How Long?

For arguments sake, lets say that you and your family live in a comfortable home where all you want to do is to raise your children in peace. However, next door to you is another family who has some wild children who like to throw rocks at your home. Most of the time they will occasionally break a flower pot or even break one of your windows. Sometimes though, they will get lucky and hit one of your children. You have repeatedly spoken to the parents of these children, yet they do nothing about their unruly children. Now, not all of their children are bad, but enough of them are to be a problem. Occasionally there has been a nice peace that has been agreed upon, but inevitably that would be broken. How long do you put up with this before you take action? How long do you let your children live in the fear of being harmed before you say enough is enough?

If the Arab world refuses to deal with Hamas, Israel has every right to take action to defend itself.

When are Republicans going to learn?

This is the kind of garbage that gives Republicans a bad name. When are we going to learn? I'm glad to see that most of the leadership is coming out against Chip Saltsman.

Transformation

For the last couple of days I have been thinking about transformation and what has God done in my life. I love listening to testimonials where someone has had a radical change because of accepting Jesus into their lives. For instance, someone who has battled with an anger problem suddenly becomes peaceful. Or someone who has had a drinking problem can now rely on Jesus instead of alcohol. However, I have never experienced a change like that.

I accepted Christ into my life at an early age, six years old, so it is difficult to tell people how he has changed me. I can point to certain areas in my life where I know God has helped me, but nothing that I would say was a radical transformation. But hopefully that is about to change.

The title of last nights service at Bayside was "The Gift of God's Love: 3 Ways to Experience a Transformed Life." The main points were:

• Grasp God's love
  
• Surrender to God's love
• Live in the hope of God's love

Sounds pretty easy. But all of these points spoke directly to me and to areas I have struggled with. Hopefully in the coming year I can learn to apply these points and experience God's love to the fullest and have a transformed life.

Jack London SHP

Stopped at Jack London State Historic Park today in Glen Ellen and visited Jack London's grave site. All my life I have driven past this place but I have never stopped until yesterday. It was a little cold but overall a beautiful day to visit one of my favorite writers. The grave site lies on top of a knoll overlooking the spectacular Valley of the Moon. When London died, his wife put his ashes under a stone from the ruins of the burned out Wolf House.

I'm Back!

I have decided to start blogging again. In the past I have worried about what I was going to write, which led me to write nothing. From now on I'm going to write whatever I feel like. It's my blog and I can do anything I want! For those of you who may read this, I say thank you and I hope you enjoy what's to come.

Book Reviews

It seems that nobody is reading my blog and I have begun to wonder if I should continue writing posts. Is it because it is not interesting or because nobody knows about it? Please comment on anything that I post and feel free to suggest ways of making my blog better.

Although I haven't posted any book reviews recently I have been reading. Here's a quick summary of the last few books that I have read:

The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning: This book is all about the grace of God. No matter what we do (good or bad) God will always love us. This is a book that I will read over and over. It is filled with many life changing insights. Manning is going to be a speaker at the Thrive conference at Bayside and I look forward to hearing him speak.

Positively False: The Real Story of How I Won the Tour de France by Floyd Landis and Loren Mooney: Floyd Landis won the 2006 Tour de France and then lost the title after a urine sample came back testing positive for high levels of testosterone. This book is suppose to show how the lab's incompetence screwed up the test. The 2006 Tour was the first that I watched on TV from the start to the finish. I was a fan of Landis and cheered for him during his amazing comeback in Stage 17. Because of his scandal I didn't follow any of the 2007 racing season. The thing that struck me most about this book was how far Landis had turned from his Mennonite upbringing. This book is nothing more than part of the PR campaign that Landis has surrounded himself with to fight his disqualification.

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin: This book is this year's selection for One Book Sacramento. I highly recommend it to everyone. Later this year the Sacramento Public Library will have programs centered around this book. Both authors have agreed to make an appearance. This book is the story of how after a failed attempt at climbing K2, Mortenson made a promise to a village that helped nurse him back to health. He promised that as soon as he could he would come back and build them a school. This promise has turned into his life mission of building schools throughout the Pakistan/Afghanistan region. What I liked most about this book is how he saw a need and sought out how to fulfill it. If you want to know more about how you can help click here.

Thrive 2008

Last night was the volunteer training dessert for Thrive 2008 at Bayside. Bishop Sherwood Carthen spoke to the group of volunteers to let them know how valuable they are to making this conference a success. Here are a few of his points:

• It takes all of us to make it happen.


• The value of a team's success is greater than an individuals success.


