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January 2010
 
This is a picture of me on December 22, during our Christmas vacation, on the pier at Pismo Beach, California. As the culmination of a long and painful period, it was on this day that I had been officially notified that I was fired from my job at the ElijahList.

Some whine, "Life's a beach!" Others proclaim, "The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need." Maybe the reality is that as we process the pains of life, we find ourselves saying both at one time or another.

So how did this happen? What's going on? How is Brian doing now? What is Brian doing now? The answer to these and other questions, as well as the uplifting account of God's wonderful shepherding, can be found here on Brian's personal blog.
 

And now for something on the lighter side ... you may have seen this already, but I just saw it today for the first time. Being a computer geek, I thought it was hilarious. To the left is a sample of 26 definitions of Technology for Country Folk. Click on the graphic to see all of them. I think they are pretty clever. I hope you like them as much as I do. Enjoy!

Wow! The devastating earthquake in Haiti this week. I can't stop thinking what it would be like to be in their shoes. The very day of the quake we sent a donation to Mercy Corps to help the victims. The next day there was a poll on the CNN Web site asking if you had made a relief donation. I chose the Yes button, and then clicked to see the results, imagining that a good 95% of respondents would have made a donation. I was so very shocked to see that about 65% had NOT made a donation. Today a similar poll was a bit better, but still an astounding 56% of respondents stated that they had given nothing to help the people in Haiti. I think that this selfishness on the part of Americans is a really bad sign of the moral condition of our country.

The other day I was taking a walk and listening to the album Prayer by Vineyard Music on my iPod. In the song "How Much More", I was struck by these lyrics, even though I have listened to this song many times before:

I started thinking about those words. I don't lay in bed each night, sleeplessly worrying whether the sun will rise the next morning. Of course it will! And I don't sit around all day depressed, anxious whether the night will really come or not. Of course it will! It's a sure thing ... a done deal! So, why should I ever be sleepless or depressed, worried or anxious whether God really loves me or not? It's a sure thing ... a done deal! As surely as the sun will rise the next morning, that's how sure I can be that God loves me and always does what is best for me. Now that's a very encouraging thought!

January is birthday month for the Swiss Byrds, as well as Catherine's side of the family. Two of Joanne and Jeremy's older cousins in Switzerland have their birthdays earlier in the month. On the 24th Joanne reached the milestone of sixteen years. She celebrated by having some friends over for food and fun. The crêpes were a big hit, as well as the hilarious dictionary game that they all played for the first time. In the picture to the right you can see Jeremy looking through our humongous 2500-page, 11-pound unabridged dictionary. You know, that book has an interesting history....

It all started a few years after Catherine and I were married, in the early 1990's. Actually, it might have even been in 1994, the year Joanne was born. Anyway, I decided to order the electronic version of an unabridged dictionary on CD, which I had delivered to my parents' house in California. My cousin Jeff was going to visit us soon, so I asked him to bring it with him. When he arrived, he pulled out that huge dictionary you see in the photo. I was so shocked! I asked him what THAT was, seeing I had ordered a version on CD. Come to find out that when you ordered the CD version, you also received the PRINT version as a bonus for FREE! My poor cousin, having to lug that monster all the way from California to Switzerland in his suitcase! Thanks, Jeff ... you really went beyond the call of duty! And now, here it is, the guest of honor at Joanne's 16th birthday party!!

And last but not least, today, on the last day of the month, Jeremy celebrated the completion of his 15th year. We made mini pizzas in our raclette oven, which takes a while, but hey, we had all afternoon! As you can see from the photo, cooking at the table this way really brought out the chef in Olivia!

Then this evening we enjoyed the bon bon ice cream pie that Joanne made especially for Jeremy from their grandma's receipe. Jeremy's tastebuds were tickled to death!

So there you have it ... one month of 2010 down, 11 to go. And in about 4 hours it will be time to start our February blog entry ... stay tuned!