Tropical Storm Update

See that swirl of weather over the east coast of the U.S.? That's us. But, so far so good. We seem to be weathering the storm all right. Of course that is because the worst of it for our section came through early this morning while we were sleeping. As of 0300 this morning we still were seeing zero action. Between 0600 & 0800 we had driving rain and wind. Since then we've only had wind...already shaking the early fall leaves out of the trees and even the squirrels are having a hard time of it. It comes and goes in gusts. From what I can see on the radar maps online, we may get a little more rain this afternoon. The wind will probably continue for a few more hours at least from the swirl of the storm. However, we are grateful because we have not lost power from the storm yet and so far are doing well. Looks like this is just going to be a "grazing shot" for Hampton Roads! I'll give a final update later. Take care!

Hey All!

Dear All,

Sorry I haven't posted recently! I have been crazy busy this week trying to catch up after the holiday. We made a flying trip to WV last weekend to visit the folks and I got behind on everything so I am still buried under piles of paperwork and homework and trying to get Julia into school and trying to get all my homework done. Oh. We are also going to get smacked by a tropical storm tonight so I am trying to prep for that as well. So I will try and update again very soon with some pictures etc. Have a good'n!

- Rick

WONDER!

When was the last time you paused in wonder? I've been a lot of cool places in my life. I've stood in a fire tower looking over a vast pine forest. I have crossed rushing rivers. I have been inches away from creatures in creation before they knew I was there. I have crawled on my stomach into caves with only 18 inches of space in which to move. I have laid on my back staring at a country sky, black as velvet except for the meteors blazing across the heavens. I have stood on the edge of the Grand Canyon and peered into its depths. I have stood atop mountains in Alaska, stood in the middle of glaciers, hiked mountain trails, and even looked down on the world from 42,000 feet.

I have ridden in the back of a fighter jet, descended into the hold of a nuclear submarine, ridden in jet boats, harbor cruisers, gondolas, canoes, airplanes. I have heard the applause of thousands of screaming patriotic football fans, been on the Discovery channel in front of millions of viewers, shook hands with generals and statesmen, and walked the halls of the most powerful military squadrons, naval bases, and governments of the world.

I have seen the marks of history left in the ruins of old coal mining villages in West Virginia, in the museums of Washington D.C., and in the ruins of castles in Okinawa. I have seen the monuments men have built in the great cities of the U.S.A. I've seen the glitz and glamor of lights in Las Vegas.

I have watched the gift of life be given as my children were born. I have seen the incredible love of my wife and children, the dedicated loyalty of my family and friends, and the resolute focus of my comrades in arms. I have been blessed with rich relationships with my friends, my teachers, my siblings, my co-workers, and fellow students.

I could go on, but as you can readily see, I have been given great cause for wonder. I wouldn't trade the path I have walked for all the money in the world. But, I don't plan to stop walking and rest in the memories of days already spent. Rather I plan to keep on walking in pursuit of new memories, new joys, and new moments of wonder every day. Whether it be only a pause to drink in the fresh breeze of an imminent rain, or a vacation to visit some new wonder, I want to live every moment of life to the fullest. But that is not the end of it.

No matter how magnificent the wonders we view on this planet in our brief span of living, it does not compare to the magnificence of love, mercy, and grace to be found every day when one gazes into the eyes of Christ. There is such power in that gaze. It causes me to tremble and to stand in awe of Him. It is this sense of wonder that never grows old and can be a perpetual experience as much a part of living as breathing. It is this sense of wonder that truly enriches all other moments of living. It is this sense of wonder we must never lose.

How's your wonder?

A Family Celebration

Those of you who have visited my wife's blog this week probably already know she put on a little party for me for my birthday. You can visit her blog to hear the details. She fixed a great meal and we had a fun little party. We even put a few candles on the cheesecake because Julia said it wouldn't be a birthday without candles! :-) I must say that Birthdays mean less and less as one gets older...I guess they become harbingers of impending doom rather than celebrations of living! :-) However, I still feel younger than my 28 years and I intend to keep it that way as long as possible. I told my Dad it is frightening because I can remember when he was my age! :-) Just think: I am only 12 years from 40! ;-)

It really has been a great journey so far and I really would trade very little that I have experienced in my life. Granted, everyone has moments they wish they could relive or forget, but thank God, mine have been few and far between. I'm thankful for my wonderful family, grateful for my beautiful wife, and hopeful for many wonderful memories and experiences to come. Here's to another 28!

Heading Toward the Goal

Well, you all have continued to visit and that is a good thing. Looks like we will get to 2000 hits by the end of the month! Thanks for visiting!

Disturbed!

Please visit this link. Then pray. Then call your legislators. God have mercy on us.

Romans Chapter 1:16-32

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

(KJV, emphases mine)

New Books

This week I received a "new" set of books I purchased on Ebay. It is a complete set of the Harvard Classics - all 52 volumes. So far this week I have read from Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, from John Milton's poetry, from Cicero's treatise on friendship, and stories from the Brothers Grimm. These works are intriguing to me and the perspectives they give are fascinating.

