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

We are officially ready for prospective buyers now. Please keep us in your prayers. We have been working really hard getting the house showroom ready. After I bought a truckload of stuff from Lowe's (that was fun!), we have been working fervently putting things up, fixing things, and DEEP cleaning. I want to show off my husband's hard work with all this stuff. He was such a trooper. He will admit he is not the handyman but the computer man. But I will admit, once he takes forever to figure it out, he knows it for good. Ask him about the crazy plantation blinds. By the 15th one, he had it down to a science. I was the Lowe's run girl, and painter of all doors and chair railing, helper of the 15 blinds we had to put up, and cleaner. Thanks Mike for ALL your hard work on the house! You have done an awesome job. Especially in the office as you wrestled with the bead board. Guess what? You won! The room looks fabulous. The front of the house with our new porch lights and a fresh...

Well. . .the office is just about done - bead board up, new plantation blinds, new switch plates and plugs. We also added new porch lights - they're so stinkin' bright they look like two spotlights - changed out the lights in the guest bathroom, changed small metal blinds to plantation blinds, painted the inside of front and back doors, and power washed the house. Still have a lot to do before the house officially goes on the market tomorrow. In the midst of all this we celebrated worship and I taught our ABF on Sunday morning and made a run hauling huge chemical tanks to a local business yesterday. Last night we attended the Renew Conference at North Mobile. Michael Catt challenged us to not only be persistent in prayer, but also be fervent in prayer. Great reminder for me. So. . .we're off! Got to get up and get going. Have a great day! Mike

Well. . .we got good news! He didn't have a stroke, as far as the doctors can tell. He does, however, have bells palsy which causes the face to droop. He was in great spirits this morning. We even shared some great laughs. He was discharge and went home this afternoon. Thanks to all who prayed for Dad! We really appreciate it. Mike

Our family could really use your prayers today. It appears that my dad had a stroke yesterday. He's in the hospital going through all types of tests to determine the severity of everyting. It has affected his vision, the left side of his face is droopy and numb. From what I've found out this morning the droopy stuff is worse today. He's not one to complain when he is sick, so for him to say something means it may be pretty bad. But my brother did say he is still laughing an joking. It's hard to imagine a guy who gets up sometime around 2:30 in the morning , works 8 hours, then mows yards 3 or 4 days a week till about 5:00-5:30 pm. He loves staying busy and if you're anything like my dad, then you know how hard it is having to lay up for any reason. Pray for wisdom for the doctors to find out the severity of everything. Pray for my step-mom, Jane. Pray for my dad's attitude and heart. Don't want him to get discourage. Love you dad! Mike

Ever watch Nanny 911 ? I'm watching an episode now. You want to know what I find amazing? Parents who invite someone to help them with their children, then get upset when someone tells them what they need to do to become better parents. I don't get this. Am I the only one? I mean, why would you invite someone into your home then pitch a fit and get your feelings hurt when you're confronted with changes? What do you expect people? If everything's Okey-Dokey in your household, then whey are they there? It's not like they invited themselves. Like I said, I just don't get it. Somebody help me understand. Mike.

We've got a new survey. Check it out. Mike

It seems that we've reached the maximum participation in the recent survey. Here's the result: There was a total of 14 people who participated. The question asked was Do you/your family celebrate Halloween in its traditional manner - trick-or-treating, costumes, candy, etc. ? 10 (71%) said they and/or their family will 4 (28%) said they would not I didn't ask why, just wanted to know if you would. Thanks to everyone who participated in the survey. Watch for the next survey!! Mike

Ok, I think I have a solution to the bead board incident. Spoke with Big Tom - my father-in-law who's basically building his own house - he suggested ripping out the existing chair railing and putting up new railing. Great idea! This way I don't have to custom cut each piece and cut every piece at the same height and put just put it up. May have spend a little more money, but what the hey?! Next Step: rip down what I've already put up, take out existing chair railing, and go get a couple more sheets of bead board and some new railing. Well alrighty then, Mike

So I started putting up the bead board in the office. We have nice base board and there's already a chair railing up. No problem, just measure between the two cut the bead board and put it up. Right? WRONG!!! It seems the previous home owners had great ideas but lousy execution. The said chair railing isn't even close to being straight. THEREFORE . . .every piece has be custom cut. And, just in case you already didn't know, I'M NOT A HANDYMAN! AND I'm gonna have to by some more trim to cover the gaps. Which means more $$$$!!!! And yes, I'm a perfectionist. I don't have a clue about what I'm gonna do when I get to the window sill. So I 'm quitting for the night. I still need to organize the office and move the furniture - that would definitely make things easier. You guys pray for me and for Cindy. Ask God to give peace about this. Now where's my hammer! I've got some holes to make!!!!!! :) Mike

