Things are beginning to take place around here.

Stay tuned.

Welcome to the newly refurbished WunderKraut.com!

Sorry for the down time, but I feel it was necessary.

So, here we are. Now what are we going to do?

First off, there are a few cosmetic changes to the site. The first can be found on the right sidebar. Under Topics, I have a category called “The Best of WunderKraut”. Here I have carefully selected only be finest, hand picked Columbian posts for your reading pleasure. From time to time if lightning strikes or if I actually write a post deemed worthy enough to be enshrined in The Best of WunderKraut, I will add it to the list.

Secondly you will notice a drastically reduced archives.

I have been writing WunderKraut.com since February of 2005. You can imagine that in that time I have accumulated my fair share of posts. The old style for the archives had a very long listing of every month from the past 4 years. This took up a bunch of space and was a bit confusing. I found a wonderful WordPress plug-in that allowed the archives to be collapsible as you can see. But even that left me unfulfilled.

In the end I decided to “restart” the archives with the re-launch of WunderKraut.com. The reasons for this change can be found in my main motivation to reformat WunderKraut.com.

When I started WunderKraut.com I made a conscience decision to not share about my religious beliefs.

But, as time and my life went on, I found it harder and harder to square my private religious beliefs and with what I was writing on my blog. It wasn’t that I was writing anything that was heretical or that I was ashamed of, but it had more to do with what I wasn’t writing about.

Christmas of 2005 was a big event in my life in regards to my Christian faith. I will write about that night later, but just understand that in many ways my views on life and of God were forever changed. Later in March of 2006 Jen and I attended a parenting conference which further rocked our world. We were moving in new and exciting directions. Yet still, I kept it from my blog.

Things finally reached a breaking point between my and my blog in February of this year. I threw up my hands and quit. During the past few months I have been doing a lot of thinking and praying and I have made up my mind.

From now on all aspects of my life will be open to this blog. What that means is that you all will get to know a totally different side to WunderKraut.

This also means that I will be writing about my personal experiences with the Lord and how my life has changed. I will not be preachy or “religious”. No, I will simply attempt to put into words how my faith in Jesus Christ has changed my life and my family’s life.

So, this is the main reason why I changed my archive system. In a way, I am turning over a new leaf so I want my archives to reflect that, but at the same time what I’ve written over the years is still there for the reading. I am what I am due to the experiences I have written about in the past. I may not write about politics as much and I may not link to some of the things I linked to in the past but I am also not ashamed of what I’ve written.

I know that some of my readers have different beliefs or no beliefs at all, and that is ok. This is the truth that I know and that is all I can write about.

I have a few posts lined up to begin hitting as early as tonight. I hope you enjoy the shift and as always I welcome your comments, both for and against. If you’ve learned anything over the years, it should be that it is hard to hurt my feelings.

Take it easy.

It’s been a while since I posted about the WunderKids.

Everyone is doing great. Nathan is finishing up 2nd Grade, Charlie 1st Grade and Madi K-4.

Charlie turned 7 and Mei turned 2 in March.

Everyone is getting bigger and Nate is beginning to eat me out of house and home and he’s not quite 9 yet. Lord help me when he is a teenager!

My sister-in-law, Joanna, is an awesome photographer and she took some great pictures of the kids the other day. Thought I would share them. She is available for birthdays, weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, funerals and any other special occasions.

Awesomely amazing pictures after the jump:
(more…)

My Dad sent along two fun links.

First: Landing on an aircraft carrier. Ok, let’s be honest, I’m not sure I could do this. I mean, every time I tried it in Jet Fighter II, I crashed. I’m just sayin’.

Second: A cool version of Stand By Me as performed by street musicians around the world.

Thanks for the links Dad.

My brother-in-law Jon shared a wonderful word this Sunday.

His text was from 1 Corinthians chapter 13 on love.

1Cr 12:31-13:8

…And now I will show you the most excellent way.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails…

If you stop and think about it, even if you do everything right but you don’t have love, then you get zero points.

It is important to remember that God is love (1 John 4:8) and that God so loved the world (John 3:16) that He sent Jesus to die for our sins.

Father God is not an angry God waiting for you to mess up, to break one of his rules so He can smite you.

God is love.

