Monday, January 28, 2008

Hotel Rwanda clip

I watched Hotel Rwanda last night and this scene has stuck with me. Joaquin Phoenix's character's comment cut me to the core and I've been struggling with it ever since. I hate that I have been so desensitized to atrocities such as this. The scariest part is that strangely similar events continue to take place in Africa from Sudan to Darfur to Kenya to the Congo. Africa has been on my heart for sometime through books I have read, movies I have seen and the project I am working on.

My heart goes out to the people of Africa and I continue to pray for peace. This is one spiritual thing that I can do. I struggle with the question of what I can do physically.

In reading a book recently, The Way of a Worshiper, a phrase by the author, Buddy Owens, jumped out at me: "and it is through your body that God reaches out to the world around you."

I pray that God uses me to reach out to the people of Africa who weigh heavy on my heart.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

my baby girl is six today...

Wow! It's really hard to believe...


I remember my wife and I were scared after the September 11th attacks five months before our daughter was due. We had conversations about what a different world it would be in a matter of months after the attacks. I remember how unsafe we felt at that moment and how scared we were to be bringing a new child into the world. Then came her birth and as we witnessed that beautiful miracle, I felt a new joy and love that I have never experienced before. Six years, brings a lot of firsts. From the first smile, to first words, to first steps she changed our lives and our world. My daughter and I formed a special bond and there is nothing like having daddy's little girl. My favorite times have been hiking together and driving together. We have deep conversations. She has an inquisitive nature about her. God blessed us with her birth six years ago, and he's blessed us with six wonderful years of her life. I couldn't be more grateful. I pray he blesses us with many more...

Monday, January 21, 2008

Thursday, January 10, 2008

i'm back...

Wow! It's been a while. Here's a summary of some things that have happened in the last three weeks:

I am now beardless (to my lovely wife's liking)


I am back online after the internet and email fast. In some ways, it was easier than I expected. In other ways it was more difficult. I was "obligated" to check in on work email to prevent emergencies and I realized how internet dependent I have become.

We visited Christkindlmarkt in Bethlehem, PA for the first time. It was a lot of fun.


I now have a GPS. This is sweet. A great gift; something that I now use constantly but never would have purchased for myself.

I surprised my daughter and wife with a trip to New York City to see the Mary Poppins show on broadway. It was a great show (extremely well done), a great day and a great time.


I got to spend lots of time catching up with my family. Here's a pic of my brother and I.


I have also been reading/listening to some great books. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah and The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman. These are two extremely interesting and profound books. I will review each in the coming weeks.

I thank God for the amazing blessings in my life and the opportunity to begin a new year refreshed and refocused. I'm excited to see what He has in store for 2008. Please join me in praying for the people of Kenya, particularly in the slums of Nairobi, as violence still breaks out in the aftermath of the election. You can get local news and updates here.