Bible Translation Review

I like Rick Mansfield's blog, This Lamp. He has a pretty good review of the different English Bible Translations that I appreciate. He is a refreshing voice in the more and more frequently popularized and stylized voice of Evangelical Christianity in North America.

Here is the blog:  This Lamp

Note: the NIV is not in Rick Mansfield's list. He does mention the ESV but with some criticism. Most interesting!

I personally have felt, the ESV was simply a reworking of the RSV, sometimes without much imagination, so that it would be acceptable to Evangelical thought, such as changing "young woman" to say "virgin" in Isaiah 7:14. Don't get me wrong - I've always liked the RSV and the ESV has modernized the language for this classic translation.

Agree with Rick's assessment on the NASB - this was the Bible that I used in Bible College as a textbook and the translation from which I did most of my Scripture memorization.

Personally, I have grown more fond of the New Revised Standard Version recently. Here again, it was largely written off as a liberal translation by many independent Evangelical churches. Maybe it is for that very same reason (not because of it), that I find it to be a more objective translation of the Scriptures. There was a Presbyterian church in our neighborhood in Seattle that we used to attend now and then because I loved the old pipe organ and the stained glass windows. The preacher there preached out of the NRSV and I really liked how it read oratorically from the pulpit.

I just haven't taken to the HCSB, though I've tried - read it through completely even, but I do respect Rick's review and it opens my mind to want to look at this version again.

Oh, another translation that I have re-discovered with great appreciation lately is J.B. Phillips translation of the New Testament. Sometimes it is just good to get a fresh perspective on the ageless Words of God!

I also wonder that Rick doesn't mention the NKJV, although he lists the KJV. Anyone have thoughts about this version? I'm not talking about the arguments of which original text to use - I've read all the for and against arguments on that issue - I'm curious more about the accuracy of the translation as well as its ability to speak into people's lives in a devotional way.

Thank you Mom and Dad

My parents were so MEAN to me! They made me do chores, go to school. They gave me a curfew, told to me to get a job to work for the things I wanted. They asked me if I was doing my best at school and my job and taught me to take pride in my work. I grew up with morals, a good work ethic, a strong faith in God, and respect for the law. I thank God everyday for my MEAN parents! LOVE YOU MOM & DAD! THANK YOU!

(This was posted by another friend on facebook and I copied and pasted it.  It is not original with me, but whoever came up with it - I love it! )

Golden Gate Bridge

Had a great hike on Labor Day with a group of friends. First of all, I'm so blessed to have such a great group of gals in my life. We share, laugh and take care of each other! Secondly, if you would have asked me a couple of years ago, the last place in the world I would have dreamed that I would be living is San Francisco. Isn't life's journey amazing? Nice day, nice reflection!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONSFfvVXZVA

Cast all your cares on Him!

I Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

I just did a word study on "Cast." It is only used one other place in the NT when the disciples "cast" their garments on the donkey for Jesus to ride into Jerusalem. We know from secular literature of the time that the word that Peter chose to use in this instance was the word you would use to shift or heave or throw a heavy burden onto a mule or donkey to carry for you! 

Amazing that the Lord of the Universe loves us so much and humbles himself that he would offer to be our "beast of burden." Yes, indeed! Toss that heavy burden onto the One who can bear it for you!

Anniversary Memories

Steve made reservations for our anniversary next month on the Queen Mary, moored in Long Beach and converted into a luxury hotel. I'm so excited - both for the trip and for the time with the adorable man that I married!

http://www.queenmary.com

Other fun anniversary memories: 

The Empress Hotel in Victoria when we put on our luxury robes and acted all sophisticated on our way to the spa and accidently exited into the lobby instead. We turned around and madly punched the elevator button but it had already taken off - it was hard to maintain the sophisticated air after that, especially when we started giggling. 

Another favorite one is at Semiahmoo Resort - Steve ordered room service for breakfast. When the young man arrived with the tray, Steve said just put it there on the table. Turns out there was a pair of plastic hand cuffs with a note from me, something about being my love slave for the weekend that the poor fellow tried to scoot over with the tray. Turns out it was his first day on the job. I'm sure he is a seasoned veteran by now. We laughed about that one a lot! Fun times!

Quotes

"Love is being vulnerable"  C.S. Lewis

"Dying to self means that we are willing to give up our entitlement to be comfortable. It means that we are willing to be uncomfortable for the good of others and the purposes of God."  Stephen Arterburn

"I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much!  Mother Teresa

"Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and opens with our years."  Charles H. Spurgeon

"God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he'll be there!"  Billy Graham

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose."  Jim Elliot

2010 Red Cross Heroes Breakfast, San Mateo County - Donna - Picasa Web Albums

Just got through photographing a truly inspirational event - the annual Heroes Breakfast for the San Mateo County Red Cross. In fact, sat at the same table as a five month old baby who was saved by a good samaritan who did CPR after the baby had stopped breathing.

Good reminder to take Red Cross First Aid and CPR training and be prepared with a disaster survival kit. I carry one in the car and also keep one in the garage with fresh supplies of water to last for three days.

Pictures of the event can be seen here:

2010 Red Cross Heroes Breakfast, San Mateo County - Donna - Picasa Web Albums

The guest speaker was Congresswoman Jackie Spears, who has an inspirational life story in her own right. All around great event!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day with my Mother and Father!

