Jesse the Juggler Blog

Calvin on Loving Righteousness

2009-05-26T09:18:00.003-04:00

"...no man ever hated sin without being previously enamored of righteousness." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Book 3, Chapter 3, Number 20).

I Found a New Hobby

2009-05-20T17:45:00.003-04:00

Can you name that bird?

I never thought I would admit this, but I just got the "bird-watching" bug this morning. My friend, Kevin, took me on a hike near the James River with a few binoculars and some bird books. He has been birding for a few years and this was my first day. Coincidentally, we happened to run into one of the most "famous" birders in Virginia (according to Kevin). This kind sir (from England originally) knew all there is to know about birds (he called it his "obsession"). Because of his help, I saw 25 unique birds in the wild in a matter of 2 hours of birding - most of them with my binoculars. Here is the list of what I got to see today:

Cardinal
Blue Jay
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
Mourning Dove
Black Pole Warbler
Red Bellied Woodpecker
Common Grackel
American Redstart
Bay Breasted Warbler
Carolina Chickadee
Spotted Sandpiper
Redwinged Blackbird
Black and White Warbler
Prothonatary Warbler
Turkey Vulture
Carolina Wren
American Goldfinch
Tufted Titmouse
Mockingbird
Cowbird
Mallard Duck
Graycat Bird
Indigo Bunting
Orchard Oriole

Kevin said that learning something new like this allows us to name that which is naturally around us - and the better we get at that, the more we expand our experience in life - which leads to greater joy and appreciation of God's wonderful Creation.

Again, name that bird (hint, its in the list above)

Library Surprises

2009-04-27T21:03:00.006-04:00

Have you ever gone to the library for certain books and left with a stack of completely different books? If you do that with your grocery list at the grocery store (too many times) you might spend too much money in life. But libraries are FREE!

I went to Union Seminary library in Richmond today with a few books in mind. I instead found a small stack that was different than I intended, but they look like great reads. I started two of them today and I am looking forward to digging into both. The titles and authors are pictured above. Have you visited your local library lately?

The Canterbury Cathedral Choir

2009-04-20T23:10:00.005-04:00

Sarah and I had a surprising date tonight - a free concert at St. James Episcopal Church in Richmond for the USA tour of the Canterbury Cathedral Choir. This world-renowned choir of men and boys is on their first US tour in 10 years and is making stops in NYC and DC, among other places. They stopped here in Richmond for a concert tonight, which was superb.

They sang a beautiful French piece called Cantique de Jean Racine by Gabriel Faure, which I had sung as a senior in High School. They also did the magnificent Zadok the Priest, which is often sung at coronations and other royal events.

Afterwards, there was a reception full of yummy foods. Sarah and I got to meet some of the young choristers and ask them questions about their lives. I found out that thousands of boys audition for a few dozen spots. They board at Canterbury for school, and they practice their singing every day. This choir has a 1400-year tradition of performing.

After watching Bill Maher's movie Religulous earlier in the day (his "treatise" on hedonism and why theistic faith is delusional and destructive), I was struck with the thought of the wondrous beauty in the music of human voices (just listen to a clip of this choir on iTunes). Could such sounds really be the result of godless chance? I seriously doubt it. And that's what Maher wanted me to do as a result of watching his movie - doubt. I just don't think he had that type of doubt in mind when he produced the movie.

The "Instant Equity!" Scam

2009-04-16T12:39:00.004-04:00

I'm sorry, but as I look through the real estate market, there is something that really irks me about the misleading things sellers like to say about their homes. Let's take a home that is on the market for $150,000. The seller says that the recent assessment of the home's value was $180,000, so if you buy it, then you will have $30,000 "instant equity"!

Now, think about this: A home is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it. If I am willing to fork out $150,000 and nobody else is willing to fork out more than that, then guess what? The home is only worth $150,000 and there is NO "instant equity." I could turn around and immediately try to re-sell the house, but I will probably only get that same amount or less for it - unless I fix it up, wait several years (and hope the neighborhood appreciates), or try the same stupid misleading tactics of telling potential buyers that they will have instant equity.

