It's Just Me...Rob

Marines Urinating on Taliban Corpses

2012-01-16T16:44:00.002-06:00

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), a former Army Lieutenant Colonel, sends THE WEEKLY STANDARD an
email commenting on the Marines' video, and has given us permission to publish it.

“I have sat back and assessed the incident with the video of our Marines urinating on Taliban corpses. I do not recall any self-righteous indignation when our Delta snipers Shugart and Gordon had their bodies dragged through Mogadishu. Neither do I recall media outrage and condemnation of our Blackwater security contractors being killed, their bodies burned, and hung from a bridge in Fallujah. “All these over-emotional pundits and armchair quarterbacks need to chill. Does anyone remember the two Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division who were beheaded and gutted in Iraq? “The Marines were wrong. Give them a maximum punishment under field grade level Article 15 (non-judicial punishment), place a General Officer level letter of reprimand in their personnel file, and have them in full dress uniform stand before their Battalion, each personally apologize to God, Country, and Corps videotaped and conclude by singing the full US Marine Corps Hymn without a teleprompter.

“As for everyone else, unless you have been shot at by the Taliban, shut your mouth, war is hell.”

Taken from USA Carry forum

12 of 12 August 2011

2011-12-20T21:20:00.003-06:00

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This month, the 12th was on a Saturday.

10:44am - Friday morning Bible reading (again with Sully)

10:50am - Boo was supposed to help me get Amanda out of bed, not join her in bed.

10:59am - The 30 Day Shred continues.

11:24am - Amanda washing her clothes to help out Mom so she won't have to do it after work.

12:00pm - Sully getting some Amanda love.

1:10pm - One of Amanda's favorite summer past times...swimming at the Kerrs. But don't ask her about it, she'll just tell you she does not get to go enough.

1:45pm - Had to drop my Kahr P9 off to have some work done by the gunsmith.

3:43pm - Our favorite time of the day...Sonic Happy Hour!

3:44pm - Amanda had a coupon so we stopped by Bath and Body Works for her to get some stuff.

7:12pm - Sully always go first with the hair cuts. He comes up to me and let's me shave him. He likes the attention.

7:55pm - Always have to hunt down Boo. Whenever she sees me getting the shaving stuff out she runs and hides.

9:29pm - Sully wants some snuggle time after his haircut.

12 of 12 July 2011

2011-12-19T20:09:00.003-06:00

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This month, the 12th was on a Tuesday.

6:27am - Up paying bills before work.

6:48am - Reading my Bible. Sully always likes to sit in my lap while I read. He even lays still so I can highlight and write notes.

7:08am - Level 3 of the 30 Day Shred. My arms always feel like they are going to fall of by this time.

8:08am - Snapping a quick picture of my wife looking all pretty or work. I love this lady!

11:08am - The staff just loves posing for this shot every time the 12th falls on a Tuesday (NOT!)

12:15pm - Returning a computer after More Tech Savvy got done fixing it.

6:38pm - Little Tuesday night practice with my ping pong buddy, Mark.

9:47pm - Sully hanging out with me in my office. He's my buddy.

9:47pm - Brooke on the phone with Meagan. She didn't want the flash in her eyes I guess.

9:48pm - Boo had to check me out to see what's up. She was laying down next to Brooke while she was on the phone. Boo's my "big momma". She is not big and she was never a momma. I think she got this name because she is the alpha dog at our house.

9:51pm - My princess, asleep.

9:53pm - The health nuts, eating a late night snack and watching some TV.

Messages I've Preached

2011-11-28T10:30:00.001-06:00

Which Is Worse...The Scum or the Enabler?

2011-10-12T23:12:00.003-05:00

The church secretary got to looking at our church phone bill yesterday and saw a charge on the last page of the bill for $49.95. It was one of those "services" that billed to your phone bill. The description said, "Business Management Tools Monthly Charge". I knew we didn't order that, so I started calling.

First call was to AT&T to report this scam and another one that had been on phone bill, unnoticed for months. I give an A+ to AT&T's help with this issue from their end (however, it is frustrating they would allow charges like these to show up on phone bills knowing that a LARGE percentage of these are not legitimate!).

Next I visited the website listed with the charge, ILD www.ildteleservices.com This was not the company that was charging us, rather this was the company that was billing us for the bogus services provided from yet another company. While I was on hold, I read through the billing company's web site. Their business is letting other companies use them to charge customers' phone bill for their services. They claim they carefully screen their customers and have measures in place to keep people from getting crammed (signed up for services they did not want and did not know they were being "signed up"). ILD told me they would connect me with the correct company to cancel these services. I told ILD what I had read on their web site about their careful screening, etc and let them know we had been crammed. They told me I would have to be transferred to have the "services" stopped. In other words, they didn't care one bit about the business practices of the companies who use them. Then again, how could they care and be in the business they are in?

Next I called the company offering this bogus product. I asked who authorized this transaction and they gave me the name of a staff person they talked to on the phone. The staff person NEVER authorized anything. It was one of those "please confirm your contact information" calls that somehow claims you authorized a bogus charge on your phone bill. To me, nothing screams "WE ARE NOT A LEGITIMATE BUSINESS" louder that "we will bill your telephone bill...without telling you!" This company said they would send a check to refund the charge. Later, they told me there was a second charge more than a week out for next month that would go through and could not be stopped (over a week out?!). They wanted to hang up, but I told them they would owe me a refund for the second charge as well. If I had not made a scene, they would not have done this.

So this brings me to my question in the post title...Which is worse the scum or the enabler? Is it the scum company that used deceitful questions to sign us up for something we did not ask for, did not need, did not get and did not even know we were signing up for, or is it the company that bills for this company and many others like them (the enabler company)?

Dogs vs. Cats

2011-10-06T19:01:00.002-05:00

Excerpts from a Dog's Diary

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

Excerpts from a Cat's Diary

Day 983 of my captivity: My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.

Day 991 of my captivity: Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am. Idiots!

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my
confinement was due to the power of "allergies." I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.

Day 997 of my captivity: Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe, for now..........

Shampoo Warning

2011-08-15T22:04:00.000-05:00

Check your shampoo bottle label.

I don't know WHY I didn’t figure this out sooner. It’s the shampoo I use in the shower!

When I wash my hair, the shampoo runs down my whole body and (duh!) printed very clearly on the shampoo label is this warning,

*FOR EXTRA VOLUME AND BODY!*

NO wonder I have been gaining weight!!!

Well! I have gotten rid of that shampoo and I am going to start using Dawn dish soap instead.

Their label reads,

*DISSOLVES FAT THAT IS OTHERWISE DIFFICULT TO REMOVE*.

When The Grass is Too Green

2011-08-05T16:52:00.012-05:00

Does anything seem out of place here? I was walking along the sidewalk in front of the church and saw this lush green patch of grass while the rest of the property is a nice color brown. I'm not a lawn care expert, but I had a feeling something was wrong with this picture. As I suspected, the ground was soft and there was actually standing water in the middle of the patch. I hoped it might be waste water, but as I walked out to the water meter by the street, it was a straight shot from the meter to this spot. I checked the meter and sure enough, the meter was moving despite all the water being shut off in the church. Looks like I'm gonna be doing some digging in this 106 degree weather.

Pastor Philip was kind enough to help me start the digging.

I told Pastor Philip he had to take a picture of me shoveling, too. If I did not do this, I knew Ron and Ken would harass me, "So you just sat there and took pictures while Philip did all the work?"

This is what we found once we got down a couple feet.

And THIS is what happened when we turned the water back on after uncovering this T connector. Look at us...we found the leak!

A little more digging uncovered the fact that the T connector here didn't do anything. The T was actually capped off. What??

Once we found the problem, we called in a professional. Paul is literally a licensed plumber and he knew exactly what we needed to do.

Paul and Pastor Philip cutting a piece of pipe to put in where the T was cut out.

Paul and I attaching a compression fitting at each end of the replace pipe piece.

And the job is complete. No more "too green" grass and no more leak!

The Beautiful Underwater World of Bali

2011-08-05T15:17:00.003-05:00

God At The Movies Starts This Sunday

2011-07-20T16:39:00.003-05:00

Dear Friends,

Welcome to God at the Movies, a three week sermon series beginning today. Jesus was a story teller and he used stories to help people understand truths about the Kingdom of God. In our generation, story telling often takes place at the movies so, over the next three weeks, we will be using story lines and scenes from recent movies to help us understand God’s truth today. The movies are not “religious” or trying to communicate a religious message...they are merely stories of our time that can be used to illustrate truths from God’s Word.

Illustrations for today’s message are taken from the movie 127 Hours. If you are familiar with the real-life story behind this movie, you know it’s a pretty shocking story...and that’s precisely why we are referring to it today. We often like to quote Jesus when he said things like “Love your neighbor” and “judge not lest you be judged”, but sometimes we forget that Jesus called people to do some pretty radical things. Jesus was killed because of what he taught, and today we’re looking at one of the less tame teachings of Jesus.

For those of you who like it a little more tame, next week Pastor Philip’s message will be illustrated with the movie Tangled and will be kid-friendly as our children will be staying with the adults during the sermon. Then our series will conclude on August 7th with Pastor Matt using the movie Tron Legacy.

We are going to have a great time and I hope you can join us for the whole series. Be sure to pick up a bag of popcorn on your way out today and be sure to invite a friend next Sunday!

(This post comes from the Pastor's Note column in Sunday's bulletin, 07-24-11)

Shooting With Daryl Parker

2011-07-15T23:08:00.005-05:00

Today I cashed in my Father's Day present and got my two hour private shooting lesson with Daryl Parker from Top Shot, Season 2. I learned a lot and had a blast (literally...but more about that later). There was nobody else there besides Daryl and me, so I only got the one picture. Getting just one picture was the only thing I regretted.

I met Daryl at the future location of his Top Shot style shooting competitions. It was not a range with bays, concrete, backstops, etc. It was a wooded area surrounded by berms and ideal for shooting. When I arrived I saw a stand for paper targets, three different style steel targets and a line with coke cans hung on it.

My first exercise was a dry fire exercise so Daryl could give me pointers on my grip, stance and trigger pull. He said my grip was fine but gave me a few pointers on my stance. Then it was time to shoot!

Most of our shooting was 5-9 yards I would guess. I first shot at a bullseye target from 7 yards or so. All my shots were center mass, but quite a few were low and left. Daryl said this was common for right handed shooters and meant that I was jerking the trigger and probably holding the pistol too tightly with my pinky fingers. I adjusted for the next magazine and went right...a common over-compensation for what I had just been told. Basically I was limp wristing. I then shot at different point numbers on the target at the 12,3,6 and 9 o'clock positions. Again, the majority were going left and low, but not as low (slight improvement after a few rounds of this).

Next were the larger steel targets. I have shot these at Texas Combat Shooters, so I did OK. There was one steel plate that would swing back and forth after being hit it and I was supposed to hit it, let it swing and hit it again as it was swinging back away from me. The drill was for timing and accuracy. When I tried to focus on both of these...they BOTH suffered. But I got better as I went on.

After that, Daryl asked if I had ever drawn from my holster and shot from my hip. I have not, so he showed me what to do and let me give it a try (maybe 5 yards). I hit all 5 shots in center mass.

From there we went to the dueling tree. This one made me nervous because I have not done so well the only other time I tried these at Texas Combat Shooters. I hit about 50%. Daryl gave me some pointers and then we did a modified duel. I did not shoot his targets, but he shot mine back after I would turn them. No competition there, but it was fun.

After that, Daryl pointed to the coke cans hanging on the line and suggested I give those a try. I REALLY did not have much confidence that I could hit these. To my surprise, I hit the first one with my first shot. It was not luck because I hit others, but I was still missed plenty hitting only 4 of the 7 cans using 8 rounds during my best attempt.

