Jesus.

Philip. 2:6-8 (ESV)
"who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, [7] but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, [8] he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Equal with God: omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, etc
Made himself nothing: born in a manger, had "no place to lay his head" - essentially homeless (albeit, by choice)
Form of a servant: "he came not to be served, but to serve"
Death on a cross: the criminal's death that I deserved, in addition to bearing the full wrath of God!

It doesn't end here though ...

Philip. 2:9-11 (ESV)
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, [10] so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

I am united with Christ in his death, and therefore in his resurrection. As he bore my shame, so I shall share in his glory. How undeserved is this? What a mystery! How can such a revalation make sense?

Romans 6:3-4 (ESV)
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

My brain is tripping out {Tripod series}.

What I do know is that these passages motivate me to be like Jesus in how I seek to serve. I'm nobody special, if God would go to that extent to serve and save sinners, how much more should I seek to lay my life down for them? I can't save them, but I can be conformed to the image of Christ by imitating him in appropriately human ways. And it is all the more joyous, when I consider that these good works that I am commanded to do are rewarded in heaven!

Zowie! {Dad}

Thor.

(probable) Future post topics: not necessarily to be written in this order

Why is he called Thor, and how does he feel about that?

Teaching and hammers, a whole new approach to classroom discipline

The (current) love of my life: betcha this gets your attention

What makes a cool and nifty piece of technology? An in-depth interview with Thor

Manliness and Austen: how does a guy read JA and retain his claim to the remote control during a football game?

The joys of having techno-savvy relatives (and the dangers)

Hacking: the new battle ground for geeks vs jocks

How to have a good time beating each other up with nerf weapons

Girls vs Guys I: the greeting

Girls vs Guys II: social structure

Girls vs Guys III: dirt

Girls vs Guys IV: the color pink

Girls vs Guys V: advice - giving and getting

Observations on courtship: or how to not see your friend for 3 weeks

Work: what is it good for?

The joys of leadership

Kids I: a study in mob psychology

Kids II: the little things

Kids III: why you should scare the little people

Kids IV: how to win over a toddler - the story of Beeka and Nog

Kids V: naps, why adults love 'em and kids hate 'em

Kids VI: where is the nucky (pacifier) now?

Kids VII: the trials of being firstborn

When the phone rings ... analysis of your response

Driving I: what to teach

Driving II: what not to teach

Driving III: the 3rd most regular X experience for the average American

Driving IV: gas prices and complaining

Driving V: trucks - the glory and splendour

Driving VI: what is a Yugo?

Serving in the small stuff (a recap/revisitation of Kids II)

What to concentrate on for the first few years of homeschooling?

"What's with the chimp and the bug?"

Quotable movies - the ultimate smackdown

Humor and emails: what Thor loves about writing funny stuff ... will include a hard hitting commentary on PS's and *'s

Blogs: who really cares anyways? (stats provided by Sco-pi)

Punctuation in the late post-modern era: self expression or laziness or ... ?

All these to be found on my new blog as I get around to them.

Nog

Date:	2006-08-29 02:58
Subject:	Moving along
Security:	Public
Mood:	Recumbant wannabe

Ok, the snap pants were an admittedly bad idea. No, Alexa, you never did tell me any stories about your adventures with that article of clothing. For this, I think I am grateful.

I've set up my new camp http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/thor/ for anyone who's interested. Not sure how well that will all work out, but at least y'all are up to date.

N

PS. A tribute to the Goat (whose name I figured out is Frank) http://www.livejournal.com/site/goat.bml

Date:	2006-08-25 23:43
Subject:	I'm gonna miss the goat
Security:	Public
Mood:	Bouncing along at midnight

I'm considering migrating like the ancient Hutus of southern Africa ... Dad wants me to mosey on over to the homeschool blogger thingy and "make a difference" of some sort.

There's just one problem with that: the Live Journal login screen has a nifty little goat icon that I REALLY like.

