Cheta-Conor

Conor is sick for the first time. Considering how prone to illness babies are, I think it is really good he has avoided it for so long! He had a fever for several days last week, and we brought him into the pediatrician. We were told the 101.x degree fever was related to teething and unless we saw any other symptoms he would be fine, and the fever could go on indefinitely. Other symptoms to look out for would be basically anything, things like rashes, ear hurting, etc.

Well, Saturday or so cute lil Conor became cuter with "cheta spots".

Since he was sleeping I could not get a good shot, but this is the best one. They are around his chin/neck area here. They stood out a lot more when there were just a few- now there are a bunch of little red spots and they kind of stand out less. We've been giving him anti-alergy medicine as we felt it might be alergic, but when we called the pediatrician over the weekend she felt it was probably viral- as long as he did not get a high fever he was fine.

Well, now in addition to the spots he also has spots around his genitals- but in particular, pustuls/blisters that are bursting and becoming raw. So, while I was going to call and check in about it- Kat beat me to the punch and just called to reserve an appointment in a few hours. Heh heh- she is slow to consider the doctor for her, but when it concerns Conor it is "go to doctor first, ask questions later". Not a bad philosophy overall, but I tend to think/talk it over unless it is clear quick action is needed.

I'm not too worried. Babies go through illnesses and Conor has gone a good while without them so far. Breastfeeding has protected him from a great many illnesses he might have otherwise faced, and "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is true in the case of babies. He'll get hardier and grow through this little spot of trouble... or should we say, spots of trouble? Hehehe.

Pray for a smooth diagnosis for Kat's sake, and that Conor will be well soon.

As for Conor? He's doing great otherwise. He is happy- the fever made him cranky but that stopped before the spots, and he's happy and otherwise healthy it seems. The anti-alergenic really knocks him out good, though, so he sleeps a lot whenever we dose him with the prescribed amount. Oh, and we got the crib up finally! Kat went out and bought screwdrivers last night, and did it all. It's great- we finally got to sleep without baby machine-gun kicking me all night! We had the baby monitor on, and Kat didn't get much sleep- she didn't fall asleep until after 3 AM and woke up at 7 AM! Poor dear- I think it is because it was the first night not sleeping with baby since we moved into the house. Baby, however, slept just fine.

-Patrick

UPDATE- It turns out that Conor has Roseola. The breaking out happens after his fever breaks, and is the result of the death of the virus- some sort of protein is apparently let out that causes the breaking out. Conor has apparently had a very mild case of it- it is a childhood disease that rarely spreads to adults and can (and was) easily be controlled by keeping the fever down with meds. Conor will probably have the rash/break-out for another five or more days.

By Patrick F. (me)

A contractor, to avoid being in
debt to a bank, had built up a debt to a wealthy older man. This man was a
business man and had a great sum of money, however when the contractor found
himself unable to get a sufficient job to continue paying off his debt the
older debtor told him that he could pay off his debt by building houses for
him- he would receive room and board and enough money to live moderately on,
but the rest would go towards paying off his debt. The contractor began with
enthusiasm and gratitude- instead of holding him to pay it off or face
penalties like he could have done, the older man had given him not only the way
to pay it off but also a job. After several months of skilled and successful
work on houses, the older man came to the contractor.

“You have done a
wonderful job. Even with top pay, however, you would be paying this off until
the day you die. If you agree, however, I shall make you a deal- I will clear
you of all debt, and in return request a signed contract that you will work a
minimum of ten years with me just as you are now. After that, you may choose
what to do next- free of debt to any.” The contractor was overjoyed, and
heartily agreed.

The older man had
the contractor working on a particularly beautiful and large house- similar to
the ones he had built already, but much fancier. The contractor was summoned to
the man’s finely furnished office one day and told he would be delivering
several messages to retired people who had caught the older man’s eye and he
felt deserved a comfortable life in return for hard and heartfelt volunteer
service they had given. The message to deliver was that he was building each of
them their own house, sparing no expense, and they would have a lovely grand
home to invite their family into to live our their days. The contractor knew
just how true it was that these homes were sparing no expense- he had
personally overseen their construction and was overseeing one even now.

