Trim painted...almost

Well, the weekend was kinda productive. We painted almost all of the "red" trim on the house white(ish). My oldest boy and I couldn't quite complete it due to a rather large wasp nest. I gotta get me some of that shoot 'em dead from far away spray. I was going to use my pump sprayer and some triazinon. On my way up the ladder a wasp landed near the roof. I was thinking, well, I am already afraid of heights and being on the roof. Having a wasp chase me because I sprinkle it with rather ineffective killing solution would seem more hazardous to me than the wasp. So, I gave it the ol' (computer term) beta test. I squirted the unsuspecting wasp. Then as expected (and even though it was expected, it still caught me off guard) the stupid wasp flew right toward me. Fortunately, I was on the first rung of the ladder so I was able to back up pretty quickly...it was still coming at me!! I squirted profusely in it's general direction and luckily hit it with a pretty major stream. After it hit the ground, I continued dousing it with as much solution as I could. I think I even pumped the thing up and squirted it again. Short story...I think I drowned it.

Needless to say, that wasn't going to work for me on the roof (actually, anywhere...but especially the roof). So, the trim still isn't painted. I won that small battle, but the wasps are winning the war! It's not over yet. I will get the rest of the trim painted!! Man, that scene must have looked funny from across the street!

The oldest boy walked out as the wasp was swirling around in the toxic puddle I had created for it. We decided to continue testing on other critters. It worked...but very slowly. We squirted a spider, another spider, a fancy red bug and around the basement window. The spider took about 15 minutes to keel over dead. The next morning, my oldest boy ran recon and scouted all our victims. They had all died. Still, it's too slow for wasps though.

The search is on for effective wasp killing mechanisms. I saw one guy using a ping pong paddle. I think I'll pass on that too. Any ideas?

My Quote of the Day

"Who wudda thunk that there was so much stuff in the world that I just really stink at??"

Prayer Answered!

The wife had an EKG and thorough checkup to find that she’s slightly asthmatic and can continue with her exercise routine and life! Thank you everyone for lifting her up in prayer.

Thank you Lord for your great mercy on me!

My wife

A posting of thankfulness to the Lord...

I don't know of a person that loves Jesus more than my wife. She is simply quite amazing. People probably think I am just exaggerating when I say she IS a proverbs 31 woman, but, I am not. If you've read that, you've read about the character of my wife.

I have had so many friends that have had contentious wives and have seen their struggle. I am glad I don't share that burden. I used to believe (and in doing so was probably very offensive to God) that I receive "splash damage" blessings from what He bestows upon her. Those are the kinds of blessings that are simply the overflow of a blessing someone else receives. God, please forgive me for such nonsense. My wife has been the most amazing blessing. A direct hit kind of blessing right on me. The best gift that can be given. I rise and call her blessed as do her children!

Although, she hasn't considered a field and bought it yet...I wonder what's up with that? ;-)

Prayer for my wife

It appears that my last post was lost in cyberland. If you've stumbled across this blog today, please pray for my wife. She is visiting the doctor today about some shortness of breath.

Thanks!

Prayer Request

I don’t know if anyone looks at this blog. But, if you happened upon it today can you please pray for my wife. She has a doctor’s appointment this afternoon about some shortness of breath. Thank you.

Hubble sound anything like Babel?

I recently read how the public insisted that NASA repair the Hubble telescope since it was such a benefit to all mankind in discovering how old the universe was, etc. NASA received funding again and it was repaired. However, I believe that was the last time they'll repair it. They plan on replacing it with a "mo betta" one in the next decade. Does this sound strangely like the tower of babel...except not trying to get to God? Maybe I'm stretching it, eh?

Burden, happy, end, angry

Ok, stupid title. But, I wanted to remember what I was going to blog about.

1. Burden - we weren't able to go to church today. My 2nd oldest boy had a 3v3 tournament all day Saturday and most of the day on Sunday. It was fun...they took 3rd place overall and received nice little medals. But, that's beside the point. Since we weren't able to go to church the wife and I watched our old pastor on DVD. We get them shipped to us because he's an amazing preacher. So, he was talking about "burdens" and how every christian should have one. He was talking about how self centered we have become and how sometimes preachers encouraged it occasionally. He cited Paul's writing of Romans 9:1-3 I believe and discussed why we should have a burden for others souls. So, after the dvd was finished Sandy and I had a long discussion about it. She immediately asked me who mine were. I told her it was the kids. One thing that pastor Dale discussed was, "if the kids are just carrying around your faith it'll fail them when they need it. It has GOT to be theirs." This is something that I have been thinking about a lot lately. I know there's nothing I can do to really seal that deal until now...just have a burden for them. Pray for them and be a godly example. I asked her, she said the kids too and her parents.
That brings me to point 2...