Goat vs influence - tough choice. Is this blog for my amusment or isn't it?!

On another topic, more retreat recap:

They played "My First Love", which is just about my favorite jump-up-and-down end-of-the-ministry-night worship song. This one goes back 10+ years for me. That's one of the benefits of having Mr K lead worship - continuity :)

There were a number of conversions, at least one rededication (from a kid I was NOT expecting), and several healings. One girl in particular had her hearing completely restored (she was down to hearing aids, apparently). So the Spirit was present in power that night.

About five miles from the harbor tunnel, I get a phone call from our pastor's secretary (she does the nitty gritty of leading our admin team - while Brew gets all the credit - which is the proper way to lead ;) asking me if I might have the King's Dominion (major amusement/theme park) tickets with me. The reason she's asking is because I got up before 6am to drive back to the church with all the gear and equipment (and then to work) rather than going with them to KD. After we got through the tunnel, I pulled over and sure enough, there they were. In the frenzy of packing the night before, I guess somebody loaded them on the bus with me. Anyways, to turn around and go back at this point would mean getting there just as/after they were scheduled to leave (an hour or more). So instead they sent an advance team on ahead to pick up the tickets at a rest stop and then wait while the tour buses loaded up and travelled down. Meanwhile the tech guys and I got to finish our drop run to the church and unload in a relatively timely fashion.

That was the major hiccup of the retreat - pretty nifty, eh?

Nobody got hurt in any major way (last year we had a near stroke(?) and a piece of glass up someone's foot).

Finally, I got jumped by eight or so of the foolish guys and proceeded to thrash them. At the end of the match, I was in posession of the field and just getting revved up - so I claim victory. The next day we tried to do a rematch, but I foolishly wore snap-button sports pants (which got ripped off) and they broke the simple ground rules pretty thoroughly. I had to call the match off and declare it null and void. Mostly my fault for not taking proper precautions.

All in all, a good and deserving retreat - we encountered the Living God and also enjoyed each others' company for 3-4 days.

Nog

Date:	2006-08-22 07:53
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	bouncy

To those who regularly (or occasionally) check this blog - my insincere apologies for not having kept you all up to date on the life and thymes of Nog. I've been a little busy...

Recap:

The Mailout: went fairly smoothly. Approximately 500 packages went out the door in good order - although it took about two weeks to clean up all the little pieces that slipped through the cracks.

The Move: that took until mid-July before all was accomplished - three weeks of effort to prepare, move, and clean up afterwards. The end result though is VERY nice. The Far Side (the other, new warehouse space) is cool and quiet and productive in an R&D kinda way. Three big (4x8') whiteboard panels and a massive world map (takes up an entire wall) make it the latest in "cool". My warehouse space has been reorganized with a focus on shipping and such. It's been really nice to be able to focus back on what I'm good at, rather than constantly being interrupted with everyone's needs. Everyone agrees that this parting of the ways has made us about 50% more productive at least.

Other news:

The Shift: we've determined that I do NOT multi-task, which has been part of my problem over the last few months. I was having to juggle the needs of 10-15 people. When it takes you 2 hours (on occasion) to make a couple PBJs, then you know that you're not effectively managing your time. The problem is that I can do one thing at a time well, and two things at a time - barely at all. And I was constantly having to switch from one thing to the next every 2-10 minutes. We solved all this by making Grace the manager in the real-side warehouse (as opposed to the far-side). She does multi-task very effectively. So now she deals with all the little stuff and tells me what major things most need doing. This has proved to be very effective.

Shipping: I'm back at the job I like the most - filling orders. There is something richly satisfying to my soul to take a stack of paperwork and turn it into a stack of well made, securely packed product - winging its way off to make some little child's life less miserable than it would otherwise be. (Given that it's school, I still expect him to complain - just not as much).

