Groovy Sputum

Wired

I have spent considerable amounts of time planning the electrical system of our new home and have decided to go with 2 breaker boxes for my circuits. The first will be a 200 amp panel that will feed the majority of circuits and the second will be a 100 amp panel with essential circuits housed within. My furnace, lights, well, sump pump, and septic aerator are all on this smaller, essential panel. I purchased a back feed safety switch that will allow me to use my generator to run this smaller panel when we have a power outage. The switch will only allow one power source to be active at a time. Either I am drawing from the grid or I am drawing from my generator. The switch won’t allow both. I know the linemen at Ohio Edison will appreciate that!

The other wiring that I have been pondering is the communication, data, and media wiring. Initially, I had thought about running a bunch of Cat6 network cable and RG-6 coax to every room, but as I have considered things more, I am leaning toward not installing any of this. One of the things that Valerie and I look forward to with our new home is a return to a simpler, less complicated life. We also have every intention of having our home be a haven for our children. I am not sure we can accomplish these things if we have tv & internet at the house. Let’s face it, the things of this world are invading every aspect of our culture (one need only try to take your children through the checkout line at Meijer to see what I mean) and I fear for the spiritual and moral development of my children if my own home has evil available at gigabyte speed.

One nice thing about not having media on demand is that hopefully we will be more judicious about choosing what we want to watch rather than having it chosen for us (I am referring to commercials and channel surfing). Nightly tv is already a common activity at the Burton home, but rarely do we watch live broadcasts (the Superbowl this year pretty much set me over the edge in terms of allowing my children to watch commercials anymore). We normally will pop in a DVD of The Waltons or Andy Griffith and enjoy an episode or two. I know it is old fashioned, but it is enjoyable nonetheless.

There are obvious things that will need to be sacrificed, however, if we are not to be a thoughtfully modern wired family. Email, news, research, and blogging will need to be done elsewhere, which obviously will be a bit of an inconvenience. Valerie and I had a short conversation about that, though, and we both agree that a short trip to a wi-fi hot spot (there are several withing a few miles of our home) would allow us to import our email and blog feeds to be read at home and email responses and updates to our personal blogs can be composed offline and simply sent/posted live the next time a connection is made. I know Valerie would probably enjoy her daily trip (read: time alone) to a coffee shop to sip an exotic tea and get her internet fix. It would probably help with time management as well if we had specific times that we were online. As it is now, we are free to surf anytime and many times that turns into all the time. Not good.

Recent Outings

I have been trying to get the kids out of the house a bit since the new baby has come home.  I figure that a few hours of peace at home during the day is a good way for Valerie to rest.  I decided to pick some outings that were a bit of a drive in order to give Valerie that much more time alone. 

The first trip was to Mansfield for a few rides on the carousel.  The girls particularly liked this since they were able to get a Webkinz or two with their birthday money from the gift shop there. Afterward, we drove down to Bellville to walk through the Bellville Street Fair and see the animals. On the way, we stopped and picked up a box of Drumbsticks ice cream cones from the Wal*Marts (getting a box of pre-packaged cones is WAY cheaper than stopping at the Tastee-Freez). This trip took about 4 hours.

The second trip was to the Air Force Museum in Dayton. This was a 2 hour drive and called for an in flight movie via my laptop. The kids loved this treat and we blitzed through the museum. I didn’t really stop to read anything, but that is ok. I just like seeing the planes. We went through all 4 hangers in about an hour. I just kept the kids moving. They sat in a few display cockpits and loved looking at all the guns and bombs. Ironically, their favorite part was playing on the playground. Trip time: 6 hours.

Yesterday we went putt-putt golfing. Let’s just say there are no Tigers in the Burton family. I tried to teach them how to swing a putter and proper golf etiquette, but by hole 3, it was pretty much a free for all. We didn’t keep score for obvious reasons, and I fished more balls out of the pond than any one man should have to in a lifetime. My favorite player was N. Each hole he would tee off shuffle board style (the ball would go maybe 3 feet) and he would then pick it up and place it 2 inches from the hole. When he tapped it in, he would send up a huge cheer. Classic. The highlight of the round was watching the kids test the depth of the ponds…with their putters. They must have enjoyed it, because when were done, they reminded me that I have 4 more “kids play free” coupons at home that we need to use. 4 hours for this trip.

