Elohim Eli Attah

recent discovery

2011-04-09T21:44:00.003-04:00

i've recently discovered agatha christie and i love reading her stuff. so far, i've only read murder on the orient express and am around halfway through death on the nile. when i read fiction, i usually pic sci fi but have been known to read some mystery. the funny thing is, i've read newer stuff like dan brown but don't like it nearly as much as older mysteries like sherlock holmes and now agatha christie. there's just something about these classic sleuth stories when solving the crime depends on deduction and clues without all the action. it seems to me that in dan brown and other modern mysteries that i've read, the author basically discloses the crime and criminal occupying the reader thereafter with action of the criminal being chased or chasing the next victim. in these classic stories, however, the entire point is figuring out the who/what/when/where/why/how and in christie's novels so far, every single character can be a suspect...i love it. if you've never read agatha christie, definitely try her out.

until the next post...

sports fan

2011-03-28T00:40:00.002-04:00

i've always loved sports and used to play a lot of sports. my favorite, as most who know me can tell you, is college football. however, over the years, i've begun to really enjoy sports that aren't as common in the states. for instance, i absolutely love watching aussie rules football...so fast paced and fun to watch. they show it on espn3.com and it's awesome. also, we have a channel called universal sports that airs rugby and it's so much fun to watch. i guess it's no surprise that i like these considering how similar they are to each other and to american football but most people don't know or watch them so it's kind of unique i suppose at least in this country. anyway, if you get the chance and like american football, give these a shot...you'll be a fan.

until the next post...

randomness...

2011-03-22T17:46:00.002-04:00

a few random comments today:

-baseball season is about to start and i love it. i used to think baseball was boring but the older i get the more i can appreciate the game...not to mention that living in a baseball crazy city where the red sox are year-round conversation helps.

-my small group started reading the problem of pain by c. s. lewis and i love it so far. it's been a long time since read lewis and i've forgotten how inspiring his writing can be.

-just got contacted by the state treasurer's office telling me a former job is closing out a pension in my name and sending me the money. it's not much but hey, free money.

until the next post...

happy st patrick's day!

2011-03-17T08:32:00.002-04:00

to continue with the positive attitude, i wanted to take today, and probably other historically significant days, to tell an uplifting story. as you can guess, today will be a short version of the story of st patrick.

born into a wealthy british family in the 5th century, he grew up a catholic. while a teenager, irish raiders kidnapped the rich patrick and shipped him off as a prisoner for about 6 years working as a shepherd and rekindling his christian faith. this led him to pursue the priesthood after his release from captivity and his eventual return to ireland as a missionary and here is where i think the best part of his story takes place. patrick employed not only traditional methods of outreach by traveling from church to church encouraging and teaching irish believers but also using locally known traditions of celebration and adopting them to the gospel story. for example, he would take the celtic spring celebratory bonfire and have an easter bonfire to introduce nonbelievers to the holiday. he also used the very powerful irish pagan symbol of the sun by placing it behind the christian cross creating what we know of as the celtic cross.

i know this is a very abbreviated version but also very cool because like paul, st patrick became all things to all people in order to better spread the gospel message and apply it to those he was ministering among. we could learn a thing or two from him...persecution, personal growth, and doing what it takes to work best within his situation. very cool stuff.

until the next post...

back to the blog...

2011-03-14T00:40:00.002-04:00

i decided, inspired by wallace, to get back to the blog for the first time since last summer. i suppose not too much has changed in that time and quite frankly, i just haven't felt like blogging. however, recently, i was talking to jen about a couple of blogs we frequent and how there are almost no positive blogs out there. this conversation got me thinking about my own little corner of the web and how negative i've been in the past ranting on different topics from time to time and so i decided to begin blogging again but only if i had something positive to say. as you guys who know me are thinking, "adam, you're not exactly mr. optimism..." well, that's exactly why i'm doing it...to put more optimism out there. i'm not sure how often i'll blog but i'll go for once a week and see how it goes...i'd rather just write when i feel like it as opposed to set a specific number.

for my first go, i wanted to write about something i've been thinking about lately because it's happened several times to me in the past few months...i love it when i remember something i enjoy but have forgotten about it. i don't know if anybody else can identify but this is one of my favorite parts of life. for example, a few months ago, jen and i started from season 1 of the x-files and have loved it. i'd forgotten how great a show that really was. another is i've rediscovered breakfast in the past few months as well making it a regular part of our weekends...we go big with eggs, toast, pancakes, bacon, fruit, etc. and it's awesome. another is star wars...i've recently watched these again for the first time in probably a year or so and still love them. i could name more but you get the idea...it's so much fun to stumble back onto a former pleasure. has this ever happened to anybody else? feel free to answer if you want...

until the next post...

2 wows...

2010-06-15T16:15:00.003-04:00

first "wow" = i didn't realize how long it's been since i've posted but i suppose i just haven't had too much to say lately. still not too much so i'll move on to the second...

second "wow" = i had some time this afternoon and decided to tune in to the SBC annual meeting and just want to say, "wow, what a mistake." i mean, seriously people, take money and do outreach, it's that simple. why spend 20 minutes arguing over calling it the cooperative program or something else? why spend 20 minutes discussing the semantics? why even bring this up to a vote in the first place? i mean, isn't doing missions why the church exists in the first place? i just don't get all this political crap and it irritates me highly. no wonder the unbelieving world laughs in the faces of christians and wonders why they should turn to God. no wonder other christians look down on the sbc. no wonder sbc churches are on the downturn. they can't even agree on whether or not to pursue outreach within the US and around the world! is this a surprise to anyone that is or has ever attended one of these annual conventions? the messengers can't even agree on a title much less on any action...why are they making it this complicated? it's so very simple according to the Scriptures and here it is...go out to the unbelieving world and tell them about Christ. that's it.

until the next post...

more santa barbara, wedding, and san diego...

2010-02-15T21:51:00.016-05:00

it seems my last few posts have rotated between christmas and the wedding in california but we got so many shots i wanted to share several and thought it best to spread them out. so, here are a few more from santa barbara, the wedding, and san diego.

the santa barbara coastline

awesome cliffs

shore outside of the tent after the wedding

san diego (insert anchorman quote here)

baby panda...how could i resist?

koala...awesome

jennifer's good...all her idea

i love the faces of elephants...there's something old and wise in them

camel hair...antelope's love it

sunset in san diego

another shot of the sunset

until the next post...

more christmas pics!

2010-02-06T23:12:00.007-05:00

as promised, here are a few more pics by my much more professional and talented cousin-in-law, jason. these turned out great and it was an awesome opportunity to take advantage of all 32, yes i said 32, of my extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, grandkids, and great-grandkids, being together for the first time in several years to my memory. most of the time, i was the absent one but not always. it seems that for the last few christmases at least a couple of people were missing but not this year. so, without further adieu, i present pictures of my mom's side of the family. enjoy...

the middleton clan

grandparents and grandchildren

the great-grandchildren

alabama gothic...sorry, couldn't resist.

the entire brood including spouses...count'em, 32.

until the next post...

jessi and matt's wedding

2010-02-01T16:14:00.015-05:00

as some of you guys know, jennifer's long time friend, jessi, was married last weekend in california. the wedding was absolutely incredible and beautiful, second only to my own. just like jessi, it was completely unique and complex so i thought i'd tell you about the wedding and then post the pics so here we go.

the wedding took place on a ranch outside of santa barbara and was the perfect setting for what jessi had explained to jennifer as a country wedding. the land was decked out with trees, a barn, and ocean locations perfect for how the ceremony and reception took place. we arrived by shuttle bus to the barn where the ceremony was held and were offered cider...it was a cool day so that was nice. after milling about for a while, we took our seats and the wedding began complete with a bluegrass string group that played everything prewedding from rock to classical and then played the classic wedding tunes for the ceremony, which was simple with jessi walking the aisle alone and she and matt exchanging vows. after they were announced as man and wife, a gospel group entered from the back, began singing "go tell it on the mountain," (one of jessi's favorites) eventually changing the lyrics to "the wedding day has come" from "Jesus Christ is born" and led us out in a processional complete with candles down a path to a beautifully laid out tent right on the beach for appetizers...awesome. after about an hour, we rode on a hayride, yep hayride, back up to the barn, which had been completely transformed into a banquet hall for the dinner reception, which was awesome. the entertainment began with a private concert by jim james of my morning jacket (matt has a friend in the recording industry and pulled some major strings), jessi's favorite band. we then had dinner, had some fun with a photo booth, and the country theme continued with a country band and square dancing, which was really fun. it was an incredible evening and as you can see if you know jessi, fit her perfectly with it's uniqueness and her southern roots. without further adieu, the pictures. by the way, i'll be posting more pics from our trip later...this post is just for the wedding.

see? i told you it was a barn.

interior prewedding...decorated with cotton flowers.

the altar continuing the cotton theme.

the first dance

the tent

bride and jen...best of friends.

matt and jessi

matt and jessi with pete and kimberly...friends from texas.

leaving under a tunnel of sparklers...very cool.

so, there you have it. if i missed something that you want to know about, ask me and i'll answer because i'm sure i forgot details some of the female readers might like to know. all in all, an incredible ceremony and celebration.

until the next post...

catching up

2010-01-11T14:35:00.009-05:00

i let myself get way behind and have some catching up to do on posting beginning today. hopefully, i'll be better about this in the future but i make no promises...anyway, as promised, i'll post some pics of our southern holiday adventures but first a bit about what we did.

jen and i headed south for the holidays and stayed about a week. the weather this year, unlike 2008, was actually seasonal and cool instead of 70's and humid so it made for a much nicer christmas. while with jen's mom, we hung out in bonifay and went to panama city beach and destin on day-trips for some last minute shopping. it was fun being back on the florida coast walking on the white beaches...much better than the so-called beaches up here. after a few days of bonifay, we headed west to mobile and my family, always an experience. this year kept up the reputation as we were in town for the annual christmas party on my mom's side of the family that for the first time in years, all of my cousins and aunts and uncles were able to attend at the same time! there were 30 of us but we managed to fit into a picture that i wish i had a copy of but don't...i've emailed my cousin in law who was in charge of that for a digital copy (you know who you are) so hopefully i'll be able to post that up soon. anyway, we spent christmas getting to know my new niece and adjusting to having a little one around at the holidays. she's so cute and fun! all in all, it was an awesome time to head south and see both family and friends. we love living in boston but sometimes we do wish family was closer...maybe one day.

jen's mom...the best mom in law ever!

ok, so this wasn't exactly from our trip home but it was good pic. who does she look like?

yep, another christmas card picture but seriously...look at that face...how could i resist?

my grandma with the newest of her 7 great grandchildren.

proud nana!

proud papa!

until the next post...

update soon

2010-01-05T23:28:00.002-05:00

i know it's been a while but new posts are coming soon along with some pics from the holidays. i'm just waiting on getting a few pics from dad. if you're still checking in, hang on! it's coming!

annual fall trip

2009-10-22T18:11:00.016-04:00

every fall, jennifer and i get out of the city to check out the leaves and visit places we've never been. this year, we decided to do something a little different and head through upstate new york into canada and back around lake ontario. we had the week because jennifer's mom had planned on coming up but couldn't (don't worry...she's fine...it wasn't anything major) so we took advantage of the time. it ended up being an awesome trip through niagra falls, into toronto, then lake placid, and back to boston via vermont. here are a few shots beginning with niagra falls, then the cn tower in toronto, a couple from the toronto zoo, and into the lake placid area.

until the next post...

the laugh...

2009-09-04T09:29:00.003-04:00

through the years, i've been extremely blessed to have had incredible friends, most of which i still talk to because of the internet...best invention in my lifetime. i've also managed to keep my best friends from growing up. this group of guys, you know who you are, has been around in basically every experience of my life...high school, graduation, college, wedding, etc. and although not all of them have been at every event, it's still a very rare thing to have had friends from childhood that you still know and talk to regularly into your 30's. well, this weekend, i have the privilege of reconnecting with one of these friends face to face for the first time in close to 15 years. this reconnection spurred memories from childhood, high school, church, and countless other times making me laugh out loud randomly over the past few days but let me go into a tangent here...i remember random things about people: smells like cologne or their cars(a certain roommate and his glacier bay), favorite movies, and pet peeves just to name a few. i know it sounds weird, but i do and one of the things i remember about my friends are their voices...all except this one whom i'll be reconnecting with this weekend.

for the life of me, i cannot remember the sound of his voice. you see, he was the quietest of our group not talking very often and frankly, between the others of us, he probably wouldn't have been able to most of the time anyway. don't get me wrong, he would talk to you and had his moments but most of the time, he was the observer. however, i do remember one sound...his laugh. he might have been quiet in conversation but get him laughing and it was one of the most boisterous, intoxicating, contagious laughs i have ever experienced...and he laughed a lot. i specifically remember one time in high school when i introduced him to the utter joy that is weird al yankovic's movie, "uhf". i had never heard him laugh so hard or loud as when he watched that for the first time and it was awesome...i'll never forget it. and i'll never forget his laugh.

so, while i'll hear and probably from now on remember his voice after this weekend, when i think of high school, what i'll remember is the laugh.

until the next post.

more pics...

2009-08-26T23:13:00.011-04:00

i couldn't resist putting up more pics from the trip. so, the first time i posted some of the sights you'd expect to see...empire state building, statue of liberty, etc. this time i wanted to put up some of the sights you might not expect. the first three are from the met, one of the world's great museums. the next are just some pics from around town.

two lamassu from nimrud circa 2200 bc...awesome. these represent deity, royalty, and imperial power and would have intimidated those entering the palace.

two tablets from roughly the same period as the lamassu written in cuneiform, the first non-pictograph alphabet. the bigger represents a religious tradition involving a scapegoat later adopted by the israelites. the smaller is a portion of the mesopotamian flood myth from around 2200 bc, written about 1000 years before moses left egypt. this myth is common throughout all literate ancient societies of the near east.

a collection of artifacts from ur, the city of abraham. as can be seen here, ur was a major metropolitan area of much wealth and according to the bible, abraham was one of the priviledged.

random door in brooklyn that actually had alice above the doors.

wooden escalator in macy's...i'd never seen one before. the steps, rails, and sounds were wooden...very cool ride even though it was just an escalator.

doors of trinity church reminiscent of the doors marking the beginning of the renaissance. exterior doors contained biblical scenes, like this of the resurrection. the interior scenes of revolutionary politics like washington attending church and the inauguration in new york.

fire house literally across the street from the world trade center site...still active by the way.

throughout the main building of ellis island, there were unrenovated walls with grafitti from immigrants who had stayed there. i loved this drawing of the ship, probably the one used to travel across to america.

interior of the statue of liberty. i love the staircase.

until the next post...

guess where we were...

