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Exif info:
ISO Speed rating: 100
Focal Length: 100mm
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/200 of a second
Lens: EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Model: Canon 5D MK II
Flash: Did fire
Flash Type: Speedlite 580EX II
Mosquitoes and God
Bible school helps children squash malaria, learn lessons
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY – Mosquitoes and God may not have too much in common, but they were what 86 children learned about at this year’s Area I Vacation Bible School held at the West Casey Chapel July 23-27.
“Vacation Bible School is about character development and spiritual development,” said Jessica Clark, the coordinator for the school. “It is a place where kids can come and learn about God, and to also learn some positive moral values they can take with them every day of the week.”
Helping others is one of those values that the 3 to 12 year olds learned.
“The most exciting thing is the mission project that we are doing,” Clark said. The children are learning about the African country of Mali and how children there are dying from malaria, a mosquito-borne infectious disease.
The Area I Vacation Bible School students are taking part in Operation Kid-to-Kid’s worldwide effort to squash malaria in Mali. According to the Operation Kid-to-Kid website, malaria is a leading cause of death of children under five, with more than 2,000 children dying every day. The Area I children donated 94 nets, which will protect three children for up to four years. Operation Kid-to-Kid has raised almost $291,000 to purchase mosquito nets for Mali’s children.
“The project really engages the children, because it talks about mosquitoes and that is something that every kid can understand, they have all been bitten by a mosquito,” said Clark. “And they are also helping other kids and they like that too. They can say “hey there is a kid in Mali who is five like me and they are worried about mosquitoes and I can help them to not worry about mosquitoes anymore.’”
Throughout the week they played games to help them understand about the malaria and how the bed nets would help the Mali children. For one game, a couple children were chosen to be mosquitoes; their bite was simulated by tossing rolled up socks at the rest of their classmates. Once those classmates took refuge under a parachute (which represented a mosquito net) the “mosquitoes” bite wasn’t felt.
Those games carried over into learning to trust God, the theme for this year’s Bible school.
“The theme is no matter who you are, no matter how you feel, no matter what – trust God,” said Sgt. Amber Harris, the chaplain assistant for 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion. The daily lessons also included no matter what people do, what happens or where you are. “Tuesday we did ‘no matter how you feel.’ Whether you are sad, whether you are hurt, whether you are happy, no matter how you feel God is truly there for you and no matter what you can truly trust in Him , because He will always be there for you.”
Although this was “Bible” school, the children didn’t open books to learn their lessons.
Instead they visited such places as the Imagination Station, where they did “sciency fun gizmo experiments and got to be little mad scientists doing all these cool experiments that reinforced what they learned,” said Clark.
“I like the fizzy flyers that we did on Tuesday,” she said. They had to put a tablet in a solution and then watch it explode and rocket up high in the sky. We were learning that no matter how we feel we can trust God”
Clark said the experiment allowed the kids to see that no matter how out of control or unsure they were of an outcome or how apprehensive they felt about doing something – that they can always trust God that he will be there for them.
In the Wild Blue Bible Adventures, Chaplain (Capt.) Bruce Duty, 1st BSTB, acted out with the children Jesus’ last week before his crucifixion. On Wednesday, they prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, and then hid as the Roman soldiers came for Jesus. They then counted out the 30 pieces of silver that Judas was paid for identifying Jesus to the Romans.
“I love Vacation Bible School because I get to learn even more about God,” said 11-year-old Jacob White . “And, if I trust God then I don’t have to be alone in my life.”
Still this awesome sunset from Nordnesparken, Bergen.
Sigma 10-20 w/circular polarizer, 8 sec, f/22
View Large On Black - really : )
This LaCrosse Technology battery charger has an undocumented feature. It can wake you from a sound sleep.
Jim and I were staying at the Howard Johnson motel in Edson, Alberta, Canada, when disturbed by a loud sound. At first I thought there was a homicide in the next room, but it turned out to be my battery charger increasing its carbon footprint.
Turns out quite a few of these chargers have exploded, according to reviews on Amazon.com. Some reviews indicate LaCrosse customer service is rude, but will replace the product with a supposedly improved model. Unfortunately, at least one reviewer claimed LaCrosse will not preemptively replace a charger that has not yet exploded.
I plan to contact LaCrosse to see if they can provide a sage replacement.
Jim spent about half an hour cleaning carbon powder from the walls, ceiling, floor and fixtures in the bathroom. After all, this was a non-smoking room and we did not want to be charged a penalty fee accessed to smokers.
Jim is detail-oriented, and he left the bathroom cleaner than we found it.
One of the photos I uploaded shows the text on the back of the charger, in case you are a sound sleeper and want to order one for yourself.
I took this picture out my back door on June 10th, being the peak of the stormy season this year, while the storms that blew through threatened us frequently with hailstorms, thunder and lightning storms, and and even tornadoes among the many windstorms. Among all of these threats, spring decided to jump into full swing, making everything that grows around here more green, lush, and colorful than ever I remember it being and lasting longer than I ever remember it doing so before.