A home is NOT worth what your municipality tells you it is worth. That might be an educated guess (some more educated than others, I'm sure) based on the recent sales of comparable homes in the area. But ultimately, a home is only worth what the buyer actually pays for it.

Phoenix and Boston in One Weekend

2009-04-15T13:18:00.003-04:00

This past weekend, I got to spend time in both Phoenix and Boston - and half of it was unplanned! I did a scheduled trip to Phoenix as I got to share my juggling presentation at a church on Easter Sunday in Prescott, AZ. The people there at Heights Church were great to me. On Easter afternoon, a family invited me over for a big extended family lunch. They lived out in the desert country. While driving to their house, which sits on some 40 acres of family property overlooking a beautiful mountain range, I passed an elderly couple running their dog while driving their car. Yes, they had the leash out the driver's side window and the poor dog was trying to keep up with the running vehicle, with other cars trying to go around it all. Now, that is redneck.

After great food and socializing, I took my first four-wheeling trip of my life. The dad and son took me up into the hills to see some ruins, a water spring, and an old mine with a wild owl that was protecting her eggs. It reminded me of the Humphrey Bogart movie The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (if you haven't seen it, it is a great narrative of the gold rush days).

On Monday, my friend dropped me off at the airport with about an hour before my flight. But it ended up being the wrong terminal (long story). So I took the shuttle to the right terminal and ended up being too late to check my bags for the flight. It was then impossible for them to re-route me to Richmond, Virginia that night. I had to be re-routed through some other city and arrive home the next day - and pay for my own hotel somewhere.

One of my re-routing options was Boston. So I called my college roommate, who lives in Boston (at BU) with his wife, and he was delighted to hear from me and was excited to put me up for the night. He just happened to have the day off on Tuesday (so did I). So he and I saw one another for the first time in several years and spent all day walking the streets of Boston and eating authentic Italian pizza in the North End. We even took the free tour at the world headquarters for the Church of Christian Science (the "reading room" folks). That was very educational, since neither of us Protestant boys knew much about this Christian Science group. Not to mention, the architecture and grand organ of the building were stunningly beautiful. The entire day was a pleasant surprise for both of us.

God is so good. He takes what seems to be disasters (missed flights) and somehow turns them into glorious experiences (seeing a long-missed friend).

Listen to Your Local Police Scanner

2009-04-07T14:28:00.002-04:00

I just learned about a neat website that lets you listen to live streaming audio of your local emergency responders. Listen in by clicking on your local area at this website: http://www.scanamerica.us/index.php

July 1-3, 1863

2009-04-01T09:22:00.003-04:00

Those are the dates of the bloody battle of Gettysburg. On Monday night, I had the privilege of sharing my juggling presentation at First United Methodist Church in Lancaster, PA. On the drive home Tuesday, I took a few hours to stop and look around in Gettysburg, which is only about an hour away from Lancaster.

I had no idea how large Gettysburg Battlefield was. There are monuments everywhere. I had never seen so many monuments covering one landscape. It seems that every single regiment that fought in the battle got a monument erected somewhere on the battlefield. The battle claimed some 50,000 casualties, and it started by a chance encounter between the two armies, each in transit.

The most meaningful part of the day for me was reading the text of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address near the spot where he actually delivered it. He says that we, the living, cannot consecrate and hallow this ground (the dead already did so). Rather, we the living must forge ahead for the sake of that which these soldiers stood, for they did not die in vain. What did they fight for? A government of the people, for the people, and by the people, all under God.

I was also struck with the thought of the destructiveness of war. 50,000 lives in three days is a lot of carnage (roughly one death every 5 seconds on one battlefield). Something about it does not make sense to me. But what do I know.

Red Pepper Avocado Sandwich

2009-03-26T16:17:00.002-04:00

Here is one of my favorite lunches. It is quick, easy, simple, and healthy.

The Red Pepper Avocado Sandwich.

Ingredients (for two sandwiches):
1. 1 Avocado
2. 1/3 Red Pepper
3. pinch of Celtic Sea Salt (to taste)
4. 4 slices of Ezekiel bread (or any kind of sliced bread), toasted

Make two sandwiches, using half an avocado (sliced), 1/6 of a red pepper (chopped), and a pinch of salt for each sandwich. Squeeze the bread slices together tightly to smash the ingredients into the sandwich. It all stays together better that way. Enjoy!

