Sending Blossoms to Poland

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Say hello to hellotxt.com (again)

I’ve written about Hellotxt.com before. It’s a wonderful service whose main competitor is Ping.fm. Another noteworthy alternative is Loopt.com (especially since they have a nice iPhone app). All these services provide you the ability to update your “statusphere” (multiple online social services) with one, single update. It even allows you to update selected services if you don’t want your “@somebody” responses on Twitter to go to your Facebook account.

While I use both Ping.fm and Hellotxt.com from my iPhone almost interchangeably, my web preference for status updates has shifted to Hellotxt. In fact, the Hellotxt.com website has had a significant, although quiet, update in the last month or so. It now streams the status updates of your friends from Twitter and Facebook. You can also reply to them directly from the Hellotxt site. Very nice.

hellotxt

While there are lots of desktop apps out right now that allow you check the status of your friends, the advantage of Hellotxt is being web-based. You take your social stream with you everywhere. If you haven’t signed up for an account yet, I highly recommend it.

I’m curious. If you update multiple your statusphere with a service, what is it? What desktop apps do you use to monitor it? What other websites are you aware of?

Blacksburg Christmas parade
Review: Switch – How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
When inaction is odious
Steve Jobs (1955-2011)
Feeling sick, Mike?

Spiritual Markers

Apr 10, 2009

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My sin, not in part, but the whole

Sundown Friday. In years long before my own ancestry can be traced, a man’s body was removed from rough wooden poles before dusk. For religious reasons, the body must be buried before dark. He was dead, certainly. A staggeringly unusual death. Drama. Political intrigue. Controversy. Desertion.

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In only six hours, a man hailed as the nation’s next King-Deliverer was no longer preaching or healing. He was simply… dead. As were the dreams and hopes of all who had dared imagine that this man, this strange man, from a ridiculed backwater village offered more than just welfare. He had claimed to offer life.

Unceremoniously, he was urgently thrust into a new tomb. The gathering dark even prevented proper annointing. Women would return later to properly prepare his body. Friday night signaled the Sabbath’s beginning, however. It would be no sensational worship event. Jesus was dead.

As I pause to reflect on this “Good” Friday, I am sobered by the truth that it is only good because through Christ, I am now good. His death meant my forgiveness. His sacrifice meant my salvation.

In the soaring chorus of Nothing But the Blood, there is a line that I am today cherishing:

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

When Horatio Spafford wrote these lines in the early 1870s, he was suffering the loss of his children on a transatlantic voyage. In fact, his wife survived the crash of two vessels and telegrammed back to him these words: “Saved alone.”

As he traveled to join her, he was notified when his ship passed over the location of the shipwreck that killed his children. It was on that ship that the above words were penned, along with the astonishing chorus:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

On this silent night, with gathered dark threatening victory over all souls so many years ago, I for one am grateful that God was not inactive. Rather, He was purchasing for Himself the souls of all who would through faith trust in Christ alone.

My sins, not in part, but the whole… They are thrown as far as the east is from the west! Allelujah. Truly. May Christ be praised.

Such joyful truth has prompted John Piper to write the following entry on this Good Friday:

CHRISTIAN:

Hello, Death, my old enemy. My old slave-master. Have you come to talk to me again? To frighten me?

I am not the person you think I am. I am not the one you used to talk to. Something has happened. Let me ask you a question, Death.

Where is your sting?

DEATH, sneeringly:

My sting is your sin.

CHRISTIAN:

I know that, Death. But thatâ€™s not what I asked you. I asked, where is your sting? I know what it is. But tell me where it is.

Why are you fidgeting, Death? Why are you looking away? Why are you turning to go? Wait, Death, you have not answered my question. Where is your sting?

Where is, my sin?

What? You have no answer? But, Death, why do you have no answer? How will you terrify me, if you have no answer?

O Death, I will tell you the answer. Where is your sting? Where is my sin? It is hanging on that tree. God made Christ to be sinâ€”my sin. When he died, the penalty of my sin was paid. The power of it was broken. I bear it no more.

Farewell, Death. You need not show up here again to frighten me. God will tell you when to come next time. And when you come, you will be his servant. For me, you will have no sting.

O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)

It’s not just my sin. It’s yours too – the whole. Victory in Jesus, our Savior forever…

Go to church this Easter.

