No Cussing

Some time ago, several months I guess, I discovered an organization in California established and founded by a young man, just 14 years old, of South Pasadena. It is call the No Cussing Club. It has gained an amazing following all around the world and is growing at a phenomenal rate. You can take a look at it here http://www.nocussing.com/index.html and join if you like. I did. I think it is a great idea.

In a time when people's language is getting worse, it is time for some of us to speak up and say enough is enough. I am really tired of hearing the words I hear on a daily basis. There is no good reason for language like many use. And, yes, it does hurt. The speaker and the hearer as well.

There are many reasons why certain things have been considered poor choices, in spite of the many who do them. Drinking, smoking, cursing, and immoral lives are some. All of those I chose to name have serious to catastrophic results. It doesn't matter to me whether one considers themselves to be morally correct or not, that short list is simply a recipe for pain and suffering. All of them will bring a deficiency in life.

I just received an email from the NCC about a Supreme Court ruling on the FOX network allowing two curse words to be broadcast. This link http://www.parentstv.org/ has a link to a pdf file which contains all of the legal proceedings of the case of Supreme Court vs FCC & FOX. The FCC had evidently said it was OK for FOX to allow the two words based on content and infrequent use, but the Supreme Court overturned their ruling.

So, a small victory in a large war. I really believe most people who use poor language don't understand the damage it does. I really am not going to get into that here because I don't think intelligent people need it explained. Cursing to me is like the continued use of tobacco. I just want to say, "Are you KIDDING me?" What is so compelling and alluring about something that destroys you?

If you were to get an email from me it has this signature line: Rise above common rhetoric James 5.12 Bruce’s paraphrase.

So do you think real men and real women use bad language?

Cheers.

Ocracoke

Ocracoke Lighthouse is the shortest of the Atlantic coast lighthouses at 75 feet and the second oldest in North Carolina dating to 1823. It is a picturesque lighthouse, with a very nice keeper's house, nice grounds and surrounding picket fence. It does not have a revolving light, but has a stationary light instead. The light house is situated on relative high ground on the island and provides a refuge to rising water during hurricanes.

The trip is on relative high ground spiritually for me each year I am able to attend. I thought this was my 5th year, but I can only account for 4 using my inventory of pictures; 2004, 2006, 2008 & 2009. This was the 15th year for the retreat. I believe three of the men have been at all 15, and a few others can claim 14. It is the 4th time of the 7 years I have attended church at Harrisonburg First Nazarene for me. I plan to be at the rest, for as long as the trip is made.

I took more pictures this time, but not of the beach or ocean like one would expect. And I really don't know why. In a small way I know why, but it is not worth explaining. Just suffice it to say I concentrated on micro photography. Like this picture:

And this duck and chicks caught my eye and I took a number of closeups of them:

The one day I was on the beach I walked along the water line in the surf at about ankle depth looking into the water for complete shells. These are the ones I picked up. I never get tired of collecting shells when on the edge of the ocean. They fascinate me. This one is worth double clicking and enlarging.

My favorite one.

The retreat rested my body and refreshed my spirit. The company I was with going down, during and coming back was fun and we had a good time together. A great getaway.

Happy Happy Easter

I realize Easter is nearly over, but it is still Easter here in the eastern US. Our vision pastor this morning made a statement that may not be original to him and most likely wasn't the first time he said it, but it was the first time I took note of it. "Eternity is not about the future, but it is about forever." In other words, our eternity has begun. Our eternal destiny may not be selected, but it can be if we decide it is. I can make the determination now where I want to spend eternity, and with devotion and dedication it can be so. Regardless of my choice.

Just wanted to post this picture of the only grandchild that showed up for Easter dinner today. The other two were out of town, having visited the other grandparents this weekend. And I am sure they, the other grandparents, enjoyed them as much as we do. I wish both sets of grandparents lived closer as well. I do enjoy being with Lesa's parents, and Diana's parents are wonderful as well.

Here is the picture:

I wasn't sure what Mari was doing, but Jill says she pretends to put earrings in her ears. Cute. I invite you to double click on the picture and make it larger. Then look at those eyes. Beautiful.

Everybody asleep?

Or busy. Of the three blogs I monitor frequently, none have been updated recently. Of the three blogs I monitor they all have small children, so that is probably most of the reason. But I do like to see new pictures and hear how they are doing. I guess I am at a time in my life when I can pick and choose what I want to do with my time. That is just not possible with little ones, I know.

Just really close to having the rec room back together. Still a couple of small things to do. Then on to phase 2, the stairway. And I have to put all new ceiling boxes in for the fans. People who build houses around here shouldn't be allowed to. I have owned 2 new homes, we were the first to live in them, and this one we are the second owners. All three have had so many shortcuts taken by the builders it is scary. The first home was built by a long time plumber in the area and his plumbing was atrocious. The second one was built by a known contractor and not only was all the wiring substandard the garage floor had no reinforcing causing it to collapse after 18 months. This one the owners must have done much of the work themselves. And I constantly find things that were done a little short of right.

Anyway, off the soapbox. The ceiling boxes are all Bakelite, not code for fans. And a house inspection won't typically find that shortfall.

I will post pictures of the rec room soon. Maybe by this weekend.