2009-08-24T23:40:00.015-04:00

that's right, we were in new york city! we've been planning on going down for a while but just haven't had the opportunity until this year. actually, it was kind of a last minute trip but well worth it. we had a blast! we went to the top of rockefeller center, ellis island, the statue of liberty, brooklyn, central park, the met, museum of modern art (moma), and times square just to name a few of the things we did. we were only there for a couple of days but packed a lot in. these are just a few of the pics we took while there...we took over 300. there were just too many sights to pass up! i've posted a few of the expected sites here like the statue, empire state building, washington square, etc. but will post a few of the other shots in another post. i've labeled a few that you might not recognize off hand and just to let you know, the shots from above were from the top of rockefeller center.

if you ever get the chance to go to nyc, take it...it's a cool city, although we still like boston more. and while you're there, go to grimbaldi's in brooklyn...best pizza in the universe.

the macy's in herald square

brooklyn bridge from brooklyn

the arch in washington square park

the registry room of ellis island...around 5,000 immigrants processed daily during operation

until the next post...

a few more pics from mt auburn...

2009-08-04T15:19:00.005-04:00

mt auburn

2009-08-03T23:44:00.010-04:00

as some of you know, i love old cemeteries and there are plenty to explore in this area as you can imagine. one that i recently got around to seeing is the mt auburn cemetery, which is not very far away in west cambridge. i'd heard of this place but for whatever reason had never been over there but i will be going back. it's an incredible place with an awesome view of the city. just to give you some background history (you had to know this was coming) mt auburn is the oldest cemetery of the style we think of as a cemetery. what i mean is, it's the first american memorial gardens type cemetery instead of just a burial ground...basically, the first cemetery in this country designed to be regularly visited by families to admire the gravestones and remember the dead. this concept didn't really exist until the 19th century and so it's a relatively new concept. so, while it's not an extremely old cemetery, there are some older than the 19th century as part of the grounds were previously in use, it's a beautiful place. many of the gravemarkers were designed by leading sculptors of the day and created as art so they are beautiful and unique in their own right.

it was built in a wooded area with natural ponds and wildlife designed to keep these aspects in place so as you walk around, there are trees, ponds, birds, and may other creatures. the day i visited was a gorgeous, sunny day and as i walked around i saw robins, sparrows, other birds, turtles, squirrels, a ground hog, ducks, a chipmunk, a heron, and a rabbit. i didn't get pics of them all, they move pretty fast, but i took a few pics of the grounds and of the skyline as seen from the tower hill in the middle of the cemetery. just a side note here, wallace, you would love taking pictures here...so many wildlife and sculptures. i will be going back because although i was there a couple of hours last weekend, i don't think i covered half of the place. here are a few of the pics i got.

until the next post...

response...with a better title...

2009-07-18T21:11:00.002-04:00

First of all, thanks for all the comments. I’ve really loved reading everyone’s opinions and reading the discussions between people of differing religious, moral, and political views. Secondly, a couple of you mentioned the title of this post and commented on it so I will too. I fully admit that I used it to get your attention because I knew it would draw attention. I knew when I wrote it that the post was more about physical defense than gun control but wanted to attract attention…there you go. as for the other several comments about what I wrote about staying out of politics, I meant I don’t write about it on my blog because my opinions are personal and my reasoning isn’t always as well thought out as I’d like so instead of shooting off the cuff, I just keep it to myself. The way I see it, if I can’t intelligently speak, then I’m not going to because sometimes I don’t like this or that policy or politician but have no logical or intelligent reason and so don’t mention it. it’s not that I’m neutral, a coward, or anything else. The only reason I brought this up this time was to get different perspectives of something I’ve been thinking through lately and maybe cause someone who reads the post to question why they think/believe what they do because so many times we have ideas but don’t know why. so, if the post has affected discussion and provoked thought it was successful. Now on to the response.

I fully believe that I would react back physically if attacked and would use a weapon if I had one and an armed attacker came at me. I do think that if criminals knew there were no arms or the possibility of being threatened that they would, at least for a time, be more prone to attack with force because they would still remain armed. I wish I could say the police and laws are sufficient to fully protect society but reality is they cannot stop all criminals and attacks will happen. I also think gun ownership for the purposes of hunting and sport are perfectly good reasons. I have and will continue to own guns, although for now they’re at my parents’ house, for those very reasons. The point of this post was to discuss what the bible says about personal protection.

No matter what my actions would or would not be, I think the bible says we are to turn the other cheek and avoid physical confrontations. The beatitudes in Matthew speak of being the peacemaker and I think this is the true call of the Christian. I think Jesus’ rebuke of Peter was aimed just as much at his physical attack as it was to the events that were to come. I also think that simply because we have a right to do something does not mean that particular action should be undertaken by a believer. We should constantly filter everything, including laws and rights, through a biblical lens. I also think we often get patriotism, being American, and having individual rights confused within Christianity. How does Christianity equal having rights? The way I read it, we are called to give up our rights for the sake of others on a daily basis.

I also think we could talk about this forever and never have everyone agree but I’m glad I could provide a forum for discussion. I think I learned some things and had ideas challenged, which of course was the point in the first place. I didn’t set out to argue or change anyone’s mind but instead to bring about thought and contemplation because often, at least for me, until I put an idea out there and hear other sides and perspectives, I don’t truly examine it. There are several sides to issues and putting them forward like this allows for them to be presented. Again, thanks for the comments and responses…it was fun.

Until the next post…

is gun ownership christian?

2009-07-17T10:27:00.005-04:00

as you guys who read my blog every now and then know, i tend to avoid political discussions as much as possible. i do this because politics are a private matter of personal thought. also, political discussions tend to be negative and discouraging and i don't want to have that type of blog. i want to encourage, uplift, entertain, etc. those who choose to take a glance at my meanderings. however, every now and then i feel the need to express opinions on politics mainly to ask a question or two and to hopefully spawn you to question your own ideas. this post fits into this category. in the facebook universe, i have friends on both sides of the political aisle who feel the need to constantly put their ideals forward and post articles, notes, and other forms of their opinions. this is fine and frankly, part of the reason for the existence of facebook so i typically glance at the topic and read some of the articles if interested but stay away from commenting...until today.

i read an article in a christian magazine a couple of weeks ago which posed the interesting idea that many people argue so staunchly for beliefs that defending their faith and ideas overtakes defending God. they become believers in faith rather than in the Person, who should be the focus of that faith. to quote the article, "we have faith in our own faith rather than the God who transcends it" and while i didn't agree with everything in the article, i agreed that many christians are afraid for whatever reason to go against popular christian culture, which since the last half of the 20th century means the republican party. why the republican party is seen as the christian party or why there should be one christian one anti-christian party beats me but it is a truth of our culture. some of my christian friends defend the republican party to the point of agreeing with non-essential and at times non-christian ideals, at least in my opinion. they put the constitution forward as the standard of truth rather than the bible and defend decisions based on what is/is not constitutional rather than is/is not christian and i simply do not understand how exactly patriotism fits into christianity.

for instance, the idea of banning handguns has once again risen in congress and some of my christian friends on facebook have risen up in protest against it arguing the constitution calls for the right to bear arms, which it does. i have no problem arguing for what the constitution actually contains but are the ideas of the document eternal? is it infallible? at one point in history, the constitution allowed for segregation and slavery. at another point, did not allow women to own property or to vote. should we have not changed these points of the u.s. constitution? why does this document somehow supercede the biblical text? getting back to the specific idea of gun control, i've had christian friends argue more for it's protection than feeding the hungry or helping the widows and orphans, two ideas christians are specifically called to perform in the bible arguing the ownership of handguns is justified by the fact that criminals have handguns and we have to be able to defend ourselves but is this a christian idea? is a violent reaction to violent criminals the way Jesus would have reacted? would Christ want His followers to argue for gun ownership based on the fact that they desire to violently react against their enemies?

i would argue He would have the opposite reaction arguing in favor of gun control. you see, Christ lived in a violent society with violent crimes and also a period of history in which the government could detain and treat prisoners in any way they wanted. if i recall, He taught to love your enemies (Matthew 5:44) and turn the other cheek (Luke 6:27-36) when treated violently or unfairly. as a matter of fact, in the Luke passage, it specifically says if someone takes your cloak do not stop him...a direct contradiction to violently defending oneself. it seems that christians arguing in favor of owning guns for personal protection is the same as one of the disciples hearing Christ teach about turning the other cheek and arguing for punching the guy in the face as a reaction instead. also, didn't peter violently defend Jesus in the garden and get rebuked for the very action that christians who are pro-gun defend?

again, i avoid political posts like the plague but sometimes something needs to said even if i'm the only one who ever reads this post, i'll have a clear conscious knowing i defended what i believe the scriptures teach. i know this post is preachy and judgmental but in my opinion it needed to be said. so, think about your faith and God...is what you are defending biblical or traditional? and as the old cliche says, ask yourself what Jesus would do by comparing your beliefs with His teachings.

until the next post...

update...

2009-07-14T00:07:00.003-04:00

i don't know how many, if any, read my last post but just a quick update. i started in genesis and have been reading straight through hitting a couple of chapters a day. so far, i'm up to the 10 commandments in exodus and enjoying it. the cool part is that although i'm familiar with the stories and have read them at one time or another, reading so much straight through has allowed me to process it in a much more contextual way than i have in the past. so, i just thought i'd post that i'm reading the bible again and loving it. i suppose just knowing others know i said i was going to do something has been enough motivation to do it.

until the next post...

confession

2009-06-29T12:42:00.002-04:00

so, as you know if you check out my blog, they've gotten lighter in nature over the past couple of years. in the beginning, i wrote much deeper, more spiritual posts about theology, God, and christianity but went away from it because i felt i was becoming to critical and preachy about church and beliefs but those weren't the only reasons. the other is that i have gotten away from reading the bible on any sort of regular basis. this has always been a struggle for me, at least since beginning college but not for the usual reasons. for me it hasn't been a progression away from beliefs or faith but rather an overexposure if that makes sense. you see, i studied religion in college and then attended seminary for more theology and through these processes, the bible became a tool and textbook losing some of its mystery and frankly spirituality. the bible was a book read for class, referenced in research, and quoted on tests. for me, the more i studied at these christian institutions, the more the bible lost spiritual usefulness for me on a personal level and became instead an intellectual pursuit. after seminary, some of this came back for a time as i taught teenagers because things i took for granted they had never thought about and it pushed me to study on a more personal and spiritual level in order to prepare for their questions and thoughts...this time was a time of great growth for me personally and honestly, i grew more spiritually through teaching that group than i had in years...or sadly, since leaving. you see, the bible has once again fallen to the wayside for me. not because i've lost my faith, religion, or anything like that but simply because it just has...i can't quite explain it but i know i want a resurgence of that spirituality.

i recently read a book entitled, the life of pi, which is about the spiritual and literal shipwreck of pi. along the way, he discovers he is extremely spiritual and figures that God is too big for any one religion so he becomes a devout christian, muslim, and hindu at the same time. he sees God as having no limits and being mysterious to the point of not being contained in any one system but rather permeating all systems of beliefs. while i don't follow literally this idea, there is a bit of truth in that humans were created to believe in something and developed religions out of that desire for God so in essence, all religions are encompassing God...the difference is how they view Him and His story. i am a christian and will always be a christian believing in Christ as the way, the truth, and life with no access to the Father without Him but through this story, pi's faith and devotion led me to want to again pursue this so i'm publically confessing on my blog my recent decline and lack of a relationship with God so that i can have accountability because i figure the more accountable i am, the more likely i'll be to keep it up. not like an accountability partner because i'm not going to begin divulging my deepest, darkest secrets but rather i think that if people i know personally as well as contacts i have through the web like you guys, the more likely i am of having someone actually ask me about it.

i know i don't have hundreds or even fifty regular readers but those of you who do check in, i want you to know that i'm going to begin reading the bible straight through today and want to be asked about it. i don't have a plan as to how much i'll be reading or how long this will take me i'm just going to read some everyday. so, send me an email, facebook me, comment on here or whatever but ask me if i've read or am reading the bible. ask me about it...i'll be as honest as i've been here. i'm looking forward to seeing what will happen.

until the next post...

favorite thing #5

2009-06-24T22:15:00.002-04:00

next in my list of favorites is the back to the future trilogy. i absolutely love these movies...the story, characters, action, comedy, and everything else about them. the first one is my favorite of the three but i like them all...and can basically quote them all as well. i've liked these movies since seeing them in the theater when originally released and am a lifelong bttf fan. these are my "go-to" movies when nothing's on tv or i'm having a bad day. everybody has at least one of these movies and these are mine. what are your "go-to" movies?

until the next post...

another busy weekend...

2009-06-15T23:41:00.002-04:00

last week, one of my best friends came up for a visit. it was his first time to boston and we had a blast. i love showing people around this city, walking the freedom trail, and talking about history. although the weather wasn't perfect, it ended up being pretty nice and only raining either at night after we were home or in the morning before we left. it was an awesome weekend of catching up in person and hanging out in our awesome city.

until the next post...

quick update and favorite thing #4

2009-06-02T22:33:00.003-04:00

jennifer and i have been busy hanging out with her mom who flew home today. she stayed quite a while, around 2 weeks, so that she could take her time and do a bunch of stuff. she's been here before but had some things in mind like going to the newport mansions, hanging out at the harbor, trying a few restaurants we'd told her about, and just being in boston. it was an awesome time and as of 7:45 our time, she made it safely back to florida, a big feat considering the weather they've been having with close to a foot of rain in may. so, now back to where i was before her visit, the favorite things list. and yes, wallace, i'll post a few pics soon.

when i was in college, i was introduced to the science fiction book series ender's game and still love it. i had always liked to read sci fi but had never come across this series. after reading the first book, ender's game, i was hooked and am currently awaiting the newest addition to come out in paperback hopefully later this year. these books have it all: psychologically challenging characters, deep and intricate plots, action, spaceships, weightless battle rooms, aliens, and are fun to read. if you like or think you might like science fiction and haven't read these, i highly recommend this series...you'll be hooked.

until the next post...

favorite thing #3

2009-05-20T09:24:00.002-04:00

i'm trying to alternate between entertainment, food, and other things in this list so in honor of her visit, favorite thing #3 is my mom in law. i think i have the best mom in law in history. she's an incredible person, great friend, easy to talk to, easy going, and fun to be around. i'm so lucky and happy to have married not only the most beautiful and wonderful person but also to have inherited just a great second mom. she's up for a visit this week so i've been reminded again how much we like having her around...and no, she doesn't read my blog and i'm not showing it to her so this isn't a kiss up attempt...i promise.

until the next post...

favorite thing #2

2009-05-11T09:53:00.002-04:00

for the second installment, i wanted to change from food related, which i have a few more, to something completely different: an older british comedy called "good neighbors".

over the past few weeks, i've gotten into the habit of watching instant watch on netflix if jennifer is watching something on tv i don't like or if she's reading and i don't want to read because i can put on the headphones and not bother her outside of the occasional laughing. well, i discovered this show from the 70's about co-workers who are neighbors and one decides when he hits 40 to quit his job and become self-sufficient thus turning his otherwise posh middle-class house and yard into a farm complete with a goat, chickens and pigs. i highly recommend this show not only because it's funny but also because of this couple's outlook on life. i mean, back in the 70's, the last thing on people's minds was the environment and conservation so the cultural differences and attitudes are hilarious. not to mention, we can all learn something about being content and happy with our circumstances so check it out if you have netflix...it's on instant watch and also available on dvd.

until the next post...

catching up...

