WINTER

Florida can't come quick enough.

TYPO

Under my post titled 'Perplexed' I said: "There are few things I like about Obama."
I actually meant to say "There are a few things I like about Obama.
Not fond of many of his policies, but he does like basketball, so he has that going for him.

NICE HAIR, DUDE

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR (YEAR OF THE OX)

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese year 4707 begins on Jan. 26, 2009.

Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. In China, people may take weeks of holiday from work to prepare for and celebrate the New Year.

An Obstinate Year
Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. Those born in ox years tend to be painters, engineers, and architects. They are stable, fearless, obstinate, hard-working and friendly. Jack Nicholson, Jane Fonda, Walt Disney, and Anthony Hopkins were all born in the year of the ox.

Fireworks and Family Feasts
At Chinese New Year celebrations people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper, and give children "lucky money" in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire, which according to legend can drive away bad luck. The fireworks that shower the festivities are rooted in a similar ancient custom. Long ago, people in China lit bamboo stalks, believing that the crackling flames would frighten evil spirits.

The Lantern Festival
In China, the New Year is a time of family reunion. Family members gather at each other's homes for visits and shared meals, most significantly a feast on New Year's Eve. In the United States, however, many early Chinese immigrants arrived without their families, and found a sense of community through neighborhood associations instead. Today, many Chinese-American neighborhood associations host banquets and other New Year events.

The lantern festival is held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Some of the lanterns may be works of art, painted with birds, animals, flowers, zodiac signs, and scenes from legend and history. People hang glowing lanterns in temples, and carry lanterns to an evening parade under the light of the full moon.

In many areas the highlight of the lantern festival is the dragon dance. The dragon—which might stretch a hundred feet long—is typically made of silk, paper, and bamboo. Traditionally the dragon is held aloft by young men who dance as they guide the colorful beast through the streets. In the United States, where the New Year is celebrated with a shortened schedule, the dragon dance always takes place on a weekend. In addition, many Chinese-American communities have added American parade elements such as marching bands and floats.

BOOK OF THE YEAR

In a previous post I mentioned I was reading a book I thought would be my book of the year. I realize it's February, but I did finish this book several weeks ago, but I wanted to digest what I read before I wrote anything. This will not be a book report per se, but an explanation as to why I think it was the best book I read last year. Plus, it's one of those books, as I look back over it now, is underlined on every other page, and that begins to complicate things as far as explaining the book in a simple and short way.

A few years ago on one of my mission trips, a friend made a statement (also the friend who said something so simple, yet profound enough for me to come back and begin the process to adopt Sean), that went like this: "I have been asking the Lord to give me new eyes to read the bible." In context, we were talking about reading the bible as if we had never been taught the bible or had anyone give us their opinions and beliefs about it. If you've been a Christian long enough, and had the opportunity to go to bible school and seminary, you develop quite a system of beliefs and interpretations on things. Not that that is wrong, but I got to the point in my Christian journey that I knew I needed 'new eyes'. Things were getting a bit muddled for me, and once again, I had plenty of thoughts bouncing around in my head that I was having difficulty explaining in words.

So, with out further ado, I am recommending The Blue Parakeet, by Scot McKnight. It's bi-line reads, Rethinking How You Read the Bible. It's learning to read the bible with tradition, not through tradition. The idea of the blue parakeet comes from a story early on in which McKnight sees a parakeet out in the wild, not caged, thus it stands out from the other birds, gets his attention and makes him look a second and third time to see what is going on. He uses this metaphor for talking about certain bible passages that stand out, that get our attention and make us look a second and third time to figure them out. This is what McKnight says: "Blue Parakeet passages are oddities in the Bible that we prefer to cage and silence rather than to permit into our sacred mental gardens. If we are honest, blue parakeet passages often threaten us, call into question our traditional way of reading the Bible, and summon us back to the Bible to rethink how we read the Bible." Over the years, I have changed my opinion on some things, and this book has helped explain why I have thought the way I thought. On the back cover it asks this question: "What if I'm too Conservative to be Liberal, and too Liberal to be Conservative?"That was one question I was asking myself. What Christian circles do I even fit in anymore? I didn't fit in with out-of-touch fundamentalists or unrealistic liberals. This book also helped explain why.

So, if you're looking for something to read, give this book a try.

OREGON/WASHINGTON STATE

I was messing around with a few photos from our trip in 2007.

JUST PERPLEXED

Psalm 94:20 Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side—leaders whose decrees permit injustice?
21 They gang up against the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.

Psalm 58:2 No! You plot injustice in your hearts.
You spread violence throughout the land.

I believe this is Sanctity of Human Life week, and I have some thoughts in relation to this. Something has been bothering me since the election, and I was reminded of my bothersome thoughts yesterday. But first,

1. McCain was a terrible choice to run against Obama, for many reasons.
2. I'm not much of a Limbaugh, Glenn Beck fan. Used to be, but I've noticed my attitude and outlook are more positive when I don't listen to them. It may not be so much them as it is a few people I used to know in a former church always quoted them, bought their ties and books, and bought into all the hysteria and criticisms generated by these programs. These same people allowed the same type of attitudes to come out about other believers and churches and programs, and that just got tiring. I made the association whether it's fair or not.
3. I'm tired of all the gushing going on tv, and people saying some of the most insane things. Please people, turn your brain on...you just sound ignorant.
4. There are a few things I like about President Obama.
5. I plan on praying for him as I have been directed by scripture.
6.But mainly, I've been perplexed and saddened by the thought that Christian people could vote for someone who holds true power to either stop the killing of the unborn or allow it to continue and expand. For the first time in my life, I have seen clearly that monetary policies are more important to the Christian than issues of life and morality. And I believe they are fooling themselves with excuses that just don't 'jive.' I am no authority on who and how God chooses to bless people, but if I'm to take God at his word, it seems a bit difficult for God's full measure of blessing to come if the decrees and policies these leaders hold to allow the most innocent of life to be taken.
Maybe someone else can figure it out better than I can.