Worms on the Earth

2009-03-26T14:29:00.001-04:00

"The majesty of God is too high to be scaled up to by mortals, who creep like worms on the earth." - John Calvin, 16th Century

Car Review - 2009 Dodge Nitro

2009-03-25T11:24:00.002-04:00

This past weekend, I got to take a 2009 Dodge Nitro from Richmond, VA to St. Louis, MO and back. I rent a lot of vehicles for my job and I thought I would share my personal opinion about some of them in case it helps anyone out there. First of all, I usually get a smaller vehicle, but I took advantage of a "free upgrade" coupon from Budget and enjoyed the larger and more sporty Nitro this time around.

Overview: The Dodge Nitro has an "oversized boxy jeep" look to it. It can be driven in 2WD or 4WD. It seats 5 comfortably (there might even be some hidden seats in the far rear, but I didn't check).

PROS: Lots of visibility when you check your blind spots. Lots of room. Sporty look. Satellite radio. Comfortable driver's seat. Feels like a solid and strong vehicle.
CONS: Not the best gas mileage. No radio controls on the steering wheel (I like that feature in a car). Acceleration pick-up seemed to drag a little when I wanted to speed up quickly. My model did not have any driver's seat adjustments other than the floor latch (for forward/backward) and the recline latch.

I'll try to do more car reviews in the future. Whether you're in the market for a car or just curious about new models, I hope this helps.

-Jesse Joyner

Augustine of Hippo

2009-03-18T19:03:00.003-04:00

"God orders what we cannot do, that we may know what we ought to ask of him." -Augustine of Hippo

Marketing Goofs

2009-03-17T18:34:00.002-04:00

If you're familiar with the inside back-cover of Consumer Reports, then you know about their ongoing column of the humor and irony often found in a company's attempt at advertising.

For example, I saw a used car dealership ad the other day that boasted, "Brand Spanking Pre-Owned!" vehicles. Now, something about that phrase sounds out of place.

Anyway, above is a photo of a clipping from the Richmond, VA Public Utilities newsletter that comes monthly with my gas bill. They have this little giveaway where you have to look for your utility account number in the newsletter. And if you're one of the lucky two people with their number hidden in the newsletter. Then you get $25.

The humor here is the stack of bills presented in the image next to the prize explanation. Even if all the other bills (other than the $20) were ones (the smallest bill denomination in our present time), that wad would be way more than $25. So, do you win $25, or what's in the picture?

Pearl Buck Quote

2009-03-17T18:29:00.000-04:00

"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible-and achieve it, generation after generation." - Pearl Buck

The Juggler's Prayer

2009-03-11T11:55:00.001-04:00

Dear Lord,

You are the great Juggler.
From the celestial bodies to our human bodies, you toss and weave every planet and molecule in a pattern of indescribable beauty.
We can manage only a handful of objects in the air at once.
We can manage only a limited amount of schedules, relationships, and responsibilities on this earth.
But you are the eternal, everlasting, all-powerful God, with no limit to your juggling prowess.
May we look to you for all our juggling strength, seeking to emulate the beauty of your patterns in the patterns we make.
We praise you, great Juggler, who is Father, Spirit, and Son - the One True God.

Amen.

Jesse Joyner

According to What Scriptures?

2009-02-26T09:34:00.009-05:00

Image: "The Burial of Christ" by Gustave Dore, woodcut (19th Century)

This is the season of Lent, where Christians remember the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ during the 40 days (not counting Sundays) leading up to Easter. This morning, I read the first recorded Christian creed of the resurrection, which was written by Paul of Tarsus in the middle of the first century in his first letter to the Christians in Corinth: "...that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures..." (1 Cor 15:3b-4).