Today’s trip was to Old Man’s Cave in the Hocking Hills State Forest. I absolutely love this place and knew the kids would, too, once we got there. Another 2 hour trip called for another movie, and we arrived around lunch time. We ate and headed down into the gorge. It isn’t nearly as big as I remember as a kid, but beautiful still. Well, 10 minutes into our walk, I hear a scream and turn around to see our eldest hunched over swatting at a gazillion bees. As she is just standing there, I immediately run to her, pick her up and run away from the swarm. I stop to swat and notice that the boys are just standing there…near the swarm. They were so memorized by the sight that they didn’t bother to run. I had to yell rather loud to get them away, which is something I don’t like to do. Having a big family draws enough attention and having to yell always draws the, “If you can’t control your kids, you shouldn’t have so many!” looks. Not fun. Anyway, my loud voice reverberating off the gorge walls got them moving and after everyone was safe, I discover that 3 of the 5 of us have been wounded. 8 stings in all. We quickly discovered that no one is allergic to bee sting! In this case, the fear factor was greater than the pain, but it could have been much worse. There were a LOT of bees.

After a few deep breaths and a few hugs, I managed to convince two crying little girls (myself not included) that walking would be the best medicine. We ended up seeing the main cave, but I am afraid that I may never have my children’s company on a hike again. That is what disappoints me the most: having my kids traumatized to the point of never setting foot on a trail again. Time will tell. I am hoping for the best. We would have stayed longer and hiked to Ash Cave, but, well…you know. Trip time: 6 hours.

All in all it has been a fun week and I think Valerie is more rested than she has been after a delivery, so I guess it is mission accomplished. I feel like I’ve been rode hard, though.

Sad News

Many of you have probably heard the news about the tragic, untimely death of Steven Curtis Chapman’s youngest daughter, Maria. She was run over accidentally in her driveway on Wednesday by her brother. She was five years old.

As a person who has grown up listening to this guy’s music, I feel a strange connection to him. He has 6 kids, is an advocate for adoption, and has a heart for children. His music has convicted, encouraged, challenged, and comforted me over the years.

I can not imagine the pain that family is going through. As a parent, how do you recover from that? The brother that was driving will never be the same, either. I think about how much my life was changed by the death of my father unexpectedly and He was in his 60s and it wasn’t an accident. I pray that I never have to go through what SCC is right now.

I am reminded of one of his songs and think it is an appropriate prayer to lift him and his family up right now:

I will not pretend to feel the pain you’re going through
I know I cannot comprehend the hurt you’ve known
And I used to think it mattered if I understood
But now I just don’t know

Well, I’ll admit sometimes I still wish I knew what to say
And I keep looking for a way to fix it all
But we know we’re at the mercy of God’s higher ways
And our ways are so small

But I will carry you to Jesus
He is everything you need
I will carry you to Jesus on my knees

It’s such a privilege for me to give this gift to you
All I’d ever hope you’d give me in return
Is to know that you’ll be there to do the same for me
When the tables turn

And if you need to cry go on and I, I will cry along with you, yeah
I’ve given you what I have but still I know the best thing I can do
Is just pray for you

I’ll carry you
I’ll take you to Jesus on my knees

Please pray for this family.

Child Of The 80s

I dug out some of my high school videos last night and watched some of them with the family. We started with a cross country video of my senior year and followed it with a musical that I was in as a sophomore. Keep in mind that I graduated in 1993. Let me describe what I saw: pegged jeans, big hair, rolled t-shirt sleeves, mullets, deck shoes (aka boat shoes) without socks, acid washed jeans that had been acid washed (just to make sure they were nice and faded), bibs half undone, unlaced high tops, lots of tie dye, Umbros, and plenty of spandex.

