"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it." Flannery O' Connor

Surveys, Polls, and the like

This post is to show that you can't take statistics, polls, and other research just at face value.

Today I did a study on the effect of a certain object in a females reaction to me. Without this certain object the females studied all showed varying levels of disdain to me. However with this object they all were happy to be near me and be very friendly. Therefore I have concluded that this object will work for any male to attract any female.

Now I'll give you some background which should explain the above statement.

First there were only three females studied.

Second the three females are all under the age of two.

Third they are all related to me.

And finally the pictures underneath should explain it.

That's my niece Hannah playing with my cellphone. She finally warmed up to me now that she's leaving tomorrow.:( I'll miss them.

If you think you had a bad Christmas...

So maybe you didn't get the gift you wanted for Christmas. Or maybe you were snowed in like me. But take a look at some of the things that happened yesterday. And be glad for the Christmas you had.

- An Al-Quida terrorist attack on a plane headed from Amsterdam to Detroit was thwarted on Christmas 2009.

- A pastor had his family at his house for Christmas. His son got into a violent argument with a woman. The pastor intervened with a gun and ended up shooting his son in the chest on Christmas 2009.

- An actor was arrested for domestic violence on Christmas 2009.

- A store that sells Christmas related products throughout the year had a real live Grinch steal an undisclosed amount of money from their store on Christmas 2009.

- And President Obama was in Hawaii for Christmas and got his vacation interrupted by the terrorist attack on the plane.

So if you think you had a bad Christmas think again...

Unless of course you had a worse Christmas.

Gingerbread House

One of our activities today was making gingerbread houses. I arrived late and therefore mine was rather small. They all seemed to like it but I didn't see anything especially amazing about it. What do you think?

Rejection

Through the years with my family frequently moving and finding new churches, it has always been a challenge finding new friends. When we would begin attending a new church, many times those in the church I would expect to be friends with already had their friendships made and inadvertently or intentionally rejected me. And since we moved about every three years for my dad’s job, the situation kept occurring. Because of this I found myself continually trying to “fit in” and not merely being myself. But as I thought about this something hit me. While He was on this earth, Jesus had no close friends. His twelve disciples were the closest earthly friends He ever had. And he knew them for about three years! But when push came to shove, when He was taken away to be condemned and killed, they all left Him. One of His closest friends, Peter, went so far as to deny that he even knew who Jesus was. But did Jesus let that bother Him? No, instead he merely said “I came to do the will of Him who sent Me”. He found His comfort in praying to His Father both in the good times when the crowds were searching for Him, and in the bad times when all forsook Him. “He was despised and rejected of men… But He was wounded for our transgressions”. Those who rejected Him, He died for. Those who spat in His face, He bled for. Those who denied Him, He loved to the end. So should I let it worry me when I merely get a cold shoulder? No, instead I should go to my heavenly Father in prayer. And if I’m ever popular and have plenty of friends, I still need to go to Him in prayer to seek wisdom. Someone said “For every hundred men who can handle trials well, there is only one man who can handle success well”. May God help us whether we are popular or not to glorify Him and handle it well.

Gambling!?!?!?!?!

While recently traveling through the state of Alabama, I heard on the radio an interesting piece of news concerning an upcoming football game between Alabama and Florida. The governor’s of each state had a friendly wager going on the outcome of the game. The Alabama governor said that if Florida won then he would send the Florida governor a box of barbeque steaks from a famous restaurant near the university. But if Alabama won then the Florida governor would send the Alabama governor a box of oranges. So a lady was saying that this was a form of gambling so the governor was wrong to do it. That got me to thinking: “What is wrong with gambling?” Sure we can go into the instances of those who get so addicted to gambling and end up wasting all their money and ruining their lives. But that is merely a practical reason not to gamble. As Christians we go to the Bible to find the basis for our beliefs. The Bible commands “Do not be greedy for easy gain”. Why do you find people in a casino? Do you think you would find anyone there who would say “Yep I’m here to see how much money I can waste”? I doubt it. Most go there in hopes that they can “strike it rich”. That is why gambling is wrong. So let’s go back to our situation we started out with. The two governors had a wager going. Were either of them hoping to make an easy gain? I don’t think so. When you are a governor I don’t think you care that much for a free box of oranges. Although I suppose with this economy the governors may be pretty bad off. So are the governors really gambling here? Or is this merely a publicity stunt? What do you think?

Our recent vacation

My family just got back from a week and a half long vacation. We went and visited family along the east coast starting in Florida and traveling up through Virginia. We then went to Cincinnati, Ohio for a conference. It was put on by the National Center for Family Integrated Churches and was called the Sufficiency of Scripture conference. It was excellent and included speakers like Paul Washer, Vodie Baucam, Doug Phillips, Ken Ham, Jeff Pollard, Scott Brown, Geoff Botkin, and many others. I personally enjoyed Doug Phillips’ talk on the Sufficiency of Scripture in the Laws of Nations. But I think a general favorite was Paul Washer’s talk on evangelism. It was very convicting. At the end of the conference we attended the Cincinnati premier of “The Mysterious Islands”. It was very well done. Afterward they had a meet the cast time where they interviewed different people who had a part in the film. I would defiantly recommend seeing the film. It is a tour of the Galapagos Islands through the eyes of a 16 year old, Joshua Phillips. The footage is breathtaking and very well done. We saw many old friends at the conference and met many new ones. But it was good to get home. We arrived home to find over a foot of snow. Good old Iowa! I’ll be giving a more detailed account of our trip later on along with pictures.

"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst." ~ William Penn. A friend of mine recently posted this on her Facebook. I really liked it so I figured I'd pass it on. How true this is. How often people say "If only I had one more hour in my day". But if they got another hour they would fill it up just as fast, and with unimportant tasks. An excercise I once heard of was to write down everything you do in a day. Then go through that list to see just how many of the things you do in a day are really necessary. Don't get me wrong I ain't a kill joy. I like to haue fun just as much as the next guy. Ask any of my friends. But your time is a talent from God. Be careful how you use it. Always need more time? Maybe you're wasting the time you haue

Pictures!

Finally got some time to upload some pics. Let me know what you think of the hair.:)


This was right after they did my hair.:) One girl said it looked like I was being tortured while they were doing it.

Me during the interview. Don't know why these turned out so dark.
The two interviewers. Pretty worthless picture but it looked alot better before I loaded it.

I did a song with Christopher Miller and Josiah Nelson. I played guitar and they played harmonica. It was "Are you washed in the Blood?"

I'll try and load more pictures later when they actually look right.

Coming Soon!

Yesterday our church hosted a Thanksgiving banquet in the evening. I was one of the actors in a skit that we did. By the time I signed up the only spot left was the Indian. So that's what I was. Pictures will be coming as soon as I can get them. I got quite a few comments on my outfit especially my hair. My hair was thanks to stylist/reporter Alatheia Larsen. I actually only got one negative comment on my hair style but quite a few positive. I must say it was unique. So anyway as soon as can get to the pictures I'll try and get some loaded.

Happy Birthday!

