Thai Wedding

Recently I was asked to shoot a wedding for a Thai couple. Here are a few shots from before the wedding:

Book Review: The Book of Romance

I recently finished Tommy Nelson's "The Book of Romance: What Solomon Says About Love, Sex, and Intimacy." This is a book that I really wanted to really like, but in the end I only sorta like. I was hoping and expecting that the book would be, at least to some degree, a commentary on the Song of Solomon; it is not. It doesn't interact with the Hebrew text, doesn't deal with interpretive issues, doesn't do any of the normal things commentaries do. Nelson lightly treats the text and pulls from it only the simplest, highest level interpretation; that is, the subject matter of the book is at best loosely based upon the text. I want more.

What is the book about? More than anything it's biblical, fatherly advice given to those who are dating and thinking about marriage. It's the wisdom of an older man given with a biblical world view and organized around subjects like dating, courting, communication, conflict resolution, sexual promiscuity, and so on. As such, the book is decent. I suppose if I approached this book expecting it simply to be a collection of good advice, then I would have been less disappointed. I might recommend this book.

Pictures: Swim Meet 2

Here are a couple pictures of Jacen, one doing freestyle and the other on a kickboard:

Pictures: Swim Meet

Every spring and fall, Grace International School hosts a swim meet. They graciously let homeschoolers practice and compete with them, so Jacen and Emmy participated again this year.

Emmy diving in:



Emmy swimming in the bouy race (arms only):



I blogged about this swim meet last year.

Pictures: Jezzy chasing water

During the dry season I water the yard and flowers, and one day I discovered that Jezzy loves chasing water. As I squirted the water around the yard, she went nuts chasing it:



Of course, afterwards she was soaked, and looked kinda like a large, wet rat (with a collar):

Pictures: James and Ann

As part of my anniversary gift to Ann, I need a good photo of us. Here's my first attempt using a homegrown "studio."



Here's another one.

Pictures: Kids in the pool

Our muubaan (neighborhood) has a small pool. We don't use it much, 'cause we generally go to the much nicer, much larger one at Grace instead. But a couple weeks ago during Songkran we went with a couple other families in the neighborhood to swim, talk, and have a good water fight.

Pictures: Entrances

Here are a couple local shots. This one is the entrance to our neighborhood.



This one is the entrance to Grace International School, which kindly allows our kids to use the library and participate in some sports (like swimming, basketball, and soccer).

Pictures: Jacen's Crossbow

Like any normal boy, Jacen is attracted to weapons. And ironically, Chiang Mai sells a variety of wooden weapons for kids to play with. Jacen has already accumulated a rubber band gun, a couple swords, and a little bow, and recently he added a crossbow to his arsenal. This weapon has upped the ante and is approaching "real weapon" status, so we went out one morning for some safety instructions and target practice.

Pictures: Final Shots From Songkran

Today's post is bit more eclectic. I was surprised to see a trio of monks walking down the street armed with Songkran weapons, but they seemed to be into it like everyone else:



I wonder if any of these pizzas were a bit soggy when delivered:

Pictures: Songkran 2010

The best Songkran action is at the moat. If you go to the moat, either you drive around the moat and soak those standing on the sidewalks, or you stand on the sidewalks soaking those who drive around. Here's a sample of both:



Note all the water in the street which this crowd has already drawn from the moat and splashed on people:

Review of "30 Days to Understanding the Bible"

Max Anders is a troll. Obviously one cannot understand the Bible in a mere 30 days, and he admits as much in the intro. Nevertheless, I like this book. In simple, easy-to-understand chapters, he explains the big picture of the Bible. He explains the organization of the Bible books and some basic info on genres of literature. He walks through the entire Bible, giving the meta-narrative, the overall story. He shows how the different books relate to each other chronologically. He also goes through the major doctrines of the Bible.

I think this book, which can read in 30 days (or less), is especially ideal for kids, for new believers, and for people just beginning to study the Bible for themselves. It gives a framework for understanding how everything fits together.

I recommend this book.

Pictures: Songkran 2010

Looking for someone to shoot:



Totally owned:



Waiting for a victim (fashionably):

Picture: Songkran

Songkran is the Thai New Year, a 3-day holiday that was celebrated last week. Here in Chiang Mai, the big event is the ongoing water fight that happens around the moat. Some draw water from the moat and throw it on people (nasty). Some bring water in barrels in the back of pickups and drive around squirting people. Ann and I took the kids and did the later. For nearly an hour, we drove around squirting and being squirted. I drove the truck in the bumper-to-bumper traffic (and took a few pictures), while Ann was a super-trooper and hung out with the kids in the back and got totally soaked!

Over the next few days, I'll post a few of the pictures I took.

No gun is too small:



I posted pictures about Songkran last year.

Pictures: Jezzy and Zoey

I posted previously that we were dog-sitting another Yorkie. One day we took them to a nearby park and let them run. As the temperature was over 100 degrees F, it didn't take long for them to find some shade and for their tongues to come out.