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I ask you to go to Ephesians, chapter 4 and we're advancing. It may seem that we're not but I think we are making progress, and we are touching on things. It is such a dense passage though, that it leads us into new areas and there's a progression here that is very beautiful and there is so much substance.
I feel bad just leaving it like that and leaving it hanging, just in the interest of continuing. So, there in Ephesians, chapter 4, for those who are visiting, we are going through the book of Ephesians and stopping at those really thick places where there's so much teaching and just trying to comb through it and get the word of the Lord for us.
Last Saturday, we stopped at that last section of verse 13, but the beginning of verse 13 it talks about… the body of Christ is being built up, there's a progressive work of the spirit of God and the nutrients of the spirit that come through the different offices of Apostle, evangelists and so on, that are preparing God's people for service and so on. And it says that all of that is being done until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God. we stopped there a couple of Saturdays ago and so that balance between doctrinal commitment, let's say, and doctrinal purity and clarity, and definition balance by the knowledge of the Son of God which in that idea of knowing Christ, and knowing his personality and being, how should I say, joining him in his grace and his love and his attitude to the weak and to the broken and so on. There's a balance between faith and doctrinal strength and that gracious attitude of Jesus Christ that lubricates and gives life and makes faith organic.
And so in the knowledge of the Son of God, and then last Saturday we dwelled on becoming mature and we saw that the Greek expression that is translated 'mature' here in the NIB is 'andra teleion', which means becoming a complete man or a complete woman. And that is the goal of the believer, to sort of close the circle. We're talking about the progressive nature of the Christian walk. It is not something that is static, you don't simply one day you receive the Lord and you say, ok, I got my visa stamps and I got my passport ready, and I'm going to heaven so now…. let's kind of vegetate and marinade and enjoy the Christian life and that's it. I mean, that's simply getting the dial tone going for an ongoing conversation with God, a call to progressive holiness, and growth and maturity.
And, you know, there was one passage that I didn't share with you, because of the time constraints, but I do want to point it out, because I had a wonderful conversation with a believer this week which, it's Colossians, chapter 3, which reminded me again of the importance that we have clarity as to the nature of that progression, that we're supposed to follow in the Christian walk.
If we know these things, then we will know how to measure our growth. We will know what to strive for. We will have a vision statement, so to speak, of the kind of maturity that we are to pursue and what are the stages, what are the signs, what are the moments that we can say, Yes, ok, you know, I'm going in that direction. It's good to identify those things because then we know what to aim for.
And there in chapter 3 of Colossians, it is a passage beginning with verse 5 which has always marked me, when I meditate on Christian perfection and Christian progressiveness and walk toward holiness, toward maturity. I think I have sort of discerned four stages, there may be more, but certainly there are four stages of clarity in terms of the Christian walk. And the Apostle Paul speaking to the Colossians in connection to rules for holy living, he says:
"…Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire and greed, which is idolatry, because of these the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways in the life you once lived…."
Remember we were talking about maturity, becoming a complete believer, a complete Christian man or woman. And you know, the first stop, so to speak, in the journey toward maturity is confronting the baser instincts, the baser pull of the flesh and we all deal with that in one way or another.
Unfortunately, I think many believers, when we're thinking of holiness, we stop there, and so, so many Christians are so focused on just that area, you know, sexual purity and things dealing with those baser aspects of human nature. You know, just the more blunt, obvious aspects of sinfulness, greed, for example, or hatred, or racism, or those sorts of things, and we say, 'well, you know, I thank God I stopped doing those things', and then we stop there, because we think we've made it.
Or sometimes we just focus on that. Sometimes the Christian church and our teaching and preaching often just kind of focuses on that and the Christian walk is so much deeper than that. And so see what the Apostle Paul says then:
"…. But now….", you see in verse 8, but, in other words, ok, guys, you've done a good job, you've escape those more obvious aspect of sins that he also mentions, for example, in the book of Romans in the first chapters about the pagans, the unbelievers, the gentiles who have run amok with those sexual sins and so on. He says:
"….But now you must rid yourself of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with these practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator…"
What is he talking about here? It's another level of maturity, which is again, you know, taking away those attitudes that often are footholds for the enemy. And how many homes are broken and contaminated with anger and words that are wounding, and how many relationships are manipulative and are contaminated with lying and dissimulation and lack of transparency, and so on and so forth.
You see, there's another level that we should ask the Lord to work in our lives. It's that emotional cleansing that needs to take place. We need to have that cleanliness of feelings, of emotions and we must ask the Lord, because I think all of us, in one word or another have some healing and some sanctifying to be done in that area. We must ask the Lord to…. that fruit of the spirit must be there.
And we've got to take away these things, you know, if we have a mouth that is not the most pure in the world, or if we are not transparent with people, we're always manipulating and sort of dancing around people, and getting our way and trying to take advantage of others and so on and so forth, that whole area of mental, emotional attitudes that are also very destructive and that mar the Christian personality. We also need to ask the Holy Spirit to find those areas.
This is why David says in the psalm 1:39 and I know in Spanish but, essentially the verse says, ".. examine me, oh Lord, look into my inner being and find if there's anything there that is twisted, anything that is contrary to your will, anything that is displeasing to you and guide me in the way that I should walk according to your will…"
And we should always be asking the Holy Spirit, 'Father, there may be attitudes, there may be practices in my life, there may be things in my relationships that are not completely wholesome and that do not reflect the character of Christ, the way I talk, the way I think, the way I relate to others. Father, teach me those things'.
And if we ask the Holy Spirit and we are open to it, he will act and he will lead us into that second stage of blessing and sanctification. But then, there's a third area. You know, in the first two I would call them defensive. They are simply taking off things, cutting away, excising things that are not pleasing onto God. But how many know that the Christian walk is not simply negative. It is not simply cutting things away and doing away with things. It's also assuming attitudes, assuming certain kind of behaviors, putting on certain things and replacing what we have given up for qualities that are the symmetrical opposite, if you will, of those that we are taking off.
If we simply take off, take off, take off, we will left without a personality. We need to put something on. So he says, "….therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another…"
So there's a third level, the level of those virtues of the Christian character that we are supposed to ask the Lord, 'Father, help to reflect the character of Christ, help my walk and my relationships, and my attitudes, and my way of reacting in life to burdens, difficulties, challenges, offenses, that they may reflect the character of Jesus Christ."
That is the most difficult, I admit. I'm the first one to raise my hand and say, 'Father, I am guilty. I need more of your provision in that area'. And we all need to be acknowledging that, you know, but at least as we acknowledge it, as we ask the Lord to bring into being those qualities in our life, he will start doing it as well. We must hunger for the character of Christ. If you don't hunger for it, and if you do not grieve at those attitudes that oppose that character of Christ in your life, then it will not happen.
So, don't be afraid to admit that you have that need. I mean, joyfully accept it and confess it and embrace the call of Christ to become Christ-like, because God will not look down upon you simply because you say, 'Father, yes, I know I acknowledge that.' And you know people as well will not look down upon you, they will not denigrate you, they will not underestimate you because you admit certain things, because you confess them. It's a wonderful way of being healed.
So, and there's that crowning virtue that is sort of the culminating point. It says, "…. And above all, over all these virtues, put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity."
Isn't that beautiful? So, there is that element then: love is as First Corinthians 13 says, it's the final, the crowning. If you are possessed and infused and saturated with love then you're really up there. That love will ground you, that love will help you to stay healthy emotionally. That love will protect you. That love will defend your interests as you sacrifice your interest for the interest of the Kingdom of God or for other higher interests of harmony with others, and blessing others, and you say 'Lord, I commit myself, out of love I'm not going to answer back. Out of love I'm not going to seek what is mine, what is right and I'm just going to trust in you'. Love will carry you through. Love will bless you.
So, there you have four stages of that maturity, that walk toward maturity. So, "… and become mature –we go back to Ephesians, chapter 4- …. Until we become mature…"
That is the desire of the Holy Spirit, to bring us hole, perfect, complete, having put on one thing after another and I submit you again to that passage of Second Peter, chapter 1 where it talks about that whole area of putting on different kinds of virtues until we come to the full, full measure of Jesus Christ.
So, we attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Christ is the norm. Christ is the point of reference. Christ is the standard by which we measure ourselves. We do not measure ourselves by other men, by the deacon so and so, or by the pastor. They were all broken, they were all imperfect, they were all lacking, but Jesus Christ… when you examine his character, when you examine his walk, when you see his profile as it is presented in scripture, you have a perfect aim, you have a perfect mark to aim for the fullness of Jesus Christ.
So these words 'mature', 'whole measure', 'fullness', 'being built up', this is what the purpose of being a believer is. This is why we have come into the Kingdom of God and what that does is it enables us to do those works of service that he speaks about in the beginning, it opens up.
As second Peter says, you know, if you have these things in you and they abound, they will not allow you to be useless or to be inactive in the things of Christ. So let us aim for that.
And then, Paul says, if all these things have happened, if you have become well fitted servants of Christ, if you have become a well constructed organism for service, if you have well established, well defined doctrine on ambiguously help, if you have a vital knowledge of Christ and his spirit which prevents that doctrine from becoming religious and sterile, if you have become a mature believer who has all the different nutrients of the spirit and those virtues, then, he says, and what he's doing here in verse 14 on is presenting what the ultimate result, what behavioral qualities will be like.
And you know, it's interesting that he chooses this particular aspects of it, "….then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming."
Again, remember what we are saying, that to the Apostle Paul it is so important to have good doctrine, good belief, to know the teachings of scripture because they are what ground us, they are what hold us together. So in the end he is saying, you know, a mature believer who has experienced Christ and who has grown, one of the things is that they'll be solidly planted on the word of God. They won't have to be looking around, left and right, and considering other things and uncertain of what they believe. They will be sure of what they believe, the mark of Christian maturity is that sufficiency in Christ, it's that stability, that solidity of attitude and of character. You know in whom you have believed, as the Apostle Paul says. You're grounded in that truth.
And so, you're not an infant who somebody takes you here, and somebody takes you there. And you know, again, why is that so important? Because we live in an age where there is so many counterfeit of Christianity and as a matter of fact there is so much variety of Christianity that is good even, and you know, I think if we're not careful in this time that we are living in, it is so easy whether by counterfeit religions or simply by different variants of Christianity to be tossed into anxiety about whether you're in the right church or whether you're under the right teaching, and to be looking behind your shoulder all the time, uncertain of what it is that you believe. And therefore, you do not build up continually on one teaching, one community, you know, these days people are over restless.
It's like the same thing that happens in relationships. People go from relationship to relationship and you know, from marriage to marriage and there's huge instability in the world and I think the tendency is ,I think, for many Christians to do the same thing, so we tend to… we're not sure where we're going to be. There's always good some place else and you know, I think the media and all the access that we have to so many models out there of good, big, prosperous ministries and variance, you know, prosperity gospel, and then there's the hard charismatic, and then there's charismatic that are a little more evangelical and then there's the classic Pentecostals and then there's just the classic evangelical, and then the fundamentalists and you turn your radio and there are several Christian radio stations, and on Sunday night you have 8 or 10 different programs, and all this stuff I think it tends to raise in us a certain kind of disquiet and restlessness that I think can be very dangerous, unless we are grounded in what is really important about the Christian walk.
I just finished reading a book, a marvelous book, and I bought it because I heard the speaker in the Vision New England Congress and I was captivated by him. I think he is a man of God, I think he is a fascinating speaker and thinker and one of the most entertaining people I have heard in my life, you know, Christian speakers, Donald Miller. He wrote a book called 'Blue like Jazz', I don't know if any of you have read it, but I was captivated by his way of expressing things and I just finished reading the book and it's a wonderful book and I'm sure that it has its market and it's kind of a post modern look at Christianity.
It is a very sort of confessional reflection on Christianity and the Christian walk. It's almost like a college sophomore opening his brain and be able to speak very eloquently about his struggles and about his Christian walk. He's very, as I say, he's very skilled and the book is excellent and I was very edified by it. But one thing that I found myself time and time again being confronted is with his, I wouldn't call them attacks, because it is more subtle than that, but his criticisms and his definite ambivalence toward, sort of traditional Christians, of which there are millions and millions in America. Those nice churches that are in every town and every village in America, of hard working people, pastors that are doing the best they can. And you know, sometimes blotting along and not being too elegant, and not being necessarily highly sophisticated in their doctrine or in their way of doing things, but they're doing the best they can, they're sensitive Christians, they love the Lord and you walk into their intimacy and yes, you're going to see things that are a little naughty and perhaps a little, what would be the word, well, not too elegant, not too attractive. But that's the nature of their church.