This begs a question: Which "Scriptures" attested to this death, burial, and resurrection? Paul grew up as a very devout Jew, and knew his Jewish Scriptures very well, so he is certainly speaking of those sacred texts, which is what Christians today regard as the Old Testament. The New Testament was far from its final form (indeed, some texts were not yet written) as of Paul writing this creed. So Paul is not referring to the death, burial, and resurrection accounts found in the first century biographies of Jesus written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

While the "suffering servant" songs of Isaiah (i.e. Isaiah 53) and Psalm 22 foreshadow the death and suffering of Christ, there is still the question as to which Jewish texts point to the resurrection of Christ. There are few particular passages to which Paul could be referring:

1. Psalm 16:10-11: "because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay" (this is especially interesting when you read Peter's sermon in Luke's Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:22-36).

2. Isaiah 53:11: "After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied" (interestingly enough, the phrase "of life" is not found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the phrase "light of life" is not found in the Masoretic Text).

3. Hosea 6:2: "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence" (remarkably, early Jewish rabbinical teachings from the 2nd Century view this passage as referring to resurrection; see also 2 Kings 20:5 for another "third day" restoration).

4. Jonah 1:17: "But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights" (this should be seen as prophetic only as it relates to what Jesus says in Matthew 12:40: "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth").

According to Gordon Fee, the most plausible explanation for Paul claiming that the Jewish Scriptures foreshadow the resurrection of Christ is that "'on the third day' was probably seen in terms of the variety of OT texts in which salvation or vindication took place on the third day" (Fee, NICNT: 1 Corinthians, 727f.).

I would like to reference two commentaries that helped in compiling this information: John N. Oswalt's The NIV Application Commentary: Isaiah (2003, p. 587) and Gordon D. Fee's The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The First Epistle to the Corinthians (1987, pp. 727f.).

Spiritual Shots in Richmond

2009-02-11T19:17:00.003-05:00

Last night, Sarah and I went to Bottoms Up Pizza in the Shockhoe Slip area of downtown Richmond for something called "Spiritual Shots." It is a forum for people to discuss matters of faith in a bar setting. Run by a Christian organization, Spiritual Shots features interesting topics each month such as "Suffering", "Sex", "Hell", "Science and the Bible", etc. The speaker is a local pastor (there are two that usually rotate back and forth) and they get 30 minutes at the mic with the topic. Then, the floor is completely open to questions, challenges, debating, and dialogue. Though many Christians come, there are also people who are not Christians and I'll just say that sometimes, the discussions get pretty lively. Meanwhile, everyone is treated to complimentary pizza and water (you can purchase drinks and food for yourself at the bar beyond the complimentary stuff). If someone feels uncomfortable asking a question in front of everyone, then they can jot it down on cards provided and turn it in at the end. The speaker will then follow up with those questions via e-mail. The topic last night was about suffering. The issue discussed was the atheist claim that so much injustice and violence has been done in the name of religion. Instead of writing about it here, I'll let you listen yourself. You can hear some of the messages (not the Q/A afterwards, unfortunately) at the following website: http://www.spiritualshots.com/spiritual_shots.html#audio

Life Without a Driveway

2009-02-03T15:51:00.003-05:00

When you live in an urban setting with no personal driveway, I guess you're in for life's unexpected surprises - like getting towed when your car is parked as normal in front of your apartment. The funny thing is that I was in my apartment, a mere 30 yards from my car, which was parked on the block where I usually park it. It just happened to be the bi-annual (or whatever) street cleaning day. The last time I messed up on this one, they just slapped a ticket on my car and drove around it with the street cleaner. This time, they decided they wanted to babysit the Corolla in their "pound" for a day or two. Now, I get to go to the sitters and pay them $60 to get Chamby (named so for her Champagne color) back. Ahh, what a life.

25 Random Things About Me

2009-02-02T16:59:00.002-05:00

This is a repeat of my response to this immensely networked question on Facebook.

