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

That's probably what y'all have been thinking - huh? I know, I know. It's just been one those times when there's not much to write home about. I'm kinda in the doldrums when it comes to creative and everyday happenings. Since coming home from teaching at camp I've been so busy that I just don't have much to say. Oh. . .wait a minute. . .here's one! Last night several from our young singles ABF (Adult Bible Fellowship) headed off to downtown Mobile and shared some grub and fellowship with the homeless. It was cool to watch them organize it and then serve these men and women who live under a bridge or in a nearby park. I went not necessarily to serve, but to sit with them and get to know their story. There was Terry - He was in recent car wreck. He had two rods put in his left arm and a skin graft on his right arm. Yet, there he was smiling, eating, and everybit grateful. He was talkative and easy to talk to. There was Rhett (or Ralph) - He said pe...

I'm home from a week at a student camp - Camp Chaparral . I was there teaching students how God created them for a place of ministry and encouraging them to involved - somehow. . .somewhere. I was also the guest of Pam & Steve Sparks. They are wonderful friends from my Lufkin days. Steve is the Assistant Director of the camp. Better give a shout out to the staff - Hey Mike, David, Heather, Doug, Tim, Nate, Govani (spelling?) - thanks for a great week. These guys work really, really hard to make your camp stay the greatest. And it was. But I'm exhausted! I'm beginning to wonder if I'm getting too old for this kind of thing? The worship was great - thanks to the brown band ! Hey Michell, Gabi, Rooster, Noah, and #14. They'll get it. Jon Randles really challenged us with his messages - 7 Marks of a Disciple . Need a speaker that speaks truth with wisdom? Get Randles. College or students. He's good. But the late nights and early mornings - WHEW!! ...

Yesterday, Wed, Dad - A.K.A. "The King" - and I did something we had never done in 4? years - we rode motorcycles together! Yesterday morning we headed down to the Harley shop where I picked up a fatboy. Dad rode my 1200. We had to wait for it to stop raining, but that didn't take long. After that we loaded up and headed east. Rode across Mobile Bay on the Cause Way up to Spanish Fort . Ended up at Moe's Southwest Grill - home of the Homewrecker - the largest burrito I've ever eaten. It's a good thing we were on motorcycles rather than locked up in a car, eh? After filling our bellies we rode the back roads to Summerdale where we stopped and oogled some old cars in great shape at American Muscle Car Mania . Then we hit Hwy 98 over to Fairhope where we gassed up grabbed something to drink and headed home. All-in-all we put about 100 miles on the bikes and had a great time - rain and all. Here are a couple of pics of the trip. Now if I can convince Dad...

Today the Tour de France 2006 kicks off. Now I know many of you don't care. I do. I love cycling - it's both an individual and team sport. It's one of the most gruelling 20-something days covering 2,000 plus miles through some of the most difficult roads in the world. So when these guys suit up every morning (they do have a couple of rest days built in) and go out and push their bodies, minds, and souls to the ultimate extreme - I tip my hat and tune in. As this year's TdF gets going there is a HUGE suprise - some of the top riders will not be riding this year's TdF. Why? Their managers scratched them. Why? They were listed in a Spanish paper as part of an drug/blood-doping investigation . Here's the really wild thing - the team managers got together and decided they would remove any rider from their team whose name appeared as a result of the investigation. I don't about you, but did you notice it wasn't the officials of cycling and drug test...

Welllll Alrighty Then! I think I've got just about everything done. Doesn't matter now anyway. Dad and Jane are on their way. But I did get the house cleaned, paid bills (big one for me - I usually forget then have to pay them in a hurry so they won't be late), got the yard cleaned, got a hair cut - thanks Diane at The Mustard Seed, great job, served our ladies Thursday night, AND . . . (drum roll please) SAW SUPERMAN RETURNS LAST NIGHT!! So what did I think? Hmmmm. . . Let me say up front, I'm not that harsh of a critic. If it keeps moving and entertains me, I'm usually ok with it. With that said, I thought it was pretty good. I think it's a movie you either like or don't. Friends I went with didn't like it. Others said it was good. You will have to make up your own mind. I liked the movie. Would I go see it again, probably not. Will I buy it - nope. But it succeeded in entertaining me, so I was pleased. If you haven't seen the movie ...

Well. . .I resolved my dilemma from last night. Here's the result - Hung out with the students - had a great time!! HAD to go to Wal-Mart - cupboards were bare. Came home (about 9:30ish), put stuff up, fed the animals, grabbed a couple of sandwiches and crashed!! Superman Returns will have to wait for another time. So. . .here's today's dilemma - My dad and Jane are coming this weekend to visit for about a week and I've got soooo much to do - Mow, weed-eat, and edge the yard Clean the house - not really much to do, but still gotta get it done Get a haircut today - gotta keep up the good looks :) Serve at our Ladies Night Out tonight - love doing it! Complete lesson for Sunday morning Keep running the timeline for implementing Celebrate Recovery this fall Finish recruiting for Curriculum Team for our ABFs Get ready for July 4th cook-out - Dad will be here, he's good at cook-outs Still doesn't look like I'm going to see the movie, but then again, oh well! ...

