It is Saturday, January 26th, 2008 and we are going to celebrate Khia’s birthday today. Yea!!!

Wisdom 7:7 - 16

I prayed, and understanding was given me;
I entreated, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.
I esteemed her more than sceptres and thrones;
compared with her, I held riches as nothing.
I reckoned no priceless stone to be her peer,
for compared with her, all gold is a pinch of sand,
and beside her silver ranks as mud.
I loved her more than health or beauty,
preferred her to the light,
since her radiance never sleeps.

May God grant me to speak as he would wish
and express thoughts worthy of his gifts,
since he himself is the guide of Wisdom,
since he directs the sages.
We are indeed in his hand, we ourselves and our words,
with all our understanding, too, and technical knowledge.

Well, it is now Tuesday, January 29th, 2008, my 54th birthday. Also it is the birthdays of my two youngest grandkids, my home state of Kansas, my girlfriend’s younger sister, my two oldest grandkids’ dad, Oprah, and countless others too. We’ll all have dinner tonight. Well, maybe not Oprah and Pam’s sister will be in New York but you know what I mean.

The above passage from Wisdom is part of last Saturday’s Mass readings, if I remember correctly. I copied it here Saturday because it was meaningful to me during my morning prayers. I’m not sure why now.

I know it is not the Christmas season now but I just listened to Jars of Clay: Christmas Songs by Jars of Clay. It was really a pleasant album to hear. I really liked it. I will be listening to this CD some more over the next few days. Jars of Clay’s sound on this album is a bit how I hear Christmas and winter, so it rests well with me. Though it has some weak lyrics.

I preceded it with brief segments of a few pieces from The Chariot’s The Fiancée. This is some high-energy punk. It hurt my throat to listen to the screaming on this album but Josh Scogin is a great screamer. I doubt I will listen to The Fiancée much after today. Screaming punk is not really my style but this CD is an interesting and wild ride. The lyrics seem a little forced at times just to make a rhyme. Check out this review on Absolutepunk—http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=224905.

Books read so far in 2008:

Pope John XXIII, Shepherd of the Modern World by Peter Hebblethwaite

The Rise of Benedict XVI: The Inside Story of How The Pope Was Elected and Where He Will Take The Catholic Church by John L. Allen, Jr.

Sad huh? I am a little lazy with my reading. I have thirty or so books checked out from the library right now. There are two books I am currently reading:

Marking the Hours by Eamon Duffy and A Secular Age by Charles Taylor

Lets hope I can note these books as read soon.