A Holy Mess

Apart from Jesus Christ, there is no hope for mankind.

2010-10-30T21:38:00.003-04:00

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Paul's claim that his strength is made perfect in weakness is starting to make sense. My own shortcomings certainly draw my attention to the fact that Jesus is the only I have going for me. I honestly cannot comprehend how those who rely on themselves make it through the week.

Thor celebrated his second birthday today. The whole ordeal reminded me how great of a mother Stephanie is. Time sure does fly.

Thor's Words

2010-03-29T20:01:00.003-04:00

My Succeeding diet

2010-02-02T19:10:00.003-05:00

So, I believe it was through kottke.org that I heard of "The Line Diet". Quite simply, you graph a line from your present weight on the current date, to your goal weight on your goal date. I have decided to take my time. I am aiming to lose 61 pounds in a year. So far, it is working like a charm. I weigh myself every day, and if my weight is above the line, I don't get to eat anything that day. The fear of foodless days motivates me to eat better all of the rest of the days. So far, I have lost about ten pounds and am way ahead of schedule. You can see the graph before.

The ridiculous drop on January 16th was cause by a little stomach bug, and I was quite surprised that I didn't put it all right back on. I found an incredible little spreadhseet online that does all of the work for you. It even instructs you how to eat. It graphs the points for you, and everything. There is an online version at http://www.thelinediet.com/. There is also an iPhone app. The spreadsheet I found was here. I modified it a bit, and learned a lot about excel's IF THEN statements.

Anyway, I thought this might encourage some of you. Peace.

P.S. Do you know why I am blogging again? It is because I have a million other things to do.

As I go off to school.

2010-02-01T06:27:00.002-05:00

I will be leaving for school any minute. I am waiting on Leslie to get here, so she can watch Thor. I am in week 5 out of 12 weeks of student teaching. I am shamed to say that I have never worked harder in my entire life. Thankfully, my head is well above water, and I am surprisingly chipper. Last week, I woke up at 5 every morning and apart from my normal commitments was working either in school, or on schoolwork every hour of every day. But, Christ is seeing me through. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I have been yearning for more the past few days. I truly wonder how the athesist answers such longings.

Wounded

2010-01-14T16:50:00.003-05:00

Apparently it took something as exciting as last night to get me to write a blog post. Last night, around 11 p.m., while Charles and Bobby were still lingering after Bible study, I started playing with the pocket knife Andy gave me for Christmas. Mind you, this isn't the typical knife. It is large enough to fit comfortably in my large hands, and spring loaded. If you open it it ten percent, it take care of the rest. Therein lies the reason I was playing with it. Although I hardly ever carry a knife, and am far from violent, it is fun to look at people and say things like "You want to say that again?" while simultaneously flipping the knife open effortlessly and flashing it before them. The sound of it opening is the perfect conclusion to any threatening rhetorical question. It really is fun, and most audiences find it amusing too.

So there I was last night opening and closing my knife. Somehow, while locked open, it slipped from my hands and began to fall. Instinctively, I went to grab it... Somehow, in this split second, rather than gracefully catch the knife by the handle, I somehow shoved it into my pelvis. It instantly hurt, but not much beyond the typical puncture wound. I set the knife down, told everyone in the room that I had stabbed myself and waddled into the bathroom to survey the damages.

About this time, and before I was aware of what had happened, Stephanie looked at the knife and this is what she saw.

There is no dollar bill in this picture to give you a sense of scale, but from the tip of the knife to where the blood stops is two inches. I used a tape measure. Suddenly, Stephanie was quite concerned. She quickly came to examine me. I must say, as a medical professional, I was not too impressed. I was as calm as a cucumber, but she could hardly looking at the wound. It was two inches deep, and only about an inch long. I have concluded that the only reason it did not go further is that it dead-ended into my pelvic bone. After consulting everyone, we figured I best go to the emergency room. Stephanie and I took off while Bobby and Charles stayed back for Thor.

It was while driving that I realized how lucky I am. If it had been two inches lower, we would be stopping at two children, and if it was 2 inches higher, I would have been urinating in a bag for the rest of my life (apparently they can't fix ruptured bladders). Praise the Lord for letting me get away with only a minor flesh wound!

We went to Mount Carmel East and had a great experience. The wait was short, and I enjoyed trying to eavesdrop on the Spanish speakers behind me. The doctor was quick, reassuring, and pleasant. He used a whopping 3 stitches, and I am glad that was it. They hurt. We were remarkably home by 1:40 and I was on time for school today!

So, there it is--my adventure for the week. Thanks for reading and pray that I blog about all the other beautiful things in my life soon.

The Cost of Discipleship

2009-11-12T21:21:00.002-05:00

Is there such a thing as cheap and easy discipleship? Because in all honesty, my discipleship has been both cheap and easy by any standards. This makes me question whether or not it is discipleship at all. Let me share with you the fate of the initial twelve.

1. John died of extreme old age in Ephesus, but they tried to kill him by boiling him in a vat of oil.

2. Judas Iscariot, after betraying his Lord, hanged himself.

3. Peter was crucified, head downward during the persecution of Nero.

4. Andrew died on a cross at Patrae, in Achaia, a Grecian colony.

5. James was thrown from a pinnacle of the temple and then beaten to death with a club.

6. Bartholomew was flayed alive in Albanopolis, Armenia.

7. James, the elder son of Zebedee, was beheaded at Jerusalem.

8. Thomas, the Doubter, was run through the body with a lance at Coromandel, in the East Indies.

9. Philip was hanged against a pillar at Heropolis, a city of Phrygia, in Asia Minor.

10. Matthew was slain by the sword, in Ethiopia, Abyssinia.

11. Thaddeus was shot to death with arrows.

12. Simon died on a cross in Persia (now Iran).

I am thankful that it is unlikely that this will be the fate of any American reading this post. However, that does not mean there is no price to pay. I am one of the most comfortable people I know. Stephanie and I live without very little--sure we could have more, but we could have a whole lot less. Somehow the devil has convinced me that I am entitled to comfort--that I deserve the amenities we enjoy. In other words, my attitude would aptly be described as the antithesis of what it ought to be according Philippians 2:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

Christ, who in fact created the world he came to visit, made himself nothing.
I, on the other hand, have never created anything and damage what I touch am convinced that it is my right to be comfortable, have what I want, and do what I wish when I desire.

God opposes the proud and therefore opposes me. Lord, break me of my pride.

Ohio, it is pronounced "ofn"

2009-10-30T18:49:00.002-04:00

I miss blogging. Today, I was in the classroom of a very well qualified 6th grade reading teacher. One of the kids I was talking to while the teacher was out of the room said "ofTen". I corrected her and had to prove myself with the dictionary. When the teacher returned the students asked her to say the word spelled "O-F-T-E-N". What did she say? She pronounced it how everyone else in Ohio does, "ofTen". I would say 75% of MN, gets this right, but only about 2% of Ohio. Shape up Ohioans...

Back to School Jumping Through Hoops

2009-09-08T21:43:00.003-04:00

I went back to school today. As is a common problem at regional campuses, the course offering this quarter were not adequate for my needs. If I waited for every class to come through Lancaster, I would be in school for two more years. So, for the next 10 weeks, I will be commuting over an hour each way to Athens, OH 5 days a week. In all honesty, it will probably be more like 4 days a week. Today I ran from corner to corner of the campus to get a parking pass, a TB test, a background check, opt out of their health insurance, and attend class in the different buildings. It is amazing the number of hoops education majors have to jump through!

