Update: Walk to NO

I am now in Covington, Kentucky. Last week, I walked 215,212 steps which amounts to approx. 105 miles. So, with that amount, I walked from Grove City, Ohio to Covington, Kentucky.

Last week was a "peak" week for me walking. I had some high step totals and I had some low step totals. Here is how the week broke down:

Sunday - 13,811
Monday - 50,175
Tuesday - 35,011
Wednesday - 20,424
Thursday - 45,762
Friday - 21,917
Saturday - 28,112

Here is the map:

Have You Been McCain'd

I am coining the phrase. If you hear any one else using it (highly unlikely), please make sure that you tell them that it was Jeff that coined the phase.

here is what is going on in my head this afternoon. I have been reflecting on my walks around town and how many McCain/Palin signs that I have seen around town. Obama/Biden signs are beginning to "pop-up" but McCain/Palin are definitely more prevalent.

Thus, this is what I am thinking and this is what I think may be happening in my town. I want you to tell me if you think that this could be true and what is occurring.

Do you remember when people would "flamingo" people ?



Individuals would go ahead and place flamingo's in peoples yards and then they would write notes, "you have been flamingo'd". They would normally do this for a fundraiser. They would then call you, pay you to remove them and then pay you to do it to someone else.

Well, I think that is what is occurring in my town with the McCain signs:



I think that people are going around town and sticking these signs in peoples yard w/o their approval. I think that they are going around McCain'ing people. Is it possible that there are that many people in this town who are really supporting him ? Well, if you looked at our fair, the answer may be yes .. but that is besides the point and goes against this satire post .......

Thus, the question to you is this: Have you been McCain'd ?



I really think that people are running around and placing them in the yard.

Just an observation from my walking around town, which by the way, I logged over 50,000 steps the other day.

Conversations with the Candidates

Last night, I went to Conversations with the Candidates which was sponsored by ECCOhio (Ecumenical Community for Compassion Ohio). I am trying to work and partner with them a little more as my time permits. I think that it is very important for us as churches to work together and do it for a pupose of "compassion" for those we live with on a daily basis.

Anyways, the candidates that were there were the candidates for the State Legislature. There were for candidates there. They were the following:

House

Ron Amstutz (R)
Merle Joe Miller (D)

Senate

James Riley (D)
Bob Gibbs (R)

I have to admit that the evening was a little boring. However, I did want to get there to hear what they had to say because it is an election year and they were dealing with two key issues last night: energy and health insurance.

There are times that I wish that in these forums and discussions that the candidates would be "pushed" more and that they would be held accountable to their answers and for us to see their thoughts on all of the angles of the issue.

For example !!!!

On conserving energy and development of alternative resources ...

Bob Gibbs states: we need to look at muliple resources. We speciaaly need to look at corn/ethanol for our fueling needs. It is cheaper and cleaner.

On the surface, this sounds good. However, I would like to have two questions addressed before "buying" into this idea FROM YOU.

1. What will this do for us as a nation with our food prices and do we have enough corn/ethanol to make tis a reality ?

2. THE BIGGER QUESTION !!! How does this impact your pocket book Bob ? Just in case people do not know you, let me give your background:

Representative Gibbs has been involved in the agriculture community for years, having served as president of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. He has also been a board member for various organizations, including the Farm Bureau Bank, Ohio Livestock Coalition, the Ohio Cooperative Council and the Ohio Farm Bureau Alliance Group. He has served as president of the Holmes County Extension Advisory Committee, the Holmes County Farm Bureau and as a supervisor for the Holmes County Soil and Water Conservation Service.

With your agriculture background, is there any profit that you will gain from the switch ?

While I am on Bob, I will continue to shed "negative" light on him. He seems very confused in he aspect of free market vs. regulation and the current bailout options that are on the table. This came up during a strange question from the audience that dealt with government homes being used as a "testing lab" for energy resources. He believes that the free market is the way to go to get us out of the financial mess HOWEVER he believes that WASH needed to "regulate" prior to the fiasco.

