A new life

A few inches under these hands is a little beating heart. It's hard to imagine that I will have a son in about a month. It's also hard to imagine that the responsibility of being the baby's father will fall on my shoulders. I'm in a state of amazement and awe right now, it's the last month - the last month where my time and energy revolves around just me and my wife.
When we went up to the altar to take communion this morning, the man who served us communion looked at us both with a smile and said "the body of Christ, broken for all three of you."

Coffee and iBook

What can I say...I'm a 21st century guy.
All that's missing from this picture I took today is a cigarette hanging off the saucer, or where I'm from - a "fag". Although I don't smoke fags cos I'm asthmatic. Anyway, I thought this made a cool photo.

I'm going to post my secret recipe very soon for a rather good mocha...with photos for the hard of reading.

Liverpool FC

I simply have to give a shout out to my football team who I have supported since I was a boy. This year they won the Champions League, the biggest achievement in football. Kind of like the World Series of football, but much, much bigger.

They do though, don't they, though?
(sorry, a little scouser saying that no american will quite 'get')

Afghanistanimation

...my favorite type of animation. Out with the old (japanimation) and in with the new (afghanistanimation). That bears no relevence to this post. I just wanted to say Afghanistanimation. One more time - Afghanistanimation. I'm done.

Anyway, Chip Weatherman is a friend of mine and an awesome animator. I love his 3D artistry, the best I've seen. He is the lead animator at Real Media and he has a personal website which you can go to by clicking here. Go to his gallery and check out his stuff.

Afghanistanimation.

Trust

A friend of mine brought up a question from the pulpit a few years back - what are you trusting God for this week? Some weeks we probably feel like we have more to trust him for than other weeks. I feel like I have a lot to trust God for this week.

This hymn really strikes home with me.



I Need Thee Every Hour

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh.

I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is in vain.

I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;
O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessèd Son.

Words: Annie S. Hawks, 1872.


Annie Hawks wrote:

One day as a young wife and mother of 37 years of age, I was busy with my regular house hold tasks. Suddenly, I became so filled with the sense of nearness to the Master that, wondering how one could live with out Him, either in joy or pain, these words, “I Need Thee Every Hour,” were ushered in to my mind, the thought at once taking full possession of me.

Biblical Curse Generator

Lost for a smart remark to see off your enemies? Unable to deliver that killer insult? Put an end to unscriptural restraint with the amazing Biblical Curse Generator, which is pre-loaded with blistering smackdowns as delivered by Elijah, Jeremiah and other monumentally angry saints.

Click here and please leave your fave curses as comments. If you don't, you will be plagued with gnats, flies and locusts, thou exceedingly foolish virgin!

In Heavenly Love

A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps. Proverbs 16:9

Change is never easy for me. It's unpredictable and quite easy to lose courage under the circumstances of change. As I was pondering and, to be honest, worrying a little about some change that I am undergoing in my life - this old hymn came into my mind and it comforted me.
I suppose the unknown is never unknown to God. I inherited an old pocket Bible from my Grandmother that has 'Tomorrow never takes the Lord by surprise' written in the inside cover.
Here is that hymn.

In heavenly love abiding,
No change my heart shall fear;
And safe is such confiding,
For nothing changes here:
The storm may roar without me,
My heart may low be laid,
But God is round about me,
And can I be dismayed?

Wherever he may guide me,
No want shall turn me back;
My Shepherd is beside me,
And nothing can I lack.
His wisdom ever waketh,
His sight is never dim,
He knows the way he taketh,
And I will walk with him.

Green pastures are before me,
Which yet I have not seen;
Bright skies will soon be o'er me,
Where darker clouds have been.
My hope I cannot measure,
The path to life is free;
My Saviour has my treasure,
And he will walk with me.

Author: Anna L. Waring

I read an interesting article on Proverbs 16:9 this evening.

'Here is God's government of our race. Man proposes; God disposes. Man freely devises; God powerfully directs. Man willingly plans; God masterfully dictates. Man acts as he pleases; God is pleased by how He uses man's actions. He is the LORD!'

My Mum said to me once "a road with no bends is a boring one". I suppose if we all knew what was around the corner in life, we would be less likely to trust God for everything.

oh, and things would be boring.

Man dies from epidural

In a matter of weeks, I will no doubt be getting an epidural to help me cope with the stress of seeing my wife squeezing out our child. I mean...this guy died from simply SEEING the needle. I'm trying to prepare myself for the moment that the nurse asks me to lean forward and pull my t-shirt up at the back so that they can administer some happy gas to my spine. Awesome!!