Initially, when Stephanie and I decided that Athens was a must, I was imagining it to be the worst 10 weeks of my life. I am happy to report that this is no longer how I feel. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Typically (sadly), I rarely feel I have to call that verse into action. I am excited to lean heavily on that truth this quarter. I am excited to forget my own power and lean heavily on his. I know it is only day one, but I feel great, and am already a week ahead. Praise the Lord!

It has been forever since I posted. Hopefully, I am back.

Orange Peel Resolved

2009-08-10T19:47:00.003-04:00

So I have tried getting a hold of Jonathan many times and things always fall through. I was worried that we weren't going to resolve things in time if I didn't hurry up and get the ticket info from him and call the park back. Well, I finally got a hold of Jonathan, and found out that the guy I had spoken with took the initiative to call Jonathan himself and tell him to tear up the ticket. Praise the Lord, all is resolved, and Jonathan is not broke.

Orange Peel Update

2009-07-16T13:29:00.002-04:00

I just called the National Park Service and they connected me to the Law Enforcement Division. I began by telling him our story and interjected that in my opinion, $275 seemed awfully excessive for an honest mistake. After all, this wasn't an act of defiance, it truly was a misunderstanding of the law. I went on to state that the real issue I was calling was to address the mismanagement of out ticket by the ranger. He knew the ranger as soon as I said his name and did confess that he was quite the rookie. He empathised with us and more or less stated that the intent of the law is to fine campers who leave sites littered with trash and other more serious offenders. He was extremely professional and understanding. I did not have the ticket in hand, so we could not take care of everything, but he said that when I call him back with necessary info he will speak with the appropriate supervisor and see what he can do. he made no promises but certainly led me to believe that he would work something out in order to lessen or eliminate the penalty. I love it when I call some place ready to really fight and the people on the other end are so awesome that I don't even have the opportunity Enterprise is like that... I have had problems with 3 out of 4 rental experiences and every time I go in there armed to verbally destroy them they take care of it and then some before I get 5 words out. Mad props to good management!

Heaven and Hell

2009-07-16T11:25:00.000-04:00

I was recently asked how I know that heaven and hell exist--how do I know that there is something beyond death

My short answer to the question is that a reliable source told me so.

If I wanted to know about how the cell functions, I would talk to a biologist. If I wanted to know what the strange growth on my elbow is I would go to a dermatologist. If my car is broken, I go to the mechanic. If I want to know about China, I will talk to someone from there or at least a well-versed visitor. There are few things I enjoy more than consulting experts. I am always so amazed when someone can spend 30 seconds with something and then tell me exatly what is going on. I love DIY projects, but willfully admit that if I can do it in 12 hours, an expert can probably do it in 2. It is true, that sometimes two experts disagree, or that someone who claims to be an expert is not. Angie's List, the BBB, and conversations with other experts help us discern who we can trust and who we can't.

So, if I have questions about the after life, where do I turn? Well, I am limited to people who have been there, or someone lives outside the physical realm to tell us about it. A few people do claim to have experienced heaven through NDEs (near-death experiences), but many of those can be explained biologically. A Christian, Din Piper, wrote the book 90 Minutes in Heaven. His experience is very different from the typical NDE. I have read the book and it is very convincing, but I am still a little skeptical.

Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." He also stated, "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca', is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell."

It takes little searching to know that according to the Bible, Jesus certainly believed in both heaven and hell. This leaves us with a couple questions of validation. If Jesus indeed said these things, and if He is a reliable source, then I can trust that heaven and hell do exist. Here is where I can confidently refer to the work of others. I could regurgitate logical and historical reasons to trust the scriptures, as well as reasons to believe that Christ knew what he was talking about and had no motives to make the stuff up. But, we do what others have already done so well. Read Lee Strobel's book A Case for Christ for an excellent defense of these and other matters.

Orange Peel

2009-07-11T17:08:00.002-04:00

I am currently at the Denver Int'l airport awaiting our flight home from the FLY Convention. It was an incredible week and many came to know the Lord. On Thursday, our church took a couple of vans into RMNP to enjoy God's creation. On the way down the mountain Jonathan began to peel an orange. He was going to throw the peel out of the window while we drove by a overlook, but I told him to wait until it was some place where no one would see it. He tried to throw it over a wall, but didn't quite make it. A few hundred feet down the mountain, we heard sirens and pulled over when possible. After 30 minutes, a dyslexic park ranger newb issued Jonathan a ticket. We all thought it was pretty ridiculous, giving a 15 year old who had never been in a National Park before a ticket for one small orange peel. As we drove away, Jonathan began to examine the paper work and discovered that he owed $275! He snapped. That boy has never had $275 in his life.

The story really got interesting last night. While at the Convention, I got called into the office. Somehow, the park ranger figured out how to contact me through the YMCA. I was told that we had something of his that he needed. I tried calling, but the number was apparently wrong. Since then, he has left voicemails on both Jonathan and my cell phones. It sounds like he forgot to keep his copy of the ticket. So, what do we do with this? I am committed to advocating for Jonathan through this whole ordeal even if it means trying to raise some money. My question is this: Do you think it is possible to use the ranger's mistake as an opportunity to get out of the fine? What is he going to do? Ask us to mail it to him? Would we (Jonathan) be obligated to comply? What do you think?

Discontinued IKEA shelves

2009-07-03T16:27:00.005-04:00

Today I am starting something I have contemplated for a while. I am writing my first retrospective blog. Stephanie wanted to hang some shelves she found in the IKEA catalog but was disappointed to find out they had discontinued the brackets. They looked simple enough, so I made them! They are far from fine furniture, but if you like the slightly rugged look and can handle a dark stain (hides imperfections better), these were easy and inexpensive to build! I used standard 2x2s and 2x12s. The pictures really show about everything.

I know I have really awesome MS Paint skills. I am not sure if it was the best call, but since my walls are super thick (sheetrock over plaster) I used 4" toggle bolts to secure them to my wall. The shelves are heavy enough that they don't need to be attached. Stephanie, Thor, and I leave for the FLY Convention tomorrow, so we will be writing to you all when we get home!

Coffee Table

2009-07-01T18:17:00.007-04:00

A long time ago, our friends the Staffans bought an old table, chopped the legs off, and made it their coffee table. We really liked it, and the design seemed simple enough, so I decided way back then to make it. I never found the time, until Stephanie's birthday was around the corner, and I didn't know what eles to do. So, I snuck over to the Staffan's one night to take some recounassaince photos. They aree below. I took more than this, but this was really enough information.

The next day, after the paper route, Jonathan and I went on a secretive lumber hunt and winded u p at Menard's where they had an incredible selection of pine. They blew Home Depot and 84 Lumber out of the water. We hurried to the Hall's house and began working. Stephanie was sleeping upstairs thinking that I was working on my car.

We routed grooves about 3/4" deep into the legs, and used a chisel to square the bottom s of the grooves. I enjoyed using an old hand tool. I bet Jesus used chisels. We simply glued the 1x6s in and clamped everything really tight. We did put brad nails through the 4x4 on the inside to help.

In order to fasten the top, we layed the 1x10s wrong side up on the saw horses and then layed the table on them. centeres the table to the top and used strips of 2x2 that were sitting around to fasten the top, as well as glue.

I sanded the crap out of it using the sander from my previous garage sale post. It worked awesome.

Here it is ready for varnish! I was working late into the night!

Our camera lend broke... So, I had to stand outside to fit it into a picture--not to mention that is is huge. It looked normal until we put it in our living room. Stephanie wants me to shop a few inches off of the legs. That may be a good idea.

Happy Birthday Stephanie!