To finish my complaint on Gibbs, his response and attitude on health insurance and health care for the uninsured was less than impressive and definitely not where I am at. Later on, when I have more time, I will go into more of the conversation and the other candidates and not beat up on Mr. Gibbs.

Clay Aiken Is Gay ....

I am SHOCKED



Clay Aiken is finally confirming what many people suspected: He's gay

The cover of the latest People magazine shows Aiken holding his infant son, Parker Foster Aiken, with the headline: "Yes, I'm Gay." The cover also has the quote: "I cannot raise a child to lie or hide things."

The magazine has an interview with Aiken and confirmed that he was on the cover but refused to release the article until Wednesday.

The baby's mother is Aiken's friend and record producer Jaymes Foster.

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I have no clue why I just added this to my blog, BUT since, I did, I have two questions:

- is anyone really shocked ?
- with how our world is right now, does this really matter ?

Scaring The Boys

A couple days ago, Stacey asked me to go to the storage unit and bring in the Halloween decorations. She does a great job of "fall decorating". Anyways, in the decorations was a Halloween mask that I had bought last year to wear during Trunk Or Treat.

She told me to sneak up stairs and scare the boys. They had just finished reading and was getting ready for bed. She followed me up the stairs, however she did not follow all the way because she did not want them to see her.

Thus, you will have to listen to their screams. Then wait for the delay for them to realize that it was me. They really thought that it was someone else who came into the house - for that I did feel bad.

But, I did not feel bad enough to NOT put it on the blog.

God MUST Be Clapping

I have contacted a few churches about the possibility of using their portable sound system for a day ( 8 hours ) and each church that has responded has stated that they have a portable sound system but they can loan or rent the equipment out.

To me, this is very sad that we, as churches, "hoard" possessions or we do not allow them out of our possession because something may happen OR .....

In Alabama, it was different, we (churches) shared a lot of things including equipment. I am sure that God must be up there clapping, going, " thata boy, that is what I had in mind for you "

I am going to step off of my box and go back to doing some church work and will not rant and get myself in trouble BUT it does make me sick and someway, somehow, I think that we as a Christian community should be able to help each other out more.

Last House Standing

Sometimes, I enjoy looking at the iReports. I find them very interesting. Well, today, the photo and story was definitely something that I wanted to share and for me to remember. It is a story from Ike.





Warren and Pam Adams lost a house to Hurricane Rita in 2005, so it seems they'd be relieved to learn their new home withstood Hurricane Ike.

Ike's storm surge last week devastated the Bolivar Peninsula town, flattening most of the roughly 200 homes there. The couple's yellow house at the beach -- supported 14 feet off the ground by wooden columns -- was the only house on Gilchrist's Gulf Coast side not to be flattened.

"As we got there, the tears started flowing," Warren Adams, 63, said Thursday after his first visit to the home since evacuating. "There's a yellow house sitting there, but that's all. It was devastating."

Although the house is there, it might not continue to stand. Huge storm surges walloped the interior, making it uninhabitable and destroying many belongings.

Fire Bill Stewart !!!

I don't think that I have ever really said those words about a coach before. I know that I have never said them 3 games into a season with a "new" coach. However, this is just plain ridiculous.

The play calling is horrendous. The times that it is really bad is on 3rd down and short and on the 4th down call. Coach, do you and your staff not have the game stats or were you not watching the game ?

The team was having HUGE success on the perimeter. When you ran on the outside OR spread it open with the qb draw, the yardage was there. I was happy to see you run the ball. It shows great in the rush stats.

White had 146 yards
Divine had 133 yards

Their avg. were good (7.7 and 5.1). Once again, they would have been much higher if you did not run them up the middle. Yet still, you did not get them both on the outside and run the true option with those two on the perimeter. Why ??? Can someone explain it to me ???

I knew that our D may have some trouble this year, but I thought our Offense would roll and we would outscore them. Our D did look rough the first 10 mins BUT they played great the last 50 mins.

There is no way with the group of offense players that we have that we should have put up 3 points and then 14 points respectively in back-back games. NO WAY.

