Facing the Giants!

What an awesome movie! I think everyone should go and see this movie about what happens when we take our eyes off of God's purpose for our lives and work on what we think is important.

It is currently at Easton, look for a location near you.

Click the "Plugged in Online" link to the right for more details.

surgery update 9/29/2006

Just got back from the doctor and got the go ahead to resume normal activities. My nose and sinuses are healing slowly, just like the doctor expected. Will take 4 to 6 more weeks for a full recovery.

BIG game tomorrow night OSU versus Iowa at Iowa. Should be a good game for awhile, but OSU will pull ahead and win big in the end. Wonder if Pastor Noel was has recovered from Auburns close win last night at South Carolina? Too close for comfort for the #2 team in the country. Starting to wonder if a OSU vs AU national title game could happen? (I know MSU will not be there, LOL DD). Might have decorate the pastors office door if that happens.

Deer bow hunting season starts in the AM. Corey, Brandon and Blake all have deer stands up and are ready to go. Hope Corey gets one this year, he was shutout last year while Brandon got 2.

Continue to pray for Messick family.

Guiding Light

This was from my devotional today. It reminded me that the #1 problem with people who are in the "darkness"of sin, is that they do not know they are in the darkness, i.e., they do not know there is another way.

1 John 2:7-11, Holman Christian Standard Bible ®
7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command, but an old command that you have had from the beginning. The old command is the message you have heard.
8 Yet I am writing you a new command, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
9 The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother is in the darkness until now.
10 The one who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. Or in it
11 But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he’s going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

"The front of his T-shirt read, Be the Moon. I was curious to know what that meant, so as the guy walked by I turned around and read the back of his shirt. It read, Reflect the Son.

Since science was never my strong subject, I had to think about the shirt's message for a moment. Then it hit me. Just as the light of the moon is actually a reflection of the sun, so Christians should be a reflection of Christ, the Son of God.

Christians are similar to the moon in three ways. First, the moon doesn't have the ability to produce its own light. It's simply a celestial body that depends on another source for light. In the same way, Christians don't have the ability to produce our own light. The best we can do is to reflect His light.

That's what today's verse means when it describes the Christian who "lives in the light." When we live "in the light" of Christ, we are like mirrors that reflect His light. Second, the moon's ability to reflect the sun depends on its position in relation to the sun. In the same way, our ability to reflect the light of Christ depends on our relationship with Him.

Finally, the moon often provides enough light for a person on the earth to walk around outside without falling flat on the ground. When Christians are growing in their spiritual lives and staying close to the Lord, they give off a light that can guide others who may be stumbling in a dark world.

What about you? Are you being the moon? Do you reflect the Son? Allow God to use you as a guiding light for others this week.

Take a close look at your life. Where are you in relation to Christ? Do you know Him as your personal Savior? Are you staying close to Him through prayer, Bible study, worship, and fellowship with Christian friends?"

Passing on

My best friend from high school, Rod Messick, passed away today. We were part of the original CE Harmonaires singing group when we both were in high school. He was a year older than me, but we both caught up with each other the next year at The Ohio State University for a couple of years where he met his future bride, Julie, and moved to Richmond, VA and got married. They had a good life with 5 girls and then finally 1 boy.

The thing that gets me about this is how fast it happened. Rod had been bothered with a bad back for years. About 2 weeks ago they ran another test and found Stage 4 bone cancer! They gave him 2 months to live, but he is already gone.

I got a chance to talk to him to him last week and he told me that he would meet me in heaven, and he is right. Rod was a Christian and is now no longer in pain and is walking down the golden streets with Jesus after hearing "well done good and faithful servant".

Say an extra prayer for Julie and the kids, his sisters Soni, Sally, and Holly and their families as well. I know his parents Don and Harriet really well and they must be heart broken. No parent wants their children to die before they do, so remember them.

This just proves that can be short and fragile, we must be ready to go at anytime. So make sure that you live your life to the fullest everyday and love those around you like it was your last day on earth. It very well may be.

Surgery update

Well, I made through the surgery yesterday. Had a lower turbinate coblation and cysts removed from both sides of my front sinuses. Feeling pretty good today, both sides of my nose are swollen inside so it is hard to breath through my nose. Throat is sore from the tube during surgery. Otherwise doing fine.