Haier Air Conditioner Makes Watery Noises (fixed)

2009-06-30T21:59:00.004-04:00

Most of the people who currently read my blog are immediate family members. I don't imagine any of them being entertainedby posts like this one. This is for the people out there who bought the same air conditioner and are wondering if they can make that awful water noise stop. You can. It is far from rocket science too. I dismantled the thing and as I suspected, the water that condenses on the coils is caught by a pan on the bottom and then when it gets deep enough the fan blade splashes through it endlessly. Most air conditioners drain the water. I don't know why Haier doesn't. Initially, all I did was drill a hole in the bottom to let the water out. That worked, but the water was continually dripping on my sill and I thought that over time it could cause some damage. So, I purchased a grommet and some tubing at the local hardware store ($.69) and piped the water away.

Voila, no more puddle for the fan to splash in, and a tube that constantly provides me with distilled water!

The "Next" Button

2009-06-28T12:14:00.001-04:00

I have only recently begun appreciating (and contributing to) the blogosphere. I initially managed subscriptions with MS Outlook, but it wasn't pretty. I was soon converted to Google Reader and thought it was awesome. I tried to share its joys with others but people had lots of objections, especially Bobby. He noted that Google Reader sterilizes everything. I couldn't disagree with him. Below is a comparison of a blog in original form and the reader version.Well, while Stephanie and I were visiting her relatives in San Diego, her cousin introduced me to Google Reader's "Next" Button. It is pure genius. Simply log into google reader, click setting and then go to the Goodies tab. Not just click and drag the highlighted "Next" into your favorites bar. From now on, all you have to do is click next and it will take you chronologically through your blog subscriptions one at a time and you don't have to miss a thing. It has revolutionized my computing experience. Multiple times a day I walk up to the computer to do two things; check my email, and click the "Next" button. When you are out of new blogs to read, it kindly informs you that you have reached the end of the internet.

Homebrew Series: The Barley Crusher

2009-06-27T11:00:00.000-04:00

This past week, I brewed my first lager with and for Andy. I documented most of the process and will use this opportunity to introduce much of our fancy equipment. Today I highlight the homemade barley crusher. I merely mentioned to Andy that I wanted to build onee so that I could savee the $120 or so that they retail for online. Within a week he had a pretty goodd working machine. He continued to refine it for a few weeks as we tried it out and I better clarified what we needed it to do. Below are videos of it:

Financial Scheme #2

2009-06-26T12:08:00.000-04:00

Back in April I finaggled some money through the US Mint and my credit card. I later applied for a credit card to do this again, but my activation attempt failed. After agreeing to give her 80% of the proceeds, Stephanie came with me to the bank to activate the card. I then ordered $9750 worth of Native American $1 coins. That is more than three times the amount pictured here. Last time, the bank was a little annoyed, so I am going to keep them packaged this time.

Nice toes huh? This direct ship program is a perfect example of why the US government is broke! They sent me just about 200 lbs worth of package next day air! I went to UPS and used precise measurements to calculate how much the shipping charges would be. According to UPS.com, to ship 200 lbs from Indiana to Canal Winchester via next day air, it would cost over $600! This makes me feel a little guilty. Also, why on earth didn't they use the Postal Service!?

Anyway, we already are able to claim $100 from Capital One, and over time should be able to earn interest on the money for the next 9 months!

Alarm Clock

2009-06-25T19:35:00.002-04:00

I need one of these!

Saving Money at Garage Sales!

2009-06-25T09:42:00.000-04:00

Over the past year I have acquired some excellent equipment at incredible prices! Garage sales do require patience, but they sure are worth it! If you really want something, but cannot justify paying full price, start looking! Below are my best four finds in the last year.

1. Air compressor. I thought I paid $40 for the thing, but jealous friends just reminded me that I got it for $25! From what I can find on the internet, it retails for around $150.

2. Coffee Grinder. 50 cents! True, we don't need one, but when you are a man who sells whole bean coffee it is worth giving away a 50 cent grinder to secure a good customer.

3. Bike Trailer. $50 is all I paid for this pre-assembled, never-used bike trailer. It retails for $130. I used craigslist RSS to be the first one to get this sucker.

4. Sander. $2! It wasn't working when I bought it, but the man selling it was pretty sure it just needed a new cord--a gamble worth taking. He was right. Retail value over $50 I am sure.
Here are my tips for good garage saling.

1. Look for community garage sales. You can really maximize your gas milegae this way.
2. Know what you are looking for.
3. Know how much you are willing to pay ahead of time.

4. Bargain! It never hurts to ask. People often times don't know how much their stuff is worth.

5. Don't feel obligated to look at everything. Sometimes you can size up a sale within 1 minute. Don't waste your time on sales that don't interest you. Walk away and move on!

Craigslist RSS

2009-06-24T11:05:00.002-04:00

Have you ever been looking for something on craigslist, but whenever you find something, it is two days or two hours too late? Well, if you use use RSS technology (google reader, outlook, etc.), you can have the right craigslist posts sent straight to you!! Simply perform your search like you normally would and scroll down to the bottom, right click the RSS emblem and copy the shortcut.
Then, paste the shortcut into your RSS manager. Now, whenever someone posts something that meets your search criteria, you will be notified right away and you can be the first one to jump on the great deal! This is how I secured our bike trailer on Saturday, as well as the air conditioner I am picking up this afternoon! I also have one feed set up that notifies me whenever anything free is posted in Canal Winchester. I love this technology. I hope it helps you snag some great deals this summer!

Ho Ho Sheet Cake

2009-06-23T12:00:00.001-04:00

Usually a person would take a picture of the whole cake and then one of a nice fresh slice. Hindsight is 20/20. Oh well, this captures how good it was. We bought a piece of this many moons ago at the little bakery in town and Stephanie found this "Ho Ho Cake" recipe on allrecipes.com. I took a picture of the last morsel right before I devoured it.
The bottom is just a box cake, but the top is glorious. It was quite a bit of work, but it was totally worth it. This recipe is a keeper. One step in the process was too add 5 Tbsp. flour to 1 1/4 cup milk and cook stirring continually until thick. It became a really neat goop. I thought it was cool.
Anyway, if you are looking for some good dessert to make, give this a try!

Bike Riding

2009-06-22T08:33:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, Stephanie, Thor, Jacob and I went on a 9 mile bike ride. It was awesome and we hope to log many miles this summer. Yesterday, Bobby, Thor, Perry and I logged a few miles during Probitous. Bobby wrote a nice post about it here. There is a cute picture of Thor.

Archaeology

2009-06-20T14:00:00.000-04:00

I borrowed Andy's edger the other day to spruce up my sidewalks. It led to an archaeological dig. I carefully and meticulously unearthed 8 feet of sidewalk I never knew we had! Again, I would give anything for a before picture. I used to think they just quit pouring. Nope. The sod monster had been claiming inch after inch for only God knows how many years.

Coffee Roasting Honed

2009-06-19T11:20:00.001-04:00

Stephanie took it upon herself to photo document the entire coffee roasting process a few weeks ago. Both the machine and the process have been highly refined since last time. Andy got an old grill for free so he cut it down and mounted the roaster semi-permanently over the existing burners. We upgraded to a 5/8" shaft and reinforced the shell. It now dons a hopper with a valve, and the fanciest modification is the adjustable drum. This way, we can manipulate the location of the drum on the fly.

Here it is in all of its glory. It will comfortably roast a pound of coffee in under ten minutes.Here is a close up of the fancy adjuster. The end of the shaft is threaded and is free to move within the bearing. The cylinder extending from the bearing is secured to the shaft collar on the bearing as well as the nut on the threads. Therefore, if you hold the shaft and turn that collar, the shaft will be adjusted in our out by the threads. This allows us to adjust for the expanding and contracting of the drum. The weight of the door is the only thing that keeps the beans in while they roast. You can see the chaff resting on the machine. Maybe one day we will install an after-burner, but for now it is just a messy process.While roasting, I continually assess the progress by the sound of the beans cracking, the smell of them roasting, as well as continual visual inspections using the tryer shown below. The difference between a light light roast and charcoal is only about 120 seconds.