• On the importance of a good attitude: "Don't expect me to come in and make it better after you went and ruined their day."


• Fun has to be a priority


• If we don't have joy we won't have fun.


• Diversity has to be intentional, not accidental.


• Personal sacrifice is encouraged.

After last night I'm encouraged and look forward to volunteering for this conference. I expect God to do amazing things next week. If you aren't going I highly recommend you sign up now.

Here is the promo for Thrive 2008:

National Library Workers Day

Today is National Library Workers Day. It is part of National Library Week and according to the ALA-APA website, "NLWD is a day for library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers." If you are a library worker, how were you recognized today?

Thomas Jefferson's Library

For all you book lovers here is a link to an interesting article. For the past decade, a group of rare book experts have been recreating to Thomas Jefferson's library. The entire collection of more than 6,000 volumes will go on display tomorrow at the Library of Congress, looking much as it would have 200 years ago. One of the things that I found interesting was that Jefferson built his library in a U shape so that when you walked into the room you would be surrounded by books!

The Baseball Season Begins (Sort Of)

The Oakland A's and Boston Red Sox opened the 2008 baseball season in Japan. Each team one a game to split the series.

Cesar Chavez Book Drive

Got this from the Sacramento Bee:

The seventh annual Cesar E. Chavez Children's Book Drive begins Monday and runs through May 5. The drive is co-sponsored by the California Highway Patrol, Department of Housing and Community Development, Department of Financial Institutions and the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency...New and gently used children's books, in all languages, can be dropped off at the CHP's headquarters, 2555 First Ave. Books will be distributed to schools, shelters and other charitable organizations.

More Library News

Another article about the Sacramento Public Library appeared in the Sacramento Bee. Unfortunately it continues the saga of the Hagginwood scandal. Today is there is also a library board meeting where they will discuss a raise for the library director. It will be interesting to see what happens and the following public outcry.

The sad part about all this is that due to the financial crunch there is talk about possible layoffs. It would be very sad to see a low level employee loose their job because of budget reasons.

Bad Press for the Library

This was front page news in today's Sacramento Bee:

Arrest warrants charging grand theft and bribery have been issued in connection with an overbilling scandal at the Sacramento Public Library, The Bee has learned.
Sources say the arrest warrants were issued Tuesday and target three people -- two of them former library officials and the third, the wife of one of them.
District Attorney Jan Scully's office would not comment Tuesday, but an announcement on the case is expected to be made Wednesday.

One Book Sacramento

Got this from the Sacramento Public Library site:

Three Cups of Tea Chosen for One Book Sacramento Community Read

Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote . . . One School at a Time is the book selected for the Sacramento Public Library’s fourth-annual One Book Sacramento: Connecting Our Communities. Throughout October, community members will be encouraged to attend local library book club discussions, writers’ workshops, programs featuring local authors, and other interesting events whose themes are based on the book.

The War on Terror

This week was the 5th anniversary of the war in Iraq. To coincide with this I read Nick Solly Megoran's book, "The War on Terror: How should Christians respond?" The book can be summed up with Jesus' command in the Sermon on the Mount to "love our enemies." This isn't a suggestion from Jesus, it is a command. It is just as applicable today as when he said it 2,000 years ago.

Some points that I really liked in the book were

• War is a product of sin


• We have a dual citizenship (heavenly & earthly)


• Be peacemakers (not just peace lovers)

Each chapter of the book is meant to be read with a corresponding selection of scripture. Although the book is informative it is set up to be more a spiritual study guide.

So how are Christians to respond to the war on terror? By glorifying God and using this time as an opportunity to share the good news of Christ.

The Great Awakening

I just finished reading "The Great Awakening" by Jim Wallis. In his book he believes that we are on the verge of a Great Awakening leading to dramatic changes in the fight for social injustice. I found this book to be enlightening and challenging. I constantly found myself examining my personal and political beliefs. I really liked his statement that "faith should be both personal and public, and never just private." According to him the reason we should battle injustice here on earth is:

1. God hates injustice


2. The kingdom of God is a new order


3. The church is an alternative community


4. The kingdom of God transforms the world by addressing the specifics of injustice


5. The church is the conscience of the state, holding it accountable for upholding justice and restraining its violence

In his book he lists 7 commitments we should make:

1. Fighting Poverty


2. Environment


3. Equality and Diversity


4. Life and Dignity


5. Family and Community


6. Nonviolent Realism


7. Integrity and Accountability

After reading this book my view of the world has drastically changed. As Christians we are called to act out Jesus' love in our community and our world.

