5 Days of Magic!

We spent all of last week in southern California with five days at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. I had not been there since the completion of California Adventure and Downtown Disney. We spent quite abit of time in these new additions. By far the best ride in the California park was "Soaring Over California". What an incredible ride. Grizzly River Run is the "wet" ride. We went as a family on this. A total of eight people are loaded in the raft. By the end of the ride some part of you WILL be wet. While in California Adventure we went into the Hollywood section. This totally played games with my mind! It looks like Hollywood. We had the opportunity to see Aladdin. This rivaled any Broadway production. We also visited the Golden Vine Winery presentation. A definate highlight was the Disney Electrical Parade. I had seen it on video but the live version was outstanding!

Most of our evenings were spent in Disneyland. The 50th Anniversary Celebration will soon be coming to a close, Mickey ears with "50" scattered throughout the park and on every ride. The 50th fireworks presentation was beautiful (we saw this twice). Sleeping Beauty's Castle changed colors with each firework display. WOW!!! Our family spent alot of time in Fantasyland. I think my favorite was the Peter Pan ride. Judging by the lines it was popular with other people as well. Other family favorites include Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Matterhorn, and the Tomorrowland Rockets. We also saw the Fantasia presentation (two times). As we were leaving the park on Friday evening, Tina made the comment "I could stay a few more days". I agreed. Our family had a wonderful time!
Southern California weather was 60-70 degrees and sunny. It rained off and on Friday. We went prepared with umbrellas.

Weather today: Sunny, not a cloud in the sky and 74 degrees. I can finally dry out and mow the lawn!!!

-Norm

The Building

First a little history. I used to work for a printing company as a press operator. I worked there for 4 1/2 years. Working there involved long hours and a business owner with an uncontrollable temper. It was not uncommon to start work at 7:00 AM and not leave until 9:00 PM. The next morning the owner would come in screaming about all that we did not get done! During my time there I met the owner of the building (the landlord). He was a different kind of guy. The landlord and the printshop owner we're always arguing about something, usually regarding much needed building repairs. Neither of them liked the other. I started a new job and would ocassionally stop by to visit my former coworkers. A couple of years ago the building burned and the business relocated. During the fire the building was gutted. The outside of the building was concrete and withstood the fire. Everything inside was burned.
Fast forward to yesterday. I drove past this building. The inside was never rebuilt. Yesterday I noticed the unusual part. They painted the outside of this building and the adjoining buildings. As I drove past I could see through the windows, it was an empty cement slab with nice paint on the outside. While the exterior had new paint, within the walls it was dead and lifeless.

I think there is a lesson here.

Often times we try to put on new paint or put on a new face. Inside we are lifeless, a cold dead slab with walls that could house something great. In Ephesians 2:1-6, we are dead IN trespasses and sin, but God who is rich in mercy brings us to life and joins us together with Christ. Unlike this building owner, God works from the inside out, rather than the outside in.

Weather today: Raining (still!). 58 degrees and getting cooler as the day goes on. Snow a lower elevations this evening and tomorrow.

-Norm