12 of 12 - October 2008

Just last night, I heard about a project called 12 of 12. The really simple version is, on the 12th of each month, you take "every day" pictures during the day and then select 12 of them to keep. At the end of the year, you have 12 pictures from 12 days during the year as a sort of photo diary. I did a bit of Googling tonight and found out that the idea came from a guy named Chad Darnell. Here is his blog that describes the project more fully. In any case, I started my 12 for 12 today.

7:31 AM

Up at 7:30am. Of course I don't look awake...I just woke up one minute ago!

7:32 AM
Mom and Dad's dogs spent the weekend with us. Left to right: Sully (our dog), Harley, Buster, Boo (our dog), Ralph

8:07 AM
Brooke cooked the cinnamon rolls, but when I wanted to take her picture putting the icing on them, she made me do it while she took the picture.

8:11 AM
Amanda had a friend spend the night. Here is Brooke praying with them before breakfast.

9:01 AM
Pastor David had to make himself a portable office this week. Here he is in the portable office this morning.

9:09 AM
Church picnic today. Here is James, one of our deacons, helping get stuff set up.

9:21 AM
I am helping some of the deacons set up for today's church picnic.

10:34 AM
It was my week to run the worship projector.

10:36 AM
Sunday morning worship service at Vine Fellowship. (http://www.theVineFellowship.com)

5:02 PM
Working on the bike to see what all will be involved in changing out my grips.

7:34 PM

Went on a motorcycle ride with Ed and Daniel tonight. We stopped at Dairy Queen in Cleburne, TX.

9:58 PM

Sitting down to watch "The Unit" which we DVR'd earlier. The puppies all wanted in the photo.

Only 11 More Til' 600

Brooke took Amanda and a friend to a football game today and I was left to myself with beautiful weather. What to do? Shall I go for a motorcycle ride or geocache? Why not do both? I did and found 10 out of 13 geocaches I hunted today. Only 11 more to 600!

Too Busy to Blog?

I have noticed, as well as heard from a few of my friends, that I have not been blogging regularly. It seems I keep telling myself, "When I get past this, I'll have more time". And then, as always happens, one more "this" comes up. I enjoy blogging, so I'm trying to make more time to relax and blog. So, right now, I'm relaxing, listening to Rush Limbaugh (Rush 24/7), making computer backups and blogging.

I have spent most all of my day off at Amanda's school today. Today's "journey" started when Brooke and I met with the school's administrator to volunteer at the school. One of the things I was asked to do was work on the character development curriculum with the principal. The short version: I was asked to use a certain curriculum which was designed for K-5th grade and then adapt it for 6-8th grade as well. I suggested using 7-8th graders to present the curriculum to the school complete with a plan for doing so. Next, I was asked to implement that plan. So I was at school doing that today and then substitute teachers were needed for PE. I worked with a teacher and did 5th-8th grade PE and that was fine, but I could not handle 1st-2nd grade PE. All I had to do was watch them on the playground, but it was too much for me. I could not get them still long enough to get a count to make sure I was keeping track of all of them, then there was the crying, the tattling, the climbing on the outside of the playground equipment....argh! Fortunately Brooke was also volunteering, so she took my place and sat at the front desk for her for the rest of 1st-2nd grade PE time. After I got home, it was time to start on the weekly school email announcements which I take care of and then several other emails and projects to go along with the work I had done with the 7-8th graders today. It has been a busy yet fulfilling day.

I have also spent time this week updating the church web page (as I do every week). We have been having issues with our sermon player because they are moving servers. For the first time this week, the sermon player can be seen on our sermon page, but the majority of our archived messages are not yet showing up. Since that amounts to more than a year's worth of sermons, I sure hope they have good back ups! If anybody is interested, I was just able to upload my sermon "Gaining Heaven's Perspective" from last Sunday.

My eyes are getting heavy and I will not be awake much longer. Before I go, I wanted to share a few pictures from some of our family activities these past two weeks.

Amanda was out of school Monday and Tuesday. We had originally planned to go to the Texas State Fair, but since the forecast was 80-90% chance of rain ALL day, we made a trip to Magic Time Machine for dinner instead. Amanda said it was a good substitute (and she added "we will go to the Fair next year).

As soon as Amanda saw "Captain Jack Sparrow" at Magic Time Machine, she wanted her picture taken with him.

This "interesting" picture was taken at the Frontiers of Flight museum in Dallas. A friend told us about Free Museum Day and this was the museum Amanda chose. Brooke took our picture sitting in the airline seats, but Amanda wanted a silly picture, too. She always wants a silly picture, too. Anyway, the "regular" picture was boring.

Here is Brooke and Amanda's "regular" picture in a different set of airline seats.

And here is my favorite picture of the day...Amanda sitting in the ejection seat of a jet fighter.

Dominoes Anyone?

As the pastor who oversees life groups at our church, I try to visit the various life groups a couple times each trimester, but it is hard to "leave" my group to travel. I attend the group led by Michael and Crystal Brown, and one of the really cool things they came up with for our group is a monthly outreach. Right now, the plan is to visit a nursing home the first Wednesday night of the month.

Tonight was the first night our group was supposed to visit but "somehow" over half of the group could not make it. That left Michael, Crystal and me to go visiting! We had been told we could not go visiting room-to-room but could only talk with people sitting in the dining room or common areas. I thought it might be a good idea to take a game so we could find something the people there might enjoy doing and something that might strike up a conversation. I didn't think Jenga would be a good game (the wooden blocks that are stacked where you have to have a steady hand to try and remove the blocks one at a time without tipping over the stack), so I suggested dominoes. Michael and Crystal thought that would be a good idea so we took them.

