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Atlantis ‹the domain of the Stingray›
Always remember: you're unique, just like everyone else.
‹anonymous›
Atlantis: the domain of the Stingray
31Jan
2014
Fri
23:11
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140131

ugh

It was predicted that we were to get 6 to 10 inches of snow by this morning. I woke up to 2.

I went to the church to write the sermon. When I got there, though, I cleared some of the sidewalk along the side and front for the ladies of the office staff since they would be coming in to prepare the bulletin. When I had finished that, I stepped into my office and noticed that my phone had failed to obtain an IP address from the church modem. "Not a problem," I thought, since I had been doing stuff outside, I may have walked in and out of the range of the modem. I tried again in the office, and the same thing happened. I guessed that the modem needed to be restarted, but that didn't solve anything. Nothing connected to it, wired or wirelessly, could obtain an IP address. The DHCP server simply wasn't working.

So, I spent 45 minutes this morning trying to figure that out and calling tech support. I got the typical response from the tech support: making sure all of the lights were on, etc. I don't know how many times I tried to tell the tech that the modem was not assigning IP addresses to devices connected to it, that I could tell that they were handshaking—sending the wireless key successfully—but beyond that, the modem wasn't cooperating. "Well, I can see you IP address from here." Okay, the modem is connecting to the internet, but nothing is connecting to it on this end. "Well, if you think the modem is defective, we can send you another one." Fortunately, it's still under warranty.

I finally got to the sermon.

When I got home, I loaded up the kids and we headed to Castle Rock to finish the month's WIC shopping. I decided to go out that way to give Genevieve some extra time without kids so that she could recover from a headache. We also made it out and back before the snow picked up again. Another six inches was predicted for tonight; I don't think we're going to get it.

Shortly after returning, it was time to head to Bible Study for game night. Mikaela was claiming to be sick, and Molly was needing sleep, so only Robert and I went. We played Hearts. I was winning for so long, then things went downhill once I finally pulled in the Queen of Spades. I ended up finishing third out of six. Getting home was interesting; I couldn't make it up a hill, so I went via another route.

30Jan
2014
Thu
21:51
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140130

platinum

A Thursday morning finds me going to Parker for Breakfast Bible Study. Last week was called off the night before on the threat of inclement weather. Best not to try the roads which may be icy. I had the same thing I had last time: the crepe passport, with German crepes.

From Parker, I had to head into Centennial to go to World Market. I needed to pick up some potato dumplings for Saturday's supper. We're supposed to get a lot of snow tonight and into tomorrow, so it was the best opportunity I had to get them.

I got there early, and the only store that was open was Office Max. I browsed a little, and noticed that the printer I had been looking at for the office was on sale.

10 o'clock, and World Market finally opened. Dumplings procured, and it was time to start making my way back to Elizabeth. On the way home, I stopped at Sprouts. Last week, they had a tea on sale that I really liked. This week, not so much; $8/box is a little too pricey for me. After that, the next stop was Best Buy. They also had the printer on sale. After phone calls and texts, I was authorized to purchase it and be reimbursed.

I stopped at the office to drop off the printer, briefly set it up, and pick up my belongings.

Back home, I finished LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, earning the platinum trophy. I let the kids play after that (though I did need one of them to help me get the platinum trophy). Then, it was movie night—Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. It was a food-y retelling of Jurassic Park 2, in my opinion.

29Jan
2014
Wed
23:43
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140129

simple day

My morning time in the office was spent doing a little more sermon study. I was able to get a little more direction for Sunday from the Old Testament lesson appointed for the upcoming feast. I also did some work on Introit and Gradual inserts through Pentecost.

A little time was spent at home working towards completing LEGO Marvel Super Heroes on the PS3.

Then, it was back to the church for Vespers and Book of Concord study.

Genevieve made delicious roasted chicken. I was able to eat a little before heading to church, so I was eager to get back home to eat some more. Accompanying the chicken was mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, and croissants.

28Jan
2014
Tue
22:32
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140128

back in the office, again

So, we got a little snow overnight. I checked outside when I got up to see if I had time to stay in or if I had to dress and do some snow removal. Two inches or so, so I didn't have to do anything.

It was below 0 Fahrenheit when I left, but the old truck started wonderfully.

