Things I don't get - July 2009 edition

1. Why have over a million people requested tickets to the Michael Jackson memorial service? He may have been a great singer in the 80's, but what he turned into in the 90's was not good.
2. Why was Steve McNair, football player who was killed over the weekend, living in an apartment with a 20 year old girlfriend, when he was still married?
3. Why can't Sarah Palin get a break? When she runs for office, she gets slammed by the media, when she resigns, she gets slammed by the media. Can't they just leave her alone?
4. Why do people think the government can run any thing. Look at all the entitlement programs and how expensive them have become. So why is the government running General Motors, Chrysler, and all the bad banks? Can someone name one thing the government runs that is on or below budget?
5. Why are people surprised at the rising cost of health care? New drugs and equipment costs money, things like MRI machines and CAT scans were not around 20 years ago, so of course cost more now than they used to.
6. Why do some people blindly follow preachers today without checking them out, and see if they are preaching biblical truth?
7. Why some people think things like the Bible and the Constitution need to change with the times. These are two things that never need to change.
8. Why some people think if they believe it that it is true?
9. Why some people are doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again
10. Why Jesus died for me, but he did!

Fireworks finale for 2009

or what $300 in 30 sec looks like!

God Bless the USA!

Could this be coming to a church near you?

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Tribute to Queen Angela

I just wanted to show everyone Angela's flowers, She spends at least an hour each night dead heading and watering them. I think they are looking very good!

"Things happen in 3s"

I can remember growing up, and my mom always told me things happen in threes. As I look around me I wonder if it's true? Anyone else ever heard of that? Recent examples that come to my mind.

Celebrity deaths: Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.

Family illness: Pam, Jeff and Brooklyn

I had 3 different roommates when I was in the hospital

Reflecting back on the celebrity's that passed away, Michael Jackson's seemed to have oddest life. He almost seem to have 3 phases: the early Jackson 5 years, the 1980s when he was at his peak of popularity (his Thriller album is the highest selling album of all time with 104 million sold), and finally the weird years when he had plastic surgery, turned his skin white, had legal problems with little kids, and almost went broke.

Farrah Fawcett was made famous by the 1st Charlies Angels TV show, not sure if she did anything else, but she mastered flipping her long hair and I think was the 1st person to have teeth brightened super white (not sure about that one). She was also famous for a poster that at the time was very daring, but today would seem pretty tame.

Ed McMahon became famous, I guess, saying "Here's Johnny" for the Tonight Show for many years. He was one of the first famous pitchmen, of all time. He was Billy Mays in the 197os.

My work is going well, back to full time for the last 2 weeks, getting up to speed. Got the results back of my latest blood test and is was normal! Follow up with Doctor Kaufman this Monday. Probably about 90% back to normal.

Angela's sister Pam have thyroid cancer surgery right now. Prognosis is good, but she will have a long next couple of weeks getting over this. The Thomas family could use some good news, all three of their kids broke up with boyfriends or girl friends recently. Lot's of drama at the time, but think Blake and Bern are back together.

Brandon missing Julie who is touring Europe for a month, Tyler applied for a leadership program that will give him a head start on becoming an administrator in the school system. Corey and Audrey doing fine.

That's all for now, follow the updates on Twitter at the top left for the latest.

Americans Increasingly Skeptical of Obama's Pledge of Fiscal Discipline as Deficit Grows - Political News - FOXNews.com

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Health-Care Myths

Health-Care Myths

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God versus Nature

When people get sick, is it because they did something wrong?

When I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer someone told me I got it from my diet and lifestyle. They said they have found the secret to being healthy by avoiding animal protein and eating only plant protein. So in essence it was my fault that I had cancer.

I told them, I did not believe that. That my God doesn't hide his truths in nature around us. God has a plan for me and everyone else, and my path included having cancer. They did not produce any scripture to back up their claim, which also makes me leery.

I didn't want to keep it going, but I thought about asking them things like:

• So if I eat this special diet, I'll never get sick again? Will I live forever?
• If I do stay healthy, does God get the glory or the diet?
• Since God really loves me, why would he "hide" the secret of health in nature around me?
• What scripture backs up your claims? Just because we want something to be true, does not make it so.

Believe me, I understand the value of eating a balanced diet with more fruits and vegetables. I can do a better job in this area, I admit. I do believe our diet and lifestyle can lead to certain types of illness, but not across the board as blanket statement.

So I believe God causes or allows things to happen in our lives for a variety of reasons. I have been able to testify of God's goodness that helped me through this last month to many unsaved people.

So as we live our lives, we need to look to God first, and nature second. When something bad happens ask God to deliver you, not Mother Nature.

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" Hebrews 4:16

Prayer Requests: Sister in law Pam - thyroid cancer, Messick family with the passing of Don Messick yesterday.

Back to work

I started back to work yesterday. Working half days all week to get my strength back. I didn't know how tired I was yesterday when I got home, but while reading the paper I fell asleep for an hour. Felt good when I woke up, yesterday was the most active day in a long time.

Everyone at work was glad to see me, it was good to see them as well. Several co-workers from Chicago also called to check in. I work with a great group of people and I am very thankful for my job.

Things with recovery still going very well, just still a little sore around incision when I bend over or move quickly. Continue to pray for Pam, Angela's sister, cancer back in her thyroid and lymph nodes. Sees Surgeon at OSU week after next.

Brandon and Corey still playing lots of softball, wish I could go, but have trouble sitting on hard seats. Corey still looking for job. Tyler did well in 1st BBQ contest in Jackson, TN last weekend. He called today and someone offered to sponsor him this weekend, if he came back for another contest! He is so excited, can Food TV Network be far behind? We need to get Angela there to compete in the dessert contests.

Only interesting thing that is happened is Gary went to the auction last week, he bought about 40 Dept 56 houses. They are porcelain collectibles, that people display around the house. Problem is, they don't collect them, not sure why he bought them other than he got a "good deal" on them. Tammy was not happy, so he is trying to sell them. If interested me a call and I will give you their phone number.

Pressing on! In Christ Alone!

part of the healing process

Angela has officially taken over my recovery. Last night after she got off work, we went outside and cleaned all of the windows. I manned the hose and held the ladder while she climbed the ladder. She claimed the cleaning windows was all part of the healing process. Funny, Doctor Kaufman never mentioned that.

I am also back to doing laundry and dishwasher, just have to careful not to pick up something heavy.

Afterwards, we ate a Brew's cafe in Granville and then to Whit's for my reward for helping. Tammy joined us for dinner in her new Lexus, very nice!! If the Lord would bless us with a new car, I am sure we can find a way it use it in some ministry or something. Just thankful that our cars are in running well right now.

Watched the storm last night, the lightening was pretty cool.

Going for a walk, God is good!

2 weeks ago ...

2 weeks ago today was my surgery.

I am amazed and thankful how fast the time has gone by. Tomorrow is a big day, back to the doctor for catheter ("little friend" referred to in an earlier post) removal! It will the next big step in my recovery.

Just finished reading "The Blind Side" by Michael Lewis. It is a book I thought I would like because it is a true story based on the life of Michael Oher, who overcame being a homeless inner city Memphis kid to 1st round draft choice in the NFL. He was helped a lot by a white family who took him in and let him live with their family during high school and made him part of the family.

