It is time

I am officially moving to a new space. You can find my blog here:MarkSears. Come by and read the madness that I can come up with.

Better Late Than Much Later

Welcome back. I know it has been quite some time since my last post. It seems that I am trying to commit blog suicide. I really don’t want to loose my two or three regular readers. I really hope you are reading this. So here is a mini update, my family and I have been so busy, we have been to at least one football game a week and most of the time two. My daughter is on the JV cheerleading squad at her school. It is so different than it was back when I was in middle school. I was not a cheerleader but they were nowhere near as busy as my daughter has been the past two months. I have been elected to the school board of my son’s high school. Basketball is gearing up and will be in full swing in a few weeks. If you aren’t aware I coordinate the basketball and other sports programs and my church. The band has taken a short hiatus. But I am under the impression that is coming to a rapid close.

Ok, I am going to get back on my regular blog schedule. It may take a few posts to get back into the swing of things. So give me a few posts to get the creative juices flowing and maybe I can make things worth coming back to read. I have a lot of ideas floating around in my head. I’ve been sleeping much better so the delirious off the wall things you have been reading may become more coherent in the future. But a lack of sheep can show up at any time and the madness could return with no notice. Check back regularly to see what is going on around my life.

So, what is Next?

OK, I was under the impression a plan in the 700 billion dollar bailout was a done deal. I never had a clue there was a chance it would not pass a vote. Well, people are hurting in this tough economic time. There are families doing without, some wondering when they will have to find a new place to live. Now, the lawmakers are trying to come up with a new plan. At this point, I am not sure what caused the plan not to pass. I guess we will see what the future holds. Maybe the Senate and Congress will get their act together and we will see something done before it is too late.

What a week, since Friday we have lost one of our greatest actors, a bailout bill failed as I said above and the market lost almost 800 points in less than ten minutes yesterday.

The up side to all of this, the market will rebound, the power in the government will shift and many other great actors will follow Paul Newman’s path. The best thing of all is we will learn from history and it will be many generations after us before anyone will have to deal with this kind of mess again.

Just remember we have our whole lives ahead of us. Keep your eyes lifted high and follow the path of the greatest man ever to walk the face of the earth. He gave us the best example of how to live.

So, what is Next?

OK, I was under the impression a plan in the 700 billion dollar bailout was a done deal. I never had a clue there was a chance it would not pass a vote. Well, people are hurting in this tough economic time. There are families doing without, some wondering when they will have to find a new place to live. Now, the lawmakers are trying to come up with a new plan. At this point, I am not sure what caused the plan not to pass. I guess, we’ll see what the future holds.

Maybe we will see something done before it is too late.

I’m Back

OK, I posted yesterday and it was one from a couple of weeks when I wasn’t sleeping all that well. I spent several hours alone at the computer with the television playing and lots of time to clean out the deep dark areas of my mind. Well, my wife tells me it is the silly parts of my mind. Anyway, last night I spent a lot of time sitting all alone in front of the computer and with the television playing. The good news is you don’t have to read the crazy things that were racing through my mind. I did finally go to bed and get some sleep. The down side is my alarm woke me up two and a half hours later. I managed to make it thought the day at work and a few miles of a taxi trip picking up my daughter and getting her to church. Now I am about to head back to pick her up. Then I hope the whole family gets to get a good night sleep tonight. So with the fear of sounding stupid, I hope my next blog post is boring. Well, not really but I do hope I sleep tonight.

Reality TV?

In keeping with my lack of sleep theme of a few weeks ago, here is another episode of my blog for your enjoyment.

Is “Reality TV really all that good. Most of the shows are not. How many of them have come and gone without as much as a glance. Of course There is Survivor , Big Brother and American Idol that have enough of a following that they will be around for a while. I don’t consider myself a reality show junkie or anything. I do watch some of them but that is mostly because we don’t have a million channels in our house and at times you just have to choose something you would rather tolerate over the other things that are on.

OK to the point, hasn’t TV changed in the last fifteen years. I guess it is because of the moral change in the views of the American people. We now accept things as the norm that fifteen years ago would have been considered voodoo if mentioned in public. Now we are accepting curtain words on prime time TV that were NEVER said in public settings much less on TV ten years ago.

What do you thing was the biggest contributing factor to this trend? Leave a comment and let’ see if we can come up with a reason and maybe a solution that will make TV worth our children watching in the future.

See you soon!

How much crap is for sale?

I told you I was having trouble with my sleeping patterns reciently. Well, I have seen a lot of late night/early morning TV. There is a lot of selling or at least trying to sell junk going on. It seems that every channel of “free TV” have infomercials running all night. This seems to be more present starting on Friday night/Saturday morning but none the less someone has found the need to try to sell some kind of gadget we “cannot life without” because it will “make our lives easier” or because they have found a way to give us that ripped and finely cut body we have always dreamed of by doing as little as possible for just fifteen minutes a day and it only takes five easy payments of $49.95. But wait there’s more! If you call in the next ten minutes they will pay one of the payments for you AND WAIT there’s more. They will give you a second of whatever contraption it is that they are hocking at now cost. Truth be known the first easy payment will triple their profit on both items they are promising to send you.

And what about those car salesman that are parading all these “Great Deals” around for thirty minutes on each channel? You can see them and when it is over change the channel and catch the same thing again and so on and so on until you have seen them on every channel.

What would an infomercial from God be like? I know He wouldn’t sell us crap. And furthermore there is no way we could possibly pay Him what it would be worth. I love a lot of people but there are only a hand full of people I would die for. If you want to see what it is all about let me know and I will give you the time and location of one of His infomercials. Even better I’ll give you direction to the live event.

See ya soon.

It's time for a little change

OK, I'm jumping on the bandwagon. Many of my friends have made the move from here to a new location. This is to put you on notice. I am making that move soon. Click on the link below and you will be taken to the new location of my blog. Bookmark it when you get there. Everything I post here will be there as well and then one day, BAM!!! I'm all there and not here.

Mark's new Blog Location

Saturday fun

OK, I've changed my plans yet again. Although I told you I had some plans for the next few posts, I have made one change. A few months ago Blake Comer (The youth minister at our church) posted a video of Blake Bergstrom and a slight twist of words while he was speaking at church. That video can be seen here.

There was a follow up to that clip. Blake B. has a great sense of humor. One would have to in order to deal with this. Watch this and enjoy.

I'll see you in a few days.