1. A perpetual habit I have is running my fingernails through the seams and edges of blankets, clothing, and sheets of paper. I certainly got this habit from my childhood, when I naturally did the exact same thing with my precious "blankie."
2. I have spent the night in a homeless shelter.
3. I have never been skiing, even though my wife is from Denver, Colorado.
4. I have been working on Victor Hugo's Les Miserables for over two years - and I'm only halfway through it!
5. My blood type is B positive. I always thought of myself as an optimistic person.
6. My wife and I do not own a TV, which caught the door-to-door cable saleswoman off guard when she came by last year.
7. Speaking of door-to-door salespeople, I used to be one.
8. I'm in the process of collecting all the state quarters (from both mints). I'm only missing three from the Philadelphia mint and a handful from the Denver mint.
9. I am currently reading through John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion - and loving it (despite being a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary).
10. Since the day I got my driver's license 12 years ago, I have never gotten a moving violation of any sort.
11. I'm allergic to cheese, but I love pizza.
12. I am a chainsaw juggler.
13. When I was first dating Sarah, we were in different states for a summer, and I mailed her a handwritten letter every day of the summer except for one day. Her responses were not quite as frequent, but she still ended up marrying me.
14. I once got Sarah a clothes-drying racks as a Christmas present. I quickly learned that such practical gifts are not her type for Christmas and moved on to more sentimental things.
15. I have never broken a bone in my body.
16. I am left-handed, along with Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, and Obama.
17. I would rather spend 45 minutes alone in a room with 1,000 elementary schoolers than with 10 "too-cool-for-school" teenagers.
18. As I write this, my wife is feeding me freshly cut grapefruit.
19. I am very picky when it comes to board games and card games. I tend to like ones that require more strategy and less chance.
20. I am a lifelong Mac user.
21. When I played little league baseball, I once played on a team with some players that had just returned from the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA.
22. I have lived for at least 3 months in 8 different states (MA, RI, PA, VA, IN, KY, OH, TX). The year 2008 was the first year in a decade where I resided in only one state for the whole year (that made state taxes much more simple).
23. When I lived in Israel, I got to attend a Shabbat Dinner, a Ramadan meal (after sundown, of course), and help out with a Christian food charity.
24. I sometimes call my sister Sarah and my wife Rachael (it's really the other way around).
25. My wife sometimes calls me Josh and her brother Jesse.

John Calvin's Institutes

2009-01-29T12:55:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine and I are reading through Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion this year. I got the book (which is two volumes in one) from my Dad for Christmas. We get together on Wednesday mornings at Starbucks and discuss what we've been reading. It looked overwhelming at first, but we use a daily reading guide from Princeton Seminary that breaks it up into bite-sized chunks (http://www2.ptsem.edu/ConEd/Calvin/).

If you don't own the book, you can read it online (and/or listen to it if you like). As my friend and I are reading it, I'm realizing that John Calvin was indeed a great thinker and theologian. The topics on which he writes are extremely relevant for any generation, including ours. We just finished a section where Calvin was defending the authority of the Bible (good stuff). Today's reading was about idolatry and God's jealousy.

Decadent Chocolate-Chip Cupcakes

2008-12-22T18:54:00.003-05:00

Here is a recipe for Chocolate-Chip cupcakes that is AMAZING. First of all, I used the Nestle-Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe as my base, then I innovated from there. Secondly, there are NO BUTTER cupcakes - and they come out amazing. What do I use instead of butter? Not margarine....not shortening (yuk)....but I use apple sauce. And no, they do not taste like apple sauce when they come out of the oven. In fact, there is no trace of apple flavor in these cupcakes. It is all yummy chocolate chip cookie flavor in a caky consistency that is perfecto for cupcakes.

2 and 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup apple sauce (or 3 medium apples blended in a high powered blender like a vitamix)
1 and 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 inch of real vanilla bean if you have a high powered blender)
2 large eggs
1 regular package of chocolate chips (I like to use Ghiradelli dark morsels, and just a little less than the whole bag)

Preheat oven to 375

In one container, mix flour, baking soda and salt
Using a separate container, mix apple sauce, sugar, vanilla, and eggs

Use a mixer while adding the contents of container #1 (flour, baking soda, salt) to container #2 (apple sauce, sugar, vanilla, eggs)

Mix in chocolate chips (or blueberries or whatever you want in these muffins)

Chill in fridge or freezer for an hour or more if desired (helps the ingredients blend together)

Fill your cupcake tins with cupcake cups (or else grease the tins very well) and fill the cups to just under the level where the cup hole is even with the tin

Bake for about 10-15 minutes, depending on your oven. Check to see if they're done by sticking a cupcake with a knife or fork. The knife/fork should go in and out without any resistance and come up clean of any sticky dough (except for maybe the top part, if you like them that way).

