Family Vacation 2007

I forgot to bring this up when we were all together, but I talked to Eric and Jason. They didn't seem all that excited about an Ozark vacation so how about everyone come up with some ideas. Let's discuss.

On another note, I'M BACK ON-LINE! yea! Cheryl and I bought a computer so I have time for lots of things including researching a great vacation spot.

Let's make March our deadline to give a deposit on the house. The beginning of March.

Vegan Kolacky

2 2/3 c flour
2 2/3 sticks vegan "butter"
8 oz. Better than Cream Cheese
1 can Solo pie filling

Mix together first 3 ingredients until a dough is formed. Refridgerate at least 1 hour.

Roll out 1/3 dough onto prepared surface with sugar and flour into a thin sheet. Cut into squares and add a dollop of the Solo onto each square. Fold up 2 corners and pinch together.

Bake for 8-10 min. at 350 or until lightly golden brown.


Vegans: You are Welcome.

Recipe modified from Semko Secret Family Recipe Binder

Pretty Funny.

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=irule

For Leah

"Babies Don't Keep"

Mother, of Mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockabye, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

-- Author Unknown

We love you, Leah. You make such a great mom. All God's blessings on you.

Hail! Hail!The Gang's All Here!

Yes, Scott will indeed be gracing us with his presence on Christmas Eve, Eve!

YAY!

Christmas Eve Eve

As of now, we don't know if Scott will be there.

Agreed by Richard and Kari, we will exchange with them. Spend $20/couple.

I hope you are all ready to celebrate kid-style. We are going to sing a couple xmas songs and I fully expect you all to sing your hearts out. Also, we will read a children's book on Christmas for Cal. And sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.

Comment Change

Because of complaints from my wife about the recent comments being from both this site and the Experience site that I put in the side bar of the experience, I created a brand new comment account for this site. What that means though is that the comments that had been posted on here are now gone. I didn't really know that it would do that. I'm sorry. I will repost the comments in one large comment. The only one that I did this on was the "Life Can Be So Disappointing" post.

Cousin Exchange

Hey Cousins.

Sarah and Rachel, you normally handle the cousin exchange, right? Will you still do it even though Sarah left us all for NC? I'd be happy to help in anyway.

Also, Cheryl is going to visit her dad in MI for Christmas, so she will not be in the exchange, as originally planned.

I'm so looking forward to this year and still bummed I was sick last year.

Kristy, will you be back? And would you like underwear for Christmas?

(p.s. McElroys - this is the exchange on Christmas Day at the Statons. You won't be here but we'll celebrate with you on Christmas Eve Eve - which I'm also really excited about.)

Life can be so Dissapointing

Mom and I had a crappy experience yesterday. The Millers did too. We bought a ticket to MN to visit the Millers back in August during a sale for this weekend trying to schedule our visit after Isaac was born, which turned out just perfect. Well we waited and waited and waited at the airport until they cancelled our flight b/c of the weather. So, no airplane, no MN, no Cal, no Isaac, no Leah, no Eric, no Alyssa, no thai food, no wordly market, no fun and only dissapointment.

AA would not reschedule our flight and couldn't fly us out until 8pm Sat. night or refund our money. With our return flight being Sunday evening, we are getting a refund.

Meanwhile... Mom's luggage is MIA and we're hoping AA comes through and its delivered today.

How dissapointing.

New Family Links

Hey, I just noticed through the comments at Lives of Cal and Issac that Brian and Sarah have a new blog. I updated the link to the left. Check it out!

UPDATE: I also noticed through Brian and Sarah's that the Staton/Whittington/Ciz clan also have a new blog. It's also in the links at the left under Makin momma happy!

Newness

Welcome To The World Isaac!

Weekend Edition

I had a great weekend and am wondering how everyone elses went. Friday night Tom and I went to Scott's show "The Music Man" and had a great time watching Scott as well as a pretty good production of that musical. The fun time ended though when we got stuck in the crazy roadwork on 94/41 and didn't step in the door until after 1:00. Ugh, I hate 2 1/2 hr drives that should only take about 50 mins! Sat Tom worked all day and I cleaned, did laundry, found Yoda puke on the guest bed and did MORE laundry, napped!, and read 9 days worth of my read the Bible in a year program. Yes, I was a little behind and yes it took me a couple of hours but once again I am caught up. :) Also I spent sometime knitting. Then Tom came home and we watched "The Lost City" which we both liked. Sunday I went to church in Kenosha with Jas and Stef (Tom worked all day again), went out for hot wings afterward (which were yummy), went to the Staton's to see Jason's decorative plaster work he's started (he's such a talented guy), picked up Tom and came home for a couple of hours to relax before bed. And I knitted. Whew, it was busy but really fun. Oh yeah, I talked w/Becky on the phone and she gave me some costly tips for making more room in our condo so when the 4 Miller's visit we won't be so packed. I didn't talk w/Leah because I didn't want to keep calling and asking "Is anything going on?!" and driving her crazier than she needs to be. Didn't speak w/Richard or Kari either. So what did everyone else do???

Bally's For The Mind

“CHRIST WILL DO ALL FOR YOU, OR NOTHING FOR YOU.”
–J. GRESHAM MACHEN (GAL. 2:21)

Bally's For The Mind

"All men must die; but as men’s lives are very different, so their account in death also. To an ungodly man death is a loss, the greatest loss: but to a believer it is gain, the greatest gain." (Thomas Boston)

"There is a great deal of difference between the desires of heaven in a sanctified man and an unsanctified. The believer prizeth it above earth, and had rather be with God than here (though death that stands in the way, may possibly have harder thoughts from him). But to the ungodly, there is nothing seemeth more desirable than this world; and therefore he only chooseth heaven before hell, but not before earth; and therefore shall not have it upon such a choice." (Richard Baxter)

Absolutly Mortified

The crappy Red Eye has been including some hilarious articles lately.

Here's today's about a new show called "Mortified" that gets regular people on stage to read their own diary entries, letters and other writings from the preteen to teenage years, showcasing a period of life when are at our most tortured and dramatic. It started in LA and has had shows in NY, Boston and San Francisco with 2 shows here in Chicago in Oct. and Dec.

This is an expert from a letter that inspired the show. It was written at the age of 16 by the creator of the show trying to get a girl to go out with him.

"He cited, amoung other things, his love for "sunsets across the water, beach volleyball, 'Calvin and Hobbes', the outdoors, classic lines and beautiful eyes."

A few more:

"Am I the only one in the world how understands Pink Floyd?"

"Words cannot describe my love affair with marijuana."

"Mom said I ate all the cookie dough when I didn't! Mom is a dork, a moron and a geek, and I hate her so much!"

Anyway, this got me laughing pretty early in the morning. Maybe its b/c if I wasn't so smart to throw all of my writings away I could join the cast - but I'd be too Mortified.

I Pity the Fool

Why write to Mr. T instead of, say, Santa Claus?

See, everybody knows Mr. T is real. Santa Claus ain’t. So you never know what you’re gettin’ in that Santa Claus outfit. You could have a pervert dressed up like Santa Claus. You could have a child molester. Also, Santa Claus can’t make them visits. Only god is omnipotent and omnipresent – being there at the same time everywhere. So parents are lyin’ about Santa Claus.

