Living Room Sessions

I downloaded two cd's this weekend... both of them by Chris Rice. The are entitled "The Living Rooms Sessions" and "The Living Room Sessions Christmas." They are simply Chris Rice playing various hymns on his piano in his living room. I highly recommend them.

Karma or Grace?

Well, if you know me... I hope you know that I do not believe in karma. And so the answer to my question above is definitely grace. But let me play the role Paul Harvey...

On Friday night, I hung out with some buddies of mine while they played poker. I did not play simply because I was tired and didn't want to be stuck there all night. I stayed at my buddies place for about an hour... specifically, from 11:00pm to 12:00am. Well, good times were had watching the Flop, the Turn, and the River... etc, etc. But when the clock struck midnight, I was done. So I walked outside only to discover that my car was not where I had parked it just 60 minutes earlier. Hmmmm... what could have happened?

Well, a careful examination of the curb revealed the words "NO PARKING." Methinks a tow truck may have been involved.

Thus began an hour long journey that involved me smarting off to the man who had my car... my buddy driving me to pick it up... and me shelling out $185 (cash only, thank you). Not cool. But truly... I had broken the law (even though I didn't realize I was doing so), and the punishment (albeit severe) was justified.

Then today, I was called into my boss's office. I recently worked on a project that has taken most of this year to complete (I was batting clean up in that three or four other people had attempted to resolve the issue). My boss called us all in the office to give us a reward for all of our efforts... the reward - a $200 AmEx gift card.

So if you put this on a balance... I am Even-Steven (actually, I am $15 ahead). But in reality, I deserved the punishment of the $185... and didn't deserve the $200 at all. I mean it is my job, right? So it is not karma... it is grace. And the best part is that receiving $200 is meaningless compared to the grace shown to me by the Lord... I can't imagine going through life trusting only in my good outweighing my bad (especially when I don't always know when I am doing the bad).

Attention to Detail

Yesterday, while in the grocery store, I decided to buy some protein bars to eat for my mid-afternoon or mid-morning snacks (instead of the Little Debbie cakes that our admins provide). So I stood there looking at the various brands of protein bars... but more important to me were the various flavors. I saw some that were flavored "lemon zest" and "smores" and "dulce de leche" and "chocolate peppermint stick." So I decided to buy one of each...

Well.. I just ate one (lemon zest), and as I looked at the packageing, I noticed various figures of women in various active stances... dancing stances to be exact.

I then read the following:

"The Whole Nutrition Bar for Women" (italics NOT mine)

I had no idea that Luna Bars were intended for women... and what is up with them getting all the good flavors?

For Dovie's Proverbial Record, Luna is actually a division of Clif Bar. Note the contrast of the manly Clif Rock Climber with the graceful Luna Dancer. So in the future, I will just buy the Clif Bars... even if the flavors are not as appealing. But ladies, I highly recommend the lemon zest... very tasty (for a protein bar, of course).

It's My Creation...

Last night, I had three things at my disposal to use in creating dinner. I had left over grilled hamburger meat (very well done because it has been sitting in the fridge all weekend), a box of Minute Rice, and a bag of frozen veggies. I decided to combine all of the above items into a casserole of sorts... and it isn't too bad. I told my roommate last night that I probably would not bring it to potluck or enter it in any food contests... but it did the trick. And that trick was to somehow make the overcooked hamburger meat edible so as to not have to throw it away. Mission accomplished. Add a little Tony Chachere's, a little basil, a little soy sauce... you have yourself a true "Sweep the Kitchen" meal.

Too Much...

Our break room is equipped with coffee machines, tea packets, and all the "extras" that go along with those drinks. Well, we also have packets of Starbucks Hot Cocoa. I have noticed them for a while, but never read the cover of the packets until today. This is what it says:

"Indulge in a deliciously creamy, exquisitely chocolate, gourmet cocoa"

As I read that, I thought to myself... "am I gonna want a cigarette when I finish drinking it?"

The answer to the question is "no," but it is pretty tasty when mixed with coffee. I am "indulging" as I type.

Featured Pandora Station - Curtis Mayfield

It has been a while, and Denison was growing old. A lurking friend of mine compared John Mayer to Curtis Mayfield, so I decided to throw his name into Pandora's box. So he is the featured artist this week.