El Dorado County Bookmobile Closing

El Dorado County is closing down their bookmobile in efforts to bridge a $14.8 million budget shortfall. Here is a link to the Sacbee article.

A Day With A Few Of My Favorite People

Spent today with Tina, Christian, and Aubree. Christian had his last game of the basketball season in Meadow Vista. Unfortunately they lost, but the important thing was that they played hard.

Later I took Christian to his baseball practice. It was fun to see how much he has improved over the years. This year he was one of eight, 10 yr. olds to be drafted into the majors. He has a lot to learn but seems to be handling it well.

We just rapped up the evening watching the movie Ice Age. I always enjoy spending the day with my favorite people. It is what makes life worth living. God has really blessed me with.

Haircut

Received my first haircut from Sandy. I was a little nervous going into it because she is just learning how to cut hair. But she did a wonderful job and I plan on getting all my haircuts from her now on.

Read Acroos America

On Monday the NEA's Read Across America kicked off. This program is to get young people to start reading and it provides educators and parents many wonderful ideas on how to encourage their little ones to read. I had the honor of reading 2 books at my niece's school. Aubree is in first grade and all of her classmates got to come to school dressed in their pajamas. I had a wonderful time and was blessed to be a part of Aubree's life.

ARCO Arena

Christian and his basketball team got to play at ARCO Arena on Sunday. Later that evening we sat in the nosebleed seats and watched the Kings come from behind and beat the Miami Heat.

Sat. @ Bayside

We went to the 6:15 service at Bayside on Saturday night. Jeff led the worship and it was pretty awesome as usual. Pastor Ray finished up the series on marriage. He gave 6 ways to build unity and intimacy into a marriage

1. Appreciation & Affection
2. Spend Time Together
3. Good Communication
4. Commitment to Work Through Tough Times
5. Willingness to Pursue a Lifestyle of Integrity
6. Solid Spiritual Foundation

I think that if you really work on building a solid spiritual foundation and living your life for Jesus then the others will naturally fall into place.

God Never Wastes a Hurt

I saw this on Josh Griffin's blog awhile back.

American Idol and Lost

It has been little while since I last blogged. Sometimes life gets a little busy and it is especially hard to take the time to blog when you don’t have your own computer. (Hint for anyone who wants to donate money.)

Tonight is American Idol elimination night. Who do you think is going? I think the rocker chick that sounds like Janice Joplin is going. Other than that I’m not sure. Who’s your favorite so far?

Of course, a new episode of Lost is on after Idol. I didn’t start watching Lost until about six months ago and now I’m hooked. I think it is one of the best written shows ever.

How Do You Respond to Christ?

I should know better than to try and read William Wilberforce’s, “A Practical View of Christianity” during lunch at work. Again I am challenged to analyze my faith, particularly how I respond to Jesus and the work he did for us. In chapter 3, he says “But in those who profess a sincere belief in them (the doctrines of the Gospel), this coldness is insupportable. Furthermore, he goes on to say, “True love is an ardent, and an active principle – a cold, a dormant, a phlegmatic gratitude, are contradictions in terms.”

How thankful am I for what Jesus did?

Food For Thought

I started reading A Practical View of Christianity by William Wilberforce. I can already tell it is going to challenge my faith and spiritual practices. This is from the first chapter:

“The truth is, their opinions on these subjects are not formed from the perusal of the word of God. The Bible lies on the shelf unopened and they would be wholly ignorant of its contents, except for what they hear occasionally at church, or for the faint traces which their memories may still retain of the lessons of their earliest infancy.”

How many of my views are based on my own thinking or on what other people tell me and not founded on scripture?

Soul Searching

Saw this on Josh Griffin's blog:

Cosumnes River Preserve

Spent Sunday afternoon at the Cosumnes River Preserve. Saw some Sandhill cranes and many ducks. We walked the 3 mile river walk trail.

Saturday Night at Bayside

Went to Bayside on Saturday night. Pastor Ray Johnston continued the series on marriage. He had many great points.

• The myths of marriage
• God's design for marriage
• Foundations for building lasting marriages

San Francisco

Took the day off from work at the library and went to San Francisco. Went to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. My favorite piece was a room sized representation of SF made out of pots and pans by Zhan Wang. Couldn't resist stopping at the San Francisco Public Library which was next door. Afterwards we had a puff pastry from Beard Papa's. We then walked down to the Ferry Building. All in all a wonderful day.

Valentine's Day!

This is my first attempt at blogging. So here goes nothin... Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!

More riveting blogs to follow. Stay tuned.