Bent Ear

biblehandbook.org

2010-02-18T16:52:00.002-07:00

I am directing much of my web work towards my new site: biblehandbook.org. This site will be the compilation of all of my Bible study, sermon notes, and Bible research.

Pictures in Ruth - On the Way Unto Judah

2009-08-25T23:05:00.002-06:00

Pictures in Ruth - On the Way Unto Judah
August 23, 2009

As we look at the "types" represented for us in the first chapter of Ruth, we see three women on the way from Moab (a type of the flesh or carnal nature), to Judah or Israel (a type of the victorious, abundant, Spirit-filled life). We as Christians are to be living supernatural lives, lives that are marked by the power of the Holy Spirit, not our carnal nature. How do we get there?

Pictures in Ruth - The Tragedy of Moab

2009-08-25T23:01:00.002-06:00

Pictures in Ruth - The Tragedy of Moab
August 16, 2009

Catching the Vision

2009-08-13T00:09:00.002-06:00

Due to the fact that Pastor and Marejean are out of town, I had the privilege of being the speaker tonight at our weekly Wednesday night prayer meeting and Bible study. God has been speaking to me about the need for praying churches and praying Christians. I hope this message helps us all to see that there is a greater hunger we can have for God and a greater appetite we can sustain for Him.

Can You Spare 11 Minutes Today?

2009-08-10T09:02:00.002-06:00

If you would, take 11 minutes and listen to this short clip by John Piper of the supremacy of Christ. We serve a God who is supreme!

The Supremacy Of Christ by John Piper

How Serious Are We?

2009-08-09T21:39:00.002-06:00

In thinking over some of the things the Lord has been placing on my heart recently, I think we would all do well to ask ourselves, "How serious are we about serving the Lord?"

Is "Seek ye first the kingdom of God" an actuality in our day to day walk, or is it more like, "Seek ye the kingdom of God, after I spend time with my family, after I get some down time from work, after I feel ready to..."?

I fear that we are more preoccupied with the things of this life than God Himself. Dear Christian, how serious are we?

Today's Synthetic Gospel - excerpt

2009-08-03T08:30:00.002-06:00

Today’s Synthetic Gospel
by Greg Gordon

A DETHRONED CHRIST

Where is the power of Edwards or Whitefield? Where is a modern day Wesley or Spurgeon? To put it another way, where is the message that these men preached with divine authority? The gospel message that they preached was full of God, throbbing with God, God was the gospel. They preached the character of God, the law of God, repentance towards God, acceptance with God, and dependence on God. Everything in their preaching was Christ Exalting and God honoring. Spurgeon said: “The sermon which does not lead to Christ, or of which Jesus Christ is not the top and the bottom, is a sort of sermon that will make the devils in hell laugh, but might make the angels of God weep.” If a gospel message does not begin with the lifting up of God, it then is the lowering of heaven to earth and making what is Holy mundane. George Whitefield said: “The Christian world is in a deep sleep; nothing but a loud shout can awaken them out of it!” We are preaching a man-centered gospel that denies a Holy God. The gospel begins with God and ends with God, if we miss this we miss the gospel. We are living in a age of synthetic gospel preaching, hence the Church has little power in modern day evangelism. Satan has been successfully employing men in preaching a dethroned Christ and a powerless Gospel.

For the full article, visit click HERE

Pictures in Ruth - Dwelling in Moab

2009-08-02T22:19:00.002-06:00

Pictures in Ruth - Dwelling in Moab
August 2, 2009

Just as it should be strange to us, that a man whose name means "My God is King" is found dwelling in Moab, so too the presence of the carnal nature in our churches should be strange to us as well. The flesh is our mortal enemy and is possibly being allowed to come into our churches...

Master's Men 2009

2009-08-01T01:39:00.004-06:00

Me, Nick, Paul and Dave prior to hitting the road to California

This past May was the Master's Men conference in Fresno, CA. Nick, Paul, Dave and I drove down in the Schallenberger's Suburban from Logan, and met up with Scott in Fresno. It was a good conference and we heard some good messages. We were joined by Kaitie who had just recently finished her first year at college and we all drove back to Utah. All in all it was a good trip.

Mahlon and Chilion - The Mistake of a Lack of Separation

2009-07-20T11:01:00.001-06:00

Mahlon and Chilion - The Mistake of a Lack of Separation
November 11, 2007
43:10

Naomi - The Mistake of Bitterness

2009-07-19T22:57:00.008-06:00

Naomi - The Mistake of Bitterness
October 28, 2007
34:18

I'm Back

2009-07-19T22:33:00.002-06:00

I've been debating on whether or not to continue blogging. I just don't have the same desire to do it as I used to, but have been convinced that I should continue. My interests are not what they used to be. I don't take as many pictures, and airplanes....well, even the Goose doesn't have the magic it once had for me.

I still like messing around with computers, and have tried to keep abreast of the latest technology via work and the internet. I'm still working at Staples and am going on 5 years there this August.

My main interest has been studying the book of Ruth. I am still teaching Sunday School and we have just barely reached the end of the first chapter (after what....two years?). I enjoy doing the study and having the opportunity to share that with others. I will start posting my messages as podcasts that can be listened to here or downloaded. (Still playing with the infrastructure behind that).

Well, for those who still swing by here, thanks for looking and I hope that some of what God has been teaching me out of Ruth will be a blessing to you.

The Next Post

2009-04-04T01:10:00.002-06:00

After being reminded that my blog is in need of updating and having promised to post something, here's the latest.

We just finished (well, on Sunday) our annual Missions Conference. Our speaker was Dave Hardy and his wife. The services were good and the reminder and call of missions was well expressed. It was good to see Bro. Dave again and to meet his wife this time.

Later this month we will be having Dave McCracken (spelling?) come and do our week-long spring revival. He is actually the first special speaker I heard at Grace when I arrived back in '04. Last year, at the Master's Men's Conference in California, he was one of the speakers. So, I am looking forward to hearing from him again.

Work is going well. We've been coming together as a team and really starting to see good performance demographics from the staff. Retail is definitely not a one man show, and it is good to see people catch the vision and run with it.

Well, it is after one in the morning, and I need to be rolling out the door at around 4am to get down to the base for my drill weekend. Catch ya all later.

Post 401

2009-03-04T21:17:00.011-07:00

Waiting for engine start

Ok, so the title of this blog entry really has nothing to do with its content, but since I now have over 400 posts on Bent Ear, I thought it was noteworth, if even in passing.

Many of you know I am in the USAF Reserves. I am a crewchief on the F-16's and serve as an all-around grease monkey (aka: jack of all trades, master of none) on the aircraft. My job is to make sure that all of the daily inspections are completed and documented in the aircraft forms, that all of the necessary hydraulic and nitrogen servicing is accomplished, and assisting the pilot in the launch and recovery of the aircraft.

By the end of next April, I will have hit my 8 year mark in the Air Force. During our trip down to Tyndall AFB in Florida, I was able to get a camera pass and take pictures out on the flight line. One of my buddies was willing to shoot a few pictures while I was launching out the jet, so I thought I'd post them so you all know what I do.

The pilot prepares to start the engine

Beginning my checks

The pilot throttles up the engine

Pulling the landing gear pins

Saturday Shenanigans - 2

2009-02-28T21:56:00.004-07:00

Well, now to the second part of my weekend shenanigans...

(Here is the short version: today I took apart an old laptop and removed its internal wireless card and antenna, and installed these in my laptop I got back in 2001. Now I have wireless on it! Sweet!)

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NOT SATISFIED WITH THE SHORT STORY, HERE IS THE NARRATIVE OF TODAY'S EVENTS, JUST AS THEY HAPPENED...

Back in 2001, I purchased a Dell Inspiron 4000 laptop. I actually got it off of eBay. It was only a week or so old, and the fellow that had purchased it decided that he really wanted something different. So, I was able to get a brand new system for a couple hundred less than what I would have paid directly from Dell.

The Birth Certificate from Dell (yes, I did blur out the service tag number so you couldn't read it and then go on Dell's site and try to find out what's in this system!)

Say what you will about Dell, but I have had no complaints with this system. It came with Windows ME preinstalled, which, even at the time, I was not too keen on. In fact, when the system arrived, I formatted the hard drive and installed Windows 98 on it. After using it for a while, it became apparent that it actually ran BETTER with Windows ME, so I formatted the drive again and started over with ME.

Here is what the ole' girl looks like

I have had that computer for the last 8 years, and have not had one lick of trouble with it. The battery finally went out on it, but it still runs well with the AC adapter. I have run many different versions of Linux on it, and even a BSD or two. Come to think of it, I may have even run OpenSolaris on the ole' girl.

My one beef with it lately has been the lack of wireless. Sure, I could fork out $40 or so for a PC card adapter or even a USB adapter, but come on now, is it really worth it for an 8-year old system?

Let me digress for a moment, because there is another story that ties into this one and will help to explain my day's activities. For quite some time, we have been allowed to do computer returns at our store. This helped us in taking care of the customer, especially if the problem with their computer would normally have required sending their computer back to the manufacturer.

Every once in a while, a laptop would return for which we could get no return to vendor authorization. These would silently sit in our back room, collecting whatever bits of dust they could get their plastic little chassis on. Well, one day I decided to check with my boss and see if there was a chance I could buy the lot of them. He agreed, so that evening I went home with five laptops, in various stages of repair (or disrepair as the case may be).

Well, to shorten the story up a bit, one of the computers was an old built-to-order HP. This thing easily exceeded the bounds of a portable computer and landed squarely in the realm of "luggable" or "budgeable". Since it was missing both its hard drive and AC adaptor, I felt it was the perfect victim...er...specimen, for my project today.

Ok, this isn't MY Inspiron, but, like the earlier picture, it is a brother or sister

This morning I got a curious bug to see if my Inspiron had what is called a mini-PCI port in it. So, I turned it over, got out a handful of trusty screwdrivers, and opened up the access panel on the bottom of the computer. Sure enough, it had a mini-PCI port, but there was currently a card plugged into it. After determining that this was the network card and 56K dial up modem, I had an idea. What if that old luggable HP had a wireless mini-PCI card in it? Could I put that in my Inspiron and make it wireless? Well, with nothing holding me back but fear itself, I began with my "cardectomy".

After unscrewing a countless number of small screws, the old HP began to grudgingly come apart in my hands. I removed the wireless mini-PCI card, only to discover that these little guys use an antenna (basically a set of wires) which snaked its way towards the LCD screen. Not being one to quickly give up (hey, the odds were in my favor), I disassembled the screen and removed it from the laptop chassis. I then extricated the antenna (wires) from behind the LCD screen and voila, I was set.

Here is the same make and model Broadcom wireless card I installed today

I carefully attached the antenna wires to the card and inserted it into my Inspiron. First I tried booting with one of my Linux distros, but the card wasn't recognized, so I installed Windows XP. The old Inspiron should have given up the ghost (hey, she only sports 192MB of RAM and a 10GB hard drive) but she chugged right along, as if nothing out of the ordinary were happening. (Remember, the ole' girl was in my possession and operating as my computer before XP was a gleam in Bill Gates' eye).

Well, downloading the XP driver for that card on my desktop computer, I copied it on a flash drive and installed it on the Inspiron. Just like clockwork, up came the wireless card and I was online. Between the wireless and a good Linux distro (just haven't quite decided yet) this almost decade-old computer has a new lease on life!

Saturday Shenanigans - 1

2009-02-28T21:11:00.009-07:00

Well ok, I'll admit it, I played around today. Yeah, I did accomplish a few things...but mostly I played. One of the things I did was update my desktop computer with an application called RocketDock, a free application designed to help manage your frequently used shortcuts.

Previously, I had used the Quick Launch bar across the top of the screen. I had it set to autohide and loaded it up with the majority of the applications I use. It was simple, practical and very utilitarian.

