Do you remember these books?  If you grew up in the 80's or 90's, then you might be familiar with them.  They were a popular genre of books when I was young.  The basic idea was that as a reader, you could select different paths throughout the story and end up with a unique ending that matched up with your choices.  I think this type of story involvement appeals to the independent folk who like to have control of their own destiny.  It probably drives some of you crazy because you have to have resolution to each possible path, so you read the book like 10 times just to make sure you don't miss some scenario.

Well, I have observed that real life shares some of the same features of these books.  I believe that each person has literally millions of choices to make during their life.  Most people have the opportunity to choose everything from what they will eat to who they will marry.  Obviously, people living in poverty or some parts of the world with minimal freedoms do not enjoy the luxury of choice as often as a middle-class American.  I don't believe God manipulates each of us as a puppeteer would control a marionette.  But the question comes, doesn't God have a plan?  Doesn't God know everything that has happened, is happening, and is going to happen?  Didn't he say he predestined us to be his children?

I will most likely not provide a complete philosophy on the issue of freewill, afterall this is a blog, and you would get bored.  But I will say, the longer I live, the more I see how God can weave our choices into His plan as we go along.  Both good and bad, as long as we choose to abide with Him, He continues to actively work in our lives.  Even those that are separated from Him, He offers opportunities for them to be united with him.  Amazingly, in His good wisdom He enables us to make lots of choices of our own desire, and then He uses us along with our choices to accomplish His will on earth.  This doesn't mean there our millions of paths to reach God, there is still only one Way, through Christ. It also doesn't mean that your choices don't affect your relationship with God, they do.  But it does mean God has given us a lot of freedom to choose how we want to live and who we want to spend our time with. 

Ultimately, you have to daily examine your choices and see which direction you are going and which direction you want to go.  Right now you have a choice to make a comment or not, ha!  Tomorrow you will wake up to a brand new day, so choose your own adventure.  But as that great quote from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade advises, "Choose wisely."

Before reading this blog, I would advise any of you who currently work in the field of meteorology or have close relatives who work in that field to just pass on reading the following.  I may not be completely fair in my assessment, but that's one reason this is on a blog.

Oklahoma has just recently been through a series of winter storms that the local meteorologist gave pet names like "ICE STORM 2007" or "WINTER BLAST 2007".  I don't know if it is this way in your home town, but here, it seems that the weather report has become more of an enterprise than a sharing of information.  Maybe it is just Oklahoma, but for some reason I just feel like the weathermen here enjoy listening to themselves enough that they will interrupt the middle of your show to tell you about the possibility of a thunderstorm that evening.  Used to, it was only right before or during a severe storm that they interuppted for a very short update on the situation.  Now, as one of my colleagues put it, the weather was the only thing on for like two days straight. 

Now, I am not trying to say I don't appreciate all the hard work and advanced notice that our meteorologist provide in the case of severe weather, but recently it has just gotten a little out of hand.  You see about a week and a half ago, we had a winter storm that brought about 4 inches of ice/sleet in the OKC metro area.  It stayed cold and the ice stayed on the roads for several days.  School was out, the news talked about it everyday, fine, I can accept that it was a pretty bad storm.  I mean Oklahoma Christian cancelled school for a day, and that hardly ever happens unless a great force like "ICE STORM 2007!" appears on the scene. 

Well, to make a long story short, the meteorologist prepped us pretty much all week for the next storm that was coming our way.  It was scheduled at first to bring 4-6" of snow in the metro, then 2 days before its arrival it was upgraded to a 6-10" possibility.  By the day before, I briefly heard some reports of up to 12" of snow.  We're talking a whole foot, that is a lot of snow for Oklahoma.  People were ready, the shelves at the local supermarket were empty, wood piles were stocked full.  Well, Saturday came and so did about 2-3" of heavy rain.  I admit that I saw it snow for a few seconds, but really it just rained most of the day.  It melted the remainder of the ice lingering on the roads from "ICE STORM 2007!"

I don't really mind that the weathermen got it wrong, I mean you think they would get better at the prediction as the day of it's arrival came closer, but no one is perfect.  What bothers me were the words of one forecaster while justifying the inaccurate prediction.  He said and I quote, "this pesky warm air staying around" is keeping it from snowing and causing it to rain instead of snow.  Truly, his words reflect his whole attitude, not only was he disappointed about the failed prediction, he actually sounded upset that there wasn't a major snow storm pounding the metro area.  Instead, it was just a good ol' fashioned rainy day.  That wasn't really worth interrupting the afternoon movie, but he did anyway. 

