Monday, March 24, 2008

Easter

I love Easter. Is there anything more special for Christians than a whole weekend dedicated to the remembrance and meditation of Christ's sacrifice and then salvation that we have in Him?

This weekend was even more special, however, for a different reason. My grandfather, Ron Durham, passed on to Heaven on Good Friday. I'm sure it was the best Good Friday this long-time preacher and missionary ever experienced. To see Jesus' face on that special day would be unspeakable. In a way I am jealous of Granddad, not that I wish to leave Earth before my time is up, but that he is experiencing something which I can not ask him about.

You see, for a long time he has been a source for me of Biblical knowledge. Thankfully he passed so much of that down to my dad, but I will miss going to Granddad for interesting questions and insight. I actually can't put into words how much I will miss him.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Easter Shoes

Do you remember the Easter shoes you would get especially for the church service you were going to attend? I used to get a new pair of dress shoes every Easter, and they were typically patent leather, sandals, and once Easter was over, I would have a new pair of shoes.

Well, unfortunately, now that I have my own children, I can only afford to get them new Easter shoes. However, if I was going to splurge a little on myself, in total appreciation of the gift of everlasting life, I would buy these.

Of course, I think Jesus would approve. Don't you?

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Interesting Article from Suburban Christian

I stumbled upon this great blog by an author and worship pastor. This article is about culture and Christians creating an inviting and exciting culture to attract people. All via Dungeons and Dragons...

Read on...



Also, the chart at the bottom is hilarious.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Jack Johnson

His melodic songs are perfect for unwinding. I highly recommend the iTunes essential Jack Johnson if you're looking for some calm and relaxing music.

The only thing to complete this unwind session would be a beach, a sunset, a fresh margarita, and a cabana boy.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Los Suns?!?!


While watching the Suns game on Sunday afternoon with the wonderful Erik (now that he is back state-side), I noticed a small change on the Spurs uniform. Indeed, I read "Los Spurs" on the front of the jersey. I asked my dear husband, "What is Los Spurs?" I thought maybe it was a tribute to someone who may have died. Maybe they were putting the names of the players on the front...but I didn't remember any player named 'Los' on the Spurs.

Imagine my utter disappointment when Erik explained to me that the NBA put LOS on the Spurs and Suns jerseys to appeal to the Spanish speaking Americans!!!! Seriously? Then why not change the whole name on the jersey to Los Sol and Los Espuelas? Wow. How dumb do they think we are? Seriously, as if changing "The" to "Los" is going to help our standing with the Hispanic population. Was it ever really damaged? Did the NBA abandon or give offense to Hispanics by something earlier in the season that would necessitate this?

I am tired of all this pandering to one specific group or another. Please, don't put 'Los' on something and call yourself a good person.

However, YEAH SUNS! :)

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Exactly

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many
others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat, and was very much in favor of 'the redistribution of wealth.'

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the addition of more government welfare programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.

Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, 'How is your friend Audrey doing?'
She replied, 'Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties, and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over.'

Her wise father asked his daughter, 'Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.'

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, 'That wouldn't be fair! I have worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!'

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, 'Welcome to The Republican Party.'

Thursday, March 6, 2008

March Madness

It is madness out there. I'm not usually all that fond of March Madness because I'm not a huge college basketball fan. I like Basketball, but I prefer the pros. That is, unless, THE SUNDEVILS are in the mix!

For the first time in a long time, ASU might just make the tourney. I can't believe it, but they're 8-8! And then, there's the Wildcats from Northern Mexico. They may not make it at all, for the first time in 23 years.

Of course, UofA will probably be invited to the NCAA tournament. They are like the Notre Dame of College Football, they get invited because of what they represent, in UofA's case a long-standing tradition of winning seasons and a legendary coach.

So, it's madness all the way around. But for me, GO DEVILS!!!!

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Annual Visit

Yesterday I had my annual visit. In case my readership is not made up entirely of women, I won't go into details.

The point is that as I was driving to my Dr's office, I realized I was excited to see her. Her being, Dr. Schwartz. The attachment I have with Dr. Schwartz is strong. And entirely on my side. She delivered my babies! Of course I love her!

I think something happens between the mother and the obstetrician at the time of birth. The Dr. sees the woman monthly, at least, and then weekly as delivery approaches. There is a camaraderie, a sense that this person really gets you. Understands the pains of pregnancy, listens with care to concerns, encourages you to keep up the good fight! I know it sounds a little hoakie, but I developed a this sort of feeling with Dr. Schwartz, so the annual visit is not just to make sure that I'm a healthy woman, but also to review the wonderful relationship we have because of the birth of my babies. Their birth-days were the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Well, I wouldn't say we were friends since I only see her once a year. But she's a constant in my life, and there are some friends that I don't even see that often.


Monday, March 3, 2008

Cameron's Blog

Cameron Smith, a co-worker of Erik's, who is on the trip with him, has a great blog about their trip with video. Please take a few minutes and check it out.

Word of the Day

Tonight, at Bunco, I was admired by my friends for having a large vocabulary. Of course, I was a little embarrassed, but at the same time a little honored. Like the one time when one of my friends said that "I dumb it down" at Bunco. Well, I didn't think I did, but the compliment was nice! :)

Anyways, in the interest of helping my dear Bunco friends increase their vocab (no, we are not going to have a spelling test) I thought every so often I would post a Word of the Day.

Today's word is recherche \ruh-sher-SHAY\, adjective. Okay, how fun is it to learn a new adjective? They are by far the easiest to plug into your daily life. Recherche means exotic, uncommon, rare, excessively refined, pretentious.

Interestingly, it comes from the French meaning to search or look for. And that's similar to research. Hmmmm, research and rare/uncommon, that makes sense.