Nehemiah

This past week in Sunday school our lesson was on Nehemiah.

I love the book of Nehemiah. It's one of my favourite books of the Bible (not that the others are bad... you know what i mean). It's such a cool story of God's design planted within the heart of a man. Nehemiah faces constant adversity and opposition, but continues to seek God and follow His .

I particularly like the opening prayer found in verses 5-11:

Then I said:
"O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.

"Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.'

"They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.

Such a cool prayer.

What about you, what is your favourite book of the Bible?

back to the drawing board

sad news everyone.... i didn't make the cut for "who wants to be a millionaire".

but i did get a t-shirt, magnet, and pencil!

and I did have fun. I arrived at the U of M dearborn campus at 6am (it started at 7) and found myself 171st in line. Around 400 people make it into the first round of testing with me and we filled out two 30 question tests, with 10 minutes to complete each test.

The tests were all multiple choice, just like the show, and i thought i did well. However, i knew i had just enough answers i was unsure of that i might not make the cut. Unfortunately, i was not among the lucky few to make the cut (about 20 people passed the first test and about 60 passed the second one; the guy next to me passed both). I was out of there at 8:30 and only drove 2 miles out of my way to get there, so i don't feel like i had to give up much to get turned away.

here's one question i did not know the answer to:

A Sirocco is:
a. a wind
b. a thunderstorm
c. a hurricane
d. a flood

what's your answer?

for jared: pressure point knockout

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

the next gamble

i was right about american gladiators. tim tore it up.

next finale... the mole. it's craig. i am completely sure it is him.
I thought it was alex until he got eliminated. craig is too much of a nice guy who happens to make alot of mistakes.

gladitor bets

the men are about to compete in the final eliminator of american gladiators.

my money is on Tim. that guy is lightning.

Who wants to be a millionaire?

I do.

And i may get my chance to get on the show. Becky saw on the news that there will be an open audition for the syndicated version on the University of Michigan Dearborn campus in about 2 weeks. I'm going to go for it. If i don't make it at least i tried and i only had to drive a few miles to get there.

So i've been trying to brush up on a few topics to prepare. I know i need to go over U.S. Presidents and the Constitution (stuff i didn't learn much about growing up in Canada). I'll also try to go over the basics of Shakespeare (titles, major characters, plot points).

Any advice? Any other areas i should study?

A lesson for all the kids out there

We get our internet and cable through comcast. We've actually been pretty happy with them, but our cable rate just jumped up because a promotional discount just ended. Our cost per month went up about $15, not a huge amount, but it's enough to make us reconsider where our money is being spent. I called comcast to see if they would be able to give us another discount, but i was told they couldn't do anything for us. Then using our comcast internet we researched rates for a rival cable company (WOW) which we discovered would save us a few dollars.

However before I made any deal with WOW i called comcast back to see if they would make us a better deal. I got ahold of the right customer service guy because he gave me a great deal where we are now paying $15 less per month than we had been paying. Don't settle for the rate increases of cable companies, keep calling until they give you a better offer. Hooray for persistence!

the dark knight

I went to see the midnight showing of the newest batman film on thursday/friday.

It was awesome. It's the best movie i've seen since the Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King. I really enjoyed Batman Begins and I knew this was going to be good, but it was even better than i expected. Chris Nolan has totally established himself as an elite hollywood director. Christian Bale continues to redefine Batman and raise the bar for modern actors. Heath Ledger blows Jack Nicholson's Joker out of the water. Heath's Joker is to Jack's Joker as Jack's Joker is to Caesar Romero's Joker.

This movie moves beyond the conventions of other comic based films; other superhero moves should be ashamed of themselves (i'm looking at you superman returns. not so fast spiderman 3). I highly recommend this film.

What's your review?

Are You Smarter Than A Four Year Old?

Evan is really into dinosaurs. So today I challenged him to think of as many dinosaur names as he could off the top of his head (we gave him a couple of hints). Think you have what it takes to challenge my son?

Take the next few minutes and name as many as you can. No time limit, but no cheating!







ok. How'd you do??
Evan got 25.

Gallimimus Stegocerus
Anklyosaurus Tyrannosaurus Rex
Euplocephalus Hadrosaurus
Stegosaurus Triceratops
Hypsilophodon Diplodocus
Velociraptor Dilophosaurus
Deinonychus Scloasaurus
Ichthyosaurus Tylosaurus
Pteranodon Apotasaurus
Corythosaurus Pachycephalosaurus
Pteradactyl Spinosaurus
Dimetrodon Styrachosaurus
Protoceratops

He eventually got tired of playing the game but here is a list of additional dinosaurs that we know he could identify by memory if he had a couple more hints or more motivation:

Brachiosaurus Archelon
Parasaurolophus Maiasaura
Rhamphorynchus Iguanadon
Camptosaurus Elasmosaurus
Troodon Allosaurus
Edmontosaurus Monoclonius

How'd you do?

