I worked the last four nights so I spent most of New Years Eve in the control room at the refinery. We had to finish the start up on our clean fuels unit, but the end of the start up was mostly covered on the unit console, so it was an easy evening for me as top.

When I got home this morning I noticed my mailbox was gone. My neighbour informed me that my mailbox was blown up by someone last night. I assume it was teenage mischief and fireworks.

This morning I made sure to wake up in time to catch the beginning of the LSU, New Years Day, football. It is now half time of the Capitol One Bowl between LSU and Penn State. The field is a mud fest. Les Miles' Tigers are playing sloppily football, which has been there normal way to play all season. The LSU offense has done nothing in the first half. Jefferson has thrown only one descent pass, and it was intercepted, all his other throws were terrible.

I started vacation when I left work this morning, so the New Year, despite LSU's poor showing thus far, is starting on on a good note.

Coram Deo,

Kenith

This past week was spent at family gatherings - feasting and celebrating our Lord's birth. Wine flowed and the food was great. The food was not traditional stuff, we ate gumbo, and other South Louisiana.

On Christmas Eve we enjoyed family time at home. Sean, our nephew in the Air Force, spent much of the day visiting with us. Lisa and I cooked tenderloins with red wine reduction sauce and asparagus with a lemon/butter sauce.

Also on Christmas Eve we let the boys open their gifts. Christmas Morning, LP and I were up early. We loaded our kayaks on her jeep and for water. There was a strong north wind and it was thirty three degrees when we put the boats in the water. She and I paddled out to Rabbit Island and a bit around the lake, before we headed back home.

The boys were just getting up when we got home. I cooked pain perdu for breakfast. Pain Perdu has always been a special treat that I cook for breakfast.

Christmas was a good, but we miss our son Christian and lovely wife Jessica they are both serving in the U.S. Navy and are over seas.

Later,

Kenith

We've had two Christmas parties so for this week. The first was at our house. This one was with our family and the family of Lisa's sister. Lisa did a great job planning and getting everything ready. I provided wine and helped Lisa, who did most of the work.

Last night we were at my sister's house in Longville for my families Christmas party. We had a great time. The big event was my daughter getting her car stuck. She passed up the drive way and pulled in at the drive to to my bro-in-law's shop and tried to cut across the field. Not a good idea. Brian had to pull out the tractor and chains to pull her car our of the mud.

Lisa and I also took a little time to go kayaking in Prien Lake (pronounced (pre - an). It was windy and the water was a bit choppy but we had fun.

Later,

Kenith

Ps. Pictures to follow.

I am, as of 5:30 this evening, on Christmas vacation. Hallelujah!!!!!! It will be a VERY busy week, but I will be busy away from the refinery and with my wife and family.

I recently bought a case of good California red wine, so I'm set for wine wise.

Merry CHRISTmas,

Kenith

Spent much of the night before last at work, outside in the cold and rain starting one of our units. We got wet and got a good bit accomplished. Last night was much better, it was mostly quiet. This should be my last unit start up as an operator.

Now I'm off to bed.

Kenith

At work yesterday, we had a big feast. One of the guys brought in a deer roast (from a resent kill) a pork roast and deer sausage. It slow roasted all together. Of course, this being South Louisiana, we served it with rice. We also had beans, corn, hot rolls as well. We have some great cooks at work and the meal was great!!!!

I have no days off next week. I work every day until I start vacation on 21 December. I hope this will be one of my last 84 hour work weeks at the Refinery. I should start training at the lab in early January and they work MUCH less overtime than we do in our process units.

My family is well. LP got her blue kayak in on Tuesday. She is excited and anxious to put it in the water.

Coram Deo,

Kenith

Last night I built a fire in the fire pot on the back deck and simply relaxed and washed the fire with my son. A bit later Woody joined us. He and I sipped on a little Irish Whiskey (Tullamore Dew) and talked for a while in the cold near a warm fire.

T woke this morning about 7:30, got the family up. We attended Sunday School at Bethel. My good friend MK started a new series this morning on Church history: The Middle Ages. MK is a great teacher and has a passion for this subject.

Today is the second Sunday of Advent and worship today was on the song of Zacharias. Pastor Steve did a fine job (as always). I enjoy worshiping the Lord our God with the people at Bethel.

This afternoon, Lisa and I attended the 70th annual presentation of Handel's Messiah at McNeese University.

This evening nephew Woody, his dog scout and I went for a brisk walk (about 3 miles).

