Update

It's late Saturday night...the conference is almost over, which is sad...but we get to see Piper preach in the morning!

I've got pictures with Piper, Justin Taylor, and Helen Rosevere. I stood right next to Noel Piper, but didn't know what to say to her. Am I supposed to say: "Hey, my kids really like the Advent calendar you designed" lol.

I met Purgatorio...who doesn't blog much anymore, yet I still check back to see if he has.

I met Phil Johnson from the Pyromaniac blog.

We've gotten lots of books. We've gone to the Mall of America. We got lost in the Minneapolis skyway. Jamison is doing well.....though tired since his sleep schedule is kinda messed up.

I think we are all planning on going to the Melting Pot tomorrow night. YUM!

I'll be sure to share my pictures once we are back in Maine. It has been such a great trip!

I've been negligent

Not really my fault, but I know I haven't blogged since Tuesday :)

Let's see...what has happened since then, you might ask? On Monday and Tuesday, I was in a van driving up to Maine. On Wednesday, I went grocery shopping and got the kids ready to stay with my sister for 5 days, while John, Jamison, and I go to Minneapolis. This morning, our flight left at 8:10, and we arrived in MN. We then drove to Rochester to have dinner with John's grandfather who is 90 today. And now, I sit here able to say something.

But find that I have nothing to say.

Jamison did great on the plane. He just laid there on my chest and made not a sound....for the exception of when he bumped his head, at that point, there were two whines. I can handle two whines on a 3-1/2 hour plane ride!

He is running a slight fever and slept a lot today. He is in good spirits, but is just fighting something off. Please keep him in your prayers. Although him not feeling really well gives me a time to love the cuddling...

I miss my boys back in Maine...but I know they are having fun with my sister :)

Tomorrow the conference starts....so I can't make any promises when I'll be back...but I'll be taking lots of pictures!

Freebies! (a day early)

Fisher Price Planet Heroes DVD (just add to cart...you will have to check out with a grand total of $0.00)

Samuel Adams "All About Beer Magazine" Free Trial Issue

Free National Guard T-Shirt

Free DVD: The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse (use discretion....might end up being a favorite and a classic) <---said in complete sarcasm, lol

French Toast Casserole

1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I skip this)
Dash salt Praline Topping, recipe follows
Maple syrup

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

This recipe is incredibly good!

The power of the sign

Nolan believes in the power of the sign.

On his magnadoodle, he wrote the word ignoring with a line through it. He thinks that this should be enough to prevent Gideon from ignoring him.

Obviously Gideon hasn't gotten the memo.

In Christ Alone

Blessed Assurance by Fanny Crosby

Born: March 24, 1820, Put­nam Coun­ty, New York.

Died: Feb­ru­a­ry 12, 1915, Bridge­port, Con­nec­ti­cut.

Buried: Bridge­port, Con­nec­ti­cut.

Fanny Crosby was prob­ab­ly the most pro­lif­ic hymn­ist in his­to­ry. Though blind­ed by an in­com­pe­tent doc­tor at six weeks of age, she wrote over 8,000 hymns.

About her blind­ness, she said:

It seemed intend­ed by the bless­ed prov­i­dence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dis­pen­sa­tion. If per­fect earth­ly sight were of­fered me to­mor­row I would not ac­cept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been dis­tract­ed by the beau­ti­ful and in­ter­est­ing things about me.

In her life­time, Fan­ny Cros­by was one of the best known wo­men in the Unit­ed States. To this day, the vast ma­jor­i­ty of Amer­i­can hymn­als con­tain her work.

When Fanny died, her tomb­stone car­ried the words, “Aunt Fan­ny” and “Bless­ed as­sur­ance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a fore­taste of glo­ry di­vine.”

Blessèd assurance, Jesus is mine!

O what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Refrain

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior, all the day long;

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior, all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,

Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;

Angels descending bring from above

Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Refrain

Perfect submission, all is at rest

I in my Savior am happy and blest,

Watching and waiting, looking above,

Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Refrain

Random posting

*I am blogging while traveling. I am cool again.

*I went to KFC a month ago and was disappointed that the honey mustard sauce changed. Is this a permanent thing? I doubt I will ever eat there again if it is, which is probably a good thing.

*I will be in Maine for the next few weeks. This means that by the time I get back to northeast Tennessee, Sonic's peach smoothies will be a thing of the past :(

*Today is Monday and that means that in just 3 days I will be in Minnesota celebrating John's grandfather's 90th birthday with him.

