Food For Thought

With formal systems you can have certainty and demonstrability, but not reality.

With science: have reality and demonstrability, not certainty.

With belief systems: reality and certainty, not demonstrability.

Early Congratulations!

Before I forget, and because they probably won't read this until after Saturday, congratulations to Iffy (yes, THE David Iffland in the other blogs section) and Kendra, who are getting married this Saturday, October 7th! We're looking forward to being there, and the open bar at the reception, which always makes Iffy more fun! ;)

Not Gonna Make It

Over the weekend, the Chicago Cubs won their 63rd game of the season, making it impossible for them to reach the 100 loss mark. If you're going to be bad, why not be really bad? Now they won't even get the 1st (or 2nd at this point) pick in next year's draft.

Praise You In this Storm

Two posts in one day? Something must be wrong... Okay, not really, just listening to some good music at work and want to share (at least for those who like Christian music). With all that's been going on recently, this song particularly speaks to me, and I recommend you listen to it, as the presentation adds that much more to the song, "Praise You In This Storm" by Casting Crowns.

I was sure by now, God You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone
how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away

Chorus

I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

Chorus

MercyMe

I recently found out the MercyMe released their fourth CD, and as a shcok to me, it's been out since the end of April. Having only listened to it a couple times I can't do too much of a review, but so far I like it.

For those who don't know, MercyMe is a Contemporary Christian band made famous/popular by their song "I Can Only Imagine", which made an interesting crossover into mainstream media despite it's definitive religious tone. For those who haven't ever heard them, check out any of their albums, their entire collection is quite good.

Attention Cubs Fans

For a little brevity in what is otherwise an unbearable season, check out http://www.goatriders.org. I know, that name looks questionable, but it's a Cubs blog written by the Goat Riders Of The Apocalypse. The recap of last night's name is a spot-on analysis.

I'm #1!

Today I felt inclined to google myself ("Patrick Ashbrook"), and much to my surprise, I found that this blog (yes, the one you flock to for my bi-monthly updates) is the #1 result! How awesome, for all the people who are looking for information about me (Right...).

What's Happening?

What's this? A blog entry from Patrick? I'd almost forgotten what that was like...

So, what's going on with the Ashbrooks? Well, things have been hectic as always. We recently spent 8 weekends in a row driving to Chicago for various planned and unplanned reasons. It nice seeing family, but the lack of rest time on the weekends makes it seem like there's never any time to recover. Fortunately, we've been home the last couple weekends and will be for a couple more, so hopefully that will help us both feel a bit refreshed, as we've both been feeling drained recently.

Shadow is growing into quite the large dog. He's still got some growing to do, but looks significantly bigger than when we first got him. Fortunately, he nows looks a bit more fit, as we cut back his food for a while and have tried (Jaclyn especially) to get him more exercise.

One of things that's really been weighing on me is my treasurer duties at my church. I've been serving in the role for almost two years now, and it's really difficult for me to get things taken care of in a timely fashion, mainly because I'm out of town on weekends so much, but also because there's a significant lack of organization at the church. Fortunately, someone else has volunteered to take over the treasurer duties in the near future as the current membership tries to make a renewed effort to handle church business in a more organized, responsible manner. Unfortunately, at this point I feel like it's a lost cause. There has been significant loss of membership in the past year or two, and the financial situation is a bleak one. I am particularly torn because I've gone to the same church my entire life, and have significant bonds with many of the members of the church. On the other hand, there really isn't much at the church for Jaclyn and I. We're the only twenty-somethings in the church, and most of the remaining membership is significantly older. As such, there isn't really much of an opportunity for us to socialize with people from church, which is usually a good way to meet new people. As much as it pains me to say it, I think that our church closing will be good for my spiritual life in the long run, as I'll no longer feel a sense of commitment to my current church.

At work (the real job), I recently was commited to full-time programming in one of the departments that has used Virden's services in the past. This (as well as some commitments for the other remaining programmer) represents a significant shift in philosophy for the group, as previously we had contracted out work by the hour to the various departments. I feel good about this new development, as if addresses our recent problem of not having enough work to support our group (although at the University, we get paid anyway, so this is really someone else's problem), but it gives me peace of mind that I'm actually supporting my salary, and provides valuable reasoning for better raises in the future. It also provides a level of consistency in my job, which I think will take away some of the stress.

Looking forward, we'll be going to a wedding for Jaclyn's uncle in August at the Drake Hotel. Suffice to say that his fiancee's family has a decent amount of money. It should be a good time, and I'm looking forward to staying at one of the premiere hotels in Chicago. Right after that, we'll be leaving for vacation in Marco Island, FL. Hopefully that will be a good chance to relax and unwind.

Feeling caught up? Great! Look for my next post in a couple months (okay, hopefully sooner).

Finally...

So I got a call today to tell me that I am, finally, getting my money from Jaclyn's wisdom teeth removal. For those scoring at home, turn-around time on the payment was 1 year, 2 weeks. That's right, over a year to get reimbursed for a dental procedure. Maybe the University benefits aren't all they're built up to be.

Worth a Thousand Words

The Newest Ashbrook

Okay, I know what you're thinking, you didn't even realize that there was a new Ashbrook coming, and all of a sudden it's here. Well, don't feel too bad, it's not quite exactly what it sounds like. Without further ado, I introduce the newest Ashbrook:

Shadow

The "New" Wonderlic

This will be especially hilarious to football fans.

Crash

Last night watching the Oscars, my wife let out an excited scream when 'Crash' beat out favorite 'Brokeback Mountain' for the Best Picture Oscar. Later, she called her mom and found out that her mom and sister had screamed so loud it prompted her brother to ask whether they had money riding on the pick. Good to see the Academy's option is so reflective of the general public...

Where was God?

EDIT: For those reading, please understand that I don't necessarily agree with the entire thought process of this message (See comments), but I do believe that it has some valid themes to it. (Thanks to Renice for pointing out that some of the example are foolish, especially by Christian standards).

This is an email forwarded from my mother-in-law. Normally I don't keep forwards moving as they simply clog inboxs, but this one has a message that I feel is important. This is what it said:

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this Happen?" (regarding Katrina)

Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government, and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says Thu shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK. Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace , but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they WILL think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

Since I know there are some people who read my blog whose email addresses I don't have, I figured this was a better forum to spread it, even to those I don't know.

Random Facts

Okay, this is a pretty old internet phenomenon, but for those who don't know, check out the Top 100 Chuck Norris Facts. There are some really funny things on there. You can also check out Vin Diesel and Mr. T. Well worth the read!