Soakin' Up Life . . . at a 100 MPH!

So, by now you are wondering - I know, it's driving you crazy - did he bale or mow? Well. . .after considering the costs, the time, and the effort I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .mowed. Yep, I mowed. It was nice this morning with a sweet little breeze blowing through the yard, so I jumped on the ol' mower and cut away. 2 1/2 hours later I had a nice clean yard, trimmed to perfection. The edges were cut. The long ones that were missed by the mower were weed-eated (word? sure why not) away. And all the concrete surfaces were blown clean. I love a clean yard. I hate the yard work, but I love the result. I also spent another hour wading in the pond replacing the rocks around the edge. I recently put a new liner it, but had never put the rocks back. This morning was that morning. I still have some things to do - more mulch to cover up the excess liner, get rid of the weeds and dead leaves, re-arrange rocks to make it look better. But, all-in-all it's coming together. Th...

This past Saturday I had the incredible privilege of bringing our singles together to share with them a vision for our new singles ministry. It's called It incorporates Jesus' prayer in John 17:21 that we may be one, just as He and God are one. It also promotes the concept that just like the number 1 is complete - it doesn't need another number to make it a number - single adults are complete. Apart from Christ, they don't need someone else to make them complete as a person. It also says that, coporately, we are one - united in purpose, direction, spirit, and service. It was very good time. Some great worship - Thanks Alex for bringing it all together. Had some good fun thinking outside the box and getting adults out of their comfort zone. Here are some pics from the evening Alex, Jill, & Dave leading worship Singles Worshipping Becky & Milton playing Gorilla, Man, Gun Gorilla, Man, Gun is a full bodied version of the old paper, rock scissors game. Only dif...

Well. . .it's been a couple of weeks since I last mowed the yard. Since I was out all last week and have been pretty busy most nights this week, I just haven't had a chance to mow. I was leaving this morning thinking, either I've got to mow, or get a baler and start selling hay. Yeah, it's pretty sad. I'm almost afraid to let Ranger or Lucy (my cats) out in the back yard. I'm afraid I would lose them. Looks like tomorrow is M-Day. Yep, gotta get 'er done. It's crazy. I know. Then again, I'm strange. Enjoy the rest of the week - I'll be ridin' the mower in the morning. Mike

Ok, break's over, time to get back to posting! I just read my friend, Gene's, blog. Gene is an ANIMAL ! Or the most masochistic person I know. Don't believe me?He runs marathons, 50K trail runs, and does 100 mile bike rides. He's also done a couple of triathlons (we did one together one year - good times) Now, dont' take this wrong, but Gene ain't no spring chicken, though he's a springier chicken than most guys his age. This year he rode in the Hotter-N-Hell 1oo . It's a 100 mile bike ride in Wichita Falls, Texas in the middle of the freaking Texas summer. Gene did it. We both did it a couple of years ago - the weather was not so hot and not so hellish that year. But this year? I was in Wichita Falls in July. It was 104 degrees at 11:00 am one morning. Now that's stinkin' hot! Props to you Gene! You're a freakin' ANIMAL . An ANIMAL I said!! Miss riding with you. Maybe next year! To check out Gene's thoughts on this year...

I will be taking a break during the rest of the week - unless I can get connected to the internet. Our staff will be on its annual staff retreat. Please pray for us. Chalet Shocco , here we come. Mike

It's been a great day! Ever have those days. You know. . .you wake up, have some idea of what you need/want to do, then just live the day? I did that today. Got up about 7:30 this morning, got the animals taken care of then headed out the door on the back of my SA-WEEET (for those having trouble it's "sweet" - means nice, cool, etc.) Harley and rode down to the local Lenny's. . .I mean Denny's for some breakfast and time with the local newspaper . It was good, filling, and relaxing. After I whoofed down breakfast I talked myself into going heading north on Hwy 45. Hadn't ever been up that way before so. . .what the heck. Rode up to Waynesboror, MS . And what a ride it was. The sun was out, not too hot, and definitely not a lot of traffic. Turned around at Waynesboro, MS and arrived at the house around 1:00 pm. Once inside I changed into something a little more comfortable and climbed into bed for a two-hour nap. Afterwhich, I cleaned the house. ...

Ok, so I know I need to get busy. But while I was surfing some blogs I like to read, I came to Marko's blog - he's a Youth Specialties guy and found this . You gotta love it! So, if you're looking for something to get me for Christmas. . . let me suggest. . .