We met some people in the front lobby as we walked in, so we asked them if they would be interested in a game of dominoes. They said "no thank you" but seemed up for a visit, so we hung around and talked. It was a pleasant conversation and at the end, we offered to pray with them and they took us up on the offer. That was pretty exciting.

But that seems to be where the "that went well" ended. While Michael and I were talking to these people, Crystal went looking for some ladies to talk to. The first lady she talked to asked her to go away, so she came back and hung out with us. After that, we split up again to see if there was anybody else who walked to talk. I saw one lady sitting in a wheelchair watching TV in the lobby. I was hoping she might want to talk, and since she kept turning around in her wheelchair to watch me, I walked up to say hi.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded in a less-than-friendly tone.

"I'm just here hanging out and meeting people this evening" I said. She stared at me.

"My name is Rob". Again, she stared.

About this time, Michael walked up. I said to the lady, "I brought my dominoes to see if anybody wanted to play, but nobody seems all that interested. So I'm just walking around meeting people."

"Well, you should take those someplace else" she informed me. "And take him with you" she added, nodding toward Michael.

We wished her a good evening and walked off. As I headed toward the water fountain, I heard her carrying on, but figuring it was not all that friendly, I ignored her, walked on around the corner and got my drink. While doing so, I heard Michal say, "OK, thank you" two or three times. As I came back around the corner, Michael told me she was saying, "Not that way, over there" as she pointed to the door! I guess she was ready for us to leave.

So it was an interesting night. Most everybody was heading to bed by that time, so we went by Braums and then headed back to the church to pick up our kids. It's kinda funny to talk about now, but a bit awkward earlier this evening. Guess we'll see what happens next month.

911. What's Your Emergency?

911 Operator: "911. What's your emergency?"

Caller: "Uh yeah. My wife got attacked by a warthog real bad and I need someone to come with an ambulance and pick her up."

911 Operator: "Ok, sir. Can you give me your address?"

Caller: "Uh yeah. We're at 1825 Eucalyptus Drive."

911 Operator: "Ok, can you spell that for me, sir?"

Caller: (long pause) "Uh...I'm...I'm gonna drag her on over to Oak Street and you can pick her up there."

Thanks to Dawn Irons for sending me this.

What Else Could I Ask For?

This picture was taken in December of 2000...almost 8 years ago. That's pretty much how things looked tonight as I put Amanda to bed (except that she is bigger now and I have more hair on my face and less on my head!).

One of my favorite times of the day is when Amanda goes to bed. We have a routine. Amanda gets ready for bed (usually "forgetting" as many things as possible so that she can "remember" them just before she is supposed to get into bed), kisses her Mommy good night and then tells me she is ready for bed. I give her a head start and then crawl into bed beside her. I pray with her and then we spend a few minutes talking. The few minutes could stretch into hours if I let them because Amanda hardly ever thinks she is sleepy, but we usually spend 10-20 minutes talking before I make her close her eyes and go to sleep. And then I lay there and sometimes fall asleep myself. Either I wake myself up, kiss her forehead and leave her for the night, or I start snoring, she elbows me, I wake up, kiss her forehead and leave her for the night.

It is those 10-20 minutes that remind me how awesome it is to be a Daddy. At least for now, one of Amanda's favorite things to do during this time is to ask me to tell stories about when I was growing up. "Tell me an animal story, Daddy" (we had LOTS of pets growing up) or "Tell me what was your favorite..." If we have just discussed lying (as in why Amanda shall never ever do that again if she wants to live to be 10 years old!), she asks me to tell as story about when I got caught lying as a kid. Sometimes I just have to tell her I can't remember any more stories. After doing this over the years, it is hard to remember a story I haven't told!

Amanda is growing up (without my permission!), and she is developing a life of her own with her friends, etc. As we lay in bed tonight talking about how excited we are that Mommy is coming home tomorrow night, I wondered how long we would have our special time before bed each night. As a teenager in too-few-years, will she want to make room for Daddy to squeeze into bed, pray with her and talk about anything and everything that is on her mind? I am sure some things will change, but I'm planning on something similar happening when my baby is in high school.

So I look at 8:30-9:00 PM as a high light of my day, and an investment in the future. When we found out that Brooke was pregnant, my heart was drawn to being a Daddy to a little girl. I don't know why it was that way, but God answered the desire of my heart. (Hmmm...now I wonder. Did God give me a girl because I wanted to be a Daddy to a little girl, or did he give me a heart to be a little girl's Daddy because that is what I was getting? Oh well, it worked out PERFECT either way!)

So my 20 minutes tonight got me to thinking how truly blessed I am. Being a husband to my wife and a Daddy to my little girl...what else could I ask for?

Laws of Ultimate Reality

Law of Mechanical Repair
After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to pee.

Law of Gravity
Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Law of Probability
The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

Law of Random Numbers
If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal and someone always answers.

Law of the Alibi
If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.

Variation Law
If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will always move faster than the one you are in now.

Law of the Bath
When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings. &Law of Certainty (a bit more of the bath) If waiting for someone to call, take a shower or use the toilet, it will ring as soon as you are unavailable.

Law of Close Encounters
The probability of meeting someone you know increases dramatically when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

Law of the Result
When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

Law of Biomechanics
The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

Law of the Theater
At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive last.

The Starbucks Law
As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

Murphy's Law of Lockers
If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.

