·
Fatherhood is a pure joy. To say that I am enjoying it
immensely is an understatement. To say that time is flying
fast would also be a serious understatement. The little
guy is 6.5 months old now and loving life (and rice cereal!).
· We heard a very stoked
message on Sunday. One thought that was shared: MEDITATING on
God's word is crucial. It's not enough to just read it, close
the book, and move on. Taking time to memorize it, reflect on
it, pray with it - these actions are what will lead to us being
transformed
into Christ's likeness.
So, having the Bible on a shelf or a coffee table doesn't cut
it. We need "Fresh" words of God (rhema), every single day.
It's not sufficient that the neighborhood grocery store has lots
of food - we need to bring some home, prepare it, and eat it!
Until it gets to our houses and into our bodies, it does us no
good.
Same with the Word - we have to take it
into ourselves,
in order for there to be benefit.
·Recipe time:
Tandoori style chicken burgers
and other delicious sounding burger recipes. These tandoori ones will take a
little effort, but I have a feeling the final product would be awesome.
·What an awesome
3-minute
jam session
on an accordion. Who'da thunk an accordion could sound so
amazing? In the summer of 2003, next to a coffeeshop at
Harvard Square in Cambridge, Sonia and I were
transfixed by an Eastern European student jamming on his own accordion - much
like the guy in this video.
Later that same trip, at another coffeeshop near Harvard Square, I was horrified
to hear 2 academic professor types saying that they hoped that our soldiers in
Iraq would get slaughtered so the US would learn not to intervene
where it doesn't belong!
"I was raised in Lebanon, where I was taught that the Jews were evil, Israel was
the devil, and the only time we will have peace in the Middle East is when we
kill all the Jews and drive them into the sea.
When the Moslems and Palestinians declared Jihad on the Christians in 1975, they
started massacring the Christians, city after city. I ended up living in a bomb
shelter underground from age 10 to 17, without electricity, eating grass to
live, and crawling under sniper bullets to a spring to get water.
It was Israel who came to help the Christians in Lebanon. My mother was wounded
by a Moslem's shell, and was taken into an Israeli hospital for treatment. When
we entered the emergency room, I was shocked at what I saw. There were hundreds
of people wounded, Moslems, Palestinians, Christians, Lebanese, and Israeli
soldiers lying on the floor. The doctors treated everyone according to their
injury. They treated my mother before they treated the Israeli soldier lying
next to her. They didn't see religion, they didn't see political affiliation,
they saw people in need and they helped.
For the first time in my life I experienced a human quality that I know my
culture would not have shown to their enemy. I experienced the values of the
Israelis, who were able to love their enemy in their most trying moments. I
spent 22 days at that hospital. Those days changed my life and the way I believe
information, the way I listen to the radio or to television. I realized I was
sold a fabricated lie by my government, about the Jews and Israel, that was so
far from reality. I knew for fact that, if I was a Jew standing in an Arab
hospital, I would be lynched and thrown over to the grounds, as shouts of joy of
Allah Akbar, God is great, would echo through the hospital and the surrounding
streets."
I'd have to say
that friends in Christ are one of the most precious,
captivating gifts that God can give you. In the summer of 2001,
a young Christian family moved into the area where we live.
Over the last few years, we got to know them and see their love
for God, it brought home the point that there is nothing more meaningful in life than
relationships: with God and with others.
As one person - Chuck Swindoll - said, "If
you have five true friends when you die, you'll die a rich
person."
I was reminded of all this a couple Sundays ago at church, when
we dedicated baby Paul T., fourth child of Les and Pam
- who have become good friends to Sonia and I over the last
three years that we've been known each other.
Both of their testimonies touched me. As usual, Les had a funny
quip/joke to share: he was the youngest of 13 in a
believing Finnish-American family. Growing up, he'd tease his
older siblings by saying "Dad and mom kept trying, until they
finally got what they wanted!" They'd respond, "After you, they
just gave up hope." (paraphrase).
Les and Pam have had four kids in the past 7 or so years. Sonia
and I talked recently about their four kids, and we were saying
that the best gift you can give a child is probably a
sibling. (no, I have no big announcement to
make, but I have hope that others will in the near future. Yes
indeed, the pressure is on!
There are few things as fascinating as your cousins,
siblings, and close friends having kids of their own! )
Think about it: When you get older, and your parents have
passed - you're left with your own brothers and sisters. If you
& your siblings love the Lord, and are committed to God's Work
in you, there's no reason why you can't be great friends
with each other, in addition to the ties of genetics.
Friendships are often built on commonalities, and what greater
common bonds than growing up together!
This is not to downplay, however, the non-related friends that
God brings into our lives. i.e. church friends, college
friends, friends who've gone through trials together with you,
etc. Such ones can bring some of life's dearest memories to
you. God does not call us to be
alone on the Road of Faith - in His great wisdom
and in His own timing, he brings us together with others who can
bless us, shepherd us, and who we in turn can bless and
shepherd.
