This morning on the way into work, I was listening to “Who Am I”, by Casting Crowns, and that is a great song! If you havent heard it, there are a lot of YouTube posts with it.
Here the TAB for it (or at least a modified one)
Here is one of the live performances that is real good:
So we went to NC for the Memorial Day Weekend (Lynns folks have a house in Lake Toxaway). I brought the big scope (see post below). It was a clear night on Saturday with no moon, so it was great for using the scope. I got lost in all the stars, as there were so many visible, it is nothing like Atlanta, where you only see the brighter stars. Up there you see every star!
Anyway, I got a real good look at 2 items in the short time I had there (more about that below). First, I found the “Surfboard Galaxy” (M108), which was pretty cool. I could see the center and everything.
Then I was able to get in the same field of view, the “Owl Nebula” (M97). It was pretty clear.
I was using the new eyepiece I got for Christmas, so now I feel justified for spending the money!
Anyway, I was out there for about 1hour+, and when I was walking from the van to the scope at one point, something growled at me from the dark woods near where I was!!!!! Talk about freaked out! I froze, slowly made it back to the van, closed the doors, hit the high-beams, rev’ed the engine and made a lot of noise. Then when I figured it was safe, packed up and left!
So much for a long night of stargazing…sheesh!
Anyway, it was cool while it lasted. Below is an example of how it looked, though everything was bigger than this…
At the beginning of this year, I started having some lower back trouble. After some X-rays and an MRI, ends up I have a “bulging disc“. I’ve been to some physical therapy which has helped out, but hours of sitting in front of a computer has finally caught up with me. Stretching works, so I now stretch every morning.
That all being said, I was in the market for a new desk chair, since the ones at work were less than ideal. Of course, you see a lot of nice chairs out there, but the good ones cost upwards of $800-$1000!!! I found I liked the Aeron by Herman Miller and the Steelcase Leap chair. (tried them both at Sam Flax) There was a company selling used Leap chairs for $450, which is about 1/2 price, but still costly. Then I just found a guy who is selling off some old inventory of Aeron’s at about $300. The price tag new on these is $975, so it is like 1/3 the price!
You may be saying, “$300 for a chair!!! Crazy!!!”…but seeing as how I spend the majority of my life in a chair (sad…) its a small price to pay IMHO.
Anyway, that all being said, this is the chair I bought, and all I can say is SWEEETTTTT!!!!
A couple points about listening that made an impact on me:
I should read this post every day! I am a terrible listener, but hopefully admitting it is 1/2 the battle! 🙂
One of the greats!
The Devil called a worldwide convention of demons. In his opening address he said, “We can’t keep Christians from going to church. We can’t keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can’t even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their savior. Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken.”
“So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, but steal their time, so they don’t have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.”
“This is what I want you to do”, said the devil: “Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!”
“How shall we do this?” his demons shouted.
“Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds,” he answered. “Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow.”
“Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles.”
“Keep them from spending time with their children.” “As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!”
“Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice. Entice them to play the radio, iPod, MP3’s or CD player whenever they drive. To keep the TV, DVD, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ.”
“Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes.”
“Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas. Give them an Easter bunny so they won’t talk about his resurrection and power over sin and death.”
“Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted. Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God’s creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy!”
“And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences.”
“Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause. It will work! It will work!”
It was quite a plan! The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there. Having little time for their God or their families. Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives.
I guess the question is, has the devil been successful at his scheme? You be the judge!
Most everyone in the US has heard about our drought here in Georgia. Also, if you follow the news, you also remember that Sonny Perdue (Gov of GA) led a prayer on Nov 14, 2007 for rain. He joined lawmakers and ministers on the steps of the state Capitol for this prayer. He prayed, “God, we need you. We need rain.” (thats not the whole prayer, but thats part of it) This was not the first time he led a prayer for rain. In June, Perdue, State Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin, some Central Georgia farmers and others gathered at the Georgia Farm Bureau headquarters in Macon to pray for rain.
What did people have to say about it?
So what is the outcome, well take a look at the US drought maps below. Since Nov, the rain has diminished the drought significantly, and the emergency expected for the summer has been averted! Does this mean that we still don’t need rain? No, we could still use rain over the next few months. What it tells me is that our leader prayed for rain, and it was rain we got over the past 4-6 months. It’s not rocket science people, its the power of prayer.
Now…