I got to the office, and started doing some study for Sunday's sermon. Sunday is the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord. The Gospel lesson is the same as the First Sunday after Christmas. Back then, I made the connection between the presentation of Jesus and His redemption as Mary's firstborn with the sacrifice of two small birds. In doing more reading today, I discovered that I was mistaken—the sacrifice was for Mary's purification. The redemption of firstborn sons, as prescribed in Numbers 3, is 5 shekels. So, I'll be preaching to make a correction and a different connection on Sunday.

Back home, and I played a little LEGO Marvel Super Heroes on the PS3. I'm close to finished with the game on this system.

Today's meal project was beef stew in the crockpot. Ingredients include stew beef, carrots, onions, chili sauce, beer (gluten free, of course), brown sugar, basil, and thyme. It's a delicious recipe. I used this recipe, minus the celery and flour.

27Jan
2014
Mon
22:20
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140127

a day off is just like any other day

It was my day off today. I did nothing of any consequence. The big kids were supposed to clean their rooms, but were grumpy for having to do it; as a result, Molly and I spent most of the morning downstairs with Genevieve and Tirzah to avoid the bigs. When I was upstairs, I played a little LEGO Marvel Super Heroes on the PS4. When I finished that, I decided that I wanted to finish the game on the PS3, first; earn the platinum trophy on that system. I also watched some Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. I made salmon patties for supper. Everything really likes them. Day over, time for bed.

26Jan
2014
Sun
22:22
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140126

I like these voters' meetings

So, it's Sunday. That, of course, means the Divine Service. The gifts were given and received.

Then, it was on to the potluck. I was making "Knuckle Soup," though we also brought a brown rice and bean dish. Instead of using the Knorr bouillon cubes, though, I switched to Rachel Ray's chicken stock so that there would be no sugar in the soup for those who couldn't eat sugar. Unfortunately, the stock was also low sodium, so the soup was lacking for salt.

After the potluck it was time for the quarterly voters' meeting. It started off as it usually does, but quickly devolved into a love the pastor fest. This is quite a turn-around from what I had experienced at my first two calls. I'm still not used to it. Part of the show-the-pastor-love activities was a vote to cover the cost of a round-trip ticket to Tampa in the event of my grandmother's death, so that I may attend the funeral. I'm still not sure what I would do, as I refuse to fly under the current security measures, as I find them to be a breach of the Fourth Amendment. I do appreciate that they want to do that, though it makes it harder for me to decide whether I go or stay.

After the meeting, we dropped Robert off to play with a friend while we did some WIC shopping. Two hours later, we headed home to stuff our fridges and freezers.

It was a slow evening after that...for the most part.

25Jan
2014
Sat
22:53
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140125

I don't know what to put here this time

The day started out fairly normally. My alarm went off at 5:30, as it does every day. I turned it off and fell back asleep, but I was up again in two hours.

Once upstairs, I set about doing some file management on the file server and some thumb drives and from my PSVita. Once I had completed that, I tried playing Don't Starve on the PS4. It's an interesting game; I guess that's what I can say about it. It's fun, but not in a typical way.

Then, I received a phone call. We had been asked a couple of weeks ago if we would be willing to share some freezer space. Some church members were having a hog butchered, with the hopes of having some of it ready to send home with some family that were visiting for Christmas. Things were late, so they had more pork than they could store at home, but we had some freezer space that they could use. Today was the day. So, I set out to do some cleaning up downstairs where our freezers are; it had been a while since things down there were organized.

Back upstairs, and I tried my hand at LEGO Marvel Superheroes for PS4. I've earned some trophies for that game, which you can view if you look at my trophy cards.

As I did that, the pork came, so back downstairs to pack the freezer.

I played a little more LEGO Marvel when that was finished.

Then, it was back downstairs to install a magazine rack in our bathroom and drying rack by the washer.

Things quieted down after that. Now, the kids are in bed, and I'm watching the first of the Stadium Series NHL games: Anaheim Ducks at Los Angeles Kings at Dodger Stadium.

24Jan
2014
Fri
22:28
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140124

semi-normal...or all the way

So, the morning was spent at the office. I got the sermon for Sunday put together. Bits of it by one brother in office, bits by another, bits by me, and bits of a hymn. After the sermon, I finished putting together the hymn selection list for the special Lenten services for the musicians. With that done, I had to update my report for Sunday's voters' meeting.