I tell people the reason why I never believed in Santa Claus is No. 1, I lived in the projects [Chicago’s South Side Robert Taylor Homes]. There was no chimney. No. 2, if we catch a white man in red suit in a black neighborhood, he’s in trouble!


~ Interview with Mr. T today in the Red Eye

By request of Richard

By request of Becky

36 weeks tomorrow.

For your entertainment!

Street wise vender: "One dollar is all it takes to keep me out of your house and the big house."

- Wacker and Madison

-- Submitted by Willy

More Chicago quotes can be found here.

Leah's Cervical Update

I'm dialated to 1 cm! I don't think that really means anything except that if I start having contractions again, I better get myself to the hospital. Pretty crazy, right?

Woohoo.

PS My back hurts.

Quote of the Week!

Run, my dear, from anything that may not strengthen your precious budding wings."

~Hafiz, translated by Daniel Ladinsky

Bally's For The Mind

Idolator Or His Handiwork, Which Are You?
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It’s much harder to submit to God shaping His image in me than it is to shape my image into Him. Maybe this is why God calls us to accept or reject him as the artist. It isn’t easy. God’s holiness sheds light on all our fear, anger, loneliness and lies. We begin to stand out and become different and unique, recognized by the scars of our past and birthmarks we can’t scrub off. And He prefers doing this in the context of community? That’s scary! I imagine all the Church might look like Jackson Pollock’s studio. Paint and passion spilled all over the rooms. And hope for beauty.
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In community, we learn a frightening but empowering truth—that the great tragedy of rejecting God as your sculptor isn’t just what you lose, but what we miss out on seeing through you. In his poem W.H. Auden wrote:
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God may reduce you to tears
On Judgment Day
As He recites by heart
The poems you would have written
Had your life been good.

Calvin's Christmas List

Mommy, can I have one pleeeeeeease.......?

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A boy posing with a pure-gold rocking horse
© AFP Yoshikazu Tsuno

TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese jewelry designer Ginza Tanaka has unveiled a rocking horse made of 24-karat gold in commemoration of the September 6 birth of Prince Hisahito, who is line to become Japan's emperor.

The price is as hefty as the 30-kilogram (80-pound) golden toy -- 150 million yen (1.28 million dollars).

Ginza Tanaka has made one golden horse but is ready to produce more if it gets orders, a spokeswoman said.

"Due to the costliness of this pony, we haven't received an order yet, although we have received inquiries," she said.

Despite the heavy gold, it is easy to rock on the horse, the company said.

"Made after a normal wooden rocking horse, its seat is very smooth and easy to sit on. The child can sit on it for long hours without getting tired," the company said in a statement.

Minnesota Memories-n-More

BugMan And His Apple.

You Ain't Seen Nuthin' Yet Scott!
Gimme The Keys Daddy, I'm Ready To Roll!

The New, The Improved: Baby Issac Baby Carriage!

Tired Of Thinking About All Those Diapers For Two Leah? Here's An Option For Ya - The Chinese Way: The Opening Of Convenience.

John Piper is bad.

http://www.foolishblog.com/extras/piperisbad.mp3

TV

I just watched Studio 60 last night and it was interesting. Matthew Perry plays an hilarious character. 9:00 on NBC (right? Same channel as the Office. ).
I really hated it that since I turned on the TV a little too early, I had to watch the last five minutes of Deal or No Deal. That show is so dumb. Even when a deal is made, they still have to play out all of the choices the person "would have" made.
What do you think?

Final Family Vacation Location

I know Becky has been working really hard to find the perfect place for us to stay at, and that's why I thought I would share this with everyone. Now I know we were leaning toward a beach house, and I'm sure that would be fine but whatever we do we need to make sure we can visit The Holy Land Experience in Orlando, FL. If this doesn't scream "AWESOME", then I don't know what else does. Imagine experiencing the same sites and sounds that Jesus did, while chowing down on a Goliath Burger^TM, or maybe just a good old fashioned smoked turkey leg. I can't wait, it will be almost like heaven, only better.

Hmmmmm......

In a shocking turn of events, anti-gay activist Fred Phelps thought he looked so attractive in his new cap that he was forced to picket himself.


For more little tidbits be sure and visit The Sacred Sandwich Shop. Enter through the door with the flashing word Enter.

Leah's old!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

LITTLE LEAH!

Bally's For The Mind

"What is being taught in Christendom today is this; that since we have got the New Testament canon, since we have got the Word now, we do not need these direct interventions, we do not need God to speak to us directly, as He spoke to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob and these patriarchs. We have got the Word now! Is this superior to the direct speech of God? I think we are mad! There is no other word for this. We are mad. We are meant to be in a superior position to every Old Testament saint because of what has happened in our blessed Lord and Saviour! But this teaching would have us believe that we do not need this direct contact with God now, and that all that has come to an end since the formation of the New Testament canon . . . remember that the great point of the whole teaching of the Bible, of all you can deduce from it, is to tell you that God is a God who acts. And our only hope this afternoon is that this is still true. He has not finished acting. He is going on . . . There is only one hope. That is that He is still the living and the acting God. Christ is at His right hand, and He is seated and waiting until His enemies should be made His footstool . . . ."

I have been defending the faith - and people have praised me for doing it. Rubbish! What a miserable failure it has all been! From now on I am determined to do one thing only, and that is to give God no rest nor peace, until He does prove Himself and show Himself. I have expended so much energy in reasoning with the people about this faith. We have got to do that, it is part of preaching. But if we stop at that, it will avail us nothing. But what I now am concerned about and I am concentrating on is this: asking God to show Himself, to do something, to give this touch, this manifestation of power. Nothing else will even make people listen to us . . . . Nothing is going to call the attention of the masses of the people to the truth of this faith save a great phenomenon, such as the phenomenon of the day of Pentecost, the phenomenon of any one of the great revivals, the phenomenon of a single changed life. This is something that always arrests attention, maybe curiosity - what does it matter? The people come and listen . . . .

We must not be content until we have had some manifestation of the activity of God. We must concentrate on this. This is my plea, that we concentrate on this, because it is the great message of the Bible Let us put it like this: Do we really believe that God can still act? That is the question; that is the ultimate challenge. Or have we, for theological or some other reasons, excluded the very possibility? Here is the crucial matter. Do we individually and personally really believe that God still acts, can act and will act - in individuals, in groups of individuals, in churches, localities, perhaps even in countries? Do we believe that He is as capable of doing that today as He was in ancient times - the Old Testament, the New Testament times, the book of Acts, Protestant Reformation, Puritans, Methodist Awakening, 1859, 1904-5? Do we really believe that He can still do it? You see, it is ultimately what you believe about God. If He is the great Jehovah- I am that I am,
I am that I shall be, unchanged, unchanging, unchangeable,
the everlasting and eternal God
- well, He can still do it."

-Martyn Lloyd-Jones

The Big Question

We found this picture in the spare bedroom the other day. Does any body know who this kid is?

