Memorial Day

What a beautiful beginning to the day. It was just slightly cloudy, and warm. The power went off in the middle of the night, due to storms, and all the clocks were flashing. When I saw that, I thought the day was going to be a bust. But as the day went on, it got nicer. Our Memorial Day parade started at 10am, and I was going to try to go, but I just didn't feel like it when I got up. I heard it went great.

At about 12:30pm, I helped our son Matt change the spark plugs in his PT Cruiser. I had never worked on one of those, so I was a little nervous. It took us about one and a half hours, but we got it done. It runs great now. We had a good time visiting with Matt and his girlfriend, Ginger, and their dog, Lady.

After all that fun, I realized we had missed a cookout my sister was having at her house. I felt terrible, but Matt and I had planned on doing his car today, for a while. I still had to do our shopping, and go to the cemeteries. We did all that, and got home, just ahead of a storm coming through. On our way to the Batson Cemetery, out in the middle of nowhere, we saw a cool structure in someone's front yard. Of course, I had to get out and take a picture of it. Instead of describing it, I will just post the picture below. Our three day weekend turned out pretty cool. We got a lot of stuff done, and saw a lot of people. God is good.

Sunday, Oh Sunday

Well, we had a great time at church again today. Today was one of the Sundays this month, that the choir sang. We have to be at church at 8:45am to practice. I always enjoy this time with the choir. Our Sunday School class was good again today, also. Our teacher, Ed Bell, has a cool teaching style. He gives you great scriptural background for the text you're reading, but does it in a sometimes humorous way. We are very much enjoying our time there. The worship service was fantastic today, also. The children sang two songs for the church, and then the pastor did baby dedications for three children. It was a great part of the service, as he prayed over these children individually, and asked for God's blessings upon them, and their parents. Then, the choir got up and sang a song called 'Ten Thousand Years'. It was a very exciting song, with all the parts pulling together to make a beautiful noise to the Lord. The pastor delivered a great message on unity amongst Christians. I was really inspired by his message.


In the afternoon, we met up with four of our close friends, DJ / Alisha, and Brady / Mandy. We went to Concannon's Bakery and Deli in Muncie for lunch, at around 1:30pm. We had a FANTASTIC time with all of them. DJ / Alisha moved to South Carolina last year, and were here for a few days to visit family and friends for the holiday. We ended up staying at the restaurant for about 3 hours. I really do miss DJ / Alisha and their family. It was so good to spend time with Brady / Mandy again, also. We haven't done that in a while.






As I am typing this, a MASSIVE thunderstorm has just passed through our area. There's still thunder and lightning going on, but nothing like it was. I thought we were going to lose trees, the wind was that strong. I didn't even know it was supposed to rain, much less storm. It was a crazy end to such a beautiful day. Carolyn had a great birthday. Thank you Lord.

Nice Saturday

What a beautiful day it was. And it started out so late for us. We slept in until 11:30am!!! I couldn't believe it when I woke up and saw the clock. Granted, I didn't go to bed until 3:30am, but still. I usually don't sleep more than 6 hours a night. Oh well, I must have needed it.

After our hibernation, we got cleaned up and went to my niece's open house. I missed going to her graduation ceremony. It was at 11:00am. Oops. It was nice to see family today. I don't get to see them as much as I would like. That's the way it is with family though. It was also my other niece's 15th birthday. It only seems like a couple of years ago that these two girls were running around playing. Now, their working, and driving, and graduating from high school. How time flies. John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you, while you're busy making other plans". We need to appreciate every day that God gives us. Each day, and each person we know, are blessings from Him. How we forget that sometimes.

After the open house, Carolyn and I took off for Muncie. Tomorrow is her birthday, and I wanted her to be able to buy some clothes for her. She hardly ever spends any money on herself. We shopped for a while, and then headed back to the big town of New Castle. When we got back into town, we stopped at Ming's Buffet for some Chinese food. As usual, Carolyn didn't eat very much, while I pigged out. After that, it was WalMart, and then home. A boring, but fun day.

I am so glad God gave me Carolyn. I tell her I don't deserve a woman like her, and she gives me that look. But it's true. I see her as such a blessing in my life. God knew what kind of woman would put up with me, and it was her. How she has stayed with me all this time, I'll never know. We could have fun just sitting and talking for hours. Or just going to the park and sitting, or swinging. We have so much fun together. Thank You God. I really don't deserve such a beautiful, understanding, and forgiving woman.

Three Day Weekend

It's finally here. Memorial Day Weekend. I've been waiting on this for weeks now. I feel bad in a way, because all I've been thinking of is the time off from work, and the beautiful weather. My mind tends to forget what the holiday is about. It's about remembering those that have given their very lives to protect our way of life. If I see a military person this weekend, I want to make sure and thank them for their service.

I never was interested in joining any branch of the military. My Dad served in the Army, and so did his Dad. My brother, Brian, served for a while. I think I passed my disinterest on to my two boys. Neither of them ever had the slightest interest in joining. Not that that's a BAD thing. Not everyone is born with the desire to. We all have our place in this world. God's plan includes all different kinds of service, not just military.

