Questions & Answers

February 26, 2005 at 5:14 pm · Filed under Personal

Today I went to a very intense question and answer session.

You see, the children’s youth pastor was ordained today. This was the first ordination I had ever gone to, as churches I had gone to before, this was a very closed ritual. Where we attend now, its open to the whole church body.

One has to feel sorry for the candidate seeking ordination in a way. He will be questioned by a large group of men and he has to come up with very good answers on the Bible and his beliefs. In the span of 2 hours 118 questions were asked.

Here are a few, how would YOU answer the following?

» DO YOU SEE THE 10 COMMANDMENTS AS PART OF GOD’S MORAL LAW? IF SO, ARE THOSE STILL APPLICABLE TODAY, SPECIFICALLY THE SABBATH?

» GOD’S IMMUTABILITY, NOT CHANGING. HOW DOES GOD RESPOND TO OUR PRAYERS, DOES HE CHANGE?

» IF GOD IS SOVEREIGN, WHY DOES HE ALLOW TRAGEDY TO HAPPEN?

» WHAT IS THE TRINITY?

» DO YOU BELIEVE THERE IS HEALING POWER WITH AN T.V. EVANGELIST?

» CAN SATAN READ OUR THOUGHTS? IF NOT, HOW DOES HE TEMPT US SO WELL?

» DISTINCTION BETWEEN MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN?

» MATTHEW 24:30-35. V34, THIS GENERATION SHALL NOT PASS… WHO IS THE GENERATION?

Comments (1)

Maryland, My Maryland

February 23, 2005 at 4:41 pm · Filed under General

The weather-climate-events in Maryland are not for the faint of heart. *sigh* This morning I felt an awful rocking of the house, turns out we had a small earthquake here in coastal Maryland.

Growing up here you never really notice it, it just *is* and you accept it. It wasn’t until I started chatting with people all over the world, that they would find some events here rather surprising.

“I have to go, they are calling for a tornado warning, ” I would type, “and I must shut down the PC and get to the basement.” I think I’d actually left them in mid SHOUTING to me to run get safe. I’d return some time later, or some days later to them in half torment wondering if we had survived over here. During one spring, this happened countless times and turned into a summer of horrible storms.

Years on the net and chatting with the people accumulated a few events to tell of. I hadn’t realized how bad it is here, till I talked with someone from the land of perfect weather. He just couldn’t fathom how we manage here.

In the course of talking to him, Maryland had gone through droughts, F5 tornadoes, a few hurricanes, smaller tornadoes, Hurricane force winds, hail, snow, blizzards, sub zero temperatures, even more sub zero wind chills, snow to the point of declaring a state of emergency with one winter not one day passed by that we didn’t get a flake or a lot of snow. That was followed by a spring of constant downpours, flooding, and near bursting dams. The sky just opened up the entire year. This was followed by some more hurricanes with storm surges and weeks of lost electricity in the area. To drive the point home, the internet makes it easy to send ‘day after’ photos of the debris of tornadoes, the cities under water after the floods, the trees down thanks to the hurricanes.

We already had an earthquake some years ago, and today makes another, with the promise of 4-8 inches of snow tomorrow. It sure is never dull here, and we can go from balmy beautiful one minute to crazy chilly the next!

When he finally had heard enough, I just loved cheekily typing, “Have I told you of our pesitilance?” I think that clinched it. Every 17 years Maryland is invaded by horrible, noisy, and rather large insects called cicadas.

No matter how often in the middle of the mess I wish for sun and blue skies, I have to admit, I just might miss the excitement.

Comments (1)

Bad Day

February 22, 2005 at 7:35 pm · Filed under Personal

Yes, even perky Xerraires have them.

I woke up to find two of my sites, MXskinz and Xerraire.com had been hacked. Where my lovely sites once were, was this horrible demonic looking image. Further investigation led me to see that the hack was widespread, not a personal attack. However at that very moment, it wasn’t very comforting. So, part of the morning was spent restoring those sites.

Next item was my photography sharing site. A few issues there came to be another source of tension for me today.

