To my friends and family up north...

Don't play with this storm, leave if you can, hunker down if you can't.  Get that water and ready to eat canned foods, it looks like it's going to be a rough one.

A Psalm of David. Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory. The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever. The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace. ---(Psalm 29:1-11)

Enough of questioning...

Noah came into the ark and his wife, and his sons and their wives. Their obedience was unquestioning. We do not find them asking anything at all, about the reason for the command; but they came as they were bidden. They passed through the doorway, and they were all in the ark. Fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and their wives,daughters and their husbands, and all of you, oh that the blessed Spirit would put you now into such a frame of mind that you should at once yield to the divine precept which says, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”

Have you not asked questions enough? You have had some of them answered, but every answer has only helped you to invent another dozen questions. Oh, those questions! these quibbles! those debates! those doubts! those cavillings! They are ruining thousands.  

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "A Family Sermon." 

And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. 

And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. 

And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. ---(Genisis 19:15-26)

(HO)bbyline HO scale Fairbanks Morse H-10-44 and T.Y.C.O./Mantua 4-6-2 pacific...

...the Pacific is a classic from 1953, the (HO)bbyline diesel from a bit later.  Both have just been thru thorough clean and lubes and were caught taking laps before the Pacific was sent back to its owner, yet another opportunity to run classic, hard to find models on my layout.  I'll be looking for wheelsets to get rid of the traction tire equipped ones on the H-10-44...this will improve electrical pickup with the addition of wipers to those wheelsets...

Numbers 24:5-9

How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!

As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up?

Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.

At their house...against their ace?

Why not?


UPDATE: Maybe not...thanks for the thrilling season guys...

My thoughts on the upcoming election...

In all honesty, I have given up hope for my nation. In every quarter, rich, poor or middle class, among every ethnicity, in every city and town, across every age group, conservative or liberal, business owner or employee...every strata of our nation is grossly dependent upon the federal teat for money. There will be no economic solvency until this truth is faced and dealt with in the strictest of terms.

I don't blame the people for this but those who name the name of Christ as their own, who not only bought into the lie that charity can come from the government through taxation--and the coercion necessary to collect them, but continually perpetuate that notion in their voting.

What comes upon this nation in the coming months and years is simply the necessary consequences of a people who believe themselves free of any transcending authority and a people who believe that they are rightly submitted to a transcending authority. Both do that which is right in their own eyes and thus create the paradoxes that vex their souls every day.

I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.--Thomas Jefferson

Psalm 80

To the chief Musician upon Shoshannimeduth, A Psalm of Asaph. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us. Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. 

O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people? Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure. Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves. Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. 

Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river. 

Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her? The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it. Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself. It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. 

Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. Turn us again, 

O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

Mehano/RSO 2-8-2 Mikado #9353 "The George Washington"... Part II...

...or..."Why I don't care for smoke in my model steam."..The particular model comes with a Seuthe smoke generator--a respected and long time maker of them--but, the generators create heat when not filled and, as in this one, tend to soften the plastic, causing it to warp...

Mehano/RSO 2-8-2 Mikado #9353 "The George Washington"...

A growing air of normalcy is slowly settling in as I pull out a remotoring project purchased before the move.  The motor was toast, giving me the perfect opportunity to shoehorn this massive German coreless motor that's been sitting around, waiting for a job to do.  It outweighs the original motor by at least twice the original's weight.  The torque of the motor is high enough that it will likely blow apart the gear box before it even heats up under load...sweet.

Room lighting for the layout...

...for far too many modelers, it is an afterthought that will always come back to haunt.  So many pictures that folks post from their layouts are marred by lack of light or overwhelming flash.  When my beloved put this room together, she added can lighting around the perimeter.  I installed a small ceiling fan with adjustable spotlights.  While my photography has a little ways to go for better pictures, the potential for those pictures is now unlimited...








My future plans call for installing a dimmer control to take out the soap opera like glare, maybe find some more natural light type bulbs...

1Corinthians 10:1-15

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.  But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 

Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 

Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 

Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. 

I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.