My youngest brother Matthew’s birthday is today and yesterday was my oldest sister Bethany’s birthday. She is currently serving with her husband and daughters as missionaries in Africa. They’ve been over there with her husband’s family for about a year. But at the end of this month they’re coming back to the states for a visit. We’re going to meet them at a conference in Cincinnati, Ohio that they were invited to. We will all be attending the conference and then coming back to Iowa to visit with them a couple weeks before they go back. The lineup of speakers for the conference looks really good. I’ll try to get the link up to their website real soon. Some of the speakers I know personally and most of the others I have heard before. It should be an excellent experience. I can’t wait to go on the trip especially since we’ll be able to visit with my sister and her family. Her youngest daughter was born after they went to Africa so we haven’t met her yet. We’re going to be driving out there so it should be a lot of fun. Happy Birthday both of you!

WEIRD?!?!?!

Recently a friend of mine on Facebook posted this status update. “I remember when I was weird!!! No wait a minute I still am weird!!!” I found the status interesting and it got me to thinking. It turned out that it was actually a younger sibling that did the post and not the person whose name was attached to it. I found two things interesting about the status.

First of all on the internet when you see someone’s name attached to something (a statement, a picture, ect.) you assume it’s from them (or in the case of a picture that it is them). Well as evidenced by this status situation what you read may not have actually come from that person. Especially if it isn’t something as secure as Facebook or Twitter (but even those are not hacker proof). So on the one hand you can’t guarantee that just because someone’s name is attached to something that it actually came from them. But on the other hand a person may write something under a pen name. Basically they’re not pretending to be someone else but just pretending not to be who they are. So I guess to summarize I would say that if you read something by someone that doesn’t seem consistent with their character you should not jump to conclusions. Instead you should directly contact them to verify the statement. So you may ask why would someone do that and be deceitful? That takes us to the second thing I found interesting about the status on Facebook.

What is the definition of weird? Now I didn’t go to Webster to find the answer but I would say this. If you think of someone as weird really what you are saying is that they are different from the people that you are used to. Specifically what you are saying is that they are different from you or what you think they should be. So the term “weird” is really a matter of opinion. I may think of a person as “weird” but then you might find them perfectly normal (and me really “weird”). There was a short film I head of awhile back that had a plot like this. Two individuals are seeking help because they have ugly faces. The doctors they go to see feel sorry for them but despite the numerous surgeries they attempt to perform they are unable to make their faces look normal. Finally, since these two do not fit in and are not accepted anywhere they go, the doctors come up with a plan. They have heard of another country where people, that look like these two, live. So they arrange to fly them there. Now throughout the film you are never shown anyone’s face. But in the last scene as the two people are thanking the doctors and saying goodbye it shows their faces. And the two people with “ugly” faces are really models. And all the doctors have, what we would call, “ugly” faces. It’s all a matter of opinion.

So how do these two tie together? Why would someone want to take on a different identity online? Because they think that they are “weird”. Perhaps they don’t fit in with those they associate with and have few friends. But online they can be absolutely amazing and have a lot of friends. I heard a song in the store recently. The main line of the song was “I’m so much cooler online”. From what I heard the guy didn’t “fit in”, was short and overweight. But as he says in the song “I grow a foot and lose some weight every tome that I log in”. In this day and age you can be whoever you want to be… online.

So how does this apply to us? Well I would say that we should be content with how God has made us. We should not always strive to “fit in”. Cause I know this will be a big surprise for you, but no two people are the same. I think it would be impossible to find two people who think exactly the same about everything. So live for God and seek to please Him, and He will take care of everyone else. Another thing is we should be careful not to judge others for things they cannot change. We can judge their character but not those aspects they have no ability to change. “You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do, and there could never be a more beautiful you.”

Yours truly,
Daniel Turack

PS. And yes it is really me and not someone posting for me. And yes that is my real name. But I still could just be saying this so I don’t know why I’m even bothering.

A common form of advertising in England and parts of the US are sandwich men. They wear a board in front and behind them with an advertisement written on it. Some Christians have used this method for witnessing. One man's board as you approached read "I am a fool for Christ." Most would agree with him. But after you pass him you see his back which reads "Whose fool are you?". How true this is. Everyone is a fool for someone. Would you rather be a fool for a man who is dead or for a Man who still lives? For a man who is finite or a Man who is infinite? So whose fool are you? Who do you follow?

"If you ain't the lead dog, you always have the same scenery." I read this in Brother Andrew's book The Calling. We need to go to new mission fields and where we are needed not just where it is safe. If we always do the same thing we will be unable to fulfill the Great Commission. Look at the fields. They are ripe for harvest.

Today is Veterans Day. I read an excellent quote about it this past week. It read "Memorial Day we honor those who have died to protect our freedom. On Veterans Day we honor those who are ready to die every day." We will also be remembering those who were killed at Ft. Hood. I have multiple veterans in my family including my dad. And President Obama plans to deploy more troops soon. Hopefully we won't have any more killed before they see any real action.

Today a memorial service was held at Ft. Hood to honor the soldiers that were killed last week by a fellow soldier. President Obama attended the ceremony and spoke to the 13000 there. 13 soldiers were killed. 1000 people per soldier killed. The killer still refuses to talk to police. I find it interesting that in about an hour another killer will be punished. John Mohamed, the DC sniper, will receive a lethal injection at seven EST tonight. The families of the victmns will be watching. In our country we still follow the Biblical principle of the death sentence. Thats what Hassan should get.

I tried to post this yesterday but it didn't post. Yesterday marked 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was one of the biggest emblems of Communisum in the past century. And it was one of our country's best presidents, Ronald Reagan, that stood up to the dictator and told him to tear down the wall. I noticed that I have some readers from Germany. I would really like it if you would post your thoughts here. I'm actually part German myself. Anyway it was a historic day that we should not soon forget. Standing up to dictators is the best way to deal with them. Being tough is the best language they understand.

One Year Ago

Last year in September my family moved up here to Iowa to live near my grandparents since my grandma had cancer. We purchased an old farm house and began renovating it. That’s the same house that we are currently finishing the drywall in. It’s taken a lot longer than we thought it would. Anyway while we were working on it we stayed with my grandparents. Soon after we got there some of my brothers and I went to explore their barn. They had a lot of stuff in there. Odds and ends and stuff like that. Well as boys are expected to we soon began messing around. You know a mix between hide and seek, Cowboys and Indians, and stuff like that. Well one brother was in the loft and another brother and I were trying to roust him out of there. Well I discovered a spot in the first floor ceiling (and the loft floor) that had rotted out. It was the perfect route for a surprise attack! I slowly and silently began climbing up through the hole. Well to make a long story short I ended up getting hit on the head with a metal pole. I immediately dropped to the first floor and lay there stunned for a little while. I put my hand to my head and when I brought it down saw blood on my hand! Needless to say we went to the ER. I got three stitches (which they charged an arm and a leg forJ) and soon went back home. For getting the stitches taken out we decided not to go back to the hospital. My uncle is a nurse in the military and was home on leave at the time so he took them out for me. A pair of tweezers and nail clippers did the trick. Below is a pic of me with the stitches and one of my uncle taking them out. I must say since then I’ve only been in that barn a few times and never for fun.

