"umm..."

"uhh..."

When I read that, I hear the writer saying it in his or her "you're-an-idiot-and-what-I'm-about-to-say-is-obvious" tone of voice. You know what I mean.

If that's how you intend it, stop being a jerk.

If that's not how you intend it, realize: there's no reason to write uhh or umm. They're fillers in speech but they don't serve any purpose in written communications. If you're thinking and need a few seconds, don't write anything. Think, and then write. If you need lots of time, tell the person you need lots of time.

uhhh, thanks!

For the last two days I have had "Ah Leah" by Donnie Iris stuck in my head. Finally today I wasn't thinking about that song anymore.

Until one minute ago when I turned on the radio and... you guessed it. Ah, Leah...

As of June 6, I am engaged to be married to Alisha, who, as of June 20, is in Thailand for six months.

That is a packed statement.

Most who read this blog already know those things.  It will be interesting planning a wedding while we are so far apart.  Already, it has been a little challenging, and we've only just begun.  E-mail and chat provide a way to communicate but seem to provide lots of opportunities for little or big misunderstandings.  I am hopeful for opportunities to communicate by voice, whether using some sort of voice-over-IP or regular phone.

I am excited--excited for Alisha, who loves Asia and is pursuing a dream; excited to have her soon as a lifelong companion; excited as I see God at work all around me in little and big ways.  I'm grateful for my folks and Alisha's folks, who are extremely supportive of our relationship.

Now there are so many decisions to make, in planning for one wedding day and in planning for the future in general.  I'm not afraid to make these decisions, but from this point forward decisions seem to have a lot more weight.

I take my mind off the heavy stuff by engaging in low-thinking but fun types of things.  As you probably know from past reading, I love working in the yard.  I finally decided to bring the monster rhododendron under control.  Near the rhododendron is a large patch of peppermint that was also creeping all over the place.  After cutting it back for a while, I was sick to my stomach from the strong peppermint smell.  There is no end to yard work but I'm not discouraged because it's fun to bring order to my 1/3-acre kingdom.

I just posted this BENADRYL® Pollen Alert widget for 500 credits. You can earn free credits too!

POLLEN ALERT! POLLEN ALERT!

Oh wait, I don't care because I don't have allergies.

The worst of it is cleaning the yellow dust off my car. Actually, I really love this time of year because the smells of blossoming trees, shrubs and flowers are wonderful. These and a freshly mowed lawn are euphoria to my nose.

Osteens: Obama doing great job, loves the Lord (April 2009)

The Osteens get invited back to Larry King Live again and again, and this is potentially a good witness for Christ. Yet every time I read the transcripts--I seldom get to watch the show--I am left with the feeling that an opportunity to deliver Truth has been squandered, that the gospel has been replaced with a feel-good, sin-is-no-big-deal message and that there's no hard decision-making or repentance in Christianity.

Christians have to make hard decisions every day, pushing back against the world and repenting when they give in to the world's enticements. This is a very real struggle for me and all the Christians I know. But the Osteens seem to have their cake and eat it, too. I guess if they testified the real gospel on LKL, they might not be invited back.

Additional reading:

In the beginning... LKL/Joel Osteen June 2005

LKL/Osteens December 2006

LKL/Osteens October 2007

LKL/Osteens December 2008