"Minne-hope-a-less"

"The curse of Minneapolis" & "Minne-hope-a-less"

Those two quotes were used to describe the contestants on American Idol. Normally I could care less and wouldn't waste my time watching, but last night's premiere episode featured Minneapolis...I have never been so embarrased to live in Minnesota. :(

(It was so bad, North Dakota looked good.) ;)

The past couple of days my computer has been acting up and I have had to work at home to hit my deadlines. So last night I set up and Erin turned on the tube to American Idol. I had never watched a complete show before last night. Now I'm wishing that streak was still alive.

I was so embarrassed at/for some of the people who auditioned. One guy dressed up like Apollo Creed from the Rocky movies and one girl purposely sang like the cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz! (I would have posted a video clip but I didn't find any in my brief searching of YouTube. The few people that seemed to do well weren't even from Minnesota. Out of 10,000 people attempting to make it, only 17 people succeeded. 17! Ouch.

[sigh]

Oh well. At least I can be thankful that I know I can't sing. :)

—b

Wednesday, January 17th, 2007/Joshua chapters 12-24

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
"you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed." —Joshua 23:14b

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
God is the same today as He was then. Every promise He has ever made has or will be fulfilled. Not necessarily in our time either. Due to sin, Israel had to wander for 40 years before God made due. So we must wait. God's timing and planning are perfect, even if we don't see it.

Copyright 2007, City Vision / John A. Mayer
You can purchase a copy of the CityView Report here.

SPIRITUAL TWIN CITIES NOTEABLES
• Over 125,000 Muslims live in the Twin Cities.

Humility

Thank you Lord that lessons in humility can also be funny.



—b


Tuesday, January 16th, 2007/Joshua chapters 9-11

NOTE: Like yesterday, I'm posting the chapters I read the day before. Today I'm doing it because chapters 13-21 talk about the dividing up of the promised land to the Israelites.

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
Joshua then said to them, "Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for thus the LORD will do to all your enemies with whom you fight." —Joshua 10:25

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
In verse eight, the Lord encouraged Joshua not to fear. Now , after the Lords promised was fulfilled, Joshua encourages the Israelites. We must also encourage others when the Lord has encrouaged us. The Christian journey is a battle which we all fight and we all need to recharged with God's good news.

Copyright 2007, City Vision / John A. Mayer
You can purchase a copy of the CityView Report here.

SPIRITUAL TWIN CITIES NOTEABLES
• Woodbury is home to Llewellyn Publishing, the largest witch and New Age publishing company in the world.

Poughts!

Pictures + Thoughts = Poughts!
(It's weird, I know.)

Maybe this is why it's taken sooo long to make snow, the architects are busy creating each individual snow flake and making sure none of them are the same. Celebrate the snow with a t-shirt!


Anna and I had fun on Saturday at the Park in the Mall of America. Can you tell how tired I am? Anna was up at 3:00 am that morning. No exaggeration!

Just to be fair to the Packer fans in my family, here is the cheesehead version of our baby. (Poor little guy/gal.)

And of course the baby which bleeds purple!

Last but not least...

Leif won this year's Johnson/Eidsmoe Traveling Trophy (JETT)! The past winners have been Kevin, Leif, and Bruce. Good job Leif winning the Spuddogs title a second time.

Some of you have been asking for the final results of this year's pigskin pick'em, so here ya go:

• 1. Leif (Injury Prone) 166 pts
• 2. Bruce (Kayaker) 161 pts*
• 3. Erin (Favre4Ever) 152 pts
• 3. Bernt (Toasted) 152 pts
• 5. Josh (Shake N' Bake) 151 pts
• 5. Kevin (MVP#4) 151 pts
• 7. Deb (MomE) 148 pts
• 8. Cyri (cyri) 138 pts
• 9. Danae (Lil Rookie) 133 pts**
• 10. De (Farve's Final Hurrah) 132 pts

* Dad had forgotten to make his picks the final week so this was his adjusted score.
** Danae also did not make her picks the final week and I know De was hoping to get last so I gave Danae the benefit of the doubt. (And yes, that is how De spelled Favre.)