Back home for a bit, and I worked on setting up profiles for the eligible video gamers on the PS4. The two older kids now have PlayStation Network/Sony Entertainment Network accounts, sub-accounts of my own. Robert is exochos8 (the Greek word for "super," he wanted to be SuperHero8, but that was taken, as was everything else he wanted, and the suggestions sucked). Mikaela is PinkSnowflake6; she also had some other ideas in mind that were taken, but this one worked right away. Genevieve is gen_here. The log in screen on the PS4 shows adult account full names. Sub-accounts, however, only show their PSN/SEN name. I looked forever to find a way to change that so that the kids would have their names shown on the log in screen, but that's not to be, I think.

Once I had finished that, it was time to go to Bible Study. We read some more through the Wisdom of Solomon, comparing what was read to what is familiar from the Scriptures. I even noted how part of Wisdom is used for one of the Great O Antiphons of Advent, on which the hymn Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel is based. In that regard, I think it was an interesting study.

23Jan
2014
Thu
22:51
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140123

PlayStation 4

Well, the day started in the office, completing the special service preparation for Lent. Now I just need to finish collecting all of the hymns for our musicians. That shouldn't take too long, but I don't know how much time I can commit to it tomorrow with sermon writing on the slate. As far as that is concerned, I'm borrowing some phrases from a couple of brothers for Sunday's sermon. What I have in mind will echo the Hymn of the Day quite nicely.

However, it didn't take long for me to head into Castle Rock and pick up a new video game console. It was a belated Christmas gift thanks to so monies that were given to us to share among the family. We each have gotten something so far, and there is a little left. My gift is the PlayStation 4. I don't have much to play on it right now other than some free games (either free through being a PlayStation Plus member or because I had purchased them for a previous console and they are "cross-buy" enabled, meaning I essentially bought them for all the consoles, even before those consoles were released).

Setting it up was an adventure. The firmware that the consoles came with didn't work too well with our TV. The audio-video signal was not properly making it's way to our television, probably an issue that it had with the video adapter and HDMI port. In addition to that, the console that I brought home booted up into an error state. The folks at Sony told me to download the reinitialization firmware update to a USB drive and see if that will correct the error state; it will correct the HDMI issue. Well, the update didn't take, so it was back to Castle Rock for an exchange; fortunately, they had one more unit in stock and were able to switch it out for me. The second console works flawlessly following a firmware update–the audio-video issue is corrected.

I connected my phone to the system via the PlayStation app, so now I can use my phone as a second screen for the games that support it. I connected my PS Vita to the system, so now I can control it with the Vita (full functionality, unlike with the PS3) and also use it as a second screen. I played a little Zen Pinball 2 on it, earning a couple of trophies (which you can view via my trophy cards in the appropriate sections on my site: scroll down so that the menu appears on the left side of my site, and hover over the right section title).

Following all these adventures, it was time to get the kids ready for bed and it turned out to be a pretty calm evening.

22Jan
2014
Wed
23:22
author: Stingray
category: Moblog
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What I Did Today 20140122

Book of Concord

It was a fairly easy day today. I was in the office, where I worked on Mid-week Lent services. Then I was home for a bit before I had to leave for church again. Before I left,a friend from Denver arrived to spend some time with Genevieve and the kids. Then, I was off to church again for the Book of Concord study. We're going through Article III in the Formula.

21Jan
2014
Tue
22:48
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140121

back in the office

So, I was back in the office today. It was a fairly easy day. I read through the lessons for Sunday to start thinking about Sunday's sermon. Mostly, I planned the hymns for the Sunday services in April. Before I move on to May, I need to work on Ash Wednesday, the Mid-week Lenten services, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. April 20th is the Resurrection of Our Lord.

While I did that, I watched Olympus Has Fallen via Netflix. It was a pretty good movie, especially once all disbelief had been suspended. Could a group break into the White House? I suppose it's possible, with enough planning and resources. Of course, it will unleash the full response of the American people and military (and I think in better fashion than the movie portrayed).

Back home to rest and think. It was done over clearing some more stuff off of the DVR. Well, now that I think about it, we only deleted one item from the DVR after watching it.

The rest of the evening was pretty par for the course...

