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1929 - Stu Phillips, television and motion picture score composer, record producer, and creator, producer and conductor of the Capitol Records group The Hollyridge Strings, is born. Thanks to Stu for the corrections and he has a great website at http://www.stuwho.com/ with accurate information, unlike many of the reference sites' listings for him.
1942 - Artie Kornfield, songwriter ("Dead Man's Curve"), co-organizer and co-producer of the 1969 Woodstock Art Fair and Music Festival, and who, at age 21, became Capitol Records youngest Vice President, is born Arthur Lawerence Kornfeld in Brooklyn, New York
1949 - Billy Preston, singer, pianist, keyboards player, motion picture actor (as a child in "S. Louis Blues" as the young W.C. Handy which was played as an adult by Nat "King" Cole, who had young Billy on his television show to perform a duet, and later he was in the 1978 motion picture "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"), and Apple and Capitol Records solo artist and session player with The Beatles as a group and as solo performers, is born William Everett Preston in Houston, Texas
1959 - The Four Freshmen begin three straight days of sessions for their Capitol Records album "Voices And Brass" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California
1964 - Arranger Johnny Richards (with musicians Bob McCoy, Jerry Kail, and Ray Copeland on trumpets; Burt Collins on trumpet and flugelhorn; Jiggs Whigham, Bill Watrous, and Tom McIntosh on trombones; Ray Starling on mellophonium; Jay McAllister on tuba; Jerry Dodgion on alto saxophone; Frank Perowsky on tenor saxophone; Joel Kaye on baritone saxophone and piccolo; Shelly Russell on bass saxophone; Johnny Knapp on piano; Chet Amsterdam on bass; Ronnie Bedford on drums; and Warren Smith on percussion), records the tracks "Get Me To The Church On Time", "On The Street Where You Live", "I Could Have Danced All Night", "Wouldn't It Be Loverly", "Show Me", "The Rain In Spain", "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face", and "With A Little Bit Of Luck" for his Roulette Records album "My Fair Lady - My Way" with producers Hugo & Luigi, and recording engineer Bob Arnold, at Capitol Records' New York City studios. Capitol Records currently owns the Roulette catalog.
45 Years Ago Today In 1968 - Capitol Records, in a press release with today's date, states that The Beatles' single "I Want To Hold Your Hand" has sold nearly 5 million copies in the United States, making it the best selling single of the 1960s. This was before the R.I.A.A. created the Platinum Single award.
45 Years Ago Today In 1968 - Capitol Records artists Buck Owens and The Buckaroos play at The White House for President Johnson
1971 - Apple Records, with distribution by Capitol Records in the United States, releases John Lennon's album "Imagine"
40 Years Ago Today In 1973 - Helen Reddy's Capitol Records single "Delta Dawn", with "If We Could Still Be Friends" on the flipside, is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart
35 Years Ago Today In 1978 - A Taste of Honey's Capitol Records single "Boogie Oogie Oogie", with "World Spin" on the flipside, hits #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart and will eventually sell more than 2 million copies, becoming Capitol's first Platinum single
1979 - Norrie Paramor, pianist, record producer (26 number #1 hits on the U.K. singles charts), composer, arranger, orchestral conductor, motion picture and radio actor, recording director for EMI's Columbia Records (where he produced hit singles for Cliff Richards, The Shadows, and Frank Ifield among others), and recorded one of the biggest selling albums in Capitol Records' "Capitol of the World" import series - "In London in Love" (which featured soprano Patricia Clark), dies of cancer at age 65.
25 Years Ago Today In 1988 - Garth Brooks' debut Capitol Records Nashville single "If Tomorrow Never Comes", with "The Dance" on the flipside, debuts on Billboard's Country Singles chart
1990 - Wilson Phillips' SBK Records single (distributed by Capitol Records) "Release Me", with "Eyes Like Twins" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart
20 Years Ago Today In 1993 - Helen O'Connell, singer (with Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra), dancer, actress, wife of Capitol Records artist and arranger Frank DeVol, and a Capitol Records solo artist, dies at age 73 in San Diego, California
2001 - VH1 premieres the documentary "Behind The Music: Blind Melon" about the Capitol Records group
10 Years Ago Today In 2003 - Capitol Records group Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin delivers the "Big Noise" petition calling for fairer trade policies to the World Trade Organization (WTO) at it's meeting in Cancun, Mexico
2004 - Capitol Records Nashville artists The Jenkins perform at a special gathering of Capitol Hill VIPs and members of Congress in Washington D.C. put together by the MUSIC Coalition (Music United for Stong Internet Copyright) to celebrate digital music done legally.
2009 - The remastered stereo and mono versions of The Beatles' studio albums and "Past Masters" album are released as well as The Beatles' Rock Band game.
1942 - Inez Foxx, singer and member of the United Artists Records duo Charlie (her brother) and Inez Foxx (best remembered for the single "Mockingbird" with "Hurt By Love" on the flipside), is born in Greensboro, North Carolina
1956 - The Rock And Roll Trio (Johnny Burnett on vocals and acoustic guitar, Dorsey Burnette on bass guitar, Paul Burlison on lead guitar and newly added drumer and cousin of Carl Perkins, Tony Austin) appear as finalists on the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour at Madison Square Garden.
1956 - The Goons' (Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, and Harry Secombe) Decca U.K. (distributed by Capitol's parent company EMI in the U.K.) single "Ying Tong Song", with "Bloodnok's Rock n' Roll Call" on the flipside, enters the UK singles chart at #9
1959 - Capitol Records co-founder Johnny Mercer appears on NBC-TV's "Kraft Music Hall"
1964 - Arranger and conductor Johnny Richards (with Bob McCoy, Jerry Kail, and Ray Copeland on trumpets; Burt Collins on trumpet and flugelhorn; Jiggs Whigham, Bill Watrous, and Tom McIntosh on trombones; Ray Starling on mellophonium; Jay McAllister on tuba; Jerry Dodgion on alto saxophone; Frank Perowsky on tenor saxophone; Joel Kaye on baritone saxophone and piccolo; Shelly Russell on bass saxophone; Johnny Knapp on piano; Chet Amsterdam on bass; Ronnie Bedford on drums; and Warren Smith on percussion) record the tracks "Get Me To The Church On Time", "On The Street Where You Live", "I Could Have Danced All Night", "Wouldn't It Be Loverly", "Show Me", "The Rain In Spain", "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face", and "With A Little Bit Of Luck" at Capitol Records' New York City recording studio with producers Hugo and Luigi and recording engineer Bob Arnold. Roulette Records will release the tracks on Richards' album "My Fair Lady - My Way"
1966 - Greg Kane, keyboardist with the Circa Records (a division of Virgin Records) group Hue And Cry, is born in Coatbridge, Scotland. While a designer at Virgin Records America, I adapted the group's UK packaging for U.S. release on Virgin Records America, as well as designing promo items and advertising.
1972 - Over three sets, drummer Elvin Jones (with David Liebman on flute, soprano saxophone and tenor saxophone; Steve Grossman on saxophone and tenor saxophone; and Gene Perla on bass) records the tracks (Set No. 1) "Brite Piece", "New Breed", "Sambra", "My Ship", "Taurus People", (Set No. 2) "Fancy Free", "I'm A Fool To Want You", "Sweet Mama", "The Children, Save The Children", (Set No.3), "The Children's Merry-Go-Round March", "Small One", "P.P. Phoneix", and "For All The Other Times" live at The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, California with producer George Butler and recording engineer Dino Lapas. The tracks will appear on the Blue Note Records albums "Live At The Lighthouse, Volume One" and "Live At The Lightouse, Volume Two". Blue Note's catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records.
1995 - Chynna Phillips, member of the former SBK Records group Wilson Phillips, marries actor William Baldwin. Phillips' former Wilson Phillips partners, Carnie and Wendy Wilson, are also present at the ceremony.
2002 - Former Capitol Records artist Anne Murray is inducted into the Canadian Country Music Artists Hall Of Fame at the 2002 Canadian Country Music Artists Awards ceremony held in Calgary, Canada
1839 - Astronomer John Herschel takes the first glass plate photograph and would go on to coin the terms "photography", "negative", and "positive", and discover sodium thiosulphite as a fixer of silver halides
1894 - Arthur Freed, vaudevillian, Broadway and motion picture composer (best known for "Singing In The Rain"), associate motion picture producer ("The Wizard Of Oz"), and motion picture producer (had his own "unit" at M-G-M which created "Singing In The Rain", "An American In Paris", "Gigi", and many more), is born in Charleston, South Carolina.
1956 - Elvis Presley appears on CBS-TV's "Toast of the Town" (with actor and future Capitol Records artist Charles Laughton filling in for the show's normal host, the ailing Ed Sullivan), for the first time and 54,000,000 viewers (82.6 percent of the U.S. television audience) tune in to watch Presley sing "Don't Be Cruel" and "Ready Teddy"
55 Years Ago Today In 1958 - The first stereo two-channel records are issued, by Audio Fidelity in the United States and Pye in Britain, using the Westrex "45/45" single-groove system
Monday, September 09, 2013
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Texas to visit Toronto Wednesday
Texas Rangers (59-60, third in the AL West) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (51-72, fourth in the AL East)
Toronto; Wednesday, 12 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Rangers: Kolby Allard (0-0, 4.15 ERA) Blue Jays: Sean Reid-Foley (2-2, 2.36 ERA)
LINE: Blue Jays favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 10 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Texas Rangers head to take on the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.
The Blue Jays are 24-36 in home games. Toronto has hit 189 home runs this season, sixth in the American League. Randal Grichuk leads the club with 22, averaging one every 20 at-bats.
The Rangers have gone 24-38 away from home. Texas's lineup has 169 home runs this season, Rougned Odor leads them with 21 homers. The Blue Jays won the last meeting 3-0. Thomas Pannone earned his third victory and Grichuk went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI for Toronto. Lance Lynn took his eighth loss for Texas.
TOP PERFORMERS: Grichuk leads the Blue Jays with 106 hits and has 57 RBIs. Teoscar Hernandez is 7-for-28 with a double, four home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Toronto.
Shin-Soo Choo leads the Rangers with 46 extra base hits and is batting .269. Elvis Andrus has eight hits and is batting .229 over the last 10 games for Texas.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Jays: 6-4, .262 batting average, 3.61 ERA, outscored opponents by 19 runs
Rangers: 4-6, .182 batting average, 4.52 ERA, outscored by 18 runs
Blue Jays Injuries: Ryan Tepera: (elbow), Matt Shoemaker: (knee), Clayton Richard: (lat), Elvis Luciano: (elbow), Nick Kingham: (oblique), Clay Buchholz: (shoulder), Ryan Borucki: (elbow), Lourdes Gurriel Jr.: (quad), Devon Travis: (knee), Luke Maile: (oblique).
Rangers Injuries: Edinson Volquez: (elbow), Jeffrey Springs: (biceps), Yohander Mendez: (elbow), Nate Jones: (forearm), Taylor Hearn: (elbow), Luke Farrell: (jaw), Jesse Chavez: (elbow), Jesse Biddle: (shoulder), Joey Gallo: (wrist).

