Salyer Christmas 2008

Sights and sounds of our Christmas Season!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

You must read this book.

I just finished reading The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren, and it was great!

My mom had given it to me a few weeks ago and I never got around to reading it until today. Once I started I could not stop.

According to Pastor Warren there are 3 purposes to Christmas:

1. A time for celebration
2. A time for salvation
3. A time for reconciliation

I could not do it justice trying to explain all of it, but please, look for it over the holidays, you will not be disappointed.

Anyone seen my Ark? UPDATED 1:30 PM

Wow, what a wet morning. Just very thankful that is was above 32 degrees when I headed out. In fact, when I left Newark it was 32 and by the time I got to Columbus it was 37 degrees. From http://www.weather.com/ it looks like we have got between 0.5" and 0.75" of rain, seems like more.

I know some friends in Chicago got hammered this AM by the weather. I think most are off today or working from home. This place is pretty quiet, a few people working part of the day today. Now they are calling for high winds this PM, what crazy weather, another potential storm coming through Sunday PM, hope Tyler and Rachel make it on Monday.

Tyler posted this on eBay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280295419782

And as you can see, someone actually bought it! Amazing what people will buy.

Off next 2 weeks! Looking forward to holidays , but I know I will not want to come back on 1/5, maybe GOD will bless us financially and I can call it a career!

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It is now 62 degrees in Columbus! What crazy weather we are having, must be global warning? NOT!

Reason for the Season. UPDATED

I feel very fortunate to be almost done working for the year. This is my last week working, I am off the last 2 weeks of 2008 for vacation and holidays.

I am also very appreciative of just being blessed with a job right now. One of my co-workers told me today, her husband's pay was being cut between 15% and 25% the 1st of next year! They hope to get it back phased in over 2009, UGH! Not something anyone wants to hear.

It seems like for many people this might be the worst Christmas ever, from a financial point of view it might be. But just turn your radio to a station playing Christmas Carols and escape your troubles, at least for a little while.

I am back in the mood, with the cold weather and constant carols playing on my radio in my office. It will be the best Christmas ever, not because of the presents I will get (OSU Train from Santa?), but because of seeing family and friends and laughing and playing games and eating and sleeping late and knowing that GOD is in control!

Jesus is the Reason for the Season, if you remember that, write down or tell someone what that means to you, it cannot be a bad Christmas

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Update 10:00 PM

Tyler called today to tell us he got a Christmas present from one of his kids. A bag of chocolate covered peanuts, actually it was only half a bag of peanuts, with a twist tie around them. So if you have more than that, you might have a better Christmas than some people!

Church Information

Christmas Sermon Series
Everyone knows someone who struggles during the Christmas season. Join us each Sunday through December 21st to find out how the Bible deals with these issues.This Sunday
December 14th10:45 amGod is in ControlMatthew 1-2 Last Sunday's Audio:Click Here

Christmas Eve Service
Date: December 24thTime: 7:00Location: Worship Center

tonight, heaven touches earth
A Musical Drama for Christmas
Each year our choir presents a Christmas musical that we pray will reach the hearts of the lost and change the hearts of all believers as we're reminded of why God chose to send His only Son to be born of a virgin in the humblest of circumstances. This year is no exception. Invite your friends, neighbors, and coworkers to join us this Sunday night as our Celebration Choir presents:

tonight, heaven touches earthDate: December 14thTime: 6:00 pmLocation: Family Life Center of First Baptist HeathBelow is the forward written by the lyricist, Randy Vader.

The silence since the astounding proclamations of the prophets centuries before has been deafening. The Children of God have relied more on the ritual of the Law than the reality of the Lord. The Messiah seems more like a myth than a coming Conqueror. The Glory of God has been hidden from mankind since the Fall. Even Moses could not look upon the Glory of God and live. He was placed in the cleft of a rock and could only observe the Almighty from the back as He passed by. The world is waiting in a solemn stillness - but Heaven is as distant as ancient promises.
All of that is about to change...
Tonight - God will fulfill His promise in ways beyond imagination. Tonight - the eternal and the temporal will intertwine in a way that can never be unwoven. Tonight - God will show His love in the most miraculous way - through the gift of His Son. Tonight will be the birth of Jesus, the Christ. Tonight - we will once again be allowed to see God's glory. Tonight - Heavenly music and earthly rejoicing will be in concert. Tonight - all creation sings! Tonight - Heaven Touches Earth!

This video explains my job

CONNECT Group Christmas 2008

Really good time of the year!

I just love this time of year. I have 3 presets on my car radio set to Christmas music. I 2 presets on my satellite radio set to Christmas music. I found that station 424 on the TV plays Christmas music.

It is something about the music really gets me in the mood for the Holiday season. That and Angela starts cooking up a storm! Every night this week when I get home, she has been in the kitchen cooking stuff for our CONNECT Group Christmas party. We do a progressive dinner every year. Salads and appetizers at the 1st stop. Get back in our cars and drive to a new house for the main course. Finally we end up at our house for desserts, that's plural on purpose, and games. I think we have over 30 signed up to come this year!

It has been a good week, I finished teaching class on Monday, met with Pastor Dear on Tuesday, had a church council meeting on Wednesday, and just got back from lunch with Pastor Dear and Billy Andrews today.

Yesterday I found that my satellite radio has added a Southern Gospel music (the kind they play in Heaven) station so I listened to it all of the time to and from work. I was also surprised with an award by the DVP of HR yesterday.

Last night, mom called and said they were coming right over. Since she never does that, I was a little nervous. Aunt Rhoda had fallen a couple of times, so they put her in the nursing home. Sad for the holidays, but a relief for mom and dad, since the only option would have been for them to take care of her.

Today was a little different story. I got to work early so I could leave early. Turned off the engine and heard the heater blower still running. I tried to pull a fuse to stop it, but could not. So I took it to a place to get it fixed. The part itself was $300! UGH! Thanks Pastor Wally for selling me a Cadillac! Just kidding, it really has been a good car, just rolled over 200,000 miles and still going strong, I hope, at least until Corey graduates or God gives us another car.

Work today is very slow, actually getting ready to leave early since I have to fly to Chicago on Sunday. Only about 5 people still here out of 20 some.

Looking forward to class party tomorrow night, I'll post some pictures later.

Remember to say "Merry Christmas" as often as you can!

Thanksgiving pictures

UPDATED Happy Thanksgiving!

From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

I really have been reflective lately of how much I have to be thankful for.

Many people are out of work, have pressing financial needs, or poor family relationships or situations. Unfortunately we all could look around and find someone worse off than we are. The poorest people in the USA, have it better than 90% of the worlds population.

So take the "What am I thankful for?" challenge, make up your own list of the top 5 to 10 things you are thankful for.

Here is mine:

1. My Salvation
2. My wife
3. My sons and daughter-in-law
4. My extended family
5. The warm home God has blessed us with
6. Good christian friends in Ohio and Tennessee
7. A good job that has allowed me to see and do things I never could have imagined (I may get to go to Singapore and China in January!)
8. Good health
9. Soft heart
10. Great Senior Pastor at a Great Church with Great People

If you have trouble thinking of what you are thankful for, watch this video!

This says it all!

Days since Michigan’s last victory over Ohio State in football: 1,828 days.

42-7 was about what we all expected. It was close during the 1st quarter, but then we pulled away.