It's been like that always and if you come in with a critical eye, you're going to see defects in every church, in every ministry, in every corner and sector of Christianity. It's the way things are. You know, not every worship team is going to be perfectly polished and ready for prime time television. Not every church is going it together in terms of its handling grace and law and doctrine and so on and so forth, but you know, he can take stabs at traditional Christianity with such exquisite skill that it's like a nice, very sharp knife made for cutting sushi, it slices through the sensibility of so many Christians. I started looking on myself and say, 'hey, maybe some of it is applicable to me'. And you know, you can become very insecure. There're so many wonderful minds looking at Christianity these days and there's post modern, and there's Gen X, and there's seeker friendly and all these kinds of varieties of Christianities. They're all good, they're part of the body and God is using them for different kinds of things, but when we start poking fun and criticizing each other, you know, then all of a sudden we're going to be changing styles every week and we're going to be like an unsure woman changing her hair every two or three weeks because she doesn't think she's beautiful, so one day she has this color, then the other color and on and on and on.
And you know, it's that… we need to be careful about that, we need to be grounded in what we believe. We need to be secure and yes, there may be other models, and that's fine, praise the Lord for them. But, hey, this is what God has called me to be like, this is what my understanding of scripture calls me. I will not be apologetic. Yes, I will learn, that's why I read all kinds of books and all kinds of sources I consult them. But I have to know what it is that I believe in. I have to read scripture myself and I have to ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate me so that I can understand what it is, and then I have to stand my ground.
And yes, I may see other models in TV and I may go to conferences and so on and so forth, but this is my stand, I go from this place and then I return to this place, and I praise the Lord for other varieties, and I examine all things, and I retain that is what is good.
And you see, that is the attitude that we need to have. Let's not fall into anxiety and this is what the Apostle Paul is saying here you know: "…. being an infant blown here and there by every wind of teaching…"
And of course, he is referring specifically here to that other dimension which is the abundance of heresy that there is today in Christianity, the excesses that we find in many Christian churches and in teaching. He is merciless about that. And we have to understand that we are in a very dangerous time in history where there is so much diversity out there that we have to be careful and we have to know, and I will tell you what it is in a moment, that he says that we need to be looking at.
But in chapter 4 of Second Timothy, Paul speaks to Timothy, who's this aspiring young pastor, growing pastor, and he gives him some solid advise from an old wolf who's been out there and who's seen everything, and he's planted churches and he's seen the miracles, and he's seen the revivals and God has used him greatly and so on and so forth, and he knows what is important.
So, he is counseling Timothy, 'hey, Timothy, this is what you should teach to people, this is what your ministry should be about and be careful'. And he's speaking also to us, I think in the XXI century in particular. It says: "….. in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus for one, who will judge the living and the dead…."
Look at the solemnity of what he's charging him. "….. and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word…. –that's what it's all about. You know, preaching the word. You must stand in the word.
Don't worry too much about the claims and the demands around you. As Christians we should ask ourselves, 'Am I declaring the word of God?' and if I am in all its balance and nuance, then fine.
"….Be prepared in season out of season. Correct, rebuke and encourage…."
You know, that there is a place for rebuking and correcting in the Christian church. Many people don't want to hear of it, but we just want the affirmation, and the encouragement, but there's a place for rebuke.
"…. with great patience and careful instruction, -that's the other side- for the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine…"
He uses that expression many times in his teachings: sound doctrine, sound means something that is just solid, it's like bread. It's just nice, it doesn't have any spectacular taste, but you know, bread is fundamental, it's good, it's solid. It's like your mother's food, your mother's cooking. It's sound, it's not a chef's sophisticated stuff. And you know that's often what we can aspire to. Is your church giving you sound doctrine? Are you receiving sound teaching from the word? You know, that's what it's all about. All the other stuff, the nuances, the sophisticated interpretations and all that, that's good, but that's not where the power is, that's not where the solidity of the Christian walk is. It is in those solid teachings, those practical aspects of the teaching.
"…. Instead to suit their own desires they will gather around them, a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations and do a hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry…."
Guau! It's wonderful, you know, it's just so solid, so simple, so clear. I mean, you know, bam, bam, bam, that's what you're supposed to do. Don't worry about all the other stuff. We must remember that always, brothers and sisters, as Paul says in another passage, it's not about talk, it's not about fine sounding arguments. It's not about sophisticated thinking and arguing. That's not what the Christian walk is all about. It's about love, it's about holiness, it's about obedience, it's about God healing us. It's about Christ dieing for us, it's about putting on the character of Christ and the armor of God. It's those big pieces that we should be concerned about.
So, instead of being blown here and there, in this time as we are, by every wind of teaching, by the cunning and craftiness of men. You know, there's a lot of heresy. I think the church is often too kind to heresy and in our desire not to sound judgmental, we tolerate a lot of stuff that should be denounced, in love but should be confronted, because otherwise there will not be any correction in the church of Jesus Christ. I cannot be more gracious than the word and Paul was absolutely clear.
There's a lot of stuff being passed by today. People who just want to make money out of another book, they haven't really meditated enough on what they're teaching. You know, there's a lot of dissertations being turned into books these days and a lot of people producing books because they make money using ghost writers and so on and so forth. I don't have, in principle I'm not against that, but it can become excessive after a while and all kinds of stuff is just put out there on the market these days. We consume all this stuff because it's from so and so, and so we buy all their books and you know, and we got to be careful because sometimes the spirit of commercialism and the spirit of just throwing things out there, very irresponsibly can take over many times, and we got to be careful about that. And some doctrine is absolutely just deceitful and so we must be careful about that.
Instead of that kind of being tossed, that kind of uncertainty, speaking the truth in love. You know, I looked up the expression that is translated 'speaking the truth' 'alete uontes', 'aleteia' is the word in Greek that means truth and the commentary that I read, one of them, said that it is the only time that this word, only the Apostle Paul used it. Not only the only time that is used in the New Testament, but apparently it is the only time. He made up a word 'alete uontes'. I know a little bit of, just a tiny little Greek as I've been learning, to know that 'uontes' means sort of…. In Spanish there's an equivalent word and that's why I can understand, and I've been looking for days, trying to find an equivalent in English. There is none. Really, but it's this idea that we sort of…. In Spanish there is the word 'veraces', from 'verdad' and it means, sort of when truth comes to personify you, truth inhabits you so deeply that you become truth, that you walk in the truth and that you are integrated with the truth. And so you wage the truth, you walk in the truth, you hold on to the truth, you practice the truth. So it is in that sense, that instead of being tossed about by all these lies and puff truth and so on, you instead choose to walk in the truth, be immersed in the truth. And as you are doing that, then you are fully covered, you are protected.
We need to ask the Lord, 'Lord, help me to embrace that truth'. So, you know, I think it's a little lame when you say speaking the truth, it is that, but it so much more than that. It is simply embracing the truth and holding on to it and living the truth of scripture and of sound doctrine.
Again, I'm captivated by this idea, speaking the truth or holding the truth or waging the truth in love. Remember that we talked about that other unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God. Paul, always, when he puts these pairs it's for a reason. When he tells Timothy for example, "… for God has not given us a spirit of cowardice or timidity, but a spirit of power and then what?, and love…"
He always somehow manages to put in that balancing element. And here again, he does that. Yes, we engage the truth, we live the truth, we embrace the truth against heresy and against falsehood, but we don't become rigid and fundamentalist and idolatrous of the letter and of the law, because we have love to balance it out.
When you are loving, then, your doctrine will always be balanced out and the truth that you hold will always be humanized and divinized even, by love. It will nuance it, it will give it life.
There's a passage, for example, the Apostle Paul is speaking to people who… referring to eating meat that was sacrificed to idols, and apparently they were people, they were grounded in the truth, they knew that idols are nothing and that demons are nothing, compared to Christ they're just whims. And so, if a piece of meat was sacrificed to the idols, I don't care, I'm going to eat it because I mean, I pray for it, I've given thanks for the Lord and any demonic thing in that meat is neutralized immediately.
So, these are superbly convicted believers, nothing scares them, they are in the truth of Christ, they're strong and so on, so they're going to enjoy that steak even though it was sacrificed to whatever demon out there. But then there's other Christians that are a little more sensitive in their conscience… and you know, when they go to that Chinese restaurant there is that Buddha with his hands raised and his big tummy, they can't go in there because that food is sacrificed to idols, and I'm not going to eat of that stuff because there're demons probably in these places and so on and so forth.
And Paul, actually speaks, and says that they're like weak Christians, interestingly. You know, some people might think, guau! Yes, right on, you're not going to be contaminated with anything. Yes, I applaud your zeal for holiness and so on. Paul says, there are people who are more sensitive and they don't have the freedom that you have and they're wounded by those things, and they're scared by them. They don't have the clarity of understanding, the overwhelming trust in Christ's power that you have, and there you are, eating your steak and putting A 1 sauce on it and just munching away and you have that believer being offended and he's tossing and turning, 'my God, maybe I should be eating that. Look how good it looks, but no, I can't because it's been sacrificed…. You're putting him in a bad spot. You're putting him in conflict. You're scandalizing, how can this guy who's a deacon in the church be eating that steak and so on and so forth and you're making him do all kinds of turns in his mind and you're being insensitive, you're letting your truth make you oblivious to the suffering of that believer. You're so convicted by your truth that you're not being sensitive to the other guy.
And so Paul says, hey, if my freedom to eat meat is going to be scandalous to the other guy, then I won't eat meat, I won't touch meat. Period. Because I love that person and I don't want to scandalize him.
You know, there's a limit even to that as well, by the way, but there's a coronel of very, very good teaching there, that our convictions should always be tempered by mercy, by compassion, by grace and by consideration of others. We should never be so grounded on our truth and what we know and what needs to be done.
You know, there are people who are so square, once they know what needs to be done, they don't care, they just go right through. The Christian walk is mercy, it's love, it's compassion, it's patience. So we need to be careful, we need to package the truth in that compassion, that mercy of God.
And I think that what he's talking about, you know, being truthful. Yes, we are truth filled but we also walk in love, we speak the truth in love. We counterbalance and then in all things we will grow up into him, who is the head, this is Christ.
Now, that's the culmination here. How do you know that you have good doctrine? How do you know that you are grounded in the truth? How do you know what it is that you need to believe and hold on to? It's that person of Christ.
Paul was absolutely suspicious and merciless toward any kind of teaching that lowered the status of Christ in any way, or that diminished his sufficiency to justify us before God, or that took away anything of his divinity or of whatever. I mean, Paul was obsessed with Christ. He was Christ-oriented, Christ-centered, and to him that's what it's all about. You know, it is using Christ again, as the norm, using Christ growing up into him, becoming like him.
If I am becoming like Christ and the spirit of Christ is in me and I am living the Christian walk in the spirit of Christ, then I'm fine. Yes, I may have my things that still need to be worked out, but that's ok. As Christians it is Jesus Christ, he is the cornerstone, he is the head, "….from him the whole body joined and held together by every supporting ligament grows and builds itself up again, in what ?, in love as each part does its work."
It reminds me of the passage in Colossians, chapter 2, where it says a lot of different things but here for example, in chapter 2 verse 2 "… in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this, so that no one may deceive you by fine sounding arguments….."
Here's again the same thing: deception, Christianese talk that gets into all kinds of exoteric, subtle stuff, "… no one may deceive you by fine sounding arguments, in verse 6, though then, just as you receive Christ Jesus, our Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him…"
See, the same image that is in Ephesians, "…. Strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Christ, for in Christ all the fullness of the deed lives in bodily form and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority."
So you know, it comes down to that. Anything that attempts to diminish the stature of Christ in your life, or that tries to substitute as the judaisers taught about circumcision and the agnostics taught about all this knowledge that supposed to get you closer to God. Paul says, don't have any of that. It's all about Christ. It's about using him and him growing in you, when you're growing in him and love be the distinctive aspect of your life.
If you have those things, you're well grounded. That's what we need to look for.
Father, we ask again for that sureness of conviction, for that experience of Christ, for that concentration on him, on his person, on his personality, on his gifts, on his virtues that we will not be looking around and being tossed about and attracted by all kind of alternatives. Held us to have a wholesome faith, Lord, a healthy faith, a faith that may be simple and child-like, others may scoff at it, Father, but we will hold on to that sound doctrine.
Lord, may we look at your word with child-like eyes, the simplicity, knowing Christ and him crucified, making it a mission statement not to look at other things, but simply Christ, and to use him as the norm, use him as the point of departure and the point of return, as the point of reference in everything that we do. We seek to be that kind of congregation, founded on the word, vigilant of truth and at the same time filled with mercy, compassion, grace, love, patience, all those wonderful attributes that characterize our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for your word tonight, Father. We embrace it, we receive it and we pray that it will be come a reality in our lives. We pray in that wonderful, mighty name of Jesus. Amen.


