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2010-03-03T10:40:00.002-05:00

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Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T10:37:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago, I participated in a retreat like event called the walk to Emmaus. While there were a few things we did that I felt were just kinda weird, overall it was biblically based and some things that took place I will never forget as long as I live and for that reason alone, I suggested Amy do it. This past weekend Amy went on the walk and it was more beneficial to me than it could have ever been to her. My eyes were opened to some things that I had not seen before:

1) There are so many things that have to be taken care of....trash, laundry, cleaning, taking the dog out, feeding it, going to the store, getting kids dressed (Amy set me, Josh, and Haileys clothes out for the whole weekend and labled them for which day we were to wear them), bathed, fed, off to school, changing diapers, changing clothes.....everyone and everything demands little chunks of your time which does not leave a lot of time for yourself. And....I only had to do it for 3 days!!! At the end of every day, I was drained. I used to wonder why Amy wanted to go to bed at 1030pm and now I know why. I joked and said I would rather work manual labor for 18hrs a day than to be a stay at home parent because it would be less work I think.

2) How much in love with my wife I really am and what a treasure God has given to me.

3) How I took her for granted and how lost I would be in this world without her.

4) She is the glue that holds our family together.

5) How little I did to help her out.

6) How I was disrespectful to her in so many ways, and how I disregarded how important she really is to me.

7) What a beautiful woman she is.

8) How ashamed I am of how I have behaved toward her.

There are two things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving (and every other day):

The free gift of salvation given to me through Christ and the greatest treasure known to man, his wife!!

I LOVE AND APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH AMY!!

Missing something

2009-11-16T21:34:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had those times where you were so busy doing other stuff that you neglected to have your quiet times in order to have more time to do that other stuff? A short time ago, I was so busy with things that I put off having my quiet time which I usually do first thing in the am, to devote more time to doing stuff that is far less important. It was surprising how my attitude and general demeanor changed and not in a good way. I found myself getting upset easier and and reacting to, instead of interacting with my family and I questioned God as to why things were getting to me so easily and why would things not just go my way. I immediately wanted to redirect what was happening away from me an onto someone or something else. Paul says that the things he does not want to do he does and the things he wants to do he does not do. This is really true for me too, I don't want to get frustrated and upset at stupid things and I know that it is wrong for me to but I allow myself to do it anyway. I allow my emotions to control me at times and that is very dangerous.

One night I was up pretty late after work and I thought for a moment, if things get this hard (or I thought they were at the time) as a Christian, imagine life without Christ. I actually started to worry and get claustrophobic at just the thought of not having Christ in my life, I realized without Him I was lost and alone and I was so scared at that thought and remembered a time when I was not following Christ and that thought had never crossed my mind back then, I could have cared less and now He is the reason I breathe and without Him I realized I am nothing, I am doomed to a life of seperation from Him and just that thought brings me to the point of tears. The worst thing that could ever happen to me or anyone else for that matter, is to stand before Christ on that day and hear him say to you, depart from me, I never knew you! I am sick to my stomach just thinking about it. I am back on track and having my quiet times again and I feel a thousand times better now because I am closer to Christ. Over the past few years I feel like I have grown so much in certain areas of my life and in others I seem to still fail more times than not.

I went to visit Amy's brother this past weekend and surprisingly, I actually had a good time. We shared and laughed and talked about Christ and what he is doing and how He can turn a bad situation like this into something that can be used for good. He gets to read a lot and has read several C.S. Lewis books and said he has four bibles too that he has read several times over which is encoraging. He also mentioned the letters he has recieved from people in our church and what a blessing they really are to him. Thank you for that, it means a lot to Amy and I as well!!

Things in the life...

2009-09-28T22:32:00.003-05:00

Hailey just turned 6 today!! That means Amy is another year older now too. She just loves school and she can't wait to go. I am sure if she could go everyday she would be happy too. I pray that her attitude toward school does not change. I never liked school much, my favorite part was study hall and when I skipped of course.

I have 6 classes left until I finish my Bachelors degree and it is getting pretty tough. Accounting is hard and I have Statistics next session which is going to be very difficult for me. I can't quit now though, I am too close.

I am at work sitting on a conference call that was supposed to happen at 1030pm and did not start till 1115pm. The last two I have been on for this customer have lasted until 330am. I hope this one does not follow suit.

I am excited to attend my new connect group tomorrow, I pray I will get out of here soon so I can get some sleep before the class. I may have time before my accounting class tomorrow at 10am to get a nap. Only 4 weeks of this class left so I will tough it out...

There is a layoff coming soon here and they are going to let go approx. 30% of the employees in this dept which means about 45 people will be out of work soon. I am not worried at all about it, I know if I am one of the people let go that my family and I will be taken care of. It just means that God has something better in store for us than where I am currently at.

There are so many things I want to get done but I never seem to have the time to do any of them, I barely have time to get on Facebook. My business is going well and I have work every week but I am afraid of getting more than I have now because I don't know how I would get it all done. Maybe if I get laid off I can do my business full time...

It has been a while!!

2009-08-28T21:31:00.002-05:00

It has been so long since I have updated this, I had almost forgotten how to do it. I have been extremely busy though and it seems as this is not the fad anymore, everyone stays updated via Facebook.

Today my baby went to her first day of kindergarten. She was so excited to go off to school. Amy got in the car and went to the school to get some pictures of her getting off the bus and in her classroom while Josh and I stayed home and cried. lol.

I am getting close to completing my degree. I only have 6 classes left and it will all be over. At least until I start my master's program. I don't know what I will do with the free time not spent on studying. Just kidding, I don't study so there will be no difference!!

I was doing my quiet time today and I was in Philippians 3, or supposed to be but somehow at the end of my quiet time when I was posting to Facebook, I realized I had been in Colossians 3 instead. Must have needed that instead of Philippians. (see Facebook status)

We are having a couple over tomorrow night that Amy babysits for. We are trying to get them to come to church and to Christ. I have felt lately, that I need to be more of the Christian Christ called me to be and to start sharing my faith with lost people and showing them the love of Christ. Also to start giving more of my resources to those in need. I think it would be a shame if I had thousands of dollars in the bank and my neighbor went hungry because he didn't have any money. I bet Christ didn't have a fat bank account or kept a few hundreds in his fanny pack just in case.

Lesson Learned

2009-05-12T11:13:00.003-05:00

I was sitting in my recliner on Sunday night attempting to do my homework prior to midnight so I did not miss the deadline for submission. I had taken a quiz earlier which I did not do well on. I skipped over a few questions to do the essay ones first and come back to the multiple choice. I was not paying attention and after completing the essay portion, I submitted the test without answering about 4 of the questions so needless to say, I did not fair very well. Anyway, I was discouraged about that and I started in on my lab assignment. I got all the way through it to the last question and for some reason, did not notice my battery was low and it died on me. By the way, if you don't do this already, SAVE YOUR WORK OFTEN!! I was pretty upset and instead of being verbal about it, I decided it would somehow be better if I slammed my fist down on the arm of the chair in disgust. By the way, if you don't know this already, DON'T HIT THINGS MADE OF SOLID WOOD!! I thought I broke my arm it hurt so badly. After the swelling went down, I realized it was not broke and turned the laptop back on, once it rebooted, everything had closed down except the word document that I was working on! THANK YOU JESUS!!

Down Time

2009-04-25T18:19:00.002-05:00

Another session is completed at school. Now I have 1 day off and I get to start it all over again on Monday. I need some down time.

There are so many changes happening right now at work. People are getting moved around to other supervisors and moving some to different groups. I have no idea what is going to happen since we are on the market to get bought......Looks like Sprint is the most likely candidate to buy our company since Verizon made an offer that was too low and got turned down. Only God knows what is going to happen in the future and I'm not worried about it, just watchful.

I mowed 95% of the yard today before the gas ran out. Then I did the trim and gave the dog a bath and now she is laying on her pillow with her mouth open, snoring....what a life.

Amy went to get the kids and I can't wait to see them, it has only been 1 day but I miss them.

Just when you think you know it all

2009-03-30T21:10:00.000-05:00

Today some guys came out to put tile in my bathrooms. The previous owners had carpet in both, why I could not tell you. The installers were going to take up the toilets but the valve in the main bathroom did not turn the water off completely and allowed it to drip. At the installers request I needed to go shut the water off at the main. Let me first throw out a caveat in this, I work on computers not homes or cars or whatever else. Anyway, I walked around the house trying to find the water meter so I could shut the main valve off. The second time around I saw the only thing that could be the water main because the other box protruding from the house was the electric meter and knowing a little about electricity, I knew what that looked like.

By process of elimination I decided which one it was and took a wrench and turned the water off. I went inside and told them the water was off and when they unscrewed the toilet from the water pipe, water was still dripping. I could not figure out for the life of me how in the world the water main valve was shut off and we were still getting water to that pipe. I thought I would put my trouble shooting skills to work and turned on the faucet in the sink in the kitchen and to my surprise; water flowed out of it like the falls at Niagara. I quickly decided to go back outside and give the water main another brute force turn of the wrench since I figured I had not completely shut it off. After another full turn or two I went back inside to make sure it was off this time.

I turned the faucet back on and I think the water pressure flowing out of the faucet was even more intense. I saw my friend Bo across the street at my neighbor’s house and yelled for him to come over. When he came over and I explained my unique situation to him, he had me lead him to the water meter where I shut it off and to my surprise he advised me what I shut off was not the water but the natural gas line to the house. When he helped me locate the water shut off valve where my water heater and furnace are, I shut it off and he pointed out that the pilot lights for the water tank and furnace were probably out. He looked and sure enough, they were both out. He tried to light it but was unable to get either of them started. I then went out to the gas meter and gave it a few more turns to try and get it going again but no use.

I called the furnace guy to come out and try to get it working again and also called the gas company to have them come out and check the valve that I turned more than the recommended 1/4 turn. After the price of the two started to weigh on my mind, I called my father-in-law who used to work for the gas company and asked him to come out. He did something and was able to get both of them lit and everything works fine now and the tile is installed and looks great!

