Update

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who sent us cards and emails regarding Merlin. They were all appreciated greatly.



Here is the Carrie update:


She is still in constant pain, of course, but it isn't as bad as it was on Friday. The doctor relented and prescribed a narcotic pain reliever again and it has really helped Carrie. We were also able to pick up another medicine on Sunday that really helps her as well. So Carrie has been able to sleep again, which is good.

We still need to find a pain doctor or neurosurgeon who will be willing to listen to us and not dismiss us like all the others did so we can find a permanent solution for this problem.

Thank you all for your prayers. Don't stop now.

Though There's Pain in the Offering

The elders came over last night and prayed over us. While nothing miraculously was healed last night we were encouraged. I suppose feeling up and down is part of life.

We could really use something good to happen in this situation soon. I don't understand why God has planned this route for us, but I promised that I would trust Him, even though I need His help to do so. There is so much proof that He loves us and has sacrificed so much for us that I refuse to believe that He has abandoned us.

Nothing Ever Happens

This song keeps running through my head.


For those who I haven't told yet this past week has been absolutely awful. Carrie's doctor has taken her off most of her pain medicine and we were worried at one point that she was going to no longer prescribe pain medication. Starting last Thursday, life started getting bad and it just kept going downhill from there. As I look back over the past week at the string of horrible events that just keep piling on top of each other I am amazed and astonished and I cling to the story of Job.

Carrie is now in constant agony, neither of us are getting any sleep, and there is nothing I can do to make her better.

I repeat to Carrie and myself that God is good, this is going according to His plan and that His plan is good and that we have to continue to have faith and trust and love Him. Somedays I believe it, other days it is harder. I pray the prayer of the father in the Gospels to "help my unbelief".

The elders are coming over tonight to anoint Carrie and pray over her for healing. I keep struggling with the fact that while I know that God can heal her, I just don't believe that He will, and that is why this song keeps running through my head.

Artist: Sufjan Stevens

Title: Casimir Pulaski Day

Album: Illinois

Golden rod and the 4-H stone
The things I brought you
When I found out you had cancer of the bone

Your father cried on the telephone
And he drove his car to the Navy yard
Just to prove that he was sorry

In the morning through the window shade
When the light pressed up against your shoulder blade
I could see what you were reading

Oh the glory that the Lord has made
And the complications you could do without
When I kissed you on the mouth

Tuesday night at the Bible study
We lift our hands and pray over your body
But nothing ever happens

I remember at Michael's house
In the living room when you kissed my neck
And I almost touched your blouse

In the morning at the top of the stairs
When your father found out what we did that night
And you told me you were scared

Oh the glory when you ran outside
With your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied
And you told me not to follow you

Sunday night when I cleaned the house
I find the card where you wrote it out
With the pictures of your mother

On the floor at the great divide
With my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied
I am crying in the bathroom

In the morning when you finally go
And the nurse runs in with her head hung low
And the cardinal hits the window

In the morning in the winter shade
On the first of March on the holiday
I thought I saw you breathing

Oh the glory that the Lord has made
And the complications when I see His face
In the morning in the window

Oh the glory when He took our place
But He took my shoulders and He shook my face
And He takes and He takes and He takes

Merlin

We just got back from having to put Merlin to sleep tonight.

Best Super Bowl Commercials

These two are my favorites with the squirrel one being my favorite that I actually laughed out loud when i saw it. But the baby and the clown is pretty awesome too. Anyway, here they are:





And the squirrel:



Still makes me chuckle.

Wow, I forgot one that was awesome too:



Build a better mousetrap.

Neat video

This is the band called Mute Math, their video for this song "Typical" was shot in reverse. They then went on the Jimmy Kimmel show and did this performance.




After you watch that, check this out, it is their performance not in reverse, they must have practiced a ton.




Forgive my 4th grade English, I have not been in this country long this year.

Mostly for my father

Of course I'm sure there are others out there who like these simple free games. But anyway, here is this year's list of 101 Free Games.

