'Tis the Season

Well...I think I enjoyed this Thanksgiving more than any one in the last few years. It was just us. No family coming over....we didn't have to go anywhere....it was great. The cold weather just added to the greatness.

So...what did I do on my day off? Put up the Christmas lights. YES! The icicle lights are twinkling, the sidewalk lined with candy canes, and the wooden snow men that represent our family are in the yard wishing you a Merry Christmas. I love this time of year.

I don't, however, love it enough to get out at 3:00am on Black Friday to save a few dollars. I guess if I was buying something huge, and had the opportunity to save several hundred dollars....then I would probably do it. But I got to Best Buy at 11:30 Friday morning, and they still had what I needed, at the price I needed, without the frustration I surely would have felt with the early morning rush. I did get to see a grown man and woman actually cry.....real tears....because the mp3 player they wanted was not $89.99 after 11:00am. It was the regular price of $120. That's funny.

I had a rough day Wednesday. My dad died on Thanksgiving Day 7 years ago. I spoke with my mom and brother on Wednesday, and as I sat in my office it hit me, as it sometimes does, that my dad is gone. I went to Keith and Gerry and got them to pray with me and then just wrote out everything I was feeling in a song that I have yet to get through without crying. It helped tremendously to get out some of the things I had been holding on to for a while.

Two movies that you've got to go see:
1. Dan In Real Life
2. Fred Claus

Weight Loss update:

Beginning weight: 264
Current weight: 242 (264 was August...272 in July)

30lbs and counting..

Big game Thursday night........BEAT THE PACKERS!!!!

WHAT?!!!

If I could do this....my life would be complete.

Random stuff from a busy week....

As we wrap up this week I've got a few things to share with you.




I love this time of year. I was out at the mall yesterday and the Christmas decorations were being put up and just makes me happy. I wish it were colder, but it'll get there....eventually....for a like one or two days anyway. You know how it is here in Texas....today it's 80, tomorrow it could be 40.

I had a great conversation yesterday with two friends. We talked about worship music, and how to most effectively use the time in services to create a worship atmosphere. I love talking about that stuff. On that note.....our Wednesday night Communion service was awesome. We spent about 25 minutes just singing together, praying together, baptizing new believers, and then David did a great job on the message. Good stuff.

We're wrapping up the recording our new Springcreek worship cd and it sounds great. Chris Megert is doing a great job on the engineering and mixing side of things and I can't wait to be able to share it with the rest of the congregation. It'll be ready by Thanksgiving so be watching for it.

I saw a couple of funny stories this week.

1.A 600 pound cow fell off of a 200 foot cliff on to the hood of a minivan driving on the highway below. No one was injured so you can go ahead and laugh....I do everytime I think about it. Can you imagine the screaming that went on in that van? Not to mention having to reupholster every seat someone was sitting in when it happened. The cow had to be euthanized as did the minivan.

2.This one is a little closer to home. An elementary school in Dallas was in the
news because of how the principal handled disciplinary issue. Two 5th graders
pulled a fire alarm during class....an action the principal said had happened a number of times and had desensitized the kids and faculty to the point they never reacted to actual drills. It had become a safety issue. So when these two boys were caught red handed the principal attempted to handle the situation in her office, but the boys response was less than remorseful. So she called an all school assembly and allowed the police to handle the situation in front of all of the students. The officer apparently called the kids knuckleheads and asked them if they wanted to flip burgers for the rest of their lives. Well this hurt their feelings and they went home crying. Did I mention that these two 5th graders are 12 and 13? Now the parents want apologies from the principal and police. PLEASE!!? I don't know what would be more embarassing if I were the
boys....being disciplined in front of everyone or having my mom tell the Dallas Morning News that I came home crying! We used to get licks in front of the whole class! Stop pulling the stinkin' fire alarm!

Oh well....big weekend coming up. It's my wife's birthday. She got a new cell phone that she won't answer or hear.

I'm out.....