He delivered the
messages one by one. One was too a man living in a very shabby, run down house
with lots of pets around him. Some were to older couples with large families,
others to widows, on and on- some looked well enough, others looked hardly
matching with the house being given them. He would often get warm smiles of
gratitude, some gave a nod as though it was expected, others cried with joy. As
he did this, he began to grow bitter in his heart. He was working on and on,
getting hardly any pay at all and had worked hard and long for this man-
meanwhile, these people were going to be doing nothing at all and yet his own
efforts were to build the very houses they would continue doing all of that nothing
in! And the fact some seemed to even just expect it made him more upset. One
day he went to the old man and asked him how much longer until his ten years
were up, and if that was still expected of him- “Five years, and yes, it is
signed- we will continue until the end.”

That evening he
went to the house he was working on. It was near completion- an elegant house
made of brick and oak with large windows and skylights on top. He imagined that
yet another old coot with no money was going to be living in this one- six
bedrooms to store all his leftover junk and pet fleas in! In anger, he got into
a bulldozer nearby, turned it on, and with single-minded determination rammed
into the house. Repeatedly, again and again, wham, wham, wham. The
bricks cracked, then shattered under the weight of the assault. Crackle,
snap went the strong oak walls. Half-installed chandeliers with pure
crystals dangling from them shrieked as they shattered upon the marble floors.
By the time the contractor finally left the site, his anger was dwindling and
the house was a ruined mess. What he had built with his own hands and the funding
of the older man over several years was ruined in a single evening of anger. He
was unsure what the consequences would be, but he was still angry.

The next day,
when he did not show up for work, a man showed up at his door to escort him
personally to the site. The contractor was worried when he saw the old man
there looking at the ruined house, standing alone outside it by himself. As the
contractor walked up, the older man turned around- and the contractor was
shocked to see tears streaming down his face. The contractor stood there,
stunned, not knowing what to say- he had no idea it would hurt the older man
so. “I… I’d had it with making all these homes… for all these people who had no
clue what they were worth. I… I just had it…”

The old man fell
to his knees, shaking his head. “I had begun to think of you like a son. You
worked so hard and well, and when I cleared off your debt I had planned to hire
you with top wages after the ten years was finished.” The contractor closed his
eyes, beginning to feel the weight of grief as the reality of his mistake sunk
in- he wasn’t aware that the man had cared for him this much.

The next words, however, were a blow to be
unmatched as yet. The old man gestured at the house, his eyes pained, “That
house… I was going to give to… you.”

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
We all have a debt we can never repay, no matter how long and how hard and how many lifetimes we sought to- we would never be able to repay it. When we become believers in Jesus, our debt is paid- outside of anything we have done, all by God's love for us and his mercy upon us. He asks in return that we dedicate our lives to Him and live for Him- and beyond even all of that, he gives us blessings throughout our lives as well as a promised reward at the end when all is said and done.

-Patrick

Everyone PLEASE take the time to stop what you are doing, and look at one of the most incredible and wise xanga posts I've ever looked at. It's pretty incredible how much on-target stuff this person got in one huge post. It's long, but I challenge you to choose to read this when you have enough time to read until the end- and do NOT stop until the end. Pass this onto people you think might benefit- because this is some stuff to live by.

Click HERE

-Patrick

PS- I found this through the new, and really cool, xanga newspaper- a xanga boost related tool that premium users can use right now to boost xanga posts they like.

EDIT- On request, I made it a link. Hope it makes life easier.

And, here is a picture of the meal I made last night for dinner. I've started up, since school is done, doing my regular support of five meals a week for the family. This is a toss-together meal: spaghetti lightly meated with lean ground beef, gently steamed bell pepper and onion in a base of onion/garlic mixture sauteed in olive oil. I mixed in some premium vodka spaghettini sauce from Publix and freshly torn basil, topping it with vine ripened tomatoes lightly steamed and rolled basil strips fresh from my garden. All of this topping on al-dente whole wheat spaghetini pasta. On the side is a slice of freshly baked bread (ahh, well, it is from the store, but it was freshly made that day) multi-grain bread crisped under the broiler with margarine and slices of vermont white cheddar- seasoned with garlic salt and paprika.

