High Vantage Point

Uncle Stan mentioned a website in his last email that I received. Someone had guided him to BibleGateway.com, which is a great resource for anyone interested in the bible. I don’t have a big library of commentaries, dictionaries, or other study tools, so when I’m researching a topic in the bible, I go to Bible Gateway.

I know that many people would like to have a daily bible reading schedule but have difficulty setting aside time. The busy-ness of life causes us to push that aside and forget about it. It was well said by the author, Don Marquis, “Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.”

Many have probably tried to read the bible through in a year and have gotten as far as Leviticus or Numbers before wearing out. I say “many” because I’m certain that I’m not the only one.

A few days ago, I stumbled across a website that should help me with my bible reading plan.

They offer several options for plans such as:

Reading the Bible through in a year.
Reading the New or Old Testament through in a year.
Gospels, Psalms, or Proverbs in a month.
and more.

They will send you an email with each day’s assignment that will keep you on task. It’s a free service with no advertisements and you can unsubscribe any time you wish.

It sounds like a great way to keep on task.

How did we allow Barney Frank so much control over our government’s financial matters.  Watch this video clip from The O’Reilly Factor’s “Pinheads and Patriots.”

Thank you, Chris Cuomo, for exposing our governmental leaders who are unwilling to be accountable for anything.

Technorati Tags: Bill O’Reilly, Pinheads and Patriots, Chris Cuomo, Barney Frank

A hearty “Thank You” to all the cereal manufacturers who have recognized chocolate as a health food and have added it into their mix.

In the past, if I wanted chocolate for breakfast, I had to go for the sugary cereals like Coco Puffs, Cocoa Krispies, or Count Chocula.

When a cereal manufacturer advertises to a target market that gets up at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday to watch cartoons, I probably won’t be the most healthy meal of the day. I’m a little uncomfortable indulging myself in that sort of meal plan.

But when you mix a little chocolate with your Chex, Special K, or Honey Bunches of Oats, and I’m all over that. Fill my bowl up….I’m back for seconds. Give me more of that Chocolate Life.

One benefit of a long commute to work (and I can only think of one) is that I have ample time to listen to audio books.

I really enjoy reading Christian novels, but find it difficult to do much reading. Veggin’ in front of the TV is so much easier.

About the only time that it’s easy for me to pick up a book to read is when I climb into bed at night. Once I pull up the covers, though, I’ve got about 15 minutes until my body relaxes, my brain shuts down, and I catch myself having to back up to re-read the same paragraph half a dozen times before reaching comprehension.

That’s where audiobooks come in. I can go through a book a week on my commute to work. I’ve been driving enough years that I can keep my car between the lines without focusing on it too hard. That allows me to become absorbed in a good book and still manage to maneuver myself to the workplace.

While driving back and forth to Coeur d’alene this past weekend, I listened to an audiobook of “House” by Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti.

Frank Peretti has always been one of my favorite authors. Peretti has a way of making the darkness of the spirit world come alive, which gives me the desire to strengthen my connection with the Light of the world.

The action in “House” was non stop. It presented intensely suspenseful listening from the edgy start to heart warming finish. It seemingly shortened our drive by hours. Everyone in the car was on the edge of their seat the whole trip.

Although “This Present Darkness” and “Piercing the Darkness” probably can’t be beat, “House” is an interesting and captivating story. If you enjoyed another of Peretti’s books “The Oath”, you will like this one.

Use this link if you prefer the audiobook version.

My son made me watch this YouTube video.

Have you ever made shadow puppets? I remember trying to create a rabbit or a dog head shadow with my folded hands. I thought I was pretty good.

Wait till you see the guy in this 2 minute video. He’s amazing. I laughed all the way through it.

Then you should see the creativity of this group of puppeteers.

After 13 years of dedicated service to Yakima’s West Valley, Pastor Holland Lewis and his wife, Mary, completed their final Sunday service last Sunday.

Their grand finale included the appearance of their daughters, Crystal, Candace, and Cassandra, along with spouses and children. Crystal sang some solos and some ensembles with her mother and sisters.

As I understand, Pastor Lewis will stay in Yakima and begin a new ministry, of some sort. He hasn’t provided us many details, as I believe the details are uncertain to him, at this time.

Today, marks the first Sunday of our interim pastor, who’s name escapes me at the moment. I’ll find that out next week when we are back in Yakima following our weekend at Coeur d’alene.

I’ll miss Pastor Lewis, greatly. He’s an amazing man and an excellent teacher of the Word. He’s the same person outside of the church walls as he is inside.

When our oldest daughter left for college, the realization that Leslie and I would soon be living alone began to hit us. We were living in a 2000+ square foot four bedroom home on a third of an acre. I felt that it was more house than we would need, and way more landscaping than I was interested in caring for.

Three years before we decided to move, I refinanced our house with a variable rate mortgage that would stay level for 3 years before beginning to increase, knowing that we would sell before the interest rate began to climb. I knew that Leslie and Austin and I would be the only ones remaining at home at the end of that time period. Then we could downsize to a smaller home and a smaller property.

By the time we put our house on the market, three years later, I had decided that I was happy where I was. Leslie, on the other hand, wanted to buy land and build a house.

I put the house up at a price that I didn’t think would be acceptable in our market. That way, Leslie would feel that I was going along with her wishes, but in the end, we would stay put.

Seven days later, we were entertaining a full price offer.

We moved in with Mom and Dad while we purchased our property - a full acre - and begin to build a home that was several hundred square feet larger than the one we just sold. I’ll be mowing a lawn that is about 10,000 sq. ft. larger than the entire lot that we sold.

So much for planning to downsize!

Of course, the day after I post a New Years Resolution about posting daily, I find myself traveling and at a location with limited internet availability.

This is my “quickie” attempt to make good on my resolution.

We are at a Worldmark resort for the weekend at Arrow Point, near Coeur d’alene, Idaho. Mom and Dad, my second daughter, Ashley and her boyfriend, Eric, and my son Austin have settled into a 3 bedroom condo.

We are here for R & R, so we have set some rules to be sure that it happens.

Rule 1: No schedules allowed.

Rule 2: Everyone takes turns cooking meals.

Rule 3: Whoever cooks doesn’t have to clean up.

That’s worked pretty well in the past so that one person doesn’t have to feel that they missed out on vacation.

It’s that time of the year again - the time when we all make promises to ourselves that few of us will ever keep.

I quit making those promises to myself a long time ago for two reasons. First, I’m always so disappointed with myself when I don’t keep the promise. Second, I don’t have a whole lot of things in my life that I want to change.

Here’s someone in my camp on that philosophy.

I’ve never been big on (New Years resolutions), and haven’t really made a list of them for the past couple of years. Far too often, people around me make their customary (New Years resolutions) that they never could keep. To me, (New Years resolutions)…

So, who else is making New Year’s resolutions?

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Now It’s Time For My New Years Resolutions

1. I will write a blog post every day - Recommended by Jack Humphrey.

2. I will unload the dishwasher every morning - I have a hidden agenda on this one.

3. I will live a “more healthy” lifestyle. My doc says I need to take omega-3 tablets and cut down on the sweets. I’ll continue to take the anti-oxidants that have helped me to avoid sickness for the past two years. I’ll walk more and eat more green stuff. That’s enough for starters.

4. I’m gonna put in a killer garden this spring and maintain it throughout the growing season.

I’m sure there are others that I should add here, but really, blogging, sex, and food is what I think about most these days.