AP headline today:
Oil spikes to record $117.40 after Mideast attack on Japanese tanker and Nigerian pipelines
In the article is this quote:
"There's clearly some geopolitical tension in the market," said Mark Pervan, senior commodity strategist at the ANZ Bank in Melbourne, Australia.
To which I would simply reply, "Really?"
Monday, April 21, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Dancing With God
At Easter, our Church performed what is commonly called "The Lifehouse Skit." You can watch the original version here. My 10 year old daughter was really moved by the drama, and after watching it again on YouTube this week, she wrote down her thoughts. I asked her if it was okay if I shared them, so here they are:
Dancing With God
She slowly drifts away from Him, with the help of a boyfriend who turns her head. Greed and the love of money. Alcohol leading to bad choices. Letting others tell you what to do or what to wear. And harming yourself with thoughts of suicide.
Those things will keep us from God. We have the power to change that. God will be, and is always going to be, there for you, and defend you, care for you and love you.
He overcomes everything that you can imagine! He will defeat all levels of Satan's tricks. He is Almighty, Beautiful, Awesome and Amazing.
Dedicate your whole life to Him, and you will one day be dancing with God.
~ Michaela Collins
Dancing With God
She slowly drifts away from Him, with the help of a boyfriend who turns her head. Greed and the love of money. Alcohol leading to bad choices. Letting others tell you what to do or what to wear. And harming yourself with thoughts of suicide.
Those things will keep us from God. We have the power to change that. God will be, and is always going to be, there for you, and defend you, care for you and love you.
He overcomes everything that you can imagine! He will defeat all levels of Satan's tricks. He is Almighty, Beautiful, Awesome and Amazing.
Dedicate your whole life to Him, and you will one day be dancing with God.
~ Michaela Collins
Friday, April 11, 2008
Vocation and Choosing a Major
The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding is a great resource for those who work with kids, as well as for those who parent kids. On their site, there is a great article on picking a college major - I wanted to post the link so those of you with kids who might be thinking about all of that could check it out. It's good stuff!
Click here for the artcile.
Click here for the artcile.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
From Haiti: #3
Another email update from my friend Heather's mission trip to Haiti.
Well men, almost home... no more work for us today... We went to Mother Theresa's orphanage today. Yes, THAT Mother Theresa's. Incredible... I held and fed a little boy who I guessed at about 18 months. He was able to sit up independently, and pull up to the cribside and walk around... but he weighed in at around 15 pounds. He was like a little stick doll. Our cats weigh more than he did. I had to be so very careful when I held him because his bones were so very tiny. I actually never made it into most of the orphanage, because his was the first room I saw and he looked me in the eye. I was hooked from then on. He was so lifeless and listless. He wouldn't smile, he wouldn't make any noise... he did passively hold his hands up to me to be picked up when I reached for him. He did wrap his arms around my neck when I held/cuddled him, but that was really the only response he made... until I needed to leave, and laid him down in the crib, which he shared with another boy, by the way... when i laid him down, big tears welled up in his eyes, and he started to sob, reaching for me... dont misunderstand me. They were all fed, clean, and provided with medical care. Some of them even had their mothers come visit, for the ones whose Mothers dropped them off are allowed to have an hourly visit a day from Mom or Dad. He, however, was abandoned, and while the nuns do the best they can, the needs are so vast, they dont have time to hold, cuddle, or interact with them much. He did not want to be put down... He cried for me, a total stranger.... he expected so little from life... but, I have to remember, he is one of the lucky ones in Haiti... Haiti is really more than I can describe. The sights, smells, and the people... as little as they have, and most have nothing, they have so much dignity, and they have the ability to laugh at us, the silly Americans. The kids and I were up on the rooftop out in the bad part of town one day... and the boys were determinedly trying to crack open a green coconut with a rock. Before it was over, most of the neighborhood was gathered around, pointing and looking up at us, grinning and laughing at us... who needs a movie when you can laugh at silly Americans? :) We were cheap entertainment... Anyway, I need to trot off... I love you and will see you sometime Monday... Yo Momma...
