Hello from the summer home.

I know I know, I said I was going to blog more but things have been busy and I've managed to find a new disease. 

OK, project Number 1: Backyard swing. I've built a concrete block area for the swing to set on with plants and such. Seems to be accepted with some joyousnessity. Not bad.

OK, project Number 2: THE garage. Yes this is the same project we have been assigned several times before but, this time I was serious. Well, I  thought so. Well, I think this may be a life time sport for me but I did throw away a bunch of stuff. It seemed to please "the warden" for the time being.

OK, project Number 3:   GOOD GRIEF ENOUGH WITH THE PROJECTS!!!!

IT'S BEACH TIME!  My Brother-in-law, the rich one, no I mean the other rich one, has a condo in Destin. The wonderful sweet man allowed my wonderful wife and I to have a couple of days last week at the Payne Casa de Dentino. OK, it does hurt for my wonderful wife to have a wonderful sister married to the rich brother-in-law. It also doesn't hurt that he is a real neat guy too. (that's for another time) By the way all my brother-in-laws are wealthy but they are extremely rich too.

It was the bomb!!! It was also the first time that My wonderful wife and I had gone away just the two of us in, let me think, well since the second ice age. HA! HA! just kidding, but a lonnnng time. It was the bomb!!!! Just sitting on the beach, walking on the beach, eating in da restaurant just the two of us, talking about grown up stuff. It was almost, almost like that second honey moon thing you hear so much about. Anyway it was a great time!

OK, I know what you are things but I can prove it. So here are some pics to offer as evidence.

OK THIS IS THE BEACH AND THAT IS ME!!!!  

This is my girl and I on the beach. EAT YOUR HEART OUT FELLOWS!!!!

DEACON UPDATE

OK, this is the way I see it. The office of deacon in the church is an honorable thing. there are many good men in the group. It is a genuine calling of God. For many men it might be the only opportunity to serve. Tonight I went to a deacon's meeting. It wasn't like some of the meeting I went to at the old church. It was not bad and yes they did talk about money. 

So I've made up my mine?............ Well, no. It would be easy to join this group because I know a lot of them and I do want to serve my LORD.  

I'm just going to have to continue to pray and seek God calling and if they can't wait then I will have to say no.

I do want to serve the LORD. I will serve the LORD but maybe not with this group. It is quiet an honor but then it's just an opportunity not a mandate. 

God wants those who will serve and that is a mandate. I want to be known as a "FAT" man for God. Faithful, Available,Trainable. 

Nothing wrong with that.

Well, I promised but...

Promised to blog more but, well sports fans it's summer and the warden has me doing stuff. so let me up date you on how things are going.

YOU GUESSED IT ANOTHER LIST!

1. I know it's here some where. Project number one: the garage. mission is to throw away stuff and get organized. I've always been like my Pop and got most of my stuff from him. 2000 washers that fit on a tank, 90,000 pens for axles that go on a "thing" some where out there are a few examples that my wife thinks are unnecessary. I means, who knows when you might need this stuff, but who knows when you might need this stuff. Any ways, she right I don't need it but my Pop was always fixing stuff cause we didn't have the money to buy new stuff so I grew up thinking it was a good thing to accumulate lots of stuff. I actually can afford most stuff now so it will be OK if I keep 1000 washers and 20,000 pens.

2. Hello China, Project number two: "the yard."  You know there is always something to do in "the yard." It can be something that the neighbor started in his yard because he likes doing stuff like that but it ends up being done in your yard. I'll bet I've dug 243 holes for some kind of plant! Every time i do I think some Chinese guy will stick his head out and say "fry-rice." I bet i have use 200 feet of the fishing line like stuff for the weed wacker. I've wacked more grass and weed than a dutch maiden in spring. Good grief, why can't everything grow like weeds!

3. Here play with this. Project number always: check on Mom. I love my mom. You might say that if it wasn't for her I wouldn't be here. I'm always trying to figure out what I can do for her and of course my sister that lives with  her. Fix the car, sell the car, fix the plumbing, fix something electrical, build a fence, and one of the biggest tasks is working the finances. She is worth it though and I try to spend as much time as I can there.

4. Still more to come. I'm just getting started there is lots yet to be stated and you know as I always say, there is no job to large or small that can't be left half done.

The Ant and the Contact Lens: a true story

Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens . "Great", she thought. "Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry." She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there. She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she may find her contact lens. When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the bible verse "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth." She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."

Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?" Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it! The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."

I think it would do all of us some good to say, "God, I don't know why You want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if You want me to carry it, I will." God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called. Yes, I do love GOD. He is my source of existence and my Savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him....I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13) "You Gave Me A Mountain!"

Pretty neat, right!?

You really want me to be a what!!

A wise man once told me "never put your foot down where it can't be picked up."

I met some very nice men last night who "presented me an invitation" to become a "deacon." Well, I was nice and didn't asked the questions that I kinda wanted to if for no other reason but to make my point. I figured that there are men that genuinely serve through the position of a deacon as well as the others. I felt that these guys were genuine, the real deal and that they loved the LORD and were serving Him as deacons.

Well, I'm really praying about it but right now I don't feel the calling of God to serve as a deacon. Maybe it's because I don't feel worthy or maybe it's carrying memories of the days when I had to stand up and say what needed to be said but didn't get the results I thought men of God would respond with. It's a sobering thought to see men that settle for second place when first place is within the grabbing.

