TYG Easter Breakfast 2022

 

Life Beyond The Pictures - April 2022

Hello Steiner Kin.

We don’t have much news to report around here – almost everything is the same as our last Connection in February! Our only real new news - Levi’s are gearing up for a couple house additions – one being a baby to join them in October, Lord willing! The other house addition is a basement, which will be quite a project for them this summer – IF the rain ever stops, ha. Jesse’s been working from home occasionally so is working on a new office which will hopefully keep his fan club (of one right now but will be two when Travis starts walking) at bay when he is working. Grandkids are a joy and growing like wildflowers. Tori enjoyed a weekend trip to see Rob & Leah in Rockville with A. Sarah. She also has a new housemate, Charity Koch. Jacob & Natalie have been doing some yard work on the nice days when they’re not at work or school. Kaitlyn is wrapping up her student teaching – only a couple weeks yet. I got to visit her classroom a couple of times; that was pretty fun. She’s a great teacher and plans to graduate from ISU in May. Ben continues taking electrical classes at ICC and working full time at 360. In between, he spends time with friends, Tremont young group, and ICC/BU young group. Sarah’s ICC classes are winding down too which is good as her lawncare job is winding up. She continues to work at 360 also, as does Jewel. They both enjoy the TYG which is primarily a high school crowd. Jewel and Josh are also both winding down their school year and keep busy keeping things going around here. Tim has been cutting some dead trees down from various places; there seems to be a lot of wood for the kids to stack. Gotta prepare firewood for next winter, y’know?  Tim keeps busy at his various jobs – he’s never bored, that’s for sure. Neither am I. You’d think with only 4 grown kids at home things would slow down some, and true there are slower times when I sneak in a puzzle or play the piano… but those times don’t happen as much as I’d like! Thankful for health and energy to keep up (kind of!). Brandi the Farm Dog has been bred and is looking pudgy so we’re hopeful for puppies in a couple months. Time will tell. It’s been far too wet to think about garden and it won’t be a big one anyways. Cows, steers, horses, cats, and chickens are all fine. And really that’s all I know!

 

CatchUp 2

Sometime last week I rode with Jewel on a - you guessed it - cloudy day. 

Still beautiful.

Last Tuesday Em came for lunch with her crew, along with Echo & Lucy and their crews.

Oven cleaning at its finest😆😲😵

Snow flurries last Friday. They weren't welcome and thankfully didn't stay long.

This was the day I was feeling better, cold-wise, but still pretty tired; so Sarah & Jewel made the pizza and got everything ready. Thankfully everyone else helped bring food too. Thanks y'all!

Sunday was another birthday, as Jewel turned 16. Happy BD Jewel!!

This week has flown by too. Monday, Jewel & Josh helped out at Levi&Echo's awhile.

They helped with some cleaning at ggk too then; later on these two did some target practice while Jewel did some driving practice with Dad.

And then she passed, woo-hoo!

Eight down, one to go!!

Wednesday visitors enjoyed some sunshine between the clouds. Temp dropped when it clouded up again, and then more rain.

Yesterday I walked with Leann on a very very very very very windy day, and these two rode Diamond while Josh & Miles played inside.

Last night then was a super nice choir singing at Chestnut Place. I won't wish away summer, no way, but I'll be glad when choir starts up again this fall. Fellowship & food after the singing was nice too.

Today Sarah brought her Friday morning crew here. Whatta buncha cuteness💗

And Kaitlyn brought Ella out for a - surprise! - cloudy ride.

And that catches me up to today, Good Friday which was so good for us but so bad for our Savior. But stay tuned... bc the story didn't end on Good Friday, oh no! 

He's Alive!

No Guts, No Glory

by Edward R. Bloomquist, M.D.

Clean suits, nice dresses, pretty flowers, kids’ candies and long church services – that’s what Easter’s about, right? Not even. While we tend to dress up the Easter season to make it look nice, remember: Before the resurrection, there was a crucifixion. If your friends have ever thought Jesus was a wimpy teacher, show them this account of what really happened. Not many of them could have handled – or chosen – this fate.

Like many others of his era, Jesus died on a cross by decree of Roman officials and endured one of man’s most fierce tortures. But unlike others, he also bore the sins of the world on His sinless body – a spiritual agony we cannot begin to comprehend. We can, however, sense to a small degree his physical suffering.

Once in the tribunal area, the victim was stripped and his hands tied above his head to a supporting column. A soldier was stationed on each side of the condemned, and they took turns beating him with a flagrum – a short handle equipped with leather thongs whose ends were tipped with lead balls or sheep bones.