From living in Jackson, TN, I recognized many of the places and schools mentioned in the book. I was hoping the book would have dealt more on the spiritual side of his development. The only mention of Christ is on page 283 out of 293 pages total. When asked why Michael was not a more vocal voice for Christ, someone from the high school, Briarcrest Christian School, quoted

Exodus 6:12: "But Moses said in the LORD's presence: "If the Israelites will not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am such a poor speaker?"

That was all, nothing else, and very little by Michael Oher himself. Not what I thought it would be, but I guess the story is still being written.

Book did have a little other NFL information that interesting, but reading it once was enough. Be glad to let someone else read my copy to save you from spending your money on it.

Memorial Day

Spent the day watching "Band of Brothers" on the History Channel. It is the story of Easy Company from the 101st Airborne Divsion based in WWII. It was a 10 part HBO series that followed a group of men from boot camp to the end of the war. I had recorded it on my DVR and had been watching it throughout the weekend.

Mom and Dad came over and stayed for dinner, Dad brought macaroni salad and pineapple upside down cake. I told him I like his upside down cake because Angela does not make it, that's why he brought it, not sure about the macaroni salad, not a big fan.

Corey and Angela cooked steak and shrimp on the new grill, very good!!!! Used some of Tyler's seasonings on the steak, all I can say is best tasting I have have had in a long time. I think I got my appetite back yesterday for sure. Just finishing up when the doorbell rang and some families from chruch brought over some leftovers from shrimp boil they had!!! So that will be dinner tonight, can't wait. Need to get my "little friend" out so I can start walking and getting my energy back.

Knox's came over later and brought a card and a plant, looks like a rose bush tree, cannot wait for it to grow out some. Looks pretty already, thanks Mike for planting it.

Some reason got up very early today, need to take a nap before the big Cavs game tonight!

What a week!

It has been crazy around here this week. I got home last Sunday and have slowly felt better everyday. My energy peaks about 2 PM then I take a nap and then I am pretty good until 9 to 10 PM. I really think the Juven helped me heal faster. No one can believe I came home from the hospital with no pain medicine. God is good.

Not coughing much today, best night was last night in a few days. Getting more active, loaded the dishwasher last night. Increasing gradually is the key, they say.

Amy just called and Brooklyn is coming home today! She has to have a full body bone scan next week to make sure they know where all of the infection is. Jakob has been here for a while, but goes home today! He is so cute, but it is hard to have a little one around for this long of a time, I know Angela is exhausted and will sleep good tonight.

Time for a shower, enjoy the Memorial Day weekend and remember those who paid the ultimate for our freedom!

Thank a veteran today, fly your flag this weekend!

Pressing On! In Christ Alone!

Thursday Update

Every day is getting a little better. Still have a nagging cough, but no fever or pain. Go back to Doctor tomorrow to get staples out.

Pray for my niece Amy's little girl, Brooklyn. She complained of soreness in her leg, and to make a long story short, tomorrow at 9 AM she will be having a biopsy on her leg. More to come later

As part of my recovery I had promised myself to catch up on my reading. I finished my 1st book today, "Quiet Strength" by Tony Dungy. Tony is a strong christian man who has had success as a football coach in the NFL. Even if you do not like football, I think you will like this book. Just like us he and his family struggle with life sometimes. This book shows how his faith has sustained him.

Favorite quotes:
"God's definition of success is really one of significance-the significant difference our lives can make in the lives of others. This significance doesn't show up in win-loss records, long resumes, or the trophies gathering dust on our mantels. It's found in the hearts and lives of those we've come across who are in some way better because of the way we lived."

"And so we press on. We press on with our memories, our hearts buoyed by a God us and want us to know Him deeply. We press on with our sense that life's not always fair. And we press on with the knowledge -and assurance- that even though we can't see all of God's plan, He is there, at work and in charge, loving us. We press on with the conviction that even though we don't deserve the gifts and blessings we've been given, He gives them anyway. We press on into an abundant life on earth, followed by an eternity with God"

"We got it all"

While no one wants to hear they have cancer, after surgery this is what you DO want to hear. Friday night Doctor Kaufman came in with the good news. The cancer was contained to my prostate gland, nothing spread to lymph nodes. With that past I can now focus on my recovery.

Some of the "memorable" moments since last Wednesday:

• Surgery on Thursday went pretty well, got back to the room in the afternoon.
• Was not in a lot of pain, so I was surprised when the nurse came in and told me the more I hit the morphine pump (a wonderful invention I might add), the smaller the dose that comes out. I couldn't figure it out, I had only hit it 2 times, so I could take a nap, all day. After she left everyone started laughing and told me, Corey had been helping me out by hitting the button for me! No wonder I was feeling good!!!
• Food was interesting, ice chips on Thursday, all liquids on Friday (think bland pureed baby food), and regular food on Saturday home on Sunday. My brother in law John added "Royal Red Robin burger", from Red Robin to the whiteboard in my room under "Type of Diet"as motivation to get out of the hospital. You will have to ask Donna and Michael George what they added to my diet.
• Amazed at all who stopped by to visit, [note to self, buy Billy Andrews map of Columbus.] Must have been 20 people over the 4 days. THANK YOU!
• Tammy and Gary's car got hit from the back while coming over to see me. Not much damage, but Tammy was shook up a little. Since that is the same car that someone backed into when Corey was driving, might be time to get rid of it. Never heard of a car being an accident magnet, this one might be the first.
• Tyler and Rachel drove all night Wednesday to be with us, Tyler me us in the parking lot when we first arrived a the hospital. Later during the weekend they went to dinner with Angela, and Rachel got up to leave and almost knocked knocked a lady walking past the table. The lady almost ended up in Angela's lap!

That's all for now, getting tired, so will post more later

Pressing on, in Christ alone!

Counting down

Just got the call from Mount Carmel and they moved the surgery up tomorrow. I have to be there at 5:45 AM with the Surgery at 7:45 AM. In a way I am glad, so we can get this done and begin the recovery. I adjusted the countdown clock on the left to reflect the correct starting time. It feels strange that it is almost here. Seems like only yesterday that I found out I have prostate cancer. God has been good to keep me busy these last few weeks.

Today is "clear liquid diet" day, and I am starved! Wish I could have a Royal Red Robin burger or a large beef, bean and cheese sopapilla, but there will be plenty of time for that. Angela even made some Angie Bars and Marshmallow Puffs for the boys, but nothing for me today, except my Juven. I guess my diet starts today and will last for at least a few more days.

Still getting cards, e-mails, and calls of support, one of my best friends in TN called last night and prayed with me. Very humbling, but I am thankful for all my friends, coworkers, and church people who are thinking of me.

Pray tonight for Doctor Kaufman and the others that will be with me in the Operating Room tomorrow.

Pressing on!

42 Hours

As I write this, it is about 42 hours before my surgery. it is getting down to hours, not weeks or days, until I go in to Mount Carmel East, for my 1st hospital stay ever.

today is my last day of work, so everyone is coming by and telling me good luck, or giving me hugs, and telling me they will miss me. I keep telling them I will be back in 4 weeks, but that can be a long time.

Tomorrow I will be working from home, clear liquids all day, no Angela desserts for awhile, as I prepare for surgery.

Stocked up on some books to read during my downtime. Jim Tressel, Tony Dungy, Charles Stanley books I have been wanting to read for awhile. Thanks to Julie for the gift card, I got 3 books with it.

I heard about a new Darryl Strawberry book just coming out. How Christ changed his life and got him back on the right path. Have to get that one later.

Also, been recording some shows on my DVR to watch later. Also, have some DVD Civil War programs I want to watch. I am sure the 1st few days I'll be moving pretty slow and taking it easy.

