Dan and Brian told me last night they were frustrated Sunday morning when their smart clocks, or atomic clocks reset themselves for daylight savings time.
That would be a great feature (our GPS unit did the same) if daylight savings time would have been last week. The downside is, that thanks to Congress, daylight savings time didn’t take place last week.
NPR has the scoop – well some of it at least.
Category: misc
Get your money back
From NPR….
When the housing market sags, some sellers drop their asking price. A Pittsburgh-area couple has hit upon a new twist. After trying to sell for almost a year, Bob and Ricki Husick are making this offer: buy their house now for $399,000 and get your money back when they die. That could be a long wait, as they’re only in their 50s. Still, they’ve already received four offers.
Happy Reformation Day
While there is another holiday going on today, today is also Reformation Day, the day that is traditionally believed to be when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the doors of a church in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517.
In doing so, Martin Luther brought about the Protestant Reformation and current fracture in the church between the protestant and catholic church.
In honor of Luther and the changes he brought about, here is his hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God, translated by Frederic Hedge:
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.
I’m attempting to find a modern arrangement but I haven’t been able to find anything yet unless it sounds like 80’s bubble gum pop. Sigh. Let me know if you find anything.
Random news
a. We bought a new truck last night
b. I love it, but I think Laurie may be more excited than I am – I think she may try and sneak off with it one day before work and leave me the Xterra
c. Our Community group is finishing up Colossians this week (hopefully)
d. We’re going to start on Mark Batterson’s series Chase the Lion next week
e. I’ve done some real searching today on my family history.
f. Found some confusing information and it turns out, as I suspected, two Strother sisters, married two Gaines brothers
g. Once that was confirmed, everything else started making sense again.
h. While I’m not completely sure on one or two generations, it would appear that one relative on my mom’s side signed the American Declaration of Independence, and another signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. Crazy!
i. It may be crazier to think that they were only a generation or two apart.
j. In the meantime, I posted a challenge on our Wiki page – but unless you’re still reading this, I doubt you care anything about my family’s history. But if you do, feel free to join in – or start your own Wiki for your family tree. Maybe we’ll find they connect somewhere in the not to recent past.
encounter baptisms 10-28-07
encounter baptisms 10-28-07
Originally uploaded by Jonathan D. Blundell.
we had four more baptisms Sunday. Always awesome. Laurie and I were on media duty. She had the camera and I had the video camera. We struggled to get a good shot as we were prepped for everyone to face one way, and they ended up facing the other – doh! And once the crowd moved in around the “baptismal tank” (a.k.a. horse trough) there wasn’t much hope in moving around.
Probably my favorite moment of the morning was watching my friend Dave baptize his daughter Chloe. Very cool!
Check out Laurie’s pics on Flickr and hopefully we’ll have some video edited of this Sunday as well as our last baptisms very soon. I promise it’s on my to do list.
The Door
The Door
Originally uploaded by Noel Kerns.
Just checking out the Texas group on Flickr.
Love this photo!
It’s of the front door at the Mission Espada in San Antonio.
Very cool… I have a new desktop background now.