A Morning Prayer

I like this Orthodox morning prayer. It's a prayer of someone who doesn't expect everything to go all that well the rest of the day. Someone who prays this prayer is taking it day by day, even hour by hour, and he's asking to be taught to accept God's will in everything that happens.

O Lord, grant that we may meet the coming day in peace.
Help us in all things to rely upon Your holy will.
In each hour of the day, reveal Your will to us.
Bless our dealings with all who surround us.
Teach us to treat all that shall come to us throughout the day with peace of soul, and with the firm conviction that Your will governs all.
In all our deeds and words, guide our thoughts and feelings.
In unforseen events, let us not forget that all are sent by You.
Teach us to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others.
Give us the strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day, with all that it shall bring.

Direct our wills.
Teach us to pray.
Pray within us. Amen.

Let Go

Having my child in the hospital for weeks and weeks has made certain things stand out that I wouldn't have noticed before. For example, this lyric from Jars of Clay's Good Monsters CD has been really meaningful to me lately.

So, give up the right, to control the waves that empty at your life
Above wild skies, are the rays that break the shadows we design

Give it up, let go. These are things you were never meant to shoulder.
Give it up, Let go...

We simply can't control most of what happens to us. Nor do we understand God's plan; we just see "wild skies." I'd like to think these experiences are teaching us detachment from the world and acceptance of God's will. But that's giving me quite a bit more credit than I deserve.

The Christian Love of Trees

I found this statement of the Christian's love for nature touching.

Andy's Sayings

Andy was being goofy tonight.

Andy's Favorite Things
Car: Tow truck
Color: Red, Yellow, Green, Red (repeated)
Animal: Jaguar
Bird: Woodpecker
Muffin: Pink muffin with a cherry on top
Game: Count how many pumpkins we have outside on Halloween
Inside Game: I Spy
Food: Lamp, lightbulb, a blanket, and oatmeal, and cereal and milk and water and milk and... a woodpecker and a bumblebee
Friend at school: Juanita (dancing partner)
Game to play at school: Hey, there's a fire coming


Andy's Goofy Cookie Recipe
Get cookie powder
Put it in a bowl with bubbly water
Some hot water
Some hot cocoa mix
Add a dog bone

On Looking Good

One of Touchstone's contributors posted a great comment a few days ago. Usually I don't like swearing, but in this case it was so appropriate that I'll quote it here:

"...we should never try to appear so damn good that anyone who, as a result of coming to know us better, is put in danger of losing his faith."

Full post here.

Free Classical Music (Legal)

If you like classical music, check out the Peabody Institute's web site. It offers free downloads of full recordings by its various orchestras. The downloads are high quality 256 Kbps MP3's.

Anyway, to an untrained ear like mine, these performances sound every bit as good as a professional orchestra. You know, the kind these musicians join as soon as they graduate.

Symphony Orchestra: http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/584
Concert Orchestra: http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/743

Enjoy!

The New Me

Now that I'm on St. George's Parish Council, I decided to make a few changes to my look.

Weird Al's Dylan Parody

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Nej4xJe4Tdg

Weird Al did a hilarious parody of Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues," mimicking the opening cue-card scene from Don't Look Back. The best part is every single line is a palindrome. Pure gold!

Orthodoxy Conversion Story

A prominent Catholic blogger has converted to Orthodoxy, largely driven by liberalism and pedophilia within the Catholic hierarchy. This is a very interesting post... I personally had not known how widespread the cover-up was.

http://www.beliefnet.com/blogs/crunchycon/2006/10/orthodoxy-and-me.html

A Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/september/11.57.html

I'm really encouraged to see this statement from some in the evangelical world. Many Christian churches are too easily manipulated by political parties and ideologies (conservative and liberal) today. The Church can't be caught up in the zeitgeist.

One thing I've thought a lot about is what churches need to do to set themselves up for the long haul. Imagine what would happen if Christ doesn't return until the year 3500. What will your neighborhood Lutheran or evangelical church believe in 3006? Any guesses? Now, what will the Catholic and Orthodox churches believe in 3006? I have a pretty good idea.

My point is that the ancient churches have shown that Holy Tradition based on Holy Scripture is a combination that stands the test of time. So far we've made the transition from living under a pagan Roman Empire to the Dark Ages to Islamic rule to the Enlightenment to a totalitarian communist rule to the world of today. No doubt changes have occurred in liturgy, etc., but the core dogmas remain essentially the same. A Christian from the 4th century could feel pretty much at home in the Orthodox church I go to today. And I think that's pretty darn cool.

