Getting there, but bushed!

Today was the day that would be reminiscent of what the goats have coming (as opposed to what the sheep can expect! LOL!).

When I got to the house, I dug out the flatbed, which is a chore in itself. I built my garage as a "drive-through" so I could keep the flatbed trailer in the back yard. Getting it out to use it entails moving the boat out of the garage and dropping that trailer out on the street, then backing through the garage and hooking up to the flatbed, moving it out and dropping it on the street, hooking back up to the boat trailer and backing it back into the garage, and then hooking up the flatbed and backing it back into the driveway. Now, all by itself, that's usually about a half an hours worth! Anyway, when I got done with that, I mowed the yard front and back, and then ran the weedeater all over the yard. Mind you, it's already about 250 degrees in the shade, so THAT got me sweating a bit! After I cooled off a bit, I finished the trim work in the bathroom, caulked and primed all of it. I'll do the finish coat tomorrow. When I got done with that, I cleaned up the mess in the living room (it's where I'd been doing all of my sawing and mitering) and started loading stuff onto the flatbed. I simply loaded all of the tools I'd been using into a box and put that in the truck. Then I broke down the sleigh bed in the back bedroom and loaded the matresses and bed pieces onto the trailer. Next came the armoir. Now, my armoir is large - it can be used as a TV cabinet or as a clothes closet. It almost killed me to move it, but I got it done without dieing! Then I loaded up my dresser, which is also very large and heavy. Oh, I also loaded my sawhorses, the dining room table (with the 4 chairs that go with it), and a box full of bathroom stuff. Now, I've unloaded all of that at my new abode and I'm once again cooling off. Tomorrow is another day - I think I'll move something HEAVY tomorrow! LOL!

The sheep don't know how good they've got it! - Dan

remind me to buy "new" next time!

Well, as anyone who's been following along knows, I'm in the middle of a remodeling/refurbishment of my house. I've finished the living room, and it looks great! Then I started the bathroom. Oh, my goodness! The sink base was rotten, so I disconnected the sink and put the base on the curb. The commode came up easily enough, but there isn't much of a flange left to mount it back on, so I'm going to have to get one of those spacer deals so it's actually got something to seal against when the wax ring is installed. I pulled up the linoleum, which revealed the crack in the slab that I knew was there - I just didn't know how wide it was! It goes 3/8 to 1/2 inches in most locations! it hasn't moved since I had the foundation leveled a couple of summers ago, but it needs to be sealed and leveled so I can put the ceramic tile down. Oh, I decided to remove sheet rock up to about 32" so I could check plumbing and what not, only to find that all of the 2x4's, including the base plate, were rotten - so I had to saw them off, install a new base plate, and sandwich new wood where the old studs were so that there's something there to nail to when the wainscoting goes up. Whew! Anyway, I finished the studs yesterday. So far today, I've cut and fitted a backer to replace where the sheet rock was and replaced a rotten elbow and close pipe for the drain stub. Then, I mixed up a big batch of thinset and filled in and leveled the crack in the slab. I'll have to do it again in the morning, but at least it's a start and the thinset I'll use to mortar the tiles in place will also act as leveling if I'm careful about how the tiles are placed (making sure its a level installation as I go). Well, got to go. I've got a piece of the beaded panel that I used on the ceiling in the LR that I'm going to use as wainscote in the bathroom and I've got to cut it in half. - Dan

Cracking up!

Recently I wrote that it seemed as though television over the public airwaves is sponsored with distrubing regularity by pharmaceutical firms who, it seems to me, are making their best effort to market directly to the public. What's the purpose? Even though they always say "ask your doctor if blah-blah-blah is right for you," I think the real reason is to make people identify with the actors and then conjure up whatever ailment is supposed to be cured by the miracle drug being sold. Why else would they do it? If someone had the symptoms described without any prompt, wouldn't the person affected go to their doctor and tell him/her so? Wouldn't the doctor then offer choices and counsel the patient about possible side effects? If not, maybe you're seeing the wrong doctor! Anyway, the whole thing rather disturbs me. I am not a doctor and I don't want some 30-second spot on television offering me a list of symptoms that I can adopt as my own and then offer MY advise to my doctor regarding a potential cure! Oh well - off the soapbox on that one for now!