Furnace service call = $65.00

Gas Company service call = $125.00

Not knowing the difference between a water meter and gas meter = PRICELESS

Finally it has been completed

2009-03-23T22:41:00.003-05:00

Greg S. website has been completed and is now fully operational. Please visit www.gregsgarageofart.com and view a message from Greg and see his artwork. Each picture is available in 2 sizes and can even get them autographed by Greg himself. Listed are the prices of his prints of which all proceeds go to support Greg and Lisa's mission work. Please take a moment and check it out. Send them an email letting them know you are praying for them, this is a life changing event and some kind words go a long way and keeps them in touch with us. Please, if you do email them, don’t send pictures etc because it takes forever to download them. If you can, keep it to a plain text document. Jim and Sherri P. are in charge of distributing his artwork to those who wish to obtain some.

A single world currency

2009-03-12T21:09:00.002-05:00

KAZAKH President Nursultan Nazarbayev has won backing for his plan for a single world currency from an intellectual architect of the euro currency, Nobel-prize winner Professor Robert Mundell.

Seems just another thing in the grand chain of events on the world scale.

Sad News

2009-03-09T09:50:00.002-05:00

I’m sure everyone has heard about the Pastor in Illinois. The bible that he used to shield himself didn’t save him....but his faith in Jesus Christ did!! We need to pray for his family and for the church.

I read the below article in the USA Today paper online. What are we doing? Why are we wavering in our faith, in our beliefs? Why is it that some preachers think it’s about numbers, no Jesus and will do anything to fill the seats!! I am greatly thankful that our church teaches directly what the bible says and we have a pastor dedicated to the truth and nothing but the truth.

I’m so sick of hearing about these powder puff churches that teach whatever you want to hear to get you to come in. This survey says that people are unsure about homosexuality and what really leads to eternal life. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? English is English man, you don’t read your cars instruction manual and say that the part about it only taking unleaded fuel is kind of fuzzy and you’re unsure about it and that maybe it will run on diesel fuel too.

USA Today Article:

Many beliefs, many paths to heaven?

Most American religious believers, including most Christians, say eternal life is not exclusively for those who accept Christ as their savior, a new survey finds. Of the 65% of people who held this open view of heaven's gates, 80% named at least one non-Christian group — Jews, Muslims, Hindus, atheists or people with no religion at all — who may also be saved, according to a new survey released today by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. FAITH & REASON: A 'crisis' for evangelicals?This means 52% of Christians do not agree with the doctrines many religions teach, particularly conservative denominations. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, calls the findings "a theological crisis for American evangelicals. They represent at best a misunderstanding of the Gospel and at worst a repudiation of the Gospel."
This survey on salvation is a follow-up to a highly controversial finding in Pew's Religious Landscape survey, released earlier this year. It detailed the religious demographics, beliefs and behavior of 35,000 U.S. adults surveyed in 2007. Pastors, theologians and Christian commentators complained that the Landscape Survey question on access to eternal life — which 70% said was open to many faiths — was too vague. "Did people mean only other religions that are similar to their own, like Baptists grudgingly admitting Lutherans might go to heaven?" said Pew research fellow Greg Smith.So Pew revisited the topic in a new survey of 2,905 adults, conducted July 31-Aug. 10, with more specific questions. Smith says the new findings reinforce the original finding that "Americans really are thinking quite broadly."Christian believers who named at least one non-Christian faith that could lead to salvation included 34% of white evangelicals, even though evangelical doctrine stresses that salvation is possible only through Jesus. Higher levels of church attendance made some difference, particularly among white evangelical Protestants. But an overall majority (54%) of people who identified with a religion and who said they attend church weekly also said many religions can lead to eternal life. This majority included 37% of white evangelicals, 75% of mainline Protestants and 85% of non-Hispanic white Catholics.

Pew's new survey also found that many Christians (29%) say they are saved by their good actions; 30% say salvation is through belief in Jesus, God or a higher power alone, which is the core teaching of evangelical Protestantism; and 10% say salvation is found through a combination of behavior and belief, a view closer to Catholic teachings.

The number of those who said actions determine, who attains heaven, was lowest (11%) for white evangelicals, highest for white Catholics (47%).The number of people saying theirs is the only faith that can lead to eternal life increased slightly, from 24% to 29%, between 2007 and 2008. The biggest increase was among white evangelical Protestants — up from 37% to 49%.Overall, the new findings are "an indictment of evangelicalism and evangelical preaching," said Mohler. "The clear Biblical teaching is that Jesus Christ proclaimed himself to be the only way to salvation."Mohler sees behind the statistics the impact of pluralism and secularism in U.S. society and the challenge of facing family and friends with "an uncomfortable truth.""We are in an age when we want to tell everyone they are doing just fine. It's extremely uncomfortable to turn to someone and say, 'You will go to hell unless you come to a saving knowledge of Jesus,' " Mohler says.

Schedule Change

2009-02-23T20:41:00.002-05:00

This is the last week of my crazy schedule, next week I will be on 4-12 M-F. That has some good and bad things about it. One of the good things is, is that it comes with a pay raise. I can go to school during the day and play golf on Monday AM with some friends. I get to sleep in everyday. Bad thing is, I wont get to do any church stuff unless it’s on a Sat or Sunday.

This is finals week for me and then on to more classes next week. I am taking 3 classes a session now till I graduate, if I can handle it. I'm doing that so I can finish in Dec 09, graduate in Feb 2010 and start my Masters program in March 2010. Hold on Amy, not too much longer!!

We had a lunch with some really good friends of ours on Sunday. I miss hanging out with them.

I made some more headway on Greg's website today. I sure do miss Greg and Lisa!! If you get the chance visit his site at WWW.GREGSGARAGEOFART.COM and take a peek at the art gallery, hopefully in the next week we will be able to start taking orders for them. You can pre-order prints by filling out the information on the Contact Us page and emailing your request. This is a great way to donate to the mission field and also get some really good prints in return.

I can not wait for spring/summer to get here!

I don't know what to call it, I do, but I won't

2009-02-05T17:14:00.004-05:00

Isn't it wonderful that our new president is expanding the faith based initiatives department. Here are some excerpts from the article:

Addressing the gathering of lawmakers, dignitaries and world leaders, Obama spoke of how faith has often been a divisive tool, responsible for war and prejudice. But, he said, "there is no religion whose central tenet is hate."

"There is no god who condones taking the life of an innocent human being," he said, and all religions teach people to love and care for one another. That is the common ground underlying the faith-based office, he said.

Obama pledged during the campaign to allow taxpayer-funded religious institutions to hire and fire based on religion — but only for the activities run on private funding.

Obama on Thursday asked White House lawyers and the Justice Department to write a policy that would address the question of hiring.

"There is a pretty clear lack of legal clarity and data in this area. This mechanism allows us to explore those areas on a case-by-case basis and find out exactly where things are," DuBois said.

Frigid

2009-01-16T20:43:00.002-05:00

I got up this am and didn’t want to get out of bed. The last few days have been a nightmare getting to work. On Wed. it took me 2 1/2 hours to get from Tuttle Crossing in Dublin to DeVry on Alumn Creek Dr. I had so many mixed emotions that night. I went from being upset that I spent that long getting somewhere that usually takes less than 30 mins. and that they were actually having classes too. I was then relieved though, that I didn’t have to spend another 2 1/2 hrs in traffic getting home and was able to get to my Science class. I was frustrated but thankfully when I got to class they were going over stress relief so it was ok.

Anyway, the check engine light has come on a few times in the last several weeks. I think the last time was from the oil being dangerously low (At least that is what the oil change guy told me, and even made me sign a waiver about it). It was on again the last few days but the car seemed fine to drive and even started the first try this am. On my way home from work, the light went away. Has to be a good sign right? I just don’t understand why I have to pay thousands of dollars for something and then keep doing maintenance on it. We should have maintenance free cars.

Since it is a new year I am able to get vacation time again. I was happy that it was my 4th year with Qwest so I got even more days off this year. I went to Upwards Basketball tonight and I ran the time clock. It is obvious that I am going to have to spend some time in the gym with Hailey (one of her teammates called her a loser) I didn’t hear about it till I got home. My first instinct was to find the parents and scold them, maybe get in a little game of fisticuffs’ (a cuff or blow with the fist, combat with the fists, or to strike or fight with the fists) but that was the old me. I thought about it and then just decided to blow it off. (Thank you Jesus!)

I bought a new coffee maker the other day and it is so convenient that I have been drinking 2 cups a day since it arrived. (Not sure if that is a good thing or not, maybe I will have a cup and think about it). Either way, I think it was a good investment.

It's almost time to register for classes again. If I take 3 classes a session from now till December, I will be able to graduate this year but if it gets to be too much, I will have to wait till 2010. I have to be careful to keep my GPA over 3.5 that way I don’t have to take an exam to get accepted into a Masters program.

New Year

2008-12-30T10:18:00.002-05:00

I think I have been removed from Jeff's blog list because it's been over 2 weeks since I updated. Once I was done with school and am off for 2 weeks, I tried to stay away from a computer unless absolutely necessary.

Once (Unnamed person) takes office, he will get Israel and Hamas to sign a peace treaty so the fighting stops and this will start the 7 year countdown. Maybe, maybe not? I am not 100% sure where I stand....Pre-Trib or Mid-Trib so I took the 21st of Jan off of work. This way, if it’s pre-trip then I will be at home with my family, if its mid-trib; I have it off because it’s my birthday. So either way I'm good.

I was going to go to Kenya this year but due to medial issues I won’t be able to. I was thinking of going to Israel instead to help them drag the cornerstones for the new church to the site in preparation for new construction this year......Just kidding.

I went and helped someone move on Saturday and for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to go work out with Sean before hand. I still haven't recovered from it as of yet. It's back to school next week, this time it's Wed. and Thurs. nights. One of the classes I am taking is Health, Nutrition, and Wellness. Hopefully this helps out with one of my goals this year. Speaking of goals, what a good idea Pastor Noel had about goals. If you don't know what I'm referring to, read his blog.

