Go Cards!

I'm rooting for Arizona.

I went to a hymn sing

On Sunday night, I went to a hymn sing at church. It was my first
hymn sing. I had been wanting to check out a hymn sing for a while
now. And since it was occuring right in my own sanctuary, I thought I
should go.

It was two hours of hymn-goodness. We opened with a prayer and a
pre-determined hymn. And then it was a free-for-all. People would
raise their hands and call out a number. This number corresponded to
the page number in the hymnal. The organist and the pianist
determined who would play it, and then we sang the hymn. We sang at
least two verses of each hymn. Sometimes we stood and sometimes we
sat. Sometimes the leader shared some background on a hymn or shared
a story that was relevant to the hymn.

I would say there were maybe 150 people in attendance and I'm happy to
report that I was not the youngest one in the crowd. The two hours
went by really quickly and there's already talk of another sing
sometime soon.

And that's the abbreviated story of my first hymn sing.

I sent an email to the White House

On Wednesday, I sent an email to the White House. In it, I asked if I could have lunch with President Obama. I thought it would be fun to try. I'm hoping that I get a call sometime in the next four years. If not, eh.

I'll keep you posted.

Well Hello Lottie!

This morning I stopped by Lottie Nelson for breakfast this morning. I have to admit that I have a fond affection for Lottie. I like to go over there every once in a while just for old times sake. Lots of stuff has changed over time. The salad bar is now out in the seating area. There's a big screen tv showing CNN. And all the furniture is nicely updated.

This morning I had Maypo, french toast, turkey sausage, a slice of cinnamon bread and some yogurt with some granola mixed in. And here's the photographic proof:

Me Admonishing You...

To pray for your leaders, whether they happen to be the President of the United States, or the president of your company. They need it.

If you're so inclined, check out Dr. Albert Mohler's prayer for our incoming president here.

So many thoughts....

It's been a few days and I've had some things come to mind that I've been wanting to right about. However, I don't expect to address all of them here.

Today was Sanctity of Life Sunday (I think that's the "technical" name). For those of you who may not be Christ-followers, it's a day where the Church celebrates the Sanctity of Human Life. We reinterate the facts that life begins at conception and that every life is valued by God.

Pastor Phil this morning spoke on Psalm 139 and mentioned the verses which say that He knit us in our mother's wombs (vs. 13), and how He saw our unformed bodies (vs. 16). As I was thinking about that, my mind wandered to the historical significance of this week. How the President-Elect is not certain when life begins. And the uncertainty that trickles down from there.

You see, I have a theory. And I haven't defined it completely, but it has to do with the role that your view on human life defines the rest of your actions. If you don't view life as sacred, you won't treat people like they're sacred. I think my theory still needs a lot of refining, but hopefully you get where I'm coming from.

Lots of people like to talk about how the incoming administration will reverse some of the progress that has made in efforts over the past eight years to curtail abortions. And that may be true, but I'm more concerned about what this mindset means for other aspects of life.

Please keep on praying.

Reading the Word

So Pastor Phil has challenged our congregation to read the Bible everyday for thirty days. Which is a good thing. But also a bad thing, because it means that people aren't spending time in the Word. But that's a topic for another day.

During Christmas and Easter, I like to re-read the accounts of Christ's birth as well as his resurrection, as well as the surrounding events. This year, I've been reading through Luke and I've been paying attention to the periphery in the stories.

Like in chapter four where Jesus healed Simon's mother-in-law. And after Jesus healed her, "she got up and began to wait on them." I've been thinking about the mother-in-law. What was her frame of mind? What made her get up and immediately begin her hosting duties?

And I've been thinking about the crowds that observed Jesus and his miracles. What must have been going through their minds when they saw cripples healed and dead men raised from the dead? I can only imagine.

Paying attention to these details has given me a new way to look at the events in scripture.

Heard on NPR

I was driving around on Friday, listening to All Things Considered on NPR.

I heard this story and I almost cried. Seriously. If you don't want to read the story, you can listen to it. But I would encourage you to at least listen to it. Especially if you're hard pressed to find something encouraging in the sea of bad news. (As an aside, if you're feeling really discouraged, drop me a note.)

Please remember those in the armed forces who are currently serving our country. Please pray for them.

Egyptian Tune

Years from now, people who study human behavior will look at this video. And not know what to think.

Retro-Awesomeness

Thanks to the kind folks at MASN (Mid-Atlantic Sports Network), I'm currently watching game five of the 1970 World Series. It's the Baltimore Orioles vs. Cincinnati Reds.

The Orioles lineup includes guys like Brooks Robinson, Boog Powell and Dave(y) Johnson, while the Reds lineup includes catching great Johnny Bench, Tony Perez and somebody named Pete Rose.

The Orioles will win, but regardless, it's great fun to look back at some good times at Memorial Stadium. I'll remember it fondly.

Pictures from the last year

I made a little slideshow of pictures from the past year. I couldn't include a picture of every day, but this will give you an idea of what I've been up to in the past year.

You will note that none of these pictures feature people. That is intentional.