Thursday, March 31, 2005

Quote of the day

Update: With help from Reggienation I now have the full quote.

"Today, millions of Americans are saddened by the death of Terri Schiavo. Laura and I extend our condolences to Terri Schiavo's families. I appreciate the example of grace and dignity they have displayed at a difficult time. I urge all those who honor Terri Schiavo to continue to work to build a culture of life, where all Americans are welcomed, and valued, and protected, especially those who live at the mercy of others. The essence of civilization is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak. In cases where there are serious doubts and questions, the presumption should be in the favor of life."

Predident George W. Bush, March 31, 2005

Terri Schiavo just died.

Terri just died. More comments later.

Dear Lord,
Please let our country return to You.
In Your Son's name,
Amen

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Encouragment to young people

Hey everyone! I have made it back into the blogophere! Here is today's post!

Blog Reads:

First of all, Agent Tim has a post up talking about some of the mud slinging he has heard directed at his person, and how that has encouraged him!

Also, Reggienation continues to provide updates on Terri Schiavo.

Encouragment For Young People

Last night my family and I watched a film depicting the story of Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl who died in a concentration camp during WWII. As a person sits, watching as a young girl suffers, your heart longs for a rescuer to come. But she dies, as so many did, and you are left wondering "How could this happen?" "How can this be?" Then my thoughts turned to the hero's of that war, the men who struggled up the Normandy beaches on D-day, the men who gave their lives so that the cause of freedom might be so nobly advanced. The men who died so that the tide of evil would be stayed. I was reminded of this verse in Isaiah 59:19,

"So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him."

Oh, what a comfort! The Lord hears, the Lord knows, all that goes on here on this earth. Let all young men in this land, grow up into godly Christian men who are able to follow in the steps of our Lord, young men who will become God's men of tomorrow. Let me quote to you the following poem from "Man in Demand".

"The men in demand is the man who can stand
All alone in defense of the right
Though the crowds threat and jeer
He stands firm without fear
Never stooping to lower his sight "

Let us all strive to be that man! Let us control evil desires in our lives, let us walk in purity and faith. Let us live straight and true, though the world jeer and scorn. Let us serve the Lord with gladness and enter His courts with praise! Let us set a example that we would be proud for our sons to follow. There are days when the world in pressing in, when it looks as if there is no hope. Days when evil appears to be dominant. These are the days when the Lord looks for a man who will stand in the gap and save the land from evil.

"Ezek 22:30 "I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one."

Let us be that man! Let us take our stand!

As young men and woman, let us do what is right,
though the world mock at the sight.
As the hero's of old, let us be bold,
only walking in ways that are true.

I would now like to recommend two books to my readers. The one I have quoted for above is called "Man in Demand" it is written to young men. Then the second book is called "Christian Charm Course" is is written to young ladies. The authors are Wayne and Emily Hunter. Both books are very well written and are good guides to pick up in time of need. Both are available at Amazon.com Click here for a list Or our local Christian book store should be able to get you one.

In Christ,
The Blogging Boy Scout,
Travis

Thursday, March 24, 2005

Update on Terri..

Here is the latest on Terri Schiavo's case. The Supreme Court will not intervene.

Click here for the full story

Please pray for Gov. Bush to make the right choice.

The Blogging Boy Scout,
Travis

Terri Schiavo

First of all, the case of Terri Schiavo.

This article by Reggienation really hits home. Where is our nation going when it kills off its unwanted? This must stop!

More at Blogs for Terri and Terri's Fight

New Blogger: On another note, I have meet a new homeschooling blogger. She runs a blog over at Spunky Jr. Please stop by and welcome her to the blogosphere.

Please pray for Terri,
The Boy Scout Blogger,
Travis

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

"To Give an Answer" interviews "The Blogging Boy Scout!"

Look for a update on this page for my answers to the following questions from To Give an Answer! Update: Here it is!

