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!

Thanksgiving pictures

UPDATED Happy Thanksgiving!

From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

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

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

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

Here is mine:

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

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

This says it all!

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

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

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

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

ANTHRAX SCARE AT MICHIGAN

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

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

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

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

It's Rivalry Week!

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

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

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

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

Go Bucks! Game time is Noon this Saturday.

Why you should never believe what you hear on TV

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

Hello from Canada, eh? updated Friday with picture

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Weekend update

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

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

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

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



Friday Corey got a 10 point buck!



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

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

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

PRESS ON!

Gatlinburg Photos

Please do not vote!

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

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

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

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

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

SO, get informed and then VOTE!!

Hello from Arizona!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Food great, that's all for now.

Press ON!

What I do for a living.

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

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

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

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

Bible in a minute

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

Wednesday Catching up.

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

Things I don't get - updated Friday

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

Nehemiah - The Leader

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Can anyone say, Palin/Gingrich is 2012?

Nehemiah come back, we need you now!

Press On!

"Fireproof" the movie

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

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

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

Others News:

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

PRESS ON!

Back on track!

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

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

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

Rest of week went OK, some ups and downs.

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

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

Random Thoughts:

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

PRESS ON!

This is my nephew!

Windy day and more

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

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

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



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

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

Ugly night :(

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

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

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

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

Finally, Happy Birthday Tyler!

Press On!

9/11/2001

Never Forget!

Wonder what made them mad?

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

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

Sounds like they brought their dinner with them!

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

Drive time thinking

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

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

Is 1st Baptist Church of Honda, far behind?

this place is going crazy!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

on the road again!

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

Over the next two months I go to:

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

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

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

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

Closing thoughts:

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

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

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

Press On!

Why do parents do this?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pray for our "friends" in China.

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


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

Jeff in the Olympics, in case you missed me!

Changes are coming! - updated 9:00 PM

WOW, I bet that got your attention!

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

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

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

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

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

There is hope!

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

Never forget!

Uneventful week, sort of

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

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

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

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


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


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

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

Press On!

Is it time?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Weekend update

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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