Christmas Musical

2008-12-10T16:20:00.002-05:00

tonight, heaven touches earth
A Musical Drama for Christmas

Each year our choir presents a Christmas musical that we pray will reach the hearts of the lost and change the hearts of all believers as we're reminded of why God chose to send His only Son to be born of a virgin in the humblest of circumstances. This year is no exception. Invite your friends, neighbors, and coworkers to join us this Sunday night as our Celebration Choir presents:

tonight, heaven touches earth
Date: December 14th
Time: 6:00 pm
Location: Family Life Center of First Baptist Heath

Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T09:53:00.003-05:00

I read Pastor Noel's blog today and am wondering what song we are going to sing Sunday. I am in the eagles nest again Sunday as well but then its Drason's turn. This is going to sound funny but I like coming to work during the holiday season because traffic is light, there are less calls coming in and more time to get caught up on backlogs and to update your blog of course.

I also read Jeff's blog too and decided to do a "What am I thankful for?" challenge as he called it. I will be spending Thanksgiving with some other families from my church who don't have any family close to spend it with. My dad does something with his wife's family during the holidays so we don't get together which makes it nice to be able to spend time with "extended" family.

Thankful for:

The free gift of Salvation
Amy, Hailey, and Josh
Close Christian friends
My church
My Job
My vehicles
My house

Work

2008-11-22T06:54:00.003-05:00

Its Saturday at 655 am and I am sitting at work. I have to work today because I am taking a day off in Dec. so I need to make up for it now. Not a bad trade off though, I only have to be here till 2. I am skipping class today to do it though.

Last night was fun. I took Hailey to the movie to see Bolt, it was a good kid movie and she seemed to like it. Drason and the boys went as well, we had a good time. Our babysitter called at 6pm and said she wasn't doing anything and said she could watch Josh while we went out, we will have to take care of her come Christmas time.

Amy and a few of her friends went out to dinner last night, it was good, she doesn't get out much (besides the store every other day) so it was a nice treat, unfortunately it was clouded in some terrible news she received earlier in the day but she was still able to have a good time. I thought about prank calling her but that probably wouldn't be a wise move on my part so I will let her sleep.

I better get off here and do some work, I mean I am getting paid for it so....

In the dumps

2008-11-05T12:06:00.002-05:00

Not a really good spirited day for me today. I watched every min of coverage last night on multiple channels until 1030 and then went to bed. I laid there thinking about it and could not sleep so at 11 I got back up and turned the TV back on without sound and saw that Knuckles had won. I was sad and I prayed to GOD about it.

Wonder when we will see the false profit enter in? Hey, not so bad right? Maybe Ayers will get nominated as Secretary of Defense? Cant wait for the Civil Defense Force to emerge. Good thing Knuckles is going to have a college pay plan since my company just did away with the Tuition Reimbursement program as of Jan 2009.

Maybe we should start a medical mission here in America to help the children who survive botched abortions? Cant wait till speaking your beliefs becomes a hate crime.

All in all, God is still in control and he knows better than I. I am still able to laugh, I know cause I just did it a little bit ago. Doesn't Revelation say these things will happen???

Current Events

2008-10-10T20:28:00.002-05:00

I had to come home early today from work because I was shaking and freezing for about an hour then I was really hot and sweating for quite a while after that. My head hurt really bad the rest of the evening. These are the same symptoms I had the night before I went into the hospital last time. They keep coming back though, this is about the 3rd time this has happened since then. I am feeling better now but really run down.

At work I was moved to a new team which does all of the customer configuration changes to their routers/networks. It is a step up, just not one in pay. Anything that gets me closer to that Im on board with.

Josh is walking around all over the place now, he has also learned to clap his hands when you say "Good Job". Hailey got her pre-school pictures taken today and is doing very well writing her letters and some words too. She loves school so much, lets just hope she keeps that attitude about it.

I only have 2 weeks left on this session then I start yet another one directly after. I am only taking 2 classes this coming session, Professional Writing and Windows Server so I will only have to go to school 2 days a week...Monday pm and Saturday am. My scripting and database instructor is trying to get me to switch my major to programming. Sometimes it feels like school will never end!!

I cant wait for colder wether so I can get a break from mowing. When I lived in the ghetto, no one cared if you mowed or not. Where we live now, if you dont mow your yard looks really bad because the neighbors on either side of me mow theirs every week and weed eat too, which means I have to too.

I have to replace the tires on the jeep and get the ac/heat blower fixed because the a/c only blows out the vent by the windshield and the heat only blows out the foot vents. More importantly, we need to get the CD player fixed. I need to also fix the windsheild wipers on the car, for some reason the passenger side wiper will no longer work, thankfully the dirver side one still does for now.

Amys mom re-dedicated her life to Christ last Sunday and plans on attending church more often. She started a new job, she is a security person at the Tamarak Dairy since the old guard had to go away for a while (he killed his dad and is in jail now).

Its past my bedtime now since I have school in the am.

In Class

2008-09-18T18:18:00.005-05:00

I saw that I was the last person on Jeff's blog list so I thought I had better update again before he cuts me loose.

I am sitting in my Voice over IP class and I am pretending to take notes while I update this. Right now Amy is hosting a Pampered Chef party and there are probably 20 women all chatting at the same time. What a nightmare of a thought, lol.

Hailey's birthday is coming up here at the end of the month. I cant believe that she is going to be 5 years old. She is growing up so fast. Speaking of which, Josh is standing a lot and is taking steps on his own and hopefully he will be walking soon. Once that happens I will be gearing him up for running, catching, and carrying a football. I am thinking about having him sleep with one but that is probably borderline child abuse so I may not. I will talk it over with Amy to see what she thinks....

Updates

2008-08-28T06:55:00.002-05:00

Well, unfortunately it appears I wont be having any personal communication with my other daughters. My ex-wife apparently read the letters I sent her and then proceeded to block me from her page without a reply. I'm not sure why this is happening but I can't see the whole picture either. I have no idea how the things in this life are going to work out and that's probably for the best too. I am upset about it, I thought some things that have happened recently and how some others had come together, that this was the time to be reunited but God had other plans and he is in control.

I just took my Networking final last night and I think I did very well on it. Tonight is my Math final and I am praying that I will pass it. The tough thing about this class is, you have to have an 80% or you fail, there are no C's or D's. Next session (which starts next week) I have 3 classes, it is going to be extremely busy. They are Wed. and Thurs. nights and Saturdays mornings. Thankfully it's only for 8 weeks.

I am glad that Time Warner and the Big Ten Network finally reached an agreement so we can see all of the Buckeye games and some others as well. (Go Appalachian State!) Just kidding Sean, I hope they do well against everyone except us. I can't wait till Josh (future Buckeye Center) is old enough to start playing football.

Prayer Request

2008-08-19T06:38:00.003-05:00

Since Jeff has put new conditions on blogging updates, I figured I better post more often to get in the habbit.

I have a prayer request. For those of you who don't know, I am divorced. I have 2 other daughters, Taylor 12, Taryn 10. My ex-wife has disallowed me to see my daughters, even after several attempts and many court hearings. I have not see or heard from them in 4 years. I send cards and such with no response.

I was talking with Amy yesterday and Taryn's birthday is coming up so she bought a card for her and I don't remember all the details but I ended up searching my ex-wifes name in google and it brought up some info about a myspace page. I opened it up and there was a picture of my daughters. I hardly recognized either of them at all, it had been so long since I saw them.

We sent her a note requesting to allow me to see them again and spend time with them. That was last night so we are waiting on a response from her to see what she says about it. A plus was in the section where you can list your heros, she put God.

I have no idea what is going to happen but I pray that everything works out and does not lead to more heartbreak on my part, I think I have suffered this enough. My mind is running 100mph thinking about stuff and scenarios and I am trying to leave this matter with God and not worry about it. So please pray this will work out.

Keeping up with the Dears!

2008-08-11T13:49:00.003-05:00

After work on Friday I decided to meet Amy at the Hartford Fair. I didnt really want to go at first but it has been a while since we have done a family outing with work and school happening. It was a good time, we saw a lot of people who go to our church, some of them more than once. Hailey and Amy rode some rides while I hung out with Josh. It was a good time.

Saturday I had to go to school to take a Math test, I passed. I about had a heart attack when I got a letter in the mail saying I was still on the Deans list!! I though I was off that thing but Im still holding on. We went back to the fair on Saturday and this time I rode the rides with Hailey. I think we got on everyone of them at least 3 times, some of them more. Before we left I was starting to get an upset stomach. By the time I got home it was really hurting bad, I was unable to go to services on Sunday am since I was feeling so bad. I am better now but I am not 100% still.

I was going to invite some people over this weekend for a cookout but my department at work is having a hog roast at Deleware State Park and I wasnt going to go but my supv. gave us a guilt trip about him buying the hog and doing all the prep. work and something about being a team....So, I guess we are doing that instead, at least for 1.5 hrs.

Settled In

2008-08-04T06:45:00.002-05:00

We finally got all moved in....There are still boxes needing unpacked in the garage but Amy is really making progress with that....Now that we are settled, we will start having people over for cookouts.
Thanks to all of those who helped out during the move, it was on a weekday but we still had plenty of help.

School is starting to get hard now, all the easy classes are over with and I have to start studying and doing homework. Not cool!!

The article in Jeff's blog made me sad, especially since it is so close to home.

Im also sad that I am not on the mission trip to Africa with the others. I am making plans to go next year though. Now that God has blessed them with the funds for a new schoolhouse, I would like to be there for the opening, that would be exciting!!

Pray for Amy, she is sick today. I am sitting on a call here at work waiting for the customer to configure their equipment so I can do an upgrade on their circuit. The next exciting thing happening here at work is lunch....

Good to see more new people in church! Went to lunch with a new couple on Sunday. Invited them to our connect group this Sunday and hopefully they will attend, Jeremiah said he liked the church, said it was upbeat and had a warm, friendly feel.

Moving

2008-07-17T07:15:00.002-05:00

We did finally close on the house last Monday!! Thank Jesus! We will get the keys on Saturday AM. New carpet is being installed on Saturday to replace the current (outdated) burgundy colored one. Moving in day is on Monday, I was going to do it on Saturday but with the carpet being installed and having to work on setting up the church for VBS, there was just no way to do it then. I know I will be hurting for help on Monday but it will work out. If I get all the stuff I need help lifting, moved on Monday the rest I can do through the week.

