NEW LIVING ROOM

We got our hands on another bookcase, so we (Erin) decided to change up our small space. Although, there is little to do, some was done. Erin amazes me with her space organization.









Erin preparing to work her magic.







The new "library".

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

I just finished "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley. In the forward of the 1946 printing he says:

"The greatest triumphs of propaganda have been accomplished not by doing something, but by refraining from doing. Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view, is silence about truth."

For me to try and add to this would only take away from the wisdom, so I will leave it as is. If you have any thoughts, feel free to share.

PRAYER SHAW, SWEATER AND AN EMPTY LIFE

Here is the first "prayer shaw" that Erin knit for a ministry at Sycamore View.





This is Erin's second sweater. She made it a while ago, I have been slow updating the knitting process. I really like this one, with the buttons it looks like it came from the mall.


In a somewhat related story-Erin has a calender of knitting (big shock); within this calender was a quote that said, "Men who do not knit lead empty lives". So, I decided I was going to have Erin teach me how to knit. The lesson lasted about five minutes before I realized knitting is not for me. At least I now know what causes that empty feeling inside me.

VACATION DESTINATION

In mid-July Erin and I will be vacationing to Boston and Portland, Maine. While we are in Boston I hope to get tickets to the BoSox game and visit Harvard since I plan to go there for for my PhD work. One of those statements is not true. I will let you figure it out. I am looking forward to the relaxing atmosphere Maine will provide and the tradition that will be evident in Boston. Many people probably think we are weird for going on vacations to the northeast. That's OK, we are not the beach bum/Disney World type. More power to you if that is what you like. It just is not for us. I hope you (readers) are able to have a vacation that fits you this summer. If you would like to share your plans, please do.

PRIVILEGE OF LEARNING

I guess I will be ready to finish school when the time draws near. I guess I will be more excited when I can tell someone how close I am to finishing my degree. Right now I am not. I choose to recognize what I have right now as special. It is a privilege. There are few people who get the opportunity to be exposed to the depth of knowledge presented before me. I do not want to wish away my time here so I can hurry up and be done with it. I did that too much in my undergraduate experience. I took it for granted and did not fully expose myself to the once in a lifetime opportunities to expand my world. I realize that graduating is important to celebrate as an accomplishment, but I am not going to spend my whole time here looking forward to finishing. I am going to spend my time here soaking up all the chances to learn that I can. So please do not tell me how ready you are to graduate. Tell me something that you learned recently. Tell me how your world is being expanded and how God is shaping you. If you are getting none of these, why are you here after all? A piece of paper? I realize the importance of getting a degree to get into the "real world" to make a difference. The requirement of the degree is there for a purpose. All I am saying is to take advantage of the privilege set before you to learn.

FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES

Three of our downstairs neighbors are going to be moving soon.

The Shrock's are currently directly below us and soon they going even further down where everything is bigger- Waco, Texas. Chris, if you are reading this I expect a signed copy of your first book (with a dictionary and thesaurus). Chris and Danielle have been some of our closest friends here and we have done a lot of things together. I even visited Tulsa with them. I haven't told them yet but the other day I dropped a gallon of milk and the majority of it ran down into a pitcher they had outside, and some in their plant (whoops). Chris was the second person I met on campus on my visit.

The first person I met on my visit was Jason Whaley. The Whaley's are great people and are just moving off campus for a bit until they move to a really low place-Australia. Jason and I share a love for soccer, it is his fault that I injured my knee the second time because he coerced me into playing. OK it is not really his fault, but it has got to be someone's fault other than my own. One of the most memorable moments with the Whaley's was our picnic lunch, that was a good time. And how could I forget Jason and I entertaining the Coming Together crowd.

James and Andrea Wood have been on campus a shorter time and they are way across the courtyard so we do not share as many on campus stories. Although, it is worthy to note that James and I agreed on something Wednesday night. They are moving up and to our left across the country where they will be planting churches and coffee beans.

I am going to miss my friends below us. Harding community has been great so far. Nicole, I hope you are not crying.