Going back to work tomorrow because "Salyer's don't miss work". My dad worked for 42 years and I cannot remember him missing work ever!!! He passed that on to me, because I have probably missed 5 days total in the last 20 years. I hope my sons have that priority and go to work when they are supposed to be there.

Great website

http://www.pluggedinonline.com/index.cfm

This website reviews movies, TV shows, and music from a Chrisitan perpsective

Does God hear all prayers?

Last week in CONNECT class I said that God only hears prayers from those that are saved. I based this on scripture in James 5:16 and Matthew (Ask, Seek, Knock

Pastor Noel get wind of what I said and preached a mini-sermon on Sunday to clarify. (Note: this was the 1st time someone preached a sermon based on something I said)

Since we were moving Brandon back into OSU dorm last Sunday night during the service, I got the CD and listened to it twice and now I want to re-phrase my statement.

1. God hears everything, everybody, including children, can pray to God and he hears them.
2. There are a few examples in the Bible of when God answered the prayers of sinners.
3. God will answer the prayers of the saved, because He said He would
4. God may choose to answer the prayers of the unsaved, but is not obligated to.
5. See Pastor Noel's blog for scripture supporting all of the above

Hope this clears up any confusion, remember if you are saved, it is not an issue!

Read Joshua Chapter 3 for this Sunday.

What a day! GO BUCKS!

OSU is number 1! We beat Texas like a drum last night. The offense played great, the defense was better than ever, still have a little problem stopping the run. We had about 20 people over to cook out and watch the game. It is going to be a great year!

Wonder how the temperature was in the Dear house last night? He is an Auburn fan, she is a Mississippi State fan. Auburn clobbered MSU yesterday so I know he was very happy!

Today is also move in day for Brandon. After church, we load up and take him to OSU. School doesn't start for 2 weeks, but he has a job there getting ready the dorm for the majority of kids to arrive.

Answer to prayer for Amy S., starts a new job soon, hired her on the spot (company obviously recognizes talent when they see it, wait a minute, that was the same place that let me go)! Good luck anyway.

Got a call about my best friend from high school, just diagnosed with bone cancer, called and left a message of support and pray. So keep Rod M. in your prayers.

Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

This is the most wonderful time of any year. This is when I saw the best commercial ever made. It showed a mom and dad pushing a buggy (shopping cart) down the aisle, dancing and smiling while the song "most wonderful time of the year" was playing in the background After the parents moved out of view 2 kids about 10 with a sad looks on their faces and arms folded walked slowly behind. The point was it was a "Back to School sale" and the kids would be out of the house going back to school. What a wonderful time!

As our boys get older it loses some of drama. They are gone most of the time any way. Brandon starts back on 9/10 and told us last week, that if goes through next summer, he could graduate in 12 months!! (Angela started tearing up right then). We kid Corey about always being at home, but I know he will be moving to main campus in 12 months. So this time next year we may be truly almost empty nesters! Life moves so fast!

But I am rambling, it is still the most wonderful time of the year because FOOTBALL STARTS TONIGHT! College football starts tonight and I cannot wait. Taking Pastor Noel to the OSU game on Saturday so he can see some yankee style football in person. It will be fun with a packed house.

Next week PRO FOOTBALL starts and the Browns are going to the Super Bowl, this is their year, I can feel it.

Finally, baseball is getting exciting. The Indians have won 10 of 12 and are making a late run at the wild card (now I am dreaming) but there is always next year for tribe fans. Hope the Reds make the playoffs, at least that would give me something to do between football games.

Boys are back in town!

Did not realize it had been so long since I posted some news, here is the latest on my mind.