Amid the many rain and hail showers along with a tornado watch on this particular day, if I remember right, I caught this amazing storm cloud display. The sun rays were just shooting through it in an explosive fashion though the sun was clear across the other side of the sky. Since I had to piece together four pictures to get this one--because I don't have a wide angle lens at this time--some of this storm cloud's spectacular illumination and definition of the sun rays have faded. However the overall effect of the picture, I think, was captured.
When I played around with it in one of my graphics programs, I even found that when I changed the color of it to red, it actually looked like a huge bomb exploding. It is in these moments of nature's massive displays of power, that I am reminded of God's all-surpassing power, a power that far exceeds even any of these kinds of storms on earth or in this solar system, let alone in the entire universe.
As this realization sweeps over me, it evokes a kind of awe and wonder at who and what He must really be... Within my heart, while in this state, I ask His many critics this: Is it then too wonderful to imagine that in His might, He could stoop down and bless us with a portion of Himself in Jesus His Only Begotten Son through a virgin in all holiness so that we could live with Him in Eternity because His love for us is more explosively powerful than any power display in nature? No, it is not too wonderful to imagine...
Some imagined atheists may claim that this way of looking at God is too simplistic, that the universe displaying its power speaks of itself, not God, that it is eternal. My reply to that is nothing in the universe is eternal and in fact ALWAYS decays; therefore, it cannot be eternal. It instead is decaying. Truth be told, linear time and a decaying creation can only exist if there is such a thing as eternity. It all had to start somewhere with linear time and creation but not so in eternity where there is no beginning or end thus no decay since decay has an end.
Atheists are free to "believe" in the universe if they please, but it makes them, then, not atheists but rather universe worshipers. And I would much rather "believe" in One who showed His massive power by sending His Only Begotten Son because He loves me personally so that I too can live with Him in eternity than "believe" in an impersonal universe that displays its power for obviously narcissistic purposes alone.
As a result, though these kinds of power displays in nature can sadly bring heartache and trouble to many, I sometimes find myself actually gaining faith in more of the Only Eternal One's abilities when I look at them from a distance, catching a rare glimpse at the whole picture in the midst of these exploding storm clouds.
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Here are some passages that spoke to me about what I was looking at in this picture and about what I was feeling regarding it all:
I love you, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn [a] of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.
The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave [b] coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called to the LORD;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.
The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies ,
great bolts of lightning and routed them.
The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me. (Psalm 18:1-19, NIV)
Here is another passage that others have wonderfully recently connected to the Star of Bethlehem regarding Jesus' birth. But as C.S. Lewis said, there are many different levels of understanding and applying Scripture because it is divine. To say that any passage only has one meaning is immature and puts the person doing the dictating of the meaning in a place of too much power and thus is not to be trusted. However, there is such a thing as "error" such as salvation through works instead of through grace, not in keeping with the whole picture of Scripture. Keeping that in mind, here is the passage I believe relates well to what I was saying though obviously is just another level of understanding Scripture:
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat. (Psalm 19:1-6, NIV)
Taken using a Vela flash with a 5 flash burst and the Camera Axe with the projectile sensor.
ISO 3200, F 7.1
I zoomed out (or did I zoom in?) during a 15 second long exposure. It seems impossible to get the lights straight..
Delicious, Refreshing…
View blog: bryanlawler.com/bl/exploding-coke
Photo by: Bryan S. Lawler
Web site: www.bryanlawler.com
Taken using a Vela flash with a 5 flash burst and the Camera Axe with the projectile sensor.
ISO 3200, F 7.1
307/365 - Remember those little pots that you use to get a roll of film in? Ever wondered what to do with them? Today was Science in Norwich at The Forum so we had a family day out to have a look.
One demonstration involved putting a dollop of water colour paint into a film pot along with half an Alka Seltzer. Put the lid on and shake before placing down on its lid onto a sheet of paper. Wait a few moments and BANG!! the pot bursts and the paint splats.
Repeat many times with different colours an you have a work of art. Our children loved this.
Explode by Sarah L. Spencer, 2009. Oil on canvas. 36” x 48”
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The work that I have created questions the relationship that humans have with technology. Does human dependency derived from technology make us less and less human as the current technological trends become more advanced? How can we hold onto our human nature while we are being forced to stay current in our modern world? What are we turning into? Is this infatuation with technology just another logical step in our evolution and the advancement of our kind–or is it bringing us harm? By gaining technology, are we losing ourselves?
I choose to explore these questions within my paintings. The relationship between humans and technology is represented through the form of the female figure. This figure is represented as part human and part machine. The two parts form a visual struggle, fighting for dominance over the figure. The balance between the two parts is essential. However, it is important for the figure to retain a certain amount of her humanity in order to show the viewer what is being lost.
Holding on to what makes us human is important. It is what makes us unique and gives us compassion for others. Through my work, I hope that people can see that the human side of us is more important than the technology that we oftentimes become obsessed with.
This time around I used a dart gun to make the balloons. This was my first time trying out a new color.