Acts 2:15 (TNIV)

A day of silence

2011-02-26T15:22:00.001-08:00

I tried to begin a day of silence yesterday around this time... work kept that from happening but it did begin around Sundown.. Mountain time. Be that as it may it is something I hope to do about once a quarter. Sure I spoke a couple of times.. in error but for the most part I kept quiet and kept my Lord my focus.

Last night I read my bible for a while and read through some information for my sermon I'll be preaching in a couple of weeks. First Sunday of Lent so I'll be teaching a little about Lent, Ash Wednesday (we are holding an Ash Wednesday service for the 2nd year in a row..this time in the evening)...and then preaching a little about those whiny Hebrews in the desert wishing they were back in Egypt... and then God sends them manna and quail. You would think by then they would have faith in God.. after all they had seen.. I mean we have it all figured out don't we?

Anyway...

Got up this morning...shook Austin to get him off to work.... and read my bible some more. Then washed dishes (by hand..washer is broke) and cleaned up the kitchen while Donna is away working the Emmaus Walk this weekend.

Finished the dishes then I took a ride on my bicycle for about 16 miles.. it was hard..first ride in a while but my knee responded wonderfully and I'm feeling the work in my abs and legs right now. That's good..hope I can stand and play a guitar in church tomorrow.

Took a hot bath..read my bible some more..and dozed off for a bit.

Then I got up and planned music for mosaic for Sunday night and worked on this song a little bit that I'm supposed to do during lent called "Then the Quail Came". I have most of the chords figured out but I haven't charted it yet. If you know this song and have charts please let me know :-)

My day of silence is about to end when Austin gets home and we head out to Broaddus together. All in all it has been a great 24 (more or less...more less than more I think but that's ok) hours. I look forward to doing it again in the next 3 months.

Praise God from whom all Blessings flow!

jerry jeff walker-charlie dunn

2010-12-18T21:22:00.000-08:00

Key West...Key Lime....

2010-08-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

Key West was an awesome place.. we really fell in love with it. We would love to go back again and again. Riding around town on scooters. Eating great food. Beautiful beaches. Beautiful water. Great people. Just a different pace of life.

One of the things we did discover was what you can do with Key Limes..

We started seeing many many things Key Lime somewhere around day 2. We started making a list.. Then a friendly shop owner said if we really wanted to flesh out our list we needed to go to Kermit's

Let me tell you..some of this stuff is awesome.. the barbecue sauce and the cilantro chip sauce is fabulous. Key Lime Margaritas...not so much. A tad too tart. The wine on the other hand even had us non wine drinkers singing its praises.

Well enough with the details... here is the list of everything we found Key Lime on Key West.
In no particular order... Key Lime:

Ice Crush
Coconut patties
Bark (as in candy coating)
Pie on a stick
Taffy
Ice cream
Cookies
Fudge
Juice
Coffee
Aide
Tea
Pie cookies
Coolers
Margarita Mix
Pretzels
Mousse
Shortbread cookies
Mojito
Cheesecake
Strawberry iced tea
Tea cookies
Candy canes
White chocolate cookies
Mango poppy dressing
Barbecue sauce
Honey
Hot sauce
Mango chutney
Wine
Datil pepper
Powder
Strawberry jalapeno jelly
Bath jell
Shampoo
Conditioner
Candles
Fruit Squares
Cocktail dipping sauce
Guacamole dip
Florida bay spice
Soap
Citrus salsa
Jelly Beans
Soda
Cinnabun
Smoothie

I don't proclaim that this list is all inclusive.. if you have had some other Key Lime "something" let me know and post it here...

Oh yes.. as like the pic says..

Key Lime Time

Miami for a day… + some

2010-08-03T21:58:00.001-07:00

We did a quick run in to Coconut Grove Saturday night… pretty cool place. Walked around a bit but was an interesting evening… Burn Notice has a warehouse there where they do all their stage shooting. They also do most of their “on location” shooting in the Coconut Grove area.

Then Sunday we went to Miami Beach.. we walked and walked and walked.. Some fun observations, experiences and encounters during the day.

The beach is amazing!!!

Met a really great lady that was the bartender at the poolside bar and The Clevelander hotel. She has two beautiful daughters and she’s afraid of going in to the remote areas of Florida where there are not many lights. She has the same feelings that many people from my part of Texas have when they go in to a big city. I had 2 margaritas there… it was actually before noon….

Then had a cigar a little later while walking down Ocean dr.

Later as Hannah and I are standing outside the Ghirardelli's. chocolate store contemplating a hot fudge Sunday.. Donna walks up and says “what sin have you found now?” My favorite quote of the day from family.

Later on at the beach near the Key Biscayne lighthouse, a local asks Donna “Do you speak English or do you speak Spanish?” Just never thought Donna looked like a Spanish speaking person.

Coolest observation of the day: Donna says “You know, I’ve noticed something about the groups around here”. I said “There are no lines… not like the ones we normally think of .. color..”

We were also the minority as English speaking people in Miami beach.

We have also designated Miami as “Smokers Paradise”. Dang there are so many people that smoke there. I guess it’s all the Europeans. I’m not hating… since I had my cigar there..but still. Lots of cigarette smokers. Lots of scooters too.

About 10 percent of the people I saw in Miami look like models.

The lady at Key Biscayne was very nice too. She was very sociable .. asked Donna to take pics of her and her son. We had her take pics of us too.

Most everyone we ran across was very friendly and nice. Now Donna had us marching all over Miami beach..the a little driving to Key Biscayne..then walked all over Miami beach again to get pics of the art deco hotels with their neon on at night…put blisters on my left foot. Wore us out. Felt like boot camp. It was about 15 kilometers.. Donna and Hannah named our day the Donna Anderson’s Miami Beach, 15K pro am fun run race for the cure (a la The Office). Still recovering..

We’ll have more observations from Key West..mainly how may different ways you can eat Key Lime “whatever”..

Oh..yeah..

Forgot that the lady at Key Biscayne also asked Donna if we were from Northern Florida..because we sounded like her in-laws.

also...

A guy in an al fresco restaurant ..the cafe at Books and Books..had a dog that was slobbering all over Austin.... He was too timid to say anything to them so Donna asked if they could pull their dog back..in a very nice way. One of the guys asked us where in the south were we from..he then pointed at his SMU business school cap (with his Princeton t-shirt on too). We tried to bond a little by pointing out that our daughter was going to TCU but he would have none of it...

My New Playlist

2010-07-02T17:16:00.000-07:00

I grew up in the 70's. I'm an album guy. I didn't buy 45's (one song on each side of a small vinyl disc). I bought LP's (Long Playing records.. large vinyl discs that generally held 5 or 6 songs on each side...).
I used to buy some greatest hits LP's of artists I really didn't plan to get "that" in to but if I like an artist I like to listen to an album in context.. I see it as greater vision of the artist in how they present their music.
Because of that I usually make playlists in itunes that are simply albums. Complete CD's of music by an artist. I make some other playlists but they are usually regarding something I'm working on...new songs for worship for church... sets for an upcoming camp gig..something like that.

A few days ago I made my first itunes playlist..for my own personal enjoyment. I know..most of you are like... What? It's true. but it's a big one..it pretty much fills up my little..old...ipod nano. But it's for listening to while I ride my bike. I find the selection soothing as I work to push through challenges out on the road. I thought I might share it with you and see what you thought. So far I really like it. I guess that's a good thing...but I think it's accomplishing what I want it to when I go out on rides... it's reducing my frustration as I work to do frustrating things that challenge me to work harder...

Anyway..take a look if you want. tell me what you think if you want.

Anywhere You Go 3:53 Ross King Perhaps I've Said Too Much

The State 4:30 Derek Webb Stockholm Syndrome

First Look 4:02 Jimmy Buffett Floridays

I Need Thee Every Hour 3:47 Jars Of Clay Redemption Songs

Our God 5:28 Chris Tomlin Passion: Awakening

Asleep In The Desert 3:31 ZZ Top Six Pack

Rhumba Man 4:10 Jimmy Buffett Buffet Hotel

O God Where Are You Now (In Pickerel Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?) 5:02 David Crowder Band A Collision or (3+4=7)

Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On 3:17 Jimmy Buffett Take The Weather With You

My Enemies Are Men Like Me 5:20 Derek Webb Mockingbird

Sing Like Mary Sang 7:18 Ryan Delmore The Spirit, The Water, And The Blood

Love In The Library 4:40 Jimmy Buffett Fruitcakes

Please Be My Strength 3:33 Gungor Beautiful Things

Saturday In The Park 3:56 Chicago Greatest Hits Vol 1

Track 07 3:13 James Evan Songs You Can't Dance To

Rain Down 5:46 David Crowder Band All I Can Say

My Hope 4:16 David Crowder Band Can You Hear Us?

Stay 5:26 Robbie Seay Band Give Yourself Away

Woman In Texas 4:41 Jerry Jeff Walker Live At Gruene Hall

Wait For Your Rain/Grace Like Rain 15:07 Todd Agnew Grace Like Rain

Tryin' To Reason With Hurricane Season 4:22 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Can't Help Myself 6:15 Sandra McCracken In Feast Or Fallow

Open Skies 3:59 David Crowder Band Illuminate

All Creatures 5:16 David Crowder Band Illuminate

More Than That 3:26 Monk & Neagle The Twenty-First Time [Promo]

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For 4:38 U2 The Joshua Tree

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is 3:22 Chicago Greatest Hits

You Have Me 4:36 Gungor Beautiful Things

Feelin' Stronger Every Day 4:17 Chicago

Rich Young Ruler 3:57 Derek Webb Mockingbird

Samson 3:55 Regina Spector

The Spirit vs. The Kick Drum 3:08 Derek Webb Stockholm Syndrome

Lovely Cruise 3:54 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

passenger seat 3:44 Death cab for cutie

Mockingbird 4:15 Derek Webb Mockingbird

No Not One 3:58 Brandon Heath What If We

Navajo Rug 3:02 Jerry Jeff Walker Navajo Rug

Teach Me All Your Ways 5:43 Ryan Delmore The Spirit, The Water, And The Blood

Incommunicado 3:41 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Shine Your Light On Us 6:23 Robbie Seay Band Give Yourself Away

Viva La Vida 4:01 Coldplay Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends

Nasty Dogs And Funky Kings 2:50 ZZ Top Six Pack

A Pirate Looks At Forty 3:53 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Shadows [Acoustic] 3:20 David Crowder Band The Acoustic Songs

California Promises 3:40 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Call On Me 4:03 Chicago Greatest Hits Vol 1

Wishing You Were Here 4:37 Chicago Greatest Hits Vol 1

You Do All Things Well 4:44 Chris Tomlin Arriving [Enhanced]

Tin Cup Chalice 3:38 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Ocean 3:59 Ten Shekel Shirt Much

When The Coast Is Clear 2:58 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Mexico 4:07 Jimmy Buffett Barometer Soup

Pre-You 5:17 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

He Went To Paris 3:30 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Where The Streets Have No Name 5:37 U2 The Joshua Tree (Remastered)

Glorify 4:28 Todd Wright All The Freed

Beautiful Things 5:10 Gungor Beautiful Things

With Every Breath 5:03 Leigh Nash & Dan Haseltine City On A Hill

True Religion 5:47 Ryan Delmore The Spirit, The Water, And The Blood

No Plane On Sunday 4:18 Jimmy Buffett Floridays

You Were So Close To Me 3:29 American Blues The Roots Of ZZ Top

All Around Me 4:37 David Crowder Band Church Music

Stars Fell On Alabama 4:15 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Volcano 3:39 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Boy With A Coin 4:06 Iron & Wine The Shepherd's Dog

Master Of Sparks 3:31 ZZ Top Six Pack

Never Let Go David Crowder Band

Deliver Me 4:42 David Crowder Band Illuminate

Rodeo Wind 4:49 Jerry Jeff Walker Live At Gruene Hall

We Learned To Be Cool From You 5:55 Jimmy Buffett Buffet Hotel

Hot, Blue And Righteous 3:18 ZZ Top Six Pack

Creola 7:03 Jimmy Buffett Floridays

Speechless 5:07 Steven Curtis Chapman Speechless

Love Song 3:54 Third Day Third Day

O Come And Mourn With Me Awhile 4:05 Jars Of Clay Redemption Songs

Sing Alleluia 3:42 Jennifer Knapp & Mac Powell City On A Hill: Sing Allelluia

Eastern Hymn 6:26 David Crowder Band Church Music

I Heard I Was In Town 3:38 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Oh Happiness [Acoustic] 2:35 David Crowder Band The Acoustic Songs

A Beautiful Collision 3:57 David Crowder Band B Collision

On the Radio 3:26 Regina Spektor

One of these days 4:25 FFH

Power in His Blood 4:08 FFH

A New Law 4:46 Derek Webb Mockingbird

Track 02 2:46 James Evan Songs You Can't Dance To

Middle Of The Night 3:16 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

One Trick Pony 3:26 MercyMe Coming Up to Breathe

Obsession 6:00 David Crowder Band Can You Hear Us?

Six String Music 3:25 Jimmy Buffett Fruitcakes

Nautical Wheelers 3:36 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads [Disc 1]

Matthew's Begats 2:18 Andrew Peterson Behold The Lamb Of God

Sheik 4:05 ZZ Top Six Pack (Disc 2) [Tres Hombres & Fandango]

Resurrection Fern 4:50 Iron & Wine The Shepherd's Dog

You Gave Sight 4:43 Todd Wright All The Freed

Shepherd 3:37 Todd Agnew Grace Like Rain

By His Wounds 3:24 Littrell, Brian; Powell, Mac; Chapman, Steven Curtis; Hall, Mark Glory Revealed - The Word of God In Worship

Meet mwith me 3:40 Ten Shekel Shirt Much

Poured Out 4:01 Marie Barnett Poured OUT - Club Vineyard Vol. 68

Tasting Forgiveness 3:08 RSB Better Days

Surely We Can Change 5:18 David Crowder Band Remedy

Sacred 7:27 Ryan Delmore The Spirit, The Water, And The Blood

Meet Me In Memphis 4:52 Jimmy Buffett Floridays

Pictures of Success 6:56 Rilo Kiley

On A Slow Boat To China 3:59 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Rescue Is Coming (B Walk Down Stairs) 6:38 David Crowder Band A Collision or (3+4=7)

Death And All His Friends 6:19 Coldplay Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends

Unashamed Love 4:38 Ten Shekel Shirt Much

Little Miss Magic 4:02 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads [Disc 4]

Ballad Of Spider John 4:28 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads [Disc 4]

Nothin' But A Breeze 4:17 Jimmy Buffett Take The Weather With You

Running To Stand Still 4:17 U2 The Joshua Tree (Remastered)

All I Can Say 4:31 David Crowder Band All I Can Say

You Alone 5:37 David Crowder Band The Lime CD

Falling Down 5:02 Ryan Delmore The Spirit, The Water, And The Blood

With Or Without You 4:56 U2 The Joshua Tree (Remastered)

Only You 4:02 David Crowder Band Illuminate

Sea and The Rythm 5:36 Iron & Wine

Twelve Volt Man 3:58 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads [Disc 4]

Track 01 4:18 James Evan Songs You Can't Dance To

all who are thirsty 3:46 Vineyard UK Surrender

Yeah 3:36 Among Thorns Among Thorns

The Twenty-First Time 3:16 Monk & Neagle The Twenty-First Time

Hey there Delilah 3:53 Plain White T's

Son Of A Son Of A Sailer 3:25 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Smartest Person In The Room 4:39 Ross King Perhaps I've Said Too Much

When Salome Plays The Drum 3:29 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads [Disc 3]

They Don't Dance Like Carmen No More 2:54 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Off To See The Lizard 4:14 Jimmy Buffett Off To See The Lizard

Awakening 4:52 Chris Tomlin Passion: Awakening

Everybody Want To Go To Heaven 4:56 David Crowder Band B Collision

Pagan Angel And A Borrowed Car 4:33 Iron & Wine The Shepherd's Dog

25 Or 6 To 4 4:53 Chicago Greatest Hits Vol 1

This is Our God 5:36 Chris Tomlin The Noise We Make

Mercy 4:57 Ryan Delmore The Spirit, The Water, And The Blood

The Nighted I Painted The Sky 5:32 Jimmy Buffett Barometer Soup

Come Thou Fount 4:32 David Crowder Band All I Can Say

Search And Know 3:37 Todd Wright All The Freed

Biloxi 5:39 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads [Disc 2]

Track 09 3:55 James Evan Songs You Can't Dance To

Little Bird 3:35 Jerry Jeff Walker Live At Gruene Hall

Wholly Yours 4:17 David Crowder Band B Collision

Stronger 4:26 Hillsong Live This Is Our God

False Echoes (Havana 1921) 15:55 Jimmy Buffett Banana Wind

Uncreated One 4:48 Chris Tomlin See The Morning

Take My Life 2:18 Third Day Third Day

New Day 4:07 Robbie Seay Band Give Yourself Away

Happy Ever After (Now And Then) 4:18 Jimmy Buffett Banana Wind

Barefoot Children 4:54 Jimmy Buffett Barometer Soup

Coldplay Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends

Take Me To The Cross 4:31 Sheri Carr Fearless Now

I know it's heavy Crowder and Buffett..and if you know me you're not surprised. But..Those artist are speaking to me the most right now. If you have other ideas..I'd love to hear them. Riding my bike..I'm having more time to listen to tunes..and Romack..I'll get some Clairmont on there my friend.

