The weekend was a good one. I started my Saturday morning by going to a Torah Class at Temple Sinai . The class was from 10 am until 11:30. It was an interesting class and I hope to make more of them when ever the Rabbi is in town.

After the Torah class I went home, picked up the little boys and took them shopping for Mother’s Day. They each picked out some jewellery for their mom. After returning from Mother’s Day shopping I then went with Lisa to the store. We picked up some groceries and a trampoline for the kids and a rocking chair for the front porch. The rest of the afternoon I spent grilling some food for supper.

Sunday we had a guest missionary at church. He taught Sunday school and gave sermon during the worship service. It was very interesting. After church we came home, ate, changed clothes and went to Rhonda’s house for a gathering of Lisa’s family for Mother’s Day. It was a good weekend.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Today was a day that I did not accomplish very much work at the house. I had planned to work on the fence i'm building, but for lots of reasons that just did not happen. I woke up at about 7:30, did a little bit of work in the house. Then I fixed myself some breakfast, a cup of coffee and went out on the porch with my food, coffee and a couple of books.

I read for a little while and drank my coffee. While on the porch I received a call from the union hall. Leon wanted to talk to me at the hall. I picked everything off the porch and went to the hall, which is just around the corner from the house. I spoke with some fellows at the hall for a little while, then I stopped in at Lined Products and spoke with my friend Chester (Chester is a great guy, we go to church together. He is a former atheist/hippie and all around good dude.) Jimmy S. came in (he owns the business) and I visited with him too and headed for home.

Christian was working on his truck when I got there. Shortly after I arrived Brian (my niece Shannon's husband). We visited for a little while and then he had to get back to work. I then went with Christian. We took his dog for a walk on some trails in a small set of woods by the house. Then we went to get gas for his truck while doing about thirty miles and hour, his dog ( a black lab) jumped out of the bed of the truck, breaking her collar. Christian slammed on the breaks. He loves that dog and was scared she was dead, but after her tumble she came bounding to the truck. After that she rode with me in the passenger's seat.

When we got back to the house he and Morgan both took off and I was alone. I then remembered that the Wesley Center (United Methodist Campus outreach) was having a fund raiser crawfish boil and I had agreed to purchase 10 pounds. I meet my sister-in-law Lynn and niece, Lauren, at the center. We sat, ate crawfish and talked. I then took the second five bounds of crawfish home. I grabbbed a cold beer (Killian's), went on the porch and started on the second five pounds of crawfish. Christian came home and ate a few of them, but I dispossed of most of them, and a couple of beers, on my own.

After the crawfish I had to cleanup. After cleaning up I read a bit more and then headed to the local Synagog. I had mentioned to our friend Karen that I would like to visit and she invited me to meet her for Sabbath worship services. It was very interesting, and quite liturgical. Everyone was very nice; I enjoyed the service and would like to go again.

After all that I picked up the little boys from Rhonda, and we went to Mike and Lisa's to visit for a little. Mike was on call so we drank Diet Pepsie instead of wine, and he gloated about some books that he had just ordered. I told him it was no big deal, because I already had all those books. He knows every book I have so he didn't buy it. But it was fun telling him anyway.

After that I came home and I will soon go to bed. I got almost no work done, but it was an enjoyable day.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Last week I was on straight day lights at work again. They had me off shift for turnaround planning. I had to put in an eight hour day so I came at 6 am so I could get out of here at two pm each day. It worked pretty well for most of the week, but Thursday I had to stay over for a couple of hours to attend a meeting.

Early during the week our youngest son got a bad stomach virus. The poor boy was so sick. I slept on the floor next to the bed so he could sleep in my spot where his mother could take care of him.

Friday started ok but it took a turn to the bad before the morning was over. Before noon my stomach began to ball up in a not and I just felt bad. About 12:30 I felt nauseated and decided to go home early. It was a good thing I did. This was the worst stomach virus I have ever had. I was sick all weekend.

I missed the book annual sale at Temple Sinai. I found some great deals there last year an really wanted to be there when they opened their doors Saturday morning, but there was no way (for me to miss this book sale I was had to be bad off).

I also missed Church on Sunday. By Sunday evening I was starting to feel much better. I know that from Friday morning to Sunday morning I had last more than four pounds.

I feel much better today and to makeup for missing the books sale, I talked myself (with Lisa’s blessing) into buying the 38 volume work on the Early Church Fathers. Lisa has been telling me that I should get them ever since I told her that CBD had them on sale for 81% off.

I have been hesitant to by them because I already have access to them. Rhonda still has all Ron’s Library and Ron and they are there. I am to only person who reads any of Ron’s books, but I really wanted my own set of these since they were t such a discount. This is a great value. They are high quality, hard bound works.

While I was in the book buying mood I went ahead and picked up The Oxford Dictionary on Popes by JND Kelly and Letter’s of John Calvin.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

I’m working the graveyard shift this evening. I started this round of graveyards Wednesday evening and I will finish them in the morning, which is one day early. I’m once again off my regular shift next week. I will be on turnaround planning again, I hope for the last time.

Today was a beautiful day. I woke up a little after noon and did not get back to sleep. So I'm operating on about two hours less sleep than I usually get. If I keep busy I should be alright.

The little boys and I went for a walk this afternoon before I came to work. We found some bike trails in a bunch of woods just north of our neighbourhood. We found, picked and ate some blackberries. They ran around the trails kicking up dust while I followed behind them.

My book reading has gotten out of hand. I'm reading way too many books at one time (I think I’m up to six. This means I am not reading enough in any particular book to finish it soon. So what I have to do is pick one or two books, knock them out and then return to some of the other books once I have finished these books.

We're having a guest preacher come to the church tomorrow. He will be teaching Sunday school and delivering the sermon. This means that we will be able to celebrate the Lord’s Supper tomorrow. We've not had Communion since our last pastor resigned.

MK's been teaching Sunday school and doing a great job. I know he is ready for the break and he will get tomorrow, but I'll miss his teaching. He's been teaching from the Proverbs and it's been very good.

He's recruited me to teach for a couple of weeks on the Apostles and Nicene Creeds. I am supposed to do this next month. I've owned Philip Schaff’s awesome 3 volume Creeds of Christendom for a number of years, I have John Leith's Creeds of the Church and I recently purchased Jaroslav Pelikan’s Credo. These three works, plus my books on Church history, should be more than enough material for me to prepare for the Sunday school lessons on the Creeds.

Now back to things happening at work tonight. Daved B. and Steve W. fed us tonight. They made scrambled eggs cooked with breakfast sausage, they also prepared some deer sausage, biscuits (itty bitty ones) with home made mayhaw jelly(yum), milk and orange juice. It was quite a feast, and we all had a great time teasing Dave about the size (or lack there of) of the biscuits.

Gotta go.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Monday morning I went to work at 6 AM. I am not on my normal shift this week. I am on turnaround planning, so I am on eight hour shift instead of the usual twelve hour schedule. This has allowed me to get home early the last couple of days. Monday afternoon I spent the afternoon racking and bagging leaves in the back yard.

Latter I did the regular routine with the little boys. One of them read to me while the other bathed, but then Elisabeth (a niece) and her beau, Woody, came over to visit. It’s always a pleasure to talk with them. Woody brought us a bottle of wine.

Yesterday I got home about 4 pm and the little boys and I walked to the park. They (we) played for a couple of hours and then we walked home and started our routine. That is the simple life here in the suburbs of Sulphur, Louisiana.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Greetings,

This is my first blog in over a month. I was on vacation and then had to go to Texas A&M for a week of training (I’m on the refineries rescue team).

While I was gone Mk and I took his and my little boys camping and we took my nephew as well. I did a lot of “honey do” projects while I was off from work. All in all my time away from the refinery was rewarding and enjoyable.

Lisa and I have returned to Bethel PCA Church. Our pastor there resigned and the church was at a critical point, and we felt that we had to return and help out. MK volunteered me to help him with Sunday school, and I had to preach the Resurrection day sermon. I was told that if I could find an ordained minister to lead the service then I would be off the hook, but if not I had to do it my self. I tried very hard to get a pastor to come and lead us in worship, but was unsuccessful.

All went well with the sermon. Lisa, my Mother-in-law and MK all said it was good. They are not the most objective observers, but I too think it went ok. It was a lot of work. The theme of the sermon was the resurrection of our Lord (of course), and I Corinthians 15 was the text. For the Scripture reading I read verses 1-26.

I'm reading way too many books again. I am still crawling through Calvin's Institutes. The more I read him the more I like him. I am also reading J.N.D. Kelly’s Early Christian Doctrine and about four other books.