Deep Thoughts by Helen

"The corruption of the good by the belief in their own infallible goodness is the most bloody dangerous pitfall in the human spectrum. Once you have conquered all your sins, pride is the one which will conquer you. A man starts off deciding he is a good man because he makes good decisions. Next thing, he's convinced that whatever decision he makes must be good because he's a good man. Most of the wars in the world are caused by people who think they have God on their side. Always stick with people who know they are flawed and ridiculous."

From Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding

Calvin's Mom

Please pray for Calvin.

Bally's For The Mind

"We lose control in order to be controlled by God.
We lose our self in order to find our self in God."
-Richard Vincent

Bally's For The Mind

Glorious Dregs

Resplendent riff-raff
On our last legs
Fuel for the fire
Dust for the graves
Earth and sky
You an I
The glorious dregs

Aluminum foil
A crown for our heads
Faithless and loyal
To love we allege
Diamonds and leaves
You and me
The glorious dregs

Worthless and worthy
Like profane prophets we speak
Of vengeance and mercy
Of an eye for and eye
And turning the other cheek

Selfless and selfish
A life in debt
Brothers and bigots
Blessings and plagues
Forgiven and cursed
The last, the first
The glorious dregs

Earth and sky
You and I
The glorious dregs

Earth and sky
You and I
The glorious dregs

from the album "The Berry Vest of the Swirling Eddies"

©1995 Words and Music by Terry Taylor

Vacation 2007!

Hi everyone. I think that Leah and I decided to stay in the country for our Awsome Family Vacation 2007 (money, passports, money). It seems that everyone is really open to anything so I hope everyone is ok with me just steering everyone in a different direction. I know we had considered the Carolina’s a while back, or maybe that was just me. Who knows. I’d like to find out your opinion on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina. Nurse Jackie has just gotten back from theIsle of Palms after staying in a house on the beach which is 20 min. outside of Charleston and brought back lots of brochures and good information.

Here’s the recap:

- August is “Sport Season” so the prices are slightly lower than “Summer” but not as inexpensive as “Fall”, but maybe we should consider going in August b/c of school (and I have a wedding but not sure what weekend in Sept. and have to make that work)

- Charleston is a very historical town with tours of Civil War Forts, plantation tours, ghost tours (it’s the 3rd “most haunted city” in the country), the only tea plantation in the nation (I know. It’s exciting.) and great restaurants and shopping – and Mom I’m sure there are movie theatres if that’s still on your list of things to do while laying on the beach.

- Jackie’s friends brought a boat, but I’m sure we can rent one for the week or a few days, and there’s lots of cool stuff to do with all the islands that surround Charleston. There's an entire island that is a nature preserve and Jackie saw a shark, dolpins, jelly fish, and i can't remember everything else.

A few reasons why I like the location:

- Everything above.

- We could visit Grandma Hopper and Sarah & Brian.

- We can drive – its only 12-14 hours from Chicago so that’s lots of money saved in airfare and we would have freedom while there if we had a few cars.

Jackie recommended these websites to check out homes:

islandrealty.com

visitcharleston.org

How does everyone feel about this? If anyone talks to Jason find out if he and Steph would like this. If we’re all ok with Isle of Palms can start looking for a house and get our down payment taken care of by Christmas. I think it sounds amazing and there’s something for everyone. A true beach vacation with tons of tourist activities.

Something to Pray For

Chinese Missionaries to Islam

[Recently there has been a] stirring of interest among many in the Chinese house church movement to break through one of the last remaining missions frontiers: Islam. A burning desire from the Spirit of God appears to have granted to the Chinese Church to complete the Great Commission. A call from God to preach the Gospel and establish fellowships of believers in all the countries, cities, towns, and ethnic groups all over central Asia and beyond. This is not some future dream but is something that is already happening! Right now there are already hundreds of Chinese missionaries working outside China in the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, and Southeast Asia. Thousands more are in training, learning languages such as Arabic and English that will be put to use on the mission field. Please keep them in your prayers.
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For the full report go here.

Best Picture Ever

Thanks Sally!

Bally's For The Mind

Be faithful in the little things for God measures things different than we do.

Sarah's Gettin' Married Today!!!!!!

Congratulations you two. Whoo-hoo! We had fun at the rehearsal and we just know today will be a blast!

Familia!

My Lord of the Land told me about a website for home owners of vacation rentals - so you don't go through a company, you speak to the actual owner. Its Vacation Rentals By Owner. Check it out. I assume this topic will be discussed at our extra-large and extra-special family table on Friday at The Whittington's wedding.

Can't wait to see everyone!

Bally's For The Mind

The postmodern reaction against Enlightenment dogma will not be met successfully simply by Christian proclamation. Of that we can be sure. That proclamation must arise within a context of authenticity. It is only as the evangelical Church begins to put its own house in order, its members begin to disentangle themselves from all of those cultural habits which militate against a belief in truth, and begin to embody that truth in the way that the Church actually lives, that postmodern skepticism might begin to be overcome. Postmoderns want to see as well as hear, to find authenticity in relationship as the precursor to hearing what is said. This is a valid and biblical demand. Faith, after all, is dead without works, and few sins are dealt with as harshly by Jesus as hypocrisy. What postmoderns want to see, and are entitled to see, is believing and being, talking and doing, all joined together in a seamless whole. This is the great challenge of the moment for the evangelical Church. Can it rise to this occasion?

-David Wells, Above All Earthly Pow’rs (2005), p. 315.

Found at T4G

The Captain Has Shaved

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Now he's ready for a role in Gaslight!

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I'm gonna keep it like this Sally.

I know you think it's sexy ;)

Ya just gotta wonder sometimes.....

According to The Independent, a British news paper, Simon and Schuster is dumping a quarter million into a marketing promotion for a book by an American woman, 43, named Kathleen McGowan, who claims...are you sitting down?...to be "a direct descendant of the physical union between Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ." Of course, she has received a seven figure sum for the rights to her book as well. She says she offers no proof of her heritage, but claims to have traced her geneaology to an "ancient French lineage that claimed to trace its roots to the pair."

From: Alpha and Omega ministries - John White's blog

Weekend Report

Yeah I know it's been a while since I've done this. Sorry that I am a poor family blogger. This weekend we went to the farm. There are some pet pictures over on Gizmo's post if you want to see them. We only visited for a day, but the dogs loved it. Wrigley was up to his chest in poo, I'm sure he felt like he was in heaven. On Sunday we got a new game. It's called Munchkin, and it's a parody RPG card game. It's a lot of fun to play. We also saw Stranger's With Candy, which was funny, but not as funny as me putting my foot in the bucket of beer in the dark when I was coming back to my seat. At least judging from the reaction of the theater. Anybody else have an exciting weekend?

Bally's For The Mind

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil."

2Co 5:10

Blaly's For The Mnid

As I raed thsi I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Dddaym

Bally's For The Mind

"What attribute is God about to show to Moses? His petition is, "Show me thy glory." Will he show him his justice? Will he show him his holiness? Will he show his wrath? Will he show him his power? Will he break yon cedar and show him he is almighty? Will he rend yonder mountain and show him that he can be angry? Will he bring his sins to remembrance, and show that he is omniscient? No; hear the still small voice—"I will make all my goodness pass before thee." Ah! the goodness of God is God's glory. God's greatest glory is that he is good. The brightest gem in the crown of God is his goodness. "I will make all my goodness pass before thee." There is a panorama such as time would not be long enough for you to see."

