Via Flickr:
A lamp mounted on the wall in front of the historic Baldwin United Methodist Church in Millersville. The church congregation began in the area around 1770 and this lovely granite building was constructed in 1896.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Lamplighter
Progress
I was finally able to get trackside today for the first time since July. It was cold, but it was still fun.
Via Flickr:
A stack train passes under a new signal bridge near Bailey Wye in Baltimore, a sign that the former B&O CPL signal in the foreground has its days numbered.
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Home For The Holidays
Via Flickr:
I am thankful today for sunrises. For just as God renews the earth each day with them, so He also renews my soul.
In All Things, Give Thanks
"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name." - Psalm 100:4 (NKJV)
There is so much I have to be thankful for this year, that I cannot even begin to count all of the blessings. I've always been thankful for many things in my life, but this year I look at it with a different heart. A heart transformed by Christ. First and foremost, I am thankful to Him for my salvation this year. For while I was in the darkest hours of my life, He plucked me from the path of destruction I was on and set me on the straight and narrow. This doesn't mean that I'm perfect now or that I won't have to face earthly consequences for my sins. I falter every day, but through the grace and mercy of God, I am able to get back on the path that He laid out for me.
I am thankful to him for my family. He has blessed me with a beautiful (and very patient) wife. Kristin is indeed my rock on this earth, and God definitely new what He was doing when her and I had a course collision on Halloween night in 1998. I'm thankful for the beautiful daughter that He blessed us with in Katrina. She was my little angel that kept me sane at time when I was dealing with the death of my father and a force move from the house we were living in at the time. I'm thankful to Him for baby Jason that is growing inside Kristin. I'm thankful that God melted down the heart of stone I had, and allowed me to reconnect with my brothers this year after almost 2 years of no contact. Having them back in my life has been a huge blessing.
I'm thankful for the friends that God has put in my life to help me along on this journey. My friend Jason, who has been with me through many ups and downs for almost a decade now. I love him like a brother. I'm thankful for Chad and Jes. We met them through mutual friends, but then our friendship took on a life of it's own. I'm thankful that God used them to find us a church home. I'm thankful for my brothers in Christ: Matt, Mack, Dan and Darren. They have been instrumental in my life as a baby Christian. I thank God everyday for the opportunity to bare my soul to them and grow with them.
Above all, I'm thankful that no matter what may happen in my life, I know that Christ walks beside me and my family.
Please take the time to remember my brothers and sisters in uniform who are serving in harms way today. May God bless all of you on this day of thanksgiving.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name." - Psalm 100:4 (NKJV)
There is so much I have to be thankful for this year, that I cannot even begin to count all of the blessings. I've always been thankful for many things in my life, but this year I look at it with a different heart. A heart transformed by Christ. First and foremost, I am thankful to Him for my salvation this year. For while I was in the darkest hours of my life, He plucked me from the path of destruction I was on and set me on the straight and narrow. This doesn't mean that I'm perfect now or that I won't have to face earthly consequences for my sins. I falter every day, but through the grace and mercy of God, I am able to get back on the path that He laid out for me.
I am thankful to him for my family. He has blessed me with a beautiful (and very patient) wife. Kristin is indeed my rock on this earth, and God definitely new what He was doing when her and I had a course collision on Halloween night in 1998. I'm thankful for the beautiful daughter that He blessed us with in Katrina. She was my little angel that kept me sane at time when I was dealing with the death of my father and a force move from the house we were living in at the time. I'm thankful to Him for baby Jason that is growing inside Kristin. I'm thankful that God melted down the heart of stone I had, and allowed me to reconnect with my brothers this year after almost 2 years of no contact. Having them back in my life has been a huge blessing.
I'm thankful for the friends that God has put in my life to help me along on this journey. My friend Jason, who has been with me through many ups and downs for almost a decade now. I love him like a brother. I'm thankful for Chad and Jes. We met them through mutual friends, but then our friendship took on a life of it's own. I'm thankful that God used them to find us a church home. I'm thankful for my brothers in Christ: Matt, Mack, Dan and Darren. They have been instrumental in my life as a baby Christian. I thank God everyday for the opportunity to bare my soul to them and grow with them.
Above all, I'm thankful that no matter what may happen in my life, I know that Christ walks beside me and my family.
Please take the time to remember my brothers and sisters in uniform who are serving in harms way today. May God bless all of you on this day of thanksgiving.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Pewter On Jean
Via Flickr:
A study of the pewter Block "I" buttons on my reproduction Confederate jacket made from jean cloth.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
The Lovely Layla
Via Flickr:
I haven't used my Canon 5D Mk II since the end of July due to some ongoing issues that I am facing. I felt it was time to pick the camera back up though, and Layla was the perfect subject to do that with.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Veterans Day Thoughts
I want to first wish all of my fellow veterans a very Happy Veterans Day, whether you are still wearing the uniform or have since taken it off. For those still on active-duty, I hope you enjoy the extra downtime to spend with your families or simply relax by yourself. While things are winding down in Afghanistan, we continue to maintain a fairly high operations tempo across the military branches.
