Merry Christmas!

Once again, Christmas has come. For a godless society, we really do make a fuss about Christmas don’t we? If only people truly understood the meaning of Christmas! I’m not decrying the commercialism, or advocating the blacklisting of Santa, but it would be nice if people truly understood what they were celebrating.

Aren’t you glad that it truly isn’t only the good children who receive presents on Christmas morning? Imagine if that had been God’s plan – That first Christmas Gift on that first Christmas morning was only intended for the good boys and girls. We’d all be out of luck!

Once again, Merry Christmas

Luke 2

Craziness!

We heard last night that the sellers of the house we are considering buying had decided that they may want to reconsider, and postpone making a move until the new year. This did not make us happy. However, as we considered it, we realized that if we at least knew one way or the other, we would be able to plan. Maybe we wouldn't be able to be in the new house for Christmas, but maybe the Lord had a better house out there. I actually had peace either way. As I understand it, they wanted to take a day to think about it and consider their options. This crisis had been precipitated by their inablility to get financing for a new house, since they currently had a house to sell. They took their day, and today, we found out that they do still want to proceed with the sale and will close as soon as we have financing! Whose bright idea was it to buy a house and move during the Christms? Please pray that we will be able to get everything done, and that things will continue to go without a hitch!

Fort Hood

At least six months ago, Hasan came to the attention of law enforcement officials because of Internet postings about suicide bombings and other threats, including posts that equated suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save the lives of their comrades. (quoted from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091106/ap_on_re_us/us_fort_hood_shooting)

And yet, they kept him in the military, on active duty, and slated him to be sent to the Middle East? What's wrong with this picture?

Technology and Being Quiet

Are we too technologically dependent?

I'm currently writing this on my laptop, and find myself letting it catch my spelling mistakes rather than paying too close attention myself. As I'm writing this, I'm not connected to the Internet, and it amazes me how much it has become an everyday part of my life. I'm used to popping open a browser and checking things out as I have an idea, rather than having to remember things and look into them at a later point. Is that good? Is it good that I can just check out a thought as I have it, or do I lose something by not formulating my ideas into concrete to do lists? What does it say about me that I feel somewhat lost not being able to connect? I don't have access to Google, Facebook, Pandora, or any of the other sites that have become a part of my daily life. I can't sync my files using my dropbox (a great little program if I can give it my own little plug. If you're interested in using it, let me know and I'll invite you – that way we both get 250 Megabytes of storage added to our accounts) and since the laptop has been out of service for a few weeks, I don't have the current version of my files on it locally. Does this bother me? It's an inconvenience, but I think I can survive. However, the fact that being “unplugged,” so to speak, is so very noticeable to me when it happens, makes me more convinced than ever that perhaps we need to unplug regularly. I am becoming more and more of a fan of taking time to be quiet. Watch the sunset. Watch it rise. Sit and listen to the wind. Take some time to see what the Bible says about being quiet. I know I've written about this before, but I'm becoming more convinced that we really need to do it. We are so caught up in the busyness of life, we need to step apart for a time to really appreciate what we have, and to take stock of where we need to go. As it has been aptly said, “Take time to come apart before you come apart.”

What a month!

I'm about to start what may very well be the busiest month of my life. That may be an exaggeration, but if so, not by much. I'm starting the month with a weekend trip to New York. We have come down for the weekend to celebrate my Grandma's 95^th Birthday. I can't imagine the history she has lived through. In talking to her today, I found out that she has seen Glen Miller (among others) perform live.

I digress. Currently we are in New York. As of November 1, I am going to be attempting to take part in Nanowrimo, the North American Novel Writing Month. It is an annual contest challenging people to write a novel of 50000 words or more in the month of November. The only requirement is word count, not content. It is not meant to be an attempt to write the Great American Novel, only as a challenge actually get out there and write. I have so many story ideas banging around in my head, and I have started many of them, only to let them fall abandoned, lonely and forgotten about by the wayside. My goal with nanowrimo is to actually finish one, or at least put so much effort into it that I will not be able to leave it alone until it is finished. (For anyone who is interested, my story is titled Riftwalker. I will probably be posting updates throughout the month for any who are interested. Actually, considering what this month looks like, maybe I won't be posting any updates until December. We'll see.

So, New York, Nanowrimo, and work. At work, we are preparing for multiple visits from a couple big customers, and possibly a company wide audit. These visits usually mean extra hours as we make sure everything is in order and take care of details. They are also used as an excuse by top management to get certain projects finished.

