New Online Photo Album

I think I like Picasa better than Fliker (I should have known, Google owns Picasa!), and my photo album is here.

More On Suffering

This is from John Piper concerning his response to the tragedy that happened in Minnesota this week:

At about 6 PM tonight the bridge of Interstate 35W over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed. I am writing this about three hours after the bridge fell. The bridge is located within sight of Bethlehem Baptist Church. Most of us who minister at the church cross this bridge several times a week. At this point I don’t know if any staff was on the bridge. Desiring God offices are about a mile from the bridge.

There are no firm facts at this point about the total number of injuries and fatalities. When we crossed the bridge Tuesday on our way out of town, there was extensive repair work happening on the surface of the bridge with single lane traffic. One speculates about the unusual stresses on the bridge with jackhammers and other surface replacement equipment. This was the fortieth anniversary of the bridge.

Tonight for our family devotions our appointed reading was Luke 13:1-9. It was not my choice. This is surely no coincidence. O that all of the Twin Cities, in shock at this major calamity, would hear what Jesus has to say about it from Luke 13:1-5. People came to Jesus with heart-wrenching news about the slaughter of worshipers by Pilate. Here is what he said.

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

Jesus implies that those who brought him this news thought he would say that those who died, deserved to die, and that those who didn’t die did not deserve to die. That is not what he said. He said, everyone deserves to die. And if you and I don’t repent, we too will perish. This is a stunning response. It only makes sense from a view of reality that is radically oriented on God.

All of us have sinned against God, not just against man. This is an outrage ten thousand times worse than the collapse of the 35W bridge. That any human is breathing at this minute on this planet is sheer mercy from God. God makes the sun rise and the rain fall on those who do not treasure him above all else. He causes the heart to beat and the lungs to work for millions of people who deserve his wrath. This is a view of reality that desperately needs to be taught in our churches, so that we are prepared for the calamities of the world.

The meaning of the collapse of this bridge is that John Piper is a sinner and should repent or forfeit his life forever. That means I should turn from the silly preoccupations of my life and focus my mind’s attention and my heart’s affection on God and embrace Jesus Christ as my only hope for the forgiveness of my sins and for the hope of eternal life. That is God’s message in the collapse of this bridge. That is his most merciful message: there is still time to turn from sin and unbelief and destruction for those of us who live. If we could see the eternal calamity from which he is offering escape we would hear this as the most precious message in the world.

We prayed during our family devotions. Talitha (11 years old) and Noel and I prayed earnestly for the families affected by the calamity and for the others in our city. Talitha prayed “Please don’t let anyone blame God for this but give thanks that they were saved.” When I sat on her bed and tucked her in and blessed her and sang over her a few minutes ago, I said, “You know, Talitha, that was a good prayer, because when people ‘blame’ God for something, they are angry with him, and they are saying that he has done something wrong. That’s what “blame” means: accuse somebody of wrongdoing. But you and I know that God did not do anything wrong. God always does what is wise. And you and I know that God could have held up that bridge with one hand.” Talitha said, “With his pinky.” “Yes,” I said, “with his pinky. Which means that God had a purpose for not holding up that bridge, knowing all that would happen, and he is infinitely wise in all that he wills.”

Talitha said, “Maybe he let it fall because he wanted all the people of Minneapolis to fear him.” “Yes, Talitha,” I said, “I am sure that is one of the reasons God let the bridge fall.”

I sang to her the song I always sing,

Come rest your head and nestle gently
And do not fear the dark of night.
Almighty God keeps watch intently,
And guards your life with all his might.
Doubt not his love, nor power to keep,
He never fails, nor does he sleep.

I said, “You know, Talitha, that is true whether you die in a bridge collapse, or in a car accident, or from cancer, or terrorism, or old age. God always keeps you, even when you die. So you don’t need to be afraid, do you.” “No,” she shook her head. I leaned down and kissed her. “Good night. I love you.”

Tonight across the Twin Cities families are wondering if they will ever kiss a loved one good night again. Some will not. I am praying that they will find Jesus Christ to be their Rock and Refuge in these agonizing hours of uncertainty and even loss.

The word “bridge” does not occur in the Bible. There may be two reasons. One is that God doesn’t build bridges, he divides seas. The other is that usually his people must pass through the deadly currents of suffering and death, not simply ride over them. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you” (Isaiah 43:2). They may drown you. But I will be with you in life and death.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life . . . will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-38)

Killed all day long. But not separated from Christ. We go through the river. Not over it. He went before us, crucified. He came out on the other side. He knows the way through. With him we will make it. That is the message we have for the precious sinners in the Twin Cities. He died for your sins. He rose again. He saves all who trust him. We die, but because of him, we do not die.

Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25)

Talitha is sleeping now. But one day she will die. I teach her this. I will not always be there to bless her. But Jesus is alive and is the same yesterday today and forever. He will be with her because she trusts him. And she will make it through the river.

Weeping with those who weep, and those who should,

Pastor John

Psalm 71:20 You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again.

My Favorite Bike Path

This is one of my favorite bike paths near by house. I have had the idea of mounting my camera to my bike for some time, and I am quite excited that it seems to have worked quite well. This is also my first YouTube video! It's not really that exciting, hopefully in the future my bike-videos will improve...

"Oh My God" - Jars of Clay

I have been thinking about suffering and pain lately, and my conclusion continues to be that there is suffering in this world because of sin - we are all broken, and capable of any wrongdoing, and our only hope, only way to ever experience joy and true change from our brokenness is Jesus. This song's lyrics better expresses my thoughts (I wish you could hear it though):

Jars Of Clay - Oh My God Lyrics

Oh my God, look around this place
Your fingers reach around the bone
You set the break and set the tone
Flights of grace, and future falls
In present pain
All fools say, "Oh my God"

Oh my God, Why are we so afraid?
We make it worse when we don't bleed
There is no cure for our disease
Turn a phrase, and rise again
Or fake your death and only tell your closest friend
Oh my God.

Oh my God, can I complain?
You take away my firm belief and graft my soul upon your grief
Weddings, boats and alibis
All drift away, and a mother cries

Liars and fools; sons and failures
Thieves will always say
Lost and found; ailing wanderers
Healers always say
Whores and angels; men with problems
Leavers always say
Broken hearted; separated
Orphans always say
War creators; racial haters
Preachers always say
Distant fathers; fallen warriors
Givers always say
Pilgrim saints; lonely widows
Users always say
Fearful mothers; watchful doubters
Saviors always say

Sometimes I cannot forgive
And these days, mercy cuts so deep
If the world was how it should be, maybe I could get some sleep
While I lay, I dream we're better,
Scales were gone and faces light
When we wake, we hate our brother
We still move to hurt each other
Sometimes I can close my eyes,
And all the fear that keeps me silent falls below my heavy breathing,
What makes me so badly bent?
We all have a chance to murder
We all feel the need for wonder
We still want to be reminded that the pain is worth the thunder

Sometimes when I lose my grip, I wonder what to make of heaven
All the times I thought to reach up
All the times I had to give
Babies underneath their beds
Hospitals that cannot treat all the wounds that money causes,
All the comforts of cathedrals
All the cries of thirsty children - this is our inheritance
All the rage of watching mothers - this is our greatest offense

Oh my God
Oh my God
Oh my God

Good news for fair-skinned coffee-addicts! (me)

From: http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2007/07/31/exercise_caffeine_fight_skin_cancer
Exercise, caffeine fight skin cancer
By Randolph E. Schmid, AP Science Writer | July 31, 2007
WASHINGTON --Can adding a cup or two of coffee to the exercise routine increase protection from skin cancer? New research indicates that just might be the case.

The combination of exercise and caffeine increased destruction of precancerous cells that had been damaged by the sun's ultraviolet-B radiation, according to a team of researchers at Rutgers University.

Americans suffer a million new cases of skin cancer every year, according to the National Cancer Institute.
In mice there is a protective effect from both caffeine and voluntary exercise, and when both are provided -- not necessarily at the same time -- protection is even more than the sum of the two, said Dr. Allan H. Conney of the laboratory for cancer research at Rutgers.

"We think it likely that this will extrapolate to humans, but that has to be tested," Conney said in a telephone interview.

Nonetheless, he added, people should continue to use sunscreen.
Exposing the mice to ultraviolet-B light causes some skin cells to become precancerous.
Cells with damaged DNA are programmed to self-destruct, a process called apoptosis, but not all do that, and damaged cells can become cancerous.

The researchers report in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that they studied hairless mice in four groups. Some were fed water containing caffeine, some had wheels on which they could run, some had both and a control group had neither.

"The most dramatic and obvious difference between the groups came from the caffeine-drinking runners, a difference that can likely be attributed to some kind of synergy," Conney said.

Compared with the control animals, those drinking caffeine had a 95 percent increase in apoptosis in damaged cells. The exercisers showed a 120 percent increase, and the mice that were both drinking and running showed a nearly 400 percent increase.

Just what is causing that to happen is not yet clear, though the researchers have several theories.
"We need to dig deeper into how the combination of caffeine and exercise is exerting its influence at the cellular and molecular levels, identifying the underlying mechanisms," Conney said.

"With an understanding of these mechanisms we can then take this to the next level, going beyond mice in the lab to human trials," he said. "With the stronger levels of UVB radiation evident today and an upward trend in the incidence of skin cancer among Americans, there is a premium on finding novel ways to protect our bodies from sun damage."

