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

I'm experiencing a bit of a quandary. My old Dell Latitude D600 has been a faithful companion for the past 3 ½ years. It has gone with me wherever I have gone. The only place it hasn't gone with me was to Tanzania last year. But it's getting a little slow. The buttons don't work as well as they used to. Both of the hinges are broke - I have to prop up the screen or it will flop over. I quickly fill up the hard drive and have to constantly delete or move files. So I need to do something soon. And here's the quandary - do I go back with a faithful relative - another Dell laptop (this is only my second since 1998) or do I make the switch to a Mac? I could get a pretty good Dell for under $1,000 and I could get a refurbished Mac for under or at $1,000. I keep going back and forth and don't quite know what I should do. I wouldn't even consider a Mac, except for the fact that it's OS is built on Linux - I used to be a Unix programmer in my former day...

Cindy and I have just a few things going on in the near future: Today is Cindy's last day of the school year. It's just a teacher's workday, but they have to go in to make sure everything is turned in and close out the year. Yesterday was the student's last day of school. It was only a half day, so only two students showed up. I went in to help her get stuff ready. We got a lot accomplished. Mom & my brother, Jerry, are heading this way. In fact, they should be pulling in sometime around noon (if not sooner). They will be here all weekend and head home on Tuesday. The really cool thing is that they don't have to do any work. All they have to do is relax! So, that is what we are going to do. We are probably going to spend at least one day on the beach. Commissioning Service - our church is commissioning a couple of our mission groups this Sunday night. It's nothing formal, just recognizing the group and it's mission (place, purpose, and t...

I'm trying out ScribFire - it's a blog posting plugin tool anyone with a blog can use through Mozilla's FireFox . All I have to do is to type in my blog - whatever I'm thinking and that can be dangerous, eh? - select the blog I wish to post to, click the "Publish" box at the bottom and hot diggity dang it's on that blog. I've had it a while, but have never really tried it out. So. . .I thought, "What the heck? Let's kick the tires and give it a whirl!" I'll let you know what I think. Mike

Oh yeah! We're partyin' today folks. Cindy and me and all our Tanzania buddies are getting together to pack stuff for Tanzania. This is where we pack the children's ministry stuff, the medical stuff, the food stuff, and ministry stuff we're taking to Tanzania in a couple of weeks. Here's the trick - get everything you need to Tanzania in trunks and duffel bags without one of them going over 49 pounds! Of course we will graze on some grub, see friends and co-missionaries we haven't seen in a while and share stories from last year's trip. Wish you were here to party with us!! Mike

Found this through the twitter of Todd Rhoades of Monday Morning Insight . Thanks Todd! It's from Tominthebox News Network - a blog dedicated to the satirical look at religion. The site is pretty good, but the song is really funny. Enjoy, Mike

If you read my last blog you know that George Hall Elementary, the school where Cindy teaches, has been recognized and received a couple of national awards. She is so cool. Yesterday I found out that at the beginning of the year the teachers committed to having 75% of their students writing at specific level. Cindy is the only 1st grade teacher who not only reached the 75% mark, but she surpassed it by a huge margin - 88% of her students reached or surpassed the level for 1st graders at the end of the year. The closest teacher to her had only 71% of their students reach that level. On top of that, her students should be reading at a 1.9 level (the level a first grader should be reading at the end of the year). Yet, many of her students are reading at a 2nd grade and some even at a 3rd grade level. So this one's for Cindy! Way to go Sweetie! You're my hero! Mike

I've got a lot to do today, but one thing I will be doing is attending the awards ceremony at George Hall Elementary in Mobile, AL. George Hall is the school where Cindy teaches 1st Grade. This year they were nominated and received a prestigious national award from The National Principals Leadership Institute in New York City. The award, The National School Change Award, was given to only 6 six school from more than the 600+ that were nominated from across the nation. George Hall was recognized as moving from low performing to exemplary. Four years ago this school was almost shut down. It was given one more chance. Teachers and admin at the time were sent packing and a new group of teachers and administration were brought it. Cindy was one of them. Since that time they have become a model that several school districts from around the country have come to see. Here are some of the facts about the school: It's student body is mostly minority/black (just about 100%) and co...

That's right folks. While I'm admittedly a geek when it comes to computers, programs, and the internet, Cindy is a geek in her own right. She's a geek when it comes to architecture. Go figure. She even bought a book on architectural styles (in it's historical context). Last night she read me the characteristics of a specific style of house out of this book. For the life of me I can't even remember. Oh wait a minute it was Craftsman style. Whatever! All I know is that she was pretty jazzed about it and would not go to sleep. So yes, we are a family of geeks. Our poor children don't stand a chance. Pray for them, Mike

Cindy constantly reminds me how much of a geek I truly am. And I always agree with her. I would rather be playing with code and trying new things on my laptop and the internet than almost anything else. Remember, I'm still a man and I'm still a newly wed - WOOHOO!!! Today I'm trying out Google Docs and Google Calendar . I'm helping out my friend Stacey with a presentation for a church plant idea in the Kingwood, TX area. Google Docs lets us view the presentation online together and make needed tweeks. It's doesn't provide the full spectrum of options that PowerPoint does, but it doesn't look too bad, either. Google Calendar is an online calendar that allows me to import my calendar from MS Outlook (or any calendaring program you can export to a .csv) , then share that calendar with friends, family, co-workers and the whole world if I want to. Or I can keep it private along with any particular appointments I want to keep private. This would work gre...