Weekend Update

The band was at Heritage yesterday. Things seemed to get off to a slow start. God decided to spend the day teaching me a little bit. The morning service was the third time we have led worship at Heritage. It was exciting to see two adults accept Jesus as their personal savior during the morning worship service. To top that just before the closing prayer the Associate Pastor announced that three children also accept Jesus as their personal savior in the children's service. That is pretty amazing isn’t it, five people, in the span of two hours? I am ashamed to tell you I walked out of the church with much less excitement than I did the two previous times we led worship there. I can’t believe I didn’t walk out of that church shouting and dancing with Joy. I have five new brothers and sisters in my family.

The first two times we led worship at Heritage were evening services which are a much like the services at Freedom. Sunday evening the people that sat in the pews with few exceptions were totally different people than the morning service. The worshipers showed a desire to spend quality time with God. The experience was not the same as the previous two times. But as I said earlier I came away with a lesson. The message was along the lines of when we face troubled times we MUST keep our focus on what matters most, God. He will bring us through the hard times and we will be stronger after the storm settles. The lesson I came away with is “we have all been called to spread God’s message”. We should use every opportunity and every option available to us in spreading God’s message.

I can’t wait for the next time we have an opportunity to share God’s love with our musical talents. I am so blessed to be associated with the other guys (and girl) in the band. They have so much talent and a love for God. I love these guys so much and am truly thankful for them allowing me to join them in this adventure. We all have very supportive families. They allow us to spend time away from them practicing as we prepare to lead worship as well as the extra time it takes to arrive early to set up and get the settings right on all the equipment prior to the services. They are wonderful and as much a part of what we are doing as we are. This is one great family. I’ll let you know when we are scheduled to lead worship somewhere.

I know I kind of rambled and I am sorry but that is the magic of blogging. Nothing has to lead to a point and I can say what comes to my mind at any moment.

Check back soon. I actually do have things lined up for they next several days to see what things pop out of the mind of this fourty something teenager.

See you later.

Trying to get back on track

I went back to bed at 5:15 and slept until 8:00 so maybe I'll make it through the night tonight. So I said I wasn't going to tell you anything I had in mind for the blog But check back I have a few things in the works since I had the spare time this morning..

See you soon!!!!!!!!!

Am I mixed up?

I woke up about two hours ago. I don’t know if it was all the caffeine loaded drinks I had Friday or if I have confused my body this week. This is the second time since Tuesday that I have woken in the middle of the night and not been able to go back to sleep. The other nights I have been awake until at lease 2 am and up around 6. Needless to say I haven’t slept much this week. Maybe it will help me sleep tonight.
I have been following Hanna as best I can. There is not much information flowing on the web about a tropical storm at 2:30 am. I thought these news reporters and weather people were working 24/7 or more. I guess in the information age it still takes time to spread the word. The good news is the storm was not as bad as expected. We could have used the rain from the storm had it hit the state on the southern tip or farther south but God knows best and decided He didn’t want to bring it inland that far south.

OK there are still a lot of random things floating around in my mind right now (it may be the lack of sleep) I was reading some of my previous posts and can’t believe anyone is still reading my blog. I tell you I am going to do something and don’t and then I wait two weeks to tell you I’ve been too busy (or lazy) to get to it. Yet you are still at least looking to see if I am doing anything. The numbers tell me that. So in the near future (at least) I will make the time to post something. I am not promising substance but something so you aren’t totally wasting your time looking to see if I have written something. So check back soon to see what is on my mind (or running out of my ears)

All joking aside, the band will be at Heritage Baptist Sunday morning at 10:30 am and again at 6:00 pm. Come out and have a great time with people with the biggest hearts in Greenville. I get a blessing being around them.

We’ll be looking for you!

Sunday at Heritage

Hey guys,

If you both are still reading, the band is playing at Heritage this Sunday. We will be there for the 10:30 am service and the 6:00 pm service. We have some great music to play. God puts things together and blesses everyone in some way. Be there if you can. It helps to have the support of family and friends. If you need more information let me know.

Hope to see you there.

Thank you God for your Mercy

All day long if you have watched any television you are sure to have heard a story about the hurricane. I just say, “Thank you God for sparing so many tragedies that could have taken place today.

Just a Quick Note

The older I get the more I learn. I could have never been as effective as a "Full Time" Youth Minister as ours at Freedom (Blake). Blake has so many creative things in his mind. The best of which I just experienced. I am in my office at work and was watching him in the church office as he was doing something. Take a look but you will need to do this during regular office hours. If your are curious:what is blake doing.

Catch you soon

Less Than Three Weeks

I have concluded it is not good for me to tell what I am planning to do with the blog. It is now Monday and the family is home. We have a great time at the beach. There was lots of sun fun and friends. I mentioned the Tiki bar in the previous post. I think I said something about a picture in it. Well, I was sitting here thinking about what I was going to do tonight and suddenly realized that I never took a picture of the Tiki bar. So I guess I will not share a picture of it. I guess I could find one somewhere on the web and post it but what is the use. We did take several pictures and many of them are good but I have yet to connect the camera to the computer to move them to a more permanent home. Anyway, it was back to the regular routine today. I got up this morning only to show up to work and play catch up all day. That is the real down side to taking a vacation. You spend so much time cleaning up the things that others don’t have time to get to or just decide they don’t want to do. (NBD)

Here are the things I feel are the hi-lites of the week:
-After a few hours of driving we arrived Sunday afternoon.
-The women went grocery shopping.
-Mid morning Monday everyone decided to roll out of the bed and mosey to the beach.
-Tuesday the men (Me and Ben) joined Lance and Joe for a round of 18. 103 degrees Wow was it hot.
-Wednesday was still mid morning getting to the beach but it was earlier than Monday.
-Thursday we got to the beach before 10. The waves were killer. We were about dead from riding one after another. It was totally ahhhhhwesome, duoode!!! We were on boogie boards so I guess we were hanging five.
-Friday was so much cooler. We pretty much hung out in (not at) the ocean all day.
-Saturday started with a walk on the beach. My wife was too into sleep so I was all alone. It was nice alone time. It would have been nice to have her with me but it was good as it was. We spent the morning at the pool and waited until six for the beach. Tried fishing with a casting net. I like it and plan to start the week off with it next year.

I’m already looking forward to next year. I can’t wait. I guess I can wait for the catch up week following vacation. But I will be worth it.

What is your favorite thing to do at the beach?

Who knows what will be next.

Until then!

Three Weeks too Late!!!

OK, I have to start by issuing two apologies. First to any of you who read regularly and still look to see if anything new has been posted. I apologize for making you waste so much time seeing the same old thing for the past three weeks. I am truely sorry. Secondly to my friemd Kent. I have hasstleld him for the better part of July for not adding a new post. Kent, I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time and doing the same thing. I didn't realze until yesterday it had been such a long time since I posted on the blog.

