His Grace

This morning I was listening to a new CD, Keith Green - The Greatest Hits. For those not of my generation, Keith was one of the greatest Christian Artists of the 70's. I give you the lyrics to his song Grace By Which I Stand

Lord, the feelings are not the same,
I guess I'm older, I guess I've changed.
And how I wish it had been explained, that as you're growing you must remember,

That nothing lasts, except the grace of God, by which I stand, in Jesus.
I know that I would surely fall away, except for grace, by which I'm saved.

Lord, I remember that special way,
I vowed to serve you, when it was brand new.
But like Peter, I can't even watch and pray, one hour with you,
And I bet, I could deny you too.

But nothing lasts, except the grace of God, by which I stand, in Jesus.
I'm sure that my whole life would waste away, except for grace, by which I'm saved.

But nothing lasts, except the grace of God, by which I stand, in Jesus.
I know that I would surely fall away, except for grace, by which I'm saved.

No Pain - No Gain

This seems to be one of my favorite topics lately. God has certainly been taking me through the kiln during this season of life. Last night I talked for a bit to a wise Christian lady on this topic, specifically my propensity to withdraw or hide rather than embracing the pain.

Embracing pain is something I have never mastered. Most of my life I stuffed it down inside until it became overwhelming and then went into seclusion. In the past year, I think that my threshold for tolerating pain has increased - but so has the level of the pain. Of course most believers will recognize God's hand in this. I find a strong parallel to how He works with my experiences at the gym.

I go 5 days a week and work out. I spend 20-30 minutes on the elliptical and then hit the weights. My goal is to increase my endurance, reduce my weight and improve my physical conditioning. Day after day I see people who do the exact same (light) work out. They never break a sweat and they never appear to be straining. Over the months, I see no change in their appearance.

Contrast this to more serious folk who show up every day and work themselves hard. I have watched one lady drop 15 lbs or so in the last 3 months. I watch another very overweight gentleman pound away on the cardio machines for an hour every day, I am sure that his effort will be rewarded with improved health.

I am committed to improving MY health as well. This means I am regularly increasing the resistance and the weight on the machines I use. Most days I am pretty wiped by the time I finish. Some days I ache in places I didn't know I had places. But the price is worth it. I am 12 lbs lighter and have dropped 60+ points on my cholesterol. I look better, feel better and have more energy.

God works the same way - He is conditioning our heart, our mind and our soul. Yeah it hurts and yes the pain increases as we learn to tolerate the current levels. The end result is maturity and a Godly nature.

Don't give up, it is all worth it.

Blustery Day

It is a blustery day today. The first serious rain of the season has arrived just in time for Halloween. My hope is that it continues long enough to clear the air in the valley. The region has been dryer than usual the last few years so a wet (and wild) winter is desperately needed.

blessings on your day

Bombings In Assam

A good friend of mine is from Assam State in India, the town of Gawuhati. Yesterday, a series of bombs ripped through the town killing at least 76 people. Her dad was actually on his way into town when it happened. He was turned away at the roadblocks and went back home. Praise God that her family is ok. (news story -> HERE)

This is something that we as Americans are unable to comprehend. We have lived in safety and security our entire lives. The last century saw US troops involved in over a dozen conflicts, including 2 world wars. None of these conflicts occurred on American soil. The events of 9/11 were the first time that we got a (very small) taste of what much of the rest of the world lives with on a daily basis.

Regardless of our feelings on the political mess, in spite of the financial devastation that the recent meltdown of our economy has caused - we are incredibly fortunate and extremely blessed. Take a moment today to reflect on this and, if you are a believer, pray for our nation as well as our friends scattered throughout the globe.

We Are Family

I wrote last week about the tough times our neighborhood has gone through recently. This last weekend my friend and neighbor was charged with a crime. I won't go into details nor why we are convinced the charge is not true. What I will comment on is how the media was handled.

Whenever the media senses blood (or pain) they swarm like jackals, vultures and piranha. They descended on our neighborhood last Saturday night looking for a soundbite, a story or an attack. In the end they were only able to find 2 people that would even talk to them. The first was my stepson Andrew who was vehement in his support of our neighbor and friend. He was so vehement in fact that they could only show a few seconds of his comments ;).

