I'm Coming Home!

We have an announcement...Brenda is going to be a big sister! She is from the show me state about an hour south of Waynesville. A beautiful baby bulldog named Roxanne!!!

Nursery Genius

Check it out!! Sarah is featured on Apartment Therapy for her decorating skillz in Cash's nursery. I guess this is wes and sarah homemaking week. Link to website

Gramie would be impressed that the pewter cup she got us got accolades, as did Antoine the Donkey from mom.

Also welcome home Mr. Bill Gaines from his tour of Asia. Any pics or stories Dad? We'll give you a couple days to recover from that jet-lag.

let me introduce you to his pride and joy

the man can bake! we had a dinner with friends last night to talk over some church stuff, and we were in charge of dessert. what to bring? ice cream? too obvious. Wes's "famous" chocolate sauce? not enough pizazz. hmmm . . . strawberry tart with red currant jelly glaze? perfect!

Wes saw this being made on PBS a few weeks ago and hasn't been able to rid its image from his sugar-coated mind. after a drive to my dad's to borrow a tart pan and a lunch break run to the store for a pastry brush (which he just had to have), Wes was ready to go. he wouldn't even let me help when i offered to finish it in the morning so he could go to bed (he was up till almost midnight monday night). his response . . . 'I just kind of want to see this through." okay then.

the tart was met by a thunderous applause at dinner. sadly, there was none left to take home. another party saved from the doldrums of brownies and ice cream by Wes Gaines.

Gracie Finds Her Voice

Tonight at dinner, Gracie went into one of her screaming routines that have become the norm ever since she got an audience in Michigan. We spiced it up a bit to make it kind of "scary!"

He didn't even see it coming. Grace's lightning quick right hand jab caught in action.

Check out more photos from the weekend on the web album.

Rebellion season comes to an end

Hercules
Originally uploaded by famousscientists.

Well, my first rugby season has come to an end with a loss to South Orange County in the first round of the playoffs yesterday. I come away from the season relatively unscathed and looking forward to building a bigger and better team for next year.

We finished the season with a 1-8 record, but in my opinion, we had more fun, carried more enthuthiasm and optimism to the pitch each week, setting an example for sportsmanship, pride and team.

We even got a nice write-up in this local magazine, check it out: http://www.frontierspublishing.com/mag/index.php?o=art&article=1334

After the game my coach asked me to move up a division for the next season to get the proper training and competition to become a better rugby player. I told him I was flattered, but I'm a Rebel for life. Mr. Falan would have been proud.

Fiesta de Pascuas (Easter) en East Lansing

Caleb gets timeout during Easter Story, Braydon cheats during the Egg hunt, Evan almost escapes into the street, Greyson, Josiah, Isa, Eden and Brooklyn!!! etc etc. My wife did an impeccable job organizing this for the kids!

Check out Wes' post on the Darfuris in the Fort first. How awesome, what an opportunity Wes!

love Jeff

Darfur Fort Wayne Connection

Here's an interesting article on Darfurians living in Fort Wayne???

Read Article

Thanks Jeff -

P1000879
Originally uploaded by stevelamps.

MMMMM........ Foooooooood!

P1000903
Originally uploaded by stevelamps.

hello everyone out there in baby land and brenda land. Greyson is eating rice cereal and as you can see enjoying it quite thoroughly. We're looking forward to the summer here seeing it is now just hittting 40 degrees, and greyson will be older, which translates into better sleep hopefully. We are going to become die hard Great Lakes Loons fans (Midland minor league team). The park is built and I have my very own t-shirt. Shea is doing well and can't wait for tahoe. See you all there.

Steve

Glendora shines on Sunday

Although, Mickelson didn't win, I still had to post this because it is such an "ACE and GARY" shot. Ha!

You can give our boy Jake the green jacket today! He won by one stroke with a low of +28. His clinch pick was the combo of Goosen/Casey finishing strong on Sunday. Second = Bill Gaines +29
Tie for Third = Bill Stelter/Jeff +30
Fourth = Wes +41

I didn't get to watch Sunday due to the fact we had a Easter Fiesta for the ninos at our house; but I did hear Zach Johnson, a normal Joe, won and thanked "his Lord and Savior" too! I gotta admit. It's good to see the someone new (and in our shoes with a new baby too )

Anyway, thansk for playing. I spoke with Jake last night, and after his victory speech we discussed how fun this is....so stay tuned for another GL posse competition. May be the ponies? NBA finals? INDY 500? Seriously, can someone else pick the next one up, to take the heat and jokes off me?