Happy Birthday to Donna Sipes in TN and Gail Leiber in Chicago!

Happy college Graduation to my favorite niece Jordan this weekend, your Aunt Angie and I are proud of you, we would be there if we could.

Pressing on! For my self proclaimed theme Song click here

Back home

Drive home from Michigan had a little drama. The guys from the plant at Sturgis, MI told me of a better way home. I went through Fort Wayne, IN and then took State Route 30 from there to upper sandusky, Ohio and picked up state route 23. What they did not tell me was there were no gas stations for 200 miles on that road!!!

1st the Range to Empty changed to "low", the gas tank started blinking "E", never a good thing. I could not find a gas station anywhere!!

Finally, found one and put 19.99 gallons of gas in the car!! Not sure how big the tank is, but I think it is 21 gallons, but the good Lord was with me.

Tonight, our CONNECT group went to the Montgomery Inn and then the Coldstone Creamery, we had 14 people go and had a great time. (Ask Penny Gierling about her leftovers). Thank you to whomever bought Angela and my dinner tonight, that was super nice and greatly appreciated.

Angela making snacks for our class tomorrow, so the pressure is off for the my lesson to be good. I don't know if I ever posted my class motto:

"The teaching may be mediocre, but the snacks are great!" To tell the truth I borrowed that from my old SS teacher in Jackson, TN, Brent Lay.

Call your mom tomorrow, it is Mother's day.

Pressing on!

Thursday = surgery, life will never be the same.

Time getting close

As you can tell by the countdown clock, it is about a week to my surgery date. I am trying not to get nervous, but it is getting harder everyday. Nervous is not the right word, but anxious describes it better.

I continue to be amazed by all the people who have sent notes of encoragement, connected with Randy Schmidt again and he put my name on his pray list at his church. I was in Chicago yesterday for meetings and several co-workers came up to me and asked how I was doing and mentioned they were praying or thinking about me.

I started taking Juven, which is a product we make for people recoverying from surgery. A coworker went through a major operation and she started taking it a week before and a week after. She said her recovery time was very quick and gave me some to try (it comes in packets that you mix with water). I'll let you know if I think it has helped afterward.

Family doing ok, Brandon and Julie went to see Tyler and Rachel in Memphis last weekend. Corey and Audrey went to prom last weekend. He was driving Tammy's Mercedes and a lady backed into the car! He was upset when he called me, did about $600 worth of damage. Angela started back to tanning bed again, looking good!

New family member, my baby brother Jim is a grandfather! Ryan Lee Salyer was born 9:09 AM on 5/5 to Nate and Beth, Congrats to all! 8.2 lbs and 20.4 inches long.

Don't forget Mother's Day is Sunday.

Pressing ON!

When it rains to pours

God has a great way to keep me from worrying about my surgery, he keeps me busy with other things. In the last 10 days:

1. The hot water tank broke
2. The garage door broke
3. The garbage disposal broke
4. Gave blood for my surgery
5. Gave blood for my surgery
6. Had Pre- op testing with my family doctor
7. Moved more of Aunt Rhoda's stuff to Chapel Grove
8. Went for 2 mile walk 3 times
9. Mowed the yard
10. Fixed the garage door opener
11. Got the oil changed in my car
12. Went to funeral home for Polly Branham

So, as you can see it has been a busy time. I cannot believe how fast time is going.

Yesterday I learned the term for giving blood for yourself, autologous donor, where you donate blood to yourself. Marvin the technical was pretty good, it only took about 6 min for me to donate a unit of blood. We talked about pizza and he mention the best pizza in Columbus is classic pizza, have to look it up.

No other problems, by my nurse from my health insurance called to go over my upcoming surgery, very nice, said she would pray for me. I now have 3 nurses, at least working for me:

• Doctor Kaufman's nurse
• The nurse for the Abbott leave center
• The nurse from my insurance
• so if I have a question, I really should be able to get an answer somewhere!

When I talked to Dr. Kaufman's nurse this week, I asked about why they did not order a bone scan. She said my Gleason Score was not high enough. The Gleason score is used to help evaluate the prognosis of men with prostate cancer. Mine was low enough where a bone scan was not needed.

Went to the funeral home last night, Audrey Knox, Corey's girlfriend, grandmother died. The queen and I ate dinner at Clay's Cafe in Hebron. I had Stromboli and she had pizza, both very good. I remember that place as kid. We would go there sometimes for the ice cream as a treat, think it was called something else. We will go back, recommend it.

Better get to work on this deary Friday.

Pressing on!

Pre-op testing

Today I went back to my family doctor for my pre-operation testing. Since I had most of the tests only 2 months ago I only needed to redo a few things. Like blood tests.

I am not bad when it comes to needles, really don't mind them too much. I give blood regularly when the Red Cross blood drive comes to work. Two things i do know about myself are:

1. I have the best blood type = A+, like a grade in school
2. I have deep veins

I tried to tell the phlebotomist that, and that everyone has the best luck on my right arm. Well of course she tried the left arm, and did not hit the vein. UGH@! Nothing came out. That's when I get a little nervous. Are they going to try and move it around in there trying to find the vein? That hurts when they do that.

Luckily she pulled the needle out and went to the right arm and hit it right away. Wish she would have listened to me the first time.

Talked to Dr. Campbell, who must be all of 30, about what had happened since the first PSA test. He was very supportive, took a lot of time and we talked about many things that I will be facing over the next month. He took his time and stayed there until I had no more questions. I told him he is the one who got the ball rolling during my physical, told him the story of how God is working in this. I like him, if you need a family doctor, I recommend him.

Rest of day we moved more of Aunt Rhoda's stuff to Chapel Grove, then took her to Olive Garden. Angela had picked her up at 11 AM and they had been at her house all day cleaning and pitching stuff out.

Praise Report: My mom went out to eat! Her and dad went to Garfield's after her therapy. She even got her nails done. Hope this means she is turning the corner.

Keep praying for sister in law Pam and her thyroid.

Pressing On! In Christ Alone!

Weekly update and prayer request

Please pray for my sister in law, Pam. The 1st report from her surgery was no cancer, but as she was being released from the hospital, the Doctor told her they did find cancer in the part of the thyroid they removed.

As you can imagine, this is a frustrating and confusing time. She goes to an oncologist in a couple of weeks so pray the god's grace and mercy will continue to be with her and her family.

As for me I have my pre-op testing this week and have to give more blood. So pray for my strength to hold up.

Pressing on! In Christ Alone!

How popular is your name?

I found this website very interesting, thought others may enjoy.

http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager#prefix=&ms=false&sw=f&exact=false

Take this poll

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/god-and-country/2009/4/23/poll-was-miss-california-right-to-express-opposition-to-gay-marriage.html

1st Aid 1st

I was talking to a Christian friend at work today about my cancer and he relayed a story his Pastor shared with his family when they were going through some medical problems with their son.

His Pastor told him there are 3 types of aid available in our lives:

1st Aid should taking our concerns to God
2nd Aid should be taking our requests to fellow believers
3rd Aid should be going to the Doctor or other medical professional.

The Pastor made the point that this can happen in a short period of time, because we do not know God's plan for us. Sometimes God chooses to heal quickly, sometimes slowly, and sometimes not at all, until we get a new body in Heaven.

God also works through Doctors to bring his plans for us to reality. So it does not show a lack of faith to go to the Doctor.

Something to keep in mind for the future.