I still plan to visit other Churches when things at Bethel line out again. I would like to visit an Orthodox service and I would like to visit and learn more about Episcopal worship. We have some Jewish friends and so I'm also hoping to go to worship services at the local Synagog later this month.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Friday night Lisa and I stayed home with the little boys.

Saturday I went to visit my PawPaw. He was home from the hospital and still very weak from what ever it was that went wrong (They seem to think it was a minor stroke.) Then MK and I took our little boys (his 1 and my 2) to the park. They played for a couple of hours, and while I did push them on the merry-go-round a few times, they mostly entertained themselves and Mike and I discussed had a good conversation. Later evening Lisa and I went out to eat with a number of her work friends. This was to celebrate Lisa’s then upcoming birthday which was still in the future. After a meal at Copeland’s we went out to a local club, where we meet my brother Terry, his lady friend and my cousin Kevin. We went to the Frosty Factory to her Morgan (our daughter) sing Karaoke.

Sunday we went to the Lutheran Church. It was a nice service. After Church we spent the day at home.

Monday was a do a little work around the house day. That evening I did the usual work with the boys. The boys read to me, which is our regular practice and did other homework. Once the homework was complete we went up stairs to the loft and wrestled. They consider this to be great fun. My job is to stay on my knees and get pummelled. I throw them around gently and do a good deal of tickling during these matches. After all that we had the usual round of baths and prayers before bed.

Tuesday I fixed Lisa and the kids breakfast (bacon and eggs) for her birthday. Later I went to see my Pawpaw again. He was doing much better. He strength has returned and was back to his old self. When I left there I ran errands (bought a few books) and then went home. Tuesday evening Lisa and I went out to eat with our friends the Klinemans. This was Lisa’s actual birthday. We had a good visit at Outback Steakhouse. After supper we came home.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

I've had to work my normal 6 am to 6 pm daylight shift since Tuesday. Four straight daylights, during the week is always rough, especially now that I work the top operator position. It is a busy job on week days. I worked off Friday afternoon and don’t have to return to work until Wednesday night.

The most trying thing this week was yesterday. My grandfather, who will be 85 in a couple of weeks, seems to have suffered a mild stroke. Lisa called me yesterday morning and told me that PawPaw had been rushed to the hospital. She didn’t know which hospital or why. I was working but took time out where PawPaw was. I called the hospital and talked to Mrs. Esther (my step grandmother) and found out that he was doing ok.

After work I rushed home, got cleaned up and went to the hospital. Pawpaw was weak, but was doing ok. He is a very modest old man and is not comfortable in public. I stayed there for a couple of hours and helped as best I could.

At one point he told me that "It is good to die when you are young. It’s hard to be old and feeble." That made me so sad. PawPaw is such a wonderful man. I love to visit him at his house. He has such wonderful stories to tell. We sit in chairs nest to each other and he tells me stories from the past. Sometimes he forgets that I am not fluent French and he will tell start speaking to me in French. I try to keep up, but I only cathch bits and pieces. Once Mrs Esther told him top speak English, because my French is not good, but he told her that I knew French well enough to keep up. I did not have the heart to remind him that my ability to speak or understand Cajun is poor at best.

PawPaw, Adam Johnson (pronounced Ah-dahm Jean-sonne) is a Cajun. He learned what English he knows from his children. My mom spoke no English when she started the first grade. She learned English the hard way, in a school that would punish Cajun children for speaking their native French, even though they could speak no English whatsoever.

Paw Paw is getting old, but I remember when he was a very strong man. When I was 18 I worked at the Port now and then. We would fill the holds of ships with rice and the rice came on pallets in 100 pound sacks. PawPaw had been a farmer (sharecropper) but moved to Lake Charles and went to work at the port in the early 1960's.

By the time I worked at the port PawPaw, who was 58 years old, had worked his way up to the job of crane operator. He would operate the crane for and hour and then he would have an hour break. He would then come into the ship’s hold and throw my sakes so I could have a break. That 58 year old man could work circles around me when I was 18.

PawPaw is a devout Roman Catholic. He is a wonderful man. I love him dearly and I hate to think that his time on this earth is now growing short. His generation is the last of the Old Cajuns for whom French is a first language. When the last of his generation is gone most of our Cajun Culture will have died with them. Just thinking about that makes me want to cry. I love this culture but it is almost gone, even now it is only a vapour that is barely visible. I too is a victim of modernity and America’s Anglo hegemony.

I thought MK and I would get together this evening, but that did not happen. Hopefully we will share a bottle of wine later this weekend.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

I had to work Saturday which should have been a day off. After work I came home, I got cleaned up and went to Outback Steak House to meet Lisa, Ytska and another lady friend of theirs. We had good food , drinks and conversation. Christian was working, as was Ryan, our nephew, so they passed by and joked or commented as often as they could. We all had fun.

After supper Lisa and I picked the little boys up at their Aunt Rhonda’s and came home. We went to bed early, got up Sunday morning and went to worship services at Covenant Presbyterian Church, here in Sulphur. After worship I took the little boys to Longville to visit the folks and Lisa went to Lafayette with Yska. They went to pick up Yska’s sister at the airport.

Sunday evening MK came over to our house with a bottle of red wine (Franciscan Oakville Estate Merlot 2001 [a very good wine]) and a Christian Book Distributers (CBD) academic catalogue. We drank our wine, drooled over the books in the catalogue and spoke with Morgan and Christian. There were several thousand dollars worth books that we wanted to buy, but we decided that we could only afford , between the two of us, a couple of hundred dollars worth of books. Mike is going to order his and my books and I will pay him back.

This morning Christian and I got up and went to court for a traffic violation that he had received for a fender bender he was in. The process was by alphabetical order so we got out of there quickly. Christian was the first one up.

Lisa and I are going to go out to eat this evening for Valentines Day.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Yesterday evening I left work and, as is my norm, I went straight home. Lisa and the boy’s were the only ones there. They were on our bed watching Pirates of the Caribbean.

Lisa had, after I told her of my plans to take the little boys camping, made arrangements to go out to eat with one of her lady friends. I had insisted that she keep her plans and I stayed home with the boys. I joined them on the bed and finished watching the movie with them. Lisa went to meet Yska for supper.

After the movie the boy’s wanted to watch the part disc about how the movie was made, so I put that on. While they watched that I took a hot bath. After I had bathed the boys wanted to draw skeletons so I got them paper and they would pause the DVD on the making of the movie on sketches of skeletons and draw them. They thought that was great fun.

I poured a glass of red wine and laid down with a book. We were all still together in Lisa and my room. I had to take frequent breaks from my reading to look at the latest skeletons that one or the other of the boy’s had just drawn.

We had a good evening with them drawing and me reading, drinking red wine and looking at their many pages of skeletons. I managed to finish His Excellency . It is a good biography of Washington, that does not mythologize him.

That is the gist of my evening. Just a quiet night with the little boys. This may seem like a boring evening to some people, but I enjoyed it.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

I’m at work today on my day off. I was called out this morning, because Peter called in sick. This killed my ability to take the little boys camping this evening. I’m glad I didn’t tell them about my plans. On top of that, Lisa called this morning to tell me that our youngest son was sick, so the camping trip might have been been cancelled for that reason as well.

Yesterday evening I was home alone reading. I heard the doorbell and went to answer it. Rev. Duke pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church (LCMS) had come over to visit. I invited him in and we talked for about an hour. It was a nice visit; Pastor Duke is a personable gentleman.

After Rev. Duke left I went back to my reading. I FINALLY finished reading an unabridged version of Homer’s Iliad. It took me some time to read this work. I took a sizable break from it at one point, but returned to it a while back. I read a translation by Samuel Butler. It was published in 1942 in Club Classics series.

I am also hope to finish Joseph Ellis' of George Washington this weekend. It is titled His Excellency: George Washington . I don’t have far to go to finish it, so if I have just a little time I can easily finish it this weekend. I've also finished John Calvin’s section of the Institutes that deal with the Ten Commandments. It was VERY good. I am now in Book II Chapter 9 of the Institutes.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

It has been a while since I last wrote for this blog. Lisa and I have attended a couple of Mardi Gras Balls and I took the little boys to a Mardi Gras parade last Saturday. But we will miss the big parade tonight (Mardi Gras eve) because I’m working the night shift and will be at the refinery working instead. I would not trust anyone else to take my little boys to the parade, except for Lisa and she has no desire to go without me.

Our eight year old has finished reading a biography of Christopher Columbus to me. He was very proud of his accomplishment, and besides that I had promised a monetary reward for completing the book. That too made him happy.

MK and I are hoping to take the little boy’s camping this coming weekend or the next. Terry and dad have been working on the camp site in the wood at the back of Dad’s land.