*It was silly of me to go to bed around 11pm last night. Jamison woke up at midnight screaming (not sure why) and he was up until 2:15am. This never happens! It make my 4:30am wake up time come that much quicker.

*I have a plan to catch our mouse that is planning on taking over my house again while we are gone. I don't know what is worse....the thought of entering a house that smells like decomposing mouse or a house that has mouse droppings in every corner of every room.

How's that for random?

Weep with those who weep

Felicity Margaret Piper

Holy Discontentment

By Jeffrey Ream

Recently I have become discontent. Discontent with many things. Discontent with the impact I am making on the kingdom of God. Discontent with my relationship with God. Discontent with my own mediocrity I guess.


I can remember being just a kid growing up in Iowa wanting to change the world, not by any other means but for the Lord. That desire has always been in my heart. I guess most of us want to change the world, but very few ever do.


So what is it that seperates those who don't change the world from those who do? Is it circumstance? Is it luck? Is it desire? No! I believe that the greatest hindrance of Christians changing the world is contentment. We become content with where we are at. Churches fail to reach the world and become content to only take care of their own when there is a world out there dying and going to hell. That isn't being judgemental...that is being honest. We must be honest about the situation of the world if we are going to be compelled to dare to reach them. What are they being saved from? Why do they need Christ? Why are they going to want what we have if we are not different?


Holy discontentment. I think it is essential for a passionate Christ follower to have. It is not a negative thing, it is a positive which will help to fuel our aggressive approach to reaching souls for Christ. It should be our prayer that we never grow complacent and content with our call to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

From Worship Blog

Give the gift of land!

Now you can make God's gift to us your gift to someone you love.

Imagine the joy and pride it will bring you to legally own a piece of Israel or to give it as a gift to your children or grandchildren or to commemorate a wedding, anniversary, birthday, a special religious event, or any other important occasion. Owning a piece of the Holy Land will be cherished forever by you or your loved ones or friends. A gift that never stops giving.

Um, are they really talking about land here?

Buy your land here.

I want a pet hippo

Do you?

It has come to my attention....

that ever since I posted the recipe for Monkey Bread a couple weeks ago...that it has become an obsession with a certain family.

Might I recommend this to you.

Happy Eaters!

I'm guessing this was sent to me, so I could blog it, lol

Here ya go Reggie...



A seagull in Scotland has developed the habit of stealing chips from a neighborhood shop.

The seagull waits until the shopkeeper isn't looking (so a camera was installed), and then walks into the store and grabs a snack-size bag of cheese Doritos.

Once outside, the bag gets ripped open and becomes a feast, for other birds!


The seagull’s shoplifting started early this month, when he first swooped into the store in Aberdeen, Scotland, and helped himself to a bag of chips.

Since then, he’s become a "regular". He always takes the same type of chips.

Customers have begun paying for the seagull’s stolen bags of chips,... because they think it’s so funny!

What are you drinking?

I don't know about you...but I would rather drink something that is "fused with fruit of the spirit".....how about you?

1 in 3 Trinity Drink

A Diaper Bag

It's big, it's soft, and I love it!

It took me awhile to make, but it was well worth my time! I added a cell phone pocket and there is a double pocket inside.

I'm almost afraid to use it!

Church sign

A couple things I found funny

Monopoly....Joel Osteen-ized!

What if you spent one year following every rule in the Bible? A. J. Jacobs did exactly that.

Sept. 21, 2007 - After A. J. Jacobs spent a year reading the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica for his book “The Know-It-All,” he figured he had the yearlong experiment thing down. How much harder could it be to follow every rule in the Bible? Much, much harder, he soon discovered, as he found himself growing his beard, struggling not to curse and asking strangers for permission to stone them for adultery. Jacobs spent the year carrying around a stapled list of the more than 700 rules and prohibitions identified in the Good Book, and also consulted with religious leaders and spent time with the Amish, Hassidic Jews and Jehovah’s Witnesses. He spoke to NEWSWEEK’s Jennie Yabroff about his experience and his new book, “The Year of Living Biblically” (Simon & Schuster), which goes on sale Oct. 9.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Overheard at my house this morning

Nolan likes to clean things. This morning, he took out a baby wipe and began going over all surfaces.

He wiped the tv, smelled the wipe and said, "Oh yuck!".

He wiped the end table, smelled the wipe and said, "Ewww!"

He ran up to me, and before I could stop him, he wiped my cheek with it!