At this point I had shot about 100 rounds and we took a break because it was HOT outside in Texas (imagine that). We talked mostly about the Top Shot show and what it was like being in the house and on the show. That was interesting.

After the break, Daryl put up a hostage target which was a challenge to me because the guy is holding the gun in his left hand meaning a miss to my typical low, left would hit the hostage. I did pretty well making my head shots but I was not too quick. I drew and fired 2 good shots in 2 seconds. We practiced a couple different drills with this target.

The next exercise was a 4 stage run, two shots at the larger steel target, run to the next stage and put two rounds into the head of the bad guy on the hostage target, run to the swinging steel target and hit it twice and then hit the coke can behind the swinging target. On my first run, I could not count when I loaded my magazine so I ran out of ammo before my coke can shot. I ran it a second time and got a perfect score. I just barely grazed the coke can but Daryl said a graze counts as a hit, so I'm sticking with my story.

Lastly, Daryl had me practice some magazine changes. One round to the head of the bad guy on the hostage target, drop my magazine, reload and another round to the head. He gave me some pointers for smoother, faster magazine changes and this is something I need to work on.

So my lesson was over but Daryl told me he had a surprise. He brought out a rifle chambered for .17 HMR and a video camera. I have never shot this round and did not know much about. The bullet is smaller and much faster than a .22 long rifle. Anyway, he brought out the rifle, the bullets and all the stuff to mix...EXPLODING TARGETS! There were some the size of a half dollar that I got to shoot from about 60 yards and then some that produced serious concussion. The small ones were not as loud, but they were pretty cool because there was a lot of flash. Watching them explode through the scope basically blinded you from seeing anything else when they first exploded. My first shot at the larger explosive container was a hit only after a ricochet off the table so it did not explode. The container was compromised and even another shot did not set it off. Daryl brought the container up closer to where we were shooting pistol. I asked him if he wanted me to video tape since he was shooting this one but he said no because he did not think it would explode. Boy do I wish we got that on tape. A HUGE explosion that totally destroyed the paper target stand that was holding it! After that Daryl let me shoot the magnum exploding target...4x louder than the one Daryl shot up close. I think it took two shots to hit this target, but when it did...KA-BOOM! And the coolest part of this...Daryl captured this part on video and said he would be posting some of the footage on his Facebook page. I will post a comment/update when the video is online and/or I have posted it to my Facebook page.

My only regret today was not getting a few more pictures and some video. I learned so much and had a great time. I hope I will be able to show an improvement next time I shoot with Texas Combat Shooters. Daryl was a true professional and a very nice guy. I got every penny's worth of the money Brooke spent to purchase my lesson. I believe this was the best Father's Day gift I have ever received.

Spoiled on Father's Day

2011-06-19T17:04:00.000-05:00

My wife is very good to me. I found this used gun (Kahr P9, 9mm) at Cabela's at a great price. Made a phone call and asked if I could put it on lay-away and, of course, Brooke said it would be OK. I saved money from my computer work to pay it off and asked if I could pay off the last little bit as my Father's Day present. Again, Brooke said "yes", so I got my Father's Day present about two weeks early this year.

I am very thankful for a wife that loves me and let's me have my "toys". I was expecting nothing else for Father's Day, so I didn't quite know what to do when Brooke came home this week, got three pieces of paper from my office and said, "I'm going into Amanda's room, so don't bother us for a little bit." I kinda figured it must be a Father's Day thing since that is not a normal conversation for us, so I thought maybe Amanda was making a card or something.

A little while later, Brooke and Amanda came out and told me meet them in the living room. Well, I right, they had made a card. With great ceremony, I was given this first card (picture of front and inside of card below):

Having lost weight recently, I could use some new clothes. "Very nice" I thought.

And then I was handed a second card:

Again, very nice. Date night with Brooke at a concert (probably wearing my new clothes!)

But they were not finished. I got yet another card.

No way!!! Are you kidding?!?! A month ago Amanda and I were at a gun show and met Daryl Parker from Top Shot, Season 2 (see Amanda's picture below) and I registered to win a 2-hour free shooting lesson. I did not win, but I did get signed up for his email list. I forwarded one of his emails to Brooke to show her info about the range Daryl will soon be opening. Well, she did more than check it out...she bought me a gift certificate for a 2-hour private shooting lesson. I got my gift certificate in the mail this week and now just have to call to schedule my lesson. How awesome is that...not only a two hour shooting lesson, but from a competitor on Top Shot. I am totally spoiled and LOVED by my family.

Amanda with Daryl Parker from Top Shot, Season 2, at the Frisco Gun Show in May of this year

12 of 12 June 2011

2011-06-19T16:47:00.009-05:00

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This month, the 12th was on a Sunday.

#1 - 6:32am - Up before the rest of my family, updating my Facebook page for the special occasion - our 18th wedding anniversary.

#2 - 6:35am - Starting my day off in the Word. I call Sully "Bible Dog" because he always sits in my lap while I read my Bible.

#3 - 7:34am - 30 Day Shred, Level 2.

#4 - 11:53am - We wanted a picture with the pastor who married us to celebrate our anniversary.

#5 - 11:55am - The rice boy for our wedding...all grown up! (Jason handed out the rice bags for our wedding)

#6 - 12:02pm - It was a day for taking pictures with those who were with us when we got married 18 years ago.

#7 - 12:34pm - Amanda Kay took our picture at Chili's after church.

#8 - 1:18pm - So Amanda says, Let me see the pictures you have so far for today, which really means, Let me have the camera so I can take a picture of myself! We love our Amanda Kay.

#9 - 3:59pm - At Stephanie's graduation party. Pastor Matt smoked some good BBQ!

#10 - 4:21pm - Hanging out with friends at Stephanie's graduation party.

#11 - 7:27pm - Pastor David leading his part at Arlington's gathering for the National Day of Prayer.

#12 - 10:23pm - Me and my love. End of the day celebrating 18 years of marriage.

12 of 12 May 2011

2011-06-19T16:31:00.007-05:00

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This month, the 12th was on a Thursday.

#1 - 07:23am - Amanda just loves to rise early in the morning for school...NOT!

#2 - 07:24am - Enjoyed listening to WOWFM.com each morning while it was on the air.

#3 - 7:27am - Mail from the day before. My nephew, David, graduated this year.

#4 - 7:33am - Apples, bananas and strawberries (looks like we were out of grapes)

#5 - 9:24am - Met with my friend Ryan. I'm not sure which one of looks like a bigger dork!

#6 - 9:26am - Brooke stopped by the office this morning and joined in the meeting around the staff coffee pot.

#7 - 10:38am - BOO! A/C compressor AND fan motor went out. But don't boo Joe, the A/C guy. We like him.

#8 - 2:17pm - Helping P. Phil take some stuff up to the attic.

#9 - 6:15pm - Friends and family celebrated Meagan's birthday before the Hennings headed back to Nicaragua.

#10 - 8:30pm - Quick run to Quick Trip for a quick Diet Coke for the night.

#11 - 8:32pm - And OF COURSE I take the puppies with me for a QT run. They love to ride in the car. They are such adventure dogs.

#12 - 9:11pm - Doing a little studying.

12 of 12 April 2011

2011-06-18T21:42:00.007-05:00

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This month, the 12th was on a Tuesday.

#1 - 6:31am - Doing Level 1 of the 30 Day Shred.

#2 - 06:33am - Still more 30 Day Shred

#3 - 7:33am - My new breakfast menu...FRUIT!

#4 - 1:31pm - Got to have lunch with my friend Steve and then check out his new church building.

#5 - 2:00pm - Marinell dropping off groceries for the food pantry. She is proudly showing off her car keys...which she thought she had locked in the car!

#6 - 4:34pm - We have staff prayer each Tuesday afternoon. I told the guys we needed a picture for my 12 of 12. This is them staging prayer. Yes, Pastor Matt is crossing himself!

#7 - 6:12pm - Tuesday night is $1 kid menu and Amanda loves Red Robin spaghetti.

#8 - 6:22pm - Can't remember why, but obviously we went to Academy that night.

#9 - 8:57pm - We fold up this blanket and lay it in the corner of the fireplace. Sully now thinks he has a new place to sleep.

#10 - 8:59pm - More Tech Savvy hard at work

#11 - 10:18pm - Tracking my Weight Watcher points for the day.

#12 - 11:21pm - A little quality Daddy/Sully time.

12 of 12 March 2011

2011-06-18T21:25:00.008-05:00

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This month, the 12th was on a Saturday.

#1 - 12:11pm - Men's breakfast this morning...paid via PayPal!

#2 - 1:14pm - Amanda Kay laying out in the back yard with the puppies keeping her company.

#3 - 2:30pm - Nice weather to sit out on the back porch, drink a Diet Coke and read the Word.

#4 - 3:00pm - Brooke enjoying the beautiful weather while keeping up with the Facebook world.

#5 - 5:25pm - I had been craving this powder Ranch Dressing oyster crackers we used to fix when I was at home in high school. Just like I remembered...they give you some NASTY breath (but they sure taste good)!

#6 - 5:41pm - It's Saturday. What else is one supposed to besides grill for dinner?

#7 - 5:49pm - Saturday night at the Hurt household means hamburgers!

#8 - 7:41pm - Boo just chillin' with me.

#9 - 7:59pm - Amanda Kay learning how to sew on a button.

#10 - 7:59pm - I don't know what happened, but all of the sudden my dumb eyes got old. I had to put on these silly glasses to thread the needle.

#11 - 8:00pm - Teaching Amanda how to sew on a button.

#12 - 6:40pm - More Tech Savvy hard at work.

12 of 12 February 2011

2011-06-18T21:15:00.007-05:00

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This month, the 12th was on a Saturday.

#1 - 8:15am - Entering my Weight Watcher points. Just started this week.

#2 - 10:11am - Dad had spent a 12 hour day with me the weekend before tearing out the rotted flooring in the bathroom in preparation for laying new flooring. Today was pretty much all about laying the new flooring.

#3 - 1:52am - Trimming flooring

#4- 1:53pm - Dad (still) helping me lay the new bathroom flooring.

#5 - 2:19pm - This is Dad standing on a paper cutter, holding the piece of flooring so I can cut it (somewhat) straight.

#6 - 2:20pm - Still laying the flooring.

#7 - 3:28pm - I did help, but somebody has to take the pictures! Here is Dad getting the drain ready to re-set the toilet (which is very hand to have in a bathroom!)

#8 - 3:28pm - Boo is always the world's biggest "helper dog". I don't think she really wants to help, but she's great at offering moral support.

#9 - 3:51pm - Woo Hoo! Look at the new bathroom flooring (minus the trim).

#10 - 6:33pm - Fixing hamburgers and potatoes for dinner.

#11 - 8:52pm - Also repainted the bathroom cabinets.

#12 - 8:52pm - Another shot of the newly painted bathroom cabinets and walls (really, working in the bathroom was about all there was to this day!)

12 of 12 January 2011

2011-06-18T21:02:00.007-05:00

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This month, the 12th was on a Wednesday, but I forgot, so these pictures are actually from the 13th which was a Thursday.

#1 - 6:19am - Starting off the morning with prayer/journaling

#2 - 07:21am - Eating breakfast with Amanda. This is Amanda's photographic work.

#3 - 07:22am - Writing the napkin poem for the day.

#4 - 07:40am - Our puppies are not early risers.

#5 - 07:41am - Pictures were actually taken on the 13th this month because I missed it on the 12th.

#6 - 10:29am - Weekly meeting with my friend, Ryan.

#7 - 10:39am - Had to grab a book from the house. On the way in I noticed the turtle's water was beginning to freeze. That's cold for us in Texas.

