Talking with the Humanists

After Amanda went to bed last night, I sat down to blog. As I logged in to Blogger.com, they had a little scrolling marquee with blogs that had been updated recently. I saw one entitled Humanist News so I thought I'd go check it out. No, I'm not searching for answers, but I try to get a glimpse of what non-Christians are thinking sometimes, and I thought this might be a good opportunity. The first article I read was 'Not One Nations 'Under God'. There was a comment there that caught my attention. It said, "Also, we need to remember why 'under God' was put in the Pledge in the first place: for the sole purpose of distinguishing Americans from atheistic communists, thereby establishing that all Americans ascribe to a religion that involves a belief in God." I thought this was wonderful. It was the first time I have ever heard a Humanist admit that our government purposely desired to be Christian. If you've read any of the writings of our Founding Fathers, you know that our great nation was founded on Biblical principles and a faith in the God of heaven. But so many people today try to push the separation of church and state issue to make it sound like America was created to be a religion free country. I was so excited to hear a Humanist admit, in a way, that our government desired to be a nation that acknowledges God I just had to comment on their post. They did not particularly appreciate my comment and two writers from the blog commented. It did not help me look particularly intelligent when I commented on America's 2,000 year heritage! I know it has not been 2,000 years since 1776, so I have no idea what I was thinking! Anyway, posted again to correct my mistake (which they pointed out) and to comment on their comments.

So after this "adventure", I was curious enough to check out some of the links on their site. Next, I went to the American Humanist Association web page. The first article I read there was New National Day of Prayer a Diversion (the link on their site is not working at the moment so I cannot link you to the story). Here's the lead in to the story, "Now the president is manipulating religion and disregarding the rights of those of minority faiths and philosophies in order to deflect criticism from his administration’s poor response to the Hurricane Katrina crisis..." The guy complained that Presiden Bush left out Buddahists and other religions by calling for a National Day of Prayer, and then there was the ever-present attack against President Bush saying he was using this as a diversion because of his supposed failures concerning Katrina. I couldnt' take it anymore, so I sent the author an e-mail. I think I rambled a lot in the e-mail because instead of better understanding how Humanists think, I was more confused after reading some stuff on their web sites. At the end of my e-mail, I asked Mr. Speckhardt:

1. What hope to American Humanists offer?
2. How would a Humanist define what is good and bad?
3. With all of the opportunities to help people and do "good" in America (again, what is the Humanist definition here), why is getting God out of American public life such an important priority?

With all that needs to be done to help Katrina victims (and the Humanists even have a link on their page to help them), is getting President Bush not to have a day of prayer a big priority? And it just does not make sense to me why Humanists would spend so much time and energy trying to kick God out of American public life if they don't even believe He exists? And if they hate God being part of who America is, why don't they go to a country where God is not welcome (there are a lot of them)? I'm not saying "you have to believe like me or leave", but why try to destroy our heritage as a great nation just because YOU have a beef with God? Humanists would say we were a nation founded on their "right" not to believe in God. Ok, I could maybe go along with that. But we were never founded as a nation that turned it's back on God or refused to recognize His divine hand on us as a nation. In America, you don't have to believe in God, just don't try to change our country into something our Founding Fathers NEVER desired...a godless nation.

As I read back over my e-mail to Mr. Speckhardt and my original post on the Humanist News blog, I easily saw that my questions and comments were not nearly as refined as all of their writings. I want to dialog with these people, but as reasonable and logical as my faith is to me, I will never be able to communicate on the level of their writings. This reminded me of what the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:17-31 (NASB)

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE,AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE." Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD."

I'll let you know if anything comes of the dialog.

- Rob

Lazy Day

Today has been a relaxing day. It was Brooke's day to sleep in, so I got up and got Amanda ready for school. After walking her to school, I came home got a shower and sat down to read my Bible. It was nice and cool outside (cool for Texas anyway), so I opened the front and back doors. As I was sitting at the table looking at how nice it was outside I thought how silly it was to sit inside and look outside when have the table and chairs on the back porch. So I went outside and read my Bible a while longer. I had big plans for the day, a lot of stuff I wanted to add to the church web page, but it was SO nice outside I had to take advantage of it. I went inside, grabbed my book (Battle Born) and a snack and sat down to do some more reading. Brooke got up around 10:30am and brought her cup of coffee and book out on the porch to read with me. We read for another hour and it was SO relaxing. Boo and Sully ran and chased each other outside this whole time and have been totally useless this evening doing nothing but sleep.

This afternoon, I did do some work on the church web page. I worked on some forms so people can sign up to help with upcoming Block Parties and worked on an online SHAPE Inventory (more on that another time). We went to pick up Amanda from school, I took a short nap, Brooke fixed dinner and then we did some homework tonight.

I'm going to post this (without the appropriate picture for now I guess) and try to do a little more reading before I turn in for the night. I've gotten to that "can't put it down" part of my book and want to read until I fall asleep. It's been a good, lazy day.

- Rob

If We Had Only Recorded The Whole Episode

Well, we have set a new all-time high for drama at the Hurt home. Amanda has had a loose tooth (she has lost one already) for a while and she got it real loose last night. She worked on it after school and then after dinner before homework. We started homework a little late trying to give her time to get the tooth out. After homework, it was so loose I knew she would get it pulled. We were late starting her bath because she was working on the tooth. I thought she was being dramatic then, but there was more to come.

Amanda went to school today with the loose tooth and I knew she would pull it at school for the attention she would get. Brooke and I even stopped by during her lunch time to see if she had lost it. Apparently she now wanted it to "fall out on it's own." When she came home, she thought of little else other than the tooth, but she did not want to pull it. When Brooke and I offered to pull it she would just about go crazy. You would have thought we were asking her if she wanted to be buried alive in a giant fire ant mound! Finally I told her she would have to pull the tooth, let me pull it or miss out on McDonald's with the bus kids tonight (because I did not want to go through the whole "my tooth hurts" scene with her at McDonald's with all the Jr. High students there). This seemed to have hit an emotional chord with Amanda as she instantly broke out crying. I explained to her that she was not in trouble and was not being punished, but I just was not going to go through this scene in public. Then she cried some more because she wanted to go to McDonald's. I told her it was as simple as pulling her tooth. Then she cried because that would hurt.

She ended up making such a big scene I dragged her home. I was prepared to do whatever it took to get that tooth out. Her mother, equally frustrated but apparently fearing what I might do, followed me home. We told Amanda to pull her tooth or we would. She "tried" but could not get it. We told her to hold my hand and Brooke would pull it. This is where the Oscar award winning acting began! Amanda's lip began to tremble, she cried, she hyper-ventilated. I remember thinking, "if she passes out, at least we can get the tooth out". Amanda would not pull the tooth and she fought Brooke when she tried. I finally had to tell her I would pin her down on the floor and pull it if she did not let Brooke do it. She fought once more and I had her laid out on the floor when she begged to let Brooke do it. Finally she grabbed my hands and screamed bloody murder while Brooke pulled it out. There was no yanking, tugging, twisting or pulling necessary...it simply came right out. After what she figured was enough of an emotional reaction to this "trauma", Amanda was laughing and ready to head back over to the church to show everybody her "triumph". If we had only recorded the whole episode, we could have sent it in to America's Funniest Home Videos, won their grand prize and then sent it to Hollywood where Amanda would surely have made it big time...if nothing else they could have used her screaming for a horror movie!

- Rob

We Just Hope Our Friends Were Kidding

Today was an interesting day. If you read yesterday’s blog, you may recall I played some volleyball last night. When I came home from playing, I felt fine. I showered, blogged, read and went to bed all without incident. Things were going well until some time in the middle of the night I noticed I woke myself up in pain every time I turned over. My back started hurting pretty bad. I got up this morning and couldn’t even walk normal. I could tell it was a muscle ache, so I figured it work its way out like usual. Well, this was no usual backache…around 9:30am I was thinking about coming home and trying to lay back down it hurt so bad. Brooke suggested the heating pad, so I got that, put it in my chair at work and things started getting a little better. By noon, I was uncomfortable but at least I could do what I needed to do. This evening, it is still uncomfortable just sitting here, but it’s much better than this morning. Thirty-six is not old, but I sure felt old this morning.