This last Sunday, Lisa was not feeling well, so I decided to go on my own to the local Episcopal Church. I worshiped at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church here in Sulphur. The people were very friendly and helped me to navigate the Book of Common Prayer during the service. I enjoyed the liturgy and found the sermon to be quite good.

I was hesitant to attend this church because it is in the ECUSA, which is one of the most liberal denominations in the country. I had mentioned my desire to visit an Episcopal Church to Bill Smith and he told me that he thought the Rector of the local ECUSA Church was pretty good (i.e. conservative), so I visited and very much enjoyed the worship service. The liturgy was nice and I was welcomed to participate in the Eucharist, which meant a lot to me.

Bill and his family have moved to Louisville where he is now pastor of Community Presbyterian Church. I hated to see them go, but I do hope he uses this move to get his doctorate.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Wednesday was my last day off. It was a very good day. Christian and I went to Longville to visit family. We took his Labrador retriever with us. We visited with my parents and brother for a little while. Then Christian and the dog went to my sisters place, so he could work the dog in her pond.

Terry and I planted trees in the front of my dads land. We planted a few hundred pines. Terry and my dad had already planted a hundred or more previous to my visit. After planting trees we went to the back of his property and cleared a spot in the woods for me, the little boys and MK and his son to camp.

I cut down scrub trees with a chainsaw while Terry or dad used the tractor and box blade to clear the brush. After we finished there I took up an axe and chopped firewood for a while. They had a Black Gum tree cut up and so I split it into firewood. I was whipped when it came time to head home.

After we left my parents (Christian had returned to pick me up) we went to Sandy and Brian’s place so I could see my new great nephew. He is a fine, handsome young man (so I think he has his great uncles good looks).

Christian and I went to Outback Steakhouse and picked up supper (to go) on the way home. He gets half off when there is only one other person, so we ate real good for half the price.

When I got home I ate, bathed, did spelling and reading with both of the little boys, said prayers with them and went to sleep.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

I worked off of graveyard shift last Friday morning. I went to bed late that morning and had to get up early, after only two hours of sleep, to go pick up our truck, which Christian has been driving. The truck died on him and his friend Paul on their way back from Lafayette Thursday evening. Gary J. picked Christian and me up and we found the truck on the side of I-10 just past Jennings.

It was stuck in 5th gear so we were fearful that we would not be able to tow it home which was our plan. I decided to try and drive it back to town. I got it going and was able to get it to Lenny Sangers Auto Repair shop, which is co-owned by my bro-in-law; he confirmed what I had already decided. We need to cut our losses and get rid of the truck. (What am I gonna do without a truck? I need a truck. ah

So now we are down to three vehicle (two of which are semi-heaps), and we are looking for a fourth. There are four of us employed and logistically it is hard to get on with just three vehicles.

Saturday I spent the day at home with the little boys . We had a good day. We wrestled around on the bed for a couple of hours. I would tickle them until they fell off. It was great fun. We also spent a few hours at the park, where my chief job is to spin them, and what ever playmates they have there, on the merry-go-round. We then walked home. One then read to me while the other bathed and then vice verse.

I also read a bit for myself, while at the park, between my turns at the merry-go-round. I have to finish up a couple of books. I am reading four and that is just to many, not counting the Bible. That is too much. I am, BTW, now over 360 pages in Calvin. I know; that is slow even for me, but it is worth going slow ans savouring it.

Sunday we went to Covenant Presbyterian Church in Sulphur. I found out that Bill Smith and his family will be departing for Louisville, Ky after next Sunday, and this would be my last Sunday to here Bill preach. The man is gifted, and I hate to see him leave, but it is as it is. After the service we stayed and ate with the congregation and said our farewells to Bill, Susan and the kids.

I’m not yet sure what Lisa and I are going to do for a home church. We are still members at Bethel, and I’m officially still a deacon there (I need to resign). We may return to Bethel or join Covenant. I don’t see us joining the Lutheran Church, though I have enjoyed worshipping there.

Sunday night, after Lisa and the little boys were in bed, MK came over with a Merlot (2002) that he got from the California Wine Club which he belongs to. This Merlot is a from the Fallbrook Winery and was a most excellent wine.

While Mike and I were sitting at the diningroom table enjoying the wine, Christian came home from work and he sat down and joined in the conversation for a little wine. Not long after that Morgan came home as well.

When the bottle was empty MK and I went for our walk and prayer time. Some of the guys at work seem to think this is a bazaar ritual that we have, but it is an old practice and it is almost always a good time of prayer and fellowship before the Lord.

Monday was spent to doing odd jobs around the house. It is 4:50 AM Tuesday morning and we shall soon find out what today has in store as well.

Coram Deo,
Kenith
Ps. My good friend David H., who lives in Grand Coteau has just got his own blog site up and running. It is called Gumbo Filé .

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I worked around the house with Lisa and the children. But yesterday evening we went to a formal Mardi Gras Ball. I know Mardi Gras is several weeks away, but in South Louisiana there are Balls an celebrations for many weeks before Mardi Gras arrives.

We had a very good time, even though I started to feel bad as the night went on.. I started feeling bad on Friday, but felt better during the day on Saturday. Saturday afternoon my throat became sore and I started getting hoarse.

Lisa looked beautiful (as usual) in a baby blue dress that she had made for the occasion, and I wore a tux (rented of course). We had a great time. Donna and Duke Benoit (pronounced Ben-wah) came and dressed here and we all road together to Lisa’s niece, Elisabeth’s home, were we had a drink before heading to the ball.

Though I my throat was a bit sore, we danced and had a great time. No one in our little group had too much to drink, but I can’t say that for everyone there. I had a little bourbon at the house and a Scotch ant Elisabeth’s. Lisa had, maybe a half a glass of wine. Duke was driving and had coke, Donna may have had a few glasses of wine.

Our friend Debbie and her beau, Bob, meet us there. It was a good time. We visited a little and danced a lot. But by the end of the evening I could hardly talk and I was feeling quite poorly. After the party Duke, Donna, Lisa and I went and ate breakfast (Waffle House) before the Benoit’s dropped us off at home.

About four this morning I woke up all sweaty and clammy. I think I must have had a fever. I felt bad and stayed in bed all day. I did not get up until about 7 o’clock this evening. I still don’t feel very good, but I slept all day and am not tired right now. Everyone in the house is asleep, so I thought I would write a short blog.

The thing I most regret is that I missed worship services today. I work two out of every four weekends and I hate to miss worship when I have a day off.

I think I will retire with a book and see if I feel better tomorrow.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Its good to be off the turnaround. Wednesday I woke up at about 1:30 . I stayed awake so I would be able to sleep that night. I didn’t accomplish any thing during the day; I just sat around and vegetated and read some.

That evening I did the little boys’ homework with them and then they took turns reading to me. The youngest is reading a Dr. Seuss book and the 8 year old is reading a biography of Columbus. I love to sit on the couch with them while they read. It is a wonderful pleasure for me.

Yesterday, I had to go pick up a tux. Lisa and I are supposed to be going to a Mardi Gras ball tomorrow night, and it’s a formal occasion. I meet Jo-el Sonnier while picking up the tuxedo. I like Jo-el’s music and have had a link to his website ever since I started this blog.. I own a few of his CD’s. He has some good stuff.

After picking up the tux, I got the little boys and took them to a birthday party.

Today I am at work.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

I have been on graveyard shift working 12/13 hours a day for 14 days straight and I finish them at 6 AM. Hurray!!!

I am ready to get back to my family. I see some of them when I get home in the morning and some in the afternoon, before I come to work. I am ready to spend some time with Lisa and the children.

Yesterday morning when I got home, after a busy, sweaty (it’s warm here in SW Louisiana right now) night. I crawled into the tube and just soaked while I read from a new biography of George Washington. After my bath I got a cold Killians out of the refrigerator and took the beer and a book (the Iliad) with me to bed.

I read until my beer was gone, then I found a good spot to close the book. I closed the book, turned of the light and drifted into a day long sleep. That is about it. Later I got up said a few words to Morgan and Christian before they went to work, then left for work myself.

I have started posting on a new site called Christian Forums. I am mostly at the History site or the Reformed site. I have spent time in others, especially the Baptist site, but what I can do at this site is limited by the rules.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

I’m working nights still. We shutdown one of our units to make some repairs on a compressor and I am working the shutdown on nights. This is my seventh night in a row and I have about five or six more to go before we finish.

I’ve finished reading The Forgotten People: Cane River’s Creoles of Color by Dr. Gary B. Mills. It is a wonderful book about an amazing Louisiana family. I’ve had the privilage to call a number of the descendents of the Metoyer gens de couleur libre of Cane River friends.