Whatdya think, was it too simple? Honestly, with the food processor to do the garlic and onion mince, it was one of my simpler meals. It's nice to be able to just walk out the the garden and spruce up a meal with something fancy like nice herbs.

-Patrick

Theology 2 Complete

All CIU work completed

I can proudly proclaim that as of last night I finished the very last little bit of work remaining for school. I finished 95 percent of it (at least, to me it was 95 percent of the work load) by my own personal deadline on the Friday night before I left for vacation. However, the remaining bit was finished yesterday. As of this moment, all that remains is for my Wife to print out and hole-punch the remaining work and bring it home so that I can drop it off at school on the morrow. I have emailed my professor all of the work I have done in Word format- so that JUST in case I have a backup and he is aware that it was all done even before the deadline. He could also optionally start grading it if he desired to start before the deadline- I know some professors appreciate that.

There is still a tiny amount of pressure on me- that feeling of "there is still something, however small, to do" that comes from needing to submit the hard copy. However, it may still remain in some sense even after- I have had this burden of unfinished work over my head for over two years. Two years, the same class, the same work- only three credits, but still unfinished- and now it is done. It is hard to really shake that slightly depressed, burdened feeling. Everytime I sit down at the computer I keep finding my mind going back to "Wait, there is still work I need to do instead..." and then realising "NO! There isn't! I've done EVERYTHING! Ha! Ha ha ha haaa!"

So at this point, verily, it takes a conscious reminder to myself to feel it. And what a good feeling it is, too. Not just the feeling of having completed my class, but having now completed ALL of my classes. Part of me will not be able to completely relax until I have not only the grade to my class in paper, but also the diploma in my hand. I think due to bad experiences there will always be that feeling of "Will something interfere? What will come up next?" Sadly, in school, I have often experienced things like this- I forgot something, I did something wrong, I shot my self in the foot (not literally) through some mistake, etc. I never see it coming, and so I have begun to fear the potential. It is comforting to know that God is in control, and that the administration in the academic dean's office at CIU is all behind me completing- as well as my Theology 2 professor Dr. Rogers.

What next?

In a way, I shall say- we'll get there when we are there. Do not borrow trouble from tomorrow, there is enough for today.

However, in a less specific sense- homemaking and ministry. My first responsibility is to seeing Conor taken care for properly, and also making sure I support my Wife properly in care of the house. However, second to that- and first in regards to moving towards our future- is ministry.

Why ministry?

Ministry is first because that is what we are here to do- God has called us to serve Him, in faith I have gotten an education that is almost solely useful for ministry and in order to 'support' our family (or, really, allow the body of Christ to support our family) we must get into missions and ministry on a 'paid' or supported basis. Now perhaps you see? In order to get to that level, we have two requirements.

1) Education.
CHECK
2) Experience
No check!
3) Home church support
In progress...

To get both number two and three fully settled, we need to participate fully in ministry and events in the Church. Specifically for me, I need to seriously involve myself- and I am realistically considering looking into an internship with our church. The great thing is, they know and support my childcare for Conor and at this point in my life- having the ability to care for Conor and be available for ministry without an out-of-home job in the way is wonderful.

It also means, in a practical sense, I am working to allow God to secure us our future provision- so that Kat does not have to work anymore and we can pursue our original calling.

Ministry

I have some neat ideas, one of which the ball is already rolling for. I cannot really speak about it publically right now on Xanga, so I may do it for my protected list- or anyone who emails me privately (just click on email me option on this site). It is an incredible inspiration and opportunity that God has given me since I was a teenager- and to hear my friend (and associate pastor) Justin not only agree but give me the support to start under their supervision and support yesterday is wonderful! As of this moment, I am beginning my very first ministry ever! From scratch, Church supported, and organized by myself under Justin's guidance (which is not a hands on sort of thing- more of a 'you keep me up to date, and I'll let you know if there is anything different you should do' thing.) I am VERY excited about this.

Future ministry ideas

Another ministry idea, that will become even more valid as Conor grows, is that of a stay-at-home Dad group. A support and activity group specifically for stay-home Dads in the Columbia area. The idea would be to bring Dads together for mutual support, guidance, and play groups within a reasonable distance of each other. Like my other idea, the Church could enable this ministry by their general support, helping to share it with church members and provide their guidance- but the ministry could really grow on its own and would focus on drawing from the non-Church community as well. If I were to seek to share it with local TV stations (a recomended idea by some stay at home Dad group startup suggestions) I would not connect it to the church to enable us to gain interest from non-believers.