Peace.

The evening bike ride

2010-06-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

For weeks I've been riding around in circles in my neighborhood on what is called Broadmoor loop. It's a 1.5 mile loop that I ride my bike on and I also walk it... over and over till I get to my desired distance. I've been trying to get in better condition and to be honest I've been trying to get more confident on that big Giant DX Sedona I ride... Well yesterday I took off and rode through west Lufkin and Hudson on a 16 mile ride. It was great but it was late morning and it got kinda hot. Not bad... it was a fun ride and it was super to have some new scenery.

Well this evening I took off and did the same ride again. I got started around 7:40 p.m... and it was a joy. It brought back great memories of riding my bike up and down Ave V in Alta Loma Tx way back in the day with my friends David McMillian, John and Curtis Rosson. The breeze felt wonderful as I rode through the dusk... the cool of the night breaking though the warmth of the day.. it was like there were cool bubbles of air out there bursting over my body as I rode through the warm moist evening. It was a great ride.. feeling a little like a kid again, riding my old banana bike up and down that shell road in Alta Loma, Tx. What a blessing.

Before I'm 60

2010-05-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine would have a 60 before 60.. 60 things he wants to do before he turns 60. I'm just starting this for the first time.. don't know that I have 60 specific things I want to accomplish before I turn 60.. I'm starting this and will add to it a little at a time... in no particular order..

1. Key West and the southernmost incorporated place in the contiguous 48 states.
2. Alaska
3. Snowboard
4. Surf
5. Parachute
6. Bungee jump
7. Hike the Grand Canyon
8. Canada
9. Parasail
10.Learn to sail a boat
11.Get a sailboat
12.Get out of debt
13.Be able to wear my Aggie Ring again (without having it sized)
14.Lose 100 lbs and keep it off.
15.Learn to fly a plane
16.Work on a mission trip on foreign soil.
17.Yosemite National Park
18.Hawaii
19.Costa Rica Canopy Tour
20.Cycle the Pineywoods purgatory
21.Ride my bicycle from Lufkin to Austin (camping along the way at night)
22.Give Jinx a BoB ring
23.Perform a wedding
24.Snorkeling
25.Own a Mini Cooper
26.Get an iPad
27.Re-establish my daily discipline of scripture reading and prayer
28.See my friend Warren Bird again.
29.Find and visit with 5 old high school friends I haven't seen recently
30.Play golf again
31.Go to a baseball game at Wrigley Field
32.AmTrak to the west coast
33.Baseball game at Fenway
34.Drive a car through a giant redwood
35.Tell my wife I love her everyday
36.See my children complete their educations and become independent,functioning adults
37.See the fall foliage in New England
38.See Jerry Jeff Walker perform again
39.Dance at Gruene Hall at least once a year
40.See Gary P. Nunn perform again
41.Go overseas
42.Scuba dive
43.baseball game at Yankee stadium
44.Canoe the Guadalupe again
45.See Jimmy Buffett again...and again.
46.Publish a song
47.Record my (and my friends) songs and post them on fb or myspace
48.Write 30 more songs
49.Post music videos of some of my songs on youtube
50.Make my music room more soundproof for good recording
51.Every time I say goodbye to one of my family, tell them I love them
52.Do this with regularity.
53.Begin funding my 401K again
54.Visit the Shiner Brewery
55.Eat at the Angelina County airport
56.Visit Mike O
57.Memphis in May
58.Hike to the top of a mountain in Summit County Colorado with Shawn

59.aurora borealis
60.Farallon Islands Whale tour...there ya go...60 before 60.

50

2010-05-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

Hi..this is me...I'm 50.. but that's not what this is about.. A lot of my friends are turning 50 right now.. old school mates even newer friends..but still that's not what this is about..

It is about 50 though..

Not 50 cents in pennies..

or 50 cents in quarters..
or fitty centI like the cross and the gun together.. I think it's very american..

and

It's not about 50 dollars for that matter..

It's not about guns..like the one 50 cent has in his pic..or guns like....

Like this 50 cal machine gun..

or the 50 cal shells that go in to it.

Now that's big!!

It's about 50 lbs

50 lbs looks like this...

50 lbs of dog food....

50 lbs of beans

50 lbs of walnuts

50 lbs of pork ribs.. that's a lot of pork ribs...

This is almost 50 lbs... it's 40 lbs.. they didn't have 50 lb dumbells...but it was heavy.

or 2 of these weigh 50 lbs..

or 10 of these..

This is Foxy.. she belongs to my friends Cory and Marlene.. Marlene says she weighs almost 50 lbs. She's kinda fat..

This kid lives in a neighborhood near one of my friends... he weighs about 50 lbs. Wow...

Imagine 400 boxes of these goldfish... that's 50 lbs.. LOL!

Do you see where I'm going with this yet????

This is what 50 lbs looks like on my belt (actually..off my belt).... I used to be on the last notch on the very end of the belt. Now there are 5 holes out there beyond my buckle.

On Jan 30th. I weighed 360 lbs.

Today I weighed 310 lbs. (actually 308.5) but I'm rounding up for impact... 51.5 is so much harder to get your head around...

I started off just eating these most of the time. I also just eat smaller portions. I'm satisfied, I still get to enjoy different kinds of food. I have ice cream every once in a while. I have a beer or a margarita every now and then. I have not felt denied.. and I feel great. Once I got a little lighter I started riding my bicycle regularly. I usually ride 3-4 days a week and I walk a couple of days a week.

I have been down this road before but I'm hoping I can continue this long term because I enjoy the food and I really don't feel too denied. I still have little snacks now and then and I just try to choose wisely. But sometimes I don't and that's ok. In fact..spring break was a week when I didn't choose wiesly the whole time.. too many adult beverages and too many Chic-fil-a shakes..but still I'm at 50 lost now.

I have plans to hike the grand canyon in summer 2011 and I am feeling like I'd like to go snow skiing again.. or maybe better yet snowboarding!! (hint hint nudge nudge Mike O) I want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane one day as well. When I get below 270.. the parachute thing becomes a real possibility.

I'm actually beginning to feel like I'd like to put together some kind of bucket list.. but not because I'll feel like my life is lacking if I don't complete them..just for some focus on some things that would be fun to do. I might put that together in a future blog but as for now.. I'm thankful to my God for giving me the desire to have a positive impact on my health... for giving me the avenue to get healthy in a not to painful way (bicycle)...and for my wife who is now walking daily and eating better too....what a great gift to have the support of a spouse in this. I also want to let you know there are a couple of people who have inspired me to make this happen too. Cory, Phil, Clay and Jessie. They really don't know it but it's true. Maybe they know now. Thanks.

formspring.me

2010-04-23T20:59:00.001-07:00

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/artieanderson

Favorite meal to eat at Cheddar's? Do you stick to one thing there or try to mix it up?

2010-04-23T20:58:00.001-07:00

Donna and I both love the ribs. We share a rack and usually have leftovers but I think they are the best!!! I like the pot pie and the buffalo seasoned chicken strips as well as the lemon chicken. But you can pretty much bet 80% of the time..I'm eatin ribs.

Ask me anything

Best road trip you've yet to take?

2010-04-23T20:55:00.001-07:00

West... anywhere. I want to drive through the western states and take my time and stop at all the cool stuff..

Ask me anything

What's worse: hearing fingernails screech down a chalkboard, hearing a baby cry uncontrolably, or hearing Todd Agnew sing a praise song?

2010-04-23T20:52:00.001-07:00

A baby cry.. quit hatin on Todd Agnew!!

Ask me anything

Is there ever left over food from your yummy looking Ex breakfasts? How would I score some of that tasty stuff?

2010-04-23T20:51:00.001-07:00

Yes there is food left over from breakfast at times..you have to stop by before the evening crew kills it. Actually sometimes there is even enough to carry over to the next morning but I assure you there is hardly ever anything left after the next morning crew kills it...

Ask me anything

formspring.me

2010-03-11T20:32:00.001-08:00

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/artieanderson

Will you play come thou fount on sunday for me?

2010-03-10T11:19:00.001-08:00

I will play it for God.. you will be allowed to enjoy it as well... as long as you go to bed an hour early and get up an hour early and make it to church on time..

Ask me anything

formspring.me

2010-03-10T09:59:00.003-08:00

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/artieanderson

While there may be water on Mars, I want to know if there is water in a Mars bar.

2010-03-10T09:59:00.001-08:00

Until just recently the Mars bar had been discontiuned so if you had asked this question last year then I would have responded none as there were no Mars bars (unless they were very old and I would have to have a lab analysis done on each and every bar to determine the water loss that had occured over the last 8 years..the bars were discontinued in 2002). Mars bars were relaunched in 2010 so you are in luck! In my research of this question I have found that the Mars bar contains 4.5 grams of water per 100 grams of mars bar. So I will allow you to do the math, the metric conversions, taking in to account if you purchased a bag of fun size or if you got one of those big ol giant bars that weighs like a pound. So yes..there is water in a mars bar.. for more great info about a mars bar..especially if you are dieting..check this out! http://www.calorie-counter.net/candy-calories/mars-bar.htm

Ask me anything

what is the capital of Turkey?

2010-03-10T09:52:00.001-08:00

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks

ANKARA is the capital of Turkey..I just like that song..

Ask me anything

If you could wear only underoos underwear, what characters would you wear?

2010-03-10T09:45:00.001-08:00

I doubt they make the kind I would want to wear any more... but it would either be Aquaman or the Green Lantern. I'm sure they still have Superman so those would do if others were not available...

Ask me anything

The beard subculture

2010-01-31T17:34:00.000-08:00

Ok... I'm sporting a full beard now..some of you know..but some of you I haven't seen in a while may have missed that. But if you're on fb or twitter you might have noticed this fact.. I've been wearing a goatee for probably a decade or so but this is the first time I've grown a full beard just to grow it.. not to be in a cast at church (wise man or something)..

But you know I never really thought that much about beards until a friend of mine made a comment about another guys full beard.. "Man he's got a man's beard"..something like that.

Anyway..that kinda stuck in my mind.. did I grow this out because of that statement..Nope.. really thought I might be Santa and a church thing for a little while but then I just kept it..

I say all of that to get to this..

I'm walking through lowe's the other day and a young man that looks kinda like this.....

...says "Hey man..how's it going?".

He was an employee. He didn't ask me if I needed help. He didn't try to find out what I needed. It was a friendly greeting.. like I was some one he sees often..like we ran in the same circles..like we were a part of the same group or subculture. It was kinda cool. It was refreshing..then I started wondering if I was now a part of some beard subculture. Kinda like greyhound bus drivers that always wave at each other as they pass on the highways. OR.. maybe an even deeper subculture.

I then started thinking of an SNL skit I saw back in the...well..it was a long time ago. I then had to look it up. I laughed hard..I hadn't seen it in so long.. I doubt the beard subculture is as strong as the one depicted in this vid but it could be..

I'm gonna be much more selective of what my loan officers looks like at the bank.. facial hair will be a must!

Salvation, Restoration, Redemption and Santa Fe, Tx

2010-01-03T18:53:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago I wrote a paper on Salvation.. a part of that paper is as follows..

Salvation as I stated before is a process. People may be immediately granted membership to the “Body of Christ” when they repent and believe. I also believe people will have eternity with their creator, but probably have not received salvation from all of the “issues” that block them from having a rich and full life. Christ said that he came so that “they may have life and have it to the full”. People will still struggle with issues once they become a Christian therefore I believe they must work through their salvation regarding those issues. Not that I think they are lost or their eternity is in question but true salvation is to be cut free of all those issues. Over time individuals can work through and with the love of community and guidance of the Holy Spirit can be freed of more and more issues over time.

I hope I haven't lost all of you starting you off this way but I have to share with you something very important...that's why I'm back here at my blog that I have pretty much abandoned since falling in love with fb and twitter.

We moved to Alta Loma when I was 5 years old...a part of the white flight of America when schools began desegregating. Can't desegregate a school district that's all white. (mind you I did not understand all of this until much later in life.. I was just living in a world my parents were creating around me)..

Now once we got to Alta Loma and I started in to the Santa Fe Schools...pretty much all I heard was how I was not given an even break because I was not a part of the "clique" or kin to the right people or whatever. Failed accomplishments by me were reasoned away by my dad because I wasn't part of the right group.

That stuff stuck with me. From not making the sale at the county fair to not making all stars in baseball to not getting an offensive lineman award were all laid at the feet of the fact that I just didn't belong in this community.

So...I had a negative feeling about the place I grew up. I felt like I had been shorted by people I grew up around. I just didn't know what to do with this feeling.. I enjoyed those folks I was around but in the back of my mind was this seed that had been planted about my town, my school and the people that were a part it all.

I then grew older and up and graduated and moved on. For many years I was really kind of happy to shake the dust of that town off my shoes and leave it behind. I did go back for a reunion in 88 and I was going through some transformations during that time that did not allow for that reunion to be that fun for me. Everyone was who they were but I had an arrogant feeling about myself and just didn't feel like I fit in.....still.

I heard about later reunions but easily passed on attending because I just didn't want to be a part of all of that. Sometimes it was for reasons of my new-found role as a Christian..

I don't know why I had this idea in my head that I had to give up certain things to be a Christian but it was what it was. I had a very fundamental ideal that I was striving for as I finally made the decision to be a follower of Jesus. I gave up drinking, cursing was dropped easily (and I still try to avoid it as I do not find it attractive as a representative of Christ in the world) and other things that were things that were important for me to do for me to truly believe I was making the sacrifice to follow my savior. Taking up my cross so to speak.

Hence the beginning statements from my paper. I had received salvation from my savior but I had not received salvation from myself. A friend I met years later taught me the redemption available in Christ. Finding God in all things. Loving God's creation. Loving all people...period.

Time went on and I began to find God in a good slice of pizza and a wonderful bottle of Shiner Bock. I had forgotten how great it was to sip gin and tonic....and with all these things many of my self imposed barriers to my home town and my school began to disappear.

I yearned for restoration to my people.. my people from my little community of Santa Fe Texas. Then came the gift of facebook. I began to find my peeps on there and what a joy it was. I was able to communicate with them and it was so great to be a part of their lives again. I watched in envy (forgive me Lord) as the class of 79 had their 30 year class reunion....wishing I could have been a part of mine..if there was one.

Then a long lost friend (won't say old..thanks Janet) throws a party and I get to go..

All I can say is my heart is full..nothing else explains how I feel.

Thank you Connie for your hospitality and your heart.
Thank you Cory for helping me in my redemption and restoration..
Thank you Donna for loving me for a long time through all my phases.
God Bless every one of you.. and those of you Fe'ers that were not there..I look forward to seeing you some day soon too.

Peace

And the next weekend..

2009-09-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

Now we're getting in to some very touchy things. No long trips. No hotel stays. No shopping. Just some more very new and very special pastoral duties to perform.

You see the previous weekend I went to Dallas to visit a very special member of our church and his family. Well unfortunately that church member passed just a few days later. This was a giant of a man in our church and in the church in general. He was a business leader, a philanthropist, a tireless worker in our church up until he drove himself to Dallas. He sang in the choir, took care of money, has done just about anything you could do in the church. A patriarch.

Here's little ole me..just did my first funeral on a 16 hours notice. Now I was being asked to do another just a week later.

I got a lot of input from the family. They were a joy to visit with. I got input from my friends and former co pastors. I did visitation at the funeral home Friday night...then I spent a little time at the Lufkin Panther game.... then I went home, stayed up till about 1:00 a.m. and put together what I hoped would be a message that would honor this man and a message that would please his family and friends.

I was never really very nervous. I had so many of YOU praying for me. I also had a great man to speak about. A rich and full life and a joyous family that shared their love with me.

No doubt. Many people in the church were not sure just how well this green, part-time pastor would do. I did have that other funeral you know...but I didn't write the message for that. That one I was blessed to use the message of my co-pastor..who was suffering from double pneumonia.

So I got up Saturday, went through it a few times. Went up to the church to visit family at their brunch, came back home, put on my not so seldom worn suit and headed back to church.

It was a wonderful service. The singing was great. He loved to sing so I know that would have pleased him. I did what I was supposed to do and then we had a brief reception after.

From the feedback of those there I think I did ok. Something more happened there though. And this may be more inside me than anything that was thought by everyone else in church. I actually felt like I WAS their pastor now. I felt like I had served in an important pastoral role to someone much older than me and that part of the church community now saw me a little differently.. that was probably more my own perception than anything else. But even if it was...it was a nice feeling.

Home and some rest... Up and to church the next morning. It's 8:45 and our guest pastor has not arrived. We had some announcements that morning..and they went a little long.. and I was ok with that. We also started just a few minutes late..that was on purpose. We still didn't have a pastor once I had done communion and so it was time for a message. I had been rolling ideas around in my head all morning in case our guest pastor didn't arrive.

I read the scripture..

Matthew 9

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

¹Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. ²Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."

