PastorTomS's Xanga

Christening

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 21:49:57 GMT

We were in Milwaukee this past weekend for the Christening of my niece, Jadyn Kathleen Siwicki. Jadyn is an Irish name, and Kathleen is my late mother's name. I was the godfather even though it was a Catholic ceremony and I am decidedly not Catholic anymore, being a Protestant minister and all. It was okay, though, since the godmother is a practicing Catholic and I am, of course, a Christian. The vows for us godparents included helping to raise Jadyn as a Christian which, of course, I can wholeheartedly ascribe to. Afterwards we had a feast at my Aunt Margie's house where we also celebrated a big Green Bay Packer victory over the Kansas City Chiefs! Here are some pics from the baptism:

A candle is lit for baby Jadyn.

The parents and godparents.

Mommy and baby Jadyn.

Jadyn with her dad and Uncle Tom.

Two Zachary's hanging out at church.

Pictures

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 20:05:37 GMT

Here are a few pictures we took while in Asheville, North Carolina on our way up to Chicago:

Enjoying brunch.

Hanging out at the Grove Arcade Public Market

Zach and mommy strolling Grove Arcade.

Hanging at the local bookstore.

How can I leave the parking garage if I can't open the door?

Dark Ages

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 22:14:53 GMT

So far our time in Chicago has been relaxing. Grace's mom has been cooking up a storm. Hopefully, I won't gain too much weight! It feels like I'm back in the Dark Ages when it comes to media. Grace's folks only have a dial-up internet connection which I basically refuse to use because it's so slow. I'm currently hanging out at the Bridgeport Coffee Company in their neighborhood which has great coffee (I'm enjoying an El Salvador blend at the moment) and a fast internet connection.

They also only have regular television complete with rabbit ears. I've had cable for so long that I forgot what it's like to only have six stations (have of them blurry) at your disposal. We're trying to convince them to get cable or a dish, but I would be surprised if they would sign-up since they don't believe in paying for something that they can get for free. I have a lot of reading to do anyway for my dissertation, so not having access to ESPN, Discovery, and CNN is probably a good thing.

Chicago

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:21:47 GMT

Fixing the flat was not a big deal. I went to Walmart early in the morning and they fixed what was a leaky valve stem. Our second car problem came in Indiana. At a rest stop I tried to open the trunk and it was stuck. Upon our arrival I thankfully was able to jiggle it open. The next day I went to Honda and they replaced the latch for free since it was under warranty.

Chicago has been fun so far. Had real authentic dim sum after church yesterday which was much better than anything the Raleigh area has to offer. Zach liked the dim sum and ate a lot. It's a good thing he likes Chinese food! Last night Grace's parents had folks over from their church. Zach's favorite part was when everyone sang happy birthday to his grandparents. He especially liked the singing and eating their birthday cake.

Flat Tire

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 02:04:39 GMT

Had fun in Asheville today having brunch at the Tupelo Honey Cafe and walking around the downtown area. I would say that Asheville is pretty much an artistic, organic, new age kind of town. An emerging church would probably do well here.

Upon arriving at our hotel in Shelbyville, Kentucky I noticed that our tire was about 2/3 flat. After checking in, the tire was totally flat. Praise God that we didn't get stuck on the highway. Hopefully I can get the tire fixed early tomorrow and we can be off to Chicago to see Grace's parents.

Road Trip

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 03:46:58 GMT

Since Grace received a two month Sabbatical from her place of employment (there are advantages to working for a European company!) we have decided to hit the road. One decision that had to be made was which car to take - the Accord or the Acura? The TL is much more comfortable, but gets poor gas mileage and only takes Premium gasoline. The Accord gets 10-15 miles more per gallon the the Acura. So what would you choose - comfort or money? We chose money, I guess because I'm cheap!

We just arrived this evening in Asheville, North Carolina. Zach just came down with a fever so he was a bit uncomfortable for this first leg of our journey. Lord willing he'll feel better soon. Tomorrow we're planning to visit historic downtown Asheville which is known for its art deco architecture, and its restaurants, cafes, tea rooms, and pubs - sounds like my kind of place. I'm not sure if we'll get to the Biltmore Estates which is the largest private home in the U.S. featuring a mere 250 rooms along with a winery, bowling alley, billiard room, etc. It really depends on how well Zachary feels.

Dog Sitting

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 22:26:58 GMT

Friends of ours went on a day trip recently and we volunteered to take care of their boxer mix - Java. She's a sweet dog with a high tolerance for little boys like Zachary who had fun needling, prodding, and chasing her. At one point Zach seemed to think Java would make a good horse and tried to unsuccessfully ride her. It was nice to have a dog back in the house. Maybe we'll get another one soon - probably another beagle.

Korean Hostages

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 02:10:31 GMT

The Taliban in Afghanistan have killed yet another Christian aid worker from Korea. Pastor Eugene Cho is providing updates and laments the lack of news coverage by the U.S. media.

Frankly, I'm not surprised at the lack of television news coverage since the U.S. media typically ignores most international news unless it has a direct bearing on national interests such as the Iraq conflict. I will watch the BBC news for global coverage since even ABC's World News Tonight has such little world coverage.

The persecution of Christians also does not merit much media coverage. Even in Iraq there has been almost no coverage on the plight of Christians in spite of the fact that believers have been killed, kidnapped, and displaced all because of their religious beliefs. In fact, the Christian Post reports that for Christians in Iraq, “The situation is more than desperate.”

This hostage situation has served as a reminder for me to pray and to heed the words of Hebrews 13:3: "Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."

Happy Birthday

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 16:07:22 GMT

Today is Zachary's second birthday. He's grown up so fast. It seems that it was just the other day that he was a little baby in need of constant care. Now he is beginning to exert his independence wanting to eat, walk and play on his own. His grandmother is in town and we will celebrate tonight with a small family gathering. We'll have a bigger party in a few weeks when we celebrate the birthdays of Zach and two other boys in our church who are about the same age. Here is a progression of Zach from when he was a baby, at about 1 year of age, and a recent picture:

Resting in his rocker:

Climbing stairs:

Hanging out on the campus of North Carolina State:

Snow

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 17:14:48 GMT

It's hard to believe, but we actually got some snow last night here in sunny North Carolina. That's quite amazing given the fact that the average high temperature this time of the year is 70, and only a few days ago we were in the 80's. The trees here are already green and the spring flowers are in full bloom. There was no accumulation officially because it melted when it hit the ground. It was definitely coming down, though, and there was a layer of snow on our backyard deck. The only other time it snowed here was this past January when we received a whopping 3/4 inches which closed down the schools and many businesses. Here's a couple of pics of Zachary in the snow. I wouldn't say he was exactly having fun - perplexed is more like it.