Hoping for Oregan State to lose and we might get a BCS bowl, otherwise the Capital One bowl on Jan 1 is not bad.

it's time! (pause the player on the right to hear)

ANTHRAX SCARE AT MICHIGAN

Michigan football practice was delayed nearly two hours late this morning after a player reported finding an unknown white powdery substance on the practice field.

Head coach Rich Rodriguez (former head coach at West Virginia University ) immediately suspended practice while police and federal agents were called to investigate.

After a complete analysis, FBI forensic experts determined that the white substance, unknown to the players, was the goal line.

Practice was resumed this afternoon after special agents decided the team was unlikely to encounter the substance again

It's Rivalry Week!

This is the week most OSU fans live for, Michigan Week! I have some great memories of this week when I was in college at OSU. There is always a big pep rally, and the marching band marches through campus.

It doesn't matter if both teams are 0 - 9, this would still be a big deal and a exciting game. This week, I am a little worried about them. They are so bad they are not going to a bowl game, so this is their final game of the year.

There are a couple of famous Woody Hayes (great ex-OSU football coach) stories about Michigan:

• It is told that Woody went to Michigan to recruit a player, while there he ran out of gas, but instead of stopping within the state of Michigan to fill up, he pushed his car across the state line so he would not have to spend money there.
• Woody also never said the word "Michigan", he always referred to it as the "state up north".
• Finally, there was game versus Michigan that OSU was winning pretty easily, OSU scored and instead of kicking the extra point, worth 1 point, he ran the ball into the end zone during the extra point, for 2 points. After the game a reporter asked Woody, why did you go for 2 when you were already winning the game? Woody replied, "because I couldn't go for 3!"

Go Bucks! Game time is Noon this Saturday.

Why you should never believe what you hear on TV

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/11/13/msnbc-retracts-false-palin-story-duped/

Hello from Canada, eh? updated Friday with picture

Well I am in beautiful, Brockville, Ontario Canada, located on the Saint Lawrence river. It is 125 miles due north of Syracuse, NY.

It is one of those places where you can't get to from Columbus without flying through somewhere else. So I had to fly to Washington, DC, then to Ottawa, Ontario and then drive an hour to Brockville. One good thing about Canada is that there are Tim Horton's on every corner, Brockville has 6 and it only has 5,000 people! They brought in Tim Horton's coffee and donuts for the class, so it started the day off great!

My hotel has a great chef, last night was a bison burger with sweet potato french fries. It was so good I had to have dessert, which was Angela worthy to tell you how good it was. It was a mini date cake with sticky toffee pudding covered in homemade caramel and homemade whipped cream! The only problem was, it was a small portion, but it tasted great. I told Angela about it and she said she probably had 3 or 4 recipes for it! I said, well make 1 or 2 of them so I can compare!

Class today went fine, it was on understanding yourself. We used a personality profile assessment to talk about how differing personalities cause communication and conflict issues. Tomorrow is on the traditional change management class I teach.

Just talked to Tyler, he said Rachel had a minor fender bender today going to school. She didn't call Tyler or even text him about it, she waited until she got to work and then sent him an email! Tyler has planned to talk to her about this tonight. So we will see how it goes.

Tyler also said he and Rachel have already bought and opened and are using their Christmas gifts for this year. They bought each other guitars and have been playing them.

Before I left, I got to actually got to meet Brandon's friend Mandy, she does exist and seems OK.

Well it is 6:00 PM and I think I am the last one in the plant offices, which is odd. Time to go see what the chef is cooking tonight!

Weekend update

Well, it's Saturday night all the kids are gone to Blake's' 18th Birthday party. Angela is in bed catching up on her reading and I just got finished grading papers for my college class I am teaching for Mount Vernon Nazarene University.

The class is going well. I like the idea that I get to have devotions before the class starts. It helps me practice sharing my faith in a safe sort of way. I wonder if all in the class are saved, so I am praying for them to re-examine their spiritual walk with God, while they learn a little about Human Resources Management (that is the name of the class I am teaching).

Today I had grade a 25 question quiz I gave them and a paper they had to write for week 2. tomorrow, I prepare for this coming Monday. Need to write another quiz and review the material one more time.

This week was pretty long. We got back about 11:00 PM last Sunday from Gatlinburg. We drove from Gatlinburg to Nashville and spent about 4 hours with Tyler and Rachel at Opry Mills Mall. Ate an early dinner at the Rainforest Cafe and headed home about 4:00 PM. Monday night I taught class until about 10:00 PM and Wednesday I had a meeting and choir practice at church so another late night. Thursday night we ate dinner with Tammy and Gary and the twins at Olive Garden.



Friday Corey got a 10 point buck!



John and Pam came up for pizza also on Friday, nothing special just good to see them again. Tammy and Gary went to Indianapolis for a special purchase, details to follow.

The Buckeyes won today, Tennessee lost to Wyoming? and Auburn lost to some high school team I think. Penn State got beat so we could still win the Big Ten and go to the Rose Bowl if Michigan State beats Penn State and we win our last 2 games.

Go to church somewhere tomorrow! God will bless you for it!

PRESS ON!

Gatlinburg Photos

Please do not vote!

Now that I have your attention, please do not vote in the upcoming elections unless you know something about the candidates: local, state and national.

Too many people just vote for a party or a person without really understanding their positions. To prove my point, I listened to a clip someone sent me about a radio disc jockey who sent someone out to ask people who they were voting for. Almost everyone that responded said Obama, but then the interviewer listed all the positions and had the person again pick which positions matched theirs. Most of the people picked McCain's positions and were mad at the interviewer for tricking them. No, they are uninformed and only voting for a name.

My son Tyler, did the same thing with his 5th grade class as part of their discussion on thinking for yourself. Most of the kids said they would vote for Obama, but when Tyler listed there positions on the whiteboard and asked them to pick which side they agree with most, they picked McCain.

So ALL of us have a responsibility to be an informed voter. Just about any news website, Foxnews, MSNBC, etc, have a voter guides of position comparisons. For Christians, the AFA and local organizations can also provide a voter guide to accurately compare the candidates. My suggestion is start with the Bible! It tells what is important. Opposition to Abortion and Homosexulaity, are 2 examples of where the Bible is clear. We need to vote for candidates at all levels who support biblical truth.

REMEMBER: A lot of the focus is on McCain & Obama, but the Congress can Stop any crazy ideas from bring put into law. So those elections are just as important as the President.

SO, get informed and then VOTE!!

Hello from Arizona!

I was welcomed to Arizona on Monday with 90 degree temperatures, unfortunately it was at 8:00 PM! But since it was a dry heat, it only seemed hotter than the 50 degree temps I left in Columbus. Glad I left my sweater in my car, I would have looked an idiot getting off the plane with it on.

Long days of work are not giving me much downtime. 5 training sessions per day for 3 days keeps me busy. Each session can last up to 2 hours, and tonight is the late night with the last session ending at 8 PM local time which is 11 PM Ohio time.

Yesterday was Angela's birthday. I asked what she wanted and all she wanted was a trip to Gatlinburg for her birthday present. Since we are going there next week on vacation, that will be easy to do. I'll let her buy herself something special.

Tyler called and they finally rented his old house! He was so excited, now he can send his Christmas list (yes our married school teacher son still sends a list to Santa). I think I will ask his wife, Rachel, to sign it before he sends it showing her approval.

Other than not being with my queen, I am enjoying the trip OK. Arizona is a nice place to visit, if you like brown.

