I have received a few comments about not keeping the blog more updated. Sorry about that...real life tends to get in the way of blogging life. Additionally, I am now teaching an internet-based class for WTC, so, in addition to my software testing job, I have been busy writing notes for my students every day of the week. Due to all of this internet activity, I have decided to take a "computing sabbatical" every Lord's Day...this means that I do not touch the computer for at least 24 hours. No computer, no blog.
Alesha has been kept quite busy taking care of three kiddos and myself. Maybe sometime in August we will pick it back up again.
Enjoy!
Taylor
Monday, June 23, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
If the Lord be God...
God's prophet, Elijah, once posed this to the children of Israel: "How long halt ye between two opinions? If the LORD be God, follow Him. But if Baal, then follow him." (1Kings 18:21)
I think this question was also written for me. The context is a bit different, for I am not wavering between worshiping the LORD, (Jehovah) and another god. I am certain that the LORD is God. I know that He is the creator of all that is, and as such deserves my reverence. Additionally, He is the only Savior of my soul, and therefore is deserving of my love. The emphasis that caught my attention in this verse made it read like this:"If the LORD be God, Follow Him." This is what I make of it...If I know that "the LORD is God" in all the glory that could possibly be captured in that word, why do I continue to weigh decisions by what my extended family, friends, etc. will think, instead of being open to His will? (Even as I type, the stubborn part of my brain is muttering things like, "Yes, but 'safety is found in a multitude of councilors.' And, "But you DO want God's will in your life! If you post this, everybody will think that you aren't following Him..." See...there it goes again, trying to make me wonder what you guys will think of me instead of following Him first. :) Usually, (I hope), another part of my brain is able to kick in and squash this kind of thinking before it goes too far and the decision is decided by better reasons than "opinion polls". What bothers me, though, is that if I know that the LORD be God, why do I waste time worrying about the reaction of PEOPLE, who are not God? (I welcome all comments, but I'm not expecting a painless, 3 step process for mortifying the flesh...just thought you might want to look inside my brain. :)
I think this question was also written for me. The context is a bit different, for I am not wavering between worshiping the LORD, (Jehovah) and another god. I am certain that the LORD is God. I know that He is the creator of all that is, and as such deserves my reverence. Additionally, He is the only Savior of my soul, and therefore is deserving of my love. The emphasis that caught my attention in this verse made it read like this:"If the LORD be God, Follow Him." This is what I make of it...If I know that "the LORD is God" in all the glory that could possibly be captured in that word, why do I continue to weigh decisions by what my extended family, friends, etc. will think, instead of being open to His will? (Even as I type, the stubborn part of my brain is muttering things like, "Yes, but 'safety is found in a multitude of councilors.' And, "But you DO want God's will in your life! If you post this, everybody will think that you aren't following Him..." See...there it goes again, trying to make me wonder what you guys will think of me instead of following Him first. :) Usually, (I hope), another part of my brain is able to kick in and squash this kind of thinking before it goes too far and the decision is decided by better reasons than "opinion polls". What bothers me, though, is that if I know that the LORD be God, why do I waste time worrying about the reaction of PEOPLE, who are not God? (I welcome all comments, but I'm not expecting a painless, 3 step process for mortifying the flesh...just thought you might want to look inside my brain. :)
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Levi, eat your broccoli!
O.k. , so we didn't really make him eat the whole thing. In actuality, he was supposed to be posing with the broccoli, so y'all could see the wonderful head the Lord grew for us in our garden this year. By the way, Taylor has my internet set up now, so I can e-mail from home...yeah!!!! Hopefully, this will mean the blog will be updated more often, but we'll see. Somehow, I don't always seem to make time for computing. :)
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Yikes!
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words... these two may be worth more than that. For anyone who is curious for a more verbal explanation however, This is Levi, our dear son, during the twenty minutes that followed finishing up a piece of "Emergency Chocolate Pie". (This is no culinary masterpiece: it was instant chocolate pudding poured into a store-bought graham cracker crust with a handful of crushed macadamia nuts thrown hastily onto the top. Sorry Granny B - I know this ruins my reputation as a chef, but I only had ten minutes. :) At least Levi didn't object.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
House Pictures!
Sorry for the LONG wait...here are a few pictures of the house...I haven't figured out yet how to insert words between the pictures, so I'll have to do all my explaining down here.
The first picture is of the living room. (Note the front door).
The second pic. is what you see if you turn around 180 degrees from where you were standing for the first picture. (The kitchen and living room is a common area - separated only by a long island.) The dining room is also connected by a wide doorway. Though it's harder to find a piece of wall to put a bookshelf on, we like the one-room living space concept a lot. It keeps people from hiding in their own little corner and forces them to act like family. :)
Next is another picture of the kitchen (I left out the view of the sink, which looks through an opening into the dining room. The sink is quite pretty - it was the mountain of dirty dishes sitting inside it that wasn't so picture-worthy. This is a similar concept to why there is no picture of the master bedroom/laundry folding factory. :)
The next two pics. are the kids' room and the bathroom respectively. (I know you could have probably figured that out. )
Finally, the laundry room which opens onto the kitchen...Please oogle over the wonderful heavy-duty pantry shelves Taylor built for me! ........And Last but not least, the ever-present heap of boxes that I still have to find something to do with! :) Thanks for taking my "tour"!
Monday, April 7, 2008
the Serpent
When most people think of a serpent in a Biblical context, the appropriate analogy of the devil or Satan comes to mind; many may even think of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Every time that I kill (or have to dispose of) a (rattle)snake the same imagery comes to mind and I will share it with you.
