Friday, March 31, 2006

Day 38: Gehazi

2 Kings 5

- so Gehazi is Elisha's servant.
- the commander of the army of the king of Aram was a man named Naaman. He was highly regarded by the king because he had brought victory to Aram through the Lord. This is interesting to read that the Lord would work through someone from a pagan nation.
- the one problem was that he had leprosy.
- people had heard of Elisha and how he could perform great miracles so Naaman set out to find him to see if he could be cured by Elisha.
- the king of Aram sent a letter to the king of Israel saying that he was sending Naaman to be cured of his leprosy. Now the king was distraught. He probably thought "I'm not God. I can't cure people. Aram must be looking to fight by requesting this as it is clearly impossible for me to comply."
- anyway, Elisha hears about this and has Naaman come to him. He tells him to wash 7 times in the Jordan River in order to be healed.
- Naaman expected Elisha to pray over him or something, not ask him to wash in the river. He was going to leave thinking Elisha was just a hoax but his servants were wise and convinced him to try it anyway.
- so he does and is healed just as Elisha said. Only then did he finally believe that the Lord was the one and true God.
- Elisha refused to accept any of the gifts Naaman brought but after they left, Gehazi figured he could catch up to them and lie to them in order to get some of the silver and clothes.
- Elisha finds out and even gives Gehazi the opportunity to confess but Gehazi lies. So as a punishment, he was struck with leprosy and all his decendants would be lepers as well.


After being with Elisha all this time and watching the amazing things he did in the name of God, I can't believe that he thought he could get away with something like this. Sometimes, Gehazi reminds me of myself when I lie or try to get away with stuff thinking that nobody will know. But just like Elisha, God knows everything. It sounds so foolish when I read about some guy in the bible yet I do the same thing all the time.

Another important point that struck me was the fact that Elisha refused to accept any gifts. I think this is important because he wanted to make sure that it was God who got the glory and not himself. If Elisha took the money, it would be like saying that it was by his own doing that Naaman was cured. This is a very good example of how we should always act with kindness and compassion and never expect a reward for our service; only waiting patiently for the reward that awaits us in heaven.

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Thursday, March 30, 2006

Day 37: Elisha

2 Kings 2, 4, 6

- Elijah is about to be taken to heaven and Elisha is with him. Elijah asks Elisha to stay in Bethel, Jericho and finally the Jordan river but Elisha refused to leave him. Three times he said:

"As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you."

- Elijah struck the waters with his mantle and parted the Jordan river. Then on the other side, Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind by a chariot of fire and horses of fire. Elisha was given a double portion of Elijah's spirit just as he asked.
- Elisha goes back to Jericho and purifies the water there with some salt.
- On his way to Bethel, some kids made fun of his baldness so Elisha cursed them and two female bears came out and mauled 42 of them.

- his next miracle was with a widow. Her husband had died and the family had a large debt. They were going to make her two sons slaves because she couldn't pay the debt. So Elisha provided her with an ample supply of oil to sell in order to pay the debt.
- the next miracle was with a Shunammite woman. Elisha often passed through Shunem on his way to and from Mount Carmel. She recognized him as a man of God and provided him with a room to stay in. God gave her a son because of her kindness. Later on, her son died and she went to Elisha for help. Elisha brings her son back to life by stretching himself over him a few times.
- then, during a famine, Elisha purified some poisonous stew for the prophets to eat and also fed 100 people with a few loves of bread.

- the prophets were building a new meeting place when one dropped his ax head into the Jordan river. It wasn't his as he borrowed it from someone. Elisha threw a stick into the water and it made the ax head float so they could retrieve it.
- the Arameans were at war with Israel and Elisha was revealing all of their plans to Israel. So the king of Aram set out to capture Elisha. However, when they got to where Elisha was staying in Dothan, Elisha prayed for deliverance and the army was struck with blindness. Then Elisha led them to Samaria, the capital city of Israel. The king of Israel wanted to kill them but Elisha made them feed them and send them back. This stopped the fighting for a short period of time.
- during a seige of Samaria, circumstances were pretty dismal and people resorted to cannibalism. In one case, two women agree to eat their sons. So they ate one of them one day and the next day, the other lady had hidden her son. The king blamed the Lord for all the problems.


Another amazing man like Elijah, reading about Elisha seems sureal in many ways. I think Elisha's quote is one of true friendship and love. I wonder if maybe I can use it to replace the "until death do us part" wedding vow...

"As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you."

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Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Day 36: Elijah

1 Kings 17-19:18

- all I can say is that Elijah did some pretty crazy stuff...
- so in the first part, a massive drought hits Israel and Elijah is sent to a widow in Zarephath. Here is the story of the widow's faith and how because she trusted the Lord and Elijah, she had an unlimited supply of flour and oil until the drought was over.
- later, when the widow's son dies, Elijah raises him from the dead. After seeing this, the widow exclaimed that he must be a man of God and be speaking the truth.
- then there's this part with Obadiah (same as the minor prophet???). After a quick glance through the book kof Obadiah (shortest book in the OT), it doesn't appear to be the prophet. Anyway, Elijah tells him to go to Ahab to set up a meeting between them. It says that Obadiah feared the Lord and had been hiding prophets of the Lord from Jezebel who wanted to kill them all.
- then comes the big showdown between Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal. I find it funny how Elijah taunts them as they try to call out to a non-existent god with dancing and blood-letting. He says maybe Baal is asleep, yell louder. When nightfall comes, he drenches the dead ox in water and then calls upon the name of the Lord. Fire from heaven comes down and consumes the offering, wood, stones and dust. Then the people fell on their faces; just like everyone does when they realize that God is there.
- all the prophets of Baal are round up and killed.
- there's this part where Elijah sends Ahab to Jezreel and then the Lord gives him this superhuman speed and he beats Ahab there on foot (I would guess Ahab rode out on horseback or on a chariot).
- later on, Elijah is being hunted down by Jezebel so he flees to the wilderness. He asks God to take his life but God's work for him is not complete so he sends angels to attend to his needs. After he had eaten and drank, he went for 40 days and 40 nights on that strength to Horeb, the mountain of God (also called Mount Sinai).
- at Horeb, God tells Elijah to anoint Hazael king over Aram, Jehu king over Israel and Elisha prophet to replace Elijah.