This week will be the busiest week I have ever had I think. We are still short on crew leaders but all stations are finally covered for Elementary and Preschool!! Trying to figure out what kind of thing to do at the end of VBS, its going to be hard to top Kissing a Cow but if you think of something please let me know....

Crunch Time

2008-07-11T10:40:00.002-05:00

Last week I finally finished my finals and I am sad to say I do not have a 4.0 GPA any longer!! It was bound to happen but it is still disappointing. I already started another session of classes and hopefully I will do better this time.

We are still waiting to get final word to close the loan for the house. Supposed to close today but if the underwriter doesn't get it done we will have to wait and close on Monday.

VBS is coming quickly, have a lot of things to tidy up still and I am praying that we get volunteers for crew leaders since we are about 30 short still. We gave the people selling the house a week to move out so if they wait, I will be moving the week of VBS too. I already have to miss 2 nights because of school. Stress level is very high right now, please pray!!

Josh is a year old now. He sure is growing up quickly. Hailey is almost 5 now!! I sure cant wait till we can move and get settled in.

Update by Amy

2008-06-12T09:25:00.005-05:00

Another apology to all of my honey's faithful readers, he has been extremely busy, with being in the hospital, to helping me through my Grammy passing away and then trying to catch up and finish this term in school. It's finals time for him, please pray that he is able to finish everything and continue on the Dean's list.

I want to take a moment and thank everyone who was there for me while Sam was in the hospital and then here recently with my Grammy's passing as well. Things have been hard on me, with so much these last few weeks and I have had some amazing support from my beloved church family and I thank you all. It amazes me still how blessed I am.

Today is a very special day as well, it is our anniversary, Sam and I have been married for four wonderful years. I am so proud of my husband, he works so hard and I am so blessed to be his wife.

One final thing, please continue to pray for us as we look for another place to live, preferably in Heath. We need to be out of our house by the end of July.

And with all that said, I am going to close for now.

Very Busy

2008-05-05T08:03:00.003-05:00

I know it has been quite a while since I have updated....Sorry to all of my faithful readers, I will do better.

Joshua started crawling on the 1st of May!!! Now I want him to stop. My little boy is growing up fast.. Hailey will start school in Aug.

I just completed another term at school and I was able to maintain my 4.0 average and am on the Deans list again. This term is Math, Networking, and Psychology.

Thursday I go and get my shots for the Kenya trip in July. I need 3 of them. The car was in the shop and I got it back yesterday and it’s good as new thanks to Amanda's brother!! Now I need to get the muffler fixed on the Jeep....if its not one thing, its another....I’m praying that's all that happens between now and the trip. I am trying to brush up on my Swahili before then too.

Went out to eat with Amanda and Drason on Friday. B.D.'s Mongolian BBQ is the bomb!!! We went to the Cheesecake Factory and got a couple of pieces to go since the wait was 3 hrs for a table. We went to the mall and sat at a table outside one of the shops and were able to borrow a high chair from a bar in the mall. (Thought it was odd a bar had a high chair, but I guess drinkers need a place to sit their toddlers too).

Went to the gym and worked out and I am really sore from it. After church Sunday, went over to a friend’s house to eat lunch with them and then back home to mow the lawn. The weekends go by so very fast anymore...

Well, since I am at work and should be doing just that, I will go

Bible is America's favorite book

2008-04-09T07:59:00.003-05:00

I saw this today on the front page of yahoo. The wonderful Word of GOD is listed as the number 1 book in America according to the Harris poll. Just wanted to share..........

Update by Amy

Its been a while

2008-04-07T19:37:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I get caught up in the middle of things and forget....well my friends don't allow me to forget, that I need to update my blog.

I am itching to get out and go golfing since I have not been yet this year. I was invited to go but it was on a Monday so I was unable to. I have a new driver and a new golf bag.

School eats up so much of my time anymore. I spend one night a week writing essays for my classes and another participating in required discussions. I have so much going on but fortunately I am a procrastinator so I don’t ever have to do any of my work till the night before it is due. Only 1 more year left and then some more schooling.

The biggest thing going on is the trip to Kenya this year. I have been waiting to go for almost 2 years now. I was asked if I had to, would I go alone. I told the person who asked me that I would go no matter what since I feel like God has called me to go. Almost every free moment, my mind wanders to that place and those people; I talk about it all the time at work. I have such a yearning to be there that I feel it in my soul. I have no idea what I will do there or what will happen but I am willing to do anything needed of me. I now need to get my shots, visa, and plane ticket and I will be set to go. Please pray that the cost of the airline tickets do not go up $900 as is being speculated, or even $200 for that matter. If that happened, God would have to perform another miracle. I am not nervous though because I know if I am truly called, as I feel I am God will provide a way.

VBS is steadily approaching as well. I have had a really good response for volunteers and we need a whole lot more where that came from too. Donna has come up with a great idea for Wed. nights if you still have an excuse for not fitting in somewhere. It's called VBS decoration preparation and we need a lot of help getting them done, and done on time. Not really sure what Pastor Shawn is going to do this year but I am sure it will be as good, if not better than last year.

Anyone see the church of Oprah? Makes me just want to puke my guts out!!!! I knew there was something not right about that woman, now we know. I would like to slap the........, but instead I will pray for her. If she can draw those numbers, imagine if she believed in Christ!!!

On a separate note, I love our church!!! It is so doing the right things and making the right decisions for furthering the gospel. I am looking forward to spending eternity with you.

Winter Storm Aches

2008-03-10T17:52:00.002-05:00

It was actually nice Friday when they let me leave work early (1pm) and paid me for the whole day!! It did however, take 2 hrs to get home. They also canceled classes at school.

I love the snow but when it gets to be this much I like to stay indoors and watch it. Unfortunately, I was unable to do that on Saturday. On my way home Friday I stopped by the video store and rented some movies, 2 of which were overnight rentals. I called the video store to see if they were actually going to charge late fees due to the storm and the manager said yes.

I had to go out and shovel my porch, sidewalk, driveway and then sweep off the car. By the time I did that I was exhausted and I came in took a shower and left for the video store. I was all over the road in my little Pontiac and thankfully not too many other people were out. I made it to the store and returned the videos, angrily.

I thought since I am out already I will go pick up some groceries, everything went fine till I tried to leave the parking lot and got stuck in an intersection. I did bring my shovel with me but that was not much help, besides the fact that I almost fell and in an attempt to balance myself I jerked and pulled a muscle in my back. Another motorist in a truck came by and tried to push me but I was going nowhere fast. Just then 2 other trucks pulled up and several people got out and pushed me out, I was unable to stop and thank them for fear of getting stuck again so I just honked and waved. It was really nice to see all of the people helping each other in times of need.

On Sunday it was really weird cause we had no services, at the store I was talking to Rick G. and told him if I am able to get out to the grocery I am surely going to church, but it was canceled. I saw Donna G. at the store on Sunday and she told me what they and the Halls did, what a wonderful blessing they were!! (You will have to ask them about it).

I am sad, I almost got invited over to someones house on Sunday to have dinner, they were having a cut called a Boston something and it sounded so good but I didn't get a call. I guess they were just teasing me or something, what a cruel joke. Food + Joke = Not a happy Sam.

Ok, semi-regular updater

2008-02-20T22:07:00.002-05:00

I really do want to update regularly but I never can find the time. That is, until my friends hound me then I make sure I make it a priority. haha

Well about 15 people showed up for choir tonight, not sure if it was people being sick or parents at the Awana derby or the fact that they knew we don’t sing this Sunday. It seems like some people don’t come at all anymore. It was really good to see Nancy back.

The first week of March I start going to school 3 nights a week. Wed, Thurs, and Friday. I have a network security, math, and a film and literature class. It sure is expensive!! Tuition is now up to 490.00 a credit hour now and my 3 books cost almost 200.00. I am very thankful that when I served in the military, I elected to get the college education benefit, to pay for it!! I have written 6 essays in the last 7 weeks and I have to write one more for the final exam.

I am thankful that the Kenya mission team is back and safe. I am looking forward to going at the end of July, right after VBS ends. I usually take the whole week of VBS off but I will not be able to do that this year, I am only taking 1/2 days so hopefully I can get all I need done in 1/2 the time. I can’t wait till we get to see the pictures and hear the stories from the trip; I know it will only make me want to go more than I already do.

Upwards is almost over!!! One Saturday left. I hope we win. I mean if we were keeping score I would hope that we would win. Once it ends I am going to take a break for a bit and concentrate on school. The most classes I have taken a quarter is 2 and it was pretty demanding and from here out till I get my degree I will be taking 3 (except in July and August). These are accelerated quarters, only 8 weeks long. I love the purpose of the Upwards program. I pray things only change for the better with it as the year’s progress.

A Regular Updater

2008-02-05T22:15:00.000-05:00

Ok Jeff, and everyone else, I am updating and will try to continue to do so frequently. Tonight was my first night leading Upwards practice for a 1st and 2nd grade girl’s team. I was very nervous and at one point it seemed as though I was losing control (I don’t like losing control of a situation but I kept it together, didn’t yell and it worked out just fine). I did make one of the little girls kind of feel bad and cry though. I did apologize to her!!!

As you know I am in an English class and from the start I thought it was a waste of my time since it is a basic Composition class. We have to write 5 essays in the 8 weeks of class and there is this online plagiarism site that you must copy your paper to so it can evaluate your sources and see if you have cheated. It scans all types of works written from magazines to books to other papers submitted by students and it scans all of them.

I submitted my paper that I wrote (7 years ago), yes, I used an essay I submitted for a previous English class with some modifications (I updated the sources and the information) to fit the requirements. Not because I am lazy but because there is no sense in re-inventing the wheel if you know what I mean. After I uploaded it, I was reading some informational things on the site and I came across their definitions of plagiarism which include: Not giving credit for sources you have used, taking information from another work and re-wording it and calling it yours and they even consider it plagiarism if your paper consists of more sited works than original information. I could live with these since I didn’t do any of that, until I came across the most absurd thing I have ever heard of in my life! Yes, you guessed it; you can even plagiarize yourself if you use your own work for more than one class.