2. My wife found out that her uncle was getting divorced after being married for the 3rd time. (I think) This time however, it only lasted about 6 months. We were really encouraged when we found out he was getting married so it's very disappointing to here that it's ended. I guess the story goes that they weren't happy together. Forgive me, I don't intend this to be slanted toward her uncle, this is about happiness in general and how it's a crutch for EVERYONE. Too many people are concerned about being happy for themselves. I wonder what they think happiness is. Is it a warm fuzzy on the inside? Is it getting your favorite food all the time? Is it never fighting with you spouse? This really goes back to my question about "letting things go". What is happiness? Why is it the quest of all mankind to search for something that they really don't understand. My guess is that most would say, "I don't know what happiness is exactly, but it ain't this!". Why is it that the divorce rate of Christian's is just as high as non believers? Has America become a bunch of selfish quitters? Bailing out at a sign of trouble? How confident would anyone be marrying someone that's already had a divorce? I can hardly believe that I will be married for 20 years this year and it could all end because one of us loses focus on what happiness is or it becomes our quest and discover that it's apparently not attainable with the person we are with...but with a complete stranger, perhaps we could find it. To me, that doesn't make a lot of sense. My father in law invests a lot of money in cows and I think I recall him talking about how a proven mama cow is worth more since she has had success at having babies. Now, to me, that's happiness. Understanding what you have. Or, maybe not totally understanding, but having a general idea of what's to be expected. To start the mystery all over again seems like such a huge, huge, gamble. But, I'm rambling. Let's discuss what happiness is...And if you think you know what it is, what happens when what makes you happy changes? Anyway, my wife and I are trying to figure that one out and nip it in the bud before it spreads.

3. Luke 21:7 - 22 - Ok..I was just reading these passages. Eerily familiar with what's going on in the world right now. The funny thing is that I stumbled upon it looking for something else. Right before I read those verses of scripture, I read an article on MSN.com about how things are so horrible right now. You'd a thought that the guy read the same scripture I just did then put names, faces and events on it. When I read the MSN article I was pretty agitated, after reading the scripture, I felt...excited! Kind of weird, huh? What are your thoughts on the end times in relation to this passage of scripture?

4. Anger - So, the second half of date night was discussing my anger issues and where they come from. I think my wife has a better understanding of me than I have of myself. She stated that I have a control problem. Well, that was actually a, "duh". But, then she elaborated...and she tied it into my lawn. She said that a clean and manicured lawn shows I have control over those things and am able to "take care of it". (however, my lawn is a mess...but, I haven't finished yet!) When it's all green and nice and mowed, you can sit back and admire it...It's something that I "created, managed and refined". When the kids dig holes or leave dishes or a mess in the yard, it's like "I can't even keep anything nice because the kids aren't cooperating" so, I get angry about my lack of control. Well, after reading that, it probably doesn't make much sense to you. However, it's pretty spot on to me. So, if you can add me to your prayer list and pray for my control of anger, that'd be awesome.

Too long of a post. Please pick something out and comment away.

Funeral or buffet?

My pastor brought up a good point in church Sunday. Actually, I guess it was really Solomon...but anyway, Here's an excerpt from Ecc: 7

1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. 2 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. 5 It is better to heed a wise man's rebuke than to listen to the song of fools. 6 Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless.

So, let's discuss! I love the Lord but I am in no hurry to go to a funeral, especially of someone that I know. However, I think I understand the point Solomon was trying to make. I think my pastor said it best, "you rarely ever come away from a fun outing and make a life changing decision" ... or he said something close to that. Is the point that we should reflect on our own mortality to make decisions on what we choose to do or say today, while we are alive? Sorrow is better than laughter...again, we have something to learn and can pull strength from a sad situation whereby laughter is fleeting, right? I really struggle to recall a funny joke, but a really sad situation can stay with me longer than I would care for it to.