Law of Physical Surfaces
The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face down on a floor covering are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet/rug.

Law of the Symptoms
Once you finally get the Doctor or Dentist appointment, it won't hurt anymore.

Law of Logical Argument
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.

Brown's Law of Physical Appearance
If the shoe fits, it's ugly.

Wilson's Law of Commercial Marketing Strategy
As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it

Thanks to my friend Ken for sending these. If YOU have any Laws of Ultimate Reality of your own, feel free to add them in the comments section.

Stay Away From the Walls

I just learned something that might help those of you who have younger children...the closer they sleep to the wall, the more likely they are to have nightmares. Thus, if they almost hang off the bed, they are relatively safe.

This is what my daughter told me on the way back from QT. It all started with an episode of Star Trek that got a little too intense for her during dinner. We were going to watch Ice Road Truckers, but she wanted to watch Star Trek, so we did...right up to the point that it got too scary. We were done with dinner, so she left and went to her room. I heard her starting to cry, so I turned off the TV and had her help me clean up after dinner.

I prayed with her and put her to bed at 8:30pm. Five minutes later, she came into my office telling me she was afraid and could not get Star Trek out of her mind. I told her to pray, listen to her worship music and go back to bed.

At 9:30pm, she was back up crying and terrified because she had a nightmare. We took a break and rode to QT so she could calm down. On the way home, I told her she had to go to sleep because she was going to be a grump in the morning if she did not get her beauty sleep. She wanted to sleep in my bed tonight and explained to me it was better than her bed because there was no wall on either side of the bed and the wall side is where the nightmares happen.

So next time your kid has nightmares, just tell them to stay away from the walls!

So Undeserved and So Huge

I just finished reading The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind by Bill Johnson. Here is what I wrote about it in my Visual Bookshelf review:

To simply say "a thought-provoking book" would be a disservice to Bill Johnson. This was a spiritually challenging book. There are some areas I surrounded by question marks because I am still weighing if I agree, but there are many more areas I underlined that challenged my thinking about how God wants to move in my life. I have definitely settled for the "normal" Christian life and Bill Johnson's challenge in the book is to redefine "normal" Christianity. The book has challenged me to let God transform my mind.

Chapter 7 of the book is entitled "Remembering". Here is a brief quote from the book that may have forever changed the way I think about how God sees me.

I'd be interested to know what is written in heaven's book of remembrance, but I think the record of Scripture gives us a good idea. Take the example of Sarah, Abraham's wife. In Genesis 18, she,

Laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" And the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?' Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. And He said, "No, but you did laugh!" (Genesis 18:12-15)

She didn't just give an embarrassed giggle. The Hebrew word for laugh tells us she was mocking what God had said. Not only that, she lied about it when God confronted her. But Hebrews 11:11 says of this same woman,

By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.

Wow! The record sounds different than the reality! This tells us something precious: the book of remembrance doesn't have a record of our mistakes. Genesis 18 was recorded for human benefit, so you and I could identify with those who followed God in the past. But Hebrews 11 is how it's recorded in the book of remembrance. Once the blood has been applied, there is no record of sin anymore. God brags all over heaven about Sarah, and He does the same about you and me.

Nobody, besides God, is more aware of my shortcomings and failures than I am. But when I read this "remembrance of heaven" account, it was like the Lord was whispering in my ear, "That's how I remember you, too, Rob."

His grace is so undeserved and so huge!

This is what "above my pay grade" means?

(if you are following this blog's RSS feed, you may have to view the original blog to see these two videos)

Well Said

Change is not a destination just as hope is not a strategy.

- Rudy Giuliani, RNC 2008

The Book of My Life

You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! (Psalm 139:16-17)

I have read this passage before, and I have heard a few interesting teachings from this passage that have raised theological questions in my mind about how "determined" my life is and how much God lets me choose how the book of my life will be written. But as I was reading this passage tonight, a different picture came to me. I did not study this passage, I am not trying to settle theological questions, and I am not teaching this as an interpretation to the passage...it is simply a picture that came to my mind.

It seems to me that it would be more accurate to describe God as the author of the book of my life rather than the reader, but tonight, I pictured God as reading the book of my life. I pictured it being a book that He did not want to put down...one of those books that draws you in and makes you feel like you are right there with the main character. It's not that my life is so great or interesting, but it was like God was reading and living the adventure with me.

And that got me to thinking about my life. Way too many days I get caught up in living life (i.e. paying bills, working, buying stuff and doing whatever else that keeps me busy, busy, busy) that I don't think about my life being an adventure that God wants to experience with me. He never intended for me to be caught up in the mundane; He wants to bring people into my life to make it richer, He has people He wants to minister to through me, He has situations that look totally impossible in this life that He wants to tackle with me (OK, He'd have to push me into those, but then He'd help me tackle them).

God, forgive me for making my "book" boring so often and not letting You experience with me the adventure You intended for my life. Help me to FILL my book with relationships, experiences, joys and risks taken for You. Let the book of my life be one that brings a smile to your face!

You Kids Today Have It Easy

You kids today have it easy. When I was a kid everything was HUGE. My dad was nearly four times bigger than me. You couldn't even see the tops of counters ... Then gradually everything became smaller until it was the manageable size it is today.

- Bizarro comic strip

Get Out The Vote!

