the following is an excerpt from a note i sent to my sister in law via myspace. i think that in these times of chaos we need to know that God is above it all and is always there. this blog is prefacing a longer one which i am working on... look for it in the next few days!
i guess the one thing to remember is God is like the sun- even when the clouds move through, or a hurricane crashes in or if nighttime comes- the sun is always shining. just like the sun- God never changes- stuff may come up, things may get in the way, pain tries to erode but God is still there- shining down. everything changes around us everyday but God will always remain the same. Dont worry too much cus storms always end up blowing away and the sun will shine again...
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
breaking news:God pwns volvo
here is a great example of why God is amazing. dimunitive, pesky little locusts are created with more complex programming than an entire team at volvo can develop. the entire earth was created by our Creator in 7 days. so, doing some laymen's guesstamation math, i figure it took about 1 second or so for God to create the locust. try to beat that volvo...
(the following is an article found at http://www.wired.com/)
Volvo is determined to build an injury-proof car by 2020, and the engineers working out the bugs developing so complex a vehicle hope to include a few as well. They're studying the African locust to figure out how to make cars mimic the insect's uncanny ability to avoid crashing into each other as they swarm.
The goal is to incorporate the African locust's "sensory-input routing methodologies" in a car, making it smart enough to avoid hitting people. "If we could trace how the locust is able to avoid each other, maybe we could program our cars not to hit pedestrians," says Jonas Ekmark, Volvo's director of preventative safety.
The way Volvo sees it, there's no difference between millions of locusts swarming across Africa and millions of people commuting to work each morning. If the bugs can avoid hitting each other, they ask, why can't we?
"Locusts are quick-reacting and have reliable circuits, they do their computations against lots of background chatter, much like driving around town," says Dr. Claire Rind, a researcher at the University of Newcastle in London who turned Volvo on to the idea.
Rind's research at the Insect Vision Laboratory focuses on the behavioral patterns of locusts in flight and how it is that millions of them can swarm without hitting each other. Turns out the bugs' visual input is transmitted directly to their wings, seemingly bypassing the brain in what Rind calls the Locust Principle. Volvo engineers first heard of Rind's work in 2002 and set to work trying to adapt the Locust Principle to cars.
The work hinged on developing an algorithm that would mimic the insect's ability to send visual stimuli directly to its wings, then applying it to a vehicle's computerized safety features. Easier said than done. "As it turns out, the locust processing system is much more sophisticated than the hardware and software currently available," Ekmark says. "In the end, technology was no match for nature."
So for now the score remains Locusts 1, Volvo 0. But Volvo isn't giving up. "We still have many years of research ahead to bring that small locust brain into our cars," Ekmark says. "We have found a lowly locust has man beat, at least for now."
(the following is an article found at http://www.wired.com/)
Volvo is determined to build an injury-proof car by 2020, and the engineers working out the bugs developing so complex a vehicle hope to include a few as well. They're studying the African locust to figure out how to make cars mimic the insect's uncanny ability to avoid crashing into each other as they swarm.
The goal is to incorporate the African locust's "sensory-input routing methodologies" in a car, making it smart enough to avoid hitting people. "If we could trace how the locust is able to avoid each other, maybe we could program our cars not to hit pedestrians," says Jonas Ekmark, Volvo's director of preventative safety.
The way Volvo sees it, there's no difference between millions of locusts swarming across Africa and millions of people commuting to work each morning. If the bugs can avoid hitting each other, they ask, why can't we?
"Locusts are quick-reacting and have reliable circuits, they do their computations against lots of background chatter, much like driving around town," says Dr. Claire Rind, a researcher at the University of Newcastle in London who turned Volvo on to the idea.
Rind's research at the Insect Vision Laboratory focuses on the behavioral patterns of locusts in flight and how it is that millions of them can swarm without hitting each other. Turns out the bugs' visual input is transmitted directly to their wings, seemingly bypassing the brain in what Rind calls the Locust Principle. Volvo engineers first heard of Rind's work in 2002 and set to work trying to adapt the Locust Principle to cars.
The work hinged on developing an algorithm that would mimic the insect's ability to send visual stimuli directly to its wings, then applying it to a vehicle's computerized safety features. Easier said than done. "As it turns out, the locust processing system is much more sophisticated than the hardware and software currently available," Ekmark says. "In the end, technology was no match for nature."
So for now the score remains Locusts 1, Volvo 0. But Volvo isn't giving up. "We still have many years of research ahead to bring that small locust brain into our cars," Ekmark says. "We have found a lowly locust has man beat, at least for now."