I am not even sure what the last two minute time management deal was. In a sense, the last 20 seconds, I could understand, you did not want them to get the ball back. HOWEVER, we should have scored or had the opportunity to score in the last two minutes.

Ugly

There is not other word to describe it, unless we want to go back to last week's post: pathetic. Maybe we could add disgrace in there .... I don't know.

Sorry for the rant and the slam. This is just disappointing ... there that is another one word answer and the last.

As Jim Rome would say, "I Am Out"

All That Matters

I am not 100% sure why, but this is becoming one of my favorite songs.



The Lyrics

That's all that matters

I may never be the one that gets a second glance
I may never be the one they call the prettiest
But that's alright with me

And maybe I don't follow every crazy passion
Spend all my time trying to get a good reaction
But that's ok with me

This world is like a trampoline
High and low no in between
Jumping at the chance to please
Everyone but that's not me

Cause all that matters is
All that matters is
I know your love has set me free
And that's all that matters to me

Cause all that matters is
All that matters is
I know your love has set me free
And that's all that matters to me

Some people tell me to step out and do my own thing
And others say I got to blend in just to be the same
And stop being me

But this shallow world is no longer what I'm made of
I've been changed by grace
I've been saved by love
What more do I need

All that matters is
All that matters is
I know your love has set me free
And that's all that matters to me (x2)

My life comes from the One
Who made the stars and brought the sun
He loves me more than these
So I don't need another identity

All that matters is
All that matters is
I know your love has set me free
And that's all that matters to me (X2)

That's all that matters(x3)

A Long Walk

This morning, I went on a super-long walk. The walk was a little over 11 miles. It was great to be out this morning. The air was cool and fresh.

My mind raced over the meeting last night and I played the whole meeting back in my mind and weighed the pros and cons of the meting and tried to contemplate on what the next steps will be for us.

Our next meeting will be Wednesday, so I have numerous mornings to flush the thoughts and the concepts out.

One of the great things about the walk today was that I saw a shooting star at about 6 am in the morning. It seemed to be a real long burn; not that I have watched many shooting stars.

This is day 5 of my walking to new orleans and it is going well. I am alternating in days on how much I walk. The days will vary greatly due to church and family scheduling and how I am feeling BUT I am happy with where I will be at then end of the week. For me, the week will be Sun - Sat. Thus, on Sunday's, i will give an update.

Back to the meeting last night and discussions that I have had about proposals that come down the pipeline, it is interesting to see how everyone acts / reacts to Change.

Ray Boltz: Out of the Closet

Ray Boltz announces that he is gay and he is coming out of the closet.

Some of you might be asking, who in the world is he. So, here is a little information:


He had 16 albums. Boltz, 55, recorded during a nearly 20-year recording career that saw the Muncie, Ind., native become one of the better-known singer/songwriters in Contemporary Christian Music, a genre born out of the Jesus Movement of the early 1970s that made singers like Amy Grant, Sandi Patty, Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman superstars in religious music with occasional excursions into mainstream pop culture.

Boltz, with about 4.5 million LPs, cassettes and CDs sold, never made a splash outside of Christian circles but he never really tried. With a handful of RIAA Gold-certified albums, three Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association (GMA) and a string of 12 No. 1 hits on Christian radio, Boltz is a household name in evangelical circles. “Thank You,” a sentimental song about a dream in which a Christian thanks the Sunday school teacher who led him to embrace Christ, is his signature song. It was the GMA song of the year in 1990 and has become a staple of Christian funerals. Other Boltz trademarks are “Watch the Lamb,” “The Anchor Holds” and “I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb.”

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Boltz on the Struggle

Boltz declines to go into specifics about the first time he was with a man, but says he has been dating and lives “a normal gay life” now.

“If you were to hold up the rule book and go, ‘Here are all the rules Christians must live by,’ did I follow every one of those rules all that time? Not at all, you know, because I kind of rejected a lot of things, but I’ve grown some even since then. I guess I felt that the church, that they had it wrong about how I felt with being gay all these years, so maybe they had it wrong about a lot of other things.”