I guess ‘tonight’ was somehow in competition with ‘today’ to see who could have the best story to blog about. Last time we went to Mercardo Juarez Mexican restaurant, Brooke filled out some card and found out she won a free meal…a meal for six no less. Being the good friends that we are, we called four of our good friends and invited them out for a free meal. Oh yeah, I think we forgot to mention the little “fire safety presentation” at the end of the meal. Well, that’s what we thought, anyway. You see, they told us the meal was free and that there was a “little” fire safety presentation we would have to sit through for our meal. I don’t know what Brooke was thinking, but in my mind, it would go something like this: the six of us go out to eat, pick what we want off the menu, enjoy the meal and hanging out together then somebody would come to our table and do a 15-20 minute fire safety/sales pitch presentation. It seems my mind’s eye wasn’t seeing 20/20 on this matter! When we got there, we were ushered into a room with 40-50 other people. The salesman shook our hand as we came in. Everybody got fajitas (so at least the food was good) and then the guy gave us our fire safety lesson and his sales pitch the rest of the evening. We got to talk to our friends for about 10 minutes at the beginning. It took that long for them to find something civil to say to us after they found out what we had gotten them into! The food was good, the salesman had a good pitch and we learned another lesson. We’ve been suckered by Silver Leaf Resorts and now MaterGuard. We just hope our friends were kidding when they said they put our address on their form and marked that they would like a visit!

- Rob

Must be a Quote from a Youth Pastor

I must hurry,
for there they go
and I am their leader

Bet You Can't Find Me

(From the Archives)

Shhh...I'm Hiding

(From the Archives)

Here I Am!

(from the Archives)

I Guess That Leaves Me with the Beanbag

It's been a pretty relaxing weekend for me. Friday night, the church had a lock in for 6-7 year olds. I have relaxed this weekend because I did NOT help with that! Brooke and Amanda were there, so I read almost all day Friday. I finished Monster by Frank Peretti. I've been reading a book by Francis Schaeffer (can't even remember the exact name now), but I've since moved on. I was 80 pages into the book waiting to see if I was going to be able to get anything about it. The quote from Martin Luther below came from this book, but after that I pretty much got lost. Anyway, I'm reading another novel, Battle Born by Dale Brown and I'll pick up a small group book from church tomorrow and read that at the same time. Brooke and I are in a reading mode right now and are really enjoying it.

Saturday was not too exciting. Brooke slept a lot trying to catch up from the lock in. Apparently Amanda got enough sleep because she didn't slow down much. I took a nap and cleaned at church. The lady who cleans our church has her 90 year old mother living with her. Her mother passed away Thursday night so she had a lot going on Saturday. I will be going to the funeral tomorrow while Brooke delivers food from the church to the family and watches kids during the funeral.

Today was church. Pastor preached good message on giving ourselves to the Lord and using our talents, gifts and abilities. After the message, lots of people signed up to for a number of ministry opportunities around the church. We took a nap this afternoon (again, "we" would be Brooke and I) and then we all went to the park to hang out with the Young Marrieds group. Brooke talked and played a little volleyball, I played volleyball and Amanda played with her friends.

Brooke is now in the "reading chair" so I guess that leaves me with the beanbag for reading.

- Rob

Where the Battle Rages, There the Loyalty of the Soldier is Proved

If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.

- Martin Luther

Everybody At Bible Study Heard Her Screaming

Today was "the day"...Amanda went back to the dentist to get her teeth cleaned and to look at the chipped molar. The good news is she was a big girl and got the teeth cleaned without a problem this time. The bad news, and it was BAD, is that she has two cavities (despite brushing twice a day) and one will require a crown. The total damage could come to over $700, and that is on top of the $160 today. I'm sure we'll manage, but we are praying for a financial miracle to take care of all of this unexpected expense. But things got better from there.

This afternoon Stan (a fellow associate pastor at the church) and I started working on the bus. The fan switch went out on the air which makes it nice and toasty picking up kids in 100 degree weather. Trying to save the church money, Stan and I attacked the problem with great bravado. Last week we took the air conditioner/heater panel out and found some burned up wires and a melted plug on the fan control switch. Just $35 later we thought we had the parts to fix the problem. Today, we took the old parts off and put on the new. We held our breath, cranked up the bus and then Stan had to slap me and tell me to start breathing again 'cause I was still holding my breath waiting for the air to come on...no air. Oh, I forgot to mention that before our "repair job" the air would come on, but you could not turn the blower up or down. Now, no air came on at all. Being the natural mechanics that we are and looking at all the unplugged stuff still in the little hole where the control panel came from we asked, "I wonder what all of these go to?" After twisting the AC control panel this way and that, we found someplace to plug something in and decided to look for a plug that might fit it. Sure enough, one of those "I-wonder-what-this-is-for" thingamajiggies fit, so we plugged that in. We held our breath again (actually, I kept breathing because I didn't want Stan to have to slap me again), cranked the engine and wa-la...the air came on! We now know the answer to the age old question, "How many associate pastors does it take to rewire an AC fan switch". The answer is two! So we figure we saved the church around $200 and we were quite proud of ourselves.

A few hours later, it was time to trade in my bus mechanic hat and come home. After a yummy spaghetti meal (Brooke makes GREAT spaghetti), Brooke left for ladies' Bible study while Amanda and I hit the books. Since we had a long weekend and since we try to avoid homework on Wednesday nights, we had a LOT of math and reading to do tonight. I got a short video clip of her reading...still seems like she progresses every day. After that, Amanda wanted to go outside and play with the water hose while I ran over to the church and got a book I want to start reading tonight. When I came back through the yard, Amanda wanted me to play with her. How can you play with a child who has a garden hose without getting wet? I, for one, do NOT like the cold, and when you get sprayed with a water hose you definitely get cold. For 20 minutes or so, we took turns chasing each other with the water hose until we were both thoroughly soaked and cold. Amanda came in, got a bath and headed to bed. We talked about the fun we had today, what a big girl she was at the dentist and then we prayed together before she fell asleep.

Brooke got home from Bible study just a few minutes ago. She asked if Amanda was outside tonight and I said "yes". She said everybody at Bible study heard her screaming and having a good time during our water fight!

So now, Brooke is sitting in "the reading chair" reading her book. I'm gonna finish posting this and read a bit myself.

- Rob

I Think That Was My Favorite Part Of My Whole Day

It's almost 11pm on Sunday night, and I'm just sitting here chillin' listening to David Sanbourn on Yahoo! Music. I switched from Napster to Yahoo! Music just a few weeks ago when we got our new Dell Pocket DJ mp3 player. First of all, Yahoo! Music is cheaper than Napster. Napster was $9.95/month and Yahoo! (probably because it is new) is only $6.99/month. With Napster, I would have had to pay $14.95/month to be able to transfer my "rented" music to our DJ, whereas that is part of the service with Yahoo! Music at no extra charge. I spent some time tonight loading up some good music on the DJ...some good peaceful music for playing at bed time, Jerry Reed, a guy most people have never heard of named Randy Cutlip, some Beach Boys and Hooked on Classics.

I'm also chillin' because I've been relaxing with a good book tonight. I like to read, but as I've shared before, when I read what I call a "good for me" book, I read so SLOW because I underline everything and don't sit down to read that long at one stretch. If it is a book I am reading purely for enjoyment (i.e. I am not going to teach from it, therefore I do not have to underline), I read faster and more in one sitting. Anyway, I have found when I read a book purely for enjoyment, I am so much more relaxed. I can sit and read a computer newsletter online or read a book about small groups (both of which I enjoy), but they do not relax me like reading a non-study book.

