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November 27, 2003
With a heart of thanksgiving...
Philippians 4:4-7 (NKJV) 4Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Informatio: Faith
Posted at 10:23 am | Permalink | Trackback | Comments (1)
November 24, 2003
More progress...
My father-in-law will be here on Friday evening. His sister and her husband took him home with them, from Florida to Atlanta. He will spend Thanksgiving with them.
God amazes. The room at Julie’s is all ready. The plane ticket has been purchased. Father-in-law is spending Thanksgiving with loved ones. And, of course, our Impact Group is being very gracious.
At church on Sunday, Tim spoke about being thankful even in the midst of great trial. This will be one of those Thanksgivings…
Informatio: Family, Family and Friends
Posted at 8:27 pm | Permalink | Trackback | Comments (2)
November 22, 2003
More grace...
Friends truely are amazing. We just got a call from an old boss of my father-in-law, who lives in Colorado. He offered to pay for the plane ticket to get him out here.
The crux of faith reaches out and smacks you in the face sometimes.
Informatio: Family, Family and Friends
Posted at 1:46 pm | Permalink | Trackback | Make Comment
More on the fight against SPAM...
While I’m at it this morning, I need to mention that a few more developments in the fight against Comment Spam have occurred.
I’ve joined BLAM! (BLAcklist Manager), a coalition of Bloggers who are trying to create techniques for abolishing Comment Spam. Check it out and join if you’re interested — if you don’t use MovableType, as most of us do, you are very welcome. You don’t have to be a programmer (I’m not!) and your opinions are much appreciated.
Another group that I’ve joined is BlogWiki: a group of Bloggers who feel led to journal the development of blogging in general. As far as spamming is concerned, we have started writing about it there.
I’m still trying to figure out what my roll in all of this is, but for now, I’m content on gathering information. If you have anything that you would like me to consider “archiving,” let me know.
Informatio: Blogging, Life, Linkage, Computing
Posted at 10:46 am | Permalink | Trackback | Make Comment
Something positive...
My father-in-law has realized that it would be better to come and live up here, near us, than to stay in Florida. We want this. It would also be good for Julianna‘s brother, John.
Julianna has been amazing over the last couple of days. She’s taken it upon herself to find everything out about transferring Social Security and Disability from Florida as well as what it will take to get the Hospices from the two different cities communicating. Aside from a lot of paperwork, it seems like everything should be fairly smooth. We hope to fly him up this week, before Thanksgiving.
Something that brings tear to our eyes everytime we think about it is the generosity of our friends. One friend in particular, Julie, has offered up a room in her house for my father-in-law to stay until we find him a place of his own. I don’t even know how to respond to this.
My parents will be here for Thanksgiving too.
Informatio: Family, Family and Friends
Posted at 09:32 am | Permalink | Trackback | Make Comment
More sober than sober...
I feel like the last few days of my life should be rated like a movie.
Warning: contains stark emotional content. Viewer beware.
People seem to think that most drug addicts and alcoholics are using their “substance” to escape the pangs of everyday life. Yesterday, I realized that those of us who are not addicted to any pain-easing substances have no idea what we’re talking about. We equate others’ trials with the ones that we have had and consequently, produce very judgmental attitudes: if I can get through my life without anesthetizing myself, so can everyone else!
What we don’t understand (and can’t until something traumatic happens to us) is that there is a level of “life” that most of us never see. That place where everything is stripped away and all that’s left is bare bones and nerve endings. A sober that is much more than sober. Could it be that some alcoholics only ever drink themselves back to where we currently are?
Whether you comprehend what I’m saying or not, the last few days have felt this way to me. It’s like the air that surrounds me is painful. Sounds and smells and tastes aren’t quite right; the provenance of weight impending. My skin hurts and seems…thinner. My eyes feel like the desert. Even though I’ve been an “adult” for over 10 years now, these last three days have drained me of every last bit of childhood that I was still grasping at. I don’t feel like music or art or poem. I feel like bills and contracts and forms-in-triplicate.
My breath wouldn’t produce steam on a 30 degree morning.
I can relate with those who want to numb what they feel. It’s not an escape from anything we average human beings can appreciate. If we felt what they feel all of the time, we might sneak a glimpse of understanding.
Twenty-four hour anguish. The Lord assures us that it will be brief. My heart weeps for those who have had to endure it for the long-drawn-out.
Informatio: Introspection, Life
Posted at 09:19 am | Permalink | Trackback | Comments (3)
November 20, 2003
What would you do if you had less than six months to live?
I don’t know why I didn’t feel led to include it in my last post earlier this morning, but the “very close relative” who has pancreatic cancer is my wife‘s father. He is currently in a hospital in Florida.
The doctors told him that both radiation and surgery were out of the question at this point. And he doesn’t want chemotherapy. In any case, according to the Medical University of Southern Carolina, pancreatic cancer “...has the highest mortality rate where nine out every 10 patients diagnosed with the disease will die.“ Treatment or not, it all boils down to a question of time… My father-in-law was given less than six months.
It is just too much to take all of a sudden, all at once.
What would you do if you had less than six months to live?
People always ask this question assuming that if we had six months to live, we would also have the strength and energy to live it. The sad fact is that most people who only have a little time left to live are too weak to shit on their own.
To live, then, becomes what you want to do. That is, until the pain becomes too great. Then what?