-Charles Haddon Spurgeon,

from "A View of God's Glory," a sermon Spurgeon preached very early in his ministry (probably around 1856-57)

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"The goodness of God leads you to repentance."

Romans 2:4

Family Vacation 2007 Update!

There is no update!

I'm sorry I've been crazy busy. Friends in town this weekend and 2 of my closest friends are both getting married in September. So its planning and parties and showers and parties and invitiations and hotel rooms and flight reservations...!

Anyway, I will call on that property very very shortly.

Bally's For The Mind

"I get the feeling that our lives are a lot less random than we think."

-Clark Kent (Smallville - Season 4, Episode #81: "Sacred")

Bally's For The Mind

Artful Stand

A prestigious United Kingdom art gallery seems to have been confused about one of its exhibits. The Royal Academy put a block of stone and boneshaped stick on display for an exhibition, not knowing the two pieces were merely part of the stand for a sculpture of a human head. Add this indignity for the artist: "Given their separate submission, the two parts were judged independently," the Academy said in a statement, "The head was rejected. The base was thought to have merit and accepted."

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From World Magazine July 1, 2006

Family Vacation 2007

So if I counted the votes correctly it is 7 - 3 in favor of the DR.

For DR:

Becky
Cheryl
Leah
Eric
Richard
Kari
Stephanie

For NC:

Tom
Sally
Jason

Has anyone changed their mind? Are we pursuing the DR actively now? Because we aren't all in agreement should we discuss more? Let me hear those McMilton voices.

BBQ 2006!

On behalf of Leah's visit, Cheryl and I will be hosting a very formal BBQ on August 5th or 6th. My birthday is that Friday (I'm sure you all are well aware) so I'm a little hesitant to have everyone over the next day ... I know, I know, I'm goign to be 28 and you'd think I would stop making a big deal out of my birthday some time soon, but not this year.

Richard and Keri, are you going to be here the next weekend for Sarah and Brian's wedding? If so, I don't expect you to make the drive 2 weekends in a row! But if are able to attend, we will definetly do a Sat. BBQ.

Leah has requested shish-kabobs. yum!

I'll call Jason & Steph.

Bally's For The Mind

"The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us."

-C.S. Lewis

Bally's For The Mind

"For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

1Co 1:18 {NET}

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In the fall of 2005, I [Mark Driscoll] preached a lengthy series on the accomplishments of Jesus’ crucifixion and came to realize that the cross was as foolish and offensive as ever. We had to call 911 for a woman who passed out during the sermon on blood. We had more than one angry person try and get on the stage to fight me during the propitiation sermon, which resulted in beefing up our security on Sundays and having a police officer on site.

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For the complete story go HERE

Is it time to vote?

Dominican Republic or North Carolina?

We need everyone's vote so we can move forward with the planning!
Is anyone going to see Jason and Steph? I want them to see the websites and check it all out.

In my opinoin, it comes down to wanting to travel out of the country and being ok with the higher airfare. It looks unbeleivable.

So...... enter your votes! If you need more info, research and let us know what you've found or ask questions!

New Sox Fan

I went to my first Sox game at US Cellular Friday night. Our family went when we were little kids to Kaminsky (remember the seat cushions?) but I haven't been since. My friend Jackie invited me to go with her and her parents (they are huge rediculous fans) who had awsome seats from her dad's company. I turned into a White Sox fan over night! It was so much fun. They really go crazy at those games: the scoreboard has all the stats of the players up to bat, a home run sets off fireworks, they have a kiss cam on the giant scoreboard, crazy games between innings, and each player picks a song before he bats. Which is hilaroius in itself b/c they are very typical picks, racially speaking. I've only been to Cubs games recently and I'm SO over the cubbies! Honestly, I've never been a fan of any team, so this is all new for me, but I love it! I won't miss a game now. Too bad this didn't happen a year ago so I could enjoy the World Series. Has anyone been to a Sox game lately?

Dominican Republic Vacation Spot

Check this out: http://www.cofresidr.com/

Bally's For The Mind

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The Epsitle to Diognetus, c. AD 130

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“For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity. The course of conduct which they follow has not been devised by any speculation or deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they, like some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrines. But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of them has determined and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly striking method of life.

“They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others and yet suffer all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all others; they beget children; but they do not destroy their babies. They share their table with all, but not their bed with all. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their exemplary lives. They love all men and yet are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death and restored to life. They are poor yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things and yet abound in all; they are dishonored and yet in their very dishonor are glorified. They are evil spoken of and yet are justified; they are reviled and bless; they are insulted and repay the insult with honor; they do good yet are punished as evildoers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred. To sum it all up in one word—what the soul is to the body, that are Christians in the world.” -Found at the Fide-O blog

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And how do we Christians look in 2006 C.E. ? Is it still true that: "...what the soul is to the body, that are Christians in the world"?

Bally's For The Mind

An interesting contrast:

Herschel Hobbs 1907-1995

(longtime pastor of First Baptist Church in Oklahoma City)

said:

.

"God voted for you. The devil voted against you.

And you cast the deciding vote."

.

.

.

The Scriptures say:

.

"I have planted, Apollos watered;

but God gave the increase."

(1 Cor 3.6)

"You must believe in free will; there is no choice"

-Isaac Bashevis Singer

Bigger and Better for reals

Hi everyone.

I'm just poking around on-line trying to find a good place for us to vacation (b/c of the biting flies) and have been looking at North Carolina. There's an island or penninsula called the Outer Banks with tons of beaches and beach homes and its 30 min. from Myrtle Beach and another town but there are lots of small towns all around and lots to do (deep sea fishing, historical crap, restaurants, shops). I even found a house with a home theatre in it. Cool! Check out this site and see what you think. I have emailed a few people to find out what I can about going in September (less expensive) and if there are any insects etc. that we should know about. I think it would very similar to our previous Florida destination.

Mom, Tom and I had discussed Maine but to be honest it wasn't easy to search for beaches or homes and I feel like we can go anywhere as long as we have a great house, great weather and we're on the ocean with a pool (oh and we'll have each other). I mean, how wrong can we go with a house on the ocean??

Please feel free to check into another area if you'd like. I think everyone is pretty flexible. I'm also trying to find out when a deposit would be due, but I think we have some time for that.

So, opinoins, again, please.

On to Bigger and Better Places

Please disregard previous post. I spoke too soon.

Jack-n-Jesus

No wonder I like 24 so much. As Mark Driscol points out in this post at The Resurgence, Jack Bauer can be seen as a type of Christ.

