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Fear. Anger. At the very least, aggravation. Those are the emotions I expect to see in my wife's eyes. But her look, instead, is strangely calm.
My wife, Becca, and I have been adrift on a sea of blank granite for six days now, on yet another of my attempts to free climb El Capitan's Dawn Wall. Our home is a 3-by-6 piece of nylon strung between aluminum poles and suspended from the wall by straps. On clear days, the sun reflects off the rock and cooks us like ants under a magnifying glass. On stormy days, deafening wind and flying snow hit us from every direction. When the sun comes back out, giant plates of ice peel off the wall and buzz by us like flying saw blades.
For the six months prior, camaraderie and collaboration with my climbing partner, Kevin Jorgeson, had been crucial to my progress on this climb. Together, we had built a belief that the Dawn Wall was possible, and we'd laughed through the very worst moments. But when Kevin sprained his ankle while hucking himself across an eight-foot sideways dyno halfway up, he had to bail. That was months ago, and I'd been struggling to fill the void ever since. Then Becca offered to join me as belayer. I hesitated to ask her to endure so much to support me. But she seemed eager, and I felt lucky.
Free climbing the Dawn Wall in Yosemite has become an obsession that has spanned nearly five years and has provided me with endless richness and intensity. This climb, which ascends El Cap's steepest and blankest aspect, has captured my imagination like no other climb on earth. For me, merely looking at the wall is like trying to comprehend a piece of God: My brain can't grasp the immensity. Instead, I have to think smaller – about faint ripples, microscopic flakes; the meandering path of shallow dihedrals. I imagine dancing between them in choreographed sequences I've spent years struggling to perfect, struggling to link together the 3,000 feet of white granite.
I love the way this climb focuses my life. In the offseason, I lie awake formulating logistical strategies, then I jump out of bed at 3 a.m. and abuse my body 'til dusk: climbing, running – anything I can to prepare for the wall's severity. The allure of completing this climb drags me to it like an overpowering magnet. But I've come to see that the Dawn Wall's true gift to me is the pursuit itself: Would my world feel as rich without this project?
It's nearly midnight on the wall. The wind cranks, dark water seeps menacingly from a crack 50 feet above us, and I try to climb a 160-foot-long incipient seam that's been beating me down for two days. I'd tried it during the day, but the sun had cooked the rock, and the rubber on my climbing shoes melted off on the razor edges. As car headlights pass through El Cap meadow, I wonder which ones belong to my parents, who have taken leave from their jobs and come to Yosemite to live in a van and support me. I think about the work that has gotten me here and the people rooting for me. I don't want to let them down – or myself, for that matter. After years of huge effort, the Dawn Wall still seems impossibly far away.
I shake off visions of a warm bed, hot food and flat ground as I look back at Becca. Yep, pretty unmistakable – a smile lurks behind those multiple layers of down. I stuff my feet into my climbing shoes and throw the rack over my shoulder. She pinches me on the butt. "Get up there and send this pitch." I start up the sequence of moves I've rehearsed dozens of times. Right foot smear, left index finger in pin scar, hips tight, pull hard, breathe. I hear a shriek and look down just as the wind flips the portaledge and sends Becca flying to the end of her tether. I throw in a micro cam, grab it and yell to her, "Are you okay?" She rights the ledge, pulls herself back on it and giggles. "Yeah, I'm good!"
What the hell? I'm supposed to be the tough one here. I lower back to the ledge and get ready for another attempt. I feel the intensity of the entire project peaking inside me – and the power of my community pushing me on. Without that support, I would have abandoned this long ago. On my next go, I focus that feeling and it finally powers me to the end of the pitch. Becca's cheers penetrate the wind, and I can't help but smile. Then I look up.
There is still a long, long way to go.


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This morning we come to, again, our study of Acts 18:1-18, and I would encourage you to turn in your Bible and prepare your heart for what the Spirit would teach you through the Word. This is the story of the arrival of the Apostle Paul and with him the Gospel in the city of Corinth.
We might subtitle this whole passage, at least from the perspective we're looking at it, "Encouraging the Discouraged," because as we approach the passage, we are seeing the Apostle Paul at the low ebb. He had lows as well as highs. At this point he is discouraged, as we have seen very clearly—and I don't want to belabor the point. Through the circumstances at Corinth, God really sets about to encourage His discouraged apostle.
We read the Psalm earlier together that indicates that Christian is going to have trouble, that the child of God is going to have trouble, but God is going to see him through it. God is going to encourage him, and that's exactly what we find here. In fact, out of his experience at Corinth, Paul wrote back to the Corinthians and said, "God is the God of all comfort."
So God sets about to comfort the apostle through a series of circumstances that we find in the founding of the church at Corinth. Psalm 27:14 says, "Wait on the Lord," and that's good advice. That's always difficult. We want what we want now and sometimes cannot allow for God to put us through deep water, through trying times, with the patience to wait and see what He's going to do. The psalmist said, "Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thy heart. Wait I say on the Lord." In response to that, Isaiah said, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall walk and not be weary. They shall run and not faint." If we learn to wait on the Lord, we'll find ourselves encouraged. God is a God of comfort.
We saw that as Paul arrived in Corinth on his second missionary journey—verse one says that having departed from Athens he came to Corinth—that he was discouraged. In 1 Corinthians 2:3, he wrote, "I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling." He arrived with some real problems in his own heart and mind, and then when he faced the city of Corinth, that only increased his problem. The very threat of the city itself, with its sinfulness, must have caused his trembling to increase.
God moves hastily to comfort him and to encourage him. We showed you that there are four ways that God encourages him. We've been through the first two. Simply to remind you, God encouraged him with companionship. God encouraged him with some very dear friends whom he was to meet. We find in verse two, "He found a certain Jew named Aquila born in Pontus, lately come from Italy with his wife, Priscilla. They came because Claudius commanded all Jews to depart from Rome. And he came unto them, and because he was of the same craft, he abode with them and worked, for they were by occupations tentmakers or leatherworkers."
The apostle is introduced to two people who become lifelong fast friends and co-laborers in the Gospel. God encouraged him immediately in his loneliness and in his discouragement and in the tremendous task that was at his feet, the task of evangelizing this sinful city. He encourages him with two friends and coworkers.
Then on top of that, He allowed him the ministry on the Sabbath, working the rest of the week. Verse 4 says that, "He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, persuaded the Jews and the Greeks." Soon God even encouraged him further with his friends, two old friends. New friends were good. Old friends were better. When Silas and Timothy were come from Macedonia, and we found out from the other writings of Paul that they came bearing good news and bearing money so that he didn't have to make tents anymore, but he could fulfill his apostleship, and he could spend all his time preaching.
Paul was encouraged by his friends. Certainly all of us can relate to that. Very often in times of discouragement, God sends along someone we love very deeply to minister to us in comfort and encouragement.
Secondly, he was encouraged by his apostleship as well as his companionship. We found in verses 5-8 that when he was freed up by the offering of the Macedonian Christians brought to him by Silas, that he then began to preach. As he began to really give himself to preaching, things really began to pop. If he was encouraged by friends, he was doubly encouraged by converts. People started getting saved, and his heart became thrilled. We find in verse 5 that it says, "Paul was then" —and it says in the authorized "pressed in the spirit." What it should say is, "Paul was then totally given over to the Word, or the ministry of the Word." Freed up from doing anything else because of the offering of the saints.
He then testified to the Jews that Jesus was Messiah. He began immediately his apostolic work among the Jews, but they organized opposition. Verse 6, "They opposed themselves, blasphemed, and he shook his raiment." That is, he released himself from responsibility by that gesture. He said, "Your blood is on your own heads. I'm clean." In other words, "I've delivered the Gospel. I've done my part. It's up to you. You're responsible. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles."
Then he began his ministry among the Gentiles. He departed from there, entered a certain man's house named Titus Justus. We found that that probably is the Gaius mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:14 whom Paul baptized and mentioned also in Romans 16:23. His name may be Gaius Titus Justus.
He went into this man's house. This man was one who worshipped God—that is, a Gentile who attached to the synagogue. His house was next door to the synagogue. He had his first convert, apparently, if this be Gaius.
The second one was in verse 8. "And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord and all his house." That must've been a fantastic story. I wondered often to myself as I've gone over this, "Why doesn't it say more about how in the world Crispus, the chief of the synagogue, got saved?" It must've been bad enough for the Jews to have to endure the salvation of the man who lived next door without having to see their own leader saved. On top of that, his whole house. "And many of the Corinthians hearing were believing and were being baptized." All imperfect tense Greek verbs, which means they were continuously occurring, continuous action. Day by day, people were hearing. Day by day, were believing, and day by day were being baptized. Not all at once.
God began to fulfill his apostleship. People became believers. What an exciting time. Just that little phrase, "many of the Corinthians believed," has in it a volume of testimony that we wouldn't even begin to describe. The Bible doesn't say. We heard about a person who was saved out of this and saved out of that. We hear the testimony of some guy says, "I used to be this. I used to be that. God transformed me." We get excited about that.
We read something in the Bible, like "many of the Corinthians believed," and we say, "Oh." It doesn't have anything. It doesn't say anything exciting. We think, "Let me give you something exciting to put alongside it."
