Last evening we took advantage of the last time this season that Bogus would be open for night skiing. It was warm, sunny, and Bogus had just received several of inches of new snow. What a great way to spend a few hours in the great outdoors. It has been a tremendous snow year.....great news for those of us who live in a desert! Lorna
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
The Downstairs Apartment
Greetings Brown Family,
Thought I'd post a few photos of the apartment downstairs. Hope to see you all soon for a visit. Lorna
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Resurrection Sunday Dinner in Cascade
We trust you all had a great day celebrating Jesus' resurrection! Marge dusted off her violin and played at her church. Then the Boise Browns headed to Cascade to enjoy an incredible feast at Wayne and Ruth's cozy home in the mountains. Blessings to all!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Let's Hear Your Movie Suggestions!
Hey all,
Here's three movies I've seen in the last several months I'd recommend. All are based on real situations.
1. A Big Heart: Made in 2007 and starring Angolina Jolie. The movie is based on the tradgedy of correspondant Dan Perlman who was abducted in Packistan just after 9/11 and utimately beheaded. The story is really about his wife who was 5 months pregnent at the time. It feels more like a documentary, uses a lot of foreign actors and actresses, and for me, really captures what it must have been like to deal ones own fear, safety and grief in the midst of a confusing foreign country and the onslaught of a whole variety of American officials trying to help. Angelina is remarkable in the role.
2. Copying Beethoven: Staring Ed Harris of all people as Beethoven. It takes place during his apparent decline as a composure the risks he took in creating the 9th symphony, particualry when his hearing was so affected. Who would have though Harris could pull this off. Incredible
3. The World's Fastest Indian: Starring Anthony Hopkins. It's about an eccentric mid 60's guy who built up a 1922 Indian motorcycle for speed and actually wound up setting the world land speed record for motorcycles under 1000cc that still stands today. Great feel good story with a performance that only Hopkins could do. Enjoy put your own recommendations on Brown Banter. Best, Uncle Wayne
Here's three movies I've seen in the last several months I'd recommend. All are based on real situations.
1. A Big Heart: Made in 2007 and starring Angolina Jolie. The movie is based on the tradgedy of correspondant Dan Perlman who was abducted in Packistan just after 9/11 and utimately beheaded. The story is really about his wife who was 5 months pregnent at the time. It feels more like a documentary, uses a lot of foreign actors and actresses, and for me, really captures what it must have been like to deal ones own fear, safety and grief in the midst of a confusing foreign country and the onslaught of a whole variety of American officials trying to help. Angelina is remarkable in the role.
2. Copying Beethoven: Staring Ed Harris of all people as Beethoven. It takes place during his apparent decline as a composure the risks he took in creating the 9th symphony, particualry when his hearing was so affected. Who would have though Harris could pull this off. Incredible
3. The World's Fastest Indian: Starring Anthony Hopkins. It's about an eccentric mid 60's guy who built up a 1922 Indian motorcycle for speed and actually wound up setting the world land speed record for motorcycles under 1000cc that still stands today. Great feel good story with a performance that only Hopkins could do. Enjoy put your own recommendations on Brown Banter. Best, Uncle Wayne
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
A Couple Easter Thoughts
I’ve been reading a little book during Lent entitled “The New Covenant” by Robert Coleman. I didn’t intentionally use it as a Lenten devotional but it turns out that it has been a great focus considering the wonderful opportunity next weekend we all have to join with a third of the worlds population is proclaiming the risen Lord. The book reviews the Old Testament system of sacrifices and atonement and connects those practices with Christ’s Passion (death and resurrection). I’ve been hit by a couple of things; one personal application and one of the great ironies of the Easter week events.
First the personal application. The OT picture of the sin offering provides a compelling picture of the personal consequence of sin. Picture this. During Passover, you bring your unblemished lamb or goat to the priest as your offering. You (yes, you) have to bind the animal to the altar. Then you place your hands on the now helpless animal’s, symbolic of transferring your sin to it. With one hand on the animal you use your other hand to slit the animal’s throat, it’s blood running down the sides of the altar – its life-blood for yours. The scene is violent and bloody. Such is the nature of OT atonement. That picture provides us with a poignant picture of the consequence of our sin as it relates to the death of Christ. It’s as if we place our sin on Christ while slitting his throat, his blood for ours. Life given for life attained. New Testament atonement too, is violent and bloody. Christ’s atoning work suddenly is not longer an abstraction. Despite the time lapse of 2000 years, I’m right there at the crucifixion throwing the spear.
