when we see the real differences

Sheffield
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Chicago, IL
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Lakeview, MI
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Genk
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Pinch me

I am really enjoying my new job. It is day four beginning this morning and I'm looking forward to each day for far.

Some of you know I really enjoy a trip to the museum or art gallery. Now I work for one.

The end of an Era

Today is my last day working for Sheffield Hallam University Faculty of Organisation and Management as at the Languages Learning Support Technician.

I have been here nearly a year. I have enjoyed my job and learn a lot. Hopefully I have contributed in a positive way. I will miss many of the people I have worked with. I will miss the students. I will miss seeing the first skyscraper in Sheffield being built out my office window.

SHU (Sheffield Hallam University), is an interesting place. Always reforming, restructuring and rebuilding growing beyond it's capacity. With roughly 28,000 students and nearly 3,000 staff and large portions of the city real estate devoted to it you can image things can move by fits and starts.

Still SHU can be a relaxing, warm, friendly environment with a great mix of people from all walks of life, points of view and parts of the world.

I will miss it.

100 posts

This is my 100th post!

Let me use it to tell you about this weekends trip to Belgium with Samuel and meeting up with a girl from America there called Kara.

Samuel, Fee, and I will leave Friday after work to sleep in Luton at Brian Jose house. Brian is with Radstock a mission group which networks churches doing mission. Brian is a Canadian and has helped Lyssa and I on a number of occasions particularly 5 years ago with in formation on how to get a visa with Crowded House and cultural transition and such.

Early Saturday Morning we will go to Stansted airport to fly to Eindhoven about an hours drive from Bree where Kara, Samuel and I will spend the day with Martin and Bianca Goedhart. Fee is staying down south I think to see her sister and Kara is meeting us in Einhoven with a car to take us to Bree.

About 2:00 we will all go to a wedding in Lommel of a couple from Bianca, Martin and Sanne's church.

In the evening Martin will take us for a walk into Bree for a drink while Binca has a youth meeting.

About 9:00 PM we will arrive at Dr. Marcel Leneart's. Here we will sleep after taslking with Hannah, Magada, and the Dr.

Sunday morning we will attend the church meeting with the Lenearts in Peer.

Sunday afternoon we will meet with Dr. Lenaert, Richard Haverkamp, and Hank Gellink to talk about what has been happening with church planting in Belgium.

About 5:00 PM Samuel and I will have to leave Peer to get back to the airport in Eindhoven for a flight out at 19:25 departure.

ITINERARY/RECEIPT - All times are local.

From London Stansted(STN) to Eindhoven(EIN) Sat, 06May06 Flight FR9271
Depart STN at 07:00 and arrive EIN at 09:00

From Eindhoven(EIN) to London Stansted(STN) Sun, 07May06 Flight FR9274
Depart EIN at 19:25 and arrive STN at 19:30

A new job

I am happy to announce that I have a new job with Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust as the Audio Visual Technician. I will be based in the £17 New Weston Park Museum as I work with all of the Galleries and Museums in the trust in Sheffield. I am very excited to be part of the opening of the new Weston Park museum. (Formerly the City Museum and Mappin Art Gallery)

I am sad to leave Sheffield Hallam University's Langauges and Technical peoples. I have made a lot of friends here and have enjoyed my job. I do hope they find someone soon to replace me for the sake of the languages and technical peoples.

Also I will miss the students who I have worked with in the LLRC.

Progress on a building site

I have lived in Sheffield now for just over four years. In that time I have watch a lot of building work. Since my father is a builder I notice construction sites and take a keen interest in watching their progress.
When I got the job at Hallam and then moved my office to the fourth level beside the floor to ceiling windows across from two or three large building projects I have had a lot to look at. Then add to that the several large scale project along Bramall Lane and around the Matilda Street area and I'm practically in a glut of "progress".

Yet I wonder. How much of this is truly a move forward. For one thing I have noticed much of what at first looks like a clear step forward is within a rather short time all torn up again and in the end left less complete looking than it may have at the beginning or definitely at the end.
A nice new pavement (sidewalk for you Yanks)will be put down with new curbs, pedestrain cross ways, and disability sensitive surfaces for the blind and all only to ahve the heavy construction planned in that area damage the curbs, break the new disability paving stones, and later to have the new ashphalt pavement surface scared with a long gash where subsequent power, cable, gas, water, sewer, etc. had to be laid down.

Looking forward

Looking forward is a key to happy healthy living. We need to see what is coming. We need to anticipate changes and patterns. We need to plan for highs and lows along the way. The Bible says , "without a vision the people parish." And I think, people need to have hopes. Things they look forward to and things they learn to deal with which no matter how unpleasant because these things will come.
But today I was pondering, "getting your hopes up." So let us press on toward the goal and look forward to the great things in store for us. Have you ever thought about the fact that we talk about things ahead as being, "in store?" It is a good way to describe the future. Because as we anticipate the future we store up things in our hearts, we behave in certain ways and these behaviors create patterns, these patterns then become the growth which brings forth fruit and it is on the fruit we dine in life. It is the fruit, and fattened calves, and aged wine, that make up the feast we all look forward to in the end. So we need to look to the feast and pull up the weeds, carry the grain to the cattle, tread on the grapes, and wait. Wait while we work for in due time we will reap a harvest if we don't give up. but let us look forward to the harvest while we work for it will cheer us in the hot sun and the pouring rain. Today we work for tomorrow we feast.

