Moving

New Blog/Website location coming soon. Promises to be completely awesome. It'll be at alangable.com but don't go there now because you'll just get a "not ready yet" message.

Still

Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul, though dearest friends depart
And all is darkened in the vale of tears;
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.
Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay
From His own fulness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.



Take a minute and soak in these words. If you know the tune, play it in your mind(God I wish I had written that). The waves and winds still know.

Country

There is a dull ache spreading its reach across the warm side of my heart where I store all the affections I have for my country. I worry for the future of my children and I worry for the future of my parents. The current trend of the Union is accelerating down the steep hill of unsustainability. We are a nation of maxed out citizens. Our leaders have continually nudged us to the point at which the pressure on us is too great to bear. I ache for freedom and decency, but the squawking of the vocal elite seems to always drown out the calm quiet voice from the pages of our very Declaration. "Inalienable rights" are shackled under entities too big to fail. "Life, Liberty, Happiness" have become just words that draw sneers and scoffing laughs from the supposed defenders of our Constitution.


America is the last great hope for freedom in a world of barbarism. If liberty dies here, then liberty dies. There is nowhere else for freedom-loving people to go. Once social dependence has taken root in the form of over-reaching governance, only extreme sacrifice can tip the scales back toward personal freedom. It is becoming exceedingly clear that more and more of my countrymen are content to jettison the freedom protected in the Constitution for the shadow of some socialist utopia that has neither been effective anywhere it has been tried nor does it make any pragmatic sense.



There is a country I want my daughter to know. I want her America to be that last great beacon of hope where merit and tenacity dictate success. I want her America to be the one place on the planet where her religious conviction is respected by her government and not shown disdain at every turn. I want her America to be free of the financial shackles of her grandparents' and parents' generations. I want her America to be a place where a man is not demonized for the fruits of his hardwork. I want her America to be known for her generosity; not begrudging forced aid but real compassion driven help for those in dire need. I want her America to be the nation that fights battles with revolutionary fury; when she must fight, she fights to win. I want her America to be hopelessly infatuated with the joy of the concept of freedom. I want her America to be that nation which encourages and cultivates the family unit instead of continually tearing it down. I want her America to herald the virtues of capitalism instead of undercutting the principles of free markets. I want her America to, first and foremost, before any domestic social programs are funded, completely and extravagantly provide for the dead and wounded servicemen who fought their country's enemies.

It is my hope that my generation will pave the road for her generation.

I really love Colossians.

Throughout the better part of 3/4 of the New Testament, Paul writes logically, methodically, precisely in language that is indicative of the combination of his stout academic background and his own personal brilliance. Like a great lawyer, Paul leads his reader into certain truths. "If this is true, then this must be true". Step by step, we are convinced to take Jesus seriously. Most of what Paul writes is with a ruthless logical pen.

However, sometimes Paul cuts loose into this beautiful language that reveals a heart that is completely in love with his savior. Occasionally Paul, Phariseeic Hebrew of Hebrews Paul, will unleash captivating poetry that communicates some powerful and provocative claims.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. Col 1:15-16


Where is the man that lives as if he actually believes that claim? Even as Christians, don't most of us live our lives as if things were created for us? But Paul claims that all things were made by Him and for Him. In the next verse he talks about all things are held together in Him. So why aren't we floored by this? How do we read this and remain on our feet? Either Paul is crazy, or our belief in Jesus fundamentally alters everything we think and say and do. This is the kind of idea that transforms people. My question remains: Where is the man that lives as if he actually believes that claim?

I wrestle with this idea. And my life, more often than not, reveals a basic rejection of this claim. My actions tell people that I think the things around me were made for me to terminate on myself because I am just that important. What would it look like if my actions and decisions were dictated by the belief that all things serve the purpose of the Christ?

Aroma

This is a great time of year. Around now, Krisi has this pumpkin spice kind of lotion/perfume whatever that she wears. I can have the worst day in the history of bad days or I can be in the worst grumpy mood but when that scent finds my olfactories, the world is just right. Hmm. Excellent.