The irony. Christ was in Jerusalem during Passover. Jerusalem’s population had swelled ten fold with the influx of pilgrims heading to the temple to make their annual sacrifices. I can only imagine that with so many people there, every priest available was helping out with the sacrificial processes to accommodate all the work that had to be done. Thousands of animals were being sacrificed and the blood of each one was caught in a conical saucer(so that it couldn’t be set down) forcing the priests to carry it immediately to the altar that stood just outside the Holy of Holies and fling the blood on the altar and then race back and get the blood from the next sacrifice. All this slitting, blood-scooping, running, and flinging, I suspect, presented quite a frenetic picture, not to mention the animal bleating, the stench of burning flesh and coagulating blood, the singing and chanting. Well, all this was going on while Jesus was hanging on the cross - The perfect, unblemished, bound and bleeding sacrificial “Lamb of God”. So imagine being the unfortunate priest or priests who were flinging the blood on the altar in front of the Holy of Holies at the moment of Christ’s death. Remember what happened? At that moment, the earth shook, the sky got dark and veil that hid the most holy place in the temple (the place that only the high priest could enter once a year with a rope attached to his leg in the event he had to be pulled out due to the overpowering presence of God) was ripped in half from top to bottom. Those poor old priests flinging the blood were suddenly exposed to the presence of God. The fact that the rent veil now offered them free access to God was, I’m sure, lost in the horror of the moment for them. The usual response depicted elsewhere in the Bible when caught in the presence of God was to fall down to the ground and hope you died quickly.
I certainly don’t pretend to understand the divine rationale for the bloody mess of atoning sacrifices in either the Old or New Testaments. However, if that’s the God-ordained system designed to eliminate the barrier between God and man, then a once for all, perfect, and complete sacrifice to mediate our inherent preoccupation with ourselves and get in touch with the “bigger picture” in this life and the next, is definitely simpler and more liberating than the old way. And since we’re responsible for Christ’s death, his sacrifice for us certainly deserves a life of gratitude and a vigorous “Hallelujah” this Easter! Blessings all. WB
First the personal application. The OT picture of the sin offering provides a compelling picture of the personal consequence of sin. Picture this. During Passover, you bring your unblemished lamb or goat to the priest as your offering. You (yes, you) have to bind the animal to the altar. Then you place your hands on the now helpless animal’s, symbolic of transferring your sin to it. With one hand on the animal you use your other hand to slit the animal’s throat, it’s blood running down the sides of the altar – its life-blood for yours. The scene is violent and bloody. Such is the nature of OT atonement. That picture provides us with a poignant picture of the consequence of our sin as it relates to the death of Christ. It’s as if we place our sin on Christ while slitting his throat, his blood for ours. Life given for life attained. New Testament atonement too, is violent and bloody. Christ’s atoning work suddenly is not longer an abstraction. Despite the time lapse of 2000 years, I’m right there at the crucifixion throwing the spear.
The irony. Christ was in Jerusalem during Passover. Jerusalem’s population had swelled ten fold with the influx of pilgrims heading to the temple to make their annual sacrifices. I can only imagine that with so many people there, every priest available was helping out with the sacrificial processes to accommodate all the work that had to be done. Thousands of animals were being sacrificed and the blood of each one was caught in a conical saucer(so that it couldn’t be set down) forcing the priests to carry it immediately to the altar that stood just outside the Holy of Holies and fling the blood on the altar and then race back and get the blood from the next sacrifice. All this slitting, blood-scooping, running, and flinging, I suspect, presented quite a frenetic picture, not to mention the animal bleating, the stench of burning flesh and coagulating blood, the singing and chanting. Well, all this was going on while Jesus was hanging on the cross - The perfect, unblemished, bound and bleeding sacrificial “Lamb of God”. So imagine being the unfortunate priest or priests who were flinging the blood on the altar in front of the Holy of Holies at the moment of Christ’s death. Remember what happened? At that moment, the earth shook, the sky got dark and veil that hid the most holy place in the temple (the place that only the high priest could enter once a year with a rope attached to his leg in the event he had to be pulled out due to the overpowering presence of God) was ripped in half from top to bottom. Those poor old priests flinging the blood were suddenly exposed to the presence of God. The fact that the rent veil now offered them free access to God was, I’m sure, lost in the horror of the moment for them. The usual response depicted elsewhere in the Bible when caught in the presence of God was to fall down to the ground and hope you died quickly.
