Matt W Cook

now playing: Song for Ireland – The Corrs

Talking all the day

With true friends who try to make you stay

Telling jokes and news

Singing songs to pass the night away

Watched the galway salmon run

Like silver dancing, darting in the sun

Living on your western shore

Saw summer sunsets, asked for more

I stood by your Atlantic Sea

And sang a song for Ireland

Sorry to all my faithful readers, it’s been a while since I’ve posted for sure.

I’ve been pretty busy at work this week, service work is a really interesting thing, especially when working with people who have absolutely no history with computers at all. Thank the Lord for PcAnywhere!

I’ve been reading through Matthew lately, and I just got to that famous passage in chapter 9 that goes “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few…”. We’ve all read this passage before, but I’ve never paid any attention to the verse right before it. It reads:

When He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

That’s the state of man, harassed and helpless, without a shepherd. I just sat there and thought about that for a while…thought about the Sindh…

In other news, I purchased the Bourne Identity on the Net about a days ago, a few days later, a friend of mine lent it to me, don’t I feel like a goofball! BUT, the book is just wonderful! Nothing at all like the movie, much better! Cool beans!

I used to read novels all the time, then I went off to Bible College and kinda gave them up. I think that was a mistake, novels are a great form of recreation, better than TV for sure. Even though I mainly read them for pleasure, I still benefit from the reading, it helps me to think better, increase my vocabulary, better my own writing and exercise mind. Reading is good. Listen up kids! Read a book!

What a neat mix of songs I have hear, we started off with some nice, smooth celtic music, moved on to a song about a cat and a cradle, and now The Cross Movement is bustin’ a ryhme based on God’s declaration to Moses at the burning bush. Coolness (I used that word at work and the secretary almost busted a gut laughing).

That’s all for now kids, be good and have fun!

Matthew

Matt and Ruth Cook 

now playing: nothing at all…kinda makes me feel naked…or not

Good morning blogfans. Matt the Cook here with an update of sorts. So, it would seem that Blogger is kickin’ it up a notch in the realms of composing options. It actually makes me a little sad. I was very proud that I was using all these little HTML tags to change my template and colors and stuff. Now with a click of a button, I could do all that and more. Well, I must stand on my convictions and resolve to only use the Edit HTML tag when posting, and try my best to ignore the easy-to-use bells and whistles of the Compose tab…

I’m preparing for a little Bible study for next Wednesday. I’m using my wonderful little ESV to do it. I love this thing! It was given to me as a wedding gift from two of my closest friends. It’s got my name on it and everything! I’m reading through a passage in 1 John 5, and when I read it in my NASB a few weeks ago, I was rather lost. But the ESV clears it up quite a bit, without interpreting it for you like the NIV. I was just thinking about that…Not that the NIV is evil or anything like that. Almost any translation is better than no translation (except for that NWT…crazy folks those JW’s). I thank God for the NIV, but I do believe that the ESV is a better choice for English-speaking Christians.

Urdu has had a Bible for about 200 years now. It’s the only one they have and it is a kickin’ translation. It’d be nice if English only had one translation…if it was a good one. It’d be nice for everyone here to read out of the same Bible. But that could spark some controversy I guess. Which translation to choose? Well, I’ll cast my vote for the ESV and sign off. Be good and have fun!

Matthew

now playing: Thy Mercy – Caedmon’s Call

I realize that my use of the phrase “now playing…” is somewhat of a rip off of the andy mack blog, but hey, imitation is the sincerest (most sincere?) form of flattery!

G’morning blogfans!

So as I sit here in the relatively dry St. Catharines (yes, I spelled that right) I hear of a plight in the noble city of P-dot. I hear that my beautiful city is flooding with about a meter of water in some places. Wa…that’s a lot of water!

I wonder what it would be like to canoe down George St. today…

Languages are neat things, eh? I’ve been trying to learn Urdu for a while, kinda hap-hazardly, but trying nonetheless. I notice that when I’m speaking, if I can’t remember a word for some reason my mouth wants to insert the French equivalent. Why is that? It’d be real funny to say to some Pakistani “Salam, kya aapki topi dans hai?” (hello, what’s in[dans] your hat?). That just wouldn’t make sense! But, there are some exceptions to this! The French word for pineapple is ananas. The Urdu word for pineapple is also ananas. So, I could ask for a pineapple – “mujhay ick ananas cha-he-yai” and insert the French word without difficulty (except as I say that to myself, I feel a tendency to replace “cha-he-yai” with “s’il vous plait”…that wouldn’t do.)

So what’s the moral of all this? Probably none, except for my thesis, which I have proved (proven?) nicely. Languages are neat things. Maybe this unorganized way of learning Urdu is not too productive, maybe I should get organized (maybe that sentence has flown from my mouth a few times before). RAMBLING ALERT

Okay, I’m better now. To Andy Mack, I must say I had no idea that I was supposed to have a clock in the b-room, maybe I should get to one to avoid anymore late arrivals at work. Have fun everyone, sorry about the incoherence (or maybe I’m not being incoherent, maybe I’m just messed up enough to be able to write properly but not quite understand what I’ve written…oh well).

Peace out,

The Cook

now playing: DVD – The Grinch who Stole Christmas

Yo all, sitting here at my parent’s house with Ruth, Mike and a friend’s daughter named Rowena. We just got back from the neighborhood pool and I’m pretty whooped. Had a good time with the Lord this morning. I was struck by a passage I read in Ps. 102:

18 This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.

19 For He looked down from His holy height; From heaven the LORD gazed upon the earth,

20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner, To set free those who were doomed to death,

21 That men may tell of the name of the LORD in Zion And His praise in Jerusalem,

22 When the peoples are gathered together, And the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.

Way back when David wrote that there were a bunch of people groups that had yet to exist. The Marwari people (Ruth’s tribe) was not in existence 3000 years ago. The Anglo-Saxon race as we know it did not exist either. But way back in the day, God foresaw that they would exist and picked people out from them for Himself! What a wonderful thought! Trillions of years before the universe existed He saw these races and picked me and Ruth and tons of others for Himself…good thoughts.