A lot to say and a black Attaché

When I went off to university my Aunt Penny gave me a hard side very smart black Samsonite attaché. Over my years in Chicago I wore it out especially by overloading it. Finally the handle broke and the hinge gave way and it died a death.
All I wanted to replace it was a soft sided black leather attaché. I still carry it nearly everyday now. Oh I switch to other bags like backpacks and ruck sacks along the way all of which I have wore out in one way or another. But the black leather attaché given to me by Marilyn, my mother-in-law still is going strong. I have replaced the shoulder strap but otherwise this bag is the one I take to work each day.

Horray!

for the soft sided black leather attaché

given to me given to me so generously!

Where's the fruit?

So what are we looking for here folks? We are looking for good fruit. What does it look like? Where does it come from? How will we know it is from the Lord? Are we fruit inspectors? Should we be asking ourselves if this or that is good or bad fruit? Do we know? Fruit sounds like an end product. Sometimes the process seems a bit messy but ends up with a good outcome, was that good fruit? If someone thinks the messy process is off putting for them could they deem that as bad fruit before they know the outcome.
Recently Daniel said most of this is shades of grey dad, But it if the shady stuff produces bad fruit it was black as sin. What is bad fruit?

Denying God. Disobeying his word. Distrusting his the truth he has revealed. Thinking we know better than God. Wanting other peoples stuff, envy, greed, jealously, pride, selfishness, anger, malice, lust, hopelessness. Denying God is good. Denying God is in control.

So what is good fruit, affriming by my actions and my thoughts that God is good, that he is in control, that he cares about his children.

Never alone, never misunderstood

It is plain and simple. If you have a friendship with God because you trust in Jesus, you are never alone. God knows exactly what you can do, why you would do it, and how much you can take. He knows your motives. Self-righteous thoughts do no good with the one who knows your heart intimately. But although God knows my heart he also says he loves me and is changing my heart to be like Jesus.

I never have to worry about having to explain. God knows, He was there too.
I never have to try and "look" good, I can't God knows. I can respond to God's wonderful gracious forgiveness and praise him, love him, and obey him. He has set me free to do this. If by a miracle of grace I can or do today, I know it was only because of Him.

Three Point Turn

I had a friend whose road was so very easy to miss I seemed to often drive by and then have to do a three point turn in the road to go back and proceed down the intended but missed road. I don't think I ever mastered that blind corner and the road from which you had to turn off was so highly banked up and crowned it wouldn't do to try a U-turn. So there I was forever relegated to the three pint turn. I felt like Homer Simpson. I guess I often feel like Homer (like just now, I had to re type Homer no less than four times because after all these years I still can't seem to time the shift key with certian other keys, let alone get the space between a capital I and a lowwer case w like in "I was")

Well this morning I was looking for the three point turn. I had got up late. It was my own fault ( but I really wanted to blame Lyssa and did blame Lyssa even though I knew I was to blame.)

I could easily make a list off all the reasons I felt "out of sorts"(my mother has used that phrase all my life and I dreaded to hear it! I guess it does communicate what is going on with me.)

As Lyssa said as we walked in to work. "It is a beautiful day."

I have so much to be thankful for and it would be much better to resit the urge to focus on those things which I feel like complaining about. I rather should rejoice! Yes Fionia, I need to learn to rejoice.

1. God the Father hears, knows, and cares about my problems.
2. God the Son has lived the knowing what it is like. And He wants to help too.
3. My kids are helping with the painting and took inititive to move furniture about.
4. Daniel is looking for work.
5. My folks are here. ( I really do wish we could have more time. I think I miss some of the good times now since I want more than we will get.
6. I am going to Belgium in a week or so.
7. The sun is shining.
8. Bethany has been wonderful.
9. the place my parents is staying is very convienient.
10. Our church family is very supportive.
11. We have made it this far.
12. God promised to take us all the way to his Son.
13. My sins are forgiven.
14. I have been afforded many many chances.
15. Our application for citizenship goes out today!
16. I have good friends who love the Lord and are loved by the Lord in the States, UK, and Belgium!
17. I'm having lunch with Samuel today.
18. We had good visits with Maria and family and Joan Simpson yesterday.
19. Emily and Wendy's room is nearly done.
20. I'm well fed and able to work.
    

We Passed!

Today Lyssa and I passed our UK citizenship test! So now we are able to apply for citizenship. It was hard but we passed!
We could be UK citizens by end of the year if all goes well.

They are here!

Don and Bunny have arrived. We have already had a great time with them. I wish they could be with us more.

The flight from the States was delayed about 40 min. Or more because of a lack of tail wind. Although that meant we missed the train we intended to take we were able to get one in a timely fashion and the train stopped in Manchester Piccadilly and then in Stockport before winding its way through the beautifully unique Peaks. After piling high the booty brought by grandma for the girls in an overstuffed black cab we arrived at 13 Holland Place, our home in sheffield for the last three years.

Mum and Dad are actually staying in an old large anglican church building converted to a rather nice apartment building for Old Age Pensioners. You can have a look here http://www.sheffieldfhs.org.uk/serv_con/StBarnabus_Highfield.htm
Our friend Ruth lives in the building and the building has a guest apartment which is very very reasonable to stay in. It is only two streets away and we can see the tower of the building out our kitchen window.