OK here's a quick update. The family and I are at the beach. Myrtle of course. There is no other beach is there? We are here with several friends (12 in our houst). It turnes out we have many more that thought this week was a good week to be here. Our house really gets a lot of attention. I will post some pictures later to give you the virtualy tour. If I can get enough computer time to post them. I'm no my son's computer while he is asleep.

Here are the highlites of our house:
It is bright yellow.
we have a tiki bar on the ground level.
it is on the corner of a very busy intersection.
the most noticed thing about the house is the small sign hanging at the entrance of the tiki bar. (Free Margaritas Tomorrow) We have sooooo many people coming back daily to get that free margarita that is offered tomorrow. We just keep telling them we will be serving them tomorrow. And the funny thing is every time they come by they are still free tomorrow. It is a hoot. We have five more days before making that dreaded trip up the highway. I guess I'd better get going for now.

Until then, I'm enjoying the days and nights here is the sea salted misty air. Hootie Hoo!!! (for you Jeanne and family)

Another Great Sunday

I mentioned the band was playing at Heritage this past Sunday, well, it was another great evening. We saw people get touched by God. It always amazes me to see God show Himself. I have been a Christian for thirty years now and God still reveals Himself to me in new ways. I would love to have been able to see Jesus and the Disciples. Can you imagine what it would be like to walk down the street and see the town's leper come running at you shouting, "Jesus just healed me"? Or the newly wedded couple, showing the pictures of their wedding and hear them telling how Jesus saved the evening at their reception when he told the servants to fill the wine containers with water and serve it. As the people started to drink what they were served they wanted to know where the most fantastic drink they have ever tasted came from.

When God reveals Himself it is like drinking the most refreshing drink you have ever tasted on the hottest day of your life. That first drink is the best and most memorable drink. But wait, the next time you put that cup to your lips and take a drink it is just a wonderful as the first. Then you take another and another and another and they just keep getting better and better. That is what it is like for me every time the band plays. We had a great time at Heritage before. We learned a lot of what this church is all about. It was an overwhelming evening and few days following as I soaked in all that had happened that evening. Then we go back this week and of course God showed Himself to everyone there again. (Well, at least everyone that I talked to that was there) We saw people saved this trip. Before we sang the last song one of the men came forward and made a public admission that he just accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior and everyone in the church raised their hands and openly prayed for this new brother, because he just started the most wonderful yet most difficult journey of his life, he will need these prayers and many more on this journey

I have gone on long enough for now. Just a quick note, the band will be at Heritage again Sunday, September 7th. If you can make it I am sure you will not be disappointed. Not because we will be playing but because God will be there.

Hope to see you then.

I want to break the Rut!!!

OK, so I had one person to tell me this week that I did so well about posting while I was on vacation. The one thing about going to a small town is there isn't a lot to choose from to fill every moment of the day. Don't get me wrong I loved spending time with all of my family. It just worked out that there was enough free time for me to stop and type a few lines about the trip.

So as promised here are a few pictures I took of the community parade and it brought back so many great memories of my childhood. I'll share them with you in the coming days as I reflect.











Notice the kid in the last picture didn't make it to the end of the parade.

The really cool thing was when we went to the community picnic I relived my childhood through my children. The fell in love with the same games I did as a child. I wonder if I had the same look on my face as they did when they won the prizes. No! You won't see me riding around town in the Ford F150 the Chamber of Commerce raffled off. It was won by an Out of Towner but it wasn't anyone in my family.

I guess I'd better cut this off and save some of this for later. A quick note before I go, the band will be playing at Heritage Baptist church in Greenville again this Sunday. If you want to experience a great worship time come joins us as we are blessed by these wonderful people. This looks like it may be a regular thing for a while. Pray for us as we prepare to assist God in leading this worship experience. Hope to see you there. If you can't make it physically be there spiritually.

See you soon!!!

Every Good Thing must come to an end

It is late Sunday night and I am getting ready to go to bed. We are heading out on the long trip back home tomorrow morning. It has been very nice to see all the family and I really hate to leave. However, it is time to get back to the regular routine and start preparing for the next trip.

Just an update on the small town celebration, the kids loved the community parade and picnic. My son fell in love with the ring toss. It was my favorite when I was a kid. I remember winning several knives over the years. None of which I have a clue where they might be today. But, my son knows where the knife is that he won. I think it is so cool to know he has experienced some of my childhood. I hope he will think back in thirty years and remember that feeling he had when he saw that ring drop over that knife and land on the board and the sound of the man shouting "We have a winner". My daughter brought home a stuffed puppy dog that she has to have as soon as she saw it. She did quite well throwing darts at the balloons. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of either event. However, you will see pictures of the parade as soon as I have the time to sit down and sort through them. I will post a few of the ones that capture the air of the hometown celebration of our great country's 232nd birthday.

See you at the house!

Catchin' Up

I spent the day yesterday catching up with lost of family. It is very enjoyable to get to sit and talk about the wonder years (old times for those of you that are too young to remember the TV show). Today is July 4th and we need to take the time to remember the beginning of this great nation.

My family will be going out to see the community wide parade in a couple of hours and then go the picnic at the community park. These were such great memories as a child. I know with all the stuff my children have to entertain them these days it will not be the same for them but I'm sure they will have fun. The afternoon will be spent with close to 100 family members getting reacquainted. I was very close to some of them when I was much younger and I guess the stresses of life and the distance between AK and SC. But we will make up for lost time today.

Oh yes, My kids wanted me to write something funny about their mother today. We got here Wednesday evening and she decided to take a shower before bed (always nice). When she was adjusting my Grandfathers shower head and broke a plastic adapter in half. I told her I can't take her anywhere. I guess she doesn't feel at home until she breaks something.

Have a Happy July 4th,
Until later.

Thought I'd share this recipe with you all, it's from my daughter:

Gravy

¼ cup of Grease or oil
¼ tsp Slat
¼ tsp Pepper
3 Big table spoons flower
Stir and let cook until it bubbles
2 cups of milk
Stir until it gets thick

We are on a Vacation!!!!

Well, the vacation is on! We pulled out of the yard at 5:45 am this morning headed for Arkansas. The trip has been a long one. The time has gone quickly. We just crossed the "Mighty Mississippi River". I tried to take a picture to post right here, but the batteries on the camera died. I'll try again on the way home.

Isn't it strange how things cycle. The last time I went over this bridge the water was so low the birds were standing on the sandbars in the middle of the river. We are still an hour away from our destination.

Here is a condensed version of the trip.
1) Left at ay break
2) One "Emergency" stop just outside of Asheville (My wife)
3) One fuel stop (potty break included)
4) Lunch run (another potty break included)
5) Crossed the Mississippi a long time later
6) Call from my Grandfather (He's in his 90's)
7) Kids are awake now

Well, of course I could not post this from the road so we have arrived. It took ten and a half hours. That is about average. That means we made pretty good time with the extra stops.