• Jack and Jesus are both dudes who worked in construction.
• Jack and Jesus have disciples and Jack’s disciples have names like Chloe, Michelle, Bill, and Tony.
• Jack and Jesus do not lie and can be trusted to accomplish whatever they promise.
• Jack and Jesus both oppose evil and seek to bring forth a glorious shalom world, free of tyranny and evildoers.
• Jack and Jesus were both betrayed by a close friend who ended up dying as a result of his sin.
• Jack and Jesus are both saviors willing to lay down their life for those they love.
• Jack and Jesus were both resurrected from death; Jack was essentially put to death to fool the Chinese government and then resuscitated.

Biting Flies

Here is an email from one of the owners of a vacation rental home along with the attachment. This is a bit of a problem I think.... Paradise, in my mind, does not include biting flies.
Maybe we should consider other options, such as going early and paying the summer price.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Becky,We would need a $250 deposit 120 days prior to when you want to rent. I can also check with you first if we have anyone else request a week that month - although at this point I don't imagine we will for a while. Have you been to the area before? One thing I think I should mention - we often get biting flies that start around Labor Day and hang around for a few weeks. I don't want to discourage you from renting, but I also don't want you to get there and be unhappy. I am going to send you a really good guide to the beaches of So. Walton, which I think has lots of good information, whether you stay at our house or not. It mentions the flies in the "advice for visitors" section. I'll have to send it in a separate email. If I can answer any other questions please don't hesitate to ask.
Cathy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am forwarding the attachement on to everyone.

Vacacion Familia

Hello mi familia,

I sent out emails for a couple of properties located right on the gulf 3.5 miles from Seaside. Mainly to get an idea of how early we can book and how much of the deposit is required. Richard, my mom nominated us to be in charge. We totally get to do whatever we want. She wants to be on a committee but not this one. Oh! Mom, you can be on the Martini Committee.

What is everyone's max you want to spend for the house? My guess is it'll be around $500-$600 per couple (Scott is not included in this of course - unless he has a job then he's totally paying.) But please tell me your absolute limit.

Also, Jason said we need to be IN Seaside b/c there is nothing around the town and Seaside is an amazing little town with restaurants and bars and shops etc. This is just the beginning of the search and the goal is to be in walking distance so the properties I inquired on may be a little far but it'll get us going.

How are we going to wait 1.5 years?!

Airport Info:
When traveling by air:The closest airports in the area are the Eglin Af Aux Nr 3 Duke airport (EGI) located about 32 miles northwest of Seaside in Valparaiso, Florida, Hurlburt Field (HRT) located approximately 33 miles west of Seaside in Mary Esther, Florida, the Bob Sikes airport (CEW) located roughly 38 miles northwest of Seaside in Valparaiso, Florida, and finally the Choctaw Nolf airport (NFJ) located around 50 miles northwest of Seaside in Milton, Florida.

Bally's For The Mind

Get em while they're hot right HERE!

For the Texas hold'em player who really wants to win BIG!

(At least 10% of your winnings must go to the church or curses will be sure to follow)

Bally's For The Mind

"I demand the total abolition of law and order!"

"There should be universal leisure for all, and a standing wage sufficient to provide life without working ought to be supplied ... so that everybody becomes a leisured aristocrat ... aristocrats are Marxists."

"In a completely reorganized modern society, women's lib would be realized by girls being given a house of their own by the age of twelve, and three-quarters of the wealth of the State being given to the girls so that marriage would be abolished and the girl could have as many husbands as she liked."

"Mr. Brezhnev and Mr. Carter are really the same person."



-John Conrad Russell, eldest son of philosopher and atheist, Bertrand Russel, in an address to the House Of Lords in England, 1978.

"I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me."

Deu 5:9

Church Today

"He who has God and everything has no more than he who has God alone."

-C.S. Lewis

Enough

All of You is more than enough for All of me,

for every thirst and every need,

You satisfy me with Your love,

And all I have in You Is more than enough.

You're my supply,My breath of life;

Still more awesome than I know.

You're my reward, Worth living for;

Still more awesome than I know.

You're my sacrifice Of greatest price;

Still more awesome than I know.

You're my coming King,You are everything;

Still more awesome than I know.

More than all I want,

More than all I need,

You are more than enough for me.

More than all I know,

More than all I can,

You are more than enough.

Bally's For The Mind

“I’ve had many discussions one on one with atheists who have asked some penetrating questions. At some point in the discussion, after we have looked at some of the abstract philosophical issues, I’ll sort of change the topic for just a second and ask a straightforward blunt question of my friends. I’ll say to them - ‘What do you do with your guilt?’

You would think that the immediate response would be simply to say , ‘Well I don’t have to deal with my guilt because since I don’t believe in God, I don’t believe that there is any ultimate standard of right and wrong, and so “sin” is simply a convention based [on societal custom] so ultimately there is no such thing as guilt so I don’t have to deal with it.’

But it is rare to get that kind of response. Usually there is an abrupt change in the tone and in the demeanor of people engaged in this kind of a serious discussion. There is almost always a pregnant pause, a profound silence where you can tell that they are suddenly troubled in the midst of this discussion and they are uncomfortable.”

- R. C. Sproul


From Renewing Your Mind radio broadcast, 05/26/2006 - “Forgiveness, Resurrection and Life Everlasting”

Bob Dylan XM Radio Show

For any Dylan fans out there, go to this blog, scroll down a ways and there's a link to download his 1st XM radio show.

http://poundforpound.blogspot.com/

Richard Got His Wish

It's Taylor!

But Catherine is cuter.

Bally's For The Mind - LOST on ABC

Lost's shepherds are also deep-thinking guys whose soulful concerns are imprinted on the show. Lost co-creators, Damon Lindelof 33, and Carlton Cuse, 47, both speak of spiritual awakenings during adulthood; they aspire to use Lost as a vehicle to tell stories of redemption and, according to Cuse, explore the question of ''how does one lead a life.'' During the show's conception, Lindelof was grappling with an array of internal debates prompted by the death of his father. At the same time, he was falling in love with his future wife, and finding the spiritual connection he was seeking through exposure to her Catholic beliefs. ''For me,'' he says, ''Lost is about meaning — and the search for meaning.''

-Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse, Lost co-creators' on siritual themes, AOL Entertainment May 15th, 2006

McSubversive

Here's some great stuff for Cal at the Kidzworld website:

Ancient Torture Devices

Get the Goods on Goth Style

Is My Body Piercing Safe?

Boyz In Da Hood - The 411 on Circumcision

The 411 On Breasts, Periods And Puberty!


No - I am not making this up!

The Office

Hey did everyone love The Office last night? I thought it was the best season finale of any season finale ever.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Waffles

These are so good and flavorful.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour
1 C Oatmeal (I used instant)
1 T Baking Powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs- separated
1 1/2 C Milk
6 T melted butter
2 T brown sugar

Process:
1. Stir together dry ingredients. Set aside.
2. Beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Set aside.
2. In large bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored. Continue beating adding milk, butter and brown sugar. Stir in dry ingredients until just combined... a few streaks of flour should be visible.
4. Fold in egg whites. Do not over mix.
5. Enjoy with syrup! (Or jelly, I guess)

Bally's For The Mind

“God is of no importance unless He is of Supreme importance.”

