Saturday, June 12, 2010
rhymebrain
on the lighter side - if you love words like i do, you'll love www.rhymebrain.com. this site helps you rhyme or alliterate any word, and even creates insults based upon the searchable word that you type (and the insults are pretty tame, and still entertaining). love finding web sites like this.
bp's eight dumbest mistakes (and counting)
the full article is here, but here is the summary:
1. BP never had a realistic plan to deal with a spill
2. BP went with a risky type of blowout preventer — and then didn't maintain it
3. The well's critical plumbing was shoddy and poorly designed
4. BP and rig workers ignored or misread clear warning signs
5. A "company man" overrode explosion concerns of well cementers
6. BP hasn't fessed up about how much oil is really spilling
7. BP's "solutions" may be making the spill much, much worse
8. BP needs a bigger boat
this is such a huge issue for our time, and both bp and the current administration needs to get a move on.
be careful of the exclusivity of keyboard communities
i read a solid article concerning the rise in social networking at the expense of being neighborly in the real world. you may read it here. very thought provoking.
do you know who your neighbors are? here is a very telling report from the Pew Research Center about how americans are losing their ability to be a good neighbor. but moving beyond the data to the church, Christians have a command concerning this very idea. eight times in scripture we are commanded to love our neighbor.
LEVITICUS 19:18 NKJ
18 `You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
MATTHEW 19:19 NKJ
19 `Honor your father and your mother,' and, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' "
MATTHEW 22:39 NKJ
39 "And the second is like it: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
MARK 12:31 NKJ
31 "And the second, like it, is this: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
LUKE 10:27 NKJ
27 So he answered and said, " `You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and `your neighbor as yourself.' "
ROMANS 13:9 NKJ
9 For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
GALATIANS 5:14 NKJ
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
JAMES 2:8 NKJ
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well;
if you have any question as to who your neighbor is, luke 10:29 (the story of the good samaritan) helps to answer this for all of us - a neighbor is someone who is nearby no matter where we are. in other words, everyone is our neighbor.
as representatives of God upon this earth we should strive to be the best neighbor we can be. here are some verses that challenge just so:
PHILIPPIANS 2:4 NKJ
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
MATTHEW 7:12 NKJ
12 "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
ROMANS 13:10 NKJ
10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
ROMANS 15:2 NKJ
2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.
HEBREWS 13:1-2 NKJ
1 Let brotherly love continue.
2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.
i challenge you today to get to know your neighbors, your coworkers - whoever you come across - for the glory of God.
do you know who your neighbors are? here is a very telling report from the Pew Research Center about how americans are losing their ability to be a good neighbor. but moving beyond the data to the church, Christians have a command concerning this very idea. eight times in scripture we are commanded to love our neighbor.
LEVITICUS 19:18 NKJ
18 `You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
MATTHEW 19:19 NKJ
19 `Honor your father and your mother,' and, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' "
MATTHEW 22:39 NKJ
39 "And the second is like it: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
MARK 12:31 NKJ
31 "And the second, like it, is this: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
LUKE 10:27 NKJ
27 So he answered and said, " `You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and `your neighbor as yourself.' "
ROMANS 13:9 NKJ
9 For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
GALATIANS 5:14 NKJ
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
JAMES 2:8 NKJ
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well;
if you have any question as to who your neighbor is, luke 10:29 (the story of the good samaritan) helps to answer this for all of us - a neighbor is someone who is nearby no matter where we are. in other words, everyone is our neighbor.
as representatives of God upon this earth we should strive to be the best neighbor we can be. here are some verses that challenge just so:
PHILIPPIANS 2:4 NKJ
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
MATTHEW 7:12 NKJ
12 "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
ROMANS 13:10 NKJ
10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
ROMANS 15:2 NKJ
2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.
HEBREWS 13:1-2 NKJ
1 Let brotherly love continue.
2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.
i challenge you today to get to know your neighbors, your coworkers - whoever you come across - for the glory of God.
the family that eats together...
erin and i have always been great at being "together" when we do things - be it cooking, cleaning, yard work, etc. but none of these things allow for deliberate focus on each other - conversation, listening, being in the moment with my spouse/family. when it comes to dinner we almost always would make it together, but then go turn the tv on to watch "chopped" or something else - with very little being said between us.
growing up, my family always ate together. it would often start with helping with the meal preparation. we each had our part in this. mine was setting the table. then we would sit down and hold hands and dad would pray. this would be followed by enjoying the always excellent meal mom prepared. and we would talk, listen, laugh - whatever. but the point is - we were together as a family.
i recently read this in an article online, "...today's fast-paced world is taking a significant bite out of the family dinner hour. A survey conducted this year for ConAgra Foods found 40 percent of American families eat dinner together three times a week at best, with 10 percent never eating dinner together." (The Colorado Springs Gazette, Sept. 18th, 2003 by Bill Radford)
erin and i have decided that dinner time is family time. not only will we make dinner together, and clean up afterward - we will set the dinner table, and eat. catch up. listen. laugh. share. whatever the moment brings. to me - this is all part of the recipe for a happy marriage and family.