Below I have included a couple of screenshots from my desktop today. (Yes, I know I have a lot of icons on the desktop!) The first picture shows the RocketDock at the bottom of the screen. In the second picture, I have moved the mouse over the OpenOffice.org Writer icon, which is enlarged accordingly.

RocketDock

RocketDock mouseover

It functions very fast and the graphics transitions are smooth. Overall I think it is a definite improvement to my desktop and general user experience. While I didn't get the impression that this is open source software, it is free...so the price is right. If you would like your own copy, just visit: http://www.rocketdock.com

(And yes, for you Mac users, this is similar to the OS X Dock)

Pics From Thanksgiving '08

2009-02-28T08:45:00.001-07:00

I'm Pressing On...

2009-02-23T18:08:00.002-07:00

"I'm pressing on the upward way..." So begins the old hymn. It was with these words that yesterday's Sunday School lesson out of Ruth began. We were looking at verse nineteen which reads, "So they two went until they came to Bethlehem..." This was as far as we got, though my intention had been to examine the whole verse.

The lesson was entitled "Continuing Until." We looked at the fact that there are no incidentals in the Bible, this small sentence was included with just as much Divine intent as the passages on the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. So, it was important for us to consider why this verse was recorded.

The basic principle we drew was that of continuing until the end. Naomi and Ruth did not travel on a different path than the one they had set out on, the one which lead to Bethlehem. Also, they did not stop along the way and settle there, for example, stopping in Jericho or Jerusalem and living there. They both continued until they arrived at Bethlehem.

No matter what we face in these last days before Christ comes again, we must continue on. The Bible adjures us to press on, continue on, until the day of Christ Jesus. We are to be found often in church, often in the Bible, often in prayer. We are to be about the business of the Master and in fellowship one with another.

Whether we face the daily discouragement of a physical ailment, an emotional hindrance, or financial difficulties, we are to press on. Though we are persecuted or reviled for Christ's sake, we are to press on. Let us take example from these two widows on the road to Judah. They would not stay nor stray until the day they arrived at their destination...Bethlehem, the "house of bread."

Google Chrome

2009-02-15T01:14:00.004-07:00

My home screen in Google Chrome

Being a bit of a computer/gadget buff, I am part of the continuous search for better pieces of software and hardware. (Better being defined as closer to my likes and tastes). For years I have been a fan of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser.

Sure, like any Microsoft product, it was constantly attacked and criticized. It had its flaws and its bugs. It didn't completely implement HTML and CSS coding according to standards. Security vulnerabilites seemed to be discovered every week or two.

Yet, it seemed to be as fast if not faster than the other competing products. While I was developing web sites, I downloaded different browsers to see how my HTML work would look and be interpreted. I found IE to be right up there with Firefox, Safari, Netscape, Opera, etc.

Well, when IE version 7 came along I immediately downloaded it to see what had improved. To my disappointment, the screen interface had been highly modified and much of the ability to customize and arrange the screen had been removed from the user.

So disenchanted was I, that I uninstalled it, reverting back to IE6. But, my love affair with IE had ended. After some testing, I settled on Firefox. I was able to customize it to look similar to the setup I had used in IE and all was good.

Well, for several months now I have been using a new browser, put out by Google. It is called Google Chrome and I have to say I think I am beginning to fall in love again. It is fast and light with a minimalistic interface.

One of my favorite features is the ability to do a search directly from the address bar. There is no need for another toolbar with a search box in it, everything can be done from the address bar. The other feature that I really like, though it is different than other browsers, is that nine of my most frequently visited sites are thumbnailed on the page. These thumbnails are automatically updated with the latest site changes upon visiting that site.

It may be that you're not looking for a new browser or even desire to try one, but if you are "in the market" I'd definitely give this one a look.

Greetings From Florida

2009-01-18T00:47:00.003-07:00

Howdy from Panama City, Florida. A week ago Friday, I received a call at work from my flight chief. He asked if I was ready to go to Florida. I said no, I wasn't on the list. To which he replied that I was. So, 24 hours later I was on the plane to Florida. I've been here a week and am facing one more week. How about that for fun?

A Very Sobering Question...

2009-01-07T23:19:00.001-07:00

What's Your Favorite?

2009-01-07T22:58:00.002-07:00

At The Turning of the Year

2009-01-06T18:54:00.002-07:00

As I sit here in front of my computer screen, I am pondering exactly what to say and how even to start. The fact that my last post was made in the waning days of September has not been lost on me. As a matter of fact I have considered making a blog entry several times, but have chosen not to.

To summarize the necessary details, I am fine, work continues on, and church is going well. I am still teaching out of the book of Ruth, in fact, we are still only partially through the first chapter. We are currently on a mini-series on being "Steadfastly Minded" and are considering different aspects of Ruth's "confession of faith" found in verses sixteen and seventeen. Perhaps you would be interested in hearing some of these studies, perhaps not.

As to the activities I have been involved in during the closing months of 2008, feel free to inquire. I will try to answer as best I can, and post applicable pictures. This last year has seen some of the highest highs and lowest lows I have ever experienced in my short 31 years on this earth. However, suffice it to say that I am firmly convinced of the unchanging and perfect character of God.

The Bible declares Him to be a good God, and whether I feel like He is or isn't does not change that fact. He is good. What He does is good. What He allows in our lives is good.

If there is anything I would give as encouragement and inspiration is simply this, as we have stepped over the threshold of the old year and passed into the earliest days of the new, make this one thing your primary focus this year: to cultivate a personal, passionate and vibrant relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I have been struck by Ruth's words, "Thy God, my God." Have we truly made Christ "my God"? Christ Himself said that many will come to Him on that day and say "Lord, Lord...haven't we cast out demons in your name? Haven't we done this and done that in your name? Haven't we done miraculous things all in your name?" And His answer is simply "Depart...I never knew you."

How much time did we invest in Christ this last year? How much effort and thought did we invest in the things which please Him? When was the last time we went out of our way simply to do something to please our Savior?

Camping Trip Hike Photos

2008-09-29T15:46:00.003-06:00

July Camping Trip

2008-09-26T20:16:00.005-06:00

We had a youth campout on July 18th and 19th. We met up at the Right Hand Fork campground (which is really the Left Hand Fork...but that's a different story...) Matt and Annie and Paul and Sara were already there when I arrived. That evening we all sat around the fire and sang some songs. Gary Stonehouse did a short devotion, and then Paul and Sara took the kids "snipe" hunting.

The next day we hiked a mile or so to a small field and the kids played softball. Then the main group headed back to camp, but a few of us decided to go on a hike. We'll save the scenery pics for another post.

Church commuter services

The main campsite

Of bugs and tents

Sara seranades Annie

Group time around the fire

Brooke Stonehouse nails the softball

Juan heads for home, as Paul offers encouragement

Gina sends the ball on its way

To the ball: "Be afraid...be very afraid"

Caddy Style

2008-09-25T08:39:00.003-06:00

(Do you see me in the picture?)

The Cache Valley Cruise In 2008

2008-09-25T08:29:00.004-06:00

On July 5th, the Schallenberger family, (minus Kaitie, who was working), and I headed downtown for the annual Cache Valley Cruise In. It was a lot of fun and we saw all sorts of classic cars in various stages of restoration. I think the old cliche is true: they just don't make 'em like they used to.

Personal Hacking Record

2008-08-01T08:58:00.003-06:00

Well, the personal high for me right now is 144! Up a little from 117 eh? With just my feet, (no knees or torso), I think I'm just over 30.

River Trail Hike - July 5th

2008-07-31T09:30:00.004-06:00

The River Trail hikers

I think this is Second Dam

A butterfly

Contrast

K and Joey

Purdy

Shadows

V and 'Ria

On a Rock

Eating at the Chow Hall

2008-07-30T22:21:00.003-06:00

For those of you who may have wondered what the dining facility at Hill AFB was like, here is a picture of my Sunday afternoon dinner at the chow hall during my last Reserve weekend. Not too bad, eh?

The Month of July

2008-07-23T22:23:00.002-06:00

Well here it is, almost the 24th of July! I can't believe this month has gone by so fast. Some months are that way I guess. Anyway, I have not been collecting dust these past three weeks. Here are some of the things I've done or been a part of:

Hiking
Camping
Hacky sack
Classic car parade
Picnic
Flying
Air Force Reserves
Hot tub
Teaching Sunday School
Linux
etc, etc, etc

I have pictures of most of these activities, (don't worry none hot tubbing or of Linux...though I could arrange the Linux bit). In the days ahead I'll start posting some of them and let you enjoy the last three weeks like I did.

Just as a general overview, things are going well. In Sunday School we have almost completed the series "From Bethlehem to Moab". This Sunday I believe we will be looking at the two Amorite kings that God delivered into the hands of Moses and Israel, and then the next lesson will be a conclusion and review of all the lessons along the way to Moab.

While I have learned a lot and enjoyed this series, I am looking forward to getting back to the book of Ruth itself and doing some more study in the first chapter. Who knows, there may be a few more series or "mini-series" hiding in the shadows of chapter one.

Robin

2008-07-03T00:50:00.003-06:00

There are some things that only a wife can get away with. Robin demonstrates this privilege for us in these pictures...

Porcupine Lake

2008-07-02T17:50:00.005-06:00

On Saturday evening, I joined the Schallenbergers for a drive out to Porcupine Lake. We had some sandwiches from Subway, and then wiled away the time throwing rocks in the water and exploring our section of shoreline.

The weather was beautiful, as I think this picture aptly, ahem, "reflects"

Joey at the water's edge

Scott gives Maria some carving instruction

V (Veronica) caught a small fish

Maria "branches out" on her own

Joey and V look for fish

Here's looking back up the road we came down to the lakeshore

The sun began to go down and I thought I'd grab another scenery shot

Juan gets the "point"

Here's Falicia feeling a little "let down"...with a little help from mom, and 'Ria exits the area quickly

Okay, here's the sunset shot

Canaan Land

2008-06-28T14:19:00.003-06:00

I have been privileged to be able to continue teaching the Sunday School class at church on Sunday mornings. We are currently in a series called From Bethlehem to Moab in which we have been considering the probable route that Elimelech and his family traveled on when they fled the famine. Though we cannot be certain that this is the actual route, nonetheless we can learn lessons from the places that are on that route; lessons applicable to us today.

We have progressed through many different cities and have at last come to the Jordan River. As Elimelech and his family cross the Jordan, it is important for us to note what they are leaving. The Jordan River was the border of the Promised Land. Though Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Mannaseh received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan, yet it was on the west side of the Jordan where Israel was to received her inheritance.

So what does Canaan represent? Though many hymns, poems, allegories and commentaries refer to Jordan as a type of death and Canaan as a type of heaven, as we have studied, we have found that this is but a poor analogy. For instance, consider that in Canaan we find day and night, the light of the sun and the light of the moon. We find sorrow, pain, death, violence, battles, enemies and sin. We find deception and greed. We find men doing what was right in their own eyes.

As we read the description of heaven and the new Jerusalem in the book of Revelation, we find that there is no night there. We find the Lord wiping every tear away. We see that death is banished. We find no one that does wickedness within her gates. We find no enemy, no battles, no more war. So is Canaan really a type of heaven? In loose analogy yes, but I believe that Canaan more accurately represents the life of the Christian here on the earth. I believe it represents the life that Christ desires and wills for us to live.

During our first lesson on Jordan and Canaan, we looked at it in type, as we have mentioned above. The second lesson is found in Hebrews 3 & 4 where the author, at the direction of the Holy Spirit, describes the land of Canaan as "God's Rest". Last week we looked at how that not only was Canaan a place of rest for God's people, but it was also known as the "Promised Land". We examined some of God's promises both for the children of Israel as they entered Canaan, and also the promises that God has made to us, His people, for our daily Christian lives.

