Moscow Snow

I talked briefly with Jennifer yesterday and she said that their first winter in Moscow has been a record breaker for snow. She took this photo of the front of the house today with her phone. Wow!!

Apparently it's been 20 years since they've had this much snow. So, what does this mean? Lots of sledding in the back yard... snow days out of school for Kaleb... warm clothes for all... probably their fill of windshield scraping... and, I imagine, a growing longing for spring.

Precip

Living in California with 34 million other people, the knowledge that we're always only a couple of drought years away from big water trouble is never buried too deeply my mind.

So, even when this year's "rainy season" is above average and I'm getting a bit tired of the cold drizzle, the chilly winds, and the gray skies, I keep telling myself that we really need the precip and that this spring the rains will end, things will dry out, and the hills will be brown before summer.

Of course, those who ski are ecstatic about all the snow in the Sierras, and those who measure snow pack to determine how much water is stored up in those mountains are licking their chops. I have no idea where the picture above was taken, but I decided to post it in their honor.

Politics

Listened to the State of the Union address tonight... and the Democratic response... and comments by various pundits... and the latest from Hillary and Barack.

Sure am tired of it all... seems like it's been going on for a year or more already. Wait... it has been going on for a year or more!

But, when I think about it, I guess I'd rather have what we have instead of regime change by military coup and death squads.

One last thought... if we can fund these campaigns, pay for Super Bowl ads, fight an expensive war, keep Vegas rolling, and give CEOs of failing companies multi-million dollar severance packages, why can't we figure out a way to get health care to those who don't have it?

Bay Area Snow

The picture above is Mount Diablo, one of the geographical oddities of the Bay Area and a state park. It's double peaked mountain with summits of about 3800 and 3500 feet... not all that tall when compared to the Sierras... but visible to most of the Bay area and much of northern California simply because all the surrounding landscape is flat to hilly, but without much elevation. Its origins are also interesting, but I'll let you check that out if you're so inclined.

Occasionally during the winter we'll get a cold air storm that brings temps in the upper 30s and lower 40s here in Antioch. When that scenario sets up, Mount Diablo will get snow as was the case today. On the news there were people up there hiking, throwing snowballs, enjoying the snow. The pic below was from about this time last year.

For some geographic perspective, here's a map of the Bay Area with Antioch and the Santa Cruz Mountains (another area where it snows in the winter) are circled in yellow. The red arrow points to about where the peaks of Mt Diablo are.

Come see us and we'll take you up Mount Diablo!

Bucket List

For Christmas the elders gave us a gift card. This afternoon and evening we decided to spend it by going to a movie and out to eat. After a little discussion we settled on going to see The Bucket List, starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. It's a good flick... including both Jack Nicholson humor and those typical aahhhh moments when you listen to Morgan Freeman talk about almost anything.

The storyline is basically two guys, one a billionaire and the other an auto mechanic, roommates in a hospital, both dying of cancer... they come up with a "bucket list"... that list of things you'd really like to do before you "kick the bucket."

They head off around the world in the billionaire's jet, doing really cool stuff, and, along the way, discover some much deeper aspects of life.

The movie is funny and it makes you think. Nicholson and Freeman are both good. See it if you get the chance.

Beginning on January 19...

Everyone has a beginning on some date, right? Here are a few who made their appearance on January 19:

• 1736 - Scottish engineer James Watt, inventor of the steam engine
• 1807 - Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee
• 1809 - American short story writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe
• 1839 - Paul Cezanne, painter
• 1903 - The Tour de France
• 1917 - Actor-singer John Raitt (Bonnie's dad)
• 1923 - Actress Jean (Murray) Stapleton, Beloved as Edith Bunker
• 1939 - Singer Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers with brother, Don
• 1943 - Singer Janis Joplin
• 1946 - Country singer Dolly Parton born
• 1957 (I think) - my friend, Randy Moser

Oooh... That Smarts

I've always admired people who are intelligent, those who set the curve, who seem to rise to the top of the class. Sometimes it's been a grudging admiration when I was in the class, but admiration none the less. There have been times when I've thought I'm pretty intelligent... and then there are those other times.

I ran across this quote today by Bertrand Russell:

So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence.