• Well the boys (Brandon, Corey and Blake) survived another fishing trip to Lake Erie with Memi and JR. Every year they take the boys fishing before school starts and usually come back with interesting stories. Last year they caught almost 800 fish, which was way over the limit, so this year I think God got them back since they caught less than 200. Brandon also takes all the video and produces a video highlighting the trip and forever burning it into our memory. The best part of the video recap was Memi wearing a baseball cap backwards and giving some kind of a gang sign! That and the scene of JR pulling his chair close to the TV while everyone else was playing a game, will make this trip memorable.
• Car update: Ended up spending the money and getting the head gasket fixed professionally, what a waste waited 6 weeks without the car and still ended up spending the money. THEN, the Jimmy went into the shop and we found out that it was only running on 4 of 6 cylinders! Fuel injector problem which always equals a lot of money! Corey spent all the money from working this summer to get it fixed. He is now in "work mode" to refill his piggybank.
• CONNECT group is amazing. God is really working! We had over 20 again and are now moving to the biggest room in the basement! Keep praying that we can be an outreach to those in the church who need Christian friends and to the unchurched that we can reach them. The monthly fellowship is at our house this Friday, Tailgate Time, is the theme as we celebrate the beginning of football season.
• Got my 2 tickets to the OSU opening game on 9/2, taking Pastor Noel, going to show him what real football looks like, not that wimpy SEC stuff. He is a big Auburn fan, so he might have something good to brag about this year. I think it would be cool if OSU played Auburn in the Championship game, watch for lots of trash talking both ways then!
• Work going very well, doing a lot of training classes recently, Crucial Conversations and teaching managers how to coach their employees.
• "The Office" is coming on, that's all for now!

How to soften your heart.

Well guess what? The Neon is back in the shop! It was overheating driving down the road and now needs to be fixed again! Wish I had the money to get a new car, maybe a Chrysler 300!

Great day at church, set new record attendance with CONNECT group with 20! Had 6 new people! Told Pastor Noel we needed a bigger room and more tables! God is good.

Our class motto is: "Where the teaching may be mediocre, but the snacks are great!" guess who teaches and guess who provides the food? Angela, my queen, makes the food. I am sure people are coming to see what she makes next!

Helped out at VBS last week. Had between 125 and 150 kids every night. Really softened my heart up to talk to some of the bus kids and hear what kind of life they have. The lesson one night was about being scared and how if you have Jesus in your heart you do not have to afraid. One little boy in Angela's group told her that he gets scared when his mommy goes to jail. We both teared up thinking about what kind of life that little 4 year old was faced with. Really makes you appreciate what you have and really makes my problems seem trivial.

At VBS you hear more of those kind of stories and that should remind us that God has been very good to all of us. If you are reading this you must have a computer and a nice home with family that loves you. There are many, many people out there who are much less fortunate than we are. Working at VBS makes that much more real and keeps my heart soft.

Lord, help us all to find ways to reach out and minister to those less fortunate than ourselves. Let us never get too busy to forget to help out those who need some of your grace and mercy.

I think having a soft heart is a good thing.

Milestones

Today is a big day in the salyer household with several milestones being passed:

1. I hit the 15 pound loss mark today! The combination of calorie counting, food substitution, and exercise helped me overcome a potential disaster this weekend. We had people over to eat and Angela made 4 wonderful desserts!! They all looked good, but I (for the most part) stuck to the fresh fruit and avoided a big weight gain.
2. Tyler started his 1st real job today! He called this AM and was very excited, we are so proud of him, he has been through a lot but he made it and I know he will be successful. I would give anything to be a fly on the wall in his classroom today.
3. The Neon made it to Columbus this AM with no problems! no overheating, oil leaking, or other problems( THANK YOU JESUS!) This is only the 2nd time in 6 weeks I was able to drive this 35 MPG gas sipping car to work, so pray for it to keep running.

Renewing Vows

We went to a ceremony last night for family friends who renewed their wedding vows. They had been married 10 years, have 4 beautiful daughters and I am sure they felt it was something they needed to do. It was nice, to publicly declare their love for each other and renew their commitments to their marriage.

But you know, if that was the only time they showed their love for each other, their marriage would not be based on much. Anybody could tell their spouse they love once then every 10 years! What counts is what happens the rest of the time. How do they treat each other, how do they show love, do they forgive each other when they make mistakes or hold grudges?

It dawned on me later, we as Christians should be renewing ours vows to Jesus daily. We should thank God everyday for the sacrifice he made to send Jesus to die on the cross for us.

I wonder if Christians had to publicly "renew their vows" would they do it? I know Jesus would do His part, and wait for us at the altar, to see if we would be as interested and committed to Him, 5, 10, 20 years later, as we were when we accepted Him as our Lord and Savior.

Would you?

Why women really do hate men.

It dawned on me the other day that women really hate men. The following are a few reasons why.

