Baldwin 6'3 Grand

Here are some pictures of a piano I just got for $500.00. (!) It looks very nice, but needs some internal work. It's serial number places it somewhere in the 1930's and 1940's...if the Internet is accurate.

One of the movers told me it's worth $5,000.00 as it is...I'm not sure but I know I got a good deal. For this price, I can afford to learn some new repair techniques. Wish me luck!

Not so funny...

Click the photo to see the whole thing.

So Much For Hope Over Fear

So Much For Hope Over Fear
By Charles Krauthammer

"A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe."
-- President Obama, Feb. 4.

WASHINGTON -- Catastrophe, mind you. So much for the president who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared "we have chosen hope over fear." Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill.

And so much for the promise to banish the money changers and influence peddlers from the temple. An ostentatious executive order banning lobbyists was immediately followed by the nomination of at least a dozen current or former lobbyists to high position. Followed by a Treasury secretary who allegedly couldn't understand the payroll tax provisions in his 1040. Followed by Tom Daschle, who had to fall on his sword according to the new Washington rule that no Cabinet can have more than one tax delinquent.

The Daschle affair was more serious because his offense involved more than taxes. As Michael Kinsley once observed, in Washington the real scandal isn't what's illegal, but what's legal. Not paying taxes is one thing. But what made this case intolerable was the perfectly legal dealings that amassed Daschle $5.2 million in just two years.

He'd been getting $1 million per year from a law firm. But he's not a lawyer, nor a registered lobbyist. You don't get paid this kind of money to instruct partners on the Senate markup process. You get it for picking up the phone and peddling influence.

At least Tim Geithner, the tax-challenged Treasury secretary, had been working for years as a humble international civil servant earning non-stratospheric wages. Daschle, who had made another cool million a year (plus chauffeur and Caddy) for unspecified services to a pal's private equity firm, represented everything Obama said he'd come to Washington to upend.

And yet more damaging to Obama's image than all the hypocrisies in the appointment process is his signature bill: the stimulus package. He inexplicably delegated the writing to Nancy Pelosi and the barons of the House. The product, which inevitably carries Obama's name, was not just bad, not just flawed, but a legislative abomination.

It's not just pages and pages of special-interest tax breaks, giveaways and protections, one of which would set off a ruinous Smoot-Hawley trade war. It's not just the waste, such as the $88.6 million for new construction for Milwaukee Public Schools, which, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, have shrinking enrollment, 15 vacant schools and, quite logically, no plans for new construction.

It's the essential fraud of rushing through a bill in which the normal rules (committee hearings, finding revenue to pay for the programs) are suspended on the grounds that a national emergency requires an immediate job-creating stimulus -- and then throwing into it hundreds of billions that have nothing to do with stimulus, that Congress' own budget office says won't be spent until 2011 and beyond, and that are little more than the back-scratching, special-interest, lobby-driven parochialism that Obama came to Washington to abolish. He said.

Not just to abolish but to create something new -- a new politics where the moneyed pork-barreling and corrupt logrolling of the past would give way to a bottom-up, grass-roots participatory democracy. That is what made Obama so dazzling and new. Turns out the "fierce urgency of now" includes $150 million for livestock insurance.

The Age of Obama begins with perhaps the greatest frenzy of old-politics influence peddling ever seen in Washington. By the time the stimulus bill reached the Senate, reports The Wall Street Journal, pharmaceutical and high-tech companies were lobbying furiously for a new plan to repatriate overseas profits that would yield major tax savings. California wine growers and Florida citrus producers were fighting to change a single phrase in one provision. Substituting "planted" for "ready to market" would mean a windfall garnered from a new "bonus depreciation" incentive.

After Obama's miraculous 2008 presidential campaign, it was clear that at some point the magical mystery tour would have to end. The nation would rub its eyes and begin to emerge from its reverie. The hallucinatory Obama would give way to the mere mortal. The great ethical transformations promised would be seen as a fairy tale that all presidents tell -- and that this president told better than anyone.

