Wow, have you guys been seeing this stuff? Its unbelievable! It's like a war zone down there. You always think, that no matter what happens, someone has a plan, someone has it figured out, help is on it's way, but when something like this happens it really changes your perspective.
CNN Coverage
It's like a third world country down there.
Jenny wrote a great faith piece on the recent events, this, the tidal wave, and 9/11, in her blog. I would encourage you all to read it.
Remember to pray for all those effected.
Jacob and Faith, you guys are certainly in our prayers.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
King v. Unit
King Felix faces his first real offensive challange since is call up tonight, against the Yankees, vs. Randy Johnson. Old vs. New, the future vs. the Past, best every Mariners pitcher vs. Best ever Mariners piching prospect. What an exciting game. Be sure to tune in or watch via MLB.com's Gamecast (as I will be doing). 7PM Pacific time.
King Felix's line so far, after 5 starts:
RECORD: 2-1 IP: 36.0 HITS: 23 RUNS: 8 EARNED RUNS: 7 HR's GIVEN UP: 2 WALKS: 5 STRIKEOUTS: 38 ERA: 1.75 WHIP: 0.78 OPP. BATTING AVERAGE: .178
King Felix's line so far, after 5 starts:
RECORD: 2-1 IP: 36.0 HITS: 23 RUNS: 8 EARNED RUNS: 7 HR's GIVEN UP: 2 WALKS: 5 STRIKEOUTS: 38 ERA: 1.75 WHIP: 0.78 OPP. BATTING AVERAGE: .178
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Congrats!
We had two sets of friends get married this weekend. We missed their weddings because we just move to MO and feel awful about it. There are hard things about moving away from so many people you love, its been great, but hard.
Our congratulation go out to our great freinds Kristina Ringland, and Nate Bown, who got married saturday in Camano Island, WA. We are praying for you and are really happy for you. You guys need ot get out here and go to some cool Jazz clubs with us soon!
Also, Missy and Jason Small got married in Boise, ID saturday. We are also so very happy for the two of you. Missy, I am sad that I havn't been able to meet Jason yet, and you need to meet Jenny. I guess we have a reunion coming up in a year or two.
Love you guys, congrats!
Our congratulation go out to our great freinds Kristina Ringland, and Nate Bown, who got married saturday in Camano Island, WA. We are praying for you and are really happy for you. You guys need ot get out here and go to some cool Jazz clubs with us soon!
Also, Missy and Jason Small got married in Boise, ID saturday. We are also so very happy for the two of you. Missy, I am sad that I havn't been able to meet Jason yet, and you need to meet Jenny. I guess we have a reunion coming up in a year or two.
Love you guys, congrats!
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
King Felix's Home Debut!
Us Mariners fans don't have much to cheer for these days, but last night was the home debut of the best prospect the system has seen since A-Rod. Felix Hernandez, the 19 year old phenom made his second start of the season, the first coming last week in Detroit (5IP 3H 2R 1ER 4K on 75 pitch leash), and he was brilliant. No only did he pitch 8 innings of shut out ball, but he did it with complet control, and poise. He looked like a season vetren out there, AT 19 YEARS OLD! Becoming the first teenage starter since Jose Rijo in 1984 to get a win. On top of that he made a couple of excelent defensive plays that made him look like he was right at home on the Safco Field mound. I expect many great things to come from this kid.
Felix's line last night:
8IP 5H 0R 0ER 0BB 6SO
He threw 94 pitches, 71 of them for strikes (75.5%)
His fastball topped out at 98 mph (4 times)
See what the press is saying:
Seattle PI
Tacoma New Tribune
Seattle Times (Bob Finnigan)
Seattle Times (Larry Stone)
Baseball Prospectus
above stats taken from http://www.sethspeaks.net/
Felix's line last night:
8IP 5H 0R 0ER 0BB 6SO
He threw 94 pitches, 71 of them for strikes (75.5%)
His fastball topped out at 98 mph (4 times)
See what the press is saying:
Seattle PI
Tacoma New Tribune
Seattle Times (Bob Finnigan)
Seattle Times (Larry Stone)
Baseball Prospectus
above stats taken from http://www.sethspeaks.net/
Sunday, July 31, 2005
New photos up!