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Alexandria Soccer Association is excited to host the club's first-ever 3v3 tournament at the City's brand new Witter Turf Fields Complex on Saturday, June 15, 2013. The 3v3 format offers fast-paced FUN for adults of all skill levels.
When: Saturday, June 15, 2013, 9am-5pm
Where: Witter Park (2700 Witter Street), conveniently located just off Duke Street in Alexandria (behind the Land Rover dealership)
Who: Adults! You make your own team with up to eight players of friends, teammates, neighbors and/or family members. Rosters can change until team check-in.
Cost: $100 per team (up to 8 players each)
Format: Tournament style format. Each team is guaranteed a minimum of four 25 minute games
Check-In: Teams check-in at Witter Fields a half hour before the first scheduled games
Schedules: A representative from each team must visit the check-in tent after each game. The winning team is responsible for turning in the scorecard at the check-in tent within 30 minutes after the game.
Registration Deadline: June 7th, 2013 >>> CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Questions? Email Adult Classic tournament director, Tom Hamblett (firstname.lastname@example.com)
FOR MORE INFORMATION - Rules, registration, teams, etc, please visit the 3v3 page (Click here)
ASA is hosting the 3v3 Adult Soccer Classic
in partnership with the Alexandria Masters League

subset: commoncrawl


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Posts Tagged 'd w wilson'
It's a curious business, when the content of a short story anthology is made up of stories in competition with one another. If you haven't heard the BBC Radio 4 broadcasts of each of the ten shortlisted stories in the annual, BBC/Booktrust-sponsored, increasingly high profile and, for this Olympic year only, International Short Story Award, or if you've not yet caught up with the podcasts or got hold of the anthology, stewarded by Comma Press, featuring all ten finalists, you may now be curious as to why the Bulgarian writer, Miroslav Penkov was declared the winner of the £15000 prize. In one sense, the answer is simple to the point of idiocy: the judges got it right. Penkov's story, East Of The West was the best of the bunch, and the runner-up, Henrietta Rose-Innes' Sanctuary, was entirely deserving of that recognition. That's easily declared, but the reasons why you might reach that conclusion, from reading the anthology, are a whole lot more complicated.
To read an anthology compiled in these circumstances at this precise time is to seek to pick out a winner, but once the fifteen grand's worth of kerfuffle has passed on by, the book remains a short story anthology. Even though no overlying thematic concern has guided the writing of the ten stories; even though, beyond what the selection says about the judges,the programming of the stories as they appear in the anthology derived from no stronger editorial line than the alphabetical order of the writers' surnames: still, the stories speak to each other, as in any other collection. Writerly concerns overlap and individual creative decisions coalesce by the accident of their mutual proximity into something that resembles a trend. Emotions, gathered in one place, spill out in another and it becomes hard to work out if the story in front of you can take sole credit for your response. Leave aside all this, and we still have the essential truth about short stories that the best grow in their absence: it's not when we scrutinise them but in those sudden, private moments when we find that they are scrutinising us, that the power of an individual piece is felt. In such a context, picking a winner should be like punting on raindrops sliding down a windowpane: this one may win, or that one, but all that tells you is that it's raining outside. There was little to guide us as to the outcome from the previous year's winner, D.W. Wilson's The Dead Roads, nor from 2010's selection by, David Constantine, so it all comes down to the stories themselves. Read as a form guide, the anthology mocks the very process it belongs to, while, read as an anthology, it exceeds its reach.
That there are stand-out stories shouldn't deter anyone from investigating what is going on, thematically and within the writing, in the eight also-reads. Escape plays a persistent role in just about all the stories, the tone set by Lucy Caldwell's opener, Escape Routes and reinforced by Julian Gough's The iHole. Escape here – and in the closing story, A Lovely and Terrible Thing by Chris Womersley – is the objective itself, with a destination, or life beyond the moment of release, not a consideration. Caldwell's Belfast story of the friendship between a young girl and her babysitter, whose ability to connect to the narrator through gaming contrasts with his wider sense of alienation. It articulates a world that's very close to that of adults but utterly cut off from it as well. The references to gaming and youth depression suggest a nowness to Caldwell's writing, but Gough's lovely take on a post-CERN near-future, in which recycling is replaced by the mass production of personal, portable black holes, stands out more clearly as the shortlist's outstanding depiction of the Way We Live Now. I felt Gough's pursued the grand narrative arc of his satire too far, and the detail and comedy became too broad, in comparison with a recent Will Self story, iAnna, which makes the comment on technology and contemporary culture while remaining with the characters.
The three stories set in Australia each capture painful hours in the breaking up and holding together of families. M.J. Hyland has a tense father-son rapprochement in Even Pretty Eyes Commit Crimes. Carrie Tiffany depicts a child negotiating a path to a future with an absent father in Before He Left The Family. Womersley balances a supernatural tale, that might almost be lifted from an M.R. James treasury (and evokes Paul Auster's Mr Vertigo), with a portrait of a father cut off from his family due to his daughter's medical condition. Each manages to present a reality more convincing than is conveyed by Adam Ross, whose In The Basement uses the device of the extended dinner party anecdote rather more theatrically than I was comfortable with, though it's equally the type of thing Truman Capote or, again, Auster might have done with the same yarn to spin.
Krys Lee's The Goose Father has wonderful touches in the slow (but, even allowing for the form, perhaps not quite as slow as the situation demands) epiphany of an austere middle-aged man encountering an unstable but sprite-like young man. This South Korean narrative was the story that gathered me in the most, outside of the top two and the opening half of Gough's The iHole. Deborah Levy, denied a league and cup double but now freed to concentrate on the Man Booker Prize, lets off the most fireworks in her prose for Black Vodka and, in her narrator, has a character who absolutely commands our attention. It's adventurous, playful writing but ultimately it's a sketch of a character that Levy might lend to aspects of future novels. It will also, incidentally, give you a raging thirst for flavoured vodkas.
In the alphabetical sequencing of the anthology, Rose-Innes follows Penkov and dramas viewed from across – and swimming in – rivers feature in both. It's another example of the emotional chords that can be struck accidentally between stories which each have plenty of their own weight to carry. If there is an arc a reader goes through in reading a short story collection, there might be a science to my being especially receptive to these two stories. So, yes, judging is complex but the most instinctive personal responses have authority in this regard. There are stories that grab hold: Rose-Innes did this with Sanctuary, a family tragedy observed from a series of vantage-points, each one projecting a role onto the narrator of innocent bystander, unwitting voyeur, detective and eventually protector. The detail and intimacy with the land, in this case the South African veldt, has the kind of clarity we'd associate with John Steinbeck, and Rose-Innes would have been my winner had the decision been made on immediate completion of the task of reading all the stories.
What also happens with stories, though, is this: they won't let you go. East Of The West hefts the history of a people, the Kosovan war, and twenty years of a love story into what still manages to be a concentrated, complete short story. I mentioned the breaking up and coming together of families in other stories but, here, those moments of crisis are the natural order for a family divided by the width of a river but, in that division, also split into two nations and between prosperity and struggle. Tragedy hovers, ill-defined at first but, over the years, it acquires names and accompanies the narrator, Nose, in his every footstep through adolescence and the plans he has for his adulthood. Penkov gives us a character whose emotions, in the extraordinary circumstances of his life and the history framing it, are utterly real. It's a credit to the BBC's award and the good fortune that the Olympic celebration made it eligible that this funny and moving short story will come to wider attention.
There is currently no indication in the Wikipedia entry on Invermere, British Columbia, a destination for summer retreats held like a slingshot by the Rocky Mountains around Windermere Lake, of the town's literary significance. We may not be operating on the level of pilgrimages to addresses on Baker Street or for dérives through Dublin, but the small Canadian town has made an emphatic claim to a place on the short fiction map. The backdrop to D.W Wilson's 2011 BBC National Short Story Award-winner, The Dead Roads, which I looked at back in October and which is included here, is examined in closer detail throughout Wilson's debut collection. Invermere, the town out from which The Dead Road's protagonists are taking a road trip, is a constant presence throughout. The primary subject matter, though, is less the town, more its menfolk.
Each of the stories in Once You Break A Knuckle features a male protagonist, and Wilson very often examines them within their relationship with other men: fathers and sons, childhood friends, brothers, mentors, employers. Some characters recur at different moments in their lives while others unfold over years within the one story. An example of the latter is Winch, who emerges from the shadow, and initial narrative Point of View, of his father, Conner, in Valley Echo. The father here, as elsewhere in the story cycle, represents at various times – and often simultaneously – an aspirational role model and a booby trap to avoid. Conner and Winch have in common abandonment by Winch's mother and, when the sixteen year-old Winch develops a crush on a teacher, Miss Hawk, he is disturbed to discover more common ground with his father. Miss Hawk's presence in this story is typical of the way women feature throughout the collection. Neither irrelevant nor invisble, Invermere's women represent additional spurs and challenges to the men, occasional comforts and somewhat baffling certainty alongside the other constants of their lives, like the trucks, the beer, the frozen lake, the condominiums in construction and the slippage of time. This is perhaps articulated most clearly in The Persistence, where women are central to the gaze of the protagonist, Ray, as can be seen in the memorable economy of this description of Alex, the attractive wife of Ray's friend and current employer, Mud:
She wore track pants and a windbreaker, had probably been out running – one of those fitness women with legs like nautical rope.
Ray has returned to the area from what seems to have been a self-imposed exile following the breakdown of his relationship with Tracey, who left him for a rival building contractor. Now, with Mud and Alex in support, he begins to consider a new start and a possible relationship with a co-worker, Kelly. The reason for leaving and the reason for staying: the women are irrevocably linked to the emotions the men associate with the town itself.
The machinery of the town is wrought from masculinity. This is best exemplified in the person of John Crease, mounted policeman, security 'consultant' in post-war Kosovo, single father, martial artist, a man who, we learn in the opening story, The Elasticity of Bone:
[has] fists…named "Six Months in the Hospital" and "Instant Death", and he referred to himself as the Kid of Granite, though the last was a bit of humour most people don't quite get. He wore jeans and a sweatshirt with a picture of two bears in bandanas gnawing human bones. The caption read: Don't Write Cheques Your Body Can't Cash.
The description is courtesy of Will, John's son. Their relationship is claustrophobic, the tenderness expressed in verbal and often physical sparring, and the impression grows across the various stories in which they appear that the bond is built on a stand-off between each man's occult adherence to his own concept of male-ness. Although his father's profession beckons, Will is, could be, might become a writer. It's the time-honoured route out of the small town so much fiction and drama has taken, and which was so wonderfully lampooned by the Monty Python Working-class Playwright sketch ("Aye, 'ampstead wasn't good enough for you, was it? … you had to go poncing off to Barnsley, you and yer coal-mining friends."). Wilson never targets the obvious dramatic flashpoint, never takes a Billy Elliot path by making Will's writing a fetishised focal point – he just allows the slow resolution to roll into view. When this happens – as with other characters when we catch up with them after encountering their younger selves in earlier stories – the effect is slightly shocking but feels true. This may be because, while the where of these stories is unchanging, the when dances about, evading scrutiny of its larger contemporary narratives and instead presenting the community in moments of temporal suspension: what, in the title story, Will's loyal friend Mitch describes as "days like these with Will and his dad, looking forward in time or something, just the bullshit of it." It's a pretty workable summary of what I mean by real time short stories, and certainly what is a particular trait of short fiction: presenting moments that may be lifted out of the specifics of time and space in their settings but that manage to illuminate something more elemental about the human condition.
The small town location provides the grammar for this story cycle. We've seen how other contemporary writers have pursued unifying themes for their short story collections – Hassan Blasim and Zoe Lambert's variations on war; Anthony Doerr's employment of memory as a framing device – but this thematic approach, while it offers publishers of single author collections the selling point of a hook, that makes it very much suited to our times, has a formidable history. With his story cycle based around one location, Wilson is making a connection with James Joyce's The Dubliners or, more specifically in the small town context, Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio where –
The town lies in the midst of open fields, but beyond the fields are pleasant patches of woodlands. In the wooded places are many little cloistered nooks, quiet places where lovers go to sit on Sunday afternoons.
– but where, in this story, Adventure, Anderson tells of a young woman, Alice, who does not join her contemporaries in the woods but instead –
As she stood looking out over the land something, perhaps the thought of never ceasing life as it expresses itself in the flow of the seasons, fixed her mind on the passing years.
Such is the inevitable fictional loop of the small town narrative, where characters are defined by place, and thereby defined by their bond to or desire to liberate themselves from the "never ceasing life" with its circular dramas and choreographed quirks.
The men in Invermere push and pull one another in various directions but, in the main, they seem scooped up from the same gravel. Difference relates to disorder in a context like this, as in Frode Grytten's Sing Me To Sleep, where the alienation endured by the middle-aged Smiths fan mounts, through grief at his mother's long illness and death, and his own quiff-kitemarked loneliness, to a beautiful, baleful crescendo of resolution. In Wilson's The Mathematics of Friedrich Gauss, the first person narrative builds up a similar momentum, though the emotional surge at the end merely serves to clear away the narrator's denial and reveal his truth to devastating effect. Along the way, we learn about the narrator's inability, as the local mathematics teacher, to live up to the physical expectations of the manually proficient locals – such as his eminently capable wife – and we learn of his project, writing a biography of Carl Friedrich Gauss, the inventor of the heliotrope, who managed to combine mathematical genius with a labourer's physicality:
The day after we met, on that beach near Saskatoon, my wife showed me how to gather barnacles for protein. She shanked a pocket knife between the rock and the shell and popped the creature off like a coat snap, this grin on her face like nothing could be more fun. I never got the hang of it. She has stopped showing me how.
– We're not unhappy, I tell my wife.
– Don't you ever wonder if you could have done better? she says, and she looks at me with eyes grown wide and disappointed.
Gauss's first wife died in 1809, complications from childbirth. A number of people have recounted the scene on her deathbed – how he squandered her final moments, how he spent precious hours preoccupied with a new puzzle in number theory. These tales are all apocryphal. These are the tales of a lonely man. Picture them, Gauss, with his labourer's shoulders juddering, Johanna in bed with her angel's hair around her like a skimmer dress, his cheek on the bedside, snub nose grazing her ribs.
It's one thing to write about the business of being a man with prose that strides into the room, waves its Jeremy Clarkson arse in your face by way of manly humour, and makes a Charlton Heston grab for Chekhov's gun, placing it in the grip of its cold, dead narrative – but a writer who understands men will be able to depict emotion the way Wilson does in the passage above, and throughout Once You Break A Knuckle. There are versions of being a man here so alien to my sensibilities, Bruce Parry's inductions into shamanism in Borneo seem, in comparision, as complicated as setting up a Twitter account. Yet the alchemy at work in D.W. Wilson's writing is such that, when I think about each of the characters in each of the stories, I can't help feeling that I have been, at some point in life, some small part of every one of them.
D.W. Wilson's Once You Break A Knuckle is published by Bloomsbury Press.