Well. . .I didn't get the office as organized as I was hoping. So, I'll probably finish that this morning - maybe later this evening - then head to Lowes or Home Depot to get some bead board, new switches & plugs, and the stuff for putting up the bead board in the office. I've got to get all that up and finished, or at least get the sheets cut to fit and put them up tomorrow. Also, still need to sell the Passat and Harley. I keep hearing that they won't be a problem to sell, yet I haven't had any offers. Oh well. We'll look at some other avenues for selling them. Got to get busy, guys. Have a great day! Mike

As part of the process of getting ready to move to Oregon I'm organizing and filing stuff that has been stacking up for a while. What I've realized about myself is that I'm a " File-by-Pile " guy. As long as I know which pile stuff is in I can easily put my hand on it. Others, and you may be one, are more of a " A place for everything and everything in it's place " person. And you could be one of my favorite people right about now! Well. . .it ain't organizing itself! Gotta go. Mike

Well, the weekend is over and it's time to get on with another week. Speaking of the weekend, here's my wrap up: The Longhorns handily beat Missouri and are now #1 in the BCS standings. I'm not sure I like that since they still have to play Oklahome State and Texas Tech. A lot can happen over the next couple of weeks. Boston pushed the ALCS to seven games, but that's as far as they could go. Tampa Bay won game seven and now head to the World Series to take on the Phillies. My mom's really excited - she was hoping the Rays would win and go to the World Series. Now she's pushing me to root for Tampa Bay. I'm an American League guy, so I'm probably going with the Rays. Alabama Crimson Tide held off Mississippi and took the second spot in the BCS. It was pretty tight for a while, but the Tide held on to take the win. They, too, still have a pretty rough schedule with LSU and arch-rival Auburn. Also went to Praise in the Park Saturday night. What a ...

Today's a big day for several reasons: Texas v. Missouri - #1 v. #11 has the potential to be battle on the field. I definitely want the Horns to win, but, for me, this is a toss up. HOOK 'EM HORNS! Alabama v. Mississippi - Is this the game Alabama doesn't show up? Alabama should win this one hands down. Boston v. Tampa Bay - The ALCS goes to Tampa Bay. Will the Red Sox force a game seven or will the Rays take it in six? Praise in the Park - Cindy, myself, and a bunch of folks from the area are gathering together this afternoon in Lucedale, MS for some fun, fellowship, and great music from some good bands including 33 Miles and Casting Crowns (did I ever tell you about the day/night I volunteered as a runner for Casting Crowns? Read about it here ). Side Note: Watching Texas A&M and Texas Tech - Aggies winning at the half 23-20. Go Aggies!! Vandy is losing to Georgia, 14-0. Oh! Did I mention that Cindy and I will be moving to Gresham, OR? That's right...

That's right folks, just when it looked like the Red Sox were about to roll over for the very talented and powerful Tampa Bay Rays, they pulled out another come from behind victory! I, sad to say, had just about given up on the Red Stockings when they came from seven down in the last three innings to take game five 8-7. Whether it was the Rays choking or the Sox just finally shutting down the Rays hitting while getting in their own hitting groove I don't really know. What I do know is that this win put some much needed wind in Boston's sails. The series heads back to Tampa Bay for game six tomorrow night. Will the Rays shut down Boston in their home town or will the Red Sox step up and take it to another game seven? These all important questions are to be answered Saturday night. Go Boston!! Mike

Looks like the problem I was having with my Twitter updates have been fixed. YYYEEAAA!!!

