Ice storm?

I officially hate preparing for an ice storm. Fortunately I have a friend that wants me to stay at her house (with a garage and no trees!) so I do not have to worry about my car. With a fireplace and a grill, we should be set should the storm be as bad as they are predicting. Hopefully the electric company is more prepared this time than what anyone was in 2000 when the huge ice storm hit and the town was shut down for several days, and many homes were without electricity for several weeks. Should we be without electricity for any length of time, New Orleans, here I come! It is supposed to be above freezing though by tomorrow afternoon, so maybe the electric company will be able to get to work earlier than I hear they did in 2000.

Random!!

On Saturday, while eating at McAlister's with Sky and Clint, I noticed three guys sit down at a table nearby. One of the guys looked VERY familiar, but I couldn't place him. He even sounded familiar. I kept glancing over at him periodically trying to place him. Eventually I figured out that the guy looked exactly like one of the summer missionaries who had been at the Carver Center during the summer of 2004, and then quickly decided it could not be him but must be someone who looked like him. Mystery solved, so I continued to eat my lunch without staring anymore.

As the table of guys got up to leave, the one who looked familiar walked over to our table. My first thought was "did I stare so much that this guy is trying to figure out who the crazy staring lady is?" However, when he walked up and asked me my name, I figured out that it had to be someone I knew. Sure enough it was that missionary. The last I had heard of him he was in Alabama in school. Four and a half years later, here he was in Texarkana. Of course, then we entered the awkward conversation that you typically enter into when you see someone for the first time in over four years, and you were really that close to begin with. Turns out he is now in Colorado and was in Texarkana for a conference of some sort with his pastor and the other guy. What are the odds?!?!

If you work with teenagers ...

... there is a new book coming out that is supposed to provide guidance for biblical counsel to angry teenagers. The best news is that for a limited time, the book is less than $5. It ends up being around $8 with shipping. I think the price is only good for the first 1,000 or until January 24, so I thought I would pass the information along even before I have a chance to read the book and fully recommend it.

UPDATE: The book is sold out at the under $5 price, although you can still get it 30% off of the list price.

Random Thought #23

I just realized that a well played jazz song can actually bring a tear to my eye. I think that is possibly the first time that has ever happened. Now I am off to learn more about Al Cohn, the man behind the song.

Different Perspective

I thought I would share one last post about Obama for a while. I do not like to get too caught up in politics, and I do not like to share my political opinions. One thing that I think that me as a white person has a hard time comprehending is how big of a day the inauguration was for African-Americans. I know that people I know keep saying things like that he isn't fully black, or he isn't descended from slaves, or that he isn't even African-American, but the reality is that many African-Americans in this nation see that someone who looks like them, has a wife like them, has children that look like them is the leader of this nation.

One of these people is a man who is solid in his theology, and therefore does not agree with all of Obama's policies because of Obama's stance on abortion. Yet this man cannot help but feel a sense of pride and accomplishment for people who look like him because of the fact that Obama is in the White House. Therefore, I encourage you to take a look at the poem that he wrote on the morning after the inauguration so that you can begin to see how important this moment is for those of African descent. You can find it here.

Stealing my co-worker's humor ...

When Obama misused Scripture, he said it was time to put aside childish things. Apparently his chief of staff did not get the memo!

Inauguration Thoughts

Although these probably qualify as random thoughts, I am having them because of the inauguration, so they are labeled accordingly.

1. How fortunate we are as a nation that the transition of power is peaceful! Even though I did not vote for the incoming president, I am not planning any revolts or riots. Most people like me are not either. For that, we as a nation should be thankful!
   
2. The CNN/Facebook live coverage thing is very cool since I do not have a TV in my office … yet.
   
3. I am thinking it might be nearing the time when I should consider investing in a TV for my office. I have the cable hook-up, so all that is lacking is the TV. It would come in handy during football season and March Madness … and history making moments such as today.
   
4. I am re-thinking some of my wishes to be in politics … mainly because it looks really cold to go stand/sit to watch the inauguration.
   
5. President Clinton looks really old and has a bald spot on the back of his head … and I am sure he is going to enjoy the next few years given that Hillary accepted an appointment that is going to keep her away on business for extended periods. On the other hand, Hillary looks so young that she must have had some work done … unnaturally young.
   
6. I probably should be working away, but I cannot help but watch the coverage. Looks like I will be working through lunch instead.
   
7. I am so glad that my kids in New Orleans will never have to think ever again that they cannot be president just because of the color of their skin.
   
8. First President Bush has a House cane – pretty cool.
   
9. When the presidents started coming in, I completely gave up on work for a while … then I resized my other windows so that I can pretend to do work while watching.
   
10. Does a former president get to hear "Hail to the Chief" once he is no longer the chief? I guess not since that would not make sense when he is no longer chief.
    
11. Obama's girls are precious!
    
12. I like the introduction to the whole ceremonies better than the inaugural address.
    
13. I felt a sense of pride when I listened to the oath of office. It is amazing to watch history happen.
    
14. I did not like the inaugural address. It sounded too socialist (subtly of course) at times, and it did not give a nod to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I think that a slight little nod in King's direction was necessary to make a good speech great. Thank you coordinator of ceremonies for doing what the president did not have the courage to do.
    
15. Sometimes I wonder about all of the mentions of God that occur and whether we are taking God's name in vain. I am glad that Rick Warran was courageous enough to pray in Jesus' name.
    
16. I do not want "our common humanity" to "reveal itself" – humans are corrupt by nature, and a common humanity would accentuate that corruptness even more than it already is. I want God's common grace to reveal itself as a restraint upon our common humanity.
    
17. Last criticism of Obama's speech – misuse of Scripture. I cannot stand it when anyone misuses Scripture. Another thing that makes the speech not great.
    
18. I don't think I like poetry.
    
19. Although the CNN feed started out good, it ended up bad. At least there is something for them to work on in the next few years.
    
20. At least today is a reminder of how much and how often we should be praying for our leaders, and not just on inauguration day.

Update: I had one last thought that I forgot to post. I want Scalia's hat. That is the most awesome fashion accessory of the whole day. I am probably in a small minority on that one.

Jesus Messiah

I have this song stuck in my head today ...



At least it is not a bad song to have playing in your head all day!!!

Random Thought #22

I got more excited last night when I saw Marvin "Word" Day, one of my favorite waiters at Camellia Grill in New Orleans both before and after Katrina, on TV (When Weather Changed something program on the weather channel) than I did about meeting Mike Huckabee at the local Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting that our firm sponsors (thus the privilege of meeting Huckabee). I am weird.

Random Thought #21

A failure to adequately prepare/think through my Bible lesson on Daniel 1 and a third grader's lack of understanding of metaphors led to this recap of the previous week's little league basketball devotion:

"Daniel and his friends could not eat the gumbo because it might have fish in it."