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Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world's most significant objects in aviation and space history.
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Pickup surplus pastries and sandwiches at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (3718 North Lamar, Austin TX 78756) any time between 5 a.m. and 8 p.m., Monays and Thursdays. Please avoid rush hour (between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m.). Expect between 10-20 pastries, plus 5-10 sandwiches that should stay cool during transport. The pickup requires volunteers to use bins to pickup the food, which Keep Austin Fed will supply. Enter the front door and tell staff you're there to pickup the surplus food. Staff will bag and pack the food in a plastic bin they keep behind the counter. Swap your empty bin for the full bin. An insulated grocery bag or small cooler is recommended for transporting sandwiches. Please call 512-382-9701 for directions, if you're running late, or can't make the pickup.
Drop off at Foundation for the Homeless, 5202 Balcones Dr., Austin, TX 78731. This house is located next door to Highland Park Baptist church. Donations are accepted 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Yvette Miller will help unloaded if needed. Call (512) 453-6570.
After 3 p.m., deliver 24-7 to Spring Terrace, 7101 N IH-35, Austin TX, 78752, near the intersection of I-35 and St. John's. Enter the rear staff entrance and call 512-492-8980 for after-hours entry. Staff will direct you to the third floor rec room, which has a fridge. A luggage cart is available to help move food, which is kept in the main hallway. The manager's office has an overflow fridge. Please keep a rough count of the number of meals you deliver and tell staff.
|Requirement Details
Please request a bin from Keep Austin Fed. Bring clean and empty bin to swap with Coffee Bean staff.
5 Positions Filled | 3 Impacts | 2 Hours
A few people you will meet...View Details
Location: Coffee Bean North Lamar, 3718 North Lamar, Austin, TX 78756
Event Dates
Joseph De Leon wrote on December 4th, 2013
This location has bins, we're just waiting on volunteers to sign up!


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Brian Ashcraft updates us on the astounding foam-art of Osaka barista Kazuki Yamamoto. Yamamoto has now mastered 3D foam, and is blowing my mind. Ashcraft has a series of posts documenting the journey of Yamamoto to undisputed novelty foam king of the Pacific Rim.
3D Coffee Art Reaches New, Dizzying Heights [Brian Ashcraft/Kotaku]
(via Geekologie)


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Right wants more from Boehner
The cautious approach that top Republicans have taken on whether to vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress has sparked a new round of hand-wringing over the party's direction on Capitol Hill.
Specifically, conservatives want bolder, more aggressive leadership from House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and the rest of GOP high command — on Holder and the broader Republican agenda heading into November.
Story Continued Below
The feeling was best illustrated Wednesday at the Capitol Hill Club, a private GOP haunt adjacent to the Republican National Committee's offices.
More than a dozen conservative lawmakers — including Republican Study Group Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio — met there for dinner, and the topic of conversation veered toward how to push leadership to pursue a "more profound direction" forward, according to several lawmakers in attendance.
The main topic: Why, conservatives ask, is the party holding back when it has spent a year waiting — fruitlessly — for Holder to comply with a subpoena?
( Also on POLITICO: GOP leaders slow on contempt vote)
More broadly, why isn't the GOP trying to draw a more stark contrast with President Barack Obama? Republicans, the red-meat legislators believe, should be forcing more votes on the massive overhauls of government they promised.
Passing the budget of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is a start, but hardly enough, they say. Republicans should be touting their proposed overhaul of Medicare and Medicaid and passing more bills to show that their plan to deal with the nation's crumbling entitlement system is more responsible than Obama's, the lawmakers argue.
In short, these conservatives want more from Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.)
"There's no use to having the majority if you are going to be hamstrung by your perception of political vicissitudes," said Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina , who was at the dinner.
"We do not want to play a game where we adopt a playing-not-to-lose mentality," added Rep. Steve Southerland of Florida."We want to play to win. You have to know when and where to take your shots. What our dinner was about was [deciding] where do we feel that we can continue to push … [and] where it would be wrought with danger."
Of the lawmakers at the confab — several spoke anonymously, others for attribution — the common thread was that it's time to push leadership further.
"What I'm saying is, where there is no vision, the people perish," Southerland said. "That's biblical. So what I'm saying is we need to cast our vision. I think our vision, when compared to the president's vision, is a stark contrast."
One example of such pressure on leadership is coming soon. Conservatives — primarily those on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee — are circulating a letter to Boehner pressing him on his handling of the "Fast and Furious" scandal.
During a private meeting with Cantor and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Boehner decided to slow the pace of Committee Chairman Darrell Issa. But the speaker also said he supports holding the administration accountable and said he's open to all options in the investigation of the botched Fast and Furious program, in which guns were sold to Mexican cartels, resulting in deaths of federal agents. Issa and his committee expected to vote on the contempt citation this week, according to lawyers who were preparing for a hearing.