Nolan turned to me and said, "Smell it mommy, it smells like pretty!"

The newest in technology!

It's called the P-Mate. It helps women go pee standing up in not so nice restrooms and also when you are roughing it in the great outdoors!

I think it would make a great stocking stuffer!

Bread

There is something about making pumpkin bread with fresh pumpkin that you cooked up and pureed.

Yum!

A Muslim Joel Osteen??

Islam now has a televangelist, Amr Khaled, with millions of fans. He preaches an upbeat, anti-terrorism version of Islam, speaking not only onTV but in huge halls, projecting his messsage on gigantic screens, giving humor-laced sermons, and Qu'ranic tips for successful living. The Egyptian preacher is currently on a speaking tour of the United States. He is being called the Muslim Joel Osteen.


In other words, Amr Khaled has adopted the tactics of the church growth movement and American evangelicalism in order to spread Islam!


In fact, what this article describes sounds just like what goes on in many ostensibly Christian churches! While we should appreciate his non-murderous approach to his religion, as we posted a few days ago, this kinder, gentler Islam just might catch on in our culture. And churches, many of which have watered down their Christianity into a treacly soft drink, may be ill-equipped to do anything about it.

Cranach

Tis the Season for BREAD!

(Recipe Tuesdays a day late!)

Pumpkin Bread

sift together:
3-1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
3 cups sugar

Mix together:
4 eggs
1 cup oil
2/3 cups water
2 cups of pumpkin

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Grease 2 loaf pans or 1 bundt pan. 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes...or until done.

Raw Apple Bread

3 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup oil
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3-4 cored, chopped apples (I shred them on a cheese grater)
2-1/2 Tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla

Combine first 6 ingredients. Add apples, milk, and vanilla. Grease 2 loaf pans or 1 bundt pan. Bake 325 degrees for 1 hour or until done.

Freebies

I've decided to group it all into one entry. If I find something after the initial posting, I will just edit to add it to this entry...so check back!

Free L'Oreal Paris Vive Pro Nutri Gloss Haircare Samples

Free Sample Pack of Cottonelle Fresh Flushable Moist Wipes

Make sure you check out 30 Days of Beauty for their daily giveaways starting Oct 1!

Update to the handbag

Last night, I made another bag similar to the one I made a couple of days ago. I made a few changes to the original pattern. I added an inside pocket, and I also added lining to the handles, to make them a little more sturdy. The outside feature has changed too...instead of velvet ribbon, there is just a simple stripe, adding more color. It also has a little more stability, since the materials used are corduroy and drapery fabric.

I used this bag (the other one I had made) the other day, when I went out with the kids. I really liked the way the handles cinch on the sides with the weight of the bag.

In the future, I may add magnetic snaps to enclose the bag.

Trick or Treat bag...times 4!

I thought it would be a neat idea to make up a tote specifically for the kids when they go trick-or-treating. It can be used throughout the fall, since it isn't necessarily just for Halloween.

Each bag has a flannel lining for stability. The bag is reversible. On one side there is a Snoopy autumn scene and on the other side it's plain brown canvas. I'm going to let the kids do something on the canvas.

They came out really great and make a cute hat....so Haddon and Gideon discovered, lol.

How to Evaluate Songs for Congregational Worship

Congregational worship is one of the most important things that a church
does. It supersedes missions, evangelism, service, and counseling (though it
could be argued that these are, in a way, forms of worship--see Hebrews
13:15-16). John Piper has said the following:

"Missions is not the
ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions
exists because worship
doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God
is ultimate, not
man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the
redeemed fall
on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be not
more. It is a
temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.” (Let the Nations
Be Glad,
p. 17)

So, worship supersedes all these other activities because God is
ultimate, not man, and these all exist so that other people will be brought
to
see the excellencies of God through His church, and will in turn become
worshippers themselves. The glory of God is, as Jonathan Edwards put it,
“the
end for which God created the world” (Romans 11:36, Isaiah 43:7,
Ephesians
1:5,6,12,14, Psalm 29:1,2and Isaiah 48:11).

You can read the rest of this article here.

Isn't this cool?

I only wish my name would fit on one line! You can do it for your name here.

A new take on an old idea

I used a canvas material that I recently purchased, and I decided I would make a tote bag. Instead of making the usual rectangle, I decided to make it wider at the top. There is a pocket inside, the straps are double sided, and they are also lined. I combined a couple different tote bag styles to make this one.