I just finished "Under and Alone" which is a true story about an ATF agent who went under cover with the Mongols, and outlaw motorcycle gang worse than Hell's Angels (if you can imagine such a thing). I just picked up the book at the library on Friday and finished it tonight...it was that good. This guy was under cover for 2 1/2 years. I cannot imagine living that lifestyle for 2 1/2 days, let alone 2 1/2 years. It was quite an adrenaline rush. They guy did a great job of writing the book. Since it is written in the first person and you are reading the book, it's kinda a no-brainer to figure out he did not get caught and killed, but he did a good job of giving you a little bit of what it must have felt like to be around people all the time who would have killed you without a second thought if they knew who you really were. The other part that made the book so interesting was the agent's inner struggle after sharing 2 1/2 years of his life with these guys. He knew they were REALLY bad and needed to be in prison, but he had developed quite a relationship with some of the guys he was with. After all the time with them, he had to face many of them in court and testify against them putting them in jail for years. Pretty good book.

We've had people in and out all day. Our church is a drop-off point for supplies to help the hurricane victims who have moved here to the Metroplex. Since the church is closed today and tomorrow, our house garage is the temporary drop off point. We've had a number of people come by today dropping off stuff.

This afternoon, I went and played racquetball with some guys from the church. It was a lot of fun, but I've figured out I'm not much of a doubles player. I could hold my own with the guys I was playing against, but I just didn't do a very good job helping whoever was partner. Spent way too much time saying "I'm sorry" to suit me. But still, it was a great time hanging out with the guys.

When I came home, Brooke and Amanda headed out to a park not too far from the house to hang out with some people from church. I was too wiped out from racquetball, so I stayed home, chilled and read. Brooke and Amanda came home around 9:30pm and then Brooke went back out with the "girls". Amanda got a bath, and then she and I sat on the couch and just talked while eating some popcorn. I think that was my favorite part of my whole day. So Amanda is in bed, Brooke is out, I'm done blogging so I think I'm gonna read more of the small group book I started ("Cell-Driven Church") and listen to the rest of this David Sanbourn CD on Yahoo! Music.

-Rob

Answer Those Who Cry Out to You

Dear God,

As I read through my posts of the past few days and then I watch the news...I'm convicted. People have lost everything and I'm focused on my racquetball game. It's not that racquetball is wrong, I guess I just know I need to be praying more. Our church is mobilizing to help. The need is just so overwhelming.

Oh God, how can people say we don't need You or act like You don't exist? How can people watch the news and think that man is basically good? Look how scary people get when they are part of a mob. I don't see how anyone can live through this and not turn to You, and yet some people try to blame You. We are a sinful nation, and I repent.

Lord, I pray for those who have lost loved ones. I cannot imagine how that must feel, and then losing your home and all you have on top of that. God, I pray that You will be the strength for those who have no more strength. I pray for the rescue workers as this must be an overwhelming task. I pray for those responsible for making decisions on how to get help out to people...directors of National Security, FEMA, the Red Cross and others. God, I pray for our police officers and military who are putting their lives on the line to serve. Please keep them safe.

And God, as I think of the looters, all I can think about prayer-wise is how David, in the Psalms, prayed that you would avenge him of his enemies and how he prayed for You to destroy them. It's one thing to be in desperate need of food and water, but God, I pray for swift judgment against those who are pillaging people's homes and places of business. I pray God that your judgment would move swiftly.

Why is this not a wake up call to our country, God? How can people not look at this and see how ill-prepared we are to face this one problem. Yes, it's huge, but what would have happened if 5 cities had flooded like New Orleans? What if 5 cities had been nuked? We can't take care of people like we need to, people pillage and riot and the drop of a hat, mob mentality is taking over, people are dying from lack of care and everybody from hospitals to schools are overwhelmed. Oh God, our country needs You like never before! Let this humble us and show us our dependency on You. God, use this to CRUSH our self-reliance...we are totally reliant on You.

Lord, I pray for the children living through this. God, those who have been separated from their parents. Reunite them quickly I pray. Protect the children. Be a Father to those who have lost parents. God, be with those who have nothing on which to build. If Arlington were destroyed, God where would I go? I cannot imagine the hopeless feeling this must bring to so many people. God, let them turn to You. Be their source I pray.

Answer those who cry out to You.

-Rob

Top TEN

TOP TEN REASONS I LIKE TEN TODAY

10. 10 is 3/4 of the way to 15
9. It takes TWO hands to hold up 10 fingers
8. 10 is more than 3
7. 10 has been a goal of mine
6. You can score 10 points playing racquetball
5. 10 means you're not completely out of somebody's league
4. 10 is a respectable score if you have to loose
3. 15 to 10 doesn't sound too bad
2. I got 10 points playing racquetball this morning.
1. I got 10 points playing racquetball against Chuck this morning!

-Rob

P.S. If this post doesn't make sense to you, read previous posts!

All That Fun Just Wore Us Out

Brooke got to go to dinner with some of the ladies she used to work with last night which meant that Amanda and I were on our own. After a gormet meal of BBQ weenies and macaroni & cheese, we did some homework. We spent about 25 minutes reading and doing some math work, and then it was time for something "fun".

We took Boo and Sully with us and headed out on our adventure. Our first stop was McDonalds for a chocolate shake for Amanda and a chocolate dipped cone for Daddy. Then we headed over to Lake Arlington. We knew this might be "interesting" because Sully (or Schnauzer) is a BIG chicken dog and he barks at everything that scares him. So when it was time to walk, we kept telling Sully what a good and brave boy he was, and he did pretty well. We walked, Amanda played on the playground, we watched some boats get put into the lake and then we watched the geese walking around. The part about watching the geese didn't last too long because Sully saw them...and started barking at them...NON-STOP. It was time to go home anyway, so we loaded everybody into the car and headed home.

Once home, Amanda got a bath (to wash off all the mud she picked up walking near the lake) and she got into bed around 8:30pm. I always lay in the bed with her and pray with her (and usually get coerced into telling an animal story as well), so I laid down and we prayed. I was tired, so I thought I'd take a quick nap. Well, the quick nap lasted for an hour until I got up and moved into my own bed. I woke up at 10:15pm when Brooke came home, but I didn't get up. I slept in until 5:15am this morning, so I guess I got in my 8 hours of sleep for the night. All of that fun just wore us out!

It Makes for Good Family Time

We've got a new routine in the Hurt household...dinner, HOMEWORK, play, bath and then bed. Kindergarten had a little assignment here and there to do together, but now we've started homework for real! Brooke and I could not believe all of the stuff Amanda is supposed to learn this year according to her teacher, Mrs. Foreman, in our first parent meeting. We read, read, read and then read some more. Then there is math homework, too. Right now, we are doing things like 4+1=? so Daddy can help. By the time Amanda gets in Jr. High, she will be beyond Daddy's ability to help in math! But tonight we read together (wow, it really does seem like she does better each and every day), and in the picture here, we are playing a word "game" to learn how to spell words and put sentences together. For now, Amanda enjoys all this learning so it makes for good family time. We are praying she will always enjoying learning this much.

God Answers

Friday evening, Brooke got a very scary phone call...MaMa Gin (her grandmother) had a stroke.  The ambulence was taking her to the hospital as Brooke spoke to her sister on the phone.  As Friday came to a close, the doctors confirmed that it was indeed a stroke that appeared to have happened on her left side paralizing her right side and taking away her speech as well.  Jill (Brooke's sister) said MaMa Gin just had a blank stare on her face.

On Saturday, Brooke called and MaMa Gin seemed to be doing a bit better.  She was moving her left arm and when Jill put the phone to her ear and Brooke spoke to her, her eyes light up.

On Sunday, Brooke called, Jill put the phone to MaMa Gin's ear and after Brooke said, "I love you Mama Gin, and I'm praying for you", MaMa Gin said "OK, thank you"...she was talking!

Today, she is talking more, doing what the doctors are asking her to do and was even sitting up tonight.  The doctors say she will probably need 24 hour care now, but they are encouraged with how well she is doing.  We are thankful for prayer and that God answers!

Brooke spending some "quality time" with the doggies

Give Me Understanding

Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your law. I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your laws. I cling to your decrees. Lord, don't let me be put to shame! If you will help me, I will run to follow your commands.