I thought the awakening would take six months. It took two and a half weeks.

letters@charleskrauthammer.com
Copyright 2009, Washington Post Writers Group

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all of you. Any new year resolutions out there? Mine (one of them) is to loose some weight. That seems a pretty regular resolution for me. About three years ago, I lost around 80 - 90 lbs. Since then I've found about 35 - 40 of those same pounds. Another of my resolutions is to exercise again. We now live in a housing development with sidewalks, and I also have a bike...so this should be another easy resolution. Yes? Oh, and we have an exercise machine that is now available for use since we have space for it. (Name your price - it might come up for sale.)

On another note, I want to grow spiritually this year. How about you? Jesus told us that if we drew near to Him, He'd draw near to us. I want to draw near. I want to be sure that my personal devotion time is not crowded out.

I once heard a preacher who was speaking about developing an intimate relationship with God say "Try having a cup of coffee with the Lord." That may seem VERY intimate, but that's the kind of relationship that I want to nurture. After all, He said that He'd stick closer than a brother didn't He?

So...I'm going to try it. No, I'm not going to set out another mug, fill it, and then watch to see if it drains! But I am going to bring my mug and Bible to my devotional time. I'm going to do my best to make myself available for His presence, ministry, and teaching. Hey! You might want to try it too. Maybe He'll like your tea or hot chocolate.

I am thine, O Lord.

I have heard Thy voice

And it told Thy love for me.

But I long to rise in the arms of faith

And be closer drawn to Thee.

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

To the cross where Thou hast died.

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

To Thy precious, bleeding side.

The Eagle Song

I saw this on a friend's blog and just had to bring this incredible talent to you all. Eagles are such inspiring creatures.

Indeed!!

I was working one evening last week at Bethesda North Hospital and ran across a paper produced by the Chaplains. It has cross words, inspirational poems, brain teasers, Bible verses, and some generally poor attempts at humor. This "joke" caught my eye and brought a knowing chuckle.

"Cousin Theresa is frustrated because she's looking for her glasses without her glasses."

How often I've stumbled around, nearly bumping my nose on counter tops, squinting, groping with clumsy fingers, knocking over blurry objects...looking for my glasses without my glasses. I agree...it IS frustrating.

My optometrist had good news. My near sightedness is beginning to reverse. She said that I can expect my vision to get better just before it gets worse. Soon I will be like the little blue-haired ladies that play the piano in churches - head tilted way back, nose pointed to the ceiling, just trying to see the music through the bottom of their trifocals...goody!

N.C. School teacher blasts student over McCain

This is a video that I got from Glenn Beck at www.glennbeck.com. It comes from a Finnish documentary about American elections. How would you like your child to be treated like the little girl whose father is in the military? This is in an American school in North Carolina, sad to say.

"Daddy run!"

Blake and Dad are the "dream team." When Dorcas goes to work in the morning it's just he and me from 7:00 till 2:15 when I drop him off on my way to work at the hospital.

There are times when I have to take Blake and go into the church to work in my office, so I use the term "dream team" very loosely. When we "work" together I get about half as much done if I'm lucky, but our time together is worth the lack of progress in other ways.

A highlight for Blake when we go into the church together is Pringles. He loves Pringles and knows that I have a file drawer where I usually keep a can of them. I work and he watches videos, plays with my Hess trucks, and chomps on Pringles.

A few weeks ago when we went into the church together, I had to step into the pastor's office and talk to Russell. I took Blake with me but in the midst of our conversation he disappeared. I wasn't too concerned because I assumed that he would go back and watch his video that was playing in the chapel/choir rehearsal room outside my office.

Suddenly, there was a scream. I raced out of the pastor's office and into the chapel. No Blake. Another scream. I ran across the chapel to my office and found Blake...hanging by his fingertips and ankles between my desk and rolling desk chair as a human bridge. If I had not scooped him up that second, he'd have fallen on his face and probably would have drawn the chair over on top of himself in the process.

