The Bible Either Sounds Like A Tolkien Book or A Metallica Song To Someone Who Has Never Set Foot In A Church Before.

Hope you all can take time to read this article.

If you're a lady, stick through the sports analogy, the article is worth reading!!!

ps - I had this picture as a poster in my bedroom when I was 14 or 15.

The Truth

You may have heard by now, and I'm ashamed that I didn't say anything sooner but I need to set the record straight about something really important in my life.

I'm drinking tea...... and I LIKE it.

You see, when you do something as a job you often lose the joy of this endeavor. You become a drinker only for the purpose of determining if your customers are enjoying a consistently great tasting cup rather than for your own enjoyment.

I've lost the wonder of espresso :(

I've become so obsessed with creating the perfect espresso shot and the best latte art that I've completely abandoned the joy of the bean. Which leads me to my new love..... Yeah I said love! Deal with it.

Peppermint Tea. I really like it. I feel like I'm drinking a good drink and chewing a stick of Extra gum all at the same time. Sometimes (make sure there are no children in the room) I even put 2 tea bags in one cup.

But what of espresso? Shall it be my Ex forever? Not forever but for the forseeable future. I did have an Americano just this morning made by a fantastic barista and it was very good but I found myself wanting the cool tingle of peppermint rolling over my gums instead of the "dark chocolate" bitterness of espresso crema.

This all has got me to thinking about the way I treat the Word of God. Do I lose the wonder of it because I'm "in the business"? When was the last time I partook in the Word of God for me (like, really) and not to pass it on to someone else? Because those 2 things ARE different.

Anyway, now you know the truth straight from the horses (which eat grass) mouth.

Everything You've Ever Needed To Know About Blogs

Here I'm going to attempt to shamelessly pigeon hole every blog in the world:

Mommy Blogs
These are big. They generally are run by (you guessed it) moms and consist of tales from the playground or the last family outing. A good example of a mommy blog is here or here.

Mommy Blogs Plus
Similar to the mommy blog but usually run by a mom who should have been a standup comedian or Jim Carey impersonator. Personality reigns supreme in these blogs. Here is a good example of Mommy Blog Plus.

Musings On Life
These are people who are just giving their opinion on life or telling a story of something challenging or interesting in their day. They don't make any major claims on life but you feel like you're seeing into their life in their blog. This blog and this one are good examples of this.

Chick Blog
This is nasty territory. It's like Beaches, a box of Kleenex, an episode of Dr. Phil and Oprah plus a day at the mall all rolled into one. These are blogs that have the sole purpose of making people cry. I know some blogs that venture into the chick blog realm but have only ever truely been to one chick blog and here it is.

Family Blogs
These are blogs that start out as family websites (usually run by the guy) and quickly degenrate into Mommy or Chick Blogs because the guy doesn't follow through on keeping up with the blog. Here is are a couple of classic family blogs.

The Theology Blog
This is usually an "inside joke" type of blog in that it's a closed group of people that comment. Sometimes these blogs receive no comments at all. Which is generally OK because theologians usually don't like to be disagreed with. I won't list a link to a Theology Blog in fear that I might tick that theologian off.

Honest Dialogue Blog
Or the "HDB" for short. These are usually blogs that bring up good questions and let people "have at 'er". The joy is not in the answer in these blogs but rather, "What's the next question we should be asking?" This blog attempts to be an HDB from time to time but the best one I visit is this one.

Special Interest Blogs
These are blogs devoted to small niche topics like sports or cafe reviews or restaurant reviews or faith and politics.

This really should be a Wikipedia article or a Webster's definition because it's so exhaustive.
Anyway, if I've incorrectly labeled any of you, or if you know of some blogs that fit into any of these categories, I'd love to know.

Did I set a record for the most hyperlinks in a post?

Wet

It's very wet today. Hmmm, it was very wet last week this time as well.

The rain does some really good things, don't get me wrong. It gives our city a really good cleaning when it needs it. It also helps get rid of the dried pee smell that permeates downtown when it's dry for too long.

What I DON'T like is I can't walk around downtown as much, which is my favorite thing about living down here.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend wherever you are.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Coffee + the 80's = Funaaay!!!

Adoption Update #3

Well I just got back from the Adoption Agency and we have officially done all the paper work for our adoption. We've finished the homestudy (with the social worker) and done all the other paper work that China needs. Next steps are sending everything to Victoria to be approved and then off to be translated into Mandarin and then off to China. The next time I update you on our adoption journey will be to tell you that we are officially in the "lineup" in China and just waiting for the next available baby.

So we're still looking at 12-13 months from now until we travel to China but all of our paperwork is done. It's just a waiting game from here on in.

Wanda's gone to her mom's for a week for another "Scrapbook Bender" as I call it So I'm batching it for a few days. Looking forward to a visit from my friend Phil. Love you all.