The mail came and my cable bill was doubled, and a few other unexpected bills.

If bad stuff comes in threes, perhaps that was the end of it.

Some hot teas, a steamy bath, and a meal with my children later, I got a raise. Well that sure helped bring the day out of the crapper!

Comments (2)

Music, Music, Music

February 18, 2005 at 12:58 pm · Filed under Personal

What does Rolling Stones, Jeff Healy, 3 Doors Down, and Linkin Park all have in common? They are all on my MP3 List, of course!!

All my life has been surrounded by music. ..from my sister practicing the piano (she was a student at the distinguished Peabody Institute, to my dad’s twanging country music, to the lovely hymms at church, my mom’s love of classical music, to both my parents infatuation with the 40’s sounds, and the rhythms of my sister’s record player turning the sounds of the 50’s and 60’s. My sister would scoop me up and dance and try to show me how to twist. Even family gatherings would find us all sooner or later around the piano or at the feet of my Uncle Arthur who would strum his guitar and tell his funny stories. A visit to my other Uncle, would soon have him pushing his mandolin in my arms and teaching me how to play and sing, “Little Brown Jug.” Any outing with my best friend Myrna, and we would soon be singing every song I knew in the back seat of the car at the top of our lungs.

Growing up of course, I began to listen to music I liked too. I sang in the children’s and the youth choir and church. Once I was given a solo, which nearly paralyzed me with fear. My dad encouraged me to listen to music, he helped me learn to use a cassette tape recorder, reel to reel recorder, and the stereo so I could listen to my favorite tunes. Not a church goer much, he still managed to show up at church when my group was singing with his big reel to reel set up to record us.

See a wide variety of music listed on my list of mp3z? Oh, I think this post more than explains why.

Comments

A leaf…

February 14, 2005 at 7:06 pm · Filed under General

Give me a home among the gum trees…

Gum trees bear gumnuts, little woody capsules with a pointy lid which open in flowering and which contain the tree’s microscopic seeds. It is the little gumnuts which gave the name ‘eucalyptus’ which comes from latin roots meaning ‘well-lidded’. Not that you would need to find the gumnuts to recognize a gumtree…the eucalyptus oil produced by glands on every leaf fills the air for miles around.

The tallest hardwood is a gumtree. Eucalyptus regnans, the mountain ash, has been recorded at 132.6 metres (435 feet) tall. The height of this specimen was estimated to have been about 146 metres ( 470 feet), but it lost its’ top in a storm. Australia does not presently claim to have the world’s tallest living thing, that honour currently being claimed by an US sequoia softwood at 112 metres, but as it is naturally faster growing and more numerous than the sequoia, Eucalyptus regnans will soon reclaim its crown, so to speak.

Who knew that just one of its little leaves, would make the sweetest present? Only a very special person I am sure.

Comments

Religion

February 13, 2005 at 7:19 pm · Filed under General

There is a certain person, who shall remain nameless, who thinks I should dedicate some blog entries to a ‘controversial’ topic.

When I think of something controversial, or topics people seem to avoid so as to not rock the boat, Religion and Politics come to mind. I enjoy discussing both, usually in a one on one format. This blog would be a first.

Well today at church the pastor had a few things to say about religion…something I have always felt, but didn’t put into words as well as he did.

Backing up for a moment, I have always wondered what to answer to people when they ask me, “what religion are you?” No matter what denomination you answer, depending who they know, or know of in that denomination, they will throw you in with that person or group of people, and automatically align you in that bunch, like it or not. Knowing this, I hesitated in the past to reply straight out.

Some time ago, I often answered, “I’m a protestant, and I protest a lot.” Which was apt, really.

Now even though our pastor is a Baptist with a capital “B”, he still related this story in his sermon today: Seems there was a friend of his of one particular denomation, and this friend’s daughter’s husband was a pastor in another, and still yet, his wife from another, and so he asked the pastor after a discussion in the differences, ” Which religion is right?”

The pastor’s reply,”None of the religions are right, it’s the relationship that’s right. A rightness between you and God.”