Idol

"Why don't you wake up in the morning and go 'Oh my God, everything works the way it's supposed to"? - Matt Chandler

The most prevalent form (and there are several) of idolatry in my life is my tendency to take all the credit for the things that work as they should and shed all the blame on God for things that get all jacked up. It's like this. Avery is this awesome kid. She doesn't cry. She doesn't fight sleep. She let's anyone and everyone hold her. She's not afraid of dogs. She likes to cuddle with Daddy. She's just a good kid. How ridiculous is it of me to say that this is the result of superior parenting on my part? Or how about this. My legs move pretty much wherever I tell them to move. And, I woke up today without any pain. And, I can see and hear and move my hands. Yet I cannot remember a time when I have awakened to the thought that the fact that I can breath means God has once again showered His mercy on me. Conversely, when things go south. Like when my kid has to spend 3 weeks in the hospital or I blow a tire and I wag my finger in God's face saying "where were you on that one?". What kind of a fool does that? How messed up is that guy? What a complete tool I can be sometimes. (most of the time)
God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Post Script: Matt Chandler at the Village Church is a modern prophet. Get on Itunes and subscride to the Village podcast. The current series called "The Path" is walking through progressive sanctification. Consistant excellence.

Stimulus

My kid was born 6 weeks early. She spent the first 3 weeks of her life in a small room monitored around the clock by specially trained healthcare professionals. As far as premature babies go, she was actually strong and relatively healthy (Thanks to the providence of God and the foreward thinking of Dr Harrison). I can remember every minute we spent in the NICU; every trip home at night, every hand washing at the scrub-in station, every sounding alarm, every test or blood draw or check of vital signs. Very few places can teach you just how little control you actually have better than the NICU. Helpless, waiting, watching her sleep. 3 weeks seemed like 3 decades.


The thing about this situation is that my instincts were always wrong. As a Gable, I am a nurturing father. The one gut reaction to her crying or her pain was to talk to her and pick her up and hold her close. The thing about Preemies is that too much of this type of reaction can cause them to freak out at the very least and can be detrimental to their development at worst. They just aren't ready. Too much noise or light or touch can cause them to be overstimulated which can lead to more setbacks and complications and end up making everything worse. For Avery, all she needed was rest. She needed time for her own natural processes to grow and heal and for her own natural defenses to correct what was going wrong.

The American fiscal future is in a similar boat. Our economic development has been stunted by multiple factors. Alarms are sounding as each of our major economic indicators redlines into levels that cause distress and fear and panic. Our President's agenda driven idea of governing pushes him to round upon round of "stimulus" funds. This agenda is nothing short of destructive. Just like Avery in her incubator needed low-key, quiet, dimly lit surroundings, so this economy needs an environment where it can relax, shut down the engines and get back to neutral. The current MO is to inject taxpayer money into a financial system that is already overstimulated. This has the same effect on the country as shining a flashlight in a preemie's face. This overstimulation can cause irreversible damage. Stop. Let her heal. Remove the impediments in her way and allow her the time to heal herself. Any more stimulus may cause severe destructive problems

Avery

Avery's almost 8 months old. I haven't written much about her on here for a number of reasons, but I plan to keep a pretty regular updating schedule from this point forward (not always about the kid but she'll have her share of the spotlight.)

I started a new job about a month ago. Working with a start up company in Little Rock named HealthSpan Solutions. We manufacture an adult nutrition beverage called BeneVia. It is in the same category as Nestle's Boost and Abbot's Ensure but the protein blend in BeneVia (called ViaLeupro) is superior in every way to the 2 juggernauts of the category. Sales are really picking up as several of the nation's retail drug chains and grocery stores are carrying or will soon carry our product. Check out the website if you get a chance.

I've been thinking more and more lately about politics and governing. Of course, the current federal administration is doing everything I would advise them not to do. It seems as if I'm not the only "clinger" who is a little upset about an unreasonable agenda driven chief executive. In fact, people around here seem to be so upset that they are turning on their elected officials. For the first time, maybe ever, it appears that Senator Blanche Lincoln may actually be forced to compete based on her merit instead of just her willingness to throw large amounts of taxpayer funds into non-competetive Arkansas farms. The 2010 race for the senate seat she currently occupies is shaping up to be an interesting one. Some friends of ours are having a meet the candidate party next week for one of Lincoln's challengers named Curtis Coleman. Curtis seem like my kind of conservative so I plan to go and hear what he has to say. My hope is that he can say what needs to be said. I hope he will be willing to go even further than his friend, Governor Huckabee. America must have leaders willing to trumpet disciplined financial restraint. Otherwise, my daughter's generation will be forced to shoulder a fiscal burden that neither their parents nor grandparents had the guts to carry. We will see what Mr. Coleman has to say.

That's all for now. How about some pictures of the kid?

Kid

It has been a big couple of weeks. I guess I should tell the story.

