In Memoriam

Here we sit at the end of another year. The final hours of "aught-six" are upon us. We have two vistas from the present vantage point. From one, we view the past 360-odd days we have just completed. From the other, the coming days of a new year. From the first, we see those things that have been indelibly etched into the pages of our personal histories. From the second, we see the clean and open slate of another year, stretching out before us like an open road. We do not know where we will be or what we will be doing by this time next year. We do not know what joys or sorrows await us. We stand at a road marker to an uncertain future, though we take each day for granted. Through the certainty of uncertainty, through the veil of days ahead, we as Christians have this blessed assurance: namely, we are in the hands of Almighty God. We are bought with the precious blood of Christ. We are called by His name. And our hope? It is simply this: that "Christ has regarded my helpless estate and has shed His own blood for my soul." It truly is "well with my soul. " Dear friends, it may be this very year that we hear the trumpet call, and our Lord and Savior will return for us! What joy is this? Who or what can dampen this anticipation? This may be the year!

"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words." (1 Thess 4:16-18)

Christmas Day

On Christmas day, after posting the previous blog entry and enjoying a very relaxing late morning and early afternoon, I headed over to Duane and Annette Stonehouse's place for Christmas dinner.

Stonehouse kids, Duane Stonehouse, Jamie Davis

Grandpa and Grandma Stonehouse, kids, Gary Stonehouse making the stunned face!

Janette Davis, Gina Stonehouse (Gary's wife), Gina's mom, Naomi Cahill

Micaiah and his cousin Brook

Katie Stonehouse

Lucas Stonehouse

Kolbie Davis

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

A very merry Christmas to one and all! Today we are celebrating our Savior's birth and I do join with you in remembering that "Greatest Gift."

Yesterday, after a good service at church, I had lunch with Terry, a friend who is currently doing some work up in Jackson Hole, WY. He only gets down here to church every couple of weeks (he's attending a church up there), so it was fun to spend some time with him and catch up on the latest.

Since there was no service last night, several of us gathered at Dave and Kathy Trott's home for "food, fun and fellowship." I brought my guitar along, and we ended up attempting to sing some Christmas carols (which never progressed pass the first verses) and some hymns (which also tended to fade after the first verse and chorus). It was a great time and I took some pics to share with you all.

In the Trott's kitchen

The Olive Tree

After the food and some fellowship, we headed outside to see what damage we could do to a bunch of sparklers. Then it was back inside for more fun, food, and fellowship. Nobody wanted to leave, so we sat and talked until we saw Christmas day in...

Yours truly, Dave and Kathy, Heather, Star , Dan and Naomi, Armel

On the way home, I stopped at our main post office to take a few pictures downtown. The bank sign said 28 degrees, but with the wind chill, it felt a lot colder than that!

Cupola on the Logan City Visitors' Center

"City sidewalks...

...strings of streetlights."

MERRY

CHRISTMAS!

Housewarming at Matt and Annie's

Yesterday my friends Matt and Annie Trott had their first housewarming/get-together in their new home. Here some pictures of the victims, er...guests ;)

Matt and Annie

Heather

Jay and Christine

Dan and Naomi

As The Odometer Turns

Over the last few years, I have kept track of my car mileage via digital photos. Here they are...

New Beetle Cup Car Crash

Here is a testimony to the strength of "round."

In A Domestic Way

Last night I did my first load of laundry! No, not the first since I've been in Utah, nor the first this year. No, it's the first time that I have done laundry at home! My friends Jamie and Janette Davis have sold their home and moved into a smaller apartment. They were going to have to put their washer and dryer in storage, so I offered to store/rent/buy them. Jamie and Russ (another guy from church) brought them over on Saturday. Since the dryer is a gas unit, I had to have a plumber put a valve on the gas pipe before it could be installed. So, last night after work, I stopped by Lowe's and got a dryer vent "line" and some clamps, and by 8:30 I was well under way to having my first load done. Here are a couple pics of the progress!

Tommy Emmanuel

Doyle Dykes

YouTube seems to have become, among other things, a popular repository of guitar clips. Here is a clip of one of my favorite guitar players, Doyle Dykes.

The Old Testament

As a youngster, I had always enjoyed the Old Testament. Its stories were presented at home in our family devotions and of course in Sunday School. As I progressed into my teens, the New Testament, with its clear doctrinal statements and theology began to supercede the Old Testament in my study. It has only been in the more recent past that I have begun to really appreciate the Old Testament as more than just some stories of what God did several thousand years ago. I have much to share on this "new" viewpoint, but I think A.W. Pink does admirably well in this following quote...

"As we read thoughtfully the books of the Old Testament our study of them is but superficial if they fail to show us that in diverse ways and by various means God was preparing the way for the coming of His Son."

Apostacy

I was listening to several messages on the last few chapters of the book of Judges yesterday afternoon. As you may remember, these chapters deal with the spiritual and moral apostacy of the nation of Israel at that time. Here are a few quotes that I thought were of some interest.

"It is not what is most pragmatic, nor what is most popular, but rather, what is right" - Don Fortner

"Lawlessness is the inevitable fruit of apostacy" - Stephen Hamilton

"Apostacy creeps into the New Testament church by using all kinds of Biblical language." - Joe Roof

"Just a desire for the goodness of God, doesn't make me right with God." - Joe Roof

Of Trains and Hills

Unmistakable

Microsoft's Newest Flight Simulator

Much to my delight, I found out that the newest version of Microsoft's Flight Simulator contains a Grumman Goose as one of the default planes. While I don't own the program yet, here are a couple of screenshots. If you recognize the paint scheme, it is that of N48550, msn 1061, owned by Larry Teufel. It is a common visitor to Ketchikan, especially in the summer.

Framed

Museum of Flight, Seattle, WA, October 2006

Southern California Night

The Goose and I

While in Southern California, I stopped at the Palm Springs Air Museum and took some pics of the Grumman Goose in their collection.

Tongue In Cheek Humor

Internet Explorer 7

About a week ago I thought I'd join the bandwagon and download IE7. After lasting about 15 minutes on my computer (aside from the time I was gone to work) it was completely uninstalled. I normally don't rant and rave about products, especially free ones. However, I will say I really dislike (bordering on intense hatred) IE7.

At that point I decided to use either Opera, Firefox, or Netscape. I have had all of these installed on the computer for some time (for cross-browser compatibility testing) and after looking at each one, decided to use Firefox.

Well, that lasted about three days. So now I am back to good ole IE6 and surfing like normal. Guess I'll have to wait until Microsoft comes out with a better version change than IE7!

Ok, I'm done with the soapbox...who's next?

Pilot's Seat

For those of you who have wondered what it is like to "pilot" a VW New Beetle, here is a shot from the "pilot's seat."

Back Home

I just got back this evening from my trip down to Hemet, CA. For those of you who hadn't heard yet, my Grandfather went home to be with the Lord at about 10:00 AM on Saturday, December 2nd. I spent a few days with my Grandmother, helping out as best I could. Here are a few pics from my time down there.

Sunday Lunch At Denny's

Grandma And The Tomato Plant

Driving Grandma

Lunch At Pizza Hut

On The Road Again...

I am headed out today to see my Grandparents down in Hemet, CA. As many of you know, Grandpa is not doing very well, so I thought I'd head down to spend some time with them. More on the blog when I return!