A little warning as I start this blog post…it’s a rant on my part and I just hope I feel better when I’m done.

Lindsay is playing soccer for her school this year. She loves playing organized sports and she puts effort and heart into it. She’s good at volleyball and soccer. Her team…not so much. They’ve played three games so far this year and if my math is correct they have lost by a combined total of 30-2 (and no, I am not exaggerating). One of the games they lost they actually played two extra players for half of the game (their field is so small they play 9 players instead of 11). The last game they lost to a team with only 9 players…no subs.

And it’s not that the girls aren’t playing hard…they are giving it everything they’ve got. They want to win. They want to learn. Lindsay left the last game crying because she wants to win and get better. But it isn’t happening…and I know part of the reason why…coaching.

The word “coach” is a noun…as in: “One who instructs players in the fundamentals of a competitive sport and directs team strategy.” More importantly, it’s also a verb…as in: “To instruct, direct, or prompt”. Lindsay’s coach has the title of coach, but isn’t taking the verb part seriously. They don’t run drills, they don’t get basic instruction, they don’t get correction during the game. They don’t even get passion.

It’s hard to watch. I don’t want to be one of those parents…but that’s becoming increasingly more difficult with each game. I’ve offered to coach (or assist) in the past for her school and been turned down every time. I don’t claim to be a great coach, but I’d at least be active and help the girls learn along the way. I don’t even really care about the winning part as long as they are learning and getting better (which will often lead to winning a few games).

Frustrating…and not sure I actually do feel better…but I tried.  ;o)

I love to laugh. Come to think of it…is there anyone who doesn’t like to laugh (and would you trust them if they didn’t? I love a good joke, for example…

A couple of hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn’t seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: “My friend is dead! What can I do?” The operator, in a calm, soothing voice, says: “Just take it easy. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead. “There is a silence, then a shot is heard. The guy’s voice comes back on the line. He says: “Okay, now what?”

I laugh at myself, I laugh with others (I try to not laugh at them too often). Laughing feels good. It’s fun. “They” say it’s the best medicine. We laugh a lot in our family and I love to hear my kids’ laughter. It keeps us from taking life and ourselves too seriously. Laughter is good for the soul.

That last sentence got me thinking today about what Scripture says about laughter. I must admit I couldn’t think of a single verse off the top of my head that dealt with laughter. But God invented it so it has to be there right?

So I went on a little search. Most of the references to laughter are about laughing at someone’s defeat (see the Psalms) or someone laughing at something God told them (see Sarah). But there are a few positive references…

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven…A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4; NLT)

God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will laugh. (Luke 6:21, NLT)

And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” (Nehemiah 8:10, NLT)

I can’t help it…I like change. Leave something alone for too long and it kinda drives me crazy. So…I gave my blog a little facelift yesterday…a new style…a new look. I liked the last one, but I like this one too. And it won’t be the last one.

So come check it out…especially if your reading this on Facebook. The web address is: www.dbaumgartner.com

And while you’re there, feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

With the Olympics in full swing I got to thinking about some of the ridiculous events that they include for some unknown reason. Which got me to thinking about what I would replace them with.

First, here’s my list of the top three (in order) events I would can…

1. Ice Dancing…no explanation needed.
2. Men’s Figure Skating…not even gonna go there.
3. Curling…looks like fun to play, but in the Olympics??

And here’s what I would replace them with…

1. Snowball Fighting…both individual and team.
2. Snow Angel Making…would give some creative outlets.
3. Downhill Tubing…would be some awesome wipe-outs here!

How about you? What would you get rid of and what you you replace it with??

(BTW, if you’re reading this as a note on Facebook, come check out the real thing here).

This morning I had an interesting thought come to mind about my interactions with others. I’m sure it was a gentle reminder from the Holy Spirit and hopefully it’s a lesson I am learning more quickly than slowly.

I want to be a blessing to others—not a burden.

There is often a fine line between the two. Don’t misunderstand me…we are supposed to share our burdens with one another (that part of living in community with other people). But there is a difference between sharing my burden and being a burden.

As I go about my daily life I want to be a blessing to other people (even as I share my life and burdens with them) rather than being a drag on them (people already have enough to worry about). Perhaps the difference is in sharing my burden rather than simply dumping my burden(s) other people…it’s a two-way street, I share mine and help carry another’s.

So that’s my prayer today…that I will be more of a blessing than a burden. I’ll let you now how that goes.

On the floor. Dead center. 18 rows back.

I’m no concert expert, but we have been to a few this year and the Foreigner concert last night was hands down the best concert I have ever been to…ever! I’m typically fairly reserved when it comes to an event like this, but I couldn’t help but clap…shout…raise a fist…and sing along at the top of my lungs.