Long before I ever met Ron, I knew Ron’s brother Russell. I remember the first time I met Ron it was at Russels wedding. I didn't see him again for years, then we met again when he came to work here at the refinery.

I am going to have to buy this book for my personal library. I have wanted to read it for years. I was not disapointed when I finally did get to read it. I recommend it to everyone. I am so thankful to Ron for loaning it to me.

I’ve already started a biography of George Washington and I am still working my way through Calvin (I will likely make this statement for at least another year).

I have a sweet potato in the oven that is almost ready to take out and eat, so I will stop here.

Dominus Vobiscum,
Kenith

It’s New Years Eve and I will be bringing in the New Year at work. Tonight, like the last couple of nights, it is quiet at the refinery tonight. I hope to enter the New Year sitting at my desk and not outside fighting some problem.

Lisa and the children are doing well. Three of the four are at home. Christian is at work, but he should be finishing up soon. I want him home and off the roads before midnight.

I have picked up a new book. It’s a book that I have wanted to purchase and read for a number of years but have not gotten around to it. It is The Forgotten People: Cane River’s Creoles of Color by Dr. Gary B. Mills . I am not disappointed. Mills was a fine historian and this is a great and valuable work. My friend Ron Metoyer, a descendent of the gens de couleur libre (free people of colour) of Cane River, graciously loaned me the book. It is wonderful and now I MUST go and buy my own copy.

This is the second book I’ve read on Louisiana’s gen de couleur libre. The first book I read on this subject is Creoles of Color in the Bayou Country by Dr. Carl Brasseaux, Keith Fontenot and Claude Oubre. It is dealing with the free people of colour in the Acadian Parishes of Louisiana and not with the Cane River people who are to the NW of this area.

This too is a book I highly recommend. I own and have read a good deal of Dr. Brasseaux’s books on the Acadian/Cajuns. I like everything he’s done.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Tonight I'm at work. I have been off since I worked of Christmas Eve. Monday Mk and his son and me and my little boys went to Longville to visit my folks. Dad and Terry were home and we spent a good afternoon with them.

Mk's son got a new BB gun for Christmas and he wanted to shoot it. He got to do that. The three boys played nicely together. While they were playing I got my SKS out and we shot a number of rounds with it.

After shooting the SKS, Terry got his .22 cal. pistol (Ruger) out and we shot clip after clip from it. I did most of the shooting. Mk is not comfortable shooting, but we're working on him in that regard. My dad also gave me his newest .38 cal. revolver to try out, and I shoot a number of rounds from it as well.

(I found it interesting to hear that MK's family, who are very conservative upstate New Yorkers, are pro-gun control. I guess even many Northern conservatives differ with Southerners and Westerners on that issue.)

We had a good time in Longville. As soon as MK and I have the same days off again we are planning to take the boys up there for another camping trip.

Tuesday morning I went to visit my Pawpaw, but he was not home. I did visit with Corbett (my step uncle) for about and hour. I hated to leave without talking to Pawpaw but I had promised my little boys and Mk's son that I would take them to the park.

I spent the afternoon at the park with the three boys. They had a great time. I pushed them around on the merry-go-round for a good while and then played other games with them. After a bit they started playing around in ways that did not require my assistance, so I sat down with a book and read for a while. We spent about three hours at the park. It was a nice outing.

Today I was able to go by and visit with Pawpaw and Mrs. Esther (my step-grandmother). I love visiting with them so much. It's always fun.

That's the rundown of my days off. Now I have other things to do.

Dominus Vobiscum,
Kenith

We’ve made it through a cold, but very nice, Christmas weekend. We spent most of the 25th here at home. We had Lisa’s family gathering a week ago Christmas eve, and my family got together the next day, so we weren’t obligated to visit anyone on Christmas day.

It was nice to just spend the day at home with Lisa and the children. I did get out once. Lisa’s sister Rhonda was without heat. Her heater wasn’t working so I went there, climbed in the attic and lit the pilot light for her. All was working nicely when I left, but she and her family had spent the coldest night of the year, so far, with no central heat. I told her she should have called sooner, on Christmas Eve.

This morning we went to Trinity Luthern Church to worship. It was a nice service. Tomorrow morning, Lisa and I are supposed to meet with the pastor. I’ve been looking forward to this meeting. I have a number of questions that I would like to ask him about the differences between Reformed and Lutheran views on certain matters. This will be our second time to meet with the pastor; the first time was mostly a "get to know you" session.

The pastor at Trinity is Rev. Duke. He is in his 60's and is a very personable gentleman. Lisa seems to like him a lot.

I told my friend, Bill Smith (pastor of Covenant PCA in Sulphur), that we have been attending the LCMS church and that I would like to visit an Episcopal Church as well. Bill said he knew the Vicar of the local Episcopal church and thought he was theologically conservative. I would like to visit and worship with them. I have worshipped at many Christian Churches but not an Episcopal church. We may visit there soon.

I am not sure what we are going to do as to a church.. I don’t think we are going to return to Bethel (our home church).I have a number of friends at the PCA Church here in Sulphur, but it looks like Bill Smith will soon be leaving and moving to Louisville, Kentucky, to pastor another PCA church up there. I like Bill and hate to see him go, but it would put him very close to Southern Baptist Seminary. He will be able to return to school and get his doctorate. This will be good, because he has great gifts that further education will only help.

I know our friends at Bethel would like us to go back there, and now that we have moved to Sulphur our friends at Covenant would like us to start going there. I’m in no hurry to make any decision about that. I think the move to Sulphur gives us a chance to visit other denominations, which I have wanted to do for years. As long as we lived so close to Bethel, I did not think it would be right to visit around, but now that we have moved, and there are other traditional Protestant Churches between us and the Reformed Churches of Bethel and Covenant, I think this is a good opportunity to check out these churches.

After Church today Lisa went to meet a friend and the little boys and I went to the park to fly an aeroplane they got for Christmas. It worked great, until I crashed it several times. I will have to get them another plane.

Once the plane ceased to function, they went and played on the swings and things at the other end of the park. We had a good time.

I am finally 300 pages into Calvin. I am reading slowly, but I continue on. Calvin is worth taking one’s time to read. I am enjoying him very much. I’ve also been reading some small things on the Lutheran Church and Lutheran views.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Joyeux Noël,

Yesterday and today are holidays for most folks at the refinery, so we shift workers are the only ones working. We had a nice quiet day yesterday, with no extra people around, so we cooked up a big pot of turkey and sausage gumbo.

Today we’re having smoked “drunken” turkey for dinner. We also have lots of snacks. M. Trahan (pronounced trah-hahn [you only start to pronounce the ‘n’ then stop]) cooked yesterdays gumbo and C. Cudd smoked today’s turkey (with a can of beer in it) at home, and brought it out here.

Things are going fine around the house. Lisa and the kids are doing well. Morgan and Christian have been working in the evenings, and so I’ve hardly seen them since I’ve been on days.

It’s cold for South Louisiana. We have actually seen a few snowflakes this morning. The high for today is 36 deg. But our normal high is 62 degrees and our normal low is 42. So it is way cold for Cajun Country.

When I leave the refinery, tonight I want have to comeback until Wednesday night. So I will spend Christmas day with Lisa and the children. We have no plans. We are just planning to spend the day at home. The little boys can play with their new toys and we can watch a DVD or two.

We have plenty of fire wood, that I picked up from my mom and dad’s place in Longville. So I also plan to keep a nice fire in the fire place going. I love to sit in front of the fire with good book and a glass of wine, brandy, Scotch or bourbon, depending on my mood/taste at the time.

Lisa and the kid’s have decided that they want a roast tomorrow instead of the more traditional Christmas dinner. She’s seasoned the roast and I will stuff it tonight when I get home.

Let me get back to my work duties.

Dominus Vobiscum,
Kenith

I am so blessed by God. I am blessed beyond measure.

Yesterday Lisa, Morgan, Christian and I went to eat at Olive Garden. It was so nice to sit there with my wife and our older two children and visit. I like to spend time with my family. There are few things in life better than that.

Today I worked around the house. I had to put about half my books back on the shelf and I but up a couple of shelves in Morgan’s room for her books. Then I went and found my niece Shannon and her husband. Their truck had broken down and they needed a tow home. After we got to their trailer, I visited with them for a while. Brian, Shannon’s husband, recently returned from Iraq and has left the army and become a civilian. Brian starts a new job in the morning.
I don’t know if Shannon has been to church since her Dad (my brother Gerry) died last year. I spoke with her about that and encouraged her to go to worship services.

Tonight, Lisa ordered pizza and I went to get it. After eating, I let a fire in the fireplace and we sat in front of the fire wile Morgan read more of C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew from the Chronicles of Narnia series. Then we did home work and our eight year old started reading a new biography of Christopher Colombus to me.