Hamilton breaks All-Star HR record

I didn't watch the Home Run Derby last night. I forgot it was on. In a previous post i've shared with you that i don't follow baseball much, but i like watching the HR derby. Something about the power and beauty of the moment. I'm pretty good at wii sports home run derby. I am particularly saddened that i missed the broadcast yesterday because Josh Hamilton broke the record of most home runs in a single round with 28 long bombs (the previous record was 24). Unfortunately Josh lost in the final round.

I'm cheering for J-Ham because he has an incredible story of how Christ changed his life. I don't know all the details, but the story goes that he was drafted #1 by the Tampa Bay Rays in 1999, but drug and alcohol addiction nearly destroyed his life and career. Through the intervention of his Grandmother he found Christ and has redeemed his soul and his career. Here's an amazing article he wrote for espn the magazine.

If you don't read the whole thing, he shares this story at the end...

"... there is one story that sticks with me, so much so that I think of it every day. I was driving out of the players' parking lot at Great American Ball Park after a game in May, with Katie and our two girls. There's always a group of fans standing at the curb, hoping to get autographs, and I stop to sign as many as I can.

And on this particular night, a little boy of about 9 or 10, wearing a Reds cap, handed me a pen and something to sign. Nothing unusual there, but as I was writing the boy said, "Josh, you're my savior."

This stopped me. I looked at him and said, "Well, thank you. Do you know who my savior is?"

He thought for a minute. I could see the gears turning. Finally, he smiled and blurted out, "Jesus Christ." He said it like he'd just come up with the answer to a test. "That's exactly right," I said."

Now that's the kind of guy i can root for. Way to go Josh!!

1 degree of separation

Last week my parents were visiting us here at home and they were watching the reality competition "nashville star". I've never watched the show before and as they showed the various contestants i was suddenly struck when i recognized one of the contestants.

I know Coffey (pronounced "coff-ay").


He attended Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas during my year there as a Resident Director. I wasn't close to him, but we'd talked a few times. In fact, when i went to HPU to interview for the RD position, I went out to lunch with him and 2 other student leaders. I also recognized him when he was a contestant on American Idol (he made it to the Hollywood round) so it was surprising to see him as a finalist in another singing competition. Coffey is a really nice guy and he does have a great voice. I wish him all the best (i think he's in the final 6 now) and if you vote for the show, vote for Coffey!

I've also known another reality show competitor. I was also not very close with him, but I
knew who he was around campus (when i was an RD at Spring Arbor University). I am speaking about the infamous Josh Aspiranti. He was a contestant on Fear Factor and became famous for his Incredible Hulk-esque freakout during a "bobbing for rings in cows blood" competition. Seriously, it was a sight to behold.


I've tried to find a clip online, but no luck so far. I may still have it on tape at home, in which case I'll try to upload it.

Those are my two connections with anyone "before they were kind-of stars". How about you? any connection to someone before they went on to become famous (reality show or otherwise)?

Happy Canada Day!

O Canada!

Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

oh what a relief it is

Becky and I received a gift certificate for 2 free massages as a present this past Christmas. We'd put if off and finally needed to redeem them before they expired and I ended up going in this morning.

I think one of the reasons that I put it off was because I felt funny about going. I'd never received a professional massage before, but something about it just felt un-manly. Guys who get massages are models or big wig executives or the big wig executive of a modeling agency. Maybe i felt a bit like getting a massage meant that i had to admit weakness because I couldn't handle the stress in my life on my own. I think you see where this is going...

It was great. Really relaxing; just what i needed. I got a full back/shoulder/neck treatment.

Butykos Chiropractic in Dearborn Heights. You should go. Very professional, not shady or awkward in any way.

day 2

I finally got linked to the hospitals wireless network ( i had to uninstall mcafee). computers are great and dumb.

anywho... day number two has gone well. We've had a few visitors, but we've also had plenty of time for just the 3 of us. Ashlyn is sooo cute and she sleeps, eats, and poops like a pro.

Becky is doing great as well. It's been a more painful day, but day 2 is always the worst day following a c-section [day 1 you're still on the stronger meds, later days allow time for more healing]. We did have a little excitement today when our entire floor was asked to move into the hallways because of a tornado warning. We sat there for about 15 minutes in the most uncomfortable chairs they could find.

Thanks so much to everyone who has supported us and prayed for us during this pregnancy. We love you and hope you get a chance to see us all soon.