Teach me, O Lord, to follow every one of your principles. Give me understanding and I will obey your law; I will put it into practice with all my heart. Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found. Give me an eagerness for y our decrees; do not inflict me with love for money! Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word. Reassure me of your promise, which is for those who honor you. Help me abandon my shameful ways; your laws are all I want in life. I long to obey your commandments! Renew my life with your goodness. Psalm 119:28-40, NLT

I love Psalms 119...almost every single verse (all 176 verses) mentions God's Word. I had a conversation just this week with a very educated man at the place where I play racquetball. I got to talk to him for 30 minutes (mostly I listened) as he explained how he is a Christian but he sees no incompatibility between Scripture and the theory of evolution. He went on to explain how the Bible is full of spiritual truths but a lot of it is allegorical and should not be taken literally. He even went so far as to say that two people could come up with two completely different (i.e. contradictory) "truths" from the same passage and both of them be right. I listened to his thoughts about evolution since I had originally asked his opinion and about something and wanted to listen since I asked, but when he started talking about the Bible as mostly allegorical and subject to personal interpretation, I had to speak up. I agreed that two people may walk away from a passage with two different truths, but if the truths were contradictory, one or both of them had to be wrong. God was not confused when he spoke to the men writing the Bible and He does not contradict His Truth. I also took issue with the subjective nature of the Bible. God's Word is an absolute, objective standard. I could argue that from the Bible itself, but even from the standpoint of logic, this must be true in order for the Bible to of real value in living life. If God's Word is only as good as a person's interpretation, a crazy man's interpretation would have to be as good as Jesus himself when he quoted and explained the Old Testament prophets. It just doesn't work...God has given us objective Truth in His Word...it is our job to study and apply His Word to the best of our ability. Two people may get two different truths from the same passage, but if they are truly God's Truths, they will not be contradictory.

Teach me, O Lord, to follow every one of your principles. Give me understanding and I will obey your law; I will put it into practice with all my heart. (Psalm 119:22-24, NLT)

-Rob

Daddy, It Feels Like My Legs Are Controlling Me

Brooke picked up this treadmill at a garage sale for $15 last weekend. We were told it worked, so we got it hoping it really did. We plugged it in on the back porch and it worked, so we cleaned it up and brought it in the house. The treadmill part worked, but the digital part that shows how far you walked, how long, how fast, etc. did not work. Brooke found a battery compartment, replaced the batteries and "fixed the problem"...until the next day when the digital part quit working. Oh, they come on and show pretty "0's" across the display, but they never move. But hey, at least the treadmill part still works, so we're happy for $15.

When Amanda say it, she could not wait to use it. We put her on it and she wanted to run. I told her it was more about how long she could do it than how fast, so she determined to go LONG time. She walked about a mile and a quarter and decided she had enough. When she got off, she was a little wobbly and said, "Daddy, it feels like my legs are controlling me instead of me controlling them!"

-Rob

Visiting the Coolest Industrial Supply Place Around

This past Sunday, an engineer at our church who helps us work on equipment, etc told me he thought the capacitor went out on one of the fan motors on our big sanctuary air conditioner. We've got another guy at church who is a handy man at an apartment complex who has volunteered his services whenever we need AC work done. So I talked to the handy man Sunday and told him what we thought was going on. He said "no problem" and we arranged for him to come out Monday to put in a new capacitor. Well, Monday night did not work out for either of us, so we tried for Tuesday. Tuesday night he put the new capacitor on and nothing happened...still dead. He tested this and that and came to the conclusion that the motor was dead. He said we could order the motor ourselves and he could put it on saving us hundreds of dollars.

So on Wednesday, we called around and found a motor the same RPM and same horsepower. The guy took the motor out for me (complete with 26 inch fan) and I hauled all of that to the motor place he had called. Now keep in mind I am a "motor idiot"...I know nothing except "this is a motor, it is broken, I need a new one just like it". Short version of the story is, this place had a motor with similar specs except for the housing which was important since it had to go back into a very specific spot!

So Wednesday afternoon I called Lennox (since that is who made the AC unit, I thought that was a pretty good idea). They did have a motor, but it had to be ordered and picked up by an authorized Lennox dealer (which I am not at this current time). The handy man said call Grainger's (a super-cool monster part warehouse by the way) and see if they can get the motor. I called, gave them the model number and specs of my motor. They said they had one, so I drove the 30 minute drive to pick it up. Again, short version...right specs except for the size of the housing. Another major problem.

Well, I don't want to give the version that is so short that we miss all the "fun" stuff. First of all, remember I drove 30 minutes to get to this place. Then I bought the motor which came in a sealed box. I paid for it, loaded it into my car and started to leave. Then I remembered the other motor, you know, the other one that had similar specs but didn't fit. So I parked the car in a different parking spot and opened the box. Lo and behold, the motor had the wrong size housing again. So I got to stand in line for another 15 minutes to return the motor I just bought. And a short 30 minutes later, I was back at church.

On the way back to church, I called our AC guy...the one the church PAYS to come work on our stuff. He came out, took the old motor with him, got a new one, took the old fan blade off and put it on the new motor since NOBODY makes those fan blades anymore, and installed the motor. When he was done, I asked if I needed to sign anything or if he would just mail me the bad news. He said he'd mail it and then told me "You're not gonna like what they charged you for that motor". I told him the one I looked at from Grainger was $125. He looked at me like "We're not even talking in the same ballpark here." Oh boy, that will be fun when the bill comes in.

So, I called our handy man and told him what I had to do. I greatly appreciate the handy man's help (and he did do a lot of prevenative maintenance on our residential size air conditioners at church), but I've had a crazy two days learning about AC motors, where to go to have motors repaired and visiting the coolest industrial supply place around.

-Rob

Rob and Sully Just Chillin'

Guess I'll Have to Wear the Ones Brooke Thinks Are Ugly...

We got up and went to church this morning (nothing new there with it being Sunday and all) and my friend Stan preached. You can hear him online by visiting our church website at www.theVineFellowship.com and clicking on the Online Sermons link.

After church, Brooke informed me we were going out to lunch with our friends the Windles. Sounded good to me, so we met them (and a few teenagers/college kids) at Mercardo Juarez. Having polished off a LARGE plate of chicken quesadillas and WAY, WAY too many chips with salsa, I was sitting there thinking how miserably full I was. About that time I looked down at my watch and noticed it was 2:35 PM. Just a few moments after that, I remembered I was supposed to meet another friend, Aaron, for a 3:00 PM racquetball game! Not only was I STUFFED, but we did not have our check and I was running out of time to get there. Brooke told me she would catch a ride home, so I took off. I got home, hung all of my clothes over a chair, changed into my gym clothes and headed to the Maverick Club. It took about a game and a half to get all that Mexican food digested enough to play for real, but I managed. We played six games of which I won but two (sad).

Having sweated off what felt like 20 pounds (it looked more like 20 ounces), I headed for the showers and then came home. When I walked into my office to put my clothes away that had been hanging on the chair, I noticed my dress shoes (a Christmas present from Brooke) in the middle of the floor. I knew, if they survived, they would at least be missing shoelaces courtesty of whatever dog had dragged the shoe into the middle of the floor. Sure enough, I was missing the shoelaces from both of my shoes...along with the tongue in one of the shoes! I picked up the shoe and looked at Sully...he was ready to play fetch. I looked at Boo who immediately hunkered down and ran into the other room. "Accidently" the shoe "slipped" from my hand and went hurling in her direction as she ran for her cage (where she stayed locked up for the next hour).

So I was mad at Boo for the next hour thinking about my ruined shoes. But then Brooke let her out of her cage and she came running up to me to apologize (really). How can you stay mad at something that cute...and that genuninely sorry? OK, if you're not a dog person, I guess you could do it, but I couldn't. I loved her and now my dress shoes are but a fond memory. Guess I'll have to wear the ones Brooke thinks are ugly...until she gets tired of them again and buys me another pair.

-Rob

The Nicaragua Team at the Managua dump

Brooke holding Rosa

Brooke and the Kerrs in Nicaragua

Brooke and Meagan in the dump in Managua, Nicaragua

From My Devotions Today

Psalm 103, New Living Translation

Praise the LORD, I tell myself; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, I tell myself, and never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He ransoms me from death and surrounds me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle's. ...