2009-05-07T08:50:00.002-04:00

a few posts ago, i mentioned that i'd post when we'd been to a good new restaurant and i'm behind on that so here we go. it's our habit to try one new place every weekend because we don't eat out often and there are so many restaurants so i'm a little over 3 weeks behind. the first place we went to was a neighborhood pub called the druid. good food and a cool neighborhood place. this pub is owned and staffed by irish who've relocated to boston so the accents help add to the atmosphere...definitely a cool place. another pub we've tried recently is also in cambridge called the field and jennifer said it was the best fish and chips she's had here, which is saying a lot considering how often she's tried that. it's a cool little place with a pool table in the back and a quiet family atmosphere, at least when we were there on a friday evening. i don't what it'd be like on a saturday night. the third new place, and the one that catches me all the way up, is umberto's in the north end. for you guys not familiar with boston, the north end is an italian section of town with about a million restaurants to choose from but umberto's is a destination. it's a hole in the wall in the north end open only for lunch but always has a line. they open at 11 and are dirt cheap with the big sicilian pizza slices running around $1.35 a slice. good stuff. they also had a couple of things i've never seen but are really good. one is an arancini, a fried rice ball with meat in the middle, which sounds bad but tastes really good. another is the panzarotti, a mashed potato and cheese fried concoction again sounding fairly gross but is really good. they also have a couple of kinds of calzones, which i'd also recommend. we've been twice but tried several things because we went with a friend and all ordered different things to try, a good idea at any new restaurant. so, if you find yourself in the north end around lunch, i highly recommend umberto's but expect to wait in line...it forms as soon as they open.

i'm also going to start a new "series" as it were on my blog. every now and then i'll be posting up a favorite thing and talking about why it's one of my favorite things in no particular order other than that's what i happened to be thinking about liking at the time. if this reminds you of anything, it should....what can i say, my wife is a huge sound of music fan. anyway, for the first installment:
favorite thing #1 = coffee
i've really over the past year or so rediscovered my enjoyment of coffee. in college, i really started drinking and loving the stuff drinking it with friends on open cottage/dorm nights and at our local spot, carpe diem. my favorite when not at home is still a mocha...chocolate and coffee...does it get any better? as for what i drink at home, i have a list of my favorites of regular, grocery store available coffees. one is dunkin' donuts brand...it's strong, deep flavors, and just good stuff. another is green mountain newman's own organics. this is the same brand they serve at mcdonald's and i just really like it. it has a very pure coffee flavor and you can tell it hasn't been overroasted, unlike a certain popular brand also available in grocery stores that starts with an "s"....yep, i said it. i like the specialties in-store but not so much the brew at home stuff. another commonly available favorite of mine is good ol' eight o'clock coffee. this is the brand my dad drinks and what i drank and still do when at my parents. i also get this at my own house. it has a good strong, rich flavor especially for being like $3 cheaper than the others i've mentioned. so, there you have it...the first of my favorite things.

until the next post...

yep, still here...

2009-04-28T15:22:00.002-04:00

i'm still here just to let you know. i just haven't posted in a while but thought i'd put up a quick update. our friend is back in town for his second round of DMin classes at Gordon Conwell. he'll be here for two weeks worth of courses since the rest of the year is spent with distance learning assignments. also, i finally passed my french language exam at school, which is a huge relief. as for jennifer, she's doing well.

i don't really have anything to say this week but thought i should at least post a quick update so you guys would know i do remember i have a blog.

until the next post...

back to being a colony...

2009-04-16T17:13:00.002-04:00

as all or most of you know, i don't post politically very often at all...i try to keep that out of my blog. however, i had to post something about the tea parties of tax day. first of all, i am all for protesting the government and letting your voice be heard because without this, we wouldn't have separated from the british empire and would probably be living in southern canada right now...of course, their economy is actually functional at this point but i digress. back to the issue, i'm also for protesting government overspending and letting your voice be heard on government budget issues but i have a question. i can't speak for everyone at the rallies yesterday but the majority i saw on tv, including both fox and cnn, were protesting taxes in general. more specifically, they were anti federal income tax and that led to think: if we didn't pay taxes, how would the government get the money it needs to function? also, would we continue state income taxes and just abolish federal? what about property taxes? what about sales tax? something would have to replace whatever is taken away because the government functions based on money and without taxes there is no money ie: no government but i don't think that's what was being sought at the tea parties. however, if you're going to protest, you should have another solution and i don't know what that is but would like to hear...how does a non-tax collecting government earn money?

until the next post...

yep, sounds like our world...

2009-04-04T16:11:00.000-04:00

hilarious...until the next post...

thoughts...

2009-03-24T00:27:00.003-04:00

as mentioned in the previous post, i've had some conversations recently that went along with things i've been thinking about over the past few months. these conversations have revolved around church. just to be clear, i'm talking about the local church not the Church as in believers. i also want to say that these questions are honest questions that have come out of different experiences and if you do comment, be honest with your answers because having sunday school answers would defeat the point of sharing ideas because we've all heard those before.

everyone knows that when asked why they go to church, most christians would answer along the lines of they feel they are "getting fed" and "growing" by going. they would also probably mention verses that include iron sharpening iron, not neglecting the gathering of other believers, and others along those lines we've all heard before.

over the past few months, i've gone to church in a couple of different states ranging from traditional southern baptist congregations to more contemporary congregations and tried to put myself in the place of someone who didn't grow up in church to view the experience from a different perspective and no matter the service type, the question of why am i here came up every time. i found myself looking around at the people wondering what the point of this gathering was and what they were getting out of the experience. it's been interesting but honestly, mostly negative. for instance, in one service, the pastor read a few verses and talked about something that was completely unrelated without mentioning them again to the point where if you changed venues and took out the readings, could have been a speech of some kind at a business dinner. at another service, the experience seemed so disconnected from the outside world, if i didn't grow up within the tradition, i would've wondered why these people were living in a bubble speaking a different language. there were other experiences that led me to want to know more about the bible and God and what christianity is all about based on the intensity felt in the service. anyway, it's been a very eye opening experience to go to church trying to understand why the church is there and what it would be like if i didn't believe.

i'd like to hear any thoughts you guys have about this but be honest and don't respond with the church answers. 1) why does your church exist based on what goes on each week? is it a club or a place of worship? would it be the same experience if there were no spiritual words (motivational, feeling good about yourself, etc.) or would it cease to make sense? 2) is the gathering together of large numbers of christians what the bible had in mind? 3) what would someone not raised in church that doesn't believe think about what's going on? 4) are church services fulfilling the biblical calling of christians as missionaries? just think about these questions and respond if you want.

until the next post...

quick update and more claire...

2009-03-17T22:32:00.006-04:00

no, this isn't going to become a blog about claire but since i didn't get good pics with her eyes opened, i got a few from keith this week. also, one that only keith would make...as for the quick update, not alot going on right now. jennifer and i are doing well working and going to classes. we've found a few new restaurants we really like recently. since there are so many restaurants in this area that are local and not chains, we go to a different one every weekend. the cool part is they aren't expensive either...i love living here. anyway, one we visited about two weeks ago is this pub with incredible burgers called sullivan's. these things are huge! it's like they got a half pound of burger and don't bother to make it into a patty...just kind of ball it up and cook it to perfection. this place is good. another is a cambridge place that's fairly well known called the garden at the cellar. good hot sandwiches but the most surprising part was the tater tots. yep, i said tater tots but these aren't your elementary school tots. this restaurant basically balls up mashed potatoes, coats them in what i think are potato flakes, and fries them. they are absolutely delicious. i think when we go somewhere really good, i'll give it a nod on the blog from now on.

in other news, we're starting to get our summer schedule put together and it looks as if we'll be busy with visitors again this year...and we still love it. it's so fun to live somewhere people actually want to see. right now, we have our seminary friend coming back for his 2 weeks of dmin classes, jen's mom, one of my best friends, aaron, and friends from p-cola who sang in our wedding, brian and leticia. i also have a few things i'd like to post that i've been thinking about and talking with a few friends about but those thoughts can wait. for right now, enjoy a few more pics of claire.

until the next post...

claire

2009-03-04T16:45:00.007-05:00

as promised, here are a few of the pics from my visit home. it's incredible how much she has already changed since those firsts pics in just three weeks! keith and jennifer seem to be adjusting although constantly tired. also, jennifer said she underestimated how much work a baby would be but doesn't mind. my parents are extremely excited and hover constantly when claire is around always trying to take her and hold her. luckily, i could play the "i live far away" card and so won out most of the time. keith is also hilarious because no matter who has her, every two seconds he is there touching her and watching over her. also, i've discovered it's hard to photograph a baby because unless sleeping, they are in constant motion. claire is also too young still to respond to you so you can't make her laugh or smile for a picture...you just have to do the best you can. anyway, it was a fun visit home to see her...enjoy!

(i love this one..."who are you and what are you doing?")

until the next post...

the brattle

2009-02-20T22:44:00.002-05:00

when jennifer and i moved here, one of the first things we did was look around for movie theaters since that's a way we like to pass the time. we found a theater in harvard square called the brattle that offered unique film experiences like reshowing old movies, having directors introduce their work (like wes anderson for one), and showing independent films. it's an old movie house that began life in the late 1800's as a playhouse and has basically been a center for stage and screen since its founding changing hands but keeping the original structure with the exception of adding a balcony in the 70's. since there is only one screen, they only show one or two movies at a time lasting about a week or so in run time. for whatever reason, we haven't had the chance to go until tonight but it was an incredible experience.

jennifer loves old movies and since being married to her, i have come to love them as well. one of her favorites is the 1934 capra classic It Happened One Night and that was showing this weekend at the brattle so we went to dinner after work and then to a movie. it was one of the greatest date nights i can remember because of the movie and theater experience. the theater has definitely held onto its old feel having an actual stage with the movie screen recessed at the back. they were playing music from the 30's as you entered to help get you into the mood. i felt as if i needed to be dressed in a suit, fedora, and overcoat to watch the movie because it really was like travelling back to the 30's. it was also an incredible experience to watch a film that old on the big screen with all the imperfections of an old film including the crackles, gliches, and sound issues. however, these all helped the ambiance and i loved it. in an age of digital theater experiences, this was a step back to simpler times when movies were a classy novelty and still held the magic of moving pictures before everyone had multiple televisions with high def and cable or satellite.

until the next post...

baby claire

2009-02-11T15:47:00.007-05:00

keith sent me a few pics of claire today so i'm posting a couple of them for you guys to see. i'm still getting used to the idea of keith being a dad...i don't think it'll sink in until i'm down there in a couple of weeks and see it in person...sorry but she doesn't have her eyes open in any of them but i'll get a couple when she's a little bigger in a couple of weeks and maybe staying awake more often.

until the next post...

it's official!

2009-02-09T20:35:00.003-05:00

it's official, keith and jennifer are parents! as of 5:27 p.m. central time today, my brother has a daughter, claire katherine. i've gotten pics on my phone from mom but none to post yet but will as soon as possible. she's a little over 7 pounds and about 20 and a half inches long and healthy. jennifer is doing well...as a matter of fact, i talked with her earlier when mom called and i got passed around her room. she sounded surprisingly well for someone who had given birth just a couple of hours ago. so, an update for you guys. as i mentioned, i have seen a few phone pics but nothing worth posting yet. however, as soon as i get some, and i imagine it won't be long, i'll put up pics.

until the next post...

a question of motivation...

2009-02-04T14:56:00.002-05:00

in the dark knight, alfred and bruce are talking about how to stop the joker. bruce says that criminals aren't complicated, we just have to figure out what he wants. alfred tells the story of a bandit stealing jewels who, when caught, said he got rid of the jewels because he just thought robbing the caravans was good sport. he then states, "some men aren't looking for anything logical like money. they cannot be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. some men just want to watch the world burn."

the last couple of weeks, it seems every sermon i've heard at church and my old church from texas' podcast has been about spiritual warfare in some form. temptation, the Ephesians armor of God verses, and the devil himself. these sermons have talked about the importance of christians to be prepared for temptations and such because they come constantly from every direction. they've discussed satan's character and how he seeks to destroy and disrupt christianity. however, none of these sermons have spoken about satan's motivations for his actions. why does he want to interrupt christianity? i looked up verses and they spoke of character, things he did, etc. but none mentioned motivations. they did, however, talk of the devil himself believing the truth of scripture and knowing his fate. why then knowing he was doomed with no way out would satan continue to harass christians and attempt to control the world? i began looking up theologians and theories reading what's been said and came up with he wants to postpone, hopefully inevitably, his final judgment. this seems weak because there is simply no biblical evidence to back it. all the bible speaks of are his original motivations for going against God, what he did to to try to disrupt Christ at the beginning of His ministry, and how he distracts christians. as i've thought about this over the past couple of weeks, i came up with an idea based on this scene from the dark knight: what if the devil, knowing and believing his fate is sealed based on the bible, roams the earth in destruction and deceit out of spite simply to be an agent of chaos very similar to the joker in the movie?

in the movie, the joker comes across vast sums of money he uses to his own ends but then he destroys the extra not caring about being rich. he proclaims himself an "agent of chaos" caring about nothing but causing confusion and destruction. what if this is satan's motivation? the bible speaks of him knowing his fate and believing in the truth of this fact so what other motivation could he have besides being ticked off to the point of wanting nothing more than to destroy as many people and as many lives as possible before his time comes?

i know this is a more serious theological topic than i usually post but i've been thinking about it and would love to hear what you guys think so leave me some comments or email me.

until the next post...

quick update...