The Retreats: Went on our Singles Care Group Leaders Retreat - which was fantastic. Good conversations, time with the men I respect the most, getting killed (nearly the first) in every game of dodgeball (but getting all the balls for our team (which ultimately lost, the slackers) every time), and an aborted attempt at paintball. It was an instructive time that has given me fresh motivation to go after sin in my own life and to lead my people in doing that in theirs. Inspired to train up new leaders for new groups, and to more faithfully bring Scripture to bear on every aspect of life.
Currently, I'm at our Sr High Youth Retreat (recently named Worthy: Living for the One who is), and that's been really good too. I worked until 4am two nights running and 2am the last night (Thur, Fri, Sat) to get everything ready for me to go. Lots of things at work that I finally took care of and then construction prep for decorations at the retreat (which turned our fantastically).

Highlights from the Retreat thus far:
1) Hanging out with the Admin Team - serving together is a great way to really get to know people - you've got time to talk as you work and then there's the shared pleasure of doing the good works that God has prepared for us. It is a privilege to labor together for the gospel with these folks!
2) Having a guy come up to me after the meeting who was convicted that he wasn't thirsting for God - so another guy and I took him aside and talked/prayed with him for a while. It was sweet to see the Spirit at work in his life, and to be a tool in His hands to accomplish that work.
3) A beloved mother in our church passed away last night (we knew it was coming - she's had cancer and had basically slipped into a coma the last couple days). Still, we had to break the news to her daughter - and many of the girls here are shook up emotionally. To see them praying together, singing, and worshipping God amidst the tears was a testimony to the grace of God in their lives. They understand the reality that this is a time of grieving, but that we will not weep forever. Someday soon we shall join that mother in beholding our Savior's face ... face to face, without the veil. It's a sobering moment, but I expect that it's gonna focus these kids on the messages like few other things would.
4) Three days of messages about God's Word - may that bear fruit in my life and the lives of these kids! All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable! It's like working along at you job ... sometimes y'gotta wait until the end of the month to get the results, but we keep on working because we know that it'll pay off.
5) The next two days, we'll be baptising about 25 (or maybe 50, I'm not sure if that's the overall or daily total) kids. This is one of the key moments in these kids lives - and it's an honor to be there to witness it.

Enough about all that. If I can, I'll post more later.

Gotta get going to breakfast! Mmmm

Nog

Date:	2006-06-28 18:05
Subject:	Rain RAIN Rain
Security:	Public
Mood:	hungry

Ah yes, the other news, although probably not news for most of my readers, is the rain.

Having just spent 10 days in the desert of Mexico, this was a particularly pleasant and epic event in my life.

We basically received about 1/3 of our annual rainfall in the space of 3-4 days (something like 10-13 inches). Three days of drizzle, torrential downpours, and heavy to light showers will give you a decent idea of what it might have been like to experience the Flood.

Highlights:
1) The transformer on the street out back of our yard blew up like a Fourth of July fireworks display - lots of fun, and then the power went (back) out.
2) Going down into my friend's basement, and saying to myself, "Rats, their dog just peed here and I stepped in it" then realizing that there was an aweful lot of squishiness going on. That ended with about eight guys ripping the basement rug apart and shop-vacuuming up many gallons of water until 1:30 in the morning (discovered around 11pm). Not that it's good/funny for the folks whose basement it is, but it's certainly a memory. And a good one in the sense that these guys were willing to answer the call in the middle of the night for their friend/neighbor (the male half of that sketch being gone on the second half of the Mexico trip, leaving his third trimester pregnant wife to deal with the situation) - God provided for their needs.
3) Sloshing through the rain in my truck
4) Laughing at Sam, who doesn't particularly care about being wet - and so spent much of the last few days looking like a near drowned floor mop.
5) Learning once again that there is no dignified way to keep yourself (especially your shoes) dry in such a situation - so you may as well enjoy being wet
6) Having learned the lesson above, going to the park with Sam and tossing a baseball for him and wading through the streams of water that were draining from the soccer/baseball fields. The toes of Nog were happy that day.
7) The security of mind that a dry basement gives one as a homeowner.

