Memorial Day

Howdy everyone! I thought maybe you were wondering what's been happening in my life recently. Namely, yesterday right? Well, whether or not you are dying to know what I did yesterday, I will still tell you. :-)

We did mostly chores and outdoor work yesterday (Memorial day). It was a beautiful day, despite the fact that we were pretty tired from the weekend.
A quick summary of the weekend- Saturday was spent preparing for a big party for the home-school graduates; and then the party itself at 4pm. We got home about 11pm that night with a ton of leftover hot-dogs and buns and other food. (We Sleadds are great at that type of clean-up. We'll eat almost anything, especially leftover dessert; and lots of it.) So what have we been eating for the past 2 days? You guessed it! Hot dogs!
So, then on Sunday we went to Church (Coram Deo Church*) and dad led worship (generally all of us Sleadd kids do worship with dad but this week we got a break.). It was very good. I love church and God's family. Especially worship time. Sometimes I can't help but lift up my hands even though I stick out a little when I do it.Coram Deo Church was founded about a year and a half ago. We're still fairly small, (about 20-50 people each Sunday) with sort of like a core group of families. Sometimes it's disheartening when only a few people come and they don't seem to be committed. Of course, it's all in God's hands. Our job is to serve Him faithfully and humbly. He has certainly blessed us through "Coram Deo" thus far.

Sunday's message was about Propitiation. Christ's blood as propitiation for our sins. Pastor Dale Meador used the analogy of a sponge when describing propitiation. When Christ was hanging on that cross, He was absorbing the perfect and holy wrath of God that you and I justly deserve. "...he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!" (Phil. 2:8)
"...and [we] are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith."
At the end of his message, Pastor Dale tied Christ's propitiation in with the sacrifice many soldiers and service-men have made to secure the freedom that we enjoy today; thus fitting in with Memorial Weekend. Pastor Dale has deep gratitude for America's service men, he was nearly in tears by the end of his sermon.
After church we went to Ultimate Frisbee and got tired all over again. Then we had hot dogs, went to bed, and woke up the next morning.

Oh my! This was supposed to be a quick summary!...oh well. That's alright.



So, back to Memorial Monday. We did lots of weeding around the driveway, mowing, and outdoor work. I got slightly sunburned on my back, too. We then went to a small BBQ/Party at the Petty's at 4. It was very relaxing and enjoyable. Generally, whenever we go to parties we already know everyone there, fairly well. Whereas at this BBQ we were able to meet new people; different people. It was fun making new friends and having good conversations.

*Coram Deo means "Before God", as in to stand before God.

Graduates

As I'm sure all of you know, the school year is coming to a close for the summer. And many young people are graduating. Among them are my brother Nathan Sleadd, Victoria Emmons, and Colleen McMurray. 3 of the greatest people on this planet.

Colleen McMurray(left) is a very godly young woman who has a passion for the Word of God and for sharing the gospel with unbelievers. She is so vibrant and encouraging, despite the suffering her and her family are going through with the sickness of their youngest, Calvin. She is like a big, older sister to me. Colleen is a mighty warrior of God.

Nathan Sleadd(middle) is my older brother and it's hard to imagine how life would be without him. He is also a very godly young person who has the Word of God embedded in his heart. He puts up with my gooniness and teasing and sets a great example as a godly young leader in a culture that expects mediocrity from their teenagers. He is my brother and my best friend. Nathan is a mighty warrior of God.

Victoria Emmons(right) is also a very godly young woman who has a humble servant's heart. She loves the Word of God and has a passion for children and orphans. She gives all glory to God, rather than herself. She is a wonderful sister in Christ. Victoria is a mighty warrior of God.

1 Timothy 4:12
Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.

At their graduation ceremony, each of the graduates gave a speech and the theme was kind of like changing the world. They were so awesome. I love each of these people and hope that someday I can be as humble and God-glorifying as they are.

