Cause for great cheering by my daughters

Disney Channel Launches in Indonesia. At least some members in our house are very, very happy. Happily there is no "Boy meet world"! This is a good thing since we've seen every episode ad nauseum, thanks to my second oldest.

9:25:25 AM     

categories: Family & Friends

Future of Indonesia

Battle of the Greens The military and radical Muslims square off once again in Indonesia, in a confrontation with far-reaching consequences for the worldwide struggle against Islamic extremism.

OR

11:37:51 AM     

categories: Family & Friends, Indonesia

Celebrating the 4th in Indonesia

Cyber-fireworks explode on the Web. What looks like fireworks, sounds like fireworks and even comes complete with patriotic music, without the hassles of crowds, traffic jams and those annoying ants known to frequent Independence Day picnics? [MSNBC]

I think that the computer will have to provide our fireworks display today. It is hard to be away from the good ole USofA on this day.

7:26:49 AM     

categories: Family & Friends

Lovin' my President

This quote explains why I like President Bush so much, sorry rc3.org:

Bush said the ruling "points up the fact that we need common-sense judges who understand that our rights were derived from God. And those are the kind of judges I intend to put on the bench."

8:54:03 AM     

categories: Family & Friends

Pledge of Allegiance

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

8:19:24 AM     

categories: Family & Friends

Under God, no more?

There are lots of strong feelings out there about the ninth circuit court's ruling about the "under God" phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance. Here's one I respectfully disagree with from Phil Wolff. All of this reminds me of a book that I love. It is James Clavell's "The Children's Story." It is by no means a story for children only, or even primarily. I believe that "under God" is a valuable part of the pledge, but the reality (which this book makes so clear) is that almost all of us mumble through the words of the pledge and they have no meaning what so ever for us. Even if we tear up (post 911) when we say them, it is simply an emotional response and we are not really mentally assenting to what the words mean. Patriotism is more than simple emotional blubbering or bluster. It is a clinging to basic, fundamental beliefs. It is standing up for something, which is worth standing up for. But what are we standing for? Sadly, I don't think we could even begin to agree.

8:12:58 AM     

categories: Family & Friends

Boy Meets Girl

Josh was single when he wrote "Kiss Dating Goodbye" , the followup book tells the story of him meeting his wife-to-be and their courtship. Also good stuff.

7:44:55 AM     

categories: Books, Family & Friends

Courting we will go, a courting we will go...

This article on Kuro5hin is great. Karen and I have read Josh's book, "Kiss Dating Goodbye" and so have our 15 & 16 year-old boys. We've encouraged them to utilize this approach to relationship. Dating as it is practiced in America is for the birds. A one way road to lots of pain, where we learn to treat each other as emotional/sexual play things. Let's treat each other with more respect and take relationships more seriously.

7:36:36 AM     

categories: Books, Family & Friends

18th Anniversary

Sunday is Karen and my 18th anniversary. We're celebrating today by going to the Sheraton for the night. It's a beautiful hotel. Been there once before about 3+ years ago. It's a surprise, so don't tell Karen, okay?

6:53:21 AM     

categories: Family & Friends

Boarding school

Jared shared with us yesterday that he is thinking again about attending boarding school in Central Java this coming school year. He spent last week with lots of his friends that attend that school and they've provided a lot of encouragement. It's a good school, so no problem there. However, it is an 8 hour bus ride away from us and we would only see him on major school breaks. We would miss him very much and so would the other kids. It would really change the dynamics of our household. Bad enough that he'll be heading to college in a couple years. We've left the decision up to him.

6:51:22 AM     

categories: Family & Friends

Lazy day

We skipped church this morning! Too tired and other excuses. When we lived in Eastern Indonesia, on the island of Sulawesi, we had church at home. So, that's what we did this morning. It was so great. Our oldest son, Jared, has learned to play the guitar since we've left Sulawesi. What a difference that makes in our worship time. We also had a great time of sharing with each other. Didn't hurt that Abby (our 15 month old) was asleep.

5:43:32 PM     

categories: Family & Friends

Back home

We got home this morning at 7:30am. 12+ hours is a long time sitting in a train seat. Sleeping doesn't happen too easily. I'm glad to get to sleep in my bed tonight!

5:59:23 PM     

categories: Family & Friends

On the road again

I've been on the road in East Java, so weblogging has been difficult. I'll be on a 12 hour train ride tonight. Bummer, no Wi-Fi! ;-) So, don't expect anything for another 24 hours or so.

2:46:54 PM     

categories: Family & Friends