I Have Chosen This Temple

I was reading in 2 Chronicles tonight and ran across this passage where Solomon had asked God to hear his prayers and the prayers of the people of Israel that were offered at the newly-built Temple. God replied in chapter 7, verses 15-16:

I will listen to every prayer made in this place for I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be my home forever. My eyes and my heart will always be here. (NLT)

After I read that, I got to thinking. God doesn't dwell in the Temple anymore (Acts 7:48), but He lives in our hearts. That means:

1. God will listen to every prayer of MY HEART
2. God has chosen ME/MY HEART to set it aprt to His home forever
3. God's eyes and His heart will always be on, with and in ME/MY HEART

How awsome is that!

Me and My Punkin

This is a picture of me and my Punkin during Spring Break this year. Tonight Brooke had a girls night out with her friends, so Punkin and I had a Daddy/Daughter date night. We left on the motorcycle a little after 5pm and headed to the library first. The Southwest Branch by our house closes at 5pm on Friday (we found out when we got there), so we headed to the Southeast Branch which also turned out to be closed. As we were riding up, Amanda saw the Tails and Trails dog park, so of course we had to stop and see the dogs there.

After that, we went to Blockbuster to rent a Wii game for tonight (and the rest of the weekend). Making decisions is not one of the things Amanda likes to do, and if there is any time constraint involved, it is just plain stressful for her. I was patient, and we finally decided on Mario Galaxy. We played it tonight, but so far, neither one of us are real impressed with it. I certainly am not $9 impressed with it (rental fee).

From there, we headed to the Dollar Tree (Amanda's favorite store in the entire world!). I gave her $5 and let her go. She found a few treasures for herself and picked out a present to give an older, single lady at our church.

I had originally planned on trying out this pizza place in Mansfield where you watch them make your pizza and then you take it home to cook it, but Amanda had pizza for lunch and wanted something else for dinner. Something else = McDonalds. Eh, it's ok. I can always eat McDonalds. We had a good time just haning out and talking over fries, burgers and chicken nuggets.

Last stop was by Red Box to pick up a movie for tonight. I had already looked for a kids movie. I reserved Benji: Off the Leash. All I can about this movie...that one prison warden in Arizona that makes all of his prisoners wear pink underwear and work outside to pay for their onw meals. I think this guy might want to get this movie and make his inmates watch it. Yes, it was THAT PAINFUL!

The movie didn't get over until 10:30pm and which time Amanda was extremely sleepy. She had one mess to clean up before bed and I got to listen to her cry "I'm so sleepy" while she cleaned it up. We crawled into her bed to pray, she said how much she liked Daddy/Daughter date nights and I'm pretty sure she was asleep 30 seconds after that.

Had an awesome night...me and my Punkin.

Street/Trial Riding

I Don't Know Where I Am

A woman in a hot-air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

 

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.

 

"She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Republican."

  

"I am," replied the man. "How did you know?" 

 

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct.  But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost.  Frankly, you've not been much help to me." 

 

The man smiled and responded, "You must be an Obama Democrat."

 

"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?" 

 

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are going.. You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air.  You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem.  You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault."

They Make the Light Flash for a Reason

We had a plan. Pastor prayed, the plan began...and just after I turned the video camera on it went off, battery dead. I plugged the camera in and let it "charge" for a couple hours last night. Too bad I never checked to see if the little red light was flashing that means the camera was charging. It turns out I plugged it into the half of my UPS (uninterrupted power supply) that does not work.

So what did I miss? Well, next Sunday (May 10) is Pastor David's 60th birthday. We could not let an occasion like this go by without much fanfare, but the problem was how to make it a surprise. The staff and church leadership always does something for Pastor's birthday, we mention it to the congregation, and on "big ones" (like 50 and 60), we do a big church party. It's not like Pastor expects a birthday party, but I'm thinking since he's turning 60, since we always do something for him, and since his birthday is on a Sunday, he has to have it in the back of his mind that something is going to happen. That's why I suggested we do something today, a week before Pastor's birthday. He wouldn't expect anything today, right?

We began talking it over as a staff and came up with the idea of combining his party with the church picnic. The only problem with that was the fact that the picnic was scheduled at the end of the month. If we did a party then, it would seem like a "guilt party" because we forgot his real birthday. That's when our events coordinator, Pat, came to the rescue. She told Pastor the date we had scheduled for the picnic would not work for her and asked if we could move it to today, May 3rd. The picnic was moved and party planning began in earnest.

