Thoughts on a Lazy Summer Day

We relaxed in the warm summer night air last evening at Anaheim Stadium.  Munching peanuts and red vines....holding hands...watching a young father play hide-and-seek with his giggling little girl....savoring Andrea and her friend laughing and gaily chatting....cheering for the home team.....singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game....kissing after each homerun (even if not by our team!)....booing for calls that don't go our way....admiring center-aisle dance moves of a teenage fan enjoying the music....applauding our hometown baseball heroes.
 
Ah, the sweet languid magic of summer baseball.
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A bona fide star was born tonight at the Democratic Convention......Barack Obama. Remember that name.  Martin Luther King, Jr must be smiling down from above. His torch has finally been passed to an articulate new standardbearer.
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The Democratic Convention (now in progress) seems like a gigantic Toastmasters club get-together. Lots of fancy, spell-binding speeches with all the oratorical bells and whistles, mainly just for the sake of speechmaking. With better parties, though. And placards. 
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Ron and I want to admire Lance Armstrong as a great American hero. We really do. Cancer survivor, six-time victor of a grueling international athletic competition, generous supporter of cancer charities. But I keep seeing the faces of his three young children who barely know their father....whose mother is being divorced by Armstrong for his rock star girlfriend. And Ron read an article about all the drugs and body machinations that bicyclists like Armstrong do to win. He says it's semi-grotesque....it bothers him. I guess we admire his achievements. but the price seems awfully high.
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Per a newly released survey by University of Chicago of 43,000 Americans, America's Protestant majority will no longer be a majority religion by the end of this year. For the first time in our country's history, Protestant religions will no longer be the faith of choice by more than 50% of Americans. The Catholic population has remained steady for years at 25%. Those without a faith has risen radically to be 14% of all Americans, and non-Christian faiths continue to rise, as well. 

It seems odd that as evangelical churches rise and mainline Protestant churches fall in membership rolls, that Protestant adherants have decreased significantly in the US. By definiton, evangelism efforts are not working. Sounds like a fresh look at methods and message is overdue.

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Friendly neighbors are a great everyday joy.  A grocery bag of homegrown tomatoes left hanging on our front door....an invitation to share coffee and to hold a brand new grandchild....a gentle wave between passing cars. And that was just today.