Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thankful for Marriage...

While walking somewhere, do you ever notice a really "fine" girl; and she's holding the hands of some goober, and you think to yourself, "HOW IN THE WORLD?!?".

Well, everytime I look in the mirror with Alissa next to me, that thought pops in my head.  Why is a girl like that with a goober like me.


Marriage is hard... because it is making me better.  She's wrestling the vices out of me and struggling to aid me in the long, arduous path towards virtue.  And I hope that I can be of assistance to my co-heir to the kingdom.  I am reminded that she does not belong to me, but rather to our mutual master.  But in this ephemeral life this side of death, I will do my best to honor, cherish, protect and love her.  And the 2 readers of this blog can hold me to that.  I am very thankful that she condescended by stooping so low and marrying a schlob like me.  God truly is gracious...  and gratuitous goodness and beauty abounds...  


eric

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Thankful for music...

I really am thankful for music.  Music is very strange - somehow a string of putatively random noises can be 'formed' into something beautiful.  Of all the gratuitous excesses of goodness and pleasure that the divine has given us, I am very thankful that our heads and hearts can engage with the mathematical precision of a well-composed piece and yet have our hearts be broken by the utter beauty.  From the masterful Baroque composer Vivaldi to the down-home blues-jazz riff-ing of Scott Henderson, I'm overwhelmed by how much great music is out there.  Although much of it is not in 'pop' radio, good music is not hard to find (e.g., same with good books).


(I am currently taking a break and sitting with my guitar in order to transcribe and learn some of Scott Henderson's licks.... man he's good...)...  i love me some gitter...

eric

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Family upon family....

Although no family dynamic may ever seem "normal", I guess I come from a fairly "normal" family.  I'm real luck-y (and I use that term with all its implications), and I am quite grateful.  One perk of being married has been the addition of a new family.  I know of many folks who, unfortunately, have a rough time with their in-laws.  Again, I am luck-y (though, I suppose, a more restricted notion than the first usage - since after all, some of it was in "my control", e.g. marrying Alissa, etc.).  It's been pretty easy with my in-laws, and in fact I feel as if I'm being spoiled on both fronts.  Since Turkey Day approaches, I have a lot of things to be thankful for this year, and I suppose I'll fill this blog with such things.  So first off, I'm thankful for my new family...


The "blonde" is my sister, Andrea... she's had a roller-coaster of a year (romanticism in 12 months with all the highs and lows), but her spirit has been an encouragement to me... and it is literally "impossible" to ever be bored with her (I mean that as a sincere compliment).  My mom is on the right... boy does she go over, above and beyond for her kids (even for her new kids)... I think she's flown, driven, packed, unpacked, moved so much this year for all of us that I can't believe she's still willing to come back... 

We're like an inverted twinkie....  (for those a little "slow", that's white on the outside and yellow on the inside)...   that's my brother, Brian on the right.  I'm borrowing his Chapman sweater (where he and Andrea both received their Master's this year - like I said, a roller-coaster year).  He just got a great job, and they recently moved into a new house - and best of all, they're expecting a little baby (so even more "new" family is to come).  My dad is on the left.  I can't say anything else but that I hope to grow up to be like him (he's a lot like my own dad [without the fobby-ness], so I hope to grow up to be like them both).

That's my grandpa.  My own grandpa passed away when I was one, so I've never had a grandfather during my years of being consciously aware; so it's nice that I now have a grandpa.  He's a good man; and even now, he is vigorous when it comes to ministering to others and evangelizing... I hope to be doing the same when I'm his age...  

That's my family.  I've given them a drop of yellow in their sea of white...  I like color...


Monday, November 10, 2008


Oh Preschool.... The runny noses, soiled pants and muddy shoelaces have a funny way of keeping life in perspective. So many of our daily tasks seem insignificant, yet it's in these little things that our character is tested daily. For so much of my teens and now 20's, I have sought to find meaning in my life. It is through these children that God continually reminds me that above all else, I am His child.






Saturday, November 8, 2008

Moral responsibility and freedom

I've had to think about free will issues a lot recently, so reading these was pretty funny...