Luke’s Notebook

Major League Baseball season is underway!! The Braves lost to the Nationals (unfortunately) this evening to kick off the “real” start of the 2008 season. And I just couldn’t be more excited!

The rest of the league gets underway on Monday. For some reason, I have just been so anxiously looking forward to baseball and softball this year. Well, baseball is here, and softball is right around the bend. Starting next Monday, we’ll be playing three games a week until, well, probably October or November. Lots of ball.

Back to the Majors. For those who don’t know, I’m a Braves fan. I love the Braves. This year, I’m actually really excited about them!! They seem to have a great team. If their guys can stay healthy, I think this will be a fun year. Chipper Jones, Mark Texeira, Jeff Francoeur, and Brian McCann in a row is a very, very appealing part of the lineup.

Having Tom Glavine rejoin the Braves is pretty neat, too! A rotation with he, Tim Hudson, John Smoltz, and Mike Hampton sounds very promising, too — again, if they can stay healthy.

Ah, I love sports! Fun to watch, and fun to play!

Well, I couldn’t be prouder. She weighs six pounds and 13 ounces. She is 15 inches, is very dark, and is just the cutest little –

Okay, well, I’m talking about my new laptop. Not new new, but new to me. New enough for my needs. After all, I have a pretty powerful desktop computer that I built last year which handles most of my heavy lifting.

This is an IBM Thinkpad R50p. Spec-wise, it’s nearly identical to my old Toshiba Tecra — Intel Pentium M processor at 1.7 GHz, two gigabytes of RAM, similar storage space. Weight-wise, we’re pretty similar, although this guy might be a little lighter than the Tecra. They both have Windows XP Pro, both have built-in microphones (quite nifty, by the way).

Now, this Thinkpad has a couple of nifty features. For one, it has a lovely, just lovely, 15-inch 4:3 display. That’s actually larger than the 15.4-inch widescreen (or 16:9) display on the Tecra. Resolution-wise, there is no comparison! That was one major, major draw. This baby has a resolution of 1600×1200 pixels, as compared to the Tecra’s 1280×800. Do the math, and you’ll see that I almost have TWICE the amount of coverage. 1600 x 1200 = 1920000, and 1280 x 800 = 1024000.

So the display is pretty cool. I’m liking it a lot. Two other big advantages found in this laptop are the built-in Bluetooth (which is just super for me), and the nifty ThinkLight, which is a tiny, tiny light built into the top of the LCD lid that shines down on the keyboard, illuminating it in the dark. It’s pretty neat.

Unfortunately, there are a couple of downsides to this. One somewhat major one is the loss of Firewire. The Tecra has an integrated four-pin Firewire port. Also, the Tecra has a memory card reader, something this doesn’t. Both of those features can be added later, but it’s too bad that neither of them are neatly integrated into the computer itself.

Oh, and now that I think about it, I also lose my DVD burner (replaced with a CD burner), but I may upgrade this one to a DVD burner. So that may end up being a wash.

And the final three things I miss about my Tecra are keyboard-related:

#1 - The first is just the placement of the left control key. For some strange reason, IBM saw fit to move it from the corner, the border, of the keyboard, and instead put a function key there. This means that it’s harder to locate the control key by feel, making it more difficult to do keyboard shortcuts, such as Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V for copy and paste.

#2 - Speaking of the function key, I’m glad it exists, but I loved the setup on the Tecra, because it allowed me to assign all sorts of keyboard shortcuts to the function key. For instance, Fn + F would open up Firefox; Fn + W would launch something like Microsoft Word. It was just a really handy thing to have, and unfortunately, this function key doesn’t allow those shortcuts.

#3 - No Windows key. Seriously! No stinking Windows key! Now, that is a problem, because I use the Windows key all the time. I’m constantly hitting Win + E, Win + F, Win + R, Win + Break — all extremely useful Windows shortcuts. But, for the strangest reason, IBM hasn’t added the Windows key, when it is on virtually every other laptop out there. But, I found this nifty little program called AutoHotkey, which essentially lets me have the Caps Lock key work as the Windows key, and so I have all of my wonderful, time-saving shortcuts again.

So that’s about it! In the end, I’m thrilled to have this computer. Most of the downsides are negligible, and there’s a workaround for every single one of them. So I’m a pretty happy camper.

I have to admit, It’s times like this that I feel exceptionally geeky. Some people might wonder why in the world it matters to have, say, a Windows key, or why the location of the control key makes any difference. Well, for me, it’s stuff I use over and over and over day-in and day-out, so it really slows me down if I’m all of a sudden without one of my time-saving shortcuts. If you know how to use different keyboard shortcuts, and if you’re more of a power user on the computer, you can save an incredible amount of time and effort.