Nine of us went last night to a professional basketball game
all the Bodes (six of mine and my two folks) as well as Alasdair. I got the tickets free from work.

We took a bus to city centre and a tram to Sheffield Hallam Arena, then we took a very packed tram back to the city centre and Lyssa, grandma, and the girls took the taxi. While Dad, Al and I walked home from the centre and Daniel took the tram to West Street and walked from there.


I have the day off work, Lyssa and the girls have school and work today. Daniel has a busy day.

Broadband blues with Blueyonder

I would have posted more here but my broadband has been acting up!!! So for two days I have had to wrangle to get online and to call and convice Telewest that everything on my side hasn't chnaged and is fine and that thngs on their end have been cuasing me problems. They don't like to admit problems.

I'm sort of well or at least on the mend but still sore nose and stuffy.

Poorly

I had to leave work early on Friday because my cold had really hit me hard! I've alternated between sleeping and sitting up feeling terrible for the past 32 hours. I am drinking so much I have to get up and make room for more.

Meredith is gone. And we feel the lose.

Sarah Troyer came and left now, she was a joy to have around.

Daniel seems to be doing ok these days, please pray he get a job. He has an interview with a bank on Tuesday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WENDY

Sneezing and blowing my nose!

My mum called and said Grandpa Ed Grandma Jean's husband, my mother's mother) was very very sick with a cancer now in his lung and had to fly to Michigan to see a doctor there. My mum is going down to Louisiana to get Grandma Jean. Please pray for my grandpa Ed and Grandma Jean.\Please pray for my mum, Bunny and her friend Joanne Porter as they travel.

Thoughts from last trip to Belgium

We have left Sheffield feeling pretty good about how God is blessing and leading us these days. I suppose I should say all along life, but addmittedly I'm blind sometimes to the way God is blessing, growing and providing for us. I'm ashamed when I see things more clearly how I languish in shelfish pursuits when I'm not satisfied with what I think at the time God is doing for me.
Lyssa said, "I can leave with peace." What she was talking about was that things at home with the kids were better this past few days. Everyone was pitching in to work and nobody was having a fit. Daniel is much better.
The team meeting was very significant for our future. The Abbey team wants Michigan leaders, and Belgian ones to meet up over the next year to decide where we would become involved. This will effect where we live, work and such.
We also finished work well on Wednesday. So all in all we can enjoy this trip to Limburg looking for what God is about to do.

Lyssa and I both know a brokeness is what we have to show these past five years have prepared us for what lies ahead.


Our cottage is hard to find.

Isaiah 45:22 is a verse I want to remember. It is an invitation to me to turn to God. Verse 25 ends chapter 45 by saying that in the Lord Israel will be found righteous. It is amazing to think the hard hearted disobedient idol worshiping Israelites are found righteous. So we end the next chapter (46) with an assurance that God will accomplish what he planned. Further his plan is to bring his righteousness near and to save his stubborn people.

Matthew's party was very good. Then Marcel and Magda, Willy and
Marlene came to the cottage. Willy is picking us up for lunch this morning.

Sunday morning, we are getting up after having visited with so many people yesterday. Willy, Marlene, and all the kids, then at our place Bart and Gretje followed by Frank, Else, Naomi, and Tom. And lastly until morning Bianca and Linde. We asked each person what church our family should move to be part of.

Sport Quest Genk asked us to come and speak to the youth of Genk ages 12 to 14 this summer. We talked of many short trips to visit churches before summer.

Count down Belgium

Count down Belgium

• -daily language learning
• -schedule sunday visits before august
• -request leaders summit
• -contacts with belgians about housing, work, schooling
• -ask children to accompany on visits
• -ask church people to accompany on visits
• -regularly have flemish video nights, ?weekly?
• -request weekly prayer for belgium
• -sportquest planning for summer
• -find language school options.
• -check if Lyssa needs to become a British citizen. (done and yes she does)
  
• -schedule english citizenship test for Lyssa and I.

Is the move in site? I don't know but we are starting to plan as if in about 15 months we would make the move! We shall see. One step at a time.

How to have your holiday and keep your Euros too!

First off, I'd be remiss if I didn't say Eurostar is the way to travel!! I have been to Belgium over the past 6 years by plane, car, coach, ferry and train (aka erector) and by far from Sheffield to any where in Belgium it is a simple three hops. Train from Sheffield to London (St. Pancras) change via Tube (or walk or bus) to Waterloo Station, train (erector) to Brussels, and last hop is the train (or friends, or bus) to your final destination in Belgium.

erector is fast (120 Miles and hour), comfortable (plenty of leg room), clean, and you only have to show up around 30 min. Early which isn't too bad compared to Ferry or Plane. The toilets aren't too bad, and the food is reasonable. You can get up and walk around and the dining car even has some seats.
The Channel crossing only takes about 20 min.


Ok so now we are there and here is the real key. We stayed in a very reasonable cottage outside a rural village back off the road and hidden in the trees so well that the local doctor who does make house calls and others who have lived there all their lives could not find it without special instructions! So we were dropped off at a place with no shops close by. We had a quick trip to pick up reall the bare minimum of food, and then enjoy peace and quiet while a steady flow of friends dropped in through out the four days but we never had to get out and buy anything!

