Author: Jesse
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Bathroom Before and After
Read More: Bathroom Before and AfterI paid some plumbers and tile setters (for the shower not shown). I did the rest with the help of my wonderful Dad. So satisfying.
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Thoughts from a First-Time Dad-To-Be
Read More: Thoughts from a First-Time Dad-To-BeMy beautiful wife Sarah is due with our first child next month (3rd week of September). We tried, waited, and prayed for 4 and a half years to have a child before we got pregnant. We experienced the pains of infertility, such as seeing so many happy families with children all around us, some of…
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Remarkable Things About AirTran
Read More: Remarkable Things About AirTranI fly a lot. I most often fly Delta. But I also end up taking US Air, United, and American Airlines (the major carriers). I have also flown on some of the smaller carriers, such as Jet Blue and Southwest. There is another one called AirTran that I flew for the first time this past…
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Save Money on a Computer Upgrade
Read More: Save Money on a Computer UpgradeI’m sure this offer has been out for a while, but I just found out about Apple’s computer recycling program. As some of you out there know, I’ve been a Mac user my entire life (since my Dad bought one of the first ones in 1984). I’m not one of those crazy Apple fanatics who…
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It’s As Scary As It Looks – At First
Read More: It’s As Scary As It Looks – At FirstAt first, this is very frightening. But after years of practicing the shorter unicycle, I found that once I took that first “leap of faith” onto the tall unicycle and rode it for a bit, it was just like riding the shorter one, just higher in the air. This was taken at Highland Lakes Camp…
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If You’re Happy and You Know It
Read More: If You’re Happy and You Know ItI have stumbled upon an immensely wonderful game to play with elementary age children. It works especially well with very large groups (even hundreds of kids). I play it with kids at the camps I visit in the summertime and most every kid seems to love playing it. It’s called, “If You’re Happy and You…
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New Life
Read More: New LifeI found a bird’s nest in our hanging flower basket on the front porch. Good thing I didn’t take it out – the next day there was an egg in it! And the day after that (which is today), there was another egg. I think it might be a tree swallow or a common grackle.…
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Just the Outer Qatza
Read More: Just the Outer Qatza“Qatza” is the transliterated Hebrew term for “fringe”. I’m reading through the book of Job right now and something struck me in Job’s discourse in chapter 26. This is quoted from the NIV, Job 26:7-14, bold lettering mine: 7 He spreads out the northern [skies] over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing. 8…
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My Consumeristic Baby
Read More: My Consumeristic BabyMy unborn child currently owns about 3 times as many garments of clothing as I do. And we have not even paid a penny for any of them. Welcome to the world of receiving baby hand-me-downs.
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We’re Pregnant!
Read More: We’re Pregnant!After 4 and a half years of waiting and praying, God has blessed us with a child. We are officially going public with it – and we have the ultrasound to prove it. Sarah is due in September, and we know that it’s going to be a little girl! Naming will be kept a secret…
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A Date With My Mother-In-Law
Read More: A Date With My Mother-In-LawI love my mother-in-law. Sometimes I actually feel like I get along better with her than my own wife does. Today, my wife spent the day with a friend and I was left to chill with Carolyn. We went up to Barr Lake State Park just northeast of Denver in hopes of catching some good…
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The Smoothest Plane Ride Ever
Read More: The Smoothest Plane Ride EverI flew to Syracuse, NY yesterday morning to do my juggling presentation for the Upward program at North Syracuse Baptist Church. I woke up around 4:45am to catch my early flight, so I figured I could catch some zzzz’s on the plane to New York. I boarded the second leg of my trip (Philadelphia to…
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The Idiot’s Garden
Read More: The Idiot’s GardenSarah and I have officially started our very first garden – ever. And we have absolutely no idea what we’re doing. I figure we can learn by trial and error and lots of phone calls to Grandma (who has a fabulous garden). I had already cleared an area in the backyard and we have been…
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The Comfortable Funky Tree
Read More: The Comfortable Funky TreeSarah and I found this tree at a quiet park south of Richmond and near the centuries-old “Citie of Henricus”. I wonder how many people have stopped to enjoy the hammock feeling of this unique natural wonder.