-Rabbi Abraham Heschel

From Staublog

Las Vegas

Eric and I had fun in Vegas. I didn't get many pictures because I was by myself the whole time. My days were filled with sleep, poolside rest, a massage, dinner out, and early bedtimes. I didn't see any prostitutes. Eric had a conference and even was a fantastic speaker at one of them (I got to watch). I only threw up once on the way back on the plane. I love barf bags. The trip was short, but great.

Bally's For The Mind

"The gospel... is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

Rom 1:16

Bally's For The Mind

Whoever marries the spirit of this age will find himself a widower in the next.
- William R. Inge Incarnation Project May 4th, 2006

Calvin

We sure had fun with Calvin last week. Went to the zoo, the mall, Legoland, bookstores, Chipotle, Big bowl, the park.... whew! He is quite the kid and the people magnet. At Border's they have a big kids section. While I was browsing the stacks for books on Adobe Premiere Elements and The Da Vinci Code, Sally and Calvin had fun reading in the kids corner. When I got there Calvin brought me a book and let me read it to him for about six seconds and then was off to find another. That book he took, not to old grandpa stasche, but to the cute little teenage girl who was sitting in some chairs in front of the little stage they had with some friends. (No dummy this kid! Gonna have to beat 'em off with a stick.) She of course read to him for a couple of pages whereupon Calvin decided it was time for a show and got up on the stage and entertained everyone with his dextrous use of stuffed animal boxes. What a kid!

Bally's For The Mind

As you may (or may not) know my favorite orator is Charles Hadden Spurgeon. I have always loved his conversion story. Found it in his own words at Pilgrim Publications and thought I would post it here today. For much more detail especially as to his state of mind and heart up to this point go here. Here is the post:

"It was about twenty-six years ago, twenty-six years exactly last Thursday, that I looked unto the Lord, and found salvation, through this text (Isaiah 45:22 — "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else."). You have often heard me tell how I had been wandering about, seeking rest, and finding none, till a plain, unlettered, lay preacher among the Primitive Methodists stood up in the pulpit, and gave out this passage as his text. He had not much to say, thank God, for that compelled him to keep on repeating his text, and there was nothing needed — by me, at any rate, — except his text. I remember how he said, —

'It is Christ that speaks. I am in the garden in an agony, pouring out my soul unto death; I am on the tree, dying for sinners; look unto Me! Look unto Me! that is all you have to do. A child can look. One who is almost an idiot can look. However weak, or however poor, a man may be, he can look; and if he looks, the promise is that he shall live.'

Then, stopping, he pointed to where I was sitting under the gallery, and he said,
'That young man there looks very miserable.'

I expect I did, for that is how I felt. Then he said,

'There is no hope for you young man, or any chance of getting rid of your sin,
but by LOOKING TO JESUS;'

and he shouted, as I think only a Primitive Methodist can,
'Look! Look, young man! LOOK NOW!'

And I did look; and when they sang a hallelujah before they went home, in their own earnest way, I am sure I joined in it. It happened to be a day when the snow was lying deep, and more was falling; so, as I went home, those words of David kept ringing through my heart, 'Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow'; and it seemed as if all nature was in accord with that blessed deliverance from sin which I had found in a single moment by looking to Jesus."
— From #2867, MTP Vol. 50, 1904, pg. 37

Bally's For The Mind

From Challies Dot Com on the latest Time magazine article on the 100 people who shape our world:

"As I thought about this list I was reminded of something Os Guinness wrote in The Call. He discusses fame and heroism and the call of Christ. He provides three reasons that heroism has fallen on hard times. The first of these is the modern habit of bebunking. Modern people are (often necessarily) cynical and "look straightaway not for the golden aura but for the feet of clay, not for the stirring example but for the cynical motive, not for the ideal embodied by for the energetic press agent." The third reason is the death of God in Western society, or as Guinness terms it, "the drowning out of the call of God in modern life." Having lost a perspective of the transcendence of human life, we can no longer properly talk about an ideal human character. In previous generations, to be a great human being was to be a "knight of the faith." This is, of course, no longer the case. Because there is no Caller and no higher calling, there are no knights of faith and no one who can dub them.

It is the second reason, though, that most gripped me. Guinness points to the press and media and their role in creating the modern celebrity. He did this long before "American Idol" and the rise of the "reality" show. These forces widen the gap between "fame and greatness, heroism and accomplishment." It used to be that heroism was linked to the honor of accomplishment so that only those were regarded as heroes who had actually made some grand accomplishment, whether in "character, virtue, wisdom, the arts, sports or warfare." Sadly, this is no longer the case. Today we find that the media offers a shortcut to fame--"instantly fabricated famousness with no need for the sweat, cost and dedication of true greatness. The result is not the hero but the celebrity, the person famously described as 'well-known for being well-known.' A big name rather than a big person, the celebrity is someone for whom character is nothing, coverage is all."

Complete blog entry here.

Welcome Back Eric and Leah

Yes, welcome back from Vegas and remember:

From The Wittenburg Door

Fresh Blood

A video from one of the filmmakers at VisionGateFilms. Thought it was pretty interesting.

Weekend Report

This weekend Kari got us tickets to go see Kathy Griffin Live. It was awesome. If you haven't heard her before you should, she is really funny. The show was at the Circle Theatre in downtown Indy. From what I read this was one of the first movie houses built in the Midwest, and the architecture was amazing. It has since been refurbished and is now the home of the Indianapolis Symphony. Also Kevin and I worked on my new poker table some more. We are basically finished and as soon as blogger stops being stupid I will post a picture.


UPDATE: The Picture

Emerald Isle

This is where Jason and Steph vacationed.

If we went in the fall, we could get an unbeleivable house for not too much money. (rentals/beach homes)

Can we go in the fall? Scott's in school. And Kari.

Pile driving pagans in the name of Jesus

Attention all wrestling fans: check THIS out.

The Calster!

I have a new camera and forgot to use the flash. These are a little fuzzy. But still adorable...!

Vacacion Familia

Leah and I were talking this weekend about planning a family vacation. We thought we could go next summer or fall so we'd all have plenty of time to save $$. If the McMilton's are interested, I'll cal Jason and Steph since they're not on-line. The destination depends on what everyone wants to do. We could rent a giant house on the ocean, go on a cruise, stay at an all-inclusive resort or go to a house in the woods somewhere. Anyway, I thought it would be lots of fun to vacation together. Soo let me know if 1. your interested and 2. your first choice for the destination. I can also research costs and find out what would be the least expensive. Let me know your thoughts!

(I have lots of great pics of Cal that I'll be posting tomarrow. I bet you can't wait!)

Bally's For The Mind

"The definition of a decandent society might be one in which private vices become public, not merely in the sense of becoming known, but in the sense that the leaders of the society govern in accord with their vices. Sins of the flesh, traditionally thought of as sins of weakness and sources of shame, become sins of pride."

-James Hitchcock, Editorial - Touchstone Magazine, April 2006

Queen of Poker

Sally took us all tonight. Yay Sally.