1. What aspect of Boy Scouting do you think is the most beneficial?

First of all, let me say thank you Scott, for the invitation to do this interview. I would say for me the most beneficial part of Boy Scouting was the time spent out in God's Creation and learning about him from godly leaders.(including my dad) Other benefits include learning to live out of a backpack, learning how to survive in a outdoors type environment, and learning how to work as a team with other young men. Some cautions I would have about my son one day being in scouting would be having the right leaders at the head of the group and the right boys in the troop. There is room for much foolishness to take place in a camp setting, and this can be avoided with the right group and with the right rules.

2. Describe the best hike or camping trip you've taken.

Wow, that's a tough one. I guess it would probably have to be a 40 something mile backpacking trip we took to New Mexico. It was a glorious hike, 5 beautiful days of hiking, camping and cooking! We saw a cougar track and a herd of elk. We tried to sneak up on the elk, but they were to sharp for us, and ran. After a great summit hike to the top of one of the mountains, we hiked 10 miles down and made it home in time for the 4th of July!

3. Give a one-paragraph explanation of why you're a Christian.

I am a Christian because, Jesus is Lord of my life and my King. He is Lord of everything. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. The earth turns on its axis because He wills it. The greatest men of all time, believed in him. His walk is the way to eternal life! Through His power, we can put to death the deeds of the flesh and live a pure, clean life that He can be pleased with. There is no other name by which men can be saved, there is no other name under heaven.

4. If you had the ability to change one thing about the blogosphere in general, what would it be?

Hmm, well as far as programs for blogging and such I am pleased with all the technology that it out there for bloggers. I wish that you one, true God would be exalted in all that we do and blog.

5. Complete this sentence: "I wish that I..."

I wish that I could come to the end of my life and echo the words of Paul and say "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith."

Terri's ongoing battle

Hello everyone!

I have returned from camp a sore man. :-) I had a lot of fun though. Soccer, basketball, and and volleyball are just a short list of the activity's. It was a great weekend. Now on the the news!

Issue 6 of Virtue Magazine is now up and running!

Agent Tim and Reggienation both have some great posts up about the case of Terri Schiavo. More information is also available at Blogs for Terri and at Terri's Fight.

Also, Agent Tim is writing a spy novel!

That's all for now. Talk to you later!

The Blogging Boy Scout,
Travis

Friday, March 18, 2005

Gone Camping...

Hello Everyone!

I am going to church camp this weekend! We are leaving today and Lord willing, we will be back on Sunday. I hope to have my interview up on Monday some time. Sorry about the delay. :-( If you are looking for other blogs to read while I am gone, please visit some of the great blogs in my blog roll. Also if you like you could take a look back into my archives.

Well, have a good weekend everyone!

God Bless,
The Blogging Boy Scout,
Travis

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Good Morning!

Hey everyone!

First of all, please visit Blogs for Terri. This young lady is one day away from having her feeding tube removed and being starved to death! Please visit the site for more information. Also, Reggienation has a good post about Terri and the current happenings surounding her case.

In other new, I have been asked by To Give an Answer for a interview! So I hope to have that up later today.

The Blogging Boy Scout,
Travis

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

The State of the Blogosphere

Hello all,

Today I have done a lot of browsing through the blogophere and the Christian web in general. I found a interesting site in the Christian Teen Forums. They have a debate section which is interesting to read. (Topics range from the war in Iraq to Gay marriage)

Also, I found a good bit of discussion about Patrick Henry Collage, the recently founded conservative, collage in Virginia that has a large group of home schoolers in attendance. I might post a larger article on just this topic at a later time.

In site news: I have signed up for ProLife Blogs as well as The Christian Top 1000. (I am ranked 938) LOL!

Prayer request. Agent Tim's cousin recently lost his dad, so please keep that family in your prayers.

Well, That's all for now!
The Blogging Boy Scout,
Travis

Monday, March 14, 2005

Spring Cleaning and a Virtue Meeting

Hey guys!