This is going to be a nice weekend, weather-wise, I hope. The Indianapolis 500 is Sunday. It's really cool that most of the world focuses on our state that one day each year. Indianapolis has built themselves up as a huge sports city. With the Lucas Oil Stadium, we finally got our chance to host the Super Bowl. I've been inside the Stadium one time, and it is HUGE. My brother, Brian, the military guy, took me there for a Colts football game on my 50th birthday. Nice.

I'm really looking forward to Sunday. Not only for church service, which I love, but also our friends from South Carolina are coming up for the week, and we get to see them Sunday night. I can't wait to see them again. Right now, I'm just really glad it's Friday. Thank you God for this weekend.

Oh Salvation (a poem)

I had an okay day today. Work was ok, except for the heat and humidity. When I got home, I got cleaned up to go to church, but I still wasn't feeling great. Carolyn has had some kind of sickness for the last two or three days. I'm hoping I'm not catching it. But anyway, when Carolyn got home, she did not feel like doing anything, so we both skipped church tonight. I really like the Wednesday night class, and choir practice, but we just couldn't imagine sitting with a bunch of people, feeling like we did. I hate missing both of those tonight.

There was one good thing that happened today. God was giving me some words yesterday to a poem. I got the rest of them today. It's short, and I call it, Oh Salvation. Here it is:

Oh Salvation, to the masses
Dream of every child of faith
Blind to race, and social classes
Deaf to angry shouts of hate.

Salvation knows no earthly boundaries
Salvation is for one and all
It helps you see, what you're life can be
When your back is pressed, against the wall.

Oh Salvation, gift from above
So simple and so freely given
Salvation is, and always was
For God knows, our desire to sin.

Salvation is our ticket home
Salvation is man's only way
To see God, and His only Son
And to know forever there you'll stay.

Series Finales

Well, tonight was the last night for 24 and Law & Order. Last night was the last night for Lost, which I have never seen one episode of. It's sad when your favorite shows come to an end, but this time I'm kind of glad, in a way. I get so caught up in watching these shows, I tend to put off other things that need to be done. It frees up more time for more important things. Farewell, my fine scripted friends.

Early Morning Fire

I woke up at 5am and saw that our power had gone off sometime during the night. I looked outside and saw that all the street lights were out. It was pitch dark, except for a faint glow over the trees, a few blocks down from my house. I grabbed my camera, threw on some shoes, and headed towards it. When I got there, a house was totally engulfed in flames. The picture above shows what I saw. The picture below was taken this afternoon, when I got home from work. It turned out that not only did this house burn down, but two other houses around it were burned too. With all the empty houses in New Castle these days, we'll probably see more of this. Some people break into abandoned homes and use them for partying, and taking drugs. It's a sad state of affairs for this once quaint, little town.

Just A Short Concern

I thought I was done writing for the day, but something has been on my mind alot lately, and I just have to write it down. I will not be long, so please bear with me.

I have noticed more and more lately, that Christians are blending into society, into the world if you will, to the point that it's hard to pick them out of a crowd. I know that no one is perfect, and we all make mistakes. I am probably a prime example of this most of the time. But, I remember a time when it was just a given that Christians didn't gamble, use profanity, drink, etc. The scriptures tell us that when we are saved, the Holy Spirit comes in and cleans us up. He takes our old desires away, and makes us a new creation in Christ. I know for me, I used to use very bad language, I drank, smoked, etc. I have talked about this all before. Some of those things were gone immediately after the Lord saved me. Some of them took a little longer. But any time I failed, the Holy Spirit convicted me to the point that I would cry, and pray for God's forgiveness. I still fail Him from time to time, but the conviction is still there, so I try not to make the same mistakes twice.

We just really need to pray for each other, that we will not blend in, we will not conform to this world, but be transformed, by the renewing of our minds. The world will know we are His, when we show His love, and follow His commandments. If we don't experience change, or conviction, we need to seek His help. Okay, I'm done now. I just had to get this off my chest. "God bless us all. Please help us to be different, peculiar even. Amen".

Another Great Day

The Lord blessed us with another great Sunday. When we woke up this morning, it sure didn't seem like it was going to be a good day at all. Neither of us slept very well, waking up tired and hurting. We finally got showers and shaving and everything done, and left right on time. I thought we were going to be late for church, but just made it.

Sunday School class was great today. It's only the third Sunday that we have gone to SS Class at our new church. The teacher wasn't there last week for this class, so we decided to try it out again. Am I glad we did. I think we will be going back to this one for good. Again, we met more people that we hadn't met before. Every week God leads us to meet yet another friend to be.

The morning service was great, as usual. They had a celebration for all graduates, High School, and College. The graduates led the praise and worship service. They did a good job. The message today was about Pentecost. Pastor Jerry preached from Acts Chapter 2. I really learned a lot today. I also think Carolyn and I are going to talk to the Music Director about joining the Praise and Worship Team. There are so many new experiences for us at First Baptist. God has blessed us, and continues to bless us, at this church. I can hardly wait for each new service.