#8 - 12:58pm - Had lunch with my friend, Chris.

#9 - 2:29pm - Tammy and I trying to figure out and set up our new church management software, Church Pro.

#10 - 7:31pm - At home, still trying to figure out Church Pro.

#11 - 5:45pm - Showing off my early birthday present.

#12 - 7:02pm - For some reason, in the cold, Amanda and I were craving ice cream.

Change Your Words, Change Your World

2011-05-10T00:19:00.002-05:00

Thursday Night At Texas Combat Shooters

2011-04-16T08:34:00.003-05:00

G.O.S.P.E.L.

2011-04-05T22:34:00.002-05:00

10 Things Seminary Never Taught me

2011-04-05T09:12:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I had the privilege of speaking in the chapel service at Dallas Theological Seminary. I had been there before. It is a fine institution. Their President, Dr. Mark Bailey, is a dedicated and competent leader. Later, I would be honored to meet at lunch with a group of students preparing for pastoral ministry.

One of the initiatives of our outreach to the clergy at Focus on the Family is a commitment to the future leaders of the church who are presently in preparation at Seminaries and Bible Colleges around the country. We have learned so much from these talented men and women. They will be facing challenges in their assignments that I did not face. I pray they are ready for those challenges and committed for the long haul. The truth is, many begin the pastoral ministry journey, but a lot of them never finish.

As I reflect on my visit to DTS, I could not help but think about all of the things that my Seminary training did not prepare me for. For instance:

1. They did not teach me how to love. That came through experience.

2. I did not really understand how complicated the lives of people really were. Some of them were too broken to mend.

3. I was surprised at how judgmental and cruel Christian people could be. Graduate school did not warn me, or at least if they did I didn’t listen.

4. I probably needed more specific training in problem solving, and crisis management.

5. In my day there was not much attention being given to financial management. Even though my first assignment was small, I was still a 23 year old CEO. Scary.

6. I do not recall much attention being given to family matters. In fact, I remember some well-meaning leader saying to me, “You just go out and serve the church. God will take care of your family.” It didn’t happen that way.

7. There is no way you can prepare for loneliness. But the importance of friendship with colleagues should have been reinforced.

8. Another problem I would have to deal with, and had to learn on the fly, was that the church was God’s church … not mine. I was an under-shepherd.

9. I had to learn how to be myself and build on my own strength. Seminary had made me into a kind of cookie-cutter presenter.

10. Pastoring was not for the faint of heart. Probably, if they had told me everything I would never have completed my training. I am so glad they didn’t, and I am so glad I did.

What advice would you give to the institution that invested in you?

H.B. London, Jr. is vice president of Ministry Outreach/Pastoral Ministries for Focus on the Family. A fourth generation minister, Rev. London was born in Little Rock, Ark. He is a graduate of Pasadena College (now Point Loma Nazarene University) and was ordained on May 24, 1962. On June 10, 1990, Point Loma Nazarene University conferred on H.B. the Doctor of Divinity degree.

Why I Will Be At The Missions Conference This Coming Week

2011-03-23T00:01:00.002-05:00

The question has been asked, "If your church closed its doors and disappeared today, who would notice?" I believe the 14 missionaries along the back wall of our church represent hundreds, if not thousands, of people who would notice if Vine Fellowship closed its doors today. The vision of Vine Fellowship is to connect people to God, other Christians and the world. One way we focus on reaching the world is through our support of world missions. Through these missionaries we preach the love of Jesus, help feed hungry children, send students to school, teach people how to grow their own food, raise up and train indigenous pastors, plant churches, and train more missionaries to go out and do the same. We believe in and support world missions.

Our vision statement...connecting to God, other Christians and the world, is not just text to put over a pretty graphic on the front of the bulletin. Our vision statement defines who we are as a church and guides where we invest our time and finances. I hope that our vision becomes a part of the DNA of our church body and our church members.

Our annual missions conference is just a few weeks away. I hope that world missions is a part of who are as a member of The Vine Fellowship and that you are as excited as I am. As we spend these four days together (March 27-30) focusing on connecting to the world, we can all be involved and play a vital role. Not only do we Faith Promise financial support for our missionaries during our conference, but we also hear from our missionaries and allow God to speak to us about the role He wants us to play in these ministries. But another big role we fill is loving and supporting our missionaries. Our attendance at the gatherings shows our missionaries the heart of Vine Fellowship and says to them, "Keep doing what you are doing. You are important to us and we will partner with you in this work." Our missions conference is always an exciting time, and I hope to see you there!

Spring Break 2011

2011-03-19T10:00:00.018-05:00

Today is Saturday...either the last day of Spring Break or the day after depending on how you look at it. This year's Spring Break was different. Spring Break camping has become the official vacation of the Hurt household for the past five years, but because of the way some things worked out this year, we were not able to go camping. Brooke's new job required her to work and I took some vacation time so Amanda would not be home alone. While we would still have preferred to go camping, we still had fun and made some memories this week.

MONDAY

Amanda and I planned to go for a bike ride, but the weather was cool and windy. Instead we headed downtown to the big library, found some good books to read, sat and read for a little while, grabbed a Coke at Sonic and came home. Not too exciting, but better than being at work and at school!

TUESDAY

The weather was a little more cooperative for bike riding. Amanda and I loaded up our bikes and drove to Craven's Park. We got the bikes out and hopped onto the bike trail. Craven's Park has a paved walking/biking trail that goes from Matlock heading east all the way past Great Southwest Parkway. We rode to Hwy. 360 and turned around because 5.5 miles was about enough biking for Amanda. As we were headed back, we met two girls who were also riding to the park. They began following us and obviously wanted some company, so we all talked while we rode. When we arrived back at the park, we passed a geocache that I had done before. We stopped so Amanda could find and sign the cache and we introduced our two new friends to the hobby of geocaching. When our ride was over, Brooke called to say she was picking up Ryanne to spend the night. The girls set up the tent in the back yard and spent the night "camping".

Girls we met while biking at at Craven's Park.

The geocache is hidden in the stick the first girl is holding.

Amanda and Ryanne setting up the tent in the back yard

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday morning was strawberry muffins for breakfast and then a trip to Bass Pro Shop. Nope, didn't buy anything, just took the Amanda and Ryanne to have something to do. The girls watched the bass being fed, got on and checked out almost every boat at the store and even practiced some putting in the golf area. Afterwards we stopped by McDonalds for lunch on the way home. The girls played outside some more, sang with Ryanne's karaoke machine and then went to church.

Amanda and Ryanne at Bass Pro Shop

Amanda and Ryanne on one of the many boats they "tried out"

One last picture before leaving

THURSDAY

Thursday wasn't so exciting. We were supposed to get our new copier at church this coming Monday, but since the old one broke, they rescheduled delivery of the new one for Thursday. Since I am the guy who will connect our computers to the new copier, I wanted to be there to learn how to do this. I was also trying to get an explanation of a security bid so I could pass that along to the Advisory Team for their meeting Thursday night. At 4pm, my Dad stopped by to help me put up a book shelf he built for Amanda. As you can see from the picture below, when Dad builds a bookshelf, it's a NICE bookshelf. My day was already going "great", but it got even better when I tried to carry the bookshelf in from the garage and dropped it! The glue and staples did not hold, so it broke into 4 parts. Fortunately it was not damaged so Dad and I used screws to put it back together and got it hung.

FRIDAY

Amanda has been asking all week about going to a museum, so we went online to see what we could find. We stumbled upon the Crow Collection of Asian Art. Although this seemed as exciting to me as poking myself in the eye with a fork, it excited Amanda and so we made plans to go. Brooke heard us making plans before she left for work, and when she got to work she was miserable. Not only had we missed camping this week, but Brooke had not been able to do anything with the family. Next thing we knew, Brooke was home telling us she had gotten the day off. Amanda and I cheered, we all got ready and headed to downtown Dallas to visit the museum. After touring the museum, we were hungry and looked for a place to eat. At my suggestion, we stopped at TGI Fridays which was not such a great experience as the food was expensive and not so good. After that, we headed for what used to be West End Marketplace. Brooke and I had many memories of visiting this huge building with friends back in our CFNI days and were disappointed to find out that it had closed down (who knows how many years ago!). We then went searching for the tunnels under downtown Dallas. I had great hopes of visiting some unique shops and having a family tunnel adventure, but real life didn't work out that way. There seems to be more than one tunnel system and they are not interconnected. At least we got some exercise walking around downtown and we got to take some pictures at "The Fountains" which also had many fond memories for Brooke and me. We headed back to the car, stopped at Sonic during Happy Hour and returned home. Friday evening we fixed dinner and watch Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. It was Amanda's first time to see the movie and we all enjoyed it.

At The Fountains

So Spring Break was different this year. Hopefully we can return to camping next year, but as long as you have family, anything can be fun!

Context Is Important

2011-02-25T09:16:00.001-06:00

Have you ever been around “movie people”… the people who are always quoting movie lines to each other and then laughing hilariously? You may laugh with them so you don’t feel left out, but on the inside you are painfully aware that you have missed the context that makes the quote funny. Context is important because it gives meaning to what was said.

When we read God’s Word, context is important, too. Sometimes we quote Bible verses and claim them as God’s personal word to us. Don’t get me wrong, I believe God speaks through His Word, but we have to remember context. All Scripture was written to a specific person/people in a specific situation, and we have to understand that context before we can make application.

Here’s a quick example. In Joshua 1:9, God was speaking to Joshua about leading the people of Israel, “…Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (NLT) If a friend were considering a career move to another state, should he claim this Scripture as God’s direction because He promises “…the Lord is with you wherever you go”?

Looking at this Scriptures in context, we can see God’s encouragement was being given to Joshua not for his personal benefit, but for him to be able to accomplish what God had called him to do. To apply this passage to my example, perhaps our friend needs to ask, “Does this career move open a new door of ministry to accomplish something for God’s Kingdom, or just a bigger salary for me?” If it’s the former, perhaps God is using this Scripture to bring direction. If it’s the latter, while God may want to bless him with a bigger salary, context would tell me that God is not using this Scripture to communicate that message. Context is important because it gives meaning to what was said.

(written for "Pastor's Note" in 2-13-11 bulletin)

Oswald Chambers Quote

2011-01-12T19:47:00.002-06:00

"We have the idea that we can dedicate our gifts to God. However, you cannot dedicate what is not yours. There is actually only one thing you can dedicate to God, and that is your right to yourself. If you will give God your right to yourself, he will make a holy experiment out of you-and His experiments always succeed. The one true mark of a saint of God is the inner creativity that flows from being totally surrendered to Jesus Christ."

(My Utmost, June 13)

45 Life Lessons

2011-01-07T08:09:00.000-06:00

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio. "To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

12 of 12 Highlights for 2010

2011-01-01T17:00:00.011-06:00

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This is an overview of 2010.

JANUARY - Tuesday morning staff meeting

FEBRUARY - Record snowfall in Texas. 9 inches at our house. 12 inches at DFW airport.

MARCH - Teaching Technology Application at ECIA on a Friday.

APRIL - George had me over for dinner and I helped him file his taxes.

MAY - Dad spent a couple says helping me reside the mower shed at church.

JUNE - Going to pick up Amanda after spending the night at a friend's house.

JULY - Going to the Liberty Fellowship family conference in Lake Junaluska, NC.

AUGUST - Getting backpacks ready for Operation Backpack at Deaver Park.

SEPTEMBER - Youth Sunday

OCTOBER - Bee removal guys finally got rid of our bees...after 5 tries.

NOVEMBER - Garage sale!

DECEMBER - Taking toys left after our Christmas Store to our neighbors in the Springs area.