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
the awful grace of God
"aw·ful" function: adjective date: 13th century meaning: inspiring awe
"day by day and hour by hour
pain drips apon the heart
as, against our will, and even in our own despite
comes wisdom from the awful grace of God" - Aeschylus
i came across this quote while reading "the handbook of christian apologetics". i was struck by the beauty of this ancient statement and it required of me that i write something on God's grace. After all, i view where i am only in the perspective of one who would not be alive if not for grace.
if someone was to ask me what {not who- if its who then my reply is "my wife"} my greatest inspiration is - i would reply "grace". God's awful grace inspires me everyday. Don't forget: by awful i and aeschylus are refering to the definition above and not the modern meaning.
grace by its very nature is all at once beautiful yet demanding. it offers freedom while requiring self control. Paul says (and i paraphrase from several Bible verses) "what then now? should we keep sinning because of the grace offered to us? no! sin should not be your master because we are no longer under law, but under grace." but i, the human i am, still take advantage of grace.
this should come as no surprise. for "where sin abounds, grace abounds so much more." when i take advantage of grace i need grace to rescue me from my taking advantage of grace! but i am diverting from the main point i want to make...
what is "wisdom from the awful grace of God"? the answer is too long so i'll attempt to condense it slightly. we first must define the "pain that drips apon our heart". the death of a friend or the hurt of a broken relationship. the medical condition that keeps one in bed or a twisted ankle. these are all pains that we feel- emotionally and physically. these pains are ones we try to avoid, try to fight off but cannot. this is where grace thrives.
grace thrives in our discontent. it thrives where our pain is the deepest. it longs for our tears. grace is more than comfort. it's God's strength when we can't move an inch further. grace's wisdom teaches us that when we have arrived at the very end of our rope and cannot hang on-the moment we let go is the moment we find the hands of God. the wisdom of grace is found when we wake up in the morning and have breath in our lungs. when we can't find the money for dinner but the food is still there; when we are fighting a hundred illnesses and can still smile. grace is not a fluffy concoction for luke-warm wannabes: it's a tangible substance of God's unfailing love that is freely offered "even in our own despite" to us without reserve. i hope we can each day discover the awful grace of God.
"day by day and hour by hour
pain drips apon the heart
as, against our will, and even in our own despite
comes wisdom from the awful grace of God" - Aeschylus
i came across this quote while reading "the handbook of christian apologetics". i was struck by the beauty of this ancient statement and it required of me that i write something on God's grace. After all, i view where i am only in the perspective of one who would not be alive if not for grace.
if someone was to ask me what {not who- if its who then my reply is "my wife"} my greatest inspiration is - i would reply "grace". God's awful grace inspires me everyday. Don't forget: by awful i and aeschylus are refering to the definition above and not the modern meaning.
grace by its very nature is all at once beautiful yet demanding. it offers freedom while requiring self control. Paul says (and i paraphrase from several Bible verses) "what then now? should we keep sinning because of the grace offered to us? no! sin should not be your master because we are no longer under law, but under grace." but i, the human i am, still take advantage of grace.
this should come as no surprise. for "where sin abounds, grace abounds so much more." when i take advantage of grace i need grace to rescue me from my taking advantage of grace! but i am diverting from the main point i want to make...
what is "wisdom from the awful grace of God"? the answer is too long so i'll attempt to condense it slightly. we first must define the "pain that drips apon our heart". the death of a friend or the hurt of a broken relationship. the medical condition that keeps one in bed or a twisted ankle. these are all pains that we feel- emotionally and physically. these pains are ones we try to avoid, try to fight off but cannot. this is where grace thrives.
grace thrives in our discontent. it thrives where our pain is the deepest. it longs for our tears. grace is more than comfort. it's God's strength when we can't move an inch further. grace's wisdom teaches us that when we have arrived at the very end of our rope and cannot hang on-the moment we let go is the moment we find the hands of God. the wisdom of grace is found when we wake up in the morning and have breath in our lungs. when we can't find the money for dinner but the food is still there; when we are fighting a hundred illnesses and can still smile. grace is not a fluffy concoction for luke-warm wannabes: it's a tangible substance of God's unfailing love that is freely offered "even in our own despite" to us without reserve. i hope we can each day discover the awful grace of God.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
on this day...
...we remember something that bit at the very core of our being. and a tear may still sting in our eye. somehow we were all intrinsically connected to the events that took place 7 years ago to this day. i can still remember vividly where i was and maybe you can too. without saying what has already been said i feel the need to write something on this day called 9/11. our president has coined this day patriots day but i see it in anther light. in some way- good or bad- ordinary humans did extraordinary things and true identities were revealed. modern america had real enemies and we had real heros. today- i pray that those who still feel the hurting bite at the memory of a lost friend or family member lost or the wringing anguish at the sight of the falling towers in the blur of september 11th are comforted.we must also remember this: God's ways are not our ways. somehow, while we still cannot see it, God wroughts his purpose in the fires of our greatest conflicts and pain to produce in us something better; something greater. i hope that we continually grow stronger in the face of evil that intended to weaken and by doing so forge a greater legacy for our children who will inherit all that we have to offer. -josh conti
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