What made me laugh, and brought the subject to mind once again, was a commercial my darling bride and I saw last evening. It was a drug to alleviate the symptoms of RLS, but it was not the same concoction that's been advertised in the past. Sorry, I don't recall the name of the compound; I was laughing too hard at the end of the advertisement to catch it. As they were listing the possible side effects, they mentioned that an "increased desire for sexual activity or gambling" may result from taking this particular drug! SEXUAL ACTIVITY OR GAMBLING!!! I looked at my darling wife and said, "Man! We've got to get some of that! We can go gambling, and then have sex! Or, even better, we can have sex WHILE we're gambling! It'll be awesome!!!" Corporately, we thought that that was about the funniest thing we'd ever heard! I know they have to list side effects, but a couple of questions come to mind. First, if a drug might cause you to lose normal inhibition and have an increased desire for purient pleasure, why on earth would anyone ever take it anyway? Second, how on earth did they discover this interesting side effect? I mean, did the monkeys they tested it on start spontaneous breeding while wagering for bananas, or what? In human trials, how did that go? "Ma'am, did you experience any unusual sensation or symptom while taking the drug?" "Oh, yes! I had an uncontrollable urge to fly to Vegas and bet the mortgage and while I was there, I had seventeen gigilos up to the room!"

Someone please beam me up! Crazy glue got into the water supply and it's having a deleterious side effect! - Dan

change of plans

Well, as usual, I'm pretty busy! I just changed the oil in my truck and I'm only posting while I'm waiting for it to drain back into the crankcase (changed the filter, too; you have to run it for a minute and then allow the oil to drain back down so you can top it off). Anyway, here's the change. We decided to stay in her house and sell mine, so I'm finishing up the projects I started to get it ready to put on the market. The living room (if I do say so myself) looks AWESOME!!! I put in wainscoting with a chair rail (called a "lip" for such applications) and now I'm doing the baseboard. I finished up the crown moulding yesterday and painted. This morning, I did a little repair work to the ceiling (I put in a beaded ceiling panel over the Christmas break and painted it antique white, but it had a couple of "dips" that had to be repaired, so I did that yesterday) and touched up the paint. It also looks pretty good (or, at the very least, a WHOLE lot better than the sheet rock ceiling that was in place when I bought the place!). Anyway, the "wow" factor upon entering my humble abode is a lot better than before, so I may be able to get my asking price without too much hassle. When I finish the base, I'm putting ceramic tile in the bathroom, along with a new sink base, wainscoting, chair rail, and baseboard. It ought to look pretty good, too, when I get done. Oh well, that's enough time for the oil to drain. Got to get back at it! - Dan

rambling

I guess my mind is a little different than most folks. I tend to make mental connectios that most people don't think about at first blush. For example:

If whale oil comes from whales, where does baby oil come from?

A friend tried to commit suicide by slashing his wrists with a razor, but it didn't work. He forgot to plug it in.

If I tell you that I'm Lysdexic, do I get a handicapped sticker on the front or the back of the car?

The other day I got my hair cut. Several people asked me, "Dan, did you get your hair cut?" I said, "No, I got both of them cut."

If I dreamed I was a Michelin, would I wake up tired?"


Today I saw a bumper sticker that said "Unions - the people who brought you weekends." I'm sorry, but I thought that weekends were God's idea? I mean, didn't he choose Saturday as His day of rest? Didn't we Christians move the Sabbath to Sunday in honor of Jesus' resurrection? I think God had a lot to do (uh...EVERYTHING to do) with weekends and the union had NOTHING to do with it!

Am I imagining things or is television being brought to us by one syndrome after another these days? I mean, you may have read from my previous posts that I consider myself extremely blessed and one of my greatest blessings is good health, so I have a hard time commiserating with people who have various ailments. I guess, being nearly 50, I can relate to a few of them, but it seems as though every person in America should have, oh, 5 or 6 ailments apiece to finance all of the prescription drug commercials that are on every 5 minutes of so. Either that, or the amount of money that drug companies make on every prescription is OUTRAGEOUS!! I have a feeling it's the latter, but I do worry that people are being made to question their health so they "ask their doctor" and get prescriptions they don't really need just because they talked themself into the newest syndrome because of commercials. I have to go. My restless legs are acting up and I have to go take a pill. - Dan

Blessed!

I'm so blessed I can hardly see straight! Praise God in His highest heaven for all of the wonderful blessings He's given me!