That didn’t make any sense to me; I wrote the original for crying out loud. Watch out, they may try to sue you if you say the same thing to multiple people and they find out. Anyway, I prayed about it and had Amy pray too. I was sick to my stomach all day, I could not concentrate at work, and I was so worried about the consequences. (Failing the essay, failing the class, and even expulsion from the school)

Odds are quite possible my last English teacher didn’t even submit the paper to this site since this is the first time I have ever heard about it. Anyway, I prayed that if it was to just blow over that I would never do that again. I still felt sick about it, so when I got to class I pulled my teacher to the side and explained everything to her and gave her a copy of the original essay I wrote so she could compare the two. At that point all I cared about was doing the right thing in GODs eyes and not the consequences. She told me that it was impossible to plagiarize myself and she didn’t care what the site said about it, and that I had nothing to worry about.

I got in my car and thanked GOD!! I didn’t feel like throwing up after that either, which was nice.

I did pass my Math class with an A, so I still have a 4.0 GPA (and 3 more Math classes to go)!! I have to take 5 classes a quarter (3 nights a week) for the next year in order to graduate in June. I should have done this 15 years ago but then I don’t know if I would have had the drive to complete it like I do now.

I have requested and been approved for vacation in August for the next Kenya mission trip. I have been praying about being called to go and not to go just because I really want to. I have been saving up for the trip and if time draws near and I don’t feel genuinely led to go then I will sponsor someone who is with the money. Either way, I want it to be for GOD and not for Sam.

I know this is a book. I will try and update more regularly so they won’t be this long. See you in church if Christ doesn’t come again prior to.

Just me

2008-01-17T22:07:00.001-05:00

What Samuel Means

You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong.You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know.You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do.
You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.
You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated.You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want.You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way!
You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way.And because you're so lucky, you don't really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life.You're sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Spread your luck around a little to people who need it.
You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.
You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily.Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Not a whole lot

2008-01-10T06:27:00.000-05:00

I dont have much to say but since A.S. was beating me up verbally I will jot something down.

The new job is going very well!! Im not loving the hours but they could be worse. Thats what happens when you go from 7-330 to 9-5.

I am back to school from the Christmas break and I pray I make it through this Math class, I only have 3 more to go after this one. I am also in an English class which Im not really thrilled with either. We have to write 5 essays in the next 8 weeks.

I joined the choir recently. Im not so sure I can sing all that well but I am trying. There sure is a difference in being able to sing and being able to read music and follow the correct notes. I want to stay but I am sort of self conscience about doing it right and I am pretty critical of myself when I dont. The jurry is still out so I will pray about it and see what happens.

Amy and some others are going shopping today (see ya savings acct.) and I am glad she is able to get out with Christian friends and spend time with them. Even if it means I have no money left at the end of the day!!

Tis the Season

2007-12-20T21:47:00.000-05:00

I cant believe it but its almost Christmas day. I often think about the sacrafice that was made for me, especially during this time of year. Im more the reason for the season sorta person instead of the lights and gifts type. It blows my mind to think of the cost of the gift that was given. I am so very thankful for Salvation, Family, Church, Brothers and Sisters in Christ. I am overwhelmed at the many blessings I have been given.

I started my new job on Wed. When I went in it was like a reunion party, everyone I worked with 5 years ago was still there. I talked half the day and as it would turn out the department was having a pot luck that day so I got to eat for free!!! My 2 favorite things. When that happened I knew I was in the right place. The rest of the day was spent chatting over deer jerky and bologna about all the tales of deer that was hunted in the weeks just prior.

I did get my desk cleaned off from all the dust that accumulated there and setup my computers, somehow I got a flat screen monitor (there are only a few people who have them) and my manager came over and asked how I got it and that there were other engineers that deserved it over me, I asked him how he knew someone else deserved it over me, it was my first day, I havent had a chance to prove myself yet. I said Let me keep it and I will show you I deserve it in less than a year from now.

Today my manager rudely interrupted me while I was chatting with a co-worker to ask if I was going to do any work, the nerve of some people! I did inform him that I only had 2 hrs left till the end of my shift so there was no sense in starting then but I would be fresh and ready to go 1st thing in the AM. He just rolled his eyes at me, said whatever and walked back to his office.
I tried to explain the quality over quantity thing and esprit de corps (team spirit) to him but he didnt stick around to hear it.

I completed another computer course and my instructor emailed me to let me know I got an A in his class. 4.0 still!!! I think that might go down some since now I am taking Math which I cant stand. I have been working in my field for quite a few years now and I have never once found 9x-(-8)+13p+2 or 2x+5y-3=4x-2y+7 of any help whatsoever, nor have I ever cared if Carlos painted 1/3rd of a house with 5.5 gallons of paint and wanted to figure out how much it took him to complete the job. Im enrolled in a Networking degree program for crying out loud!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!

Update

2007-12-04T12:39:00.000-05:00

I got a call on Friday and the HR person offered me the position I applied for. She overnighted the package to me and I filled it out and sent it back overnight to them on Monday. I am just waiting on the results of the drug screen and background check (praying about that) and then I will get my start date. I know it unrealistic but I would like to start the 17th of Dec. but I know it will be more like the 7th of Jan. Either way I will be satisfied.

Drama coming up next weekend, hope I dont get nervous and trip walking to baby Jesus. If I do I will blame it on my slave (Adam K.) and whip him. I was hoping that this would be more like the real thing and they would let me ride to the manager instead of walk. At least I have someone to carry my gift. hahaha

This year we are giving out the Case for Christ and the Case for Christmas to family members as gifts. I was thinking since they dont want to talk about it, maybe they will be willing to read about it.

School and Work

2007-11-28T17:33:00.000-05:00

Im sitting at school waiting on my computer class to start (I currently have a 96% after my mid-term). Not sure im doing as well in Math class but thats a different subject. No punn intended. I am still excited about going to school but the hours are something I still have not gotten used to. I have a long way to go still, since they only took 18 of my 69 xfer credits so I am still a Freshman.

Things arent going so well at work these days, swamped beyond belief! I keep trying to keep in mind who it is Im working for but under these conditions its hard to stay focused. Im still waiting on HR to put my paperwork through so I can start my other job. I got antsy and emailed the guy who will be my next Sr. Manager and he said that the paperwork was signed through the VP and just needed to be signed by the EVP and then I will get my offer. Those guys at the exec level sure have a different timetable than we do!! I pray that I start the new job prior to Christmas though so I can have a relaxing end of the year. I emailed my current Manager and said I have no idea how this dept have survived this long operating the way it currently is, I didnt get a response (good thing? Who knows) Its funny how the prospective is different when your on the recieving end not the giving end. So in other words please pray that the other offer comes soon.

Im going to go for now since my instructor is giving me a funny look for continually typing during his precious lecture. Does he not know I have a 96%? Oh well, goodnight.

Go Bucks!!!!

2007-11-08T15:18:00.000-05:00

Down but not out

2007-10-30T12:21:00.001-05:00

Thanks for all those who called after my surgery to wish me well. I dont think I would have made it had it not been for this awesome Key Lime Cheesecake that was delivered the day after my incident. Once I got passed that "Racked" feeling the 2 following days it wasnt so bad. At least I am back to work now. I found out on my way to work this am that I am no longer a Tenor, Im an Alto??? I seem to cry at every sad event that happens on TV too lately. They didnt say there were going to be side effects.

I completed the last quarter of school last week and I now have a 4.0 GPA. I start school again tomorrow night. I pray I can keep my grades up so it keeps me motivated to continue going!! Unfortunately I will miss the Fall Festival at church but Amy and the kids are going as soon as she gets the transportation issue resolved.

It seems Pastor Shawn has worked out his email issues or worked around them and also figured out how to email Adobe Acrobat files, nice work Shawn, multi talented.

Im glad to see Sean updated his blog, I thought we lost him for a while there but he is back. Not doing so well in the Football league though.

Blogging Downtime

2007-10-16T11:50:00.000-05:00

It must be the time of the year where no one except Amanda and Jeff update. SBH, I miss reading your posts!

There is only 1 week of school left and then a week off and ready for the next session to begin. So far I have an A in both of my classes. I am taking 4 classes next session and hopefully I can keep the grade up. Unlike previous tests, I will have to give myself at least 2 hrs of study time before the final. I do enjoy going to school though. I might just become a career student I like it so much.

The time at the Crane farm was really nice, it seemed like a long time since we had gotten togeather as a group and it was good to catch up with some of the ext family, especially the ones we hadnt seen in a while.

The temp outside is going to start getting really cold soon. Every week I fall farther and farther on the rankings in my Fantasy Football league, by the way, thanks Jeff for beating me up really badly and then gloating about it. (Nothing like kicking a man when he is already down). I take solice in the fact that I am still ahead of him so.......

Pray for Kim and Mike and the family. It sure was a blessing and testamony to see all of them in church Sunday!! Pray for Ronnie B. and the Kenya folks too.

Updates

2007-10-05T20:51:00.000-05:00

Well I am over half way done with this term, only 3 weeks left. I am in a networking class and we have to write a 4-6 page, single space paper (and I thought I was done with English)? I am also taking a class called Critical Thinking, I have an A in both classes so far..... Next term I am going full time, 4 days a week. Im just thankful I have a very supportive spouse and young children.

Josh just got more pictures taken today, he is smiling in these. Hailey is staying with her aunt Kacey for a few days, I miss my Hailey bug. She did call me tonight before I went to class, what a joy it was to speak to her, she is getting so big.

I went to the lifeway store in Polaris and spend at least an hour in there looking at books. I picked up some good quiet time study guides. I ordered Marks Story by Tim LeHaye and J.B. Jenkins, I enjoyed the Johns story alot so I thought I would get this one too. I also picked up the new Max Lucado book 3:16. I have alot of reading to do.

Back to School

2007-09-19T05:47:00.000-05:00

I am now back in school (and tired), I only go 2 nights a week right now but the class times are Mon and Fri 6-10pm. By the time I get out of class and get home its time for bed so I can be up at 415 for work. Next term (Oct 29th) I will be taking 4 classes and going full time, thankfully It will only be 4 nights a week and only 2 of them till 10pm.