Well, today I helped my family with spring cleaning, found some time to attend a Virtue meeting and also did some lawn mowing(for the first time this year!)

Invitation!

I have noticed that I have had some visitors coming to my site from out of the US! If you are one of those, please make yourself known! I would love to meet some like minded people from around the world! So if you would like please leave a comment!

Well, Goodnight!
The Blogging Boy Scout,
Travis

Friday, March 11, 2005

Two Days in the Life of a Capitol Page

Here (at long last) is my paging article!

Getting Started

Well, we (my family) drove up to Oklahoma City on Sunday evening. We got to the hotel, and proceeded to unload everything. After that we went to a meeting to hear the rules of the week. In that meeting we meet our two counselor's who were to supervise us for the week. After that we all had to hurry up to our rooms and get ready to go out to dinner, so there really wasn't much time to meet anyone. Then after the pages had all congregated, we headed outside and loaded into to state vans. After getting in the vans we got to get to know each other better. There where 15 girls and 4 boys!(not counting two other girls who where driving in every day) Then we got to the restaurant, and proceeded to go in and order. At dinner we got to know more about each other(What got you interested in paging. Etc.) After that we loaded back into the vans and went to a Super Target, to buy any items we might have forgotten. I needed to buy a wrist watch, so I headed over to the jewelry department and picked up a nice one for $9.99. After hanging around a bit, we loaded back up, and drove back to the hotel. Soon after we arrived, it was time for bed. So me and my roommate, went to our room, cleaned up a bit, and went to bed and waited for sweet sleep to plunge us into the land of dreams. And waited...And waited... We were to get up at 6:30 in order to get breakfast, so I knew I had to get to sleep. No luck. Finally I fell asleep.

The First Day of Paging

"..Sunny skies over South OKC, no major wrecks repor*click*" With that our friendly alarm clock reminded us that it was now 6:30. With that and a groan or two, my roommate and I got up and dressed for the day. Then we went down to eat. After eating an excellent breakfast, off we went to the capitol! After driving a bit, oh, maybe 10 minutes, we drove up to the side entrance of the building. We all piled out of the vans, and then trooped inside. Just inside the door, we lined up to go through security. It looked like one of those things you see at air ports. A metal detector to walk through, and a large box that one of the guards told me housed an X ray device. After clearing security, we went down a long corridor, then hopped into our choice of two good sized elevators. Once inside we proceeded up the shaft to the fourth floor. After reaching the top we walked past the senators offices and into the page area where we met a very nice lady who was to be our page manager. The sergeant at arms, was sick the first day so we will have to meet him at the proper time. :-) The room itself was located right behind the senate chamber. It housed 3 desks at which sat our manager and two wonderful ladies who ran the phone banks of the capitol. Then along the wall, folding chairs and sofas were set up for the pages who were waiting for a errand. There was also a small table set up laden with cookies, coffee, and ice water. (The cookies were popular items, and not just among pages. We had at least one senator drop by to sneak a taste.) After just a small stay in this room, we moved out to meet the page coordinator. She was a very nice lady who told us a bit about our duties and the rules of decorum. (example: Pages while on duty, were to use the stairs :-) Then we went back to the page room and begin our first day at the capitol! We(the pages) were seated on the aforementioned sofas and chairs and we rotated towards the desk where calls where coming in. When the phone rang, the first page in line would take a sticky note that had the room number of the caller on it.(example: A sticky note that read 417b means go to the forth floor, room 17b.) We were asked to perform a number of duties, such as, refilling coffee pots, taking bills from one office to another and some pages were asked to "office sit" while the secretary was out. Another thing we did was page for a committee. That is where the senators are looking at bills to see whether they are important enough to put before the entire senate. The pages duties in a committee consist largely of handing out bills to the senators. After a busy morning half of the pages headed down to the cafeteria for lunch! Boy, was I ready for that! After lunch, the calls slowed down as most of the senators were in committee, and pages were all ready assigned to them. So we just sat in the paging room and talked. We were told the the next day would be busier as the senators would be in session. After a few more calls, it was time for us to head back to the hotel. We said goodbye to the page manager, and went back down the elevators, to the ground floor. From there we loaded back in the vans and drove out to eat supper(I think we had pizza, but I am not sure). After that, back we went to the hotel. We were all zonked(an Oklahoma term for really tried :-) and ready to go the bed. Not to long after arriving we all went to our rooms and were checked in. My roommate and I watched the History channel just a bit, then after reading my bible, I fell asleep.
And so ended my first day at the capital!