1. Losing weight. My diet is going good I'm down between 10 and 15 pounds. But every time I tell that to a women, they say, "It is so easy for men to lose weight." EASY? If you call counting calories everyday and walking or running 1 or 2 miles a day easy! It is hard work to lose weight. Women hate men because men have the mental toughness and self control to lose weight whenever they want to.
2. Playing sports. Women are not very good at playing sports. If they were, why would we need "women's" tees in golf? Or different size softball when women come to bat. Women give the illusion of being good at sports by playing each other. Do you remember all the publicity given to the 1st women to dunk a basketball? It was last year. There were boys who could dunk a basketball when I was in high school. Women hate men because we are better at them at sports.
3. Being right. This will be the most controversial thing I have ever written on my blog. Men are just right more often. In every relationship someone has to be the kite and someone has to be the string. In most cases the man is the string to make sure good decisions are made everyday. Left up to a women she would go shopping everyday, all day, when their closets and drawers are full of clothes! A top to go with this, a purse for that, jewelry on sale, shoes, shoes, shoes. If I hear the word Stein Mart one more time!!!

PS: Pray for me now, before Angela reads this!

On a lighter note!

Well on a lighter note than last post, some more positive, lighter information:

1. WE got the Neon back!!! Yes, it is in our driveway. Brandon and Corey cleaned up the engine really well, it looks great. BUT, now it needs a new radiator, something about the car being built in Mexico makes the radiator hard to get. At least we got it back and paid a whole lot less than we would have.
2. Corey moved the Crossbow to the basement in record time, without me having to threaten him. Even Angela used it tonight for 5 minutes. I am such a wimp on it. I cannot do curls with more than 80 pounds!
3. Diet still going good, down over 10 pounds. Had a good weekend, not too much straying, except for some lemon mousse thing Angela made that was out of this world!! Since it had lemon in it does that count for a fruit?
4. Finally, CONNECT group continues to amaze me, and I am an optimistic person! We had 10 again with 2 more new people, if everyone would come at once we would have close to 20 and need a bigger room! Having our 1st class fellowship this Friday at our house. "Bring your favorite dessert" (my idea). Need to walk for sure on Saturday twice as long.
5. Tomorrow is next to last class at the Naz. Hope I don't get yelled at again!!

Hard Hearted Christians

Last week the CONNECT lesson was from Mark 4, the parable about the sower. Everybody has always thought of the parable from the perspective of the sower. I challenged the class to think of it differently.

What if the 4 types of earth can represent my heart? I can't get it off of my mind that Jesus was warning us about having a hard heart, like the hard ground where the Word will not grow in my life if my heart is hardened to the things of God.

Went to visit Aunt Rhoda, she has "hollyhock" growing in the middle of her driveway. A beautiful plant with purple flowers on it. It is growing out of a crack in the cement. She said it grows for a while and dies and comes back next year the same.

Sounds like some Christians. They used to come to church every service, their heart was soft to what word of God would have them do with their lives. But now, for many reasons they think, you never see them at church except on Sunday AM services or worse only at Christmas or Easter.

Their lives are full of things that keep them out of church and from hearing God's word. People act like they forgot that God does speak on Sunday nights and Wednesday nights too! It always starts little by little, missing once in a while, then, next they get out of the habit, and finally they make plans to do things when they should be at church.

If you ask them about it, they get very defensive and make excuses. That should be a clue to them that maybe they are wrong.

Pray especially this week for those family and friends who used to come every week, even teach class and sit in the front, but now they hardly ever darken the church doors. Reach out to them and invite them back to the Fathers house. This will keep our hearts softer and maybe start to put a crack in theirs to start the process of the flowers blooming again.

Finally, ask yourself, is my heart soft enough for God to do anything with it? Do I get into arguments with the people I love and respect over things that are really self centered and inwardly self focused?

Look back over the last month, and write down all things you did to help your church reach souls for Christ. That will tell you the truth. Everything else is just an excuse.

Hectic Week

This has been a hectic week around the Salyer house.

Sunday was great, had 10 people again in CONNECT, with 2 more new people. I am excited about 1st class fellowship at out house on Friday 7/28.

In the evening we took mom and dad to Brandon's Championship softball game. They were short of players, so Corey had to play shortstop (he did a great job, especially considering he is left handed). They lost the game but still won the championship due to their overall record. Celebrated by going to Red Robin and I got a veggie burger due to the diet.