Animals of YouTube Singing "Deck The Halls"

2010-12-30T13:24:00.001-06:00

10 Power Principles on Church Strategy

2010-12-28T22:58:00.002-06:00

Taken from a year old post at the Will Mancini (clarity evangelist) blog.

#1 Programs don’t attract people; people attract people (Aubrey Malphurs)

#2 Think steps not programs; strategy makes the next step simple, easy and obvious. (Andy Stanley)

#3 Strategy is a missional map, therefore communicate it visually (Church Unique)

#4 As a whole, cluttered and complex churches are not alive. (Thom Ranier)

#5 Growing people grow people; consuming people consume programs. (Church Unique)

#6 Strategy as assimilation should not be confused with spiritual formation; one is about getting individuals into the body of Christ, the other is about getting the life of Christ into the individual.

#7 Strategy connects programs and events vertically with the mission and horizontally with one another. (adapted from Bill Donahue)

#8 The fewer specials you have the more you sell. (An executive chef said this in an Auxano Vision Pathway, talking about church strategy.)

#9 Churches need strategy because mission and values alone are not enough to remove competing pictures of the church’s future. (Church Unique)

#10 The two biggest reasons people don’t get more involved are 1) they don’t know how and 2) nobody invited them. (Auxano survey work)

Core Values

2010-12-28T22:06:00.001-06:00

These are the core values listed on National Community Church's web site. Not what you typically find listed as core values for a church, but how can you not get excited just reading them?!

CORE VALUES
NCC's twelve core values are part of the DNA of National Community Church. They are both descriptive and prescriptive of who we are as a church.

Expect the unexpected
Irrelevance is irreverence
Love people when they least expect it and least deserve it
Playing it safe is risky
Pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on you
Everyone is invaluable and irreplaceable
Everything is an experiment
You cannot out give God
Maturity does not equal conformity
Go the extra mile
It's never too late to be who you might have been
Do it right and do it big

New Twist on Ventriloquism- HILARIOUS!

2010-12-15T17:21:00.004-06:00

12 of 12 December 2010

2010-12-14T15:28:00.008-06:00

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This month, the 12th was on a Sunday.

#1 - 8:09am - The whole family goes to wake up Amanda in the morning.

#2 - 8:30am - Me and my love

#3 - 8:34am - Sully asking if he can get some love...or some table scraps

#4 - 9:44am - Harry and Arleen greeting guests and members on a Sunday morning

#5 - 10:16am - Sunday morning worship at The Vine

#6 - 11:51am - Pastor preached What We Can Learn From Joseph. Here is a Joseph figurine he used in his sermon.

#7 - 1:33pm - Removing the old to make room for the new

#8 - 1:57pm - Amanda helping with the new mailbox

#9 - 4:26pm - We had a few toys left over from the Christmas Store outreach the day before so we headed into the neighborhood we reach out to and gave away our remaining toys from the back of pick up trucks.

#10 - 4:24pm - Amanda wanted me to take a picture of her in the tree by the Fellowship Hall at church

#11 - 4:26pm - Rob posing with the new mailbox. Turned out to be a little shorter than planned!

#12 - 2:53am - Actually taken on 12-13-10 'cause it took that long to finish Christmas wrapping

Eskimo Baptism

2010-12-01T13:21:00.000-06:00

A Letter About Christmas

2010-12-01T11:08:00.002-06:00

Dear Children,

It has come to my attention that many you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I wasn't actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival. . .. Although I do appreciate being remembered anytime.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. Not just during Christmas time, but all through the year. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing the president complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sends out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family? Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them.. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families

8.. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary-- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name..

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the The Vine Fellowship which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions and words that you are one of mine.

Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember :

I LOVE YOU,

JESUS

How's Your Social Networking Record?

2010-11-29T10:41:00.000-06:00

Book Recommendation

2010-11-28T20:56:00.003-06:00

My best friend told me about a book he read that totally revolutionized his life and his ministry (my friend is a Nazarene pastor). Last week he sent me a copy of the book which I finished yesterday. The book makes the case for getting back to one-on-one discipleship and talks about this being the only way to make true disciples. It's not a bash against the church or Sunday morning services (it's written by a pastor), but it's hard to argue with most of what the author has to say. I read the book in less than a week but it's going to take me a long time to digest. I am already praying about how to put some of this into practice in my own life now. I'm thinking this may be a book that majorly transforms me, too. Will be praying for what all God wants to say to me through this book.

You can click here to go to Amazon to read more about it.

12 of 12 November 2010

2010-11-21T19:38:00.007-06:00

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This month, the 12th was on a Friday.

#1 - 7:04am - Writing the napkin poem for the day

#2 - 7:08am - Boo always waits by Amanda's door so she can run in and say good morning.

#3 - 7:09am - Sully wanted to take his turn saying good morning.

#4 - 9:05am - Updating drivers on computers in the lab at Amanda's school.

#5 - 12:00pm - One of my favorite past times... my remote control helicopter.

#6 - 12:37pm - Working on another school computer during lunch. Installing Windows getting it ready for the school network.

# 7 - 2:48pm - Tammy commenting on my Tweet about my 12 of 12. She was glad it was on Friday so that she did not appear in any of the pictures.

#8 - 12:59pm - Carol dropping off some business for More Tech Savvy.

#9 - 1:16pm - The offices of More Tech Savvy

#10 - 1:53pm - Working with Brooke in the garage tagging stuff for our Garage Sale the next day.

#11 - 3:43pm - Picking up Amanda and Avery (and Franswa) from school

#12 - 3:57pm - Amanda doing her knee exercises.

Lessons From The Fire Pit

2010-11-16T23:58:00.004-06:00

Tonight was a crisp and cool night...perfect for sitting by the fire pit. I like it when it's cold enough that a blanket is needed and the only way to keep warm is to sit close to the fire. I wrap a blanket around myself and then drape it over my head. I use my hands to grab the sides of the blanket and open it just enough to form a funnel for the fire's heat to warm me. Sometimes this works so well I have to shield my face because it gets so hot.

I don't know if there is such a thing as a "fire expert", and I may not be at the expert level, but I know how to build a fire and keep it burning. I'll be honest and admit that I did use 1/3 of a "fire brick" to get my fire started this evening. I broke it into three small pieces and placed it on some scrap wood my Dad had given me surrounded by newspaper. On top of that I piled some twigs, followed by a couple branches stacked tee pee fashion and finally a good sized log. I lit the newspaper which, in turn, lit the fire brick which then lit the twigs and the branches. The flames were finally big enough to catch the log and then I had a real fire.

As I watched the fire burn, I felt the Lord making some comparisons between my fire and his Church. I looked at all of the different types of wood (twigs, branches and logs) that went into the fire and how each was vital to the making of the fire, yet they were all secondary to the fire itself. I thought about the different types of people that make up God's Church and how important each are to God's Kingdom, yet they are all secondary in importance to the work Christ is doing in and through them.

Twigs

When it's time to start a fire, big logs are pretty much useless. A match or lighter is not going to catch a log on fire. A fire must be started with twigs, and generally quite a few of them. The more small, dry twigs that are put together, the easier it is to get the fire started. Twigs light quickly and burn easily, but they burn up pretty fast. The fire will quickly die without more fuel.

Branches

Branches are bigger than twigs and, like logs, are very difficult to light on fire with just a match or lighter. But once the twigs have created a good size flame, branches stacked on top of the twigs will catch on fire causing a bigger flame that will burn a bit longer. But for a real fire, something bigger is needed.

Logs

I like to watch the stages of my fire. First the twigs light, and then the branches catch on fire and finally the log that I lay on top begins to smoke and slowly catch on fire. The branches have been stacked in such a way that the twigs can burn to start the fire and there is plenty of space under the log for a flame to get all the oxygen it needs to burn bright and hot. Once the log catches, the fire begins serving it's purpose and puts out some serious heat.

It would not be possible to have a fire without all three of these. When starting a fire, the twigs are most important. When the fire is just starting and needs a bigger flame, the branches are most important. For the fire to reach it's full potential, logs are most important. Twigs are not better than logs because they light faster and logs are not better than twigs because they burn longer. What's most important is not which type of wood burns the fastest or the longest...what's most important is the fire itself and the warmth it produces.

God's Church is made up of people and personalities that might be compared to these three types of wood. You could make up your own category for each of these, but as I watched the fire burn tonight, this is what came to my mind.

Twigs

There are people in the Church who are easily excitable and ready to run as soon as they even sense that God might be moving in a certain direction. Maybe it's a new ministry within a local church or an evangelism idea. Whatever it is, they sense God in it and the spark immediately catches with them.

Branches

These might be the people in the Church who have the skills that are seen more easily. They may not be as excitable or sensitive to what God is speaking as the twigs, but once they get the vision, they have the skills to move things to the next level. They use their skills, get others involved and what started as just a whisper from God begins to take shape and others can see what God is doing.

Logs

As I watched the big log burn in my fire tonight, I couldn't help but notice the long, slow burn. I thought about people in the Church who have walked with the Lord and served his Kingdom for a long time. They may not be as excitable as the twigs and their talent may not shine as brightly as the branches, but they know how to stick with it. What they bring to the work of God is stability and longevity. The twigs started the fire, the branches helped others see the fire, but logs give the fire substance.

In the Church, each of these types of have two choices: judge others for not being "useful" like them, or appreciate the function served by each. If the fire represents a work that God is doing in and through his Church, the fire is what's important, not the wood. The wood is simply what is being used to make the fire possible.

The twigs could look at the branches and judge, "Why can't they be as sensitive as me to the moving of the Holy Spirit? Isn't it obvious what God is wanting to do?" The branches could look at the logs and say, "Years ago they were like me having the skills to make this happen." And the logs could look at the twigs and judge, "Sure you're all excited about this, but you're just getting started. Do you realize how long I've been doing this?"

The logs could look at the twigs and say, "Thank you, Lord, for the excitement that comes from following you and for those who are quick to respond." The branches could look at the logs and say, "Thank you, Lord, for these logs that have been around and have what it takes to keep this going." And the twigs could look at the branches and say, "Thank you, Lord, for bringing the branches along to take this work to the next level."

In the end, if all of the wood has served it's purpose, the twigs, branches and logs are indistinguishable in the red hot embers that put out so much heat after the flames are gone. And even then, the wood is not useless. Although the embers are flameless, if fresh twigs were thrown on them, the whole process would be started again. God's purpose for his Church has always been for one generation to pass on to the next the things of God they have known and experienced.

As tinder for God's flame, we best serve our purpose when our focus is on the flame and not on ourselves. Not only will we appreciate the way God has created us with a need for each other, but we can also pass his flame along for generations to come.

Blast From The Past

2010-11-13T22:05:00.003-06:00

June 14, 1992 was my first Youth Sunday as youth pastor of Trinity New Life Fellowship. Click here to read the bulletin from that Sunday.

12 of 12 October 2010

2010-11-07T20:41:00.008-06:00

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This month, the 12th was on a Tuesday.

#1 - 7:40am - Taking a picture of today's lunch napkin poem and uploading to Facebook.

#2 - 7:41am - Lights out in my home office. Thankfully just a tripped breaker.

#3 - 7:49am - Breakfast of champions. My favorite breakfast most days.

#4 - 8:59am - Jason found this caterpillar in the church sanctuary. Somehow this little guy ended up on Jason's car windshield a little bit later.

#5 - 11:25am - The bee guys were back at it again trying to get rid of them six weeks after their initial try.

#6 - 11:27am - Bee guys cutting into the hollowed out tree trying to find the queen and the honeycomb.

#7 - 11:39am - Pastor, Jason and me in the van with the rest of the staff on the way to a staff birthday lunch.

#8 - 12:42pm - Here's the gang at BJs for Philip's birthday lunch.

#9 - 1:05pm - Happy Birthday Philip.