Elijah's life reminds me of the life of Jack Bauer in the television series 24. It's just non-stop action all day everyday with no breaks for food or rest. Elijah's commitment to God is astounding. The other day I was reading a passage in Ephesians chapter 4 that talks about how the Holy Spirit will make some of us prophets, teachers, pastors, evangelists, etc. I wonder what a modern day prophet would look like? Would he/she be doing some pretty crazy stuff for God just like Elijah did? I pray that God can allow me to serve Him just as Elijah did.

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Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Day 35: Ahab

1 Kings 16:29-34, 20:1-21:29

- Ahab, son of Omri, reigned as king over Israel for 22 years and did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than anyone before him. Not only did he consider the sins of Jeroboam trivial, but he married Jezebel of the Sidonians and worshiped Baal.
- some guy named Hiel rebuilt Jericho at the cost of his firstborn and youngest sons just as God has promised back with Joshua.

- so king Ben-Hadad, king of Aram rallies and army together and demands Israel to hand over all their silver, gold, women and children. In the end, Ahab refuses and ends up routing the enemy forces. However, the only reason Israel was not razed to the ground was because the Lord did not let it happen. He sent a prophet to Ahab to tell him that God would deliver him so that he would know that it was the Lord.
- the next spring, Ben-Hadad and the Arameans gathered to attack the Israelites in the valley since they assumed that God was only god of the hills. So God delivered them into Israel's hands and they killed over 100,000 footsoldiers in one day.
- but because Ahab had disobeyed the Lord and let Ben-Hadad live, he was condemned to suffering and his family would be destroyed along with his wife Jezebel.


It's interesting to see that despite Ahab's evil ways, God still gave him victory over the Arameans. I think God was hoping that by helping them, Ahab would realize how stupid he was and repent. But Ahab still didn't listen to God and brought about great trouble for himself and the rest of his family. Translated to today, I think this story shows how important it is for us to not be of the world but to be set apart from it for God. It says that Ahab considered the sins of Jeroboam trivial and did even worse things. After a while, we can be desensitized to sin and we don't even realize that what we are doing is wrong. This is a scary thought.

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Monday, March 27, 2006

Day 34: Jeroboam

1 Kings 11:26-40, 12:25-14:20

So I had to go back a bit to get some background on the situation. It seems like we're skipping over a bunch of prominent characters like David and Solomon, but I guess according to the reading guide I'm following, they come in later when we hit the books of Psalms and Proverbs respectively.

In chapter 11, it states that Solomon loved many foreign women on top of Pharaoh's daughter. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Of the 700 were many women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon and the Hittites. God told the Israelites clearly they were not to intermarry with those nations because it would lead them worship pagan gods. But Solomon didn't listen and sure enough they led his heart away from God. So God got really mad at him and decided to take the kingdom of Israel away from him and hand it over to one of his servants. But because David was faithful to God, he would let Solomon's son, Rehoboam, remain king over Judah.

- Jeroboam was one of Solomon's officials. A prophet named Ahijah told him that he would be made king over 10 tribes of Israel.
- Solomon tries to have Jeroboam killed by he flees to Egypt and stays there until Solomon dies.
- then Jeroboam starts to screw up. He makes a bunch of golden calf idols for them to worship and appoints priests who were not Levites.
- then there's some weird story about a couple prophets. At the beginning, a prophet from Judah tells Jeroboam to repent and that the Lord will bring disaster upon him in his current state.
- Jeroboam's wife goes to visit the prophet Ahijah and he tells her that God will destroy the house of Jeroboam, kill all the males and burn everything because of his great sin.

Jeroboam was quite foolish to do what he did. I guess the biggest thing I got was from the background on Solomon. The "missionary dating" thought has crossed my mind and I think it's pretty clear that we shouldn't let love for a woman take priority over love for God. The most important thing I should look for is that she follows God wholeheartedly. Everything else is gravy.

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Saturday, March 25, 2006

Day 33: Rehoboam

1 Kings 12:1-20, 14:21-31

- just a bit of background, Rehoboam was the son of King Solomon and succeeded him as the king of Judah (southern kingdom). What happened was that the rest of Israel broke off after Solomon to form their own kingdom under Jeroboam (who I think I will read about tomorrow). I believe that the tribe of Judah was the only one to follow David and thus the separate southern kingdom was born.
- the people came to Rehoboam and he wasn't sure how to go about ruling over them. He first consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon and then consulted the young men that he had grown up with: his peers essentially. The elders told him to listen to the people and serve their needs while his peers told him that he should be even harder on the people than his father. Rehoboam chose to follow the advice of the young men.
- because of this, all of Israel except for the tribe of Judah left him and made Jeroboam king over them.

- so Rehoboam assumed the throne of Judah at 41 years and ruled for 17 years.
- under his rule, Judah did evil in the eyes of God and it says that they stirred up God's jealous anger even more than their forefathers. They set up Asherah poles, idols, male shrine prostitutes and engaged in many other sinful practices.
- as a consequence, a king of Egypt (Shishak) attacked and looted the temple of the Lord and carried off all the treasures that Solomon had placed there.
- there was constant fighting between Rehoboam and Jeroboam and after he died, his son Abijah succeeded him as king.

Hrm...listening to the advice of your peers rather than the advice of your elders...sounds very familiar. I think a lot of times I think the older generation is jaded and wrong in their thinking. They don't understand how things work or how to deal with current issues that younger people face. In some cases this is true. But I know right now I wish I had the sound advice of someone older on life issues like working, school and dating/relationships. As much as I trust my friends, the bottom line is that most of us are really at the same point in life. We can do our best to encourage and lift each other up but it's really hard to give advice on how to deal with the future if we've never had the experience ourselves. Rehoboam was foolish to not listen to the elders in this case and it cost him big time. I really need to work on developing a more intimate bond with my parents. I just can't talk to them about anything important in life and it's really tough because I really wish I could benefit from their advice. It's a struggle just to not fight let alone exchange advice. This is something I need to work at more.