Well, I can go on and on about my baby. But, she’s tired, and she should take a nap. If she goes too long without sleep (or being plugged in), she starts fussing and isn’t very cooperative.

I just recently learned that Apple’s browser, Safari, is now available for Windows. So I went on over to the Apple site, downloaded it, and installed the browser on my computer. I fired it up and played around with it for a few minutes.

Well, I’m now uninstalling it. It just… is not very impressive, from what I’ve seen so far. Visually, it’s kind of an unsightly gray, and it just doesn’t seem to hold a candle to Firefox in terms of ease of use or speed.

Firefox, by far, is just the absolute best web browser I’ve ever used. To date, there have just been no alternatives that are even close to its functionality, flexibility, and features.

If a better browser ever came along, I would happily use it. In fact, that’s a reason that I downloaded Safari, to give it a shot. But so far, none of the three major competitors of Firefox’s — Internet Explorer, Opera, and Safari — seem to be anywhere close to where Firefox is at the moment, at least for the way I browse the web.

My knee hurts. Yep, the right knee, the one that underwent the surgery back on November 7th of 2007. It hurts in pretty much the same area of my torn medial meniscus, which was partially removed. It’s not a severe pain, but it does hurt. I do know exactly why it hurts, though!

We’re just wrapping up Easter. It was a wonderful day. After our morning service, which was just great, we headed over to my dad’s parents’ house for an Easter lunch. After spending a few hours there, we went to a get-together with Mom’s side of the family. Since Mom is one of 10 kids herself, there are many cousins, aunts, and uncles.

Later in the afternoon, we ended up getting a dodgeball game together. It was fairly cold outside, but with all of the constant moving around during the game, the cold weather really didn’t seem to bother anyone who was playing.

At one point, we must have had 30 or 40 of us playing — just in a big circle, launching the ball, slipping on the grass, and laughing a lot. There were plenty of little kids having a ball, and us bigger kids were probably having just as much fun!

It was just a really neat atmosphere. Everybody is family — whether a brother, aunt, parent, or cousin — and everybody is just having the best time! What really struck me is that I guess I never considered old-fashioned dodgeball to be a particularly cool thing to play, particularly as an adult. I mean, we played it in grade school during recess, but it has just never been a super-cool sport, in my opinion — especially as I got older. Kind of a kiddie game!

But what I loved about today is that.. nobody seemed to take the time to think about whether it was cool or not. All we knew is that we were having a grand old time. And what was great is that there was no pressure to try to impress anybody. You could basically just let go and have fun.

Seriously, it was just really neat. I think that’s the great thing about family, is that you get to just be yourself, and you don’t have to worry about what people are going to think of you, if you’re impressing them, if they’re going to accept you.

I’m just realizing more and more that family is awesome. We just had the best time jumping around, getting nailed by the ball, tearing up the grass. It was a silly game, maybe even a kid’s game, but we just played for hours, until it got too dark to play.

So, yeah, my knee is griping at me for jumping around so much. I wish it didn’t hurt, as my left knee is pain-free, but I can say without hesitation that this was well worth it!

All of 1 Corinthians 15:

1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a>: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Peter,[b> and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he “has put everything under his feet.”[c> Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

29Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,

“Let us eat and drink,

for tomorrow we die.”[d> 33Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.

The Resurrection Body

35But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”[e>; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we[f> bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

50I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[g>

55″Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”[h> 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

I love that phrase, “Death has been swallowed up in victory”! Sin has been defeated! Jesus conquered the grave. What an awesome thought!

Matthew 27:27-31

27Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

…

50And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son[e> of God!”

Don’t let the crucifixion lose its power. Jesus was killed, and it wasn’t pretty. He wasn’t just put to death as true criminals are these days, very humanely. No, He was beaten, whipped, struck, spat on, insulted, and then had those spikes driven through Him, hanging on the cross for hours until, finally, He died.

It was very real. Just imagine what the people thought who were actually there. They didn’t know what was going on. They didn’t know how things would turn out. Imagine how chaotic it must have been, how terrible. Here is Jesus, the Son of God, being beaten, humiliated, and finally killed.

And let’s make sure to remember why this happened:

Isaiah 53:5-6

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Really, it had to happen, due to us. If we weren’t guilty, if we hadn’t broken the law, then there would have been no need for this, and Jesus wouldn’t have died.

Let’s make sure that we don’t ever let the cross lose its power.