Praise Report: Pam Thomas thyroid surgery went fine, no cancer!

Cancer Update

Nothing much new this week.

Had to schedule all pre-op testing, apply for medical leave at work, etc. Mostly administrative stuff.

Continue to be amazed at the out pouring of love, kind words, and hopeful comments from those around me. Please do not under estimate what a kind word of encouragement can mean to someone.

This is my new favorite song and will be the theme song for my upcoming difficult journey through cancer. This song confirms that things will be OK with me, regardless of the outcome.



Pray for my sister-in-law Pam Thomas who is having surgery this Tuesday on her thyroid, Dick Woodyard who is waiting for test results on possible cancer, and all of the others who are fighting the fight of cancer everyday. May God comfort and bless them on their journey.

The S Word

By Pat Lencioni

Recently I received a note from a reader, I’ll call her Carrie (because that’s her name), asking a question and suggesting that I answer it in this POV. Essentially, she wanted to understand why socialism is a bad thing, especially in the context of the Christian commandments to love thy neighbor, care for the poor and avoid materialism. This is a terrific and important question, one that is not discussed enough in society.

I must admit that, as a youngster, I often wondered why people were so down on socialism, and its cousin, communism. In fact, I thought those sounded like the best ways to run a society because sharing and caring and compassion are the right ways to live.

As I became a young adult, I began to understand how the reality of socialism radically differs from the theory, and that even the theory itself has fatal flaws. When it comes right down to it, I think there are two big reasons why socialism is a really, really bad idea.

First, it just doesn’t work. At least not for very long. That’s because people are flawed and, outside of a family, a religious order, or a small group of friends, they will not continually work hard for the ‘greater good’ if they do not receive the fruits of that work themselves. As an economics major in college, I learned that this theory had a name: ‘the free-loader effect’. It is the natural tendency of people to do less and less work when they realize that they won’t see a proportionate decrease in what they can get for it.

Over time—and this is an inevitable consequence of the free-loader effect—socialist societies experience decreasing productivity, risk-taking, and innovation, along with increasing tax rates, promises of government programs, and expectations from citizens about what they can get from those programs. When the economy inevitably falters under its own weight, those expectations cannot be met.

Unfortunately, by the time enough citizens realize this is happening it is often too late for them to go back and try a different approach because there are more people in society who expect benefits from the government than there are people who pay for them. And thus begins the long, gradual descent to economic and motivational malaise. Ironically, the class of people who socialism is supposed to help—the poor—only grows because they are joined by more and more people who drop out of the shrinking middle class.

The second reason why I believe socialism is such a bad idea is very much related to the first, but much more important to me as a Christian: it diminishes the dignity of human beings. In socialist societies, individuals grow increasingly dependent on the government for their well-being, and less and less confident that they are capable of and responsible for themselves. This is an inevitable recipe for cynicism, fatalism and depression.

And as the government plays a larger and larger role in the lives of people, it inevitably crowds out faith in God. Not only does this make sense from a logical standpoint, it turns out that it was the intentional design of the men who invented socialism, communism and Marxism. Marx and Lenin were very clear that atheism was key to the success of the socio-economic systems they promoted, and that people should turn to the state for their needs, not to God. This has played out again and again as socialist countries experience a significant drop in the faith of its people, and in great irony, a rapid decline in charitable giving, volunteerism and civic-mindedness.

So why do well-intentioned people continue to tolerate or be indifferent about the growth of socialism? For one, we often don’t realize that it is happening. That’s because socialism does not usually spring up over night. Instead, it creeps. Little by little we grow accustomed to new and higher taxes (“it’s just a one percent increase in the sales tax”), more government programs (“how can I vote against free ‘fill-in-the-blank” for children?”), and the false lure of getting something for nothing.

Beyond that, as the question that prompted this article suggested, we often feel good about socialism because we mistakenly conclude that it is altruistic and compassionate. But there is no escaping the moral bankruptcy of failing to ask ourselves if those feelings actually translate into sustainable, lasting benefit for the people we are trying to help. If the answer is ‘no’, then we have a moral duty to stop supporting those programs, no matter how hard that might be for our egos to accept.

So what are we to do if we want to act on our desire to do good and make a difference? Work hard. Create jobs. Treat our employees with dignity and love. Give generously of our money and our time to good charities and directly to those in need. And demand that our government compassionately provide effective programs and services for those who are truly incapable of providing for themselves.

But we should never, ever, support a program, a tax or a proposal that makes us feel good but ends up making the lives of the people we are supposed to be helping, and the society in which they live, more difficult and dependent.

Thanks for your question, Carrie. Happy Tax Day!

Surgery: T minus 30 days and counting

Angela and I met with Doctor Kaufman today to finalize treatment options and got some relatively good news.

My cancer is rated as T1c, which is the lowest form of prostate cancer, comparable to stage 1 in other forms of cancer. We talked a lot about pros and cons of all the options and decided to have a radical prostatectomy, which is an actual removal of the prostate. Doctor Kaufman explained that this is the only treatment option where the side effects get better with age and not worse.

The surgery is scheduled for May 14. I have to do some pre-op testing and donate some blood to myself, in case it is needed. I will be off works for 2 weeks for sure, work at home week 3 and back at work week 4, if all goes well.

I am going to take one of our products we make, Juven, before and after to help with the healing. Maybe I can make a TV commercial for them? since i am employee, they probably will not pay me anything extra.

My Sunday school class had special prayer for us yesterday, it was very nice and I appreciate them doing that very much.

On a lighter note, Tyler called today and he won the "Technology Teacher of the Year" award in Shelby County schools. BIG honor and I am very proud of him. More details to follow when he sends them.

Pressing On!

Salyer Bonner Thomas Family Easter 2009 - UPDATED more pics

Why me?

Last Tuesday, I was flying back from Chicago, when Angela called and said, "Doctor Kaufman wants you to call him right away." Since Doctor Kaufman is my urologist and I just had a biopsy on my prostate last Thursday, I was prepared for the worst.

I got it, I have prostate cancer.

Wow, just writing those words makes me feel a little different. It is not the most aggressive kind or the slowest growing, somewhere in the middle. He used the words "treatable and curable" which made me feel a little better, but I know the next few months will not be fun.

We meet with the Doctor on Monday to finalize a course of treatment, but I am leaning towards surgery. That is what the Doctor recommended, and he came highly recommended, and has the best "cure" rate of the other options.

Since, Tuesday, Angela and I have prayed a lot, shed a few tears, and have found out what kind of people we have around us. Many, many people have called, sent e-mails, or just stopped by my office at work to be an encouragement to me, and offer words of hope and encouragement. It makes me realize that I know many very good people and that my life has made a difference in people around me.

So why me? As Tyler told me, God picked me to go through this valley, because he knew I could handle it and that people will be watching me to see if my faith holds. Tyler also told me to get excited about what God is going to do, but that is going to take a little longer. My faith is strong, I know I will be fine.

The reasons why I am doing fine are; 1) is no symptoms and 2) I see God working to get me to this point. I often ask my class at church to look for how God is working around them, this is what I see:

• In January of 2009, Angela's insurance changed
• Our old family Doctor did not take the new insurance
• The new family Doctor insisted on a complete physical for all new patients.
• Completed first colonoscopy in my life, all clear
• All blood tests came back fine, except PSA which was a 10
• Went on antibiotics for 30 days and took another blood test
• PSA had already gone up to 12
• Biopsy results were supposed to take 7 to 10 days
• 3 working days later I got the call
• The night I got the call, when I got home from the airport, there was a 2 page article in the paper about treatment options for someone with prostate cancer.