³At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"

⁴Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? ⁵Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? ⁶But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." ⁷And the man got up and went home. ⁸When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.

I said a short prayer...and fortunately we didn't have much time left..but I gave a short message.. and nothing that I had planned (in the last 40 minutes) came out of my mouth.. my message went to a place about the discussion of "which is easier" I've always wondered which is easier but hadn't thought it through. Now the Holy Spirit was walking me through. You see I had always thought it would be so easy to say "your sins are forgiven". I know I couldn't tell someone who couldn't walk to get up and walk... and make it happen. But I could always tell someone their their sins are forgiven. Then I started thinking about our modern technology and how we can heal so many things now that so many years ago would have killed us. We have computers and machines and advanced knowledge way beyond those days. We can heal people and make them walk but we are still fragile, imperfect, human beings. What is easier for us to do? Is it easier to heal a man or to forgive a man? So we are called to forgive. but it is difficult isn't it? It's also healthy for us.. for the others as well as ourselves. I said some other stuff but the part that truly enlightened me was that I finally learned what Jesus was meaning about it was easier to heal than to forgive sins... to for give those who sin against us.

Our guest pastor showed up in time for late church. We had a great service. A few hours later I gave the message and led music for the youth that evening. So...it was another busy but blessed weekend.

What's next weekend? Maybe I'll let you know.. after... got to go to bed.

Wow..what a weekend..

2009-09-14T11:18:00.000-07:00

well..it started with the fact that we now have one full time pastor on staff... then..
A long time member of our church had a heart attack and had surgery and got very sick.
Another long time member of our church passed away.
Another church family member was having surgery.

I talked the situation over with Kathy..our only full time pastor and we thought it might be a good idea for me to go to Dallas and pay a visit to our church family member that had the heart issues. Kathy was handling a funeral and going to visit our member having surgery.. First I was going to make a day of it..run up there and back...Since Donna was out of town and all I have is a hot, un-air conditioned pick-up truck I thought..hmm might be fun to go with my son and then we could take that new nissan cube.. with a/c. I also checked in with my daughter to see if she might like to have a lunch or brunch with me/us but she was busy going to Tyler and couldn't make it.. oh well..

Spoke to Austin but he had to work Saturday afternoon. I decided to get a hotel Friday night to make the trip less hard and we could bum around together a little along with making the visit to our church friend.

He made arrangements to get off work Saturday night and he thought he'd be through around 6:30 Friday and we could leave then.. sounds like a nice relaxing Saturday with my son..

A party shows up at the FUMC CLC that they thought had cancelled their party.. but I guess they didn't...so he had to stay late.. I went to FCC and moved some things around to make room for Jinx to play on Sunday morning.. I then went to FUMC to help my son move things around so he could leave..

and I didn't plan on this part...but that whole moving red padded chairs around in the gym became an amazing spiritual flashback moment for me that night... hundreds of times I moved those chairs around to set up for Upward Basketball on Saturday morning (we didn't have bleachers) and move them around again to set up for church (Center Court Service) in that same gym. A long time ago I said that gym smelled like Jesus...still does smell like Jesus to me!!

Anyway..the unplanned working late got us out of Lufkin around 9:30 and it was raining. Not fun to drive in. We stopped a couple of times to eat and to wake up etc.. of course I'm doing some twitter/fb posts along the way and my daughter calls me to see if we can have breakfast together Saturday morning since we're coming up Friday night. OK...

I finally get in bed around 2 a.m...

I'm up around 6:30 to try and find out if I had decent service at the Ex and to see if I need to be on a conf call.. and I'm groggy and not moving too fast but we finally get going and pick Hannah up around 10 and have a brunch..well really just an early lunch.. then we drop her off for a meeting she has to go to at 11 and we head back to Dallas...FYI.. DFW does not fully impart how far apart the D and the FW are.. especially in rain and slow traffic.

We go and have a great visit with our church family at Baylor... we then decide that we need to find puma shoes.. we drive around Dallas for a while and finally get to the Galleria... we eat there and the Genghis Grill and it was great. One bowl filled us up.. I know it's just a dollar more for the all you can eat but we had all we could eat.. we hang around go to a couple of stores and it looks like the puma shopping is going to be a zero.. I mean we were leaving the mall and I decided to google puma's and the finish line (which we had never heard of) has them.. we go find it and Austin gets these.

We finally head out of Dallas for L-town and drive in more rain. By the way the cube drives great..rides pretty nice and handled the crappy weather very well. We roll in to Lufkin about 9 and I find out our only full time pastor...Pastor Kathy...has the flu.. Sunday morning was not an issue..really except now I was going to have to get up earlier.. but I now had a funeral to do too. My first one ever..

Up early Sunday..wishing I was still in bed... church was great in both services. I went home and read over some notes.. put on my seldom worn suit and performed my first funeral.. it was a blessing to be there and I was glad I got to be a part of that family's celebration of life.

Then home..sat still for a few minutes then went and did music for the youth.. got done around 8:00 p.m....

and then...do you ever get so tiered and keyed up you can't go to sleep? I was up past midnight.

Ugh!!!! and when that alarm went off this morning I did NOT want to get out of bed...I drug my self out.. a little late and got to the Ex around 7.

I am looking so forward to a quiet restful evening tonight...maybe even a nap when I get home. It was a great weekend.. no doubt about it... but hope I don't have any more like it in a while. I do need a day off now and then.

Hello again everyone..

2009-09-05T13:43:00.001-07:00

My name is Artie Anderson.. I'm 49 years old..I work for a fortune 100 transportation company and I'm also an associate pastor at First Christian Church in Lufkin Tx and I lead contemporary worship..

Ok, so I've been gone a while. Life has been a little stressful..crazy..depressing at times...joyful at times but this has been one of the most eventful seasons in my life over the last few months and I didn't have the time, energy or desire to blog. Facebook and twitter are my outlets most of the time but I would still like to keep this avenue open for communications that are a little more involved..

I don't want to make this too long.. and Lord knows I can but I'd like to recap the last few months.

Hannah graduated

I had to fire someone that I hired over 10 years ago and cared a great deal about

I was very anxious about my own work situation because of what had gone on with my employee

A friend of mine had that female surgery and experienced some very bad things..got very sick..

My wife had that female surgery... I was of course very anxious about what was going on with her because of what had happened to my friend. (She is doing very well by the way)

I found out that 2 of my closest friends and confidants were going to leave my church and become pastors in other churches

I had to take my baby girl to TCU to start her college career

We had a big send off ceremony for my two friends/co-pastors/

I'm a guy that is not afraid to cry..I find it healthy and cleansing for me...I'm also a big baby and can't help it.

It's strange...I've been very guarded during this time... not on purpose.. I just haven't been weepy.. that's weird for me. Hope I'm not getting old and crusty..

I haven't been very good about my eating during this time..too much stress. Donna is making me get back now.

Fortunately I haven't gained back too much.. a visit to my Dr. let me find out that I was still lighter than when I started this a while back.

I won't be as rigid as before but I've got to get back on the program. I have things I want to do and enjoy doing.

This isn't a blog about dieting but food is a part of all that we do. I hope I don't let it control me.

I'll share more about more as time goes on..

Going shopping for a birthday gift for my son... it won't be too big.. he did get this because of the cash for clunkers program.

Peace folks..

a short sabbatical from twitter/facebook etc...

2009-06-16T22:01:00.000-07:00

First.. a little catching up.

I put new strings on my guitar before church Sunday morning.

I was really tired and it was tough getting up for church Sunday morning... but church was great. Wow, the congregation was singing big time..more than usual.. and we had such a small team Sunday morning too. 2 acoustics and and electric..2 female vocals and myself.. I was really planning to speak to my congregation about why the students could sing so loud at camp but we couldn't/wouldn't in church... but I had nothing to say..they sang out..I don't know why but they were awesome!

Did laundry Sunday afternoon and napped.

Worked Monday and Tuesday at the Ex but mostly catch up from being off last week while at camp... made progress on a couple of things like processing a new hire.. Yay!!

Napped at night..good grief.. it is so hard for me to recover from camp this year. I think part of it is because my allergies are driving me crazy.. I'm also older.. been doing crazy things like playing softball and beach vollyball way before I should (I was making some good progress with my daily walking and was feeling very good but I pushed too much too fast and am now fighting a lot of pain..)

Stayed on my diet pretty well most of camp week until all we had to eat was sandwiches and pizza.. oh well. I've been bad the last couple of days too... Haven't stepped on a scale but my belt notch has not changed...that's a good thing.

I pretty much forgot to twitter Sunday and Monday just because I was too tired and to busy at work to mess with it. Tuesday I realized it and decided to make it another day just so I can say I did. It's been 3 days and no facebook or twitter (besides a couple of replies that I would not ignore..I'm not a jerk).

I'm about to hit the sack and I will get up tomorrow..pack, head to Ft Worth with Donna and Hannah and go through orientation at TCU. We'll stop in Athens on the way and get coffee..

If you are ever traveling through or near Athens Tx and need a coffee go to the Flying Gato.. They have the best coffee I have ever tasted anywhere.. I'm not a coffee snob like Cory but of all the local shops I've tried in Tx and New York as well as the Starbucks I've been to the Gato is the best.. Give it a try some time.

I'll be back on twitter tomorrow..I think I've caught up on my sleep now and hope my allergies are calming down..

If you want to see some vids of camp last week check out Romack's youtube.. camp was great. I love playing with those guys and the kids were awesome. Thanks Cory and the NEA reps for giving us the opportunity to lead worship there. Donna also posted a bunch of pics and vids on her skydrive.. check them out here.. a great week!!!

Ok.. going to sleep now.. Peace out!!

339..on Monday..

2009-06-03T08:22:00.000-07:00

Last couple of weeks have been hard. I've been emotionally unsettled because my baby girl was graduating from HS..don't know why...

I'm also short handed at work. Lost a great employee to an electric co-op where he plans to be an electrician/lineman and live closer to home and be near a girl he likes a lot. People at work are having to work out of their assigned work responsibilities... I've got a line on some good folks but right now things are frustrating.

I'm not organized right now. Out of rhythm... Feeling a little overwhelmed with a week of church camp coming, regular weekly required reports that have to be done are getting done late in the week. I've got a great groups of guys I'm going to play music with next week.. I'm really hoping that will help me get back in step. It did a world of good for me in February...this should be fun.

Anyway..I haven't been good the last couple of weeks, snickers bars, brownies, shiner, chips, bread, venti white chocolate mochas, ice cream, m&m's. I have not been good. I used food as a crutch instead of a gift from God.

I'm anxious because it's graduation time.. I got a pretty significant cut in pay last January and I just don't have the funds to hand out gifts like I did last year.. that hurts my heart. It's also my pride creeping in and jacking with me and tempting me to run more up on the credit card.. the agent of satan. Grrrr....

I've also pitched my "Rule of Life". A late night of rehearsal... a softball game doulbe header that hurt my knee. I'm out of wack... I need to get me some more wack somewhere.

Things felt so good there for a couple of weeks. I was on the verge of pushing my walk to a jog. I was carrying 5 lb weights with me on my walks and who knows.. some muscular tone might have been the reason for my stall in weight loss.. but anyway...it's not just that...

I haven't picked up a bible or a "spiritual book" in 2 weeks...my spiritual health is suffering through this time.

I'm feeling frantic, stalled, indicisive, overwhelmed, lazy, stupid, angry and frustrated with myself.

I got back on the eating part of the program on Monday.. I weighed 336 this morning... that seems aweful fast but anyway.. I've got to get me a new employee, get back on the walking and reading.. but I've got a family reunion coming on June 27th.. that's throwing some stress in to my life.. I'm looking forward to it but I just hope it all goes well.

Praying for God's peace, wisdom, and joy. I know when I get back on the program..even if my weight loss stalls.. I feel better... dang knee. If it hurts more this Thursday night I'm blowing off softball and focusing on walking and dancing. :-) >

Send me some wack if you have any..

Rule of Life

2009-05-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

As a licensed minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) I have an educational component that I have to complete each year. This year that educational piece was spiritual formation. It was taught by Dr. Tim Hessel-Robinson from Brite divinity school at TCU.

It has been a very good class this year and has challenged me as well as convicted me. I had 3 books to read. Soul Feast, Thirsty for God and Practicing our Faith. As I read them in many ways I felt so insufficient in my spiritual walk. A few years ago as a lay person I was very devoted to reading the bible and doing bible studies and had a rich, full prayer life. As my plate became more full as a part-time pastor I began reading other spiritual books but my bible reading stopped. My prayer life was still there but not as strong.

As time went on and some work challenges increased my reading came to a halt and my prayer life became more random. I've really not been very focused spiritually over the last couple of years.. Throw in a Disciples history class with a ton of reading last year and my spiritual disciplines came to a halt...

Enter spiritual formation class. I knew it was something I needed but my life had a bad routine and it was not something that was going to be easy to get back in to. I didn't even get the first book read before the first class.

This discussions in class were very good. I enjoyed how Tim led each class like a worship service. It made it different and cast a completely different atmosphere over the situation had he not done so. We had 3 classes through the year. The first one focusing on personal spirituality, the second on community (church/SS etc), and the third focused on social engagement (justice etc).

As we moved through the class I was really feeling my spirit drawn back to a set of spiritual disciplines like I used to hang on to a few years ago..but I just wouldn't make the jump.

The last session began with some awesome discussions on earth care. It is to much to discuss here (may blog on it more later) but it gets my heart beating thinking about it again right now. Here are some links..

http://www.greenfaith.org/
http://www.webofcreation.org/
http://www.earthministry.org/
http://renewalproject.org/

So then we go in to the afternoon session and we go back to that first book that I never finished.. called Soul Feast.. and we go to the end and Tim begins discussing a Rule of Life. They discuss it in Chapter 9 of the book. "A rule of life is a pattern of spiritual disciplines that provides structure and direction for growth in holiness."Marjorie Thompson (author) has some examples of rules of life different people have had. Different things that they do. Tim then asks us to put together our own rule of life to begin on Monday..

Dang.. just what I needed and just what I was not prepared to do on my own. Groups of us at tables put together our own rules and discussed them with each other and then we discussed them in the class for all to hear.

This is what I came up with.

Rule of Life for Artie

Daily
Morning
Get up and walk for 30-45 minutes
15 minutes of prayer
15 minutes of reading
clean up and go to work
be sure and listen to some spiritual music during the day.

Evening
30 minutes of reflection/meditation/prayer

Weekly- Some kind of recreation -softball, racquetball, dancing, biking, bowling, hiking, whatever but something that moves and is fun.

Quarterly-
24 hours of silence and fasting
serve at cisc, love inc., or other charitable organization
find something I can change about my life to make it more green and do it daily.

Annually-
Emmaus walk or other spiritual retreat
Mission trip

Tim told us to type it up with fancy letters on nice paper and frame it and post it someplace where we would see it daily...in our office, home etc. He also told us to not make it a burden.. it is a framework to live in to create a rhythm for living and spiritual growth.

He also told us that we should try what we put down for a couple of weeks then tweak it and make sure it works for us.

Well I've been at it for a week so far. It has been hard getting up at 5:00 a.m. and beginning my walk.. I've had some late nights and I've hit the snooze and put me a little behind. I've traded a few minutes of sleep for a few minutes of prayer/meditation a couple of mornings but I know I can also do that on the road with God as well.

The toughest part has been the evening time of reflection/meditation and prayer. Too much going on around the house and too much going on in my life it seems. I may have to re-think this part.. either that or just make it a little shorter but I'm going to work on it for another couple of weeks before I adjust.

I've also got to give myself a little time to get over my jet lag or whatever you want to call it. I get in to a sleepy funk every time we do a time change so this has been much like this.. so it hasn't been easy...but I guess if it was, everyone would do it. Well that sounded kind of arrogant..didn't mean for it too. How about this.. If it were easy it really wouldn't be a sacrifice.

So overall, living in to the rule has been good so far and I'm looking forward to my quarterly activities. I really appreciate the fact that Dr. Hessel-Robinson came and taught our licensed minister classes this year. It was a real blessing. He did a lot to enrich my life and the lives of others in the class.

It also got me walking more...7 1/2 miles last week. Big change from weeks before. Kinda holistic I think.. thanks Tim!! Very much!!

329

2009-05-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

I finally broke 330. I've lost 33 total lbs since I started. I was pretty disciplined throughout the week walking every weekday and staying pretty close to my eating plan. I'm feeling good and I'm drying my pants now so they will fit me better. Haven't dropped another belt notch yet but hoping to do that in the next couple of weeks.

Sunday Morning Worship 5/10/09

2009-05-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

Mother's day service.

10:45 Celebration Service
Gathering Music-Revolutionary Love
Enter the Light of Christ

Welcome and Announcements

Praise Music-

Choral Anthem- Simple Praise

My Hope is You
Forever

Prayer Time and Lord's Prayer
Prayer Response

Children's Sermon
Greeting

Worship Music
Handbells

Open the Eyes of My Heart

Scripture Reading-1 John 3: 1-7
Sermon-Only a Mother could Love

Call to Communion
Prayer for Elements
Communion and Offering

Communion Music - Unashamed Love

Invitation to Respond
Invitation Music- Open the Eyes of My Heart

Going Out Music- Revolutionary Love

This is a part of Fred McKinnon's Sunday Set Lists

Sunday Morning Worship 5/3/09

2009-05-04T20:11:00.000-07:00

Attendance was down some.. weather was crazy Sunday morning and I think a little pig flu scare was going on too.. but the worshipers showed up..the band rocked the house and those that were there sang out.. oh yeah..God was there too.. a great morning. Here's how it went for us.