I believe tomorrow we will either be looking at the characteristics of Canaan (ie: a good land, fruitful, flowing with milk and honey, fertile, etc) and/or the fact that Canaan was to be possessed by the children of Israel. It wasn't simply appropriated, it had to be possessed.

Well, that's the latest on the Bible study side of things. Have a great weekend.

Welcome Paul and Sara

2008-06-26T17:04:00.005-06:00

Just wanted to extend a welcome to my friends Paul and Sara Vandenboss. They (well Sara) have recently started their own blog. Paul is in the Marines and is just finishing up his officer candidate school in Quantico, VA. Paul and Sara are members at Grace Baptist and we (and a few others) are often found at Chili's or another restaurant on a Sunday evening after church.

Paul and Sara

And the Hacks Go Higher

2008-06-26T08:18:00.002-06:00

Well today was the day of new consecutive records. First I hit 67. The second try I got up to 91. Finally I hit my all time personal high, 117.

(btw...this is a picture of my hack...the first picture was one I found on the web)

Crazy Face Picture

2008-06-25T08:56:00.002-06:00

Last night I joined the Schallenbergers at Adam Park, just a block from my apartment. I brought along my hacky sack and ended up playing for a while with a guy that stopped by. Robin had grabbed their camera, and, as Joey wanted a funny face picture, I decided to oblige...

Portrait

2008-06-25T08:47:00.003-06:00

Guitar Hunting with Matt

2008-06-24T23:05:00.004-06:00

One of the highlights of the last couple of weeks was a weekend visit by my good friend Matt Cooke. He arrived the Friday before Father's Day and stayed until the following Monday. He was able to fly into Salt Lake via Southwest Airlines and arrive several hours earlier than he had planned.

We grabbed a bite to eat in Layton and then headed north towards Logan. We stopped by the house, dropped off his stuff and then went on a walk up by the college. It was good to catch up on some of the happenings back in Ketchikan.

The next morning we hit the road around 8am bound for the Provo and Orem area. We spent the day in guitar hunting, which is a very nice way to spend a Saturday. By the time we got back up to Logan, we had covered about 270 miles.

A line of Taylors

The Guitar Czar, a nice little shop in eastern Salt Lake

Is that the guitar shop?

Waiting to see what fine instruments were inside

A very nice sounding Martin

So many nice guitars, so little money...

Hmmm...

Maybe not so much...

Nice, but not the right one...

Matt shows the Baden he had purchased just minutes before

On Father's Day, Matt and I went to church and then headed over to the Schallenbergers' for dinner and spent the rest of the afternoon there until the evening service. That went well and several of us headed over to a local restaurant afterwards.

Monday morning we went to the men's prayer meeting and then hit the road for Idaho Falls, ID. This was the closest spot that Horizon Air flies out of. Matt hadn't found the right guitar yet, but there was one guitar shop in Idaho Falls that we thought we'd take a look at before heading to the airport.

We arrived in Idaho Falls just before 10am and found the guitar shop just as they were opening the doors. After walking in, Matt saw the Badens, played a couple for about three minutes, and knew that he had found his guitar. Within 15 min he had purchased the guitar and we were on our way to the airport.

All in all quite a time. Thanks Matt!

New Personal Record

2008-06-24T23:01:00.001-06:00

65 consecutive kicks with the hacky sack

Exercise

2008-06-20T21:39:00.003-06:00

Aside from working out on my Weider Platinum, I have once again taken up footbag, more commonly known as "hacky sack". I had actually started doing this before I injured my knee, but after my rough landing, I had to wait for a while until the knee came down to normal proportions. Thankfully the knee is much better and I can embark once again on kicking that little crocheted bag around with my feet.

Today I set a new "record" for myself, 51 consecutive hits in a combination of knees and feet. I think there is only one other time I got a higher number than that, and it was down in Baja Mexico while at an orphanage during one of our church's youth mission trips. Anyway, it is a lot of fun and is a good work out as well. (Hey, go cardio!)

Schallenberger Open House

2008-06-20T21:09:00.006-06:00

On June 7th, the day after Kaitie's graduation, the Schallenbergers had an open house for friends, family and neighbors. Over all there were around 50 folks that stopped by.

Kathy, Robin and Barbara in deep conversation around the food.

Veronica takes a moment to smile for the camera.

Meanwhile, Scott manned the grill, turning out burgers, dogs and bratts like they were going out of style.

Kaitie's cake came appropriately adorned with graduation-themed decorations.

There was a small table set up in the front entrance for cards and gifts.

More deep conversation being undertaken around the table.

After lunch, several of us went hiking up in the hills behind the Schallenberger place. Here Chelsea and Joey are seen walking along a service road overlooking the valley. (For those who are interested, the photo was taken looking east).

Yes, the photographer got his own picture taken. Leonardo was kind enough to snap this picture of Carlos and myself. Carlos and Leonardo are from the Dominican Republic or the "DR" as they call it.

We had a great view of the Schallenbergers' place from our vantage point on the service road. Theirs is the house in the foreground with the visitors' vehicles parked in the adjacent cul-de-sac.

The hills were quite green due to some late spring rains.

Carlos, Leonardo, Chelsea and Kaitie pose for a picture.

Joey smiles for the camera as well.

After we hiked back down, we spent a little more time snacking, Kaitie opened her cards and gifts, and we all hung out until late in the evening. A good time was had by all.

Firefox 3

2008-06-19T22:09:00.002-06:00

I have been using Firefox (among other browsers) for some time now, and have really gotten to like this browser. Since version three was released a couple of days ago, I decided to download it and try it.

My first impressions are favorable. I don't normally use all of the bookmarking functions and such, so my viewpoint is limited to interface layout, speed, and stability. So far version 3 scores high on all of these.

I like it!

Kaitie's Graduation

2008-06-19T21:57:00.005-06:00

On June 6th we had a combined graduation at church. This last year was the first year for our church school, and each of the kids received awards and recognition for completing their first year.

As the Schallenberger's homeschooled their four eldest children, they also received awards of for their achievements during this last school year. This was also Kaitie's last year of highschool, so it was graduation night for her.

Kaitie's friend Chelsea came in and was able to spend several days. Here are three pics after the awards and ceremony were completed.

The Schallenbergers

Kaitie and Chelsea

Annie Trott (the teacher at our church school), Kaitie, and Pastor Stonehouse

Chad and Ariana's Wedding

2008-06-18T07:16:00.005-06:00

My friends' daughter Ariana, was getting married on the 31st of May, and they asked if I would take pictures of the ceremony and reception. Though I've never taken wedding pictures before, I agreed. Here are a few of the pictures from the wedding. In shooting these pictures, I realized the shortcomings of my camera and have developed a greater appreciation for those who shoot weddings on an ongoing basis.

Master's Men Album

2008-06-16T13:20:00.006-06:00

WOW!

2008-06-11T07:24:00.002-06:00

I can't believe that we are already into the month of June. I've continued to be very busy. After getting back from the wedding in Delta, I was then involved in finishing up a slideshow for Kaitie's graduation and also getting her graduation gift finished.

The graduation ceremony went very well. I shot video and also did a short reading. Last Saturday was an open house at the Schallenbergers' and quite a few folks attended. I believe the final count was over 50. On Sunday I had to drive down to the base for the Reserves.

So, here it is Wednesday already, and I am just beginning to catch back up with things. If all goes as planned, Matt Cooke will be arriving down here on Friday evening and will spend the weekend here in Logan.

Other than all that, I'm just sitting around collecting dust and watching the paint peel!

Just a Quick Update

2008-05-31T08:33:00.002-06:00

Here's just a quick update. I've been really busy these last few weeks with Kaitie's graduation coming up, getting back from Fresno, work, and life. Right now I am in Delta, UT (if you can't find it on a map, just follow I-15 south from Salt Lake down to Nephi, and head west). My friend Derek's little sister is getting married and I am shooting the wedding pics.

Tomorrow I'll head back up to Logan, and then work on finishing up a graduation slideshow for Kaitie during this coming week. I may be making a lateral job position change at work in the next couple of weeks which should net a good raise. Graduation is on the 6th, and it looks like I may have to head down to the base on Sunday the 8th.

Well, that is the short of it at the moment. I have been getting pictures together from the Master's Men trip, so will post those shortly. I also have a couple of video clips that I will post as well.

Gary

2008-05-22T10:09:00.002-06:00

After looking at these pics, I decided that Gary deserved his own post. I'll mention more about the Master's Men conference in later posts. Suffice it to say it was a good time both in fellowship and also under the preaching of God's word.

Master's Men Conference

2008-05-14T23:38:00.002-06:00

Well, tomorrow evening at this time about eleven of us men from Grace Baptist will be winding our way along moonlit roads towards Fresno, California. We are headed for a men's conference called Master's Men. Last year a few of the guys went, but this year we have two vehicles' full. It should be a great time of sitting under good Bible preaching and also just good fellowship and "guy time."

The following flyer was taken from the host church's website and gives an agenda of the activities and schedule for Friday and Saturday. On Saturday afternoon we will be headed back towards Utah and should make it to Logan in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Talk to all y'all when we return.

A Yeller Tulip

2008-05-14T18:19:00.002-06:00

It's Delivery...

2008-05-13T07:17:00.004-06:00

Last Friday, we had a large furniture delivery to do, so Curtis and I headed down to the local U-HAUL to get a "delivery truck."

It was raining cats and dogs when we got there, but the rain abated slightly on our way back to STAPLES. (Does anyone recognize the black object in the foreground?)

Here Curtis, Jake and Chris pose for the camera after getting the desks, chairs and bookcases into the truck.

Here's the end result: 5 L-shaped glass desks, 5 bookcases, and 5 chairs

Before we left the STAPLES loading dock, I thought I'd grab a quick picture. After a quick stop at the "golden arches" for a little lunch to go, we headed down to Clearfield, UT (about 60 miles south of Logan).

After a little searching, we found the new office building and started unloading the truck. We had to carry each box into the building, load them on the elevator, head up to the second floor and then unload them into the offices.

We finally got all of it unloaded and headed for home.

What had been a beautiful day in Clearfield turned back to a cloudy one as we descended towards Logan. Total mileage ended around 130 miles for the day. Not too bad for a delivery!

My Thursday Off...

2008-05-09T00:28:00.002-06:00

Well, it looks as if it has been a week since I last posted (well, over a week actually, if you count the fact that it is now 1230AM on Friday). Today was my "Saturday" and I enjoyed sleeping in this morning. After I got up, I put the coffee on, and checked e-mail, etc, while it brewed.

The coffee pot sounded a little strange, so I headed back in the kitchen to find that it had deposited most of the coffee all over the counter. Aside from the senseless waste of coffee, I was perturbed at having to clean up all the liquid and grounds that were now adorning my kitchen.

After getting everything "to rights" and successfully brewing a pot of coffee, I spent some time playing my guitar, catching up on the latest from the Martin Guitar Co.'s website, and doing some Bible study. I also worked out some on my Weider Platinum.

Around 2pm, I headed over to Schallenbergers' to put some more memory into their computer. After that I hung around and played guitar some more. We had dinner and then headed off to Falicia's soccer game. (BTW...Falicia scored another goal!) After the game, we all headed back to their place.

Once the younger kids were in bed, Scott, Robin, Kaitie and myself sat around and spent an hour or so looking through the hymn books that they had and singing the ones we knew (or thought we knew!). That was a lot of fun! We followed it up with a little razzleberry pie and some coffee. If every day off could be like this one, I'd schedule a few more each week!

(The Schallenbergers have basically adopted me, thus my many posts involving activities with them. Thanks you guys!)

