bush is to blame for the economy, despite mountains of evidence pointing towards the greed of business men and poor policies enacted by previous presidents. We're told Bush is to blame for Hurrican Katrina, that it's his fault 2,000 lives were lost, and not anyone at the local or state government in Louisiana.

And to think, America used to not be this ignorant.

President Obama has all the makings of a great president. He's young and energetic, much like John Kennedy or Teddy Roosevelt. He speaks as well as any leader we've ever known. He comes across as calm, cool, and collected. He's got a beautiful family, one sure to be adored by Americans over the next 4 years. But the question is can he lead a nation?

I would implore fellow Christian conservatives to end the hate-fest. We have a new president. He may not be who you voted for, but for the next 4 years, Barack Obama is your president. I'm not his biggest fan, but I'll certainly support him as he leads our nation.

At the end of the day, he's just a president. Our authority goes much higher than the Oval Office. Derek Webb says it best: "My first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man. My first allegiance is not to democracy or blood. It's to a King and a Kingdom."

What Gives You Pleasure?

I recently dusted off an older Caedmon's Call cd that I hadn't listened to in a while. On track 2 of the cd, the chorus states

"You created nothing/ that gives me more pleasure than You."


That one line really made me think: did God really intend for nothing else on this earth to give us pleasure like Him? Sure, we're all blessed by God with particular people and things that give us pleasure. But if we concentrate too much on that, we become much like the pagans, who worship creation but not the Creator.

God wants us to take pleasure in Him. GREAT pleasure. I've thought about that and wondered how does pleasure in God look? I think it starts with contentment in our hearts. When we are truly satisfied with Christ and truly take the gospel to heart, it's then we're truly wrapped up in the joy Christ gives. We can take pleasure in the fact that God loves us regardless of what we look like on the inside. Regardless of our thoughts, words, our history, and even our future, God loves us. And not with just a casual, conditional love. It's with a saving grace, a man unabashedly chasing his bride, despite her adulterous lies and deceit. That's God's love. How can we not find pleasure in that?

David writes in Psalm 16:11 "You will teach me how to live a holy life. Being with you will fill me with joy; at your right hand I will find pleasure forever."

Not just pleasure for a day. Not just for the happy moments in our life. Forever.

How have you discovered pleasure in God today? What characteristics of God are you truly rejoicing in today?

Wrapping up 2008

What a crazy year! A new president, a bad economy, and crazy stories from sports and entertainment. Let's take a moment to reflect on the best and worst of 2008.


BEST SPORTS STORY: Michael Phelps. Hands down the most compelling sports story of the year. I think just for fun he should compete in the 2012 games while actually wearing all 8 Gold Medals as he swims. Honorable Mention: Tampa Bay Rays, Josh Hamilton, Boston Celtics.

BEST SPORTING EVENT/GAME: The Men's Wimbledon Final. Rarely do we see athletes pushed to the brink of mere survival in a single event. The 2008 Wimbledon final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer gave us just that. Including 2 rain delays, the match lasted roughly 7 hours. Nadal finally was able to put away his old nemesis for the first time in Wimbledon history. Honorable Mention: Super Bowl 43, Kansas vs. Memphis NCAA basketball final, Texas vs. Texas Tech NCAA football.

COLLEGE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Candace Parker, Tennessee Lady Vols. Say what you want about women's basketball, but you can't deny the sheer dominance portrayed by Candace Parker this past year. Not only did she lead her team to their 2nd consecutive national title, she won the SEC Player of the Year, Wooden Award (national POY), NCAA Tournament MVP, and eventually went on the win the Rookie of the Year in the WNBA. Honorable Mention: Tim Tebow, Tyler Hansbrough, Graham Harrell.

COACH/MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Chad Knauss, Jimmie Johnson's Crew Chief. Like 7 NASCAR Nextel Cup wins and 15 top five finishes this season wasn't enough, how about helping the 48 car win it's third straight NASCAR championship? That's impressive no matter what driver you root for. Honorable Mention: Joe Maddon (TB Rays), Nick Saban (Alabama), Tom Coughlin (NY Giants).

TEAM OF THE YEAR: Tampa Bay Rays. It's tough to decide among all the possible candidates for this one, but when your entire team's payroll doesn't even equal a fifth of the Yankees or Red Sox, yet you still win the division, that deserves a tip of the hat. Honorable Mention: Boston Celtics, Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas Jayhawks Basketball.

MOVIE OF THE YEAR: Dark Knight. Perhaps it was a bit overhyped, but for the most part, it lived up to the billing. Heath Ledger played what was by far the most convincing and truly eerie villain that the Batman series has ever seen. Honorable Mention: Baby Mama, No Country For Old Men, 21.

