hv ... Seriously I've been told lots of times that I'm too serious. I disagree, but I'm not going to fight it. This blog (if I can find the discipline to keep it going) will be about things that matter--about life and what comes next.
6/9/2007 Youtube Musicians A friend and I have been swapping links lately to Youtube videos showing some amazing musical talent, mostly guitar-related. Here are some cool samples if you've got some time to kill:
Canon Rock (This is the original. There are lots of other versions now.) Toto on Classical (Sadly, most of you probably won't recognize this song. Classic 80s.) Brazilian Dude Solo (Not really my style of music, but impressive skills!) Summertime on 7 String Bass (Sooo relaxing. I could listen to this all day.)
6/9/2007 Take a look at my girlfriend Suki had a question on her blog the other day about who sang a certain song, and the answer was Supertramp. I knew it, but Jenni beat me to it. I was looking at Supertramp videos tonight and found this song: Breakfast in America Who knew that the Gym Class Heroes version was a remake? I didn't even put it together until I saw this song. (I'm a little dissapointed in myself.)
12/2/2006 Kids Pulling the Tree I just wanted to share this picture of our kids dragging this year's freshly cut Christmas tree.
(This was last weekend, before the current cold weather blew in.) Our tradition is to do this each year after Thanksgiving, then go home and decorate it while eating Chex-mix or popcorn, drinking wassail, and listening to the Chipmunks Christmas album, among others. It certainly gets them excited like few other things do. I don't know which is better--being a kid around this time of year, or watching your own kids.
11/21/2006 What Thank You means Have you ever thought about why we say 'thanks'? Who is it really for, you or the person you say it to? When it comes to being thankful, to whom do we owe more than God? Some wonder why we bother praying. I mean, God knows everything, right? So why do we need actually SAY thank you?
Here's what I think:
When you say 'thank you,' the very act forces you to acknowledge that you have things to be thankful for.
When you say 'thank you,' you recognize that these blessings come from outside yourself. There are good things in your life that you haven't earned and don't deserve--they are gifts.
Saying 'thank you' also says that you realize that the gifts were given by choice, on purpose, from a benevolent Giver.
It doesn't cost anything to say 'thank you,' and so you realize that you cannot repay God for what you have. What could you offer that wasn't given to you by Him to begin with? Nothing material for sure.
The only things we can offer God in return for the blessings He has showered upon us are our love, obedience, and two words: Thank You.
11/16/2006 The Tunnel Building somewhat on Plato's Cave...
Imagine a tunnel deep in a mountain with a railroad track running through it. At one point along the tracks there is an enormous cavern. There is a small town in the cavern whose only source of energy is coal, which is in all the walls around them. The smoke rises to the top of the dome and disappears into crevices above. The dwellings are hewn out of the rock walls. The only source of food is mushrooms that grow on the walls. A small waterfall that ends in a pool which drains further underground provides drinking water.
Now imagine that newborn babies arrive every now and then on a train. Whenever the people hear the train approaching, they run to the platform in excitement to meet the babies. The babies are taken home by various families and raised. In fact, this is how all of the inhabitants of the cavern town arrived. There is no driver in the train. It stops automatically for five or ten minutes, then moves on down the tracks and into a tunnel on the other end of the cavern.
The townsfolk have all kinds of theories about the train. They are very curious about it, and afraid at the same time. Of course, no one knows where it comes from or where it goes, or who made it, or where the babies come from.
Every now and then, some of the villagers get on the train after the babies are removed. Away they ride, into the tunnel, never to be seen or heard from again.
In reality, they ride for about fifty miles in the dark tunnel before emerging outdoors on a trestle that crosses a fast-flowing river. The train then gradually descends into a large city situated in a valley. Here the people are helped from the train by a large welcome committee, who help orient them to their new life in the sun (which is obviously far superior to the cave village).
They would obviously love to go back into the cavern and tell everyone what they have found, but no one has ever figured out how.