Well men, almost home... no more work for us today... We went to Mother Theresa's orphanage today. Yes, THAT Mother Theresa's. Incredible... I held and fed a little boy who I guessed at about 18 months. He was able to sit up independently, and pull up to the cribside and walk around... but he weighed in at around 15 pounds. He was like a little stick doll. Our cats weigh more than he did. I had to be so very careful when I held him because his bones were so very tiny. I actually never made it into most of the orphanage, because his was the first room I saw and he looked me in the eye. I was hooked from then on. He was so lifeless and listless. He wouldn't smile, he wouldn't make any noise... he did passively hold his hands up to me to be picked up when I reached for him. He did wrap his arms around my neck when I held/cuddled him, but that was really the only response he made... until I needed to leave, and laid him down in the crib, which he shared with another boy, by the way... when i laid him down, big tears welled up in his eyes, and he started to sob, reaching for me... dont misunderstand me. They were all fed, clean, and provided with medical care. Some of them even had their mothers come visit, for the ones whose Mothers dropped them off are allowed to have an hourly visit a day from Mom or Dad. He, however, was abandoned, and while the nuns do the best they can, the needs are so vast, they dont have time to hold, cuddle, or interact with them much. He did not want to be put down... He cried for me, a total stranger.... he expected so little from life... but, I have to remember, he is one of the lucky ones in Haiti... Haiti is really more than I can describe. The sights, smells, and the people... as little as they have, and most have nothing, they have so much dignity, and they have the ability to laugh at us, the silly Americans. The kids and I were up on the rooftop out in the bad part of town one day... and the boys were determinedly trying to crack open a green coconut with a rock. Before it was over, most of the neighborhood was gathered around, pointing and looking up at us, grinning and laughing at us... who needs a movie when you can laugh at silly Americans? :) We were cheap entertainment... Anyway, I need to trot off... I love you and will see you sometime Monday... Yo Momma...
Friday, April 04, 2008
From Haiti: #2
My friend Heather and her daughter spent a week in Haiti on a mission trip . . . this is an update email that Heather sent.
Hello Douglas and Seth, ( and other various peoples)... i think we have recovered from our long day yesterday. we were in bed by 9, comotose almost, and slept mostly through the night.. woke up at 5 with the roosters... literally... and the coke truck that pulls in at 5:30 in the morning. anyway, we took off for the compound/school in Blanchard, a "neighborhood" of PortAuPrince... where we are staying in PortAuPrince is solidly middle class. The definition of Middle Class is way different than ours. But, Blanchard is a step down. It's a BIG step down. Anyway, we spent the day painting the inside of a church. It was a long sweaty day, but not unbearable. The kids at the school make me want to cry and smile at the same time. They swarm us, Kelly and I especially, because of the hair. They are just all so sweet.. they chatter away in French/Creole and and we smile and nod back, not a clue what they are saying. The kids in the school are clean, dressed in uniforms, and well fed for at least one meal a day. Outside the walls is a different story. I can't describe the conditions. For example, on our way home today, I saw a woman frying what looked like homemade fruitpies, except they were brown. When we got back, I asked Leon what they were and he called them "dirt" pies. I kind of giggled and said, "No, really, Leon, what are they really ?" He assured me that they were really DIRT pies. Fried dirt. They are made of dirt and water out of the ditch...if you could call it water. It fills their stomachs so they dont feel the hunger. I'm crying again... Anyway...one last story, then I must go... Yesterday, we all got through the airport with little difficulty. Then we hit the outside. We were all pushing suitcases on carts, trying to get to the truck. Kelly and I were trying to navigate our cart, all 200 lbs. of it, and of course not able to keep up. We fell pretty far behind, and we were surrounded by panhandlers, for lack of a better term, trying to "help" us. We were sweating and spilling the suitcases, and I personally was feeling a little stressed. :) Our capable interpreter, Luke, and our Driver/Security, Cola, ran back to help us, shouting and pushing them away. It got just a little bit loud for few moments. The plan from now on, is to keep Kelly and Heather in FRONT, next to Luke and Cola. Dont let me scare you though. they were all just trying to earn a dollar for a meal for the day. It was just a little tense for a few minutes.. great way to enter the country.
Leon says that the way to love the Haitians, besides painting, etc, is to serve them... He said that even picking up trash is a way to serve. That seems like such a meaningless act of service, compared to the great needs in this country. They are hungry and over half die before the age of 5... what's picking up a napkin going to do? But I suppose what he was trying to communicate was the attitude is what matters... to show that I care for them, and I care what happens to them... a woman passing by our compound last night, looked up at us and shouted, "Jesus loves you, Jesus loves you, Jesus is coming back"... that seems so far away in America... what do we have to want for? I know we want Jesus to return, but life isn't too bad for us right now... But for Haitians, the hope of Christ returning is all they have.. a very real part of their lives... when you are hungry and dying, Jesus returning for give us new life takes on a whole new meaning....I must go now... love you all... please forward this on.... Heather
Let that sink in for a moment. Eating literal mud pies, made with runoff ditch water, just so a child can try and sleep with something in its stomach.
"The best way to love is to serve."
Change us, O God. May Heather never be the same because of her trip, and may You touch us as she shares her story through email. Come, Lord Jesus.
Resurgam, daily.
