bierkergaard

Christmas greetings of good cheer from the wonderful state of California! After barely escaping the wintery wrath of a Pennsylvania blizzard last Saturday, Lina and I have been on a mission to experience California in all of its facets. This translates practically to our consuming copious quantities of Asian food, sleeping, shopping, and chilling with her parents. In regards to food, like a bear before turning in for hibernation, we are eating our fill (and then some). Starvation draws nigh when we return to Pa. The diets begin as soon as we land back in Pa. (with New Years Eve and New Years waivers). The other day we traveled through "Little Saigon" in L.A. which is more than just a little enclave of Vietnamese folk. Instead, it is like a country of mile after mile of Vietnamese stores and people. California's diversity is absolutely astonishing and a beautiful characteristic. Soon, we will return to the nearly Asianless lands of Lancaster. Waaah... Speaking of food...in

Romans 12:1 "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." Several years ago I was on a date down in the DC/Baltimore area (everything down there just kind of merges into one area and one huge traffic jam). By the time the night came to a close, it was late and I was tired. On one of the "95'" beltways down there (695, 495, etc.) I went the wrong way and wound up in the early morning close to the Port of Baltimore. Realizing that I had run out of land, I surmised that I had to turn around. As an aside, here in California, the traffic jams are massive. Last night Lina and I went to meet a friend up in L.A. for Korean food. It took us over two hours to get there (but) later in the night, about 50 minutes to get back to her parents place. I am thinking that it might be wise to get one of of those vehicles that tourists sit in that go both on lan

Romans 8:1 "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" Yesterday, as is our custom, we went to Saddleback Church to hear Rick Warren preach. Normally, on a typical Sunday morning, the commute would be a killer. Since we are out in California, the trip to church wasn't too long. Going to Saddleback is only our custom when we are visiting her parents who live in Laguna Niguel--about 30 minutes away from Saddleback's campus. Lina made a comment that Saddleback looks kind of like Disneyland. When we came driving in, parking lot after parking lot was full and we kept getting waved on to a distant lot. Finally, we skirted behind some "No Parking" cones where the lot was almost completely empty. The cones were obvious a remnant from a previous event. Fortuitously, we parked fairly close to the "Overdrive" venue (our goal) where Rock and Roll worship music is served up loud like a Boeing jet engine. Mentioning jets, we bare