Matthew

now playing: The mighty whirr of the cooling fans on the Dual Xeon 2.8 sitting behind me…be still my heart.

So, another one bites the dust (sweet, precious, wonderful dust)! My buddy Dan-o was married this past Saturday. Props to Dan, enjoy your new wife!

This post shouldn’t be too long, just wanted to brag about the new computer I ordered yesterday. Here’s the facts:

P4 2.4 Mhz

533Mhz FSB

A Meg o’ L2 Cache (nothing to sneeze at)

256 Megs o’ RAM (DDR400 none the less)

A handy-dandy 128 Meg USB flash memory key

Neat-o graphic stuff – GeForce4 MX4000 64Meg

CDRW+DVD – joy!

Etc, etc,

Cool beans says I! Sorry Mack, not a Mac! (hehe, punny!)

So it should arrive at the office on Thursday, I’ll have it all nicely set up and home it goes on Friday. Boo ya!

Take care, all!

Matthew

now playing: Whirlwild – The Ambassador

Notice the new design? Not really a new design, I’ve just found some time and ambition to fiddle with the HTML a little. Maybe more renovations in the near future!

So, you heard of this new Gmail thing? Lots of controversy about it…well..not lots, just a little. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s this new web-based Email made by Google that’s offering, among many other things, 1 Gig of Email space – no more need to delete messages! Microsoft, evidently, is unpleased. Some people have concerns over privacy, because Gmail targets and kills all ads by allowing a little program to have access to the user’s account. But if ya check it out from Gmail’s side, it doesn’t seem like a big deal.

Why do I mention this? Well, you cannot actually get a Gmail account unless you get invited. And you cannot get invited unless someone with an account invites you. And users have a very limited number of invites they can give out. so there are people all over the web scrambling to get one of these Gmail accounts and score a good name before they’re all taken. At gmailswap.com there is a forum to trade things for a Gmail invite. People offer everything from a promise of a free dinner if you ever go to baltimore to the promise to act out any Star Trek episode on tape. I joined this little forum and offered a personalized letter in Urdu for a Gmail invite. Within 5 minutes I was invited to join the select group of Gmailers! Coolness.

So, drop me a line at Matthew.Ruth@gmail.com. I think I’m going to try and grab another sometime. Boo ya.

———————

New Subject

now playing: Love Song for a Savior – Jars of Clay

So I was cruising the web looking for a nice, refurbished comp to replace the fisher price model I currently have when I stumbled across a Dual Xeon for a mere $699! This caused the developers in the office to huddle around my computer for a while in respectable reverence. If only I was in to CAD or 3-D rendering and Linux and stuff…maybe then I could justify such a purchase. Oh well, just thought I’d let ya’ll know.

Well, that was a fun post, see ya later!

Matthew

Now playing: “If I stand” – Jars of Clay version

Good morning fans!

Matt the Cook here, after a much-needed and long-awaited break. Well, the rumors are true, the Cookster is finally married! WOO HOO!

I must say, this marriage thing is really great. I mean, it’s got so many great perks! I’ll list them:… Actually…I’d better not…

Anywho, Ruth and I spent our honeymoon week on the beautiful Prince Edward Island. A wonderful place, though very different from my previous residence on Ashburn Isle. We sampled much of the fine red dirt, and even used it to dye some of our clothes (two socks and two shirts). We also were privileged to see the Charlottetown production of Anne of Green Gables, a wonderful play!

So, props out to all my faithful readers and anyone else who happens to stumble upon this silly little blog of mine. Be good, have fun!

Matthew

PS – I need some help with the comments thing of this page…why doesn’t the word “comment” show up?

G’morning again!

Another day rolls by. Sometimes it’s amazing to stop and think about my present situation. I am amazed at two things.

(1) That God is so great in His creative and intellectual faculties that He is able to conceive of such an intricate plan for the universe that involves all of the humans throughout history. This brings to mind a line out of Fiddler on the Roof where Tevia bemoans his poverty and askes God “Would it spoil some vast eternal plan if I were a wealthy man?” The answer…yes! God’s plan is so intricate and perfect that anything different from the way God has planned it would spoil it. God has a wonderful plan, but that plan is not wonderful for every individual. Sometimes that plan is very hard for people. But in the end, it all works together for good.

(2) That God has chosen to bless me and make all things work together for my good (Romans 8:28)! Of all the people in the world, why would He pick a disorganized, distracted, sinful slob like me? Amazing grace, yes? Yes!

Well, the wedding plans are coming together, but I’m much less bright and oragnized than God, so the plans are quite a bit more difficult for me to pull off. But the days are steadily decreasing, and I’m getting excited not only to get married, but also to see good friends that I haven’t seen for a few months. Marriage will be fun, I’m sure it’ll be difficult too, but the best things in life often are also the most difficult.

Anyway, that’s all for this hour, I’ve gotta get back to work. I’m taking lunch off a little early to pick up a dresser I bought at Value Village. It wouldn’t fit in my little Civic, so I’m borrowing my brother’s car to grab it. It’s nice! I also grabbed a free computer desk from the side of the road yesterday, God is good!!

Pray for me,

Matthew