In the afternoon, our son Matt called us, and told us his car was overheating, and he was just down the block from us. I told him to come on down and let his car cool down, and we would take a look at it. He and his girlfriend, Ginger, took our car and did their grocery shopping and went home and ate dinner. In the meantime, I took a short nap. It was SO needed. When they came back, we spent about an hour working on his car. I think we took care of everything, because when he left, it wasn't overheating anymore, and his air conditioning was working better. It was good to spend some time with them.

We went to Grand Avenue Baptist Church tonight. They had a great Bluegrass Gospel group called Born Again playing there. We very much enjoyed their playing, singing, and testimonies.

All in all, the Lord gave us a fantastic day. He is far better to us than we deserve.

Early Morning Barn

It was raining a little on the way to work this morning. It made for a gloomy ride to work. A day that I had volunteered to work. I see this barn everyday as I go to work, and always thought it would make a decent picture. With the early morning, cloudy sky, I thought this would be as good a time as any to take the picture. I Photoshopped it a little, to desaturate the colors. I wanted to give it a sepia-type look. I'm happy with it.

Marriage Assault

I was listening to Chuck Colson on Break Point radio this morning. (www.breakpoint.org). He was talking about the institute of marriage. It got me thinking about what has happened to marriage in my lifetime. There have been so many things, I am just going to point out a few important ones.

In the 1970's, lawyers came up with 'no-fault divorce'. You could go into the lawyer's office, fill out the right paperwork, and if you were in agreement, you could be divorced before you knew it. No hassle, cheaper, that's that. When a divorce was harder to get, and took quite a bit longer, husbands and wives had more incentive to stay together and try to work out their problems. That, by the way, is what we are supposed to do anyway. No marriage is going to be trouble-free. It's through compromise, hard work, and commitment, that marriage grows stronger, and lasts longer. We've made it too easy to leave when things aren't going just the way we wanted. God is surely not pleased.

Another little thing that really bothers me, is when women don't want to take their husband's last name, or they want to hyphenate their name with his. Where is the commitment? Where is the 'becoming one flesh' the Bible speaks of. When God spoke to Adam and Eve, in Genesis, He called them, simply, Adam. In His eyes, they had become 'one flesh', or two becoming one. Eve took on Adam's identity, without losing her own, of course. God never expected the woman to be a slave to her husband, but as a helper at his side, working together.

When divorce became easier, marriage lost something. It no longer seemed as important. Living together, without being married, seemed a lot more convenient. But, two people living together, without the benefit of a wedding ceremony, cannot truly say they are 'one flesh'. They are still two separate people, with two separate lives, bound only by the same mailing address. Again, where is the commitment? Where is the trust? Where is the incentive to stay together?

Fast forward to today. Now that men and women have weakened, and ruined, the whole meaning of true marriage, we have gone a step farther. And it's a dangerous step. Homosexuals now have fought for, and received the right to be 'married', in some states. This is a sad state of affairs. God sees homosexuality as an 'abomination'. It makes Him sick. It is unnatural, and disgusting. Marriage, as designed by God, was meant to be between one woman, and one man. Anything else cannot truly be called a 'marriage'. Two men, or two women, cannot truly be married 'in the eyes of God'.

Homosexuals are now wanting to change the meaning of marriage. Studies have shown that most same-sex 'marriages', are open 'marriages'. They say they want to be married 'like everybody else'. But they don't. They want everybody else to married like them. Anything goes. Once we allow these things to happen, it's only a matter of time before we legalize marriage between men and animals, or men and boys. I know this sounds like I'm being extreme, but there are actually cases of people trying to get this to happen.

I know all of this makes me sound homophobic. I am not. I friends who are homosexuals, and I love them very much. It is there lifestyle that I do not agree with. God loves them too, but hates the lifestyle they have chosen. God never designed us to have same-sex tendencies. Satan has fed the homosexual lie to the world, and they have believed it. If you read in the Bible, God destroyed the world with a flood, because every wicked thing that they could think of, they did. He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for the same thing. Their most prominent sin was homosexuality. Sexual sin has brought down and destroyed many societies throughout history. We need to learn from these mistakes, and get our country back to where it needs to be. We need to get marriage back to what God intended it to be. Between one man, and one woman. Period. The health of our country, and our world, depends on it.

Your Opinion

I recently read on another blog, that blogging was so 2008. In other words, it was a passing fad, no longer useful. They couldn't be more wrong. I personally think the blog is one of the best tools, for the average person on the street, to voice their opinion to the masses, no matter how controversial. Blogging may seem like a relatively new experience, but people have been voicing their opinions, in one way or another, for centuries.

When the printing press was invented, they had the opportunity to do what I am doing right now. Back then, though, I would have to write down what I wanted to say, find a local printer's shop, pay to have my fliers printed, and walk around, passing them out to whoever I could. If I was very fortunate, they might actually get taken to a nearby town. When we think about what we have now, we should feel very blessed.

We all have a God-given right to express ourselves. He has given us a mind to gather facts, to reason, and form an opinion. Everyone SHOULD be able to have their own opinion about anything they like. As a matter of fact, two people can take the same facts, and come to two totally different opinions. It all depends on their worldview. In some parts of the world, the government tries to suppress the ideas of their people. I suppose their reasoning is, if the people think too much, the government might lose control of them. In our country, we still have enough freedom to be able to constructively argue our point, and not be thrown in prison. How long that will last, is anybody's guess, though.