Now, I don't think Bertrand Russell is particularly known for his devotion to the Gospels, but he has a point. The Bible extols wisdom, but it doesn't hype intelligence. In fact, Jesus seems to be way more concerned about how we live, how we treat others, how we use our money, than how deeply we think. It seems that for Jesus, faithfulness trumps intelligence every time.

Having said that, I think I agree with Woodrow Wilson:

I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow.

Do your best to play it smart today!

Reconnecting

Back in the late 70s and early 80s we were living and working in Cabot, Arkansas. I was teaching French and English at Cabot High School and Virginia was a stay-at-home mom for a few years. I was also coaching cross country and track, still one of those special times in life.

Rob Rice was a middle school math teacher and football coach, and he also coached track with me. Through that connection we got to know him and his wife, Linda - elementary teacher, pretty well. We had a lot of values in common, and Rob and I shared a similar affection for corny jokes.

About the time I left the classroom and the track for the counseling office, Rob left teaching to become a State Farm agent in Mississippi, a career he's followed all these years. They have three children, and the youngest, Lydia, a student at Birmingham Southern College, is in San Francisco for a 3-week stint working at the inner city ministry at Glide Memorial. Anyway, we were able to spend some time with her Saturday, taking a tour of Napa and just hanging out. It was fun to get to reconnect with her folks through her. Still good people...

Pepperdine Preview

We just got home from a trip to the Tri-Valley church in Livermore with Doug and Marlene. We went to the annual Pepperdine Bible Lectures preview. Three of us sang on the praise team leading worship along with singers from Tri-Valley and Sonoma Ave in Santa Rosa. Peter Wilson led and we sang some really good songs. It was fun singing tenor... I don't get to do that very often, and I always enjoy it.

The Tri-Valley folks fed everyone who came and then we gathered in the sanctuary to worship and listen to Dr Jerry Rushford talk about the 2008 edition of the Bible Lectures. Jerry is such a good story teller and wonderful church historian. It's always fun listening to him talk... and he's always pumped about the Bible Lectures. It was a good evening.

If you've never been to the Pepperdine Bible Lectures and you think you could stand being in Malibu for a few days, you need to set aside April 29 - May 2 and plan to go. There's just simply nothing else quite like it. See you there!!

Muir Woods turns 100

Although many of the giant coastal redwoods in Muir Woods are much older than 100, it was 100 years ago today that President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed those 295 acres the Muir Woods National Monument, the seventh monument created under the 1906 Antiquities Act and the first from land donated by a private individual. You can read more about how that happened here or find out more about Muir Woods here or here.

We visited there last spring. Here are a couple of pics to whet your appetite to visit. :-)

Dreaming for God

Today was a special day for us at Eastside. Our worship was rich and heartfelt. People seemed engaged with the messages of the songs and the passages we read. Communion focused on who we are as the living Body of Christ. And our leadership shared dreams.

Brice used Joshua's preparation to cross the Jordan to set up this segment. Three of the elders and I joined him on stage for sort of a talk show format... he asked questions and we took turns responding, sharing some dreams. Not that anything any of us said was all that remarkable, but folks need to know that their leaders have dreams for the church... sort of gives them permission to dream as well.

What are your dreams for God? Do we expect him to really do "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine?"

Dream along with us, and we'll all eagerly wait to see how God will work through those dreams.

Murphys Bring Rain

It's been really rainy the last couple of days, especially Friday... supposedly the worst storm in 5 years. The Santa Cruz Mountains got about 10.5" of rain in 24 hours; SF got about 2 inches; out here we got around 4 inches... sounds like there will be some mud slides. It's supposed to rain off and on for the next week. We really need the rain, but I hope we can spread it out instead of so much in a 24 hour period.

Our niece Jaime and her 3 kids (Colt, Allyson and Julia) are on their way back home to American Samoa after a holiday family visit in South Carolina. Jaime said their presence apparently dented the long drought in that state, as it rained nearly every day the whole two or three weeks they were there. Then, lo and behold, the biggest storm in 5 years ushers in their arrival here. Well, thanks, Jaime and kids, the rain is welcome.