Newfound Culinary Delight

Today we had our monthly birthday breakfast (aka. forced socilization). I had already eaten breakfast, so I skipped it... but I did partake of the leftovers for my mid-afternoon snack. One of the items on this month's banquet table was an assortment of Einstein Bagels and cream cheese spreads. I saw one that was orange in color, so I decided to check it out. I thought it would be a sun-dried tomato flavor or roasted red pepper... but instead, I discovered that it was pumpkin flavor. Initially, I scoffed at the idea... but then decided to try it out. Well... I am glad I did. It was/is delicious. So tomorrow morning, stop by your local Einstein Bagel store and check it out... you will not be disappointed.

The Richards Bunch

A few weeks ago, my family and I took a trip up to Minnesota to see my grandparents. We had a great time... and Landon was definitely the center piece of the weekend. It was his first time to see this set of great-grandparents... and (obviously) it was their first time to see him. It was a good time, indeed...

I am sure that in 50 years or so, I will look very similar to my grandfather. He is 86, and not as quick as he once was. But he still has some of that wit in him... I remember as a child how funny he used to be. There were flashes of that humor this trip... it just takes him a little longer to get the words out.

Here is a picture of four generations of Richards men. Good looking bunch, huh? That is why I stayed out of the picture.

The last picture I have is of Landon and my cousin's son... they are only two days apart in age. They played well together... and this picture was one of about four that were taken of the same event. Every time they would hug each other, they were facing the wrong direction. Finally, Brad got them to look at the camera.

Time with family is always enjoyable (even if stress levels escalate just slightly)... truly, I do love my family. The Lord has blessed me beyond measure in that regard.

Continuum

So I have been gone for a while. I took a family vacation... served on a jury... and now I am back. I plan to blog about both of those events, but work is a little busy. So I only have time to pimp out my new favorite CD (at least for the moment).

John Mayer's new CD - Continuum. This is some good stuff, y'all. His style seems to change with each CD that he produces, and each one has been good. This one is more mature than his previous three. By that, I mean that not all the songs are about him... or about his love interests... or whatever. So check it out.

Pandora is on hold as I am enjoying this CD too much.

Featured Pandora Station - Denison Witmer

Taking the advice of Eye Doctor Justin, I have landed on Denison Witmer for this week's Pandora artist. Since I will only be working two days this week and three days next week... Denison will be the featured artist for two weeks.

I have yet to hear this dude... so I have no idea what to expect. But I am sure it will be worth my time as Justin has good music taste (even though he does not want to be called a musician).

Peace out...

New Addiction...

So I have spent the past three days catching myself up on Lost. I have been watching the second season on DVD... about two each night. I am halfway through with season 2, and have two weeks before season 3 starts.

If you are not on this bandwagon, jump on as soon as you can. However, do so at your own risk. It will suck you in and keep you.

Just now, I was on the elevator and I pushed the button for my floor. Well, it lit up as normal... and then went dark again. This happens quite frequently because our building is old... and I normally don't give it a second thought. But today, it caught my attention because of all the Lost episodes I have been watching. I mean that is the kind of thing that happens to these people (well, except that there are no elevators on the island... that we know of yet).

But to make matters worse... I work on floor 23.

I'm Matt Burgundy?

It is no secret that two things I enjoy very much are the movie Anchorman, and sermons by Matt Chandler. (yes, I know the verses in James about salt water and fresh water coming from the same spring... and olives growing on fig trees...)

Anyway, this morning I was listening to part 13 of a 20 part series on the book of Hebrews taught by Matt Chandler (a great series of talks that I recommend to anyone - check them out here. They are dated 1.8.06-5.21.06).

OK... so back to the point (this is the most A.D.D. post ever).

So about 20 minutes into the talk, he is trying to make a point about why God gave us the Law. He says, "I'm gonna throw this out there... if you want it, take it..." Now you could hear a handful of people in the congregation laughing pretty loudly (I would have been one of those people, to be sure). And then Matt realized that only this handful got what he said and then he started laughing as well. He said, "some of you are with me..." He then continued on with his point.

Those who like and appreciate Anchorman will find humor here... the rest of you will just think I am a little high right now.

Oh... and the point about why God gave us the Law was not so that it could make us perfect (because it can't). Instead, God gave us the Law to show us that we need Jesus to save us because we can't obey the Law.

Featured Pandora Station - Guster

This week's Pandora station is Guster. I made it through the week of country music, but I will not likely be doing that again for a while. That music is just not enjoyable to me unless I am dancing...

Guster may produce some stuff very similar to other stations I have listened to in the past, so we'll see.