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Friday, March 24, 2006

Day 32: Absalom

2 Samuel 15, 17, 18

- today's reading is pretty long so I'm not going to go into details.
- Absalom rises up and becomes quite popular among the Israelites. He lets this lust for power get to his head and decides that he will overthrow his father David and make himself king.
- because of his charisma, Absalom wins the hearts of many Israelites and so king David flees to avoid being killed by a coup d'etat.
- then it goes into long details about how David manages the people faithful to him and also how Absalom decides to attack David.
- in the end, it is David and his men that win and defeat the army of Israel. Absalom is killed even though David asked his men to spare his life. And after David hears about the death of his son who was out to kill him and take his throne, he weeps and wishes that he could have been killed instead.


Again, we see a deep fatherly love displayed by David. His son has forsaken him and yet he still loves him. Just like the prodigal son in the New Testament. God loves us in the same way as His children. Even though we turn our backs to him with sin, He still loves us and is ready to welcome us back if we turn from our sinful ways. It reminds me of a really cool song written by Brian Doerksen called Faithful Father.


Father I can't explain this kind of love, this kind of grace
I know, I still break your heart and yet you run to welcome me

(chorus)
This is my song of praise to you
For who you are and all that you do
from the moment my life began, you have been faithful

Father, I love the way you hold me close and say my name
I know, when my life is through my heart will find it's home in you

(chorus)
This is my song of praise to you
for who you are and all that you do
From the moment the world began
You have been faithful

(Repeat chorus)

You have been faithful, forever faithful...father

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Thursday, March 23, 2006

Day 31: Amnon

2 Samuel 13

- so it says that Amnon, son of David, fell in love with his brother Absalom's sister, Tamar who was quite beautiful. This sounds like incest...but I guess it could work if Tamar's father was not David. But then that doesn't make sense either because polygamy was only for multiple wives and not multiple husbands. So David must have been her father as well and this is incest :P
- so he came up with the plan to pretend to be sick and to have Tamar bring him some food. When they were alone, Amnon raped his sister Tamar even though she pleaded with him. She told him it was a wicked thing to do and that it would disgrace not only her but him as well. But he still did it.
- Absalom was pretty ticked off (I'd be too if someone raped my sister).
- two years later, Absalom invites the king's sons over and then he has Amnon killed. Absalom flees and the entire family, including David, weeps over Amnon.


Even though David was furious when he heard what Amnon did to Tamar, he still loved him as a son. I guess God gave Amnon what he deserved in the end for doing such a wicked thing but I don't know if Absalom was justified in murdering his brother. Lust is a sin and a very powerful temptation; especially for men. I need to always be on guard. I might not have to worry about falling in love with my sister but there are definitely temptations everywhere I look.

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Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Day 30: Abigail

1 Samuel 25

- Abigail is described as an intelligent and beautiful woman who was married to Nabal, a very wealthy man.
- David and his men had been hiding in the desert from Saul. They treated Nabal's men well and never took anything from Nabal (although they definitely could have if they wanted to). They must have been low on food and supplies so David sent some of his men to ask Nabal very politely for any provisions he could spare.
- but Nabal was a fool and refused to help David.
- so David gathered up 400 of his men and prepared to slaughter Nabal and all the men in the family.
- when Abigail heard what had happened, she rushed out to meet David before he attacked. She presented him with gifts and apologized for her husband's foolish remarks. She acknowledged the Lord and that God was with David.
- David accepted the apology and provisions and left peacefully.
- Nabal dies of heart failure when he hears what his wife did and David ends up marrying Abigail.


Abigail saved her family from certain death with her quick thinking and wisdom. I hope that one day, by God's will, I will find a wise, beautiful and intelligent woman like her :D

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Day 29: Saul

1 Samuel 18-19

- David was very successful in everything he did so Saul gave him a high rank in the army. However, when the people began to hold David in higher esteem than Saul, he became angry and jealous.
- verse 10 in chapter 18 surprised me when I read it:

10 The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11 and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall." But David eluded him twice.

There is a link to 16:14 in my study bible where it says God sent a tormenting spirit to Saul. My study bible says that it is possible that the Holy Spirit had left Saul and that God allowed an evil spirit to take its place. I guess it just seems odd for God to send evil spirits down on us. Maybe it just sounds better to me if we say that God "allows evil" to happen because of free will. I also didn't think the Holy Spirit came to us until after Pentecost in Acts...

- it says that Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with David and not himself.
- Saul tries to make trouble for David by getting him to marry his daughters. David goes out and collects 200 Philistine foreskins and married Saul's daughter Michal.
- Saul tries over and over to kill David by sending his men after him and by trying to skewer him with his spear. Once again in 19:9 it says that Saul is filled with an evil spirit right before he tries to kill David.
- the end of chapter 19 is kind of weird. David goes to Samuel at Ramah. Saul finds out and sends men to kill him. But when they get there, the Spirit of God came upon them and they prophesied. This happened a couple more times as Saul sent more men. Finally, when he went himself, he too had the Spirit of God come upon him. He stripped off his clothes and prophesied all day and all night.