Date:	2006-06-28 18:04
Subject:	Updating
Security:	Public
Mood:	Busy as a bouncing bee

Greetings All.

It's been a busy month or so in the life of Nog.

New Attitude: a great time at which I was either serving, attending sessions, or sleeping - in about that order

The Week and a Half of Doom: I came home to find that we had approximately 200-300 orders to be filled YESTERDAY (our normal daily load is about 25) and I had only ten or so days until I left for ....

10 Days in Mexico: I went down three days early with Funky, Lil'E and #1 to buy food and supplies for 60+ people for a week. They came down on Monday (the 12th or so) and we worked on various projects for seven days. Every day except one, I drove into El Paso (at least a 3 hour trip - longest was 10 hours). On the other hand, I did get to drive a full size, stick shift school bus - which was a lot of fun (although a stressful experience at the time). We won eternal glory by defeating the Mexican team 3-2!! USA! USA! USA!

The Week Before the Wedding: m'bro got married on the 24th, and I returned late Monday night (the 19th). So it was a semi-leisurely week of wedding events (bachelor party, rehearsal dinner, and reception) mixed in with CG and trying to figure out what had happend at work while I'd been gone in Mexico. Thanks in large measure to Grace, I was pleasantly surprised to find that things were pretty well in hand.

The Move: We have rented a new warehouse space, conveniently located two doors down. Much of the last week or so has been spent working on electricity, internet access, painting, air conditioning, and the general bits and pieces of moving house (for the research and development team). Once they're out, I'll have/get to reorganize my space here - much of that will include dumping the non-essentials that I've collected in the last two years. DARE TO DUMP! (even though we don't like to)

The Mailout: Unit 1 arrived this morning and I've spent all day working on getting as much of that out the door as possible. So far, approximately 75 copies are speeding towards their anxious owners. The remaining 300 or so should go out over the next couple days. Then hopefully life will calm down enough for me to answer some of my emails and check phone messages.

Thanks to y'all for your prayers! Specific requests would be for diligence and skill at work - to accomplish what needs to be accomplished in a timely manner, and the wisdom from God to know what needs doing at any given time.

Nog

Date:	2006-05-22 10:59
Subject:	Clothing
Security:	Public
Mood:	content

This entry will be brief - but hopefully appropriately masculine.

Sunday afternoon I went shopping for clothes. This is a RARE occurance. In the last three years, not counting the traditional birthday and Christmas type gifts, I have put down hard cash (or plastic as the case may be) for clothing only two other times.

Fall 2003 in the company and with the advice of the Minard family.
post-Christmas 2004 with my beloved Mother - see previous post

And now Spring 2006 has joined the hallowed ranks of "Nate Buying Clothes". (actually/technically I also bought a suit in the company of my father, brothers, and the guys in Mike's wedding - but since it's for a future date, I'm not really counting it)

My good friend Nick is responsible for much of the "kick in the pants" motivation. Ruth was our primary fashion consultant, with Nick along to keep her from going overboard (not that she's in much danger of that, but we former boy scouts like to be prepared).

The Loot: all told, approximately $250
4 collared, button down shirts (none of them flannel) mainly in shades of blue (shocking, I know)
1 green/khaki striped polo
1 jeans - how does one say jeans in the singluar? Is it more correct to say pair of jeans?
1 khaki
1 pair of sandals
1 pair of dress shoes (that I'll probably be wearing for the better part of the next decade - same with suit, actually) This purchase was inspired by the realization that I had NOTHING to wear with my suit. In fact, I wound up borrowing my neighbor's dress shoes (paid for with help in the gardening project they'd undertaken - y'give a little, y'get a little).

WHY?