It was a good day!

Coram Deo,

Kenith

Yesterday was a big day. I took the test at the Refinery to go to the lab. I passed the test, so starting in January I will cease to be a top operator and begin training to be a Lab Tech. I'm excited about the change. It will mean less overtime so my pay will go down, but I want more time off and I can make it with out the overtime.

The other big thing yesterday, was it snowed here in SW Louisiana. That is a rare event, though this makes two years in a row that we got snow. Befor last year, it had been over a decade since it last snowed.

I just watched Bama defeat Florida for the SEC championship. Now I'm watching Texas and Nebraska play for the Big 12 Championship.

I plan to build a fire on in the fire pit in a little while and chill outside.

Coram Deo,

Kenith

Working straight days this week. Friday is Rescue team training.

It is going to be in the 30's tonight. That is cold if you live this for south. I love it. Before global warming (i.e. the Ice Age) it froze regularly down here. :-)

Coram Deo,

Kenith

I'm on vacation this week. Monday, Lisa and I went to Ship to Shore in Lake Charles and I bought a used kayak. I did not take it home because we had promised to take the boys bowling. The four of us are all TERRIBLE bowlers, but we don't bowl but once a decade, so I guess we never will be good.

Tuesday morning, the boys and I got up early, jumped in the truck and headed east on I-10. We traveled 200 miles east to the Global Wildlife Center. Lisa and I had visited the center years ago with Morgan and Christian, but the younger boys had not been there. They loved it.

After leaving Global Wildlife Center we drove back to the west. Just before reaching Baton Rouge, we pulled on the road to visit the Bass Pro Shop. We had fun there too. I bought the boys each a winter cap and we piled back in the truck to for the two hour drive home.

On Wednesday, Woody picked up the boys and me and we went to Ship to Shore and picked up my kayak. He then showed me a easy to access back swamp that is near the house where I can launch the Kayak. I plan to put it in the water no later than Saturday.

Lisa prepared a ham, rice dressing, sweet potato pies, pecan fudge and sugar cookies ( I helped) for Thanksgiving and we took it all a 1/2 block away to Elisabeth and Woody's to feast with her side of the family. We had great food, desserts, and drink.

I am so thankful to the Lord for all the incalculable ways in which He has blessed me.

Coram Deo,

Kenith

I worked off this morning at 6:00 AM and slept until 11:00 AM. I got up ate a Wasa cracker, peanut butter and honey, then I went for a 2 mile walk to wake up.

I did not attend Bethel this morning because I worked last night, so I attended St.Michael's Anglican Church this evening.

Lisa cooked chicken and sausage gumbo for supper. It was great. Her brother Troy came home for Thanksgiving Holiday and he visited with us this evening.

Good day,

Kenith

Liturgia Expurgata

I like and prefer to worship in a more liturgical manner. I was born and raised Roman Catholic for a time, then (with my parents) switched to being Baptist and as a young person I attended some Pentecostal and charismatic churches as well. I’ve also experienced worship at Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Church of Christ, and Eastern Orthodox churches as well. These churches have a great diversity in styles of worship, ranging from very subdued and solemn to frenzied and chaotic.

 

I much prefer the more structured and liturgical forms of worship. I have been a member of a Presbyterian (PCA) church for more than two decades, and I came to the Presbyterian Church from a Southern Baptist Church. At that time our little Presbyterian congregation worshipped a great deal like the Baptist Churches I had attended, except the Baptists sang only the 1^st, 2^nd and last verse to most songs and the Presbyterians sang every verse to every song used in worship and the Presbyterians did not have an “alter call” at the end of each service.

 

Our little PCA church was really Southern Baptist except for the fact that we were Calvinists and we baptised babies.  This is not true today. Over the years, as a congregation, we have become more and more “Reformed” in our thinking and our worship has become more liturgical. In that same period I have grown to love liturgical worship and find most non-liturgical worship to be a lot less worshipful.

 

Now that I have come to appreciate a more structured and worship in which the worshippers truly participate in the worship, I have become more and more interested in liturgy and its history and so I started searching for books on the subject. I was very excited to find Liturgia Expurgata or, The Prayer-Book as Amended by the Westminster Divines: An Essay on the Liturgical Question in the American Churches, by Charles W. Shields on Google Books. I’ve read it and found it to be interesting and informative.  Now I want to study the subject more and I want to discuss the issue with a more knowledgeable person like my pastor.