11:49
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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Another Great Song from Home Free

cover of Zac Brown Band's Jump Right In

20Jan
2014
Mon
23:01
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140120

free breakfast...almost

A day off is usually spent relaxing. This one was no different, but the morning started out with a trip out the door. Ikea "sells" free breakfast plates on Monday mornings.

After dropping off Genevieve and Tirzah at a friend's house, the rest of the kids and I headed into Centennial for breakfast. The normal platter includes eggs, sausage, and potatoes. The girls are not big fans of eggs, so they got a kid's pancake plate. After drinks (which were not free, other than coffee, which I don't drink), the total cost for four for breakfast was under $11. That can't be beat, and the food is really good, too.

After picking up a couple of items from the "As-is" department, we headed home. At home, the big kids played outside for a time while Molly and I hung out inside. I was able to clear some of my programs off the DVR.

The rest of the day was pretty much uninteresting. The kids went to bed, Genevieve and Tirzah came home (they had since gotten the car), and I had supper. Shortly after that, it was bed time.

19Jan
2014
Sun
23:32
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140119

me and the boy

Today started as Sundays do. Up, to church, and the Gifts were given and received. The sermon is posted (though the audio will come later, my apologies).

There was a baby shower at the church after services. The girls stayed for that, so Robert and I had some guy time. We went to Costco where I purchased a new toaster oven; this one is convection. The price was amazing. I've found, with regard to convection, that the more dense the food being baked, that the convection does not decrease the cooking time; though for my crispy chicken strips, it makes for a nice, crispy breading—almost like frying, but with circulating air.

After Costco, we had lunch at Burger King. It's been forever since I've been to one. It's just not the same; I wasn't impressed.

Back home, and the new oven is set up. We had the Broncos game on, as Robert is a fan. I guess now we'll need to have the Super Bowl on; I really had no desire to watch it.

Once things got set up and cleaned, the girls came home. Molly was dropped off while the other three went to Joann for something. At that time, Robert and I played a little LEGO Batman 2 on the PlayStation 3. Molly watched. I was also able to work on updating a PivotX extension—the Useragent Information in Comments extension. I'm not quite done with the update, yet.

For supper time, I put on Matrix Reloaded. I had seen it once before, but I didn't remember a lot of what was going on. Of course, now I'm set up to watch Matrix Revolutions, which I have never seen.

The night was late, and the kids are finally in bed...

15:55
author: Stingray
category: Sermons
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Second Sunday after the Epiphany

John 2:1-11

Name Year Wordle
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14) The Son of God is conceived of the Holy Ghost and born of the virgin Mary. He grows up and makes His way to the Jordan. There, John sees Him, points to Him and says,

Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, “After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.” I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water. (John 1:29-31)

Jesus is baptized by John to fulfill all righteousness. (cf. Matthew 3:15) Some of John’s disciples, at John’s direction, follow Jesus. Jesus calls a few more disciples.

Then, Jesus is invited to a wedding in Cana. His mother and disciples attend with Him. And how we like to pick apart that wedding. There’s merit in doing so, especially when the wine runs out and Jesus, at the behest of His mother, changes water in purifying jars to the best wine served at the wedding. Here we see a picture of the wedding feast of the Lamb on His Bride, of which we partake a foretaste when we consume the body of the Lamb as bread and drink the blood of the Lamb as wine—thereby making it the finest wine you will ever have.

18Jan
2014
Sat
23:16
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140118

easy day, slight disappointment

I woke up with a headache. Took some drugs for it, and it went away quickly.

I tried to spend some Christmas monies. I want to get a PlayStation 4. They were sold out. They expect to get a few more this week; hopefully, I can make it there quickly enough to pick one up.

I played some NHL 14. I played some LEGO Marvel Super Heroes.

And that's the day.

17Jan
2014
Fri
20:08
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140117

sermon written

My time in the office this morning was spent writing the sermon I had rambling through my head for the past week. As you'll see on Sunday, the wedding at Cana is not about the wedding.

Then, it was time to go home and do some cleaning. We were the hosts of Bible Study tonight, and our house was a wreck. Dishes were done. Rugs were vacuumed. Toilets were scrubbed. Backs are aching.

For our Bible Study, we continued through the Apocrypha. We started the Wisdom of Solomon.

