Here is another thing I can check off my list of life goals...kill a bat. Here's the story. I was working steadily away at my job around 11pm last Thursday when I suddenly get two text messages from my Mom. The first says, "a bat is in the house" the second says "frantic!" I bust out laughing!! In fact I walk down the hall laughing loud enough for probably all of my coworkers to hear. I, of course, being the good son I am , leave work immediately to make the 15 min. trek home to rescue my "frantic" mother from her ferocious nemesis. She had, of course, by this time barricaded herself in her room. I love to play racquetball, and I happened to be carrying my racquet in the trunk of my car, along with some old towels. So, I cautiously walk into the house armed with my racquet and towel. Then, I spotted it. It was hanging from the ceiling in the living room.


So, I paused long enough to take a few pictures, and then, went to work. I twirled up the towel, and 'snapped' it at the bat. It, of course, took off flying around the house. I ducked several times as it flew above my head, it was great fun! It then made a most grievous error. It flew down the hall, and then headed straight back toward me. And there I stood, racquet in hand, ready for the assault. I recalled all the skills I had gained in my love of racquetball, and with one deft overhanded slam, sent the foul fowl to its death. It bounced off my racket, hit the wall, and landed in the chair, never to rise again. Using the towel I picked it up, and deposited it outside. Mission accomplished.


Ryan - 1
Bats - 0
Bring it on!

Ryan
P. S. I hope you have enjoyed my slightly dramatized account of this infamous incident in the Watters' household

Tags: fun, bat

My summer break is already three weeks over!! That's...depressing. I cherish every day of it! I haven't had convenient access to the internet lately, hence my lack of blog updates, I will, however, attempt to keep this site more updated. I have found the problem as to why I can't upload pictures to my website, but I still don't know how to fix it. I have a little under 8,000 pictures on my computer, and one of them has a small problem (e.g. an extra space in the keyword, etc.) and my website building program can't get past it. However, I don't know which file it is! Grrrr.... Oh well. Worse things have happened.

I'm going to post a few pictures just to give you a quick idea of how my summer has gone so far:


My brother Andy and his wife came up for the weekend with their kids, JeNa and Jaxon.


We had a church picnic with a softball game. My brother Andy (pictured above) and I were both on the winning team.


Andy was playing around and came up spitting when he realized that the pepper shaker was actually open


I've had a couple of cookouts


I accidentally got a really short haircut (short for me).


Mom & I went to Hidden Lake Gardens on Memorial Day and I took a few pictures.


I performed the great Coke experiment (see blog below).


I've done lots of yard work (both on ours and my grandparents).


My brother Jason and I re-roofed the shed.


Then Jason & I tore out the carpet in the basement...after working on the shed for many hours. We were tired


We've had lot's of campfires!



I've spent lot's of time with family.

I have returned to Lenawee Christian School to work for the summer. I believe this makes my 5th year to work there.

And thus my summer has gone. All in all, pretty busy! But it has felt good to catch up on some sleep! Trust your summer is going well.

Ryan

Tags: Life, Summer, Relax, Photography

I had an accident. I left a bottle of hand sanitizer in my car, and it, and due to high temperatures, melted and ran all over in my change dish. Because this happened at GBS, I was too busy studying to take care of it immediately (hey, do you have a better excuse? ) and it sat in there for...a while. It corroded the coins and something, I don't know exactly what it was, was produced all over the coins. I really wasn't sure how to clean up the coins after I got home from GBS, and we didn't have the right cleaning supplies, so I decided to put it to the ultimate test, and submerge them in a bowl filled with coke overnight. The results were...disturbing. It cleaned off probably 60-70% of the unknown substance from the coins! I wish I had take "before" pictures, but here are a few "after" shots.



Enjoy your next glass of Coke!

Ryan

Tags: fun, Test, Coke

I just experienced the first real storm of the summer. I was sitting working on my computer when I suddenly came to the realization that it was dark... not a good sign! I looked out the window to see the trees bending, and debri flying everywhere, driven by the wind. It was a very fast moving storm! I raced outside as fast as I could and just stood there in the middle of it all. I raised my arms and felt the wind whipping around me, and the debri brushing up against my skin. It was awesome! I then ran to put a few things away around the house that could be damaged, and put our cars in the garage because of the possiblity of hail. By this time the temperature had dropped nearly 25 degrees. Then the lightening started. Flash after flash, followed almost immediately by claps of thunder that were nearly deafening. Power!

As I stood there, taking this all in, it struck me, God is powerful! God is majestic! God is artistic! Have you never seen the ferocious beauty in a storm? It can be terrifying, but so is God. Yes, He is "meek and lowly of heart" (Matt. 11:29), but He is also fierce, and terrifying. He is the definition, the epidome of strength and power! Have you never read any of the descriptions of God throughout the Bible? Just look at Revelation 4:5 for example which describes the throne of God, "Out from the throne come flashes of lightening and sounds and peals of thunder." And later on in vs. 11 the elders praise Him by saying, "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created." For an even more ferocious descripton of Jesus, look at Revelation 19:11-13, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God." Power!

It is most certainly important to understand and accept the amazing gift of God's love, patience, and mercy, but not at the expence of creating a passive God who is nothing more than a benevolent grandfather. There is such a thing as a healthy fear of God. This fear is not the fear of a slave to an unjust, tyrannical dictator, but the healthy respect, the healthy fear, of a servant to His just master. Don't ever lose sight of this balance.

Ryan

Tags: Summer, Storm, Bible