Book Recommendation

I have a confession to make. I'm really bad at buying books. Really bad. One might say that I have to keep myself in check when I wonder into the local used book store...For I am notorious in coming out with a receipt and book in hand that I thought looked interesting or that some one told me about at some point in time and had suggested I read it. The truth of the matter is, as bad as I have become in recent years at buying books, I feel I have become worse at starting many and finishing few. All the more reason I am happy to report, that while on my trip to DC a few weeks back, I was able to finish one that I started back in November (it had digressed to an on again off again read until the summer when I really had found time to sit down and truck through it while dealing with all my other responsibilities) and which I would definitely recommend.

"Band of Brothers" by Stephen Ambrose is a must read for any fan of historical or military literature. I fully admit that my interest in finding this book was spurred on by the HBO mini-series which I had put off finding the time to completely watch until this past fall, when Spike TV ran all 10 episodes back to back labor day weekend (They've done this at least 2 or 3 other times that I know of since then, and I continue to make room on my DVR to record them again).

While I don't mean to go into a great deal of detail about the book here, I will say that I greatly enjoyed being able to enrich myself in the biographies of the various soldiers which were featured in the mini-series to a much greater detail than the show had allowed for. And being able to find out what happened to many of the soldiers who survived through the length of the war and went on to lead semi normal lives, also brought a greater amount of resolution to me of what happened to the men of Easy Company.

Being the Grandson of two men who proudly served in the Navy during WWII, this book provided a vivid reminder to me of what many of our grandparents did during that time and that they deserve the title they have been given as "The Greatest Generation." I would definitely agree with Tom Brokaw's assessment of their efforts in saying that they stopped at nothing short of saving the world. And while I would not dare to argue that each generation since which has dealt with wars abroad, have sacrificed any less for the sake of freedom than that of the men and women who served in WWII, I cannot help but see something astonishing in what they accomplished.

A favorite fictional character of mine is known by the motto, which seems apt here. "Freedom is the right of all" (paraphrased). The men of Easy Company and the soldiers of WWII sacrificed so much, in order that freedom might flourish for all mankind, and that given a choice how to live, men and women would be free from tyrannical dictators and governments, that would seek to take away any number of those personal freedoms and inalienable rights which we hold to be given to all by the Creator, to pursue those things which we cherish and greatly value.

So. Go. Buy the book. Read about the hardships and heroes of Easy Company. And to those who paid the highest price in order to create a better life for the generations to follow (especially my own)...in fewer words than the rest of this post: Thank you for your service and sacrifice. You undoubtedly helped to make the world a better place.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Hello blogworld -

I realized this evening after reading a friends blog, that I had one of my own. Checking in here and noticing that it has been a little over a year since I posted anything up, I figured ,"Why not?" and decided to boor the Internet community with my ramblings.

A few things that have going on of late. I recently made my first trek to the Capitol of this fine nation just a week and a half ago. The trip was mostly a sight-seeing run that we streched out over the course of a long weekend, but lost a half day and a tour of the senate room due to a bad check in system with an airline going outta Dallas, and then bad weather in DC as we tried to depart from Atlanta. While in DC we were able to stay with a good friend of ours from our church here in DFW who had moved up there in the last few months. Jon, Adrian, and myself had a great time catching up as we toured all the various memorials and museums, and were even able to catch up to a few college friends who also happened to be in the neighborhood. Aside from our airline woes, I couldn't have asked for a better weekend in DC.

While we are on the subject of travel, this past June my immediate family along with my aunt uncles and cousins, all got to go to Hawaii together. We had a spectacular vacation together, hitting most of the major highlights on the island of Oahu, from pearl harbor, to diamond head, to waikikki beach, and even a trip up to the north shore. It was fun getting to enjoy one of the most beautiful places on God's green earth with my family while we caught up with what was going on in each others lives.

And before I get off the subject of travel, at the beginning of this year I had a very neat opportunity to go to Spain and France for a little over a week, with my brother and a few of his friends from college. I knew nothing about Spain before going, and spent three days exploring Barcelona before flying to Paris to catch up with my brother and his friends, and seeing just about as much as you can see in in Paris over the course of a week. Both countries were great to tour, but I have to admit, I was almost caught off guard how much I like Spain and staying in Barcelona. From the hostel to the people I met, to the sights and sounds of the city, I had a wonderful time exploring a large European city on my own ( a first for me). It is a place I would gladly go back to and I hope that I never forget.

