How do you make holy water? Boil the hell out of it.

I was at sermon prep early again today and kept at it until I left for a pastors' lunch. Interesting group. After that gathering I drove into Arizona Pipe and Tubing to get oil lines made for the truck's engine. FAIL. They don't have the necessary fitting, so tomorrow I'll head to another place that might have it.

Pam got a call from her former supervisor (last night's post) and that job is on the east side of town. That means a commute of about 45 minutes each way, and that means no thank you. Her resume' will stay on file for positions on this side of town. She hasn't heard back about the other one.

About a year after we moved here the city officially renamed one of the mountains that rise up out of the otherwise flat ground of Phoenix. It had been called Squaw Peak since at least 1910, but that was deemed derogatory and offensive to local Indian tribes so it was renamed Piestewa Peak. Lori Piestewa, a native Arizonan, was the first Indian American woman (a Hopi) to die in combat (2003) and the first woman killed in the Iraq war.

Piestewa Peak, nee Squaw Peak, is a major geographical feature of metro Phoenix and a favorite hiking destination. Lots of area businesses with Squaw Peak in their name were faced with either changing their name or being perceived as insensitive to a significant portion of the local population. It would have been easier for them if the name Piestewa was a bit more euphonious. It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.

The topic of conversation here is the arrival of President Obama tonight, in town for a speech at a local high school tomorrow. He's going to talk about housing, the recovery in the new housing market, and government policies designed to help first time homeowners.

The kicker: he's staying at the Hilton Squaw Peak downtown.
Don't think that has gone unnoticed! One local writer asked if he would stay at the Hilton Redskins.

Confession: I've been very sad the last 30 hours or so. I don't remember the last time I felt this sad.

Yesterday I learned about two situations, and a third today, which epitomize the destructive effects of sin in this world. In each case people in close proximity suffer. None of us is "innocent." We're all sinners. But sometimes the bad behavior of one person brings heartache to someone close by. Sin is not just a theological concept. It's real people, real failure, real pain. And when it's people close to me it makes me very sad.

I've been praying a lot for them today.