Galatians 6:10 exhorts us to do good to them,
who are in the household of Faith.
who faces possible execution because of his conversion to
Christianity from Islam.
Excerpt: "Abdul Rahman is a man of faith. "I believe in the Holy Spirit. I
believe in Christ. And I am a Christian," he declared this week.
Unfortunately for Rahman, he was originally born a Muslim in
Afghanistan -- and he has been forced to defend his religious
conversion in his home country's court,
where he now faces the death penalty
for turning to Jesus.
Despite the defeat of the totalitarian Taliban and the existence
of a U.S.-backed "moderate" democratic government, it is a
capital crime for Afghanis to openly embrace any religion other
than Islam. Sharia law, embedded in the Afghan constitution,
overrides its human rights provisions."
- excellent article. Money quote: "As [President Calvin]
Coolidge is supposed to have said, "Don't you know that four
fifths of all our troubles in this life would disappear if we
would just sit down and keep still?""
I think most people fall somewhere on a spectrum i.e.
almost no one is a "pure" introvert or extrovert.
Pure 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Pure Introvert
Extrovert
I suppose I'm on the extroverted side of this spectrum. I am
not saying this is bad or good, it just is. But I have my
introvert moments also, where I just wanna chill by myself or be
with my family at the most (without talking much), or sit
somewhere and be utterly quiet, or go for a walk, or just
contemplate and be.
Can I make a sweeping generalization?
Introverts tend to be some of the
most intriguing people,
once you get to know them. I think it's because a lot goes on
between their ears much of the time, and what's on the mind
comes out sooner or later. And I agree with the author -
introverts are not truly "shy" people - that's an
altogether different discussion.
"During
your lifetime, you'll eat about 60,000 pounds of food
,
that's the weight of about 6 elephants."
- from a recent email forward.
Hmmm..... that's a huge volume! Assuming a lifespan of 80
years, that comes to just two pounds of food per day. But
still, the equivalent of six elephants!
Makes you think twice.
E-mail:
…is a great thing, and a
brand new thing for me as of Feb 12th.
Let me count 10 ways:
1. Holding
Andrew
when he's wide awake and perky like this, is about the best thing there is.
2. If he's fussy, watching him calm down once the music turns on is really
neat. A strings production of Praise & Worship music seems to be his current
favorite.
3. He seems so alive and vibrant when he's crying loudly. I don't quite know
how to explain why it seems that way, but it does. I feel bad, of course, when
he cries like that but yet I like to look at him.
4. He's a constant reminder that all good
gifts come from Above. We are continually
grateful for this incredibly precious Gift of Life that God sent us, and are
mindful that we are now entrusted with the care of an eternal being.
James 1:17 – Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
5.
Changing diapers is really not that bad. I've heard it gets worse, the older
babies get. But at present, not a big deal.
6. I never ever even once thought about
trimming a baby's fingernails.
It's an interesting little process that, for now, requires both parents'
involvement.
7. I'd heard about the Piles Of Laundry.
Now I know. One wee little guy generates so much, how can it be!
8. Babies are a great excuse for people to come over for a visit. It's been a
blessing to have them come, and to eat the good meals they bring with them.
Coming in first place for dessert: excellent raspberry chocolate chip
cookies made by a teenager from church. (the chocolate chips have raspberry
centers!) I scarfed those down quick.
9. Intriguing how something as simple as a responsive smile from a baby, gets
people all excited and animated. You would think the smiled-at-person was just
coronated!
10. Why does he wail so much when he's getting bathed? I would imagine the
warm water cascading over him would feel so nice!
January
31, 2006 State of the Union Speech - President George W. Bush
Here are my
instant reactions and unedited, unvarnished opinions – I typed these as I
listened..... Shephard Smith said on Fox “If you love politics, the SOTU speech
is like the Super Bowl.” Not quite, I’d say, but still – the SOTU is a big deal
for this country and the World. Best to listen up!
Pre-Speech:
Chief Justice Roberts has a ruddy, healthy glow look to him. Hale & hearty,
outdoors kinda guy I’m guessing.
Samuel Alito,
new Supreme Court justice, confirmed and sworn in TODAY ... looks like a regular
kind of joe, pleasant demeanor.. how will he perform as a judge?
The Speech: Full
Text Here
Coretta Scott King: nice, touching tribute by Dubya. Never followed much of
Coretta's speeches and doings. No doubt, though, her husband was one of the
landmark figures of the 1900s.
9:15pm - "THE USA will continue to lead" - how many times has he said
this in recent years? Too many times, he needs a new line about US global
leadership.
9:16pm - good reminder about 9/11. Too
many people, especially liberals, seem to forget that 9/11 was a huge huge wake
up call that business couldn't continue as usual. Democracy as the solution is
an elegant, if somewhat naive, proposition.
Iraqis and purple ink. Why couldn’t they have picked a different color i.e.
metallic silver?