Now, some people might be embarrassed to see themselves looking like this. How could they have ever dressed that way? How could they have ever thought they were cool looking like that? They would be ashamed to show pictures of themselves in jams. Not me. I am proud to be a child of the 80s. I wouldn’t be caught dead in a Members Only jacket today, but I am glad that I was part of the generation that wore them. Every generation has its oddities and we look back on them and laugh, but I happen to be one who actually enjoys looking back at the late 80s/early 90s styles. You have to admire a generation that was willing to match tapered jeans with little bows on the calves with pink polo shirts with popped collars. Gotta’ love that.

House Plans

I was talking about the house project with a friend recently and realized that I hadn’t ever shown him the floor plan for the first phase of the project. I have spent so much time the last six months researching building methods, permits, and estimating cost, that I guess I just forgot to share the layout with anyone.

Ultimately, we want to have a large two story home for my clan, and have an attached apartment for mom. We had tossed around the idea of building a separate home beside ours or even just adding an extra bedroom on to our home, but I didn’t feel like that would really be what mom wanted. I don’t want her to be cramped into one room and feel like she can’t escape my family if she wants (or needs to), but I also know that if she can’t just waddle over to our place in her nightgown for dinner, she probably won’t. So, the compromise is a larger apartment attached to a larger home.

Basically, there will be two phases to the project. The first phase is to build the apartment. It will be a 1200 square foot ranch. The second phase is the area labeled “future addition” and is where the 2000 square foot addition will be built in a few years.

It’s actually working out nicely because mom can stay where she is until Keith & Leigh Ann sell their home and move away. We will move into her apartment this fall and be able to build the two story over the next few years. If all goes according to schedule, we will move into the two story the same time Keith & Leigh move away and mom can then sell her house and move into her apartment.

Right now, I am having an architect draw up the plans which, hopefully, will be done in a week or two. Also, I officially opened a project fund today with Grandma Jean’s inheritance money (thanks, Granny!), so we are ready to start paying for stuff. It’s exciting to plan it all and think about having a permanent place. We always knew that our house in Waldo was temporary and it is nice to finally be working on the place we will settle down and call home. Actually, this is the place that my kids will think of when they think of home, and that is pretty neat.

The Flywheel

My family watched a movie called Flywheel last evening and, although it was not the greatest production, cinematography, or acting, I really enjoyed it. It was produced by a church. The same church, in fact, that produced Facing The Giants. Flywheel is the story of a used car salesman who is not very honest in his dealing and is having a rough time in his personal relationships as well. He ends up giving his life to Jesus and trying to live in a way that honors God. This means selling cars at an honest price and also going back to those he had cheated and offering a rebate to make things right.

The thing I liked about it was that the situations and outcomes are not that far fetched. In some inspirational movies, the “miracle” that occurs is not at all believable (Because Of Winn Dixie, comes to mind). Good story, but not believable. Flywheel is. I have seen the hand of God work in ways such as this and it is neat to have it portrayed in a real way, a way that isn’t over exaggerated, and a way that is not intended to mock or ridicule.

Watching this also made me think of the times that I have seen God move and do mighty things for ordinary people. Many time, those mighty things happened to my parents and I saw them happen in our home as a child. I really want God to do those kinds of things for me, not because I need them, but because I need my kids to see Him being faithful. I can think of no better way for my faith in the Lord to be transfered to my children that to have Him be faithful in my life. This is a challenge sometimes, especially in light of some of the things I believe He is calling us to do with our family and home. My faith is not very strong sometimes, but I pray that He will remain faithful and show Himself strong in spite of my weakness.

Stuffing The Stuff

We started watching Andy Griffith last fall with the kids and wound up going through the first two seasons in about 8 weeks. Then, we started in on The Waltons and devoured the first two seasons of that in a little over 10 weeks. Now, we are into the first season of Little House on the Prairie. We just watched the 4th episode.