What do you guys think? I think I am drowning in the house of pleasure and laughing myself to death.

Ravi Zacharrias

I don't know if I spelled his last name correctly...but his website is RZIM.ORG I think. You need to hear this man's teaching. It is amazing.

Letting things go?

So, is it biblical to just let wrong doings or harm go without confronting it? There are many biblical references that answer this. What are your thoughts?

Concerts

One super huge advantage to living where we now live opposed to where we used to live is our access to quality concerts within 30 minutes of the house. In Arkansas I would have to drive to Tulsa to catch a good show. Since that was an hour and a half away...I didn't make many of them. Since being here I have see 3 concerts. Lincoln Brewster (2 times) and this past Saturday, Sanctus Real.

Sanctus Real has been my favorite for the last 6 months or so. Since I heard them, I bought every cd they have put out. I even purchased a song they did on a U2 cover tribute CD. So, when I heard they would be in Littleton there was little doubt I'd go. After I found out that tickets were 10 bucks, then it became an issue of how many kids would go too.

They were fantastic. You would have never guessed they were in a venue of about 100 people. It was truly up close and personal. However, the 2 opening bands are what I am going to blog about here.

The 1st band, Willet, is a group of 3 brothers. 23, 19, 16 were their ages. I spent a little time talking to them after their set. I was really impressed with how engaging they were. Perhaps if they were already superstars it may have been different. What I was really impressed by was their apparent heart for the Lord. A lady passed out outside while waiting for tickets before their concert. The band was moved to pray for her in the middle of their set. Amazingly mature for their ages... Warning, they play pretty heavy music...personally, I am going to probably buy their CD's even I don't like their music to support what they are doing and who they are reaching. PS - I like heavy music!

The 2nd band was Vota (formerly known as Casting Pearls). Again, very professional even considering the few that were there. The lead singer broke out into a mini sermonette that really revealed his heart. He is one that is using his platform to give glory to God and tell others of the good news. Their songs were very "pop" and not too heavy. I think most people would like this type of music (under 50) lol. I am probably going to be a Vota fan too.

The last thing I want to mention is how much fun my kids had. This was kind of scary. The kind of thoughts crossed my mind that I actually had to warn my olderst daughter about. It was the kind of scary that made you think if they stumbled upon some sinful thing that has been prohibited they could be easily captivated by it. We definitely need to explain things to our older children, don't we! I often get lazy and assume that they will always be able to discern between right and wrong. There was definitely nothing wrong with this concert! Two enthusiastic thumbs WAY up.

That's not to say I am not very thrilled with what they experienced. I am so glad they have had those kind of up close and personal fun experiences!! It was fun to see them having soooo much fun. If you know what I mean.

Saturday Ritual

Every (well just about every) Saturday I get to make omelets for the crew. I feel like short order cook with all the eggs slopping around. We typically use between 20 to 24 eggs, 10 pieces of turkey, a stick or butter and about a pound of cheese. It's a meal that the little boys always come back for seconds on...typically before I have finished everyone elses...but, hey, that's the life of a short order cook.

The other part of the ritual is music, LOUD music, while I am cooking. That used to help drown out some of the distracting noises of a large family. Now, it's kind of backfiring since the kids are getting older. Now, they can yell louder than the radio. But, when a favorite song comes on, everyone bebops around whether at the table, getting drinks or whatever.

I used to preach a little sermonette at the table once in a while too. I should start that up again.

I like Saturday mornings and hope it's a good memory for the kids as they grow up.

RightWing Visit

Our good friends left Monday morning to head back to their lives in Arkansas. It was a fun visit. We probably did more outdoorsy enjoyin’ Colorado things with them here than we’ve done as a family before their visit.

 

Mount Falcon – great trail and nice view. There is a gap in the hogs back where you can actually look on Denver. Denver is tiny from there. There are other locations where the view of the snow capped mountains peek between closer mountains. It’s truly a testament to God’s creative genius. We only walked about 2 or 3 miles…but, it felt more like 8. I wore sweat trousers since it was kind of cool in the morning….mistake.