What are the odds? 100% (With God, the odds of anything happening are always 100%).

Think about it this way, if all of the above had not happened, I would be sitting here with cancer and not even knowing it!

So I think i will use my blog to keep you updated and provide record of how God will get me through all of what waits for me. I hope it is an encouragement to you or someone you love.Keep

Angela, also in your prayers. This will be hard on her, but there is no one I would rather have by my side than her.

Pressing On!

I am Second

http://www.iamsecond.com/

Corey showed this cool website last night. I looked it up today and think everyone would benefit by viewing it.

You might know someone in one of these situations and that would benefit by making themselves second. Feel free to pass this on!

Jeff

Now the waiting begins

Just got home a few hours ago from my biopsy. Without going into details, I would not recommend anyone doing this that does not have to. The Doctor told me that the results would back within 7 to 10 days, so now the waiting begins.

When I got there I was so nervous (imagine that) my blood pressure was 160 over 110! But I really felt the prayers and got calmed down before the Doctor came in.

I wore an Ohio State shirt and my OSU watch and as Doctor Kaufman came in he took one look at me and said, "I went to Michigan State". I thought I was in big trouble after that, but we talked basketball the whole time, and I think that was God's way to get my mind off of things.

Yesterday, Brandon and Corey and I got Aunt Rhodie moved into Chapel Grove. Angela went out there today and Rhodie loves it!!!! She has already found someone from where she was raised, so things there are going very well.

Brandon also played a stupid April Fool's joke that was so dumb, I am not even going to talk about it. Guess with everything going on, my emotions are still a little raw.

Congrats to my nephew, Nate and his new Bride, Beth. They got married yesterday as well.

Working from home tomorrow to let things heal up some more. Thanks to all who called, sent emails, and prayed for us today, I felt the prayers.

Pressing On!!

how do people do it?

I have been going through a lot lately, nothing major, but a lot of little things that can add up.

A sampling:

• I have an elevated PSA level, which is a possible indicator of prostate cancer (my Dad had it and is fine now). Doctor called this week and moved up the biopsy by 3 weeks to next Thursday 4/2. (thank you Pastor Wally for praying last night a church council for me)
• My mom's surgery went fine, but recovery is going no where. Her shoulder is OK, but now she just sits in a chair too weak to get up. What can I do?
• Dad is trying to help her, but he is not able to get around much, and really is of little help. So now he sits by mom in her chair watching time pass with her.
• Aunt Rhodie moving into Chapel Grove residential living, having to arrange to move her. Calling Chapel Grove and getting the information straight after they talk to Dad. He gets things mixed up. Lining up someone to move her stuff, getting her a new bed because hers from her house is too big.
• Brandon lost his job, Corey getting ready to try to find one.
• Things at work are going fine, but who can have a safe feeling about any job right now.
• Went to Giant Eagle on Tuesday night, came out, car would not start! I tried for 20 minutes, no luck called AAA. 10 minutes later tried again and it started right up. Stress and relief in 30 short minutes.
• Had enough? Need more examples? Just look at your 401K, if you are lucky enough to have one.

My point is, through all this I know God is in control. As long as I am faithful and true to him and stay in His will all things will be fine.

So back to the title, how do people do it that have no foundation in Christ? What do they do when the wind blows, and waves rock the boat?

Psalm 146:5 says "Happy is he that hath God for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God."

In times of struggle I have always found that people react 1 or 2 ways:

1. They run to God
2. They run away from God

How about you? Which way are running? If you are just sitting still, then I think you are running away from God, because God never wants us to stay still.

Press On! and keep praying

We have come a long way!

Buckeyes Win!

The Ohio State Women's Basketball team won tonight to advance to the Sweet 16 round in the basketball tournament.

I only mention this because our pastor's wife is a BIG Mississippi State fan. They went to the game and sat with the few other MSU fans. I looked for them on TV, but did not see them.

Sorry, DD, better luck next year, your team put up a great game and did you proud.

safely home

Isn't it amazing how sometimes it just feels good to be home?

I was at the Mother Ship (Abbott Labs HQ in Chicago) for 3 days this week. It was a long 3 days with meetings and training sessions from 8 AM until 6 PM all 3 days. We were so busy they brought breakfast and lunch in for all 3 days.

It was a great time, and I learned a lot, but it was so exhausting, I didn't get to visit any nice places to eat, not even my fav, Walker Brothers. We all had dinner on Tuesday night at a place called Flanagan's. Since it was saint Patrick's day and I have been to Ireland, and like Irish food, I thought that it would be good. WRONG! They should have named the place "fry daddy's" because everything was fried. We ordered a combo platter appetizer, and everything on it was fried, and fried so much you could not tell the mozzarella sticks from the onion rings to the fried mushrooms. UGH! Some got sick that night from the grease, but I was OK.

Got home last night in time to watch the OSU Basketball team lose in double OT. They played hard, just no rebounds.

Today was very interesting also.

Went to parents house to check on mom. She is doing better, just needs to get some strength back. Dad wanted to go see Rhodie's place she is moving to. So I got to their house, went in and talked to mom. After about 15 minutes, I asked where dad was. She said, when I came in the garage door, he went out the front door. I looked out and sure enough, he had been sitting in my car the whole time. He said he knew I would come out eventually.

When we got back I ran the sweeper, cleaned the counter tops, and moved refrig out and cleaned behind it. I do not think it had been moved out since they moved in 1978! Nasty.

Then dad asked to cleaned out cabinet on the floor that had can goods, but he can't get to it anymore. Found a bottle of salad dressing that expired in 2002, and a bottle of ketchup that had expired in 2006. Both were unopened, but I pitched them anyway.

I owe Angela big time, she cleaned their bathroom and gave mom a shower. She is so good to them, and it makes me love her more, if possible, to see how she takes care of my parents. I got the best of the 3 sisters, that's for sure.

Aunt Rhodie is moving to Chapel Grove retirement center next week. So we will have to help her with clothes and eventually furniture. That's all for now, putting final touches on tomorrow's lesson.

Press On!

10 things that sound good to eat

Of course these are the 10 worst foods of 2009, per Yahoo!