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Sunday, March 19, 2006

Day 28: Jonathan

1 Samuel 14, 20

- at the beginning of chapter 14, Jonathan and his armor-bearer slip away from the Israeli forces and go up to a Philistine outpost. There they attacked and killed 20 men because the Lord was with them.
- that same day, the Lord rescued Israel by throwing the Philistines into chaotic confusion. They were killing each other. So all of Israel came out of hiding and chased the Philistines down.
- later on, there is a dispute between Jonathan and his father, King Saul. Saul forbid his men to eat until they had defeated their enemies. But as a result, the men were tired and exhausted. Jonathan thought it was a dumb move on his dad's part and ate some honey.
- They finally slaughtered some of the sheep, cattle and calves to eat. Saul built and altar to the Lord after they had eaten. Here it states that it is a sin to eat meat with blood still in it.
- Saul asks God for guidance but was not answered. He assumed it was because someone sinned. Then he finds out his son disobeyed him by eating some honey earlier. He wanted to kill him but the men rescued Jonathan.

- chapter 20 outlines the friendship between David and Jonathan.
- David insists that Saul wants him dead but Jonathan won't believe him because his father didn't say anything about it to him. David knew this because they were best friends.
- they promised each other that their friendship would remain above all else.
- in the end, David departs from Jonathan.


Jonathan is a great example of what a true friend is all about. My prayer is that I can be a friend to my friends like Jonathan was to David.

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Saturday, March 18, 2006

Day 27: Samuel

1 Samuel 7:3-8:22, 12:1-25

- Samuel tells the Israelites they must turn from their wicked ways. They gather together and fasted. While doing so, they confessed their sins. I can't remember the last time I fasted...I think it must have been a few years ago when we were praying for healing for man at my church who had cancer. Definitely a powerful practice for sure that I should consider.
- the Lord delivered the Philistines into the hands of Israel that day under the leadership of Samuel. He "judged" Israel throughout his entire life.
- similar to Eli, Samuel's sons were also wicked so Israel asked for a king. What they didn't understand was that they had God as their leader and provider. But Israel wanted to be like other nations and have a king to rule over them. This upset God.
- Samuel warned them that if they were to have a king, he would rule over them and even if he was bad, they would have no choice but to live under him. So God granted them their wish.

- in chapter 12, Samuel gives a farewell speech. Just like Joshua, he reminded the Israelites of all the Lord had done for them: the deliverance from Egypt, the Philistines and the Ammonites. He tells them that they have sinned by asking for a king. But what's done is done. He urges them to refrain from worshipping idols and other gods.


I think I'm going to spend some time tonight to remind myself of how God has gotten me this far in life and out of some difficult times. How I continue to screw up and yet God is there to forgive me if only I ask. Is Jesus King over me?

King - Tree63

We have heard the thunder
We have seen the storm
Echoes of your kingdom coming
Rumors of our home
Where one day we will stand before you Lord
Our altogether beautiful reward

And we will give you glory bring you honor
King above all kings
You deserve our everything
We will lift our voices with your praises
Jesus you are our king

Though now we walk in darkness
Though now we see in part
Right now we're warmed by the burning flames
Of the fire in our hearts
You've promised you would lead us to your throne
Where we will worship you and you alone

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Day 26: Eli

1 Samuel 2:27-4:22

- at the end of chapter 2, God tells Eli how disappointed He is with the way he has acted as a priest and how he has failed to discipline his sons. As a result, the line of priests will no longer come from his family line and his family will no longer be blessed by God.
- chapter 3 is where God calls out to Samuel and speaks to him about Eli's consequences. The bible is clear that the Lord was with Samuel as he grew up and he became a prophet of the Lord.
- the last part is about the death of Eli and his sons. The ark is captured by the Philistines because the Lord was no longer with the Israelites who were being led by sinful leaders such as Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas. Both of them die along with many thousands of men. Eli also passes away along with his daughter-in-law.


This wasn't a very uplifting passage to read. It definitely shows that sin has it's consequences. The Lord made a conditional promise to Eli that his house would minister as priests forever. But the condition was that they love the Lord. I think tonight before I sleep I'll really take a good hard examination of my own life and sin and make sure I humble myself before God in repentance. I never want to hit that point in life when I begin to treat God and His grace and love with contempt by being a slave to my sin.

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Thursday, March 16, 2006

Day 25: Hannah

1 Samuel 1-2:21

- Hannah was barren and whenever it came time for Elkanah, her husband, to make sacrifices, he always gave her a double portion of meat because he loved her and because the Lord has closed her womb.
- but she was still very disheartened and cried out to God. If she was given a son, she would dedicate him to the service of the Lord. No razor would be used on his head and he would be set apart for God.
- Eli, the priest, encouraged her to go in peace and she did. She later gave birth to Samuel.
- after he was weaned, she gave up Samuel to the service of the Lord and left him in the house of the Lord in Shiloh under the care of Eli the priest.

- then Hannah praises God in a prayer. Two verses stuck out:

2 "There is no one holy [h] like the LORD;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.

10 those who oppose the LORD will be shattered.
He will thunder against them from heaven;
the LORD will judge the ends of the earth.
"He will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed."

- the bible makes a clear distinction between Eli's wicked sons, who treated God's offerings with contempt and sinned greatly in His eyes, and Samuel. Samuel was an obedient child.
- Hannah, because of her willingness to give up her only son to God, was blessed with three more sons and two daughters.


If I had a son would I be able to give him up to be raised by someone else? Probably the toughest decision that a mother can make and God blessed Hannah for making it. Once again, this story shows how God is faithful and He will answer our prayers.

A few prayers have been answered of my own. I'm going to apply for a summer job with the Centre for Mouse Genomics but I also heard back from my boss that she'd be happy to have me back to help her with some clinical research. I'm not sure what I should do but at least I know I can go back to doing research for a 4th summer if nothing else develops.

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Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Day 24: Ruth

Ruth 1-4

- one of the two books in the bible named after a woman.
- Ruth was Naomi's daughter-in-law. Their husbands died and they moved back to Judah from Moab.
- even though Naomi urged them to return home to Moab, Ruth insisted on sticking with her.
- Naomi changes her name to Mara because of her poor circumstances (being widowed and losing her sons). She seems to be upset with God and the misfortune He has brought upon her.

- Ruth meets Boaz, who is a relative of Naomi, as she gleans in his fields. He shows kindness to her because of the kindness she showed Naomi. She was willing to leave her family and all that she had back in Moab to stay with Naomi.

