Spring Fever

(The following is my TWIRP for the weeks of March 4-30, 2007. Enjoy...)

Spring has sprung in our area at last. The mercury is rising, the grass is growing, and allergens and pollutants are once again wafting in the air. I think Eldan is going to suffer from allergy problems. The poor kid's nose has been rather productive over the last few days. On a brighter (and less disgusting) note, his legs have also been producing something recently--steps. Lots of them. Up to four or five at a time! He really enjoys trying to walk from the coffee table to our outstretched arms. The last step or two usually degenerates into a forward fall, but we are excited nonetheless. His first birthday is a mere two weeks away and we are planning a party to celebrate. You can be sure that I will be manning the video camera, so plan on checking back to the website in a few weeks to see video of the party! We suctioned a small basketball hoop to the door of our dishwasher and bought a small ball so that Eldan can start shooting baskets. He seems to be grasping the concept quite well. (Although he should be given a technical foul for hanging on the rim!)

Danielle has been staying busy lately with Eldan and that inevitable rite of spring--reorganizing the furniture. Our apartment is small so her options are somewhat limited. She was, however, able to spruce up the kitchen a bit and it looks very nice. She is still teaching 6th grade science thrice a week, and I am amazed at her ability to think of creative ways to help her students learn. She definitely has a gift--one that will benefit our children greatly over the years. She is very excited (as am I) to have her sister and brother-in-law and their kids visiting in a couple of weeks. Our little domicile will be nice and cozy with 4 adults and 3 kids as occupants. We don't mind the squeeze--we love having visitors. (If you want to take that as a hint, then you are free to do so...)

Me? I am very glad for the arrival of spring. I love winter, but I am ready for warmer weather. I am occupying my time these days with play rehearsals, home videos, school work, and online banking. I purchased the soundtrack to "Hoosiers" from I-tunes yesterday. I think it is some of Jerry Goldsmith's finest work. I am in the hunt to win our school's NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge. Right now I am in 11th place out of 78. I still have a chance to win it all, however. All I need is for Georgetown and UCLA to win on Saturday and for UCLA to beat Georgetown in the championship by 67 points and the trophy is mine! (Or something like that.) If Florida and OSU end up in the big game, I'm not sure I can watch--what would be the point? Either way I would be unhappy. By the way, I entered a national bracket challenge through CBSportsline.com. At last check, I am in 152,761st place! We'll just have to sit back and see what happens.

Our church has been holding evangelistic meetings all week. Several students in our school have been saved. It is exciting to me to see some progress in our kids and in my own walk as well. All by the grace of God!

It's Friday afternoon, the halls of our school are silent once again, April is approaching, and the weekend awaits...so enjoy it!

(Videos and Pictures are coming soon!)

Sports, Snowdays, and Sovereignty

(The following is my TWIRP for the weeks of a long time ago to March 2, 2007. Enjoy...)

Well, well, well...(Have you ever wondered why we say things in groups of three like that?) it has been a long time. I must say, when I gave my last post the title of "One Final Word," I didn't really mean it literally. What, you might ask, has prevented me from updating my blog in nearly 2 months? Well, the title of this post is intended to answer the question in part. Let me fill in some of the blanks from the last few weeks...

I have been very busy in recent weeks with sports. One sport in particular has captured my attention and time--basketball. I finished up my inaugural season as the Junior High Boys basketball coach with a 2nd place finish and a season record of 6-14. In case you are wondering how we could finish 2nd with a record like 6-14, let me an an addendum--our conference record was 5-3. We ended the season in just about the best way we could as a young team. We lost by 12 points in the state championship game, but it was one of our best games of the year. I have never been a part of a basketball game where there was so much energy and momentum on our side. It is something I will not soon forget. I have also been busy with the Varsity Boys Basketball team. I am the team's designated videographer, and I have tried to burn as many of the games onto DVD as possible. Basketball season officially ended last weekend, but we had two final roundball activities this week. On Tuesday, our school went to Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland and played an exhibition game with another Christian school on the same floor where the Cavs and their overexposed leader LeBron James play. I really had a blast getting to prowl around the Cavs Arena, but I was further entrenched in my dislike for professional basketball that night when we watched the Cavs beat the Hornets. I think the letters NBA should stand for "Narcisistic Big-Headed Athletes." Give me a college game over a pro game any day! The final chapter in our school's basketball season is the All-Star game which will be played tonight. I am going to announce the game and have some fun while I'm doing it.

The other big story in our lives of late has been snow. For the first 16 months of our sojourn here in Ohio, Danielle and I had both been rather disappointed in the lack of winter weather. In the first two weeks of February, Ohio gave us her best shot at a winter storm. Locally, we got about 4 to 5 inches of snow and were rated at a level 2 snow emergency. (I'm not exactly sure what that means, but the reporters on the local news broadcast seemed to think it was a big deal.) The biggest impact this storm had in our lives was the fact that we missed 4 days of school as a result. I used this extra time to sleep in and to work on a home video project that some of you will be seeing in the near future. (I hope.) I might have enjoyed these days off more if we hadn't already lost 3 days of school the week before because it was cold. That's right--it was cold. The mercury dipped below the 0 mark for a few days, and all the local schools cancelled. Apparently this is a common practice around here, but it was new to both Danielle and I. I've never lived in a place where schools are closed because it's cold. The net result of all of this is that we exceeded our state-allotted number of inclement weather days for the school year, and we will probably have to make some days up later on.

The final portion of the title for this post is the word sovereignty. I included that, not because sovereignty has kept me busy lately, but because I have been thinking about sovereignty in relation to some of the other aspects of my life recently. I wonder, how does God's sovereignty relate to things such as a sporting event or a snowday? How does God decide if the free throw goes in or not? Does a hastily whispered prayer right before releasing the ball actually affect whether or not the shot is made? Does God take an interest in who wins the Super Bowl? What about all of those kids praying in their beds for a snowday? Does the fact that a winter storm blows through that night have any connection to those requests? I don't really know, but it gives you a brief glimpse into the mental processes of my mind.

Meanwhile, in other news--our beloved Chevy Cavalier is in the shop for repairs after a large red pickup backed into it on Monday; Eldan is on the verge of walking; Danielle had a run-in with shingles a few weeks back (and I'm not talking about the kind on your roof); and I am in the middle of making the hardest decision of my school year--who will get to play a role in this year's school play. We are doing a Sherlock Holmes mystery this year, The Hound of the Baskervilles. It should be an enjoyable production, and I will have more to say and show about it in coming weeks. For now, the snow is melting, spring (and daylight savings time) are coming, and the weekend awaits...