The Archives - September 2007
The Golden Shingle Nail
Praise the Lord - I drove the final nail in our new roof tonight! We officially started the project on June 3, so it took almost three months. We hauled off over 14,300 pounds (7+ tons) of old shingles and debris to the landfill, with one load tipping the scales at 2,035 pounds on my 1/2-ton pickup truck (she was dragging the ground on that trip!). In addition to lightening the house, I personally lost about 8 pounds from all the hard work.
We had no injuries to report (except a few bumps and scrapes), and other than things getting a little wet from time to time, had no major disasters. I'd like to publicly thank my wife Beth for putting up with three months of dust and mess; my sons and nephews for their help; my neighbor Glen Schreiber and his two oldest sons for their help and encouragement; and finally Dan Baker, Gary Bryant and Dave Menold for the help they gave. Most of all to the Lord for strength, safety, and innumerable beautiful sunsets from high atop the house!
You can read the whole soggy story here.
Late Summer Kitten
LST325
We took the boys to see the LST (Landing Ship Tank) 325 in Peoria recently. This ship participated in the D-Day invasion back in WWII, and was rescued from the scrap heap by a group of Navy veterans. It was a great experience to walk the decks of this living piece of history!
The Right Tool for the Job
Our hay field has been due for a reboot due to ever-increasing weed content, and I was blessed to be able to borrow my "real farmer" neighbor's tractor to do it this past weekend. It would have taken several weeks of 1-2 hours per night to plow it with my 8N and two-bottom plow, but with Stan's big Allis and five-bottom plow, the whole field took about three hours.
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
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