An excellent question. First, girls spend LOTS of time thinking about, purchasing, and looking good in clothes. Moreover, the girls that I know are committed to modesty in how they dress (for which I am profoundly grateful) and consequently, they have to spend even more time and effort to carefully evaluate what they wear. For them shopping isn't only about what fits well, but it also becomes an act of service. I've been under a growing conviction that for me to not care about what I wear or how I dress is essentially a slap in the face of the girls I know - that what they value and spend their time on is worthless in my eyes. Which it is not - but the question I've been wrestling with is: are my actions consistent with my beliefs? Not that y'all will see me in suits any more often than absolutly necessary ;) Second, it blesses my Mom - what better reason (currently) could I have? Third, it builds humility in me, to lay down my desires for comfort and ease and to actively seek advice and help in an area where I am obviously weak.

So .. those are the thoughts for the day.

Nog

Date:	2006-05-12 13:03
Subject:	Mission Implausible
Security:	Public
Mood:	smug

I'm not sure what it is, but it sounds absurd ...

A tribute to Mother: I love her.

In addition to that - although I work with/serve her practically on a daily basis, there comes a time once a year when the marketing executives of this grand nation have decided to lump together all the filial guilt of a selfish nation and offer it up in a massive sacrifice of cash and panic on the alter of materialism.

This year, Mom has added to her many graces in that she chose to be in CA for Mother's Day. Although I still plan and hope to do something special for her ... I'm pleased that I don't have to be part of the mad scrambling rat race.

Mom ROCKS!

:)

Nog

Date:	2006-05-07 00:14
Subject:	A good (if rare) day
Security:	Public
Mood:	thankful

This was the general outline of the day:

12:09am declared official end of Cinco de Mayo and latino jokes
4am finally wrapped up an evening of Settlers of Catan and Ghost Recon (one's a building game, the others a shoot everything that moves game)
4:30am go to sleep
7am wake up, put dog outside, go back to sleep
12:45pm wake up, note that dog is still happily staying outside without barking/scratching to get in
12:46pm go back to sleep
2:45pm wake up, and doze
3pm get up, say hi to puppy, lie in sun, doze
3:30-45pm get ready to take puppy for a walk in the woods
4:15 get back to house, hot and happy, shower, etc
5pm venture boldly forth to get dog food and dinner
5:40pm go back to sleep on couch
7:45 get up to go see Mission Impossible III (surprisingly good. check it out before you go see it so your conscience is clear, but I could recommend it with only minor reservations)
8pm begin to watch things get blown up, bad guys killed, girl kissed, good guys win
11pm check email and blogs
12:20am go walk the puppy again

Overall .. something like 12 hours of sleep.

Nog

Date:	2006-05-05 12:16
Subject:	Here's to Dad (I know, Mother's Day is nearly upon us)
Security:	Public
Mood:	In awe of God

I used to think that my Dad was, in a lovable way, nuts. He loved math, got excited about math, and practically danced with delight when one of the kids said, "Dad, I've got a math problem."

Well, today I had one of my own 'wonders of math' moments, and I'm pleased to join the ranks of math-nuts (although I only barely qualify for bronze level or whatever else is low on the math-lovers' totem pole of membership).

Let me see if I can summarize this:

1) Growing up, I was taught that zero doesn't actually exist. It isn't a number. It is simply a place holder, when we have no other numbers to stick in the slot. Nifty and neat - it lets us do all kinds of things, but in reality it is just an exercise in imagination.

2) Then comes the day that Dad says, "There's an infinite number of zeros" to which I replied, "No there isn't, since zero doesn't even exist!" The 'yes there is, no there isn't' exchange went on for a while. Eventually I agreed that if you acknowledged that zero was something (still undefined in my mind) then you could have an infinite number of zeros. This works because ...

3) The basics: Any number multiplied by zero equals zero [2x0=0; 123,456,789x0=0; -77x0=0; etc, and you get the point]. There are an infinite number of numbers (take the biggest/smallest number you can think of and add/subtract one). Thus there are an infinite number of ways to get zero. This is sort of like 1 divided by 1 = 1, or 2 divided by 2 = 1 ... any number divided by itself = 1, and in similar fashion, any number multiplied by 0 = 0. All this I learned at my father's feet by about fifth grade.