Maybe all this doesn't annoy you that much, but here in Oklahoma the weathermen are about to drive me nuts.  I am not the only one who shares these feelings.  I assume they get paid the same whether we have a mega huge storm or not, so my thought is enjoy the good weather, warn us if we are going to be sucked up by a huge tornado, and stay off the air the rest of the time because it's seems to be a waste of time in most cases.  If you are going to come on the air to provide the best prediction you can, don't hype it up with catchy names, leave that to the hurricane forecasters down in Florida.  I only have one thing left to say, in the case of the storm this weekend....

"Rick, said it would" and "it didn't" so there!

It seems like forever since our last visit.  Zaden has probably gained 5 lbs since the last time I blogged to all you eager readers.  Man!  I probably gained 5 lbs since we last talked.  Anyway, needless to say things are going well, and Zaden and I are growing well.  Kari and I just watch in amazement as our little infant is quickly turning into a little boy.  My grandma, grandpa, mom, and dad always called me their little man until....well until just the other day....I guess mom and dad still call me that.  Anyway, it always made me feel good so I will probably pass it down to Zaden.  Maybe I will wait till he is at least 6 months old.

"He's got the whole world in his hands, He's got the whole world in his hands, He's got the whole world in his hands, He's got the whole wide world in his hands."

I generally perceive this song as one of the many children's songs that we occasionally sing when we do VBS, teach a kids class, or put our kids to sleep at night.  Recently, the words have taken a stronger meaning in my thoughts.

You see, there are two young families that were or currently are in our Bible class at church that have an infant child in the intensive care unit of the hospital.  Both babies are in a difficult fight for their lives.  Their parents have had to watch, wait, and pray many times just that their child would make it thru the night to battle another day. 

Even though Zaden himself had a stay in the NICU, I really can't begin to understand everything they are going thru because their child's difficulty has come so unexpectedly and with great uncertainty.  I am humbled by these situations not merely because I don't have the knowledge or ability to fix their medical problems.  I know that there are many talented doctors that have abilities to help heal and care for even the weakest of infants.  I am humbled, because I know how messed up things would become if I was in charge of everything and if the world depended on me. 

I know that only God has the power and the ability to use even the most difficult and worst situations to bring blessings into people's lives.  I know that only God could surround these families with an amazing hug of encouragement and love from their brothers and sisters in Christ.  Only God could use a simple set of blog entries shared by a father to exemplify faith in adversity and bring amazing encouragement to all of its readers.  I know I am leaving out so much more that God is doing but I will let you explore for yourself, if you want to read their story see below....

Ben's website: http://seekthefather.blogspot.com/

Harper's website: www.caringbridge.org/visit/harperhawley

Please remember these little ones in your prayers as well as their families.

thankfully in His hands,

Ira

Due to popular demand, I've added an RSS feed -- because when you ask for it, you get it!

Today we went to the congregation that meets at the former EEM (Eastern European Missions) building in the suburb of Inzerdorf. As Amanda wrote last time, the connections again were renewed with those that we had met before and created for those that were new to us. But I won’t expand on that since Amanda has covered that thoroughly last time, this will be some randomly generated thoughts as we wrap up our last night in Vienna.
 

There is something about kids that give a congregation energy and life. For those of you that don’t know, the Inzerdorf congregation has an active refugee and refugee children’s ministry. As we waited for everyone to arrive (we were about 45 min early because apparently the public transportation in Vienna did not base their arrival times on the scriptural hour to start church – 10:15) we made small talk and met some of the members as they came in, but the place came alive when Reggie Hiller and the children came in. Immediately the room was full of running, laughter, and play. You get an understanding of why Jesus rebuked his disciples for not letting the parents bring the children to him. Their sense of innocence and joy is completely contagious. Of course a church service just isn’t the same without the shuffling of books, quiet giggling, and serious shushing. We had a great time and yes for all of you that were wondering if we left for the kitchen (no not for a quick chicken wing, in the kitchen is where they translate the sermon into English), no we did not, we stayed and I tried to pick out as many German words as I could, 2, I think was the last count.
 

So here we are, our last night in Vienna, and we are so tired we are spending it relaxing in our flat, recalling all the information we gathered, contemplating the plane ride home, trying to forget the faux pas of the trip that involved me and a very distinguished Austrian, and what a blessing everyone has been! We have been truly blessed this trip and are reminded again that God has put people in Vienna not only to do His work but to help those who are coming after.
 

