From NPR….
When the housing market sags, some sellers drop their asking price. A Pittsburgh-area couple has hit upon a new twist. After trying to sell for almost a year, Bob and Ricki Husick are making this offer: buy their house now for $399,000 and get your money back when they die. That could be a long wait, as they’re only in their 50s. Still, they’ve already received four offers.
The Mike Huckabee campaign set an online goal for the month of October: to raise $1 more than they did during the last quarter of fundraising. That goal of $1,034,487 was passed early today and the now the campaign has raised over $1,043,322.55 online.
The news keeps getting better and better…
While there is another holiday going on today, today is also Reformation Day, the day that is traditionally believed to be when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the doors of a church in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517.
In doing so, Martin Luther brought about the Protestant Reformation and current fracture in the church between the protestant and catholic church.
In honor of Luther and the changes he brought about, here is his hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God, translated by Frederic Hedge:
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.
I’m attempting to find a modern arrangement but I haven’t been able to find anything yet unless it sounds like 80’s bubble gum pop. Sigh. Let me know if you find anything.
a. We bought a new truck last night
b. I love it, but I think Laurie may be more excited than I am – I think she may try and sneak off with it one day before work and leave me the Xterra
c. Our Community group is finishing up Colossians this week (hopefully)
d. We’re going to start on Mark Batterson’s series Chase the Lion next week
e. I’ve done some real searching today on my family history.
f. Found some confusing information and it turns out, as I suspected, two Strother sisters, married two Gaines brothers
g. Once that was confirmed, everything else started making sense again.
h. While I’m not completely sure on one or two generations, it would appear that one relative on my mom’s side signed the American Declaration of Independence, and another signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. Crazy!
i. It may be crazier to think that they were only a generation or two apart.
j. In the meantime, I posted a challenge on our Wiki page – but unless you’re still reading this, I doubt you care anything about my family’s history. But if you do, feel free to join in – or start your own Wiki for your family tree. Maybe we’ll find they connect somewhere in the not to recent past.
I know sometimes it’s easy to get bogged down with a schedule and while you’re really wanting to do something good in your community or for those around you, you just can’t seem to fit much time into your schedule for volunteering (granted I know this isn’t the case for most of the folks at encounter).
But if you’re interested in doing more for those around you, here’s a few interesting ideas that you can do at work or at home while you’re surfing the web:
Maybe you’d like to help financially…
After all this “hard work” you may feel really inclined to get out in person and do some good in the community, if so you can do your own search in your area with these sites:
Visit Lifehacker for more information on these sites or other comparable sites.
And if you’ve got any other sites that you’ve found helpful? Let us know.
According to a report from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Mike Huckabee has stepped up his hotel accommodation’s during the campaigning.
He’s now staying at the “luxurious” Holiday Inn.
He thinks a stay at a Holiday Inn is “luxurious.” It’s hard to imagine Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney or Rudy Giuliani thinking the same. And while his fellow candidates travel in large entourages neatly packed into convoys of black SUVs, Huckabee says he gives local cabbies and car-rental outlets lots of business.
“I finally put my foot down about subpar accommodations earlier this year,” said the former Arkansas governor. “I understand frugal and budget but there was a place my staff had me stay near Houston that was so bad that I was the only person in the hotel that did not have tattoos, metal objects piercing my face — and wore sleeves.”