There are a couple of things I am looking forward to with this trip.
1) Seeing a lot of cousins (a few generations), aunts and uncles that I have not seen in a long time.
2) The community’s July 4th celebration. (parade and picnic)
3)Family Reunion
4) Time away from work

Update you later. Be safe and have a Happy July 4th!

Almost Vacation time!

Well, another week has passed with no new posts. I am getting better about waiting two weeks between posts. I'm trying to get this blog thing to stick in my mind so I will post regularly.

I really don't have a lot to say at the moment, I am getting ready for a needed vacation. I think my mind has already started the process of checking out early. My wife, kids and I are headed to Arkansas to visit with my mother’s side of the family. I am excited about it. We are having a reunion (1st one in 30 years). My mother is one of seven brothers and sisters. I have a LOT of cousins so it will be a Big to do.

The one thing I am excited about for this trip is that my kids get to experience the essence of a small town July 4th celebration. I remember as a young boy probably as far back as 4 years old riding on a tractor with my father in the parade. At the end of the parade route all the floats, tractors, cars and everything else people wanted to decorate and show off would rush to get the "tricked out ride" to it's rightful parking spot, be it the owner's home or the tractor company or car lot or where ever, and get to the community picnic grounds. This town shut down (and still does) and everyone was (and still does) go for a day of good wholesome family fun. I want my children to experience the spirit of a small town gathering to celebrate something that is special to everyone. So we will be doing the ring toss games and I hope the miniature train is still operational and we get a ride or two around the small oval track that sits at the corner of the park beside the main road. I will make an attempt to capture some of this small town's celebration of our great countries 232nd Birthday as well as out family reunion and share it with you. Keep an eye out and if I get the chance while we are there I will post some stuff here to share a portion of my childhood and the current affair with everyone.

What about this dry weather? I was riding past Lake Cunningham (a small man made lake near our house yesterday and I noticed the water level has gotten so low that plant life had grown high enough to clear the top of the water. It is covering it and will soon look more like a marsh area than a small lake. On that same note my sister-in-law was a Lake Hartwell this weekend and told me it doesn’t look like the same place due to the low water levels. Another friend that owns a cabin on Hartwell was telling me early last week the cove his cabin is in is so low. He said the deepest part of the cove is no more than 15 feet. He had to move his dock last weekend and said they had to disassemble a large portion and leave it where it was because the water was so shallow that it was dragging the bottom and they couldn’t get it to move. We are going to have some serious problems if we don’t see a good bit of rain in the very near future.

OK, I’m getting a little long so I will go for now and try again very soon.

What a Day!

Yesterday started with a great service at Freedom. We had the last of the "One Prayer" series video sermons. This guy spoke from the most beautiful locations I have seen. He was in Hawaii. Honestly I had a hard time concentrating on what he was saying. I caught myself thinking about how warm it must be there and wondering what the parts I couldn’t see must look like. But I managed to bring my self back to what he was speaking about.

I mentioned in the last post the band was playing. Well, that was last night and it was absolutely AWESOME! We were at Heritage Baptist Church. This is a church that knows what getting out and helping the ones that need help is all about. I heard stories about some of the things they are doing with the homeless in this area and WOW! There are no other words to describe it. I’ll write more on that later. Anyway, here is a condensed version of the evening. We started to play the first song and I noticed the three men I knew were on church staff, standing in the front row, they were dancing, singing and having a wonderful time. That really got me pumped up. I noticed every one else was having the same great time. The guys and our lone “Princess” were on top of things last night. We had a great time praising God! I’m still getting chills thinking about it. We will be back there soon and I will let you know when. After the service my wife and I spent some good quality time over dinner with some of the band members and their families. I love these guys like my family. They are great!

Misc. Thoughts

What is up with the weather? We are more than 20” behind in rain fall and my lawn has only been mowed twice this year. That in itself amazes me. I’m afraid we will see water rations soon if we don’t get some of that wet stuff to fall soon.

What about those gas prices? You know it was not too long ago that we were saying $2.65 a gallon that is crazy. It wasn’t long before that we were complaining about $1.37 a gallon. That was when my family lived in another state. A state where gas is more expensive than it is around here. And today I paid $3.70 a gallon. I know that is not the best price but it certainly is not the worse around here and is most definitely better than the $3.90’s and $4.00’s we are hearing about on the news. I keep telling myself, “It has to get better soon.”

The kids have been out of school for a couple of weeks now. It looks like next week will be the beginning of the busy season. Someone is on the go every week the rest of the summer all the way up to two days before school starts back. Of course that means the kids parents will be on the go the whole time as well.

The election is coming soon. I guess we all need to spend the next five months filtering out the junk and deciding who is most suited to lead the country the next four years. I pray that everyone seeks God’s direction in the direction He wants our country to go in the near future.

OK, my last rant and then one point of interest. Wages are the same or very close to what they were a year ago. Now everything else is getting more expensive on a daily basis. And that could possibly be monitored on an hourly basis rather than a daily basis.

Our church is participating in the “One Prayer” Program at this time. If you are not familiar with it or just want more information check out the One Prayer website. Should you have any questions about “One Prayer” just leave a comment and I will try to get the answer for you.

The band has the stage at Heritage church in Greenville Sunday evening. Well, it starts at 5:00 pm. But it is going to be a great worship service. If you get a chance to come hear us look me up when it is over. I would love to know you are reader or a fan of the band or you are just there and I may know you. Let me know of your presence.

Well I am tired and ready for bed. I’ll catch you up as time allows.

I'm Still Here

Hello everyone, I just wanted to take a minute and let you know I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. I will post something soon. I have not been home a lot lately. Check back in a day or two. OK! See you soon!

It's Tuesday Already?

What a day filled with mixed emotion. Yesterday was Memorial Day. We are to offer our gratitude to the men and women in uniform. And to offer more than that to the families and loved ones of the solders that will never come home. The ones that have given the ultimate sacrifice. Just so we can have all the freedoms we are granted from the Constitution and Bill pf Rights of our great country. I salute you and THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!

Well, I've made it a week since my surgery. I got my stitches out today. The doctor said everything looks good bit I can tell you know it still doesn’t feel that good. He tried to hurt me while I was in his office today. He pressed on all the incisions and squeezes a bunch of stuff out of them. It really didn’t feel good. But I did survive. My son was in the room watching so I couldn’t be a baby. I got to see what it looked like after all the stitched were out. Well, all but one. I discovered a few minutes ago that the nurse missed one stitch so I’ll call them tomorrow and figure out what we will have to do about it.

