Me Update: In Brief

Home PC not working. Some type of prob with PCI Ethernet Controller. I do not know how to fix it. Alas, I have to check emails and surf the 'net at the library. Not all a bad thing, since I've been spending more time away from the computer.

Been practicing the guitar, learning chords and strumming. I'm going through a couple of books I got from the library. Left fingertips are sore.

Been watching a lot of movies with the time off. Go to IMDB.com to see what they are about, if you're interested.
Sum of All Fears
The Powerpuff Girls
Royal Tennenbaums
Panic Room

Also going through some books related to mystery writing. I need to do more offline journaling, especially my crime site ideas. At night the imagination goes wild sometimes!

Christmas Eve we went to my aunt and uncle's in Cincinnati. Ate dinner and saw some other relatives. Spoke with a cousin who is in prison by phone. Uncle took some digital pics of us and printed out copies for us to take back home.

Jennie worked on Christmas. We opened presents in a rush, right before she went to work. We left the wrapping all over the living room floor for a few hours so that we could just enjoy the presents and relax.

Keisha fell asleep on our bed yesterday. It was a great idea because Jake and I took a nap too.

I also set up the bed frame -- our box spring and mattress have been on the floor since we moved in October. Now our bed is higher. I forgot about that this morning when I got out of bed and almost fell on the floor!

Jennie got me some silk pajamas and a silk robe. The design makes me think of Austin Powers (yeah, baby, yeah!). My wife is glad that I got my mojo on.

Also, she got me a shaving kit with gel, face wash, after shave, etc. I took the hint and shaved off my beard and moustache last night.

We ate Christmas ham I'd gotten from work, with macaroni and cheese, brussel sprouts, beets, and candied yams. I forsook the beets and yams in lieu of the brussel sprouts. A beer to wash it all down was good, too.

I'll probably blog about Keisha's presents at another time: keyboard and kid karaoke machine. How long do those batteries last?

That's all for now.

Prayer Request

My Mom is going through a rough time right now. Find out more over at her blog.

Below is an excerpt of an email message I sent her:

Mom,

{{ HUGS!! }} from all of us to you. I am so glad to hear from you.

I can only imagine what you're going through. I cannot state enough how grateful to God I am that he chose you to be my Mom. I truly believe that you have had a tremendous impact on my life and who I am as a person.

Thanks so much for the encouragement from the apostle Paul. I remember in 2 Corinthians 12, where he talks about his "thorn". I'm also thinking about 2 Corinthians 4, in which he talks about our "light and momentary troubles". "Light and momentary"? That's some kind of perspective, huh?

Plaxo.com

A longtime friend of mine asked me to update the contact information he has for me via the service of this website. I have not looked at it very closely, but it seems pretty cool.

Gone Only Temporarily

On October 23, 2003, one of the women my wife takes care of at her job, was killed in an automobile accident. Both of us attended her memorial service. We received a card with the following inscription on it:

Fill not your hearts with pain and sorrow,
but remember me in every tomorrow.
Remember the joy, the laughter, the smiles,
I've only gone to rest a little while.
Although my leaving causes pain and grief,
my going has eased my hurt and given me relief.
So dry your eyes and remember me,
Not as I am now, but as I used to be.
Because I will remember yu all and look on with a smile.
Understand, in your hearts, I've only gone to rest awhile.
As long as I have the love of each of you,
I can live my life in the hearts of all of you.

Transportation Trials

I mentioned back in November that our car had been repossessed (An Overnight Visit From the Repo Man). Fortunately for us, my Mom left us her car to use. Within the last two days, I've noticed that the brakes are going bad.

We still have the ability to slow and stop. It's just that we have this "god-awful" squeaking/crunching sound.

We are so grateful to my wife's coworker, who, since she found out abour our other car, has given my wife rides to work and back. It's good that we only live about 5 minutes away, too.

Christmas Service

Yesterday we had a special Christmas service at church. It was mainly a lot of singing and performing of the Christmas songs of the season. I played "O Holy Night" on my saxophone.

I had really blown it (no pun intended) with respect to practicing and getting prepared for it. I'd also planned to sing "Mary's Boy Child". I'd been blowing both of these off, and I'd even blown off a rehearsal last Thursday night.

I happened to see the brother who was in charge of the program on Saturday evening. I had planned to call him later that evening anyway, to apologize. I used the occasion to apologize to him in person.

Later that evening, we went home, and I searched for the sheet music. You see, I used to have a booklet with music, that I had from the Salvation Army, from when I volunteered there in 1993. When I couldn't find that, I sought online, and I was fortunate (thank you, God) to have found it.

I also needed the exact words for "Mary's Boy Child", and I was grateful to have found them online, too. I also am grateful that we had a recording of the song at home.

I believe that God blessed the spirit of repentance, because I received numerous compliments for my performance.

I was also able to encourage other musicians by telling them that I'm learning the guitar. One sister came to me and said she would like to do a duet, since she plays the clarinet. I offered to do the arrangement myself.

So, everything worked out well.

Journey Inside My Mind: I'm Covered

Last week I mentioned that we'd had some issues with respect to our medical coverage. The delay led to a lapse in my medications, which I take for depression and ADHD. Neither of these medicines is cheap, and I am so grateful to have the coverage now.

Library Blogging

The home PC is on the fritz again. It's the same problem as before. Hence, to access the internet, I have to come to the library. It's all good, though.

I have much to do, much to blog about, and very little time. Just so you know.

Irish church cracks down on "a la carte" funerals

"DUBLIN (Reuters) - Downing pints of beer and telling blue jokes at funeral services will no longer be tolerated by Roman Catholic priests in Ireland."

The first thing that popped into my head when I read this article were the scenes from Angela's Ashes with Frank McCourt's dad in the pub, using the casket that was for a deceased son as a tabletop for his pint of Guiness.

Cincinnati Bengals Team Report: Warrick sidelined

From "The Sports Network - National Football League", comes this news about Bengals' Wide Receiver Peter Warrick, along with discussion about their playoff hopes.