Home Renovations

We have been renovating all three bathrooms in our 90 year old house; actually dividing the bath on the first floor into a half bath to the hallway and knocking out a door into the spare bedroom to have a full private bath attached to the spare bedroom on the first floor. These pics are from about half way thru. I will update with some more recent photos soon. The pic above is looking in from the hallway. You can see where we studded in to put a wall and divide this large bath into a full bath and half bath.

Stripping down a door that was attached to a closet in the old bath and now will attach the full private bath to the guest bedroom. After ripping out the frame, there was a name written on the outside "H. Miller Macon, MO." I assume this is the original owner of our home.

The spare bedroom gets a new hole in the wall.

Private bath on first floor just before sheet rock. I am glad we got this project started before the new EPA lead paint regs started regarding remodeling homes built prior to 1977. More pics to come soon.

Draft Comments

Wow, I guess I have been on a blogging slump. It has been over a month since I posted something, sorry about that. I'll see if I can get back into it a little, I wonder if I have any readers left?

Well, the first round of the NFL draft was last night and here are some quick thoughts:

-By my count, the SEC and the Big 12 had 16 players drafted in the first round (and all of those were in the top 26.) The SEC had seven and the Big 12 had nine players drafted, the top four picks all being from the Big 12. That is a nice compliment to these two conferences.

-The Rams drafted Sam Bradford from Oklahoma with the overall number one pick. The Rams need some help and quarterback is the best place to start. We'll see what happens.

-The Chiefs drafted Eric Berry (safety) out of Tennessee with the sixth overall pick. I have seen him play several times and he is a completely dominant player. He can also play cornerback if needed. I see Mr. Berry having a tremendous rookie season in the AFC West.

-Sean Weatherspoon (linebacker) for Missouri was drafted somewhere in the mid 20s by the Atlanta Falcons. I love Mizzou players going in the first round, but I have never been super impressed with Weatherspoon. He was a solid D-1 player, but he never really took on the intangibles of leadership of the defense when they needed it. We'll see how he does in the NFL, I guess he fills a need for the up and coming Falcons. Who knows though, I am not an NFL scout; Weatherspoon could possibly go on this year and have several game changing tackles as the Falcons march towards the playoffs.

-Tim Tebow went in the first round! Wow, after all the criticism he actually gets picked ahead of Jimmy Clausen. Classic. I must say, I like Tebow/Broncos match. There is probably not a more loyal, college-like fan than what the Broncos have. Not to mention, their geographic fan base runs from Wichita to Salt Lake City. Isn't it also classic that Eric Berry was drafted to the Chiefs. As college players they would go up in the arch rivalry Tennessee vs Florida as SEC offensive and defensive players of the year. And now they join the rival Chiefs/Broncos respectively. Should prove to be a good matchup for many years to come.

Aye Lads!

What happens when zthe speeritt of Aireland meets up the native North Missouri?
Well, I can suggest this to you: You have meal consisting of fried venison burger, colcannon and Irish soda bread.

This meal was actually pretty easy to prepare. Colcannon is a traditional year around Irish dish, a staple food if you will. In a pot you peel and boil some potatoes. In a saute pan you fry about six pieces of bacon, take them out and crumble. (Turn your head if your faint of fat) But after that you use the bacon grease and fry sliced cabbage and onion in it. Mix everything together with the mashed potatoes and you have a version of traditional Irish colcannon.

This meal would have been perfect topped off with some Missouri Jonathon apple - apple sauce, as it was a little dry. But overall not too bad, and my wife says she likes venison prepared this way. Bon Appetit'

YOU ARE HERE!

The following is a story by Timothy Tennent, President of Asbury Theological Seminary.


Most of us have had the experience of going to a shopping mall and trying to find a place to eat or a certain shop to shop in. At the entrance of most malls there are large maps showing all the stores in the mall, and there is, mercifully, a large red arrow pointing to a certain spot with the words in large letters: YOU ARE HERE! This allow us to situate ourselves within the larger map, and, without it, the big map is useless. The Bible is like a gigantic map which reveals to us the over-arching work and unfolding plan of God for his creation. However, many of us wonder how we fit into this big plan of God.