#10 - 1:45pm - Here's what the tree looked like when the bee guys were done with it. They finally found the queen and a small honeycomb which they removed. Bees have not been back since!

#11 - 4:51pm - Spent the afternoon preparing for the upcoming Men's Retreat.

#12 - 11:05pm - Sully sitting in his chair in my office. It is really my reading chair which Sully has tried to claim as his own.

12 of 12 September 2010

2010-11-06T17:29:00.007-05:00

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This month, the 12th was on a Sunday.

#1 - 8:35am - Checking the Greeting Team schedule for this morning from the sound room computer.

#2 - 8:36am - Amanda Kay...my pretty girl.

#3 - 9:01am - Youth worship team on Youth Sunday.

#4 - 9:04am - Pastor Matt opening Youth Sunday in prayer.

#5 - 11:41am - Sunday afternoon lunch with Sonic.

#6 - 2:27pm - After several treatments the Africanized bees are still here and have opening up the hole to get inside the tree again.

#7 - 2:35pm - Had to take these security bars down so I could crawl back in this window when I was cleaning the gutters during the last big thunderstorm. I used a ladder to get on the roof, but it was not stable enough to climb back down so I had to go back in through this window.

#8 - 2:37pm - Amanda Kay coming out to help me put these security bars back up.

#9 - 2:37pm - TaDa! More help.

#10 - 2:50pm - Job is just about done.

#11 - 3:41pm - Amanda came into my office at home to show me her artwork. I called her my Smiling Warrior Princess.

#12 - 6:55pm - I have no idea what I am doing in this picture. Amanda took it. I'm not sure if she just thought it was funny that I had the remote control in my pocket or if she was supposed to take a picture of what I was doing but just zoomed in too much.

12 of 12 August 2010

2010-11-06T16:37:00.007-05:00

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This month, the 12th was on a Thursday.

#1 8:02am - Security lights were not on at one of the buildings so I went to investigate. This is me fixing the electrical problem.

#2 08:19am - Airing up the water slide to clean it and put it away after being used the night before.

#3 8:48am - Late breakfast after getting some outside work done at church.

#4 10:10am - Caught this little guy sneaking a drink from the AC drain pipe.

#5 10:31am - Volunteers helping stuff backpacks in preparation for the Operation Backpack outreach coming up in a few days.

#6 11:01am - More help stuffing backpacks.

#7 12:01pm - Backpacks filled by Vine Fellowship members for Operation Backback 2010

#8 12:50pm - Amanda Kay fixing lunch.

#9 3:41pm - Not sure why there was a beach ball in the foyer, but Amanda and I found it and took a break to have some fun.

#10 03:22pm - Part of my Thursday routine...sending out Greeting Team reminders for the upcoming weekend.

#11 5:05pm - Preparing to go to Texas Combat Shooters.

#12 11:05pm - Late night family night! We stopped by Sonic and then headed out to the country away from the city lights looking for the comets that were supposed to be visible. Never saw any.

12 of 12 July 2010

2010-11-06T14:47:00.008-05:00

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This month, the 12th was on a Monday.

#1 8:03am - On the road from Alabama (visited Brooke's family) to Liberty Fellowship summer conference in North Carolina.

#2 8:03am - It rained most of the way from Alabama to North Carolina.

#3 8:13am - Amanda Kay can saw some logs! She has no trouble sleeping in the car.

#4 8:53am - Coming into the Smokey Mountains.

#5 9:14am - Cloud covered mountains.

#6 10:53am - Amanda woke up and got a picture taken with Mommy. Is that a chip bag in the background?

#7 11:09am - Crossing the state line into North Carolina.

#8 11:37am - Took a picture of this for Pastor David and Mrs Debi.

#9 11:49am - More driving in the Smokey Mountains.

#10 5:20pm - Dinner at Lake Junaluska during the Liberty Fellowship summer family conference.

#11 6:21pm - Lynne DeShazo leading worship.

#12 8:08pm - Ministry time at the Liberty Fellowship summer family conference.

12 of 12 June 2010

2010-11-06T14:11:00.010-05:00

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This month, the 12th was on a Saturday.

#1 8:58am - As soon as anybody starts moving in the bed each morning, Sully is quick to climb up to the head of the bed for some snuggle time.

#2 10:27am - Pastor Philip putting in the last chair putting chairs back up as part of a crew that came in to help reset chairs in the sanctuary after VBS.

#3 12:03pm - Went to pick up Amanda who spent the night at Nayua's house where she spent the night.

#4 1:13pm - Brooke and Amanda in the car...shopping!

#5 2:02pm - Brooke got her toes done.

#6 2:05pm - Amanda showing the bargains she and Mommy found while shopping.

#7 5:42pm - Amanda finishing up some weekend homework.

#8 6:11pm - Rob grilling hamburgers...a Saturday night tradition at the Hurt household.

#9 8:08pm - Nightly Bible reading

#10 8:09pm - Brooke paying with the puppies.

#11 8:57pm - Rob laying down to talk and pray with Amanda before bed.

#12 11:53pm - Uploading VBS pictures from the week.

I Am An American

2010-10-23T08:27:00.002-05:00

I believe in hard work and I believe the money I make belongs to me and my family, not some Liberal governmental functionary who wants to give it to those who won't work hard.

I think owning a gun doesn't make you a killer, it makes you a smart American.

I think being a minority does not make you noble or victimized, and does not entitle you to anything. Get over it!

I've never owned a slave, or was a slave, I haven't burned any witches or been persecuted by the Crusaders and neither have you! So, shut up already.

I believe that if you are selling me a Big Mac, do it in English.

I believe in God.

I believe high school football games SHOULD open in prayer...to the same God in heaven that our Founding Fathers prayed to.

I think it's good.... And I'm proud that 'God' is written on my money.

My heroes are my parents, Billy Graham, and Ronald Reagan.

I think global warming is a big lie. Where are all those experts now? (and polar bears SWIM to ice floes, they are not stranded!)

I believe if you don't like the way things are here, go back to where you came from and change your own country!

If you were born here and don't like it you are free to move to any Socialist country that will have you.

This is AMERICA. We like it the way it is!

I want to know which church it is, exactly where the "Reverend" Jesse Jackson preaches, where he gets his money, and why he is always part of the problem and not the solution.

I think the cops have every right to shoot if you're running from them. I also think they have the right to pull you over if you are breaking the law, regardless of what color you are.

I think if you are too stupid to know how a ballot works, I don't want you deciding who should be running the most powerful nation in the world for the next four years.

I dislike those people standing in the intersections trying to sell me stuff or trying to guilt me into making 'donations' to their cause. Get a Job and do your part!

I believe that it doesn't take a village to raise a child, it takes two parents.

I believe 'illegal' is illegal no matter what the lawyers think.

I believe the American flag should be the only one allowed in AMERICA !

We want our country back!

Fable of the Porcupine

2010-10-21T08:22:00.003-05:00

It was the coldest winter ever - many animals died because of the cold. The porcupines, understanding the situation, decided to group together. They covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions even though they gave off heat to each other. They began to distance themselves from each other and began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth.

They decided to go back to being together.

This way they learned to live with the little wounds that were caused by the close relationship with their companions, and appreciate the warmth. This way they were able to survive.

Moral of the story:

The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but the best is when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person's good qualities.

One Of My Geocaches

2010-10-20T13:37:00.003-05:00

I'm a geocacher. Short version...geocaching is a game where you hide a container (the geocache), mark it's coordinates with a GPS, post the coordinates online at geocaching.com and other people get the coordinates, use their GPS and find the geocache. Once they find it, they sign the little log inside the geocache and then log their find online. It's like a high tech treasure hunt.

When logging the cache online, it is proper etiquette to tell something about your hunt for the geocache. This is a log from a geocache I have hidden in the little park behind the shopping center where Hobby Lobby.

This one almost got me arrested. As I was walking back to my car, I hear "Mam,, Hault,,, Police" I froze as they were all running towards me and cars were coming at me. They wanted to know what was in my hand and I handed them my gps, wanted to know where I was pointed to my car, what was I doing there, told thm geocaching, and got the ususal What? Told them I would show them the cache, they surrounded me while we walked back to the cache. The minute I showed them they took it from me and I explained that you were supposed to sign the log but I forgot my pen so I made a green smudge on th paper to prove that I was there. He explained that they were in the middle of an investigation and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I apologized and he had the cache in his hand and said he would take care of it. Kind of doubt that he put it back, sorry.

Texas Combat Shooters 10-07-10

2010-10-07T23:21:00.003-05:00

I went shooting tonight. A friend of mine, along with his brother and cousin, started a group called Texas Combat Shooters. We meet at Elm Fork range in Dallas. The thing I LOVE about shooting with these guys is that we get to practice practical, tactical skills. At most shooting ranges, you stand and shoot while standing still at stationary paper targets. You cannot rapid fire in most places and you can never draw from your holster. At Texas Combat Shooters, we practice one handed shooting, off handed shooting, shooting while moving, shooting from behind cover, rapid (accurate) fire, shooting prone, reloading and other practical skills. We usually shoot four stages with a shot count of 18-21 rounds.

At our first stage tonight we were "hand cuffed" around the large post shown here. Our gun and magazines were laid on the table in front of us. At the buzzer we had to load our gun and fire one head shot and one center mass shot at each of 9 targets. I think the targets were about 15 yards out. I did TERRIBLE on this stage! You are timed on each stage and then given a penalty for every shot outside the zero ring on the target. Missing center mass is not a big deal...usually just a one point deduction unless you miss by a lot. The head shot is much more difficult. You either make the head shot or lose 5 points. I lost something like 43 points on this stage. HORRIBLE!

The second stage I shot tonight was on the "reactionary steel" where you hit the steel target and it falls. The first time I shot steel I did not knock over even one target. I have improved on this stage every week. For this stage tonight we loaded 20 rounds (that's 3 magazines for me with my low capacity, single stack 1911). We had 10 shots to hit each of the six bowling pins and then while they were swinging, we had 10 shots to hit the six steel targets behind them. I certainly was not the fastest shot, but I left no targets standing. With 12 targets and 20 shots you are allowed a few misses. I missed one bowling pin and (hit it with my second shot) and none of steel targets. So I hit 12 targets in 13 shots. Very happy with that.

At our next stage we had to run from cover and kneel beside a barrel. We shot at 3 targets 15 yards away, two torso shots and one head shot. Then we moved to a closer barrel and shot another 3 targets, two torso and one head shot. Lastly, we moved closer and shot through a hole in a wall, 3 targets again, two torso and one head shot. I lost 34 points on this stage. I was probably in the lower third of shooters in this stage.

The last stage we shot was the most creative. We had to shove over a BOB dummy, shoot two torso and one head shot at three close targets. We then ran to the next phase where we shot one small steel target which activated a waving "innocent" target. We then shot a second steel target and had to wait for the swinging "innocent" target to swing out of the way so we could hit the third steel target. From there we ran to the last phase where we ran out from behind cover and shot a target two torso and one head shot while charging the target and shooting at point blank range, past that target to another target, two torso and one head shot again at point blank range while charging it. The last two torso, one head shot was taken at another target from behind cover. Again, I was not the fastest one through this stage, but I lost only one point on this whole stage!

Book Burning

2010-10-06T08:21:00.001-05:00

Taliban Warns U.S. on Arizona Law

2010-09-29T16:17:00.000-05:00

This morning, from a cave somewhere in Pakistan , the Taliban Minister of Migration, Mohammed (Mo) Jihad Islam, warned the United States that if Arizona 's Immigration Law is not repealed, Taliban authorities intend to cut off America 's supply of convenience store managers and possibly Motel 6 and Super 8 managers.

And, if this action does not yield sufficient results, cab drivers will be next, followed by DELL and AOL customer service reps.