10:45 Celebration Service

Gathering Music - Forever

Enter the Light of Christ

Welcome and Announcements

Choral Anthem

Praise Music- You Never Let Go
Jesus Messiah

Children’s Sermon

Greeting

Worship Music- How Great Thou Art
All Creatures

Prayer Time and Lord’s Prayer

Prayer Response Artie (Instrumental)

Call to Communion

Prayer for Elements

Communion and Offering- instrumental

Sermon

Invitation to Respond

Invitation Music- Jesus Messiah

Going Out Music - Forever

You can see more worship sets at Fred McKinnon's blog here

332

2009-05-04T20:02:00.001-07:00

Blah blah blah... floating around 30 lbs lost.. being good most days... Hey, I'm 2 lbs lighter than last week.. I'm instituting a change and I'll let you know more about it at a later time.. writing me up a rule of life..from my licensed minister class.. out of a book called Soul Feast by Marjorie Thompson. I hope it will help me out in a holistic way..not just physically.. peace out..

334

2009-04-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

Grr..

I had my struggles with food last week. I tweeted my bad day early in the week..then I had a celebration at work that brought CAKE in to the building and I had some.. enjoyed some Bock's in Gruene this weekend. I did a lot of walking.. walked in Lufkin, hiked in New Braunfels, walked all around the outlet mall in San Marcos and then danced a lot Saturday night..

Oh well.. I'll just keep at it and hope for the best next Monday..

unplugged...

2009-04-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

Watch out..it's a long one..but worth it I think..

Not unplugged in the way that rock bands do acoustic versions of their rock tunes.. unplugged in such a way that I "went off the grid".."exited the twittersphere"..."unplugged from the net"..."detached from the matrix"...

Lent at church presented some special challenges.. some changes to our weekly worship schedule, a Maundy Thursday drama service, daily noonday services during Holy Week, Easter Egg Hunt on the front lawn of the church, Running back and fourth to Conroe for family events, a youth Sunday service that had the first rehearsal on that Sunday morning (I don't like operating like that), the tension of my daughter doing a sermon that morning (which went very well), and then running to Stafford Tx to a dance competition after church and then turning around and coming back home to go to work the next day..

All very good, honorable, wholesome, healthy things to be a part of.. but between all of that and trips to Chicago and Pittsburgh for my Ex job and a special event week last week at work (while I was shorthanded a manager..and found out I was losing a full time clerk) I was a little physically and mentally drained..

Hannah had a dance competition scheduled this weekend. I was looking forward to watching my daughter's last dance competition and a chance to have some down time.. I knew I wouldn't be watching dancers all weekend so I'd get a break but I'd get to see my daughter dance one last time...

...then last Thursday I found out the dance competition was cancelled.. Hannah was bummed. I was bummed. I really wanted to watch her dance one last time... but no go..

Then I realized I had already put in to place everything I needed to leave town for the weekend. I had people lined up to cover worship Sunday morning, I had no plans at the house for the weekend. I decided it was time to take some kind of break.

Donna and I was not sure what to do but I did some searching around on the Internet and found out Gary P. Nunn was playing at Gruene Hall on Saturday night. For those of you who do not know who Gary is.. you're too young or don't listen to Texas country music or both but he's and old Austin (Tx) picker that we have a couple of his records and we had seen him a few times in our younger years (like 25 years younger) and we decided it would be fun to go dance country and Gruene Hall. Watch the youtube video on the bottom of his web page..maybe you've heard that song.. or London Homesick Blues (I wanna go home with the Armadillo) .. He also wrote The Last Thing I Needed (The First Thing This Morning) which was a big hit for Willie Nelson a ways back in the old days.. anyway...

I got a cheap hotel in New Braunfels on priceline.com and our plans were in motion..

We left Friday night right after work and headed to NB. I notified all my tweeps that I was going off the grid. We stopped in Caldwell, Tx at Sonic and seemed to have some communication issues with the young lady on the other end of the intercom..she was going to charge us like $30 bucks for $15 bucks worth of food.. then she wasn't sure if she brought me a regular coke or a diet.. grrr..

Anyway..we get on our way and make it to La Quinta in NB and the guy checking us in quotes us a price about $45 higher than what our room price was...besides we had already paid..but he asked for the card which I assume was for "incidental" items.. that happens often.. we let him know our room is supposed to be..well a lot less and so he says he'll take care of it..

We hit the sack and get some sleep.

I wake up for some stupid reason at 5:15 a.m. and find the hotel bill under my door.. it shows check out for Saturday..not good.. and it shows me charged and paid for a night in a room..I'm thinking we already paid for this so now I'm wide awake..

I try to go back to sleep but no luck so I got up and did my morning routine and went down to the front desk and got the key to the business center. I checked my on line banking info and there were 2 charges to my card from La Quinta in NB. One really big and one half that but still significant (more than you would expect for "incidentals") GRRRrrr.. I print the info and head to the desk.. they are bewildered and show that they have not charged me for anything and so I press a little more.. they assure me I'm not charged and those will come off my card. They give me the business card for the general manager and tell me to call if it does not come off in a few days.

I head back to the room and read some of my book for my licensed ministry class. The book is Soul Feast and so far has been a very good read..

Donna finally gets up and we decide to go get some breakfast at iHop.. yeah I know.. weak but we wanted no surprises for breakfast..

Well we get there and once again there is some kind of communication sphere surrounding us preventing those outside the sphere from comprehending us and us from comprehending those outside the sphere..

Some special on the board outside I want but then I find out not really.. I get something else and ask if I can substitute..no you can't because of the difference in the price of items.. Donna decides she wants the special instead of what she usually gets from Ihop ...then when she gets it the meal is not what she wanted.. oh well.. we didn't starve but we're beginning to wonder how this weekend is going to go..

We decide to head to Landa Park and take a hike on the Panther Canyon Nature Trail.

It was a great morning.. it was still very comfortable temp wise outside and I love the hill country and the rocky terrain and this was a beautiful walk and was very relaxing and was very good exercise as well.

We then headed to the San Marcos outlet malls and we picked up some great deals on some clothes for the kids and we found Donna some boots to scoot in too.

We headed back to the room and took a nap..

..then we got cleaned up and headed up to The Grist Mill in Gruene to eat dinner. I wasn't sure what to order but the waitress suggested the ribs...
Read the bottom of the card very carefully...

Oh my goodness... if you ever go you have to try them..they are fabulous!! Donna and I split a rack and it was plenty for the both of us and it was good...very good!!!

Then we're off to Gruene Hall...

They opened the gate at 8 and the music started at 9:00.

The opening band was Michael Shane Borden and The Diesel Kings.. they were great.. watch out for them... they play classic country music and they rock it too.

Donna and I danced a couple of songs to Michael's tunes and had a great time.. then around 10:00 Gary P started up.

....and he did not stop until 1:00 a.m. He played and played..he is so engaging with the crowd. He's like the house band guy that everyone knows and he knows everyone.. played happy birthday.. old school and Beatles style for a young lady..he let a guy get up on the stage and sing one of the songs.. and he played and sang and was just awesome. Donna and I danced and danced and wore ourselves out and had a huge time.. this was the kind of stuff we used to do a long time ago and I was re-engaging a part of my soul that had been dormant for a long time... I'm telling you I had a spiritual experience out there..

...here's a little video so you can get a feel of the place.. the audio sucks because of the conversations around me in the crowd but you can see what it's like there..

Dancing with my beloved wife and singing London Homesick blues at Gruene Hall with Gary P playing was just awesome.. a tear came to my eye.. no joke folks..

About midnight he said "well we were gonna take a break but then we saw how late it was so we just decided to play through to the end"... and he did...no breaks... 3 solid hours of classic Texas dance hall music.. wow..

We stayed to the end and Gary is just great with those who want to hang out and visit.. he gives each person such gracious and un-destracted attention you know he is interested in you and I'm guessing he's thankful you are there. I visited with him for a few minutes about how we had swapped hats right there at Gruene Hall way back in 82 and that Donna and I had danced to his music on Congress avenue at the Austin City Limits special they had out there a long time ago. I told him we had such a wonderful time and he beamed..I asked to take a picture and he jumped down off the stage and obliged..

Gary P. Nunn folks... buy his stuff.. go see him play.. there are not many folks like him. You can hear a lot of his music on his myspace . If you like Jerry Jeff Walker Gary P. is the reason JJ sounded as good as he did way back in the 70's . Gary was the head of the Lost Gonzo Band that backed Mr. Walker (Ronald Clyde Crosby is JJW's real name) back then..

Anyway.. we went back to the room beaming like a couple of kids. We found something we lost a long time ago and we know we've got to do this again soon...we've got to get friends plugged in to this.. it's such a great social time to have together..

We cleaned up (we were soaking with sweat) and crashed..

We got up.. Sunday morning about 11:00 and went to Ihop... Donna got her usual and I got a Colorado omelet.. and I was told I could substitute my pancakes for toast or hash browns if I wanted.. hmmm what was different??

Our orders were just as we wanted them and we had a great afternoon breakfast together.. then back to Lufkin..

I rubbernecked twitter but didn't post (except that one pic of the "Snake Farm"which I could not pass on...) I answered a few fb questions via my BB but I stayed pretty detached... I am now re-entering the twittersphere and the websphere on a low speed trajectory.. until Monday..

What a great weekend.. I love my wife and I love dancing with her and I love Texas country music!!! I found God in all that this weekend... I mean it. Thank you Lord for a wonderful experience..

330

2009-04-20T20:04:00.000-07:00

Did a lot of traveling this week but was very disciplined. Did not indulge in sweets or bread. Walked a lot in airports...didn't even use the moving sidewalks. In Chicago where I had a 2+ hour delay I walked around the airport.. I also walked at the hotel in Pittsburgh.

When I got home I weighed 336.. man was I in a bad mood. I was so tempted to blow it off but maintained my cool and stayed the course.

Didn't exercise this weekend but was good with what I ate... dropped 6 lbs from Saturday to Monday.

I weighed 330 this morning..That's 9 lbs since we started the friendly competition and 32 lbs since I started this whole deal back in January. Clothes are very loose, I feel very good.. I walked again today.

How I feel is how I want to continue to remind myself what is so good about this. I have good energy, I feel alert, I want to move...in fact I'm parking farther away at places so I can walk more to get to my car. I look forward to continued success.

Sunday Setlist 4/19/09 Youth Sunday

2009-04-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

This was a Sunday that was not without it's struggles.. I was out of town during the week so no weekday practice.. It was youth Sunday so youth singing and leading worship..some tech issues with sound.. regular sound guy was cooking fish for the fish fry luncheon we have after every Youth Sunday event.. We had a drummer for the first time in weeks... a new one...trying to blend all that together was a little tenuous... but it all worked well.

Cool thing was my daughter Hannah brought the message. You can see all this at our church website here eventually once it is archived. I was very proud of her..

Below you can see the flow of the service. It was a great day.. our youth did a wonderful job!! You can see how others worshiped our risen Lord here at FredMckinnon.com

Yes...I know there is lots of Crowder... it's OK.. I promise...

Gathering Music (Glory of it All- Crowder)

Enter the Light of Christ (Tyler Day)

Welcome and Announcements (Cory)

Greeting

Children’s Sermon (Lauren Skelton)

Praise Music (PT & youth singers)

O Praise Him(Crowder)

How Great Thou Art(Hine/Baloche)

Call to Communion (Shelby Garcia)

Prayer for Elements (Mariah Melvin)

Communion and Offering

Communion Music (Never Let Go-Crowder)

Worship Music (PT & youth singers)

A Beautiful Collision(Crowder)

Here I Am Lord(Schutte)

Prayer Time and Lord’s Prayer (Scott Skelton)

Scripture (Dylan Goodier)

Sermon (Hannah Anderson)

Invitation to Respond

Invitation Music (Surely We Can Change, Megan Yeager(Crowder))

Benediction/Prayer for Food (Brax Turner)

Going Out Music (How Great Thou Art)

Excuse me..but did you give me the right room??

2009-04-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

Had to fly to Pittsburgh Pa for a meeting that folks at the Ex wanted me to attend..

I'm staying at the Crown Plaza..along with everyone else and it's where the meetings are being held..

After an evening with my nephew and his wife and kids catching up and visiting Jason dropped me off here..

They gave me my room key and my room #.. and I found this....

You can imagine my surprise when I walked in.. I was wondering who really had the room and I was barging in.. but no.. it's my room.

Too bad my family is not here to enjoy it with me...

I guess some times it really pays off to be added to the meeting a few weeks late.. Only thing I can figure happened is that they had booked all the rooms but this one and then I got added to the meeting and this was all they had left..

I'll suffer through it I guess.

336

2009-04-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

It kind of bums me to type those 3 numbers up there... but I have to look at this in the big picture of things.... I will eventually get to where I want to be.. where I want to be changes every now and then..actually I'm already where I wanted to be.. at one time.. but now I look forward to another place I hope to be.

I feel better. I have greater energy. I go up and down stairs much easier..

I don't have to shove my body in to the booth at Cheddars like I'm stuffing a sausage. I actually have a little space between me and my table now.

Anyway... I will eventually get to where I want to be..and I have to know that I will have weekends like this...visiting family, Sunday School class parties, festive holiday time food all around... and instead of putting unreasonable demands on my psyche I want to fully enjoy and revel in those times..

...and then I want to return to my norm..lose the pound I gained during that weekend/holiday and contine living a thinner healthier life.. I have to practice that along the way to know that I can do it when I get there.

So I had some major indulgences this weekend and I gained a pound (over last week). I was very busy and church and at work last week and didn't walk a single day. I forgot to eat my breakfast when I should have which is not good for my metabo either... busy, busy, stressful week (which I ended Friday at 332 lbs) but then had a fun weekend, laughing, drinking, eating, and enjoying myself.

This probably is not good for me in my race agains Katie and Cory but in my overall scheme of things.. it's how I have to live every now and then. Now I must get back on task.

Song set April 12th Easter Sunday!!

2009-04-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

Handbells were awesome today.. The choir's arrangement of "He Arose" was great..festive. We had 4 baptisms, the praise team rocked "Here is our King" and " Better is One Day"..it was just a Spirit filled wonderful morning...here's how it went..

Easter Sunday

10:45 AM Celebration Service

Gathering Music – True Religion (Brenton Brown)(Praise Team)

Enter the Light of Christ

Choral Anthem-He Arose

Call to Worship

Welcome and Announcements

Praise Music

Jesus Messiah-(Tomlin, Carson, Reeves, Cash)

Wonderful Cross-(Reeves, Tomlin, Walt, Watts, Mason)

Children’s Sermon (Cory)

Greeting

Worship Song – Here is our King-(David Crowder)

Act of Christian Baptism

Through baptism, we are buried with Christ, that we, like Him, may be raised from the dead to walk in newness of life.

Worship Song – Better is One Day-(Matt Redman)

Prayer Time and Lord’s Prayer (Artie)

Prayer Response (Handbells)

Call to Communion (Mike)

Prayer for Elements

Communion and Offering

New Members’ First Communion

Scripture (Cory)

Sermon (Mike)

Invitation to Respond

Invitation Music – Jesus Messiah

Going Out Music – Jesus Messiah

See how others worshiped our risen Lord here

335

2009-04-06T08:02:00.000-07:00

Did a little walking this week and a little working in the yard.. 4 lbs.. I'm happy with that.

Oh yeah..Cory Glover is in the mix now..

one more person that I can ridicule when I win!!

See his picture..he's eating ice cream.. I'm just sayin'!

Follow his progress here

Song set April 5th, 2009..Palm Sunday

2009-04-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

10:45 AM Celebration Service

Gathering Music (King of Glory, Praise Team)(Carr/Avery/Powell/Lee/Anderson)

Enter the Light of Christ

Opening Music (Handbells)

Welcome and Announcements (Artie)

Praise Music

He is Exalted-(Paris)

Sing Alleluia-(Stassen)

Procession of the Palms (Sing Alleluia) – FCC Children

Children’s Sermon (Kathy)

Greeting

Worship Music

King of Glory- (Tomlin/Reeves)

You Alone-(Crowder)

Prayer Time and Lord’s Prayer (Artie)

Prayer Response (possible choral anthem)

Call to Communion (Cory)

Prayer for Elements

Communion and Offering

Sermon (Mike)

Invitation to Respond

Invitation Music - You Alone (Crowder)

Going Out Music -King of Glory (Tomlin/Reeves)

See what other people did for worship here

339

2009-03-30T11:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, that's 23 pounds as of this morning that I have lost..

It's also very important because it the starting weight for my weight loss contest against this girl..

Katie such a funny sweet silly girl, she thinks she can lose 30 pounds before I lose 60 pounds.

Heck, she doesn't have 30 pounds to lose..when I drop another 60 lbs I'll still weigh 279 lbs. I'm thinkin this is a slam dunk..silly little girl.

