This Ride's Too Fast

For more wordlessness, check out the hub and Live From Waterloo. Enjoy!

After the Storm

Carmi's Thematic Photographic this week is Cloudy. Ironically, he has a post with the same title. I had no idea until I was ready to post this. His is a bit more dramatic.

I ♥ Faces - Let's Hear it for the Boys

Looking for WW? It's at my photoblog this week.

How could I pass up the "Let's Hear it for the Boys" photo challenge at I ♥ Faces when I live with all boys? Since the Comedian was the guinea pig model last time, it was ClayGuy's turn for an impromptu shoot. My forte is still things more than people, but I hope to improve in this area.

Be sure to go check out the other awesome entries.

A Little Humor Revisited

Because it's too hot and I have nothing coherent going on in my colander brain, I dug up some silly goodness from last summer. This was originally posted 6/6/08. Enjoy!


So, what do you think these signs really mean?

Is this a substance that's going down into him? Or is it coming up and out? And if so, why is he laying in it? Or is it floating around his head? There's no point of reference - is he standing or laying down? Just what is the textured gray substance anyway?



Touch the shag carpet - you know you want to



Sever fingers here

And then there's this:

Do you really want snacks that come from the same machine as the soap? Does anyone ever get confused? Could you wash your clothes with a bag of Cheetos? I guess only if you wanted an orange wardrobe.



Washer-Extractors? What exactly are they extracting? And why is it an Express Lane? Is that for people who wash 15 items or less?



Oh, here's what was extracted - the water! So much so, that the towels are now glued to the drum. Good thing I brought my big, strong man with me. I may never have gotten those towels out of there.


There goes the "wash the kids while we're here" plan. Guess they'll have to get clean the old-fashioned way.



I wasn't sure if there'd be refreshments at the coin op since I haven't been to one in years (other than the time we had to wash a sleeping bag that someone lost his lunch dinner in at Boy Scout camp). I figured we'd take the BYORB (bring your own root beer) route.



Aw, he looks so sad. Like he's in trouble or something. Really, he's not. He's just playing games on his phone, while his photo-crazed wife goes wonky with her camera.

So, the next time you're bored, have dirty clothes, a bunch of quarters, and time to kill, take a trip to the local coin-op laundry and see what fun you can dig up!

Meeting Friends

When I began blogging nearly three years ago, I never would've thought that I'd get to meet so many new friends. But thanks to homeschool, which led to blogging, which led to Facebook, I do have that opportunity.

Today, my family got to head over to Sonic to meet Valerie (of SoCalVal), her hubby, and kids. What a fun and sweet family! They're looking into moving to Colorado, which I think would be awesome! The boys had a good time hanging out. The hubbies had a nice chat. And of course, Valerie and I had no problem chatting like we were old friends. So we'll be praying for them to know what God wants them to do, where He wants them to go, and when He wants them to do it. While we have our own preferences, we want His will most of all.










What is it about railings and kids? They all had to get into the act!

What a cutie!


Just hanging out.


The higher the better.


He was back even further than this.


Okay, this one didn't care, as long as he had his PSP. Which promptly attracted others.

There is one good shot of Valerie and me, but I'm waiting for her to share it since it's on her camera.

Fresh Start Update

I had tremendously high (maybe too high) hopes for getting a lot of stuff done last week the week before last. It got off to a wonderful start. Monday I accomplished almost my entire list. Tuesday was pretty good, though not quite as great as Monday. Wednesday...well, I don't know what happened to Wednesday. Thursday and Friday I was able to complete some more items on my list.

Interestingly, when I got to the end of the week, I took a look at my LIST and I had actually completed just about everything. The strange part is that I felt no further ahead . . . in fact, I think I felt more behind than I'd been. I'm not really sure why, either. I just know that it was very frustrating. Normally, looking at the checked off list of accomplishments feels pretty good. But this time, the list looked good, but the rest of my home and life looked the same.

Does that mean I've gotten so far behind with tasks, chores, projects, responsibilities, desires, and wants that it will take much, much more than one sheet of tick marks? Or is there something more insidious going on here?

I don't have an answer, but I wish I did. I do know that I need to get back to the Stuff Diet. All the stuff just chokes out the life. And I'd like some space back for more life, thank you very much.

And because I can't stand the thought of posting without a photo, here's one. My son and my niece chilling in the hammock out front.

Wordless Wednesday - Lavender Clematis

For more wordlessness, go here and here.

You can also go to my photoblog to see another shot and some texturizing fun.

Lemon Supreme

This will mean nothing to most of you, because it's an inside joke. But there are a handful of people for whom this will bring incredible bursts of laughter. I'm sure that I'm violating some sort of bloggy rule by posting a private joke in a public place. But it's my blog. Don't hate me.

I'm thinking about having this printed and mailing it to each of them. Wouldn't that be fun?

We Have a Winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered the Understanding Exposure giveaway. Using the ever-so-helpful Random Number Generator, I come up with the number 30. Which would be Kendra from Purposely Capturing Happy Moments. Congratulations, Kendra!!