May Day

2008-05-01T23:41:00.003-06:00

Welcome to the month of May...you know, the one that is supposed to have flowers after the rains of the previous month. Well whoever wrote that was full of it. I awoke this morning to a light layer of snow on almost everything. Not, mind you, that I was at all depressed or disheartened by the arrival of such an unseasonal guest. Why? I admit that I like the winter months here in Utah better than the summer months. Summer brings bugs, heat and sweating. The winter has none of these, much to my delight. So, this unseasonal guest was the harbinger of good news, for today would be cooler and crisper and altogether more enjoyable than the seasonal alternative.

Since Friday...

2008-04-29T07:36:00.006-06:00

On Friday evening there was a ladies' meeting, so several of us guys headed over to Gary and Gina Stonehouse's place for a burger burn.

Here Gary prepares to fire up the grill...(just look at that grin...er...grimace?)

Zee chef at work (no burgers yet...)

Russ, Pastor, Brandon and Ray in the kitchen.

Ray gives a cheesy grin while Brandon watches

Saturday found me once again at the Wellsville soccer field, watching another one of Joey's games.

Here V picks up two additional soccer fans...Luke and Levi...the Stonehouse Bros.

Joey keeps an eye on the ball as he moves down the field

Aww...

Joey gettin' er done with the soccer ball

Portrait in motion

Well, watching the game wasn't the only thing I had done Saturday morning. Soon after arriving at the field, I went to throw the frisbee and it landed on the roof of one of the covered pavillions at the soccer field. Well, I am rather fond of that frisbee, so after engaging some help to pile a couple of things together to climb on, I got up on the roof of the pavillion.

Getting the frisbee was no problem, but getting down was another story. Since the edge of the roof was only 7ft or so in the air, I decided to jump. Well, the following pictures show the aftermath. When I hit the ground, my left knee popped. It felt just like the first time it happened in a soccer game back in Ketchikan. Here's the result...

After the game I had to go to work, so I spent all day hobbling around on it. To make things even more interesting, I had a piece of exercise equipment delivered to my apartment, so I had to take my lunch break and help them get it in my place.

This is what I picked up. It's called a Weider Platinum and uses a composite bow for resistance (well, that and some pulleys) so I'll be able to do upper body workouts safely. The particular unit I got is a couple of years old, but was available for a fraction of the cost.

Amazing Lady on Bike

2008-04-24T19:29:00.002-06:00

This is about five minutes long, but the things this lady can do on a bike are simply amazing!

Human Bagpipes

2008-04-24T19:19:00.004-06:00

This is absolutely hilarious! Watch it a couple of times!

Falicia's Tuesday Game

2008-04-23T23:47:00.001-06:00

On Tuesday, Falicia had a game in Hyrum. I stopped by Schallenberger's and rode with the family (minus Scott who is in China right now), over to the game. Due to a little overcast and a normal-sized playing field, I wasn't able to take pictures like the ones from last Saturday (sorry Falice...). These were a few of the better ones. BTW...Falicia made three goals in this game.

This Time They're Mine...

2008-04-22T15:12:00.000-06:00

Every once in a blue moon, I peruse the local listings on Craigslist to see if anyone is selling something that I may need for the apartment. Of particular interest has been a washing machine. On Sunday night (must've been a blue moon) I took another look. There was a 2 month old washer for sale by some folks that were moving into a furnished apartment. They wanted $225 for it or best offer. I dropped them an e-mail, and offered them $200 even. To make a long story short, there was another offer on it that was good until noon yesterday. That apparently fell through, because I got a call from Angie saying the washer was mine if I wanted it. After work I stopped by the bank, grabbed the cash, and ran home. A few minutes late they pulled up with my "new" washer.

Tonight, the Schallenbergers gave me a dryer and we dropped it off here at the apartment. After they left, I hooked everything up, did a leak check on the hoses, and threw in my first load. As I type this the dryer has just finished up on drying that load and I think I'll call it a night. Tomorrow is another day and may even hold a dark clothes load, who knows.

My First Day as a Soccer Mom

2008-04-21T23:28:00.000-06:00

Saturday morning found me at the Schallenberger's house. It was soccer game day. Falicia, Juan, Maria and Joey all had games...Falicia's game being at the same time as Juan's. Through great logistics and planning, we got all the right people to all the right games. I wasn't able to make it to Falicia's game, but got photos of the other three.

Juan and Joey walk out together...

Maria warms up with a few kicks

Joey and his teammates go for the ball

It looks like the other team might have scored

Joey awaits his turn back in the game

Maria decides to throw in a little volleyball as well

Several of the Schallenbergers watch the happenings at the far goal

Joey kicks it into high gear

Juan goes for the ball

Gettin' er dun!

Maria also steps it up...

...and heads for the action!

Maria and her teammate analyze the play in progress

Catching up...again

2008-04-15T17:53:00.000-06:00

Well, once again much going on, but not a lot of blogworthy happenings. We finished up our week of special meetings at church this last week. Brother Gilmore did the services on Sunday as well, but I missed the morning sessions, because...

...it was my Reserve weekend. That went quite well, though it ended with a Commander's Call which entails spending an hour to an hour and a half in the base theater listening to information that I am not particularly interested in and fighting to stay awake. Oh the tax dollars at work.

Speaking of taxes, it looks like I'll be getting a bit of a return this year, which is nice. I had forgotten that the Air Force doesn't mail out hard copy W-2's unless you request them, so I ended up waiting until the last minute to get mine. One advantage to my current situation, taxes are extremely easy. Enter in a couple of W-2's and that's about it.

Yesterday was a great day. I helped the Schallenbergers pick out a computer for Kaitie, and I ended up driving down to another store to pick it up, as we were out of them. To make a long story short, they didn't think it would be in for a day or two, but I was able to surprise them with it, so Kaitie was quite happy. That was a lot of fun!

Well, that's about it on this end. Oh, I have started up a new e-mail address. A new one? Yes, a new one. The main reason is that most folks have no idea what nc16910 is, and even if they did, trying to remember the correct order of the numbers can be a pain. I thought I'd go back to my e-mail roots and use Hotmail again. While I am still using my nc16910 account with Yahoo, my new main account is dereklinder at Hotmail.

Who Really Needs Revival?

2008-04-10T21:35:00.000-06:00

This week we are having a set of meetings every night, and we call them revival meetings. Before I attended Grace, I didn't really understand what was meant by this term. Did these people think they could schedule an outpouring of God's Spirit? Wasn't that a bit presumptuous?

Well, now that I have been through several revival weeks during the last four years that I have been here in Logan, I understand what is meant. It is simply a special set of services, set aside for the purpose of making ourselves available to God in a corporate way, meeting together as the local church, and petitioning the Lord to do His wonderful work in our lives.

Most assuredly, no one can schedule revival. Revival and an outpouring of God's Spirit are based entirely on His grace and sovereignty. There is nothing we can do to merit it or earn it. It is solely, utterly and entirely God.

Yet, there is an attitude, a spiritual position, that is found in God's people prior to most any revival that you can think of. That attitude seems to be twofold. It is first an understanding of the absolute holiness and goodness of God. Secondly, it is the understanding that we as God's people, (and yes I said as God's people), fall so far short of where God would truly like us to be.

Growing up, while I always affirmed in my head that revival was for God's people, my real desire in praying for revival was that it affect the community. In other words, that the effect that the Welsh revival had on the bars, the drunkeness, the immorality, the cursing and swearing...that all of that would take place in the town I lived in.

I do not want to diminish this point, for it is a wonderful fruit of the outpouring of God's Spirit...but let us never, ever, forget, that revival is primarily for those who call themselves Christians.

Why is this? Because we as Christians need reviving, plain and simple. We need to move beyond the pathetic state of apathy and laziness that so dominates so-called Christianity in America today. I don't speak this in condemnation, but rather in self-evaluation. As I have stated several times here on this blog, I mourn my little appetite for the things of God, and most especially, for God Himself.

We must come to the understanding, that being a Christian in our own strength is, as far as righteousness is concerned, absolutely useless. Let me ask you something, are you going to walk tomorrow as a saved person, living the Christian life by your best efforts? If so, you, as I, will fail miserably. No, we may not disgrace the name of Christ. No, we may not slip up and say something we shouldn't. No, we may actually be quite cheerful and happy, yet in the eyes of God it is useless.

Let me say this...the only way that we can be a successful Christian in our homes, the workplace and in our hearts is by complete and utter surrender to Christ in us. It is by God's power that we can live victoriously. It is by God's enabling that we will stand in the face of temptation, speak out when God opens that door, and will not succumb to the speech and lifestyle of the world around us.

Lamentations 3:23 says that God's mercies "...are new every morning" Why do we need new mercies? Why do we need them on a daily basis...every morning? Because there are certain things that God desires to accomplish in and through us each day, and only by His mercies will we be able to accomplish them.

Let us never forget that we are here with a purpose. David says that this is the day that the Lord hath made. It's not just another part of the week, it is a day that the Lord has fashioned and planned. If we are to be victorious and a spiritual success, we must rely on God's mercies and His strength to enable us to live that "abundant life" that Jesus came to give.

Revival, my friends, is the desperate need of God's people. The world WILL be changed when God's people are revived. No, I am not saying that I think there will be a worldwide revival that sweeps our globe. We know we are in the last days and that Jesus said wickedness would abound. Paul tells Timothy that there will be "terrible times" in the last days. Yet, I believe that God is still the same God He has ever been, that His desire for man is still that "whosoever would" would accept Christ's atoning work on Calvary and be saved. I believe that God will pour out water on Him that is thirsty. I believe that we can truly say "oh the happiness" of the one who hungers and thirsts after righteousness, for he shall be filled.

My friends, do we hunger after God? Do we understand, even as Christians, that unless God is allowed to have is way in our lives, we will be absolute failures as Christians? Christ is the One who brought salvation, let Him also be the One who carries that good work on to completion until His day, the day of Christ Jesus.

Oh that God would raise up a remnant of people in these last days that would hunger and thirst for nothing less than Christ Himself. Oh that God would raise up a people whose sole purpose, sole desire, and sole passion is Christ. Oh that God would do that work in these days. Oh that God would do that work in me!

It's Been A While...

2008-04-09T22:07:00.000-06:00

Today I did something that I haven't done for a very long time...100 situps! I did them in two sets with a 20-30 sec pause in the up position. Not bad for an old codger eh?

God Still Speaks Today!

2008-04-08T09:42:00.000-06:00

This morning I was listening to a message from Pastor John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church. As I have been exposed to some of Pastor John's teaching and preaching, I have been challenged to know God in a deeper and more personal way.

The message was entitled The Morning I Heard the Voice of God. The following quote is the one that really jumped out at me:

"What makes me sad about the article is not that it isn’t true or didn’t happen. What’s sad is that it really does give the impression that extra-biblical communication with God is surpassingly wonderful and faith-deepening. All the while, the supremely-glorious communication of the living God which personally and powerfully and transformingly explodes in the receptive heart through the Bible everyday is passed over in silence...

...The great need of our time is for people to experience the living reality of God by hearing his word personally and transformingly in Scripture. Something is incredibly wrong when the words we hear outside Scripture are more powerful and more affecting to us than the inspired word of God."

If you would like to listen to the whole message, click on the following link:

The Morning I Heard the Voice of God

These Shoes Were Made For Walking...er...Running

2008-04-06T21:24:00.000-06:00

As a birthday/Christmas present, my sister and brother-in-law bought me these great running shoes. While I've started up my running again, I wanted to wait to get in a little better shape before breaking these shoes in.

Last night (Saturday) I decided to go on a long walk to start the breaking in process. They proved to be quite comfortable. After going to a local bookstore to inquire as to their exchange and credit policy (for my DVD's and book collection), I decided to continue with my walk.

I ended up near the Logan Temple, and after walking around it a couple of times and doing some praying, I headed back towards my apartment. As I walked, I glanced at the houses and buildings that I passed by. It was dark out, aside from the streetlights, and so many of the windows were illuminated by the flickering glow of TV screens.

