Twinkies

Well we went to a Twins game this past weekend. It was fun. We did not get a chance to stay the whole game, which is a shame because they ended up winning off of 4 singles. Hay, you can't complain when your team wins though!

We did make it to Casey H's graduation he is a man after my own heart (of course he will deny it but it is true). He had star wars playing right next to his Sr. photo slideshow! This with cheese, crackers, M&M's... what more could you ask for.

Plus we visited with our friends for a birthday party, and Hannah got to play in the sprinkler at their house. Yeah it is that warm around here already! Time to put the AC in!

All this on top of a wonderful message on family to encourage the soul and lighten the spirit!

What a wonderful Start to a new week.

Baseball & marriage?

OK, so following the worst game of my softball carer [*cough* - hobby], last week, I had only an below average two games at the double header this week. So...I called up my buddy Caleb and we went a swinging.

We went to the batting cages and I got 6 tokens ($10 worth) Each token gets you 18 pitches. Caleb pointed out to me "Think about how many games does it take you to see 18 pitches?" And in this context I can just worry about hitting them, not running, or getting someone out.

Kind of reminds me of why it is valuable to do the marriage conferences, or mentoring groups that Cara and I have enjoyed so much. They can provide a safe, focused, controlled environment where we can "see" a number of situations in a few hours that it would normally take several months to "see". In addition we can face them fresh, and with a good attitude where we would normally face them under less than ideal circumstances, and in high stress.

safe: (no one gets out)
focused: (only goal is to make contact)
controlled: (choose your timing to set your best attitude)
fresh: (avoid stress of the moment)

It gives you a chance to get back in your groove. My buddy Caleb said that baseball is a "game of streaks." You have a series of good games where you are on fire, and then you hit a slump. Sometimes you just have to shake it up and put in a little extra time in the cages to try to get back to the fundamentals, shake off the dust. The results may not be instant, but you just have to outlast the difficult moments, relax a little, and as my wife said "try to still have fun, that is why you wanted to play isn't it? Because it was fun." Soon enough you will be hitting strong again if you don't give up. Maybe marriage is the same way.

Just thinking.
Bill

Asian Indian Family Wellness (Crisis Services)

SEWA-AIFW

If anyone ever has the need to refer someone from the Asian or Indian community to a place of safety, there is a nonprofit in the Twin Cities area:

for the benefit of Asian Indian's in need, be it family, immigration, health (or safety)

This is like a culturally sensitive/relevant version of a crisis intervention center/shelter/social services. I have not found many if any other people around trying to do what they are doing for the Asian Indian community. In fact it was a little difficult to find them, so that is why i decided to post the blog. If you know someone who is from this community who is suffering from domestic abuse, or other family/life/work stresses and difficulties that seem unmanageable, please consider letting them know that something like this exists.

Here is there contact information.

Office phone number is 763-234-3491
24/7 crisis line is 952-912-9100.

"All information is confidential. Help is available, to link one to services with culturally trained advocated, social workers and doctors and lawyers. Help is available in housing, health and financial.If there is any thing we can do please do not hesitate to call. 763-234-3491."

SEWA-AIFW website

What God's Will isn't

I was reading the Genesis Worship blog for Woodbury Lutheran Church and came across a fascinating question posed anonymously in response to a message they did on God's will a week ago.

A dialogue developed between two individuals with selected excerpts below.

I struggle with the words "Thy will be done"...But oftentimes when something bad happens, an unexpected death and cancer. Even when Hurricane Katrina hit or the Tsunami, people claim that it's "God's Will."...How do you explain to your teenage son that it was God's will that their friend was killed in a car accident? I don't believe it was God's will she died.

So what is Thy will be done?
====
So do you think that spiritual maturity allows a person to surrender more completely to God's will particularly during the trials and tests of life?

Is there anything else besides good and evil? Is something always good or something evil?
====
It's easy when things go right in our lives to say it is God's will. But if something goes wrong, is that God's will?
====

This discussion really made me think. It made me think of how cliche and unloving we as Christians can be towards those hurting. The discussion did not go that way, but the questions seem posed from a heart that has been wounded by that kind of carelessness in the past. This is what I added at the end.

God has promised that we will suffer if we follow him. This is why it says we must take up our cross and follow him, and that if the world hated him, it will really hate us. Yet not everything that happens in this world has moral weight. Remember that Christ debunked the idea that a tower fell and crushed a group of men because they were any worse sinners than others who remained living. It was just tragic.

The world we live in is broken. And as the person above stated, the enemy of God wants to cause harm to both believers and non believers alike.

Yet in the midst of that we know what the will of God is. He wants that none of us should perish but that we should be redeemed by the blood of Christ. So those things that happen can be used to further God's will (if they lead anyone closer to Him) or they can be used to deceive us and draw us away (as the enemy would have it). To some extent it is our choice to respond to suffering with faith, or discouragement.

It should be the Christian's mission to encourage, and shore up the faith of those hurting so that their response can draw them closer.

I do agree with the first person who had some misgivings with how we use "God's will" God's will is going to be accomplished in this world. I believe he can accomplish it through tragedy even if he is not the cause of that tragedy. I have the same compliant with the way that Christians toss around the word "hope" We say "I hope it doesn't rain today," but that is the world's kind of hope.

Our hope is with certain confidence.

It is in the return of our Lord Jesus Christ in the last day. It is guaranteed as sure as the sun rising tomorrow morning.

