Dinner with friends

Last night we enjoyed dinner with some friends. To make a short story long, this is how it happened: Last fall, before my trip to India, we had dinner with Bill and Connie. We had never met them, but some friends from our church knew them and recommended we get together since their daughter Emily married an Indian and ministers with him in India serving with YWAM. So we met and had dinner the night before my trip. Turns out Emily and her husband Jaideep live in Jaipur and I spent my first week in Jodhpur, which is in the same state of Rajasthan. We arranged to spend a little time with them during our train travel from Jodhpur to Nagpur. So I got to meet Jaideep and Emily and their 2 daughters at that time and enjoyed dinner in their home. Hopefully, this link will lead you to a you toob video about their work in Jaipur.



Well, Jaideep and Emily have been here in HR for the past 3 months. We enjoyed dinner in their home early in their stay and promised that we would return the favor before they return to their India home, which will occur next Tuesday. So we finally got our schedules in sync and got together last night for BBQ salmon (marinated in adobo sauce), along with various other trimmings: steamed rice (of course) with stir-fry veggies, tossed green salad, cantalope, and leche flan (and they brought cherries).



Dinner was outside. But the evening got too chilly. So we moved indoors for the dessert (cantalope & flan & cherries) and coffee and conversation and getting better acquainted. So while we adults sat around talking, their younger daughter discovered Kasama's bed....


Well, this video that follows is not very good lighting. But it gives a brief glimpse of our evening and the fellowship we enjoyed.

Thank you to Jaideep, Emily and daughters, and to Bill and Connie, for good fellowship in the Lord.

And BIG THANK YOU to BW, for her planning and preparation, and gracious hospitality.

tyvm

Kasama's bath time

Each month my owners give me a bath (whether I want it or not!) So this time they took turns making videos of the event, as if it's something to enjoy. Well, this first one is "Master" getting me in the tub...

Just to be fair, we got a video of "Madam" (she won't let me call her MaMa). Looks like she was having fun putting soap all over me. Well, at least ONE of us was having fun!

At last this torture is over. As soon as I get out of here, I can pay them back for getting me wet.

Ahhhh revenge is sweet!!!!!

arf! arf!

The American Flag and Church

It's almost bedtime. But I just read this article, an op-ed piece, apparently from the Christian Science Monitor. I can't say that I agree with everything she says. But the gist of it expresses something I've tried to say for years.

Christians--especially those who call themselves "evangelicals"--often seem more loyal, more enthused and more devoted to the United States of America. When did we forget that one of our roles involves calling the government to account for her wrongs? When will we learn that our first love must be to Jesus Christ and his kingdom?

When will we return to our first love?

I encourage you, urge you, beg you: Please read this article. Then let me know what you think.

tyvm

Wedding shower

Yesterday we drove to Eugene and back for FD's wedding shower. Here are some pics, with little or no explanation...

This is Joe and Gen's apartment where the shower was held....

We 3 fellas went out to dinner.

Maybe you can already figure out that BW took all the pics....

Grandma C. always makes a new afghan for each couple when they get married.

Isn't she lovely?

ttfn

County fair

So a few days ago, #1 son texted me about the county fair where he lives. So that started a conversation with BW about county fairs, because she had never been to one and didn't have a clue what they are. Then at Bible study, they were talking about it too because this is the week for the fair for our county. And BW and I had talked about going there so she could see what it's like. So today we went.


We actually did a lot more than look at baby pigs. But for most of the time I forgot that my new phone has a camera inside. Plus, I thought I took more pics than these 2, but these are the only ones from today that I found when I looked in the memory. Anyway, just as we were pausing to look at the piglets, this girl came up and started spraying water into the watering trough for the babies. And of course, they scurried over and lapped it up right out of the air.

So anyway, BW would NOT go on any of the rides. But that was okay because I didn't see any that I wanted to spend money on. But we saw all the 4-H and FFA crafts. And we saw all the animals. And BW said it was the first time she has seen most (all?) of them up-close-and-personal. As we entered each barn, we saw a sign that said not to touch or feed the animals. Well, for the most part we obeyed. But the sheep and goats were too much for her. So she touched the back of a goat that was trying to sleep. Then right next to him/her, lay a sheep. So she touched him too. Then we watched some horseback riding. The contestants had glasses full of water and they had to ride their horses through various paces--walk, trot and canter; then halt turn around and repeat. The winner was the person with the most water in her glass at the end of the exercise. Then we walked around and looked at all the horses in their stalls. And we learned what a gelding is. (Now I want all you school teachers to teach that word to your grade schoolers next year! Okay?) :)

Thanks for reading!

ttfn

Leviticus challenge

Have you heard about this? I hadn't heard anything until I received a note from Christianity Today. It's an article about a pastor and some people from his church who tried a 30-day Leviticus Challenge. Take a peak! Kinda interesting. :)

ttfn

Creation

A couple different items caught my attention in recent days--both dealing with Christian views of creation. WARNING!!! Liberal views ahead!!!