I like the way it came out. A few mistakes were made on the way, but that is how I learn. It's a good thing I know how to use a seam ripper!

And this is for Teana...it's the inside of the clutch. It's a simple lined inside...nothing fancy. Just enough room to store your essentials.

My new favorite purse

I made this last night. I am very happy with the way it came out. I really enjoy sewing...makes me wonder why it took me so long to get my machine back out!

These ideas are coming from a book I recently purchased. You can find it here.

Nothing But The Blood by Robert Lowry (1876)

Born: March 12, 1826, Phil­a­del­phia, Penn­syl­van­ia.

Died: No­vem­ber 25, 1899, Plain­field, New Jer­sey.

Buried: Hill­side Cem­e­tery, Plain­field, New Jer­sey.

Lowry at­tend­ed the Un­i­ver­si­ty at Lew­isb­urg (later re­named Buck­nell Un­i­ver­si­ty), where he be­came a pro­fess­or of lit­er­a­ture. He was or­dained as a Bap­tist min­is­ter and pas­tored at West Ches­ter, Penn­syl­van­ia; Bloom­ing­dale Bap­tist Church, New York Ci­ty; Han­son Place Bap­tist Church, Brook­lyn, New York; First Bap­tist Church, Lew­is­burg, Penn­syl­vania; and Park Ave­nue Bap­tist Church, Plain­field, New Jer­sey. He al­so worked as a mu­sic ed­i­tor at the Big­low Pub­lish­ing Com­pa­ny, and helped found the Sixth Av­e­nue Bap­tist Church in New York Ci­ty. He wrote about 500 Gos­pel tunes and edited many volumes of hymns.

What can wash away my sin?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

What can make me whole again?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

Oh! precious is the flow

That makes me white as snow;

No other fount I know,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my pardon, this I see,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

For my cleansing this my plea,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

Nothing can for sin atone,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

Naught of good that I have done,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

This is all my hope and peace,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

This is all my righteousness,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

Now by this I’ll overcome—

Nothing but the blood of Jesus,

Now by this I’ll reach my home—

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

Glory! Glory! This I sing—

Nothing but the blood of Jesus,

All my praise for this I bring—

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

John MacArthur speaks to Doug Pagitt

You can read more on this here.

My artsy clutch

I made this last night. It has a double lining, so there is some stability to it. I'm still debating on whether or not I should lower the button....we'll see!

This is definitely a 'girl' thing. When I showed it to John last night, his initial response was "Oh, that's nice, what do you do with it?" It's probably a good thing he doesn't really know what a clutch is, lol.

Spiderman has entered the building

On John's trip to southern Texas, he walked to Mexico. Yes, he was that close. While in Mexico, he picked the kids up a surprise.

As you can see from the pictures...the kids love them! Haddon would eat, sleep, and bathe with it on if I let him!

Overheard in the car

"Mommy, look at the clouds...they look like cotton candy!" said Nolan.

"Yes they do!" replied mommy.

"I think they taste like cotton candy too!" said Nolan.

"Maybe." said mommy.

A few random pictures

I found this jumperoo for Jamison at a consignment sale this morning...he loves it!


And can I just say how excited Gideon was to wear his new pants? He kept asking his brothers if they wanted to touch his new pants cause they are so soft. They held up all day, so that says something!

Jamison's new outfit

I made the pants out of a soft corduroy, with cuff. I got the shirt from a consignment sale this morning for $1 and made an iron on out of leftover material. Then I stitched around it! I'll be sure to take pictures of him wearing it...but he's asleep right now!

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT!

If you child just happens to shove a Skittle up his nose (not to name any names....GIDEON) don't worry. By the time you get to see the Doctor in the Emergency Room, it will have melted and run down his throat.

Um, that takes approximately 3 hours.

If I didn't have a picture...you just would never believe me!

When I say that, I am half kidding. You see, my children have a rivalry. Nolan and Gideon get along great...rarely a tiff. But when you get Gideon and Haddon together, there is much ado about nothing....I mean, literally nothing.

We can be driving down the road and this is what conspires:

Gid: "Haddon....NO!!"
Had: "Yes!"
Gid: "NO!"
Had: "NO!"
Gid: "YES!"

So you see....when something as sweet as them reading a book together happens...it is a time of great joy!

They sat there giggling and laughing and it warmed this mommy's heart.

Look at what I made!