Please email me, Kendra, at bunny.trails@yahoo.com so I can get your info and send you the book.

Wordless Wednesday - Spring Blossom

Go here and here for more wordlessness.




Side Note: If you are interested in learning more about f-stops, shutter speed, and ISO, as well as other photography related matters, check out my giveaway. You still have a couple of days to enter.

"From Eternity to Here" Book Review

Because we live with our human selves day in and day out, we are often painfully aware of our shortcomings, failures, and sin. While it’s important to retain an attitude of humility, we can get so caught up in our inadequacies that we fail to see just who we are in the eyes of the Lord. Many times, we’re so focused upon ourselves that we have a rather small picture of God. In From Eternity to Here, author Frank Viola seeks to expand our vision, taking us to a higher place with a clearer view of God’s perspective. He exhorts us to recognize that the ultimate story of the Bible isn’t merely about man’s need for a Savior (though that’s quite important), but underlying that is God’s desire and passionate love for an intimate relationship with the very people He created.

His book is organized into three sections: A Forgotten Woman: the Bride of Christ, An Eternal Quest: the House of God, and A New Species: the Body of Christ and the Family of God. Throughout the book, Frank draws some beautiful parallels from both the Old and New Testaments. Of course, the entire Bible points toward Jesus Christ, but it’s always encouraging to discover new pictures of Him in God’s word.

Frank follows up with a testimony of his own journey towards God. He progressed from seeking after things taught in many churches, until he reached the place where his single focus is knowing God. I believe this is a critical milestone in every believer's life, because this is what the Lord ultimately wants from us - that intimate relationship.

With all due respect to Mr. Viola, there are some areas of this book with which I do not agree. However, as with any books that we read other than the Bible, it’s important that we exercise discernment and wisdom. In From Eternity to Here, Frank Viola compels us to move outside of our daily, human lives and see the magnificent purpose of God, as well as our role in His ultimate love story.


OTHER BLOGS PARTICIPATING IN THE FROM ETERNITY TO HERE BLOG CIRCUIT

Today (June 9th), the following blogs are discussing Frank Viola’s new bestselling book From Eternity to Here (David C. Cook, 2009). The book just hit the May CBA Bestseller List. Some are posting Q & A with Frank; others are posting full reviews of the book. To read more reviews and order a copy at a 33% discount, go to Amazon.

For more resources, such as downloadable audios, the free Discussion Guide, the Facebook Group page, etc. go to the official website: http://www.FromEternitytoHere.org

Enjoy the reviews and the Q and A:
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Out of Ur
Shapevine (June newsletter)
Brian Eberly
DashHouse.com
Greg Boyd

Vision Advance
David Flowers
Kingdom Grace
Captain's Blog
Christine Sine

Darin Hufford - The Free Believers Network
Zoecarnate
Church Planting Novice
Staying Focused
Take Your Vitamin Z

Jeff Goins
Bunny Trails
Matt Cleaver
Jason T. Berggren
Simple Church

Emerging from Montana
Parable Life
Oikos Australia
West Coast Witness
Keith Giles

Consuming Worship
Tasha Via
Andrew Courtright
ShowMeTheMooneys!
Leaving Salem, Blog of Ronnie McBrayer

Jason Coker
From Knowledge to Wisdom
Home Brewed Christianity
Dispossessed
Dandelion Seeds

David Brodsky's Blog - "Flip the Tape Deck"
Chaordic Journey
Renee Martin
Bob Kuhn
Living with Freaks

Real Worship
Fervent Worship
Julie Ferwerda Blog
What's with Christina?!
Irreligious Canuck

This Day on the Journey
Live and Move: Thoughts on Authentic Christianity
Spiritual Journey with God
Dries Conje
Journey with Others

On Now to the Third Level
Christine Moers
Breaking Point
Hand to the Plough
Jon Reid

Weblight
D.L. Webster
Searching for the Whole-Hearted Life

Understanding Exposure - a Giveaway

As I am continually seeking to improve my photography skills, one book in particular was praised as the book to have - Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. So I promptly bought one. And then another. Not intentionally. But my faux pax could be your opportunity, as I am giving one of these away.

If you'd like to win your very own, brand-spanking new copy of Understanding Exposure you have three chances to do so:

1. Post about the giveaway on your blog. Come back here and leave a comment, a link to your post, and an email address.

2. Tweet about it. Come back and leave a comment, link, and email.

3. Go to my photoblog and tell me which is your favorite pic. Just on the main page - you don't have to go through a year's worth of photos. Unless you have nothing else to do and you want to. Feel free to like an older picture. It won't harm your chances of winning at all. It might endear you to me, though. Come back here, leave a comment with your fav and your email.


Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each of the above items. And provide a valid email address so I can get in touch with you. It would be sad if you won but provided no contact information. Because then I would have to draw again. Open to residents of US & Canada.

Oh, of equal importance, this is open until next Thursday, June 11th. Comments will close at 10:00 pm Mountain Standard Time. The winner will be announced Friday morning, June 12th.

Wordless Wednesday - Working for a Living

For more wordlessness, go here and here.