—b

Monday, January 15th, 2007/Joshua chapters 5-8

NOTE: This was yesterday's readings but since it coincided with the message that Pastor Chris spoke on Sunday, I thought I would put it in today.

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
"Then afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law. " —Joshua 8:34

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
"The Blessing and the curse" was what the Law was in the Old Testament. (Moses also used this phrase in Deuteronomy 11:26-28.) It was a blessing in that God rewarded Israel for it's obedience and a curse in that when Israel sinned, they would be punished. Thank God for sending His Son to fulfill the Law! (Matthew 5:17).

Copyright 2007, City Vision / John A. Mayer
You can purchase a copy of the CityView Report here.

SPIRITUAL TWIN CITIES NOTEABLES
• In 2004, Minnesota was ranked 3rd in the nation for new refugees; behind California and Florida.

Bounding Beckham

Beckham who?

Major League Soccer is actually getting some international press. To bad it won't really help.

So what am I talking about? Well, across the pond is this game called football; we Americans call it soccer. And one of the faces of that sport (which also happens to be the best looking face) is named David Beckham.

Mr. Beckham is an aging superstar and the MLS has just changed it's rules allowing U.S. teams to aquire 1 big named foriegn star. The L.A. Galaxy took advantage of the new rule aquiring the heartthrob. With the rule change, Major League Soccer hopes to get higher ratings and ultimately more respect.

Sorry MLS, but it's not going to happen. Don't get me wrong I desperately want soccer to become more of a main line sport here in the US of A but David Beckham isn't the answer. (I applaud their efforts though.)

—b

Last month I wrote about a prayer request for Tri Dey Mayer and her father's passing. Well, I'm happy to report that she left for her home country of Indonesia yesterday. She will be there until early February. She was able to work out her passport issues and her husband John said that if her fathers death had to happen it actually happened at a convient time for Tri Dey. Thank you Lord!

Thursday, January 11th, 2007/Deuteronomy chapter 32

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success." —Joshua 1:8

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
When my mind starts to wander, that's when I neede to refocus and "set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth." (Colossians 3:2). If I don't I get into trouble. I need to focus on the Lord and not be tempted to turn to the temptations of my thoughts.

Copyright 2007, City Vision / John A. Mayer
You can purchase a copy of the CityView Report here.

SPIRITUAL TWIN CITIES NOTEABLES
• The Twin Cities is expected to grow by 1,000,000 people from 2000–2030

Upon Further Review

(click to enlarge)

Peek-A-Boo

Well, we have all seen ultra sounds before but they sure mean a lot more when the image is yours.

Like I said yesterday, Erin is pregnant and had her first ultra sound appointment this morning. Also like yesterday I said I had a new favorite sound, now I have a new favorite picture. My rambling can't describe how happy I am. Thank you Lord!!!

I think everything is self explanatory but I'll point out the obvious anyway.

As I was looking at the closer at the picture, I thought I noticed something on the baby's head. I couldn't be sure though. So, just like in the movies, I zoomed in on the head as close as I could and I couldn't believe my eyes! Take a look at the picture below and you tell me what you see.

I don't know about you but I see a future Vikings fan!

—b

PS. Oops, I almost forgot. The projected birthdate for the future Viking fan is the same day that my Dad celebrate's his birthday, August 8th.

Thursday, January 11th, 2007/Deuteronomy chapter 32

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
"For the LORD will vindicate His people, And will have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their strength is gone, And there is none remaining, bond or free." —Deuteronomy 32:36

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
Extremely encouraging doesn't even begin to describe it.

Copyright 2007, City Vision / John A. Mayer
You can purchase a copy of the CityView Report here.

SPIRITUAL TWIN CITIES NOTEABLES
• There are 176 different deonominations represented in the Twin Cities

New Favorite Sound

Processing Sound

Visually that's what it looks like if we were to see how sound is processed. Kinda cool, kinda 7th grade science. But since we can process sound, I was able to enjoy the coolest sound I have ever heard. Our baby's heartbeat.

Yep, Erin's pregnant!

9:30 this morning, a doctor a had a doppler to Erin's tummy and what resulted was the coolest thing I ever heard. 160 bpm of a healthy, 10 week old, baby heart. Hearing my kid's heart for the first time will be a sound I won't soon forget. ("My kid's"...wow, that sounds strange.) God willing, the beginning of August, we'll be hearing the sound of crying from our kid.