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California woman is suing a hospital for wrongful death because her husband fainted and suffered a fatal injury after helping delivery room staff give her a pain-killing injection.

Jeanette Passalaqua, 32, filed the suit against Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Southern California Permanente Medical Group Inc. in San Bernardino County state court last week.

In June 2004, Passalaqua's husband, Steven Passalaqua, was asked by Kaiser staff to hold and steady his wife while an employee inserted an epidural needle into her back, court papers said.

The sight of the needle caused Steven Passalaqua, 33, to faint and he fell backward, striking his head on an aluminum cap molding at the base of the wall.

Jeanette Passalaqua delivered the couple's second child, a boy, later that day. Steven Passalaqua, however, suffered a brain hemorrhage as a result of his fall and died two days later, the lawsuit said.

The suit seeks unspecified damages related to Steven Passalaqua's death and to Jeanette Passalaqua's emotional distress at being widowed with two young children.

Because Passalaqua was solicited by Kaiser to assist in the epidural, the lawsuit said, the hospital "owed him a duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent foreseeable injuries resulting from his participation."

A spokesman for Oakland, California-based Kaiser Permanente called the death "a tragic, accident."

"Some of the allegations in the lawsuit are simply that -- allegations. The legal process is under way and we should respect that," said Kaiser spokesman Jim Anderson.

Hillary Clinton Announces Papal Candidacy

I read this interesting news article.

When Pope John Paul II passed away on Saturday, many internet journalists would have wagered their pirated copy of Photoshop that the story would be the most interesting news item of the day. They were wrong.

New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton announced that as a lifelong Catholic and regular churchgoer (especially during election years), she felt God's call to "step forward and lead the Catholic Church into the future".

In a news conference earlier today, Clinton spoke of her strong Catholic beliefs and values. Her husband spoke of his strong attraction to Catholic schoolgirls.

The senator said, "When I was growing up as a little girl in New York, I mean Arkansas, I mean Illinois, next to my posters of Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio was a painting of Pope Pius XII. Every morning when I woke up, I would say a little prayer to Pope Pius asking for him to help me through the day."

The conservative media is painting this as another example of carpet bagging by the former First Lady. In November 2000 she won election to the US Senate in New York despite not having lived in the Empire State long enough for her husband to have another sexual assault allegation leveled at him.

Clinton dismissed those allegations with a wave. "If I weren't Catholic, why would I be wearing this yarmulke?" Or have these rosemary beads?"

The Prandsome Hince

Spoonerism
n. the transposition of initial or other sounds of words, usually by accident. (1895-1900 after W. A. Spooner (1844-1930), English clergyman noted for such slips).

This following story is one that my Dad used to tell me. I found it online. Very silly.


Once apon a time, in a coreign fountry, there lived a very geautiful birl; her name was Rindercella. Now, Rindercella lived with her mugly other and her two sad bisters. And in that same coreign fountry, there lived a very prandsom hince.

One day, the prandsom hince decided to have a bancy fall. He invited people from riles amound, especially the pich reople. But Rindercella could not go because all she had to wear were some old rirty dags. So she just cat fsdown and scried. She was a kitten there a scrien, when all of a sudden her gairy fodmother appeared. And she waived her wagic mand...and all of a sudden there appeared before her, a cig boach and hix white sorces to take her to the bancy fall. But now she said to Rindercella, "Rindercella, you must be home before nidmight, or I'll purn you into a tumpkin!"

So Rindercella went to the bancy fall, where she met the very prandsom hince, who she had been watchin through a widden hindow. She and the prandsom hince nanced all dight till nidmight...and they lell in fove. Suddenly, the mid clock struck night; Rindercella staced down the rairs, and just she beached the rottom, she slopped her dripper!

The next day, the prandsom hince went all over the coreign fountry looking for the geautiful birl who had slopped her dripper. He came to Rindercella's house. He tried it on Rendercella's mugly other...and it fidn't dit. He tried it on her two sigly usters...and it fidn't dit. He tried it on Rindercella...and it fid dit, it was exactly the sight rize!

The next day, Rindercella and the prandsom hince were married and they lived everly hafter happward.

Now, the moral of the story is this: If you ever loll in fove with a prandsom hince, be sure and slop your dripper!


Oh, I also read today that Ratt Medman has a new live worship album coming out soon.