Jesus is our example.

We have no excuses. There are no loop holes. We are to love one another as Christ loved us. Reading 1 Corinthians 13, each and every point is how we are to live. Every day. All the time.

Honestly, this is a struggle of mine. I’m sure I’m not alone, but I am striving to see people the way God see them: Through eyes of love.

I was a busy bee around the house during my 2 month blogcation.

Let’s see, first I built a fence. I am pretty happy with it. Well, that is except for the two gates. While the gates themselves are great, hanging them so that the fence line flows…well, it didn’t work out too great.

BUT

I actually built something!

The reason for the little fence is because I have decided to get back into gardening. After the fence was built, I rented a tiller and tilled up the old garden location. This was the previous homeowner’s garden area and I only gardened there one year before letting it return to grass.

I’ve got green beans, field peas, tomatoes, peppers, squash and herbs currently growing. I am going to plant my see potatoes tonight. I’ll get a picture once things are up and running.

Before you get all confused and stuff let me explain who’s who. My brother-in-law JON is our Associate Pastor for lack of a better term. He is not to be confused with JOHN our Senior Pastor. They take turns preaching, so that means some weeks you will be reading about JON and others about JOHN. This time it is Pastor JOHN.

He spoke on a topic that is near and dear to his heart: Men’s relationships with the Lord.

He brought out great men of the Bible and how they had a passion for the Lord. This passion and relationship propelled these men into a personal encounter with God and it changed their lives and it changed history.

His main point was the question about why the majority of men do not have a burning passion for the Lord. Some would say it’s the structure of the church and that the structure needs to change to accommodate men. Yes, that may get more men into the pews, but it doesn’t address the issue of men having a passion for the Lord. Structural changes or additional programs may get more men to church, but that is not what is important. Getting men involved in church does not guarantee that a personal relationship is being developed.

Ultimately, it boils down to having an encounter with God.

A salvation experience is most peoples first encounter with God. For some, this one event is all that is needed and it propels them into a life long pursuit of relationship with the Father. Unfortunately, far too many people come away from such an experience with only their ticket punched for heaven. They are saved and love the Lord, but fail to come into an understanding of the depths of God’s love for them and the amazing plans He has for their lives.

I was one of the ones who had his ticket punched. I tried to live a good life. I was good to my wife and kids. I attended church regularly and helped in various ministries. I tithed and gave of myself whenever I was asked. Quite frankly, I was content for that to be my life. I loved the Lord and felt I was doing what I was supposed to be doing.

That changed in December of 2005. On that fateful night in my den, I had an encounter with the Lord that changed my life forever. For the first time, I truly felt the love of the Father. It was and is an amazing thing. After that night, my outlook on life became very different. I was no longer content to sit on the sidelines waiting for the great by and by in the sky. No, a fire was lit in my belly to see heaven invade earth. To follow the Lord with reckless abandon. To burn with a passion to see people saved, healed and delivered.

So, back to Pastor John’s sermon. How do we reach men and see them set free from bondage and to come into a passionate relationship with the Lord?

It is through experiences.

That is the answer, but the details are the hard part. It involves lots of prayer, timing and the grace of God. I wasn’t looking for an encounter. It just happened. There is no formula. We are to love people where they are at, to share our experiences and to pray that at the proper time, the Lord will reveal himself in a deeper way.

It will change your life.

Just a little mid-day fun.

Guess the movie. Don’t cheat.

#1

How often does the train go by?

So often that you won’t even notice it.

#2

God will not permit this to happen! I will be allowed to fulfill my destiny!

#3

How can you shoot women or children?

Easy! Ya just don’t lead ‘em so much! Ain’t war hell?

#4

I’m Winston Wolfe. I solve problems.

#5

A boy, in the midwest of this land, will grow up in a home where your book will be on the shelf and spoken of often. He will grow up with these ideas in his head. He will grow into a great orator. He will speak and his words will be heard throughout this land and throughout the world. This boy will become leader of this country and begin a movement of great change. He will speak of you and your words and your book will be the seeds of many of his great thoughts. They will be the seeds of change

#6

Come on, boys! The way you’re lollygaggin’ around here with them picks and them shovels, you’d think it was a hundert an’ twenty degree. Can’t be more than a hundert an’ fourteen.

