Do You Mind?

As a matter of fact I do. I grew up minding my parents and now I pretty much mind my wife. No dig intended on my sweet Sondra. Those of you who know me, know that my motto is, "Do I want to be right, or do I want to be happy? I choose happy every time." Of course, that is said somewhat jokingly, well . . . at least a little.

It was nice to be home this weekend. First one is awhile. Spent Friday afternoon at the pool with Sondra and Sat. am I got up and drove up to Hendersonville to play golf with Sid, Rick and Pat. Three great friends. My golf game was pretty lacking in all categories although I did manage to putt fairly well. After golf we headed to a mex place for lunch and then I met my family at the pool again. It was a long day outdoors, but there was no work involved. Shelbi was home for part of the weekend and brought Andrea, one of her friends from camp staff, and we grilled out and enjoyed the evening together.

Sunday was fairly typical. I spoke in our parents of smaller children's class and enjoyed being with them. I am thankful our church offers affinity groups for bible study. The afternoon consisted of us being with Morgan for sr. athletic pictures and just hangin out at home.

Morgan started soccer practice this am at 630 and Shelbi began her last full week of camp. This has been a fast summer for sure. Morgan starts her sr. year two weeks from tomorrow and we take Shelbi to Union on August 12th. Time keeps marching on and it looks like it has marched all over my face.

Today is a significant day in the lives of many friends - it is their birthday today. Some of these guys are older than others but here goes: Sid Woodruff - great ministry buddy and accountability partner; Justin Heap - ministry guy that is like a little brother in many ways; Jacob Carringer - known this guy since he was just a little pipsqueak and has turned into a huge man and has been a joy to watch grow up and mature and soon to be a daddy; Sam House - good friend at LifeWay who has effected my life more than he will ever know; and, Andy Morris - another ministry buddy who loves Jesus and makes things happen wherever he is. Happy Birthday guys!

Political Alert

I usually choose not to bl0g about my political thoughts but feel compelled to make a point of clarification and wanted to post that clarification on my blog as well as other means of communication.

When President Obama was elected in Nov. I shared in my blog that I did not vote for him but would support him through prayer. I disagree with many of his ideas and directions, but that does not mean I will not support him in prayer. You can see what I wrote on Nov. 5th here.

Recently I have been accused of hating President Obama and nothing could be farther from the truth. I disagree with his ideas and the direction he is leading America in especially in the whole bailout issue, and health care reform. I think a better direction would be in less gov't. control and more focus on changing the insurance structure but do not profess to be an expert in either of those areas.

I have many friends that I run with, associate with, etc. that I do not always agree with, but we continue to be friends. I just wish we could agree to disagree on some of the President's directions and still be friends. I have mentioned many times that I felt as though President Bush made some grave errors in judgement and some decisions that set us back as a nation. I also am not a racist, bigot, nor am I infallible.

I am praying that the leaders who have been elected will do what is best for all Americans. I am assured that they think they are on the right path. I am thankful that my hope and trust is in Christ and not any government.

Any friends I have offended by disagreeing with President Obama's directions, I apologize for offending and pray we can continue to be friends.

Another Week Goes By

I finished up my week at FUGE camps in Glorieta on Saturday after getting up very early, driving to Albuquerque in time to catch a 6a flight. It was good to be home around noon though.

The week at Glorieta was very good. God showed up in a really, BIG way and many students' lives were changed. I also got a horseback ride in on Thurs. through Ruis Canyon. It had been awhile since I had ridden, but it was big fun and we saw a 4 ft. rattlesnake to boot. I was a real cowboy for sure. Also hiked on Fri. and it was good to be with a group of students for that.

The weekend was sort of fast and furious but good. Always good to be home. We got to Shelbi for a few minutes on Sun. and she has about two weeks of camp left before she is done. Morgan has sort of an off week this week with no soccer yet, but still having to get her workouts in.

Yesterday would have been my mom's 67th birthday. I do miss her but the pain does not seem as strong. God is good for sure and my dad seemed to go through yesterday pretty well too. Our nephew, Samuel, celebrates his birthday today and evidently got to open a facebook account since I got a friend request from him today.

