Happy New Year

This crazy lady and I wish you a Happy New year!!

Death Penalty

I'm still against the death penalty. Even if it includes this guy. I don't rejoice or celebrate when I see this photo. I want to throw up.

D-Day is Coming

I'm starting the diet again on January 2. I'm kind of dreading it, but I need it. If you are a few lbs too heavy, you should try Weight Watchers. It helped me drop 25 pounds last year and will hopefully help me drop the 10 or so that I need to drop now.

Fake eggs, carrot sticks, sugar-free syrup, Subway 6-inch Turkey sandwiches, WW desserts, and turkey bacon - Here I Come!!

Life out of Nothing

I know this kind of image can be a bit over-used in Christian circles, but I still love the imagery. My life has felt pretty desolate at times, even recent times, and I know that God has been bringing life out of that crappiness, but I feel like this image helps me see how God makes something new even in the midst of our brokenness, emptyness, and hurt. This whole pregnancy feels like such a huge blessing of God allowing life to blossom after a period where we truly felt like it could never happen. God broke us and re-shaped us through that trial and then decided to bless us after the lesson was learned. It almost showed me how much more He is in control through the blessing. I thought I had Him figured out near the end of the trial. "Oh, God wanted to teach me patience, surrender, expectation, and worship. That's why we can't have a baby." Then, BOOM, God shows He is stil in control by giving us the blessing we wanted all along. I didn't expect that.



Thanks to Aaron LeBrun for the photo. http://alebrun.blogspot.com/

Obama Gaining Ground

So in our little silly anti-Christ pool Obama is looking like the front-runner still. Check out these quotes from The Week - a magazine that is a compilation of newspaper and news magazine stories.
"I see him as very messianic" - Kelsey Woodward, an artist at a fundraiser that appeared more like a rock concert in New Hampshire.
"If Obama is wildly popular, it's because he has no apparent ideology." - Peggy Noonan, The Opinion Journal.
"What America needs at this dispiriting juncture in history is a president who can offer prose as well as poetry" - LA Times

Any other guesses?

My Next Best Present

So I got these for Christmas and I love them. They are the sweet Noise Canceling ones. I got the Q2, not the newer ones because I like how they cover the ears.



They seriously rock. Worth every penny that my wife spent on me. Oh wait. I guess that's my money.

New CDs listening to on them: Guns N Roses - Appetite for Destruction, Best of Motley Crue, Nirvana - Nevermind, Radiohead - OK Computer. I'm revisiting my Jr High years with the metal stuff, my high school years with Nirvana, and my late college years with Radiohead. Loving it.

I Lost

I lost in the first round of the playoffs in my Fantasy Football league. My team quit on me and my opponent was dominant. So I guess I play for third place next week. Third out of twelve isn't bad, but I would way rather win. I'm such a geek for Fantasy Football. I love it. It's kind of sad really, but it's fun.

GO UCLA in the Emerald Bowl tomorrow!! Woooo!!!!!!

My Favorite Present

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Obama the Anti-Christ??

So a group of us have a little bet where we try to guess who the anti-Christ is going to be and we have had some good options at the top of the list. Vladimir Putin, Nelson Mandela, Bono, etc. But the best bet we have going now is Barack Obama. He was on the cover of The Week a couple months ago with a halo around him and being hailed as the next great leader. He has partnered with Rick Warren to garner support from evangelicals. His charm, good looks, and influence were discussed on the front page of the LA Times today.

Any other possibilities? Probably not because Obama is a lock. Step aside Nicolae, here comes Barack.

Merry Christmas Eve!

The Punch

This was so fun. It was intended to just be a fake hit for a picture, but then I just got so into my role that I actually punched Victor pretty hard in the face. Victor has a "caption contest" for it on his blog - it's on my list of blogs on the right. I'm still trying to remember how to link stuff. Too lazy to look right now. The Wonderful Noise.

Don't you think that sometimes the worship guy just deserves it?