Now she has posted her weight loss progress over here. Check it out if you want...

Silly little girl..

Sunday Setlist 3/29/09

2009-03-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

March 29

Gathering Music (announcements on screen; lighting of candles)

Wholly Yours - Crowder

Welcome to FCC

Teaser (dramatic reading/monologue of portions of Psalms 51 & 32.)

Choral Anthem: "Create in Me a Clean Heart"

Praise Music

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)Tomlin/Giglio/Excell/Reese

Change My Heart, O God-Espinosa

Here I Am, Lord-Schutte

Children's Sermon (Kathy)

Greeting

Worship Music

Open the Eyes of My Heart-Baloche

Pure Heart-Caraway

Prayer (Cory)

Communion/Offering (Kathy - meditation)

Communion Music - Take My Life-Powell, Carr, Avery, Lee, Anderson

Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34 (Artie)

Sermon (Mike)

Invitation - Here I Am, Lord

Postlude - Pure Heart

See other cool Sunday sets here

Sunday Setlist 3/22/09

2009-03-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

March 22: Restoration

Prelude (announcements on screen) - Restored (Camp) -Artie Anderson

Enter the Light of Christ

Opening Song- Everything Glorious (Crowder)

Welcome to FCC/Announcements

Youth Ski Trip Video

Praise Music- Take my Life (Holiness) (Underwood)

Enough (Tomlin)

Children’s Sermon (Kathy)

Greeting

Worship Music- Better is One Day (Redman)

- Empty Me (Way/Comer)

Prayer Time & LP (Mike)

Prayer Response

Communion/Offering (choir - It is Well) (Artie at Table)

Sermon– Cory w/Youth (scripture embedded: 2 Samuel 7:1-16)

Invitation- Enough

Going Forth- Everything Glorious

Check out other cool Sunday Setlists done today here

More from Hannah and her trip to Italy-Venice!!

2009-03-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

More on ancestors..

2009-03-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

Donna was very interested in the info we had uncovered at the San Jacento battlegrounds about my ancestor... so she did a google search.

She found this.

More pics from Hannah in Italy

2009-03-18T20:21:00.000-07:00

Hannah at the church of St Francis of Assisi. The writer of my favorite hymn..

Hannah at Assisi with the Tuscan countryside behind her.

The Tuscan countryside..

A pic from Hannah

2009-03-18T09:41:00.000-07:00

Hannah is traveling in Italy during spring break.. something I have not gotten to do.. She's loving it. Here is a pic she sent via text of the Vatican.

San Jacento Battlegrounds.. and ancestors..

2009-03-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

The San Jacento Monument. La Porte, TX

Below is an e-mail my brother sent me and others.. it starts with comments from him about our family and then most is a message from Senator Hutchinson. I knew my family had deep roots in Texas history but didn't realize it was so deep and strong... by the way my mom, Christine Lena Williamson, was raised by her aunt..Artie Lena Thomas, not her mom. So you can see the immediate connection... Interesting. I've added pics from our visit to the battlegrounds today.

From my brother.....

My ancestor, David Thomas signed this document, he's below Sam Houston. They both represented Refugio County. David was Secty of State, and later additionally acting Secty of War. He was traveling in a stagecoach when a pistol discharged and wounded him. He was taken to De ZaValla's home (the VP of Texas) where he died the day before the Battle of San Jacinto (April 21st). He is buried in the De ZaValla burial plot, located south of the Battleship Texas, behind the huge sundial. A red Texas Granite tombstone sits over both De ZaValla and Thomas at each corner on the plot.

Thomas is on the maternal side of our family.

Some claim that one of the reinforcement troops from Gonzales, Tx to the Alamo was one of our family, a Williamson, who died there.

doc anderson

Texas Independence Day Honors Our Tradition of Patriotism
February 27, 2009

Nearly 173 years ago, two very different groups of Texas patriots led a double-barreled effort that would eventually secure Texas’ independence from Mexico and change the future of the United States.

On March 2, 1836, a convention of 54 men drafted and signed the Texas Declaration of Independence at a small settlement called Washington-on-the-Brazos. Among the signers were my great-great grandfather, Charles S. Taylor of Nacogdoches, and his friends Sam Houston and Thomas Rusk, who later became the first Senators to represent Texas. On behalf of all Texans, they declared, “We, therefore . . . do hereby resolve and declare . . . the people of Texas do now constitute a free, sovereign and independent republic.”

During this time, 189 Texas soldiers were under siege at the Alamo in San Antonio by an estimated 6,000 Mexican troops who were determined to extinguish this newly created republic. Under the valiant leadership of Colonel William Barret Travis, these Texans, outnumbered 10 to 1 by Mexican forces, fought courageously in the most famous battle of the Texas Revolution.

Though Colonel Travis and his soldiers were willing to lay down their lives in service to Texas and in pursuit of its freedom, they knew that without reinforcements they would not be able to withstand the much larger Mexican army. In a final letter to all Texans shortly before the fall of the Alamo, Colonel Travis wrote:

Fellow citizens and compatriots: I am besieged by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna – I have sustained a continual bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours and have not lost a man – the enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison is to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken – I have answered the demands with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the wall – I shall never surrender or retreat.

Then, I call on you in the name of liberty, of patriotism and of everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily and will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country – Victory or Death.

William Barret Travis, Lt. Col, Commander

The sacrifice of Colonel Travis and his men made General Sam Houston’s subsequent victory at San Jacinto possible. As cries of “Remember the Alamo!” were delivered during the final battle of the Texas Revolution, General Houston and his soldiers won independence for Texas.

The Texans leading the fight against Mexico weren’t alone in their sacrifice. The signers of the Texas Declaration, like their forefathers who signed the American Declaration of Independence in 1776, risked their own lives and those of their families when they put pen to paper. They were considered traitors to Mexico as they used their voices, professions, and positions of influence to wage a critical battle in Texas’ struggle for independence.

My great-great grandfather’s own loss was significant. While he was doing the work of the Republic, all four of his children (ages seven and younger) who remained back at home in Nacogdoches died during the “runaway scrape,” when the women and children in the Nacogdoches Territory fled toward Louisiana because they feared Indians and Mexican troops were headed their way. Our family story did not end there, however. Charles S. Taylor and his wife, my great-great-grandmother, went on to have nine more children who were blessed to lead lives of independence and opportunity in Texas.

It is important that every generation of Texans pause to remember these patriots: each soldier who gave his life at the Alamo and Goliad; the 54 men who met at Washington-on-the-Brazos, putting their lives in danger by signing that Declaration of Independence and becoming heroes for a cause; and every man, woman, and child who struggled to make Texas the marve lous place it is today. While few of these Texans could have predicted Texas’ future prosperity and achievements, they all knew independence and freedom were worth any sacrifice.

Each year on March 2, I am honored to recognize our history by reading Colonel Travis’ letter on the floor of the United States Senate. The late Senator John G. Tower, who served in the Senate between 1961 and 1985, initiated this practice, and I am proud to carry on the tradition today. It is my hope that this ritual will last for generations to come, as our children and grandchildren carry on our state’s legacy of freedom and patriotism.

A view of the battle grounds from the monument.

Houston we have a problem....

2009-03-16T20:05:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Space Center Houston.. Man this place touches me way down in my inner child. I grew up watching people blast off in to space to try and get us on the moon. I was a little over a year old when Yuri Gagarin had made history by being launched in to space.. Alan Shepherd made the trip not to long after that and yada yada yada when I was 9 Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon (see more here)... it was that yada yada yada that was a part of my growing up.. tang, the space race, coupling that space race with the cold war, bomb shelters in peoples back yards and the fear of just what the russians would do to us from the moon if they got there before us made the whole space thing very important to almost all of us growing up back then.

I also used to lay on my back in the yard at night and use our binoculors to look at the moon.. believe it or not it always looked closer and more detailed than by the naked eye..

I had a map of the universe when I was in first grade and I would pull it out and look at it over and over again. I used in school for presentations several different times as I grew up. Space, NASA, all that stuff was just a part of me as I was growing up...

Also..schools in the Houston area went to NASA often.. Not every year but we went pretty often.

So...going to Space Center Houston today was something I was really looking forward to. The last time I had been to NASA.. it was just the Johnson Space Center.. there was no Space Center Houston. I had heard a lot of good things about Space Center Houston (SCH) so I was looking forward to today..on many levels.. I had a real good time.. you can see the pics I took here.

Unfortunately... it wasn't nearly as good as when it was just JSC... probably because I imagine how great it could be. Basically me and my family stood in line for over 3 hours today to go on 2 tours.. shop a little and go home. I studied recreation and parks in college and so did Donna. Donna even worked at Disney in Florida and knows how important it is for things to go right for there to be a quality experience for visitors....guests..whatever term you want to give to those poor suckers that come in the gate in the morning and hand you a pretty decent stack of cash to spend the day on your property..

Here are just a few things that need some attention Houston...

Tour guides or hosts do not need to be texting friends while guiding your group.
Tour guides or hosts should not make sarcastic comments about the place they work while on duty in front of guests.
Tour guides or hosts should not bob their heads to the music on the guide video no matter how sick they are of "The flight of the bumblebee".
Videos used on tour buses should be less then 10 years old.
Audio files used on tour trams should be less than 10 years old.
Security screening should be done at the beginning of the que line while people are waiting to get on trams..not at the end of the line so that people are delayed boarding their trams.. It must have taken at least 15 minutes (Donna's guess.. I think more) to load a freakin tram.. 3 minutes tops to get everyone on...maybe a tad more if you have physically challenged guests. This was insane!!
Don't tell people to return to the tram at the end of a tour and then tell them they should be sitting in the same seats they left AFTER they return to the tram.
If you are going to have flight simulators in the flight simulator part of your facility you should have more than 2 of the 10 working.

We didn't get to see anything else because it took so freakin' long to do these two tours. I'm sure I would have seen more that needs attention.

I know that JSC specializes in rocket science.. but this isn't rocket science.. it's hospitality, expectations, follow-up, leadership and respect....but then again this is a government agencey (NASA) and I'm sure SCH is the lowest bidder.. I really don't know how this was put together...it could be so much better..

and bobble head host told us today they were only expecting 6000 guests but would have over 8000 tomorrow with all the parking lots full including the staff parking lot.. good luck folks..the tram lines don't go too fast...and the security people that are going through your stuff and scanning you with a hand held metal detector are in no rush..which wouldn't matter except that the tram is waiting on you and the 80+ people behind you to get on... yawn..

I really hope to go back some time soon so I can spend more time in the main facility and skip the tours because they took forever but it was what I wanted to do today. I didn't get to look at any space capsules up close like I have every time I've been to JSC. I didn't get to see any rocks like every time I've been to JSC. Again.. it was the choices we made, they were long slow choices with a lot of standing still but I'm ok with that.

I'm not mad..I love the place.. I want to see more.. I just know with some minor changes that would cost nothing so many more people could be serviced with no extra effort put fourth by any of the underpaid, under motivated hosts on staff.

A little trip to Houston..

2009-03-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

We didn't go on the church ski trip... Austin nor Donna wanted to ski.. Hannah was going to Italy so we didn't know what we would do for our little spring break jaunt.. Austin had a neat idea.. let's go to Houston and do like we do when we go to New York.. in other words.. let be tourists in Houston..

Having grown up in the Houston area and generally having a disdain for the city because it's hot, and humid, and un-zoned, and humid, and has never seemed to have the hiways it needed to move people around like it needs to I really wasn't fired up about that right off the bat but then I thought better of it.. so that's what we're doing..

I went to priceline.com and bid on some 5 star hotels in downtown Houston and got a nice deal on a room at The Inn at the Ballpark.

This morning we had church..and in the midst of church Hannah took off for Italy.. once church was over we headed to Livingston to have lunch at The Courthouse Whistlstop Cafe.

A very nice cafe with very good food and good sized portions. Service was excellent even though some of the Sunday specials had been eate n up by a large after church crowd. We had lunch with family there (Donna's mom, sister, brother-in-law, and our nephew John). After visiting and eating we headed on to Houston..

We had been toying with the idea of going to a hockey game.. it was looking like we weren't going to miss much of the afternoon game of the Houston Aeros so we went to the Toyota center and enjoyed the sport from the great white north.

The Aeros won and we had fun..minor league sports are a hoot because they do so much to keep you entertained.. same with minor league baseball.. anyway, we had a good time and then checked in at "The Inn".

Room is spacious and the bed is heaven...it's huge and comfy.. The lobby, bar and cafe all beautifully appointed with baseball memorabelia.. well so is the room.. even little baseball stickers on the toilet paper rolls... we really did get a nice deal now that I've seen it.

We go eat in "The Ballpark Cafe".. food is pricy but good. Donna had the ballpark burger..I had the ballpark hot dog (a foot long that was about 18" long..stuck out about 2 inches on each end of the bun)..and with ballpark dog I had to have a bock..Austin.. always one to watch cost of items on the menu had a $6 salad and the fried shrimp.. The bill was ... well alot for a burger, a dog and 5 shrimp but the place was nice and the waiter was fantastic.

Back at the room taking it easy.. contemplating going here tomorrow..

Sunday Worship 3/15/09

2009-03-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

youtube of practice continues to help our Sunday morning prep and the quality of our offering.. another very good Sunday as far as music and a very cool service that I hope helped people think just a little bit more about their every day lives.. Check out the layout of the worship service below...

10:45 AM

Gathering Music – The Cross of Christ (Wright) (announcements on screen)

Enter the Light of Christ

Praise Music

God of Wonders (Byrd/Hindalong)

How Great Thou Art (Hine/Baloche)

Welcome and Announcements

Introduction to Theme (Donna: Exodus 20 video)

Choral Anthem – Alas! and did my savior bleed? (Banks) (Guest Choir Director, Mike Hunter!)

Children’s Sermon (Kathy)

Greeting

This morning we invite you to introduce yourself by stating which of the Ten Commandment YOU think is the most important.

Worship Music

All in All (Jernigan)

Wonderful Cross (Reeves/Tomlin/Walt/Watts/Mason)

Prayer Time & Lord’s Prayer (Kathy)

Prayer Response – Enid Hunter, oboe

Scripture Reading – Exodus 20:1-17 (Artie)

Sermon – Does the List Matter? (Mike)

Invitation to Respond

Invitation Music – Sanctuary (Thompson/Scruggs) (transition to table on second verse)

Call to Communion (Mike)

Prayer for Elements

10 Word Exercise

This morning we invite you to circle the word identifying the commandment you struggle with most. You will keep one copy for yourself and bring one forward to lay at the foot of the cross before you participate in the offering and communion.

Communion & Offering (praise team instrumental)

All Christians, regardless of denomination, are invited to participate in this meal of love and remembrance. Come forward to lay your tablet at the cross, before presenting your offering and partaking of communion. You may come to the Table when you feel led and depart on your own.

Go Out in God’s Peace…

See more Sunday worship setlists here

Peace everyone..

I didn't eat any of this..

2009-03-14T19:25:00.001-07:00

Brownies were made earlier this week.. I had none of them..I promise! No... really!!

CC (DOC) NEA CYF/Chi Rho Mid Winter..

2009-03-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

Just some memories of CC(DOC) NEA CYF Chi Rho Mid Winter Audio sucks but I hope you can pick up the energy... we had a great time leading the kids but I also had a great time worshiping with them and the band.. It was so free and open and uplifting. It was so much fun and so much a sabbath.. as little sleep as we got (the band) it was great just hanging out and visiting. What a great weekend. I look forward to doing it again someday!!

new technology..well...new to me

2009-03-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

Nice news..

2009-03-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

Random March 3rd stuff

2009-03-10T05:23:00.000-07:00

Tuesday March 3rd Hannah and I went to TCU for another visit.. she wanted to visit with people from the environmental science department and I wanted to check on her scholarship situation..she also wanted to see one of the dorms she had not seen yet.. We ate at fuzzy's she fell in love with enviro science..(she wants to save the world).. we saw several friends of hers and even some of my friends..Then we went to U of Dallas to see her friend Allison Guse.. It was kind of a long day.. but fun to spend it with Hannah..this is just a short clip of the day..

It also proves that if you are going to eat chocolate ice cream and wear white skinny pants..you will get some on your pants...

New tune..

2009-03-09T20:20:00.000-07:00

A new song I just wrote.. I haven't written one in a pretty good while. Let me know what you think..not that I'll change anything..but I might :P No really..you know who you are.. give me your feedback.

You can also check out some other cool original tunes here.. at the online songwriters showcase..

Sunday's worship.. 3/8/09

2009-03-09T17:47:00.000-07:00

This Sunday we did some cool creative/experiential stuff... it really touched some people to actually write "Child of God" on a name badge and wear it.. it was very meaningful.

On the other side they wrote all the things that they were, could be names or titles .. I wrote husband, father, song writer, worship leader, freight guy, friend, bald guy, fat guy, friend, lazy, workaholic, but the key thing is no matter what I'm called I'm a child of God.. here's how worship flowed..