subset: commoncrawl


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2018 08 17-19 Dental Outreach Clinic, San Quintin MX
This needed dental outreach trip is to an impoverished community in San Quintin, MX.
We will also send out a MOBILE TEAM out to a more remote location while the "main clinic" is up and running. The exact location of the mobile outreach site is TBD.
We need:
- dental professionals who would like to join a team of gifted professionals who desire to share God's love in tangible ways.
- dental students
- people who have a heart for kids to help with the backpack outreach and craft tables.
- pilots and planes that are IFR current.
Space is VERY LIMITED (typically we max out at 15-24 people depending on how many planes and pilots are available. Sometimes we have volunteers drive down.
The flight is in a small 4 or 6 seat airplane and takes about 2-2.5 hrs in the air over 2 or 3 legs.
The drive takes 8-10 hours on the way down, and 12-15 hours on the way back (depending on boarder crossing delays and the need to make an additional meal stop).
If you drive, the cost of the trip is reduced by $100 per person.
You can sleep in a Hotel or a dorm room with bunk beds (see amounts for price difference) Both the hotel and dorm are clean and simple. The dorm is located at the dental clinic site with hot running water, showers and has two different areas - one for men, the other for women. The hotel is about 1 mile away. Ground transportation is provided at no extra cost.
A current passport card or book is required if you drive.
A current passport book (only) is required if you fly.
A $25 Non-Refundable Deposit will hold your spot, which is important as the airplane seats fill up FAST.
Exactly 4 weeks prior to the day of departure, final payment is due. If final payment is not received, your spot will become available to someone else on the waiting list. (If you paid the full amount or final amount due, then please disregard)
The price includes:
- roundtrip airfare (if you drive, that cost of the trip is reduced by $100)
- hotel or dorm
- 4 home cooked meals that we eat as a group (very delicious)
- traveler's insurance
- bottled water
- ground transportation
The price does not include:
- Visa Fee (only if you fly - there is no visa fee if you drive) It costs about $30 to enter and $7 to exit (bring cash and small bills)
- meals at a restaurant (we typically do seperate checks)
- extra snacks
Cancellation Policy:
If you must cancel a mission trip; you MUST email Mission Flight at [email protected] four (4) weeks PRIOR to the departure date and your payment will be rolled over to another trip (if your seat is not filled) or refunded less $15.00 (if your seat is filled). If you give less notice, your money will be rolled over only if the seat is filled. If the pilot has to go with an empty seat, your money will pay for that seat as intended, and any balance left over (i.e. room and board, will be rolled over for a future trip.)
At MISSION FLIGHT, we believe that God uniquely and unconditionally loves each person, no matter the background, and further desires to adopt us into His family as passionately loved sons and daughters. We believe that God weeps with those that weep, and deeply cares about the poor, the marginalized, and those who are isolated without access to basic resources. It is this conviction that drives our desire to be expressions of God's love, bringing hope, help, healing, and resources to those that are in legitimate need.


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We use cookies to personalise content, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. If you want to change your cookie setting, please see the 'how to reject cookies' section of our Cookie Policy. Otherwise, if you agree to our use of cookies, please continue to use our website.
Weather Guides
Thomas Cook
Where is hot when?
The results
Organic traffic reached 12,000 per week in the first 3 months
Visitors stayed for an average of 2 minutes 3 seconds
The challenge
Gaining a competitive advantage in the highly competitive UK travel market requires creative thinking and a carefully executed strategy. Thomas Cook needed to deliver sustainable growth by developing a creative campaign to harness and maximise people's traffic patterns when searching for holiday destinations.
The solution
Research indicated that people constantly research weather patterns before booking a holiday. So when a user searched for "where is hot in March", we had the content ready to answer their question.§


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I enjoy reviewing socks and luckily we like to review socks here at 4alloutdoors.org. Over the next several months I will be reviewing the Men's PhD® Run Ultra Light Low Cut Socks from Smartwool.
I am interested to see how comfortable they are and if the thin socks can stand up to long days of running and hiking. You can read my initial thoughts at this LINK.


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Baymax, Hiro and the rest of the Big Hero 6 team are coming to Disney XD in a brand new animated series that picks up where the movie left off.
A preview of the series was released at San Diego Comic-Con today. The clip is from the episode "Fred's Bro-Trillion"and shows Baymax and Hiro trying to escape the fortress of supervillain Baron Von Steamer.
The animation is much better than I was expecting, and is on par with other Marvel animated series.
From the Disney press release…
Disney XD's animated series Big Hero 6, picks up immediately following the events of the Walt Disney Animation Studios' Academy Award-winning feature film and continues the adventures and friendship of Hiro, the fourteen-year-old orphaned tech genius and Baymax, his very special plus-sized inflatable healthcare companion. Big Hero 6: The Series U.S. Premiere Fall 2017.
As the new kid at San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, Hiro faces daunting academic challenges at the prestigious "nerd school" and the social trials of being the "little man on campus." Luckily, Hiro has his brains, his ingenuity and his best friend bot to help him find his way. But it's off campus where things get dangerous. Along with neat freak Wasabi, bubbly mad scientist Honey Lemon, fanboy Fred and no nonsense Go Go, the friends form an unlikely, but awesome super hero team – Big Hero 6. Together they face madness and mayhem as a colorful array of science-enhanced villains threaten San Fransokyo.
Stay tuned for more news on Big Hero 6: The Animated Series on The Kingdom Insider.
[Source: YouTube]
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Our mission is to produce world class wines from neighborhood secret gardens and aim to provide you with an experience that tastes like a masterpiece of flavor. Down every path is something new to explore!
By choosing special grapes from long-standing neighboring vineyards in the hills of Mendocino and Sonoma Counties, we are able to bring you something traditional and unique at the same time.


