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!