I am staying at a resort close by that used to be the spring training location for the San Fransisco Giants baseball team. The pool is in the shape of a baseball bat, the hot tub is a baseball, and the front parking lot is laid out like a baseball diamond! Pretty cool.

Food great, that's all for now.

Press ON!

What I do for a living.

Many of my friends, and even some family members who want to know what I do for a living. It is hard to explain but here goes.

My job is unique in that I am work with all aspects of the business: sales, manufacturing, and R&D, developing leadership development programs and teaching them how to solve problems.

To help my family and friends understand what I am doing traveling, I have added the Blog from the LaMarsh Consulting group. I am the only certified instructor in the company for this program.

When I am traveling, this is about 75% of what I am doing, teaching people how to successfully manage changes related to projects or strategic plans.

Bible in a minute

What should we do while we are waiting for God to answer our prayers?

Wednesday Catching up.

1. I was in Chicago Monday and Tuesday for a training class. Just got back into town. I did get to eat at my favorite breakfast place, Walker Brothers. I had pumpkin pancakes and a baked omelet, both very good.
2. Did you hear the news about the guy who named his new born baby girl, "Sarah McCain Palin Smith"? And DID NOT tell his wife! He was on the news this AM and mentioned that his wife did not think that was a good idea. Talk about someone in trouble.
3. Did you notice gas prices? They are below $3 per gallon! Now if we could get them below $2 again, all would be well.
4. How is your 401K? Mine was down about 10%, but I am not worried, I cannot retire for awhile anyway.
5. Getting ready for a vacation at the end of the month, annual trip to Gatlinburg with our TN friends. Should catch the leaves turning just about the right time.
6. How about them Browns?! They finally looked like a playoff worthy team, now, can they keep it going.
7. Buckeyes have a tough one this week at Michigan State.
8. Had a great family bonfire and hayride last Friday. Jordan was there with some of her friends as well as everyone else, other than Tyler and Rachel. They chose to spend the week in Destin, Florida with her grandparents. Good choice!
9. Most exciting thing about the hayride was Charlie brought a stun gun, and let people act like they using it on each other. The only question I had was, why? If I wanted shocked I would put my finger into a light socket.
10. On a related note, there was a guy in my class this week who is a certified taser instructor, what are the odds?
11. Start teaching at MVNU - Newark, on Monday 10/27, teach Human Resources Management.
12. That's all for now, PRESS ON and MAKE GOOD DECISIONS!

Things I don't get - updated Friday

• On my way home from work tonight, I counted 23 McCain signs and only 6 Obama signs, yet the media wants to tell us that McCain is behind in the polls? Sounds like they are not polling the right people.
• Why do we "park" in a "driveway" and "drive" on things like the "bluegrass parkway" which doesn't have grass or a place to park.
• Why do people use "safe haven" laws to drop off their teenagers at hospitals? I heard on the news tonight that Nebraska passed a safe haven law for mothers did not want their new babies, but so far 9 teenagers were dropped off by parents, 1 from another state!
• Why has Brandon not brought Mandy home yet? They went to Lancaster
• Why the TV show "The Office" is not on every night? (Thursday night's show was an instant classic)
• Why family members can be hurtful to other family members and nice to non-family members?
• Why when our family plans to have a bonfire the temperature goes up to about 80 on that day?
• Why Jesus died for me, but I am glad He did!
• Why are some people so willing to help others and others avoid it like the plague?
• Why do some people only go to church on Sunday morning?
• Why are the Buckeyes rated so low in the polls when they have a whole new starting backfield than those who started the USC game?
• Why do some people never say thank you?

Nehemiah - The Leader

As I am sitting here studying for my CONNECT group lesson, I am reflecting on how great a leader Nehemiah really was. All he did was:

1. Saw a need
2. Took ownership of it
3. Created a vision of success
4. Laid out a plan
5. Got others to join in in the cause.
6. Stayed with it until it was completed

No meetings, no complaining, no saying "why doesn't someone do something?", no starting something and then stopping halfway through.

He took it upon himself to solve the problem. No miracles from God, nobody healed or raised from the dead. God simply answered prayers by providing a leader with favor, strength, and wisdom. Then the work of God was put into action in the day to day grind of committed workers under his leadership, ordinary people enjoying God's blessing as they followed a gifted leader.

I look at leaders at work that are good, 1 of the things that makes them successful is that ability to focus on 1 or 2 clear goals and staying with them until completion.

Bad leaders follow what I call a "management by best seller" approach, whatever the latest fad or new management book on the market is, they adjust their focus and direction to that.

Guess which one people like to follow? Right, it is the one who has a clear focus on the future, the one who does not start and stop 6 times throughout the year, the one who can explain in simple terms to their departments what success looks like. Good leaders are visible supporters of their teams efforts, are organized in their thinking and action, and encouraging to the team.

I look around today and see very few leaders as described above. I am so disappointed with the politicians and this financial bailout, too few stood up and said this was not a good idea. No one in a leadership position publicly stated any opposition. I just have a bad feeling that we taxpayers will suffer as a result of the decision made by 545 people in Washington.

$700 Billion (that's with a "B" as in BIG) is a lot of money. I am not even sure it is going to the right people. I know me and all of my friends could use little of that right now. Washington has lost touch with me and the people I know.

Can anyone say, Palin/Gingrich is 2012?

Nehemiah come back, we need you now!

Press On!

"Fireproof" the movie

We went with 6 other couples from our CONNECT group (Sunday school class) to see the new movie Fireproof. It was made by the same church in Georgia that did Facing the Giants and a few others. Overall it was pretty good, it does a good job of reminding men (and women) that keeping a marriage alive and growing is a continual process and that it takes 2 people to make it a success. If one person is a "giver" and the other is a "taker" no relationship can last very long.

I am very lucky to be married to a wonderful woman whose heart is a big as the sky. Who takes great pride in keeping a clean house, laundry under control, and meals ready, even though she works full time and is turning into a "counselor" for family and friends. Because of my love for her I try to help out around the house especially with laundry and dishes, but I could do better. One of the things I love about Angela is that she does not keep score. We are a team and we both are the better for it.

Back to the movie, if you hear a rumor about certain person tearing up, it was true. I went through 3 tissues, could have been more, but I only had 3. Guess I am getting a reputation, because someone brought me a BIG box of tissues to CONNECT group class.

Others News:

• Tyler rented his house! Signing a 1 year lease today with a young couple
• Brandon shot a doe on the 1st day of deer bow hunting season
• Corey starring in a flag football league, he dominated the 1st 2 games (chip off the old block)
• I am in my office about 6 days during October! UGH! Work and vacation travel.
• Angela started Zoomba classes, but had to put on hold due to hip pain.
• My mom fell and sprained her wrist and didn't tell me for 3 or 4 days, she is doing fine.

PRESS ON!

Back on track!

Well things are back on track in a couple of areas, finally.

ALL family members finally got their power back on so NO ONE is spending the night tonight other than Angela. It is good to see family members and fine to pitch in, but it is good to get things back to normal. Now if Tammy would only get her stuff out of our refrigerator, the last loose end would be tied up.

Also, the Buckeyes got back on the winning track and found a new quarterback. Cannot wait to see Pryor and Beanie Wells in the backfield together, look out Big Ten title and BCS Bowl. If we get and stay healthy, things could turn out well.

Rest of week went OK, some ups and downs.

Up = Work very busy, went to our plant in Michigan for a meeting. Seems like all the plants are doing Strategic Planning and they like the work I did in Virgina, so the plant in Michigan asked me to come and help them. They also told me they be telling the other plants how good I did!

