Apartment Swap

A little less than a year ago our apartment flooded. You may remember reading about the lovely event here. A couple of times since (and once or twice prior), it's happened again on a much smaller scale. After just about every heavy rain (which is fairly rare here), at least a small bit of our carpet somewhere ends up wet.

About three weeks ago we got hammered with a major storm, and we woke up on a Thursday morning with wet carpet throughout much of our apartment. It took them from Thursday morning until Monday evening to get our place livable again. It was frustrating, but we're flexible enough people that we survived. Still, with all of this water that's sat in our apartment over the 3 and a half years we've lived in it, we were sure there was mold and probably other organisms making a nice little home out of our home. We sat down with the manager of our apartment property and politely demanded that something be done. We reached an agreement that they would transfer us to another comparable unit for the same price and on the same lease term we were already on. And we got them to give us a reduction on our rent for June, since we were unable to live in the apartment we were paying for for a few days.

The following Thursday, we left for an Iowa/Illinois trip whose purpose was primarily twofold: 1) We had a friend getting married in Illinois, and 2) We hadn't yet met our newest nephew, Judah, who was born in March. Along the way we got to see each of my brothers & sisters-in-law (though for much less time than we would've liked!), and Elizabeth's family too.

We got back from our trip last Monday night, and had a move date of Saturday. So we had about 4 days to pack & prepare to move about 300 yards away. To make a long story long (but probably not as long as it could be), we got moved on Saturday in the 104-degree heat with the help of some wonderful friends who loaned time, toil, and trucks.

This whole post is really to tell you this little bit of info: Our new apartment has the exact opposite floor plan of our old one. As you look at the kitchen, the fridge is to the right instead of the left. The light switches are located on opposite sides from what we're used to. Everything is backwards. So, for the last few days, both Elizabeth and I have had numerous embarrassing moments where we can't find what we're looking for because we're looking where it used to be placed. It's been a little humorous (except when you have to pee in the middle of the night and run into walls and trip over dressers on the way to the bathroom).

40 Days of Prayer

A few months ago I read about THIS. It's a brochure called 40 Days of Prayer Supporting Women Everywhere (except the womb). I added the last part, for accuracy's sake. Planned Parenthood published this list of 40 short prayers they're encouraging their supporters to pray through. It's one of the saddest things I think I've ever seen. I went through each of their 40 prayers, and then I wrote 40 of my own prayers which I will be praying instead of the ones they wrote.

Day 1. Today we pray for women for whom pregnancy seems like bad news, that they know it is a blessing from God.

Day 2. Today we pray for compassionate religious voices to speak out for the dignity of the unborn, who cannot speak for themselves.

Day 3. Today we pray for our daughters and granddaughters, that they will always know the power of doing good instead of evil.

Day 4. Today we pray that a knowledge of the truth will penetrate the hearts of those who provide abortions and that they will repent of their evil actions.

Day 5. Today we pray for a change of heart and mind in those medical students who want to include abortion care in their practice. May you, O Lord, place godly men and women in their lives who will teach them your truth and keep them from embarking on such a terrible endeavor.

Day 6. Today we pray for women who are introduced to abortion alternatives. Guide them to those alternatives and not to abortion clinics.

Day 7. Today we pray for the 50+ million lives that have been taken as a result of legal abortion. Have mercy on those who have willingly participated in this horrifying massacre.

Day 8. Today we pray for elected officials, that they will fight bravely to overturn laws that support the killing of the unborn.

Day 9. Today we pray for women who are afraid of their abusive lovers. May they find the confidence to turn away from abuse and take care of themselves.

Day 10. Today we pray for women who are joyfully expecting a child but have learned that there are complications with the pregnancy. We ask for your healing hand of comfort to be over them, and that the lives involved will be kept safe.

Day 11. Today we pray for our society which has come to see sex as an impersonal way to receive a quick pleasure fix with no further significance or consequence. Draw us back to you, Lord Jesus.

Day 12. Today we pray that women know the power of your story, Father. May they hear your voice and learn your truth.

Day 13. Today we pray for men to act like men, that they will take responsibility for their actions, and fight for life.

Day 14. Today we pray for Christians everywhere to stand firm in their faith, knowing that they will be scorned by the world for believing in Truth.

