A Net in Time

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The Lord’s My Shepherd

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I can hardly believe that I have not done this old favourite yet!   The Lord’s My Shepherd.  Based off Psalm 23.  My oh my, I do hope you enjoy this one. 🙂

The Lord’s my shepherd

 We don’t know a whole lot about this hymn other than it is sung to several tunes…I personally know three tunes, but there are more since as I was searching I ran into an unfamiliar one. 

According to Discipleship Ministries, Calvin had Psalm 23 put to a variety of metrical tunes to facilitate people learning it well.

Lyrics

The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want.
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; He leadeth me
The quiet waters by.

My soul He doth restore again;
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness,
Even for His own name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale,
Yet will I fear no ill;
For Thou art with me; and Thy rod
And staff my comfort still.

My table Thou hast furnishèd
In presence of my foes;
My head Thou dost with oil anoint,
And my cup overflows.

Goodness and mercy all my life
Shall surely follow me;
And in God’s house forevermore
My dwelling place shall be.

The Electric War

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Electric War is a read that just draws you into the race of what gaining electricity was for the world.  The dirty tricks played, the fierce competition, the money and maneuvering.  WOW!  Very eye-opening for this reviewer.  Come on in, learn about Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse and the race to light the world. 

Electric War

From the Cover

The spellbinding true account of the scientific competition to light the world with electricity.

In the mid-to-late-nineteenth century, a burgeoning science called electricity promised to shine new light on a rousing nation. Inventive and ambitious minds were hard at work. Soon that spark was fanned, and a fiery war was under way to be the first to light – and run – the world with electricity.

Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of direct current (DC), engaged in a brutal battle with Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse, the inventors of alternating current (AC). There would be no ties in this race – only a winner and a loser. The prize: a nationwide monopoly in electric current. Brimming with action, suspense, and rich historical and biographical information about these brilliant inventors, here is the rousing account of one of the world’s defining scientific competitions.

Electric War

What You Get:

Electric War

Over 18 chapters and 272 pages the reader is led on a wild race from Europe to the USA, a raucous wide that leads to double dealing, lying, and delving into the character qualities of the men involved in the race. 

Learn their idiosyncrasies (like Tesla’s visions and OCD tendencies), see their competitive drive (Edison’s determination to quash alternating current) and the horrors of the electric chair. 

Electric War

Oodles of pictures dot the pages, showing us clearly the advances made.  I found it fascinating to watch how one step led to another and how quickly improvements were made.  Patents seemed to be flying left, right and centre as the race to do the next bright thing continued. 

Rivalries were very evident throughout the pages, and it didn’t always turn out very pretty.  I certainly learned aspects of these mens lives that I never even thought of before.  Fascinating reading. 

My Thoughts

Due to the nature of the “electric chair incident” I wouldn’t recommend this book for the faint of heart.   Other than that chapter, this book should be enjoyed by youth that were interested in scientific advances in electricity.   It was so fascinating watching the development of electricity and the men involved.  The stories intertwined with each other showing both the strengths and weaknesses of character.

Electric War

The Electric War: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Light the World
Mike Winchell
Henry Holt & Company
272 pages, middle school, trade paperback
Electricity, Edison, Tesla, History, Science
Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

disclosure

More, I want more

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More, I want more

Sleep, in a bed, resting my head
I want more
Sleep is so fleeting
Only five hours a night

More, I want more.

Laughter, Smiles, happy hearts
I want more
Too often busyness, and schedule
Interrupt times of laughter.

More, I want more.

Helpfulness with understanding
I want more.
Helping me is my love language.
The chores seem unending.

More, I want more.

Time with a hard working man
I want more.
Age and change of jobs,
means tired muscles and grumpiness.

More, I want more.

Being a one thing I do person
I want more.
Christ centeredness
Longing for awaited hope.

More, I want more.

More, I want more

Join us won’t you?   Miss Kate posted the word prompt this week of MORE.

One Thing I Do

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Oh, this chapter in The Faith-Shaped Life took me by surprise.  Dr. Hamilton told the story of a pastor he had as a young man.  This pastor, James Philip, was speaking and asked “Are you a one-thing-I-do-man, a one-thing-I-do-woman?”  … Paul did many things, but in all things he did there was one thing he was always doing. He was always pressing on ‘toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.’  … There was an inerradicable heavenly-mindedness to Paul’s faith.” (p140-141)

One Thing I Do

Why the Surprise?

One Thing I Do… oh that thought just grabbed a hold of me.  Spawning off into stories in my brain, and making my heart throb.  What is the ONE thing I do?   Am I like Paul, wholly committed to Christ.  Wanting to be with Christ more than any other thing… even if that other thing is totally worthy?

Not Always so Easy

It’s not always so easy though is it?  This is something that Paul admits to as well.   It’s hard to forget the things that lie in our past.  Sins that we cling to, sins that we did that the Devil wants to keep us ashamed of, and sins that just seem to show up.  It is a hard battle.

We need to remember this though.  To remember our past, to remember our shame, because then we are more keen to recognize God’s grace in our lives.   This recognition keeps us pressing forward.  You see it right?