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We offer two types of tours: Private Custom Tours for groups or individuals and three different daily join-in group tours. We have almost 20 years of experience living and touring in the Napa and Sonoma Valley wine regions. Our chauffeurs have extensive knowledge of the Wine Country. Our fleet is diverse so whatever the size of your group, we have the ideal vehicle for you. Whether you are a wine collector or a self proclaimed novice our chauffeurs can help plan the perfect day for you. We will help you select your wineries and then make the appointments for you.
We have a daily group tour from Napa: the Daily Wine Tour. The tour will start at 11 am and will end around 5 pm. You will visit 4 to 5 wineries from the small boutique to the larger well known. We will pick you up at your hotel in limousine style comfort. You and your new found friends will experience wine country together. Although this tour is chauffeur directed, the group will have input on the winery choices. The tour is different every day, so you can take it more than once and have a different experience.
We have a daily group tour from San Francisco: The San Francisco to Wine Country Tour starts at 8 am and ends about 5 pm. The first stop will be the Golden Gate Bridge for a vista photo opportunity with a mimosa toast. From there you will visit 4 wineries between Sonoma and Napa. You will have continental breakfast on board first thing in the morning. Enjoy a beautifully prepared picnic lunch at a winery. At the helm is our expert wine country guide; whose knowledge is intimate because this is where he lives!
What other transportation services do you provide?
We offer airport transportation to San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento Airports. We also can provide transportation to sporting events and concerts as well as transportation to any destination within California. Dinner transportation to and from any local Napa or Sonoma restaurant is also a popular option.
How do we book a reservation?
If you are booking a custom tour, it is best to call 707-226-3333 or 800-578-0115. Join-in group tours can easily be booked online. It is a simple one page form. We will send you a confirmation when the booking is complete.
How far in advance do I need to book?
March through November is our "peak" season and Saturdays are always busy year round. For private tours, book more in advance to secure the vehicle of your choice. The daily group tours are less likely to fully book but if you have a solid date…book it. If it does fill up, you can go the next day. It is always good to secure a reservation as soon as you are sure of your plans.
What is your cancellation policy?
Our policy is 72 hours on the group tours, 5 days prior to your tour for Private Tours, 30 days for vehicles for groups of 15 passengers or more. The cancellation must be confirmed. Please email or call the office and we will send a cancellation confirmation. A credit card is always taken to secure your reservation and the full charge will apply if canceled late.
How do we dress?
We like to say, dress for comfort. Wind and rain are occasionally a consideration; Napa and Sonoma are beautiful in all weather. Spring to fall, think "layers." The Napa Valley can be a bit warmer than San Francisco.
If I purchase wine, what is the best way to get it home?
The wineries ship and there are several independent shippers in the Napa Valley. Clients can also check their wine as baggage on their flights home in the boxed 'styrofoam' capsules that you can purchase here. They come in 3, 6, and 12 bottle capacities and are sold all around Wine Country. Ask your concierge if the hotel can arrange shipping your valuables. There are different laws affecting each state so ask if there are any special requirements for your state. Many times it is easier to ship to a business address because there is always someone to receive the package. Remember wine is perishable so sometimes shipments are held due to weather and shipped out when the time is right.
What about the food experience in the Wine Country?
Wine Country is known for a Wine and food mecca. There are so many good restaurants from the casual cafe to the Michelin star restaurants. There are so many world renowned chefs in the Napa Valley; Thomas Keller, Cindy Pawlcyn and Michael Chiarello are some of the local talent that feed the hungry. We recommend making your dinner reservations as soon as you have chosen the restaurant, especially Friday and Saturday nights. Many take walk-ins if tables or bar stools become available.


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General Surgery
General surgery consultants at LycaHealth offer an extensive knowledge and skill set, meaning they're adept at dealing with any number and variety of medical issues. Expert ability, academic research and substantial experience means that you'll be in the most capable hands at LycaHealth. Additional surgical sub-specialities are also available at LycaHealth.


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Happy holidays? It won't be, if you book a room at a bogus hotel!
We've all seen the types of scams in the past where you'll receive suspicious e-mails asking you to confirm a hotel booking that you never made. It seems now, cyber-criminals have taken things a step further and have actually set up web sites waiting for unsuspecting guests to make a booking at a bogus hotel!
Brand Name Borrowing
The bogus hotels are making use of well-known hotel brands to dupe Internet customers, as well as providing online booking forms and telephone numbers. Most brands with an Internet presence will purchase a web site domain name and all its variations to prevent anyone else from using the brand name. However, it would be difficult to purchase every possible variation of a domain name for a particular brand and this is where cyber-criminals are finding their loop-hole.
London-based hotel, Sheraton Skyline, has its authentic legitimate web site at the domain: www.sheratonskyline.com. The bogus hotel, set up by criminals, has a web site at the domain: www.sheraton-skylinehotel.com. Would you have thought anything suspicious?
UK Number Redirection
As with most hotel web sites, the fake hotels are listing telephone numbers as an alternative means of contact. It's not uncommon for a hotel web site to list its telephone number with the country code.
Where a telephone number is listed beginning with +4470, the +44 would indicate the number is a UK-based telephone number. However, the 70 prefix is the UK global redirection service, meaning the telephone call will be redirected to any other country, except within the UK.
Job Applications
The fraud doesn't only target would-be paying customers but also those looking for work in the hospitality sector. The bogus web sites can appear to be offering promising careers and exciting opportunities working abroad. According to HotforSecurity, quite often in the case of job scams, criminals recruit victims for money-laundering purposes.
Phishing and Fraud
Unlike phishing, this type of scam is more difficult to spot because of how genuine the web site's domain name appears. Phishing, is where a web page attempts to trick users into believing they are on another web site by mimicking its appearance. In this particular scam, the web sites are completely different but the fraud has been created from scratch. In addition, users aren't being targeted via e-mail spam but are genuinely landing on the web sites from innocent searches, believing they have found the authentic web site of the company.
How to Tell
This is a difficult scam to spot. Unlike typical scams, the domain name can appear legitimate and a lot of people won't notice the redirection prefix in the telephone number. As it's not a phishing scam, your browser won't necessarily alert you to anything suspicious.
Some antivirus and Internet security software have been updated to identify web sites that are known to be fraudulent. You can make sure that your antivirus software is kept up-to-date with the latest definitions installed.
In addition, you can try the following to determine whether the hotel web site is genuine:
- perform a search for the hotel's brand name followed by "scam" or "fraud" to see whether any other user has reported the web site as suspicious
- check a business listings directory, such as Yell.com for a company's legitimate web site address
- you can search the WHOIS database to find out who registered the web site domain name and check that the address is the hotel's actual address.


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Used steel lockers manufactured from solid steel right here in the USA! Priced to sell, they are in good overall condition and have been refurbished to fully functional condition. Lockers are light green in color, each measuring 9" wide x 15" deep x 72" high, and include louvered doors, interior shelves, coat hooks and padlock ready handles. Can also be fitted with built-in style key or combination locks for added security. These would be ideal to place in a gym, employee lounge, warehouse or school to provide years of durable, strong, secure storage.


