Currently watching:
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: DVD Boxed set
Jeremy Brett

Another scam in Nigeria?

Evangelist Benny Hinn needs a time out.

The BBC is reporting that Hinn was upset over smaller than expected crowds in his Nigerian crusades (They expected millions)

Stated the BBC:

"Four million dollars down the drain," he shouted into the microphone from the huge rostrum.

So much for priorities.

Ahh, this is the life

What can I say? I've been spoiled. Father's Day and my birthday all in the space of a week.

Marina made a wonderful dinner..and the kids....well...Mars Bars and Pepsi for Dad! A new PC game from David and Andrew (Cossacks 2)...movie from Steph and Nina....

It really doesn't get any better than this!! I love you all!! (And I still would even if you never gave me another Pepsi or Mars Bar again!)

Honest!!

God Bless Reader's Digest

You gotta love them. Most of us have, for years, endured the various telemarketers to manage to call us at all hours...in their never-ending quest to separate us from our money.

My Dad, John Gerk, died on November 27, 1992. He was the most awesome Dad anyone could have. I'll even write more about him in a later post.

What does he have to do with Reader's Digest?

My Mom just received another of those nice offers from Reader's Digest...contest and all, addressed to my Dad.

Only 13 years after he died, they still are trying to sign him up for the contest of a lifetime.

We did notify the nice folks at RD of my Dad's death, as Dad was always getting mail from them. It stopped for a time. Starts up every now and then.

But 13 years? I guess my Dad didn't realize that not only was his name written in the "Lamb's book of life", the Condensed version is being kept by Reader's Digest.

Revelation 21: 22-27 (NIV) I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Graduation

This past weekend was probably the busiest of our lives. Our #3 daughter, Natalie, graduated after 12 long and tortuous years. (that's how she would describe it) We are so proud of Nat, and our hope and prayer is that all her dreams will come true. She's gone through so much with all her surgeries, yet she is still here with a destiny! What can we say...we love her desperately and are thankful that God blessed us with her! You go girl!!

Romans 15:13 (NIV) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

How I'll spend my summer vacation....

Or, the books I "hope" to read this summer.

Epic by John Eldridge
Five Days in London by John Lukacs (started but need to complete)
Created to be God's Friend by Henry T. Blackaby
Gulag by Anne Applebum
The Brother's Karamazov by Fydor Dostoyevsky

Allergies

Torture 101. That's right, I had my yearly allergy test where they stick about 50 needles into me, only to discover...are you sitting down...that I have allergies!!

The truth is, the test, the medicine, etc makes me grouchy for that day. What helped is my conclusion that King David must have been suffering from allergies too, because he writes:

Psalm 6:6 (NIV)I am worn out from groaning;
all night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.

Obviously the symptoms of an allergy attack!

So, after 3 years of monthly allergy shots, I get to have a go for another year! Wahoo!

Pray for me.

Remember those in prison...

Voice of the Martyrs now has a blog: Christian Persecution Blog.
I encourage you to bookmark it and return often. (Thnx: BTW)

Hobbies and family go together...

Currently Reading:
Los Abuelos Alemanes del Volga
by Alberto Sarramone


From time to time you will see some sort of weird, foreign-language book posted. Usually that means I have been helping someone find family. Given our ties to Russia, I get a lot of mail, both snail and e-mail, from folks who have left Russia and settled in Germany. In most cases, they are looking for family that they have not heard from for over 50 years. During the time of Stalin, it was usually a death sentence to even admit you had relatives here in the west. The children of these folks, desperate to discover something about their past and that of their family, write in hopes we can provide leads to relatives that got out while they had a chance. Over the years I've had the priviledge of helping with the reunification of a number of these "returnees" and their families in North America, and in some cases, even Argentina. It's very satisfying and I work on it when I can. I'm currently helping a 90-year old lady in Germany find various family who either settled in the US or in Argentina. She usually writes to me in dialect, which means it takes me about 3 hours to decipher. This letter, however, is in Russian so Marina can read it for me while I take notes.

Psalm 78:1-7 (The Message) Listen, dear friends, to God's truth, bend your ears to what I tell you. I'm chewing on the morsel of a proverb; I'll let you in on the sweet old truths, Stories we heard from our fathers,counsel we learned at our mother's knee.
We're not keeping this to ourselves, we're passing it along to the next generation--
GOD's fame and fortune, the marvelous things he has done. He planted a witness in Jacob, set his Word firmly in Israel, Then commanded our parents to teach it to their children So the next generation would know, and all the generations to come--
Know the truth and tell the stories so their children can trust in God, Never forget the works of God but keep his commands to the letter.

Mazel tov!

Our good friends Dan and Bonnie will see their oldest daughter, Jessica, get married this weekend. A typical June wedding. Marina is busy helping out where she can, trying to be a blessing to the family. Our whole family is even invited, which is a blessing because we are a crowd wherever we go! It promises to be a joyous time with much feasting!!

Next week, Natalie graduates! Our third daughter will complete her twelve, long, grinding, never-ending years of school. Well done!!!

I'm working on a book list for the summer...that's right...an actual list of books I want to read during the summer months. I'll post them soon, you'll get a good idea of my interests (which are really all over the place).

Listening to:
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers [SOUNDTRACK]
Howard Shore

Memories of a life lived...

He came to this country in April of 1924. Born in Russia in 1902, he along with his wife, Elisabeth, left all their family in hopes of starting a new life. The plan was to bring the rest of the family here, but the iron curtain slammed shut, never to be opened for them. My grandfather, Paul Gerk, whom I never knew, died 51 years ago on June 3, 1954. From time to time I will mention my work on "the book". This is, of course, my attempt to document the life of my family in Russia, the sacrifices they made, the faith that sustained them, the terror that they lived through. I started this "hobby" when I was 18 years of age..so it really has been my life's work. I wanted something to give to my children, so they could tell the story to their children. Every year I say, "this is the year" and I plan to print it up. But of course, I was talking about THIS year...I'm publishing it this year...don't you know?In my spare time...honest. I really mean it this year!

Currently Reading:
Five Days in London, May 1940
John Lukacs