If the day comes that the Internet disappears, or goes out of style, (it could happen), men will come up with another way of spreading their views. The day we become silent on popular issues of the day, issues that affect our personal lives, will be the day we cease to be the thinking, civilized people, God created us to be. Edmund Burke is quoted as saying, "It is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph". How true.

I thank God that I have the ability to type these few words, my opinions, and send them out for anyone to read. Even if these words only reach a few people, they are MY words, and MY thoughts. God gives me ideas, I filter them through the brain He has given me, and I distribute them.

In the beginning was the Word. The Word created the world by speaking it into existence. The spoken word is powerful, and in the end, the Word will triumph. amen.

What A Day

We started our day early today. We got up early, and headed for Carmel, IN for a Dr. appointment for Carolyn. Everything turned out fine. The Dr. said she is doing better than expected. Love good news. We went to a Goodwill while we were in Carmel, and then went to a Fazoli's to eat dinner. It was a good day together.

Sometime after we got home from all that, we went to a showing at a funeral home, for the mother of a friend of Carolyn's. So sad. After that, we went to our Wednesday night class at First Baptist Church. We then went to choir practice. We sing again on May 3oth, for Memorial Day service. We have met so many new and friendly people since we have been going to this church. On a side note, a family that goes to church there had their house burn down this morning. They lost pretty much everything. There are about 7 or 8 people living there, so it was devastating. The church pulled together and collected money and clothes for them. The Red Cross is putting them up in a motel room for 3 day, until they can make other arrangements. God is taking care of them. If anybody reads this, please pray for this family. They need all the help they can get right now.

After all this, we got to come home and relax and eat a bite while watching Criminal Minds. Another exciting day for the Crabtree's. God is so good, all the time.

Law & Order

We watched the 2 back-to-back episodes of Law & Order tonight. I still can't believe next week is going to be the last episode ever. I have watched it every week for the last few years, and I am going to miss it. Sure, some of the episodes were a little racy, and I had to turn my head until they left the strip club, or whatever. But they were always well written. I still have Criminal Intent, even though they've changed the entire cast, and it's not really as good as it used to be. It's still Law and Order.

It's funny how we can hurry and get home on those nights our favorite show is on, and then years after it's off the air, we see a rerun, and wonder what we ever saw in it. Law and Order is different with me, for some reason. When Carolyn was in the hospital last November, I sat in the lounge and watched old episodes of it, and I was still interested in it. I know, nothing lasts forever. I probably need to watch less TV anyway.

On a happier note, Lost only has one more episode left. I cannot STAND Lost for some reason. I'm probably the only person in the country that doesn't watch it, but, oh well.

Mosque At Ground Zero

I read a column in the paper today by Diana West ( http://www.dianawest.net/ ). She was saying that there are plans for a new building to go up two blocks away from where the World Trade Center towers once stood. It will stand 13 stories high, and cost around $100 million dollars. The building will include a mosque. Yes, a mosque.

Now, I am not a racist, at all. I love people of all nationalities, colors, and religions. But, I do believe in evil. I believe there are some religions that are more demonic than godly. And, while I am on the subject, I don't believe all religions worship the same, true God.

I also believe in respect for the dead. Diana made a very good point in her column. Allowing there to be a mosque at Ground Zero, would be the same as us allowing the Japanese to build a Shinto shrine adjacent to Pearl Harbor after the bombing. To me, it's absolutely disgusting to allow such things to go on in the name of 'tolerance'. Tolerance tends to lead to ignorance.

What happened on Sept. 11, 2001, was a major, catastrophic event, that turned the policies, and politics of this country in a totally different, and dangerous, direction. At the beginning, I think anyway, we did the right thing. We went looking for the people responsible for the attacks. We did what we had to do to see justice done. In time though, we started worrying about what other people thought, how it might look to other nations. We started worrying that we were being too 'intolerant'. The government was accused of 'racial profiling', because they were looking just for Muslims, and those from that part of the world. This was done after the Pearl Harbor attack, rounding up all Japanese, and Asian people, whether they were American citizens or not. Whether it was the perfect thing to do or not, we were determined to protect our nation from another attack. We didn't care what anybody thought, or how it looked. We wanted justice. Oh, how I wish we still had the guts to do that today.

Tolerance has ruined what used to be a great nation. When we started to accept other beliefs into our country, and allowed them to have more favor than traditional Christianity, we loosened God's hand of protection over us. We will most assuredly pay the consequences. More car bombs, more threats, and less and less freedom. And now that we are going to loosen our restrictions on immigration, we are inviting more problems, like we need more.

I am not one of those extremist, sign-carrying, protesters, nor do I want to come across as one. But what I am, is a Christian, and a proud American. At my age, I have seen America go from a strong, respected, superpower in the world, to a nation that apologizes for our actions. We seem to be sorry for being so powerful. We used to stand out from all other nations. The reason for that, was because God raised us up, He protected us, and gave us favor, because we stood for His teachings, His morals, His standards of right and wrong. We no longer stand out. We are becoming just like everybody else. We are blending in. We accept anything now. Nothing is out of bounds. There is a saying that goes "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything". We are proof of that now. May God help us all.