So all in all we went home with euros in our pockets unspent. We had a great time with the people we love. And were very encouraged to hear and see what is happening in all the lives, homes, families, and churches in the place that feels like home.

It was great to have the Belgians offer advice on our move to Belgium.

Seven Days of Visitation

He has come home! My son, Daniel is home from the hospital. It has been seven days of going to the hospital in the morning and back in the evening to sit with my poorly son, and then all day on the weekend. But he is now good enough to come home.

I 'm not sure he understand how to take care of himeself yet! Still the boy has to be reminded to drink enough, get enough rest, eat enough, wash regularly, and get reasonable exercise.

Join me in warning the young man to not wear himself out doing silly things, but to build his strength back steadily so he can start looking for a job!

I'm thankful for the doctors and nurses of the Royal Hallamshire hospital here in Sheffield for taking care of Daniel and when it is all said and done we don't have to worry about crippling bills.

As many of you know far better than I do when someone you love falls ill your whole life is put into an upheavel. And to have all the financial concerns on top of that would be too much.

Educate me Mr. Mozart!

Do you know in what order the famous classical composers lived? Do you know who was contemporary of Mozart? Who was the first big name that everyone knows and who was really in the Classical period and who was in the Baroque or Romantic?

I must confess I did not know and I wanted to. I felt as if my enjoyment of the music would be enhanced if I could hear which composer might have influenced another. Iwanted to know the names of the pioneers and the copycats who improved on a theme.

If you know of any resources which would help me in this quest for knowledge and understanding please feel free to pass on your suggestions.

To set the record straight though I really like Vivaldi and it turns out he was one of the first big names living from 1678-1741, so when young Mr. Mozart came on the scene in 1756 and before he died in 1791 George Friedrich Handel was already mostly done seeing he died in 1759 seventy-four years after he was born in 1685.

40 years to learn the basics

Well I was 40 this year and although I have spent the past two and a half years growing my hair out there is less of it per square centimeter of scalp.

But even more exciting is I have seemed to finally learn a routine. For some of you who know me this is more of a feat than most may think.

So here is a window on the day on the life of William:

(somewhere between) 5:30 - 6:00

• Wake up without alarm usually and roll over in bed and turn on light and open lap top.
• Clear mind while laptop find home wireless network and I open www.xanga.com/williambode and http://bible.crosswalk.com
• Think about what I have been reading and go to the days passage (recently in Isaiah) in the New Living Translation of the Bible and listen to the familiar voice of Mike Kellogg read while I follow along. I may read and/or listen a number of times. Try to respond to God and others about what I have read and how it hits me.

(somewhere between) 6:45 - 7:15

• check emails in wkbode@gmail.com respond to some and mostly wish I would take more time to respond.
• Possibly check work schedule and emails w.bode@shu.ac.uk to prepare my mind for work.

(somewhere around) 7:00

• Go downstairs make a bowl of porridge oats (2 packets Quaker instant golden syrup) with water boiled from the kettle and add in a bit of Soya milk (I discovered I was lactose intolerant and have avoid all products containing any dairy for nearly a year now, that alone is a big change. Oh I how I miss cheese cake, cheese, milk and cookies, and nearly everything you can think of has milk, whey, milk proteins, or cheese in it. You would be amazed!) and sometimes I will add honey or bananas to the porridge.
• Get out the vitamins and supplements. I normally take a fish oil, a gingko biloba, a multi vitamin and a calcium. I was taking ecchinatia but ran out.
• I make a cup of coffee and get a large glass of water from the tap, about a pint.
• I often will listen to radio four or a uplifting Christian CD while I eat.
• Say good morning to one of my three daughters who will also be getting up.

(approximately) 7:30

• Get in shower listen tot shower radio I usually am in there shaving, cleaning, washing my hair, and conditioning my hair till about 7:45 when I hear Thought for the Day on BBC Radio four and know I better be getting out.
• Dry hair, put aloe vera gel on face and hair

(not coping with panic) 7:45 (I really need to be out the door in like no less than 30 min now!!!!

• get trousers on gather wallet, keys, id card pass for work, switch things in bag/briefcase
• take down white shirt to iron it. (yes I iron my own white shirt every work day! And usually since the iron is still hot I feel bad that I am leaving the iron and ironing board out for Meredith or someone to put away.
• Come back upstairs and put on shirt and tie and tie my hair back.
• Shine my shoes a bit, might have done this before going down to iron shirt.
• Say goodbye to girls and Lyssa as they head off to school and work.

(My sort of goal was 8:00 AM)8:10 to 8:15

• walk out the door and decide if I'm taking the bus or walking depending on time, money and weather. The Bus is not quite a 40% option recently even less.
• Walk about a mile and a half to work along very busy streets thinking why do all these people have to drive to work in long cues with only one person per car. Saying things like wow that car cost a lot. And why are all the really hot sports cars now owned or at least driven by single women?
• Walk past all the construction sights, which are many, and think about my dad every morning and know he would like to stop and watch.

