The Archives - December 2007

Last Post of 2007

barn

This month has been a very joyful one for us. Snow has covered the ground most of the month, and not the usual below-zero-driving-wind-snow-in-the- ditches-snow, either, but the nice kind that comes down in fluffy flakes. We keep waiting for Normal Rockwell to show up with oils in hand.

We've also enjoyed opening our home several times and sharing fellowship with other believers around food and games. In a sense, we've enjoyed "visits" from many who sent cards and notes - we especially have enjoyed those who took an extra minute to write a bit about what's been going on in their lives.

My hand continues to heal nicely, praises to the Lord. While I'm still not back 100%, I'm able to do almost everything normally again, perhaps with a little pain, but also with much thanksgiving.

I've seen my two sons grow in the Lord throughout the year, and feel closer to my wife of almost 20 years (four months to go!). We've enjoyed growing relationships with other believers as well, plus being able to use the gifts the Lord has enabled us with to encourage others.

I taught in our Children's Church this morning about what it means to resolve to do something. The example I gave was of a mountain climber getting ready to tackle Mt. Everest. I asked what the climber would need to do to get to the top. After numerous answers of "tents, picks, safety ropes, etc.," one boy answered "he'd need to start climbing!" This is a perfect description of resolving to do or be something. "Nothing happens until you start."

My prayer (and resolve) is to more closely follow Christ in the new year. In order to "start climbing," I'll be more closely scrutinizing scripture, and with the Lord's enablement, will be 'heading up the hill' with perseverance throughout the year.

If you're a believer, I'll see you at the top one day!

Lord bless in 2008,

Ed

Merry Christmas!

For those of you visiting via the link in our Christmas card, welcome! If you'd like to see more photos of our family from 2007 (and have a reasonably fast connection), just click here. The rest of you are welcome to poke around as much as you like.

Winter is Here, Part IV

6" of snow today! Some of it was in the attic, unfortunately. Turns out the roof ridge vents I installed were not rated for blowing snow. Spent most of the day installing filter material from inside the attic - Tyler had to crawl way back into the eaves to get the ones I couldn't reach.

snow

Goat Milk is Udder Joy

Tyler milking “Milk Chocolate” on the Mark VII Goat Milking Stanchion we built together:

milk

The milk has a very slight gamey taste to it, but it's not unpleasant. I’ve been using it on my cereal in the mornings. It's very creamy compared to whole cow milk from the store.

Winter is Here, Part III

We still have several inches of snow on the ground, and are getting freezing rain today with more in store tonight and tomorrow, with maybe some more snow before the system finally moves on out.

Tree Trimming

tree

Winter is Here, Part II

UPDATE: We got 2" Thursday night…

December 4: The 5-day Forecast says it all:

snow

Winter is Here

UPDATE: we got ice coatings of 1/4-1/2" on top of about 1/4" of sleet. Temps warmed up into the high 40s overnight, and by the next morning, it was all melted away.

December 1 - our first ice storm is approaching (we're in the red circle):

stiorm

November 25 (first snow - about 1/4"):

snow

The Lord is Merciful

Three weeks ago (November 10), I finished picking our corn patch, using the 1950 Ford 8N tractor and a 1950s vintage New Idea No. 300 two-row corn picker:

I pulled out of the field and hopped off the tractor - leaving it running - to go unhitch the flarebox wagon so I could put the picker away. As I walked around the picker (still running), I noticed a few ears of corn hung up in the husking bed, so without thinking, I reached in to brush them out, and suddenly felt a jerk on my hand as the rollers grabbed the tip of my gloved hand and pulled my whole hand into the mechanism.

The darker patch is where my hand was caught, by the way. Up to my wrist. Note that there's only about 1/2" clearance between the upper and lower rollers.

Several thoughts ran through my mind over the next few milliseconds. One was of all the horror stories I have heard about farmers loosing hands, arms, legs or their lives to a combination of old equipment and a momentary lapse of safety. Another was that the tractor had no way of knowing I was caught and wasn't going to stop running.