I’ve been thinking recently about what to write. And while I have a good list of ideas for topics (in fact, a good dozen or so), something just came to me today that I want to get out before I forget it.

It’s just summed up in one sentence: It’s all about Jesus.

That’s it, and that’s what every person in the world should realize. When we get past religion, get past denominations, get past formalities, and get past prejudices, then we realize that, when you get to the unfiltered truth, it’s such a simple thing. I don’t want to complicate it or attach anything to it.

It’s as simple as this: We’re sinners — you, me, Mom, Dad. The punishment for sin is hell. Therefore, we’re in trouble, as we are guilty. We broke the law.

Jesus died to take those sins, so that we can be forgiven. Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

And that’s it, really. We’re free. If this news doesn’t just make us fall so in love with Jesus, then we really need to examine ourselves.

That’s just why I love God so much, and I want to obey Him. Yes, I fail all the time, but I can tell you honestly that I want to make Him happy.

I don’t think I’m very religious or a good person, even! I’m just somebody who has been set free and is eager to spread the word to other people so that they might, too, be free. Certainly not because of me or my influence, but because of what Jesus did and His amazing love for you and me.

So make sure you remember this: It really is all about Jesus. Don’t forget that. Don’t forget that there was a reason He died on the cross. Don’t forget that it really happened.

So lately I have been running more and more while up at the YMCA. (As a side note, I’m still searching for a way to make running fun. Any ideas?? But anyway…)

Today at the Y, I did another one of my one-mile challenges on the treadmill. I ended up reaching a mile in 6:45, which is actually pretty encouraging for me! See, I had kind of slowed down on my running quite a bit over the fall and winter. Obviously, my knee surgery had made me avoid running for some time, and I just.. honestly, didn’t want to run, so I didn’t run. Pretty simple when you get right down to it!

My all-time record was set back on March 20th, 2007, when I hit a mile in 5:39 on the treadmill. I’m still kind of surprised that I managed to reach that, because historically, I have never been much of a runner. Really, I’ve never been a runner at all.

Growing up, I had a nice fire hydrant-esque build, and I just never had a big reason to try to be a speedster. It wasn’t until I really started working out and losing weight a good six or seven years ago that I even thought of running. Even then, it was never very appealing.

Well, I’ve done some more running over the past few years once I discovered that it made me faster, and that in softball I could turn a double into a triple or a triple into a home run. So all of a sudden, I had a reason to try to be faster! When it means more RBIs, then that’s a tremendous reason… naturally.

And then in 2007, I really kicked it into high gear and was very surprised at what I was able to do with just trying. Now that I’m only about a minute away from my record, I’ve got to admit that I’m getting a little more inspired to keep running, to see if I can chip off five or 10 seconds here and there. What if I could ever get down to 5:30?

It’s really kind of satisfying to have made so much progress here! I still can’t say I’m having a lot of fun when running, but another thing I’m realizing is that it doesn’t really matter whether I’m enjoying it or not. Either way, progress is being made.

That has actually been on my mind quite a bit lately, as just this past week especially, I have not been real excited about working out. But, each day, I’ve managed to force myself to go and put in my time. And one day it hit me that my body doesn’t necessarily know if I’m having fun or not. The muscles don’t know; the fat doesn’t know. So even though I don’t get extra credit on those days when I actually want to work out, it’s really nice to know I don’t get penalized when I’m not very excited. So I guess it works out okay in the end.

From Romans 8:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

I’m just lying here, reading that, and I can’t help but smile.

Dear Friend,

I’m not exactly sure how to start this. I write this because I am genuinely concerned about you and your well-being.

I’m realizing more and more how life is so incredibly temporary. At best, we get 90 or 100 years. I’m 23, and it’s really hard to believe that, more than likely, my life is at least 25% up. It could well be 50% up or even 99%. There’s no telling.

One thing’s for sure, though: We’re not going to live forever. There will come a day, someday, when you’ll wake up for the last time. I’ll write my last blog post ever, play my last softball game ever, drink my last Diet Dr Pepper ever. You’ll hug your mom for the last time ever. You’ll throw your last snowball ever, take your last class ever.

It’s obvious that we’re not going to live forever. No big surprise there. And as far as how much longer we have got, I think everybody will agree that’s just a big question mark in everybody’s life.

Honestly? I guess I’m scared. Not for myself, really, but I’m scared for what will happen when friends and family members — people I love and care about –- you, my friend — die. If I can stress one thing here, it’s that I do not want you to go to Hell.