Legos...32 Years Later

For some (good) reason, my Mom saved just a few of the toys I had as a kid. One of the things she saved was my box of Legos which I began accumulating at age six (circa 1976). Amanda saw the box in the garage a week or so ago and wanted to get them out, so we did tonight. She has now made plans for the next six weeks...how we can play Legos each and every day. She has decided she wants the Indiana Jones Lego set ("with real ambushes"). I guess today's Legos will still work with ones from three decades ago? I think Mom saved them so that something like this could happen. Good thinking, Mom. Thanks!

Celebrating 15 Years

Well, it was 2 months after the fact, but Brooke and I were finally able to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary last night. Every year is special, but since this year marked 15, I wanted to do something out of the ordinary.

Our afternoon/evening started on the club floor at Marriott's Renaissance Worthington Hotel in the heart of downtown Ft. Worth.

This is a view of downtown Ft. Worth from our window.

I have always remembered the one time Brooke and I got to eat at Texas de Brazil during the brief time they had a restaurant in Arlington. If you've never eaten there, the experience is hard to imagine. The food is great and the whole dining experience is just plain fun. They have a huge salad bar with a lot of exotic foods on it (I'm personally not that crazy about this part), but then the good stuff begins. Servers begin coming by each table with giant skewers of different kinds of meats: steak, fish, sausage, pork and chicken all cooked differently with PERFECT seasoning. The first time or two you wonder how the little bit they leave you is going to be enough to eat, but then the servers keep coming. The first course is usually the best...until the second one comes and then it is the best. Until the third one comes...well, you get the idea.

So a couple of months ago, I was talking to a friend telling him I wanted to take Brooke to the Ft. Worth Texas de Brazil for our anniversary. My friend takes friends to Texas de Brazil frequently and always purchases their VIP cards that gives you a half-price meal. He gave me a card with two punches on it and I was thrilled to be able to take Brooke.

When we got there, we found out the food was as good (if not better) than we remembered. The room where we ate had four tables in it. Two tables finished and it was just Brooke and I at one table and three "guys who looked like they were Texas oil/gas men" (Brooke's description) at the other table. There was a flat screen TV in our dining room and so they discussed the Olympics with us. They were very friendly and so we conversed on and off during the meal. They asked where we were from and we told them we were from Arlington and were there celebrating our anniversary. We carried on with them and as they left, they said, "You kids have a good evening. Happy anniversary."

We had dessert after they left and then the waitress brought us the check. As I looked at the ticket, I saw the charge for Brooke's cup of coffee that we had ordered with our free (anniversary) dessert, but nothing else. While I was puzzling over where the rest of the ticket was, our waitress came back and told us what was up...the three guys at the table next to us had picked up our tab! We were totally blown away and only wished they guys were still there so we could thank them.


Next, it was time for the "surprise" part of our evening. Brooke already knew we were going to stay at the Worthington and knew we were going to eat at Texas de Brazil, but I wanted to plan something she did not know about. We have seen horse-drawn carriage rides in downtown Ft. Worth, so I contacted Brazos Carriage to see what they offered. They have their carriages downtown every Friday and Saturday night and you can rent the carriage for a 15 minute ride. I was bummed because we were going on a Thursday night, but as I dug a little further into their web site, I found you could do a private, 30 minute rental most any time. I talked to Tracy, the owner, and set up the Sweetheart Package (30 minute ride with flowers and chocolates in the carriage when it arrives) to pick us up outside Texas de Brazil.

As our meal ended, I called Tracy and asked where she was. She said she was out front, so we left. As we walked out, Brooke saw the carriage but started on down the sidewalk. I said, "Hey, you want to ride this? I think they are expecting us." It was awesome...the weather was not too hot, the ride was great, Brooke was surprised and it made for a very romantic evening.

This is just a picture we took back in the hotel room after the carriage ride.

After we dropped the flowers and chocolates off in the room, we went for a walk downtown. We stopped and took this picture in the lobby of our hotel.

I love to take pictures of old-looking court houses. The courthouse in downtown Ft. Worth is very picturesque and I snapped this while we were out walking.


Fifteen years of marriage has flown by. I am so thankful for Brooke and I love her with all that I am. The night did not last long enough for me, but I'm glad we could take the time to create memories and celebrate our 15 years together. Brookie, you are still the love of my life!!!

New Office Policy

Dress Code:

1. You are advised to come to work dressed according to your salary.
2. If we see you wearing Prada shoes and carrying a Gucci bag, we will assume you are doing well financially and therefore do not need a raise.
3. If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better, so that you may buy nicer clothes, and therefore you do not need a raise.
4. If you dress just right, you are right where you need to be and therefore you do not need a raise.
   

Sick Days:
We will no longer accept a doctor's statement as proof of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.

Personal Days:
Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called Saturdays & Sundays.

Bereavement Leave:
This is no excuse for missing work. There is nothing you can do for dead friends, relatives or co-workers. Every effort should be made to have non-employees attend the funeral arrangements in your place. In rare cases where employee involvement is necessary, the funeral should be scheduled in the late afternoon. We will be glad to allow you to work through your lunch hour and subsequently leave one hour early.

Bathroom Breaks:
Entirely too much time is being spent in the toilet. There is now a strict three-minute time limit in the stalls. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the stall door will open, and a picture will be taken. After your second offense, your picture will be posted on the company bulletin board under the 'Chronic Offenders' category. Anyone caught smiling in the picture will be sectioned under the company's mental health policy.

Lunch Break:

• Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch, as they need to eat more, so that they can look healthy.
• Normal size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a balanced meal to maintain their average figure.
• Chubby people get 5 minutes for lunch, because that's all the time needed to drink a Slim-Fast.
  

Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations, consternation and input should be directed elsewhere.