As he sorted out his faith, Boltz began building a new life for himself. He took some graphic design courses. He found he could be almost completely anonymous in Ft. Lauderdale. The mullet he’d sported in the ’80s was long gone and CCM had always been a somewhat insular community.

Boltz says the anonymity was a blessing.

“I didn’t have to be who I was in the past. I didn’t have to fit somebody else’s viewpoint of what they thought I was. I could just be myself and I met a lot of wonderful people.”

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Boltz: A Little Nervous

Boltz admits to some nervousness, but says ultimately, he isn’t worried.

He doesn’t want to get into debates about scripture and has no plans to “go into First Baptist or an Assembly of God church and run in there and say, ‘I’m gay and you need to love me anyway.’”

For him, the decision to come out is much more personal.

“This is what it really comes down to,” he says. “If this is the way God made me, then this is the way I’m going to live. It’s not like God made me this way and he’ll send me to hell if I am who he created me to be … I really feel closer to God because I no longer hate myself.”

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Homosexuality

Even MCC’s (Metropolitan Community Church) in Indianapolis Cindi Love anticipates tough times ahead for Boltz.

“He needs to get through this initial coming-out process and just see how that feels,” she says. “A lot of people will probably throw a bunch of stuff at his family. I pray they don’t, but I bet they will.”

Hogue, who worked with Boltz on his 1991 album “Another Child to Hold” and has helped him record a few new songs for a still-evolving possible new project, says he hopes for a day when Christians will see homosexuality as no more a perceived sin than it used to be for women to be ministers or for divorced Christians to hold leadership positions in churches.

“I like to hope for the best, but it will be slow moving,” Hogue says.

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Funny Story (to me)

Boltz brought the Christmas CD with him to MCC-Indianapolis on that cold, sunny December 2007 day and slipped it to Miner (reverend at MCC)on his way out with a note taped to it on which he’d jotted his e-mail address.

Ostensibly it was an innocuous thing to do, but for Boltz it was a big step. It eventually led to him opening up to Miner, one of the first times anybody outside Boltz’s circle of family and friends knew his long-kept secret: Ray Boltz is gay.


The name on the CD didn’t register with MCC’s Rev. Jeff Miner at first. And that was just fine with Ray Boltz.

Miner liked the Christmas CD and was so impressed he e-mailed Boltz and asked him if he’d ever thought about doing music full time.

Boltz laughed as he read the note.

“He obviously had no idea who I was and I just loved that,” Boltz says. “I just said, ‘Uh, yeah, I used to.’”

Miner showed the CD to the music leaders at MCC Indianapolis who, recognizing Boltz’s name, were dumbfounded that he’d been to their church. When they mentioned some of Boltz’s hits to him, Miner made the connection.

Miner told Boltz if he was ever in the area again — Boltz makes regular trips back to the Midwest to visit family — that he was welcome to sing.

“I was scared to death when he said it,” Boltz says. “But I finally got the courage and said, ‘Yeah.’”

I kinda thought it was funny that he had no clue who Boltz was. However, today, I have found out many Christians have no clue. It shocked me.

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Ramifications

I am not sure if there will be ramifications or how many people may talk about him or homosexuality. The issue is a "hot-topic" at times. Sometimes the conversations get heated.

What will be the reaction ? I am not sure. Obviously, this will hit closer to home and bring out more questioning and thought from those with conservative/literal views of scriptures.

Charles Darwin, We are Sorry !!!

I found this article and link today in the religious news column. Very interesting.

The Church of England is to apologise to Charles Darwin for its initial rejection of his theories, nearly 150 years after he published his most famous work.

From the article .....

The Church of England will concede in a statement that it was over-defensive and over-emotional in dismissing Darwin's ideas. It will call "anti-evolutionary fervour" an "indictment" on the Church".

The bold move is certain to dismay sections of the Church that believe in creationism and regard Darwin's views as directly opposed to traditional Christian teaching.

The apology, which has been written by the Rev Dr Malcolm Brown, the Church's director of mission and public affairs, says that Christians, in their response to Darwin's theory of natural selection, repeated the mistakes they made in doubting Galileo's astronomy in the 17th century.