- this next part I don't get. So Boaz is a kinsman redeemer (kinsman = male relative, redeemer = deliverer/rescuer). Naomi instructs Ruth to go to Boaz after he has eaten and lay down for the night. She uncovers his feet and lies down at his feet. He finds her and is honoured by her actions (was this like a marriage proposal by her?). But he says that there is a closer kinsman redeemer (more closely related?) and that if he doesn't want her then he will marry her? That's sort of what I got from it but i'm not entirely sure...
- So Boaz goes to meet with this other kinsman redeemer and says that Naomi is selling the land that her husband owned and that it was to go to the closest surviving relative (not Boaz but this other kinsman redeemer). But, whoever gets the land must also take Naomi and Ruth to preserve the name of the original land owner (Naomi's husband Elimelech).
- From the line of Boaz came David (also the same family line to which Jesus was born).


Ruth is described by Boaz and the townspeople as being very noble of character. Nobility basically refers to having great character. I think Ruth is an excellent example of how we should act. Her dedication to Naomi and hard work is admirable. It was an unselfish act and God rewarded her for it. This ties into what I've been studying in Philippians of encouraging one another and thinking of the interests of others. Ruth is a good example of how we should do this.

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Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Day 23: Samson

Judges 13-16

- so Israel is back to their cycle of sin and as a result, were under the oppression of the Philistines for 40 years.
- Samson's mom was sterile and childless but God allowed her to conceive and give birth to him.
- she wasn't allowed to drink alcohol or eat anything unclean because Samson was to be a Nazirite, set apart for God from birth. He wasn't supposed to cut his hair either.
- an angel of God told her all this but she and her husband didn't realize this until later when they offered a goat as a sacrifice to God.
- so Samson was born and the Spirit of the LORD was with him and blessed him.

- later, Samson is led by the Lord to seek marriage with a Philistine woman as an excuse to confront the Philistines. His parents did not know this however and didn't understand why he wouldn't marry someone from Israel.
- Samson killed a lion with his bare hands. Sometime later, he passed the carcass and saw some honey so he ate some. Later, he used this as a riddle at his wedding party. But the Philistines pressured his wife into getting the answer from them.
- his wife was given to his friend and he was upset so he caught 300 foxes, tied their tails together in pairs, tied torches to the tails, and let them loose in the standing grain of the Philistines (standing grain I believe refers to the total grain crop that they had at the time...so basically he totally destroy all their crops).
- when they found out it was Samson they burned his wife and her father to death.
- so Sampson went and killed a bunch of them. Then, he pretended to let the men of Judah capture him, only to kill a thousand Philistines with a donkey's jawbone.
- he was thirsty, cried out to God, and he cause a spring to appear where Samson was after all the fighting (I'd be a little thirsty after all that fighting too).

- Samson fell in love with Delilah and the Philistines offered her a lot of silver if she could discover the secret to his strength.
- it took her 5 tries to finally get him to confess. Then the Philistines came, gouged out his eyes and took him to their grinding prison.
- during the celebration of Samson's capture, they brought him out to entertain them. He got a servant to place his hands on the pillars of the temple and brought the temple down upon the Philistine rulers and people. He killed more of them here than he did during the rest of his lifetime.
- he had led Israel for 20 years.


Famous for his strength, I think Samson is a perfect example of even the strongest of people have their weaknesses. God was with him as long as he was faithful to the Nazirite laws and faithful to God. But as soon as he gave that up, God left him. Samson was set apart for God from birth but we as followers of Christ are called to be set apart for God upon being saved.

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Monday, March 13, 2006

Day 22: Jephthah

Judges 11:1 - 12:7

- Jephthah was a mighty warrior. However, his mother was a prostitute and his half brothers kicked him out of the family because of this.
- sometime later, the Ammonites went to war with Israel and the elders of Gilead (Gilead was his father) came to him asking for his help.
- Jephthah's response was typical, "You guys kicked me out and now you want me to help you? Isn't there something wrong with this picture?"
- basically, they offered to make him the head of the Gilead family if he went to fight with them as their commander (he must have been some warrior).
- so Jephthah agreed and contacted the Ammonite king. He wanted the territory back that he had before the Israelites came out of Egypt and conquered for themselves. But Jephthah explained that they didn't conquer the land. They only wanted to pass through but were attacked by the Amorites and as a result, God handed them over to the Israelites as well as their land. On top of that, they had occupied it for like 300 years so he didn't see why the Ammorites would suddenly be interested now.
- But the king ignored his message.
- So it says that the "Spirit of the LORD" came upon Jephthah (like the Holy Spirit?) and he made a vow that if the Lord gave him victory over the Ammorites, he would offer the first thing that came out of his house upon his return as a sacrifice to God.
- God gave him victory and when he returned home, his only daughter was the first one out to greet him. He was devestated but what is surprising is how well his daughter took it. She knew that her father made a promise to God and that was more important than anything: including her life.
- after a period of two months, during which she wept because she would never marry, she was sacrificed to God.

- the men of Ephraim were jealous of Jephthah's victory and wanted to cause trouble because they were not able to take part in the defeat of the Ammonites. Apparently, Jephthah did call them but they didn't answer so he went on without them. So the Gileadites and Ephraimites fought and 42,000 Ephraimites were killed. In order for them to determine if they were Ephraimites, they would ask them to say "Shibboleth" because they could not pronounce the silent 'h' and instead would say "Sibboleth".
- Jephthah led Israel for six years.


A couple interesting things about this passage. Often times I say things to God like, "If you help me get through this difficult time, I'll do whatever you ask of me." Many times I've said to God, "If you help me get into medicine, I promise to do as much medical missions work as possible and to live very simply and give my money to people I know who need the support." In Jephthah's case, I guess the lesson is to be careful what you promise God because He will hold you to it.

