Week in Review

Something I would like to start while I am sabbatical is a Week in Review. This is the first installment.

highlights of the week: playing ping pong with some Puyallup youth pastors and totally dominating every match. Celebrating Brian Gibson's 4? birthday with his family and the Crawfords. Hawaiian coffee from the Tangedahls.

lowlights of the week: all the flooding going on in our state, some relatives of good family friends seem to just have one more thing to deal with in their already difficult circumstances.

on my to-do list: completing all my phone calls for my weekly practical meeting with my wife. Posting some ads on Craigslist. If you are looking for some skis, a snowboard or guitar gear, let me know.

procrastinating about: making an appointment with a new friend because I don't know if I will be able to keep my commitment if I make it and scraping some mold out of the shower.

books i’m reading: being on sabbatical what I am mainly doing is reading. I am reading three books. Nichole and I are reading How People Grow together and checking in via the workbook each week. I am also reading Rebuilding Your Broken World. This book is very good and I am excited to continue to see how it is going to impact my life. I read these two books during the day and then at night have been reading music biographies. I am currently working my way through Bob Dylan Chronicles Volume 1. This is an interesting read.

music i'm listening to: This week I ordered four cds. Lincoln Brewster - Today is the Day, Muddy Waters - Definitive Collection, Eric Johnson - Ah Via Musicom and Wes Montgomery - 20th Century Masters Colleciton. I have listened to Lincoln Brewster and Muddy Waters, please see below for status of the other two.

anecdote of the week: I order the aforementioned cds with a Best Buy gift card from my mom and dad-in-law, thanks Pat and Dale. Two of them I used the in-store pickup and the others I had shipped. I checked my order status yesterday and for some reason I had them shipped to my sister's apartment, in Iowa. She hasn't lived there for two years. I hope the people are nice to enough to return the cds. I am going to call Best Buy and my sister to see what we can do.

Check back just about every Friday for the Week in Review.

Blogs

If you are reading this, you know what a blog is. If you read a lot of blogs, you have to use a reader to keep all your blogs in one place. I use Google Reader.

Here are two blogs that I have recently added to my reader.

Neatorama

The Customer is Not Always Right

freezebubbles

This is cool beyond words.

freezebubbles

Good Samaritan

Read this parable first: Good Samaritan

Part of my life creed is that I want to help people. Snow always give me a few chances to do this and our recent bout of snow storms in the Northwest did not disappoint. I was traveling with Nichole and Lily to drop Nichole off at work and we came upon a truck stuck at an intersection. It was an older model and the rear tires were just spinning in the snow. I pulled on to the shoulder, put on my flashers and jumped out. When I left, Nichole told me that Lily said, "dada go." She replied, "When we are in the car and somebody needs help, your daddy is always going to stop, so get used to it." I got the truck going and we were on our way.
Take the time to help someone in need this week.

Reported Success Putting Humpty-Dumpty Together Again

Nichole and I have been watching House lately.

Reported Success Putting Humpty-Dumpty Together Again GraphJam: Music and Pop Culture in Charts and Graphs. Let us explain them.

Snowplow Priorities after Snowfall

This site has user-submitted graphs. Some have questionable content, but most are very funny. This one is appropriate as we are going to have our third snowstorm in a week tomorrow.

Snowplow Priorities after Snowfall GraphJam: Music and Pop Culture in Charts and Graphs. Let us explain them.

Some theology from Bono

"I have heard of people having life-changing miraculous turn-arounds, people set free from addiction after a single prayer, relationship saved where both parties 'let go and Let God'. But it was not like that for me. for all that 'I was lost, I am found'. It is probably more accurate to say, "I was really lost, I'm a little less so at the moment.' And then a little less and a litte less again. That to me is the spiritual life. The slow reworking and rebooting of a computer at regular intervals, reading the small print of the service manual. It has slowly rebuilt me in a better image. It has taken years, though, and it is not over yet." Excerpt from U2 BY U2.

Justification - Sanctification - Glorification. Thanks Bono.

Comics

Another part of the paper I enjoy reading is the comics. My favorite comic is Pearls Before Swine. I also enjoy Shakespeare, so last Sunday's Pearls made me LOL.

A Monday Musing

I was coming out of Walmart about a week ago and got sucked in to signing up for the analog news re: newspaper. He was running a special $10 for 13 weeks sale and I just happened to have a ten in my pocket. It has been fun reading the paper. This morning the daughter and I sat next to each other with our morning drinks and read it together.

The big news in our state this week has been a sign that was posted by the Freedom From Religion Foundation in the rotunda of our Capitol Building. Here is an article from today's Tacoma News Tribune. I wasn't a part of this protest. I am all for expression of religion and am even okay with having the different symbols posted in the rotunda such as the tree, menorah and the Nativity scene that are already there. However, this is what ruffled my feathers as I read through the article.
State Rep. Jim Dunn, a Vancouver Republican, called for the crowd to continue their energy and prayers. “It is time to chase out of the house of God all the unbelievers and evildoers,” Dunn said.
Hello! I understand that maybe the paper didn't include the rest of what he said, but even if there is other items to what he said I can't wrap my mind around why he said this. It is likely this kind of speech that prompted the atheists to post there sign. Some verses came to mind after I calmed down.

Matthew 9:10-13
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

He Knows My Name

I have a maker. He formed my heart before even time began.
My life is in his hands.

He knows my name, He knows my every thought.
He sees each tear that falls and He hears me when I call.

I have a Father He calls me His own.
He'll never leave me no matter where I go.

He knows my name, He knows my every thought.
He sees each tear that fallsand He hears me when I call.

Twitter

I am spending more time on Twitter.
Here is an article, a blog and video to begin your understanding.

Clive Thompson on How Twitter Creates a Social Sixth Sense

Twitip



Follow me here

Go Wifey

My wife has been reading different blogs and commenting from time to time. Now one of her comments made it into a post and she is complimented. I have to say, I am slightly jealous.

What's "normal" anyways?

Fatherhood

I have thoroughly enjoyed being a father. My daughter is soon to be 19 months and impressing me everyday with her abilities. She has recently started calling me "daddy." This has been a neat change. Also, when she can't find me around the house, she says, "Daddy r u?" and then comes to look for me. Her two favorite things right now are airpanes and her slide. Being close to an Air Force base there is never a shortage of planes and whenever the noise of one can be heard she stops what she is doing, gets a surprised look on her face, points to the sky and says, "airpane." We have a small slide in the living room. This weekend she learned to go down head first and is a total daredevil. I love her very much.

PBS and Randomness

I love watching PBS. On Saturday night they always have great concerts. I am currently watching R.E.M.

It is weird writing a blog post now that I use Twitter. After I wrote these three sentences, I felt like I needed to stop and could not really come up with anything else to say. Tomorrow is Sunday and Sundays are now spent unplugging from technology that sometimes rules my life. It has been fun to read the analog news (newspaper). I have been cutting out coupons and laughing at the funnies.

Fun to Learn Potty

This came home from work tonight with Nichole. My daughter is growing up. The songs it sings are actually pretty catchy.

Fun to Learn Potty - Fisher Price Babygear

Twitter

If you are not in Twitter yet, it's time to join. My friend Katie posted some great info. last week about it. Her blog is Get Real Mom. There is also a Twictionary here so that you can figure out the nomenclature used on Twitter. Follow me here Twitter.

Now with dancing

Jesus is my friend

Texas

Just got back from a trip to Texas with my family. Here are some pics.

Twitter Feed

If you aren't on twitter, join the fun by following me. You will now get tweeted when I post something on my blog.

Twitter feed