We fried turkey this year… Have a happy thanksgiving :)
Psalm 105:1-4
1 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4 Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.
Congrats to Rich Coffeen for publishing The Discipling of Mytra. It is of the Christian Sci-Fi genre.
DOES CHRISTIANITY HAVE A FUTURE?
“Our mission board is unique. We do not evangelize the lost, we do not plant churches. IPM exists for this purpose only: to open planets by peaceful means.”
Four Rules of the InterPlanetary Missions Agency
1) Identify the Founders
2) Identify the Second Lie
3) Open Now, Evangelize Later
4) Do No Harm
Congrats to my sister and her new husband on finally getting married!
May God bless them :)
And of course, photos and videos on youtube and facebook.
Photos from Hmcfabulous
I was pleasantly surprised yesterday as I attended a high school graduation with the commencement speaker. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia spoke to the WT Woodson 2009 graduating class in a rebuttal-like fashion. Very funny man with lots of historical examples (precedents)…
First to put it in context, the student speaker speech was filled with cliches and platitudes (kids these days)… so Scalia, as always, dissented from the normal feel-good speech. He started off saying that he will dissect some of the more commonly used platitudes and instead give his take on it.
Platitude #1 We have overcome unprecedented challenges – this comes from a lack of knowing your history. Scalia went on to talk about how Troy was surrounded by the Greeks and then us facing the possibility of nuclear war, and then terrorism, etc. as examples of when people faced annihiliation and other challenges. His conclusion was that there is nothing new under the sun or learn your history.
Platitude #2 Follow the north star (follow your dreams). – In a direct response to the student speaker, Scalia encouraged people to be zealous, but zealous for the right reasons. He warned people that sometimes following your dreams may not be the best option… especially if your dreams are not based on what is right. He pointed out the many follies of men who were so blinded by their dreams that they did evil instead of good. He mentioned people like Hitler and Lenin who stuck to their convictions, their north star, but ended up in the wrong. So instead he concluded: “seek wisdom, seek good, and then be the captain of your boat” or “it’s better to stay still than to work your butt off in the wrong direction.”
Platitude #3 America is the greatest country in the world.. Off course he agreed with that statement, but not in the way most people do. Some say we are the greatest because we are the free-est, but freedom is not merely the exercise of liberty. He went on to say that it is within the context of laws that our freedoms were created and it is with responsibility of the citizens that our freedom is upheld. He gave an example of spitting gum in the street. If no one did it, then no law would have to be made… but if everyone spat gum in the street, them there will be need for some sort of regulation. He was not talking about gum spitting. He then went to the founding fathers and quoted from Federalist Paper #51:
“The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”
Anyways, I think he was trying to say America is greatest when her citizens are most responsible… my take: we are greatest (and free-est) when we exercise our responsbility. Or our greatness isn’t how much liberty we can exercise, but how much responsibility we take.
And there was another one, but I can’t remember right now. But overall, I liked the way he pointed out folly and turned the audience back to wisdom.
My final take: Remember history or you’ll repeat it, you’re not as smart as you think you are, seek guidance from your elders, you’re part of a greater community so do your part…
I’m not sure, but it’s just another one of those days where marketers will try to guilt you into buying something for your dad. Anyways, Amazon.com is offering gift cards for those who have no idea what to give. They’re my favorite online retailer… thanks to their huge selection and online selling capabilities… anyways, so go buy something… use your credit cards… restart the economy… enjoy the consumerism of father’s day.
My wife of course has already let me know what she’s buying me. Apparently there’s underwear on sale at target. And she thinks I need new ones. Although I read an article somewhere that during a recession, underwear is one of the last things you buy… because no one sees them (except your wife).
Was checking out one of the groups we went to china with a few years back… and was surprised by a picture of some striking chinese guy.
sure puts a little something into my ego ;) (pic below)
Congrats to Pres. Obama.
Well, we stayed home, but I knew people in that 1.8million crowd. Didn’t see it live but it’s all good. I watched it on C-Span and enjoyed the coverage. It looked really cold. Heard from people that it was good… historic… and probably life changing.
Anyways, glad everyone is excited and desires to be more responsible. I hope this will last, but the realist in me knows otherwise. But until then, let’s be responsible together. :)
Wishing you and your family and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
From the GeezLouies Family
Found this on another site. The story of Squanto is the story of God’s providential hand in history in saving the pilgrims…
There is a book called Squanto and Miracle of Thanksgiving written for kids that talks about it:
This entertaining and historical story shows that the actual hero of the Thanksgiving was neither white nor Indian, but God. In 1608, English traders came to Massachusetts and captured a 12-year old Indian, Squanto, and sold him into slavery. He was raised by Christians and taught faith in God. Ten years later he was sent home to America. Upon arrival, he learned an epidemic had wiped out his entire village. But God had plans for Squanto. God delivered a Thanksgiving miracle: an English-speaking Indian living in the exact place where the Pilgrims land in a strange new world.
So for this thanksgiving… remember, if it wasn’t for the Squanto being at the right place at the right time… (God’s providential hand in history) then we probably wouldn’t be here today… or things would be a whole lot different.
Just wanted to give a shoutout to the King’s Chapel for their first worship service in their new building this past sunday.
This was the first church I attended in northern virginia. A friend from high school invited me to go, I went there on and off for almost a decade… during college, I would go there during holidays and breaks. Even after I got back from China, I went back and had a chance to readjust through some of my culture shock there…
Then I met this girl who was going to another church at the time. We started dating and I thought it would be good to worship at the same church. Anyways, I had a talk with my pastor. He told me to go “where the Lord leads you.” Of course I had no idea really. But I decided to go with this girl… we ended up getting married… the Lord’s leading.
Anyways, during those ten years with the TKC, the services were held at auditoriums from nearby schools. Their first location was my old middle school, Lanier Middle. They then moved to Willow Springs ES, and now after more than ten years in the making, they have moved into their very own church building located on Braddock Rd. We were fortunate enough to see the building being raised over the course of the past year since it was pretty close to where we lived.
Anyways, here are some photos taken by RangersGirl.