Down = Some people, made very very bad decisions that came to light this week, do not want to go into details, but in a couple of situations, people made some decisions that could have a lasting negative impact on some families I know. Pray that God will work in these situations and provide direction, forgiveness, and healing.

Random Thoughts:

• Bonner's bought a 1999 Mercedes 2 seater convertible, very cool, (I think I coveted a little when I saw it)
• Brandon got hired full time at Nationwide financial services in Columbus! He has 30 days to study and pass his Series 6 license to sell the financial products of the company.
• Corey starts back to classes this week at OSU starting his last year.
• Vacation is only 5 weeks away, cannot wait for Gatlinburg again and to see all of our TN friends.
• Tyler & Rachel doing good, keep praying for a renter or buyer for Tyler's house.
• No much new at Thomas's except Jordan is in Las Vegas, not sure of details.

PRESS ON!

This is my nephew!

Windy day and more

Wow! Yesterday was the most wind I have experienced in a long time. It was the remnants of hurricane Ike that hit Texas. We did not get any rain, but had hurricane force winds which hit were over 75 mph in Columbus.

We were pulling into church last night and there was a loud boom outside the car window, of course Angela's first reaction was to look at me and say, "What did you hit?" Me? Why are things always my fault? We were just riding in the car, she was even driving, but somehow it turned into my fault. Thankfully nothing hit our car, but the transformer next to the church blew right as we were going past it. So we had communion last night by the glow of the emergency lights.

Sunday AM was the 1st week of the new CONNECT group classes. We had 2 new visitors and I heard the other classes did well. If you are looking for a new group now is the time to get CONNECTed and find a new class. Men's Quartet sang "My name is Lazarus". Here is what it is supposed to sound like.



We had someone is our class that just moved into a new house, Angela asked them if they needed anything. They mentioned they were looking for a cheap stove. Well, after church Sunday someone else called and said they wanted them to buy the 1st couple a NEW STOVE! God is so good! Then the couple who bought the stove, had their power go out, and someone else volunteered to take their stuff from the freezer and keep it until later. So another blessing was given and received.

so, lesson for today, if you feel God "nudging" you to do something, don't think too long about it, JUST DO IT!

Ugly night :(

Just got done watching the Buckeyes get killed by USC, 35-3. What happened to the offense? Where was the defense. Going to be a long year!

Been pretty quiet otherwise, since the trip home from Chicago. Nothing major going on except both cars are acting up. But God will provide as needed.

Men's Quartet singing tomorrow, so I better get to bed.

Pray Donna Sipes and family in TN, her mother passed away this week.
Pray for Pam Sturm and her family with the passing of Ron, her husband, today.
Pray for Tyler's house to sell or rent very soon.
Pray for my brother Jim to find a new job
Pray for all the lost souls that will be going to church tomorrow, that something is said that will make them realize their need to get saved.

Finally, Happy Birthday Tyler!

Press On!

9/11/2001

Never Forget!

Wonder what made them mad?

As I was eating dinner at one of my favorite places to eat in Chicagoland (Walker Brothers). I was reading the local newspaper and came upon this article and wondered what in the world the owner of the car did to make someone very mad.

"Vandals used orange and white paint to spray graffiti on all sides of a blue 2005 Acura coupe and on two garage doors and driveway ... Vandals placed a rubber duck on the roof of the car, meatloaf on the front windshield, pasta on the trunk lid and mayonnaise all over the car, reports added."

Sounds like they brought their dinner with them!

Reminder to Bloggers, you must update once per month to stay on the blog listing at the right.

Drive time thinking

As I was driving to Virginia today I had plenty of time to listen to my satellite radio. (I usually would never pay for this type of service, but without it the range of the car radio is about 50 feet). A couple of things that occurred to me:

• Why doesn't McCain turn the tables on the liberals and blame the problems this country is in in the DEMOCRATIC congress? The liberals are quick to blame President Bush for everything, but congress has a lower approval rating than the President. The congress has stopped the drill here, drill now, pay less movement, so we are all still paying higher gas prices than we have to.
• I want to know who benefits by all the publicity and emphasis on renewable energy. I would not be surprised if some well know liberal politicians own or invest in companies that would benefit from wind, solar, carbon credits, etc
• I think McCain hit a home run by selecting Gov. Palin. Even with family issues with her baby and her daughter being pregnant, it shows that conservatives are real people with real issues also. We just believe that God and not the government knows best!
• I was listening to a southern gospel radio station in West Virginia, during a break the local announcer came on the radio and called a name to congratulate them on winning the church raffle!!! They won $300+ from the church! Wow, wasn't expecting that.
• I am staying next to Liberty University, from the front of the hotel you can see the big LU on the side of what I guess is "Liberty Mountain" that Doctor Falwell used to talk about.
• Very excited about church, Pastor Dear was right on with his sermon on Sunday. He discussed how we make important decisions when we are voting. If you missed it get a copy.
• CONNECT group still going full speed ahead. Added another table so we can hold 36 in the room. We are averaging over 30 the last 3 weeks, mostly due to the snacks I am sure. Thanks to all class members who are inviting and bringing people. God is pushing me to find more ways for our class to reach out to people who just need christian friends. Angela and I are praying for 2 or 3 more couple who need to get plugged into church and find other christian couple, young and "older" (you know like 40+ years old, LOL)
• Bet I have heard 20 TV commercials for Obama or McCain since I have been writing this. It is going to a long time until November.

Is 1st Baptist Church of Honda, far behind?

this place is going crazy!

I am safely back to the Milwaukee airport waiting for my flight. This weekend is the 105th anniversary of Harley Davidson motorcycles. They expecting 200,000 cycles for this event!!!!

Do you believe that? I knew Harley fans were dedicated but I cannot imagine that many bikers. My hotel was near Lake Geneva 1 hour from Milwaukee, and there were people staying there.

It was exciting to see people crowded on the overpasses waiting for long lines of bikers to pass by. I probably saw a couple hundred, but locals said most are coming in today. They interviewed a couple from Germany who flew to Tampa, Fla, rented a bike and drove all the to Milwaukee to be apart of this event.

I can confirm the cookies on the flight last night were warm and good, but the seat was typical airline seat nothing special. Wonder why they do not offer cold milk with warm cookies? The tickets were 4x the cost to fly into Chicago, so you think they could afford it.

After I got checked in last night (like how I am telling the stories backwards in time?) I went for a walk down by the Lake. Lake Geneva was very nice, some old wooden boats and sailboats on the lake beautiful weather.

The hotel had a patio out back so I stopped and talked to an elderly couple from Chicago. They had just driven up for the day. They like being retired, "Every week has 6 Saturdays and 1 Sunday!" What a great way to look at life, that is how I want to live when I retire!

Watched TV last night, Democratic convention makes me sick, all the speakers talking about good it was when Bill Clinton was in office. It amazes me how blinded people are by there own agenda. They had Obama's campaign manager on the Today show this AM. Matt Lauer asked him 6 questions and the guy never answered one of them!

At least when McCain was at Saddleback forum, he provided straight answers.

McCain better pick a Conservative running mate or he will lose for sure!

Press On! (This the favorite phrase my friend James Page in TN)

on the road again!

Well the travel season for work has started back up. As I write this, I am sitting in the airport waiting to fly to Milwaukee for business. One observation so far, the Columbus airport is a lot less busy then it used to be. I was able to get a parking spot close to the front, the TV monitors that showed departing flights are filled with advertising, no waiting in security line etc. Big change from the past, even flying mid-week.