My thoughts began to consider the time that is spent in front of the TV set. Oh the hours invested in mindless lethargy, sitting on the couch will time slips by! The TV in an average American home is on 8 hours and 14 minutes every day! I recently heard of a little girl that is frequently over at one of the family's houses in our church, because her dad comes home from work and just sits down in front of the TV, instead of spending time with his daughter.

I do not find this particularly shocking in a non-Christian environment, though it is extremely sad. Yet, what about in Christian homes? How many hours are spent in front of the TV? How much time is invested in mindless entertainment? This was the pressing thought on my heart. How much time do we fritter away in such activities?

Of course we could discuss the influences and examples that are constantly bombarding the Christian who watches TV. On that topic I will remain silent for now. But, regardless of content at this point, what do we do with our time?

I was recently over at some friend's place after church, and we sat around the table and had a bite to eat. Do you know what one of the major points of conversation was? It was centered around the latest movies. Have you seen this one...have you seen that one? I don't believe one mention of what God had spoken to us about during the services that day entered our conversation.

Let me repeat myself once more...why do we have such a little appetite for God? Where is our hunger and our passion for Him? It is those who hunger and thirst after righteousness that will be filled. God promised to pour water on him that is thirsty. Where is our spiritual appetite?

To borrow a line from MLK Jr., "I have a dream..." My dream is this...that one day we would sit around after church, or get together in a home, and we would talk about the Lord and what He is doing, what He has been speaking about, what He is teaching us. This would not be forced or trumped up, but rather the natural outflow of a people with a passion for Christ.

Why is it so natural to invite a friend over to watch a movie, and so completely foreign to invite a friend over to listen to a sermon or message that God has spoken to you with recently? Why is it more common to get together and talk about politics or the latest happenings than to do an impromptu Bible study?

This week we are having a set of meetings at church. Today were the "kickoff services" if you will. Brother Gilmore mentioned tonight the call to lay aside (or dispose of) every weight. These weights he described as "good things" (like hobbies, interests, amusements) that we allow to get in the way of God's "best". That was exactly what I was thinking in regards to TV.

Is God speaking to me personally about TV? I don't believe so, because I rarely watch any TV, but I believe He is speaking to me personally about the use of time. As many of you know, this last year saw the cessation of my passion for aviation. For some 25+ years I have been fascinated with anything that flew, especially aircraft. Last year, it was like the Lord flipped a switch, and almost overnight the passion was gone.

Does this mean that interest was bad? Not at all. Does that mean that I invested too much time doing that instead of being in church or reading God's word? I don't believe so. No, I believe for me personally, the message is that of a call to a single focus, a single passion, a single desire...and that is to know Christ.

I hope that this does not come across in a discouraging manner. It seems that God reveals something to a person as the first step, and then begins to lead and guide that person where He wants him to go.

I hope that this is an encouragement to each of you, who would perhaps take this little thought to heart and see if the Lord would speak anything in particular to you personally. Oh that we as believers would grow in our knowledge of Him, personally and corporately. Let us press on to know Him better! Let us make that our ambition! And let us see what the Lord will do in a people that are willing to be used by Him!

Juan's 2nd Soccer Practice

2008-04-05T22:58:00.001-06:00

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to take Juan to his second soccer practice. He did a good job and seemed to enjoy the time. Scott showed up about halfway through the practice, so he and I talked until practice was over. Juan and I kicked the ball around for a while before heading back to the Schallenbergers.

If I Had To Choose...

2008-04-04T08:12:00.000-06:00

It would be an impossible task to try to pick one particular sermon out of the hundreds that I have heard along the course of these last 30 years that was the most important or most influential. God uses different messages at different times to communicate and speak from the Bible and through the Holy Spirit to us in the particular situations and circumstances we are going through.

If, however, I was faced with this impossible task, I believe that I would ascribe that "one particular sermon" to a message that was preached by Paris Reidhead called Ten Shekels and a Shirt. This is one that I often think about and I suppose would hold the title of the most influential or most life-changing message apart from the Bible itself.

If you have the time, click on the link below and see what you think of this message:

Ten Shekels and a Shirt

Becoming Edumacated...

2008-04-03T23:26:00.000-06:00

Tonight as I was sitting at the computer, I began to once again consider the fact that I have been out of active duty Air Force for almost four years now, and I have my active duty G.I. Bill that is patiently sitting there, waiting for me to use it.

So, the big question remains...how should I use it? I am not really concerned about it, for I know that the Lord will reveal the where and when in that regard, but it still left me with some food for thought.

Do I really want to go to college? Should I go to college? What is the purpose of going to college and if I did go, what would I study? Should I look at my secular interests (ie. all things computer) or should I stick to what is really important and look at Bible school or further Bible education?

Those are the thoughts that were rattling around in my head this evening. Interesting, no?

Almost April Fool's...

2008-04-03T01:35:00.000-06:00

On Monday morning, we arose to a fresh March 31st snow that laid about 3" or so on the ground. Of course, if it had waited just one more day, it would have been a great April Fool's joke, at least on those who thought spring had come...

130,000 Miles

2008-03-29T21:53:00.000-06:00

There it is...130,000 miles on the Beetle!
(Would that be 130,000 miles young?)

What I Should Be Doing

2008-03-29T01:42:00.000-06:00

It's about 10 minutes before 2AM and I am sitting here at my computer...wide awake! I should be doing this...

My Dad snapped this shot last October, while I was home on vacation. We had gotten home from Saturday evening prayer meeting, had a great "mom-cooked" meal, and I decided to grab a few minutes of shut-eye before we began the evening's festivities.

Where Are These Christians?

2008-03-27T22:54:00.000-06:00

Consider these:

"We do not have revival because we are willing to live without it" - Leonard Ravenhill

From an early age, William C. Burns heart was broken for a lost and dying world. The story is told that when he was seventeen he was brought by his mother from the quiet town of KiIsyth to the bustling city of Glasgow. His mother was separated from her son while she was shopping. After retracing her steps she discovered him in an alley with tears streaming down his face. She could see he was suffering great agony and said, "Willie my boy, what ails you? Are you ill?" With broken cries he replied, "Oh, mother, mother - the thud of these Christless feet on the way to hell breaks my heart" - (Awake and Go!)

Why do these words sound foreign and alien to our own personal experience with Christ? Why do we not weep and groan over the things that daily offend God? Why do we not know what it means to travail in prayer? What has happened to us as God's people?

Tonight's Question

2008-03-27T22:48:00.001-06:00

I find myself drawn once again tonight, as I have just finished listening to a message by Duncan Campbell, to consider our appetite for the things of God.

Why is my appetite for the things of the world seemingly endless (ie. movies, entertainment, vacations, time with friends, hobbies, activities) and yet I can be so satisfied with so little of God Himself?

Is this not utter foolishness? It makes no sense at all.

A Few New Pics...

2008-03-25T22:32:00.001-06:00

I had to finish off the spinach and strawberries, so here's the plateful of it...

I helped my operations manager Nick on Saturday morning, so he invited me over for dinner on Saturday evening...

Nick's daughter Erica poses with an Easter egg

Nick Jr. cooks up some carne asada on the grill while talking with a friend

Erica made me an Easter basket

...and poses with it!

On Sunday I went to have lunch at the Schallenberger's. Joey dressed up in his soccer uniform and posed for the camera.

Falicia got in her soccer uniform as well and agreed to pose.

The Message After Next...

2008-03-21T21:21:00.001-06:00

Well, I had said that I would try to summarize a little of what I had learned from my two days with Leonard Ravenhill.

The main point he seemed to bring out time and again, whether in an interview or while teaching, is that a Christian must KNOW GOD...not simply know ABOUT Him!!! The Sunday School response we often give when asked why we go to church is: to learn about God. No, that is not it. Knowing about God does not change a person's life...knowing God personally does.

I fear that we have such little appetites for God, for His presence, for His word, for time in prayer with Him. Perhaps this is because our appetites are spoiled as the child who eats cookies before dinner. Why are we so quickly satiated or satisfied? Why does it take so little to "get us by"?

Do we want "to want" to know Him? Paul's ambition was stated as this in Philippians 3:10 "That I might know Him..." Not only this, but consider what Jesus clearly defines as eternal life..."And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

Where do our passions lie? For what or whom are we zealous and does our zeal burn? Are we intense Christians? Why can we sit in front of the TV for three hours without a problem, yet dread the thought of three hours in prayer?

This is my summation of Brother Leonard's general drift throughout his speaking. It has definitely challenged me!

To Aspiring Pastors...

2008-03-21T21:18:00.000-06:00

Leonard Ravenhill said this in a message to pastors:

"How many of you want to be pastors? Then eat as little as possible. Sleep as little as possible. And study the Word [Bible] as much as possible." (paraphrased)

A Couple of Days with Leonard Ravenhill

2008-03-20T08:54:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was my day off. Since I am generally on the schedule for Saturdays, I chose Wednesday as my "other" day off, apart from Sunday. Yesterday, I spent the day with Leonard Ravenhill. But, you may protest, didn't he go home to be with the Lord? Well, yes he did...but his messages live on both in print and in some video clips on the 'net.

There is much I could say about this man, even from such a short acquaintance. He loved the Lord. He had a passion and a zeal to know Christ. He desired to be much in prayer and in the Bible. These things are evidenced throughout much of his conversation, and probably, through much of his writing as well.

I have, in previous posts, included some quotes from his writings. Here are a few more that I came across yesterday:

Some women will spend thirty minutes to an hour preparing for church externally (putting on special clothes and makeup, etc.). What would happen if we all spent the same amount of time preparing internally for church, with prayer and meditation?

You can’t develop character by reading books. You develop it from conflict.

When there’s something in the Bible that churches don’t like, they call it ‘legalism.’

You can have all of your doctrines right, yet still not have the presence of God.

One of these days some simple soul will pick up the Book of God, read it, and believe it. Then the rest of us will be embarrassed.

We Christians are debtors to all men at all times in all places, but we are so smug to the lostness of men. We've been "living in Laodicea", lax, loose, lustful, and lazy. Why is there this criminal indifference to the lostness of men? Our condemnation is that we know how to live better than we are living. The Bible parable says that while men slept, the enemy sowed tares among the wheat. A boy who rises at 4:30 to deliver papers is considered a go-getter, but to urge our young people to rise at 5:30 to pray is considered fanaticism. We must once again wear the harness of discipline. There is no other way.

No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying. The pulpit can be a shop window to display one's talents; the prayer closet allows no showing off.

A man may study because his brain is hungry for knowledge, even Bible knowledge. But he prays because his soul is hungry for God.

To be much for God, we must be much with God. Jesus, that lone figure in the wilderness, knew strong crying, along with tears. Can one be moved with compassion and not know tears? Jeremiah was a sobbing saint. Jesus wept! So did Paul. So did John...Though there are some tearful intercessors behind the scenes, I grant you that to our modern Christianity, praying is foreign.

No man - I don't care how colossal his intellect - No man is greater than his prayer life.

The question isn't were you challenged. The question is were you changed?

In my next post, I will try to elaborate a little on Brother Ravenhill's message, at least the points I took from it, and explain a little about how I believe it relates to us today. I'll conclude this post with a poem that Brother Ravenhill quoted in one of his messages.

My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace;
Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.
'Tis His to lead me there, not mine but His...
At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.

So faith bounds forward to its goal in God,
and love can trust her Lord to lead her there.
Upheld by Him, my soul is foll'wing hard,
Till God hath full fulfilled my deepest prayer.

No matter if the way be sometimes dark,
No matter though the cost be oft-times great,
He knoweth how I best shall reach the mark,
The way that leads to Him must needs be straight.

One thing I know, I cannot say Him nay;
One thing I do, I press on towards my Lord.
My God, my Glory here from day to day,
And in the glory there, my Great Reward.