2009-02-02T08:59:00.002-05:00

i haven't updated in a while so i thought i would. actually, i didn't mean it to be this long...i was planning on starting a series of entries called "places i've lived" stolen from a friend's blog, with permission, but unlike him, i can't find pics on google maps of any but one of the houses i've ever lived in. it had pics of the neighborhoods but would miraculously skip over the street or part of the street i lived on. why that is, i don't know. anyway, i'm still wanting to do this because of the great stories marty has told and the possibility of conjuring up some memories of my own. i'll try to get some pics from my parents when i'm home in a few weeks so i can do this.

speaking of being home, i'll be there for part of my spring break to meet my niece, claire katherine, who's coming sometime at the end of this week or the first part of next week. i can't believe my brother will be a dad that soon but it's happening this week! crazy! i don't usually go home this time of year but this is a definite exception and i've got to admit, i'm kind of excited about being an uncle although i was hoping for a boy to teach to love the red sox. oh well, can't get everything i suppose.

until the next post...

snow

2009-01-18T22:51:00.007-05:00

so, instead of just putting up pictures, i decided to make a video of the falling snow today for all of you who've never lived where it snows inches at a time. starting late saturday night through around 1:30 sunday afternoon, it snowed almost 7 inches at our place and then another batch began around 9 pm and is supposed to add up to around 3 inches tomorrow. i brushed and shoveled both cars earlier so hopefully tomorrow there won't be much to do in that department. anyway, enjoy the pics and video.

until the next post...

wildlife in the city...

2009-01-12T21:12:00.003-05:00

last weekend, i was hanging out at home reading and saw this on the neighbor's roof. it absolutely blew me away and made my day. this was one of the most beautiful birds i've ever seen not in a zoo! it was incredible to see this guy in the middle of cambridge. nature knows no bounds, i suppose. he stayed up there long enough for me to get a few shots of him before disappearing into the wild blue yonder. although he made incredible pics, what you're not seeing is the bird he's eating that's in his talons just beyond the roofline...the power and beauty of nature in the middle of an urban environment...i love it!

until the next post...

christmas story #3

2008-12-31T01:06:00.007-05:00

well, this one isn't so much a story of a specific event but more of the changing family. you see, there have been two baby girls born in the past 8 months to two cousins and a third coming to my sister in law, jennifer, in february. so part of being home this year was hanging out meeting my new cousins and seeing some ultrasounds of what is to be my niece. it's always exciting to have new ones around and this time especially so since being around gracey and shelby brought out my parents' grandparent instincts, which was hilarious. they are so ready to be grandparents and they'll soon have their chance. claire katherine, to be born in february to keith and jennifer, doesn't have a chance! she'll get all of my mom and dad's attention and have them wrapped around her finger. as a matter of fact, she already does! mom's spare bedroom is full of clothes, toys, and a playpen/crib already! so, as promised, here are the pics in order of age. i'll also put the parents' names as a few of you know my family.

this is gracey, the oldest at 8 months. she's mindy and dave's first.

mom and shelby, the second oldest at about 2 months. she's josh and quinn's first.

and last but not least, jennifer, keith's wife, with what will be claire katherine in february.

so, there you have it. the new additions to my extended family and source of entertainment at christmas dinner. it's awesome to see how excited my parents are getting and how much they are looking forward to it. i'm glad jennifer and keith are the first grandchild since they are so close to my parents. i mean, if we ever have a kid, my parents will be excited but i don't know if we'll ever live close again so i'm happy my parents' first grandparent experience is to a granddaughter who lives so close to them.

until the next post...

christmas story #2 (marty, you'll love it)

2008-12-29T20:46:00.003-05:00

i know the first story was pretty depressing but it was part of the trip and i'd been thinking about it. however, this one and the next are anything but depressing and actually, this one is funny so without further adieu, here it is...

as per the course, when jennifer and i were at my parents' house, we made the rounds to all of the relatives. basically, mom has a schedule for us everyday of who we'll see when, where we'll be for lunch, and when we'll get back home again that night with every minute filled. it works out to see everyone but gets tiring after a couple of days. well, anyway, one of the day trips was to my aunt and uncle's place in fairhope to see their grandkids, my cousins' kids, who all four happened to be there. once there, we heard them before we saw them in the back bedroom playing rock band. now, for you guys living in a cave, rock band is a game on wii and other systems that includes up to four people playing guitar, drums, bass, and singing along with rock songs mainly from the 90's but it has different versions. the version they had was the basic one with mostly mid to late 90's stuff including foo fighters, nirvana, and oasis. here's where the story gets surreal. jennifer and i stand behind my cousins, the oldest of which is 12, singing along and playing guitar to these bands and it's hilarious...they have no idea what the songs mean nor do they care...it's just a game. we, however, do know the songs and are laughing our heads off. then it gets even weirder. i'd heard my dad had played this game with them and was actually pretty good but he started singing along to the songs! not only that but the particular song was nirvana, smells like teen spirit! at this point, jennifer and i lost it! we were laughing to tears watching my 7 year old cousin playing guitar and dad singing nirvana! needless to say, hearing my minister of music dad singing "when the lights out it's less dangerous, here we are now, entertain us" was one of the strangest moments of my life but one of the funniest.

well, marty, there you go. i knew all of you who've ever known my dad would laugh at this but you most of all...

until the next post...

christmas story #1

2008-12-27T14:10:00.002-05:00

as promised, i have a few stories from our time at home to relay to you guys. i also have a few pics but because we typically forgot our camera (as wallace cringes), i have to scan them in because i have a few from mom's camera that we printed out so those might come last. they relate to a different post anyway so it works out.

this post is a bit depressing but something i thought a lot about during our time at home. everything changes including cities and pensacola is no exception. for you guys that don't know, pensacola, florida is my official hometown although these days i don't know many people still living there as most of my friends have moved on. that's where i was born and lived until college and will always consider it home to a certain extent at least. over the past few years, i've been hearing about how pensacola has been heading downhill economically speaking but haven't had the chance to see until this trip. it lies right in the middle of jennifer's parents and mine and we had the chance to pull off the interstate on our way from her family to mine for a few hours since my parents were busy most of the day we were getting there and wouldn't be home until later and we had to get a couple of last minute gifts. as we drove through some of my old haunts, i could tell the economic downturn of the last few years had taken it's toll. there seemed to be nothing new being added and many things closing. fewer restaurants, movie theaters, and stores than there used to be. i have to admit that it was kind of depressing despite the fact i had been looking forward to the detour. the city looked like it had taken a turn for the worse and wouldn't be recovering anytime soon. it was sad to see the city that i had grown up in and loved suffering but i suppose that's more common than not these days and most places are feeling the pinch.

i know this is a sad story to relate but i've been thinking about it since the visit and wanted to get it off my chest. the other stories are definitely more uplifting and fun and include pics so keep checking in.

until the next post...

back from our visits...

2008-12-26T10:58:00.002-05:00

man, what a crazy week! although we both love our families, it's always nice to be home, sitting on the couch, and just watching tv without worrying about which relative is coming over or which we're running off to see next. so, as you can tell, we went to see our families over the past week. we started at her parents, which tends to be low key because her family is spread all over the place and doing their own things with their own kids so we end up hanging out with her mom and going to the mall occasionally. my family, however, is a completely different story...

so, after spending a few days with her mom, we were off to mobile for the time at my parents'. we got there sunday evening and they were still at church and had a few moments of quiet time. now, before i get into this, i don't want you to get the impression that i don't like being around my family because i do. it's just that the way it ends up being gets very hectic with no time to just sit and be if that makes sense. if it doesn't, it will shortly. anyway, we get there about 30 minutes before my parents get home from church. well, a few minutes after us, my brother and his wife show up. then my parents appear and it begins. the next few days were spent with half our time in the car and the other half running in various relatives' houses to see aunts, uncles, cousins, and babies...makes me tired just to think about it. there was literally no time to just kind of hang out and relax because once we left a house we were off to another visit. like i said, i love seeing family but doing it in full on sprint mode is very tiring.

however, despite the chaos, we had a good time, saw some relatives, and got a few good gifts to boot. all in all, it was a good trip back to the southland and good times with family and a few friends we got to have dinner with one night. this is not the end of christmas posts though so don't think you're off the hook. i've got a few specific stories to relay over the next few days so keep checking in.

until the next post...

christmas...

2008-12-17T11:17:00.002-05:00

i love this time of year. i love the decorations, the weather (at least when it's cold and not raining), the music, and the birth of Christ. i also love the changes in people because it seems people are happier this time of year for whatever reason. some are happy to get a vacation. others to get presents and some to give them. some people are like me and happy because everywhere they go is decorated with holiday music playing but whatever the reason is it seems to me that in general people are happier. i know there are exceptions, especially this year with the economy in the tank, but overall our country gets into a pleasant mood.

i know there are as many reasons for this change in people as there are people and i know that very few of them are happy because of what Christians are celebrating as opposed to reasons like presents and family but i don't care. in all likelihood, Jesus wasn't born in the winter anyway but the spring (not to mention we should celebrate this all year). also, would God be upset with being happy to be with family, friends, and give things away? the consumerism of christmas at least in the US is insane i realize but the motives for it aren't all bad...buying things for others. if we could just refocus this motivation on buying practical and useful gifts to those in need then that would be perfect and i think God would love it. also, i personally don't think God minds us buying things for each other...but we definitely go way into excess.

so, as we reach this time of year yet again, look around you and take notice of more smiles and better moods....it's a rare sight these days. and be in one yourself. also, don't preach to people about their consumerism because unless you never buy anything for anyone, never go out to eat, never spend a penny on anything you don't need...you are right there with them. besides, giving presents isn't the worst thing you can do...at least it's giving. as a matter of fact, if everyone was generous to everyone else all year, there wouldn't be homeless, needy, or hungry because we'd give to them like we give to each other this time of year. the killer is the excess to which our country pushes people and that's the sin in the scenario. so, remember to hang out with friends and family, give a couple of presents to those in need, and enjoy the season.

until the next post...

new post to come...

2008-12-10T09:11:00.002-05:00

this is just a note to say i haven't forgotten about my blog but i've got a lot on my plate right now because it's the end of the semester. although no finals, grad school rarely has tests if ever, i'm working on my final papers for both classes which may not sound like much but believe me are time consuming. anyway, as soon as i'm finished, next week sometime, i'll put up a new post and update for the holidays...if any of you have been checking in a disappointed, hang in there...it's coming...

until the next post...

i can't believe...

2008-11-21T10:05:00.005-05:00

so, i thought i'd do a list with a theme. i didn't get this from anyone but while thinking about what i was going to put in this post, i kept having thoughts of things that i can't believe are happening so i thought i'd invent a new list. feel free to go with it and do an "i can't believe..." list on your own blog...or not if you don't want to.

1. i can't believe how much i've changed since college.
2. i can't believe there's a show called the pick up artist about making out with girls in clubs and getting their phone numbers with no intentions of calling them hosted by a guy named mystery who for some reason always has world war 1 flying goggles on his head.
3. i can't believe it's already thanksgiving.
4. i can't believe i've lived in boston for over a year.
5. i can't believe how many people i've reconnected with on facebook...who knew?
6. i can't believe people are still talking about obama being a muslim...he's not, let's move on.
7. i can't believe how many christians are more adament about praying for obama because he's wrong that never mentioned praying for bush even though he got our country into two wars while still managing to ignore the african genocide and the american economy.
8. i can't believe praying for leaders isn't automatic no matter who they are.
9. i can't believe christians have forgotten the verses that God puts leaders in place so guess what? biblically speaking, obama is God's man for our country no matter if i or you agree or disagree with him.
10. i can't believe how hard of a time i'm having of coming up with good christmas gifts this year...i don't know what my grandma wants!
11. i can't believe before a couple of weeks ago, 10 years had gone by since i'd seen my college roommate...i can't let that happen again!
12. i can't believe i've not owned "a christmas story" on dvd until this year...i love that movie!

so, there are a few "i can't believe..." statements i've been thinking about lately...feel free to comment, copy the list on your own blog, or just ignore it.

until the next post...

in the news...

2008-11-10T12:01:00.001-05:00

check out this article...and we wonder why christianity is losing numbers yearly...good grief...

until the next post...

here we go again...

2008-11-04T12:42:00.004-05:00

cynical title for an election day entry but that's how i feel. i mean, i know they literally count every vote but not every vote impacts in the same way. why can't i live in a swing state? when i lived in florida, it wasn't a swing state but the first election i voted in a different state, it was suddenly the most important state for voting. i was in texas for the next two elections in which i've participated and the winner was known before the candidates were finalized. you see, in texas, all that matters is party and the party is republican. no matter what the candidate says or does or who he/she is, no matter the criminal acts commited, the republican won. i now live in boston and it's the same idea but the other way...the democrat always wins.

i don't think i'll ever live in florida again or in any of the other swing states for that matter (considering they are places like iowa and missouri) but it'd be nice to live somewhere that my vote impacted the outcome. i know voting matters and my vote has been counted in both texas and massachusetts no matter if i were in the majority or minorty (i've been in both but i'm not telling who i've ever voted for except i did vote for joe scarborough in florida once when i was in high school b/c he came to my class) but it'd be nice to think that my vote had an impact on the outcome of the election because i've never had that because the outcome of every state i've ever voted in was predetermined...oh well, i'll still vote no matter where i live or who i vote for.

until the next post...

catching up...

2008-10-26T17:26:00.002-04:00

well, for you guys who read wallace's blog, this post will be basically a copy of his recent post but i don't care...i want to post it anyway. saturday, jennifer and i had the chance to hang out with wallace (my college roomie) and his wife, dee, for the day around downtown boston. they're in the states from ireland and in boston visting with dee's sister and husband. we went out to the harbor, had some chowder and north end pastries, and walked around fanueil hall marketplace. it was awesome to hang out and catch up. like wallace, i can't believe it's been 10 years! that's way too long! we keep up with each other through email and blog sites but haven't physically been around each other in that many years. i had a blast talking about our current lives and reminiscing about college life like how i spent way too much time getting my butt kicked by wallace at warcraft and mariocart. i forgot my camera, which i regret, but you can see pics of them on his site here.

anyway, wallace, i know you're reading this so hopefully, we'll see you guys next year in ireland and thanks for letting us show you around the city we love!

until the next post...

wonder...

