We just got back from the Jackson fireworks at Cascades.  We rarely go into the actual Cascades (or even the park) as the traffic at the end of the event causes my blood pressure to rise entirely too high.  Instead, we usually go to the Polly's lot on Spring Arbor Road.  It's not a perfect vantage point, but it has easy access to snacks and restrooms, and the kids don't watch that much of the fireworks anyway.

This year, we organized it so that we met up with two other families, both bringing their children.  Especially after having consumed some of the snacks we purchased, they spent a good deal of the time running back and forth along a grassy area that stretches along the parking lot and a pond.  They certainly wore themselves out.

Our vantage point tends to miss some of the low altitude fireworks, but it was still an entertaining show.  The mid point and the finale are certainly my favorite parts.  I would like it if that made it a shorter show by decreasing the interval between the pyrotechnics.  While there were a few fireworks that deserved the dramatic pause, most of them weren't any more impressive than the ones that are blasted on top of one another during the main sets.

I don't know.  Perhaps I've been spoiled by Gandolf's display in the Fellowship of the Ring movie.  That scene is one of those scenes in movies where I did not think that anyone could ever match my mental picture from the book, but they both met and exceeded it.  Since then, our more mundane fireworks just don't measure up.

Still, it gets people out in the fresh air together.  That by itself is worth something.

I've added a new section dealing with the Rosary to the "My Religion" section.  In it I've included a page about my thoughts on the Rosary itself, a page that shows the prayers of the Rosary, and pages with my reflections on the Joyful and Luminous Mysteries.  I plan on adding pages on the Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries by the end of next week. The pages on the Mysteries also contain pictures of stained glass windows from my church that represent the Mystery in question.

I remember being confused about the importance of the Mysteries and the Rosary when I was younger.  In truth, it was only relatively recently that I started to come to an understanding about them and their importance to my faith.  I think that there is much to be learned from the entire Bible, from the New Testament in particular, even more from the Gospels, and specifically from these Mysteries.

Again, while I hope that my thoughts on these elements of my religion will convert you, the true purpose of having this on my website is to show people about things that I find important if they want to know more about me.

Enjoy.

Thanks be to God!  When we returned from my sister's lake cottage today, we found lights on in our neighborhood.  On our last check, Consumer's Energy's website stated that our area's estimated restoration was 4pm on Thursday (a day and a half away).  I had tried to be optimistic, but my sister's experience in such matters had me thinking the worst.  Although I expected to find our house dark and to once again sleep without a fan, I prayed that we would have power on our return, however unworthy I might be of such favors.  Not only did we have power, but it had come back a mere twenty minutes before we returned home!

The storms last night terrified me as no others had done before.  Generally, I enjoy these demonstrations of nature's fury and awesome might, but when the storm woke me at about 2AM, I was filled with a strange fear.  It was when I went for my iPad to check on the radar (and blinded myself in the process) that the storm kicked up to a new level and I immediately set out to take my family to the basement.  A sick feeling washed over me as I realized that my earlier delay may have cost my family their lives had this been an actual tornado.  Again, it was only through God's grace that this storm which caused so much destruction was not more damaging.

I need to learn to be more thankful for what I have been given.  No real damage befell our house (nor the homes of our neighbors).  While we did not have power, my parents and my sister did, so we had places to go to both stay connected to the rest of the world as well have as have access to modern conveniences such as running water and electricity.  The local store had just received a fresh shipment of dry ice this morning (they are normally out right away during such outages).  Although expensive, the dry ice made it so all of our refrigerated and frozen food stayed in good condition.

And, of course, our power was back on tonight.  Sometimes it takes trials and tribulations (both large and small) to remind us of the true blessings that we have in our lives.