Jeff

Ancillary video clip to go with Wes' Easter message

Read Wes' previous message!!!! then watch this clip (shown at church this morning w/message)

http://wingclips.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16253

John 3:16 beyond words and understanding is our Risen KING!

Cristos Anesti!

Easter 2007

(This is long, so if you don't make it through, Happy Easter and much love from Fort Wayne)

On Easter we celebrate the resurrection. Jesus died, was buried, and on the third day rose again. This is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. It is a mystery that we believe by faith, and that infuses us with the hope that we too will experience resurrection. In the book of Acts the resurrection was the focal point of the apostle's teaching (Acts 2:24, 31-34, 4:33). This change in the disciples (from deserting him at the cross to boldly proclaiming his resurrection even at the point of death) to me is clearest evidence of the resurrection. Mostly because the disciples didn't expect Jesus to be raised from the dead. It was unheard of that the Messiah would be killed, especially by Rome, and then would somehow come back to life, conquering death. If anything, as seen in the Triumphal entry, people expected Jesus to restore Israel to power and overcome Rome. But as far as evidence goes, the mystery of the resurrection is not something we can take to the lab test and come out with a validated outcome. So its not surprising in our time where science has been elevated to such a high place, that the concept of resurrection is met with great skepticism. Since it cannot be proven it is cast aside as "superstition", good for those who need to put a positive spin on death, but foolishness for the enlightened. This has lead "enlightened" theologians to de-mistify the resurrection by explaining it as a metaphor. Jesus' spirit lives on but he physically remains dead like the rest of us will. This distinction between physical and spiritual has also crept into mainstream Christian thought as well. The gospel message preached in most evangelical churches goes a little like this: 1. You are a sinner 2. Jesus died for your sins 3. Pray this "sinners" prayer and you will 4. Not go to hell but 5. Go to heaven which is somewhere beyond our galaxy 6. you will be a disembodied spirit floating in the clouds in this celestial city and will probably know how to play the harp. I might have exaggerated this a bit, but this view of the gospel leads to escapism, which maintains that our ultimate goal is to be free from this body, and free from this world. You see it all the time in some of the songs we sing, "I'll fly away" "Take me away sweet Jesus". It has lead countless Christians to "rapture practice", and has inspired numerous bumper stickers "in case of rapture, this car will be unmanned!" The overall message here is that there is nothing worth saving in this world but our souls, so don't worry about "physical" things like our bodies or the environment around us, its all gonna burn. I think this distinction is false or at least misleading. We have a tendency toward this dualism because we live currently in physical reality and it is hard to imagine the spiritual world as anything other than a separate realm having nothing to do with what we can see, touch, smell, or taste. And so heaven is far away somewhere "beyond imagination", Jesus saved your soul, which will one day disappear in rapturous delight to this "unworldly place".

But listen to T.S Eliot who writes, "We may say that religion, as distinguished from modern paganism, implies a life in conformity with nature. It may be observed that the natural life and the supernatural life have a conformity to each other that neither has with the mechanistic life." Along the same line Wendell Berry says, "I take literally the statement in the Gospel of John that God loves the world. Our bodies are involved in the world. Their needs, desires, and pleasures are physical." The point is not to downplay spirituality, or to say that we are not spiritual beings, but that the belief that our souls are the only thing worth saving leads us to devalue physical reality. This same sort of reduction causes those in the scientific community to equate our bodies with machines; the heart is a pump, brain is a computer etc., diminishing in every way what was "fearfully and wonderfully made". The opposite view is what NT Wright describes as "overlapping spheres"; that there isn't such a wide gap between the spiritual and physical but that they are intermingling. Heaven is not so much a place far far away but it is God's realm, which is present all around us, "The earth is full of his glory." Through Jesus, this realm has come breaking into our present reality, and though it is not fully realized yet we are instructed to pray "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." And the message of the kingdom is that God is healing, restoring, and renewing his people and his creation. We are more than just souls that will float off someday, we are people who live, breathe, and move in a world which is sustained by his love and full of his glory. This is the good news, that God so loved the world that he was not willing to let it perish.

And so we celebrate Easter. Jesus died, was buried, and was raised to life. And this resurrection life, this redeeming of our physical bodies is the hope of the whole earth.