God’s grace pulls us onward.  Even though it is hard (and it is!) but despite how hard it can be, his grace pulls us onward.  Helping us to remember our love for the Lord.  Our desire to put him first above all other things. 

To make Christ our “One Thing I Do”. 

One Thing I Do

Tomorrow Most Likely

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Imagination is a huge part of childhood, Tomorrow Most Likely taps into that.  Wondering through several tomorrows with the thoughts of  how Tomorrow Most likely something will happen.  Making it a lovely bedtime story, helping children to look forward to the morning.

Tomorrow Most Likely

From the Cover

Rather than focusing on going to bed-and what kid wants to think about going to bed?- This book explores all of the dreamy, wonderful, strange things the next day might bring. Whimsical, witty, and hopeful, this revolutionary rewriting of a classic goodnight book from bestselling author Dave Eggers and award-winning illustrator Lane Smith is a bedtime story for tomorrow ever after.

Tomorrow Most Likely

What You Get:

Full Colour images cover almost every page as a little boy wonders about what might happen tomorrow.  

He might meet a squirrel or a bug, or maybe a cousin.

Tomorrow Most Likely

There maybe blue skies or grey, good meals, and places to explore.   There will be music and people and things to be said. 

Who knows where a child’s imagination will take them, for tomorrows are endless and full of surprise. 

Most alternating lines rhyme, but not always.  Reading it out loud I found myself stumbling as I kept expecting a rhyme meter that just wasn’t there.  I found the rhyme came later than my expectation. 

My Thoughts

Initially I didn’t like this book.  I really couldn’t see the point of it.  As I continue to review it and look over it, I grasped this important concept.  Sometimes, the thought of going to sleep and missing out on something keeps children awake.  The bedtime story book is there to help them see the possibilities of tomorrow. Reading and wondering, gives them something to look forward to when they wake up the next day. 

Who knows.. they might meet a squirrel named Stu or perhaps a lonely bug will wander into their path. They might hear a fun song or meet an interesting character.   Who knows what might happen but maybe just maybe…you’ll find something interesting.  The sooner you fall asleep, the sooner you’ll discover it. 

Tomorrow Most Likely

Tomorrow Most Likely
Dave Eggers
Lane Smith (illustrator)
Chronicle Books
40 pages, 4-8 years, picture book
Imagination, Bedtime Story, Future
Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

disclosure

B is For Baby Bunnies

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Do you see how I did it? Two b’s for this second letter of the alphabet! Today we are going to talk about all things baby bunny!

baby rabbits

First it starts with introducing one male bunny (a buck) and one female bunny (a doe).   You let them do their thing (which by the way is sometimes super easy, and other times… not so much)  BUT that’s a topic for another post (reproduction anyone?)

Then you need to wait. Some people can palpate and others can’t. If you do it wrong you can cause a spontaneous abortion.  Anyways, again, topic for another day!  🙂   The easiest thing to do is simply wait.   Bunnies usually kindle (have their babies) 31 days after they have mated. 

Newborn baby rabbits

Babies come! WOOT WOOT! Nothing better than day old babies except day three babies or day 21 babies! or… day 28 babies or….. 🙂  Can’t tell I love babies can you?

Newborn babies need to be checked out carefully.  Sometimes mama bunnies make mistakes when giving babies their first bath and clean up.  Other times babies are born dead. The very odd time they are born with birth defects.   Once in a while mama will do a horrible job at building a nest or does WAY too good a job in the middle of summer.   Check the babies, the same as you would for any baby, look for all their toes, tails, eyes and nose!

Wait for your day three babies… you can really start to see their colours coming in.  The sables will look silvery, the whites and pointeds will look white, and the subtle differences between the lilacs and blues will be apparent.   It’s a great day to give them all a very thorough check over.

Week One

week old baby babies

I love the pristine whiteness of the light coloured week olds.  Aren’t they adorable?  🙂   Did you know that babies have to be checked over every single day?   Sometimes a baby will die, or miss a bath from mama and have poop stuck to their bum.   They also need to get used to the smell of people, so picking them up every single day keeps them used to you and teaches them not to be frightened.

At about 10 days old their eyes open.  I sprinkle a little bit of food into the nest box for them.  This gets them started if something untoward happens with mama. 

Week Two

baby rabbits

They continue growing, you continue checking on this.  Week two is when you’ll find out which ones are a bit more high strung.  You’ll reach into the box, waking them up and one will start to scream.  My lad loves the screamers.  He’ll just keep picking them up until they realize that screaming doesn’t get you anywhere, and before long he’ll have them snuggle in his hand.  Brings a smile to both our faces!  🙂

At two weeks, Spring through later fall I tip the nestbox on it’s side.  This gives babies a solid platform to huddle together on.  At this age they still can’t regulate their own body heat.  Having a platform helps them stay healthily warm.   I give them a creep feeder at this age.   In the cold of winter I change out the litter and start shelving them at night.

Week Three

baby rabbits

Young rabbits are called kits.  They grow like weeds and have an amazing ability to heal quickly from injury or damage.  Scratches, nips, broken legs, bug bites and more.  Kits can get hurt even in the safety of their own boxes.  Keep the fur out of the wound and they heal up right smart. 

