It's November already!!

I can't believe that it is November already!!  Where does the time go?!?!

A whole lot has happened since my last post.  We went down to Gatlinburg several weekends ago and had a good trip!  We got to do a little shopping, walked around the shop in downtown Gatlinburg, and then went hiking and saw a black bear about 100 yards away from us.  A fun thing about this is that I have seen at least one black bear every trip to the Smoky Mountains, except once.  That trip we did not go hiking and therefore I did not see a bear.  

The weekend after that Kande and I went to Hilton Head, SC with her parents.  It was good to get a way, but it did get a little boring towards the end.  There are two things to do on Hilton Head when it is not warm enough to go to the beach, one is play golf (which I do not do) and the other is shop.  I should have taken one of my a fishing poles, but I ended up leaving it home.  The drive down was awesome as we drive thru the Smoky Mountains and got to see the leaves changing.  It was beautiful!!  God is just awesome!!  Then return trip was also a good one.  We came back a different way, thru Virginia and West Virginia.  Funny thing is the leaves were either green or brown, none of the red or orange we saw in the Smokies. 

We are entering my favorite time of year.  Fall is in the air, the woods are coming alive, and deer season is next weekend.  I will be spending the next three weekends in the woods hunting deer and cannot wait!!

I have picked up a new hobby.  I tried my and at sudoku and found that I a pretty good at it - or least I am on the easy level so far. 

Servefest was this morning and it went pretty good.  It was the last one for this year as they have Turkeyfest, Wrap-it-up, the Christmas Eve Donut Outreach, and one other with the Food Store I think planned thru the end of the year.  I have never been around for turkeyfest as it is hunting season, but I do enjoy wrap-it-up.  I have to admit that I am looking forward to the Christmas Eve service.  I love candle light services - it is my absolute favorite of the year.  I look forward to it every year, only last year I got sick and missed it.  I am also looking forward to the donut outreach afterwards too. 

Well, I am off to my nephew's birthday party. 

Another month..

Well, it has been another month since my last post.  I guess I just forget to post an update.  I think I will schedule something in my Palm so I remember to post once a week. 

I have been pett busy the past month with work, family stuff, and stuff around the house.  I am exhausted from helping put up a shed for my mom yesterday.  It is not finished and I will be doing that tomorrow after work too. 

Fall is upon us.  That is my  favorite time of the year.  I cannot wait!  I have already started fantasy football, had one draft last week and the second draft next week.  I really enjoy it.  I have been in the one draft for 13 years or so.  It is a lot of fun! 

Football season is here!  I enjoy both the Bengals and Penn State (an Ohio State when they are nto playing PSU).  Kande and I are looking for tickets to see the Bengals this  year. 

Deer hunting is right around the corner too!  I need to move my tree stands and set p a food plot or put out a salt lick.  I need to go shooting to and sight in my deer rifle. 

I won't be there at Fall Weekend.  Kande and I will be in Gatlinburg.  I can't wait to get into the mountains and do some hiking.  That will be fun. 

So, are you all ready for school?!?!?!

Over one month, WOW!!

I can't believe it has been over one month since my last post!! 

Well, alot has happened in that time.  I don't have time to tell all, but I do have a good God story that is still in progress - kind of what Dave talks about all of the time about planting seeds and letting God nurture them.. 

A good friend of mine is going thru a divorce and moved to a new house.  I called Andy Dodds and asked if his guys were up to helping a stranger move.  They said yes and Andy, Chris, Nathan, Nathan, Zach and me all piled into a van and headed down into Pendelton County, KY on moving day.  They had the moving truck all packed by the time we got there, so we headed bak\ck into the van to his new house to unload.  Well let me just say that those guys ROCK!!!  We had that moving truck unpacked in no time, it took us maybe an hour and a half - and it was 92 degrees outside.  That is the moving story aspect of this and it really took affect on both my friend and his entire family.  Seed #1 planted!! 