This is a post I wasn't sure would happen for a while. Some of you know that Erin and I have been dealing with infertility for almost 2 years. It may not seem that long but when you notice every baby, advertisement, commercial, news story, scene on TV/movie, infant section in a store, friends having kids etc, each one strikes home.

I don't know how the millions of couples deal with a lifetime of infertility. 2 years was too long. But the Lord used it and opened our eyes to how many couples struggle with infertility. We ran into so many people who were having the same struggles as we were. So we want to be extra cautious when we tell people that Erin is pregnant. Our joy is another dagger in someone else's heart.

So just so I'm clear, here are the facts:

• • Erin is pregnant
• • The baby is 10 weeks old
• • The baby is due the beginning of August

• • Erin is having an ultra sound tomorrow morning and then we will find out the expected due date

Here is what the baby currently looks like:
(click to enlarge)


Thank you for everyone who has been praying for us and please continue to pray that Erin carries the full term.

—b

Wednesday, January 10th, 2007/Deuteronomy chapters 29-31

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law." —Deuteronomy 29:29

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
It seems as if the most common question we ask God is "why?". But instead of focusing on the "why?", we should focus on the "Who" (our heavenly Father.) He has revealed timeless treasures in scripture. Who knows, (no pun intended) by focusing on the "Who" we might just get the answer to our "why?".

Copyright 2007, City Vision / John A. Mayer
You can purchase a copy of the CityView Report here.

SPIRITUAL TWIN CITIES NOTEABLES
• A new immigrant arrives in the U.S. every 31 seconds.

THE war

The REAL War

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. —Ephesians 6:12

Keep that passage in mind when you watch this NBC news report.

I don't know about you but I was hurt after watching that. I know that I can't expect those who are still slaves to sin to respect the Bible. You either belong to Christ or to sin. There isn't a 3rd option. Ultimately we all have to choose what side we are on. But the best way that I can sum it up is a quote from C.S. Lewis:

A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.

Congrats to Florida on winning the BCS title. So much for the debate that Ohio State and Michigan should have been #1 and #2. Both lost! Sorry guys, I was routing for ya.

—b

Tuesday, January 9th, 2007/Deuteronomy chapters 25-28

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
"'Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.'" —Deuteronomy 27:26a

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
Paul quotes this verse in Galations 3:10 to prove that mankind is under a curse because no one follow the law of God fully. God's blessings have never been earned, but have always been freely given.

Copyright 2007, City Vision / John A. Mayer
You can purchase a copy of the CityView Report here.

SPIRITUAL TWIN CITIES NOTEABLES
• Not all churches meet in...well...churches. Here are some examples where the church body meet on a weekly basis: house, storefront, warehouse, apartment community room, armory, bowling alley, coffee house, daycare center, mall space, movie theater, and a YMCA.

Eidsmoe/Sykora Christmas

Christmas Bowling

Getting together with family is always interesting. It doesn't matter who you are, there is always interesting stories to tell after it's all said and done. This year's Eidsmoe/Sykora Christmas was no different.

Leif, Cyri, and baby Kayle came to visit this weekend. It's always fun seeing them since they live in Sioux Falls, SD and our networking is less than we'd like it to be. Anyway, during their visit we were able to celebrate Cyri's 26th birthday as well as gather with my Mom's sister's family (the Sykora's) for some bowling and celebrate Christmas.

First was bowling...or should I say, another lesson in humility. Yuk. That's the only thing I can think of to describe my scores. Oh well. Everyone else seemed to have a lot fun. I need to learn to have fun even when my score doesn't hit 90!

After 2 of the longest bowling games of my life we headed down to Hastings. It was a family packed house. With people ranging from 55 to 4 months, we had quite the diverse crowd. Everyone got a little something for gifts. My personal favorite was from my Mom. Fudge in a tupperware container topped with a hotdog holder and held together with some string and a plastic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle ring. (Yea, just try and imagine that. I don't think MacGyver could have put anything that complex together.)