So we’ll try to get some pictures uploaded to the blog if our web dictator er…I mean administrator will allow it. Just kidding, our web designers are doing a great job, lets give them a hand, and everyone write a comment about what a great job they have done!!! Of course I have only sent one picture in but hopefully more soon.

One more final thought…You are always amazed at how much you can NOT fit in your suitcase when packing for a trip, as well as how much in CAN fit in when coming home. Tschüss!

Today, Jake and I had the opportunity to worship with brothers and sisters at the Mondscheingasse congregation here in Vienna.  While the gathering was small, about 16, the meeting reminded me a little of a family reunion.  You know the kind, where you don’t really know anyone, yet somehow feel connected to everyone.  You all stand around greeting each other, trying to connect the dots, “I knew your mother when she was a little girl,” or “I remember when your dad and I played cowboys and Indians in Granny’s back yard.” 

Today, the conversations before and after the service similarly attempted to form the picture you get when all the lines are connected.  “Originally, I came from Romania…”  followed by “Oh, we have friends who were missionaries in Romania…” and the like.  So I started thinking about the connections we have now with our family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ.  I wonder how these connections will change.  Invariably, they will.  Some of the friendships that have been such an integral part of our daily life will fade, while others will span the ocean and back again.  Parents and siblings may not be as close physically, but the connections we have been building our entire lives will mean more than ever.   Prayers offered by them will have an even sweeter aroma to the Lord, who will grant us ALL a peace that only he can provide.  Finally, those of our church family, we have all been molded by those who have taught us in Bible class, preached sermons, hauled us around to youth rallies, counseled and mentored us.  We will no longer fellowship with them at dinners and Halloween parties or baby showers, yet we will hold a piece of that connection with us. 

I have to admit that one of the most difficult parts of answering this call to the Lord’s army in Vienna has been my own fear of losing the connections to those mentioned above.  I have spent many days and nights anguishing over how sad it will be to be so far away from family and friends.  However, I have been comforted by one thing over and over again.  The Lord is with me all the time.  He never leaves.  This connection will never fade.  Not only do I know he is always there, but I take comfort in knowing he will always do the best for me, according to His glorious plan.

Hello, from Wien! Amanda and I are in Vienna, enjoying the finer things of life such as jet lag and Kebab! We came over for 12 days to find out some more information about schools, apartments, visas, taxes, and anything else we can until they kick us out of the consulate. Speaking of planes, the ride over here was really not too bad, we flew
Austrian Airlines from Washington DC to Vienna (United from DFW to Dulles). Hopefully your are acquainted with airline jargon or that last statement in the parenthesis will mean nothing, which as with most items stuck between to curved lines in a sentence are worth anyways! Back to the story...the food wasn't bad, the service was great, and everyone had their own individualized screens for viewing movies, games, or cameras located at the front and bottom of the plane, as if the views out the 37 windows already weren't scary enough (for those who are scared of flying - see didn't need it again). But I'm not one of those so the ride was fairly enjoyable, except Amanda does not always make the best human pillow so finding a comfortable spot to stretch out and get my beauty sleep was a bit challenging. On this note the airlines have found the magic weapon to get you to upgrade your seats from the tail section (where we were) to business class. Here is how, when you first get on the plane they board you BEHIND the business class so as not to disturb those that have already been seated and served their cocktails. But when exiting the plane with messy hair, red-eyed, cranky, and breath smelling like you have been on a 7 hour flight after they fed you onions for the in-flight dinner, oh yea and they wouldn't let you take your toothpaste on because the tube consisted of 4 ozs of white powdery ooze, back to the story...they walk you THROUGH the business section with the pillows and KING sized linens thrown about in a taunting fashion as if to say, come on, that $500 extra charge each leg per ticket plus $50 processing fee and $2 dollar dealer charge is worth the full size feather pillow and fold out King Size water bed with Enya playing softly in the background. Of course upon peering out of the red caverns that used to be beautifully blue oceans you think, $552 is a good deal!!!
And that was the end of our trip, to start off with we met a very nice Romanian man from Arkansas (no not Phil) which we never caught his name but we have dubbed "our little Romania friend", witnessed an incredible moving site as a battalion (perhaps less or more not sure, it was just a bunch) of army soldiers arrived, presumably from Iraq based on the desert fatigues, all of the travelers, not family, friends, or relatives, just travelers that happened to be in the airport at this time, all stood up and started clapping as they came off the plane. And they all kept clapping until the soldiers were all off the plane and down the corridor, if that doesn't bring you to tears, I don't know what will! Anyway, we need to figure out what we are doing for supper, we met today with some people at the VCS (Vienna Christian School) about re-location, apartments, taxes, visas, cars, etc. yeah it was a lot so anyway, I’m hungry, Tschüss!

