Answers for the Questions Act II

Hey there! It's Sunday evening and Mom and Dad are out with my sister Anna [it's her birthday], while us older kids watch the house. We have had a great [and very busy] weekend. We went to a birthday party on Friday night, we had an early birthday party for Anna on Saturday morning, and after that we went to the highly-anticipated Alexanders' Barn Dance! That was so much fun guys, thanks for having us all out there :) It was very, very, well done and well planned. We left there at about 9:00 pm and made the 2-hour trip back to our to our place. Of course we had to wind down [and have a midnight snack:), so we probably didn't get to sleep til 1 or something. This morning we hosted church at our house, where the pastor from a church in Romania that we support, came with his son and spoke to us all about their work in Romania, their church, their government, etc. He has come several times before, and really makes a huge effort to visit us each time he comes to America. By the way, every time he comes, he's driving all the way from Chicago! He drives all the way to our part of VA just to speak for a relatively short amount of time, and head back! All that to say, I have just gotten a chance to sit back down to the computer and work on answering some more of these questions. So without further ado, here's some more answers:

Q: What's your favorite kind of car?

A: Hmm. Let's see. My dream car would have the ruggedness of a Hummer, the power of a BMW, the comfort of the Plaza, the sleekness and shape of a Chrysler 300, Dodge Avenger/Charger, Mustang combo, and the price of............. a candy bar. Or a '87 Subaru GL

Q: When you eat M&Ms do you sort them and if so which colors do you eat first?

A: Sometimes I sort my M&Ms [or at least pick out which color to eat first], and when I do, I'd probably eat the greens and blues first.

Q: Which is better the Redskins or the Cowboys?

A: I have to say I don't really follow football much, so I don't have much of a reason to say one or the other. But maybe I'll go with the Cowboys because my brother has a Cowboys helmet. Or maybe I'll go with the Redskins because they're closest to me. Probably whichever one is the underdog but still has a hope :)

Q: What do you think is the hardest language to learn?

A: Probably Gaelic or some other dead language. [Though I've never tried of course].

Q: What is the Immaculate Conception?

A: That's what they've called God's allowing Mary to become pregnant with Jesus.

Q: What is the Immaculate Reception?

A: I had fun with this one. a: How Joseph took the news, b: When the Redskins or Cowboys actually catch a hail-Mary pass.

Q: How many sodas do you drink a day?

A: You all must think that I only drink soda or something. I usually drink one 22 or 32oz cup of soda on an average work day.

Q: What is your favorite character in Monsters Inc.?

A: I like Sully, Mike, and of course, Boo. [also Roz and the CDA] [and occasionally Randall :)

Q: What is your favorite food?

A: Oh, that's way too subjective for one answer:) Depending on what I've had recently, it could change. But here's something at least: I have to have protein [mostly meat] or I'll get to feeling all headachey and jittery and stuff. I love meat.

Q: What is your favorite ice cream?

A: Probably cookie dough or cookies and cream.

Q: What would scare you the most, finding a snake on your pillow, getting locked in a dinosaur museum all night or milking all of our cows by yourself?

A: Hmm. Not the museum [I'd just go to office or something][ wait, it would be really scary if it was like "Night at the Museum"]. Milking all of your cows by myself would mostly confuse me.[ Though it should terrify you]. So probably finding my mortal enemy, the snake, on my pillow.

Q: What is your least favorite chore?

A: Well, because I work in the business every day, I don't have many scheduled inside chores. But I think my least favorite chore-related thing is when a chore that sounds [and should be] simple, goes wrong or messes up, or the tool breaks or gets lost, etc. That really irritates me.

Q: Have you ever thrown food under the table that you were supposed to eat, but didn't like?

A: I don't think so. I'd tend toward feeling guilty for not liking it and start thinking I should make myself eat more. [At least when I was little. And believe me, that's no better or easier a problem to have].

Q: What is your favorite school subject?

A: I love science from a Biblical world-view. I also love history. I tend to do pretty well with math, and I love the math when it "clicks" in my head. When I can teach it back to you, that's when I love it. I don't always love what it takes to get there though.

Q: What is your view on Christian rock vs. hymns?

A: Okay, this can tend to be a touchy subject, but I'm going to try to shoot straight. First, I need to know what you mean be "Christian Rock". Some people consider Casting Crowns, Third Day, and Steven Curtis Chapman, to be rock. I get that. [it is rock and roll beats, etc.] I've also known people who define rock only as screamo, yelling, type music. I do not endorse that kind of music. I think though, that you are talking about the first type of rock. [like something on K-love]. I will proceed using that definition. I don't think that there needs to be Christian rock VS hymns. [As if they're in some kind of boxing match]. I have many hymns that are close to my heart as well as many "Christian rock" songs that are close to my heart. I feel in no way called to have a "hymns only" mindset. When I evaluate music, the very first thing I pay attention to are the words. I try to understand the "heart" of the song. That the words speak the Lord's truth is a very key factor. If you think about it, some of the worldliest [is that a word:) songs are slow ballads filled with immorality. I believe that hymns are treasures from God that have been passed down to us by God's people, and I believe that God is still moving in his people [including contemporary Christian artists], to write new songs for us to treasure that minister to our hearts. And also, are really great music! :) I hope this kind of answers your question :)

Q: What is your least favorite food?

A: This should be shorter. I do not like watermelon or butter. [I mean, I like butter in stuff, but not like buttering my bread].

Q: Do you believe in the right to secede from the Union?

A: Well the barn dance is over, so you can't lock me up =) As I mentioned the other day on here, I am not very polished up at all on secession rights. I believe that all of our rights should be protected, and should never be "given" to us by our leaders. Our rights are given to us by God. As far as a right to secede goes, I'd have to look in the books and see what's there. The "rights" issue aside though, I see a whole lot more wisdom in unity than division. Just as a house divided cannot stand, a nation divided isn't much better. [I mean, not some socialist, brain-washed, everyone's forced to believe the same thing idea, but just that I believe that God planted this nation here for His plans, and He has great ones]. Let us be active as citizens who bear His name. Representatives of our state, and more than that; representatives of our Lord!

Q: Do you believe that the federal government has the right to invade a group of former states, brutally kill its citizens, burn down many of its citys, and justify it all on a small group of slaves that were treated like family by their masters?

A: Wow. That's kind of a loaded pair of dice there. If I boil down your question, I get something like this, "Do you believe that the federal government has the right to make war on former states because they owned slaves?". Well, that would tend to suggest that the North's only "excuse" for the Civil War was slaves. If that's the only one, it doesn't line up with what I've heard. In fact, seeing as you seem to tend more toward "unNorth", I would think that you might have a few more "excuses" to tell us about. At any rate, I thought the issue was that for whatever reason [I don't really know if it was good or bad], the U.S. gov. didn't recognize the South's secession. I don't know the particulars very well, but did the South meet the criteria [if there are any] for secession? So, if to the gov., the southern states weren't "former" states [because they'd never left], it wasn't making war on a separate nation, but squelching a group of rebels. I'm not saying I agree with everything there, because I haven't done as much research as you probably have. I was just laying out what I thought the Northern reasoning was. If the situation was truly as you described it, I could see your point. Hopefully, I'll have a better answer for you sometime. :)

Alright, that's it for now. I'll be back soon with Act III :) Thanks for reading and have a great night!