The Management

Walking with God

"The Spirit-controlled life, the Christ-centered life, the God-focused life is daily coming nearer heaven even when it is still on earth. It is a life which is such a steady progress to God that the final transition of death is only a natural and inevitable stage on the way. It is like Enoch who walked with God and God took him. As the child said: Enoch was a man who went on walks with God--and one day he didn't come back."

-William Barclay commentary on Romans 8:5-11

McCain Quote at Sturgis

“We’re not going to pay $4 dollars a gallon for gas (when I am president) because we are going to drill offshore and we are going to drill now. We are doing to drill here and we are going to drill now,” he said. “My opponent doesn’t want to drill, he doesn’t want nuclear power. He wants to inflate your tires.”

Fox News, McCain Rallies Bikers at Sturgis

Motorcycles Don't Do This!

Broken Lawn Mower

Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right, and the other is usually the husband.

When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed. But, somehow I always had something else to take care of first: the truck, the car, e-mail, fishing, always something more important to me.

Finally she thought of a clever way to make her point. When I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors. I watched silently for a short time and then went into the house. I was gone only a few minutes. When I came out again I handed her a toothbrush 'When you finish cutting the grass,' I said, 'you might as well sweep the driveway.'

The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.

(Thanks to Ken Randell for sending this one to me)

In Memory of a Turtle

Friday afternoon Brooke and I were in the kitchen and Amanda came in from the back yard sobbing, "Gina (Geana) is dead!" We went outside thinking perhaps the turtle had just crawled up inside her shell and would not come out. Amanda then told us she found Gina upside down near the edge of the pen. It seems she crawled up on a brick and got turned on her back. The turtles usually turn themselves over when this happens, but Gina was missing a foot and was not as "mobile" as the other turtles. It seems this time she was not able to turn herself over and the sun got to the less protected bottom of her shell. She was indeed dead.

While Amanda cried and recalled what good turtle Gina was, I dug a hole and we buried her. Amanda wrote a story and a song (below) to remember Gina and then placed this "headstone" on her grave.


"Geana was a great turtle although she probably was sick, a great turtle like her should not die. I wrote a song for her."

Geana was a great turtle
for in my heart you are still here
You are still here.

Save a Forest...Shorten My Receipt!

What is up with the long receipts??? When I purchase something on my debit card, I fold up the receipt, stick it in my wallet, take it home and paper clip it with other receipts so that I can enter them into my computer checkbook. Some of these are so long my wallet doubles in size after I fold up the receipt and jam it in my wallet. Wal-Mart and Walgreens seem particularly guilty. I can usually fold their receipt in half and still see all the info I need to enter it into my checkbook (store name, date and total amount of sale). When we do "big shopping" at Wal-Mart this is not true, but if I get just a couple items, I get the extra long receipt.

When I have a complaint, I try to offer a solution. I have a suggestion in this case. Why doesn't somebody tell "Weird Al" Gore that he can save our planet simply by getting these companies (and others) to shorten their receipts? This will have a two-fold benefit: we can save trees AND Weird Al can support a cause that is actually backed by science and logic. Unfortunately will not be able to punish the "rich" to fill the government's coffers (oops, I mean to "save the poor") but he could go after "big business" and we all know that is a good thing, right?

Turning the World Upside Down

I came across something I thought was interesting as I was reading in Acts this week. In Acts 17, Paul and Silas visited Thessalonica after they gout out out of a Macedonian jail. Some of the Jews were converted and the Jewish leaders did not like it, so they gathered a mob, "set the city in a uproar" and took the city authorities to Jason's house where Paul and Silas were. What caught my attention was the charge they brought against them: "These who have turned the world upside down have come here, too." (Acts 17:6, KJV)

I thought about that and wondered if God expected the same of me. I mean, I'm a Christian just like Paul was. If he could turn the world upside down (his enemies' words), what does God want me to in my world?

The first thing that came to my mind was Jesus turning over the tables of the money changers upside down. "And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves." (Matt. 21:12, NASB) I don't think the Jewish leaders were saying Paul and company had literally turned the world upside down, but that was what first came to my mind. And when I thought that, I immediately thought, "I can't do that. That's not my personality, I'm not that kind of person."

I used to feel guilty for not being "that kind of person"...until I tried it on my own one time and fell flat on my face (long story...but Brad will remember it, the day we were at Chili's). When I got up off my face (figuratively), I kinda felt like God was laughing like a parent does when they don't want their kid to see them laughing, but they can't help themselves. He gently reminded me that he made me "ME" and not anybody else. He gave me my personality...all that I am AND all that I am not. He was very effective at getting my attention and reminding me to be just me...Rob.

So with all of that going through my head, I thought about the whole "turning the world upside down" thing again and God reminded me of a Scripture in Isaiah 5:20 that says, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!" That Scripture has always reminded me of many things in our culture today where we accept as "normal" things that are upside down from the way God intended it.

And that's when it hit me. "Wait a minute. I CAN turn my world upside down. Actually, I'm just turning it right side up again." I don't have to run around throwing tables over, standing out and being seen. I can do what is right, treat people with kindness, show God's love in real ways and tell people about His love right where I am. I can take a stand for righteousness (without screaming at those who are not) and begin to turn the world upside down (right side up) right where God has placed me.

Turning the world upside down is not always about crashing tables and being loud. Actually, Jesus only did that with religious people, and it was an isolated incident. Paul was merely sharing what he knew and what Christ had done in his life when he was accused of turning the world upside down. I can do that much.