It certainly helps that I knew all but maybe two of the songs (and one of them was brand new), including: Feels Like the first Time; Cold as Ice; Hot Blooded; Double Vision; Blue Morning, Blue Day; Dirty White Boy; Urgent; I Want to Know What Love Is; and the best rendition of Juke Box Hero I’ve ever heard.

It. Was. Awesome.

And best of all, I got to share it with my best friend in the whole world. Only thing that might have made it better is if we’d had some friends to share it with. If you like Foreigner and ever get the chance…go to the concert. You won’t be disappointed.

There’s an old joke by Steven Wright that goes something like this: “Why do people drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?” While this is largely a question for English majors, it does beg a question that came up last night as we drove up to some friends’ house for dinner.

Why don’t people park in driveways? Why is it socially “taboo”?

Anita and I got in a little “discussion” about this as she parked on the street while there was a perfectly good parking spot on the driveway. And we have people over all the time…with a huge driveway…and they park on the street about 90% of the time.

Now, I can understand it if your car leaks oil like a sieve, but not many of the people I know anymore have cars that do that (we aren’t driving clunkers like we used to). I know our car doesn’t leak, but there we were parked on the street.

What gives? I don’t get it. Please…shed the light on my perplexity…and for goodness sakes, park on my driveway…

It has been almost a year since I got my very first tattoo (you can read about it here). They say you never get one…that you get hooked and end up with several tattoos. I think they are right (and I don’t even know who “they” are). So while Anita was in China I took the plunge on my second tattoo. It was supposed to be a surprise even though we’d been talking about it for awhile.

A friend of mine at work (Christina Phillips) had gotten some work re-done by a guy (Rusty) up in Arvada and I liked the work…so on July 22nd I headed north and got the work done. And once again…I love it! Here is the inspiration for the design I ended up getting:

It’s called a “Chi-Rho” and is one of the earliest Christian symbols known. Here is Wikipedia’s description…

The Chi Rho is one of the earliest christograms used by Christians. It is formed by superimposing the first two letters in the Greek spelling of the word Christ: chi = ch and rho = r, in such a way to produce the monogram ?. The Chi-Rho symbol was also used by pagan Greek scribes to mark, in the margin, a particularly valuable or relevant passage; the combined letters Chi and Rho standing for chr?ston, meaning “good.” (Wikipedia)

I love the symbolism and the meaning behind this symbol, and it isn’t very common. Christina had also gotten some UV ink on her tattoo and I liked that idea–specifically for the Alpha and Omega symbols in the artwork above. Here are the pictures from the event (taken by Christina)…

The tattoo in progress.

Yes…it hurts!

The tattoo right after the sitting (wrapped in plastic even).
You’ll notice that the Alpha and Omega will “disappear” as it heals.

Here are a couple of photos from the tattoo today. It’s not completely healed, but it’s well on it’s way…

Here it is in broad daylight…see, the symbols are fading nicely.

Here it is under a blacklight…cool huh?

I love this tattoo almost as much as the first one (just something about that first tattoo though). And I can safely say it will not likely be my last…but that’s down the road. For now, I’ll enjoy what I’ve got. =0)

I got an email yesterday that is either funny or not funny at all…I am pretty sure that I am not the intended target market for this product.

Here’s the subject line of the email: “You may qualify for an electric wheelchair at little or no cost.”

Here’s the body of the email:

There are two things wrong with this ad:

1. I am not the right target market (at least I hope I’m not…maybe they know something I don’t know?). I have no idea how they got my email address…first time something like this has come to my inbox.
2. Ed McMahon passed away over a month ago (June 23rd to be exact). Is he really the spokesperson you want for the actual intended target market? you’d think you wouldn’t want that kind of reminder going out in your marketing campaign. I’m just sayin’.

This did serve as a reminder for me that we need to ensure that our message is reaching the intended market in a way that they will understand and relate to. Otherwise we simply miss the mark and go unheard..right into the recycle bin like this email is headed towards.

Anita has now officially been gone for three days. I think most betting people had the over/under for me taking care of the kids without losing my mind at about 3 days…so the rest of this week will really tell tale, but so far we’ve managed just fine.

The house is in working order…even managed to vacuum, mop, and do some dishes. The kids haven’ been bored yet, but that’s because I’ve kept them so busy they haven’t had time to think much: The pool, movies (thank Beth!), a car race, fixing my brakes, and hanging out together. Again, next week will be the real test since I will be working from home and not able to do all the “fun stuff”.

They also haven’t missed Anita too badly yet. Skype has helped that a lot…and staying busy. This is one I know will change. The longer  she’s gone the worse it will get. The more bored they get. The more “mean” I get (a.k.a.: The less new I am). I miss her already and wonder how she does this “job” so well. It’s a lot of work…God Bless all those single mom’s out there. They are a miracle!

So…next week here we come…more to report as the week goes on. Pray for me…pray for Anita…but mostly pray for my kids.