Since yesterday I've developed quite an interest in economists' recession predictions.
Check out this report by local Fox 5 News. Will Thomas is my new hero.
(I highly recommend the content around 2:00 into the story ) Seems like deluxe cupcake sales might signal economic rebound!


OK, OK, truthfully was just a shameless plug for getting on TV and talking with Will Thomas.

However, the real headliner from last night was the famed event in commemoration of Brian's Meteoric Odyssey.
Oh yes, we went all out. And thanks to google (466453) we got the party rolling with the address to Georgetown Cupcake. Along the way I finally found Dean & Deluca! I was pretty excited about this because a friend highly recommended this coffee shop to me as her "favorite place to date"!


Finally we arrived at our destination. The storied Georgetown Cupcake shoppe! Naturally I was pretty thrilled. These exquisite mouthfuls of happiness were sirens calling my name; tempting me to test the intoxication of their dulcet flavors. In the end I gave in to the chocolate hazelnut and toffee nut.


They tasted even better than they looked.... in fact, I was so enraptured by my cupcake, I didn't even notice the camera rolling outside!


I totally missed the fact there was a camera crew. Maybe I should take lessons from Kelley about this - as you can see she is quite keen to when the camera is on her!


We chatted up Will Thomas for a bit after this, and got the early scoop about his story. We were hoping they would interview Brian about traveling all the way from Georgia for this place, but no such fame. Not that we had long to be disappointed because our next stop was dinner at the Paper Moon! Disappointment might have triumphed, had we known of the sewage problem in the bathrooms. Or the dying roach at the next table... But then again, probably not because the food was so amazing.

This was a night of culinary delights for Bryan, after dinner he ordered the Tiramisu (excellent choice), declaring it tied for the best tasting, if not the best. High praise, and I can concur - it was outstanding!

As excited as I was about the food and dessert, I was even more excited about my parking space. Or, rather, what wasn't at my parking space when I returned. No ticket! You see, last time I was in Georgetown... I was ticketed for not backing into my parking spot. It was quite pleasant to simply park and leave without any tickets.

I won't bore you with details, but we had quite an adventure navigating to the Mall. Suffice to say that DC has an inordinate number of No Left-Turn signs. Finally we parked by the Tidal Basin and were off for our memories-by-the-monuments-till-midnight marathon!
We started at the WWII memorial. Nolan led us in the delightful experience of soaking our tired feet in the fountain. Definitely a repeatable experience.
Next we stumbled through several fences before arriving at the secluded Great War memorial. The unlit and aging  Doric temple offered somber reflection amidst its tree lined borders. Well, it was somber until we started exploring a secret passageway into the DC tunnel system!
But we had to keep marching along. The Korean war memorial was beckoning. The best part about this was posing for pictures by our native countries. Me by Italy.

Jane by India.

Brian by Ethiopia.

Not really. But that would have been a great picture.

Due to some re-dedication event, we had to detour across the mall to the Lincoln memorial. Quite a reward awaited us. Besides capturing a number of exceptional photos, Brian and I rediscovered the hidden features in the statue and personally confirmed the connection with other DC landmarks. Do you know the torches out front? Both Nolan and I agreed these censors should be lit. Powerful flames flanking the stairway would make for a dramatic addition to the ambiance around the monument. Or maybe that type of thing only seems like a good idea at midnight.
Regardless we weren't done yet! No sir. We were off to the Vietnam War Memorial. Looking for baby names. Thadeous. Ackerley. Rexford. Hoyt. Woodson. ... the strange things you do at midnight!
All in all, an epic evening to conclude Brian's excursion in Maryland.

This is my take on an exerp from What He Must Be by Voddie T. Baucham Jr.

Leaders must place:

• Others before God (interceding -> priest)
• God before others (teaching, correcting, exhorting -> prophet)
• Others before self (serving -> provider)
• Self before others (where there is danger -> protector)

Over the past few days, I've been downcast over the reversal of pro-life policies by President Obama, and his support for the murder of babies.

God met me this morning. He used my Bible reading plan as a means of encouragement.
I started by reading Psalm 26 - the prayer of the righteous crying out to God for deliverance. Encounter the Psalmist entrenching his hope in God's faithfulness. God upholds justice and will not forsake those who seek him.
Next I read Genesis 25:1-18. God's faithfulness is intentionally highlighted in verses 12-18. He executed the blessings he promised to Ishmael. You see, when Ishmael was an unwanted cast off, God promised to sustain him and make him a great nation (17:20). Here I examined the carefully preserved history of God fulfilling his promise to the letter.
I Chronicles 29:22-30 was next. The writer summarizes the transfer of power from David to Solomon. Yet I saw the sovereign hand of God in that. God was faithful to his promise of establishing Solomon's kingdom; just as he promised David.

Ok, these first three passages tell us great stuff about God, but what is the tie in to abortion?

Luke 18:1-8 is the story of the persistent widow. Jesus highlights a widow being granted her desire. Something remarkable takes place here. This widow had almost no social standing (the OT laws about protecting widows were setup because they were viewed a weak and lowly members of society), and yet the powerful judge still acquiesces to her request. Jesus than urges us to pray in faith for justice. The point is this: if even a weak and despised person got what they need from one who had no desire or inclination to grant it, how much MORE will our heavenly father (who loves us) act on behalf of his people?

The first three passages serve to heighten our faith that God will fulfill his promises. And his promise is this: If we continue crying out to God for justice for the unborn, those vulnerable and despised babies, we can have faith God will act on their behalf.

This is the glimpse of God I saw this morning. It stirred me to pray. Lets exercise a persistent watchfulness in prayer for the unborn.