I let the kids each pick out a couple pieces of material to go with the corduroy I bought. This is Gideon's new pair of pants :) There are some things that I will do differently for the next pair...we learn from our mistakes, right? I think they turned out really well!

They can be cuffed up and they really are both the same length...the picture is deceiving :)

Once my sewing machine decided to run a little smoother (who knew that a bent needle could cause sooo many problems??), it only took less than an hour to make these! I can't wait to finish the rest of them!

A few thoughts on truly knowing God

the·ol·o·gy
1. the field of study and analysis that treats of God and of God's
attributes and relations to the universe; study of divine things or religious
truth; divinity.

doc·trine
1. teaching or instruction

Why are people afraid of doctrine and theology? I have had family members tell me that they have no interest in doctrine and theology. They have all they need when they know that they believe that Christ died for their sins and that He loves them. What more could there possibly be?

I understand that when you hear the words 'doctrine' and 'theology', you can easily be scared away. They can sound foreboding to a Christian. Instead, a Christian should be constantly striving for a deeper knowledge and relationship with God.


Last night, in our weekly book study at church, it was said that by saying you have no interest in doctrine or theology, you are in fact marrying someone, only to turn around to look at them and say, I don't have any interest in learning any more about you. The fact that we are married is enough. How would you react if your spouse said that to you on your honeymoon?

Why is so easy to say to God, I don't need to know more about you. We take the time to learn so many worldly things, yet, when it comes to God, it is so easy to shrug Him off and say, I don't need to know more. I know the basics and that is good enough for me. We completely disregard the amazing guide He gave us, when He gave us His word.

When God takes hold of your heart, change will take place. When a visitor enters your house, things change. Our pastor used the analogy of a visit from his Mother-in-law. When she visits, things change. Imagine that visitor being Christ, with the exception that He isn't just visiting! He is moving in! Do you really expect your life not to change?

Our prayer should be that we gain a deeper understanding and knowledge of our Creator! Don't be afraid of the change that will take place. Rejoice that the process of sanctification is bringing you closer to the one that has taken hold of you and will not let go!

UK opinion shift on the abortion issue

There is a very interesting article here titled "Why I, as a feminist, abhor how the abortion law has been so abused".

Our weekly art project

The kids were asking to use glue and scissors. On Tuesday, I got out some art supplies and let them glue different objects to their paper and just decorate to their hearts desire.



This is what it looked like. Nolan and Gideon were very focused on what they were doing. I think you would call them visionaries. Meanwhile, the only thing Haddon was focused on was wanting the entire bottle of glue to play with....which was not going to happen.



Is it bad that I took a picture of him? I did tell him to smile, lol.

Works-For-Me-Wednesdays....a day late!

With 4 boys, I feel like my days are filled with cleaning up after them. To put it mildly, they are not delicate and dainty in their playing (friends can attest to this, lol). The same is true when it comes to art. I found myself shying away from art projects with them, because I was tired of the crayons being everywhere, the markers missing covers, scissors being unaccounted for, etc.



Then I got this idea. How about I use my old Pampered Chef tool turnabout as an art caddy. I can't tell you how great this has turned out. Now, I have all the crayons and markers color coded in their own spot! No more impatience as I try to fit the kids crayons into those flimsy cardboard boxes that fit into the crayon box....no more markers without covers! You can find the discontinued tool turnabouts on ebay.



Here is a picture...it is sooo convenient!

Now this is what I'm talking about!

Free Playtex bottle 9/12-10/14

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A quote

The greatest need in the American church today is the recovery of the church’s central message, the gospel. Far too often in evangelical churches the gospel is simply assumed and, being so assumed, its voice is muffled, its entailments are ignored, and its power is drained. More significantly, when the gospel is assumed it is in grave danger of being displaced. The church is, therefore, in great need of a thoroughgoing return to gospel-centrality. The measure of such centrality will be the extent to which the gospel is functional, determining the nature of the church’s life, the substance of its teaching, the content of its worship and the core of its proclamation.

-CJ Mahaney

Taco Salad

This is what I'm having for dinner....how about you?

1 pound of cooked hamburger
1 head of lettuce, chopped
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 of a small onion, finely chopped
16 ounces thousand island dressing
16 ounces taco sauce
2 cups of cheddar cheese
a bag or Doritos

Place hamburger, lettuce, tomatoes, onion and cheese in a large bowl. Mix together.

In another bowl, mix together the dressing and the taco sauce.

Pour the mixed sauce into the larger bowl, mixing to cover all ingredients.