4) Now the fun stuff:
a) I'm probably going to get a shirt with the 'number' 0 on it.
b) So I was joking to a friend that this was good, cause it would remind me that I'm nothing and thus help me to be humble.
c) Then I remembered that not only am I nothing, but I am a place holder - whose value comes from the numbers around me. We, as humans, have value because we are made in the image of God - our value comes from him. Sort of like the number 10 ... the zero (me) has value because of the One (God).
d) Plus there are an infinite number of ways to get 0, each of them unique, and yet in the end, all of the same value - nothing in themselves, or of great value when added to the One. This is similar to how each of us is uniquely created by God, yet we are all equal. .000002(a baby who dies within minutes of being born - weak, helpless, and without any accomplishment)x0=0 and 999,999,999(Einstein, Newton, Hawking, Alexander, Napoleon, Moses - people who have changed the world)x0=0
e) Wow, even as I'm writing this - new thought! If God is 1 - he has value in himself (haven't yet gone after 3 divided by 3 = 1, but I'm sure it has elements of profundity in it - although, the disclaimer that every analogy breaks down eventually can be safely inserted here). Ok, so then we start adding zeros - let's say Adam and Eve. They're value (let's equate value with weight or glory) is nothing in themselves, but added to that One and we're at 100. Ok, now repeat the process with billions of zeros. None of them alone or even all together is worth anything (if I gave you $000,000,000 - would you be thankful to me or even have to pay taxes on it?), but when you put that One in the picture, they are of immense weight/value/glory.
f) Wow squared! Lessee, a 1 followed by several billion zeros is so big a number that I don't think they've even got a name for it ... yet compared with infinity it is nothing. The largest number you can possibly come up with is nothing beside infinity.
g) So, do we add anything to God's glory? Nope, he's already infinitely glorious - and yet, yes - a portion of that glory comes from our contribution. We are image bearers and place holders - proclaiming the glory of God and the gospel.

At times like these, I see why Dad loves math.

A humbled Nog

Date:	2006-05-01 17:40
Subject:	Estrogen Appreciation Day
Security:	Public
Mood:	tired

There are days in the life of Nog when he realizes that the only thing to do is to go lie down and pull a blanket over his head.

This was one of those days.

Persons unnamed began X and the resulting enthusiastic effervescing became overwhelming. Added to that was the addition of 'name censored' an individual to another trio's gym class that had one in three seriously freaking out and the other two laughing at her. Then there were the general temperature wars, the natural chit-chat and conversation, and the drop-by visitors to re-visit enthusiasm and effervescence of X.

All of which is to say that I got little done. In the midst of all this, I spent about three or four hours on the phone today. So by 2pm I was putting everyone into solitary isolation by making them wear headphones and listen to music. Then things got quieter. For a while.

Not to complain about it - especially since yesterday was a banner day (played with kids, pretty much all day long and into the night). I just need to go mow the lawn, smash concrete, walk my dog, and maybe burn something alive (like ticks). And meat - lots of meat.

I, a frog among the lilies,

Nog, son of Grog

PS. Sam is doing good - we're working diligently on 'come' and it's past time for it. Still he's patiently dealing with my lack of consistency in the past and submitting with fairly good grace to the curbing of his wandering feet. I am richly blessed in his sweet and tolerant nature.

PPS. Having a dog reminds me in many ways of how God deals with us - he corrects us and trains us for our good. Not that chasing after that particular deer is bad for me now, but the art of obedience in the face of such temptation might save my life when it's a car that I'm leaping towards while ignoring the command to come to the Master's call. It's not that what I want is bad, but that I want it too much.