You might wonder what the point of my reminiscing is. Well I got to thinking about it recently for two reasons. First is I still have the scar a year later. It’s not very noticeable but I can feel a bump there. Second was the subject of a recent bible study. We were studying the life of David. The point was brought out that the good seeds David sowed early in his life he reaped the fruits from after he became king. Then the bad seeds that he sowed soon after that he began to reap later in life. It reminded me of my scar. We cannot take back our actions and many times they leave scars with us for the rest of our lives. Many times young people are told to sow their wild oats while they are young. But it is when they are older that they look back with sorrow on those wasted years. Just like the man in John Pipers book they look back over their lives and say “I’ve wasted it”. They regret those decisions they made that have now left their mark. Let this be our motto “No Fears, No Regrets”. (And be careful in barns)

"Christians are the best evidence for and against Christianity." ~ C. S. Lewis This was a great quote I heard today. Many times we forget that we are ambassadors for Christ in this world. there is another quote that says "Christians are the only Bible that many people will read." That is a sobering thought.

Election Day! – And the Day After

As you can tell by the title I’m gonna be talking about the results of the voting yesterday. Now before I begin I realize that this is a touchy topic. But I’ll just be saying what I think of the results. And if we disagree we can still be friends with different views. It is very difficult to find two people who agree on every political issue. Also before I begin I must confess that I did not vote yesterday! Mainly because I’m only seventeen!:) But none of my family voted either! Why you ask? Well in our area the only voting there was to do was for two city council members. And guess how many candidates were on the ballot? Two. And guess what they both were elected!:) The beauty of living in Small Town, USA.:)

First off the big headline news was that the races for governor in Virginia and New Jersey were both won by Republicans. And neither of the new governors are merely a RINO (Republican In Name Only). Both have very strong political platforms that are plainly conservative. In Virginia the Republican defeated the Democrat by over 15%! And this was the state that many said was turning blue. I lived in Virginia for a number of years so this race was of particular interest to me. I see two things from this race and also the one in New Jersey. Number One: Conservatism is NOT dead! The Era of Reagan is NOT over! There are still those in the country who want biblical values in government. They still hold to the right to Life for the unborn, the elderly, and the handicapped. They hold to the right of Liberty to worship how they wish, to think what they wish, and to say what they wish. The very fact that I am able to write this blog post is because in our country we have Freedom of the Press! If I was living in a Communist country I would be in fear of my life for writing this! “My Country Tis' of Thee, Sweet Land of Liberty”.
But Number Two: The Conservatives were not the only Voters! By that I mean that it is not just Republicans that are dissatisfied with the way our country is going. Now I have nothing against President Obama as a person. I believe he is a fine man and as our president deserves respect. I do not however agree with his policies on abortion, health care, the economy, and many other issues. And based on the voting yesterday it is obvious that I am not alone.

I found it interesting that about two years ago, as I was seeking to earn credit for college through CLEP testing, I took the exam on public speaking. The exam consists of a written segment and also a speaking section. The topic for the speaking part is randomly chosen and you are then given a certain amount of time to prepare and then deliver a two minute speech. I was given a topic and it was on “Whether or not the Government should subsidize health care”. At the time that was not as major an issue as it is now. However I still knew enough about the subject to prepare and deliver the speech. Unfortunately only one record was made of the speech so I don’t have a copy of it. I think it would be interesting to listen to the reasons I gave back then. Anyway just a paragraph long side note.:)

The 23rd district in New York was also in the headlines a lot especially in the week leading up to voting. I find the same true of this election as the two races for Governor. But, someone will say, the Conservative lost! I realize that, but Hoffman lost by only 5%! And he was not even on the Republican ticket! The Republican who dropped out was still on the ballot as the Republican running. And she got 5% of the vote! Yes Hoffman lost but if he had been on the Republican ballot in the first place he surely would have won. But the Republican was not chosen in a primary election. If they had held a primary then she would never had made it to the final election. Hoffman would have been chosen not her. This just goes to show why we have the system that we do.

Not before you begin to think that I plan to comment on every race, don’t worry. I only have two issues that were voted on to discuss and then I’ll be through.

First off in Maine the issue of legalizing gay marriage was brought to the people for a vote. The legislature passed a law allowing gay marriage but a petition with enough names was made up so the issue went to the people for a vote. And the people said “NO!”. I heard today that no state has ever legalized gay marriage by a vote of the people. Unfountunatly in some states, my current home state of Iowa included, the legislature has passed the law that legalizes it. But I thought this was government by the people! Why must a petition be made up to reconsider an issue after the legislature has decided on it? Why not go to the people in the first place? I realize that this is unpractical for all issues. That is the purpose of elections. But if it is known that their people do not support an issue then why pass it without their consent? I recently watched the film “Amazing Grace”. William Wilberforce encountered this same problem. Members of Parliament did not care what the people desired. They merely cared about what would benefit them. This is not the duty of our elected officials. They have been referred to as public servants and that is exactly what they should be. Their foremost thought should be “How will this benefit or best represent the people who elected me?”.

Finally in Texas the subject of Emminent Domain was brought to the people for a vote. And they voted it down. Now for those of you who do not know what that is let me try to summarize it in a nutshell. Emminent Domain says that the government (whether city, state, or national) is able to take private property for public use with fair reimbursement. I mentioned this issue on my Facebook and a friend of mine pointed out that Emminent Domain is in the Constitution! I was surprised somewhat to hear this. If it is in the Constitution are citizens of a state able to decide whether to accept the Constitution? So decided to look into it. I didn’t find it in the Constitution itself but in the Bill of Rights(first ten amendments). Hmm? Funny place to find it… Anyway here is the first statement I found: Article IV
“The right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…”
After listing several rights of the people in Article V (also known as the fifth amendment) I then found this statement:
“…nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation”
So what do we read here? Private property cannot be taken for public use without a just(or fair) compensation. So was there anything wrong with the Texans voting to make this illegal in Texas? I would no there was nothing wrong with that. Texans were not voting on whether or not they should obey the Constitution! The Constitution does not say that the government has the right to seize personal property! Instead it says that if it is seized then the owner should receive a fair price for their property. If the citizens of Texas do not want to give their state government that capability then that’s their decision. Now why this issue is of interest to me is that we lived in Texas for about six years. While we were there we lived about half a mile from Highway 37 in San Antonio. One year we heard of a new project called the Trans Texas Corridor. It was basically a super highway going from the southern border to the northern border of Texas. And it was planned to pass straight by our property. But with the clearance they needed it would possibly include our property! So we faced the possibility of losing our home. Of course we would expect to get a fair compensation. But that would merely be for what the property was valued at. It would not help us any with the disruption of having to move somewhere else. Now a friend of ours in Texas encountered this issue with a rental property that he owned. The city needed the property for a school expansion. But in his case he felt that the amount he was given was more than enough. But on the other hand I heard of instances where people felt they were given far below the value of their property. Even worse than an individual losing their property is when a business is forced to move. Some of you may have heard of the ministry Vision Forum. My brother-in-law actually worked there while they lived in Texas. Soon after he left we heard that the city had told Vision Forum that they were going to practice Emminent Domain with their building because the city needed it for a fire station. For them it would have been a major loss no matter what they were given for the building. They had been there for a number of years so to move meant changing their address and also finding a new place to set up in. Part of their ministry is a store that sells items both through a storefront but also through mail order and the internet. Thankfully nothing ever came of it. But I want each of you to think of how it must have felt. Imagine hearing that very soon you might lose you home and have to move for no other reason than that a school nearby needs an extra playground! So I say “Go Texas!”. We need more states to follow your example.