Seems he wanted the Pringles which were on my desk, had climbed up on the chair, and the chair rolled away from the desk as he reached for the can. I'll not soon forget the look of sheer terror on his face when I found him.

I scooped him up into my arms. He was trembling, literally. He buried his face in my shoulder and cried and screamed till his fear subsided and he decided to sit on the floor and just watch his video. I, of course, supplied the chips and the crisis faded.

Later, when I dropped him off to Dorcas I said, "Blake, tell Mommy what happened at church today." Blake said "Daddy run!" I prompted, "Why did Daddy run?" Blake said "I cried."

As I drove up 71 North on the way to Bethesda North Hospital, a lump formed in my throat as I thought about the incident. The first thing that Blake thought to tell his Mom was "Daddy run!" Not the fear of falling on his face. Not that the very tips of his fingers were about to slip. But "Daddy run!" I hope I am always able to run to his rescue when he cries out for help. Practically, I know I'll not always be there. I'm only human. In those times I'm glad that Blake can call on the Heavenly Father who is always near.

Psalm 34:15 says "The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry."

In Jesus' parable in Luke 15:20 about the prodigal son, I love what it says. "But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."

And in my hour of trouble, so many times I've found

He's as close as the mention of His name.

Just to breathe the name of Jesus can turn everything around.

He's as close as the mention of His name.

Are you in trouble? Are you hanging at the end of the rope? Are you about to lose your hold? Cry out to God the Father. I can guarantee He'll move quickly to your aid...mercy will come running.

Get out the vote!!

The following link seems to be authentic though it comes from the Howard Stern show. If...it is authentic...I'm not surprised, but I am concerned that voters really know the issues and that they vote in an informed and thoughtful way...unlike these people who were interviewed.

This is an audio clip so you'll have to turn up your volume.

http://www.bpmdeejays.com/upload/hs_sal_in_Harlem_100108.mp3

Oh, say, can you see...

This picture was taken during a singing of the National Anthem. While I am willing to concede that it is not necessarily a smoking gun, let's remember that Michelle Obama has said "this is the first time I've been proud to be an American." Let's remember that Barak Obama went overseas to Berlin and spoke disparagingly of our country. Let's keep in mind his pastor of twenty years who has referred to the United States as "the US of KKK" and has said "No! No! Not God bless America! But God damn America." Let's remember Obama's friendships with people who are not proud of America, who have sought to carry out terrorist acts of violence within our own borders. Is his posture in this picture an oversight, or is it indicative?

If the things above do not seem valid to you, follow this link.

http://wallbuilders.com/downloads/newsletter/VotersGuide.pdf

It perhaps will help you focus on some key issues in reference to your vote, and gives information so you can do your own research. More importantly, seek God's direction in prayer and through His Word. Don't ignore the pricks of conscience. Vote your convictions. I'm not thrilled with McCain on many levels, but I believe that he has America on his heart and carries physical scars as evidence to that. Based on the information found at the link above, I'm not left with much of a choice.

No matter what happens in this election and in the following years, remember and take hope in the FACT that as a children of God, we confess that we are "strangers and pilgrims on the earth." We declare plainly that we "seek a country...a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called our God: for He has prepared for us a city." We are surrounded by, and shall soon join that great cloud of witnesses that is mentioned in Hebrews, chapter 11. Elections do not determine our eternal destiny. Let us rejoice in that hope that lies within us. The outlook may be dim, but the uplook is bright with promise!

And now, a prayer for our time...

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home!

Under the shadow of Thy throne still may we dwell secure;

Sufficient is Thine arm alone, and our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood, or earth received her frame,

From everlasting Thou art God, to endless years the same.

A thousand ages in Thy sight are like an evening gone;

Short as the watch that ends the night, before the rising sun.

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,

Be Thou our guide while life shall last, and our eternal home!

Amen.

Bernard Bear

This video is no longer linked here. For funny vidoes of Bernard Bear go to YouTube.