Let's see if I can list a few:

1. I met, fell in love with, and married the most wonderful woman on the planet! She absolutely completes me in every way and she doesn't seem to see any of my faults at all! I love her absolutely!

2. I have excellent health, which after years of looking over annual physical reports for the entire workforce of my former employer, is somewhat rare! Last check-up, my blood pressure was 114/72 (I told the nurse that it's not usually that high...I must be nervous!), my cholesterol was 130 (but my HDL was in the "high" range, which means my chance of an arterial blockage in my heart is practically nil), my EKG showed abnormal because of bradycardia (heart beats too slow!) and my chest x-ray was clear (except for the clear image of Jesus in the middle - looked a little like the image on the shroud of Turin!)

3. I have a great job, which I dearly love! I'm a teacher and coach, as many probably know already. "My" kids keep me young at heart and coaching the boys in football and basketball has been my lifelong dream! So basically, I'm living out my fantasy at work!

4. A couple of months back, I got a new truck. It's a 2007 F-150 Supercab (I always buy a supercab - more interior storage for those things that need to be kept dry and clean). For some reason, I qualified for 0% financing, which made the note on the new truck about $200 less per month than what I was paying on the old one!

5. I know I don't have to tell anyone who knows me, but for the "tirekickers" out there, my greatest blessing of all is that Jesus loves me! He took me in, washed me clean, forgave me of all of the bad things I've ever done or thought, and sent His own Holy Spirit to live in me and help me live in Him! This is truly the greatest blessing of all and I will praise God every day for it forever!

Okay...I know that I've listed some pretty terrific things and you may be thinking "this guy's life is just peaches and cream! No troubles at all!" Well, I have the same problems a lot of other people have, I just don't dwell on them and I don't let them steal my joy! The problems I have are miniscule compared to the blessings, so why should I dwell on the speck of sawdust when the plank is so big? The moral of the story? Count your blessings and make a choice to praise God for what He's given rather than worry about what you DON'T have! Praise God forever! - Dan

atheism

I'll admit it; I have a lot of respect for atheists. I mean...such FAITH! Let's face it - we're surrounded by articles of blind faith all the time! The other day it occurred to me just how faithful you have to be to operate a motor vehicle. I drive on those "4-lane separated by a double-yellow stripe" type roads all of the time. What's to stop someone from simply saying "oh, yeah? That little bit of paint isn't going to stop ME" and just coming across into the oncoming lanes of traffic. Forget maliced intention - what's to say one of those guys doesn't have blow-out and swerve into oncoming traffice by accident? Driving, then, is a HUGE act of faith! You know what else is a huge act of faith? Atheism! How can anyone examine the evidence of God's existence and come to the conclusion that all of the order in the universe is some huge cosmic accident? I don't get it, but I'll hand it to the atheists - their faith MUST be significant to come to that conclusion in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary! What sort of evidence? Well, here's a few items of the hundreds I could present:

1. We can isolate all of the chemicals that make up a simple cell and mix them in the correct proportions, but we cannot make it live.

2. The earth is located 93 million miles from the sun - if it were further away, planetary temperatures would be too cold to sustain life; if it were closer, the planet would be a desert.

3. Even with identical genetic material, identical twins have unique fingerprints.

4. Despite exhaustive attempts to locate one, no link between modern man and the fossils of ancient humanoid creatures has ever been found. Modern man just "suddenly" appeared on the scene appromimately 50,000 years ago.

Now, I know the devout atheist will find a way to punch holes in these statements. Isn't that what the faithful do? Defend their faith? Absolutely! However, based upon the ever-changing science that forms the basis of their faith, these statements are incontovertible. We CAN in fact isolate and mix in proper proportion all of the chemicals in even the simplest cell (even an archeabacteria, known to live in the harshest of environments fills the bill!), but we cannot provide the spark of life! That honor belongs to God alone! The fact that the earth is in a perfect position to sustain our carbon-based life forms is also inarguable. It IS where it IS and if it were not there, life as we know it could not be sustained here for long! Identical twins DO have different fingerprints! But wait! I thought that chromosomes, made up of genes and genes made up of DNA controlled every aspect of our make-up? If two individuals have identical DNA, shouldn't they be identical in every way? I guess not! And then there's man. Archeologists and Paleontologists will tell you that Australopithecanus is the ancient ancestor of man and that he evolved from that line to the present. As evidence they'll tell you that the little monkey-like creature made and used tools, a sure sign of higher intelligence. Uh...I've seen a racoon break a clam on a rock! Is a racoon my ancestor, too? If monkeys evolved into human beings, why do we still have monkeys? Didn't they like being human? Maybe the air conditioning and the advantages of fire were too much for the little fellows! I mean, picking ticks off of your sister may be a lot of fun, but COME ON NOW!!!