8:20 - 8:40 arrive at the Stoddart building car park under the building and take the lift to the 4th floor

Approximately 8:30

• start up computer and check emails
• speak to cleaning ladies
• turn on lights in the LLRC open access, unlock door to the LLRC office
• start replies to emails
• Open Staff intranet to begin tweaking things.
• Check schedule
• Turn on the satilite TV's in various languages

Work till 1:00 responding to requests for assitance, fixing broken computers, arranging for more information to be provided for the Staff Intranet, creating more web pages or menu structures, editing distance learning packages, meeting with people about one of the for amentioned, make sure Resource Advisor (student employee) is in on time and ready to work, Talk over the schedule with RA. Contact other technicians via MSN using trillian and see what jobs are coming through, speak to academics about labs, ect., install software.

1:00 till 2:00 Lunch with someone hopefully

Monday's Lyssa, Samuel, Steve and others and pray

Wednesday's Samuel, Tim, Steve, Matt to study Bible

Carry on with the same as above till 5:30 or 6:00 PM sometimes later.

Walk home or take bus, mostly walk

Wednesday nights team meeting

many and various other things I have to do too

Inverness

So I'm going to spend 24 hours plus on a coach journey from Sheffield to Inverness, via Glasgow and back! Why? well I do really like Scotland! My two previous visits have only made the allure all the more powerful. Second prior to working fulltime at Sheffield Hallam University I would have taken a guest like Meredith on a few trips around the English countryside. I'd at least have spent a few days out in Derbyshire near my home. But in the six months she has been with us I have hardly done anything special with Meredith. So when I relaized I had used almost all the holiday time doing important things and Meredith was about to leave to go back to the States I figured we had to break away and see something special before she left. National Express is running a deal where we could go anywhere in the UK for £18 return. That was a preatty good deal since it would have usually cost us two to go up that far north more than three times that much. So we are on our way to see the Loch Ness monster for ourselves. We leave on Friday morning and return Monday night.

We benefit from being made vulnerable and weak

Recently I have had sick children. I have had my own fears of medical problems. I have been burdened by a major shift in diet. I have had a number of friends have a loved one die. And I have had friends face the prospect of impeding death for a family member. Recently I have seen others face rejection, and the fear of loss of opportunites in school and work.

I know this all sounds like a downer; But it hasn't all been bad. I have also seen people get serious, look at life more realistically, listen to others, look to God, and with humility make changes.

We don't want to face hardship. But it seems to me if we didn;t we might never get around to the important things in life. We may never leave off the habits which are clogging our minds and keeping us from making progress towards greater things.

Times and gaps

Have you ever had an acquaintance, friend, or family member who you connected with but then lost contact? I mean one of those enjoyable connections where with serendipity you listen and talk with interest. Under no obligation you find commonality or friendly differences which are stimulating.
I often meet people whose lives offer a sort of travel or experience by proxy. And then there are those people who are knowledgeable about subjects which effective cause them to serve as expert guest lecturers and tutors in the university of continual life learning. Occasionally, you may encounter a light hearted witty person who seems to hover apart from controversy and without introspection, satire, sarcasm, or agenda you simply dismiss the turmoil of weightier issues.
My reason for finding a connection pleasant may differ. But since it is a meeting more or less outside the relationships which I am responsible to maintain I may lose contact. Or maybe it was at camp, on a holiday, at work but outside my direct area of responsibility or normal routine, possible a more distant family member, some one has moved , a student, a transient or traveling worker, a builder who came for a time, a tour guide, or the guest of someone else with whom we have regular contact.

Time passes and you don't see the particular person, for a month, a year, five years, or twenty years. Can we just pick up where we left off? Will they be the same? We wouldn't be just the same (at least I wouldn't be). But have you ever noticed in these situations we sometimes revert back to a former self? None the less there you are in the presence of a past joy.

I used to walk the street of Sheffield feeling very much the foreigner and quite priviledged to be here in such a far flung, out of the way, wild and exotic place compared to Lakeview or Entrican Michigan. And as I walked along I would expect one of these people from my past to walk past and be completely surprised to find me in Sheffield , England. I'd ask if they had some time and we'd go and have a coffee somewhere and catch up.

The book I'm reading entitled Austerlitz is so far about the chance meetings between the author and the man named Austerlitz.

I am the kind of person who can meet and get to feel a connection with practically anyone quite easily. But the length of the connection and the future of it seems an unpredictable element in life.
As I ramble on I have a strong feeling that the same thing I feel for people I actually feel also for places. Places I used to go often and grew to enjoy and now I hardly ever get to go to at all.

This summer Alasdair, Samuel, Paul (an acquaintance from Luke Dudenhofer's church in Chicago) and another Bulgarian friend of Paul's I think called Marcus went swimming at the Indiana Dunes State park on the shores of Lake Michigan. It was one of those idyllic days with the boys that you would see in a movie. The people I was with, the weather, the lake, the swimming, the train ride to get there, the big city(Chicago) we left behind for the day, the exciting yet down to earth guy that Paul is, the walk I had on the beach and around the camp sites, the meal in the old big brick state park building and the gates to the park, the short walk through the woods all added up to a real memory and I only wish somehow without changing it I could share it in a meaningful way with others. It will be a one off in my life. But one I'll remember with fondness for some time to come. It is an experience I wish on their own Lyssa, Emily, Wendy, Bethany, and Daniel could have.

best-laid plans

Excerpt from the Book Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald
http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/1201/sebald/excerpt.html


Austerlitz launched into a discourse of over two hours on the way in which, during the nineteenth century, the vision of model towns for workers entertained by philanthropic entrepreneurs had inadvertently changed into the practice of accommodating them in barracks just as our best-laid plans, said Austerlitz, as I still remember, always turn into the exact opposite when they are put into practice.