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Web Site Development and Hosting
Primary tabs
Bonnie and Clyde robbed banks. In "Being There", Peter Sellers liked to watch (T.V.). We build web sites.
Your Approach
There are basically 3 approaches to the development of a web site:
- You can use one of the many (mostly free) online services which allow you to build a simple one, two or three page site using predefined templates. You just select a style you like, and fill in the blanks.
- If you have the time, energy, background and/or staff, you can build it yourself.
- You can hire someone else to build it for you.
We are Internet Development Consultants, and we stand ready to assist you should you decide on Approach Number 3. Which option is best for you? We don't know. Time, money, purpose and a dozen other factors determine this. We can, however, suggest two good books to help you begin to learn what you need to know in order to make an informed decision:
- "Webonomics: Nine Essential Principals for Growing your Business on the World Wide Web" by Evan I. Schwartz, Broadway Books, ISBN 0-7679-0134-7.
- "Information Architecture for the World Wide Web" by Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville, O'Reilly, ISBN 1-56592-282-4.
The second book is actually designed for people looking to develop large scale web sites, but it is a very sober treatise on the issues surrounding web site development and will force you to examine the right questions you need to be asking.
Our Approach
A few of the fundamental questions we want to know (and you should want to know) right away are:
- Who are you, and what does your organization do?
- Who is your market or intended audience?
- What do you hope to achieve with a web site?
- Who do you hope to attract to your web site?
- What do you intend to offer them when they get there?
- How do you intend to keep them coming back?
- How do you intend to let them know the site exists?
- How do you intend to let everyone else know the site exists?
Once we understand these basic questions, we can then begin to think about what the site should look like, what its overall mission should be, and what specific features it should have. Oh, yes, and how much it'll cost!
An Application, Not a Brochure
Our firm has 20 years experience in the area of software development (hence, the name "Software Creations"). We are very well versed in the entire methodology of software application development:
So, we approach the development of your web site like the development of a software application, because that is what it is. It is coded just like a computer program using HTML, JavaScript, Java Servlets and Java Server Pages. It is designed to perform specific functions, the basic one being to deliver information about your organization, but certainly many, many others such as publishing your library of content, describing and selling your product/service, testing your end-user's knowledge with quizzes and games, or providing unique educational content on specific subjects. It is also designed to yield specific results, such as increased awareness of your organization/company/product/service, increased dollars in your bank account, etc... Whatever the application(s) you specify, the site needs to involve it's visitors in a way which makes the experience compelling enough for them to buy whatever you are selling, learn whatever you are teaching, or, at the very least, return again and again.
You don't achieve this level of response by designing your web site to be little more than an electronic version of your company brochure or organization chart. However you finally choose to develop your site, please don't make this mistake! Keep in mind that flashy graphics and catchy titles will stimulate your site visitors -- the FIRST time they visit. After that, if you have no involving content, you can rest assured they won't be back. Think of it this way: The people you are trying to attract to your site have as little time to waste as you. Design your site with this in mind, and you'll be OK.
At Software Creations, we develop your site with a built in Control Panel that will allow you to update data, links and other information on the site using a standard web browser. What is the advantage of this? For one, it takes your web site designer completely out of the day to day process of running your site and keeping it fresh. Your web master can now allocate site update responsibilities rather than be the sole person able to add content to the site. An Administration/Staff Control Panel lets you update
- Web Pages
- Database Items
- Web Links
- Graphic / Image Files
and, update them with no technical skills required other than the ability to use a web browser. Now, when a page needs to be changed or a link added or a new "Event Calendar" or "What's New" item published, there is no need to call in the web site developer or open the web development software -- you only need go to the site Control Panel and implement the required update.
There are many Online Hosting Services which allow you to self-administer your site so long as you host with them. Our service is very unique in that we develop (or re-engineer) your web site so that it can be remotely administered online.
Here are some examples of Self-Administered Web Sites we have created (OUTDATED):
Associated Administrators of Los Angeles
This site runs on the main LAUSD WWW servers (IBM AIX OS) utilizing its mainframe DB2 database. It demonstrates how the Self-Administration Web Site can be easily implemented in non-PC, non-Windows environments.
LAUSD Division of Special Education
This site is running on an IBM RS6000 under Linux and clearly demonstrates how the Self-Administration Web Site can be used for web publishing in a large, multi-departmental organization.
LAUSD Procurement Services Group
This site runs on Windows 2000 server utilizing Access 2000 database. It demonstrates how the Self-Administration Web Site can be customized for specific database applications.
Self-Administration Demo Web Site
This is the sample site used to demonstrate the features and capabilities of the Self-Administration Web Site application. It runs on old Linux server and utilizes MS SQL database running on Windows NT 4 machine.
VSB Interest Group
This site was developed to support an Interest Group for the Small Business Administration Very Small Business Set-Aside Pilot Program. It is an other example of the Self-Administration Web Site.
Other Links
We have provided you with a number of links below in the area of web site development. Please feel free to follow any of these links to educate yourself further about the issues surrounding this very complex area. With respect to our capabilities, please visit our Client List to see what we have done for others. If you have questions or wish to speak with us further, you can send e-mail to: firstname.lastname@example.com or call us at: 310.324.7032.


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While for some dating online can yield the love of their life, for others attempts at Internet dating do not end as happily. Before you dive head first into the Internet dating pool, consider some of the dangers associated with the practice. By allowing your head, not your heart, to guide your cyber-dating efforts you may be able to avoid some of the folly that could befall you as you seek love online.
Undisclosed Criminal Records
When meeting someone online it is important to remember that the information you have about this person is cursory at best. If this potential-online lover has a criminal record, he may not disclose this information. In an attempt to keep daters safe, some dating sites run criminal background checks on their daters; however, this practice is far from an industry standard so it is wise to carefully explore the fine print to determine if your site conducts this practice. Reluctant daters can run their own background checks for a fee with an online background check company. If you choose not to do this enter the relationship carefully, remembering that you don't really know much about your online Romeo.
Relationship Status Lies
One of the things that those you meet online can easily lie about is their relationship status. Some online daters are not single as they advertise, but are instead involved with someone or even married and simply looking for a fling. While dating a married individual online doesn't present a physical danger, it can result in emotional danger if one party becomes emotionally committed not knowing that the other is already spoken for.
Financial Problems
Some disreputable people troll dating sites looking not for love but instead for someone to take advantage of financially. If someone whom you meet at an online dating platform or chat room proclaims her love to you, but then begins to ask for financial assistance or money of any kind, you are wise to be wary. Requests for cash to buy plane tickets, money to pay bills or avoid jail, or cash to get out of a financial crunch often indicate that the online dater is not being entirely honest in her wishes.
Hooking Up with a Stalker
When you meet someone online you are at a major disadvantage as you can't see first hand who this person is or gauge his intentions in a face-to-face meeting. While you may be eager to hook up with the Mr. Right who has won your heart online, you should do so carefully, avoiding giving up personal information about yourself before your initial meeting. When planning this first meet-up, arrange for it to be in a public place, ensuring that this individual doesn't know private information such as your address until you are sure that he isn't going to take the romance too far or act in an untoward fashion.


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Coffee brings us warmth, joy, love, and friendship to every cup of coffee that is why it's the perfect Holiday beverage to share with the people you love. So this Holiday season let's get creative and set aside our old coffee tradition to a more festive one, and create happy memories together.
Here are some festive tips you can do to share with your friends and loved ones this Holiday season.
1. Create a Warm, Welcoming Space
Who doesn't love the smell of coffee? Well, I guess every one of us does. So this Holiday season a quick way to create warm, welcoming atmosphere in your home is by simply start brewing! The coffee smell creates welcoming atmosphere to your home making every guest feel the warmth and love of your home. Just make sure you've got enough ground coffee on hand because once your guests catch the aroma of a freshly brewed coffee everyone is going to want a cup. Or three!
2. Customize Your Cup with a Flavor-Filled Jar
Adding some spice to your cup of coffee gives a festive flavor. You can get a jar, a bowl, funnel or a kitchen funnel to fill in with a festive blend of peppermint, mocha, marshmallow, chocolate, sprinkles, cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon etc, and serve it to your guest along with the coffee during your holiday gathering. This will make your guest select on which toppings or coffee flavorings they want to put on their coffee.
3. Look for Festive Options
It's the most wonderful time of the year, and as the season's change, your coffee selection should, too. It's always nice to go on extra and fancy on your coffee during the Holiday season. A coffee selection that we can recommend is the Starbucks® Holiday Blend. The perfect combination of Latin American and Indonesian beans, this smooth, medium roast coffee is a real crowd-pleaser with its sweet maple notes. It's a wonderful way to bring your loved ones together around the fire, the kitchen table, or any place that could use a little extra holiday cheer.
4. Perfect Your Brew
The perfect way to start the Holiday cheer is to make a perfect brew that is why you need high-quality coffee beans to achieve a rich flavorful cup of coffee.
5. Thoughtfully Pair Your Perfect Cup
When it comes to pairing good coffee with good food for your holiday festivities, there's a simple trick: look at the tasting notes on the coffee packaging. You can find their different coffee pairings on which food works great for your cup of coffee.
Holidays is one of our favorite seasons because we are excited to share with you coffee lovers more of the coffee Holiday cheers this season.