I finally got some pictures of our new place uploaded. We still have a little work to do, we diffinatly need more artwork on the walls, but here is a little tour of the place. The bottom row has a few pictures of the July 4th Mariners game (thats right, I refuse to call it a "Royals" game when they are playing the Mariners). There is a great shot of Ichiro! doing his little, "wax on" routine.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
The Christian Paradox
How a faithful nation gets Jesus wrong: What it means to be Christian in America.
An excerpt. Originally from Harper's August 2005. By Bill McKibben.
Only 40 percent of Americans can name more than four of the Ten Commandments, and a scant half can cite any of the four authors of the Gospels. Twelve percent believe Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. This failure to recall the specifics of our Christian heritage may be further evidence of our nation’s educational decline, but it probably doesn’t matter all that much in spiritual or political terms. Here is a statistic that does matter: Three quarters of Americans believe the Bible teaches that “God helps those who help themselves.” That is, three out of four Americans believe that this uber-American idea, a notion at the core of our current individualist politics and culture, which was in fact uttered by Ben Franklin, actually appears in Holy Scripture. The thing is, not only is Franklin’s wisdom not biblical; it’s counter-biblical. Few ideas could be further from the gospel message, with its radical summons to love of neighbor. On this essential matter, most Americans—most American Christians—are simply wrong, as if 75 percent of American scientists believed that Newton proved gravity causes apples to fly up.
Asking Christians what Christ taught isn’t a trick. When we say we are a Christian nation—and, overwhelmingly, we do—it means something. People who go to church absorb lessons there and make real decisions based on those lessons; increasingly, these lessons inform their politics. (One poll found that 11 percent of U.S. churchgoers were urged by their clergy to vote in a particular way in the 2004 election, up from 6 percent in 2000.) When George Bush says that Jesus Christ is his favorite philosopher, he may or may not be sincere, but he is reflecting the sincere beliefs of the vast majority of Americans.
And therein is the paradox. America is simultaneously the most professedly Christian of the developed nations and the least Christian in its behavior. That paradox—more important, perhaps, than the much touted ability of French women to stay thin on a diet of chocolate and cheese—illuminates the hollow at the core of our boastful, careening culture.
* * *
Ours is among the most spiritually homogenous rich nations on earth. Depending on which poll you look at and how the question is asked, somewhere around 85 percent of us call ourselves Christian. Israel, by way of comparison, is 77 percent Jewish. It is true that a smaller number of Americans—about 75 percent—claim they actually pray to God on a daily basis, and only 33 percent say they manage to get to church every week. Still, even if that 85 percent overstates actual practice, it clearly represents aspiration. In fact, there is nothing else that unites more than four fifths of America. Every other statistic one can cite about American behavior is essentially also a measure of the behavior of professed Christians. That’s what America is: a place saturated in Christian identity.
But is it Christian? This is not a matter of angels dancing on the heads of pins. Christ was pretty specific about what he had in mind for his followers. What if we chose some simple criterion—say, giving aid to the poorest people—as a reasonable proxy for Christian behavior? After all, in the days before his crucifixion, when Jesus summed up his message for his disciples, he said the way you could tell the righteous from the damned was by whether they’d fed the hungry, slaked the thirsty, clothed the naked, welcomed the stranger, and visited the prisoner. What would we find then?
