Mother's Day Challenge

Mother's Day. Everyone has a mother, despite if they know her or not. Mothers have tremendous influence on their kids. Like my pastor pointed out this weekend, you always see the big football players or basketball players or famous people in general always thanking their moms or saying hi to their moms on television. I would like to thank my mom for always being there and being supportive in everything that I do as well as with my sister. Mom I would say are very important to the development of children. I know I wouldn't be the person I am now without the influence from my mom.

Besides from it being Mothers day yesterday, the past week has been pretty good overall. I mean I'm getting used to working swing shift and I only  had to work one day this weekend instead of both days. I'm not allowed to work more than 13 consecutive days without the shipyard commander's permission and at this time, I don't need it. Maybe later on in the key event will I get the permission, but for now, it's alright not working more than the 13 days in a row. Working on the weekends can be boring sometimes, depends what is going on. This past weekend, not much is going on so I got to leave after working 7.5 hours. Not bad if really. I get paid time and a half for working on the weekends, so it's a pretty good deal, especially since it has been raining a lot.

On that note, the rain, it's just been raining for the last week pretty much every day. Yes, you might say, it's Hawaii, it always rains, but this is not the sprinkle here or there, it's a pretty good rain fall. The rainy season should be coming to a close, and from what I've heard, it's unusual to get this much rain so late into the season. I guess it's also good since they say we have been in a "drought", although I think every state says that. I think they said it has rained so much because the storm that passed the islands earlier in the week, double backed and hit the islands again. Two for one punch I guess. As it stands right now, we have a chance of rain for the rest of the week.

The killing of Osama Bin Laden, some think that he was killed months ago, some think that he wasn't killed and taken prisoner by US forces, and some think that he has evaded capture/killing again. Who knows what the actual story is, but it has been the headline news story over the past week. It also seems to have been a political move (Obama's ratings went up 6% in one poll after the announcement of Bin Laden's death). Despite all the different theories, it has been overlooked on a rather large scale that we invaded a friendly country without permission, fired shots in that country again without permission, and also blew up a helicopter of our own in that country. Sure, we wanted the surprise attack and no warning, but really, why do we want to piss of more countries at us, especially friendly ones? This I feel is why a lot of the countries hate America because we can do what ever we want. We have the military force, which we spend billions of dollars on fighting other countries wars and being the police of the world. Should we be policing the world when we have larger problems in our backyard? That is something that the media and the government tends to turn a blind eye to. Also, just for thought, why is the United States changing stance with Israel? Didn't God say that He would bless those who bless Israel and curse those that curse Israel? I guess it isn't too surprising since our countries morality and religious roots are being undermined continually.

The last thing on my mind recently has been discipleship. Now how many can say they have experienced discipleship and have discipled someone. I honestly don't know how many can say that, but it is something that I feel that we are called to do. Disciples, Jesus had 12 disciples that He poured himself into for three years, and in turn they went out and preached the good news after his death (minus one of course). We are called to be disciples in the Great commission seen in Matthew 28: 18-20. I've been praying about discipling some guys at my church. I would encourage you guys to pray about discipling someone at your church or school. It doesn't just have to be the "next leader" you see that will replace you or want to replace you, but everyone in the fellowship should be discipled. Don't pick the ones that you know will be a success at discipleship, but go after the guys and gals that are on the edge and really challenge them in their faith.

Destroying Enemies

The US has accomplished a goal that it set out about 10 years ago. I guess later than never is the saying for our country. Osama Bin Laden was killed Sunday night if you are in the dark. The Navy Seals went in along with the CIA into Pakistan to kill Osama Bin Laden. Now there could be some repercussions from this since we did not ask permission to enter and well all of Bin Laden followers will want revenge. We have an increased terror alert now thanks to the raid and also I have to point out, we no longer know who is in charge of Al Queda. There will be a vacuum to fill and now we will spend billions of more dollars trying to find the new leader. It will be interesting to see what the next few months bring for us. 

