The Effects Of Friction

I am thrilled to necessitate a new pair of shoes! My trusty old Nikes have finally bitten the dust after over five hundred miles since the beginning of this year. Friction has taken its toll. All the same, they have been good servants, and I am thankful.

Those five hundred miles do not include any of the ones my shoes gathered from the previous few years! Friction, the force between two materials that stops them from sliding past each other, has worn my right sole partially off! The rubber sole is designed to increase the friction between my foot and the road, causing me to get traction and be safer on slippery surfaces. Friction also leads to the shoes wearing out. Newton’s Third Law of motion reminds me that the force of my foot hitting the ground is returned equally from the ground back to my foot. Since forces always come in pairs, running shoes are designed to absorb the normal force of foot to road impact. This design of the shoe helps to protect my knees and ankles. Good shoes also provide stability for my foot. However, friction is still at work.

I ought to have saved my old running shoes for slightly longer before I discarded them. Identical to my last pair, the like-new pair I purchased have caused a blister on the back of my right heel. They have yet to form to the shape of my foot, and friction is working and will continue until they are broken in. Wearing a Band-aid while jogging manages the tender area, making it tolerable. My older shoes had obviously stretched, allowing less coefficient of friction between my heel and the shoe material. With fourteen miles already on my new shoes, they're feeling better these days!

An old Chinese proverb says, “The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.” The friction that is allowed into our lives causes us to grow if we let it. We can focus on the bad and view ourselves as a victim or choose to rejoice at our opportunity for growth. With my shoes, I am deciding to look at the achievement of miles under them, rather than the old broken-down shoes that were needing replaced. In a similar vein, when hard times inevitably come, I pray that I will see the blessings.

~Rhonda

One Of My Favorite

A couple days ago, I was looking in an animal book. I noticed lots of fantastic things as I skimmed through the book to find the lizard section. The first page about lizards was the bearded dragon.

Bearded dragons are lizards that live in the deserts, savannas, scrublands, and subtropical forests of Australia. 

They are caught and kept as pets around the world. They obtain their name from the spikelike ridges on their necks. They are known by reptile hobbyists as “beardies.”

The common name of this lizard is the bearded dragon. Its scientific name is Pogona. There are eight species of bearded dragon, plus a range of different colors. Its average lifetime in the wild is up to 10 years, but in captivity the bearded dragon can live 7 to 15 years. Bearded dragons can grow to be as big as 16-24 inches in length.

The desert where bearded dragons come from is a place where it hardly rains. Animals adapt to the dry environment with remarkable ways of obtaining and storing water. For the Pogona genus, one of those unique methods is by capturing water on its own body throughout rare bouts of rain. The lizards have been studied standing on their hind legs with their heads sloping downward, lapping up the water with its great tongue as it flows down their faces.

Bearded dragon’s shade-shifting behaviors are a bit like those of the chameleon. The chameleon's changing colors are more recognizable than the bearded dragon’s. But also, the bearded dragon can separate parts of the body it wants to change color.

In hotter times, the lizard will air lighter colors to reflect the rays of sun. In cooler weather, it will air darker colors to help it absorb the heat and keep its body temperature of 95 degrees.

The bearded dragon’s high speed is 9 mph. The lizard rarely runs this quick though because it normally has a stationary life. When time does come for quickness, the bearded dragon raises up on its rear legs and runs like a person. It transfers more weight in the back of the body. Being upright benefits the dragon for increased velocity.

The bearded dragon is one of my favorite lizards. It has lots of amazing and fascinating ways and habits to survive in the wild. I am glad that God created the bearded dragon. “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beast of the earth after their kind; and it was so.”

~Isaac

Pizza and a Crazy Shake

The day we left Hillsboro Family Camp, Mr. and Mrs. Eddy took us to Terry’s Pizza. They had talked about wanting to take us there when we went to revival at Allensburg with them. After we left camp, they accompanied us to Terry’s Pizza to eat and get a Crazy Shake.

