Catching up

A few people at church asked me to provide an update on what's going on.

• As you can tell from the pictures on the last post, we had a great time in Nashville!
• It was good to see Tyler and Rachel. They are very busy with Tyler starting his new program for future education leaders, never did find out the exact name. This invitation only program will allow him to go into administration, without having his Doctorate.
• They still find time to enter, and win, a big BBQ cooking contest last weekend. 1st in Sauce, 3rd in ribs and shoulders. Tyler was very excited since this was the largest competition with 15 teams entered. Their team name is Big Mouth Smokers. you can see pics on FB.
• Think the next time they come up I might get him to cook for our CONNECT group, will draw a big crowd for sure!
• Brandon has moved to Kansas to be with his fiance Julie. They went to a church yesterday that Julie picked. It was small and very different, they were swarmed by the people when they arrived and had to sit through a 2 hour sermon that was very repetitive. Brandon made it clear that next week, he is picking the church!
• Brandon also called last week and asked to think about getting my ministers license and officiating their wedding!!! I felt very honored and humbled they would think of me. Angela thought it was funny. Stay tuned to see how this works out. I would do it, but want to talk to Pastor Dear and get his advice.
• Corey started deer hunting Saturday AM. It is bow season, but so far has not seen any bucks. He is still looking for a job, but is leaning to going back and get his Masters degree in some type of occupational or speech therapy type of area.
• Angela out did herself yesterday when we had 2 couples over after church for lunch. Great meal and two super desserts. We had such a good time, the couples didn't leave until after 5, and didn't finish cleaning up till after 6 PM. Hated to miss church but time just flew by and we had been trying to meet with these couples for a long time.
• Things for me are going great, traveling to Canada next week for a few days. Work is work, thankful for my job.
• Started a new CONNECT group yesterday on Spiritual Discernment. As I study it is reminding me that if cannot spiritually discern right from wrong, we begin to backslide in our faith. If we are not maturing in our faith, it only makes sense that we moving backwards. There is no standing still. I am looking for to the next 12 weeks, not too late to join us any Sunday 9:30 AM.
• CONNECT Group was almost full, not sure if it was due to the teacher or the fact Angela made the breakfast. Our class motto, "The teaching may be mediocre, but the snacks are great!" came true again, I guess next week will be the test.
• That's all for now, better get back to work, 1st meeting not until 11:00 AM.

Pressing On!

Jeff

Our weekend in Nashville, Tn -

Rachel's Fantasy Football tip of the week

Just got off the phone with Tyler and he let me in on Rachel's secret for picking her starting players this week.

She has 3 running backs on the roster, but can only play 2 of them. How to choose?

She looked at their pictures, but "they all looked like thugs".

So she wrote each name on a post it note, put it on the floor, put a dog treat on each one. The 1st 2 dog treats that Dodger, the dog, ate was who gets to start this week.

That is some of the most creative thinking I have ever heard, you can see why she is daughter in law #1!!

The Ant and The Grasshopper (from Angela)

OLD VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

MODERN VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.' Acorn stages a demonstration in front of the ant 's house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Rev. Jeremiah Wright then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake. Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar. The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ants food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2010.

Women and Fantasy Football

First I must say that love my Daughter in law Rachel, she will always be #1 in our hearts. Today she entered her first Fantasy football draft. Tyler sent me her picks and more importantly her reasons for making the selection.

This is from Tyler,

"She would either tell me the position or players she wanted and then I'd pick 3-5 for her to choose from. Please enjoy the following:

1. Larry Fitzgerald- He has long hair.
2. Reggie Wayne- Peyton Manning throws him the ball (and he wasn't available).
3. Kurt Warner- She knew him. Said he looked nice and is a Christian.
4. T.J Houshmandzadeh- His name is impossible to spell. This intrigues teachers.
5. LenDale White- Because he plays for the Titans. (they live in Tennessee)
6. Owen Daniels- I told her to get him.
7. Cedric Benson- His picture looks like he just got out of jail. Maybe he’ll run like he stole something?
8. New England- Best available def.
9. Ahmad Bradshaw- She mainly liked his name but thought he looked nice compared to the others.
10. Tim Hightower- He has nice braids.
11. Domenik Hixon- Looks “friendly.”
12. Kerry Collins- Even though she thought his picture looked like someone who was on the Tennesee state registry she picked him because he played for the Titans.
13. Nate Washington- Plays for the Titans.
14. Adam Vinatieri- The only kicker on the list she knew.
15. Joshua Cribbs- Even though he looked like he was just out of prison, he still looked more clean cut than Cedric Benson. Plus if she took Michael Vick then Dodger (their dog) would have been mad."

I must admit she did pretty good, I may have to change my strategy next year. Good Luck Rachel!

another 2 blogs added to those I am following

check out owen strachan's blog and Pastor Dear's "My Mornings" blogs on the left.

New Blog Added to blog list on left

I am not big on advertising, but I ran across a blog for Lynd's Fruit Farm. I got some peaches there last week that were really good.

Check it out! If you find a good recipe and need a taste tester, let me know, am I pretty good at it!! LOL

I can provide references!!!