In 2004, as a share of our economy, we ranked second to last, after Italy, among developed countries in government foreign aid. Per capita we each provide fifteen cents a day in official development assistance to poor countries. And it’s not because we were giving to private charities for relief work instead. Such funding increases our average daily donation by just six pennies, to twenty-one cents. It’s also not because Americans were too busy taking care of their own; nearly 18 percent of American children lived in poverty (compared with, say, 8 percent in Sweden). In fact, by pretty much any measure of caring for the least among us you want to propose—childhood nutrition, infant mortality, access to preschool—we come in nearly last among the rich nations, and often by a wide margin. The point is not just that (as everyone already knows) the American nation trails badly in all these categories; it’s that the overwhelmingly Christian American nation trails badly in all these categories, categories to which Jesus paid particular attention. And it’s not as if the numbers are getting better: the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported last year that the number of households that were “food insecure with hunger” had climbed more than 26 percent between 1999 and 2003.
This Christian nation also tends to make personal, as opposed to political, choices that the Bible would seem to frown upon. Despite the Sixth Commandment, we are, of course, the most violent rich nation on earth, with a murder rate four or five times that of our European peers. We have prison populations greater by a factor of six or seven than other rich nations (which at least should give us plenty of opportunity for visiting the prisoners). Having been told to turn the other cheek, we’re the only Western democracy left that executes its citizens, mostly in those states where Christianity is theoretically strongest. Despite Jesus’ strong declarations against divorce, our marriages break up at a rate—just over half—that compares poorly with the European Union’s average of about four in ten. That average may be held down by the fact that Europeans marry less frequently, and by countries, like Italy, where divorce is difficult; still, compare our success with, say, that of the godless Dutch, whose divorce rate is just over 37 percent. Teenage pregnancy? We’re at the top of the charts. Personal self-discipline—like, say, keeping your weight under control? Buying on credit? Running government deficits? Do you need to ask?
An excerpt. Originally from Harper's August 2005. By Bill McKibben.
Only 40 percent of Americans can name more than four of the Ten Commandments, and a scant half can cite any of the four authors of the Gospels. Twelve percent believe Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. This failure to recall the specifics of our Christian heritage may be further evidence of our nation’s educational decline, but it probably doesn’t matter all that much in spiritual or political terms. Here is a statistic that does matter: Three quarters of Americans believe the Bible teaches that “God helps those who help themselves.” That is, three out of four Americans believe that this uber-American idea, a notion at the core of our current individualist politics and culture, which was in fact uttered by Ben Franklin, actually appears in Holy Scripture. The thing is, not only is Franklin’s wisdom not biblical; it’s counter-biblical. Few ideas could be further from the gospel message, with its radical summons to love of neighbor. On this essential matter, most Americans—most American Christians—are simply wrong, as if 75 percent of American scientists believed that Newton proved gravity causes apples to fly up.
Asking Christians what Christ taught isn’t a trick. When we say we are a Christian nation—and, overwhelmingly, we do—it means something. People who go to church absorb lessons there and make real decisions based on those lessons; increasingly, these lessons inform their politics. (One poll found that 11 percent of U.S. churchgoers were urged by their clergy to vote in a particular way in the 2004 election, up from 6 percent in 2000.) When George Bush says that Jesus Christ is his favorite philosopher, he may or may not be sincere, but he is reflecting the sincere beliefs of the vast majority of Americans.
And therein is the paradox. America is simultaneously the most professedly Christian of the developed nations and the least Christian in its behavior. That paradox—more important, perhaps, than the much touted ability of French women to stay thin on a diet of chocolate and cheese—illuminates the hollow at the core of our boastful, careening culture.
* * *
Ours is among the most spiritually homogenous rich nations on earth. Depending on which poll you look at and how the question is asked, somewhere around 85 percent of us call ourselves Christian. Israel, by way of comparison, is 77 percent Jewish. It is true that a smaller number of Americans—about 75 percent—claim they actually pray to God on a daily basis, and only 33 percent say they manage to get to church every week. Still, even if that 85 percent overstates actual practice, it clearly represents aspiration. In fact, there is nothing else that unites more than four fifths of America. Every other statistic one can cite about American behavior is essentially also a measure of the behavior of professed Christians. That’s what America is: a place saturated in Christian identity.
