Bible Doctrine

I thought I'd tell you about something that has had a big impact on my life. If you don't care to hear about religious stuff then, you'll want to skip this post.

Back in 1990 or 1991, I was having some personal problems. I had a lot of anxiety, low self esteem, and I felt I was a failure with the ladies (this matters to a straight guy). I got counseling which helped but it didn't solve the problems. They kept coming back and, I was getting pretty discouraged. The counselor I was seeing to my surprise recommended I see the base chaplain. The base chaplain at the time was Dr. Christopher Seidlitz.

As far as I can remember, I believed in God and I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior however,  I wasn't very religious. I occasionally went to mass and occasionally took communion. But for the most part, God didn't play a prominent part in my life. I was highly skeptical that Chaplain Seidlitz could do anything for me. I mean what could learning how to say a particular prayer or knowing a particular doctrine do for helping me feel better about myself or help me deal with some of the worries I had at the time. Still, I figured what did I have to lose.

Chaplain Seidlitz turned out to be a very nice man. I enjoyed chatting with him and, he became a friend. It was Chaplain Seidlitz who told me about the bible doctrine tapes. What the tapes are are lessons in bible doctrine by a pastor named Robert B. Thieme Jr. He was the pastor of Berachah Church in Houston (his son R. B. Thieme III is now the pastor there). The tapes are no nonsense teaching of the word of God. Thieme believed that God gave us everything we needed to deal with life's problems in the word of God. All we needed to do was learn it, metabolize it, and use it. My reaction was yah, right. Still, Chaplain Seidlitz stayed on me about listening to the tapes and strangely, my life did seem to get better. I gradually got myself to regularly listen to them and funnily enough, I began to manage and solve the problems that had plagued me. Ultimately, I was able to solve my problems myself with use of the tapes. Since then, I've had other life crises including the transition I'm going through right now from military to civilian life. The crises have been hard but, I've found that the teaching in the tapes has helped me handle them and get through them. If you're going through a tough time in your life and you're receptive to Jesus Christ, you might want to give the tapes a try. They don't cost anything except the time to listen to them. You can find a link on my blog to where you can get more information on the tapes (R. B. Thieme Jr. Bible Ministries). I can't promise they'll be the answer to your problems but, they may help. I know they have helped me with problems I've had in my life.

2005 National Capital Kennel Club Dog Show

On Monday the 28th, I got to go to the National Capital Kennel Club dog show at the Howard County fairgrounds. The main reason I went was so I could see a bunch of pug dogs. One of my dreams is to own a couple pugs. I had one when I was a kid and I thought he was the cutest and funniest dog I've ever had. Unfortunately, my grandmother who we called Mimi (I have no idea why) made my mom give him away. We'd moved to Clinton, New York and were living with her at the time. Mimi for unknown reasons didn't want Puggsy as we called him to mess around with her two beribboned Yorkshire terriers. Mom as far as I know did find him a good home but I never forgot that Mimi made us get rid of him. It would be another item on a long list of grievances I had with that lady.

Anyway, it was neat to go to the dog show. All the breeds were there though some weren't in great number. I got to see one Chinese crested which was an interesting breed. They actually shave those dogs down to their bare skin which made me go "ooooo." I also got to see some bulldogs which were neat with their bat like ears. I also discovered the dog I typically think of as a bulldog was in fact a French bulldog. Those are the bigger bulldogs with the massive jaws. Regular bulldogs are a lot smaller. Before the pugs came on, I got to see some King Charles Spaniels which were cute. A young lady to the surprise of the crowd won best of breed with her spaniel puppy. It had a nice personality and the lady did a good job of handling it.

The pugs finally came on at 11 a.m. I think they had a total of either 11 or 12 dogs. They were neat to watch. One thing that surprised me about them is that pugs can let down their tails. The ideal pug has a tail with a double curl. However, when a pug is upset or nervous, they'll let their tails uncurl. One poor lady had that happen. I'm certain that cost her judging wise. Another thing that was neat about pugs was watching their faces. They have very expressive faces and it was something to watch their expressions. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the pugs. I big time hope to own a couple some day. I just need to get the place for them. Right now, I live in a two bedroom apartment on the third floor. An apartment is fine for a pug which is a small dog BUT puppies have to go to the bathroom a lot. I'm not prepared to carry the dog(s) up and down two flights of stairs five or six times a day. I hope to get a set-up like my Dad has. He fenced in part of his back yard which is connected to a glass door. When it's time for his corgis to do their business, he opens the door, they go outside, and they do their business. When they're done, he lets them back in. The fenced in part of the yard is covered in gravel and every 3 or 4 months, he'll take a heavy yard rake, rake up the dog poop, and throw it out. It's an excellent system. Some day, I'll be able to buy a house and set something up like that.

The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook

I believe it was last month that I heard that Alan Lee was coming out with a book called "The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook." He was reportedly travelling to various bookstores across the country and signing the book in efforts to promote it. I sorely wish I could've met him and got an autographed copy. As it is, I had to settle with buying the book. Yesterday, I bought it.

I expected the artwork to be breathtaking and it is. Alan Lee is a phenomenal artist. He and John Howe are the two most responsible for giving Peter Jackson an idea of what Middle-Earth could've looked like. Their visionary drawings are incredibly beautiful and make one wish such a world had really existed. The book contains over 150 drawings showing how artistic work on the Lord of the Rings movies went from start to finish. It also tells some stories of Lee's involvement in the movies, a project that would involve him for over 6 years.

To complement the incredible artwork in the book, the publishers Houghton Mifflin used high quality paper, good quality binding, and even included a ribbon book mark. It is a high quality book. The only down side in my opinion is the high quality price. My copy cost me $30. Still, you get what you pay for. This is a fantastic book that would make a wonderful Christmas present for any Lord of the Rings fan. I highly recommend it. I feel it will give you or someone you give it to as a gift many hours of pleasure looking at the incredible pictures and dreaming of a world that never was but we might wish had been.