It seems that I have some new opportunities ahead of me in the near future. Pray that I follow the right and necessary path to do what God intends for me. I’ll give more detail later. I am not sure I have all the details at the moment.

See you soon.

MS

Where we are now!!!

OK! Relay for Life was a huge success. The local relay I was at raised over $432,000.00 toward cancer research.

The band played a great set. We had some problems but they were worked out by the time we finished our second song. We are working on a new date in early June. I’ll let you know as soon as we have something solid.

Now just a quick update to let you know what has been happening. I had surgery Tuesday. It wasn’t major. I had a couple of places that were skin cancer that the doctors wanted to remove. Everything went as planned (other than the pain). I had planned not to hurt and that didn’t happen. The doctor said he didn’t expect results back on the stuff he sent off for about two weeks. I go early next week to get the stitches out. I hope all of the swelling is gone by then. It will be nice to get to fully wash my face again. With that said things are getting back to normal. I went back to work today and it went pretty well. I was tired but everything seemed to go well.

I’ll write more later so check back soon.

It's Time to Relay!!!

I pray that you have a servant’s heart. I have been talking about Relay for Life for a couple of months now. It is a cause that is important to me. I have lost too many family members to this menace. Most closely I lost two grand parents and my only aunt on my father’s side of the family as well as an uncle and some very close friends. You may not feel cancer as important, that is fine, but find your cause and show your passion. There is something you hold dear to heart. Give it your all and let the world see God in you.

I am headed out to Dooley Field for the night. I hope to see you there. I'll post some stuff next week about Relay for Life and the Band. Have a great night and if you are at home I hope you don't sleep very well, knowing I'm up and running around the Relay area in Greer. Relllllllaaaaaaaayyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its here! Its here. The time is here!!!

This is my second attemot at this post. I hit the wrong button on my mouse and lost everything I had typed. So her goes...

Are you ready to Relay?!?!?!?!?! Tomorrow night (May 16th) at Dooley Field in Greer. Of course there are others taking place at the same time but this one has one awesome band playing. If you see us play we will know you are going out of your way to hear us. Then again lots of people are planning to be at the field all night so if that is the case we will ignore that and assume you are there just to hear us.

If you don't have plans to be there; Make them! If you have other plans you need to get your priorities straight and change them so you can be at Relay for Life in Greer.

Hope to see you there!!!

It’s time to get dirty

Last Sunday my pastor spoke about the vision of our church. This is a topic he holds dear to his heart and speaks on it frequently. I agree with the idea he has of keeping that topic at the forefront of our time together. He always has a different twist to this topic. Today he stated that our church’s vision is to get out side the walls and go on a man hunt for people we know do not have a personal relationship with God. The mission for that manhunt is to do what we can to help them develop that relationship. The best way to do that is to develop a relationship with them. It is much easier to lead someone that trusts you than a stranger. As you can see that is a goal we all should share. Since I have heard several messages on the vision of our church I want to bring several thoughts I have been carrying around together at this time. As I stated before we will have a better chance of helping someone we have a stronger relationship with than someone we just happened to spot through the plate glass window of a restaurant. But if it is someone that does not have a relationship with God then it is going to take some work. You know that to help someone that doesn’t have that special relationship you may have to get into it up to your elbows. A roll up your sleeves and get to work kind of attitude. When you roll up your sleeves and get into something up to your elbows you are going to get dirty. Why are you going to get dirty? Because people, all people, live lives that are dirty. All the problems and bad decisions and just plain stupid stuff they do us dirty. There has only been one man to walk the earth and live a clean life. Jesus! Now keep this in mind, when you are helping someone deal with life’s issues it is going to get dirty. You must be willing to stay with them through thick and thin. Most times things will get worse before they get better. Why? Everyone will go through that stage when they want to straddle the fence. They will choose to follow God and do the things they know aren’t right. It is so hard to give up good friends or things you like or like to do. What ever the issue this stage will raise its ugly head. There may be less of an addictive behavior in this stage but more times than not this stage will be repeated so many times you may want to walk away. What would have happened if Jesus had walked away. Nothing! These things don’t happen over night. Another thing, you must be willing to accept is to be there after everything in the plan has fallen into place. Suppose you are successful in building a relationship with someone, they put that trust in you and you get them to church. Wow, you are doing great, but you aren’t done yet. Remember, you are in for the duration. God has a plan for you and you must follow it through. It isn’t over just because God has entered their life or they have started following the path God has placed before them. You are a leader. You may have to hold their hand like a young child learning to walk. It starts with assisted baby steps and over time they begin to balance themselves better. It may take a long period of time before they are running and you can’t keep up with them. The dirt does not go away. Over time they will not be as dirty and you will not get as dirty and you will learn you have developed a relationship that is longer than life. I will probably expand more since I only dealt with one topic.

Just a side note, Relay For Life is nest week. Be there or be square. Our band will be on stage sometime between 11:30 pm 5/16 and 1:00 am 5/17. If you happen to get your nap in and can drag yourself out that late at night I’d love to see you there. We plan to rock the house.

What a Week!

Hey Guys! I have actually been working on the blog, I just haven’t posted anything I have written. The time will be right soon and I will put it out here for you to read. Anyway, the message this past Sunday was about the vision of the church. It was presented as the vision of our church but also so that everyone there would know it is not only the vision for our church but all churches. Today Cliff’s post Vision has it's side effects was so good I wanted you to have a chance to read it. Just so you know I am suffering from a lot of side effects of the church’s vision this week. It has been a very frustrating week. I am about a day behind on sleep and of course I am posting this well after midnight. But you are worth it since you are here reading it. Well, I guess I will post at least one of the entries I was working on reciently tomorrow. It should be a prelude to this post but I can mix it up if I choose to.

Hey, I have a birthday this week. Do you remember when it is? I’ll be a few years older than 12 this year but not too many.

My routine is being mixed up a little this week. It is getting close to Relay for Life and the band is practicing more than we have in the past month. We are doubling our schedule this week and next. Of course Relay is next Friday night and Saturday morning. If you want to hear the band have a little fun come to Dooley Field in Greer about the time you would be going to bed and hang out a couple of hours and you may catch us. We are supposed to take the stage some time between Friday night and Saturday morning. But if that is too late for you check back soon. I will be letting you know about something coming soon at Furman if we get the details all worked out. Thanks for reading but I’m going to bed now. See you soon.

How Crazy Life Can Get

I keep telling myself I’m not going to do this or that and yet, when someone asks I get so hyped and before you know it I’ve agreed to something that takes a deep commitment of time. Before you know it I feel like I don’t see my family for days as a time (that never happens it just seems that way). From time to time I have to step back and look at what I am involved in and decide what will have to go in order to make sure I have time for my wife and kids. We should all take the time to evaluate our activities and decide what is really most important.