Trick or Treat: The Darwinists Are Coming to Town. But so is ‘The Mysterious Islands’

We recently received this article from Vision Forum about this film project. I thought I would pass it along.

“There is a ghoulish specter coming out this weekend, and it’s not merely the dark message of the Halloween celebration,” stated Doug Phillips, President of Vision Forum Ministries. “This weekend marks the beginning of an international push to celebrate the 150 anniversary of On the Origin of Species, and its author, Charles Darwin — the man whose Theory of Evolution is responsible for the most devastating, life-destroying, family-undermining worldview of the 20th century.”

From October 29-31, the University of Chicago — the group that hosted the famed Darwin Centennial in 1959 that featured Sir Julian Huxley and John Scopes of the “Scopes Trial” — will host Darwin/Chicago 2009. The university event is one of hundreds of commemorative gatherings being held worldwide. Other pro-Darwin activities occurring this month include numerous television documentaries, feature films, art exhibits, stage plays, and even a Paris fashion show.
“But there is good news,” Phillips stated. “In theatrical premieres in Raleigh-Durham, Chicago, San Antonio, and other key locations, audiences can experience The Mysterious Islands, a new adventure film that offers a fresh perspective on Darwin, his theory, and the famed journey he took to the Galapagos Islands.”
The Mysterious Islands debunks the conclusions Darwin reached during his storied trip to this island chain during the voyage of the HMS Beagle. Shot and directed by the award-winning Jon and Andy Erwin of Erwin Brothers Motion Pictures, the 90-minute documentary releases on November 12, just two weeks prior to the November 24 anniversary date of Darwin’s influential book.
“The world has Darwin fever, and we think it’s making our culture sick,” noted Doug Phillips, who served as Executive Producer of The Mysterious Islands. “Because of the implications of his famous theory of evolution, Darwin was perhaps the most influential man for evil in the last two hundred years. His ideas have contributed to the rise of Nazism, the proliferation of racism, Marxism, the horrors of eugenics, and abortionism. Nonetheless, over the next month, America and the global community will be inundated with the most pro-Darwin celebrations in history.”
“The release of The Mysterious Islands, and its screening in theaters presents a fresh response to Darwin fever by taking viewers on a thrilling adventure to the Galapagos Islands — ground zero in the war of the worldviews between evolutionism and Christianity,” Phillips stated. “Rather than praising the founder of the modern evolutionary worldview, we demonstrate that he was part of a multi-generational legacy of bad science, anti-Christian sentiment, and cultural bigotry that began with his grandfather Erasmus Darwin and continued up through the work of the virulent racist Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood.”

In The Mysterious Islands, Phillips and his crew join Captain Robert Fitzroy of the HMS Beagle in opposing Darwin. Captain Fitzroy walked where Darwin walked during their famous journey together. Like Darwin, he acted as a lay-naturalist, collecting the flora and fauna of the Galapagos. “Even though Fitzroy witnessed the exact same things as Darwin, he reached vastly different conclusions. And so do we,” Phillips remarked.
The Mysterious Islands, a cinematically beautiful adventure film, was shot earlier this year and examines the same unusual creatures Darwin saw while on the Galapagos Islands and shows where he erred. Told through the eyes of 16-year-old Joshua Phillips, the documentary presents a remarkable quest to “Darwin’s Eden” with Joshua, his father, and a team of scientists and investigators, including Dr. John Morris, president of the Institute for Creation Research.
“Fitzroy disputed Thomas Huxley — grandfather to Julian — concerning Darwin’s ideas following the publication of Origin of Species as part of a famous debate that took place at Oxford University in 1860,” observed Phillips. “We are following Fitzroy’s example during this anniversary year by offering a counterpoint to Darwinism through our film that was shot where Darwin’s Theory of Evolution was formed.”

The Mysterious Islands takes viewers deep beneath the ocean waves among hundreds of white-tip sharks, over lava fields covered with salt-spitting marine iguanas, and to the unusual habitat of blue-footed boobies and flightless cormorants. Featuring the only team of Creationists and Christian scientists to shoot a documentary on the Galapagos during 2009 — Darwin’s anniversary year — The Mysterious Islands brings a fresh perspective on Charles Darwin and his Theory and presents sweeping cinematography of one of the most remote, desolate, and fascinating island chains in the world.

Tar and Sin

As I mentioned before we have had some rainy weather here recently. The rain brought a problem to our attention. The roof of the business has a few leaks! So today, since it was sunny, Caleb and I went up on the roof to put a layer of tar over all the seams. During that process an interesting situation occurred. Because of the nature of the job I was wearing disposable plastic gloves to keep my hands clean. Caleb would use a trowel and put the tar on the roof and then I would use a scrubber brush to spread it out. I began using my right hand to work the tar in with the brush. Soon the glove was covered in tar and I had to change it out for a new one. The gloves were not especially durable and in many places had holes worn through them. For some reason I had tar on my knuckles. By the end of the job I had tar all over my hands. I discovered that the gloves ended up being more harm than good. When I went to change my gloves the tar on my knuckles stuck to the gloves. Something had to give and what ended up giving was the top layer of skin on three of my knuckles. The strange thing was I did not realize what had happened until I saw the skin missing from my knuckles. As we continued the project I got to thinking. The tar could represent sin that a Christian allows in their life. They go along not realizing what the sin is doing to their lives. Sometimes they don’t realize what sin has done to them until they see its effect on both their life and the lives of others. After we finished I attempted to clean the tar off my hands with some soap and water. But like most of you could have guessed that did pretty much nothing. To get something like that off your skin you really need some mineral spirits or paint thinner. However I couldn’t find any so I figured I’d try the soap and water. So it is with sin. Our own attempts get rid of sin in our lives will always be futile. Sure we may be able to bring it under control for awhile, but without the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives we will not ultimately succeed. We must daily ask for help to conquer and remove the sin from our lives. A lot like I need to probably ask someone for help finding the mineral spirits. :)

Well I just spent another long night mudding. It's 5:00 AM and I havn't slept any. Caleb and I have been helping Ryan Grice with a siding job the past couple of days. Nathan Grice, the one in the accident, usually works with Ryan but was obviously not available. It's been cold and wet here the past couple days which makes it no fun to install siding. We were able to finally finish yesterday. But then one of our neighbors in town called to see if we could help her move out today. So we'll be helping her most of the day. I'll be super tired on Sunday (thankfully it's a day of rest). :) We should be back to mudding on Monday. It will be all too soon for me. ;) As I post this I'm watching the sunrise. The heavens certainly declare the glory of God.

Update on Nathan's progress

Here is the latest update on Nathan as well as a pic of him in the hospital.