Jephthah's daughter is also an inspiring story. I don't think I would have been as willing as she was to die for her father. I mean, I would have been angry. "Why would you make such a stupid promise dad? Did you think a calf or lamb was going to walk through our front door? What did you think was going to happen?" But she went along with it because of what the Lord had done for them.

Another interesting note is that Jephthah is mentioned in the faith chapter of Hebrews along with others like Barak, Gideon, David, Samuel and Samson.

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Sunday, March 12, 2006

Day 21: Gideon

Judges 6-8

- After Deborah leaves, Israel turns back to their evil ways. So God allows them to be oppressed by the Midianites and sure enough, Israel cries out to God when the going gets rough.
- so God sends a prophet to them saying, "Look, I brought you out of Egypt, I gave you victory over your enemies and then I found you a nice piece of land over here in Canaan. The only thing I asked you to do was to obey the commands I gave to you through Moses and don't worship any other gods. But you didn't listen. So that's why you're getting pwned by the Midianites."
- but God is love so that's where Gideon comes into the picture.
- an angel pays Gideon a visit and tells him, "God is with you...you're a mighty warrior...I'm sending you now...don't worry I will be with you" and still he doesn't believe. So he wants to test the angel to see if really it's God talking to him and he prepares a sacrifice. Sure enough, it's God.
- Gideon's first task was to destroy the idols and evil altars of his father and build one for God. So he does this but did it when no one was watching at night because he was afraid of what his family might do to him.
- family is upset, wants to kill him, but spares his life because Gideon's father cleverly states that Baal should have defended his own altar.
- Gideon's second test was with the wool fleece. He leaves it on the ground and asks God to make the ground dry around it but the fleece wet. Then when it happens he figures that he had made a mistake with his test since one would expect the ground to dry quicker than the fleece. So he reverses the conditions on the test and God then makes the ground around it wet and the fleece dry.
- So Gideon gathers up about 32,000 men in preparation for battle but God says there's too many. So eventually, by seeing how the men drank from a river, Gideon's army was trimmed down to 300 men. Reason? God wanted them to be sure that it was by His grace and His power that they were able to defeat Midian. Without God, there was no way 300 men could accomplish this and they knew it. It would have been suicide.
- so they go in, blowing trumpets and breaking jars. God throws the enemy into mass confusion and they end up killing each other and fleeing. Gideon and his men pursue and kill everyone.
- skipping ahead a bit, one of Gideon's flaws was the ephod he made from the gold earrings. I think his intentions were good to make one out of remembrance for the victory God gave them but it backfired and the people of Israel began to worship the ephod.
- so for 40 years there was peace as long as Gideon was around. But as soon as he died they went back to worshipping Baal-Berith and failed to show kindness to Gideon's family (punishment for making the ephod perhaps?).


It's interesting how patient God was with Gideon. He put God to many tests and I could see God getting a bit angry with Gideon's lack of faith. But once Gideon was assured that this was God's will, he made no mistake of carrying it out. I think I'm like that so often. I fail to account for God's awesome power and instead see my own weakness and shortcomings. At times I've put out my own wool fleece to see if this is really what God wants me to do. But often is seems He has not given me that clear-cut answer. Maybe I'm not listening carefully enough or maybe God is withdrawing from me temporarily as a test of His own. I

I have to admit though, almost everything that has happened to me could have been attributed to my own abilities. Very rarely will I step out of my comfort zone and in faith. I hear about people who have given up all of their savings, even though they know they need that money to pay for school or just to survive, trusting that God will provide. And he has through just random people giving them money and support. If I never strive for something well beyond my reach then I'll never fully experience the power of Christ in me.

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Saturday, March 11, 2006

Day 20: Deborah

Judges 4-5

- Ehud, the left handed Judge had passed away and once again the Israelites were back to their sinful ways in a seemingly hopeless cycle. They were sold out to a king of Canaan named Jabin, were oppressed for 20 years, and then went crying back to God for help (another round in the cycle).
- Deborah was a prophetess and was leading Israel at the time. She gathered the troops under Barak to defeat Jabin's army. For whatever reason, Barak refuses to go without the Deborah along with him (fear, weakness...). So Deborah tells him that the Lord will hand over honor of winning the battle to a woman.
- Barak and the army of Israel destroy Sisera's army. Only Sisera surivived and fled to Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. It was Jael to drove tent peg through his head.

- in chapter 5 Deborah and Barak break out into song.
- there was peace in the land for 40 years under Deborah.


Moses, Miriam and the Israelites broke out into song after their deliverance from the Egyptians. Once again, it is shown here that it is good to praise the Lord with song. This is genuinely inspired worship and a genuine reason for worship. The next time God answers my prayers or works in my life, I'll sing Him a song.

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Friday, March 10, 2006

Day 19: Joshua

Joshua 23-24

- These two chapters depict the end of Joshua's leadership of the Israelites and his life on earth.
- the fighting had ceased and Israel had finally taken hold of the promised land.
- Joshua reminds the elders, leaders, judges and officials that it was the Lord their God who gave them victory. He urges them to remain obedient to the laws of Moses given to them by God, not to stray left or right and not to follow the practices of other nations.
- the consequences for turning their backs to God and associating with the surviving nations will result in their defeat at the hands of their enemies.
- Joshua reminds them that not a single promise from God had failed after all these years. In the same way His blessings have come true, so will his judgment if they violate the conditional covanent by worshipping other gods.
- in chapter 24, Joshua recalls the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He reminds them of the exodus from Egypt and how they were saved at the Red Sea. They defeated the Amorites, the Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites with the help of God. And by God's will, they destroyed Jericho. So after all this, Joshua once again stressed how important it is for them to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully. Joshua proves that he is set apart for God by saying that he and his household will choose to serve the Lord regardless of what the rest of the people choose.
- then the people declare that they will serve the Lord and obey Him.
- a covanent is made at Shechem.
- Joshua died at 110 and was buried in the land of his tribe (Ephraim)


At the end of chapter 24 it states that "Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua". This is definitely a reflection of Joshua's leadership ability and his commitment to the Lord. At the end of his life we can see how concerned he is for the spiritual well-being of all the people. Unfortunately, the time of the judges comes right after Joshua dies and Israel begins to disobey the Lord.

