HornIT.net Technology Blog
Ok, for those of you who wanted to see Technology related stuff here. I've decided to segregate it out to another blog to make my life simple. Here is where you should go to see the newest Tech tips and news I've run across. Plus, sometimes I just post stuff that is pretty darn funny...
http://techblog.hornit.net
Enjoy!
Cornerstone Bike Trip 4.11
So the highly anticipated Cornerstone Bike Trip 4.11 (it's the 4th ride of its kind and 4.11 is derived from Revelation 4:11) was a big success. I have posted pictures to the Photo Album and will continue to do so as David and Brad send me the ones they took.
We took off Friday at 3:30pm 2 guys short. Two new guys on the trip were Kurt and Tyler. Besides them, we had David, Nate, Doug, Todd, Mike, and myself. We had about 200 miles to cover to get to Pike's Peak state park near McGregor, Iowa. We had a good ride, but it was pretty warm. We had to have seen around a dozen deer. We didn't take the direct route; we pretty much went scenic the entire way so it took slightly over 5 hours. At Pike's Peak we met up with Brad and Doug. As we all sat there greeting each other, a very (rightfully so) concerned looking Park Ranger came up to greet us. We asked him about the facilities and he took the opportunity to share that there was another private campground close by that we might also enjoy. We took the hint and checked it out. It was called Paradise Valley and had a lake you could swim in (none of us did) and a nice park for kids/myself. :-)
We rolled into Paradise Valley around 9pm, and the guy let us all stay in one site for $11. He even delivered a batch of firewood for $5. The guys setup camp (including putting up my tent) while Doug, Nate, Brad and I went into Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin to Super Walmart for food. Here's where the trailer is no longer dorky. We loaded it up with dinner and breakfast for the next morning. By the time we got back, it was 11pm. Everyone turned in around 12:30am or so.
Tyler asked to sleep in my 3 person tent with me, which I said was perfectly fine. I had agreed to this before realizing that Tyler can snore louder than a grizzly and has one way conversations in his sleep. I laid there and was just about to doze off when Tyler says, "And then there were 5 of them!" I asked him what he was talking about and realized he was fast asleep. Around 1am I heard discussions coming from outside my tent among David, Nate, and Doug about heading into Walmart to buy tents because they were being eaten alive by mosquitoes (even despite the DEET which they seemed to be licking off their faces.) I jumped out of the tent ready for some more riding since 8 hours hadn't been enough and even Brad joined us. Two of the guys were waiting for us at the bottom of the hill and when David saw 3 more bikes heading down, he said "Look, there's 5 of us," which is believed to be the fulfillment of Tyler's sleeping prophecy. ;-)
After buying 6 ft junior tents at Walmart in Prairie du Chien, we decided we weren't ready to go back yet, so we did some cruising around Wisconsin and North East Iowa. After 2 hours and 65 miles of nearly being hit by deer, nearly being hit by a car since we were stopped on the middle of a bridge, attempted burnouts, no handed stunts through town, and all around way too fast driving, we decided to head back to camp and get some sleep. When we got there, Mike (aka Chicken Little) was claiming the end of the world was at hand due to the lightning coming from both the East and the West. He setup an elaborate tent from a picnic table and his tarp to protect his gear, all the while claiming that we were all about to die from the impending storm. His paranoia was great entertainment for the rest of us. The tents were a bit on the small side, but kept the bugs out of the guys' ears. Sometime in the middle of the night, I woke up to see Mike laying in the tent with Tyler and I, which was definitely a good move on his part since it rained for hours, even raining a little while we were trying to pack up Saturday morning.
Due to the rain, we overtook a shelter at Paradise Valley and found a grill with propane to cook our breakfast with. Nate and David prepared an excellent meal of bacon, eggs, pancakes, and Ruffles potato chips. We took off from Paradise Valley (nice place, I'd recommend it to anyone traveling through that area) around 10am and started our drive down the Great River Road through Dubuque and other Eastern Iowa towns down the Mississippi. I think we saw corn more often than we saw the river, but it was nice and scenic either way. We stopped in Dubuque and checked out the Lock and Dam Number 11, then ate lunch at Wendy's. We eventually made our way to
Maquoketa, Iowa.
We checked out Maquoketa Caves State Park and were followed into the park by a Park Ranger who wanted to make sure we knew the rules of the park before unpacking our gear. Quiet time was enforced at 10:30pm and there was only 1 tent allowed per campsite (no exceptions.) Much like the Pike's Peak Ranger, he graciously offered another campsite which was a City site in Maquoketa. Brad, David, Nate, Mike, Doug, and I hung out and reserved our campsite while Wally, Kurt, and Tyler went into town to check out the site there. Turns out it was an awesome site and we were the only ones there. We setup camp and then set off for the caves. We searched for the elusive Ice Cave for hours, then found out that we had already been in it, but it wasn't marked. We also were looking for a cave that you had to swim under some water to come to a big open room. That turned out to be myth, since Ice Cave was just simply a cave that was very, very cold (a nice place to hang out when you've been running/climbing in high heat and humidity.) We came back to the camp and made supper and participated in the best part of the trip: fellowship. I think the last of us went to bed around 1:30am or so and we were up and eating breakfast by 7am. We wanted to head out ASAP Sunday morning since we knew the heat (forecasted to be 101 in Maquoketa that day) was coming and we didn't really want to be driving in it.