John Milton's works are beautifully crafted. Cicero is a little bit deep and dry but very good when you find its rhythm. I have read the Brothers Grimm in the past, but it is a pleasure to read the unabridged versions. Benjamin Franklin was the most interesting to me this week. All my educational life I have been taught that he was a deist. His own words written in his autobiography prove this idea false. He prayed every day to the Supreme Being and even wrote the words of his prayer in his autobiography. Granted, he did lean strongly toward egotism, and tried to do much in his own strength (sound familiar to anyone?). But, his belief and even limited trust in God is undeniable. I will try to post some of his words in the near future.

In the meantime, I have National Guard Duty this weekend and will be quite busy. I trust you all will have a blessed couple of days of rest and relaxation! Enjoy!

Thank God for You!

Thank God for you, good friend of mine,
Seldom is friendship such as thine;
How very much I wish to be
As helpful as you've been to me-
Thank God for You.

Of many prayer guests, one thou art
On whom I ask God to impart
Rich blessings from His storehouse rare,
And grant to you His gracious care-
Thank God for You.

When I recall from time to time
How you inspired this heart of mine:
I find myself inclined to pray
"God bless my friend this very day-"
Thank God for you.

So often, at the throne of grace,
There comes a picture of your face;
And then, instinctively, I pray
That God may guide you all the way-
Thank God for you.

Some day I hope with you to stand
Before the throne, at God's right hand.
And say to you - at journey's end,
"Praise God, you've been to me a friend-"
Thank God for you.

- Dr. Joseph Clark

For the Thinkers...

In the context of the cross - and preserving the importance of the soul - how does one set, maintain, and teach a cultural/lifestyle standard that is God-honoring, societally relevant, and preserves the essence of holiness? (Refer to Galatians 5 & 6, and Colossians 1/2)

We No Longer Need You

One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go tell Him they were done with him. The scientist walked up to God and said, "God we've decided that we no longer need you. We're to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don't you just go on and get lost."
God listened very patiently and kindly to the man and after the scientist was done talking, God said, "Very well. How about this. Let's say we have a man-making contest." To which the scientist replied, "OK. Great!"
But God added, "Now we're going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam."
The scientist said, "Sure; no problem," and bent down to grab a handful of dirt.
God just looked at him and said, "No, no, no. You go get your own dirt."

Quoted, Author Unknown

What wonderful book! Yet another in Ravi's "Great Conversations" series. In this imagined conversation between Jesus, Oscar Wilde, and Blaise Pascal, Ravi addresses so many things that are relevant to us today. I have listed an excerpt below for your perusal and edification! Thanks again for reading!

"I walk these streets every night because this is where life's biggest mistakes are made. And this is where the most wounded and hurting spirits walk in shells of bodies-the living dead. This is where they begin to forcibly separate what I have joined together. They're like men walking to their graves in the dark, blinded by these colored lights...to the sepulchers they are being dragged by the seducers of their imagination. They call these the streets of pleasure. How untrue! How deceitful! How destructive! I hear more screams from here at daybreak than I do from beds of sickness." - Jesus

Sense and Sensuality: Jesus talks with Oscar Wilde on the Pursuit of Pleasure, by Ravi Zacharias, Copyright 2002, ISBN: 1-59052-014-9

Personal Note:

The Picture is unrelated to the rest of this note...just a picture of the kids this past Sunday...I'm not a bit proud! ;-)

Just a quick note to all my friends out there!

It's been a great week and I am thankful to God for it. I started my fourth job this week! It's going to be interesting. I now am a full-time student, a Dad, a husband, a part-time worker for the Veterans Administration (MGIB), A Virginia Air National Guardsman, a full-time real estate agent, and a technician for the Department of Defense. It is a busy life! I love it though, and don't have any plans to change it any time soon.

This week was also finals week for the Summer Term. I just completed my last final a little while ago. What a relief! Also sold one house this week and obtained contracts on two others. Time for a break.

Saving the best for last, I am particularly happy because I linked up with two very much missed old friends this week. A shout out to Big John and Jeremy: Great hearing from you guys! Would love to spend some time! Don't hesitate to yell if you are ever in this neck of the woods!

Y'all have a great weekend!

Tuesday - Faith Works by Love

Well you should be into the swing of things now in this new week. I trust all is going well for everyone. This week I have begun another job and I have finals for yet another term - ever in pursuit of the Bachelor's Degree. We'll get there eventually.

Then I'll be out of school for about three weeks and I have lots of home projects to accomplish in that time. Hopefully, we will be able to see some of our family too. We will have to wait and see. Here's the post for today.

"Next to love in importance comes faith. Love is the driving force. Desire (love pure or perverted) controls, contrives, creates all that ever comes to pass. Emotion, not reason, is at humanity's helm. Love motivates, but faith acts. Faith is action. By faith alone can a man act. Faith carries out the urges of love. Faith works by love."