The LORD is merciful and gracious; he is slow to get angry and full of unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He has not punished us for all our sins, nor does he deal with us as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our rebellious acts as far away from us as the east is from the west. The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he understands how weak we are; he knows we are only dust. ...

But the love of the LORD remains forever with those who fear him. His salvation extends to the children's children of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments.

I'll Grab a Bite Before We Leave

Nothing else too exciting has gone on so far this week. Tuesday night we went over to the Kerrs and cleaned their pool again while they are out town and then Amanda and I swam for a while.

Wednesday was a bit more interesting. Brooke took Amanda to the dentist because she has a molar that is either chipped or got a very large cavity very quickly. They wanted to clean her teeth first, but she threw a fit, started crying...the whole works. Brooke tried talking to her and I tried "talking" to her over the phone as only Daddy can do, but that didn't work either. She now has to go back in two weeks and try again. Mommy has promised her Polly Pockets or a Barbie if she is good, Daddy has threatened her within an inch of her life if she is not good. Hopefully one of those two approaches will work!

Wednesday afternoon, Brooke was not feeling to good so she decided she would not work at church that night (which she has done every single Wednesday since she went on staff). It was REALLY GREAT to have her at Life Group with me this week. I'm hoping she might be able to find somebody to rotate weeks with her so she can come to Life Group at least every other week.

Last night, I went with Dad to his church's men's meeting. I was invited to come and share and appreciated the invitation. We had some GREAT BBQ...brisket, sausage, hot links, baked beans and slaw (the only item I passed on). After the meal and hanging out for a bit, I shared my message using the letters of the word H.E.A.R.T. to share what God's Word says about our heart and how we can better overcome sin in our lives by serving God with our whole heart. It went well, the guys were very nice and the food was GREAT.

Today I was surfing the Internet before I posted this. I came across a page about the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The information there is copyrighted and I could not do it justice with a summary, so I'll just put the link HERE. I've linked to their FAQ page, and there is less than 5 minutes of reading there, but it is fascinating to read of the dedication of those guards and the honor they show at the Tomb. If you like to feel a patriotic beat to your heart, check it out.

Brooke is out getting some blood work done and will be back shortly so we can go have lunch with Amanda at school today. I skipped breakfast, so I think I'll grab a bite before we leave.

-Rob

Texas Mating Spiders

A father watched his daughter playing in the garden. He smiled as he reflected on how sweet and innocent his little girl was.

Suddenly she just stopped and stared at the ground. He went over to her and noticed she was looking at two spiders mating. "Daddy, what are those two spiders doing?" she asked. "They're mating," her father replied "

What do you call the spider on top, Daddy?" she asked. "That's a Daddy Longlegs." Her father answered. "So, the other one is Mommy Longlegs?" the little girl asked. "No," her father replied. "Both of them are Daddy Longlegs."

The little girl thought for a moment, then took her foot and stomped them flat. "Well, it might be OK in California or New York...but we're not having any of that going on in Texas."

Giving Metimucil to my Dog

Well, it has been a while since I've posted, so I'll have to catch you up on the past several days.

THURSDAY
Amanda, Brooke and I went to Amanda's school to meet her teacher for the year. We've been praying that she get a certain teacher, and we were thrilled to see that is who she got. Amanda was mostly excited that her best friend from last year is in her class once again. Amanda was very excited to start back to school.

Thursday night I had a meeting with our church Life Group leaders. It went well and was an encouraging time as leaders shared what was happening in their groups. I made a cherry cheese pie and lemon icebox pie to go along with the coffee for the meeting. (Note to self: next time make two lemon icebox pies and forget the cherry cheese pie. On the other hand, since less than half of it was gone, I actually got to bring some home. Scratch note to self.) Right after that was a meeting with the greeting team at church (ushers, greeters and the people who run the info booth). Pastor ran that meeting but I had notes, job descriptions and schedules to take care of. I was pretty tired by the time I got home.

FRIDAY
Some friends had given us tickets to Hurricane Harbor water park, and so as an end-of-summer blowout, Brooke, Amanda and I headed to the park for a few hours. It was fun and nobody got sunburned to bad, so it was a good day. That evening, I went with dad to the races in Grand Prairie. The sprint cars were there again and it was a good race.

SATURDAY
Saturday we slept in a bit, ran a few errands and then I spent the rest of day getting ready to Sunday.

SUNDAY
Pastor and family are out of town, so I got to preach on Sunday. You can visit our church web page, www.theVineFellowship.com and click on the "Sermons Online" link to listen to the message if you are so inclined. I shared a vision for Life Groups at the Vine. My parents came to church, as they usually do when I preach, and we went out to eat together afterwards (as we usually do). Then, to keep in the "as we usually do" pattern, I came home and took a nap, exhausted from the day. Silly me, I slept from 2:15pm to around 5:45pm, so when it was bedtime at 10:15pm, I could not sleep. An hour I got up. Instead of doing the smart thing and finding a book to read, I sat down and did some work on the church web page. I finished up what I was doing around 2:15am. Needless to say I did NOT get up at 5:15am to play racquetball this morning.

MONDAY
Amanda got up at 7:00am and got ready for the first day of school as a first grader. We all walked to school together and Amanda was ready to go. She walked into her class like a big girl, found her own locker and never looked back at Mom and Dad watching her from the classroom door. She is growing up way too fast for her Daddy! I keep trying to tell her she does not have my permission to grow up so fast, but she keeps doing it anyway.

And sometime between now and the last time I posted, we took Sully to the vet because of "stink problem" from his backside. To spare you the gross details, the doctor recommended Metimucil to "bulk him up" a bit and this would hopefully help clear up his problem. (If that doesn't make sense to you, I'm sorry, but I'm just remaining vague to spare you nasty details!). Anyway, he likes the orange flavor and it seemed to do it's job today. So that was one of the highlights of my week, too...giving Metimucil to my dog!

-Rob

THREE

Yup, it was a pretty cruddy morning. I've been off (from racquetball) for a week while Brooke was in Nicaragua and Chuck was on his game this morning. Three lousy points...and that was my high score having played several games. There were a couple games where I scored three, but that's it. THREE.

-Rob

A Friend Like Brad

This is a picture of my friend Brad. I was just listening to a pre-release cut of Brad's song Mercy Street from his album Mercy to be released September 14, 2005.

Brad is a great guy; a true friend and my right hand when I was in youth ministry. Brad came to our church in 1998 or 1999 when we were looking for a worship leader. Our church did not select Brad as worship leader at that time, but Brad knew he heard from the Lord that he and his family were supposed to be at our church, so they stayed. That says a lot about the kind of guy Brad is. Brad proved himself faithful (and more than up-to-the-job) and has now been our church's worship leader since 2003.

I can't say a lot about Brad's musical ability because I have so little ability in that area, but I know he is a man of integrity who knows the Word, is a gifted teacher and has a true pastor's heart for the people he works with. (Now don't get me wrong, Brad is a good musician and I enjoy his music...I'm listening to "Mercy" pre-release copy as I'm writing this...I just can't say describe his musical ability the way a musician could). You can visit our church web page at www.theVineFellowship.com and click on the STAFF link to see Brad's many accomplishments as a musician.

I didn't know Brad all that well until 2000 I think it was. I was youth pastor at the church and we had a youth worship team, led by youth group members. Jamin Gore had the vision to start a youth worship team and he left a legacy for No Compromise Youth that continues to this day. Ryan Kerr followed in Jamin's footsteps leading youth worship after Jamin graduated, but then in 2000, Ryan graduated as well leaving me with members of a worship team but nobody to lead them. As I prayed about it, Brad's name came to mind seemingly out of the blue. I had been thinking about and praying about the issue for several days before Brad's name came to mind. I took Brad out to lunch and shared my heart with him about youth worship and my desire to have him come work with us. Then the strangest thing happened...Brad told me he would love to do it, but he was just too busy at the time. It's not strange for people to be busy, and I actually appreciate the quality in people that allows them to say "no" when they can't do something to the best of their ability because they are doing too many other things, but it was strange that Brad would answer that way. Why? Because I knew the Lord told me to ask him. And then another strange thing happened...I just said "ok" and didn't think much more about the entire issue. I didn't have a worship leader, I had nobody else I felt good about asking, but I didn't stress about it (me not stressing about something is VERY strange!). It was almost like I didn't even think about it again until Brad told me a week or so later that he needed to talk to me. We got together again and Brad told me the Lord told him he was supposed to do youth worship. I didn't know that was going to happen, but I wasn't surprised either. I guess because of the "kookiness" I see in some people who say "the Lord told me...." I don't say that very often. I believe I hear from the Lord, but I rarely say, "the Lord told me...". But Brad working with the youth was one of those things I knew the Lord told me, so I was just excited when he said "yes".