"The statement will read: Charles Darwin: 200 years from your birth, the Church of England owes you an apology for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still. We try to practise the old virtues of 'faith seeking understanding' and hope that makes some amends."

Opposition to evolutionary theories is still "a litmus test of faithfulness" for some Christian movements, the Church will admit. It will say that such attitudes owe much to a fear of perceived threats to Christianity.

The comments are included on a Church of England website promoting the views of Charles Darwin to be launched on Monday.

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Do you think this will cause a stir anywhere ?

30 years ago .....

this is what I looked liked. Here I am holding my little bro. i have to say, I am stylin' and rockin' that outfit.

The Pic of the Day

So, this is the pic of the day ?

Max playing on the jetty before TS Hannah (caption)

Anyone want to comment on whether they think this is cool, a good idea, a bad idea, or a parent being irresponsible or ..........

A Fire During A Hurricane

Fire destroys homes along the beach on Galveston Island, Texas as Hurricane Ike approaches Friday, Sept. 12, 2008




The storm is still quite aways out and is already causing a lot of trouble. My prayers are with you tonight. It is going to be a very long night for the Texas coast.

The Church Is Not ....

The church is not a center for religious goods and service, where people pay a fee and receive a product in return. A church is not an organization that surveys its demographics to find out what the market is demanding at this particular moment and then adjusts its strategy to meet that consumer niche.

The way of Jesus is the path of descent. It's about our death. It's our willingness to join the world in its suffering, it's our participation in the new humantiy, it's our weakness calling out to others in their weakness.

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The previous two paragraphs comes from Rob Bell's new book. The book is titled: Jesus Wants To Save Christians.

I am skimming the book. Next week, I will probably read it from cover to cover, but as I skimmed the book this early afternoon; this paragraph jumped out to me and I wanted to put it out there.

Coke, Pop, Soda: What Do You Call It ?

The largest study on the topic has just wrapped up. Aren't you glad ? Now when you travel, you will know what to ask for. Click on the map to "enlarge" it and take a look at your area.




When on a hot summer’s day you buy a carbonated beverage to quench your thirst, how do you order it? Do you ask for a soda, a pop or something else? That question lay at the basis of an article in the Journal of English Linguistics (Soda or Pop?, #24, 1996) and of a map, showing the regional variation in American English of the names given to that type of drink.

The article was written by Luanne von Schneidemesser, PhD in German linguistics and philology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and senior editor of the Dictionary of American Regional English. And although there might be weightier issues in life (or even in linguistics) than the preferred terminology for a can of soft drink, there’s nothing trivial about this part of the beverage industry.

“According to an article last year in the Isthmus, Madison’s weekly newspaper, Americans drink so much of the carbonated beverages sold under such brand names as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Sprite, Mountain Dew, and 7-Up that consumption averages 43 gallons per year for every man, woman, and child in the United States,” Von Schneidemesser begins her article. “The Statistical Abstract of the United States (1994) confirms this: 44.1 gallons per person in 1992, compared to the next most consumed beverages: beer (32.7 gallons), coffee (27.8 gallons), and milk (25.3 gallons).”

It must be that ubiquity of soft drinks that has made this pop vs soda map the single-most submitted map to this blog, sent in by over 100 contributors. The map details the areas where certain usages predominate.

coke: this generic term for soft drinks predominates throughout the South, New Mexico, central Indiana and in a few other single counties in Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. ‘Coke’ obviously derives from Coca-Cola, the brand-name of the soft drink originally manufactured in Atlanta (which explains its use as a generic term for all soft drinks in the South).

pop: dominates the Northwest, Great Plains and Midwest. The world ‘pop’ was introduced by Robert Southey, the British Poet Laureate (1774-1843), to whom we also owe the word ‘autobiography’, among others. In 1812, he wrote: A new manufactory of a nectar, between soda-water and ginger-beer, and called pop, because ‘pop goes the cork’ when it is drawn. Even though it was introduced by a Poet Laureate, the term ‘pop’ is considered unsophisticated by some, because it is onomatopaeic.

soda: prevalent in the Northeast, greater Miami, the area in Missouri and Illinois surrounding St Louis and parts of northern California. ‘Soda’ derives from ‘soda-water’ (also called club soda, carbonated or sparkling water or seltzer). It’s produced by dissolving carbon dioxide gas in plain water, a procedure developed by Joseph Priestly in the latter half of the 18th century. The fizziness of soda-water caused the term ‘soda’ to be associated with later, similarly carbonated soft drinks.