It was several months after this meeting in Liege that I came upon Austerlitz, again entirely by chance, on the old Gallows Hill in Brussels, on the steps of the Palace of justice which, as he immediately told me, is the largest accumulation of stone blocks anywhere in Europe. The building of this singular architectural monstrosity, on which Austerlitz was planning to write a study at the time, began in the 1880s at the urging of the bourgeoisie of Brussels, over-hastily and before the details of the grandiose scheme submitted by a certain Joseph Poelaert had been properly worked out, as a result of which, said Austerlitz, this huge pile of over seven hundred thousand cubic meters contains corridors and stairways leading nowhere, and doorless rooms and halls where no one would ever set foot, empty spaces surrounded by walls and representing the innermost secret of all sanctioned authority.

Two days being Nurse Dad

It is Tuesday afternoon and I'm slighty under par, but I have the two youngest Bode girls home from school poorly. Meredith is not very well either so she has stayed home from working at the Chester's so as not to get them sick too.

We have watched a number of episodes of Rugrats since about 1:00. Actually I haven't watched too close as I have done some cleaning up around here and some of the washing up.

Emily's self portraits

Where did my little girl go? 

Emily's self portraits

Innocent? 

An answer for my son, edited

Want to be happy? Really? I'm not so sure. Many people like being sad. Some people enjoy anger and envy Othere people look for gloom and depression. Still other people live off thrills, but mind you, they would not say they were happy. In fact many times great achievers and people who are highly productive find happiness very elusive.

It is interesting, that as a young man living in the UK, you would even note that you have much but are not happy. I'm not sure the pursuit of happiness is even a major part of British existence. Not because these people don't experience happiness but because they "just get on with it" as they say here.

America's founding fathers thought the pursuit of happiness was a right which should not be denied.

I believe myself that happiness, joy, contentment, fulfilment are all facets of one gem. This can only be gotten at great cost.

Matthew 13:44 "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field – and to get the treasure, too! 45 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!

I once heard a story about a greedy monkey it went something like this:

I’m going to tell you how to catch a monkey. Just make a hole in a coconut big enough for a monkey’s hand to go in but not big enough for its clenched fist to come out. Put food in the coconut and tie it to a tree or something firmly planted in the ground. Lured by the food, the monkey will put his hand into the coconut and seize the food. When he does that, he would not be able to pull his hand out. Neither can he run away with the coconut since it is tied to a tree. Actually, he can easily free himself. All he has to do is to let go of the food. That's all. However, most monkeys would not do that. They’d rather struggle and struggle in vain. That is how the monkey allows himself to be caught by its own greed.

We are all greedy monkeys! So what holds us fast? What do we grip which we will not let loose of even to easily escape?

I think we must fasten our greed on nothing less than the approval of a God who loves us and gave himself for us. We must trust he wants our best and that obeying him will not only bring him pleasure but us fulfilment.

Daniel, let go of the rotten food in the coconut trap of this world and roam free among every other tree of the garden God has planted for you to enjoy. Don't sell your soul pursuing your own desire. Trust God. If you pursue his desires, in time you will know unfathomable happiness.

This was what the great mathimaticion, Blaise Pascal, wrote about in his thoughts called Pensees,

"God is, or He is not." But to which side shall we incline? Reason can decide nothing here. There is an infinite chaos which separated us. A game is being played at the extremity of this infinite distance where heads or tails will turn up... Which will you choose then? Let us see. Since you must choose, let us see which interests you least. You have two things to lose, the true and the good; and two things to stake, your reason and your will, your knowledge and your happiness; and your nature has two things to shun, error and misery. Your reason is no more shocked in choosing one rather than the other, since you must of necessity choose... But your happiness? Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is... If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.
"That is very fine. Yes, I must wager; but I may perhaps wager too much."

Let us see. Since there is an equal risk of gain and of loss, if you had only to gain two lives, instead of one, you might still wager. But if there were three lives to gain, you would have to play (since you are under the necessity of playing), and you would be imprudent, when you are forced to play, not to chance your life to gain three at a game where there is an equal risk of loss and gain.

But there is an eternity of life and happiness. And this being so, if there were an infinity of chances, of which one only would be for you, you would still be right in wagering one to win two, and you would act stupidly, being obliged to play, by refusing to stake one life against three at a game in which out of an infinity of chances there is one for you, if there were an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain. But there is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. It is all divided; wherever the infinite is and there is not an infinity of chances of loss against that of gain, there is no time to hesitate, you must give all...

Posted 1/24/2006 at 2:57 PM by williambode

Watched but unrelated!?