Today Sondra had a colonoscopy due to some anemia issues we have been keeping an eye on. Many of you know that her father battled colon cancer for many years so when we got the results back today and the "all clear" we were very thankful. Her dr. has scheduled her for an endoscopy on Aug. 14 so we will see what does or does not show up there.

Marathon training is going pretty good. I am doing hills and repeats so that is always a joy. It is good to have a goal to shoot for however. Looking forward to playing golf with three of my buddies on Sat. We do not get around one another near enough. Should be good times.

The pic I took with my cheap, camera phone but the orange spot is actually rain bending and the sun shining on it. Much prettier in person however, but still pretty cool. Glorieta is a beautiful place for sure.

Where Have I Been?

I get asked this alot since I travel quite a bit for work. It is always good to be at home which is where I was all last week. Yes, you heard that right. I was home for a whole week. It was awesome! I was even in the office for 4 days which is a record as of late. I did take last Fri. off to be with Sondra before I headed out again.

Since my last blog post, I have participated in a memorial service, spent many hours in the office, hung out at the pool with my wife, ate at Big Bad Wolf BBQ (you have to get there, all i'm saying), and celebrated Shelbi's 19th birthday.

Morgan spent last week at FUGE in Panama City Beach and had a great week. It was a different experience for her since she was sort of the lone, older high school student with our group this year, but she loved the camp.

I headed out on Sunday afternoon for Glorieta, NM and to participate in FUGE out here as the adult trainer. It has been a very good week so far. Dave Edwards is speaking and DecembeRadio is leading in worship through music. They are pretty much southern rock and have done a very good job leading worship and not just performing. Great group of guys who hang out with students and adults during the day too. That rates them very high on my list right there.

Reconnected with a girl who was in our group in Dallas over 20 years ago. She is married with 3 children and her husband is a very, solid youth minister in the Dallas area. So affirming to see her family so strong in Christ.

Sondra is having a couple of procedures done this next week. Nothing serious (easy for me since it is not me having to go through them) but would appreciate your prayers. She has been a lot anemic the last few months so they are just checking everything out. I am playing the part of the supportive husband. Sure do love that girl.

Vacation, Celebrities, and Life In General

So sorry to go almost two weeks without a blog update. After returning from Denver and the Cherry Hills Church (which was great by the way and good times with old college buddy, Tim Coan and his family), I spent a day in the office and then we headed to SC to spend 9 days away from all things work related.

What a great vacation we had. We loaded up, drove to Florence, SC and stayed with our friends, Tom and Georgina Carringer. He is a big muckety muck at data company and we have known them for 20 years. Great folks who were very kind to let us hang at their place Fri-Sun before we headed down to Murrell's Inlet for vacation. Their place is like a resort (pool, wonderful food, and a great worship service on Sunday) and we were treated like royalty. We stayed with them a night on the way back to Nashville at the end of the trip too.

Sunday afternoon we headed to the beach and stayed through Friday. We played at the beach, read, rode bikes, ran, ate, saw movies, and just all around had a great time. No internet service and limited cell service at times. Great to be unplugged I have to admit. I did tweet a few times but that is about it. Morgan invited a friend, Cheech (Chelsea) who fit right into our family. (Shelbi was unable to go since she is working this summer.) They watched boys most of the week. See the picture above.

Many celebrities died while we were gone and a couple of them were pretty influential in my growing up years but overall brought very little value to the things that really matter. Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson were good entertainers but unfortunately lived very sad lives in many ways. Billy Mayes died and OxyClean commercials will never be the same. Steve McNair, a very good football player, but not a good husband was murdered on Sat. am and has dominated the local news here in Nashville. As a Titans player he was so fun to watch. He did many good things to help others in the community, but obviously struggled in his personal life with making good decisions. A very sad story indeed.

This week is a week in the office. Been awhile for that but it is much needed. Next week I head back to Glorieta to be with the FUGE team one more week. Morgan is at FUGE in Panama City Beach, FL with our church youth group this week. Praying they have a great time.
Got to preach at New Hope yesterday and it was good to be able to share with our folks. Preached out of Psalm 95. Wonderful psalm reminding us who God is.

I also will be participating tomorrow night in a memorial service for a man in our church who died on Sat. Pray for his three kids; Hayley, Chase and Chandler Grace.