It looks as if the coup in Thailand is going to be a bloodless overthrow of an unpopular prime minister. I went to pick up some Thai food tonight from our favorite little Thai place down the street and asked the folks there what they thought about all that's going on in Bangkok. There consensus was that it is good for Prime Minister Taksin to be out of power. I don't know enough of Thai politics to give a definitive opinion about whether this is a good thing for the nation or not but I do know that despite his repeated electoral victories, he was quickly becoming a heavy handed, and thus unpopular figure in the country. As a related side note, when I was in Thailand in July 2004, I was told that Taksin's unofficial policy to deal with the illegal drug problem was this: Hire off duty policemen to covertly assasinate drug dealers.

In any case, Sun and I are hoping and praying that things will settle down in Thailand and return to relative normalcy (and democracy as well), and that God will use this coup to speak to Thai hearts about the lack of peace and security in this world, and drive them to seek the peace that only Christ can give. And since there

Today I went before the South Coast Presbytery (PCA) for my ordination exam and passed. Last week, I had a challenging three hour pre-exam with the Candidates & Credentials committee and therefore I was somewhat nervous going into the meeting today. But praise God that all went well. The ordination ceremony should occur within the next few weeks or so.

One of Joshua's favorite activities is standing. In this picture, we are doing our ventriliquism routine where I hold him up from behind (or often from the sides) and he supports his weight on his legs. He has more than enough strength to hold him self up but almost most zilch for balance. But we both have lots of fun holding him up and keeping him from toppling over as he flails around, looking everywhich way.

Also, in the past few days he has just started what Sun calls "crawling". I suppose it IS the beginning stages of crawling but what he is actually doing looks more like someone trying to push a wheelbarrow that doesn't have a wheel. While lying on his belly, Joshua will straighten his legs at an angle to the floor, push off with his feet, arch his butt up in the air, and push his face and arms into the floor (or bed or whatever his is lying on). Granted that he does move an inch or so forward on occasion while using this method, I not convinced that this is bona fide crawling. But he is getting there. Joshua will be four months old next week (9/24)