1. Pepperidge Farm Roasted White Meat Chicken Premium Pot Pie - There are 510 calories and 9 grams of saturated fat in this baby. Oh wait - that’s just for half a pie. The whole thing has 1020 calories and 18 grams of saturated fat.
2. Romano’s Macaroni Grill Spaghetti and Meatballs with Meat Sauce - This dish will set you back a staggering 2,430 calories and nearly three days’ worth of saturated fat (57 grams) plus 5,290 milligrams of sodium - more calories and saturated fat than two Macaroni Grill Tuscan Rib-Eye steak dinners.
3. Progresso Traditional, Vegetable Classics, and Rich & Hearty soups - Half a can averages more than half of a person’s daily quota of salt. Instead, CSPI says try Progresso’s Health Favorites reduced-sodium soups with up to 50 percent less salt. Also, see: Hidden sodium in foods you wouldn't think to check.
4. Dove Ice Cream - A half cup has about 300 calories and an average of 11 grams of saturated fat - that’s half-a-day’s worth of the bad stuff. You may be better off with these 5 frozen treats under 100 calories.
5. The Cheesecake Factory Chris’ Outrageous Chocolate Cake - It’s layers of chocolate cake, brownie, toasted coconut pecan filling, and chocolate chip coconut cheesecake. CSPI found each five-inch-high slice weighs three-fourths of a pound and has 1,380 calories, 32 teaspoons of sugar, 33 grams of saturated fat and 5 grams of trans fat. Yikes!
6. Smoothie King’s Grape Expectations II - It’s one of Smoothie King’s “Snack Rights” with 550 calories in the 20-ounce size and 1,100 calories in the 40-ouncer. Proof that not all smoothies are good for you (but these are).
7. Pop Secret Movie Theater Butter Popcorn Snack Size Bags - Just one snack-size bag has 11 grams of bad fat, 7 of which are trans fats. Instead, CSPI says choose Orville Redenbacher’s Smart Pop or Smart Balance Smart ’N Healthy - both are made with no partially hydrogenated oils. Also, see this review of microwave popcorns from Consumer Reports.
8. The Starbucks Venti (20 oz.) Caffè Mocha with whole milk and whipped cream has 450 calories and 13 grams of bad fat - more like a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in a cup. But you can lose all the bad fat and all but 170 calories if you order a tall (12 oz.) with nonfat milk and no whipped cream.
9. Chipotle Chicken Burrito - With rice, pinto beans, cheese, chicken, sour cream, and salsa, you get 1,040 calories and 16-1/2 grams of saturated fat - the same as three Subway Steak and Cheese 6-inch Subs. Plus the burrito comes with 2,500 milligrams of sodium! Ordering it without cheese or sour cream cuts the saturated fat to 3-1/2 grams, but you still end up with 810 calories and 2,300 milligrams of sodium. Ay Caramba! Here's another burrito that will shock you.
10. Cold Stone Creamery’s Gotta Have It Founder’s Favorite - 12-ounces of ice cream, pecans, brownie pieces, fudge, and caramel adds up to a whopping 1,600 calories and 42 grams of saturated fat. That’s about the same as five single-scoop ice cream cones. And watch out before you have this frozen concoction.

Test results

Well I got the test results back on my PSA. It was not good. The first test came back at 10, this one came back at a 12.

Need to have a biopsy on 4/22, then just take it from there. Not really too worried, my dad had same type of thing and he is fine.

I know God is in control, no matter what happens next, I know I will be fine.

Been a very hectic week, 4 to 6 meetings everyday, business dinner last night. Tonight was time to relax. Angela was gone to some friends house where they made Chef Boy R Dee pizzas. Kind of crazy, but she just got home and said she had a good time.

Thursday is my TV night with Survivor, The Office, and then ER. Office was pretty good tonight, cannot wait too see ER, bringing back some of the old cast members.

Keep praying for my mom, gets her staples out tomorrow, and our friend Sean Hall, who is having back problems.

That's all for now, keep us in your prayers!

Press On!

Worst Day of the Year.

Today is one of the worst days of the year.

Tonight is the switch to Daylights Saving time, UGH!

Time to Spring Forward our clocks ahead 1 hour tonight. This whole concept escapes me, how can moving the time around help anything? This is what we get when politicians get bored and try to create a problem to solve (think global warming).

Wonder how many people will miss Sunday School tomorrow due to oversleeping?

Good Luck and get some sleep.

Jeff

Real or Not?

Tyler sent this video that's pretty amazing, even if you do not like football.

Old, but still funny

long week

It's been a long week. Took about 3 days to get over the jet lag from the trip. I caught a cold in Spain and I am still not over it yet, almost, taking all kinds of meds. I think I gave it to Angela because she now has a cold and of course, it is my fault.

Had a follow up visit to Doctor this week about some test results:

• Cholesterol - fine
• triglycerides - fine
• liver - fine
• everything else fine, but
• My PSA was a 10. This is an indicator for prostate cancer, the normal range is 4 to 10, but since my dad had this type of cancer, I need to follow up with a Urologist.

No one wants to find out they have cancer, and I am praying I do not, but I know God is in control. My dad has been clean for several years, so I am not really worried about it.

Brandon lost his job at Nationwide due to cut backs, so he is thinking about going back to school to teach.

Corey still working for A&F, seems to like it

Tyler and Rachel doing fine with the granddog, Dodger. Tyler found out about a new program through the University of Memphis that after 2 years, he could become an assistant principle, which is the next step of his professional journey. This is huge, because without it he would have to go back to school for his Doctorate.

Angela doing fine, except for the cold. I found out she held a "Big daddy's out of the country" party for her lady friends while I was gone last week, didn't even save me any dessert!

That's all for now, taking a Bruno's pizza home for dinner. That was our favorite place to eat when we were dating, and we also ate there on our wedding night.

Press On!

It is a small world after all

To close the loop on my trip, I continued the tradition of eating my last meal in a foreign country before heading home at Burger King. Do you think I could a commercial or sponsor contract for this? I went the the BK in Granada and ordered my meal in Spanish, quatro, grande, coke. Yes a number 4 combo meal with a coke.

After dinner, I did some shopping. I picked some some EVOO for Angela. If you do not not know what EVOO is, you are not watching the food channel enough. While I was checking out, there were 4 college girls next to me talking. Since their English was so good, I could tell they were not from Spain. In taking to them I found out they go to the same college as my niece Jordan! Not only that they knew her and were good friends with her! It really is a small world. I was just glad that I said something and talked to them.

The trip home started in Granada at 5:00 AM Saturday their time, which was 11:00 PM Friday in Ohio. 1 hour flight to Madrid, no problems, 10 hour flight to Chicago, no problems, land in Chicago and it was snowing. My plane was stuck in Milwaukee for about an hour, delayed total of about 2 hours before it got to Chicago, got home about 10:00 PM Saturday night, very long day.

Glad to home, back to work tomorrow, busy week, PRESS ON!

Need a place to go to dinner?

I would recommend this place, I ate there last night, probably the best meal the Angela did not make with the best view imagined.

http://www.lastomasas.com/en/

Why you should always order your own food

Last night I went out with some people who would be attending my class today. There were 3 Dutch, 1 Irish, and 1 USA (me) in attendance.


The Irish guy knew of a good Spanish place to eat. So we started on a 15 min walk to this beautiful, but small restaurant. As you could imagine, no one knew any English, and no one in our group knew Spanish, so I knew it would be interesting.



1 of the Dutch guys thought he knew Spanish, he ordered a starter (appetizer) for the group and then told to waiter to "surprise us with 5 dinners". The waiter had a puzzled look, so to make sure I got something, I pointed to what I wanted, the menu was in Spanish and English.

To make a long story short, I was only one who got any dinner. The waiter did not bring the other guys anything after the appetizer. I felt bad an offered to share, but the Dutch guy was so confident their food was on the way they did not want to eat mine. BTW : I had monkfish with prawns and clams, very good.

When the waiter cleared my plate away the dutch guy realized that was all that was coming and went into the kitchen, found a busboy that he thought understood English and ordered 4 more dinners. About 10 mins later, they brought 1 dinner with 4 forks!

At that point, it was already 1030 PM, remember Spanish people start dinner after 8:00 Pm. I was tired and had to teach today, so I left and walked aback to the hotel.

At breakfast this AM I asked what happened after I left. 1 of the other Dutch guys went and got a menu and pointed to what I had and ordered 4 of those. They finally got their food about the time I fell asleep. They got back to the hotel about 12:30 AM, they looked a little tired today.

2 more nights and then coming home!

Press On!

travel day

We left Sligo about 8 PM Tuesday and drove to Dublin and stayed at the airport Radisson hotel.

