The Crash of Twenty-Thirteen

No, not a stock market crash. Something worse, much, much, worse...Just kidding. Let me get to the point:
A couple weeks ago I posted a picture of Jason and I on our first date.  Well, as I was searching for the photo it occurred to me that my hard drives (yes, plural) had crashed several months ago. In fact, I think it was actually last year (hence the crash of 2013).  I haven't been taking a lot of photos lately, so this has not been on the top of mind.  Anyways, I'm searching for this photo and cannot find it anywhere.  I looked in my pile of back-up CDs from ages ago (do people still use those?), I looked on Facebook, Picasa, checked the hard drives I have that DO still work...nothing...then, it occurred to me that I had made a photo book from Shutterfly in the last few years which had those photos! I log in, and there it is! Woohoo!

This weekend, Jason and I completely finished the pond demolition, and proceeded to weed, then fill in the entire area with dirt. We have been working tirelessly on various home projects and were admiring how much we have accomplished:





The pond extended from the far right of our vegetable garden, under our walkway and all the way to the edge of our windows.  It hadn't actually been used in nearly 30 years.

More practical than stagnant pond water.

Now, I know this probably looks pretty insignificant to you, I mean, all we did was move some rocks and pull some weeds? Right?... WRONG.  I would love to show you some 'before' pictures, but that too was lost in the hard drive crash of 2013. When we moved in, there was a rose bush the size of my car (okay, maybe 2/3 of that)...roses have been transplanted (and pruned) to a new space, and now we have beautiful hops.  The pond and several trees are gone. We have a fire pit, a vegetable garden, and a nice fence.

SO. MUCH. WORK. 

 

The rose bushes were so overgrown that you could not open the gate to our deck.

Slowly but surely, our sweat equity is bearing returns.  Actually, it turns out I enjoy pouring my energy into our home.  It feels good to know that I am caring for this space where I will spend several years with my husband, my cat, and maybe someday children (sorry honey, we are NEVER moving).  Hard work not only makes me feel accomplished, but it is biblical!  Perhaps some of my efforts are spent out of pride and vanity, but I would prefer to hope otherwise.  I hope that our efforts are making our home a place where we can better practice hospitality.  I want guests to come into my home and feel at ease.  Actually, I want them to feel comfortable before they even get to the door.  When we are comfortable we start to lower the guard and become vulnerable.  I diverge, this is not what this post was intended to be about.  I'm sure hospitality will be a topic for another day!

Anyways, the point is that I am disappointed in these now non-functioning hard drives... my trip to Australia, our honeymoon, and random moments from here n'there were on those devices.  Surprisingly, I am not too upset.  However, I am wondering how I am going to store photos from here out.  Simple is preferable.

So, all of that to say, I have a question for all of you.  What do you rely on for digital storage? Discs? Hard drive? The cloud? Any specific programs or providers?  There are downfalls to each - CDs and hard drives will not last forever, online storage is likely to have some sort of ongoing subscription cost, etc.

Your turn.

Put That Gun Away, Please

Another shooting.  Already? The shooting at SPU was only 5 days ago.  Then, 2 days ago there was a shooting in Las Vegas. And now, a shooting at Reynolds High School in Troutdale, OR.  Lord help us.

I remember sitting in an elementary school classroom when our teacher had to tell us that there was a shooting at Thurston High School...I didn't know anyone at Thurston, but some of my classmates did... cousins, brothers and sisters of their friends, a daughter of mom's friend who had babysat for them a few times before...  At the time, I don't really think I fully understood what was happening, but I did know it was scary and it was wrong.  I thought schools were a safe place?

Sadly, it isn't just shootings, and it isn't just in schools.  I recently heard a news report about two 12 year old girls who stabbed another child all in the name of some fictional character (trying to prove allegiance, I believe)... I was too appalled to continue reading the article.
 
Regardless of political stance, liberals and conservatives alike should both be able to identify that this is a problem.  Our society has developed quite the propensity for violence (or so it would seem).  I'm not sure if this is attributed to video games, television, or lack of care for the mentally ill.  Plus, correlation does not indicate causation, and I have not done the research. Perhaps is just seems that there has been an increase in violent crimes due to faster information sharing, or if actual occurrences are happening more frequently...

I am fearful for my generation, and the next.   The thought that we will live in a world where this is frequent, is and should be a saddening.  Will these school shootings and other violent acts simply become 'another' news story?  I worry that we will become numbed to the emotions that cause us to be compassionate human beings.

What I do know is that we should fervently pray for people who are tempted by the flesh to behave in this way.  We should pray that they do not find access to the weapon they are seeking, that they have a moment of clarity before acting, or better yet, that they get the help they need before committing such a crime.  We should be in prayer that Christ will abound and knit us together in love, and that we can diligently share His love with those who do not know it.  Through Christ, and Christ alone, we can be changed, and made whole again.  I sincerely pray for the love and grace of Christ to grow and spread over his people like wildfire. 

In the meantime, I pray you have the mind to take these things seriously, and if you choose to keep a weapon in your household that you do so carefully, responsibly and safely.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?  1 John 5:1-5