I can only imagine what my response would be when I’ve got a “tumor exerting pressure on a nerve, infection, inflammation, blocked blood vessels causing poor circulation, bone fracture from metastasis in the bone, side effects from various cancer treatments, or psychological or emotional problems“:
“Six months?! I have to wait six more whole months?!”
I am indebted to your praying.
Informatio: Family, Family and Friends
Posted at 11:46 am | Permalink | Trackback | Comments (5)
(no subject)
Last night, we found out that a very close relative was diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer — it has already moved into the liver and stomach.
Informatio: Family and Friends
Posted at 06:11 am | Permalink | Trackback | Comments (1)
November 15, 2003
Google's propensity for delusions of grandeur...
I love it when a humorous Google-search result comes to my attention. Take a look at the article that this particular search found recently. No, you don’t really have to read the article! In it, though, is this picture and caption:
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Emmy-winning Michael Chiklis plays a “different kind of cop” in FX’s The Shield. Photograph courtesy of FX Network, copyright 2002 |
Now, the question that you should all be asking yourselves is: “If it is this important to play Tim’s music, what can I do?” Well, you can play “a different kind of cop“ too, sillies! I mean, it doesn’t just take a Michael Chiklis to do it… In fact, what are you still doing here, huh?!
(Ok, I admit that I’ve never watched The Shield, nor have I ever actually heard of Michael Chiklis, but that’s completely beside the point! And don’t even try to fight me on how this article might not be about my music!)
Informatio: Blogging, Humor
Posted at 12:47 pm | Permalink | Trackback | Comments (1)
November 14, 2003
Comment SPAM Manifesto...
This post is nothing more than a way to TrackBack Ping (i.e., sign) Adam Kalsey’ Comment Spam Manifesto. Read it and find out why…
I’m beginning my own campaign on this subject as well (even though I don’t really know what that campaign might be yet. Anyway, my contributions thus far — aside from my own commentaries — are the links at the bottom of the left column there and “signing” this manifesto.
I’ve also created this little graphic if you want to use it (if you do, please link it to my site):
Join the revolt. Fight the SPAM!
Informatio: Blogging, Linkage
Posted at 07:43 am | Permalink | Trackback | Make Comment
November 12, 2003
Comin' down wid it...
I’m coming down with a cold (or, rather, I’ve already come down)... I’ve been trying to fight it off for about a week now, but I think it’s finally arrived.
Earlier on, I had a bunch of stuff that I wanted to write, but dabbling with a disagreeable database all day has dislocated my disposition for drafting and deliberation.
B.U.P. is mellifluously playing in the background.
Time to go home…
Informatio: Miscellany, Humor, and Reality
Posted at 6:01 pm | Permalink | Trackback | Make Comment
November 10, 2003
Fighting SPAM with a vengeance...
Ever think of actually billing those people who feel free to post their “advertisements” on your website? Joseph Duemer did.
(Link found via Bene Diction Blogs On, here.)
The question is, would we all benefit by adding a “Terms of Use” area to our Blogs? Something that indicated packages and prices for internet advertisers (i.e., SPAMmers)?
In any case, all props to Mr. Duemer!
Fight the SPAM!
Informatio: Miscellany, Humor, and Reality, Blogging, Digispace, and Email
Posted at 11:06 am | Permalink | Trackback | Comments (2)
November 07, 2003
I love this!!!
This is priceless. Thank you, Darren!
Make your own church sign!
Now, one of these days, I’ll get around to starting my photo series of real church signs… Too bad the guy who made the Church Sign Generator kind of beat me to it!
Informatio: Miscellany, Humor, and Reality
Posted at 5:26 pm | Permalink | Trackback | Comments (1)
November 05, 2003
When NEOphytes Grow Up (The Matrix Revolutions Review...er...Rant)
I just got back from seeing The Matrix Revolutions...
Forget any bad reviews (find them for yourselves). Forget any of the opinions of the people exiting the theater behind you… Even forget what your friends have to say! This movie rocked! The third installment of the Wachowski Brothers’ Matrix saga was definitely a highly enjoyable, entertaining, Sci-Fi epic. Sure, there Keanu is a crappy actor and there were a couple of corny scenes, but I loved it! It was fun!
So why do so many people seem to actually hate this movie?
Too often does age spoil innocence. Too often does wisdom defile naïveté. The Matrix Revolutions leaves us with a few unanswered questions; it doesn’t have a typical ending that “ties up all of the loose ends.” But isn’t that the theme of the trilogy? (And of life?) All of the characters in the films seem to get it: we are only told what we need to know. And sometimes, it is because of our own tainted mind — our pride and the wisdom that we think we possess — that muffles the truth from being heard.
Return to childhood — this is why the Indian girl, Sati, understood. Be blind — Neo made this truth painfully evident. It is foolish to let what we “know” keep us from the gifts of a joyful existence. To be a “neophyte” is not just a bad pun.
Matthew 11:25 (NLT):
Then Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike.Our…Logos...for the day. Forget what you think you know and just enjoy for a while. You might find it…relieving (and revealing).
(But, then again, this is just a movie, folks, so please lighten up a bit!)
Informatio: Commentary and Opinion, Culture, Faith, Rants, Film
Posted at 11:34 pm | Permalink | Trackback | Comments (7)
