Welcome to Joel's Life, a blog written from a distinctly "Joel" perspective. I write about faith, family and life. My goal is to begin a digital conversation. So join me and enjoy the journey. Read more...
Today I turned 45. According to the 2009 CIA World Factbook the average life expectancy of a US male at birth is 75.65 years. This means that if the stats are right, I’m more than 1/2 way done with my life. In fact, I crossed the 1/2 way mark 8 years ago.
It’s been a while since I’ve broken out the camera and decided Saturday was the time. So this morning early, my daughter and I went out in the neighborhood to snap a few pictures. Katie used her little Kodak point & shoot camera and I used my Canon 5D with a 28mm – 135mm IS [...]
Ten years ago now, I read what has become one of my favorite books, The Truth About God: The Ten Commandments in Christian Life by Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon. In it, they tell the story of Millard Fuller who had spoken on the Duke campus where they taught. Mr. Fuller told how his family sold everything they had, left a successful law practice and moved to a poor neighborhood in Americus, Georgia to “wait for God to tell them what to do next”. What was next, turned out to be Habitat for Humanity.
On Sunday, April 22nd, 2000 we celebrated the baptism of our first child, Wesley Daniel Smith. It was an emotional time for us not only because Wesley was our first child but also because he was a gift from God. After the service we invited friends and family to celebrate with us. At that Sunday afternoon lunch, I shared these thoughts.
We have a 9 year old son and a 8 year old daughter. We’ve always been selective about what they watch and had hoped to put off the “birds and bees” conversation until they were a little older. But after that day, we knew the time was rapidly approaching with the speed of a runaway freight train.
I can still hear my Dad say with a smile, “I have cut that piece of wood 3 times and it’s still too short.”
Not too long ago Lorri and I enjoyed a weekend getaway in the great Smoky Mountains. We stayed at the Berry Springs Lodge, which I would highly recommend. I took the camera and tripod and got some of our favorite photos of this beautiful setting. Enjoy!
There’s a great scene in The Matrix where Neo stands at a crossroads. He must choose the illusion of freedom or the reality of slavery.
From time to time as I would walk by her desk, I noticed she had slipped back into her well-meaning but misguided use of the mouse.
She would sneak up behind her “big brother” and give him a push. He would cry and she would run away.