Hey iPod owners:

Go to www.rapidrepair.com to have all your iPod woes fixed (or even have you iPod upgraded). They're much cheaper than Apple or Best Buy.

The neat thing is the repair cost is included in the part cost. My sister's iPod had a bad HOLD button, which constantly drained her battery, and I shipped it to Rapid Repair who replaced it quickly and shipped it back via DHL.

Too bad I found out about their services after I had Kathy fix my niece's cracked video iPod screen. Oh the new screen works fine but it was a real pain to do it.

So there's today's tip!

Back in the day (I won't say how far back) when I first became a believer and began to listen to Christian music, I heard this song from Petra's Washes Whiter Than album. It's called Mary's Song and its mellow tones were in stark contrast to the rest of the 'rocky' album. Usually around this time of year, the song will briefly come to mind so it was serendipity when it turned up on Amazon.com's MP3 download site.

I hope you like it too.

So, I finally finished the DVD, Amazing Grace: The History & Theology of Calvinism, which I checked out from the church library. Great stuff; I highly recommend it. Grace, free will, sovereignty, election, security. It's interesting to see the kind of language we'll use based on our position on these matters. We often use simple language without realizing the deeper implications. I've always joked that theologically I'm a Calvinist but for every day practicality, I behave like an Arminian. Amazing Grace challenged my weak but practical theology and has caused me to rethink my approach to sharing the Gospel. Consider the following proclamations, I know I've used variations of them all:

"Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is able to save you. Your sin is abominable to God. A just and holy God must punish sin, — including your sin in Adam. Your sin is either paid in Christ or you will pay for it by eternal death. Christ died for sinners like you and I. His death is sufficient to pay for the penalty of your sin."

"God loves you! He loves you so much he sent His only begotten Son to suffer for you. He offers you a wonderful plan for your life. The death of Christ has made it possible for you to have this gift of life. All you need to do now is accept Jesus as your savior. Do not reject Him. He cannot give you the gift unless actually take it."

"God loves the world. He sent Christ to die for the world. God loves you, Christ died for you. If you believe in Christ you will be saved. Accept Him now, for He will not cast you out."

The last one is a slightly different position from the first.

Sound familiar? It's worth checking out.

Or should I say, "Everything's peaceful here in our sleepy old section of Raleigh?" I had an interview with my old employer earlier this week. It seemed to go well; I'll know in another week if I was selected for the next round of interviews. Kathy started working again in the medical field; she's using her nursing experience to provide quality assurance on patient charts at various medical facilities in our area. Paperwork is her forte; she loves it so this position is right up her alley. While I'm waiting for Round 2 of interviews, I continue to read federal regulations and brush up on current issues in the air pollution field.

Currently Playing Thurn And Taxis by Rio Grande