Enjoy!

Other names: No Butter Chocolate Chip Cupcakes, Apple Sauce Chocolate Chip Cookies, Death by Cupcake, Low Fat Cupcakes, Healthy Cupcakes, etc.

Magazine Review - Bible Study Magazine

2008-12-15T17:12:00.004-05:00

I agreed to write a review for the brand new "Bible Study Magazine" in exchange for a copy of their inaugural issue. I'm not one for long reviews in prose form, so I will put what I see as pros and cons about the magazine in list format:

PROS:
1. The articles are both scholarly and readable at the same time. One does not have to be a Greek or Hebrew geek to get a lot out of this magazine.

2. The content covers a wide range of theological topics, including, but not limited to things like apologetics, archaeology, and marriage.

3. With 50 pages of magazine, only 14 are given to advertising (when adding the sum total of ad space), which I see as a low percentage. It is nice to have magazines that come across as being rich in content as opposed to an ad catalogue with a few articles to give it credence.

4. Of all the theological magazines out there, this is the first one I have seen that is devoted to "Bible Study." There are plenty of specialized theological journals and publications, but this one seems to find a good niche that is very important to the life of the Church.

CONS:
1. By looking at the cover of this copy and the preview cover for the next issue, I do not like the really big headshot of the featured writer/contributor. This first issue has Josh McDowell staring you down, with a big smile on his face, like your friend's Dad talking to you too closely and breathing heavily near your nose. You can even see the layout of his teeth. Next month, Kay Arthur has the exact same smiling headshot on the cover. In my opinion, zoom out a little, or take a picture of something else.

2. This magazine is put out by the Logos Bible Software company. I am an avid Accordance fan, and I know that Logos just came out with their Mac version, but I am still not going to switch. Maybe I'm prejudiced, but I hope this magazine does not turn into a large ad for Logos over time.

3. By glancing at the contributors and their backgrounds, I sense that there is a heavy representation of Conservative Baptists (a la DTS) running the show here. Now, I love the Baptists, and I love their focus on the Word (which is what this magazine is all about). But I hope to see a more broad representation of ideas from within the Evangelical community, such as the Pentecostals, the Wesleyans, the Emergent/Missional community, the Calvinists, etc. Perhaps that is already in their plans, but I just had that gut feeling about this first issue (footnote: I understand there is plenty of blurry crossover in the aforementioned groups).

There you have it. It is not a very scholarly review, but thanks to BSM for giving me my free copy. I love the chart in the back about the different canonical traditions within the Church (Protestant, Catholic, Ethiopian, Syriac, Orthodox, Hebrew, Samaritan)

-Jesse Joyner

10 Ways to Save Money This Christmas

2008-12-09T09:03:00.002-05:00

Since we're in an economic recession, it might be nice to look at some ways to save money this Christmas. We can all still have a very meaningful Christmas season and show love to our friends and families without having to slaughter our own personal finances. Here are ten ideas:

1. The Christmas Card Trick - Take Christmas cards from last year, neatly cut off the half with writing on it. Now you have a fresh new Christmas card.
2. Shop Online - This saves gas and (sometimes) time. Unfortunately, you could find yourself surfing the web for as long as it would take you to go out and buy it at the store. But you can find the best deals on products using web features like "Google Shopping." That saves the time of going from one store to another during the busy traffic season.
3. Bonus Points - Do you get bonus rewards for your credit/debit cards or sky miles from your airlines? Use some or all of those bonus points towards getting gifts for others this Christmas.
4. Thrift Stores - This is where some of us need to swallow our pride. I just went to four thrift stores here in Richmond, Virginia last week in search for a few small items (computer speakers, a shirt, etc.). While perusing one of the stores, I noticed that they had just received a donation of what appeared to be boxloads of brand new, unopened children's toys. Perhaps Target got a damaged pallet and just brought the whole thing to the thrift store, even though most of the products inside were just fine. It can be like searching for gold at some of these stores, but the gold is there - even new stuff.
5. Ask Your Family and Friends for Wish Lists - This might be another issue of pride - as you do not want to give the impression that you "don't know" your friends and family well enough if you have to ask for a list. Some people are good at knowing the perfect gift without asking, but I'm not. My wife and I exchange lists so that each one of us has some idea as to what would be worth while to purchase. If you try to guess what someone wants and then you're wrong - then that money is pretty much wasted (unless you consider that "it's the thought that counts"). Make your money go further by getting people what they really want and need.
6. Try to Avoid Gift Cards - This is not a universal law, but a general suggestion. Gift cards can be good sometimes, but for the most part, they are not the best "bang for the buck." I heard that there is about a 20% profit for businesses when they sell gift cards. Now that does not make sense, but it is true. Companies love to sell gift cards because they know that not all the money will be spent. For every $100 in gift cards a company sells, only $80 will be redeemed. That's because people forget to use their cards or they use part but not all the card in a purchase. Then the remaining $1.83 goes unspent and expires at some point in time. Furthermore, you could buy a gift card for someone and then the company goes belly up in two months. All of a sudden, the gift card is no longer good because the company went bankrupt or out of business. And it's not just small companies that go bankrupt, as we all know too well.
7. The "Priceless" Gifts - A few years ago, my wife and I sang a song for her uncle as a Christmas gift to him. He loves the song "O Holy Night." We printed the lyrics with a nice font and framed the lyrics, which did not cost us much. Then we gave him the framed lyrics and sat at his piano and sang it to him. There are TONS of things we can do for other people that require little or no money. You can write a song, a poem, or a short story. Get some low-cost materials and make sometime (like a craft or woodwork or a painting). You can offer a coupon redeemable for services rendered or simply for time spent together. You could cook a meal or dessert for someone. Use your skills, talents, and hobbies to give people those unique gifts that they will never forget.
8. Give Money, Time, or Skills to a Charity - This might seem counterintuitive. But this is what Christmas is all about - selfless gfits. Just the act of giving without any hope of getting anything in return will put us in the right attitude during Christmastime. When we are in the right attitude of giving, then somehow we do not succumb to the pressure to SPEND, SPEND, SPEND at all the retail stores. Compassion is the opposite of consumerism. Furthermore, God has a way of rewarding cheerful givers (in whichever way He so chooses).
9. Do Not Spend More Money Than You Have in Your Bank Account - This might sound like simple math, but this is why our country is in so much turmoil right now - because of debt-based spending. Putting that DVD player for Uncle Bob on credit and then paying interest on it until late 2009 is NOT a good use of money. Save yourself the interest payments by only buying Christmas presents with "cash on hand."
10. Potluck Christmas Parties - You do not have to host a Christmas party and spend tons of money on food for people to enjoy themselves. People come for the friends and family, not the food (well...I come for all three, but that is beside the point). If you put on a big production Christmas party, save some money by toning down the caviar and shrimp. Either simplify the menu or have a potluck. Or you could have people bring ingredients and then you all bake and cook together.

I hope these ten things help. For a website the combines numbers 7 and 8 in the list above, check out www.adventconspiracy.org

Merry Christmas

2008-12-01T11:09:00.002-05:00

Here is our Christmas tree in our small Richmond, VA apartment. We put it up on Saturday. I set it up while Sarah put the ornaments on. It's a fake from Target. But it does the job. Merry Christmas.

Talking to Humans in Customer Service

2008-11-25T12:10:00.004-05:00

Have you ever called a customer service number and had that 10-minute conversation with the computer-automated voice? She asks you to input numbers (followed by the "pound" sign, which you always mix up with the "star" key). She also asks you to clearly answer her questions with your audible voice.

Have you ever kept hitting numbers (especially "zero") in hopes that you would be brought to a real human, but to no avail?

Have you ever shouted at the automated voice, hoping your emotions would be conveyed to the computer?

Have you ever labored through the prompts and data-input, only to get cut off after waiting on hold for 15 minutes? Or worse, get cycled back to the very beginning of the prompts?

Here is your answer, my friend: It is a website called www.gethuman.com

This website lists the customer service phone numbers for tons of major companies - and then it gives instructions on what numbers to press and what prompts to follow in order to talk to a REAL HUMAN.

I just used it for contacting amazon.com, whose website is very hard to navigate in search of a customer service phone number. I got a human and got my problem solved.

Enjoy.