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9 Marks Ministries has released its September 2006 newsletter and it is well worth reading. They address issues dealing with the Emerging Church philosophy that is permeating evangelicalism. Just click on the 9News banner above and look at the column entitled "The Latest from 9 Marks." Very, very helpful!
Monthly Archives: August 2006
9 Marks Ministries Addresses the Emerging Church Phenomenon
Cautious in Dubbing Converts Too Soon (George Whitefield)
There are so many stony ground hearers who receive the Word with joy that I have determined to suspend my judgment till I know the tree by its fruits …Do you think any farmer would have a crop of corn next year unless he plowed now? You may as well expect a crop of corn on unplowed ground as a crop of grace until the soul is convinced of its being undone without a Savior. That is the reason we have so many mushroom converts, so many persons that are always happy! happy! happy! and never were miserable. Why? Because their stony ground is not plowed up; they have not got a conviction of the law . . . they fall away . . . That makes me so cautious now, which I was not thirty years ago, of dubbing converts too soon. Now I wait a little, and see if people bring forth fruit; for there are so many blossoms which March winds blow away that I cannot believe they are converts till I see fruit brought forth.
The State of Preaching Today (Mohler)
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity. . ." With those famous words, Charles Dickens introduced his great novel A Tale of Two Cities. Of course, Dickens had the two cities of London and Paris in mind, and much of his story revealed that the tenor of the times depended upon where one lived.
In some sense, that remains true as we consider the state of preaching today. To a large degree, this depends upon where one chooses to look.
(To read the rest of the article by Dr. Mohler, click here.)
Mary and Roman Catholicism (Robert Reymond)
"No talk of Catholic [practice] can advance very far without coming upon the topic of the Virgin Mary. And there is no topic, not the papacy, not the Mass itself, that arouses greater consternation, not to say scandal, among non-Catholics." So writes former Protestant evangelical and now Roman Catholic, Thomas Howard. [On Being Catholic, 179]
And, surely, that is so. Protestants have the greatest difficulty understanding or showing sympathy for the doctrines of Mary that Catholics teach (that she herself, and not only her son, was born and lived without sin ["The Immaculate Conception"]; that she remained a virgin all her life ["The Perpetual Virginity"]; and that, shortly after she died, Mary's body was raised, reunited with her soul, and then she was taken bodily to heaven ["The Assumption of Mary"]. Where, we ask, is any of this taught in Holy Scripture? Where is there the barest suggestion of such teaching? Is not the simple, artless teaching of the Bible, and of Mary herself that she, like all the elect, was a sinner saved by grace in the same way that all sinners are and must be saved?
Still more, Protestants have the greatest difficulty understanding how Catholics can justify saying prayers to Mary, a mere human being. Why, Protestants point out, Mary is mentioned only a few times in the Gospels after the accounts of the Savior's birth and is never mentioned again after Acts 1, where we read only that she was together with the Apostles in the Upper Room in Jerusalem after the Lord's Resurrection. Paul never mentions her, Peter never mentions her. There is nothing, not one word in the Bible about any special place she occupies in the life of Christians. But Catholics have their reply.
First, they say, to pay this honor to Mary, to believe these special things about her, and to pray to her, was the universal teaching and practice of the ancient church, what Catholics often refer to as "the unanimous consent of the fathers." Now, we have already dealt with the Roman Catholic doctrine of tradition as a source of Christian doctrine and practice alongside the Bible. Catholics are not troubled, as we are, by the fact that the Bible contains nothing of their doctrine of Mary, for they believe that doctrine was handed down to the church in another way: not in the Bible, but in the teaching of the Apostles handed down through the bishops of the church. I am reading a new biography, a magisterial study of the life of John Henry Newman, the 19th century's most prominent example of a Protestant — he was a member of the Church of England — who left his Protestant church to become a Roman Catholic, indeed to become eventually a Cardinal in the Catholic Church. Newman said what "made me a Catholic [was] the visible fact that the modern Roman Catholic Communion was the heir and the image of the primitive Church." [Ker, 611] That is, Newman felt that the Roman Catholic Church believed and worshiped as the early Christians did. That was, for him, the proof that Catholicism was right and true.
We have already said why we cannot accept this argument, or the Catholic doctrine of tradition, or its claim faithfully to represent the practice of earliest Christianity, and we have already said why we must rest our doctrine and our practice on the Bible alone. But Catholics, of course, think differently.
And we Protestants must admit that there is a great deal about Mary and her place in the Christian life in the materials of early Christianity, much more than there is in the Bible. Last week we pointed out that the practice of confession of sins to a priest, so much a part of the Catholic understanding of salvation, cannot be found in the teaching of the church fathers or of the church councils for a thousand years after the apostles. But the same cannot be said for the special place that Catholics assign to Mary.
By the later fourth century you find both exalted views of her and of her sinlessness, if not her immaculate conception, and the practice of prayers addressed to her and veneration, even worship, given to her. Gregory Nazianzen tells of one Justina who prayed to the Virgin Mary to protect her virginity because she had come under the spell of a youthful lover –who happened, interestingly, to be Cyprian before his conversion, the man who would later be the celebrated North African bishop–. You also begin to find the proliferation of titles by which Mary would be known: especially, "Mother of God" and "Queen of Heaven." In the fifth century, when the worship of saints appeared in full bloom, Mary, by reason of her unique relation to the Lord, was placed at their head, the Queen of the heavenly host. Much later, Catholic theology would draw a distinction between latria, the worship due to God alone, dulia, the veneration which is due to all saints and angels, and hyperdulia, the highest degree of veneration below latria, which was reserved for Mary. In the centuries following, the place of Mary in belief and piety continued to develop. The practice of prayer to her often overshadowed prayer to God himself, she was believed to have performed miracles, and became almost coordinate with Christ as a joint or co-mediator invested with most of his attributes and powers. Like him she was conceived sinlessly, lived without sin, was raised from the dead, and ascended into heaven, though these beliefs became doctrines only very slowly and against much opposition. Indeed, the last of these Marian doctrines, her bodily assumption to heaven, did not become the official dogma of the Roman Catholic Church until 1950! The Greek church also followed this pattern and in some of its collects, that is, short formal prayers in the liturgy, substitutes the name of Mary for the name of Jesus.
But Protestant Christians, and Protestant theology have always been much less impressed by this historical argument. First, there were forces unquestionably at work in those early centuries that made virtually inevitable such a development as we see happening in the growing veneration given to Mary. For example, in the apocryphal gospels of the third and fourth centuries — writings that even the Catholic church regards as spurious — there are all manner of fantastic tales told of Mary. In other words, there was a great temptation in that age to extrapolate from the sober and reliable history of the Bible fables and legends that exalted the biblical characters far beyond the facts. What is more, in that culture at that time, there was a predisposition to believe in the mothers of gods, the heathenism of that time, which had worked itself profoundly into the culture, was well used to female deities, to a hierarchy of lesser deities leading up to the great God or gods, and was also accustomed to worshipping heros — as the Greeks and Romans did. It was inevitable that, in that culture, there would be a strong temptation to attribute to Mary the kind of place the mothers of gods occupied in the other faiths and, in that highly ascetic age, to begin to prefer to believe in her perpetual virginity. Christian history demonstrates a thousand times that the church's thinking is always susceptible to influences from the philosophies and religions round about, is always succumbing to those influences, always having to be purified from them. [Schaff, III, 411, 413-414]
But, in addition to this, the entire development of the doctrine of Mary and the practice of veneration for her and prayer to her is much more complicated than is suggested by such a phrase as "the unanimous consent of the fathers." There is, as a matter of fact, a slow development of this doctrine with a great deal of disagreement along the way. The Immaculate Conception of Mary, for example, was not brought forward as the formal teaching of the church until 1140 at Lyons and, when it was, it was opposed by no one less than Bernard of Clairvaux himself. From that time on, the doctrine of the immaculate conception was a matter of dispute between the Franciscans and the Dominicans until it was pronounced church dogma by a papal bull in 1854. Early fathers, such as Tertullian, did not hesitate to teach that Mary had other children by Joseph after the birth of Jesus, the brothers and sisters who are mentioned in the Gospels, or that she sinned, even that the Lord rebuked her on several occasions in the Gospels. Prayers to Mary do not appear in the evidence until late in the 4th century, and there is no mention of such prayers in the voluminous writings of Athanasius, Basil, Chrysostom, and Augustine 400 years after Pentecost. Some fathers specifically condemn the practice as blasphemous [Schaff, III, 423 n.].
Take another example. The famous Catholic prayer, the "Hail Mary" or "Ave Maria" is composed of three parts. The first part is the salutation of the angel which we read in our text, "Hail Mary, full of grace" — so read the Latin translation; the NIV has the meaning more accurately, "you who are highly favored" –. The second part is Elizabeth's greeting in Luke 1:42: "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus." The last part — "Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and in the hour of our death," is the controversial part, obviously. It used to be claimed that this part of the prayer went back to the 5th century. It is now widely admitted that it originates in the 16th century and the closing words, "now and in the hour of our death," are even later. Even the first two parts of the "Hail Mary," did not come into general use as a prayer until the 13th century. In other words, the development of Marian devotion in the church happened as we might have expected it to happen in such a religious culture as the culture the early church found herself in, and, even then, it was a development in fits and stages that came only gradually and much later into the form in which it is now known.
But in the second place, the Catholics argue that their practices in regard to Mary are really but an extension of principles of great importance taught in Holy Scripture. This was the particular emphasis of the teaching on Mary that I have studied over these past weeks, that is, the teaching about Mary given by former Protestants who are now Catholics, such as Thomas Howard and Scott Hahn. They want us to hear them say with great emphasis, for example, that they are not praying "to" Mary, as if they believe that she can, in her own strength and by her own virtue, hear and answer prayer. They are asking her to pray with us and for us as she is there is the very presence of her Son our Lord. And so with prayers to other saints. Thomas Howard is quite willing to admit, indeed, that this point is often missed in Catholic practice and that many "an ill-instructed peasant supposes that Mary somehow is more approachable than her Son" [191] Those are his words. Or, he says, "multitudes of poorly instructed Catholic faithful have not altogether grasped the distinction between what they are doing at this image of St. Anthony or St. Lucy [or, we might add, this image of Mary] and what they do when they kneel in the Lord's presence" [161]. That is, of course, true. I saw an interview with Catholics about Mary and one woman was happy to say that she felt that, as a woman, Mary understood her better and was more approachable than the Lord Christ himself.
But, he goes on. We Christians ask one another to pray for us all the time. Why would we not ask those brothers and sisters, and the chief among them especially, who are now gone on from us and are among the spirits made perfect, to pray for us? We do not cast any aspersion on the power of Jesus' intercession for us when we ask others to pray for us, do we? Of course not. So, why should it be thought some kind of diminishment of Christ to ask Mary for her prayers? And, then, he appeals to the tradition of the church and the practice of such prayers for prayers already in early church history. The problem is that the fine distinctions that these modern writers wish to maintain are not so easily demonstrated in the tradition. Mary is prayed to; she is asked herself for blessings. It is not the case that only her prayers to Christ himself are sought. She is given a role that is not only utterly absent from the teaching of the Bible, but which is utterly foreign to the teaching and practice of the Bible, where, from Genesis to Revelation, the saints call upon God himself and directly!
A grand illustration of the problem was furnished for us some years ago when Pope John Paul II, the present Pope, was shot in St. Peter's square. This Pope is known for his Marian devotion. After he was shot he was placed still conscious in an ambulance and rushed to a hospital. From the time he was wounded to the time he lapsed into drug induced unconsciousness on the operating table he is reported to have uttered but one word, and that word over and over again: "Madonna." Not, "Lord," not "God," not "Christ," not "Savior" or "Redeemer," but "Madonna." When his life was in the balance, he lifted up his heart not to the Prince of Life but to the Lord's mother. Are we not right to think that something fundamentally unbiblical is at work here? Not simply extrabiblical, but unbiblical. Something has been placed between the soul and the Savior himself that is never placed between by the Bible itself. In the Bible people do not pray so. For the thousands of years covered in Holy Scripture no one prayed so. It was the glory of their faith that they were given immediate access to God who was willing to hear their prayers and answer them.
But, finally, the Catholics respond, when we venerate Mary we are entering into that spirit of faith and humility that she demonstrated so magnificently in the way in which she undertook the astonishing service that was granted her to perform. And by looking to her we are seeking to put ourselves in her place and to respond to the Lord with the same faith, the same submission, the same devotion, his grace working in and through us as it did in her. Thomas Howard and Scott Hahn particularly have some beautiful and moving things to say of Mary's example as a perfect example of all that Christians aspire to be. And that, surely, is true. Absolutely true. Listen to these words.
"As mother of the Savior of the world, the Virgin Mary unquestionably holds forever a peculiar position among all women, and in the history of redemption. Even in heaven she must stand peculiarly near to Him whom on earth she bore nine months under her bosom, and whom she followed with true motherly care to the cross. It is perfectly natural, nay, essential, to sound religious feeling, to associate with Mary the fairest traits of maidenly and maternal character, and to revere her as the highest model of female purity, love, and piety. From her example issues a silent blessing upon all generations, and her name and memory are, and ever will be, inseparable from the holiest mysteries and benefits of faith. For this reason her name is even wrought into the Apostles' Creed, in the simple and chaste words, 'Conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary.'" [Schaff, III, 410]
Those words were written by a Protestant, a Reformed Christian. And surely we can give our assent to them with all our hearts. Let no Roman Catholic take our crown in the reverence in which we hold the mother of our Lord. It is in saying more than this that we face the problem. Here Thomas Howard and Scott Hahn fail to persuade us. Faithful she was, wonderfully! Humble and submissive to God, she was, as we must be! But the Bible, and the Lord himself, seem to treat her as other Christians, seem to place her with the rest of us, who must live by faith, die in faith, and await the resurrection of the dead.
Indeed, in a most interesting passage, perhaps a text that has always bothered us a little, the Lord Jesus seems to be even a bit dismissive of his mother (as many have also thought, at first glance, he was at the wedding at Cana in John 2). He was not dismissive of her in either case, of course. But, he does not take the opportunity provided in Matthew 12:46-50, to exalt his mother above the others who trust in him and walk with him. This has always stuck in my memory. My father was reading this text at family worship one evening when I was a boy. And he wondered aloud why the Lord spoke as he did. Why he spoke in such a way as might be taken by some as not properly respectful of his mother. You remember: the Lord was teaching the crowds and his mother and brothers appeared on the outskirts wanting a chance to speak with him. Someone told the Lord that they were there wanting to see him and he replied, "Who is my mother and who are my brothers?" And, then, pointing to his disciples around him he said, "here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." To Protestant ears, that sounds almost as if the Lord was anticipating mistakes that would be made about Mary in ages to come! I should say, as an aside, the Lord's reference to his brothers, again, would naturally be understood, as the other references to them in the Gospels, as a reference to his younger siblings, the other children of Joseph and Mary [remember he is described as her firstborn son, and the Scripture says that she had no relations with Joseph until she gave birth to a son (Matthew 1:25).], which, of course, would contradict the claim that she remained a virgin all her life — an idea that is completely without support in the Bible, or good reason in the Bible, but would have been increasingly attractive a few centuries later as the church took from the surrounding world the notion that a sexless life, an ascetic life was a superior and more holy life.
Why does the Bible say nothing of her in those ways in which Catholics think of her and pray to her? When it describes the life of faith, when Jesus taught that life and Paul and Peter, for whom Catholics have a special reverence, why do they say nothing about Mary or seeking her prayers. Why do they describe a life and a piety without mentioning any of this? Thomas Howard can only say that the Bible's silence may be "the veil shrouding a mystery worth guarding from profane eyes" [185]. But who is to say? Why should we believe any of this system of prayer to Mary or the practice of devotion to her and, all the more, given its slow, fitful, and controversial development even within the Roman Catholic tradition?
You see, I do not doubt that Scott Hahn and Thomas Howard believe that God alone can answer prayers and that the purpose of Mary in the Catholic system is really simply to confirm gospel principles that are taught in Holy Scripture. But, what the Catholic system of theology and piety has done in extrapolating from the biblical account of Mary this entire set of beliefs and practices that are utterly unknown in the Bible, utterly foreign to the teaching of the apostles themselves, is to place something between the soul and the Savior. There is our fundamental objection. I do not doubt that some Catholics are not fundamentally confused by this interposition of Mary and the other saints between themselves and the Lord. Thomas Howard admits that multitudes of Catholics have been so confused and misled. But the question is: are we to believe that the place given to Mary in this system is faithful to the truth as it is taught in Holy Scripture.
And here I answer as I have answered in regard to other such questions in our examination of Roman Catholic belief and practice. The way they extrapolate from the Bible and build an entire edifice of practice that cannot itself be found in the Bible, is precisely what the Jews did in the days of Jesus Christ, and before and after. They too were intensely interested in the faith and serious about their practice of it. They too developed traditions, both of doctrine and of the practice of piety, that they felt would help them be more faithful. Some of those traditions were very much like Roman Catholic practices, such as the rosary. I can very easily imagine a devout Jew arguing for the worth and value of their practices in virtually identical language to that used by Thomas Howard or Scott Hahn as they argue for Catholic devotion to Mary and the like.
But those traditions, Jesus himself said, actually got in the way. The stress they placed upon those traditional ideas and practices drove a wedge between the soul and God himself and created a sense of dependence upon the believer's works, even pious works, for his salvation instead of concentrating all attention upon the faith that a believer is to place directly in the Lord and his mercy. And that was a crucial, a fatal error, and led eventually to such a different conception of salvation, that it was loyal members of the church of God who crucified the Savior of the world when he came among them. Their traditions and traditional practices had hidden the Savior himself from their eyes.
No, what is at stake here is finally something terribly immense. What Christianity offers is the very knowledge of God. You, yourself, you pipsqueak, you inconsequential and sinful human being, you can know God, can know God personally in his love and tender mercy, in his fatherly interest and provision, in his kingly protection. You, your very own self, can speak to him with the knowledge that the Almighty will hear and answer, can love him and be loved in return. Christ came among us in part to prove this to us: that the Creator of heaven and earth and the King of Kings would really stoop to know and be known by us.
But in our sinful rebellion, and in our craven fear of a holy God on account of our sins, we are always wanting to put a greater distance between ourselves and God, to put something in between, to manage, to make safe and predictable, this otherwise so personal and so intimate relationship with the living God himself. After all, whenever, in the Bible, someone comes face to face with God, it is no casual affair; it is devastating, terrifying, at least at first. So we are always tempted to domesticate this Christian faith, to make it more predictable and to place it once again under our control. It isn't just Roman Catholics that do this. Oh no. Don't anyone take that away from this message. What concerns us in their practice of Marian devotion should concern us as well in our own Protestant, Presbyterian, Reformed practices and our own approach to our life of faith. We too are always tending to make our relationship with God more comfortable for ourselves by placing something between ourselves and him, by giving ourselves a little distance as it were. We place our works, our pious acts of worship, or intermediaries like Mary and the saints, between ourselves and God. We turn our faith into a lifestyle, or an ethic, or a set of practices until, before we know it and without our realizing it, it is no longer a personal relationship with God, a walking with God through this world. Now we are dealing with a distant God, a more remote deity according to a set of rules or procedures. We are more comfortable with that.
But, in that we lose the glory and splendor and power of the gospel, which brings us directly to God and gives us to know him and be loved and ruled by him. It is not always easy to have your life open entirely to God and to have to deal with Him directly regarding your days and your nights, your choices, your sorrows, your disappointments, your failures, and your sins. But that is what God requires.
And what he promises is that if you come to Him, directly, lay your soul, your life at his feet, as Mary did, look to him for your salvation, not only in the world to come but day to day, and live your life in active dependence upon his living presence with you, as Mary did, He will give you rest, the forgiveness of your sins, the promise of eternal life, his love shed abroad in your heart, his Spirit to support, comfort, and encourage you, his law to guide you, his hand to direct your steps, and he will give you the longings, the delights of your heart, as you trust in him. Nothing can come between you and Him. That is the secret of all life and all truth: God himself may be known by us as our Father in heaven, Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit as our Comforter. But sinful little creature that you are, you will struggle all your life to believe that and to act upon that truth. Whether it frightens you, the prospect of facing God, or whether you believe it too good to be true, you will struggle to accept. But you must for, as the Lord Jesus himself said, "he who comes to me, I will never drive away!"
(Robert L. Reymond is Professor of Systematic Theology at Knox Theological Seminary in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He holds B.A., M.A., and Ph. D. degrees from Bob Jones University and has done doctoral and post-doctoral studies in other Seminaries and Universities. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America, who has lectured in various countries in Europe and the East. Prior to taking the chair of Systematic Theology at Knox Theological Seminary he taught at Covenant Theological Seminary for more than twenty years. Then too, he has authored numerous articles in theological journals and various reference works, and has written some ten books.)
How Should We Give Our Money?
A certain Christian once said to a friend, "Our church costs too much. They are always asking for money." [Her friend replied in this fashion]: "Sometime ago a little boy was born in our home. He cost [us] a lot of money from the very beginning: he had a big appetite; he needed clothes, medicine, toys, and even a puppy. Then he went to school, and that cost a lot more; later he went to college; then he began dating, and that cost a small fortune! But in his senior year at college he died, and since the funeral he hasn't cost [us] a penny. Now which situation do you think we would rather have?"
After a significant pause, the friend continued, "As long as this church lives it will cost. When it dies for want of support it won't cost us anything. A living church has the most vital message in all the world today; therefore I am going to give and pray with everything I have to keep our church alive" (Alan Redpath, The Royal Route to Heaven. Westwood, NJ: Revell, 1960, p. 27).
Some people believe it is unspiritual to talk about money. Some say not to worry about money but just let God provide. We should not worry about anything because God will provide, but as we've mentioned at various times, we must be good stewards with what God has given us in using the brains God has given us to do the work God has commissioned us to do.
And the fact of the matter is that the way to continue these operations from keeping our electricity and our phones to funding various ministries is monetarily. But we will see that if we realize all that God has given to us in Christ, then it will be no problem for us to give to God's work. So how are we to give?
(To read the rest of this sermon, click here. This was preached on Sunday, August 29, 2004, at the Boone's Creek Baptist Church, Lexington, KY.)
More ESV Journaling Bible Reviews (ESV Blog)
Click here to read!
ESV Children's Bible — a Review
Last Sunday, two children from our congregation stepped forward in believer's baptism to testify of what Christ accomplished in their hearts. As is our custom here at Boone's Creek, we give all those who are baptized a new Bible.
I had a choice. Find a nice Bible for little kids that they would outgrow as they matured a couple years — or get them a real Bible that they could use indefinitely.
I chose the latter. So I went to my local Lifeway Christian Stores outlet and purchased on our church account two ESV Children's Bibles.
Here are some of the specs:
- 11-point type
- Size: 5.5″ x 8.5″
- No center-column cross-reference system
- Words of Christ in red
- No CD-ROM request card included
- Concordance
- Maps and illustrations
- Not thumb-indexed
- The inside is based on the large-print editions
- Over 200 full-color illustrations
- See sample 1 or sample 2 of the inside.
The ESV is written on a 10th grade level, yet it has a translation philosophy known as Essentially Literal. That is what I want my little girl to have in her hands — a Bible that stays true to the original manuscripts.
An objection would be, "But Matt, she's too young to understand it." Well, this Bible has over 200 age-appropriate color illustrations to help them know that great stories and doctrines of the faith. And when she reads along with us, we can stop and I can explain what these words mean. It allows me as her father (and pastor, for that matter) to give her a good grounding of the faith from a wonderful literal translation.
Have any of you seen the ESV Children's Bible? What think ye?
A Recipe For Revival (Seven Ingredients from Psalm 85)
Recipes and I do not get along too well. The extent of my cooking knowledge is praying that the box says, "Microwaveable" … then I proceed. But when it comes to recipes for revival, that's a different story. It's exciting to read how God moved in various awakenings throughout history. The most amazing one is found in Acts when 3000 people came to Christ in one day as Peter preached in Jerusalem. From that, many more revivals and awakenings came to pass as Peter, Stephen, Philip and the Apostle Paul traveled and preached throughout the entire Roman Empire, turning that powerful empire upside down. Though allegiance to Caesar was required (under penalty of death), many turned their allegiance to Christ (and faced the penalty of death).
Revivals have come throughout church history as well. The Great Awakening of the 1730s -40s in colonial America, eventually spreading to Europe, under the ministry of Jonathan Edwards in America and George Whitefield in England, brought awakened many to the Spirit's work — among whom are John and Charles Wesley.
What exactly is "revival"? Stephen Olford says, "Revival is an invasion from heaven that brings a conscious awareness of God." Vance Havner once said that, "Revival is the church falling in love with Jesus all over again."
Some say we are past the era of revivals and see little use for them. One lady asked the great evangelist Billy Sunday, "Why do you keep having revivals?" Billy Sunday asked her a question right back, "Why do you keep taking baths?" The message is clear — individual Christians and churches need to set aside time to simply focus on our life in Jesus Christ. That's the plan for this coming Sunday through Tuesday.
Getting back to our recipes — is there a recipe for revival? Is there something that one can do to conjure it up? We are going to find out that the answer is 'no.' We are not the ones who initiate revivals. But Psalm 85 will show us how to prepare ourselves and be ready for when revival comes.
(To read the rest of this sermon click here. Preached on April 24, 2005 at the Boone's Creek Baptist Church, Lexington, KY)
The 100 Things I Have Learned As a Senior Pastor (Michael Foster)
This list is quite good. Michael Foster runs The Gaslight Gospel blog. Any thoughts?
(HT: Mark Combs)
The Protestant Protest (MacArthur)
The Reformation doctrine of justification by faith is, and has always been, the number one target of the enemy's attack. It provides the foundation of the bridge that reconciles God and man-without that key doctrine, Christianity falls. But the doctrine the Reformers so painstakingly clarified, even spilled blood over, has become so muddled today that many Protestants barely recognize it.
Sadly, there are some who react against a clear presentation of justification, calling it nothing more than useless hair-splitting. Some evangelical reactions to Protestant doctrine are even more severe. Recently, popular talk-show host, Marty Minto, was fired by evangelical station management for discussions he was having on his daily radio program. His crime? In response to callers, he was applying a traditional Protestant perspective to the teachings of John Paul II and the Roman Catholic Church.
Many evangelicals, ignorant and unconcerned of their Protestant roots, are blithely embracing Roman Catholics as brothers and sisters in Christ. They've become more concerned about offending and alienating Roman Catholics than they have in clearly articulating the truth. What's so important about that? Jesus said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (John 8:32).
The issue, may I remind you, is justification by faith alone. Those who do not adhere to that fundamental biblical doctrine are not going to heaven.
Back to the Beginning
In the 1500s a fastidious monk, who by his own testimony "hated God," was studying Paul's epistle to the Romans. He couldn't get past the first half of Romans 1:17: "[In the gospel] is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith" (KJV).
One simple, biblical truth changed that monk's life-and ignited the Protestant Reformation. It was the realization that God's righteousness could become the sinner's righteousness-and that could happen through the means of faith alone. Martin Luther found the truth in the same verse he had stumbled over, Romans 1:17: "Therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith" (KJV, emphasis added).
Luther had always seen "the righteousness of God" as an attribute of the sovereign Lord by which He judged sinners-not an attribute sinners could ever possess. He described the breakthrough that put an end to the theological dark ages:
I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that "the just shall live by his faith." Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before the "justice of God" had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gate to heaven.
Justification by faith was the great truth that dawned on Luther and dramatically altered the church. Because Christians are justified by faith alone, their standing before God is not in any way related to personal merit. Good works and practical holiness do not provide the grounds for acceptance with God. God receives as righteous those who believe, not because of any good thing He sees in them-not even because of His own sanctifying work in their lives-but solely on the basis of Christ's righteousness, which is reckoned to their account. "To the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness" (Romans 4:5). That is justification.
Declared Righteous: What Actually Changes?
In its theological sense, justification is a forensic, or purely legal, term. It describes what God declares about the believer, not what He does to changethe believer. In fact, justification effects no actual change whatsoever in the sinner's nature or character. Justification is a divine judicial edict. It changes our status only, but it carries ramifications that guarantee other changes will follow. Forensic decrees like this are fairly common in everyday life.
When I was married, for example, Patricia and I stood before the minister (my father) and recited our vows. Near the end of the ceremony, my father declared, "By the authority vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you man and wife." Instantly we were legally husband and wife. Whereas seconds before we had been an engaged couple, now we were married. Nothing inside us actually changed when those words were spoken. But our status changed before God, the law, and our family and friends. The implications of that simple declaration have been lifelong and life-changing (for which I am grateful). But when my father spoke those words, it was a legal declaration only.
Similarly, when a jury foreman reads the verdict, the defendant is no longer "the accused." Legally and officially he instantly becomes either guilty or innocent-depending on the verdict. Nothing in his actual nature changes, but if he is found not guilty he will walk out of court a free person in the eyes of the law, fully justified.
In biblical terms, justification is a divine verdict of "not guilty-fully righteous." It is the reversal of God's attitude toward the sinner. Whereas He formerly condemned, He now vindicates. Although the sinner once lived under God's wrath, as a believer he or she is now under God's blessing.
Justification is more than simple pardon; pardon alone would still leave the sinner without merit before God. So when God justifies He imputes divine righteousness to the sinner (Romans 4:22-25). Christ's own infinite merit thus becomes the ground on which the believer stands before God (Romans 5:19; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Philippians 3:9). So justification elevates the believer to a realm of full acceptance and divine privilege in Jesus Christ.
Therefore, because of justification, believers not only are perfectly free from any charge of guilt (Romans 8:33) but also have the full merit of Christ reckoned to their personal account (Romans 5:17). Here are the forensic realities that flow out of justification:
We are adopted as sons and daughters (Romans 8:15) We become fellow-heirs with Christ (v. 17) We are united with Christ so that we become one with Him (1 Corinthians 6:17) We are henceforth "in Christ" (Galatians 3:27) and He in us (Colossians 1:27)
How Justification and Sanctification Differ
Justification is distinct from sanctification because in justification God does not make the sinner righteous; He declares that person righteous (Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16). Notice how justification and sanctification are distinct from one another:
Justification imputes Christ's righteousness to the sinner's account (Romans 4:11b); sanctification imparts righteousness to the sinner personally and practically (Romans 6:1-7; 8:11-14). Justification takes place outside sinners and changes their standing (Romans 5:1-2, sanctification is internal and changes the believer's state (Romans 6:19). Justification is an event, sanctification a process.
Those two must be distinguished but can never be separated. God does not justify whom He does not sanctify, and He does not sanctify whom He does not justify. Both are essential elements of salvation.
Why differentiate between them at all? If justification and sanctification are so closely related that you can't have one without the other, why bother to define them differently? That question was the central issue between Rome and the Reformers in the sixteenth century, and it remains the main front in renewed attacks against justification.
Justification in Roman Catholic Doctrine
Roman Catholicism blends its doctrines of sanctification and justification. Catholic theology views justification as an infusion of grace that makes the sinner righteous. In Catholic theology, then, the ground of justification is something made good within the sinner-not the imputed righteousness of Christ.
The Council of Trent, Rome's response to the Reformation, pronounced anathema on anyone who says "that the [sinner] is justified by faith alone-if this means that nothing else is required by way of cooperation in the acquisition of the grace of justification." The Catholic council ruled "Justification … is not remission of sins merely, but also the sanctification and renewal of the inward man, through the voluntary reception of the grace, and of the gifts, whereby man of unjust becomes just." So Catholic theology confuses the concepts of justification and sanctification and substitutes the righteousness of the believer for the righteousness of Christ.
What's the Big Deal?
The difference between Rome and the Reformers is no example of theological hair-splitting. The corruption of the doctrine of justification results in several other grievous theological errors.
If sanctification is included in justification, the justification is a process, not an event. That makes justification progressive, not complete. Our standing before God is then based on subjective experience, not secured by an objective declaration. Justification can therefore be experienced and then lost. Assurance of salvation in this life becomes practically impossible because security can't be guaranteed. The ground of justification ultimately is the sinner's own continuing present virtue, not Christ's perfect righteousness and His atoning work.
What's so important about the doctrine of justification by faith alone? It is the doctrine upon which the confessing church stands or falls. Without it there is no salvation, no sanctification, no glorification-nothing. You wouldn't know it to look at the state of Christianity today, but it really is that important.
Adapted from The Gospel According to the Apostles, © 1993 and 2000 by John MacArthur. All rights reserved. Used with permission.