ERIN THE KNITRESS

If you know Erin then you will find this hilarious. She has been reading a book that takes a humorous view of knitting. It is titled "At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much". As Erin was riding the stationary bike this morning she actually read this-"You know you knit too much when you seek out forms of exercise that you can do while knitting, such as riding a stationary bike". This is the exact reason Erin rides the stationary bike rather than running. She is currently working on a project that is not conducive to the stationary bike, hence the reading of the book. Traveling to hear knitting authors, reading knitting books, and fitting descriptions in knitting books. I am married to a hard core knitter.

I AM NOT IMPRESSED

I have been thinking lately about busyness. I think that the way people most try to show their importance is to tell someone how busy they are. I always hear the answer "staying busy" to questions about what is new with them. Sometimes people just come out and say "I am so busy" as a way of trying to impress other people. If you are planning on impressing me please do not tell me how busy you are. Instead, tell me how well you manage your time so you can spend time with your family, serve God, and rest your body properly. Tell me how you make sacrifices to cut things out of your life. That would impress me. Some people are busier than others. There are people with many more responsibilities than me. I am still not impressed by the fact that someone is busy, so please do not tell me that and expect me to be impressed. Prioritizing things in your life is much more impressive to me. Maybe this is easy for me to say since I currently do not have as many responsibilities as other people. Maybe I am just lazy. It could be that I am on to something. What if everyone slowed down and prioritized, cut things out of life that do not have to be there (have to would need to be taken for what it really means)? I wonder what that would be like. It would probably impress me more than hearing about being too busy.

AFRO MAN

It took a long time to pick out this 'fro.

TECHNOLOGY TAKE-OVER

Today as I usually do, I watched Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN 2. Along with sports they often have pop culture and non-sports related content just for fun. This morning they had an on-going discussion about how technology has phased out some things the prior generation was used to. Some examples were VHS and Audio tape players. They went a step further and were brainstorming what would be replaced next. A few of the topics were CD players (I would say discman CD players are already gone in the way of the iPod), maps, and even paper money.

Some things I have noticed that are quasi-fading out are land-line telephones (which we do not have) and cashiers at grocery stores. I think the conversation started with the discussion of the "Blackberry PDA". I am not sure what all this can do, but I know it can email, instant message, obviously serve as a phone, and today I learned the more advanced ones can even be set up to pick up cable or satellite television.

So my question is: What is the next thing to be phased out due to our super fast advancing technology?

CUBS (MURPHY'S) LAW

136 Million dollar injury, two promising pitchers, a bad home fan, and an error. What is next?

SNOW BALLS, TWO STRIKES

Another two games struck from the scoreboard in Cleveland. Nothing says baseball like snow accumulation.

THE REAL BILLY

This morning it has been announced that the next basketball coach at the University of Kentucky will be Billy Gillispie. Although, I don't know much other than what I researched this morning, he sounds like a class act.

He will look good in blue, that may help his bachelor status.

IF I RULED THE SPORTS WORLD

This is such a great thought. I wish I could write one of my papers on this subject, I could go on and on about this. Since there is a limited amount of space one can write a blog without losing readers, I will try and keep this short. Here is a list of things that I would change about sports in no particular order.

*I would train basketball referees on all levels to call intentional fouls when they are intentional. Grabbing someone at the end of the game when your team is down three is an intentional foul. The intent of the play is to foul to stop the clock. Hence the intentional foul.

*Left-handed power hitters (e.g. Bonds, Giambi) would learn how to bunt. When the third baseman is playing shortstop there is no reason not to push a bunt down the line. I guess you can tell I am a NL/Billy Beane guy.

*The mid-range jumper would be developed and a "mid-range jumper specialist" would exist. Kind of like the three-point specialist but at a way higher percentage, like 75%.

*NBA players would either play tougher defense or go to a 3 on 3 game in which frequent dunks are expected at a high rate.

*Soccer would be more appreciated. More of the elite athletes in the US would choose to play soccer and the US would compete with national teams in Europe.

*Tickets for all sporting events would be cheaper and free for kids under 10.

*LeBron James would have played four years for Kentucky. That would have been great as a UK fan.

*No guaranteed contracts. That one is for you Bob.

*And the obvious...the Cubs win the World Series.

NEW JOB

Just a quick post to inform the readers tomorrow is Erin's first day at her new place of employment. She will be doing design at The Renaissance Group. We are excited because she will be bringing home six digits. Not really. We are really excited because she gets to work a Monday-Friday week in a good work enviroment. I think this will improve home life and that is good.