By the time we got to Terry’s, it was raining really hard. We all ran into the store to order the pizza. By the time we got in there, we were all soaked. Mr. and Mrs. Eddy were waiting for us in the store. It was so crowded in there; they were getting great business!

It was nice of the Eddy’s to buy us dinner. The pizza was tasty. I had four pieces, and they were delicious. When we had eaten lots of pizza, we all went outside to order a Crazy Shake.

It was still raining a little bit when we went to the outdoor window. When we were all done ordering our Crazy Shakes, we went back inside to wait for the big treat. Not awfully long after we ordered the Crazy Shakes, they came to our table. I was excited!

I got the flavor Sour; it was a huge shake with lots of stuff all over it. There were Nerds all over the outside of the cup, and there was a sour popsicle and whipped topping all over the shake. It was delicious. I was stuffed after I was done with it. I did not finish mine because I was too full.

Jonah and Samuel had Cotton Candy shakes and Isaac ordered one with popcorn all over called Caramel Corn. 

Mom and Dad shared one called Candy Bar. 

Halayah’s was a Unicorn shake and Jayla’s was Brownie. Samuel, Jonah, Halayah, Jayla, Isaac, and I did not finish our shakes, but we all loved them.

For a while we sat close and talked at a round table. We all had to squeeze around because it was so packed in Terry’s. It was fun. Everyone was laughing in surprise, how we all fit.

We are all very thankful for Mr. and Mrs. Eddy for sharing dinner and Crazy Shakes with us. We had a lot of fun visiting with them. We are all thankful for their generosity. It was really exciting to have pizza and a Crazy Shake with the Eddy's.

~Unique

I Will Never Forget

August 8,2011, is a day that I will never forget. For on that day, twelve years ago, I and my siblings first came to live with our new family on their farm, Providence Prairie. What a sudden shifting and adjusting occurred in everyone’s lives, what a wonderful, amazing, unexpected future lay ahead of us. What an eventful and memorable date that I will never forget.

My first remembrances of that long-ago day are of riding in our Case-worker’s red minivan on our way to our new home. I remember how we flooded her with questions and how she patiently answered each one. I will never forget thinking about it all as we traveled along, I couldn’t wait to get there!

I will never forget pulling down the gravel driveway. Gazing out in wonder at the outbuildings and farmyard. Then, seeing for the first time our home. I remember quickly climbing out of the car and running and jumping into Dad’s arms. 

It’s amazing, thinking back on it, how in some way, we all had a feeling this was forever. Though our adoption day wouldn’t roll around until three and a half years later, in our family’s books, we were here to stay.

I remember the trip through the house and around the barnyard. How comfortable and inviting everything looked inside, and how strange and exciting all the animals were to us. I will never forget looking at and holding the rabbits, cute and cuddly balls of furry softness. I remember how one young one scratched me on the underside of my forearm, I still have a very faint scar from it that I treasure. 

I will never forget riding on Rusty the donkey. How I sat upon him timid and nervous, Samuel sitting behind me holding onto my waist. We would have plenty of animal adventures from then on until now.

How blessed were the five of us that day when Dad and Mama decided to take us in. How sure am I that God was watching over us even before then, and how positively I know He continues to guide and direct us each day. How true are the verses,” The unfortunate commits himself to you, you have been a helper of the orphan” and “A Father to the fatherless…. God makes a home for the lonely.” Also, “In You, the orphan finds mercy” How marvelous and gracious is the God we serve!

What a lot has occurred and transpired since that life-changing day. Time moves constantly on, and we are swept along with it. I am excited to see what lies ahead for our family. Like Mama always says, life is never stagnant but like a river it winds and flows along, every step of the way bringing new and shifting changes. No matter what is in store for me in the future though, the day I became a McDaniel is a day I will never forget.

~Halayah

That's the Way To Have Fun!

Most people in this world like having fun. My brothers and I love having fun! We sometimes do crazy things to have fun- things like battling wasps with only sticks, tennis rackets, and basketballs! One of my favorite things we do is the trampoline free-for-all fights!