Paul wrote back to the Corinthians. This is what he said in 1 Corinthians 6:9. He said, "Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. Be not deceived. Neither fornicators"—sex sin—"nor idolators nor adulterers"—people who fool around outside their marriage—"nor effeminates, nor abusers of themselves of mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God." You say, "Man, what a list of lousy, corrupt people." The next verse says, "And such were some of you."
Every one of those little names that are included in verse 8 of Acts 18, the word "many," there is a volume of testimony that the Spirit of God didn't tell us. Someday when we get to heaven we can hear all about it. God was doing miracle after miracle after miracle in the salvation of souls.
What happened? First of all, he must've been encouraged by his friends that he met and secondly, by his converts. Can you imagine the thrill in his heart when he started seeing God just pull these people out of the Corinthian society one at a time? What a fantastic thing was going on.
Thirdly, and this is the point at which we stopped last time, he was encouraged not only by companionship and apostleship but by fellowship. He was encouraged by his friends, his converts, and thirdly by his God, the God of all comfort.
In 1 Samuel 30 David was distressed, David was discouraged, and it said, "He comforted himself in his God." I mean, if my friends are encouraging, and converts are encouraging, God is more encouraging in His own personal presence in my life. That's really what happens in verses 9-11.
You can imagine that when Titus Justus got saved, as the Bible says—there may have been a guy saved before him. There may have been others saved. We don't know for sure. It's possible that others were saved. Maybe even Stephanas and his house. Let's assume for this particular passage when Titus Justus, or Gaius Titus Justus was saved, you can imagine the irritation of the Jews. You see, he was attached to the synagogue, as is indicated by "he worshipped God" in verse 7.
Then on top of that, when Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue was saved, that must've really infuriated them. Then in addition, many were believing and being saved. Of course, by this time, they were tremendously antagonistic toward the apostle, whom they already had been antagonistic toward before anything happened back in verse 6.
To give you a little idea, Paul wrote to the Thessalonians at this time. It was right at this time that he wrote the letter. He wrote in 1 Thessalonians 2:15-16 these words, "The Jews who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets"—there are people who would exonerate the Jews from killing the Lord Jesus, but Paul did not. That does not mean that they are totally guilty, but they did do that. They killed the Lord Jesus. They were in on it, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us, and they please not God and are contrary to all men.
He says, "The same ones who killed Christ and their own prophets are persecuting us." Verse 16: "They are forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved." Apparently, after this thing began to happen, and some Gentiles started getting saved, the Jews got uptight, and the persecution started. They were trying to stop Paul from preaching. It was really intense.
Over in II Thessalonians, he wrote them another letter, and he told them essentially a similar thing. II Thessalonians 3:1. He says, "Finally, brethren, pray for us that the Word of the Lord may have free course." In other words, there was the bottling up threat that there was going to be a stoppage to their ministry. Verse 2: "And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men."
He was really being threatened at that time. The Gospel was about to come to a grinding halt. Unreasonable and wicked men were threatening and persecuting, so it was a tough go. At that point, even after his friends and his converts, he needed super encouragement, so God Himself comes. I just love verse 9: "Then spoke the Lord to Paul." Boy, that's good, isn't it? The personal touch.
God is personally involved with His servants. How exciting it is to know that. So many times when we serve Jesus Christ, we get the idea that we're merely a piece of the organization. We're just a drop in the bucket. We're just one little piece of what God's doing, and He's really not interested in us. He's sort of a great, big controller of a great, big machine. He just pushes all the buttons, and you may be a little bearing somewhere, and God never touches that. He just punches buttons and everything makes you—
That isn't it at all. God is personally, actively involved in the life of every servant. "And then the Lord spoke to Paul." He did so in the night in a vision. I told you last time that Paul had these visions from God—special times when he came to special crises and he didn't know which way to go. Here he was at a time of discouragement—tremendous pressure, tremendous persecution. You know something? It's amazing to think about as we went and prayed earlier, he said, "God, help us to have the same kind of boldness that Paul had." As you go to the book of Acts you don't very often see Paul running out of that, but here you do.
Paul right here was at the point of stopping his preaching. It was so difficult. That's when he was saying to the Thessalonians, "Pray for us that the Gospel might have free course." He was at the point of quitting right here. You say, "How do you know that?" Because the Lord came to him and said, "Be not afraid"—verse 9-"but speak and hold not your peace." Which implies that Paul was really thinking about stopping his preaching.
You say, "Well, for him to do that, man, it must've been really intense." It was. The Lord says, "Don't stop. You just keep preaching. Don't lose your peace."
The reaction of Paul was, "Well, I mean, don't just leave me there. I mean, why should I keep doing it? For what reason? What guarantees do I have?" The Lord gives him three, and they're in verse 10. I want you to get them. They're three promises that a Christian can apply in his own life.
No. 1—"Keep preaching, Paul, for I am with thee." Oh, what a powerful statement. In the Greek it's an emphatic. "I Myself am with thee." The emphasis is on God's very presence. That's the promise of power. I don't know how to get the message across. I don't even know how to get it across to myself, but I don't really think any of us understand what that means. I don't think any of us can fathom the power of God. Maybe you can understand the fact that once there was nothing and the next instant there was everything, you'll understand something of His power.
That a God who could speak everything into existence must have some kind of power. I often think of God generating things through space at the unbelievable speeds that He does. Think of the kind of fuel that it must take to drive things at that rate. God has power, unbelievable power.
The Bible says in Ephesians 3:20 that, "Because we are filled with all the fullness of God, we can do what we can't even dream." It actually simply says, "We can do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or—" What? Or think, According to the power that works in us."
I say that, and I urge you to believe that, and yet I'm not even sure myself that I understand that. I mean, I look at myself and I say, "Man, are you ever playing around in the sandbox. Are you ever playing tiddlywinks with the power of God. You haven't even begun to see what God can do." That's essentially what God is saying to Paul. "Paul, I Myself am with you." What is implied in "I Myself" is all that He is. "What do you have to fear? I Myself am with you."
I remember one time I was called into court to testify in an attempted murder. I was to be a witness. The guy who had committed the crime, or several—there were two of them—had committed the crime had made some pretty nasty statements to me and some threats and all this and that and sent their mother to talk to me. She said some things that were just kind of scary, but anyway, I was going to go to court and testify, anyway.
I went into court and this one guy—he was really a baddy—I went into the courtroom, and he looked over at me, and I'll never forget what he said. He was just the nastiest looking human. He was a huge guy, about 260, 255, a tremendous guy. He says, "We'll get you." That's what he said. I had this great, big policeman on one side of me, and another one on the other side, and I said, "Hi, fellas."
All these people in the courtroom— I was safe. I had a tremendous sense of invincibility. I'll never forget the feeling I had. Then I knew that behind that door where he was going to go there was—boom!—this big cave that he was going to be in. I don't know how you can relate that to your own life, but sometimes when I think about God, I think that no matter who approaches me, I'm invincible, because He stands beside me. He carries with Him not the authority of a city or the authority of a people but the authority that is His own, the authority of the universe. His strength and His power is all amassed on my behalf.
So he says, "Paul, don't stop preaching. I Myself am with you. The people who are out there trying to threaten you might as well take a broom and try to sweep away the beach." Paul senses, I'm sure, in response to what God says, a certain kind of invincibility.
I was reading this week in the book of Judges—what a great book—just to read how God works. You read through that thing, and you read about Othniel, the first judge, 3:10, and how God uses him in a great victory over a certain king. Then you read about Ehud—remember that fantastic story about Ehud? The children of Israel were serving the Eglon, the king of the Moabites, and they shouldn't have been under the servitude of the Moabites, so God is going to use Ehud to kill Eglon. He gets this dagger, and he sticks it in him, and he's such a fat man that his fat closes around the guy's hand. Anyway, it's a long story. Very interesting. Read it sometime. Third chapter of Judges.
Then you go a little further, and Shamgar takes an ox goad and kills those hundreds of people with an ox goad. You wonder where do these people get the strength and the ability and the power? Then you read about Deborah and Barak and the defeat of Sisera and the unbelievable account of having his head nailed to the ground, the terrible defeat of what's actually happened. They just put a spike through his head and ping! nailed him right down.
Then you read about Gideon and how Gideon narrowed down his army to just a few men, and he wiped out the enemy. Then you come to one man by the name of Samson. He kills 30, turns around and kills 1,000, turns around and kills 3,000 at the end of his life, and you say, "What in the world? How could those men do that? How could they ever have the power?"
You know what the key to the whole Book of Judges is? There's a statement in 2:18. This is what it says: "And the Lord was with the judges." That's the key. That's the whole key to the book. The Lord is with them. When the Lord is with you, you have power. That's exactly what He's saying to Paul. "You have the promise of power." Christian, I think He says that to us. Before we panic and run from our opportunity, recognize Who is with us. Jesus said, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Get a sense of your power.
The second thing He says to us, not only power but preservation. "No man shall set on thee to hurt thee." That's the negative. The positive is, "I'm with you." The negative is, "Nobody's going to hurt you." Boy, what a tremendous thing.
I want to show you something. Go to II Timothy 4—a couple of verses there, 17 and 18 and maybe 16. Paul came to the end of his life. God says to him there in Corinth, "Don't you worry. Nobody's going to hurt you." Can you imagine the confidence it gave him?