I am going to have to break down and buy another computer since the one I have at home is a machine my brother in law found and gave me. I put a few "upgrades" in it but thats like just like putting nitrous oxide in a station wagon, it is sorta pointless. Anyway, the classes I am taking are in class and online as well and I need something that will keep up. Besides I cant always expect to do my homework while I am at work. Its something about not getting paid to do that, thats got me wanting to stop, but its better than surfing the web to fill the time. (Lesser of 2 evils?)

Josh is getting big (over 13lbs now). He is laughing and smiling alot. I figured Hailey wanting to help with him would wear off but it still hasnt, she still wants to hold and feed him frequently. She is going to be a really good big sister.

Went on a golf outing with some friends of mine and had a blast! I havent laughed like that in a long time, I really needed it, thaks guys. Im so glad I won the box of golf balls, now I dont need to buy one to replace all the balls I lost in the woods and the ponds. The food was good too.

Been a while

2007-09-06T05:41:00.000-05:00

I have been so busy lately I have forgotten to update. Thanks to my caring friends who reminded me about it, I am updating now.

We finally got a dining room table. No more being huddled around the TV scarfing down food like fugitives, we can now sit and have a family meal without the TV on at all. Since we do have a table now we will be inviting people over occasionally for a meal, be looking for your invitation soon.

Josh is getting bigger and he is making cute sounds and smiling frequently now, what a blessing he is! Hailey is such a good big sister, she always wants to hold and feed him.

Its not official yet however, Jim C. and I are planning our road tour to defend our status as Cornhole Champions. If you want the opportunity to be beaten by us again or for the first time, please schedule in advance, opportunities are passing by quickly.

I am enrolled and start attending College Friday. I am enrolled in the Network and Communication Management program. I have been thinking alot lately about missed opportunities and I dont want this to be one of them anymore. Besides, Ability + No Degree = No Advancement, Im not good at math but I think I can figure out what is missing.

I am getting involved more with the Youth at church, I like the direction they are heading and they are always talking about needing help at their events. 5th quarter is going to have some changes coming up and they need several extra people to help out on Friday nights from 9-12. If you can help please see myself, Sean H. or Jim P. there is something for everyone.

Valley Times

2007-08-07T13:46:00.000-05:00

So much has happened lately, some mentionable some not so...I have been pretty sick for a while there and am finally now getting over it, I got heat exhaustion last week and almost passed out and Hailey fell off a trampoline and hit her teeth and chipped 2 and pushed 4 of them up and back into the roof of her mouth, we are praying that she did not break the bone, thankfully they are not permanent teeth. We have an appt on Friday to see if she needs surgery and to possibly take out 4 of her top teeth in the front.

We (Amy and I) are so very blessed to have true friends, the kind that stick by you no matter what and do out of the ordinary things just because!! You guys mean the world to us and we love you very much!! Its people like you that make this world a better place to live and we will never forget you, in thought or in prayer!

VBS is finally over, what a great time it was, we had more children than we have ever had before!! It was awesome, Hailey still sings the songs around the house from time to time.

I was finally able to hold Josh again last night since I was feeling better, I got to feed him and he slept on me for quite a while it sure is a joy to have him and Hailey.

Please pray for Ron B. unfortunately I know exactly what he is going through and it is extrememly painful!! Blessed are those who never have to know what its like to deal with these things.

I droped Shawn off at the airport on Monday so he and Zack could go and get his wonderful family and bring them back to the great state of Ohio (Go Bucks!!). They will be back on Saturday and will need help unloading the truck so if you can help, please do.

Walk in the Word

2007-07-20T12:03:00.000-05:00

I have been listening to Dr. James McDonald (www.walkintheword.com) for several years now via the internet and radio but have never had the opportunity to see him in person until last night. I went went w/some guys from the church out to Genoa Baptist Church to hear him speak, he sure has a way of really connecting w/people and he is very easy to understand. It was an awesome time, the music was great as well (got to see Randy W. at least from afar). I didnt get home till 11pm but it was worth it. We also made a pit stop to CiCis Pizza Buffet.

I did however skip out helping VBS setup last night to attend the conference, I sure hope a certain person lets me off her bad list soon, there is a class fellowship coming up and its at her house. (Not mentioning any names though). Im going over to the church tonight to tidy some things up too.

Josh is doing great!! Hailey is being such a good big sister too. Amy is actually getting decent sleep at night lately and for the most part so am I.

Well I am at work and im pretty busy, just thought I would take a break and update.

Finally Here

2007-07-12T11:03:00.002-05:00

Name: Joshua "Josh" R. Smith

DOB: 7/10/07

Time: 1705

Weight: 9 lb 10 oz

Length: 21 in

Its a BOY

2007-06-25T19:53:00.000-05:00

Amy and I went to her Dr. appt today and right away the sonographer said its a boy. He is healthy and doing well, he is an overachiever like his dad, he is already almost 9 1/2 lbs. We have another appt next Monday and the Dr. is going to decide at the end of next week if he will induce or not so the baby doesnt get to be 11 lbs since they say that babies gain about 1/2 lb per week at the end of the pregnancy. That would mean the boy will be a toddler if we waited so who knows.....

I cant wait till my boy comes!! I told Amy I wanted to do his room in Scarlet and Grey. I told her instead of doing my Man room in a Buckeyes theme we will do the Little Mans room that way instead. Im not sure how much she likes that idea but its still open for discussion. (I think) I am so stoked for having a wonderful little girl and now a little big boy.

I am also thankful that he will grow up in church and in a godly home and pray that we can be godly parents who set an example for our children to follow. Besides after the Sunday evening service I can now rest at ease knowing the heart of our youth pastor and I realized we have one of the best youth programs around.

We still have not come to a final decision on the name yet but for some reason the Jeffrey really has stuck with us. Amy said if we name him Joshua Jeffrey David Smith (or without the David) I can call him JJ. Is that cruel and unusual punnishment? We might get a Sean in there somewhere too, not really sure yet.

Time Goes By

2007-06-14T16:04:00.001-05:00

I know its been a while since I have updated my Blog. I have been really busy though. Im getting pretty settled in at my job now and feel pretty comfortable with it. Last Monday I helped a friend stain his deck (at least tried) the heat was almost unbareable and I had to come in out of the sun a few times but we had a good discussion. Im still trying to get used to working Saturdays and having Mondays off. They mentioned something in our last meeting about some schedule changes, I asked if that meant hours and they said no so that can only mean 1 thing, workdays changing. I pray that I can keep Sundays off so I dont have to look for another job. I told them when I interviewed that I couldnt work any Sundays so we will see what happens. Management decided the changes and no one got any input on it so.......

Pastor Shawn will be here very soon. Since the house didnt get sold yet he will be coming with only his Son, Penny and their daughter will stay at the house until they can sell it then they will join us here. Pray that they sell it soon and dont have to make two house payments a month, one is more than enough.

It has been a blessing having Pastor Fredrick and Beatrice here. I am looking forward to the opportunity to go to Kenya on a mission trip. I am getting ready to send in my paperwork to renew my passport since it just expired last year and wouldnt you know that there are passport agency issues, its a good thing I am not planning to go till next year. I have been before but only to the tourist area at the sea and I loved it. Of course that was when I was a bit skinnier, I will have to lose some weight before attempting the weather so I dont sweat to death, I wonder if he can run a small A/C unit of his church generator?

VBS is getting closer and I have ordered most of the stuff we need for it, just a few items left and then man power or should I say God Power. All of the positions are now filled for the stations I just need helpers and crew leaders now and we will be all set to go.

This child is getting closer to being here everyday and Amy lets me know it frequently too. I am excited for the next Dr visit as we will find out (or at least try) what the sex of the baby will be. I sure hope its a boy cause I didnt pick out any girls names and Joshua David wouldnt really fit a girl I dont think. I am just praying for a healthy baby (One that cries less, needs less burping and sleeps through the night) but not much other than that.

Memorial Day

2007-05-27T07:20:00.000-05:00

It is such a blessing to live in a country where we enjoy so many freedoms. Remember those who gave their lives in service of our country. There seems to be a growing trend here of taking for granted and forgetting the price that was paid for any of our freedoms but especially the freedom of Salvation.

Freedom of Religion: This is a wonderful freedom that we have to be able to openly worship our God, unlike many countries where you would be jailed or even lose your life for such acts. It reminds me of a book I read by Randy Alcorn, Safely Home, if you have not read it you should.

Freedom of Speech: We can share our faith with everyone/anyone without the threat of persecution (yet). In the wise words of my friend, we have the freedom to listen or not to listen too.

Mothers Day

2007-05-13T07:35:00.000-05:00

This sure is a wonderful day, its going to be around 70 today. It is also a special day because we get to show our thanks to the Mothers. They sure do alot and most of it goes unrecognized and this is the one day we get to show them that its not all in vain. We could not make it without the dedicated moms of the world.

We got the part for the car and Amy called the place we ordered it from and they told her it didnt come with the motor and that it needed to be bought seperately. When Jeff k. opened the box he said Amy, dont open the other box, this one came w/a motor, we were able to take the other motor back and get a nice refund on it. That was truely a miracle from God.

We went to Bucca Di Beppo yesterday with several from our connect group. It was a good time, Amy hardly ate anything because of her indigestion from the pregnancy, it was a nice place and we got to know the Fritzs better. We also spent some time with Frank and Sharon that evening, it was a great time of fellowship. If you have not yet, get together with someone you dont normally and spend some time getting to know them, it produces real unity with other christians and as a church.

Ok, Ok Already

2007-05-09T15:49:00.000-05:00

I thought I should update since I am getting bombarded with comments to do so. I have just been so busy getting used to my new schedule that I didnt have time to update.

It sure is nice to finally be getting some training, Im really getting into it. My department is merging with another department at work and we are cross training. It will require me to do more router configurations which is a plus. I will need to get my Cisco certification.

I'm thankful that things have slowed down a bit now between the goings on at church and the pastor moving. I have this friend who said he was going to go to the driving range with me and also go golfing with me but I think he was just being nice since I have not heard anything from him about it. It must be really hard for him though getting to play at work and all.