March 8: Blessing

Prelude – Nelda (announcements on screen)

10:45 AM - Lighting of candles

Opening Praise Set

Give Thanks-Smth

Hallelujah (You’re Love is Amazing)- Brown/Doerksen

Stethoscope video

“I got a name” (Croce) – Artie

Welcome to FCC/Announcements (Mike)

Children’s Sermon (Kathy)

Greeting (introduce yourself with label – “Hi, I’m an accountant”)

Worship Set

Every Move I Make -Ruis

Wonderful Cross- Reeves, Tomlin, Walt, Watts, Mason

Short Prayer & LP (Cory)

Sermon – Genesis 17 (Mike)

Transition Music (Sing Hallelujah)-Stassen

(Elements and Guitars lead procession to FH)

Name Making Experience (Cory sets-up, background music on iPod)

Words of Institution (Mike)

Communion – at multiple stations (choir music)

Invitation (Wonderful Cross) Reeves, Tomlin, Walt, Watts, Mason

Prayer of Dismissal (Mike)

Postlude -Give Thanks-Smith

It was a very good Sunday, The experiment with recording practice and posting it on youtube for at home rehearsal for those who need it or can't make practice is still proving to be a big help to the Sunday morning offering by the team.. I really appreciate the effort they are putting in to making worship a priority.

Check out other Sunday worship offerings here

345

2009-03-09T13:37:00.000-07:00

Well.. feeling pretty good... seem to have more energy. Daylight savings time didn't have a huge impact on me.. had more energy dealing with that God forsaken event than I have in recent years. My new pants (a couple of months old..that's new for me) have little buttons on the side.. you can take them up one button on each side. I have taken both of those buttons up the one notch that is on there and they are still very loose.

Hoping that I can be at least to 342 by spring break and payday. That would be 20 pounds off and a nice place to have a celebratory cheater meal. We're hanging around Lufkin next weekend and I'll be at church Sunday morning.. then we're sending Hannah off to Europe early Sunday afternoon..then Donna, Austin, and I are off to downtown Houston. Staying at The Inn at the Ball Park just to try and experience downtown Houston like we have done New York.. find some neat downtown restaurants, go to the zoo, museum, Austin wants to go to The Galleria.. somewhere in there I plan to be bad.. but.. not too much.. I'm really enjoying how I feel and enjoying how my clothes are fitting me. I have one more notch on my new belt then I may be shopping for another new belt. Yeah!!

Those of you who follow me on twitter have probably noticed that my usual 2 x Tuesday (Domino's Pizza) with a Shiner Bock has stopped... I might very well partake in a pizza and some beer.. well some Bock or other dark beer.. while on vacation. I do find God in that little combination!

More to come..

348

2009-03-05T13:03:00.000-08:00

2 more pounds...in a week. I'm doing ok, not wanting to splurge too much although last Friday was a very stressful day that involved removing someone from their position here at that place I work at full time.. Never fun.. and I wanted Olive Garden that night and a couple of italian margaritas.. if you haven't tried one of those they are wonderful...

Anyway.. that was my one indulgence...stress induced as it was.

Hope to put up a few more posts later today..

FYI.. if you are not on youtube.. I'm posting video of our worship practice on youtube. It came from the fact that we are changing worship times and we will not have the time we used to on Sunday morning to run through the songs. I also have band members that have conflicts on Wednesday night that can't make practice but they will invest the time to be ready on Sunday if they have the music.. this gives them the music the way we will do it.. not the way Crowder, Tomlin, Baloche or Wright does it but how we will do it and they can work on how they fit in to the mix and be ready Sunday morning. There are also those in the praise team that need more reps on the songs and this way they can sing along with the rest of the praise team to get a better feel for the music.

We only have time on Sunday morning to do a quick run through of our transitions.. example.. this week we'll work on the transition between the last half of the chorus of "Give Thanks" in to the first verse of "Hallelujah (Your Love is Amazing)"..that's it.. then the end of "Every Move I Make" in to "The Wonderful Cross".. We'll touch on one other song quickly and then we're done.

We did this last week..and with all the confusion of set up and new service times and getting settled in to where we were supposed to be along with pluggin in and tuning it probably took us between 15 and 20 minutes to work on our transitions between our 2 three song sets...and the music in church was AWESOME!! Everyone came prepared and the church loved the first set so much they applauded us.. that just doesn't happen in our church very often.. one other time in the last year and a half it's happend (when we introduced our rockin' version of "How Great Thou Art"..kinda like Baloche but not...). We got tons of great feedback on the music and how good it was..the church was in to it and the Spirit was moving.. it was a great day...anyway...

The vids go up at www.youtube.com/artieanderson and Donna has been doing the editing because Moviemaker keeps cratering on my pc. She's good and pretty quick. She also worked very hard on getting the sound right on the internet feed and our vids this week sound much better..(we are pulling our vids off our computer/video feed we use for Sunday morning live feed broadcasts). The ones last week were not bad but she's got them sounding much better.

In the short run this little experiment has turned out to be a great success.. Hope it continues to be a tool for a quality music offering on Sunday morning.

350

2009-02-20T08:23:00.000-08:00

OK, so I decided to weigh again for the first time in a couple of weeks.. I weigh 350 lbs.. I've cut the carbs since Monday (except for a chocolate chocolate chip cookie and a cran-apple at the blood center yesterday).. that was lunch. That made my morning.

Donna said she was going to no carb it starting Monday. I wanted to support her. My mouth tastes like metal but I'm feeling better and I'm lighter... now I have to keep moving too.

Hannah and her txting exploits v 2.0

2009-02-02T22:38:00.000-08:00

Ok... we just went through the holidays... and when you look over to the right there at Hannah's texting performance, you have to be a little disappointed. You would think with all the extra time on her hands during the holidays she would text even more.

But no...

So why did the numbers drop???

Was it the number of minutes she was talking? Did she actually speak to people more and reduce her ability to text as much?? I did a brief analysis of her voice minutes....she was actually on the phone talking more in months previous than in this month of anemic texting performance..

I can only find one other good reason that she has deteriorated in her text performance.

His name is Ryan Stovall... He's pretty good guy.. plays sax in the AC jazz band and has a band of his own..he also plays guitar way better than I will ever hope to and he can play other instruments. I like Ryan.. but he sure is jackin' with our fun with Hannah's texting.

Saying goodbye..

2009-01-30T21:01:00.000-08:00

I know this will ramble some but I'm doing this for me as it comes to me..

John August Anderson..known as Sandy to his close family passed away on January 29th 2009 at the age of 60. In November he was diagnosed with brain cancer and even though he had surgery to remove the tumor he never rebounded. He had 2 sons David and Jason and daughter in law Amanda. He had 2 grandsons Brian and Tylar. He was born in Texas City in December of 1949. Even though he was 11 years older than me, he was closest to me in age of all my brothers. He was also the one I felt closest to in all things.

He was the bottom step of 5 stair step boys... the youngest of 5 for 11 years

he was finally an older brother when I was born in January of 1960. Richard..the oldest shared a bed with him when Sandy was little... then when Sandy was older he had to share a bed with me. It's kinda like Richard was to Sandy as Sandy was to me... Richard was even Sandy's best man in his wedding and Sandy was my best man in my wedding.

We used to go fishing together.. we used to go to Oilers games together. We both loved the Oilers...the Luv ya Blue Oilers with Earl Campbell and Carl Mauck and Bum Phillips.

He was the shortest boy in the family and was the only one to get a basketball scholarship. He loved basketball...

He was the brother that came to my house just to visit.. not for a family get together or other event.. he came just to visit.. he did that with all the family. Sandy was the brother that intersected his life in everyone elses life.. he knew all the grand kids when most of us brothers had gotten so involved in our own lives that we had not stayed in touch well enough.

He worked retail from the time I was 7 until he got sick.

He liked guns.. mostly pistols. I never was a big gun freak..not like the rest of my brothers anyway... I've got my shotgun..rifle..and couple of pistols but my brothers love guns.

We went shooting together a few times...

When I was in college I used to take mid day road trips to just go visit with him for a few hours. Because we were close when I was young I always felt close to Sandy as an adult.

Sandy was the kind of person that made you feel pretty good.. he was an encourager. He was full of joy.. he loved to laugh. He was a blessing to everyone who knew him. He helped me with some personal course corrections in my life regarding my attitude and my outlook on life. I will thank him forever for that much less the subtle impact he has had on me that I cannot detect because it's just a part of who I am...

This doesn't even come close to expressing all that I'm feeling and thinking but I can't get it all together or even express it. He chose not to have a funeral/memorial... so this is my little memorial for my own closure...

Sandy I will miss you. I love you!

Doesn't it always happen???

2009-01-12T17:16:00.001-08:00

I'm two weeks in to what seems to be a fairly reasonable change I want to implement in my life... eat just a little smarter and move my body more..

So what happens? 2 weeks in I'm 2 lbs heavier.. man I love this...

On top of the fact that this day that was pretty good most of the way it ended with me discovering some crap at work that really bummed me... just day to day service stuff but just when you think you might have a really good day something bites you in the behind and then I'm lookin for fudge in all the wrong places. Anyway...this week...Tuesday I played about an hour of something like racquetball..the other three were playing it, but I was limited in my motion.. my legs felt like rubber and I almost ate the wall a couple of times.. but it was pretty fun.. until the next day and my knees were killing me. I walked the next day but Thursday my knees couldn't take it. I wasn't feelin it Friday either.. Got walks in on Saturday and Sunday and felt I was getting back in the swing. I blew it off tonight because I got home late from work and it was cold and I wasn't in the mood. I was really tempted to blow this whole thing off but to be honest with you one of my motivations is that some time in 2010 I would like to purchase one of these... and I know I can fit in one already.. already done the test drive.. but I'd like to be comfortable.. sideways.. in the car. I've got head room and leg room and I fit in the seat but I want to enjoy it...I'd also like to begin riding a bike again some day and I've got to keep moving. A bump in the road, I'm in a funk but I do plan to keep going forward.

Moving my body

2009-01-05T21:46:00.000-08:00

Dropped a little weight.. ate more often.. did less gorging because I didn't feel starved. Walked 1.5 miles 4 times.. got a blood blister on my left foot.. had to sit it out for a few days.. hope to get active again tomorrow.. birthday was today so had cake.. that will hurt.. but that's ok.. moving forward in my quest.. down 2 pounds from last week.

362

2008-12-29T22:29:00.000-08:00

362

Yes that right.. I weighed today for the first time in probably a couple of years and I weigh three hundred and sixty-two pounds..wow... I also now wear a 54 waist pants and I can't live like this any more... I've already learned from watching all my siblings that I will get diabetes...but do I need to rush it any faster? I've always had a weight problem since I was a kid. Food was my sanctuary when I was tense...and it still is. I've got to change that.

Chocolate is my heaven... and I've got to change that..or maybe just not go to heaven near as often..

Finally, I've got to move. somehow I've gotten very sedentary the last couple of years. Work used to keep me very active and now it does not because I have a great staff. I still work long hours and I've got that church gig too...tends to exhaust me and I really don't want to do anything else.

But now I'm committing to change. Not just a new years resolution but a change in my daily lifestyle. I've got to move. I started walking today.

I'm not doing a bunch of measurements and posting all that stuff and tracking my progress on sizes etc. I am laying out there for all to see that I'm too fat and I've got to make a change...I'd love your prayers and support and if you are so motivated..join me in this little exploit. No races to see who loses more faster. Just hoping to see progress. ... and I'll fail and I hope I get back up and get going again. Maybe that's why I'm letting you in on the deal. I'm gonna check my weight weekly...I'm gonna post weekly weight and approx miles walked each week. If I share it with you ... I'm a little more sold out on doing it....

If I drop some weight...maybe I can start riding a bike again too... I blogged about that way back when gas was $4.oo a gal.. would still be good for me..

Here is to a healthier, fuller and more active life!!!

Seven Pounds

2008-12-27T12:57:00.000-08:00

FYI..I'm going to talk about this movie on this blog post and I'd love to hear your feedback on the movie..if you have not seen it do not read this and then get mad at me for ruining it for you.....

spoiler alert..spoiler alert.spoiler alert..spoiler alert.spoiler alert..spoiler alert..spoiler alert..spoiler alert..spoiler alert..spoiler alert..spoiler alert..spoiler alert..spoiler alert..spoiler alert...............etc..

Now.. I saw the ads and the movie intrigued me. They did a good job of getting me interested and not letting me know what was really going on.

I didn't go research it because I wanted to be surprised at the movie.

Then my daughter tells me I must go see it and that I will cry. She said she boo hoo'd big time and she knew me and she knew I would too. I trust my daughter as she has seen me cry in church and at movies and other events and so she knew it would touch my heart...

I post this on twitter and a some friends want to go too... awesome... more people to know I'm a cry baby (Glover ...who went...already knows)...

So I'm not going to lay the movie out for you to surprise you with the plot..if you're reading this you either don't care to see it or you've seen it and want to know what I think and you want to tell me what you think..

I loved the movie.. I cried...and I mean .... It's a wonderful life kind of crying.. nearly sobbing in public like my momma died kinda crying..almost. Still a little more emotional than I care to be out in the open public.. my church knows me and knows that's a part of who I am but EVERYONE doesn't need to know it.. NEXT.

Rich guy taking his wife out to dinner... looks at his blackberry (I do this way too often).. swerves in to on coming traffic and kills his wife and 6 others... my thoughts on this is he is giving up the metaphorical "pound of flesh" for each person he killed.. helping others who deserve it (not what Christ would do but he's not Christ...but by making this selection he does ensure that the good things of good people continue on... Christ didn't select everyone to be his disciple to carry on his teachings and way of life so in a way I can see this as a Christ like move... he will help far more people in this world by selecting the right ones to help...ok??

I liked it when he burned the guy running the nursing home... I liked it when he gave the abused woman his home (how will she pay the taxes?) That when I started getting weepy..

Was not sure about what was going on with Woody Harrelson's character at first but later a saw what was happening.

He stated that his life was less than remarkable in a conversation with Rosario Dawson's character which tends to tell us he believes he's worthless... after who he killed and the impact on many people's lives I can see that.

Some were not happy that it seemed he never overcame that worthlessness. I believe after his night with Ms. Dawson's character...and he ran to the Hospital to see what the odds were for a rare blood type heart transplant...the story was telling us he now wanted to live. I believe at that point he was trying to find hope for his own life so that he could spend it with her. Then the gift he was now willing to give was not just his money, his possessions and his body parts because he was worthless... he was willing to give his life..which now had meaning, for the one that he loved. I believe he was redeemed in his relationship with her..by helping her and her helping him in a way he couldn't help himself....so I cried a lot more...

And then of course the end with Ms. Dawson's character finds Woody's character and looks in to his eyes... so she could see the eyes of the one she loves... can they do that??? They've been doing that in movies for a long time but I've never been sure it could actually happen..

@Drun..did you find out if jellyfish stings render donor body parts useless?

I love the flick.. it was what I needed after weeks of peak volume and tense days at work and lots of church responsibilities around the holiday season.. it was a great release for me and I'm glad my daughter told me to see it.. can't watch it in public again though...have to do it at home...late at night...by myself.. like I do "It's a Wonderful Life"..

Let me know what you think..did you hate it? Love it?? Not sure?? Let me know..

Eating at Cheddars tonight..

2008-12-19T20:22:00.000-08:00

I saw one of my favorite young ladies with the last name of Anderson that's not my daughter but I'd take her any time and do anything for her any time... and that's what I'm doing here. Donna and I ate at Cheddar's tonight and Katie did not wait on our table but she brought us our food then we conversed and had fun while she worked.. she also pointed out a young man of interest named Josh.. She told me to yell at him and I did...she was then terrified that I yelled at him..just what did she think I would do??

I later called his name at other times and Katie seemed undone by this and yet she felt compelled to tell us about her wonderful date with him where he... was nice.. I won't go in to details because Katie might get mad.. Katie then made a comment about making sure that I blogged about this experience tonight..so here it is. I've known Katie for a few years now and she is such a super awesome girl.. well young lady.. you should get to know her more here.

Here is a pic of Josh and Katie.. I think it's the one she showed us at the restaurant..

Peace out folks..

Hannah and her txting exploits..

2008-12-15T14:38:00.000-08:00

Ok I lied.. I'm not too busy to blog until after Christmas.. or maybe I just find this topic way more important than the delivery of your boxes... not really just kidding. But..the phone bill came in today and I just though it would be really cool to let you see a glimps of a small part of my family life..that part involved in phone bills and texting..

I find texting to be a very strange phenomena in that people use telephones to NOT talk to others..just send them little messages like you might get from a western union office dozens of years ago..except faster and cheaper.. I actually like txting. I think it works for many in that you can manage the conversation among other things you are doing vs when you're talking you tend to have to get singularly focused. It has been funny when friends of mine have sent me replies to txts that they got from someone else... maby too many balls in ther air there???

Anyway..my daughter Hannah loves to txt... so I started a new feature over there to the right side of my blog...check it out..give me some feedback and I'll keep you posted each month on how she's doing. My daughter does make me cry sometimes...she also makes me mad... and she makes me laugh.. this is the funny part.. we have hundreds of roll over minutes every month we don't use but she will txt every waking minute she can if she's able. Why not just call em???

Boxes....Boxes....Boxes....