16Jan
2014
Thu
23:44
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140116

Third Thursday

The morning began early. I was aroused from my sleep by the sound of the floor above me creaking. Someone was up there. It was a few minutes before my alarm was to go off, so up I was and up I went. Mikaela had a bloody nose. Back down to shower.

Then it was off to IHOP in Parker for Bible Study. For the first time since changing the valve cover gasket on the truck, I drove it beyond Elizabeth. There was a little smoke coming from the engine; the oil that had leaked from the broken gasket leaked onto the exhaust manifold cover. That gets hot in engines, so the oil on it was burning off. Anyway, I had German crepes for breakfast over the Bible study, covering a little more of Daniel.

From Parker, it was time to drive to Golden. The third Thursday of the month means that it's time for the CCL conference—Colorado Confessional Lutherans. We like to study the Book of Concord. Last month, we finished the Formula of Concord, so we started over again, studying what we have called the Confutation Sandwich, where we look at the Augsburg Confession, the related article in the Pontifical Confutation, and the related article in the Apology to the Augsburg Confession. It is interesting to delve into the intelligence of the Lutheran Reformers compared to the adversarial Papists.

Our study concluded, it was time to run some errands:

  • To Ruff's BBQ Shop to buy some cherry wood chips and shop barbecue supplies. I got a tequila lime rub in addition to the wood.
  • To Golden Recycling to turn in some soda and beer cans for recycling. This place offers the best prices in the Denver metro area.
  • To Costco for some wipes and heavy duty aluminum foil.
  • To Penzey's Spices to get our free mug and some spices and recipes.

Finally home, 12 hours after waking up, I'm tired and will be heading to bed soon.

15Jan
2014
Wed
23:12
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140115

Book of Concord

Office, home, office.

In the morning, I did a little more sermon prep. I decided to go in a totally different direction with Sunday's sermon than I had given thought to yesterday. The key word is "sign."

I left to go home, but first a stop at the town hall. The 15th is the day that the water bill needs to be paid.

When I got home, I started hacking at the ice on our driveway. I cleared the end of our front entryway, but it has frozen over again. Our downspout is buried and goes under the front walkway; I think the buried part is clogged with ice, so it flows out at the seam right next to the walkway. Now, there's a bunch of ice that forms there, which, when it melts, flows down to the end of the driveway and freezes there. I hurt my wrist trying to clear it some.

I hung out with Robert and Molly after that. There wasn't much going on at that time. I watched some of the shows that I had on the DVR, so I was able to clear some space on there.

In the evening, it was time to start the Lutheran Confessions Study, again. We break for Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter, with mid-week services taking the place of the study. When last we had met, we just finished the Formula of Concord, article II, so this evening, we started article III. I enjoy reading the Formula of Concord; it's probably my favorite of the Confessions.

14Jan
2014
Tue
20:28
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140114

Holy Snow Day, Batman!

When I got up this morning, it was just starting to snow. All the models I saw on the morning news were predicting up to an inch of new snow. So, I drove to the office without a second thought as to footwear.Snow accumulating on the flag. It wasn't long into my time there that I wish I had worn my snow boots. We got about 5 inches that ended at about noon, the time that I leave the office to go home.

While at the office, I started "watching" Eureka, again. I usually have some video or music going as a distraction while I work. I find that I work better with something going on, even if only in the background. When I'm typing out my sermons, though, I keep the distractions to music, and this usually only instrumental. As for the work I did, it was mostly sermon study. I'll be preaching on the wedding at Cana, and Jesus' first miracle. I also got some hymn inserts ready for the next two Sundays.

When I got home, I started up the snow thrower to clear the driveway and sidewalk. Afterward, I took some salt to the end of our drive way, hoping to at least soften the ice that has built up down there, giving me a better chance of scraping it off.

The afternoon was spent with a napping infant and toddler on my lap. Once they woke up, it was time to prepare supper. Spätzle was on the menu again, as we try to finish up the pork roast and gravy from New Year's Day.

The night should be uneventful...

13Jan
2014
Mon
23:25
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140113

pizza day!

Today we made homemade pizza!

The morning was slow, more-or-less. I played the gold medal game in my Sochi Olympic hockey simulation, and trounced Canada. Now, I can get back to my Be-a-GM mode, but I think I'll take some time to catch up to it in games played in my Live-the-Life mode.