But is it Christian? This is not a matter of angels dancing on the heads of pins. Christ was pretty specific about what he had in mind for his followers. What if we chose some simple criterion—say, giving aid to the poorest people—as a reasonable proxy for Christian behavior? After all, in the days before his crucifixion, when Jesus summed up his message for his disciples, he said the way you could tell the righteous from the damned was by whether they’d fed the hungry, slaked the thirsty, clothed the naked, welcomed the stranger, and visited the prisoner. What would we find then?
In 2004, as a share of our economy, we ranked second to last, after Italy, among developed countries in government foreign aid. Per capita we each provide fifteen cents a day in official development assistance to poor countries. And it’s not because we were giving to private charities for relief work instead. Such funding increases our average daily donation by just six pennies, to twenty-one cents. It’s also not because Americans were too busy taking care of their own; nearly 18 percent of American children lived in poverty (compared with, say, 8 percent in Sweden). In fact, by pretty much any measure of caring for the least among us you want to propose—childhood nutrition, infant mortality, access to preschool—we come in nearly last among the rich nations, and often by a wide margin. The point is not just that (as everyone already knows) the American nation trails badly in all these categories; it’s that the overwhelmingly Christian American nation trails badly in all these categories, categories to which Jesus paid particular attention. And it’s not as if the numbers are getting better: the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported last year that the number of households that were “food insecure with hunger” had climbed more than 26 percent between 1999 and 2003.
This Christian nation also tends to make personal, as opposed to political, choices that the Bible would seem to frown upon. Despite the Sixth Commandment, we are, of course, the most violent rich nation on earth, with a murder rate four or five times that of our European peers. We have prison populations greater by a factor of six or seven than other rich nations (which at least should give us plenty of opportunity for visiting the prisoners). Having been told to turn the other cheek, we’re the only Western democracy left that executes its citizens, mostly in those states where Christianity is theoretically strongest. Despite Jesus’ strong declarations against divorce, our marriages break up at a rate—just over half—that compares poorly with the European Union’s average of about four in ten. That average may be held down by the fact that Europeans marry less frequently, and by countries, like Italy, where divorce is difficult; still, compare our success with, say, that of the godless Dutch, whose divorce rate is just over 37 percent. Teenage pregnancy? We’re at the top of the charts. Personal self-discipline—like, say, keeping your weight under control? Buying on credit? Running government deficits? Do you need to ask?
Monday, July 18, 2005
Please Pray
I have a long time family friend from church who was fatily injured in a motorcycle accident sunday afternoon. Please pray for her husband, family and friends. I don't really know what else to say about it. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of how it must feel to lose a spouse.
Monday, July 11, 2005
We may have found a church!
We tryed a church this sunday called Trinity Nazarene. We were sucked in somewere between the "Christian Social Justice Group", the Open Conversation on "God in Politics", and the Fine Arts Ministry. But besides all that, the message was great, the music was good, and the people were awesome. This church is very similar to one Jenny attended in college, in fact it had a couple people from that church going here. I also found out two of my friends from college attended there too, Krystal Lober and Megan Selby! It was good to see them again, and we are excited about the possiablities of this become our church home in KC. A nazarene church that cares about social justice and art, and allows for open conversation on anything, let alone politics. Could it be true?!?!
We sure hope so.
We sure hope so.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
A Chord of Three Strands
Jenny got an article published in Circle 6 magazine!!!
Here is the article: "A Choard of Three Strands"
She also has a blog now. Check it out, she is an amazing writer so I am sure there will be some great reads posted on there sometime soon.
In other related news, she got a job offer that is really great, she has not accepted it yet, but she probably will. It is going to pay more then she was making in Olympia and they have already offered her a higher position then the one she applied for in the first place. Pray for God's hand in her decision. Thanks!
Photos of our new place, and the 4th of July will be coming soon, I promise. We need to find the USB cable for the camera.