I went to the doctor today at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital for a consultation with Dr. Jennifer Hill and further tests. They weighed me and measured my height. After waiting in various waiting rooms I was sent to have my breath capacity measured. Before I was sent off to out patient Phlebotomy I sat and waited for a bit before I was ushered into a room for the consultation. Dr. Hill asked me lots of the normal background questions about my family health history, smoking habits (I still don’t smoke although I did consider taking up an occasional pipe after the JRR Tolkin’s Lord of the Rings series but have decided I can go without smoking a few more years bearing in mind the present circumstances.) Dr. Hill’s manner was helpful. She said although they did find something in my left lung about half way down and toward the outer edge (which could be maybe between marble and walnut size I’m guessing), I didn’t have another x-ray today. She had about three or four sheets of x-rays like CT scan results each with about 9 or 12 smaller cross-sections of my abdomen. Each of the different slides like a traditional x-ray film was on a large lighted wall box for viewing x-rays. One slide showed things that were picked up because of the injection they had given me during the CT scan. But it was the more normal slide which showed the abnormal spot. The doctor said that since it wasn’t spiky or really very large it could be digital anomaly, scar tissue from some past illness, or a tumour. She said a group of doctors had met to look at it together and had decided it merited more scans and watching but they were pretty sure it wasn’t related to the paralysed vocal cord. But they are not happy with it either so they have advised that I come back in April for another CT scan and also to see better what the results of the blood and urine tests are. So I am going back to the ENT doctor (Tuesday, 21/02/06 9:00 AM) to see what the next step is going to be. It may be that he does some sort of cutting and looking operation. He said something like that before sending me to the chest specialist. I’m personally quite sure that my voice problem isn’t the old losing my voice problem. Since this summer I have had a very chronic voice fatigue which never seems to really get much better. Both times they did the laryngoscope (a procedure called direct laryngoscopy in which an instrument called a laryngoscope is inserted through the nose or mouth.) They saw that one of the vocal cords was not moving at all (paralysed). So now we are this quest to find out why it is not working and what to expect in the future and how to live with it in the present.

William and Lyssa 02-03-06 -05-03-06

Journey 1 : SHEFFIELD to LONDON ST PANCRAS Ticket Type: MML ADVANCE E Route: This ticket is only valid for travel on Midland Main Line services. Outward Journey: Thursday, 02/03/2006 departs SHEFFIELD at 09:27 travel by Train service provider MIDLAND MAIN LINE to station LONDON ST PANCRAS arrives 11:51 Journey 2 : LONDON ST PANCRAS to SHEFFIELD Ticket Type: MML ADVANCE E Route: This ticket is only valid for travel on Midland Main Line services. Outward Journey: Sunday, 05/03/2006 departs LONDON ST PANCRAS at 20:30 travel by Train service provider MIDLAND MAIN LINE to station SHEFFIELD arrives 00:01 02/03/2006 London Waterloo Int 14:13 - Bruxelles Midi 17:37 Eurostar 9138 Journey time 02h24 05/03/2006 Bruxelles Midi 11:01 - London Waterloo Int 12:27 Eurostar 9125 Journey time 02h26

WILLIAM BODE - Adult LYSSA BODE - Adult

ELLIKOM


Distance water: 1,5 km
Distance fishing: 4,0 km
Distance shopping: 2,0 km
Distance restaurant: 200 m
Holiday cottage, 55 m2
4 Person(s)
Built 1963
Renovated 1995
Laid out garden, 3550 m2
Parking space on the plot
Open and covered terrace
Energy not included


Outdoor swimmingpool
Stove
Colour television
Satellite
Radio and CD player
Video
Washing machine
Microwave oven
Freezer, 20 L
Kitchen: Hot and cold water
Gas-plates
Refrigerator
Coffee brewer

Floor plan:
2 Bedroom

1 Bathroom(s)
Shower and tub
Toilet: Hot and cold water

Extra:
Garden furniture and barbecue.

seeing Dr. Jennifer Hill

I have to go to the Hallamshire hospital for 2:00 at the out paitient desk on floor A to get instruction on a chest x-ray and other tests before seeing Dr. Jennifer Hill at 14:40 on Monday 23rd of January.

What is food?

Did you know Jews are not supposed to eat shrimp or prawns? The dietary rules of any culture are varied and interesting to say the least.
Should we eat brains? How about a cat? When are pets ok for food? Does that mean that it would be better to just be a Vegan? Eating only vegetables? What are some of the strangest things you have eaten?
What is off limits and why?
What is food?
Can I enjoy eating odd things?

An Update

Lyssa wrote:

This morning Bill saw the ear, nose and throat specialist again to discuss results of the CT scan. The doctor said there were some things that needed to be looked into. The vocal cord is still paralysed but there is not an obvious cause. The doctor looked into the area again this morning with a special camera on a probe and the tissue itself didn't look unhealthy. He explained that the nerves to the vocal cords come from different places in the chest area, so a problem along the nerve route could affect one or the other vocal cord. And the CT scan showed spots in the chest and lungs. So Bill is being referred as a priority case to a chest specialist. The doctor also took a needle biopsy this morning of a gland in the neck. The CT scan also showed some problems with some lymph glands but the doctor said these were not alarming.

The next steps at this point are:

Bill sees the chest specialist. He should hear about an appointment soon.

Bill is referred to a vocal therapist.

Bill has an appointment for 6 weeks from now with the same ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist. Depending on the results from the chest specialist the ENT may do an exploratory procedure in his neck/throat under general anaesthesia.

On a dark and stormy...