2008-10-16T10:25:00.002-04:00

the other night, after flipping through all of the channels on cable to no avail, i was on my broadband internet with my macbook while looking for new songs for my ipod touch using the genius sidebar after hanging up from a conversation on my cell and something dawned on me...our society has completely lost its sense of wonder. nothing gives us the sense of awe anymore because we have seen and done everything or so we think and even when something is completely new like the new 3g, smaller and faster laptops, or whatever other comes our way the reaction is the same..."cool, look at what this does...when is the new one coming out again?" back in texas, i taught a bible study group of teenagers and the generation gap although not huge, was enough to demonstrate this even more...they held assumptions that i hadn't even dreamed when i was their age. for instance, all of them had cell phones, ipods or some other mp3 player, and everything else you can think of without a second thought to how they exist, why they work, or any sort of amazement...just sort of expected to have it. i don't think, however, that this mentality of our society is limited to teenagers but rather spread throughout all age groups even those who grew up without computers or anything like my parents don't even think twice about using email or whatever.

i think this attitude has spread throughout every aspect of society into politics, religion, and every other part of life to which some form of cynicism can be applied. we've invented our way out of any sort of surprise or amazement. i once read about an ancient inventor from Greece who developed machines for the temples that were very complicated coin operated machines that amazed crowds by starting/stopping fires, flowing water, and other actions that seem primitive to us but struck awe for the gods to the ancient crowds. these days, God is seen as unneeded and archaic because we've lost the sense of awe for who He is. i know most of you know this but the priests held such wonder for God that they believed they would die if they worshipped in a way unpleasing to God. the prophets preached God's wrath on those who disobeyed in the things like adultery, wrongful sacrifice, or anything else which remotely went against the law. we expect and accept leaders to act in this way without even discussion of divorce much less the wrath of God. the psalmist saw God in every turn of seasons, the falling rain, birth, death, and many countless natural wonders. my problem, and i expect i'm not alone, is that i have lost this to the point of walking down the street and not even looking up at the birds flying around or the leaves on the trees. i ignore people around me no longer realizing each person is an individual creation made in His image, whatever that means because i don't know. listening to a couple of songs the other day, the words were incredible and led to my thinking about this. the songs are by nicole nordman, to whom i don't usually listen but jennifer does and they were put into one of my lists by the itunes genius sidebar so i listened to them. the lyrics are some of the best i've ever heard and i wanted to share them with you guys so here they are. the first is from a song called "small enough" and the second is from a song called "every season":

Oh praise and all the honor be
To the god of ancient mysteries
Whose every sign and wonder
Turn the pages of our history
But tonight my heart is heavy
And I cannot keep from whispering, whispering Are you there?

And I know you could leave writing
On the wall that’s just for me
Or send wisdom while I’m sleeping
Like in Solomon’s sweet dreams
I don’t need the strength of Sampson
Or a chariot in the end
Just wanna know you still know how many
Hairs are on my head
Oh great God (Are you small enough)
Be small enough to hear Me now

Every evening sky, an invitation
To trace the patterned stars
And early in July, a celebration
For freedom that is ours
And I notice You
In children’s games
In those who watch them from the shade
Every drop of sun is full of fun and wonder
You are summer

And even when the trees have just surrendered
To the harvest time
Forfeiting their leaves in late September
And sending us inside
Still I notice You when change begins
And I am braced for colder winds
I will offer thanks for what has been and was to come
You are autumn

And everything in time and under heaven
Finally falls asleep
Wrapped in blankets white, all creation
Shivers underneath
And still I notice you
When branches crack
And in my breath on frosted glass
Even now in death, You open doors for life to enter
You are winter

And everything that’s new has bravely surfaced
Teaching us to breathe
What was frozen through is newly purposed
Turning all things green
So it is with You
And how You make me new
With every season’s change
And so it will be
As You are re-creating me
Summer, autumn, winter, spring

until the next post...

pics...

2008-10-07T22:31:00.017-04:00

old montreal

notre dame in montreal

montreal stadium olympique and biodome

mmmmm, cabot cheese...

mmmmm, ice cream....

the town of stowe, vermont. random fact: the real von trapp family settled here after their escape and the descendants are still here.

i promised some pics so there you go. we went all over vermont and montreal going to ben and jerry's, cabot cheese, and a maple syrup farm so we basically ate our way across the state. it was an awesome trip...we both loved driving around finding covered bridges and fall colored moutain sides to take pictures of although there is no way these pictures even come close to the scenery in person. anyway, i hope you guys liked the pics and hope that one day every one of you gets the opportunity to experience a beautiful new england fall.

until the next post...

the weekend...

2008-10-06T23:14:00.002-04:00

this past weekend, jennifer and i went up through vermont and then on into montreal, quebec, canada. the foliage was incredible and we had a blast visiting the french side of canada neither of us had ever been to before. i'll be putting up some pics and more details about what all we did some time later this week when i get the chance so keep checking in!

until the next post...

breaking the rule...

2008-10-03T10:02:00.004-04:00

well, i'm breaking my rule and posting a politically related post but it's something that's been on my mind for a while. it's actually part of an email that i sent to a friend recently after having a conversation about politics. it seems christians are biopic in their view of politics choosing based on two issues....abortion and homosexuality. while these are important, there are other issues christians should be concerned with as well. where is my republicrat combination candidate that has views on both sides of the the proverbial aisle? my hope is this will start you thinking about issues and will push you beyond traditional, political boundaries in your decision making. i'm also hoping it will make your decision much more difficult because if it does, then that means you are thinking outside of traditional walls. thanks for letting me vent and enjoy...

you know that i'm anti-abortion but i'm also pro-life which entails more than abortions...i believe if you say pro-life it should mean all forms like being against the death penalty, being for ending the war, and also wanting everyone to have affordable heathcare. i know you're not mad at me and still going to talk to me so i'm not worried about it but i was just asking some other questions. trust me, abortion is keeping me from being gung ho for obama or any other democrat but republicans lack of concern over war deaths, poverty, the homeless issues, and wanting privatized healthcare that will do nothing but raise insurance and doctor bills seems to me to be just as much against Christian values as abortion. i know this is "controversial" in the Christian circles but these issues are important to me and i believe important in the bible as well...at least enough to be given discussion time but it seems all Christians have been trained to see in politics is who is anti-abortion and who is anti-gay. well, there are more issues than these that i think Christians should be concerned with and should look closely at the candidates about. reality is there is no perfect candidate and there never will be...we'll just have to keep settling but i just want to talk with my Christian friends and get them to see past abortions and homosexuals to see social justice as a viable issue which republicans are ignoring. when's the last time a republican tried to raise spending on social programs? when's the last time a republican supported a bill for easing poverty? the fact is republicans vote no on practically all of these types of bills and i think that should be considered when voting as well...these are complicated issues with complicated answers. also, my views have changed some on gay issues. i mean, i'm against the lifestyle and relationships, but at the same time, i wouldn't want someone to be refused medical treatment based on his/her being gay...that reminds me of the good samaritan and who is your neighbor debate. should healthcare be refused based on sin? if so, none of us would receive healthcare. why can an unmarried straight woman living with her boyfriend be given cancer treatment but an unmarried homosexual living with his boyfriend be refused? is there a difference in their sin? the answer is no there is not...only a difference in their social treatment. i'm against both of these lifestyles but would want both of them to be given healthcare and not have to suffer. i know this is a long email and has some heavy issues...i just want my Christian friends to see past traditional issues into other issues that should be just as important to believers and to really examine how difficult, gray, and blurred the lines of voting really are.

for a similar view from a much more prominent christian than me, check out donald miller's blog and his latest post about the election.

i'd love to hear some comments to see what you guys think...until the next post...

wisdom...

2008-10-01T00:04:00.002-04:00

as you guys know if you're a regular here, i don't post about politics but i'm making an exception. during tough times, i turn to the simpsons for what to do. some people think the godfather is the answer to everything like tom hanks's character in you've got mail but i think we can all learn a little something from homer simpson's philosophy of politics:

"the whole reason we have elected officials in the first place is so we don't have to think all the time"

so, if you're as fed up with the whole situation as i am, there you go...a way to approach it without feeling guilty or helpless because really by leaving the politicians alone, you're just allowing them to do their jobs.

until the next post...

ps: i'm just kidding

questions...

2008-09-20T14:07:00.002-04:00

some random questions...answer 1, 4, all, or none but think about them...

1.why are there so many different cnn channels? isn't one enough?

2.for that matter, why are there so many cable news networks when they all do the same things?

3.what makes college football so much more exciting than nfl?

4.how come christians interested in politics only care about abortion and gay issues? what about the poor? what about healthcare for children? what about economic policy towards corporations? what about the death penalty?

5.would Jesus even care about politics enough to vote?

6.what's your favorite bible verse and why? do you ponder it often? does it impact your life?

7.who are you?

8.are you who you want to be? if not, why?

9.is life too short?

10.is a financial planner worth the trouble?

11.why does the biggest city i've ever lived in have more mom and pop local shops and restaurants than smaller cities?

friends from the past...

2008-09-20T00:17:00.002-04:00

it seems like every now and then on facebook i get an influx of friends. i don't know why it happens like this but i think it's because one friend will find me and then a couple of people are friends with that person and either i'll find them or vice versa, and the process continues usually ending up with 5 or 6 people within a couple of days. well, just such an occurrence has recently happened. the last couple of days, a few guys who were in college or just out of it when i was in youth group have friended me. these were the guys we looked up to and wanted to be like at church so since they taught bible studies, disciple now weekends, and other similar youth experiences, we went to all of it just to hang out with them. now time has past and lives have changed but i wanted to let them know how i and others felt and feel about them because we still talk about those days. it felt great to let these guys know how we felt back then and now and how they influenced our lives and christian experiences especially since i never thought i'd get the chance to do so. if you are one of those guys, i just wanted to say thanks again.

on to other news, i'm back in classes and that means reading constantly. as a matter of fact, this week i read around 600 pages in one class and in the neighborhood of 300 in the other...not to mention the response papers to the readings. that sounds awful to most of you, i realize but i absolutely love it. i love history, reading history, and learning as much as possible. i've also started at the semitic museum at harvard and can tell you they take it seriously. a little background, it's an archaeology/ancient history museum with artifacts from israel, egypt, cyprus, and the hurrian peoples from around 1500 bc. i thought when i started volunteering there the "training" would be once a week and just about the things in the museum...i was mistaken. the "training" is actually a full blown class taught by phd candidates and professors with reading and a few writing assignments as well and i love it. last week, you guys will think this is crazy but it's true, we were able to hold some of the artifacts from around 1500 bc give or take and i was like a kid...i was so excited! that's what i love, where my passion is, and i'm so glad to be involved at the museum.

until the next post...

west point...

2008-09-12T20:32:00.008-04:00

as i mentioned a couple of posts ago, jennifer and i were invited down to west point for a concert by friends and went. it was actually a very good concert by the army jazz band and another by the concert band. apparently this concert is a very big deal and people were getting out early to set up picnics and make a day out of hanging out at west point and being there for the concert. well, we did the same and while waiting around, i got bored because i have the attention span of a 2 year old so off i went with our camera. i couldn't walk too many places but managed to get in a few shots from an area known as trophy point overlooking the hudson river. i also found and took a tour of parts of the campus including the beautiful protestant chapel so these are a few pics from that day. the top is of the campus from the road on the way there...beautiful hudson valley. the second is the original 18th century battlements from the revolutionary war. the third is of the chapel from trophy point. fourth is overlooking the hudson from trophy point. the fifth is inside the chapel and lastly the outside of the chapel.

until the next post...

deleted...

2008-09-08T16:18:00.002-04:00

i don't know if anyone saw it or not but i've recently deleted a post from last week. it was of a political nature and i've come to realization that i do not want to get involved in debates over who i like/don't like will or won't vote for so i've deleted the post. also, it was written in a rant rather than well thought out arguments and didn't deserve to be seen...as a matter of fact, it shouldn't have stayed up as long as it did. anyway, for those of you who may have seen it and are wondering why it's gone, that's why. feel free to email me if you saw it and have questions for me and didn't get a chance to comment or if you want to ask me about politics...i'll answer privately in more thought out ways but needed to get rid of the late night rant...not that my opinion is worth hearing but i figure if you read my blog, you might want to know my opinion. this isn't an apology; merely a retraction.

until the next post...

rest stop

2008-09-02T00:34:00.007-04:00

last weekend, jennifer and i were invited by friends of ours in new jersey to go down to a concert at west point. since we'd never been down there and it was a holiday weekend, we decided to head down. both visiting the campus and experiencing the concert were incredible because the campus is set in the middle of the hudson river valley in new york state a hour or so north of new york city in a mountainous area. needless to say, the outdoor concert set at the edge of campus overlooking the river was beautiful with great music and a really good fireworks show. i'll be posting some pics up later but for now, i want to tell about what happened on the way home.

after the concert, we headed back to boston. we were planning on staying over one night and did on saturday night but since the concert was supposed to be saturday and not sunday but was postponed, we ended up heading back right after the concert. so, it was about 11 when we began the trek. about 30 or so minutes into the drive, i needed coffee and she wanted the restroom so we stop off at the connecticut rest area where we are greeted at this late hour by boy scouts handing out free coffee and pastries. yep, i said pastries...these guys had everything you could think of including varieties of donuts, donut holes, sticky buns, honey buns, etc. while getting my free coffee, i asked the scout how long they stay out and how long they'd been there. he said it was a community service project and they'd been taking shifts since friday afternoon and were manning the booth through monday afternoon to serve drivers over the holiday weekend. this simple act of kindness by the boy scouts, and what else can you really expect i suppose, made an impression on me because it was exactly what i needed when i needed it. also, my mind began to brainstorm and quesiton why i'd never seen a christian/church group or individual ever do something similar because what an outreach. most of the time when things like this are taking place the group advertises free but really expects a donation, including christian/church groups. however, the scouts were simply serving although i'm sure they earned a badge of some sort.

after leaving the rest stop, it occured to me how awesome and simple this act of service would be for a christian group to do. i know not everyone is close to a 24 hour rest area but those that are could definitely serve in this way around holidays, weekends, etc. this also led my mind to wander beyond the rest area service and other free services church groups could do to simply help out their communities and reach out to those around them. my friends in texas could go downtown fort worth on hot summer days and give out bottles of cold water. my friends in the northwest could go to downtown seattle and give out ponchos on rainy pacific nw days and maybe even get some starbucks from the grocery store to make and give out. in the winter, groups can set up outside or inside shopping malls with hot chocolate and snacks. these ideas could go on and on.

i know these aren't groundbreaking ideas or even related to helping a specific group like the poor and homeless but simple acts of kindness can go a long way...i thought about those scouts out there with their dads all night all weekend with coffee and snacks all the way back to boston. so, i wanted to throw out some ideas i thought of and maybe begin a movement of simple kindness. it seems church groups and christians think ministry has to be complex, well designed mission trips to far off places or related to some form of charity. those experiences should occur and are incredible for building the body of Christ. however, focusing on these simple daily acts is often overlooked and i think churches and christians would make much more of an impact if more of them were out and seen in their communities as serving. just some thoughts and hopefully, this can spawn a few of these kinds of opportunities. i'll put up some west point pics soon.

until the next post...

portland and the wedding

2008-08-29T08:45:00.004-04:00

we got back tuesday night much later than expected due to a flight cancellation and being rebooked over 2 hours late but made it with our checked bag, which is incredible. as far as my brother in law's wedding and the trip everything up there went pretty well. there was some confusion about the ceremony itself because the coordinator didn't show up so i was at the front like i was told to be by the groom, the guys walked in from the side before everyone was even seated and then the music started with no sign of the bridesmaids. i was told later the groom had told them to walk in when the music started but they weren't paying attention to him or the music so someone had to get them and then when they did come out, one came out alone as in most weddings but the other two just kind of walked up together...a little rough i thought and very obvious they didn't know exactly what to do but everyone made it to the front then the bride came and from then on it was just fine...still don't know what happened to the coordinator. later, however, the missing coordinator became obvious again. the groom walked up to the cake and just announced "we're cutting the cake now. does anybody want to say anything first?" i later learned they were supposed to have a planned out time with a couple of toasts but that didn't happen very smoothly although the best man and my mom in law were able to say a few words. so, it became clear to me that even small, informal outdoor weddings need at least a little guidance otherwise no one knows what's going on. however, despite a few hitches, it ended up a nice little wedding and a fun reception with the groom's jazz band playing sinatra and other standards. as for the picture, i suppose the best man was getting a little bored but since they were all focused on the actual photographer and not me for some reason, it's the best i have. the mountain is mt hood, the symbol of portland, from a beautiful overlook that has a mountain in every direction.

as for the rest of the trip, we had fun with jennifer's mom and relatives who were in town. a cousin, her husband, and an aunt and uncle were able to make the trip up...it's a far trek for most of the family who lives on the east coast so they weren't able to come but it was very fun to hang out with the few who made it. hanging out with my mom in law was fun as usual as well. plus, just being in the mountains and having a change of atmosphere is always welcomed even though we love our city. another highlight was hitting powell's books, a massively wal-mart sized new and used bookstore in portland and finding a couple of awesome ancient history books to add to my collection, which was exciting. i love books and new "friends" are always welcome. so, all in all, a fun trip out west.

in other news, school starts up soon and i am ready to get back into it. i suppose that's it for this post...we may be going out of town this weekend so i might have an update next week but still not sure what we'll do...i'm not the planner.

until the next post...

out of pocket...