P.S. They hosted and planned one of the best graduation parties I have ever been to! There were around 100 people there, most of which I knew and were good friends with. God has blessed me so much with so many beautiful friends and family!
There was 5 full hours of games, food, worship, prayer, and dancing. That's right! It was a blast!!! Mr. Kruse directed the calls for the line dancing and he did an excellent job. He's really funny too; just like the rest of the Kruses.
It's hard to pick out my favorite part, but I would have to say the Swing dancing was the best. Either that or the worship time. Both were wonderful.
Alexa and I had been practicing a little bit of swing dancing the evenings before, so we were ready. We know the basic steps really well, but only a few extra moves. We'll have to learn some more moves sometime soon. That's always fun.
We didn't get any of our own pictures of the party, but there were others who, I believe, did. If I am able to get any pictures from the party, I will post them later.

Pictures

Here are some pictures of me and life.

My brother Nathan and I. Christmas 2005. He is the best older brother I could ever have.

Playing my drums at a CBFM family barn dance. Drums are the best. :)

Playing at the Medford Jazz Jubilee with the family. Jazz is the best.

Me and my Grandpa's hand on my shoulder. 2007.

Dressed for battle.

Me and my gun.

OH NO!
Caleb's been hit!
(we dug a small hole for Caleb to sit in. Then we covered his waist with dirt and leaves and he played dead. Then we took a picture)


Macy, our bestest dog.

...and Jacque, our long lost bunny.


...and to end with a happy note....Me.
Winter 2007.
Pretending to eat a thick chunk of ice.
It snowed really good this winter so we went on a sledding trip around the neighborhood. As we were walking along in the snow, we heard the cracking sound of ice beneath the snow and our feet. We stepped back and found this ice; about an inch and a half.
So here I am pretending to eat it.

Well, that's all for now folks! Feel free to comment!

Prayer

One of my favorite historical figures is Theodore Roosevelt. He was a strong man, a powerful leader, and a gentle father. Theodore was the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. If I was living during his time, it would be a great privilege to be able to talk with him. He was the president of the United States of America and for him to take the time to talk with me would be a tremendous honor!
How much more a privilege it is for us to be able speak to the Creator and Sustainer of the universe! Through prayer!
Today I would like to speak on prayer in 3 different ways. The gift of prayer, the importance of prayer, and how to pray.

The Gift of Prayer
Have you ever thought of prayer as a marvelous gift from God? It's not generally thought of as a gift but as just the way we talk to God, like we would talk to anyone else. But if you really think about it, God is SOO much greater, SOO much more majestic, and SOO much more holy than we are. And to be able to speak to Him is truly a gift. He is infinitely powerful and His splendor and might can be seen plainly throughout creation. He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Alpha and the Omega.

As it says in Romans 11-
"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
"Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?"
"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen."

That is our God.
And we are just little insects compared to Him! Even the president is tiny compared to the Lord! Yet, He allows us little creatures to speak to Him through prayer.

What a blessing. What a gift.

The Importance of Prayer
Well, prayer is most important because God commands us to do it. Quite explicitly too.

1 Thessalonians 5 says-
"Rejoice always; Pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks;
for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Notice how "Pray without ceasing" is preceded and followed by rejoicing and giving thanks? I think that's an indication that rejoicing and giving thanks are important parts of prayer; "For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus".

Moses used prayer to speak to God on behalf of the Israelites. Through prayer the Israelites reconciled themselves to God when they sinned against Him. Prayer is important because without it we could not be right with God.

Not only is prayer important, it is powerful. In James 5 it says- "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective"

It also says in 1 Peter 3- "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

It seems that our culture takes praying way too lightly. They think that God is kind of like their fairy-god-father (or in some cases, mother) who exists solely to complete their wants and make them happy. My dad calls it the "Name it and Claim It" mentality.
God does not exist for us. We exist for Him.

How to Pray
In Luke 11 Jesus instructs his disciples how to pray. He teaches them the Lord's Prayer-
"He said to them, "When you pray, say: " 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.' "

Later in the chapter He tells the disciples to ask from the Lord.
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

A prayer list really helps me to remember what to pray for, etc. during my devotions. I found this acrostic helpful.

Praise
Repent
Ask
Yield

Praise God, thank Him, rejoice in His majesty.
Repent of sin, pride, etc.
Ask for forgiveness of sin and for a renewed heart. Ask for healing for those who are sick and blessing for those around you.
Yield to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

In conclusion, what would it be like to talk to the President? It would be a great privilege!
So it is with prayer. Next time you pray, thank the Lord for His infinite grace in allowing us to approach Him through prayer.

