Wedding Cake Controversy

The wedding reception was held on a Christian-owned camp ground. The restaurant, however, is under Jewish ownership and is maintained kosher according to Jewish law. This means, among other things, that meat and dairy dishes cannot be served at the same meal. Knowing this ahead of time, we made the cake so that it contained no dairy since the reception meal was to be beef and chicken. Our butter cream frosting contained no butter or milk, only vegetable shortening, sugar, flavoring, and water. When it came time to serve the cake, we were called to speak to the manager of the restaurant who inquired on the supervising rabbi's behalf as to the content of the cake. We could assure him that all of the ingredients were non-dairy. This was not satisfactory because the cake was not "certified" by the rabbi (meaning that we didn't purchase a kosher certificate). We were told that the cake could not be cut or served on the premises, nor could we use the restaurant's dishes or silverware to serve it. We would have to carry the cake outside and serve it on paper plates with plastic forks. At the end of the night, we lifted the table with the cake and began carrying it outside. The manager, seeing that we were willing to do that without making a fuss, agreed to collect all of the meat dishes and silverware from the tables and allow us to have our cake and eat it, too--inside the restaurant. This was definitely a lesson in the politics of food and religion. I am glad that as believers we serve the One who tells us, "...do not call anything impure that God has made clean."

Anatomy of a wedding cake

Twenty years ago my wife and I made wedding cakes for profit. That was before children, of course. Any cakes we have made since then have been gratis for close friends or family. Earlier this summer when we were told that two friends from our congregation in Israel were getting married, we offered to make the cake as a gift to them. The wedding was last night. Here is a montage of the making of the cake for K&S.

Tasteless pizza?

The Jerusalem Post reported that the New Zealand pizza chain Hell's Pizza pulled billboard ads with the likeness of Adolf Hitler holding a slice of their pizza with the quote, "It is possible to make people believe that heaven is Hell," taken from his well-known statement, "By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make a people see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise." The ads were pulled after receiving several complaints from the Jewish community. This reminds me of the restaurant, Hitler's Cross, in Navi Mumbai, India that was forced to change its name last summer after similar complaints. Who are the marketing geniuses hired by these restaurants?

Concluding my 46th trip around the sun...

King Solomon-Ecclesiastes 9:4

"Anyone who is among the living has hope-even a live dog is better than a dead lion!"

Friends, brothers, and running...

I began running 8 years ago. At the time I was 30 lbs heavier-not fat, but soft! My hobby turned into a passion. As I began to drop the weight, I was able to run faster and farther. In fact, this past January I completed my seventh marathon at the young age of 45 with my 20 year-old college buddy pictured here.

When I first started running, I hesitated to call myself a runner. I would tell people that I'm not a runner, I just like to run. I did not view myself as a runner until several years and more than one marathon was behind me. The daily act of running caused me to begin to like the sport. Others began to see me as a runner. I think that I was the last one to get the hint. I say all that to say that in John 15:12-14 Jesus gives us an interesting command-love one another. He tells us that greater love has no one than the one who gives his life for his friend. It is easy to love our friends. But he also tells us to love our enemies. In fact, Jesus said that if we love him we will obey his command to love each other. He did not command us to have a feeling for our brother, friend, or enemy, but to act in a loving way towards them. When we begin to show love, even to those that we consider our enemies, a funny thing often happens-the feelings follow. This week I laced up my running shoes after nearly a 6 month lay-off. I didn't feel too good-my lungs hurt and my legs hurt. But I know that if I continue the act of running, the bad feelings will be replaced by good feelings and I will once again enjoy running. Who knows, there may even be a few more races left in me!

Internet phone troubles

For the last 2 years we have depended heavily on our Skype internet phone to keep in touch with family and friends. Skype is a way in which we can talk via our computer with others either on their computer or landline telephones. It is a free service (my favorite price), so I am willing to put up with the occasional dropped call or delayed responses. Earlier this week, the internet telephone giant experienced some technical difficulties which resulted in outages for over 200 million of their customers worldwide. This outage lasted nearly 48 hours in some places. How critical was this to me or my family? Not very...let me explain. We already have 5 cell phones between us and 2 laptops with email so that anyone who really needs to contact us still can, even without Skype. Sometimes the adage, "you get what you pay for" holds true, but even your expensive phone company doesn't always come through. When was the last time your cable TV (not free!) experienced trouble in the middle of your favorite program?
I started thinking about other freeware (free software) that I have come to love or to depend. I have long ago abandoned Internet Explorer for the more versatile Firefox as my internet browser. I back up my important files free and automatically to a web-based server on Mozy. In the days of security concerns, it also becomes important to encrypt and hide sensitive files. For that, I found a free program at TrueCrypt. All of these that I have mentioned so far are free and easy to use (important for a not so savvy me). You can find many of them on their own websites or at Snapfiles which also provides user comments and ratings about hundreds of freeware and shareware software. What freeware do you use that has made your life in the computer age easier? Leave a comment and share it with the rest of us.