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I awoke in the parking lot at Jokularlon, the Ice Lagoon. I had taken a few shots the night before, after all who could resist. But now It was time to explore the area. The beach where the ice washes up is on the east side of the highway. The much larger parking lot and lagoon is to the west. Serious crowds and tour operators start to show up early, including this entourage with a bride from China.
I wandered around a while and then hit the road. During the day is scouting time for me and I wanted to see what lie further down the road. About an hour later I reached Hofn, a small town that would become my base of sorts. I got some supplies at the local grocery, had lunch at Kaffihornið, a local restaurant and explored a bit. There's a large campground here with coin operated showers, a luxury I would put off for another day or two. At this point, my morning routine was to find a spot for espresso, use their WC after I had made my purchase and use the opportunity to brush my teeth and splash my face a bit. All with considerable thanks expressed and gratitude.
Heading north on Highway 1, vast expanses again. At one point I parked and just watched the shadows of huge clouds move across a hillside.
I really didn't know how much further I wanted to go at this point. I was intrigued by a falls called Fossardalur, and hoped to find it. One thing I was realizing about driving in Iceland was that the roads were narrow and pulloffs were, nonexistent, except for the occasional gravel driveway. Usually what happened was I saw an incredible composition, then started looking for a pulloff with one eye in the mirror making sure I wasn't holding up traffic. Sometimes, however, I got lucky and there was an official parking area off the road. After taking dozens of shots of other people, one time someone got a shot of me with my camera!
The rest of the day was driving north towards Djúpivogur, admiring the coast, dodging skuas and contemplating what was to be a gray rainy day the next day.
Eventually I found Fossardalur, and explored around the area there. There is a lower parking lot (with the all-important porta-potties) which gives a hint of the falls and an upper one which puts you right in front of them I got a few nice shots of the falls as the light began to soften in the afternoon.
I explored around the falls area further and found a way down to the base from the lower parking lot. There's a somewhat tricky creek crossing but using my tripod as a stick helped get across it.
More napping ensued into the late afternoon and I planned on heading back towards Jokulsarlon for the evening. Rain was predicted by the next morning so I figured it was to be a day of scouting and rest.


