Print out your Reading Plan

In the past I’ve talked about Bible Reading Plans. These are really helpful ways to read through the Bible through the year. There are all sorts of plans that give you all sorts of options. But the most important part is that you are reading the Bible.

The generous people at Crossway have made many different reading plans available for free on their website (http://www.esv.org/). My personal favorite is the M’Cheyne One-Year Reading Plan. It guides you through the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms/Proverbs twice in one year. It also helps balance difficult sections to go through (such as the laws in Leviticus) with other sections that aren’t so difficult to keep up with.

There are many ways to go through these plans. You can get them as a RSS feed, emailed to you daily, read it online, or even download it to your calendar. I’ve tried all of these solutions and they work fairly well. However, the most effective way I’ve found to go through a reading plan is to simply print out the plan. The Print option gives you a single page (double-sided) that has the entire year’s plan on it. I’ve printed this plan out and have it in a Bible at the office as well as in a Bible at home.

I’ve found this method to be the most beneficial because I don’t have to open up my computer or phone to get the passages I am going to read that day. When I do turn to my phone or computer, there are dozens of other things begging for my attention that easily distract me. And if they don’t pull my attention away from reading the Bible right away, they sit in the back of my mind and nag me to finish reading quickly so I can move on to do the things that need to be done today.

By having just my Bible and a single sheet that lets me know where to read today, I find that I am able to really concentrate on my reading and really interact with the scripture.

What are some other ways that help you read through the Bible?

Scratch & Sniff

We put petunias in the hanging baskets on our front porch. They not only look nice and their leggy nature works well in a hanging basket, but they smell wonderful!

Because of the miracle of modern technology, I’ve been able to include this scratch ‘n sniff picture of one of the petunias.

 

Scratch 'N Sniff

 

 

If it doesn’t work, refresh the page and try again.

A Whole New Lawn

I’ve been struggling with my lawncare. I have enjoyed gardening with Stephanie, but for some reason, I’ve been drawn to the turf. We have a lawn service that cuts the lawns of our entire subdivision. I’ve very thankful that they cut all of my neighbor’s yards, because I don’t think the majority of them would care that much. 

Over the 4 years we’ve lived here, I’ve reseeded 2 times and over-seeded at the end of every season. I’ve also taken special precautionary measures to make sure I’m watering the lawn the right way. 

This year, I’ve taken the next step. I invested in a good lawn mower. The lawn service comes and cuts the lawn at regular intervals. They don’t, however, come all that often. Sometimes the lawn is overgrown and in need of some serious maintenance. We love having parties outside, so I really want more control over my own lawn. And because we have a thin, soft turf, I can cut it with a reel mower, which is much easier to maintain, use, and all-around better for the environment.

Two weeks ago, I was able to cut my own lawn for the first time. It was a proud moment. So proud, in fact, that I took a picture. 

Then, to top that off, my friend had an extra weed wacker that he gave to me. So, I am able to take complete control of my yard and really make it look good. 

For those of you who are interested, I’ve got a mix of Tall Fescue, Kentucky 31, and Kentucky Blue Grass. If I were to do it all over again (which I won’t because it was a lot of work and I have a great lawn now), I would only use Scott’s Premium Turf, which is a Kentucky Bluegrass and Tall Fescue mix. Kentucky 31 is a broader blade that is more course. I really prefer the softer turf… it fills in better and is really nice to walk on with bare feet. Here’s a picture of the Premium turf:

 

It also does a great job of repairing spots. Here’s a place in our front that has always been bare and rocky. A few weeks ago I dug out the rocks and filled it in with my own patch kit of Scott’s Premium Turf, Scott’s Starter Fertilizer, and our own rich compost instead of potting soil. Here’s a good before and after for you:

 

Before

 

After

 

 

 So there you have it. My whole new lawn… and lawn maintenance. 

As a side note, in the first 4 days I owned the mower, I used it on 3 different occasions. I really enjoy mowing the lawn! 

The Garden

We finished off our garden today. It was pretty exciting. We put in a bunch of plants and finished off a few little things we were waiting to do, like repaint the fence.

I’ve taken pictures of all of the plants and named them. Hopefully, I’ll take pictures later on in the season so you can see how much these plants have grown. It’ll be exciting like that.

 

Catnip

Lettuce

Cilantro

Spearmint

Kentucky Colonel Mint

Basil

Oregano

Garlic

Thyme

Peas

Cucumber

Sweet Banana Peppers

Brandywine Tomatoes

Jalapeno Peppers

Green Zebra Tomatoes

Almost done.

The Finished Product

Morning Routine

Nothing beats a good morning routine to help you get started. Mine starts here:

I purchased an ESV Study Bible for the free online version that comes with every print version. I have found that this online version comes in very handy. I did not think, however, that I would ever use the print version. It’s huge. And who likes to use a huge bible? But, I have grown fond of my extra-large bible. The notes it contains and the feel of the pages is a little nicer than reading online. And I’m pretty sure we still read faster and better in print than on screen. 