Tuesday night taught class at "The Naz" campus in Newark. One of the women in my class was mad at me because of her grade. Well, when she only did part of the assignment what do you expect? She forgot to turn the page in her book and missed the most important part of the paper.

Is it just me, or do women seem to argue and hold grudges longer than men do? This person in the class would not look at me the whole rest of the class.

I am still convinced that when women argue with each other it is a lot worse than when men argue with men. Women never seem to get over it, the one who messed up doesn't want to admit it. Men will move on a lot faster and get over things quicker than women will ever do. Men care a lot less about being right than women do.

Wednesday night we watched Brock while Kyle, Brandon and Corey had a softball game for the Park Trails team. Brock is getting big and really is starting to develop a personality, he is smiling a whole lot more.

Diet going well, recovered from Mimi Cafe dining experience and now have lost 10 pounds! Jeremiah added to weight loss bet by saying that he would give me $30 if I could jog around Park Trails by Thanksgiving. Little does he know I plan to do it by the 1st of November.

Days Neon has been at Jake's house = 20
Days Corey has left the exercise machine he got from Blake in garage = 10

The Salyer Curse

The Salyer family does not do well in English classes. I call it the Salyer Curse. That is the only class I would tell the boys that as long as they got a "C" it would be OK. For some reason English Class was always a mystery to me. I can talk it, I write in English, but understanding the details of the language are like speaking Greek.

(to prove my point, when Angela read this, she thought I was being funny and left out the word "do" above. It wasn't on purpose, I added it later)

I thought Corey was adopted 1 time because he got an "A" in English, but he assured me it was because the teacher liked him.

Tyler got the job! ( 1 down and 2 more boys to go). The interview went very well. They told him he was 1 of 6 candidates, some with more education than him, but the principal called and offered him the job that afternoon! He is very excited and can't wait.

Guess what Tyler is teaching? See the 1st paragraph. That's right, 5th Grade English!! God has a sense of humor!! The principal told him not to worry, take the job, that doesn't mean he will have to teach it every year.

Final note, reason # 995 I love my wife. Came home Friday night to the best dinner I had had in a long time. Shrimp, new potatoes, corn, fresh green beans, biscuits, and peanut butter dessert!! Diet took a step back that night, but I walked my 2 miles on Saturday trying to get things back under control.

Pray for Tyler!

Tyler just called to let me know he has a job interview with Shelby County School district. The interview is with a school principal that has a reputation as being very good to work with. From his voice he is very excited.

My 2nd class at "The Naz" went very well last Tuesday. Starting to understand the flow of the class and how to get material covered without just standing up and reading to them. Now I have to grade 12 quizzes and 12 papers before class Tuesday, pray for me!

Angela getting ready for a jewelry party at our house tonight so I am going watch to Brandon play softball in Columbus tonight.

Thanks to Uncle Gary! Brandon bought a Chevy Lumina from Gary to replace "ol' blue" his Honda with about 2,000,000 miles on it. Now Corey is thinking about buying the convertible Chevy Cavalier Gary has because it would get better mileage than the Jimmy.

My nephew Nathan bought "ol' blue" and Jim called and said that Nate loves it! It is 1st car and Jim said he put about 1,000 miles on it the 1st week. So I could just get the Neon back, the Salyer will have upgrade all 3 cars that are the worse in the family. God is good!!!

Great day on Sunday!

We had 10 people in the CONNECT group again this Sunday, but 4 of 10 were different than last week. Praise the Lord that by starting this new class, we can reach those who may not know other people their age.

Keep praying for the Worship Leader search team. we feel God is moving and we want to be very sensitive to His direction and not ours.

Well, the Neon is still getting fixed, this is the 4th week. Hard to complain. The guy who is fixing it will do it much cheaper than taking it somewhere else. Only problem is that Angela doesn't have car during the day, so she has to do her shopping, I mean running around during the evening.

Corey and Brandon had about 10 people over to watch the World Cup finals. Very exciting game with lots of drama. I guy I work with has a cousin that plays for Italy, so that is who we were rooting for.

PS: went with the Dear's to Skyline Chili after church, don't think Pastor Dear liked it