Not for Dummies

(Giving credit where credit is due...I "borrowed" this from my Mental-Floss site.)

Cliff's Notes and books "for dummies" have helped a lot of us out over the years. There are some activities, however, that maybe shouldn't be dumbed down and or that those of us with limited abilities simply shouldn't try. I found these two book covers thought provoking...

CyberFriendships

I'm a member of a messageboard for Detroit Tigers fans. While we "talk" mostly about the Tigers, the discussions often stray into areas of politics, religion, and other life-issues. It has been fun getting to know these "cyberfriends" and actually run into a few of them in real life.

This morning we found out that one of our most prolific posters and nicest guys was one of the victims of the Virginia Tech shootings. It is interesting to me how that fact has stuck in my head all day and has brought that tragedy closer to home. It isn't like I was really a friend. I didn't even know his real name until this morning (which is Brian Bluhm) and I could have passed him on the street and never even known it. The only connection we had was a few words read on a computer screen that were about nothing all that important.

I'm not looking for any sympathy -- that is for the families and the wounded. I can't say that my sorrow over the tragedy is any more than yours. It is probably just a little more focused on one individual who now has a name and a face. I just find the power of cyberfriendships to be very interesting. In some ways it is sad that friendships can exist without ever really knowing the person's name and face. Yet, in other ways, the "cyberfriendships" can provide opportunities for friendships that otherwise wouldn't be possible. I guess the good thing is Brian's family, who will never have a clue that I even exist, is getting a few more prayers directed their way. I hope they know it and know Him.

Sink Hole

We just finished filling a sink hole that was discoverd under our church building. After a hard rain last fall we discovered it when a bush disappeared under our building. I thought I'd post a "before" picture...

Easter Timing

I just read here (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18013348/) that B.C. cartooist Johnny Hart died today of a stroke. I find it is wonderfully fitting that he would pass on Easter Sunday. My father was a huge fan of B.C. and received Johnny Hart personalized and signed pannel of an Easter comic as a retirement gift. It still hangs in my mother's entryway . If you've never heard the story of his conversion, I've got a copy of the article that describes it...pretty amazing. Let me know if you are interested in seeing it. He is someone who used the platform God had given him to make an impact. (Sounds pretty Reformed!)


Below is the comic that got him into a ton of trouble back in 2001. I love it! (Sorry, it looks like you are going to have to click on it to be able to see the whole thing.)

Nothing Gold Can Stay

It is the time of year when the buds are just beginning to come out on the bare trees here in Michigan. One of my fondest college memories was when my English professor took a developing flower into class all week long and asked us to guess which flower it might be. None of us could get it right. At the end of the week he took us outside right about this time of year and had us look out over the woods and then recited this poem...

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leafs a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
- Robert Frost

The flowers he brought were simple maple blossoms. And the trees we looked at were golden, not green.

I think about that poem now every spring and appreciate the buds on the trees more than I ever did before.

Happy Spring!

Go Tigers!

Today is a holiday! At least in my mind. It is opening day! The Detroit Tigers take on the Toronto Blue Jays... sure sign that summer is close by.

I lifted this picture from a Tiger site I visit (double click to view it larger). The words printed here are the words with which the legendary announcer Ernie Harwell would start each season of Detroit Tiger baseball. Can anyone identifiy where this quote is taken from (without doing a google search!)?

Play ball!

(By the way...I'm on record for predicting 100 wins this year. Let's hope I'm right!)