Thought this pic was too good!! Happy Halloween!
Archive for October, 2008
there comes a time…
October 26, 2008…when you realize you aren’t who you used to be. Skipping some great philosophical rambling, I’m referring to the body of one’s youth becoming the body of one’s…how shall I say…”more experienced” age 
I bought some jeans yesterday along with my personal fashion assistant (that’s Mere, of course!) and I’ve reached the age where the waist circumference number is larger than the inseam length number…disappointing (course my disclaimer is that I’ve never been very tall…hah!). And I’ve been faced with the reality of a grand migration; that is the hair folicles are losing the battle to gravity, apparently. So, I’ve decided to try and make it look like they have just traveled a short distance south, taking up residence on my cheeks…
mmmmm…..coooookkkkiiiieeeee
October 23, 2008no matter how a day starts, it is always better when you find a surprise cookie at your desk first thing! And a snickerdoodle at that!!
4 more hours of work…1 class…then I’m locking myself in my room and writing. I wish I could just barf my thoughts onto paper and then go back and clean it up…no, i write “refined” thoughts only…sheesh!
Luke Rolling Over
October 19, 2008Okay, so we took this video about 3 weeks ago and I am just now posting it! Sorry it is a bit long. You can skip to about 45 seconds to get the roll over. Course, by now it seems that he hardly has to try to roll over…and Mere has seen him (only once) roll from his tummy to his back. Enjoy!
from STATS to CONCLUSIONS
October 14, 2008I like numbers…yeah, go figure Having a blog on WordPress means that, without any effort on my part whatsoever, I can see how many people visit, what they are clicking on, etc. One of the stats that always catches my eye is area that tracks search engine terms. These are the word(s) that people enter into a search engine that leads them to my blog. Do you remember my post concerning guardian angels (click here to see again)? This is one of the most popular posts that is accessed through search engine terms. About 10% of phrases entered that bring people to my blog have something to do with angels. So, it would seem that either there is very little on the web about angels, thus my post is one of the few items for a minority subject, or search engines like the post Well, I can confirm that it is not the first possibility mentioned. Run a search for the term “angel.” You will see the astronomical number!!
I tried one of the searches “guardian angel scripture” on Google, and out of 94,300 hits, my post came in #10…that’s on page one!!!
So, what I just wrote is the “STATS” part. What about the “CONCLUSIONS” part? Well, here is what I have decided. My post is nothing special. In fact it is not really that in-depth. BUT, it does hit on a subject that people are interested in. In fact, I am seeing a label for this phenomenon growing in popularity: angel mania. People are interested in the spirit realm…perhaps more so than they are in God. God is an “entity” that, if exists, is far, distant from humanity. But angels/spirits…they are actually players in this physical existence of ours!
I have a lot of thoughts on the subject. If you want to know, take the class that I am teaching:) Eh, perhaps from time to time you will see some of them on the blog.
(Notice the tags for this post…now I can get even more hits!!)
Immediacy of Life
October 13, 2008Is there really life without fast food, online banking, cell phones, and supermarkets? No, really?
Are you sure??
There is?!?!
Some friends who are serving as medical missionaries in Ethiopia just blogged about fresh garden strawberries and homecooking. It reminded me of a previous life that seems ages and ages away. A time when family pizza night on Friday night meant a couple of hours of making dough, chopping veggies and meat, then cooking the pizza. There was no call to Papa Johns for delivery in 15-20 minutes…or a time when the dishwasher after our big Sunday lunch family meal was a system of people: a washer, rinser, dry-er, and put-a-way-er (a.k.a. child labor), there was no machine…or a time when we tried to make our own cheese, pasta noodles, and fudge (some were successful endeavours, others not)…or the fresh fruit and veggies on the table had been picked mere minutes before from your own garden.
Now? How long can you stand in line before you get frustrated because it is taking too long? They (substitute name of business) need to get someone on that other register…we are customers after all!!
Do you have flour, sugar, or other baking ingredients in your pantry and actually use them? Is it for something other than cakes or cookies?