A Nice Day

Today was a busy day. We got started early this morning because of choir at church. This was our first time singing with the choir at First Baptist Church, and we had to meet for a final practice at 8:45am, right before Sunday School class. After the final practice for today's song, we went to a new class, called Genesis. The regular teacher was gone today, but it was still a good class. We met even more new people. We are meeting more new, and interesting people every time we go. After SS class, we met up front. The choir sang the first song, welcoming in the members to worship. It was a great feeling, standing up there, watching everybody coming in, while singing with the choir. God has surely blessed us by sending us here at this time.

After the morning worship service, they took a picture of the whole congregation, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the church. That was a lot of fun. Carolyn and I got stuck right up front. I would rather have been off to the side, but oh well. After the picture, we had a pitch-in dinner in the Fellowship Center. We got to meet alot of people back there. After the meal, there was a Business Meeting. We sat in on that, to see what all was going on at the church. We talked to the Pastor, Jerry Ingalls, about becoming members, and he said there would be a new members class in the middle of July.

This afternoon, we went to Glen Oaks to have our monthly church service, and found somebody else there instead. They had scheduled another guy to come in and have a singing service. We just turned around and left. I didn't get upset, I figured it was a God thing. Carolyn wasn't feeling well today anyway. She went home and rested a little. She almost passed out when the choir was practicing this morning. She broke out into a sweat, and got dizzy. Very scary. She thinks it might be her new medication.

All in all, it was a good day. God still blesses us, always watches over us, and never leaves us. There's always something new around the corner. What an awesome God He is.

Nice Dinner Tonight

My wife and I made a great dinner tonight. It was Stuffed Chicken Marsala, just like you get at Olive Garden. We got the recipe online, and we've made it a couple of times before, but tonight was superb. Everything turned out great. It consists of a chicken breast stuffed with cheese, and other ingredients. On the side is garlic mashed potatoes. Everything is covered with Marsala sauce, and mushrooms. We enjoy making meals together when we get the chance. I'm posting a picture of the dish, although it's not a great picture. For once, I posted something nice and short.

I Am Not Ashamed

I am a 51 year-old man, and work in a foundry. I like to do 'manly' things, all the time. I also cry at the drop of a hat. I do not apologize for this, and I am not ashamed either. I have not always been like this though.

On September 1, 1993, I asked God to forgive me of my sins, (and there were many), and save me. At the time, my biggest fear was dying in my sleep, and waking up in Hell. When He saved me, there was a massive weight lifted off of me. Little did I know what all He had in store for me. I was always concerned about me. I had an attitude. I used profanity, alot. I drank, smoked, and gambled. I was a mess. But, when God saved me, He changed me. If I see someone on TV who is hurting, or has had something bad happen to them, I hurt with them. I pray for them. And, yes, I cry with them. I also tell people that I love them. When I do this at work, I don't always get a good response back. Some people don't know how to answer. That's okay with me. I really do love them, I love everybody. Although there are some individuals I don't really LIKE, I still love them. I can't help it. It's the way He has made me.

The apostle Paul said, 'I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ'. He never apologized for showing love to his neighbors. He was never sorry for trying to share God's plan of salvation with everyone he met. Jesus said that if we are ashamed of Him, then He will be ashamed of us with His Father, and the angels. I will not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ. I will not apologize for telling others that I love them, and want them to be saved.

Our life down here is short. I am going to spend more time with my Father in Heaven, than I will spend down here. I will have to give an account for my life to Jesus, not the people around me. We must use the time that we have here, wisely. Live you life on purpose. Give purpose to your life. Do not be ashamed.

First And Foremost? Really?

One of the features of this website, Blogger, is a link at the top of the page that reads "Next Blog". You can click on it, and go to a random blog. Sometimes, you can find interesting people, and interesting things to read. At other times, it will give you a headache. I was doing this last night, when I came upon a blog by a woman who, in her profile, said that "First and foremost, I am a Christian". She went on to say that she wanted to try to live her life through God's eyes. Then, she went on to say that she had another blog that she liked more than this one, but it may not sound to Christian, "Sorry God". What???

Curious, I went to the other blog to see what she was talking about. After reading the first one, I was floored by the kind of language this woman used in the second one. And the anger, and strong emotion in her writing DEFINITELY didn't sound very 'Christian'. I just could not believe this blog was by the same woman.

"First and foremost, I am a Christian". When you hear these words, you expect a certain type of attitude, a different kind of person. At least, I do. When you say you are a Christian, you are saying you are Christ-like. You are trying, with God's help, to be as much like Jesus as you can be. Now, I will be the first to tell you that I am not perfect. FAR from it. None of us are perfect, as a matter of fact. But, COME ON. To say, on the same page mind you, that you are "first and foremost a Christian", and then use language like that, is ridiculous. I know that some people, who call themselves a Christian, do not see any problem using profanity, as long as they don't use the 'bad words'. Am I the only one that sees this as more than a little hypocritical? Before I pound this poor woman into the ground, figuratively, I want to get to my point.

