birthday girl

Happy birthday to my lovely wife!

dukies back on track

After losing their first game of the season, Duke was back on track last week. Two great games and two great wins on Thursday and Saturday. First, they took care of Virginia Tech on Thursday, winning 80 - 67. This game was not as close as their first contest this season, when Sean Dockery won the game with a shot from half court. By last Saturday, Duke was back on track, watching the game was like watching a clinic on basketball. Everyone on the team was playing well in this game, and JJ Redick still scored 41 points. Check out photos of the game at goduke.com
Duke won this game 82 - 63. Next up will be at Boston College in Massachusetts, Wednesday night at 9:00 pm on ESPN.

why do we blog?

now you know! :)

to those who left their mark

Since the tragic death of my wife's brother in October, I have been trying to come up with a tribute blog for the family. I decided to set that up as a separate, companion blogsite just for posting family history and memories, called To Those Who Left Their Mark. The first posting is a tribute to my wife's grandmother, who everyone called "Mam-Ma". Now my wife has taken that same name, "Mam-Ma", as given to her by our granddaughter, Natalie, and our next grandchild.(Yes, that means I am called "Pap-Paw") Our oldest son and his wife, Josh and Janelle, are expecting a baby, due September 10th. We just found out Saturday, so now I am announcing it to the world today!!


The new site can be found on my sidebar links now, or you can go to www.franklybaggstribute.blogspot.com.

photo gallery

at the Gator Bowl game...see new pictures posted at Watching Natalie Grow

Happy New Year! Everyone went to see the fireworks at midnight except the sick one(me!)

"Chocolate City"

If you missed Ann Coulter's column last week, you can read it at her website. The column she wrote is called "Chocolate City Sprinkled with Nuts" and is one of her better ones.

making oil from sand

Have you heard about the production of oil from sand in Alberta, Canada? No, I am not making this up!

ksl-tv in Utah reports on this -
In fact, the Alberta oil sands have now vaulted Canada into second place in proven oil reserves, just behind Saudi Arabia. Trucks are hauling away sand that's naturally black with petroleum. Each truckload contains 200 barrels of oil

A search on yahoo found two other links about this. One is at Wikipedia.org and is about the Athabasca Oil Sands, large deposits of tar sands, in north-western Canada.

A third article explains in detail how the oil is refined from the sand and can be read online at mechanical engineering magazine.org - Oil sand kicks into high gear

It appears that we may soon try to do the same thing in Utah. Maybe someday we will be able to tell Saudi Arabia, and all the other countries, to keep their oil.

summer in Arkansas

We have lots of memories of summers in Arkansas and this year we will be going there again to make some more. We have two units at Fairfield Bay Resorts in Fairfield Bay, Arkansas, for the family to enjoy. We will be descending upon Arkansas from Florida, Pennsyvania and Wisconsin in June. Cindy is excited that each unit has a laundry and that there are two baths in each unit, with two bedrooms, and a couch sleeping a total of 6 in each unit. We will be closer to the extended family in Pine Bluff(about 2 1/2 hours north), so we will will be able to take a day and drive down to visit the family. Also, Rhonda and Carl are working on a rafting trip for one day. I know my sons are up for that! White water rafting sounds like fun to me but I cannot swim, so we will see...

This photo is from the summer of 1999 when we camped at Lake Ouachita (pronounced Wash-i-taw). This man-made lake is at the top of Brady Mountain.

the dukies drop to 2nd place

We knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. Duke lost to a very good team on Saturday. Georgetown basically had Duke's offense figured out, they practically stopped Shelden Williams. They could stop JJ Redick, but even with a season high of 41 points, as Coach K would say later, the other players on the team can not just sit back and let everyone watch JJ play. Give credit to Georgetown, they played very well and after leading the Blue Devils by 16 points in the second half, they deserved to win. Duke pulled within 2 points, but lost the ball with 5 seconds to go. The ESPN poll came out Monday and Duke only dropped to the number 2 spot. I am happy with that! The Florida Gators, by the way, also lost their first game of the season and dropped from number 2 to number 4 in the same poll. The next month is going to be a fun one, with every team "getting up" for Duke, and each game becomes a tournament atmosphere. And that is fun basketball to watch, even if your team loses. Just a prelude to MARCH MADNESS!! Duke's record is now 17-1