 

Waterton Canyon – Since I have been in Colorado, this is the spot that I have frequented the most(as often as I would frequent something, which isn’t very often but, more than anyone else that’s been there from my family) . I originally went there during our transition period of selling/buying a house. I was anxious to test out the fishing in Colorado and my cousin recommended it. The fishing was ok…however, the scenery is amazing. 2 fairly steep mountain sides drop down to a fairly fast flowing river. Wildlife is abundant.  The trail is practically a road that makes for easy walking or biking. This trip, we gathered up all the bikes we could find and rode to the dam. It’s 6.6 miles each way although it seems farther to the dam than back since you are traveling upstream on the way there. It was a great ride with wonderful scenery and plenty of deer to spot.

 

Wiffle Ball – it’s official, the older folks rock. The 2 old guys and the oldest of the kiddos challenged the pint sized ankle biters to a Wiffle Ball world championship. We split the series with the little guys taking the 1^st game (but, that game didn’t count since we had to break for dinner). Then and official 9 inning TROUNCING commenced in which the older folks SEVERLY PUMMELED the ankle biters 19 – 11. “Weeee are the champions my friends….. da da da”

 

BFME tournament – Battle For Middle Earth tournament to those unlearned ones.. ;-) This time is was the Taggteam v. the Wingnuts. Ok, first I have to say that we severely limited the best player in the house…Drallen was NOT allowed to be the dwarves. He is ridiculously good with them. It’s not even a challenge for him when he plays us. And, it was Dad Wingys first time to play the game. So, besides that… the taggteam took the trophy!! I am not sure it was to our advantage to win. I have the feeling that some intensive training will commence and there will not be a repeat of a Taggteam victory. But, the rematch will be fun! So, train away Wingfolk and bring your “A” game.

 

There was tons of stuff that happened and it was probably one of the best vacations I’ve had in a long time. I am glad that the dad of the Wingfam is longsuffering behind the wheel!!

 

Until next time… Dream about the Taggteam BFME domination! How sweet it is….

Productive Weekend

Got a lot done this weekend thanks to my terrific kids. They are always so willing to help.

Since we moved to this house, we’ve had the kids “fort” disassembled in the back yard looming over my head as an insurmountable task. Everytime I would look into my back yard, I would stare at it just knowing that it was just not possible to reassemble. JD and Mayf had been asking me when I would get it done…. BARK!! Was my response. ARFF, ARFF. GROWL… I’m a busy guy…(GRRR) there are so many other things that need doing!! After a response like that, it’s always good for me to think about what just happened, what eternal damage I may have just done and pray that God would cause them to forget that response. God hasn’t done that yet, but He has convicted me about those types of responses. I still struggle with doing that, but to snap at my dearest loved ones on this earth is really depressing me. I am praying that He do a great work in me especially in my patience with them. After all, they will only be my babies for a short time…

Back to the topic of getting things done. Well, as I recall I was stating how arduous of a task assembling the kids “fort” will be. A week or 2 ago, my terrific nephews dropped by and helped me move the big pieces to a location in the yard with the least amount of slope. Then, my oldest son and I started moving things around and planning it out. Soon, most of the kids were back there and we were putting the last bolt in. A great saying that my wife likes to use is, “many hands make light work”. Amen honey!!! God has a great saying as well, "the ending of a matter is better than it's beginning". Amen God!

All the kiddos helped get the 1^st of our 3 coffins situated with the start of our garden. We layered about 6 inches of compost down and planted away…. Looks great!

Speaking of great kids. My #2 is one of the most thoughtful creatures to ever live. Whether a good event or bad event occurs my day will usually end with a sweet note by my bed from her…what a terrific way to end the day. She struggles with the worldy things of school…but when it comes to matters of the heart, she has the qualifications of a doctor already.

The contractors we hired to complete our fascia and soffits finished up Saturday!!! It is a little disappointing to put that kind of money into something just to make it presentable. I guess what I am saying is that it wasn’t like adding a spoiler to your car or new wheels that snazzy up the appearance. This basically took our house from the condemned look to the ordinary look! LOL. Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy to have it complete and I think it looks terrific.

We took the plunge and joined the church on Sunday. It’s pretty neat, our pastor wrote up a good paper on membership and it’s definitely something that makes sense and encourages building up the body with commitment and accountability. So, I relented my stubborn ways and joined. As we stood up in front of the church, he asked if anyone objected to us joining, Babyest (Z) let out a tremendous yell…. It was one of those funniest home video moments. But, they still let us join!

Have a great day..