Date:	2006-04-27 09:21
Subject:	Cute, but weird
Security:	Public
Mood:	hugry - in a good way

I work with: my mother, my sister, and about 3-5 other girls on any given day. This gives me LOTS of opportunity to observe them in action. And my conclusion is that they are generally cute, but weird.

I'd say more, but work calls me away ...

Nog

Date:	2006-04-24 16:07
Subject:	Give us a shoutout London!
Security:	Public
Mood:	hungry

Knight's Tale is one of my more favorite movies. From the opening strains of "We will rock you" I knew that this was going to be a personal favorite. The thrust of the movie is to take a sorta NFL style sports feel and apply it to jousting tournaments of the Medieval Age. So it's not 'romantic' nor 'realism' but just plain fun. Throughout it has several different popular rock songs that get blended into the mix. The dialogue is witty and the acting is decent. And, of course, it's full of guys on horses getting hit with sticks :)

"Helloooo .. it's called a lance!"

Check it out on whatever you use to check these things out and then go watch it, if your conscience is clean. So far as I know it's PG (maybe 13?).

The siblings and I were chuckling mightily over it the other day, so I thought I'd share.

Nog

Date:	2006-04-20 09:25
Subject:	Urk
Security:	Public
Mood:	bouncing along

Haircut. Gack.

Ah well, once every six months, whether I need it or not.

In other news, at about 4:30am this morning, Sam goes nuts - barking his fuzzy little head off. Groggily I stagger from bed to find that there is a fox in the backyard. That critter was quite cute, and I was able to see him clearly because I had the back light on. Bold as brass (in a cautious kinda way) he came sniffing around after some food that Sam had left uneaten. Knowing that it would NOT bless the neighbors for Sam to share his guard-dog warnings with them, I decided to keep him inside. This resulted in us revisiting the command/lesson "Quiet". Anyways, it was eventful.

That's the news from the homefront.

Nog

Date:	2006-04-19 12:00
Subject:	Gurgle
Security:	Public
Mood:	Hungry in a good way

This journal entry is brought to you by the words "gurgle" and "smock", which are two very fine words running for the prestigious "Word of the Year" award.

Please submit your votes in triplicate to Kyrgyzstan's capital - assuming you can ever figure that out.

Hey, voting is a privilege, not a right! Well, it is a right, but that right is a privilege of age and citizenship. Which leads us to the people chattering in the background. Technically they all have the right to vote in Presidential elections, but that doesn't do much good in the warehouse. Here I am The Benevolent Dictator for Life. I try not to abuse my power too much ;)

Why do I put up with them? Well, occasionally they redeem themselves with a quote from Emperor's New Groove.

N

PS. Sam is happily hanging out at the parentals place.

Date:	2006-04-14 10:05
Subject:	Email woes
Security:	Public
Mood:	uneasy

I need to regularly check my email at work.
Except I've practically given up the computer on which I check email, because other people need it more.
Which means that I don't check my email for days at a time.
And that leads me to 40, 50, 60 or more unread emails - a number of them time-sensitive.
Ick.

I've tried switching the email access to my new laptop, but it hasn't worked thus far.
Urk.

Basically it boils down to diligence and humility. Diligence to check email despite obstacles. Humility to ask for and pursue help until the problem is solved.

On the other hand I am managing to keep up with phone calls pretty well. So there's been growth!

Sam needs more exercise and training - specifically in the area of responding to the "come" command.

That's about it for the moment.

Nog

Date:	2006-04-13 09:49
Subject:	Parental Units
Security:	Public
Mood:	happy

The Parental Units and the Cute Stuff are back in town. Actually, they're back on the continent and in the country. A neat trick if you can manage it.

And now comes the day ... re-integrating the Mother and Casey.

Nog

Date:	2006-04-12 13:48
Subject:	Has your Hutu uprisen?
Security:	Public
Mood:	full from lunch!

All kinds of thoughts and potential subjects to blog about ... what to choose, what to choose?

