Undeniable Reality

Apparently I need to bring this to your attention:

2006-02-18T16:28:00.000-08:00

Some of you were around for ringing in the new year, and we were made, throug peer pressure, to vocalize some of our resolutions for the following year. Though I have made this one for any number of previous years, through the grace of God I have this year been able to finally follow through with the commitment to quit smoking completely with almost no withdrawal symptoms. I thank you for your prayers for this and many other requests that need to continually be laid before His feet.

Any area of your life which does not have the expectation of joyful growth/healing is a stronghold
Bill Johnson

I am expecting the best and greatest things to happen in specifically the arena of complete healing in my body. I want to see MIRACLES, not just nice things, but real live miracles in this day and age of so many impossibles, I pray that I would experience the impossible in not just my life, but many others as well.

Looking for interpretations

2006-01-31T02:36:00.000-08:00

I am reading about a Q/A between God and Jeremiah, and I'm not sure I understand the symbolism in Gods answer. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Jeremiah chapter 12
"If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?"

Jeremiah is asking the Lord why the wicked around him are prospering through their wickedness, and the above phrase is Gods answer to him. Any help would be appreciated. I am also looking for a set of bible reference tools for the computer, any suggestions?

Computers are cool (with the right software)

2006-01-18T12:56:00.000-08:00

Caleb, this software is amazing!!
The weird pic above, I left more or less unedited, so you could see the framework of the five photos assembled in the photomerge

My brother turned me on to Adobe Photoshop Elements and I love it. Anything you want to do, it can, and then some more. I gave an attempt towards a panoramic shot in Niagara Falls and here it is.

Back when it was nice outside.....

2005-12-20T12:31:00.000-08:00

These are some pics of a complete tearoff, and slate roof restoration.
The interesting, and memorable part of this job for me, is the custom designed shelf style gutter system. One of the customer's primary criteria for this design, was that it shed the leaves and debris that would normally collect and clog your normal gutters. To that end I was able to have a free hand with most other aspects of the fabrication, and installation. (Pity I didn't know how to take good pics at the time:)

If you look at the close-up of the top pic, you will be able to see a significant amount of woodwork unpainted, that I had to be accountable for in design and installation. Oh yeah, all the metal is copper, and all the seams were hand soldered. If I can find the drawings for this job I will try to post them also.

Snapshot of my work

2005-12-06T06:16:00.000-08:00

I would like to think what I do for a living is somewhat interesting, so here is a couple of shots from a custom door being paneled in copper.

Yeah I'm alive and kicking

2005-11-21T16:27:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has been so long, it just never seems like I have any time for the internet. Kind of nice actually, in the beginning. A lot has happened since I posted last; I am now contracting to my previous employer for pretty much the same category of work, I went on a semi real honeymoon to Niagara Falls Canada, Swapped out the heater core in the Jeep, Reconstructed the back yard, Did a lot of work on the work truck to get it into decent running shape, and I'm sure many more events have passed that I don't remember because it has been so long. I'll try to post more often.Check back soon:)

The ups and downs continue.

2005-09-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

I thought everyone should know what is going on with my leg. First off, the good news, I don't need surgery. The bad news is that I need to stay off of my ankle as much as possible for the next 6 weeks or so. Yeah that stinks, but it settled a long sought after argument, I'll be looking for "better" gainful employment in the near future. Soooo if you have any suggestions, I would really welcome them. Thanx

Don't know what you have until it's gone.................. Or do you?

2005-08-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

Why does life have these ups and downs? When is the next "up"? It's funny to look back at the various "insumountable" obstacles that have formed our lives, and see that they were not as bad as we thought at the time. I think that this is likely one of my favorite sayings "Hind sight is 20-20", but I think maybe hind sight is nowhere near 20-20. After the event I see things in a completely different light. If past tense situations are seen perfectly as the saying intimates, then why don't we (I) remember all the angles exactly as we did while going through it. Instead we remember just snippets of past quandaries. So, in "hind sight" I think we blind ourselves of the hurt, pain and difficulty as a protective reflex. On the other hand, could the situations possibly have been passed through as easily as we recall and not have been difficult at all, and only been blown up in our own minds. Were we only able to see the "half empty" glass instead of the one that was a mirror image, but yet "half full". Any thoughts on how to see the optimistic view, while not necessarily seeing "good" where there may be none or little?

Yeah it "WAS" my (Curts) truck.

2005-08-25T21:36:00.000-07:00

My fairytale life part 6 of 9?

If you want to skip all this boring monologue, you can skip straight to the barebones description at the bottom.