I can't believe how many awesome role models there are in the first few books of the bible. I really admired Noah, Abraham and Joseph. I think Joshua definitely fits in somewhere near the top of the A-list for those devoted to God. These two chapters exhibit a constant encouragement to continue to follow God; reminders of the countless times God has delivered Israel from certain destruction. Even though we must forget what is behind us and strain toward what is ahead in one sense, sometimes I think it's necessary to remember how God has been faithful in our lives. For me, I think about the worries I have right now like finding a summer job and I look back to a year ago when I was worrying about the same thing and God pulled through. God is faithful.

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Thursday, March 09, 2006

Day 18: Caleb

Joshua 14:6-15:19

- this isn't in this passage but I recall that out of the twelve spies sent into Egypt, only two returned with favorable reports. Everyone else said that they were giants and that Israel had no chance to defeat the people in Canaan. But two of them had faith that the Lord would give them victory. Those two were Hoshea son of Nun (renamed Joshua) and Caleb son of Jephunneh. Joshua and Caleb were from the tribes of Ephraim and Judah respectively.
- Caleb was 40 years old when Moses sent out the 12 spies. He followed the Lord wholeheartedly.
- Caleb was now 85 and he still feels as strong as before and ready to take the promised land.
- he wanted to claim the hill territory where the Anakites lived.
- Joshua blessed him and gave him the land of Hebron because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.

- Judah's territory encompassed the land west of the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean and extended to the far south towards Egypt. According to the map in the back of my bible, Judah appears to have been given the largest area of land out of all the tribes of Israel. Bethlehem is located in Judah's territory.
- Caleb drove out the Anakites from the cities in that area and gave his daughter to Othniel in marriage (Othniel later became Israel's first judge after Joshua's death).
- according to the bible, the Anakites were a race of giants that were possible decendants of the Nephilim (people created from the cross-breeding of "sons of God" and the "daughters of man"...angels and women??).


As you probably could tell from above, the word that stuck out the most was wholeheartedly. Caleb was a man who followed God wholeheartedly. Dictionary.com defines it as "Marked by unconditional commitment, unstinting devotion, or unreserved enthusiasm". I think God's unconditional love for us demands our unconditional commitment and obedience. It marks the line separating true disciples from believers; something that I've been working on for the last few months. A disciple follows Christ wholeheartedly as Caleb did. What an awesome role model to follow.

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Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Day 17: Rahab

Joshua 2, 6

- Joshua had sent out two spies to gather recon on Jericho.
- they made contact with a prostitutde named Rahab.
- Rahab defied the King of Jericho by hiding the spies in her home to protect them.
- apparently, news of what the Lord had done to deliver the Israelites had reached Jericho and the people knew about the destruction of the Egyptian army and the parting of the Red Sea. They were afraid of Israel. Rahab acknowledges that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth below.
- the spies promised to spare the lives of her and her family because she spared theirs.

- the Lord instructed them to march around the city with trumpets and the ark a total of 13 times over a week.
- when the walls of Jericho collapsed, they went in and killed every living thing except Rahab and her family.


I think Rahab is an excellent example of someone who had heard of the sovereignty of God and took that step of faith to put her trust in Him over her own people. She had a lot to lose by hiding the spies and if they were discovered, she would have been subject to severe consequences (I would suspect death for harbouring the enemy). So it's not like her decision was easy. For her to put her trust in the Lord was a huge step of faith and as long as we are willing to do that, God will take us in no matter who we are or what we've done. Rahab was a prostitute and likely shunned by her people for her lifestyle. But God looks to our hearts and He saw that she had faith and believed in Him.

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Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Day 16: Aaron

Exodus 32

- Moses had gone up Mount Sinai and Aaron was the "go to guy" for the time being.
- the Israelites wanted him to make them gods to worship since they weren't sure if Moses was coming back. I don't understand how they could so quickly turn against God after all he had done for them. I guess it's like us continuing to sin after all the Christ has done for us - even when we know that it's wrong.
- Aaron made a golden calf out of the earrings from the people.
- the calf symbolized the gods that delivered the Israelites from the hands of the Egyptians. They bowed before it and made sacrifices to the idol.
- the Lord knew this was going on and told Moses. He then wanted to destroy them and instead make Moses into a great nation.
- but Moses pleaded with the Lord to spare the lives of the Israelites.
- Moses came down and threw the two tablets of testimony down, breaking them in anger. He burned the calf, ground it into powder and made the Israelites drink it.
- Aaron's excuse was that they told him to make the gods...likely threatened him.
- the Levites rallied to Moses and Aaron as a show of their allegiance to the Lord and they killed about 3,000 of their fellow Israelites to show that they were set apart for God.
- then Moses went back up the mountain to plea with the Lord for forgiveness of their sins.
- those who sinned were blotted out of the book of life and the Lord struck them with a plague as a punishment for worshipping the golden calf Aaron made.


From a first glance, it appears that Aaron is a very weak leader and influenced by how the people think. It almost sounds like they asked him to make them an idol and he just agreed without argument. Either he thought the same way as them or maybe they threatened him. It is not really clear. After Moses returned, Aaron tried to deflect blame to the people. "They were the ones who asked me. They made me do it." But the bottom line was that he went with their sinful requests and that makes him no better. For me, Aaron is an example of how we shouldn't give in to pressure to do the wrong thing. We need to stand firm for what we know is right...even if it means suffering or death.

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Monday, March 06, 2006

Day 15: Miriam

Exodus 15:1-21

- verses 1-18 is a song sung by Moses, Miriam and the Israelites following the destruction of the Egyptian army and the crossing of the Red Sea.
- the one verse that stuck out was:

11 "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ?
Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?