And from there, a friendship began that is one of my dearest at our church to this day. As Brad started working with the youth worship team, it became obvious that this was a PERFECT fit. Brad had the skills to lead the team, but he also had a pastor's heart. He pastored the youth on the worship team and developed them as musicians, worship leaders and Christians. Because of his incredible pastor's heart, I often talked to Brad about how to say things to individual youth when I was dealing with an issue with them (because I am WAY too direct and inflexible sometimes). During the hard times when I questioned if I was doing things right, Brad was always there to encourage me. And he could make observations or suggestions that never felt like an attack. One of the things I appreciated the most about Brad was that I could let him do anything he wanted without the slightest concern that he was doing anything contrary to vision I was casting for the ministry. Brad has a unique ability to hear your heart and vision and run with it making it even better in the process. Brad was not only my right hand man...he WAS MY RIGHT HAND. After he started working with me, I wondered how I ever did it without him. He was always willing to do whatever I asked, he was a great encourager, a sounding board and a counselor.

I speak of those things in the past tense because I am no longer the youth pastor at our church, but I still admire all of those things in Brad. One of the things I miss most about youth ministry is working with Brad. We still work together since we are both on staff the church, but it's not the same. But Brad is still the great friend and very qualified minister he has always been. You should check him out online at www.BradIrons.com If you're a pastor or someone with "say so" in your church, you should consider allowing him to come minister at your church.

But you know what my favorite thing about Brad is? He pays SO WELL for shameless promotions like this! I will be able to take my family out to eat three times with what I will get for writing this post! Of course I'm just kidding...Brad does not even know I am writing this. I was just sitting listening to his song Mercy Street and was thinking about how much I enjoy the album and what a great friend he is. Head on over to Brad's web page and listen to some of his music. You will be encouraged and blessed...kinda like I am for having a friend like Brad.

2 Days, 23 Hours, 18 Minutes

Momma is gone to Nicaragua this week, so Daddy and Amanda have tried to find time to do a few special things. This was it for last night...ALL of Amanda Kay's animals got to sleep in bed with her. We haven't counted how many there are, but there a ton of little ones up at the top of the bed. Nine of them didn't make it through the night...they were on the floor this morning. But Amanda was happy and gets to do this one more night before putting them back in the big purple tub where they "live."

So to catch you up from where we left off. Sunday night, when Amanda went to bed I gave both dogs a badly needed haircut while I finished listening to The Shark Mutiny on CD. Got to the end, finally. It was a very good book. On Monday, Amanda went to VBS at a church around the corner from 9:00-11:30am. She cried when I left but quickly made friends and enjoyed herself. Through the day, her sore knee got better. Monday night, George came over for dinner and we grilled hamburgers. Good food and lots of fun hanging out with George. Today, Amanda went back to VBS and then our evening plans were changed. We were supposed to go over to somebody's house for dinner but they had family come in town unexpectedly. So, Amanda and I went swimming at the Kerr's, grabbed a bite at McDonald's and stopped by the movie store with the intent of renting one movie for Daddy. Well, I ended up renting two movies (good violent war movies to watch late at night by myself) and Amanda brought home Racing Stripes to keep.

We came home Amanda got a bath while I chatted with my parents on the phone. She's brushing her teeth and getting ready for bed while I blog for the night. I'm going to go pray with her and then start one of my movies.

We're getting by while Brooke is gone, but we can't wait for her to get home (I bought her a "welcome home" present today...gosh, I wonder where I put it?). According to our countdown clock, Mommy will be home in 2 days, 23 hours and 18 minutes (approximately).

-Rob

Daddy, Amanda and Sully watching TV

A Packed Weekend and Week to Come

Well, it's been a busy weekend. Amanda is now sitting next to me playing a computer game after "the accident". We were sitting down watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (which makes me cry EVERY time I watch it) and Amanda announced she wanted to ride her bike. When she got up and turned off the TV, I knew she was serious (she rarely wants to turn off the TV). She wanted to go riding around, but I suggested we go to the parking lot of the church to practice first since she is still in the learning phase and has not ridden in six weeks. Guess it was a good thing since we no sooner got into the parking lot and she W I P E D O U T big time! I didn't see the accident, but as I was walking up the drive I heard her start screaming. She just sat there on the ground waiting for me to get there. She banged up her knee pretty good, so we came home, put ice on it, watched the rest of Home Make Over and cried. Amanda is supposed to start VBS at another church tomorrow, but she may not be walking around too much.

But that was just this evening. On Friday morning, Amanda and I took the bus and drove the Nicaragua team to the airport for their 6 day trip. They flew from DFW to Houston and then from Houston to Managua. I just talked to Brooke this afternoon. They sat on the runway at Houston for an hour so they did not get into Managua until 10:30pm. They were met there and then spent the night at hotel at the airport. They went to Sandy Carter's place (the missionary they are working with) on Saturday, but I did not get too many details about what they did on Saturday. Today, they went to a church and Pastor preached the 3 services they had. They were at church from 7:30am to 1:00pm. This afternoon, they packed school supply bags for kids. Don't know if we'll get to talk to Brooke anymore this week or not. We're already ready for Mommy to come home.

Friday evening, Amanda and I went to the church and helped hand out fliers for our upcoming block party. After that, Amanda went to spend the night with her best friend, Abigail. I stopped by the youth building and hung out with Pastor Shaun and the youth there for a while and then came home and worked on updating the church web page.

Saturday, I got up and met some guys at the church and we headed to Alpine shooting range. We did some 5 stand skeet shooting. I have never tried it before, and although I did not do too well, it was enjoyable. There are 5 different shoot locations, and at each one skeet comes from 5 different locations on the field. So one round is 25 clays. First round I hit 5, second round it was 9. From there, we grabbed a burger at Burger Box and I went to meet Amanda at one of her friend's' birthday swimming party. She had a great time and we got home around 4:30pm. We ate dinner together and watch one of the movies Amanda rented from the library. After Amanda went to bed, I gave both of the dogs haircuts (Sully is "skinned chicken dog" again") and finished listening to The Shark Mutiny on CD.

Today, my good friend Brad Irons preached while Pastor is out of town. He preached an excellent message on the Judgement of God. I know, you would expect that to be a "hellfire and brimstone message", but it was not. The main point is we have to face God's judgement (instead of turn from it or ignore it) if we want to find His mercy. It was an excellent message. you can hear it here (for the next month or so). This afternoon, Amanda and I had one of our favorites when Mommy is not home...chicken spaghetti. Then we took a nap, got up and did all the stuff I told you about at the beginning of this post.

And the rest of this week is not going to slow down much, but that is a good thing since we both miss Brooke badly. Monday night, our new friend George (see post last month) is coming over for dinner. On Tuesday night, our friends the Kings invited us over. Wednesday night is church. Thursday night, our friends the Hankins invited us over for dinner, and Friday...BROOKE COMES HOME! YEA!! So it's been a packed weekend and week to come.

-Rob

From the Archives: Our little Texan...age 3.

From the Archives: Amanda Kay playing with the hose...age 2.

Patrick Robinson Books

I told you I'm a slow reader, right?  And when I'm reading a book that contains material I may want to share with others, I am painfully slow because I have to underline everything I may ever want to remember or share with somebody else.  I still read pretty slow, but when I'm reading a "fun" book (no underlining required), it doesn't take nearly so long.  For instance, I was able to read a 385 page paperback novel in 4 days while on vacation.