I had to run up to Walmart to get some more flour for the pizzas. So, off I went, with Mikaela in tow. I needed more ground pork, too, but Walmart was out. Next stop was Safeway. We got what we needed there, and I had a taste for red birch beer, so we stopped at Big-R to get some.

Molly's Pizza

The time came quickly to start making the pizzas. Genevieve made her's (and Tirzah's) first as the regular dough rose. Then, as is usually the custom, I let the older kids top their own. They all tried to be a bit artistic with the toppings, but I think Molly's turned out the most artsy, even without her trying. As you can see in the picture, she made a smiley face out of pieces of American Cheese; air bubbles in the crust gave the face cheeks.

While the evening got a little stressful with the kids, in the end, it turned out alright. Pizzas were made. Sarsaparilla and red birch beer were sipped. A good meal was had by all.

The kids were sent to bed, and Genevieve and I watched the first three episodes of the new season of Community. It's a pretty good show.

12Jan
2014
Sun
23:37
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140112

It was a morning teaching and preaching baptism, though not only a baptism of repentance, a la John. Western churches normally celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord on the first Sunday after the Epiphany, though there are propers for the First Sunday after The Epiphany of Our Lord. ...to fulfill all righteousness: read about it here.

We spent some time at Safeway doing a little shopping. I told the family that if they could clear the table, we'd make homemade pizza tomorrow.

When we got home, Robert wanted to watch the Bronco game. So, the afternoon was spent doing that. Broncos beat the Chargers 24-17 and will host the Patriots for the AFC Championship Game.

It was slow after that. I did some file transferring from DVD and CD to our fileserver harddrive. Then from the fileserver to my phone.

16:25
author: Stingray
category: Sermons
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Baptism of Our Lord

Matthew 3:13-17

Baptism of Our Lord 2014 Wordle
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The people flock out to see him. He preaches repentance to them. They meet him in the river. There they are baptized by him, a baptism of repentance. Sinners flock to John the Baptizer and hear the Law of God:

Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:7b-10)

Many do bear fruit in keeping with repentance as they are baptized by John. Down into the Jordan they go, one after another, to be washed by him, crucified, as it were, by his preaching of repentance. From John, the greatest of the prophets and that preacher sent by God, they receive the forgiveness of their sins. But then he says it:

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Matthew 3:11-12)

They all look up, and that’s when they see it. “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.”

11Jan
2014
Sat
20:58
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140111

the highlight is a repair

I slept in this morning. It felt good. Normally, I'm up at my alarm (or earlier) at 5:30. I turned it off this morning and fell back asleep. I finally got out of bed after 8.

When I got upstairs, I caught up on a new television series that I missed: Helix. I'm not sure if I like it yet or not, but I'll give it a few more tries.

I played a few more games in my NHL 14 Olympic simulation. I have just one more game to go—the gold medal game against Canada.

Once I got those games finished, I rushed off to Napa to pick up a gasket. A member called me today to say that he had time to guide my repair of the truck, which I had asked him to do. He said it was a very easy repair, but I was expecting to do it when it warmed up enough. It wasn't a terribly cold day, with highs in the upper 40s, so we did it today. A short while later, and the valve cover gasket was replaced and the truck running again (not that it wasn't running before, but it shouldn't be run without the valve cover on it).

The sermon is prepped, dinner is almost ready, and it should be an uneventful night.

10Jan
2014
Fri
23:32
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140110

my boring life?

By now, my routine may be boring you. I don't blame you. I do seem to do the same things almost every day. Tuesday through Friday: office, home, sleep—with some variation.

So, it was an office day. I got Sunday's sermon written. Of course, I will review it again tomorrow and probably make a few changes. I still had some time left, so I created more introit and gradual inserts. I completed most of Lent. I may skip them completely, but I didn't do Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, and Holy Wednesday; the rest of the season is completed, though.

Back home for a bit, and I played my NHL 14 Sochi Olympics simulation for a bit.

Then, it was back to church for Bible Study. We finished Judith in the Apocrypha, but before we did that, we discussed a potential concern with the inerrancy of Scripture given the impending published of the 28th edition of the Nestle-Aland Greek Text, and the fact that there are, currently, 27 editions. The discussion was prompted by an article in Christian News, a "Lutheran" rag that I think tries to stir controversy where none should exist.

