... or Convert? I just bought an Alison Krauss CD from Cracker Barrel.
And Kansas City is out for the kid.
And I still haven't seen King Kong.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Nick-isms
Comment from Nick as we’re sitting around the dinner table munching on homemade nachos:
“Umm, this is good! Mama you’re a good cooker! I’m gonna be a good cooker too when I grow up and get a job.”
“Daddy, when I grow up, who’s gonna be my grandparents? And who’s going to be my mommy and daddy?”
You gotta love kids.
“Umm, this is good! Mama you’re a good cooker! I’m gonna be a good cooker too when I grow up and get a job.”
“Daddy, when I grow up, who’s gonna be my grandparents? And who’s going to be my mommy and daddy?”
You gotta love kids.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Power to the People
Several of the local brethren are without power tonight after an ice storm passed through. Luckily we weren't affected, though the dogwood tree in our yard was a casualty. We stopped by the Brooks' to find them sitting in the dark around a kerosene heater. Did I mention the giant redwood that was blocking their driveway? I'll let TMan tell yall about that. Greenville, Williamston, and Anderson were hit harder than Clemson, apparently. I know that Country Girl is without power, but her mom has electricity. I don't know about the Greenville brethren, or the Hughes, Higgingbotham, and Wakefield families. The Burdettes are OK too.
Potluck sure oughta be interesting tomorrow. I foresee lots of cold cuts and peanut butter sandwiches.
Potluck sure oughta be interesting tomorrow. I foresee lots of cold cuts and peanut butter sandwiches.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
1 Little 2Little 3 Resurrections...
Hey - the Recover post link really works!
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Rev 20:11-13, NKJV
This past Sabbath we heard a sermon from Rod King on Resurrections. I enjoy this type of sermon for a few reasons: 1) It shows God's incredible love and mercy in insuring that ALL humanity will have a chance to choose to receive His offer of salvation; 2) The Scriptures we covered are great for reviewing a "trunk of the tree" church doctrine; and 3) It helps me look forward to the day when I will see my daughter again.
Daughter? What daughter?
The M.R.S. and I had a daughter, Kierra Nicole, on August 13, 1997 during the sixth month of pregnancy. She didn't survive, but she didn't suffer either. She never took a breath. I can remember holding her tiny body in my hand; she was soooo small. I remember her perfectly formed hands and feet, and the fact that she had my nose. We had a little funeral for her, and I really remember only two things from that day: my mother-in-law bringing in a dress from a doll, because that was the only thing that would fit Kierra, and I remember her casket. It was about the size of one of my shoeboxes. The sight of the miniature coffin amidst the normal gravestones was incredibly surreal. It was almost like I was outside of my body watching the goings-on from afar. The M.R.S. took it pretty hard, but we've both recovered pretty well, I think. Forgive me for piggybacking on something the Burdette girls mentioned a while ago, but it's scary when I realize how infrequently I think of her. And I feel guilt also; not only don't I think of her enough, I remember how bummed out I was initially over the pregnancy and how inconvenient the pregnancy was to my life. So much for not being selfish and callous. But boy, am I gonna make it up to her! I'm going to be the daddy of daddies to her. I look forward to seeing and raising my little girl. Of course, I'll let mommy love her too. And change her diapers.
And just as uplifting is knowing that all who have lost children, parents, friends, and lovers will see them again as well. Think of the mistakes we've all made in relationships with others; people you've left on bad terms, never to see them again. People you've loved whom you hurt in one way or another. People we weren't able to help whose problems cost them their lives. Think of how good it will be to be able to help them; to repair damaged relationships; to be able to help them achieve the happiness which is available for all. God speed that day!
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Rev 20:11-13, NKJV
This past Sabbath we heard a sermon from Rod King on Resurrections. I enjoy this type of sermon for a few reasons: 1) It shows God's incredible love and mercy in insuring that ALL humanity will have a chance to choose to receive His offer of salvation; 2) The Scriptures we covered are great for reviewing a "trunk of the tree" church doctrine; and 3) It helps me look forward to the day when I will see my daughter again.
Daughter? What daughter?
