Merry Christmas

The Aquarium

This post is way late, but better late than never. Well, on our way to Tucson for Thanksgiving, we decided to make a stop in Albuquerque to visit the Aquarium. There was hardly anyone there and it was sweet. Enjoy the pictures!

  

  

  

Finally, good news for Christians

Everywhere you turn as a Christian, you see the rising tide of defeat. Watch the movie Expelled, learn about the Freedom of Choice Act read about Proposition 8 in CA which is being labeled H8 and you quickly get the feeling that Christianity isn't welcome anymore in America. Its a sad thing to observe the tide change.

Well here's some good news for you. Watch this video put out by CBS and you'll see underground Christianity flourishing in China. Its a good view and will help cheer the heart if you're like me and find America's direction depressing.

Timmay.

Elise's Prayer

Okay, so I'm cross posting, but Elise truly has the faith of a child and it's worth reading.

Click for Elise's Prayer

Black Eye

Well, below is a picture of my black eye. Its healed up by now, but this is what it looked like at the time. So how did it happen? 25 miles into a 110 mile dirt bike ride in Salida, CO, a tree reached out and grabbed my bike. Yep, the tree got a hold of the pipe on my bike and basically stopped the bike in its tracks. I went over the handle bars and banged my helmet protected head on the beautiful forest single-track. What caused the black eye was the tight fitting goggles I had on, jamming my glasses into my face.

Good new was, the glasses, myself and the bike all survived the wreck so I hopped back on and continued out the remainder of the ride. And boy do I love riding in Salida. The trails are long, beautiful, and best of all, vacant.

So there it is... Without glasses for full effect.

Embarassing Tim & good camping pics

Well, if you want to see a really embarrassing video of me dancing (I can't dance) go to my wife, Sarah's blog. You'll see lots of fun stuff. Definitely a lighter side of things. There you'll get to see the fun side of the Bennett family!!

(plus folks actually enjoy reading her blog as opposed to mine)
http://bennettbabble.blogspot.com/

Tim.

What makes Christians different

I haven't blogged in a while because as you know, this is where I store my thoughts. When I have good thoughts, this is where they go and when I don't, nothing gets written. So lately I've been working and been busy a lot, but I have been thinking...

Something my 2 good buddies and myself have talked about on multiple occasions is Christians. One of my good buddies is a professional plumber who owns his own business. In his many years of business he has made the philosophy to never do business with a business owner who openly advertises to running a Christian business. We've queried him multiple times and forced him to divulge exactly why and how he got burned by Christian business owners and after much thinking he boiled it down to he never knew whether or not he could trust them. Sometimes they were good to do business with and other times they weren't. Sounds normal enough, eh? Everyone tends to be like that. But something in particular got to my buddy. He said it basically boiled to down to if the going got rough, they were most likely to bail and leave him in a jam. He also said with most business' you know if they're dirty or if they're good. They usually fall into one of those 2 categories, but with Christian business' you never quite knew and that left you open for getting burned.

So we discussed this. Why is it this way? After discussing this long and hard, we basically came to the conclusion that Christians are all too good at rationalizing away their bad behavior. Really, we want to do the right thing, but when the going gets tough or when we're really tempted we fall prey to the easy way out and do what's wrong. One might chalk it up to one's integrity, but tonight I've been thinking about it and I think there's more to it.

It all comes down to the one thing that makes Christianity different from all other religions in the world. The very thing that makes Christianity special. Without this one thing Christianity would be like ALL other religions. Its the reason Christianity is the one and only true way to God. Many will tell you there are many paths to God, that its extremely arrogant and rude of Christians to claim they know the one true way to God. That we have no right for proclaiming such audacities. Well I'm here to tell you the one thing that makes you hate Christians and their behavior is the one thing that makes Christianity so very special. Its about a relationship. Its knowing and talking with your God and Creator. Its about knowing Him intimately and personally. Its about laying your life down each and every day before God and saying, "Not my will, but yours." Its about spending time in prayer.