1) Rocketman is hilarious .. I need to get a personal copy for future enjoyment.
2) Rush rocks. He is, admittedly and to a fair degree, arrogant. On the other hand, he's also very very very good at what he does.
3) The parentals and baby sister come home today - and I'll be the one to get them
4) Beta is tonight
5) Samwise stories - he and I are still coming to an accord about the proper use of teeth
6) Mottos

One of my mottos is, "We live to serve." There's all kinds of Scriptural backup for this, but I'd like to focus for a moment on the immediate benefits. Last night, with about 2 minutes of extra effort I was able to make somebody's face light up like it was Christmas morning.

That's not an eternal reward ... by next week or month, they'll pretty much have forgotten all about this. Even the joy of that moment only lasts until the next life event (i.e. their brother eats the last of the cereal or somesuch) and then it's gone. What's really awesome is that - to some degree or another - these kinds of good works that God has prepared for us to do (serving and laying down our lives) are going to reap an eternal reward for us. Sure the payoff is sweet when we see someone delight in what we've done to serve them, but much more lasting and worthwhile is the delight of God.

"We live to serve" then, is my battle-cry and reminder to myself that it's not about me, it's about imitating Christ - "Who came not to be served, but to serve and to lay his life down as a ransom for many."

That's the thought for today.

Date:	2006-03-30 09:14
Subject:	Sometimes ...
Security:	Public
Mood:	full

Sometimes you can fight sin with sin (i.e. anger vs fear of man) ... but that only works for a limited time. Eventually one sin or the other will triumph. But to fight sin with Scripture and the Holy Spirit is to use a sword and unending, living water. It reminds me of the firefighters who fight those MASSIVE forest fires out west and down south. These blazes cover thousands of acres - destroying everything in their path. Often they are so devastating because the deadwood has not been cleared out and so the fires burn much hotter than they otherwise would. As I've meditated on these thoughts, here's what I've come up with:

1) Fire is never satisfied - it always consumes more and more until everything within its reach is burned up. This should be a solemn warning to me that there is no truce with sin, no halfway meeting. Either it must be put out or it will rule completely.
2) The fire is pervasive - in a forest fire, it's everywhere, no place is safe because eventually it will be overrun. So too, sin is present everywhere in my life - nothing is untouched by it.
3) In fighting such a blaze, firemen do two things: a) they dig and chop and clear away 'firebreaks' so that the fire is denied fuel and b) they pour lots and lots and lots of water onto the flames. So too, I should be a) not feeding my flesh - my sin. I need to be identifying what thoughts, habits, and temptations allow me to believe the lie that sin will satisfy and that God will understand/not care/not see. b) I need to be spending regular and extensive time in prayer, seeking the Holy Spirit's help in my fight with sin. He is the living water that quenches the fires of sin. So I see that this is a two-fold operation: first to deny fuel to the fire, and then to pour water on the fire to put it out. Actually, as I'm thinking about it, when you put out a campfire or a bonfire you have to rake over the coals again and again and pour water anything that glows. That's because the fire will hide underneath wood and survive an initial quenching even though it appears that everything has been put out. With sin it's the same, we must constantly watch for any spark and examine our lives closely, turning over seemingly innocent habits and activities to reveal hidden sinful motives.
4) No one person ever tries to take on a forest fire alone ... this is a battle that needs the help of others: of friends, parents, siblings, pastors, cg leaders, etc. Working alone one gets frustrated or overwhelmed.
5) Only a fool or a suicidal person goes and plays in the middle of a fire - a sane person gets as far away from the fire as they can. So too I need to flee the temptation of sin when I'm unprepared. And I need to be prepared to fight sin at any time.
6) Often a fire spreads by sparks borne on the wind. We live in a culture full of sparks. This is why godly friendships are so important - it's like putting a no-spark zone up along part of your borders.

There are probably other thoughts that could be thunk about this, but I've gotta get going.

Nog