It was a dark and stormy morning. First thing I could hear after the sweet tones of Lyssa saying, "Its time to get ready.", was the cold howl of the wind whipping down London road. Reading maps is a solitary past time and I notice nearly every village, town, or city has a London Road. After High Street it seems everyone wanted to know where London was and how to get there. As a matter of fact that's where I'm heading this Friday. In the five years I've been waking up on this Small Island in the Steel City I don't think I remember many mornings waking to the howl of the wind. Seven hills and five rivers seem to keep the wind at bay most of the time. I rolled back the covers and planned to head to the shower first thing which isn't my usual pattern but since I had to be at the hospital to hear whatever rather possibly dramatic sounding news I' figured a shower first thing may get me going faster. But alas one of my children had beat me to it. So I was compelled to ramble. Usually I am reading the Bible and commenting on what I read in my other Blog, www.xanga.com/williambode

Hamishire Hospital seems the better of the two big hospitals in Sheffield; For one it is within walking distance, secondly it has a rather tall building, which adds to the Sheffield profile. Lastly I can't think of a lastly.
So here is the scoop. I lost my voice most seriously in July. I often had problems with it before but this lastred longer than ever before in my life. In August I went to see a doctor and she said don't worry you just have a normal sore throat. I new since I had this problem for four weeks already it was not normal. The next day, I asked to see another doctor who although nice mostly just prescribed me some antibiotics and said that though I had swollen glands it wasn't anything most likely. I went back after two weeks on the anitbiotics and it wasn't realy much better and asked to see a ENT (Ear, Nose, throat specialist) Iasked fore tis finally in like Sept. and didn't get to see the Specialist till December. The specialist put a camera down my throat and basically said wow you have a parailysed vocal cord. since you only have two this makes it difficult. He asked have you been injured in the neck, have you had surgery in the neck, Have they workled on your thyroid and so on. I said no to all these becuase no was the right answer to respond with truthfully. so the doctor said you need a CT scan. I had that in the end of Dec. and then now in Jan I am going to hear the results. One of the reasons people's vocal cords stop working after all the ones mentioed before by virtue of the doc's questions is cancer and another is a virus. I have not found a lot about this virus which stops the vical cord from working. More seems to focus on the Cancer option. But they have not seemed in a hurry to tell me the news. I don't know what it all means. Except I still don't have a voice which functions normally and I'm going to the doctor to hear the news in a couple of hours and having to miss work to do it this morning only then to rush there to keep up with Student staff still being gone and class exams in the language labs.

Mr. Wonderful

My daughters bought me a rather funny gift for Christmas.
Each night I squeeze his hand and hope he says something appropraite for my wife.

Mr Wonderful Doll features 16 different phrases and is 12" tall. He's definitely the perfect man in doll form.

He's tall, dark and handsome. He has sensitive open book eyes, rakish good looks and impeccable fashion sense. Not only that, but he always has just the right thing to say to make you feel like the most special woman on earth.

His phrases include:

• You take the remote, as log as i'm with you, I don't care what we watch.
  
• You've been on my mind all day. That's why I bought you theese flowers.
  
• Why don't we go the the mall, didn't you want some shoes.
  
• You know honey, why don't you just relax and let me make dinner tonight.
  
• The ball game is not that important, I'd rather spend time with you.
  
• You know, I think it's really important that we talk about our relationship.
  
• Plus many more!

Röyksopp

I like what I hear but it isn't in the lifetime top ten like Third Day's Thief which is what I am listening to right now! But even so you may enjoy as I have
excerpt from http://www.royksopp.com/

After the inordinate success of their debut album, the electronic shot in the arm that was Melody A.M., Röyksopp could have easily rested on their laurels, be content to shine their halos and just knocked out Melody A.M. part deux.
Why just look at the riches that unfolded in the wake of that album's release in October 2001: 1,000,000 copies sold worldwide, 500,000 of them in the UK alone; tours with Basement Jaxx and Moby, not to mention headline tours of their own, culminating in two ecstatic nights at London's Somerset House and an appearance at Glastonbury; a Brit nomination for Best International Group; an MTV Europe Award for Best Video and remixes for A-list artists as disparate as The Streets, Coldplay and Felix Da Housecat.
Thankfully, Torbjörn Brundtland and Svein Berge belong in the aforementioned

Cutting the ribbon or was it the apron strings

Where to start?
That should be easy. We'll start with the fact that 2005 went out with a rearrangement of things that didn't fit well but might function better. We shall see. The options are quite limited but the front room has been turned around. This past week has admittedly had quite a bit of lounge time in it. And yet I am somewhat happy with things accomplished. As a good friend said recently, everyday is a new start. For me sometimes I need a new start a few times a day.

I mentioned I was read The King Beyond the Gate by David Gemmell and Just wanted to say again how I enjoyed it. I think I will get myself another in the series to read later.

Also I am trying to finish before Tuesday the middle book of the three book series based on the Halo game for the Xbox I read the Fall of Reach and First Strike and just have half of The Flood to finish so I can give it back to a work friend.


Some of you may know I am a Christian and it is the most important part of what makes me who I am. Each day I try to read God's Word in the Bible and comment on it. If you would like to read those thoughts and follow along with me check out my bible blog at http://www.xanga.com/williambode

Some friends recently loaned us a british tv comedy on DVD called 'ALLO 'ALLO. Meredith and I watched three episodes of it and laughed a bit.

Oh and I should mention too Bethany(my youngest daughter) and I watched every epispode of the Borrowers on Teleport TV/telewest's on-demand-pause-play-fastforward-rewind TV.


Did you know I liked tomato juice?

A freind got me a CD for Christmas and I didn't really take time to listen to it till yesterday and wow I quite like it! Royksopp