MHGDairy
Random thoughts of a patriotic American, avid troop supporter, Christian father and husband (faults and all), who believes in the sanctity of life, from conception to death.
03/14/2012
03/10/2012
Life's little challenges
Life can be challenging at times. It always seems like it is compounded. There can never be one issue occuring at a time. Two or three things always go wrong at once. Usually I can keep portions of my life balanced and separate from all the chaos. Not so this last week. Sewage was the name of the game and I was tested.
Work is always crazy but this last week was to be pretty frantic, and I knew it. Unfortunately the plugged lateral line to my house didn't get the memo. Pooh in the basement is not fun. Admittedly there wasn't much down there, but it was pooh all the same. That would have been ok hadn't the snow started thawing. Thawing snow and a leaky waste system makes for more liquid in the proverbial bowels of the house.
That meant I had to make a mad scramble for a pump so I wouldn't have to scramble and get everything upstairs before it was covered in effluent. The water was rising but not fast enough to keep the little Flex Vane Impeller Pump running constantly. So I spent the entire night turning the pump on and off so it wouldn't run dry.
The plumber was supposed to excavate and unplug my line the next day. They were going to do the work in the afternoon, but because of the late start the city wouldn't let them proceed. This would have been ok because the water quit rising, but rain was coming that night. Well the rain came and water was rising. Another sleepless night. My wife took over for a while because I was operating on two days no sleep. Unfortunately she did run the pump dry and it quit working. I was not on my best behavior at this point. The pump was rebuilt in a hurry (thank you for including spare parts) and we were back in business.
$3930.00 later and the line is unplugged with a nice clean-out in the middle of my yard. After 3 days of no showering or flushing toilets it was the best $3930.00 I have ever spent. I will say this the plumbers earned every bit. When the poor guy broke open the section of pipe to relieve the water pressure he earned every bit he was getting paid right there.
We never did find out what was plugging the line. They snaked it out through the new clean-out. They pushed the camera through and it is clean as a whistle. Just happy that challenge is over. Now it is time to work on that backup at work. Sucks when no one is available to fill in when I miss work.
02/12/2012
Men of His Word
It was an awesome event yesterday. 300+ men exploring how to be better men for Christ.
04/29/2011
Cancer and Afghanistan
I have learned not to take my health care for granted. A friend of mine living in Afghanistan has been diagnosed with cancer. Due to the lack of a robust health care system and because of the economic status of most of the population, cancer care does not exist.
Dr. Nadera Hayat Borhani explains the state of cancer care in Afghanistan. In order to receive cancer care people have to go to Pakistan, India or Iran. The trick is trying to find ways to help people in need. There are organizations out there that will give aide but it takes time and work to find those resources.
The American Cancer Society was very helpful and has provided assistance in finding Union for International Cancer Control. They are based out of Switzerland and may have resources available to assist my friend. Time will tell. I truly hope they do. It is uncomfortable for me to not know if he will be able to receive treatment. I can only imagine how he feels.
The short message here is not to complain about our health care system. As bad as it may seem sometimes, we have the best health care in the world and we have ready access to it. Do what you can to help others in need if you are able. A lot of times all it takes is a few phone calls.
02/08/2011
The Kurds and Kirkuk
Jim Hanson from Blackfive has a great article on pointing out a valid concern, "What happens when we leave Kirkuk?" This is the traditional land of the Kurds. Mr. Hanson asks Qubad Talabani, son of the Iraqi President what will happen. The video link to his question and answer is in the article.
Our current administration has made a point of making total exit of military forces from Iraq it's goal. All Iraqis are definitely our allies, but there are still tensions among the population that goes back centuries. This could get ugly real fast if the issue of land holdings isn't addressed.
The question is when we leave a vacuum of military presence within Iraq who will mediate this tense situation? It is a lot easier to mediate discussions when you are in the neighborhood. When we are gone, what happens then? Where will things go when we are thousands of miles away? It is awfully hard to get invited back to that party.
The links below are intended to remind us of how things have dramatically changed over the history Iraq:
Saddam's Reign in Terror (Part 1 of 6) All six parts can be seen here on YouTube.
Frontline: Long Road to War (History of Saddam)
Blackfive: 60 Minutes on Kurdistan
Challenge Iraqs other cities: Kirkuk (2006)
There is obviously more than can be posted in one spot. The future of Iraq and our involvement is largely dependent on how we handle its history. Do we learn from it or ignore it?
You have a voice. Contact your representatives with your concerns. It is our right and our obligation. Give it serious thought and don't complain about the outcome if you refuse to act.
02/07/2011
Keeping the Dream Alive
Because a Superbowl victory is sweet and doesn't happen everyday, here are a few links:
Green Bay holds on to win fourth Super Bowl title
Updated:
The link below from Mr. Wolf at Blackfive has a link on the epic fail Nathional Anthem performance and then one of how it should be done.
Relive and enjoy.
02/06/2011
12/12/2010
Early Morning Reflections
Here I am up early. That would be 4:00 am early. I like this time of day. It is just me alone with my thoughts. This is not an unusual occurrence but is the norm for me. Even on days off I rise early. I don't think I am anymore productive because of it, but I might be slightly more neurotic.