Well, look at verse 17 of II Timothy 4. Well, verse 16. Let's start there. He says, "At my first defense, no man stood with me but all men forsook me." He means his first Roman imprisonment. At his second Roman imprisonment, Demas forsook him, remember? Onesimus and Luke stayed with him. At his first Roman imprisonment, everybody left, and he was alone. Everybody bailed out on Paul, and he was alone.
I like this. He says, "All men forsook me." He says, "I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge." He says, "That's OK, God. I don't hold that against them. I forgive them. I forgive them."
You say, "Paul, you were alone there. You needed some help, you needed some support. How could you be so forgiving?" "Well," he says, "it was nice to have them," but verse 17 "notwithstanding the Lord—" what? "Stood with me." I like that. "And strengthened me, that by me the preaching might be fully known and that all the Gentiles might hear, and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion, and the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom."
That's confidence. Now the Lord comes to him in Corinth and says, "I will protect you. No one will hurt you." At the end of his life, he says, "You know what? No one's hurt me. God keeps His promises."
I don't know what that lion was. Maybe that's the lion that the Bible talks about as Satan who goes about as a roaring lion, toothless but he roars a lot. Maybe that's the lion he was delivered out of. Maybe it's the lion of persecution. Maybe it's the lion of death. He says, "The Lord stood with me." Oh, what a tremendous statement. "The Lord stood with me."
When you understand the power of the God and the preservation of God amassed in your behalf, you have nothing to fear. Absolutely nothing to fear. There is no Christian in the world who has any right to fear, because the power of God is amassed in your behalf, and His preservation is your promise.
Paul says, "Not one thing going to happen to me. He'll deliver me from every evil work, and He'll preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom." He had a tremendous sense of security.
In Luke 21, where He talks about characteristics of persecution in the last days, and He says, "But don't worry, because not a hair of your head will perish." What a statement. You can't always take that literally. Some of the hairs of all of our heads may be perishing in the process of life, but what He's saying, some of you are perishing disastrously, but what He is essentially saying is that in terms of enemies and attacks against you, not the smallest infringement on your life can take place outside the plan of God. What a promise. "Don't stop. My power is there. My preservation is there."
The third thing—and I like this, watch—is the third reason not to stop. Verse 10. "I have many people in this city." The third reason to keep preaching is really potent. He says, "Because I promise you results."
I venture to say that if I asked all of you, gave you a three-question quiz, and I said, "Do you believe that you have the power of God within you?" You'd all say, "Yes," because you know that theologically. You probably have experienced some of that.
I say, "Do you believe in preservation? Do you believe that God can keep you, that He's faithful to keep that which is committed on Him?" You'd say, "Yes." If I said, "Do you believe that God absolutely is producing fruit in your life?" I think some of you would say, "Uhhhhh."
Sometimes I think what we underestimate God and I think we don't think that God is really producing fruit. I think some of us run a little short on the promise end of things. I've had Christians actually come to me and say, "You know, John, nothing's happening in my life."
Well, there may be some truth in the admission, but I want you to know something. I believe that God promises to every Christian alive fruit in his life. I believe that absolutely.
Notice what He says here. "I have many people in this city." In other words, there are some elect here chosen before the foundation of the world, who are waiting to hear the Gospel so they can believe. Salvation comes about and eternity pass by election in time by the response of faith, but God says, "I have chosen them. Their names are in the Book of Life. They need to hear the Gospel, so they can respond to it now."
You'll notice it didn't say Paul then went around and found all the ones with "E" stamped on their back and gave them the Gospel. No, he just preached the Gospel to everybody and let God worry who was elect. His responsibility wasn't to pick and choose. His responsibility was to deliver the Gospel to everybody. God would take care of that.
That's the divine side of salvation, beloved. The Bible teaches that God chooses people to salvation. Some people get uptight about the doctrine of election. They panic, because they think that makes everything unfair. Panic if you want. Better that you should stop your panic and find out how you can deal with it scripturally, because it's there. It's in the Bible.
I used to panic a lot about it, too. "Oh, I don't understand the election." I was in this sort of theological quandary about it. Finally, I just decided, "Well, it's there. I'm going to believe it." That's the most peaceful thing in the world. "I just believe it. I don't understand it. I just believe it."
In II Timothy 1:9, just to give you an illustration. ____ deal with Scriptures, for example God, who had saved us and called us with that holy calling not according to our works but according to His own purpose and grace. You are called, and you are saved, because He wanted to do it and graciously did it. You didn't have anything to do with it.
You say, "When was that done?" "Which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." You know when salvation was given to you? "Before the world began." It's there. It's in the Bible.
Well, there are other verses. Have you ever read II Timothy 2:10? Listen to this. "Therefore, Paul says,"—in the verse before, he says, "I have to go through a lot of stuff. I get kicked around a lot." He says, "I endure all things." "What for, Paul?" "For the elect's sake."
What a statement. "For the elect's sake? What do you mean?" That they may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. In other words, that they may be able to respond to the truth that God has granted them from before the world began.
"You're preaching for the elect's sake?" That's what it says. Those are ____ Scriptures you say God's unfair. "You mean God just sits up there and says, 'I choose you and I—'" The Bible says God chooses before the foundation of the world and writes the name in the Book.
You say, "But that's not fair." No, you can't say that. You can't say it's not fair, because if you say it's not fair, then you're judging God, right? Are you the standard of what's fair, or is He? Is it your ignorance that limits your understanding, or is He ignorant and doesn't understand what you know? Ohhhh. Watch that one.
Allow yourself to be ignorant. It's bliss. In fact, in Romans—I love Paul's argument. In Romans, a guy comes home and says, "It's not fair. It's not fair. I don't understand that. God, how can You do that? Then if You're choosing people to be saved before the world began, how can You make me responsible?" In verse 20, Paul says, "Nay, but old man, who art thou that repliest against God?"
You know what his answer is to the guy who argues? "Shut up. Who are you? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, 'Why did You make me thus?' Why, the potter has power over the clay. The pot doesn't jump off and say, 'I don't like the way You made me. Make me different.'"
You can't argue with God. No, sir. 15 it says, "God says I'll have mercy on whom I'll have mercy, compassion on whom I'll have compassion." Listen, you cannot avoid scripturally the doctrine of sovereign election. It's all over the Bible. He's called us with a holy calling to salvation before the world began, not just to Christ's likeness. Not just to maturity but to salvation.
You say, "Well, John, does that mean that if you're not chosen, you go to hell? You mean to say that if I'm not elect, I can't come to Jesus?" No, the Bible never says that. The Bible also teaches human responsibility, doesn't it?
Go back to verse 6. What does it say? "He says to those _____ your blood be upon"—what? Your own heads. You see, the Bible teaches both of those things. You let them exist, as we said before in a paradox. You don't understand it. You just believe it.
People always say, "Well, yeah, if you believe in that doctrine, then you can say and do whatever you want." Have you ever heard that one? I hear that all the time. No, no, no. The Bible never allows for that.
In II Thessalonians 2:13, "We are bound to give thanks always to God for you brother and beloved of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation." Election is not just to Christ's likeness. It's not just to maturity. It's to salvation.
You say, "But then you can live any way you want." No, no, no. Listen to Colossions. A very important passage. Get this. It's a good answer to give people who are always saying that people who believe in election and security of the believer have license to do what you want. Here's what God expects of His elect. Listen.
Colossions 3:12. "Put on therefore as the elect of God." Now if you are elect, do this. Put on this—tender mercy, kindness, humbleness, meekness, long suffering, forbearing one another, forgiving one another. If you have a quarrel, as Christ forgave you. Above all things, put on love, the bond of perfectness. Let the peace of God rule your hearts." Verse 16, "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly." Verse 17, "Whatever you do in word and deed, do all in the name of the Lord." Verse 18, "Wives submit to your husbands." 19, "Husbands love your wives. Children obey your parents. Fathers, provoke not your children. Servants obey your masters." Verse 22, "Whatever you do, heartily as under the Lord." "Masters," chapter 4, "give unto your servant." You think that sounds like license?
If you're the elect, that's what's required of you. That's what's expected of you. No, there's no license in that. So Paul is encouraged with the promise of resolve. I believe in sovereign election. As I said last week, I believe the burden's on God's part, because God also says, "Whosoever will, let him come." I think that's basic. Anybody who desires to come can come.
Let's go on. I want to digress for just a moment if I might. Go back to 18 and verse 10. Notice the statement in verse 10. "I have many people in this city." I believe that we can claim this promise in our lives and our watch, that God is going to grant to us fruit. I believe this. I believe that if you're a faithful Christian witness, somebody's going to get saved as a result of your witness. It may be that you water, may be that you plant, but it's going to happen.
Let me show you why I say that. Turn in your Bible to John 15:16. Listen to this. Pull your mind into captivity to it. Jesus said, in John 15:16, "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you." Now watch. "And ordained you that you should go and bring forth—" What? "Fruit."
It is ordained of a Christian that he brings forth fruit. That's basic. I don't think that any Christian needs to fear that in his life there is no fruit, there is no fruitfulness. Look at it again. "I have ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain."
Now let me take it a step further. Back up in chapter 15 to the first two verses. "I am the true vine. My father is the vine dresser. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away." Now if there is somebody who is not bearing fruit, he's removed. People have been confused about this passage, and they say, "Is that a Christian?" No, I don't believe that's a Christian. I believe it's a non-Christian who attaches externally to Christ.