Well...those have been the larger elements of my adventures over the past seven months. I realize and am thankful to the Lord how much I have gotten to travel this year. I try to encourage my friends and anyone with whom the conversation of travel comes up, that despite all our technological achievements and how much indeed that the world has "shrunk", we live on very large and diverse world, one which God created with great splendor and beauty. And while I am both physically and financially able, I want to see as much of that as I can while I am here on this Earth. The Bible tells us that all our days are numbered, and none of us know when our time here will be drawn to a close. All the more reason then, to make the most of every opportunity that you and I are given by our Creator to do things that both matter in the eternal scheme and reap the blessings of a life that is lived most abundantly.

Until next time folks (hopefully just a day or two from now, instead of a year or more)....

Ugandan Summer

This summer I had the opportunity to travel to Uganda and serve with a ministry called Salvation Safari. We spent the better part of our 10 days gone sharing the gospel, encouraging the local body of believers there, and running a Vacation Bible school for the kids in the surrounding villages. My friend Melissa has posted a video from the trip on her blog and so I thought I'd share. The video is linked below and Melissa's blog can be found HERE

Uganda Slideshow from Melissa Hendrix on Vimeo.

Lake Trip

Having lived in Texas for 10 straight years now, I've learned how to get to deal with summer heat...Two words: Lake Trip. My friend Travis recently updated his website with pictures from our most recent adventure on the waters of Lake Texoma. They can be seen HERE.

Animals that rhyme with "Boat"

So recently I had the opportunity to design a t-shirt for my friends over at Give An Animal. Its a great new organization that seeks to provide animals to families in developing countries. Donations are categorized by animals and each person who donates receives a t-shirt designed after that particular animal. You can see my design below and check out all the others HERE

Left Wanting

Earlier this evening my church had the opportunity to host Dr. Tim LaHaye, as he promoted his new book "Jesus: Why the World is still Fascinated by Him." He spoke for about 45 minutes about how a Jewish carpenter from a little town in the middle east could be the subject of such controversy and debate still nearly 2,000 years after his death. Covers of Magazines, topic of heated debate, its like our modern culture cannot get enough of him.

Below is the link to the trailer of his new book. I'll let you know what I think when I'm done with it.


- Chuck

Kids Puke the Darndest Things

There has to be a first time for everything. 

So I was at church this afternoon when I got word that our Children's director, Jennifer, was trying to get a hold of me. I stopped by her office before leaving work, where I found her, her infant son Micah, and the associate Children's director Becky. Making my self comfortable, I sat down in her office next to Becky, who was holding Micah, as he smiled coyly about something as Becky held him up and allowed him to 'stand.' Jennifer asked me what she had been wondering and we talked back and forth as I made faces at her newborn child, continuing to feed his smile. 

Becky eagerly offered to let me hold the boy, mentioning that he had both puked and peed on her not long before. Logic and sound reason should have sent some kind of signal to my brain at Becky's words, warning me of the possible outcomes of my actions...but since I'm a moron, and am not surrounded by children every moment of the day, I figured: what the hay. So Jennifer, Becky, and myself carried on our conversation as I continued to hold Micah by his waist allowing him to stand upright on his legs as Becky had done before me. It was not too long afterward when commenting about Micah's previous puking to his mother, did I turn the lad around and question him about whether he was going to repeat his actions...

Micah's enthusiastic answer came in the form of projectile vomit, which spewed at an alarming rate out of his mouth. Thankfully he took the most of damage, but I did not escape the incident unwounded. Several splashes of infant vomit crossed the half arms length divide that separated his mouth from my shirt. 

Jennifer and Becky couldn't stop laughing at the timing of the moment. While I was not nearly as amused by her child's actions, I couldn't help but smile, realizing that I had passed a less than elite marker of life, having now officially been thrown-up upon by an infant. 

I can't say she didn't warn me.

- Chuck

Our Captain

C.S. Lewis was on to something. 