If you want to follow the updates go to http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/nathangrice

"We just arrived back at about 10:50 pm from seeing Nate at the hospital. Needless to say, the visit was long overdue!Not sure where to start... my poor little notepad is scrawled all over with notes on his condition, prognosis and other miscellany that needs to be shared.Please pardon me if a few details get mixed up and need corrected later. I've tried to keep all the clinical and procedural details accurate, but since I've not had the privilege of spending time in med school, there are bound to be some errors here and there.Nevertheless, here is what I have thus far:According to Dad and Mom, the first words he spoke when arriving back from surgery were: "God is GOOD and MERCIFUL." He had a little trouble pronouncing 'merciful,' but they definitely got the point!The pain has been greatly lessened now that the fragments are set in place and the swelling has gone down.Dad and Mom talked with one of the surgeons today, and he said Nate was doing "exceptionally well." After further examination, they felt fine removing the neck brace he's had on since the accident. No neck or spinal damage is apparent.The speech therapist was very impressed with his communicating abilities despite the recentness of his injury. Somehow, I don't find that too surprising... :) Nate was rather determined to do it as best he could. The therapist said she could tell "he was a fighter."She was also highly impressed that, even though he couldn't recall all the words, he could hum his way completely through a bunch of hymns without missing a note. One of the tunes he recalled is "O God, Our Help in Ages Past." How apt! What a blessing that he can still worship the Lord in some way, even if the words are not all in place!This morning they also administered a "GOAT" test (Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test), which is designed to show the level of "post-trauma amnesia" a person is experiencing. The scoring scale goes from 0-100, with 100 being the highest.Normally, a patient with this sort of injury will be able to score about 75-80 points two weeks afterward. People that score that high will usually recover to 98-100% of what functionality they lost.Our stellar student managed to peg an astounding score of 85, the day after surgery! You can imagine how uplifting that was!The rehab people cautioned that, even though he is currently recovering rapidly, it could still be anywhere from a month to a year before he's fully back to "normal." He will probably require at least a little therapy to get all the functionality back. However, we have seen enough of our Lord's miracle working thus far... and I wouldn't be surprised to see it progress faster. We shall see, I suppose.Dr. Bill Therall, the main surgeon from the team, finally made it down to Nate's room this evening at about seven. He also agreed that Nate is doing exceptionally well, and will be ready to be moved into a regular room tomorrow. Dr. Therall said that no further surgeries should be needed, as it looks like the damage was corrected very well with this first one. He also said that Nate's head bandage can come off tomorrow too, which is a blessing. It was very tight, and causing some discomfort.However, even with these positive things, there is still a long way to go. Please pray that Nate can be moved to a room by himself, so that he will not have to deal with the noise and commotion of having someone else in there with him. Loud, harsh noises or excessive talking are very disturbing to him, as he's still pretty sensitive to sound and such.Also, please continue to pray that his digestive system will fully "come online." He's very hungry, but the doctors are hesitant to allow him to eat anything too substantial yet. He is able to spoonfeed broth to himself, but is still not ready for solids. They may try a little bit tomorrow to see what happens. Also, due to the surgery, there was a small laceration to one of his jaw muscles near the ear. This causes some pain when he tries to chew. I will be typing a second update with the details of our visit... hopefully I can get it done tonight!

Rejoicing in the goodness and mercy of Jesus,RG

Thank you again to everyone who prayed. Prayers are being answered.

Accident

Nathan Grice is a young man in our community in his early twenties. He is the second oldest of six children. He is a believer with a strong testimony for Jesus. This morning we received word that he was in a car accident on his way to work! Below I’ve pasted an email we received from his older brother Ryan as well as a picture of the vehicle. We received the email around noon today. Since then he has gone into surgery and may be there even now.

“Hello everyone!

Just wanted to give you a little more thorough update since I'm home now and have been able to accumulate a little more information. I assure you, it was a rather shocking phone call that I received from Mom on the jobsite! I pray none of you will ever have to feel that same surge of shock, pain and disbelief. God's grace is sufficient in the hour of need, and His sweet comfort has been present throughout it all.

Here are the details as best I can gather... I will not vouch for a hundred percent accuracy, as I've been known to make mistakes and hear wrong! Some of the details may be corrected as I get further information and talk more to the people involved.

Nathan's accident occurred this morning at the intersection of Hwy 71 and Hwy 92 when Nate was on his way to a job in my car. Apparently he pulled out in front of an oncoming car and was struck on the driver's side fender and door.

I took a picture of it and included it here so you can see the extent of the damage.

The driver of the other car is a Christian man in his fifties who is from out of state. He only sustained minor bumps and bruises, as he had swerved to try and avoid Nate's vehicle. He was very apologetic and encouraging to us, and insisted on praying with Mom when she visited him in his hospital room.

After the car was hit, it swerved about a hundred yards through the ditch and nearly ended up in the corn field on the east side. It's a blessing that it went off the road, instead of into oncoming traffic! In a way, I can see God's hand in this as well, as a steering tie rod was shattered at impact, and it's doubtful with that sort of damage if Nate could have guided the car into the shallow ditch and away from traffic, even if he had been conscious at the time. There is a larger ditch on the other side that could well have rolled the car a few times, had he gone down into it.

A neighbor of ours was the first to stop, and checked on both vehicles. She then stopped up at our house after the occupants of both cars were safely on their way to the hospital in Atlantic. If she had not came by to let us know, we may not have found out until he'd been in the hospital for quite a while. May God bless her for stopping and helping out in the mode of a Good Samaritan, when she could have easily passed by.

He was coherent by the time he arrived at the hospital, but was extremely confused and agitated. He can recall nothing that happened all of today. He recognized Mom, Dad and a few other relatives who were present. The doctors and nurse teams were disturbing to him, as they were unfamiliar, but he seems to have calmed down a bit as Mom and Dad explained the situation to him.

The hospital in Atlantic examined him and found no exterior injuries except for a bump on the side of his head where he hit the door. After some x-rays of his head, chest and pelvis, they found a v-shaped crack running up from near his ear. It has been causing him considerable pain, and even a dose of morphine was unable to quell it.

The x-rays revealed minor hemorraging, but nothing too serious given the magnitude of impact. There is some swelling, and so they were careful to keep him awake and talking so they could be assured of no further damage.

After a further examination they elected to Life-Flight him to Omaha's UNMC Hospital, which has a dedicated neurological team. Atlantic didn't feel that they could properly address a trauma fracture of this order, and thought it would be best to send him where he could get the best care.

The preliminary prognisis is hopeful, but he may require a series of surgeries to relieve pressure, and then to install a plate. As it is a v-crack, it is doubtful if it could heal properly without the support of a plate.

So, he is on his way (and may have already arrived) at UNMC. Please pray that God will guide the hands of the doctors, surgeons and nurses as they seek to mitigate the injury. Lift Nate up in prayer for the pain as well, as it's nearly unbearable even with drugs. Pray that he will make a full recovery and be the stronger in Jesus for it.

Also, I would ask that you lift up our family before the Throne of Grace in the time of need. It's very hard on all of us to see our good, strong, bold, happy Nate reduced to a confused, helpless and hurting man like this. It's quite hard to believe. :'(

We know that God has allowed this to happen, and we GLADLY say "AMEN!" to His will, no matter what the outcome. His faithfulness is everlasting, and will keep us till we see His face in the fair land of Grace and Glory, when "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

Please feel free to forward this to anyone you feel would like to know. We will try to keep the updates coming as we receive more information.

Rejoicing in Jesus Christ,
The Same Yesterday, Today and FOREVER!
RYAN GRICE”


Below I’ve pasted a later email we received about a website they have set up for him:


Dear Family and Friends,
To keep you up to date on Nate, I created a CaringBridge website. You can follow Nathan’s progress and show your support.
Visit Nathan’s website in two easy ways: 1. Visit the CaringBridge website by clicking the link below. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/nathangrice 2. Enter the website name, nathangrice, at http://www.caringbridge.org/?utm_source=siteannounceLOW&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=home.