Let me give you an illustration. From John 13 on, Jesus has been talking with His disciples, right? The event that has just occurred is the elimination of Judas. Judas has just left. Judas is in the mind of Jesus. He sits there and the contrast is there. Judas is out betraying Him. Jesus is talking to the 11, and Jesus is seeing in His mind two kinds of branches, the Judas branch and the true branch.
Now He says in the first two verses that there are two kinds of branches. There is the true branch, and there is the Judas branch. The Judas branch is characterized by what? No fruit. Let's go on.
Verse 6. "If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered and then gathered and then cast into the fire and there burned." It is my conviction that this is a picture of judgment and a picture of hell. It is not to be a picture of a Christian, because no Christian could be cast into hell. It's a picture of a Judas branch but notice the contrast.
Verse 4. "Abide in Me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine. No more can ye except ye abide in Me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He that abideth in Me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit."
So you have two branches. One has no fruit. One has fruit. The one with no fruit is burned. The one with fruit is purged to bear more fruit.
The point is simply this. The no fruit is the Judas branch. Externally attached to Christianity, on the surface attached to Christianity, outwardly attached to Christianity but not real and consequently doesn't abide. What is the characteristic of a true Christian? He continues, right? He abides. "If you continue My Word, you are My disciple for real." This one does not abide.
The one that abides—watch—bears fruit. I believe the promise of every Christian is that you're going to have fruit. I don't think there can be a Christian without any fruit. I really don't. I don't think that the branch that doesn't bear fruit can be a Christian, because I don't think you can have a Christian that doesn't bear fruit.
You say, "What makes you so convinced of that?" Well, several things. Let me give you an idea of it. In Ephesians 2:10, for example, it says this: "We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." We are saved in the good works. For example, James says, "Your faith without works is—" What?" Yes. If you don't have fruit, you're not even saved. I think that's just part of it. There are many other Scriptures. Many other Scriptures, that support that idea.
So I believe the promise of 15-16 is for every Christian. If you want further detail, and I'll get the tapes on John 15 and go over them carefully, but in John 15-16 you say if you're truly saved, you will bear fruit, and your fruit will remain. Christian, I really believe God has promised us fruit.
You say, "Well, John, what does that fruit consist of?" Well, it consists of many things. First of all, it consists of graces. Galatians 5, the fruit of the Spirit is what? Love, joy, peace, all the way down. That's fruit. How about this? Hebrews 13:15, "The fruit of your lips." Praise. How about the fruit of giving? Philippians 4:17, He talks about the fruit the Philippians bore when they gave him an offering. I Corinthians 14:14, fruit identification. Fruit of good works, Colossians 1:10.
And then fruit are other converts. In I Corinthians 16:15, Paul talks about the first fruits of Achaia, the first people saved. Fruit is many things, but all Christians can claim the promise that God is with me. No man shall hurt me, and God is going to cause me to bear fruit. I believe that. Don't be discouraged, Christians. There many be times when you appear to have barrenness in your life. Fruit will come. I looked out my backyard yesterday, and I saw two trees. One of them is a fruitless tree, and it just gets leaves, but oh, does it get leaves. It looks like nothing. It looks dead. I looked at another tree, and that tree is a peach tree that has peaches that big on it. There is another tree in our backyard that's an orange tree, and that was given to us by Grace Church long ago. They want to know if they could grow it on a tree, we could grow fruit on a tree as well as in the ministry. That was the basis on which they gave it. Don't judge my ministry by my tree.
Anyway, there are those two trees that bear fruit, and you know something? They are the scrawniest, most hopeless looking things I've ever seen, but when the season comes, they will bear beautiful fruit. So many times in the Christian's life, we go through the winter as we gain the strength and the direction for the purposeful times of fruit bearing that await us. Don't underestimate God. Don't limit God, and don't figure that if it isn't happening now, it isn't going to happen. Let God do it in His own time.
You have the promise of power, preservation, the promise of fruit. I'm telling you, Paul was so encouraged by this time, his heart was just blessed. Go back to 18 and look what he did. I just love this. He was thrilled, and in 18:11, after God had given him this threefold reason to keep preaching, he continued there a year and six months, teaching the Word of God among them. He had his strength renewed. He says, "Here I go, God," and he went a year and a half. From the autumn of 50 to the spring of 52 in that first century, the apostle continued to minister in that city, and people continued to be saved and built in the faith.
You notice what he did in his time there? Teaching the Word of God. That's his calling. So he was encouraged by his fellowship with God. God strengthened him. Lastly—companionship, apostleship, fellowship, lastly hardship.
You say, "John, you mean you can be encouraged by hardship?" Oh, yes. By this I mean his enemies. He was encouraged by his friends, his converts, his God, and his enemies. You say, "Well, John, how can you be encouraged by your enemies?" A lot of ways. Let me give you three.
One—by who your enemies are. You know it will tell a lot about a man who his enemies are? If you've got very bad, sinful, evil enemies, that's good. You're doing something right.
Secondly, you can be encouraged not only by who your enemies are but by how ineffective they are. Have you ever noticed how your enemies work so hard and don't seem to get anywhere?
Let me give you a third thing. You can be encouraged not only by who they are and how ineffective they are, but you can be encouraged by seeing what God does to them. Have you ever seen your enemies get saved? Fantastic.
Watch what happens to Paul. This is really interesting. Verse 12 "And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia" Gallio, incidentally, was an interesting guy. He was the elder brother of a famous philosopher by the name of Seneca. Seneca was the philosopher of the Roman Empire. He lived in Spain, but his influence was all over the place. We have much information about Seneca. Gallio was his elder brother, and Gallio.
Incidentally, Seneca was the tutor of Nero and also the uncle of one of the world's most famous poets, Lucan, the Roman poet. It was a famous family, and Gallio was a really important fellow. He was the deputy or the proconsul of Achaia, which is a district. He was like a governor under the Roman emperor. A very important man.
Seneca said of Gallio that he was famous for his kindness. In fact, Seneca said, "No man is as sweet to one as Gallio is to everyone." He was a very, very kind man by reputation. It's interesting that he's called a deputy of Achaia, the proconsul of Achaia, because Luke was historically right on the nose. We have evidence to indicate that at this time, this is exactly who he was and exactly the right title that he had, and those titles changed historically, so this is another vindication of the accuracy of the Scripture.
Gallio was the deputy of Achaia. The Jews made an attack with one accord against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat. The way this proconsul deal operated was, Corinth was apparently a center for the proconsul's operation, although he may've moved to other areas, but he happened to be in Corinth there, whether permanently or temporarily, and he set up his movable judgment seat in the agora, the marketplace. People would come and bring their grievances and whatever there was to this thing, and he would sit in judgment. He had his lictors, his policemen, around to bring about the execution of the penalties, whatever that might have been.
The Jews realized, "If we just take Paul's case to the civic magistrates, the city fathers, all we're going to get is a city judgment. All it'll do is hinder his work in the city, and we want to get him stopped everywhere." So they said, "Let's take Paul's case to the Roman proconsul."
Any verdict by a Roman proconsul became like the verdict like any given judge in our courts. It became precedent. What the proconsul determined in one case could then become precedent for all other cases. So if Paul could be adjudged as a criminal, and his preaching stopped in Achaia, the other Roman proconsuls would take the lead from Gallio and do the same. Believe me, the history of Christianity would've taken a drastic turn for the next 10-12 years.
They had their little plot, and they marched up to his judgment seat in the agora with their case. Here is their charge. Verse 13: "This man—" or this fellow, whatever you want to put in there. It's just, "This one." "—persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law." Man, I've heard a lot of vague generalities but that takes the cake. What kind of an accusation is that? "This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law." What law?
Well, obviously, they were talking about Roman law, because they were trying to get this Roman to convict Paul of a crime. Christianity officially was viewed as a sect of Judaism. The Romans saw it as a sect of Judaism, therefore, it came under what the Romans called "religio licita." They had a category called "permitted religions." Although they believed in emperor worship, and you know all about that, they had category of permitted religions. Judaism was one of the permitted ones. Christianity was seen as a sect of Judaism.
What these Jews were trying to do was to get Gallio to acknowledge that Paul's brand of religion was not religio licita but religio illicita, and that it should be excluded, because it was not Judaism. They wanted to convict him.
Gallio was no dumbbell. He was cool, and I'm sure he'd heard Paul preach. He knew enough about the Jewish religion assuredly to know that the Jews had this and that and the other kind of standard, and they believed in a Messiah, and they were looking for their Messiah. All that Paul was announcing was that Jesus is that Messiah. Therefore, Gallio could see that Paul's brand of Christianity was, in fact, just a form of Judaism in his own mind.
Maybe they had a little different view on just who this Messiah was. It certainly was no crime, and that's exactly how he responds. It's exciting to see how God uses Gallio to accomplish His purpose. God does that. He either uses you willingly or unwillingly, wittingly or unwittingly, but He uses you. Everybody. Read Isaiah 44-45. Read about Cyrus, the pagan king who God kept calling, "My servant, Cyrus."
Anyway, Verse 14. When Paul was now about to open his mouth, here comes Paul, all ready to give his defense. You say, "What was he going to say?" I don't know, but I can give you a good guess. If you read Acts 24 and 26, you'll hear his defense before Felix and Agrippa. If you read those defenses, you'll get a good idea of what he would've said here. He probably would've gone on about the fact that the Gospel he preached was the true and central faith of Israel, the fulfillment of the promises of the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, the God of Jacob, and all this, tying it together that way. He didn't even say anything.