I certainly don’t pretend to understand the divine rationale for the bloody mess of atoning sacrifices in either the Old or New Testaments. However, if that’s the God-ordained system designed to eliminate the barrier between God and man, then a once for all, perfect, and complete sacrifice to mediate our inherent preoccupation with ourselves and get in touch with the “bigger picture” in this life and the next, is definitely simpler and more liberating than the old way. And since we’re responsible for Christ’s death, his sacrifice for us certainly deserves a life of gratitude and a vigorous “Hallelujah” this Easter! Blessings all. WB
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Ronda and Family Update
Carolyn came for a visit!!
A hula performance by our sweet daughter!
(Posted by Traci) I am so excited that Lorna started this blog! Great idea.
Bill and I moved to Maui in January of 2007 to work with a church and begin what's called The School of Supernatural Ministry. Also, Bill worked as an underwater videographer and he befriended a few sharks. We were so happy to have a visit from Connie and Elisabeth (those pictures are on my broken computer....will post later). Now, we are back in Texas, just in time to help Henry and Ronda as they face some challenges with Henry's health. Henry received a pacemaker and is doing much better, physically, but still needs more improvement with his speech and short-term memory. We are thankful that he is now out of the hospital and getting around well.
To see some of Bill's videos, please visit http://www.youtube.com/user/wilvan
Rivet's Older Sister Wingnut
For those of you who may not know Rivet, he is Heidi and Alex's youngest Husky. He has an older sister named Wingnut. They live in Boston where Heidi works for Boston Sports Club in the fitness industry and Alex attends Harvard.
Rivet Strikes a Pose
Hi Mom and Family!! I've never blogged... thought I'd use Rivet as an experimental "test run" to see if I can figure it out... Cheers.Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Update on Henry
Friends and Family. We sure appreciate all of the prayers for my dad during this time. Tomorrow he'll get a pacemaker put in which the doctors have highly recommended to keep him ticking. After the heart attack he suffered in 1989, there was damage that had progressively weakened his heart over the years and has brought us to this point. He's kind of excited about the new hardware and is looking forward to getting out of the hospital. During a moment of levity today I snapped a couple of pics with the phone and with his permission, I'm passing them along. Not too shabby for almost 79. One of the nurses said he kind of has that Harrison Ford thing going on. He said, "Now who's that?" Mom's doing well in spirit, but she's fighting a bit of bronchitis and a bad cough so the timing is unfortunate. All in all, they're praising the Lord. You know, never in eternity will we have the chance to praise God in the midst of difficulty we don't understand, but it's an honor to offer to him this most precious of gifts, a sacrifice of praise. We'll never stop contending for breakthrough in healing and deliverance and this just solidifies that resolve, to destroy the works of the devil. We thank all of you who continue to stand in faith as well. Please know that we stand together to see the fullness of His Kingdom come. Grace and Peace bill n traci
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Christmas '07 in Cascade
The family gathering in Cascade after Christmas '07 was the maiden voyage for the Brown cabin. It was the culmination of many months of planning and hard work for Larry, Wayne, and Ruth. True to fashion, they secured the certificate of occupancy the day everyone began arriving! It was a bit sparse on furnishings, but a great time was had by all. We hope it is the first of many such opportunities to get together and reconnect. As an update, the house is looking really cozy and if you come back....you won't have to sit on the floor!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Cascade weekend
Larry and I had an enjoyable weekend up in Cascade and my first ever skiing adventure at Tamarack. The skiing was great and the weather partly cloudy. It is a good trip when we both make it off the mountain with our knee ligaments intact!
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