If anyone has any suggestions for future Pandora stations... just let me know.

I Just Don't Get It...

While reading Runner's World (a truly enjoyable groomsman gift) in the past few weeks, I have learned about two events that I can only describe as crazy.

The first one is a 50 day event being undertaken by a man named Dean Karnazes. On September 17, he will run the first of 50 marathons in Missouri (that's 26.2 miles in case you were not aware). He will then run another marathon (did I mention the fact that a marathon is 26.2 miles?!?!) each day for the next 49 days - finishing in New York City on November 5. He will be running a marathon in each of our country's 50 states. A total of 1,310 miles in 50 days. Click here for more information on this.

The second one is an annual event that takes place on a mountain... Pike's Peak to be exact. Runners (crazy runners, I might add) run 13.39 miles up the mountain, and then come back down. WHAT? This event is limited to 800 people, and the most recent one (August 20) filled its quota in 23 hours. It takes most people around 9 hours to finish. That is 9 hours of absolute insanity, if you ask me.

My mind's playin' tricks on me...

This week, as you probably know, I have been listening to country music at work. A number of times a song by David Lee Murphy entitled "Dust on the Bottle" has played. The chorus is as follows:

There might be a little dust on the bottle
But don't let it fool ya about what's inside
There might be a little dust on the bottle
It's one of those things that gets sweeter with time

Pretty straight forward song, really... it is all about the singer getting an old bottle of wine for his first date with a young lady, and how they have been together all these years... and their love just gets better and better as the years go on.

Well... the point of this post is that when I first heard this song years ago, I only paid attention to the chorus. BUT... I thought it was saying:

There might be a little dust on the Bible
But don't let it fool ya about what's inside
There might be a little dust on the Bible
It's one of those things that gets sweeter with time

Hmmmm....

I am in that place where I have been consistent enough in my blogging that I feel compelled to post, but have very little to say. I was talking with one of my lurking friends earlier this week, and she said that the more frequent the posting the lower the quality. Of course, that is not always true. But this post is a prime example.

So there you have it... a post about nothing. They should make a sitcom like that... it would be gold. Gold, I tell you!

Featured Pandora Station - Pat Green

I am not a big fan of country music (though I like dancing to it), but I decided to mix it up a little bit this week in the interest of charting new territory. I do like Pat Green, so I hope this week will produce some good stuff. I have already heard a Brooks & Dunn song... so I am not too optimistic. But as I have said before, I will hear the music without knowing who sings it... so I may be surprised. But the favorites list may have fewer songs this week... I'm just sayin'.


Here is that Pandora says about Pat Green's style: "...it features mild rhythmic syncopation, mixed accoustic and electric instrumentation, major key tonality, slide/pedal steel guitar and accoustic rhythm guitars." So there you have it... again, not sure what most of that means.

Norse gods and the like...

In my building, most people have their ID badges clipped to the belt loop on their pants (well, the men clip them there... the ladies don't always have belt loops - but that is beside the point). Anyway, in the elevator today there was a gentleman dressed in a suit (not the norm for Marathon culture) and I had not seen him before. So I took note of his name as I was curious who he was (perhaps he was important and I should know him). He also had a bit of a Euro look to him... I can't place what it was, he just looked European. Well... when I looked at his ID badge, I discovered that his name is Thor. Seriously... how cool would it be to be named Thor?

On a side note... his name reminded me of the old 80's movie Adventures in Babysitting. Does anyone remember this movie? It starred Elizabeth Shue. Cheesy, but definitely entertaining for me as an 11 year old kid.

The Apple of God's Eye?

In the this article, John Piper addresses an issue that has long been confusing to me.

The Bible teaches that God is supremely valuable. It also teaches that he delights in His children. So how does Someone of supreme value delight in/give praise to someone of lesser value?

The article offers one explanation... it is long, but worth the read.

Grammar Patrol

I was just reading a few of my more recent posts and I found a couple errors. Where is the grammar partol? Now granted, one of the errors was simply using the year 2006 instead of 2005 (you basefall fans were just too kind to point that one out to me, but I assure you it was a typo). The other one was the use of the word "of" instead of "or." Either way, I am ashamed of my blogging performance. Two errors in one week is simply unforgiveable. Do not let me get away with that in the future. I am sure if Joel Bain still read my blog, he would have pointed them out - in grace and kindness, of course. That guy has a keen eye for grammatical errors. But I digress...