firstscience.com

Here's another site for all of the teachers in the family. Science news, videos, even poetry (you can refresh your American or British lit here.) The web site at firstscience.com has a bit of everything that has anything to do with science. For example, this link takes you to the video site where you can watch Neal Armstrong, the first man on the moon. In the sidebar, there are links to science news, science poems, crosswords, games, cartoons, picture gallery and more.

in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth...

first appearances can be deceiving

The other day I posted a link to a new movie, End of the Spear, which at first glance seemed to be a movie for everyone to see. I have been reading many Christian blogs since then and have found that there is a great deal of concern over the casting of a gay activist in the lead role. As well there should be. My first thoughts when I read this was, "there goes Hollywood again" and "how could they dare ruin the memory of these missionaries"? In researching this, I have found that the movie was actually produced by a religious, independent film company, so Hollywood is not to blame this time. I have read many reviews and blogs that relate to this movie and will post them below for you to read and decide for yourself. I have to agree with those opposing the use of Chad Allen in this role, as Dr.Albert Mohler says "What were they thinking?"

Chad Allen starred in Our House and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman on TV, but it appears the last few years, he has been spending most of his time directing behind the camera and not acting, and also busily promoting the gay lifestyle as normal. In this article, Steve Saint answers questions about why he would allow someone so opposite from his dad's character to have the role of Nate Saint in the movie. I can only hope and pray that God might use this experience of acting in the role of a Christian to open the eyes of Chad Allen to his need for salvation. I know he has been on Larry King Live with John MacArthur in the past, and Chad has heard the gospel presented plainly.

The first blogger to alert Christians was Jason Janz at sharperiron.org, with article title Nate Saint played by gay activist in "end of the spear". Posted on January 12, the word is getting around now. He makes some very good points in the article such as "we must reach gay people with the gospel, but this is not the way" .

Ted Baehr's movieguide.org gives this move it's highest rating, wholesome, and gives a complete review. No mention is made of the controversy, of course, and I also read a review in the local paper yesterday. I thought it was interesting that the reviewer said the film has "religious overtones". Another reviewer mentions the lack of the name of "Jesus" in the film, only "the son of God" is used. Another more positive review can be found at focus on the family.

One more thought on the movie, and I will finish this "essay"... The film company, Every Tribe Entertainment, also released in 2005 a documentary about the missionaries called Beyond the Gates of Splendor. This is the film you may want to watch after all. If you have a flash player, you can click on the link at this site and listen to some of this documentary.

In searching the blogs I did find a very good article on the five missionaries, also posted on sharperiron.org - "Fifty Years Ago...Five Ordinary Fools" You will be able to read quotes from the men, as well as their wives. The lives of these men have impacted so many in our country, it would be a shame to just dwell on the negatives of this movie controversy, without reflecting on the good that came out of their lives. I still remember the play, Bridge of Blood, that was performed during my first year of college. The play was acted out "readers theatre" style in the Philips Chapel of Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga. The year was 1973 and I still remember the emotion at the end of the play when the spotlight went out as the missionaries were killed, and in the darkness the pipe organ blasts out the music of "Be still my Soul, the Lord is on your side..." Still gives me goose bumps to this day!!

conservative christian music

You can depend on Sacred Music Services to consistently produce good conservative music for the Christian. Tim Fisher has been leading the way for over ten years now. The latest CD from SMS is called "Peace and Comfort" and if you like string ensembles this one is for you. You can listen to it online at www.oldchristianradio.com


Craig Stouffer, his brothers and dad, have released their third CD. Craig is the tenor in my son's quartet, the Voices of Praise, and you will enjoy hearing the Stouffer men sing together. You can listen to "Come & Sing" also at ocr.com.