I've got a dilemma this evening, maybe some of you can help me out. Here it is. . . 1) Need to clean house - Dad's coming in on Saturday and my day off (tomorrow - 6/29) is already full with yard stuff and errands 2) Need to go to Wal-mart - groceries and dogs & cats like to eat as well. . .with all I have to do I certainly don't need to wake up to Ranger the cat gnawing on my fingers - will need them for later 3) Stopping by student worship tonight to check on things while our student pastor is at camp with middle schoolers 4) Need to work out 5) Want to go see Superman Returns tonight - late show With all that how do I do it? Your suggestions are welcomed. Mike

Yep, that's what my legs are crying right about now. Just finished first 30 mile ride in over a year and it felt good. For the locals - I headed out the door to Celeste. Took Celeste to Hwy 43 down by the docks and all the way to downtown Mobile in front of the Convention Center. Hit Government for a bit, then cut across to St. Francis 'till it hit Dauphin and stayed on Dauphin to Dauphin Way United Methodist Church. . .and back It's a deceiving ride. The first leg out was with a slight breeze to my back and DOWN to Mobile. The return leg was against the breeze and uphill all the way. That wasn't too bad until about 4 miles from home when I ran over a nail. Since I wasn't loosing any air I attempted to ride home, but the bent nail kept hitting the frame so I gave in and changed the tube. It doesn't take long it's just the fact of having to stop 4 miles from home. So how do you get up for a 30-mile ride as your second ride of the year? Get up a litt...

OK. . .this one is quickly becoming one of my all-time pet peeves. You know that beep-like sound you hear every so many seconds when someone on the other end puts you on hold? YEAH. . .that DRIVES me crazy. Who came up with this concept and what in the freakin world were they thinking when they did? Do they think we will fall asleep or something? It does nothing but irritate the bejeebers out of me! It's like torture. And the longer I listen the more irritating it becomes. By the time someone finally gets back to me I'm ready SCREAM!! LISTEN WORLD - STOP THE MADNESS!! CHANGE YOUR ON-HOLD TECHNOLOGY. IN CASE YOU HAVE YET TO DISCOVER IT YOU CAN VERY EASILY ADD MUSIC OR SOMETHING!! Whew. . .feel better now. Mike

Today, for the first time in almost a year, I rode my bike. Not my Harley , my Specialized Allez Comp with Ultegra Groupo. It felt great to get out on the road and just pedal. I remember my last meaningful ride. It was the week my wife, Karen, passed away. I wasn't going to go ride, but she insisted I change clothes and head out the door. What a woman, eh?! I missed riding my bike. I didn't think there were roads around my house conducive to riding. And a lot of riders around here think it's hot. HOT!! They've never ridden in east Texas, that's for sure! The weather was great here. Yeah, it's a little warm, but the breeze felt great. So they ride early in the mornings while yours truly is still catching some zzzzzzzz. By the time I put in 20 miles my arms were sore, my hands ached, my butt was vibrating - last part of the ride was on rough roads - my legs had that great aching feeling you get when you push it just enough, and I felt that euphoria ...

I was sitting on the couch earlier today. I was about to get up to get a shower so I could join some friends for lunch when something caught my eye. I moved my laptop and noticed Ranger the cat watching and chasing some little fury critter. At first I thought it was a mouse he found and had injured playing with it. Then I looked a little closer and noticed it's legs and tail were short, but it's nose was longer. As I got closer I noticed it was a little, fury mole. He wa s running along the wall of the living room. I grabbed a Wal-Mart bag - I knew they would come in handy - and found both he and Ranger in the entry way. Moley was caught in a corner so I laid the bag on the floor and tried to coax him in the bag with my finger. He didn't like that very much. I then grabbed a nearby umbrella and, with the tip, eased him into the bag. The happy ending is that Moley now lives on the other side of my fence rather than my yard. OK, what's this Wild Kingdom? Now I ha...

The Mavs are driving me crazy!!!!! What happened to the Mavs that shut down the Heat? Where did that team go? Someone should file a missing persons report, 'cause they ain't showed up since the second game. Now, they're going into overtime!? Aaaaggggghhhhhhh!!!!! C'mon Dallas - get it over with. STEP UP!

The MIAMI HEAT ??!!!! What the. . . How do the Mavericks blow a 13 point lead in the second half and give the game away to Miami? Somebody tell me this. I'm still blown away. The entire first half the Mavs hung in there, keeping it close. They come out of the locker room in the second half and are blowin-n-goin! Then. . .wait. . .what's that I hear? One wheel comes off, then another, then another. And before you know it the Heat are on an 18-4 run, have pulled ahead, and are hanging with Dallas. I still thought they had a chance when Dirk went to the line. He's been consistant and the consumate go to guy. He had two shots to tie - he makes the first and MISSES the second. HOLY COW!! Before you know it. . .time's run out. I'm still shaking my head at this one. If there's one thing the Mavericks have been good at in the post-season, it's been finishing strong. . .closing the door. But last night they left it open and the Heat climbed back in it...