Here is an action shot of the beans being dumped! You can see the flame below! They look perfect!

This last photo is of my beautiful mother overseeing the high-tech cooling process. It actually works remarkably well. Note that the fan is blowing down. If it was blowing up, the coffee beans would be everywhere! That's it folks! If you want a pound send an email to bumblesboast@hotmail.com We should have a label soon!

Summer Projects

2009-06-18T22:52:00.003-04:00

I am not quite positive why it has been so long, but I am going to blame it on summer projects. I have a huge list of things I want to get done this summer, and it is never too early to start. I already have checked one off of the list and am kicking myself for not taking any before pictures. I NEVER remember to take before pictures! My north gutter has had problems since day one. The home inspector even told me that the gutter sags in the middle. He misspoke. The house sags in the middle. In fact, it sags 3 inches in the middle of a 30 foot span. Since the gutter was essentially an elevated pool, it would drip for a good 4 days after every rain. The drops were eating away at the pavers below, carving out the grout in my footer, and slowly eroding the substrate beneath the pavers. The continual moisture and lack of sunlight also make that side of the house prone to mossy walls. one fix would take care of everything.

I took the gutter down and tore off everything down to the rafters. A lack of drip edging had allowed lots of moisture to get back in there and rot away quite a bit. Andy came over the following day and we made pretty quick work of the whole deal. We had to get creative with the flashing but I am pretty happy with it all. It functions perfectly.

The only problem is that it looks kind of silly. My roof is low in the middle, and my gutter needs to be high in the middle. My brain plays a trick on me and makes me think that the gutter is super sloped, but the gutter only slopes a half an inch on both sides. The stupid roof is the problem. Anyway, it was exciting to accomplish and it was nice to scrub the siding and know that the moss won't be back in 6 weeks.

Literal Video

2009-06-02T21:54:00.003-04:00

Apparently this has been an internet fad for awhile, but I just learned of it today. Someone simply rewrites the lyrics to a song to match what happens in the music video. We thought that it was quite hilarious. All other literal videos we looked up were quite disappointing after this one though.

Crafty Husband :)

2009-05-31T20:57:00.004-04:00

I have never been known for being the creative or even resourceful type, but today a vision I had about a year ago finally came to fruition. It is sad that such a simple idea took so long to materialize. While playing "Bigger & Better" with the kids a long time ago, I found a candle stand in someone's trash and had a great idea. I converted it into a plant holder! Well... There really was no converting to be done other than sticking little terracotta pots on it. The hard part was finding the right plants for it. Below are pictures of the porch (for context), and the candle holder turned plant stand.

The porch needs some color, but it will be there in a week or so when a couple budding plants finally bloom. The front only looks so nice because my wonderful mother put mad effort into cleaning it up with me this afternoon. Hope you enjoy.

Growing Hops

2009-05-30T10:08:00.004-04:00

I planted 4 hop rhizomes a few weeks ago and as of Wednesday one of the plants was already taller than my fence. According to what I have read, hops grow as tall as 20 feet. So yesterday I set out to build something for them to climb high for cheap. My total price tag was well under $40. Selling for $2/oz. I should be able to recapture my costs pretty quickly.

In dreaming up my design I had to come up with a way to get the hops down every fall without a 16' step ladder. My final plan was to run a cable between to poles that could be lowered. The pictures below should show my plan better than I can explain it. I purchased 2 16' 2x4s, 50 ft. of 1/16" cable, two eye bolts, string, and a couple other miscellaneous parts. I originally planned on using pulleys but decided that they were unnecessary.

The Envelope System

2009-05-28T11:28:00.006-04:00

I love personal finance. My first financial mentor was John Commuta, and am currently tutored by Dave Ramsey 3 mornings a week as I deliver the paper. I also read fivecentnickel and get some good stuff from him. Stephanie and I are around 1/4 million in debt. We aren't good targets for identity thieves. A couple months ago I worked out a very detailed and disciplined plan to be completely debt free in less than 11 years "on just the money we already make". (Commuta uses that phrase in his ads all the time) Hopefully, our income will increase and that number will shrink.

The problem is that my plan depends on Stephanie and I sticking to our budget. It is tight but realistic. Our dedication vacillates constantly because there are always special circumstances that justify fudging the budget just a bit. Those little exceptions in multiple budget categories really add up. According to our budget we are supposed to have around $800 to add to our smallest debt every month (up from $400 because we paid off the Honda! YES!). This month we barely paid our bills.

We were out of credit card debt quite a few months ago, but we funnel everything we can through our discover card in order to maximize our cashback bonus. We have not carried a balance in months. But, Ramsey confronts this mindset often on his show and insists that statistics show that people spend more when they use a credit card than they do with with cash or debit. Although I could not deny the stat, I have insisted that we budget well enough and track our expenses well enough that the credit card does not influence the amount we spend. Today, I publicly confess that I was wrong.

So, with hardly any resistance Stephanie agreed to the change. Today, my friend Walter passively convinced me to go the extra mile and convert to an all cash system. The aforementioned statistic further states that people spend even less with cash than they do with debit. So, I just emailed Stephanie and informed her that I want to switch to the envelope system. I remember my brother and his wife reading Larry Burkett and using this system as a result in their early married life. Here is how it works.

For all expenditures that are discretionary like groceries, entertainment, recreation, clothing, hobbies, dining out, and even gasoline, we take the budgeted amount of money at the beginning of the month and place it in appropriate envelopes. Throughout the month when we want something, we go to the envelope and use the cash for ALL purchases. When the cash is gone, guess what-- you are done. The system is beautifully simple, but certainly the best way for all but the extremely disciplined.

I am nervous but excited, because I know that the end result will be totally worth it.

When Children Die

2009-05-27T08:05:00.004-04:00

This is a touchy subject, yet I must speak my heart on the issue, and again beg for responses.

There is a very popular belief among Christians in "The Age of Accountability". In essence, it states that until a certain age, children are not accountable for their sins and in one sense or another are innocent until a certain age or level of maturity. It is a very nice idea, and a wonderfully comforting way to assess the fate of children. But, I have never found a shred of Biblical support for this notion. It is clear from Psalm 51:5 that we are sinful from birth!

The other common way of dealing with the death of children is through infant baptism. Accordingly, we can somehow impute righteousness unto a child through the sacrament of baptism. This does not hold much water either.

The death of children is an uncomfortable subject, and one for which we want answers and I believe that in response we have dreamed up some pretty good sounding ones. Nonetheless, I believe Scripture is silent on the issue. That being the case, I personally have simply resolved that it is in God's hand to trust that he will do what is right with his own. It does seem consistent with his character that there would be some provision for those of a certain age, but I can with no certainty make that claim.

There is one passage that gives me lots of hope. After David's son dies he explains his peace in the situation by saying, "I will go to him, but he will not return to me". David clearly believes that his son is in heaven waiting for David to join him. Here lies my theological question of the day. I believe the Bible to be true. Therefore, I believe that David truly said what he said and believed what he did. But, David was fallible. So, just because David believed it, is that authority enough for me to?

Before I close I would like to emphasize the goodness of God. We can trust his will completely, for his ways and thoughts are infinitely above our own. So, just because I believe that neither infant baptism nor "The Age of Accountability" sufficiently deal with the issue, I am fully confident that we can trust our Heavenly Father to do what is right with all that go to meet Him.