9:17pm Zimbabwe... funny sounding name for a nation, dontchu think....
"allowing the violent to inherit the earth" -
Now THAT was different. kudos to the hardworking anonymous speechwriter who
came up with that one. Stick it to the terrorists!
"Vicious" - how hard is that word to say. Fissious, ficzious, vicious?
viscous? His pronunciation, from time to time, is
truly comic. As if he's a robot who's not quite got the language program
chip properly connected to the central processor.
"We will never surrender to evil" - another line we'hve heard a gazillion times
since 9/11.
Camera pans to laura bush and the scarfed woman (iraqi?) next to her... somehow,
i've always found these presidentially placed props to be somehwat ... ahem...
artificial and bizarre. but it's a long tradition and it can get interesting...
i.e. a year or two ago when two of the props (women) reached out and hugged each
other and one woman's shawl got tangled in the other woman's brooch!
"WE ARE WINNING" - yes, we are!
9:25pm - nice reading from the letter of fallen marine sargeeant Dan
Clay. Okay, now i feel bad about my 'artificial props' comment - very touching
to see this family, and I'm grateful for the sacrifice of this family.
"Our nation is grateful to the fallen who live in the memory of our country."
Good quote.
"Let us never forget the sacrifices of our military families." Indeed.
9:35pm EXCELLENT& VIGOROUS defense of the wire-tapping procedures that he
authorized after 9/11. If people in the USA are talking to Al Qaeda members,
they SHOULD be listened on. no Ifs Ands or Buts. Anything less would be
irresponsible. Anything less could lead to hundreds/thousands more dying. It's
just not worth it. Look, if i was talking to an Al Qaeda member (phone) and
didn't KNOW that I was, i would HOPE that that governmentt would be listening
in. I'm serious.
9:37 Hillary just stood up after his comment about 'leading this world
toward freedom'. Interesting.
9:38pmThe unborn bambito is moving a lot,
Sonia says. Come on, little bugger, you've got less than 2.5 hours to be a
January baby!!!
9:39 "new competitors like China & India" GO
INDIA!!!
9:40pm - 9:52pm - breather to answer a phone call (unavoidable).
I think I missed the whole section on "America is addicted to oil."
9:54pm There are fewer abortions at this point than at any time in the
last 3 decades. Evidence of a "quiet transformation", evidence that a rising
generation is taking their responsibility seriously. GOOD.
9:56pm "2 superb new members of the supreme court - chief justice John
Roberts and justice Samuel Alito" I like both of these guys a lot, from what
I've see so far.
Gratefeul to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor for her 20+ years of service... where
is she?... was she not invited now that she's not on the Bench anymore... how
wude.... oh, i just remembered that she was in Arizona today, her home state,
teaching at some law school... maybe she didnt' get back in time for the SOTU
.... HOW WUDE!
9:58pm - ethical standards of washington? isn't that a contradiction in
terms? i.e.
"business ethics".
9:59 - first lady laura bush. aging very nicely. maybe she's a fitness
fanatic like W. pink suits her.
You know, Bush almost ALWAYS wears blue ties. Couldn't he mix it up a little
more.... try gold sometime, striped with navy blue if you insist on having
blue....
"Beforehistory is written down in books, it
is written in courage." - another good line!
10:03pm.. he's in the last foot of the home stretch here....
If there’s one thing that Americans of all backgrounds love,
it’s cars. New cars get people worked up and excited, no doubt
about it. They inspire fierce passions and loyalties, clubs,
social gatherings, and even restaurants! The annual Detroit
Auto show is being held this week, and there are always at least
a couple cars that get everyone buzzing. Here are some that
grabbed my attention. If you want to see more, here’s a
nice pictorial article on what's coming.
Wow!
This new Camaro is looking
good. It’ll give the new Mustang some serious competition.
Another
classic is going to have a sweet comeback, the
Chrysler Imperial. Looks a little like a Rolls Royce. It also
reminds me of the Chrysler 300, i.e. a more deluxe version. 4 bucket seats in
this beast, and a $60K price tag. Should be
hot with the hip hop crowd.
And,
China’s getting ready to enter the US automotive market. Here’s a possible
entry that sells currently, in China, for around $15K. It has a
built in karaoke player!
Finally, Ford is betting that there’s a market for a
$100,000 pickup. That’s a huge bet to be making. I think this will end up
being a limited release vehicle, but it should
be pretty eye-catching.
“The swells who ride in the back will sink into thick leather chairs, rest their
feet on pop-up ottomans and enjoy cigars and bourbon from the crystal bar in the
center console. Overhead, light streams through a wood-beamed glass ceiling.
This kind of interior is a coming trend in trucks, as Donald Trump wanna-bes
demand to be pampered on the job site.”
"This truck represents the sense of space and grandness that is America."
That sums it up, I’d say: Americans and our love
of behemoth, eye-popping, powerful, gaz-guzzling cars!
(paraphrase).