He was about to open his mouth, and Gallio spoke and said to the Jews, "If it were a matter of wrong—" The word "wrong" in the Greek means "legal wrong." Gallio was sharp. He was going to deal with the law. He says, "If this was an issue of legal wrong, if the man had actually done a crime—" If it was a breach of the law, or wicked villainy— In other words, something that was perhaps was outside the frame of the law specifically but was obviously villainous— He says, "If this was a case of crime against the law or of outright wicked villainy, oh ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you."
In other words, "If that's the case, then I would act in this case. If you actually had a case here, I would do something. It wouldn't be unreasonable for me to enter an issue of crime or of wicked villainy."
Look at verse 15. "But if it's a question of words and names—" In other words, he says, "This is semantics. You all talk about your same religion. You all talk about Abraham and Isaac and all of this. You all talk about Messiah, and now you've got one guy that thinks this is the Messiah, and you don't? That's a theological problem. You deal with that one. No sense of me getting involved."
He says, "If it's a question of words and names, this is just talk. This isn't action. There's no crime here. This is semantics."
"It's of your law, look ye to it. I'll be no judge of such matters." If he had judged against Paul, as I said, Christianity's history would've been drastically changed for 10-12 years, because it would've become the standard judgment against Christianity. Paul wouldn't have been able to go anywhere.
He didn't. God prevented it. Later on, God had him bring different verdicts and finally, Paul lost his life, but that was in God's plan, too, at a different time, a different place. Here, Gallio says, "Nothing doing. You don't even have an issue."
Verse 16: "He drove them from the judgment seat." You know what that indicates to me? That indicates to me that they didn't quit when he said, "Forget it. I'm not going to get involved." They probably really hung around and persisted. Finally, he called his lictors and said, "Get them out." He drove them out of there.
Those lictors had those little things that they used, and whack! whack! and away you go. Chased them out. "Clear the court!" he said, in effect.
Can you imagine? The Apostle Paul hadn't even opened his mouth. He was just standing there, watching all this going on. You see, you can get encouraged by who your enemies are, but you can also get encouraged by how ineffective they are, right? They were totally ineffective. They couldn't stop him.
There's a third way to get encouraged, and that's by what God does with your enemies. Watch this. Verse 17: "Then all the Greeks—" Incidentally, in the original manuscript, the best manuscripts say, "Then they all—" It leaves out the Greeks.
It says, "Then they all took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat, and Gallio cared for none of these things."
Who are these all that beat them? That's interesting to think about. Some people say it was the policemen, the lictors of verse 16 that beat Sosthenes up, because he kept persisting in the case. Others say, "No, it was the Jews. They were so mad at him, even though he was the chief ruler of the synagogue, they were so mad at him that he blew the case that his own Jews beat him up." Others say, "No. Because of the rough stuff that was going on and the hassle and the chasing and the driving them out, the Jews, already being hated, the people who were anti-Semitic, the crowd who didn't like the Jews, anyway, took the opportunity, and the Greeks beat up Sosthenes."
Whoever did it, Sosthenes got it. We really don't know who beat up Sosthenes, but somebody really let him have it. They beat him right in front of the judgment seat and Gallio "cared for none of these things." Gallio just turned an indifferent eye. He just said, "I'm not going to get involved in this deal." Which in a sense makes me think that perhaps it was the Jews who were beating up Sosthenes for handling the case so poorly.
Well, let me show you how God can encourage. Later on, Paul sat down and wrote a letter back to the Corinthians. This is what he said. Ready for this? He said in I Corinthians 1:1. Don't look it up, just listen. You ready?
"Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother unto the church."
Pretty exciting, eh? You see, God not only encourages His saints by who your enemies are if you're standing for righteousness but by how ineffective they are but by what He does to them when He transforms them. "Paul and our brother Sosthenes." That's exciting.
Things kind of cooled down. Verse 18 says, "And Paul after this tarried there a good while." He was able to continue his ministry.
Beloved, you know something? The Psalmist was right. If you wait on the Lord, He'll strengthen you—with friends, converts, with Himself, His own presence, and even through your enemies. "Trust and you'll know His joy that comes when He comforts."
Let's pray. Thank You, Father, for being the God of all comforts. Thank You, Lord, that in the times of stress, trial, and difficulty, we can turn to You and know that You are more anxious to comfort us than we are to be comforted, because this is the evidence of Your love to Your children. And yet, Father, the times of difficulty are the times of strengthening, and we would not know Your comfort if we did not know trial, and thus we would not know the God that You are.
Thank You for what You've taught us through the apostle. Help us to be followers of him as he was of Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that You would bring to our hearts not only these words and thoughts but produce in us the motives that will change our actions, that we might more conform to the Word of God, to the Christ of God. In His Name we pray, Amen.
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It is that time of the year again: the attack of the lady beetles. Usually they sneak their way into our homes before now but the mild weather has kept them at bay. The chill is here so people are asking, "what do I do about all the lady bugs in my house?" Well, the short answer is seal up the house well and get out the vacuum cleaner.
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NEWS- Senior moment: Garrett mystery solved?
Four days after publicist to the stars and chicken farmer Tommy Lightfoot Garrett pled guilty to a reduced charge in Buckingham County Courthouse, some questions about his accomplishments remain. For instance, did he actually grace the cover of Senior Magazine, the Arizona edition, as at least one website claims?
Garrett's other professional achievements are easier to document. There's no doubt, for instance, that he appeared on the HGTV reality show Living With Ed– in fact, a rerun of the episode featuring Garrett aired Tuesday morning, April 22, and clips of the show are available on YouTube. Several of Garrett's self-published books are for sale on Amazon.com, including his most recent, Cosmic's Adventure: A Science Fiction Novel, released in paperback on March 31. In a product description, taken from the book's foreword, Garrett reveals some of his inspiration for his Cosmic protagonist.
"I think he represents the best in us and some of the battles he's had to wage for good versus evil are major compared to many of the battles we have to wage on a daily basis," he writes. "Even though I've known some very vile and evil people. Including a former employer, a schizophrenic neighbor who needed help and then went crazy when the help had to come to an end, a wannabe producer who could not take no for an answer, and a small town tabloid rat. Treachery is something that you have to see and live to grasp. So it was a blessing to have to deal with awful people in that it gives an artist and author more material to work with."
If his books are easily discovered online, Senior Magazine, the Arizona edition has been far more elusive. Perhaps that's for the best. The publisher and editor of Senior Magazine, the North Central California Edition says there is no official Arizona edition, and he's not happy that someone could be using the name.
"If there is, they're going to get sued," says Senior Magazine, the North Central California Edition's honcho Ted Richards. "We have trademarked the name. If you find out anything about anybody masquerading under the name Senior Magazine in Phoenix, let me know. I'll put a stop to that right now."
Garrett did not immediately return the Hook's call for comment.


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Then vs Now: Wrecks Edition
I love - LOVE - old cake photos. Not the pretty magazine ones, of course, but the yellowing snapshots of children's birthday cakes from 20 or 30 years ago. They're a total blast from the past, and even when they're all lopsided and misspelled and ridiculously wrecky, you just can't help but love them.
Like Sarah's here, from the 80s:
It's a one-armed Care Bear, of course. Holding a pair of lips. Stomping on something that is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike grass.
Compare that with today's Care Bear cakes, and you'll find we've come a looong way, baby:
Oh, how we've grown.
Of course, the only thing better than vintage cake photos are vintage cake photos with the birthday kids in them:
That's CW reader Amanda P. with her cousin Ryan, and she tells me no one noticed his "Ghostbusters"cake was misspelled until her mom uploaded this pic to Facebook ... 22 years later. THIS IS WHY THE INTERNET EXISTS, PEOPLE. To pick apart our childhood memories. And to make me jealous of 4-year-old boys' TMNT t-shirts.
(I also like to think Amanda is dressed as a sailor as a subtle Stay Puft homage, because, c'mon, how awesome would that be?!)
If you're wondering what you get today when you order a Ghostbusters cake, though:
Kristen's husband picked up this "Ghostbusters cake," but neither of them have an explanation.
(Maybe it's supposed to be Slimer? Maybe?)
Still debating if that's worse than this one, though:
YOU. We're ready to believe... YOU. C'mon, bakers, don't you have the entire script of Ghostbusters memorized like the rest of us? I mean, REALLY.
Ok, just one more, in reverse. Here's a "modern" Barbie doll cake:
Come for the ridiculous sinking Barbie, stay for the bonus crotch photo bomb.
And here's the way most of us gals remember them from our childhood:
Ok, so maybe we'll call this one a draw.
Thanks to Sarah R., Tina H., Amanda P., Kristen C., Tiffany G., Linda G., & Celeste R. for the memories.
PS - I'm really getting a kick out of comparing vintage cakes to the newer ones, so if you have some old snapshots of your childhood birthday cakes around - professional or not - then please, send them in! I won't promise not to make fun of them, but I do promise I'll do it with lots of love. And maybe some bad puns. So, you know, the usual way.


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Last week I took a trip to Indiana to visit with my 97-year-old Great Uncle Pete. My parents and my aunt took the trip with me as well, we drove out, visited, and drove back! We rented a minivan so everyone could have a roomy trip and now I'm thinking I need a new car because I don't have cell phone chargers and USB ports hiding out everywhere in my car! We're all so spoiled!
