Our Take

Conversation with Rory... Rory: Mama, if people called me the wrong name they would call me Dory. Amy: Yep. Or Cory. Rory: Or Jory. Amy: You know, I know a guy named Jory. Rory: What's his nickname? Amy: I dunno. Jor maybe? Rory: Well, I have a nickname. It's Rory Borealis. Amy: Yep. You know who gave you that nickname? Rory: Yep. God. Amy: No...Me. Rory: No, God did. Amy: You know you aren't born with a nickname. Right? I don't have a nickname. Rory: I know. Conversation with Darby (and Lindsay)... (Darby climbs on the merry-go-round I'm pushing Lindsay on and she responds angrily) Lindsay: Aaahhhh!!!!!! Me: Haha, you skunk-a-monkey. Darby: Yeah, and I'm like a doggie.

One of the difficult things about being new in town is that developing closeness takes time, especially for men. But we need people who can help us shoulder our burdens. Jesus proclaimed a Kingdom and built a church to found it, not just a bunch of solo Christians scattered around. I was practicing music for Sunday today and realized I needed to spend more time praying, but I was having trouble being honest with myself. Sometimes I can sort of bypass my defense mechanisms and get to my actual feelings by songwriting. This is what came out. "Supposed to Be Light" Maybe it's silly for a man in my position-- With a wife and kids and a job-- To sit around moping about his lonely condition. Let's call it praying to God. But everybody understands what it's like to feel it; There's no solution all the time. But no one wants to face it. All we do is conceal it. So I'm facing mine. Child, how long can you go  With this weight on your...

Well, I wasn't planning to overload the blog with star pictures, but Conner convinced me to stay up late again and watch the meteor shower. So here's one with a shooting star. And here's another star trail photo, but this time with the north star as the center point. That's how the swirl action comes in. Pretty cool! ~Amy

So we went to stargaze in Slim Buttes, a category 1 dark site. Super dark. But I was pretty disappointed with the pictures I got. So I stayed up too late to learn more about it and play around at home. Looking forward to getting back out to the Buttes to make another stab at it. This is what I got here at home using the "500 rule." It has something to do with dividing the number 500 by your focal length. I was using a 50mm lens, so the exposure time was supposed to be 10 seconds. This rule ensures you get stars that look like actual pinpoints of light, and avoids the rotation of the earth issue. And this is what I learned how to do by stitching together multiple shots in Photoshop to show "star trails, the path of the stars across the sky due to the earth's rotation. So the opposite effect of the shot above. Looking forward to doing a lot more of these in the future with some cooler foreground options and less light pollution. I was pretty excited with what I go...

Conversation with Rory... Rory: Mama, come see this dead bird. Amy: I don't want to see a dead bird.  Rory: No, just come see it. One little look. (tries to turn my head) Amy: I don't want to see it. I don't like seeing dead animals.  Rory: It's stinct.  Amy: (thinking - I guess he means it's stinky) Oh, you mean extinct. Extinct means there are no more animals of that kind. Like dinosaurs. There are no more dinosaurs, so they're extinct. But if a dog or a bird dies that doesn't mean it's extinct.  Rory: Skunks are extinct.  Amy: No, they're stinky!  Conversation with Darby... Darby: Rory said I am a butt. Conner: Well, you're not a butt.  Darby: Rory, I am not a buuuutt.  Rory: You're lying! I didn't call you a butt!  Darby: Is I'm a lion?? 

If we would enjoy the blessing of God upon our family, then let its members gather together daily for praise and prayer. 'Them that honor Me I will honor' is his promise. --A.W. Pink New pastor goal: lead leaders. I want to guide the leaders already at this church to use their leadership and gifts for the glory of God. To make disciples of the nations, we first need to check our immediate surroundings. Before we spread out even into the community, we have to make disciples of our families. This family worship tool can help us do that. Family Worship Tool

Conversation with Rory... Rory: The sharks got them.  Amy: The sharks got who?  Rory: The sharks got them.  Amy: The sharks got WHO?  Rory: The sharks got Adam and Eve.  Amy: Oh...Really?  Rory: Yeah. They were at the beach and the sharks ate their surfboards. And they sunk.  Amy: Oh no. Did they drown?  Rory: Yeah. But they had lifejackets. Amy: So they didn't drown?  Rory: They DID drown. But they had goggles on.  Amy: So the goggles kept them from drowning?  Rory: It kept the water out of their eyes.  Amy: So they drowned. But they didn't get water in their eyes.  Rory: Yeah.  Amy: Man. What a bad way to go.  Quotes by Darby... (to Amy) "You are definitely beautiful."  (immediately after waking up crying) "I want to put some meat in the fridge!"  Conversation with Rory who was writing on a tiny sticky note pad... Rory: What is ...

The Drive In the musical Calamity Jane, the titular character, played by Doris Day, is astonished to find not one but two men calling at her cabin outside of Deadwood, South Dakota. "Why I'm plumb flattered! What brings you out here?" she asks. Then, noticing one of her callers is none other than her frienemy Wild Bill Hickock, she inquires, "Injun' trouble?" We didn't run into any tribal skirmishes on our drive from South Florida to South Dakota, but we did have some engine trouble. Engine failure actually. After three days and approximately 1,000 miles of hard immigration--first leg from Ft. Lauderdale to Dothan, AL; second from Dothan to West Plains, MO; third from West Plains to Sioux Falls, SD--we made it about 5 miles before I said to Amy, "I'm going to have to pull over." Five hours later, we left Sioux Falls in a new used car. At least this one has snow tires and 4-wheel drive. If you've never driven I-90 across the state o...