not an easy win

The Dukies pulled it off again, win #17, but this one was not easy! They played a great NC STATE team and up until 4 mins to go, the lead was back and forth between the two teams. I recorded the game and watched it after church, but I was still nervous until the end. I think I ate half a box of Cheez-its! With about 4 minutes to go, Sean Dockery was fouled as he scored a three pointer. He missed the extra point, but was able get his own rebound and pass it off to another Duke player, who was then able to shoot a three, giving Duke a 6 point lead.(Whew!) This took the wind out their sails (of NC STATE) and Duke was able to win the game.

editorial cartoons of the week

Some weeks, the editorial cartoons are better than others and this week several stand out. You can get your daily dose of cartoons such as Jacksonville's award-winning Ed Gamble(first two cartoons below), at
www.jewishworldreview.com

web information and tips

I was reminded this week that microsoft.com has a microsoft office training site. You might find this useful for learning excel, powerpoint, and more! Also available in the sidebar are templates for calendars and planners and much more.

Have you entered to win HGTV's dream home this year. You can enter online once a day until Feb 17th. Someone has to win, so it might as well be you (or me!) Of course, I could not afford to pay the taxes on it if I did win, but we can worry about that later. You can tour the home online at HGTV.com

You never know when you might need this, but here are the top 1000 most common words in the English vocabulary at about.com

I found this blogsite with advice for "Northerners Moving to the South" at tommcmahan.net - Yes, we can be a different breed, I guess.

For all of you teachers in the family, I found this website of Mrs. Renz' 4th grade Class Web Site, from the Vern Patrick Elementary School in Redmond, Oregon. Maybe this will give you some ideas you can choose.

A new movie was released recently for church's to show, similar to the way the "Left Behind" movies were done, only now this one will be released in theaters this week. It was originally titled "Beyond the Gates of Splendor" and is being released as "End of the Spear". Based on the true story of the missionaries to the Auca Indians who were killed in the mid 1950's, the story was written by the son of Nate Saint, Steve Saint, who moved back to the jungle in the late 1990's. You can visit the website for the movie and click on the link "PATH OF THE SPEAR" at www.endofthespear.com to read the timeline of history from the 1940's to the present. I will look forward to seeing this when the DVD becomes available.

duke is still no. 1

JJ Redick proves that he really can dunk the ball

The "Cameron Crazies" spell out LANDLORD, the nickname for Shelden Williams.

Josh McRoberts is one of five talented freshmen on the team, starting each game along with JJ Redick, Shelden Williams, Sean Dockery, and another freshman, Greg Paulus







At 16-0, Duke is still the number one team in college basketball. This has been a great season for us Duke fans. Even 15 of the first 16 games have been broadcast on TV. I have been able to watch either live or on tape all of those games. Not that I plan my whole week around the Dukies, but last week was the first week of games in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Duke played three games in one week! Wake Forest, Maryland, and Clemson all in one week! By far, the toughest team last week was the Clemson Tigers. Actually, Clemson played so well, that if they had hit most of their free throws, they would have beat Duke.
the Duke Blue Devils record and schedule

JJ Redick scores 34 points at Duke beats Clemson 87-77

purpose driven church

Ever wonder about these "purpose driven" churches (or ministries) that are in the news so much lately? I found a very interesting article online from the Philadelphia Inquirer about Rick Warren and the Saddleback mega-church in California. Several things in the article caught my attention. First, this church is a Southern Baptist Church, but they do not advertise that fact. One blogger I read was not too happy about that, albertmohler.com Dr. Molher is the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His comments are copied below, but you can go to his site to read the complete blog. He is concerned about the last part of the newspaper article and Rick Warren's comments about fundamentalists.

from Dr. Mohler's blog-
This is how the current article in the newspaper concludes:

Warren predicts that fundamentalism, of all varieties, will be "one of the big enemies of the 21st century."

"Muslim fundamentalism, Christian fundamentalism, Jewish fundamentalism, secular fundamentalism -- they're all motivated by fear. Fear of each other."

