Any day on two wheels...

Josh White was one of my students and now pastors a church here in North Phoenix. We left his place a little after 10:30 a.m. and headed through Phoenix to the SE corner of the city where we picked up SR 88 northeast, through Apache Junction and out to Tortilla Flats. The last 10 miles or so wind through beautiful canyons alongside Apache Lake via up-and-down, back-and-forth roads. Once we worked our way past a train of two motor homes and a couple of poky SUV's it turned into some grins. We ate at the only restaurant in Tortilla Flats, which just also happens to be the only business in Tortilla Flats. It's the only building, for that matter. And as you can see from the parking, it's a favorite for bikers. We sat at a table, but if you sit at the bar you're perched on a saddle. (After riding for two hours we didn't need another saddle.) Every wall in the place is covered with dollar bills. In some places they're two deep.
The ride out of TF wasn't nearly as much fun; the string of cars was too long to pass and too slow to make for any fun. And the ride back through the city meant Friday afternoon traffic. But it was good to put 200 miles on the bike, enjoy some twisties, some good grub and shop talk to boot!

I don't know what this means. I don't know if it means anything. But it illustrates the kind of quality that exists on YouTube alongside all of the teenagers vying for their 15 seconds of fame.
Human Snake

Forgive me, peeps, but I enjoy watching the Pistons get whooped on by the lowly Sixers.
At least the Suns are getting beat by one of the best teams in the NBA.
You're right, they're still getting beat.

We need liability insurance for Pathway Bible Church. I called the agent who wrote my business policy for a quote and he e-mailed it to me. Apparently my phone diction isn't as good as it should be because I got a quote for Halfway Bible Church.
What do you suppose he thought that name meant?

I don't want to give too much away, but Sunday we're going to look at Ps. 107:1-32, one of my favorite passages. I was reading it one day a looong time ago when the structure suddenly jumped off the page and smacked me in the face. Self-discovery creates a connection with a biblical section much stronger than any that comes from hearing someone else preach or teach it. That's why I encouraged them to read it over during the week, ideally with colored pencils at hand.
And my sermon provides an opportunity to talk about one of my favorite words: Heilsgeschicte. Does it get any better?

I re-read the CC&R's and it turns out we can have a clothesline if it's hidden from the neighbors' view. So tomorrow I'm going to go get a retractable one and mount it to the back side of the house just to the right of the patio. Then I'll put a pole out in the "yard" that will rest in a larger pipe that serves as a socket. That way the pole can be removed when the laundry is down and the lines retracted into their holder. As long as the neighbors don't look when the laundry is hanging out to dry we're good!

Tradition: Just because you've always done it that way doesn't mean it isn't incredibly stupid.