By Frederick Brook

Hit the Road, Jack

2008-03-19T22:47:00.000-06:00

Well, it is that time of year again. The ice and snow are mostly melted and the temperatures at night are staying above freezing. The winter bulge around the beltline has become annoying....so you know what time it is...

...RUNNING TIME!

Yup, on St. Patrick's Day, I dusted off the old sneakers and hit the road. My first run was rather short, probably around 2 - 2.5 miles, but still it was good to be out and about again. After getting into a little better shape, I am looking forward to trying out the new running shoes that my sister and brother-in-law got me for Christmas.

In a few minutes I'll be heading outside to brave the coolness of a late winter rain squall, and putting a couple of miles on before I hit the hay.

230 miles per gallon!

2008-03-19T13:32:00.001-06:00

A couple of nights ago, I stopped by Yahoo! to check the latest news updates. On their front page was a photo similar to the one above. My interest was immediately piqued, so I started doing a little research...

Apparently the vehicle is called the Aptera Type 1, and is a hybrid prototype that is supposed to be put into production sometime in October 2008. It also will be available in an "electric-only" configuration, which would have a range of around 120 miles between charges.

While the guy in this picture has more hair than I do...I could definitely see myself driving one of these little cars. Sure, it only has 2 1/2 seats, but for a daily commuter, this thing would be great.

As you can see, it is hardly conventional. In fact, the Type 1 is technically considered a motorcycle, because it doesn't have four wheels. Power is supplied to the rear wheel, and steering is provided via the two front wheels. Video clips of the vehicle show an extremely stable and "ground-hugging" platform that seems to be as roadworthy as any other small car.

The fluid lines of the vehicle were adopted to minimize drag. As an example, the windshield wipers on a normal vehicle create as much drag as the whole front end of the Aptera. This results in amazing gas mileage. Between 40 and 60 miles, the small gas engine will hardly be used. Up to about 120 miles, the gas mileage will be phenomenal, around 230 miles per gallon. For longer trips, the Type 1 will sip fuel at a miserly 120 mpg, and do so all day long, until you recharge the vehicle's batteries.

Could this replace my Beetle?

Missions Conference

2008-03-17T23:12:00.000-06:00

This past week we had our mission's conference with a Fijian national, Save Sikele and his family. We had meetings on Wednesday through Friday nights, and then all three services on Sunday. Every message was spot on. On Sunday morning after Save spoke, we had a couple of baptisms. Micaiah, Duane and Annette's oldest boy was baptized as was Jason, a guy in the church who was saved this last year. After the evening service, several of us went down to Chili's for a bite to eat.

Micaiah gets baptized...

...as does Jason!

From left to right: Yours truly, Aaron Sikele, Veronica, Amanda Sikele, Kaitie and Robin (aka "Madame")

Looking Ahead

2008-03-12T21:57:00.001-06:00

There are some things that I am looking forward to in this coming spring and summer...

I am going to be a "soccer mom"! LOL, well, let me explain. Several of the Schallenberger kids have signed up for soccer this year, and I was asked if I would like to help out in getting them to their practices and games. I am actually looking forward to helping out and watching the kids play. Maybe I'll have to practice with them and kick the ball around a little bit.

Road trip - this is still up in the air. I had been planning on taking an extended road trip this summer or fall, but I am not sure if that will pan out this year or not. Of course I'd love to get back behind the wheel of my car and hit the freeways of America again, but with the different things going on I may be resigned to a more local vacation. We'll see how the Lord directs and provides in this matter.

Air Show - the bi-annual airshow at Hill AFB should be happening this June. I am planning on going down and spending some quality airplane-looking time. (And I'll probably drag my camera along as well!)

Revival Meetings - Our spring meetings at church are scheduled for next month. Gary Gilmore and his wife will be traveling in to do the nightly meetings. I have really enjoyed the times that we have special meetings and the more intense corporate focus on God and His word. Brother Gilmore was here last year and I really enjoyed the meetings with him.

Running - Well, the snow is almost completely gone off the sidewalks, and it is time for me to get out and start running again. I actually had my annual fitness test during this last weekend down at the base, and I can definitely see how a winter of not running has affected me. I still passed just fine, but not with the numbers I'd like to see.

Narrative

2008-03-12T21:44:00.001-06:00

I was sitting here at the computer, trying to think of anything that has been going on lately that might be of interest to you all. I guess there are some things going on that are "blogworthy" but on the whole life continues on as normal.

One of the things that may end up being a major change for me is my job at Staples. I have been with the company for over three years, and have definitely enjoyed my time. Retail was(is) a whole new world for me, and I find that working with people can be challenging, yet very rewarding.

Though I haven't written this down, I had set this spring as a make-or-break time with Staples. I've been eligible for promotion into the Manager in Training program for some time, and as of yet, nothing has happened. (Well, I was trained to open the store by myself...but that was it). I've begun praying about the future, whether or not it is time to move on to something else, and, if so, what that would be.

A matter that has been on my mind recently is my GI Bill which I still have from my time on active duty. I have ten years from the time that I left active duty in which to make use of it...four years are already done with, which leaves only six left (hey, I still can do some math!). I do not want to waste it, as it is a great tool to use towards further education. Not only do I have the GI Bill, but I also have a small monthly kicker bonus that I would be eligible for due to the fact I am in the career field that I am in. So, the potential of some college is looming large in my future.

That being said, however, I do not have any direction as to what types of classes to take. If left to my own devices, I probably would CLEP out of as many classes as possible, and focus my studies on those necessary classes which I could not CLEP out of. But, I am still left with no real idea as to what I would study or major in if I went to school.

It would seem that perhaps this will be a year of change, though of what or to what I cannot say at this time. I am very confident that the Lord will reveal His plan as I continue to press on, but I do believe change is in the air.

Schallenberger Adoption Anniversary

2008-03-11T01:35:00.000-06:00

One of the fun things that happened a couple of weeks back was the annual Schallenberger Adoption Anniversary. Each year (that explains the "annual" part! ;) the Schallenbergers let each of the kids invite a friend, and the whole group goes to a restaurant to enjoy some food and fellowship.

This year I was one of the honored guests, and we all went down to Ogden to have dinner at the Prairie Schooner. Each of the tables at the Prairie Schooner was done up like a covered wagon. Inside of the facility itself were walkways and around the walkways were various displays of desert life (ie plants, shrubs, a wolverine, a grouse, etc, etc...)

I took a few pictures that night, and thought I'd share these with you all...

Juan hasn't gotten his rabies shot yet!

Felicia oversees the proceedings...

Robin, Scott and Kaitie smile for the camera...(or maybe because I just told a really corny joke!)

Levi and I

The group!

My "Own-Cooked" Meal

2008-03-02T21:18:00.000-07:00

Being a bachelor, I have, up until this point, succumbed to the typical bachelor "eat-what-and-when-you-can" mentality. This involves some rather poor choices in cuisine sometimes, but hey, it works.

Well, today I broke that cycle and made my very own homecooked meal. Now I've cooked up eggs before and made grilled cheese sandwiches, but I've never made an actual meal for myself. I decided that the KISS principle was probably a good rule of thumb (Keep It Simple Stupid!) so I chose to go with steak, salad and bread.

I won't drag you through the fun experiences of finding things at the grocery store...in places I'd never been before... (Hey, they have a meat section??!!) or (Wow...spinach comes like that??!!)...though I could have easily told you where the cold cereal and the milk were located.

Anyway, I arrived home, groceries in hand, to start my adventure. First of all, I decided to cut up part of the steak into small strips, because I wasn't sure how my "frying pan method" would (sorry...pun intended)...pan out. This was a great starting experience, because the fan over my stovetop doesn't have an outside vent...it merely re-circulates the grease and smoke. I didn't mind it so much, but my smoke alarm did. (Thankfully it was within arms' reach, so a quick removal of the cover and a 9V batteryectomy later, the little bugger remained quiet).

Now that my first meat samples were completed, I placed them on a separate plate and blessed them with a little salt and pepper. These were to be the snack cache while I assembled the rest of my meal.

My plan was to make a spinach salad (and no...I don't mean just chewing on spinach leaves!!!) with some diced strawberries and crushed dry ramen noodles. Here I ran into my first problem. I don't have a salad bowl...or anything large enough to mix a salad in. (Well, that is not entirely true, I do have a couple of cooking pots, compliments of my folks, but they didn't seem like the kind of thing to make salad in.)

Now I resorted to typical unashamed bachelor "brain-stuff". My old coffee maker has been sitting unused since I acquired my newer one, and the empty carafe was about the right size...so...

After crushing some ramen noodles to sprinkle on the salad, tearing up some spinach leaves, and dicing up a couple of strawberries, my salad was basically complete. I now turned my attention to cooking up the main portion of the steak. I cut the steak into two smaller pieces, and, after warming up the pan...and putting in a dab of butter as a lubricant (sorry, I'm using my aircraft mechanic terminology) I slapped those two wonderful pieces of meat on the hot pan.

I will admit to being a bit unsure as to how long to cook the steak. I also acknowledge that frying a steak is hardly the preferred method. However, with no grill and no knowledge of broiling, I decided that frying was better than the alternative. To make a long story short, I was pleased with the end result. I suppose they were a bit over-cooked than I normally like, but they didn't dry out and actually had a nice flavor...but I am skipping ahead in the story.

After arranging some salad on a plate, I pulled out the Wishbone raspberry vinaigrette (yes, I had to go over to the fridge just now to see how to spell that!) and drizzled some on my salad. After garnishing it with a couple of "decorative" strawberry slices, the salad was finished. I pulled the sizzling (and they were...I'm not just using cooking jargon) steaks out of the pan and placed them next to my salad. A couple of pieces of English toasting bread and a glass of milk rounded out my very first meal.

So that's the story...how did I do?

Friends

2008-02-27T22:45:00.001-07:00

Sunday night, Feb 17, several of us from church got together at Paul and Sarah Vandenboss' apartment up on campus. We had some lasagna, salad and Italian sodas. It was a lot of fun! Three guys from the Dominican Republic (or the "DR" as they say) were there as well. Agusto and Alberto come to church regularly. They were joined at Paul and Sarah's by their friend Eric.

Agusto, Alberto and Eric enjoying fellowship and food

Matt enjoys the last of his soda, while Annie smiles at the camera

Paul pulls his "Whatup?" face while Sarah waits for the computer to boot up

Catching up...

2008-02-22T22:23:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night we had our Valentine's dinner for the church folks at a local restaurant called the Coppermill. I took one of the young ladies from the church, Kaitie Schallenberger, and we had a great time with the other ones who were able to attend. Here are a few pics from that event...

The "young people's" table

Good food and fellowship

Paul, Gary and Gina perform...

...a hilarious skit about the differences between men and women's thinking...

...followed by Brother Rod Hall from Faith Baptist church with a good word on marriage.

Carrie Underwood - All American Girl

2008-02-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

I've never been a big fan of American Idol. I don't know exactly why. Yet that show has brought to light one of my favorite country singers...Carrie Underwood. This music video All American Girl is one of my favorites of hers.

Coffee Tip: TGI Friday's

2008-02-11T22:25:00.000-07:00

I don't normally expect good coffee at restaurants (there are a few exceptions) but I just had some coffee at a TGI Friday's on Saturday night down in Riverdale, UT. It was some of the best coffee I've had outside of a coffee shop like Starbucks, Tulley's (sp?), Seattle's Best, etc. Just a heads up.

My Eee Has Arrived

2008-02-09T01:26:00.000-07:00

This post marks a couple of firsts...it is the first time that I've posted a "tube" on YouTube, and it is the first time that I've ever seen an Eee PC!

A Seasonal Favorite

2008-02-08T22:32:00.001-07:00

A carton of eggnog I got during the first couple weeks of January

One of the things I really enjoy at Christmas time is the appearance of eggnog on the shelves of the local grocery stores. This seasonal favorite is great "straight up" or with a slight dilution of milk. This past Christmas I was introduced to another addition to this great beverage...a few sprinkles of nutmeg on top! It was so good I now have a small container of nutmeg in my cupboard. That, by the way, is an historical thing, because the only other "spice-type" items in my cupboard are salt and pepper. So...here's to eggnog and may we meet again during Christmas '08!

