You know it's cold when......

Your CPU fan doesn't turn on. That may be a little inside joke (haha) for some. If you've ever heard my computer turned on then you'd probably understand. Anyway, I could explain it sometime.....

It seems that when the power was out the other day, it may have been due to some kind of a rodent that has an attraction to some of the power lines in the building. Needless to say, his infatuation was "short" lived. Man, am I full of bad ones tonight or what?

Today was cold, windy, and rather dreary looking but I still found much enjoyment. In between classes I didn't put my jacket on because I figured why put it on for less than two minutes and then pull it right back off? I received lots of crazy stares. And I was right about getting a lot of assignment. It seems everyone is cracking down for the last week before "dead" week. I had never heard of a dead week before so for those of you who might not understand what it is, essentially the professors are not allowed to give exams or assignments during that week, the week before finals. In other words it's mainly for preparation.

This morning I woke up, gathered my things, took a shower etc. and headed out the door to classes, which went pretty much like normal, aside from the strong winds. Then I headed back and stopped by Wally World on the way home to pick up my much needed groceries. I had absolutely nothing except a small bit of salami, half an onion and some mustard (and I don't eat mustard). Well, a few slices of bread but what good is that without mayonnaise? Actually I did have some jelly. Last week (I didn't want to go to the store and have everything just sitting there) I tried some jelly with salami on my bread. Trust me, it wasn't that good, it was too sweet. So....... when I got to the checkout the lady asked for my ID to see how old I was. I was rather surprised and at first and thought perhaps it was for the egg-nog, though I'd seen the words "non-alcoholic" on it. But it wasn't about that, it was aout some Krazy Glue I had picked up in order to attach my parachute to my projectile I'd made over the weekend. I was rather embarrassed because it took forever to find my license (I seldom have a use for it) but after she checked it I asked curiously if it was because kids would stick it on sofas or something. I don't know. She said no, that they were using it as an inhalent! I was very surprised! I would NEVER have dreamed of something like that! She also said that while she was working at another store, some kids came in and bought some canned air (the kind you spray to clean your computer) and the next day they came in for more, pooling their money. It turns out they were using that to get "high," as it apparently increases blood flow to the brain or something. It really did shock me, I had no idea things like that were so prevalent. It makes me extremely thankful that I was not raised in a system where I am exposed to things like that constantly.
I mean, it seems very, very ridiculous to inhale stuff like that, it would probably double as a good nose-hair remover. It makes me sad to think that even kids get stuck on this sort of thing and again, thankful that I wasn't exposed. A lot of people say how homeschool children are underprivileged or something. Well, if having that kind of stuff around you is being "privileged" then I don't want it.

It reminds me of when I saw on the exam rules for my Chemistry class that baseball caps were not allowed. I asked the professor why that was, if people use it to shade their eyes so they can glance to the side and look at other people's tests and he said no, it was because some people write answers on the bill of the caps! Now that is something I'd never think of! Perhaps I'm too naive but I certainly don't mind at times. In my Java class the teacher said that he doesn't show examples from his programs on the projector screen anymore because people would be sitting there waiting and snap a picture quickly with their cell phone cameras so they could copy the code for their own programs. Now that type of thing astonishes me. It's something I'd never dream of. I suppose I prefer to spend more time studying than figuring out ways to cheat.

So anyway.... I fixed up my projectile but I'm still having some problems getting the parachute to deploy, I went to class early and stopped by my professor's office and talked with him for a few minutes and he offered some suggestions. He was really impressed with my lathe work and thought it was really neat, which was encouraging! I enjoy working on the lathe but I just have a small pen lathe. I once put together a family of wooden dolls for some young ladies, making each individual arm, leg and body. It was rather fun but time-consuming because I had to turn five pieces for each doll (they were about 8 inches tall). I did a few bowls and small things like that a while back when we had a larger lathe. I'm really enjoying using the skew a lot more than I did previously. I need to get a good one though. Sorry, that was another rabbit trail.....

