Last night, I talked to a friend for the first time in 10 years. A pity it took so long, but we just really lost touch once I became more disengaged from Orange County in the mid 90's. I had wanted to find Rom many times and googled his name every so often, but usually all I came up with was a black fashion designer by the same name.
Until I put in not only his name but also the company he worked for...Dupont. Then I tracked him down.. I found him on the website for the Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton where he was under consideration to be an elder. I got in touch with one of the pastors there who got me in touch with Ron.
Assuming he has not changed, Ron is one of the most humble and encouraging men I have ever known. Every time we talked or got together, I always came away with a refreshed soul. Let me mention a quick story which sums up his character well...he actually reminded me of the story last night.
When we were both involved in the singles ministry at Mariners Church in Newport Beach, I would always be there early because I was in charge of doing nametags. One night, it was my birthday, but I was still there doing nametags. Rom also came early, went out to my pickup truck and wrote on it that it was my birthday. So of course everyone coming in is wishing me a happy birthday and I didn't find out until later what had actually happened.
There's more stories also, such as exploding bean dip around a campfire and a prayer by ron causing a thunderstorm to stop. But those are for another time. Needless to say. I'm glad we're back in touch and I look forward to renewing our friendship
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
New Car
We bit the bullet today and bought a new car. The conclusion on the MPV is that there was a transmission issue and we'd need to replace it within 6 months. Having already replaced the tranny at 57k miles, I wasn't about to do it again at 98k. So bye-bye, good riddance and no more Mazdas.
So we got an 07 Nissan Pathfinder. It's a base model, but it's still got a fair amount of bells and whistles. Power everything, cd player, etc. No 4x4, but when do I ever go off-roading???
Once we negotiated the lease, our monthly payment is only $209. Special interest rate on the lease, rebate on the car and $500 back of invoice on it. Just gave them the MPV and we got credited $4500 for the downpayment.
So we got an 07 Nissan Pathfinder. It's a base model, but it's still got a fair amount of bells and whistles. Power everything, cd player, etc. No 4x4, but when do I ever go off-roading???
Once we negotiated the lease, our monthly payment is only $209. Special interest rate on the lease, rebate on the car and $500 back of invoice on it. Just gave them the MPV and we got credited $4500 for the downpayment.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Sermon Notes on Matthew
Jesus disdained religious elitism, especially that practiced by the Pharisees and Sadducees. None of them were selected to be among His 12 apostles. Instead, He took Matthew, the absolute opposite of everything that 'official' Judaism stood for in Jesus' time.
Matthew was the most notorious sinner of the 12 apostles. He was also the author of the gospel attributed to his name, but even so, he reveals no real details about himself in his writing. He only mentions his own name twice, first when he lists the apostles in Mt 10 and again when he mentions his own call in Mt 9.
He was also probabbly the most educated of all the gospel writers and had the most knowledge of the Old Testament. He quotes the Old Testament 99 times in his gospel, more than any of the other gospel writers.
His biggest claim to fame is that he was known as a tax collector, the most hated profession among the Jews. He bought a tax franchise from the Romans and sat at a table all day collecting levies and tolls. He had to collect a certain amount for the Roman government, but anything he collected above that was his. This gave rise to incredible extortion among tax collectors and because they worked for Rome, they were hated by the Jews. They were treated as traitors. They could not attend synagogue. They could not testify in court. Hated and despised above all things.
Matthew was the most notorious sinner of the 12 apostles. He was also the author of the gospel attributed to his name, but even so, he reveals no real details about himself in his writing. He only mentions his own name twice, first when he lists the apostles in Mt 10 and again when he mentions his own call in Mt 9.
He was also probabbly the most educated of all the gospel writers and had the most knowledge of the Old Testament. He quotes the Old Testament 99 times in his gospel, more than any of the other gospel writers.
His biggest claim to fame is that he was known as a tax collector, the most hated profession among the Jews. He bought a tax franchise from the Romans and sat at a table all day collecting levies and tolls. He had to collect a certain amount for the Roman government, but anything he collected above that was his. This gave rise to incredible extortion among tax collectors and because they worked for Rome, they were hated by the Jews. They were treated as traitors. They could not attend synagogue. They could not testify in court. Hated and despised above all things.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Stress in the house
Things are a bit stressed around the house...have been for a couple of days and probably will continue to be so for another couple of days.
We are without a kitchen. We are getting new countertops put in, which necessitated taking out the sink and turning off the water. We have been without full use of our kitchen since July 4. It was supposed to all be done in a week or so. Our sink is in our dining room. Our dishes are being done in the bathroom. Lots of sandwiches, etc. for dinner. Tomorrow, God willing, everything in the kitchen gets back together. The countertops go in in the morning and the sink and water go back in in the evening.
And then there's the car. The van has officially bit the dust. It needs a new transmission at 99k miles. We already replaced the tranny at 57k. First and last Mazda I will ever buy. So we are leasing a brand-new Nissan Pathfinder on Wed.
We are without a kitchen. We are getting new countertops put in, which necessitated taking out the sink and turning off the water. We have been without full use of our kitchen since July 4. It was supposed to all be done in a week or so. Our sink is in our dining room. Our dishes are being done in the bathroom. Lots of sandwiches, etc. for dinner. Tomorrow, God willing, everything in the kitchen gets back together. The countertops go in in the morning and the sink and water go back in in the evening.
And then there's the car. The van has officially bit the dust. It needs a new transmission at 99k miles. We already replaced the tranny at 57k. First and last Mazda I will ever buy. So we are leasing a brand-new Nissan Pathfinder on Wed.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Sermon notes on James Part 4
James is the only apostle whose death is recorded in Scripture. This man of zeal, passion, and ambitio had become too much of a threat to Herod. Acts 12:1-3 records this little story.