Two Words...

2008-02-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

I only have two words to say about this clip: "Wow!" and "waytoomuchtimeontheirhands!"

A Tribute To Winter

2008-02-04T09:20:00.000-07:00

Eee Update

2008-02-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

Well, my friend Derek just purchased my HP Pavilion dv9205us, and I have ordered my Eee from J&R. I chose the Galaxy Black 4G model 701. Now comes the waiting part. It should arrive sometime next week as it is being shipped out UPS ground. I have also started a blog about my experiences with the Eee over at Eeelife.

Guitar Center Revisited

2008-01-31T21:04:00.000-07:00

I don't know for sure what it is about Guitar Center in Roy, UT that I like so much. Perhaps its the rustic "acoustic" room that has nothing but acoustic guitars. Perhaps its the fact that one can sit in there and play to one's heart's content. Whatever it is, I like it a lot.

Well, having been there a couple of times in the last couple of weeks, I got the crazy idea that I should pass on my own views on the 6-string wonders that I found there.

One of the first brands I picked up was Gibson. Guitar Center has a nice cross section of the Gibson line, and I had the chance to play them both fingerstyle and flatpickin' If I were to describe the Gibson guitars in two words, they would be "solid" and "stable". They had a good sound, though perhaps a bit muffled or held back. They seem to be a bit reserved, as if they are saving their sound for a later date. Overall the action and necks felt good on the models I played. As they are manufactured just north of here in Bozeman, MT, I may have to head on up there some time and really get a good idea of what they're like.

Another brand that I had been interested in, especially after Matt said he liked them (if I remember correctly) was the Breedlove guitars. These have a very distinctive headstock and seem to be offered in anything from a first time guitar to more professional models. The ones featured at this particular Guitar Center seemed focused more on first time buyers. Personally I was not very impressed with the guitars or their sound (though I'm definitely open to changing that opinion at a later date). This being said, I was impressed with the build quality.

Once in a while Guitar Center will take a guitar in on trade that they normally don't sell. This was the case with an $1800 Morgan that I found in the corner. Visually this guitar was impressive. After close inspection however, I wasn't too impressed with the finish work on this particular model. The frets were not filed down smooth, and my fingers seemed to catch on them slightly as I played some chords. While not "cheap sounding", this guitar didn't impress me with anything special or out of the ordinary.

Well, in an attempt not to bore you with too many of my opinionated reviews, I'll only deal with two more brands. The first of these would be Taylor. Taylor makes some of the nicest looking guitars...IMHO (in my humble opinion). I am sure there are a few of their models that they don't spend as much time on as others, but they have definitely turned their guitars into pieces of artwork. I will say their bridge shape is my favorite, and their headstock is nice looking as well. I suppose one could say they are modern looking guitars.

This being said, I personally would not prefer to own one. Why? Simply the sound. What I mean by this is that the Taylors have a very distinctive sound. They have succeeded in making a line of guitars that has a definite sound and tone quality that is fairly unique...and I do congratulate them on that, for it doesn't appear to be easy to differentiate guitar tones (at least as I've judged on the different brands I've played).

The Taylor sound to me is too bright. Of course this varies depending on the woods used in the construction of the guitar and the strings, etc. This being the case, it still seems to be a distinctive of Taylor guitars which I tend dislike. This is one reason I would not like to own one. The second reason is that the sound to me seems very "peaky". When I play them, I hear strong bass and strong high's but not a lot of blended mid's. This may be exactly what they were aiming for, so I don't fault it for that, but I prefer more of a blended sound.

One final note about the Taylors...I can't ever seem to get comfortable on the neck. It is a thin cross-section and could be labeled a "fast" neck for playing, but I always feel awkward on it. So, if you like the Taylor sound and the neck, you will absolutely love these guitars. They are well built and distinctive. I, however, have a more traditional favorite...

To anyone who knows guitars, D-28 or HD-28 have special meaning. They are built in the little town of Nazareth, Penn, and if imitation is indeed a form of flattery, than these guitars should feel very honored...for these are none other than the prodigy of the Martin Guitar Company.

I will say I am extremely biased when it comes to guitars. (ok, maybe opinionated is a better word). The very first Martin that I played live (apart from maybe one or two in captivity...aka...guitar stores) was a Martin DM acoustic-electric cutaway. It was out at Clover Pass and was just sitting there, waiting to be played. Being interested in different guitars, I asked if I could play it...

...it was love at first sight, sound, chord, etc. I instantly became a believer in the Martin sound. When chording, that little mahogany and spruce gem blended the notes perfectly, yet when individual strings were played, they sounded out distinctly and with a fullness that belied the size of that instrument.

Yes, I was hooked. After a lot of research and a few e-mails back and forth to a guitar shop in Kansas City, I was soon the proud owner of a Martin DRE. The DRE differed from the DM I had played in that it was not a cutaway, had a Fishman Prefix blender on board, and had Indian Rosewood sides and back.

I still have that guitar, and I have to admit, to my ears it is one of the nicest sounding guitars I have ever heard. Personally I think it can hold its own with its two thousand dollar siblings. Anyway, to bring this to a close, I played several Martins there at Guitar Center, and they still sit as my favorite line of guitars. If I ever have the chance to go back and tour the factory again, I'll do it in a heartbeat.

New Mailing Address

2008-01-30T01:10:00.000-07:00

I have recently closed down my P.O. Box, so my new mailing address is just here to the apartment. It is:

Derek Linder
672 N 500 E Apt 3
Logan, UT 84321

From Bethlehem to Moab: Studies in Ruth

2008-01-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

I have been continuing on in Sunday School with lessons from the book of Ruth. For the last several Sundays, we have been following Elimelech and his family from Bethlehem to Moab, going along the most likely route they traveled.

The reason for this is that I believe there were lessons and reminders along the way which should have pointed Elimelech back towards Bethlehem. But more importantly, they serve as reminders to us as well of God and his faithfulness.

I started out thinking that the first stop after Bethlehem would be the city of Jerusalem. After all, at 6 miles away, what could be closer? Well, on the way we come upon Rachel's tomb. The lesson here is God's faithfulness. Rachel's tomb reminds of all that God had done in the past, the promises that he had made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and how that the presence of God's people in the promised land (during the days of the judges) was a direct and visible proof of our covenant keeping God.

After Rachel's tomb comes Jerusalem, and this was an interesting study, because at the time of the judges, Jerusalem was not an important town in Israel. It was inhabited by the Jebusites. We looked at the promises God made of victory and how that initially it seems the Jebusites were driven out. However, as time went on, they came back and were found dwelling there once again. In our study we briefly considered and asked ourselves what "Jebusites" might we have allowed to creep back into our lives, even things which God had promised victory over.

Well, we left Jerusalem, and traveled the dangerous road which descended down to Jericho. While there potentially were lessons along this route, we instead turned our attention to Jericho. Two weeks ago, Sunday, we considered the archaeological excavations which have taken place at Jericho during the last century, and how that each one has succeeded in finding evidence that points to the Biblical account (the ones who disagree don't have a problem with the evidence but with the dating...which in my mind is a fundamental weakness in archaeology anyway).

Two days ago, we continued in our study of Jericho. This time we looked at the passage in Joshua 6 from the perspective of the inhabitants of Jericho. The message was about misplaced trust, and it is interesting to note that those in Jericho didn't rely on alliances, they didn't depend on military strength or strategy, but instead they relied on the walls of the city. In the natural these were impregnable by Israel, but the God who brought Israel out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, across the wilderness and into the promised land could not be stopped by an "impressive" wall. The lesson to be learned is that there is only One who is deserving of the trust of His people, and that is God Almighty. Our source text and study was found in Prov 3:5-6.

So, there you have it, a short summary of where our study in Ruth has been going. It has been a blessing for me to be able to present some of what God has been showing me via the Sunday School venue, and I trust is an encouragement to all of you that God's word is a living word and can be studied and learned from , even from one of the shortest and smallest of its books.

The Gadget Guy! - Part Deux

2008-01-25T00:57:00.000-07:00

So, why the Gadget Guy post? Well, before I answer that, let me give a little more history and perhaps a glimpse into the dementia known as "gadget-i-tis." There are several manifestations of this disease. In the absolute worst cases, gadgets are the end in themselves and the sufferer bounces from one gadget to the next, almost in a "keeping up with the Joneses" state of mind. These are the ones who must have the latest and greatest, even if there is no appreciable difference between their current device and the new shiny one on the shelf.

Thankfully my case of "gadget-i-tis" is not of this strain. It is usually content with merely learning about the latest and greatest, and taking the opportunity to try out the newest toys as I come into contact with them. As an example, were I to suffer the most acute symptoms, I would absolutely HAVE to have an Apple iPhone. Is it over-hyped? Of course. Does it make better phone calls than my Motorola Q? I doubt it. Is it ridiculously over-priced? Yes it is, even after the price "reduction." Yet it is different...it is new...it has chic appeal. (BTW, I personally feel the same way about the whole iPod family as well, but since I am aware that several of my readers have iPods, I'll reserve my comments to myself.)

No, my particular strain could be called the El Dorado strain (see this definition of El Dorado from Wikipedia: used sometimes as a figure of speech to represent something much sought after that may not even exist, or at least may not ever be found) As such, the El Dorado strain contents itself with the quest for the "perfect" gadget. The "perfect" gadget may not be the same for everyone, but is unique in its mission to meet its owner's needs in a more complete and thorough way than any other previous gadget (whether personally owned or not).

So, what is that "perfect" gadget? Well, here's where the history part comes in. Back in the early 1990's (I know, that's so last century...and yes, they did have computers back then!) I came across an advertisement for a small subnotebook built by Gateway 2000 called the Handbook.

The advertisement was actually a "real size" printout in the middle of a computer magazine (probably PC Magazine or Computer Shopper...back when Shopper was printed on newsprint and was about an inch and a half thick!). I removed the printout and left it around for a few days, pondering the unique computing platform that this ultraportable had to offer. The price was out of my league (hey, I was still in high school and 486 computers were the cutting edge at the time!), so I finally archived that ad in a nondescript manila folder...(where it probably is still sitting today, tucked between other carefully selected articles of computing from a "bygone age.")

I kept my eyes peeled as the years went on. There was the NEC MobilePro, which really was more like the HP Jornada 680 that I ended up with than an actual notebook PC.

There was the ZEOS Contenda. I had spent many hours reading about ZEOS computers and the Contenda looked pretty good. However, I was not in the place to purchase one, so this too passed by me.

Then there was the Toshiba Libretto, to which I took more than a passing fancy, though my daydreams were limited to advertisements and reviews in computer magazines.

When the time came to actually purchase my first computer, I had wandered away from the subnotebooks and ended up with a Gateway laptop, complete with docking station. Aside from a graphics card error that they could never fix for me, the laptop was a good one. They ended up refunding my money after I had a chat with the Better Business Bureau, and I headed a different direction.

This time I picked up a Dell Inspiron 4000, though instead of purchasing it from Dell, I got it off of eBay. It was only a couple of weeks old, and the owner had realized that he wanted something different. So, soon I was the proud owner of a "new" Inspiron, complete with a transfered warranty and a copy of the "birth certificate." (If you don't believe me on that one, I can post it here on Bent Ear.)

The Inspiron was my companion during Air Force tech school at Sheppard AFB in Texas, and I even figured out how to use my cell phone as a dial-up modem so I could check e-mails, etc. It followed me to Shaw AFB in South Carolina and served as my main computer until I built a desktop machine which replaced it.

