Month: August 2006

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Bike Stolen

Last Wednesday Wallace (one of the other guys who is training for The 2006 Missions Century) had his bicycle stolen from the parking lot at work.  This was a brazen theft….the guy rode up on a junker bike, parked it beside the rack, took a pair of bolt cutters and cut Wallace's lock, and then he rode off on the bike.  Insane!  This was in broad daylight in front of an office building that has traffic most of the day.

So, last Thursday and Friday, I didn't ride because I wanted to get one of those nice U locks (I had a rubber steel cable type lock).

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No Posts

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  Work has been crazy the past week.

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Todays Bike Ride — Aug. 12, 2006

Just in case you don't know, I spent most of the week sick.  I didn't get to ride for 4 days.  When I rode on Friday, I felt very sluggish.  Wallace and I agreed we'd keep it simple, short, and just keep it easy this morning.

When I left the house, I felt terrible.  On roads where I was keeping up 18-20mph, today I was struggling to do 15-17mph.  I thought today would be horrible.  Was I bummed.  The temperature was great (perhaos a bit chilly).  Wallace met me and we started riding.  When we got to our turn point, he wanted to do more and I didn't have anything wrong with that.  We experimented with a new road.  This took us out into the country…it was excelent.

On the way back, I finally "hit the groove" so to speak.  I was feeling great and the miles were churning away under the tires.

If you want to see the stats, look at my August 2006 Bike Stats page.  If you want to see the route, click here for the map of our Aug. 12, 2006 ride into the country around Richmond, VA.

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This is the kind of poll I want to “lag behind” in

One of the blogs I read is Mainstream Baptist.  Don't get your hopes up….it isn't mainstream at all….it is VERY liberal.  Anyway, today, there was a post about Americans Lagging the World in Scientific Understanding.  On the surface, it appears as if that is bad; however, if you look closer, it is a good thing.  Why is it good?  It turns out that it isn't scientific understanding we lag behind in…it is acceptance of evolution:

The study found that over the past 20 years:

The percentage of U.S. adults who accept evolution declined from 45 to 40 percent. The percentage overtly rejecting evolution declined from 48 to 39 percent, however. And the percentage of adults who were unsure increased, from 7 to 21 percent. Of the other countries surveyed, only Turkey ranked lower, with about 25 percent of the population accepting evolution and 75 percent rejecting it. In Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and France, 80 percent or more of adults accepted evolution; in Japan, 78 percent of adults did.

Looks like support for evolution is going down (45% -> 40%).  That is good.  The next number is bad:  fewer people are rejecting evolution (48% -> 39%).  However, there is some hope.  The number of people unsure about evolution went up from 7% -> 21%.

Christians, don't be swayed:  everyone doesn't believe in evolution.  Kids in school, don't let your teachers lie to you:  not everyone believes evolution.  Parents trying to teach your kids the truth, don't be swayed:  not everyone believes in evolution.

Don't forget that we need to give them something to believe in.  We need to stand firm on the Bible.  We need to stand firm on the Genesis!  There is only one Biblical stand you can take:  the earth was created about 7,000 years ago.  God created the earth and everything in it in six literal days(apx. 24 hours…like we know them now).

If you need information to back up these positions, or still aren't sure, there are a few things you can do:

  • Read the Bible.  Especially focus on Genesis 1-11.  Ask God to reveal the truth to you.
  • Go visit the Answers in Genesis website.  They have information and scientific evience that can help you decide.
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Chinas Three Self “Church”

Before I get going to far, I should probably explain some things.  The way I understand it, China "officially" has "freedom" of religion.  But, if you want to be a Christian, you MUST go to the Three-Self Church.  These "churches" aren't real churches….they are more like government propoganda houses.

I was reading new articles in my RSS reader when this article on Worthy News popped up.  It appears as if a pastor had gone too far and the government didn't like it:

MIDLAND, TEXAS / SHANXI PROVINCE, CHINA (ANS) — A pastor in the Three-Self Church in Pinglu County, Shanxi Province was prohibited from preaching and forced to leave the church by the Chinese Religious Affairs Bureau.

But what could have caused him to fall out of favor?  Well, it seems he invited another pastor to come preach in his pulpit:

According to information received from a reliable souce by the China aid Association (CAA), the Pinglu Church invited a Hong Kong based American Pastor Dennis Balcombe (Chinese name Bao Dening) — who is strongly opposed by the local Religious Affairs Bureau — to visit the church,

Pastor Balcombe was born in the United States and is an active missionary in Asia. He contributed a great deal to the charismatic revival in Henan Province in the mid 1980s. He is now senior pastor of Revival Christian Church in Hong Kong, (see: www.rcchk.org/default_eng.htm).

If you want to read more, read the full article on the Pastor who was evicted from the Three-Self Church in China.

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Ok…Im Ready

Today, if you haven't heard, the Brits foiled a plot to blow up airliners on their way across the Atlantic. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but the list of what you can and can't have on an airplane just got bigger. There are the normal:

  • no guns
  • no knives
  • no scisors (wait…that is unless they are under 4 inches long)
  • no bombs

But to that list, add:

  • no water
  • no pop (soda, coke, whatever you call it)
  • no eye drops
  • no and lotion
  • no chapstic
  • no toothpaste
  • no deoderant
  • no books
  • no electronics
  • no carry-ons

Well, those last three apply only to flights that originate in Great Britain, but the others are on the list anywhere.

In my mind, we are letting the terrorists win. This is what they want. I saw on another website this quote: If the terrorists invent explosive underwear, will we all have to fly naked? I don't get it. No one remembers the glory days of aviation any more. The days when planes had wicker seats and people dressed up to fly. The days when you could get a bed on a flight. The days when you didn't have to take your shoes off to go through security?

Oh well, I guess we'll all just have to get used to an increase in deep vein thrombosis. (just in case you don't know, one of the ways to help combat that disease is to not get dehydrated while on a plane. I don't know about you, but one of those little cups of water they give out on a plane isn't enough to keep me for 10 minutes….let alone an eight hour flight across the Atlantic).

Just to keep you interested, here is a link to an article on BoingBoing about the issue (there are several more, but due to the language, I won't link to them.

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We Woke Up This Morning To Hear About This….

UK Officials Thwart Potential Terror Plot.  From that story:

Congestion was building up rapidly at the airport as authorities enforced strict new regulations banning most hand baggage.

British Airways said some flights were likely to be canceled. Laptop computers, mobile phones, iPods, and remote controls were among items banned from being carried on its planes.

Fox News TV was also reporting the additional security measures banned ALL cary-ons.  This would include things like books, all liquids (water, baby formula, etc….), among other things.

I'll post more later (maybe this evening).

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Marriage: Always a Disaster?

I was surfing today when I came across this article on marriage from Dr. Mohler's Blog.  Here is a quote:

“I'm not looking forward to marriage," says Nakeeda Burns , a 17-year-old resident of Revere and daughter of a single mother, “and I don't think we [people in general] should be married, because I see how other marriages ended up in my family and on television. It's always a disaster."

I just thought I would chime in.  It isn't always a disaster.  I'm married (8 almost 9 years now), and happy.  It isn't always perfect…it isn't always easy…but I'm happy that God brought Cyndi and I together.  I can't imagine my life without her.