The first item came as a news item included in an email from Christianity Today (CT.com). It was a short blurb that said basically, that a certain professor at a Christian college in Iowa (I think) was fired recently because he told a group of students that the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis was not a literal event.

My comment: Is there a problem with a professor telling his views on this? (But I'm getting ahead of myself.)

The second item came in a dvd we watched at our church this past Thursday night. On a side note: While I'm going to pick out 1 specific thing this guy said, his dvds are actually very good and I recommend them. We were watching a couple segments by a speaker named Louie Giglio. He was talking about the incredible Creator of our incredible universe. And he mentioned that some people say they wish they could have been there when God created the universe. To which Louie said, "No you wouldn't!" He went on to explain that when God said, "Let there be light," flashes and rays of light zoomed out of God's mouth at the speed of 186,000 miles per second (the speed of light).

Actually he made this kind of statement a few times during the 2 videos we watched. In addition, at one point when he was showing a pic of the sun of our solar system, he said that the sun came flying out of God's mouth during creation.

So after watching the 2 dvds of the evening, I asked someone from our church a follow-up question. I knew from comments they had made that they believe in the creation account as described in Genesis 1-2. They allow that there may have been a time gap between Gen 1:1 and 1:2. But other than that, they feel it is an account of a literal series of events.

So I asked them, "When Louie said that light came flying out of God's mouth at the speed of 186,000 miles per second, did he mean that literally?" After some discussion for clarification, they said, "No, Louie did not mean it literally."

All of that to lead up to this terribly dangerous question/issue... Dangerous because in our denomination apparently we still have to believe in the literal, 7 day creation and a literal Adam and Eve in a literal Garden of Eden.

When is anyone going to face some very basic facts?

Before I note those facts, let me go back to Louie's word picture. How do we know that he did not mean that statement literally? (A) God does not have a mouth; so (B) therefore light could not come zooming out of his mouth. But he never told us he was speaking metaphorically. He apparently thought it obvious that light did not literally come flashing out of God's mouth. (C) In addition, the sun did not come flying out of God's mouth, because if it did, then why does God keep those "star factories" going in the various galaxies today? If God can make suns/stars come flying out of his mouth (which he does not have), then what need does he have for star factories?

The point being: He willed and ordered these things to exist and they came into existence. How they came to be is another topic for a different field of study (viz., physics, astronomy, etc.).

Back to the creation story: Here are some facts that are fairly well known: (1) The name "Adam" simply means "man." And the name "Eve" simply means "mother." (2) The rivers that are named as the boundaries of the Garden of Eden never come close to each other. Granted the Tigris and Euphrates do converge; but the others do not approach them. (3) Serpents do not talk.

If I said to you, "A man died and went to heave and St. Peter met him at the Pearly Gates and said...," you would know immediately that I was telling a story that did not really happen. Maybe I intended it as a joke or maybe as a moral lesson. But I would not have to stop and tell you, "This is symbolic language. It did not really happen." We know from the verbal clues in the genre of the story that we are dealing with a symbolic story that has another purpose.

I contend that the same thing is true about the story in Genesis 1-2. It is not intended to be read as an account of a historical event. It is intended as a symbolic story that has another purpose. It's purpose is not to tell us how the physical world came into existence. It is intended to tell us that God brought the world into being and to begin revealing to us what kind of God we have to deal with.

So what are the verbal clues that tell us this is symbolic language? (1) You would not name your child "man" or "mother." These names tell us they are not literal people. (2) The fact that the rivers do not come close to each other tells us the author is describing an imaginary place.

When the ancients sat around the desert campfires and told this story, no one asked, "Father, did this really happen this way?" Their listeners knew from these (and other) verbal clues that they were hearing a symbolic story that carried a message.

And the message was: God made this world and we must answer to him for our lives.

What do you think?

ttfn

Friday hike

From the beginning, BW & I have tried to have a date on Friday nights. Well, a couple things evolved: One, almost always the date involved going to a restaurant and usually nothing more than that. So that was "okay" but not really something to get too excited about. Two, with purchasing our home, money has become a bit tighter. So we have looked for other ways to enjoy some "change-of-pace" time together.