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As mentioned in my previous posts, I have been engaged in a discussion of the valuation of Goldman Sachs and investment banks in general. For the background behind this discussion, reference "Reggie Middleton vs Goldman Sachs, Round 2" and "Readers Comments on Goldman's Valuation".
Here is how it has played out.
ANALYST: Do you think GS or any other bank that is seen as a going concern should be valued at PB anymore, particularly now that the recession is over. I don't think markets are valuing banks seen as going concern on P/B (particularly xx/subs content used for GS).
Let's say it this way. I know the merits of PB but shouldn't it be used to value banks during recessions. Post recession, historically as well, analysts and markets switched to alternative valuation method for banks since PB would give us a base value during recession, and is good proxy during liquidation process that would determine shareholders' value in case bank has to wind up
Assuming GS has ROE of 15%. What about future cash generation now that we have revenue visibility? Or probably you don't expect GS to survive for next 5 yrs. Ok let's say this way, If you value GS with PB of xx with ROE of 15% two years down the line you would expect the book value to increase by 32% (assuming 0% payout ratio) and in five years more than double. Given that I-banks have high ROE this would be conformist, and not "realistic" as some argue, to value an I-bank.
Ideally banks (both commercial and investment banks) should be valued on discounted cash flow methodology taking into consideration cost of equity and future cash flows. But since banks have highly liquid balance sheet, traditional DCF used for industrials might ignore the merit in current balance sheet strength. So there is a need to maintain a trade-off that considers both the virtues - balance sheet strength and future accretion.
RM: Keep in mind that either GSs interest costs will go up or their trading revenue will most likely go down if regulation is enacted, and from a political perspective global regulation seems inevitable. I believe the revenue prospects for the big banks are overrated. One plus will be that compensation costs may be forced down across the board as a cultural shift, but if the banks argument is to hold water (which I believe it will not) then they will suffer a flight of talent to lesser regulated entities.
Why would you believe you have more revenue visibility now with the entire industry in flux, not to mention the business landscape? GS is coming off of the biggest real asset, credit and financial asset bubble of the last 70 years and is still benefiting immensely from government intervention. Do you really believe that Wall Street banks have an upward revenue curve from here once interest rates begin to rise, regulation increases, and government support is wound down?
ANALYST: My comment was that in recessions PB was probably the method. During recession markets are worried about sustainability, so they place high regards to Price-to-book and Price-to-tangible ratios. If you remember last year, there was so much of emphasis on leverage, tangible equity capital ratio, level 3 assets on so on. Now after the govt intervention, we don't expect to any more massive failures. And hence relative importance of PB diminishes.
What the intervention has done is passed the costs to future generation for the time being. Even if revenues are expected to decline, there is less noise about sustainability. Even if revenues are expected to decline, as long as a company is able to earn higher return than cost of capital, markets would be ready to pay a price higher than BVPS. Wont you?
And about higher trading revenues, GS trading desk hardly generates alpha. It's just beta, as per your earlier analysis. If you have a negative view on market, GS would be a good opportunity to short. But then the question is about the market. Of course, once QE is withdrawn, and private spend would not be able to fill the gap that fiscal has done to the economy, we could expect some huge sell off. Till that time I would personally ride with the markets until I see clear signs of QE easing and Fiscal spending withdrawn. It's just a matter of time.
I was not able to express all my thoughts but I think you got my view. But my argument was more on valuation than view on markets.
RM; It looks as if the markets are about to break. We have had a very strong rally against the fundamentals (and the technical's) for nine months now. We shall see if that is the case. As for banks failing, once a mechanism is in place to liquidate banks I don't think the argument will stand that the big banks won't fail. They will fail if they don't succeed. There is a lot of political acrimony involved in bailing out the banks and I don't think it can be done publicly in the very near future. With that being said, nearly all of the conditions that caused the other banks to fail are still here, save liquidity - which the government has supplied.
RM: GS return on equity has declined substantially due to deleverage and is only marginally higher than its current cost of capital. With ROE down to c12% from c20% during pre-crisis levels, there is no way a stock with high beta as GS could justify adequate returns to cover the inherent risk. For GS to trade back at 200 it has to increase its leverage back to pre-crisis levels to assume ROE of 20%. And for that GS has to either increase its leverage back to 25x. With curbs on banks leverage this seems highly unlikely. Without any increase in leverage and ROE, the stock would only marginally cover returns to shareholders given that ROE is c12%. Even based on consensus estimates the stock should trade at about where it is trading right now, leaving no upside potential. Using BoomBustBlog estimates, the valuation drops considerably since we take into consideration a decrease in trading revenue or an increase in the cost of funding in combination with a limitation of leverage due to the impending global regulation coming down the pike. Using your method, our valuation would drop from where it is to an even lower point.
I definitely do understand your perspective, although I would have to give it some more thought before I can label it "the right way to go".