Show your support for Nathan• Visit and keep up to date.• Leave a message in the guestbook.• Receive e-mail notifications when the journal is updated.
Thank you.
Ryan

As Ryan said please pray for Nathan and his family as they go through this time.

A Wasted Life?

I was recently studying the life of a man who was considered a leader in a major war. The war was considered to have a greater number of casualties than the Civil War(casualties in proportion to population). He was responsible for the deaths of many innocent women and children. History records that many tried to convert him to Christianity but he refused saying it would make him weak. In the end he lost the war, was betrayed by one of his own followers, was killed, and his followers were scattered. After he was killed, his follower who betrayed him said "He was a brave man who made many brave men fear him". As I study his life I ask myself "Why?". How can someone give their life for a cause like that? And to his death he believed he was right.

Finally was able to post some pics.
These first two are from the photo shot I recently helped my sis with.
I was the lighting guy.

This is the group from our Iowa Bible Bee. I'm the tall one about in the middle between the two windows.

Once Saved Always Saved? – Part 2

Since my last post I’ve had other verses brought to my attention by comments both here on my blog and on a discussion on Maiden of Purity’s blog. Of course when I wrote my last post I was aware that there are other passages that seem to oppose the thought “Once Saved Always Saved”. Some of those passages were mentioned so I’ll address them in this follow up post. Once again we’re addressing the following question: “If a person has been truly saved, can they lose their salvation?”.

Some of the verses that were brought up were the multiple verses in Revelation that refer to names being blotted out of the Book of Life.
Rev 22:17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. 18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are written in this book.”


And: Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

First let’s look at what these verses are referring to with the phrase the “Book of Life”.

“Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works… Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

From these verses we see that the Book of Life is the book your name must be written in for you to enter heaven. It is the guest list to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And if your name is not written in it on the judgment day then you have one destination-hell. It’s a terrible thought but it is the case. Praise God that our names can be written in that book.

This next verse concerning the Book of Life is also very intereseting:

Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

This verse seems to indicate that the names written in the Book of Life were written there before the world began. This would support the concept of election. Before the world began God chose which names would be written in the Book of Life. Now do you really think that if God chose to put a name there he would then later take it out. One of the many attributes of our great and awesome God is that He has been and always will be unchangeable. Therefore if your name has been written in the Book of Life you can be sure it will not be removed. Right?

But wait! The first verses we looked at in Revelation seem to indicate that names can be blotted out. How can this be? For only God has access to this Book of Life. So if a name was blotted out it would be God’s doing. Let’s take a closer look at the verses. In Rev 22:19 it says if anyone takes away from that which was written his name would be blotted out. Now who would we expect would be found guilty of changing what the Word of God says? Would it be the atheists? No for they deny that God even exists so they have no use for any part of the Bible. Would it be born again believers? No for the Bible says that they are led by the Spirit of God. So who does this leave? It leaves the religious person. The person who is either striving to enter heaven by works or is living a merely outward righteous life. Are either of these true believers headed for heaven? No. As Jesus said “They will die in their sins”. So why would their names need to be blotted out? For if they were never true believers then their names were never written in it. I found this commentary by Albert Barnes helpful:
“When it said here that “God would take away his part out of the book of life,” the meaning is not that his name had been written in that book, but that he would take away the part which he might have had, or which he professed to have in that book. Such corruption of the divine oracles would show that they had no true religion, and would be excluded from heaven”

So this is merely an expression so that, from man’s point of view, we can understand it. To those around this individual he may seem like a true believer. But in his heart he is as far from God as the vilest atheist. So, merely for our benefit, John gives this picture of the name being blotted out. But in reality it was never there.

The next verse (Rev 3:5) sheds even more light on the subject. In fact instead of being a verse disproving this concept it is actually a verse to prove it. This verse and the previous tie together in that this verse says if you have believed on Jesus, and therefore your name has been written in the Book of Life, then He will not blot out your name from that Book. Albert Barnes was again helpful on this subject:
“The expression “I will not blot out” means, that the names would be found there on the great day of final account, and would be found there forever. It may be remarked, that as no one can have access to that book but he who keeps it, there is the most positive assurance that it will never be done, and the salvation of the redeemed will be, therefore, secure.”
Now you may say “Hold on Daniel! The stipulation was given ‘He that overcometh’! This promise is only for those who endure to the end!” Yes I noticed that. But what did Jesus say before He left His disciples here on earth? He prayed to the Father in Joh 17:11 “Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we [are].” Christ here prays that God the Father would keep all those who He had given Him. Do you think that God is unable to keep believers true to the end? Certainly not! If you have put yourself in God’s hands you can rest assured that you are safe. No one can take you from that place of safety.

Once Saved Always Saved?

This question has been central to the debate between Calvinists and Armenians for a number of years. Calvinists believe in what they call “Perseverance of the Saints”. Armenians on the other hand believe that Christians can lose their salvation. Many godly men over the years have been on both sides of the argument. So how do we know which is correct. Like the Bereans we search the Scriptures.

On the Armenian side they bring up these verses:
Heb 6:4 For [it is] impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Heb 6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put [him] to an open shame.

But on the Calvinist side they bring up verses such as:
Joh 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Joh 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
Joh 6:39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

And :
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father's hand.
Joh 10:30 I and [my] Father are one.

So without going into a long list of verses we already seem to have a contradiction. The first passage seems to say that once you have been saved, if you fall away, you cannot regain your salvation. But in the next two passages Jesus assures us that His sheep will not be lost but he will raise them up again at the last day. Well let’s take a closer look at the first passage.

It begins by saying “it is impossible” and then goes through the list of different things until verse six. So you could rewrite it as “It is impossible for those… if they should fall away, to renew them again to repentance;” The activities listed at the end of verse four and through verse five quite clearly refer to an individual who has been saved. This is not merely a false profession for it says: “were made partakers of the Holy Ghost” and we know from other scriptures that this only occurs when a person has been truly saved. So it is obvious that he is referring to true believers in verse 4 and 5.
He goes on to say “If they should fall away”. Now think about this: he never says that any will fall away. He says that IF they fall away then it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance. Think about it phrased this way “Those who have been truly saved(ie. the elect), cannot fall away because if they fell away they could not be renewed to repentance.” All the elect will be saved. Once they have been saved they cannot fall away. Therefore if someone makes a profession and then “falls away” you can make one of two assumptions. Either they we’re never saved in the first place or they didn’t fall away instead they were merely experiencing a valley in their Christian walk. Many who “fall away” do come back later and say that they truly were saved. Hopefully this has been presented clearly enough. Of course I didn’t have enough time to go into all the verses on the subject. If you know of any verses that seem to say otherwise please comment and let me know. And if we disagree we can still be friends. As I said at the outset many godly men through the ages have been on both sides of this argument. I believe you can still be a Christian no matter which side you are on. I was saved in an Armenian church and am now Calvinistic. There is one way to heaven and that’s through the blood of Jesus Christ. It is not through a system. Every system made by man has it flaws. So we follow Christ our head and the commands he left us in His Word.