Anyway, we took the trip specifically to visit with my Great Uncle Pete Domelle. He is the last of the Domelle siblings, Tony, Mary and Bill (my grandfather) have all passed away.
It was just lovely visiting with him and with his daughter, my 1st cousin once removed, Mary. Mary and her husband Larry welcomed us and let me rummage through all kinds of photographs. :-)
Here is a photo of Mary and her 1st cousins, my Mom and aunt.
Uncle Pete regaled us with many stories during our visits with him! The last time we were out in Indiana was over 9 years ago.
It was strange - Uncle Pete doesn't really look like my grandfather, but the way he used his hands - the gestures he made, as well as the cadence of his speech - when it came to that they were nearly twins!! It made we wonder - did they learn their gestures from being around their father? Uncle Pete would still toss out a German word or two - growing up, their parents were immigrants and spoke German. My grandfather says he remembers his dad reading German language newspapers from Chicago (they lived in the northwest corner of Indiana).
I'm so glad we were able to make this trip. It was a long car drive but so worth it to visit with everyone!!!!
A blog about random thoughts that pop into my head. Mostly it will concern my genealogy findings for my family and my brother-in-law's family. Some of my family names are: Akins, Burnet, Collins, Domelle, Harrison, Ide, Kirby, Kleylein, Pawlak, Rockwell, and Royce.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
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Back by "Popular" Demand!
by Chris Troy
It's been awhile hasn't it FPNYC faithful! I would have written sooner, but I had a trinity of things keeping me away from blogging as of late, as my ass was in Boston earlier for PAX East, Chicago over a week ago for C2E2 and then celebrated my 3rd year of marriage this past weekend with the Mrs. But I'm back for the foreseeable future, here to pimp out the newest toys and collectibles FPNYC has to offer. We've got a ton of stuff to cover, and not all of it's Marvel related! Just of lot of it, because man, they have the Avengers' license and that will be printing a lot of people some serious green.
After releasing some awesome Batman, Final Fantasy XIII-2 & Street Fighter IV figures earlier this year, Square Enix has decided to take a trip back to 1998 for their latest figure: Cyborg Ninja (formerly Gray Fox) from the legendary Playstation One classic "Metal Gear Solid." It's been a while since Ninja has gotten the plastic treatment (I think McFarlane toys was the first and only company to release a poseable/non-gasaphon Ninja) and man, Square went to town on this figure in terms of detailing and sculpt. Square definitely captures the robotic feel of Ninja, and the paint job for the figure is insane. As far as accessories go, Ninja is limited to only a katana and a railgun, which is kinda of lacking compared to other Play Arts Kai releases, especially since it also lacks variant hands. However, it's still and amazing figure in its own right. Ninja isn't the only MGS1 figure getting the Play Arts Kai treatment, as Solid Snake is due out any week, and Meryl should be out within a few weeks/month (Square really needs to clarify this). Ninja retails for about $60, which is the average price for the Kai figure, and is available now. Continue reading


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Because as of yesterday, our beloved Boobles was promoted to Guild Leader, I felt now was the best time ever to finish on a post that's been saved in my drafts for quite some time.
For the past two years, I've filled almost every role in a guild in WoW. I've been the newbie player who didn't know anything, I've been the semi-experience member who mostly kept to myself, I've been the obnoxious veteran who didn't hesitate to butt her nose into officer business and try to help, I've been the frantic officer running around with my head cut off, and finally… I've been the regretful guild master who wished she could've kept it all together, in game and in real life.
After all this, maturing in game and IRL, it's taught me that a guild leader takes a very special person, a person I learned that I myself wasn't qualified for.
Not just anyone can run up, start a guild, and expect people to join and be merry till the end of game. You can't much expect that in real life; can't start a business and expect all your first employees to stay till retirement. Being through walks of life through WoW and in real life, here is Mika's Socializing 101: Guild Leadership Guide.
Blizzard defines Guild Leadership Basics as this.
But they don't realize the PERSON behind that title is just as inportant as the ROLE they're filling.
Jeon Rezvani wrote a book called Guild Leadership: Lessons from the Virtual World. Jeon is an IT Senior Manger, and a gaming fanatic. Combining his real life leadership lessons and his virtual leadership lessons, this is a very informational book. More information can be found here.
One last final helpful resource for new and upcoming potential Guild Leaders is this. Warcraft Hunters Union posed a good question, and got amazing responses. What do you, the people, WANT in a guild Leader? Browsing this post will also help you in understanding if you are the type who CAN successfully lead a guild.
First a foremost, every guild leader needs to understand, and mostly accept, that they will be, for always and forever, the top of the ranks, the leader, the go to person above all other people. They will be constantly under the miscroscope by the members; every move, decision, word will be microanalyzed, and while as there will be many friends to be made, there will also be enemies.
This seems to be the hardest aspect of being a guild leader to grasp. It's hard to put 110% of your time and effort in game, and occationally IRL, for your guild to work, only to see people become upset, and leave… some of these people you call friends.
I hope this guide will help those people who want to make it work, through thick and thin, and avoid as many unecessary quits as possible.
For starters, There are many ways to run a guild. Many, many combinations of ranks to choose from. There's a council system, a partnership system, but this guide will primarily be fore a Monarch/Presidential System where there is one GM, one Decision Maker, one Rule All.
This is where I shall hold off and postpone part 2 for tomorrow. The reason I break it up is so the information is easier to digest. Part 2 will be much lengthier than part 1, so my advice is to read up on the resources I've posted above, and get familiar to the setting.


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My Watched Topics | My Favorites | My Profile Private IMs Register Log in Help | Stats | Members | Groups Search Forum Housing Boom HKSS.com Forum Index -> Gossip and News View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message LexiLunaticJoined: 25 Jul 2004Posts: 185 Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2005 9:28 am Post subject: Housing Boom I enjoy following news from the FEDS and Mr. Greenspan. While I might not always agree with his politics, I think he has done a noteworthy job in regulating our economy and helping us to compete in global markets. He's a pretty interesting guy... Enjoy! *********************************************************** By Glenn Somerville Sun Aug 28, 1:49 AM ET JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (Reuters) - U.S. home prices could fall as the housing surge "inevitably" slows, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Saturday as he cast doubt on central banks' ability to sway such asset values. "The housing boom will inevitably simmer down," the Fed chief said. "As part of that process, house turnover will decline from currently historic levels, while home price increases will slow and prices could even decrease." Greenspan's latest house price warning came during concluding remarks to an annual Kansas City Fed symposium -- his last as Fed chief and one focused on a retrospective of his 18 years at the Fed. Greenspan intends to step down at the end of next January. The central banker famed for Delphic utterances offered an unusually blunt assessment of the challenges he sees facing his still-unknown heir and his views of issues such as inflation targets, economic imbalances and the budget gap. On Friday, he warned investors not to assume rises in the value of assets such as stocks and homes were "structural and permanent" and that the buying power fueled by those price surges could evaporate if buyers turned wary. Analysts called Greenspan's warnings timely but said he was not signaling an imminent collapse, just pointing out that double-digit house price gains could not last forever. "I would say it was a very explicit forecast of what's going to happen not over one year, but over two or three years, said David Hale, chairman of Chicago-based Hale Advisors. Some economists have criticized Greenspan for letting what they view as a house price "bubble" develop, equating it to the one that swept technology stocks to stratospheric levels before bursting in 2000. But Greenspan argues the Fed's role is to mop up after bubbles burst, since they are hard to spot and deflate safely. On Saturday, he said that while he expected continued debate over whether the Fed could and should use its power over short-term interest rates to try to influence asset prices, he did not see that as feasible. "The configuration of asset prices is already an integral part of our evaluation of the large array of forces that influence financial stability and economic growth," he said. "But given our current state of knowledge, I find it difficult to envision central banks successfully targeting asset prices any time soon." He did not rule out the possibility that better understanding of asset price behavior could one day affect the conduct of monetary policy. Nationwide, home prices are up more than 50 percent over the past five years, a boom stoked by long-term interest rates that have stayed cheap despite 10 straight short-term rate rises by the Fed since June 2004. BENEFITS FOR BROADER ECONOMY Although it would slow consumer spending, Greenspan said a cooling in housing could help balance the broad economy. "The surprisingly high correlation between increases in home equity extraction and the current account deficit suggests that an end to the housing boom could induce a significant rise in the personal savings rate, a decline in imports and a corresponding improvement in the current account deficit," the Fed chief said. Greenspan said how much pain those changes cause depends on whether the United States and key trade partners keep their policies flexible to allow needed adjustments. The large gap in the U.S. current account, the broadest trade measure since it includes investment flows, has worried many U.S. lawmakers. Greenspan warned anew this weekend that trade protectionism, including tariffs and other bars to the global flow of goods, was a threat to world economic stability. In what could be seen as a parting shot at those who want the Fed to adopt openly stated inflation targets, as have many of the world's big central banks, Greenspan reiterated his steadfast opposition. He said the Fed had until now avoided targets out of concern they could hinder achievement of its core goal: maximum sustainable economic growth underpinned by price stability. "I remain unpersuaded that explicit numerical inflation targets are a key characteristic that distinguishes behavior among the world's central banks," he said. "That said, I am certain this will remain a topic of lively discussion here and at other monetary forums in years to come." While the White House has not chosen a successor to the 79-year-old Fed chief, at least one of those deemed a potential candidate -- former Fed board governor and current Bush administration economic adviser Ben Bernanke -- is a staunch proponent of inflation targets. Back to top Mikey_Life is good. Be inspired.Joined: 04 Oct 2003Posts: 1322Location: Fountain Valley, California (USA) Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2005 10:35 am Post subject: Interesting article. Thanks. 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RIAA Boss Says That The DMCA 'Isn't Working' Any More
from the um..-wow. deptRIAA President Cary Sherman is really doing a stunning job every time he opens his mouth this week. First, as noted earlier, he may have hurt the RIAA's chances in a Supreme Court case by directly stating the exact opposite of the RIAA's position in that case. Then, he got on stage at a "tech policy" shindig in Aspen Colorado, and said (apparently with a straight face) that "the DMCA isn't working for content people at all." Wow.