I'm looking for some studies, or where to find them, that show how technology has not necessarily made our lives easier. I know I've heard statistics that show we are actually working more in spite of the claims that technology was supposed to make our lives easier. If you have them or know where I can get them please email me or leave a comment. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Mike

Well, we're back. The weather was wonderful and we had a great time. On Friday I picked Cindy up from school - she did very well, she had her bags packed on Thursday - and we hit I-10 East. Got to the condo about 5:00 pm and just crashed. Fixed a sandwich and watched The Kingdom (Jamie Foxx even mentions his home town, Terrell, TX). Since this was a weekend to relax it was also a weekend for snacks. I actually got to eat Milk Duds , Twizzlers (a fat-free snack by the way, it says so on the package), and Hot Tamales ! I even had some Pringles , BABY!! And on Saturday I grabbed an ice cream cone. Wooohooo!!!! I was living on the edge! On Saturday we slept in 'til about 9:30 then headed out to the beach. Cindy, a connoisseur of sunshine, says that the optimal tanning time is 10:00 am - 2:00 pm. Didn't know that. Did you? This turned out to be true to some extent as she ended up getting way more sun than she wanted. She wasn't pink, she was RED! and hurting...

I've been invited to preach this Sunday at Chunchula Baptist Church. I've preached and taught there before. It's Mother's Day and I'm praying and wondering if I should do a traditional Mother's Day message or not. I'm thinking not. I'm thinking about recognizing the mothers present, then presenting my message entitled, Life that Demand Evidence . You can get a glimpse of the message here . Working on the outline this week. Got to get through because Cindy and I leave Friday afternoon to head to the beach and stay at her parent's condo for the weekend. AND I don't want to miss out on a relaxing weekend at the beach. Mike

After a great day of Bible study, worship, fellowship, and Tanzania planning I'm working my tail off to try to get going this morning. What is it about Monday's that cause us to just want to go back to bed? In the words of the Mamas and the Papas Every other day, every other day, Every other day of the week is fine, yeah But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes You can find me cryin' all of the time (From Monday, Monday ) So, if you're having a Monday like me, hang in there. At least tomorrow's not Monday! :-) Mike

Saturday brought an end to an era - the era of ol' dogs. That's right, Dakota, the last of the ol' dogs was put to sleep. She would have been 13 years old this year. That would have made her 91 to you and me. She lived a great life and was a wonderful companion. She loved playing "find the ball." More than that she loved long walks on the leash and enjoyed rides in the car/truck even more. We knew it was coming. She had a disease that kept her from gaining weight and for the second time in the last month she had quit eating and lost even more weight and had, in fact, lost so much weight that she had very little strength left in her hind legs. We didn't want to see her suffer any longer and after talking with the vet we knew this was the right choice. Saturday night was kinda weird. I had a routine at night that included going out and checking on the dogs, petting them, and then feeding them. Sometimes I had to correct them and re-direct them to the ...

I stand amazed at the stupidity of humanity. Just when I think people can't get any dumber I read abour Charles Ray Fuller. Fuller must have been smoking something when he tried to cash a $360 BILLION check. I mean, just think about the absurdity of trying to do something like that. You know how many people can actually write something like that and have the funds to back it up? Believe me, the number is very, very, very. . . low. Fuller said his girlfriend's mother gave him the check to start a record company. What a woman! But, to tell you the truth, I don't think she's on that list. Then again, you know what kind of bravado it takes to walk into a bank and actually try to cash a $360 Billion check? I've always said, "There's a fine line between bravado and stupidity." And I think this guy actually crossed it. In the end, Fuller was arrested for forgery, possession of marijuana (no kidding?), and possession of a firearm (he had a .25 cali...

If you have a favorite pair of shorts - I have a pair of basketball shorts I wear around the house; love 'em, even hate to wash them because I will have to wear something else in the mean time - and you spill coffee on them, is it OK to just wipe the coffee off and keep going? If you throw them in the washer do you risk losing your Man Card? Even if your washing them while you're doing yard work (man work)? Just wondering. Mike

I don't have any loads to pick up today, but I still have yard work to do. As I was sitting, eating some breakfast, and reading I realized how quiet it is around here when I'm alone. The cats are playing, a car or two may occasionally drive down the street, and soft, muffled sound of Dakota's radio is playing in the background, but all in all, it's very still and quiet. I don't have the roar of a Cummins Diesel engine, the sounds of construction crews or the rush of traffic vying for my attention or my hearing. It's just quiet. I have forgotten how wonderful quiet could be. I have forgotten how peaceful stillness can be. It won't last long. I have to go sit on a mower for about an hour and then rev up the old weed eater, edger, and blower. So it will be somewhat noisy for the next 2 and a half hours. But for now, I thank God for the stillness of the moment. What are you thankful for today? Mike

As I was scarfing down a bowl of Total I was thinking about my favorite cereals. Cereal has always been a part of our family - it didn't matter whether it was grabbing a bowl before school and sitting with my Grandpa as he at a bowl of Raisin Bran after church on Sunday nights. Growing up I had my faves. I would still eat them, but me and a lot of sugar in the morning is no bueno. As many of you can attest, it's not like I need more sugar! So I also have favorites now. Here's my list of favorite cereals: Then Cap'n Crunch - the original and all-time favorite, and breakfast with the Cap'n - how do you beat that? Frosted Flakes - don't get soggy in milk Peanut Butter Crunch - Cap'n Crunch and peanut butter, what's not to like? Wheat Chex - add a banana, mmmm. . .mmmmm. . .good! Now Total - good for you and doesn't get soggy too quickly Kellogg's Low Fat Granola without Raisins - good all around cereal Wheat Chex - still like me a bowl o...