The second neighbor to speak was Lynn. Lynn presented a defense that was heartfelt and sincere. She was articulate and loving in her public support and I applaud her ability to calmly and rationally come to the defense of our "family."

Our neighborhood is a family (how rare that is in today's society). If you attack one of us, be prepared to take on the whole community. We are family and family sticks together.

blessings on your day

Nice Weekend

We spent the weekend in Tahoe (South Lake Tahoe). The weather was perfect. Had breakfast in a local cafe, sushi and champagne for lunch, curried salmon for dinner - food was awesome. Saturday we went hiking at Eagle Falls. On the way home we stopped off at Apple Hill to stock up on pies for the holidays.

And Down They Go

Del Oro went down before the RHS Tigers last Friday by a score of 38-36. While Andrew didn't have his best game (he did well) on offense, he had one of the hardest hits of the game. As we are now at 5-2 (a 5 game win streak after the poor start), we are likely to make the section playoffs after the season.

Heal Me, Lord!

This morning's devotional from Swindoll caught my attention in the first 2 sentences: "This is a good time to correct faulty thinking. It is not always God's will that you be healed. It is not always the Father's plan to relieve the pressure. Our happiness is not God's chief aim. He doesn't have a wonderful (meaning "comfortable") plan for everybody's life---not from a human perspective."

Over the years I have had contact with a large number of Christians that seem to think that God's job is to take care of all the hurts, illnesses and diseases in their lives. I have listened to individuals who in every other way seem to be strong, mature Christians state unequivocally that a fellow brother/sister in the Lord is suffering from illness due to lack of faith. This position simply can not be supported by a complete understanding of the scriptures. Only by "cherry-picking" the Word can this doctrine be believed by any but the most naive.

God has NEVER promised us ease, good health or wealth. Any preacher or minister of the Word that states otherwise should be examined carefully.

blessings on your day

Meat Loaf

I have really gotten into Meat Loaf the last few weeks. No I don't mean the food, I mean the singer. The first time I saw him was on Rockie Horror Picture Show as Eddie the delivery guy :)

A while back, one of the cable channels broadcast his rock opera, 3 Bats Live. The concert was a compilation of his 3 album series, Bats Out Of Hell (I, II & III). I poked around and behold, I had the first album in my MP3 folder on the 'puter and did not even know it. So yesterday, I went out and ordered the other 2.

A Rough Time

The last year or so has really been rough on the neighborhood. We have seen friends move away. We have had several divorces. People have been forced from their homes. There was a brutal murder. Several families have been shattered. Marriages (and friendships) have been strained to the breaking point.

And yet through it all, we have managed to hang together. I have lived in several different neighborhoods in the region, but this place is by far the best. No matter how hard it has been, we have been there for each other. My wife mentioned the other day that it almost seems like we are under attack - and maybe we are. All I know for sure is that there is no where else I would rather live.

Thanks neighbors! You are the best (even you Jack-Sean).

Woo-Hoo

We finally did it, got the hot tub cleaned out and reset for winter. Shocked it (chlorine), drained it, scrubbed it and headed over to the store to get the starter chemicals. $250 later we were in business :p

As I was draining the hot tub, I noticed one of the spinners was off. When I went to replace it I saw that it was broken not just "off", unexpected expense #1. We were also out of the pH balancer and the de-foamer. After talking to the lady at the store, we came to the conclusion that we needed to replace 4 out of 5 filters... SIGH

It was a darn good thing we had a 20% off coupon or I might have had to sell one of the kidlets (or the 'stang).

Drought

Sure has been a long spell on the blog front. The last couple of weeks have been rough in a number of ways - not the least is that work has demanded my full attention during the day (the nerve).