Love Me Tender

While the rest of the world reminisces about hound dogs and blue suede shoes, I am remembering the past 22 years with my beautiful wife. We enjoyed a quiet dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant and a movie-The Bourne Ultimatum. We no longer have to hire a babysitter or call home a dozen times during our date to check on the kids. We can stay out late if we want to-although it gets more and more difficult to want to. Occasionally I remember the beautiful 21 year-old who walked down the aisle in Lynchburg, Virginia and sang to me while I stood there shaking in my white plastic rental shoes in front of the preacher. But most of all, I'm thankful for the woman who stands beside me today, who has taken this journey with me, making and sharing memories of a life we never dreamed possible.

"He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord." Proverbs 18:22

Reading through the Bible

If you are like me, you've tried many ways of reading through the Bible in a year. It usually starts as a New Year's resolution in January. You begin like gangbusters in Genesis and you are still going strong as you plow through the stories in Exodus. Sometime in February, like a poor diet or exercise plan, you get bogged down in Leviticus and decide to give it up for Lent. Recently, I have been discipling a new believer. When he asked about the best way to read the Bible, I began a search for a Bible reading plan for him. I have found a plan that doesn't start in Genesis and take you straight through to the book of Revelation. Each day of the week is devoted to a different section of the Bible. One day you read from the Epistles, another day from the Law, another from the History, then Psalms, Poetry, Prophecies, and finally the Gospels. You are receiving an overview from all sections of the Bible every week...and you won't even begin reading in Leviticus until the 24th week of the plan! I'm going to give it an honest try. Won't you join me? Click here for a link to a printable pdf of this plan.

A week in the life...

Just so you don't get the impression that my life is one big vacation, I thought I'd share a bit of my life this past week or two. I preached in our congregation the last two weeks. My text was John 15 where Jesus says, Abide in Me. The first week the sermon topic was Abiding in the Truth and this past weekend Abiding in Love. I devoted a good deal of time each day to sermon preparation and study. Each day I set out to accomplish some necessary task that has been neglected during the busy school year. One morning was devoted to taking the car in for its 75K check-up which included a new set of brakes. While the car was in the shop I walked over to the office of my cell phone company to rework the contract. I wrote and faxed a letter to the immigration office regarding my visa status (in the local language, of course). I tried to open a new bank account since we live in a new part of town. Here, the branch where you open your account is your branch where you must conduct your business. If you move, you must travel to your branch or close your account and open a new one at a different branch, even if it is at the same bank. One morning I stood in line at the Post Office to pay some bills. The Post Office is a catch-all for mail, bill paying, check cashing, etc. etc. If you don't like waiting in lines, don't move overseas. Finally, one morning was dedicated to the License Bureau to give them my new address. There is no such thing as forwarding mail when you move, so you must return to your old residence to collect mail until you notify all of your creditors of your new address. My oldest son began a school project yesterday of 40 hours of community service. He was assigned to a local vets office to clean cages and walk the dogs-something which he didn't seem to mind. In reality, my life is probably not a whole lot different from yours!

Rhodes, Greece vacation photos (July 07)

He we are, riding donkeys in Lindos on the way to the Acropolis, on a boat on the Aegean Sea, and in Old Town Rhodes. The mountains in the background is the country of Turkey.

Summer vacation photos-Jordan

Enjoy these photos from July during our trips to Jordan. The photos include St. George's Church in Madaba, the Madaba mosaic map of Jerusalem, the YMCA in Amman, Mt. Nebo, and Jerash.

Lazy days of summer

On a recent trip to visit friends in Amman, Jordan, I took the opportunity to visit the ancient city of Jerash. This ancient Greco-Roman city is still used for festivals and events, hence the coke machine amidst the ruins. During this vacation, we also visited the Byzantine church in Madaba where the oldest map of Jerusalem was found in a mosaic on the floor. In addition to sightseeing, we also made lots of time for swimming, eating out, shopping, and just hanging out with our friends. This was our first vacation in over a year, so we didn't mind the large amounts of inactivity. We were able to spend 4 days on the ancient Greek island of Rhodes, as well. We visited the sight of the Colossus of Rhodes, Old Town Rhodes, and the Acropolis at Lindos. One of the highlights, for the kids, at least, was swimming in the middle of the Aegean Sea when the boat anchored for a mid-day break.