Anne Jackson -- UGANDA: the burden of wealth

Here is an excerpt from Anne's blog today:
(Read the rest of the post here.)

contrast.

there’s so much of a contrast here.

we’re sitting in our bus, driving to another project, and no matter where it is i look, the contrast is striking.

the colors in nature…the rich greens and reds in the grass and the mud…and the unsaturated grey in the sky.

the cars and motorbikes that crowd the roads…and the goat i see about ten feet outside of my window…and the cattle that passed by our bus yesterday.

the skyscrapers in downtown kampala…and the rows of small markets of local vendors selling plantains and brooms.

$9 rent

http://www.flowerdust.net/?p=671

Do you pay more than $9 in rent? Imagine it...and check out the link.

Cletus take the reel

Carrie Underwood can sing. But so can Cletus.

Reflection and Affection

Check out this link to a GREAT post on the relationship between our heart's affection for God and our mind's reflection on who God is. Warning: If you don't want to study scripture, or if you want to have an academic understanding of God with no emotion involved, don't read this article!

Reflection and Affection

Reclaiming the Catfish Gospel Blog

This has been an interesting year of blogging for me. I confess I have fewer posts than I'd hoped, and I have blurred the lines of what the "Catfish Gospel Blog" was intended to be. I have decided to reclaim this blog for what it should be: journaling my observations of gospel redemption in a messy world. From here on out, that's what it will be. For those of you who only watch this blog for posts about my family, I have created a new blog for that. The address is codyvilla.blogspot.com, and you can subscribe to the feed on that page. I will make every attempt to post more pictures of JC and the family this year, as I know I have not met some of y'all's standards thus far. I do hope many of you will enjoy the posts on this blog in the coming year.

I am also beginning a third blog project in 2008 (that's right - three blogs!). Check out lightyoke.blogspot.com for more info on that project. It should be interesting! So, if you haven't subscribed to my blogs yet, here they are in random order:

codyvilla.blogspot.com - an informal blog with pictures and info about my family.
catfishgospel.blogspot.com - Observations of gospel redemption in a messy world.
lightyoke.blogspot.com - Testing the "Light Yoke." A quest for discipline.

Free Lunch

Free lunch is always a good thing...almost always. It's not a good thing when the manager of the restaurant is "comping" your lunch with his sincerest apologies!

JC and I spent much of the morning Christmas shopping, and Kristen was shopping separately with her sister Allison. We decided to meet up for lunch, even though JC and I had already eaten. Since only Kristen and Ali would eat, we decided to go somewhere nice at Village Pointe. Alli and I ordered waters, and Kristen ordered a diet coke. So far so good...

When the waiter came back with our drinks, he set Alli's water down, then reached Kristen's coke to her, and somehow in the reaching process lost control of my water, which was still on his tray, which was hovering somewhere over JC's head. What transpired may give me nightmares for a week. The water - no, ICE water - spilled, overflowing the drink tray and proceeding to DRENCH my son right before my eyes. The icy flow began about mid-scalp, wetting his bangs down to his eyebrows as if he was taking a bath. His face and eyes were downstream, and they too were soaked. As the waiter (who was surely by now tasting both his heart and his stomach at the same time) tried to catch what he could, he threw water my direction. I can't complain much about the water spots on my pants, as JC had to remove much of his clothing.

JC's response: Much wailing & flailing.
Dad's response: Pick him up, dry him off...not enough...
Mom's response: Take him to the bathroom and do whatever it is that moms do best, which worked well. Within a few minutes, he was back at the table as if nothing had happened.

Needless to say, our lunch was free. The waiter apologized at least six times. The manager thanked us for handling it so well...I'm not sure what good it would have done to be really mad about it. It could have been the glass that hit him instead of the water, or worse, the water could have been hot. We all had a good laugh about it at the end of lunch, and we still left a tip. I bet the kid was surprised, but I hope it helps spread a little Christmas cheer. If nothing else, he'll remember the day he dumped ice-water on a baby and still got a tip! HA! I love that. Anyway, the moral of the story is, it could always be worse. OR Free lunch is always worth it...thanks, JC, for taking one for the team.

THE GREATEST FIGHT SCENE

Yeah, this is worth a re-post. Thanks, Jared...I'll never get those two minutes back again!

FROM GREG ADKINS: “What you are about to see is completely unbelievable. Yes, more amazing than any Steve Perry sound alike in a hotel lobby could ever be. This is the greatest fight scene ever. I don't care what movie you want to stack against this, I guarantee you it will lose. This is hands down the greatest thing I have ever seen.


The scene is from a 1985 film called Gymkata. It's about an olympic gymnist who is also a ninja. He has invented a new style of martial arts called Gymkata that combines gymnastics and karate. The movie is NOT a comedy. I repeat, this is not intentionally funny.


Things of note: (1) The sound effects are probably the best I have ever heard. (2) The crowd shots of the angry mob. Awesome. (3) The classic ninja movie rule is in effect here... a crowd of ninjas / villagers / goons can only attack the hero one at a time. Under no circumstances may all of the bad guys attack at the same time. (4) Whenever I get attacked by an angry mob, the first thing I look for is a pommel horse.


Enough talking... enjoy. Please comment with your immediate thoughts. Mine were HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA THIS CAN'T BE REAL LET ME CHECK WIKIPEDIA OKAY IT'S REAL HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.”