We went to the Cheesecake Factory last night for dinner (one of the other people who is going through training with us had a birthday and wanted to go there). I had never been and was excited. However, when we left, I was disappointed.
We started off with nachos (they were good). Next, Cyndi and I split a burger (it was ok, but I prefer Red Robin or 5 Guys) We finished with cheesecake (Cyndi had the original with strawberries, I had the chocolate peanut butter cookie dough. I was disappointed and unimpressed.)
For the hype and price, I expected more. The food was good but not enough so to justify the price while I’ve had better cheesecake made by Cyndi (at home in a premade crust never the less). Unless someone just really wants to go, I probabaly won’t be going back.
Yesterday we were given an opportunity to go into DC. For us, it was neat, but not very different. Having lived in Richmond for two years, we had been to DC several times (though never with Lydia). But, for others in our training class, it was a first: first time in DC, first time on a Metro/subway, etc….
We took some busses to DC and were dropped off at Union Station. For more information about that, see this post. We had some tasks we had to accomplish relating to observing/helping internationals, etc…. But we also took some time for a bit of sightseeing. If you want to see some pictures, they are below…
It was a great experience and we were able to help a few people and just model Christ’s love by having a good attitude and being kind and friendly.
We did a tremendous amount of walking (except for Lydia!), including a few extra blocks when we got turned around coming out of the metro station. Our time was really flying and it was way past time for lunch when we realized there were no “international” restaurants in sight. So we ended up at Chipotle 🙂 Not exactly an adventure in ethnic cuisine, but it sure was tasty!
It was nice to enjoy some familiar landmarks and we are especially thankful that the rain held off until the end of the day. It was overcast and a little breezy at times, but it was a nice early spring day and we were on the metro headed back to Union Station before the first drop fell!
We are also very thankful that Lydia is such a good traveler. We were on a tour bus with no seatbelts, which meant no car seat. Safety wasn’t as big a concern as keeping her entertained, but she did great…just playing, snacking, getting passed around… It was a pretty fun time for all of us:^)
Lydia and Cyndi looking at the US Capitol
YAY! We are in Washington DC!
The Jefferson Memorial as we are on our way to Union Station
The Indonesian Embassy looks just like a house from the outside
While in DC, we saw Marine One flying.
Lydia in front of the Washington Monument
Lydia with President Lincolin
Lydia and the Mall
Just some random Lydia picture to fill up space
Lydia and the bus ride
Our friends were very helpful
First time on the Metro!
Lydia even did a good job standing up
We ate lunch at a Chipotle
It was hard riding in the stroller all day
Asleep on the way home
We had a great time, but, right now, it is time for breakfast. I’d better get going so I we can eat and get everyone ready for class today. I imagine we’ll blog more about it later.
Yesterday when we went to DC, one of the places we visited was Union Station. I’d never been so I took some pictures. Well, shortly after that, I had some cop come up and hassle me for taking pictures. He said something about needing permission from the building owner. Well, this morning, I google for photographer’s rights and find tons of things. Just like I 1/2 way expected yesterday, I was well within my rights to take pictures there. I’ll remember this for next time.
Friday wa shot day, again. One of the things that happened was a TB test. We have to have it read this morning, and that got me to thinking…is this a test I want to pass, or fail.
One could say that a pass means I don’t have TB, but if the test indicates the exposure to TB, wouldn’t a pass mean I had been exposed? On the other hand, a fail could be good (meaning I haven’t been exposed to TB so the test is negative), but since when is it ever good to fail anything?
I came across this article on Boing Boing a day or so ago about a photo exhibit on the trains of West Virginia in Grafton. if you are close, you should go check it out.
I had almost forgotten I had written this post about Lay down or life or die until the other day. I had been thinking about the persecuted Church and what makes their faith so strong. I had several different things running through my mind (family, martyrs from previous generations, stories from the Bible about Paul and Peter, etc…). That brought to mind an old blog post I thought I had made.
Have you ever been reading the Bible and come across the phrase Fear God? If not and you want an example, why not look at Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.