2008-08-19T11:27:00.004-04:00

just to let you guys know, i'll be out of town for my brother in law's wedding this week and therefore, not posting for a week or so. we're heading to portland, oregon for the next 6 days so no new posts and probably no answering emails but i might be able to break that rule...we'll be around internet at his house but we'll be very busy with preparations, relatives, and just hanging out in portland. so, see you in a week or so.

until the next post...

some pics...

2008-08-13T23:50:00.009-04:00

as promised, here are a few of the pictures from my parents' visit up here. the first couple are of them and us and the last few are one's that i took at a few of the different places we visited. all total, we went all around boston, plymouth, salem, marblehead, new hampshire, and maine. obviously these don't represent everything but i like them. all in all it was a good visit. they had fun and we were able to show off new england, which we love to do.

until the next post...

the "who am i?" question

2008-08-11T09:35:00.002-04:00

for those of you who have checked in with my blog over the past year, you may have noticed one of the ideas floating in and out fairly often is that of identity. mainly, i've talked about what i've heard in classes about ethnic identity, migration, and how people see themselves and then compared these ideas with christianity. this post continues with the idea of identity but in a new direction.

does anyone else find it hard to live true to themselves all the time? i know it sounds cliche like youth group "don't wear masks" and that sort of thing but i'm not talking about hiding what you believe in spiritually as in lying about being a christian around lost friends...i'm talking about personality changes depending on who you're around. for instance, you may usually be extroverted but find yourself very quiet around certain people or vice versa. appropriateness of the situation and public decorum aside, i'm not talking about situations such as acting professional at an interview and acting more free spirited around friends. i'm talking about how you use language and what types of words you use around certain people when you know deep down you're pretending to be someone you're not in order to fit in. recently, my parents were in town and i found myself being a different person around them avoiding certain topics, not expressing my real opinions or feelings as openly, etc. does anyone else ever find themselves in this situation? i know as a teenager, doing these things was normal and no one tells their parents everything but that's not exactly the same. what i mean is an almost complete personality shift almost like a superhero and his/her alterego. as in i know what they want/expect to hear so that's what i lean toward instead of being myself and expressing my true feelings or opinions. it's not just my parents i've noticed this around that's just the most recent example.

ninety nine percent of the time i'm perfectly comfortable with who i am and express opinions openly but there are still those situations within that one percent in which i'm reverted back to being an adolescent. where does this come from? why does this happen? i suppose the answers to these questions are extremely personal and different for each person but it's extremely frustrating. i know who i am and have perfectly valid ideas and opinions so why the intermittent feelings of insufficientcy? some probably out of self-preservation not wanting my ideas or feelings made to seem ridiculous or silly. some probably a lack of self-confidence because i really do fight with feeling inadequate most of the time. the root, however, i believe stems from a feeling that who i am is not good enough or important enough to be listened to or respected. this then leads to a passive personality which shows a person who truly is not worth any sort of respect and thus becomes a self fulfilling prophecy, an idea i have only recently given into. a frustrating cycle of events and one i have not yet fully to understand or reconcile...just thoughts to express at this point and probably something i'll fight forever.

however, despite these frustrations, the visit with my parents was fun and we were able to do alot. i'll be posting some pics up soon from the visit as well as a quick run down of what all we did but i just noticed while looking through the pics i didn't take any of them with our camera...i took plenty of them together with their camera but none with mine...i thought i did. oh well, i'll email dad and maybe get a couple from him of them and post those as well as a few of the shots i like from what i did take.

until the next post...

quick update...

2008-07-28T09:38:00.003-04:00

i thought i should give you guys a quick update on what's going on. i'll post an actually blog sometime later this week because i've been thinking about a few things i'd like to get out there but for now, this will suffice. thursday, my parents are coming up and staying with jennifer and i for the first time. in texas, they always stayed in a hotel so this is the first time they'll be in our place the entire time...that should be interesting. next, i was just asked to perform my brother in law's wedding ceremony and am excited. i've never done a wedding before so i've started putting together the ceremony and that should be fun.

and lastly, drum roll please, i just found out yesterday that i'm going to be an uncle in february! keith and jennifer are going to have a new addition in their house. they find out if it's a girl or boy in september and that's all i know right now.

so, there were several things to update and like i mentioned at the beginning, i'll be posting an actual blog later becuase i've had some things on my mind.

until the next post...

nantucket...

2008-07-19T22:55:00.006-04:00

last weekend, we were invited by a friend out to nantucket to spend the weekend in a house on the beach. it was awesome. jennifer and i had been to cape cod but never out to any of the islands so we jumped at the chance to hang out for a couple of days with friends exploring a new place, which is one of our favorite things to do. while the town didn't appeal to us, apart from the really good ice cream, the atmosphere of the beach was very relaxing and a welcomed change from the city. don't get me wrong, we still absolutely love being in boston but it's nice to get out from time to time to places we've never been. anyway, here are a few pics from the weekend...the pics do not do justice to the views.

until the next post...

prediction...

2008-07-19T11:36:00.000-04:00

so, an update is coming soon...i promise...

time for an update...

2008-07-07T13:59:00.002-04:00

so, over the last couple of weeks, i've been taking a few shots at a few places around boston. the bottom three pics are from a backstage tour of old north church famous for the hanging of the lanterns. however, the tour was a bit disappointing since it didn't go all the way to the top of the tower as advertised. however, the crypt was neat to see and incredible to think about there being over 1000 people many from the battle of bunker hill buried down there...a little creepy. the top three pics are from the 4th of july here in boston. they're in before, during, and after the fireworks.

st francis statue outside of the 18th century gardens at old north church. i absolutely love this statue and spend a few minutes looking at him everytime i'm there.

inside one of the empty crypts under old north church complete with two unused coffins: one baby sized and the other adult sized...creepy.

really neat veiw of the steeple from the side gardens of the church. i love the steeples at the many old churches around boston.

until the next post...

changes...

2008-06-25T00:16:00.002-04:00

one of the things i've learned on my journey with God is that He teaches me through themes that repeat for a period of time. admittedly, i am easily distracted and lose track of trains of thought quickly but remember through repetition. i suppose this isn't all that uncommon of a trait but it follows me into my Christian life as well. as a result, God repeats Himself in my life through circumstances until finally one day it dawns on me what He's been trying to get through my head. as you probably guessed through the title of this entry, the theme right now is change and has been for the last year...like i said, sometimes it takes me a while.

don't get me wrong, i've thought alot about change over the past year with moving across the country, starting a new degree, learning a new way of life and so on but while i've been consumed by changes in my life God wanted me to learn about changes in general and it finally dawned on me.

things change very quickly in life. just over the past few weeks i've gotten a new computer, a friend has lost a long time relationship, another friend has gotten engaged, a couple of others have had children, a friend's dog jennifer and i used to watch passed away, my brother visited without my parents, etc. i could keep going because for every minute there are changes except in one area. these are significant changes but you'll have to look closer for the most significant area of change that's missing...me. i haven't been changing. i haven't been seeking out change but have been content with life, circumstances, relationships, and have neglected one of the greatest gifts of God...growth.

God created everything with the ability to grow and change physically and mentally. you can teach dogs tricks. plants will grow upward and can be shaped as they grow. humans are not the exception rather the rule of creation...the difference, however, lies in our ability to recognize this change and seek it out. dogs will not learn to sit without leadership and will not seek out this behavior. likewise, you will never be walking through the woods and see a perfectly sculpted, naturally occurring elephant shaped shrub. humans, however, have the ability to initiate growth no matter how few actually take advantage of this opportunity me being one of these.

why is it that i've been neglecting one of the greatest gifts of God? laziness mainly....i can admit it. i've just been plain lazy. change requires effort and often results in more change as you gain knowledge. to illustrate, in my list posts somewhere i mentioned how i've changed political views, theological views, and personal views since college but it did not come overnight. i wrestled with and continue to wrestle with issues in these categories rethinking ingrained patterns and questioning personally held traditions seeking out value. however, lately i haven't been doing this, which is why God has brought it to my attention. He gave me the ability to think and i haven't been using it...that's sin. the result is a state of stagnancy inevitably leading to more laziness and stagnancy.

i need to once again question what can i learn from this? what is God teaching me here? where is the value and truth? i leave these questions broad purposefully in order to be applied to every area of life including everything from relationships and interactions to books to tv and music. God help me have open eyes to question and learn.

until the next post...

options...

2008-06-23T16:51:00.002-04:00

since moving here, one of the tasks jennifer and i have been up to is searching for a church home and this is no easy task. neither of us have ever really moved somewhere and randomly selected a church. i went where my dad worked until entering college, then went to the church my friends went to, and in texas went where i knew the pastor from pensacola. jennifer has followed a similar path except her dad didn't work in a church but she went where her mom went to church after her dad died when she was a kid. anyway, the point is, we've never moved to a city with no inclinations as to a church to attend and i've come to a couple of conclusions through this process. one is: there is only one 121 community church and it's in texas. in all honesty, that is a great place with great people and we will find a great place here with great people but not somewhere like that...mainly because we were in on it from the beginning and there every step of the way from 20 members in a house to over 600 a sunday when we left in about 7 years.

the second conclusion is this: it's really hard to find a balanced church. let me explain what i mean. it seems like everywhere we've visited caters to a specific demographic that pretty much makes up their entire membership. for instance, we've visited a couple of places we liked but like 80% of the church was college kids and we don't want that. we've also been to a couple of other established places that are more balanced but didn't feel like we'd fit in with the congregation because we were some of the youngest there. we have managed to find a couple of places that we continue to visit and are probably going to choose of these two but it's just a difficult decision because unlike any of our previous churches, we won't know the staff or any members or anything like that....just kind of going off of service and worship experiences.

anyway, that's what's happening in our lives right now so i thought i'd share these thoughts with you guys. we'd appreciate any advice, prayers, suggestions you have.

until the next post...

more pics as promised...

2008-06-19T23:26:00.009-04:00

i mentioned that i took more pics while visiting places with jennifer's mom and my brother and his wife but wanted to post pictures of the people first. well, here are a few of the others that i took while visiting some spots. enjoy.

until the next post...

back to normal...

2008-06-18T09:22:00.010-04:00

so, we've had visitors off and on for the past 3 weeks and i haven't had time to update but today's the day. first, we had jennifer's mom and soon after, my brother and his wife were here. (sorry, tj, i read the invitation wrong...i'm afraid you missed keith but jennifer and i will most likely be there saturday). needless to say, i need to update. we did and saw many things with them so without doing a play by play, here are a few selected pics from each of our visitors. i have many more pictures but i've chosen to show a few of the visitors themselves in this post. i'll put up some of my other more scenic pics later. next up: mom and dad the first week of august.

until the next post...

i haven't forgotten...

2008-06-05T16:52:00.002-04:00

just a note to let you know that jennifer's mom has been in town for the last few days and that's why i haven't been around. i'll post some pics and what we did when i get a chance after she leaves.

until the next post...

more pics...

2008-05-29T22:32:00.004-04:00

so, i've posted several pics this week for some reason. i think it's because i've discovered how much i like taking pictures. it's a challenge kind of like a game to find angles, lighting, etc. and i'm finding it's good to occupy someone like me with a short attention span because instead of just walking places, i'm constantly looking for what i think would be a good shot even when i don't have the camera. anyway, i played around with a few more settings and for some reason stayed on sepia this trip out.

until the next post...

night...

2008-05-29T00:14:00.012-04:00

i thought i'd play around with a few night shots just to see how they would turn out. i came out with a few good ones so here they are...

as i was walking down to the river, i came across this poster in an office window. extremely random but i think it turned out as a cool picture. it's proof God is in boston...and He's renting out office space.

it's kind of hard to tell in this pic but in the bigger version, you can see silhouettes of the boats out in the river blocking out the light reflections...neat effect.

i absolutely love this picture.

so, here's an attempt at night photography. i plan on practicing more so that hopefully in the future i'll get better, more creative shots.

until the next post...

beautiful day in boston...

2008-05-25T23:50:00.007-04:00

around this time of year, the arboretum here in boston comes to life with lilacs. they have special events on mother's day as the two events overlap and the flowers continue to bloom for a couple of more weeks and so are very pretty right now. since it was such a beautiful day today, jennifer and i headed out for an afternoon of flowers and photography...not as good as wallace's but it's an attempt...after all, i don't have the same equipment he does...although i wish i did...

until the next post...

let's see what happens...

2008-05-22T23:05:00.002-04:00

so, as you've noticed, i've been working on this list of facts about me...i've made it up to 60 but am attempting the challenge of 100 like wallace did so here we go again...