SONG OF THE YEAR: "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay. The music is phenomenal overall, which we've come to expect from this band. Honorable Mention: "So What", Pink; "I'm Still A Guy", Brad Paisley; "Swagger Like Us", T.I., Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil' Wayne.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR: "808s and Heartbreaks" by Kanye West. Take everything you already know about Kanye and throw it out the window. This album shows more creativity and less "preppie" rap; more heart felt soul and less redundant references to dropping out of school. Honorable Mention: "Death Magnetic", Metallica; "Viva La Vida", Coldplay; "Paper Trail", T.I.

WEBSITE OF THE YEAR: facebook.com They complained in the beginning, but I don't know of too many that still don't like the new facebook format. Yes, the status updates get a bit annoying, but they certainly provide up to the minute info, even on the random person from high school who you don't really remember but don't want to feel like a jerk by denying their friend request. Awesome. Honorable Mention: yardbarker.com, failblog.org, drudgereport.com

COMMERCIAL OF THE YEAR: Ozzy Osbourne AT&T Cell Phone Text. If you know anything at all about the former Black Sabbath frontman, you know that you can't understand what he's saying. AT&T does a great job playing off that in this ad:
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WOMAN OF THE YEAR: Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska. Poke fun all you want, but she wouldn't have been hated so much if she wasn't a real threat to the Democratic Party. You can certainly expect to hear her name brought up in 2012. Honorable Mention: Hillary Clinton, Candace Parker, Pat Summitt.

WORST PERSON OF THE YEAR: Three-way tie between Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and Ben Bernanke. It's hideous how bad these men failed at their jobs, leaving us in an absolute financial nightmare nationwide. It's further more disturbing that this men continue to have jobs. Honorable Mention: Rod Blagojevich, Al Davis, "Pacman" Jones.

MAN OF THE YEAR: Barack Obama, President-Elect. Like him or not, the soon-to-be-prez ran a brilliant campaign, and may very well be the best presidential speaker we've had since Reagan or perhaps even JFK. Honorable Mention: Michael Phelps, Jimmie Johnson, Joe "The Plumber" Wurzelbacher.

The Perfect Gifts To Give This Season

"Everybody says they need just one thing. What they really mean is they need just one thing more." -Rich Mullins

It's that time of year again: time for decorating the Christmas tree, hanging lights outside the house, and stress for hours over gifts for loved ones that more than likely will be completely forgotten by this time next year.

So here's your chance. Your chance to give the perfect gift. One that is meaningful. One that is a "one size fits all" kind of gift. One where the color will be okay, and even if you decide to go cheap, it still can change someone's life.

Where can one find such a gift? Go check out http://www.worldvisiongifts.org/.

World Vision is a Christian organization that helps people in need all around the world. Through them you can "adopt" a child with monthly donations. And I know what you're thinking....that this is another charity that wants a bunch of money to feed the hungry, but your money really might not even go to that purpose. Let me stop you there. First, 86% of all proceeds go directly to the humanitarian efforts World Vision is involved in across the globe. That means 86 cents of every dollar goes to help tsunami victims, orphans in Europe, single mothers in Africa, and children all over the globe.

Kathryn and I have been blessed to be a part of adopting a child through World Vision for over 4 years now. Her name is Stacy, a young girl from a village in Kenya. Every 3-4 months we'll get an update on her, how her education is going, how her family life is, and what she enjoys doing in her free time. We also get pictures of her every now and then. It's truly awesome to actually see the face of the person you're helping even though they're thousands of miles away.

And starting a few years ago around Christmas time, World Vision came out with a really neat idea: a catalog of various gifts you can give to help those less fortunate around the world! Just to give some examples:

-For $75 you can give a goat to a family. Goats produce milk, cheese, and yogurt, all of which are essential to the nourishment of young children in places like Kenya and Zimbabwe.

-For $225 you can get a donkey, which helps transport firewood or other products purchased at village markets.

-For anywhere from $20-$200, you can donate to the Orphan and Widows Fund, which helps meet neds such as food, shelter, education, counseling, and job training.

-For $70 you can send an orphan to school for a year.

-For $60 you can purchase 10 fruit trees for a community.

-For $100 you can help bring safety to a child rescued from child trafficking and prostitution.

-For $85 you can purchase a bicycle for a girl so she may get to school and back home safely.

-For $16 you can buy 2 basketballs to help bring fun and healthy exercise to a child.

The amazing thing about World Vision is that it goes beyond just the hunger needs. You can help build a home for a single mother ($2,000), provide a business loan for a woman ($100), help provide wheelchairs and prosthetics for disabled children ($25-$75), or help protect a family from malaria-bearing mosquitoes ($20).

Clean water, job training, newborn immunizations, school supplies for poor children in the U.S. The list goes on and on.