The best and most effective way to kill a snake is to separate its head from its body. This will render the snake swoon or dead...almost. For a considerably long time after the head is cut off, that deadly snake will be far from harmless. In my short career of snake killing, I have had the snake head vigorously attack the pointed end of my hoe as I am dealing a final fatal blow; if left alone the snake body (and likely the head) will wiggle for several hours after it has been decapitated; also, I had seen a rather large snake (perhaps 5' or more) blown into three pieces (via shotgun) with its full-grown head with less than 2 inches of body attached to it continue to run away and be completely undeterred in its mission. This last snake (see previous post) was no different. Though I must be getting more accustomed to wounding the snake enough to separate and quickly crush its head, I still shutter at its lethality and its devotion to thrive under fatal circumstances; additionally, the wiggling body is a constant reminder. Once the head is properly disposed of the body is harmless, but it has far from ended its actions.
This picture is more than one of the death of a single snake, more so it reminds me of the evil and sin in our/my own heart as characterized by the devil. The book of Genesis tells me that the offspring of Eve, that is Jesus Christ, will crush the head of the serpent. In other words, Jesus Christ, will/has completely and utterly destroyed Satan. Satan knows that his time is limited and that he has lost the war in eternity by shedding the blood of Jesus. However, Satan still continues to wiggle and fight for anything that he can get and though he will lose in the end, he will make our life full of fear and misery by wiggling his harmless, dead, (spiritual) body.
-Taylor
The best and most effective way to kill a snake is to separate its head from its body. This will render the snake swoon or dead...almost. For a considerably long time after the head is cut off, that deadly snake will be far from harmless. In my short career of snake killing, I have had the snake head vigorously attack the pointed end of my hoe as I am dealing a final fatal blow; if left alone the snake body (and likely the head) will wiggle for several hours after it has been decapitated; also, I had seen a rather large snake (perhaps 5' or more) blown into three pieces (via shotgun) with its full-grown head with less than 2 inches of body attached to it continue to run away and be completely undeterred in its mission. This last snake (see previous post) was no different. Though I must be getting more accustomed to wounding the snake enough to separate and quickly crush its head, I still shutter at its lethality and its devotion to thrive under fatal circumstances; additionally, the wiggling body is a constant reminder. Once the head is properly disposed of the body is harmless, but it has far from ended its actions.
This picture is more than one of the death of a single snake, more so it reminds me of the evil and sin in our/my own heart as characterized by the devil. The book of Genesis tells me that the offspring of Eve, that is Jesus Christ, will crush the head of the serpent. In other words, Jesus Christ, will/has completely and utterly destroyed Satan. Satan knows that his time is limited and that he has lost the war in eternity by shedding the blood of Jesus. However, Satan still continues to wiggle and fight for anything that he can get and though he will lose in the end, he will make our life full of fear and misery by wiggling his harmless, dead, (spiritual) body.
-Taylor
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Snakes
It is that time of year again...actually, it is a bit early, but with this warm weather the rattlesnakes are coming out to enjoy the day also. So let me tell you about our first encounter this year:
It was a nice, but warm (~90*) day today and as soon as the sun went down a cool breeze came in. The dogs (and cat) were very excitable this evening. We called the dogs in around 9pm because Pete was circling the house...probably looking for trouble to dig up (pun intended). Pascal (the cat) stayed outside and did not want to come in yet. Alesha went out to hang some more clothes (with Pascal around, she feels reasonably safe since he can see creepy things in the dark better than we can). Alesha came back in, but Pascal wanted to stay out. We had our windows open to feel the breeze come through the house. Alesha went to the window and heard a strange, but somewhat familiar sound, but she did not think, "Snake!" (keep in mind that our new house makes many interesting sounds that we constantly mistake for other things...in fact, just now (I thought) I heard Levi crying in bed, but no, it was just the water heater screaming quietly in its closet). Alesha stepped outside on to our porch to listen to the sound better; she saw Pascal about 10 feet away staring at the house and the strange yet familiar sound made complete sense. It was a rattlesnake! So I got the gun, and blew him in half on the 1st shot (yea!...I do not consider myself a very good shot...especially, when trying to hit a skinny piece of rope laying next to my new house). I took another shot at the snake, because I really wanted the head separated from the body. Eventually, I used a hoe to finish him off. It was all quite an exciting evening. I saved the body...well, what is left of the body for the kids to play with in the morning. ;-)
Enjoy!
Taylor
It was a nice, but warm (~90*) day today and as soon as the sun went down a cool breeze came in. The dogs (and cat) were very excitable this evening. We called the dogs in around 9pm because Pete was circling the house...probably looking for trouble to dig up (pun intended). Pascal (the cat) stayed outside and did not want to come in yet. Alesha went out to hang some more clothes (with Pascal around, she feels reasonably safe since he can see creepy things in the dark better than we can). Alesha came back in, but Pascal wanted to stay out. We had our windows open to feel the breeze come through the house. Alesha went to the window and heard a strange, but somewhat familiar sound, but she did not think, "Snake!" (keep in mind that our new house makes many interesting sounds that we constantly mistake for other things...in fact, just now (I thought) I heard Levi crying in bed, but no, it was just the water heater screaming quietly in its closet). Alesha stepped outside on to our porch to listen to the sound better; she saw Pascal about 10 feet away staring at the house and the strange yet familiar sound made complete sense. It was a rattlesnake! So I got the gun, and blew him in half on the 1st shot (yea!...I do not consider myself a very good shot...especially, when trying to hit a skinny piece of rope laying next to my new house). I took another shot at the snake, because I really wanted the head separated from the body. Eventually, I used a hoe to finish him off. It was all quite an exciting evening. I saved the body...well, what is left of the body for the kids to play with in the morning. ;-)
Enjoy!
Taylor
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