A reminder to not let one’s heart wander far from our Creator and Savior.

Comments (1)

(Hijacked) Car Show

February 12, 2005 at 11:51 am · Filed under Personal

I’ve been on the net long ago to learn how
to protect myself against predators who hijack
your computer. I wish I had been better prepared
for the hijacking that takes place in real life. Live
and learn.

We went to the Auto
show in Baltimore, a yearly event at the immense ConventionCenter.

This was something Miquel wanted to do for
ages now, and I had promised him long ago that
we’d go.

Petra was interested in going as well, so that was a plus!
So I find the information online, grab maps, coupons (which I left at home, no
matter, someone in line had extras),
learn about the parking, and we were off.

 

 

 

The first thing that greets us is a corvette spining on display.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pre-hijacked faces of my children, posing in front of the vette.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ford GT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even the Marines were there. With this hummer.
I think its cute

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Petra, observing the “crime”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upstairs, the Ferrari greeted us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miquel seems to say, this one is MINE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the one that Miquel wanted to see.
The Viper.

 

 

 

 

There were hundreds of 2005 models, sneak previews of 2006 models all in a
well arranged 380,000 square foot space, and over 35 imported and domestic car
manufacturers represented.

Hijackers aside, we had a good time and enjoyed the show.

Best was my hug and kiss and the “Thanks for the car show, mama”
I will face any predator for that.

 

Comments (2)

Missing

February 9, 2005 at 6:23 am · Filed under General

Amy Lee with her band Evanescence, keeps filling my house and my car CD player with music. First, at the hands of Miquel, and then, Laura, and it didn’t take me long to become a fan as well. Their entire CD is good, but they keep making these tearful, soulful, haunting songs like, ” My Immortal.” Then recently, as my daughter was playing a new DVD she got for Christmas, we were watching together, and while I was telling the children, “I want her hair”, suddenly a new song, “Missing” grabs my very heart.

If you get a chance to do more than read these lyrics, go get “Missing” the song.

Please, please forgive me
But I won’t be home again
Maybe someday you’ll look up
And barely conscious you’ll say to no one
Isn’t something missing

You won’t cry for my absence I know
You forgot me long ago
Am I that unimportant
Am I so insignificant
Isn’t something missing
Isn’t someone missing me

Even though I’m the sacrificed
You won’t try for me, not now
Though I’d die to know you love me
I’m all alone
Isn’t someone missing me

Please, please forgive me
But I won’t be home again
I know what you do to yourself
I breathe deep and cry out
Isn’t something missing
Isn? someone missing me

Even though I’m the sacrifice
You won’t try for me, not now
Though I’d die to know you love me
I’m all alone
Isn’t someone missing me

And if I?l bleed I?l bleed
Knowing you don? care
And if I sleep just to dream of you
I?l wake with out you there
Isn? something missing
Isn? something missing

Even though I’m the sacrificed
You won’t try for me, not now
Though I’d die to know you love me
I’m all alone
Isn’t someone missing me

Comments (3)

Dust in the Wind

February 4, 2005 at 2:16 pm · Filed under Personal

I never dust anymore. Well a recent deep look into my PC would prove it, but that wasn’t my fault, you see a technician had to uncover a certain hidden fan which revealed a mound of dust. However the rest of the computer’s insides were perfectly dusted, why? Because of my new favorite way to ‘dust’ - air in a can.

Suddenly I find myself using it for everything. Dusting off the tv screen, the household appliances, and even those porcelain figurines that I used to take to the sink, wash and drain. I remember the old days when my file holders would get dusty, and that would require me to pull all my papers off, unstack them, get out the rag and Pledge or Endust, wipe them clean and then restack everything and put my imporant papers back into their proper cubby. No more. I whip out my pressurized air duster, my air in a can, and that baby is dusted in seconds.

This new way to dust isn’t without some drawbacks…I have learned that used improperly and one can get frostbite, so I must say that keeps me from holding the can too long. Oh, and, there is another drawback…its quite expsensive. So far though, little keeps me from grabbing the can when I see dust.

Comments (4)