When we come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, accept Him as our Lord and Savior, and REPENT of our sins, we are saying we are tired of who we are. We want to change, but we can't without His help. We invite His Holy Spirit in to change us into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Granted, sometimes, it's a slow change. But we MUST change. There MUST be conviction when we fall back into our old ways. If we can go back to doing things the way we used to, without so much as a backwards glance, there is something terribly wrong. I'm not talking about those times that we slip, we all do this at one time or another. I'm talking about COMFORTABLY using the old language, looking at the old things, listening to those sinful old things we use to listen to, and going to those places we said we were running from. These things just should not be.

The Bible says that when we are saved, TRULY saved, we 'put off' the old man, and 'put on' the new. We take off our old, filthy rags, our righteousness, and put on His righteousness, like a new set of clothes. If all we do is change our title, and not our ways, we deceive ourselves. God is not deceived. He sees our true selves, not the lie we try to pass off on everyone else, including ourselves.

We MUST turn from our old wicked ways. That means giving up the old language. God is not pleased with us when we use profanity. Jesus did not, and could not, use profanity. It is vain language. Empty, useless words. We must be Jesus to the world. We must show them that there is more to this life, than just living and dying. They have tried this world, and they are not impressed. They WANT something more. We have to be something more. God expects it.

Church Tonight

Well, Carolyn and I went to First Baptist Church tonight for Wednesday night study, and choir practice. We didn't know where to go, or what class to go to, but God led us to the right class. We are learning about the different personalities God gives each of us, and how this will help us in our lives, and our study of God. It was very interesting. We met a nice couple in the class.

After the class, we went to choir practice. We didn't know what to expect, and didn't know who was going to be there. The choir director is the same guy that leads praise and worship on Sunday mornings. There ended up being about 20 people there, and we were separated into parts. Carolyn sang with the altos, and I sang with the tenors. We practiced 3 songs, and had a great time. We met alot of people in the choir, and really felt like we fit in. We are going to sing with them Sunday morning. I hope we don't mess them up too much.

Carolyn and I both know that this is the church we are supposed to be in now. God is doing great things with us already. It just seems so effortless. He puts us with the right people, at the right time. We'll just have to wait on Him, and see where He leads us. Thank You Father.

Real Love

We were reading from 1 Corinthians chapter 13, at our nursing home ministry, this past Sunday. Paul speaks of what real, true love is. Paul said that, even if he were to speak like the angels, if he didn't have love, he would just be making a lot of noise. He said that even if he had great spiritual gifts, and understood all things, and had great faith to do great things, if he didn't have love, he was nothing. If he performed many, great spiritual things, if he didn't have love, he would gain nothing.

The world doesn't really understand what REAL love is. We confuse love, with lust. Paul said love is patient, and kind, and not selfish. Lust is just the opposite. When it's all about what we want, no matter what it takes to get it, that isn't love, but lust. True love will last for an eternity, while lust will fade. Feelings come and go, so does lust. Everything in the world will fade away eventually, but love will carry on.

Paul said that we are like children. He said that when he was a child, he spoke as a child, understood as a child, and thought like a child; but when he became a man, he put away childish things. That's the way we are. Right now, we think we know all things, but we only know in part. We only see in shadows, and reflections. When Jesus comes, we will see Him face to face, and see what REAL love truly is. When we see Him, we will say " I GET IT NOW. I UNDERSTAND NOW". Only then will we understand how great a love He had for us. A love so great, He laid down His life for us, who were so unworthy of His great love.

In closing, he said we now have faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love. Without love, we can't fully have faith and hope. The world will know whose we are, by our love. God is love, therefore, we are children of love. How great and awesome is our God!!! amen.

The Good Old Days

I watched part of 'The Music Man' on TV this morning, and it made me miss the way we used to do things. I miss sitting on the front porch, talking with family and friends. I miss casual walks through town, without worrying if somebody was going to mess with you. I miss the slow pace of things. Everything is such a rush now. I miss the interaction with neighbors, and people you meet on the streets. Noboby wants to talk anymore. I think people are scared, or just withdrawn from society. People don't trust like they used to. My grandpa used to sleep with his door unlocked, and wide open, at night. You'd be hard-pressed to find ANYBODY that does that now. It's just sad how things have changed in just my lifetime. If it's not locked up or nailed down, then it's fair game.

I hate the fact that the world seems smaller now, too. With the internet, sattelite and cable TV, cell phones, etc., there's no mystery left. When I was younger, someplace on the other side of the world seemed so exotic, so faraway. Now, I can get on the internet, find a webcam in some foreign country, or on the top of some mountain, and I'm there. It's all at my fingertips. In 'The Music Man', the whole town turned out for the Wells Fargo Wagon when it came to town. They had to wait so long to receive things when they ordered them, from a catolog, it was like Christmas Day every time something arrived. Now, I order something from Hong Kong, on the internet, and it's here within the week. And if it's not, I'm upset. Rush, rush, rush. Now, now, now. It's a microwave world, and at times, I fit in like a wood burning stove. I just really, really miss the old days.