Dr Mohler goes on to comment...

Equating Christian fundamentalism with Muslim fundamentalism is both wrong and dishonest. This falls right into the hands of those who argue for a phenomenological definition of "religion" that includes "fundamentalism" as a general reference to any person or movement that refuses to accept the basic worldview of modernity. Adding the therapeutic category of "fear" just adds to the confusion. The motivation of fundamentalist Christianity is fear of Muslims and Jews?

And, we might ask, just what definition of Christian fundamentalism operates here? Who, exactly, is Rick Warren talking about?

This much is clear -- an approach like this doesn't help.

You can also read the entire article called "The Purpose Driven Pastor" online at www.philly.com
Another thing this article points out is how some people do not want to worship in traditional church settings today, so their church has many places to watch the service without really going into the church building. This to me seems more of a selfish, my own purpose, driven church lifestyle, when we in reality we should allow God to drive our purpose and our focus should be on God.

His 120-acre hilltop campus, with palm trees, waterfall and meandering brook, is a kind of religious theme park, where worshipers meet in different buildings to suit their musical preferences, while watching simultaneous video feeds of Warren preaching at the main worship center.

favorite photos of 2005

Better late than never, here are my top ten favorite photos of last year, 2005

#1 Brandon dressed in Scottish kilt when we went to see RIVERDANCE

#2 Philip, Jonathan, and April in a rare photo op

#3 Rare photo of Stephen reading something educational for a change

#4 Josh and Janelle at graduation in May

#5 that pumpkin bread in the jar again!!

#6 Three peas in a pod! or should I say the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree!!

#7 Vacation in the Ozarks, horseback riding for only 15 buck-a-roos!!

#8 Downtown, Mountain View, Arkansas

#9 a favorite photo of Natalie, standing in "awe" at the Blanchard Springs Caverns park entrance

#10 Another Natalie pose at the Ozark Folk Center

photo gallery

We finally made it to Clark's Fish Camp with Stephen and Leah. The last time we tried to go to eat there, they had no power because of a hurricane ( that would be in September 2004). Everyone had to taste the alligator tail and fried kangaroo for the appetizers.

whitehouse.gov

Did you know you can listen to President Bush's weekly radio address each week online? Also at the home page, you can keep up with what the President is doing each day, and you don't have to wait for the news media to report it...

January 7, 2006
In his weekly radio address the President said, "As we begin 2006, we are hearing more good news about the American economy. This week we learned that our economy added 108,000 jobs in December and has added over 400,000 jobs in the last two months. Our unemployment rate is now 4.9 percent, lower than the average rate of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Our economy grew at more than 4 percent in the third quarter of 2005, and it has been growing at nearly that rate for two years. Productivity is high, consumers are confident, and more Americans now own their homes than at any time in our Nation's history."listen at www.whitehouse.gov

insects and bugs in photos

I found these neat photos of insects, bugs, etc. on line at www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/sets/590338

Lordv is someone from southern England and his hobby is obviously taking great photos. There are 260 photos of insects in this set posted and you can view one at a time or as a slideshow. If you are not squeamish~~

Also at the bottom of the photo page, you can check out links to other photos on this site.



hoverfly having lunch

more December photos

We really enjoyed having Natalie and her parents with us for Christmas




Natalie with her newest "favorite" doll



Natalie helped everyone out by putting the wrapping paper in the trash



This picture is from "snowy" Watertown, Wisconsin, the home to where Natalie and her mommy and daddy traveled back today. When I kissed Natalie and said "bye" this morning at the airport, Natalie started to cry. Now, grandma is telling me I should have known better than to say "bye" and make her cry!!

snowflakes and snow crystals

I am back to the land of the living (and bloggers!) Not only have we been busy enjoying family this past week, but I ended the year sick in bed with a 48 hour "24 hour" bug.

I found this neat site especially for those of us in the south who will not see snow this year. Check out the link to "snowflake movies" and more info than you will ever want to know about snowflakes at snowcrystals.com