How do you start your mornings?

Bored at the Office

Stephanie and I are currently doing the one-car dance while the jeep is in the shop. Today, I am spending about 13 hours at the office with Lucy. We’re not complaining… we’re getting lots of work done. However, we got a little stir crazy. It’s crazy cold (for Louisville) outside so we’re not playing fetch or anything beyond typical potty breaks. 

Lucy started asking about my computer and the pictures Stephanie and I took a while ago. We went to a big waterfall…

went flying around the world…

and then to my brother’s house for Christmas…

 

After a long discussion about how the camera worked and how we were put in the pictures using special magic, Lucy still didn’t understand. 

So we just took a regular picture together.

I don’t know that she liked being held up for the camera. It got a little crazy after that.

 

But then, all thanks to the magic of Photo Booth, I lost my head.

 

And that concludes our break. Now, back to work.

 

Lucy, you collate those and I’ll work on this.

New Years Resolutions

I’ve been slacking off. Ever since I got into Twitter, I have completely fallen off of the blogging waggon. I don’t think Twitter will ever kill off the personal blog. They’re way too different.

This year, I hope to become a more active blogger. One of my resolutions is to actually take pictures with my camera instead of bringing it everywhere and never taking pictures. The other is to be a more active blogger. Nothing sharpens writing skills quite like practice.

Google Reader

Google Reader is an amazing tool that keeps me up to date and informed. I use to follow a bunch of different news sources, development resources, and of course, my closest friends’ blogs.

One of my favorite things about it is the ability to check it out on my computer, iphone, or anywhere else in the world with mobile access to the internet.

I highly recommend you check it out.

Early morning vacuuming.

So I decided to get up early today and vacuum. It’s 7:15 and I’m 1/3 done vacuuming the downstairs.

Actually, I’m not the one vacuuming – my new iRobot is. It’s simply amazing. This dinner plate sized robot turns itself on and will roll around downstairs vacuuming the house. Once it finishes, it will return to its dock and charge.

I set it for 7 today because I have to make sure our pets are ok with it. The cats aren’t a fan, but Lucy is quite confused.

I have to say, this is the easiest household chore I’ve ever had to do: watch the iRobot vacuum the floor.

Backpacking in Cades Cove, Tennessee – Day 3

From Backpacking in the Smokies – Day 3

It’s the perfect time of year to hear acorns falling every 8 seconds. Strange how these large acorns falling against the leaves can sound like bear footprints when you are in a tent and it is pitch black. This morning we cooked on a great campfire. We’re very thankful for the dry weather that has afforded us so much firewood. Getting water was a real challenge as i had to clean off the filter TWICE while trying to fill our 4 bottles.

We learned that we camped between the twin peaks of Double Mountain. The peaks were 100′ on either side of our tent. We also learned that we are very close to several bee hives. Ever since we woke up we have heard the sound of bees buzzing. Glad we can’t see them. We can only see 1 hive and it’s a safe distance away. Can you see it?

From Backpacking in the Smokies – Day 3

Our hike was mostly downhill today. A pleasant change from yesterday. Almost 1 hour on the trial, which did not yield the jaw-dropping views the book said it would. Then, we hiked down Rich Mountain Road, a one-way access “road” that leaves the park and heads toward the city. It was a very poor excuse for a road. More like a wide trail covered in slate gravel. After what seemed like 12 hours (and turned out to only be 2), we reached Cades Cove Loop. Now that was a jaw-dropping scene. It was gorgeous! We felt like we were almost done. Sadly, we still had 1 hour’s walk on the loop. Steph’s blood sugar was low and she was NOT happy about the walk. (Stephanie’s note: In my defense, Dan told me we were going to subway when we left and so we didn’t eat any lunch. All those hours of walking and breakfast long gone! It’d make anyone a little crabby.)

Here’s a view of Cades Cove from above, on Rich Mtn. road:

From Backpacking in the Smokies – Day 3

And here’s Cades Cove from the bottom:

From Backpacking in the Smokies – Day 3

After all that walking, we drove on Rich Mountain “Road” for 10 minutes and got back to where we started. 10 minutes in a car, 2 hours on foot. Amazing.

On the trail today I completed memorizing Romans 3:27-31. We talked a lot and walked slowly as our legs were stiff and rebelling against our will to continue. No major blisters. No major injuries. No deaths. It was a good trip.

Now, on to Subway for the post-hike tradition: A foot-long sub!

Today’s Stats:

• 4 hours on the trail.
• 7 Miles hiked
• Indian Grave Gap Trail -> Rich Mountain Road -> Cades Cove Loop -> The Vibe…