So "the plan", as NOT captured on video, went like this. A letter went out to the congregation and asked them to stop by the youth building when they got to church this morning. Those that brought cards/presents dropped them off in the youth building and everybody grabbed a party hat and a party blower. These were smuggled into the sanctuary and hidden until the appointed time. We always have an opening song and then Pastor opens the service in prayer. As he began to pray today, people quietly and "prayerfully" put on their party hats and got out the party blowers. When Pastor said "amen", he may have been startled by the noise as the party blowers sounded and he opened his eyes to a party-hat-clad church. Immediately a video started showing pictures of Pastor over the years and a couple happy-birthday-videos from friends. After the video, we told Pastor that the picnic was also a party for him. Somehow we moved back into worship, had a good service and a good message, and then had the picnic/party afterwards.

I didn't mention that in the midst of all the planning the weather did not cooperate this week. LOTS of rain which makes for muddy church grounds. On Thursday, we decided the chances were GREAT that we would have to move the picnic into the sanctuary, so rather than wait and try to take down all the chairs and set up 18 tables on the fly, we set up the sanctuary for the picnic. When people arrived today, they were asked where they wanted to sit, "table or chairs". This made it a little bit interesting for the ushers as they took up the offering, but it was different and it was fun.

So we had GREAT Texas BBQ for lunch, sang Happy Birthday to Pastor, took ten additional minutes to light all 60 candles on his cake, showered him with gifts and gift cards and had a great time. Lots of volunteers helped clean up so everybody was home before too late this afternoon. What a great day!

Happy Birthday a week early Pastor David. We love you!

FYI - The picture at the beginning of this post is from Pastor's 55th birthday party, not today.

Patriot Micro Chip

THE PATRIOT MICRO CHIP is intended to be implanted in terrorists.  The implant is specifically designed to be installed in the forehead.  When properly installed it will allow the implantee to speak to God. 

  

 It comes in various sizes: 

The exact size of the implant will be selected by a well-trained and highly-skilled technician. The implant may or may not be painless. Side effects, like headaches and nausea, are temporary. Some bleeding or swelling may occur at the injection site.

Please enjoy the security we provide for you.

Best regards,

US Marines

Camping in the Back Yard

The girls say they are going to make it thorugh the night (staying outside). We'll see!

Texas Room...Just Finished

I have been in the process of repainting my office since the beginning of the year. Obviously, it has gone S-L-O-W-L-Y. But I've finally finished the painting (yesterday!). I still have some bookshelves to paint, and as you can see from the video, I still have a lot of walls to cover before my "Texas Room" lives up to it's name. But it's looking good and I'm excited. Here's a minute and a half video tour.

Redneck Artist

12 of 12 - April 2009

8:14am - Breakfast of Champions, (generic) Lucky Charms


8:55am - Vine Fellowship Easter bulletin


8:55am - Amanda at church in her Easter outfit


10:25am - Vine Fellowship Easter service


11:39am - Mrs. Brooke and Kidz Live on Sunday morning


2:37pm - Lunch with Mom and Dad


4:08pm - Yes, that's a Christmas tree. One of the places Amanda had to look for her Easter eggs was under the Christmas tree! That's right, G-ma still has her Christmas tree up.


4:20pm - Mom dyed Easter eggs and hid them for Amanda. Here Amanda has found them all and sorted them by color.


4:34pm - Amanda being silly at Mom and Dad's during her Easter egg hunt.


6:17pm - For years now, Mom has been measuring Amanda from time to time and marking her height with the date on her kitchen door frame.


7:29pm - We had to go grocery shopping on the way home from Mom and Dad's. Picked up these "just because I love you" roses for Brooke while we were there.


7:58pm - Several years ago we received this hand-stir popcorn popper on Pastor Appreciation Sunday. We use it often and we LOVE it.

Easter Myths

One lady wrote in to a question and answer forum.

Dear Sirs,
Our preacher said on Easter, Jesus just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you think?
Sincerely,
Bewildered

Dear Bewildered,
Beat your preacher with a cat-of-nine-tails with 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross; hang him in the sun for 6 hours; run a spear thru his side; put him in an airless tomb for 36 hours and see what happens. Sincerely,
Charles

(taken from our church bulletin on Easter Sunday)

The Man Rules

Men are NOT mind readers.

Learn to work the toilet seat.You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down.We need it up, you need it down.You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.

Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one:Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!

Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost EVERY question.

Come to us with a problem ONLY if you want help solving it. That's what we do.

If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the OTHER one.

You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.

ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.

If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really .

You have enough clothes. You have too many shoes.

I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

12 of 12 - March 2009

7:27am - Oops, I forgot March's 12 of 12 of the 12th, so I had to cheat and do it on the 13th this month.


7:28am - Brooke, Boo, Sully and I all join in waking Amanda up for school.


7:39am - Today's lunch napkin poem for Amanda.


7:54am - Spent most of the day trying to get Carbonite set up and running smoothly on my laptop.


3:33pm - Working on "Upside Down Leadership" for iGrow, Track 3.


3:36pm - Brooke brought home Sonic drinks. Happy Hour at Sonic is one of our favorite times of the day.


5:20pm - Working on a little English homework. Look at Amanda's GIANT pencil!


6:49pm - School patches are always coming off in the wash, so here I am apply clothing glue and ironing them on again.


6:57pm - Amanda coming in (with Boo) to show off her latest fashion design.


7:52pm - Every time I paint, Boo comes into my office to offer moral support. More than once, she has even "worn paint" in support of my efforts (she has rubbed against a freshly-painted wall).

7:54pm - Applying paint to the last wall!


8:24pm - Brooke, Boo and Sully all came to my office to keep my company while I painted. They thought it was cold. I offered Brooke a roller to get the blood flowing, but she politely passed.

Watch Yourself

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Israeli Sense of Humor at the UN

A representative from Israel began: 'Before beginning my talk I want to tell you something about Moses. When he struck the rock and it brought forth water, he thought, 'What a good opportunity to have a bath!'

He removed his clothes, put them aside on the rock and entered the water.

When he got out and wanted to dress, his clothes had vanished. A Palestinian had stolen them.'

The Palestinian representative jumped up furiously and shouted, 'What are you talking about? The Palestinians weren't there then.'

The Israeli representative smiled and said, 'And now that we have made that clear, I will begin my speech....'

(From my friend, Ken)

Email Virus Warning

I thought you would want to know about this e-mail virus. Even the most advanced programs from Norton or McAfee cannot take care of this one. It appears to affect those who were born prior to 1965.

Symptoms:

1. Causes you to send the same e-mail twice
2. Causes you to send a blank e-mail
3. Causes you to send e-mail to the wrong person
4. Causes you to send it back to the person who sent it to you
5. Causes you to forget to attach the attachment
6. Causes you to hit 'SEND' before you've finished
7. Causes you to hit 'DELETE' instead of 'SEND'
8. Causes you to hit 'SEND' when you should 'DELETE'
9. Causes you to hit 'DELETE' instead of forward

IT IS CALLED THE
'C-NILE VIRUS'

(Emailed to me from my friend, Ken)

I'm Leavin' on a Jet (and prop) Plane

This is the company and type of plane I will be flying from Detroit Metro Airport to Chippewa Country International Airport ("the only commercial service airport in the Eastern Upper Peninsula"). I will be flying a "real" plane from DFW to Detroit. I am going to visit my best friend and roommate from college, Craig, in May. My final destination is the thriving metropolis of Pickford, MI. Craig tells me there are approx. 700 people in Pickford, but from what I can find on the Internet (and there is precious little), it looks like there may be closer to 1,800 people! There is some talk of "townships" and the like, so the actual town may have just 700 people...guess I'll find out.

When I bought my ticket at Hotwire.com today, it said the temperature was 8 degrees with a wind chill of -4. That's why I'm not going until May. I tried to find out what one does for excitement in Pickford. Craig pointed out it is only 20 miles or so from the Canadian border, but now you have to have a passport to get into Canada, so guess we won't be visiting there, eh? I also checked Geocaching.com. The town has ONE geocache.

So, in May, I'm leavin' on a jet (and prop) plane and I'm excited to see my friend again. As long as there's junk food, a ping pong table and a chance to hang out together, we'll have a blast!

An Incomplete Breakfast

Well, this is two Saturdays in a row that I have cooked an incomplete breakfast. Last week it was the pancakes, this week it's the gravy.

Last week I cooked the bacon in a pan and then cooked has browns in the grease. On our new griddle, I cooked eggs and tried to cook pancakes. The pancakes didn't turn out. Brooke said it was because the batter was too old. I guess that's what it was, I mean, how do you ruin pancakes made from a mix?