#7

That’s right, sir, you are the only person authorized to do so. And although I, uh, hate to judge before all the facts are in, it’s beginning to look like, uh, General Ripper exceeded his authority

#8

Hey, man, you don’t talk to the Colonel. You listen to him. The man’s enlarged my mind. He’s a poet-warrior in the classic sense. I mean sometimes he’ll… uh… well, you’ll say “hello” to him, right? And he’ll just walk right by you. He won’t even notice you. And suddenly he’ll grab you, and he’ll throw you in a corner, and he’ll say, “do you know that ‘if’ is the middle word in life? If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, if you can trust yourself when all men doubt you”… I mean I’m no, I can’t… I’m a little man, I’m a little man, he’s… he’s a great man. I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across floors of silent seas…

#9

Sir, I’m afraid you’ve gone mad with power…

Of course I have. You ever tried going mad without power? It’s boring. No one listens to you!

#10

All right! Who did it? Who did it? You are going to stand sweating at those battle stations until someone confesses! It’s an insult to the honor of this ship! The symbol of our cargo record has been destroyed and I’m going to find out who did it if it takes all night!

Have fun.

Saw this on CNN.com….

Are you sure that’s the headline you want to run with? Really?

The amateur golfer in the wild

I am teh seXy, no?

My garden is coming along nicely after a few initial setbacks.

My tomato, bean, pea, cucumber, squash, and zucchini plants are doing great. My three pepper plants…not so great. My row of carrots…even worse…

I have a row of potatoes in, but they have not come up yet, thus they don’t have any mulch at this time.

I have a few pepper seedlings that I need to get around to putting in bigger pots before eventually planting them in the garden.

All in all, I’m happy. I spent this evening weeding and mulching and now it is getting a well deserved drink of water.

Weeded and mulched!

Beans and peas

Ok…

I’ve had a few correct guesses and a few, how do you say, WRONG guesses on my Random Movie Quote post of a few days ago. So, here is a cheat sheet.

First off here are the ones that have been correctly guessed:

1. Blues Brothers (prechrchet)

2. Patton (Crotalus)

3. Full Metal Jacket (prechrchet)

4. Pulp Fiction (Crotalus)

5. —

6. Blazing Saddles (Ken)

7. Dr. Strangelove (Ken)

8. Apocalypse Now (Rob B)

9. —

10. Mister Roberts (Both_Feet)

So you are now free to cheat. Come up with the rest.

UPDATE: This whole thing reminds me of Kent Brockman from the Simpsons:

Kent Brockman: Professor, without knowing precisely what the danger is, would you say it’s time for our viewers to crack each other’s heads open and feast on the goo inside?

Professor: Yes I would, Kent.

Original Post:

Geesh…

I am so tired of hearing about the dreaded Swine Flu!!! OMG!!! We are all going to die!!!! Quick, quarantine EVERYONE!!!11!!!! Don’t breath!!! Don’t exhale!! Stay away from people!!! Close the border!!!!!!!

We’re DOOMED!!!!111!!!Eleventy

*cough*

Except, well, we aren’t:

In fact, the current outbreak of the H1N1 virus, which emerged in San Diego and southern Mexico late last month, may not even do as much damage as the run-of-the-mill flu outbreaks that occur each winter without much fanfare.

“Let’s not lose track of the fact that the normal seasonal influenza is a huge public health problem that kills tens of thousands of people in the U.S. alone and hundreds of thousands around the world,” said Dr. Christopher Olsen, a molecular virologist who studies swine flu at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine in Madison.

Guess what? The “Normal Flu”…you know, that one we DON’T freaking panic about…yeah well get a load of this:

CDC estimates that in the United States more than 200,000 people are hospitalized and about 36,000 people die from the flu and its complications every year.

That’s out of a population of a little over 300 million…so you have about a 1 in 8,300 chance of dying from the flu…the normal flu…

Want another example? Here’s a good one:

The DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that 37,313 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2008

And somehow I am not afraid to hop in the car and head to the store.

So, unless this swine flu kicks it up a notch (thankfully, it’s not expected to) it is going to be another over hyped world killing sickness like West Nile, Bird Flu and SARS.