A Little picture pun fun

Here are two picture puns. See if you can guess what they are. If so, e-mail me so that others still have to guess.

One?
Two?

Ship of Fools: Signs & Blunders

Hat tip to LMA for this great clip!

Ship of Fools: Signs & Blunders

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Potty break mic snafu: CNN’s Phillips chats in the loo during Bush speech

I thought sound people were sharper then this!
Hot Air » Blog Archive » Potty break mic snafu: CNN’s Phillips chats in the loo during Bush speech

What did you do in the war, UNIFIL?

It says a great deal about the isolation of Israel in the media and the minds of the leaders of the world when news like this does not get the attention it deserves.
What did you do in the war, UNIFIL?

Which one are you?

I was reading in the Bible this morning and started in Ezekiel. Now there is a hard book to start with. I have never fully understood the symbols and visions that he had. I finished up by reading in Revelation. In light of the visions of Ezekiel, I saw the warning to the churches a bit different.
In fact I saw them as they related to me. I wondered which of the seven churches I most closely relate too. At first I thought it must be Ephesus, for I saw the part about “not bearing those who are evil”, testing for false apostles and being on the right side.
Then I thought, why not Smyrna who was persecuted and poor. Pergamos maybe. Thyatira definitely not.
But wait, I am like all of them. I have left my first Love, well not left but I am not as hot for it as I once was. (Ephesus)
I have not borne my poverty well. (Smyrna)
I am not sure what a Nicolaitan is, so I may have friends who hold to their doctrine.(Pergamos)
Now I am just reflecting here but maybe I need to read it a bit closer and find out just where I really am. I do know one thing; Jesus is a forgiving Savior and even in the warning to the churches He gave them hope. I only need to overcome.
This is only a partial list because I only read that far. I may have more thought after chapter three

About a year ago a Islamic rights group in Ontario wanted the right to impose Shariah Law in non-civil cases involving Moslems. Their claims were that it would not effect the rest of Canada or other Canadians. It was turned down but I think the vote was close. Any way in light of that attempt I pass this little nugget along. bear in mind that this women is no longer a Moslum but is still being subjected to Shariah law.

In 1998, Azlina binti Jailani changed her name to Lina Joy and was baptized a Catholic in a church in Kuala Lumpur. Ms. Joy now wants the government to stop classifying her as a Muslim.

But it isn't that simple: While Muslim-majority Malaysia is considered a largely moderate, modern society, renouncing one's Muslim faith still is considered both sinful and illegal by Islamic authorities -- who have gained increasing sway of late. Ms. Joy's apostasy case, now before Malaysia's highest court of appeal, has inflamed public debate, divided the legal community -- a Muslim lawyer supporting Ms. Joy has received death threats -- and threatens to set off political tremors in this Southeast Asian nation of 25 million people.

The landmark legal ruling, expected within a month, will help define Malaysia's character as a nation.

"We are at a crossroad, whether we go down the line of secular constitutionalism or whether that constitution will now be read subject to religious requirements," says Benjamin Dawson, one of Ms. Joy's lawyers.

Malaysia has been governed for more than a half century by a tradition of civil law passed on by former British colonial rulers. A separate shariah, or Islamic, legal system has co-existed with civil law specifically to govern the religious lives of Muslim citizens, who are mostly ethnic Malays. About 40% of the population is ethnic Chinese, Indians and other minorities of other faiths.

But conservative Islam's rise as a political force in the 1980s and 1990s has propelled pro-Western Malaysia -- and its legal system -- on a steady swing to the religious right. The government has ceded some powers once held by the civil-justice system to the shariah courts.

While the Quran states there should be "no compunction" in religion, Islamic authorities world-wide consider apostasy both a sin and a crime. In Malaysia, Islamic courts can sentence apostates to "rehabilitation" in prison-like re-education centers that sometimes use caning as part of their program.

Although Malaysia's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, civil courts now routinely refer any cases involving Islamic matters for adjudication in shariah courts. And the shariah courts almost never grant Muslims the right to leave the religion.


Hat tip here!

Out of Dodge!

So Sue and I have taken flight and left the city for a few days. No we did not fly, just felt like it. We did however go from the "sea to the sky" and for those who don't know what I mean maybe some of these pictures will help.



Don' they look happy?

The bowl

Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. 2 Tim 2:20

Not perfect but who is?