I again look forward to comments on this post! Please justify for me either of the two popular notions or address how much faith we can put in the true words of David.

My Media Center

2009-05-20T07:30:00.002-04:00

This post may not be of particular interest to my few and faithful readers, but I write it for the sake of people like me. I looked intently for information on using an HDTV as a monitor and for recommendations on hardware and software for a media giant pc. My set up is not complete, but I have learned quite a bit along the way and highly recommend combining tv and computer, especially if you live in a small space. In order to complete the set-up I need a Blu-Ray burner and a wireless keyboard mouse combo.

The first piece of equipment I intently researched was the tv. If you are thinking of a similar set-up, I only have a few pointers. HDTVs either have 720 or 1080 lines of resolution equating to total resolutions of 1280x720 and 1920x1080 respectively. Within each group, the size of your tv is not going to affect how much stuff you can fit on your monitor, it is only going to affect how big individual pixels are. Total resolution matters more than size and therefore insist that you don't even consider 720. Furthermore, I would go with a smaller 1080p as well. I purchased a 37" Insignia (LG) from Best Buy and could not be happier with it. At full resolution, my vista start button is still smaller than a dime. If I would have went with a bigger tv, it would only stretch things out.

As far as response time, brightness, and other technicalities go, I would do your own research. Depending on what you intend on doing with your tv/monitor and where it will be, your answers to those specs will be very different. The resolution allows for very comfortable viewing of two programs side by side. I have posted images below.

Here you can see how much you can fit at full resolution.

Here you can see the tv in the context of the room. I should have cleaned the desk.

If you have any question, please ask. I love to help.

Music & Memories

2009-05-17T21:59:00.005-04:00

Music is awesome. Tonight I was calling up Tree 63 for Nic and somewhere in some tag a Damien Rice song contained the word tree, so it joined the play list. It happened to be a song I hate because of the f-bomb so i deleted it. But it inspired me to call up the album "O" and I have been listening to it for about an hour now. I am not sure if Stephanie had just purchased it or what, but this CD was very present in the foundational months of Stephanie and my romance. Images of her visits while I painted houses, late night drives, and cemetery walks flashed before my eyes. I could almost smell that summer sitting here listening to the music. All the while, Thor is lying in my arms, drinking his bottle, and gentle touching my face. Talk about bliss. I sure love my wife. I was in love with her then and she is ten times better now. The album is still playing and only has two songs left. I am sad that my reminiscent journey is coming to an end. In spite of looming lesson plans and a long night and longer day tomorrow, I am in temporary bliss--loving this moment, allowing God to show me how blessed I really am. All good gifts come from God and I am thankful for every moment.

Minor Manipulations

2009-05-16T10:15:00.003-04:00

We had a tough time finding a magnet beefy enough to hold the calendar to the fridge. I eventually harvested a magnet from an old hard drive that works great. Anyway, Stephanie wanted me to get rid of the leftovers. I played with them for a bit and made the face below. I thought it was pretty sweet and reason enough to keep them on the fridge.

Last night I walked by the fridge and noticed that my dude was ticked off! Someone had simply moved the eyebrows... Maybe this is nothing to any of you, but I thought it was pretty awesome that such an insignificant movement could change so much!
Doesn't this following one almost look worried! After today I will no longer take my eyebrows for granted!

Crafty Wife

2009-05-15T09:17:00.006-04:00

My wife would not consider herself a crafter by any means, but she comes up with some good ideas. For some reason, I love this one. She made super cute fridge magnets by hot gluing buttons to magnets. It helped that her dad has been collecting buttons since he was a child and has a huge collection. But, I just thought I would share the idea in case your fridge

needs some...

An Emotional Blow...

2009-05-14T17:58:00.007-04:00

If a $100 bill fell out of my pocket, I would be just a little upset that I was out of some cash. But when my $75 batch of bees decided to run out on me it was a blow to my spirit. A few weeks ago--only days after I first received and installed my bees, I went to PA for a Saturday to become a trained leader of "The Truth Project". I spent the entire lonely drive home anticipating big changes in my hive. It was the first sunny day since the bees had been introduced to Canal Winchester, and I figured they would have made lots of progress turning my humble hive into a home.

Stephanie was out at her parents' house and I was supposed to drive straight out to join the family, but I couldn't resist a quick stop to see what I had missed! As I approached the hive I was surprised by the inactivity around the entrance but figured that the bees must all be out foraging! I carefully opened my observation window with incredible anxiety only to discover that my colony of 10,000 or so bees was down to 50... if that. My heart sunk. For the next few days I foolishly held onto a sliver of hope that they might come back or that the few remaining bees would raise a queen out of the handful of eggs in the comb they managed to build.

Stephanie was very understanding and even insists that I try again this year. I would really love to, but I am not sure if I have the time. I am not sure I could deal with another colony absconding. It was so sad.

Well, seeing as though I didn't even have the time to blog about the bees when I had them, I will post some videos and pictures of the whole ordeal. I hope you enjoy them.

This is a bee package. Within that screened box there is a can of sugar syrup, a queen protected in a cage, and roughly 10,000 (3 lbs. worth) bees clinging desperately to her.

Here is a short clip of me pouring the bees into the hive... I read that when they don't have a home to preotect they hardly ever sting. They were right!

Well, most of my bees didn't die, they just took off--presumably with the queen, but here are a few sad dead ones at the bottom.

This was all that was left when the bees absconded. Although extremely sad about them leaving I was pretty excited that they left me a keepsake. The strange thing is that they did not build to the top bars at all. Oh well, better luck next time I hope.

Here is a sweet macro shot I took. I believe that if you click on the image you may be able to get the full size version. It makes a pretty good desktop background. (apparently that doesn't work, so if you want the full size email, send me a message)
See those yellow lines down the center of the wood pieces? That is where the bees are supposed to build. They didn't like that idea.

A Pefect Boy*

2009-05-12T10:00:00.000-04:00

The other day I was driving out to the Hall's and I was overwhelmed by the thought that our child was perfect*. I had to call someone to brag. I called my mom, because I think that it is okay to brag to moms. We are so blessed by Thor. I can't remember the last time he cried without good reason. He is sweet, cute, smiley, tough, and gaining mobility! We just could not have asked for a better little boy. Thank you Jesus!

*He is still a sinner... :)

Remember the Sabbath

2009-05-10T13:04:00.005-04:00

Somehow the fourth commandment (3rd for Catholics and Lutherans) has come to mean "go to church on Sunday". Most of us may think there is a little more to it--like taking it easy on Sunday. But in practice, it seems that most of Christendom acts as if a literal obedience to the other 9 is a good idea, but we can stretch this one all we want.

This dilemma was brought to my attention by Stephanie's uncle while we visited him in San Diego last week. We discussed it briefly. Yesterday, it was the topic of Sunday School and after inspecting Exodus, I have come to a couple of conclusions:

1.) Remembering the Sabbath day and church don't have anything to do with one another.
-Don't get me wrong, worshipping is an important part of Christian life. Many Scriptures support this notion, but it seems to me that it is unrelated to honoring the Sabbath.

2.) The Sabbath day is a day or rest; pure and simple.
-Defining rest very well may be a grey area, but that doesn't mean we should ignore it. It also does not mean that we should be like the Pharisees and turn it into a strict black and white code.

If you take the time to read the original text, you will see that it is one of only two commandments God takes the time to explain. It is as if He anticipates the question, "How am I supposed to keep it holy?" The text makes it very clear that it is to be a day of rest. The very word, "sabbath" means "cease".