If your familiar with the writer, I'm sure your thinking that that comment is quite an understatement. If you have no idea who I'm talking about then I encourage you to go pick up this book, it will be a great introduction to a writer and thinker that has influenced countless with his works.  But as I was saying, C.S. Lewis was on to something. The man who dreamed in lions, witches, and wardrobes, had a way about his writing that expressed the deepest of human thoughts and ideas in the most simple terms and phrases. Since reading Mere Christianity during my sophomore year in college, I've been fascinated by the writer. In fact, several years ago I picked up A Year with C.S. Lewis, a devotional journal with exerts from Lewis' works, and I was reading it the other day.  The exert was from The Problem of Pain, a book which I am familiar with but have not read.  In this particular passage, Lewis references a verse in Hebrews 2, which after looking up the reference caught my attention: 

"For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." - Hebrews 2:10 NKJV

I have never served in the military, but I have played enough sports to know what the role of someone with the title captain. Ultimately, they're a leader with followers. They provide help and direction for their followers, often serving with or even along side them, and most often bear the brunt of responsibility for any given situation. The author of Hebrews is talking here about Jesus Christ, saying that God the Father, allowed and made God the Son, Jesus, to be the captain of salvation through suffering, that is Christ's torture and then death on the cross. Other translations of the Bible use the phrase "author of salvation," or even the word "pioneer." But at that moment in my living room, the idea of Jesus as the captain of our salvation through pain struck the right cord with me.

A few weeks ago my cousin's husband was murdered. Our whole family is still trying to wrap our minds around the senselessness of such a violent act. We've dealt with our share of death and pain, but nothing like this. My cousin's husband was about the nicest guy you could ever expect to meet. Honestly, if the guy had ever known how to be selfish, he'd forgotten how long before I'd met him. He was a welcome addition to the family, and to me and my siblings, he was more like a brother-in-law, than just a guy who married our cousin. He was a Christian which means he is in Heaven, and that seems like the only thing that in this whole situation that makes any sense at all. It has been a painful thing. 

But in the midst of me crying out to the Lord, looking for answers for all this heartache and suffering that my family was dealing with, the Lord reminded me that the Father knew what it was like to loose His Son, a pain and sorrow that I imagine was infinitely greater than my own. And in my own sadness, that thought brought me great comfort, knowing that the Lord was hurting about this too. What God made His Son go through for us, is nothing less than amazing, and the thought that in a redemptive act, Jesus became the author and captain of salvation through such pain, is no less astounding. But even as I mourn in the loss of a loved one, I am encouraged knowing that the Lord is not indifferent to such pain, and I believe hurts along side us even as He leads us.

- Chuck

One Reason I love SNL

So for those of you who know me, you know that I'm a Saturday Night Live fan. And its usually during the election years that SNL is at its funniest and best. Let's be honest, these candidates are just easy targets and think all of us should laugh at ourselves more often. 

This past Saturday was the season premiere of SNL and this skit opened up the night. Democrat, Republican, or independent, I hope you appreciate THIS SKIT.  

- Chuck

Long time no see

So where do I start? I'm going to venture to guess that for many of you this is the first time you've checked out this blog. So how about an introduction. You probably guessed from the title of this blog that my first name is Chuck and that my last name is Pope. Get it?... "A Pope named Chuck"... I know. Its lame. But three years ago when I was still in school, it was the first thing I could think of. 

Any who, much has changed for me in the last three years since I was a young and eager college senior, ready to make his dent on the world wide web of information (ha, and then never did). I've changed jobs four times, moved housing situations just as many, and finished my MBA in marking (not for lack of wanting to quit mind you).

Suffice it to say, here I am now, with more time on my hands than I'm used to, and wanting to spend it doing something (even if that is just blogging) and finally making my first official post as the author of this blog. If you know me and your reading this I encourage you to keep popping in from time to time to see what's up with your friend or to find out what's on my mind.  If you don't know me - well, then let just say your in for a ride and I encourage you to keep checking back in to find out what's happing with this Pope named Chuck (Pun ridiculously intended). 

If I was cool I would have something 'neat' to say here. If I was eloquent, I might have some moderately cultured verbiage to spew as I signed off...But since I am neither of those things let just call it quits for now. 

- Chuck