Because I enjoy reading, because I have SO MANY books that require underlining, because I don't get through the underlining books very quickly and because I tend to get discouraged/bogged down taking so long to read these books, I have come up with a plan to keep myself motivated.  I read one "good for me" book (the kind that require underlining) and then one "fun" book (the kind that do not require underlining).  While on vacation, I finished both my novel and the small group book I was reading.  I finished the novel first and then the small group book, so even though I technically started the "good for me" book first, I rationalized I finished a fun book and then a good for me book, so it was time for another fun one!  It is so relaxing to sit down with a good book that I wanted to take some of that relaxation home.

So when we came home, we made a trip to the library because Brooke had finished her books while on vacation, too.  I enjoy reading military-type novels (Navy SEALS, submarines, spies, aircraft, etc) and while at the library, I saw Hunter Killer by Patrick Robinson.  I saw a Navy emblem on the front, so I picked it up to see what it was about.  As I read what the book was about, I quickly saw it was right down my ally.  And then I started looking at other books by Patrick Robinson.  Barracuda 945 was listed there.  This was another EXCELLENT naval novel I had read on my Palm Pilot during vacation a couple years ago.  I kept reading and The Shark Mutiny was also listed.  Yes, I was definitely going to like this book.  You see, way back when we took a trip to Alabama, I don't know how long ago, I got Shark Mutiny on CD to listen to while I drove (we leave at Midnight and drive 12 hours to Brooke's parents).  It is the unabridged version of the book, so I think it is like 12 CDs long...maybe a couple more.  Anyway, I never got it finished, so I've been listening to parts of it on and off for a while now.  I told myself not to get Hunter Killer until I had finished listening to Shark Mutiny, but Hunter Killer looked so good I could not help myself.

So now I am doing something very contrary to my personality...I am "reading" two books at one time.  I am a very systematic (and sometimes legalistic) person...one book at a time so that I can give my full attention to what I am reading.  But now I find myself listening to Shark Mutiny on the way to and from the Maverick Club in the morning and reading Hunter Killer in the evening.  They are both written by Patrick Robinson, they both are naval novels involving submarines and they even have a few characters in common.  Two different stories and different plots which I've been able to keep straight so far.

All I can say is, if you like movies like Hunt for Red October, Crimson Tide or U-571 you would definitely like any book-to-movie by Patrick Robinson.  The good news for me is I now know of at least five more Patrick Robinson books I can read in between "good for me" books of course...and definitely only one at at time.

-Rob

Sully Is Feeling Better Now

Our black Cocker Spaniel, Boo, has awakened us from time to time in the middle of the night with that sound all dog owners are familiar with...the gurgling sound, the choking and finally the eruption as the dog pukes.  Boo has a "sensitive stomach" and any time she eats something she shouldn't (a stick, a cricket, etc) it comes back up.  Sully, our black Schnauzer, on the other hand, eats "stuff" outside all the time and never seems to have any problems...until today.  I let the dogs outside before leaving for work and I let them play outside for a little while.  I should have known better...to them, "play" means find something you should not chew on, let alone eat, and ingest it!

It seems Sully finally found something a bit too much even for his iron stomach.  First breakfast came up, and then there were two more eruptions to make sure it was all out.  Between eruptions two and three, I came home to check on him (after Brooke had cleaned up two messes).  I tried to get him to play with his favorite blanket, and he just laid on the floor looking at me.  We knew he was not feeling well when he would not play with the blanket.  Then I took the dogs outside.  He went out and did his business but then he laid down in the grass (he never does that).  We finally coaxed him back in the house where he laid down again.

A few minutes later, we had eruption number three.  That one seemed to purge his system and he seemed a bit more cheerful after that.  He seemed OK enough to go in the crate with Boo and so we got back to work. By lunch time he was feeling much better, and by the time we got home from work he was his typical spastic self.

I'm sure Sully learned nothing from this experience, but we did...we'll not let him "play" outside unattended for so long.  But we're just glad Sully is feeling better now.

-Rob

And So My Education on Relationships Continues

Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one; they get a better return for their labor. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, New Living Translation

I don't think I ever thought of myself as a loner, but I've never been much of a "people person". Because of that, I have not opened up to very many people. I know a number of people, but I rarely share my "real self" with others. The only time this really bothered me was when I got to missing my best friend Craig...one of the very few people I am totally real with. (Craig lives in Michigan, so we only see each other ever 3-4 years although we talk on the phone weekly).

I guess the change began couple years ago in a men's roundtable group I was in (we met together to discuss a book.) I had finally gotten to a point in my life where I did not feel inadequate around others...I had learned to accept and appreciate the way God had made me and the talents, gifts and abilities he had given me. And then, beginning at the roundtable, I began to appreciate the others God had put in my life. Instead of always being irritated because they did not do things right (read "my way"), I began to appreciate the differences. One guy in particular...he was the quintessential definition of a used car salesman personality. His lack of dependability rubbed me the wrong way (opposite of my personality), but then one night I realized, "Hey, if everybody was like me, our church would never grow. People would come, everybody would feel awkward around the new person, nobody would talk to him and he would not come back because we are an unfriendly church. But with Mr. Used Car Salesman personality type, guests have somebody greet them, welcome them, talk with them and show interest in them...we are all of the sudden a friendly church that people want to come back to. For the first time in my adult life, I truly appreciated the things that made people different from me. And so my education on relationships began.

And then in April of this year, I began studying small groups. The more I study, the more I am convinced that God designed us to have small group relationships in our lives. There are just too many things we miss out on without them. And so my education on relationships continued.

And then today, this verse from Ecclesiastes took on real meaning to me. I have a friend, he's been a good friend for a number of years, and today he told me he needed to talk with me. When we got together, he said, "I need you to hold me accountable in a certain area" and then he told me what it was. I don't if I was more surprised at the area he mentioned to me or if he was more surprised when I said, "Sure, if you hold me accountable in the same area." You see, over the past few weeks, God has been talking to me about a lack of faithfulness in a certain area of my life, and just Monday night I finally said, "OK God, you know why I am struggling with this, but I am going to give you control over this area in my life and do what I know I need to do." And then today, my friend comes to me with a very similar story. So now we are accountability partners in this area. I guess some people would say you need to talk to a person strong in the area you are struggling with, but this is not some sort of addiction. I think we both just need to know somebody will ask, "Did you...". I know I'm not this guy's only friend, so I pretty much took it as a "God thing" that he talked to me about this today. And so my education on relationship continues.

-Rob

So for Now, We'll Wait

Well, Amanda Kay woke up this morning and made her big decision...she is going to go without the ear rings for now and get her ears re-pierced when she is older. We still don't know what happened, but her ears are all red don't look very good right now, so it's just as well that she wanted to wait.

That's pretty much the highlight of our day today. I worked outside most all day at church working on shrubs, mowing fields, etc. I'm slightly sun burned, but I'm not as red as Amanda's ears! Brooke is busily getting ready to leave for Nicaragua on Friday. She said she had a good day and got a lot accomplished.

So that's it...a boring day with ear rings being the most exciting part of our day. So for now, we'll wait.

-Rob

Tomorrow Is The Big Decision

Amanda, bless her heart, has had trouble with her earrings ever since she got her ears pierced.  You can read earlier posts about the difficulty when it was time to take out her "starter" earrings.  Well, things seemed to be going better until today.  Because of the previous problems, Amanda has been "super sensitive" shall we say whenever her earrings are changed out.  Yesterday, we tried some pink turtle earrings she got.  Well, something happened with they way they were glued and the turtle part came off tonight and the plain post irritated Amanda's ear.  Taking the earrings out was another ordeal and Amanda said she didn't want pierced ears anymore.  Not liking pain myself, I could understand.  I told her we would keep them out tonight (we=Brooke, she is the earring person...Amanda does not feel I am compassionate and gentle enough!) and then she can make a decision about whether to keep the earrings or wait until she is older when she wakes up in the moring.  She was upset, so I took her back to bed and laid there holding her while she cried and tried to go back to sleep.  That's when she went all "female" on me...boo-hooing over the difficulties of the decisions we have to make in life (i.e. to keep the earrings or to wait until she is more grown up).  It did not seem to comfort her much when I laughed and told her she was acting like a woman (never seems to comfort Brooke much, either).  I loved on her some more and then her mother came in and took my place.  Both are asleep now, so we'll wait until tomorrow for the big decision.