Over the next two months I go to:

• Milwaukee, WI
• Altavista, VA (next to Lynchburg)
• Chicago, IL
• Casa Grande, AZ
• Sturgis, MI
• Gatlinburg, TN (annual vacation)

I was supposed to go back to Europe in Nov, but since it was going to cost almost $10,000 it got delayed until Jan 2009.

This flight is on Midwest Express, I never flown it before, but I heard every seat is a 1st class seat AND to you warm cookies after take-off! I will give a full report later to confirm this rumor.

Pray for Tyler and Rachel's house to sell or rent. It has been on the market since they got married (this is Tyler's old house) lots are looking but no one is buying. So they decided to rent and use that money to pay the mortgage. Ask Angela or I to tell you the story of a little boy in his class, too sad to put in the blog. Let me say this, HUG YOUR KIDS TONIGHT!

Closing thoughts:

Continue to pray for the church and staff. Our CONNECT group has had over 30 people each of the last two weeks. Pray God will continue to bless, and raise up other leaders to start new classes. There are other exciting things going on at church that will be announced later.

Remember to get your school colors ready. Football starts this week! Go Bucks!

Also, now that regular bloggers have updated there is now a 1 month limit between blogs!

Press On!

Why do parents do this?

I was reading a sports story yesterday about the Fields family who have a 7 year old son named Wrigley. He was going to the Chicago Cubs game yesterday and throwing out the 1st pitch. Why you might ask, well some of you have already figured it out.

The Cubs baseball stadium is called - Wrigley Field, that's right his family named him after a baseball stadium!

I heard also of a boy named, Marvin Gaye Mays, and a girl named Pinkie Fara Fauccett. That is their real names not just nicknames.

When we lived in Tennessee we knew a couple with a son named Rebel and a daughter named Dixie.

What other real people do you know of that have famous names? Reply back in a comment below so all can share.

As much as I hate to do this I need to thank the quarterback of the University of Florida , Tim Tebow. He was part of the team that beat the Buckeyes 2 years ago, won the Heisman Trophy as the top college football player, last year. He is very good.

Every year Playboy magazine honors all of the top college football players for the upcoming season, and Tebow refused to go and participate. Why? Because he is a Christian and believed that would not be good for his testimony! His faith was strong enough to allow him to make the right decision!

So Thank you Tim Tebow! You are a role model for others!

Pray for our "friends" in China.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,405187,00.html


This reminded me to pray for our missionaries who visited with us earlier this year.

Jeff in the Olympics, in case you missed me!

Changes are coming! - updated 9:00 PM

WOW, I bet that got your attention!

Nothing big except I have instituted a new rule for bloggers.

To stay active on my blog list you must update at least every other month! Not too much to ask. So sorry Pastor Wally you are out, and Sean is next, it has been 5 weeks and counting.

A teacher friend of mine told me this week, that during the 1st week of school they collect a form from parents listing many thing, but one thing is food allergies.

One parent put: Sloppy Joe's, yes, their child is allergic to sloppy Joe's, not hamburger or tomatoes or even bread, but somehow when you put them all together it creates something that their little child is allergic to.

Another parent told me their 1st grader had to bring a flash drive to class! Whatever happened to a box of tissues and wet wipes? Times sure have changed.

There is hope!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,402483,00.html

Never forget!

Uneventful week, sort of

• The week started off busy, we still had little Jacob until Tuesday. He is such a smart little guy, I know this because when I walk into the room he always reaches out for me! He is destined for great things, since he is such a good judge of character!!!!

• Pray for Amy and Jason (Jacob's parents), when thy were gone they got married. Angela has invited them to church and lunch tomorrow and they promised the would come. We know God is the only answer for them and are trusting that God will work in their lives.

Rest of week was OK, nothing exciting until Thursday. Memi and JR came because this is the annual Lake Erie fishing trip! The Brandon, Corey and my nephew Blake (the campfire chef mentioned earlier) are there right now. They are having great weather, not too much luck fishing, that we have heard of. One exciting thing happened this morning, something about Brandon was swinging a cutting board and it hit JR?? More details to follow. One of the best things to happen afterward is the video they make of all that happened, if possible I will post here to share with all. and of course since we have 4 cars and a larger truck here now, they are coming tomorrow AM to seal the driveway, we have cars at neighbors and my parents house.

Angela and I went to see the Batman movie, "The Dark Knight". We both loved it, I was surprised that my arm candy (Angela) also really enjoyed it, good moral about right and wrong and ethical decisions we are required to make, and how nothing, no situation should make us do something that goes against what we believe, even if it makes an "outcast". Definitely some Christian themes spread throughout, by accident? maybe, maybe not.


Today, mowed the yard for the 1st time in 2 weeks. some parts still pretty brown, but others needed it, I needed the exercise, so I made it all the way through. Took a shower and watched a movie trying to recuperate. Got up to work on my lesson and I was so sore! If I did that every week I would be OK and probably a lot skinnier.


Looks like Tyler and Rachel will have to rent Tyler's old house, unable to sell it right now. But God may work through that because they may get enough rent to help pay the current mortgage as well! Like all newly married couples more money coming into the pot is always a good thing.

Pray for Kenya Team and their families, good reports so far, but Sunday will be a big day for them I am sure, supposed to come home this Wednesday.

Press On!

Is it time?

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/05/12/activists_push_to_repeal_state_income_tax?s_campaign=8315

Is now the time to repeal the state income tax in Ohio? This article describes a similar effort going on in Massachusetts. It would save a typical tax payer over $3,600 per year there. That is $300 per month for my SEC friends. That would buy a lot of $4.00 per gallon gasoline and $4 gallons of milk.

When we moved here from Tennessee we were shocked at how high the taxes are in Ohio. You see Tennessee does not have any state income tax. Their roads are better than ours and the schools are no worse.

I am not sure how this could get started but I would be happy to sign a petition if someone has started this campaign. My guess is most politicians would be against this because they love to spend our money and instead of trying to find ways to save it, they are always wanting more.

Forbes magazine also just listed the top 10 fastest dying cities, and 4 of 10 were in Ohio! Do you think the residents of those towns could use a tax break?

This may be the year in Massachusetts, why not Ohio also?

Weekend update

It seems like I am getting the habit of updating on the weekend, but that works for me. At least I AM updating unlike some unnamed other bloggers.

Wednesday: Kenya Mission Team left today, 7 people from church will be their doing God's work. Pray for them and their families that are here for protection, wisdom, guidance and strength.

Thursday: Little Jacob came to visit while parents are Las Vegas, he is still here and will not go home until Tuesday. Aunt Angie has been a real trouper because I have not been much help due to ...

Friday: Was the 1st Annual Thomas-Salyer boys night out! We camped out over at the farm. Blake cooked a great dinner over the fire topped off with smores and peach pies, boys went fishing, and we spent a lot of time relaxing. Look for more pictures to show up in the family video. Sleeping in a tent, my 1st time on a loooooong time, went well, Brandon snored louder than me! A good time was had by all.

Saturday: Got up at camp, Corey tried to fillet the fish they had caught, no luck. We still had a great breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, and potatoes. Take Blake with you if you go camping, he is a great campfire chef. Saturday afternoon I had to do a project for work. I have mastered the art of removing labels from cans, I worked until 11:30 PM last night. UGH!