I've been working in shift work all this past week sometimes to midnight. So all my friends on the east coast, I might be going to bed when you are getting up. Scary right? I also worked this entire weekend in which I was at work when they announced that Bin Laden had been killed. The only good thing (and bad I guess) is that I won't be able to work more than 13 days consecutively. It's a rule at the shipyard/government which I guess can be good and bad. 

Coming off of the Easter weekend, do we still remember what the cross is. What other things do we need to give God permission to invade and wipe out in our lives? That has been an interesting thing over the last week to think about. I have thought of many things and just meditating in the Word, I have found that it just brings things to light that we overlook everyday. More so I think as the National Day of Prayer comes upon us this week. Granted most of my friends at Mines are looking more towards Thursday for being the last day of class this year, or maybe if they are lucky (as in Seniors) in the college career. But we should also look forward to this thursday as a day of Prayer. Prayer is the least thought of and done in worship to God, well I believe. It's something that we all, myself included, never seem to find time to do. Just think though, it is our way to have a conversation to God. More and more I have found myself just praying when I'm at work, especially when I have not much to do but to sit around waiting for a test procedure to start or a walkthrough to start. I just find this refreshing and relaxing to some degree. So, I would encourage you this thursday to join millions of others in the National Day of Prayer, even if you are busy with school, or work. 

He is RISEN!

Easter, what a glorious time of the year. It is pretty much the most important day for a Christian besides the birth of Jesus. What would we be without Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus? Pretty much lost and condemned to die forever.

Now the world pretty much has conveniently "forgotten" the meaning and the significance of Easter. It has turned into another occasion to sell specialized candy, cards, and yeah to put a theme of just paganism with an overgrown rabbit that carries around eggs and delivers them to kids. Granted, I guess if you are in the dentistry business, it is one of the holidays that brings in more patients (Easter and Halloween, both filled with lots of candy). So why had the world forgotten the meaning of Easter? Does it have to do with the fact that Satan, the ruler of this world, wanting the world to forget God and what he has done? Or about how Satan lost to God when Jesus died on the cross. From going from a high of killing God's only begotten Son to then losing it all in an instant and forever since making up ground, I think Satan has a good reason for people to forget what Easter is really about.

Last week I briefly talked about the start of the week leading up the crucifixion. So where dit the crucifixion occur exactly? Well they haven't been able to pinpoint the location exactly, but there is a place that most believe to be the site of the crucifixion outside of the Damascus Gate that leads into Jerusalem. In modern day, the site isn't very far from the growth of Jerusalem, but back in the day, it would have been further from the city proper. The cite is close to the crossroads of major trading routes, consistent with Roman tradition of wanting to make the crucifixion as public and humiliating as possible. The site also looks like it could be on a skull, which when Golgatha is translated, it is the place of the skull or Calvary.

The place of the skull, you can actually see the eyes and the nose of the skull, but the mouth of the skull is harder to see now with erosion and plant growth in the area. This might or might not be the location of the crucifixion, but it is a possible site. A location that would be heavily traveled by people coming into the city and also high up so that it can be seen from the city. It is also within walking distance of the city, so it would be in walking distance of the "sabbath" distance rule set forth by the Pharisees.

Now the cite of the tomb as some scholars think is actually quite close to the crucifixion site. With in the Garden Tomb complex, you can easily walk from the area of the tomb to the site of Golgatha. This lines up with the ease of being able to prepare Jesus' body on the Holy Day and being able to put it to rest before the end of the day. The close proximity of the tomb to the Golgatha makes perfect sense to us now. When you read in the gospels, it says that the tomb was hued out of rock. 

The tomb that was discovered in the area indeed was hued out rock and would belong to a rich person. The doorway to the tomb is rather tall compared with other tombs. Those that could not afford a large entry of the tomb normally had about half the size for the entrance. The rock that was the door could not be found, but it would easily have to be at least six feet in diameter to cover the hole. Now, imagine, that in this case, the rock that would cover the tomb would also be carved out of the same rock that the tomb was in the location. There is a groove that the door would be fitted in that is in front of the door and would rest in that groove. 