Ever have those days off when it really doesn't feel like a day off. Well. . .that's how I feel today. Between getting the yard cleaned up - mowed, edged, weed-eated (is this s a word?), and blown off - and getting ready for my men's Bible study that begins tonight, and finishing up re-writing 5 more lessons today/tomorrow, I just don't feel like it's a day off. So, with that said, I will head off into the whirlwind that's ahead of me. If you don't hear from me by tomorrow, send help. Until then, Mike

It's 10:30 pm and a huge storm just blew threw our part of the world (Mobile, AL). It got me to thinking. . . I love storms. Actuall I love the rain. I love the sound it makes. I love the smell of rain. I love the cleansing and refreshing effect it has on life. I love sleeping when it's raining. There's just something about rain that is so peaceful to me. It calms me. It eases my anxieties. It settles my spirit. I love rain!! So, I think I will get ready for bed. Cover my head. And listen quietly as the rain falls gently on this earth. G'nite, Mike

Went to see the movie, World Trade Center , Friday night. It shows the 9-11 tragedy from the side of some of those sent in to evacuate the towers. Oliver Stone directs and does a masterful job at telling the story, not just the who, what, when, where, why, and how stuff, but telling the personal story of those involved. This story is told from the point of view of two men, Port Authority Policemen, who risked their lives to save people, but were caught inside when the towers collapsed. I liked how the stories of the families were included as well and how it affected the wives, the children, parents, etc. I also appreciated how it showed the perseverence of the rescue workers and firemen who were willing to risk their lives for the search of anyone who might be alive and how this event took its toll on them as well. It takes some time getting through some of the scenes, but I found myself quietly intrigued by the stories of the people involved. It was pretty silent in the theater dur...

This morning I had to get up and take Dakota, my German Shepherd, to the vet. (Here's a picture of Dakota and Sadie) You know. . .at least with children you can get insurance. Ol' Baby 'Kota cost me an arm and a leg for shots and medicine for her ear - she gets ear infections very easy, parents ought to know what that's like, eh? I told her I was going to put tubes in her ears. She just looked at me funny. I also got flea medicine and some heartworm medicine for all the dogs. With all the animals I have I'm going to have to take out a loan just for their annual checkups. Well, it's one down and four more to go. The rest just get their shots. Hopefully it won't be too bad. Anyone need a kid. . .er, I mean pet? :) Mike

Today I'm recovering. "Recovering from what?", you might ask. Thank you for asking. I'm recovering from a great weekend of rafting on the Ocoee River in southeast Tennessee with 17 of our singles. Click [ here ] for a map of where we were. Here's the group before we left. We are looking like a group ready to go. We finally got to the ladies' cabin about 11:00 Thursday night. Not only was our cabins not in Ducktown (just 3 miles north of the Georgia state line), they were on two separate mountains altogether! We finally found them. The ladies' cabis was very, very, nice. 2 Bedrooms, 2 baths, with two lofts - one on either side of the living room (one above each bedroom). Great living room and kitchen area, with a large front porch and beautiful view off of the back porch. Click [ here ] for pics of the ladies cabin. The guys cabin, on the other hand, was a bit rustic. Yes, that was the name of the cabin, "Rustic Retreat." We came in r...

Well. . .for those who have been waiting here's some pics of my week at Camp Chapparal . For a summary of my week check out my post on camp . Here's my buddy Steve being "Mr. Camp Director" meeting one evening with the adults while the students were eating. Actually, it was a pretty good idea. Let the kids eat, while we sit in the AC and meet and pray, THEN we go eat in peace. :) Here's one of The Brown Band doing what they do best - leading worship. They were great to serve with. Check them out if you need a band to lead a worship. On Thursday, the REC team from Wayland Baptist University opened up the ol' slip-n-slide. Here's some pics from that little event. Even Student Pastors get in on the fun This is Jeremy, Student Pastor of FBC, Canton, Texas Here's one student showing us the kind of form it takes to go long. Here's a couple of big guys getting big air! Soooo. . .I hope you have got a sense of how much fun it was for me. Wish yo...

It's kind of quiet around the old homestead tonight. I think I'm enjoying it. It's one of those wierd times when you enjoy the silence, but have a lot to do so you don't know whether to sit and soak or to crank up some tunes and get busy. I think I'll rest for a sec, then get up and get busy. Ever have those times when both sound good and just don't know which one you should do? Maybe it's because I'm wierd. Maybe it's because I don't get this opportunity very often and I just don't know what to do with it when I do get it. Maybe I should just stop typing and enjoy the quiet. (whispering) Ssshhhhhhhh. . .quiet please, Mike