The M.R.S. and I had a daughter, Kierra Nicole, on August 13, 1997 during the sixth month of pregnancy. She didn't survive, but she didn't suffer either. She never took a breath. I can remember holding her tiny body in my hand; she was soooo small. I remember her perfectly formed hands and feet, and the fact that she had my nose. We had a little funeral for her, and I really remember only two things from that day: my mother-in-law bringing in a dress from a doll, because that was the only thing that would fit Kierra, and I remember her casket. It was about the size of one of my shoeboxes. The sight of the miniature coffin amidst the normal gravestones was incredibly surreal. It was almost like I was outside of my body watching the goings-on from afar. The M.R.S. took it pretty hard, but we've both recovered pretty well, I think. Forgive me for piggybacking on something the Burdette girls mentioned a while ago, but it's scary when I realize how infrequently I think of her. And I feel guilt also; not only don't I think of her enough, I remember how bummed out I was initially over the pregnancy and how inconvenient the pregnancy was to my life. So much for not being selfish and callous. But boy, am I gonna make it up to her! I'm going to be the daddy of daddies to her. I look forward to seeing and raising my little girl. Of course, I'll let mommy love her too. And change her diapers.
And just as uplifting is knowing that all who have lost children, parents, friends, and lovers will see them again as well. Think of the mistakes we've all made in relationships with others; people you've left on bad terms, never to see them again. People you've loved whom you hurt in one way or another. People we weren't able to help whose problems cost them their lives. Think of how good it will be to be able to help them; to repair damaged relationships; to be able to help them achieve the happiness which is available for all. God speed that day!
Moving
Don't you love it? I came home Monday to find a notice from Family Housing. The University is shutting down our complex due to the rising operating/maintenance costs. It appears that some of the underground oil tanks are leaking, and must be dug up along with any contaminated soil. So far they've tested 7 of the duplexes, and found 2 oil tanks to be leaking. They had to dig 75 feet down to remove all the contaminated soil from the first duplex, which damaged the foundation and forced the demolition of the unit. The second duplex is scheduled to be demolished this month; it's leak did not descend as far as the first one but covered a larger area. According to figures shown at the "town" meeting last night, it cost Housing ~$360,000 to take care of the first duplex; the second is expected to cost about $150,000. There are also 36 townhouse units which need sprinkler units to be brought up to university standards. This is expected to cost another $150,000. It's estimated that to keep these facilities going would require us to pay more than $300 additional bucks per month in rent. They realized that isn't feasible, so they're shutting the units down. There are 98 families living here, and many of us went to a "town" meeting last night to hear from the Director of Housing. Needless to say, there was quite a bit of anger directed at her. I felt sorry for the lady. Anyhoo, we all have until June 30, 2006 to find new cribs. At least we have 6 months. So Tman, what are you doing around the end of June/beginning of July? lol
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Thanksgiving weekend
The M.R.S. and kids
Tryptophan.
Me and my neice Ashleigh
Nick, Ash, and cousin Queen
My older brother Ronnie with his neice and nephews
Cosa Nostra
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
H.G. & Me
I’ve been skimming H.G. Wells’ The Outline of History (yes, THAT H.G. Wells) and came across some interesting passages. I thought I’d share them with you. The italicized comments are Mr. Wells’ – the rest are mine.
We shall tell what men have believed about Jesus of Nazareth, but him we shall treat as being what he appeared to be, a man, just as a painter must needs paint him as a man. The documents that testify to his acts and teachings we shall treat as ordinary human documents… This is what we have already done in the case of Buddha, and what we shall do later with Muhammad. (Outline of history, page 497)
We are left, if we do strip this record of these difficult accessories (the great star that brought wise men, the massacre of the male infant children, the flight into Egypt, etc.) with the figure of a being, very human, very earnest and passionate, capable of swift anger, and teaching a new and simple and profound doctrine – namely, the universal loving Fatherhood of God and the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven… (page 498)
Now it is a matter of fact that in the gospels all that body of theological assertion which constitutes Christianity finds little support. There is, as the reader may see for himself, no clear and emphatic assertion in these books of the doctrines which Christian teachers of all denominations find generally necessary to salvation… …There is no evidence that the apostles of Jesus ever heard of the Trinity – at any rate from him. The observance of the Jewish Sabbath, again, transferred to the Mithraic Sun-day, is an important feature of many Christian cults; but Jesus deliberately broke the Sabbath, and said that it was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Nor did he say a word about the worship of his mother Mary, in the guise of Isis, the Queen of Heaven. All that is most characteristically Christian in worship and usage, he ignored. Sceptical[sic] writers have had the temerity to deny that Jesus can be called a Christian at all… (page 499)
As remarkable is the enormous prominence given by Jesus to the teaching of what he called the Kingdom of Heaven, and its comparative insignificance in the procedure and teaching of most of the Christian churches…This doctrine of the Kingdom of Heaven, which was the main teaching of Jesus, and which plays so small a part in the Christian creeds, is certainly one of the most revolutionary doctrines that ever stirred and changed human thought… (page 499)