Other, lesser-used terms include ‘dope’ in the Carolinas and ‘tonic’ in and around Boston, both fading in popularity. Other generic terms for soft drinks outside the US include ‘pop’ (Canada), ‘mineral’ (Ireland), ‘soft drink’ (New Zealand and Australia). The term ‘soft drink’, finally, arose to contrast said beverages with hard (i.e. alcoholic) drinks.

Decisions: Walking With God

There are quite a few decisions that I need to be making over the next few weeks. There are some decisions that we as a church staff need to make over the next few weeks as well. Decisions are difficult.

This morning, I left the house around 5 am to go on my walk. As I was walking, I was talking and debating with God over one particular issue that we as a church and staff are dealing with. The decision is "big". Well, I used my walk this morning to talk to God about this decision. As I battling and talking and listening and engaging, I noticed something .......

I have a "routine" of where I walk and I make a left on Highland Ave. Well, I was walking and I saw Arby's. Now to most of my readers, this means absolutely nothing. Well Arby's is about a mile past Highland. Thus, my debating, arguing and discussing with God was so intense this morning that it was about 15 minutes before I realized that I "missed" my turn.

From a walk standpoint, it was not a "biggie". I hooked the left at Arby's and caught up to the road that I usually connect onto at Highland. This morning, I walked right at 8 miles and the conversation with God was productive. I definitely feel that I have a better grasp on what decisions need to be made.

Recently, I pulled out an old book from seminary that was on servant leadership and there wa a section on (in) it concerning decisions. Here are some thoughts.

The one story from the Bible that seems to always put out there on leadership is Jethro and Moses. Their interaction is in Exodus 18. Here are three pieces of advice:

1. Talk more to God about the people than to the people about their problems.
2. Teach the people more clearly to walk in God's way.
3. Delegate responsibility to others and share the burden of leadership with them.

Leadership and decisions go hand in hand.

I think that we can then make a jump to 2 Samuel and look at Uzzah. The story of Uzzah is "an odd" story and if you want to read it, it can be found in chapter 6. There are three indicators of Good Decision Making. Here they are:

1. Good decisions are made in an Atmosphere of Joy
2. Good Leadership Decides in Favor of God Before Self
3. Good Leadership Sometimes Makes Decision to Postpone Deciding

At times, I think that it is a wise decision to postpone deciding. This is especially the case when the decisions are "patch-work" decisions. Often, we are making decisions to repair our prior decisions. The following is a statement that we need to keep in mind:

At times, it is time to say, "enough is enough". Let's stop improving. There are too many patches on those pants. Deciding once and deciding well avoids such patchwork. Decision repair usually serves to keep us so busy with yesterday's decisions we avoid the dangerous work of making new ones.

For me, it might be time to say, "enough is enough".

There are two all important rules for deciding:

1. Decide without Redeciding: Make a Decision AND don't look back
2. Don't decide until you have gotten past your doubts

I like the words of Lee Iacocca. He says, " It's a good thing that God doesn't let you look a year or two into the future, or you might surely be tempted to shoot yourslef.

Decisions are difficult. Decisions need to be made at the right time. on a number of issues, the right time is coming and we need to decide. The wrong decision at the right time = a mistake. HOWEVER, the right decision at the right time = success.

I truly believe that we can say enough is enough, make a new decision and make the right decision and then dance with joy because we will be having success.

IKE Coming to Texas

Prayers lifted up for everyone that is experiencing difficulties with Ike. Texas, it looks like it is picking up speed and heading your way (not that you did not know that).

Wayne County Pictures

Two First Place Blue Ribbons:

Walking to New Orleans

I am walking to New Orleans and back.