Anyway, I admire atheists! It takes a lot of faith to ignore the truth and follow a lot of half-baked theories and suppositions as gospel! My faith only allows me to drive on the "four lanes separated by a double-yellow stripe" without worrying too much! (After all, if someone does have a blow-out and swerve into the oncoming traffice, I know where I'll be right after I draw my last breath! - Dan

packing

As I mentioned before, my darling bride and I were married on June 7th. As with most "seconds" I guess, we both have houses and a lot of duplicate "stuff," much of which will go into storage for kids/grandkids, down to Goodwill, or just out on the curb. Sorting through and packing is never fun, but necessary. We're going to sell her house and she's moving into mine, which is going to be much cheaper. The downside to THAT is that I've got some repairs and updating to do and I don't have much time to get it done. I'm putting a new floor (going with Pergo, I think) in the living room, but I'm doing crown moulding and wainscoting with a chair rail first. Today, I'm finishing up the sheet rock repairs and painting. Part of that gig included moving all of the electrical outlets up (they're all about 5" off the floor!) and then finishing it off with the 6" baseboards. It ought to look NEAT when I get done, but it's going to be a fair amount of work! That said, I'm off to get busy now! - Dan

This is the Day that the Lord has made! Rejoice and be glad in it!

You've probably heard that verse of scripture a thousand times, but how often do we really understand what it means and put it into practice?

Literally, the moment of the present, that is, our very ability to comprehend our own existence, comes from God! Do animals understand their own consciousness? What would their behavior suggest? Do they interact with caring and compassion, or is every day just another day of hunting and gathering, of instinct-driven activity, and of survival? I think you know the answer to that one! We alone have the ability to understand our place in the cosmos and we alone (collectively) have the ability to change the outcome of our own circumstance just because of the intellect that God has blessed us with! Therefore, we alone have the ability to understand God's work in the universe and appreciate what He's done! In Hebrews, God tells us that the universe is upheld by the power of His Word! We know also from scripture that God's Word never returns to Him without accomplishing what He intended. The KJV uses the word "void." Such being the case, "the day that the Lord has made" is an act of His will; it only comes about because He said so! How wonderful is that! Thank You, God, for giving us this day! Thank You for blessing us so! Thank You for providing us bread this day and for upholding the universe by the power of your Word! It stands to reason, doesn't it, that Jesus asked only for "this day's bread" as He prayed the Lord's Prayer! Tomorrow, if it comes, is yet another blessing unspoken, for God has the ability, at any time to simply say "nevermind," and all of His creation would simply cease to exist! I rejoice in the fact that God has given us His plan in the Holy scripture and that He has given us assurance that His plan will be accomplished in His time! Praise God forever! - Dan

babysitting

I know I've been out of touch for awhile...it happens every year for about 6 months or more as we do first football and then basketball. The school year always keeps me hopping regardless, and this year I taught a special summer camp throughout the month of June (and got married on the 7th, praise God!) so this summer has been even shorter than usual!

This past September, I became a grandfather for the first time. My youngest daughter had a daughter herself, so I'm becoming aclimated to the wonderful world of babysitting again! Guess what? Dirty diapers STILL stink, bottles are still a pain (why can't they keep them IN the crib?), and everything in the world that crawls, creeps, or has nasty disease will STILL wind up in her mouth! The good part - my granddaughter is absolutely the BEST child I've ever seen, and that's not just grandpa talking! She NEVER cries, always giggles and laughs, and just has the best nature of any baby I've ever seen, my own included! In short, she's a real joy! What makes it even better is that my new wife just adores my grandaughter and is SO good with her! You'd swear that the child was her own! What a blessing she is to me!

Well, if you're reading this, I know you don't believe a word of it because grandpas are ALWAYS proud of their progeny and always telling tall tales, but I don't really care! My grandaughter is the best baby EVER and my new bride is the most wonderful woman on the planet! God has really blessed me recently, so I offer my praise to Him and I give Him all the glory!

Humanism rules!

Funny, huh?