Football is the most popular sport in America. In the fall and winters months, football is a Thursday through Monday event. Football is exciting! The strategy, the athleticism, the hard hits, the long passes, the trick plays. There is nothing quite like American Football. Still, I can't think of a single event in any sport that is better than the World Series. Baseball is an experience. You go to the arena for basketball and hockey, to the stadium for football, but for baseball you go the park. The experience of baseball is a day at the park: the hot dogs, cracker jacks, the bratwurst, the peanuts. It's not something you go and watch, it's something you experience.

I remember my last year of college at Oklahoma Christian--it was the 2001 World Series (Arizona versus the Yankees). I worked nights at UPS and was unable to watch more than the first four or five innings of a given game. I didn't get to see Game 7 (at UPS, the work week starts on Sunday night) when Randy Johnson came out of the bullpen, after having thrown 104 pitches in Game 6 (on the previous night), but I saw the replay on ESPN. I LOVED the way the crowd screamed when Johnson ran to the mound, and some how you knew, you just knew, that those sorry Yankees were about to get dealt, baby! Of course, I saw it in replay, so it wasn't the same, but some plays in sports...some of them keep the electricity and you feel it every time you see it.

My roommate that year told me he thought the baseball season should end in September, that in October the weather is too cold. But I like October baseball. I like to see the boys of summer shiver and blow hot air on their hands as they try to make all that summertime effort worth it. But, as I wrote a few weeks ago, I just love October. I love it when the weather gets cooler. I love it when baseball gets cooler, and more serious. There is nothing as serious as a pitcher staring down a hitter as steam shoots from his mouth and nostrils like a bull preparing to attack an overmatched matador--kind of like Adam Wainwright last night.

Yes, I am a diehard Cardinals fan.

There has been a lot of talk lately about North Korea's dictator, Kim Jong Il. I know that he hates freedom and everything (just like Hurrican Katrina and those birds with the bird flu), but I also think that Kim Jong (or, as I like to call him, Il to the K Jongy) has some redeeming qualities.

Number one, of course, is the hair. Not many heads of state have the nerve to do much more than your classic right-side part, comb forward, or comb backwards. And, then there's the classic cut-it-so-short-I-will-neither-need-to-comb-forward-backward-or-sideways. But such traditional hair styles won't work for Il to the K Jongy. He is doing for international politics what Madonna did for pop music: offering an atypical hair style coupled with a bizarre and twisted epistemology, which translates into world domination within his own bubble. (Just cause you own a cape don't mean you can fly--Just cause you run North Korea don't mean you run the world...or do you?)

Number two redeeming quality (and perhaps most important): Il to the K Jongy keeps the United States from winning the award for "Most Delusional Head of State." Now, a lot of people may criticize me for placing G.Dub ahead of Castro, or even Hugo Chavez (on a side note, I recently told a guy I was moving to Vienna and he was really concerned because Vienna's president recently accused our president of being the devil). And these guys probably hold their own level of delusion, but at the end of the day, Castro is president of CUBA! And, he knows that. He's not fooling anyone. Meanwhile, G.Dub is doing everything possible to make us long for the rights and benefits of citizenship in that island nation to our south. The United States is right to be concerned about N. Korea's nuclear situation, but it is a little over the line to call for K Jongy's removal. Without him, The U.S. gets the award.

Well, there's two good reasons why Il to the K Jongy isn't so bad. Maybe you can name a few more.

October has always been my favorite month of the year. I've always loved Halloween: the pumpkins, scary movies, costumes, candy. I love the festive atmosphere of Halloween. I've always loved the fall. I like the way the mornings are cold in October, and the way the temperature warms to a gentle warmness in the afternoons--the type of warmness that still requires a jacket or long sleeves, but isn't a coldness that freezes your fingers.

Yesterday at the church building, the heaters were turned on for the first time since last spring. I like the smell of the dust burning off the heating coils (I wouldn't want to smell it all the time, but I like it because it's a part of that change from summer to winter). Last night, Alisha and I, along with Alisha's younger sister Christy, went to Ron's cafe and I ate a bowl of chili.

This is my favorite time of year.