Jeremy and I

This was at Jeremy and Sarah's rehearsal dinner. At the dinner (which was at the Bristol) I got a cup of coffee and liked the mug so much I asked how much it sold for. Jeremy told me to keep the one I was drinking from and he went back and grabbed another one for me. I drink from that particular coffee mug 78% of the time.

my only brother-in-law, Jeremy Gandy

My 26 year old brother-in-law, Jeremy Gandy, passed away late Tuesday night due to a massive heart attack. What a shock! No one saw it coming. Maris and I are now with her family in KC. There are so many people gathered to mourn this loss. Sarah, Jeremy's wife, Maris' sister, is having a very difficult time. The services will be held on Sunday and it's just Thursday afternoon now. We'll be in KC until late Sunday night so I have a lot of time on my hands to grieve and reflect. I hope to update some of my thoughts on this blog over the next few days. I haven't blogged for some time now. If there are any readers out there who'd like to interact with what I have to say feel free to do so.

Happy Valentine's Day!

That's right, another Valentine's Day. I just threw a surprise birthday party for my wife last Friday (she turned 26). For some reason I thought that I didn't have to plan too much for Valentine's Day because I had put some much time and effort into the birthday party. At any rate, Maris asked me yesterday what we were doing. So today I'm planning away at the last minute.

Every year during Valentine's Day I think about love. What is true love? It doesn't seem like many people really experience true love. People are always breaking up or getting divorced. We're always hurting eachother and getting hurt in one way or another. I love my wife very much but I often do or say hurtful things. It's at this point that I'm reminded to look to the thoughts about love that are in the Scriptures.

If you want to check out some thoughts from the Scriptures then go to the following links.
description of true love
Jesus' own words
the origin of love
husbands and wives
the two greatest commandments

The Information Age

Well, it's been about a month since I've posted anything. I think I tend to get a bit overwhelmed by living in the information age and trying to keep up with the Joneses. All this stuff is going on with Facebook, MySpace, Orkut, Blogs, e-mails, etc. It's crazy! I want to be purposeful with how I spend my time. I often feel bad because I don't respond to folks as much as I'd like to. A bunch of my high school friends have looked me up on MySpace. Sometimes I forget to let them know that I'm really there behind the computer screen.

I haven't even mentioned the bombardment of other forms of information. We have the news to read, Christian books to read, magazines to read, our Bibles to read, Christmas letters to read, the classics to read, poetry to read, articles to read and on and on. Plus we've got to be listening to the latest sermons by the latest pillars of the Christian community. Sometimes I think I can't even think. How's that for ironic...thinking you can't think? We do live in the information age (maybe we're moving away from it I don't know).

So I've been thinking about what kind of "age" I long to live in. I know the real answer is heaven but surely there are some things that can change, some decisions to be made that will be helpful in clearing out some space so I can at least think. I've heard that President Lincoln "read less and thought more" than any man in his position. I want to be a deep thinker so I can be a deep influencer for God's Kingdom. I'm praying for wisdom in this but for now I have to go check my e-mail...

 

My good friend, Daiki, had to return to Japan in August. We've missed him greatly so Maris and I made this shirt for him. The significant thing about this shirt is that Daiki means "big hope" in Japanese. Perhaps his name is a bit prophetic. At any rate, we want to see Daiki again.

You can make any shirt at Threads in AggieVille for about $16.00.

 
As the little apple dropped at the now-famous Little Apple Drop so did my excitement for all that it promised to be. However, the company was great, Ashraham, Mom, Daniel, and my ever-beautiful wife...Happy New Year ya'll!

More Miracle Blade Video

I promise that I don't spend much time doing this but I wanted to share one more testing video with you to assure you of the quality of the Miracle Blade III Perfection Series All-Purpose Slicer. Enjoy!

The Miracle Blade III

I started desiring very good, sharp knives a couple months ago because I've enjoyed cooking so much. So Maris and I were lured into the Miracle Blade III (The Perfection Series) infomercial. They weren't giving me the deal I desired so I hung up. Within five minutes they called back and gave me what I wanted. So my friend, Jitsuya, and I decided to put these knives to the test to see if they did what they claimed to do. Much to our surprise they did follow through with their promise. The video's not the greatest but it gives you an idea of the miraculous miracle blade. If you're in the area let me know and I'll put them to work and slice up a great meal for you. Thanks for reading...

Jambo!

You have got to check out these pics of our latest family member. Please visit her (then you'll get to see us as well).

Jambo

KSU (45) vs. TX (42)

This was the only game I've watched this football season. Maris and I were given tickets Saturday afternoon. Here's that story. My roommate, Mark, from my sophomore year at K-State is up in Chicago going to seminary. His grandma, Mertyse, was sick so he called me up to have me bring over some of my fancy cooking for her and her non-cooking husband, Fred. So in my resourcefulness I brought over some of my mom's cooking that she had given me that very day. I was invited in to the warm couple's home and shared some nice conversation. They invited Maris and I over for some wine some time which presents an ethical dilemma in and of itself (ask me why if you really want to know). As I left their home I thought to myself, "That's nice. It's almost like we have grandparents here in the Li'l Apple too." Later that week Fred called me to see if we wanted tickets to the KSU womens' basketball game. We couldn't attend because we were too busy dining with some Japanese friends that evening. The next morning, however, we were able to accept tickets to the major KSU upset of the year.

What an awesome game to be at. The tickets were in the north endzone which wasn't crowded at all. However, it was a bit frigid. There are benefits to close knit community, warmth being one of them. We stood by silent Texas fans and watched every extra point and field goal sail over our heads. When the final buzzer sounded I was glad to have our camera to record such footage as this
crazy video.

There's more where that came from. Perhaps I'll get that out to you as well if there's a desire.

Maris and I are pondering why people so readily worship at a football game but fail to worship God Almighty. These folks go crazy for this stuff. That's what's on my mind. Thanks for reading...