Don’t fret about it. Today is the beginning of nuclear war, and your mortgage company will likely not be around tomorrow.
(In case you manage to read this after 9/12/06, here is a shot of the page: nuclear war starts (screenshot)
This post will likely ramble a bit, but gettings things “down on paper” often helps me evaluate more completely. It would be a bit severe to say that I have been overwhelmed lately. I have not been, thankfully. But I have been caught in a whirlwind of activities and thoughts that will undoubtedly continue for some time.
The blessings lately (beyond the “normal” blessings of three awesome children, an incredible wife, vehicles that run, and good health, to name a very few) have been two specific jobs that have come, post-”9-to-5,” that may prove to be validation of future involvement in additional development and consulting work (or not). They come at a time during which Lindsey’s school has started again, and various semi-annual bills become due. A few weeks ago I officially registered with the state as a business, and received my “you better pay us quarterly” welcome letter from Olympia, so I am official.
I have worked recently in a renewed effort on the pedal car I started two years ago for the kids. I expect to have it completed to a point that it can be driven in the next week or two. It still needs a lot of work, including paint and tons of finish work, and including the way-cool, obnoxiously loud brass taxi horn that will adorn its side. 
We had a missions revival at church this week. Ignoring the fact that the Holy Spirit is really the only one who can “schedule” a revival (I fully understand the point/intent, however), the effect of such a series of meetings on an individual is undoubtedly related to the individual’s willingness to be affected. Combine this with recent reading I have done from Spurgeon, MacArthur, and Dan Phillips, recent email conversations with two great missionary friends, posting interactions on Slice, and general messages from John Piper, and the result is, ultimately, a bit of a frustration related to the limited amount of time I have to devote any time to “extra” study of topics that interest me. And closely intertwined with that, perhaps a bit of frustration related to how much time I should devote to study of particular topics.
As with most things, it comes down to priorities. I have always struggled with this, since my areas of interest cover so many topics (magic, movies/movie-making/video production, RC models, model trains, woodworking, tinkering/building/creating, software development, photography, music, apologetics, etc.). It is not possible to maintain so many different interests and really be any good at any of them, while making any effort at becoming a better father, husband, and Christian, and all that those entail. Folks like Tim Challis amaze me in that they can make such an impact on so many people, while seeming to have it all together all the time!
I would love to complete the “series” I started on Bible translations. I would love to post regarding my recent (superficial) reading on the doctrine of grace and related discussions. I would love to post and study on reaching Mormons with the true Gospel of salvation by faith alone. I would love to be able to read Romans in a single sitting with no interruptions, and learn how to read/teach expositionally. I would love to have a weekly cup of coffee with a couple of brothers to pray and really talk about life. And I would love to get this ugly site redesigned!
And so this post ends. No real answers. No pearls of wisdom. Perhaps nothing more than a baring of my thoughts to the benefit of someone with similar wrestlings. Refocus on what matters. Set priorities and stick to them. Say “no” more often to men, “yes” more often to God.
Sleep is necessary, and I am off to see how much I can find. Soli Deo Gloria!
Fun: We have been to a number of playgrounds that use this new equipment. Very fun stuff!
Huh?: It seems that kids are taking advantage of the fact that our high-pitch hearing decreases as we get older. Here is the ringtone, and here is the NYTimes article about the source and uses.
Fast life: Apparently there is a button combination that makes an elevator rocket non-stop to the floor of your choosing.
23
Aug
Parents, be careful
Yesterday morning I caught some comments about an interview that had just taken place on 860AM. Bob Miller had spoken with someone regarding an article in the New York Times about pedophilia, and was very adamant about getting folks to read the articles. I read them both, and indeed, the material is downright chilling. There is a lot of information that causes concern in the two-part series, but this statement struck me:
Pointers on ways to get close to children were frequent topics [on pedophilia discussion boards]. One man posted an Internet “help wanted” advertisement from a single mother seeking an overnight baby sitter for her 4-year-old daughter; another recommended shopping at weekend estate sales, since plenty of bored minors showed up accompanying inattentive parents. (emphasis added)
“Christ did not die for any upon condition, if they do believe, but he died for all God’s elect, that they should believe.”
John Owen
18
Aug
Real estate information
Just read an article tonight that referenced this site: http://www.zillow.com.
Is that cool, or what?
I have been relatively busy lately revamping the site. This current site is only about half of what we have online, with our pictures at another address. And the style you see here is the “out of the box” style for Movable Type. Embarrassing to say the least.
Tagged: And that is the full reason I have not yet replied to PlasticMind’s tagging of me yet. It is coming soon, Jesse, I promise!
Ouch: Another great post from Tim.
Music:
Slap guitar
Comparisons: Ingrid provides an interesting comparison between two churches she recently visited. Church 1 and Church 2.
8
Aug
Happy 10th!
Hey sis — happy anniversary!
28
Jul
How to get my money
1. If I walk into your store, there is at least a slim chance that I might buy something. Pretend I really am there to buy something. Make eye contact with me. Pretend you are glad to see me, and want to help, even if you are a sales manager and know one of your sales reps will actually be helping me.
2. If I tell you I am looking for a reason not to go to a competitor, give me one or tell me you have none.
3. If you are a sales manager and are letting your rep handle the potential sale, do not leave and immediately call your manager to laugh at the customer who just walked into your store and asked for a reason not to go to a competitor.
4. If you are the sales manager’s manager, do not call the sales rep who is working with me and mockingly pretend you are a customer “looking for a reason not to go to [competitor].”
5. If you are a sales rep working with me, do not answer the phone unless you know it is God or the President. If you do feel the need to answer the phone, at least say “Please excuse me for a moment.”
6. If I decide not to purchase anything because I want to check the competitor anyway, do not whine. Say something like “here is my card, I would love to discuss their prices to see if we can do better.”
20
Jun
New Playground
Most Grampie very generously purchased a new playground for the kids this weekend. He has been wanting to do this for over a year now, and we finally had the back yard to a point that allowed us to add it. Thank you, Most Grampie!
Grampy helped Saturday, and we got most of it completed. I finished the rest last night, and should be able to post pictures soon. It has already seen plenty of use, by our kids and many of the neighbor’s kids.
I must say that Sunray (Rainbow) sure has their act together. I had no missing parts, and the instructions and DVD were clear and useful. Once we figured out the organization of the parts, things went pretty smoothly.
Recent pictures