The thongs fell where they would, the leather strips burying themselves deep in the victim’s body. When wrenched away, the lead balls ripped out bits of flesh. Hemorrhaging was intense, and the destruction of the condemned’s body so extensive that even some Roman soldiers, hardened to brutality, were revolted.

National law prohibited more than 40 lashes. Ever cautious to uphold the law, the Pharisees demanded the beatings be stopped at the 39^th stroke. Rome had only one stipulation: The prisoner must remain alive and capable of carrying his crossbar to the execution.

Once the beating was completed, the near-naked victim was jerked to his feet, and the crossbar (weighing some 125 pounds) was laid on his shoulders. The condemned’s arms were lashed to the crossbar, preventing a dash for freedom or striking out at his adversaries. A rope was commonly tied around his waist to direct his progress as he struggled through the streets. Romans preferred their victims naked; it was more humiliating. National preference, however, called for some clothing. The Romans usually agreed to this request by providing a loincloth.

Once the execution spot was reached, onlookers were held back and the victim was forced to the base of the stake. Then the crossbeam was removed from his back and experienced attendants threw him on the ground, grabbing his hands and stretching them out on the crossbar for size. The executioner placed an auger under each outstretched hand, and drilled a hole for the large crucifixion nail – a square spike about a third of an inch thick at its head.

The nail point was placed at the heel of the victim’s hand. A single blow sent it ripping through the tissue, separating the carpal bones at it plunged into the crossbar. Paintings usually show the nail through the palm. Anatomically, this is impractical; the tissue cannot bear weight, and the victim would drop to the ground within minutes of being elevated.

Usually the nail tore through the median nerve, creating an unending trail of fire up the victim’s arms, augmenting the pain that tortured his body. From this moment on, this pain would intensify each time the victim moved, for the metal irritated the open nerve endings.

Once the victim was in place, the plaque that had preceded him was nailed to the crossbar, which was then elevated and, with a thud, dropped into place on the pointed stake.

Before the elevation, the condemned man’s arms formed a 90 degree angle with his body. After elevation, the sag caused by the weight of an average man’s body decreased this angle to 65 degrees, exerting a tremendous pull on each nail.

There was no need to nail the feet, but the guards were usually irritated by the inevitable flailing. To prevent this, they put one foot over the other and drove a nail through both. But this merely prolonged death.

If the Romans didn’t nail the feet, the victim’s body would hang on its arms, causing it to go into a spasm that prevented exhalation. The victim soon suffocated from an inability to use his respiratory muscles. The foot nail changed this. It didn’t take long for the crucified to discover he could exhale if he lifted himself on the nail in his feet. This was intensely painful, but the desire to breathe overcame the horror of the pain. This alternating lift and drop maneuver became a reflex action after a few hours. It could prolong life for as much as two days, depending on the individual’s strength and determination. To this extent, the perpetuation of his life rested in the willpower of the crucified.

As the hours wore on, the victim’s mental faculties were impaired. His body became soaked with sweat. Thirst became intense. Pain and shock were tremendous. This pathetic picture continued until the victim died.

Occasionally the procurator wished to hasten the victim’s death. This was accomplished by the crude but efficient method of breaking the leg bones, usually by smashing an iron bar across the victim’s legs. The fractured bones could no longer support the victim’s weight and struggle to breathe, and death came quickly. For assurance, the Romans classically added a coup de grace. When the crucified seemed dead, a lance was stabbed along the right side into the heart. This was a welcome duty of the guards, for it heralded the end of the task and return to their barracks.

Such was the horror of the crucifixion as Jesus dragged Himself from His knees in the Garden of Gethsemane to Golgotha. He had told His disciples – and this they could understand – that a man has no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. Before long they’d understand a love that surpassed even this – a love so divine that He laid down His life for His enemies as well.

Announcing -

 

Kiowa, Flint, and Jasper are excited to get a new baby brother or sister in a few short months! Kiowa's pretty sure it's going to be a sister...

CatchUp 1

Time has been getting away lately like I can't believe. It's been rainy and cloudy and stormy. I've had headaches and I had a bad cold last week which wasn't fun and made for a few draggy days. Today is the second day in a row that I didn't have a headache so yay for that. But I could get another headache just trying to put all these pictures in order, so I'm not going to try... here goes. Hang on for some peeks of life lately - with no dates -

Well whoops I know what date this was because it was Kaitlyn's 22nd birthday. Happy BD Kate!!!

(The candles were completely for Jason's enjoyment!)