Thanks for Reading.
In Christ,
Daniel Turack

(911)September 11, 2001. I am sure few of us will ever forget what happened on that date. I still remember when we first heard the news. We were living in Virginia at the time. We were at home doing school and my dad was at work (he was in the Air Force at the time). Suddenly the phone rang. My mom answered and it was my uncle. The first thing he asked was where Dad was. Mom told him at work and he asked where. He was relieved when mom told him 5 miles away. Dad would take frequent trips to the Pentagon for his work so my uncle was worried that he was there when the plane hit. We were glad dad was safe but there are other families whose dads were not safe, who never came home. Because of them we will never forget that day.

(Stomping in puddles)My little brother and I were in town walking across a parking lot when I noticed something that started me thinking. I noticed that every puddle we passed he would stomp in. Thinking about it I realized that stomping in puddles is common among kids. So I began wondering why that is the case? Any thoughts?

(A unique time)Since this rarely happens I figured I would post about it. As of this moment the time is 09:09:09 and the date is 09/09/09. Of course this only occurs once a year and in a few years will cease to occur. So right now I'm headed to the shop on my bike to do the nightly cleanup. What were you doing during this unique time? Let me know.

(Labor Day)Well today is Labor Day. I was working all day first on the grain bins in the morning and then the rest of the day over at the house. So I did pretty much what I always do. So how was your Labor Day? Did any of you do anything interesting? Or was it the standard daily routine like mine?

Yesterday at church there were some missionaries who recently got back from Africa. They were ministering to the deaf through sign language. I was able to sit with them for lunch which was nice. My oldest sister, Bethany, was in a ministry to the deaf at one of the churches we used to attend. Now she is with her husband and their two daughters serving as missonaries in Malawi, Africa. So I had a nice conversation with the missonaries yesterday. After lunch I talked to William Wattermann for awhile. Nice conversation there as well.

(Please Comment)Well according to my hit counter I've had over a thousand visits to my blog. But less than a dozen people have commented on my posts. So I would like some feedback on my blog. I want to know how you found my blog and what you think of it. I would like you to leave your name but if you really don't want to you can make it anonymous. Just please comment. And let me know how you know me. Thanks in advance.

(Please Pray)A friend of mine, Josh Beasley, was in a motorcycle accident this past Monday. His motorcycle went off the road, hit some loose gravel, and spun out. He said if he had not been wearing his helment he would have been killed. But he did have a broken arm along with other injuries. I heard about it last night so I was suprised to see him walk into church this morning. Please pray that he would continue to heal quickly.

Because of the weather we didn't work on the grain bins this morning. Instead we're going to work at the house this morning. I'm still trying to finish the electrical for the house. I'm done with all but like the last 5% which usually takes the longest. Tonight we have a hymn sing at the business so we need to leave work early. We have one each Wednesday night at seven thirty. Friday night we are having a movie night at the business. We are showing Fireproof. The last two times we showed it we didn't have many people show so we hope to get a better turnout. We have free admission so I think it was a publicty problem. We'll have to see how it goes. For those of you who have seen the film what do think of it?

(A new job)I started a new job this morning. No I have not quit at the ice cream shop. I am still working there and still working on the house renovation. And during my free time I am still doing some video editing. This is just a part time job helping a local farmer with some tasks that he is no longer able to do. This morning we were cleaning out two grain bins of the rotten corn in the bottom of the bins. Boy did that stink. Then we tarred around the bottom outside the bins. We have another three to do tomorrow morning. Then this afternoon we are working over at the house. This Saturday Angie is having a graduation party that I am making a DVD for so I will probably have some late nights this week. But I guess better busy than bored.:)

Pictures

Finally got on to post some pictures.
These are from the 2 mile race.

That's Caleb and I after the awards were passed out

These are all those who received awards in the 2 mile race.




These next pics are from the volleyball game at Hillary's Graduation.

This was when we wern't really playing a game.

That's me in the middle, Micah Nelson on my right, and Ellie Stangl on my left.

That's Matthew Miller next to the net in the gray shirt and Christopher Wattermann to the right of the picture in the red shirt.

(Sunrise)Well one advantage of an all nighter is that you are sure to see the sunrise. Sometimes during a house renovation you begin to feel like it will never end. The sunrise is beautiful this morning. I find it interesting that the more clouds there are the more amazing the sunrise is. How true that is in life. The more clouds that shadow our lives the more beautiful it is when the sun shines again. "Sorrow may last for the night but joy comes in the morning."

Doing an all nighter at the house tonight. I am supposed to be finished with the electrical this week so I am trying to finish last minute. Been drinking alot of Mountain Dew Voltage:). If you have never had some you should try it.

Ran a two mile race yesterday morning. I came in tenth place overall. For my age category I got third place. My time was 18:06. Last night I finally finished editing the musical DVD. I am glad to be done.

The Post few wanted

I've decide to go ahead and post the video anyway despite the small interest. But please let me know if you like it. At least say thank you.:)

Wow the ending to my last post was interesting. I do most of my posts from my phone. That last post I was writing on the way home from church and kept drifting off. What I was saying was the comments are helpful to know that the blog is being read. Thanks again. Also I really appreciate it when those of you who see me at church and have been to my blog let me know. Speaking of which those of you who saw the musical at church today please let me know what you thought. I'll always take feedback even if it is anonymous.:)

Well for those of you who didn't realize it last Friday was also my birthday. Caleb is my twin brother. I did the post like that to see how well you, my blog readers, know me. I guess that shows you don't know me very well at all. Speaking of knowing people, I want to say thank you to all those who have posted comments. It really help.

(Happy Birthday )Well today is my brother Caleb's seventeenth birthday. He and I are the closest in age of all our siblings so we have been pretty close. Its been good to have had him as an older brother for the past seventeen years.

Took the CLEP History of the US 1 this morning. I passed so thats more money saved and more credits earned. I already have over half of my credits earned for my Business administration degree. That has all been CLEP or DSST tests. The base has a testing center which is very helpful.

Well we are working at the house all day today. The Ice Cream Shop is closed on Tuesdays so thats our main day for work on the house. It is an old farmhouse that we totally gutted. Right now we are at the rough in phase. I am the plumber and the electritian which means I am doing all the work associated with both of those jobs. It is a three story house which also has a basement. We are required to follow code and get inspections. It has gone pretty well so far.

Yesteray we attended Hillary Hipps' graduation party. We had quite the drive (2.5 hours one way) but it was worth it. We were the first ones there, which is unusual for our family.:) After talking for a little while we soon set up the volleyball net and began playing. At first we were just hitting the ball back and forth with no real game structure. But we soon had enough players to start a game. We played Speed with three teams of six players. I got the front center position on my team. Matthew Miller was on my right with Esther Beasley behind him as server. Ellie Stangl was behind me and Josiah Nelson was on my left with Christopher Wattermann behind him. We played two games and our team won the second. Thanks for having us Hipps family.

It was an excellent sermon at church this morning. Pastor Nelson preached on the lives of three of the travel companions of Paul. The first was Aristarcus who stayed with Paul even in persecutions. The second was John Mark who deserted Paul but was later restored and became a close friend. The last was Justus who was only mentioned once as Pauls companion. All three were blessings to Paul. After the sermon was a fellowship meal which was very good (especially the pie). Later on in the afternoon I had a nice talk with one of the young Wattermann boys. He is an excellent conversationalist considering his age. I found him to be very knowledgable. Well I guess he is homeschooled.