The fact that I don't do this every day is the very reason I give Christians the bad label of "Hypocrite". I tear up as I write this because its true.

Its not about rules and regulations. Its not about politics and Democrats or Republicans. No, its about a relationship with Christ. Whether this relationship flourishes or flounders is the exact reason you either meet a holy man or a hypocrite. Its just that simple.

That my friend, is what makes Christians and Christianity different.

Tim.

Elise Dancing

We went to Memorial Park for the 4th of July and Elise had a lot of fun dancing to the live music. Enjoy!!

The Shack (Part 2)

Well, I've been doing some thinking and while listening to the sermon this morning, I realized something. I was wrong in my previous post. In my previous post, I posed the question if it was okay to be mad with God and basically answered, Yes, God's big enough to handle it. However, even though God is big enough to handle it and God is long suffering enough to allow us to yell at Him that doesn't under any circumstances make it right. The end of the book of Job shows this plain as day and I was mistaken for saying otherwise. My apologies for being wrong.

So now about The Shack. Well, I've read 2 more chapters and talked with some friends at lunch about the book. Basically, I personally feel like it's two separate books, merged together. The first part being real and the second part, fictional odyssey. However, my friends pointed out that the start of the book set the stage for a fictional odyssey and I should have been expecting it all along. They're right, but being the crazy person I am, I still wish The Shack would've gone on with the real part of the book. As the real part of the book was tangible real life that can be useful for someone else going through the same turmoil...

That being said, the fictional odyssey part is definitely worth reading and does a good job of challenging how one views God. You won't get very far in the book before saying, "Wow, I hadn't thought of that." (At least I didn't) So I do recommend it for reading. I won't however speak to its validity doctrine wise as I'm not nearly qualified enough to do so. (Not even remotely)

Basically, I'm even more so realizing that I don't have it all figured out...

Timmay.

The Shack

Well, I haven't blogged in forever and basically that's due to 2 things. First, I got a real job, so now "The Man", as Dave Bednarski refers to it, has me working 40+ hour weeks. But don't let that skew you, I love my new job. Its truly is a blessing straight from God. And the 2nd reason is I just haven't had much to blog about. I could blog about my new-to-me KTM 300 2-stroke that totally rocks, but that would probably bore you.

So what has me blogging tonight is this book called "The Shack". It seems this is the "in" book to be reading if you're a Christian living in Colorado Springs, CO. Now I must say, I'm only 1/3 through the book (Pg 88 out of 245) and my comments could be way off base because I have yet to finish the book, so take what I say with a large grain of salt. But the book was totally rockin' all the way up until half-way through the 5th chapter. It was real. The main character, Mack, is finally coming to a spot where he was going to have to deal with God. Head on. It was totally 110% rockin' and then all of the sudden it got weird fairy-like. Oh, it was stinkin' horrible. It was like a fairy land twist on the Oracle in The Matrix. (You'd have to read it to understand) So now I don't even want to finish the book. But alas, I believe I'm speaking too soon and I need to finish the book before totally calling it out. But I must say, at this particular point in the book, I'm very, very disappointed.

So this brings me to think about what we do when we as Christians have something truly horrible happen to us and we can't help but ask God why He allowed this happen. What are the steps for restoring the relationship with God when we feel God is at fault for allowing such harm to occur? Is it okay to yell at God, to let Him know we're mad? Is it okay to tell Him that His lack of action in letting this great tragedy occur has deeply wounded us? Yes. God created us, so why would the great creator of the universe be unable to cope with our tough questions.

Psalm 51:17 states,
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise"

In times of my brokenness, God has heard my cry, He's been moved by my tears and He has yet to fail me in meeting me exactly where I'm at. Our God knows us and knows exactly what each one of us needs in that desperate hour of our lives. I was hoping The Shack was going to take us to that place. The place where God takes a man who's yelling and angry with God and meets him exactly where he is and restores him.

But it should be noted, the anger must turn to sorrow and total brokenness before God. Only then will God be able to restore you to full person He desires you to be.

Our God is faithful and true and He longingly desires to have relationship with you. We do serve an awesome and majestic God!!

