The 31st--Issue #2

Welcome back to The 31st, everyone! As advertised this past August, this column will appear on my blog on the 31st day of every month that has a 31st day, and will be filled with all sorts of cool and interesting trivia.

For this issue (#2), I'm going to focus on the day October 31. Since I am a Christian, I do not celebrate Halloween. Well, what else has happened on October 31? Check out the below list and see!

~Photobug

Did you know...

• that on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther kicked off the Protestant Reformation by nailing his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg?
• that on October 31, 1861, Union General Winfield Scott resigned command of the entire Union Army, due to poor health?
• that on October 31, 1864, Nevada became the 36th U.S. state?
• that on October 31, 1913, the first U. S. transcontinental highway was dedicated? It was called the Lincoln Highway.
• that on October 31, 1930, Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins was born? 
• that on October 31, 1941, Mount Rushmore was completed after 14 years of work?
• that on October 31, 2000, Expedition One launched from Kazakhstan in their Soyuz  TM-31? Since then, mankind has constantly had a presence in outer space. Expedition One was the very first crew to inhabit the International Space Station.

So there you go. Now we all know that there is much more to October 31 than just Halloween! See you in December!

The Flowers of Fall

This month has been soo busy for me. From schoolwork, to part-time jobs, to looking into college, there have been so many things to do! As I’d go about my daily life, I’d see vibrant fall color everywhere. It was gorgeous, it was pretty—I knew it wouldn’t last for long—but couldn’t the leaves see that I was busy? They needed to stay on until I could photograph them!

A week or two ago, I realized that the leaves wouldn’t wait for my life to slow down. So, I finally found time in my schedule and took some pictures of the fall color (such as the leaf at left, which I found in our yard).

You know, I’ve been thinking about my experience with the fall color. It’s kind of like our relationship with Christ, really. Sometimes we may say to Him, “Lord, I want to spend time with you! I really do! But can’t you see I’m really busy right now? I don’t have time for you!” God never forsakes us, but chances are if we don’t spend time with Him now, we probably won’t in the future. Yes, life is busy. Yes, there are many, many things to do. But make an effort to spend a few minutes with God each day. Read His Word, pray to Him, develop a relationship with Him!

“Be still, and know that I am God…” ~Psalms 46:10

There’s an expression that says, “Take time to smell the flowers”. It means that we need to take time to enjoy the little yet vastly important things of life. In my example above, I needed to smell the “flowers” of fall, and take time to photograph the fall color! Spending time with God may seem a little thing, but really it isn’t. Make the time to “smell the flowers” and get to know God better! You won’t regret it.

Fall Break, Part 1: From Alabama...

Me near the site of my first Alabama cache find! 

Ahhh....fall break. The time when the trees are absolutely aglow with vibrant hues of red, orange, and yellow, and when there is no school and minimum work. In other words, a very welcome break from the daily grind of things!

So felt I this past fall break, which occurred last week. While I still had to work on Thursday, our family had planned a grand big trip up to the Cherohala Skyway on the Friday of fall break. Well, scratch that! My little sister awoke Friday morning with a case of very bad pink eye, and there flew out all our Cherohala plans! Holding a family council, we decided to try for Cherohala on the Sunday of fall break, and that day (Friday) get Alison all squared up with medicine.

So on Friday morning, Mom took Alison to the doctor, getting some medicine as well. But the afternoon was free. We wanted to do something with this rare time opportunity! So we decided to drive the hour or so over to South Pittsburg, Tennessee. South Pittsburg just happens to be the home of Lodge Manufacturing, which is the only company in the country that still produces cast iron cookware. (They've been doing it since 1896!) Additionally, there is an outlet store of Lodge cookware in South Pittsburg. Mom really wanted to visit the outlet store, so we hit the road and decided to have some fun.

View of Nickajack Lake,  taken from the welcome center

Now I must mention something. All day had not gone to plan. The drive to South Pittsburg was no different. Cherohala--out. Instead, Alison had pink eye and went to see the doctor. We are about to get onto I-24, but an overhead sign warned us of severe traffic delays on that highway, so we quickly got off of the Interstate (75). The traffic was just as bad off the interstate! Finally we were able to get some maps (we had left ours at home). Still I-24 had bad traffic. So we skirted the city close to I-24 but not quite on it. After almost totally going around Chattanooga, we rejoined I-24 and reached South Pittsburg shortly thereafter. But it took us like two hours instead of the planned one! (However, we did stop to eat a wonderful little picnic lunch at a Tennessee Welcome Center--and find a cache.)

The Lodge outlet store was very nice, and Mom had a wonderful time selecting various pieces to bring home with her! Alison and I thoroughly enjoyed a nice little video on how Lodge manufactures its' cookware. Wow--very interesting, hot, and hard. Really awesome video, loved it! As Dad put it, watching the video makes you want to say, "Cool!"; but really, it's "Hot!" (Lodge manufactures its' cookware using temperatures of several thousand degrees Fahrenheit!)