Note: I thought I might make this a weekly part of my blog for a while, maybe every Friday?

The Blogging Boy Scout,
Travis

Thursday, March 10, 2005

Coming Soon: The Tale of Travis, the Capitol Page.

Hey guys!

I have been working on my paging article, and hope to have it up sometime today!

The Blogging Boy Scout,
Travis

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

The Boy Scout Bloggers Web Browsing # 2

Some sites of interest...

Euthanasia of the hungry?

"A Florida judge passed a death sentence. Time of execution: March 18 at 1:00 p.m. The capital punishment will be meted out not to some terrorist or serial killer but to a young woman whose only crime is being disabled."

Full article here

Travis' comments: This is the story of Terri Schiavo, a young lady, whose only crime is the God given need for food. Please read above. To join the effort to save Terri, please visit Blogs For Terri.

Collage professor...America hater?

"Selectively constructing his facts and even his own identity, controversial Colorado professor Ward Churchill embodies the radical left that dominates college campuses..."

Full article here

Travis' Comments: This is the story of Mr. Ward Churchill, the professor who has been on the news lately, for his comment comparing the 9/11 victims to Nazis.

Pro-Life Blogs, a Blog Roll worth looking into...

View Pro-Life Blogs

I am looking into joining this blog roll. Looks pretty good to me. :-)

That's all for now folks!
Talk to you later!
The Blogging Boy Scout,
Travis

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

A new blog I like...Reggienation!

Here is a blog I stumbled across that I really like. It is called Reggienation.

This post really seized my attention. It is called "The Bill of NON Rights".

http://reggienation.myblogsite.com/blog/_archives/2005/3/7/407596.html

Please stop by and give it a read.

Also, Virtue Magazine came out today with its 5th edition! With new articles and a great new look, it is definitely worth a look!

Talk to you later,
The Blogging Boy Scout,
Travis

Sunday, March 06, 2005

Sunday Post!

Hey guys!

I just wanted to check in and let you know I have not forgotten about The Boy Scout Blogger, and to post an update.

Progress on articles: I have now started work on my separation of church and state article. :-) I have yet to tell you what I did paging at the capitol! I must try to fix that soon!

Reading List: I just borrowed "Ben Hur" from a friend! After seeing the movie, I am really looking forward to reading the book!

Birthdays: Agent Tim just turned 15! Please stop by his blog and wish him many more years of blogging!

Senate Pages: If any of you drop by, please let me know!

Well, see you later!
The Blogging Boy Scout,
Travis

Thursday, March 03, 2005

Virtue Magazine recognized on Evangelical Outpost!!!

"...Take, for example, the group of conservative students studying Constitutional Law(!) who banded together to start Virtue, a bi-weekly with articles on politics, the economy, Christian life, and the Supreme Court...From their bios it appears that many of the students are home schooled, which would explain why they can write better than 75% of the blogosphere. But what I can't comprehend is why someone like fourteen-year-old Tim Sweetman is writing a defense of marriage..."

Read more at Evangelical Outpost!

Congratulations to Tim, Alex and all the other great writers over at Virtue, Magazine!

The Blogging Boy Scout,

Travis :-D

Permalink here: http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/001223.html

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Laser tag and coyotes again!

