May 2007

The month of May was one I was really looking forward to. I went on a wonderful cruise. A Christian cruise. I went to 16 christian concerts in one week. I was on such a spiritual high. Then on May 11th my brother Mark was killed in a car accident. He was just nine days shy of his 41st birthday. It is not so much that I am sad about his death. Because I know he is in heaven celebrating Jesus. But I am sad that all the things we had to look forward to I will have to face without him. He did not want to have a party for our parents 40th anniversary. He wanted to wait until their 50th. And now he is not here. His son is only eleven. He has not been on his first date. Or graduated from high school. Gone off to college. Or any of the usual teenager things.

Music Boat

I am leaving next week to go on vacation. I am flying to Miami and catching a cruise ship. It called the Music Boat. There are about a dozen christian artists who will be performing concerts throughout the week. David Nasser will be doing mornng devotions and there will be autograph sessions.
I have two roommates for this cruise. I have not met either one of them. But we have e-mailed each other a few times. One is from Maine and the other Kansas. We are all excited and nervous.
The cruise ship is going to Jamaica. A place I have never been to before. I don't know if I should get off the boat or just stay on board and enjoy the sights.
I guess maybe some of my nervousness will disspate when I finally take the time to pack my suitcase. Its not like they will have a Wal-Mart I could run to if I forget something important.

I enjoy jokes, I hope you enjoy this one

1. 
   -->The Pope vs. MoisheAbout a century or two ago, the Pope challenged the Jewish community of Rome to a debate.The Jews looked around for a champion who could defend their faith, but no one wanted to volunteer. It was too risky. So they finally picked an old man named Moishe who spent his life sweeping up after people to represent them. Being old and poor, he had less to lose, so he agreed. He asked only for one addition to the rules of debate. Not being used to saying very much, he asked that neither side be allowed to talk. The Pope agreed.The day of the great debate came. Moishe and the Pope sat opposite each other for a full minute before the Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers. Moishe looked back at him and raised one finger. The Pope waved his fingers in a circle around his head. Moishe pointed to the ground where he sat. The Pope pulled out a wafer and a glass of wine. Moishe pulled out an apple. The Pope stood up and said, "I give up. This man is too good. The Jews win."An hour later, the cardinals were all around the Pope asking him what happened. The Pope said, "First I held up three fingers to represent the Trinity. He responded by holding up one finger, to remind me that there was still one God common to both our religions. Then I waved my finger around me to show him, that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground, showing that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and the wafer to show that God absolves us from our sins. He pulled out an apple to remind me of original sin. He had an answer for everything. What could I do?"Meanwhile, the Jewish community had crowded around Moishe, amazed that this old, almost feeble-minded man had done what all their scholars had insisted was impossible. "What happened?" they asked."Well," said Moishe, "first he said to me that the Jews had three days to get out of here. I told him that not one of us was leaving. Then he told me that this whole city would be cleared of Jews. I let him know that we were staying right here.""And then?" asked a woman."I don't know," said Moishe. "He took out his lunch and I took out mine."