Sunday: Good day at church new couple in our class, met 2 more new young couple after Church. Got a call that my shift was cancelled on the removing labels project, so do not have to work tonight! So I took advantage of the time to make my fantasy football keeper league picks for Tyler's league. FOOTBALL STARTS TONIGHT! Yeah! The Hall of Fame game is on, let the season begin.

Read this article in the paper and it about made me sick.
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/08/03/baptism.ART_ART_08-03-08_B4_61AU3UV.html?sid=101

God please forgive us! Help us to reach these people, soften their hearts towards you!

All for now, getting ready for church and then football!

REDEMPTION!

What a weekend!

Wow, what a whirlwind weekend.

It started on Friday night, with a trip to Genji's Japanese steakhouse, with Tammy, Gary, the twins, Brooklyn, Corey, Brandon, Angela and Big Daddy (me). There is nothing like the look of a child's eyes in a place like this. We were celebrating the twins birthday and they love this type of restaurant. The boys kept asking "where is the fry guy"? before our cook showed up. It was a great show with flipping shrimp, flaming tower of onion rings, and birthday pineapple "boat". A good time was had by all.

Saturday started out uneventful. Corey played in an alumni soccer game for GCA. We went and saw some old friends, had a good time. The Knox's showed up to scout the GCA soccer team, Mike is the soccer coach at Lakewood. Afterwards, we all went to Whit's for some ice cream to cool down, then headed home.

A couple of hours later things got very bad very quickly.

Corey went to the Knox's house after the ice cream while he was there and Amberly fell off the pool ladder and hit her side on the trampoline. She was having trouble breathing and was turning white, so Mike and Kim rushed her to Children's Hospital.

We got to Children's about 10 PM and Pastor Dear was right behind us and George's and Hall's were right behind him (Sam and Amy also came to LMH during the time we were trying to find them.)

To make a long story short, Amberly spent Saturday night in ICU so they could monitor her vital signs. Luckily things are going well, she is eating and has been moved to a regular room until probably Friday. Then 3 months of limited activity while she recovers.

We didn't home until early Sunday AM, but made it to church. Corey fell asleep during prayer time and dreamed that Gracie, 1 of the Thomas family's 3 dogs, jumped on him and he flinched big time. Audrey was sitting next to Corey and she jumped, I was sitting next to her and I jumped!! Luckily we were in the back row and no one saw us.

Spent Sunday afternoon in the Thomas pool trying to relax and get ready for this week.

Thanks to all who prayed for Amberly!! I know Kim and Mike really appreciate it.

Pray for Kenya Mission Trip, we have a group leaving our church this Wednesday.

That's all for now.

Great article about new church Jeff Moore is starting

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/faith_values/stories/2008/07/25/Niche.ART_ART_07-25-08_B6_FIAQF05.html?sid=101


read last 5 paragraphs

Dog days of summer are here!

WOW! It is hot today, and of course I needed to be outside.


Brandon came home today and played in a softball tournament at Geller Park in Heath. Dad and I went and watched for awhile.


I came home after the 1st game and mowed part of the yard. There was a little breeze, but still hot. I came inside and cooled down a little and went back to the ballpark to watch game #3. Brandon did very well hitting the ball but still cannot run, due to his ankle. They were losing game #3 but I needed to work on my lesson for tomorrow, so I came home. Last thing I saw at the game was Brandon hitting a ball to the fence to clear the bases, maybe they came back. They had 1 more game to play. Softball is definitely a young mans game.


NOTE TO SELF: Ask Pastor Dear if he knew one of the teams in the tournament was Heath 1st Baptist! That's where we go, but I did not recognize anyone on the roster.


Tyler called and said the official wedding pictures are on the web at http://www.zackzoeller.com/ anyone can look at them and order any picture you like. Angela and I would be glad to autograph the pictures of us for a small fee, to offset the costs associated with the trip!!! (just kidding, autographs are always free for our blogger friends).


Tomorrow is the Salyer Reunion and Angela has been cooking all day, it is going to be hot again for it, but it only comes once a year and it will good to see some of my cousins, aunts, and uncles.


Angela watched Jacob the other day, here is one of the pics we took.



Finally, my baby brother started his own blog, make sure you check it out on the blog list at the right, it is titled "the other salyer family".


Did I mention it is HOT today? Go to church tomorrow!

New favorite links

Have you ever noticed the column on the right? It has a lot of interesting information. Underneath the blog list are some of my favorite links to websites I use or would recommend.

I added 2 more over the weekend:
Pew Forum - the location on some interesting information about each of the candidates and their views on issues important to Christians

American Family Association - another website that is one of the leading organizations supporting the Christian worldview.

Please take a minute to check them, and all of the others, out!

California burning!

I made it to Fairfield, CA today. As we were coming in for a landing I could see the mountains on fire out the window! It looked like one side was burning and the other side was black, already burned. Luckily this area is flat, lots of farm land, no fires.

BUT it is 107 right now! Very hot, not a dry heat either.

Got a wonderful blessing with my rental car. I got a 2008 Ford Mustang convertible with 180 miles on it! I couldn't believe it, I double checked the name and it was for me! So I put the top down, the AC on full blast and drove about 2 hours from Sacramento to Fairfield.

Flight down was pretty uneventful sat by an elderly couple, had to help the lady with her seat belt, but otherwise no problems. Meetings at the plant start tomorrow!

Later!

Happy 4th of July!

Well, here it is, a cold & rainy day. We are getting ready to to the Thomas's for a cookout and the annual family fireworks display. This year we have over $1,000 worth of fireworks to set off! It will be bigger and better than ever.


I was reflecting on what we are celebrating today and the price that has to be paid for the freedoms and liberties we take for granted. So thank you troops and military people all over the world, thanks for for defending this great country.


I was also thinking about the word "pledge" as in "Pledge of Allegiance". If we really pledge ourselves to something, doesn't that require us to do whatever it takes to fulfill our commitments to God, family, country, etc. It seems like we want to keep our commitments when it is easy for us, or little personal effort is required. But a pledge involves much more.


I was reading Sports Illustrated and there is an article that contains the "Pledge of Success"


Today is a new day, a new beginning.
It has been given to me as new gift.
I can either use it or throw it away.
What I can do today will affect me tomorrow.
I cannot blame anyone but myself if I do no succeed.
I promise to use this day to the fullest by giving my best, realizing it can never come back again.
This is my life and I choose to make it a success.

I wonder how many lives would be changed today if we all took this pledge and then kept it!

I also wonder if we looked back over our lives and could recall all the times we have pledged to do things for God, but bad choices or poor priorities have kept us from fulfilling our commitments.

Why not recommit yourself to being successful in God's plan for your life, then you will have the ultimate success.

Wedding pictures

salyer - benton band

Wedding Bells are ringing!

The Happy Couple! Tyler and Rachel Salyer!

We had a great time and made it home last night. It was a very eventful trip:

• I got sick for over a day
• Our car had a flat tire with a screw in it which caused a flat tire
• Mom and Dad's car overheated and had to be towed. it took a day for them to get a replacement.
• Brandon did not get a shirt for his tux (it was the wrong size when we picked it up and must have been left it there)
• Angela got her hair done by a an ex-oil change technician because it had a 2 quarts of oil in it. Thanks Kim for the rescue.
• The Wedding cake was delivered to the Chapel instead of the reception hall.
• It was very hot, but no rain!
• Tyler and his brothers and Rachel and her sisters surprised us at the reception with a new band see next posting

Angela and I are so glad to welcome Rachel to our family!

