Washington Tour Preorder

Preorder is now avaliable for the Life of Washington Tour! We will be doing DVDs, CDs and MP3s and audio and DVD sets. Click here to order them. If you are in the Wake Forest area, use the code PICKUP to deduct shipping. You can also pay with cash or check, just . Here is a first cut of a short scene from the DVDs:



View the video on Vimeo.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

View in HD on Vimeo.

Here is a video clip from the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial that we took last week. Thanks to Stephen Breagy for editing this.

Family Reunion - Day 3

On Wednesday we went to Washington DC again. We started out touring the Supreme Court which was pretty interesting, and then we walked around for a while trying to find our car. After moving the car we went to the Postal Museum, which showed a lot about the history of the US Postal Service. After that and lunch we walked over to the Library of Congress. There they had Thomas Jefferson's complete surviving library set up in a display. They also had two very old Bibles. After walking around the capital and seeing some of the monuments we drove over to the Alexandria train station to pick up Nic Ruiz who came up to video with us later in the week. His train was over an hour and a half late, but that was good because we got there an hour late. Right across the street from the train station was the George Washington Masonic Memorial, so we walked over there and took some pictures of it.

Supreme Court

Library of Congress

Capital Building

After picking Nic up we drove over to Arlington National Cemetary. We went through there really quick but we saw President Kennedy's grave, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Robert E. Lee's house. For diner that night we went to Gadby's Tavern in Arlington for my Grandmother's 80th birthday and my grandparent's 54th anniversary. Washington celebrated some of his birthdays at Gadsby's Tavern. After dinner we decided that we would go back to the monuments at night when they were less crowded. We went to Jefferson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, George Mason and Lincoln Memorials. Later we will put up a video from some of those.

Masonic Memorial

 

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Dinner

Jefferson Memorial

Washington Monument

Battle of Cannae - 2226 Years Ago Today

Hannibal

2226 years ago today Hannibal defeated the Roman army almost twice his size at the Battle of Cannae. Hannibal commanded his men in the center of the line to fall back as the Romans attacked, which meant that eventually his army formed a semi-circle around the Roman forces. The Romans were defeated, and almost annihilated. The Romans are estimated to have lost 48,000 men, almost twice the number of Americans who were killed during the War for Independance.

Because of the incredible victory, Cannae has become synonymous with a complete and total victory. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of the Allied forces in WW2 said, "Every ground commander seeks the battle of annihilation; so far as conditions permit, he tries to duplicate in modern war the classic example of Cannae."

Learn more about the battle here.

Washington Tour Audio Formats

Before we start preorder for the Washington Tour, we want to know whether you would prefer MP3 or CD. You can vote in the poll below. Thanks!





If this is not working, try the direct link here.

Family Reunion - Day 2

Washington Monument

Today we walked around Washington DC. We started out at 6:30 because we wanted to go up the Washington Monument to prepare for the Life of Washington tour we are going to do, but to get tickets you have to get there really early. After getting tickets we ate breakfast and came back and went up. After losing a few pocket knifes, we made it to the top. There are some really good views. Here are some pictures:

View of the capital from Washington Monument

View from Washington Monument with the WW2 memorial in the foreground and Lincoln Memorial in the background

After the Washington Monument we walked arround to different monuments including the World War II Memorial, Signers of the Declaration of Independence Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and more. Here are some pictures.

The WWII Memorial

Washington Monument reflected in a pool at Constitution Gardens

Lincoln Memorial

After that we went on a tour through the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. That is where they print all the fiat money. The tour was interesting and we were surprised they mentioned the fact that the money has no real value. They would not let you take pictures inside. Next we went to the National Museum of American History. It was a pretty good museum, but it was really big and we could not see nearly all of it. We went to the part on military history. They have lots of artifacts there, and one that was interesting to me because I am studying the French and Indian War was Lt. Col. Adam Stephen's coat, who was Washington's second-in-command during that war.

Lt. Col. Adam Stephen's coat

Atlanta Roadtrip Stop

Here are a few pictures from the NCFIC Atlanta Road Trip stop from a few weeks ago. We went there with a  total of 21 people from Hope Baptist, and all of us plus the Bradrick family stayed with one very hospitable family, that none of us had ever met before.

Cowpens Battlefield

A few weeks ago we visited Cowpens Battlefield  with friends from church on our way to the Atlanta NCFIC roadtrip stop. It was one of the most important battles in South Carolina of the American War for Independence. General Daniel Morgan made a stand there against the British troops who were chasing him under the cruel British commander Tarelton. Since most of his troops were undisciplined militia, he put them out in two lines in front of the Continentals. He told them to fire just two shots and then they could run. That is just what they did, and the British became disordered in the pursuit. The Continentals retreated as well due to a misunderstood order, but as they ran they suddenly turned and opened fire on the British. Many British fell, and the militia came and surrounded them. The Americans won the day. The British suffered 300 killed and wounded, and over 700 prisoners. The Americans lost less than 150. This victory was important because it encouraged the Americans that they were able to beat the British.

