Kidologist.com: Karl Bastian's Personal Site and Blog
Archive for Bugs
September 3, 2007 at 6:36 pm · Filed under Bugs, Family, Luke, Photography
One of things God has been teaching me this past year is a new definition of “recreation” – something that once meant ‘fun’ or ‘play’ or ‘games’ has transformed into something much deeper and penetrating as I have discovered re-creation. Rather than something I do to “take a break” re-creation is now something I seek regularly, that refreshes and recharges me for the rest of “life.” This Labor Day weekend was a special opportunity for some extended re-creation spent with family. (reminder, click on any image for a larger view)
The treats of the weekend began on the way to church. Now from this picture you might I assume I live out in the wilderness, but there are several forest preserves quite close. But as we drove down the road to church my tendency to be taking in everything around me I caught a glimpse of something through a break in the trees and through a fence! Sara was surprised as I quickly pulled over and put the car in reverse claiming to have seen something through the trees which appeared solid on the left… indeed, I had!
My guess is an Elk? We have a lot of deer in our neighborhood so I assumed it was a buck, but after getting the pictures onto the laptop and zoomed in, I think it is an Elk. These pictures were taken through a gap in the chain link fence off the side of the road!
We went to two different preserves on Sunday and Monday… there is something refreshing about being outside enjoying the Son with family…
Luke seems to come alive outdoors and we want to instill in him not only a love of nature, but of the Creator who painted this world with His love. I really liked the motto I saw on a banner at the nature center, that turns out is a nation-wide effort: Leave No Child Inside. (Just google that phrase!)
Posing for a picture next to one of God’s most beautiful creations!
Luke taking in the scenery…
Although his favorite thing was just picking up rocks!
Of course, there was lots of beautiful examples of God’s Creative ability! Tough to only post a few!
Mom and Dad enjoy a romantic moment alone…
Luke is so blessed to have such loving grandparents nearby.
Taking in one of the beautiful views…
Right below us was a HUGE turtle, over three feet head to toe!
Luke with his daddy…
and mommy too!
My favorite “catch” of the day was this butterfly…
How anyone can not believe in God just escapes me!
It was a very refreshing and renewing weekend of re-creation!
June 22, 2007 at 9:20 pm · Filed under Bugs, Photography
So I’m out relaxing in the front yard, enjoying an awake-nap (know the type?) in my hammock, when I see something little and white moving across the lawn… (click images for larger close-up view, unless your name is Henry)
See the little white ball?
So I get down close to see what it is: a spider carrying a ball almost as big as him (or her), I honestly couldn’t tell, but when something is UGLY I usually assume it’s a guy.
Pointing to show the size… not too scary, at least not from a distance.
Maybe headed out to play? Or just left and took the ball with him when the other spiders didn’t like his rules?
I got as close as I could and we locked eyes for a stare-down!
He gave me a nasty look and I told him he was alive at my mercy; that I could easy squish him at any second. He shrugged and replied, “That may be true, but if you were my size, you’d be running for your mommy.” I had no come back to that, so I let him live.
But I’m never walking barefoot in my front yard again!
June 19, 2007 at 8:40 am · Filed under Bugs, Devotional, Family, Spiritual Growth
You’ve heard it said, “It’s the thought that counts.” Well, we all know that’s a lame excuse for when we fail to do what we should, but what about the thought that what you do doesn’t count either?
When it comes to our walk with Christ, what we do doesn’t count either!
My “mentor” Oswald Chambers (OC) writes today, “We count as service what we do in the way of Christian work; jesus Christ calls service what we are to Him, not what we do for Him.” In life you will discover that it is far easier to work for Jesus than to abide with Him. “…that is why so many are devoted to causes and so few devoted to Jesus Christ. People do not want to be devoted to Jesus, bu only to the cause He started.” (OC)
This forces me to ask as I look at my “to do” list, how many of my tasks is Jesus asking me to do? How many are a result of my ideas instead of His? OC gives a warning that I can personally relate to, “If I am devoted to the cause only, I will soon be exhausted and come to the place where my love will falter; but if I love Jesus Christ personally and passionately, I can serve humanity though men treat me as a doormat. The secret of a disciple’s life is devotion to Jesus Christ.” While I don’t feel I’ve been treated as a doormat, I do relate to the exhaustion and faltering when my zeal to serve Jesus gets ahead of my zeal to simply abide and walk with Jesus.