The "Iron Man"

Finished with the outlet store, we hit the road caching. In geocaching, you must understand that it is a big thing to find geocaches in different states. Previous to this day, I had never found an Alabama cache before. South Pittsburg is like only a mile from the TN-AL border. Guess what I asked my parents to do? ;) Happily, I was able to quickly locate and find my first Alabama cache. It was a really cool location, too, with a plaque talking all about the Trail of Tears and Alabama! Many photos were taken.

After that, we reentered Tennessee and found a really cool micro cache that was hidden in a statue of cast iron (naturally, by Lodge of course!). This statue looked like a man, so it is called the "Iron Man"!! :D After that we headed home, a grand day indeed. It was honestly amazing to see how God turned something bad (my sister's pink eye) into something good (a family trip to South Pittsburg, something we weren't even planning!) That reminds me of a favorite Bible verse...


And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)


To be continued...

Applefest

Every year, the president of the university where Dad works holds an "Applefest" for all the university faculty, staff, and their families. It's always a highlight of the year--a celebration of fall--and food, fun, and fellowship reign in high gear. It's really fun interacting with people you normally only see around campus, working. Here's some pictures I took! (I would've taken more, except that the hot dogs and apple pie looked too inviting! ;D)

~Photobug

InteGRITy

Integrity. What comes to your mind when you think of it? Doing good? Doing the right thing always? Or maybe you think of a "goody-goody" boy you knew years ago.While I have my own personal opinion of what integrity is, I decided to see what Noah Webster had to say on the subject. In our Webster dictionary (Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary), the explanation for "integrity" goes like this:

"1: an unimpaired condition : SOUNDNESS  2: firm adherence to a code of esp. moral or artistic values : INCORRUPTIBILITY 3: the quality or state of being complete or undivided : COMPLETENESS"

Tennessee Autumn

This month has been soo busy for me! I've been going about my daily life in a virtual kaleidoscopic of brilliant colors, but have just been too busy to take photos. Finally, when I found out that thunderstorms are predicted for our area tonight, I decided that I needed to take some photos busy life or not!

So here are some of my better shots...isn't Tennessee in the autumn pretty?? I love my state! These photos were all taken in my own yard.

~Photobug

 ^^Can you spot the chickadee in this photo??

 These leaf photos are my favorites! 

^^Our street. See you next time! :)

The Real Thing

A couple months ago, our town did something really cool. They started building a sidewalk on our road!

Okay, so it isn't exactly our road. We actually live off a side street. But since our side street was at the far end of the main road leading into the university, we were all thrilled when we saw the sidewalk being built on the main road. Now, if we needed to, we could walk all the way to the university, or even the main part of town.

Our town officials were so thoughtful they built even more than just the sidewalk; they installed street lights! While we liked the sidewalk, we were thrilled about the street lights. If we were ever out late and had to walk home, we wouldn't have to worry at all about bringing flashlights!

Ruby Falls

Guess what I did this week?

Well, I got to see Ruby Falls, and walk through the adjoining cavern! This past week our local university held a special "preview" meeting/session for high school seniors interested in coming to college here. In other words, to catch all the gullible fish that they can! ;) Haha, no, really our local university is top-notch, and I really enjoyed the meetings.

As you might suspect, there were the to-be-expected campus tours, "our school is great!" talks, and financial aid presentations as well. Additionally, the school also took all the high school seniors and their families to Ruby Falls! It was grand fun as I had never been, and probably never will go again, due to the price tag. However, when it's all free to me, I sure don't mind going! ;)

Ruby Falls is very nice. It is a commercialized cave to be sure (normally you don't see electric lights or handrails), but the tourist receives the impression that they have seen a rustic and "natural" enough cave. Of course, the highlight of the tour is the view of 150' Ruby Falls itself, (and at 1,120 feet below Lookout Mountain) a magical sight to behold. Spotlights illuminate the falls, with nice music accompanying. 

The Results Are In!

Before we leave World Space Week too far behind, I thought I'd let you know of the results of the poll I conducted during the past week or so. Out of all three photos, the above shot received 100% of the votes! Which I think is pretty good. ;) It was taken by Astronaut Bill Anders in December of 1968 on the Apollo 8 mission, and was one of the very first photos to show the Earth in its' entirety.

~Photobug

Flying In Space At A Historical, Exciting Time (World Space Week, Day 7; Armchair Astronaut Oct. 2011)

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be bolted onto a Russian Soyuz rocket, and then be sent into space for five months? How about living in a space station in which you could get lost, or when the last two shuttle mission ever arrive?

Wheels Stop for the Final Time (World Space Week, Day 6)

Today, I'd like to share with you a very nice summery video of the final space shuttle mission, STS-135! Enjoy!

~Photobug

God of Wonders (World Space Week, Day 5)

Today I'm sharing with you one of my absolute favorite songs, entitled "God of Wonders". I sing it almost every week in church, and for a while now I've wanted to share it with you. So now I have; today it doubles both as my weekly devotional and as my daily post for World Space Week.