Today's "Morning" from Charles Spurgeon

"I will help thee, saith the Lord."

-- Isaiah 41:14

This morning let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: "I will help thee." "It is but a small thing for me, thy God, to help thee. Consider what I have done already. What! not help thee? Why, I bought thee with my blood. What! not help thee? I have died for thee; and if I have done the greater, will I not do the less? Help thee! It is the least thing I will ever do for thee; I have done more, and will do more. Before the world began I chose thee. I made the covenant for thee. I laid aside my glory and became a man for thee; I gave up my life for thee; and if I did all this, I will surely help thee now. In helping thee, I am giving thee what I have bought for thee already. If thou hadst need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it thee; thou requirest little compared with what I am ready to give. 'Tis much for thee to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow. 'Help thee?' Fear not! If there were an ant at the door of thy granary asking for help, it would not ruin thee to give him a handful of thy wheat; and thou art nothing but a tiny insect at the door of my all-sufficiency. 'I will help thee.'"

O my soul, is not this enough? Dost thou need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity? Dost thou want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit? Bring hither thine empty pitcher! Surely this well will fill it. Haste, gather up thy wants, and bring them here-thine emptiness, thy woes, thy needs. Behold, this river of God is full for thy supply; what canst thou desire beside? Go forth, my soul, in this thy might. The Eternal God is thine helper!

"Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismay'd!

I, I am thy God, and will still give thee aid."

Giving it the Green Light

Firstly, everyone check out this website and watch at least the first video. There is no way you will look at stuff "Made in China" again. I also suspect you might just be a little more thankful for all the good things God has done for you.

Now on to personal things, I took Merlin to the vet on Friday and discovered that he has heart disease, he is only 6 so that was not the most welcome news. I have medicine that I give him everyday to keep him comfortable for however long he has left, but at least he is back home and not stuck in some strange vet's office.

I also am heading to the hospital in about 15 minutes to have a heart monitor put on me to see if I have a rapid heartbeat. Logically, I know that I am mostly ok, but when your heart is doing weird stuff it is hard to think logically. I'll keep you all posted on this situation.

Hail to the Geek

This is for all those who embrace their inner geekdom and for those who try to pretend they aren't.

There are a couple crudities in the song so I am refraining from posting the lyrics on my blog here since I have some standards, but I will link to the lyrics if you don't mind one or two bad words.

Merry Christmas!!

A co-worker gave this to me the other day, it is now displayed proudly on my desk. If you haven't seen The Nightmare Before Christmas you definitely should.....by the end of the day, one of my favorite movies ever.

Shadow of the Day

The actual video can't be embedded so here is the song itself:




If you want to watch the video click here.

The song is rather moody I think and I kind of like it. However it is incredibly sad when you watch the video and see the message of the song, a message that would be completely different if God wasn't taken out of the equation.

Looking at the never ending evil in the world can only bring one of two responses, and Linkin Park obviously went for the wrong one.

Song of the Moment

Leeland - Yes, You Have

I want one!!

From Half-Life 2

It's for the kids!

This is pretty doggone funny.

Party of Parties

This was yesterday's sermon at my church. I found it to be brilliant, many people found it joyously moving.

Check it out.

New Life Sermons


I'm curious if others like it as much as I did.

Seeker - Sensitive Dreck

Let me but upfront about this, I despise seeker sensitive churches, using the common usage of this term. These churches, just to paint with a broad stroke, wastes their Sunday mornings preaching sermons to the 4 people who were dragged there by their family members in the hopes that one of them will "Convert" to being another person sitting in the pew who isn't being taught anything since that person is now "saved" and can now be ignored.

The incredibly sad part about all this is that there is a church in my area that proclaims itself seeker-friendly, then this very same church closed its doors on Christmas since being there for the seekers was just too doggone hard that day!

Anyway, just as I saw a study that suggests that people are more irritable when they don't get enough sleep comes this report that not teaching what Christ demands we do is failing to bring people to true salvation.