There are two main places where God, in this inspired map, has lovingly placed the words "YOU ARE HERE!" The first is in the Garden of Eden where Adam rebelled against God. Scripture teaches that in one act of rebellion the entire human race was bound up in sin. When we read the story of the Fall, we should not read the story without seeing ourselves in that story of rebellion. However, the other place where God has placed the words YOU ARE HERE is in Jesus Christ hanging on the cross. Just as Adam's sin brought condemnation to the human race, so the righteous obedience of Christ brought salvation to the human race (Rom. 5:12-19). In the final analysis, the entirety of creation is either "in Adam" or "in Christ." This is why Jesus is called "the second Adam." He provides an alternative to the story of sin, rebellion and pride. The story of Christ is the story of righteousness, obedience and humility.


May you also find the words "YOU ARE HERE" in the life of Christ during this Lenten season.

People Matter to God

Our Sunday school class is working through a book on evangelism right now, titled "The Unexpected Adventure" by Lee Strobel and Mark Mittelberg. The final story in the series of 42 stories that make up this book knocked my socks off.

It was a story about a man named Robert. Robert got "his thrills by cheating death." In fact he was rich because of it. He lived a life of riches, women and booze, always pushing things to the limits. By his own admission, he made $60 million, but spent 61. He was so arrogant that one time he had both his private jets fly next to one another, for no other reason other than that he could sip champagne and look at his name on the tail of the other jet! "Robert didn't hate God; in a way, it was worse than that. At least despising God would have required emotion. Instead, God was simply irrelevant to him. Unneeded. A non issue."

One day Lee Strobel received a call from across the country from Robert (whom he had never met). Robert said that he had began to inquire about the Christian faith and someone had given him a copy of "The Case for Christ" authored by Strobel. Robert had read it and something amazing had happened. He believed in Jesus Christ! "I just got on my knees and prayed that God would never, ever let me go."

Several years later Robert died and many attended his funeral in Butte, Montana. The Inscription on the tombstone reads:
Robert "Evel" Knievel
"Believe in Jesus Christ"
Not long after he was converted, Knievel was baptized and gave a testimony at a large church in Southern California. It is reported that the testmonial of his changed life brought over 500 people to Jesus that day.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:17-18

The Indestructable Doc Marten

Even though I am not quite the minimalist I used to be when I was single and backpacking, I still consider simple living as the best living. I like to go through everything every now and then and make sure it has its place. The problem I have right now is what to do with my Doc Marten shoes. I think I purchased these babies when I was a senior at Mizzou in 1995. I wore them heavily during that year and the following years in Evansville, Indiana. I have never had a shoe last so long.

For the last five years they have been stored under the futon in our study. Several years ago I got them out and was going to wear them somewhere and my wife made some kind of comment about being seriously out of date or something. The picture above does not do justice to the thickness of the soles of these shoes. I feel like I am 6'4" when I put them on.

So now I have come across my ol' Docs again. What should I do with them? They hardly have a mark of wear on them, I think they are made out of kryptonite or something. I am not oblivious to the needs of the world, but they are so heavy it would probably be more efficient to send money instead of ship them somewhere. Should I shellac them? I think not. Should I save them and see if the style comes back around? (I still have a few paisley ties just waiting for this ;)). No, I guess I will contact the Better Living Center in Macon. Surely these 15 year old shoes will find a new home somewhere.

Goodbye Doc Martens, and thank you for your service.

Top Ten!

The Top Ten reasons why raising kids is similar to being a Wall Street Tycoon**

**The general idea for this is taken from "Parenting" magazine. February 2010 issue. I made several edits to personalize this particular Top Ten.

#10..You're all about the Perks...at least three cups of coffee per day.

#9...Your bonds are very rewarding...group snuggles on the couch.

#8...You will gladly accept a bailout..."Thanks for babysitting Grandma and Grandpa!"

#7...You constantly watch the markets...for sales on ground beef, etc.

#6...You dole out sweet bonuses...hey, a handful of yogurt covered raisins can go a long way.

#5...You keep a sharp eye on interest rates....in green vegetables and chores.

#4...You're sentenced to several years in a maximum security facility....safety gates and security latches are a way of life.

#3...Every night you may be subject to a hostile takeover...toddlers love hopping in that king size bed with you and momma.

#2...You have weekly board meetings...scrabble or hungry hungry hippo depending on age range.

And the number one reason that parenting is similar to Wall Street!.......................You're gross domestic product rises dramatically with each diaper change!!