Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Finally Fixed...

For as long as I can remember, the only chair in my room has been broken. Recently it almost reached the point of no return, as you can see.


Molly was quite fascinated by the old glue.

A little too fascinated...


My seat in the mean time.

After taking it apart, my dad and I used J-B weld to put in back together.


At one point, many years ago, my Dad refinished the desk, chair, and dresser set.



To tell you the truth, it's not the most comfortable work station. But the neat thing about it is that my Dad worked on it when he was young. It makes my happy to see the chair restored for future generations.

...'til next time....

:)

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Broken Promises

I want to apologize to my readers for not posting recently. I have been working on a few posts, but have been very busy lately. Just what has been keeping me so busy may show up in later posts... We shall see.

In the mean time, I thought some of you would enjoy this...

Sunday, October 4, 2009

The Man Bag

A recent trend for many guys is to carry "messenger bags" or "man bags". I have found that many guys have tagged right along with this recent change (including myself), while others are still tentative to use this accessory. Before I go over the different points of view, lets talk about their history!

Messenger/man bags are not a new addition to a men's apparel. Throughout most of history, messengers used over-the-shoulder bags to carry messages and goods. In fact, men carried bags over there shoulders before women did. Even to this day, Royal Mail Carriers in the United Kingdom use large messenger bags to deliver mail. Almost every war had couriers that delivered messages in bags.

Some people don't agree with men wearing bags because they think it makes them look effeminate. I think this can be true. It all depends on how you wear it and what the bag looks like. If you are a guy thinking about carrying one and are worried about this, find one made from distressed leather. Problem solved.

You might say, "Well thats nice, but why carry a bag today?" Men carry them for many different reasons but my main reason is this: I usually like to carry around more stuff then will fit into my pockets. It's that simple.

Here is a list of the things I usually carry around....

_-wallet
_-keys (my keys now hang off the side)
_-digital camera
_-camera charger
_-sometimes my iphone (but usually stays in pocket)
_-ipod/iphone USB
_-spare ipod nano
_-set of earbuds
_-another set of earbuds
_-sunglass
_-tin whistle
_-business cards



_-decorated notepad (thanks to Michelle, Gabe's little sister :)
_-a few misc. cables
_-assortment of pens and a pencil
_-Gum (thanks Lane)
_- iphone's Otterbox belt clip
_-iphone cleaning cloth
_-box cutter
_-always my 16gb Flash Drive...

Those are the things that I almost always have in my bag. I also sometimes carry...

_-Day Timer
_-checkbook
_-bank deposits
_-receipts
_-invoices
_-laptop
_-change of clothes
_-germ-X!
_-Frisbee
_-My Bible (I always carry my i phone's Bible)
_-my friends things that have been left at my house ;)
_-things to give to other people


(This is another bag that I'm planning to use
in the future)


I could go on about things I sometimes carry, but I think you get the picture. It is true that I may not use all those things all of the time, but many times, it's nice to have them on hand. I hope you enjoyed this! Tell me if you did!

What do you think about "Man Bags"?

Boston 7/2/09

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Always Ready

I recently finished reading Always Ready by Dr. Greg Bahnsen. Bahnsen is a master at laying a concrete epistemology Foundation. Always Ready hits hard on the evils of neutrality and the foolishness of unbelief. His literary work really teaches you how to defend the the faith and intellectually be Always Ready to give an answer.

In one section of the book he writes how we need to be aware of the unbelievers assumptions of metaphysics (nature of reality) The following is an excerpt from Chapter 28, Bahnsen writes:

"Imagine that you have a colleague at work who graduated from college and fancies himself somewhat intellectual about matters of religion. According to him, there is no God and no spiritual realm (or spiritual events, spiritual forces) whatsoever. This physical world is all there is to reality. Moreover, this colleague finds it intellectually impossible to accept the Christian outlook because in contains what he deems logical contradictions within itself (say, that God is one yet three, or that God is loving and all-powerful but there is evil in the world). According to him, we cannot know anything to be true which conflicts with the laws of logic. The veiled problem in the thinking of your colleague is that his view of reality (metaphysic) does not comport whatsoever with his view of knowledge (epistemology). He can not simultaneously and consistently be committed to the laws of logic and the view that reality is solely physical in nature. You cannot touch or taste a law of logic; nor could you identify one with a sophisticated instrument devised be a physicist. Laws of logic are not physical, and thus given your colleague's perspective, laws of logic are not real anyway"

I love these types of arguments, they build us up in the faith and teach us how to be strong intellectually and "always ready" to give an answer. I think it is important for Christians to keep a constant read list to make us ever more passionate for truth. I recommend this book to everyone. But I would not recommend it as a bed time story. I found it required a pretty high concentration level.

I Hope you enjoyed my mini book review. May God bless you.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Reformation Vacation! - Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of our amazing trip to Boston! I finally got my camera going by this point so most of these pictures were taken by me.... I hope you all enjoy.

__________________________________________________
Day 3

After breakfast and a seminar or two, we set off on a mini tour of the State House with Dr. Paul Jehle! The State House is on top of Beacon Hill. The hill was excavated so that the dirt could be used to fill in the bay due to population increase. The tour started in the Boston Commons.


Dr. Jehle teaching about Boston's founding

English Puritans, led by John Winthrop, founded Boston in 1630 .




More Teachings


Ok, now we at the state house...

The height of Beacon Hill use to be the top of the gold dome.


Across the street you could see the Shaw/ 54th Regiment Memorial, the Black Union Unit.



Looking on...




A good shot of Dad!

One of my favorites!


The next several shots were taken inside the State House....

The flag room!


Descriptions of the flags


The man himself!


Lovely stained glass....

One of the stain glass circles in the ceiling.


Simply amazing historical artwork....




My Art :)

After the State House tour, we had lunch and walked back to the Commons for our next tour: Calvinistic Preachers. Dr. Joesph Morecraft told us how great men like Increase Mather, Cotton Mather, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Samuel Davies, and others were greatly influenced by Calvin.


Later that evening...


George Washington speaking to the audience about God's providence...

If I remember correctly, these men were in there 90's and had been actively preserving the accurate history of Plymouth for decades...

__________________________________________________________
Day 4

We woke up early on Independence Day to participate in the parade.


Gathering to parade around the Commons...

Nice camera!




Fortunately in a great spot for taking pictures of the line behind us..


The Thomas Family drum and fife leading the ladies line.




This might be my favorite picture of the whole event!










He was cute...


Think anyone looks out of place?


The celebration continued after we marched back to the hotel!


Later that evening...

Back on the Commons!

Everyone was gathered around the to watch the show!

ooooo

ahhhh


Thanks again Lauren for the pics on the previous post and the fireworks on this one! And Emily Case for taking these last two pics of my family

Two more videos as promised!



You guys did great!!! I enjoyed your family's music as much as Mr. Zahm. Thanks!


What a way to finish the conference! Thanks to all you great people at Vision Forum!


7/4/09 Boston