Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Rogaine!

According to Tim Hawkins, as Eric Clapton rolls into the winter of his years, his classic "Cocaine" will must needs be replaced by "Rogaine." Enjoy.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

If Your Lord Call You to Suffering...

"If your Lord call you to suffering, be not dismayed; there shall be a new allowance of the King for you when ye come to it. One of the softest pillows Christ hath is laid under his witnesses' head, though often they must set down their bare feet among thorns." (Samuel Rutherford)

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Samuel Rutherford on the Lord's Seemingly Harsh Dealings

"Let not the Lord's dealings seem harsh, rough, or unfatherly, because it is unpleasant. When the Lord's blessed will bloweth cross your desires, it is best in humility to strike sail to him and to be willing to be laid any way our Lord pleaseth; it is a point of denial of yourself, to be as if ye had not a will, but had made a free disposition of it to God, and had sold it over to him; and to make use of his will for yours own is both true holiness, and your ease and peace."

Matthew Henry on "The Difficulties of Providence"

“The difficulties of providence, otherwise unaccountable, may be resolved into this—God intends in them to show himself, to declare his glory, to make himself to be taken notice of. Those who regard him not in the ordinary course of things are sometimes alarmed by things extraordinary. How contentedly then may a good man be a loser in his comforts, while he is sure that thereby God will be one way or other a gainer in his glory!”

Charlie the Lonesome Cougar

Here is an actual retouched photo:


A few weeks ago I rode the Freund Canyon loop with Doug Milner and my son Jason. On the way down a cougar jumped onto the trail behind me and chased me down the hill, swatting at my rear tire! I was completely unaware and oblivious to the danger (ignorance is bliss!) Jason, who was coasting down the trail behind me, stood up on his pedals and yelled at the top of his lungs. The cat froze, jumped off the trail and into the brush trail-side. As my son rode past the cougar it accelerated and ran along side Jason for about 25 meters.

There were a few other close calls which you can read about in a Seattle Times article here.

The Fish and Wildlife folk tried to track, tranquilize and relocate the mountain lion, but before they could do so, it attacked some livestock at the base of the canyon, and was shot by the farmer. Thus endeth the short saga of Charlie the Lonesome Cougar.

Friday, August 14, 2009

I'm Greener Than You...

"Nissan announced that they’ve developed a new car that gets 367 miles per gallon. It’s called the Nissan Fred Flintstone....In a related story, Toyota just announced their new car will get 500 mpg, plant rainforests, and give birth to endangered pandas." (Conan O'Brien)

Sunday, August 09, 2009

Insufferably Inarticulate

This is a rhetorical masterpiece. Unlike modern-speak, every word in this short monologue counts and every inflection conveys the proper and intended meaning of the speaker. This should be required viewing for everyone who uses the English language either professionally or conversationally. Enjoy.

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Whereat Our Cups Ranneth Over



Brother Andy caught two humongous salmon out of the Columbia River yesterday morning and his first impulse was to celebrate and share (I love our folks!) So he and Julie invited four other families from church over for a salmon feast (for a total of 25 souls!) The salmon was grilled to perfection, one fish slightly candied and the other smothered in herbs and spices. The Halls brought over a delicious Texas German potato-salad to supplement Julie's home-made corn bread (made with home-ground corn.) Wow! After dinner and some wonderful table fellowship, including some amazing stories of God's preserving graces and a toast to John and Marillyn who were celebrating their 22nd wedding anniversary, we sang psalms out of the Cantus Christi together for about 40 minutes. After each psalm a half-dozen little hands would shoot up with a suggestion of what to sing next! And then to top off an already perfect evening, we all, the whole lot of us, divided into two teams for a rousing game of "Trivial Pursuit" whilst partaking of apple-crisp, sweet zuccini-bread, whipped cream, banana cream-pie and ice-cream. "How good and pleasant it is when the brethren dwell together in unity." 'Nuff sed. Amen.