Fast forward to the present. I still have the Inspiron...(in fact it is sitting on my "kitchen" table as we speak...er...type...er...read, running a distro of Linux called openSUSE 10.3) I also still have the HP Jornada 680 (which, by the way, is sitting next to the Dell on my "kitchen" table.) The Dell's battery is toast, the victim of old age and some neglect. The computer itself doesn't have built in wireless (WiFi), so it cannot really be used as a laptop. Instead, it is simply an extremely low profile desktop computer.

Since, during the last few years, wireless hotspots have sprung up practically everywhere, I was eager to get a device that had wireless capabilites so that I could get on the 'Net at other locations besides my apartment. Batteries are still available for the Inspiron 4000 and I could have purchased a wireless card or adapter for it, but, a Pentium III 800MHz machine with 192MB of RAM and a 10GB hard drive sounds more like money down the drain than a wise investment. (Sorry old girl, I still luv ya!)

One day at work I noticed an old HP laptop sitting on the top shelf of our damage cage. It caught my fancy, so after doing some inquiring about it, I found out that it was a laptop that didn't exist in our inventory, and therefore didn't exist as far as the store was concerned. Well, it just so happened that the next day was my day off, so bright and early the next morning I showed up at work, coffee in hand, to see what that old laptop was all about.

Well, to make a long story a little bit shorter, I did check out that laptop, and it would have worked ok for me, but in the process, I noticed another laptop that was sitting on the top shelf of the damage cage, a little further back than the first one. This was also an HP and as I pulled it down, it dawned on me that I knew the story of this one.

Back in March, I had transferred an open-box HP laptop from another Staples. It was one of the first set that came pre-installed with Windows Vista, and as such, after the introduction period, wasn't available (having been surpassed by the new 2nd quarter laptops that were waiting in the wings). Well, I had a customer that really wanted this laptop, so I decided to transfer this one in, even though it had been opened. The associate on the other end did tell me that it had been opened, but that the customer had decided against it and that it was still factory fresh.

Well, it arrived several days later and we called the customers to let them know it had arrived. I explained why the box had already been opened and we went up to the customer service desk to start it up for them. Much to our surprise, it came to the login screen and showed a guy's name and prompted us for a password. This turned out to be too much for my customers and they respectfully declined to purchase that unit.

It bounced around for a while in our back lockup, and apparently was never keyed to us. So, here was another laptop, neither in our system nor the other store's. It simply did not exist. I was very interested in this laptop. It was an HP Pavilion dv9205us. The case was a two-tone black and silver and sported a big, bright and beautiful 17" LCD screen. It came with 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, and Windows Vista Home Premium.

To shorten this down a little, I ended up purchasing it for a cool $150! Imagine that, a 17" laptop for $150! It would seem there ARE some perks to working retail! A couple of days later we had a good deal on some RAM, so I installed another 512MB for a total of 1.5GB of RAM, and picked up a clearance laptop case for a couple of bucks. So, for under $200 I had a pretty sweet machine (and an early Christmas present).

Now...recall if you will, that my particular fascination with gadgets has tended to center on those that are small and portable. So, what was a sufferer of "gadget-i-tis El Dorado" doing with a 17" laptop? (Any bigger and it'd be the size of an attache case!!!) That was a good question, but how could I argue with all that technology for under two bills?

The apparent solution to my dilemma appeared in the most unusual and unlooked for circumstance. While down with my friend Derek a couple of weeks ago, I was in the process of telling him about my sweet laptop deal. He expressed strong interest in getting a laptop and made sure that I would keep out an eye for any other deals like that.

To be honest, at the time I didn't think much of it, but in the last week or so I realized that I might be able to help Derek and myself (no, I'm not referring to myself in the third person) with a wonderful little solution that I came up with...

Of course, if I did sell my new shiny HP laptop, what would I use to replace it? Do you remember my absence from blogging during November, mostly due to being buried in penguin...I mean...Linux, up to my ears? Well, in doing some research online, I came across what may very well be THE EL DORADO gadget itself! It is built by ASUS, a company of some familiarity to me, as I have used their motherboards in several of the computers I have put together. Its name is the Eee PC.

The Eee PC is a very small ultraportable notebook, about the size of the Gateway 2000 Handbook, but much thinner and of course much more powerful.

It runs an Intel Celeron processor humming along at 900MHz and doesn't have a hard drive. Instead, it has a 4GB solid state drive, similar to the memory that is used in digital cameras. Since there are no moving parts, the machine is very durable. If this were running Windows, I would start laughing hysterically at the occurrence of "Celeron" and "900MHz" in the same sentence. However, the beauty of this thing is that IT RUNS LINUX NATIVELY! And very quickly at that! It has built in wireless and a host of open source software that makes this more featured than a full notebook computer from any major retailer.

I won't bore you any longer with computer terminology or the mundane specifications of this little gem. After calling Derek, it looks like he is very willing to purchase my HP laptop. He'll be saving about $400 dollars from what he would have to pay for my computer on Amazon, and I'll be making about $400 on the whole deal. This will get me the Eee PC and I'll have some extra left over. (And yes I've explained to Derek about why I'm changing computers and the cost differences). So...it looks like I may have Christmas yet again...possibly some time in February!!!

DISCLAIMER: I REALIZE THAT THIS IS PROBABLY THE LONGEST BLOG POST THAT YOU HAVE EVER READ. I UNFORTUNATELY CANNOT MAKE ANY REFUNDS AS TO THE 5-10 MINUTES YOU MIGHT HAVE SPENT IN READING THIS. HOWEVER, THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST AND YOU CAN DEFINITELY FEEL UP TO DATE WITH SOME OF THE LATEST HAPPENINGS IN MY LIFE.

The Gadget Guy! - Part One

2008-01-23T17:50:00.000-07:00

I don't know why, but a natural side-effect of being involved with computers and computer equipment is a phenomenon known as "gadget-i-tis." Gadgets do fall in many categories, and in my particular case, I found myself gravitating towards gadgets that were small.

Now I will say this, I have always like small things...well, at least some things. For instance, I have always liked small airplanes and small cars. I have a travel guitar which is about half the size of a "real" one. I even had a twin size bed while growing up, and my sister had the queen.

Before we continue, I must admit that there are some things that I don't like in a small size. Steak, for instance, should be larger than 12oz if at all possible! Clothes also should not be too small.

As I said, however, I do like small gadgets. My particular case of "gadget-i-tis" began, if I remember correctly, with a small PDA (personal digital assistant) known as the Palm III.

From the time I first laid eyes on this little beauty, I knew it was one that I "needed" to have. So, after doing quite a bit of research and reading up on this product, I was soon the proud owner of a III. This was a great little machine and introduced me to the world of Palm and the Palm OS (operating system).

It was not long before I decided that a great addition to my new gadget would be the GoType! keyboard by LandWare. So, in due time another box arrived at my door (well, my parents' door to be exact) and I was soon typing away on my Palm.

Well, as any true sufferer of "gadget-i-tis" will tell you, once one becomes familiar with one's gadget, the time comes that one must consider upgrading to a better gadget. As I began to feel the constraints of the tiny amount of memory with the III, I chose to upgrade to another similar model called the TRGPro. This device boasted the Palm OS AND a CF (compact flash) card slot so that I could add additional storage capacity.

Well, time passed and I began to realize that it was time to go to a color gadget, for technology passes as do fads. I had been eyeing the Palm IIIc, one of the first color Palms on the market. The reviews were really good and I had a buyer for my TRGPro, so it wasn't long before yet another box arrived at the doorstep.

Now I will admit that I really, really liked this new model. It was great to finally see all the icons and text in color, and the Bible program that I had installed on it (after all, accessorize, accessorize, accessorize) looked really good.

After some time, I began to notice another breed of gadget called a "palmtop." This device ran a version of Windows called CE and could get on the Web as well as type up Word documents and Excel documents. One model in particular, the Jornada 680 by HP caught my eye. Well, the Palm IIIc was sold on eBay and from eBay came a spankin' new Jornada.

The Jornada was a great little device and I found that with practice I could actually type quite well on the keyboard. I actually took it to church for Bible study and found I could keep up with Pastor Kevin. It was great to have my notes accessible in a Word doc instead of leafing through the pages of a notebook.

Well, the Jornada lasted me until I joined the Air Force. I had to leave it behind when I left for BMT (basic military training) and while in tech school found myself wanting some sort of gadget to goof around with. Well, another guy at tech school had a Palm he was not using and wanted to get rid of, so soon I was the proud owner of a Palm m125. While I didn't use it as much as I had thought I would, the m125 proved to be a great digital companion.

Well, fast forward to this last June (of 2007). My cell phone battery was getting really short, and I had a $150 upgrade bonus with Sprint for being with them so long, so...it was time for a new gadget...er...phone. With the PDA market headed nowhere in particular, I decided that a PDA phone was in order. So, as I mentioned in a previous blog entry, I am the proud owner of a Sprint Motorola Q. I now have the Bible on it and actually use it as my main Bible for church. The black ruggedized case that you see in the picture above is the one I finally settled on for mine as well.

Well, this is the end of this part of my history with gadgets. There actually was a purpose for writing this, which I will reveal in the second part of this story...

Happenings in the first couple of weeks of '08

2008-01-16T11:47:00.001-07:00

Well, it seems we've blown right into '08 and not had a chance to look back! As pastor would say, "I've been busier than a cat's tail in a room full of rocking chairs!!!"

Since STAPLES was open on New Year's Day, I was working as well...so that kind of shot down any "holiday feel." However, things have been going well at work. Our fiscal year ends this month, so February is the start of a new "STAPLES Year!" With that may come a step up into management, at least as things sit right now.

Last Friday the computer tech at work (Nate) and myself drove over 140 miles up to Montpelier, ID and back to install a couple of Brother All-In-One machines (printer, fax, copier, scanner) at a real estate business. We had just been told that we needed to set up the printers, but beyond that we didn't have any other information.

When we got there, we found out that there were seven computers that needed to share these two printers via a network. Three of the units were laptops which would connect wirelessly, and the others were desktops that were "hardwired" into the network. Not only that, but three of the computers were Windows Vista, while the other four were varying editions of Windows XP. To top it all off, several of the computers needed to have access to BOTH printers, while several needed to be limited to just the one in the front office!

After this had been explained and the lady had left, I turned to Nate and asked, "Have you ever set up a network printer?" He shook his head and asked, "Haven't you?" I shook my head, we both laughed, and then started working.

It all went very smoothly, though now with our newly acquired network printer skills we would do things in a slightly different order than we did then. The trip back was uneventful and we arrived at the store in Logan around 5pm.

As soon as I got home I threw my Air Force stuff in my bag and headed down to meet up with my friend Derek. He had just returned from 6 months in Iraq to find that his wife had taken off and his house was trashed. Not only that, but the majority of six months worth of bills and notices were left unopened in a big pile. So, I ended up staying with him and helping to sort stuff out. He's doing ok and is spending his "vacation time" refiinancing the house, changing bank accounts, etc.

Anyway, I came back up to Logan on Monday, stopping for a few minutes at Guitar Center in Ogden to try out any new guitars they had in stock. Just a few blocks from my house, the car ahead of me ran a red light and t-boned a minivan. Driving is dangerous here in Utah!

Well, that is just a short summary of the latest. I have taken quite a few pictures that I will be periodically posting on the site here. One of the upcoming posts will be "A Tribute to Winter." Talk to y'all later.

Levi and I

2008-01-16T11:40:00.001-07:00

Levi Stonehouse has been a great little buddy ever since he learned to crawl. For whatever reason, he liked being held by me and even turned his mom down when she wanted to hold him.

Anyway, during our New Year's Eve party at the Schallenbergers' he started FEEDING ME!
He got such a kick out of it that he kept putting more and more in faster than I could chew. It was so funny I almost had to put him down...I was laughing so hard. Anyway, Kaitie was thinking and grabbed these shots with my camera.