Well, today we went to a laser tag* place to celebrate a friends 18th birthday. It was a lot of fun, but I sure got tired from all the moving about. :-) The room we played in was really neat, it had these dark lights that made anything white glow, as well as smoke machines. We played 4 rounds, I got 6th, 3rd,and two 1st places. Also while we were in town we got a copier/printer/scanner/fax machine. We praise the Lord for it and hope to have a good bit of fun using it. Then after dark when we got home, we were inside the house and suddenly heard a chorus of coyote howls! After listening a minute, mom said "they sound close" so we turned on the outside lights to see if we could see anything. As the lights went on the noise quieted, and then rose again. Then my mom and my sister went to the back door while I got the shotgun. As they unlocked the door, the noise stopped. If you ask me, when a bunch of coyotes are close enough to your door to hear it being unlocked, that's a little to close. We are now thinking of getting a dog or something. :-)

Health update: I feel about 99% well now.

Article progress: Well, it seems like one gets busy and it is hard to find time to write. However, I hope to get both the article about paging and the separation of church and state article done soon, as well as continuing the current series in progress on the topics of "encouragement for young men in the Lord" and "Boy Scout Memories".

God bless,
The Blogging Boy Scout,
Travis

*This was not a BSA activity.

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Interview of the Blogging Boy Scout!

Hey Everyone!

Well, a day or two ago, Agent Tim http://agenttim.blogspot.com , asked me for an interview so here goes!

1. What is the best thing about where you live?
Well, where I live in Oklahoma, we have some of the biggest sky's you have ever seen. On a clear day, you can look up and gaze forever into space, and just stand in awe of the Creator who made it all. At night, the view is even more spectacular, we live miles from the nearest city and the skyline runs for miles over the open pasture. The view is absolutely magnificent! If you ever get out this way, try to get out of the city somewhere at night and just gaze into the heavens, the view should be unforgettable!

2. What has been your favorite book of all time?
For this I would without a doubt have to say the Bible. It stands alone as the only book ever written by God for man. By its words nations rise and fall. By its morals great men stand true. From its pages, flow the words of life.

If I may quote from one of my favorite presidents:

"I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book. But for it we would not know right and wrong"

Abraham Lincoln

3. If you were allowed to visit only three buildings in D.C., what would they be?
I would have to say, the Capitol, the White House, and the Smithsonian.

4. What has been your most exciting experience?
Well, let me see, there are many things that come to mind. Let me try to give you, the reader a glimpse into my mind. laying on a sleeping bag, looking up into the heavens, and thinking on the power and majesty of God...The feeling of thankfulness to God as you are raised up from baptism...Standing at a pond with a fishing poll, as a big bass hits the bait and takes a dive to the bottom...The feeling of joy as mom and dad pinned on the Eagle Scout medal...The joy of learning as you get to talk to leaders of your state...The utter thrill of a rollercoster diving to the bottom of a loop...The thrill of a good canoe race, as the boats dart downstream...The resounding pop of a well hit tennis stroke...The crash of a bowling strike...The smile on a younger siblings face...Driving out in the pasture talking with dad...In my bedroom talking to mom...The feeling of victory as the good guy shoots the gun out of the bad guys hand...The feeling of patriotism as the president delivers a speech to rally our nation...A hug from grandma..Changing the oil with granddad..May the list grow ever longer.

5. What do you want to pursue as a career?
I would like to go to a local collage and then perhaps go on to law school. After that marriage and the raising of children, then possibly run for a public office.

Tim, thank you so much for the interview! I really enjoyed doing it! Now if there are any of my readers out there who would like to be interviewed here are the instructions.

1. Leave me a comment saying "interview me." The first five commenters will be the participants.
2. I will respond by asking you five questions.
3. You will update your blog/site with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions. (Write your own questions or borrow some.)

Thanks for reading!
The Blogging Boy Scout,
Travis

Update: Various spelling errors corrected. :-)