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The Evolution of The Master Bedroom
Read More: The Evolution of The Master BedroomHere are some BEFORE, MIDDLE, and AFTER shots (in reverse order above, so the bottom picture is “before”, and so on) of the master bedroom in the new 85-year-old house Sarah and I bought last June. It’s been fun working on it. This is the first major room completion, and it now gives Sarah hope…
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The Lord Gives and Roeder Takes Away
Read More: The Lord Gives and Roeder Takes AwayIn my hotel room in Columbus this weekend, I caught a glimpse of the televised trial for the murder of George Tiller, the abortion doctor from Kansas City. At the moment I was watching, Scott Roeder (the defendant who admittedly shot Tiller) was on the witness stand. Roeder attempted to justify his pulling of the…
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Knife Juggling and the Bible
Read More: Knife Juggling and the BibleTomorrow morning, the Scripture lesson for Godz Kidz at Commonwealth Chapel is going to be the same as what the adults will hear in the adult service – 2 Timothy 2:14-21. I’m going to focus in on verse 15, which says, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who…
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Christmas with Carolyn
Read More: Christmas with CarolynSarah’s Mom, Carolyn, visited us all the way from Denver, CO. We had a great time walking the streets of Richmond, VA and taking a few pictures along the way. Sarah and I have lived here for 2 years and pass some of these tourist sites all the time. It takes an out of town…
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Making Progress
Read More: Making ProgressSo I successfully re-wired our house (haven’t done the basement or kitchen yet). I put in brand new wires throughout the upstairs and downstairs so all the receptacles are grounded and all the light fixtures are rated for 90 degrees. It was a bear of a project, escpecially working with plaster walls. We have company…
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The Dishwasher
Read More: The DishwasherSarah and I have made it for 6 years of marriage without ever owning a dishwasher. Before that, we were college students that ate at the dining commons and didn’t have to worry about the dishes (except for the times that we each worked in the dishroom, but those tenures were short-lived). So I walked…
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New House Pictures Forthcoming
Read More: New House Pictures ForthcomingSince we bought a new house, we have not yet gotten internet in it (which is actually really nice – it saves money and TIME!). That means that pictures of our new place take a little bit of work to post (putting them on a zip drive and taking them to the local library to…
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My Updated Birdwatching Life List
Read More: My Updated Birdwatching Life ListI started birdwatching in May 2009 and here is my list of birds observed in the wild. Northern CardinalBlue JayAmerican RobinCedar WaxwingMourning DoveBlack Pole WarblerRed Bellied WoodpeckerCommon GrackelAmerican RedstartBay Breasted WarblerCarolina ChickadeeSpotted SandpiperRedwinged BlackbirdBlack and White WarblerProthonatary WarblerTurkey VultureCarolina WrenAmerican GoldfinchTufted TitmouseNorthern MockingbirdCowbirdMallard DuckGray CatbirdIndigo BuntingOrchard OrioleGreat-Tailed GrackleBelted KingfisherBarn SwallowRed-Headed WoodpeckerBlack-Capped ChickadeeRuby-Throated HummingbirdRed-Tailed HawkOspreyGlossy IbisBlack-Crowned…
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The Ten Commandments of Using Volunteers in a Kid Show
Read More: The Ten Commandments of Using Volunteers in a Kid ShowThis can apply to anyone who performs shows for kids – jugglers, magicians, clowns, variety entertainers, teachers, etc. 1. Thou shalt use volunteers and audience participation2. Thou shalt use a variety of volunteers (age, gender, race, etc.)3. Thou shalt get and remember names4. Thou shalt respect the volunteers5. Thou shalt make the volunteer the star6.…
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Popular Posts
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“Holy Fools”: Exploring the Journey of Calling for Christian Variety Performers
I am happy to announce that my PhD dissertation has been published to ProQuest, an academic database for published research. I have made the dissertation open source, which means anyone anywhere can access the full content free of charge. Here is the full dissertation: https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/holy-fools-exploring-journey-calling-christian/docview/2622316783/se-2 Please share far and wide. I am very much excited…
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The Easiest Large Group Game Ever
This is probably the easiest large group game ever invented. If you can think of an easier one, please let me know in the comments. Heads or Tails! This game of heads or tails involves EVERYONE in your large group. It is actually better the larger the group gets. There is an elimination factor to…
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Merry Christmas from the Joyners!
Greetings from our family in Richmond, Virginia! We are thankful for you, our friends and family. We are also thankful to the Lord for His gift of the love to us all this season. This past year has been a roller coaster of experiences and emotions, specifically regarding our spunky little Annie, who is now…
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Book Release! Incredibly Bad Dad Jokes
I have been writing down my original Dad jokes for several years now, but recently they dramatically increased. While the past five months of my life have been the toughest for me as a Dad (with Annie’s medical crisis), the Dad jokes actually came out in full force during this season. You see, in my…
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A Children’s Ministry Poem
From the mouths of children come questions galore about heaven and angels and Satan and more. They speak what their hearts say without holding back, so the wonder of God is something they never lack. Oh God, who are you? Who inspires the minds of little ones many, so that they may find this Jesus…