On the update front - did I tell you that the mustang needs a new clutch (and sundry)? Go figure, who would have thought that a muscle car owned by a teenage boy would wear out a clutch :p

This weekend we are spending a few days up in Tahoe at the Fantasy Inn (www.fantasy-inn.com -> the hyphen is REALLY important :p

Brian (with an I) is heading to FL to spend a little time with his mom. Pop and the UK crowd all got home safely. It is too bad that Rae & Andy were not able to spend more time in Roseville, but all things considered it was understandable.

ok, more stuff later

Departures

Well our home is emptier today. I dropped Pop at the airport on my way to work. Rae took Andy and her friend Becky to SFO to catch a direct flight to London and then she will continue home to Clovis. It was nice to have Pop with us the last 2 weeks. I enjoyed his company at the gym in the mornings. I pray for safe and easy travel for them all.

Game 4 MVP

4 receptions, 84 yards, 2 TDs

Prayer Request Update

My friend was able to work with HUD to be allowed to move in with his mom until an apartment comes available :)

God is Good!

Final Verdict

Well after everything is done, the A/C works better than it did when we started, the intake manifold is the upgraded one. It still runs a bit rough, probably needs plugs and wires. The O2 sensor on the catalytic converter should be replaced and the clutch is about due.

Overall, not bad for $1,500 (original estimate was $3,200+)

Fried Chicken and Other Wonders

Sarah made her fried chicken fingers last night - a huge hit! Everyone had seconds. Tonight we are going over to mom & dad's for dinner, I think mom is cooking a pork roast. Monday night's dinner of chicken korma was well received also :) Having 2 dinners in a week that everyone likes is pretty rare.

Pop is hanging in there with the whole gym thing. He has gotten up with me all week before 5. I can tell he is getting anxious to get home, though. He flies out Monday or Tuesday (you would think I would know this, e?)

Prayer Request

A very dear friend and brother of mine is facing the loss of his home (apartment). As of today, he still has no where else to go. Please join me in lifting up my brother in prayer that God will ease this move and lead him to the place He has prepared for him.

thank you

Be the bear!

More financial advice from my friend Aric :)

Be the bear!

Not as in 'bear market' but the animal. When the skies start to darken and the air gets chilly, when the leaves have dropped from the trees, snow starts to fall and the world just looks bleak. The bear takes a nap!

The bear is sleeping while the winds are howling and the earth is covered in snow. The bear knows it could not survive if it was awake and foraging for food. Even with its great strength, the bear could not break through the ice to get to the waters where the salmon normally feed. No, the bear does what it must to survive - it sleeps. Spring does come, as surely it will, and the bear awakes to find it's hunting grounds restored.

We should be the bear, just sleeping until our spring returns, as it surely will.

Aric Resnicke
October 08, 2008

Congradulations Andy and Rae

Andy flew from England Friday and showed up under Rachael's window Saturday morning singing "their song." She was flabbergasted of course :) He then took her on a romantic breakfast on the lake where he proposed to her. They have not yet set a date.

One Man's Persepctive

An email from a friend at church with his take on the current economic crisis. I found this very intersting reading and asked him for permission to share it:

I’m a regular computer user. Not overly sophisticated but have mastered my word processor, spreadsheets, database, PowerPoint, photo editing, downloading, web surfing and a sundry of other applications. Some would say I’m an expert, but I think they are overstating my capabilities.

So, I’m working on a pretty involved project the other day. Thinking and writing. I’m ‘in the zone’ keyboarding as the thoughts come tumbling to mind. Yes – checking my email occasionally, doing some online research as I go, opening up other apps to check facts and figures, popping in some illustrations and even editing those as I go.

Now as I say, I’m computer savvy and know how my pc operates. I’ve experienced the occasional ‘freeze up’ and have learned that I should stop and save my work as I continue on. I knew that, but just forget sometimes.

It is with this in mind that I think about today’s economic climate. My 401K has been set back about 6 years. I’m worried about having the time to make up for what I’ve lost, even though intellectually, I know that, in time, everything will be ok.

So back to my computer. Here I go clicking away, popping back and forth between windows, deep in thought. I don’t even realize it, but I look up at the screen and see that it is blank. Well, not blank, but just a solid blue color. No cursor, no text, no flashing – nothing. Yup – it just happened again – computer freeze. I recognize it immediately and know then that I waited too long, that I’ve lost half a day’s work.