Krisi's blood pressure finally reached the point where bedrest would no longer control it. (I've learned that high blood pressure during pregnancy can be dangerous for both mom and child) Late on a Friday night, we headed to St Vincent to see what they could do for her. The on call doctor for the weekend kept her over the next few nights for observation and monitoring. When Krisi's actual doctor came in on Monday morning at around 9:30, he told us we'd be having a baby at noon. We had just enough time to get really worried before Krisi had to prepare for surgery. The C-section started at noon and Avery Kate was born at 12:22 on January 12. She was 34 weeks gestation and arrived weighing 3 pounds, 14 ounces with a perfect amount of the most awesome dark hair. I was able to walk over to the special kiddo area of the delivery room and watch the nurses do their normal stuff. I cut the cord, which was ninja! Krisi was able to see her face for about 3 and a half seconds before they wisked her away to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

The next few days were tough. Krisi was recovering from surgery and her blood pressure stayed pretty high until the next day. Because of her BP, she wasn't able to see Avery until Tuesday afternoon. I had already made a couple of trips to the NICU to see her. For a first time Dad, seeing your kid with tubes and wires and monitors attached is a little frightening.

We stayed in the hospital until Friday afternoon. During that time, we spent several hours in Avery's room in the NICU. We were afraid and tired and emotionally drained. Tough. Slowly, the doctors and nurses weened her from the oxygen until she was breathing on her own. By the time we left, she had lost a little weight (which I'm told happens with all babies). I'll tell you: Leaving the hospital without your kid is like leaving the dentist without your teeth. It sucks. But, Gables don't complain. In fact, after spending time in the NICU, we are painfully aware of just how many bullets Avery dodged and just how bad it could have been.

Over the next 3 weeks, Krisi spent her days in the NICU while I went to work and I joined them for a few hours every evening until we had to go home for the night. Avery consistantly gained weight and gradually began oral feeds. We were able to bring her home when she was a little over 4 and a half pounds. For the next few months, Avery is on prescription caffeine and hooked up to a portable monitor at home.

This is where we are now. Avery is home and healthy(relatively). We have a new appreciation for some of the stresses of the world of premature babies and a pretty firm understanding of life in the NICU.

Stuff to Teach My Daughter

For about six months, I've known I would soon be a father. The more I look forward to this little girl's birth, the more I think about the things I want her to learn before she steps out from under my roof. I have begun to compile an ever-growing list. Here's what I've got so far.

1. "The God of heaven is the giver of all things. He is faithful." - When you leave our house, your beliefs will be your own. Regardless of the path you choose, you won't be able to say that your mother and father ever gave any credit to anyone other than the Creator of the Universe.

2. "If Mom says it, it is a rule." - Little girl, your mother will have your respect always. She loves you dearly and she deserves only the best. As you grow, you may be tempted (as teenagers do) to talk back or carry an attitude of haughtiness. These actions will certainly demand swift action on my part which will quickly remind you to whom you are talking. Understand that your father will always be showing you(to the best of his knowledge) how a man loves and serves his wife.

3. " No means no." - We have rules. If you don't follow the rules, discipline happens. This is because we love you. I hope you learn this one quickly...

4. "Conservative politics and free market capitalism work. Everything else is for dreamers." - On those nights where sleep evades us, I will take you in my arms and read the classics to you; Edmund Burke and FA Hayek and even Milton Friedman. Sleep will come. Sleep will certainly come.

5. "No one has the right to touch you without your permission." - I'm not even a father yet but I know the one thing that frightens fathers of daughters above all other things. There is a very real threat against young women and it is what causes dads to go a little crazy. Avery, guard your boundaries and trust your own judgment. Always remember to explain to those boys about your father's broad interpretation of the Second Amendment.

Incidentally, to those of you raising young men: I ask you to take your job seriously and teach your sons how to be good men. My little girl is going to need someone to love her like Christ does so I'm banking on you guys.

6. "Dogs are good creatures, cats are worthless." - If this one needs explanation, I've probably already lost that battle.

7. "Learn to win and learn to lose." - Very few things in life are as obnoxious as a sore loser, except maybe an ungracious winner. Competition is part of life. Sometimes you win, sometimes you get creamed. Accept both with joy and know that your value is elsewhere.

8. "Food is fuel, not a hobby." - This one has taken dad a while to learn. Eat when you're hungry; mainly vegetables; watch the sugar.

9. "Love for your country is worthwhile." - America is the best there's ever been. God has been so good. (see #1) Freedom is something of which we should be proud. Learn the rich history of your country and never allow the happenings of your life to keep you from giving thanks for liberty.

There are many more I can list and I'm sure many will appear along the way. If you have any you'd like to tell me about, feel free to add to my list. I need all the help I can get...