Yes, I am stunned as well.

Here is a quote from the story:

"Some of the stuff that we have put millions of dollars into thinking it would really help our people grow and develop spiritually, when the data actually came back it wasn’t helping people that much. Other things that we didn’t put that much money into and didn’t put much staff against is stuff our people are crying out for."

This is what happens when foolish man decides that he is wiser than an all-powerful and all-knowing God. This is the idiocy that occurs when we turn our backs on God and instead use poll data to decide how we are to run our churches. Hopefully truth will be learned from this pile of horsepoopie that "seeker-friendly" churches have created.

Read the rest of the article here.

David Crowder Band - Remedy

Here we are
Here we are
The broken and used
Mistreated, abused
Here we are

Here You are
Here You are
The beautiful one
Who came like a Son
Here You are

So we lift up our voices
We open our hands
To cling to the love
That we can’t comprehend

Oh, lift up your voices
And lift up your heads
To sing of the love
That has freed us from sin

He is the one
Who has saved us
He is the one
Who embraced us
He is the one who has come
And is coming again
He’s the remedy

Here we are
Here we are
Bandaged and bruised
Awaiting a cure
Here we are

Here You are
Here You are
Our beautiful King
Bringing relief
Here You are with us

So we lift up our voices
And open our hands
Let go of the things
That have kept us from Him

He is the one
Who has saved us
He is the one
Who forgave us
He is the one who has come
And is coming again
He’s the remedy


Oh, I can’t comprehend
I can’t take it all in
Never understand
Such perfect love come
For the broken and beat
For the wounded and weak
Oh, come fall at His feet
He’s the remedy
He’s the remedy

So sing, sing

You are the one
Who has saved us
You are the one
Who forgave us
You are the one who has come
And is coming again
To make it alright
Oh, to make it alright
You’re the remedy
Oh, in us
You’re the remedy

Let us be the remedy
Let us bring the remedy

When it Doesn't Feel Like We are Winning

There is a David Crowder song called "We Win!" It is a very upbeat song reminding us that the outcome is assured, that this great war that we are a part of has already been won, not by our weak means but by the strength of our Savior.

Right now there is a funeral at my church for a 25 year old woman who was murdered in her home last week. She is the daughter of one of the elders of the church. At this moment I'm feeling a bit down, not really down, just sad for the family. I haven't been going to the church long enough to have known her, she moved to Nashville with her husband a few years back, or to really know the elder or his family, yet I feel their pain.

To some extent, all of us who have lost someone very close to us can commiserate, but on the other hand we can't. What can you say to the grieving mother who has to come to grips with the fact that her daughter is dead all because someone decided that his or her life would be better if she were dead.

Or how do you console the father who was unable to protect his child, even though that is what we men do, we protect our families, but at this point he was unable to since she lived several states away.

Or what to say to explain to her siblings who won't be able to grow old with their sister? Or her friends?

Our pastor read from Isaiah 57:15 last week and it was very fitting.

" 15 For this is what the high and lofty One says—
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
"I live in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite."

Our God who ordains all things has caused this tragedy to come to pass. He promises us that all things work for good for His children, but He also knows that things will be hard.

A thing of great comfort to me is that we do not serve a lofty God who commands from the rear and is distant. Our God isn't the king who has become great on the backs of his slaves, rather He became lowly to make us great. There is not a tragedy or pain that He has not already felt for us. There is not a sorrow or test that He has not overcome. But even our great Savior understands the feeling of sorrow and loss.

He wept over Lazarus and cried out His anguish over the path He was to take to the cross.

Even now as the funeral is going on and there is so much pain He is there for His children, comforting us and promising us that even this will be good and is a vital part of the victory, even though it doesn't feel like it.

Speaking My Language

From the same website that taught us how to be Christian Gentlemen without reading the Bible comes a fantastic article on money and riches from a pseudo-Joel Olsteen perspective.

How to Use God to Get What You Want

The article is filled with sarcasm and mockery, ergo, I love it.