Gearing up for VBS. If you have not done so please sign up, it will be exciting. I have already put in my vacation request to have that week off work. I pray it gets approved. The parts for my window on my car are finally in and it will be getting fixed tomorrow. I have been blessed to have another vehicle to drive until it gets fixed. God is always good.

New Jobs

2007-04-23T15:59:00.000-05:00

I started my first day at Verizon Business today. Its was extremely uneventful, I went in and sat around for several hours doing nothing at all and I went to lunch and then came back and sat in the dark through a power point HR presentation so the toughest thing about my first day was trying to stay awake.

I got home and there was a message for me from a guy at Qwest Communications wanting to schedule an interview. I just laughed about it. This is the second interview request I have had since accepting my new position.

I also found out on my way home that Shawn and Penny accepted the offer and will start mid June. THANK YOU JESUS!!! I am excited about the new directions the church will be heading in, in the near future. God is truely working in the church and in the lives of His followers. I continue to pray for unity and for us to always follow His direction. I also pray now that Shawn and Penny will sell their house soon so they can wrap things up where they are and start their new journey with us.

VBS has now moved to the last full week in July. I just wanted to give eveyone ample opportunity to volunteer, not only that but to ensure most vacations are over and give me time to plan and take the time off to be there.

Now that I am off at 330 everyday I am going to have to start going to the driving range more often so I can compete w/my friends who play almost every week like Tiger Noel, Wally Nicholas, and Sean Singh.

!!!UPDATE!!!

2007-04-14T07:44:00.000-05:00

I only have 1 week left before I depart to Verizon Business. This is going to be the longest week of my life!!!

The new worship pastor candidate comes tomorrow to lead the service. Im thankful that Im not in the video booth until next week. I hear he goes golfing, already earning points w/me.

Just a few short months and Josh will be here, it seems like it was just 6 months ago we found out we were going to be having another one. Oh wait, it was just 6 months ago. The funny thing is, is that he already has a golf bag now! I cant wait to take him. Maybe by then I will be playing well enough that he wont be too embarassed to go with me. I keep staring out my window wondering if its too cold to go to the driving range today.

I had a great time w/my friends last night, I got to eat pizza and get in the Hot Tub. I needed it too after the day I had. I was on the phone at work the other day and I got a voice mail. I listened to it and a few months back I applied to some positions at Qwest to get hired on, well it was a manager from a different dept calling me to setup an interview, I declined but thought that was funny, right after I accepted a different position I get calls for openings.

Blessings Abound

2007-04-04T18:50:00.000-05:00

As you know I have been contracting at Qwest Communications for 7 months now praying for a permenant position. Due to some FCC loop holes Qwest local and long distance were able to join togeather and now they are trying to consolidate job functions which means probably no perm. spots opening up.
I applied to a job at Verizon and got an interview. I took the day off today so I could go. I interviewed w/3 people and when they were walking me out they said they would make a decision and will let the recruiter know so she could inform the candidates in a couple of days.
I have been praying about this going well for multiple reasons. I felt the interview went extremely well and so did the interviewers.
I left at 10 after 2pm and got home just after 3pm. At 340 the recruiter called me and asked how I felt the interview went. I told her it was the best interview I had ever been to and that I felt at home there and comfortable w/the people. She said they did too and offered me the job!!!
She said that she had never seen anyone get offered a job that quickly after an interview. They even gave me more money than I asked for!
I am going to give my 2 weeks notice tomorrow and will start with Verizon on the 23rd of April.

GOD IS SO GOOD, I am overwhelmed at the blessings he has given my family and I.

New Times

2007-03-31T14:54:00.000-05:00

It is such a blessing to hear that the Pastor and Donna got the house they had been praying about. God is so good!! It always encourages me to see Him working in the lives of others, especially for Christian friends.

I finally got to go golfing today, 1st time this year! I called Sean up to see if he wanted to go to the driving range with me and we were on our way and decided to play 9 holes. We played the 1st few holes then it started raining, not a big deal though, it gave me something on which to blame the way I was playing. Not to mention the 2 nice gentlemen who both hit their golf balls about 30 feet from where I was standing without yelling 4. I thought Granville was the one place where the people would have been taught etiquette, I guess not!

I have been praying about getting a permenant employee position since I need the vacation time for VBS and the baby coming and would also like Medical benefits.
I prayed that either God would open a position at Qwest or give me someting else. I got to work Thursday and a co-worker emailed me about an open position at Verizon that her friend sent to her. I applied and on Thrusday afternoon the recruiter emailed me and asked if I was interested in the position. I emailed back on Friday am at 530 and told her I was. When I got to work there was an open position at Qwest in a different dept. that someone emailed me and I applied to it. (still waiting to hear about it.)
The Verizon recruiter called me at 130 and said that she would send my resume to the manager to see if they would be interested in interviewing me and that I would hear back in a few days. The recruiter called me back 30 mins later and said they wanted to interview w/me on Tues at 9am and sent me an application and background paperwork to fill out. She then called me 45 mins later and said they would have to do the interview at 1pm since there were 2 departments that wanted to interview me and the one couldnt do it till then.

Please pray that the interview goes well and that a position opens up that I can take wether it be at Qwest or Verizon so I no longer have to stay contracting.

Wild Times

2007-03-26T16:21:00.001-05:00

***********************
PRAISE REPORTS
***********************
Amys dad no longer looks like he is dying and he is eating well again and the pain is almost all gone after his apendinx surgery

My aunt Becky went back to the hospital the other day since her doctor was concerned about her getting sick alot. He did an xray of her head to see if the cancer had spread and IT WAS GONE!!!
*************************

Today was the wild game dinner. The food was great! The speaker was really good too.

I have been sad that I have not had the opportunity to go out golfing yet because of the Rain, hopefully things will cooperate and I can go this weekend.

Please pray about me getting a perm. position at my job. They just let 2 contractors go yesterday.

I am already starting to get Volunteers and children signed up for VBS this year. That is exciting!! Signup now the positions are going like wildfire, I promise you wont want to miss out on being a part of this great event!

Spring Ahead Early

2007-03-12T19:09:00.000-05:00

It was a lovely day, I always enjoy getting 1 less hour of sleep when the clocks spring ahead, I really dont need help getting less sleep, its the getting more that I would like to have.

Amy and I went to the ultrasound and found out nothing new about the sex of the baby than we already knew. The Dr. said its "probably" a boy but she wouldnt steak her reputation on it (I asked). Neutral colors are cool too right?

Amys dad is recovering from his apendix surgery and he is not doing well at all, he looks pale and everything he eats makes him sick. I got upset with him this evening and told him he needed to get it in gear and see the Dr. He probably wont but it made me feel good to tell him.

I got my golf clubs the other day and I am excited to get out and start playing again!

I have to say Thank You to one of my secret readers for the Play House for Hailey she wont come out of it. As soon as it was set up she took a bunch of her toys and filled it and sits in it and plays with them. She loves it!

We have been blessed once again to have gotten a new bed and a working Dryer, GOD is ALWAYS GOOD!!

Life and Times

2007-02-26T20:13:00.000-05:00

Saturday was a great day, Amy went to the Beth Moore broadcast and I was able to spen much of the day with my Hailey Bug. I have been watching Amy lately and have not noticed any changes in her so maybe it wasnt that kind of broadcast.

I got to hang out w/one of my closest friends and his boys, they are awesome and they make me hope even harder that I have a boy. I hope he will be as cool as they are.

We find out the beginning of next month what it is that God have chosen to bless us with. I dont know if Hailey really knows a baby is coming or not, but she sure has been a big Daddys girl lately, I have to do everything for her when I am with her. I dont mind it at all and besides in the wise words of my friend Donna D. "she will be all mine" when Joshua David comes.

It is finally good to see the pastor updated his blog even if it just some things from his message, now Donna is behind in updating hers, and the only one behind now. I am looking forward to seeing Frank H. put his blog address out there so we can start in on him as well.

I saw a movie that another good friend of mine let me borrow called "Time Changers" it was a wonderful movie, if you have not seen it you should, I am going to buy it soon. It really makes you think about the way our society has become and how different it is now and how it is common place for people to blaspheme His name and use it like it means nothing to them. I pray that I can always be bold for him and always stand for him and never back down. Remember, if you are ashamed of Him, he will be ashamed of you in that day. Its time that we stop being luke warm and stop becoming numb to the things going on around us and take a stand for what we believe in.

I was having a conversation last night with someone who heard a public speaker and he said that the speaker didnt make much mention of God let alone Jesus and that he talked to this speaker after and that this person didnt really believe in Hell, he thinks that when you die you either go to Heaven and be with God or you just die and thats it. I told him that man is mistaken, and there is a Hell and the Bible says so. He then said that it was great that I strongly believe in that but some people dont, I then said You dont have to believe it for it to be true, God said it and that makes it true!

He Provides

2007-02-13T15:47:00.000-05:00

have learned not to worry about anything, as soon as I start to get to a place of doubt, I just pray for it to go away, after all the little things that have been happening it would be easy to get discouraged but I know God will provide and I trust in Him to take care of us.

I did some work installing/setting up a local area network for someone and I wanted to be a blessing to others since Amy and I have been so overwhelmingly blessed ourselves so I only charged this person the cost of materials to complete the job.

Amy so badly wanted to go to the Beth Moore event coming up and I wanted her to be able to go since she does so much for our family here and close to never does she get a break and all she wanted to do was go, well our plumbing backed up into our basement and we knew from when her brother had the same thing happen it was going to be a bit of money, and we were certainly not going to be able to manage both things and since we didnt want a pool in our basement just yet we needed the money for that.

Amy went home with Hailey early from church Sunday because she was sick and I went back to church and someone had left a PAID FOR ticket to the Beth Moore event there for Amy, not only that but this person who I did the work for gave me a check and I didnt even look at it, I was going to give it to Amy to put in the bank and come to find out later it was for alot more than just the material cost, with that and the money we kept back from the Beth Moore event we were able to have the plumbers come out and fix our drainage problem. Everything paid in full!