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Bella, Alice and Rosalie are the bored, queens of Forks, until three new boys come in and rock their world. Will they be able to show them what life could really be like, when you're at your finest?
Canon Pairings, rated for drug/alcohol usuage, foul language, and lemon-flavored times.
Edward is running, broken from a past relationship. Bella is searching, trying to find a place she truly belongs. Both feeling pessimistic and jaded, they head to a third-world country to volunteer their time. Will the place they travel to escape be the place they truly find happiness?
Thank you so much to the fantastic mkystich for making us an awesome banner!!!
Bella realizes that she is in love with Jacob and Edward. She decides that she can't be changed until she chooses the right man. Edward leaves, and Bella goes to Jake, ready to try. But what she finds is that everything has changed......
There's a storm coming. Baseball anyone?
Written for the quickie contest: A snapshot, a moment in time, a quickie with <500 words
The Volturi took over the government 15 years ago. It's time to take back what's rightfully theirs. It's time to stop the injustices of cruel old men. It's time for revenge - there will be blood.
Charlie's red eyes rose to meet mine. "I want them dead; every last one of them. When I'm through, there should be no Volturi left on this godforsaken earth. I don't care what it takes, I just want them dead."
Alice and the rest of the Cullens are finally feeling situated in Forks, and a void in their family has been filled by the sudden appearance of Bella Swan. But what happens when an almost-fatal mistake occurs, and suddenly the Cullens must disappear?
As Alice balanced Esme's grief, Jasper's guilt, Emmett's somberness, Rosalie's lack of emotion, Carlisle's sympathy, Edward's deadness, and her own sorrow all at the same time, the rest of the Cullens must start over in a new town. She deals with the transition in her own ways, even when everything around her seems crazier than ever.
When a stroke of amazingly bad luck sends her back to Forks, she finds a surprising discovery, one that alters her life- and could very possibly set it straight again. In a whirlwind of broken hearts and mending friendships, things might just come back together.
The much-anticipated sequel to "Alice's Twilight" is finally here!
Thanks VERY MUCH to enchantedmind for the PHENOMENAL banner!! It's exactlyy what I was looking for:)
It's 1857 England. Isabella Swan is now a debutante and expected to marry as benefiting her station in life. What's she to do, though, when what's expected of her isn't what she desires out of life? Will love or duty win? Bella/Carlisle
After a devastating break-up, Bella relies on friends and family to make her realize how beautiful and precious she really is. AH/OOC.
It is now six years since the Volturi left the battlefield in Forks. Existence is sweet for the Cullens. But Alice hasn't been feeling well lately. Edward knows that Carlisle is worried and with good reason. Because they both know Vampires Don't Get Sick!!"After Sunset" is rated 'PG-13' for teens and older. This is the PG-13 version of my story, "Sunset Riders."
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
It is now six years since the Volturi left the battlefield in Forks. Existence is sweet for the Cullens. But Alice hasn't been feeling well lately. Edward knows that Carlisle is worried and with good reason. Because they both know Vampires Don't Get Sick!!"After Sunset" is rated 'PG-13' for teens and older. This is the PG-13 version of my story, "Sunset Riders."
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Amazing banner by Anne Cullen - thank you so much Anne!
After the first disastrous camping trip Bella and the Cullens are ready to put it behind them and move toward the upcoming wedding, until Charlie's 'thank you' present sends the household back into a panic - and back to the woods. Uh oh.
Linebacker Emmett had everything he wanted - great college, great future - but he kept his greatest want a secret until the day his desire sacked his fear.
Got 'Best Angst' mention in the 'Slash Backslash' contest!
"The way he looks at me makes me feel... uncomfortable."
Jasper's girlfriend's brother, Edward, keeps staring at him. Why? Who knows. Seems like even Edward is confused... Jasper/Edward SLASH, AH, very OOC.
Banner made by FrozenSoldier from thetwilightawards.com!!
Life in Beverly Hills is top notch to those of wealth and privilege. To Bella Swan, it is simply a means to obtain the education she needs for the future she has always desired. What happens when a new family moves to town and changes everything she thought she knew about what's of true value in life? Will she lose everything she's worked for because she is down and out of district?
Banner by HeatherDawn
AU-AH Canon Pairings - Bella/Edward - Rated M for future lemons.
Thanks to the awesome Angel-->[Ass Kicker] for this amazing banner
Eve Donnelly is a widowed novelist who lives in seclusion in a cabin in the Ozark Mountains. Her claim to fame is the Dusk Trilogy, which she wrote after seeing a young actor, Emmett McCarty, in a daytime soap opera. She wanted to present him with a project that would showcase his talent. Due to special circumstances, Eve remains anonymous, using a pen name. She becomes obsessed with her main character, Elliott Craven. Then she meets Emmett at a convention.
Bella owns a small bar in town and is fairly happy with her life so far. But it all changes when he walks into her bar, looking lost and confused. He could be everything she has ever wanted and needed but is he who he says he is? Can she trust him? What happens when he leaves? Can a relationship exist in the world he lives in?
Thanks to HeatherDawn for the SUPER awesome banner!
Thanks to PTB for their awesome beta-services (HEAR & Sweetishbubble).
NC-17 rating for eventual lemons.
Jasper bets that Emmett can't go a full hour without laughing. Emmett never backs away from a bet. Jasper never loses them.
Ever wonder what was going on in Edward's mind while Victoria was on the loose? While Bella was running away to spend time with Jacob? During that epic battle? Bloodlust is Edward's chance to tell his side of the story, Eclipse as told from his point of view.
After a summer spent in limbo, trying to forget her best friend, the boy she happened to be in love with - the boy who must not exist, cannot exist, because she knows that he is dead - Bella returns to Forks, ready to leave the ghosts of her past behind. She throws herself into her schoolwork, her writing, and eventually her friendship with Jacob, who just might be her ticket to getting over her loss once and for all. Though, the fates it seems, have other plans...as Edward reappears in her life, in a way no one could have imagined...
"Nothing can stop true love, not even death. It can only delay it a while..."
This is my version of Eclipse as told from Edward's point of view. It is the sequel to Moonless Night - if you haven't had a chance to read it, please check it out!
It's been three long years since Edward left Bella, and things within The Cullen family have changed epically. After Edward's final stand off with Victoria, Emmett is left heartbroken and alone. A chance vision sends him back to Forks, and into the healing arms of the one person he never expected. Why fight with fate?
New Moon AU - Bella/Emmett.
In Vanity and Patience, Rosalie's patience and pride are tested, as she is forced to endure Emmett's struggle for control as a blood-thirsty newborn and wait for him to notice her. Emmett enjoys his newborn strength and abilities, but is faced with the first-time feeling of remorse for his uncontrollable acts of violence and cold indifference while blinded by bloodlust. Can he control his thirst enough to recognize his soulmate in his beautiful angel before it's too late?
This is a collection of V&P's side-shots, from Emmett's point of view.
Updates will be slow, as V&P is my priority to complete. They will not be posted in sequential order at all times, as my writing will be based on how I feel.
Warning: Lemons in future chapters. Rated NC-17 for a reason. Violence, adult language, drugs, assault, and sexual content.
Part of:
Five years have passed since Edward left Bella in the forest. Anna and twin sister Bella are now in New Hampshire while Bella attends university. Both the Cullens and the Swans have faced tragedy and heartbreak. Can they find their way back to being a family and accept the decisions they chose? (Written in Anna's point of view. Non-Canon couples)
Bella Swan has spent the past four years excelling at school as a way to insulate herself from her past. She finished her bachelor's degree early and is about to start her first semmester as a TA in the literature department of a small heavily wooded school in the northeast when her past finds her. Bella finds herself thrust back into the world of vampires and werewolves and she has to decide which path her life will take, if she can survive that long.
This is my version of New Moon as told from Edward's point of view. The dialogue is borrowed from New Moon when Edward and Bella are together , but the rest is my interpretation of what the story would have been like if Edward had told it.
Edward is desperate to keep Bella away from La Push, and specifically away form Jacob Black. Much to Edward's dismay, Bella made her move while he was busy hunting and went to see Jacob. Now Edward and Alice have devised a scheme that is sure to thwart Bella's wayward travels in the future, but what do the rest of the Cullens think of the plan?
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the intellectual property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.


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NEW YORK — JetBlue Airways Corp. said Tuesday it will issue full refunds to eligible customers who lose their jobs after purchasing tickets.
Don't miss these Travel stories