The band is getting geared up for Relay for Life. Have I mentioned that Relay for Life in Greer is May 16th & 17th? Ok, that was a cheap plug. What I was saying is the band is putting the finishing touches on our set list. We found out our time slot. We are taking the stage between midnight and 1:00 am. It really depends on when the dance competition ends. The good news was we are not limited to 30 minutes like we were originally told. It has really made things hard in preparing. So if you don’t have anything to do on May 17th come see us and enjoy the atmosphere of Relay for Life, Greer style.

Can’t wait to see you there!

Thoughts for the day

Wow, time just seems to fly by. It doesn’t seem like it has almost been a week since I posted the link to Cliff’s story of “stuff”. If you don’t know what I’m talking about you need to look at the previous post. I’m trying to do better. I think I may need to play a specific time to work on the blog on a regular basis.

I have had a really long week and stressful week at work. There have been times that stress has found it’s way home with me. I publically apologize to my family for letting that happen. But the point I am leading up to is this, no matter how life treats us we MUST always live out lives in a manner that lifts God up. If we lift God up we please Him and that is what we are here for. Though things may not always feel or go the way we want or expected to and there may still be times we feel like giving up or giving in. That is the time to step back and consider what God really wants because you are doing something right. When we are doing what God wants, that makes satin mad. He will throw what ever he can at us to try to break the momentum and try his best to make us stop what we are doing. So count it a blessing when things aren’t necessarily going right.

Three weeks to Relay!!!
Wow, time just seems to fly by. It doesn’t seem like it has almost been a week since I posted the link to Cliff’s story of “stuff”. If you don’t know what I’m talking about you need to look at the previous post. I’m trying to do better. I think I may need to play a specific time to work on the blog on a regular basis.

I have had a really long week and stressful week at work. There have been times that stress has found its way home with me. I publicly apologize to my family for letting that happen. But the point I am leading up to is this, no matter how life treats us we MUST always live out lives in a manner that lifts God up. If we lift God up we please Him and that is what we are here for. Though things may not always feel or go the way we want or expected to and there may still be times we feel like giving up or giving in. That is the time to step back and consider what God really wants because you are doing something right. When we are doing what God wants, that makes satin mad. He will throw what ever he can at us to try to break the momentum and try his best to make us stop what we are doing. So count it a blessing when things aren’t necessarily going right.

Three weeks to Relay!!!

Just a Quick Note

Ok, it has again been a while since I posted anything new. I will tell you I started a post a couple of times and got interrupted and just scrapped it. Sorry to leave you hanging.

While I am short on time at the moment I want to offer something meaningful to the two regular readers of this bog. This is one of the best life lessons I have heard in quite some time. It should speak to everyone that reads it, both young and old. Take the time to read this lesson posted by my friend and pastor Cliff Marshall. The topic is Pumping out the tank.

I'll post very soon. Check back soon.

Twice in one day!?!?

This will be a hard post to make any sense out of. I am watching Memphis and Kansas in OT. The winner doesn’t really matter to me. I don’t have any bragging rights on the line with this one. Anyway, I have been slack with my posts lately. Partly due to my wife’s surgery, and part due to just not staying on top of it.

I noticed that from the time I posted last night some time around 1:00 am to now some 23 hours later there have been five people look at the blog. Now I know I haven’t had anything posted for discussion but it would be nice to have a comment from you five. The point is this blog is about four months old and there has been one comment. I know there is a tremendous amount of wisdom spewing from here! :) But let me know if you think I need to read more or just stick to the facts.

It’s over! Congratulations Kansas on the NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship! The game was one of the best championship games I have seen in a long time. It is always great to get to see a game go into OT. It would have been better had it gone into triple OT and been won by one point with a buzzer beater shot. But you can’t have everything.

One last thing May 16th Greer Area Relay for Life will be at Dooley Field in Greer. Be there or be left out. Among all the hype and the fun the important thing to remember is it is a great cause. I’m sure cancer has affected at ;east one person you know and with the money that Relay for Life raises nationwide strides are being made and one day cancer will only be in the history books as a condition that once was a leading killer in this country.

Still wokring on it.

OK, I still have work to do. It seems that my previous post wasn't much more than an early April Fool's Joke.

Here’s the update: my wife is doing much better. no cast but still dealing with the healing process. She is a bit impatient much of the time. She wants to act like it is back to 100% and then has to deal with the reality all night.

Relay is getting closer. Out team at church did a wonderful job with raising money yesterday. They put on an awesome auction. The turnout wasn't as big as we wanted but the event still managed to bring in more than half the goal.

The band is starting to gel. We have been working hard and can see the fruits of our labor. We have five weeks left and I am excited to sat I think we will be worth staying up half the night to hear.

Need to get a little sleep before starting another work week. have a great day (which ever one you read this post).

My Apologies

For the two regular readers of this blog, I am officially apologizing. I am apologizing for not being so regular with my posts the last few weeks. I promise I will do better. I have to make the time to just sit and spew my wisdom like a wale spews water from it's blow hole.

March Madness is in full swing in about five minutes so I may be a little slow with the posts. It is hard to type while watching basketball on TV. If I can figure it out I will post my brackets later today. Then again if I blow is so bad in the first round by the end of the day I may not try to figure it out.

Just in case I get too wrapped up with March Madness I wish you all a Happy Easter!!!

Remember to get ready to “Relay” we are less than two months away.

Friday/Thursday Babble

For some reason all day Thursday I kept thinking it was Friday but it wasn’t! Thursday is probably the least respected day of the week. Why do you say that, you ask? Well, it is right before the most popular day of the week. For some reason Friday is expected to be the best day of the week. I assume it is because it is the last work day of the week (usually).

Well, I feel like it has been forever since I last posted. It was just Monday. I’m getting geared up for that wonderful time of year, “March Madness”. It is just around the corner. We have to make it through the conference tournaments. Woo!!! Hoo!!!

I hope to get back to my regular format soon. I am just giving you a taste of the madness of my life. I feel I have been on the go for the last two weeks, since the surgery. Just a quick update, I told you Monday that my wife in now sporting a nice black cast. She had to return to the doctor today to get it patched up. It seems the cast didn’t set well when it was constructed. The doctor added a third more to the lower portion of her ankle. All is well now. It weighs more and she has to work harder to lift the leg. It is probably a good thing. It will help me keep her grounded and at home. She has been planning her return to normal life. I really don’t think that will happen for a couple of months.

There has been no significant change in the status of the Coworker I told you about in Monday’s post.

I guess that is about it for the time being. Until next time, “Get ready to Relay!!!!”