Boundless

Hey everyone! I found this wonderful website by Focus on the Family called Boundless Webzine. It's a great resource of articles and books regarding many of todays hot topics, written by lots of different people; some I know. Sort of like an online magazine.

www.Boundless.org

I found this article by Bob Kauflin especially good.

click to read the article
Blogging To Worship God
By Bob Kauflin

I'm an Uncle!

Well, as many of you probably already know, I am an uncle. My sister Naomi was married last June (2006) and now has her first child. He is a little over a week old now. I haven't been able to hold him yet but I probably will be able to later today. I'm driving mom to Medford today for a doctor's appointment and to visit the Phillips.
Here are some pictures of my nephew.

"Whoa. What's that?"


"This blanket tastes pretty good."


"Teehee."
(He's probably grinning because his diaper needs to be changed again. :)

"I've had enough of this camera stuff!"
(One week and he's already practicing the part of a rebellious teenager...

...or maybe he's just tired. :)

Would you believe it?! He's almost as cute as me!

....OK....maybe not....he's way cuter...

-Uncle Aaron or Ron or Ronnie

Aircraft Carriers-Part 3 of 3

Finally, how is life onboard a carrier? If you worked on a carrier you would be one of over 5000 people to work on the ship. You would work as part of either the “Ship’s Company” or the “Air Wing”. The “Ship’s Company” has around 3000 people working to maintain everything on the ship. If you were in the “ship’s company” you could be a doctor, a laundry worker, an engineer, a nurse, or a cook.

Did you know that the cooks generally make 1,400 loaves of bread each day? Their mixing bowls must be the size of swimming pools. You might be washing dishes, handling weaponry, or even cutting hair. Actually, 250 hair cuts are given every day. Technically, that’s a hair cut every six minutes. It sure makes you wonder, though; what do they do with all that hair?

The “Air Wing” has around 2,000 people who actually fly or handle the aircraft and control what happens on the flight deck. Working on the “air wing” you could be refueling planes, controlling the catapult, or operating one of the elevators. You might be a pilot, a radar man, or a flight coordinator. Imagine being a pilot and getting flung from 0 to 165 mph in two seconds. Every day.

Working on the flight deck is the noisiest and most dangerous job onboard. All personnel wear eye, ear, and head protection along with flotation devices under their colored jerseys.


In fact, the color of your jersey is determined by your designation on deck. There are 7 different colors and 7 different designations.

Everyone works on shifts so the carrier can operate at night also.

If you worked on a carrier you’d have to share a compartment with 60 other people. Your only personal space would be in your single bunk. The bunks are stacked up three at time, and each one has a little overhead light and curtains where you can read, write or sleep. For every compartment there is one bathroom, a small lounge with a T.V., the bunk room, and lockers to store your personal belongings.

My two brothers and I share a bedroom, and sometimes it can get pretty stuffy in there, even stinky. Imagine what it must be like with 60 guys sharing the same compartment. It’s probably not as bad as it sounds because not everyone is in there at once. Still, you’d have to get used to really tight living quarters.

Now that you’ve heard what carriers have done for America, how they currently operate, and about life on board, who knows, you might choose to work on a carrier yourself, and have the time of your life.

Thus ends my speech.

Click here for some more awesome info.

Aircraft Carriers-Part 2 of 3

So, how do carriers operate today? The newest and biggest aircraft carriers today are part of the Nimitz class carriers. The most resent Nimitz carriers are also known as supercarriers because they don’t run by oil or gas, but are powered by nuclear reactors. With these reactors they can run for 15-20 years without refueling!!

These lines here are where a system called the “catapult” would be on a carrier. Here’s what a catapult looks like.

Carrier planes all have two extendable hooks, one in between the front two wheels and one on the rear. In this case they use the front hook to hold onto the catapult. A catapult is the length of a football field and is used to get planes airborne in a shorter amount of space and time. When a plane is connected to the catapult, the catapult officer begins filling that big container with high-pressure steam. The Jet-Blast-Deflector is raised just before the pilot guns the engines. The plane doesn’t move, though, until the steam is at the right pressure-level and the hold back bar,(The red and white bar in the pic) here, along with the steam are both released at the same time, by the catapult officer.