Timmay.

We tried a new church today...

I started this blog because many a times, late at night when my mind is flowing with good thoughts, sometimes God speaks. And I never had a place to store those thoughts other than in my brain. So I started this blog and tonight is one of those nights. Its currently 1:04 in the morning, I have orientation for my first day of a new job tomorrow morning and I'm in bed thinking about churches & the Holy Spirit and now I'm out of bed with my laptop blogging about it. Odd, huh?

So we tried a Baptist church today. Its our first Sunday trying a new church after having just left our old church. Why did we leave our old church? Well the short and true story for the Bennett family is we were at a Missions Banquet our church puts on and the worship was awesome, I cried, I praised God, it was awesome. Then the sermon was awesome as well and by the end of it, I wanted to open up my check book and financially share in God's work to the best of my ability. Then our associate Pastor got up to speak and immediately the Holy Spirit informed me something was very wrong. That combined with many oddities that were occurring as well is what prompted the Bennett family to leave.

So again... we tried a Baptist church today. It was very nice. The Pastor had a very good sermon and definitely appears to be a true man of God. I very much liked him. What Sarah & I didn't like however, was the worship. We sang hymns (which is more than fine) but what bothered me was not a single hand in the place was lifted up in worship. That doesn't mean for a second that no hearts were lifted in worship, but it didn't fit a style of worship that we're accustomed to and in retrospect doesn't feel like a place where I could openly weep or get excited during worship and not have the whole congregation staring at me. I'm not saying the church isn't what God has for us but it didn't feel like a good fit.

So then we went to Sunday School and boy, oh boy was the teacher fired up. He started off with what was on the front page of the newspaper and how there are all kinds of alternatives (activities) open to folks besides going to church on Easter. He then went on to read the whole Easter story, from crucifixion through being raised from the dead and letting Thomas touch Jesus' scars. I learned a few details that in merely reading the Bible I had missed in the past. It was very good.

But the teacher also mentioned a few things that really jumped out at me, especially for being from a Baptist Church. He said, "I believe every Christian should be a Spirit filled Christian". He mentioned that while explaining why he was deviating from teaching the next section in their Bible Study curriculum and instead teaching what God put on his heart.

Then, he later talked about the story of a guy going on a cruise and eating peanut butter sandwiches every day until the very last day when he decided he would eat from the scrumptious buffet and pay whatever it cost. This guy then went to the buffet only to find out that it was free the whole time! The teacher then asked how we as Christians don't take all that is available to us from God. At the time, the 2 statements didn't click until I was lying in bed just 40 minutes ago. Is he talking about the gifts of the Spirit being available for today? I don't know, but I think I'll call him and talk to him about it.

However, I firmly believe God does have a lot more for us that we as Christians don't take advantage of. Is it possible to live every moment, making every decision based on the Holy Spirit's prompting? Is it possible to laugh and joke with the Holy Spirit and bring Him into every facet of our daily walk?? Is it possible to pray God's heart for 15 minutes one night only to 2 months later be asked to recite it to the church congregation? Is it possible to reach for your Bible to read His Word and instead have God say, "Rest. You'll need it." Is it possible to look for a job for 2 months with no optimistic outlook to only 5 weeks later having 2 companies begging for you to come work for them all on the same day??? YES. YES!!! All this and more is possible with God.

Unfortunately I'm so easily distracted by the dirt bikes, busy-ness and sin of this world that I often miss where and what I should be doing...

So to try and tie all this up. Are we going back to the Baptist church? I haven't ruled it out, but I think after eating from the buffet it might be hard to go back to not eating from the buffet.

Tim.

Pinewood Speed...

On a lighter note, just prior to Elise's scare (read below) we went up to Denver to Sarah's brother's house as his wife Naomi, is quite the artist. She agreed to paint my pinewood derby cars for me and man, I couldn't be happier. She hand painted matching themed cars with flames. See the results below...