2008-12-09T13:47:00.000-08:00

Hey folks... it's that time of year that many of you like to call Christmas... for people like Kathy Dunn or others that are very intimately tied to the church calendar... it's advent. Many have other holidays around this time of year from Hanukkah to Kwanzaa.. People in my business call it PEAK.

This is not a post on theology... This is not a post on faith...

This is post regarding the fact that I get very frustrated this time of year as my full time job gets very very busy in the business of delivering lots and lots of boxes.

We have to hire extra people.. they all don't do such a great job all the time..this requires lots of conference calls..and discussions about action plans to do better and people telling me when I must be on calls on weekends.. ugh..

Most of you are planning parties or enveloping yourselves in the atmosphere of anticipation and waiting for our coming King or celebrations of family and friends.. I have to force some of this in to what is the busiest time of year for me in my industry..the transportation industry.. along with what is a pretty busy time of year in the religious business.. you know.. special musical events, Christmas eve services, Christmas parties that fall on days when you really think you should be practicing music for the coming Sunday, Christmas parties falling on days when you wish you could just go home and go in to a coma, Christmas parties that are taking place while you know that many of your employees are working 14-15+ hour days to make sure you get that present you ordered.

I want to have a festive spirit but in the back of my mind I'm always wondering if there is service failures happening and am I going to be on some conference call tomorrow to explain why we didn't do as well as we should..

I look forward to the day when package pressure will mean..well... nothing..I can't think of anything funny to put there. I'll be glad when I don't have to worry about another peak and my full time job will be planning special Christmas music and going to Christmas parties and being part of Christmas eve services..

I say all that to say this.. I doubt you will see another post until after December 25th 2008..I hope to have a Christmas post.. but if you want to see what's up in my life just watch my updates on facebook or twitter (which is what drives my facebook updates anyway). Grace and peace to you all...

Mark Lee: Guitar player for Third Day.

2008-11-11T18:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm 48 years old and I don't get all giddy about rock bands, or rock stars or movie stars... personally I would tend not to interrupt them if I saw them eating dinner or whatever. I figure their lives are pretty abnormal as it is and I don't need to be one more addition to it.

BUT

On twitter I follow a few people that are doing pretty well as musicians in the CCM genre of music. Brandon Heath who really does not post many tweets but I like one of his songs so I started following him on twitter.

Bart Millard of Mercy Me just because I've liked these guys for a long time and their cover tune grab bags are great and Bart will announce them being posted via twitter.

I also follow Brandon Todd Wright who is a real up an comer and will have a song on the next song discovery CD coming out from worship leader magazine..

Finally.. I follow Mark Lee..the guitar player for Third Day...

The great thing about following Mark and Bart is that the tweets they post really show that they deal with a lot of the same things the rest of us deal with. They are parts of bands that are huge in Christian music. I'm sure they do ok for themselves. Now Bart always posts via txt so there is no way he can interact with folks on twitter unless there is technology out there I don't understand..
But Mark Lee...he's on twitter just like the rest of us.. and he has quite a few people following him.. but then a couple of weeks ago I got an e-mail that he was following me (actually he is now following everyone that follows him on twitter)..that's pretty cool.

A few days ago a friend of mine posted a tweet about going to a metal concert in Denver and Mark Lee actually responded... hey wow..that's cool.

Today Mark posted info about a quiz you could take to see if you could determine if a phrase was scripture or Shakespeare.

I went there and scored a 70.. boo for me...

I asked Mark how he did...not really thinking that he would respond..(I am olderbutnotup by the way) ..now I thought that this was pretty cool..now for you naysayers out there...

Here is his twitter profile..

here is his blog link

read this it's pretty funny..

here is his band..

I'm still not all giddy or whatever but I think it's pretty cool how Mark is just a guy on twitter who happens to play for one of the biggest Christian Rock bands ever.. and I like them to boot.. fell in love with them when C. Caraway introduced them to me via the offerings CD. Just kind of a cool thing that happened today.

Gas Prices again...

2008-11-06T09:47:00.001-08:00

Don't know if you can read this picture from my facebook but .. I'm pretty frustrated about how much our gas costs in the greater Lufkin/Angelina County area. It's about a quarter a gallon more than in Tyler TX. I made some twitter posts about that and I got some feedback on my facebook feed (don't know if you can read that to the left).

Buck eighty-nine in North Texas and a buck fifty-nine in Oklahoma. Edie says it's high in the Chicagoland area but don't we Texans expect that? Sorry Edie.. I guess growing up in Texas where we have active oil drilling platforms around us.. where I grew up there were oil pump stations in all the pastures around my home(Galveston County). We should have cheaper gas in Texas right? I remember a few years ago working in New Jersey for a week and the gas was a dime cheaper than Lufkin and they pumped it for me too. Go figure...

I know when I drive to Conroe that the price of gas in Riverside is always 10 cents, 20 cents, 25 cents cheaper than Lufkin.

I have no idea how many gallons of gas get sold in Lufkin each day...I tried to find it but no luck.. but just imagine that you could sell something 12% higher than others around you over and over and over again..day in and day out.

Cha ching...

Catching you up...

2008-10-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

I hope I don't make this too long but here's what's been up lately..

Friday Octoboer 17th.. drive to Conroe to do some work around my in-laws house.. almost hit a deer and scared the crap out of everyone.

Saturday October 18th.. Clean out my wife's aunt's house and get stuff for the 2nd "Send Hannah to Rome" garage sale (see pic of truck for our spoils).

Sunday October 19th.. Breif worship confessional..

Rain Down

To Every Nation

You Never Let Go

Communion-Come Ye Sinners

Went home, ate lunch, took a nap, drove to Fort Worth...Hannah did most of the driving on this trip..

, ate at Uncle Julio's with Donna, Hannah and Katie Anderson.. yeah. a table full of Andersons... but not all mine.

Monday October 20th.. Spent the morning hanging out with Katie on the TCU campus as she showed us around. Ate Lunch at Fuzzies and saw Nikolee Beyers (our super awesome student intern from last summer).

Saw Aaron Marez that morning too and he did our orientation meeting.. that was cool.

Hung out around the college of communications that afternoon and took a tour and saw Brittany Brookshire Adams.. she gave us all big hugs and we hugged her back and she introduced Hannah to her class.. that was cool. Also looked around the radio, TV, film department and that's where Hannah would like to study.. heck so would I.. looked pretty fun.

Drove back to Lufkin then drove (by myself) to Waco to do Fortune 100 transportation work.. hit a deer east of Marlin. No one hurt.. including the deer I think.. the PT Cruiser got a little damage though.

Tuesday Oct 21st.. Worked in Waco, age at Rudy's that night. Stopped at Sonic and got a sonic blast.. shot the last needed video I have to do to complete my half of the Todd and Artie eats video.. now if I could just get time to put it all on a CD and ship it to you.

Wednesday Oct 22nd.. worked in Waco that morning and drove back to rehearse for drug court entertainment.

Thursday Oct 23rd.. Worked that day then did entertainment for Judge White's drug court and drug court graduation at our Fellowship Hall. We did:

Unclouded Day

I'll Fly Away

Everything (Caraway, Anderson, et. al.)

The Road to Recovery (Muchow)

Friday Oct 24th Worked and went to the first half of the LP/University Park game (the half with no score).

Saturday Oct 25th Learned "Audience of One" by Big Daddy Weave and "Give me Your Eyes" by Brandon Heath. Cleaned House..moved all of Hannah's garage sale stuff out of the guest room in to the "media room" (that's a future name for what is now a junk room). Did laundry, practiced Audience of One with Shawn Reith. Hung out with Cory Glover and many of his friends who came in for his Ordination that occured Sunday night. Tell him he needs to blog. Went home early because I had to get up early for church..

Sunday Oct 26th.. video worship confessional and more..

Yes.. our wallpaper is coming off the wall in our bedroom... we'll be fixing that some day soon.

And that's a PBJ..yes I ate it right after shooting that vid.

Oh and by the way. We had myself on Acoustic Guitar and Amanda Hutchinson on bass..that was our whole band.. We had several singers and thank you Scott Skelton, Tara Watson, Bill Malnar and Tina Peavey for being there along with Amanda..

You can see the video of Cory's ordination here.

Monday Oct 27th..worked that day and vegged that night..watched some dvr'd shows and ate and skipped bible study.. I was too worn out. Forgive me.

Tuesday Oct 28th..worked at you know where that day and that night planned, scanned and e-mailed music for the next couple of weeks. I have even updated my sidebar here on my blog with the music that is planned for the next few weeks. I also went to the Goodiers to get more garage sale stuff for Hannah. I plan to head to the Tyson's Thursday and get their offerings to the Rome trip.

OK, my hands are cramping.. I think that's enough.

Flea Market Montgomery

2008-10-29T12:19:00.000-07:00

I learned about this from the world famous Katie Anderson

Then I saw this and thought it was funny too.

Charles

2008-10-21T16:46:00.000-07:00

Worship Confessional 10/19/08

2008-10-20T06:54:00.000-07:00

Worship Confessional (video #2)

2008-10-14T06:37:00.000-07:00

First.. I forgot to mention I had no electric guitars or drummer on Sunday..But we did have Cyndi back who plays acoustic beautifully (finger picks) and sings beautiful harmonies and counter harmonies..we were small but it went very well...

My Saturday

2008-10-11T20:26:00.001-07:00

Well folks.. I slept in big time this morning. I think it was almost ten by the time I rolled out of bed... Wow.. I hardly every sleep in that much any more. I don't know why but I have really been droopy lately. Maybe it's the chest congestion that's dragging me down but I'm just whipped lately. Anyway.. I've decided to NOT do My Fridays.. I work on Friday and big deal, I go to work, I complete some reports, I sit on some conference calls, I eat, I go home and maybe go see a movie or go to a Panther football game..

Anyway..I'll do My Saturday's from now on. Well I have a lot to report on today...as I already said I slept in..

Then I did laundry..and more laundry and watched some college football.

This is just a small sample of the workI did today.. I did numerous loads.. as well as tidying around the house some.

Oh and see that cat in the picture.. that's Magic.. I just call him gato.. anyway.. I found him in our bedroom with the tail and hind legs of a squirrel today.. I ran him outside.. that was fun..

Did a little more laundry..

I then took the family to Chili's for supper and enjoyed their chicken club tacos and a couple of Shiner Blacks...

..those things are pretty good...

We then went home and relaxed watching some dvr'd shows we just haven't gotten around to watching.. House, CSI, Criminal Minds...

A good relaxing day with my family...and our little touch of wild kingdom to boot.

I know..it's been a while

2008-10-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

I haven't been feeling so hot lately.. a lot of sinus junk and some other discomforts that really don't need to be revealed here. So.. I've been doing a little twitter but I realized I haven't blogged since Oct 1st.

So I thought I'd share a little bit about what I've been contemplating lately..

I'm a big dude... most everyone knows that. I used to be smaller but I've always been a person of size.. hard to find clothes that fit off the rack.. not that many shoes in the store that fit me.. heck.. and I know folks at work will back me up... even my head is a little bigger than most.

But I'm getting frustrated with myself. I'm getting too FAT. I know I'm never going to be like most of my brothers... skinny.. or even just kinda lean. I've been "husky" my whole life. I don't know where my kids get their slim stature but I'm happy for them... I just know I've got to start doing something...

My wife has begun an after school work out program offered by the school. She says it's wearing her out but she's feeling a difference too. Me? Can't seem to make it a priority. I have a hard enough time finding quiet time with my God and my bible so I really just don't know how important getting some exercise is to me .. well I do know.. Not very...

When I was younger.. (years .. many years..) I used to ride my bike everywhere. I loved riding it and it was cheap transportation. In college it was the only way I got around College Station save for a bus on a rainy day or something. No way was I going to move my car from my primo parking space just outside Schumacher Hall ( I lived in Walton thank you..I did not live in those up town spaces in suckmocker).

I rode a little more later in life going on camping trips and stuff like that but then I went to work in the freight business... A business that has seemed to consume my life for the last couple of decades.. throw on top of that finally hearing God's calling on my life and spending many hours on things like Upward Basketball and leading worship in what spare time I have.....no bike riding any longer.

So...I'm getting more and more sedentary as my local fortune 500 transportaion branch grows and I get more employees and drivers and my work life becomes less hands on.

Gas prices get stupid and I start thinking of these...

I went by Pedalocity and they gave me a little look around and a book on Fuji bikes.. I've also been checking them out here .

Wow..there are some very expensive bikes out there.. I'm thinking.. really thinking about getting one I can ride to and from work.. Now how I deal with the sweat.. the clothes.. the rest of those kind of issues.. I'm not sure but I know other people ride bikes to work in other places. I don't want to spend more than around $500 either.. I'm used to $99.00 ten speeds from K-Mart myself so these bike shop bikes really seem "out there".

So.. I'm pricing these, I'm thinking hard, I'm knowing it's not something I can jump it to too quickly or I'm gonna get some big hurt on my body....but I've got to do something and this resonates with me a great deal..

Who knows..maybe you'll be honking and shaking your fist at me soon as I legally use my lane of the road and you think I should have tale lights and turn signals..

Heck..maybe there will even be a pinywoods purgatory in my future.

Any thoughts?

Sonseed

2008-10-01T20:20:00.000-07:00

Thank you SCL..

Gospel Fest..on video

2008-10-01T09:46:00.000-07:00

My friend Don sent this email out...
---------------------------------------------------
For those who were not able to attend Bonita UMC's Gospel fest this year, it can be viewed and heard at the following link:

www.bonitaumc.org

At the bottom left of that page, click on <1> under "Gospel Fest Video"

There are 3 parts. Part <2> will be uploaded and available by Thursday and then Part <3> on Friday.

There was wide diversity in the musical styles and among those in atttendence -- but there was unity in the Spirit.

DeColores
Don Clark

------------------------------------------------------------------
I haven't had a chance to look at it yet..can't do that from work but I hope to later tonight.

Gospel Fest

2008-09-27T19:13:00.000-07:00

A few members or our praise team and myself ventured to Bonita United Methodist Church today and participated in their annual Gospel Fest. My friend Don Clark and others have organized this for a few years now and I've gone every year. This is the first time I've brought church family with me.

It's a great time with all kinds of gospel music performed from CCM (that would be us) to black gospel and even secular tunes with a spiritual message.

Wonderful people from the church also make or bring great food (especially the desserts) and an offering is taken up to help Love Inc.

I tried to take those that were there on a little bit of a spiritual journey with God from our first understanding of a great and wonderful God that we don't understand..to the coming of our messiah to the fact that we are saved and it is time for us to respond.. The set list was..

God of Wonders (Byrd/Hindalong)
Forever (Tomlin)
Rain Down (Crowder)
Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel (a la Sufjan Stevens)
A Beautiful Collision (Crowder)
Jesus Messiah (Tomlin)
How Great Thou Art ( a la Baloche)
All Creatures (a la Crowder on Illuminate)
Surely We Can Change (Crowder).

It was a great time.. some of the gospel groups we heard and worshiped were phenomenal. We received great feedback regarding our presentation as well. It's always a great time to hang out with loving Godly people and worship with them.

Sweet!!!

2008-09-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

Read about it here

The David Crowder Band website..

2008-09-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

Always has interesting stuff... beyond the norm of other bands.. there used to be Crowder head where there was the bald head .. and next to it were a beard, hair, glasses and ears.. and you could put them on the bald head and make your own Crowder head. My daughter and I used to put his parts in all the wrong places just for fun.. and then re-set and do it again... we imagined that David got a snapshot of each funny looking head made sent to him each time the thing was re-set..and we laughed..and made more goofy looking Crowder heads..

There were also different stories and things you could read about songs as you passed your cursor over the lights that looked like they were a part of some circus sign..

Anyway.. there was an email sent out by the band the other day stating lots of things but one of which was the secret code had not been broken.. they made mention that you could reply to the email with a question and if Mike D got around to it he might respond.. so I replied.."so what's the secret code"..

He emailed me back and told me and I got this..

http://dcb01.com/aster/isk/76001.html

Check it out...

Also.. if you go to his website..and go to the DC*B website..??...listed on the left, you can put your cursor over the remedy emblem on the bottom left and then click on it for an interesting read...

There is a red vine on the upper left that all I can make it do is grow..

If you find something else out let me know...

Oh.. and to get what I got..you click on the * in the upper right.. a remedy bee is released and you must move it with your arrow keys to catch the bugs .. make sure you get all of them!

Hate... I... just in case David is surfing his daily surf.. ;-) >

davidcrowderband.com

Survivor's guilt....

2008-09-16T18:48:00.000-07:00

Ike certainly played havoc with many people's lives.. even before he got here many were dealing with a lot of stress and relocating and finding places to eat, sleep, clean up, etc...

Well we're suffering from something that Donna has coined as "Survivor's guilt"

We have been blessed.. and I don't mean blessed because we only lost power or the tree fell away from the house like so many others have declared.

We have fared better than most through this crazy ordeal.

I've already told you about our Brookshire Brothers experience.. amazing.

Well then Ike finally makes his way on to land. Donna hates that the storm is going to hit us while we're asleep. But when we go to bed it's a little breezy with a slight overcast. No big deal.

The storm hits in the early morning and we start watching the weather channel. I get on my computer and start watching the progress of the storm and the path it is taking. I'm watching on line broadcasts from Houston and Beaumont..