The trip will be 2012 miles. For those readers who use km, it is 3239 km's.

The journey begins on Sunday, September 14th. You can follow the journey here.

No, I am not taking six months off of work and actually walking there and back. However, I am keeping track of how far I walk each day and computing it out on a map.

I am doing this as a fundraiser for the youth servant trip to New Orleans. Would you consider sponsoring me in this trip? It would mean a lot to me and the youth who will be going to New Orleans.

The donations can be made to the church and it will be tax-deductable. Leave me a comment if you would be willing to support this effort.

Iverson Lowers Price On His Home

Allen Iverson is having trouble selling his home in Villanova, Pa. He is now in Denver and has been trying to sell his Pennslyvania home for over a year. The housing market crunch is even hurting the stars.

Thus, he has drastically reduced his house. His house is now the best "comp" in the market, so he is hoping the new price will lead to a quick sale. Thus, I wanted to give a heads up to those of you out there that might be looking for a house. For 3,999,000 .... the ome is a steal.

If you want to take a look at the house and contact the agent, please do so. If you decide to purchase the house, please make sure that you tell the agent that Jeff Greathouse sent you.

The Home

Wasted Food

This bothers me. I know some people think that I am crazy and say that it should not bother me, but it does.

We were at the fair today - The Wayne County Fair - and as I walked by the trash, this was on top of the trash.

Over and over throughout the day, I saw this. Numerous people walking up to the trash can dumping 3/4+ of what they got into the trash.

We are so wasteful.

No, I do not know the solution.

Yes, I know that it was their money and they can choose to "thow" it away, but it bothers me.

Alright, time to get the kids in bed and then watch the second half of the GB/Min game and then to watch the Oak/Den game.

WVU = PATHETIC

That was horrendous.

That was terrible.

That was the worst football that I have seen in years.

That was the worst coaching job I have seen in decades.

The play calling was terrocous.

I could go on for days.

WVU and Coach Stewart, continue in those ways and you will have a losing record.

UGLY.

Isaiah is 11

Yesterday, Isaiah turned 11 years old. It is unbelievable. I remember 11 years ago that I thought that I was going to lose both my wife and my newborn son. With them both in surgery and their life in balance, I was terrified and had no clue what to do.

My wife though tells the story of Isaiah so much better then me. Thus, today, I am stealing her post and letting her share about last night AND more importanly, the story of Isaiah's birth. It truly is amazing and it is a MIRACLE.

The story through the eyes of my beautiful wife:

Isaiah turned 11 today! I cannnot believe he's past ten years old. I'm not possibly old enough to have an 11-year-old child... am I? After bathtime this evening, we suprised him with presents and a cake! I think he'd given up on getting anything this year at all!!






At 4:57 am this morning, it was officially 11 years since the birth of our little 2 lb 3 oz, 13 1/4 inch long, wonder baby. His birth marked the end of what felt like the world's longest but also shortest pregnancy. I'd been on bed-rest for 10 weeks by the time he was born. I had thrown up at least three times everyday practically from conception. I had been in excrutiating pain the same amount of time. I had been told by doctors that I was just having normal pregnancy pains and to get used to it. I had lost 30 lbs from his conception to his birth. I was so sick. I didn't know exactly how sick until two days after his birth when I woke-up with a 106 degree temp and couldn't move from the incredible pain. I ended up in emergency surgery at 11:00 that night fighting for my life. This was when the Crohn's was diagnosed.

While I was fighting for my life, so was my little guy. After a day or two, his weight had dropped to a frightening 1 lb 12 oz. When he was born, he just looked like a really small, but healthy baby. After losing a several ounces, he looked like a sick baby. Although at the time, I didn't think so. I just saw the precious baby that I had wanted since I was a five year old putting a pillow under my shirt pretending I was pregnant.

I spent many moments in tears wondering what would happen. If you've ever given birth and had a "normal" delivery and baby, you know the emotions and hormones that run thru you. Multiply that feeling by 1000 and you have an idea of what giving birth to a sick baby does to ones emotions. Then add in the stress of being sick for six months straight, surgery, and medical bills, and you've got one emotional train wreck.