Week three babies are out of the nestbox and you start to see personalities emerge.  The bold, the shy, the curious in your face ones.  It’s good!

The nestbox is removed in the warmer weather, tipped during the winter at this stage.

Week Four

baby rabbits

Week four babies can be almost impossible to take a picture of.  They are SO curious and into things, OR so incredibly shy you can scarce get them to stop trying to hide.   

The two kits pictured above were really showing their personalities off.  The wee one in the corner just wanted to hide, I had to make sure there were no folds in the cloth.  The other one, my son bribed her with a piece of carrot.  She was bouncing EVERYWHERE!   

If you have a large litter it’s really hard getting a picture of them lined up and looking at you.  🙂  You’ll get bum pictures and sideways bunnies, or young boys coming out to check the camera.   It’s a mess.   

They are very much like toilet-training toddlers at this stage.  Learning to keep themselves clean but often times needing help.  Daily checks for poopy butt are a necessity at this age, particularly with my hollands and fuzzies.

Week Five

baby rabbits

Curiousity and training starts to play a role.  They are getting used to the word STOP and a knock on wood or cage gets them to sit still a moment and start to assess the situation.   It gets easier to take a picture or two.   Telling genders becomes easier.   They are getting smarter and more aware of the world around them.    

Week Six

baby rabbits

Ears in loppies start dropping more, the girls start to act more like girls, the boys well… they are super sweet but won’t sit still for nothing!  Usually takes a bunny threat or two to keep them in line.   🙂   Here I start more seriously evaluating who will stay in the rabbitry and who will need to find a new home.   I’m harder on the boys than the girls as the boys tend to stick around a bit longer than the girls and affect all future generations.   Kits that are ready to be sold I list (I can do that in Ontario) Stateside the rules are different, there are you legally obliged to hold them until they are eight weeks old. 

Week seven-eight

baby rabbits

I can’t recall exactly how old this girlie is above.  She’s around 8 weeks old.  Really starting to show what she’ll look like as an adult.  They are pretty self-sufficient at this age.  It’s good to watch them grow.  🙂

Others in this series. 

A – American Fuzzy Lops

blogging through the alphabet #abcblogging

Letter B Link Up 

Each week we will be linking up with the hosts of Blogging Through the Alphabet. Please visit some of these other blogs to get things like book lists, vegan recipes, and wonderful places to visit, just to name the topics I can think of off the top of my head.

Jesus Appears to Disciples

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Do you recall the last time we talked it was about how when Mary met the Lord, she knew who he was when she listened to him say her name?  Today we read from John 20:19-23.

19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

John 20:19-23

Looking at Scripture

It’s Monday evening, scared disciples were sitting in a room with the doors locked.  Their concern : fear of the Jews.  On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews,

Suddenly Jesus was there, standing among them, wishing them peace.    Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

He then proved who he was, showing them his hands and side.  They would have known how he was injured during his crucifixion.  When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

Not so amazingly, the disciples were thrilled.  Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

The Lord Jesus wished them peace again and then said “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

He was going to send them out in the world, just as he was sent.  As the Father sent, so Jesus sends. 

When he said that, he breathed on them, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Questions and Ponderings

In Acts we are told how the disciples received the Holy Spirit.   They were in a room, breaths of fire came upon them, and they were so filled, ended up presenting the gospel to 1000’s of people.   Yet here we find Jesus breathing on the disciples in a closed room telling them to receive the Holy Spirit.    

I find it interesting that they are two different events. But I’m kinda thinking that one bleeds into the next. Receiving the Holy Spirit as a breathe from Jesus, and then later, having that rush of the Holy Spirit blazingly active.   

Thrills and Steps-Forward

Can you imagine it?   The disciples, sitting all scared in a locked room. And suddenly JESUS is there!  Can you imagine their excitement?   How thrilling it would be to have their loved one among them again.  This thrill is part of the hope Christians have.  Knowing that someday we will see our loved one.  He’ll come back.

I wonder if Jesus threw them for a loop a bit though, telling them he was sending them out just as the Father sent him out.   Then I wonder if they really understood what was going on there.  He twice told them to be at peace… which to me implies excitement or fear.  Peace to you (in my ears) is like saying settle down now, just settle down.  

He was sending them out… Jesus their loved one, suddenly appearing, and telling them he was sending them out.  Telling them to receive the Holy Spirit, breathing upon them.   Then telling them they have the power to forgive (or not).

I don’t know… I feel confused by this passage in the end.   Is this passage saying that WE as believers have the power to forgive and if we refuse to forgive that it’s never going to be? “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”  Doesn’t that sound like a heavy load?   And yet, if we have the Holy Spirit and are living by him, perhaps we would know what needs to be forgiving and what doesn’t?   They are linked in this verse, so before we forgive we aught to be talking to God about it, and then following the leading of the Holy Spirit in regards to forgiveness. 

At least that’s what I think makes sense.  I wouldn’t want to be responsible for declaring something unforgiveable.

What do you think?