Today, is my 14th anniversary and we are soon heading out to celebrate today, but I must confess that I have been guilty of treating my wife the same way I treated the Lord in the past – trying desperately to prove my love through devoted service (doing), and missing that all she wanted, like Jesus, was ME. Not what I could do for her.I am learning in my marriage as well as my walk of faith, that those I love do not need my service, they simply want me. So today I’ll be abiding with Jesus and my wife and my boy and trying to resist the urge to DO for them, and simply BE.
Gotta Go BE! Catch ya later!
January 6, 2007 at 12:37 am · Filed under Adventures, Blog World, Bugs, Children's Ministry, Devotional, Family, Holidays, Humor, Internet, Kidology, Leadership, Life, Luke, Mac, Photography, PK Cruiser, Politics, Spiritual Growth
2006. Wow.
There is no way to summarize last year. 2006 contained more change than any year I’ve ever experienced. 2006 was a year that was filled with the happiest and yet the hardest times in my entire life. When we look back we tend to want to focus on the worst… and yet, even in the midst of extremely difficult times, it is good to remember that God never fails to bring joy in the midst of suffering… if we take the time to look.I started this blog, PastorKarl.com, in April of 2005 when I went on sabbatical in order to chronicle my adventures during those fantastic six weeks, but I’m so glad the habit stuck. Any time I am down and wondering where is (or where was) God, I can simply click through the archives of my blog and am flooded with memories of great times and great memories, super friends and special kids, especially when I miss most of what was once my daily life.
Indeed, 2006 brought a lot of changes, and at times, more than I could handle, and I failed miserably in keeping on top of everything, and yet in that brokeness God has taught me and shown me things I would never have seen otherwise – I was moving too fast to ever hear His soft voice calling me to a quieter deeper place of abiding in Him. Life today is much slower, thoughtful, and restful…. and balanced.
Most noticably, in 2006, on April 1st, my wife, Sara, and I suddenly became parents overnight to the most adorable little boy, named Luke. Finally, after years of heart-aching prayers, my childhood dream of being a DAD has come true. But it was also a year of stepping down from pastoral ministry after it became painfully clear that I was unable to maintain the life I was building especially once I became a father. But GOD IS SO GOOD and I continue to trust Him to work all things out together for good in His time.
In light of these changes, I have renamed my blog Kidologist.com for the new year while I am taking a break from being a full time children’s pastor. But my heart for kids and my life mission has not changed: To reach and teach as many children as possible with the Good News of God’s Love, and in the process to Enlist, Equip and Encourage others to do the same!
Below are some of the highlights of this past year that can be found within this site. I hope you enjoy these glimpses into 2006 as much as I did. (Clicking on any of the months will take you to the archive of that month which will contain the stories and pictures below, plus more!)
JANUARY
PIE IN THE FACE!
It so fun to let kids have fun at your own expense!
CPC FUN!
(www.incm.org)
See ya in Orlando and San Diego this year,
but taking a break from speaking, will just be attending.
MEETING MY CHILDHOOD CRUSH
GOING DOWN A PAINFUL SLIDE!
(one of the best posts of the year, by feedback!)
RAINY DAY AT DISNEY
FEBRUARY
GETTING MY INTEL MACBOOK PRO!
ARENA FOOTBALL FUN!
(with crazy fan friend)
MARCH
SAVED A TURTLES LIFE!
KID U CHICAGO (with Mary Rice Hopkins)
APRIL
GOT BEAT UP BY SOX FANS
(went undercover as a Blue Jays Fan. Why? Read and find out)
TOOK A BABY HOME!
Here is where the huge changes began!
SARA BECOMES A MOM OVER NIGHT!
Aren’t they beautiful?
HANGIN’ WITH “W” IN WASHINGTON
(I had sooo much fun doing this, there is a gallery of pics)
MAY
ON BEING A FATHER FINALLY
REMEMBERING MY MOM
LEARNING ABOUT RAISING A BABY
JUNE
REFLECTIONS ON MY DAD
ENJOYING BEING A DAD
PARENTS AT LAST
SPORTS CAMP
JUMPING OFF A ROOF?
JULY
CHANGING THE SMOKE DETECTOR
(One of the best posts of the year!)
LUKE IS SIX MONTHS
LUKE GOES CAMPING
AUGUST
BACK YARD WATER BLASTS!
HEADIN’ TO TENNESEE
SEPTEMBER
UGLY SPIDER PICS
(Sorry Henry!)
LUKE LOVES MOUNTAIN DEW!
LUKE HEADS TO KID U!
OCTOBER
BACK TO MR. G’s
(after 18 years!)
PICKIN’ PUMPKINS
DRESSIN’ UP AS A RAT?