61. i went to my first red sox game in fenway may 17 and it was awesome

62. since living in boston, chain restaurants have become a novelty and jennifer and i only eat at them when we're out in the suburbs to fully live out the experience

63. i love everything christmas including the music, the movies, the weather, etc.

64. my favorite christmas song is little drummer boy...the idea of bringing what we have to offer to Jesus and His worship is an incredible concept...knowing whatever gifts we have no matter what they are can be used for God's glory is awesome

65. a close second is white christmas but only sung by bing crosby

66. i actually had my first white christmas this year in boston

67. my favorite christmas movie is without a doubt a christmas story...i watch it several times every year

68. i also love elf

69. when it's not the playoffs, i don't watch basketball

70. i secretly hope my computer completely crashes so i'll have an excuse to get a mac

71. i didn't appreciate ikea furniture until i moved to boston and actually needed it

72. i went through a phase in college when i didn't wear jeans for around a year or so

73. i went through another phase in college when i didn't drink anything carbonated for about an entire year

74. i love going in old churches

75. i love going in cemeteries....boston is a virtual gold mine of these

76. i've read more in the past 4 or 5 years than i'd read in all the years previous to that combined

77. making this list is harder than i imagined it would be when i started

78. my favorite number is 4...no idea why

79. i love oreo cookies and could polish off a pack in like 2 days if i ever bought them but i generally don't

80. my favorite flavor of ice cream is unavailable in boston...blue bell homemade vanilla

81. my favorite ice cream place is not in boston either...milwaukee joe's....they had dr. pepper ice cream...can anything beat that?

82. speaking of dr. pepper, that's the best soft drink ever invented

83. i am the only person i know who was completely bored with the movie once...go ahead, bring your wrath...it won't change my mind

84. i do not like character driven dramas with no plot or action...this goes back to #59

85. i have fallen asleep in the movie theater more than one time

86. i think basketball season lasts way too long

87. i sleep in ear plugs and have since i can remember

88. i'm a night owl and love staying up

89. i think a prerequisite for serving in public office should be a crash course in the history of whatever area you plan on governing in an effort to learn about and not repeat errors

90. i think our current president would have done well to have paid attention during the vietnam war so as to not do exactly the same thing again in a different country

91. i think those who seek power and rule should not have power or rule...the irony being those with the real wisdom to rule will never do so because they have no desire for power...they know better

92. i've been to a taping of the tonight show with jay leno

93. i want to go to a taping of conan o'brien

94. i believe history is cyclical and repeats itself within different contexts

95. i believe political and religious views of societies are pendulums never balancing in the middle

96. if i didn't study ancient history i would study military history specifically WWII

97. i love learning languages but hate taking language courses

98. i just got a new ultralight rain jacket and i love it...it has pit zip vents...very exciting

99. my favorite dessert is probably cookies

100. i am completely addicted to the new battlestar gallactica series but have only recently had time for it and so am still in the first season so no spoilers please

holy cow, i can't believe i did it but there we are...the last of the 100 facts about me...

until the next post...

continuation...

2008-05-20T12:26:00.003-04:00

i've decided to pick up where i left off so here we go...

36. i don't have a favorite food...i like too many to pick

37. jennifer and i went to our first fenway red sox game of hopefully many more last weekend...and loved it!!

38. my dream job would be to work in the british museum's antiquity department in london

39. i love the smell of soaps...basically any kind laundry, bath, hand, etc.

40. speaking of soap smells, i'm ADHD about scents and change what kind of soap i use practically every time i buy it. yep, that one's weird.

41. i'm easily agitated and have to constantly watch myself

42. i like makeover shows like what not to wear

43. i love being married and can't remember being single

44. i don't wish for the good ol' days

45. i love electronics and would buy every new thing that came out if possible

46. i love to go into electronics stores and play with everything

47. i appreciate art museums but only care about the ancient history sections

48. i could live the rest of my life without going into a modern art museum...primary colors with black lines? splatters of random colors? a sculpture of a giant paperclip? i just don't get it...

49. however, the more i study history the more i understand how art reflects the contemporary ideas of the producing society

50. i've feel like i've completely remade myself since college: how i think, political views, christian growth, etc.

51. the more i study history the more i believe we are products of our environment...for example, migrants didn't define themselves as a specific ethnic group until they mixed with people from other countries...this should have much more explanation but i'm moving on...feel free to ask questions

52. i love to watch do it yourself shows on saturday mornings

53. i love the color blue and recently got three new short sleeved shirts that are three different shades of blue

54. i sometimes wonder how people lived without the internet...honestly, i don't know how i'd do anything...i found our apartment with it, found jobs, found schools, keep up with friends and family, do school work, turn in assignments, etc.

55. i love to eat out and try new restaurants

56. i love indian food...especially tikka masala chicken and tandoori chicken

57. i wish i had an english or irish accent

58. i'd like to take cooking classes

59. i have a very short attention span

60. i hate washing dishes but love having a clean kitchen

well, i'm up to 60 so far...i'll keep going to 100 eventually when i have time...

until the next post...

list of me...

2008-05-09T10:28:00.002-04:00

so, everyone seems to be into writing lists of random facts about themselves lately and when i wrote out 7 from a tag, i was challenged to do more so here we go...i don't know how many i'll get but we'll see...

1. most of you know this, but i have an older brother.

2. he's 4 years older than me and married

3. he lives about 5 minutes from my parents.

4. as a matter of fact, practically my entire extended family lives in the same city within 30 minutes of each other apart from one of my dad's brothers and his kids who live in maryland and virginia...including aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc.

5. i could never live like that and have no desire to...

6. as a matter of fact, i have no desire to live in the south again although i would if that's where my future teaching position is.

7. however, i miss the gulf beaches with white sand...

8. my favorite movie is back to the future

9. favorite fiction book: ender's game

10. favorite christian author: donald miller

11. if i got a tattoo, it'd be in a foreign language either german or hebrew

12. i love portland, oregon and if i didn't live in boston, i'd want to live up there.

13. my best friend is definitely my wife, jennifer.

14. speaking of friends, one of my best friends is a guy i've literally spent my life with, grant, from being in the same nursery, same church all our lives until college, graduated the same high school, college roommates...i miss being close enough to hang out.

15. i love the red sox and would choose watching a game to practically anything else.

16. i would eat only dessert and nothing else if possible.

17. like dena, i crave ice cream more in the winter.

18. i love to travel but haven't had the chance to leave the country excluding canada but once.

19. i've tried to have long hair and facial hair a few times but can't stand having either.

20. i would love to research a family tree one day.

21. i watch romantic comedies like you've got mail when i'm by myself...embarassing but true.

22. i love the simpsons, own 6 seasons on dvd, and think of wallace everytime homer refers to his hairy yellow butt.

23. i cannot stand practically anything western: clothes, cowboys, music, movies, etc.

24. the only western thing i like is the food: bbq, steak, tex-mex.

25. needless to say, living in texas was miserable except for our church, 121 community church.

26. i really miss that church.

27. i see no need to exercise in boston...i walk over a mile a day as it is.

28. i hated texas weather: over 100 degree summers, hail and tornadoes in the spring, no winter.

29. i have no desire to go to a desert unless it involves near eastern archaeology although i'd travel basically anywhere else.

30. i am definitely an introvert, happy to sit by myself in a crowded room, and would prefer this option when given a choice.

31. i do not like small talk but enjoy deep conversation.

32. i think deep conversations are better late at night.

33. also, they go well with cigars.

34. most of you probably didn't know i like cigars...my favorites are dominican.

35. i love basset hounds and will own one one day.

so, there you go...35 facts about me and i think that's pretty good...

until the next post...

quick update...

2008-04-30T15:10:00.003-04:00

this is my first week without school and it's kind of strange to not constantly be reading and writing but i am enjoying reading what i want for a change. i've also been really tired this week...i didn't realize how much this semester had affected me but it's hit hard. oh well, i guess i had been so keyed up all semester that being tired wasn't an option and now it's caught up with me. but it's that good kind of tired that's more of a relief of accomplishment than a lack of sleep. plus, i need to be rested for all of the visitors and touring i'll be doing this summer...i can't wait to get started showing off this city!! i know this is short, boring, and really a waste of space but it's my blog and that's what i wanted to post for now...

until the next post...

summer....

2008-04-23T23:32:00.003-04:00

although it's only april, i am officially done with my first year at northeastern. it's gone by so fast kind of like a blur but here i am. today, i went to the school, turned in my final project and library books, and went to wendy's on campus, which is what i did my first day on campus except reverse everything from dropping off to picking up. it was a strange feeling to sit there and eat remembering what i was feeling back in september when i was first there...anxiety, some fear, and a general sense of not having a clue of what i was getting myself into but i have survived the toughest academic year of my life and am all the better for it. so, i wanted to post a few things that i've learned over this first year of boston and northeastern. don't worry, not things from classes but life...

-completely changing cultures is a difficult thing but well worth the effort
-everyone should live in a major city for at least a few years of their life
-you can learn alot about yourself by studying identity development...where did you come from? why do you think the way you do?
-people in the northeast do not have many pretenses...they basically say what they think or feel
-that being said, people in the north are not rude
-having four seasons instead of two is incredible
-everyone should take a trip up to see the fall colors...beautiful
-if possible, do not drive in downtown boston...not because of traffic but because of parking
-i love sitting and being in harbors
-i love living in a city people want to visit
-there are places in the world where the shade is actually cooler
-thinking about, questioning, and analyzing the world around you can be very enlightening...ie: why people do what they do, how pasts affect presents, cultural interactions and hybridity

well, that's all for now. if i think of anything else later, maybe i'll do a continuation...

until the next post...

tagged...

2008-04-17T11:58:00.002-04:00

so, apparently i've been "tagged" by friend who also has a blog. although i equate this sort of thing with those surveys on myspace, i figure i'll go for it anyway...it could prove interesting. however, since i don't have 7 other friends with blogs outside of facebook or myspace, i probably won't "tag" anyone else. anyway, 7 fun facts from the world of adam...

Fact #1: the first weekend jennifer and i were in boston, we didn't know if we would make it here. everything was so different and overwhelming from the transportation, the number of people, driving, etc. but now we don't know why we did not move here sooner. we both absolutely love it here and i try to take time, a few days a week at least, to walk down to the river on the cambridge side where we live and take in the skyline. you would not believe the quietness that exists there in the midst of this large metropolitan area. at this point in my life, i can honestly say i would not want to be anywhere else.

Fact #2: over the past two or three weeks, i have reconnected with several friends from my past through facebook...and love it. i had wondered what happened to people from olive and p'cola because i am not good at keeping up with people in general. however, my facebook is now this strange mix of friends from northeastern, texas, college, and childhood...it's like a space/time paradox example of what not to do from back to the future...best movies of all time...but i love it.

Fact #3: my guilty pleasure is the price is right although i hardly ever see it outside of the occasional prime time million dollar specials. this semi-obsession began when i was a kid and home from school sick or for a vacation. i would watch it every morning. also, back in college, friends and i would gather around, while skipping chapel or class typically, and watch bob barker. good times. although i like drew carey, there can never be a replacement for bob...i miss you, man.

Fact #4: i feel like i have completely remade myself from when i lived in pensacola. i mean, i realize that the older you get, the more comfortable you are with yourself but i have seriously changed in mindset, parts of my personality, and more fully developed beliefs. back then, i accepted what i was told basically at face value and that was who i was. without getting into a long explanation here, let's just say i'm much more analytical and introspective these days.

Fact #5: later this year, i turn 30 but don't really care very much. i know it's a major turning point and most people hate it but in reality, most of my friends are already 30, including my wife, so i'm just catching up to them...that's all. not to mention birthdays haven't really been that important to me in a long time....don't really know why...

Fact #6: this summer is going to be very busy but also very exciting. at least one week every month this summer, we'll have company beginning a week from this sunday. i love the fact that i live somewhere people want to vacation and i cannot wait to be the official tour guide...i even picked up a book the other day about the main boston attractions to help me in this endeavor.

Fact #7: i love fast food breakfasts. i don't eat fast food alot but when i do, i prefer breakfast. i know to most people this sounds non-appetizing but the smells and tastes remind me of road trips, both with family and friends, and the feeling of freedom...i love that...

so, there you go...7 random facts about me. like i said, i only know a few people who keep blogs outside of facebook, so i probably won't be tagging this. however, if you're one of my few friends with a blog, take some time and blog some random facts...well, except you wallace...you just did this...

until the next post...

another week...

2008-04-10T23:58:00.002-04:00

in keeping with my attempt to post at least once a week, here is this week's installment. today, we finally had some warmer weather and the feeling of spring in the air. it was an absolutely gorgeous 70 degrees today here in boston and everyone was out and about. although cramped inside most of the day with homework, so goes the life of a grad student, i did manage to make it out to one of my favorite spots in boston...the benches along the charles river looking over the city. i love to sit out there, watch people, read, listen to my ipod, and just have time to think...it's one of life's little pleasures.

one of the things i was thinking about today was a quote from a book i'm reading through again. i love to read and have read this one before but decided to get it back out this week. it's called, the man who was thursday by g.k. chesterton. he was a 19th century philosopher and theologian of sorts who writes towards these ends. this happens to be one of his novels about a secret organization infiltrated by two policemen. the quote comes at a turning point when the main character, syme, discovers his fellow lawman and is evaluating this newly found friendship with this thought: "through all this ordeal his [syme] root horror had been isolation, and there are no words to express the abyss between isolation and having one ally. it may be conceded to the mathematicians that four is twice two. but two is not twice one; two is two thousand times one. that is why, in spite of a hundred different disadvantages, the world will always return to monogamy." this is a powerful statement..."two is two thousand times one." i love that because i have felt alone many, many times in life. i have felt no one understands what i'm going through or how i feel but then God has always provided someone who does in my life and through that "two" the problem seemed to fade. this has especially been the case since i've been married because now there is someone in the world who knows me better than i know myself, someone who understands my every thought and feeling, and someone i can turn to no matter the situation.

have you ever felt alone? do you feel alone right now? talk to someone. God "wired" us as social beings created for interaction. He knew we would need each other...someone we can touch, see, and feel to help us along the way. take advantage of the relationships in your life...

until the next post...

40th anniversary

2008-04-04T13:40:00.003-04:00

today marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of dr. martin luther king, jr. in honor of this event, i have posted a link here to his most famous speech on audio and video during the 1963 march on washington. this is one of the pivotal speeches of american history as well as history in general. i have also posted a transcript of this speech for you to browse if you don't want to listen to it. take a few minutes to reflect on discrimination, racism, and your own attitude on this matter. do you automatically flinch when you're alone and a black person approaches you? are you really against obama because of his politics or is it more than that? what would your attitude be if suddenly in your neighborhoods and your children's schools you were the only white? i know that you, like me, probably have an automatic answer to each of these questions and say, "i'd be fine with any of these situations" but are you being honest with yourself? how about if the situations were the same with arab muslims? would your answers be the same? the transcript is provided by usconstitution.net.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

new perspectives...