     

Also, if you notice, the 2 cars are different sizes. The big one's for the modified class and the small one for stock. If a discerning eye were to look closely, one would see a whole host of small go-fast tricks. Axle location, axle width, holes drilled, weight location, etc. But the real speed comes in the wheels, so I don't mind showing you these parts. Plus, what good is knowing the answers, if you don't understand the why.....

Quite Scary

Well last night we had quite the scare with Elise. We noticed on Saturday a nasty cough she had, Sarah even mentioned it sounded like Croup, but Elise had battled it before and been just fine, so we didn't think much of it. She was still running and jumping around the house just like always.

Well, Saturday night (actually Sunday morning) Elise wakes up with a serious cry. Sarah immediately jumps out of bed and the next thing I know I hear water running in the bathroom. I figured Elise threw up and is getting an impromptu bath. So I decide to be a good husband and go clean up whatever's on the bed. However, when I go to Elise's room, there's no throw up. So I head to the bathroom and Sarah has Elise in her arms and the shower going on full hot and Elise is fighting just to breathe. Sarah looks at me and says, "We gotta go to the ER, she can't breathe." I see Elise struggling to even breathe & immediately the 2 of us are throwing on clothes and in the car. I figure it took 30 seconds for us to get out the door. By the time we arrive at the ER, the cold air has helped a bit and she's no longer really struggling to breathe, but still definitely not breathing easy. (Turns out the hot air from the shower wasn't good and the cold air in the car was).

Then the doc comes in and looks at Elise and after listening to her breathing comments that she's really struggling to breathe. Then things get tense. The doc asks how long she's had the cough, being 3:30am Sunday, I say since yesterday, inferring since Saturday. Sarah says, no she got it today, really meaning Saturday. The doc in the meantime is getting more concerned about her breathing and not getting a straight answer out of us gets panicky and demands to know exactly when the coughing started. We quickly figure out we both mean Saturday and that seems to calm the doc a bit. So then they give her some oral steroids of some sort and then put her on a breathing apparatus breathing EpiPed I believe. Basically it speeds up her heart rate, and gets her endorphins going a bit so she can fight it.

But it came down to being a croup attack. The ER nurse suggested cold air and humidity. He said driving around town with the windows down would've done her a lot of good, but admitted that it was pretty bad and it was good we got her in to the ER.

Pretty scary to say the least. As a parent, you just handle it as the time comes, but it takes a toll on you. Later when I told my Dad what happened, I couldn't keep from getting emotional telling him about it and I thought I was doing just fine...

Sooo, that's our ER story for this weekend.
Thank goodness for docs,

Tim.

Pinewood Sim nearing completion

Well, the Pinewood Simulator is nearing completion. I need to create some embedded help text to help guide the user in how to use the application, but other than that the application is basically done. However, I also need to hit Home Depot to find parts for a track I would like to sell with the application.

After that's done, I figure I can start selling it on eBay. Check out the pictures & tell your Pinewood Derby friends!!! If you want to buy it, leave a comment & I'll get an email and respond!!

Tim.

I'm famous...

Well not really, but enough so in my eyes. The good news is Apple added my Dice Roller application to their iPhone applications list.

See it here in all its glory.

Pinewood Derby Simulator

Getting the 3D bug from a chat with a friend at church, I embarked upon having some fun with Java's implementation of OpenGL, known as Java3D. I figured what better to animate, than a Pinewood Derby simulator I wrote about a year ago.

Basically the old simulator takes the dimensions of a track and then allows the user to run a pinewood car down that track. By inputing the car's wheel base, its center of gravity, and the distance until the car stops on its own, one can measure the kinetic friction of the wheels rotating on the axles (including any bumping the side of the track on its way down). I confirmed the accuracy of my model by verifying that the time required for the car to stop and the distance traveled are equivalent to actual test runs. Pretty cool, eh?

Then, once you know the kinetic friction of your pinewood car, you can then add that to your car's specifications and proceed to run the car down any simulated track you desire!!!

So what I've done now is taken the simulator and added animated 3D graphics to it. Very cool (at least to me). Now you can visually run multiple cars against each other and see the results. Woohoo!

Timmay!