They've made the trip pretty well so far, and they're almost to the final leg. After a brief and fun (at least for us) visit here, Virginia will take them to SFO early in the morning for their flight to Honolulu and on to AmSam. We've really enjoyed having them here... even though the stay is brief. We'd be glad for them to stay a bit longer, but I think they're ready to get home to daddy Philip, and I know he's ready to have them home. Here are some pics to prove they are both here and in fine travelin' shape.

The girls decided to enjoy a showing of Snow White.

When Kaleb was here with us last summer, we had fun playing Jenga. While I did a hospital visit, Virginia and Colt did a pretty good job getting that Jenga tower up there. Here's a shot of one effort before the inevitable crash.

Starting a New Year

Today has been a pretty quiet day around the Johnson house. We got all the Christmas decorations down and stowed away until next year. We spent some much needed time in the yard trimming, weeding, fertilizing, and spraying. We both got some computer work done, and we took a walk. And, of course, we watched a lot of football. With the bigger bowl games spread over more days than they used to be, I'm not ending the day with that zoned out, can't-get-out-of-the-chair feeling.

We also talked a little about how God seems on the verge of doing some neat things at Eastside. I just want to be a willing and ready clay pot.

Here's to 2008!

Lazy Days and...

I barely got out of the house today. Watched some football, worked on my computer, did a little cooking... didn't even work out. I guess it was partly the dreary, chilly weather; part was just being lazy; I think most of it was being a bit sad about my friend John. He's been in ICU for about 2 weeks now; he's had some ups and downs; but the latest news is that he still is not improving. Please pray for healing. Thank you!

Quotes of the Day

"When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer 'Present' or 'Not guilty.'" - Theodore Roosevelt

"When someone tells you something defies description, you can be pretty sure he's going to have a go at it anyway." - Clyde B. Aster

"Anything not worth doing is worth not doing well. Think about it." - Elias Schwartz

That Time of the Year

The end of each year is always adorned with pine needles, ornaments, mangers, colored lights, gift cards, a chubby guy in a red suit, and (at least every 4th year) presidential candidates making claims they can't prove, promises they won't keep, and assertions they often try to take back later. (insert sigh here)

I ran across this quote by Eugene McCarthy. Now, no matter what you think of his politics and/or rep, I think he hits pretty close on this one:

Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it's important.

We really enjoyed Mom's stay with us, but she flew home to Arkansas this morning. When I talked with her this evening, we found out her trip was a bit harried, complete with substitute plane and unscheduled plane change. They got in about an hour and a half late, but she said the Southwest people were nice every step of the way. Also, after Louise picked her up they went to New China to eat... one of Mom's favorites.

Maybe she'll decide to move out here, and then she won't have to negotiate those flights to see us. One can only hope, right!?! :-)

Oh... one more thing that I'm sure will make reading this post totally worth it (insert drum roll here)... Jen called to tell us that Claire is rolling over from tummy to back by herself!!!

Christmas Eve

One of the true blessing of this time of the year is all the greetings and pictures we receive.

Merry Christmas!!

Tick...tick...tick...

Christmas is drawing ever closer. Today as we worshiped, Brice's message was woven into the tapestry of our singing, our readings, and our prayers. As our children sang to us and as we closed by singing Welcome to Our World, each of us had been drawn more intimately close to the God who loves us enough to become one of us... to die for us. Each of us renewed our thankful hearts.

A friend of ours from Houston is both an English teacher and a writer. She is also a woman of faith and blogs at this site. In a recent post she wrote of faith as a trust fund. Check it out and see what you think.

Merry Christmas!!

Quotes

I ran across this quote from Eric Hoffer:

The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a god or not.

I was intrigued, so I looked up some other quotes by Mr Hoffer, American author and philosopher:

Compassion is the antitoxin of the soul: where there is
compassion even the most poisonous impulses remain relatively harmless.

Craving, not having, is the mother of a reckless giving of oneself.

Creativity is the ability to introduce order into the randomness of nature.

Every intense desire is perhaps a desire to be different from what we are.

In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future.

The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.

It is the around-the-corner brand of hope that prompts people to action, while the distant hope acts as an opiate.

Many of the insights of the saint stem from their experience as sinners.

The fear of becoming a 'has-been' keeps some people from
becoming anything.

And finally...

The real Antichrist is he who turns the wine of an original idea into the water of mediocrity.

Enjoy!