My professor said that we wouldn't be launching our projectiles today because it was so windy, but we ended up doing it anyway because everyone wanted to shoot the gun. It was freezing standing out in the wind for about 25 minutes but fun nevertheless. My projectile was certainly one of the better ones but I can still add some improvements and my parachute didn't open, which would have helped a lot. No one got very much higher than a 6 second flight time, most had under three. I was glad for the guy who had the highest time because he seems like he does want to be there and study. He is in my Calculus class as well and is one of the better students.

Next week will be the official contest, we'll be competing against two other classes apparently so I want to get mine working very well for my professor's sake. He is a very good teacher and I enjoy him a lot. He challenges his students.

After class I went to meet with Pastor and J. Nathan again, I really do enjoy those little studies, it's always good to go back and cover the basics of what we believe and why. Today the discussion was on Christ, the trinity and basically why we believe what we do. We discussed the questions at the back of the chapter. Here are a few examples:
What do we mean when we say that God is "Triune"
Why is it important to believe Jesus was born of a virgin?
J. said that he had a professor that didn't understand why it was a virgin birth, couldn't it have just as well been not so? Well, the first thing that came to mind was that the virgin birth was a sign (after all, it is pretty miraculous) but also it is a symbol of purity, and the sin nature passed down through the male seed etc. Of course we don't believe that Mary was pure of herself, but the idea of purity is expressed with a virgin. There is a lot to think about on that one. Ultimately God knew what He was doing of course!

How would you answer someone who said that Jesus' teachings are good, but he is not fully God? Well I have always said to someone who says they only think that some parts of the Bible are true that the Bible stands as a whole. It claims to be inerrant, therefore if one part of it is not, then that inerrancy claim is false and the whole thing is untrustworthy. In the same way, Jesus claimed to be God (His "I Am" statements come to mind) and therefore could not lie. If He was lying about being God then how are we to trust His other statements fully? Would I trust in Someone like that to save me and place my hope in someone who actually lied about who He was? I hope not. Thankfully the biblical account makes it very clear that He WAS God, I remember what Jesus told John's disciples: And he answered them, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me." Luke 7:22-23

Though He wasn't speaking directly about His divinity but more about His being the Messiah (which points to divinity), who can do such things? Who has power of the waves and the wind? Who speaks with such authority to the demons and raises the dead with command? I am reminded of when Elisha stretched himself 7 times across the dead boy, he sneezed and then opened his eyes and his mother carried him out. In contrast, Jesus simply says to Jairus' daugher "Child, arise" and she "got up at once." Never did any of the prophets have such power, Elisha tells Naaman to wash in the river seven times, Jesus says simply "be clean" and the leper is cleanses. Such amazing power, dignity, love, perfection! Never was there a man like this! Indeed He is the ultimate example for us and we should all strive to imitate Him in everything we do.

I really appreciate in this booklet how they cover sin and how we are powerless of ourselves. Surprising as that may seem, in many churches the "sin" word is never mentioned. I heard a sermon on the fourth of July where the pastor, over and over again was talking about freedom, freedom in Christ and how if you just asked Jesus into your heart you would be really free and life would be better, in fact, your hamburger would taste better (they were having a lunch right after). I was inwardly screaming "FREE FROM WHAT?! TELL THEM!" It really upset me, but in a lot of churches, that seems to be the trend. Most people think they are good so why disrupt their self-confidence? Why shake their self-esteem? Instead, tell them that they will have a purpose in life and life will just be better.

That is very, very saddening, because the Bible makes it very clear that men need a Saviour, and a Saviour from sin! Without repentence there is no turning from sin (obviously), and without turning from sin there is no salvation! Instead it's just a "say the magic words and you'll be better off" sort of mentality. Men need to be shown God's pure standards and how far they fall short of it, they need to recognize their own depravity, not make excuses about it!

Let me close with a quote from Pink that I found to be very well expressed, I was thinking about this today during our discussion.

