Do you ever feel just a little bit overwhelmed by life… or maybe a lot overwhelmed? Maybe you feel like there is a black cloud following you around. Maybe, as in our case this week, there is actually a literal black cloud following you around. It seems like the last two weeks have spawned one circumstance after another for our family. I won’t bore you with the details, but I will say there have been some things this month that have us waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. It brings to mind the story I first read in Max Lucado’s book In the Eye of the Storm.Keep reading
So, this last school year I successfully completed my senior year of high school! Because we are homeschooled, we are free to do kinda whatever we want for our senior trip. The tradition started with my older brother when he graduated to have a father son weekend outing for our senior trips. Justin, being the oldest of us three brothers, decided to go backpacking in the Smoky Mountains. So for my trip I decided to go fishing in Minnesota. Keep reading
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We’ve always enjoyed hiking and camping. But, I must confess ours has been of the more modern sort. We would camp, but we did it out of a 30’ RV. We would hike, but we always did it in such a way that we could be back to our starting point by day’s end. That’s pretty much it. Day hikes from our fifth wheel. We love it. We’ve seen some beautiful places. But we’ve been wanting to try something new. See some places that you can’t get there and back in the same day. This presents the need for a new skill set and some new equipment. So we thought periodically we could share with you some of the things we have learned along the way. Keep reading
Is the theory true that states after one is struck by lightning once, one is more likely to be struck again? Because if it is, me, my dad, and a good friend of ours are toast—literal toast people! Keep reading
Well, the latest craze to take the nation and the world by storm is here. I know you have all been dying for the next big thing. The wait is finally over. I think this has taken all of the life cycle of a butterfly to turn into full-fledged hysteria. I know for me personally, I heard about it less than a week ago, and as of this morning it has over 100 million users. So not to be left in the technological dust storm that is Pokemon Go, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and explore all of the benefits of this new frenzy before it is cast onto the ash heap of discarded phone apps. The list is going to be extensive, but try to keep up. Keep reading
It seems every day we are moving farther apart as a nation. We can’t seem to find anything to unite us as a country. Long gone is that foundational idea E Pluribus Unum—out of many, one. It seems we’ve gotten it backwards—out of one, many. The only thing we seem to be able to unite with others on as individuals is our vitriol and hatred for another individual or group. Which makes me ask myself this question. Is civility dead or just dying? Keep reading
I had allowed myself to become the proverbial stick in the mud. I didn’t feel like doing anything, or going anywhere. I had no energy. I was content to sit at home and read a book – and eat, of course. My fat clothes were stretched to the limit and I was going to have to buy a new wardrobe or do something, what that something was, I didn’t know. I looked longingly at commercials that said “if you just buy this pill, you can lose weight without changing your diet or exercise.” I gazed with envy at friends who didn’t have a weight problem, wondering why it was so “easy” for them. I was even tempted to go into network marketing (although I am a terrible sales person) just because people on Facebook were doing it and losing weight while promoting their products. I felt stuck and thought, “I just need to accept that this is my new reality and be fine with it”, but I couldn’t. Finally Michael said Keep reading
We’ve all heard that age-old expression about dogs being “man’s best friend.” I grew up with dogs around the house and always enjoyed them. At the same time, I knew there must be more to the relationship than what I had experienced to warrant the title of “best” friend. I finally understand now how that accolade was earned by canines all over the world. What changed for me was when man’s best friend became my best friend. Keep reading
Tough As They Come is the true story of SSG Travis Mills. On April 10, 2012, while on patrol in Afghanistan with his men, Travis halted his troops in an area they had just finished sweeping for mines. When he set his pack on the ground beside him, it detonated a buried IED. Thinking he was dying, his thoughts were for his men who had been wounded in the blast and their medical needs. Fighting back the fear that swept over him, he determined to leave this world with dignity as an example to his men of true courage. But death did not come that day. His men were a
ble to stabilize him, get him on a helicopter, and effectively save his life in the process. That day, Travis Mills became the fourth surviving quadruple amputee in American military history. Keep reading
Indiana….. It has to be one of the flattest states in the entire country! Nevertheless, Indiana is our home. As people who enjoy hiking and exploring, it is easy to ask ourselves why we couldn’t live in Montana or Arizona or Utah! Somewhere with a little more scenery at least! I mean, besides getting lost in a cornfield or something, there just isn’t a whole lot of exciting landscape here in Indiana. However this last weekend our family was able to escape to Turkey Run State Park. Keep reading