Quote

"It can be a terrible thing when a man identifies his aims with the will of God instead of submitting his aims to that will."

- William Barclay
commentary on Acts 17:13

Like "Duh, What Else Are THEY Going to Say"

Here's the FoxNews headline: Study: Congress Should Repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Here's the lead-in. Anybody else have a "duh" moment reading this?

WASHINGTON — Congress should repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" law because the presence of gays in the military is unlikely to undermine the ability to fight and win, according to a new study released by a California-based research center.

How many California-based research centers are going to maintain their funding if they are not pro-gay?

Humor in Real Life

Amanda and I went for a motorcycle ride tonight out to Venus, TX and back. On the way home, we took the back roads to stay off the highway. When we were about 3/4 of the way home, I got adventuresome and tried a new way through the country. We were in the Mansfield/Rendon area, and I often ride around out there, get "lost" and drive around until I find a road or landmark that is familiar. Tonight, it took a little longer than usual to find something familiar.

Finally I started recognizing some road names (no longer CR 2403 or some other such name) and, although I did not know exactly where I was, I knew I was heading in the right direction to get home. Since it was after 9pm, I pulled off the road and called Brooke so she would not worry about us.

"Hey", I said. "We're kinda lost. I don't really know exactly where we are right now, but I do know we're heading in the right direction. I will call you again if we are not going to be home by 9:30."

"Are you OK?" replied Brooke. "Do you want me to come get you?"

Come get us? I laughed about that most of the way home. First of all, what good would it do to "come get us"? And secondly, if I don't know where we are, how can she come get us? I know...it's the thought that counts.

A Highlight From Our Trip

(click picture to enlarge)

Yea! My family is back with me and we are all home!! No time to catch you up on everything, but I've been to Alabama, picked up my family, been to the Liberty Fellowship family conference in North Carolina and we are now back home. Will blog more about all of this, but here's a picture of one of the highlights of our trip (for me).

Each year at the Liberty Fellowship family conference, Tuesday is "Family Day". Since Brooke was blessed with a generous love offering after doing the kids' camp in Alabama, we decided to take a family rafting trip down the Nantahala River in NC. We rented "ducks" as seen here. Amanda and I rode in a two person duck and Brooke rode in her own. The rapids were all class II, except for the last one (show here) which was a class III.

As we went through the first rapid, Brooke's eyes were as big as saucers because she did not know how to control her raft and Amanda cried all the way through. Brooke figured out how to control her raft by the next rapids and was doing better...it took Amanda about an hour and half before she could relax!

The class III rapids were right at the end of the ride, and there was a beach where you could get out and plan your approach through the last rapids. Brooke and Amanda decided they would just get out there, so I took Brooke's single person raft through the last rapid (pictured here).

Brooke said she had a good time, but Amanda said she does not want to do this again. I don't know when I'll get to do this again, but I had a BLAST and I'm thankful to my family for going with me this year.

Forget the iPhone, I Want One of These

Programmers vs. the Universe

Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the universe is winning.

~Rich Cook

It's Never Simple...Really

When we moved in to this house, the "closet" where our washer and dryer were had a large opening covered by doors that had a track at the top and a track at the bottom. When you opened them, they formed a "V"...that is, until they fell out of their track and hit you in the head as soon as you turned your back! I finally got tired of putting it back on the track so, with my Dad's help, I replaced the door with the type of door shown here. That was last year.

This year, the same thing began happening with the doors on our bedroom closet (same type we had in front of the dryer). The one door finally needed to be glued, but before I could glue it, Brooke told me I needed to replace it with doors like we have in front of our washer and dryer. Thus, my home improvement project was born.

One would think installing these doors would not be all that difficult or take longer than an hour...especially for someone who has installed them before. Here's the highlights of my one-on-one time with the closet tonight:

• 7:30pm - Head to Home Depot. Find door, purchase and come home.
• Take old door down. Remove tracks.
  
• Unpack door and ask self, "Where's the other half?"
• Answer self, "Still at Home Depot in the box. They sell each door separately, dummy!"
• Call Dad and tell him the story of typical Hurt "luck" when working on a home project. Bummed because Home Depot just closed and I wanted this project done tonight.
• Find out that Home Depot is open until 10pm. Go back to Home Depot.
• Find second door, walk it from back of store to the front, wait my turn in line at the register, find bar code for clerk and notice door is damaged.
• Go back to door section of store.
• Discover there are no more doors the color of the one I just bought.
• Make frantic phone calls to Brooke, ask Home Depot if another store has the color I need, decide to buy different color doors after talking to Brooke.
• Buy TWO doors this time. (Mental note to self...go BACK to Home Depot tomorrow to return door not used).
• Come back home and bring doors into house
  
• Take direction booklet and look for three minutes trying to find where it is written in English.
• English directions do not make sense. Read in Spanish. No help!
• Look at pictures, read directions in French. No help!
• Go to church, get drill.
• Look at pictures again.
• Go to church, get jig saw.
• Look at pictures again. Lay out pieces. Realize saw is not needed.
• Put up top rail. Hang doors.
• Put up side rail on both sides.
• Side rails??? How does this work?
• Look at pictures, read directions in English, Spanish and French. No help!
• Remove "side rails" and hide under bed. Install side clips.
• Install handles (without looking at the directions OR the pictures...pat self on back)
• 11:30pm. Finished already.

So, my one hour project turned into four and technically I'm not done until I return the unused door tomorrow. It's never simple...really.