I heard this quote yesterday and thought I would share it. It was used in regard to the current economic crises, but I thought it was very applicable to life in general. It's a reminder to not get bogged down focusing on past trials like the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, losing a close friend, or even our past failures. The quote is: "If you are constantly looking in the rearview mirror of your life you will end up in a wreck with you as the victim". Of course this does not include remembering past blessings. We should definately remember God's goodness to us. I am reminded of Paul's words "Forgeting those things which are behind... Looking unto Jesus... I press torward the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus, who endured the cross.

Considering a post

Well the editing work on the musical has gone pretty smoothly. I've finished editing the first scene so I'm considering posting a little preview. That would mean of course compressing it for the web. I doubt anyone could view it in it's current AVI format. But I need to know if there's any interest. Please leave a comment and let me know.

P.S. I'd like at least a half dozen people to be interested.

Well here are some pics of the musical.

SCENE 1

It's time for me to make my fortune. We agreed to share the gold together.We're living in the promised land.

SCENE 2

"We are the Minutemen ready for action"

"Be brave men."

"Lay down your arms rebels or you're all dead men. "
"If they want war let it begin here"
"We must leave our loved ones in God's hands" My dear captain are you okay?Your Father died with honor
"No Elias you can't be gone."

What is this Freedom you died for
"We hold these truths to be self evident..."
This was a fun pic done afterward.

The performances this past weekend went very well. We had two in Seward and one at the Gretna Community Church. The one at Gretna was the best as far as sound goes. I was able to get a direct feed from the sound system which was really nice. I fed it into my GL2 and then used that as the main camera. I've got all the footage dumped to my computer so now I am starting the editing. I was up until 4:30 this morning trying to get the white balance matched between the two cameras. I think I got it to pretty much where I want it although its not perfect. Pictures of the event will come soon.

Well tomorrow we will need to leave for Seward between 6:00 and 6:30am. I'm filming the dress rehersal which starts at 9:00am. Then between that and the performance at 7:00pm I'll play back the rehersal for the cast. For the filming in the evening I will be using three camcorders. I'm taking two of them and a friend of the Wissmanns is bringing the third. I will enjoy having three angles for the editing. Those of you who have done any film editing know what I'm talking about.

Today I'm replenishing the stock for the business. I just finished at Sams and now I'm at WalMart. We plan to be open on the 4th so I made sure we have plenty of stock. Griswold has a vetrans reunion next week that includes a parade down main street that goes in front of our shop. So we should be pretty busy next week. But the busier the better.

We had a blessed Lord's Day this past Sunday. We are currently attending Millard Aliance Church in Omaha, Nebraska. It is a very nice fellowship. We have been attending for the past couple of months. This past Sunday, after the service, we had a practice for the Foundations of Freedom musical. It is a July 4th performance that the Wissmann family is putting together. Quite a few of the familes at church are helping in the musical, either by acting or assisting. The Stangl family joined us this week for the practice since three of them are acting. Two of the guys are in a young mens Bible study that I attend so I had already met them but it was nice to meet some of thier family. I'm going to be filming the event and then editing the footage.

(A nice visit)Last Saturday we had a nice visit at our ice cream shop from some of our friends from church. The Grady and Nelson families stopped by for some ice cream and a short visit. We had a good visit with them which lasted about an hour. Speaking of hours we've extended our open hours. We are now open Mondays from noon to nine, Wednesday to Friday four to nine, and Saturdays from noon to eight. We close on Sunday and Tuesday.

Its hot. The temp has reached 100 F. And unlike Texas where we used to live, here in Iowa its a humid heat. This morning Dad, Joseph, and I went over to work at the house. We were scraping and painting the front of the garage. By the time we finished both Dad and I had soaked shirts. I think the hottest weather I've been in was when it got up to 120 in Texas. Thankfully we had a house with a pool. But the was pretty warm.

Father's Day

I thought I'd take a break from my usual topic to do a post on the holiday tomorrow. I just want to say here that I'm very grateful for my dad. Someone came into our ice cream shop today who told us that his relationship with his dad is pretty strained. He was not much older than I am so it gave me a picture of what I can be thankful for. Thinking about that reminded me of a poem I wrote to my Dad when I was about eight for Father's Day. Here it is below:

"My Dad is my best friend,

I will always let him in,

Into my house he will come,

To make him feel at home I'll hum."

I thought the idea behind that poem really summed up how I feel in regard to my Dad. Sure there are tough times but we always are able to talk about it and sort it out.

But his post would not be complete without me writing this. I am grateful for my earthly father but I am even more grateful for my heavenly Father. He has been good to me more than words can describe. I dearly love both my heavenly Father and my earthly father.

We're open!

Well we we're able to open today. We had an excellent day of sales. It seems like the cones and "combines" were the favorite but we did sell quite a few hot dogs(over 40). We are somewhat concerned because the ice cream mix we received this morning is already half gone. And we still have tomorrow and Saturday that we'll be open. Our next shipment is scheduled for next Thursday. Hopefully it'll last till then but we're not sure. We were able to go pick up our sign today and get it installed. It isn't totally complete but the sign guy said he can finish it in place tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow I'd better get to bed since I got less than five hours of sleep last night.

Another day closer to opening day

Toady's work actually began last night. A lot of us didn't get to bed till early this morning. I personally didn't make it to bed till around 3:45AM. We were working to get the building ready for the health inspector who came this morning. We passed the inspection which we are all very happy about. So we still plan to open tomorrow. The ice cream machine was delivered today but we're still working to get all the electrical and plumbing hookups made. We actually spent a good part of this afternoon in Atlantic trying to find the right electrical plugs for the connections. we ended up getting one of them there but the second one we needed we got from a local electrician. We plan to open at 2:00PM tomorrow and go till 9:00PM. For starting out our plan is to open Thursday through Saturday. We will probably stay open longer on Saturdays(probably opening around 11:00AM). Our sign still isn't completed but is supposed to be finished tomorrow. I still don't have pictures to load but I'll try and get them soon.

Stolen Card Info

Today my bank called to say that they noticed some strange activity on my debit card. It appears someone got the information and began making online purchases with it. It was actually my card for the business and it added up to quite a bit of money(over $1000). They cancelled the purchases and the card. The only problem was this happened while I was in town doing business shopping so I became severely limited. You don't realize how dependant you get on modern technology until you lose it. Our Internet computer has been acting up lately because of some viruses. And we still plan to open later this week. It will be a miracle if we can get everything together in time

A Day of Shopping

After taking a CLEP test this morning I spent the rest of the day doing shopping for the start up supplies for the business. Most of my shopping was done at Sam's Club. We got two large cart fulls of everything from ice cream toppings, to coffee supplies, to sundae cups. Of course everything comes in bulk so that adds to the size. Our ice cream machine is supposed to be ready Monday or Tuesday, the ice cream mix is supposed to be delivered Thursday, our sign was supposed to be finished this week, and we have the health inspector coming next Wednesday. I'm really looking forward to my day of rest on Sunday. I'm not sure if i could survive without it. Well all our supplies need to be unloaded so I'd better go.