Today we went for a little stroll (not really a hike). Of course, Kasama came along--as well as his weak stomach that... well, we won't touch that (literally) okay? The trail is actually the Historic Columbia Gorge Highway that was built starting in 1916. Some sections of it are still used while other sections are being (or have been) restored so that the public can walk in the woods and enjoy the beauty.
If you have driven the I-84 route from Portland heading east, you may remember the tunnel that you go through just before leaving Multnomah County and entering Hood River County. The trail we walked (only 1 mile long) goes right over that tunnel! (This pic above, looks back at the east end exit from that tunnel.) I was so excited about walking above the tunnel. If you look really, really close, you might be able to make out the truck just exiting the tunnel.

At the east end of this section of the highway/trail, a series of stairs descends to another tourist/nature area, Eagle Creek recreational area and fish hatchery. (This pic above, was taken as we were starting back westward. Each staircase has 12 steps, with a total of 5 staircases, with an additional 3 stairs at the very bottom. Yes, I count stairs!) So BW sat down on the stairs while I took the previous shot of the tunnel. I neglected to include Favorite Dog (FD), but you can see the leash.



Well, that was our outing for today!

ttfn

First BBQ

Yes, indeedy folks, we did us a barbecue this afternoon!It was just a few pork ribs and they turned out a little bit tough.

But they tasted grrrrrrreeeeaaaat!

Had a brief concern earlier in the day when I tried a "test run" in firing up the grill. Couldn't get any response from the ignition system, much less anything in the way of flame. So that caused a little frustration in one who really does not feel confident in manual projects anyway. But after a little perusal of the "troubleshooting" pages in the manual, I twisted a nob on the connector hose leading to the LP tanks. And voila! We got us a fire! (all in the right places of course).
So then it was off to the internet to get any tips I might find helpful. And here I am with the first serving of BBQ pork ribs and feeling rather accomplished! :)

ttfn

What else is happening?

Since I finally got myself in gear to post something, I might as well go ahead and tell what else is happening in my life. Of course, the majority of my 5 readers already know this. But for the sake of the random person who lands here accidentally, I'll mention it anyway:

My favorite daughter is getting married. No, I'm not nervous. Should I be? Why? All I have to do is write the check(s) and walk her down the aisle. I've already done the former. And I have walked aisles before. So, no I'm not nervous. But I am excited!

Okay, so like I said, 80% of my 5 readers already know this. So can you please go to their website and RSVP? Plus there is an interesting game there and gift ideas with registries. And if you know of others who maybe have not RSVPed, maybe you could encourage them.

Well, other things are going on also. But I'll save those for another post--another day. :)

ttfn

Today's achievement!

Every day lately I have told myself I need to post something to my blog. Then I think, but what have I done? Nothing is happening. But that's not true as you probably know. Anyway, today's achievement is shown below.

Actually it was not "today's" achievement. It took half of yesterday plus all morning today. :) I know many mechanically inclined men (my sons included) who could have finished the project in a couple hours. Well, I finished it in a couple 1/2 days. :) Yes, if I had pushed myself I could have finished it last evening. But why? We weren't planning to use it last night. And it was so hot yesterday. So when I got to the part of the instructions where it says to test the controls for leaks, I said, "Enough for today!" I still needed to purge the new propane tank & fill it, before I could test for leaks. So I put those at the top of my to do list for this morning. And sure enough, there it is sitting on the concrete slab behind our condo!

Course, I haven't tried firing her up yet. But otherwise, all the movable parts seem to work just like they're supposed to. One remaining question (other than does it fire up and cook): Do you see that silver/grey item in the left of the pics, leaning up against the wall? That was in the packaging too. And I can't figure out what it is or where it goes! :) Well, hopefully it's not anything crucial and we'll be able to enjoy our bbq anyway. And if it is something crucial, well I'm ready to meet my maker!

ttfn

Son's new home

First off: I didn't realize how loooooooong it had been since I had posted. But recently a full 40% of my readership (i.e., 2 people) mentioned that they missed reading my posts. So I had already resolved to post something, when I came upon a little problem: I can't attach the following video to my regular email because it is too big. So, I'm hoping it works here....


This is a vid of my #1 son's new home. I visited him recently in Ks and with his permission took this vid. In addition to what the vid shows, he has a sizeable yard on both sides of the house as well as behind it. And true to Ks practice, has a full basement which I was allowed to see subsequent to taking this vid.


At any rate, for those who want to see his "fixer-upper" here it is....

If you are a praying person, please pray especially for this son. God knows what he is going through and He will direct divine help in the right manner.

At the same time, he is enjoying this new position very much. The church there loves him. The young people seem to virtually worship him. And he seems to have a good working relationship with his pastor.

Hopefully, I can get back into the habit of blogging again.

ttfn

eddie