2008-03-30T02:22:00.002-04:00

a few days ago, i conducted two interviews as a part of my oral history course. at the beginning of the semester, we were introduced to a lady named Lolita, who is currently heading up an oral history project in an african american neighborhood of boston. the area is known as roxbury and was the originally designated black area of town from back in the early 20th century. so, as many of these people are getting older and dying, she is interviewing as many as she can find to put together an archive of the neighborhood and their lives.

anyway, through her, i was introduced to an african american vietnam vet to interview and actually lolita herself for the second interview. i was interested in their experiences of racial discrimination as both lived through the civil rights movement and vietnam. i thought i would learn a few things that i'd never heard before but didn't realize how much of an impact it would be.

first of all, one of the themes from both interviews is that of identity, a topic i've had in my head all semester as i said in the last post. both of them talked about not even thinking about being black until the events of the civil rights movement began and then realizing their "blackness" if that makes sense. i mean, they knew they were black but didn't think that meant anything except the skin color and didn't think about rights, being accepted in general society, or equality but accepted their position as african american until exposed to the civil rights events. for the vet, it happened in vietnam when he interacted with blacks from other areas of the country and realized who he was as a person and what was actually going on in society. up until this point he said he had just accepted things for face value as being how things are so to speak. lolita said basically the same except the experience was watching black protesters on television being hosed by white police then experiencing first hand discrimination in an almost all white school in texas. i had never thought about the idea of realizing you are "black" and that this means you are being oppressed. i just thought they knew they were oppressed but didn't know what or how to do anything about it en masse. i was mistaken. it was more of a group realization through leaders like martin luther king jr. of the oppression and need for equality, freedom, and rights. basically, they accepted their place in society without realizing they could be doing better.

i know this is a long post but i just want to mention one more thought. at the end of my interview with the vet, i asked him if he had any advice for younger generations. and he talked about how young blacks today are content with being poor so that's why they stay where they are living like they are. he continued, though, and asked a question that stuck with me. he said that blacks had been oppressed for so long that when they got freedom how long does it take to for a man to recover from oppression? all of my life i've heard whites talk about blacks as not taking advantage of what's being offered because now they can go to college and earn it just like anybody else without thinking about them as a community of oppressed people. i mean, even through the 70's and later there were still designated neighborhoods for blacks through housing restrictions and developments. have you ever noticed they don't put government housing in the suburbs? what if what he's saying is true because he went on to talk about housing developments....what if blacks are still being oppressed just in different ways? what if there were inexpensive housing built in the nicer areas with the better school systems? what if blacks grew up seeing successful, educated people with that expectation for them instead of being stuck in the worst parts of town and only seeing that future? what if modern day ghettos are contemporary versions of slavery through economic oppression?

i know this is much more social activist than most of you are used to seeing me, especially if you knew the white, suburban, die-hard republican version of me in college and before but i've been changing over the past few years and this experience has marked a major change in my thought processes and isn't that what relationships are all about? well, this post is long enough...

until the next post...

identity...

2008-03-21T00:21:00.002-04:00

since the beginning of this semester, i've been studying the development of identity in the context of migrants and migration. we've read and talked about how some groups from italy didn't participate in the ideology of nationalism or patriotism until moving away from italy to a different area like the states, for example. another example is that of the chinese developing the idea of "chinatown" as a way of controlling the seemingly uncontrollable new environment that existed within the contexts of 19th century racist america. well, now that you have a general idea of why i've been thinking about the idea of identity i'll move on the point of the post.

i've been thinking about who i am as a result of these discussions and how i've developed an identity through the environments i've been involved in and this had led me to a deeper thought process of my true identity. at the root of it all, i'm a believer in the Creator God, the One who invented through His infinite creativity the very concept of identity with all of its connotations and the desire within each person to possess an identity in the first place. why do we seek out to know who we are and not just live our lives? why do we have the desire to discover the innermost being that exists in the realms and dark corners of our brains and souls? i believe the desire came from God so that through this pursuit we would discover the void within and seek out a filling, that being YHWH.

He created us. He created the desire for identity in order that humans would want relationships and ultimately a relationship with Him.

at this time of the year, when we are or are not as the case may be, thinking about the ultimate act of love in the history of the universe, let us ponder the lengths to which the Creator went with His Son to reconstruct the relationship with His creation in order to redefine our identities into the form of Christ.

until the next post...

forgot...

2008-03-16T00:50:00.000-04:00

i doubt anyone still checks this but i completely forgot i had this blog until the other day so i thought i'd post something of an update and see if i can get back in the rhythm of it. i've gotten caught up in the facebook world with all of the gadgets like heroes abilities where you can use superpowers on friends, keeping up with the redsox, posting pics of books i've read, and all sorts of quizzes. it's kinda sad because through getting reconnected with so many friends, i've become completely disconnected with why i wanted to be connected in the first place which was to express and exchange ideas....there are far too many distractions on facebook to actually do any real writing. on to the update....

i've just realized i've only posted once since we've been in boston and that wasn't a picture. this is absolutely embarrassing because of how absolutely gorgeous this city is so when i'm finished with this, i'll put up a few pics of our time here. i survived the first semester and am halfway through the second semester and enjoying it. classes are tough with tons of reading averaging around 300 pages per class per week. basically, we read a book a week. i'm also loving gaining new perspectives and ideas...it's like half of my brain has been sleeping for the past 29 years and is finally awake! i haven't felt that about school since a couple of classes in undergrad, which is depressing but i'm so happy to finally be truly challenged intellectually and opening my eyes to new viewpoints of historic study.

jennifer is doing well and while she likes the people she works with she finds her job boring. it's the same type of work she did in texas and she was hoping for a new experience here but ended up with basically the same job. don't get me wrong, we're both extremely grateful for such a providing job but you know, sometimes you just want and need a change. so, she might look for something new but keep this job. she works with some really neat people and that makes alot of difference.

well, i'm done with this for now and i'll put up some pics of the greatest city ever...boston!!!!

until the next post...

2008-03-14T01:47:00.001-04:00

a new pic of us just for good measure...

2008-03-14T01:45:00.002-04:00

the park along the river....i love this picture...

2008-03-14T01:43:00.002-04:00

this is from around the same area in the park as the other pick....i love the snow...

2008-03-14T01:41:00.002-04:00

we absolutely love the public gardens in all seasons...this is from the end of last summer...

2008-03-14T01:38:00.002-04:00

here we are, previous to jennifer's hair change, in one of the prettiest places i've ever been...new hampshire in the fall...if you ever get a chance to see this, take it...

2008-03-14T01:26:00.002-04:00

this image is from the longfellow bridge a few blocks from our house. i love to walk down to the park looking across at this scene of downtown boston just to think and sit...

holy fast year, batman, it's almost christmas

2007-11-27T16:17:00.000-05:00

man, this is insane!! i realized last week at thanksgiving just how quickly time has gone since moving up here to boston! i know in reality it's the same as any other time but man, it feels like the last couple of months were a blur with moving, adjusting to life here, starting school for me and work for jennifer, and just life in general. i can't believe it's already almost christmas but i love it!

for those of you who don't know, i love christmas time. i love everything about it....Jesus' birth and reading that section of the Gospels plus the Old Testament prophecies, the decorations, christmas trees, christmas lights, wreaths, stockings, and anything else that goes along with it. i also love the cold weather. i don't know if it comes from living in warm climates my entire life until now or what but i have always loved cold winter days. of course, by the end of this winter, i'll probably say i hate winter but hopefully not.

anyway, i just wanted to post up something to let you know i remember i have a blog but the speed of life has surpassed my writing.

a couple of months...

2007-07-23T17:29:00.000-04:00

i know, i know, it's been a couple of months since i've put anything new on here but life has been crazy and we've been really busy. not really with anything around here but with our future. as you guys know, we're moving to boston at the end of august and have been doing things related to that like everytime i'm on the computer i was looking for apartments and emailing our awesome friends, tj and dena, who helped up look from afar. also, we had to look at the neighborhoods, figure out what we wanted, and everything else that goes into it. well, we've finally had success and found a place in east cambridge right across the river from downtown. we're close to the T, not in a huge building with lots of neighbors but in a neighborhood, and can walk to local groceries and other things. i cannot wait to get up there and start our new life!!

also since the last post, i've read a few books including: Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller, author of Blue like Jazz and Searching for God Knows What both incredible books, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. i've also started reading the newest harry potter which is a great book so far and also great movies.

well, there's an update on what's been going on around here and that's all for now. i'll try to keep updates coming on our move and boston.

until the next post....

the work of faith

2007-05-04T09:24:00.000-04:00

i teach an 8th grade bible study at church, which i have talked about before, and this past week we talked about faith and how without works to prove the faith it means nothing. we read verses from james and hebrews about this topic and talked about the what the bible says basically that you can talk about your faith all day but if you never act on it to live it out then does it really exist?

i love verses about this because i've met way too many christians that think going to church and sitting there is enough but Jesus taught that there will be many who have done this that in the end will discover they don't really know Him at all. don't get me wrong, i believe salvation comes from God through faith and not by our works. however, what i'm saying is that there are many verses in the bible that talk about the way you know a christian is by what they do and there are many who talk about their faith but do nothing and do not know God. i believe that once you come to know God through faith He puts the desire inside of you to serve others and live as Christ did as a servant because of your faith.

another of the verses we talked about this week is from hebrews 11. i can't remember the exact verse off the top of my head but i think it's 17. anyway, the verse says the people talked about in the amazing old testament stories of faith in the verses before this verse lived out their faith through obedient action for God and therefore, God was not ashamed to be called their God. i love this verse and actually don't remember ever being taught it so it was new to me but it is a difficult verse because when you read it, you are forced to look at your own life and ask the question: is God ashamed of me because of my lack of actions? do i live out my faith or just keep it inside? it's one thing to talk about having faith in God but the bible says even the devil and demons believe God exists. it's a completely different thing to live out that faith in action as Jesus did when He was on earth and constantly think of others' needs ahead of your own.

here's what it comes down to: our faith exists to show the glory of God on earth and spread His name and renown. if we aren't allowing this faith in Christ to affect our actions for God and to further His glory then does it exist at all?

until the next post...

is ignorance truly bliss?

2007-04-19T17:03:00.000-04:00

most of you probably don't know this but i teach a lifegroup of 8th grade guys at church every wednesday night. however, unlike most of yours, and my previous, experiences with this age, these guys are exceptional in their thought processes as we study the bible. i mean, when i get ready for each week, i do so like i'm preparing for a college lifegroup instead of middle schoolers and just go in ready to either go lower than i had planned or higher than i had planned depending on whose there and the kinds of questions they come up with in our discussion. well, last night, we talked about solomon and his misuse of his gifts from God. we discussed verses from ecclesiastes and they took the discussion in a different direction so i didn't get to ask this question. i really wanted to but i felt it was much more important to go where they were going with the topic and teach them toward their ideas instead of forcing it my way even though that's what i had planned. in teaching the bible, especially this age and intelligence level(you'd be surprised with what they come up with) it's important to remember your lesson plans aren't always the most important things to teach and to stay flexible to where God guides the discussion.

well, all of this is to say that i really wanted to talk about the question that's the title here, is ignorance truly bliss? in ecclesiastes, solomon writes about his life and how he spent his entire life chasing wisdom, knowledge, and riches only to get to the end and realize he had left out what is most important....his relationship with God. this discovery is written in the 12th chapter. he writes that the wisdom and knowledge given to him became a great burden because of all of the responsibilities that come with wisdom. solomon spent his entire life being asked advice and making critical decisions because not only did his subjects expect him to make the best decisions but the surrounding countries also came to him with questions about how to rule their lands so he carried those decisions as well. by the end of his life, he reasoned this gift to be a greater burden than he had realized and wished he could go back and not ask for wisdom from God.

anyway, i wanted to throw out this question to you guys and see what you think....is it better to simply not know and therefore not be responsible for so many decisions or is it better to have this wisdom and knowledge like solomon and bear the burdens of those around you?

i leave it to you guys and hope to hear some responses...

big announcement!!!!

2007-03-26T18:51:00.000-04:00

well, it's official...i got into grad school!!!! i just heard back from from the schools and i got into northeastern university in boston!!! i'll be working toward a Master's of Arts in history and we'll live in boston joining nate, tj, and dena. it's so exciting!!! we won't move until this summer probably the end of july or the beginning of august. school doesn't start until september and we want some time to adjust to the new surroundings. anyway, that's the big announcement!!

until the next post...

2007-03-20T23:51:00.000-04:00

so, jennifer finally got her india pictures organized into an online album. granted, it's only a small taste of the entire collection but anyway, it'll give you an idea of what the team experienced.

click here for the pics....

until the next post...

another post in less than a month...wow

2007-03-15T08:25:00.000-04:00

for some reason, i just felt like posting today even though i don't really have anything important to share so here it is.

many of you know, because i've talked about it on here before, that i really love history. over the past week, i've started reading the acclaimed biography of john adams written by mccullough and it is amazing. he knows exactly how much detail to write and really makes history come alive for the reader...seriously. i know you guys are thinking, "yeah but it's still history and so it's boring." well, you're wrong...it's actually inspiring and i've only read a couple of chapters. i'm finding that i have much in common personally with mr. adams. we have similar personalities in that we know what we want but get easily discouraged and have to force ourselves into action. also, it took him a while to figure out and then to chase his dreams just as it has taken me a while to do the same. i really am finding my personality in this founding father and early president...and that in and of itself is inspiring to me.

also, i'm finding fasinating how different society was in the first half of the 18th century. for instance, he lived outside of boston and was educated partially in a neighbor's kitchen and partially in a small one room school with no real formal education until college, which was almost like their version of high school. he started at harvard, the only college in the area back then, at the age of 15. graduation came 4 years later but really with no major. he was trained to be a minister very basically but not like today's majors in college. a little over a year after graduating and working he decided to become a lawyer so he did what all people then did for that profession...pay a lawyer in your area a fee and learn by being and working in his office. no more schooling required. after interning for about a year, you then presented yourself in front of the state bar, literally older practicing state lawyers and judges sitting behind a table called a bar, and they interviewed you about the law and different legal situations. how different was that!!

anyway, i suppose i did have something to say after all...look at that. well, i highly recommend this book but be prepared to put in some time...you won't finish this one very quickly...it's fairly lengthy. but then again, it is the entire life of an influential person.

until the next post...