Conney said the researchers were originally interested in the effects of green tea in preventing skin cancer and were doing tests on regular and decaffeinated teas.

They found the regular tea had an effect, but not the decaffeinated brew.
And, he said, researchers also observed that mice drinking caffeine were more active than those that didn't get it, so they decided to study the effects of exercise too.

They put running wheels into some of the cages. The mice "love to go on it," he said, and will jump on the wheels and run for several minutes, then get off for a while, and then get on and run some more.

And they found that both caffeine and exercise helped eliminate damaged skin cells, but the combination worked better than either alone.

"What we would like to see next is a clinical trial in people," Conney said.
Dr. Michael H. Gold, a Nashville, Tenn., dermatologist and a spokesman for the Skin Cancer Foundation, said he believes "the concept of systemic caffeine should be addressed further."

"I think the concept potentially has a lot of merit," he said in a telephone interview. But mice and humans are different and studies need to be done to be sure this also applies to people.

In the meantime, he said: "If you go outside, you have to wear a sunscreen ... it has to be caffeine and exercise with your sunscreen."

Song for Today

Every Little Thing (by Delirious)

Everything must change
There’s a mirror showing me the ugly truth
These bones they ache with holy fire
But I’ve got nothing to give, just a life to live
If your world is without colour
I will carry you, if you carry me

Every little thing’s gonna be alright
Every little thing’s gonna be alright [x2]

There’s no-one else to blame
I live my life between the fire and the flame
I’ve built my house where the ocean meets the land
It’s time to live again, pull my dreams out of the sand
Let your world be full of colour
I will carry you, if you carry me

When it’s all falling down on you
You’re crying out but you’re breaking in two
When it’s all crashing down on you
When there’s nothing you can do
There is someone who can carry you

Written by Martin Smith/Stuart Garrard ©2003 Curious? Music UK

Human Tetris!

Tetris was the game of choice for my sister and I for many summers in my childhood. So, I was delighted to find that the Japanese have a human tetris television show! Thank you http://blazingcenter.blogspot.com for this excellent find.

Joy

Yesterday was a very interesting day, I went for a wonderful run and experienced a terrific thunderstorm (golf-ball sized hail!), and the topic of joy was on my mind. This is an old poem about joy.

From "The Valley of Vision"

O Christ,
All thy ways of mercy tend to and end in my delight.
Thou didst weep, sorrow, suffer that I might rejoice.
For my joy thou hast sent the Comforter,
multiplied thy promises,
shown me my future happiness,
given me a living fountain.
Thou art preparing joy for me and me for joy;
I pray for joy, wait for joy, long for joy;;
give me more than I can hold, desire, or think of.
Measure out to me my times and degrees of joy,
at my work, business, duties.
If I weep at night, give me joy in the morning.
Let me rest in the thought of thy love,
pardon for sin, my title to heaven,
my future unspotted state.
I am unworthy recipient of thy grace.
I often disesteem thy blood and slight thy love,
but can in repentance draw water
from the wells of thy joyous forgiveness.
Let my heart leap towards the eternal sabbath,
where the work of redemption, sanctification,
preservation, glorification is finished
and perfected for ever,
where thou wilt rejoice over me with joy.
There is no joy like the joy of heaven,
for in that state are no sad divisions,
unchristian quarrels,
contentions, evil designs,
weariness, hunger, cold,
sadness, sin, suffering,
persecutions, toils of duty.
O healthful place where none are sick!
O happy land where all are kings!
O holy assembly where all are priests!
How free a state where none are servants
except to Thee!
Bring me speedily to the land of joy.

Wonderful Movie: Joyeux Noël

I watched a movie with my roommate tonight called Joyeux Noël, it was wonderful. It is a true story about German, French and Scottish soldiers had a cease-fire on Christmas eve in WWI.

Des Moines Adventure!

This weekend I went to Des Moines (Iowa) to visit my friend Andrea. We went walking around a beautiful lake and also went to a fun new grocery store (I bought some black rice).















And, I fufilled a life-long dream - I was able to ride in a paddle-boat! You pedal like a recumbant bicycle, and it's very fun!

Julia = Abulia?

I learned a new word today from 'word of the day' at www.yourdictionary.com: abulia.  It sounds suspiciously like me, as I really dislike decision-making...

Word of the Day: Abulia (Noun)

Pronunciation: [ê-'bu-li-yê]
Definition: A loss of volition or the ability to make decisions.
Usage: The adjective is "abulic," also used to refer to a person suffering from this dysfunction.

Minnesotan Adventure Pictures

Here are the pictures of my Minnesotan adventure. It was so much fun! I did two first-time-ever new things:

(1) rode in a pontoon boat and and (2) swung from a rope into the lake

And one second-time ever thing: went caneoing!

