Including Cold, Weight-Loss, Godfathers & Perspective / Including Smoke, Hatches, Numbers & Secrecy

to nobody in particular:

...here are some recent thoughts, followed by explanations...

..."more snow, God? are You kidding me?" -- i walked out of the house the other day and, much to my dismay, the 15-degrees-below-freezing-Celsius weather was accompanied with even more snow, just when the recent barrage was starting to give way to the sidewalks underneath -- i know it is strange for me to think the following, but i was looking forward to having decent non-slip sidewalks to run on in the early mornings/late evenings...

..."wow -- this is tougher than i thought" -- last year, i was part of a group of four who had a small contest to lose weight, and, even though it went well for that period of time, and i was able to lose 15 lbs myself, i gained a couple more over the last month or so (Christmas time is a killer) -- well, to continue my weight-loss, i started a new personal campaign, and i have a goal to slim down to a certain weigh-in (which i will not post here) before the opening kickoff of the World Cup of 2010 -- it is a lofty goal, but i am determined...

..."yes, these have been pretty good, but i don't think they are any of my favorites" -- i've recently watched the Godfather movies (i re-watched The Godfather and have watched Part II and Part III for the first time) and, although i find the arguments behind them being great movies valid and seeing their place in movie history, they are not personal favorites...i did really like the first one, the second one was pretty good too, and the third one is kind of meh -- overall well done and interesting, but nonetheless slightly disappointing, with a letdown in the third act (Part III)...

..."does it all boil down to the matter of perspective, or is that just my perspective?" -- we are encouraged to be joyful always, to pray continually and to always be thankful in all circumstances (I Thessalonians 5) -- but why?...think about it -- and after i did for a while, i've concluded that it comes down to the view that we have on our life, on our perspective, on how we interact with the happenings of our days -- to sharpen a correct perspective on life centers on these three intentional choices, i believe -- living with joy (not happiness), praying as central, and having a constant gratitude -- enormously tough, of course, but invaluably imperative...

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currently watching: "LOST" (yes, still)

Singing & Friends / Forgetting Loved Ones

to nobody in particular:

my daughter, at 18 months old, is a genius -- and this is just a sliver of proof...

...she does pretty well with learning the words (or at least, the sounds of the words), and we have a growing list of songs that she likes to sing...when it comes to music, i think Travis has the rhythm and Hannah has the harmony -- so far, anyway...

..."and now for something completely different"...

...at one of our last brunches last year (in reality, a few weeks ago), i guided our discussion in thinking about God as our Friend -- how Jesus views us, those who know Him and His Father, as friends...

...this reality and truth has carried on with me into this new year, and though many times i'm inclined to focus on my relationship with God as a Father/Child relationship, or Creator/Creation, i want to intentionally realign and look at it as a Friend/Friend relationship. this is very eye-opening and challenging -- in the areas of communication, perspective, responsibilities, etc. i think one of the toughest things is not necessarily looking at it only as God as my friend, but that i am a personal, close friend of His. how am i trustworthy, reliable, honest, listening, and sensitive to God as His friend? is my communication limited to my perspective, or should my improved perspective even enhance and breakthrough previously grounded limitations?...

...He's great...

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currently listening to: "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Soundtrack"

...great soundtrack to a fantastic movie -- gems like this are rare...

1ne Year Is Over / God With Man

to nobody in particular:

...i write this blog on the eleventh night of august, and to many of you, or at least the one or two of you that may actually read this, perhaps the importance of this date is yet an enigma...

...exactly one year ago, i began to test the theory that "you learn something new every day", and on the twelfth day of august, i started recording my daily learnings...

...three hundred and sixty five days later, i can honestly say that i believe this theory to be true -- with limitations...

...such limitations include: personal motivation, intentional interaction, boring living, lack of imagination -- if any or all of these are present, this could hinder one from learning something new every day...

...so go on -- go and live life, go and learn new things -- there is a whole world out there to discover, a plethera of lessons to learn and things to know...

...but as i've recently re-valued, in discussion with a friend, that in a culture where knowledge and self-discovery is cherished, perhaps wisdom should be sought after most of all...

...what good is anything without wisdom to accompany it?...

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and now, the last (and final?) installment if theory testing for this past year:

..."you learn something new every day"...

two days ago, i learned: Mauerpark Flohmarkt + two strollers = stupid idea...

yesterday, i learned: it's hard to tell what the ratio is for how much manpower/"doing" does and how much prayer/"relying" does...

today, i learned: no matter how many people there are in number, just add one more, because God is there all the time anyway...

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recently watched: Taken



...this was a pretty intense movie, and well-done...

Post #100 / So What?

to nobody in particular:

...vacation was great -- we relaxed and relaxed a lot...

...swimming, walking, sleeping, reading, playing, laughing, eating, enjoying, watching, resting, sandcastling...

...that's about it -- relaxing...

...exactly what we needed...

...one of the things that was impressed upon me was "faith like a child" and "fear like a child" -- i saw moments when my kids were stress-free, care-free and totally relying on us for all their needs and desires; and yet i saw moments in which, in situations of clear uncertainty, they were overcome with fear, forgetting about their faithful, trustworthy and loving parents...

...i could expand, but i won't...

...and i don't think i need to spell the connection out in our daily lives -- it preached to me clearly, and i think the recognition of truth can be grasped...

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..."you learn something new every day"...

fourteen days ago, i learned: 2:26am to wake up for a flight to vacation in Mallorca is worth it...

thirteen days ago, i learned: yes, there are many Europeans who hang out at the beach topless...

twelve days ago, i learned: neither of the kids have any fear of a fifth floor balcony...

eleven days ago, i learned: Mallorca has a pretty sweet aquarium...

ten days ago, i learned: we booked a hotel on the quieter part of the beach -- thankfully, not on the party end of the beach (as a young family, we would've REALLY stuck out, even more than we already were)...

nine days ago, i learned: Travis doesn't like the ocean, maybe, but he likes the swimming pool...

eight days ago, i learned: more than half over? vacation goes by quickly!...

seven days ago, i learned: push the limits!...

six days ago, i learned: Sarah and i organize and prepare, more than enough in advance, for most things...

five days ago, i learned: the Mallorca airport is nice, but please, clean the men's bathrooms more often!...

four days ago, i learned: i got the gnome!...

three days ago, i learned: booooooo...

two days ago, i learned: God makes sure we come into contact with the right people...

yesterday, i learned: goals are good, and sometimes hard to reach, but just try it anyway...

today, i learned: my family -- parents, siblings, in-laws, nieces and nephews -- are astoundingly awesome (of course, this was more of a refreshing reminder, not newly learned)...

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recently watched: 12 Angry Men


...cinematically simple, philosophically complex -- love it...