Bally's For The Mind

A quote from Dr. John Piper -

“People are starving for the greatness of God. But most of them would not give this diagnosis of their troubled lives. The majesty of God is an unknown cure. There are far more popular prescriptions on the market, but the benefit of any other remedy is brief and shallow. Preaching that does not have the aroma of God's greatness may entertain for a season, but it will not touch the hidden cry of the soul: "Show me Your glory!" The greatness and the glory of God are relevant. It does not matter if surveys turn up a list of perceived needs that does not include the supreme greatness of the sovereign God of grace. That is the deepest need. People are starving for God. People need to hear God-entranced preaching. They need someone, at least once a week, to lift up his voice and magnify the supremacy of God. They need to behold the whole panorama of His excellencies! It is not the job of the Christian preacher to give people moral or psychological pep talks about how to get along in the world; someone else can do that. What people need is for someone to tell them, week in and week out, about the supreme beauty and majesty of God.” (The Supremacy of God in Preaching)

The Weekend Report

We had a pretty good weekend. We got to see some movies(Maria Full of Grace, Waiting. . ., The Motorcycle Diaries, In Her Shoes, and Eulogy), played some games(lots of Phase 10, Milles Bornes, Poker, Swipe, Holy Cow, and Kabodl), and watched the Cubs beat the Cards on Sunday night(well I did, Kari read Bridget Jones Diary). Looking forward to seeing everyone over Easter(Scott I heard that on Saturday night it is customary for Andrew to not be in the Passion Play so you should join us). How was everyone else's weekend?

On a bad streak

We have been watching so many bad movies lately. The Weather Man (I guess I shouldn't call it bad- but it definitely wasn't good. How depressing), Rent (I already sounded off on that) and last night we watched The Squid and The Whale. Augh. Horrible. We stuck through it because of all the hype, but there was so so much cursing and sexual stuff... it was sick, really. Mom, don't see it. You will be horrified. Becky, you, too. Tom, I'm sure you will find something good with it, but even you will be disgusted, I think (and hope). Richard, you have no conscience, so I'm sure you will be fine with it.
Ha.
I have a new post at Cal's blog with some pics.

Ray Lamontagne

I ordered the new Ray Lamontagne cd and received it yesterday and its so great. I bet everyone would love it. He sings that song Trouble and I bet you've heard it. You can go to his website and hear a few songs. http://www.raylamontagne.com/

Maybe someday someone will show me how to link to a word in my post.

books

Does anyone have a suggestion on a good novel? I need a book to read.

Hick Weird Al

Parody music at its... ...most?


Listen to a clip: Plow Man


See it all: Farmboy Music


And don't miss these: Games

Bally's For The Mind

"A mouse was caught by its tail in a trap the other day, and the poor creature went on eating the cheese. Many men are doing the same. They know that they are guilty, and they dread their punishment, but they go on nibbling at their beloved sins."

- Charles Spurgeon.

Zion Passion Play

60+ years old and still going strong! Our own Scott is playing Andrew this year and doing a bang up job of it. We just got back from seeing it tonight. Congratulations on a role well played son! (The ice cream was delicious too.)

Everybody go see it if you get a chance!

Help

My friend, Tracy, had her baby boy yesterday. I went to the hospital to visit, but had a hard time leaving. My car wouldn't start. So, it's still in the parking garage. Eric is going to try to look at it tomorrow, but we know it's not the battery. So, please pray that it will be easy and CHEAP to fix!
From: Leah, not Cal

Bally's For The Mind

In a more culturally confident age, the British in India were faced with the practice of "suttee" - the tradition of burning widows on the funeral pyres of their husbands. Gen. Sir Charles Napier was impeccably multicultural:

"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: When men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks, and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."


Pluralism at it's best, ay?

Locked out

Our door has an automatic lock on it. I always check it before I leave- that is, until today. I went outside while Cal was napping to scoop poop. Cal was making noise, so I tried to go inside. After realizing that I was locked out while my child was locked in, I started to panic. Luckily, before I went outside, I lifted one of the storm windows so I could hear the monitor. I went to get a picnic chair and slid in a big pile of nasty poop. I was able to break my screen window with a shovel (not the poop shovel, luckily). Augh. Then I had to squeeze my body through a little hole by propping myself up on the ledge. It reminded me of the olden days on Fulton. I had to do that alot. I was smaller and much more agile.

Weekend Report - TN Edition

This weekend we went to TN to visit Brett, Tara, and Miles(Kari's sister, brother-in-law, and nephew). We had a great time. On Saturday morning Brett made a diet destroying breakfast of biscuits and gravy, sausage, bacon, and fried eggs. Needless to say I didn't make my biggest loser weigh-in this morning(the good news is I only missed it by half a pound, the bad news is that close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, bye bye $5). Brett and I also went to go see an AFL game with his dad, which was a lot of fun as well. Having so much fun is making the decision(when and if I get an offer from Wright Industries) even harder to make. It would be great to live down there, but it would also uproot Kari and transfer her to a new school, and put me 5 hours further from all of you. Anyone know of any automation positions opening up in the Chicago area? I'm happy to try for competing cities ;).

On the drive back I saw a sign advertising Used Cows for sale. What do you think a used cow is like, and is it for eating or milking?

G-Rod

So I voted in the IL primary last night. What got me to go was b/c I like Blagojevich and would like to see him stay in office. Also, it is so easy to vote now that i live in the city. I just stopped at the library one block away from my apt. on my way to the grocery store. Mom I know you feel like Chicago is a Democratic city, and it is. I loved being able to vote for all Democrats. I wish every election was like that... I also wish the presidential election was this year.

Anyway, I'm sharing b/c it was my first primary.

My sister's a slacker

Is anyone else waiting for Cal's blog to get updated?

Bally's For The Mind

Is "freewill":

“The ability to choose between options, either of which could be actualized by the act of choosing.”

-or-

“The ability to choose as one pleases.”

Weekend Report

This weekend was a pretty busy one for Kari and I. We helped her dad paint a new rental house he just bought all day on Saturday. We also watched The Woodsman, Kingdom of Heaven, and An Ideal Husband. All of which I liked. Kari did not like Kingdom of Heaven, but that is because she is lame. I also played a little poker. We also began to rearange the furniture in the house. I believe the new look is going to work out quite nicely, and everyone must come to see it, or we will take pictures whichever comes first.

Bally's For The Mind

Lengthy, I know - but it really was a thought provoker and encouragement to me this morning. From the Reformation Study Bible study notes at Isaiah 66.


The Spiritual Nature Of God

"God is Spirit", said Jesus to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:24). Though fully personal, God does not live in and through a body as we do, and so is not subject to the limits of space and time. Although nothing created can be omnipresent, God is everywhere in His fullness continually. All created things are limited by time, but for God there is no "present moment" into which He is locked as we are.

Theologians refer to God's freedom from limits and bounds as His infinity and His immensity (I Kings 8:27; Isaiah 40:12-26; 66:1). God upholds everything in being, and He has everything everywhere always before His mind, in its own relation to His all-inclusive plan and purpose for every thing and every person in His world (Daniel 4:34-35; Ephesians 1:11).