- Norman Grubb

Raptor Power

Just a quick plug for my favorite airplane! I have permanently embedded the Raptor Demo video at the bottom of the page. 21 July I return to the daily game. Those of you who know me, know what that means. I also will still be doing real estate, so...don't worry. Thanks to all my readers for visiting! Keep coming back - we're trying to reach 2000 hits by the end of August. Have a great week!

Higher Power

"I found no comfort in any of the philosophical ideas which some men parade in their hours of ease and strength and safety. They seemed only fair-weather friends. I realized with awful force that no exercise of my own feeble wit and strength could save me from my enemies, and that without the assistance of that Higher Power which interferes in the eternal sequence of causes and effects more often than we are always prone to admit, I could never succeed. I prayed long and earnestly for help and guidance. My prayer, as it seems to me, was swiftly and wonderfully answered."

- Sir Winston Churchill

From p. 182 of Never Give In, by Stephen Mansfield ISBN: 1-888952-19-9

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people."

John Adams:

“ The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principals of Christianity… I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”
• “[July 4th] ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.”
–John Adams in a letter written to Abigail on the day the Declaration was approved by Congress

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." --October 11, 1798

"I have examined all religions, as well as my narrow sphere, my straightened means, and my busy life, would allow; and the result is that the Bible is the best Book in the world. It contains more philosophy than all the libraries I have seen." December 25, 1813 letter to Thomas Jefferson

"Without Religion this World would be Something not fit to be mentioned in polite Company, I mean Hell." [John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, April 19, 1817] |

The First Charter of Virginia

(granted by King James I, on April 10, 1606)

We, greatly commending, and graciously accepting of, their Desires for the Furtherance of so noble a Work, which may, by the Providence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the Glory of his Divine Majesty, in propagating of Christian Religion to such People, as yet live in Darkness and miserable Ignorance of the true Knowledge and Worship of God…

Instructions for the Virginia Colony (1606)

Lastly and chiefly the way to prosper and achieve good success is to make yourselves all of one mind for the good of your country and your own, and to serve and fear God the Giver of all Goodness, for every plantation which our Heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted out.

Patrick Henry - "Orator of the Revolution"

"This is all the inheritance I can give my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed.”
—The Last Will and Testament of Patrick Henry

“The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed.”

“It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”

[May 1765 Speech to the House of Burgesses]

The Lamb & the Fuhrer

Just a brief review this Sunday of another wonderful book I completed this week by Ravi Zacharias titled, "The Lamb & the Fuhrer: Jesus Talks with Hitler." It is a well-done imaginary conversation as Hitler meets Christ for the first time after committing suicide. Juxtaposing the tenets of Hitler with those of Christ through quotes from Christ, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Hitler himself, one may plainly see the emptiness of the philosophy that altered the world inexorably from what it was before that time. I recommend the book and give it four stars of five. Enjoy!

New Series - Part 1

Regularly in the educational sphere and in the media, America is presented as a secular nation not founded on principles of right and wrong (particularly Biblical morals). While researching for a July 6th worship service, I found a treasure trove of documented quotes from our founding fathers that prove this notion and its consciously propagated untruths utterly ridiculous. I wish to share some of these with you all for your perusal, education, and enjoyment.

James Madison:
“We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We’ve staked the future of all our political institutions upon our capacity…to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”

[1778 to the General Assembly of the State of Virginia]

New Series - America!

I have decided to run another series. It is kind of tied to the Barak Obama series and Independence day celebrations this month. Today I want to start out by plugging a particular website I learned about this week: http://www.factcheck.org/

This website is a very good resource particularly during election year. Please visit and spend some time there. Truth is a great thing!

The Challenge of Change

Enjoy the challenge of change – Every situation is either a challenge or a threat. To the confident it is a challenge; to the fearful it is a threat. The situation is the same, but the reaction is different. Would you like to change from threat to challenge? View every new potentially threatening experience as an experiment. Be objective like a reporter and become interested in watching yourself go through the experience. Gain understanding as you step outside yourself.

- Unknown

July Fourth 2008

We spent a few hours at the beach. Then we got some KFC and went to the park to picnic. After that we went to Fort Monroe to watch fireworks. They had a pretty long show and a nice Grand Finale. We had a fun Fourth. I enjoyed the time with my family.

The End of Reason

I just finished an excellent book, The End of Reason, by Ravi Zacharias. I sat down to read a brief excerpt and didn't put the book down until I had read it cover to cover. In an eloquent response to atheists everywhere, Ravi systematically reveals the bankruptcy of atheistic arguments and demonstrates yet again why Christ is worthy of consideration. I encourage anyone who sees this blurb to read the book. It will challenge and deepen you on whichever side of the fence you are.

Who is Obama?

Hmm.... Check it out: http://www.exposeobama.com/