Today, we had no fresh pancake mix, so I determined to fix biscuits and gravy with our eggs and bacon. Near as I can tell, I used too much grease. I mean, when the gravy was done, it looked a little bit like melted brains...it was lumpy and oh so very greasy! As you can tell from the picture, I am not exactly a "health nut", but there was so much grease in that gravy even I was afraid to eat it! I dumped the gravy and we substituted butter and jelly. It was pretty good, but I still want to learn how to make gravy. If you can help me out on how much grease, milk and flour to use, please leave a comment. Thanks!

It Just Keeps Getting Better

This office "painting" project just keeps getting better. I'll see one little thing and think, "I'll do that while I'm here", in my mind, allowing 10 minutes for the job. Today's "10 minute job" turned into two plus hours!

I have wall plugs in my office that are so loose, when I plug something into them, the cord literally falls out. An electrician replaced one of them and I decided to do the other two. (First stupid thought.)

At lunch time today, I decided to replace the one plug that I looked at last night. Nobody else was home and my office was light enough to see with the lights off, so I flipped the breaker off and took the plug apart. I was expecting to see two white wires and two black wires. I as I pulled the plug out, I saw two white wires on one side and two black wires on the other. It's all good.

I loosened the four screws and...DOH! The plug came out and I noticed two wires had been shoved into the back of the plugs, thus making six wires instead of four. I was not able to shove the two wires into the back of my new plug, so 30 minutes later it was time to get back to work and I still was not done. I put wire plugs and electrical tape on the wires to make it "safe", flipped the breaker back on so everybody would have power when they came home, and I left.

When I came home from work, the kitchen light over the stove was on, but the one over the table was not. Amanda was doing homework in the living room. I knew something was not right. It seems the wires that were shoved into the back of that plug I took out were "hot" and the wires going out of the plug passed along that power to most of my office, the kitchen light over the table and all the electricity in Amanda's room. Now I had to get the plug fixed!

A brief call to an electrician friend helped me get the plug back in the wall, all wired correctly. Then I shut off ALL brain function and made the decision to change out the combination switch/plug in my bathroom while I had the electricty turned off. Rather than tell the story in real time (which would take an hour and a half, no exaggeration), let me give you the highlights:

• There were no brown switch/plug combinations at the hardware store so I got a white one knowing it would not look as good, but it would be ok. DUH! Look at the picture above. I forgot there was another brown switch on the same wall. Talk about looking stupid!!
• I took the switch/plug out of the wall and made a careful mental note how it was wired. It was not possible to wire the new one the same way.
• Wired the switch/plug and turned the breaker on. It IMMEDIATELY flipped back off. "Something must not be right".
• Rewired the switch/plug and turned the breaker on. The plug worked great. Turned the switch on to turn on the light and CLICK...threw the breaker again.
• Called electrician friend...not home. Left message.
• Short time later, Dad calls (had left message for him earlier).
• In just one hour and ten minutes he walked me through wiring the switch/plug over the phone. I had to get another piece of wire and connect two screws on opposite sides of the switch/plug thingy. There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING intuitive about that. Who would know to do that?

So another "painting" night has been shot doing a ten minute job. It just keeps getting better. I could laugh, cry or cuss. Thought I'd blog about it so I could do the former...thanks for reading!

12 of 12 - February 2009

7:23am - I wrote Valentine Countdown Poems for Amanda. I got started a little late, so she got to open a couple of them this morning.


9:41am - One of the many exciting jobs I do! I am hosing off the sidewalk where mud collected after our last heavy rain.


11:58am - I couldn't fix anything this time...had to call Konica Minolta to come replace their worn out part. (They diagnosed the problem, not me).


12:01pm - Stacking chairs in preparation for a reception on Friday night.


12:35pm - Break time! It was a nice day and Brooke was up for it, so we took a short break at lunch and went for a motorcycle ride.


12:48pm - Only in Texas! Just outside the city limits we saw these Texas Long Horns while on our motorcycle ride.


2:22pm - Another one of my everyday jobs...changing light bulbs.


5:42pm - Painting trim in the garage...still working on my home office.


6:03pm - One of our favorite evening activities...Daddy/Daughter wrestling!


6:04pm - Brooke wrestling with Boo while Punkin and I wrestled.


7:25pm - Sully was the first to get a haircut tonight.


9:25pm - Putting the finishing touches on Boo's haircut.