God is immutable, or unchangeable. Nothing can increase or diminish God's perfection, and He does not change for the better or the worse. Because He is not in time He is not subject to change as creatures are (II Peter 3:8). Yet He is active in His world all the time, constantly making new things spring forth (Isaiah 42:9; II Corinthians 5:17; Revelation 21:5). In all His works He expresses His perfect character with perfect consistency. True to His unchangeable character, He will fulfill every word He has spoken and the plans He has made (Numbers 23:19; Psalm 33:11; Malachi 3:6; James 1:16-18). His immutability explains why, when people change their attitude to Him, He changes His attitude to them (Genesis 6:5-7; Exodus 32:9-14; I Samuel 15:11; Jonah 3:10).

God's unchangeable perfection does not mean He is impassive and unfeeling, but what He feels is a matter of His own choice, and is included in the unity of His infinite being. God is not driven by His reaction to events or the presence of feelings that arise within Him. But many scriptures represent God as having emotions, such as joy, sorrow, anger and delight. It is a great mistake to forget that God feels - though of necessity in a way that transcends a finite being's experience of emotion.

All God's thoughts and actions involve the whole of Him; He is undivided in Himself, not composed of parts. This attribute is called His simplicity. God is not distracted, divided by competing interests, or obliged to ration His attention. He simultaneously gives total and undivided attention, not just to one thing at a time, but to everything and everyone anywhere in space or time (cf. Matthew 10:29-30).

The God who is Spirit must be worshiped in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Worship "in spirit" means worship from a heart renewed by the Holy Spirit. No rituals, ceremony, or devotional formality is true worship without a willing heart, which the Holy Spirit alone can prepare. "In truth" means on the basis of God's revelation culmination in the incarnate Word, Jesus Chirst, who is the truth (John 14:6). In the Spirit, "the Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth", wherever they may be (Psalm 145:18; cf. Hebrews 4:14-16). Through the revelation of Christ, God invites limited, sinful creatures to claim Him who is the eternal, unchangeable God, as their own God. God is committed to His people through a covenant of divine promises as sure as His own faithfulness (Hebrews 6:17,18).

Leah, how's the baby growin' going?





Here' are a few pictures of hilarous, adorable and crazy Cal.

He loved the swing but only for 2 seconds b/c there is WAY too much to do at the park.

I'm Excited

Even though I know the rest of you won't be. ;)


I found this today:

TRIROCK

It's a site that plays all 70's classic Jesus Freak Music!

I Love it!

I know, Scott, I know......

Nothing

It looks like we're all really boring! Nothing new to report. Leah and Cal were here for Leslie's wedding and it was fun as always.

I have a cold.

My grandma told us a really gross joke at the wedding. This was after she did her jello shot. I'm not sure I should post it though. Scott, are you reading this?

Bally's For The Mind

"Jesus came to raise the dead.

He did not come to teach the teachable;

He did not come to improve the improvable;

He did not come to reform the reformable.

None of those things works."

--Robert Farrer Capon

Bally's For The Mind

"We believe we're all born bad and it is society that makes us good."

-The Creators of South Park



That's sort of Biblical actually.

;)

The Hmmmm... Department.

Oh My.... Rev. Mailor

Leah' Day O Fun

I was a spoiled lady yesterday. Lisa and I are taking turns babysitting so that we can run errands, make appointments or have Me Time. Yesterday was my day and I went to Target to buy a couple things, sat in Borders for almost two hours reading magazines, my Bible and A Wrinkle in Time, and then went to the library to get a card (finally). It was great.
Then, I had Girls' Night Out and we walked around Uptown and ate at Chiang Mai Thai (I didn't really eat, but it was great).
Woohoo for Leah and her Day O Fun!

Bally's For The Mind

"You, you and you - panic. The rest of you come with me."

-Jonas Blane, The Unit, CBS TV

The Dress I'm Talking About

Clarification for Grandma

Just to clarify, the Myfamily.com website is no longer. I think everyone got an email about it, but I didn't pay the fee b/c they screwed up my checking account and charged me 6x and had HORRIBLE customer service. I'll go on the site and see if I can get the email 'updates' to stop. But anyway, most of you know this b/c this great blog is the replacement for the myfamily.com site.

Weekend Report

This weekend was a slow one. We watched all three Netflix that we had on hand(Unleashed, Roll Bounce, and The Weather Man) all three were good, and surprisingly "Roll Bounce" wasn't the worst of them. I gave that distinction to "The Weather Man". I also played about 20 hours of Dragon's Quest VIII(from the Dragon Warrior series on the NES, now on PS2),I guess I kind of dork it up every weekend. We didn't get a poker game together but next weekend we will for sure. We also watched the Academy Awards. If you saw it, what did you think of Jon Stewart as host? I enjoyed it, I'm not sure Hollywood did(sure they thought his political jokes were funny, but the looks/response he got when he made jokes about celebrities makes me think that Kathy Griffin is right about most stars not really getting the joke or being able to laugh at themselves.

Call, your way way too young to be forgetting or not telling the truth or whatever it is your trying to pull. Here I have a picture of you at the zoo. See? That's your head and in the back ground is a giraffe. You said you haven't been doing anything, but I'd say a zoo is pretty exciting.

Another one?!

Cal will be a big brother circa Nov. 4, 2006. It's still kind of a secret, but we are telling family. A good way to keep a secret is to post it on a Blog. Pray for baby #2- that he/she is healthy and safe.

Stairs, running and stealing

This morning as I was running up the stairs to catch the L, I caught a pick-pocket-er instead. This a-hole was trying to get into my bag!!! I could feel someone pulling on my bag so I turn around and there's his hand trying to unzip the pocket as I'm running up stairs! I'm still pissed. I stopped and turned around and yelled "Excuse Me!" b/c that's what came out of my mouth and he started running past me saying "i was just trying to...."... Yeah, trying to what - steal my wallet??

Stupid theives.

He jumped on the L right as the doors were closing and was gone.

Then I had to sit in a seat that looked like someone threw up a little on it. It was kinda a rough morning.

Bally's For The Mind

"I believe that each work of art, whether it is a work of great genius, or something very small, comes to the artist and says, 'Here I am. Enflesh me. Give birth to me.' And the artist either says, 'My soul doth magnify the Lord,' and willingly becomes the bearer of the work, or refuses."

-Madeleine L'Engle

Prison Break Curios

Hi everybody!

Go here

click on Photo Galleries

Look at photo #4

The Weekend Report

This weekend Kari ended up sick again, so that led to more poker playing for me. We did watch Bubble, but I wasn't too excited about it. I did play in a live game(not on the internet) on Saturday night, and Kari actually felt good enough to join me by the third game. I took 2nd all three games, so I broke even(counting Kari's buy-in for the third game). I heard there was some visiting of MN that went on. What else did everyone do?

I love Police Officers

Today I got pulled over for speeding. No license. No current proof of insurance. I got off with a verbal warning.
I don't think it had anything to do with me making out with him, either.
Hooray! I thanked him profusely, thanked the Lord even more and headed onto Sam's Club.
Eric, have you seen my license?

Bally's For The Mind

Say What?!......

"The intelligent design movement belittles God. It makes God a designer, an engineer," said Vatican Observatory Director George Coyne, an astrophysicist who is also ordained. "The God of religious faith is a god of love. He did not design me."

-From CNN