Let me explain. As I said it is time where I am alone with myself. As you all know spending too much time with someone is not always a good thing. That is very true if that someone is me, myself, and I. I have some issues with those three. They are not always very supportive and can be quite negative. They whisper fear and dread in my ear. They are great at instilling doubt about my abilities and worthiness of my efforts in life. I think it is time to cut them loose. It is tough changing the discussion with those three. They get on a topic and just won't let it go.
I have been neglecting a really good friend that is always there, even when I don't pay attention to him. You may have heard of him. He is in the news, he has a birthday coming up, people argue about his heritage, and some people just want to deny his existence or discredit him. I am not sure why because to be honest he has given everyone the biggest and best gift in all the universe. The problem is it is free and seems too good to be true. He doesn't expect anything in return. He will stick by your side even if you trample and spit on his good name. He stays right there and is ever patient hoping to rekindle the friendship that has been ignored.
Have you figured out who this best of friends is? Well, I won't drag it out. It is Jesus. I hope that you have heard of him. I hope you know him. He is none other than God himself. The second person of the Trinity. The only begotten son of God, true God and true man.
He is our brother, our friend, our Savior. He came for all. I mean all. He came for the likes of (now don't get your undies in a bundle) Hitler, Saddam, bin Laden, Mussolini, you and me. That's right. We are all on the list. We all have sinned. Sin - the forgotten or ignored word. Sin - everything that is wrong. Sin - all that God isn't. Sin - it is real and everyone sins. Sin - a disease for which only Jesus, the best of friends, is the cure.
Why is sin or doing wrong, as little as stealing the pen from work wrong, so bad? It is the direct opposite of what God is. God is nothing but good, perfection, righteousness, holiness. That is how humanity started out, but then Adam and Eve threw it away. Here we are still throwing it away. Once done it can't be taken back. Now the perfect requirement of God has been broken and we can't get it back.
Now there is this other person who wants you to think he is a friend. He is pretty appealing. He brings out all the stops, booze, parties, sex - any and all kinds, selfishness (It is all about me and you can't tell me any different), and any other thing that your conscience starts to tell you is wrong. That person is Satan. Yeah, that's right, Satan. He is real too. His goal is to convince you he is not, that hell doesn't exist and that we are our own gods. We love that one. Life is simpler if we can be selfish and self absorbed. That is how it seems anyway, but go to my first paragraph, until the neurosis sets in. Not so good after all and never satisfying. It never ends. Enough is never enough.
That is where Jesus, the Christ Child, the Savior, the Son of God, the Great Physician, the Word, comes to our rescue. He stepped in and lived a perfect life. That is what a perfect God demands of us. He made us afterall. Then he poured out his blood for us on the cross and suffered damnation in hell. What is damnation? Damnation: the total separation from a perfect God, an eternity of regret, pain, torment for our own failings. Jesus took care of that in our place.
Simple right? Complicated right? Yes to both. I admit I can't get my head around it and I believe it. How can one guy save us from eternal torment and get us back right with a perfect God. There is one word - Love. Not that cheap love we all know so well, but real love. Loving the unlovable. The closest thing we could know is a parent's love for a child, even an extremely heartbreaking love for a wayward child. God's heart breaks for us. He loves us and hopes we turn back to him even when we walk away from him.
I have been walking away for too long now. Time for me to get reaquainted with my God, my Savior, my Brother, and my Friend, Jesus. You can do that too and I hope you do. Maybe it will be the first time you meet him. It is simple, there is a whole book written about him and by him. It is the Bible. They still sell this book, you can read it on line (Bible). It is God's love letter to us. He shows us our need for Jesus and then shows us Jesus' love for us. Go check it out. Get reacquainted or meet him. Do it with an open mind and get to know the best friend anyone can have. After that I am ditching me, myself and I. Those guys are a real drag.
11/13/2010
Going to check the trap line with my oldest son this morning. The two of us afield is one of my greatest pleasures. The humane harvest of fur is both satisfying and humbling.
The respect for an animal's life and how it is treated up to the point of death and even in handling the carcass and fur after it's death is of great concern to all ethical outdoors people. I never take it lightly. Enjoying the sport also carries great responsibility.
The respect for an animal's life and how it is treated up to the point of death and even in handling the carcass and fur after it's death is of great concern to all ethical outdoors people. I never take it lightly. Enjoying the sport also carries great responsibility.
10/31/2010
Team Army in the Lead, Soldiers' Angels Valour-IT
Project Valour-IT supplies a vast array of electronic devices to wounded warriors. Laptops are voice activated so the wounded warriors who would normally be unable to used a keyboard can still keep in touch with family, friends, and buddies still in the fight. Other items such as Wii Games are used to help in the rehabilitation efforts. Other devices are also provided to help with compensating with short term memory loss issues.
To learn more just click on the link: Team Army Valour-IT
God bless and stay safe. If you can give, give, but in the very least please spread the word.
Update: The bar has been raised. Because of the spectacular response and the $15,000 being reached well before the November 11th deadline Team Army's new goal is $25K. Should be a walk in the park. Support the cause.
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