Finally, if all else fails, they have threatened not to send us any more candidates for president of the United States!

You Might Be a Redneck If...

2010-09-29T08:41:00.002-05:00

You might be a redneck if: It never occurred to you to be offended by the phrase, 'One nation, under God.'

You might be a redneck if: You've never protested about seeing the 10 Commandments posted in public places.

You might be a redneck if: You still say ' Christmas' instead of 'Winter Festival.'

You might be a redneck if: You bow your head when someone prays.

You might be a redneck if: You stand and place your hand over your heart when they play the National Anthem.

You might be a redneck if: You treat our armed forces veterans with great respect, and always have.

You might be a redneck if: You've never burned an American flag, nor intend to.

You might be a redneck if: You know what you believe and you aren't afraid to say so, no matter who is listening.

You might be a redneck if: You respect your elders and raised your kids to do the same.

You might be a redneck if: You'd give your last dollar to a friend.

Rob's new Toy

2010-09-27T13:47:00.001-05:00

Twitter Update From Wilbur

2010-09-27T08:35:00.002-05:00

Made Me Laugh

2010-09-18T17:48:00.000-05:00

God said, "Adam, I want you to do something for Me."

Adam said, "Gladly ,Lord, what do You want me to do?"

God said, "Go down into that valley."

Adam said, "What's a valley?"

God explained it to him. Then God said, "Cross the river."

Adam said, "What's a river?"

God explained that to him, and then said, "Go over to the hill...."

Adam said, "What is a hill?"

So, God explained to Adam what a hill was. He told Adam, "On the other side of the hill you will find a cave."

Adam said, 'What's a cave?'

After God explained, He said, "In the cave you will find a woman."

Adam said, "What's a woman?'

So God explained that to him, too. Then, God said, 'I want you to reproduce."

Adam said, "How do I do that?"

God first said (under His breath), "Really?" And then, just like everything else, God explained that to Adam, as well.

So, Adam goes down into the valley, across the river, and over the hill, into the cave, and finds the woman.

Then, in about five minutes, he was back.

God, His patience wearing thin, said angrily, "What is it now?"

And Adam said....

"What's a headache?"

US Capitol Tour With David Barton

2010-09-14T22:22:00.001-05:00

No Ground Zero Mosque

2010-09-09T08:38:00.002-05:00

Statement on the Proposed “Cordoba House” Mosque near Ground Zero

Newt Gingrich

July 21, 2010 6pm

There should be no mosque near Ground Zero in New York so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia. The time for double standards that allow Islamists to behave aggressively toward us while they demand our weakness and submission is over.

The proposed "Cordoba House" overlooking the World Trade Center site – where a group of jihadists killed over 3000 Americans and destroyed one of our most famous landmarks - is a test of the timidity, passivity and historic ignorance of American elites. For example, most of them don’t understand that “Cordoba House” is a deliberately insulting term. It refers to Cordoba, Spain – the capital of Muslim conquerors who symbolized their victory over the Christian Spaniards by transforming a church there into the world’s third-largest mosque complex.

Today, some of the Mosque’s backers insist this term is being used to "symbolize interfaith cooperation" when, in fact, every Islamist in the world recognizes Cordoba as a symbol of Islamic conquest. It is a sign of their contempt for Americans and their confidence in our historic ignorance that they would deliberately insult us this way. Those Islamists and their apologists who argue for "religious toleration" are arrogantly dishonest. They ignore the fact that more than 100 mosques already exist in New York City. Meanwhile, there are no churches or synagogues in all of Saudi Arabia. In fact no Christian or Jew can even enter Mecca. And they lecture us about tolerance.

If the people behind the Cordoba House were serious about religious toleration, they would be imploring the Saudis, as fellow Muslims, to immediately open up Mecca to all and immediately announce their intention to allow non-Muslim houses of worship in the Kingdom. They should be asked by the news media if they would be willing to lead such a campaign.

We have not been able to rebuild the World Trade Center in nine years. Now we are being told a 13 story, $100 million megamosque will be built within a year overlooking the site of the most devastating surprise attack in American history.

Finally where is the money coming from? The people behind the Cordoba House refuse to reveal all their funding sources. America is experiencing an Islamist cultural-political offensive designed to undermine and destroy our civilization. Sadly, too many of our elites are the willing apologists for those who would destroy them if they could. No mosque.

No self deception.

No surrender.

The time to take a stand is now - at this site: on this issue.

(Please don't forward this story, or any other, via email unless you have check out that it is true. Here is a link to Snopes which says the story is true and sites the source they used to verify it.)

Pick Up, Amanda!

2010-09-02T22:25:00.002-05:00

I was at work today and Amanda called me on Skype (we live in the church parsonage so she was literally next door, we have no home phone, Amanda's cell phone is pre-paid and so Skype is cheaper).

"Dad, did you just call me on your old cell phone?"

"No, sweetheart. I did not call. The phone is turned off and nobody can call it."

"But Dad, it rang twice. There was a message that said, 'Pick up, Amanda'. I thought you were trying to call me."

"Amanda, the phone was turned off when I got my new cell phone. Nobody can call."

"Dad! There were two messages that said, 'Pick up, Amanda.' One was from yesterday and one was from today."

"Amanda, I use the checkbook on that phone and it automatically updates my calendar. Maybe you were seeing some kind of calendar reminder."

"No, Dad! It was a message that said, 'Pick up, Amanda'" (Amanda was pretty freaked out by the personal nature of the message to her, and the more I told her it was not me, the more worried she became).

Finally, the light dawned on me. "Oh, Amanda. Sweetheart, I put "Pick Up Amanda" on my calendar for yesterday and today because Mommy was out of town and I was picking you up from school. Those were calendar reminders that I had set up for the "Pick Up Amanda" events on my calendar!"

Kinda Hard To Argue With

2010-08-29T00:47:00.002-05:00

Barack OBAMA, during his Cairo speech, said: "I know, too, that Islam has always been a part of America 's story."

AN AMERICAN CITIZEN'S RESPONSE:

Dear Mr. Obama:

Were those Muslims that were in America when the Pilgrims first landed? Funny, I thought they were Native American Indians.

Were those Muslims that celebrated the first Thanksgiving day? Sorry again, those were Pilgrims and Native American Indians.

Can you show me one Muslim signature on the United States Constitution?

Declaration of Independence?

Bill of Rights?

Didn't think so.

Did Muslims fight for this country's freedom from England ? No.

Did Muslims fight during the Civil War to free the slaves in America ? No, they did not. In fact, Muslims to this day are still the largest traffickers in human slavery. Your own half brother, a devout Muslim, still advocates slavery himself, even though Muslims of Arabic descent refer to black Muslims as "pug nosed slaves." Says a lot of what the Muslim world really thinks of your family's "rich Islamic heritage," doesn't it Mr. Obama?

Where were Muslims during the Civil Rights era of this country? Not present.

There are no pictures or media accounts of Muslims walking side by side with Martin Luther King, Jr. or helping to advance the cause of Civil Rights.

Where were Muslims during this country's Woman's Suffrage era? Again, not present. In fact, devout Muslims demand that women are subservient to men in the Islamic culture. So much so, that often they are beaten for not wearing the 'hajib' or for talking to a man who is not a direct family member or their husband. Yep, the Muslims are all for women's rights, aren't they?

Where were Muslims during World War II? They were aligned with Adolf Hitler. The Muslim grand mufti himself met with Adolf Hitler, reviewed the troops and accepted support from the Nazi's in killing Jews.

Finally, Mr. Obama, where were Muslims on Sept. 11th, 2001? If they weren't flying planes into the World Trade Center , the Pentagon or a field in Pennsylvania killing nearly 3,000 people on our own soil, they were rejoicing in the Middle East ... No one can dispute the pictures shown from all parts of the Muslim world celebrating on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and other cable news networks that day. Strangely, the very "moderate" Muslims who's (behinds) you bent over backwards to kiss in Cairo, Egypt on June 4th were stone cold silent post 9-11. To many Americans, their silence has meant approval for the acts of that day.

And THAT, Mr. Obama, is the "rich heritage" Muslims have here in America.

Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to mention the Barbary Pirates. They were Muslim.

And now we can add November 5, 2009 - the slaughter of American soldiers at Fort Hood by a Muslim major who is a doctor and a psychiatrist who was supposed to be counseling soldiers returning from battle in Iraq and Afghanistan.

That, Mr. Obama is your "Muslim heritage" in America .

It's Nice To Be Appreciated

2010-08-19T08:32:00.003-05:00

First I helped install the lights on the Sunday School building (that's when I handed the tools to Ed). Then, I fixed them when they did not work (that's when I turned on the light switch). Yesterday, I switched out the motion sensors for photo cells so the lights would come on and stay on at dusk...and it worked! I informed everybody in the office that I was now a Junior Electrician, Level II. When I looked in my box this morning, I found this name badge that Tammy created for me (click on image to enlarge). It's nice to be appreciated!

Junior Electician

2010-08-12T11:33:00.002-05:00

I am adding the title "Junior Electrician" to my job description. Yesterday, I found two problems and fixed the wiring on the church trailer. Today, I fixed the new lights on the Sunday School Building.

Tuesday evening, I helped (read: handed tools to) Ed Siverson put new motion sensor lights on the four corners of the Sunday School building. We wanted to test them when we were done, but they did not come on. We thought, perhaps, since they also had light sensors that we had to wait until dark for them to come on.

I'm a bit embarrassed to say so, but I forgot to check the lights Tuesday night to see if they came on. Even worse, when I did remember to check them on Wednesday night, they did not work. It seemed our security light wires had become a casualty of a 'wiring incident' we had a couple months ago.

After thinking about the problem all night and what had been done to the building to fix the wiring problems, I thought I knew where the problem might be. Now, I don't want to brag, but I figured this out on my own without any formal electrician's training. I thought it would be easiest to describe how I fixed the issue with a picture...so here it is:

And sure enough, the lights work now!

Stop the Flow!

2010-08-10T09:09:00.000-05:00

Humor

2010-08-10T08:35:00.002-05:00

The graveside service just barely finished, when there was a massive clap of thunder, followed by a tremendous bolt of lightning, accompanied by even more thunder rumbling in the distance.

The little old man looked at the preacher and calmly said, 'Well......she's there.'

New Crimes

2010-08-09T11:44:00.002-05:00

Don't Be Silly!

2010-08-06T18:21:00.002-05:00

All At Once

2010-08-06T00:18:00.003-05:00

So, today was an interesting day. Right now, I am sitting in my office with a new 8,000 BTU window unit blowing cold air. It took about 3 hours to cool the room. Amanda is sleeping with an old window unit in her window, and it too is blowing cold air. Brooke is asleep in our room with an extension cord going from the living room to an old window unit that only blows cool air now. In the living room, we another new 8,000 BTU window unit blowing cold air, and in the kitchen, we have an extension cord so the refrigerator can keep running.

As they do in the TV show Flashpoint, let's go back 5 hours.

At 5:00PM, Brooke called to ask if I was coming home. She said the lights in the house kept dimming and the window unit AC in our bedroom was having problems because the power was surging. She said it was hot in the house, too (it's always hot at this time of the year, but it was hotter than usual). I was home in 5 minutes only to find the AC unit outside NOT working. I came inside to check on the power surges, and that's when I found out that one of our breakers must have blown, too. No, the breaker did not "trip", it blew. That is, it said "ON" but nobody's home (and the lights aren't on). Yes, I turned it off and then back on several times and that did not fix the problem.

And that's how we got to where we are now with the 4 window units and two extension cords. We could go to my parents' house in Duncanville or our pastor's house, but we've cooled off now and want to stay in our home. Guess we'll see what kind of 'good news' the electrician and AC guy bring tomorrow. Over the phone, the electrician said it sounded like our outside AC unit locked up and the amp draw drawing to start it probably messed with the breaker. Praying for a fix that does not require a new AC right now!