Now, this deserves some background. The key parts of the DMCA were almost entirely drafted due to pressures from the RIAA, who wanted this law passed badly. The RIAA has been one of the biggest supporters of the DMCA all along. The one tiny bit they don't like was the part put in at the request of service providers to get them to stop fighting the DMCA: a basic safe harbor that makes it clear that liability should only be applied to individuals or organizations who actually infringe on copyrights, not service providers whose tools are used by third parties. This isn't some revolutionary idea. It's basic common sense application of liability on the party that actually breaks the law. Even that was severely tilted in the RIAA's favor by requiring a notice-and-takedown provision, that almost certainly violates the First Amendment.
But much of the DMCA was an RIAA wishlist of the absurd -- such as the anti-circumvention clause. In fact, for years, tech companies warned about problems with the DMCA. There were a few attempts by Rep. Rick Boucher to reform the DMCA to get rid of the serious problems with it that totally favored the RIAA in often ridiculous ways, but the entertainment industry vigorously fought against these changes.
However, nothing ever came of that, and Boucher hasn't pushed to reform the DMCA in quite a few years at this point. Last I heard, the feeling was that both the technology folks and the entertainment industry folks had decided that reopening the DMCA was a can of worms that was far too dangerous. Tech companies feared losing the safe harbor protections, while the entertainment industry feared losing pretty much anything, such as some of the anti-circumvention clauses.
However, with the entertainment industry having such a "good friend" in Joe Biden, it apparently feels confident enough to try to reopen the DMCA to get rid of the one part it never liked. This is really quite stunning. The DMCA was a bill that was designed for the RIAA. It had one tiny safe harbor, and for Sherman to now attack that is a sickening attempt to twist the DMCA even further in favor of one industry, against everyone's best interests.
Even worse, his rationale for this is just laughable:
"You cannot monitor all the infringements on the Internet. It's simply not possible. We don't have the ability to search all the places infringing content appears, such as cyberlockers like [file-hosting firm] RapidShare."Read that again. So because the RIAA is unable to monitor, others should be forced to do it for them, or face giant fines. Sherman admits that it's impossible to monitor, but in the same breath demands laws that will punish other companies for failing to do the impossible, while taking all of the responsibility off of the companies he represents. To make such a statement takes such incredible guts that it's amazing the room didn't burst out in laughter.
Of course, what this is really about is that Sherman and the RIAA are posturing for a three strikes law in the US. For two years now, they've tried (and failed) to get ISPs to agree to three strikes in the US. So, Sherman is kicking off a campaign to try to pressure ISPs to agree... or to get politicians to introduce a bill.
Filed Under: cary sherman, copyright, dmca
Companies: riaa


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Date(s) - 08/15/2019
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
DeSimone's Steakhousse at the Railroad Pass Hotel & Casino
Boulder City Republican Women works to inform women of local, state and federal issues that affect all of us.
We hold monthly luncheon meetings in the DeSimone's Steakhouse at the Railroad Pass Hotel & Casino on the third Thursday of each month. (The club is dark June, July and August.) Cost is $21.00 which includes a three-course luncheon, non-alcoholic beverage, tax and tip payable at the door. (A cocktail waitress is available who will serve/collect for wine, beer, etc.) Doors open for socializing at 11:00 am and our meetings begin at 11:45. Members and guests will have an opportunity to meet candidates, prominent individuals (local and statewide) within the political arena, hear the latest developments on issues, and to express ideas to those who serve us. Reservations are required and must be made no later than noon one (1) week prior to the event. To make a reservation: email "firstname.lastname@example.com" or call 702 383-1228. NO ADMITTANCE WITHOUT A RESERVATION.
We are a local branch of both the Nevada Federation of Republican Women and the National Federation of Republican Women. To learn more about Republican Women, please view There's a Place at our Table For You offered by the Nevada Federation of Republican Women.
We'd love to hear from you! Please e-mail us at email@example.com or call (702) 383-1228.


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When hiring slumps, so do stock prices.
That was at least the message investors sent Wednesday, when they ignored flashes of positive news about the economy and instead homed in on troubling reports about jobs in the U.S. and Europe.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell as much as 87 points after a company that tracks payrolls said the U.S. added far fewer jobs in April than in March. The Dow ended the day down 10.75 points, at 13,268.57.
It was a turn from the day before, when investors chose to focus on a couple of positive reports on U.S. manufacturing and sent the Dow up 66 points to its highest close in more than four years.
While the market's day-to-day fluctuations may be difficult to predict, some investors say they're certain that stocks will generally climb for the rest of the year. As justification, they cite strong first-quarter earnings.
Of the 330 companies on the S&P 500 that have reported first-quarter earnings, 77 percent have beaten the estimates of stock analysts, said John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet, a provider of financial data.
"The market has room to run," said Karyn Cavanaugh, market strategist with ING Investment Management in New York. "It doesn't always go up in a straight line."
The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 3.51 points to 1,402.31. The Nasdaq composite index was the outlier. It fell throughout the morning, then finished up 9.41 points at 3,059.85.
The report on private sector hiring weighed on investors, who see jobs as the key ingredient to an economic recovery.
The payroll processor, ADP, said U.S. businesses added 119,000 jobs in April, down from 201,000 in March. The government releases its monthly figures, which include the public sector, on Friday. The two reports can vary sharply.
Another jobs report from Europe underscored the gravity of the continuing debt crisis there. The 17 countries that use the euro reported that unemployment rose to 10.9 percent in March, the highest since the euro launched in 1999.
Markets fell across most of Europe, including Germany and Greece.
There was also good news out of Europe, even if it didn't seem to sway investors. Standard & Poor's lifted Greece's credit rating out of default, noting how the country had recently secured a massive writedown on its debt to private investors.
Germany also reported that the number of people seeking work in April slipped below 3 million, a psychologically important barrier that it hasn't broken in that month for two decades.
Todd Salamone, director of research for Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati, downplayed concerns about Europe. Investors have had a long time to digest any bad news and shouldn't be too shaken by daily developments, even if the headlines seem panicky, he said.
"U.S. stocks have become more resilient, especially to the European headlines," Salamone said. "Any negative news out of Europe is not a major surprise like it was early last year."
In U.S. stocks, one of the biggest losses came at Chesapeake Energy, which plunged 15 percent. The company had reported a first-quarter loss after the market closed Tuesday. It is also under fire for a massive pay package to CEO Aubrey McClendon and questions about his taking out big loans from companies that do business with Chesapeake. This week, the company stripped McClendon of his role as board chairman.
In an earnings call Wednesday, McClendon said he was "deeply sorry for all the distractions" but also said there was "a great deal of misinformation" circulating about himself and the company.
Ascena Retail Group shot up more than 10 percent after announcing it plans to buy rival Charming Shoppes. Ascena runs dressbarn, maurices and Justice, which are clothing chains for women and girls. The purchase will add Lane Bryant, Catherines and Fashion Bug to its portfolio.
Energizer Holdings, parent of the eponymous batteries, popped more than 9 percent after reporting higher revenue and earnings. The company said that sales of Schick razors helped results.


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(Posted Wed. Sep 21st, 2016)
With some parts of the country reporting extremely dry conditions this harvest, the National Corn Growers Association reminds farmers to carefully follow proper safety procedures that minimize the possibility of a combine or tractor fire. Even if the weather has not been warm and dry, fuel sources such as leaves, stalks, husks, dust, oil and fuel come into constant contact with potential sources of ignition from farm equipment, such as exhaust, bearings and electrical wiring presenting an ever present fire risk.
"Equipment fires are not only dangerous but are often extremely costly for farmers," said NCGA President Chip Bowling, a Maryland farmer who has seen dry conditions firsthand. "During this busy season, a fire can halt harvest work in an instant causing property damage and consuming valuable time. Building risk management practices into your harvest schedule could end up saving both time and money."
First, keep farm equipment clean, particularly the engine compartment as 75 percent of all machinery fires start there. Using either a pressure washer or high pressure air, remove all caked-on grease, oil and crop residue. Cleaning the engine thoroughly will allow it to run cooler, operate more efficiently and will greatly reduce the risk of a fire.
Once the equipment has been cleaned, make sure to keep it clean. Frequently blow dry chaff, leaves or other material off of the machine with compressed air or a portable leaf blower. Then, remove wrapped plant materials on or near bearings, belts and any other moving parts.