Lords of the gourd compete for Punkin Chunkin honors
With teams using more than 100 unique apparatuses to launch globular projectiles a half-mile or more, the 27th annual World Championship Punkin Chunkin event is our pick as November's Weird Festival of the Month.
- Airports, airlines work hard to return your lost items
- Expert: Tourist hordes threaten Sistine Chapel's art
- MGM Grand wants Las Vegas guests to Stay Well
- Report: Airlines collecting $36.1B in fees this year
- Lords of the gourd compete for Punkin Chunkin honors
Customers who book flights between Feb. 1 and June 1 and lose their jobs on or after Feb. 17 may be eligible for the JetBlue Promise Program. JetBlue fares are generally nonrefundable.
Customers must notify JetBlue and request a full refund at least two weeks before the first day of travel. The customer who purchased the flight can request a refund for up to nine customers traveling on one reservation.
The program is part of an effort to spur early bookings as consumers pull back on travel amid a gloomy economy.
In an e-mail to the Associated Press, Calyon Securities analyst Ray Neidl said he does not think the deal is unusual, noting some car rental companies already offer similar programs.
© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Links of Importance:
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Relevant Radio
Society of St. Vincent de Paul / Eastern Region
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St. Thomas More Preparatory School / Wilmington, DE
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Dear Editor:
I'm wondering if you'd be interested in some follow up? I voiced concerns and questions about management at Fish Lake, which were published in your August 5, 1996, issue, in the Letters to the Editor column. In your response and at my request you provided me with the address of the DWR Southern Region of fice, and Dale Hepworth, fisheries manager. I've had the opportunity to correspond with him, and I'd like to relay some of the information he passed along to me.
First, I must say that I really thought the DWR was just going along with whatever happened at Fish Lake, and that as long as they could use it to get the eggs they wanted, and people were boating some rainbows, they would be content to let "it" happen. It appears, however, that they are genuinely concerned about many aspects of game fishing at Fish Lake, and the lake is a very complex system - with lots of variables. Some they have a handle on (or think they do), some they surely do not.
The illegal introduction of perch seems to be impacting the lake the most right now. I was surprised to find out that perch were first discovered in Fish Lake in the '60s! Why have they mushroomed to the population they are at now? Who knows? I was distressed to find out that they are now finding schools of big, fat carp in the lake. No doubt the result of someone underestimating the survivability of some half-dead carp minnows they were using for bait. (Make sure they are dead!) These serve as examples of some of the difficulties the biologists are trying to come to grips with. Each affects the other, and the ripple effect carries through the whole chain.
For example:, the deep test nets that used to collect Utah chubs in good numbers (which were forage for the large lake trout) now turn up few to none! It appears that by the time the chub fry run the shalow water perch gauntlet there aren't many left! But the perch love it! The problem is that fewer lake trout can grow to trophy size on the reduced forage base.
The number of lake trout isn't the problem, and they apparently don't have to achieve large sizes to remain a viable, healthy population. Samplings they take while taking eggs show that there is a large number of lake trout in Fish Lake, it's just that the far greater number is stuck in the 18-24" size range, waiting to convert to a fish based diet that will let them get big. Biologists would absolutely love to find out what triggers the change to the fish diet, that allows the fish to grow so large. Any ideas?
It's the consistently good numbers of naturally spawned lake trout that show up year after year at egg taking time that led to the end of planting hatchery-raised lake trout in Fish Lake. The biologists felt that the "bucket" was already full, so to speak, the lake can only hold so many.
I can attest to the fact that we have had no problem catching the lake trout in this 18-24 inch range, but back to the big fish. While they have kept records on the number of eggs taken each fall since the '60s, they have recorded the sizes of the fish only since 1992, when Louis Berg began recording the sizes. (It's too bad they didn't have the foresight to do it way back then.) I don't know how they do it, but from this information they "guess" that there are approximately 2,000 large lake trout (over 28") in Fish Lake. (Dale was very cautious to specify a number - take it for what it's worth.) They are guardedly optimistic that this number has been fairly consistent for quite some time. Dale mentioned that reviewing the old records, the biologists responsible them felt that there were approximately that many large lake trout then, too. Since 1992 the size of the fish appears to be stable.
Dale told me that during spawning last fall they looked at 226 lake trout over 24 inches, and that most were 32-36 inches long, some over 40 inches. They recognize the value of these large fish, and most were released unharmed. Only a few were milked. The biologists feel there is a good number of larger fish still available in Fish Lake, and the lodge owner is happy with the total number of big lake trout he has seen taken.
How do you get them to bite???
Dale mentioned another thing I hadn't considered. Has the number of people competing for these fish gone way up? I know there are those who remember when "you could walk across Fish Lake on the boats." At opening time you couldn't stay on the Mac runs because of the competition. I wonder if the year-round fishing is equal to or greater than opening day pressure - just spread out? The fact is the population in Utah (entire state) was around 500,000 not so long ago. Now? Around 2,000,000. If what the lodge owner said is true, is the same number of big fish comung in, just divided between more people? Dale's advice to me on catching a big lake trout. "Put in a lot of hours!"
Dale seemed to be happy with the way the rainbow are responding to their latest attempt to get them to a good, catchable size. It looks like planting them at a larger size is working. Reading between the lines, it's my opinion that rainbow fishing will continue to pick up over the next few years.
The splake are doing fine. I did learn a few things about them. It's interesting, so I'll pass it along. Splake inhabit a shallower water area than do lake trout. It would seem they would be ideally positioned to prey on the perch. Splake convert to a fish diet less readily than do lake trout, though. So, don't expect large numbers of huge splake, but there are some. The DWR is mounting a 16 pound splake that was taken in a net sample. Too bad they don't convert more readily! They do prey on the perch better than the rainbows.
I asked Dale about the dead fish I'd heard were found after the DWR had been doing some activities at the lake. Here's his explanation. They probably didn't come from the milked fish. (Dale said he saw only one mortality while milking fish last fall.) However, the hatchery fish they bring in for the other half of the process sometimes don't stand up to handling very well. The choice is to put them in the lake, whatever their chance of survival, or remove them and dispose of them away from the lake. So far, the DWR personnel have put them in the lake, figuring any that survived would just add to the diversity for the angler. Also, in the spring of the year hatchery broodstock that are no longer required are usually planted in Fish Lake. (It's close to Egan Hatchery, where most brood-stock come from). These fish don't handle the transport or planting well, but those which survive give anglers a chance for a very large fish. The mortality seems justified. These fish are better stocked into the lake than dumped ito a hole in the ground. Some are going to survive and add to the angling experience. Gill net sampling may also account for some dead fish. Gill nets usually snag larger fish by the nose and teeth. The fish that appear unharmed are released.
Last of all, how about a fishing update? We tried ice fishing at Fish Lake on the 29th of December. The ice was 4-5 inches thick and extremely hard and clear. We were at the south end, and found the splake very willing. For about 45 minutes you couldn't get your bait in the hole fast enough for them! When it slowed down it was still fast enough to keep you interested. I firmly believe that you'd never have to go home skunked. Just auger a hole at the edge of the weed bed. The depth should be between 4 and 12 feet. You'll find that the perch will hit all day, no matter what the trout feel like. Hang on though, many times our biggest fish of the trip comes from the perch hole! This is really fun for the little kids, kids who think they don't like to fish, and beginners. I encourage you to keep all the perch you catch. With a little practice they are very easy to fillet, and are really tasty! Give it a try!
Sincerely, Ron Anderson, Centerfield, UT
P.S. Keeping all the perch can only help at Fish Lake. Also, I was pleased to see the limit reduced on the Boulder and the size limitations as outlined in the new proclamation.
Editor's response: Thanks for a great letter. When you get to know those DWR guys, you discover some of them are almost human. Anyone who knows Dale Hepworth knows he loves Fish Lake and Boulder Mountain, and that he is doing his best to enhance fishing throughout the southern region.
I'll see you on Fish Lake this summer. I'll be putting in my hours, looking for a big one.


