Easter Eggs
23 April 2006 By Leave a Comment
I got up early and hid decorated hard-boiled eggs everywhere conceivable: in shoes, in boxes, pen-cups, in the oven, etc. Then I made coffee and jovially woke everyone up to commence the search for breakfast. David searched in every nook and cranny and found most of them. Hannah found the one in the oven, and I gave a few hints to Maya to locate the eggs I more craftily concealed. After breakfast, we sang songs, prayed and thanked God for the empty tomb.
David then ate his chocolate egg (the purple one in the image above) and found toys inside; a miniature (and I mean tiny) Winnie the Pooh set (his favorite characters). How they got those into the egg is a mystery. Here’s a macro shot:
Five Years in Russia!
18 April 2006 By 1 Comment
Yesterday, Maya and I celebrated my five-year mark in Russia. It is hard to believe that I have been here that long. Everything has changed for me/us during those five years. Among those changes are:
- Maya and I wed on September 15th, 2001
- David was born on September 2nd, 2002
- Hannah came along on March 21st, 2005
- I learned to speak Russian, and then to teach/prch in it.
- We moved to a new city in September, 2005.
And that is probably enough sentimentalism for one post.
Disappearing Posts
16 April 2006 By 2 Comments
Strangely, two posts and some links that I added on Saturday were hosed by WP for some reason. Granted, they were not really great posts, but to just ditch them like that… Some glitch, I guess. Anyway, no harm done. I reloaded the Gogol blurb, but the one about Hannah’s slow-growing hair is gone forever. Maybe next month.
Christ, the Lord, is Risen!
16 April 2006 By Leave a Comment
The day of resurrection! Earth, tell it out abroad—the Passover of gladness, the Passover of God! From death to life eternal, from this world to the sky, our Christ hath brought us over with hymns of victory!
Our hearts be pure from evil, that we may see aright the Lord in rays eternal of resurrection light; and, list’ning to His accents, may hear, so calm and plain, His own “All hail!” and, hearing, may raise the victor strain.
Now let the heav’ns be joyful, let earth her song begin, let the round world keep triumph and all that is therein; let all things seen and unseen their notes in gladness blend, for Christ the Lord hath risen, our joy that hath no end!
Hymn written by John of Damascus, 8th century, and translated by John M. Neale.
The Nose
14 April 2006 By Leave a Comment
One of the strangest, perhaps, of the Russian classical writers was Nikolai Gogol. For my Russian study this week, I read a short story of his called The Nose. The story is as nonsensical as it gets. At the same time, The Nose is a curiously interesting read. The main character, Major Kovalyov, somehow looses his nose (yes, the real one on his face), and meanwhile the nose takes on a life of its own, and even masquerades as a civil servant. But why give away the rest of the plot here? You can order it (or find the text online) in English and read the story for yourself. It is better in Russian, though, complete with obsolete words and archaic spellings (e.g., середа for среда). For the Russian-language enthusiast, I recommend this excellent dual-language book found here, which has this story and many others, and lots of language helps to boot.
Blogger’s Fuel
13 April 2006 By 1 Comment
I saw this first on a post at Coffee Swirls and decided to pass it on. All who blog and who are followers of the bean (i.e., coffee lovers) should click here. The first 500 people who register will get to review some free coffee, they only have to agree to post about it. Check it out!
Snow, An Indirect Result of Sin
11 April 2006 By 1 Comment
No one really agrees with me here, and I am used to that. All the same, I am convinced that we would not have snow falling today (and yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that; a few feet already!) if Adam had restrained himself and his wife on that dreadful day. I think this because:
- There was no snow before the Fall of Man. Which was good news for Adam and Eve because;
- Man wore no clothing before the Fall, so they would have been a little chilly on a day like today – and leaf outfits would hardly have kept back old Mr. Frost from nipping at all that exposed skin.
- The earth’s weather was drastically different before the Flood. The vapor canopy (Genesis 1:8) that covered the earth before the Flood allowed for a far more consistent weather pattern, as is evidenced by the lack of rain (Genesis 2:5,6) likely until the day that the Flood began. Yes, you would be correct to argue that snow is then a result of the Flood. However, since the Flood was God’s judgment for sin, my thesis holds. No sin – no Fall, no Fall – no Flood, no Flood -no snow; thus, snow is, at least, an indirect result of sin. That makes more sense to me than blaming April snow on global warming.
Many creationists have written about the lack of snow before the Flood. Dennis G. Lindsay, in his The Canopied Earth, wrote:
Another marvel of the pre-Flood world included a lack of seasonal changes that much of the world now encounters. There was no ice-skating, snow skiing, snowball fights or snow shoveling. Rather, there was a year-round tropical paradise—as one might experience on a South Pacific island. It was not until after the Flood that we read about seasons of summer and winter.
So, I am not glum today because of the wet falling white stuff. I am merely grieved because of sin. (Is this an indirect way of complaining about the weather?)