Most of the students will remember "the bowl." It sits on my shelf and I have used it for more then one illustration in class. It is made from a chunk of cast away wood that I found on the side of the road. It was mossy, dirty, and looked like it might be good for burning. I by-passed it three times before I stopped and picked it up.

I decided I would see what I could do with it. You see, I am an amateur wood turner. I loaded this sixty pound chunk into my car and brought it home. There I used a variety of tools to cut away the dirt and moss. I also sort of rounded it into a turning blank. After I mounted it to the lathe, I issued a short prayer and turned the machine on. Now being an amateur, I don't have the proper machine to turn something that size. But I am not all that smart.

As I turned on the lathe, it jumped and hopped all over. Wow! that was impressive! So I loaded up the lathe stand with all the free weights and sandbags I could. Then I turned it on again. Still shaky but turn-able. I put chisel to wood and watched the shavings fly.

Lots of shaving and dust later I realized many things. God talks to me while I am working with wood. As I cut away the dirt, bark and moss I heard the Father say to pay attention. Just as I was removing the old, dirty outside so He removed the old man from me. Just as I was exposing the beauty of the color and character of the block of wood, so He revealed that in me. The block lost much of its original shape, weight, and moisture. (more on that last one later) But the original nature of the wood remained.

Cell phone added for size comparision

So it is with us. God can shape us and remove from us those things that are unfit but He leaves the person we are. Although like the “chunk” I started with, it is no longer recognizable. As I turned the chunk, defects in the wood limited how much I could cut in certain areas. But great beauty was revealed as the old layers were taken off. These areas of beauty in the wood were the result of some trauma the tree had gone through. Wind, storms, bugs and even the minerals in the soil had each left their mark on the tree.

At one point I stepped back an looked at the shop. I noticed something interesting. There was a stripe of water on the ceiling, the wall behind the lathe and on me. The block was green so it was losing water as I turned. God impressed on me that the water from the chunk was like the tears that I had shed while He worked on me. And notice, He said, “some of those tears landed on Me” Wow what an awesome God!

Cut, sanded, polished and ready; the bowl now sets where I can be reminded of what He could see in me when I was a dirty, mossy, cast away chunk.

On the shelf

What is your burden?

As the world events unfold around us, many may ask the question "why should I care"? It is a fair question. Afterall how can what is happening in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, or Gaza effect me living here?
However we have been left us in this world to influence it. Left here by Jesus. He did not arrange it so that when we accept Him as savior, we are taken out of the world to heaven. On the contrary, He left us in the world.
It is all to easy to relax in our safety and become complacent. When was the last time you allowed God to burden you with something that caused you to change your scheduled activities so that you could either spend time in prayer or actually help some one? I am not judging, I am asking. I point at myself in the mirror and I don't like the answers I get sometimes. We can make a difference, because as we pray or labor God intervenes and changes things. Although the greatest change will always happen in us. Have you allowed yourself to be changed lately?

Great read

This link is to a scholar whose comments on Iran, Israel and the whole situation is worthy of note.
OpinionJournal - Extra

Duh!!!

Raunchy Lyrics Prompt Teens To Have Sex

What to believe?

I was talking with Ken the other day and I mentioned the Lieberman in Black Face | NewsBusters.org and he had not seen any of it.
So when the following story broke I decided to post the links so that all my kids could keep up.

1. Reuters admits altering Beirut photo - News from Israel, Ynetnews

2. UPDATE: Reuters Dismisses Photog Over Doctored Pictures

3. Reuters admits to more image manipulation - News from Israel, Ynetnews

4. Hot Air » Blog Archive » Breaking: Reuters pulls all 920 of Adnan Hajj’s photos

Number two is a professional photographer sight. I have not seen any of this on ABC, CBS, NBC or CNN. Funny I would think it is news.

Down to the "Safe"

After all these years we finally went down to see the Mariners play. Seattle Pacific was offering tickets purchased as a group and our group was 13 people. Tim, Rachel, her parents, brother, sister,Ken and Brenda, their friend Tre, Sue and I and of course Carrie. Rounding out the group was a friend from Carrie's church. We were up in the nose bleeds down the left field line. The mariners did not win. But there were two homeruns hit and both went over the fence right below us.

The evening began with diner at Anthony's Fish bar. The traffic had made us late but orders were just being taken when we arrived. Rachel's parents were visiting from Seoul. They have gone now after a busy week. Two days were spent up here with us and we had a great time reconnecting with them.