On top of all these things, we are preparing to purchase a house, hopefully closing and moving by the end of the month. I still can't fully wrap my mind around that, but it really seems that the Lord is lining things up for us, and that this is actually going to happen. We really would like to be in by the end of November, since Gail's folks are coming up for a visit, and it would be nice for them to be able to see our new house.

I currently have three documents open that I'm working on, because I have so many things circling around in my head right now that I am trying to make lists so I remember them all. In fact, I just took a 15 minute intermission from writing this blog post to start another blog post (yes, that means I had four going at once) to challenge myself and others to take time to be quiet.

Well, that's all I have time for tonight. Good night all, and if I don't get around to posting any during the month of November, have a happy Thanksgiving!

Quick update

Things are crazy at work right now - we just had a visit from one of our biggest customers, and are going to have another visit from another customer next week. I'm thankful for the overtime, but I miss my family.

I've got to say - I'm sick and tired of  Joe Wilson or anyone else who disagrees with Obama being labelled a racist. My disagreement with the president has nothing to do with his skin color. Rather I disagree on a much more fundamental level - his character and belief system. He is a socialist, I am not. He lies about his policies and motivations, I do not. He has proven grossly inadequate to run this country, and that will remain a fact whether he is black, white, or turquoise. Odd how all the ones who were celebrating the end of racism in america when Obama was elected are now revealing themselves as the most bigoted racists out there by slandering all who disagree with them.

I'm tired and incoherent - I need sleep.

Good night!

The Lost art of Quietness

When was the last time you were quiet? I don't mean the peaceful sigh when they kids are finally in bed and you lay your head back and enjoy the peace for 30 seconds before drifting off to sleep. Sitting and watching a movie while shushing all comments doesn't count either. Nor am I referring to the time you spend sitting in Church, because then you are either listening to the message or letting your mind wander..."Oh, I need to remember to talk to them after the service. I need to remember to get gas before we head home - we're almost out. Well, that's an interesting outfit! I wonder how the game is going to go today. Did I remember to start the crockpot? Does it look like it's going to rain? I hope I turned the iron off before we left. She does know those perfume bottles aren't single use right?" I mean a peaceful stepping away from the stresses and worries of the world, setting aside the distractions, and simply sitting, appreciating creation and The Creator.

This last Monday, we had a great opportunity to be quiet. We hiked to the top of one of the mountains in the area and enjoyed the sunset. Ok, I'll admit, initially my quietness was not necesarily a conscious decision on my part, really it was more of an unconscious one (i.e. I was nearly unconscious after hiking up the mountain with 40+ pounds on my back). But as my overburdended lungs slowly returned oxygen to my brain and feeling returned to my extremities, I was able to appreciate the peaceful setting (even more so after the pounding in my ears lessened). Our goal was to see the sunset, and watch the moonrise. We arrived shortly after the sun had slipped behind one of the neighboring mountains, but it was still very beautiful. Most people were finishing up their hikes, so after waiting a while, the mountain top thinned out, and we had it to ourselves. Sitting there peacefully, I realized it had been a very long time since I had actually watched a sunset, and then continued watching as the stars came out. (If you've never done this, I encourage you to. There is nothing like it in the world.)

Our society is so schedule driven that we never have empty time. We have so much that we want to do, so we are always going, always doing. We truly don't know how to be quiet anymore. If you don't believe me, take 30 minutes and just sit. Don't read. Don't watch TV. Don't listen to music. Don't schedule what you're going to do with the rest of your evening. Don't sleep. Just sit. Pick a verse and meditate on it. Really notice the creation that surrounds you, and thank God for it. Contemplate what characteristics of God are emphasized by what surrounds you. As we were sitting on the mountain top, it's almost as if it takes a while for the echoes of the noise that daily surrounds us (both actual and metaphorical) to die down. But as they do finally die down, it becomes easier to sit and appreciate the quiet. After a while of sitting, we could faintly hear a loon cry drift up from the lake below. I love how after a while of sitting still in a quiet place, you begin to actually hear your surroundings

This musing on quietness led me to read the references to quiet in the Bible, and it was really eye-opening to me to see how quietness is referred to. Today, we often hear quietness described in a negative way, as in someplace is too quiet. Even when we are quiet, we usually need some sort of "white noise" to help. Reading the verses on quietness in the Bible, quietness is always referred to as something to be sought after. It was a blessing, a thing desired. Lack of quiet was a curse or a punishment. This made me ask the question, 'How could something that was seen as a blessing and a reward from God come to be viewed as undesireable?' The world tries to cover the void that exists in their lives in any way possible. They use flashing lights, amusement parks, music, and any number of other things to draw their attention away from the emptiness of their lives. I say the world, but really it is Satan. He is the one trying to cover the void, so people don't try to fill it, however he finds willing accomplices as people try anything and everything to fill the void in their lives. Magicians use lights and noise and a steady stream of chatter to direct our eyes away from what they are doing, so that we only see what they want us to see. It's the same with Satan. The real coup d’état for Satan is when we as Christians are drawn in by his distractions. He may no longer have a death-grip on us, but by drawing us into his distractions, he ensures that we will not share with others the true solution to their empty lives. By being drawn in, we effectively become no longer someone who is able to provide the solution, but rather an additional distraction.