Here is the article: "A Choard of Three Strands"
She also has a blog now. Check it out, she is an amazing writer so I am sure there will be some great reads posted on there sometime soon.
In other related news, she got a job offer that is really great, she has not accepted it yet, but she probably will. It is going to pay more then she was making in Olympia and they have already offered her a higher position then the one she applied for in the first place. Pray for God's hand in her decision. Thanks!
Photos of our new place, and the 4th of July will be coming soon, I promise. We need to find the USB cable for the camera.
Friday, June 24, 2005
We made it!
Sorry about the dealy, we had an uneventful trip out to KC and we got here Thursday night the 16th. We moved in all day Friday. We love our new place, its perfect. I started my job Monday and it has been great as well. Pray for Jenny in her job search.
We will have some pictures of our new place soon, I promise.
We will have some pictures of our new place soon, I promise.
Friday, June 10, 2005
Last Day of Work!
This is my last day at ReachONE and Jenny's last day at WIRB! I am going to miss it here, I worked with some amazing people.
We got the apartment finalized and we will be headed out to Kansas City on tuesday.
This is going to be a busy weekend of packing.
Keep us in prayer, see ya in about a week!
We got the apartment finalized and we will be headed out to Kansas City on tuesday.
This is going to be a busy weekend of packing.
Keep us in prayer, see ya in about a week!
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Coldplay - X&Y
I picked up the new Coldplay album, X&Y yesterday, its very good. I little less piano then the last album, but a lot more guitar, like the first album. They have firmly positioned themselves to be the next U2 with this one. As my friend Jacob said in his review of the album at Circle 6, "Buckland apparently stole the Edge's effect board to get his delays". But, you all know how much I love U2, so I can think of worse bands to sound similar to.
Anyways, if you haven't, check out X&Y, its money. I especially like the song White Shadows.
Good album art design as well!
Anyways, if you haven't, check out X&Y, its money. I especially like the song White Shadows.
Good album art design as well!
Friday, June 03, 2005
KC Update!
Jenny and I will be leaving for Kansas City on June 13-14th. We both have our last day of work in Olympia on the 10th. I start at NPH on the 20th.
I just put an apartment on hold for us in the River Market District of Kansas City. We are renting a 990 sq ft., 1 bedroom, 1 bath loft with a study in this building. The floor plan is kind of like this one , but a little difrent in shape. We are so excited about living in this area!
Now we can be cool urban people....
I just put an apartment on hold for us in the River Market District of Kansas City. We are renting a 990 sq ft., 1 bedroom, 1 bath loft with a study in this building. The floor plan is kind of like this one , but a little difrent in shape. We are so excited about living in this area!
Now we can be cool urban people....
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
WWJRLT?
What Would J.R. Listen To?
(I am sure you all are dying to know)
This is a handy little plug in that lets you know what I have been listening to in iTunes, when I should be working.
(I am sure you all are dying to know)
This is a handy little plug in that lets you know what I have been listening to in iTunes, when I should be working.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
BIG NEWS REVEALED!
I just accepted an offer to go work at the Nazarene Publishing House.
This means a move half way across the country for my wife and I, it is located in Kansas City, MO. We have been praying about it (and so have you guys, you just didn't know it) and feel this is were God is leading us. It is hard because we love Washington, and as of now are planning on returning someday. I just dropped the news to my boss a few minutes ago and he was very supportive and happy for me, he even prayed with me about it.
This is the same place I did my internship in the summer of 2000, I will be working with one of my best friends Branond Hill.
Continue to pray for us as we proceed in this course. We need to get the moving all worked out and find a place to live. We were thinking of renting a downtown apartment or near the plaza and be urban dwellers for a few years, so that should be a fun adventure.
Thanks to everyone who prayed for us.
This means a move half way across the country for my wife and I, it is located in Kansas City, MO. We have been praying about it (and so have you guys, you just didn't know it) and feel this is were God is leading us. It is hard because we love Washington, and as of now are planning on returning someday. I just dropped the news to my boss a few minutes ago and he was very supportive and happy for me, he even prayed with me about it.