- Miriam is referred to as the prophetess. I did a quick search for other women in the bible who are called prophetesses and I turned up 5 along with one in Isaiah that did not give a name
Deborah, Huldah, Noadiah, Anna and Jezebel (false prophetess in Revelation).
- Miriam is Aaron's sister and since Aaron is Moses' brother, she must also be Moses' sister.
- she plays the tambourine.

It appears that Miriam is a quite a prominant female figure at the time. It is interesting that they burst out into songs of praise to God after they are delivered. I wonder how often I thank and praise God when good things happen to me...let along burst out into song. I wonder if anyone has written a song based on this passage...maybe I can write one :)

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The Legacy Arriveth

So after about 2 months of waiting, I finally get a phone call saying that my guitar has finally arrived! So I hurried home to pick it up and try it out. It feels great in my hands. I'm itching to plug it into my Classic 30 but I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning before I go to school when everyone is out of the house (family doesn't appreciate it when I crank it). So tone wise I'm not sure yet since I've only had a chance to play through headphones. Here are some pics of my new baby...I'll have to give her a name.


Yeah! My Legacy has finally arrived after 74 days of waiting. Posted by Picasa


There it is! Posted by Picasa


3-tone sunburst on alder, 3-ply white pickguard, white pups, rosewood fretboard on top of maple. Posted by Picasa


Made in the USA. Posted by Picasa


*drool* Posted by Picasa

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Sunday, March 05, 2006

Day 14: Moses

Exodus 5:1-6:13, 14:5-31

- Moses and his brother Aaron ask Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave to make sacrifices to God in the desert. But the Pharaoh refuses, calling them lazy and increases their workload by forcing them to gather their own straw to make bricks.
- as a result, the Israelites and especially the foremen were angry with Moses and Aaron for causing them this hardship.
- Moses goes back to God and begins to question His motives. He doesn't understand why there has been trouble and not deliverance.
- the Lord tells Moses to go back to the Israelites and tell them that they will be delivered from the hands of the Egyptians and that they will be given the land that was promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But they didn't listen because of the harsh circumstances.
- then when God tells Moses to go and ask Pharaoh again to let the Israelites go, Moses questions God.

- in Chapter 14, it now jumps ahead to after the plagues of Egypt and after Pharaoh had finally let the Israelites go.
- the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart and made him pursue the Israelites with an army of chariots.
- when the Israelites saw the Egyptians coming they began to complain to Moses. Just moment before they were rejoicing for being brought out of slavery and now they thought God was just going to abandon them and let them die at the hands of the Egyptians.
- But Moses tells them to stand firm and wait for the Lord's deliverance.
- Moses holds up his staff and hands and God parts the Red Sea so the Israelites could cross over on dry land. Meanwhile, to buy them time, an angel of God and a pillar of cloud stood between the Egyptian army and the Israelites so that could not reach each other.
- Moses held up his hands the entire night as all the Israelites crossed the Red Sea.
- during the last watch, the God threw the Egyptian army into mass confusion with His pillar of fire and cloud. He also jammed the wheels of their chariots so they could not move. It states that the Egyptians were afraid and realized that it was The Lord fighting against them and tried to flee.
- at dawn, the sea returned to its place and all the Egyptians were killed.
- only after the Israelites saw all the dead Egyptians floating on the shore did they fear the Lord and submit to Him by putting their trust in Moses.


When I think about some of the most reknown people from the Bible, Moses definitely comes to mind. Yet there is much evidence from his life of imperfection and almost typical human nature. But in spite of the questioning and doubting and even disobedience, God was still able to use Moses for great things. It gives me great encouragement that God will indeed use me with all my shortcomings to accomplish His greater purposes.

Another part of the Exodus that really struck me was how God made the Israelites wait. He could have brought them out of slavery with a snap of the fingers. However, God sent 10 plagues to Egypt which resulted in even worse treatment of Israel by the Egyptian slave drivers. God promised He'd save them and yet circumstances seem to only get worse. I think if I were in the same situation today I'd probably be pretty upset with God too. With our limited scope of view, we aren't able to see the big picture. God had a greater plan that involved wiping out the entire Egyptian army to show that He was indeed the one and only God. Only after the Israelites saw all the dead bodies floating to shore did they truly believe and fear God.

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Saturday, March 04, 2006

Day 13: Moses' Parents

Exodus 1:1-2:10

- eventually, Joseph and his family passed away and a new King rose to power in Egypt who did not know about Joseph.
- the Israelites were made into slaves for the Egyptians.
- on top of the hard labour, the King instructed two Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to kill any male babies. But they feared God and did not listen to the King.
- God blessed the midwives by being kind to them and giving them families of their own.
- it does not state the names of Moses' parents...only that they were both Levites.
- Moses' mom hid him for 3 months and then placed him in a basket along the bank of the Nile river.
- Pharaoh's daughter, while bathing, found Moses and felt sorry for him. She ended up getting his mom to nurse him and was paid for it.
- when Moses grew older, he became the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
** Moses means "taken from water" and sounds like Hebrew for "draw out".


It's definitely clear here that we are to obey God rather than men and that God will bless us for that, just like he did for Shiphrah and Puah. It must have taken a lot of faith on Moses' parents part to be willing to leave him in the river. Things turned out for the best but it could have been someone less caring who found Moses and decided to kill him in line with Pharaoh's orders. Also, for Pharaoh's daughter to disobey her father is also interesting. I should be willing to take a step in faith without worrying about the potential consequences.

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Thursday, March 02, 2006

Reading/Snowboarding Week

For the second year in a row, I had the opportunity to head to the Rockies for some snowboardin' action. I must say that this year was much better than the last. The snow conditions out at Kicking Horse were definitely the best that I've experienced in many years. We stayed at the Radium Resort again and aside from the lack of cereal bowls and sharp knives, the accomodations were great. Didn't get a whole lot of reading done but the riding was awesome.

Unlike last year, I took a healthy amount of photos during the three days and even some videos with my brother's digital camera.

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