Well, I've rambled on far too long, especially when I'm encouraging quietness! I'd like to leave you with they lyrics of a song I really like by Caedmon's Call that I think are quite appropriate to this monologue.

Masquerade
Caedmon's Call

On an open stretch of freeway
Underneath the canvas clouds
The blackness after evening
Swallowed everything around
But just up head on the open horizon
We caught the faintest glow
And as we drew near
it seemed so clear that the
dark would have to go

In the center of the city
Comes the illusion of the day
When everything looks pretty
It's easy to think you've found the way
But it's all just a big masquerade

It was thirty-six months earlier
On that same old lonesome road
And that same old darkness lingered
Just before the lightning show
And the thunder
cracked down
And His lightning conquered everything around
That dark had to flee
Now the light of the little town
Was as dark as the night compared to His light

Reorganization

Well, I've decided that managing one blog is too much work for me, so I'm going to try to manage three instead. That doesn't make sense you say? Acutally, in a twisted way it sort of does. I'm separating my thoughts out some more and compartmentalizing.

Thoughts from the North is going to remain my more personal/general blog where I'll try to keep posting about the family and things we're doing.

Views from my House is going to be my political soapbox for me to rant from, and hopefully educate about our political situation.

Digital Darkroom is going to be a place for me to record my experiments with Digital photography, especially from an Open Source/Linux point of view. While the main thrust is going to be Linux related software, I will endeavor to include options that are available on multiple platforms.

That's all for now - I've got to run and finish (read: start) packing for my trip!

Time slips away again!

It never ceases to amaze me how time slips by. I've actually tried to write a couple times this past week, but just didn't feel up to it. Monday afternoon, I came down with a bug/flu, and it really took it out of me for a couple days.

On a larger scale, I noticed the date today (6/12) and realized that I have been dating my current wonderful girlfriend for 12 years. I just can't believe it. It seems like yesterday we were talking about getting married and on our honeymoon. Now we've got a wonderful 2 year old, and are planning on celebrating our 10th anniversary next weekend.

In an unrelated side-note, those of you who know me, know that I love to cook. Tonight, Gail made a delicious Strawberry Shortcake, and I helped prepare the strawberries. I had heard on a cooking show about a quick and easy way to core your strawberries. First, to explain why coring is necessary, the inner white core of the strawberry is basically flavorless, and so by leaving it in the berry, it basically dilutes the flavor. However, if you've ever worked with strawberries, you know that they break down very quickly after slicing, and are generally a delicate fruit. The easiest way to core them is to use a large star frosting tip. Pull the leaves off, then gently insert the point of the tip into the top (where the leaves were) end of the strawberry. You may have to gently rock it back and forth or slightly twist it to get it in. After inserting it, give it a twist and remove it. If you did it properly, they complete hull of the strawberry should pop out.

Tadpoles and Moon Sand

We had a fun time today. Friday night, Daniel experienced his first stomach flu, and was miserable. The poor little guy couldn't even keep a sip of water down. Thankfully, after he went to sleep, he had a pretty good night. Because of that, we decided to lay low today, even though he seemed fine. We figured it would be better to do that than for Gail and/or myself to risk spreading it around the church family.

After lunch, we braved the overcast weather and took a trip to the local park, where I got to watch Daniel play on the slides, and marvel at how much bigger he is than the last time I was able to go there with him (which was about a year ago!)

When we finished on the swings and slides, we went for a walk around the pond, and Daniel got to see tadpoles, and even a fish (not sure what kind). However, the fun part of the day was when we got to make moon sand. If you've got kids, you've probably noticed this stuff next to the Play Dough in the toy section. It's basically wet sand that you can mold and play with. I looked it up and found a recipe. It's very complex:

1 part water
2 parts cornstarch
4 parts play sand (You can add food coloring to color the sand different colors, or Crayola sells colored sand.)

Thoroughly mix the cornstarch and water, then add the sand a cup at a time.