I got up this morning very early in Ireland to fly to Spain. In fact it was so early some of you were probably still awake. I got up at 5: 00 AM Ireland time which was midnight in Ohio. I thought about calling all my family and friends, but decided it was not worth the risk, since I will be coming home this Saturday (YEAH!)

About the only other thing I wanted to mention about Ireland was how hard the beds are. Think of sleeping on a rock or the old medieval torture device the rack and you will know what I mean. That may explain why Irish people drink so much, to numb the pain caused by sleeping on a torture device.

Flight to Spain was uneventful, slept most of the time. Arrived at the Granada plant after a 2 hour drive.

I am traveling with an other Abbott employee, who lives in Ireland. We got to the rental car place in Spain and all they had left were cars with automatic transmissions. David, who is 36, told me he had never driven a car that did not have a manual transmission, very weird. At least the cars in Spain are like American cars, driver on the left, and you drive on the right side of the road. After he accidentally slammed on the brakes about putting me through the windshield, we were fine the rest of the way.

Another interesting thing about Spain I forgot, was that lunch is at 2:00 PM and dinner tonight is at 8:00 Pm. There people flying in today for my class tomorrow from the Netherlands, so we will probably eat with them.

Classes Thursday and Friday and home Saturday. Wonder what Angela has been up to? I know some of my friends from church (Sam?) will update me Sunday.

See you then.

Ireland Day 2

Here is the link to the hotel I am staying at. www.clarionhotelsligo.com

A couple of interesting facts about the hotel from my perspective:

1. It is an old mental hospital
2. The heat comes on at 7:00 PM in the evenings and goes off at 8:00 AM
3. The floors are numbered, 0 = ground floor, 1 = second floor, 2 = 3rd floor
4. The rooms numbers do not match the floor they are on, for example all the rooms on the 1st floor which is the ground floor start with 2xxx, the second floor they start with either 1xxx, 3xxx, 5xxx to 8xxx.
5. My room is on the 3rd floor starts with 4xxx, very odd
6. I had to wait 90 min yesterday to get a room, due to the valentines weekend crowd. They said every room in the hotel was full on Saturday night. So I took a nap in the lobby and watched people checkout.
7. My room is huge, 3 separate rooms. The sitting room is a large as my CONNECT Group room at church.
8. The bedroom has both a twin bed and double bed in it.

Class today went fine. Teach again to tomorrow then 3 hours drive to Dublin to stay the night. Have an early flight out Wednesday AM for Spain. Jet lag worse today than yesterday.

Ipod is now working! Reading Winners Manual by Jim Tressel, so far it is a great book.

Press On!

Hello from the Emerald Isle

Made it to Ireland with no problems. Hate that I had to give up my Valentines Day with Angela, but duty calls.

In keeping with the family tradition, Angela headed to Columbus for shopping and dinner with Brandon and Corey before my plane even landed in Washington, DC. Have not check the with Park National Bank to see how much it will cost us, but glad they all had a good time.

She did buy a web camera at Circuit City. Don't know why we never thought of that before to keep in touch with Tyler and Rachel. Angela said she plugged it in and talked to them last night.

Only odd thing so far, is when we went to the gate to board the plane for Dublin, there was no plane. It was the first time I have ever gone through a boarding gate and got on a shuttle bus. Kind of defeats the purpose in boarding by rows. Same thing when we landed in Dublin, we had to get off the plane using a ramp. Can't figure that one out.

Watched a couple of movies, Wall-E, and Righteous Kill, both were OK. Could not get my iPod to work. It comes on, but nothing plays. If anyone has an idea on how to fix it, please respond to this blog.

So, it will be a hectic week, Ireland till Tuesday, fly to Spain on Wednesday, then in Spain till Saturday, fly home Saturday. Thanks to Andrew Roth and Michael George for teaching my class today and next Sunday.

Pray for family of Dave Smith from our church who passed away suddenly. Dave and his wife Linda are good people. She will need lots of support and prayer.

It is 5 hour ahead here so I am going down to dinner.

Press ON!

Grandparents!!!

Relax, Tyler and Rachel only got a dog. German Shepard mix I think. They just wanted the protection and friendship a dog can provide. wonder if this means the honeymoon is officially over? The are starting to act like a typical middle class couple in America.

Corey got a new job, some kind of store setup and modeling for Abercrombie and Fitch. They are based in Columbus. About 10 hours a week, he said. He and roommate Eli seem to be getting along fine, nothing too funny to report, that he has told us anyway.

Brandon still working hard. I did his taxes for him and he gets back more than I do this year! At least he is taking us out for dinner when he gets his refund. Martini's sounds good!

Angela went back to work Monday. I woke up and my clock said 6:15 AM and she was still in bed. I woke her up and told her, she jumped up and was headed downstairs, when I realized I was looking at the alarm setting, the actual time was 1:23 AM. I was in big trouble. We went back to sleep and the batteries in her alarm clock must have been low, because the alarm did not go off. She was almost late.

Nothing much going on with me. Got back on Wii fit last night after being off for a week. Thankful only gained 0.2 pounds. Getting ready to head to Ireland and Spain next week on business. Those trips are fun, but they are also tiring.

Press On!

Fireproof the Movie Returns

Our church 1st Baptist Church of Heath, Ohio, http://www.firstbaptistheath.com/, is hosting a free showing of the movie Fireproof. The following was my review from last September:

"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."

This is a wonderful movie for any married couple, if you have not seen it, you should plan on attending this Sunday @ 5:00 PM.

That's my boy!

Our oldest son, Tyler, teaches 5th Grade English in Memphis, TN. Today he won the following award.

"Give the award of a lifetime. Give the National PTA Life Achievement Award—the highest honor from the nation’s largest child advocacy organization—to the person who daily lives out his or her commitment to children.

How will you say: “Thank you for your outstanding service to our children”?
Give the award of a lifetime.

Give the National PTA Life Achievement Award—the highest honor from the nation’s largest child advocacy organization—to the person who daily lives out his or her commitment to children.

Recognize and thank that special person you know who goes above and beyond for all children—the one who acts as a tireless advocate for children’s education, health, and well-being."

Way to go Tyler, we are very proud of you!

A Crazy Week it was

If you have not heard, it was long week in the Salyer household.

It started on Tuesday, when I went for my 1st colonoscopy. People told me that the prep was worse than the procedure, and that was only true because you sleep through the procedure. My sister-in-law Pam sent me a copy of a colonoscopy journal from a news commentator Dave Barry. Here is an excerpt:

“Then, in the evening before the procedure, I took the MoviPrep. You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons.) Then you have to drink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes - and here I am being kind - like a mixture of goat spit and urinal cleanser, with just a hint of lemon.”

I agree. When I woke up, Angela said I talked a little funny, saying things like "is this heaven? Are you my angel?" to Angela. All I remember was Angela spilling the fries in the car on the way home. Pastor Dear called that night and said I was still talking kind of funny, all I remember was they gave me some good stuff, because I do not remember a thing, thankfully.

On Wednesday, we got up at 3:00 AM to head to Columbus for Angela's surgery. We had to be there at 6:00 AM. The weather was terrible and it took us 90 minutes to get there. The surgery went fine, but when the doctor came out to tell me the results, she went to the wrong personand told him that the ovary came out fine with no complications.

The guy looked very worried, shocked really, but I jumped in and told the the doctor who I was, she apologized and confirmed that Angela was fine. I later talked to the guy and found out why he was upset, his wife was in there for a nose job! I guess I would have been shocked also.