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The Rides
By Marthetta Blakley | July 6, 2015
How can I write a book about Songbird Ranch without writing about the horses? After all, it's the love for horses that got me here in the first place. I was the child who clamored to ride a horse at any given opportunity. I was so naughty, crying for a horse of my own, while watching the Caldwell Night Rodeo parade one time that Mom said she'd never bring me to watch another one. I think my first ride was on my sister's friend, Ginger's, horse. I remember it was very large and brown. I was probably three or so.
Whenever the family went anywhere that a trail ride was offered, that was my choice and I wouldn't stop whining til I got to ride. Sometimes the fam would discuss one vacation adventure or another and I wouldn't know what they were talking about. Everyone would look at me like I had lost my mind (it wouldn't be the first time) until they remembered my choice for vacation adventures. The horseback ride. While they went down to see the shoot out in Jackson Hole, I was riding along the ridge above town, watching a spectacular sunset, pleased as punch. While they were off on a tour of the Mammoth hot pots at Yellow Stone, I was riding a horse through a flat, gray, plain, surrounded by steam vents and small boiling pots of thick, yellowish, stinky, goop, quite eerie and more than a little bit scary. How thrilling! While they were swimming at Silver Creek Plunge, I was riding a horse up the trail through the pine trees, listening to birds and looking for chipmunks, or, I as called them, chickiemongies. That would have been a difficult decision because I love to swim almost as much as I love to ride. All of these rides were guided, of course, with a string of dudes following a handsome cowboy who I had already fallen in love with even at the age of seven. Those cowboys!
Little Baron Lake
Sometime in the late 60's, the entire family visited Grand Jean, Idaho. We decided to take a trail ride up to Little Baron Lake in the Sawtooth Mountains. The anticipation of drinking from a mountain lake fed by a glacier even got Stephen, my big brother, on a horse. Stephen was not particularly fond of the big critters.
Nothing compares to the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. I have seen the Alps and as inspiring as they are, they have people scattered all over them. As we rode along the gravel road, there would come the near religious moment, with breath held, while Dad signed us in at the Forest Service gate. From that point on, we were in the Primitive Area. No machine had ever been in this area. All of the trails and bridges were built with hatchet, axe and saw, by hand. The only way in was on horseback or afoot. This, to me, was magic. The trail wound up the side of the mountain on one side as our gazes were drawn across the creek and up the mountain on the other side. Long strips of silvery light glittered down the mountain, one after another, to spill into the creek. The bright blue sky graced the jagged mountain top, adding to the sense of glory I felt. This was Grande Jean, Grand John, the first of the Sawtooth peaks to be seen coming from the southwest. My heart beat fast and furiously, and I knew absolute happiness. This has always been my favorite trail to follow- even when I rode a nasty mare one time and led the group myself. The unique, fresh, crisp smell of the Wilderness stirs the blood and promises a great adventure. The vanilla scent of the Ponderosa Pine subtly tinged with sage, mingled with the pine tar, sodden leaves and needles on the forest floor, to smack of a purity rarely enjoyed by the senses anywhere else that I've ever been. Up and onward we wound, with the sunlight warming us after each visit to the shadowy side of the trail. Riding through the trees, I felt the earth's great secrets were being shared with me alone. My private place in paradise. Lovely and delicate wild flowers dotted the hillside, sometimes in such number that their sweet fragrance stood on its own.
As we rode, we sang and yodeled, enjoying the many echoes coming from different, mysterious places. If we begged enough, Dad would sing the Old Army Songs – really goofy songs that we never heard as often as we liked. For example: "I was looking through the knothole in great granddaddy's leg, asked him why they built the shore so near the ocean, the ocean. A snake's belt slips because he has no hips and his necktie's the same as his waistline, his waistline." and "The girls in the
Army, they say are mighty fine, most are over 80, the rest are under nine, I don't want no more of Army life but gee Mom I wanta go, but they won't let me go, gee Mom I wanta go home, the coffee in the Army they say is mighty fine, looks like muddy water, tastes like iodine, I don't want no more of Army life but gee Mom I wanta go, but they won't let me go, gee Mom I wanta go home." The ditties were mostly saved for road trips and camping. Yes, we were one of those families who sang along with Dad, tooling down the highway. So we selfishly shared our songs and yodels with the wilderness and whoever else might be on the trail. I wondered about that a time or two. Sometimes I tried to act as though I were not really part of the group which was pretty hard to do, bringing up the rear on a trail ride.
As the trailed climbed higher, we rode out of the trees, scaling the side of the granite peak above the tree-line. There was one ticklish spot where the trail actually crossed over the water at the top of one of those glistening waterfalls. The shallow but wildly flowing water spilled off the edge of the mountain almost at our feet. The sound was powerful and hallowed. My breath was taken away. I felt as though I could see forever, not just distance but also in time. Nothing I have ever seen has held a candle to the purity of this view. The Sawtooths lined up from where we stood and marched on as far as the eye could see. I had never known the color blue until this moment. I have tried to find the perfect word for this blue and it has escaped me. Just know that it was deep yet clear at the same time. It was practically crystalline in its gleaming.
As we looked down the mountain, we saw Little Baron Lake, a jewel to match the sky, mirroring everything around it. Down we went, traversing the hillside, to park and have a picnic of peanut butter sandwiches on the greenest grass I had ever seen. We tied the horses to the trees and sat beside the glacier that fed the lake with the clearest water this side of heaven. You could see through the water of the lake way out, its depths distorting memory of measurement. Fallen trees lying on the bottom were as clear as the ones lying next to us in the forest. When I leaned down from a log and put my hand in the water, tiny, silvery fish shot away from me, sparkling dabs of light. The ripples were nearly musical in the bright sunshine. I leaned way over to get a drink and was shocked when the cold, untainted water hit my lips. I had never tasted anything so sweet and clear. I really could taste clear. It was good. It was a wonderful surprise. The soft sunlight of early summer played across the water. Little dots of color covered the meadows and mountain sides – the wildflowers were just beginning to bloom. Our hearts were full. We were all laughing and splashing one another, having a truly loving family moment. I will never forget that first ride to Little Baron Lake.
Category: Lifestyle
About the Author (Author Profile)Cindy Corwin is the CEO/Owner of Horse Family Magazine and is specifically interested in giving back to equine communities and bringing families closer together in their love of horses.
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This is so great Muffie. I actually felt like I was on the rides with you. I'm so glad you all got to enjoy Nature and the Beautiful out of doors. Keep this going sweetie. Should write a book so we can share it in our leasure. Love your cousin. Marianne Dorsey King Butterfield. xxoo