Coming apart

It is 1:15 am, and I really need to be in bed. But a few notes before I go. A friend of mine told me that Vance Heavner once said "If we don't come apart, we will come apart." I used to have a pastor who seemed to need to "get away" a lot. I couldn't understand it at the time, and I'm not totally sure I do now, but I am beginning to see it in my own life. I need time "away" at times. Of course I am about 30 years older than he was at the time. But I have no idea what burdens and stress he was carrying. I know my physical stamina is not what it used to be. The past 8 days of 8+ hours days nearly killed me.

So, two weeks from right now I should be sleeping on Ocracoke in an attempt to recharge my physical and spiritual batteries. I am looking forward to "coming apart."

The rec room phase one is very close to being done. I got 2/3 of the baseboard up today, the DVD/cable box cabinet finished, the track lighting back up, and we moved some of the furniture back into place. I hope to finish the wires in the wall for the TV and it's input devices as well as the wireless router tomorrow as well as the baseboard. Need to put in one more receptacle inside the wall so all the power wires are hidden, and mount my cable splitter inside the wall.

I also need to mow tomorrow before going down to Chad and Lesa's to help him hid his cable in the wall. I am beginning to get pretty good at finding the insides of wall partitions from under the house and in the attic. I have run many cable and power circuits throughout this house using the interior walls as conduits. Makes for nice esthetics hiding wires.

Later dudes.

Chimerical

That is me perfectly. I subscribe to Word of the Day @ Dictionary.com because I like learning new words and being challenged in my vocabulary. My email by line is "Rise above common rhetoric." It is a personal paraphrase of James 5.12. You can look it up. But it is an ideal to which I try to live. So today, 4/8/9, the word for the day is chimerical. It means imaginary. Which sums up the thought process of my days. I am always in the imaginary because it is fun. And one of my top likes is fun.

My very wimpy Daniel Dog, at nearly 90 pounds, is lying under my desk at my feet like he does when thunderstorms are in the area. I wonder if he hears something I don't.

Todd and I are going to a funeral this morning of a very dear woman we worshipped with for almost 20 years in Staunton. Marian Bowles and her husband Ray were two wonderful people. Ray passed away in 1998. Marian was the postmaster in a small town on US Route 60 in Rainelle, WV many years before retiring to the Staunton area with Ray. A very saintly woman who will be a treat for heaven.

So if you encounter me any time soon wish me a chimerical day. And a chimerical day to you as well!! Cheers, Bruce

Steer here

Inside joke for current and former SARS folks. I see it has been 3 weeks since I posted here. I have fallen out of the writing mood lately, been working more than I'd like to, and April is the anniversary of my mother, my brother-in-law and my brother's transition from time to timelessness. In that order. 2006, 2007 and 2008. They all owned pieces of my life as well as larger pieces of my future had they lived. My belief is that they now are where they proposed to be at this stage in their lives. I will one day know.

I am coming up on my 8th straight day of full time shifts at work. Then I have 2 days off. Work two more days, have another two days off, work 4 days and take 4 off. Weird I know. Such is the life of retail. Well, the 4 days off isn't really retail but vacation from retail. It is time for our annual men's retreat at Ocracoke Island. Sounds to many like fun times on the beach. For me, the beach is OK, but I won't spend much time there. I get enough of the beach and ocean in a couple of hours. It is a time of spiritual relaxation and renewal for me. Three of us are going together and taking bikes. My guess is there will be about 100 guys this year from our church and others. Ocracoke is at sea level around it's perimeter of course, and rises to probably 6 or 8 inches at it's highest elevation, except for the dunes, which may be 2 feet or so. And biking is great fun on the flat.

I am still trying to read, only now I am in the middle of 4 books instead of 1. Again. I found a book on the Internet titled The Engineer in the Garden by Colin Tudge. It is a book about creation and genetics. It is subtitled "Genes and Genetics From the Idea of Heredity to the Creation of Life."

My dear friend Arnold loaned me a book titled Why Men Don't Go To Church" which I am finding interesting as well, but less compelling to my central scope of quest. But I believe it may help me as I interact with men and stand for my position as a Christian man.

I am still in the middle of How to Read the Bible but I am working my way through the very academic and scholarly elucidation of the books attributed to Old Testament prophets and judges. Right now I am in Ezekiel. What I am finding out mostly is that I did not know these books as well as I should have. A lot of history that seems to get lost in my brain with all of the people and places with unpronounceable names.

I will most likely post more about these three books on my other blog.

I have also been remiss in my camera activity. I had wanted a smaller camera so I could always have it with me, and now after being so very kindly gifted with it, find I don't carry it with me. I am basically afraid I will lose it. I don't want it in my locker at work, and while I can effectively hide it in the console of my truck, I worry about the heat, or coming heat.

Most of my time at home has been taken up with trying to recharge my physical batteries and working on the rec room. We are close to being done there. I have very high expectations of being done this coming weekend. I have Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday and Monday off. The last two semi major parts is putting down the baseboard and cleaning and painting the baseboard heaters.

The second phase which needs a quick follow up is the sealing, sanding and painting of the stairs and stairway, then putting down the hooked rug treads.

Then we are going to have some of you over.

Cheers. Bruce