Beginning Anew

... mostly relating to the fact that my blog has basically died lately because my good friends Ham, Turkey, cornbread dressing, cranberry sauce, and red velvet cake have come to visit.

Just as an aside, it occured to me the other day that I don't think cranberry sauce would be as good if it didn't have those ridges in it from the can.

But I digress.

Things in the house here have been pretty nice and calm, we slept in this morning, but kinda made up for it this evening by listening to the podcast from church. (what an age we live in, huh?)
Ann's cooking today has been fantastic. Yesterday we exchanged gifts, and had a great time just relaxing around the house.

It seems like lately we get lots of uplifting words, and we really appreciate it. Things can get pretty down if you let them, but thankfully we have lots of folks praying and agreeing on our behalf. It's truly an awesome feeling to know that you are being brought into the Throneroom of God every single day by so many people. It's really more than knowledge though, it is more like a presence.

I know that my reactions to our situation are not considered "normal". I actually struggle with the way I feel. I do not go about fretting over the end result of our pregnancy. My struggle centers around why I do not go about fretting over that end result. Is it my faith that God will heal my child, and this is a reassurance from Him? Is it my faith that God is in control no matter what happens, and this is a reassureance from Him? Is this just a defense mechanism in my mind that, because it creates an overload condition, has shut down my emotions?

I said that, and my wife just started talking to the baby because he (or she) is moving. That happens alot. Anytime we start talking about the baby, or one of us starts to hit a time when we are scared out of our minds, the baby starts offering taps of reassurance. It doesn't matter which of us... in fact Ann didn't even know what I was typing.

We don't doubt at all that their Dad (not me, THE Dad) is moving in them. Coincidence? I'm learning more and more each day that if I believe that "All things work together for the good for them that love the Lord", then NOTHING can be coincidence. Everything must be set in motion.

I'm also contemplating a post on truth, and how truth does not require believers in order to be true. That one has just started forming in my brain, and it may get wadded up and thrown in the wastebasket before long. Don't hold your breath for that post... just a thought i'm having.

So Ann and I had some tickets to the Steven Curtis Chapman/Mercy Me Christmas Tour tonight at the Alltel, and after a hustle getting there after work we finally made it. About 3 minutes into the first number (a medley, no less) 2 of our co-workers arrive (we all had tickets that people didn't come pick up from the radio station). Then about 30 minutes in, another co-worker and associated family make it in.

At this point, i'd like to take a moment for an aside. Why is it that even when I buy tickets... I get stuck in the middle of a row?? I've never been to a concert that I didn't land in the middle of a row.

Anyway, so Mercy Me does the first set, and SCC comes out to do a small thing before intermission... during intermission, one of the co-workers pulls out backstage meet and greet passes!! So, I actually got to meet SCC and they guys from Mercy Me and spend a few seconds with them... No camera.. just the one in the phone which of course the guy had no idea how to use, so I have no pictures, but I did get autographs from each (Not that I really think an autograph from a Christian artist should be a big deal, just on a servant's heart kind of principle... but I needed SOME proof!)

So overall a great night... although the Alltel sure gives the movie theaters a run for their money on food!!! $4.00 for maybe 8 peices of popcorn chicken and a few french fries... and $4.00 for my drink!!!! The drink should never cost as much or more than the food...

Extra points to myself for the over use of elipses and parenthesis in this post. I'm tired and it's late. Deal with it.

Just when you thought I couldn't get any geekier... sitting on my desk now, where once only a server installation of Linux resided now lives 2 installations... one as my primary desktop.. yep i've abandoned M$ as my primary desktop OS now. I'm using openSUSE 10.0, and so far I love it. I still have my copy of XP Pro on the disk... and i'll use it for some stuff still but not as a primary OS for a while. Looks like i'm gonna have to get myself a bigger hard drive... the 6gb linux partition is filling up quickly.

Oh, and just to add another level of geekiness to the mix.. i'm trying to get a broadcast automation system (Rivendell) working on my new install of linux. Why? A new challenge... it's definately not just "Install" and play.. i've been working on it for 4 days now.

Farewell for now my geeky friends...

Apparently the lighting show in the previous post got a little too much attention... now, he's shut it down.

Here is the link

I still think we should do it!