At the beginning of each day, check engine fluid levels, particularly coolant and oil levels, in all equipment that will be used. While doing so, look for any possible leaking fuel or oil hoses, fittings or metal lines. Often, areas that may rub from wear, such as the pressurized oil supply line, may breach causing an oil leak. Should a leak be found, repair it immediately.
Next, eliminate heat sources that could increase fire risk. Most commonly, exhaust system surfaces containing flammable material ignite fires in this fashion. To minimize this risk, check to ensure the exhaust system, including the manifold, muffler and turbocharger, are in good condition and free of leaks. Again, should damage be found, repair it immediately.
As arcing electrical wires generate extremely high temperatures in farm machinery, make sure to scan for signs of wiring damage or deterioration daily. Replace any worn or malfunctioning components properly. Notably, frequently blowing fuses or intermittent circuit disruptions often signal a short or loose connection in that system.
Much like damaged wiring, worn bearings can also reach extremely high temperatures which can cause any rubber belt coming into contact with this intense heat to ignite. Make sure to inspect for worn bearings, belts and chains frequently.
Despite the most vigilant care, farm equipment fires can still occur. It is essential that each machine carries a working, fully charged fire extinguisher mounted in the cab and still within reach from the ground.
Should a fire break out while you are operating a machine, shut off the engine, grab the extinguisher and immediately exit the vehicle. Then, use either a cellular phone or two-way radio to signal that professional assistance is required as quickly as possible.
As fires are dangerous, flaring up dramatically if doors, hatches or other entry points are opened, it is crucial to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle at all times. Using the flexible hose on the extinguisher, spray the base of any visible flames continuously to cool the fire and prevent a reflash until help arrives.
For additional information about possible fire containment measures, please contact local fire safety officials.


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Global alliances SkyTeam, Oneworld and Star are losing their status as dominant players in long-haul travel
Qatar Airways is expected to finally announce it will join the Oneworld alliance on Oct. 8. Oneworld will celebrate the deal as an important milestone in the its development. The question is: what development? The past few weeks have seen fundamental change in the landscape of long-haul air travel. Qantas Airways was the first to announce a U-turn by forming a bilateral partnership with archrival Emirates while dropping a long-standing joint venture with British Airways. Etihad Airways is pushing its German Oneworld partner Air Berlin to go for a bilateral deal with Air France and put less emphasis on the global alliance. And Qatar Airways, now welcomed into the camp of its former opponents, may simply illustrate the surrender of European and Asian legacy carriers.
Increasingly, more of those legacy airlines are recognizing that they will not be able to curtail the growth of Qatar, Etihad and Emirates. Attempts to fend Persian Gulf carriers off have included limiting traffic rights, lodging complaints about state subsidization, and filing arguments against export credit support, citing unfair competition. None of the strategies worked, partly because European and Asian carriers certainly also have benefited from subsidies. Now the idea seems to be: "If you can't beat them, join them."
But there is another underlying trend that must have all the alliances worried: Most carriers seem to prefer strong bilateral ties over the global groups that are sometimes too restrictive in allowing their members other partnerships and too demanding in terms of integration of sales tools.
In addition to Air Berlin and Qantas, TAM Brazil's experience highlights the shift. TAM is expected to exit the Star Alliance as a result of its merger with LAN. The two South American-based airlines formed the Latam Group this year. That was TAM's first decision against alliances. Its second could be that it might eschew Oneworld, even though LAN is a founding member. Becoming an independent airline would enable TAM to retain its bilateral ties with Star Alliance carriers while reaping the benefits of its merger with LAN.
Qatar Airways has been negotiating its admission into Oneworld for months. Oneworld has traditionally had a more relaxed approach toward what members are allowed to do outside of the alliance. But it speaks volumes that it has selected Qatar to strengthen its Asian operation. In a strange way, it is countering the all-but defection of Qantas to Emirates by mirroring the effort.
Admitting Qatar could also be a sign that Oneworld is not sure whether Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways is going to stay for the longterm. And even if it does, the value may be limited: Cathay cannot introduce a joint venture with British Airways on the all-important London route because such an arrangement would never be allowed by the regulatory authorities. On the other hand, Cathay is tied to Air China, a Star Alliance member, through cross-ownership. Even traditionally restrictive Star had to accept this.
Etihad has an extensive network of nearly 40 bilateral code-sharing agreements that contributes around 20%—or close to $1 billion—to its annual revenues. It has abstained from alliances so far and if there was one option for the airline, it would probably be Air France-KLM's SkyTeam. That is because it is currently negotiating a code-sharing deal with Air France. Talks have been "very good and are continuing," says Etihad CEO James Hogan.
While the negotiations primarily involve Air France and Etihad, an eventual deal would also include its affiliate Air Berlin. "If there is an opportunity, we would be keen to see that happen," Hogan tells Aviation Week.
Linking Air Berlin with Air France would not automatically put into question the German carrier's membership in Oneworld in the short term, but it would shift the carrier's network priorities to align even more with the broader Etihad strategy and raise the question of how much added value the alliance membership brings. Hogan's opinion is that "Oneworld is secondary."
Etihad bought a 29% stake in Air Berlin late last year for $105 million, while also providing a $255 million loan to its new partner. The German carrier's financial results have been deteriorating rapidly, but Hogan says he is convinced the company will turn the corner. He predicts Air Berlin will return to profitability "in the next 12-18 months." And "they won't need another loan."
Hogan cites ex-BMI CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer's appointment as the head of network and strategy at Air Berlin as important. The network "needs to be refreshed" and Air Berlin executives "know they have to make tough decisions." Etihad has "no intentions" to fly North Atlantic routes from Europe, even though the bilateral air service pact between Germany and the United Arab Emirates grants UAE carriers limited fifth freedom rights to the U.S.
Etihad is close to announcing ties with Garuda Indonesia. The arrangement primarily concerns code sharing. Garuda's planned entry into the SkyTeam alliance was recently pushed back until 2014, mainly to allow more time to resolve information technology issues.
|Annual Passengers(millions)
|Revenue (U.S. $ billions)
|Daily Departures
|American Airlines, British Airways, Air Berlin, Iberia
|United Airlines, Lufthansa, US Airways, Singapore Airlines
|2,644 mainline + 1,406 from related carriers
|Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM, China Eastern Airlines, Korean Air
|Sources: Oneworld, SkyTeam, Star Alliance


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Breaking down the horse's convincing victory at Churchill Downs and chances to win the Preakness and Belmont.
LOUISVILLE — Before Steve and Carolyn Coburn flew to Louisville in anticipation of California Chrome's run in the Kentucky Derby, they packed the usual necessities. They packed their hats and their nice outfits, and then they packed Mrs. Pastures cookies, just like always.
The cookies, made of oat, wheat bran, cane molasses, barley and apple, were not for them; they were for their majestic colt. When California Chrome was a foal — they actually just called him Junior then — Steve Coburn used to bring those cookies to the barn.
They were a bit too big for him then, so Steve would bite into them and break them in half, and then he'd feed them to his horse. It was a simple labor of love.
"To so many people, a horse is a business, but we've grown attached to him," Carolyn Coburn said on Saturday, about an hour after California Chrome had cruised to a Kentucky Derby victory. "He's a part of our family. I know at some point in time, maybe you have to get over that. But we saw him when he was a day old. We watched him grow."
DERBY: California-bred horse makes history
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As California Chrome transformed into a dominant racehorse, he always remembered those cookies. They became a part of a tradition. He got cookies on the day before each race and then he got more cookies the day after.
When the Coburns arrived in Louisville on Tuesday, Carolyn Coburn wanted to make sure their horse had had a smooth trip from the West Coast. But Steve Coburn said that was not an option, because when they see him he knows a race is coming the next day, and so a Tuesday visit would have confused him.
"We finally saw him yesterday," Carolyn Coburn said. "He got his cookies and he was a happy boy."
And that was apparent in this race, as the favorite burst to a smooth 1 and ¾-length victory. Afterward, Steve Coburn, who co-owns the horse with his business partner Perry Martin, beamed like he was speaking about his own child. He smiled and teared up and spoke with such pride, and it was indicative of a rare and refreshing connection. For the Coburns, this is so much more than numbers and figures.
As Coburn sat in the media room and watched a looped replay of Saturday's race, he couldn't look away. A reporter asked what he was thinking about.
"Our dream child doing exactly what we thought he could do when he was a baby," he said.
Coburn, who turned 61 on Saturday, still wakes up at 4:30 a.m. most mornings to help run his small company that makes magnetic strips for things like credit cards, driver's licenses and hotel keys. He still operates the press.
As the story goes, he was looking for a tax break a few years ago, and so he looked into buying an airplane as a tax-write-off. But that was a bit too expensive, so he and his wife decided to buy a horse instead.
They acquired an $8,000 mare named Love the Chase and bred her to a stallion named Lucky Pulpit. Three weeks before California Chrome was born, Coburn had a dream about the horse — what it would look like, how it would act. And then there he was, and was exactly what they had expected.
The Coburns' love for this colt is so deep that they've turned down several multimillion-dollar offers, including one $6 million proposition for a 51% stake.
Steve Coburn's dream, clearly, has turned into something more. On Saturday, he said he believed California Chrome would win a Triple Crown. The next stop will be the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore.
But first, there will be one stop at the Churchill Downs barn early Sunday morning.
"He'll get his cookies tomorrow," Coburn said. "That's for damn sure."
Himmelsbach writes for the Courier-Journal.