Hello Douglas and Seth, ( and other various peoples)... i think we have recovered from our long day yesterday. we were in bed by 9, comotose almost, and slept mostly through the night.. woke up at 5 with the roosters... literally... and the coke truck that pulls in at 5:30 in the morning. anyway, we took off for the compound/school in Blanchard, a "neighborhood" of PortAuPrince... where we are staying in PortAuPrince is solidly middle class. The definition of Middle Class is way different than ours. But, Blanchard is a step down. It's a BIG step down. Anyway, we spent the day painting the inside of a church. It was a long sweaty day, but not unbearable. The kids at the school make me want to cry and smile at the same time. They swarm us, Kelly and I especially, because of the hair. They are just all so sweet.. they chatter away in French/Creole and and we smile and nod back, not a clue what they are saying. The kids in the school are clean, dressed in uniforms, and well fed for at least one meal a day. Outside the walls is a different story. I can't describe the conditions. For example, on our way home today, I saw a woman frying what looked like homemade fruitpies, except they were brown. When we got back, I asked Leon what they were and he called them "dirt" pies. I kind of giggled and said, "No, really, Leon, what are they really ?" He assured me that they were really DIRT pies. Fried dirt. They are made of dirt and water out of the ditch...if you could call it water. It fills their stomachs so they dont feel the hunger. I'm crying again... Anyway...one last story, then I must go... Yesterday, we all got through the airport with little difficulty. Then we hit the outside. We were all pushing suitcases on carts, trying to get to the truck. Kelly and I were trying to navigate our cart, all 200 lbs. of it, and of course not able to keep up. We fell pretty far behind, and we were surrounded by panhandlers, for lack of a better term, trying to "help" us. We were sweating and spilling the suitcases, and I personally was feeling a little stressed. :) Our capable interpreter, Luke, and our Driver/Security, Cola, ran back to help us, shouting and pushing them away. It got just a little bit loud for few moments. The plan from now on, is to keep Kelly and Heather in FRONT, next to Luke and Cola. Dont let me scare you though. they were all just trying to earn a dollar for a meal for the day. It was just a little tense for a few minutes.. great way to enter the country.
Leon says that the way to love the Haitians, besides painting, etc, is to serve them... He said that even picking up trash is a way to serve. That seems like such a meaningless act of service, compared to the great needs in this country. They are hungry and over half die before the age of 5... what's picking up a napkin going to do? But I suppose what he was trying to communicate was the attitude is what matters... to show that I care for them, and I care what happens to them... a woman passing by our compound last night, looked up at us and shouted, "Jesus loves you, Jesus loves you, Jesus is coming back"... that seems so far away in America... what do we have to want for? I know we want Jesus to return, but life isn't too bad for us right now... But for Haitians, the hope of Christ returning is all they have.. a very real part of their lives... when you are hungry and dying, Jesus returning for give us new life takes on a whole new meaning....I must go now... love you all... please forward this on.... Heather
Let that sink in for a moment. Eating literal mud pies, made with runoff ditch water, just so a child can try and sleep with something in its stomach.
"The best way to love is to serve."
Change us, O God. May Heather never be the same because of her trip, and may You touch us as she shares her story through email. Come, Lord Jesus.
Resurgam, daily.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
936
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936.
That’s the number of weeks you have with your child, from birth through 18 years.
How are you spending those weeks?
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936.
That’s the number of weeks you have with your child, from birth through 18 years.
How are you spending those weeks?
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
From Haiti
Douglas and Heather are friends of mine, and are passionate Jesus followers. Heather and her daughter went to Haiti recently on a mission trip, and she shared her experience in a couple of emails. I thought I'd post them here so that you might capture just a taste of how that trip impacted Heather's life.
When I asked Heather if it was cool to share her emails, she replied with this:
Hi Michael... no problem posting... the only problem with people reading/listening about Haiti, or any other similar experience, is that it's just so secondhand... you can only have Haiti-in-a-box. You really can't understand it unless you hear it, smell it, taste it, feel it... and yes, you DO hear, smell, feel Haiti... It's a truly physical experience...It's so all encompassing... One thing that occurs to me is that I have a better appreciation of what it means to be fully engaged/owned by God... It's an object lesson for me. :) Feel free to do whatever you wish with the emails... just remember I was often incoherent from lack of sleep. Water trucks and roosters at all hours of the night play games with my ability to communicate clearly :) H
Okay - so be looking for Heather's emails to be posted soon. Until then, Peace Out.
When I asked Heather if it was cool to share her emails, she replied with this:
Hi Michael... no problem posting... the only problem with people reading/listening about Haiti, or any other similar experience, is that it's just so secondhand... you can only have Haiti-in-a-box. You really can't understand it unless you hear it, smell it, taste it, feel it... and yes, you DO hear, smell, feel Haiti... It's a truly physical experience...It's so all encompassing... One thing that occurs to me is that I have a better appreciation of what it means to be fully engaged/owned by God... It's an object lesson for me. :) Feel free to do whatever you wish with the emails... just remember I was often incoherent from lack of sleep. Water trucks and roosters at all hours of the night play games with my ability to communicate clearly :) H
Okay - so be looking for Heather's emails to be posted soon. Until then, Peace Out.
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