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved." Romans 8:8-24

After Three

Woah! A"GUST"A tamed those boyz today. Looks like we're shooting for LOWEST over par. And here's our leaderboard heading into tomorrow (top 5 golfers/of us):

LOWEST TOTAL SCORES ADDED FROM BEST 5 GOLFERS AFTER SATURDAY'S ROUND 3:

Bill Stelter= +25
Jeff= +26
Bill Gaines= +27
Jake= +30
Wes= +32

The MAN from Sagtown MI is quietly taking command...will one of our +5/6/7ers take charge and put some pressure on him tomorrow? TBA

(Let me know, I may have missed count...count your own if you want)

The first step is admitting you have a problem...

...And I DO! Ok so after the hangover of the NCAAs, I'm back ready with another "fix." Here's the low-down for this weekend's Gaines-Lampi Posse + SPECIAL GUEST entry......BIG DADDY BILL STELTER (HE'S IN- Gave me his picks right off the top of his head, no questions asked after saying "I WANT IN!") !!! MASTERS tourney.

Pick your 10 golfers (go to any sports website) who you think will finish BEST in this weekend's "TRADITION UNLIKE ANY OTHER."

Sunday, when it finishes, we'll add up your best 5 finishers (their UNDER PAR SCORES) and see who has the most points UNDER PAR. (Thanks Jake)

If you don't have 5 make the necessary cuts, oh well. We'll count up your 4,3,2 or none???

Oh yeah, let's say (good chance) there's a tie (maybe 2 people have -42????). Then the tie breaker will be who (of the 2 winners) had the golfer with the most birdies on Sunday (Thanks Bill Stelter for that one...he's such a stud!)

There it is. Simple, sweet, and just enough to get me through to when the ponies run the Derby in the blue grass.

Please use the "comments" to post your top 10 golfers. And take some risks and pick diverse! So far it's me, Wes, Papa Gaines, Jake and Bill Stelter. ANyone else? Again this is an "all skate."

One Shining Moment: Cheers to our Wesley!

Well, part of my responsibility as the BOOKIE is not only to get the bets out, lay out the skinny, make the necessary calls, but also to give PROPS, the final report, and brake some kneecaps if our boy, WESLEY, DOESN'T GET PAID!

HAIL TO THE VICTOR! Congrats to Wes taking the annual G-L posse tourney challenge with the Gator victory last night. I am glad for you man; and I bet this feels good after the rookie NFL Fantasy season. I gots to give you props and proclaim you the SWAMI of Hoops at least until next year's tourney.

I'll confess, I can't wait. LOVED the action and drama. Here's how my take on the rest of us kinda:

Second Place: JAKE...ICE IN HIS VEINS man..you should have won with the Georgetown pick...They'll be back next year, as Champs.

Third Place: Me. nothing to say really. Blah. I was "all-in" with Memphis and got burned.

Fourth Place: Ben Brus. Amazing seeing he would have won if OSU could "pull a late Steve irwin" on the Gators last night. And he watched 0 ball during the season.

The rest of y'all finished respectfully and I was very scared of some of the runs by the women....Lena and ABs! Chispas!

Stormin' Norman, your day is coming, I know it. And that Maltby Gymnasium will bestow your paramount name someday.


Here's to Wes! the man of mystery, whose last year in Sports (including yesterday's opening day game TIGERS!!!) has been MAGICAL! He said it first:

"I'm in it to win it" Cash Daddy Gaines!

Pay Date: August in Tahoe! O WHAT A SUMMER!

Thanks for playing...any suggestions for next comp? or shall we wait till NFL season?

Jeff

Los Angeles Storm

Check out this video of this storm that passed through Los Angeles last week:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i37xoevTo7I

The high winds made riding my bike a lot more difficult. The weather was been pretty bad this winter in Los Angeles with very little rainfall. Nobody knows if this is a direct effect of Global Warming but there was an interesting piece in the times today about how water is scarce in L.A., namely because all three of it's main water sources had a dry winter too. This hasn't happened in some time. Los Angeles imports most of it's water from outside sources. It's gonna be a long summer.

In other news, my rugby team won our first game ever (EVER!) and I scored a touchdown (my first ever) to give our team the lead. I did, however, hurt my knee and I can't walk right now. That's all sure to get better soon, though. But for now I'm taking it easy and I'll be getting some crutches tomorrow. Hopefully it's not too serious. Or else you'll all probably be hit up to donate to the 'Help Andy get an MRI' fund, which may birth the, 'Help Andy get surgery' foundation.

I hope all is well with everybody.

Do you think Jesus's disciples just thought he was playing an April Fools joke on them?

HAPPY PALM SUNDAY TO ALL!!

Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime; it is the LORD who makes the storm clouds.
He gives showers of rain to men, and plants of the field to everyone.
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.

From Zechariah