This is Justin

Sidney's Epiphony

2008-09-03T22:23:00.003-05:00

Today, my daughter, Sidney, had to go to the doctor to get her hearing checked. We took her because she says, "What?" a lot and because she failed a hearing test about a year ago (she's four now). Well, it turns out that she can hear just fine. She passed the hearing test. Then, this evening while finishing her bath, I gave her a towel to dry off with, and as I left the bathroom, I told her that I would clean her room for her while she dried off. She said, "What?" I repeated myself a bit louder, and once again, she said, "What?" and then waiting a few seconds, she said, "Aw, the ear doctor didn't work!" to which I nearly fell on the floor laughing. What a mind on that child!

What My Daughter Likes More than Candy

2008-08-31T16:11:00.002-05:00

The other day, my daughter, Sidney and I were sitting together on our chair in our living room reading a book and talking. Smelling the strong odor of onions, I asked her if she had eaten any onions recently. (She loves raw onions, and Kacie can't stand for her to eat them because they make her breath so bad). This was the conversation that followed:

Me: Sidney, your breath smells like onions. Have you been eating some?
Sidney: Yes.
Me: Where did you get them?
Sidney: My bed.
Me: What were you doing with onions in your bed.
Sidney: When Mommy went out of the kitchen, I sneaked some to my bed.
Me: So Mommy wouldn't catch you eating them?
Sidney: Yes.

Later, after putting her to bed, I saw half a large onion sitting on her dresser. She had taken not candy, not cookies, but an onion to her room to hide it from Mommy! She's hilarious.

Look What I Cooked

2008-05-15T15:10:00.002-05:00

I was pretty proud of this hamburger. I made it for Kacie. I grilled it on my gas grill. I also grilled some portobellas and put them on it too, and I grew the onions in my back yard. When it was done, I wanted to take a picture so everyone else could see it too. Oh, yeah, I made the french fries, too.

Look at this Face

2008-05-15T15:07:00.002-05:00

Just thought I'd let everyone know how cute Paisley is. She is about 3 mos. old in this picture.

Who Did I Marry?

2008-04-27T23:05:00.002-05:00

Tonight, Kacie and I were watching Entertainment Tonight, and a segment on the new Indiana Jones movie came on. I said, "I would like to go see that." And what do you think my wife said? "I've never seen any Indiana Jones movies." Gasp! My own wife has never seen ANY Indiana Jones movies. None. Not one. She did say that she saw a clip from one at church, but come on. How could you not see any of them??? Her only defense is "But I'm a girl." That won't fly. Needless to say, we now have to go rent all of them and catch her up. Is this more common than I think???

Other movies Kacie had never seen before we were married: "The Goonies," "Star Wars" (the entire trilogy).
Movies Kacie refuses to watch: "Loaded Weapon 1," "The Goonies"