Walking Like a Cowboy

I know I don't look like much of a cowboy...especially with the tennis shoes and all. But I think I might be walkin' like one today. I went to visit my friend Stan King and his family this weekend, and he took me on a 2 hour trail ride Saturday with some people from his church. Stan called me yesterday and asked if I was sore. I told him, surprising, not really. That was yesterday. Today, I still don't look like a cowboy, but I may be walking a bit more bow legged as muscles on the inside of my legs are telling me I rode a horse for two hours!

I will post pictures of the hog we butchered, cooked and ate when I get those, but I had a great time. It's always good to get to hang out with Stan, and the trail ride was a real bonus. When I was in high school and college, my family lived in the country and had horses. It's been about 18 years since I've ridden and it was a blast.

The Correct Way to Weigh

I posted this for many of you, who like me, have been doing it wrong all these years.
Thank you to Deborah Brown for passing along this important medical information.

Pride Is Assumed When You Say You're a Texan

Have you ever looked at a map of the world?

Look at Texas with me just for a second.

That picture, with the Panhandle and the Gulf Coast, and the Red River and the Rio Grande is as much a part of you as anything ever will be. As soon as anyone anywhere in the world looks at it they know what it is. It's Texas. Pick any kid off the street in Japan and draw him a picture of Texas in the dirt and he'll know what it is. What happens if I show you a picture of any other state? You might get it maybe after a second or two, but who else would? And even if you do, does it ever stir any feelings in you?

In every man, woman and child on this planet, there is a person who wishes just once he could be a real live Texan and get up on a horse or ride off in a pickup. There is a little bit of Texas in everyone.

Did you ever hear anyone in a bar go, 'Wow...so you're from Iowa ? Cool, tell me about it?' Do you know why? Because no one cares about Iowa.

Texas is the Alamo. Texas is 183 men standing in a church, facing thousands of Mexican nationals, fighting for freedom, who had the chance to walk out and save themselves, but stayed instead to fight and die for the cause of freedom.

We send our kids to schools named William B. Travis and James Bowie and Crockett, and do you know why? Because those men saw a line in the sand and they decided to cross it and be heroes.

John Wayne paid to do the movie himself. That is the Spirit of Texas.

Texas is Sam Houston capturing Santa Anna at San Jacinto.

Texas is huge forests of Piney Woods like the Davy Crockett National Forest.

Texas is breathtaking mountains in the Big Bend.

Texas is the unparalleled beauty of bluebonnet fields in the Texas Hill Country.

Texas is the beautiful, warm beaches of the Gulf Coast of South Texas.

Texas is the shiny skyscrapers in Houston and Dallas.

Texas is world record bass from places like Lake Fork.

Texas is Mexican food like nowhere else, not even Mexico.

Texas is the Fort Worth Stockyards, Bass Hall, the Ballpark in Arlington and
the Astrodome. (guess now the Reliant Stadium too)

Texas is larger-than-life legends like Michael DeBakey, Denton Cooley, Willie Nelson, Buddy Holly, Gene Autry, Audie Murphy, Tommy Lee Jones, Waylon Jennings, Janis Joplin, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Landry, Darrell Royal, ZZ Top, Eric Dickerson, Earl Campbell, Nolan Ryan, Sam Rayburn, Howard Hughes, George H. W.Bush, Lyndon B. Johnson, and George W. Bush. and let's not forget GEORGE STRAIT

Texas is great companies like Dell Computer, Texas Instruments and Compaq, Bell Helicopter And LOCKHEED MARTIN AEROSPACE, Home of the F-16 Jet Fighter and the JSF Fighter.

Texas is NASA.

Texas is huge herds of cattle and miles of crops.

Texas is home to the most amazing sunsets of gold over an empty field.

Texans have pride like no others.

Texas is hundreds of deer running around neighborhoods and fields.

Texas is skies blackened with doves, and fields full of deer.

Texas is a place where towns and cities shut down to watch the local high school football game on Friday nights, and for a Night In Old San Antonio River Parade in San Antonio.

To drive across Texas is to drive 1/4 the way across the United States.

Texas is ocean beaches, deserts, lakes and rivers, mountains and prairies, and modern cities.

Everything's bigger in Texas !

No one does anything bigger or better than it's done in Texas.

By federal law, Texas is the only state in the U.S. that can fly its flag at the same height as the U.S. flag. Think about that for a second. You fly the Stars and Stripes at 20 feet in Maryland, California, or Maine , and your state flag, whatever it is, goes at 17 feet. You fly the Stars and Stripes in front of the high school or anyplace else at 20 feet, the Lone Star flies at the same height - 20 feet. Do you know why? Because it is the only state that was a Republic before it became a state.

Also, being a Texan is as high as being an American down here. Our capitol is the only one in the country that is taller than the capitol building in Washington, D.C. and we can divide our state into five states at any time if we wanted to! We included these things as part of the deal when we came on. That's the best part, right there.

Texas even has its own power grid!! ... Did I mention Live music capitol of the world?

If it isn't in Texas, you probably don't need it.

Day One

Well, the Fam left for Alabama today. I am VERY PROUD of my wife...she's been invited to do the children's portion of Hartselle Camp Meeting this year. She and Amanda left on a plane today, a bit late, but they finally got off. They were supposed to be at the airport for an 11:30am flight. Due to the weird storm we had blow in, they didn't get to leave until 2:45pm! But they are there now and I am home...alone!

So tonight I had two options: sit around and mope, or find something fun to do. I chose the latter, grabbed my GPS and Pocket PC, hopped on the motorcycle and went geocaching at a local preserve. The storm thing today (that's what I call it...it was really odd) cooled things off a bit, so I thought it would be a good night to try and find the 10 geoaches hidden in the preserve. I found nine of them but ran out of sunlight before I could find #10...very frustrating!