Stanley the tank engine goes to outer space...

...a very cool father/son project. Make sure the kids see it...

Settling in...

...with all things necessary to move in, I've given myself little time to work on my hobby, however, I have been sneaking a bit in here and there... ...a view inside, looking over the layout towards one of the room's bookshelves...



I pray this finds you and yours at peace in the Lord, wherever you may be...

The Soul of Religion

What wretched communities some churches are, where the soul of religion is absent. There is a company of people called a Christian church, and a man called a minister who gives them a pious essay every Sunday morning, and they go in and out, and go home, and there is an end of the whole thing: meanwhile their neighbors are perishing for lack of knowledge, but they care nothing, the heathen are dying without Christ, but they heed it not. So much is given to the cause of God as must be paid out of sheer necessity for the maintenance of outward ordinances, but there is no zeal, no consecration, no fervor of love. May we never come down to this.

O my beloved, I long to see among us yet more and more abundantly the spirit of divine life, energetic life, fervent, self-denying life, life which consumes everything to achieve God’s glory. Beloved, ye have this and may have more of it, but ye may also lose it. Life and power may soon depart; pastor and people may alike sleep in spiritual sloth, and then at such times, the power having gone from the church, its energy is no longer felt among the unconverted. A living church grasps with a hundred hands all that comes near to it; it is a mighty soul-saving institution, which with its far-reaching nets draws thousands from the sea of death. A living church attracts even the Sabbath-breaker, and arouses the infidel. It startles those whom it does not save. When the church is in this state her converts are plenteous; then her teaching and preaching are with power, and truth pushes down its adversaries....

I tremble lest we should go to sleep, and do nothing: I am alarmed lest there should be no conversions, and nobody caring that there should be any, and yet everything seeming to be prosperous. I know that people may be growing more respectable, and appearing to be more pious than ever they were, and yet everything may be going back. God forbid that the dry rot of indifference should seize upon the heart of the church while she yet appears to be sound and strong. Before that occurs may God be pleased to take me home.

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "And Why Not?," delivered November 12, 1876.

On the future of our nation...

And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.--2 Chronicles 16:7-9

What the future holds...

Our new land is being readied for a home that arrived two weeks early...


...the molding and shaping going on has us wondering, "Who needs the bulldozer's work more...the land--or us?

Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.--Hosea 6:1-6

On another note, my long needed organizing of my library is finally getting done as we pack...

Ezekiel 33:23-33

Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.

Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land? Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife: and shall ye possess the land? Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence. For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through. Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.

Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.

Romans 1:16-32

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Hobbyline HO scale Fairbanks Morse H-10-44 in Lehigh Valley colors...

...a gift from an online modeler friend. I've wanted one of these for awhile, in any form, from any manufacturer. The look is pure brute and the car body was designed by the same guy who did the Pennsy GG1.






Made in a time when the hobby was less refined...come on, can you imagine the caterwauling from the peanut gallery if Atlas stamped their logo on the SIDE of any of their models. And check out the screw on the top of the hood...shameless, I tell you, shameless...thinking some goob could actually enjoy the hobby with such a blatant display of non-scale hardware. That boxing glove for a coupler actually mates with most knuckle couplers today and was only used by HObbyline on their equipment. It just gets cooler with each inspection...


This torpedo tube is actually a device to eliminate light bleed thru the shell and concentrate it towards the headlight, a rather forward thinking detail that sees little use still today.


Then there's these giant spur gears in the cab, just waiting to puree some hapless HO scale crew that manages to fall into their clutches.

A great piece of modeling history, it appears to have been offered as part of several sets in 1955 -- in Lehigh Valley, C&O and AT&SF paint as a passenger train and in C&O and AT&SF paint in two freight sets. Pennsylvania paint eventually was offered but it wasn't long afterwards that HObbyline became Bowser and the diesel models stopped, most likely before 1960.

Many thanks buddy...it will be a cherished beastie in my fleet...

One of those moments...

...where I'm glad I paused to admire even the lowest order of God's creation...




...and took a picture...