Yesterday, as Earl, Bethany and I worked through this we tended to read our own desires into the text, but they don't seem to be there... One common objection is that "it is not work if it is something I enjoy is it?" I ought to consult a Hebrew scholar for this one, but our day of rest is to be modeled after God's day of rest. I know two things about that. God didn't need a day of rest, and creating the universe wasn't exactly work for him. He did not sweat once in the whole process, and I cannot imagine that it was anything but enjoyable for Him. The idea, I believe, is to rest--not to switch over to work that you enjoy.

No one will argue the practical (as opposed to spiritual or moral) value of the ten commandments. After all, the world would be a better place if no one stole, lied, murdered, or coveted. I am willing to bet that we would all be better off if we truly rested on the Sabbath as well.

So, Stephanie has agreed to move forward and we are committing our Saturdays to rest. I doubt the day upon which we rest is too important, but I work on Sundays--delivering the paper and teaching Sunday school. Those two things aside, getting up and going to church any day is too much like work for my sabbath. Getting a family of three out the door is tough, I cannot imagine having a bigger one!

From now on, we will work (hard) Sunday through Monday and rest all day Saturday. I don't imagine this to be easy, but we are committed to holding to this commandment with as much devotion as we hold to the rest.

Please comment, I look forward to a discussion on the topic. I would love to be wrong. ;)

The US Mint Comes Through

2009-04-16T09:06:00.004-04:00

I am unimpressed by the US Mint for a couple of reasons. Although I originally requested 3k $1 coins, they only sent my 500. I assumed that I had misunderstood their limits. Well, today I received the remaining 2500--almost a month after I ordered them. They never once corresponded with me concerning the order being filled in two increments. Second, I thought it was a little wasteful for them to ship them for free in the first place. Well, the coins I got today were shipped next day air! This package weighes a good twenty lbs, and Uncle Sam was happy to pay for that. Why do we need all these new coins in the first place?
Nonetheless, I am happy to have the rest of my coins and this financial scheme is now more worth the effort. Making $30 out of the process doesn't really take any more work than making the $5. I will only burn more calories carrying more coin to the bank.

Bees!

2009-04-13T11:47:00.003-04:00

Uh oh. I may be putting too many irons in the fire. I just spoke with a bar owner from Waldo Ohio, and agreed to send a $74 check in the mail today in order to secure a 3 lb package of bees that I will pick up on the 22nd. I was turned on to backyard beekeeping quite a few months ago, but it was too cold outside then. In the past few days, the blossoms on the trees around here have been begging for bees. I have to answer that call. Now, despite some advice, I plan on building a Top Bar Hive. It will be a much smaller investment, and is supposedly much more natural. I am pursuing this as more of an adventure and teaching opportunity than a way to get cheap honey, so efficiency is not a huge deal.

I am quite excited, but a little nervous that I have given myself a deadline... I need to have a hive built in just over a week! Say some prayers for me, as well as the bees that will be ours!

Bring on the coffee!

2009-04-12T21:40:00.007-04:00

So, I made a significant investment. I purchased 130 pounds of Kenya AA. At $2.75/lb, it wasn't cheap, but by I saved $.25/lb by buying the whole sack. It arrived at Harvest Moon on Friday, and I couldn't wait for Thor to get up so we could go get the sucker. I underestimated the size of the thing, so a kind man helped me carry it to the car. It came in an awesome burlap sack as pictured below>
Everyone who has seen it, asks if they can have the bag when I am done. The answer stands at "no", so don't bother asking. I plan on selling fresh roasted coffee to friends for about the price of Folger's. This way everyone wins, and I can reinvest the profits into our roaster. In the past week, we have roasted around 5 lbs and it gets better every time.

But, as you can tell by the picture of our roaster below, it is quite rudimentary. The thin scraps of metal welded together to make our frame, as well as the piece of crap stock pot drum do not stand up to the heat very well. They both warp, and expand at their leisure with no amount of predictability. As a result, we have had to adjust the machine--meaning hit it with hammers, and bend it with a crowbar-- whenever something goes wrong. There are two problems that have reared their ugly head.

1. The drum expands, the the box shrinks, so the gear motor locks up. BAD.

2. Beans fall out of the machine like a sieve. ALSO BAD.

These complications have had Andy and I thinking, and today he had a wonderful revelation. it is pictured below. Pardon the quality, I took it with my phone.

What is it? That is the cursed wood burning stove that started the fire that destroyed my in-laws old house... It lay in the ashy muck of a basement for a month after the fire, and has resided in a patch of trees at the back of their property ever since. This picture isn't complete--we had already stripped it down a whole lot. Anyway, it will make the PERFECT shell for our full sized final roaster. Andy thinks he can secure a huge piece of pipe that will become our drum. If he takes care of that, I confidently believe that for less than $200, we can build a roaster that will effectively rival commercial roasters that retail for about $10k. I wish you could have seen Andy and I's faces as we removed the sheet metal sides to expose the perfect answer to our prototype woes. I can hardly contain my excitement.

Nonetheless, our prototype does the trick. So, if you live in or around Canal Winchester, I will sell you FRESH roasted top quality Kenya AA for $6/lb. Of course, you may try before you buy, so give me a call, or pay me a visit. I will roast at your request and to your preferred roast. Thanks for reading!

Identity Theft? No way.

2009-04-11T12:37:00.006-04:00

Days after receiving my first batch of coins, Stephanie gets an invitation to open an account with Capital One. Imagine that, a credit card offer. They offer no interest for 12 months. So, I go online and fill out all of the info. A few days later we receive the card. Stephanie was asleep so, I went ahead and called them to activate the card. In a world with an increasing transsexual population, I didn't think my male voice would be a problem. Listen to the lines of security protecting this card from the wrong hands:

1. Phone number - They use caller ID to make sure that you call with your home phone number.
PASS

2. SSN - They asked for the last 4 digits of Stephanie's SSN.
PASS

3. Zip Code - Billing zip code
PASS

At this point, I think you would usually have jumped through all of their hoops, but my voice not fitting the name Stephanie had them suspicious, so they kept going.

4. Previous Address #1 - This was multiple choice. They asked what city a previous street she lived on was in... Strangely, the street was "Joshua". She never lived at a Joshua - I loved on a Joshua Trace!? Anyway, we got it.
PASS

5. Auto Loan - They asked how long the terms were for Stephanie's auto loan.
PASS

6. Previous Address #2 - They wanted her parent's entire address.
PASS

7. Driver's License Number - I had to dig into her wallet...
PASS

8. Ridiculous previous address details - They asked me to, "Name a street that intersects 'St. Paul'" (her parent's house) I gave them three.
PASS

9. Family!? - "Do you have relatives in Crookston, MN?"
"My in-laws are from there."
"Can you give me a name?"
I proceed to name my mother, and sister
PASS

10. A woman with a man's voice?
FAIL

So, they still were not convinced, but apparently could not point out the obvious reason they were not. So, they left me with one final test.

11. Go to a bank with the CC, Driver's License, and Social Security Card, and have someone call us to verify your physical identity!
PENDING

Note: Stephanie woke up to feed Thor half way through this conversation, so I could have just handed the phone over to her. She was helping with the answers throughout the last half. But, seeing how far this would go was more important than activating the stupid card so I could capitalize on the US Mint and their introductory rate.

Capital One, I am impressed.

Financial Scheme

2009-04-11T12:15:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago I was pointed to the US Mint's direct ship program. In order to get $1 coins into circulation, they will ship them to you at face value. Why would I be interested in buying $1 coins $250 at a time? Because it is essentially a free cash advance that even earns Cashback bonus! I experimented with my Discover card this month. The limits are confusing and for some reason my $3k order was reduc ed to $500, but they have raised the limit to $5k now. So, this week, I will deposit the coins into my checking account and pay off the debt. Now, this may be a lot of work for a whopping $5 in cashback. But, with an introductory rate of 0% for 12 months and a creidt limit of $10k or so, you get a free $250 or so! This leads me to my next post...