Ashlyn Ann Teal

Time: 8:16am
Weight: 7lbs. 14oz
Length: 21in
Hair: Really Dark
Eyes: Beautiful

Mom is doing great, baby is great too! She's very quiet, but i'm sure that'll change soon when there are 2 other LOUD voices to compete with.

you can find more pictures on my facebook.


p.s.
Sorry it's taken so long to get the pix online, i can't seen to connect with the hospital's wireless network.

the final countdown

ba da ba buh, ba da ba bum ba, .... (you know you're singing it)

We are about 22 hours away from the birth of our baby girl and I couldn't be more excited. It's going to be great; and challenging! But i think there's often a direct correlation in life that an increasing amount of challenge corresponds with increasing amounts of greatness.

It appears that the hospital rooms have wifi, so be watching for the baby pictures and info sometime tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for all your prayers.

tub time

Wow, time has really flown by since my last post. We're only a few days away from having our new baby girl and we've been preparing the house like crazy. Just a couple of days ago I was home alone with the boys and I was washing dishes in the kitchen while Evan and Aaron were playing together in the other room.

I was really happy because they were playing well together and i was able to get alot done. As i was finishing up i thought to myself 'i wonder what they're up to?'




They were busy moving half of their toys into the bath tub (and they would have brought over the rest if i hadn't have stopped them). I love how happy they are about their antics.

A little bit of mischief, but not too much mess; you gotta let your kids get away with something:)

you say tomatoe, i say salmonella

I am not a fan of vegetables. And by "not a fan" i mean that i hardly eat them at all. part of me wishes i did; for health reasons, yes, but mostly because in social settings i'd be able to avoid the "why aren't you eating your salad?" conversation. I'm not really embarrassed about it, it's just annoying to constantly have to explain my food peculiarities and then making people feel like they need to accommodate my food preferences if they have me over for dinner. So it gives me a small amount of joy to see that tomatoes have become a threat to our national security (threat level red).

It personally gives me even greater joy because my mom has a tomatoe story that has become part of our family lore (i'm sure your family has those types of stories). It is a "try new foods" lecture that is recited with predictable regularity. The short version is as follows:

As a child my mom disliked tomatoes. One day she saw her cousins eating raw tomatoes in the same manner that one usually eats an apple. Watching the juice drip down their chins (a key element to the story), my mom decided to retry the forbidden fruit. She discovered that she does like tomatoes and the rest is history (to be recounted ceaselessly).

Now i can just picture salmonella dripping down their chins and i'll never be tempted to eat a new food again.

Just did my duty

I'm sure you've been eagerly anticipating the outcome of my jury duty; we'll here's what happened...

I managed to actually wake up at 6:40 and was on the road by 7:00. Traffic wasn't too bad driving downtown, but with the major reconstruction of I-75 the detour added a bit of time. I was able to get to the "Jurors Lobby" about 5 minutes early and the waiting game began. I waited in that room with about 150 other people (i was surprised how many people were there) until 8:15 when they showed an orientation video. Then about every 1/2 hour they would call list of about 20 names who were then led to the various courtrooms for juror selection. My name was read at about 10:30 and i proceeded to the 8th floor of the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice (the Honorable Judge Hathaway presiding). I waited in the hallway outside the courtroom for 1 minute and the Deputy Sheriff told us that the trial had been resolved (someone made a deal) and we could all return to the jury lobby. After another hour of waiting, they read my name with about 40 others and told us we could go home. That was it.

I was disappointed that I didn't get to go further, as i said in my previous post, i think that serving on a jury would be really exciting. However I was really glad that I didn't get caught up in a lengthy trial with only 3 weeks until the new baby girl.

Have any of you readers gotten further than that?

just doin my duty

I have jury duty tomorrow. I was able to get out of it several years ago because i was in grad school at the time (students are exempt). But there's no escaping it this time around and I can't help but have split feelings about serving tomorrow.

On the one hand, it's my civic duty and an opportunity to be a part of the judicial system of our country. I am interested in the legal system and I think that being a part of a jury would be a really interesting. As a Christian and former member of the university discipline process i am intrigued and challenged by the balance of justice and mercy. I would be proud to be a part of making a difference in our community.

On the other hand, i really don't want to drive into downtown detroit and sit in a jury lobby all day. no cell phone, no laptop, no pda, no portable video games; what do they think this is...1980? I don't want give up a full day just to sit around and be told "thanks, but you're not needed". Plus, i've got to get up at the crack 'o dawn (6:40... in the AM!)

I can guess that I won't be allowed to blog about the specifics of whatever happens, but maybe I'll be able be able to share something of the process.