Here's a few pictures from my adventures this evening:

Can you see something inside that little tube? It's a geocache!

And here it is in my had. It is a pill bottle glued into that tube. Can you see the lid at the top of the container?

This is one of the most clever hides I have seen in a while. The name of the cache was "Flat Tired". I looked and looked through all the trash dumped in this area, all the while thinking the about the name of the cache. Just when I was about to give up (after looking over all three tires in this trash pile), I looked at this one once more. Do you see anything out of place? How about the valve stem coming out of the tire? Yep, the log you sign is inside that. It was a little harder to find though because it was dark. The flash on my camera makes it a little easier to see. Very clever!

I Might Help Set a World Record Today

If you use Firefox browser, you can download version 3 today after 10am PT and be a part of Firefox's attempt to set a Guinness Book of World Records attempt for the most downloads in a 24 hour period (click the picture above for all the details). I'm one of 1.5 million people who have signed up saying they would download today. Come join us!

Here is the download link. Right now, it is still for version 2, but I believe they will change it after 10am PT...if not, you will be able to find the link from here.

A Great Father's Day

My wife and daughter made me feel very special today and I had a great Father's Day. Amanda got me a card that read, "Dad, it's Father's Day and you deserve the best the world has to offer... (open card) That's why you have me! Happy Father's Day from your daughter." Along with that came a sun catcher car that she made during VBS this week AND the children's church craft from today.

Sometime this week, Brooke and Amanda went shopping and bought me a black t-shirt that says, Born to Ride, Forced to Work with a motorcycle on the front. They also found the sound track to Dan in Real Life which I have been wanting. And then Brooke just happened to find a new Chris Botti CD which she calls romantic music (woo hoo!).

After church, we went to Cedar Hill state park where my parents are camping and wished my Dad a Happy Father's Day. While we were there, Dad took a picture of me with my best friend.



Earlier this week, one of the guys from church said something about going on a motorcycle ride today. I didn't hear back from anybody, so I figured Father's Day nixed those plans. But hey, we're fathers, right? It is our day. The four of us pictured here ended up spending time with our families this afternoon and then went for an evening ride (read "man time"). It was a lot of fun. (By the way, if you're wondering what I would look like if I were totally bald, the shadow cast by the sun here gives you a glimpse!)

I am thankful to have a wife and daughter who take such good care of me, put up with me and work so hard to make me feel special. I had a great day. Thank you Brooke and Amanda!

Prepare Thyself, Amateur

So I turn on my cell phone this morning (true story). I immediately hear the tones that tell me I have two text messages. I open the first one, from one of the youth workers at our church, and it says:

prepare for the worst

Well, one of our church youth has been telling me all week that he is going to "get me" at VBS today (water balloons, hose or something along those lines). I figured he had enlisted this youth worker's help to harass me. I thought the other text was going to be from youth member saying the same thing.

So, I replied appropriately:

Prepare Thyself, Amateur

After sending that text, I opened the other one that came in. Come to find out, this one was from the youth worker, too. This one said:

I know u r sleeping, but please pray for us. Our dog has been sick and is probably going to die. We will probably have to... (and the text cut off there)

It only took a second or two to realize what the ... at the end meant. This text was too long to come in one message, so it was continued as a second message. The entire message would have read:

I know u r sleeping, but please pray for us. Our dog has been sick and is probably going to die. We will probably have to prepare for the worst.

To which, I had already replied, "Prepare Thyself, Amateur"

So of course I had to text her and explain my moronic reply.

Just call me Mr. Sensitive.

I Remember June 12, 1993 Like It Was Yesterday

Solution to the Oil Crisis

OPEC sells oil for $128.00 a barrel.

OPEC nations buy U.S. grain at $7.00 a bushel.

Solution: Sell grain for $128.00 a bushel.

Send Your Friends a Post-Rapture Email!

I saw the headline for this as I was browsing through Google Reader tonight. Somehow I'm thinking Jesus expects a little more of us than this. How can we expect the lost not to laugh at us? I did when I read this.

A new Web site is offering a miraculous service — e-mails sent to loved ones left behind on Earth after you've been swept up to heaven in the Rapture...

Final e-mails from vanished subscribers will be triggered when three of the site's five Christian staffers fail to log in for six days in a row.

Brought to you by "YouveBeenLeftBehind.com" (seriously!)

Read the entire Fox News story here.

Not a Sound

Every once-in-a-while I will see a small owl sitting on our back yard fence when I let the dogs out at night. Tonight I saw two of them sitting on the sidewalk/ramp rail at church when I was doing my security walk. When I saw them, I stopped to watch them and they seemed to watch me, too. Finally I walked up for a closer view and one of them let me get within 6 feet before he took off. It wasn't until a few seconds later that I noticed what I had just missed...sound. When they flew, there was absolutely no sound, and one of them flew just 3-4 feet over my head.

I checked another couple doors and then walked back under the tree where I thought one of them had landed. Sure enough, there he was looking at me again. We watched each other for a while, me staring up, him making little triangle movements with his head staring down at me. To my surprise, he jumped/flew to a branch closer to me, and finally made his way to a branch straight over my head. He was definitely a very curious little owl.

Finally he hopped to another branch and looked out toward the playground area where the second owl had flown. When I stepped around to get a better view, he took off for the trees in the playground and was gone. Again, not a sound.