Two seconds later the plane is airborne.

The catapult can rocket a 45,000 pound plane from 0 to 165 mph in just 2 seconds.

When landing, carrier planes use their tail hooks. Stretched out on the deck are four separate steel cables all about 2 inches thick.

As a plane is landing its tail hook is suppose to grab onto one of these cables and the moment the wheels touch the deck the pilot puts the plane into full throttle. That way, with the runway angled differently, if the pilot happens to miss the cables he can get airborne again without plowing through everything on deck. When the plane does grab one of the cables, hydraulics under the deck help by absorbing the energy and bringing the plane to a stop without breaking off the tail hook. With this system a plane going 150 mph can be stopped in two seconds.

Once the plane has unhooked from the cable it is either moved to the side and strapped down or put onto one of the giant elevators to be lowered to the hangar deck just below. This is where the aircraft are stored if they need repairs or if they’re not needed on the flight deck.

Nimitz carriers can hold up to 85 aircraft. Some are helicopters for rescue operations, about twice as many are air planes with radar systems, and the majority are jets that lead the attacks.

Carriers even have their own battle groups. A carrier’s typical battle group usually has around 6 support ships and 2 submarines. While the support ships are defending the carrier, all the aircraft can be busy making an attack. This makes for a very effective battle group.

If you would like some more info go here-

http://science.howstuffworks.com/aircraft-carrier.htm/printable

Aircraft Carriers-Part 1 of 3

It is December 7, 1941, 6 Japanese aircraft carriers are secretly stationed 300 miles north of the U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor. At 6am the carriers launch over 300 planes for an attack that would become America’s greatest naval defeat in history. Their mission? To destroy as many battleships and aircraft carriers as possible and to leave America helpless for the war to come. In the next 3 hours 2,400 Americans are killed and two/thirds of America’s navy are destroyed by Japanese planes.

But Japan made a mistake that would come back to haunt them. Not one American Aircraft Carrier had been in Pearl Harbor during the raid, as Japan had planned, where they would have been destroyed along with everything else. I believe that aircraft carriers won World War II for America and that is why we are still a free nation today. Aircraft carriers are enormous ships that essentially operate as mobile air-force bases. They launch, land, and store aircraft while at the same time running just like a ship would. Let me tell you, first of all, what carriers have done for America, secondly, how carriers operate today, and last of all, how life is onboard.

So, what have carriers done for America? The very first U.S. aircraft carrier entered the navy in the early 20s’, two years after World War I was over. It had originally been a coal ship until it was converted and named the USS Langley. The USS Langley was a new and big achievement at that time. Not only was it one of the very first carriers ever built, but it was longer, bigger, and could carry more planes than all the carriers previously made by other countries. The Langley’s flat top deck was 542 feet long, almost the length of two football fields put together, with which she could launch and land her 36 planes.

By the time World War II was just around the corner, 18 years later, carriers had doubled in size and could carry twice as many planes. America had 7 of them.

Then came the attack on Pearl Harbor. Before attacking, the Japanese commander, Admiral Nagumo who controlled the operation, received a report that no carriers were in the harbor. Even though his most important targets were gone, he decided to attack, for fear his position would be discovered before the raid was carried out. This left America with 7 carriers all of which were used to hold Japan at bay.

4 months after Pearl Harbor, America was able to bomb Tokyo, Japan with planes from the carrier the USS Hornet. This enraged Japan so they quickly tried to invade an American base in Port Moresby, next to the Coral Sea. Carriers were there to stop them. The Battle of the Coral Sea was the first battle to be fought entirely by carriers. Then, with a large fleet, Japan again tried to invade an American island called Midway. Again they were stopped by carriers in a battle that proved to be a decisive turning point in World War II. Japan lost 4 of their own carriers and most of their best pilots, which left America with the upper hand. From then on carriers led the way for America invading base after base up to the last and largest naval battle of the war, the Battle of Leyte Gulf. This battle lasted for 3 days as Americans were trying to recapture the Philippines and the Japanese were trying to fight back. 282 ships fought and dodged while planes were swarming like flies. There were over 900 planes involved. By the end of the battle the Japanese fleet had virtually been destroyed. Carriers proved themselves to be more effective than any other ship during World War II and have ruled the seas ever since.