Church This Morning

We went back to First Baptist Church this morning to give it another try. This time we went for Sunday School too. We really enjoyed the class, and the people in it. They were very nice to us, and welcomed us as if we'd always been there.

The service today was fantastic, also. The sermon today was from Phillipians 1:9-11. The pastor brought out a lot of great points in Paul's letter. Pastor Ingalls gets into the original Greek meanings of key words, and it helps us get over him using the NIV. Carolyn and I both use, and enjoy, the KJV. God knew this when He sent us here though, so we are getting past that. I will never change over to NIV myself. I was raised on the KJV, and that's where I'll stay. Carolyn and I sincerely believe this church is where God wants us right now. Whether we join or not is a subject for another day. Whatever God wants us to do. Period. Tonight, we are going to visit a Nazarene church near our house, since First Baptist doesn't have an evening service.

We have been invited to come to choir practice this Wednesday night at FBC (easier). I think we are going to go to the Wednesday evening service at 6pm., and then go to choir practice at 7:45pm. We are really excited to see where God is going with all of this. It's like a new beginning for us. We still miss Smyrna Baptist Church, and all the people there, but we REALLY have to experience all God has for us, or we'll die spiritually. Life's too short to stay comfortable. Seek the Lord while He may be found.

Mother's Day

Today was a pretty good Mother's Day for my wife. Both of our boys remembered to get her something, without being reminded. I was really impressed. Adam, our oldest, and his girlfriend Kara, got her a pot of roses. Matt and his girlfriend Ginger, gave her a couple of slices of cheesecake that they made. Carolyn was very happy, enough to cry even. I'm glad she had a good day.

My mother is in Kentucky, so I can't go see her today. I am going to call her, if I can get ahold of her. I already got to see her, and give her a picture for her Mother's Day, last weekend when they were up. She knows I love her. I don't have to go crazy just to prove it.

Reality?

I absolutely despise reality TV. I have tried once or twice to watch a few episodes of one, but I get so mad and disgusted, I have to turn it off. The things people do to get their face on television, are ridiculous. TLC has turned into 'The Little-People Channel'. If you're an extremely large person, you can have your own show. If you've got severe psychological problems, come on down. People used to go to professionals to get help for their bad behavior, now they find a way to make a quick buck from it.

I really, really miss the days when writers TRIED to come up with original ideas for new shows. Shows like Columbo, Mannix, The Rockford Files, just to name a few old ones, wouldn't make in today's era of quick, cookie-cutter shows. It's really sad too, because it's teaching new, younger writers to do the easy thing, instead of using their God-given imagination. In these days of text messaging (which I happen to do), IM'ing, and such, everything has a shortcut. Sometimes, I like to just sit quietly, and meditate on a subject, and see what I can come up with, something that takes some thought to write, and to read. Something fairly original.

This attitude has spread into other areas of writing also, not just TV. If you read some of the poetry pages on the Internet, there is so much drivel being passed off as poetry, it's just sickening. Nobody tries at anything anymore. And that leads us to a bigger problem.

Our country has become so lazy, we take for granted the many things we have, that our ancestors fought hard for us to have. We take for granted our freedoms, having food to eat when we want it, being able to buy cars, get good medical care, nice clothes, having a roof over our heads, and a comfortable place to lay our heads at night. Living a few days in other countries around the world would really open a lot of people's eyes. It's this laziness that is actually causing the erosion of our freedoms. We have politicians telling us lie after lie, and rather than look up the facts, we take their word that they are right. We put the blinders on and go back to playing our video games, while texting friends, and worrying about what Kate Gosslin is going to do, now that she's divorced.

When this country finally does fall, and I don't think it'll take much longer, it will be our own fault. We stopped doing our own thinking a long time ago. All we care about is US. As long as WE have what WE want, the President and all the other law makers can do WHATEVER they want. We just don't want to be bothered by all the details.

If you read the book of Revelation, and wonder why Jesus never mentions America in all His prophecy, I can tell you why. It's because THERE WON'T BE AN AMERICA IN THE LAST DAYS!!! If we don't wake up soon, we're done. I just hope it's not already too late. Lord God please help us. Lord Jesus, come quickly. I'm ready to leave now.

Misc. Photos

Steps to a slide at Baker Park in New Castle, IN.


Restrooms from an old rundown gas station in Missouri.


I love these water towers. So cool.

Soda Effects

I found a site that tells you what happens to your body when you drink a soda. It's not pretty. A little scary, actually. Click the link below to check it out.

http://http://www.creatingwellness.com/utility/showArticle/?ObjectID=93&find=soda&happ=siteAdministrator

National Day Of Prayer

Today was the National Day Of Prayer. There are certain people who are trying to get rid of this, but God let us have another one, despite what they want. I'm sure lots of churches had services planned for today, but between work, and work, I didn't attend any of them. I know it's important to have a day set aside to remind people to pray, but it won't be the end of the world if some judge gets rid of it. As Christians, we are told to pray without ceasing, everyday. Prayer is the most important thing we can do. Period. Nothing else comes close. Make every day a day of prayer.

