Mostly seedlings, but there’s a lot of potential!
While engaging in discussion in a private Facebook group about these topics, I decided to dig out a couple theology papers I wrote in college on Lutherans and on fellowship. They are very relevant and I still believe what I wrote back in college. Experience and maturity would probably push me toward more nuance in my language, but that doesn’t mean the content of my words is wrong. This paper is on some very public doctrinal issues with the LCMS and ELCA.
This isn’t to say my own synod (WELS) is perfect. I’ve outlined one area of improvement in the past: specifically regarding the role of women in the church. Also, all synods are human institutions, and humans are sinful. However, I believe that adherence to sound, scripture-based doctrine is important, and this is guiding this paper.
Loading...
Reload document 
Open in new tab
While engaging in discussion in a private Facebook group about these topics, I decided to dig out a couple theology papers I wrote in college on Lutherans and on fellowship. They are very relevant and I still believe what I wrote back in college. Experience and maturity would probably push me toward more nuance in my language, but that doesn’t mean the content of my words is wrong. This paper is on Christian fellowship. (The title is just a nod to Lord of the Rings, it doesn’t really mean anything.) Enjoy!
Loading...
At the beginning of July, with the help of friends and family, I replaced the roof on my house. It was hard work, with a lot of planning, and we needed all that help to get it done as quickly as we did. I’m really glad I did it myself, and would make the same decision to do it again in a heartbeat. I was fortunate to receive an insurance claim for hail damage that covered the costs (and then some). Here’s how it all went down.
Part 1 was about the knowing and the planning and part 2 was about materials. This post will talk about the tools and other miscellaneous things needed for replacing your asphalt shingle roof. I got many of these tools from Menard’s or Amazon. I’ll leave some links to the exact item I used (or a very close substitute).
In this video I talk about our chicken setup for winter, and how the chickens are faring. We also had a run-in with a fox!
At the beginning of July, with the help of friends and family, I replaced the roof on my house. It was hard work, with a lot of planning, and we needed all that help to get it done as quickly as we did. I’m really glad I did it myself, and would make the same decision to do it again in a heartbeat. I was fortunate to receive an insurance claim for hail damage that covered the costs (and then some). Here’s how it all went down.
Part 1 was about the knowing and the planning, this part is about materials.
Materials
There are a lot of roofing brands out there, and most of them are comparable. Since I was doing it myself, I wanted the best shingles I could afford. This meant standard asphalt shingles. When doing my research, I used a combination of YouTube reviews, Reddit posts, and some ratings websites to help figure out the best option. That research pointed me toward rubber polymer based impact resistant (Class 4) shingles. These rubber polymer shingles resist hail impact, are more flexible, and tend to be more durable than standard shingles.
The other thing I was looking at was warranty. Most companies don’t give great warranties unless it is installed by a contractor who has a certification/partnership with the manufacturer. This makes it hard for a homeowner to get much more than a 10 year warranty.
Finally, cost was a small factor, but it ended up not mattering in the end, due to the amount of insurance money I got from my hail claim. After considering my options, I wanted the best shingles I could buy and the best warranty. Cost would only be a tie breaker, but the choice was pretty clear in the end. Continue reading
At the beginning of July, with the help of friends and family, I replaced the roof on my house. It was hard work, with a lot of planning, and we needed all that help to get it done as quickly as we did. I’m really glad I did it myself, and would make the same decision to do it again in a heartbeat. I was fortunate to receive an insurance claim for hail damage that covered the costs (and then some). Here’s how it all went down.
The planning
There are a few major things that go into planning a project like this: timing, knowledge, materials, tools. In this post I’ll talk about the timing and knowledge aspects.
I sometimes get free camping-related gear to review from The Dyrt. This time I got to review the Tentsile UNA (2.0) tree tent.
I had great hopes for this unique tent. When Tentsile first started making tents I was always intrigued. It looks like a great concept and solves some of the problems of a traditional hammock for people who can’t sleep well in a hammock position. In practice, however, the Tentsile UNA is very limited in it’s use, it is too heavy for backpacking, and cumbersome to setup. It is relatively comfortable, but as a 6’5″ man, it was somewhat cramped.
“You get what you pay for” is an adage I don’t live by. I’m very frugal, so I’m always watch for great deals or just buying cheaper stuff. Many times you are paying for a brand or a “lifestyle”. This applies to nearly everything you can buy, but today I want to talk about tools.
Background: My old miter saw
Last spring I built a chicken coop. Everything went really well until my miter saw stopped working. I’m a big DIYer and love to learn new things, but in this case I wasn’t interested it fixing it. I probably needed a new switch, which would require taking it apart, finding a part, installing that part, and putting it back together. I’ve never worked with this type of electronics before, and I didn’t have the time or interest right now to learn right then and there, especially being in the middle of this project. Continue reading
We’ve been using the same Cabela’s Westwind tent for 8+ years and it has been great. However, as a “Ranger” for The Dyrt, I get to test camping products. This time the company was Wenzel, a company that make tents in the budget price range.
For the Ranger review program, we typically get a coupon code to use and I rarely spend more than the total amount (typically $100), but this time I decided it would be worth it. There wasn’t anything I found cheaper from Wenzel that would be really useful for my family at this point, plus I love tents. I picked the Ivanhoe 6 since our only real issue with the Westwind is the setup time/effort.
The Ivanhoe has a simple setup with a single walled design. It is definitely smaller than the Westwind Deluxe, but my oldest son James is now in is own small Coleman dome tent, so we don’t need it to be as big. We plan to use the Ivanhoe in good weather mostly, since we love the weather proofing and vestibule from the Westwind (though the Ivanhoe performed admirably in the rain).
Here’s my video review of the Wenzel Ivanhoe 6 tent:
You can buy it from Walmart if you want your own.
Recent Comments