God's Sense of Humor

The Bible talks about God laughing at the plans of the wicked. I wonder what his laughter sounds like! I also wonder what other things make him laugh...

Uncle Proboscis Vanover

When I was little, my mom told me you can see that God has a sense of humor because of some of the strange-looking animals he created. She used the platypus as an example, but I was reminded of this when I recently saw a closeup of a proboscis monkey in the opening shots of Life of Pi. I didn't know what a proboscis monkey was at the time, but I thought it was funny - it looks like it could be one of my relatives! - so I had to take a picture with my phone!

When I showed the image to friends in Lexington last weekend, I discovered I am NOT smarter than a kindergartener! My friends' son knew all about proboscis monkeys from something he had seen on TV!

"He who sits in the heavens laughs..."

- Psalm 2:4a

The Eagle in the Clouds

Recently I mentioned the importance of looking for beauty in the world around you. I also mentioned a while back that - according to the doctors - my vision is so bad, I'm not supposed to be able to see shapes in clouds, but the doctors were wrong. I'm often amazed at the shapes and colors God paints in the sky!

I should preface the rest of this by admitting that Amber and I have struggled in several ways this past year. From financial hurdles and work-related stresses to questions about the direction of our future, we've both felt like we were seriously under attack from Satan. For a few months at the end of 2012 and beginning of 2013, we even felt like we were having trouble clicking together. It's not that we thought our marriage was in jeopardy, but it seemed like whenever I was in a good mood, she had a terrible day, and when she was feeling better, I was frustrated. It was certainly a trying time, yet we continued to care for each other and pray together for the Lord's help.

Well, one day this past February, Amber and I were on our way somewhere when she commented how beautiful the colors were in the sunset. I hadn't noticed because the sun was setting on her side of the car, but when she pointed it out, I agreed it was very pretty. At the time, I was participating in a "photo-a-day" project with RethinkChurch via Twitter, and I wasn't sure if I'd want it for one of my entries or not, but I decided to take a picture of the sunset with my phone, just in case...

Beauty of the Earth

Last night, Amber and I finally got to watch Life of Pi. While I disagree with the theological message that there is no right or wrong religion, I did very much appreciate the beautiful images throughout the film. There were amazing pictures of a variety of animals - some I had never seen up close before - and from storms to sunsets, the movie was filled with the astounding beauty of the earth!

Looking across my yard this afternoon. :)

You don't have to go to the movies or get shipwrecked in the Pacific Ocean to experience beauty, though. All you have to do is look for it! We get so busy sometimes, but how much time does it take to notice the flowers along your path or to notice a rainbow or soak in a sunset?

When I was in college, I took a couple trips to Northern Ireland, and I was amazed at how beautiful everything was there. Sadly, so many people I met there didn't even seem to notice their lovely surroundings because they were used to it and never really took the time to appreciate it. Then someone told me that after visiting the US, they had decided that Kentucky reminded them of Ireland more than any other state. I couldn't believe what I was hearing!

Reach for the Skies!

When we were kids, my brother and I used to play all kinds of games together...

"Reach for the skies!
Wait... Let me get my gun ready...
Okay, REACH FOR THE SKIES!"

Cowboys and Indians... 

Karate Kid... 

Batman and Robin... 

G.I. Joe..

Every day was an adventure, it seemed, and of course, we always had to have the right costumes/accessories, no matter what the game was!

The Final Pope?

Generally, I prefer not to talk much about my thoughts on End Times stuff or the Catholic Church, but I decided to make an exception and talk about both at the same time today!

Black smoke - try again.
White smoke - a new pope is elected.
For more info, read this.

After a recent church service, someone asked for my thoughts on the upcoming selection of the new pope. To be honest, I hadn't given it much thought. Not being Catholic, why should I? Then he asked what I thought of St. Malachy's prophecy concerning "Peter the Roman", but I had to admit I had no idea what he was talking about. I listened as he briefly explained what he understood about these things, offered a few thoughts, and decided to do a little research when I got home.

St. Malachy was the Archbishop of Armagh (Ireland) back in the 12th century, and the legend says that in 1139 AD, he saw a vision predicting who every pope would be from then until the Apocalypse. His "Prophecy of the Popes" doesn't give names or dates; instead it gives a cryptic phrase in Latin to describe each pope - 112 in all, starting with Pope Celestine II. Supposedly, for several of these, their descriptions have been surprisingly accurate!

The reason this was brought to my attention was because - did you guess it? - Pope Benedict XVI was Pope #111 since Malachy's day, which means if the prophecy can be trusted, the new pope - whomever he may be - will be the last pope before Jesus returns! If that's not exciting enough, apparently many believe this last pope (referred to in Malachy's prophecy as "Peter the Roman") will also be the second beast - the false prophet in Revelation 13 - who rises up and performs miracles in order to cause everyone to worship a false religion and take the mark of the beast!

Can this be true?!