After questioning my Mom's sanity, we said our goodbye's and headed for home. Looking back, it was just another typical Eidsmoe/Sykora Christmas. ;)



Congratulations to Chris and Aletha Wachter (our pastor and his wife) on thier 5th wedding anniversary. Also celebrating on the same day, January the 5th, was my sister-in-law Cyri. Happy 26th Birthday C-Dog!


Here's a brief excerpt from Erin's mom De:

Aunt Opy fell at school on Wednesday. She hurt her knee and will not be able to go back to work until January 15. The doctor is making her wait another week for the chemo too.

Please keep her in you prayer's.

—b

Monday, January 8th, 2007/Deuteronomy chapters 21-24

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
"Nevertheless, the LORD your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the LORD your God loves you." —Deuteronomy 23:5

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
This is a great companion verse to what Pastor Chris spoke on yesterday. What others (and Satan) mean for evil, the Lord, our God means for good. God is in control and Satan is on a long leash.

Copyright 2007, City Vision / John A. Mayer
You can purchase a copy of the CityView Report here.

SPIRITUAL TWIN CITIES NOTEABLES
• The Phillips Neighborhood of South Minneapolis has become the most diverse single neighborhood in America with 100+ languages spoken there!

Office Space

"Hmmm...yea. I'm gonna have to ask you to come in on Saturday...Hmmkaye."
—Bill Lumberg, Office Space

Yesterday afternoon, most of the STEM staff walked to another buiding on Bethany's campus to look at a potential new office space. STEM has been looking for a couple of years now for a new place to call home but nothing ever materializes. This new place has windows, bigger bathrooms, a nice kitchen area, a conference room, and a place to house a sea of cubicles.

So will it actually come to be this time?

60% chance according to Roger. The downfalls are it's about twice as expensive and that's not including STEM's cost of purchasing cubes and other office supplies that will be needed. It's also not much bigger than what we have now. RED FLAG!

But I asked Roger and he gave me a logical answer. In a nut shell, STEM is fine as we are for the next year or two. But because STEM is slowly growing, it won't take much for us to finally burst at the seams concerning space. So if we don't take this place now and wait until it's necessary, the place probably won't still be available and then we would have to move off campus to a potentially even more expensive place.

Make sense?

Bottom line, Roger is openly seeking any and all suggestions as well as taking it to the Lord in prayer. (That has been an advantage of working at STEM, it's God focused.) So I guess we'll see what happens.


Yesterday we received a "Thank You" card from the Rockwell's for visiting them while in the hospital. (I wrote about them a couple of weeks ago concerning the birth of their baby.) Seeing their card reminded me of how small the world is.

Let me explain.

While Erin and I visited Cliff, Michelle, and Mikayla, there was another couple waiting to see them as well. After talking with the guy for about 5 minutes, he said he recognized me. Huh? I had no idea who he was. It turns out he was our neighbor when we lived in our apartment in Roseville. Apparently he had been playing his music too loud and I had gone over and asked him to turn it down.

Hmm...Small world. (I must have asked nicely since he didn't seem to hold any grudges.) :)

—b


Friday, January 5th, 2007/Deuteronomy chapters 13-17

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
" for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul." —Deuteronomy 13:3b

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
Too many of God's tests I fail. Sure I'll get an "A" here and there but God doesn't grade on a curve. I would easily fail His class. That won't stop me from trying though. I'll continue to read His word, pray, and live my life as I belong to Him. Thank God for what Jesus did on the cross for us all!

Copyright 2006, City Vision / John A. Mayer
You can purchase a copy of the CityView Report here.

SPIRITUAL TWIN CITIES NOTEABLES
• The Twin Cities is home to the only 2 Somali churches in America.

Path of Destruction...

...or a Timeless Principle?

A couple of days ago I finished reading a"nerd vovel". It was based on the Star Wars universe. Don't worry, I won't bore you the the details but there was a principle in the book that I couldn't help but apply to Christian living.

The Path of Destruction is about the life of Darth Bane. He was a Sith apprenctice who desperately wanted to increase his knowledge of the Force and to do so, he spent hours studying the "ancient texts". A practice that had been all but abandoned by the other apprentices. By studying along with his continued practice of "Sith life", he was not only able to surpass the Sith wannabe's but the instructors who didn't read the texts.