18:14
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What a Song!

Home Free's cover of Ring of Fire (featuring Pentatonix's Avi Kaplan)

9Jan
2014
Thu
22:59
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140109

pancake day

It was a simple day, today.

Like I said yesterday, an earlier day in that I left the house earlier than I do on other days. Up at 5:30, into the shower, and out the door to make it to the IHOP in Parker by 7 for Bible Study. We're going through Daniel. It's a fun book.

I guess the big news is that I took the van to Parker. Normally, I take my truck, but I need to replace the valve cover gasket. While I'm comfortable driving the two or three miles from one end of Elizabeth to the other with the truck, I won't be taking it on longer trips until the gasket is replaced. And I won't be replacing the gasket until the weather improves (I don't want to be taking things apart and doing this kind of work in freezing temperatures). So, for the time being, through the winter at least, when I have to leave town for business, I'll be taking the van.

Back in the office, and I worked on introit and gradual inserts through the middle of Lent. I had completed things through the end of Epiphany, so I got the three -gesima Sundays and through Oculi done today. Oh, and a little more reading for Sunday's sermon.

Time at home was pretty much uneventful.

8Jan
2014
Wed
23:50
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140108

dinner out

A day at the office saw some preparation for the voters' meeting at the end of the month and some textual study for Sunday's sermon. I think I have a direction I want to go in, but i want to continue reading.

When I got home, I was able to create the last six players that I needed for my NHL 14 Olympics simulation and set that up.

This evening was spent at a church members' house for dinner. After they served us, they presented us with gifts for Christmas. I feel bad because I had to round us up so that I could get to bed for an early morning; not that I wake up any earlier, but that I head out of the home earlier than normal.

7Jan
2014
Tue
23:37
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140107

short story

Finally, a day off! This felt like an especially long Christmas season, so it was good, after yesterday, to have a day off.

I spent the day doing most of the work on my NHL 14 Olympic rosters. Today was the deadline for them to be announced, and the bulk of the participating countries did so today. So, after some roster editing, adding in some created players from my Be-A-GM mode, and swapping out a few players who have injuries in my Be-A-GM mode, I have authentic rosters (as far as players on them...jersey numbers and line ups are a different story) for Canada, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA. I will add Finland, Russia, and Slovakia once I add a few more players that I have to create; I'm simply waiting to find out what to rate them.

Some pizza and the Matrix, and it was time for bed.

6Jan
2014
Mon
23:54
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140106

It's Epiphany!

The morning saw me at the church office. I was working on some catechesis stuff, mostly. I also prepared the wax warmer to receive a cube scented like frankincense and myrrh.

That, of course, means that there was to be an Epiphany Divine Service tonight. There was. Before the service, we had a potluck supper. This is what I prepared the smoked pork for on Saturday. Today, I finally chopped the pork. It was probably the worst picnic roast I ever bought; very fatty.

A couple of teams were officially announced for the Olympics, so I spent a little time trying to recreate them for NHL 14. The Czech Republic and Switzerland announced their rosters. The Czechs were one of the six I was looking to recreate. The Swiss, because they announced, I did recreate; their roster was probably the easiest to recreate. Tomorrow is the deadline to announced the rosters.

5Jan
2014
Sun
23:56
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140105

not your typical Sunday

So, it was a pretty normal morning, except that we took both vehicles to church. Bible Study was followed by Gottesdienst. Preaching was on the bloody text of Matthew 2:13-23, when Herod goes on a murderous rampage against the Christ, killing the young boys in Bethlehem. Then, and this why we took both cars, I stayed behind to begin catechizing a young lady.

I spent a little time at home, then. While the kids watched some stuff on Netflix, I looked through eBay listings at Märklin stuff. I wasn't looking for anything in particular—wasn't looking to buy anything—just wanted to look at stuff.

Then, we headed into Aurora on snowy and icy roads to attend an Epiphany Evening Prayer Lessons and Carols service at Hope Lutheran Church. The Concordia Theological Seminary Kantorei was in town on a tour to sing for the service. It's their service, essentially, that they lead at various locations on their tour. I used to do the same thing with the Concordia Seminary Chorus.

Now, it's a late night for all of us. A late supper will be followed by bed time, I think.