Coffee Roasting attempt #7?

2009-03-27T20:48:00.004-04:00

Coffee roasting has come a long way! My father-in-law was laid off two months ago, and as much as I hate to admit it, I have benefited greatly! He is a union plumber/pipefitter and is great with all things metal. He also is an avid coffee drinker. All of these things made it easy for him to catch the home-roasting fever. We fumbled around with a fluid airbed roaster design for awhile but he quickly let go of that and began pursuing a more conventional design. Before I knew it he unveiled the roaster below.

Well, it was not quite this glorious to begin with. Having watched many drum roasters on youtube and even studied their blueprints in books, I was able to offer lots of constructive criticism that has led to the current design. The amazing thing is that as pictured, the only thing we didn't have on hand is the thermometer! I purchased some bearings and a gearmotor today from Surplus Center. That site is amazing and has incredible prices. I bought bearings online a month ago and thought I was getting a good deal. Well, they suck compared to similar priced ones from that catalog. Currently, the drum only rotates at about 4 rpm, and the new motor will ramp that up to 64. I am excited for that! It easily roasts a pound at a time with good but slightly inconsistent results. I am banking on the higher rpms to fix this.

So, if you love good coffee, buy it fresh from me and I will cut you one heck of a deal! God bless.

80 Degrees

2009-03-20T01:07:00.004-04:00

There are few things that can bring such instantaneous joy in the worst of circumstances like instance below. Of course, this video is just the tail end of some great laughter--you never get the best part on video. Stephanie and Thor had just returned from a walk and Stephanie told me that is was 80 degrees outside. Next thing we know, Thor is giggling. For some reason, those words tickled his ears as you can now experience for yourself. What a bundle of joy!

A Lesson in Failure.

2009-03-16T20:24:00.003-04:00

I failed Calculus B today. I have coasted through years of college with minimal effort and have still ended up on the Dean's list many times. A decent IQ, and a good foundation laid by my parents have made education a breeze up until Calc B. This is the first course I have ever failed and I am almost happy about it because finally someone is not going to let me get away with being lazy. The class is required for my major so I will be taking it again sometime in the near future. I am excited for the challenge! I did not complete a single homework problem the entire quarter. The only effort I put into the class was logging a few hours at justmathtutoring.com. The place is amazing. If you need any help with any math, it is definitely the place to go.

Much beer and coffee roasting news is to come soon.

Updates

2009-03-04T18:04:00.000-05:00

Weight Watchers - As I expected, my metabolism is off the charts. For quite a few weeks I followed the program with a lot of determination. Consuming just under 2000 calories a day I was losing about 2 pounds every 3 days. I very quickly dropped to 240 pounds. Then I started to get a little bit cocky. Despite easing off the diet quite a bit I still managed to hit 237.5, but I have been afraid to get back on the scale since. But, we must endure.

Coffee - Andy and I are in the process of building a fluid air bed roaster out of junk from the thrift store. It has been a learning experience to say the least. If you think you know a lot about everything start perusing forums that deal with electronics and you will be quickly humbled. Last week we were able to set up a system that thoroughly agitates around a half pound of beans with only air. Now all we need to do it turn that air from 70 degrees to 400. Easier said that done.

Homebrew - Last Saturday, Earl and I brewed our fist all-grain batch. All we know so far is that it is fermenting. Good news. My homemade mash-tun worked wonders. I also purchased an 8 gallon stainless steel stock pot for boiling the wort. It is a beautiful piece of equipment. Tomorrow, forty-two 55 pound bags of malt will arrive on a semi. Only 4 of them are mine, but I organized the whole ordeal on this wiki to save money. If you live nearby and want to save mad money on malt, join us next time!

Beekeeping - You didn't know about this one did you... Well it is only a dream up to this point, but I do belive I am going to take classes from the Scioto Valley Beekeepers Association in a couple of weeks. I hope to build a top bar hive similar to the one here. The only major difference is that mine will have observation windows so Thor and I can learn all about how bees work!

Spiritual - Stephanie and I are praying together almost every night before we go to bed and this simple gesture does wonders for us. There is something attractive about a praying wife. We continue to attend Bible Study with friends every Wednesday night. I look forward to it more than anything else in a week.

Monetary - Dave Ramsey convinced me that whole life insurance is a waste of money. So, I am cashing out our policy. Add that money to our tax returns and in a short amount of time, we will pay off $6000 worth debt! There are few better feelings in the world. Praise Jesus.

Relationships

2009-02-24T13:26:00.000-05:00

In tha past month or so I have gained access to an incredible private fishing hole, found a source of free scrap metal, acquired a broken hair dryer (I really wanted one), bought real maple syrup at a fraction of the going rate, was able to secure green coffee beans for $2.50/lb, was given permission to use a friend's vendor license to buy wholesale, and have borrowed hundreds of dollars worth of beer brewing equipment. Various relationships made every one of those things possible. I don't know how hermits do it. Thank you friends!

Beer

2009-02-20T09:42:00.000-05:00

The old Minnesotan Lutheran in me is wary of writing a post titled "Beer". I will have to outline the evolution of my convictions in a later post. For now, it is hardly necessary to know that I enjoy it--only that I am brewing it!

My good friend Earl invited me to help him make homebrew a few years back and I have joined him on a couple of occassions. A month or so ago he provided help, knowledge, and equipment to enable my own first batch. We got to enjoy the first bottle on Tuesday and it seems to get better every day. My only complaint is that for the cost I might as well have bought it at the store. In fact, if time is money I really got the short end of the stick.

My first batch was created with malt extracts. This is the only way Earl has ever done it. Yearning for more affordable beer I have studied intently the world of all grain brewing. If I grow my own hops, culture my own yeast, and buy malt in bulk, I think that I could be making beer for well under $10 per 5 gallons. Now, don't conclude that I am an alcoholic. I just enjoy good beer a whole lot more than bad beer, and I also love saving money.

If you stick around, I will certainly fill you in on the whole adventure. Thanks for reading.

Luffa or Loofah or Lufah

2009-02-18T23:27:00.000-05:00

So today in plant bio, I found out you can grow your own Loofah. I could hardly believe that the specimen that sat before me was organic. I bought 140+ seeds off of ebay for less than $5 after shipping. I am pretty stoked about the whole idea, but Stephanie rolls her eyes. I requested two plots at the community garden this year and I wasn't sure what to plant in that second plot, but now I know. I will have a plot of popcorn and a plot of Loofah. So, come next fall, when you need a good natural exfoliation, call me and I will hook you up!

Holy Harmonica!

2009-02-12T20:59:00.000-05:00

The Cutest Boy Ever

2009-02-12T00:17:00.000-05:00

I am fully aware of my own bias... of course that is not ture, but this child sure is incredible. This past weekend all "talking" ceased for Thor in favor of his new audible skill--bubble blowing. This may be incredibly cute, but it has tripled his slobber out-put. Maybe a youtube video will come soon.

Personal Finance 101

2009-02-11T18:24:00.000-05:00

A small passion of mine is managing our personal finances. I did not happen upone this obsession like I did the rest of them. My story, I imagine, is like many others. After many years of overdraft charges and thinking to myself at tax time, "I made that much money? Where on earth did all of it go?", something finally snapped. So, for the past couple of years I have managed every cent with Quicken. I love it. I can print reports that detail every single time we went out to eat, produce graphs of utility bills, see how gas prices influence out fuel expenditures and more.