After Lisa and the little boys went to bed I sat by the fireplace with Calvin’s Institutes and a jigger of bourbon whiskey. I read Calvin and sipped on the bourbon in a cosy chair in front of a fire. Nice!!!!

Deo gratias,
Kenith

Home life continues in a quiet normal pace. Morgan and Christian are working a good bit, which is good for their checking accounts and mine.

I recently purchased Luther the movie, after viewing the one Izzy loaned me. I’ve been waiting for this movie to come out on DVD for more than a year and I was not disappointed when I finally got to see it (see a review). This should be obvious, because I went to Walmart and bought it for myself.

I was supposed to work last night and tonight, but I have vacation time left and took these two nights off. TK, is working days, and he came over after his shift yesterday. I told him that I had some Killians in the refrigerator with his name on it, and that was enough to entice him to pass by after work.

We sat in the living room and talked for about an hour and a half , and drank a few Irish Reds while chatting. We had a good visit and decided that we needed to get our group together and all watch Luther at Gary and Liz’s house, because they have a big screen TV. Gary (by phone) also agreed with this plan. He was persuaded when we offered to bring the liquid refreshments.

After TK headed out, Mike called and asked if it was a good night for us to get together and pray. Mike arrived about 9:30 with a bottle of red wine (a Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 from Liberty School). It was a good, somewhat spicy wine. We drank a couple of glasses of wine, and snacked on Pepper Jack cheese and Triscuits. Then we went to pray. It was beautiful night. The sky was clear and the air was cold. We walked around the neighbourhood and prayed for about and hour.

I have work to do around the house.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Morgan and Christian are working a lot these days. Christian seems to be doing well with his job and so is Morgan at the bookstore. Both of them working does mean that Lisa and I no longer have a built in babysitter. We can no longer say "I need you to watch your brothers" if something comes up. Oh well.

I’m still on days and have worked all this weekend. Today and yesterday were good, quiet days at work. Tomorrow should be busy because its Monday. Everybody will be looking to get to work and they need a permit issued by me to work in the unit, so I will spend all morning handing out work permits, coordinating work, etc... Though tomorrow will be a busy day, its also our last day. We work off tomorrow afternoon and all of the shift, except for me, will not be back to work until Friday evening. I have to come in on days Friday for Rescue Team training.

Yesterday after work, Lisa the little boys and I went to Woody’s house. He had invited a number of friends over. There was nothing for the children to do, so the little boys and I walked down to the small carnival that the City of Sulphur had going called "Christmas Under the Oaks." The boys got to ride a number of rides, including a mechanical bull (Lisa had joined us by the time they rode the bull).

In the past few days Ive read (reread) a number of the short works of the Church Fathers, including Clement’s epistle to the Corinthians. I love Clement’s epistle. I’ve read it a number of times, and it is just a great work. I’m still reading John Calvin’s Institutes. I can't say enough good stuff about what I have read so far in Calvin.

Morgan is two thirds of the way through the CS Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew. She’s reading this aloud for the family on evening when we are all home.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Yesterday was a beautiful South Louisiana fall day. Morgan and Christian went to Bethel Presbyterian Church and Lisa, the little boys and I went to Trinity Lutheran Church. Lisa and I meet with the Pastor (Rev. Duke) during the Sunday school hour.

We had a good visit. We learned some things about him, his family and his time in the ministry. He also gave Lisa and me a couple of copies of Luther’s Small Catechism and a small work book titled “I Have Good News For You” by Rev. Donald Ginkel.

The Pastor wanted us to read the section on the Sacraments (especially on the Lutheran view of the Eucharist). I have some knowledge of Lutheran teaching on this subject and I’m interested in reading what these to sources have to say on the matter.

Yesterday evening Christian was at work (Outback Steakhouse) and Morgan, Lisa, the little boys and I were all home. The boys have been wanting to light a fire in the fireplace, and last night I lit a fire in my first ever fireplace. All the family gathered around. Lisa sat crocheting, the little boys drew or watched the fire. Morgan read to us from The Magician’s Nephew, which is the first book in C.S. Lewis’ wonderful series the Chronicles of Narnia.

Morgan read the first four chapters aloud. I had not heard them since I read the series to Morgan and Christian when they were no older than the little boys are now. After the third chapter, Lisa announced that it was time for the little boys to take their baths. They asked if Morgan could read more if they took quick baths. Lisa consented and the boys quickly bathed, including washing their hair, and Morgan read one more chapter.

C.S. Lewis is a great writer, and this series is one of the greatest fantasy epics ever written. I have read a good bit of his stuff and all of it has been quite good. My favourite Lewis book is his small novel titled The Great Divorce.

After our reading and prayers, the boys went to bed, as did Lisa. Christian returned home from work about 9:30, and MK came over not long after that. Mike had a bottle of Jacob’s Creek Shiraz with him. I poured us each a glass and we sat and talked while drinking wine and eating cheese and Chex Cereal.

The big topic for us last night was about the similarities and differences between Reformed and Lutheran theologies. We did go for a walk after finishing the wine, but we did not get to pray, because our topic of discussion ran into overtime.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Kenith

I spent most of today at home with the children. Lisa worked until about noon and then went to see a friend who is going through a divorce. She got with the friend again this evening and they went to supper together. The lady is a good friend. Divorce is a terrible thing, so it is good that Lisa can be there for her friend.

I got two new DVDs today. The first one I purchased at Walmart when the little boy’s and I went grocery shopping this afternoon. The movie is Frank Capra’s classic It’s a Wonderful Life. The other DVD I received today was ordered for me by my friend Butch Ellis. He was ordering Warriors of Honor and I asked him to order me a copy also. He called this morning and told me that they had arrived, so I went and picked up my copy and visited with he and Judy for a little while.

I watched both these DVDs today and love both. I have seen It’s a Wonderful Life many times. It is one of those timeless stories that you can watch over and over again.

Warriors of Honor is a very good documentary of Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. I can not recommend this documentary to highly. It is a must have. It is a breath of fresh air in the fact that it gives a far more Southern slant to the War Between the States and not the usual Northen version that we Southrons have been force fed in textbooks for almost 150 years.

Lee and Jackson were both great military leaders and more importantly they were great men of God. They were both devout Christian men. The Scotch/Irish Jackson was Presbyterian and Lee, who was of English descent, was an Episcopalian. Of course, in that day, both these Southern Denominations were solidly Bible believing and theologically orthodox.

Robert E. Lee is my greatest American hero. I love history, especially early American history, and I have found very few Americans who come close to Lee in being worth of admiration and deserving of imitation as does Robert E. Lee.

We will be worshipping at Trinity Lutheran Church here in Sulphur again tomorrow. We are supposed to meet with the Pastor tomorrow.

Dominus Vobiscum,
Kenith

It’s very late and I should be in bed, but if worked the graveyard shift (6pm to 6am) for the past four days and though I am off tonight I am still very much awake even at this late hour. I just finished reading an essay from I’ll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition. The essay is by Allen Tate and is titled Remarks on the Southern Religion. My response so far is "hummm."

Yesterday I arrived home from work at about 6:30. I went to bed and was wakened at 11am to get ready for Thanksgiving dinner. We went to Lisa’s sisters house, where her whole family gathered to feast and be thankful. I was privileged to be asked to pray over the meal, and then we all at our fill on to many good foods and desserts to name.

I visited with family and friends until about 3:15 when my bro-in-law "J" brought me back home. I gave him a quick tour of the house, said good by and went back to bed. I slept until 5:30pm. Gary J picked me up for work a few minutes after 6.

Gary and I sipped on Bourbon on my front porch this morning after work. After he left for home I went to bed and slept until 11:30am. I then got up, drank a cup of coffee and started helping Lisa put up the Christmas tree. At about 1:45 I realised the LSU vs Arkansas game had started, so I turned on the radio (we don’t have cable or a working antenna) to listen to the game.

After a particular play, I called MK on the phone to on it. Chester was at his house and he invited me over (again) to watch the game with them. Lisa urged me to go join them, which I did. After the game, Lisa, the little boys (the big kids were at their jobs) and I went to Longville to visit my folks. We had a good visit.

We got home just before 10 pm. Lisa and I put a DVD of the movie Khartoum (Staring Charlton Heston) on. I watched the whole thing, but Lisa feel asleep early in the movie. It’s a good movie.

I will now try once more to go to sleep.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

I haven’t blogged in a while. I’ve been busy at work and home. Some of the business was on things that are not all that important things, and others have been very important. MK and I made it to the LSU vs. Ole Miss game. Mitch T. and Chuck Y. Came with us, but they sat in another section of the stadium. We had a flat tire on the way home. We were on the Interstate near Welch, La when the right rear tire blew out. We got home about 2:30 am on Sunday.