I’m not really trying for any convicting thoughts…just some questions that came to my mind for ME! I say I am just living within the society/culture of the times…and this is not wrong (there is not a right/wrong issue here). BUT, I do find that the immediacy of life that I now live seems to have bred a lack of patience. This is troubling.
Anyway, thanks to the Gray’s for sharing the foods they are cooking…from scratch…it brought a lot of fun memories to mind of a long ago childhood
Haggai – Message & Summary
October 10, 2008I wrote an expositional (explaining) study of the book of Haggai. I share with you the message, outline and summary:
Message
Misplaced priorities by God’s people are cause for discipline, but obedience allows for His promised presence and blessings.
Outline
I. Misplaced Priority #1 [1:1-15]
a. Priority IS NOT establishing the community economically
b. Priority IS establishing the Lord’s Temple
II. Misplaced Priority #2 [2:1-9]
a. Priority IS NOT present (or past) situation
b. Priority IS future hope
III. Misplaced Priority #3 [2:10-19]
a. Priority IS NOT ceremonial rituals
b. Priority IS holiness
IV. Misplaced Priority #4 [2:20-23]
a. Priority IS NOT earthly kingship
b. Priority IS divine kingship
Summary
The prophet Haggai speaks four messages from the Lord to the people of Judah who have returned from exile in Babylon to Jerusalem. He urges them to consider their ways, for they have misplaced priorities, neglecting their covenant priority of the Lord, illustrated through their neglect to rebuild the temple. Instead they have labored to build their own houses and establish their community. Therefore, the Lord has been disciplining His people. Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the remnant of Judah respond to the Lord’s rebuke through the prophet Haggai and obey the Lord’s instruction. This allows God’s blessing to come to them again and His presence to be among them. With the Lord as their main priority, the people have a great future hope, for He is the divine King who rules over all nations.
This, I believe, serves as a great reminder to us (Christians) today. Our priority is our relationship with God through Christ. Far too often we have misplaced priorities, though we make them sound quite righteous!
“THANKS, SWEETIE!!” update & more
October 7, 2008Little did I know that I had an additional bonus related to Settler’s of Catan…the expansion pack (it was delivered yesterday)!! So, come on peeps…I can take on 5 of you at the same time (muuuhahahahahah)!!!! Not sure how she did it, but Mere found the deal of deals on this one. For less than half the price of the original game, she got the game AND the expansion pack! So, who wants to be one of the original/pioneer/maiden players on this voyage of strategy and domination?? I do believe 2 of the possible 5 spots are taken by wheeler and miller…they won’t last long…
Now this is the type of weather I’ve been waiting for: high of 77 and tonight it will be about 54! The only problem is it REALLY deters me from sitting in class…or sitting in a room reading a book under artificial lighting while outside the sun is shining and it’s warmth is momentarily pushed away by a crisp breeze… This is a time when I feel invigorated and going to conquer the world…then I remember that I still only have 24 hours each day
Luke has his first fever today. We are blessed that he is almost 4 months old (next week!) before having his first. Not sure why…maybe he is already working on a tooth or maybe he is fighting a minor infection. Mere, going for the “most accurate” (as we have been told) temperature reading, braved a rectal reading…oooooohhhhhh, not fun! It was at 101, so for now just tylenol and lots of luvin’
THANKS, SWEETIE!!
October 5, 2008So, Friday was my birthday. I am my age last year + one. I’ve had tons of awesome birthdays, but I must say (no disrespect mom!) this one was an incredibly special one! It started off like any other day of my “adult” life: go to work, go to school, come home. The special part was in the coming home! I walked in the house from the garage and was met by my son looking cute as usual, my wife dressed up, a birthday cake on the table and a package next to it. What a treat! Luke was all smiles and Mere had baked a birthday cake and had a surprise present for me! Then she took me out to dinner!!
The surprise present turns into an invitation to all of you (though I may have to say “no” at some point[see previous post], but keep nagging me…I’m weak):
COME PLAY SETTLERS OF CATAN!!!