growing up, my family always ate together. it would often start with helping with the meal preparation. we each had our part in this. mine was setting the table. then we would sit down and hold hands and dad would pray. this would be followed by enjoying the always excellent meal mom prepared. and we would talk, listen, laugh - whatever. but the point is - we were together as a family.
i recently read this in an article online, "...today's fast-paced world is taking a significant bite out of the family dinner hour. A survey conducted this year for ConAgra Foods found 40 percent of American families eat dinner together three times a week at best, with 10 percent never eating dinner together." (The Colorado Springs Gazette, Sept. 18th, 2003 by Bill Radford)
erin and i have decided that dinner time is family time. not only will we make dinner together, and clean up afterward - we will set the dinner table, and eat. catch up. listen. laugh. share. whatever the moment brings. to me - this is all part of the recipe for a happy marriage and family.
2 year anniversary trip in pictures
erin and i left for marietta, oh on the morning of june 9th to stay at the house on harmar hill bed and breakfast. we stayed for one night.
next day we had a couples massage at the natural remedies spa in marietta. fellas - say what you want, it was great.
that afternoon we made it to the wilds wildlife conservatory in cumberland, oh (just made it too and on a beautiful day). absolutely awesome. you have to go see this in your lifetime. it is the largest wildlife conservatory in the us.
that evening we headed to columbus and planned a great day for the 11th.
first up we went to the franklin park conservatory. really great conservatory and park.
we got to see the butterfly show.
there was also a lot of art by one of my favorite artists - dale chihuly. if you're not familiar with his glass art you have to check it out.
we then just enjoyed the conservatory for it's wide variety of natural wonders.
after an amazing morning at the conservatory - we went to the german village in columbus for the rest of the afternoon. if you haven't been here, it's a great place to visit.
you have to check out schmidt's for food. it's been around since 1886.
after a great lunch and dessert here (you have to have the jumbo creme puff) we went to the book loft. it is hands down the best bookstore i've ever been in. check it out.
i purchased three books:
- the sound and the fury by william faulkner
- thirteen moons by charles frazier
- home by marilynne robinson
we finished the day by visiting schiller park and walking around a bit admiring the gardens and old homes surrounding it. the german village is a really nice community.
before heading home we wrapped up the day by visiting juergens bakery and cafe to buy some pretzels and strudel. a nice cap to our three day getaway.
here's looking forward to another great year with erin.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
last year erin and i purchased four climbing roses and planted them by our arbors. this year - wow - how they grew and bloomed! the most beautiful flowers i had ever seen! i cared for those things as if i were caring for a child. i pruned. i sprayed. i fed. i protected. i cleaned the leaves. i had purpose and delight in my roses. i directed the branches strategically to grow through the lattice work. and i watched it flourish into something that looked like this:
but some bad weather came, a lot of rain, followed by intense humidity. and i was busy with work and other things, and for a couple weeks at best, i ignored my roses only to discover the leaves and blooms began to look like this:
needless to say i got back to work with purpose to rescue my roses and take delight in them once again.
it reminded me of psalm 1:
1:1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
but some bad weather came, a lot of rain, followed by intense humidity. and i was busy with work and other things, and for a couple weeks at best, i ignored my roses only to discover the leaves and blooms began to look like this:
needless to say i got back to work with purpose to rescue my roses and take delight in them once again.
it reminded me of psalm 1:
1:1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
delight in the Lord and His Word today. you don't want your leaves to wither.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
june swoon coming soon?
i'm a glass half full kind of guy, and the redlegs have been great the last month and a half - tied for the best record in the national league. but their weak bullpen is starting to catch up with them. i sure hope a june swoon is not around the corner. go reds!
Oil And Water - The Good
Oil And Water - The Good
Here is a link displaying beautiful photography of oil mixed with water. Something beautiful to consider in the midst of this awful oil spill.
Here is a link displaying beautiful photography of oil mixed with water. Something beautiful to consider in the midst of this awful oil spill.
Oil And Water - The Bad
Oil And Water - The Bad
BP should be ashamed. Just because they have the money to pay Google to have the spin they want to put on the oil spill and cleanup efforts seen first in Google searches doesn't mean we don't know how horrible of a situation this is. No amount of PR will help to clean up the water and the beaches or save all the beautiful wildlife dying by the scores. They should put their money and their efforts into a successful fix instead. Such a sad and urgent situation.
BP should be ashamed. Just because they have the money to pay Google to have the spin they want to put on the oil spill and cleanup efforts seen first in Google searches doesn't mean we don't know how horrible of a situation this is. No amount of PR will help to clean up the water and the beaches or save all the beautiful wildlife dying by the scores. They should put their money and their efforts into a successful fix instead. Such a sad and urgent situation.
two years ago today
two years ago today - june 8th, 2008 - i married the most amazing woman in the world. erin, you're my best friend, my mate, my joy. looking forward to germano's tonight!
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