A KING JAMES VERSION I LIKE

No, not the translation...but the player! Through the basketball program Will participated in, he had the opportunity to go down to the court at halftime and high five the players as they came out...including LeBron James. Will's not one to have highs or lows, so when I asked how it was, he just shrugs his shoulders and says in a low-key way, "yea, it was pretty cool. Hey dad, I also say Jeff VanGundy and Marc Jackson (the ESPN broadcasters)." That seems to big as big a deal as high-fiving LeBron. Either way, I'm, jealous. Oh, and for a few moments during the introductions, I drifted off into fantasy land, hearing the announcer shout, "At seven foot two,from whatever school would have him,'playing power forward, Willllllllll Kelchhhhhh." Gives me goose bumps.



Lebron stands at 6"8", Zydrunas at 7'3", Moe at 6'1", and Will at 5'7".

ICY WINDOWS

This is what you get when you don't have great windows and it's 4 degrees outside.

MISC. THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS

1. Will has a cold/flu.
2. Sean has yucky snots.
3. Liz seems fine, she just stays up too late.
4. Liz and I stayed up late watching the Lakers v. Spurs game. I enjoyed being with her.
5. It's fun being inside watching the temperature gauge go from 0 to 4.
6. I am always amazed how the dog doesn't care that it's 4 degrees outside.
7. Why are all the good, outside photographic moments happening when I'm still in my pj's?
8. Why do churches neglect the obvious things in scripture and focus on things tradition dictates? (More on this later).
9. Why can't I seem to finish the book I think is my book of the year for 2008? Almost done and soon to be posted.
10. I'm sick of this weather. It's pretty to look at, but after last night, I'm ready for warm weather. I just wish the timing were better and jobs more abundant.

YO!

SNOW FOR MOM AND DAD

Dad and Mom, here is the snow we talked about. Please come help shovel.

ICE SCULPTURES

Check out these ice sculptures from Harbin, China, Heilongjiang Province. It is part of a festival that lasts one month.










View Larger Map
I credit Boston.com for these pictures

ANXIETY

Without going into detail about me, I came across this devotion which I think will be my devotion of/for the year. For me, it applies to my work/vocation...for you, it may be something else. I credit Chris Tiegreen with this and it comes out of a devotional called One Year At His Feet.
READ: Luke 11:1-4
IN WORD"More than a million people had been lead straight into the desert. It was clearly a deliverance, but to what? There was no food. But God had a solution. He always does. Manna, a mysterious bread from heaven, would fall to them daily. They would gather only enough for one day, no more (except on the day before the Sabbath). If they gathered more, it would rot. It could not be hoarded. They would just have to trust, at the end of each day, that the manna would come again on the next day. They would just have to believe God for tomorrow. 'In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions,' God said (Exodus 16:4). Saving up was not an option.
Saving up is not an option for us, either. Yes, we can buy a week's worth of groceries at a time, but that's not what Jesus is talking about. True bread, heavenly bread, is given on a day-by-day basis. We cannot pray or worship enough for the whole week on Sunday. The directions we got yesterday won't apply today. We cannot tithe the first portion of our paychecks and think our sacrifice is done for the month. The daily bread principle in unalterable. You can't store up the things you need from God. You have to keep coming back for them, keep trusting Him for them, day after day after day.
IN DEEDWhy is this so? Because God insists-absolutely insists-that we have a relationship with Him. Relationships must be maintained. He knows full well that if He gives us our supplies for a week or a month we will only seek Him once a week or once a month. The temptation is great to gather in all that we can today-physically, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually. But the daily bread principle is always at work, in all areas. There is no loving trust when there's a full storeroom.
Just as our loved ones are not content with one "I love you" for the year, God is not content with a periodic appearance before Him. Manna doesn't work that way, and neither do relationships. Ask for daily bread in every area of life. And come back again tomorrow .

6 MONTHS

Today we celebrate having Sean 6 months.

SUNDAY'S SERMON

"Without connection, encouragement comes across as correction."
Heb 3:1-15
(v.13)-The NLT uses the word warn, while other translations use the word encourage. If you look up the greek word (parakaleo), you will read a definition that goes like this:
"encourage, request. The verb can mean to give comfort to another person, to urge a person toward action or a new thought pattern, to urgently request something, to cheer someone up, and so on. Generally, a positive attitude and desire to help is implied. The noun refers to the act itself of encouraging, requesting, ect."

Related scriptures are: Rom 15:4; 1 Cor 14:31; Phil 2:1; Col 2:2; 1 Thes. 5:11,14; 2 Thes. 3:12; 2 Tim. 4:2; Titus 2:15.

I looked up these other passages to answer my own question of what does encouragement look like and how does it express itself?

The pastor said if my heart is hard, my encouragement comes across as: Flattery, Manipulation, or Control.
I don't know how to do a lot of things, but I hope I can be a true encourager this year while being authentic, honest and real.

10 RULES OF PHOTOGRAPHY

I liked these 10 tips I saw in a magazine recently:

1. Ask a kid what to take a picture of-then just do it.
2. Pretend you're someone else seeing what you are seeing.
3. Don't be obsessed with making something look real.
4. Remember that there are no rules.
5. Get a different camera or change your process.
6. Tape a camera to your head and take pictures of people laughing at you.
7. When you think you've hit your limit, push yourself a bit further.
8. Take a picture of your breakfast, your room or yourself every day, and send it to all your friends.
9. Stop making sense.
10. Take a day not looking through the camera-better still, take a month off.

-from: After Capture magazine, Chip Simon's 10 Rules of Photography-