We took some good scenic roads back, but after Cedar Rapids it got a little too scenic. Somehow we ended up driving on countless miles of gravel road before finally ending up back on pavement. We found old 30 and made a straight shot back home from there. I couldn't stand the dust, so I took my bike and trailer through a do-it-yourself car wash. That was where we got our only picture of everyone lined up together. We pulled into Ames somewhere around 1pm on Sunday where I'm sure most people's first stop was their shower. My suggestion to all of the guys that were crying about their sore rear ends: Mustang Seats.
The next trip is scheduled for September 9th-11th. I can't wait!
Letters
Short thought from 2 Corinthians this morning.
2 Corinthians 3:3 "Clearly, you are a letter from Christ prepared by us. It is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on stone, but on human hearts."
Jesus didn't write any letters, unlike Paul. He chooses to use us as His "letters" to the world. His letters of love, forgiveness, and acceptance in return for repentance. I think his letters are constantly changing as we live our lives. The message always stays the same, but the way it is presented through us changes based on the events we experience in our lives.
Is Christ's letter through you one of extreme encouragement that shows His love or one filled with sorrow over your repeated human failings (even this letter shows Christ's forgiveness)? Boldly (2 Cor. 3:12) let others read the letter Christ is trying to share through your life.
Cool Poem
I saw this today and thought it was neat.
You're writing a "gospel," a chapter each day,
By the deeds that you do, by the words that you say;
Men read what you write, whether faithless or true,
Say, what is the "gospel" according to you? —Gilbert
Contentment
Today the kids that went to Panama to minister to the people spoke a little bit about their experiences and Jeff Dodge gave the "Lessons from Panama." It was really neat to see how God used them to reach the people in Panama who desperately needed it. Most importantly, it was great to see the emphasis put on teaching and raising up men to lead their churches once the Americans had left.
One "Lesson from Panama" that struck me today was one of "contentment." It makes sense to me that the people of Panama, specifically in that village where the people were dirt poor and the conditions were less than sanitary, would have feelings of discontent. They have nothing, they are often ill, and they don't seem to have much to look forward to. However, it doesn't make sense to me why we often feel discontent. We have so much, and yet we often feel like we don't have enough. Jeff Dodge put it this way, "A lot of people feel like they don't have enough stuff, so they feel discontent. However, there are plenty of wealthy people that seem to have everything that will tell you that having 'stuff' doesn't make them feel content either." The only thing that will give you the contentment you are looking for is Christ.
We read Philippians 4:11-13:
11Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Verse 12 reminds me of a book (I have not read) by Judy Resnick titled I've been Rich, I've been Poor, Rich is Better. What a contrast between Resnick and the apostle Paul. I think we should be saying "I've been Rich, I've been Poor, In all Things Christ is Best."
Are you content with what Christ has given you? Is He content with what you've given Him?
Different
I am thoroughly enjoying my new "Church History in Plain Language" book. I highly recommend it, it's very interesting and not at all like the boring History books from your Western Civilization class in college. Maybe because it's all focused around a topic of extreme interest to me, but I'm finding it fascinating.
Last night I read about the spread of Christianity and one point that really stood out was that one reason Christianity spread and was so noticeably different was the love that Christians had for everyone. Not just other Christians, but for their neighbors. It was quite obvious to everyone they were around and made them really stand out as something different. How much do we emphasize loving and showing kindness to the people around us? ESPECIALLY our fellow believers? We all know it's "the right thing to do," but do we actually follow through? Maybe if we did, we'd be all that more effective in reaching non-believers for Christ.
Tonight I read about the hindrances faced by Christians in the early church, especially in regards to the Roman Empire. Surprisingly, the Roman Empire was actually quite tolerant of various religions. They really allowed you to worship any god you wanted, as long as you also paid respect (and worship) to Caesar. They required you to pay homage to Caesar once a year by coming to a temple, burning incense, and say "Caesar is Lord." They then gave you a certificate to prove you had done it, and then you were free to return home and worship whichever god you wanted, at least you had proven you were loyal to the empire. Jews were offered an exception (because they were more than willing to return to the wilderness and suffer bloodshed before worshipping another god), and originally the Christians fell under that protection, but the Jews made it quite clear that there should be no connection with the Christians. Also, Jews weren't out "evangelizing" and trying to get people to convert, while Christians were, so this made them a threat. Christians would die before they would call Ceasar, Lord. And a lot of times they did. Nero was famous for having Christians burned on crosses in his garden for his entertainment.