I kept thinking how the same practice applies to being a Christ follower. Yes "faith without works is dead" (James 2:26), but we must also spent time getting to know our heavenly Father through His "ancient texts". As it says in Joshua 1:8, "you shall meditate on it day and night".

Now I don't know if the author is a follower of Christ or not but if a secular book can point out the advantages of studying along with living the life, I would have to say that this is a Timeless Principle that will lead us out of a Path of Destruction.

—b

Thursday, January 4th, 2007/Deuteronomy chapters 9-12

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
"I, moreover, stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights like the first time, and the LORD listened to me that time also; the LORD was not willing to destroy you." —Deuteronomy 10:10

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
More and more I'm learning about the power of prayer. As Moses is recapping the events in Exodus and Leticus, he has, just in this chapter alone, mentioned 3 times when he interceded on Isreal's behalf. (The other 2 times are 9:19, & 9:25.) And because of Moses' intercessory prayers, Israel was spared. I must constantly remind myself that prayers can make a difference!

Copyright 2006, City Vision / John A. Mayer
You can purchase a copy of the CityView Report here.

SPIRITUAL TWIN CITIES NOTEABLES
• 2/3 of all churches planted since 1990 have been non-white churches.

What the Future Holds...?

Unlike The Chains (pictured) I don't have a crystal ball that looks like balloon to see what's up and coming. So when STEM CEO Roger Peterson asked if I would still be working for STEM in 2007, my response was "I don't know".

I'm not sure if that's what I should have said or not, but it was honest. Yesterday each STEM employee met with Roger individually to go over "A, B, and C" budget options. Roger has known I haven't been 100% happy with some things ever since the last Mission Maker so that's probably what stemmed his question.

With Erin and I having to provide our own health insurance and just "getting by" financially, I can't forsee me being a STEM employee through the entire year. But I do say that with some reservations. I have no idea what the Lord has instore for Erin and I. Who knows, maybe I'll be here for the next 5 to 10 years. You never know.

I haven't applied for anything yet, but I'm keeping my eyes open. And yes, I'm going to be honest with Roger/STEM. (After all, I am posting this on the internet.)

I'd appreciate your prayers on this matter. Just telling your current boss that your not sure how much longer you will be employed by him isn't the easiest (and probably the smartest) thing in the world.


To use a phrase made famous by Monty Python's Flying Circus...


One disadvantage of visiting Moorhead this year for Christmas was missing Erin's dad Kevin giving the Christmas Eve message. But luckily through the miracle of technology ;) I was able to download it off Faith Baptist Church's website. (To find it, look at the left hand column and click on the "Sunday's Messages" link.)

NOTE: I couldn't get the player on the actual website to work so I just clicked on the "Click Here" link and dowloaded to iTunes.

Very good Kevin! It was cool to listen to you preach during work.

—b


Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007/Deuteronomy chapters 6–8

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
"But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth," —Deuteronomy 8:18a

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
Far to often I put the pressure of designing upon myself; upon my own abilities. That's the wrong way to work. After all, it was the Lord who gave me my abilities, I need to go right to the original source to make the most out of my job. I need to continually ask the Lord for the creativity.

Copyright 2006, City Vision / John A. Mayer
You can purchase a copy of the CityView Report here.

SPIRITUAL TWIN CITIES NOTEABLES
The Twin Cities is home to 2 witch prison chaplains who start witch covens in prisons by converting prisoners to witchcraft.

Old in 2007

For those of you who feel like technology is moving too fast, fight back! Happy 2007.

—b

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007/Deuteronomy chapters 4 & 5

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
"Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other." —Deuteronomy 4:39

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
This passage is as controversial now as it was then. one God, thats it. There aren't several gods that lead to heaven. The same God that lead the Israelites out of Egypt some 3,500 years ago, is the same God we belong to in 2007. He is the only living God.

Copyright 2006, City Vision / John A. Mayer
You can purchase a copy of the CityView Report here.

SPIRITUAL TWIN CITIES NOTEABLES
In 2003, Buddhists surpass Jews in number of followers, becoming the 3rd most prominent religious group in the Twin Cities behind Christians and Muslims.