I've been helping my elderly mother out for the last couple of days. She's 77, has diabetes, neuropathy, and has a hard time walking as a result. Such being the case (and since she's my mom, who I love dearly!), I've been trying to help her out as much as I can (she's very independent, but I'm afraid she's not going to be able to live alone much longer as much as she'd like to!).

Anyway, we talk often about all sorts of things, from politics to pseudo-religion that's passed off as genuine by the powers that be, to whatever. Today, we got into talking about the glitz and glamour that surrounds the likes of Paris Hilton, Angelina Joulie, and Madonna, to name a few. I mentioned that the works forwarded by the aforementioned are often lauded in the press as wonderful, but what is the reasoning behind those works and what do they mean in the greater context?

Frankly, I see examples all around us. The other day, I was watching some Holywood show about some party planner, but I can't remember his name. The show described the party of some well-to-do fellow who'd survied cancer and was throwing a hugh party to celebrate. The cost of the party was in the millions! I was appalled, frankly. I thought to myself, if I survived cancer, and I had that kind of money, I think I'd donate it to the American Cancer Society or some other worthy cause rather than simply throw it away on some party that will be forgotten 48 hours after the fact. I guess that's just me. I also thought of Lance Armstrong, a personage who's been sainted for the fact that he's thrived since surviving cancer himself. Not once have I heard Lance give credit to the God who created him; it's always a triumph of the human spirit, mind over matter, good karma, or whatever. I think it's horrendous that a miracle such as his has been trivialized with such blather and that God is never given credit, but who's to say that God won't use the snub itself for His glory? I don't know what the future holds, I just know that it rubs me the wrong way, just as the publicity to surrounds Paris Hilton, Anglina Jolie, and all of the others who're sainted because they're allowed to adopt some children from less than ideal circumstances and have been blessed enough that they can afford a nanny to raise them.

I don't remember the verse offhand, but it goes something like this: In the last days, good will be called evil and evil will be called good. I think that much of what we're seeing these days is evil that is being called good, while much of what is good is being demonized or otherwise corrupted so that the work of the Lord is credited to others, like the power of positive thought or this lifestyle or that. Let's give credit where it's due! God is in control and He always will be! He upholds the universe by the power of His Word and nothing was created that was not created by Him. If we live, it's because He wills it and if we die, it's because he has willed that it is our time to go. Frankly, I'm tired of hearing about Paris, and Madonna, and Angelina. What they do may or may not glorify God, but if they actually DO good work, I'd sure love to have the credit go to the rightful owner - God Almighty!

I know most of you have given up on me...

...after all, it's been awhile since I posted here and people have a lot better things to do with their time than re-read old posts from me!

I've been busy! First of all, I got married on June 7th to the most wonderful woman on earth! She's a godly woman and her apparent poor eyesight and decided lack of judgement led her to fall in love with me! I think I started the rapid trek down that slope the moment I laid eyes on her, but, "once burned, twice shy" they say, so I did not immediately tell her that I thought I was falling in love with her...it took a couple of weeks!

Anyway, she's every man's dream woman and I'm so blessed that we found one another and fell in love!

My darling attended a Church of Christ, which of course is a christian denomination that I had little experience with. I've known people over the years who attend the CoC and every one of them without exception was extremely devout and faithful, but I had never attended a service at a CoC until I met her. The services are much like services elsewhere, with one exception - there's no music! I'm not sure what the reasoning is behind not having music, but I suspect that it stems from one bible verse or another that I'm not familiar with. I may ask about it when I get an opportunity. In the meantime, here's what I know about music in the church:

Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.

Okay...it's sounds to me as if there was a lot of music going on there! In fact, I don't think that David (or whoever wrote Psalm 150) left any contemporary instrument OUT!! As many of you know, I believe in a literal hermeunetic; if it's possible to accept the scripture at face value (no figures of speech discernable), then we should accept what it says at face value. What part of "Praise the Lord with trumpet, harp, lyre, tamborine, strings, flute, and cymbals" doesn't the CoC get? As I said, I don't know the answer, but I'd like to find out. Frankly, I don't mean to make it sound like a big deal, either. The fact of the matter is, God is clearly working in the CoC and the people who attend services there and belong to that church, at least the one I've been attending, are very godly people who believe the Word of God with their whole hearts! I'm just curious about why there's no music when the Word clearly declares that there should be people praising the Lord with more than their voices!