-Rob

Our Trip to Mt. Rushmore

I haven't posted to the blog in a week. As a matter of fact, a friend of mine e-mailed and harassed me for not having anything new online. I didn't post because we were on vacation and there was no Internet where we stayed. It was rough, but I lived through it...only because I could at least get e-mail on my cell phone.

But let me tell you about our vacation...it was quite a thrill. We have some friends who have a lake house on Lake Granbury and they let us stay there for the week (see pictures below). But I can tell you are already getting ahead of me looking at the picture of us at Mt. Rushmore. Lest I lose you with the boring details of the rest of our week, let me jump right to this picture. When we arrived in Granbury, we needed to buy groceries. The store we visited appears to be based in South Dakota, so they were having a drawing for a free trip to Mt. Rushmore...all expenses paid. The trip included airfare, a rental car, two days in a hotel and trip to Mt. Rushmore. They asked us if we wanted to register for the trip (to be given away that evening), we laughed about it and said "sure". They said the winners would be notified that evening, so we gave them our cell phone number.

Monday night we were watching an episode of 24 on DVD when my cell phone rang. Thinking it was Brooke's family or mine, I answered the phone without looking at the caller ID. When the voice on the other end asked for "Mr. Hurt", I figured it was not our parents and I was not happy to be getting a sales call on my cell phone. You could have blown me over with a feather when the man said we had won the contest at the super market! The guy said we could take the trip any time within the next 90 days, which was a bit of a problem since we were already on vacation and could not take another one in the next 90 days. I wrote down all of the information he gave me, took a phone number where I could reach him and filled in the blanks for Brooke who was freaking out hearing only half of the conversation. To make a long story short, we found out we could leave on Tuesday evening, fly to South Dakota, stay Wednesday and Thursday and then fly back on Friday. Man, talk about spur of the moment. And if you've been reading my blog, you know I've been working on being more spontaneous, but this was ridiculous! So we called our families and let them know of the change in our plans, threw our clothes back into the suitcase and headed to DFW late Tuesday afternoon.

We planned on spending a week at a lake house, not in South Dakota, so we did not do too much while we were there. Amanda swam in the pool at the hotel and I had to survive on the Internet I could get on my phone because the hotel's high speed Internet connection was down. We did manage to make it to Mt. Rushmore. Brooke had never been to Mt. Rushmore before, so we got somebody to take our picture with the presidents in the background. Like I said, we didn't do much else while we were there, but it was nice.

At this point, I need to ask you a question. If I had told you at the very beginning of this posting that the most exciting thing we did this week was read, swim in the pool and lake and watch DVD episodes of 24, would you have read about our vacation? I ask, because I have to be honest with you. I made up this whole story...at least about the whole Mt. Rushmore thing. The picture above was taken with a green screen. I spent about 30 minutes this afternoon doctoring up the picture. It looked so cool I had to do something with it, so I concocted this story. Did you fall for it?

In all reality, we stayed at the lake house Monday-Thursday and came home a day early. Amanda watched lots of movies, Brooke and I read, Amanda swam (all the photos below are real) and Brooke and I did watch DVD episodes of season one of 24. I was excited to finish (finally) reading Making Small Groups Work which I have been working on for a few months now and I read another entire book, a novel entitled Lethal Agent. We didn't fly, stay in a hotel or see Mt. Rushmore, but we did have a good time relaxing and being together as a family. It was fun...although possibly not as interesting as our trip to Mt. Rushmore!

-Rob

Our little model, Amanda Kay, lounging at the pool while on vacation.

Mommy helping Amanda work on a craft during vacation.

This a view from the back porch overlooking Lake Granbury at our friend's lake house where we spent our vacation.

I Got to Visit Flatonia, TX

On Monday I drove a bus load of students to Discovery Camp in Columbus, TX. I already told you about the day...it was a good one, but long. Well, today, it was time to pick them up. I borrowed a van and left at 6:30am to head to Columbus to pick up the bus and drive the kids back. Amanda wanted to go because she LOVES being with the youth group. Leaving that early in the morning, Amanda Kay was not awake. Thursday night, I asked Brooke to lay out some clothes for Amanda and I packed her a few toys and the laptop for watching movies. When it was time to go, I loaded up Amanda's stuff, grabbed her and grabbed her pillow. I put her in the van and she slept while I drove and listened to my book on CD, The Shark Mutiny. Around 9:30am, Amanda woke up and we were ready for breakfast. As we were getting ready to walk into McDonalds, I realized what I had forgotten to bring...shoes for Amanda! A little further down the road we had to make a quick stop at Wal-Mart and pick up flip flops.

So we arrived in Columbus while it was lightly raining after the thunderstorm had blown through. It was about noon and everybody was ready to leave. I hopped out of the van and into the bus, and off we went. Fortunately, nobody had eaten lunch so we stopped at McDonalds (once again) for lunch. Because our trip down wore through the wires that connected the U-Haul trailer lights to the bus, I took a new wiring kit with me and fixed that while everybody ate. I had time to down my burger and fries and then we were back on the road again.

Heading from Columbus to Arlington, one is supposed to take Hwy. 71 West to 35 North to 20 East. Right near Columbus, Hwy. 71 crosses over Hwy. 10, and if a driver is not careful, it is easy to get off of 71 onto 10. I don't know...it must have been 30 minutes later that I was paying attention enough to see the Hwy. 10 sign. The good news was, I was going west, but the bad news..I was on Hwy. 10 and not 71. We ended up on the outskirts of a town called Flatonia, TX. I have no idea what Flatonia is know for (if it is even "known"), but I bet you can't say you've been there. Me, my daughter, 28 students and two adult leaders can say we have. We got to do all of that for the small price of a 25-or-so minute detour!

We had to stop in Austin for gas before heading into SLOW traffic for another 20-25 minutes and then we made pretty good time back to Arlington. Parents were waiting for us when we arrived so everybody unloaded and headed home. I took the U-Haul back, vacuumed out and filled up the van we borrowed and got back in the house around 9:00 PM. It was another busy and full day...plus I got to visit Flatonia, TX.

-Rob

Even With a Few Ouchies

I played racquetball this morning...in my "new" racquetball shoes. If you scroll down a few posts, you will see an "adorable" picture of our Cocker Spaniel, Boo, next to her handywork. Yes, Boo ATE my good racquetball shoes, so I had to wear my regular tennis shoes to play. It seems my regular tennis shoes may be 1/2 size too small. I figured this out after I got a HUGE blister on my foot. Ouch!

But if you ask Amanda who had the biggest "ouchie" today, she would tell you it was her. When Brooke and Amanda went to Alabama for a visit about six weeks ago, Amanda got her ears pierced. We've been pretty faithful twisting and cleaning them for the first six weeks. Today it was time to take the original earrings out and put in something else (Amanda got a bunch of cute earrings when she got her ears pierced). Well, the earrings that were in her ears have TINY, LITTLE stones on them and when Brooke grabbed the stone so she could pull the back off of the earrings to take them off, the stone slipped out of her fingers and into Amanda's ear lobe! I'm trying not to give you a super-vivid mental picture, but Brooke almost took them off without having to take the back off. Anyway, once they were imbedded in the ear, it was obvious they had to come out, and Amanda did NOT like that part. I'm sure you've heard the phrase "blood curdling scream"...that is exactly what we heard. Yes, Amanda's ear bled a bit, but I think ours did too after hearing that!

The good news is the earring came out and the cute flower earrings went in with no problem and I should be able to walk on my foot without limping tomorrow. It was a good day...even with a few ouchies.

-Rob

SEVEN

I have decided that I will play racquetball with the guys from church on Tuesday/Thursday 'cause that is more enjoyable, but I will play pick up games with whoever I can on Monday/Wednesday because that helps me improve my game.  Today, my pick up game was with Chuck (again).  We played 4 or 5 games.  If you've just started reading my blog, you may not know that my high score against Chuck has been nine points.  My goal, for now, is not to beat Chuck...I just want ten points!  My high score today?  Seven.

-Rob