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Apr 6, 2009

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10 Things I learned in Alaska

mckinley

We’ve had several days home now after our incredible trip to Alaska. I’ve processed a lot about our trip, and I know that our time spent with our friends there will continue to be used by God to teach us life lessons long into the days ahead. However, here are “10 Things I Learned in Alaska:”

A volcano is more than a science project. They’re real.
A 185 lb. 41 year-old moves quite fast on a sled and often emits a curious, girly-sounding scream that closely resembles sheer panic when rocketing down a long snowy slope in Hatchers Pass at rates that would pass the space shuttle.
There is a lot of yellow snow on the roadsides in Alaska, especially in Talkeetna. I’m hoping it was from animals.
One house + four kids + four adults + one bathroom + moose sausage = trouble.
If you have a small storage building and know how to make hot water, you could open up a coffee shop in Alaska. There’s one on every corner and in every parking lot.
It’s more difficult to become Sarah Palin’s running mate for the 2012 elections than just showing up at her Wasilla church and hoping to bump into her.
Most Alaskan towns would be stumpers in any spelling bee.
There are more ways to die per square mile in Alaska than in Arkansas.
No one thinks it’s funny when you respond to a question, “I don’t know, but Alaska” even though you chuckle about it every time you say it.
4053 miles and two years are not enough to disrupt true friendship.Â

sled

Previous in series

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Apr 1, 2009

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Final chapter

The volcano refugees are almost home.Â

We woke up this morning in Memphis. Not where we’d hoped we’d be when we left Anchorage yesterday morning. But we’re grateful to not have an ornery volcano spewing ash over our plane routes home.

When we sat in the Alaskan Air plane yesterday a.m., we all breathed a sigh of relief. My family’s eyes lit up when they saw me walk on the plane with just minutes before takeoff. I had to go standby to get on board with them.

As we prepared for takeoff, the pilot announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, Redoubt erupted again 30 minutes ago.”

There was a collective intake of air as every passenger sucked in the oxygen around them. Would we be bumped again?

“But it shouldn’t affect us yet, so we’re cleared for takeoff.”

There was applause throughout the aircraft, and suddenly the two seatmates on either side of me that had been strangers moments before were now comrades. We chatted it up all the way to Chicago.

In Chicago, we realized how confused our ticket situation was. Our connecting flight to Memphis had our names but no ticket numbers. Alaska Airways took care of that. Our experience with them has been nothing but positive.

But when we arrived late in Memphis (11:30 p.m.), only my luggage rolled off the belt at baggage claim. Then when we made it to Budget Car, they had no rental for us. In spite of Carolyn having reserved one just hours before on the phone from Chicago. They were nice enough in helping us get a hotel.

So one way or another, we’ll be home today. We’ll either get out on the 9:45 a.m. flight to Little Rock that Alaska Air put us on (only a hold, no ticket numbers apparently), or we’ll get out at 2:45 p.m. on another flight that the Northwest folks were able to get us on last night via phone.

We’re pretty sure our luggage will go at 9:45. Let’s hope we make it with those bags. Otherwise, the ones under our eyes will weigh more by the time we make it home.

However, we’re extremely grateful for how close to home we are. We had an incredible time in Alaska. “But there’s no place like home.”

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Parchment Reviews

Mar 31, 2009

Review: The Jesus I Never Knew (rated 4 stars)

Jesus I Never Knew, The

by Phillip Yancy

Except for a couple of pages at the back of the book, I thoroughly enjoyed Yanceyâ€™s book that seeks to bring Jesus â€œdown to earthâ€ -again. He does not attempt to reincarnate Christ. Rather, he deftly gives us a grounded perspective of Jesus without the frills of accumulated church history or 20th century evangelical hype.

Yancey brings considerable resources to supplement his work, probably from his vast range of contacts and readings as editor for Christianity Today magazine. He remains one of my favorite Christian authors. Few books can touch his Where is God When It Hurts? and Fearfully and Wonderfully Made (which he co-wrote with Dr. Henry Brand).

If youâ€™re looking for a book that will help you get beyond assumptions and presumptions about Christ to simple observations based on what his life revealed from the pages of the New Testament, this book will do that. It will also begin to warm your heart if youâ€™ve grown somewhat cold.

Itâ€™s a wonderful encouragement for those who have grown distant from Christianity because of Christians. It reminds us once again that we all fall short of the glory of God as revealed in Christ. No church and no group of Christians can claim exclusive control of Christ. He will not be boxed up and merchandised. He is God.

And finally, I like how Yancey reminds us how â€œotherâ€ Jesus really is/was:

In many respects I would find an unresurrected Jesus easier to accept. Easter makes Him dangerous. Because of Easter I have to listen to His extravagant claims and can no longer pick and choose from His sayings. Moreover, Easter means He must be loose out there somewhere.

Review: Sticky Teams
Review: Radical Together
Review: Out of a Far Country
Review: Exponential
Review: AND: The Gathered and Scattered Church

Mar 30, 2009

Volcano Fund started

We were so excited! We made it to the airport this time… But as we turned in the rental car, the helpful Enterprise folks said, “Uh, I think they just canceled all flights out today…” Sure enough, while I was standing there, with a dumbfounded look on my face, my Twitter alert from Alaska Air went off on my phone announcing the same thing.