In English, we sometimes have a hard time understanding exactly what is meant by the phrase. If we “fear” something, we are afraid of them, right? Well, that is one definition (and the most common use today); however, with about 500,000 words in English, we can’t remember every definition of every word, so we get used to the most common (look at the words in this post…none of them are the “big” or “fancy” words like plethora). If you look up fear in the dictionary you’ll find several definitions. One of them is “extreme reverence or awe.” That is what the Bible talks about when we read Fear God. But how can you remember that?
Every day, I receive a daily devotional from RayStedman.org. In today’s devotional, he gave a good acrostic to remember what Fear God means. Here it is:
First, F stands for faith in His existence. You cannot come to God unless you know He is there. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” There is where fear begins: faith that God exists. The whole of the created universe is shouting that at us. All the inner responses of our heart are confirming it. The Word of God declares it. History confirms it. There is a world of evidence that God is there.
Then E: experience of His grace. You never can properly fear God until you have learned what kind of a God He is. He is a God of mercy, of grace, of forgiveness. Until you have stood before Him and felt your guilt, acknowledged it, known you were wrong and corrupt, and heard Him say in your inner heart, “Neither do I condemn you . . . Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11), you will never be able to properly fear God. One element of fear is the experience of the wonder of forgiveness, that God forgives and sends you out with a whole new purpose and a new resource available.
That leads to the third element. A: awe at the majesty, the wisdom, and the wonder of God. What a Being He is! What a marvelous mind that can comprehend all the billions of pieces of information in this universe and hold them continually before Him, that can hear every voice and relate to every person who has ever lived! What a marvelous God! Awe at the sense of His majesty, His comprehensiveness, His unfailing wisdom and power, is part of fearing God.
The last letter, R, stands for resolve. Resolve to do what He says, to “keep His commandments,” as the Searcher puts it here. There are only two commandments; Jesus Himself said that. All the law and the writings can be reduced to two simple things: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). That is in response to His love already shown to you; love Him because He first loved you. And second, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” That’s it. As Micah put it, “What does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
Go read Matthew chapter 2 then come back. You’re done? Great! What did you see? Did you see the Wise Men coming? How about them finding Jesus? How about the methods they used to find Jesus? What about the religious rulers of the day? And what about their vision? I would submit that we can look at this account of the first Christmas and see examples of the persecuted church.
First, in verses 1 and 2 the wise men come asking about Jesus. But notice how they ask…they ask far and wide for the King of the Jews. They ask so far and wide that Herod finds out in verse 3. But, like any good dictator, he doesn’t want people thinking about his replacement so he is troubled.
In verses 4-6 he calls the religious leaders of the day and asks them questions. They, wanting to impress Herod tell him everything about this coming king. Instead of looking him in the eye and doing the Nathan thing (Nathan told David he had sinned before God in 2 Sam. 12:1-15). Herod then calls the wise men in and feeds them a line about wanting to worship this new king (didn’t they think that rather odd…why would the current king want to go worship his replacement??)
The wise men bothched their research so bad that God had to “fix things” by sending them and Joseph a dream telling them what to do (don’t take this out of context. God knew what was going to happen beforehand…he didn’t have to “come up with something on the fly” to “fix this problem” that He didn’t know of. God knew from before time what would happen).
If we continue this, fast forward to the crucifixion. How many of the people in the crowd had their children killed because of this (Jesus coming, the wise men asking, Herod finding out, and then killing all of the kids of that apx. age)? Does this give you a different perspective on their anger towards Jesus?
How about looking at the wise men, religious rulers, and Herod’s reaction? Does it give you pause to think about things? How should we act when given a chance to confront a ruthless dictator like the religious leaders were? Should we do the “easy” christian thing (perhaps pray with him, perhaps give him a Bible, perhaps even witness to him) or should we be like Nathan and tell him straight up (he has sinned before God and unless he accepts Jesus as his personal savior and repents of his sins, he will spend eternity in a lake of everlasting fire)? How about the wise men? Do we need to be tactful when we ask questions?
Certainly we need to pray and do what God leads. We should also be willing to confront evil regardless of the consequence. We should also realize that we need to think a bit about people’s motives. Above all, we need to remember that we are ambassadors for Christ and He has instructed us to be “… wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”