Some people keep lots of secrets about their finances, but they are what they are. I can state ours boldly with little threat of enticing identity thieves, that is for sure. We are currently in debt to the tune of about a quarter of a million. If we were not in so much control of our money this figure would terrify me. But, thanks (and no thanks; I'll explain later) to John Commuta and some intense spreadsheets, I know we can be TOTALLY debt free in 11.3 years with "just the money we already make". This is great news, especially since we plan on making more eventually!

The one way John steered us wrong is in prioritizing which debts to pay first. According to Commuta (and Dave Ramsey I hear), you are to pay off smallest balances first thus increasing your "accelerator margin" or "debt snowball" fastest. I spent half an evening playing out both scenarios and proved that focusing on the highest interest rate first is in fact the best strategy. I shouldn't be surprised.

Anyway, there is really nothing to say about our plan beyond what is written a thousand other places. All I know is that I am excited and we are determined and I know that you can do it too!

Smoke! (Coffee Roasting attempt #1)

2009-02-06T13:56:00.001-05:00

I read that coffee roasting produced smoke, but I underestimated how much! I can hardly breathe! So, today starts what I anticipate to be an exciting wing of my blog. The do-it-yourself adventure log. Today, I roasted coffee.

The coffee roasting idea came to me a week or two ago while perusing beer making websites. One site had a link for coffee roasting, and the moment I laid eyes on those words I was hooked. Since then I have

read countless webpages and a library book. Today, I got

my shipment of green Columbian coffee beans. A roaster out of Cleveland and a little coffee house they supply a block from our house were willing to let me buy beans directly and have them shipped piggy back for free. Coffee for $2.50/lb. cannot be beat! The best price I could find online was around $4.00/lb and that was before shipping. I feel like I should buy 150 lb. before the price goes up! Green Coffee beans will store for up to a year, so buying in bulk is a very viable option.

Today's maiden voyage will determine if it is worth building a real roaster with my handy-man of a father-in-law. The rudimentary equipment o

f the day was simply a pot with a lid. There are many proponents of the Whirley Pop method, but since we don't have one, a well agitated pot had to do the trick.

The coffee looked amazing. We immediately brewed a pot, in spite of the advice that coffee reaches its peak at 24 hours. The coffee tasted like water... I never knew coffee had "body" until I tasted that which had none! Over time this coffee improved significantly and we concluded that it was over roasted. We have roasted two smaller batches now, each very light roasts and blended with the original batch it is a decent cup o joe.

Andy and I heavily discussed our plans for a roaster, and my scavenging for parts has already begun.

Lessons Learned:

-Stovetop roasting is far from ideal and will never give consistent results

-Over roasting coffee does not enrich flavor, in fact it robs it

-Cooling is essential, or else the roasting goes far beyond your hopes

I surrender!

2009-01-06T16:51:00.000-05:00

I am a new creation. Technically speaking I have been one since I was saved in 5th grade, but I feel as if I am a new new creation... Pastor's sermon from Sunday is still with me--a phenomenon that has not happened for years. I have always listened with my ears, but last week my heart was willing to learn. The phrase "He who has ears, let him hear" suddenly means something to me. The first major truth since our reformation is being revealed to my heart.

Living a holy life is incredibly simple. I suppose that is why Jesus took the liberty to sum up the law and the prophets into two simple statements, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart soul and mind" and "Love your neighbor as yourself". I feel as if both of those could be rolled into, "Surrender everything to the Lord."

Throughout my life I have heard many illustrations for the spirit-filled surrendered life. I will forever remember the image conjured by a sermon of Tim Johnson's when I was in high school.

I remember imagining myself standing that the edge of a crystal clear river-shallow and gently moving at the edges but increasingly deep and turbulent further in. This river represented the Holy Sirit. I imagined (and sadly still do) myself standing ankle deep. It is a comfortable place to be. I can feel the Holy Spirit calm, soothe and maybe even sway my steps a bit, but I am still very much in control. At times I may have dared to go knee-deep but the moment my foot slips the slightest bit I am quick to move back towards the shore.

Pastor Tim's challenge that morning was to walk out into that river lay your head back and lift your feet off of the bottom. Although it may be terrifying you can trust where the river will take you. Henry Varley once said to D.L. Moody, "The world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to him" What a haunting and inspiring idea.

This whole idea is now fresh in my mind. So much of life as a Christian is accomplished by simply letting go. It sounds so simple but is so unbearably terrifying.

Lord, let me let go. I am terrified of where the river may take me but help me to trust you and plunge myself into the full current of the river.

Fat and Happy

2009-01-02T17:52:00.000-05:00

I am fat and happy. I almost wish I was fat and therefore miserable, because it would probably be a good motivator. But, happy or not, my average 8 new pounds a year are really starting to add up and are starting to interfere with life. I want to be able to climb the sledding hill without taking two breaks on the way up! Plus, when you go from XL to XXL some places make you pay extra! I will also make a better husband and father if cut a few.

Stephanie, having given birth only two months ago, is also determined to reach her pre-pregnancy weight, and revive the stomach that Thor called home for 9 months.

So, today Stephanie and I have begun weight watchers. It is simple good science. I was excited to discover that I can eat 36 points a day, but with a little math concluded that it only adds up to about 1800 calories. Ouch. I am willing to bet that my daily average is around 4000. So, at only 1800 calories and my body being the oily furnace that is is, I imagine that i will be shedding pounds in no time!

So far I have eaten 19.5 points and am looking forward to a small chicken breast over rice pilaf for dinner. We will be enjoying chocolate almond truffles for dessert. Stephanie has been quite the gourmet chef today. I am also reserving 3 points so I can drink a beer at Earl and Michelle's tonight over a game of Carcassone.

I weighed in today at 263 poundsand if I make it to 220 Stephanie agreed that we can get a Wii. That may be more motivating than being fat and miserable. We took pictures of eachother so we will have good before and after shots. When proves to be a success I will be sure to share them. ;)

I am excited for our adventure and am determined to embrace hunger in order to live longer and better. Even the Bible admits that physical training is of some value. (1 Timothy 4:8) Keep both of us in your prayers and feel free to send encouragement our way!

Starting Over

2009-01-02T00:38:00.000-05:00

It is mostly coincidence that I am writing this on the first day of the year. It is 12:40 a.m. and I am at the computer while my wife and child are asleep. Nevertheless, before Stephanie fell asleep I laid in bed and we read just a few verses from Matthew and prayed together for a long while. It was beautiful.

Stephanie and I took an almost three week trip to MN a few weeks ago to be with my family for Christmas. Throughout the trip it became apparent to Stephanie and I that we think of ourselves more highly than we ought. (Romans 12:3) This has led to a new standard of living for both of us. I am sure Stephanie and I would define it in very different ways, but both of us agree that the heart of our problem is spiritual.

Within our circle of friends, Stephanie and I have been Christians for the longest. Stephanie grew up readin the Scofield Study Bible, and I have my BA in Religion. Therefore we answer far more questions than we ask. But, this intellectual prowess along with countless others factors have led more to cynicism than devotion to Christ. Throw me in a Bible quizzing ring, or a theological debate on sanctification and I am confident that I will be able to perform, but ask me what Christ has been doing in my life and I am likely to feed you some canned answer that is long past its expiration date. It is for me just a bit more humbling than it is inpsiring to see Jesus working more in the lives of people whom Christ one day used me to reach than in my own life.

Anyway, miraculously, Jesus has not given up on the Patenaudes, and we are humbly yet boldly turning back to Him, not from outright rebellion, but from total complacency. The letter written to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7 cuts like a knife. I am excited to rekindle the relationship Christ and I once had.