Me, Lisa and the little boys again attended the nearby Lutheran Church (LCMS). The pastor had a good sermon. The liturgy is not very different than what we have at Bethel (PCA) (where the big kids went to Church).

Some big news that also saddens me a bit is my friend, and pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church Bill Smith, and his family, may be leaving the area. He may going to pastor a PCA church in Louisville, Ky. This would put him near Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (the flagship of the SBC) and he could get his doctorate. Getting his doctorate is something we has wanted to do ever since I’ve known him.

Gary J. And I have car pooled to work the last couple of nights. He drives. We pick up a beer on the way home in the morning and drink it on my front porch. Yesterday we added a shot of Wild Turkey to our beer. We visited and drank our beer. When we finished he headed home and I went to bed.

I have not been able to read much lately, but I did finish book 1 of Calvin’s Institutes. The man was a absolutely brilliant. I can’t wait to read the whole thing, but it is going to take me a long time to finish it.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

I’m spending another Lord’s Day working at the refinery. My family is spread out today. Lisa and Morgan are in Monroe and will be attending Auburn Ave. Presbyterian Church. The little boys are with Reaux-Reaux and, like Christian, they are worshipping at Bethel PCA today.

Things are going well today. Matt brought some Ducks and pork (wild hog) and Cudd brought some deer sausage. Matt then made a homemade roux and then cooked an all wild game gumbo. That boy cooks a mean gumbo. He also fried up some of the duck breasts for an appetizer (yum). It was all very good.

We here at work are hoping for a quiet afternoon, because we all ate our fill. This has been a good week for food. While in Longville the other day, my mom cooked up some fresh mustard greens (with bacon), baked sweet potatoes and smoked pork steaks. That is a meal. I don’t get freshly cooked mustard greens very often, and they are so good.

I’ve read a number more articles from Richard Weaver’s book since last noted. I’m still working through Calvin’s Institutes and I’ve also read a number of things from the web, including the Battle for Fallugah.

When off work from the refinery, I’m doing some painting and other chores around our new house.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Ps. Andy Richard (pronounced Ree-shard, because it’s Cajun) said that he has not yet appeared in my blog. He's promised to stop and drink a few beers with me just so I will mention him on the blog. He is now officially mentioned, so he has to stop by the house and drink a beer or two on the front porch.

I was able to enjoy most of this week off from work. I returned home from Beaumont Thursday evening a week ago, and did not return to work until yesterday. On Tuesday night The little boys and I went to Longville with our tent, shotgun and .22 rifle. We set up camp on a pipeline clearing on the back part of my parents ten acres. I set up the tent and started gathering fire wood. My brother Terry came and joined us around the fire. We drank a couple of cold beers, talked and watched the boys play, roast weiners and then marshmallows.

The boys had a great time. I let them stay up late and play with sticks by the fire (I was supervising closely) until one of the boys said he was tired. We then crawled into the tent, said our prayers and went to bed. It was cool out, and I slept good (considering I was on a thin piece of foam laid over hard grown). I had hoped the boys would sleep in after staying up late, but that was never going to happen.

They were up by 6 am and ready for me to get the fire going again, which I did. The good thing about camping where I did is mom is near by, and she soon had hot coffee ready.

We spent the day shooting guns and visiting and burning fire wood. The boys had a blast and I was completely worn out by the time we arrived back home (about 5 pm).

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Ok, I am going to post a political commentary on the blog, then I will get back to my regular day to day blogging. Here goes:

There is an interesting article I picked up onBayouBuzz.com. The article is titled Louisiana Democrats: Few Happy Faces. It is worth reading.


The Louisiana Democratic Party, like the Democratic Party in the rest of the South is hemorrhaging badly, and the future does not bode well for them.

In the 19th Century the Republicans were the Radical anti-Southern party and the Democrats were the conservatives. During the 20th Century these two parties flip-flopped positions.

The South has, historically been, and still remains, the most conservative region of the United States. It’s a no brainer to see why Southerners have abandoned the Democratic Party in the past 30 years.

In 1984 the democrats held 20 of 26 Southern Senate seats. Today they hold only 4 seats and the Republicans hold 22 seats. The South has been abandoned by its old party. Conservatives are not welcome there.

The old time conservative Southern Democrat is nearly an extinct political species. It has been cast out by its old party, and has either turned (like myself) independent or Republican. The Dems have no one to blame but themselves and their friends who have taken the place of Southerners. They are Feminists, Homosexuals, the anti-gun lobby, pro-aborts, rabid environmentalists and anti-Christian secularists (to mention just some of them).

Deo Vindice,
Kenith

I am so glad the elections (except for a few Louisiana congressional offices) are over and we can move on to other things, but before that here are my thoughts on things.

I have made clear on numerous occasions that I disagree strongly with neocon ideas, especially when it comes to international relations, and it is obvious that George W. Bush is surrounded by neocons. Still I am very happy that Kerry lost the election, and Bush won. This is because Kerry would certainly have placed liberal, activist, judges to the federal courts, including the Supreme Court. Bush is far more likely to place non-activist, constitutionally conservative men/women to the courts.

Republicans have a mixed record in their court appointments, especially on the Supreme Court. Dubya’s father gave us Justice Clarence Thomas (the best man on the court today) and Justice David Souter (one of the worst judges). Republican President Gerald Ford appointed Justice John Stevens onto the court, and he too is one of the more liberal and activist judges on the high court.

I am hopeful; the word is that President Bush is considering Clarence Thomas to replace ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist. I think this would not just be historic (first black Chief Justice) but a wonderful choice, because Thomas is the best, conservative Justice on the court.

He could then (hopefully) nominate a truly conservative Hispanic, like Miguel Estrada , to replace Thomas. It is possible that he will opt for someone like Alberto Gonzales , who is an old Texas friend, but is not sound on a number of issues (like abortion and affirmative action). So GW may well follow his father and give us a mixed bag on the courts.
Now to Congress. I told some of my friends and co-workers that I could not for any reason vote to send a Democrat to Washington DC, because the Democratic Party is controlled by and beholding to radical/ liberal interest groups. A congressional Democrat would be under a great amount of pressure to fall in line with the party. This is not good.

The Democratic Party is rapidly losing the whole of the South, because it has been taken over by secular, pro-homosexual, pro-abortion, anti-Christian radicals.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Ps. This does not mean that the Republicans are the “good” party. They are (overall) only somewhat better. They too are far from a conservative party.

I spent most of election week in Beaumont, Texas. An number of our Refineries Rescue Team members, including me, attended a Roco “Rescue III” training class . The training was great and we were not far from home (Lisa came over so we could go to dinner one night), so it was a good experience.

I was in Beaumont Tuesday for the election, but I had already voted absentee, so I was covered. I knew that turnout to vote was very high, and I expected that to turn things in Kerry’s favor. I was obviously wrong.

I'm trying to kick the information/news junkie habit, and I am doing pretty good. In the old days I would have watched the news from the moment I got back into the hotel until the wee morning hours (like MK did), but instead I went to eat with my other team members, came back to the hotel and read Calvin’s Institutes until I went to sleep.

I did wake up a 3:30 AM. It is then that I turned on Fox News and saw that Ohio and Florida were among the Bush/red states. I new Bush would be around for four more years. I have mentioned a number of times on these blogs that I don’t like the neo-con agenda, which Dubbya and his advisors hold to, but my main concern in this election was the Supreme Court. This President will likely get at least three anointments to the high court. With Bush we will get some (not all) good nominees. Kerry would have given us three very bad choices.

I made it back home Thursday evening, but did not have internet service until today. DSL was giving us some trouble, but BellSouth fixed the problem and we are back online.

Lisa, the little boys and I went to the Lutheran Church (LCMS )again this Sunday. Lisa seems to like the it there, and the Pastor seems to be theologically conservative and solid on social issues as well.

There are some differences between Reformed (my own theological view) and the Lutheran views, but they are not so big that we can not worship there. I do think I will read the Augsburg Confession this week. John Calvin signed the 1540 addition of the confession. I figure that if Calvin could sign it should be OK.

We did get to see how these brethren partook of the Eucharist today. They get up and go to the front of the church to receive the bread and wine instead of sitting in the pews.

Dominus Vobiscum,
Kenith

This was our first Halloween (All Saints / Reformation Day) in this new neighbourhood. The little boys were excited because of all the house for them to Trick or Treat at. Our old neighbour hood was much smaller and more in the country.

We had a couple of extra kids with us last nigh. We volunteered to keep the two children of some friends so they could attend a party. Lisa and Rhonda took the children trick or treating I stayed here to hand out candy, but Christian did that job for me.

