Flip flops have never been a part of my wardrobe. I have never "learned" how to wear them. If I ever needed to wear sandals, I would wear the ones with straps across the top, or what Jocelin calls the "slipper-type" sandals. With the summer upon us, I decided that it was finally time to learn how to wear flip flops. Plus, I figured that if I wanted to consider myself a true Austinite, I would have to be able to integrate flip-flops with any outfit.
The reason I never wore flip flops before is because they hurt my delicate feet. When I was a kid, I couldn't get used to the little thong-thingy between my toes. It hurt. So I never wore them again. And I have avoided them for 20+ years. But no more! Now I'm determined to "learn" how to wear them. I'm determined to get used to that annoying thong-thingy chafing my toes. I will overcome!
Today, I finally learned how to hard-boil an egg. Properly. I know, I know. How in the world do you mess up boiling an egg? Well, let me tell you. There are several ways you can screw up this process:
You overcook the yolk and it turns gray.
You way overcook the yolk and it becomes rubbery.
You hard-boil the egg in such a way that it is impossible to peel the egg without mutilating it.
Have you ever been in a situation where you've interacted with someone for a while, but still don't know his/her name? Maybe it's someone who works in your office who you always say "hi" to. Maybe you even have short conversations with him or her. Maybe it's someone at church you're always friendly with. You've just never exchanged names. Isn't this awkward? By this point, the name-getting "grace period" (the time period where it's ok to ask him/her what his/her name is) has probably expired and now it's socially awkward or difficult to get it.
So we finally went to the Alamo Drafthouse! We went with a friend of mine from MBA school (Elliot) and his wife (Emily) and we saw Lucky Number Slevin. Even though we had no idea what the movie was about (except for its having an all-star cast), we really enjoyed the movie. Those movies always seem to be the best - when you have no preconceived ideas about the movie that can screw up your experience watching it.
Yesterday the DJ on the radio asked the question, "If you could be any character in the Bible, who would you be?" Hmmm... I'll play this game. The more I thought about it, however, the more I realized that there wasn't one single Bible character I wanted to be. Here was my thought process:
Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."
This verse has been a big influence in my life these last few months, and I've tried my best to fill my mind with such things. I'm convinced that real life transformation, not just spiritual transformation, begins with the transformation of the mind.
Romans 12:2 - "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
I KNEW the coffee was going to keep me up. Now it's 3:00am and I'm still wide awake. It's not just the caffeine that gets you, either - I've had to pee 3 times in the last 2 hours...
So in my heightened state of awareness I bring you a totally random conversation I just had with Jocelin as we were trying to go to sleep:
Jocelin: I'm so wide awake right now, I can't sleep. Maybe I should read a book or something? (Not even 3 minutes later...) Marcus: Do you think Esau had hair on his butt? Jocelin: [Silence.] Marcus: Do you think he looked like Chewbacca? Jocelin: [Silence.] (Sleepily) Who. Marcus: Esau. Jocelin: [Silence.] (Barely even conscious) He's not on the worship team...
Many of you know that I've been an avid saltwater aquarist for several years now. I have a 100 gallon saltwater tank that I've kept in service for over 5 years. I started out with a fish-only tank, but then branched into the world of corals after I became a more experienced reefkeeper. When I first got into the hobby, Jocelin would complain alot because I would spend at least 2 hours every day on the tank: checking water chemistry, acclimating livestock, cleaning the glass, changing the water, working on the plumbing, or just staring at it. The last two years, however, have been very, very, different. The tank is now pretty stable, requiring only the usual water change and glass cleaning every so often.
This past Sunday I went swimming in our neighborhood pool. I was doing laps, and then suddenly, I started to feel some tightness in my chest. I shrugged it off and continued swimming, thinking that it would go away. But it didn't. Uh-oh. So I stopped and took a break. Then my left arm started to get all tingly. This is weird. And then my face started to get numb and tingly, too. This can't be good. So I immediately went home and told Jocelin about it. She did what she does best - she got on the phone - and I did what I do best - I hopped on the computer. She called our friends in the medical profession and I researched the web for a diagnosis. The only stuff I could find that matched my symptoms were articles on heart attacks and strokes...
In Bible Study Fellowship this week we are studying Genesis 34, the chapter about Dinah and the Shechemites. For those of you who can't remember this story, it's the story of how one of Jacob's daughters, Dinah, gets raped by the son of the local ruler. Simeon and Levi, two of Jacob's sons, get revenge by slaughtering all the men in the town and then plundering the city. It's a very disturbing story, not so much because of what happened, but because it's hard to understand what God is trying to tell us about Himself through it. But that's not the point of this blog...
Flip flops have never been a part of my wardrobe. I have never "learned" how to wear them. If I ever needed to wear sandals, I would wear the ones with straps across the top, or what Jocelin calls the "slipper-type" sandals. With the summer upon us, I decided that it was finally time to learn how to wear flip flops. Plus, I figured that if I wanted to consider myself a true Austinite, I would have to be able to integrate flip-flops with any outfit.
Today, I finally learned how to hard-boil an egg. Properly. I know, I know. How in the world do you mess up boiling an egg? Well, let me tell you. There are several ways you can screw up this process: 
Have you ever been in a situation where you've interacted with someone for a while, but still don't know his/her name? Maybe it's someone who works in your office who you always say "hi" to. Maybe you even have short conversations with him or her. Maybe it's someone at church you're always friendly with. You've just never exchanged names. Isn't this awkward? By this point, the name-getting "grace period" (the time period where it's ok to ask him/her what his/her name is) has probably expired and now it's socially awkward or difficult to get it.
So we finally went to the 
Yesterday the DJ on the radio asked the question, "If you could be any character in the Bible, who would you be?" Hmmm... I'll play this game. The more I thought about it, however, the more I realized that there wasn't one single Bible character I wanted to be. Here was my thought process:
Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." 
I KNEW the coffee was going to keep me up. Now it's 3:00am and I'm still wide awake. It's not just the caffeine that gets you, either - I've had to pee 3 times in the last 2 hours...
Many of you know that I've been an avid saltwater aquarist for several years now. I have a 100 gallon saltwater tank that I've kept in service for over 5 years. I started out with a fish-only tank, but then branched into the world of corals after I became a more experienced reefkeeper. When I first got into the hobby, Jocelin would complain alot because I would spend at least 2 hours every day on the tank: checking water chemistry, acclimating livestock, cleaning the glass, changing the water, working on the plumbing, or just staring at it. The last two years, however, have been very, very, different. The tank is now pretty stable, requiring only the usual water change and glass cleaning every so often.
This past Sunday I went swimming in our neighborhood pool. I was doing laps, and then suddenly, I started to feel some tightness in my chest. I shrugged it off and continued swimming, thinking that it would go away. But it didn't. Uh-oh. So I stopped and took a break. Then my left arm started to get all tingly. This is weird. And then my face started to get numb and tingly, too. This can't be good. So I immediately went home and told Jocelin about it. She did what she does best - she got on the phone - and I did what I do best - I hopped on the computer. She called our friends in the medical profession and I researched the web for a diagnosis. The only stuff I could find that matched my symptoms were articles on heart attacks and strokes...
In Bible Study Fellowship this week we are studying Genesis 34, the chapter about Dinah and the Shechemites. For those of you who can't remember this story, it's the story of how one of Jacob's daughters, Dinah, gets raped by the son of the local ruler. Simeon and Levi, two of Jacob's sons, get revenge by slaughtering all the men in the town and then plundering the city. It's a very disturbing story, not so much because of what happened, but because it's hard to understand what God is trying to tell us about Himself through it. But that's not the point of this blog...