Mom and Dad

I'm really excited about Mom and Dad coming for a visit next week. When we moved from Seattle to San Francisco a couple of years ago, we moved away from my parents. We pretty much always got together for all the holidays and birthdays and family barbeques and games in between all of the above, so I miss them a lot sometimes.

It will be fun to show them around our new place and have them exclaim their approval on everything we have done with our remodel. Mom and Dad are nice that way!

Raining Cats and Dogs

Speaking of dogs, Blackjack is naughty about not going out to do his business when it is raining. I usually find a mess somewhere. How could such an innocent face be so sneaky?

Sophie

My sweet little Sophie had doggie breast cancer. At least I hope that it is past tense. The vet said the "margins" on the sample that he sent to the lab were clear, so hopefully he got all of it.

I love Sophie so very much! She is 13 years old now and I sometimes wonder how much time we have left together and then I can't bear to think about that. She is getting hard of hearing and can't see very well anymore, but she is just as cuddly and sweet and precious and devoted as ever.

There is a profound poem for anyone who has ever dealt with pet grief or just want to treasure the short time they know is a reality when a pets' life-span is shorter than our own.

"We who choose to surround ourselves

with lives even more fragile than our own,

live within a fragile circle,

 easily and often breached.

 Unable to accept its awful gaps

 We still would live no other way."

Irving Townsend

In the meantime, Sophie is sleeping softly on my lap and I am enjoying every moment that I am blessed to have this special little gift. I think it might be mutual!

Donna and Sophie

Top Ten Book List

This has been a popular blogosphere topic right now. It is kinda hard to do... It is supposed to be a list of the top ten books that have influenced you the most. The blog challenge is to make the list out of your first thoughts. In other words, don't get hung up on second guessing yourself and don't worry about putting the titles into any particular order. I think you can tell a lot about a person from a list like this, so here goes...

1. The Bible by God
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
3. In His Steps by Charles Sheldon
4. The Saving Life of Christ by Major Ian Thomas
5. My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chabers
6. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
7. Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton
8. A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
9. Through Gates of Splendor and its sequel The End of the Spear
10. Anything by Jill Briscoe or Anne Graham Lotz

I think this is the guy that got this all started...
books-which-have-influenced-me-most

Fishing

I love fishing! It is one of those few activities that I can become totally absorbed in the moment and be totally focused.

Here is a clip from last Saturday. Steve and I took our Hobie kayaks to Lake Del Valle near Livermore, California - just over the hill from us via Niles Canyon. It was a perfect Spring day - well, except that I didn't catch any fish. But it is about the journey - the experience - the memory, fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MQLI2mXmQo

Happy fishing!

some more house pix

My latest projects have been painting the outside of the house and prepping the garden plot with raised beds for Spring planting.

We have had a fairly rainy, la nina, winter this year in the San Francisco Bay area. I haven't been able to get outside as much and the weeds are going crazy. There is a type of clover weed that is especially prolific and thick in some areas.

I once asked Steve if he thought it was sexy when I used the power tools - he said, "no, just convenient." Oh well! I have become more self-proficient with my projects, but I think he still gets nervous when I get going on something, thinking he is going to have to get involved and bail me out when I get in over my head.

Come on Spring and warmer, drier weather!

Our House

Steve said to me the other day, "I just really like this house." It has certainly been a labor of love for us - it was a fixer-upper in more than one sense of the word. The couple selling it were going through a divorce, it had been gutted for a remodel that they never finished, and they were terrible hoarders - junk was everywhere - in fact, a couple of rooms were just piled high with clutter.


Oh, and there was taxidermy everywhere - nothing against stuffed animals and hunting trophies, but just not my idea of interior decorating!


So, we had to look with creative eyes and hearts and see the potential for the house. We started in last June and worked through the summer remodeling from top to bottom. It was a great team effort with my artistic eye and Steve's attention to detail. Steve kept a tight punch-list and we made it just in time with the essentials - literally the oak flooring was laid right before we moved on August 15th.


We have had some continuing projects once we were in the house but they have been more leasurely. Now we are enjoying our little family life here. The doggies love the back yard and the doggie door we put into the family room for them to go in and out. It is a nice home built with love.

(Blackjack is sniffing some critter on the edge of the sidewalk)

Here are some more before and after photos:

(Steve put in a skylight over the front entry and it really
brightens up the whole place.)

(The family room sliding glass door is the common reference
point between the above two photos.)

(The Master Bedroom/Bathroom vanity)

So, yes, I echo Steve's statement, "I really like this house!"

Donna

The Greatest Generation

I found a picture of the plane my Daddy was a crew member of in World War II and sent it to him. It is a PBM Mariner. He was in air/sea rescue and got several medals for bravery and above and beyond the call of duty in rescuing downed pilots who had to ditch their planes in the sea.

This picture was a test flight when they were experimenting with a JATO rocket booster (Jet Assisted Take-Off).

My Dad, Dan Burris was in the Pacific theatre in the Navy the last two years of WWII. Since he was in air/sea rescue, they would follow behind campaigns to go in and rescue any downed pilots, sometimes behind enemy lines which is how he got the medals.

I'm proud of my Daddy's service for our country!

Dan Burris