Hmmmmm. Where to start? I wonder about the people who extol their virtues and nothing else, and you wonder, don't they have ANY faults? Allow me to break away from that mold.
My name is actually Steve, and it's a long (maybe boring) story about how I managed to obtain the moniker, "Norman." For right now, just blame it on my wife. Although we have known each other since the third grade, my wife and I did not actually start dating until the end of the 70s. We have been married since 1982. We have four kids, three sons and a daughter. Our oldest son has an online Christian music distributorship (Antiphonic) and his own record label (Greenhorn Records.) Our youngest son is mildly autistic. Our three oldest play the violin, have taken dance lessons, and know Tae Kwon Do.
Although I'm easy-going and have a good sense of humor, I tend to get moody sometimes, and - especially while I was unemployed for over a year - I can get downright discouraged. I have inherited excellent health form both sides of my family, but am in the process of squandering all of my good genes by not eating right nor exercising regularly. I drink too much coffee (I average 11-12 gallons a month.) I can be lazy sometimes. My singing voice is non-existent. I have a range of perhaps half an octave - 2/3 on a good day. My face has never stopped a clock, though, and I have never scared horses. I do not have any super powers nor a secret identity.
I have just recently discovered that I most likely have Asperger's Syndrom. If there is a genetic basis for autism, I probably carry the gene, and our youngest boy got it from me.
As of this writing I'm 55 and have lived in Michigan since 1986. Prior to that I was in central Ohio, in a small farming community named Marion, most famous (notorious?) as the home of Warren G. Harding.
I've been a Christian since 1972. My profession is engineering, but my favorite pastime is writing. I've written about a dozen tracts, a couple of pamphlets, and a couple of books. Having been raised Roman Catholic, for several years I edited a small newsletter for Catholics designed to stir them up, and get them reading the Bible. I've also done a comic strip, which my daughter has so graciously been drawing. If I ever get my scanner fixed, maybe I'll post some of the comics. [Update: I have them posted. Since we have no means of creating albums, they are just in with my public photos.] The books I have are "Witnessing for the Not Very Talented" and "What Do You Say When the Jehovah's Witnesses Stop By?" People have avoided my books in droves. ;-) I see my place in the Body of Christ as maybe a nerve or a blood vessel, carrying food and information from one part of the Body to another. When I was single, a full half of my income went toward Bibles, books, and tracts. Now that I have a family dependent upon me, that has gone way down.
My heart is for evangelism, and it pains me to see how much of the Church is so intent on looking inward and ignoring the command of our Master.
I despise the mushy "theology" that is so pervasive in the Church these days. If you are a fan of all of the self-centered pabulum that fills the "Christian" bookstores these days, you may not like me much. I'm a primitive Christian who believes that the underlying error and heresy that is poisoning so many Christians' personal doctrine has weakened the Church so that I wonder how many would be able to stand in the face of persecution. Satan is not going to just show up some day and say, "Hey everybody! Let's stray from God!" He is much smarter than that, and knows that if he can get people to compromise "just a little bit" that he will gain ground. Incremental heresy is STILL heresy. I suspect that I would be at odds with many of the "big name" authors who have a presence on this site.
I'll admit that I'm a translation snob. The Bible I use for study - and have since the Fall of 1972 - is the New American Standard. To this day, it stands head and shoulders above other translations for scholarship and accuracy. I am not opposed to other translations - I buy the NIV by the case - but whenever I try reading from another version, I think in the back of my mind, "I wonder what it REALLY says?" My pastor preaches out of the NIV, and I get a chuckle when he'll expound upon a passage, digging nuances out of the original Greek and Hebrew, and my NASB already is worded that way.
I am quite orthodox in my beliefs, all the fundamentals of Christianity. Although we attend a Baptist church, I am not tied body and soul to all that the Baptists have as the things that make them uniquely "Baptist," although they are closest over-all to what my wife and I believe.
I am a news junkie and have quite an interest in politic and world affairs. Politically, I am about 75% Libertarian, 20% Conservative, 4% Liberal, and 1% Social Anarchist. I am in love with Ann Coulter, which is ok with my wife, because she's in love with Rush Limbaugh. ;-)
I won't waste space here on things such as hobbies and such. I'll just say that I'm here for friends and networking, and to build up the Church as I can.
Those who want to contact me, I need to say upfront that with so many scammers out there, I will probably not respond to anyone who has only a main picture. It's easy to just go online and find a picture to post. I have noted many "Blacks" or "Native Americans" who look lily-white in their photos, and have no additional pictures nor a personal message. If you have just the barest amount of information, don't take it personally if I don't respond. (Of course, if you ARE a scammer, feel free to take it personally.)
Oh, yeah...I like honest people, sunsets, and walks on the beach.
Steve