I was also struck with how "obvious" it was that you were a Christian back then. If you were a believer, there were so many more opportunities for you to be "set apart" from everyone else and you were very obviously "different" than everyone else. Even your work and livelihood created opportunities for you to be "called out" as a Christian. Christian tailors found themselves refusing to hem the pagan priest's garments, brick layers wouldn't build pagan temples, incense makers found their incense being burned to pagan gods, and teachers found ancient stories of gods in their textbooks. Taking a stand against these things made you really stand out.
Do we really stand out today? There are things that can make you stand out, like praying for your meal in a restaurant and refusing to participate in gossip, foul language, and telling of dirty jokes. However, are we often faced with having to take a stand against doing something at work because it contradicts our beliefs? My hat goes off to the Christians that do face this and overcome it, but I don't think it happens nearly to the extent that it did in early Christianity. We have the even more religious freedom than the Romans offered their subjects in America today, but a lot of Americans consider themselves "Christians" so we don't stand out nearly like the early Christians did. However, we definitely have plenty of opportunities to stand out even in a self proclaimed "Christian" society.
We should live differently. We should live with extremely high (perfect) standards. People should be able to tell that we are "different" whether it be from the way we live or by the way we express love and servanthood to others. We should be like the early Christians and drastically stand out. We should not be "of the world," even though we are "in the world." We should be like Christ.
Does your neighbor know you're a Christian? Does your coworker know you believe that Jesus provides the only way to eternal life? Do they know the kind of life you are called to live as a Christian? Do they think you're a hypocrite? Are you?
Mornings
I recently went through a personal debate about whether to have my devotions in the morning or at night. I had been struggling with hitting the snooze button too many times and sleeping through my time with God, so I thought maybe I should do them before I went to bed, instead. While I think it's most important to simply have devotions, and the timing isn't the most important thing, I decided it was more important for me to overcome my weakness and be recharged every morning so I had something to face my day with. That decision was reinforced when I read Psalm 5:3 this morning:
"Listen to my voice in the morning Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." If I brought my requests to God at night, would I really be able to wait expectantly? I'd wait for about 5 minutes, then fall asleep. I probably wouldn't even remember all of the thoughts I had the following day. So for me, like David, it's definitely mornings.
Sadducees and Pharisees - United for a cause
I got two of my books today! I've decided that I'm going to read one question every morning from R.C. Sproul's book "Now That's a Good Question" along with my other devotions and I'm going to try to read my "Church History in Plain Language" by Bruce Shelley book at night. We'll see how it goes.
I did read a great summary of why Sadduccees and Pharisees both were anxious of what Jesus was teaching. This is all quoted from the book:
"A man like Jesus presented a real danger to the Sadducees, because they held their privileged position with the support of the Roman authorities. Anyone who aroused talk of a messiah undermined the people's allegiance to the established political order and endangered the relationship the Sadducees had with the Romans. Such a man, they concluded, had to be silenced before he sparked an uprising, which the Romans would crush with characteristic brutality. If that happened, the Sadducees stood to lose their privileges.
Thus, their common fear of Jesus brought about an unusual alliance between the Sadducees and their rivals, the Pharisees. Jesus, who openly violated the Sabbath laws and questioned the vailidity of other laws, seemed to be undermining the authority of the Jewish relition. FOr their separate reasons, both parties saw this self-styled prophet from Galilee as a dangerous enemy, and together they concluded that he should be brought to trial and condemned to death."
July 4th Pics
Be sure to check out the pictures posted from the second annual 4th of July parade in Ames. It's been a huge event the last 2 years and this year the parade was over an hour long. Lots of candy, but also lots of trinkets like frisbees and balls and such. Eli had fun, but we had to keep tight reigns on him (no surprise) as he wanted to run off and do his thing. I think he was burnt out after an hour. It was nice that we didn't have to drive because traffic was nuts. It was only 5 blocks from our house, so we strolled into downtown and had watched the parade.
The fireworks in Ames are always amazing. So is the stadium parking lot. Thousands of people line Elwood Drive and pack the stadium. We were able to get out of the stadium rather quickly, only waiting 30 minutes. Eli just stared at the sky, never letting his grip loosen on my arm. I'm waiting for the year he decides he's scared of them. So far so good.
Near sightedness
I thought I'd post a little 'nugget of truth' I gleamed from a recent lunch with my friend Ritchie. It's something that I've heard 1000 times and it's nothing ground breaking or really spiritually astounding. It's a simple truth that needs to be repeated and thought about daily. It is this: "How are my actions affecting the growth of God's family?" I could have said "God's Kingdom" and it would have had the same affect, but I didn't because "family" makes it sound more personal and is less Napoleonesque than "kingdom." The point is, we waste so much time and money pursuing things that aren't going to matter the moment Christ returns or we die (whichever comes first.) Why don't we spend our time strengthening our relationship with God, or building up our families, or fellowshipping with and encouraging other believers? Why? Because we're selfish and materialistic. I think it's easier for us to see how an action can make us happy than it is to see how a more sacrificing action can make God happy.
When I get to heaven and meet Christ, I want to hear "Well done, My good and faithful servant." I don't want to hear, "What exactly did you do for Me while you were down there?"