When it became time for Herod to try and stop the church, James appeared to be the bigger threat. He was killed where Peter was only imprisoned. Herod probably thought he could control Peter but not James.
Who would you rather have as a pastor? One with burning, flaming, passionate enthusiasm and zeal, or a middle-of-the-road cold compromiser. I'll take the flame-thrower any day.
When it became time for Herod to try and stop the church, James appeared to be the bigger threat. He was killed where Peter was only imprisoned. Herod probably thought he could control Peter but not James.
Who would you rather have as a pastor? One with burning, flaming, passionate enthusiasm and zeal, or a middle-of-the-road cold compromiser. I'll take the flame-thrower any day.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Living Hope Church of Dixon
I had a pastoral interview at the Living Hope Church of Dixon. I can't tell you what an exciting opportunity this church offers whatever pastor ends up here. They are poised for explosive growth, even if they don't really think so. First, they have that all-important demographic which every church craves...young families. I felt like I was one of the older people there. think there were only 1-2 people over the age of 50. Lots of kids, teenagers and babies. Most families were in their 30's, I would guess. Second, they've got 90% of their people involved in service at the church. This is a church where the people want to jump in and help. What a struggle this often is for pastors, to get people to volunteer and help out.
Dixon is also an area without any really big churches and it is a growing area. This serves to make Dixon a 'target-rich' environment. The elder board is also in the midst of becoming much more shepherd-like to the people at the church. When the previous pastor was there, sometimes the attitude what laid back because they thought the pastor would do the work. The elders are really jumping into the void and taking on additional responsibility.
What a great opportunity this could be??
Dixon is also an area without any really big churches and it is a growing area. This serves to make Dixon a 'target-rich' environment. The elder board is also in the midst of becoming much more shepherd-like to the people at the church. When the previous pastor was there, sometimes the attitude what laid back because they thought the pastor would do the work. The elders are really jumping into the void and taking on additional responsibility.
What a great opportunity this could be??
Jewish holidays
Someone said once that every Jewish holiday can be summed up with 9 words. They tried to kill us... We won... Let's eat.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Vacation
We just got back from our summer vacation a couple of days ago. We spend 3 days at a resort in Angels Camp and then 4 days at a condo in Tahoe Donner.
In ANgels Camp, we borrowed a friend's time share...had to sit through a timeshare presenttion which netted us a bay cruise in Sf, a $40 gift certificate at Olive Garden and three days in San Diego (includes flight and hotel). Not a bad deal. It wasn't really that much of a high pressure game, but it was a lot like car dealers. What do I have to do to get you in this timeshare today?
Perhaps the most fun we had in Angels Camp is when we went to Murphys. It's a historic goldmining town with a great little park in the middle of the downtown area. running through the park is a creek/stream/small river. Kids from all over were playing in it and we spent about 3 hours there, swimming and rafting. We have a small rubber raft with paddles which we blew up and sent Caleb and Christa downstream several times. Even Regan loved it. She was in her bathing suit as well and was dipping her little chubby legs in the stream.
After 3 days there we packed up and took Hwy 49 through Jackson, Placerville and Auburn on the way to Donner Lake. We had a condo in an area known as Tahoe Donner, just north of Donner Lake. We spent several days there also playing in the creeks and rivers. We were about 3 miles from Donner State Park which also had a great creek running through it. We were there just about everyday, playing and frolicking in the creekbed.
What I enjoyed about this vacation was the family togetherness. I often miss that with all that I do at home. It was great just to be able and spend each entire day with my family and not have to worry about the bank, church, etc.
In ANgels Camp, we borrowed a friend's time share...had to sit through a timeshare presenttion which netted us a bay cruise in Sf, a $40 gift certificate at Olive Garden and three days in San Diego (includes flight and hotel). Not a bad deal. It wasn't really that much of a high pressure game, but it was a lot like car dealers. What do I have to do to get you in this timeshare today?
Perhaps the most fun we had in Angels Camp is when we went to Murphys. It's a historic goldmining town with a great little park in the middle of the downtown area. running through the park is a creek/stream/small river. Kids from all over were playing in it and we spent about 3 hours there, swimming and rafting. We have a small rubber raft with paddles which we blew up and sent Caleb and Christa downstream several times. Even Regan loved it. She was in her bathing suit as well and was dipping her little chubby legs in the stream.
After 3 days there we packed up and took Hwy 49 through Jackson, Placerville and Auburn on the way to Donner Lake. We had a condo in an area known as Tahoe Donner, just north of Donner Lake. We spent several days there also playing in the creeks and rivers. We were about 3 miles from Donner State Park which also had a great creek running through it. We were there just about everyday, playing and frolicking in the creekbed.
What I enjoyed about this vacation was the family togetherness. I often miss that with all that I do at home. It was great just to be able and spend each entire day with my family and not have to worry about the bank, church, etc.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Trying to decide on new car
Christa and I have to decide soon if we are going to get rid of the van and get something new or not. Hopefully we will have some answers today about the transmission in the van, whether it is shot or can be fixed somehow. We replaced the tranny at 57K miles and now the new one is doing the same thing at 98K. One should not have to put a 3rd transmission in a car before 100k miles.
If we get something new, we wil probably lease unless we can find an amazing deal. Here are the SUV's we will be looking at:
Saturn Vue
Saturn Outlook
Toyota Highlander
Toyota 4Runner
Nissan Nurano
Nissan Xterra
Nissan Pathfinder
If we get something new, we wil probably lease unless we can find an amazing deal. Here are the SUV's we will be looking at:
Saturn Vue
Saturn Outlook
Toyota Highlander
Toyota 4Runner
Nissan Nurano
Nissan Xterra
Nissan Pathfinder
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