The youngest child soon tired out, and Lisa took her home. I then went with the boys to continue the quest for candy and treats. They had a blast.

This morning we (Lisa, the little boys and our two extras) went to the early (traditional) service at the Lutheran Church. I think that was fitting considering this is Reformation Sunday (the day Martin Luther nailed the 95 Thesis to the church door at Wittenberg, Germany)
If read another of Richard Weaver’s essays titled Lee’s Philosophy. Like the other two articles I found it to be an insightful work. I am still working in Calvin’s Institutes as well. Calvin is amazing and his insights are, at times, tremendous. The more I read him, the more I like him.

I have to leave this evening for rescue training in Beaumont, Tx. I am glad our week long training is so close this year, that way I can still get with the family this week. I will bring Calvin, Weaver and Cicero with me to read. I would really like to get a lot reading done in the Institutes this week.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Today was a somewhat busy day at work, especially this afternoon. The one big item we had to do was to purge and then line up one of our HDS hydrogen compressors. The whole crew jumped on the job and it and we got it done quick enough.

Christian and Ryan picked me up after work, then we went to pickup some Chinese takeout and came home. Morgan’s "beau," Sean, was at the house when we got here, and we all sat down at the new dinningroom set that Lisa purchased and enjoyed our supper.

The little boy’s were at their Reaux Reaux’s house (Lisa’s sister Rhonda) when I got home, and didn't get home until about 8 pm. My good friend David (Dah-veed), who lives in Grand Coteau called to remind us of the lunar eclipse, which had just started.

I called everyone onto the front porch to see the event. I explained what was happening to the little boys, who were soon bored, because of the eclipses slow progress. I went and got them now and then so they could witness the progress of the event. They were excited each time by the change, but were immediately ready to do other things.

I called them out again after the full eclipse was visible, then we went to their room, prayed, recited the The Apostles Creed, did our kisses and hugs and then they went to bed. I poured myself some bourbon (on ice) grabbed The Southern Essays of Richard M. Weaver and read his essay titled "The Older Religiousness in the South" while sitting alone on the front porch enjoying God’s awesome display in the heavens.

I’ve owned Weaver’s book for a number of years and I am just now reading it. I’m impressed!! This latest article was very good and useful.

It is past my bedtime, so I’m off to bed. 4:45 AM will come quickly and I am behind on my sleep quota for the week.

Dominus Vobiscum,
Kenith

Yesterday was a work in the yard day. I dug up six camellia bushes that were in front of the porch. Gary came over and took them to plant at his house. He did bring a six-pack of Killians. So after we loaded the bushes we sat on the porch and enjoyed a couple of cold beers.

The little boys spotted a racoon climbing in the old oak in the backyard right about their bed time, so we all went outside, me carrying a flash light, and there was the racoon looking down on us. It was not near as excited as the little boys were.

Lisa and Christian came home from the store with a new dinning room set. I started putting it together. MK called while I was working on the table. He had a bottle of wine that needed to be consumed. I told him to come on by. He came over and we had a couple of glasses of Jacob’s Creek Shiraz (2001). It was a good wine. We then went for our walk around the neighbourhood. We talked about a number of issues (political and social) and then had a good time of prayer.

Oh! I also voted absentee yesterday. I will be glad when the election's over.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Saturday MK and his son, Chester and his son, plus Christian, Ryan and I, all went to the LSU vs. Troy State game in Baton Rouge. We went in two vehicles. There was an accident on the bridge crossing the great Atchafalaya Basin , so we detoured north to highway 190. On the way back south to I-10 MK took a wrong turn and we drove a beautiful scenic route. We saw beautiful ancient cypress, and life oaks. And lots of sugar cane fields. We also passed through the town of Maringuin (Cajun for Mosquito). It was a nice drive. Then we were back on the interstate heading for Baton Rouge and Death Valley.

LSU tried awfully hard to loose the game put managed to pull out a win in the last part of the fourth quarter. The most interesting thing came at the beginning of the game, but it was not on the field but in the air above us. An owl (I think) came over, swooped down and caught something (a moth I think) and then flew off.

We had an uneventful drive home, and arrived here at two in the morning. This morning we got up and ready for church. Morgan spent the night in Longville and went to First Baptist up there. Christian and Ryan went to Bethel (PCA) and Lisa, the Little boys and I visited Trinity Lutheran Church ( Missouri Synod ), which is here in Sulphur. I enjoyed the service, though it was their “contemporary” service. I would like to visit the more traditional service. I would like to experience the traditional worship and liturgy.

I hope to take a nap this afternoon.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Friday was an ok day for me. I got home from work and went to bed about 6:30 am. Christian woke me at 11:30 am to see the air conditioner repairman. While he was here I called the electric company to try and fix an on going billing error that has come about since our move.
The billing error is fixed, but the AC man said that the problem is with the electrical breaker box and we need an electrician. Ugghh. I think we will see the electrician Monday. Thankfully we have a two units so half the house is cool.

The little boys and I went to the park again today and we raced back home. I did read an essay by Richard Weaver today. The article is “Two Types of American Individualism” and it is in a volume of his essays titled The Southern Essays of Richard M. Weaver . The book is published by Liberty Fund. They put out some GREAT stuff.

I found the article interesting; in it weaver compares the views of John Randolph of Roanoke (a political hero of mine) and Henry David Thoreau , who was a fine writer, but someone whom I dislike him and think little of his views.

This evening Gary and Liz called to see if we would like to go to supper with them. We were able to do so and they picked us up at about 6:45. We went to the local Chili’s Restaurant (love their two for the price of one bar) and ate. We then went dancing for a little while. We were home around 11.

It's way past my bed time.

Dominus Vobiscum,
Kenith

Ps: I'm still making headway in Calvin.

My buddy Seep has just left for home. We've not been able to get together for a while, because of his or my schedule. He got here about 9:30 with a bottle of Beringer Merlot (2000). We opened it; poured a couple of glasses (MK was amazed that I actually had some wine glasses, because I usually serve the wine in jiggers) and sat at the table an discussed our thoughts on Calvin’s Institutes and other theological and other topics. My nephew Ryan joined in the early part of the conversation.

After a few glasses of wine and a good time of conversation we were ready to pray. So we walked a round the neighbourhood. MK lead off in prayer and when he finished I prayed. It was a good time of prayer and praise to our most holy and awesome Lord God.

I am tired. Christian and I spent a good bit of the morning at the Social Security office getting his birth date straight (they have him listed two years older than he is), then I spent most of the rest of the day removing, painting and replacing shutters on the house. Of course we worked on home work (and a little bike riding too).

Coram Deo,
Kenith
Ps. The Merlot is all gone.

My buddy Pete needed to be off for a couple of days of his regular shift, so he and I did a trade. He is working for me tonight and tomorrow night and I will work the first two nights of his shift. So I am home this evening and AWAKE. I slept until after 1 pm so I’m hardly tired yet. So I am going to write a quick note for the blog and then read some in the Institutes.

The little boys and I went to the playground by the house. They played for a while and then they wanted me to spin them on the merry-go-round. "Faster - faster" was the repeated request from them. After a while of this I was ready for a break and sat down near by in the grass. The boys continued on the merry-go-round a bit longer. Then my 8 year old just laid there as the, soon to be 7 year old, pushed.

My 8 year old then got up an walked over toward me. He wasn’t looking very good, and he sat on my lap. We sat there a while then, when he did not start to feel better, I decided we needed to come home. So I put my boy on my back and we walked the two blocks to the house.

He then layed down with his mom for a while, before he lost his lunch. But he did recover quickly after the purge. Then it was time to do our routine of homework, baths and bed.

Deo Vindice,
Kenith

I got off work at six this morning. I had a little task to do when I got home. That took about an hour, then I got ready for bed and crashed in my special room for when I’m on the graveyard shift. It is a very small, very dark, very cold room that I’ve made especially for sleeping when working graveyards. I sleep until about 2:30, then I got up and vegetated around the house for a while.

I did toss a football with my youngest son, before making a quick trip to the Lowes Hardware Store. Then I got ready for work.

Tonight we will be having more gumbo (it’s always better the next day). Mitch brought some smoked deer sausage to add to the pot. We will have a pretty good feast on that later this evening.

C. Cudd cooked some squirrels and sausage in a brown gravy today and brought it out to work. I had a nice serving of that, over some rice earlier this evening. It was very good. I need to get Cudd’s recipe. I’ve cooked my share of squirrel, but it’s never turned out that good.

We are trying to get together to make a squirrel hunt, but it doesn’t look promising for next week. However I’m hoping Christian and I can make a hunt next week. I’m also looking at taking the little boys on a little camping trip next week as well. All depends on my work and the weather.