 

After reading this book, I appreciate our little church’s liturgical form of worship even more than I already did.

 

Coram Deo,

Kenith

 

Yesterday, I worked a normal 12 hour shift and came home. Several guys came over to visit. Lisa and the boys had already set the fire pit on the back patio. Gary J., M.K., and Woody came over. We opened a bottle of old vine Zinfandel that Woody brought with him. It was great and while sipping on red wine, we sat near the fire, presented definitive ways to accomplish world peace and also sure answers that will heal our nations medical woes.

After the Zinfandel we opened a bottle of Greg Norman's wine. It too was good. It was at this time that my cousin Chris arrived. We visited for a while and as the fire burned down our group broke up and everyone headed for their own homes.

Today, I worked another 12 hour shift. One of the boys needed help with his homework. Lisa and Morgan went to Chili's for a a bit of relaxation and I hung out with the boys.

Later,

Kenith

Wish I Was Hunting

This morning as I stepped outside to come to work the air was cool and crisp. The heat and humidity was gone, driven out by yesterday’s cold front. I noticed, as I walked to my truck, that there was no wind. It was a perfect morning to be in the woods on a deer stand or squirrel hunting. I wished that I was leaving the house with my guns going hunting, but instead I was off to the refinery and to work.

 

I love squirrel hunting. It is so much fun to walk slowly through a creek bottom looking and listening for squirrels. Fox (or Red) squirrels are smarter than Cat (or grey) Squirrels. If a Cat Squirrel sees you he will hide, but if you are quiet for ten minutes or so, he will soon forget about you and start running around again. A Fox squirrel will hide and remain hidden as long as you are in the area, unless he is forced to move.

 

Squirrel hunting is a blast. Deer hunting is not as much fun but it is far more challenging and you see more creatures roaming around you as you remain very quiet in your stand.

 

The weather today is great for either type of hunting. Too bad I could not do either one.

 

Later,

Kenith

 

 

 

Bad calls at Bama

Check out these pictures and video from the LSU/Bama game.

 

A conspiracy or are these just HORRIBLY incompetent referees? Send the link home and check it out.

 

http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/messagetopic.asp?p=16213392

 

 

Sunday - 8 November 2009

I will not be able to attend formal worship services today, because today is a workday for me. I will here God’s word preached, which is an important aspect of worship, because I have many hours of lectures and sermons on audio. Today I will hear Dr. R.C. Sproul teaching on the book of Genesis. I have already listened to the first four of lectures/sermons of Sproul’s 12 part series. R.C. Sproul is a very gifted teacher and one of my favourite living theologians.

 

I do “hope” to be able to worship at St. Michael and All the Angels Anglican Church. Their Wednesday morning worship service has been a great blessing to me on those weeks when I can not worship at Bethel Presbyterian Church (PCA).

 

In my reading I have completed only the first two books in The Annals of Tacitus. I have switched to reading his The Histories, because they deal specifically with the years 69 and 70 AD, which are important years.

 

I am listening to Harry Potter books on iPod. They’re just fun books.

 

Coram Deo,

Kenith

 

Thursday evening was spent on our front porch with several friends. It was cool outside, I had a fire going in the fire pit and we sat by the fire, talked and drank wine. The kids were playing in the yard with friends.

Today was good. I just rented a movie and hope to start watching it shortly.

Later,

Kenith

I have days off (thank God). Yesterday I worshiped at St. Michael's Anglican Parish Church. They have a 10:15 AM Eucharistic service. I miss Sunday worship at Bethel Presbyterian, our home church, so very often, because of shift work and overtime, it was good to find St. Michael's Wednesday morning service.

This evening I worked with my brother-in-law and my wives parents home. We were working on my father-in-law's generator. After it was running I came home. The boys and I arrived home before Lisa so I fixed supper this evening.

Tonight I also watched a film version of Les Misérables staring Liam Neeson. The movie was OK, but at 134 minutes it was far to short a film to do Victor Hugo's wonderful novel the justice it deserves..

It was a good day,

Kenith

Great yard sign

 

Work, Work and More Work

The last couple of weeks I have worked a lot of overtime. I worked 85 hours one week and 90 hours the following week. This week I’m scheduled to work 48 hours, but next week I am scheduled to work 92 hours (12 hours for five days and 16 hours for the other two days). With all this time at work I’m not getting much anywhere else.

 

These long hours will continue for several more weeks. I will be glad when they are over, but they will help me get a little bit ahead.

 

Coram Deo,

Kenith