I feel so bad for all those folks in Houston and the golden triangle, I hope my brothers are ok (and they are) as well as cousins etc. (they are).

The wind kicks up.. harder gusts and as time goes on the lights flicker... and stay on. Later I hear some big noise on the roof.. I go outside to see what's going on. There is a small limb on the roof. There are a couple of larger limbs down but the trees are all standing secure.. the next gust blows through and scares the heck out of me.. I go inside.

A few hours later we start checking on people and listening to the radio. Seems everyone we talk to has lost power.. Friends tell us that if we have power we're the only people in Lufkin with power.. I know she's wrong because I can see the TV on in the house across the street. Outside that I really don't know.

I'm also checking twitter throughout the day and find that people well north of me have lost power like Jinx but he has twitter up on his BB so I keep him posted on what's up and the storm center and direction and speed and cool stuff like that...

We ride the entire storm out and never lose lights, satellite (which we usually lose when a front comes through), or internet. Amazing. We invite friends over that are in the dark and play some games and watch the USC/Ohio State game.

We have a very well attended casual communion service at church the next morning. It is a beautiful service. Cory, we need to pray like that more often..

Anyway.. I then do fortune 500 transportation company stuff the rest of the day.

No power at work but really it just makes life a little simpler there for a while. I have to say I'm kind of enjoying it..

Donna puts the word out to friends that we have freezer space for those that don't want to lose their food..they can store it with us.

One of Donna's friends offers us some meat that she says she won't eat. Just eat it, don't worry about freezing it for her.

I find out it's meat from the Grand Champion Steer from the Houston Livestock show and Rodeo.

I do not know if this is the actual steer but it could be...

Ok, those steers don't go cheap so I go check this out here. If the steer weights out at around 2000 lbs and dresses around 1400 lbs..going for $300,000 means I was eating meat worth about $214/lb... so that filet I had was worth somewhere around $160..and we got it free.

Wow..

I'm buying a lottery ticket tomorrow.

If I win..I'll feel even more guilty but I will then be a full time minister too...

Lufkin Panther Football is missed

2008-09-13T16:33:00.000-07:00

Since we were not able to watch the Lufkin Panthers play this week due to Hurricane Ike.. I thought I would share some video from the nail biting ending of the Lufkin Panther game against John Tyler last week. We barely won 13-12.. everyone was galvanized to the game. Fan excitement was high!!!

What a blessing.. a Brookshire Brothers encounter.

2008-09-13T09:40:00.001-07:00

Hey all..Thursday Donna was doing some running around and getting some final purchases done in prep for Ike. One of her stops was Brookshire Brothers at Gaslight in Lufkin, TX.

No doubt the place was busy.. she made her selections and went through the check-out. The checker told her the amount was $350 or so. The amount seemed a little high but considering some of the things she was purchasing and the other things on her mind she went with it.

Once the checker was finished Donna went to put it on her card.. The checker said "Ok you're debt card has been charged, thank you for shopping at Brookshires".

Donna said.. I haven't run my card yet and it's not my debit card. It's my credit card.

The checker tried to figure out what was going on and couldn't. The checker called a manager in and went to check out the register tape and the system and see what happened. He came back to Donna and said "there's not enough stuff in your cart to cost you this much, let me look at this".

Apparently what had happened the previous charge had not been closed out. He was going to just look at the ticket and see where our product started and where the other customer's products ended. The checker told him.."the register tape doesn't print like that any more...they are grouped by product, they are not in the order of being checked".

The manager told Donna.. "Well today is your lucky day. You get your groceries free.". Donna tried to get them to re-ring them but they wouldn't do it. Since she was honest and didn't take advantage of their error and hurt the other customer they were more than glad to give her the groceries..

I'm telling you it was more than $200 in groceries...Free.

I like Brookshire Brothers. Kudos to you BB.

Stuff Christians Like and stuff..

2008-09-09T07:04:00.000-07:00

OK a while back I posted this.

Then Monday Sept 8th Stuff Christians Like posted this.

If this every hits the market.. I better get my royalty checks..

His is more detailed.. he just has more time on his hands.

My Friday.. a little late

2008-09-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

My Friday was a good day.. nothing really exciting happened but here is a brief run through..

Came to work and I think since we had just had some people visiting our terminal from corporate everyone was a little wired. Everyone was laughing and cutting up and doing our normal "hatin" on each other. We also have one particular member of our staff who loves to get others off of their train of thought and is always hijacking conversations....he was in rare form this Friday.

Later had a very good staff meeting although we didn't bring in Chick-fil-a this time. One of my people had made some awesome chicken spaghetti the night before and she brought the left overs and it was awesome!!! very spicy too!!

Spent the afternoon doing some random tasks and planning music for youth on Sunday night...

I realize I have not been keeping up my set lists.. sorry about that.. I will do better this week.. I think.

Wrapped up the day and met my bride at the house and we headed to .... yes... finally....

Went through the drive through.. drove to the stadium and did some tailgating and went to the LP-John Tyler game. Oh and who are you going to pull for Todd? Lee? JT? or LP? I just thought I'd ask again in case someone missed your post.

Friend of mine (Scott Skelton) took this pic at the game while he was shooting game shots and pics of the band and pride.

LP was underwhelming, but we got the W.

Off to the house and off to bed. Had a busy Saturday ahead...

text messages between a mother and son on the first day at Angelina College

2008-09-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

Austin-I'm off

Donna-Good Luck

Austin-I forgot paper

Donna-Get some at bookstore

Austin-I'll b late

Donna-Don't know what to tell u

Austin-and there is no place 2 park

Donna-ask someone, u should have gone ealry

Austin-I had 2 park on the street all the way past the bridge and I 4got 2 get something 2 write with

Donna-I can't help u. Deal with it. U have had time 2 get ur stuff together

Austin-and I'm late

McDonald's Southern Style Chicken Sandwich vs The Chick-fil-a Sandwich

2008-09-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

Howdy all...Today I finally taste tested the McDonald's chicken sandwich...but first some history..

I can still remember when the only Chick-fil-a I knew about was in that mall in Houston we went to a couple of times a year. It was always a really cool treat to take part in the delicious chicken they served at that little mall storefront. It was one of the few fast food meals my dad took part in and looked forward to. I guess that's really the reason this food place has such a special place deep down in my soul.

Chick-fil-a is really good. I love the chicken sandwich.. I love their grilled chicken salad... I love their nuggets. I love to buy a nugget tray and bring it in for my weekly staff meeting at the un-named fortune 500 transportation company I work for. I HATE their shakes..because they are so good..

Am I in love with Chick-fil-a? Not really... There are other real restaurants that I really "love" but the thing I like about Chick-fil-a is that it is fast food and it's aways very good. The people are always super friendly, well dressed, neat and tidy. The facility is always pristine. So many positives for a fast food place so it's a good solid choice. The restaurant is also a ritual for me and Donna after band practice (if we don't make it to mid week peak).

Sooo....finally to the alternative.

The McDonald's Southern Style Chicken Sandwich. First of all..it was about a third smaller than the Chick-fil-a sandwich so when I took it out I was a little taken by the size. I didn't compare prices so I don't know what the "value" is but I just know what I'm used to and that wasn't it. Presentation=strike one

The pickle.. the chick-fil-a sandwich has one.. I used to take it off when I was a kid but now it is part of the sandwich experience. It's usually soft and pretty tart. You know it's there from the flavor.

The McD sandwich has a whole bun covered with pickles.. 3 of them..and they are not as sour as the cfa sandwich pickle.. also..they are almost like gummie pickles.. almost crisp but not quite..a little hard, a little soft, a little rubbery, but a weak pickle. Sorry... Pickle= strike two

The chicken itself had a good texture and consistency and the crust was nice but there was little to no flavor..I never realize that cfa chicken was seasoned but it obviously has some seasoning on it because it was missing from the McD sandwich.. chicken=strike three.

the catcher missed the ball on a swinging third strike so the runner runs to first but....

The bread.. I'll tell you that I was never really overwhelmed by the cfa sandwich bun..it was a tool that held the chicken..it was an effective tool in that it didn't detract from the experience. The bread was fine... the McD sandwich??? As I bit in to the bun it was like the bread crust layer peeled off the bread and wrapped itself around my teeth like some adhesive bread coat...and I mean it stuck to my teeth. I had to work it off with my tongue. That was really weird. Bun??=thrown out at first...the sandwich is out.

I guess I'd eat another if I had a chicken sandwich jones on a road trip and the only place to eat at was McD's but usually if I'm stuck with McD's I'm gonna go for their crown jewel the big mac...

I really like Chick-fil-a.

God is good!

My Friday...

2008-08-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

Started off very early at La Unica.. picking up 80 burritos to bring it to work.. It was time to have a package handlers appreciation breakfast but most of my package handlers don't have schedules that allow me to take them to breakfast after the morning sort.. or to lunch. So I brought them breakfast burritos..

It was also National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. So for all the hard work that my drivers do I wanted to recognize them and I brought them breakfast in as well.

I got my morning reports done. Had a couple of conference calls...one of which focused on the Tropical storm activity headed our way. Fun fun fun...

Had lunch with my son at Chen's..bought some stuff for the church at Sound Tech, cashed my check and went back to the place that pays my bills.

Got some work done and did some auto insurance shopping as well.

Wrapped up the day and did a couple of quick look arounds at Lowe's and Home Depot for some potential weekend project work then headed home to spend the evening with my son Austin celebrating..

Where we watched

12 wasn't on the list but we watched it anyway because it was in sequence..

I also made some facebook flair for Emily Grimes that looks like this..

I really didn't finish 12.. I was tired and went to bed after checking LDN.com to make sure the panthers had won...

It was a good day..spent some real quality time with my son, we laughed and enjoyed the movies.. we made food and ate together..we laughed at Italian when we saw and remembered that spiderman was on the sidewalk when the they blew the street and dropped the armored car in to the subway tunnel..

It was a very good Friday.

God is good.

Getting the screws put to us by gas companies..

2008-08-29T14:57:00.001-07:00

This was gas in Riverside Texas yesterday.. (8/28/08)

Why is it 3.68 in Lufkin today?

Why will it be whatever it will be tomorrow?

I heard on the news yesterday that the price of oil had actually gone down $2/barrell because of US reserves being released on the market and demand was down...

Not in Lufkin I guess...

Why is it always higher in Lufkin???

I guess Riverside is a major oil manufacturing and distribution hub..

I'm not happy...

A comment about Wii Pray.

2008-08-28T06:14:00.000-07:00

Cory posted this on his blog..take a look at it...

My comment was regarding what follow up gaming could come...

Next is Wii Worship..you work your way up from a background singer to the worship leader of the church..

Next is Wii Worship Leader..tour edition. Offers multi-player options such as drummer, lead guitarist and evangelist.

After that..Wii Worship…Megachurch edition: allows you to bring in tech personnel, support staff, and has a syms component along with Worship Leader tour version components.

Any other ideas?

____________________________________________________

Funny thing about this is.. I typed this up a couple of weeks ago and saved it as a draft.. then yesterday Todd sends this out on Twitter...

Sometimes I amaze myself..

Now..please tell me what you think about this..not my expertise in prophesy.. this game called Guitar Praise..

Beer Tasting...

2008-08-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

When I was in college.. well by my senior year.. I had begun to explore the world of imported beer. My friend Warren and I would venture over to the Deluxe Burger Bar across from my dorm at A&M and try a different beer each week. We would treat it like it was a fine wine, slurping it back to the back of our pallet, swishing it around in our mouth to get the full flavor and also testing if it was a "bottle" beer or a "glass" beer.

Some beers are made.. in fact all are probably are made this way.. to release certain chemicals when it is poured in to the glass and it changes the flavor of the beer. Hopefully to make it taste better. I prefer some beers poured in to a glass .. others I find to be more tasty straight from the bottle. We usually just stuck to one type of beer each time. Wasn't one to mix my beers.

Well last Friday night.. we performed beer tasting a la Cory Glover.. I'd link his blog but it hasn't changed since the last time you looked at it so don't worry about that...

We would each select a beer..then pour a little of our beer in to a friends glass and taste it.. then share with another and perform the same type of tasting again... finally we would finish our selection. It was a fun time. Jeff had cooked some kind of awesome grilled chicken breasts and Polly had supplied some great potatoes and this sinful dessert.

We laughed and ate and talked and watched Olympics and talked and had a great night... take a look at the selection..
Nice huh?

My Friday...

2008-08-22T20:41:00.001-07:00

Today I unplugged.... I have been feeling a little apart from my creator as of late and I needed to get back in rhythm with God.

Cory Glover and I started out kinda early.. well real early for him but not so early for me... I met him at his house at 8 this morning and we loaded up a couple of kayaks, some food and shared some awesome coffee that he made in his French press and headed out to Ratcliff. My blackberry was sitting on my dresser at home.. Now that doesn't happen very often.

I spent most of my morning in prayer. A lot of "The Jesus Prayer".. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have mercy on me, a sinner. I used some Mardi Gras beads we got when we went on a mission trip to New Orleans last summer to aid in this prayer.

Also prayed over my Emmaus team and the pilgrims. I then had some free and open discussion with my creator.

Read some new testament..Matthew and Mark. Ate some lunch then read some more.

Picked up my guitar and sang some praises to my God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Then we took a little trip around the lake in the kayaks.

First time in a kayak for me. Wasn't sure how my svelte build was going to handle that little piece of plastic with the hole in it. Except for some understandable awkwardness in handling at first, it was really cool. We did that for a while and then back to the truck and headed home.

Got cleaned up and rested a little then went to Jeff Goodier's house for a little beer tasting. Cory had brought back some local beers from Colorado when he went on vacation and some that were from the Pac NW. We enjoyed some good food, good beer and good conversation as we sampled the different offerings Mr. Glover brought.

Now I'm back home and ready to hit the sack.. a beautiful day with God today. God is good!

A comment on Perfectly Timing your Communion Walk

2008-08-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

I posted this comment here.. read it...it's funny...his blog that is..

The silver spaceship comment had me rolling... Loved this one. We don't have to time our walk in our church though. But we do offer about all the ways you can do it without a common cup.

Early (casual..our code name for contemporary) everyone comes up by rows. They can 1. receive communion by intiction.. pull off a hunk of bread.. dip it in the juice and eat the elements at that time.

OR

at the same time option 2 is available..you can come forward eat a piece of bread and pick up a shot glass out of the silver space ship and drink.

OR

at the same time option 3 is available.. you can come forward, eat a bread chiclet and pick up a shot glass out of the silver space ship and drink.

OR

at 11:00 traditional service you can sit a la drive through and wait on the silver space ship to arrive in your lap along with it's smaller satelite sister ship carrying the bread/chiclets.
Option 1 here is eat a bread chiclet and take a shot glass out of the silver space ship...hold the glass..

OR

break off a piece of bread and take out a shot glass from the silver space ship..hold the glass.

We then say aloud our affirmation of faith and we partake of the cup (the little shot glasses) at one time.

I heard this part (the unison cup) is somewhat new from some older parishioners just last night as little shot glass holders had to be made and affixed to the back of the pews so everyone would have a place to put them once they have received the cup.

I think this is a wise choice as I think I might get confused at times with all those little cups in that big space ship and accidentally pick one up that maybe someone else just didn't do a good job of finishing off properly.

I think we do a very nice job of offering a wide variety of options for communion in our church..we're not little but we're not huge. Actually pretty amazing now that I think about it...how many options we offer.

My Friday...

2008-08-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

...had to be deleted because I do not have permission to utilize the brand, emblem, name or image of the company I work with in postings to the internet.

Sorry about that.

Pretty amazing though. I post the video on Friday night on Youtube and on Monday morning I'm getting a call from my boss as to why I'm posting stuff about our company on Youtube. Wow.

1984

Commets for posts..

2008-08-15T16:00:00.000-07:00

You know.. from time to time I believe my best thinking is done on OPB's.. that's other people's blogs.

I have no idea how many of you are out there in my segment of the blogosphere and I know many of you circle around the same set of blogs I do so this might become redundant for some of you at times but I am going to re-post some of my comments from other blogs on to my blog here at acts215.

Two reasons. 1. I know some people just hit my blog because they are my friends or co-workers and they don't normally read that many blogs.

2. If I have some really good thoughts.. or funny thoughts.. or just long thoughts that deserve the attention and adornments that only a blog post can bring like pictures....

then I'm going to turn my comments in to blog posts.. I will link back to the original blog but I will re post it here.. and you will know that it is a comment by the title..like my "a comment about Neapolitan ice cream"..it says it's a comment.. the next one you will likely see is .. a comment about "Wii Pray". I will link it back to Glover's blog and then I will share my profound comment along with some artwork/pics/adornments.

Have a great day!

This salutation is in no way intended to be an infringement or a re-representation of Chris' blog by a similar name "It is a great day". Although I do enjoy his blog the few times he posts I do not wish to confuse or confound the blog reading public by utilizing the "great day" phraseology. It is only being used here as an endearing phrase of departure and for no other reason.

David Crowder Band.. I just love em....

2008-08-14T20:47:00.000-07:00

They take everyones Youtube videos and make one of their own. Cool!!

Called.. "You shot this video".

Enjoy..