17:20
author: Stingray
category: Sermons
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Second Sunday after Christmas

Matthew 2:13-23

Second Sunday after Christmas 2014 Wordle
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Christmas season is winding down. Matter of fact, this is the 12th Day of Christmas—the last day of the season. The gifts are no longer under trees. If trees are still adorning our houses, they are likely beginning to drop their needles now more than before. People are putting away their manger scenes. The Christmas albums are beginning to gather dust again. And to close out the season at church, we hear this: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.”

Joy to the world, the Lord is come, and Herod goes on a murderous rampage to end the threat to his throne, power, and glory—murder, politics, blood, the slaughter of innocents in the hopes of getting at the One. Soldiers are seen bursting into homes. The sound of swords being taken out of scabbards echoes throughout Bethlehem—young boys scream out in agony; parents wail in grief. The smell of death lingers in the atmosphere. The taste of blood tinges the air. The agony is palpable. Gone is the Silent Night, now Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.

4Jan
2014
Sat
21:28
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140104

smokin

In preparation for Monday's Divine Service...well, the preceding potluck, I smoked a pork picnic. Chopped pork is going to be delicious, as always!

While it smoked, I did more preparation for the NHL 14 Sochi simulation. The rosters I'm trying to make as close to the real things are the United States, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Russia, and Czech Republic. So far, I've gone off the projected rosters from NHL.com. Of course, the US has already announced theirs as of the first. I've got almost everything done, except that there are three players I would either need to create (if I can find the way to do that) or replace still. Given how quickly I've gotten through the six rosters I've done so far, I may add Slovakia to the teams I want to replicate.

We got about 6 inches of snow, and flurries and occasional showers are still possible through the night. So, out came the snow thrower this evening to clear the driveway and sidewalk.

All-in-all, it was a pretty productive day.

3Jan
2014
Fri
23:51
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140103

It's Friday!

Another morning in the office. Couldn't get my head around the text for Monday, so I borrowed a sermon, making some changes here and there. I put the handout for Monday together. Then, I planned the hymns for March, except for the Mid-week Lent stuff. Can you believe Ash Wednesday is March 5? So close...

Back home for a bit. Did some more preparation for my NHL 14 Sochi simulation. I'm trying to make a few rosters as accurate as possible, adding my created players to their respective national teams if they "make the cut."

Since it's Friday, it's Bible Study night. Molly was felling ill, so the two older kids and I headed to Kiowa for study at the Plasters. We continued with our reading of the Apocrypha, picking up where we left off with Judith. Chapters 7 through 13 (or was it 12?) were certainly more interesting than the first 6 chapters. Judith is a talkative heroine in this extra-Biblical work of fiction.

2Jan
2014
Thu
23:12
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140102

not that interesting a day

Today, I went into the office and prepared a sermon for Sunday. Nothing like closing out the Christmas season with a bloody text. Other than that, it was back home to relax a bit. I played a little Gran Turismo 6 and continued to get frustrated with it. I'm not playing it tomorrow. I played a little NHL 14, too. I'm preparing a simulation of the Sochi Olympics, at least as much as I can do with this game.

1Jan
2014
Wed
23:25
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did Today 20140101

exploits and adventures of a normal guy

I'm going to start a new series on my blog. I hope to update it every day this year. Yes, that's 365 entries. If nothing more, I plan to list what I did that day.

  • I stayed up to midnight. I wasn't expecting to, but I made it. Happy New Year!
  • We had church at 10am. The Circumcision and Name of Jesus was the event. The sermon is posted on the site, so you can read it.
  • I made a roast of pork tenderloin. Accompanying it was Spätzle. Roasted carrots and tomatoes rounded out the meal. It made for a delicious late lunch or early supper.
  • The rest of the day was spent lounging. I played some Gran Turismo 6 and NHL 14 (PS3).
15:40
author: Stingray
category: Sermons
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Circumcision and Name of Jesus

Luke 2:21

Circumcision and Name of Jesus 2014 Wordle
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dear fellow firstborn sons of God by way of baptism into the Son of God, Merry Eighth Day of Christmas. Today, your God fulfills the law for you. For, on this day the infant Son of God, Creator of the universe, goes under the knife to mark Himself as a son of the covenant. He is of the people of God as He receives circumcision on His eighth day.