Canceled. That makes eight flights canceled since last Thursday.

When I got back in the car, there were two very upset females and one very quiet 12 year-old son. Dad was remarkably calm, all things considered.

Redoubt volcano continues to throw up all over Alaska’s atmosphere, prohibiting flights out. Many say the airlines are being way too cautious; however, the alternatives are not pretty.

The Northwest Air agent we spoke to next, however, would have won an award for jerk of the year. Thankfully, we hung up, called back and got another one that was very helpful.

With all that said, we’ve purchased more tickets on Alaska Air, in the hopes that one way or another, some of us will be able to leave Alaska this year. Caro and the kids are now slated to fly out Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. Alaska time. I’m flying out Thursday at 8:00 a.m. Pray that these flights take!

Carolyn has already missed her annual Easter Special (a most necessary income event for us!) and will be rescheduling it. However, she’s also supposed to be taking Kim’s Dance photos this week. On top of that, her chemo was scheduled for today. Things ain’t pretty.

So we’re starting aÂ Volcano Fund.Â If you’d be willing to give, my Paypal ID (and email) is quackup [at] sbcglobal.net.Â

Whether you give dollars or not, we would sure appreciate your prayers. Kristy’s mom mentioned that someone needs to throw alka seltzer in the volcano. We are open to all options at this point.

One bright spot today: I think we get to spend more time with the Hales this evening. We’re going to talk them into coming to Anchorage to hang out with us some. We love them! And we are hating that they’re feeling bad for us!Â

Spiritual lessons out of this are too many to number. In addition, we know that they’ll be easier to digest after the intensity of these days wear off. Patience, unfulfilled expectations, God’s sovereignty and goodness, being frustrated in the midst of indescribable beauty, etc.

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Mar 29, 2009

Time lapse volcano eruption

This is a pretty awesome video from the Ground Truth Trekking blog that shows a time lapse video of Redoubt’s eruptions:

Redoubt Eruption March 27 2009 from Bretwood Higman on Vimeo.

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Mar 28, 2009

Bathroom remodel and flight update

So which do you want first? Aaaahhh. The bathroom remodel is going well this afternoon. Just in case we have to live here for 3-4 months, Mike decided to add another bathroom downstairs. That way, two families won’t be sharing one. I’ve been helping *watching* him tile Saturday afternoon.

On the flight front, Redoubt Volcano has erupted 17 times this week so far! To give you some perspective, this was taken from an Anchorage Daily News article:

If history is a guide, the last eruption at Redoubt — from December 1989 to April 1990 — lasted four months and generated 23 distinct eruptions, according to U.S. Geological Survey records.

Before that, an eruptive episode begun in 1965 dawdled on for a couple of years, but there were no instruments on the volcano back then to record mini-tremors or changes in its shape like today, so it’s difficult to make scientific comparisons. That leaves just the 1989-90 eruption cycle as a historical clue, Waythomas said.

“That’s a sample size of one,” Waythomas said, citing the weakness in interpreting the statistics.

By comparison, Redoubt’s current eruptive episode is less than a week old, and it would have to continue through half of the summer to match the 1989-1990 eruption in terms of duration. At the same time, it’s already generated 13 distinct eruptions, and at that rate it could match its previous mark in terms of in just one more week.

However, as it stands at 3:00 p.m. Alaska time, our flight out is still on for Sunday morning at 2:30. Keep your fingers crossed. We’ve been bumped 4 times now. Every time the flight has changed, we’ve been moved, without notice, to another flight. Sunday a.m.’s flight will be heading to Seattle on Alaska Air (we were originally flying out on Northwest).Â

We’re hoping all goes well. If not, I may need to start looking for preaching opportunities here in Alaska to earn my keep. I’ve already got dish pan hands…

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Mar 26, 2009

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Volcano eruption cancels flights

Alaska went from beautiful to bizarre on Thursday.

We were supposed to fly out Thursday night, so Mike went back to work to begin some return to normalcy and routine. But at 9:24 a.m. Alaska Time (12:24 p.m. CST), Redoubt erupted again. This time, however, it was a tremendous explosion that shot debris and ash thousands of feet into the air.

volcanos Volcanic ash apparently is not good to breathe or to run an engine in, so the Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage promptly begin canceling all flights out after noon. Enter the Nobles. Stuck in Alaska.

We called to reschedule, and the earliest possible time they could fly us back to Little Rock was on Monday night. The Hales family is freaking out. We’ve exhausted our planned activities, and we’re still here! Hahahahahaha. (Wicked laugh)

Soooo…. looks like we will be having some extended games of tiddlywinks. And let’s hope Redoubt settles down. This could be a much longer trip than planned. If it is delayed again, I’m renting an old truck and strapping Carolyn to the top like Granny on Beverly Hillbillies.