Home Cookin'

During the whole move process we ate take-out for almost every meal for a couple weeks. Today I went to the grocery store and got our refrigerator all stocked up and bought some food. I cooked a killer dinner tonight and it will get better tomorrow before we head off to other homes for the Christmas meals.

Dinner tonight - Chicken breast stuffed with fresh mozarella and basil and cooked in Pinot Noir resting on a small bed of spaghetti and marinara sauce with roasted asparagus cooked in balsamic vinegar and parmagiano reggiano.
Breakfast tomorrow - Either waffles or swedish pancakes.
Lunch tomorrow - I love buying sandwich meat at the deli counter. I got some Honey Roasted Turkey, Roast Beef, and Muenster cheese for some killer sandwiches.
Dinner tomorrow - I bought a four bone, bone-in ribe-eye roast. We will have that with mashed potatoes, yorkshire pudding, and green beans.

I can't wait. Home cooked food is the best. Any favorite home cooked meals?

I Love College Students

I love their diligence, tenacity, creativity, and artistic ability in putting these signs all over my front lawn. This was a couple months ago at my old house, but now that I'm blogging again I thought I should share it. Do you see Grace in the middle of the sign patch? The best part of all this was that Grace was mad at me for taking them down and said, "But Daddy, they're pretty!"

I am Pro-Life

I am against abortion.
I am against the death penalty.
I am against lots of people having guns.
I am against AIDS and apathy towards it.
I am against almost all forms of war.
I am against murder.
I am against euthenasia.
I am against divorce.
I am against spiritual apathy.
I am against narcotics.
I am against extreme poverty.
I am Pro-Life.
Are you?

My Christmas Chicken

In the preschool Christmas program Grace's class was assigned the role of farm animals. So my little precious girl was a chicken hanging out in the stable when the baby Jesus was born. The birth of the Messiah was so exciting to her that she yawned for about 30 minutes on stage. She's on her way to being a great American worshiper. But she sure is cute!!

Jesus is My Homeboy...errr...HERO!!

So I'm preaching in a one-service Sunday on December 31st at my church which means that both the Celebration and Elevation services meet together as one. Victor is leading worship and I'm speaking so it will be sort of a Elevation hosts the church kinda thing with stations and all that jazz. I'm preaching on Revelation 1:12-18 where Jesus is described by John. John describes him with these things:
A. Long Robe and Golden Sash - to signify a kingly priest
B. White Head and Hair like wool and snow - pure and eternal
C. Blazing Eyes like fire - all searching, judging, penetrating
D. Feet like burning bronze - judgment - bare feet were required by priests before offering at the bronze altar
E. Voice like Many Waters - powerful
F. Stars in His Right Hand - controls the angels and churches
G. Sword in His Mouth - The Word converts and convicts
H. Face like the Sun - Greek gods were portrayed as suns or shining like suns, God is taking that back. This was at the transfiguration too.

That God is intense, powerful, majestic, strong, and freaking AWESOME!! We don't pray to the baby Jesus or to some weaksauce Jesus. He is our friend, but not our homeboy. He rules!!

John fell on his face as if dead. I say we worship like that.

Pregnant

Bea is 12 weeks pregnant. WOOOHOOOO!!!!!! I'm so stoked. This is an amazing miracle. God is good. Please be praying for the health of this little one.

Africa

I'm super excited because I am going to be leading a trip of High School and College students to Kenya, Africa next August. We are working with Christ's Hope International doing Choose to Wait abstinence training/sharing gospel and ministering to people with AIDS and orphans of people who have died of AIDS. It should be pretty intense. If you have seen The Constant Gardener you have seen the exact slum called Kibera outside of Nairobi that we will be going to. We will also go to a town called Kisimu on Lake Victoria. Then we will do the obligatory two day safari.

I can't wait.

Just Moved

So we are in at our new place in Irvine. It's pretty sweet. I like it here so far. It's definitely a change getting used to an apartment instead of a single-family home, but this apt is more like a condo. 3 bdrm, 2 bath, attached 2 car garage, 1300 sq ft.

So it's a change and a humbling one in some ways, but it is good for us I think.