The recording of Peter and John stooping into the tomb would also fit, since you would have to stoop to go into the tomb. As you can see with me exiting the tomb, I have to duck or stoop somewhat and most of you know how tall I am. So, you it is reasonable to say that the Bible is correct in saying that Peter and John stooped when they went to the tomb. The layout of the tomb is pretty standard from what I understand. It would also have belong to someone on the wealth side because of the shear size of the tomb. 

A possible location of where Jesus' body could have lain when in the tomb. It is easily wide enough for someone to be lain stretched out. Now when you read in the Gospels that two angels appeared at either end of where Jesus was laid, my pastor pointed out when we were there in Israel, that it was a representation of the Ark of the Covenant. That being in the way that the cherubim angels at the head and the foot of the Ark looking towards the middle, or where God would come down and meet the High Priest. I thought it was pretty interesting how God just ties in the Old Testament with the New Testament and how the Bible points to Jesus. 

 

So Easter, the Resurrection, the importance of that Day to a Christian. Yes, it basically is the foundation of our faith. If Jesus did not die and rise from the grave, what do we have to live for? Absolutely nothing since it would mean we are condemned to an eternal death. But since Jesus did die and the tomb was found empty three days later, Jesus conquered the grave and now we have everlasting life through Him. We can come to the Father through Him and have a relationship with Him. It says in the Bible that the garment between the Holy of Holies was torn in two when Jesus died upon the cross. We can freely walk into the Holy of Holies because Jesus is our High Priest and He died for us, being the sacrifice that we needed to become pure. This is the time to remember the sacrifice that Jesus and God made for us so that we can come into a relationship with the Father. 

Recall

This is the time of year for many of us to recall what we have done in the last year. Mainly for today, those who procrastinate to the end, on how much we made and how much we owe the government for taxes. Taxes due at midnight, now I don't really know if that means midnight eastern standard time, or midnight in your respective time zone. It doesn't matter that much to me though since I finally filed my taxes a couple of weeks ago. I also got around to finally registering to vote here in Hawaii. I will no longer (hopefully) get ballots from Colorado.

I also got a letter in the mail recalling a feature in my car. There had seemed a problem that the gas pedal could get stuck by the mats and create a problem if you were trying to stop. Well, I took it into the dealer to get fixed, waited around for about 2 hours while they did their thing and then finally left. I also could have argued that they didn't do everything thing that the letter said, but it wasn't worth it and I had to get ready to go to work. I guess I did get a "complimentary" certificate to get my oil changed for my troubles. I'm always wary with the dealerships, they always seem to "find" things that need to be done on your car so they can charge you and arm and a leg to get it fixed. Weird how dealerships work. Their labor fees are also extreme, even more so here in Hawaii.

How, if you recall the current gas prices, you can see a nice trend that the gas prices keep increasing with no specific "special" media coverage. The media have something else "important" to cover ranging from the budget problems, the political battles, the wonderful wars we are in, and here and there the Japanese nuclear reactor crisis (although the latter has been hard to get information on in mainstream media). But back to the gas prices, I think that the 10 cent increase each week should be address. It just seems that the top dogs in Washington either don't care that the gas prices are increasing, which limits people buying other items, which could lead the economy to another depression, or they are in it to ruin the economy by doing this. Who really knows, one can only speculate. Anyways, the average gas price here in Hawaii is around $4.359/ gallon I believe.

I also climbed Koko Head again this weekend. It is equivalent to the Red Rocks workout in my book. Just over 1000 "stairs" straight up the "mountain" makes for a pretty good workout. I should stop going though during the middle part of the day. If I do it again this weekend, it will definitely be done in the morning before it gets too hot. Speaking of hot, the trade winds stop last week which made it pretty much unbearable for those days. The humidity shot up from the normal ~67% to about 86% humidity. Now you might not think that is a lot, but when you have to work outside in an industrial area, that difference in humidity makes a huge difference, just ask my friends in Houston.