A Quick Update

My wife has officially started suffering from cabin fever. She gets the temporary cast off tomorrow and gets a new fancy "real" cast. She has been doing great. I have managed to survive up to now. Although I thought I was a goner during a trip to Wal-Mart Saturday. She was on one of those scooters you can find at the door and I wasn't. She walked me around that store for three and a half hours. It's Monday night and I still haven't fully recovered from that trip.

I spoke of Relay for Life in my last post. Today I want to share a little story with you. There is a co-worker at my job that is dealing with a form of cancer in her life this very moment. Her son has a form of leukemia. He is currently in Texas at MD Anderson on the first week of treatments that will move him about as close to death as possible. He was an active early 40's father of two beautiful girls. I speak with his mother on a daily basis to get updates. America has the best health care system in the world. The doctors are working as hard as they can to help this young man. Pray for him and his family. His two daughters are staying with their grandmother since the treatments are going to keep him in Texas for four months.

On another front, another co-worker if nine went to get something at his church about a week and a half ago. While walking through the sanctuary he lost his balance and fell. He hit his head pretty hard and has been suffering from swelling on the brain. He is expected to take up to a year to get back to the way he was. Please join me in praying for him as well as his wife in this time of their lives. They are great people and super Christians. His story is touching so many lives because of his wonderful wetness to others both by his actions and words. He tells people where he stands. He doesn’t hesitate to share his faith. I hope one day I have that kind of effect on someone’s life.

Until next time, let’s get ready to relay!!!

Are you Ready to Relay?!?!

Well, it has been a week since my last post. I must apologize for that. This has been one more week. My wife is progressing well. Cabin Fever has not set in as of yet. I really thought she would have a harder time with being “trapped” in our house. But we still have at least three weeks to go. Please continue to pray for her recovery. I also want to thank every one that has been so kind this week.

The time is approaching for a fun and exciting fund raisers for cancer research, Relay For Life. You can see our local event web site here. If you are looking for a place you can make a difference, or not, you must look at getting involved in a local Relay For Life event. This is a fundraiser that is everywhere. There is a place for everyone. You don’t have to go spend the night walking around a track at a local school. There are things that can be done from assisting in parking cars to carrying things into the event area. They may need someone to pick up trash or hang signs on a fence or count how many people are at the event at a given time (I’m not too sure about this one) but there are many jobs that need someone to do them. You need to contact a relay team or your local event committee. If you don’t know where to find one of these groups leave a comment. I will try to help you get connected. To learn more about RFL go to http://www.relayforlife.org. This is one event that is a lot of fun as well as an opportunity to help so many people now and in the future.

Surgery is over

My wife came through her surgery with no problems. The doctor said things were a little worse than he expected them to be in the ankle. He worked on it and said she will be able to tell a difference very soon. I want to thank everyone for the prayers getting her through the surgery. Continue to pray for her in the coming weeks through the recovery period.

Pray for my wife this week

I wanted to wait as long as I could to post someting new. I really want as many people as possibe to read my February 15th post and watch the video. If you haven't please scroll down and take a look. You need to know about it. Especially if you have or are planning to have children.

Now on to other important things, my wife is having surgery on one of her ankles this week. She will have to be off of it for at least a month. Pray for her leading up to the surgery. She is not showing that she is nervous about it but I can tell she is concerned. Pray that she will be at ease when the time comes. Also, remember her after the surgery. I can't imagine being doomed to stare at the walls in our house any extended peroid of time especially a month. If you know her you know that isn't going to be a good thing. She is always on the go. While you are at it pray for our children. They are going to have to make a lot of adjustments to the changes the next several months until "mommy" is back on her feet and because "temporary mommy" will probably not be all that fun or plesant. Pray for me as well that I adjust to the duties I will be assuming during her recovery time. Thanks to all.

Time for a Revolt

I am on a soap box right now. Be aware!!!!! You are about to read a post from one upset parent. But I'll try to keep things simple for now.

While watching the 11 pm news last night I was dumbfounded by a story that broke the solitude of my alone time. My wife and two teen age children were in bed resting for an event filled Friday. And the story was about an energy drink. Now, I am always up for an energy boost but the marketing of this product is what got me bent out of shape.

Let me say these few things before you watch the video as I may loose you (I hope) when you actually see it.

1) I want to see this product off the market.
2) Marketing in the US should have better regulation.

I remember when I was a child there were some strong regulations on alcohol and tobacco products. I sure don't want to see someone promoting a lifestyle of drug use.

The best way I know to start is to get the word out. Now, watch the video and help me fight to keep this type of junk away from our children. They are dealing with enough at this time and do not need this to add to the equation.



There are many other videos on this product all over the internet. I am in no way trying to promote this product. I am taking a public stand against marketing an unacceptable behavior. Let's help the impressionable younger generations of our nation and the world to make better choices.

New Era (cont.)

OK I’m picking up from my post on February 7th. “What are we really here for?” We are here to expand the kingdom of God; to “go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matt. 28:19)

We are commissioned to spread the word of God as believers. This brings to mind a question I was asked by the pastor of a church I had gone forward to join several years ago. This question changed the direction of the way I worshiped and served God. The pastor asked me if I was going to come into the church as working member. He said this church wants people that will be active and involved and not people that just come in and sit for a couple of hours a week. Ponder that question and search for your place (where ever you are) to be active and work to spread the news of the Freedom that only Christ gives.

Random Stuff - But Worth Addressing

I really intend to post more than once a week. I know it is hard to read a blog that only gets updated once a week. For that matter it is hard to consistently read anything that is only updated once a week.

Things will be scattered in this post. So here we go.

Blake: I like the Friday video of the week thing. It is awesome!

Cliff: The Monday morning quarterback name. I see no reason to think about changing the name, even if football didn’t have something going on almost year round.

Donny: Continue to improve so you can get back to all the things we all know you are itching to get back to. I know you are an active kind of guy and you haven’t been able to do things as you are used to. Just hang in there and you will be back in the great outdoors before you know it.

OK, Relay for Life is off and running. We need to do all we can to assist in finding a cure. With that being said, I work with a lady that is currently being affected by cancer now. Her son is about to leave for a four month trip to Texas for treatments. He is about to undergo a bone marrow transplant. Pray for Dean as he will encounter tremendous pain as well as isolation while undergoing this treatment. Though we are trying to raise money for cancer research I feel strongly that something needs to be done for this family. They are going to experience financial stress as well as the other stresses typically known to this type of experience. Dean will be secluded in a room that will have constantly circulating air. He can only have visits from his wife who will be wearing what looks like a space suite from an old Sci-Fi movie made in the late 60’s. He will be leaving his two daughters here in Greer for the entire four months he is taking the treatments. Not to mention the unknown of the disease itself. Anyway, join me in praying for ideas and an avenue to be able to assist this family that is in true need. If you have any ideas leave a comment and share them with me and maybe together we can help them in many ways.

