I have to wonder...

... what IRS agent(s) and/or lawmaker(s) thought that it would be a good idea to refer to substantially appreciated inventory, unrealized receivables, and depreciation recapture potential as "hot assets."

What's wrong with this picture?

I got some groceries at Wal-Mart this afternoon, but I didn't notice this until I was getting my hamburger ready to eat for supper.

119

I just got home from a party with my former coworkers. During the course of the evening, I somehow managed to bowl the best game of my entire life. My typical bowling score is somewhere in the vicinity of 70, and I've been known to score as low as 40, but tonight, my score was 119. Of course, nobody believed me when I told them that I can't bowl...

East Coast earthquakes!

Yes, I survived three earthquakes yesterday. (I actually felt only one of them, but the newspaper says that there were three; who am I to argue?) The story is here. According to the paper, the early-morning quake was magnitude 2.6; the quakes yesterday evening were magnitudes 1.5 and 2.4.

My favorite earthquake-related quote so far actually comes from a thread on Facebook: "WHERE IS FEMA?" (Along with, "I thought it was the end. But then I had to get up and go to class.")

It amuses me that, with all the time I've spent in California, I've felt only two earthquakes in my life--one in SC and one in NC.

Oh, wow...

Q: How do you kill a circus?
A: Go for the juggler.

Thanks, Rinkworks.

Countdown...

75 days until Christmas!

"What Is That to You? You Follow Me!"

Jesus will not judge me according to my superiority or inferiority over anybody. ... Jesus has a work for me to do (and a different one for you). It is not what he has given anyone else to do. There is a grace to do it. Will I trust him for that grace and do what he has given me to do?

--John Piper

Read the full article here.

Instant Eulogies???

InstantEulogies.com offers a package of "20 Pre-Written and Time-Tested Eulogy Speeches," as well as poems, quotations, tips on proper etiquette and on gaining the audience's respect--oh, yeah, and did we mention that it will save valuable time? After all, who really wants to spend time writing a eulogy for a recently departed loved one when they could be doing something else? The package includes eulogies for friends, siblings, parents, spouses, children, etc.

Yes sir, there's nothing like a generic, purchased eulogy to show just how much that loved one meant to you.

(Why did an ad for this site show up in my Gmail? I have no idea.)

The Amish (again)

Here's an interesting article about the Amish community's response to the school shooting.

According to the article, the Amish community has started a fund to help the families of the victims--and the family of the gunman. No wonder a person quoted in the article says thing like, "This is imitation of Christ at its most naked," and, "[T]he Amish walk the walk as much as they talk the talk."

(HT: SharperIron)

Imprecatory prayer...?

I can't say that I've ever really had a desire to engage in imprecatory prayer--until today, when I read that the anti-gay "church" in Kansas planned to picket the funerals of those little Amish girls who were shot in their one-room schoolhouse. (Fortunately, they have now cancelled those plans--in exchange for free media time.)

That "church" really ticks me off. They, although they claim to be Christian, apparently have no real understanding of the gospel. Only God knows their hearts, but this is what their actions demonstrate.

The Bible is clear that homosexual behavior is a sin, and that God judges sin, but it does not call us to hate homosexuals; in fact, since Jesus Christ loved those who practice homosexuality (as well as those who commit every other sin--which includes all of us) enough to die for us while we were still sinners, shouldn't we be willing to demonstrate His love to everyone around us--homosexual or not? In fact, I suppose we also should be trying to demonstrate His love to the members of Westboro Baptist Church, and praying that they would come to know Christ.

I find it interesting to compare the spiteful response of this "church" group to their alleged slander by the governor of Pennsylvania to the forgiving response of the Amish to this tragedy in their community.

Praise God for the response of the Amish, which seems to demonstrate a true understanding of the gospel. And praise God for His willingness and ability to forgive us of our sins against Him, if we will repent and turn to Him in faith.