Let us illustrate what we have in mind. I hold in my hand a book. I release it; what happens? It falls. In which direction? Downwards; always downwards. Why? Because, answering the law of gravity, its own weight sinks it. Suppose I desire that book to occupy a position three feet higher; then what? I must lift it; a power outside of that book must raise it. Such is the relationship which fallen man sustains toward God. Whilst Divine power upholds him, he is preserved from plunging still deeper into sin; let that power be withdrawn, and he falls — his own weight (of sin) drags him down. God does not push him down, anymore than I did that book. Let all Divine restraint be removed, and every man is capable of becoming, would become, a Cain, a Pharaoh, a Judas. How then is the sinner to move heavenwards? By an act of his own will? Not so. A power outside of himself must grasp hold of him and lift him every inch of the way. The sinner is free, but free in one direction only — free to fall, free to sin. As the Word expresses it: "For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness" (Rom_6:20). The sinner is free to do as he pleases, always as he pleases (except as he is restrained by God), but his pleasure is to sin.

Yes, the sinner needs a saviour so he may be free from sin, free from the pleasure, the penalty, the power, and finally the very presence of sin. I pray that people would realize that so they may turn away. Also, please pray for Pastor this week as he is going to a conference with Mr. Yule, apparently there may be some very heated discussions. Oh, I should say that I really enjoy talking with Mr. Yule when I have the chance, it's really interesting when we'll talk about school and such he nods and listens and asks questions but when the discussion shifts to theological issues, his face almost starts to glow, you can tell he loves that subject more than any other. As do I, often I have "battled" on various message boards because I really do love it, there has been some fruit born from it but most of what I see is in my own life rather than others because most of the boards are filled with cynics who want nothing but to try to prove you wrong. As God's Word says though: "so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. " Isa 55:11

How wonderful to rest in God's sovereignty!

Okay, so I sort of wrapped up that part of the day (I'm taking a long time to close this post, I apologize). I came home afterward and did a bit of Calculus (practicing for the test on Friday). I have a lot to do in the next few days. I actually had to do some laundry so I went and studied in the laundry room, since that is heated and it was 43F in the camper. Upon my return though, I broke down and set the thermostat to 55, since I couldn't type if it was set much lower. I just feel like it's a waste to use up good propane JUST for myself! Just like I always think that it's kind of pointless to pay for food JUST to feed me! Why waste good money on that?! No, but seriously I enjoy the coolness (especially at night). In the mornings I don't turn it on because I'm only there for about a half hour before classes start anyway, so why heat it up and then let it cool back down again? I bet the utility companies would love me! Mr. Y had some pages mess up when he was printing out some things so there was a bout 60 sheets of good paper that would have been thrown away. I asked to have them (I couldn't stand to see it wasted) and I've been using the back (which is still perfectly usable) for my Calculus homework that I turn in. My brother would say that's cheap. I prefer "frugal." ;) I don't think I'm tight with my money, it's just with things like these, if I can save, then I will. Perhaps I get that from working for Mr. Boyd for so many years.

He was an elderly man that died recently and I enjoyed him very much, I did a lot of yardwork for him. He was born in 1909 and he told me that he was a paperboy in Hollywood when the Great War ended. He remembers calling out "The War is over! The Armistice is signed!" But he was a very frugal man and lived well within his means. There are lots of specific examples I could give but suffice it to say that I learned a lot from him. He had many stories to tell throughout his lifetime and even when he was 93, he was still very active. When he had a surgery on an artery in his throat, instead of going back to the doctor and having the bandage changed, he went to the vet that was just down the street and went to the same church as we did. Never was anything wasted, every twig, branch, or limb was used to either start fires or as fuel in his wood stove in the kitchen. He introduced me to "real" peanut butter (much better than skippy or jiffy or whatever those other things are) and taught me how to do my tasks without wasting motion. He was a good employer and I do miss him a bit.