Back Yard Squirrel

2010-08-06T00:13:00.002-05:00

This is one of our back yard buddies. It's hard to tell from this perspective, but he's literally "hanging out" in our tree in the back yard. The first time I saw him do this, I thought he was dead. He's got his "arm pit" propped up on the edge of the knot hole and his little leg is just dangling. He's done this for two days now so I had to take a picture today.

12 of 12 May 2010

2010-08-02T23:36:00.006-05:00

#1 - 7:18 AM - Finishing up some homework before school.

#2 - 7:20 AM - Went out to feed the turtles. Grumpy had crawled up on the brick wall and was going for a morning walk.

#3 - 7:43 AM - Making Amanda's lunch for the day...including the lunch napkin poem for the day.

#4 - 10:12 AM - Second day Dad came out to help me reside the church lawn mower shed.

#5 - 12:48 PM - Look at me...Mr. Power Tools!

#6 - 12:50 PM - Still working on the mower shed. Second day Dad helped me work...second day threat of rain came out of nowhere!

#7 - 6:23 PM - Siding finished and all the stuff has been put back in the shed. All that is left is painting (my favorite part...NOT!)

#8 - 7:38 PM - OK, it's not the coolest looking hat, but it definitely keeps me cooler while I'm working outside. I went looking for one of these hats after sun burning my neck one too many times.

#9 - 9:20 PM - Nightly ritual...praying with Amanda (and doing some extra talking, too!)

#10 - 9:24 PM - Brooke watching some TV while the puppies chill. I think she's waiting for me to finish praying with Amanda so we can watch one or two of our Wednesday night shows.

#11 - 10:20 PM - Gotta love DVRs! Sitting down to watch my favorite TV show.

#12 - 1:06 AM - Cutting out a new set of bookmarks for my 10 List Bible reading.

How NOT To Be Rude With Your Cell Phone

2010-07-30T23:04:00.003-05:00

Here are a few points from Tim Steven's blog post, "Wherever You Are...Be Fully There". Thought these were definitely worth repeating.

When you start a meeting, turn your ringer off and move it away from you. If the screen comes to life when you get a text–then put the phone upside down so you won’t see it. If it is likely to vibrate, then put it somewhere it can’t be felt or heard.
If your phone does vibrate during the meeting and your guest says, “Go ahead and take that if you need to” — reach down and silence it without even looking. This communicates to your guest that they are very valuable to you.
Don’t buy into the “what if there is an emergency?” line. Rarely does that happen. It’s not a good excuse for having to look at your phone multiple times through every meeting.
If you know you will need to be reached during the meeting, let your guest know, “My wife is at the doctors office and may need to reach me, so I apologize in advance that I’ll be taking her call when it comes.” That tells your guest this is an exception–you wouldn’t normally do this.
If you are in a meeting with multiple people–follow the same rules. Don’t convince yourself that your participation isn’t needed right now so you can disengage and respond to texts or play your next turn in Words With Friends.We fool ourselves into thinking we can multitask, or that our disengagement won’t be noticed for a few minutes. Not true.

This Too Shall pass

2010-07-30T22:43:00.001-05:00

How Pilots SHOULD Talk

2010-07-30T08:46:00.003-05:00

You May Be Taliban If...

2010-07-27T22:46:00.001-05:00

1. You refine heroin for a living, but you have a moral objection to liquor.

2. You own a $3,000 machine gun, but you can't afford shoes.

3. You have more wives than teeth.

4. You wipe your butt with your bare hand, but consider bacon "unclean."

5. You think vests come in two styles: bullet-proof and suicide.

6. You can't think of anyone you haven't declared Jihad against.

7. You consider television dangerous, but carry explosives in your clothing.

8. You were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses other than setting off roadside bombs.

9. You have nothing against women and think every man should own at least four.

10. You've always had a crush on your neighbor's goat.

11. Your cousin is president of the United States

Why Men and Women Have Such a Difficult Time Understanding Each Other

2010-07-07T00:38:00.001-05:00

Geocaching Find #700

2010-07-02T00:55:00.003-05:00

I still enjoy geocaching, but since I started teaching school on my day off, I have not had as many opportunities to go out. But while Brooke and Amanda were in Alabama, I took a few days off work (and it's summer so I'm not teaching), so I took advantage of the time to grab six quick caches and log find #700! (June 24, 2010)

Yes, that's a 35mm film container. My 700th find was actually a very simple hide sometimes called a "lamp post" or "lamp skirt" cache. Can you guess where they are hidden?

Proud To Live In Texas

2010-06-30T22:46:00.002-05:00

After having dug to a depth of 10 feet last year, New York scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 100 years and came to the conclusion, that their ancestors already had a telephone network more than 100 years ago.

Not to be outdone by the New Yorkers, in the weeks that followed, a California archaeologist dug to a depth of 20 feet, and shortly after, a Story in the LA Times read: " California archaeologists, finding of 200 year old copper wire, have concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network a hundred years earlier than the New Yorkers".

One week later. A local newspaper in Texas reported the following: "After digging as deep as 30 feet in his pasture near Maypearl, Texas, Bubba, a self-taught archaeologist, reported that he found absolutely nothing. Bubba has therefore concluded that 300 years ago, Texas had already gone wireless".

Just makes a person proud to live in Texas, don't it.

S.P.E.C.K. of Truth

2010-06-26T11:16:00.003-05:00

I follow the blog of Mark Batterson, lead Pastor of National Community Church. I just discovered their "From the Garden to the City" Bible reading plan for 2010 and Pastor Heather Zempel's short video on how to read the Bible. She suggested reading for a "SPECK of Truth". Here's what the acronym stands for:

Is there a SIN for me to avoid?
Is there a PROMISE from God for me to claim?
Is there an EXAMPLE for me to follow?
Is there a COMMANDMENT for me to obey?
How can this passage increase my KNOWLEDGE about God or about Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit?

I am always looking for tools to help me apply God's Word to my everyday life, and I thought this was worth sharing. You can see the whole video clip here or this seems to be the same material Pastor Heather was sharing.

Proven Home Remedies

2010-06-12T13:03:00.003-05:00

These really work. I checked this out on Snopes.

1. Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold the vegetables while you chop.

2. Avoid arguments with the females about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.

3. For high blood pressure sufferes: Simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes thus reducing the pressure on your veins. Remember to use a timer.

4. A mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

5. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you'll be afraid to cough.

6. You only need two tools in life: WD-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the W-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.

7. If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.

Daily Thought:

Some people are like a Slinky - not really good for anything but they bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs.

California Vs. Texas

2010-05-27T11:14:00.003-05:00

A man is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A coyote jumps out and attacks dog.

California :
#1. Man starts to intervene, reflects upon the movie "Bambi" and then realizes he should stop; the coyote is only doing what is natural.

#2. He calls animal control. Animal control captures coyote and spends $200 testing it for diseases and $500 for relocating it.

#3. He calls veterinarian. Vet collects dead dog and spends $200 testing it for diseases.

#4. Man goes to hospital and spends $3,500 getting checked for diseases from the coyote and on getting bite wound bandaged.

#5. Running trail gets shut down for 6 months while wildlife services conduct a $100,000 survey to make sure the area is clear of dangerous animals.

#6. $50,000 of state funds are allocated to implement a "coyote awareness" program for residents of the area.

#7. State legislature spends $2 million investigating how to better handle rabies and how to possibly eradicate the disease.

#8. PETA protests the coyote relocation and files suit against the state.

Texas :
#1. Man shoots coyote and keeps jogging. He has spent $0.50 on a .45 ACP hollow point cartridge. Buzzards eat dead coyote..

Any wonder why California is broke????

Where in the World is Grace O'Mally?

2010-05-16T07:50:00.003-05:00

Grace O'Malley is one of our three box turtles. Her first name is Grace because all of our turtles have names that start with "G". Her last name is O'Malley because when we first started the turtle thing, Amanda named our first turtle Grumpy O'Malley.

So I went out to feed the O'Malley family this morning (Grumpy, Little George and Grace). Little George came walking up to me because he knows his food source. Grumpy had once again climbed up on the cinder block wall that surrounds the perimeter of their pen and was going for a walk. Grace was nowhere to be found. The cinder block wall offers many shaded resting spots for the turtles, so I checked all of those...three times. Next, we have a wood pile shelter built in the middle of the pen. Checked there, also three times and she was not there. In the past, turtles have crawled under their "water bowl" (an upside down trash can lid), so I checked there. Grace was still nowhere to be found.

At this point, I was trying to figure out how a turtle could disappear from our turtle pen. I was pretty sure she had not found a way to escape. If there was a way to escape, Grumpy would have found it on his many wall patrols. Didn't seem very likely that an animal would eat a box turtle. If she had died, I would have found her laying around somewhere (shells don't rot too fast!). Why would somebody come steal a box turtle?

Finally I decided to check the area where the turtles usually hibernate. It's not the right time of the year for that, but I had run out of options. Sure enough, as I began to move my hands through the leaf piles on the ground, there was Grace. She was buried head up, so it seems she may have been laying eggs again. Usually if they are trying to bury themselves, they go head first. In any case, the mystery was solved and I could safely wake up Amanda (who would have been devastated if a turtle had disappeared).

Let Me See If I Got This Right

2010-05-15T10:24:00.000-05:00

IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET 12 YEARS HARD LABOR.

IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU ARE DETAINED INDEFINITELY.

IF YOU CROSS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET SHOT.

IF YOU CROSS THE SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE JAILED.

IF YOU CROSS THE CHINESE BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU MAY NEVER BE HEARD FROM AGAIN.

IF YOU CROSS THE VENEZUELAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE BRANDED A SPY AND YOUR FATE WILL BE SEALED.

IF YOU CROSS THE CUBAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE THROWN INTO POLITICAL PRISON TO ROT.

IF YOU CROSS THE U.S. BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET...

A JOB,
A DRIVERS LICENSE,
SOCIAL SECURITY CARD,
WELFARE,
FOOD STAMPS,
CREDIT CARDS,
SUBSIDIZED RENT OR A LOAN TO BUY A HOUSE,
FREE EDUCATION,
FREE HEALTH CARE,
A LOBBYIST IN WASHINGTON ,
BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS PRINTED IN YOUR LANGUAGE,
THE RIGHT TO CARRY YOUR COUNTRY'S FLAG WHILE YOU PROTEST THAT YOU DON'T GET ENOUGH RESPECT.

I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HAD A FIRM GRASP ON THE SITUATION

If You're Not a Geocacher, You Won't Appreicate It

2010-05-13T23:34:00.005-05:00

Long Service!

2010-05-10T09:06:00.000-05:00

Mower Shed Repair

2010-05-05T20:43:00.005-05:00

Our church mower shed was built more than 20 years ago and has held up very well...up until last year. Last year the weather caught up with our shed (and with several of our buildings at church). I'm not much of a carpenter, so I put out a call for somebody take on this project, but when nobody responded, I called my Dad. Dad is great at this kind of stuff and was willing to help, so he came to the church on Monday.

This is just one example of the weather damage. This is the side of the shed and a piece of trim that goes along the bottom of the building.

We got one side replaced, the back, the front, and here we are trying to get the door on before the rain.

And here's a picture of the mess we were rushing to clean when the rain started. We still have to replace one side, remount the doors (they are on, but they need some work still), the trim that goes around the top shingles and the trim that goes along the bottom of the building. Of course, there is caulking and painting to do as well.