The British troops charged across these fields

A Cannon at the Battlefield like the ones the British would have used

The monument at the Visitor's Center

We will try to post a video from the battlefield soon.

Family Reunion - Day 1

Yesterday night we drove up to Washington D.C. for our grandmothers 80th birthday and a family reunion. Today we went to Great Falls, VA for a picnic.My mother used to go there as a child when she lived outside of Washington D.C. Great Falls is a series of waterfalls on the Potomac river. We learned that George Washington surveyed there and helped build a canal that he believed would help with trade to the western frontier. It was very beautiful, and we got to climb on some rocks by the river. After that we went to the new Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. It had a lot of famous planes, such as one of the bombers that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan.

Blogging the Reformers: Jean Merle D’Aubigné

D'Aubigne

Jean-Henri Merle D'Aubigne was born on August 16th 1794. He lived in Geneva, where the great reformer John Calvin had lived 250 years before. But by the 1800s Calvin's reformation was gone and had been replaced by Unitarianism and other heresies. He was saved while studying for the ministry, and was ordained in 1817. In 1817 on the 300th of anniversary of the Reformation he visited Wartburg Castle where Martin Luther was kept. There he decided that he eventually wanted to write a history of the Reformation. He was a preacher in Hamburg and Brussels until 1831 when he returned to Geneva. There he assisted the establishment of a reformed theological seminary in Geneva. He was professor of Church History there for 41 years until his death. He was a great preacher in Geneva and was one of the leaders of the the reformation there. While he was in Geneva he wrote his two major books on the Reformation, a five volume History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century and an eight volume History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin. He traveled all over Europe to study the original source documents. These books were very important in the history of the church. “For the first time, the Reformation, with all the various and boundless benefits which it has conferred upon the world, is beginning to be, in some measure, comprehended by mankind.” 1 A historian wrote that his writings “had a wider circulation, at least in the English translations, than any other book on church history.”2 D’Aubigne’s writings are still a great way to learn about church history. You can buy them here.

Geneva Today

1 J. H. Merle D'Aubigne, The Life and Writings of J. H. Merle D'Aubigne – The History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century (Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications, 2001) volume 1, p. XV
2 http://www.visionforum.com/hottopics/articles/2005-04-14_001.aspx

Hummingbirds

Here is a short video of some hummingbirds on the feeder behind our house.

The Mistakes of World War 2 - 1941

Mistakes of World War 2

1. Causes of the War
2. The Mistakes of 1939-1940
3. The Mistakes of 1941
4. The Mistakes of 1942
5. The Mistakes of 1943-1945

Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain

In 1941 the world was plunged into one of the largest wars in human history. The Axis -  Germany, Italy and later Japan were succeeding in their attacks on the Allies - Great Britain and the Soviet Union. But by 1941 the Axis had already thrown away their best chance, although a slim one, of ultimate victory. In 1940 Germany had not pressed its attacks on Britain, instead it had attacked the Soviet Union. In 1941 the Axis continued to make mistakes which caused them to loose even more chances of victory. Germany’s made the mistake of failing in their attempt to defeat Russia. But the Axis’ greatest mistake was causing the United States to join the war. That defeated their last chances for survival. When the United States declared war, the Allies had twice the men as the Axis, and more industrial capability. Forcing the USA to join the war was the greatest mistake of 1941. All the rest were minor compared to it.

Russian tanks and soldiers

To continue reading click here

Taunton Roadtrip Stop

My father, brother, and I flew up to the Taunton, Massachusetts NCFIC roadtrip stop. We left Friday morning and got back Saturday afternoon. There over 100 people there. My father gave a message titled Indispensable Center of Church and Family Life, which is glorifying God, and another message on relations within the church. On the way back we were one minute late for checking in for our flight, but we were able to get on it any way. 

Stephen waiting to board the plane

 Mr. Brown

Conference Attendees

My father speaking

Wake Forest Roadtrip Stop

Here are a few pictures that I took from the NCFIC roadtrip kickoff meeting at our church, Hope Baptist in Wake Forest. There were several hundred people there, and Mr. Brown, my father and Mr. Dohm gave messages and Mr. Breagy and other church leaders gave testimonies.

Scott Brown

Dan Horn

Steve Breagy

Memorial Day 2010

Monday our church held our annual Memorial Day picnic at Mr. Brown's farm. About 1200 people came. It was a good time of honoring the veterans and preaching the gospel. My job was to take pictures, and here are a few of the 1000 I took.

The flag flies at half staff to honor those who were killed in battle

Mr. Scott Brown

Veterans

There were rides in military vehicles

Mr. Bill Brown from our church. He was a fighter pilot in WW2, and was shot down.

Col. William Henderson, who fought on Iwo Jima, and Doug Phillips

Some of the Smith Family playing bluegrass

You can see some more here.