I will fast forward a few weeks.  Now I have peronally struggled with something at work.  I am a channel surfer with the radio in my pickup, but I primarily listen to wakw, k-love, and any country station.  In the mornings it is always on wakw, good traffic and uplifting music.  Anyway, whenever we would go out for lunch I would switch the radio to a country station, not wanting to "shove" my religion down the throats of anyone who rides me.  I have struggled with that as that is not me.  I listen to that music and was being a "poser" when I changed the station.  So I have been keeping wakw on the radio the past few weeks when we go out to lunch.  Seed #2 planted.  The cool part of the story is that my friend drove to lunch Thursday and guess what radio station he had on?  Yes, it was wakw.  I about fell out of the seat with joy.  I think this will be a slow transformation, but I do see God working in his life. 

I will keep posting updates on how this progresses. 

So, that is about it for now.  I have to go get ready for a funeral, a high school friend's father passed away tis week and the visitation and funeral is today.  Then I have to work late this evening / early tomorrow morning so I won't be at CIA.  I do miss you guys and gals, but I should be there next week barring any unforeseen problems.

I hope you have a GREAT week!

A lot has been going on lately...

Well, a lot of stuff has been happening in my life lately to the point where I had to step back and take a breath.  In case you have not noticed, I have not been to CIA for a month or so.  There are several reasons for it, and they all have to do with me and some self reflection.  This is not a permanent thing, but it may continue fo several more weeks.  I just do not know right now. 

A good friend of mine is getting divorced and that kind of shook me to the core.  I found out about the divorce about three weeks or so ago and things are progressing from bad to worse.  I feel really bad for him and want to help him out in any way that I can, it is just that I am not sure how I can help him.  This is unchartered territory for me.  I have not had any close friends go thru a divorce when I was close to them, so I am not sure how to help other than pray and ask God to give me the words and action needed to be a good friend. 

The impending divorce also got me thinking about my relationship with Kande and how I would be lost without her if anything like that ever happened to us.  Now do not think that we are getting a divorce or anything, but my friends divorce just got me to thinking in ways that I have not thought before.  I stepped back and took a good long look at how I treat her and see the need for improvement.  I realize that none of us are perfect, after all we are human, but I still see areas for improvement.  I am doing much more thinking now than ever before.  I want to make it a habit in my life to consciously think about how my actions and words affect Kande.  We all talk about how much we love someone, but now I truly want to put that love up front.  I want my actions to speak louder than my words and when I do speak I do not want my words to sound hollow either. 

Self  contemplation is a good thing.  I am thankful for this opportunity and thank God that he helped me to recognize the need to step back and re-evaluate my life.  This has been really good for me!  

So, please keep me in your prayers that I live my love for Kande and that God will give me the wisdom and strength to be a good friend during these difficult times. 

SERVEFEST WEEKEND!!!

SERVEFEST WEEKEND!!!

I just wanted to remind you all that this is servefest weekend.  I am taking a team down to Valley Homes Apartments to hand out bags of groceries.  So, I look forward to you all joining me!!

I had a blast fishing yesterday and got sunburn REAL BAD!  The fishing was not all that great for large fish, we did catch a lot of small fish.  You can see where I had my sunglasses on and where my shirts ended.  Kande thought it was rathr funny, I was not amused though!  It burns man!! 

Also, I am planning a fishing trip for your guys and gals in CIA.  I am definitly taking my guys from the Path and if I can get a female adult leader or two to go then some of you gals can join us as well.  I am looking at the last Friday in May or the 1st or 2nd Friday in June.  I need to give a 2 week notice to the lake so they can make arrangements for us.  They will provide fishing rod and reel setups so those of you who do to have one can still go.  They also have a food bar where you can get food and dinks.  You should plan on bringing about $8.00 with you for dinner.  We would have to be there by 6:00 PM for the fishing clinic, where they teach you about the fishing rod and reel setup, show you how to bait your hooks, and then off you go fishing.  I would also welcome any parents to help chaparone if they are interested and you let them come!!  Please post here and let me know whether you would be interested in going or not.