A Call To You

If any of you believers out there (especially you folks from CIU) who live local to me want to hear about my church-supported ministry opportunity- I encourage you to at least ask. Anyone, a part of my Church or not, could get involved and it would require a very low level of outside-the-home involvement: perhaps meeting physically every other week. I think any of you guys who live in Columbia and read my page would really be interested, so ask sometime.

Conor Crawls!

On Tuesday, August 15 of 2006 Conor finally crawled for the first time- a real crawl, not a wriggling side-winder crawl that kind of moved him randomly. He was not able to really crawl on his hands and knees with his stomach off the ground- at first he tried that and just threw himself forwards. He was able, however, to pull forwards while on the ground and make it several feet to his destination- purposely, and every time. Last night was the first time for him to ever do that!

Once he has practiced that a lot more, I can foresee the rest coming along soon too.

-Patrick

PS- For those who do not remember, Conor just turned nine months old. He's not early for crawling, but rather right about on time.

I found the idea of seeing through the tongue very interesting, but this one- while less extreme- is very practical, and it looks like the future is bright for people who are visually impared!

http://www.livescience.com/scienceoffiction/060804_eye_band.html

This is technology that is usable now, and may be available in the next few years. The long term? Oh, I don't think we are far off from- in the next ten years perhaps- being able to bypass the eye completely and put images into the brain. So, depending on the visual problem, it might mean that a lot more people could see who cannot now. As for this moment- the eye band above relies not on visual sensory, but on tactile sensory... so anyone could technically use it.

Vacation is over. Before I left, I had completed ALL of my Study Questions (I completed them ON TIME), my doctrinal statement requires finishing just on one topic- last things/end times, etc. My personal letter, also, is remaining. I'm ready to give all that a go this weekend and finish it.

Great vacation, will tell more later. Michael calls...

-Patrick

Reading and Study Questions- Completed

My reading and associated questions- the major bulk of my busywork, is complete!!!!!

I actually think that in some ways it was easier until the end, because I just searched for the clear answers and put them down from the reading. However, the last three chapters on "end things" were REALLY tough- a lot more content and a lot trickier. Beyond that, the 'boost' I had last night was not quite there this afternoon. Three chapters went a LOT slower. But they are done, if not as thoroughly as I might have preferred.

The remaining thing to finish now, in the immediate sense, is the last few paragraphs of my doctrinal statement. The topic: my beliefs on end times. Wow, that will be fun *cough cough*. Quite honestly, I know what I believe enough for myself- but the intricate details are really not big for me because I feel picking apart Christ's return is a little fruitless. I'll do it, though, just to satisfy my professor.

After that- personal letter is all that is left, and I can do that anytime. That, and getting everything printed out and setting up one of those folder things you commonly turn in a nicer report in (for the doctrinal statement).

I covet your prayers on this point- that I will have God's inspiration in my personal letter, because I feel whomever I write it to it will have a definite purpose and impact and I desire it to be so. Finally, that as I finish my doctrinal statement I do it well... and tonight. I don't want anything but the letter lingering.

Oh, and pray that everything goes smoothly in my graduation process. Snags can always come up- and I don't want ANY more of those. After all, the last time I tried to graduate college I ended up... erm... not, about a week before. :/

Praise God for all of your prayers- and Amos, thanks for the comment. You're the only one to really comment and encourage me during this. It means more than you know.

-Patrick

Bedtime

Whilst I did not complete all of my work- I am now only three chapters away from completion. I need to do a little doctrinal statement work on a fourth chapter topic (because "end times" and eschatology is a big thing, and I'm too wiped to get into it now).

Goodnight all,
Patrick

Day 2: completed.

I've finished it for Thursday. Five chapters left and Theology 2 is done. The personal letter beyond that I don't count as too big a thing, since that'll be easy and I think of it more as a 'jot down my thoughts to someone on what I just read' letter.

I'm going to go for broke. I'm going to try to finish it all this morning before bed.

-Patrick