Until next time, keep your eyes on what is in front of you. It is far less painful that if your eyes are looking where you have been.

The Dawn of a New Era

I have a new type post. I want to get input from those of you reading out there. Your input will be the subject of future posts. I really want to get some discussion going with this. The question is, “What are we really here for?” There are so many answers to this question, I hardly know where to begin; we are here to please God; we are here to serve others.

OK, lets see where we go with this and I have other stuff to add in future posts to expand the discussion I hope this gets started.

BTW, Donny is home and doing well. That proves the power of prayer. Glad you are back at it. Now that we’ve prayed Donny back home we MUST thank God for all the blessings he has given us all this week. Especially for bring Donny home with what I think is good news. Thank you God for giving Donny to us. Keep him healthy for his family. Donny you’ve gotten this far, everything will be good from here on out.

What a Day!!!

Just a quick note, the Super Bowl is over and the Giants took the trophy with a fantastic comeback drive in the final seconds. But who in the USA would not know that. We had a gathering at the host home of my weekly Life Group. I'd say this year's gathering was a huge success. There were many of our Life Group members there as well as about as many others. We talked about football, church basketball and many other things. I for one talked with one of the families that was visiting and they expressed an interest in taking part in weekly meetings. In turn there was another person that told me they had spoken with another family about the same interest. I think that is a GREAT response after the message we received from Donny this morning. I can't wait to see what God has in store for the Life Groups this year at Freedom.


A brief note, Donny (Co- Pastor at my church) and his Family are in need of prayer at this time as he is dealing with a sudden illness. The details are sketchy at the moment because they are waiting on more test results to determine exactly what the extent of the problem is. Pray for Shelly and the boys to have the strength to deal with the fact that their husband/father is in the hospital and pray for Donny as he is waiting to know what he needs to do to recover from these health issues.


Donny, get well and get back to doing all those things you do!!!!!

A Change of Pace

Have you ever had one of those weeks when it seems that the whole world is against you? It seems that no matter which way you turn you are bombarded with something that just brings you more bad news. I feel that I have been through one of those weeks. The really great thing about a week like this one, aside for it being almost over is this, no matter how bad is may seem, no matter how much you feel like digging a deep hole, crawling in and covering yourself up, God is always there to bring you a bright spot. I have had many bright spots throughout the week. I’m not going into detail about them but my point is that even though I had a bad week every time I had the since to look to God for help and encouragement, He was there, a ray of sunshine that brightened the gloomiest day.

Up to now most all of my posts have had a topic. I guess I will join with some of my friends in adding a little touch of something different to the blog. I have noticed there seems to be a thing for having a video in a post and as a tribute to my pastor Cliff Marshall (who posted his first ever video today) I will offer a bit of entertainment myself. Sit back and enjoy this commercial I received this week. Although it is an actual commercial I think would make one of the best Super Bowl commercials for some type of air freshener or something like that.

Take a Minute.

Our life group completed Andy Stanley’s The Best Question ever. There are so many great questions that can help us live better. Probably one of the best known and widely asked, “What would Jesus do?” I kind of like to ask, “Would I want my kids to know this?” We should all strive to live a life of integrity. And I think that we should all evaluate each decision we make no matter how easy or simple it may seem. You never know the repercussions the tiniest decision can have. You may be deciding how to tell someone you really can’t have lunch with them because your boss is breathing down your neck to get a monthly report he has to have by two and you really need to work through lunch to get it done. The wrong choice of words and it be misinterpreted and assumed as rejection. Then you may spend years trying to mend the problem created from a poor choice of words. It may even take years to know what the problem is or what started everything.

I may not have listed any examples you have or will encounter so here is an example maker for you. Sit and watch the 6:00 or 11:00 news. It doesn’t matter what channel just local news in your area. Then as each story is presented think about what poor decision or bad judgment was made. Then consider how much time it would have taken to change the out come and keep that story off new evening news. Most would be less than a minute.
I can think of many decisions I have made in my life that I knew were wrong and or bad. If I had only taken a minute to think things through or been a little slower to speak. The next time you make a small decision or a life changing decision take a minute and consider what the wise thing to do is. Where will that decision lead you? Will the out come be much better by simply taking the time to consider all possible factors and outcomes?

I'm back

I know I have been slack. It has been almost two weeks since my last post. I'll have to do better. I don't know why I haven't written anything in that time. I have had plenty going on that would have really been good stuff for the blog. Maybe I can catch you up on things over the next few days. Then again you may not find things as interesting as I do.

I have been blog shopping since I started this blog. I am no closer to settling on a home than I was when I started. Does anyone have any suggestions? I am finding a lot of features I like on all of the blogs I have been looking at but I haven’t found one that has all the features I like (or want) in one place.

Things are starting to get busy for me this year. I went to see my daughter in a beauty pageant this past Saturday. She was of course the most beautiful girl in the pageant. I was so proud. While on the subject, what about the Ms. America Pageant. It was quietly held this past weekend as well. I had no idea it was going on. It seems that the pageant is struggling to get the support of viewers like it once did in years past. I for one liked watching it as a kid. I don't know maybe the in had something to do with the swim suit competition. Well, it seems that the moral break down of this great county of ours has crept into this sector of the pageant now, the swim suit competition. I was reading an article yesterday morning and it actually stated that the contestants came out and took up provocative poses. The contestants work predominantly black two piece swimsuits. The two piece swim suits are no surprise to me after having attended the Miss South Carolina pageant several time in the past few years. But the point of that segment of the article makes me wonder if a family can sit down and watch television together without concern of seeing something that will taint the incense of the days of old. Why can't it just be like it was when we were children?

A Snow Day in Life!

What a fun day! It started with spending a few minutes with the local morning news to learn there was no school. Then I was greeted by my son at 6:30. Any other morning he wouldn’t mane a sound until I rolled him out of his bed and had him standing as I push him toward the shower. Anyway next was a hug from my daughter. It wasn’t long before the simple question started, “Can we go outside?” It was a nice day. The snow was pretty and peaceful. Standing on my porch I could hear the cheer of kids from all around. Joy filled the air.

Yesterday a good friend of mine learned that her job along with nearly 130 others was being eliminated. I can’t imagine the stress of having to go through a day meeting after meeting each one revealing a new piece of the puzzle as to what lies ahead. All said and done at the end of the day she has two options neither that is all that good. Pray for my friend. She deserves something good to come out of this. At lease today she had the chance to play in the snow with her two special daughters. Pray that God will send her the wise advice that she needs to survive this life altering situation.