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Daylily 'Rolling Thunder'
Daylily 'Rolling Thunder' is a deep red daylily with a yellow halo and green throat. The 6" fragrant blossoms are nocturnal blooming and an extended bloomer so they open late and stay open a long time.
|Height: 28"
|Bloom Size: 6"
|Bloom Time: Midseason
|Foliage: Dormant
|Dip/Tet: Tetraploid
|Extras: Fragrant, Extended bloomers, Nocturnal blooms
Photo courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.


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Aero went out under oars for the first time on Sunday, on the River Hamble. Also present were Chris Waite with his remarkable all-wood skiff Octavia and myself, with my remarkable Chippendale Sprite Snarleyow, which is mainly wood but a with bits of SS here and there.
Aero proved to be a bit tippy but with reassuring amounts of secondary buoyancy, and incredibly light. So much so that Jeremy complained that when he hit patches of algae (it's that time of year) the boat would come to a dead halt instantly. This is partly due to the sharp angle of the bow which digs in to the water like an axe.
The outriggers are made of carbon fibre on a foam mould originally intended for a leaf spring in an aircraft undercarriage (Jeremy's other obsession is planes). A pair of John Murray's GA swivels are slid into sockets in the ends. The outriggers seemed very stiff.
The oars are aluminium tubes with carbon fibre blades, not a very happy arrangement but necesary to win the bet to create a boat with no wood at all. Jeremy had weighted the handles to help with the balance but this meant the blades overall were quite heavy compared with my traditional Macons. They were also far too short (also, possibly, the outriggers 'wings' were not long enough).
The short blades meant that Jeremy struggled to push the boat along at the speed she is clearly capable of, but with a few tweeks to the rig, she will fly.
The next step is to install a front-facing rowing device.
Jeremy has built a high-tech version of the cranked oars that used to be used in duck punts, which looks like rowing as designed by rocket scientists. The cranks have a 20 per cent leverage and folding the handles out brings the blades in for convenient stowage. It will be very interesting to see how the design pans out.


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Life is a journey, one moment here and some times later somewhere else ..
We enjoyed our short stay in US and now living here in my motherland India is always a pleasure..Its something in the air , the warmth of people and love and care , what more you want in life .
I have taken a good short break from blogging , and I must tell that I have enjoyed this break a lot , spend a lot of time with my family , visiting friends and relatives , reliving my wonderful growing years .. now I am here in my birth place Allahabad visiting my parents home..My mom is an excellent cook(every mother is and always will be) and needless to say , she started making some of the relishing and delicious foods since I came here ..she has an avid interest in Kitchen gardening also ..with some good space to cultivate vegetables , her kitchen garden is a pleasure to watch and pluck some good fresh vegetables and make it as is …
So friends , from my mom's kitchen to you ..serving you some of the authentic Bengali food …
Lauki /Lao belongs to family cucurbitacea and is also known as Bottle Gourd, contains Vit C and Vit B complex,Lauki is considered to be extremly Pitta pacifying, the skin is generally pale in green colour and the inner flesh is white in colour.Pick the young gourd for better result,discard the hard parts, while cutting the vegetable.Lauki is used in making Raita ( a yogurt based tangy Gravy) and many Subzi also.
Lao macher modo diye ghonto (Lao fish curry)
Lao Ghonto
Recipe requirements
1 Lao/Lauki
2 fish head , throughly washed
5-6 green chilly peppers(add less for less spice)
¼ tsp of turmeric powder (just go easy on this , to add colour only)
Salt as per taste
Oil for frying fish head
1~ Heat a kadai/saucepan, add oil for frying fish head , release the fish head slowly in the oil and fry at low on each side for 5 mints or till the fish is fried brown .
2 ~While frying fish, head will swell slightly , at this time flip the side and fry again for 5 mints at low .the better fish head is fried , the better the Ghonto/curry will be .But be very careful while frying it , because its often splutter a lot ..
3 ~Now add finely chopped lauki/lao to the above , add turmeric powder , green chillies split in between and salt as per taste , stir it slightly , cover and cook for 10 mints at low .
4 ~After some 10-12 mints , check for the softness of lauki/lao and now with the help of spatula/Khunti/Palta , break the fish head into bite size pieces and again cover, cook for 5-7 mints at med –low .
5 ~For our vegetarian friends , you can add Badi/Boda in place of fish head .
Some of the good friends from blogging world visited here , thanks for coming by and stoping here .
Thank you Sia, Trupti, Sandeepa, Mandira, Sailaja, Soumya,Krithika,Asha,Lera,Sumitha,RP and every body ,pls forgive me if I have forgotten to write about you …but I have loved your encouraging words and remarks .
Thanks once again to everybody reading this and spending your precious time here ..
Some more recipes next time , Happy cooking ,Bon Appetite.