When you are ready to serve, break up the Doritos into smaller pieces. Place Doritos in the bottom of your bowl and spoon the taco salad on top and mix!

You don't want to mix all the chips into the mixture, unless you are bringing the salad to a potluck where you know it will get mostly eaten. The chips will soften if you mix it all together and will get mushy.

You can add more of the ingredients if you want more tomatoes or lettuce, etc. Or you can downsize to make smaller amounts. Just remember that it is equal parts thousand island and taco sauce.

The newest in golf technology...there is hope for you yet!

The Golf Ball Launcher!

Is that a man shooting birds, nope it’s a bloke with a
decidedly dodgy mullet playing golf with the golf ball launcher.


Designed for people that have mobility issues or who are just crap
at golf is the golf ball launcher is capable of firing balls from 25 yards to
over 300 . Instead of having to whack the ball with a club you simply pump up
your launcher, load, take aim and fire. I’d expect you’d get some very funny
looks at the 19th hole, well that is until you point it at them.


It’s a bit of a concept gadget at the moment (phew), further info
over at Invention Showcase.

Isn't that kinda like cheating?

When you're gone...

....the garbage piles up.

....the kids decide to target me for their pillow fights.

....I hear "how many days til daddy comes home?" several times a day.

....the house seems unusually quiet once 7pm rolls around, and the kids are snuggled into their beds.

....every noise in the house seems to startle me, even though I know it's nothing.

....I am so umotivated to cook anything, since it's only me, and you appreciate my cooking more than I do.

....I stay up later than usual, waiting for that one last phone call from you, just calling to say good night.

....I miss you terribly.

Hurry home my dear, I love you....get some rest.

Awake, My Soul, And With The Sun

Ken wrote this hymn at a time when the es­tab­lished church be­lieved on­ly Script­ure should be sung as hymns—with an em­pha­sis on the Psalms. Some con­sid­ered it sin­ful and blas­phe­mous to write new lyr­ics for church mu­sic, akin to ad­ding to the Script­ures. In that at­mo­sphere, Ken wrote this and sev­er­al other hymns for the boys at Win­chest­er Col­lege, with strict in­struct­ions that they use them on­ly in their rooms, for pri­vate de­vo­tions. Iron­ic­al­ly, the last stan­za has come into wide­spread use as the Dox­ol­o­gy, per­haps the most fr­equent­ly used piece of mu­sic in pub­lic wor­ship. At Ken’s request, the hymn was sung at his fun­er­al, fit­tingly held at sun­rise.

Awake, my soul, and with the sun
Thy daily stage of duty run;
Shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise,
To pay thy morning sacrifice.


Thy precious time misspent, redeem,
Each present day thy last esteem,
Improve thy talent with due care;
For the great day thyself prepare.


By influence of the Light divine
Let thy own light to others shine.
Reflect all Heaven’s propitious ways
In ardent love, and cheerful praise.


In conversation be sincere;
Keep conscience as the noontide clear;
Think how all seeing God thy ways
And all thy secret thoughts surveys.


Wake, and lift up thyself, my heart,
And with the angels bear thy part,
Who all night long unwearied sing
High praise to the eternal King.


All praise to Thee, who safe has kept
And hast refreshed me while I sleptGrant,
Lord, when I from death shall wake
I may of endless light partake.


Heav’n is, dear Lord, where’er
Thou art,O never then from me depart;
For to my soul ’tis hell to be
But for one moment void of Thee.


Lord, I my vows to Thee renew;
Disperse my sins as morning dew.
Guard my first springs of thought and will,
And with Thyself my spirit fill.


Direct, control, suggest, this day,
All I design, or do, or say,
That all my powers, with all their might,
In Thy sole glory may unite.


I would not wake nor rise again
And Heaven itself I would disdain,
Wert Thou not there to be enjoyed,
And I in hymns to be employed.


Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

How to make a morsbag

I was looking through some crafty blogs today and found a website that gives very easy directions to make your own reusable bag...so instead of checking out at the grocery store and getting a bunch of plastic bags that aren't good for the environment, you can use your homeade bags!

Here is their website and you can click here for directions on how to make your own bags!

Not a bad life, eh?

I can hear them now....

"Mom, remember when we used to have picnics on the living room floor, watching The Ant and the Aardvark cartoons? and then we would have popsicles?"

"Yes, I remember."

And I cannot leave out my dear Jamison who has a new found love for Cheerios.