Anyway, we got home late afternoon, things went fine rest of Wednesday, on Thursday Angela got up and had trouble taking deep breaths. About 4:00 PM we headed back to Mount Carmel ER, where they checked Angela out. They found out she had a partially collapsed lung!!! They gave her some medicine and kept her overnight.

On Friday they did a stress test on her heart, all things came back fine. And we finally got home yesterday evening. What long and exhausting 4 days.

Thanks to Kim and Regina for bringing food and those that called and checked on us! Keep praying for Angela to get her strength back.

Good for the whole family

My company makes this, so please buy a lot!

What a 24 hours

It has been an interesting last 24 hours.

It all started with my car. It sounds like the heating blower is going out, when I turn it on it sounds like a very loud goose is being strangled, so I only run it when I have to. A new part will only be about $50 IF I can figure out how to put it on myself.

Then at 10:00 AM Wednesday, I supposed to have a business call with someone in the Netherlands. The phone rang, it was the Netherlands, so I had a 15 min phone call with someone about a project they were working on (they needed my advice).

When I got all done and said goodbye and hung up the phone, it rang again, from the Netherlands, it was the person who I thought i was talking to, apologizing for being late. I had a 15 min conversation with the wrong person and didn't even know it until the correct person called!!

Had a lengthy church council meeting last night, got home after 10:00 PM, talked to my queen a little, went to bed. Then the phone rang. At 3:30 AM! It was someone from my CONNECT group at church, but when I answered it, they had hung up. Angela (my queen), called this AM to make sure things were OK, and they claimed not to have called! He said he fell asleep on the couch and must have rolled over on it. We owe them one.

Today, so far, things are fine. Had another call with someone in the Netherlands, correct person this time. Confirmed details of my trip to Europe in February.

I feel like I have not slept at all, eyes burning, but Angela said I went back right back to sleep. Have another meeting at church tonight, hopefully short, but with who is conducting the meeting I am not optimistic.

Press On!

Back in the saddle

Being the good employee I am, and I like to keep my job, today I came back to work. And yes it was cold.

It took several attempts to get the car started, when I did the temperature gauge said the outside temp was -15 degrees. The temperature of my coolant in the radiator was -8 degrees!

I let the car run until the coolant temp hit 100 degrees and then I went slowly down the highway letting my 1992 Cadillac with 202,000+ miles warm up nice and slow. By the time I hit 161 the car was starting to warm up, and made it to work with no problems.

Until I went outside at lunch time. Angela was in Columbus (this is her short day), so we all met at Red Robin for lunch. When I went to my car to start it, nothing happened when I turned the key. UGH! Than a message came on that said the anti-theft system was engaged and I had to remove the key and wait 3 minutes.

I have had this car for over a year and didn't even know it had an anti-theft system. I'll have to ask Wally about it. It must work, because the car has never come up missing since I owned it, which is a good thing. I waited the 3 minutes and the car started fine. Corey said his car barely started and all of the presets on the radio had cleared themselves out.

At Red Robin, I got the usual, Royal Red Robin with a fried egg and bacon and cheese on it. YUM! Planning on an hour on Wii Fit tonight to make up for it, but it was worth it.

Also, today Corey told Angela he needed a calendar (why I will never know) and something else small, so they went to Wal-Mart where I am sure she bought him over $100 worth of food.

I think she does this so he will not need to come home, but not sure. Don't get me wrong, we love all of the boys, but things get dirty quick when they are there. Last Sunday, Brandon came home to hunt with Charlie, when we got home from church, there was mud everywhere from Brandon's hunting stuff. When Angela asked him about it, of course it was not his, and he blamed it all on Corey. So from now on there is a $50 cleaning fee to hunters who make a mess.

Good news is that it will be 40 degrees warmer on Saturday, bad news it will still only be in the 20's with snow likely. So stay warm and be careful.

Baby, It's cold outside! Updated 4:30 PM

Working from home today, just have calls with people in Chicago at the mother ship (code for company HQ). Took part of my lunch hour and went outside and shoveled snow. It was harder than doing Wii Fit that's for sure.

Weather.com says it is 9 degrees, but feels like -8 degrees. Started up both cars and let them run for 5 min, in case we need to get out tonight. With no snow in the forecast, will try to get to work, if they lift the Level 2 Snow Emergency in Licking county.

Level 1 = Be cautious, roads slick
Level 2 = Stay off the roads, call ahead before leaving home to make sure things are open.
Level 3 = Too dangerous to be out, get a ticket if caught driving.

Bought an ergonomically correct shovel last year, looks weird but it does make it easier. I like it a lot. You can tell because it has an "S" shape in the handle.

Put some salt out, Angela said it was a waste of time, but did it any way. Well the laws of physics are still true and the driveway is melting off, what I could not shovel off. If the sun would come out, things would dry up some.

Get some hot tea, I like cinnamon stick tea from Bigelow, and relax. If you are reading this, it's warmer than being outside.

Sky Angel Cowboy

Thanks to Ron for sending this to me.

Questions for Pastor Dear

Our Sunday night services are now starting with a question that Pastor Dear answers. So far he has answered questions like: can someone who commits suicide go to Heaven, how old is the earth really, etc. He is doing a great job and always answer from the Bible only.

I got a chronological Bible for Christmas a few years ago which allows you to read through the Bible in the order that things happened, and you do it in a year. I am still Genesis and I have 2 questions Pastor Dear can answer sometime on Sunday night, you will have to come to church to hear the answers.

1. Why did people live so much longer in the Bible? Adam lived 930 years, Enosh lived 840 years, etc
2. Where did Cain get his wife? If Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel were the first 4 people on earth, where did the other wives come from?

Looks like a bad weather weekend, so bundle up and stay warm.

I am working from home today trying to get over a cold I have had since New Years.

Happy New Year!

It has been a whirlwind 2 weeks of vacation.

Tyler and Rachel came up for Christmas, had a great time with them. You can see the "ugly" sweaters Corey bought everyone on the video on the previous posting. Went shopping with them before they went home, just had a great time with them.

For New Years Eve, Angela's sister and most of their families went out to dinner. We got to meet Jordan's, my niece, new boyfriend, Patrick from Idaho. Really nice guy, easy to talk to and made a good impression on the family, whether he was trying to or not. We also took Brandon's new friend Julie with us, who also made a very good impression. We went to Martini's in the Arena district in Columbus. food was pretty high class, with high class prices. Dessert was great!

Since Angela had to work leading up to to New Years day, Pam offered to host the New Years day dinner at her house. We had the traditional pork and sauerkraut, watched some football and played a few games.

Today we all went snow tubing at Mad River mountain. It was fun but way too crowded. I only got to go down the hill about 5 times in 3 hours, all the other time was spent standing in line. We went back to a Mexican restaurant we happened upon last year in Marysville, Fiesta Grande. The food was GREAT! It was also the cheapest meal I have paid for in the last 2 weeks. Brandon continued his trend of getting a more expensive meal than everyone else, but we still had a good time.

Tomorrow is church with Pastor Dear going to announce some exciting news! As Chairman of the Church council I have an idea of what it will be, and I think people will be excited about it.

Either way, Monday is back to work! UGH! Corey moved out today and will be living in Columbus for at least the next year, while he finishes school and gets a job. So we are empty nesters once again.

So I hope you have a better year in 2009, regardless how 2008 was.

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!