After I was finally released from the hospital to go home, two weeks after my arrival, I went to the hospital to see him as often as I could. Most weeks that meant 7 out of 7 days. On occasion my mother and the nurses "made" me stay home to rest. On those days I called several times to check on him.

There was a point sometime during his first month of life that they sent us home one evening and told us to discuss the option of turning off the machines. This was right after they had told us that he had a severe interventricular brain hemorhage and hydrocephulus. Basically his little brain was supposed to be so damaged that he probably would never do most of the things we take for granted. It didn't look good for our little guy. We decided that we would allow him to be whoever he was supposed to be. We did and look at who he has turned into today.

He's the most amazing 11 year old I've ever had the pleasure to be around. He's a hard worker, which comes naturally when you have to teach yourself to get around somehow because your brain isn't letting you crawl, so you decide that scooting on your butt is a good option. He destroyed the butts of many cute little outfits by scotting around. He used his hands and the sides of his ankles to push around. It was a sight to behold. I remember when one of the people at the development center shot down my thrill about his scooting around and told me he had to crawl or he wasn't developing properly. I never stepped foot in their office again. We found another person who would rejoice in what he could do, not tear him down for what he couldn't.

By the time he began walking at the age of two, I had been taught the most valuable lesson in my life... don't take anything that your children do for granted. Parents of typical children just assume their child will do everything when they are supposed to. We knew he probably never would. He never has. He does everything when he's ready and not a second sooner. I've learned to rejoice in everything. I've learned that slower doesn't mean dumber as many people think. It means that he thinks differently, and wow does he.

He's an amazing kid that has overcome alot in his first 11 years of life. He's had to work harder his 11 years than most of us have to in 30. I find myself wanting to protect him from all the crap that the world will surely bring his way in the years to come. Right now he lives in what I call "Isaiah land". This protects him from the other kids who tease or make fun because they can't always understand what he says because of his speech delay. Part of me hopes that he always lives in "Isaiah Land", but I know that one day he'll leave there and see the world for what it really is. I dread that moment because that'll be the day when I wanna step in and fix it all for him and I know I won't be able to. He has to learn to live in the world as Isaiah.

So, Big Guy, on this 11th birthday of yours... a day we weren't sure we'd celebrate 11 years ago... Happy Birthday to my favorite 11 year old! I love you soooooooooooo much!

Jesus is my Friend

Ooohhhhhhhhh my


Jesus is my friend by "Sonseed" from Peleg Top on Vimeo.

A Busy Week

It has been a very busy week. I am hoping that later on today that I can give a little update on the number of things that have been occurring.

The week has been full of the following:

- many church meetings
- wooster association of interfaith partnership
- wayne county student minister network meeting
- walking, walking and more walking
- breafast and lunches with members of the church
- isaiah's 11th birthday breakfast
- first ever kids care club meeting for us
- training for the zion care groups
- swimming has picked back up for jacob and bethany
- etc, etc, etc ........

More later ... just a quick update on the fact that I am alive, just busy and hopefully a small update break is coming soon.

One Sabbath: Poverty

The video (little over 6 mins) says it all:



As it states, "we must make a difference".

A bill that is "on the table"

Talking Points

U.S. COMMITMENT TO GLOBAL CHILD SURVIVAL ACT

Background

- Every year, 10 million children die before their fifth birthday – that’s one every three seconds – nearly all of them from preventable or treatable diseases, like diarrhea, pneumonia and measles.

- Worldwide, more than 500,000 mothers die each year from complications during child birth.

- There are inexpensive, effective interventions that would prevent the needless deaths of mothers and children in developing countries.

- For too long, poverty has devastated millions of families, but for the first time we have affordable and proven technology to deliver healthy babies and treat and prevent a range of childhood diseases.

This Sums It Up

Gustav

It is weakening and slowing. They think that it may not be as bad as projected or could have been with the weakening and slight turn it took.

I am checking some blogs on my blog roll as I was the news reports and get ready for a relaxing day. We are going to a picnic today.