IKEA man

Found this guy snoozing it up in the IKEA cafeteria a few weeks ago. I had a flashforward of what my IKEA experience will be in 30 years ... err ... not even that long.

In Case You Weren't Sure

Carl's

Fredricksburg, VA is known for its lush history--battlefields, war memorials, etc. Last night after the worship service, a couple from the church took us to experience one small piece of that history--a local landmark--a capstone of society--an ice cream place called Carl's that's been in operation for decades. I had the mapelnut sundae. Arguably the best sundae I've ever had. Ever heard of this place? If you're passing through Fredricksburg, you're gonna want to check this place out!

Reading Habits: Odd or Normal?

I'm in the middle of about six books right now. I don't know why I do this to myself. It just happens. I guess I just get excited, jump the gun and start one before I can finish another. But maybe it's because they each have their own particular context in which they fit more appropriately than another. So, I thought I'd share briefly the method behind my madness and let you into my world just a little bit--if for no other reason than to help justify in my mind why the heck I do this. Perhaps it will help me make some sense of my own peculiarities regarding reading. Or perhaps not.

Category 1: The bathroom reading category--usually a lighter read on spiritual growth or a novel or something like that--not necessarily excerpts from The Church Fathers, systematic theology or anything that requires a long sit-down. Right now this would include Beyond All Measure by my friend Wes McMurray and Praying Backwards by Bryan Chapell.

Category 2: The airplane/once-a-year visit to the mall/have-a-ton-of-time-to-kill category--usually something a little deeper that requires slower reading on my part in order to grasp the content (not a good place for an "Amen.") Right now this includes: Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ronald Sider and The Reason for God by Tim Keller.

Category 3: I'll simply deem the "diarrhea category". This is the type of reading that never really concludes. More often than not this includes books that make great reference materials. A continuous perusing of several staple books that I keep coming back to over and over again. I read a bit. Put it down for a couple of weeks. Pick it back up. Put it down again. And so on. Right now this includes: Commentaries and smaller works within larger works, God Songs by Paul Baloche, A Godward Life by John Piper, Beyond by Greg Laurie, The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, books on marriage and parenting and much more.

If I had a point here, I guess it would be in the form of this question:

Is this normal? Just wondering.

Always Read the Instructions First

Sad news: Tasha is sick with a severe sinus infection. She says it's the worse pain of her life. Ugh. I'm playing the Mr. Mom role right now...canceling meetings, cooking, cleaning, spanking the children, etc. Have I told you lately that I love my wife and have a renewed appreciation for all she does? Tasha, have I told you that lately? Well, I do. Husbands, let's not forget to tell our wives that today.

On another note: In a desperate attempt to keep myself healthy in a home ravaged and invaded by germs, I have been taking Airborne, Vitamin C, and Sudafed PE like candy. But just one word of caution. This is the first time I've ever taken Airborne ... and I failed to read the instructions first. Big Mistake. As soon as I broke open the bottle I popped a tablet straight into my mouth and began chewing, figuring that was the proper method. I was wrong. They are meant to be dissolved in water first, much like alka-seltzer. That was debatably one of the worst mistakes of my life. I can't even begin to describe the horrific sensations that jolted through my entire body, beginning with my mouth that felt like Cherry bombs exploding, continuing down my esophogus that felt like it was being attacked by cheese graters, and concluding in the pit of my stomach where the experience was much like what I would imagine a prized deer might feel where he to tragically still be alive during the gutting and stuffing process by the local taxidermist.

So, just a word of caution: Always read the instructions first.

Let's Go

I'm going to this and so should you!

Stupid

I just added a good stupid joke to the books last night:

"You might be stupid if you leave your water hose running all night and the back door to your SUV wide open for public consumption, BOTH ON THE SAME NIGHT."

Linking

I'm new to this whole technorati thing, so apparently, if you have me as a link on your blog, make sure you link it as joshvia.com, NOT joshvia.blogspot.com.
Somehow they can't work together, and having the .blogspot.com on the end makes it not show up as a claimed blog. I'm not sure why. It seems to be interfering with my old MySpace blog posts?! Maybe someone out there can give me the skinny. Hugs and Kisses.

.02

Is this even bloggable? or worthy of a blog? Today I mailed off like 5 letters, only to realize a few minutes ago that I forgot to add additional postage!! Unbelievable! That's like throwing $2 in the garbage can, plus the additional postage when they are returned to me so that I can mail them again. That's brilliant! I wonder how much postage normal U.S. citizens like me are throwing away this week alone. If if hear a total I'll let you know. Note to bloggers: Add .02 cents before you mail anything.

It was My Wife's Idea

My wonderful wife was radio surfing the other day during her commute home. As fate would have it, she stumbled upon a contest. Yes, one of those. And so she came home with the brilliant idea that we would participate in this contest for the chance to win $500. "Sure," I said. "Why not." She then informed me that she simply needed to take a photograph of her husband performing some chores around the house in a pose that could be described as "a mother's fantasy."

Being the honoring husband that I am, I followed through - so much so that I'm sure it will mean my downfall and the beginning of Zeke's complex. Why? you ask. Well, just follow this LINK and you'll discover why. And while you're at it, go ahead and cast your vote for us (We're contestant #1, by the way). Tasha will be grateful. And the kids' college fund will too.

It's Out

Here's the update of the week. Our CD "The End to Which I Strive" is completed and arrived at our doorstep in 10 huge boxes this week. We're stoked about it and we hope that all of you will buy one to support the starving children that live in our home (That's a joke. Don't call Child Protective Services on me. They're not really starving. We feed them at least once a week). By Friday, you should be able to go on our website and download the songs for .99 cents each, or $10 for the whole album, compliments of DigStation.com and Smooth. If you'd like a hard copy, as soon as I figure out the shipping costs, I'll post some info about how you can do that. Or, just come pay us a visit in Indian Trail, NC.

Imago Dei

I wanted to publicly thank Sarah Tarabocchia at Imago Dei Photography for doing such an amazing job on our photos last week. You should definitely check out her work, and if you're ever in the Richmond, VA area and need a pro to take your picture, look her up. Her site is www.imagodeiphoto.com. Hopefully we'll have her pics on our site very soon. Thanks so much, Sarah.

Official Site

Well, it's finally here: joshandtashavia.com
We're stoked about it. This new direction and ministry that the Lord is leading our family is going to be amazing!! Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us as we make this leap. And a big thanks to Smooth Web Development for the excellent work on the site. Let's keep moving forward!

Pure Volume

Hey, we're officially Pure Volume members. You can check out all of our songs and download many of them for free. Merry Christmas to all, and to all good listening.

I'm In

26 Now the mighty men of the armies were Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, . . . 46 Eliel the Mahavite and Jeribai and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam.

1 Chronicles 11:26, 46

Sweet!