I have noticed a few things as we have been vegging in front of the tube. First, I enjoy not seeing commercials with my kids. Actually, I notice this more when I try to watch anything on network tv with my kids. I know there are rules as to what can be shown at what time, but whoever makes these rules sure isn’t trying to raise Godly kids. It’s embarrassing.

The second thing noticed is more of a historical observation: people tend to be happier the less things they have. The author of The Waltons is always mentioning how he and his family had nothing growing up, yet they were always happy and really didn’t notice their lack of stuff. I read a report on a news site the other day about how depression is at an all time high in the U.S., yet people are more affluent than ever.

Now, I am not saying a kid living in the street is in paradise, but I do think that the excess stuff of this world chokes out much of life’s joys. The abundance of stuff we have also tend to warp our thinking so that we are pre-occupied with self-gratification. We become self centered creatures who seek more stuff so that we can be entertained.

If you compared my life with that of others in this country, you would say that we live modestly. In fact, some would question our ability to provide even the basics of life with my salary. The reality is we have TONS more stuff than the average family dreamed of even 30 years ago. The biggest thing we have is the ability to access information and entertainment media. And there is an endless supply.

I haven’t yet decided how I am going to respond to these observations, but I feel that there is a change coming. Really, this is an extension of my thought in this post, just a different angle. I guess I just want my kids (and myself) to cherish relationships and people more than entertainment and things. That is very difficult to teach in this day and age. We have already started to cut down on tv and computer time, but I feel like more is needed. Maybe the change needs to take place with me rather than just with the kids. I’ll keep you posted.

The Vices Of Our Day

The flu has been making the rounds in our family this week and Valerie is not feeling too well today, so I decided to take the opportunity to change the Saturday morning routine a bit with the kids. Normally, Valerie will fix breakfast and then the morning is a mix of cartoons, grocery shopping, or playing. I decided to dive headlong into some chores promptly after breakfast. I served up “dunky” eggs & toast, with bananas and apples, by the way.

The first item of business was to tidy up the kid’s bedrooms. This consisted of throwing away diapers, picking up trash, removing who knows what from under the beds, putting dirty cloths in the hamper, and putting toys, books, and shoes in their proper places. You would have thought I was a slave driver when the kids heard me ask them to do this. “Just because mommy is sick doesn’t mean that everything has to change,” cried one kiddo. “I never do anything but clean,” cried another. I quickly asked my children if they ever played with their toys, read books, watched tv, or played games on the internet, to which they were silent. “But it will just get messy again,” objected another child. “Yes, it probably will,” I replied, “but having nice things means taking responsibly to take care of them.” I was feeling pretty confident with my calm composure and insightful responses. “If you don’t want to take care of them, I guess I can pack them up and give them to someone who will,” I said. Needless to say, a few moments later four grumpy kids were busy in their room. We managed to get the bedroom straightened up and I even swept the floors of the main living area during this chore time as well.

My mix-things-up-because-mom-is-sick plan continued after chore time by having the kids put some puzzles together and having a short story time. I read the story of St. Valentine. It was pretty nice, but I couldn’t help get a bit tired of the kids griping and complaining. They weren’t outright asking to watch tv or veg in front of the computer, but I sensed that that was their ultimate desire. Sure, they enjoyed the puzzles and the story, and I think they appreciated having a tidy home, but given the choice, they would have chosen technology time.

That’s when it hit me: things have got to change. I know that we don’t let our kids watch tv or play on the computer as much as the typical household, but my kids still craved it and felt gypped if they were denied these things. I felt kind of hurt to know that my kids would rather spend time with Dora or Club Penguin than with me. Actually, it’s not just that…it’s that they seem to enjoy those thing more than they enjoy me. Punch me in the gut a bit harder, will ya?

So, I am taking a stand. Things are going to change around here. Sure, we will still have family time in front of the tv with Andy Griffith, The Waltons, and Little House, but we are going to stop using PBS and Noggin as a childcare provider. From now on, activities in this house will require personal interaction and not just be a client-server relationship. It isn’t going to be easy, but I hope that once the addiction is broken, my kids will want to do things with me first and the technology based entertainment will be something I have to force them to engage in.

