A Serendipitous Error

Sometimes a mistake is just the thing you need. Our church has been doing "Life Journals" - reading selected scriptures each day and journaling about what they say and how we can apply it to our lives. While the passage to be read was, according to the list, Luke 15 - the online journal listed 2 Peter 1:3-10. This "error" was the perfect passage for me today and I thought I'd share my journalings.

In view of these economic times when we/I tend to focus on what we don't have, or what we have less of, or what we can't afford, the passage in 2 Peter reminds us "God gives us everything we need". Not for our little wants and wishes, not to live a trouble free life of comfort - no God promises to give us everything we need to live a godly life. Everything. He gives us everything! Not some, a portion, a sampling - EVERYTHING.

Later the passage tells us that those who fail to grow (perhaps in the knowledge of this fact)

• are "shortsighted" - not trusting for the future or things we can't see in the distance
• are "blind" - not seeing the blessings right in front of us, He has given us now
• "forget" - we need to remember that we have been cleansed, our sins are forgiven and we need to life our lives as forgiven children blessed by God and not wallow in past mistakes

I am thankful today that a "typo" brought about encouragement. I am more thankful that God has given me everything I need.

Houston Winter Wonderland - video

The final installment of our snow retrospective of 12.10.08. I would like to credit my kids for teaching me Windows Movie Maker which helped in the making of this video. It was fun to relive our wonderful snowy night. (By the way, in the video we show the temperature - the time is wrong as the clock broke long ago). Enjoy!

We interrupt these snow reports.....

Okay I promised that my next blog would be our snow video (that's on today's VERY LONG to-do list), but another really cool thing happened.

Yesterday I get a call from Kristal saying that the shuttle was flying over Clear Lake (as it was heading back from California). I called Robert who had seen it out his window. Unfortunately I couldn't see it and thought it had landed. When the kids got home they told me how it had flown over their school - apparently since the school already had a planned fire drill, the school coordinated it with the flyover so the entire student body could see it fly past. Many families in Clear Lake have a family member who work with the Space Program - they never get to see the actual shuttle since take offs and landings are in Florida (normally). It was a nice treat to look into the sky again for the second time this week and see something that makes you smile. By the way the photograph was taken by someone at Gateway who has an amazing camera!

More Snow!

So for those who have grown up with snow all the hoopla seems a bit odd. But for our family this is a first - I've never had this happen at my own home so you'll have to indulge me for a few more blogs.

Here are a few more photos from last night - we shot over 100 including video. I also added a couple from this morning. Most of the snow is now melted. Apparently this was the earliest heavy snow on record. The last time it snowed this early was 45 years ago. Snow is fun!

Still to come - video. Also check out our family site (friends already know this to see more photos.

Snow in Houston - yee haw!

What started out as a VERY cold day with the high reaching a mere 38, turned into a winter wonderland. It started snowing about 5 p.m. We were excited with a little sleet - but then the snow came and continues to snow as I write this. For us former Californians this is a BIG deal - never had this in San Diego! In fact it was the first time most of our kids had ever seen it snow.

So we were outside most of tonight - taking pictures, shooting video, taking more pictures, playing, throwing small snowballs and of course building snowman. Check back on the blog soon as we will be uploading some video we shot. In the meantime....let it snow!!

Surprising TV

The other night we were cruising the channels and came upon a talk show hosted by William Shatner. Well curiosity got the best of us and we watched - and were pleasantly surprised. While I cannot remember the channel or the name of the show (two things that could be a problem for the network televising it) I do remember the guests and the conversations. One show featured Valerie Bertonelli, and the other Tim Allen (yes we were hooked for two shows).

What surprised us was that the conversations were deep - it was not lighthearted or funny as I thought it might be before tuning in. The discussions and questions seemed to always go back to spiritual matters - heaven and hell, forgiveness, sin, divine intervention, consequences of actions. They were not questions or responses you would hear in church necessarily, but thoughts, ideas and questions from people on a journey. It amazed me how easily the conversation turned to such matters.

Then I realized I shouldn't be amazed. All of us are on a journey, and given the opportunity and right circumstance, I think people want to share their thoughts, ideas, questions and ponderings as they wrestle their way towards truth. In a society that is quick to judge, it reminds me to take time to listen, ask questions, and listen some more. I might be surprised by the conversations I have.

1 Peter 3:15 "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect...."