Now, this is someone to vote for!

Things I do not get.

1. I don't get why we are using corn for ethanol and people are starving all over the world.
2. I don't get why we rely on people who could care less about us for oil when we have enough right here if we could only drill for it.
3. I don't get why people value animals over real people.
4. I don't get why people think tax cuts are a bad thing, it's my money to start with.
5. I don't get why people didn't call their dad today on Father's Day, I did and my boys called me.
6. I don't get why people who are trying to adopt a baby can have someone change their mind and destroy dreams of people who will love that baby more than anybody else ever could.
7. I don't get why people believe in global warming, GOD is in control, not us. (the temperatures are going down right now not up, tornadoes are caused by cold fronts not rising temperatures, also follow the money and see how people who are scaring us have set themselves up to benefit financially from it, and some of the most famous people who are trying to scare us are making the problem much more worse than I ever could, with their private jets and huge homes).
8. I don't get why people are to full pride to say they are sorry, go rent the Bucket List today!
9. I don't get why people think they can't make a difference in a situation so they just don't try.
10. I don't get why Jesus Christ died for you and me, but I am glad he did.

What week!

It all started last Sunday with Brandon's graduation from The Ohio State University! We are so proud of him, he has a job already at Nationwide financial services!

We had a party to celebrate and a good time was had by all!

• Monday, I left for Chicago for work and it was so cold! Really it only in the 60s at night 70s in the day, but it seemed worse after leaving the 90s. Brandon also hurt his foot at softball and is on crutches! Angela had to take him for an MRI to make sure nothing was torn.
• Thursday, I came home and Brandon left for a wedding in TN, he flew down and Corey is driving down today, so Angela and I are home alone, at least for a few more days.
• I am working from home today, Angela and Tammy went shopping, Pam called and said that Jordan got a concussion at the party! During the football game, at the party see above, she ran into Jeremiah and he gave her a black eye, well she was not feeling well all week, so the doctor confirmed that it was more than a shiner!
• Tyler and Rachel getting house ready to sell and move after the wedding, so that is the next BIG thing during June, then maybe things will slow down?

Character and Integrity

Boys and their toys

Well it's been a while since I updated the life of my 3 sons, so here is the latest.

• Tyler - got his Master's degree, finished teaching his 2nd year of school, getting married to a great women, Rachel (we gain a new daughter-in-law!) at the end of June, is selling his house and buying a new one. And found time to also buy a new car. He is flying up this weekend for Brandon's graduation.




• Brandon - Went canoeing again last weekend, same results, capsized lost the canoe and the oars, but since it was during the daylight, he made it out alive, but very wet. He graduates from OSU this weekend, working for Nationwide Financial, and he bought a motorcycle for the gas mileage.

• Corey - Finished his 3rd year at OSU and is moving back home for the summer, working for Grass Roots landscaping, and he also bought a new to him used car, a Toyota Camry, very nice. Sold the old Jimmy to Jim, sad to see it go, but it was time.

Lord, forgive me if I ever complain again!

Quality conversations

I was reading the blog of Dr. Albert Mohler today and wanted to share the last 2 paragraphs:

..."Join the revolution and refuse the seductions of the mind-numbing allure of all things digital -- at least long enough to think a great thought, hear a great lecture, enjoy a quality conversation (with a real, live face-to-face human being), listen to a great sermon, visit a museum, read a good book, or take in a beautiful sunset.


People who cannot maintain mental attention cannot know the intimacy of prayer, and God does not maintain a Facebook page. Our ability to focus attention is not just about the mind, for it is also a reflection of the soul. Our Christian discipleship demands that we give attention to our attention."

(you can read the whole posting by clicking on his name in the right hand column)

As I read this, the line in BOLD letters (emphasis mine) really jumped out at me. Because I think that is a secret to success in any relationship, being able to have a quality conversation.

No screaming, no yelling, no hidden agendas or finding fault all the time, not acting mad when someone says something (who are you really mad at by the way? But that will be another time.)

Just an honest, non-emotional, high caring, high quality conversation! As I look around me personally and professionally, people who know how to do this have a pretty good life. They seem to ride the storms out much better than those who do not know how to talk to someone important in their life.

I reflect back last week when I went and saw Sam in the hospital, no agenda when I showed up, just wanted to be there for him and encourage him. We had some really good conversations about jobs, education and things that we would have not taken the time to discuss if he had not lying in bed.

Having a quality conversation requires a couple of things:

• It requires that I put my self interest aside
• It requires that I genuinely care about the other person
• It requires that I look for a solution not that I am right or I win you lose
• It requires that I hold my emotions in check
• It requires that I assume the other person has good intentions until proven wrong
• It requires that I apologize when needed, sometimes I am the problem
• It requires that I forgive when ask, and not hold grudges

Because as Dr. Mohler says above, (Salyer paraphrase) if we cannot focus on each other and pay attention to the relationships we have with the people in our lives, it has to be hard to turn the "attention" switch on and pay attention to God when he is trying to speak to us.

Angela and I have really improved on this since we got married (27+ wonderful years), but I guess that is one of the things that makes our marriage great, the ability to talk and listen to each other.

Sure we still disagree and make mistakes (mostly on my end), she knows I love her and I know she loves me and that is the result of the best conversation of all. The conversation we have with God about each other, our boys, family members, church members, and friends.

Those conversations are called prayers and they are the best of conversations of all.

Busy Day on Saturday

This is how may day started with Angela and the kids making breakfast

Then we went to their ballgames

Where Angela also got to see little Jacob!

Next we got to see Brandon's latest purchase

Finally we took pictures of Corey and Audrey on their way to the Prom

A great day!

Do not sell your soul on eBay

Tyler sent me a book to read, "I sold my soul on eBay". It is written by an atheist of all things who thought he would prove some kind of point by attending church(s) designated by the person who won an eBay auction for his soul.

So I took Pastor Noel's advice and have actually been turning the TV off (at least turning the sound off if the Indians are playing) and reading.

The book ended up being a review of several church services and how they could be changed to attract people like him. As I read the book, it became clear quickly that this guy was never going to find what he was looking for, proof that God exists. He was looking for the wrong thing! When people come to Christ it is because they are looking to develop a personal relationship with Him through faith, not worldly proof.

Tyler and I agreed this is typical today of too many people who attend church for the wrong reasons. They want to know about God, instead of really knowing Him on a personal level and having faith that He knows how to run your life better than you do.

I continue to be amazed at people who view themselves compared to others instead of against what is right and wrong. They think "well I am better than this person because they did this", or they ask "why are you getting on me about my lifestyle when (insert family member or Church attenders name here) has also done things wrong".

WAKE UP! We are all accountable for what we do. I will have to stand in judgement one day and answer to God about what I did or did not do with my life. Guess what, I cannot use someone elses shortcomings to justify mine. I can only answer for myself and what I have done, not compare myself to others. Our comparision is to Christ and we all come up way short.

Dreary day (revised)

Angela made it to Memphis. She was delayed awhile in Columbus due to the storms between here and Chicago but finally got off the ground around 6:30 PM. Her flight from Chicago to Memphis was right on time. She called about 11:45 PM to let me know she was with Tyler and Tammy. I slept good knowing she was safe.

Headed to Columbus for lunch with Brandon and Corey.

