Random Thoughts 6/23/05

• Brennan and Tanner and I went out and played in the yard this evening. We found a little toad about the size of a marble, a big toad the size of a baseball, and lots of lightning bugs. The boys were giddy with joy, running back and forth. We caught a lightning bug and, as it crawled over my hand, I asked if we should let it fly away. Brennan said, "Yeah, like the song! *I'll fly away, oh glory , I'll fly away!" And he was on key!
• I'm watching Fiddler on the Roof for the third or fourth time. Classic (won three Oscars, nominated for eight). If you haven't seen it, you need to. If you've already seen it, watch it again with a Christian eye. Did you catch Tevye's misquotes of scripture? Or the elements of Jewish culture that derive from Old Testament passages you know? Does your heart ache for folks who know our God but missed the Messiah when he came?
• I shopped at Sam's Club today for the first time in six or seven years. Cool. They handed me my card in a few seconds (it used to take a lot longer). I'm glad the church is buying stuff there now. It'll save a lot of money.
• Speaking of new places to go, the IHOP down the road just opened (tell Grandma it's just as good as an International House of Pancakes). They're also constructing a new McDonald's with a play area in front of the new theater.
• The new sermon series that is starting this week is on the various names of God. It's fascinating stuff.
• General John Abizaid, a top general of Arab-American descent who has figured prominently throughout the Iraq war, testified alongside Rumsfeld today before the Senate. There may be a lot you don't know about him: His real-life heroics were recreated in a Clint Eastwood movie. Remember the scene in Heartbreak Ridge where Eastwood's Marines took a bridge by commandeering a bulldozer? And later they rescued the med students at the university? That was actually Abizaid and his Rangers. He's Arab-American (Lebanese) and speaks fluent Arabic, but his family is Christian. He's a graduate of West Point and Harvard.