I have no choice at this point, I have to hit that button. The button that I know will correct the frozen logic in my system and restore my computer to health. The reset button. I curse this button for I know that by pressing it I will have set myself backwards by hours, even days. However I know that I have no choice. If I am to move forward I have to pull the trigger and restart my system. Curse this reset button! Nevertheless, I hold it down and in a few moments the system pops back to life ready to load my applications and start over from where I left off the day before.

I continue to curse my own luck, knowing that I really set myself behind. The deadline to get the work done will surely pass before I have recreated the materials I was working on, and a half day’s work is difficult to make up when I’m already behind where I needed to be. But what else is there to do? The computer works, I know what I need to do, and I go about starting over.

The world economy was moving along snappily. China on the rise, the Euro strong, a home for every American, wages steady. Then things start loading up. Oil. Easy credit. Deficit spending. Never ending entitlements. Toys in every garage. Debt increasing, savings decreasing. Our system was piling up and, how about that? It froze. In the world’s economy however, nobody has to push a reset button. The markets do that on their own.

The reset button for the world economy. Our system froze – and the fix is to reset it. Restart the system back to where it is working again by offloading all the activities that were starting to bottleneck the processing of financial functions. That’s where we are today. The rest button got pushed, and you and I have lost a half-day’s work. Or maybe in my case, a half-decade. While I am cursing my poor luck, I know that we are all in this reset period. We all need to sit back up in the chair and start working away to make up for our lost material. We can do it. We’ve done it before, and most assuredly, will need to do it again sometime down the road.

Just like we’ll be able to recreate the work we lost when the computer froze, we will be able to recover what we lost when the economy reset. For us average Joes, sitting at our computers and trying to take this all in, well sometimes we just need to take a deep breath and start keyboarding again, knowing that we may have lost some time, but we haven’t lost our creative energies or will to get the job done.

You see, nobody ever died from having to hit that reset button. Yes, sometimes there can be a lot of pain in the process and sometimes, even with our best efforts we can’t always recreate the work we lost, sometimes we just run out of time. But in the big picture, the reset button works, just as it always has. And we know, that if the reset button isn’t pressed, then we can’t do anything except sit and stare at a blank blue screen. We can’t start to makeup for what we lost until the reset button is pushed.

So there we are. The reset button on the world economy has been pushed, and soon enough, everything will be working again. Then, and only then, all we can do is just get back to our work.

Aric Resnicke

October 12, 2008

PS My thanks to Microsoft, without which this analogy would not be possible.

Birthday Pix

We Go 3 and 2

RHS varsity was on fire and won their 3rd straight game Friday by beating Woodland 48 to 13 in Woodland (we didn't go so I have no pictures). Andrew's yards-per-reception improved to almost 12. We are feeling pretty confident that he will catch the attention of a recruiter (CSUSJ has already made some inquiries).

Noah's party was very nice. We played softball for an hour and had a great time. I will try to post more pictures later.

blessings on your day

Birthday Party

Once In A Lifetime

Some days I look back and wonder, how did I get here? Of course as soon as that occurs to me the Talking Heads song pops into my mind. That being said, I give you the lyrics to one of my favs:

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful Wife
And you may ask yourself-well...how did I get here?

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the moneys gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

And you may ask yourself
How do I work this?
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large automobile?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the moneys gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...

Water dissolving...and water removing
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Carry the water at the bottom of the ocean
Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean!

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/in the silent water
Under the rocks and stones/there is water underground.

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the moneys gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

And you may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right? ...am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
My god!...what have I done?

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/in the silent water
Under the rocks and stones/there is water underground.

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the moneys gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...

Why Believe?

Over the years I have pondered this question numerous times. The companion question can be stated as "Is faith still relevant in today's society?" I suppose those questions will always surface among Christians and non-Christians alike.

The first question is almost a no-brainer. As human beings, we are hardwired to believe in something. The problem comes down to determining what/who to believe in. There are countless choices, many of which are more of an excuse to believe in themselves (Scientology et al). Others worship the creation rather than the Creator. Still others present a deity that is impersonal and distant.