Day 15. Today we pray for parents whose teen daughters are pregnant. May they help their daughters through this difficult time with godly guidance, wisdom and truth.

Day 16. Today we pray for the counselors in abortion clinics, that they will work diligently to provide life-supporting alternatives to abortion.

Day 17. Today we pray for increased moral and social support for low income women so they can know your design for human sexuality.

Day 18. Today we pray for all the staff at abortion clinics around the nation. Lord, convict them by your Spirit of the deadly practice in which they are involved, and give them the courage to repent and turn to you.

Day 19. Today we pray for all pregnant women. We thank you for the gift of life you have entrusted to their care, and may they be surrounded by loving voices - most of all yours.

Day 20. Today we pray for women and their families who still regret and mourn the loss of siblings and children due to legal abortion.

Day 21. Today we pray for women in developing nations, that they will know the dignity and worth they have as created beings in your image, and that they will have access to the support necessary for raising their children.

Day 22. Today we pray earnestly for an end to all violence against your beloved creatures simply because they exist in a womb.

Day 23. Today we give thanks for the strong women in our lives who have given us examples of what it means to value life.

Day 24. Today we pray for an end to the selfishness and pride that leads humans to eliminate the lives you have entrusted to their care.

Day 25. Today we pray for women who have been deceived into thinking that killing the defenseless is somehow powerful.

Day 26. Today we give thanks for the intelligence, talent, wit, and wisdom you have given the females in our lives, and we pray against the ignorance and power that some use toward evil ends.

Day 27. Today we grieve the wretchedness of abortion and pray that the lack of concern for unborn girls be turned around.

Day 28. Today we pray for the women who have been taught that traveling hundreds of miles for an abortion is an acceptable (even desirable) response to pregnancy. May you open their eyes to the beauty of life and to your word of truth.

Day 29. Today we pray that all women will know that they are created in your image, just as the life you've placed inside them is.

Day 30. Today we pray for women to know your forgiveness and that your redemption gives freedom from all sins, past and future.

Day 31. Today we pray for all discrimination against the unborn to cease.

Day 32. Today we pray for a spirit of conviction and repentance to wash over women who have had abortions, and a spirit of forgiveness and peace as well.

Day 33. Today we offer a prayer of remembrance for aborted children who lost their lives because of the selfishness of the "strong."

Day 34. Today we pray that people will see the irony of ensuring the safety of women who enter abortion clinics only to end a life once inside.

Day 35. Today we pray for girls everywhere, particularly those who have not yet been born - that they will be spared from legal homicide.

Day 36. Today we repent of the same sin Adam & Eve committed in the garden. Every day we seek to take your place, God, by choosing who lives and who dies.

Day 37. Today we claim, on behalf of those who can't do it themselves. the right to life of the unborn.

Day 38. Today we pray for a cloud of uneasiness to surround every abortion facility. May everyone at these facilities feel the need for regret and repentance.

Day 39. Today we pray for a contagious love to overflow from our spirits into those who are not yet born.

Day 40. Today we weep and mourn that abortion is still legal, and we recognize that it is, by definition, the most unsafe thing an unborn child can possibly face.

A time capsule full of people

The folks at BathroomReader.com are giving away an Uncle John's Bathroom Reader book every day in June on their blog. You simply have to comment on their blog with an answer to the day's question, and you're entered to win.

Today's question was, "You are in charge of filling a time capsule to be opened 500 years from now. What items (up to 10) would you put in it to tell the future about the world in 2012?"


Here's what I wrote:


More than items, I think people would be able to better communicate life in 2012 to people alive in 2512. Therefore, I would make the time capsule a cryogenic freezer and include:
1. Justin Bieber
2. Ken Jennings (they need someone really smart to balance out most of the rest of this list)
3. Bill Maher (because at least that’d get him out of OUR lives; he can try to screw up a different generation)
4. Brian Regan (so they could get a glimpse of good humor from the past)
5. LeBron James
6. Albert Pujols
7. Tom Brady (these three would give an idea of what our athletes are like)
8. Bill Gates (in case there’s been a global apocalypse and someone needs to reinvent the computer)
9. Aaron Sorkin (someone’s going to have to write good television)
10. Perez Hilton (mostly for the same reason as #3, but also to find out if he could make a living in a world without Beyonce and Johnny Depp)


How about you? Any other items or people you'd put in a time capsule?