Dad is coming back out sometime next week to help me get the project finished. Since carpentry is not one of my gifitings, I was hoping somebody would take care of this project for me. That did not happen, but because of it, I've been able to spend some quality time with my Dad, and that's better than finding somebody else to do the job.

Made Me Laugh

2010-05-04T07:44:00.002-05:00

Geocaching

2010-05-02T23:43:00.003-05:00

The weather was nice today and I had the itch to do something outside (something fun, unlike mowing the yard!). I was torn between geocaching and riding my bicycle. I asked Amanda if she wanted to geocache today and she said "yes", so that settled that. I miss geocaching and I REALLY miss geocaching with GeoPunkin.

Amanda's ability to find caches that I cannot find is not my only reason for wanting to geocache with her, but it sure makes life easier. This was our first cache today, a multi (find the cache at the given location, and it will give you coordinates to another "leg" of the trip...this one had three legs). These little gnomes guarded the caches along the way, and Amanda found the first one.

OK, this picture is totally staged. Amanda got a new cammo shirt this weekend and could not wait to go geocaching with me so we could both wear our cammo shirts. She also wanted to find an ammo box cache today because they are full of fun-for-kids trade items. We intended to take our picture together when we found our fifth, and last, cache today (the ammo box), but we forgot. Next best thing? Come home, grab an ammo box, stand in front of some bushed and let Mom take a picture. Now if only the bushes had been a little taller so you could not see the house in the background!

Mower Help

2010-05-02T23:34:00.002-05:00

A couple years ago, I put Amanda on my lap and gave her a ride on the riding lawn mower. Ever since that day, She has been consumed with the idea of driving the mower. On Saturday, I had to mow my yard and the church fields surrounding my house. I took a small patch in the field right behind our back yard, "cut out" a square, put the mower in second gear (say "granny gear") and let Amanda give it a try.

Once Amanda understood which tire to put on "the line", things went better. She gave it a good effort and most of the grass in her little area got cut. Next time, we'll work on comprehending straight lines.

Owl Update

2010-04-29T00:21:00.004-05:00

As I was walking home from church tonight, I heard some odd animal sounds coming from the trees in the field next to my house. I also thought I saw a bird swooping in and out of the trees. With all of the bird activity at our house this week, I grabbed a flashlight and went to check it out.

As I scanned the trees with my flashlight, I found 3 baby owls and the swooping bird I saw was the mother bird bringing them food. The sound I heard was the baby owls crying out for momma to bring them food!

I didn't think my camera would pick up the owls in the dark, but as you can see from these pictures, it did (click on the pictures to see a larger version). These are the three baby owls...Momma Owl wouldn't stay long enough for me to get her picture.

Brooke Visits The ER

2010-04-27T23:23:00.002-05:00

Tonight Amanda wanted to ride bikes...something she and I do together. Brooke said she wanted to join us, so we got out the third bike and went for a ride. We made a few laps around the church parking lot and then headed out to the neighborhood.

The third bike we have is more a youth-size bike and the seat is not so comfortable, so I offered to let Brooke ride my bike once we were headed home. Brooke was trying out bike riding (first time in 20 years!) to see if she could ride without it hurting her back. She was considering making bicycle riding a new family activity. That was all before "the incident". Brooke was aiming for the sidewalk, took a turn too fast and then...well, not sure what happened next, but all I saw was her fall off the bike and onto Kelly Elliott. Thankfully there were no cars in the near lane at the time or this could have been a much more serious post.

Amanda and I rode up to see if she was OK. She said she could not get up and that her arm really hurt. I helped her up, rode home, got a vehicle and came back to pick up Brooke, Amanda and the other two bikes. We stopped at a nurse friend's house on the way and decided it would be a good idea to get an x-ray. Brooke was hurting but fairly calm. Amanda, on the other hand was crying and very worried about her mother.

They know us well at Medical Center of Arlington. Brooke was the last one but has now made it complete...everybody in our house has visited the MCA emergency room. Despite the pain, an x-ray showed no broken bones, no chips and nothing that needed casting, so thank you, Jesus, for that. They gave Brooke a sling and medication for pain. The arm has been hurting since we got home, but she's sleeping now and we're thankful nothing is broken and thankful for no traffic on Kelly Elliott at that time. Not exactly the best way to spend a Tuesday night, but we're thankful to be home with no broken bones.

Sunday Picnic and Stuff

2010-04-25T23:22:00.004-05:00

We had a church picnic after service today. Beautiful weather and God's food (hamburgers) was served!

Had to take a picture of Ed's grilling hat. I don't know if that's what he calls it, but I've never seen him wear it any other time.

Brooke and I came home from the picnic and took a nap. Amanda, on the other hand, partied with Polly and friends.

Green Thumb Saturday

2010-04-25T23:14:00.007-05:00

On Saturday, Brooke decided she and Amanda would start a "garden". We don't have a good spot in the back yard, so the Hurt garden will be potted. Here is Amanda's pot.

We have it all...pots, seeds, watering bucket, hand spade, potting soil, fertilizer and plants. OK, I'm sure that's not all, but pretty much if it was in the plant aisle, Brooke picked up at least one.

Brooke working on the Topsy Turvy strawberries.

Despite my total lack of green thumb and lack of desire to have one, I got pulled in to help. Brooke is stuffing the Topsy Turvy with strawberry plants.

Hopefully our next picture here will have STRAWBERRIES in it!

Teaching Fridays

2010-04-25T23:09:00.002-05:00

I enjoy teaching computers on Fridays at ECIA, Arlington (the charter school Amanda attends). This is one of my second grade students. We were drawing on the board the path taken by a digital camera taking the picture to viewing it on our school network.

Baby Owl Finds His Way Home

2010-04-23T22:01:00.004-05:00

Last night a baby owl showed up in our back yard. It was obvious he had "flown the coop" a bit early and could not fly. Both parents watched as he hopped around, and by the time we went to bed, I did not have much confidence he would make it through the night (we have cats, foxes and other predators around here).
At 9am today, I looked out the window and was surprised to see the baby owl in our back yard. He was flapping around and seemed scared. Both parents were in the trees still watching him. I tried looking up some sort of bird or owl rescue to ask what to do to help the little guy because it seemed obvious he was going to get eaten...but I couldn't find anything online.
We went back out to check on him and he managed to start climbing a tree. He grabbed the tree with his claws, flapped his wings and literally walked up the tree. I ran back in to get the video camera again and as I was videoing the owl in the tree, I saw something else move. I zoomed in and saw another baby owl peeking out a hole in the tree. Our little guy found his way home!
I took the video camera to school today to show my students and we used it as an opportunity to learn a little about video editing. The second grade class named the owl Chubbykins, and so we put his name in the video. My wonderful junior high class, while making their own owl video, started playing around with my video camera and taped over the original video (which made me OH SO HAPPY when I found out tonight). Anyway, the only video footage this is left is what we did in the second grade class today, so the name Chubbykins is forever tied with the owl video. (Yes, I realize I could edit the video, but this copy is already degraded from the original and if I edit and re-render, the quality will be very poor).
So here is Chubbykin's story on video.

More Animals

2010-04-23T01:00:00.004-05:00

I had to go by the church to get something this evening, so I headed out the back door. As I approached the gate, I saw the owl sitting on the fence (we've seen it around before). I could not believe how close it let me get to it on the way out.

When I came back from the church, I looked on the fence and noticed the owl was gone. I looked up and saw it on the power line above me. As I approached the gate, I saw another owl on the ground. That's when I figured out that the one on the ground was a baby owl and perhaps that is why it let me get so close earlier.

Because Amanda is an animal lover, I went inside and told her to put on her shoes. I told her about the owl and said, "Let's see how close it will let us get". The owl was just on the other side of the chain link fence...like maybe a foot from the fence. We walked within a couple feet of the fence and it just looked at us.

With an opportunity like this, we ran back in the house and grabbed the camera. This time, we walked right up to the fence and the owl still did not move. I put the camera near the ground between the links of the fence and got this picture. I cropped it to make the owl easier to see, but as you can tell from the detail in the picture (click on it to make it larger), I was able to get within two feet of the little guy.

Amanda and I watched for another 20 minutes while both parents watched the baby, swooped down to where he was and "called" to him. The baby could hop and flap his wings, but it did not appear he could fly. We wanted to "help" but did not know to put the baby owl, plus, we figured the parents had a bit more experience than we did. So we said good night, left the parents to do their "owl thing" and said a short prayer for the little guy at bed time.

Survivor - TEXAS Style!

2010-04-21T10:00:00.002-05:00

Texas is planning to produce its own version of the reality-show "Survivor."

The eight teams of contestants will all start in Dallas, then drive to Waco, Austin, San Antonio, then over to Houston and down to Brownsville. They'll proceed up to Del Rio, El Paso, Midland, Odessa, Lubbock, and Amarillo. From there they head to Abilene, Fort Worth and finally drive back to Dallas.

Each team will be driving a pink Volvo with different bumper stickers that read:

1. Vote Democrat

2. Honk If You Love Same-Sex Marriage

3. Boycott Beef

4. I Love the Dixie Chicks

5. Obama 2012

6. George Strait Sucks

7. Hillary For President

8. I'm Here to Confiscate Your Guns

The first team to make it back to Dallas alive wins.

Great Bible Reading Plan

2010-04-19T23:51:00.002-05:00

When I was in college, I discovered a Bible reading plan that would get me through the Bible in a year, and I gave it a try. I made it through that first year (despite my normal, busy college schedule), and I developed a habit. Each year, since then, I've followed a Through-The-Bible-In-A-Year plan. No, I have not completed it every single year, but all that reading has definitely instilled a hunger for God's Word in my heart.

At the end of last year, I was preparing to start through the Bible-In-A-Year when I ran across this Bible reading plan suggested by my friend Roy on his Facebook page. The plan is Professor Grand Horner's Bible reading system. You can read all about from this PDF file, but here's my "short" description.

Professor Horner divided the Bible up into 10 lists. To follow the plan, you read one chapter from each list every day (10 chapters a day). Because of the way the system is set up, you will never again read the same 10 chapters together in one day. The idea is to fill your mind/heart with the Word of God and to let the Scripture interpret itself. For instance, you may read a chapter in the book of Isaiah and then in your chapter from Matthew, you read where Jesus quoted and/or fulfilled that Scripture.

I was intrigued by the idea and so I took Professor Horner's challenge...I tried the plan for a month and I was hooked! Although I have missed a day here and there, this past weekend I read my 1,000th Bible chapter this year! I am so excited!! After several years of Bible-In-A-Year plans, I sometimes found myself reading just to complete the Bible in a year, but since beginning this plan, I just WANT to sit down and read God's Word.

There is nothing magical about this Bible reading plan over any other. And I am not bragging on myself. I am just thankful for a tool that has stoked my love for God's Word and is stuffing me FULL of His Word.

If you are a regular Bible reader, I encourage you to check out this plan. If it sounds like too much for you, that's fine...I just encourage you to find a plan and follow it. A Bible reading plan will help you be purposeful in your reading of God's Word, it can help keep you regular in your reading and it will give you a healthy, balanced diet of His Word.

How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word. 10 I have tried hard to find you—don’t let me wander from your commands. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. 12 I praise you, O Lord; teach me your decrees. 13 I have recited aloud all the regulations you have given us. 14 I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. 15 I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. 16 I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word. (Psalm 119:9-16, NLT)

A Lazy Saturday

2010-04-17T23:12:00.005-05:00

Almost looks picture perfect! When I got up this morning, the dogs were the only ones who got up with me. I loaded the dogs in the car and ran to Kroger to get the waffle mix, milk and orange juice. Brooke already had the strawberries and powdered sugar to complete this pretty picture (and yummy breakfast!)

No, I was NOT sewing, but I was helping Amanda thread her sewing machine. After several "issues" we finally got it fixed.