In my reading I’ve noticed Calvin quotes from or refers to Cicero’s little book De Natura Deorum (On the Nature of the God’s). So I have acquired a copy of it and have started reading that as well as all the other “stuff” that I’m reading.

Gotta go; -- Dominus Vobiscum,
Kenith

Lisa and I had the pleasure of each others company Thursday evening. The two of us went out alone to a local restaurant, where we enjoyed a nice meal and pleasant conversation together. After twenty-one years of marriage I still, very much, enjoy my wife’s company. I think I enjoy her company more now then ever before.

Our night out for fine dining, did through a little kink in our normal routine of home-work and baths for the little boys, but all got done as it was needed.

I did not get much reading done while I was off from work, but I did get some. I am still slowly working my way through Calvin’s Institutes. This is taking even longer than I thought, because he quotes lots of ancient secular and Christian writers, and I go and look them up and read what I can, before returning to Calvin. It is worth the time I am putting into it. I become more impressed with Calvin the more I read him.

I did finish the biography on Thomas Fairfax. It was a good, easy read.

I’m working tonight. Things a pretty quiet here at the refinery. I did bring all fixings for chicken and sausage gumbo tonight. The cool weather has made it down here to the Deep South, and in Cajun Country that usually means gumbo!!!

We all ate our fill and It was very good. (Mitch actually cooked it)

Coram Deo,
Kenith

We are now back on the web at home. We got DSL from BellSouth. When it is up and running it works fine, but for some reason we can’t access the web at times. We will find out why and (hopefully) get it fixed.

Things are going well. My youngest son has finished his reading to me for the day. He finished an A Beka reader yesterday and started on of our McGuffey’s Readers today. Our next to youngest will be finishing his McGuffey’s Reader in the next few days.

I grilled my first brisket two days ago. It was very good. I had to open a bottle of red wine to enjoy with the meat. It was a cabernet sauvignon and accented the meal wonderfully. Neither Lisa or the kids like red wine, so I have had it all to myself. There are benefits to having a family of semi tea-tottlers. (Lisa likes margaritas and some sweet drinks so my stuff is safe).

The first really nice cool front of the fall season came through this morning and it feels so nice outside. I would really like to go squirrel hunting. I hope I can do so next week when I work off of the graveyard shift.

We are still settling in to this new house. I still have lot’s of painting to do, and more light fixtures to change, but we are making headway.

I got a very bad headache while I was watching the presidential debate last night. It was a sinus headache and not caused by the debate (though it could have been). I’m glad the debates are over. I missed most of the first one, caught all of the second one and watched a little more than half of the last one before I went and buried my aching head under a pillow in a very dark room (to help my head).

I don’t think the debates are of much use for someone serious about the truth. They are interesting to hear spin, lies, half truths and rhetoric, but this is not what you depend on if you want to make an informed decision. Sadly though, this is where lots of folks will make their choice from.

I am not a member of either major political party, but at sometime in the past I had belonged to each at one time. I started out, like so many Southerners as a conservative democrat. But I became disillusioned with the Democratic Party very early on. I switched to the Republican Party after acquiring and reading the 1980 Democratic Presidential platform.

What I read in that platform shocked me. It was the platform of fellow Southerner Jimmy Carter and it was liberal to the gills. It had strong socialistic leanings, was pro-abortion and pro-homosexual rights. After I read the platform, I returned it to the co-worker who had loaned it to me. I thanked him and then went to the courthouse and changed party affiliations.

My leaving the Republican Party was not so dramatic. I simply don’t want to be a part of a party that I differ with on so many points. I am far closer to them than I am to the modern Democratic Party, but that is not saying a whole lot.

I have voted for people from both parties (and third parties), even when I belonged to a particular party. I have never voted a "party ticket" and never will. I will vote for the candidate that I think can do the best job no matter which party he/she belongs to, with this exception. I will never again vote for a Democrat to fill an office in Washington D.C.

I can not vote to put even a good democrat in the US House, US Senate or the Presidency. Party politics are too big a deal there and the Dems are too beholding to pro-abort, homosexuals, left-wing demagogic civil rights types (e.g. Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton, etc...) and other assorted political degenerates.

When it comes to the US Congress or the President, I will be voting Republican (often while holding my nose) or I will vote third party.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

My blogging is still a bit off because I still don’t have internet access at the house. This should be remedied soon. I have subscribed with Bell South for DSL access. I am presently waiting for the DSL set-up to arrive and we will be good to go.

I worked overtime last weekend so I was only off Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday I ran a few errands and did some stuff around the house. Tuesday evening was routine. The little boys and I played with the football, then we did their spelling and reading home work before they took baths.

After their baths it was my turn to read to them, so I read them a chapter from Joanne De Jonge’s wonderful little book My Listening Ear (Discovering the Wonders of God's World). Then I read Hansel and Grettle from a children’s story book. After that we said our prayers. After our regular prayers we always recite either the Lord’s Prayer or the Apostles Creed.

Wednesday the little boys, Christian and I all went to Longville. I brought my mom her birthday present (Thursday was here birthday). We visited in Longville for most of the day. We returned home in the early evening and went about our routine.

Yesterday was a very busy weekday. We had a number of items hit our shift from almost the time we started the shift (6 AM) and stayed very busy most of the day. Lisa picked me up from work. She and Christian went out for a mother/son visit over supper at Outback Steakhouse. The little boys and Morgan were not home. So I stayed home alone and eat a nice salad (with a Killian’s), then I took a long hot bath and relaxed. After the bath I fixed myself a drink (made with moonshine, that I recently acquired, and coke – I can’t even sip the moonshine straight). I then got one of my current books and went to bed.

I am at work tonight on overtime. I have to post from here because we still have not been hooked up to the internet at the new house. That is my fault, I will try to do something about it this week.

So far, here at work, the night has been fairly quiet in my area. I hope that continues for the whole weekend, because I will be out here tomorrow night (on overtime) again, then I should be off work until Thursday morning, when I will start my regular shift.

All the kids seem to like our new house and neighbourhood and things are slowly getting ordered at our new house. It’s been slow getting completely settled there because Lisa fell and hurt her tailbone (and got a black eye) about two weeks ago. She is getting around ok, but she still hurts and there is much that she can not do.

I have met a few of our new neighbours. One neighbour, Jody, works in maintenance out at the plant. I’ve known her for a number of years and she’s a nice lady. I met her husband the other day; and he seems to be an ok guy. Another neighbour, who I have met only once, is an eighth grade history teacher. I love history and hope to talk with him more.

Our next door neighbours to the south (Stan and Beverly) are old friends of our good friends TK and Kelly. They all attended First Baptist Church of Sulphur for many years together. Our neighbours still attend there and Stan teaches Sunday school there and I think he’s a deacon as well. These folks seem to be very nice and I've spoken with them on a number of occasions.

I think Lisa and kid’s are going to go to Morgan’s boyfriend’s church (Sales Street Baptist Church) tomorrow. I hope to wake up in time to make the 1pm service at Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) here in Sulphur.

I am still reading (slowly) in Calvin’s Institutes and I’m reading his letters as well. I am also making good headway in John Wilson’s biography of Thomas Fairfax (a Puritan general in the English Civil War). I’ve also started reading The Real Lincoln by Thomas DiLorenzo .

Let me get back to work.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

I have not blogged in a long while. Lisa and I have moved to Sulphur and we have not yet gotten online service at the new house. I know I will be getting it soon. I plan to get DSL because we are not “planning” on getting cable at this new house, so I have a cable modem sitting in a box with nothing to do.

The Lord has really blessed us in this move. We got a good deal on our old house, and a good deal on the new (for us) house. The children seem to be happy with this move. The big kids -- Morgan, Christian and Ryan (our nephew) -- each has her/his own room and the little boys are sharing a room.

I now live just a few miles from work, so my commute to work is shorter - about five minutes. I really like that. The older children have a farther drive to get to university. So I guess its a trade off.

MK (Seep) and I went to the LSU game Saturday. Mike got a couple of tickets from a friend of his. M. Trahan (pronounced - Trah - hahn -- cut the "n" short) road with us. He and his wife were supposed to go to the game, but the wife got sick, so m. road with us.

It was my first time to go to an LSU game. MSU was a wiped by LSU. It was a lot of fun.

MK and I have decided to take on John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion . I’ve used the Institutes for years in my studies and I’ve read a good deal in them, but I haven’t read them through from one end to the other. I hope to do so now.

I’ve also started reading a biography of Thomas Fairfax. Fairfax was a Puritan and Lord General of the Parliament’s army during the English Civil War.

I have also started reading Calvin's letters now that I have completed the correspondence of St. Cyprian (or as the old Cajuns would say his name "See-pree-yan").

Coram Deo,
Kenith