Thoughts On Church

Carolyn and I are feeling led to go back to First Baptist Church, here in New Castle, next Sunday. We really felt something when we were there last Sunday. We are going to go to Sunday School and see how that goes. We have already been invited to come to choir practice. We're not ready to say that this is 'THE ONE', but it's starting to feel like it is.

We went to a church here in town a couple of months ago that we felt comfortable in. Open Arms Church, on Broad St., is a non-denominational church, with very nice people, and a great Pastor, Paul Davis. The service was very free, and spiritual. We just weren't drawn to it as our 'home church'. I told Carolyn at the time, that I would love to find a church that was a blend of that church, and our church at the time, Smyrna Missionary Baptist Church. I told her that if we could find a church like that, I would be very happy. First Baptist Church is just like that! It's a Baptist church, with contemporary music, and modern facilities. We really felt at home there.

We will definitely continue to pray about this.

Cinco De Mayo

Today is Cinco De Mayo, whatever that is. I think it's the same as the Fourth of July, only different. So many holidays to remember. I barely remember my birthday. I'm pretty sure old age is creeping in.

I've had some serious thoughts running through my mind lately, and they don't all fit into a neat little category. So, here's a few of my thoughts. Carolyn and I love to watch those '48 Hour Mysteries', where you get to see all the gory details of a crime, and try to figure it out as you go. I have always been a fan of crime dramas, like Columbo (my favorite). The only thing I don't like about the 48 Hours show, is it's real. I will never understand how one human being, can kill another human being. It's not in my DNA to even slightly hurt someone, much less kill them. No matter how mad you get, you can always just walk away. We watched one a couple of days ago, where a man killed his wife, because she was going to leave him. He shot her in the head, in her bed, and left her there for their little boy to find her the next morning. How cold, and inhuman. But I still watch those shows, I guess, to try to see what people are capable of, when given the chance.

Death has always intrigued me. When I was a little boy, my grandpa used to read those crime magazines, where they showed actual crime scene photos. I would read them, and look at the pictures, and get really freaked out. But after awhile, I think I was de-sensitized to the grizly details of the murders. The funny thing is, after I got older, I started to get sick when I heard about anyone getting killed, or hurt. Now, if I hear a story on the radio, or see a story on TV, about someone getting hurt, especially a child, I tear up, and almost cry. I have grown to be very sensitive to others' pain. Not a bad thing, really.

Well, enough of the serious stuff. It's Cinco De Mayo. Be happy. Celebrate. Whatever.

Kent State Shooting

Today is the 40th anniversary of the Kent State Massacre. It was on Monday, May 4, 1970, that 4 Kent State students were killed by the Ohio National Guard. Students were protesting the United States invasion of Cambodia. When the National Guard started shooting, they shot 67 rounds over 13 seconds, hitting protesters, and innocent bystanders who were watching the protest. The University was closed for 6 weeks following the shooting.

The shots killed 4 students, and injured 9 others. Of the 4 students killed, 2 of them, Allison B. Krause, 19, and Jeffrey Glenn Miller, 20, were actually involved in the protest. The other 2 students, William Knox Schroeder, 19, and Sandra Lee Scheuer, 20, were walking from one class to another.

The largest student protest ever, over 4 million students nationwide, took place at universities, colleges, and high schools across the country.

Jennifer Knapp

I found out yesterday that one of my favorite Christian singers, Jennifer Knapp, admitted publicly to being a homosexual, and in a relationship. I was devastated, to say the least. I felt sick to my stomach. I have listened to everything I could find, that she has done. Her lyrics were very Bible based, and they really helped me when I listened to them.

She had sold over 1 million records, and received several Christian music awards, when she suddenly dropped out of sight. Her record company, nor her fans, knew what had happened to her. She now says that she moved to Australia for five years, living with her 'partner', and staying away from music. She finally decided to come back to the states and record another album, which comes out this month. I will try to listen to it, but don't know if I will actually purchase it. In a way, I think it would show approval of what she has done.

In case you haven't figured it out, I do not approve of the homosexual lifestyle, at all. I believe it to be a sin against God. He created us to be coupled, man and woman. Any other way is an abomination. I still have love for the woman and her music, but cannot condone the lifestyle. I will continue to pray for her, that God might prick her heart, and she might repent of this sin. With God, all things are possible.

Abandoned Farmhouse

This is an old farmhouse out in the country. My son called me and told me there was this old house that he thought I would like to take a picture of. He was right. Pretty cool.

No Honor Among Friends

Jesus said a prophet has no honor in his own country. It's true. When you are around your family, or friends you've known for a while, you are just you. They know all the buttons to push, all the right subjects to bring up, anything it takes, to make you feel, and act, like a mad little 12 year old. But when you are outside your familiar zone, you are allowed to be who God created you to be. He has blessed each of us with certain abilities, certain strengths, to be used for our unique ministry. Satan wants you to be seen as a powerless, impotent, witness. And, if you let him, that's what you will be. Guard yourself. Put on, and keep on, the full armour of God. Diligently guard your feelings when you are entering those situations that Satan may use to derail you. Remember, "I can do ALL things through Christ, which strengthens me".