I’m very scared of Hell. The Bible paints an awful picture of what Hell is like. It’s just… so scary. I have not met a person yet who I would wish such a fate upon. And, truth be told, the thought of the people I love going to Hell is just so disturbing, especially when I can do something about it.

There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just confess that the reason I’m writing this is because I’m afraid you might be heading for Hell. I hope I’m wrong… I really do. You’re my friend here in real life. Why in the world would I want you to go to Hell? I don’t even want you to have a bad day. So please, please understand that I’m sincere.

Also, understand that it’s not very fun to write this. I understand it’s kind of risky, but to be honest, I’d rather have you get upset with me and think I’m narrow-minded, crazy, or judgmental if that’s the price it takes for you to really think about this.

I suppose I would ask you to seriously consider a few things. First, I’m sure you would agree that either God exists or God doesn’t exist. One of the two options is simply true. If God exists, then Heaven exists, Hell exists, Jesus exists, and the Devil exists.

If God exists, then that lake of fire that is Hell is very real, and very real people go there. What kind of people? Well…the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexual offenders, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers, the cowardly, the vile, the unbelieving, the liars, those who don’t know God.

That’s really, really scary. Lying is enough? Being a drunk? Sexually immoral? Simply being vile? What bothers me more is a lot of my friends and people who I really love fit different parts of that description.

So what am I to do? Put yourself in my shoes. You get to know me, then you learn that something I’m doing is killing me. Not physically, but it’s literally damning me. And I’m totally oblivious to it. What kind of friend would you be if you just smiled and made small talk with me when you knew that I was headed for Hell?

Maybe you were afraid you would offend me. Maybe you didn’t want to sound too preachy. Whatever the reason was, you always found a way to avoid the concern when we would talk.

Seriously, is that what a friend does? If a friend isn’t going to warn you of danger, then who will? Would it really have been for my own good if you just politely let me dig a grave for myself?

I guess the reason I’m writing this is because I feel bad. I don’t see how I can claim to be a friend of yours if I won’t even bring this up to you. I just… I don’t know how many more times I’ll talk to you or even how many days you have left. So, right now, I want you to know this.

Please understand that we don’t get to decide whether or not there’s a God, or whether or not there’s Heaven or Hell. Additionally, we don’t get to decide what the criteria is. If God does, indeed, exist, then these facts are here and will prove to be true.

Now, if God doesn’t exist, then I’m completely wasting my time. I’m tired, and I could be sleeping. I’m being incredibly stupid, because I’m basically telling the people that I like and care about that they’re in danger of being damned for eternity. Additionally, if God doesn’t exist, then there’s… nothing when we die. There’s no Heaven, there’s no Hell. Not one single person goes to Heaven; no one goes to Hell. There’s no distinction. There’s no punishment for the bad guys; no reward for the good guys.

As a friend, I would just beg you to do whatever it takes to get into Heaven and avoid Hell. Unfortunately, the “leading a pretty good life” thing doesn’t cut it, nor does being a generally good person.

I’m a sinful person. That’s really all there is to it. I’m no better than anybody. The Bible says that if we break one of God’s commandments, we’re guilty of breaking them all. And God cannot let sin go unpunished. The only, only, only way to have our sin separated from us is through Jesus.

If we turn from sin, believe in Jesus and obey Him, then we are blameless, sinless, pure, Heaven-bound.

It’s really simple, but it’s narrow, as you really have to give up sin. You simply can’t have both.

So at some point, you need to decide what’s more important to you. I’d suggest you weigh the cost of following God. Don’t do it lightly. If you’re not willing to turn away from certain things, then don’t fake it. In fact, please don’t even call yourself a Christian if you’re not willing to obey God.

It’s very important to realize that Christians aren’t perfect. Becoming a Christian most certainly doesn’t make you perfect. You, my friends and family, would be the first ones to point out how I’m quite, quite imperfect, in so many ways. What I am striving for, though, is to be sinless. I fail, I fail, and I fail, but I keep trying. Bottom line, though, is I’m a mess, too, just like anyone else. If there weren’t forgiveness for sins, I’d be Hell-bound.

Anyway, I understand that I may have very well just upset or offended you. But I hope you know where I’m coming from. I’m not making any of this stuff up. If God exists, then it’s true. Truth isn’t open to interpretation, and we all have to live with the facts, whatever they may be.

Finally… I would love to talk with you about this. If you want to talk, imperfect person to imperfect person, I’m here. I definitely don’t have all of the answers, but I do understand the seriousness of Heaven and Hell, and I want you to know that I care about you, and I want you to make the right decisions, for your own benefit.

I’m praying for you, Friend. Take care.

Luke