Now this week is a great time to remember and recall the importance of Easter that is this Sunday. The "final" week started this past Sunday, Palm Sunday with Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. So, what did the people of Jerusalem miss when this event occurred? It was prophesied that it would happen pretty much almost to the day, yet the people of Jerusalem didn't get it. I guess that's why it is the second place in the Bible that it records that Jesus wept. So with this, are we missing something or the significance of this coming week? It is a good question at this time, when most of America seems to go to church on Easter and Christmas during the year. This week, leads to most important day for believes in Christ. This week will be spent in remembrance of what Jesus had to go through leading up to His death on the cross. 

Jerusalem from the Mt. of Olives (yes, I took this)

So for next week: Easter, Resurrection Sunday, what is the importance of that day to you?

A letter from the President.

I "got" a letter from President Obama about the government shutdown. It was sent around at work after the potential shutdown. Trying to save grace after freezing our wages and pay to help the budget. I think they (Congress) should freeze their pay; well take a cut in pay actually.  I also think they have way too many extraneous staff members that waste a lot of money as well. I have President Obama's signature now. It is actually rather interesting.

No Furlough....

The big news last week was if the government was going to shutdown come midnight Friday. The big media coverage, the huge scare and the horrible job of the legislation to actually do anything on a fast pace. Needless to say though, the government cut a deal with about an hour to spare at 2300 EST.

I do have to say I was rather disappointed that the government didn't shut down. I would have just had to go to work today for "4 hours" to get everything into a shutdown mode and then leave and not come back till I was called back. Yes, it would have been unpaid and all, but my guess I would have been retroactively paid. Congress in their best interest to better themselves with the voters would have had to approve that payment. 800,000 workers without pay and not going to get pay, yeah you would not be re-elected next term at all. Unfortunately, I have to go to work this week. You might also be wondering why I'm writing so early this week, well it's because I'm working second shift this week instead of day shift. Just to change things up a bit. In a few weeks I'll be working second shift for oh I would guess at least 4 weeks, possibly longer, depending how tests go.

My church also started the Truth Project this past Friday. I'm going to try to go to as many as I can when I'm not working, so I'll see how many I end up going to. I do have the DVDs so I can watch them and catch up each week. The group is rather large which is a bummer. It leads to a less intimate discussion session at the end in which the people that want to talk can talk, and those that do not want to talk don't have to talk. With approximately 90 people doing it, well yeah that's understandable. I would say you could break up into smaller discussion groups after the video to discuss what you learned and what you thought with the same group each week.

I also found out why they said to not scuba dive when you are sick. I didn't actually scuba dive per say, but going snorkeling and spear fishing, yeah ear equilibrium didn't happen very easy and hurt more than normal. I guess another good thing about being on second shift, I can possibly get more sleep to hopefully get over this sickness before it turns into something worse which would affect work that is coming up. If I remember, I will try to post some pictures of the snorkeling that I did this weekend later.

Short update.

Running a 10k and not really training for it mostly won't go too well with your body. I do have to say that it was a beautiful run with roughly 3000 other people. I would have to say for the following 3 hours after the race, I couldn't really walk comfortably because my arches were a bit inflamed. I wish Clear Creek was around to go soak them in the cold water. I did pretty well. Not as well as I was hoping, but still good none the less. I have some training to do for next year though for where I would like to be. The fastest time I believe was close to 35 min.

I also went to my roommate's commissioning ceremony on Sunday afternoon. He was being commissioned as a 2LT in the Army National Guard. Small ceremony but still great. They also had a very specific swearing in statement that caught me off guard.  It so happened to be the second commissioning ceremony that I have attended in the past year. The large golf ball that was in the harbor mysteriously left I think early Friday morning. It must have just been in for light repairs and to stock up on suplies when it was in port.

I'm also learning how to run the sound mixer at my church. It's been an interesting experience to say the least. I feel like it is the blind leading the blind when it comes to showing things on the mixer we have. I would say, I know some of the features better than that of the people in charge. It's hard to practice though when things are live when they won't let you on the board. I will have to work on that. I guess it will be back to YouTube to learn more about the board. In a couple of weeks I will also be starting shift work for a key event for one of the boats here. It should be pretty interesting, it will be one of the most "stressful" times in the job that I will have so it will be a good experience. Also, it will be a great opportunity for some overtime. You can't beat that.