During this indefinite time (the first two centuries A.D) a considerable amount of a sort of theocrasia seems to have gone on between the Christian cult and the almost equally popular and widely diffused Mithraic cult, and the cult of Serapis-Isis-Horus. From the former it would seem the Christians adopted Sun-day as their chief day of worship instead of the Jewish Sabbath, the abundant use of candles in religious ceremonies, the legend of the adoration by the shepherds, and probably also those ideas and phrases, so distinctive of certain sects to this day, about being “washed in the blood” of Christ, and of Christ being a blood sacrifice… The contributions of the Alexandrine cult to Christian thought and practices were even more considerable. In the personality of Horus, who was at once the son of Serapis and identical with Serapis, it wa natural for the Christians to find an illumination analogue in their struggles with the Pauline mysteries. From that to the identification of Mary with Isis, and her elevation to a rank quasi-divine… was also a very natural step. Natural, too, was it for Christianity to adopt, almost insensibly, the practical methods of the popular religions of the time. Its priests took on the head-shaving and the characteristic garments of the Egyptian priests, because that sort of thing seemed to be the right way of distinguishing a priest. One accretion followed another. Almost insensibly the originally revolutionary teaching was buried under these customary acquisitions… (pages 512-513)
Jesus called himself the Son of God and also the Son of Man; but he laid little stress on who he was or what he was, and much upon the teachings of the Kingdom… (page 514)
Mr. Wells certainly did not share the COG view of who and what Jesus was, nor did he have the same understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven – but it’s interesting that he could see that that was the thrust of Jesus’ message while here on earth.
We shall tell what men have believed about Jesus of Nazareth, but him we shall treat as being what he appeared to be, a man, just as a painter must needs paint him as a man. The documents that testify to his acts and teachings we shall treat as ordinary human documents… This is what we have already done in the case of Buddha, and what we shall do later with Muhammad. (Outline of history, page 497)
We are left, if we do strip this record of these difficult accessories (the great star that brought wise men, the massacre of the male infant children, the flight into Egypt, etc.) with the figure of a being, very human, very earnest and passionate, capable of swift anger, and teaching a new and simple and profound doctrine – namely, the universal loving Fatherhood of God and the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven… (page 498)
Now it is a matter of fact that in the gospels all that body of theological assertion which constitutes Christianity finds little support. There is, as the reader may see for himself, no clear and emphatic assertion in these books of the doctrines which Christian teachers of all denominations find generally necessary to salvation… …There is no evidence that the apostles of Jesus ever heard of the Trinity – at any rate from him. The observance of the Jewish Sabbath, again, transferred to the Mithraic Sun-day, is an important feature of many Christian cults; but Jesus deliberately broke the Sabbath, and said that it was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Nor did he say a word about the worship of his mother Mary, in the guise of Isis, the Queen of Heaven. All that is most characteristically Christian in worship and usage, he ignored. Sceptical[sic] writers have had the temerity to deny that Jesus can be called a Christian at all… (page 499)
As remarkable is the enormous prominence given by Jesus to the teaching of what he called the Kingdom of Heaven, and its comparative insignificance in the procedure and teaching of most of the Christian churches…This doctrine of the Kingdom of Heaven, which was the main teaching of Jesus, and which plays so small a part in the Christian creeds, is certainly one of the most revolutionary doctrines that ever stirred and changed human thought… (page 499)
During this indefinite time (the first two centuries A.D) a considerable amount of a sort of theocrasia seems to have gone on between the Christian cult and the almost equally popular and widely diffused Mithraic cult, and the cult of Serapis-Isis-Horus. From the former it would seem the Christians adopted Sun-day as their chief day of worship instead of the Jewish Sabbath, the abundant use of candles in religious ceremonies, the legend of the adoration by the shepherds, and probably also those ideas and phrases, so distinctive of certain sects to this day, about being “washed in the blood” of Christ, and of Christ being a blood sacrifice… The contributions of the Alexandrine cult to Christian thought and practices were even more considerable. In the personality of Horus, who was at once the son of Serapis and identical with Serapis, it wa natural for the Christians to find an illumination analogue in their struggles with the Pauline mysteries. From that to the identification of Mary with Isis, and her elevation to a rank quasi-divine… was also a very natural step. Natural, too, was it for Christianity to adopt, almost insensibly, the practical methods of the popular religions of the time. Its priests took on the head-shaving and the characteristic garments of the Egyptian priests, because that sort of thing seemed to be the right way of distinguishing a priest. One accretion followed another. Almost insensibly the originally revolutionary teaching was buried under these customary acquisitions… (pages 512-513)
Jesus called himself the Son of God and also the Son of Man; but he laid little stress on who he was or what he was, and much upon the teachings of the Kingdom… (page 514)
Mr. Wells certainly did not share the COG view of who and what Jesus was, nor did he have the same understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven – but it’s interesting that he could see that that was the thrust of Jesus’ message while here on earth.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Blue-eyed devil?