I greatly enjoy the outstanding pictures of stars and galaxies in the video; however, I also really appreciate the message of the song. So sit back a moment, tune everything else out; and watch this video. God truly is a "god of wonders beyond our galaxy!"

We Choose the Moon (World Space Week, Day 4)

Ever wanted to learn more about Apollo 11? To hear what the astronauts and Mission Control said? To view actual photos and video of that historic mission?

Well now your wish is granted! About two years ago, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum produced an outstanding website named "We Choose the Moon", and it's all about Apollo 11. While many books (and I'm sure websites, too!) have been written on the subject, this website really stands head and shoulders above the rest. The website guides you from launch to landing to splashdown, employing a variety of media to re-create the journey. There will be a few minutes of video for each "stage", and after the video part ends you can explore photos and video relating to that part of the Apollo 11 mission. There's also places to view pictures of JFK himself. Underscoring all of this is the constant, authentic transmissions between Houston and Apollo 11.

The title, "We Choose the Moon" came from a quote by John F. Kennedy, as he spoke one September day on why the United States was choosing to go to the moon:

"We choose the moon in this decade and the other things, not because it is easy, but because it is hard..."

From the roar of the Saturn to the heart-stopping landing of Eagle, the website "We Choose the Moon" is epic. Any space enthusiast or history buff should pay a visit!

WeChooseTheMoon.org

~Photobug

A First & A Last Combined (World Space Week, Day 3)

One of my all-favorite stories is the story of Project Apollo travelling to and exploring the moon. (Could you guess? ;D) Here's a video of a very unique launch--the first and only night launch of a Saturn V! The mission was Apollo 17, and astronauts Gene Cernan, Ron Evans, and Jack Schmitt took off at 12:33am on December 7th, 1972.

Their mission was one for the history books, as they spent more time in space and more time on the lunar surface than any previous mission. Returning to Earth on December 19, Apollo 17 was a grand way to cap off the Apollo program.

~Photobug

Space Poll (World Space Week, Day 2)

 ^^Picture A.

 ^^Picture B

^^Picture C

*    *    *

Above are, in my opinion, the three most iconic pictures ever taken in the early space program. "Picture A" shows Ed White becoming the first American ever to walk in the void of space. It was taken by White's commander, Jim McDivett, on June 3, 1965. White spacewalked just a few months after Russian Alexei Leonov became the first man ever to spacewalk.

"Picture B" was taken by Apollo 8 crewmember Bill Anders on Christmas Eve, 1968. Just a few hours before, his comrade Jim Lovell, and his commander Frank Borman had become the very first humans to ever reach lunar orbit. They had put much effort into training for this history-making flight, but they were lacking in one thing: they had not expected to see the Earth so powerfully.

"Picture C" is probably the most familiar to us all. It was taken on July 20, 1969 as Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first men to walk on the Moon. And yes, that is a picture of Aldrin, not Armstrong!

So...what photo do you like best? You can let me know in a variety of ways. You can vote in the poll on your left (in the sidebar), or leave a comment on this article. Or if you know my e-mail or Facebook, you can vote that way. I'll post the results next week!

~Photobug

World Animal Day

This morning, I was about to tell my 7-year-old sister that today was the 54th anniversary of Sputnik's launch, and that today was the start of World Space Week. But guess what she tells me? That it's World Animal Day!

(Yes, that's a real holiday. Go to: http://www.worldanimalday.org.uk/ to find out more.)

So...happy Sputnik Day AND happy World Animal Day! See all the animals my sister has on her bed? I think she even has a real one on there, too! :D

~Photobug

A Fellow Traveler (World Space Week, Day 1)

Guess what today is?

October 4.

Yep, well, good start. Do you know happened fifty-four years ago today?

Ummm...I don't know. Considering it's coming from you, it's probably something space related.

Good guess! Fifty-four years ago today, the Soviet Union (now Russia) launched Sputnik 1, the very first artificial satellite to ever circle the globe.

Big deal. That thing's probably not even up there now, is it? And I don't suppose anyone still celebrates the fact, do they?

True, Sputnik 1 deorbited after exactly three months. And whether it's still a big deal? Well, have you ever heard of World Space Week?

No.

Okay, well, I don't blame you. I just found out about it a few weeks ago when I was purusing a magazine calendar. I Googled it, and what do you know? World Space Week is an annual celebration of all things space, and is celebrated in over 55 nations. It's even the largest public space event on earth...or should I say, off it!

Haha, very nice!

Using Talents to Witness for God

Disclaimer: the idea for this devotional did not originate with me. Instead, I heard it from one of our Sabbath School teachers at church.

How can you be a good witness for God? Be a pastor? Okay, good start. Pastors and ministers do a wonderful job of spreading the gospel, and are integral to the church. But there are a lot more church members than pastors. Let's look at Matthew 28:19-20--

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." 

Most people are probably familiar with these verses as the "Great Commission", which it is. But Jesus doesn't limit this challenge to just pastors, though they are certainly included. Jesus is including everyone in this command--that means you and me, too!

So that brings us back to our original question. If we, not just pastors, are supposed to spread the word and be good witnesses for God, then how do we do it?