What makes Christianity unique is the emphasis on a God who wants a personal, intimate relationship with His followers. This makes our belief not in something but in someone!

The core values that God espouses (as communicated through His Word, the bible) are as relevant today as they were when originally written - love & serve your God and love your neighbor will always have value. All the rest of what God speaks to us fits into those two commands. If the core is relevant and the periphary supports the core, it is ALL relevant.

Bob Dylan said it well in his song 'Gotta Serve Somebody,'

blessings on your day

New Recipes

Brandi gave me three new recipes this last weekend. I tried out one of them Saturday and delivered an immediate success. It starts out sounding like potatoes au gratin but is really nothing like it. Rather than a chees sauce, mix mushroom soup, milk and chopped onion (season to taste, I use rosemary garlic mix and Canadian steak seasonings from Sam's as well as some chopped chives). I also stirred in 2 cups of grated cheese.

Brown 1 - 1.5 pounds of hamburger. Layer the potatoes, hamburger and sauce in a cake pan. Cook at 350 for 1 1/2 hours or until the potatoes are tender. Sprinkle cheese on top and put back in for 10 minutes.

Noah had 3 helpings and everyone raved about it. Can't wait to try the rest of the recipes.

Love Dare

Our church is going through a new study, The 40 Day Love Dare. A different sort of study in that there are assignments to complete every day. Of course with E's schedule it may take us a bit more than 40 days to complete, but it looks pretty good.

Full House

Pop arrived yesterday for a 2 week stay. He is using Sarah's room ad Sarah has relocated to the game room (thanks sweetie). This weekend is Noah's party and Aaron & Brian are coming up for it (his other siblings are going to a family reunion).

Man & Dad are down in Palm Desert (I think) at a time share. Addie & Ray visited them for a couple of days but are heading back today.

Work has been ok this week. Worked on a few issues for one of our developers (some are a joy to work with - others are less so ;). Still grinding away at the ETL project that was due 2 weeks ago. This week is open enrollment for benefits so I need to look into that before Friday.

Many thanks to Brandi for mailing my package to Mum-Vera yesterday, it is really nice have a post office across the street.

blessings on your day

Andrew & Erin

Homecoming Pictures :)

The Chair ;)

We Won!

That is Andrew's date (and NoDogs) for the dance tonight :) She is an excepetionally bright young lady. We had a great time at the game. It rained off and on but never enough to force umbrellas out (a few used them but most of us toughed it through).

Wayne-O and SueAnne were there along with J&K (and my grandson). Due to the rain they cancelled the float parade but they still had the crowning of the king & queen and the half-time show.

Today I am hanging out with Buddy-B and recovering the kitchen chairs. I'll try to remember to post a picture of a chair later.

blessings on your day

RHS Homecoming

'Stang Update

According to the shop, the mustang will be ready today (and at less then half the original estimate - yeah!)

Pushing Daisies

The TV show, Pushing Daises, is back and is as witty, clever and unique as before. Anna Friel is a delight as Chuck. The writing is fresh and captivating. If you haven't had a chance to watch this show, set your DVR for Wednesdays at 8/7c on ABC.

The Future is Now

I have been following the stories on the news wires lately regarding the proposed space elevator. For those of you who are NOT geeks, this is an idea proposed by Arthur C Clarke in 1979, It has been called a beanstalk (after the famed exploits of Jack) as well. Put simply, it is a cable connecting the ground to an object (space station) in orbit. The latest discussions are taking place in Japan.

The biggest challenge? How to make a cable 30,000 km long. The scientists involved have settled on carbon nanotubes as the material to use (180 times stronger than steel cable). They expect to sove the cable problem within the next 15-20 years.

Come Home!

Tonight is the homecoming game for the Roseville Tigers. It is also our home opener :) Hopefully they can repeat their performance from last week and win for the home town crowd. Some of the neighbors have indicated that they might attend the game as well. The last weather forecast I saw (at the gym this morning) suggested that the rain will hold off until after the game (what's up with that??? Getting significant rainfall this early in the year is just crazy).

Been a While

Haven't posted for several days now. Will work to get caught up :) Live sure comes at ya' fast, eh?