Todd Hiestand
Missional Living in Suburban America
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Archive of "In the News" Category
One More Time Devin Hester
I mean come on. This guy is ridiculous. I have never seen someone slow down the game like Hester does. Its like the rest of the players are in slow motion as he takes a few steps to check the scene and then he takes off. I grew up in Chicago watching Jordan and I feel pretty fortunate to be able to say that. I just hope that Hester stays on the straight and narrow and uninjured because this guy is pretty darn special. I’ve got my son Cole brainwashed so whenever #23 comes on the screen he screams “Go Devin Hester!.” He’s a big fan.
Its sad the Bears’ season is over. At least we have nfl.com where we can watch highlights.
Here’s a look at Hester’s final record breaking punt return for TD in 2007.
Posted in General, In the News |
No Comments »One Village Coffee Goodness…
My good friend Scott Hackman is part of a small coffee roasting company called “One Village Coffee.” It’s the best coffee I have tasted. Ever. I even took the coffee into my local Starbucks where I usually study and the manager there (who is a coffee freak) confessed that this was “damn good coffee.” So, go buy some. You’ll be happy you did.But, OVC is more than just good coffee. Its a company that is helping make a difference in the world. I think Scott told me recently that they are not changing the world by themselves, but they are working directly with and supporting those who are changing the world. These are the people you and I don’t hear about. They are the ones serving in organizations like Stephens’ Children which functions out of a garbage dump in Cairo serving the massive population that lives in poverty there.
OVC was just featured in a Relevant Magazine article here.
Oh, and yeah, I designed their website.
Posted in General, In the News, Life |
1 Comment »At Least We Have Devin Hester
The Bears are struggling. It’s really not pretty at all. But, at least we get to watch Devin Hester. The dude is simple amazing. He returned another kick today which you can see here.
I was browsing his videos in YouTube and came across this old video of his from his Miami days. Sure, they were playing Duke, but this return is ridiculous:
Posted in General, In the News, Videos |
2 Comments »Cubs are in the playoffs
Just get in the playoffs. Anything can happen.
Hoping for a Chicago / Philadelphia playoff series. It would make for some fun around here. I’ve lived in Philly for 11 years so they have become my “second team” but I am Cub fan tried and true, to the death.
Is this our year, who knows. Its nice to still have something to cheer for this late in the year though.
Hey, maybe the Cubs could put together a “World Series Shuffle” like the 85 Bears did… or maybe not.
Go Cubs!
Posted in General, In the News, Life |
2 Comments »Guatemala Adoptions in Trouble…
Most of you know, we have recently adopted our son from Guatemala. It was an amazing experience. We are excited to have our son home. Unless you have adopted, you can’t even imagine what its like.
While we were down in Guatemala we met many families who were still in the process and were only visiting their children. They were still waiting for the process to finish so they bring them home. I can’t imagine how hard it is to hold your child in your arms and know that you still have to wait and come back another time before they can officially be part of your family.
We chose not to visit Mason for our adoption which means that the first time we met him was three days before we brought him home. Visiting has its advantages for sure. It gives some amazing time to bond with your child. Of course, it also has its emotional challenges due to the fact that you get to hold your baby and get to know him or her but then have to wait again. Its not hard to imagine that the waiting after the visit even harder.
The reason I am writing all of this is because some of those families we got to know in Guatemala have a potential heartbreak waiting for them. This is a heartbreak the size of, well, you can’t even measure it. Drew Moser (a friend and now one of those families I am speaking of) wrote on his blog today that there are some major issues with Guatemala adoptions as of Jan 2008. You can read the details on his blog but the basic story is this:
Families like Drew’s, who’s adoptions aren’t completed yet, may have their adoptions canceled. As I sit here and think of Drew’s family and those we met in Guatemala, I am heartbroken at the possibility. Can you imagine meeting your child and then having it taken away? Our miscarriage was hard, real hard… but this, this is unthinkable.
As Drew says, the injustice in all of this are hard to count. He writes,
- The prospect of thousands of orphans suddenly becoming un-adoptable is unjust. These babies deserve loving families.
- The prospect of thousands of American families being barred from adopting the orphans they’ve paid tens of thousands of dollars and waited months and months for is unjust.
- The prospect of NOT being grandfathered in under current adoption law is unjust.
- The fact that the U.S. DOS is doing nothing right now to help families in limbo is unjust. They are taking no steps presently to ensure that our case will be processed and completed.
What can you do? Drew offers some ideas near the end of his blog post here. If encourage you to go over to his site and help in one of the ways he presents.
UPDATE: SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION HERE
Posted in Adoption, Culture, General, In the News |
4 Comments »Save the Environment. Kill People. What?
I was reading an article on CNN this morning about Russia’s new “dad of all bombs.” Apparently, its a really, really big non-nuclear bomb. To quote CNN:
“The tests have shown that the new air-delivered ordnance is comparable to a nuclear weapon in its efficiency and capability,” said Col.-Gen. Alexander Rukshin, a deputy chief of the Russian military’s General Staff, said in televised remarks.”
Then article says this,
“Unlike a nuclear weapon, the bomb doesn’t hurt the environment, he added.”
What?! Is creating a huge crater in the ground and killing massive amounts of wildlife, trees and whatever else was underneath it not hurting the environment?
Also, doesn’t something seem a little off with this ethic? It’s okay to kill people as long as its okay for the environment.
I have an idea. Why don’t we take are of the environment and not kill people.
In fact, why don’t we take are of the environment BY not killing people.
Just a thought….
Posted in General, In the News, Life |
1 Comment »Hostages in Afghanistan: Did You Even Know?!
There was a group of 23 Koreans kidnapped by the Taliban last week. 23. Kidnapped. They are a christian group and the pastor of the group was the first killed and “Police in southeastern Ghazni province found Bae’s bullet-riddled body in the Qara Bagh district, where the Koreans were kidnapped.” Yesterday, they found the body of the second victim who has been killed. Apparently the Taliban are demanding the release of some prisoners and the Korean Government is refusing to comply.
You know where I read about this first? CNN? TV News? Ny Times? Nope. (In the NY Times, the story is buried halfway down the page behind an article about the possibility of Chealea Clinton being the second daughter for the second time. Seriously?)
I had to learn about this through a pastor’s blog. Along with Eugene Cho, I am outraged and completly confused as to why this is not bigtime news. I mean, I guess I am not totally confused. They aren’t Americans so they must not be important, right?!
So, in order to at least know how to pray, go read Eugene’s often updated post on the plight of these hostages. I’ve grown to really, really appreciate Eugene’s perspective on things…
Posted in General, In the News, Life |
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