My hats off to the Philadelphia Phillies . They won the National League Championship Series and earned a place in the 2008 World Series. They ruled the Dodgers. And while I was hoping the Dodgers would pull it out, last night just proved the Phillies were too strong and a much better team. Now we just have to wait to see if the Boston Red Sox can pull out another miracle and beat the Tampa Bay Rays . I'm hoping, but I think the Rays are just way too powerful. We'll see. Mike

I had recently added Twitter Updates to my blog. Well. . something's a little crazy with the layout. Several others, I have found out, have had similar errors. So. . .if you're trying to keep up by following my Twitter updates on the blog, sorry for the inconvenience. You can sign up for a Twitter account and follow me there. Hopefully the problem will be worked out soon. Mike

Yep, I've finally taken the steps to put the Passat and Harley up for sale. This morning I cleaned them up, took some pictures and posted them on craig's list . Here are the links for the Passat and the Harley . If you know ANYONE who can use a great car and/or bike pass these links along. Mike

Today's one of those days you have stuff to do, but just can't get going. I feels a lot like a Monday, not a Tuesday. Yeah, I've had a couple cups of joe, but they just don't seem to be enough. I've had my quiet time. That was good, but it's just one of those days, I'm afraid. The stuff I have to do isn't hard, just a lot of loose ends to get done. Cindy and I, both, seem to have a hard time getting going this morning. I even had to entice her with a cup of coffee. . .oh wait, I do that every morning. Never mind. She's back at school this morning - her mission field. Please say a prayer for her today. Hope you're having a great week. Mike

We're home! Got here a little after 6:00 pm cst. We had a great weekend in Gresham, Or hanging out with the folks at Greater Gresham Baptist Church. For those of you who lifted us up in prayers Cindy and I say " THANKS!!!! " We really appreciate holding us up to the Father. Continue praying as we wait for God's answer and His timing. We also want to thank Rusty & Sheila for their hospitality. It was a blessing beyond anything we can say. Thanks to the GGBC ABF Leaders for their time. Thanks also is extended to the members of the search team and shepherds. You guys (and Sherry) have been great. And a special thank you goes to Keith Evans - my friend and maybe my new pastor. We're pretty worn out, so I'm cutting this short. OH!! Before I forget Longhorns 45 Sooners 35 HOOK 'EM HORNS!! Mike

Yep, today's the day. Today we lift off and head's towards Gresham, OR. I got most of the stuff done I needed to do yesterday - well. . .all except finding Cindy's phone. I did get her a Go-Phone and the folks at Planet AT&T in Saraland, AL were kind enough to program her SIM card. So. . .at least she has a source of communication. No, it's not her Samsung Blackjack II , but it will do in a pinch. And if we find it we will have a spare phone either of us can use. BUT, for my sake, ppppllllleeeeeaaaaassssseeeee pray we find her phone. :) Well. . .in the words of Jerry Reed , " We've got a long way to go and a short to get there time. " So I guess I'd better sign off and finish up. I'll be pretty busy this weekend so you can check out the blog for Twitter updates, but I probably won't be posting anything until we get home. Have a great weekend. Please pray for God's will to be done this weekend and that we will be sensitive to His ...

Been tying up loose ends today: Lowes, Staples, Register the truck, Share with a lady in the parking lot of the auto registration place that hell is divine justice, And a few moments at Starbucks to catch my breath and write a bit. Still have to grab some lunch, finish the laundry, go to the cleaners, find Cindy's phone, pack, email some folks, and get stuff together for this weekend. Gotta go. . .caffiene's 'bout gone and I've still got a lot to do!!! :) Later 'Gator, Mike

This weekend is a big weekend for a couple reasons: Cindy and I leave Friday for Gresham, OR where we are going in view of a call to join the staff at Greater Gresham Baptist Church . Gresham is an eastern suburb of Portland. It's beautiful there and what a mission field. We can't wait to see Keith and the gang again and are really excited about getting to meet and share with more folks from Greater Gresham. Red River Shoot Out - It's probably the game of the week, if not the year. It's a long-time rivalry between University of Oklahoma Sooners and the University of Texas Longhorns . They traditionally play in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl . I grew up with this rivalry and since I'm a huge Longhorn fan. Both teams are undefeated and will probably determine the winner the Big 12's South Division. I CAN'T WAIT!! Hook 'em Horns!!!!! What are you looking forward to this weekend? Mike

I've added a new feature to the blog - A Survey . It's located at the top of the left side of the blog. I'll post a question and give you a chance to respond. You can see the results immediately. This week's survey is about Halloween. It seems that many churches - I've served at three - provide an alternative to Halloween. Not a bad idea and I like it. It brings folks to our churches and does provide a safe environment for families. But not all Christians, or churches, do this. Some Christians still like the idea of dressing up the kids in costumes and handing out candy to neighborhood children. For some reason, I kinda like the interaction with the folks in my area. So I was wondering if you and your family (whether you're a Christ-follower or not) will be participating in the traditional celebration of Halloween. I don't really care why you will or won't. Everyone has their reasons. I was simply curious. Just click " Yes " or ...