I know there's a lot on our list this Christmas. We have things we want and things we want to buy others. But really, don't we have what we need? Think about waking up, not knowing where your next meal was coming from. Think about walking 10 miles to a well to get clean water. Think about not having the many opportunities we have here.

Then think about how you can help people who face these realities every day.

God Bless guys, and Merry Christmas!

Lemonade, Apple Pie, and Porn

Before hopping on a plane recently on a trip to Florida, I followed my typical airport routine of finding a newsstand close to my gate to pick up reading material for the flight. I decided upon the latest issue of Esquire. I've never read Esquire before, and for all I knew I had just completely wasted 5 bucks on a magazine full of "artsy" Hilfiger ads and directions on how to have your best abs ever.

I found the mag to be pretty good overall, ads included. However one article really stuck out in my mind after I read it. It was titled "What's With All The Ugly People Having Sex?" and was written by Stephen Marche. Needless to say it warranted my attention.

This wasn't a write-up blasting the porn industry. Nor was it, to my pleasant surprise, a piece glorifying the sex industry as is often the case in our secular world.

Basically what the piece discussed was the growing trend of what is essentially "do it yourself" pornography. Apparently two major sites spinning off of youtube.com have been created for the sole purpose of regular people to post their own sex tape.

This, while not surprising, is scary. There was a time where sex was considered a special thing, intimate, between a man and wife alone. That day has passed. Now it is no more special than shaking hands with a stranger, no different than rush hour traffic, no more out of place in the culture of America than apple pie and lemonade.

But shouldn't we have seen this coming? After all, the porn industry isn't going to turn away from any possible money-making outlet. Over 40 years ago a man named Hefner happily began exploiting young women by distributing magazines with their naked pictures in them.

About 10 years ago, a man named Joe Francis began touring around to different spring break locations videotaping drunk girls who, for a little money and 15 minutes of fame, got naked on camera.

Now, in the 2000s, we have websites dedicated to amateurs wishing to post videos of themselves having sex. As any remaining privacy goes out the window, apparently any sliver of shame does as well. As the article so matter-of-factly states "Pornography, like every other type of expression available in contemporary life, has been democratized." Sad, isn't it?

Certainly, there are two sides to this. There are those people who feel the need to share their sex lives with anonymous people. There are women who, beginning as young teenagers, are pressured into looking sexy. Some even to the point of wearing Playboy attire like it was a fashion statement. Those who also willingly post soft-core porn images onto sites like facebook and myspace.

Marche interjects with an interesting point of view later in the piece. He describes these DIY porn people as persons not wanting to be viewed for the sexual aspects, but for the attention and fame it can bring. "Homemade pornography is do-it-yourself celebrity, and in a world in which just about anybody can get a reality show, the homemade sex tape is the closest most civilians can come to feeling like a real star." Quite a price to pay, isn't it? 15 minutes of fame, and all you have to do is be completely naked and vulnerable in front of the camera having sexual intercourse with another partner.

However, these people would never view themselves as porn actors or actresses. That seems, like Marche puts it, as "a gruesome example of a menial laborer". Again, it's the fame that brings them in, not the sexual activity itself. These people view the Paris Hilton on the red carpet with the cameras flashing, not the Paris Hilton ashamed and disgusted at the whole world being able to view her having sex at any time they want.

The other side is the people (mostly men) who pay money, time, and attention to pornography. Men who are willing to risk marriages, families, jobs, and self-respect for a little self gratification. And we're suckers for a pretty lady taking her clothes off. See, that's the double-edged sword we were all born with: a strong attraction to visually appealing women.

When discussions of lust come up, of all the various verses the Bible contains that fit perfect into the conversation, I keep thinking back to the story of David. A man considered to be "a man after God's own heart". Yet a man also tempted, and failing miserably at resisting it. Check it out for yourself in 2 Samuel 11.

I don't think the question is relevant at this point "how do we stop porn?" Porn is sin, and a temptation, and we can't stop either of those ourselves. The question then must be how do we as Christians react to porn? How do we resist it's allure? How do we teach young men about respecting women? How do we teach young women about respecting themselves?

I'm not here to answer those questions. I simply want to bring awareness to the church about a growing epidemic that is eating away at the fabric of America, and as the bride of Christ, we must no longer be silent regarding it.

Thus when a movie comes out called "Zack and Miri Make a Porno", we as Christians, instead of just shaking our head and turning away can use it as a springboard for discussion. Instead of being appalled at the xxxchurch.com ministry, we can embrace it as necessary and use it as a resource to help Christians break the chains of pornography. Instead of pointing fingers and condeming a generation of promiscuity to hell, we can be actively praying for America's youth, that they'll maintain a lifestyle that is pleasing to Christ.