But back to the people in the cave. Most never have the courage to get on the train, so they live on, year after year, in the safety of the darkness. One day they die, and are dumped into the pool at the bottom of the waterfall, where they quickly disappear forever into the underground river.
But at night time, after their supper of mushrooms and water, they mostly sit and discuss the train. Where does it come from? Where does it go?
10/17/2006 Biggest Loser Update I broke the 10 lb mark today. From 221 on 10/2 to 210.5 just a few minutes ago. The rate of change is slowing significantly. I hope I don't have to cut back any more on the eating. It's hard enough as it is!
Edit: And the secretary just came by to tell us she has brought in some snacks for Boss's Day. Temptations abound. Must....be....strong.......
10/16/2006 Jacob's Ladder Don't you love it when you figure something out that never has made sense before? Remember the story of Jacob's ladder? The first three generations of Jews were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and God made the same three promises to each of them: the Promised Land of Canaan, lots of descendents, and most importantly, through their descendents all the nations of the Earth would be blessed--a prophecy of the Messiah. The vision we call Jacob's ladder came just before God made these promises to Jacob.
Jacob had been travelling, and stopped for the night to sleep. And he dreamed and saw a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to Heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. Above the ladder stood God Himself, and He made the three promises to Jacob.
I remember being a kid and hearing this story and wondering what the ladder meant. In fact, I never really figured it out until very recently when I was studying the Gospel of John. All this time, the answer has been right there in the first chapter.
Jesus is talking with Nathanael, who is amazed that Jesus knew what he was doing before Jesus arrived. Jesus responds: 'You will see greater things than these. Truly, truly, I say to you, Hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.'
Wow, it's almost word for word the description of Jacob's ladder. So what does it mean? Jesus, the 'Son of man,' is saying that HE is the ladder that Jacob saw, the connection between God and man. The angels coming and going could mean several things, but probably refer to a communion or fellowship between God and man--something that was lost from the time of the Garden of Eden until Jesus' death and resurrection. And this understanding of the text is further supported by the fact that Jacob saw the ladder as God was promising the future Messiah.
Making these connections between scriptures that were written thousands of years apart is one of the things that makes studying the Bible exciting. What a wonderful promise we have of a path from here to God, with Jesus Himself bridging the gap. As He said, 'I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by Me.'
10/11/2006 Biggest Loser? We're having a 'Biggest Loser' contest at work. Whoever loses the most weight from Oct. 2 to Dec. 11 will win a 2-night stay in the Smokey Mountains. Not that big a prize, really, but I have put on some weight in the last few years, so I thought...why not? So I entered the contest at the weigh-in last Monday.
I really do wonder if their scales are right. It said I weighed 221 lbs. (I'm 6' 3'). I've never weighed anywhere close to that, but oh well...it won't really matter since the competition is based on how much you lose. There were 90-something entries in all. I don't know if I have a chance at winning, but if I lose some weight, it will be worth it anyway.
So I weighed myself today, and guess what? Since last Monday, I've lost 9.5 lbs! How cool is THAT? I've lost a pound a day. Here's a Google spreadsheet that will track my progress.
Here's how: I started drinking my coffee black. No snacks during the day or after supper. For breakfast I've been eating oatmeal or cream of wheat with some fruit. For lunch, a peanut butter or tuna sandwhich, some chips, and an apple or raisins or grapefruit. Then whatever I want for supper, but no seconds. And that's it. Oh yeah, and I started walking home for lunch instead of driving. It's about 1.5 miles, which takes about 20 minutes each way. So that leaves me 20 minutes to eat. It works out well.
Hopefully I'll stick to it. It would be cool to win!
10/4/2006 My little brother My little brother, Scottie, is a rising basketball star. He's a freshman at Villanova this year. There is so much I could say about him, but I'll start with just posting this article from today's Philadelphia Daily News: http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/15673582.htm
The amazing thing about Scottie is that as good as he is at basketball, he's an even better all-around person. He is an inspiration to me and many others.