This is the same place I did my internship in the summer of 2000, I will be working with one of my best friends Branond Hill.
Continue to pray for us as we proceed in this course. We need to get the moving all worked out and find a place to live. We were thinking of renting a downtown apartment or near the plaza and be urban dwellers for a few years, so that should be a fun adventure.
Thanks to everyone who prayed for us.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Music Baton Passing...
One Mr. Joshua Hynes has passed me the music iTuning baton.
I dropped it after the pass, but I am catching the rest of the pack heading into the second corner...
Total volume of music files on my computer: 33.63 GB.
The last CDs I bought were:
"Stand Up" by Dave Matthews Band and "Drunkard's Prayer" by Over The Rhine
Song playing right now:
"Go With The Glow" by Queens Of The Stone Age
Five songs I listen(ed) to a lot (recently):
1) "Speed Of Sound" by Coldplay
2) "Go It Alone" by Beck
3) "Louisiana Bayou" by Dave Matthews Band
4) "Ballad In Plain Red" by Derek Webb
5) "Born" by Over The Rhine
Five people to whom I'm passing the baton:
Brandon Hill
Telfer (and/or) Andrea Griffith
Amanda Marble
Drew Smith
Jason Wilcox
I dropped it after the pass, but I am catching the rest of the pack heading into the second corner...
Total volume of music files on my computer: 33.63 GB.
The last CDs I bought were:
"Stand Up" by Dave Matthews Band and "Drunkard's Prayer" by Over The Rhine
Song playing right now:
"Go With The Glow" by Queens Of The Stone Age
Five songs I listen(ed) to a lot (recently):
1) "Speed Of Sound" by Coldplay
2) "Go It Alone" by Beck
3) "Louisiana Bayou" by Dave Matthews Band
4) "Ballad In Plain Red" by Derek Webb
5) "Born" by Over The Rhine
Five people to whom I'm passing the baton:
Brandon Hill
Telfer (and/or) Andrea Griffith
Amanda Marble
Drew Smith
Jason Wilcox
Friday, May 13, 2005
Prayer Request
Could you guys keep me in prayer this weekend, I can't say why, but know that its a good thing, so don't worry. I may have more details soon.
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Madison (the movie)
My wife and I went to see this last night. Most of you may have never heard of it, but it was good. I may be a bit biased as I have grown up around hydroplane racing my whole life. My dad and I were crew memebers on a hydroplane from the time I was about 8 til I left for college. It was fun to see a movie about a sport I am so passionate about. From a historical standpoint, they got a lot of the facts wrong, but it was a good movie non-the-less.
Here is the website
If it is playing in a theater in your area support an independent film and go see it! If you liked Hoosiers (and who doesn't?), you will like Madison.
Here is the trailer
Here is the website
If it is playing in a theater in your area support an independent film and go see it! If you liked Hoosiers (and who doesn't?), you will like Madison.
Here is the trailer
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Crop Walk
Jenny and I did the Crop Walk this year, a 10k walk to raise money to fight world poverty and hunger. It was last Sunday and we walked from the Capitol building in Olympia, down around the lake and over to the brewery, then back to the Capitol. We got our youth group involved; it was a lot of fun.
This is one thing I like a lot about our new church; it seems to focus more on what we CAN do to have a positive effect on the world around us instead of what a lot of Christian churches do in complaining about the things we cannot change.
If you have a Crop Walk in your area I would encourage anyone to get involved.
Also, on a similar note, check this out, sign up and take action:
This is one thing I like a lot about our new church; it seems to focus more on what we CAN do to have a positive effect on the world around us instead of what a lot of Christian churches do in complaining about the things we cannot change.
If you have a Crop Walk in your area I would encourage anyone to get involved.
Also, on a similar note, check this out, sign up and take action:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