I pulled back as hard as I could (I had big bruises on my legs later from bracing against the frame of the picker), and after 15-20 seconds of struggling, my hand popped free. I was scared to look at it, but once I did, I saw I still had all fingers (the whole hand was paper white due to the compression of the rollers). We went inside and performed first aid, and after later visiting the local Prompt Care facility, learned that I had no broken bones - only a lot of tissue damage and 1st-2nd degree burns on my hand from the friction of the rollers (I was wearing a nylon glove, which probably allowed enough slippage so my whole arm was not pulled in).

When I think about what could have happened (such as what happened to Sampson Parker, who did exactly the same thing I did, but suffered loss of a limb), I can only praise the Lord for His mercy. By all rights, I should have lost my hand in this accident.

I'm healing up slowly, and am able to use my hand some (can still play piano and type), but it will be some time before I have full use of it again.

I'll have a vivid reminder the rest of my life that you have to be safe every time when working around equipment, and also that God is good!

Healing Hands

Week 7 Photo - I can almost make a fist again!

7

Week 6 Photo:

6

Week 5 Photo:

5

Here's the hand about 4-1/2 weeks after the accident (note the fingernail is finally off with a new one growing in already):

4

Three weeks of progress - the hand specialist said it looks really good, and that I should regain close to or full functionality over time - Praise to the Lord!

Two weeks:

One week after:

Working from home the week after:

Books I Have Read This Year

A General's Life - The Autobiography of General of the Army, Omar Bradley
Missionary Patriarch - The Story of John Paton (autobiography - good)
With Lee in Virginia (a historical fiction by G. A. Henty)
Anne (with an 'e') of Green Gables
Anne of Avonlea
Uniting Church and Home
A Holy Life (John Bunyan - GOOD!)
Anne of the Island
Anne’s House of Dreams
Anne of Ingleside
The Road to Unafraid (Jeff Streucker, Army Ranger - good!)
Yeager (autobiography of Gen. Chuck Yeager)
The Spontaneous Spread of Home Discipleship Christianity
A Farewell to Arms (Ernest Hemingway - a rather depressing story, IMHO)
The Courtship of Sara McLean (a book about Biblical courtship principles)
Life and Campaigns of Lt. General T.J. (Stonewall) Jackson
   (excellent story of a God-honoring man)
How Should We Then Live? -
Francis A. Schaeffer (deep, but good)
Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire -
Jim Cymbala (Pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle)
Jeff McLean: His Courtship
The Good Husband’s Guide to Balancing Hobbies & Marriage
10 Things I Want My Son to Know
Mighty Men—The Starter’s Guide to Leading Your Family
Patton—A Study in Command
The Origins and Background of the Second World War
The Book of Jasher
Ben Hur
The Gospel According to Disney
Remote Control - The Power of Hollywood on Today's Culture
Maximized Manhood - A Guide to Family Survival
Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
No Retreats, No Reserves, No Regrets (Ken Ham + others)
1984 (George Orwell)
One of our Bombers is Missing
Carrier Pilot
Don't Waste Your Life (John Piper)
The Sign of Christ's Coming and the End of the Age (Robert Van Kampen)
The Chronicles of Fairacre (Miss Read)
Watership Down
The Church in God’s Program
Northwest Passage
The Caine Mutiny
Wind in the Wires
American Aces
Fighting Airman
1918: The Last Act
The Black Sheep Squadron
Ace! A Marine Night Fighter Pilot in WWII
The P-38
A Practical Guide for Horse Owners
Emily Davis (Miss Read)
The War in Outline: 1914-1918
Calvinism, Hyper-Calvinism and Arminianism - A Theological Primer
Hiroshima
A Church in the House

The Poilitically Incorrect Guide to the South
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Go Fly a Kite, Charlie Brown!
You're Not for Real, Snoopy!

Debating Calvinism - Five Points, Two Views
In the Air for Him
The Pattern for the Church
Ekklesia
Family Driven Faith


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