TRICK or TREATIN’
NOVEMBER
A POTTY PARTY?
LUKE’S FIRST FLIGHT!
DECEMBER
LUKE’S ADOPTION DAY ADVENTURES!
GROWN MEN ACTING LIKE KIDS… a video!
WHITE CHRISTMAS in COLORADO!
TRAPPED IN PARADISE!
THOSE WERE THE DAYS?
You know how when you look at pictures from the past you often think, “I had no idea how lucky I was…” or “wow, those were the days” or “If only I’d known to savor the moment more…” because there is something in those pictures that we miss or wish we could have or do again, or at least we miss the feelings we had then… in those moments. That’s what my blog is for me. Stats tell me a lot of people read my blog, but I write it for myself. Others reading it (and leaving comments) encourages me not to quit, but I think in the end, I will always get the most out of it, because it is here I get to savor the memories again, and close my eyes and reflect on just how wonderful these events and the people in them were. I was just thinking about how despite all the pain and change in this past year, there were so many good times too, it was a year filled with fun memories that if I’d hadn’t snapped some pictures and blogged them, I might have forgotten them altogether overwhelmed with the ‘big things’ of 2006. That’s when it hit me.TODAY IS TOMORROW’s “THOSE DAYS”
Today will be tomorrows “those days.” Think about it. This week, this month, THIS year, will be one that you will soon (and long from now) be looking back on as ‘those days.’ So no matter what 2006 was like, good or bad, (or some of each) focus on making some new ‘those days’ now. You can’t change the past, and you can’t determine the future, but you CAN make today count, you can seek to make this week, this month, this year one of the best yet.
Over Christmas my dad took me out for breakfast, and a little sign above our table read:
“Cherish Yesterday, Dream Tomorrow, Live Today.”
I thought that was pretty good advice for me, and I decided to make it my motto for 2007. We can spend too much time on either missing the past or day dreaming about the future, and miss TODAY, the day that matters most. Lets get Livin’ (and bloggin’) ;)
September 6, 2006 at 9:16 pm · Filed under Bugs, Humor, Photography
I hate spiders. Well, ok. Maybe I don’t HATE them, but I am scared of them…. but fascinated at the same time. Even as a boy, I liked spiders best IN BOOKS! In real life… they creep me out. And yet… I am drawn to them. I will trap them instead of kill them. I kept a HUGE spider in a container in my office until it died in a fierce pose, and it took it months to die. (Kids checked on it each week to see if it was still alive, it was caught by a GIRL in Awana!) I had a HUGE funnel spider on my porch last week, and I was sad when I killed it… I was trying to draw it out with a stick and accidently gave it a mortal wound. Had the dumb thing just come out, it would have survived! But I’m happy to say a new one, even bigger has moved in! But I’ve yet to get him to come out for and pose for a picture. But below are some pictures of two resident spiders, one in the front yard, and one from the back yard. Do I dare say enjoy??
They say the best way to conquer a fear is to face it up close… so this is an experiment to see if looking at these fellows (or ladies) up close and personal might cure my fear…. you be the judge…
(oh, and YES, click on any image for a wallpaper sized view of each!)
Yes, that’s my house he is spying on…. 
Glad I’m not a bug!
In case you really wanted to see the other side…
My backyard buddy…
Did I mention I’m glad I’m not a bug?
I’m getting the chills….
In case you REALLY wanted a close up!
Are you cured of your fear??? me neither!
UPDATE: I got a picture of the huge spider on my porch. I hosed down his giant web and he came out to see what what was going on… the beads of water on his legs look cool: (click for the large image!)
Yikes! This guy is UGLY!
OK, one more… I think I found where this guy moved a day later… or else one of his kin:
and this will conclude my posting of spiders on my blog…. now I can’t go to sleep!
April 20, 2005 at 10:56 pm · Filed under Adventures, Bugs, Children's Ministry, Family, Star Wars
Well, we have left the Franks behind us – always too short a visit, but we had a wonderful and relaxing time….
Walking along converted railways…
Enjoying the wildlife…
A little taste of home “East of Chicago”
They know how to make a guy feel welcome!
Their adorable little girl…
Of course, we spent a good amount of time “talkin’ ministry” and the Liberty Baptist photo gallery and interview summary will be posted later this week – but it was time to hit the road again for a very different type of stop… some of you will just have to bear with me for the next four days as I will be at the Star Wars Celebration III Convention in Indy.
Starting to see signs of like-minded friends…
Already making new friends…
And the convention hasn’t even started yet!
But I’ll keep you posted on the activities!
