Look at the time!

Hello Frieeends

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the Heaven. A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.

Have you ever reached a point in your life where you stop, look back, and think about how you spent your life during the past several years?  Definitely do it.  Have you accomplished something that will last? How much more have you accomplished that won’t last? This is definitely a reflective time for me right now.  With a full time job, full time school, a close circle of very dear friends/family and what seems like a million other side callings, it’s become more critical then ever to spend my energy wisely. 

What have you planted that it’s time to pluck up? Is it time to die to something?

I've begun realizing how dangerous it is to avoid everything that doesn’t pass our personal “is this going to have a lasting effect…?” test. The truth is we often have no idea when we change someone’s life or have an effect on their thinking.  I believe this is why Scripture often addresses our attitudes toward life as opposed to how we live it or what we’re actually doing. 

So... Live your life boldly, but remember to periodically review it for pruning. How much more wonderful it will be at the end, when Christ’s words “well done, good and faithful servant!” is ended with an exclamation point… without side notes reflecting the distractions you allowed into your life.

Everybody should read Londonsgirl’s post. I was incredibly impressed by the honesty, realness and balanced perspective of it.

And laaastly... I believe it is time for me to bid a permanent adieu to xanga. Apart from it closing a chapter in my life… I’ve realized xanga has become an excuse to mass-communicate or ‘short-note’ some very dear friends instead of developing more personal connections with them.  Definitely no way to treat such incredible people. lol.

So I’m off then. Remember… God is good all the time. Seek Him and He will guide you.

Adieu!

Alex

Almost Mid-Year already... :-)

Hello Everybody!

What a life! It’s been so long since I’ve even said the phrase La Vita e Bella – Life is Beautiful.  It is time to fix that.

Right now I’m relaxing in the leftovers of a casualized suit… lol... jacket cast aside… mauve tie loose… simply sitting in a hammock with a cool summer breeze. All despite the fact I have a three hour finals exam this evening. lol. Relaxation comes at a premium now’a’days, and I am treasuring these moments.

Might as well forget the past six months though… lol… the last two weeks have been a picture of insanity. NASA is a fascinating (though eccentric) place to work. They are farrrr stricter then the law firms when it comes to talking about projects.  The best I can say is that I’m working on MOMS (Mission Operation Mission Systems) which essentially runs the day-to-day operations of the Hubble Space Telescope.  Other programs are expanding as well so things are extremely busy setting up new Networks.  All the engineers are brilliant. Some are a bit quarky. lol… others look like they spent their lives modeling the mad scientist in Back to the Future. Roflol.

Many of the people at work immigrated from Iraq or Iran.  Oh my word… they can tell stories!  One fellow was one of the lucky few who escaped during the rule of Hussein.  Two of his cousins (who had converted to Christianity) weren’t so lucky. At the time, Hussein was forcing people to join his army...  problemmm was that this was a Muslim holy war. Therefore as Christians, they weren’t even allowed to fight.  They couldn’t be released though and so both were shot in the back of the head. *shaking head*… To think the person telling me this over lunch experienced it personally is stunning. 

Meanwhile I shoulder 16 credits at the University of MD… half of which are on campus, the other half are online.  Half the classes are accelerated as well. lol. I have Finals this evening. Midterms tomorrow. And another Finals on Wednesday. Then I can breathe a bit.

I also just moved into an INCREDIBLE new place! The apartment is about 1,000 square feet… has a remodeled Kitchen, cathedral ceilings, spacious rooms… it’s really the perfect set-up. Plus… lol… Ikea is a mere 10 minutes away, so I’ve spent mannnny hours buying square black plates, lamps, and other etceteras.  When this semester is finally over and there’s a bit more time, it’ll look faaabulous.

Because the new place doesn’t have internet yet, I’ve spent couuuntless hours at a wonderful 70s Diner. I’ll actually miss the place when I don’t have to go there anymore. lol. They stay open until midnight (which is when I leave), but it’s great having the waitresses sit down around coffee when things are quiet and debate the love songs. lol Very sweet, actually.  

What else is there? lol. I’ve been racing sailboats regularly now… last time with about sixteen boats my crew came in first and second. :D Fabulous feeling. Lol. There’ve been regular trips to Gettysburg, Washington DC and Virginia... and occasional trips to Oklahoma City and Kansas City.   Oh! and I’m flying out to California at the end of this month(!!). I’ll be sure to post pictures from all of it. :D

In short… Life is very busy, but life is very good.  

Till next time!
Adieu!

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts."
(As You Like It, act 2, scene 7)

Remember Me...

Creation in the Public Schools...?

For me, the idea of a creation is not conceivable without evoking the necessity of design.  One cannot be exposed to the law and order of the universe without concluding that there must be design and purpose behind it all.  In the world round us, we can behold the obvious manifestations of an ordered, structured plan or design.  We can see the will of the species to live and propagate.  And we are humbled by the powerful forces at work on a galactic scale, and the purposeful orderliness of nature that endows a tiny and ungainly seed with the ability to develop into a beautiful flower.  The better we understand the intricacies of the universe and all harbors, the more reason we have found to marvel at the inherent design upon which it is based.

While the admission of a design for the universe ultimately raises the question of a Designer (a subject outside of science), the scientific method does not allow us to exclude data which lead to the conclusion that the universe, life and man are based on design.  To be forced to believe only one conclusion—that everything in the universe happened by chance—would violate the very objectivity of science itself.

Certainly there are those who argue that the universe evolved out of a random process, but what random process could produce the brain of a man or the system or the human eye?

Some people say that science has been unable to prove the existence of a Designer... They challenge science to prove the existence of God.  But must we really light a candle to see the sun? Many men who are intelligent and of good faith say they cannot visualize a Designer.  Well, can a physicist visualize an electron? The electron is materially inconceivable and yet it is so perfectly known through its effects that we use it to illuminate our cities, guide our airlines through the night skies and take the most accurate measurements. 

What strange rationale makes some physicists accept the inconceivable electrons as real while refusing to accept the reality of a Designer on the ground that they cannot conceive Him? I am afraid that, although they really do not understand the electron either, they are ready to accept it because they managed to produce a rather clumsy mechanical model of it borrowed from rather limited experience in other fields, but they would not know how to begin building a model of God.

I have discussed the aspect of a Designer at some length because it might be that the primary resistance to acknowledging the “Case for Design” as a viable scientific alternative to the current “Case for Chance” lies in the inconceivability, in some scientists’ minds, of a Designer.  The inconceivability of some ultimate issue (which will always lie outside scientific resolution) should not be allowed to rule out any theory that explains the interrelationship of observed data and is useful for prediction.

We in NASA were often asked what the real reason was for the amazing string of successes we had with our Apollo flights to the Moon.  I think the only honest answer we could give was that we tried to never overlook anything.  It is in that same sense of scientific honesty that I endorse the presentation of alternative theories for the origin of the universe, life and man in the science classroom.  It would be an error to overlook the possibility that the universe was planned rather than happened by chance.

With kindest regards.

Sincerely,

Wernher von Braun

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/Giants/vonBraun/vonbraun_4.html