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Now you can download the entire session in your own daw format, as well as get demos of all the virtual plugins, and for the first time ever, you can even get 14 day demo downloads of all of our VMS Virtual Microphone plugins.
When you download the plugins and the session, you can load up a track, and experiment with different world class virtual microphones from the mic locker. You can hear the vocals through the vintage 251s, 47s, ribbon 44s, and more. You can try out different microphones on the snare drum. Why not throw an $8,000 vintage tube 67 on that snare, go ahead, you won't break it.
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Susan Boyle hunting for choir to perform festive Elvis duet
Scottish singer SUSAN BOYLE is on a hunt to find the best choir in the country to join her for a performance of her festive duet with ELVIS PRESLEY.
The singer has launched a competition to find a gifted group to help her sing her version of Christmas carol Oh Come All Ye Faithful for a performance which will be aired globally through YouTube.com and social media websites.
Boyle tells the Daily Record newspaper, "I'm very excited to find a choir that will sing with the King & I on O Come All Ye Faithful.
"No matter what age you are or where you sing or the style you sing in, send in your entries for a chance to win and I look forward to watching your videos."
Entrants have to submit a video of their choir singing the track via YouTube.com to be in with a chance of winning.
Boyle enlisted the help of 120 pupils at St Rose of Lima School in Glasgow, Scotland to perform the Nativity story in the promo for the festive track, and she celebrated its release by paying the young video stars a visit on Wednesday (13Nov13).
Five-year-old Rhys, who stars as Presley in the video, says, "Susan's really nice. I've met her loads of times and she's a really good singer."
Music producers used digital technology to combine Boyle's vocals with those of late star Presley on the record, making her one of only a handful of artists to be given permission to record a duet with the late legend.


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School holidays have arrived and along with them comes the inevitable "i'm bored" and "i'm hungry", you can betcha bottom dollar on it.
So how about whipping up some of this delicious Caramel Popcorn and chucking a movie on?
Nothing like killing two birds with the one stone.
Caramel Popcorn
1/2 cup popping corn
5 tbsps oil
2 tbsps honey
3/4 cup sugar
125g butter
Method: Cover the bottom of a large saucepan with the oil. Heat slowly. Test for correct temperature by dropping in a couple of grains (and if you're like me, watch them closely and jump out of your skin when they do pop). When the oil is hot enough add all the grains. Cover and shake the saucepan regularly over the heat until grains cease popping. Remove from heat and empty the popcorn into a large bowl.
Stir the honey, sugar and butter in a saucepan over low heat until sugar is dissolved, then boil uncovered for 4 - 5 minutes. Remove from heat and pour over popcorn. Mix to coat. Spread over a large tray covered with baking paper and allow to cool. Break into large pieces to serve. Store in a airtight container.
Soooo yummy and always popular with the kiddies!
Caramel Popcorn is great to make for kid's parties too, you can serve individual portions in cute little cupcake wrappers.


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WITH the arrival of the five-star Jaguar F-Pace and the all-new Alfa Romeo Stelvio stealing all the limelight, we'd understand if the well established Audi Q5 had slipped under your radar of late. But it shouldn't have – believe it or not, it's all-new for 2017. It's out to regain its footing in the premium SUV class and pinch backsales from its new rivals, and so far, we've only tried the most powerful versions. Both the turbo petrol and V6 diesel have impressed with their blend of performance, refinement and comfort, but now it's time for us to try the crucial mode I for British buyers – the more affordable 2.0-litre turbodiesel.
In case you're not too familiar with the second-generation Q5, if s based on Audi's MLB evo platform, which it shares with the A 4 and bigger seven -seat Q7 S UV. Not only is it slightly longer, wider and taller than the outgoing car, a mix of lightweight materials has cut the kerb weight of the 2.0TDI by 90kg- around as much as a large passenger.
This instantly bodes well for running costs, but Audi has maximised things by fitting an updated 2.0-litre diesel hooted up to its efficient seven-speed dual-clutch auto box and the quattro Ultra all-wheel drive. Two-wheel drive will not be offered, but thanks to the new hardware the Q5 is able to decouple the rear wheels to cut drag and friction. As a result, the new model is up to 16 percent more fuel efficient and 15 per cent less polluting than the car it replaces.
With emissions of around 133g/km and average fuel consumption of 56.5mpg (on smaller 18-inch wheels) business users and private owners alike will reap the rewards -especially when you add the strong resale values. In short, the new Q5 promises some of the lowest costs of any premium SUV. An impressive start then for the entry-level diesel, and it only gets better from behind the wheel. Neither the Mercedes GLC nor Jaguar F-Pace, or any other rival for that matter, is as quick, quiet or as smooth as the 187bhp TDI Q5. The Audi does 0-62mph in 7.9 seconds – a sprightly eight tenths quicker than the more overtly sporty F-Pace 2.0d. It can't quite match the extra engagement the Jaguar promises, however.
The OS's precise steering feels too light – but many people would happily trade a little excitement for the added comfort it delivers. Especially when this latest model features the brand's new optional adaptive air suspension. It's a pricey £2,000 extra, but don't knock it until you've tried it because it does a good job of filtering even the worst battle-scarred road imperfections. The same suspension can also be raised by 45mm when heading off road, and be lowered again by up to 55mm to help when loading heavy objects. The Audi's fine practicality extends to the generous space in the front and rear, in fact, the cabin comprehensively trounces its rivals. For fit and finish the Q5 eclipses any similar SUV you could care to mention and with the company's Virtual Cockpit in place (a £250 option) it beats them hands down for design, too.
Equipment is decent on all models, but there are some obvious omissions which will remain costly options. We think it's very disappointing that the SE, Sport and even S line models all miss out on the extra protection of rear side airbags (£350). It's also unfortunate that Audi asks £750 more-even on the most expensive 2.0 TDI – for adaptive cruise control. This is standard on the equivalent Volkswagen Tiguan, which costs thousands less. That's a pity, because it detracts from the Q5's achievements. It's an excellent all-rounder and deserves not to be overlooked even in the fee e of flashier new competition.