Nostalgic Moment: Short & Sweet

[Sorry this post is so late. I was pretty sick for a couple of days, and when I came back to post, the host had suspended access for "maintenance". I'm finally back. Missed you guys.]

When my daughters were younger and we passed a stone house, I would make a comment. And I repeated it so often that R_____ or M________ took to finishing it for me. If you had been in the car, you'd have heard something like this:

Gravelbelly: "Look! A stone house. I love stone houses. There's just something so . . .

A Daughter: ". . . BULLETPROOF about stone."

Ahh, nostalgia.

And, what did you think I would look for in a house?

There Be Goats!!

Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered. The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field. And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens. (Proverbs 27:23-27)

I noticed the passage above several years ago, before it became popular with survivalist/preparedness gurus. I re-read it today, with a sense of contentedness after we picked up two milk goats.

In January, Laura sold our milk goat so we could get away to attend our 3rd daughter's wedding. After a good deal of prayer, the Lord's gracious providence (through some Christian acquaintances) provided us with two milkers at a price we can afford.

Their kids were just weaned, so they are not used to being milked. My wife will milk them for the first time tonight, and I will be on hand to help, in case they show skittishness at the milk stand.

Training them to the milk stand may take a little time, but we are looking forward to fresh, raw milk and also the homemade cheeses (mozzarella, chevre and feta are my wife's specialties), yogurt and kefir. Those delicacies along with eggs from our chickens could easily supply the three of us with more protein and probiotics than we need.

It should go without saying that we must put our trust in the Lord, not in our possessions and preparations. Nevertheless, our God works through the circumstances and resources that He puts at our disposal.

Therefore, today I breathed a sigh of relief as I reviewed the state of our flocks. Bless the name of Jehovah and His anointed King.

Clearing Your Home -- Update

A couple of months ago, I posted an entry that included a video on clearing your home. (The link is here.)

Since the arrival of our Ithaca Model 37, Laura & I have been practicing. We started out by dry firing, then added the drill of loading it with our eyes closed in order to learn to properly index the shells by touch. Now, we have begun a walk-through of house clearing, working in tandem -- she with the Model 37 and I with my 1911.

As the video suggests, there's no easy or safe way to do it. In the past, when I've cleared the house from the front door, I followed a logical progression from one end of the house to the other. Now, however, we start from our bedroom, and entering the hallway exposes us in three directions: daughter's bedroom to the immediate right, the bathroom directly ahead, and the hallway to the left.

Thankfully, with two of us, I can cover two directions while Laura clears our daughter's room, and then we leap-frog through the rest of the house. Since she is left-handed, she takes rooms to the right, and as a righty, I take the ones to the left.

Our house is actually quite small, but its layout presents problems when it comes to clearing. Have you ever done a walk-through exercise of clearing your home? I urge you to try it.

And don't ignore potential problems. Solve them.

Model 1911: Inner Workings

My barber sent me the following link:

STI International

Once you're there, you can select which parts of the weapon you want to view as it goes through a firing cycle. As my  barber said, "Hypnotic . . ."

The Death of Osama Bin Laden

Very rarely do I read an essay that so completely expresses my own thoughts as one that deolexrex called to my attention yesterday. It's called "Thoughts on the Death of Bin Laden" by James B. Jordan.

Here are some quotes that I hope will move you to click the link and read the whole article.

On September 11, 2001, Jesus brought judgment upon the United States of America. Following His normal procedure, He used an even more evil force to do it (Habakkuk 1-3).


Certainly the United States has not repented. It burns Bibles sent to Afghanistan. It promotes child murder. It steals from future generations in order to preserve prosperity by increasing debt. It does all but promote homosexual activity in its military. And so forth. The election of The Fool in 2008 shows the willingness of the American people to promote antichrist through the most sickeningly degenerate association of people the United States has ever known: the Democrat Party.


. . . as Christians we tread a tightrope between being favorable to much of what America used to stand for (because it was Biblical), and against almost everything America stands for today (because it is anti-Christ).

I will not quote what Jordan says about the actual death of Bin Laden. I'll let you read than for yourself.

Oh, and by the way, have you noticed that the liberal media have dropped the "O" from Bin Laden's first name and replaced it with a "U"? I suppose they want to deemphasize any similarities between the antichristian terrorist and President Ubama.

Til the Storm Passes By

This is a song we learned some 40 years ago, and I'm posting it here in honor of Christ's sheepdogs who protected their families through the tornadoes last week.

Click here to hear the music

Or go here for both words and music.


In the dark of the midnight,
Have I oft hid my face;
While the storm howls above me,
And there's no hiding place;
'Mid the crash of the thunder,
Precious Lord, hear my cry;
"Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by."

'Til the storm passes over,
'Til the thunder sounds no more;
'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky,
Hold me fast, let me stand,
In the hollow of Thy hand;
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.

Many times Satan whispers,
"There is no need to try;
For there's no end of sorrow,
There's no hope by and by";
But I know Thou art with me,
And tomorrow I'll rise;
Where the storms never darken the skies.

'Til the storm passes over,
'Til the thunder sounds no more;
'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky,
Hold me fast, let me stand,
In the hollow of Thy hand;
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.

When the long night has ended,
And the storms come no more,
Let me stand in Thy presence.
On that bright, peaceful shore.
In that land where the tempest
Never comes, Lord may I
Dwell with Thee when the storm passes by.

'Til the storm passes over,
'Til the thunder sounds no more;
'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky,
Hold me fast, let me stand,
In the hollow of Thy hand;
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.

Hold me fast, Let me stand,
In the hollow of Thy hand;
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.

'Til the storm passes by.

Heroic Father Dies Protecting Family

I could comment on the death of Osama bin Laden, but I will put that off to share an incredible video interview with the eldest son of a man who died during one of the tornadoes late last week. He shielded some of his 13 children with his own body and died praying for their safety.

The young man's maturity, focus and dedication to Christ are an amazing testimony to his upbringing. This is a must-see video.