What a Weekend!

Last weekend I:
1) Camped out with my boys in the backyard
2) Replaced two more windows, courtesy of above boys
3) Watched Iowa get beat soundly by Ohio State on national television
4) Finished Memoirs From the House of the Dead
5) Found Noah's glasses in the backyard by scanning the yard pace by pace while wearing a headlamp. At 12:30 AM.
6) Got Pediasure from Hy-Vee
7) Did assorted housework
8) Finished latest edition of Touchstone magazine

I'm pooped, but it was fun!

Funny Onion article

I'm Doing My Inconsequential Part For The Environment

Andy's Invisible Dragon

Many children have invisible friends. Not many have invisible dragons. Andy is one of the lucky kids who does.

Andy and his dragon have a lot of fun together. Last night he and his dragon were splashing each other in the tub. This morning they had a sword fight. Then, later they played chase together on his "motorcycle" (Big Wheel) outside.

The one thing I don't like about his dragon is that he makes quite a few messes around the house. I'll ask Andy, "What happened here?" And nine times out of ten, he'll say, "My dragon did it." "Your dragon is pretty messy isn't he?" "Yeah, he is."

Cute things Andy said tonight

Tonight as I was getting Noah ready for bed, Andy kept trying to get my attention from his room (he was in bed already).

"Daddy, Daddy! Excuse me!!!" Holly is teaching him to say "excuse me" when he wants to interrupt someone.

I went into his room, and he said, "Come here, I want to tell you something. I'm telling God I won't squeeze all the toothpaste out in the sink again." He got in trouble for that tonight.

"I'm sure God forgives you Andy. He loves you very much."

"Yes, God's my friend. And next time you go to the grocery store to get wet wipes with Noah, I'll obey you and get on my shoes and socks."

"That's good Andy. That will be really fun if you can go with us next time. Good night, sweetie."

"Good night Daddy."

Dancing with Devox

Here's a hilarious review from a magazine called The Baffler. Apparently, a couple postmoderns wrote a book explaining their cultural mastery and how corporations can profit from it. It has a lot to do with some mysterious thing they call "devox."

Warning: this article is rated PG-13 for some bad language.

The Baffler review

Bad skiing = bad ACL

Last Friday I got the radiologist's report from my MRI. My meniscus and cartilage are both fine. I'm especially glad about this part because a ruptured meniscus can cause arthritis. My MCL is sprained but not torn. It should heal fine on its own.

I have a bone contusion, whatever that means. Unfortunately, I see my doctor on Friday afternoons, and he always seems pretty eager to leave the office. His explanations are a wee bit hasty for my taste.

The worst news is that I have a partially torn ACL. There is a small chance it is totally torn. Basically I'm just going to have to take it easy for another few weeks and get it rechecked. The doctor told me that even with a torn ACL I should have no problem running, hiking, biking, and so on. That's almost everything I like to do anyway. What I can't do until it heals or gets repaired are twisting, pivoting, abrupt direction changes. In other words, tennis, raquetball, and basketball are out for now.

Progress on Resolutions, My Knee, and a Minor Wine Discovery

I'm doing well on my New Year's Resolutions so far.
- Cook an Indian meal (check)
- Finish painting the stairwell (check)

My 100 pushups per night are getting easier too.

I twisted my left knee skiing in Quebec a few weeks ago. At first it was incredibly painful and stiff, but it's getting better and better. I went to an orthopedic doctor today, and he wants to do an MRI. I want to avoid surgery, but at the same time I want to be able to be as active as I have been in the past. I guess I'll just see how it goes.

By the way, I discovered in Montreal that "syrah" is a kind of wine. So, my favorite wine from Dahls, Les Sens de Syrah, is not one of a kind. Very cool!

Making snowmen

 
 

Les Sens de Serah Chateau Beachene

 
I've been drinking a glass of red wine each night, hoping to raise my abysmal HDL cholesterol numbers. I spend $10 or less on each bottle, and it usually lasts me for two weeks.

I really liked this one. It had a great mellow taste in a great looking bottle. 

This is a picture of a whale with fins and two "shooting guns." Andy drew it for Adeline.