This weekend I went to visit my dear friend Joanna at her grandparent's cabin in Minnesota. It was the furthest I have ever driven by myself! It was wonderful - more pictures to follow!

Rose Petals

This Jewish Synagogue was across the street from our hotel in Paris. I could not decide if I like the picture with or without the blue door...

Sunday in Paris

Sunday (June 17) was my last full day in Paris. I saw two more beautiful churches (one with real-life flying buttresses!
















I was very excited to be able to order a crepe de chocolate (chocolate crepe) and some hot chocolate for my dinner. My waiter laughed at my chocolate dinner, but I was excited to order a complete dinner (and pay) all in French. I was also ridiculed by other customers for taking a picture, but it is a beautiful crepe, is it not?









One of my final destinations of the day was the Palais Royal. These are two of my favorite pictures of the day. I had thought "man with skateboard" in the foreground and "man strolling" would detract from the picture, but now I am glad they are there, I feel they add to the tranquility of the scene...

Tiny French Things

I like small things. I don't know why, but I do. I should add, tiny functional things. I think that's part of it - it's so tiny, but still functions like a regular-sized object! Perhaps it is because I am a girl, but I just don't know. I have always liked doll-houses, little boxes, etc. Anyway, there are many tiny things in France! It is a tiny-lover's paradise. I previously showed a picture of one of my tiny hotel rooms (http://lulia.blogspot.com/2007/06/versailles.html). So tiny, but very functional!



It was very hard to take a picture of the tiny elevator in Paris (they put mirrors on all sides!), but if you look at the ceiling, you can see that the elevator is about 3 ft x 3 ft. Maximum capicaty = 3 (though I think you would have to be pretty good friends)


Next was tiny transportation. I wish I had taken a picture of a tiny car (They are called 'smart' cars - see http://www.smart.com/ for details - they are coming to the US in 2008!) next to a normal sized car, because they are unbelievably tiny! and I have seen folding bikes before, but only on the internet, never in person! what a great idea. See http://www.dahon.com/ for details and pictures of folded bikes.











And now finally, for breakfast each day, we had the option of tiny jars of honey and jam. In the US, you would get little plastic containers, but not in France! Little glass jars! Very exciting.

More Sightseeing Pictures...

These pictures are from Saturday, June 16.

This is a men's clothing store - everything is pink! Shades of pink, pink stripes, pink ties.

This is the fôret (forest) on the west side of Paris. I didn't expect to find bike trails in Paris, so it was neat to hear about this and go see it. And of course ,the




















A craft store with a beautiful yarn display. I was tempted to take it all home! But I showed restraint and no French yarn for me :( Finally, the Arc De Triomphe, I did not know it was so large. It is beautiful (c'est bel I think)

Musée Du Louvre

I went to the Louvre Museum on Saturday (June 16). It was beautiful, but there were many areas where picture-taking was not allowed :(
The metro (subway) near the musuem was the most exciting entrance I saw in all of Paris - very unique and lovely.









From Wikipedia: The Louvre Museum (French: Musée du Louvre) in Paris, France, is the most visited and one of the oldest, largest, and most famous art galleries and museums in the world. The Louvre has a long history of artistic and historic conservation, inaugurated in the Capetian dynasty until today. The building was previously a royal palace and is famous for holding several of the world's most beautiful works of art, such as Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, The Virgin and Child with St. Anne, Madonna of the Rocks, and Alexandros of Antioch's Venus de Milo. Located in the centre of the city of Paris, between the Rive Droite of the Seine and the rue de Rivoli in the Ier arrondissement, it is accessed by the Palais Royal — Musée du Louvre Metro station.





With all of the famous and fantastic art, I found the painting of the dead rabbit funny. It was very well-done, but it is of a dead rabbit! ("lapin mort" in French)

Favorite picture from Saturday, June 16

I am too tired tonight to write a complete story, so I will just put my favorite picture from Saturday, June 16. It is at the Louvre Museum. I thought the combination of the Egyptian sculpture + pretty window + pretty outside building was nice.

Orleans Cathedral

I am going out of order, I am sorry. I had forgotten about some more pictures I took last Friday, June 15, of a large Cathedral in Orleans. This was my first real-life view of a flying buttress, it is quite amazing. I think it is called the "Cathédrale Sainte-Croix d'Orléans" and this is what Wikipedia has to say about it:















"The cathedral Holy-Cross of Orleans, was started in 1287. It partly collapsed March 24 1568 because of the damage caused by the Protestants. Henri IV posed the first stone of the new building April 18 1601. The northern wing is completed in 1643, the southern wing in 1690. Work was completed in 1829. The fame of the cathedral comes probably partly from its association to Jeanne d' Arc. The national historical heroine came to the evening mass on May 2, 1429 while in the city, to lift the siege." Thanks again, Wiki.