13 THINGS THAT MAKE MY LITTLE GIRLS HAPPY

Electric Car

Becca bought a little solar powered car kit at Henry's request so we set out to build that today. It's a pretty easy kit and we read about the solar power and how it works and I explained a few things as we built it. It didn't take very long. We went out and tried to make it run but I think it was too late in the day to make it go very well. The motor turned but there wasn't enough power to move the car. The directions did say that good strong midday sun is needed. We'll try later, or cheat and connect a battery.

HENRY I - Launch Day

Henry wanted to build a water rocket. We looked up plans on the interwebs and talked about doing it. But we just never got around to it. Then I found a book that was full of cannons, rockets and various ballistic things to build at home (Backyard Ballistics by William Gurstelle ISBN 978-1-55652-375-5). I looked through it with Henry and his choice for our first build was a pneumatic water rocket.

I made a list and set out to gather the required pieces and parts. Turns out, the "big box" stores don't carry some of the things I needed... in fact, NONE of the things I needed. So I went to a independent hardware store we have here called Elliott's Hardware and found all of the things I needed for $10.

It really only took a very small amount of time to build the thing and we were ready for launch. I was pretty surprised at how well it actually worked. Here's some pictures:

It launched pretty high. It went OVER the house. I am guessing between 50 and 75 feet. 

Then we decided if we could do that with  two-liter bottle, how about a five gallon water bottle? I was a little concerned that it would be a little bigger than we really wanted but I couldn't resist. I rigged a cap that really wasn't fully sealed so I was guessing it wouldn't even work. I also didn't use much water to sort of keep the power down a little. We were here in the neighborhood and I didn't want to rocket that thing through anyone's window or car. I really didn't know what it would do. I also decided I would do the pumping just in case it went wonky and came at the person standing closest.

I got it all rigged up and started pumping. It wasn't holding pressure very well. I could see it leaking water and spewing air out as the pressure was trying to build. I was telling the boys with me that I didn't think it was going to hold enough pressure to launch it... when, of course, it launched. It actually didn't go as high as the two-liter for a few reasons. 1. it's a lot heavier of a bottle and 2. the lid wasn't holding much pressure before it popped and 3. there wasn't enough water to really send it up. It was pretty cool that it worked and I think we can make it really work to where this thing, in the right environment, could be a really big launch. 

Maybe we'll see.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

God has put some circumstances in my life, again, that have brought on some new thinking and a different focus, again. He seems to keep doing that and it's never easy... but it is my own fault for resisting His nudgings. I am not going to go into the details of those circumstances because, frankly, they are unimportant to the point
and a little personal.

What God laid on my heart and then my wife sort of said almost the same thing the next morning was that if you are steeped in pop-culture and fill your head with new releases in the theater, current releases of your favorite secular music artists, keep up with and work to see your favorite TV shows, and generally fill your mind with all these things of the world... You are probably missing some growth opportunities, if not most growth opportunities. Your mind is occupied with the world and not God. How important is pop-culture to us? Billions of dollars are spent on entertainment of the movie/music/TV varieties. That's how important.

What is the chief end of man? Why are we here? To glorify God and do His will. He gives each of us a purpose. We are alive because God wants us to be. If He wants us to be, then He has a purpose for us. Am I fulfilling that purpose?

I am not a huge TV person. We just don't watch that much. I have some shows I watch with guys at work and we talk about them. Same with movies, we talk about those, too. I do love movies. Probably my favorite form of entertainment. I also like music. I also have always loved Stephen King books. I have every Stephen King audio book in my collection. And I am not going to condemn any of those forms of entertainment, that's not my point. But my issue here is that I listened to secular music in the car, and I like some good alternative rock-and-roll which is typically not very godly these days. If not music then I was listening to a Stephen King audiobook or some other secular audiobook. I also focus on what movies are out and the TV shows that we do watch I spend energy making sure we have them recorded to watch at work and that time is spent doing that. But how much time and energy do I spend on/with/for God? I do bible study with the kids in the morning and spend time reading (a little) on my own but for the most part I am spending most of the time and energy on things that aren't glorifying to God or giving me an opportunity to grow. Very little.

So, I felt the need (i.e. nudge) to refocus a little. I removed the music from my portable device as well as all audiobooks. I am only listening to teaching by John MacArthur during my commute (he's fantastic) and I am completely committed to having a better attitude and those easy little things we do every day without thinking about them that aren't really glorifying to God or even obedient to God... I am just as committed to being aware and conscious and purposeful about my actions. That attitude/actions part sort of was a side effect, honestly. That didn't start as a conscious choice but actually came about from the first part. I just ended up winning the little battles against myself a little easier that cause the bad attitudes and disobedient actions.

This has only been the past few days, but I promise you I feel a difference in my heart. There is a very intense peace about it. I have not ever really felt it like this before. I think for the first time in my life I am finally letting go of my selfish desires/lusts of the flesh that we all fight... the ones I didn't really want to let go of (oh, this one isn't so bad. I'll just hang on a little bit to it) and God has blessed me with a peace about it to show me I should have let go a long time ago. Again, I am not saying that entertainment is bad. I am saying that putting entertainment higher than God is bad. I mean, that's a no-brainer... but it's also VERY easy to do.

There are times I am very sad and regretful about missed opportunities and wasted time in my life. I've made some really bad choices along the way. Thank God for His mercy and His grace. But I think if I dwell on that regret, I'll never get past it because as life goes on and I grow, there will always be something to look back on and regret. Instead, I just want to move forward now. I am actually kind of excited to keep moving forward. But I guess that's a whole other post.

Wow, she's gorgeous.

Just found this picture on my wife's blog actually and was stunned at how gorgeous this little girl is. Maybe I am biased because she's mine... but I don't think that's it.

Mission of Motherhood

My wife, Becca, has moved her blog to a new address and given it a brand new face (I might've had something to do with that part). She's way better at this blogging thing than I am and way smarter, too. Head on over and give her a visit and see what she has to say.

http://www.MissionOfMotherhood.com

Echo

As a father I have, many times, heard my tone or the harsh words come out of my mouth only to totally regret it immediately after. Most of my life I have had a short fuse and it comes out with my kids too often. I mean, kids can be a bit... um... trying, I guess. If you ever wanted to work on your patience or the ever popular "long-suffering" then I supposed having a large family is the perfect thing for you. I remember my mom saying to my older brother one time something about God is helping you learn patience and he replied, "I didn't ask to learn patience."

Anyway... If I thought the regret of saying harsh things or saying things harshly was bad, now I hear the same words or tone echoed from my kids sometimes. That really hurts. I have passed on this short-tempered, unguarded tongue thing to my kids and it hurts my stomach when I think of that. I wonder, "Is it too late to fix it?" Well, I don't actually know. I have to fix it in myself first before it can be fixed in them. Something to think about and work on.