I'll continue praying for the right answer about serving as a deacon, but for now I think I'll pray for the men that are committed to serving in the honorable position of deacon.

You Want me to be a WHAT!!!!!!

Every now and then we are asked to be apart of a group or an organization that is really an honor but maybe it just doesn't feel that way.

Soon after Christ went to be with the Father and the local churches began to develop there arose a need for some members to assist the pastors with stuff around the church. Stuff like cutting the grass, cleaning up after the Bar-B-Que chicken fund raiser dinner, draining the baptising pool... stuff like that. So they came up with this "position" known as the "deacon." It was a fine thing to be a part of and a great opportunity to serve our LORD. As years went by the position became "modified." It began to take on certain tasks like money management, personnel appointment, policy making, and other stuff for which it was never meant to do. Some people began to call the church the "poor man's country club." We had our services, out reach programs (softball teams), family life centers (gyms), and the church's social standings. At the top of the social standings stood the chairman of the deacons who assured that the traditions would continue. Now don't take me wrong the Bible teaches the importance of the position of "deacon" but the service of the deacon today is way far from what it was in the days of the true church, the early church.

I have served in this position before at the last church I was worshiping at, or should say attended. I turned the position down for several years when offered because I didn't feel I was worthy of the position, but as I began to see what the deacon's role was at that church I felt forced to take the role to provide some political stability for the pastor. It didn't take me long to see that the older deacons, those of greater tenure, were serious about running the church. These older men had left the Bible's teaching of the role of the Deacon out or had watered it down so much that God was mentioned only twice in meeting and that was the opening and closing prayer. Now don't take me wrong there were some fine Christian men in this group but the majority of these men were the ones that walked the halls during worship time and talked about the negative things that were happening mostly because of lack of Christ centered programing or "support" from the deacon body.

OK, I've again been asked to be a deacon in one of the largest churches in the entire state. Tough call for me. I'm not going to be a part of a group of professing Christians with a mission that is not Christ centered, Christ Purposed, or Christ driven. Just don't want to be in politics again. No way. Now, don't take me wrong I will stand up when necessary to make the mission clear but most of the time "it just don't make any difference." I've found that it's a personal thing, Christianity is, it's between you and the LORD as to how much you serve and how you'll do it.

After all, think of it this way, if I was a deacon, we'd all have Deacon badges and Deacon jackets and we'd have a special Deacon hand shake that only the deacons knew. We'd have a special parking area of the Deacon's wives and we'd get free wednesday night dinner. No wait .... that Shriners or Masons or something like that...opps!

It is an honor to be a"deacon" or to just be asked to be one but maybe not something for me. After all, we all can't be deacons. I'll pray about it and pray for the present serving deacons, but as for God calling me to be a deacon... well, what was that God... huh... what...??

Friday! Friday! Friday!

OK, I confess. I haven't been very good at the blogging lately, but I think i have good reasons, not excuses (that's for another time).

You guessed it! LIST time!

1. Work, work, work. You'd think that with the kids gone things would slow up. NO NO NO. The teachers are still here and where there are teachers there is turnmoil and uncertainity. Today I thought I was turning in my last report for the year to central office only to get a call that prompted the redoing of the entire darn thing. After a few hours compared to three and a half days originally, I had it done, completed, finished. 35 years experience proves to be of some benefit to cut corners. My suggestion is to tell me how you want it if you don't want it done thesame as the past 6 years!

2. I've been a little low lately. You know that depression thing. I've noticed that when I'm "blue" I start a lot conversations that some how get interrupted and I get left hanging. I have also noticed that the "blues" cause me to notice how easy it is for some people to loose their inhibistions while I suck into a ball of "da."

3. The darn computers at the office go to Snail mode when ever i want to get of task at work. Very frustrating to me. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!



I promise to do better and seeing that the summer is about to start for those working people in the family, I'm planning on reading and writing much more.



ANNNNNNNNNND now what you've been waiting for!!!!! The FRIDAY VIDEO!!!



OK, it has also been a slow week for incoming videos but we'll reach back into the vault and get a good one. HERE YOU GO!

GM, Bankrupt? or not?

OK, I'm not a Ford man. Chevy is for me, always has been always will be or will it. After a gift of BILLIONS General Motors is bankrupt? Good grief! Seems to me that maybe paying lawyers $1000.00 per hour didn't pay off. Yes, I said $1000.00 per hour! Come on folks bailout maybe but how about some guidelines as to how you spend my money.

Now who should I check with about this? Mr. Obama????? Can't blame this one on "Frank."

I have a friend who just moved from Detroit. He was telling me that that a rooms the size of gyms where auto workers go and just sit. The area is full of people who just sit there until someone gets sick and then they go to work on the line. These people get paid the same as any other workers but don't work. Is this where my money went or the cause of the need for my money. Don't take me wrong, I want these car makers to be strong businesses but the unions have just about but these businesses out of business.

Where did we go wrong? Honest day's work for an honest dollar, right?

Between the auto workers and all other workers who get a lot of salary and benefits "just because" and the others who don't work because the Government pays them to do nothing, the world is going in the "crapper" real fast.

That includes teachers also! $50,000 plus salary for a person that is so lazy they can't get their license renewed on time. Good Grief!