Wish me luck.

The WordPress Driven Church

I was at prayer meeting a week ago and one of the requests that has been on the list for a while is for a person to coordinate community relations for the church. I inquired about this and found out that it is primarily a need to promote “Experience Bethlehem”, the church Christmas ministry. Anyway, the conversation lead to discussion about a church web site and I discovered that Clear Fork Alliance does not have one and the creation of one is not eminent. I told Pastor Mike that I have done that kind of thing before and would be interested in working on it if needed. He said he would check with the person who had been working on a site and get back to me. Well, last Wednesday at prayer meeting, PM said that I could have at it.

For some time I have been thinking about how to make a church web site into more than just a virtual visitors guide. I mean, let’s face it, that’s what the majority of church sites are. A static list of data that never is updated. Since Joe average visitor prefers to find info via the web, the site is used the way a yellow pages ad or newspaper listing was used 20 or 30 years ago.

Then I watched my wife blog. Man, can Valerie blog! I’m proud to say that there are no Google Ads adorning her blog and she is in it purely for the relationship building value blogging brings. It is the growth in her relationships that really started me thinking about having a church web site be a ministry.

That’s when the light went on. Why not make the church site a blog? Why limit the content of a church site to static data like times, locations, and a list of core beliefs? Why not allow the people in the church to express themselves by posting about their lives…what God is doing, how He is working, their faith in Him. Readers (church members and potential visitors) would be able to better know the body of believers and see what the church is REALLY about. Let’s face it, can a person really know what a church is like by looking at a picture of the building and reading their mission statement?

I think it would be great to have two main areas: static info that will serve as an advertisement for potential visitors and a blog area where there are new postings daily or weekly. Obviously, in order to have new posts, we will need writers to submit work and topics for them to write about. Here are some possibilities I have thought of:

• Testimonies: church members can write their testimonies out and we could post a new one each week. What a great way for church members to get to know each other. This would also be a great witness for unbelievers about how God reaches and changes lives.
• Pastor post: the pastor could submit a weekly post about whatever is on his heart. It could be a message to the church, something that God is doing in his life, or whatever. This would be a way for people to know the “lead dog” better.
• Age group posts: church members might write about various topics for children, youth, singles, family, seniors, etc.
• Discipleship: these could particularly be posts about topics that pertain to new Christians to help them grow.

I think if we had 2 or 3 regular people submitting posts weekly and then asked people for testimonies (we could post a new one each week), we could have enough new content to keep the site fresh. If people wanted to subscribe to the RSS feed, they could even get the posts delivered to their in-boxes! Also, if there is anyone into photography or video production, this could be a great way for them to express themselves.

I will post on how this church blog goes. I think the biggest challenge is going to be to make it visually look like a church site rather than a blog. Also, getting writers on board with the concept of it being a ministry may be a challenge. We’ll see how it goes.

Catching Up

I have been convicted for a while about my relationship with friends from college and how I have really dropped the ball when it comes to being a friend. I have never been very good at being loyal except with my family and I really regret that sometimes. I have friends from college that really meant a lot to me and shared some very important life events with me, but I am sad to say that I have not valued their place in my life very well.

I have been searching for the last few months for email addresses so that I can catch up a bit with these people. Let me tell you, finding a dozen or so people in a world of 6.6 billion is no easy task. I am finding that there are usually one or two key-stone people who I can get info about many more from. For instance, I receive an email newsletter from a friend living abroad occasionally and his email list is fairly large. Let’s just say that some email services may flag his email as SPAM due to the mass quantity of people he sends to. Nonetheless, I was able to pull about 4 or 5 emails of people I was looking for. For that, I say thank you. Now I just hope that I don’t spend an hour writing a letter to someone, spilling my guts, only to find that there are two people with the same name and I picked the wrong one to email. Doh!