This morning I'm in recovery mode. After the weekend I had, I need it. It was a great weekend. Friday night - into Saturday morning - hung out with some of our singles see ( click here ). Spent Saturday working around the house - put finishing touches on swing, cleaned the ol' Harley, went over lessons and message for Sunday night. Saturday night I led the young singles Bible study - Worshipping God in the Desert . Sunday morning taught another of our singles' ABF. Sunday afternoon prepped for evening message and for ABF leadership meeting. Sunday at 4:00 attended Financial Peace University class, at 5:00 led ABF leadershp meeting, at 6:15 shared message - 4 Lessons from the Valley , afterward went to eat with some of our singles. At 10:30 got home to feed the dogs and cats. 11:45 turned out the lights. 5:45 this morning alarm goes off - oh yeah that's when I'm supposed to get up - YEAH RIGHT!! Need to kick it in gear!! NO! I didn't say, "I need a...

This morning I was really tired. Last night a group of us went to dinner at Lambert's , home of the throwed rolls. That's right. Guys come around with these huge, hot, fresh rolls and stand somewhere in the restaurant and chunk 'em at ya. Just hold up your hand and don't drop it. Besides the incredible rolls, the food was superb and lots of it. Definitely get my rec. Oh, while you wait the 45 minutes to an hour for a table you can buy an 8 oz bottle of ice (yeah right out of the ice)- cold Coca-Cola !! Yeah B-A-B-Y!! Afterwards we went to go-cart track and raced each other a couple of times. By the time I got to bed this morning it somewhere are 2:00 am. So, I wasn't quite ready to open the ol' peepers when I needed to this morning, Buuutttt. . .have things to do and can't do them lying in bed. Brewed some Starbucks , grabbed a bowl of cereal and sat to watch some of my favorite sports. . .Soccer and Snow Skiing!! Yeah. . .yeah, I know they'r...

Well. . .it's gonna get crazy for me over the next few days. Last night we hosted our Starting Point dinner for new and prospective guests. Tonight, dinner with some of our singles. Tomorrow night I'm teaching at our young singles monthly Bible study & dinner. Sunday morning I'm teaching in another of our single's ABF. Sunday night I'm preaching my first message here at First Baptist North Mobile . And I'm going through our Financial Peace University course. I've got friends coming next weekend and there are still some things I need to get done before they get here. And the Dallas Mavericks are leading the NBA Finals 1 game to 0. GO MAVS!! Soooooo. . .I'm excited, filled with anticipation, and I'm going, "Holy Stinkin' Cow!" at the same exact time. Pray for me!! Mike

I'm not much for collecting stuff. I'm so A.D.D. that by the time I get interested in collecting something I forget I was collecting it and move on. My dad is great at collecting stuff. He has collected antique radios and victrolas (old record players you wind up), Coca-Cola memorabelia - his house is a museum, old cars - he buys one fixes it up then sells it, old pinball machines. . . you name it he's probably collected it at one time or another. Not me. Not really. I was looking around my office this mornng and I realized I did have collected some stuff. I have a collection of coffee cups/mugs people have given me over the years. Some have minsitry or church logos on them, even some that say Starbucks - yeah, go figure - , I even have one from the this year's Rose Bowl. I also have a collection of toys. I use them with children when I am meeting with parents. I have a collection of foam and nerf balls, a pair of those really big sunglasses you get at somepl...

Well. . .here we go - Dallas Mavericks v. Miami Heat . So what will happen? Will Dallas do it? Or will Miami come on strong? I don't know about you, but this is getting pretty exciting! Down in Lower Alabama, there aren't many paying attention. So this give those of us outside the great state of Texas hope, pride, and somehting to look forward to. I think Dallas has a great chance of taking it all. They have overcome the world champions, San Antonio Spurs and Steve Nash and the Pheonix Suns (a very cool site). Sooo. . .Dallas Mavericks, whether you know it or not there is at least one fan here in Mobile. GO MAVS!!

Yeah, I changed my picture. . .AGAIN! I got some notes that said my last profile picture made me look mad or mean. Yeah, right! Well, thanks for the input and the fact that some of you care. So. . .I hope this meets with your approval. It was taken the end of last year or the first of this year at the beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama . It's a cool place just about an hour from mi casa where one can get away for a day, a weekend, or a week. Enjoy, Mike

Today was one of those "Ooooo la la" days. Got up spent some time with the children (Lucy, Ranger, Mix, Dakota, and Sadie), some great time with God, then headed to lunch at a downtown cafe called A Spot of Tea with Tom, a fellow Harley rider. Yeah. . .two Harley dudes eating at a sidewalk cafe. So. . . After some more riding I decided to head to Dauphin Island . Dauphin Island is little community located off the coast of Alabama. There were lots of bikes out doing the same thing I was doing. It was a great ride! So. . .just in case you were wondering what I did today, now you know. What did you do? Mike