When our washer broke down, God allowed someone else to be a blessing to us and give us theirs, when our car broke down we were blessed by God again and someone gave us the money to do repairs on it, the seal on our fridge was not working and yet again He blessed us by having someone give us one, we were blessed with a stove when all the burners but one went out on ours and the oven wasnt cooking right and with a recliner chair, the buttons on our home phone barely work when you press them and on its last leg and once again we were blessed - someone called us up and asked if we were in need of a home phone since they had been given one as a gift and there are many, many other things as well.

We have a church that we feel at home in and several friends whom we consider close family and a Savior who has saved us and provided us forgiveness from sin, the only way it could be better is if we were in Heaven.

JESUS IS ALIVE and He Provides!

Sick, Tired, and Broke

2007-02-12T21:27:00.000-05:00

We had to leave church early Sunday am since Hailey kept throwing up all over the place. We would have stayed but the toddler workers were not thrilled about the idea, besides we were running out of other kids clothes at the church that fit her.

I dont know what it is but it seems the colder it is the more tired I become, I dont know if its my body telling me I need to hybernate or what.

Went downstairs to the basement to get something and found a nice little lake forming there. Amy called someone to come out and fix it and hopefully he will do just that, then we will be praying that God fix the hole in my wallet that this caused.

The car will also hopefully be towed back to our house tomorrow if its not too bad, I kinda want to get it off that guys lot while it still has tires to be driven on.

I got this years VBS kit and it is going to be an awesome time!!! I have asked someone to be the Preschool director this year, pray that she says yes so I dont have to beg anyone else to do it, interested? It may be available if she declines, stay tuned.

If it snows I hope we get a level 3 snow before I leave in the am or if not, I hope we only get an inch, Im not really into the 3 hour drives home.

Pray for the people in our connect group, Frank and Sherry(Job/Worry/Stress), Jim and Susan (The farm/Livelyhood), Ron (Divorce/Faith/Baptism of his son later this month), the frequent flyers and the "not so frequent flyers". Unity, Friendship, Faith, Fellowship, Daily walk, the unsaved.

Easy Come, Easy Go

2007-02-07T19:32:00.000-05:00

It was a bad drive after work yesterday. I left work at 6pm and arrived home at 915pm, I believe in being cautious but driving 20mph? Give me a break! Im not sure if people are genuinely scared or they love their cars that much.
Speaking of cars, I had mine in the shop for a month because the shop owners wife was having some medical problems so we awaited the diagnosis, we got it and it cost $110.00 so he could tell me that he was going to rip me off by charging me 350.00 (not including labor) to replace the Timing Belt, Tensioner, Idler Pulley. (I bought the same things from the Dodge Dealership 2 months prior for 170.00) now im not a math major but somehow those figures dont seem to match to me.?
Amy went and paid the guy the diagnostic money and went out to the car to get something from it, thankfully it wasnt the car stereo that she wanted since that was stolen (no forceable entry). He did tell Amy the reason all the doors were left unlocked was he didnt want to have to deal with the locks freezing up. Needless to say Im having the car towed home and not allowing him to touch it again.
Amy tried to dry some clothes and the dryer wouldnt come on, thankfully her mother lives close so we can wash at home and dry at her house, this gives her the opportunity to spend some time with her mom.
Hailey had pink eye last week, thats gone now thankfully - no more eye drops for her.
The VBS starter kit arrived yesterday so I can start planning this years VBS, yes, I need help.
Hailey is spending the week at her aunts house in Cardington, its always nice for Amy to have a break, she does so much for us.

No one ever said it was going to be easy, I believe its the rough times in life that strengthen your character, your walk, and your faith in Him!

One day soon Jesus is going to come again to take me home to spend eternity with him.

JESUS IS ALIVE, everything else pales in comparison to that!

33 and counting

2007-01-23T09:19:00.000-05:00

I thought I would update since I am behind a bit. Everyone updated their blog on my B-day except Jeff S. and I.
Thank you all so very much for making this the best Birthday I have ever had!! It was a wonderful surprise and the best thing was that the only ones still younger than me at my party were the teenagers and little children. (Besides Amy)
The cakes and cookie that was made were out of this world. I thank God everyday for each and every one of the special friends he has allowed me to have. It’s is a rare thing for a man to have 1 true friend in his lifetime, so I am overwhelmingly blessed to have so many and wouldn’t trade it for all the wealth in the world! The best part is that I am going to get to spend eternity with all of them. (If there is no sorrow, crying, sadness, etc. in Heaven then I will actually get to win a game of Nerts.?)

Its about time

2007-01-07T13:23:00.000-05:00

I am finally updating my blog since BOTH of my readers have commented on how behind I am. Things always get hectic around the Holidays and there is always a reason to put updating off for another time.

The Birthday party for Jesus went well, we didnt have a huge turnout but since it was the 1st annual one for FBCH I figured it would be small however, next year we will have a larger event.

The Christmas party for the community went extremely well. It was such a blessing to see the faces of the parents as they picked up the presents for their children and the best part was that the kids didnt know the church gave them to the parents so they could present them to the kids as if it were them who gave the gifts. It was cool also to see that there were gifts for the adults as well and everyone got a hot meal and to go boxes if they wanted them.

We have several different things planned for this year for the Children, the whole ministry and the way things are will be different and hopefully better than they have been. I am already preparing for VBS in August or possibly the end of July? I dont want to do it the week every other church is doing theirs so I am going to make some calls and see when others are scheduled. So if you would like to volunteer, every position is currently open, get dibs on what you want now since they will go fast!!!

Amy goes to the Dr on the 10th to hear the heartbeat of either Joshua Grant, or Allison Rebecca so please pray everything goes well.

Things

2006-12-15T19:44:00.000-05:00

Well I was just reading Jeffs blog and found out that he is trying to get out of teaching Sunday. Im gonna pray for him!! hahaha.
Its been a very busy week, we had alot of people out of work for vacation and several out in training so it only left 12 of us to do the normal work load so I have been swamped.
Im looking forward to the Birthday party for Jesus tomorrow, Im hoping for a good turnout but you never know at 10am.
Amy and I went over to some friends of ours house last night and we have some of the best steaks w/this hollandaise sauce and the dessert was great!! We dont seem to get together w/them very much now days but it is always nice when we do. We celebrated our friends birthday (I think she is 40 now) but being respectful, I didnt want to ask.
Amy is scrapbooking right now and my mother-in-law is watching Hailey so that means I have 1 hour to myself which unheard of and I dont want to spend it all updating my blog but I thought I would so I dont get anymore remarks on the time its been between updates.

Kingdom come

2006-12-04T21:21:00.000-05:00

I for some reason lately have been thinking about Heaven so much , I have this hard core longing for that awesome place. It makes me tear up just thinking about it. This song I have on one of my CDs says: The blind will see, the Lame will walk, the Hungry will feast, and the Weary will find rest. Its no secret we dont belong here, Those set apart by the grace of You And we look for the day when we go to a place Where the old becomes brand new.

I was studying some things about Gods Glory and I read some stuff about the throne room and I am in awe!

Revelation 4 says: The One who sat there (on the throne) had the appearance of jasper and carnelian (a reddish translucent to transparent milky or greyish quartz). A rainbow resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

Ezekiel 1:26-28 says: ...above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man, I saw from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal as if full of fire and that from there down he looked like fire and brilliant light surrounded him, like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it I fell facedown....

Notice that there are no words adequate enough to describe what these men saw? They are more awesome than we have things to liken them to. I cant even imagine what its going to be like, everything beyond our wildest imaginations. And if you are saved we will be able to enjoy them togeather for eternity.

This place is not our home, we dont belong here but the work isnt completed yet. If you have not been saved, or know someone you care about that isnt saved, please talk to them before its too late. Tell them you care about their soul and that Jesus loves them no matter what! The biggest lie we buy into is that we have pleanty of time when in reality we could be gone tonight.

Changes

2006-12-03T18:20:00.000-05:00

Amys brother Dustin is now moved in his new place and it looks great! The best thing is Wayne now has a room of his own and is no longer sleeping on the living room floor, that means I can have real quiet times again.

Amy and I found out she is pregnant again. She is about 7 weeks along now, we just had our first Dr. visit last Wed. I am hoping for a boy but above all just a healthy baby. For some reason the Dr. (She) mentioned something about a Vasectomy, I have no idea why, anyway I actually didnt start hyperventallating at the thought of it so I have grown in that area. We have not told many people since the miscarriage the last time. I am so thankful for her, I would be lost without her beside me. I love her with all that I am!

I actually put up Christmas lights outside and also put up the Christmas tree and I did it without Amy having to ask me 4 times to do it. Which is another area I have grown in. I cant wait till Saturday when we have our progressive dinner, we have a pretty close connect group and I love spending time them. Not only that but we have a sitter for Hailey and its not very often that Amy and I get to go out by ourselves and spend time togeather so Im looking forward to it.

Life

2006-11-26T23:21:00.000-05:00

I started a journal today for Hailey. In it I put things I am thinking about, things she is doing and interested in and how she is impacting mine and Amys life. It is also to give points of wisdom and encouragement and to tell her things that she is too young to understand just yet and most importantly to tell her about my relationship w/God. A friend of mine told me about doing this for his child and I thought that it was a great idea.

I am so thankful for all of the wonderful Christian friends Amy and I have. We have been so abundantly blessed and sometimes forget in the midst of the daily grind how much we really do have to be thankful for. It only seems like yesterday that we started going to the church but feels like we have known the prople for a lifetime. It is a special thing when a man is able to have 1 true friend but to have as many as I do is a blessing from God.

Today in connect group there was a new person there and I wasnt sure who he was until later someone said his last name and it shocked me because I knew him in high school and we hung out in the same crouds. I knew his wife pretty well and right now he is going through a pretty tough time. We have so much in common, I kept thinking about it in service today and thought that I need to reach out to him if only just to be a friend to listen and maybe give some advice also, so I spoke w/him and got his number. God brought him to this church and our connect group today for a reason. Please pray for Ron and his 2 children, they are going to need alot of it!!!

Blogs

2006-11-24T15:00:00.000-05:00

Im back!!! I keep checking on my friends blogs and they just dont update theirs so I thought I would restart mine and show them how bloggin is supposed to be.