Steve Irwin: 1962-2006

I was saddened to hear that Steve Irwin, famous worldwide as the “Crocodile Hunter”, died Monday morning when he was fatally stabbed in the chest by a stingray barb while snorkeling near the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia.

Irwin was famous for his commitment to conservationism and his passion for wildlife, and ever since he came onto the scene in the U.S. in the late 1990s, I liked him for the childlike enthusiasm he always displayed for animals, the unbelievable courage he had to get as close as possible to animals that most of us choose to stay away from, and his funny Australian accent.

Spending so much time around dangerous animals like crocodiles and poisonous snakes, Irwin avoided death on such a regular basis that he almost seemed to be impervious to it. Sure, hanging out with an angry crocodile would be a hazardous endeavor for you or me, but for the Croc Hunter, it never really seemed to posed a threat; he was always in control of the situation.

Or at least, that was the case until Monday, when I was reminded that, despite appearances, none of us is really in control of the situation we find ourselves in, and none of us can escape death forever. One of the realities of life is that it is ended by a physical death that comes for all of us, and can come at any time.

But fortunately, that doesn’t have to be the end of the story. The Bible teaches that for those who live for Christ, physical death is overcome by eternal spiritual life.

I am not impervious to death; it will claim me someday. But it will not be the end of my story.

Blog List and Other Links

Below are some blogs that I read on at least a semi-regular basis. Some are theological blogs, others are not at all; some are written by friends and family, others are written by complete strangers. What they all have in common is that, for whatever reason, I enjoy reading them.

Obviously, linking to the blogs below does not mean that I endorse or agree with anything on a particular blog.

If you find that your blog is not listed here but is something that you feel I should be reading, just let me know. You’re probably right and I am just unaware of your awesome blog.

Adam Faughn

Derek Oxford

Edward Carson

Gregory A. Tidwell

Jared Dockery

Jeremy Sweets

John Mark Hicks

John Wright

Kelli White

Kevin Burr

Mark Adams

Matt Dabbs

Paul Smith

Below are several Web sites and/or businesses that I think are cool for one reason or another (obviously this is an incomplete list):

Kiva—Micro-financing for would-be entrepreneurs from the developing world. A cool way to help those in need by empowering them to improve their lives.

Ozark Ultimate—Providing in-depth ultimate frisbee coverage of the Ozark Section.

Red Rook Royal—For all your web design and public relations needs.

TOMS—For every pair of shoes you buy, another pair is sent free of charge to a child in need!

If your Pockets are Feeling Empty…

It's 4th of July time. Independence Day is one of the big travel holidays, which means that gas prices have risen again. As of today, the price per gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the United States is $2.93. It will probably be over $3 a gallon soon. That's a lot of money.

I saw an article somewhere that said that in the summer of 2004, average U.S. gas prices were $1.70, which is $1.23 lower than they are today. Thinking about how high gas prices are, I decided to figure out how much more we spend now on gas than we did two years ago.

Let's say that you, as an average American, filled up your 12 gallon gas tank once a week for the 13 weeks of summer in 2004 (that's about how much gas I use):

• 12 (gallons) x 13 (weeks) x $1.70 (2004 price) = $265.20

In the summer of 2006, with the same car, your results will be somewhat different:

• 12 (gallons) x 13 (weeks) x $2.93 (2006 price) = $457.08

That's an extra $191.88 that you're spending in gas money this summer compared to two years ago. And that doesn't even take into account the fact that gasoline consumption has actually increased over the last two years as well, so you're probably spending even more extra than the $191.88. And if you're like me, you might complain about it, but you still pay it, because as a rich American, you can afford to, and you want to drive around your car whenever you want to.

Oh, and speaking of that $191.88, that surplus money that you're spending on gas, that's roughly what an average person in Somalia, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Nigeria, or a dozen other countries would make over the course of that same 13 weeks. Total. Yikes.

We are incredibly blessed in this country, and we should take note of all that we have been given and be very thankful for it. James 1.17 says that God is the giver of every good gift, and we should be thankful to him for what he's given us. Let's do as much for him as we can with what we've been given.

A Disgrace to Fans Everywhere

As a rabid Braves fan, I am someone who hated the Yankees for quite a while. In recent years, I haven't hated them as much (probably because they haven't won a World Series in a while), though I do get really tired of hearing about them and the Red Sox all the time on ESPN.

I was watching the Yankees play the Braves the other day though, and realized that, while I no longer hate the Yankees as a team, I sure do hate their fans. Ever since he started playing for them a few years ago, Yankee fans have booed and maligned Alex Rodriguez, saying that he just doesn't "fit" in a Yankee uniform or just doesn't "seem" like a "true Yankee", despite the fact that he has been the AL MVP while in New York (the fact that NY hasn't won the World Series since he's been there is probably a large part of this).

The other day against the Braves, A-Rod got booed all game long: when he would come up to bat, when he would get out, and especially later in the game when he made an error. And all this to a guy who is easily one of the top five players in the game, a player any other team would love to have.

Then, in the bottom of the 10th, A-Rod comes up and hits a walk-off home run to win the game. Of course, the stands erupted, cheering on Rodriguez as if he was Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle, and Jeter all rolled into one.

A-Rod circled the bases like a "true Yankee": all business-like, then waving to the crowd at the end. Personally, I would've been tempted to take more of a non-"true Yankee", Ted Williams approach and spit on all the fickle jerks who had hated me seconds before.