The rules of a trampoline free-for-all are simple, no biting, no pulling hair, spitting, pinching, but most of all, there is absolutely NO TICKLING! In order to become the king of the trampoline, you must receive the words from every person that you fight, “I surrender!” You don’t have to surrender, but if and when you do, your attacker must stop whatever he’s doing to you instantly.

I was once pinned by Jonah and Isaac, but I wouldn’t surrender! They twisted my arms behind my back and asked surrender, but I would simply answer, “Never!” They would be frogging my arms and legs constantly, but I still wouldn’t surrender! Frogging your arm is a cool thing!

In order to frog yourself, you must extend your arm with the palm facing up, then with your other hand, you will make a fist and hit the bicep of the extended arm quick and hard! If hit just right, the spot where you hit, will quickly rise up into an odd-looking lump! After about five seconds, the lump will disappear! If you continue frogging yourself in the same spot, the area might get a little bruised.

I would oftentimes break loose from the holds of my bother, and then once loose, I would attack one or both boys at a time! I would pen one of the boys down, while blocking the blows from the other! While I am busy blocking blows my prisoner would often escape! 

The boys would have me pinned shortly after that, trying to make me surrender. The only words they would get from my mouth, was “Never!” That fight lasted until dinner, which was about 2 hours from when it started!

We don’t often have a trampoline free-for-all, but once one has started, it can last for hours! Dad always says, “We work hard, and play hard- in that order.” After we have worked hard, we still like to play hard on the trampoline. Now that’s the way to have fun!

~Samuel

The Pet Rock

Mark 1975

The year 1975 brought a strange new pet to the scene, a rock. While listening to his friends complain about the cumbersome care of their domesticated animals, advertising executive Gary Dahl came up with the idea of the Pet Rock. The hand sized stones procured from Rosarita Beach in Baja, Mexico came packaged in a cardboard container that resembled a pet carrier, complete with air holes and straw bedding. The accompanying care and training booklet gave tips such as, “How to make your pet rock roll over and play dead,” and “How to house train your pet rock,” along with “sit, stay, and even attack (with a little extra help).” Over a million rocks were sold at $3.95 each, making Mr. Dahl a millionaire in the six months the scheme lasted.

While the Pet Rock was just a fad, rocks play an important part in our American culture and landscape. While on vacation, we have visited Plymouth Rock, the Rocky Mountains, Devil’s Tower, 

Mt. Rushmore, The Grand Canyon, El Capitan, Natural Bridge, The Petrified Forest, and here in our own neighborhood, Garden of the Gods. Each creation has its own unique history, significance, and beauty.

Rocks are also vital to our homestead, being utilized in numerous applications. 

 

Building are supported with strong foundational stones, while others form walkways and steps. 

Flower beds are lined with small stones enhancing the borders, 

with large rocks providing seating near the pond. 

 

 

Even inside the home, rocks from our creek form a decorative protective firewall behind our wood stove. No matter the size, each performs an important function and duty.

 

For children rocks are always fascinating objects, establishing many youngsters’ first collection. I still have a unique rock that I collected as a youth from the hills of eastern Kentucky, that serves as a reminder of my mom’s heritage, prompting memories of ancestors, providing me with my very own Pet Rock. 

 

A hewn stone from a porch step of Rhonda’s great grandmother near Rarden, Ohio in Adams County now serves as a steppingstone on our own property where we can walk on the same path as those who have marched before us. 

 

A rock painted into a cat by my grandmother sits under our wood stove, yet another reminder of those who’ve gone on beforehand, 

while petrified wood from our creek sits on our porch as indications of even earlier times.

Rocks serve an amazing place in our culture and even in the life to come, as Jesus is referred to as The Rock of our salvation. For us, whether travelling and observing rock formations, utilizing rocks around our home, or simply collecting them for fun and special memories, they are always intriguing. Psalm 18:2 says, “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” Above all other rocks, He is the Rock I want to see and have in my life, and in the end, the only One really worth collecting.

~Mark