I'm not sure how the end result compares with the actual moon sand product. I think my proportions may have been off a little, and our sand was pretty damp to start with, but the nice thing is, it's pretty forgiving, and after it dries out, you can "recharge" it with a few tablespoons of water.

Any of you with kids (or kids at heart) need to make this recipe, especially if you've never played with cornstarch and water. When you mix it, you must do it by hand to really appreciate what's going on. Slowly move your hand, and it's liquid; move it faster and it's a thick paste; slap it or squeeze it, and it feels solid. We (allright, I) had a lot of fun just playing with the cornstarch and water, but when you add the sand, it retains similar characteristics.

Anyhow, that was our day, and so far no one else seems to have come down with the flu, so we're pretty thankful.

Snakes and random things

We went for our evening walk today after I got back from work, and I had a chance to see something I'd never seen before - a milksnake. It was just a young one, and he was sunning himself on the road. Somehow, he had been missed by all traffic, so I encouraged him off the road. Daniel was interested, but since the snake didn't feel like moving all that much, I don't think he really understood that it was alive. He identified it right away, which surprised me, as I don't think we have too many books with pictures of snakes, but he seemed to know what it was!

I've been discouraged the past couple days. It started on Friday, when I got an email from my supervisor, indicating our group was going to have a meeting on Wednesday. Judging from the tone of the email, I (accurately) surmised that it wasn't a chance to thank us for a job well done.

However, even with that, I was not prepared for what followed. There were a couple valid complaints that I had already identified and was working on. Apparently, she felt that she didn't have quite enough to totally demoralize us just with her own complaints, so she collected feedback from other people in the office, weeded out anything that was remotely good or complementary, and made sure we heard in stark detail every negative thing (justified or not) that had been said about us.

Talk about demoralizing. In one brief meeting (that felt much longer than it acutally was) I went from respecting my supervisor and enjoying my job to feeling sick to my stomach when I think about going back to work. I don't think I've ever been closer to walking out on a job than I have been since that meeting.

The worst part is, now I feel like I can't trust anyone at work, because I have had no negative feedback from any person, but apparently, there are people who have a problem with my work, and don't mind talking about it behind my back but smile and act like a friend to my face.

Well, I apologize for whining and complaining like this. I hope your week has been better!

Gardening

Well, I'm glad to report that our garden has been fully planted. Our evening service was canceled so I took advantage of the extra time to finish planting. As usual, it took much longer than I anticipated, but at least it is fini.

Of course, now that the garden is in and all our plants have been planted, there's a possibility of frost tonight. Yes, you read that correctly. June 1st we have to wake up and check to see if we had a *frost*. So where's this global warming we're hearing so much about? I could use some warming right about now (not much mind you, I don't enjoy the hot weather, but a chance of frost? in June?)

Oh well, such is life.

It's that time of year again!

Apparently, I get the urge to start blogging about this time every year. I didn't realize this until I decided to check in and make a new post, and saw the topic of my last post. It's amazing how fast time slips past!

We've had a busy year, and are continuing to remain busy. Work is pretty steady, and as usual, I've got more hobbies than I know what to do with. I've been working with Drupal, hoping to learn web design as a potential job. My goal is to be able to work from home. I'm tired of spending my life away from my family. I get home each day and feel like there's barely enough time so say hi to them, and then everyone is going to bed.

As part of my goal to learn Drupal, I've been using Linux more, since most servers these days run on Linux. Of course, my other goal has been to find an alternative to the beast in Redmond (also known as Windows). I tried a beta of Windows 7 which is just Vista with a few tweaks. The reality of the matter is, Vista has some security features that Microsoft is finally trying to incorporate, but as usual, they took a good job and have worked their hardest to screw it up until the original good idea is no longer identifiable underneath all the security holes and bugs they added in. In my quest for a solid Linux replacement for Windows, I stumbled across Kubuntu (a variation of Ubuntu that ships with KDE rather than Gnome). It is hands down the most user friendly Linux distro that I have ever found, and the level of sophistication found in Linux software has made huge advancements over the last few years. You wouldn't beleive what is available for free.

I have also been picking Greek back up. So far I've only been revisiting my vocab words, and trying to follow along in Church, but at least that's something!

The other activity that has been taking my time is finally trying to teach myself guitar. I don't know how long it has been since Gail got my guitar for me, but to my shame it has spent most of the time gathering dust in the corner. Recently, however, my shame caused by it's neglect and layer of dust finally overcame my innate inertia, in what I hope is going to be a continuing habit, I've been trying to practice for 10-15 minutes a day.

Well, I'm going to wrap it up for tonight, hopefully this will be something else I can be more faithful to, and more regular with. If not, I'll see you next year!