What's been on my mind

So much has been on my mind lately. Em, school, work, sports, politics... all these things have been fighting for space in my mind. So why not throw them out in the open, starting from the end.

So Al Sharpton found out that even he is just one phrase away from being a bigot. Maybe we should organize a picket line in front of his place of work and call for him to be fired after saying such inflammatory remarks. "Those who really believe in God" my ass. He could've said the same things about Jews or Muslims without batting an eye. "Freudian Slips" don't always have to be about sex. Anyways, that'll blow over in a week.

As for sports. Arsenal looks to be sealing up the 4th spot in the Premiership and will have to go through a qualifying stage before being able to go through to the group stages for next season's Champions League. Liverpool and AC Milan are in a savory Champions League Final in a rematch from 2 years ago. ManU and Chelski face off in the FA Cup final, as Manchester goes for the double.

If you understood that, wonderful.

Oh yeah, and the World Champion Cardinals are sucking it up so far this year.

Come to think about it, I don't want to talk about work.

School's out for summer...yay!

And now for Em. She pregnant and that's wonderful. She gets evening sickness and is really tired. She's about 12 weeks along and is due in November. I am becoming more and more excited everyday as the prospect of becoming a father creeps closer to reality.

And that's what I've been thinking about the most. Fatherhood. My dad, my grand-dads (I am lucky enough to have grown up with both of them in my life), and God-dad have all been on my mind. What do I need to learn from them? The older I get, the more I like my dad. He has come a long way himself. Looking back at my life, I feel that what he did was mainly influenced by his love for his children and wife. I think his only true indugence was going to do his Coast Guard weekend, once a month. Now, I'm not saying he was perfect. Far from it (I love you, Dad.) He had a temper, and I've seen him very mad several times in my life. Love is a wonderful and terrible thing. It allows for some extreme emotions. Looking back, I feel that my dad acted with love since I was born.

And now on to God-dad (I'm going to leave the grand-dads out for now.) I've been thinking about Our Heavenly Father in much more concrete terms. I've been trying to think of him more as my father than just God, some guy in the sky how knows what's going on. This has helped strengthed my testimony of the "Plan of Salvation." I think my dad (Joe the Older, not God) wants me to be the best I can possibly be, even to the extent of passing him up on many levels. I think any good father would want the same. So, why wouldn't God want the same?

I like the Mormon teachings on God much more than other religions. Having him literally be my spirit's Father and having Jesus literally as my brother, helps me to feel a closeness that I can't see as being possible as when viewed in the Trinity. I think there's plenty of love and closeness felt, like one might feel for the President, but not the same love and closeness that can be found in a family.