The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind (California dreaming, and other inappropriate cliches)

My Facebook and Twitter have been blowing up with images and concerns of damage and general mayhem from the recent Santa Ana winds that have devastated parts of the San Gabriel Valley. Downed power lines, damaged homes, and pummeled vehicles have left people from Pasadena to La Verne without electricity or a means of getting around, and at very least, with a stinky fridge filled with rotting food…

Thought I’d share a few pictures of a few neighborhoods that friends of mine are waking up to these days. Praying for a quick recovery, friends!

Pasadena according to the Hucky (photo by Mike Huckler)

Near the Barkley Residence (Photo by JKB)

3 Cars under this Pine! Photo by Chad Raymond, La Verne

New Playscape? Photo by Chad Raymond

Sorry Charlie. Photo by Mr Johnson - Pasadena

Backup has arrived! Photo by Teri Griffith - Pasadena

Element under the elements - Pasadena (Charlie Johnson)

Advent Conspiracy, anyone?

Tis the season to SPEND money, falalalala la la lala!

If the US retail markets could join together and push an agenda, I’m sure it would have to do with starting the Holiday Spirit a little earlier…

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (while you can)…

Some years back, NPR reported on a James Taylor version of this classic Christmas song. The song seemed appropriately introspective, and hopeful in light of the then recent terror attacks in New York City. This peaked my curiosity – Mr. Taylor had used lyrics other than the standard that are just a little darker, yet just as hopeful. Interestingly, the more you dig in, the more you learn that this song is complex and layered in it’s revisions – and may well be one of the most

Unveiled: Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Remember the famous story about Moses and the Tent of Meeting from Exodus 33? You know the one where Moses speaks with God “as one speaks with a friend…” Here’s the gist: After using Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt (yes, like the cartoon), God tells Moses to now take His people into the land of promise. After calling the people to repentance, Yahweh says these wonderful words:“My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”And then, in a moment of bold faith, Moses makes a ridiculous request

Here I raise my Ebenezer?

photo by wonderofcreation.org

While there’s a good chance this will change tomorrow (or halfway through today…), if you were to ask me about a favorite hymn, in this moment I would say it is “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”There is something both so poetic and practical about the song (originally written in 1758 by Robert Robinson) that it reaches through layers of my being – pricking the heart and taking thoughts captive. It speaks to me, and for me.

Years ago I recorded a version of this song with my wife, Sunnie. In that process, I – like so many others – really came to think about this lyric: “Here I raise my Ebenezer…” Even though I had sung the words before, and had applied meaning to the one that stands out to most of us as a character from a Charles Dickens novel, when I decided to do a little word study in the Hebrew, I was surprised at what I had discovered.

Hope in Haiti…

As life goes about its usual business, and many of us are at work, planning dinner and getting the kids ready for what’s next, HAITI has been devistated by an incredible earthquake that has killed a substantial number of Haitians and ruined thousands of lives.

It’s easy to catch the local news and give a minimal amount of attention to such devastation, but it’s equally as easy, and infinity more important to open one’s heart and get involved.

Finances are tough. We’re in a terrible position as far as the economy goes. Yet we’re America. We act when people are in need. Right?

Here are some practical ways to help:

World Vision: Haiti Earthquake Relief.

Aaron Ivey’s Help Haiti T-Shirt Sale

International Red Cross Haiti Relief

And don’t forget, PRAY FOR HAITI!

For the record…

I think Conan O’Brien is hysterical and is a great Tonight Show host. NBC is looking like a sorry franchise to me. Doesn’t anybody do the right thing anymore?

Viva La Conan!