Author: Wick

Okay everyone, the TV Schedules are out for some of the games. Here are the games to pay attention to for us in the USA:

Feb. 14th –
USA vs. China – Womens – 2pm-4:30pm CST – on USA Network (appropriately)
(re-aired again on Monday, 15th…in case you missed it)

Feb. 16th –
USA vs. Switzerland – Mens – 2pm-5pm CST – on USA Network
USA vs. Russia – Womens – 4:30pm CST – on MSNBC

Feb. 18th –
USA vs. Norway – Mens – 2pm-5pm CST – on USA Network
USA vs. Finland – Womens – 4:30-7pm CST – on MSNBC

Feb. 21st –
USA vs. Canada – Mens – 6:00pm-9pm CST – on MSNBC

Check the link above as the action happens, for updates on who is playing when on which channels. It seems as if NBC realizes this hockey biz-ness is fo’ real.

But no matter who you are, or what country you cheer for….you NEED to be watching NBC, Sunday, Feb. 28th, from 2-5pm as the puck drops on the GOLD MEDAL GAME. See you there. Game On.

suffering and loss
been counted out of the cost, feeling like you’ve been tossed
out.

luxury is: clean water, clean sheets, clean streets,
Love.
forget alma mater, education for children is triumph

THEN the quake.

the earth shakes, makes space, reduces pace
buildings crumble like towers made by toddlers
bodies collapsed with the rubble, there is no time.
But time to pray.

no time for funerals, no time for mourning, no time for morning
because I’m thirsty. For air, for water, for food, for safety.
Honoring the lost, a cause taken up by others thankfully
Because here – here is survival.
Pray for our survival.

The survival of the fittest, but the fit are hit with it too
Here is equality, though some still grasp for the ladder.
Pray for our weak.

Not simply a quest for survival
celebrating each arrival of supplies like a revival
This is NOT the end, for we who still breathe.
We remember who gives each breath
and He does NOT take it away – no matter what others say.
Remember that when you Pray.

Creation is broken, now more clearly seen
Not a message to be searched for what it means
But what meaning it can be given, through rubble and strife
Humanity. Here we find a snapshot of love and life
in a world uncontrollable.
Pray for stability.

Here come the Superbowl, Valentines, Olympics
Life.
Temptation to forget, or permission to quit
But we can’t do it.
Pray we don’t.

The world is breaking, it’s not done.
God calls us to bring the healing of His Son
Haiti is not “the beginning of the end”
But it can be a new beginning.
Pray.

So I’ve begun reading Eberhard Bethge’s “Dietrich Bonhoeffer – A Biography”. It’s over 1,000 pages long, and a seemingly daunting read. I’ve given myself the year to get through it, though I’m finding it may not take so long. The only thing that may delay me finishing it, is my aversion to being seen in public with such a large book. As if I need something to outwardly confirm my nerd-hood.

It’s a great read, especially for someone who’s just finished a fictional account of Bonhoeffer’s life, and needs something to fill in the cracks and set the record straight. Bethge was also a close friend and student of Bonhoeffer, which enables him to make statements and bring up memories that wouldn’t be possible anywhere else. This is also a revised edition, so many quotes from other Bonhoeffer sources and writings have been added to complete their part of the picture.

Bethge starts, as anyone would, at the beginning. But not simply Dietrich’s beginning. He goes back into the lives of Bonhoeffer’s parents and grandparents. We get a picture of what long-term influences and cultures go into creating the family Dietrich finds himself in. We see a family rich in cultural heritage, very musically inclined, and involved in positions of public influence and leadership. Quiet, firm, disciplined, and yet experiencing the fullness of life in many ways.

Within these first 100 pages, it takes us through the Bonhoeffer family into the years of Dietrich’s studies in college. The more I read about this man, the more relevant his writings, musings, and life become. His passion for ecclesiology (the study of the church), his Love for the bride of Christ, and his genuine/open wondering about a great deal of topics. His thoughts on how the presence of Christ comes to the world in the living community of believers could have come straight from a modern theologian. And these are only the beginning/formative years!!

Yup. I’m a nerd.