My wife is convinced she’s married to a white man – although she’s the one with the pointy nose, thin lips, and green eyes. This belief is most often vocalized when I’m singing along with those country and 70s AM Gold compilations you see offered on television at 1 in the morning. Hey I can’t help it if my musical tastes cover several different genres. I tell her she doesn’t have anything to worry about until I come home and start singing bluegrass tunes. Incidentally, I DID almost but an Allison Krause and Union Station CD when I stopped by Cracker Barrel yesterday. Almost. Maybe she should start to worry now…
I had to make an impromptu trip to Anderson yesterday, and while I was there I stopped by the Ridgeway’s sign company. I ended up staying there for about an hour and met several of the people who work there. It’s kinda odd seeing people you know socially in a professional environment. All is I know is if I ever need a sign made, they’ll be the people I turn to. I even got to chat with Caesar the iguana for a while. Reptiles are sooo cool. Patti was surprised to find out that I wanted to be a herpetologist at one time. I wanted to curate a reptile exhibit in a major zoo or in a natural history museum. And here I am working with cotton. Go figure.
It was quite a pleasure seeing Desiree this past week. Nick didn’t want her to return to California. It was also nice to see Tom, as well as the other visitors we had at services. Mafia was a pretty fun game. I’ve just got to remember not to be taken in by Summer’s sad “y’all are pickin’ on me” faces. Mr. B., you would’ve put Johnny Cochran to shame in a courtroom.
I’m really considering skipping the San Antonio conference and driving to KC. What do I do? The San Diego trip in mid-January is a done deal though. Got my tix and everything… Nothing beats San Diego in January man, absolutely nothing. Except eating Pot Stickers at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch in San Diego in January. One of my co-workers wants us all to go whale watching while we’re there. Sounds cool to me.
One other thing I learned while in Anderson yesterday: it’s amazing just how much of a guy’s crack can be exposed to the world and him be completely unaware of it. And that’s all I have to say about that.
I had to make an impromptu trip to Anderson yesterday, and while I was there I stopped by the Ridgeway’s sign company. I ended up staying there for about an hour and met several of the people who work there. It’s kinda odd seeing people you know socially in a professional environment. All is I know is if I ever need a sign made, they’ll be the people I turn to. I even got to chat with Caesar the iguana for a while. Reptiles are sooo cool. Patti was surprised to find out that I wanted to be a herpetologist at one time. I wanted to curate a reptile exhibit in a major zoo or in a natural history museum. And here I am working with cotton. Go figure.
It was quite a pleasure seeing Desiree this past week. Nick didn’t want her to return to California. It was also nice to see Tom, as well as the other visitors we had at services. Mafia was a pretty fun game. I’ve just got to remember not to be taken in by Summer’s sad “y’all are pickin’ on me” faces. Mr. B., you would’ve put Johnny Cochran to shame in a courtroom.
I’m really considering skipping the San Antonio conference and driving to KC. What do I do? The San Diego trip in mid-January is a done deal though. Got my tix and everything… Nothing beats San Diego in January man, absolutely nothing. Except eating Pot Stickers at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch in San Diego in January. One of my co-workers wants us all to go whale watching while we’re there. Sounds cool to me.
One other thing I learned while in Anderson yesterday: it’s amazing just how much of a guy’s crack can be exposed to the world and him be completely unaware of it. And that’s all I have to say about that.
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