Updated Sunday 5:00 PM

The boys and I ate lunch at On The Border by Easton, food = A+, salsa = C-, Turtle empandas for dessert = A+++++++++++++++

We then went and saw the new movie "Iron Man", very good!!! If you like sci-fi comic book characters made into movies, this was very good. When the movie was over the guy said we should stay and watch the last scene. Apparently, this type of movie has a scene after all of the credits, so of course we stayed. A short scene came on and Nick Fury asked Iron Man to join SHIELD.

Now I like these kind of movies but this guy next to Corey yelled out "YES" and scared me to death. So he was a much bigger nerd than me. Guess I need to add Iron Man comics to my reading list to get caught up on the plot lines.

When I got home I started scanning by parent's old slides into my computer. My mom is on a major house cleaning crusade so I wanted to make a digital copy of the family history so my sons and their kids can get a sense of what the "good old days looked like".

Here is an example: That's me in the yellow shirt several years ago. Mom and Dad and my brother Jim. Do not know what mom ate that made her face look that way!

70+ slides done, 200+ to go.


Finally I added "clustermap" on the right side ------------------->
If you click on it, you can find out where people are located when looking at the blog.
(Click on the map again after the website opens up for more detail.)

It snowed today!

I just wanted a record for my grandchildren (yes, they will read this one day) that on April 22, the year of our Lord 2008 it snowed in Newark, Ohio.

I came down this AM and looked out and could not believe that the ground was covered. Angela said when she came downstairs at 5:30 AM the snow flakes were huge.

The cars had about 0.5" (that's 1/2 inch to my southern friends) of wet heavy snow on them.

Tinker started out, tried to turn around and come back in but I made him go on out. He could not believe it either.

I cannot remember ever having a snow this late before. The temp was around 35 degrees, so I am sure it will not last.

Amazing, where is Spring??????????

Bibles in schools

There is a big problem going on not far from here.

About 30 miles north of Newark there is a town called Mount Vernon. There is a middle school teacher named Freshwater who is in the news for not removing his Bible from his desk after his principal told him to.

This has been going on for about a week and the devil is pulling out all the stops. Since this 1st broke the liberal media in Columbus has said things like (I am paraphrasing):

• He has "branded" kids with a cross on their arms as part of a "healing" service.
• He was really a bad teacher anyway and needed to go
• He is linked with other radical conservatives who pray and protest things that are against the mainstream worldview

While others on christian radio say:

• Freshwater was teacher of the year last year, so how bad could he be?
• He is only being singled out due to his standing up for what is right.
• He has already complied with the schools request to remove scripture verses from his room
• The school board cannot back down due to pressure from outsiders, like the ACLU

What do I think?

I think this is another example of how the devil is using liberal organizations to chip away at the Christian worldview. I don't know all of the details, I am sure there are half truths and exaggerations to make this poor guy look bad. I thank God he is taking a stand for what is right. The news is reporting that several hundred students in that school are bringing their Bibles to school as a show of support. The TV video showed many kids with homemade tee shirts with crosses and slogans of support.

I think we need to pray for strength and support for Freshwater. God knows his heart and his motives. Once again, due to the controversy people have had to take a stand, and it looks like people in small rural town in Ohio have taken a stand for what is right.

We all need to take a stand and pray that God will give us the courage to do what is right if we are ever faced with a situation like this.

1974

I was over at my parents house today, helping them clean out closets and I found my senior year book from 1974 when I graduated from Newark Senior High school (I know I do not look that old).

It must be something I must have bought or got because the book has no pictures of anything from the school, just generic places to record things. Some of the interesting things I wrote down:

• A coke costs $0.20
• A hamburger = $0.28
• Large pizza = $2.90
• movie = $2.25
• Gasoline = $0.45 per gallon!!!!!!!!!!!
• Rock concert = $5
• Record = $4 (who remembers those?)
• Tapes = $5 (Who else remembers these?)
• 4 year goal = have a Bachelor of Science degree = complete, even though it took 5 years
• Long Term goal -= married and get a good job = Success on both counts
• After school hangouts - Gym, Frischs and Lums
• Best half hour program = "Happy Days"
• Best 1 hour program = "Banacek, Kojak, Kung Fu"
• Best new show = "All in the family"
• Best new commentator = Jon Chancellor - NBC news
• Best sports coverage = 1972 Olympics
• Worst commercial= Mrs. Olsen Folgers coffee
• Favorite album = Seals and Crofts - Diamond Girl
• Favorite songs = American band, Diamond Girl, Jesus is just alright with me.
• Pet = Susie, my poodle, who bit Angela the 1st time she came to our house!

Brinner

Angela and I were watching TV last Thursday. The Office was great and we were waiting for ER to come on and didn't want to change the channel. so we started watching the show "Scrubs".

One of the characters used a new word, Brinner, which stands for Breakfast for Dinner. Now most of you may know that word or have already used it, but for me it was new.

Well last night we actually had Brinner and it was great!! Eggs, bacon, biscuits, and Uncle Bob's (Evans) gravy. You cannot go wrong with that.

I have always loved breakfast, Bob Evans is my favorite place to eat out. Since it is not Angela's we don't eat there often, but when we do I love it.

So I was wondering if you have dinner for breakfast would it be - deckfast? dinfast?

We already know what what you call breakfast for lunch - Brunch. Many places have that, especially on Sundays.

What about lunch for dinner, would that be - linner? lunner?

I have waited my whole life for something to make my millions, maybe I should copyright those words and wait for the checks to roll in.

What do you think?

Religion, Culture and Society

It has been an interesting week all around the world.

• People are protesting the Olympic flame in the name of religious persecution
• 400+ children were taken from a compound where they were subjected to multiple marriages and forced sex on young girls in the name of a perverted religion
• The Bible was named the #1 book in the world.
• Non-evangelical seminary's are being forced to close due to financial pressures due to low enrollment. (click on Albert Mohler link on right)

Too many times people continue to look for answers in themselves or find a religion that matches what they believe so they will not have change anything.

I was reading Romans 12 today preparing for the lesson on Sunday and I cannot get past the first 2 verses (The Message translation).

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.

Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.

Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. "

How many times are we dragged down by our family, friends and co-workers into a culture we want nothing to do with? Way too many, if you ask me. We need to rise above it, with God's help and be the beacon of hope, to those who would drag us down with them. We need to resist things that society says are OK and stand up for what is right. We need to guard our minds and not let things enter that tempt us to do the wrong thing.

Now the hard part, self examination. Some people have a very hard time really looking at themselves in a critical way. They think they are fine and never want to challenge themselves and even consider the possibility that something in their life may NOT be good for them, their spouse or their kids. They are so focused on their own world, even thinking that the whole world revolves around them. An easy test is to think how many time today did you say the word "I" today?

In my job I teach people on how to change the culture in their organizations. Culture is made up of 3 things:

1. Behaviors
2. Beliefs
3. Rules

Take out a piece of paper and draw 2 lines on it to make 3 columns. Label each column with one of the labels above. Start with the "Beliefs" column, write down everything you believe to be true about your Christan walk, next write down all of the "Rules" you believe in things God had convicted you that you should not do, and finally. fill in the "Behaviors" column, what do I do with my free time, watch on TV, spend my money, etc. and then compare it with the other 2 columns. There may be some "Behaviors = things we do" that do match what we "Believe" or "Rules" we want to follow.

Then pick something on your list, pray for wisdom and guidance on how to change yourself to be more pleasing to God. Then we can be "Salt and Light" in the world, that is the culture we all need to help create.

We may never change the whole world, but we can change our corner of it!