2008-03-10T00:23:00.002-05:00

I was reading the Bible the other day in the Old Testament in the prophets, and I noticed something a little new to me. Jer 31:31ff talks about a "new covenant" that God will make with His people and that it "will not be like the old covenant..." and that God will "put the law in their minds and write it on their hearts..." Now all this doesn't sound so new (and you may already know what I am getting at), but what intrigued me was the idea of the new and old covenants. What does "new covenant" mean. And likewise "old covenant." It may be obvious, but the new covenant is the time of the church, i.e. post resurrection. Naturally, then, the old covenant would be pre-resurrection. In the old covenant, we had to sacrifice certain animals at certain times of the year, and after certain events (see Leviticus, esp. Ch. 16). Now, we all know that Christ is the eternal sacrifice, and He fulfilled all the requirements of the law (the old covenant). We can now eat pork without fear of spiritual uncleanness. We are free to eat it. (This is just one example). We are now liberated from the law through Christ's fullfilling sacrifice. Now, here is where it gets a bit messy. We have all heard for the entirety of our church-going experience that it is necessary to tithe or give 10% of our income to the church...because God's law is good and it still works. (This goes for pork too, but bacon tastes sooo good). But where does the Bible--the Bible--speak of tithing. That's right--the old testament (most quoted in the pulpit from Malachi). To clarify, the term testament and covenant can be used interchangeably. (In Exodus, it is called the ark of the covenant, and also the ark of the testament). Is tithing mentioned in the New Testament (Covenant)? Only in the gospels: pre-resurrection, and thus, still old covenant. In the New Testament, Paul talks about giving without compulsion. In Acts, followers of the Way gave to needs according to what they had decided in their heart to give. Am I saying that we should not give? NO! We should definitely give (most likely even more than 10%). What I am saying is that the principle of the tithe is an old covenant principle, and if we are truly "free" from the law, then we are not required to give any specific amount before we can receive God's blessing (as is commonly preached today).Have you ever missed tithe or only given 9% and felt a surge of guilt? "It is for 'guilt' that Christ has set us free." NOOO! "It is for 'freedom' that Christ has set us free." We are free from the law. We are free from the law and under the new covenant ushered in by the death and resurrection of Christ. Is the tithe necessary for God's blessing, or is it a Phariseeical burden that "you yourselves are not able to bear."?What do you think?

Bye Bye, Beard

2008-01-18T18:31:00.000-06:00

Well, this is it. I have decided to shave my beard. Since Paisley arrived, I haven't been able to give her a kiss without irritating her. Sure, my face might get cold; and sure, I don't look as cool, but I would have shaved it anyway in a couple of months. (Its kind of uncomfortable sometimes, too). But, since I am shaving it, I thought I would let everyone else experience it with me. Tell me what you think.

2008-01-10T08:20:00.000-06:00

Hey Everyone,
Well, I'm a new father agian. Paisley Jewel Carnley was born on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at 6:30 pm. She is 8 lbs, 15 oz, and she is 20 1/2 inches long. She's beautiful. I thought ya'lll might like to see her, so here are some pics.

Paisley Jewel

Not Too Happy

Paisley's Ear

Paisley's Hand

Mommy and Paisley

What is the real danger?

2007-12-25T22:48:00.000-06:00

I thought this warning was a bit mis-prioritized. (It's a skil saw blade inside the package). What do you think?

Super Mario

2007-12-04T23:19:00.001-06:00

Wow!!! This is Crazemazing

And the award goes to...

2007-11-25T21:00:00.000-06:00

Just thought I'd let everyone know what a good wife I have. Yesterday, I had to deliver mail in rainy, 44 degree weather. Needless to say, even wearing raingear, I got wet and cold. When I get home, Kacie had cooked one of my favorite meals: fried deer steak with gravy, purple hulled peas, homemade cornbread, and Texas potatoes (with real bacon!!!). All because I had to spend most of the day in the rain. What a woman! Then this evening when I got home from church, she had done it again--she cooked more deer steak to go with last night's left overs. Smiles and full bellies all around! Love that woman!

This is My First Blog

2007-11-18T22:01:00.000-06:00

This is my very first post. Kewl. (sike). I hate "kewl." Its ridiculous. It has to be spelled c-o-o-l and pronounced "cool" as well. I had a college course where an older classmate, (far too old to be using the terminology) kept on saying "kewl." Not just a time or two. ALL THE TIME! This was a night course, too. Three and a half hours of "kewl" this and "kewl" that. Then she started inciting her other "too old to use this word" friends into saying it with her. Misery. Speaking of cool, how many of you remember the practice of "cool pointing?" I was very surprised to hear the term recently. The drummer in my praise team said it the other day. He's a high school student. I had nearly forgotten the word. It did, however, bring to mind the time when my junior high vice principle, after questioning some students about the nature of this practice, announced one morning over the intercom, "There will be no more coo-pointing, and anyone caught coo-pointing will receive detention." Needless to say, we all laughed at the mispronunciation. I still laugh at it.