On the lighter side...watch this video. You'll laugh and feel better that you're not the only one that experiences Murphy's law. Enjoy!

VP Debate...

Did you see or hear the VP debate between Palin and Biden? What did you think? I thought that Sarah Palin did very well, much better than the reports I've heard of her interview with Caty Couric. I think the frustrating thing is that both candidates accused the other of twisting facts and telling lies. There was not a lot of time given for rebuttal, and many of the accusation went unaddressed. I guess that's politics. What bothers me is that the media will publish and give credence to Biden's claims while Palin's claims will be buried on page 30 of section W of the newspaper. I've heard it said that the media will run the election. Are we going to let this happen?

A Weekend with Dr. Andrew Purves

We just hosted a conference weekend with Dr. Andrew Purves at Covenant-First Presbyterian. It was a very edifying weekend. Here are a few highlights.

On Friday night I was excited and to direct a mass choir and orchestra that I had organized for the evening. The choir was made up of Covenant Choir and members from Lebanon Presbyterian Church where our Associate Pastor, Nathan Wright, grew up. The choir sang "Foundations" (a medly of "Brethren, We Have Met to Worship" and "How Firm a Foundation" arr. Joseph Martin) which was accompanied by a piano duet, "God So Loved the World" (John Stainer's a capella classic), and "It Is Well With My Soul" (arr. Mary McDonald) which was accompanied by the 12 piece professional orchestra.

Saturday morning, Dr. Purves led our elders, deacons, and staff on a retreat. From 9:00 till noon we focused on Jesus as God Incarnate, and His redemptive work in the life of the believer. During that time, Dr. Purves stressed that a relationship with Jesus is the most important thing. Head knowledge, knowing about Jesus, is not the same as knowing Him personally as Savior and LORD. He asked all of us "Is Jesus at work in your lives? Do you know Him? If Jesus is not changing your life, if you do not have a dynamic, living relationship with Him, what on earth are you doing trying to lead and serve this congregation?"

On Sunday, there was a special 15 minute prelude played by myself at the organ and a string trio made up of two violinists and a cellist, all who attend my church . We played Corelli, Telemann, and Mozart. The music was beautiful and set a very nice atmosphere for meditation and prayer.

Dr. Purves is the Hugh Thomson Kerr Professor of Pastoral Theology at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. A native of Edinburgh, Scotland, he holds degrees from the University of Edinburgh and Duke University. Dr. Purves came to the Unites States in 1978, was ordained by the Presbytery of Philadelphia in 1979, and served as minister of Hebrn Presbyterian church until 1983, when he joined the faculty at Pittsburgh Seminary. Dr. Purves speaks regularly around the country on matters of theological and spiritual renewal, and has published 8 books and many articles. He is married to Rev. Catherine Purves and has three children, Brendan, Gordon, and Laura. Dr. Purves is a strong voice for traditional, biblical, conservative values in the PCUSA.

Below are a few quotes from the weekend that stick with me.

• The power of Heaven is not found in our arguments, but in our actions and daily living.
• The core of our faith is not intellectual assent, but a relationship with a Person, Jesus Christ.
• Is Jesus a living Lord, or a dead idea?
• What would your church be like if you believed and then operated with the knowledge that Jesus is alive, active, and very present?
• Rather than worrying about your faith and whether you have enough faith, just get on with being faithful.

Sarah Palin

I watched Sarah Palin's speech last night. WOW! Very attractive and articulate. A beautiful family. She handled herself like a lady. She was at ease with the crowd. I'm warming to McCain a bit. I wasn't really enthralled about any of the candidates and wish some of the others hadn't dropped out so soon. But...I was highly impressed with the sum total of the Republican ticket last night. Now they just need to debate well.

I'm excited.

(No matter which way this election goes, it'll be historic. Yes?)