Weird fairytale huh. Bros Grim, or the grumpy guy under the bridge don't have anything on my story. Anyways, one sunny day on Josh's way home from work, he met the big bad 4 door Taurus, conviniently he was encompassed by a bigger and badder F-150 (may the biggest Ford win). Well the offending driver was coming down MY street at, shall we say, a generously un-ticketed fair amount of speed while waving to said gentlemans friend on the wrong side of the road. That, folks, is where the unfortunate lack of attention came into play. Side Note, for educational purposes only: Did you ever notice that when you turn your head, the steering wheel naturally tends to turn just a titch? His titch was a little too big for his britches :)On a 2 lane road in Clevelands densely populated west side there is usually an approximation of an extra half lane or so for the parked cars. That, ladies and genteel audience, is where the truck made a carom shot off the Taurus and into the (heretofore unmentioned - sorry) Cavalier that happened to be parked on the "half" parking lane. This vehicle is/was? owned by the local quickie mart "developer", this fellow managed to make a general nuisance out of himself very quickly, to the point that I had originally assumed that he was an insurance salesman (not quite sure why, but I did.) Oh yeah before I forget, there is one other detail that I haven't mentioned, there were 2 police officers settling a domestic dispute across the street. Their car was parked on the wrong side of the street two thirds up the hill. Wonder if that had anything to do with the accident?? This is as disjointed as I usually get with descriptions. Sorry if I lost anyone.

Barebones
"Lemme esplain....... No thereis too much, lemme sumup." Speeding downhill Taurus turned wheel toward oncoming traffic (Me) proceeds to hit my truck solidly enough to push Fiso into parke Cavalier. I'm not at fault. Any questions, see pictures below. Still have questions......? Postem.

Who is the weird one now?

2005-08-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

Am I the only one in the universe who has had potato pancakes? Somebody throw me a bone here. My wife thinks I am crazy because I introduce "strange" foods to her palate. Anybody ever have Hungry Jack? not the biscuit mix meals, meat, beans, cheese, buttermilk biscuits, and yes we can't forget the brown sugar. How about ans on a log? or one of my personal favorites microwaved cheese crackers when Mom is not home...... Ask Caleb. Anywho, we all have different taste in delectables, leave the basics in with your comments please. I want to expand my own horizons.

I'm Free................. not anymore...........

2005-08-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

My wonderful wife is ever so cryptic.... how was that for the initial teaser? So she tells everyone that I am free, and doesn't explain why, or what she means. No I didn't lose my job, although that would seem to be an appropriate conclusion what with my last post and all. No I'm not quitting, not yet anyways. As most of you are aware, I broke another body part, Ha Ha Ha..... not funny anymore, please no jokes. Yeah you probably guessed it, I did take my cast off, and no my doctor didn't like that. I digress, the "I'm free" statement was in reference to my removal of the cast. My doctor being a little more stubborn than me, and probably with good reason and intention, managed to convince me that it needed to be reinstalled. Hence the "not anymore" statement (refer to page title) Ahhhhhhh, Ohhhhhh, Frustration and Desperation galore. A week and a half more and it's gone for good. Hope that answers your questions.

Job Hunting anyone?

2005-08-09T12:27:00.000-07:00

What is the secret?

Seriously, what is the magic formula for finding the "perfect" job? Maybe it doesn't have to be perfect, but just palatable and amusing enough to not make you go crazy and feel completely inadequate. Yes, I'm venting, and no I'm not digging for pitying remarks and comments so don't bother posting them. This is a serious question that, I think, a lot of us are asking ourselves. The other part to this question is, am I the only one who loves learning a new job until I realize that I may just know more, and be more capable than the people who are writing my checks? On the flip side of that coin, do I blow out of proportion my own capabilities, and just Think, I am that intelligent, when in reality I am being handed what I don't really even justly deserve..................?

Where can I find that balance between being satisfied in whatever position/job/level I am in, and being properly hungry for advancement and, dare I say it, job replacement when it is merited.

P.S. Before the encouragement to lay it at HIS feet comes, may I respectfully ask also how do I know, when there are two or more scenarios being presented to me, which is correct......... The answer can be argued multiple ways, and they seem to be in constant contradiction with one another. The two basic idealistic views that I am currently at war with are as follows.

1.) Patience, that something better, and more in line with what I think He wants for me.

Or

2.) Faith, that somehow and for some reason, I should abandon all sensibilty and take that lesp of said seperation from sane judgment. And do something, anything to take hold of the floodgates of blessing that I, myself am holding closed, and He is trying desperately to blow wide open and pour upon my/your/our lives

Wreckless abandon, or Chastity and the walls of "Safe and Sound" judgement?

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your golden hair.

2005-07-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading this story to Merci, and from the storyline, realized that this name came from a real plant. So I looked it up on the Net and here it is.