In the almost 15 years since I enlisted, I've seen quite a bit change. I've watched politicians come and go. I've witnessed over a decade of war (the majority of my time in service), and while I have been spared the grief of losing someone I knew personally, we all grieve when yet another flag-draped coffin passes by. I still never forget standing on the flightline at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan watching the plane I had just landed in become the flight home for the flag-draped coffins of 5 brave Marines who had just been killed the morning before. The playing of Taps at that moment caused me to instantly tear up. I don't care how many times I hear it, that haunting song will get me emotional every time because of what it represents.
We live in a nation where people have become extremely polarized when it comes to politics. Sure, those of us who serve have our own political inclinations as well as our own unique set of morals, beliefs, values etc. We realize though that we're an extension of politics. It really doesn't matter who the President is or who is in Congress. To quote a line from the movie The Green Berets, "...[the military] goes where it's told to go, and fights whom it's told to fight". Not that we're robots or we cannot think for ourself. We simply understand that defense of this nation requires the highest levels of loyalty and discipline, and that is not going to change just because politicians do.
At the end of the day, it's about the person standing next to you. Sure, we serve to keep this country safe. That's the very reason for our existence as a military. It goes deeper than that though. At the end of the day, we serve for each other. This doesn't stop just because you take off the uniform either. Veterans are part of the biggest brother and sisterhood this nation has ever known, and it has been this way since it's very founding. Whether you served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, or just got back from your first deployment to Afghanistan, we share a commonality that instantly turns strangers into brothers and sisters.
I've built relationships during my service that are more like familial ones than friendly ones. People like my best friend Jason. We had quite a bit in common outside of our service, but that service together was the concrete and steel that formed the foundation. So many other people who have touched my life in ways I can only feebly express. There are so many I've served with that have touched my life, making it difficult to try and name all of them here. When it seems like it's time to turn in the towel, you guys are the reason I keep doing what I'm doing.
May our Almighty Father in heaven bless you, my brothers and sisters. May we never forget those of us who paid the ultimate price.
In memory of Ernest Warshaw (U.S. Army, WWI), Thomas T. Warshaw (77th Infantry Division, U.S. Army, WWII) and Kenneth Fitzpatrick (27th Infantry Division, U.S. Army, WWII).
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
In the almost 15 years since I enlisted, I've seen quite a bit change. I've watched politicians come and go. I've witnessed over a decade of war (the majority of my time in service), and while I have been spared the grief of losing someone I knew personally, we all grieve when yet another flag-draped coffin passes by. I still never forget standing on the flightline at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan watching the plane I had just landed in become the flight home for the flag-draped coffins of 5 brave Marines who had just been killed the morning before. The playing of Taps at that moment caused me to instantly tear up. I don't care how many times I hear it, that haunting song will get me emotional every time because of what it represents.
We live in a nation where people have become extremely polarized when it comes to politics. Sure, those of us who serve have our own political inclinations as well as our own unique set of morals, beliefs, values etc. We realize though that we're an extension of politics. It really doesn't matter who the President is or who is in Congress. To quote a line from the movie The Green Berets, "...[the military] goes where it's told to go, and fights whom it's told to fight". Not that we're robots or we cannot think for ourself. We simply understand that defense of this nation requires the highest levels of loyalty and discipline, and that is not going to change just because politicians do.
At the end of the day, it's about the person standing next to you. Sure, we serve to keep this country safe. That's the very reason for our existence as a military. It goes deeper than that though. At the end of the day, we serve for each other. This doesn't stop just because you take off the uniform either. Veterans are part of the biggest brother and sisterhood this nation has ever known, and it has been this way since it's very founding. Whether you served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, or just got back from your first deployment to Afghanistan, we share a commonality that instantly turns strangers into brothers and sisters.
I've built relationships during my service that are more like familial ones than friendly ones. People like my best friend Jason. We had quite a bit in common outside of our service, but that service together was the concrete and steel that formed the foundation. So many other people who have touched my life in ways I can only feebly express. There are so many I've served with that have touched my life, making it difficult to try and name all of them here. When it seems like it's time to turn in the towel, you guys are the reason I keep doing what I'm doing.
May our Almighty Father in heaven bless you, my brothers and sisters. May we never forget those of us who paid the ultimate price.
In memory of Ernest Warshaw (U.S. Army, WWI), Thomas T. Warshaw (77th Infantry Division, U.S. Army, WWII) and Kenneth Fitzpatrick (27th Infantry Division, U.S. Army, WWII).
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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