The Day My Emotions Joined Me in Prayer

I found this in my church mailbox, from our church's Associate Pastor. Thanks Nathan!
_______________________________

When I entered ministry at the age of twenty-five, I determined to be the most methodical Methodist-Baptist a methodical young minister could be. I made elaborate plans for each day's activities: a certain time to rise and an allotted time for prayer, Bible study, visiting, letter writing, and so on. Alas, it seemed as though "the stars in their courses" fought against my well-meaning methodicalness. As I became enmeshed in a busy pastorate, my prayer times and Bible study became less regular. When I did pray, my attempts seemed devoid of any power or reality.

That unhappy state continued much too long, but eventually a crisis arose. I was still struggling to maintain some semblance of a system, and one morning the time came to spend an hour in prayer. On my desk, however, lay a pile of unanswered letters. A voice within me seemed to say "your first duty is not prayer but the answering of those letters. You have no right to neglect such a plain duty."

I vacillated, just then a velvety voice reasoned, "Sid, why keep flogging yourself? Will you never learn? God needs busy, active Martha as well as quiet, contemplative Mary; the practical as well as the spiritual. Isn't God blessing your ministry enough to show His approval? You have to face it: You, Sid, are not one of the spiritual sort."

That last remark hurt like a dagger: Deep down, I knew there could be no vital experience of God, no continuing power in ministry, without regular prayer. That morning I took a penetrating look into my inner life. I found, sure enough, a part of me did not want to pray - my emotions. But on deeper scrutiny, I discerned another part which did want to pray - my will. Yes, the will to pray was there, but the emotions were all facing the other way; and they were artfully using those letters on my desk as a clever cover-up.

So I stood face to face with my will. "Will," I asked, "are you ready for an hour of prayer?"

"I'm ready if you are," answered Will. So Will and I linked arms and turned to go for our time of prayer.

At once all the emotions began pulling the other way and protesting, "We're not coming! We're not coming!" I saw Will stagger a bit, so I asked, "can you stick with it?"

"Yes, if you can." Then Will and I got down to prayer, dragging those wriggling, obstreperous emotions with us. It was a struggle. At one point in the middle of an earnest intercession, I found one of those traitorous emotions had snared my imagination and run off to the golf course. It was all I could do to drag the wicked rascal back. A bit later I found another of the emotions had sneaked away with some unguarded thoughts and was preaching a sermon I had not yet finished!

At the end of that hour, had you asked "did you have a good time?" I would have had to reply, "No. I wrestled wearily with contrary emotions and truant imaginations from beginning to end." That battle with the emotions continued for two or three weeks, and if you had asked then, "Did you enjoy your daily prayer?" I would have had to confess, "No. At times it seemed as though the heavens were brass."

Yet something was happening. Will and I demonstrated to the emotions our independence. One morning about three weeks after the contest began, just when Will and I were headed for prayer, I overheard one of the emotions whisper to the others, "Come on guys. It's no use wasting any more time resisting; they'll go just the same." That morning for the first time, the emotions, though sullenly uncooperative, were at least quiescent, which allowed Will and me to get on with prayer without distraction.

Then, a couple of weeks later during one of our prayer times when Will and I were no more thinking of the emotions than the man in the moon, one of the most vigorous emotions unexpectedly sprang up and shouted, "Hallelujah!" And all the other emotions exclaimed, "Amen!"

For the first time, the whole territory of James Sidlow Baxter was happily coordinated in the exercise of prayer.

(Christianity Today, 1986.)
________________________________

Ever struggle to pray? I do. I think Baxter was correct in making reference to prayer as an "exercise." But it is a worthwhile exercise. Indeed, Christians are instructed to "pray without ceasing", 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Any number of things can cause the heavens to seem like "brass." Unconfessed sin causes separation and coldness in our relationship with God, but sin is not always the cause of the struggle in the "prayer closet." Ephesians 6:12 reminds us "We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Against such opposition, our will must engage. Thankfully, as Philippians 2:13 assures us, "It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

May we all engage in the exercise of prayer, remembering that "the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working (KJV: The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man [or woman] availeth much.) James 5:16.

You think about it. Amen.