In that hope we can respond to suffering with faith not only to draw ourselves closer to God, but to encourage others who are hurting more than we are. As Paul said, we can comfort them with the comfort that we first received from God. And that is also why we suffer, so that we can serve those who are suffering through the comfort we have received.

Snow Day
part 3: Sledding at Last

Well, our neighbor either reads my blog or read my mind...most likely my mind is less daunting as a maze of riddles and free thinking than I would suppose because I doubt the former is true. :)

Keith saw me outside and asked me if I wanted his old Sleds! I could not believe it. I said yes of course.
So Hannah and I went sledding two times in the big hill behind our house. It was great.

This was not the first time as our friend Jim @ family invited us out to visit them prior and we had much fun sledding then also. What was different about this was the ability to be spur of the moment. Just go for an hour with 45 min for sledding. OK also unique, was me not getting snow in Hannah's face! Sorry Kiddo

Any way it was a blast. Thanks Keith!

And Lilly got to take her first trip across on a sled *safe on the sidewalk* for those of you concerned. Yes she will still make it to her first birthday. Ah... but that is another post!

TTFN

Snow Day
part 2: Snow Pants

Do you still have Snow Pants?

If not you should go pick some up. It is so much fun to play with your kids in the snow. They are probably on clearance somewhere unless they are already sold out and replaced with swimming suits.

We tried to find a snow sled and they were all sold out. 3 Stores. Then the final one had either a saucer sled to small for the two of us, or one big enough but for $27! So, needless to say we had fun in the snow with just our snow pants and gloves instead.

We made a snow wall, and snow angles (which Hannah calls "Snow Kissing's")
It was grate fun, and we came home to a delicious Egg Bake.

Ah, what a day.

Snow DAY
part 1: Shopping

Wow that was a fun Snow Day Sunday. We slept in (well most of us :) We woke up and enjoyed some basic breakfast and then went grocery shopping in the mess. Roads were not that bad. And due to the unusually light traffic in the store? we were able to score a grocery cart driving car. These are the ones that have two steering wheels, and a little go cart in the front for the kids to drive in. Hannah loves them.

When the unthinkable happens...

Say it ant so!

My youth is passing before my eyes (OK it is long gone, but no more pretending anymore!) My favorite band's website has been dismantled! http://www.fiveironfrenzy.com/ is no more. :(

I can't believe it. Will the only surviving memory of Five Iron be the ailing memory's of its greatest fans (my friends of course) and a solo entry in Wikepedia ? Alas, we will all one day go the way of the buffalo. If only we can have as much impact on the hopes and dreams on those close to us as they had on my last high school years, we will all be doing well.

Farewell Five Iron, Farewell!

The Depot

Just before Christmas Cara and I went down to the Depot in Minneapolis . This was really something we had thought about doing for a year or more. We thought it would be nice to go Ice Skating. Living in Minnesota, you would think that would be easy enough. However, the climate change people may have something yet, because we have not had enough ice to skate on outside consistently for a few years.

Anyway we decided it would be fun to go skate indoors. So we went down to the Depot. We ate at the restaurant, which was kind of an experience because there was a kids birthday party. It was nice to know our own kids were having fun at home though :)

Then we walked through the Hotel down to the Depot Ice Rink. We purchased tickets and rented skates. Just before we went onto the Ice, they brought out the Zamboni to resurface. So we got a good chance to sit and talk. It was so fun, seeing the City Skyline outside the glass wall of the Depot. We sipped down a hot Cocoa, and noticed how many teenage kids were there. I had no idea it would be that popular.

Then it was time to skate. It felt like I was in High school, or Jr. High again. You know the Glory days. Accept that this time it was with the woman I love and will spend my whole life with. Instead of feelings of insecurity and fear, I felt so much joy and excitement. It was great. Skating can be tiring, but it was fun, zipping around the rink. And I didn't even fall (until some wiper snapper ran into me weaving in and out of people) punk kids :)

I would totally recommend the Depot to anyone looking for a fun night out. However, when we were leaving the line to get in was probably 100 people long, so come early, or plan to wait.

Double Overtime
Two words for you. Double Overtime.
Last Friday, my wife's parents came down from the UP to enjoy the fruits of an excellent Christmas present. We went to the Wolves, Pistons game at the Target Center. 8 of us, mom, dad, the kids, and 2 in laws (myself included) It was great.

The seats were good (one row back from the balcony in the corner. We didn't even have to worry about looking over any tall peoples heads. To get up for food, we could just stand up over the backs of our chairs and walk out the door. We even made it early enough to walk away with a collectible Randy Foye bobble head. This was a doubly astounding feet, as It is my first bobble head, and as my reputation of being not-early proceeds me :) (literally)

But the Game. Oh the Game! It was fantastic. Pistons, Wolves, Double Ejection (first ever suspension in KG's history). Coming back dramatically to tie in regulation. Overtime quarter, Pistons three with 12 seconds left to tie. Double Overtime (and all without KG!). The Pistons won and man was that ride home a blast on the train. What an event.

Plus, we rode the Light Rail there and back with the UPS guy who delivered the game ball on TV. It was so cool.

Thanks for the Tickets Kyle!
And everybody, thanks for the memory's.

Just, awesome.

You wouldn't make it in football
Well, I have to admit it. She's good!
My wife beet me out in the final week of our Fantasy football championship. She was the only girl in the league but has a real love for the game, and a lot of knowledge. I on the other hand am the most inexperienced guy. But it is a keeper league, and I got some real keepers this year. Got to love the family dynasty going into next year. :)

p.s. Go Bears!