New Features!!

Friends, family, and worhty opponents:

There are two new features that you will notice on my blog. (Google-Reader users will need to visit my actual website to see.) I encourage all of you to take part in these new features, as it will allow you to be more interactive in my blog, thus creating a community that I have very much been missing these last few months.

First: The poll is inspired because of the many hours each week I spend waiting for Liz to finish up her work. In the waiting hours, I read blogs, watch soaps, and stare at the ceiling. . . but I feel as though the hours could be better spend. (In my defense, I already read my Bible every morning, am reading several novels in the afternoons, and have watched EVERY movie the Imuses left us including 7 of Mary-Kate and Ashley's classics.) At any rate, I could be working on making myself a more rounded individual, so vote on what I should do in the passing hours.

Second: If you read my blog, let me know by clicking on the "Followers" link on the right. :)

Homeward Bound

With another school break fast approaching, and with my mother fresh out of Cancer treatment, we have decided to use this break for some travel. We will be in Denver on Friday and Saturday for Adam Parks' wedding, and then we will spend another five or six days in Norfolk with Momma Taylor. What a blessing it will be to help her in the recovery. The following weekend we will drive back to Chihuahua to start school again. I know that some of you will be in Lincoln, so if we can find a way to meet, that would be splendid.

Now, Chihuahua is a place RICH in history and culture. It is an old city, and it has seen many famous revolutionaries and politicians come out of it's history. A magnificent piece of that history is this cathedral, which I caught my wife ignoring in the quest of a "better" picture...

Up, Up, and Away!!

In our efforts to expand our ministry and encouragement down here, (as if we needed a noble reason to make it worth-while) Liz and I joined five families from the language program for a weekend out at Majalca. All of the families involved (save for one) have multiple little children that scurry around and eat mud, bugs, and what-not. It was a lot of fun for sure!



Also, if you remember from our pictures from the camping trip, there are great rocks to climb there, so we pulled out the gear and enjoyed some rock-climbing as well.


Finally, for those of you who have been praying for our community down here: one thing is for certain, the Tylers and Meissners are proving to be a big blessing. We love their company and are enjoying their friendship immensly. You'll probably hear more about them in the months to come.

Two thoughts and a picture.

1) When do you stop accepting causes for the sake of being single-focused, without ignoring the pain and hurting in this world? (In other words, how do you live this Christian life w/out getting homeless, penniless, and completely empty, while avoiding the snares of complacent living?)

2) Why does every woman respond to charm so easily? (there IS a story attached to this question... you'll have to call me at 248 341 9771 to get it. (it's a US #)

Picture:

He replaces the phone on its base and rubs his temples. He's never had to deal with this before. Sadness courses through his veins, his throat constricts, and that tension in his jaw develops. (the one he associates with pain, tears, and heartache)

They tell her she has cancer. That word feels like a knife, subtly stabbing at his heart, reminding him of all the times that word has ended in pain, tears, and heartache.

She says it feels like she is telling the story about a dear friend. . . in a sense, that statement bares truth as she is one of his dearest and most faithful friends. His only response is concern, hers too, but not for herself. She is used to bearing the burdens of others, such that even in times as these, she is concerned for her listeners' pain - ignoring her own.

Is this what it felt like, Lord God? To watch the love and pride of your life bear such burdens and suffer such pain? You watched from afar, as he must, to see your son, his savior, bear the cross. He does that now, as he watches your servant, his mother bear her cross.

The fiercest pain is having no tears to drown this heartache.

page worth reading

I think everyone should read this:

http://branthansen.typepad.com/letters_from_kamp_krusty/2008/09/from-the-archive-excuse-me-while-i-single-handedly-neutralize-al-qaeda.html

Let me know what you think.

What I miss (part 2)

I feel the need to apologize for that last post. I mentioned that it wasn't about people, and then I put the picture of Mike Hsu in the middle. Although I dearly miss the man behind that face, the face is supposed to represent the essence of Grace Chapel in that I couldn't find a decent picture of the building.

What I miss:

There are too many faces that I miss to start mentioning now. If you're reading this blog, I'm sure you're one of them. . . Today's post is not about you. It's about the THINGS I miss most. I will try to capture a few of their essence(es) with some pictures.

On the camping trip, which is described in DETAIL on my wife's blog, we played a lot of football. This is a VERY short clip which highlights Liz's mad skills.